Lauren McGoodwin of Profession Contessa & I met when she reached out to me to host a webinar known as Learn how to Cease Doing Shit You Hate & Take Management of Your Profession. Her insane hustle was so inspiring that I proceed to comply with her for extra wonderful data on resumes, aspect hustles & standing out within the office.
Lately she got here The Skinny Confidential HIM & HER podcast the place she talked all about on the lookout for a brand new profession path, what to do in case you’ve been laid off or furloughed, & how you can stand out to employers.
Whereas she was on the podcast I used to be ferociously taking notes for you guys as a result of I felt like a weblog submit would actually assist, visually.
The podcast episode is nice, however that is a type of particular gems that wants its personal weblog submit too. So after the episode I gathered all my notes, requested Lauren some extra questions & compiled them right here.
( You must also know that Lauren lately wrote a guide known as Energy Strikes: How Girls can Pivot, Reboot, & Construct a Profession of Function. Within the guide you’ll discover a ton extra tips about managing financials, discovering your voice, & slicing out comparability ).
Okay, so first, let welcome Lauren McGoodwin of Profession Contessa to The Skinny Confidential. Beneath Lauren’s Q&A are my notes on the highest takeaways from our podcast episode.
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♡ Inform us your complete story. Get as particular as doable on the way you grew to become the Profession Contessa.
Lauren McGoodwin: Profession Contessa was launched out of my grasp’s thesis challenge. I had been working as an administrative assistant inside a dental college for a serious college and dealing on my grasp’s in communication administration at evening. One 12 months earlier than I began engaged on my thesis, I landed a job as a recruiter working for Hulu.
It was a sport altering expertise and I received it by numerous exhausting work, 30+ informational interviews over a 9 month interval, and being savvy about how I received their consideration.
I went from depressing in a job to engaged, assured, and studying a brand new talent—recruiting. I liked being on the opposite aspect of the hiring course of and realized that so most of the “guidelines” you study at school about how you can land a job are simply plain flawed. I additionally realized that lots of my expectations on what my profession “ought to” seem like had been very removed from my actuality.
That’s what inspired me to jot down my thesis on millennial girls & profession sources. Profession Contessa was the prototype from that challenge as a result of there have been ZERO profession sources for ladies again in 2012.
I left my Hulu job in late 2014 to pursue Profession Contessa full-time as a result of I knew that millennial girls had been shortly going to turn into the most important era within the workforce and they might be needing a useful resource like Profession Contessa to assist them navigate job searches, profession development, management, life, and extra!
♡ Nobody likes a 10 web page resume. How will you be environment friendly about creating & sending your resume in? We mentioned this on the podcast, however simply give the viewers a pair suggestions & methods.
LM: NO ONE likes a 10 web page resume and extra importantly, nobody will learn your resume. Consider your resume as a really particular snapshot of the expertise and abilities you’ve gotten which can be tailor-made and related to the job/firm you’re making use of for. The important thing phrase right here is “related.” You wish to slim down your work to one-page and share what you probably did + how you probably did it by utilizing key phrases and phrases. An ideal “hack” is to print out 4-5 job descriptions for the job title you’re making use of for and spotlight the important thing phrases or phrases you see talked about again and again.
The employers are actually telling you through the job description that is what I care about and I wish to know if you are able to do these items. It’s nice that you’ve got so a few years of expertise however you’ll be able to present all of that in your LinkedIn profile, private web site, and so on. Your one-page resume could be very tailor-made to the precise job title and firm you’re making use of for.
♡ How do you counsel somebody keep a aspect hustle whereas additionally sustaining a full time job? What are your finest ways, suggestions & methods.
LM: You need to be extremely disciplined along with your time! You’ll be able to’t simply speak about getting began or constructing one thing—you need to take motion! Small motion is completely okay—even higher—however don’t wait until your full-time job slows down to start out or when your aspect hustle is ideal to launch. You study a lot by doing!
