What Lights You Up? (eBook)

Illuminate Your Path and Take the Next Big Step in Your Career

Mary Olson-Menzel (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024
257 Seiten
Wiley (Verlag)
9781394267033 (ISBN)

Infos

Navigate the modern world of work to find the job you've been dreaming about and thrive

What Lights You Up? Illuminate Your Path and Take the Next Big Step in Your Career takes readers on a journey to find their next meaningful and fulfilling job-no matter where they are right now. Whether you're an industry veteran pivoting between fields, a stay-at-home parent just rejoining the workforce, or a college student trying to find their footing, this heartfelt, actionable, and authentic book covers everything you need to know about getting results in the modern world of work and is full of insightful, real-life stories of success that inspire the reader to take action in their own life.

Inspired by renowned executive coach, business advisor, and speaker Mary Olson-Menzel's highly effective MVP 360 Coaching program, this book delivers insight on topics like:

• Developing and telling your own highly individualistic story to get noticed and hired
• Getting results from LinkedIn, social media, and personal branding
• Rocking the interview, negotiating the offer, and landing the job
• Staying on a path to vibrant success in your first three months at a new job-and the rest of your life

What Lights You Up? is an essential guide and roadmap for everyone and anyone seeking direction in their career journey. Filled with highly effective tips, tricks, and strategies, this book will help readers transition from where they are now into a fulfilling and meaningful new career and beyond.

MARY OLSON-MENZEL is an executive coach for teams and individuals, a business advisor, speaker, and the Founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development, a national leadership, coaching, and organizational management consultancy with offices in New York, Connecticut, and Chicago. She was recently selected as one of Marshall Goldsmith's 100 Coaches.

Textauszug

2
Turn Your Light On

“To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are.”

—Roy T. Bennett

YOU ARE HERE to shine your light. That is your number-one job. Your light is a gift that you’ve had since the day you were born. When you see young children, you see that most are naturally vibrant and filled with light since they have fewer filters in their relatively short lives. As a result, they are more connected to their true essence.

Figuring out what lights you up will help you see past the filters and/or self-limiting beliefs that you’ve accumulated over time and will help you reconnect to your true essence. Our great challenge as we grow older is to stay connected to that light in our hearts and to bring that luminous energy into our work.

Your unique light is exactly what employers are looking for. Your light is what will set you apart from the rest of the crowd. Every. Single. Time.

Employers have told me repeatedly that they would hire someone with fewer skills if they had the right mindset and energy. Savvy hiring managers know that skills can be taught but that this light energy comes from within. Your light is perceived as a positive energy that radiates from within you and impacts all that you do and everyone and everything around you. When you bring your light to work with you, magic happens in your career.

At the Tribune Company, I was hired as the head of recruitment and I worked with all of the executive leaders across the country as their business partner for recruiting and hiring new executives and then onboarding them for success. At one point I oversaw a nationwide search for a new head of sales for our flagship property. We interviewed many qualified and talented executives, and then there was Ken. He came from the scrappy “number-two” ranked paper in town, located just down the street from our majestic Tribune Tower. Ken did not have an MBA from a top school like the other candidates we were interviewing, but he was “lit up”—from the inside out. He was the one who stood out above the rest, not necessarily because of his resume, but because of his energy. Ken had charisma. He could breathe life into any room and he radiated an authenticity and an undeniable positive energy.

The hiring manager had a big decision to make: hire the most “qualified” candidate because of their resume and pedigree, or hire the other guy, from down the street, who brought an enormous, bright, shining energy into the room. My boss ended up hiring Ken, making what I believe might have been the wisest hiring decision of his career. By choosing a candidate with a magnetic personality, a strong inner light, and an honest work ethic, he breathed new life into the entire sales department.

As our flagship property’s new head of sales, Ken invigorated the entire department and increased revenue exponentially. Subsequently, he got promoted many times within our organization, eventually ending up as president of several of our national media properties. He became a dear friend, and even 20 years later he can still light up a room just by being himself.

As Ken’s example illustrates, your light is how you get noticed. Your light is what sets you apart from someone who might just have come from a better school or has deeper work experience.

As you might imagine, Ken is still enjoying his work and doing quite well. He recently told me, “Hard work puts you where good luck can find you. Mary, like you, I want to do everything I do with passion and I want to make a difference every day. I want to be as kind as possible and help make people’s days better. That’s how I go through life. Every single day.”

