Tips for Work and Life with Andrew LaCivita

Are you frustrated when an employer asks you, "Why have you had so many job during your career?" or "Why can't you seem to stay at one job for any lengthy period of time?" Do you have difficulty coming up with a great response? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the best answer to the job hopper question! Help is here! I'll tell you exactly how to answer those questions, but let's first address what's happening when an interviewer asks you these questions. Realize no one is smart enough to take your responses from those particular questions and determine whether you'll be a great employee in their company. It's just too great a leap to connect those dots. Decisions you made years ago simply won't help them understand how you're going to fit into their organization. What's the question you're really being asked? If you are interviewing, whether on the phone or in person, the employer has essentially granted on paper you are qualified for the job and deserving of their time! The question they are truly asking is, "Why will it be different this time?" The interviewer wants to know why are you going to make a good decision that sticks…so when you join their company you'll be a good longstanding, successful employee. That's what they really want to know. That's what they want to be assured of. That's the question you need to answer! Turn multiple job hops into one issue you've resolved! First, take responsibility and own your previous actions. Second, turn "several" problems into one problem you can address quickly. That is, if you've had a handful of job hops, respond to all of them at once. Make it a universal issue you've now fixed. You can diffuse it all in one fell swoop. Third, give your response with a smile and lots of positivity regarding why this will work going forward. The answer… "Ya know, you're right. I do have a few (or a number of) job hops in my history. I discovered very recently the reason I was having some trouble was due to a common issue. I wasn't clear upfront regarding all the criteria I needed to be fulfilled in my job. I did some self-reflection and thought deeply about everything I needed to make me happy in my work life. I hadn't done that previously. But, now, I took the time. Performed the exercises and reflected. This has put me in a much better position to evaluate whether any future job opportunity and company will be a great fit for me because I now have a much more complete list of the criteria I need. I have that clarity. Previously, I wasn't as skilled at getting the information I need from the employer, but I'm in a much better position now because I've gone through this reflection. I understand specifically what I need to evaluate and how to evaluate it. Now, I'm more confident I can determine whether your company is a good one for me." Why this works… First, you avoid the risk of dragging the conversation on by trying to take one job hop at a time. When you do this, the interviewer thinks goodness. It's always something with her. It seems like a different issue every time or he's just like Pig Pen. He's got that cloud of rain over himself wherever he goes. You've also shifted a negative question into a positive action you've taken! There are exceptions, but the pattern is what's important… I realize people leave jobs for countless reasons. You could have an illness in the family. Your husband or wife could be getting transferred. But, if you're getting asked the job hopper question, the interviewer is looking for the common pattern. Take responsibility. Defuse it all at once. Speak positively about the action you've taken to overcome it and why it won't be an issue this time! Need help with your resume to market yourself effectively. Check out my FREE Ultimate Professional Resume Template. You can download it here and also check out my post How to Build the Ultimate Professional Resume. If you want even more training, I have a phenomenal resume-writing workshop that comes with all kinds of goodies related to preparing a killer resume, cover letters, and LinkedIn Profile. You also get additional ongoing coaching and so much more. It's really better if you check out the overview page! Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post! Thanks! Andy

Have you wondered why your resume doesn't get noticed? Are you curious regarding how a recruiter "examines" your resume? Interested in the job resume killers? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses how to get your resume noticed in 5 seconds guaranteed! How can you review 500,000 resumes? Honestly? I've reviewed more than a half million resumes during my career. I bet you're wondering how this is possible. Combine decades of interviewing and hiring at a high velocity, coupled with a whopping no-thank-you to a great recession (where I reviewed an average of 1,500-2000 resumes per week for four years), and strong relationships with prominent outplacement companies who send me resumes by the thousands when they handle a large reduction in workforce for one of their clients, and, hey presto, there it is. How long? 6 Seconds!? Recruiters worth their salt can glance through your entire resume within six seconds, which means you've got five seconds to interrupt their mind-numbing, eye-glazing, white-noise-like key-stroking through an electronic pile that will make you start talking slowly no matter how much caffeine you've had. Don't believe me? I'm sharing my personal experience (more on this in a minute), but a number of job sites such as The Ladders (check out their eye-tracking story on how recruiters