Tuesday, December 28, 2010

WE ARE YOUR “ON-CALL” CAREER COUNSELORS

We hope that you will gradually learn to think of SMC as your “on-call” career counselors. No two individuals will ever receive identical career counseling services because no two individuals will ever have the exact same career management requirements.

We teach, train, advise, counsel and mentor. We place the entire burden of “owning your career” on you, but we will be there every step of the way to make sure you take ownership in a true businesslike manner.

Happy Holidays,

Rod Colon
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Sunday, December 26, 2010

The Success List

You might think that just being enrolled in the SMC program practically guarantees a successful transition to a new job or position. But you’d be dead wrong.

The success you experience here will come from a strict adherence to some fundamental principles we will teach you. Here is a partial list:

• Your attitude, behavior, and even the way you think all have an unbelievably powerful effect on your success during periods of transition. If you don’t already know how to do it, you will need to develop a positive mental attitude about literally every task — large and small — you take on every day. Setbacks will happen but they should never be allowed to defeat you.

• You must learn how to think like a business owner with respect to your job search and career management activities. You are the CEO of a business and must learn to think and act like one. All decisions are yours, both good and bad. You must learn to hold yourself accountable at all times.

• You will bear the brunt of all work you attempt — no one will bear it for you. This is a measure of character, determination, and commitment to success. You must be relentless about pursuing all angles of the job search, not just the high-profile or glamorous ones.

• Know and understand yourself well. Know your strengths and weaknesses; capitalize on your strengths and avoid situations in which your weaknesses tend to reveal themselves. Even more important, develop a keen sense of self-awareness with respect to your interests, talents, and special skills.

• Never assume that you have made a lasting impression on someone just because you’ve had a great phone call or a fabulous interview. Be absolutely sure you follow up in all interpersonal activities. Keeping your name and face brightly framed in the mind of a would-be decision-maker can be the difference between getting the job you want and yielding it to someone else.

• Learn to acquire mental toughness. If you’ve been raised on the need for comfort and compassion from others to get through your troubles, you may find certain aspects of the SMC Program difficult. You will need to “steel your resolve” to get through the tough times on your own … and once you’ve done it successfully a few times, it will become not only second nature for you but one of the most valuable weapons in your career management arsenal.

• Become a master networker. The more you know about networking and the finer points of executing it, the more successful you’ll be in making connections with decision-makers and advocates who can help you along on your journey.

Happy Holidays,

Rod Colon
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Thursday, December 23, 2010

A Learning Library

As a participant, you must begin to think about your experiences in SMC as a learning laboratory. Most of the time, your efforts will be successful, but from time to time you will experience setbacks. The SMC learning laboratory will help you put problems into a healthy perspective so that setbacks are perceived only as temporary delays (and terrific learning lessons!) in forward progress — just as a CEO views minor setbacks in a real-world corporation.

Happy Holidays,

Rod Colon
732-367-5580

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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Shape My Career Offers ...

SMC offers participants a well-defined path through the maze of traditional career management and job searching techniques. But it does so using a paradigm of business ownership and personal accountability for all of your career decisions. The advantages of this model are powerful. Briefly, participants will:

• participate in a group of self-assessment exercises designed to make them keenly aware of their talents, strengths, skills, and overall fitness for the kind of career or position they wish to pursue;

• learn how to think about their careers as business owners instead of some random task on a “to do” list and learn how to manage the day-to-day operation of that business as its Chief Executive Officer;

• learn the art of making connections in order to develop sound, stable, and long-term relationships;

• learn how to develop “targeted value propositions” for the positions they seek;

• learn and master the critical 21st century skill of personal branding;

• master certain fundamental and mission-critical Internet skills;

• learn and master a specific 7-Step Job Search Methodology that practically guarantees success in getting interviews (provided it’s followed precisely);

• learn the key behaviors that drive successful connections and master the techniques for finding advocates;

• learn how to access and leverage the “hidden job market”;

• learn how to prepare for a successful interview;

• learn how to manage negotiations successfully;

• learn what must be done during the first 90 days of landing a new position to ensure success on the job while continuing the never-ending task of expanding your network.

This is by no means a complete list. There are many other techniques, tips, tools and procedures that will be introduced as the program’s topic sequence requires them.

Happy Holidays,
Rod Colon
Chief Operations Officer

Shape My Career, Inc.
155 North Washington Avenue
Bergenfield, NJ 07621
tel: 201.477.8370 ext. 170
alt: 732-367-5580
fax: 201.385.8243
email: rod.colon@shapemycareer.com
web: www.shapemycareer.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rodcolon
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Monday, December 20, 2010

A COMPLETELY UNIQUE CAREER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

From its very name, Shape My Career distinguishes itself from all other outplacement services. SMC literally “molds” a career transition plan around you — the participant — and your individual needs and unique requirements. Compare this with most other outplacement services that typically use a cookie-cutter “one size fits all” approach to job searches and career transition — and then promise extraordinary results! The fact is … there is no comparison!

Our staff of expert-level career counselors is led by Mr. Rod Colón, Founder and CEO of the ETP Network (Empowering Today’s Professionals). Rod has been building networks, teaching networking skills, and providing expert-level coaching for business and career professionals for almost twenty years. He draws from experience on both sides of the interviewer’s desk and therefore brings a fresh and unique perspective to the career counseling space.

At some point in your SMC training, you will interact directly with Rod and make some interesting discoveries. Although he is energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate about helping people, he demands the very best you have to give at all times and uses a no-nonsense approach to get it. As he senses your level of commitment to help yourself, he offers customized guidance and precisely targeted support to ensure you follow a path that will lead to extraordinary success!

Rod Colon

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