Career Development

Anniversary and Mentor Appreciation Day!!

June 26 was my 1 year anniversary as an Insurance Recruiter with Hobson Associates, and what a year it has been! Deals came together, deals fell apart, I traveled to Texas for my first conference, learned an ENTIRE industry from the ground up, got over my fear of cold-calling, and was promoted to Associate! How did I achieve all of this in 365 days? I came in early, worked through lunch many times, and some days I made close to 100 recruiting calls! I won’t lie, putting in the hours is not exactly easy, but compared to the mental stamina required to thrive in any career, it’s a walk in the park. That’s why the #1 best piece of advice that I received from my mentor, Robin, this past year-even above all the terminology and protocols for doing my job-was this:

Secure Your Life!

Security has been a huge topic of discussion among companies, hospitals, banks, mom and pop shops, individuals, pretty much anything you can think of. With our instant access to anything and everything at the touch of a button, it has put everything we own, including our identities, at risk.  

As a Technology recruiter who places talent for cybersecurity companies, the concept of “security” is always at the forefront of my mind. But what about our personal lives? How can we reduce our daily risks and stresses?  

My Infinite Thoughts on Learning

It used to be easy to think of the learning curve. One axis for knowledge and the other axis represented time. One hoped for a steep ascending line starting in the lower left corner and skyrocketing up. We like to be described as “quick studies” to show that we can learn at the speed of light.

Yet in the 21^st century, information bombards us day and night. Our attention spans are fed in 15-30 second increments. Texting has replaced writing and words are replaced by emojis and three letter acronyms.

With endless demands on our time, we should be aware that learning is not a curve. Learning is iterative. It can also be interactive, visual, tactile. We need to be aware of our collective differences in learning styles and appreciate that there is no right way to learn.

Here are some pointers to help you learn more effectively in today’s distractive information age:

FOLLOW the LEADER

Let's rewind back to the time in your life when your biggest personal challenge was learning to ride a bike. When you decided to take the training wheels off did you look to another kid who still rode with training wheels? No, of course not! You aspired to be like the neighborhood kids who rode a two-wheeler and made it look easy.

The same goes for launching your career. You have the choice to:

The Naked Interview

No, it’s not what you think. I’m talking about getting real, as in being your true self.  

For example, everyone says to “be yourself” during a job interview.  But what does that really mean?  How do you strike the right balance between being genuine and professional, while effectively articulating your ideas, beliefs, cultural fit, process, methodology, etc.?

Your Wake Up Call Could Come From Me!!

You get a lot of calls from recruiters. Well, guess what, I make a lot of those calls. Every morning before donning my headset I down a thermos of hot coffee. (Because showering in it would be scalding but kind of awesome.) Caffeinated and retained by an excellent client with a compelling story and value prop, I enthusiastically start talking to candidates, and I am genuinely excited about the possibility of changing lives! Maybe yours!