review resumes) indicate their survey says employers review your resume in six seconds. Ouch. Why? Everyone's busy and they have too many resumes to review. How do you review the resume? Click. Open. Big Thunderbolt Mac Screen! Eye-Glance 1: Name please! My eyes go right for the top center. I want to see your name. Just your name. I don't need 18 other credentials and letters (unless you're a medical doctor, lawyer, or whatever). An address is nice too. I want to know your geography. Eye-Glance 2: Then I look at the entire top half of the first of page of your resume—all at once. I'm looking for something specific (more later). I do not start reading the top half of the page. I'm filing away whether I want to come back to it later. If it has what I want, I'll come back. If it doesn't have what I want, I never go back to it. Eye-Glance 3: Then I scramble down the left column of the first page. I'm looking for the companies you worked for. I'm much more interested in which companies you worked for than the positions you held. I want people who've played for Super Bowl-winning teams. Eye-Glance 4: Then I look at the entire second page all at once. Yes. The entire page. If you have a third page, I'm upset because you didn't respect my time. Side note: If I can sum up my entire 28-year career in 26 words, you can summarize a 50-year career in two pages. If you think you can't, you are mistaken.' This entire eye-glancing escapade takes me no longer than six seconds. How do you decide to keep reviewing the resume? Now, I need to decide whether to delete the resume or whether to review it. I stress the word review because anyone who has time to read your entire resume has too much time on his or her hands. Want to know what I'm looking for? What's the 5-second magic pill! Why did you open this post? It was one of two reasons. You either know and love me and thought omigawd, Andy has another amazing post and I just have to watch (listen or read). Otherwise, you had no clue who I was, but saw the headline telling you some dude promises you resume glory in five seconds. I'm guessing the latter. Regardless of your reason, you need to interrupt the recruiter's mind-numbing review process by giving her something she'll love—right away. It'll be your analogous "headline." She wants to know you'll bring value to her organization. The easiest way to do this is by encapsulating who you are professionally—in aggregate—and also highlighting your (likely three most) valuable contributions. I suggest doing this in a Career Profile section at the very top followed immediately by a Career Highlights section immediately underneath. I've already given you the exact formula and language in How to Build the Ultimate Professional Resume. I've also given you the templates whether you need a professional or collegiate resume. Get your ultimate professional resume template with instruction here. Get your ultimate collegiate resume template with instruction here. The absolute DO NOTS as in NEVER EVER! Don't waste your most prime real estate at the top of your resume with… An objective statement. Yuck. Double yuck. You are advertising what your objective, needs, or wants are. The employer wants to know what you can contribute. Tell them what you offer not what you want. A bunch of skills: Ugh. Please, whatever you do, don't list skills in a table or any other format that tells the employer you are a leader, project manager, hard-working, detail-oriented, energetic, so on and so forth and so boring. This takes up space sharing generic skills, which are technically your opinion of yourself. The employer wants facts. Give them facts. Caveat: you can identify skills in your career profile sparingly and according to the instruction I provided in How to Build the Ultimate Professional Resume. An education section: Education is nice and should be toward the bottom of your resume if you've been working professionally for more than 24 hours. That's right. You're a pro now. Drop it down. Caveat: You are in a CV-type world where the studies, doctorates, and so forth are key. Caveat Part Deux: You're a college student. Coming soon! I'll be running a webinar completely dedicated to writing the perfect resume. If you're on my Tips for Work and Life® blog subscription, you'll be notified! FREE Live Job Interviewing Webcast: I'm offering a FREE LIVE WEBCAST titled 3 Keys to Ace Any Job Interview. It comes with great instruction and a nice workbook for note taking. Even more, I have an awesome giveaway when you attend. It's an eBook titled How to Interview the Employer: 75 Great Questions to Ask Before You Take Any Job. There are several times available. You can sign up here. Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy! Thanks! Andy

Have you wondered why you didn't get hired even though you were perfect for the job? