Careers Articles

Article / Updated 06-06-2023

Your family and friends are most likely the people who know you the best. They have a good idea of what you’re good at doing and your top qualities. They also know where you need to improve. This makes them good at judging what jobs may be relevant and interesting to you. Ask them for help in keeping an eye open for jobs that could be a good fit for you. Here are other ways your friends can help you: Getting an internship, co-op, or temporary job. A friend, relative, or friend of the family may hesitate to get you a full-time job simply because of the connection. This is fair — nepotism is seen as a negative thing and your friend or relative may get in trouble at work. With internships or temporary jobs, especially if they’re unpaid, this shouldn’t be an issue. Internships and co-ops are temporary, usually lasting two to three months. Because of the short duration, employers tend to be less strict on how these hires are made. In fact, it’s often unspoken that friends tend to help other friends by giving internships to their relatives. Don’t be shy about leveraging your connections or asking relatives to leverage their connections for an internship. If you do well in your internship, everyone wins. If this is not the case, it was only a two- to three-month stint. When leveraging a family connection or friend to get a job, reach out to the employer yourself and don’t rely on your connection to do it for you. This shows the employer that you’re proactive and you take the initiative. You’ll make a good impression. Employee referrals: A simple referral, even if not an endorsement, often helps to get you through the door and to secure an interview. Larger employers often pay employees a referral fee for recommending someone who ultimately gets hired and stays with the organization for some period of time, normally three to six months. If you have friends who work at an employer of interest, ask them if they can submit your résumé or add a note with the recruiter that you’ve applied for the job. They’ll be doing you a favor and they may also earn a bonus.

Article / Updated 06-05-2023

Why not infuse your portfolio with your personal brand? A portfolio is a collection of documents that validate your accomplishments and professional achievements when you go on a job interview (or when you meet with a new client). This tool helps you remember all that you have done in your past to build your personal brand. Portfolios provide evidence of your credibility. Having possession of your documents not only provides proof of your work to use as a marketing tool but gives you the confidence to speak to your brand. Your portfolio may be compiled in a section of your file cabinet, scanned into an electronic file on your computer, or put into a file box. These days, portfolios are often saved to online repositories — such as Espressowork.com and, for creative work, Behance.net — that provide electronic access to all these documents. Follow the steps at Wikihow to create your own portfolio. But even as society moves away from paper and toward the computing cloud, it’s a good idea to create a portfolio binder that contains paper copies of documents that demonstrate who you are. Sharing such a binder with a prospective employer or new client is an impressive way to highlight and prove that you have done what you have said you could do on your resume. This printed portfolio is especially helpful for people who need to show writing samples or visual representation of their work. Credit: Courtesy of Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Here are some things to include in your portfolio: Your branded resume Your branded biography Letters of recommendation, at least one or two of which are current Sample projects Articles that you have written Past business cards Academic degrees Certifications and licenses Employee reviews A list of key successes from your work A list of awards you have received Volunteer service documents A list of professional contributions, such as committees you have chaired or evidence of how you have contributed to your profession Thank-you notes you have received Social networking site profiles Print copies of multimedia presentations you have created

Cheat Sheet / Updated 05-04-2023

Everyone, in some way, shape, or form, is familiar with lifeguards. If you’ve been to a local pool or beach or have watched any TV scene of a public swimming area, you’ve probably seen lifeguards perched up on their chairs keeping a close eye on the swimmers beneath them. While some might perceive lifeguarding as just another summer job dominated by teenagers trying to make an extra buck, the truth is that this career is far more than that. Across the various swimming facilities — the pool, waterpark, beachfront, and ocean — lifeguards are equipped with the skills to act on a moment’s notice and respond to struggling swimmers and all types of emergencies.

