No matter how much experience you had with organized sports, it’s likely that your participation has affected your work ethic or career in some way. Research shows that women who played a sport as a child or teen benefit in the following ways:

• Go further in their education
• Land better jobs
• Make more money: 82 percent of women in executive positions played an organized sport after elementary school. And one out of every two women who make $75,000 or more identifies themselves as an athlete.

How can playing sports really help you become more successful in your life and career? Here are a few things you learn while being part of a team:

The importance of hard work. Sports, as well as other hobbies, teach us that hard work can pay off – particularly if you’re not inherently great at the activity you enjoy.

Self-discipline. Playing a sport requires dedication and training, an important thing to learn for your future career.

Winning isn’t everything. Sometimes you lose. It’s a fact of life. And the sooner you can accept it, make the best of it and improve for next time, the better attitude you’ll have about challenges in life.

Always do your personal best. In life, there will always be someone better than you (and worse than you, for that matter). As long as you strive for your personal best and continue to improve, you shouldn’t measure success by comparing yourself to others.

What did you learn from participating in an organized sport? How does it affect your career today?

And if you didn’t play sports as a child, what other activities helped you learn these skills?

Heather R. Huhman is founder and president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post How Playing Sports Early in Life Can Help Your Career appeared first on Brazen Life.

Even if you’re an executive at a well-established company, your job could be temporary. Working for yourself? There’s no telling how long your business might last.

Particularly in a down economy and a tight job market, it’s important to keep this in mind. Companies downsize. People get fired or laid off. The market changes. And while you might find another job in your field, your career is likely less stable than the careers your grandparents had years ago.

You may be tempted to get comfortable in your job because it doesn’t seem threatened at the moment. But as recent news goes to show, the multitude of jobs that seemed like they would be around forever are disappearing. Several cases in point: Bank of America laying off 30,000 workers, Borders bookstore closing, and even the U.S. Postal Service closing offices across the country.

How can you prepare for these inevitable changes in your career? Here are a few ways to safeguard your income:

Create a strong personal brand. Although your current job and career play a part in your professional brand, your personal brand is something that stays with you throughout your entire career, no matter where you end up working. Get active online, share and create relevant content, and give people a reason to remember – and hire – you.

Continually build upon your skills and education. Stay on top of news and trends within your industry. If your company won’t pay for professional development, figure out other ways to make it a priority. Learn new skills by attending webinars, conferences and training sessions, and gain skills that will help you regardless of whether you decide to move up in your current career or transition into a related field.

Build a professional portfolio. Keep track of your accomplishments, work pieces, recommendations and referrals in one place. Consider securing your own domain name (www.firstnamelastname.com) to house your professional portfolio. That way, when it comes time for a new job search, you’ll have everything you need all in one place.

Have a back-up career. When I was laid off from my job in public relations a few years ago, I realized the importance of starting my own side business to ensure I always had a job. Now, my back-up career is my full-time one. You never know how things will pan out, and you can no longer count on a company to keep you employed. So think outside the box about how you can grow your own side gig that can serve as a back-up plan. Thanks to the Internet and social networking, it’s easier to start your own business than ever before.

Maintain your professional network. Networking is still one of the top ways to land a new job. By keeping in contact with your professional connections, you’re more likely to learn about new job opportunities, gain referrals and make additional connections. And if you do lose your job, you’ll have a network to turn to for help.

What steps have you taken to set yourself up for success even if your current job disappears?

Heather R. Huhman is founder and president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post How to Succeed Professionally When All Jobs are Temporary appeared first on Brazen Life.

You may have already moved in with a friend or family member to save money, gotten rid of unnecessary bills or stopped buying your daily coffee to save a bit of cash.

Here are a few more suggestions for bringing in the dough:

Sellstuff you don’t need. If you’ve recently graduated from college, you probably have a stack of textbooks sitting around your apartment that you can list on half.com. Or maybe you have several pieces of clothing with the tags still on them that you can part with. Have some furniture you’d like to sell? Between eBay and Craigslist, there are plenty of ways to make a few extra bucks by selling off things you don’t want or need any longer.

Start your own business. If you have a hobby, skill or expertise that others will pay for, figure out how to use that to make a profit. Perhaps you’re great at organizing or enjoy working with animals. Sites like Bragadoo can help you build referrals and gain clients. Consider buying a domain name and creating a simple website, which can cost as little as $10 per year. (Weebly is a simple drag-and-drop website builder with a variety of templates.)

Open up an Etsy shop. List handmade products on Etsy to make extra cash — anything from photography to knitted hats to graphic design products.

Start a blog. While blogging might not make you a ton of money, you can kill two birds with one stone: make some extra cash and further your career by positioning yourself as a thought leader in your field. Look to make money through ads on your blog, as well as product reviews and listing your own products (such as ebooks) on your site. This is a particularly good option if you’re a good writer or photographer — but don’t be fooled, it’s hard work to grow a blog.

