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Your Natural Abilities – Part II

“In this increasingly talent-driven society, we need to know and develop our strengths to figure out where we fit in.” – Tom Rath, author, Strength Finder 2.0

The more we understand about our natural abilities, the better we can make effective choices that lead us toward satisfying and rewarding careers and lives in general.  Since abilities can be measured, it only makes sense that once we know what those numbers look like, that we are able to apply them to our daily lives both on the job and in our personal time.   As a life-long educator, I have been trained in the use of many instruments, but I don’t think any of them have impressed me or shown such clear benefit for individuals as does the Highlands Ability Battery.  When natural abilities are measured using the Highlands Ability Battery, a series of 19 tasks yields results that measure 21 separate areas and address Personal Style, Driving Abilities, and Specialized Abilities.

These key elements; Personal Style, Driving Abilities, and Specialized Abilities are so important in identifying how we best learn, work with others and use our problem solving abilities that they have been used extensively by large corporations and organizations.  They are also a critical factor in helping to identify major areas of study or compare programs of study at institutions so that a 4 year degree doesn’t turn in to a six-year graduation date.  Knowing your “best fit” helps to provide a vehicle for success.

Want to learn more about yourself, Natural Abilities and your career path?    Contact me.

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Your Natural Abilities – Part I

“Most people think they know what they are good at.  They are usually wrong…And yet, a person can perform only from strength.” – Peter Drucker (1909-2005) Business guru

Through a well-documented process and years of research, it is possible to measure Natural Abilities like measuring intelligence.  However, unlike an IQ score that defines a level of intelligence, measures of Natural Abilities can assist in defining career paths that would lend themselves to an individual’s most satisfying outcome based on strengths and compatibilities of varied abilities.  Understanding your abilities can mean the difference between loving what you do in your chosen career path, and wondering why you ever chose that path.  It can also mean the difference between a 4 year degree that takes 6 years or an “on-time” graduation.

When abilities are measured we can learn more about the environment that would be most satisfying for work, the type of problem solver an individual is and the occupations that lend themselves well in that capacity.  We also uncover the type of learning channels that allow us to take in information most effectively and how to capitalize on that knowledge.  Finally, we learn our most effective communication style and the career paths that fit most comfortably and provide for maximum productivity and performance.

While no single assessment should ever be used to definitively tell you what to do in your life’s endeavors, there are key indicators that can make the journey a lot more fun, effective and satisfying.  Trying to decide on a college major or define what direction to take next? Want to have your abilities measured?  Contact me.

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4 Considerations to Evaluate Summer Needs

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.  The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.”  – Mark Twain

Whether you are a high school student or a college student, you are on a path that can provide enormous opportunity and create background experiences that set you up for success.  So, as part of the plan, begin by evaluating your needs.

As a student, there are 4 Needs to consider when planning your summer.  Keep in mind, your plan may include parallel paths to meet these Needs.

1 – Financial Need – Do you need to make money for spending cash or are you in need of making money to be able to make expenses when you return to school?  Do you need to make money to pay for college?  If “financial need” is a primary concern for your summer, then getting started on your pursuit of summer employment is an immediate need given the competition that will be out there.

2 – Experience Need – Experience presents itself in many forms.  It can be an internship, externship, or participation with an organization.  Internships may be with or without pay, but the big payoff is experience with a company that can build toward future employment with them or at least the benefit of learning what you do or don’t want to do in your future.  Participation with an organization may be in the form of an athletic team and building skills and stats toward college or professional opportunities.  Either way, the experience is your primary need.

3 – Volunteer Need – This one is of particular importance to high school students but should not be dismissed by the college student.  Volunteering speaks to your character.  Many high schools require community service as part of their graduation requirements.  Universities look at volunteerism as one element of consideration when admitting students.  Companies look at your community involvement as commitment, community outreach and opportunities to be seen as a positive extension of their own business.  Assess your schedule and your need to increase volunteer capacity.

4 – Education Need – Do you need to take summer courses?  Does your graduation date indicate that you are on track with completing your diploma or degree on-time?  Do you want to get ahead on your timeline?  Assessing your summer needs for education is important for maintaining an “on-time” graduation date.

Evaluate your needs and take action now!  Break it down and break away from the pack!

