Should You Have To Pay To Have Lunch With ME

Should You Have To Pay To Have Lunch With ME This post is going to sound overly arrogant. Significantly arrogant. After all, Im all about networking, right?  I talk about nurturing the relationship, right? start arrogance here Recently I got an email from someone saying they knew me through so-and-so and they wanted to have lunch with me.  It was more than a get to know you chat, it was a youve done this and that and I want to learn from you. I get this type of free lunch invitation regularly.  All the time. In the past I have taken the opportunity to do it.  I meet with the person, they buy me lunch, I get excited and share all kinds of ideas, and they walk away energized and thankful. And then I never hear from them again. For me, a lunch usually means three hours out of the office, IF you meet me at a restaurant close to my office. After those three hours I dont hear from you, ever.  Until the next time you want to buy me a free lunch. When I got one of the last requests I replied that Id be happy to meet with the person, for $250/hour. That is my hourly rate. Why did I do this?  Is it good networking? NOPE. It isnt good networking.  But Im running a business, and I have to manage my time. I could probably swing a free lunch every day for a month. I bet I could. Lets say that is 20 days.  I will get about $250 of free lunches.  To get that Ill spend 20 days * 3 hours = 60 hours, in ONE MONTH, on helping people. Thats nice helping people for 60 hours. But it is not sustainable.  It usually doesnt help my business.  I miss 60 hours of work.  And my shirt fits tighter around the waist :p Is it wrong for me to say give me $250 and Ill meet with you? Maybe it is for a lot of people.  But I have to do it. Peter Shankman, a guy who has had an amazingly successful career ( that is an understatement) wrote a similar post last year based on a tweet: I know this sounds grossly arrogant, but there is a real issue here.  It might be about respect.  It might be about valuing the information.  It might be about supply/demand (my time, your needs).  Im not sure what the issue is, but there is an issue. /end arrogance Maybe Im wrong. Maybe Im missing out on a lot of networking opportunities, and the chance to meet a lot of cool people. Ill take the loss, because I have a business Im running.  You wouldnt give your product, or service, or time, away, all the time, would you? I cant either. Should You Have To Pay To Have Lunch With ME This post is going to sound overly arrogant. Significantly arrogant. After all, Im all about networking, right?  I talk about nurturing the relationship, right? start arrogance here Recently I got an email from someone saying they knew me through so-and-so and they wanted to have lunch with me.  It was more than a get to know you chat, it was a youve done this and that and I want to learn from you. I get this type of free lunch invitation regularly.  All the time. In the past I have taken the opportunity to do it.  I meet with the person, they buy me lunch, I get excited and share all kinds of ideas, and they walk away energized and thankful. And then I never hear from them again. For me, a lunch usually means three hours out of the office, IF you meet me at a restaurant close to my office. After those three hours I dont hear from you, ever.  Until the next time you want to buy me a free lunch. When I got one of the last requests I replied that Id be happy to meet with the person, for $250/hour. That is my hourly rate. Why did I do this?  Is it good networking? NOPE. It isnt good networking.  But Im running a business, and I have to manage my time. I could probably swing a free lunch every day for a month. I bet I could. Lets say that is 20 days.  I will get about $250 of free lunches.  To get that Ill spend 20 days * 3 hours = 60 hours, in ONE MONTH, on helping people. Thats nice helping people for 60 hours. But it is not sustainable.  It usually doesnt help my business.  I miss 60 hours of work.  And my shirt fits tighter around the waist :p Is it wrong for me to say give me $250 and Ill meet with you? Maybe it is for a lot of people.  But I have to do it. Peter Shankman, a guy who has had an amazingly successful career ( that is an understatement) wrote a similar post last year based on a tweet: I know this sounds grossly arrogant, but there is a real issue here.  It might be about respect.  It might be about valuing the information.  It might be about supply/demand (my time, your needs).  Im not sure what the issue is, but there is an issue. /end arrogance Maybe Im wrong. Maybe Im missing out on a lot of networking opportunities, and the chance to meet a lot of cool people. Ill take the loss, because I have a business Im running.  You wouldnt give your product, or service, or time, away, all the time, would you? I cant either. Should You Have To Pay To Have Lunch With ME This post is going to sound overly arrogant. Significantly arrogant. After all, Im all about networking, right?  I talk about nurturing the relationship, right? start arrogance here Recently I got an email from someone saying they knew me through so-and-so and they wanted to have lunch with me.  It was more than a get to know you chat, it was a youve done this and that and I want to learn from you. I get this type of free lunch invitation regularly.  All the time. In the past I have taken the opportunity to do it.  I meet with the person, they buy me lunch, I get excited and share all kinds of ideas, and they walk away energized and thankful. And then I never hear from them again. For me, a lunch usually means three hours out of the office, IF you meet me at a restaurant close to my office. After those three hours I dont hear from you, ever.  Until the next time you want to buy me a free lunch. When I got one of the last requests I replied that Id be happy to meet with the person, for $250/hour. That is my hourly rate. Why did I do this?  Is it good networking? NOPE. It isnt good networking.  But Im running a business, and I have to manage my time. I could probably swing a free lunch every day for a month. I bet I could. Lets say that is 20 days.  I will get about $250 of free lunches.  To get that Ill spend 20 days * 3 hours = 60 hours, in ONE MONTH, on helping people. Thats nice helping people for 60 hours. But it is not sustainable.  It usually doesnt help my business.  I miss 60 hours of work.  And my shirt fits tighter around the waist :p Is it wrong for me to say give me $250 and Ill meet with you? Maybe it is for a lot of people.  But I have to do it. Peter Shankman, a guy who has had an amazingly successful career ( that is an understatement) wrote a similar post last year based on a tweet: I know this sounds grossly arrogant, but there is a real issue here.  It might be about respect.  It might be about valuing the information.  It might be about supply/demand (my time, your needs).  Im not sure what the issue is, but there is an issue. /end arrogance Maybe Im wrong. Maybe Im missing out on a lot of networking opportunities, and the chance to meet a lot of cool people. Ill take the loss, because I have a business Im running.  You wouldnt give your product, or service, or time, away, all the time, would you? I cant either.

