Read on to discover the five ways you can become proactive and prepared while taking charge of your career ambitions.

1. Educate yourself

You claim you want a certain industry career, but can you prove it? Be willing to walk the walk by tuning into podcasts and subscribing to relevant blogs. See what professional organizations and learning seminars you can join.

Your resume may not reflect any jobs that directly pertain to your ideal career, but showing off to hiring managers that you’re proactive enough to educate yourself may be more impressive anyway.

2. Mentor with meaning

You’ve heard about the importance of a mentor, and you’ve thought about getting one, you just… um…

It’s normal to feel hesitant about approaching a mentor; after all, you likely respect and admire their achievements. But the hardest part is asking. (Click here to tweet this thought.) With an insightful and humbled approach, the worst that can happen is getting turned down.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to be in the same time zone to connect. In fact, people in other states and cities might be more willing to help you out because if you live somewhere else, you pose less of an employment threat.

LinkedIn is a great tool for connecting you to the professionals within your desired field. Even if you can’t meet in person, you can still message one another and gain an insider’s perspective on the job climate, fair pay and common misconceptions.

3. Volunteer

Perhaps you can’t land your dream job right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t interact with it. Reach out to a local company within your desired field and see if you can volunteer your services in exchange for a widened industry experience and education.

Not only can these informal internships add some weight to your resume, but they’ll also connect you with the movers and shakers in the industry. Just think how much more your name will stand out in a pile of resumes when their next job opening comes around. And even if it never does, your time spent volunteering doubles as networking for leads to jobs beyond that specific company.

4. Dust off that resume

In addition to adding these new efforts to your resume, you might also want to tweak the details of your past jobs. Say, for example, that your dream is to work as a grant writer, but up until this point, you’ve only worked at completely unrelated catering and event jobs. Seems like a huge disconnect right? With a little creativity, maybe not.

 Continuing with this example, being a grant writer requires you to understand specific demands and meet deadlines while paying close attention to details. Who’s to say that as an event assistant, you didn’t meet client’s demands within their timelines while paying attention to details? The key is to honestly craft your resume so those natural connections to your dream career are made clear.

5. Update more than your look

The old saying “dress for the job you want” still applies in today’s modern world. Be willing to take out those piercings and steam a suit if it’ll get you one step closer to the job you want. But don’t stop there.

It’s also a good idea to update your attitude. Be more proactive and hungry when it comes to developing your skills. Ask your boss to meet with you and discuss your options for internal development and growth. The job you have now may not be ideal, but if you make the most of it, you can turn it into a powerful catalyst toward your future career.

What other steps can you take to take charge of your career ambitions?

Kelly Gregorio writes about workplace trends and tips while working at Advantage Capital Funds, a provider of merchant cash advances. You can read her daily business blog here.

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The post 5 Ways to Take Charge of Your Career and Land the Job You Want appeared first on Brazen Life.

Cutting physical costs is a great start, but there’s another invisible culprit eyeing up your business’s bank account: time. We’ve all heard the phrase “time is money.” How much are your work patterns costing you? With a bit of reflection and a few adjustments, you can keep the clock from cashing in.

Get organized

Organization and efficiency are the foundations of time and money well spent. You probably already create a daily to-do list, but try making a timeline instead. Light a fire under yourself by committing to reasonable time frames for everything you want to accomplish in a day. Time-sensitive goals will help you stay on track, saving yourself time and, in turn, money.

In addition to getting organized, get focused. The flexibility to set your own pace and your own work environment also comes with some distracting sinkholes! Make sure you turn off your TV, let non-urgent phones calls go to voicemail and log on to Facebook with the same caution you would use if a boss were looking over your shoulder. Respect your time and its value by unplugging from distractions and then diving into your work.

Turn off replay

Repeating tasks can become an epidemic. Take a minute to think about the repetitive actions you take on any given day, then invest your effort into setting up hacks.

If you send similar emails every day, create a Word document to store generic messages or try Gmail’s Canned Responses feature. Make sure you have a standard invoice template, and bookmark websites you visit regularly. Once you get your repeat-life organized, your workflow will improve.

Also consider the repeat interactions you have with customers. Create an FAQ page on your website or an introduction packet that offers in-depth insight into your services. Efforts like these don’t replace communication with your clients, but they do free up more of your time for other work.

