From Full-time Marketing to Portfolio Career

From Full-time Marketing to Portfolio Career Success Story > From: Job To: Portfolio career From Full-time Marketing to Portfolio Career “I felt stuck... I wanted to test new roles and working identities without completely derailing my life.” * From Full-time Marketing to Portfolio Career Don't have the money for a big leap? Want to test new career ideas? Mark O'Loughlin's story is a great example of how to do this. His shift is still in progress, but after the initial fear, he's found it easier than he thought. Here's what he's learnt so far. What work were you doing previously? I was a full-time Marketing Manager. What are you doing now? Now, I'm a Writer, Fundraiser and part-time Marketing Manager. Why did you change? I felt stuck in my full-time job and wanted to test new roles and working identities without completely derailing my life. I knew I couldn't keep working in the same way indefinitely. When was the moment you decided to make the change? There hasn't been one definitive moment but rather a number of points where I've felt like doing something different. Having said that, hitting 40 made me think about where I was going with my life and career. Are you happy with the change? Yes, but I still have a long way to go. For instance, I'm interested in helping others with their careers, so I'm weighing up the pros and cons of doing a course in coaching and career management. What do you miss and what don't you miss? A year ago I cut back to working four days a week, so I miss earning 20% of my previous salary. But, apart from the money, I don't really miss anything about working five days a week in the same role. How did you go about making the shift? I went to see an excellent careers coach (Sonia Lakshman) and started to slowly but steadily make adjustments to my working life. For example, I knew I wanted to write a book, so I completed a six-month course with the Faber Academy. Two years on, I've completed a first draft and have started editing and rewriting my novel, 'Dad Died in Vegas'. I also knew that I wanted to do some voluntary work, so during the past year I've been fundraising for a small charity one day a week. It's a process of evolution; I take action and test doing what I want to do, rather than just talk about it. How did you handle your finances to make your change possible? I got the best possible mortgage deal and have been more careful with my salary each month since reducing my hours. To be honest, it has been much easier than I anticipated. I still work four days a week as a Marketing Manager, but now I have more time to devote to my own personal projects, such as my book, blog and charity work. What was the most difficult thing about changing? Fear of the unknown. When you're on a traditional career path it's easy to think that's the only way to do things. And yet there are people working happily and successfully in different ways (part-time, freelance, contract, self-employed, full-time employee, etc.). I thought it would be impossible to survive on a part-time salary before I tried it, but I soon discovered that wasn't the case; I've adapted my lifestyle to suit. What help did you get? Careershifters, my careers coach, various books, my family and friends, as well as working for a flexible employer. They've all been vitally important. What have you learnt in the process? There's always a way to get more of what you want. It sometimes takes a bit of imagination and a flexible attitude, but if you really want it you can make it happen. What do you wish you'd done differently? Nothing. I've learnt a lot in the past few years and it all makes me who I am today. There's no point wasting time and energy on what might have been. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Find a good career coach. Focus on what you enjoy doing and find ways to incorporate those activities into your everyday life. Volunteering and job shadowing are excellent ways to find out more about particular jobs you are interested in. For me, continuous support is essential, so I have a mentor for my fundraising activities and I meet up with fellow writers twice a month to ensure I keep on track with my writing. What resources would you recommend to others? I would definitely recommend the Careershifters website. Also, take a look at books such as The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, Screw Work, Let's Play by John Williams and Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra. What lessons could you take from Mark's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

What they dont teach you in ABM School - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

