Today’s roundtable is about how professional networking can create a Small World Phenomenon for you. And no, I am not talking about Disney World’s Small World ride. I am talking about the principle that Wikipedia describes where short chains of acquaintances, often no more than a handful of individuals, connect any two people on the planet.

This concept was first explored with the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game which applied the concept that any two people are six or fewer acquaintances apart. Expanding on this theory, several years ago Facebook conducted a study that showed the average degree of separation between two Facebook users was only around 4 people. This is huge for the #jobseeker because that would translate to 1 out of every 4 people knowing you or knowing of you.

Wow…this sure does create an incentive for professional networking!

But let me ask this – how do you leverage this Small World Phenomenon during your job search? And while professional networking is a terrific way to make your world smaller, is that the only way to do it? Oh, and don’t forget, your network can also work against you in your job search. What do you need to consider as you leverage your network?

Join us today as we dig into this topic, providing some real-world examples of how to take advantage of professional networking to make your world just a smidge smaller and your job search much easier.

It is standard practice for interviewers to open up the discussion with a question like “tell me about yourself” or “walk me through your resume.” I like starting an interview this way because it typically puts the candidate at ease while giving me an idea of what he/she is looking for. While there are certain key points you want to make when answering these introductory questions, it is important to know what not to say in a job interview.

While this seems like a benign topic, we just had a very seasoned contract CRA who faceplanted during what should have been a simple interview. Why? Because she talked about experiences that weren’t on her resume.

The very experienced CRA may be thinking – “there is no way I can include everything on my resume”. We agree. So how do you know what should be included on your resume (and thus be prepared to discuss during the interview)? When you are updating your resume, what other aspects of your brand should you also consider tweaking? And the most important question - how do you know what not to say in a job interview?

You may think my questions are pedestrian. But the answers will make or break your results.

The topic of this week’s roundtable is self-defeating beliefs and how they may be keeping you unemployed or unhappily employed. I refer to self-defeating habit patterns as Blockers. Blockers are those habit patterns that may have helped you survive in the past but are no longer beneficial to you. For example, as a baby, you cried when you were hungry. But as an adult, if you cry every time you feel a bit peckish, people are going to think you have crazy on your face.

And yes, limiting beliefs will sabotage your success. Although self-defeating beliefs are extremely powerful, they only subtly impact your behavior. But that subtle impact is enough because these limiting beliefs will keep you from pursuing your dreams. They keep you from reaching your full potential. For example, if you lack confidence, you are less likely to apply for jobs that are a slight stretch for you. If you don’t feel you are capable of achieving a specific goal, you are less likely to even try to obtain it. Alternatively, if you are overqualified for a position, you may act entitled or arrogant while in the pursuit of it.

So how do you know if you have self-defeating beliefs? How do you know if you have blockers that are sabotaging you? Let me ask you this: are you currently feeling love, peace, fulfillment, joy, and enlightenment? Did you wake up this morning with enthusiasm, feeling super excited to tackle your day? If not…then you are running one or more blockers. Which means you have limiting beliefs that are sabotaging your efforts.

Join us as we discuss how to identify what Blockers you may have as well as provide some examples of how to overcome them.