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the number 1 reason you did not get hired! Mistake Alert Most people think they get hired because of their qualifications. In doing so, they expend so much energy in the interview focusing on their experience before they know which parts of their experience and qualifications the employer is most interested in. At this point, you must be thinking whaaaaaa? The Obvious You are in a job interview of some kind. The employer, through its action of spending time to speak with you, thinks you're qualified—on paper. The Not-So-Obvious You actually get a job interview because of your qualifications. You get the job for three reasons, none of which are your qualifications. Why Do You Get the Job? Based on my observation from thousands of interviews between my clients (the hiring companies) and job candidates (prospective employees), I've concluded a candidate's attainment of the job is largely contingent on three often-undetectable success factors: The candidate's ability to effectively articulate his or her qualifications and potential contributions (encoding) The interviewer's ability to accurately interpret the candidate's qualifications (decoding) The interviewer's capacity to remember the candidate (memory) It all comes down to your ability to communicate how your qualifications match what the employer needs. The Unfortunate Reality The reality is you have a greater chance of failing the interview because of a misrepresentation or misinterpretation than you do a lack of qualification. The 3-Step Fix Keep the three reasons why you get hired in mind. Awareness and consciousness (of these issues) is key to success. Of course, general consciousness is too. J When asked an interview question, don't rush to share your awesomeness unless you know which part of your awesomeness the interviewer and employer needs to know. (That is, it doesn't matter if you're fantastic. You need to connect the dots for the employer how your fabulousness matches what it needs!) Sometimes the job interviewer's question is specific and he or she identifies clearly what's needed. Other times, the interviewer is vague. Make sure to look before you leap. Ask a clarifying question (if need be) to zone in on exactly what information the interviewer needs to know to determine whether you are a great fit. This is especially helpful in the wake of the dreaded and horribly ineffective, "Please tell me about yourself," question. (See Bonus Section for more.) Bonus Section For junior and mid-level folks who often face the dreaded, "Please tell me about yourself," question, your immediate response to ensure clarification should be: I'd love to tell you about myself. Can you let me know what part of my background would be most helpful for you to know so you can make a good determination regarding whether I'm a great fit for your company? For senior-level folks, make sure to clarify what the employer considers the most important growth areas (units) within the company as well as what attributes, traits, capabilities, and skills are most important for its leaders. Free eBook and Video Series: Sign up for my Tips for Work and Life Blog® to receive a 3-Part video series that includes more information regarding this issue and how to overcome it through your storytelling and question asking. When you sign up for the blog, you also immediately receive a great eBook titled Ace Your Job Interview: Master the Best Answers to the 14 Most Effective Job Interview Questions. Free Live Webcast: I'm offering a FREE LIVE WEBCAST titled 3 Keys to Ace Any Job Interview. It comes with great instruction and a nice workbook for note taking. Even more, I have an awesome giveaway when you attend. It's an eBook titled How to Interview the Employer: 75 Great Questions to Ask Before You Take Any Job. There are several times available. You can sign up here: https://www.milewalkacademy.com/p/webcast-3-keys-to-ace-any-job-interview-registration Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy! Thanks, Andy

Are you afraid to take the first step because you're not sure if you'll succeed? Do you wonder why you take big leaps but don't reach your goals? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses 4 surefire signs there's no way you'll fail! Get the full story here: http://milewalk.com/mwblog/4-surefire-signs-theres-no-way-youll-fail/ Let's get you over the fear and over the hump and give you the confidence you'll succeed! Step 0: Ditch the self-importance. It's a drag and it's a real draaaaaaaag! Sign 1: Sacrifice: I will sacrifice and create the space in my life to complete the project, achieve the goal, reach the next level, and pursue the life I want. Sign 2: Learn: I will to learn whatever is required for me to succeed recognizing I'll need to become self-sufficient before seeking additional support and learn things I don't know and relearn things I do know when the world evolves. Sign 3: Believe: I will believe in myself no matter the challenges I encounter and no matter what. Sign 4: Focus: I will remain focused because my love for that purpose (goal, etc.) will need to stay the same even when everything required to achieve it will seem to change daily. Want a planner to help make sure you succeed in your career? GRAB THE 5-STEP CAREER SUCCESS PLANNER HERE: https://www.milewalkacademy.com/p/5-step-career-success-planner It comes with a 3-part video series to help you get your career focused, energized, and on track! Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post! Thanks! Andy

Do you wonder why you have so much troubling negotiating for the salary you deserve? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses your salary negotiation starts with your cover letter not job offer! In this episode I'll review one of the biggest mistakes people make when negotiating their job offer: they don't start "the negotiation" from the beginning of their job search and interviewing process. They also don't recognize ever breath they take, every email they write, every thank-you note they send, every interview they have, their attitude, their posture, and so on is an opportunity to "negotiate." Watch the video or listen to the podcast for more insight. Here are several valuable DOWNLOADS along with their respective videos: The One-Page Guide to Negotiating Your Salary with its instructional video. One-Page Guide to Negotiating Your Salary: http://bit.ly/2dxaNCf Video: http://bit.ly/2ebts5n The 4 Sentence Cover Letter that Gets You the Job Interview with its instructional video. 4 Sentence Cover Letter that Gets You the Job Interview: http://bit.ly/2aYVb3k Video: http://bit.ly/2bsiT9R Two Boss Hunting Cover Letters with their instructional video. Two Boss Hunting Cover Letters: http://bit.ly/2elZjNh Video: http://bit.ly/2ebts5n The Winning Thank You Note with its instructional video. The Winning Thank You Note: http://bit.ly/29CJOC8 Video: http://bit.ly/29q0E7y Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post! THANKS! Andy

