You’ve made the cut and are moving on to round two. That means your hard work, preparation, and internship experiences–plus your performance in the first interview–have set you apart from at least some of the competition. In most cases, second-round interviews will be more intense and involve more people than a first-round interview. That means more preparation, and more research.

Once you get a schedule for your second round of interviews, if it’s not clear who each person is in relation to the job you’re vying for (i.e., Will he be your boss? Your bosses’ boss? Your colleague?), ask the person who arranged the schedule. Knowing who, say, the direct supervisor is versus the higher up but indirectly involved executive can help you sort out whom you need to connect with most (while you do want to impress the higher-up, it’s more important to form a bond with the person you’d report to day-to-day in the job).

Once you have a sense of who’s who, find out about all the people you’ll be meeting with. Corporate bios on the company website are one place to start. LinkedIn is another good source. Your goal should be to get a sense for each person’s accomplishments, background, and, again, any commonalities you might have. Knowing that you grew up in the same town as your prospective boss or had a successful internship at the same company where he got his start can make for good small talk and help create a comfort level in conversation. Sharing a college alma mater is an even stronger bond—and you probably won’t be the first to bring up that connection.

The key to acing a second-round interview is knowing what, exactly, the company is looking for. Second-round interviews are typically used to assess how ready you are to contribute to the firm. The interview questions are likely to be more technical and dig deeper into both your actual knowledge and your critical-thinking skills than the first-round interview, which may be more about getting to know you. Interviewers will be looking for how comfortable you are when you don’t know the answer to a question, and judging your ability to learn the ways of the firm. They’ll also be looking for clues as to how well you’ll fit into the office culture and norms. And, almost like an umbrella over these things, they’ll be looking for a big intangible: your potential to develop and move up at the company.

Read Full Article in Wall Street Journal.com

What will you do to become, who you most want to be? Will you lie, cheat and steal, or will you stay within an appropriate process – - will you be patient or provocative – will you force an outcome or embrace an organic path – will you be a complement to something bigger than yourself or dominant over something beneath you?

Most people intimate that nine out of ten times, they will do the right thing, yet when the reality of an opportunity arises – when that tenth time pops up, and it will – that’s when it gets complicated. I don’t know if people lean the wrong way, due to its access and convenience, its excitement – or because of misplaced ambition, which demand that they get where they want, immediately, and by any means necessary.

Most of you know the story of Faust, the highly successful scholar, who was unsatisfied with his life, and made a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.

Have you had a Faust moment; what would you do if the devil offered you superfluous reward, but for the price of your soul – an interesting proposition — right?

It’s my opinion that as contributors to a world greater than ourselves, Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals members should move through faith, not faith designated within organized religion, but faith, a “just” belief – a belief in purpose and path — in what’s right, because it’s right, not right because of the reward. Thinking about Faust or Faith, if I were to give some advice – what would I say – this is what I came up with;

Perspective
The first thing I would suggest is perspective; what is your vision, why do you want what you want, and how will you go about attaining it. This stage is important, because it makes you go through the “valuation” process; is what you want valuable enough to be patient and process-oriented, or is it something other than that, which might make you open to cutting corners.

Path
What are the steps to achieving your ambitions – what is the way forward? I read a great book about how to construct a path toward your goals, which could be for any type of path or change, whether in business, teaching a class or raising a family. Pick up a copy of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. Switch asks the following question, “Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities and in our own lives?” It’s a great resource to change your path to discover your best self – to also discover the best in others.

Principle
When the opportunity to cut corners comes, and again, it will come, will you take the bait, or will you stick to your plan. Realistically, shortcuts are enticing – lustily attractive, but very rarely do they end how they are projected. I know ethics, principles and mores, sound like your grandfather’s generation, not very sexy, but some things never lose their value – some things inexorably make the value of the thing more valuable. The more you move through and value principled proposition, the more perspective you will have towards what’s right for you, and why it’s right for you.

