Category: Career Advice

In the Career and Corporate Life Management Mentorship we refer to the need to mastering the following generic phases: career development education → enter first job → technician → admin → functional → specialist → supervisory → management → leadership → executive → directorship → board role → retirement → post retirement roles. We also acknowledge that career and corporate life journey is not a straight line. We should, in our orientation, see our career progression following a pattern like the one above. When there is detour, we must be conscious of it and, as far as possible, influence the new direction. That will confirm to us that we are alert and directing our career and corporate life evolution. We will make mistakes but they will be manageable.

We all start somewhere in our career journeys, either as administrators or technical workforce. That is the foundation that is highly recommended. It is during these foundation years that we discover ourselves in the corporate world.

In most cases we are naive and impatient. It is expected because we are not experienced and just want to shoot through the phases of our careers. We are soon humbled and learn to be open-minded about our careers. If we do well as administrators and technical workers we will easily transition into areas of specialization. We are also prepared to become productive functional role players in our various industries.

We must all get our foundation right for the possible various career paths in the future. We get this foundation stages wrong, we suffer the consequences later in our careers. These stages are the base for supervisory, management and leadership roles in the future. This is over and above our academic and corporate development programs.

Many people can confess that their great performance during their foundation administrative, technical and functional years paved their transition into supervisory, management, and leadership roles. The reason is obvious; we all have to earn the trust of our superiors through hard work and great performance in our first jobs. They are the core of any business and therefore highly visible to the leaders. Many companies compete at this level in their sectors.

More than 50% of the curriculum of vocational and corporate academies is at the administrative, technical, specialization, and functional levels. These are the areas that can be verified against the development investment that the business makes. The intellectual capital of companies is entailed at these levels of the knowledge base of the company. The senior management and leadership are rewarded on how good they look after the company talent at these levels. The future of the company is guaranteed by the best talent at these levels. This is what sustains some of the best economies in the world. This does not suggest that supervisory, management and leadership levels are not important. They are. However, the critical mass is at the administrative, technical, specialization and functional levels. If things go wrong here the impact will be huge.

From here onward the development into the future is more of a partnership between the candidates and the management. In most cases that is done together with business schools and the internal corporate academies.

Why do we need mentors then? Each of all these careers has their own dynamics, considering that they play critical role in the enterprise. They are demanding on the people, require different mindset, discipline, behaviours, and characters. Each employee must understand their space in the enterprise and act accordingly. The mentors are there to remind the us that this is a normal growth path other people before them have also been through. Each of these careers leads to somewhere. Postulate that and anticipate the destiny. Perform to the latter and make sure that you succeed in the next level, which is likely to be challenging than the current. The higher you go the less you will depend on your administrative, technical, specialist, and functional expertise.

The mentor will most likely advice you to keep your portfolio of evidence, write a lot about your milestones, etc. You are certainly going to experience a difficulty as you move into management and leadership levels.

Being your own boss.

If you’re a model who hasn’t been signed to a modeling agency yet or if you’re that type of person who loves to be your own boss then freelance modeling may be the way for you. You’ll be basically representing yourself, responsible for finding your own work and building your own portfolio. Marketing yourself is another task you’ll have to do. Other tasks include: educating yourself about everything in the modeling world, keeping your resume updated, and much more. As you can see requires a lot of work and that’s the price of freedom when you become a freelance model, at the end the effort worth it. It’s all about getting your first success, after that you’ll get the momentum and nothing can stop that.

Freelance modeling requirements.

There’s no pattern or template for physical requirements in freelance models, nonetheless if you’re very attractive and have a well worked body plus an amazing smile, it’s going to help a lot for sure. What is good about freelance models, is that they can work in several fields of modeling: commercial, fitness, glamour, catalog, etc.

Nowadays, as a freelance model you’ll find a lot of opportunities. One excellent advice is: use the internet. Finding your freelance modeling job is easy if you: have an excellent attitude, arrive early to every audition, respect your coworkers and make as much contacts as you can within the industry. Professionalism is a key element. Satisfied clients will refer you, this way you’ll always have a modeling job.

Freelance modeling jobs.

What is good about being a freelance model is that even though you don’t have an exclusive contract signed with a modeling agency, you have the ability to be signed non exclusively with several modeling agencies. These non exclusive modeling agencies will find you work by getting you booked with clients. The more non exclusive modeling agencies you sign with the more opportunities to get you hired. What you need to understand is that you’ll have to pay them a percentage of the works they find you, nevertheless these agencies are very able to secure you high modeling rates. So at the end the percentage they take is won’t affect your income much.

Model Mayhem Website.

At the same time, you can find modeling jobs by your own. You can do this by using the internet. There’s a great website dedicated to search for modeling auditions and castings for freelance models: Model Mayhem. Sign up there, create your profile including your contact information. Make sure you upload some good pictures of yourself. It’s advisable that you explain the types of works you’re willing to do and which want not. Once you’re in the website, you’ll see the Castings section. Use the search engine they have there, so you can filter.