Article / Updated 05-03-2023

Building meaningful relationships starts with you. When remote employees join your team, what you do in the first 48 hours to welcome them to the group sets the standard for how the rest of the team will connect. Valuing the unique skills, abilities, and backgrounds of all your team members helps them feel appreciated and cared for. Openly encouraging dialogue, debate, and feedback provides the opportunity for contribution. All of these examples can help you to build a culture of connection and create a team of high-performing, happy remote workers. How to be a leader your virtual team wants to follow Chances are, you’ve had both good bosses and bad bosses, and you can probably easily explain the differences in approach, credibility, and style. Why not make the decision to be a leader that people choose to follow? Here are a few tips to help you: Don’t ask anyone to do anything that you wouldn’t do yourself. Don’t reinforce common hierarchy standards. If you want your team members to believe that you have their backs and aren’t above any type of work, prove it by stepping in when needed. Lead in alignment with a strong sense of purpose and values. Make sure your team knows what you stand for. Be vulnerable and courageous. It’s okay to acknowledge failure. Show your team that learning from mistakes is an opportunity to grow. Share information with your virtual team early and often. When you have new information, share it. Be as transparent as possible. Create space for innovative solutions to be considered. Be open to trying something that hasn’t been done before. Give people license to present new ways of doing things. Encourage creative thinking by using brainstorming in meetings. Be a skillful listener. Practice effective listening. Acknowledge what is being said by repeating back in your own words what you believe was the meaning behind the message. Practice self-care. Model healthy behaviors when working from home. Exercise, don’t text or email after 6 p.m., and check out when you take vacation. Get to know your virtual team members The challenge for the virtual leader is to transcend the boundaries of space and develop a supportive, collaborative connection with your team. Many of the best ways to establish a personal connection are also fun and sometimes even a little silly. Humor and laughter put people at ease and help you open up, so don’t brush aside these ideas immediately. Instead, figure out which ones you can try with your own team over the next few weeks: My Window: Ask team members to take a picture of what’s outside their window and upload it ahead of your virtual meeting. Team members share a story about what’s outside their window. Highs and Lows: Have each team member share a high and a low from the past week. TableTopics: Invest in a card deck of TableTopics (tabletopics.com) and ask questions that allow people to share their insights and opinions on different topics. Two Truths and a Lie: Use this activity to get people to share three things that the team wouldn’t know about them. Two of the facts are true and one is a lie. Your team members have to guess the lie. This activity always leads to some amazing discoveries about your team members. Our Global Team Map: Have a map of the world and a virtual pin in each location you have an employee. Ask your team members to share something unique about their country, city, or hometown. A Day in the Life: If your team is coming together for the first time, have your team members put together a collage about their lives that includes their families or friends, hobbies, pets, favorite movies, favorite books, and so on. Dine Together: This is another great idea to get to know more about someone’s heritage or ethnicity. Have each team member share a favorite family dinner recipe. Once a quarter, send a grocery list and gift card to each team member to buy the ingredients and cook the recipe. Have a virtual dinner together while your team member shares information and interesting facts about her family recipe. Reach out and build rapport with your virtual team A key reason to take the time to connect with your virtual team members is to build rapport. Building a sense of camaraderie on your virtual team or increasing accountability and engagement is impossible if you don’t have a plan for reaching out and staying connected. Effective virtual team leaders create time in their schedules for building relationships and rapport. They make a conscious effort every day to build more effective relationships. If you want to know how you’re doing, rate yourself on how well can you answer the following questions: How effectively are your team members meeting expected results and performance measures? What performance will be needed from them in three to six months given their role and where the business is headed? Are they prepared? What are their aspirations at work this year and in the future? What makes their work (and their objectives) meaningful and satisfying to them? Why are they here? What motivates them? What stresses them? How do they like to be recognized, acknowledged, and rewarded for a job well done? What limits them from delivering their best? What are their derailers? What support, tools, resources, skills, or empowerment do they need from you as their manager to be more effective? Adopt a reach-out strategy with your team to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening with each team member and make sure they’re getting the support and feedback they need to achieve their very best. Don’t try to adhere to a rigid schedule; instead, reach out as needed in 10-, 20-, or 30-minute sessions. The following table shows reach-out recommendations. Reach-Out Recommendations Reach-Out Timing Purpose How Often Questions 30 minutes Talent development/career advancement discussion. This reach-out needs an analysis conversation with a future focus. Quarterly Where are you? Where would you like to be? What do you love to do? When are you in the zone? How does this fit with our strategy? What is needed in the department and from your role to move the needle forward? What’s needed now? What’s needed in the next 18 months? What skills or experiences would you like to develop to help you grow in this role or in the future? What’s your plan for development and how can I support you in getting there? Based on our conversation, what will you start/stop/continue doing as a result? 20 minutes Tactical conversation with a current focus used to assess and support what tasks and projects they’re involved in that are making progress toward their goals and development plans. Monthly What opportunities exist right now on this project or task to move the needle? What one or two things are you focusing on to grow? What opportunities are available to develop the skills we discussed? How can I best support you? Based on our conversation, what will you start/stop/continue as a result? 10 minutes or less Feedback conversation with a just-in-time focus used to provide immediate feedback, coaching, and support. Weekly Can I sit in on this call with you? How about we brainstorm your approach with this customer/vendor/team member? Would you like to role-play how you’ll handle this conversation? Tell me how it went? What was challenging? How did you handle it? What feedback do you need from me? Based on our conversation, what will you start/stop/continue as a result?