Performance
What will define you; at the end of the day, the bottom-line is always the bottom-line. Will you just get it done or get it done well? Is it excellence or expediency – amazing or average? Will you join the company or redefine it? Will you innovate, create new processes, new metrics – will you reframe the conversation and capture your moment, and how will you “breakthrough”, so that we can all live in the future, “now”?

Patience
Will you let the process take its natural course, or will you compromise it for convenience? Will you afford yourself the learning that comes between the beginning and the end of something, or will you influence an unnatural outcome. Does it matter how you get to the end, or does the end justify the means?

Philanthropy
Okay, you’ve arrived or you might be on your way – - what happens after you claim the prize – does it become a succession of prizes or do you build something amazing? Have you considered amazing, or only money? Whether or not you consider situations that are bigger than you, tells a lot about you, and whether you just want talk about doing something important, or actually get something important done, tells even more.

If you don’t need credit for doing the right thing or credit for being a good person, you will do well. I have found that giving is an ethereal process – one that makes the benefactor, at times, feel almost as good as the beneficiary. There is hope, consideration, compassion, innovation and gentleness in our service to others, to our communities – to world we share with all other socieites.

When you finally find out that “it’s not all about you”, you will be ready to lead, and most surprisingly to you, they will be ready to follow.

Good luck.

Calvin Wilson
Founder and CEO
Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals
calvin.wilson1@verizon.net
http://twitter.com/Upstart__Nation

I was thinking, with bank lending and credit being tightly squeezed for entrepreneurs, especially for startups, where might one go to pursue financing for their dream? I believe most entrepreneurs or want-to-be business owners, all have thought of an immediate route to some really big idea that will make them rich and famous, The Road Less Traveled, yet there might be a need to intentionally detour from that path, an unanticipated, yet possibly lucrative stop that might not only help build a stronger business portfolio, but in many instances, will create the equity to pursue your ambitions with a real-sense of autonomy and reward.

Can you say – FRANCHISE? You already know that franchises are an integral part of the American experience, with McDonalds,  Subway , Starbucks and others that are burnished into our everyday lives – into our vernaculars – unfortunately into our waistlines. But did you know that it takes far less money to start a franchise than you imagined – you might be closer to realizing your dream of owning a business more than you think.

The cost of a franchise depends on the franchisor and industry, and other peripheral circumstances. Some of these factors include the size and location of the franchise. Franchise fees generally start at less than $10,000, which is most common among mobile and home-based business franchises, and can go upwards of $100,000.The average franchise fee runs from $20,000 to $30,000, and each franchisor has its own set of financial requirements a franchisee must meet to qualify.

The International Franchise Association commissioned PriceWaterhouseCoopers to look into the volume and performance of franchises, and they found more than 901,093 American franchises in 2009, a net gain of 18,000, from 883,292 in 2008. The gross value of goods and services produced by franchise businesses, was forecasted to increase 2.8 percent in 2010 to $868.3 billion—an increase of $23.6 billion.

I have been reading Franchising and Licensing, Two Ways to Build Your Business by Andrew J. Sherman, and he presents a compelling argument why entrepreneurs, especially younger ones, should consider franchising. Some of Sherman’s insights for franchising are:

1. A proven prototype location that serves as the basis for the operation.

2. Strong management team.

3. Sufficient capitalization.

4. Distinctive and protected trade identity.

5. Proven and proprietary methods of training and operations.

6. Field support staff.

7. Demonstrated market demand for products and services.

8. Research and development capabilities.

9. National or uniform advertising programs.

I think Sherman went further when he stated the “eight commandments” of successful international franchising:

1. Know strengths and weaknesses.

2. Know the targeted market.

3. Due diligence for your partners.

4. Be aware of the royalty value.

5. Know the trademark.

6. Understand the products and services.

7. Know the resources.

8. Know the rationale for such the international procession.

There are no easy or convenient paths to success, but there are roads more accessible that still offer incredible opportunity, with low-barrier costs. For many entrepreneurs, it just might be a hero sandwich, a deep-dish pizza or a Big Mac, that will make the road you travel – the one “less traveled.”