Personal Branding Interview Debra Shigley - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Debra Shigley - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Debra Shigley, who is a journalist and author of the book The Go-Getter Girls Guide: Get What You Want in Work and Life (and Look Great While Youre at It).   In this interview, Debra talks about strategies to get ahead fast at work, why you need to maintain a professional image, questions work/life balance and more. What are the most important qualities/strategies to get ahead fast? Two things that are critical go-getter qualities are: The ability to self-educate Finding allies/advocates in the workplace By self-educating I mean the ability to be resourceful and solve your employers problems. In other words, its figuring out how to get stuff done without a lot of hand-holding from your boss. Self-educating is also key to creating your own opportunities at work. Have an idea for a new business area for your company or your perfect job? Well, do the research, make a proposal, and pitch it to decision makers. Thats how dream jobs usually happen not by sitting around waiting for an employer to hand it to you. The second point about finding allies and advocates means that you need people in your workplace who respect and admire your work, and who will root for you and support you when employment decisions are being made. An ally/advocate could take the form of your boss, your peers, your administrative assistant, people in different departments even. We might like to think that the work world is a pure meritocracy, but its not. Relationships are key to securing opportunities, whether its a raise, a promotion, or getting assigned to the good projects. Why do looks matter at work? People in this world will judge you by your appearance, period. Its not about being handsome or beautiful, but about being pulled together and presenting a polished image. First, dressing well and taking care of yourself makes you feel more confident. Second, its about the message youre sending. If you show up looking sloppy, your employer or clients might assume however incorrectly that your work is sloppy, too. Conversely, if you dress for the job you want instead of the job you have you may all of a sudden find yourself being given more responsibility. You say work-life balance is a total myth.. why? When I asked dozens of successful women for the book, How do you achieve work-life balance? every single one responded Whats that? or It doesnt exist. Many successful people have come to think of managing their life and careers more in terms of triage than balance. That is, a constant re-prioritizing of what matters most at the time, and giving that category whether its work, family, community service, exercise their focused attention in the present moment. In order to get ahead, you can probably expect stretches of time weeks, months, even years when work may take precedence over other areas. I think Generation X and Generation Y in particular have sort of been lied to in this area, and told that you can have it all early in your career. You can leave early for yoga 3 times a week or continually refuse assignments in favor of vacation if you want, but the message youre sending is that youre not really committed to advancing your career. What is the biggest mistake people make in interviews / informational interviews? Sounding too desperate! You have to remember that an interview even an informational interview is a business meeting, not your chance to vent about your frustration with job searching/your previous employer/dead end job. The person on the other side of the table will think you lack focus. You need to present a positive attitude and try to remain on message, even if that means faking it till you make it. The best way to do this is to be well-prepared. Have a goal for the meeting in your mind, and have things to talk about besides your personal life and employment frustrations. Research the interviewees company and profile. Prepare thoughtful questions about industry trends. Read up on relevant articles and have some pop culture currency to share. And of course, think of some anecdotes that illustrate your go-getterness to weave into the conversation! - Debra Shigley is a journalist and author of the book The Go-Getter Girls Guide: Get What You Want in Work and Life (and Look Great While Youre at It).   She completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and her J.D., cum laude, at Georgia State. While completing the latter, she worked full-time as an editor for Atlanta Magazine, and has appeared as a lifestyle expert on national outlets such as ABCs The View, CNN, and TBS Movie A Makeover. Most recently she was an employment associate at a top-rated law firm in Washington, D.C. She has written for numerous publications including Allure, Fast Company, Daily Candy, Budget Travel, Heart Soul, Go, Atlanta Magazine, Neiman Marcus thebook, and many more. She lives in Atlanta with her husband.

