Network Marketing Prospects: Responsible Sponsoring

Network Marketing Prospects: Responsible Sponsoring
There's one philosophy of network marketing that says,
"Sign up anything with a pulse."

This is the throw-them-against-the-wall-and-see-who-sticks
approach. The hope is that SOMEONE amongst those raw
recruits will emerge as a leader.

I see two problems with this strategy.

First, it's bad for the network marketing industry. Why?
Let me give you an extreme but true example.

I know a network marketer who enrolled 2,000 new recruits
into his organization in less than two years. And not just
any old recruits. These folks all purchased his company's
top starter pack.

He made quite a bundle on pack commissions, as you might
imagine. Naturally, everyone wanted to know how he did it,
and he became quite popular as a speaker for a while.

Later, I learned that his retention rate was a measly 10%.
Surprise, surprise! He just didn't have the time or the
resources to work with all 2,000 of those people to help
them succeed.

Okay, 10% of 2,000 is 200. That's still a lot of people.

True, but let's turn that around. It means that the other
1,800 people, who paid a lot of money for those starter
packs, got their dreams shattered and are now probably
telling their friends and relatives that network marketing
is a hype and a scam.

Is it any wonder MLM has a bad reputation?

The second problem with this super-enroller approach is
that it's bad for the business of the person doing the
recruiting. How can that be?

I'll answer that very simply: Lack of duplication.

If you've been doing network marketing for longer than five
minutes, you know the importance of helping the
distributors in your organization learn to do what you do
and duplicate your efforts.

I doubt that many of the 200 surviving team members
recruited by the mega-enroller were able to successfully
copy what he did (which come to think of it might be a good
thing, considering the negative impact his type of method
has on the network marketing industry).

Unless he changes his approach, he'll never reach a solid,
residual income that will enable him to retire.

By contrast, here's a completely opposite approach some
friends of mine are using. In their system, a distributor
finds ONE and only one new business builder per month,
every month. No more, no less. (Product users, on the other
hand, can be unlimited.)

Each new enrollee makes a commitment to do the same, and
becomes part of a small team. Team members support one
another and hold each other accountable to meet their
one-a-month recruitment goals.

One a month. Hmmm. If you were doing it this way, you
would have plenty of time to interview prospects, get to
know them well, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and
pick the ONE person among them who is most likely to
succeed - the individual who will take her commitment
seriously and continue the process of working with the team
and finding ONE new person each month herself.

But one new recruit per month - can you really build a
successful business this way? Let's crunch some numbers
and see.

If everyone does what they're supposed to do, your
organization will double in size each month. Starting with
the first month, there would be two people - you and your
first new recruit. The second month you would each find
another new distributor who would commit to following your
lead, and there would be four people on your team. The
third month there would be eight.

I know that so far this sounds really lame compared to
recruiting 2,000 people. But get out your calculator and
see what happens if you keep doing this for twelve months
and everyone else does his or her part.

You'll end up with 4,096 active distributors in your
organization. Compare that with the 200 distributors the
mega-recruiter was left with after the 1,800 disgruntled
recruits dropped off his team.

Of course realistically it's not very likely that you'll
end up with a perfect 4,096 team members after a year
because there will always be a few dropouts. But what if
you're only half that successful and end up with 2,000?
You'll still have lots more active distributors than the
mega-recruiter, and your numbers will continue to grow.
What's more, you'll have achieved that success without
destroying the trust of masses of innocent people in the
process.

Now I certainly haven't studied the compensation plans of
every network marketing company on the planet, but I'm
guessing that anyone with an organization of 2,000 - 4,000
business builders is making a pretty good income,
regardless of what they're selling. And it all comes from
personally sponsoring just twelve new people - one per
month.

The most important point is this: If you want to be
successful in your MLM business, be a responsible sponsor.
Take the time to select your business partners carefully,
and support and train them so they'll have the best
possible start in their new venture.

In the long run, it will pay off for both of you.

----------------------------------------------------
Liz Monte writes on a variety of network marketing topics.
She is the author of a free mini-course, "Basic Training:
The 21st Century Approach to Network Marketing." Find it
on her website at
http://www.WiseNetworkMarketer.com

Work At Home Opportunities for Parents

Work At Home Opportunities for Parents
Lots of parents who are in the job field are turning around
and are looking for affordable ways to earn money from home
online or offline. Why are they doing this?

