Greetings and Thoughts

Hello!

You are receiving The Pathfinder, a free newsletter written by Laurie Mortenson of LegWork Résumés and Career Services. Its purpose is to encourage and assist you while you move along your career path and reach toward your dreams. I hope you enjoy this first issue!

As many of us do at New Year's, I’ve been reflecting back on last year. It seems like much of my time was spent in preparation for this year! I snatched hours here and there from my stay-at-home mom duties to plan and take baby steps toward building my resume writing service. It seemed pretty daunting at first. The amount of work that I needed to do seemed endless, and I wasn’t even sure how to carry some of it out. As I started tackling small goals and then completing them, it became increasingly easier to continue and my enthusiasm grew. I still have a lot of work ahead of me. When looking back at how far I’ve come, though, I feel good. I’m also excited about all that I’ll learn and do this year. 

I hope this might encourage those of you who are feeling uncertain or overwhelmed by a challenge. Are you facing a career change, beginning a job search, or starting some other adventure? While you may feel intimidated at first, after you break your goal into small steps and begin your work, it really does get easier. Persevere and be patient with yourself and the process. And, don’t forget to look back and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from completing the small steps that bring you closer to your goal.

A number of my small steps were geared toward building a Web site. Now, with major help from my talented husband John, a Web design/graphic designer consultant and instructor (jmort.com), it is just about complete. Please check it out at legworkresumes.com.

With warm regards for a wonderful New Year and joy on your path,

~ Laurie

LegWork Notes: New Year, New You!

New Year's resolutions are an American tradition. Have you made yours yet? Look at mine listed below, and choose at least one to add to your list.

Give yourself a treat. Make a list of the small things that make you feel joyful, peaceful, or nurtured. They should be things that you can easily do on any given day, and that you normally don’t do. This could be buying flowers for yourself, soaking your feet in a warm tub of water and oil, or calling a long distance friend. One day a week, or every day of the week, choose an activity on your list and do it. Enjoy!

When you do something well, take note of it. After completing a project, write down your successes–both personal and professional. It’s not only good for the soul, but it comes in handy when you’re trying to remember the accomplishments you’d like to convey to prospective employers. Create a “success” journal or file folder for storing positive notes, thank you letters, good evaluations, and other reminders of your achievements. 

Assign one day each a week to learn something new. Ever feel like you don’t have anything new or interesting to talk about? Maybe you don’t know much about a topic that is important to your spouse, good friend, boss, or other important person. Make an effort each day/week/month to learn more about an interesting subject. You don’t need to become an expert, just able to converse about it. Go to the public library and read an article in a different magazine. Talk to someone you admire and find interesting–ask them about their career. Use the internet to find the latest news on any subject.

Make contacts and network. The older I get, the more I appreciate old friends and colleagues. Once a month, find and contact someone with whom you’ve lost touch. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Classmates.com make it easier than ever. Of course, it’s also fun to make new friends. Meet new people by attending at least one professional meeting each month.  

Exercise your courage muscle by stepping out of your comfort zone. When an opportunity is offered that creates butterflies in your stomach or made-up excuses about why you can’t do it, accept the challenge anyway. As you stop holding yourself back, it will get easier for you to speak your mind, mentor a new hire, lead a meeting, make a speech, etc. Through the process, you’ll learn new skills, feel more confident and free, and thrive in your career.

Take yourself a little less seriously. Do you feel bad about yourself when you make mistakes or your opinions aren’t recognized?  Are things in your life a big deal? While trying to gain career success, it’s not hard to get caught up in trying to making good impressions, getting ahead, and being perfect. While these goals aren’t bad when kept in perspective, it’s easy to give them too much focus and worth. Try to balance yourself by appreciating yourself and others quirkiness, make your first reaction be laughter when things go wrong, and surround yourself with others who don’t take themselves too seriously.

Web Site Spotlight: Aggregate Job Boards

• www.simplyhired.com
• www.indeed.com

Simply Hired and Indeed are aggregate job boards that draw position announcements from hundreds of online sources. They allow you to save your valuable time searching the numerous posting sites while still accessing their job listings. These sites also provide salary information and job trends for positions related to the one you in which you are seeking.

Please keep in mind that posting online should not be your primary job search strategy. Statistically, less than 10% of job seekers find their positions through the boards. So when you decide to apply for a job, don’t spend a lot of time revamping your cover letter and resume for it. Create a quick and efficient way to respond to these postings. Better yet, when the company name is listed, use your research and networking skills to find a connection to the hiring manager. Then, express your interest directly to him or her.

Laughter & Inspiration on the Road

“My friend had been pounding the pavement in search of a job with no luck. Frustrated, she asked her dad to look at her resume. He didn’t get much further than the first line of her cover letter before spotting the problem.
“Is it too generic?” she asked.
“I doubt it,” said her father.
“Especially since it’s addressed ‘Dear Sir or Madman.’”

 ~ Melanson, Giselle (2008, November). Readers Digest, p 41.

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"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic."

~ Author Unknown

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"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." 

 ~ Diane Ackerman

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“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare”

~ Japanese proverb

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“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

~ William James

Is it time to update your resume?
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