Feeling stuck? Are you racking up accomplishment after accomplishment but you don't feel like you're making progress or don't feel happy or don't feel successful? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses How to Reflect Your Way to Success! For the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here: http://milewalk.com/mwblog/how-to-reflect-your-way-to-success FREE DOWNLOAD: ANNUAL CAREER REFLECTION GUIDE FOR SUCCESS GET IT HERE: https://www.milewalkacademy.com/p/annual-career-reflection-guide-for-success-by-andrew-lacivita Do you feel like you're not making progress? Do you pile up achievements, but you don't feel successful or happy? You're in luck today because I'm going to help you feel better and successful with how to reflect your way to success. One of the biggest sources of these types of feelings is lack of reflection. People simply don't reflect on their lives. Most are happy to worry endlessly about all they have not done or have not accomplished or still need to do. It's a rare few who actually take the time daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually to consider their moments. No matter how many accomplishments or goals you rack up, you'll never feel successful unless you take the time to reflect. The point is to (just) look back and not be tempted (during this exercise) to look forward. You can look forward later. I designed a 15-question guide called the Annual Career Reflection Guide to Success (because I had to name it something) to help you most effectively reflect and feel good about yourself! The truth is you can use it daily if you'd like or weekly or whatever. There are eight key areas: Moments Accomplishments Challenges Lessons More Of Less Of Unnecessary worries Thankfulness FREE DOWNLOAD: ANNUAL CAREER REFLECTION GUIDE FOR SUCCESS GET IT HERE: https://www.milewalkacademy.com/p/annual-career-reflection-guide-for-success-by-andrew-lacivita Bonus Section and Giveaways! For a limited time, I'm reprising my 3-Part Video Series Workshop titled Transform Your Career. You get a 5-Step Career Success Planner with the videos. At the end of the workshop you will: Gain career clarity, direction, and focus. Understand why people fail in their career pursuits. Position yourself to successfully overcome the inevitable challenges you'll encounter on your way to achieving your career goals. Know the 15 most critical areas to evaluate before pursuing a job or career change. Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post! Thanks, Andy

Having trouble with your job hunt? Why not expand your techniques to boss hunt as well? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses How to Boss Hunt with a Cover Letter That Makes Hearts Melt! or the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here: http://milewalk.com/mwblog/how-to-boss-hunt-with-a-cover-letter-that-makes-hearts-melt If you're running into roadblocks in your job search, you'll need to augment your techniques. Imagine those silly gatekeepers and HR specialists sifting through your one-page-advertisement sheet as they swipe by so they can rifle through the other 299 applicants and call it a day. Ain't gonna happen. Well, you're in luck because I have a technique that only a rare few use—boss hunting. Actually, this technique will benefit anyone in these situations: You're stuck in your job search. You simply want to add another tool to your job-search arsenal. You want to expand your professional network and need an opener to meet someone. You want some cool cover letter templates. First, make sure you know which career, companies, roles, and so forth you truly want. I have a fantastic, free workshop called Transform Your Career: Mastering the 3 Personal Drives That Lead to Career Fulfillment coming up on October 27th. It will help you get on the right track. Second, I'm assuming you're also targeting companies and searching the job boards per How To Target the Best Companies in Your Job Search. Check out the video, podcast, and downloads (Best & Fastest Growing Companies Lists and My Favorite Job Boards List). Now, let's get to boss hunting. The goal is to increase your chances of success by adding another dimension to your search! It's about finding the person or a person you can contact. I'm not going through the techniques to find the boss. If you know the company or see an open role, you should be able to LinkedIn or Google your way to finding her or him or them. It doesn't need to be the exact boss overseeing the area. Any authority figure or the head honcho should do for your purposes. You might also stumble across an attractive person (career-wise people!) via your research. That's just as good. It doesn't matter whether his or her company is hiring or has an open role. This is about people contacting! Send that person an email with your resume. Don't know what to say? No sweat. I wrote it for you. Grab the download The Boss-Hunting Cover Letter. It's heart-melting. I promise. DOWNLOAD THE BOSS-HUNTING COVER LETTERS HERE: