Hit the Target
If you watch a television show you can pretty quickly figure out its target audience by the commercials you see. After all, nobody is advertising to five-year-olds during NCIS, and there are few Tide commercials during Saturday morning cartoons.
So where are you advertising for your next job? Think of the networking events you attend. Did you just sign up because you “thought you should,” or are you going with an objective in mind? Is that the right place for you to be for your organization or your career?
The career move here? There are lots of opportunities to advertise yourself each day. There are a lot of pressures to go to someone’s “next great event.” It’s also easy to find yourself in all the wrong places. Being thoughtful and purposeful about where you “advertise” yourself pays much better career dividends.
Are We There Yet?
I don’t mountain climb, but I could see where it’s exciting for those who do. After strenuous labor, using technical skill, they reach the summit for a beautiful view and a grand sense of accomplishment.
Yet for all the comparisons that people sometimes make between a career and “climbing a mountain” (or ladder), there’s a major difference. When you reach the pinnacle of the mountain, you know you’ve reached the top. For your career, you may not realize you were at the top until after you descend — or fall.
The career move here? Like a mountain climber, know your objective. Plan the path. Once in a while check your bearings and make sure your altimeter is in good working order. Don’t reach the summit and fail to even realize you’re there and miss the view.
Welcome 2012!
Breathe deep … more excitement ahead.
Think of the fundraising cycle. It reaches a crescendo on December 31st when so many people make their year-end, holiday (many times tax-driven) gifts. The flood of checks in the mail! The last minute gift annuities! The struggle to decide whether that land deal is legitimate! Year end is exciting for the development office.
Now that you’ve taken a deep breath and had a little rest, what are you going to do to avoid the personal, and fundraising, depression that can come with the start of a new year?
Your career move? Resolve to see some folks. Not just any folks, but your donors. Pick a few at random, and make a New Year tour. Getting out to say “thank you” to people who supported you last year will be a fine lift — for you and them. No more agenda than simply to say thanks — and Happy New Year!
Happy Holidays
A heartfelt Happy Holidays to you.
For a lot of our friends and neighbors, maybe even you, it’s been a difficult year. Yet here we are in the darkest days — literally the days with the least sunlight — knowing that daylight WILL come back. It is certain.
So huddle with your friends and family. Reach out to those whom you love and remind them that you do, and build a solid base for when the sun returns. Assuredly it will once more, and all will be right with the world.
A Turkey of a Name
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America. Yet the earliest European arrivals, thinking that the bird was related to what they called “turkey fowl” back home (a bird that was really from central Europe but imported to their tables via Turkey), named the American bird “turkey,” too.
But it doesn’t stop there. Just ask the “Indians” (Native Americans, First Nations). Columbus thought he reached India, so what else would he call them?
How many times have you labeled something — or worse yet, someone — from the start and never thought to reexamine that label later? I know I’m guilty. It’s just easier to do.
The fundraiser says “Oh, they’re not a prospect.” The job seeker says “No jobs there.” The employer decides “Not the candidate for me.”
How is this a career lesson? First impressions — on both sides — always need reevaluation, if only to confirm what you originally thought or to change your perspective entirely.