Craigslist is also another site to look for modeling jobs/gigs. Please proceed with caution with this site, some posts are scam.

Freelance modeling rates.

Rates for freelance models vary, depending on each model. It’s about the skills you posses what will increase your rate, nonetheless several modeling gigs pay a

fixed rate, which is set by the company who hires the model.

Now, regarding photo shoots, you’ll have to decide the moment you’ll start charging for them.

If your level of experience is acceptable, you have an awesome portfolio and look and you have some good referrals, you can easily charge $50 per hour. This value can be adjusted in time, you’ll know when it’s the right moment to do it, but keep in mid that if you became greedy, you may lose some good work opportunities. The best thing to do is evaluate your process from time to time, measure your strengths and select a rate that you feel is fair for your profile.

Develop a freelance model website.

Every freelance model needs to have her/his own website. Not just a Facebook page or a tumblr account, and actual site dedicated completely to you. Something like: www. yourname. com. Hire a website designer or company with experience in creating personal websites, specially for model. They make charge a fee for it, but at the end it worth every penny.

Also make sure you create your Facebook, model mayhem and Twitter profile. They will give you a lot of exposure, thus possible opportunities. Remember that you’ll have competition and they are already doing all these social media work.

Many times we just want to take the most direct route to our destination. We have no desire to veer off the main road and take in new sights. We are so focused on where we are heading, and maybe what time we are to arrive, that we don’t pay any attention to the signs, landscapes, etc. that pass us by. Another way to look at this is that we are not being present.

By not being present with our surroundings which includes the people we interact with we tend to miss out on things. So if that is the case, why do we do it? One reason is that our attention spans are getting shorter. Another reason is that we are only thinking of ourselves in terms of our own wants and needs and do not look outside our “own immediate bubble”. Lastly it is really hard to stay present because we are either thinking about possible regrets of our past or planning out our future. As an example, when you drive to work what are you thinking about? Is it about the hectic schedule you have to juggle that day or are you listening to the radio and just taking life one minute at a time?

This is all very important when we think about our career journey. By not staying present but instead having a strong desire to roam about in our heads we miss out on nuances that are occurring in our workplace. Some of these could be your coworkers’ or your boss’ non-verbal cues which are telling you a different story than what they are trying to convey to you in words. It could also be important directions on a project or a proposal. The reality is that we have so much information thrown at us that we can’t comprehend it all so we may just “check out”.

That is why we all need to take time to reflect. Instead of thinking about our home life when we are driving away from work take that car time to review your day. If you are working from home, find a quiet place or take a walk for 20 minutes. During this time, identify what went well and what could have gone better. Think about all the people you interacted with over the course of the day and determine if you were really engaged or not. In addition, what did you learn that day? By having a life learning mindset you should strive to learn something new every day. This allows us to strengthen our competencies and/or learn new skills.

Wanderlust is fine when there are no expectations of us but if we want to have a more successful career journey, we need to leave those desires that we want to travel around for another day!

Work is called work for a reason. However, the best profession can help make your life more satisfying. Making a wise choice can allow you to avoid a lot of misery and fund a lifestyle that you delight in. Yes, work is that nasty four-letter word that most people hate. If you can find something that you love to do and do it, You will never work another day in your life.

The incorrect choice can cause monetary obstacles, and it’s not enjoyable to go to a job you don’t like day after day.

Use these ideas to pick a career that’s right for you:

What do you like to do? Unless you are fortunate, you will be working for a long time. It would be smart to discover a profession that centers around something that you delight in. Picture spending 40+ years doing something that you do not take pleasure in.

While you don’t have to keep the exact same career for the rest of your life, you can lose ground each time you make a switch.

What do you like to do? What are your interests? What could you see yourself providing for a year or more and enjoy?

What do you truly dislike? This concern is just as crucial.

What are your strengths? The very best professions are satisfying and make the most of your strengths. What are you naturally proficient at? What have you become proficient at due to the fact that you have invested a lot of time finding out or practicing?

Not all of your strengths will be transferable to a profession, but some of them will transfer rather nicely. Ask yourself what you can do better than many people.

What are the long-term alternatives? Some careers have much better long-lasting potential customers than others. Think of what you could do 20 years down a specific career path. Is there the possibility to advance? Could you utilize the skills you build in that task and move them to another?

Avoid just thinking about the next number of years. You will likely be working more than simply 3-5 years.

What kind of work environment do you choose? Do you like the community feel of an unlimited series of cubicles? Your own workplace? Do you wish to work outdoors? In a manufacturing setting? A laboratory? Suit and tie? Jeans and a t-shirt? What environment appeals to you?

What lifestyle do you prefer? This consists of earnings, city/country, living out of a suitcase versus entering into the same work location each day. Do you like to work nights, so your days are totally free?

Picture your perfect way of life and consider the various professions readily available to you.

Consider your educational qualifications versus what a career requires. Doctors need to participate in medical school. A teacher in a public school requires a teaching license.