What they don’t teach you in ABM School - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Account based marketing has become a hot topic as sales and marketing teams look to get more aligned in their strategies and prioritize the right accounts to hunt.  I had the opportunity to attend ZoomInfo’s Growth Marketing Summit to dive into the world of B2B marketing and make sense of the shifts in the industry around sales and marketing solutions.  I sat down with Joe Chernov, Vice President of Marketing at InsightSquared to talk through ABM and best strategies. Tell us a bit about what you do for InsightSquared, and the mission? We aspire to help all business people make better decisions thanks to easy access to data. Weve started with sales professionals, because, after all, sales problems overshadow all others. People are frustrated with their CRM systems. All of their data is literally trapped in these massive databases, and its difficult to get it out, and nearly impossible to visualize it in a useable way. We provide all of the reporting that you should be able to get out of your CRM, but, for whatever reason, cant. We’re living in what Forrester calls, “The Age go the Customer, but what’s specifically changed to reach that point and what’s important to focus on for B2B marketing? Access to information has changed. I can buy the same gear I buy at REI online for cheaper. So why buy it at REI? Because of service and because of loyalty to the brand. I feel awful if I buy outdoor equipment anywhere but REI, and thats because of their incredible in-store service, their favorable Club terms, and their values (that whole #OptOutside campaign on Black Friday). The same dynamic needs to take place in B2B marketing, a brand needs to stand for something meaningful while exceeding service expectations for long-term, durable differentiation. Whats the biggest challenge of launching an ABM program? Humans. The technology works well enough. You can find data thats sufficiently reliable. Theres never a shortage of creative ideas. But to get human beings, with all of our biases and habits, to harmonize in new way, thats whats hard about ABM. Can you share more about the human problem? How do you bridge marketing and sales to align in advance? I think people get wrapped up in the hype of the idea too early on and buy a new piece of technology, they gain false sense of progress, thats the easiest way to convince yourself you’ve solved the problem. Just because you buy a gym membership doesnt mean you’re going to lose weight. You just need a pair of running sneakers to get started. The mistake is joining a bunch of gyms but not showing up.  Just like in Crossfit, you have to prove that you have discipline and that you’re committed before you can really solve the problem The way you get others to follow your lead and become advocates is through hard work. Create a force multiplier in the workplace, finding the promoters and amplifying their voice and working with detractors to breaking down their arguments. How has business intelligence evolved to how we treat our customers? Business intelligence is still just data being applied in new ways. Its up to you to decide how you are going to act on it. So business intelligence gives us the means to treat customers differently, but smarter and more relevant treatment, thats up to us. But by using our own product, we know on day 30 if a customer is at risk of churning on day 365. This type of insight is incredibly powerful, because we can prevent problems before the customer even realizes one is taking shape. How do you make sure you have the cleanest sharpest data? To correct the path Data in a leads word is trap and can reduce the size of the market. Use a number of data sources of different areas. Have data that is reliable and platforms with features that align with your organization. We use ZoomInfo because they have strong data quality, they have a feature that enrich accounts by adding information.  That feature is mandatory and consistent with how our team operates. Whats your best advice in turning your audience into lifelong advocates? It will sound hokey, but it ultimately comes down to empathy. Im loyal to REI because I feel a sense of kinship with the brand. But while the nature of that kinship may vary from company to company, the path to understanding it that is, through empathy is universal. For InsightSquared, we know that sales operations is an often overlooked role in organizations. The head of sales enjoys lots of celebrity, top reps go to Club. But what about the sales ops manager who ensures everyone on the sales team is equipped with the means to make smarter, data-backed decisions? Whos looking out for her? We are. We exist to help sales operations up level their skills, network with one another, and even build their own brands. We do this not only through our technology, but by investing heavily in content, meet ups, online communities and high-end events. The hope is, that being more than just software will give rise to more than just customers.

How to Up Your Game in Your Second Year of University

How to Up Your Game in Your Second Year of University Your first year of university is great: you get to meet new people, you have your first experience of the loan instalment windfall, and enjoy more freedom than you may have ever done previously in your life. In the second year of university things get a little bit more serious. While you may think you worked hard in your opening year of your course, you are likely to find that there is a little more asked of you come September. However, that is not to say you cannot have fun and it is true when they say you get as much out of your university experience as you put in. Here are some tips on making the leap from first year productivity to second year progress. Get the Right Accommodation You may have been lucky with your first year accommodation or you may have been stuck with some sociopathic housemates who are not familiar with fairy liquid nor peace and quiet. Second year gives you the opportunity, now you are familiar with the city and people you are studying with, to choose a much more tailored set-up. Accommodation such as that provided by Urbanest offer convenience and luxury while you should try and organise with your friends viewings as soon as possible. Join a Society University is not only about getting the best grade as possible. While it is important to aim for that first class degree, you should look to get as much extra-curricular experience as possible. Joining a club or society will gain you skills and experience which will appeal to future employers and enable you to meet like-minded people. Hang Out with the Right People After your first year experience you will know which of the people you are studying with are your kind of people. You obviously want to connect with people and have a good time but it is important that your friends do not prioritise partying at the expense of study. Make Contact with Employers As the halfway house between school and work, university should be about easing you into the real world of life and employment. Making contact with companies where you see your future can happen as early as first year. Look to organise work placements in the holidays or simply email to say hello and ask for career advice. Get into a Routine Your first year of university can be a haze of late nights and missed mornings. Try and get into a regular routine of visiting the library, eating at social times and getting up for lectures in your second year and you will be much more productive. Still Enjoy Yourself Remember to make time to enjoy yourself. It can be easy to get bogged down in the stress of essay deadlines and forget that you are still young and experiencing the best years of your life. Make the Most of your University City A lot of people stay in the city they studied in and others prefer to return home or move where the best job is. Whichever you do, make sure you have made an informed decision by experiencing all the city has to offer.