Look for freelance work. Head to FreelanceSwitch, iFreelance or a similar website to find employers who are looking for workers with your skills. SEED is another resource that connects freelance writers, photographers and filmmakers with blogs and outlets. Not only can freelancing be a way to earn extra money, it also helps you build your portfolio and avoid gaps on your resume.

Complete tasks for others. At TaskRabbit, you can connect with individuals who need various forms of assistance. Users seek, for example, a photographer for an event or a handyman to fix something in their home.

Sign up to share your opinion. Become a secret shopper, or take surveys online. Companies are always looking for consumers to tell them more about their new product, ad campaign or preferences. Just make sure the opportunity is legitimate — there are a lot of scams floating around out there.

How do you earn extra cash?

Heather R. Huhman is founder and president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post 7 Out-of-the-Box Ways to Make Extra Cash appeared first on Brazen Life.

A lot. That is, if you don’t watch out for red flags.

If you don’t pay attention while job searching, you could end up taking a position that isn’t right for you. You might also fall victim to a scam or identity theft if you aren’t careful. Keep the following red flags in mind when considering new job opportunities:

1. The organization’s website doesn’t include important information about its employees or culture. Most employers want you to learn about their organization through prior research. If the website doesn’t tell you much about the company, it might be a “work from home” opportunity (and not a genuine full-time job) or a sign that they don’t want to get into details.

2. The company is offering salary or benefits that seem too good to be true. And if it seems too good to be true, it probably is! If you’re unsure what you should be making in specific positions, check out Glassdoor.com or other sites that provide salary data.

3. You can’t see yourself getting along with your potential boss or co-workers. If yo u’ve met with current employees or your boss and can’t see yourself working with these folks, this might not be the right job for you. You don’t want to work somewhere where you’ll be miserable—and an employer wouldn’t want to hire an employee who didn’t fit in with the culture, either.

4. The hiring manager avoids answering questions about the former employee in the position. If you can’t get a straight answer about why the last person left this job, it might be for reasons that the hiring manager would rather not disclose, such as no room to move up at the organization, problems with management, or something more serious.

5. You don’t feel comfortable in the office. When something doesn’t sit right, it can be a good indicator that it’s not the right opportunity for you. Sometimes there isn’t even a solid reasoning behind it—it’s just your gut telling you to move on.

Certain red flags can also alert you to whether the job is a scam.  The following are seven red flags the Better Business Bureau advises jobs hunters to be on the look out for when using online resources:

• Employer emails are rife with grammatical and spelling errors
• E-mails purporting to be from job posting websites claiming there’s a problem with a job hunter’s account
• An employer asks for extensive personal information such as social security or bank account numbers
• An employer offers the opportunity to become rich without leaving home
• An employer asks for money upfront
• The job requires the employee to wire money through Western Union or MoneyGram

What other guidelines would you add?

Heather R. Huhman is founder and president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post 5 Red Flags that a ‘Dream Job’ is a Nightmare appeared first on Brazen Life.

First and foremost, you must bring business cards with you no matter where you go. If you start chatting with a potential business connection in line at the mall, handing him or her a business card is much less awkward than recording one another’s information on paper or electronically. Obviously, make it easy to connect with you by providing your email address, website, social networking handles, phone number, and any other relevant information a person may need. It couldn’t hurt to have a professional looking headshot and/or personal branding statement on there as well.

Secondly, a pen and a pad of paper can be an important thing to carry around. Although we all tend to have our Blackberrys or iPhones handy, it typically takes less time and effort to quickly jot down a few notes should you need to refer back to them later. Ideally, you’ll want a small pad of paper that can fit in your pocket or purse and won’t feel like a burden.

Another thing to bring with you everywhere is a good attitude. Everyone has a bad day, but taking it out on the grocery store employee or gas station manager won’t impress anyone. In fact, you might make a bad impression on a potential business partner or employer during these everyday interactions. Always step out of your house or apartment with your best foot forward—you never know when you’ll meet someone that will be vital to your future career.

Lastly, don’t leave home without your prepared elevator speech. When someone asks you, “What do you do?” or “Where do you work?” be prepared to give them a concise (but somewhat comprehensive) look into your career by talking about your expertise, education and skills. This individual that you’re just forming a relationship with could be an influential contact to bring into your network—perhaps they’ll be a future employer or refer you to a job opening that you’ll ultimately take. Make an unforgettable first impression by coming off as a confident, capable professional.

Think there’s something I missed on this list? Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section.

Heather R. Huhman is founder and president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Do You Have a Pen? 4 Things You Should Never Leave at Home appeared first on Brazen Life.