I Got the CMA Mentor Award

I Got the CMA Mentor Award Ive been trying to figure out how to write this and have it be a good read for you.  I hope I can pull it off, otherwise this is just a braggy post. Last week I went to the Career Management Alliance conference in New Orleans.  They just started a new recognition program where they have four awards that they give to people in the career industry (whether you are a member of CMA or not).  I was surprised and honored to have earned the award called the Mentor Award. According to the Career Management Alliance website, the Mentor Award honors those individuals who have guided, and inspired, their colleagues in tradecraft, entrepreneurship, and community building. I usually feel like a vendor Im not a career coach, resume writer, counselor or practitioner, so to get recognition like this for being a COLLEAGUE is a real honor.  I appreciate the nomination and any discussion about this from the CMA people thank you! Here are the other awards and winners: What Color is Your Parachute Award Deb Dib In honor of the founder of modern career counseling and author of  What Color is Your Parachute? â€" Dick Bolles â€" this award recognizes an individual who has made sustained, innovative contributions to the careers industry â€" someone who has stayed on the cutting edge and shared his or her knowledge on a wide scale…someone who has helped shape lives and inspired hope. Bridge Award Wendy Enelow and Elizabeth Craig The Bridge Award recognizes one outstanding professional who has made a significant difference in the careers field by connecting professionals from a wide variety of sectors within the industry (e.g., government, academia, the corporate sector, nonprofits, and the entrepreneurial world). Mentor Award Diane Hudson Burns and me The Mentor Award honors those individuals who have guided, and inspired, their colleagues in tradecraft, entrepreneurship, and community building. Marketing Innovator of the Year Jacqui Barrett Poindexter The Marketing Innovator of the Year award is a great exaltation, recognizing a career management professional who has created and successfully implemented the most innovative practice for building business and enhancing their brand. Congrats to all recipients and nominees, and thanks to CMA for the recognition I Got the CMA Mentor Award Ive been trying to figure out how to write this and have it be a good read for you.  I hope I can pull it off, otherwise this is just a braggy post. Last week I went to the Career Management Alliance conference in New Orleans.  They just started a new recognition program where they have four awards that they give to people in the career industry (whether you are a member of CMA or not).  I was surprised and honored to have earned the award called the Mentor Award. According to the Career Management Alliance website, the Mentor Award honors those individuals who have guided, and inspired, their colleagues in tradecraft, entrepreneurship, and community building. I usually feel like a vendor Im not a career coach, resume writer, counselor or practitioner, so to get recognition like this for being a COLLEAGUE is a real honor.  I appreciate the nomination and any discussion about this from the CMA people thank you! Here are the other awards and winners: What Color is Your Parachute Award Deb Dib In honor of the founder of modern career counseling and author of  What Color is Your Parachute? â€" Dick Bolles â€" this award recognizes an individual who has made sustained, innovative contributions to the careers industry â€" someone who has stayed on the cutting edge and shared his or her knowledge on a wide scale…someone who has helped shape lives and inspired hope. Bridge Award Wendy Enelow and Elizabeth Craig The Bridge Award recognizes one outstanding professional who has made a significant difference in the careers field by connecting professionals from a wide variety of sectors within the industry (e.g., government, academia, the corporate sector, nonprofits, and the entrepreneurial world). Mentor Award Diane Hudson Burns and me The Mentor Award honors those individuals who have guided, and inspired, their colleagues in tradecraft, entrepreneurship, and community building. Marketing Innovator of the Year Jacqui Barrett Poindexter The Marketing Innovator of the Year award is a great exaltation, recognizing a career management professional who has created and successfully implemented the most innovative practice for building business and enhancing their brand. Congrats to all recipients and nominees, and thanks to CMA for the recognition