Article / Updated 04-25-2023

Selling a home can be very nerve-wracking, so you may be tempted to take the first offer that comes along. Be careful! Potential buyers can be problematic if you don't know what to look for. Not all offers are created equal, so if you jump at one too soon, you could end up breaking the law, tying up the sale of your home, or seeing your home sale fall through. Here are some signs of potential trouble when looking at offers on your home: The buyer requests a cash-back-at-closing deal. Here, the buyer offers you more than the home is worth if you agree to kick back the extra money at closing. This practice is fraudulent and can land you in jail. The buyer isn't pre-approved for a mortgage loan. This person can tie up your home, preventing you from considering better offers. The buyer offers no or very little earnest money deposit (EMD). The lower the EMD, the more likely the deal will fall through. The buyer makes the purchase agreement contingent on the sale of his home. For your home to sell, several other transactions must occur first. This is known as the domino effect, and you should avoid it, if possible. This type of contingency ties up the sale of your house with no guarantee that the interested parties will ever actually go through with the deal.

Article / Updated 04-25-2023

You wear many hats in your role as a personal trainer. You're a salesperson, scientist, friend, coach, motivator, teacher, employer, bookkeeper, and business owner, to name just a few. To be successful wearing any of these hats, you need to be equipped properly — and that means you need to have the right tools to use at the right time. Your mindset The equipment available to help you be a successful trainer is limitless: cellphones, computers, software programs, weight-training equipment, cardiovascular equipment. . . . The list goes on. No matter what types of toys you have (or how expensive or cutting edge they are), it won't matter if you don't have the most important one: the right mindset. Important factors for having the right mindset are: Honesty: You need to be honest with yourself about what you realistically can and cannot do; this flows through to your clientele as well. Determination: Not every day is easy; you won't always have a full book, and sometimes those slow days end up being weeks. Pushing ahead and staying on track when the going gets tough takes determination and focus. Willingness: You need to be willing to change if your original course of action isn't producing the results that you want. You also need to be willing to keep an open mind when your client is complaining that she's not happy with your services. Willingness is more about what you should do as opposed to what you want to do — after all, sometimes you'll have to do things that you don't want to do. Your certification Certification is your badge of honor — it tells everyone who works with you, from employers to clients, that not only do you say you know what you're doing, but you can also prove it. Certification assures your client that you're a true fitness professional; you've undergone stringent studies and testing protocols to figure out what to do and what not to do as a personal training professional. It ensures your client that you know what they don't — which is how to help her reach her fitness goals, safely and efficiently. Being certified also gives you the credibility you need for other professionals and clients to take you seriously. Certification helps you to build a solid rapport with the people you will be doing business with, such as: Employers Clients Mentors Media contacts Doctors with whom you have a referral relationship Your business card Here are some tips for making a long-lasting impression with your business card: In the case of a chance meeting, when someone asks you, "What is it that you do?" have a brief summary (called an elevator pitch) prepared that makes you memorable as you hand her your business card. For example, you can say, "I help people look great naked" or "I build muscles." Make sure the information on your card is correct and up to date. If your area has just recently implemented ten-digit dialing, if your area code has changed, or if you've just gotten an e-mail address, make sure you invest in a new set of business cards to reflect your new contact information. The impression you leave with a potential client is the one that will bring her back to you for business. Make sure that your business card reflects everything you want your potential client to remember about you — professionalism, integrity, quality, and trustworthiness. Tape measure The tape measure can be used for many different things. You can record your client's anthropometric measurements (body circumference) with it to show change and make sure she's on track to achieving her personal goals. You can also measure degrees of flexibility as well as how far your client can reach past her toes in the sit-and-reach flexibility test. Other uses for the tape measure are: Measuring vertical jump height Measuring plyometric (explosive) movement distances Measuring length of stride Measuring stance distances Body-weight scale