3 Keys to Career Success

Show Up – this seems obvious, but just yesterday my daughter went to a breakfast meeting and was placed at a table with several high-level managers she was able to meet and connect with simply because it was cold outside and attendees who had RSVP’d didn’t show up. I read that Marlon Brando won several jobs early in his career simply because he was willing to walk through snow to get to auditions. Show up (and if you get there early you can often chat with a speaker or leader because they're just standing around waiting!). Advantage: You

Stand out – Are you familiar with Seth Godin’s Purple Cow story? While driving through the country, he saw a pasture full of brown cows – looking almost identical. But, he thought, what if there was one purple cow in the pasture? His message – be remarkable - so you’ll stand out in a sea of mediocrity – average doesn’t cut it anymore. I read about a football coach who requires his team to wear business suits to games. Why? To remind them it’s a business. What you wear affects the way you feel. Advantage: You

Get found – Again, obvious. But have you taken the time to optimize your credentials on Linkedin? Business professionals will search for you on Linkedin because it’s today’s source for business. Pro headshot, keyword-loaded headline and profile. Load in your 50 allowed Skills, especially if you’re job hunting, ask for recommendations. Advantage: You

BONUS!

Want to get more photos of you out on the web? Post them on a Pinterest Board, use descriptive key words, especially if your job description has many different iterations within your industry.

EXTRA BONUS!

Did you know that Slideshare is owned by LinkedIn? Why do you care? SEO optimization. Upload your brilliant PowerPoint presentation, being careful you’ve deleted copyrighted material you might have used or proprietary info. (If you don’t have one, you can create one.) Again, keyword load. Especially in the title. And see that “Tags” section? Those are your keywords. If you don’t know what keywords to use, go search for your topic in Google or Amazon and see what the dropdown box suggests. Those are great starting resources for your keywords. Or Hashtagify.me is another great resource.

Stop that dreaded winter static cling

Before you go out with your dress clinging to your tights and creeping up your backside, let me share with you some ideas on how to handle this. First, static cling, is a build-up of an electrical charge, often from polyester dried in the dryer. There are several quick tricks to get rid of it.

1. The fastest, when you're trying to get out of the house, is to spray your backside with Static Guard - I've been known to keep a can at the office to save all the innocent neophytes who don't know. It stinks, but it works.

2. If you can't get to that, hand lotion, smeared all over the fabric will often do the trick. If you could still find hairspray, it will work too.

3. A dryer sheet will work -- rub all over the area. Dryer sheets are essentially wax embedded into the sheet.

4. You could try touching grounded metal and the shock may get rid of it.

5. And lastly, don't dry your polyester in the dryer - that's where static gets built up.

6. Using fabric softener - even white vinegar as the softener - will help.

Get prepared for winter right now - and you won't be the girl with the dress creeping up her tights having a cringeworthy moment!

Baby, it's Cold Outside

It's definitely time to pull out your winter wear!

For me, I look forward to wearing my vintage leather gloves, my vintage faux fur coat (probably from the early '50's and HATS! What a great way to show your style - while keeping warm and dry. And classic hats like the beret never go out of style, so having one in several colors makes for great style - especially since you can wear them in many different ways. I just got my hair cut and I asked my stylist to keep the bangs a little longer so I'd have something that peaks out of my hats, and an earring adds drama. What are YOU wearing for winter?