The Career Salon

If you asked me to…

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I just love having my own website to express myself the way I want. You’ll notice that my blog titles often relate to music, movies, or pop culture and this week is no different.  I’ve had conversations over the years and just this week, which have prompted me to talk to you all about asking for what you want in your career transactions. Patti LaBelle said it best, “If you asked me to, I just might change my mind and let you in my heart forever!”  Sometimes all it takes is an ASK, to a future employer or a client even. A question that is posed to me more often than not is, “They offered me this amount, can I ask for more?” Are you  kidding me!? Why yes you can ask for more. At the table with a client and prefer something in the contract that they haven’t offered? Just ask!

When you’ve taken steps to build your education, experience, and a track record of amazing work, you can literally ask for what you want. I’ve experienced so many times in my career, extending an offer to a candidate and they come back to negotiate (money, vacation, relocation, etc). Sometimes companies may not have the resources to accommodate, but in a lot of cases employers will exceed their initial offer to acquire a candidate with a ‘hot’ skill set or knowledge to get them to the next level. Now this is definitely not to say this happens for everyone, you need have something going for you that employers can’t live without. Whatever that is in your specific field, figure it out. If you’re stuck in the same technology and haven’t gone to get training or gain experience in the new stuff, do that now!  Make yourself irresistible so that when you put the ASK on the table the employer just might consider. Here are some tips to prepare for the ASK:

  1. Educate yourself
    1. Research the market and gather facts
    2. Make sure you’ve prepared yourself throughout your career to build a case for attaining the things you want
  2. Have confidence
    1. Know your worth in the marketplace
    2. Build your confidence by improving and gaining new skills that separate you from others
  3. Be tactful
    1. Chose a proper time to ask for what you want
    2. Be courteous
  4. Possess finesse
    1. Have some subtly about yourself
    2. Be strategic

I’ll leave you with a little Patti to end your day!

 

 

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Style Resume Thursday: LaNise Walker

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Excitement is overflowing, as we have the super smart and fashionable LaNise Walker in the salon today! The Detroit native is hipping us to a little about herself and the awesome Goody2shoes Mobile Boutique. While others may scroll through Instagram liking Beyoncé’s latest video, LaNise Walker found a lucrative obsession for fashion trucks and essentially her calling as an entrepreneur. In 2015 she established Goody2Shoes Mobile Boutique and dawned a new era of convenient, fashion on demand in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Goody2Shoes delivers the flyest shoes, handbags, and other accessories to various venues by offering a revolutionary on-the-go approach to shopping. Fiercely fashionable, this young innovator is following her passion ensuring every customer leaves with a smile from finding just the right accessories to slay.

Experience:
What’s your current occupation and how long have you been in your career? 
I have two careers- Learning Specialist most days and shoe lover EVERYDAY! I have been in the education world since 2003. I started as a middle school Math teacher and transitioned into teaching adults for corporate America in 2008. While my love for fashion and shoes started in my childhood years, I became an entrepreneur in 2015!

Education:
Where did your style originate and who or what are some of your influences?
My style came from the women in my family. They were creative, original, ahead of their time, and fearless! These women entered rooms and owned them with their charisma and eye catching presence. I like to say it was something I grew up loving and learning. Besides them, I am influenced by food. I know that sounds weird, but if you can imagine a picture perfect plate, there’s probably lots of color, the right amount of each ingredient (proportions), a great foundation, and a some extra. That’s how I dress; I love mixing colors and basics with a popping shoe and statement jewelry!

References:
Who are some of your favorite designers? What stores do you prefer to shop?
From St. John’s classic knit staples, to Nicki Minaj’s über trendy leggings, I have so many! As you can tell, I like to mix brands- high with low, so I shop anywhere from Neiman Marcus to consignment shops! My go to places for something to wear right away are Zara, Forever21, JCPenney, and TJMaxx.

Do you think personal style is important as it relates to your work?   If so, how?                                                    I believe that you should dress in what makes you feel good. We do our best work when we feel our best. Yes, to a degree I think personal style is important because we should be comfortable with who we are and that should reflect in how we present ourselves and in our quality of work. At the same time, I am a firm believer that everything isn’t work appropriate. There are heels too high, skirts too short, tops too low and clothing fitting too close.  

If you had a dream career/occupation what would it be?
It may sound cliché, but I have started working on my dream, helping other women showcase their personal style and feeling confident while doing so! 🙂

What’s the best career advice you could give someone seeking a new career?
Be yourself. Be prepared. Remain humble yet honest. Always ask questions. Be coachable; no one likes a know-it-all!

Quote that keeps you motivated?

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

This keeps me grounded and helps me remember to take the good with the bad because everything is working out for the good! God is always taking care of me.

To keep up with LaNise and Goody2Shoes Mobile Boutique follow her Instagram @goody2shoesbtq or shop her website for great fashion finds! If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, you can meet LaNise this Saturday, October 22, 2016 at the Fashion Truck Takeover.

 

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Molly…You in Danger Girl!

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Are you on LinkedIn? As I sit here on a plane to the annual LinkedIn Talent Connect Conference my frustration is growing. Why is it growing? Glad you asked. Literally thousands of recruiters and HR professionals are traveling to Talent Connect to discuss and learn how best to find and retain TALENT through things like employment branding, employee referral programs, creating better job postings, data/analytics etc. with a LinkedIn narrative.  I hear people say all the time there are no jobs and I would have to say that’s not completely true (I’ll explain more in a separate post). One of the biggest and best tools to find a job or networking opportunity is, LinkedIn.

The majority of the world’s professional talent and hiring authorities are on LinkedIn. I tell jobseekers all the time there has to be more effort on your part these days. I know it’s probably not fair, but when you have hundreds of candidates applying for the same role it’s necessary. We are living in a digital world and you, the jobseeker, have to physically reach out to people to highlight what separates you from other candidates. I have personally used LinkedIn as a tool to pursue 3 job opportunities that have been wonderful for my career. Submitting your resume and just letting the chips fall as they may, is not always going to get you that dream job. Companies pay thousands of dollars to LinkedIn for sourcing great talent despite the fact they have a stream of online applications. My charge to you is, make sure you have a professional online presence via LinkedIn and that you use it to your advantage. Here are a few tips to get started:

  1. Go to LinkedIn.com and setup a profile
  2. Upload a professional headshot/photo (no selfies!)
  3. Make your summary interesting and marketable (include keywords that make you searchable)
  4. Don’t list jobs dating back to 1990
  5. Make sure to check your settings so people can find you
  6. Connect with people you know you build your initial network  (i.e. school alumni, former colleagues, etc.)
  7. Join affinity groups based on your skill set

We’ll be talking about LinkedIn more in the coming months so stay tuned. Our friend Julie Huval from Benchley Design, wrote a great post last week on Branding Yourself like a BOSS! Take her advice and follow through with creating a profile on LinkedIn.com.  If you’re not on LinkedIn, in the words of Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) from the movie Ghost, “Molly, you in danger girl!”

Follow @thecareersalon on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the happenings at the LinkedIn Talent Connect Conference this week!

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