Going hand in hand with recording baseline biometrics (body measurements), a scale is useful and important in determining gross bodyweight. After you've recorded your client's gross body weight, you can assess body-fat percentage, BMI, and one-rep-max percentages to determine how heavy your client needs to be to train for her workouts. Heart-rate monitor Having a heart-rate monitor for your client to use while you train her has multiple benefits: It allows you to see where her heart rate is without stopping her exercise. A heart-rate monitor is a lot more accurate than the palpation method. Your client will get instant feedback from it — it is an invaluable tool when it comes to teaching clients about perceived rate of exertion and working intensity. You can use it to teach your client stress management, breathing, and biofeedback techniques. Jump rope A jump rope is a light, inexpensive, very portable, and excellent tool for challenging your client's cardiovascular system. Anyone at any fitness level can use it — and as exercises go, your client will burn more calories per minute jumping rope than doing any other activity! Skipping rope is a challenging workout that burns about 360 calories per half-hour (by comparison, moderate running or jogging burns about 330 calories per half-hour). Experts suggest rubber, leather, or beaded ropes (ropes with small plastic tubes on a cord). The grip should be foam-based to absorb sweat and give your client a firm grasp. The client should be able to stand on the rope and hold the handles slightly above waist height. Jump ropes generally come in 6- and 9-foot lengths, and many have detachable handles so you can trim the rope yourself.

Article / Updated 04-25-2023

Buying and selling houses is the primary business of real estate brokers and salespeople. Here's an overview of a typical house sale involving real estate agents. A couple decides to sell their house and enlist the services of a real estate agent. You're one of several agents the couple invites to their home to hear your listing presentation and explain what services you offer. In addition, you probably advise the couple on what price they'll be able to get for their house. After meeting with several agents, the couple chooses you, signing a listing agreement and agreeing to allow you to represent them as their agent in the transaction. As the couple's real estate agent, you begin marketing the property. In communities that have a multiple listing service (MLS), you enter their house information into a computer so that all other agents in the community can see what you've listed for sale. In communities with no MLS, agents may spread the word around to other real estate agencies that they have a particular house for sale. An agent across town who's been working to find a house for another couple sees your house on the MLS and gets in touch with you, asking for more details and making sure the house still is for sale. The cross-town agent then contacts his buyers, and they agree to take a look at the house. After seeing the house, they agree to make an offer. The way a buyer's offer is presented varies in different communities. Sometimes the offer is made in person with the buyer's agent present. The offer usually is made in writing with a small check from the prospective buyer that's called a binder or earnest money. Assuming that your seller either accepts the offer immediately or engages in negotiations that result in a deal, a contract of sale then is prepared. Exactly who prepares the contract varies by state and region. In many places, however, the seller's real estate agent prepares the contract, sometimes filling in the blanks of a preprinted contract form, but in other places, only attorneys prepare the contract. After the contract is signed, the conditions within the contract are triggered. A typical real estate sales contract includes a provision for the buyer to obtain mortgage financing and may have provisions for the house to be inspected by a home inspector or engineer. The contract usually includes a provision that a marketable title must be conveyed. A marketable title means that a reasonable and proper search of the records has been conducted, showing that the title to the property has been documented from earlier owners to the current seller so that it can be conveyed (or transferred) without questions as to who the owner is. A records search that proves whether a title is marketable is called a title search. Title insurance also may be purchased (or even required) as part of the contract process to ensure that the title is legal. When all of the contract provisions are satisfactorily completed and met, the buyer and seller may proceed to closing, taking the real estate agent one step closer to getting paid. By general agreement, the commission usually is paid at the closing. When more than one broker is involved, the broker representing the seller distributes the preapproved share of the commission to the buyer's representative. Each broker then splits a portion or percentage of the commission with the salesperson who worked the deal.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-18-2023