Bring in reinforcements

Consider hiring an intern to help out with projects and office tasks. All it takes is a call to your local college’s career center and the applicants will come to you.

Interns can save you time by assisting with administrative tasks and also bring a fresh perspective on your work. The students who are newest to your field are likely up-to-date on the latest trends and newest technologies, which could save you even more time.

Repay your intern by explaining your work processes and giving her independent tasks on a current project. College students may be eager to roll up their sleeves for free, but they deserve valuable, in-the-field experience in return.

Stop undervaluing yourself

This won’t apply to all entrepreneurs, but if you’re just getting started or are simply too darn nice, you may be guilty of undervaluing your work. For example, as a freelance writer, you might charge your client for the agreed-upon word count that took you about an hour to write. But what about the time it took you to brainstorm, research and edit that content? That time should not go unnoticed or unbilled.

Even if your business is new to a crowded field, there’s a difference between being competitive and giving the milk away for free. Look over your rates and make sure you’re pricing your work fairly.

If you decide to adjust your prices, do some research first to ensure that you’re staying within your industry’s reasonable standards. Notify your current clients before you start working on a new project so the higher price tag doesn’t come as a shock. If you’re hesitant about raising your rates, consider offering different packages so that clients will have pricing flexibility but you’re still earning what your time is truly worth.

What other ways can you keep time from costing you money?

Kelly Gregorio writes about entrepreneurial trends and motivation while working at Advantage Capital Funds, a merchant cash advance provider. You can read her daily business blog here.

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The post Time is Money: Are Your Work Habits Costing You Cash? appeared first on Brazen Life.

Except that while salary ranges, benefits and schedule flexibility are important details you deserve answers to, hiring managers don’t appreciate questions like these until at least your second interview (or maybe even after they’ve made you an offer).

During your first interview, the “impress me dance” is still in full swing. When a potential employer asks if you have any questions, they don’t want inquiries about parking validation; they want to see if you’re prepared, educated and inquisitive.  

Here are six questions to ask at the end of your interview that will help you master the twisted tango of getting hired:

1. If I were to start tomorrow, what would be the top priority on my to-do list?

The answer to this question will give you more insight into the current state of the position, while the question shows that you’re invested and interested in learning how you can start things off with a bang. The added bonus lies in the Jedi mind trick: now you’ve already got your interviewer picturing you as the position holder.

2. What would you say are the top two personality traits someone needs to do this job well?

The answer to this will be very telling. “Creative” and “intuitive” can be translated to mean you will be on your own, while “patient” and “collaborative” could mean the opposite. Not only will this question allow you to feel out whether you’re going to be a good fit; it will also get your interviewer to look past the paper resume and see you as an individual.

3. What improvements or changes do you hope the new candidate will bring to this position?

This answer can shed light on what might have made the last person lose (or leave) the job, and it also tips you off on the path to success. Asking this shows an employer you are eager to be the best candidate to ever fill this position.

4. I know this company prides itself on X and Y, so what would you say is the most important aspect of your culture?

This type of question is sure to impress, as it shows that you’ve done your research on the company and gives you a chance to gain insight into what values are held to the highest ideal.

5. Do you like working here?

This question might take interviewers back a bit, but their answer will be telling. A good sign is a confident smile and an enthusiastic “yes” paired with an explanation as to why. If they shift in their seat, look away, cough and start with “Well…”, consider it a red flag.

Regardless of their answer, employers appreciate getting a chance to reflect on their own opinions, and this turns the interview process into more of a conversation.

6. Is there anything that stands out to you that makes you think I might not be the right fit for this job?

Yes, asking this question can be scary, but it can also be beneficial. Not only does it give you a chance to redeem any hesitations the employer might have about you; it also demonstrates that you can take constructive criticism and are eager to improve—valuable qualities in any candidate.

What other questions would you ask to wow an interviewer?

Kelly Gregorio writes about workplace trends and motivation while working at Advantage Capital Funds, a small business loan provider. You can read her daily blog at http://www.advantagecapitalfunds.com/blog.

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The post 6 Questions to Ask During Your Interview That Will Make an Employer Want to Hire You appeared first on Brazen Life.