Career Archives

How to Receive Feedback Effectively: 3 Tips

Do you often receive feedback? How do you respond to it? Why do you think feedback is so important? Feedback is an important element of personal and professional development but few people know how to receive feedback effectively. In their book Thanks for the Feedback, communication experts Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen provide some actionable tips on how to have a feedback conversation on the receiver’s end. In this article, we’ll look at specifics of how to have a feedback conversation: the general arc of the conversation, and major elements you need to touch upon to be successful.

Best Tips on How to Get the Job You Want

Want to know how to get the job you want? What do you need to include in your resume? You can get the job you want by studying the business of your potential employer, developing a plan of how you can help the company, and presenting that plan to the person making the hiring decision. Your resume must include information about your education, experience, references, and relevant qualifications. Read on to learn more about how to get the job you want.

Scarce Skills: Cash Them in to Get a Job You Love

Do you have scarce skills that are in high demand? How can they be developed? Scarce skills equal career capital. You can develop them to the point where you’re so good people can’t ignore you. Then you can cash them in to get the job you want. Read more to learn how to develop and leverage scarce skills.

When to Leave Your Job: The 3 Factors to Look For

How do you know when to leave your job? If you don’t like it, is that enough? You should consider three factors that signal when to leave your job. Rather than simply determining whether you’re happy in your work, these factors prompt you to consider how well your current job helps you build career capital. Ultimately this impacts overall career satisfaction. Keep reading to learn when to leave your job.

Improve Your Skills: 5 Steps to Deliberate Practice

Are you familiar with the “deliberate practice” method of improving your skills? How this can help you build career capital and get a job you love? When you improve your skills—especially scarce and valuable skills—you build up career capital that you can use to “buy” a desirable job. The best method of improving your skills is deliberate practice. There are five steps to figuring out how to deliberately practice in your workplace. Read more to learn this method of improving your skills.

The RESPECT Model: Building Employee Engagement

What is the RESPECT model for engagement? Why is respect more important than monetary incentives? In his book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, Paul Marciano discusses the RESPECT model for engagement. He breaks down the five directions of respect: respect for the organization, leadership, team members, work, and the individual, and why each one is important. Here is what Marciano had to say about respect in the workplace.

How to Become a Full-Time Artist: Treat It Like a Job

Do you want to know how to become a full-time artist? How can you earn a living from doing what you love? Many aspiring artists want to do what they love full-time, but struggle to make it happen. The key is to treat your passion like a day job, with regular commitment and a focus on productivity and results. Knowing how to do this will help you go from an amateur to a professional. Find out how to become a full-time artist below.

Career Capital: What You Need to Get a Job You Love

How much career capital do you have? How can it lead to career happiness? Desirable jobs are scarce and prized. You can “buy” such jobs by using career capital, which is made up of scarce and prized skills. In other words, developing valuable skills is the best way to get a job you love. A focus on skill development—”the craftsperson mindset”—is the first step in building up career capital. Keep reading to learn about career capital.

Following Your Passion Isn’t the Path to Happiness

Does following your passion lead to joy in your work? What does the research say? Cal Newport shares the evidence against the “passion hypothesis”—the idea that you can find a job you like by first figuring out what you’re passionate about, and then looking for a job that allows you to use this passion. According to scientific research, surveys, and interviews, following your passion shouldn’t be your focus if your goal is to find a job you love. Read more to learn why following your passion is not the way to find happiness at work.

Why Skills Trump Passion: 3 Stories That Explain

Have you heard that ability matters more than passion when it comes to finding work you love? Do you know why skills trump passion? Cal Newport believes that it’s easier for highly skilled people to write their own tickets when it comes to job choice, ultimately allowing them to do work they love. He shares three stories that illustrate why skills trump passion. One story is his own. Read more to learn why skills trump passion.