by Jennifer Kushell, co-founder YSN.com
This past year, YSN decided to get a closer look at SIFE students around the globe to better understand the next generation of young people launching their careers. In case you haven’t heard, you’re not alone: Over the next 10 years, over 1 billion young people will enter the workforce. Think of them as your peers, or even as your competition, but either way, it’s time to ask yourself if you’re ready. Are you globally savvy or internationally challenged? Are you ready to join the new world order?
The Global Career Mindset Study was the first of its kind, surveying students from 50 countries. The most compelling finding? 55% of students are looking abroad to launch their careers. Only 20% were planning on looking for work locally. What’s more, they’re skilled, they’re ambitious, they’re hungry for new opportunities to show the world what they can do, and they’re savvy — about politics, geography, world affairs, culture, and the business skills that the top employers are looking for in young talent.
Between the recent economic turmoil and the workforce crisis, finding and keeping great jobs is going to require a lot more of you.
My best advice: Think like an economist, act like an entrepreneur and set your sights globally.
It’s time to expect more from yourself if you want to give yourself every possible advantage as you launch your career. The rules are changing fast, and it’s not enough to keep up with them — because they’re being re-written as you read this.
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Goals. Got Any?
Tip #5: Setting Goals
by Jennifer Kushell, co-founder YSN.com
Before you head out to your New Year’s party or start popping the champagne, make sure you take a little time to contemplate what you hope to accomplish in 2009. Sure, this year hasn’t ended quite as well as any of us had planned, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t give ourselves every possible advantage moving into this next one. And, after all, that’s what YSN is here for – to help you find the success you’ve only dreamed of…without waiting a lifetime!
You’ve heard it before – people who set goals for themselves consistently achieve more than those who don’t. So, let’s be frank, do you have them or don’t you? Vague thoughts and half-baked answers don’t count. Writing down our goals is something we all know will make us more successful…but somehow we don’t always get around to it. Let’s change!
Don’t put it off, start the process now. If this ends up being all you do — hey, it’s something, which is always better than nothing. If you want to take this to the next level - consider using our “GOOD to MASTER Goal Setting Guide” below!
GOOD: List 3-5 Goals
If you could only choose a few things that would make or break your next year, what would they be? What would you like to accomplish beyond all else? Make them as detailed as possible.
BETTER: Now Add Timelines/Deadlines
Attaching deadlines to the things you’d like to accomplish is an even better tactic to achieving what you want in life. Break your goals into the following increments: 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years. Keep going if you feel inspired! Include no more than 3-5 goals under each category to keep it manageable.
BEST: Categorize By Topic/Area of Life
None of our lives are one dimensional, so why should our goals be? Your life is complicated, with lots of priorities and demands on your time and energy. If you’re not making the progress you’d like to, or you want to ensure you can optimize your success in every area, then break your goals into your biggest life categories/areas: Work, family, finance, education, health, happiness, social, spiritual, love, etc. Again, focus on adding 3-5 goals to each category that matters to you.
Jedi Masters: 188-Year Plan
Ever consider your 188-year plan? Our friend Curtis Estes does! Seriously! Curtis is the author of Your Life By Design and one of the top financial advisors in the US who counsels some of the most successful people out there on leaving their legacy. He claims that the average person can’t remember their great grandparents’ names…let alone what they did with their lives.
That means in 188 years, most people won’t remember any of us…unless we do something about it. Building a 188-year plan sounds insane at first, but Curtis swears this is the key to building a lasting legacy, and we just love the idea of that! Try it for yourself, or check out Curtis’ plan to see goal setting from a real master.
by Jennifer Kushell, co-founder YSN.com
Before you head out to your New Year’s party or start popping the champagne, make sure you take a little time to contemplate what you hope to accomplish in 2009. Sure, this year hasn’t ended quite as well as any of us had planned, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t give ourselves every possible advantage moving into this next one. And, after all, that’s what YSN is here for – to help you find the success you’ve only dreamed of…without waiting a lifetime!
You’ve heard it before – people who set goals for themselves consistently achieve more than those who don’t. So, let’s be frank, do you have them or don’t you? Vague thoughts and half-baked answers don’t count. Writing down our goals is something we all know will make us more successful…but somehow we don’t always get around to it. Let’s change!
