Market Me First - The Positive Career and Work Action Plan Market Yourself | Make Money | Be Happy

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Since 2005. Market yourself. Find better work. Make a name. Survive Layoffs. Be successful.

Monday

Don't look back

More than just the great Boston song, Don't Look Back holds a lot of meaning.

Say you just got fired/laid off/downsized, etc.

After the initial shock sets in, we get busy trying to find something to keep us busy - like full time work!

After a week or so, we generally commiserate with one of our fellow former employees. You know, share gripes, complaints, status, etc.

Outside of networking ("Hey Bob, how is your job search coming? I have been talking to Fulltimers, Inc; know anything about them?"), always limit your contact with former fellow employees.

That former employee may be a good friend and that is important, but if you are remaking and remarketing yourself, why are you maintaining the Old You?

Old coworkers and friends have a tendency to drag you back to where you came from. They rarely encourage you; rather they tend to dwell on what happened rather than why will happen.

After leaving my last place of work suddenly, I limited my contacts with former coworkers to the bare minimum. References, contact information, that sort of thing.

Move on. Let the past go and return when life has made a new you.

A new week starts

What can you do this week to affect positive change in your professional life?

Start with some housekeeping.

1) Pull out your electronic resume and update. Add any highlights from the last quarter. Remove details from four years or two jobs ago outside of title, length of time employed and area of expertise.

2) Clean up your contacts. Add new ones from email, appointments, trade shows and networking. Make sure your contact list is up-to-date in Outlook, your PDA, LinkedIn, and Plaxo.

3) Update your website. (Mine was horribly out of date). Clean it up and add new information about what you are doing.

4) Update your profile on LinkedIn. Update your Plaxo profile and watch updates fly out to your contact list.

5) Clean out your desk. Throw out old paperwork. File. Rearrange. Change is good.

6) Clean out your briefcase or laptop bag.

7) Examine your CareerMap. Find your location. Plan your next destination.

Get ready, set, go.
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