 

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Time Management – Putting You Ahead of the Game

Time management is one of the most critical issues facing college students, so you can’t wait to get there to get it under control.  It is also an imperative for being an effective employee.  If time management is a challenge for you, get a planner/day timer and start using it.  Begin with the end in mind!

College students who are seniors and facing graduation and the workforce in the next 2-3 months, you should be in “full pursuit” of that 1st full time job.  Attending college job fairs on campus or in your local area are good options and are all well underway.  Don’t forget those career-finder websites, but remember that if you use a headhunter service, ask about the fees!

College juniors, you may not be ready to secure that first post-graduation job, but attending job fairs is quite beneficial from the experience perspective.  Get out there and see who is hiring, who might have internships for senior year, and the projections for hiring next year.  Get business cards from those whom you are interested in maintaining contact.  It’s a great way to build a relationship!

High school juniors, do you need to register for the SAT or ACT?  The opportunities are diminishing for this year, so manage your time effectively.  Seniors, many of you are in wait mode and anxious for acceptance letters.  But that doesn’t mean you are on cruise control.  Grades need to stay strong, and if you are undecided about those colleges, be sure to do your homework evaluating the programs at each and making note of potential scholarships once accepted.  Need to connect your natural abilities to a major area of study?  Contact me.

Managing your time can put you ahead of the game, not just in the game.  The competition is steep out there, so begin with the end in mind!  Eye on the prize!

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5 Tips for Locating Internships, Externships and Career Shadowing

Internships, externships and career shadowing are great experiences for learning, vetting out what career possibilities make sense to you, and establishing links for future employment.  But I get asked, “What is the difference between internship, externship, and job shadow?”  Typically, externships are much shorter and unpaid.  They can be a couple of days to a few weeks in length and are primarily job shadowing experiences.  The extern is an observer.   A job shadow is typically a one day event and again, the individual is an observer.  However, an internship is usually at least a semester in length and may or may not be a paid position.  The intern is assigned duties that mirror what an employee in the position would be expected to do on a regular basis.

So how do you go about finding these great opportunities?  Here are 5 Tips for locating or creating an internship, externship or career shadow experience:

#1 – Employers of your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or any extended family member.  Activate your network!  Remember, it may mean you create the experience on paper and present the proposal.

#2 – Family friends and their businesses

#3 – Businesses you frequent and like their product or service

#4 – City or County government offices

#5 – Quintcareers is a great website with links to tons of opportunities, job skill and interview recommendations as well as a zip code activated link for locating internship opportunities in your desired hometown or college town.  Internmatch is another as is Summerinternships.com

Got a great internship story?  Comment here and generate ideas for others.  Or, if your company hires Interns or promotes shadowing experiences, please share those as well.  It’s all about networking!

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Ownership

As a teenager, we all dream about the moment we take ownership of our first vehicle.  We spend hours calculating how we can make it happen; the jobs we’ll do, counting the change or dollars, making those deposits and monitoring the savings account until the day we finally make that first purchase.

Then we reach our twenties and begin dreaming about that first house or townhouse.  We spend hours calculating how we can make it happen: the jobs we’ll do, making those deposits, establishing credit lines and finally making that first purchase.

For both of these big investments we take “Ownership.”  When it comes time to make the big investment in a college or vocational education, we need to be just as diligent and committed.  We need to take Ownership.

There are so many articles about the rising cost of college tuition, the affordability issues and the decreasing funding for financial aid or even performance incentives through state programs.  But what is not being addressed is that fact that you can avoid some of the pitfalls by taking Ownership early.

If the National average is to change majors 3-5 times, and changing majors equals increased numbers of semesters and dollars spent, then it seems reasonable that having a more defined idea about one’s future career endeavors would increase the probability of an on-time graduation and diminished need for additional education expenses.  Taking Ownership means you take action.

The Highlands Ability Battery is a wonderful tool to help chart a course, to take action.  Did you know that by the time you are approximately 14 years old, your Natural Abilities are defined and measurable?  Imagine if you knew what they are, how they match with identified professions and combined that with a methodology to assist in learning about those professions so that you are prepared to choose a major.   You take Ownership – you take action.  That way, when you go to college you don’t waste semesters, exceed your budget, and you graduate with a meaningful degree in something you enjoy and it’s marketable.