2 good reasons:

1. They either want to make more income because the income
that they are making from their jobs is really not enough.

2. They are just tired of working for a boss and taking
orders from them. Let's face it, over 95% of people who
have a full time or part time jobs, don't like what they
are doing and would love to be a stay at home parent. Can
you imagine if you had to work for the same boss or other
bosses for the rest of your life. Not many people want that
and that is why you can see more and more people who are
searching for a stay at home based business.

A lot of parents who have children, want to stay at home
and be there when the kids come back from school each day.
Not every dad or mom comes home every day to see their
kids. Some have jobs that require them to be away from home
a few days each month. Do you think that the parent likes
what they are doing? I don't think that they do. But with
bills growing and house payments need to be made every
month, not everyone has a choice to stay at home and quit
their current job.

There are plenty of opportunities and possibilities out
there out there for moms and dads who want to stay at home.

Let's take a look at some great work at home online and
offline opportunities. I am not going to go into much
details but I want to drive home to you that you too can
make money from your own home based business opportunity:

* Online Data Entry

* Network Marketing

* Paid Surveys Online

* Affiliate programs

The above opportunities are the most known and if you just
do your own research on them, you too can become a part
time or full time work at home and stay at home parent.

You need to ask yourself 2 key questions before you even
jump into any of these stay at home programs.

1. Why do you want to get into a home based business?

You will want to sit down, get a piece of paper, and write
down all of the reasons why you want to get into your own
at home business.

2. Are you willing to do what ever it takes to succeed?

You need to know that making your at home income business
will require you to do a lot of work. You have to be very
productive and take action everyday. Just because you will
work for yourself does not mean that you can slack off.
Working for yourself has more responsibilities then having
a part time or full time job.

So how do you find a good, legitimate, and honest work at
home programs online?

Go to any of the major search engines and do a search for
"work at home" or "home based business". Usually the TOP 5
websites that you find are very good and provide very good
info. Just take your time and read everything that you come
across on their websites. Again, you will want to look at
the TOP 5 websites.

----------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to our FREE Work At Home "TOP PICKS" newsletter:
http://www.work-at-home-income-directory.com/Newsletter.html

. I am also inviting you to visit our work at home website
http://www.work-at-home-income-directory.com where we are
offering legitimate and honest online work at home and home
based business opportunities.

Using Construction Estimating Software for "Communications Blueprints"

Using Construction Estimating Software for "Communications Blueprints"
In the construction estimating business, there are several
vital principles you should practice that pave the way to
positive results for both your company and your customer.
Make sure that all of your "communications blueprints" are
smoothly in place before you start a job.

The most effective way to do this is through your
construction estimating software system that is dynamically
linked with all of your processes; customer relationship
modules, accounting, billing, inventory, job costing etc.

Two-way communication throughout the whole building process
cannot be stressed enough. From your initial construction
estimate on, cover details. You know the questions to ask
that your customer may not think to consider.

After you learn what your customer's preferences are, take
the time to write them down in detail and integrate them
into a dynamically linked construction estimating software
system so that the completed construction estimate reflects
a project that closely resembles the image in your
customer's mind.

One of the most important aspects of construction
estimating communication comes in the form of change
orders. Every project has a least a few.

For the protection and well-being of both you and your
customer, every proposed change to the project should be
agreed upon, detailed, price estimated, printed, and then
signed by both parties immediately.

Construction estimating change orders not processed
correctly can make or break you.

Although this is sometimes inconvenient, investing time to
document that you and your customer are both on the same
page will save you a great deal of headaches, and often
money, in the long run.

Also, when input into a dynamically linked construction
estimating software system, the information can be quickly
and accurately disseminated to all individuals involved in
the process as well as exported to your accounting, job
costing, inventory and other modules that make up your
total construction estimating software system.

Shipping errors, bad weather and sub-contractor schedule
glitches happen. At times, owners may believe that
everything is wrong with their project. Because the
construction process is unfamiliar to them, many may assume
that others' projects always flow along smoothly.