Overview of the UK Graduate Market in 2011

Overview of the UK Graduate Market in 2011 The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2011 was conducted by High Fliers Research, an  independent research company that specialises in student and graduate research.   The survey was based on face-to-face interviews with 17,851 final year students from thirty leading universities, completed in March.   This sample includes more than a fifth of the finalists due to graduate from these universities this summer. The research confirms that many students graduating in the ‘Class of 2011’ began their job search much earlier than usual and that finalists have made a third more job applications to graduate employers than last year â€" taking application levels to an all-time high. The survey also shows that for the first time in three years new graduates expect to earn higher starting salaries when they begin work and that investment banking is the most popular destination for this year’s university-leavers. Key findings- UKs leading employers are expecting to increase their graduate recruitment by 9.4% in 2011. Vacancies dropped by 17.8% in 2009 and 6.7% in 2008. Leading accountancy professional services firms are intending to hire almost 10% more graduates than in 2010. Citys top investment banks up 12.2% compared to 2010 and the high street banks up 24.8%. Recruitment targets at several public sector employers have already been reduced and further cuts are expected later on the year. Recruiters have confirmed that a third of this years entry-level positions are expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations (i.e. industrial placements, vacation work or sponsorships, etc) Largest recruiters of graduates in 2011 will be PwC (1,200), Deloitte (1,000), KPMG (900), Teach First (780) and Ernst Young (740). Starting salaries at UKs leading graduate employers in 2011 are expected to remain unchanged from 2010 levels a median of £29,000. Salaries increased by 7.4% in 2010 and 5.9% in 2009. Majority of employers have been actively marketing their 2011 graduate vacancies at between 10 and 20 universities in the UK. Three-fifths of employers are providing industrial placements for undergraduates or vacation work lasting more than three weeks. Nearly two-third of recruiters warn that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their graduate programmes. A full overview of the Graduate Market 2011 report can be found here. (courtesy Liverpool John Moores University) Subscribe to Career Geeks Bi-monthly Newsletter to stay up-to-date with careers information and tips tricks. Related articles

