Write & Speak Like a Professional: Success in 20 Minutes a Day
Everyone you meet will form opinions based on what you say and write. That’s why I’m so excited to announce my new book, Write & Speak Like a Professional: Success in 20 Minutes a Day.
Strong written and spoken communication skills are crucial to opening doors. Millennial Branding’s research showed soft skills topped the list of “must have” skills that employers want, with 98 percent of employers saying communication skills are essential. It’s up to you to make the most of every opportunity to prove you’re capable and confident.
It’s no secret first impressions matter – that’s been the case since the beginning of time. What’s new, in our increasingly fast-paced, digitally connected world, is how a simple stroke of a keyboard, or an email gone awry, can quickly damage a professional reputation. On the other hand, a stream of consistent, well-written social media updates can just as easily raise your profile and impress people you’ve never met who may positively influence your career.
As a job search coach and social media strategist experienced at helping job seekers and business owners market themselves online and in person, it’s clear the most successful professionals try to improve their communication skills at every opportunity. Whether your focus is networking, job search, or excelling at work, it’s more important now than ever to know how to present yourself in person and in writing in this hyper-competitive work environment.
Write & Speak Like a Professional: Success in 20 Minutes a Day provides instructions and exercises to improve your communication abilities and offers insights and ideas to help refine your skills in every aspect of your job or career. It includes instruction on everything from networking to resume writing and interviewing.
Learn how to:
- Network professionally — online and in person
- Create cover letters and resumes that get you noticed
- Approach job interviews with confidence and poise
- Use social media appropriately and effectively
- Introduce yourself decisively and make a great first impression
- Write emails people will read
- Much, much more!
Communication skills are just as important in the workplace as they are when looking for a job, so you’ll also find details about how to impress people at work and how to write clear, concise business emails that will get the best results. With attention spans growing shorter, it’s never been more important to learn how to hone in on your message and eliminate non-crucial details. This book helps you recognize if you’re missing opportunities to communicate succinctly and demonstrates how to remedy any problems.
Whether you’re attending a meeting, or writing a memo, it’s up to you to put your best foot forward. This book provides the resources to help you identify any deficiencies or problems you may not have considered.
- Are you using words in your emails that call your professionalism into question?
- Does the tone or inflection of your voice make people think you aren’t confident?
- Could you be doing more via social media to expand your reach and extend your influence in your professional community?
- How are your listening skills?
- Does your body language send the message you want people to receive?
Read this book to learn how to improve your ability to make a strong first impression, and how to extend and enhance that impression so your colleagues and supervisors will listen carefully when you speak and appreciate what you write.
Click here to download a free chapter from the book : Communicate Using Social Media.
Be sure to touch base to let me know what questions you have, and feel free to share your best communication tips in the comments! Post on social media using the hashtag #WriteSpeak.
Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day
Are you overwhelmed by life’s details? Whether you’re looking for a job, or you’re fully ensconced in a career, do you feel like you’re always running to catch up, and never completely in control of your day-to-day work and home life? I wrote a new book just for you!
Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day provides suggestions and recommendations to help you make the most of every hour of the day. The result? You’ll have more time for everything that matters to you, and you’ll be able to successfully achieve your professional goals. No one has time to waste! That’s why this book starts out by illustrating how to network effectively and how to choose the best jobs to apply for to avoid the dreaded “resume black hole,” when employers ignore you. (After all, you never know when you’ll want to look for a new opportunity.) If you already have your dream job, you can dive directly into the slew of best practices and ideas included in the majority of the book, which is dedicated to helping manage your time for professional success.
In this book, I cover the entire gamut: from how to incorporate healthy routines (such as what to eat and how to make time to exercise) to how to set and achieve your aspirational work goals. Whether you need help organizing your office, managing distractions at work, tracking your emails or keeping a useful checklist and calendar, this book provides practical insights, exercises to get you started and information to help.
You haven’t been tracking your “wins” at work, or you don’t know what apps you should use to make the most of your time and avoid being distracted? I’ve got you covered!
Manage Your Time & Your Life: Success in 20 Minutes a Day is an all-in-one efficiency “bible,” with suggestions to help you identify key action items and take the necessary steps to accomplish your long- and short-term goals. Learn how to get a firm handle on your schedule to keep efficiently moving forward with your professional plans.
