Tag Archives: Career Coaching

Job Search – Do Your Email Address and Voicemail Message Help Your Job Search?

Posted on 16 May 2013 by Wendy Mason | Leave a comment

Job Search – Do Your Email Address and Voicemail Message Help Your Job Search?

Your email address and voice mail message are part of your personal brand – they send a message about you to potential employers. When you are applying to jobs you need to make sure that they say the right things.

You need to have a professional looking email address and a voice mail message that sounds warm and friendly but also business like. Jokey email addresses, and those which look like they are meant for a family, are not going to work to your advantage. Exactly the same thing goes for your voice mail message – this is not the time for that celebrity voice – nor friendly family greetings or jokes. An employer will consider an unprofessional voicemail message like this means you are not professional in your approach.

Here are some guidelines to getting it right!

Voicemail message

Before you record your message think about what you are going to say – it can be a good idea to write your message down
Include your name in the message, mention you’re unavailable to answer the phone. Then ask them to leave their name, number and message, and say you will get back to them as soon as possible. (Then do that, of course)
Keep it simple. For example, “Hi, this is Simon Jones. I’m sorry I’m unable to take your call now, but please leave your name, number and message after the tone and I’ll return your call as soon as possible. Thank you.”
Take time and trouble recording your message – find a quiet place with no background noise of any kind
Speak clearly, and sound professional and polite when recording your greeting.
If you want to be taken seriously avoid background noise including the sound of the family, joke messages and any kind of gimmick.

Email address

Consider creating a new email address specifically for your job search. This will help to prioritize your job search emails.
If possible, include your name in your email address, for example firstname.lastname@abc.com. That will make it much easier for a potential employer to find your emails in their inbox or folder.
You could create an email address that corresponds to the work you do or your profession, for example simonjonesprojectmanager@abc.com if is appropriate.
Make sure your email address is as simple, logical and easy to type as possible – long strings of numbers may well generate mistakes. That might mean you lose out on a precious job offer.

Your email address and voicemail message are key to your personal brand in your job search. Keep them clear, simple and professional. Then they will increase, not decrease, the chances of you being contacted by an employer.
In job search, paying attention to these small details can greatly improve your prospects of being hired.

I have started a new Job Search Group on LinkedIn where you will find lots of tips and other resources in due course – you can join it by clicking here

Wendy is the The Career Coach – helping you to find fresh perspectives on your Job Search and Career. Career Coach. Wendy, helps you work towards your goals and aspirations, in a way that fits in with both work and home life. Email her at wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com, find her on Skype at wendymason14, or call +44 (0) 2081239146 (02081239146 for UK callers) or +1 262 317 9016 if you are in the US.

A free trial/consultation allows you to try phone coaching from the comfort of your own home and without risk. Don’t forget to ask about the Summer Special Offer

CV review and interview preparation and coaching to improve your confidence and self esteem are a speciality

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Posted in Job Search

Tagged Career Coach, Career Coaching, Job Search, job search tips, tips

Why Telephone Coaching Works

Posted on 3 April 2013 by Wendy Mason | 21 Comments

Why Telephone Coaching Works

I’ve been coaching successfully by phone and Skype for a while now and clients have found it a very positive experience. It always amazes me just how powerful and effective coaching by phone can be. But lots of people seem to have reservations about trying coaching by phone.

What phone coaching can do for you!

First of all phone coaching delivers all the benefits that coaching by other methods delivers.

That is an opportunity to gain;

•Fresh perspectives on personal challenges and opportunities,

•Improved thinking and decision making skills,

•Better interpersonal skills and communication

•Increased confidence at work and in your personal life.

There are some special advantages specific to phone coaching.

These include:

Concentration – it if often much easier to concentrate on the issues you want to consider
Convenient and Relaxing – as a client you can be in your own familiar surroundings. I find it is much easier for me to meet a client’s need in terms of time if I don’t have to travel to a venue. I can coach pretty much any time of the day or night which suits my clients.
Clients find it easier to be open – there can be a nice blend anonymity and intimacy when talking on the telephone and that helps people to be more open
Time Efficient – there’s no time (or money) spent travelling and coaching can be fitted more easily into a busy schedule
International Coaching – it really doesn’t matter where you are in the world, so long as you have a

good phone connection and can speak English.