If the owner and the contractor are both mutually
respectful, troubles can be worked out successfully. Fill
in your customer regularly. Be up front when things go
wrong. Customers are often not involved in the day-to-day
workings, and often feel they are in the dark. Be ready
with solution options if you have to present problems to an
owner. The owners will most likely feel grateful for your
resourcefulness.

Relax. Explain to the owner that glitches are always a part
of the building process, but keep in mind that your calm,
confident demeanor will tell your customer far more than
your words.

Every wise contractor realizes the business name is on the
line with each job. A bad experience with an owner can
damage your reputation, while a good experience will
increase future business opportunities.

When a contractor submits a construction estimate on a
project, it is implied that the contractor will furnish the
tools, materials and labor documented in the estimate, and
that the quality of the workmanship will be equal to or
greater than current industry standards.

What isn't stated is that not everyone will go about
meeting those standards in the same way. A construction
crew is made up of people with varying degrees of raw
talent and developed skill. Skill levels aside, not all
contractors will tackle a project the same way you do.

If your customer's needs, and terminology is integrate from
the inception of the project into your construction
estimating software, presenting your value to your customer
can become an integral part of your construction estimating
process.

Also, consider carefully who you ask to be a part of your
company. A single individual that does not think and
respond properly to your customer can undo whatever
benefits that you may reap from your well tuned
construction estimating software system.

The owner wants the project done as quickly and as well as
possible, and under budget. You want to use ALL of the
tools of your trade, not just truck, saws, hammers etc, but
your construction estimating software, job costing software
etc., to complete the project and make a profit.

Always try to meet in the middle. Step out of your
contractor shoes now and then to see the project from your
customer's perspective and communicate on that level. When
you make your customer happy, you reap the rewards.

Also, realize that keeping your customer informed of the
progress of his project, even if the information is a
problem, is always better than letting him find out on his
own.

For this reason, your construction estimating software /
job costing system should have percentage complete
capability for each of the steps of the job, to allow you
to review any problems with scheduling and completion and
also allow you to work together with your customer on a
timeline that will bring the project back on task.

It is a must that your construction estimating software
allows for dynamic linking to your job costing system that
accommodates percentage completion calculations. With this
capability, should not hesitate to review the project with
your client directly on your laptop on the job costing
screen.

You can do this freely knowing that at any time you need,
you have the ability to turn the laptop around, click on
your actual construction estimating software bid and
"massage" the costs, materials, labor etc. to provide an
acceptable solution to the project problems to the
satisfaction of your customer and yourself.

----------------------------------------------------
Phillip P Gilliam is the President and CEO of Discover
Software Inc.Phil 58, currently lives in Florida with his
wife and youngest daughter, is a native of Ohio. He went to
Wright State University and has over 37 years experience in
marketing, construction estimating software development,
business management, and finance.
http://www.easyestimating.com

Does Your Buyer Think Your Company Looks Like All the Rest?

Does Your Buyer Think Your Company Looks Like All the Rest?
If your Buyer thinks so, he'll make the decision on price -
the lowest price. Don't let your Buyer set your prices!

What can you do to be sure your competitors and your Buyer
don't set your prices?

The most important thing is something you can do right now.
You can do this in three easy steps. Don't wait! The longer
you wait, the more likely you are to either lose the deal
or win at the lowest price, and that may not be profitable.

Step 1: Get to know your Buyer inside and out. Here are
some questions you can ask about them: Who exactly are
they, and what exactly are their challenges? Be clear on
their: demographics and psychographics.

Find out: - How do they solve their challenges now? - Who
do they call on to solve their challenges? - How do they
make their money? - Do they buy products and services to
re-sell or put together deals for their customers? Who
provides those? - What is their Vision, their Mission and
their approach? - What prices do your Buyers pay? - What
additional services do they buy or look for? - What are the
negotiating points and "deal-killers"?

If you don't know the answers, read what they read, search
the Internet the way they do, and use the keywords and
questions they do. Study their marketing materials, their
Web site. Know their people, their Vision, Mission and
approach to solving customers' challenges. What do they
promise to their customers? How can you help them deliver
on these promises and be successful at what they do?

Find out how they look for partners and companies to help
them solve their challenges. Which companies do they
routinely call on when they're looking for solutions, or
buying products or services? Are you one of them? Why or
Why not?

Be your Buyer for a day. And ask your customers! They're
usually pleased to be asked.

