1-Minute Tips for professional life
Doodle… for easy scheduling
Does arranging meetings drive you mad? Do you spend ages on email arranging a good time? Then you need to use Doodle! With doodle.com, you send everyone a link with potential dates/times for a meeting or a call and they tick the dates they can make. You choose the best one. That’s it. There is an app for it too (of course).
Who is interviewing you?
Have you thought of finding out on LinkedIn? It’s not only people searching for jobs who are on LinkedIn – you will find recruiters and HR people too. So if you can find out who is interviewing you, who works in the company (do a Company search) and who does business with the company, you will be at a distinct advantage at interview! Use LinkedIn.com to its full advantage and keep tailoring your profile.
Turn off social media, but stay tuned in!
Save time every day. Get one mail at the end of each day that summarizes your LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook messages. Turn off LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, customise Nutshellmail to your own requirements and stop constantly checking your social media. Try http://nutshellmail.com
Be nice, shorten your URLs!
Shorten URLs when you email or post them – after all, nobody likes long URLs. I recommend using bit.ly. It lets you customise the shortened version of the URL; share it via Twitter, Gmail, Facebook or email; and even capture stats on the usage of that URL too. Because bit.ly doesn’t re-use or modify links (unlike some others) the URL you create is permanent. And bit.ly gives you a neat little sidebar too. You simply pop it into your browser so that bit.ly is always ready for you. So don’t use long URLs. Be nice. Use bit.ly!
Google yourself!
Have you googled yourself lately? Have you seen what others would see if they typed in your name? These days, most recruiters will take a look to see how you come across online, and if you have not taken steps to manage your online identity, they may not like what they see. So… google your name (you may be surprised at what you see) and take steps to change what you don’t like. For example, adjust your privacy settings on Facebook (click Account, Settings, Privacy) and take care posting anything that could be misconstrued. Your online profile needs care and attention. If you don’t look after it, you may never know if that’s why you didn’t get that job.
Control your Inbox!
Try checking your email 3-4 times a day, not every 10 minutes. Turn off that You Have Mail popup – it constantly interrupts your thinking. Invest time in setting up your email program to suit you. Create folders for common activities/groups of people and create filters to organize your mail automatically. Most programs will also automatically colour-code all the email that’s addressed only to you (these are often the most important messages). Every time (yes every time!): start at the top and decide what to do with each and every message when you first read it. What to do with them? Either Delete (or Archive), Delegate, Defer or simply Do.
Tips coming next:
Don’t put it off
Sharing tough news
Listening, really listening
Send in a tip that works for you. Email symmetrycoaching@gmail.com
