Tag Archives: list

12 Lists You Should Keep To Make Your Life Easier!

lists, organization, action items
Photo by Cheryl Chan

Occasionally I’ll be taking some breaks occasionally from writing about job search best practices to cover a few somewhat related and helpful topics. List making has been second nature to me since I was a teen—and so helpful, I couldn’t refrain from doing a post on it. Here are 12 lists you can create and maintain that will help you keep up with things and make your life easier. Some were mentioned in the Moolah Mondays series.

1. Christmas Gift Ledger – Oh baby—with this one, not only will you easily see who you need to buy for, but what you got them in years past—which will help you avoid giving them something too similar or (when doing some sly re-gifting) what they gave you!
2. Doctor Appointments, Mileage, & Expenses – List the doctor or dentist’s name, the date of the appointment, what it was for, how much you had to pay out of pocket, and the total mileage to and from the appointment. Having a list up on the wall you can add to that shows all your appointments for the year at a glance will not only help with remembering them but with tax preparation come tax time.
3. Errands List – Save gas and time by combining trips. List all non-food items you need or places you need to go next time you’re out running errands. You can keep your grocery list in the kitchen for writing different food items down as you run out of them.
4. Miscellaneous – I use Google Drive for my Miscellaneous list and log anything from template email responses to info about my cell phone plan or credit card interest rates. This way, I can CTRL-F search for a keyword instead of pawing through loads of paper notes in my file cabinet each time I need to recall some helpful bit of info.
5. Monthly Action Items – For example, my reminder list separates things into even, odd, and every month sections and contains things like: cleaning procedure for my printer, contact lens care, running spyware cleaners on my PC, a reminder to tithe, submitting volunteer activity reports, certain car maintenance, etc.
6. Pending Mail – This lists everything you’ve ordered that has not yet arrived, what company it’s from, and the date you ordered it. Never go from memory if you’ve pre-paid and ordered something.
7. Tax Prep – This is a list of all the 1099s, statements, and W2s you’ll be waiting for before you can file your taxes…plus any various notes about things like your favorite H&R Block tax preparer’s name, minimums (for deciding about itemizing), bank routing and account numbers, and special roll-over amounts for next tax year.
8. Vacation Day Use – List how many vacation days your employer allows, including flex and floating days and holidays. Then you can decide how you’ll use them and probably track them better than your boss! Especially helpful come vacation planning time or year’s-end so you won’t lose any not yet taken.
9. Vendors – If you find a great plumber, mechanic, recording engineer, whatever, log their contact info. Then you can easily find them down the road when you need their services again or recommend them to someone else if asked for a referral.
10. Want List – Here, list things that you want to buy and their estimated costs. This will help you save for them instead of getting everything you want now and forking out dough for credit card or loan interest.
11. What’s In Your Wallet – This should list every credit card, ID card, discount card, etc. you keep in your wallet and the customer service numbers of your credit card companies. This way, you won’t have to go from memory replacing these items if your wallet is lost or stolen.
12. What’s On Loan – Anything you loan to someone, list it here. Scratch it off when they return it. Never forget who has what again!

What is your most important list?

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MUCHO MONDAYS – “Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro…”: 6 Things To Bring To Your Interview

interview, preparation, list, resume, SAR, strengths, weaknesses, situation, action, result, interviewer, elevator speech, exit statement, references, applications, LinkedIn
Photo by jimmijoe50/djamel

At least 2 copies of your resume’ – One for you for reference and one in case the interviewer asks for it. Frequently the version of your resume’ the interviewer may have been handed from HR is a format-stripped one, difficult to follow. NOTE: If you’re using a Functional Resume’, bring one Chronological for yourself as a quick reference
Interview Prep Sheets1) a standard one listing your strengths, typical questions you should always ask, your goals, and the answer to the question “Tell me about yourself” and 2) a Company Information Sheet (containing: the title of the job for which you’re interviewing; the name of the interviewer, his or her contact phone number, and the address or directions to the interview site; facts about the company; your questions about the job; and the questions you would ask if you were the interviewer–especially in regards to relating your background to the position on the table).
Your SARS/Weaknesses Sheet – A list of 8 or so top Situation/Action/Result scenarios (here’s a list of ideas from which to choose) and the answer to the question “What are your weaknesses?”
Your Elevator Speech and Exit Statement
Information about your past jobs (start/end dates, salary, addresses, supervisors’ names, etc.) – in case you need to fill out an Application. I like to keep a document of this information on Google Drive in order to reduce the amount of papers I need to carry. Just make sure to update it as you update the one on your computer. Also paste your References at the top of this document so you’ll have those readily available if an Application requires it.
• A professional looking folio to keep all this in

Have the resume’s (your copy and theirs) handy so you don’t have to fumble for them. Having the other sheets in the folio is fine, just tuck them out of the way before you are called back for the interview.

Finally, it’s always a good idea to check LinkedIn for the photo of the person who will be interviewing you. This way you can appear more prepared as well as learn more about their background.

What else do you bring? Can you share any curveballs the interviewer stumped you with?

MUCHO MONDAYS – Gold In The Desert: An 18-Point Sample Action Plan

action plan, planning, plan, action, forethought, priorities, job search, preparation, mucho Mondays, action items, goals
Photo by Mark85306 at flickr.com

The most important thing for any job seeker at this point is to craft an Action Plan. I’ve carefully crafted and sequenced the sample below, but you can modify it as you see fit. Replace the example info in the Plan section with your own; then begin to accomplish the Action Items as a part of your daily activities.