Good luck.

Calvin Wilson
CEO, Upstart
Calvin.wilson1@verizon.net

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

Do you have what it takes to start a business: to create an encompassing vision — to be able to move through adversity — to raise-up after encountering setbacks. Before you go forward: you need to know who you are now.

Who Are You Now?

Who are you – I mean, at this very moment? Are you really who you think you are, or are you some messy fabrication of who you expected to

Upstart: Business and Mangement for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

be, of who you want to be seen as – even though you’re probably not that anyway. Are you, who you say you are – are you sure how you ended up here, as opposed to way up there, because everyone strives for there?

Have you lived up to your potential, exceeded it or fallen grossly short of expectation? You are defined by what –– you value what – you take more for yourself or give away more to others – or what?

Is this life yours – I mean this moment, and all moments like it, or has your life become a placeholder for what should have been or what still might be – are you living through hope and potential, or through a plan – is that why you’re still here, as opposed to there? If I asked someone about you, what would they say – are you sure they would say that? What did, “Who Are You Now” mean when I first asked you, what does it mean now that I know “Who You Are?”

How Did You Get Here?

How did it happen; how’d you get here — are you a product of process or a victim of circumstance – an example of blazing determination or of interminable bad luck, but nonetheless, you are still here – and rightly so — right? When was the last time you looked at the past events that shape your “now?”  When did you know that this was who you wanted to be, or has this life been somehow forced upon you?

Did you try to compete or try to win – did you seek this proposition, or did it find you on the way to finding someone else – what happened – - do you know, or do you try to forget that you know? When did it start to go right, or when did you know that it would never be right, never be what you had imagined, and what part did you play in that? Did you see it coming, or did it happen to you when you first got here — do you even realize that you’re still here and not there?

Where Do You Want To Go

Is it time to move – to move on from here – move at least from here to somewhere closer to there, and where is there exactly? You’ve been here for some time, and nothing, or maybe a little something,-something, yet something, someone, has you fixated on here — you seem loyal to here, captivated by its indulgence – beholden to its hiding places – as opposed to seeing here for what it is, because here is never now, here is always yesterday – it’s always late, and I know you know this – I think?

If you are forced out of here, or decide to finally abdicate here, then where will you go – who will have you, and what will be your offering to there? Are you willing to reconcile yourself into the discomfort of transformation, or settle for the meandering of convenience? Do you want there so you can become amazing, or do you want there, because your time’s almost up here?

Why There

If you located a suitable there, an amazing one – why would you choose that one, as opposed to the other one? Did you check it out, or did you again take someone’s word for it? When you get there, what will be different this time – how will you know? When you get there, will you be you – the you still here, or will you be the person more there than here?

Once you are there, how will you know that you’re not the old you anymore – that you’re the future you “now?” Will you contribute there, or play it cool – will you be too afraid to be afraid, or will you be afraid that you’re no longer here? How will you make there different from here?

When Then?

Are you ready to move toward there, or will you wait for there to present itself to you? There continually reconstitutes itself into the next possible there, because there is fluid, functional and opportunistic, yet vehemently impatient, so your next there might be the last one you get, at least while you’re still here. Will you move towards it now? Will you meet your destiny here, or create it there – when are you going to go – are you still going to go – are you sure – because you’re still here!

Good luck – see you “there!”