Figure out just how much additional education you’ll require for a specific career and whether you want to obtain it. If you protest extra schooling, then you will face specific limitations.

What careers fit your answers? Taking all of the above into account, what careers seem like an excellent fit for you?

The perfect career will be something you like, that you’re proficient at, that likewise fits your dream way of life and work environment. You will likewise have plenty of chances in the future.

If none of your alternatives are interesting you, you may want to think about returning to school for additional education. Another couple of years of schooling may sound terrible, but a few years is a drop in the container compared to the rest of your life.

A bad career option can be expensive down the roadway. Put in the time to make a smart decision. It will be time well-spent.

Say what you will about Joe Biden, whether you supported his presidential election or not, and recognizing he does not have the messianic stature of the previous two presidents, the man’s lifetime work can nevertheless be viewed as a study in career development. There are some aspects of Biden’s professional life that both led to his ultimate achievement of winning the U.S. presidency, but which also point to characteristics many of us can learn from as we navigate and grow our own careers. Like any person, he faced substantial challenges establishing himself professionally. However, there are attributes he exhibited in doing so which over time contributed to his success and are worth an examination.

A now well known piece of his biography is how as a 29-year old he ascended to the U.S. Senate followed within weeks by the loss of his wife and young daughter in a car accident. The conflicting and monumental impact of these twin events would rock anyone’s world, but with reserves of fortitude, faith, and support from key individuals he carried on as a senator for his state and father to his surviving sons. Finding resolve to carry on and do what is right under such circumstances gave him a life perspective to better confront other difficulties and to be grateful for what is most important. The takeaway regarding careers? Resoluteness and astute priority settings matter.

Although the voters of Delaware kept sending him back to the senate it’s not as if Biden never knew electoral failure. He ran for president twice before, in 1988 and in 2008. Both attempts flopped. A bungled plagiarism charge from ’88 and lackluster enthusiasm in ’08 left it looking like the presidential path was never to be his. He realized though that failure is not ruinous. Getting knocked down means you get back up. He kept his career alive, demonstrated doggedness, and continued with his brand of ambition.

Rather than producing discouragement, failure informed Joe Biden how to make his future better. He strove to be among the most influential members of the senate with chairmanships and compromises yielding both successes and controversies. He accepted the invitation to serve as vice president, which over eight years contained a full and diversified portfolio. And of course, he continued to go big by again running for president with confidence the unique circumstances of this election cycle could potentially favor him. It worked.

An effective politician is a compelling networker and communicator. They know how to forge constructive relationships, build beneficial teams, and leverage the synergy of bright minds. Biden has honed his skill of reaching out to others and forming profitable alliances. He has been at this a long time, which addresses another notable characteristic of his-age. Much has been said about how Biden has lost his fast ball with age. This may be true. Despite this, he demonstrated a proficiency in running for and taking on this most demanding of jobs, compiling more votes than any other presidential candidate in American history. Not bad for a guy in his late seventies.

So, politics aside, we could allow ourselves to see in Joe Biden a person who persevered, avoided dejection, focused on what was most important, maintained ambition, willingly faced new ordeals, gathered talented compatriots, and projected his considerable knowledge and experience well into his elder years. As we reflect on our own careers we can assess how well we are doing in these professional building areas. Although none of us would want to go through all of the trials and tribulations Joe Biden has gone through, it is still justifiable to see his career story as one of many ways to achieve success.

When you start to knit a sweater or scarf, you only have needles and yarn. As each stitch is completed, rows emerge and it starts to take shape. A career journey is very similar in that you start with yourself. Later you add a college degree or two, other technical skills, your responsibilities, awards, etc. so that you are now known as (add title). All that may be well and good but many people are starting to question if that title is really what they are all about. Aren’t you known for other things as well, but others have a tough time identifying you outside of your title?

Here is an exercise I suggest you try. In Column One, list all of the things you are good at. In Column Two, list the things you could be better at. In Column Three, list the things you are good at from Column One but hate doing. Finally in Column Four, list the things from Column Two that you truly want to excel at. If you are struggling compiling any of these lists, look at past performance reviews and ask others what they think. Once the lists are finalized, figure out how you want to be known. It would be awful if you are known as a great report writer but that skill falls under Column Three, or worse yet is that your boss does not suggest you get training/experience for things in Column Four because you never told him or her.

Just like knitting, it takes patience. You have to concentrate to knit otherwise you will drop a stitch and you may have to start all over again. You don’t necessarily want to do that with your career unless you plan on doing something completely new. The point is that you need to take that yarn and knit it into the career of your dreams. Changing colors or using different types of stitches is always challenging at first but over time it does get easier. This is the same with your career. Trying new things, meeting new people, taking a course that you never would have considered before, and also planning on how you will acclimate to the “new normal” (whatever that may look like) is exciting but you have to knit that first stitch. Trial and error works for both knitting and your career but having a pattern or plan always helps!