Rewrite Your Resume and Get Real Results!

Rewrite Your Resume and Get Real Results!

With Resume Guru Leslie Bobrowsky

30 Minute Laser Teleclass

Wednesday, January 28^th, 2009

1 pm Eastern/10 am Pacific

Cost - FREE!

Good news -- you’ve found a great job listing! Or is it bad news because you have to update your resume – or even write it from scratch? Don’t worry! Once you know key guidelines for creating a resume that will get read, you can refine or recreate your resume successfully. In this information-packed, practical teleclass, resume guru Leslie Bobrowsky of Specialty Training Services Inc. will explain easy ways to refresh and energize your resume including how to:

• Increase the chance that your resume gets noticed.
• Determine what to include and what to omit.
• Write dynamic content that demonstrates your value.
• Choose the best format and organization of material.
• Craft a pertinent job objective and a key skills list.

You’ll learn the five big Do’s and five big Don’ts. And, you’ll discover how to transform your resume into an effective sales tool.

Email me to get the call-in information for this FREE session.

Leslie Bobrowsky, President of Specialty Training Services, Inc., is a communication skills and selling skills consultant. Prior to founding her firm 20 years ago, she hired part-time consultants for a consulting firm, sold training programs, and taught résumé writing and job search skills for Federal government agencies. She’s seen a lot of résumés. Privately, her clients have always sought her help with their résumés, and she now combines expertise in business writing and selling to provide résumé renovation services. Visit her at www.specialtytraining.com.

Looking forward to seeing you on the call!

Deborah
www.myjewishcoach.com

Stop Showing Me How Smart You Are

If you don't know Marshall Goldsmith, you ought to.

Business coach to the stars and author of one of my favorite books, "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" Goldsmith is the brains behind one of my favorite pieces of coaching advice for managers: Stop adding value.

Wha? Isn't that what they pay you for? To add value? Yes -- but not at the expense of your direct reports' commitment to execution.

Goldsmith gives this scenario: Imagine that your staffer comes to you, brimming with excitement (it could happen!) about a great idea she has. As her manager, you recognize that the idea is good (maybe a 75 out of 100) -- but YOU could make it great! So you add value (advice, tweaks, resources, suggestions, etc.), and in doing so, you take a 75 idea to an 80 BUT YOU CUT HER COMMITMENT TO EXECUTION BY 50%! Why? Because it is no longer HER idea -- it's yours.

Was it worth it?

The book certainly is.

And for those of you who like FREE, you can download and share lots of Goldsmith's stuff by visiting his library.

Happy holiday reading!

Deborah
www.myjewishcoach.com

Great Question #2 from a Strategic Planning Session

So, when we last left off, our question was "Is it sustainable"?...

What an ironic question. Every time I sit down to blog, I tell myself "Keep going! Don't quit! Do another one tomorrow." And alas, now three weeks after the last blog post I realize that blogging is only sustainable for me if I commit to doing it by scheduling it into my calendar.

So enough about me: Here's the second great question:

"Does it add value?"

I mean, think about it: What's the point in doing something sustainable ("Yes, we can keep doing this!") if it doesn't add value ("But who cares if we do or we don't?")

Think about something you are doing at work. For example, you say, yes, we've committed to holding Monday morning staff meetings (sustainable). But how are you adding value by doing that? What objectives are you achieving -- or even more pointedly -- what objectives are you achieving in your regular Monday morning staff meetings that could not be achieved any other way?

Before you add anything else to your to do list, run what you currently have listed through the two questions: Is it sustainable? Does it add value?

Then, see what you can eliminate before you add more.

And keep me in the loop!

Deborah
www.myjewishcoach.com
headcoach@myjewishcoach.com

Great Question #1 from a Strategic Planning Session

Ah...back on the road again after being home for the entire month of October (thanks, Jewish holidays!)

As I was facilitating a strategic planning session for a Jewish group, one member posed a terrific question about how the group would vet its activities: "How do we make sure our efforts are sustainable?"

I often use this question with coaching clients as well - clients who are looking to make a significant change in behavior or activities (such as lose weight, network more, etc.) If you can get past the hurdle of starting something, your next hurdle is likely to be the sustainability of the process. How long can you do what you're doing? What do you need to consider or adjust in order to keep it going?

Is eating only salads sustainable? How about skipping all desserts? How long will this last?

But of course, this isn't the only great question...

Tune in for the second part!

Deborah Grayson Riegel
www.myjewishcoach.com
www.myjewishcoach.blogspot.com

Whose Brain Are You Using?

