If you listen to this podcast on a regular basis, you know that many of my topics come from clients – what they are struggling with, the questions they are asking me. Today’s topic is one such example.  Two of the things I hear most frequently relative to networking is:  #1 – I don’t know very many people #2 – I only know people in my job function/industry, and that’s no help to me because I want to pivot As a reminder, here are my definitions: A career pivot is like a pivot in basketball –...

Let me start today’s episode by saying loud and clear: EVERYONE has setbacks and obstacles in their career. NO ONE has a perfectly linear journey, where they leave each job at the height of achievement, only to land in an even better job – no gaps i...

I’m going to cover a lot of ground on today’s podcast, starting with a definition of career development: According to Wikipedia:Career development refers to the process an individual may undergo to evolve their occupational status. It is the process of making decisions for long-term learning, to align personal needs of physical or psychological fulfillment with career advancement opportunities. Career Development can also refer to the total encompassment of an individual's work-related...

The first thing I want to say about building a professional network is this is NOT just for when you are looking for a new job. In fact, if you spend regular time cultivating your professional network, you may not need to ever look for a new job – opportunities will come to you.  The problem most people run into relative to cultivating a professional network is TIME. Specifically, they don’t prioritize networking, so it gets shoved to the back burner (or behind the stove altogether).  #1 –...

Today, we’re talking about how to increase your chance of choosing an employer who is a good fit for you. I’m dividing this discussion into two parts: How to determine what qualities or characteristics are most important to you and what you can do to assess an employer.  What are you looking for?There are no right or wrong answers here – what IS important is that you separate out your “non-negotiables” from your “gee – wouldn’t it be nice’s.” What am I talking about? When I was applying for...

Gaps in employment. I want to start with the big picture, then drill down to some specifics. If it was several years ago, or more recently for only a few months, it probably isn’t the problem you think it is.  You can eli...

SO…you’ve landed a new position at a new company. How can you make your transition as smooth as possible? Here are 15 strategies:  Exit GracefullyYou don’t want your reputation to be tarnished in the final weeks with your old employer. Finish up any projects you need to, create whatever you need to help your successor in the role, say your goodbyes, and leave gracefully.  Announce on Social MediaBe cognizant of your previous and new employer when you decide the best timing to announce your...

I want to talk with you today about what SHOULD and SHOULDN’T be on your resume in 2024. Like many of the topics I bring to the podcast, this one comes from resumes I’ve seen lately with very old-school information.  What Should Be Included-Branding statement & Summary (which I covered in episode #314 last week). -Professional Experience section, written in reverse chronological order and going back 15-20 years. -You can include internships in this section if you are a recent college...

I want to talk with you today about how to approach your resume summary. I will also be talking a lot about personal branding in this section.  If you are new to this concept, the resume summary goes “above the fold” on page 1 of your ...

Over the years, a number of people have reached out to me with concerns about their resume – in some cases, resumes I wrote for them.  They went to a website that offered a free resume critique and got back harsh criticism that worried...

Today’s topic is how to become a thought leader on LinkedIn. This is something I work with many of my mid- and upper-level clients on and I wanted to share some of that work with you in this episode.  Let’s start with the obvious: If you want to become a thought leader on LinkedIn, you need a complete, professional, and optimized profile. If this is something you want help with, reach out for a consult and I can give you the specifics of what I can do for you and the associated investment....

Here’s the scenario: You’ve been promoted in your current unit. You are now managing people who used to be your peers – at least one of whom may have also applied for the promotion.  How do you transition from a colleague to a manager? This can happen as you move from an individual contributor to a first-time manager, or from a manager to a director or senior manager. You could also become a VP and start managing your former director colleagues. In short, this scenario can happen at any...

I want to start by being clear: This is a topic I’ve covered before. I’m covering it again because, based on the resumes that come to me for consults, ya’ll haven’t gotten the message yet.  In addition to touching on this topic in several episodes, I specifically covered job duties and achievements in episode #174. I’m going to expand on the content from that episode in this one.  What I seeLet’s start with what I see on almost every resume that comes my way: either there isn’t an achievement...

As most of you know, the first 90 days in a new job are critical for your long-term success – not only in that role, but for your future with the organization.  Today, I want to give you key steps you can take in those first 90 days to set yourself up for success.  Let’s start with an Individual Contributor role. A primary focus from week 1 should be getting clear success metrics and priorities from your boss. This typically goes beyond the job description, although that’s a good starting...

First, a confession: When I started seeing articles and comments about “dry promotions,” I didn’t know what that was. In case some of you are in that same boat, here’s a definition: “A promotion without a salary increase....

Today, we’re talking about how to develop your elevator pitch. This is your 15-to-30 second “commercial” about yourself, which you will need for use in a variety of settings, including: -Introducing yourself at a networking meeting -Selling yourself to a potential employer -Selling yourself, your company, or your product/service to a potential customer If you’re not familiar with the concept, the idea is that you could say your elevator pitch while going from one floor to the next on an...

Last week, I focused on Verbal Communication Skills to Enhance Promotability; today I’m covering Written Communication Skills. Once again, I want to start with an assessment – t...

Today, I want to give you strategies to improve your verbal communication skills – specifically, with an eye to enhancing your promotability.  Next week’s episode will piggyback on this one with ways to improve your written communications skills – also with an eye to enhancing your promotability.  In episode #113, I covered active listening at work; here’s the link to that episode:https://exclusivecareercoaching.com/posts/2020-02-05-113-active-listening-at-work/...

Today’s topic is the most important leadership qualities employers are looking for – and derailers to avoid. As you can imagine, every source I reviewed for this episode had a slightly different list and number of qualities, so I’ve at...

Greetings, Career-Minded Superstars! Welcome to The Exclusive Career Coach podcast. I’m Lesa Edwards, Certified Executive and Leadership Development Coach, Certified Job Search Strategist, and Master Resume Writer.  If you would like to learn more about my practice, check out my website at exclusivecareercoaching.com. While you’re there, be sure to look at the Free Resources page – I have lots of great stuff there for you to take advantage of.  So far this month, I’ve talked about what you...

There is a lot of confusion about the current job market – perhaps the most I’ve ever heard of outside of the 2008 recession. I wanted to bring you some facts today – as well as a translation of those facts into action steps you can take to increase your chances of success.  Here’s a quote from Nick Bunker, Indeed Hiring Lab Director of Economic Research for North America:  “Outside of some risks – the ones we know about and the ones we don’t – things look pretty good so far. There’s lots of...

If you are planning to job search this year, there are some important things to know – especially if you haven’t been in the job market for a while. I want to focus on 5 things I think are important for you to understand about the current job market...

I can’t believe this is episode #300! My first podcast was published on October 25th, 2017. Shortly after that, I put out four additional episodes utilizing some material I had already created. I had no idea where I was going to go with the podcast after those initial episodes – I only knew that I really, really wanted to podcast and believed it was the best way for me to get my brilliance out into the world.  There has been an evolution of The Exclusive Career Coach, to be sure…As the focus...

As a reminder, I’ll be offering Land Your Dream Job Accelerator again in January. Here’s the link for more information and to register: https://bit.ly/lydja (https://bit.ly/lydja)  As those of you who listen to the podcast regularly know, I seldom have guests on the podcast – and only when they are fantastic and will add value to you listeners. Today’s guest, Amy Green Smith, is a perfect example of this. We’re talking about People Pleasing – something many of you are very familiar with. Amy...

If you’ve been a faithful listener of the podcast for some time, you’ll know that I do a special episode each year during Thanksgiving week. It started out as five unusual things to be thankful for that weren’t specific to me. Somewher...