Getting Started

Before we dive in, I recommend that you get a notebook you can dedicate solely to completing the exercises in this book and to documenting this new journey you’re on as it unfolds. There are also worksheets at the back of the book you can use to help you. Take this book with you everywhere you go if you want, and keep it handy so you can refer back to your thoughts on a regular basis. You’ll be using it and reflecting on your work throughout the process.

While you might be tempted to just use your phone or computer to take notes, I do not recommend this. It has been scientifically proven that your brain is better able to process thoughts and ideas when you put pen to paper. There is data that shows that writing by hand offers significant benefits over typing, especially when it comes to learning, remembering, and being creative. In a 2024 Inc. magazine article,1 Professor Audrey van der Meer, a brain researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and co-author of the study, says, “We show that when writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard. Such widespread brain connectivity is known to be crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, is beneficial for learning.” According to Inc., writing instead of typing will help you slow down and think more, thus enabling you to use more of your brain and senses in the process.

As you answer the questions throughout this book and record your thoughts, or even draw a few pictures or doodles, I hope you have fun, too, as new possibilities and ideas come to light. As you work through this book, you’ll be able to refer to and reflect on these notes to discover even more about yourself and your goals as you move forward in this journey. At times, the process of reflection and self-discovery can sometimes be a little daunting, but it can also be a creative and fun activity.

Trust the first answers that come to you. Let your intuition be your guide and let the pen flow on the paper. No editing or interpretation is necessary at this point, although it may be tempting. This is not a time to be perfect and there are no wrong answers. I suggest you approach this part of the process more like a brainstorming session, a free-flowing time of self-expression.

Take the time to recognize on a deeper level who you truly are, moving forward at a pace that is comfortable for you. Don’t forget to give yourself credit for every step you take!

To find what lights you up, you’ll have to dig deep to uncover what makes you tick and what brings you joy. The following exercises are designed to jumpstart your journey of self-discovery and to help you to think about yourself differently. You can do this—it’s an investment in your self and your future!

Exercise 1 Finding Your Light

Jot down the answers to the following questions.

What Is Your Current Employment Situation?

• Are you employed today? (Yes or no)
• Do you have a vision of what your next job looks like?
• How much money do you need to make to keep the lights on in your home?
• How much do you realistically want to earn this year?
• What kind of a work/life balance do you need?

What Makes You Unique?

• List three words that best describe what makes you unique. Think of qualities that you like about yourself. This could be in the context of work or at home.
• Describe your sense of generosity, curiosity, and flexibility.
• Describe your sense of humor.
• Describe yourself as a problem-solver, or someone who can get things done with efficiency.
• Describe your abilities around kindness, empathy, and care about people.
• Describe how you embrace a positive attitude in work.
• Describe how you use your intuitive abilities at work.
• Describe how your listening skills enhance your performance.
• Describe what qualities might set you apart from others at work or at home?
• List three things that you are most proud of, in your personal and/or professional life. This can include accomplishments, activities, skills, behaviors, and so on.

  If you have a hard time identifying this, ask a friend or a family member. These qualities typically come so easily to you that you might not even think of them, but they do lead you to your light.

What Are Your Interests and Hobbies?

• List things that interest you and keep your light on. This could include anything from mentoring junior employees at your organization to running a 5K for charity. Do you have a side hustle, a passion you’re doing in the hours when you’re not working, such as photography, art, or music, or perhaps traveling, speaking another language, hiking, boating, or yoga, for example?

What’s on Your Bucket List?

• Put together a list of things you’ve done in the past that you now look back on with joy and gratitude, and then prepare a bucket list of what you would like to do in the future. For example, when I was younger, I was passionate about scuba diving and have had the amazing opportunity to dive in five different countries and many beautiful locations around the world. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a little more risk-averse and so the scuba has shifted to snorkeling and hiking. One of my current bucket list items is to travel with my family to all seven continents. Another bucket list item of mine was to write this book.

  There are no rules when it comes to your list. No matter how big or how small, if it’s something you’ve done that gave you joy, or something you’d like to do, then put it on this list. Have fun...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.10.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft ► Bewerbung / Karriere
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management
• Schlagworte: Business Coach • career advice • Career path • Cover Letter • employer • Employment • job advice • job offer • Job Search • LinkedIn • negotiate job • new job • Personal Branding • post pandemic work • professional branding • Resume • Workforce
• ISBN-13: 9781394267033 / 9781394267033