https://milewalk.leadpages.co/leadbox/143aacf93f72a2%3A17fd80be1346dc/5659414535077888/ Don't forget about my four-sentence cover letter too! Do not be concerned if you've already sent your resume into the ATS abyss. (Here's how to bypass the ATS. You knew I'd have something on that subject. Don't lie.) Most companies don't communicate well even if they only have twenty employees. The HR specialist might not have gotten to yours. Either way, there's nothing wrong with getting a little extra love or referral from within the organization. Think about it. What's better? A personal email to someone telling him or her you are a not-so-secret admirer or clumsily plopping your information into a robotic, cold-hearted ATS? Bonus Section: Want to know why it works? Download Interview Intervention: Communication That Gets You Hired and skip to pages 39-42. Yes. It's free too. You can also watch the video or listen to the podcast for further insight and instruction. Don't forget about the workshop. October 27, 2016. It's going to be fabulous. I promise. There I go promising again. :) Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post! THANKS! Andy

Have you ever struggled to negotiate your salary for a new job or promotion? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the very best philosophies and techniques to negotiate your salary! For the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here: http://milewalk.com/mwblog/11-reasons-make-bad-job-changing-decisions For the FREE DOWNLOAD of THE ONE-PAGE GUIDE and FULL TRANSCRIPT, click here: http://bit.ly/2dxaNCf Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post! Thanks, Andy

Do you feel you continue to make bad job-changing decisions? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the 11 reasons you make bad job changing decisions and how to overcome them! For the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here: http://milewalk.com/mwblog/11-reasons-make-bad-job-changing-decisions Do you feel you continue to make poor career choices? Are you confused why you make awful job-changing decisions? There are obviously many factors that contribute to your decisions and decision-making abilities, but there are essentially 11 reasons you make bad job-changing decisions. Below are the summary and highlights from the original podcast. I've included a handy, free decision-making checklist to ensure you're in order. If you like this material, keep an eye out for an upcoming free video and live workshop on transforming your career I'll be conducting starting October 27, 2016. All my Tips for Work and Life® blog subscribers will be alerted as we get closer. INCOMPLETE INFORMATION You didn't gather enough information. How many times have you thought if I'd only have known that then? There are usually two issues here. It's likely your inventory of questions or topic areas to investigate was incomplete. Additionally, you probably didn't dig deep enough (even if you had a complete inventory of questions.) Overcome this issue by creating an exhaustive list of questions to ensure you're covering everything. Make sure to keep asking "Why?" until you can't ask "Why?" anymore. There is no friendlier, joint three-letter word complete sentence I can think of when it comes to your decision-making prowess. For the really ambitious, there is loads (I mean loads) of insight on decision-making in my award-winning book The Hiring Prophecies: Psychology Behind Recruiting Successful Employees. You can get an entire digital experience, including the eBook, audio and guides for free here. You had more options but didn't know it. You were lazy when it came to investigating all your options. Make sure to think creatively and exhaust all avenues. INCORRECT INFORMATION You're looking where you shouldn't be (or placing too much weight on the wrong information). Social Media Sites, LinkedIn, and Corporate Sites (Glassdoor, Vault, Wetfeet) are filled with angriness (mostly). Don't place too much weight on information where the deck is stacked. Overcome this issue by keeping all you intake in its proper context. And, make sure to do you own investigation before you're willing to take someone else's (especially a stranger's) word for it. This is, after all, your career. You expect good advice from someone who doesn't have all the information. Here's a scenario. You've just given five minutes worth of your (own) bias-filled information to people (a mentor, confidant, co-worker, spouse or whomever) and asked them for advice. If this needs further explaining, go back to You Didn't Gather Enough Information. They're now you. MOTIVES You weren't clear (with yourself) on your (own) motives. Remember your whys! When people go through a lengthy (interviewing) process, for some reason they forget the reasons why they started the process. They also tend to abandon or minimize their (happiness) criteria in favor of the shiny bells and toys the employer has placed in front of them. You were driven by someone else's motives. Don't do it for your parents, friends, coworkers, spouse, or anyone else. You'll resent them. This is your life! FEAR You fear loss. You're worried you'll lose what you already have (your reputation, easy commute, a job you can do in your sleep, your friendships with coworkers, etc.) Make sure to keep your outlook balanced. You're gaining much too. You fear hardship. Boo hoo this new job will be hard. You're not sure you're up for the challenge. Chances are, if a company wants to hire you, you're qualified and will kick butt if you put some effort into it! OVERCONFIDENCE You're bravado makes you senseless. Overconfidence stems from many sources, but for