Don’t put it off, start the process now. If this ends up being all you do — hey, it’s something, which is always better than nothing. If you want to take this to the next level - consider using our “GOOD to MASTER Goal Setting Guide” below!
GOOD: List 3-5 Goals
If you could only choose a few things that would make or break your next year, what would they be? What would you like to accomplish beyond all else? Make them as detailed as possible.
BETTER: Now Add Timelines/Deadlines
Attaching deadlines to the things you’d like to accomplish is an even better tactic to achieving what you want in life. Break your goals into the following increments: 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years. Keep going if you feel inspired! Include no more than 3-5 goals under each category to keep it manageable.
BEST: Categorize By Topic/Area of Life
None of our lives are one dimensional, so why should our goals be? Your life is complicated, with lots of priorities and demands on your time and energy. If you’re not making the progress you’d like to, or you want to ensure you can optimize your success in every area, then break your goals into your biggest life categories/areas: Work, family, finance, education, health, happiness, social, spiritual, love, etc. Again, focus on adding 3-5 goals to each category that matters to you.
Jedi Masters: 188-Year Plan
Ever consider your 188-year plan? Our friend Curtis Estes does! Seriously! Curtis is the author of Your Life By Design and one of the top financial advisors in the US who counsels some of the most successful people out there on leaving their legacy. He claims that the average person can’t remember their great grandparents’ names…let alone what they did with their lives.
That means in 188 years, most people won’t remember any of us…unless we do something about it. Building a 188-year plan sounds insane at first, but Curtis swears this is the key to building a lasting legacy, and we just love the idea of that! Try it for yourself, or check out Curtis’ plan to see goal setting from a real master.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Build A Killer Network
Tip #6: Build Your Contacts
by Jennifer Kushell, co-founder YSN.com
Having a great network of friends and contacts can totally change how happy and successful you are. When you’re in trouble, struggling, or experiencing a rough patch, your network will be there to help you get through it.
Check out 5 great tips on how to build your network from our speaking tour with American Express.
A few ground rules for savvy networking:
- Realize your life will get more interesting as you expand your network.
- Have fun.
- Don’t always have an agenda.
- Make it a point to meet interesting people everywhere you go.
- Make sure you surround yourself with successful people. Collect a broad mix of great mentors along the way who can teach you about a variety of areas.
- Keep a list of people you want to meet (or the types of people i.e. entrepreneurs, doctors, MBA grads, non profit leaders) and share it with your more connected friends who may be able to refer you to people in their networks.
Always try to help others whenever you can. Just do it because it’s good to do it. Wonderful things do sometimes come back to grace you too. Allow me to explain.
In the Podcast of our book Secrets of the Young & Successful we spoke about How to Meet Anyone.
Here are the audio links in two sections:
Manage Your Network
As you start to meet more and more people, the biggest piece of advice we can offer is to make sure you capture all of their critical contact info right away, keep it in one place, and make sure it’s digital. Then keep it up to date and back it all up regularly.
Spend the time and money (if you can) to invest in a simple online database, PDA (personal digital assistant) or mobile device that can hold all the information you collect on your contacts (from name to birthday, cell, city/state…whatever is most appropriate).
Then make sure you stay in touch, taking good care of your people and treating them well. Check out our tips on how to Create Your Own Networking Event. Make sure you take care of your network too, and show them ongoing love and attention. We've got some tips on that too with our blog post on how to Keep Those Contacts.
Meet Powerful and Influential People
In every business, industry and society, there’s a group of people who are considered the power players -- the movers and shakers. They make the decisions that affect hundreds, thousands, sometimes millions of lives. Having access to them can get you a voice in their circles. Building relationships with them can get you in the game and make you a part of the action. Getting to almost anyone you want to meet is possible, you just need to know a few secrets, and a new perspective on the whole thing -- what we like to call the House on the Hill (audio podcast).
When you finally get the chance to meet someone really great, make sure you don’t blow it! Check out our top 5 tips (from TONS of experience!) on how NOT to miss another opportunity.
And whatever you do, don’t forget the gatekeepers!
by Jennifer Kushell, co-founder YSN.com
Having a great network of friends and contacts can totally change how happy and successful you are. When you’re in trouble, struggling, or experiencing a rough patch, your network will be there to help you get through it.