I maintained my aspect hustle and full-time job by organising a weekly schedule and prioritizing the highest Three issues I needed to perform every week for every bucket ( full-time job and aspect hustle ). The place are you going to focus your restricted time, why, and the way will these outcomes get you nearer to your objective? I might use each Sunday to arrange my schedule to ensure I received it carried out after which test in with myself on the finish of the week.
One other useful tip is to have an accountability buddy that you simply share your progress with!
Lastly, create a ritual round reaching a milestone. Rituals have the ability to be extremely restorative and motivating so it’s necessary to ritualize the small and large objectives you hit alongside the way in which.
♡ Your new guide Energy Strikes simply got here out. What is a ‘energy transfer’ & how can we do it all through the day?
LM: The problem of defining a Energy Transfer is that it’s by no means only one factor—however there’s a clear theme. A Energy Transfer is an intentional resolution, motion, behavior, or habits that makes it doable to have a satisfying profession in your phrases.
Quitting your job is unquestionably a Energy Transfer, similar to the choice to talk up at a gathering. Volunteering for a piece project—one which requires a brand new talent set—is a daring Energy Transfer, however no much less useful than making a behavior of greeting your supportive colleague with a smile and encouragement. I do know this would possibly sound like every part is usually a Energy Transfer, however not precisely. Falling right into a profession lure isn’t a Energy Transfer, prioritizing busyness over focus isn’t a Energy Transfer. Repetitive habits anticipating completely different outcomes, habits guided by different folks’s expectations, shortcuts to performing the mandatory steps—none of these are Energy Strikes.
What defines the Energy Strikes you make are distinctive to every particular person. Our careers are completely different with completely different life levels, obligations, and so on. I like to think about Energy Strikes as small/day by day: like sustaining a morning routine, medium/notable: like taking an internet class to study a brand new talent, and large/main: like beginning a aspect hustle.
Energy Strikes construct upon one another so if you wish to make BIG strikes, you could begin by pondering small. What small actions/Energy Strikes are you able to make at present and construct on these to create your personal Energy Strikes strategy to your profession? The objective is to be proactive in constructing a profitable and fulfilling profession in your phrases—not being reactive.
♡ What are your prime Three suggestions for taking management of non-public funds?
LM: 1. Develop a wholesome relationship with cash by separating your self price in your web price. A great way to do that is to jot down down or take into consideration issues that make you cheerful and fulfilled that don’t have anything to do with cash.
2. Know the place your cash is—take stock of all of your accounts together with debt, finances, credit score rating, and so on. and make aware choices on the way you earn, spend, and make investments it.
3. Perceive the market worth of your skillset. This in all probability means embracing wage transparency and speaking about it with your pals, coworkers, and so on. You wish to ensure you have a transparent understanding of the market charge ( i.e. wage ) for the worth you convey to a company and even as a enterprise proprietor.
♡You speak about abandoning the ‘dream job.’ Are you able to converse on that a bit of?
LM: The dream job doesn’t exist. There I mentioned it and it’s one of many greatest profession myths on the market. It’s additionally an enormous profession lure as a result of believing a dream job does exist and the limitless pursuit it takes to chase that dream is a part of what retains lots of people feeling caught. So why will we chase this?
For starters, the thought of a dream job is sensible—it feels protected, sane, and makes us really feel like success/success is a straightforward equation. However a dream job by no means takes into consideration the realities and challenges of actual life. Researchers at Stanford College additionally discovered that the parable of the dream job is intently aligned to the parable that people have “fastened” passions and that when we “discover our ardour” and apply it to work we will likely be fulfilled. This philosophy means that, at a sure level, we cease growing areas of curiosity and that we received’t want or wish to develop. It may be stifling and limiting to suggest an endgame when many people are simply getting began.
♡ Pimp out your new guide. What are Three takeaways the reader can count on?
Thanks! Energy Strikes: How Girls Can Pivot, Reboot, And Construct a Profession of Function will train you the next:
+ The 4 infamous profession traps and how you can keep away from them.