Calvin Wilson
CEO, Upstart
Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Olds Professionals
calvin.wilson1@verizon.net



Upstart: Gamechangers

I have an ominous warning – a prophecy of doom: America has become the old IBM, the IBM before it became “new IBM.” Before it was revived, repositioned and restored – IBM was an iconic American symbol of big business and advanced technology. But somewhere IBM lost its way: its culture become monolithic, it failed to read mature and emerging markets, it was debilitated by “groupthink,” and slowly, newer technologies, smaller and more powerful machines and more rapid information sources, were eating away at IBM’s market share, profits and brand image. I think the United States is hurling itself down the same path as the old IBM – and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

I spoke of IBM in a previous article Business Turnaround: Blowup The Company To Save It, about its bloated infrastructure, its lack of diversity in thought and culture – and its tin ear, preventing it from hearing, seeing or believing the seismic changes that were happening right before their eyes. IBM lost its excellence, and once IBM was not excellent anymore, it wasn’t IBM anymore. I relate the United States to IBM, because America has also lost its way. America has lost the mindset, culture and momentum of excellence. We have become character actors, as opposed to stars – American Idols, not “American masters.”

In the Empire at the End of Decadence, Charles M. Blow, stated,“It’s time for us to stop lying to ourselves about this country…..America is great in many ways, but on a whole host of measures — some of which are shown in the accompanying chart — we have become the laggards of the industrialized world. Not only are we not No. 1 — “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” — we are among the worst of the worst…..Yet this reality and the urgency that it ushers in is too hard for many Americans to digest. They would prefer to continue to bathe in platitudes about America’s greatness, to view our eroding empire through the gauzy vapors of past grandeur.”

America is doing now, what all great empires do, right before they are no longer great empires – they fail to be introspective – the fail to see the world as it is – they stay encapsulated and nostalgic to a world they once dominated – influenced by a world that doesn’t exist anymore – so instead of doing everything to meet and become the future – they do nothing and are forced into the past.

We are inundated with the  Groupon’s and Facebook’s of the world – but what do they do exactly – - where is the “Moon Shot” – who is America’s Shai Agassi – do we really need discounted coupons, or do we need companies that look to fill vacuums: companies and entrepreneurs that can build new business infrastructures and technology platforms. “I don’t want a car man – I want a space man, who builds cars.” Give me a dreamer, an iconoclast, who refuses to accept conventional wisdom – someone, who knows that what we too often accept as “right,” is dead-wrong – and has dedicated his life to proving it. Give me a believer – a tree shaker – an empire builder. Unfortunately, America has become a country of “Top Models, Real Housewives and Top Chefs,” fun stuff, but really no purpose except to be a distraction.

We’ve become a country of distractions: with the awesome computing and tech prowess at our disposals – with the intellectual firepower of our best and brightest – with those now commanding the stage and light, and those soon emerging, the best we can do is Groupon, Twitter and Reverse Mortgages — C’mon. I don’t think most people know that we’ve learned to live off the distraction, as opposed to the actual thing we are supposed to be focusing on in the first place. America has built multi-billion dollar industries off the distraction. America has decidedly chosen convenience over mastery, and the painful side of that tradeoff is upon us.

Google had it right when it indexed and created sophisticated search algorithms for the entire internet – it thought it could change the world, but what happened – it became a search advertising company, built on “Keywords, Page Rankings, Pay-Per-Click and Search Engine Optimization” – Huh. Google became something other than it was supposed to become, because it lost focus, and has never regained its correct perspective, ambitions or alignment. Google was started by two exceptionally brilliant young men, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who created one of the purest forms of “equality” – equal access to information: and what have we done with it – nothing – what has Google done with it – nothing. Google wasn’t supposed to be competing with Facebook and Apple; it was supposed to be competing with NASA. Google blew it.

The real problem with the lack of excellence is twofold. The people who understand excellence, have resigned themselves to pedestrian performance – have accepted that the days of an exemplary offering is on life-support, and we have become accustomed to being underwhelmed – accustomed to having an unfortunate gap between our best efforts and “amazing.” But the more significant problem is that most people have never seen excellence up close. America lives and works through societies that reward the debate, more than outcomes: Americans live in societies built to demand more, while providing less – it’s old IBM. We have businesses that meet shareholder requirements, not by what they build, but by how many jobs they shed, and they are rewarded handsomely for their lack of performance – rewarded for their incoherence to excellence.