Check out 5 great tips on how to build your network from our speaking tour with American Express.
A few ground rules for savvy networking:
- Realize your life will get more interesting as you expand your network.
- Have fun.
- Don’t always have an agenda.
- Make it a point to meet interesting people everywhere you go.
- Make sure you surround yourself with successful people. Collect a broad mix of great mentors along the way who can teach you about a variety of areas.
- Keep a list of people you want to meet (or the types of people i.e. entrepreneurs, doctors, MBA grads, non profit leaders) and share it with your more connected friends who may be able to refer you to people in their networks.
Always try to help others whenever you can. Just do it because it’s good to do it. Wonderful things do sometimes come back to grace you too. Allow me to explain.
In the Podcast of our book Secrets of the Young & Successful we spoke about How to Meet Anyone.
Here are the audio links in two sections:
Manage Your Network
As you start to meet more and more people, the biggest piece of advice we can offer is to make sure you capture all of their critical contact info right away, keep it in one place, and make sure it’s digital. Then keep it up to date and back it all up regularly.
Spend the time and money (if you can) to invest in a simple online database, PDA (personal digital assistant) or mobile device that can hold all the information you collect on your contacts (from name to birthday, cell, city/state…whatever is most appropriate).
Then make sure you stay in touch, taking good care of your people and treating them well. Check out our tips on how to Create Your Own Networking Event. Make sure you take care of your network too, and show them ongoing love and attention. We've got some tips on that too with our blog post on how to Keep Those Contacts.
Meet Powerful and Influential People
In every business, industry and society, there’s a group of people who are considered the power players -- the movers and shakers. They make the decisions that affect hundreds, thousands, sometimes millions of lives. Having access to them can get you a voice in their circles. Building relationships with them can get you in the game and make you a part of the action. Getting to almost anyone you want to meet is possible, you just need to know a few secrets, and a new perspective on the whole thing -- what we like to call the House on the Hill (audio podcast).
When you finally get the chance to meet someone really great, make sure you don’t blow it! Check out our top 5 tips (from TONS of experience!) on how NOT to miss another opportunity.
And whatever you do, don’t forget the gatekeepers!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Build Your Competitive Edge
Ten Tips for the Young & Successful
#8: Build Your Competitive Edge
by Jennifer Kushell, co-founder YSN.com
In this economy, you need every possible advantage to survive—let alone find success—in your
job or career. So what can you do to build your competitive edge?
1. Beef up your bio or resume. Challenge yourself to keep adding notable experiences to your repertoire. Take advantage of weekends, vacations, or evenings to get active in industry associations, volunteer, intern, work part time, or pick up some consulting work.
2. Become invaluable. Whatever you may be doing for work, be someone your bosses or partners can’t live without.
3. Be someone people want to have around. Particularly in rough times, a great attitude can make all the difference between people wanting to work with you, go out of their way to help, or cut you loose.
4. Help as many people as you can. Go out of your way to be a good person and make lots of friends…especially with people who can help you with your career. Be a resource to them. Offer to help, even work for free.
5. Network like crazy. Stay well connected to your existing network and keep those relationships strong. At the same time, expand your contact base and make an effort to surround yourself with new, interesting and successful people. Your exposure and your access to opportunity will increase dramatically.
#8: Build Your Competitive Edge
by Jennifer Kushell, co-founder YSN.com
In this economy, you need every possible advantage to survive—let alone find success—in your
job or career. So what can you do to build your competitive edge?
1. Beef up your bio or resume. Challenge yourself to keep adding notable experiences to your repertoire. Take advantage of weekends, vacations, or evenings to get active in industry associations, volunteer, intern, work part time, or pick up some consulting work.
2. Become invaluable. Whatever you may be doing for work, be someone your bosses or partners can’t live without.
3. Be someone people want to have around. Particularly in rough times, a great attitude can make all the difference between people wanting to work with you, go out of their way to help, or cut you loose.
4. Help as many people as you can. Go out of your way to be a good person and make lots of friends…especially with people who can help you with your career. Be a resource to them. Offer to help, even work for free.
5. Network like crazy. Stay well connected to your existing network and keep those relationships strong. At the same time, expand your contact base and make an effort to surround yourself with new, interesting and successful people. Your exposure and your access to opportunity will increase dramatically.
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