New Perspectives - The Benefits of Promoting Creativity in Aged Care

New Perspectives - The Benefits of Promoting Creativity in Aged Care Aged care can often be something that is feared or avoided wherever possible by older people, especially for people in countries with less than strict standards for the care of the elderly. This is usually due to the media’s poor betrayal of life in aged care, of because of extreme examples of neglect in specific aged care facilities. Very rarely do you hear stories of positive ageing or creative ageing in aged care facilities, or novel or new ways to enrich the lives of the elderly, but these things do happen and there are ways of boosting the quality of life for older people. Whether it be through promoting creativity or nurturing talent, new ways are emerging in the field of aged care to better treat the residents of these facilities. Brain Plasticity Creativity is a wonderful thing that the human brain is capable of, and the act of creation itself can be very therapeutic to some people. The human brain is capable of being “plastic” in it’s makeup, in that when one area of the brain begins to deteriorate, such as in older age for instance, it can adapt and create new neural pathways to compensate for this loss of functionality. This is much more present in young and developing minds, but encouraging creativity in the older generations can help improve their brain plasticity and increase the speed at which they process things. New Ways of Thinking Another thing that creativity promotes is a new outlook, and new ways of looking at problems. Being able to think abstractly is an ability we only develop as teenagers, and the more we think abstractly the more we’re capable of solving theoretical problems. Creativity makes ample use of abstract thinking, and thickens the parts of the cerebral cortex associated with problem solving, which means that it can help the elderly to develop better ways to tackle problems that might have endlessly plagued them prior. Painting pictures, making music, and sculpting and shaping material into form can improve the quality of life by virtue of its very nature. Quality of Life Speaking of “quality of life”, creative thinking also improves quality of life for members of an aged care facility by breaking down routine and predictability. For sufferers of degenerative brain diseases, this can often be a way to help their brain fight back against the slow progression of their particular illness, and has a slight chance to restore some functionality to damaged areas of the brain. This by itself is incredible enough, but creating in a supportive environment can also fight off the less-talked-about affliction of depression in the elderly, making it even more valuable as a pastime than previously thought. Entertainment Getting the residents of an aged care facility away from their televisions and out of their rooms can be great for mental health, but also helps by creating new activities to entertain themselves with. Oil painting on the lawn, sculpting in an activities hall, or playing music on the old piano in the common area can be exciting and fun for people who don’t spend much time doing anything more than milling about a building and occasionally going outdoors, and it doesn’t cost much to start an arts and creativity program in any aged care facility. Socialising Finally, creativity promotes social interaction between residents and guests, and can help older people make friends and even build relationships with people they otherwise wouldn’t have had common ground with. Holding a painting class and then an exhibition night to show off the facility’s artists is an interesting and fun event to plan and put together, and it provides something that the residents can be excited about, and get dressed up for. Creativity is more useful in aged care facilities than many people realise, and only by promoting the idea of creativity and positivity can we hope to enrich the lives of these older people.

