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Halfway Mark - How ya doin'

6/15/2022

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What do you do during halftime?

Every football and basketball game has halftime.

The players go back to the locker rooms, grab some water and catch a quick rest. Then the coaches come in and everyone reviews what went good, what went great, what needs improvement, and what not to do again. There may be some yelling, some high-fiving, and then the rally call for the team to 'go out and win'!

Do you have 'halftime' in your career life?

It's  summer - punctuated by hot sunny days, vacations, school being out, and longer days.

Not really the time to think about your career aspirations, or is it?

You are halfway through the year - another 6 months and you will have completed another year at your job - what have you achieved?

Let’s take stock - a locker room halftime report if you will - of where you are now - and where you want to be at the end of 2022.

Here’s a checklist to get you started - great thing about this exercise - you can do it anywhere - on the beach in your cabana, waiting in line at Starbucks, watching your kids play in the pool, or at your desk at work.

Another great thing, the answers may surprise you - you may find that you are right on target for where you want to be, or possibly lagging behind.

Hopefully the process will give you a renewed focus and energy for making clear strategic decisions so you can end the year strong!
  1. What have I already accomplished this year (for those of you who follow my articles - you may remember that this would be easily accessible if you are keeping an accomplishment journal) - not too late to start one!
  2. What have you overcome? What obstacles, challenges, or problems have you faced so far this year - what did you do - and what was the result?
  3. Have you checked any boxes for professional development or increased skills? Did you take classes, online training, or attend conferences?
  4. Dust off last year’s performance appraisal and review the good and the bad. Are there areas that were identified for improvement? What can you do to increase your performance in those areas?
  5. Have you been having ‘regular’ check-ins and feedback sessions with your boss to make sure you are both on the same page regarding your progress, milestones, and achievements?
  6. Are you happy in your job or are there aspects of your job that make you happy? If you are not ‘mostly’ happy - figure out what the reasons are, and what YOU can do to change things. Sometimes it is making a shift in routine or delegation; opening communication lines with management, or cross-training - and sometimes it is finding a job where you feel that you will be happy - most of the time.

Once you evaluate where you have been for the past 6 months, identify where you want to go and how you will get there before Dec 31st.   

Have you set goals and identified the next steps to on your career journey? If not, honestly evaluate where you are now, and outline the next 3 - 5 crucial steps to get there.  

Here are a few questions to ask yourself at the halfway mark:
  1. Do I still have goals? What are they? Do I still want to go after them?
  2. Are there goals I can let go of?
  3. What have I done that went better than expected?
  4. How can I make a better impact?
  5. Did a new goal appear? How can I plan to achieve that goal in the next 6 months?

Christmas will be here before you we know it! Design a roadmap (broken down monthly or even weekly or daily for the Type A folks) so that you can stay on course. Plan your work - work your you plan. You will be happy you took a little time this summer to check in with 'career' self!

Championing your success!

Kara


What to do next:

1. Dust off your resume – and update it!

2. Create a new resume or contact us to have one created 
for you – www.aplatinumresume.com / 719-339-2659

3. Sign up for our upcoming webinar – The 3 Things You Must Know & Do Before You Write Your Own Resume here: https://www.karavarner.com/3ThingsWebinar


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Please & Thank You

6/10/2022

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When was the last time you wrote a thank you letter?

I was immensely proud watching our daughter write her Thank You letters to family and friends that had sent her monetary gifts and thoughtful trinkets celebrating her graduation from High School last month.

I let her pick out the cards, and she addressed them all herself, along with a thoughtful – related – message inside. We popped them in the mail.

She didn’t fuss about writing them. She knew from past experience, and all the thank you cards she had written as a young child to family and friends after birthday parties, that it was the right thing to do. She could have called them, and that worked well for relatives, but for family friends, a handwritten card always carried extra weight and sometimes shock value.

In the almost 11 years that I have been in business as Founder and CEO of A Platinum Resume and Career Services, educating clients, teaching workshops, developing trainings, crafting strategic resumes and career documents, and helping students develop their own resume writing businesses, I have stressed the importance of the Thank You letter.

A Cover Letter is an introduction with a ‘please consider me for an interview’ statement embedded in the verbiage it is only fitting that you close that loop with a ‘thank you for the interview.’

Writing a thank you letter/note enables you to thank the hiring manager/panel/team for their time and the opportunity they gave you to interview for the role. Some hiring managers expect a thank you letter, while others are shocked to get one.

When you write a succinctly crafted thank you letter, you leverage the opportunity to reiterate your interest in the position, restate your qualifications, and ‘remind’ them of your interview conversation. All great things!

When to send your handwritten or email thank you letter – no more than 24 hours after the interview.  


What to include in your thank you letter:
  1. Personalized greeting and thank you statement
  2. Exact job title you interviewed for (they may have met with a lot of candidates)
  3. Words of appreciation
  4. Quick overview of your qualifications
  5. Interest in the position and expectation of next steps
  6. Contact information

Pro tip: Craft your thank you letter (template) right before the interview, fill in details about the interview right after (when it's still fresh in your mind) and send it within 24 hours.

Check out these two sample Thank You Letters - quick note or detailed letter

Short and sweet

Hi Ms. Smith,

Thank you so much for meeting with me today regarding the _xyz__ position. It was such a pleasure to learn more about the __xyz__ role, and I’m very excited about the opportunity to join such a dynamic and innovative team.

I look forward to hearing from you about next steps. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can provide any additional information.

Respectfully,

[Your Name]



Detailed and thoughtful

Hi Mr. Jones,

I just wanted to thank you and the panel for inviting me to interview for the _________ position.  It was great to hear about ___xyz company’s objectives for the next quarter/year and how I might contribute to successfully achieving those robust goals. I was excited to hear that I would be [something you remember from the interview related to job responsibilities/duties] (this shows that you were listening).

I really admire the humanitarian causes that __xyz__ supports, which align with my values of - paying it forward. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with your team to implement some of the progressive ideas we discussed.

Please let me know if there is anything else you need from me.

Sincerely,



Drop me a comment with how you feel about Thank You Letters...

What to do next:

1. Dust off your resume – and update it!
2. Create a new resume or contact us to have one created 
for you – www.aplatinumresume.com / 719-339-2659

3. Sign up for our upcoming webinar – The 3 Things You Must Know & Do Before You Write Your Own Resume here: https://www.karavarner.com/3ThingsWebinar

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  • SERVICES
    • RESUME WRITING
    • Executive Resumes
    • Professional Resumes
    • Military to Civilian Resumes
    • Federal Resumes
    • Graduate Resumes
    • Sample Resumes
    • Resume Distribution
    • DIY Resume Course
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • CORPORATE
    • Our Newsletter
    • FAQs
  • CONTACT US
  • PRODUCTS / SHOP
    • JOB SEARCH SUCCESS SYSTEM
    • CAREER RESOURCES >
      • Career Related Documents & Services
      • Reference Check Service
    • Gift Certificates
  • CAREER ACADEMY / DIY
    • Interviewing: The Gold Standard
  • BLOG
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • DISCLAIMER
  • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • T&C OPTIN THANK YOU
    • Client Survey