ACTION PLAN

Planning:

  • Goals: Secure a full time marketing management, creative services, or project management job in the greater Denver area with a stable industry, working with internal customers—not the public at a for-profit company not in healthcare or music business with <15% travel., $45k+/yr. + benefits, within to 5 miles from my home by [date.]
  • Relocate: no
  • Job Titles: Project Manager, Marketing Manager, Creative Services Manager
  • Direction: Seeking the ideal job (for the first 5 months) until [date]; then after [date], seek B or C jobs at ($35k+/yr. offers.) Get up daily at 8:00am. Job search/network: 9:30am-3:00pm. Read 3:00-3:30pm, & gym 3:30-4:30pm M-Thur.)
  • Focus: Doing the action items below to achieve your Goals. Take a few minutes out of your day to find positivity, and you will find yourself having less stress and an open mind towards your job hunt. Think of this job transition as an adventure & about all those that are supporting me. Be thankful as opportunities arise and things go well.
  • 4-5 Strengths/Unique Selling Points on Me:
  • B & C Level Job Options:

Action Items:

1) Watch or read The Secret. Consider doing a career assessment.
2) Set up regular reminders in your calendar such as:
Daily – Reading
Weekly – Certify for unemployment pay.
Weekly – Apply for 3 jobs (or whatever the minimum is for your state). See WEEKLY REMINDER* example below.
Weekly – Post something helpful to your LinkedIn wall—for example, events, articles, or job openings.
Monthly – Decide which networking mixers to attend during the next month.
Every other month on a Friday – Post reminder about job search on your Facebook and LinkedIn walls. If you’re a Twitter user, tweet this as well. Samples:
a. “Hope everyone is having a good week. Just an update on my job transition. I’m still seeking a full time marketing or graphic design job in the greater Denver area in case you hear of any openings. Thank you.”
b. (Alternate): “Happy Friday! The job hunt is going well–I’m finding and have applied for some good positions and am networking like crazy. Just a reminder, I’m still seeking introductions to recruiters and opportunities in marketing or graphic design in the greater Denver area. Any referrals would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!”
One Off Dates – Log the dates you need to reevaluate and possibly move to your next alternate choice for positions from your Action Plan above into your Calendar.

*WEEKLY REMINDER:
Every MONDAY:
– Login & manually run a fresh search at www.creativegroup.com to see what jobs they have.
– Check Craiglist (http://nashville.craigslist.org/search/mar?query=+ AND http://nashville.craigslist.org/search/jjj?is_parttime=part-time) AND Monster.com for job postings.
– 2nd & 4th MONDAYS, see AAF (American Advertising Federation) board – www.aafnashville.com/jobs AND these 3: http://part-time.jobs.net | nashvillechamber.com | https://beta.governmentjobs.com
– 1st & 3rd MONDAYS, manually check Career Transition Group’s LinkedIn Group – http://www.linkedin.com/groups?jobs=&gid=881437&trk=anet_ug_jobs AND Vanderbilt’s site – https://vanderbilt.taleo.net/careersection/.vu_cs/mysearches.ftl
– Daily, as usual, see emails from those where alerts are set up to email me: LI (LinkedIn) groups, Indeed, professional associations, beyond.com.

Other job postings:
– www.simplyhired.com
– http://www.jobalot.com
– Surf my target co’s web sites.

READ:
MarketingNews magazine
underconsideration.com/brandnew
sethgodin.typepad.com
prdaily.com

3) Take an online free webinar such as http://premium.linkedin.com/jobsearch/webcasts.html to familiarize yourself with how LinkedIn currently works.
4) Establish a relationship with a Career Coach at your local Department of Labor or a recommended life coach.
5) Update: Elevator Speech, Exit Statement, Resume’, html Resume’, LinkedIn Profile & status, interviewing SARs (Situation/Action/Result), Strengths/Questions/Tell Me About Yourself sheet, References page
6) Set up folders on your computer. Create (or update), and assemble all templates, scripts, etc.
7) Print some resume’s (run 10 copies to keep on hand and use as needed) and business cards (start with 150).
8) Change your “LinkedIn Headline,” and check your LI Preferences.
9) Make your Target Company List.
11) Get recommendations; then request meetings to get set up with 2-3 headhunters (independent recruiters.)
12) Create, then start using 2 Excel documents (Job Search Log and Networking List) and your scripts/templates to start networking and tracking daily action items.
13) Set up, reactivate (or turn off filters that automatically trash) regular job posting alerts from indeed.com, and a few top sites like beyond.com or glassdoor.com/Job/jobs.htm.
If your city has a career transition group (for example: http://tinyurl.com/nashcareer) with regular job postings email blasts–be it through their LinkedIn group, yahoo groups, or just email messages–sign up for those.
14) Update your online resume’ at indeed.com, careerbuilder.com, your outplacement service’s site (for example RightEverywhere.com) if you have one, and while you’re there, update your profile. Post your resume’ at any association sites.
15) Regularly check job postings at professional organizations’ sites. Or even better, set up a job filter at those sites so you get an alert by email.
16) Invite some of your closest colleagues to lunch. Start the Targeted Networking process (which we’ll discuss in a later post). Use Facebook or email to individually (as much as possible) alert your friends of your job search. Google around, and compile a list of regular networking events.
17) Stay abreast of news in your industry.
18) Volunteer:
a. With an association in your field.
b. Occasionally with events that have to do with your field (ex.: Podcamp, Barcamp).
c. If you have time, volunteer a couple of times a month or so with a local organization of your choice. See volunteermatch.org.

Just a reminder, if you have family, friends, or colleagues that are on the job hunt, please share this blog with them. Don’t miss the next topic in this series.