And there are also real world problems: deficits, debt, entitlement costs, irresponsible tax cuts, no decision decisions, lack of leadership, lack of a real plan, lack of real solutions – and many people make their living off the system being broken, as opposed to it working well. There’s incredible profit in pain and turmoil – because you continually have to pay for the treatment, but payment for a cure always comes to an end, which is unacceptable, because business is always about being in business. It’s not that a pharmaceutical company doesn’t want you to have a cold, they just want to help you continually manage it, where you think their products allow you to bear the cold better. Ask yourself, why doesn’t a pharmaceutical company sell over-the-counter (OTC) flu shots, as opposed to Nyquill — limited money in the flu shot, long money in the Nyquill.

Just think, what if the folks at Goldman Sachs decided to use their skill-sets to find ways for Americans to be more appropriately invested in American and global markets, as opposed to moving through sanguine capitalism that only serves their own purposes? What if lobbyists lobbied for cosmopolitan and connected infrastructures – lobbied for a stronger middle-class, as opposed to fringe projects that only help the wealthy and well-connected? What if non-profits decided to put themselves out of business by finding cures, and not merely offering ephemeral relief – what would happen if we actually meant what we said – if we did what we said we were going to do – who would we be then?

America needs to recapture its voice and create a moment to find its imagination, its vision – to find individuals and groups that will snatch the future by the throat, and drag it into our classrooms, into our homes and redefine how we do business, and who we do business with. America needs a call to action: a demand that someone come up with a plan to lessen our dependence on oil by 50% in the next fifteen years, a demand for someone, who has a school reform model that is performance based, teacher and parent supported and replicable – a demand for someone, who has a healthcare plan that reduces costs and improves care, a demand for someone, who has a solution for closing the income gap, without interrupting the free markets – have we forgot that this our obligation – the people’s, not the government’s, not someone else’s, or did you ever know that this power was yours?

I must admit, as I have started this new venture, Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals, I have and continue to meet some exciting and truly powerful figures, both seasoned and very young, who will shape the coming American narrative for generations, but why will only a select few “breakthrough” – why are we still getting ideas from the same places that we always have – obsolete, self-serving ideas that offer more dependence and less innovation – more monopolies and less pluralism – more freedoms, but less freedom?

Excellence is not a thing, it’s a lifestyle – it’s a determination – a choice – it’s an identity and outcome, but it’s never rhetorical, it’s always alive, pulsating, contouring, complaining, pleasing and feverishly reconstituting itself into the next possibility, yet excellence dismisses many and only selects the few who, don’t necessarily believe that their time is now, but those who make “now” their time.

America is at a point, where it doesn’t know what it’s supposed to know – doesn’t know who it’s supposed to be anymore – so as economies and trade repurpose with more of an international equilibrium, as global populations become younger and less dependent on American ideation, as infrastructures become more wired and secular – and as education is defined by those who are serious about it, not just those who have it – the world will change – it already has.

Will America be able to awaken and force itself into a pause – into a good dressing-down of itself, so it can find and offer its best self to its citizens and the rest of the world, or will it keep accommodating accommodation, and slip quietly into the night?

Good Luck.

Calvin Wilson
CEO, Upstart                                                                                                                                                                                                            calvin.wilson1@verizon.net

Upstart: Business and Management for 29-40 Year Old Professionals

Upstart: Career

Last month, I published an article titled ‘The 21 Meetings In 21 Days Challenge’ aimed at helping job seekers to dramatically speed up their job

Courtesy: Andrejs-Pidjass/PhotoXpress Free Images

search.  The article was subsequenty republished by the banking career site, “eFinancial Careers”

Then last week, the same site published a follow up article titled “I Used Sital’s 21 Day Challenge and Secured 8 Interviews” - written by a Hedge Fund professional who took the 21 Day Challenge to secure 8 interviews.