+ Learn how to turn into your personal profession coach and be within the driver’s seat of your profession.
+ Learn how to construct a Energy Strikes strategy to your profession that lets you pivot, reboot, and construct a profession of function by actionable and intentional workout routines—there are worksheets and useful graphics that illustrate what you are able to do at present.
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Lauryn’s Takeaways From The Podcast with The Profession Contessa:
♡ Take a step again, assess your scenario.
If you’ve been laid off or let go, apply for unemployment. Check out all of your cash & work out how lengthy you may make it final. If you’ll be able to’t make it final so long as you are feeling comfy with there are corporations begging for workers ( Amazon, Instacart, and so on. ).
If you do manage to pay for to final, take a while to consider what you really liked about your final job & what initiatives excite you.
♡ Dropping your job may very well be a blessing in disguise.
If you hated your job earlier than then this may very well be a possibility for you. While you get laid off, you will get inventive. You can begin a aspect hustle or study new abilities. Simply get began someplace.
It’s really easy to let worry overtake & be the rationale to NOT begin. Lots of people who take a threat and make the leap ( or change ) find yourself saying they remorse not beginning sooner.
If you don’t have any concept what to do then Lauren suggests asking your self the next:
+ What is it that you simply loved out of your outdated job?
+ What had been you profitable at that’s required at a job? ( It’s nice to like gardening, however in case you can’t become profitable doing it, it’s only a pastime. )
♡ Cease writing lengthy emails & 40 web page resumes.
An introduction electronic mail making use of for a job ought to take 1 minute to learn. It must say who you’re, why you add worth, and three bullet factors in your expertise. That you must turn into extremely concise & clear and fasten your resume.
Michael used Expensive Media for instance for this: “If somebody is extraordinarily excited and passionate concerning the firm however lacks a bit of in a talent vs. somebody who excels in abilities however lacks enthusiasm, I might all the time select the primary as an alternative of somebody who seems to be good on paper.”
♡ There aren’t any guidelines on how you can apply for a job.
There are means much less jobs on the market than there are folks. If you go for a job in a really established order means, like clicking on ‘apply’ on Linkedin, then you definitely’re not standing out.
Put in your pondering cap on & ask your self what issues to the employer. Tradition match, worth match, abilities match, no matter it’s they care about, tailor to it.
♡ Do not be afraid of the NOs or the exhausting instances.
While you think about your large objective and also you fantasize concerning the job, you additionally want to concentrate on the challenges. You may make the job appear excellent and seamless however what occurs when 10 corporations inform you ‘no’ or you’ve gotten a ‘dangerous day’ on the job?
If you don’t envision the challenges together with the positives of a job, then when the exhausting instances comes round most individuals wish to surrender.
Extra Suggestions From This Episode:
♡ Go on a listening tour. Have interaction in informational interviews, discover folks you admire & hearken to them. This may very well be podcasts, buddies & the household round you.
♡ Stay your life in weeks, not days. Make a plan for the week.
♡ To assist discover a job you need & love, make an inventory of 10 corporations you’d wish to work for. It helps to know what you wish to do, & the place you wish to do it.
♡ Work your means backwards to use for the job. Take a look at the corporate’s detailed job description & spotlight the key phrases that come out. Tailor your resume & Linkedin profile to showcase those self same phrases & abilities.
♡ Make your resume standout. Discover one thing higher than an ordinary Microsoft Phrase template.
Make sure you stalk Lauren on Instagram @careercontessa and @laurenmcgoodwin. If you need extra information on how you can bust your ass like a boss, careercontessa.com is your finest useful resource. You guys will discover every part on there from previous webinars, job listings, & the within scoop on wonderful corporations for ladies.
Additionally, ensure to select up Lauren’s new guide Energy Strikes that can assist you faucet into your voice & discover the job of your goals ( however not your dream job, LOL ).
x, lauryn
+ 5 suggestions for launching a podcast.
++ 10 health tricks to hold it tight in isolation.
HUSTLE HUSTLE HUSTLE: