Career Success

Do you sometimes feel like your own worst enemy? Negative self-talk can deflate your morale, damage your focus, and keep you from achieving what you truly want. Today and tomorrow, we’ll be examining this important topic with help from psychotherapist and career counselor Aricia E. LaFrance, MSE.

TOP: Why are some people prone to negative self-talk?

It seems like we’re constantly hearing about the importance of confidence and self-esteem to achieve success. And it’s true that confidence is important in helping you make the impression (both on the job and elsewhere). If you don’t believe in yourself, it will be hard for other people to have confidence in you.

• Things That Will Get Your Resume Thrown in the Trash [The Daily Muse]
• 10 Tips for Women Who Work from Home [LinkedIn]
• Wardrobe Malfunctions an Interviewer Won’t Tell Women [Career Realism]
• Ways You’re Killing Your Chance at a Promotion [Glass Door]
• Tips to Succeed with In-Person Networking [US News]<
  

When you were a job applicant, chances are you did some homework before an interview in order to learn about the prospective company and how you might fit in. Maintaining that same desire to know more now that you have experience under your belt can be a smart career strategy. A clear understanding of your employer increases your current value and sets you up to develop the skills and mindset needed to grow with the company in years ahead.

A bad reputation isn’t just something you need to worry about in high school. Your professional reputation plays a big role in your career success—especially these days when social media makes it so easy for information to spread through your network (and everywhere else) so quickly.

Employers can afford to be picky, and they don’t want to take a chance on hiring someone with an iffy reputation. And even your current employer may start treating you differently if he hears negative things about you.

Does today’s workplace and job market give people valid reasons to be angry? Yes, says career coach Deborah Brown-Volkman, president of Surpass Your Dreams, Inc. From résumés that don’t get a response to bosses pressuring to work more hours, anger is a common response.

Continuing our conversation about professionalism, I’d like to share some excellent thoughts put together by Jocelyn Brandeis, office and project manager/executive admin at P3 Global Management, Inc., in New York City. Her practical suggestions show how admins can put the concept of professionalism into action:

As we started discussing yesterday, professionalism is a quality that can have a huge impact on career success. Eager to have others view you in a better light regarding this trait? Take some cues from these ideas about what professionalism means:

Workers know that professionalism is a desired trait that can influence how others perceive them. The word, however, is open to interpretation. Today and tomorrow, a variety of people weigh in with their definition of this important term:

Did your 2012 annual review look much like your 2011 one? If so, you’re not alone. A new study by the authors of the New York Times best-seller Change Anything reveals that 43 percent of employees experienced a déjà vu performance review -- receiving the same negative feedback that surfaces year after year.