That’s right, 8 new opportunities in 3 weeks created by getting out and meeting people. What’s more, he did it whilst working full time.

The Power Of Face To Face

Whilst the internet, jobsites and social media have changed so many things – one thing still hasn’t changed – the power of face to face interactions.

We all know that “people buy people.” But people also refer people. And people are more likely to refer those who they’ve recently spent time with and connected with at a personal level. The people they have dined with or had a drink or coffee with.

This has been true throughout history – and applies to pretty much every part of the world. Regardless of the advancements in technology.

Stop Hiding Behind Your Computer

So whether you’re searching for a new job, exploring new careers or looking for more clients – stop hiding behind your computer exchanging emails, “Tweets” and status updates with all your virtual friends and contacts.

Instead, get out and meet some real people this week and you’ll start attracting some real opportunities. Better still, do it for 3 weeks and take the 21 Day Challenge!

Read More:

http://www.careerhubblog.com/main/2011/05/how-to-secure-8-interviews-in-21-days.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CareerHub+%28Career+Hub%29

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

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Upstart: Career

A new reality show is looking for people on the down-and-out to participate. Finally, reality television that reflects reality, in all its harsh light.

When it comes to reality TV, the table-flipping and picture-perfect marriage proposals are anything but the reality most people know.

But now comes a show that’s a reflection of one of today’s harsher realities: Career Makeover, a new series that promises to tap into the frustrating low points of millions of today’s out-of-work and underemployed Americans. The show will give viewers something that’s perhaps more telling than the government’s eagerly-awaited monthly employment report.

Lights! Camera! Job?

Casting is underway in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The pilot is expected to air this fall on A&E, a source tells Fortune, although a spokesperson from the cable television network says that a reality series focused on helping people make over their careers is still in the developing stages and does not yet have a title or an air date.

Needless to say, with unemployment improving but still high at 8.8%, casting directors should have little trouble finding good candidates. The show has a few requirements: Participants must be 30 to 45 years old; must be unemployed for more than a year or currently underemployed (meaning you have a job and were recently forced to take a pay cut or additional duties with no additional pay); must be a high school or college graduate; must have a previous annual salary ranging between $45,000 to $100,000 (W-2 proof of income required); must be from “traditional families with relatives children, close friends, parents and in-laws …”

Indeed, the series is striving for the appearance of authenticity, for it also asks that no actors or members of any actors union apply. And Snooki, you’re out of luck on this one. Applicants cannot have appeared on any other reality show (besides the fact that you’re still quite gainfully employed).

“We’re trying to tell the story of America,” says Vinnie Potestivo, whose New York City-based agency bearing his name is about three weeks into casting sessions for the show.

Though Career Makeover, as the agency calls the pilot, is intended to be somewhat upbeat and give viewers career advice amid a gruelingly challenging job market, the reality of it all just might be too harsh for some viewers to bear. After all, watching your own reality unravel is – well, anything but entertaining. Each week, guests of the show will be matched with headhunter Stephen Viscusi’s team, who will offer advice on everything from resumes to networking to wardrobe. Sound familiar?

Read More:

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/04/12/putting-the-jobless-to-work-on-reality-tv/

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

Upstart–Career 

I love this business and what it teaches me! This morning my client asked a great question:

“What’s the single most important differentiator between a person who finds a job and a person who doesn’t?”

We shared a few ideas together and the client seemed pleased, yet the question inspired me to put further thought into the matter. Beyond the basics of know yourself/your brand, outstanding resume, great interview, good fit, blah blah, I wish I had added these things:

~~~ The ability to cope with and manage rejection. This market is unlike any I’ve witnessed in my many years in the industry. It is not for the faint of heart and the job seeker of today will be rejected several times (most likely) as rejection simply goes with today’s job hunt territory. Expect it!