Your purpose in being a detective here is to be able to
solve your customers' challenges and design products and
services that they can't wait to buy - from you - at prices
that are profitable for you. And to position your company,
products and services in relation to your competitors, so
your customer easily sees the added value you bring to them.

Talk to your salespeople about what they know about their
fellow salespeople and how they sell to your mutual
customers. Ask them how your competitors position you in
relation to themselves. What do they say about you, your
products and services?

A Comparison Matrix is often helpful in comparing the Top 5
companies that your customers consider when making a buying
decision. This is a matrix that you often see when you're
comparing computers or software. For example, the Basic
version provides certain (limited) features, and the Pro
version provides many more. Down one side, list products
and services that your Buyer looks for. And across the top,
list each of the Top 5 companies. Put check marks where
each company offers the service and leave a blank space
where they don't. You can design one that shows off your
company.

Step 2: Now that you know your Buyer, know your own company
inside and out. Ask the same questions (above) about your
own company that you asked about your competitors. Review
and critique your Web site, marketing materials, sales
presentations, product and service lines. How do your
salespeople position you in relation to your competitors?

Step 3: Ask yourself seriously and very specifically what
do you give your customer that affects their bottom line,
and is different from your competitors? That is, what is
the bottom-line Value you provide? Find out ways that your
products and services make a difference to their bottom
line. This could be increasing their sales and revenue,
increases their productivity (which can increase their
sales and profitability) or saving them money or time
(which saves money). Use numbers whenever you can, and make
sure you can prove those numbers. For example:

How is your approach different? For example, do you take
time to get to know them thoroughly, to work closely with
them, to meet with them in person? Is your project
management with them clear, concise, and consistent? No
surprises? On time and on budget? Is your delivery more
flexible?

If you take only one thing from this article, make it this
one:

Talk about the bottom-line Value you provide to your
customer starting in the first sales call. Don't wait until
it's time for the close or the proposal. By then, it's too
late.

Incorporate how you help their bottom line into your
30-second introduction. Leave a voicemail that says that.
Give them your name and number so they can call you right
back, and tell them which day you'll call them to follow up.

In future articles, I'll give you ways to work with
gatekeepers, and design your voicemails and emails and your
30-second introduction, so that you get through to your
busy decision-makers.

----------------------------------------------------
Jan Wallen works with companies that want significant sales
results. Jan is action- and results-oriented. Once you
start working together, she is 100% committed to
significant sales results for you. For a sample Comparison
Matrix as mentioned above, send an email to
info@janwallen.com and put Matrix in the subject line. To
learn more, call (646) 485-4059 or go to
http://www.janwallen.com

How To Revive A Stalled Job Search With High-Payoff Activities

How To Revive A Stalled Job Search With High-Payoff Activities
I frequently talk to potential clients who tell me they
have been conducting a job search for X months without any
success, or that they have sent out X number of resumes
with virtually no response. When I press for more details,
I hear stories about resumes posted in online resume
databases and resumes sent in response to ads found on
online job boards.

What is wrong with these job search techniques?
Well...nothing is fundamentally wrong with them. In fact,
they play an important part - a small part - in most
well-constructed job search plans. However, these are
extremely low-payoff job search activities, and if these
are the only techniques you are using, the chances are far
greater than not that your job search will generate
disappointing and slow results.

If you are unhappy with the results of your job search, it
is time that you took an objective look at your job search
techniques. Are you spending too much of your precious time
and energy on low-payoff job search activities while you
ignore those that will produce the positive results that
you want and deserve?

While the more effective job search activities - such as
networking -usually require people to step out of their
comfort zones, the returns generated by your investment of
your time and energy will almost always be worth it.

So, if you find yourself stuck in a stalled, ineffective
search for your next job, here are some high-impact tips.

1) Take a hard look at your resume. Like it or not, your
resume is your first introduction to most employers, and
your only chance to make a good first impression. Effective
resumes are focused marketing pieces that are strategically
written and designed to sell YOU as THE best solution to a
potential employer's needs. Your resume should be written
to illustrate your unique value proposition, with succinct
"stories" that differentiate you from your competitors in
the job market. Does your resume accomplish these goals? Is
it focused effectively? Does it accurately present you in
the way that you wish to be presented? If not, it is time
to rewrite.