Got a property to rent but worried about everything that’s involved with being a landlord? Use this Cheat Sheet for tips on marketing your property, finding the right tenant and managing the rental process from start to finish.

Article / Updated 04-11-2023

A great way to get real-world experience before you try hanging your personal-trainer shingle is to become an intern or an apprentice. Internships and apprenticeships allow you to discover the technical aspects of the job by working with people who have been there and done it — and who can show you how to do it, too. Interning When you think of interns, you probably imagine someone running around serving coffee to spoiled executives as a low-paid gofer yearning to climb the corporate ladder. But as an intern in the personal training industry, you won't be serving any coffee, kowtowing to any execs, or climbing any ladders. Instead, a personal training internship is a temporary work experience in which you receive training and gain experience in your field. If you have no practical experience under your belt, interning will Give you in-the-field experience that you can't get in a classroom or a book Give you the opportunity to explore and understand the industry before committing to it full-time Let you create relationships with potential employers Help you earn credit toward your certification or degree Help you acquire the skills necessary to perform your job well Teach you valuable new skills with which to build your résumé Establish vital career networks and mentors Enable you to collect references for future employment Many internships provide compensation through minimum wage, stipends, or hourly wages comparable to full-time pay. Others don't pay but do provide perks and invaluable experience. Internships vary in duration. The best place to start is with your local gym. Ask the gym owner or manager if you can shadow one of his trainers or maybe start working the front desk to learn the business. Also, don't hesitate to call other personal training companies to see if they would be open to taking you on as an intern. It's a great way for a personal training company to train you in the way they want things to be done — and it works for you too, because you get to learn the ropes! Apprenticing Apprenticing provides education and on-the-job training. Typically, you work in a structured apprentice program for a company under the watchful eye of one of their veteran staffers. Unlike internships, apprenticeships are always paid positions. The benefits of apprenticing include the following: Paid on-the-job training, under the guidance of a skilled employee Additional instruction, classroom theory, and hands-on training Progressive, increasing wages as your skill level increases If you're just starting out as a personal trainer, you can earn entry-level income as an apprentice and gain the skills you need to become a higher-ranking trainer. Plus, you'll typically get a raise in pay after you've successfully completed the apprenticeship program. The bonus here is that, when you go through an apprenticeship, your employer is able to train you in the way they want you to work, so your chances of being taken on as a full-time trainer at that facility are greater than they are if you were just an intern there. If you're interested in apprenticing but aren't sure where to start, try your local college. Colleges with Exercise Physiology programs typically have a list of companies that offer apprentice programs to their students, because their students have to complete an apprenticeship for their degree requirements. Even though you may not be a student, they can give you a few names and contact numbers of companies you can apply to as an apprentice. If you don't have any colleges or universities in your area, don't hesitate to approach a company yourself and ask if you can work with them as an apprentice — it never hurts to ask! Training to train If you haven't done it yet, you may want to think about coughing up a few pennies to work with a personal trainer yourself. Although you want to be training other people — not be trained yourself — spending time with someone who's been doing it for a while and is successful at it can be worth way more than the money you shell out for the session. Trust us, if you tell your trainer that you're interested in being a personal trainer, too, and you'd like to work with him for a couple of sessions to get a feel for it, he'll be delighted. For the most part, trainers are very supportive of one another — a good personal trainer will want to see you succeed. A bonus to working with another trainer is that, when you do get certified and start training clients, you have a colleague whom you can call when you need help troubleshooting or you just need a quick answer to a question. Taking advantage of other learning opportunities If you belong to a gym, work out with a friend who's slightly less advanced than you are. While you're working out with her, practice your training and spotting techniques. Your partner won't mind — after all, she's going to get stronger as a result of your practice! If you can't find anyone to work out with, try role-playing. (And no, we don't mean meeting your significant other at the local watering hole wearing a wig and dark glasses.) While you're working out, run through a mental dialogue of what you would say to yourself if you were the client. Practice explaining what the exercises do and which muscle groups are involved in the exercise. Just be sure to do this in your head, not out loud. Practicing your dialogue prevents you from being tongue-tied when you're working with a live, flesh-and-blood client. One great way to expand your mind and elevate your glass ceiling is to visit the leaders of your profession — and what better way to do that than to visit a conference? Try attending conferences put on by different certifying bodies or groups such as IDEA or the National Strength and Conditioning Association — click on Meetings. Also check out the seminars by Northeast Seminars, an outfit that gathers some of the top people in the fitness and rehab industries to discuss functional training and rehabilitation. Study or practice one of your training skills every day. Read up on medical literature, listen to a lecture at the hospital on preventing back injuries, practice stretching a friend. However, whatever, and whenever you decide to practice, when the time comes that you actually need that skill or tidbit of knowledge, you'll be glad you did!