~~~ The resilience factor – the ability to bounce back quickly and completely once you’ve been kicked in the head (and heart). Instead of letting a ‘no’ stop you, don’t falter and don’t waiver in your commitment to self to keep moving forward. Onward on a daily basis; no excuses! ——->>>>>

~~~ The power of perseverance — how badly do you want it? The other day, I invited a job seeker to describe their level of commitment to finding a new job. They offered: “Um, a little bit….maybe.” Until you promise yourself that you will be 100% invested in your job search on a sustained basis, there is still room for perseverance growth and improvement.

Read More:

http://www.careerhubblog.com/main/2011/02/whats-the-single-most-important-differentiator-between-a-person-who-finds-a-job-and-a-person-who-doe.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CareerHub+%28Career+Hub%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

Many people don’t realize that industry downsizing will affect their jobs until it’s too late.  The answer?  Even if your position seems secure, be vigilant and proactive.

One key question to ask yourself is if there have been major layoffs or consolidations in companies similar to yours.

Even if you’re in a comparatively desirable area like IT, if you are working in a field that’s in trouble (e.g. manufacturing, retail), you may not be able to rely on cushy severance packages or the ability to quickly land a job with a competitor. Before you become a layoff victim, reorganize your finances so that your liabilities are as low as possible and set up an emergency fund.  Update your résumé and line up your references so they’re ready to go when you need them.

This may be the time to move to an industry in which jobs are more plentiful. Healthcare and private education continue to see employment gains, and if you can use your current skills in an area that received funding from the economic-stimulus plan, all the better.

Many professionals are daunted by the prospect of a mid-career industry switch, but as long as you have the core skills and enough basic knowledge to hold your own in an interview, you can feel confident.

Read More:

http://alexandralevit.typepad.com/wcw/2011/02/protect-yourself-from-a-downsizing-profession.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WaterCoolerWisdom+%28Water+Cooler+Wisdom%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Upstart: Business and Management for 20-40 Year Old Professionals

The world is full of phonies, deceivers and cheats. In the arenas of advertisers and salespeople, this seems to be especially true.

Empty promises, bogus guarantees and plain ol’ swindles pervade the marketplace. Most people automatically tune out a large percentage of overt advertisements. No one trusts salespeople; they are often dismissed before they even speak. (Believe me, I’ve been there..) We all know it’s

Slobodan-Djajic/PhotoXpress

true. That’s just how things are.

In spite of that fact, a profound longing exists inside of each of us: a longing to believe. Gary Bencivenga, one of the few living legends of copywriting, teaches that “Almost everyone in the world… is desperately searching for someone to believe in. Be that person, and you can write your own ticket.” The dishonest climate of the day makes the search for that kind of person difficult. Those found to be trustworthy stand to benefit immensely.

Telling the truth can be used as a powerful business and marketing strategy.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not advocating a Machiavellian view of dealing with truth. 100% honesty is the only way to business. Customers and prospects deeply desire to believe, but they have been forced into skepticism. Only one arrow can pierce the armor of doubt: TRUTH.

How Can Truth-Telling Be Used As A Strategy?

When we think of establishing our credibility and building trust, we usually picture a long-term process. And it is. Allowing events to progress naturally, it can take months or years to get where you want to be.

Let’s consider another perspective. Most of my readers market their products and services using direct response methods. What is one defining characteristic of direct response marketers? We do not wait for “events to progress naturally.” We don’t wait for prospects to eventually stumble across our offers and maybe buy something. We take action to cause individuals in our target audience to respond in a particular way.

Strategic truth-telling relies on the same principle.

Rather than relying on chance and (passively) watching trust grow over time, it is possible to inject “moments of truth” into otherwise normal interactions. Build your believability factor actively, purposefully. The “que sera, sera” approach is not a viable strategy.

Let me state emphatically that integrity is not a strategy. It is a way of life. You should never tell lies or deceive. Customers need to know you’re not going to mislead them or take advantage of them. Don’t settle for marketing that is simply credible. Actually be the company that your customers can trust.

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