Ownership is powerful.

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3 Actions for a Productive Outcome

Regardless of where you are in your life – high school, college or workforce – these 3 Actions can be put to the test for a Productive Outcome. It takes about 20 minutes, so ask yourself, “Do I have 20 minutes to put into creating the Outcome I want?” If so, get started:

1- Assess – Take five minutes to assess/write down where you are at this moment in time as well as what you want the outcome to be 4, 8 or 12 months from now.  It might be a grade point average, a performance level on the field, resume’ building or job search.

2 – Create – Take 10 minutes to create a timeline in which you realistically identify points of progress.  They may be grading periods, games or matches, or resume’ and interview intervals.  Points of progress help to steer you toward the Productive Outcome and maintain focus.

3 – Visualize – Take 5 minutes to visualize yourself achieving the Outcome you want.  Again, it doesn’t matter if the outcome is in the classroom, on the field, or in the board room, the important factor is to see you achieving that outcome.  It is important to play that visualization over and over in your mind and reduce the negative influences we all experience day-to-day.  Like the points of progress, visualizing keeps us focused with a positive energy.  Tim Kremer, MySpiritofGolf, works with professional golfers all over the country in helping them to maximize their talent through redefining how they see themselves and their efforts.  His work is extraordinary, grounded in brain research and transferable to most anything we do in our lives.  Take a look, http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=977dd3b2d977677c5205f00cb&id=204d6c6cbf

So, 20 minutes, 3 Actions, Productive Outcome.  Ready, set, get going!

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A Big WOW!

This week is a Special Guest Post – Bud Bilanich has been recognized on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and countless other news programs and publications.  He has devoted his talents and passion to being a top life and career success coach with companies like Chase, Johnson&Johnson, Merck, PepsiCo and countless others benefiting from his work.  His message is valuable for high school students as well as those in college and already in the workforce.  I hope you will enjoy his work as much as I do:

 

I love Marla Brady’s College and Career blog.  She packs a ton of common sense advice into each post.  That’s why I was flattered when she asked if I would contribute a guest post.  I help young professionals – those who are just out of college get on the right track to life and career success.

Receiving your degree is a great accomplishment.  I remember how proud I was way back in 1972 when I became the first person in my family to graduate from college.  But as I began my career, I learned that there is a lot about life and career success that they don’t teach you in college.

I made a lot of mistakes as I went about creating my career success.  I’m hoping that I can help young people just beginning their careers to get the benefit of the knowledge I gained through experience with having to deal with the frustration and pain that sometimes come with gaining experience firsthand.  So I’ve written down some of the things I’ve learned about what it takes to succeed in your life and career. This is advice I wish I had when I graduated from Penn State in 1972.  I hope you find it helpful.

I’ve found that all successful people have five things in common.

  • Successful people are self-confident.
  • Successful people create positive personal impact.
  • Successful people are outstanding performers.
  • Successful people are dynamic communicators.
  • Successful people are interpersonally competent.

Self-confident people have at least three things in common:

  1. Self-confident people are optimistic.
  2. Self-confident people face their fears and take action.
  3. Self-confident people surround themselves with positive people.

People who create positive personal impact have at least three things in common:

  1. People who create positive personal impact develop and constantly promote their personal brand.
  2. People who create positive personal impact are impeccable in their presentation of self.
  3. People who create positive personal impact know and practice the basic rules of etiquette.

Outstanding performers have at least three things in common:

  1. Outstanding performers are technically competent.   They remain technically competent because they are lifelong learners.
  2. Outstanding performers set and achieve goals.
  3. Outstanding performers are organized.  They manage their time, stress and lifestyle well.

Dynamic communicators have at least three things in common:

  1. Dynamic communicators are excellent conversationalists.
  2. Dynamic communicators write in a clear, concise easily readable manner.
  3. Dynamic communicators are excellent presenters – to groups of two or 100.

Interpersonally competent people have at least three things in common:

  1. Interpersonally competent people are self aware.   They understand themselves and their impact on others.  They use their self awareness to increase their understanding of others.
  2. Interpersonally competent people build solid, long lasting mutually beneficial relationships with the people in their lives.
  3. Interpersonally competent people are able to resolve conflicts with a minimal amount of problems and upset to relationships.

