I believe that a successful, well-balanced job search is more than successful strategies and tactical actions a job seeker can take to get closer to finding that right job. A successful job search offers well-balanced advice to address the mind, body, spirit and financial well-being of a person. A balanced job search prepares the job seeker to be in the right frame of mind and in good health to perform well throughout the entire job search process.

Here are suggested websites that enable a job seeker to take a balanced approach to their job search by shoring up on wellness, positive mindset, health, money, global business knowledge and efficient job search tactics action to help them be viewed as ‘in-demand’ by prospective employers. (more…)

Curious as to how you can make money doing what you love to do? LinkedIn hired me to write an article for their job seekers audience to explore how to turn your passion into a career using LinkedIn to help you with that research:

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Asking for a salary increase properly is an art and a science. There are many tactics to do to receive the above average pay raise that you want. However,  during my time as a recruiter and a manager, I have seen many things that an employee should absolutely not do when asking for a pay raise. I list some of them here and welcome your additional ideas in the comment section at the end of this article:

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Understanding how to ask for a raise and negotiate a salary increase is a professional skill everyone needs to master. When you ask for a raise, there are many things you can do ahead of time to increase your odds of landing the salary increase you want.

Studies by management consulting firms show the average salary increase in 2012 will hover around a 3% salary raise. After reviewing research, I find using the following salary negotiation tactics can optimize your pay and maximize your raise, when done right: (more…)

Are you looking for the best inspirational videos and quotes for motivation? I stumbled upon this list of the most watched TED talks and found the motivation and inspiration I drew from watching these videos was amazing. What a list! There is so much inspirational mojo to be found on this list. I hope you enjoy this list as much as I have. Here is the post and the page link to the original link:

The 20 most-watched TED Talks to date

TED is dedicated to ideas worth spreading. And that leaves many wondering exactly which ideas have been spread the most widely in the six years that TEDTalks videos have been available online. Here, a list of the 20 most-watched talks on all the platforms we track: TED.com, YouTube, iTunes, embed and download, Hulu and more.

From education to brain function to inspiring messages to techno-possibilities, this list represents quite a breadth of topics. (more…)

Written by Lisa Rangel, Executive Resume Writer

Using LinkedIn to advance your job search and career prospects is a key component of an effective career management plan. “What do you say to a connection?” is what I am often asked by job seekers. Well, there is a great tool on LinkedIn  (and now other related websites) that can help you track your contacts advancement and changes, which can give you great fodder to send that engaging email or make that captivating call. (more…)

“Follow Your Bliss” – Joseph Campbell

Changing careers can be a daunting task, but only if you are unsure how to capitalize on the skill set that you already have. Using LinkedIn’s Skills & Expertise Search function can help you identify new career path to pursue that enable you to leverage your current skill set, while allowing you to maximize your earning potential while doing something you love to do. This combination can help you be happier in your next job.

UTILIZE LINKEDIN’S SKILLS & EXPERTISE SEARCH FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY
For example, if you have exceptional Contract Negotiation skills and want to apply these skills to a different industry, here is how you can unearth targeted industries to utilize your skills in a new manner. Go to the LinkedIn Skills & Expertise Search page located here: http://ow.ly/bfCWg Type in “Contract Negotiations” into the search field, which will bring you to a landing page with a wealth of information to start your research on locating new areas to apply your Contract Negotiation skill set.
The information on this landing page will list Connections within your three degrees that have Contract Negotiation expertise, Related Companies that hire and have hired individuals with Contract Negotiation experience, Jobs that require Contract Negotiation skills, Groups that value Contract Negotiations abilities, and Related Skills that can help foster other career path ideas. Here is how you can use these five areas to identify your new career path. (more…)

LinkedIn hired me to write three articles for their job seekers audience to offer guidance on how to turn your passion into a career, then how to build a target company list for a job search and, lastly, locating the right contact at those companies to approach to start building your career.  Here are the links to my articles published  on LinkedIn.com: (more…)

Whatever your reason for embarking on your upcoming transition, whether it be a layoff, economic incentive, professional frustration, divorce, empty nest syndrome or you simply have a great business idea to put to market, realize that you are in an exciting position!  Yes, you are.

This can be the beginning of what will become your Great Story.  I can imagine that you may feel petrified about starting this process and overwhelmed about where or how to start. Don’t worry. It is this uncertainty that holds all the promise and possibility that lies before you. Embrace it and don’t fight it. Don’t believe me? Need proof? (more…)

This time of year brings about that need to take inventory of what you did and where you want to go in the next year. Notice I did not say we need to take note of what we did not do. Focus on the positive. Focus on what you did accomplish in your career.

Be grateful and content. It is in the contentment and acceptance of where we are that allows us to have a foundation to build the dreams of where we want to go in the next year.

Use this time to REFLECT and not REGRET.

Then DESIGN your plan to ADVANCE your career.

Let’s close out 2011 and get revved up for 2012. Join me in doing this exercise: (more…)