I’m based in the UK but have coached clients from a number of other countries including the US. But you don’t have to be far away – it is convenient wherever you live. I have both US and UK telephone numbers and of course you can find me on Skype.

I provide a first, free, no obligation coaching consultation.

To find out more email wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com, find me on Skype at wendymason14, or call +44 (0) 2081239146 (02081239146 for UK callers) or +1 262 317 9016 if you are in the US.

The free trial/consultation allows you to give phone coaching a real trial without any financial risk. And remember there are great benefits to be achieved from coaching by phone or Skype.

Wendy Mason is the Happiness Coach and author of a new novel, The Wolf Project. Wendy is a life and career coach and writer. She is passionate about helping people find happiness at work and at home! To find out more email wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com, find her on Skype at wendymason14, or call +44 (0) 2081239146 (02081239146 for UK callers) or +1 262 317 9016 if you are in the US. A free trial/consultation allows you to give phone coaching a real trial without any financial risk. And remember there are great benefits to be achieved from coaching by phone or Skype.

CV review and interview preparation a speciality

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Posted in Coaching, Coaching Services

Tagged business, Career Coaching, Coaching, coaching by phone, coaching by Skype, coaching successfully, life coaching, Skype, Value of coaching, value of phone coaching

Managing People – Know Yourself!

Posted on 26 March 2013 by Wendy Mason | 2 Comments

Managing People – Know Yourself!

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. Aristotle

I’ve been writing a lot recently about the personal development mindset. A key part of the mindset is self-belief. But before you can believe in yourself, you need to understand yourself; particularly your strengths, your weaknesses and your personality. This is particularly important if you want to be successful at managing others!

I have important news for you – there are no perfect managers. Managers have strengths and all of them have weaknesses too. You are no different to the rest. There will be things that you are good at and there will be other things that you might prefer not to talk about, or even to admit to yourself. And every one of us has our own quirks of personality. Believe me, you need to understand yours! If you want to succeed as a manager, you need to be honest and, not least, with yourself.

Being a good manager doesn’t mean you need to be perfect or to know everything. But, you do need to be good at covering the gaps; that only works if you know where the gaps are. Then you have options.

You can:

Put together a team that includes people who are what you are not and can do what you cannot. Sometimes this can be a challenge – often our first instinct is to recruit people just like us! If you are putting together a team for an important, business critical, task, you need to have all the bases covered,
Outsource/buy in the ability you need, when you need it, for example, HR advice when faced with a large-scale organizational change.
Adapt the task so that it uses the skills and experience you have available. This may be negotiable more often than you think. But without an honest appraisal of your own strengths and the strengths of the team, that would not be possible.

If you would like to understand yourself better then “Personality: What makes you the way you are” by Daniel Nettle comes well recommended. Also, there are lots of free personality tests on line – HumanMetrics provides one of the more widely used ones.

Wendy Mason is the Happiness Coach and author of a new novel, The Wolf Project Wendy is a life and career coach and writer. She is passionate about helping people find happiness at work and at home! She helps people reach their goals and aspirations, without sacrificing their home and personal life. She believes coaching requires compassion, warmth and empathy. Wendy helps people reach their career goals and aspirations, without sacrificing their home and personal life. You can contact Wendy at wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com and find out more at http://wisewolfcoaching.com

CV review and interview preparation a speciality

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Posted in Management, Managing Change, Personal Development, Personality

Tagged business, Career Coaching, change, coach, Knowing yourself, leadership, life coaching, Management, managing people, Mindset, Personal development, personal development mindset, Personality test, What is personal development

Job Search Basics – How A Google Search Can Help

Posted on 21 February 2013 by Wendy Mason | Leave a comment

Job Search Basics – How A Google Search Can Help

One of the best ways to find jobs online is to conduct a local job search using Google. You can find all sorts of jobs including data entry jobs, typist jobs, government jobs and online computer jobs (these are some of the most commonly searched job vacancies using a search engine like Google).

