I have always wanted to sit in the “big chair” and have my shoes shined by a true professional. Every time I dash through the airport headed for a connecting flight, I would catch a glimpse of this bye-gone era. I witnessed people taking care of their things, rather than just simply throwing them away and replacing them with more new stuff.

“They say you can tell a lot about a person from their shoes.” I believe that this expression has less to do with how much you spend on your shoes, but more to do with your attention to detail and the care and pride that you take in your personal appearance.

Back to the chair. Rarely have I see women in the “big chair,” having their shoes shined. Instead I see women at the shoe store, buying more shoes. Why is this?

Glut of casual footwear

In speaking with Johnnie, the shoe shine professional at the Atlanta airport, the reason we see so few shoe shine stations or shoe repair shops any more is because of “tennies.”  That is, the trend toward casual footwear (I’ve been seeing a lot of UGG boots in public. What’s up with that?) and athletic shoes (i.e., tennies). Johnnie and I brainstormed along with another waiting customer, a male pilot about 60 years old, who by the way shines his shoes every Sunday. We discussed ideas on how to make shoe shine relevant and desirable to women and today’s modern traveler.

Johnnie said that about 25% of his clientele are women, who come mostly in winter to have their boots polished (yes, I was wearing boots). He talked about the idea of combining the manicure and massage with shoe shine services. He longed to have his own shop. I suggested that he offer to clear/polish women’s handbags and briefcases as well. Theses accessories get filthy and scuffed too.

Whether or not these “marketing ideas” have legs or will ever see the light of day is not the point. The conversation with Johnnie was energizing and his service to me was invaluable. I walked out of his shoe shine station taller and more self-assured, feeling like I had the world at my feet.

Time check

Until I got to my departure gate and learned that Read the rest of this entry »

This hysterical video (which also serving as a commercial for a health center) is a great commentary on the human condition and the dangers of “learned hopelessness.”

Watching this video is an excellent opportunity to not only laugh (good for your health), but to take a look in the mirror and see your own potential blind spots.

• How often do you feel “stuck” or trapped in a situation?
• Why wait to be rescued when you can easily change your own situation with simple action?

While there are many external forces that we all have to contend with, it has been my experience as an certified Blind Spots executive coach and a motivated human being that WE are the barriers, WE are what gets in our way, WE are the problem. When you acknowledge and accept your role in your current situation and begin to live in “cause” rather than “effect” (i.e., victim status), then you regain the kind of personal power that can move you forward in your business, career and life.

In my study of Neuro Linguistic Programming, I embraced the following attitude and belief:

There are no unresourceful people; only unresourceful states.

People have all the resources that they need.

Sometimes we all need a good swift figurative kick in the pants to help us make the necessary changes that we already know we need to make. If you’ve been complaining, hesitating, holding back, or have been indecisive for longer than you care to admit, watch this video a few times. Ask yourself, “Now, how can I get off this broken down escalator?”

One of my personal goals in networking is to strive to be visible and valuable to the people in my professional life. I don’t want to be one of those people who call you only when I need you; or the kind of person who disappears for long periods of time.

I also don’t want to fall victim to the scary business statistic that I recently heard about:  With every month that you are not in communication, you lose 10% of your influence. Staying in touch is clearly a business and career priority, in the good times and the lean times.

Here’s how I define visible and valuable in the context of networking and relationship building:

• Visible: be “front of mind” with the people that you care about. Communicate regularly, through both active and passive communication channels. Show up. Show your face. Don’t just communicate by email or texting. Let them see the whole human being that you are.
• Valuable:  be a resource, be helpful, know what they need and care about. Help them solve their problems.  Be collaborative, not competitive. Share your ideas, experiences, thoughts, ideas, content and resources that you have discovered and find worthwhile. Introduce people to other people that potentially can help them.

How often should you stay in touch?

The question of frequency of communication comes up when I speak to groups about professional networking and relationship building. The goal is to stay in touch frequently enough to have influence and visibility, without being overbearing.

Think of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears:

• “This one is too soft” – i.e., you are out of touch, you don’t reach out, you are neglecting your the people in your network. They start wondering if you are alive or if you simply don’t care enough about them to stay in touch;
• “This was is too hard” – i.e, your actions are too pushy, too much, you appear aggressive or worse yet, desperate or needy because you are constantly calling/emailing;
• “This one is just right” – i.e., you use the appropriate amount of follow-up, demonstrating that you care about the relationship, you are organized and professional and that you have self-confidence in who you are.
• Photo credit: Tito Verano, http://www.flickr.com/photos/88251752@N00/4085056238/

Click here to review guidelines for how often you should stay in touch in the people in your professional circles….

While this may seem a bit ambiguous at first, this is a really important question – are you “résumé ready”? Being résumé ready is tantamount to being in a state of disaster preparedness or, to be a bit less dramatic, at least being ready for unexpected events such as a snow storm, power loss or, perish the thought, the loss of employment.

In my experience as a résumé writer, 99% of the clients who reach out to me are in a huge rush to update their résumé due to an unexpected layoff, a sudden dismissal or seeing an ad for their dream job to which they must respond within 24 hours. Wouldn’t it be far easier and more sensible to proactively keep one’s self in a state of readiness for whatever turn life might take by keeping one’s credentials current and available? After all, we take preventive health measures such as annual physicals and yearly dental checkups. We take our vehicles in for routine maintenance.  Why not take the same approach to our careers and valued source of requisite income?

What would my advice be as an experienced recruiter and résumé writer? Update your résumé no less than once a year so that you’ll be “résumé ready” if disaster strikes or, more happily, opportunity knocks.

Download more articles from Bree Gurin. “Resumes and the Job Search: The Truth Revealed”

About the writer: Bree Gurin has been in the staffing industry for more than 28 years and is currently recruiting and placing candidates in the New York City area. She has also successfully been writing concise and informational résumés for candidates all across the country for the past 8 years. Bree can be reached at 860 485-1154,  abgurin@snet.net or by visiting her website, www.gurinonline.com