A Resume Writing Service - How It Works

A Resume Writing Service - How It WorksA resume writing service is a service in which an individual or company hires a professional to write a resume for them. This article will discuss how the two work together.First, it is important to know that there are many services that can be had through a professional service. When someone hires a professional service, they may end up with many different types of resumes. The resume services can be very helpful in a job search and may also benefit you in getting your resume noticed.You should hire a professional resume writer if you know how to write a resume. If you do not know how to write a resume and hire a professional, you may be wasting a lot of time and money.When you hire a professional resume writer, they will give you all the assistance you need to write a resume that can help you land a great job. They will have experience in writing resumes and can help you through this process. If you do not have experience writing a resume and want a professional, there are some professionals who are willing to take on clients who do not have a lot of experience in this process.When you need to hire a professional, it is always a good idea to get references from those that have used their services before. A professional may make it sound like it is easy to write a resume, but it is not really. They will need to know what the requirements are when writing a resume, and you need to know what those requirements are as well.It is also a good idea to ask how many copies the professional will offer to provide. Some companies only offer one, while others offer several. It is best to get several copies so that you can compare each one.Most professional writing services offer great amount of customer service. They will offer free advice and guidance throughout the process, and they will be there for you when you need them. They will also ask you about what your strengths and weaknesses are, and they will help you create your resum e accordingly.Finding a professional resume writing service to work with is a very helpful tool in the job search. Using these services can really help you out and provide you with all the help you need when it comes to your resume.

Consciousness - an illusion - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Consciousness - an illusion - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog In an article entitled The Grand Illusion: Why consciousness only exists when you look for it, Dr. Susan Blackmore looks at different models of consciousness. It seems that most of our current thinking on consciousness is being contradicted by modern brain research, and that a new model is needed. If you are not yet feeling perplexed (in which case I am not doing my job properly), consider another problem. It seems that most of what goes on in the brain is not conscious. For example, we can consciously hear a song on the car radio, while we are not necessarily conscious of all the things we do as were driving. This leads us to make a fundamental distinction: contrasting conscious brain processes with unconscious ones. But no one can explain what the difference really is. Is there a special place in the brain where unconscious things are made conscious? Are some brain cells endowed with an extra magic something that makes what goes on in them subjective? This doesnt make sense. Yet most theories of consciousness assume that there must be such a difference, and then get stuck trying to explain or investigate it. She also mentions some studies done with change blindness. Take a look at this picture, and see if you can spot what changes every time it flashes. Heres my favourite quote from the article: It sounds bizarre, but try to catch yourself not being conscious. More than a hundred years ago the psychologist William James likened introspective analysis to trying to turn up the gas quickly enough to see how the darkness looks. The modern equivalent is looking in the fridge to see whether the light is always on. However quickly you open the door, you can never catch it out. The same is true of consciousness. Whenever you ask yourself, Am I conscious now? you always are.But perhaps there is only something there when you ask. Maybe each time you probe, a retrospective story is concocted about what was in the stream of consciousness a moment before, together with a self who was apparently experiencing it. Of course there was neither a conscious self nor a stream, but it now seems as though there was. Perhaps a new story is concocted whenever you bother to look. When we ask ourselves about it, it would seem as though theres a stream of consciousness going on. When we dont bother to ask, or to look, it doesnt, but then we dont notice so it doesnt matter. The fact that you cant unconsciously examine consciousness made me think of this grook by Piet Hein: Mirrors have one limitation: You cant either by hook or by crook use them to how you look when you arent looking to see how you look. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

15 tips for non-verbal communication - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

15 tips for non-verbal communication The ability to communicate effectively is essential to succeeding in both your career and personal life. During an interview, these communication skills will be scrutinized rigorously. One of the most important aspects of your interview may not be in the actual information you convey to the interviewer, but how you convey that information. Non-verbal communication is a huge factor in how your message is received. If you are sure of your abilities to perform well in the position but your eyes wander away from the interviewer, you may be perceived as self-conscious and lacking confidence. Maintaining eye contact during an interview is extremely important as 43.4% of the conversation is spent looking at the speakers eyes. Much like wandering eyes, a restless body can also signal situational discomfort, stress, and anxiety. When in doubt of your posture, take subtle steps to mimic your interviewer. Mimicry is a form of flattery and can signal you are engaged positively. In any face-to-face discussion, non-verbal communication will certainly play a role in transmitting your message. Use the following 15 tips from GetVoIP to improve your non-verbal communication skills and crush your next interview.