5 Tips on Encouraging Women in Business

5 Tips on Encouraging Women in Business Tips on encouraging more women to progress in business are just as effective for encouraging more men to stay and climb the career ladder in your organisation as well. The aim is to create a culture where everyone can work in a way which makes them feel productive and engaged. Identifying any unconscious bias and barriers to progression, and finding positive solutions, helps to build people friendly workplaces which support both genders to thrive. So how can this be broken down into proactive steps? 1. Show encouragement and give employees a voice Despite having all the knowledge, intelligence, skills and expertise, some people are held back by their own self-doubt when it comes to climbing the career ladder. Often referred to as ‘Imposter syndrome’, research by McKinsey shows that more women than men are likely to experience this. If you spot the potential, attitude and enthusiasm you are looking for, then back that employee to do the job. Help develop their confidence and self-belief by looking for opportunities to get them involved in projects which are crucial to the business, empower them to take on broader responsibilities and open the way for them to proactively contribute in meetings and discussions. There’s a strong chance they will thrive and, in turn, your business will benefit. 2. Coaching and mentoring Coaching and mentoring can help people to realise their full potential and to develop their own authentic leadership style. A study by Grant Thornton revealed that one of the most significant things in helping women to succeed in leadership was having a mentor or sponsor. Find opportunities to match up-and-coming talent with sponsors, mentors or coaches. This could be from within the organisation itself, or via external networking and business growth schemes. Another study by Cambridge University showed that there is also a benefit to pairing people of different genders together. While many people seek a mentor or sponsor of the same gender because they perceive there will be more common ground, this research suggests that picking a mentor of the opposite gender will help people to appreciate what the workplace looks like from a different point of view. This not only encourages both parties to learn from each other’s strengths it opens opportunities for men and women to work together in tackling unconscious bias and barriers to progression. 3. Flexibility can make all the difference It’s equally vital for both male and female employees to strike the delicate balance between work and home life to be able to effectively manage their career life cycle and to continue to excel. Flexible working practices can give families more choice about how they manage their households and help both parents to successfully progress their careers. For example, an increasing number of men are choosing to work flexibly, often leaving early to pick up children from school. That’s why flexible working is one of the most sought-after employee benefits and organisations which able to offer it are more likely to be able to attract and retain the best talent. Flexibility can come in many forms and bring additional business benefits. Extending business hours so employees can come in earlier, or leave later, can also benefit customers by increasing the time in which the organisation is contactable. Toyota famously introduced a 6-hour working day in 2002 and has reported happier staff, reduced sick leave and higher profits. Flexible working may not be suitable for all businesses but the overall aim should still be on developing a company culture which is focussed on results and outcomes and not the amount of time spent in the office. Check that there isn’t any mistaken perception amongst employees that working extra hours will help to demonstrate how committed and valuable they are. 4. Monitor your talent pipeline Start from the beginning when exploring the talent pipeline. Is there an equal balance of men and women joining the organisation in junior roles in the first place? At what point does the number of women start to decline? If you don’t know why people fail to climb the career ladder at your organisation you can’t make any changes. Are women being put off going for promotion because director jobs are mainly occupied by men? Are junior employees aware of the career progression opportunities available to them? Take time to find out the reasons behind any trends discovered when investigating your talent pipeline, as they could be surprising. For example, a recent study by Ambition UK showed that while it was commonly assumed that women left the workplace due to family reasons, for most women (62%) a lack of perceived career progression opportunities was their main reason for leaving their current company. 5. Strong networks and more role models Following the rise of notable female world leaders such as Theresa May and Angela Merkel, a third of women now say they feel more confident to speak their mind at work, according to a new study released by Crunch. If these high-profile, yet far removed from day-to-day  life, leaders can have such an impact, imagine what increasing female leaders directly within an organisation, industry or local business network will achieve? More women in leadership roles will create a strong network of women in business and actively inspire more women to progress. Even a small business can have a large impact within their business community by helping to develop a female leader and actively encouraging them to extend their networks and connections. Through our Women’s Leadership Programme, we’ve developed a strong alumni network across the East of England of both male and female business leaders committed to creating inclusive work environments. Other businesses can look to create similar networks by working together to establish strong connections for their female employees and to share best practice on encouraging women in business.

4 Reasons You are Not Selling Your Photos Online Â

4 Reasons You are Not Selling Your Photos Online   So, you’ve finally found the courage to follow your passion and sell your photographs to earn a living. However, you may find that you are not doing as well as you thought you would be in selling your photos. Well, any online business is not as easy as many online entrepreneurs advertise. In fact, according to Neil Patel on Forbes, 90% of startups end in failure. Without prior research into the industry you’re considering venturing into, you might end up becoming part of that statistics. But exactly why are you failing in selling your photos? Here are four possible reasons: You photos are cluttered. By cluttered, we don’t mean that the photos you’re taking are bad. It just means that you lack consistency in the content of your photos. Finding your own niche is important in any business. Why? It brings you closer to your target market and allows you to connect with the right kind of consumer for your brand. Let’s say for instance that you like to explore and reach out to a larger market by selling travel, fashion, and landscape photos all at the same time. When buyers go online and want to buy travel photos, yours will never be on top of the page. Other sellers who use their niche in their keyword research are most likely to have higher search volume compared to yours. After all, they only focus on keywords like “travel” while you have to cater to “fashion” and “landscape” as well. You’re not making yourself visible. Just like bloggers and Youtubers, photographers who aim to sell their products online need to be able to build their audience. To do so, you not only have to sell your photos. You also have to sell your character and your brand. If they don’t like you, they won’t like your brand. If they don’t like your brand, they won’t buy your photos. It’s really that simple. Catch their interest by posting interesting photos on Instagram and Tumblr. Communicate with your followers and make them feel like they are more than just potential customers. You don’t respect boundaries. You’ve probably experienced receiving promo e-mails yourself. Getting them once or twice is tolerable to most. However, getting them more than three times within a week or less is pushing your target buyers to their limits. Don’t tag them in every photo and send the link to the same photo as a direct message on social. However, it’s not reasonable to stop promoting your photos altogether. You can still advertise your photos, but don’t overdo it. It’s all about finding a balance, after all. Your buyers can’t access your photos. Let’s say that you’re using Instagram as the main platform to promote your photos. But where do interested buyers go when they want to make the purchase? In such cases, you may feel that a personal eCommerce website will come in handy. However, if you’re just starting out, you can sell photos online on stock photo marketplaces like Alamy and Shutterstock. This will help you both gain an audience and generate revenue. But once you have enough money though, make sure that you allot a budget to building your own website.  Final Thoughts If you’ve committed any of those mistakes, you don’t have to worry. The good news is that it’s never too late. You can rebuild your brand and start once again. Learn from your failures, and aim to be better.