But many online job searches end up with too many search results to browse through. One of the most efficient ways to find a job online without visiting many online job sites is to narrow down your online jobs search using a search engine.

This video demonstrates a simple, but very effective, way of doing just that.

If you want to find out more ways to save time and effort in carrying out your Job Search activities, just visit http://www.GetMeOffTheDole.com, and you will find a wealth of other valuable information. Once there, don’t forget to try out the dedicated Job Search Engine.

Wendy Mason is the Happiness Coach and author of a new novel, The Wolf Project. Wendy is a life and career coach and writer. She is passionate about helping people find happiness at work and at home! She helps people reach their goals and aspirations, without sacrificing their home and personal life. She believes coaching requires compassion, warmth and empathy. Wendy helps people reach their career goals and aspirations, without sacrificing their home and personal life. You can contact Wendy at wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com and find out more at http://wisewolfcoaching.com

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Posted in Job Search

Tagged career, Career Coaching, Career Development, change, Employment, Job hunting, Job Search, Job Search Techniques, job search with google, Job Search. recruitment, job seeking, Job-Hunt, jobs, Looking for a new job

Job Search – Getting On With The Interview Panel

Posted on 17 January 2013 by Wendy Mason | 3 Comments

Job Search – Getting On With The Interview Panel

Most job searches mean you have to deal with panel interviews. Many large employers will want to use panel interviewing as a part of their recruitment process. It means a number of different people can be involved in the decision-making process. They can be from different parts of the organization with an interest in the role and can give a range of perspectives. Job interviews conducted by a panel are seen to be fair and valid because a number of different opinions and views are taken into account in making a decision.

Usually, each panel member will take turns to ask questions about your fitness for the role; your background, experience and interests. It can be difficult to build rapport with each panel member during the interview. And sometimes, unfortunately, there might be one panel member that you find it particularly difficult to get on with. This can happen at an interview, just as it can in other parts of your life.

Tips to help you build rapport with the interviewing panel.

Knowing who the panel members are beforehand is a great help. If you can, research people on the internet using LinkedIn, for example! If this is not possible, use your knowledge of the company and the position to prepare to respond to questions from different parts of the organization such as human resources, line management, technical and finance.
Your introduction is important to creating the right first impression. This is a good opportunity to connect with each panel member on a personal level before the interview questions begin. Make initial eye contact with each panel member and try to respond warmly and with interest.
When the questions start, listen carefully to what is being asked and don’t be afraid to ask for clarifications or to make sure you understand correctly. It is important to answer the question that has been asked.
Make initial eye contact with the person who asked the question and then include the other panel members in your answer. Scan from one face to the next, pausing briefly on each. Focus on speaking to each individual and then, as you finish your answer, return your focus to the person who asked the interview question. Stay calm and answer each question thoroughly.
If you do get into a discussion or you are asked to consider an alternative point of view, again stay calm. Do not expect to be successful if you let anger or annoyance show. Take time to respond with a considered view. Watch your body language, you can show frustration without saying a word.
If there is someone on the panel that you really cannot get on with, then don’t ignore how they make you feel and why. If that person is to be your immediate boss in the new organization, or someone further up the line to whom you will report, then think quite seriously about whether the role is right for you. Do this even if you are successful and it is a generous offer. I have worked with a number of clients who sensed at interview that all was not well but ignored those feelings, only to have regrets later.

With the right preparation and approach, I hope you will get on well with all the members of any interview panel that you meet.

Wendy Mason is a career coach. She helps people reach their goals and aspirations, without sacrificing their home and personal life. Before working as a coach, Wendy had a long career in both the public and private sectors in general management and consultancy as well as spells in HR. She now divides her time between coaching and writing. You can contact Wendy at wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com and find out more at http://wisewolfcoaching.com