Article / Updated 03-22-2023

Writing a resignation letter really isn’t as hard as it sounds. No matter how you quit your job, or what your reason is for leaving, your exit should be treated like a business transaction. Keeping your resignation and your resignation letter professional will make the leap to your dream career more successful. All resignation letters should be written in block style (no indentations) and should follow these steps: Compose the heading.The heading of your letter will be your first and last name [press Enter/Return], address [press Enter/Return], city, state, zip [press Enter/Return], phone number [press Enter/Return] and date written [press Enter/Return twice]. This heading of the letter is usually right-justified, meaning the text will be found in the top right corner of the document.For example: John Smith 1234 Main Street Chicago, IL 12345 123-456-7890 January 1, 2020 Keep in mind, formal resignation letters are never handwritten. Add the inside address. The inside address is the formal name of your boss/supervisor (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr.) [press Enter/Return], the address of your employer [press Enter/Return], and the company phone and fax numbers [press Enter/Return twice]. The inside address is always left-justified, meaning it will be found just above the greeting on the left-hand side of the document. For example, it might look like this: Mr. Smith 1234 Left Street Chicago Il, 12345 987-654-3210 567-000-1234 Next, include the greeting (salutation).The greeting normally begins with the words “Dear” or “To” followed by the full name of your supervisor/boss and ending with a coma [press Enter/Return twice].For example, Dear Mr. John Doe, To Mrs. Jane Doe, Avoid cliché words or phrases such as “To whom it may concern.” Write the body of the letter.The body of the document is where you would explain the details of why you’re leaving. Include information such as: Your intention for leaving: “I hereby submit,” “Please accept,” “It is with great regret…” followed by the words “resignation” and your position or job title. Your expected end date: The end date must be at least two weeks after the date indicated at the top on of the letter. The reason you are leaving: The reason can be personal, or to accept a better opportunity. You might explain how it is time to move or offer a reason for accepting a different job. Gratitude: This part of the letter is positive and explains how you are sad to leave and how the company has benefited you. Thank your employer for the experience and offer to help find your replacement. Add the close (valediction).The close is a complimentary short phrase that closes the resignation letter. Usually the words “Sincerely,” “Thank you,” or “Best regards” are used, ended with a coma [press Enter/Return twice]. Include your signature.The signature area has both your typed name typed and signed in ink at the bottom of the letter, making the final document legal and binding. Be professional! Do not use overly emotional or inappropriate words or statements anywhere in your letter. Letters of resignation go into your personal file. If you leave a negative impression by writing a nasty letter, it may come back to haunt you later. When your letter of resignation is complete, personally deliver it to your supervisor or boss and ask him/her for a letter of recommendation. Remember to be positive. Good luck with your next employment adventure! If you need more help, tons of sample resignation letters can be found online.