Last Friday, the kids and I went to a kindergarten graduation party (my kids were the "elderstatesmen" as first graders!). In addition to sno-cones, face-painting and goldfish give-aways (thanks a lot!!!), the kids had the opportunity to guess how many pieces of gum were in the Double Bubble container from Costco. Jacob guessed 200, and Sophie asked me to guess for her, so I said 150.

Well, lo and behold, Jacob won the entire tub, which had 250 pieces! Since we had come to the party on bikes, I had to strap the tub to the back of my bike with bungee cords. On our ride home, Sophie was bemoaning her rare loss of a contest. And while she didn't blame me (exactly), she did proclaim: "I should have used my own brain!"

In coaching, I often ask my clients whose voices they hear when thinking about what they "should" or "shouldn't" do. Many times, it's the voice of a parent, a supervisor, a friend, a spouse, etc. -- rather than their own -- which makes the decision about how to progress a noisy one. We work to clear out the clutter of other people's voices so that the client can hear their own thinking, loud and clear,

So in honor of Sophie, I ask you to think about this when facing your next set of "shoulds": Whose brain are you using?

Deborah Grayson Riegel
www.myjewishcoach.com

Quiz: Are You Sabotaging Yourself?

Habitual lateness. Extreme disorganization. Not following up sales leads. Self-sabotage takes on a variety of guises and affects people of all ages, professions and economic levels. But it always leads to our not living the life we want for ourselves. Take this Self-Quiz to see whether you might be working against yourself in some areas.

1. It takes me at least a half hour to locate a document I need to send to someone.

2. I can be indecisive and fearful; as a result, chances often pass me by.

3. I tend to start projects with great gusto, but have great difficulty finishing them.

4. My financial situation is chronically chaotic.

5. My actions often jeopardize my relationships, my job and/or my financial stability.

6. I worry a lot about what others think of me.

7. I tend to give in to compulsive behaviors to overeat or partake excessively of unhealthy substances or activities.

8. I seem to be always struggling.

9. I’ve been told I have a problem expressing anger appropriately.

10. I often put off the things I need and want to do. Procrastination and reliability are problems for me.

11. I’m still not living the life I truly want, and I’m starting to lose hope that I ever will.

12. When I really want to do something, I frequently have the thought that I can’t or shouldn’t do it.

13. My relationships tend to eventually fall apart, or I stay in unhealthy relationships.

14. When I think about working out, I immediately start thinking about all the other things I “should” be doing instead. Exercise rarely wins.

15. I’m often late to work and late with assignments; this has hurt my career.

16. I avoid confrontation and/or fawn over others in order to be liked and win their favor.

17. I repeatedly make self-deprecating, belittling comments about myself.

18. I know I have the potential to do more with my life, if I could just get out of my own way.

Self-defeating behaviors often mask a fear of change and growing; when we deliberately hamper our own efforts, we get to avoid the knowledge that our life is up to us, and that we do, indeed, get to choose. Just imagine the life we could be having if we put as much energy and creativity into manifesting our goals as we do avoiding them. It’s not easy to change self-sabotaging patterns, but with time and practice—and a good dose of self-love—it is possible to end a self-defeating cycle and live the life we truly want for ourselves.

Deborah Grayson Riegel, MSW, ACC
www.myjewishcoach.com

Leadership is about what you DO!

"Leadership is action, not position." -- Donald H. McGannon, Former CEO, Westinghouse Broadcast Corporation

Whether you are the board president, the rabbi, rosh yeshiva, CEO -- or hold any title that makes people site up and take notice, remember what people really want and need from you -- your commitment to roll up your sleeves and participate in a meaningful way.

I believe that most of us have two fundamental needs, regardless of our role in the organization -- the need to benefit and the need to contribute. In fact, when I teach sessions on running effective meetings, those are the two criteria for determining who should attend a meeting. If a meeting participant will neither benefit from nor contribute to a meeting, then give them back their time to do something more useful than sit in on a meeting! Trust me -- he or she will thank you for it, and your meeting participants will appreciate a leaner, more focused meeting process.

Those in Jewish organizational leadership positions often benefit from title, position, status, connections, and paycheck for those in paid positions (and yes, I see you -- the one eye-rolling about the idea of benefiting from a Jewish organizational paycheck. But I won't let you distract me!).

Here's the question: does your level of contribution -- decisions made, problems solved, resources developed -- meet or exceed the benefits you receive from your position? How would your lay or professional counterparts and direct reports answer that if asked about you?

If you're not sure, are you willing to ask? If you're willing to ask, who will you start with? If you're not willing, why?

In the words of writer Elbert Hubbard, "Don't make excuses. Make good."

Deborah
www.myjewishcoach.com