How to avoid fake internships

How to avoid fake internships Weve got a great post this week from Asaf one of our careers consultants talking about fake internships. Most organisations offer placements in good faith, but there are some unscrupulous ones out there. Make sure you know what to look out for and what to avoid. Would you pay someone to get you a job? Would you pay someone to guarantee you an internship? If you are tempted to say “yes”, you need to know how to distinguish between a fraudulent offer and a genuine one. I was recently approached by a student who was almost tempted to say yes and in the process, lose some serious money. Let me take you through our journey *John saw an advert on a national job search website â€" the kind of website we all use. The ad was about an internship programme in the US. He clicked, sent his CV, and waited. A couple of days later he was invited for a telephone interview with the “US-EU Global Internship Agency”. What followed was a standard 30 minutes interview â€" it seemed professional, if generic. Four hours after the interview, he received an email offering him an internship with a company called “Global Financial Expertise” in the US. Great! The email also reminded him about a fee of $2250, payable to the agency. Not so great. At this stage John contacted  Careers Skills  to ask for advice. My first reaction was to be cautious â€" agencies don’t usually charge candidates. Agencies charge companies and in return they help companies to find â€" and place â€" suitable candidates. But there may be genuine agents or service providers who offer services, training, and even access to employers for a fee. Was “US-EU Global Internship Agency” one of them? By asking a few simple questions, you can find out quite quickly whether the organisation is genuine, or fake. What do I get for my money? We have seen companies that charge hundreds of pounds for a simple CV check that you can get for free from your careers service. In our case, the only thing the agent was offering John was a link with an American company. What kind of internship is on offer here? You need to find out more. What does the placement involve? What projects will you be working on, and where? My  advice was to call the company and ask them if they are aware of an agency that charges money for placing interns with them, but before sharing that with John, I decided to do some digging of my own. My curiousity was piqued and I wanted to find out more. Heres what I did: I googled “Global Financial Expertise”. Interestingly, the first result on the page was its Facebook page. Although you would expect Facebook to have a high page ranking, you wouldnt expect a companys Facebook page to appear  before the company website. It also had a presence on LinkedIn. But when I searched further I found it didnt appear as a company at all, but as a group. Anyone can open a group on LinkedIn! I also couldn’t find any employees of the company there. This doesnt have to mean anything but I was immediately suspicious. I found their website. Yes, they had one. But â€" and this is a pretty big but â€" it just didn’t look like a website of a reputable financial company that recruits interns abroad. It used generic images, very little text, and I couldn’t see any company registration numbers or employees I checked their contact details. There was a telephone number and address but when I used Google Maps to locate the address, I found 25 other companies registered at the same address! I used Street View to tour the area. It didn’t look much like a global financial centre. As a final throw of the dice I went to the Warwick library business databases and used Factiva to search for  â€œGlobal Financial Expertise”. Now that was interesting. I found news items from 2010 about withdrawing the company’s licence. So if the company is still operating today, it does so illegally. A quick google search for“Global Financial Expertise fraud”  generated more evidence. There was little room for mistake; the company had been instructed to close down a couple of years ago. This was the end of the journey for me. The agency is most likely part of the scam. Google them, and you find nothing. If I were John, I wouldn’t even take the trouble to phone them. Better to stick with employers that pay you, not the other way around.  Scam internships  are a very real problem, but you can avoid them. Top tips Be careful of agencies that charge you. What do you get for that money? Is the fee reasonable? Google the company name. Look at their website carefully. Can you get a sense of a real company with people, offices, clients and activities? Or are they “virtual”? Search business databases like Factiva for news items about the company. Google the company name + “scam” or “fraud”. Check LinkedIn. Can you find employees from this company? Clients? If possible, contact them and ask further questions. Look out for poor spelling and grammar â€" this can often the sign of a fake recruiter. Not all companies use specialist copywriters, but the genuine ones will certainly try to produce accurate, consistent and professional copy. * All names and identifiers have been changed.