2) Now, take a hard look at your methods. Do the methods
you are using in your job search convey professionalism at
every step? Is your approach courteous and does it
illustrate an understanding of common business protocol?
For example, do you always send at least a brief letter of
introduction when you send a new contact your resume? I
can't tell you how many times a prospective client tells me
he isn't getting calls on his resume, and when I quiz him
he will tell me that he has been sending his resume as an
attachment to emails, and then admits that he has not been
including an introductory note. In this day and age, when
everyone is concerned about viruses and spam, do you
honestly believe that a recipient will open an attachment
that arrives with a blank email? Of course not! Or...Does
the message on your answering machine make you sound like a
polished professional or a party animal? Is your email user
name a professional-sounding one or a cutesy one? You have
tough competition in the job market. Details matter!
Courtesy and business protocol matters! Everything you do
in your job search should convey an impeccably professional
image. My best advice: Apply some basic common sense and
remember your manners.

3) Ramp up your networking efforts. Of all of the possible
job search methods, networking is the most effective by
far, and yet it is the method that the fewest people use. I
know that you don't want to hear this, but no matter how
uncomfortable it might be for you, networking is absolutely
crucial and is the fastest way to your next position.
Remember that when you are networking you are not asking
people if they know of an opening or to give you a job, you
are just asking for referrals or advice. Would you be upset
if someone you knew contacted you to inform you of their
job search and asked if you might be able to offer any
advice or point her in the right direction? Of course you
wouldn't. In fact, you might even be flattered. This is the
same reaction that your personal and professional
networking contacts will have. If you don't have frequent
face-to-face contact with your network, the quickest way to
jumpstart your search using networking is to send your
resume and a brief letter to every single one of your
contacts, and then follow up with a phone call a few days
later. In most cases, people will be more than happy to
help you out. But whether they are able to help you
immediately or not, follow up with a brief handwritten
thank you card. This is a gesture that will make a lasting
positive impression.

4) Do your research; don't just blindly and
indiscriminately send out your resume. Research the
geographic and industry areas that interest you and
identify the companies and opportunities that seem most
promising and intriguing to you. With the vast quantities
of information available on the Internet, you really have
no excuse not to research thoroughly. Identify the hiring
decision-makers and learn all you can about them and their
company, their competitors, their challenges, and their
future potential. This is a great time to call on your
professional network. Who do you know who knows someone who
knows some else at the company you are interested in? Once
you have an "in" through a referral, it is time to make
sure you are absolutely clear on your value proposition. In
what way do you feel you could add value to the company?
How would hiring you be beneficial? What is the return on
investment that the company could expect if they hired you?
Once you have the answers to these questions clear in your
mind, it is time to approach the targets.

5) Consider a targeted e-mailing of your resume to
headhunter/recruiter firms. But don't just use one of the
cheap broadcast services that send your resume out to some
unspecified list of 1000s of supposed recruiters. If you
are going to do this, use a high-quality service that uses
an up-to-date database of recruiting firms that they can
break down and segment based on the firms' specialties.
Approaching the distribution of your resume to headhunter
firms in this way ensures that the recipients of your
resume are individuals who have a sincere interest in
learning about you and your credentials. They will try to
match you to their current searches, and if you are a fit,
you will get a phone call right then. Otherwise, they tend
to database your resume to search in relation to future
recruitment assignments. Of all the suggestions, this is
the most passive and the easiest for you to implement with
the least amount of work. But, passive or not, if you are
in a profession that is among those often handled by
recruiting firms, you should definitely make this a part of
your overall job search strategy.

Finally, I can't stress enough how important it is for you
to follow up. Be assertive and approach your job search as
if it is a job in itself. Schedule your activities, keep
track of the contacts you have made and the resumes you
have sent, and follow up regularly and consistently.

Yes, there is no doubt that job searching can be a highly
stressful time. But you do have choices about how you will
spend your limited time and those choices can have a
profound impact on the success of your search. Choose to
focus on the high payoff activities and you will find
yourself back to work, in the job you want, much faster
than you thought was possible.