When my niece graduated from Florida State several years ago, I wrote a little book called An Uncle’s Advice to His Niece on Her College Graduation.  Inside, you’ll find my thoughts on each of the success characteristics above and my best advice on how you can use them to build the life and career success you want and deserve.

You can download a free copy at http://www.budbilanich.com/uncles-advice/.  When you download the book, you’ll also get a bonus.  You’ll begin receiving daily life and career success quotes that have helped me on my life and career journey.

There’s a reason they call college graduation ceremonies “commencements.”  As you leave college you are commencing on a new and exciting phase of your life.  You are commencing on a career.  I hope that you find the career advice in An Uncle’s Advice…to be helpful.  You have my very best wishes for a lifetime of success.

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Reading = Success

In early elementary school we learn to read.  Through middle and late elementary we refine the skills and begin to read to learn.  From that point forward, our acquisition of knowledge changes radically.  And today, when the trend of business and global infrastructure revolves around Information, how can we be successful without the ability to read and read well?

In the January 2013 edition of U.S. News & World Report, Best Colleges, there is an article, “A To-Do List for Your College Search. “  The article is great as it addresses activities that need to be done each year of high school, but one that caught my eye was in the Freshman Year.  The recommendation was, “Read voraciously.”  It’s true.  The more you read, your reading will improve as will your vocabulary.  Thus, your success on tests improves and your class performance.

The Highlands Ability Battery is a wonderful assessment of natural abilities and provides lots of great information for career path.  The funny thing is, even the Highlands Company recognized in the early 1920’s that vocabulary is so important to future success that while it is not a natural ability, vocabulary can be increased through reading and can serve as a significant indicator and enhancement to your success.   While math and English, science and history are not part of the assessment, the developers of the Highlands Ability Battery included vocabulary because of its power and influence on our work lives.

In a world where many believe “Knowledge is Power” or that the global world of 24/7 breaking news and technological advancements are going to shape an entirely new work force, they are paying attention to the trend.  The question is, “Will you?”

If reading increases knowledge, and “Knowledge is Power”, then opportunities for success increase with reading.  So, read voraciously.  Read books, read magazines, trade journals, newspapers, the web or anything you find interesting.  Build your vocabulary; increase your performance and your career opportunities.  Reading = Success.

Want to know more about The Highlands Ability Battery, your college major or career direction?      Contact me.

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“Deep Dish” Decision Making – College Acceptances

It’s time.  For those of you who are high school seniors or parents of those students, or juniors in the preparation mode, this blog is for you.  It’s decision time.  Now for seniors or soon for juniors, the same information will apply, so take note.

The previous blog posting was about the 6 Considerations for College Majors.  Those are great guides for thinking about where you want to go to school and what you want to study.  They help to narrow the field.  But now, you’ve sent out those applications and the letters of acceptance are being delivered.  How will you choose?  Will you fall into the trap of going where your best friend goes, lots of peers or school name recognition?  Will you choose because Mom or Dad are promoting because it is their Alma Mater?

Making that “Deep Dish” Decision needs to be well grounded in your best interests.  After all, you’ve spent years deciding whether you prefer deep dish or thin and crispy pizza and whether you like meat lovers toppings or vegetarian.  Buying a $200,000 education is a bit more involved that a $20 pizza.  So devote the time necessary to get it right.  Where do you believe you culturally fit in, socially have opportunities, geographically have independence and manageability, athletically have an opportunity to live out your sports dream or participate in university events, financially can be educated without incurring unreasonable student debt, and academically above all else – where can you get the program that will serve you best?  When it comes down to the final decision, dig deep into the universities offerings of majors to ensure there is a good fit.  When you make a college visit, look at the buildings, the technology and even the methods of course delivery to ensure it is right for you.  Just because an institution offers a major in business doesn’t mean it offers the area of specialty that is right for you.

So for each college you receive an “Acceptance” look deeper and compare them carefully.  Your homework done now will pay off big in securing a four-year, on-time degree in a major you will enjoy and a career path grounded in “Deep Dish” Decision Making.