Career Development can be a really vague term at times, but what it really boils down to is what are YOU doing to make yourself a better candidate, employee, boss, or even co-worker?
Earlier in the year, I put together an internal Career Development Fair for my company. We got a huge response, which was exactly what I had hoped for. However, I think that people tend to forget or not grasp the most important part of Career Development. I can teach as many classes in one day, one week, one year as possible, but if you're not playing an active part in that session, what's the point? Don't get me wrong... I LOVE what I do! I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world! I love providing support to those who want to do something for themselves... but I can't hold your hand through all the steps. You have to actively participate in your own career development, because I can tell you - It's not going to be handed to you.
What's the moral of the story? Get inspired! Think about the changes you want to make and GO FOR IT!!! If you realize you're lacking a certain skill, step up to the plate and find a way to acquire or develop that skill. If you're wanting to learn something new, take the initiative and go out and buy a book, do some research, take a class! Your life is in your hands and there are endless opportunities!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
training with limited budgets
Well, It's that time of year again. We all hope that we'll keep the same budget as last year... But with so many companies simply trying to stay afloat, budgets will surely be cut.
So what do we do as trainers with significantly less money to ensure that we're still providing the same level of service? So that we remain as valuable to the company as we were with twice the budget? Investigate! Do a little research! Find out what is important to your fellow employees! This has several different forms. Could be something as simply as an email, conversation in a hallway, or a chat over lunch with a co-worker. Or you can even step it up a notch and send out a survey to your company. The bottom line is find out what is most important to your organization and focus on that. If you meet the needs of your organization with half the budget, you will definitely be noticed and may even get some extra praise!
Once you know what to focus on, there are several ways to cut down on the cost of your training. The most obvious way is to cut out as many external vendors as possible. Bring the training in house! Enjoy the chance to take off your event management hat & step back in front of the group! Another easy way I've been able to cut down on costs is PAPER!!! SOOOO MUCH PAPER! For our New Hire Orientation, we used to print out all of the presentations. How crazy is that? We now put the presentations on a CD-ROM that they can take with them! Plus it takes up so much less space!
What are some tricks you've used to cut down on your budget?
So what do we do as trainers with significantly less money to ensure that we're still providing the same level of service? So that we remain as valuable to the company as we were with twice the budget? Investigate! Do a little research! Find out what is important to your fellow employees! This has several different forms. Could be something as simply as an email, conversation in a hallway, or a chat over lunch with a co-worker. Or you can even step it up a notch and send out a survey to your company. The bottom line is find out what is most important to your organization and focus on that. If you meet the needs of your organization with half the budget, you will definitely be noticed and may even get some extra praise!
Once you know what to focus on, there are several ways to cut down on the cost of your training. The most obvious way is to cut out as many external vendors as possible. Bring the training in house! Enjoy the chance to take off your event management hat & step back in front of the group! Another easy way I've been able to cut down on costs is PAPER!!! SOOOO MUCH PAPER! For our New Hire Orientation, we used to print out all of the presentations. How crazy is that? We now put the presentations on a CD-ROM that they can take with them! Plus it takes up so much less space!
What are some tricks you've used to cut down on your budget?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
doing what i love... with purpose
I really am lucky. I do love what I do. What I love even more is being able to help others while doing what I love to do!!! I recently had the opportunity to do so.
Last Friday, I was able to go downtown to the Atlanta Children's Shelter. They are a day-care facility for homeless children. They also offer programs to assist the parents in their home and job search. I lead a session on the Do's & Don'ts of Interviewing. It was a really great session and I was really impressed with the questions they asked once they finally opened up.
The experience was the best part of it all. I was actually able to take what I do on a day-to-day basis and use it to help those in need and provide reassurance for each of them in the job market. It was such an uplifting day.
Last Friday, I was able to go downtown to the Atlanta Children's Shelter. They are a day-care facility for homeless children. They also offer programs to assist the parents in their home and job search. I lead a session on the Do's & Don'ts of Interviewing. It was a really great session and I was really impressed with the questions they asked once they finally opened up.
The experience was the best part of it all. I was actually able to take what I do on a day-to-day basis and use it to help those in need and provide reassurance for each of them in the job market. It was such an uplifting day.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Goodies From My Favorite Artist!!!!
Monday, February 9, 2009
the 6 P's
Well, there's actually 7, but to remain as PC as possible, I'll only use 6. What are they? Proper Pre-Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Truer words could not be spoken. Words that I live by.
This phrase can be applied to any project, goal, event, to-do list, or daily tasks you're faced with. Really what this boils down to is preparedness and adequate time management. Now, there's a word that makes everyone cringe! But is it the time management that makes you cringe or is it the ensuing chaos that tends to surround you when you least expect it? My guess? It's the chaos that you're afraid of.
So what do you do when you're about to give a presentation (that's saved on your desktop) and you find out that your laptop has died because you forgot to bring the power-cord? You switch to plan B. And if that won't work, what can you do with plan C or possibly plan D? That's the beauty of the 6 P's. If you've taken the adequate time to properly plan your presentation in advance, you're ready for any what-ifs that could potentially come your way. Plan B may be that you've saved the presentation to a public drive; plan C is that you have the presentation saved to a flash drive; and why not go ahead with a plan D - you have printouts of your presentation.
See what I mean? If you've used the 6 P's to think ahead and consider what could potentially go wrong... When it does - You're prepared! And what makes it even better is that NO ONE HAS TO KNOW IT WAS PLAN B!!!! To steal a phrase from my former boss, you're like a duck floating on water. To the average eye, you're gracefully floating across the lake; but underneath the water, you're paddling away as furiously as possible.
This phrase can be applied to any project, goal, event, to-do list, or daily tasks you're faced with. Really what this boils down to is preparedness and adequate time management. Now, there's a word that makes everyone cringe! But is it the time management that makes you cringe or is it the ensuing chaos that tends to surround you when you least expect it? My guess? It's the chaos that you're afraid of.
So what do you do when you're about to give a presentation (that's saved on your desktop) and you find out that your laptop has died because you forgot to bring the power-cord? You switch to plan B. And if that won't work, what can you do with plan C or possibly plan D? That's the beauty of the 6 P's. If you've taken the adequate time to properly plan your presentation in advance, you're ready for any what-ifs that could potentially come your way. Plan B may be that you've saved the presentation to a public drive; plan C is that you have the presentation saved to a flash drive; and why not go ahead with a plan D - you have printouts of your presentation.
See what I mean? If you've used the 6 P's to think ahead and consider what could potentially go wrong... When it does - You're prepared! And what makes it even better is that NO ONE HAS TO KNOW IT WAS PLAN B!!!! To steal a phrase from my former boss, you're like a duck floating on water. To the average eye, you're gracefully floating across the lake; but underneath the water, you're paddling away as furiously as possible.
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