----------------------------------------------------
Nationally certified resume writer and career coach,
Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career
Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents
http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP
Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com

Michelle has
empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S.
and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of Secrets of a
Successful Job Search http://www.job-search-secrets.com

Organizational Structure

Organizational Structure
There are several different structures: functional, market
oriented, integrated and adaptive structures. Functional
structure refers to an organization form in which grouping
of employees is based on particular functions such as
advertising. Further, the functional selection of structure
may be divided into simple, machine bureaucracy, and
professional bureaucracy. Each of the subdivision may
illustrate a particular industry or organizational need in
order to best optimize the efficiency and effectiveness. In
my experience, the functional structure has a rather
generic approach in which only functional tools are
utilized: this approach ignores the multi-verse and
creative nature of human being. Thus, it may result in
decrease utility and ultimately in lower production
efficiency.

Market oriented approach divides and groups employees based
on the targeted customer segments. This particular approach
uses a reverse methodology i.e. who/what is the targets, in
order to create the most effective group of employees to
serve those particular segments. In my experience, market
oriented approach is more effective than functional
approach: by reverse tracking, firms can select those teams
that are best suited to server their particular goals.

An even better approach is the integrated structure, which
refers to the combination of functional and market oriented
organization. In this particular approach, an organization
can select to implement either approach or combine them.
Such approach naturally creates a greater flexibility in
adapting the organizational response to particular needs of
the market. I believe that such flexibility is a better
choice to reach adaptability.

More adaptive structures attempt to empower employees by
emphasizing core process i.e. horizontal organization, or
creating sponsorships i.e. lattice organizations. This
approach assumes that frontline workers which have a sense
of ownership will naturally have a greater involvement that
may lead to better end results. In my experience employee
empowerment may illustrate a sense of ownership that my
lead to negative outcomes by ignoring core skills and
expertise.

Other approaches such as alliances and modular
organizations which use external resource to streamline
internal dependency function under the assumption that
external entities are reliable partners or subcontractors
which will perform to the highest standards, in order to
minimize the internal cost of adaptability. In my
experience, it is a risky venture to allow external
entities to have influence on back bone structures: the
dependency factor creates minimization of authority and
loss of leverage which in turn may have negative impact on
negotiations and bottom lines.

Personally, I believe that an optimal organization is
simply adaptable: in today's flexible and ever changing
global environment, no organization can have a long term
structure. If the final goal of an organization is its
longevity, it is vital to be elastic and even more
importantly adaptable. Thus, a well structured
organization, is an organization which can reshuffle it
selves in order to adjust to its market and more
importantly adjust to its competitors.

----------------------------------------------------
Organizational Structure
http://www.totalqualityassuranceservice.com/

Telling Your Boss He's Wrong

Telling Your Boss He's Wrong
So, the weekend is over and you're slumped in a chair in
another interminable meeting, half-focusing on your boss
who is doing "yadda-yadda-yadda" about widgets or sales
forecasts or customer complaints or whatever the harangue
de jour is, and all of a sudden you have a blinding vision
of the way things should be done, followed by an
overwhelming urge to share this brilliant idea that
directly contradicts what the boss is saying.

It's the moment of truth.

Do you speak up, saving the company (possibly) thousands of
work-hours and dollars, and risk making your boss look like
an idiot, or do you sink back into the pack and run over
the cliff with the rest of the lemmings?

Yes. No. Wait...what was the question?

Telling the boss he/she is wrong is tricky. It requires
thoughtful analysis, willingness to compromise and knowing
when to throw in the cards or go "all in". Here are some
tips for getting it right.

1. Timing is Everything. The earlier you can get your ideas
in about a project, the better you'll be. Don't wait until
the blueprints are finalized to point out that the access
door needs to be in a different place.

2. Choose Your Battles. How important is this issue? Some
people just like to be contrary and challenge the status
quo. Examine your motives for speaking up and, if you have
a clear conscience and a better way of doing things, then
go for it.

3. Always Have a Suggestion. If you're going to disagree
with your boss, you'd better have an alternative solution
in mind. No one wants a nay-sayer who doesn't like the
current plan but can't come up with anything better.

4. Discretion is the Better Part of Valor. Take your
opposing idea to your boss in private. Challenging him or
her directly in front of a group doesn't offer a
face-saving way out. Unless the situation is critical
(think, life-threatening), it won't hurt to wait.