our purposes assume it comes from your lack of correct or complete information. Just make sure to investigate wholly and you'll be in great shape. (P.S. Do not mistake overconfidence for confidence.) BIASES You have the status-quo bias. You have a strong preference to keep your life as-is! You also think any change is a loss of what you currently have instead of a gain for the better. Do not focusing solely on what you're losing or place greater emphasis than is necessary. You have the sunk-cost bias. You're placing too much weight on time you've spent and what you've accumulated (something you've built, any labor of love, memories, etc.). You need to remove your emotional attachment and rechannel it. One of the easiest way's to do this is ask yourself, "If I wasn't currently working here, would this job, or the new one, align better to my criteria?" Bam. There they are. Eleven nasty ones. I always love to hear from you. What are reasons you think you or others have made poor job-changing decisions? Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post! Thanks! Andy

Interested in reaching unbelievable heights in your career and life? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the 9 fastest ways to be awesome at your craft! For the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here: http://milewalk.com/mwblog/9-fastest-ways-awesome-at-your-craft For those who want to be truly awesome at what "they do," I'm going to give you my formula for accelerating your career or your life or whatever you want to catapult. Here are the 9 fastest ways to be awesome at your craft based on what I've seen works! Below are the highlights from the podcast. For a more complete explanation of each area, listen here. It's also available on any major podcast platform. First, I'm going to assume you actually want to practice your craft. It sounds silly, but most people who reach out to me are miserable, stuck, or a host of other undesirable feelings. Let's assume you chose your path correctly. If you haven't, check out the First Thing To Do When You Want To Change Careers before proceeding. Let's roll… Adjust your attitude. Optimism is something you manufacture from your attitude. Inspiration is something someone else manufactures from your optimism. Your ability to think without limits will help you create those incredible achievements. It's also what will inspire the others around. See Unlock Your True Potential With These Three Keys. Identify the most important capabilities. If you simply practice the "how to" do something, you won't be able to reach the truly elevated heights. Everyone has purchased the "How To Manual." You need to know what makes the greatest the greatest. Example: Don't just learn how to sell. Learn psychology. Learn storytelling. Know the sequence people need to hear things so they can understand how your product or service with help them. Be sincere. Build a Franken-Mentor. I don't think any one person, as a mentor, will help you reach phenomenal heights. Build yourself a collection of people—live or online—who can help you build your capabilities. I study four people (Burchard, Walker, Hyatt, McLaren). They help me with high performance, product launching, personal platform building, and membership site management respectively. None of these people do anything related to career management or hiring (my areas of expertise). They support the capabilities I need to learn and master. Train like heck. See the four gents I mentioned above? I've spent nearly 500 hours over the past two years studying their material. That's purchasing their training material, watching and studying it, reviewing their blogs, and so forth. If you use the 2,000 work hours per year rule of thumb (for the average 9-to-5-er), that's an additional 12.5% training I added to ensure I know what I'm doing. Practice. Perfectly. You will make permanent what you practice. Make sure you know what makes something perfect before you make it permanent. There are two ways to go wrong here. First, you can practice poorly. Second, you can practice the wrong things. Choose (or find) the best people to be around. You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Choose wisely. I'm speaking about actual live people who you see and exchange ideas and banter. Spend lots of time with Google and YouTube. There is absolutely no excuse why you can't learn something you want to know. I had no idea how to set up a podcast. I had no idea how to use a DSLR camera before I needed to use one. I knew nothing about lighting. I knew nothing about email marketing. The point isn't, "I'm great." The point is, I knew nothing! Get the right tools. There are so many tools to help you become awesome! They can be organizational tools, research tools, and so on. I recorded this podcast away from office using a cool Sennheiser ClipMic Digital (powered by Apogee) microphone connected directly to my iPhone. It was a new toy I found by accident because I was Googling and YouTubing ways to hook up my Sennheiser Lavalier Microphone. Now I can record these little beauties on the road! It's also awesome for getting fantastic quality when you're live on Facebook. Listen: Listen to the world. Listen to your customers. Don't ever listen to your competition unless you want to create the same products or services they're creating. Your greatest opportunities will be found in the sounds of other people's complaints. Solve their problems and you're their hero. As always, I'd love to hear from you: What are your greatest tricks or steps to becoming awesome? Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post! Thanks, Andy