March 2009 Event Summary: Surviving Change
Thanks to Kendall Colman and Gina Schreck for sharing their wisdom and insights with WICT Rocky Mountain. Held March 12th, 2009, Kendall and Gina shared several strategies for surviving a changing environment.
Kendall Colman focused on how to survive in this changing environment by increasing your net worth, both within and outside your current company.
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Stay positive. People don't like negativity. Think about that person on the elevator on Monday morning who rolls their eyes and sighs, "Another Monday," or on Friday says "Thank God this week is over!" How uplifting is that?
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With all the bad things happening right now, try to focus on the positive. Everyone has something positive in their life. Focus on the positive rather than dwelling on the negative which you can't control.
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Take control of what you can. You're personal finances, your attitude, and your preparedness for the next professional step. Feeling that you have control is empowering, gives you confidence, and ultimately, a positive attitude.
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As yourself: What am I passionate about? Who do I admire? If I could do anything, what would I do? What am I doing when I'm at my best? Money will follow if you do work that aligns with your passion.
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Be prepared to take the next step professionally by updating your resume with power statements of projects you've recently completed. Get into the "public eye" to get people talking about you. Join committees, do some public speaking, even get published.
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Cultivate your relationship with referral partners - people who will talk about you. Remember reciprocity and generosity.
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Currency equals time. Be selective about who you spend time with.
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We've all heard about preparing that "elevator speech. It's too long (30seconds is too long). You need a three second one-line that you can use in an introduction-type setting which will make a person want to know more about you. The example used was a line from someone at Butler Rents, a party supply store. The employee said "I work for Butler Rents. We rent everything but the Butler!" This one-liner summarized what the person does while also opening the door for subsequent questions.
Gena Schreck focused on using technology to expand your social and professional networking circle.
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Even if you've been late to the networking technology party, you still need to join because 80% of all recruiters use LinkedIn in their professional searches.
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The world of information and networking technology can be intimidating for "digital immigrants" so start slow with some basic sites and then expand from there.
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Be careful of what you post or write because you never know where it will show up and who can access it.