5. Talk Around It. Instead of coming right out with your
own plan, sit down with your boss for a talk, and do a
little mental maneuvering. Think aloud about the situation
and bring up pros and cons while gradually shifting around
to the plan you want the boss to consider - sort of a
two-person brainstorming session.

6. Be a Team Player. Before you jump in with your own
version, make absolutely sure you understand all the
ramifications of what your boss is proposing and what
she/he is trying to accomplish. Make it a problem-solving
exercise, not a win/lose scenario. And if your idea wins
out, keep it to yourself. Let your boss decide when, and
how, to share the praise.

7. Learn to Lose. If your boss is operating under
constraints that you're not aware of, it doesn't matter how
good your idea is. You don't have the final say-so and you
have to be able to live with that. And, sometimes, your
boss is just going to disagree with you and nothing you can
say or do is going to change that. Accept it gracefully and
live to fight another day.

Speaking up with your boss can be a challenge, especially
if you're not used to putting yourself out there. Good
managers, though, want to hear different ideas and
encourage their workers to speak up -- loudly and often -
and if you always just go along with the flow you may find
yourself overlooked at promotion time. Follow the
suggestions above and start making a positive name for
yourself.

----------------------------------------------------
Joan Schramm, the Workplace Solutions Expert, is a career,
executive and personal coach with twenty years experience
in management, training and coaching. Joan can work with
you to figure out exactly what you want from your life and
your career, and how to get there without a lot of detours.
For more information, or to talk about what's going on in
your life, go to:
http://www.achieve-momentum.com

The Words You Use During Your Job Interview Send a Strong Message

The Words You Use During Your Job Interview Send a Strong Message
The words you use to express yourself say more about you
than you think. In fact, your vocabulary and the use of
appropriate words say more about you than the message you
are trying communicate. You are judged by the words you
use. When you are looking for a job it is not only
important to use the "right" words and language - it is
essential.

It begins with the writing of your resume and continues in
the way that you answer the questions asked in an
interview. Each industry uses "key words" or "lingo" for
each position. In order to be prepared it will be important
for you to research these words and to use them
appropriately. If you do you will sound more knowledgeable
and "in-the-know."

How will I know which words are "key"?

Key words are found in job postings/ads. For each position
there are common words that describe what is required for a
job. Job postings are a list of qualities and skills
employers are looking for in a candidate - their "wish
list."

Here is an example of common words used in postings for an
Executive Secretary position: (Six postings were used).

"Confidential" (used in all six postings)

"Ability to proofread and edit" (used in all six postings)

"Excellent written and verbal communication skills" (used
in four of six postings)

"Organized, Attention to detail" (used in all six postings)

Other words used included, "Discretion," Judgment,"
Self-starter," Scheduling," "Prioritize," and
"Multi-tasking."

If you are applying for an Executive secretary position
these are the key words to include in your cover letter and
resume. Electronic resume scanners will seek out these
words to select your resume as qualified for the position.
If these words are missing your resume may not be selected.
These are also the words to use in the interview that will
make you sound like someone who is a good fit for the
position.

Finding the Key Words for Your Position

A good place to start is with job postings. Common words
are used to describe the requirements needed for each job.
By printing out several posting you will begin to see the
"key" words repeated over and over. The only criteria for
finding these words should be that you are interested in
the job and not limiting your search by location. Make a
list of the words that are used repeatedly and note how
often they are used.

Another source of words is The Occupational Information
Network http://online.onetcenter.org/. You will find a
complete list of occupation keywords, SOC codes, Job
Families. This site also lists skills required - basic
skills, social skills, experience and tasks required. Check
these words against the list from the job postings you used
to build a stronger list.

When you begin to write your resume or prepare your
interview script you will find these words invaluable. Of
course, you would never use a word just to impress your
interviewer. Knowing the definition behind the word is what
will convince the interviewer that you know what you are
talking about.

The right words can make a big difference in a single
statement - more concise and to the point - more powerful
and impressive. Finding the "key" words will make your
statements more powerful. Speaking the industry lingo will
help you be taken more seriously as a candidate worthy of a
job offer

----------------------------------------------------
Carole Martin is a celebrated author, trainer, and mentor.
Carole can give you interviewing tips like no one else can.
Get a copy of her FREE 9-part "Interview Success Tips"
report by visiting Carole on the web at
http://www.interviewcoach.com