- Do you need help separating your “must do” from your “want to do” items?
- Could you use help to overcome procrastination and learn to become accountable for your plans?
- Would you appreciate advice about how to stop wasting time, effort, and energy?
This book includes techniques and ideas to help you get organized and keep on track.
For example, learn how to:
- Plan your job search — get it done in less time
- Prepare for interviews — without memorizing answers to hundreds of questions
- Make the most of your time at work
- Get organized and feel in control of your life
- Create useful lists and prioritize
- Avoid procrastination
- Much, much more!
Download an excerpt from the book: How to Avoid Procrastination.
After you read this book, you will be able to quickly review your progress, assess your strategies and make positive changes. Are you ready to put the right combination of action items in place and just get things done? Order the book today and get started!
Be sure to touch base to let me know what questions you have, and feel free to share your favorite productivity tips in the comments! Post on social media using the hashtag #TimeLife.
Social Networking for Business Success
As corporations shift their hiring practices and on-board more and more freelance and independent workers, everyone will need to begin to think of themselves as independent contractors. Harvard Business Review reports that the 17 million independent workers today is expected to rise to 23 million by 2017.
In light of these data, it is crucial for anyone who expects to earn a living to think of themselves as entrepreneurs and prepare to market themselves online. Social Networking for Business Success: Turn Your Ideas into Income, is now available in bookstores and online. This practical guide is for savvy existing business owners as well as those who are considering starting new entrepreneurial ventures. It includes practical checklists and describes all the tools you need to create and maintain a social media presence for you and your company.
Filled with resources and ideas, Social Networking for Business Success will inspire experienced and new social media users to use the Internet to grow their businesses. This book is for you if you’ve ever wondered how to:
- Connect with people you don’t know and convince them to reach for their wallets
- Inspire trust, build partnerships and make more money
- Market and advertise your business without spending a dime
- Leverage small details that make big differences in online searches
- Look smarter than your competition and make the best use of your limited time
Take a look at what others are saying about Social Networking for Business Success, which can be purchased anywhere books are sold and online at Amazon.com.
Social Networking for Career Success
Now in a brand new (for Fall, 2013) edition, Social Networking for Career Success includes my advice and insights regarding how to use all the biggies: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and MORE for job hunting. Available both as a soft-cover book and as an ebook (via Kindle).
The best part? Over 100 of my colleagues (most of whom I met via Twitter and blogging) provided their thoughts and expertise in my book. Recruiters, social media pros, career coaches – you name it, their advice is included. Take a look at this list of amazing contributors and see what people are saying about Social Networking for Career Success.
Click HERE to purchase a copy from Amazon!
100 Conversations for Career Success
Co-authored with Laura Labovich, this indispensable guide arms you with situation-specific strategies to help you communicate effectively and overcome job search hurdles. The result? Improved networking relationships and more career opportunities! Inside, you will find more than 100 true-to-life scripts, tips, and templates to help motivate you to approach your contacts—from friends of friends to VIPs—with confidence.
What do other experts say about our book?
“Are you looking for work? Meet your two new best friends: Miriam and Laura. Passing over vague, useless advice, these two zero in on the specifics of how to make the right connections and what to say once you do. If you want to have a successful job search, begin with this book.” — Anita Bruzzese, , USA Today columnist and author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy
“..From cold calling to leaving voice mail messages to nailing phone interviews, Laura Labovich and Miriam Salpeter have figured it out and offer their smart insights and advice. This book will seriously help you diminish those sweaty palm moments during your job hunt.” — Eve Tahmincioglu, career writer for Today.com and MSNBC.com
Find it on Amazon.
Vault Guide to Networking
Do you think of networking as a dirty word? Is it something you want to avoid at all costs? You are not alone. However, if you’re a hesitant networker, there’s good news for you! With a little preparation, the right expectations and a strategic plan, networking is probably a lot easier than you think.
If you’d like a guide to help you through every step of your networking journey, I authored one for Vault.com, and it’s available now. Vault is known for its influential rankings, ratings and reviews of thousands of employers and hundreds of internship programs. Vault.com also shares information about what it’s really like to work in an industry, company or profession—and how to position yourself to launch and build the career you want. You can find the Vault Guide to Networking online.