Technical Writing on Resumes - Use It to Your Advantage

Technical Writing on Resumes - Use It to Your AdvantageThe essential function of a resume is to describe an individual's skills and qualifications, to give you a chance to apply for a job, and to give employers a heads up about your job capability. Yet, one of the most ignored parts of a resume is good technical writing. This could be due to the fact that many individuals consider technical writing as something that is well beyond their skill level or even worth bothering with. They are right in thinking this way, because while it is true that technical writing is quite difficult, with an understanding of how the basics of the English language work, you can improve on the kind of resume that you present and get through to a higher level.Technical writing, however, has its own set of challenges. To begin with, your ability to compose good sentences is going to be critical. These challenges won't only be found on the grammar front; they are also more difficult when it comes to the flow of your thoughts.When it comes to writing your resume, there is no such thing as a formal approach. In order to write a resume, you need to put yourself in the shoes of an employer who is searching for a candidate for a job opening. You need to be able to gather together all of the information they need for the position you want to fill. The position, in turn, will have specific requirements and a certain format.A formal approach to writing resumes would not work well when you are trying to describe the skills you possess or what your career aspirations are. In these cases, technical writing becomes imperative. That is why, the goal of technical writing on a resume should not be to focus on just making the resume look professional but rather to focus on how well the information you present is able to stand out among the overwhelming mass of resumes that are submitted every day.Technical writing allows you to present good information in away that will make it easy for the reader to pick up on the points you are making. This is especially important when you are attempting to convey information that is not so easy to understand. Often, technical writing is used to describe technical jargon, and is often used in academic papers and reports. But more importantly, it is often used in resumes.Good technical writing allows you to present the details of your skills, education, experience, and education in a way that will appeal to a potential employer. It also allows you to express the kind of attitude and personality that you have that will be in good company in the job market.Technical writing makes it possible for you to present the kind of information that an employer needs to assess whether or not you have the ability to do the job. For instance, if you know how to build a website, but the website has hundreds of links, technical writing lets you describe the way in which you have organized these links into the proper place on the page. You can show how you have created an attractive layout, how many other websites use your design, and how the site will interact with others sites within the industry that you may be in.Technical writing is also often used in resumes to describe the work history of applicants. It lets you explain the kind of experience you have had in this field, as well as why you are qualified for the job. Such resume examples of technical writing will also enable you to make the most of your technical skills and knowledge.

Five Positive Job Search Strategies

Five Positive Job Search Strategies Yesterday I wrote about shifting job search complaints to opportunities. The book, The No Complaining Rule, also recommends five things to do instead of complaining. Heres my take on how this can be applicable in a job search.Practice Gratitude. Not everyone can help in a job search, but many will try. Be thankful for the advice, support, time, and financial resources others may offer you during your job search.Praise Others. Celebrate other peoples successes and find something positive to say even when they dont do everything perfectly. You will be remembered for your words of praise and as a result, people may be more likely to help you in your time of need.Focus on Success. Job seekers often have self-defeating self-talks and behaviors. Try to reflect on at least one success story each day and record your successes in a  job journal.Let Go. You cant control the outcome of the interview. Focus on what you can control by being as prepared as possible for your interviews.Pray and Me ditate.  Scientific research shows that these daily rituals reduce stress. If prayer doesnt do it for you, find another stress buster such as exercise, a massage, or reading a good bookwhatever works for you. Find some time each day to focus on you.

