Becoming an Entrepreneur in 12 weeks?

Paul Brown is a contributor at Forbes magazine. In this article he details how some of his ideas* have been expanded upon by Tom McDonough (www.getappia.com), to form the basis of an idea (and eventual a course) about becoming an entrepreneur in 12 weeks.

This idea falls in nicely with other pieces I have discussed in the employment trends and start-ups posts. Essentially, all of us will need to develop some familiarity with the traits of good entrepreneurs. As the nature of work shifts to away from traditional 40-hour per week full time jobs to contract work/consulting the ability to sell your skills/services and/or create new ideas/products will become critical.

In this article Mr. Brown discusses how he agrees with Mr. McDonough, and encourages everyone to use the 12 week framework to try out being an entrepreneur and see if they a) like it and b) can make money with an idea/product/or service they have.

If you have read this blog with regularity these ideas shouldn't seem outrageous. Whether you are looking for a more traditional full time job or looking to improve your skills as an entrepreneur you need to be well informed. Learn to improve your skills at finding high quality information about those you will be working with (companies, people, industries...) visit your local library and checkout their business resources (or check if your state offers virtual resources for its residents.) Check with a state office for small business resources.

If you have questions you think others could benefit from, I would look forward to some conversation via the comments.


*Paul B. Brown is the co-author (along with Leonard A. Schlesinger and Charles F. Kiefer) of Just Start: Take Action; Embrace Uncertainty and Create the Future recently published by Harvard Business Review Press.

Ten ways to make your XXXX job application better than everyone else's

This post was written by Matt Thompson (a journalist) with ten tips for other journalists to improve their job applications. These tips however are applicable to ANY profession. I strongly encourage you to read the full piece, but here are his tips:

1. Read between the lines of my job description.
2. Get your vanity search in order.
3. Speaking of which, please have a personal site.
4. Your cover letter should tell me two stories, and both should be fascinating.
5. There’s more than one way to skin a resume.
6. Even if I’m not following you on social media, assume I am.
7. Don’t hesitate to get one of our mutual colleagues to recommend you to me.
8. A little follow-up at any point in this process doesn’t hurt. A lot might.
9. The very best interviews feel like great conversations.
10. Every hiring manager is different.

His narrative does a great job explaining how these can be applied to job searches/applications. The number one suggestion to me seems to be arguing for doing your homework/research about the position and company (hint: if you haven't read this blog for long this is my mantra.)

I like the idea of the cover letter telling two stories. I wish there had been room in his piece to give examples, or at least more advice... which leads me to my charge for all of you. If you have done this please share tips, advice, examples in the comments. If you have not, but have thoughts share those as well.


 

Skills shortage an employer problem?

Let's start the week with a thought experiment.

This piece by Neil Sandell in the Toronto Star discusses how the claim of many CEO's and corporate executives that there is a skills gap is actually a self-inflicted wound. While the articles data and studies are about Canada, the insights are universal. The current trend in corporate hiring is to higher experienced candidates and to no longer train/develop current employees.

We have all probably seen job ads asking for what seems like an impossible combination of education and experience. There are many career/job hunting blog posts across the internet detailing this trend (see some of my other posts on employment trends) of employers fishing for the best possible candidate at the lowest cost. In the short term companies may be acting in their own self-interest... but what will be the long term consequences of these practices?

My personal opinion is that this will have a long term negative impact on the skills of the workforce. Only time will tell if this will be overcome by changing hiring practices, technology or some other change in the way businesses work in the future.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Embrace Insecurity?

This article by Allison Vaillancourt featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education discusses how being a bit insecure might make you a better employee. Before you discount the advice as only applying for academics, the article is discussing a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review Blog. The original HBR Blog piece offers three tips:

• Lower self-confidence makes you pay attention to negative feedback and be self-critical
• Lower self-confidence can motivate you to work harder and prepare more
• Lower self-confidence reduces the chances of coming across as arrogant or being deluded.

My thought is that these are all a fine line, but when you are in the good place between having a level of self-confidence that is too high and too low can produce great employees. I would encourage everyone to read both articles, and then reflect on where you may fall of the sliding scale.

If you are too high on your skills you may act without considering all the ramifications... but if you are too low on your skills you might become paralyzed with self-doubt. As with many things in life finding the right balance along this scale can lead to a better more well rounded employee/job candidate.

For the job hunter/candidate I see this applying most to the interview and/or networking opportunities.

'Perfect' Job Interview?

In this piece featured on LinkedIn in late November Jeff Haden of Inc.com discusses the perfect job interview. He first discusses that landing an interview is a success that we shouldn't discount, with potentially hundreds if not thousands of applicants for each open position. He then provides eight steps help you shine in the interview.

1. Be likeable.
2. Never start the interview by stating you want the job.
3. Ask questions about what matters to you.
4. Set a hook.
5. Know what you can offer immediately.
6. Don't create negative sound bites.
7. Ask for the job based on the facts.
8. Reinforce your connection with your follow-up.

Tips 3 and 7 remind us the importance of studying/researching the company/position before the interview. Not only will this increase you chances of landing the interview, but it should increase your odds of landing the job.

-Good luck!