Cross Cultural Differences - What Do I Wear, What Do I Say - Jane Jackson Career

Cross Cultural Differences - What Do I Wear, What Do I Say - Jane Jackson Career Cross Cultural Awareness â€"What do I wear and what should I say?Stepping safely through the minefield of cross-cultural differences when working in this global economy has many of us lacking from time to time.   What is appropriate in Europe, Asia-Pacific or the Middle East?   How should we act, what should we wear?   In our own culture correct etiquette needs to be followed to project the right image with enough respect to generate acceptance.   How many of us even know the right things to do at the right time in our own culture?     Here are few suggestions as a starting that may help when doing business abroad. AttireYour visual image is the first thing that is noticed no matter where you are in the world. Attire reflects the general attitudes of the society, and may demonstrate religious or moral beliefs as well (and this is even before going into the differences between the generations in each society.)    In Australia it may be acceptable to wear shorts and casual shoes often even in business meetings (in certain working environments), and certainly while traveling.   However, most Asians often find it extremely offensive to sit on an airplane next to someone showing his hairy legs, and most certainly would not wish to do business with such a person.  When in fashion, the most chic Parisian style may call for the shortest mini-skirt imaginable that will be admired by most in that environment however, to wear even a knee length skirt, or sleeveless blouse in a Middle Eastern country will gain a woman no respect whatsoever.  While some cultures have relaxed their expectations of what is considered respectable business attire, it is always safer to dress conservatively until you fully understand what is acceptable and what is not.Even formal or official national dress may not always be appropriate.  Acceptable attire for formal occasions in the West normally consists of a black suit, white shirt and tie or ‘black tie.’  In the Philippines an embroi dered Barong, pineapple-fiber, shirt is acceptable no matter how formal the occasion.   In Indonesia a long-sleeved, colorful batik shirt and serves the same purpose.        George Bush wearing a Barong shirt   in the PhilippinesAs most Asian businessmen take the time and trouble to learn what is appropriate and what is not in business situations it is unlikely that a diplomat from either of these countries would wear batik or barong to a black tie dinner in London.   Over in Fiji, the men wear tailored skirts as business suits, and many Papuans wear nothing but Koteka (penis sheaths).  What do you think a conservative Japanese businessman in his suit might think of such men were they to appear at a meeting in Japan in their national dress?   While researching for this article I found a question on Yahoo answers that I found amusing.   The question was, “I am from PNG.   Can I wear my Koteka when visiting the USA?”   To which the reply was, “I wouldn’t recommend it.   Peop le get mugged for their Kotekas all the time.”     What about in Europe?   As a very general guide, professionals in the United Kingdom take great pride in looking polished and well groomed; men are expected to wear black or navy blue business suits, and women can wear business suits, dresses.    In France, It is best for men and women to avoid especially flashy accessories when dressing for the office; however, French professionals do tend to be particularly stylish when dressing, so patterned clothing and tailored suits are acceptable.  In Scandinavian countries, it is best for men and women to wear dark-colored business suits, although medium-hued suits in colors such as gray are also acceptable. Women are permitted to wear pants in the workplace, and accessories should be conservative.  Italian professionals tend to be very stylish; it is acceptable for a man to wear brightly colored shirts with dark business suits, and women can be more creative with accessories. Women als o are expected to wear high heels to the office. It’s all about awareness and respect.   Do your research before you pack for your next overseas business trip so you can focus on the task at hand rather than worry if you have made a great faux pas in the way you present yourself.How to Address an International Business AssociateWhile researching for this topic I found some valuable information from a paper presented at the CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF ARBITRATORS, MALAYSIA BRANCH INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION CONFERENCE, 2006.  This was a guide for attendees and this synopsis will be a helpful guide to you too.Australians and to a lesser extent Americans tend to address everyone on a first name basis upon first meeting them, or even on the telephone or in emails where they have not yet met.  In many other cultures, including most European ones, this may be considered extremely bad form â€" as such familiarity does not afford any semblance of respect.  It could be fatal if an Australian b usinessperson were to commence talks referring to Asian and European parties by their first names at the outset.  In time, if there is an amicable and cooperative atmosphere and a sense of familiarity created all around one may be invited to be on first name terms.  To start the ball rolling by calling German Count Heinrich von Richter-Witt “Hans” or Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. M Mohammad Azali bin Dato’ H. Samsuddin “Sam” could easily be taken as insulting and destroy the opportunity to gain the trust and cooperation so necessary for success.  Italians use the third person, and the French the second person plural, when addressing superiors or anyone they do not know well, and improper use of the second person singular can be taken as an insult when first meeting someone.  There are at least three distinct levels of both Javanese and Balinese languages, the use of which depends upon the relative social status of the person speaking and the person being addressed.         In so me cultures, such as American or Philippine, former ambassadors, or presidents, are referred to by such titles long after their term of office has expired, sometimes for the remainder of their lives.  In others, to continue to use such term may be considered an insult to their successors or a sign of ignorance of the current situation.  In some European and Asian cultures, a long chain of titles before one’s name is a show of respect.   In other cultures such use is considered an affectation.   Such titles may have different significance in different countries.   For example “Esq.” in the UK denotes landed gentry.    In the United States it refers to anyone in legal practice, to the great bemusement of the British.         This fascinating topic requires additional research for full understanding and, as you can see, can be quite a minefield of information and misinformation!   What I find helps the most are our own personal experiences â€" what are yours?