Sital Ruparelia

1. The person who made you redundant.  It may not seem like it now, but in the long run, they may have done you a huge favour. (You just don’t get to find out why until much later… )

2. The recruiter who offered you genuine help and advise, even though they couldn’t provide solid opportunities for you

3. Ellen Degenerous for offering the wisest (and funniest) career advice of 2009 Click here to read the rest…

I recently came across a fun and inspiring talk given by the TV talk-show host and stand-up comedienne Ellen Degeneres. Ellen was speaking to the so-called ‘Catrina Class’ of graduates’ at Tulane University in New Orleans earlier this summer.
 
The 10-minute talk was peppered with Ellen’s trademark humour coupled with some sage advice for the new graduates. Below are 7 career lessons I picked out from the speech along with how they apply to you and your career:
 
1. “Stop trying to please everyone else” 
One of the biggest reasons people don’t pursue work and careers they are passionate about is because they’re overly concerned about what everyone else thinks. In trying to please their parents, partner, friends, boss, colleagues and the next-door neighbour’s dog, they succeed in pleasing everyone but themselves. Trying to please everyone else is the fast track way to failure and frustration. So quit trying to please everyone and instead focus on what’s most important to you. You’ll find that the people that really care about you will support you through thick and thin.
 
2. “The most important thing is to be yourself”  
When you stop trying please everyone and take off the ‘mask,’ life and work become far easier and less stressful. When you focus on being the best version of you instead of trying to be an imitation of someone else, some people (including some employers) won’t appreciate you. But in time, the right people and the right opportunities will be drawn to you effortlessly.
 
3. “Follow your own path, not someone else’s”  
At the age of 14 I decided I was going to be a pharmacist. Or rather, my family decided I would be a pharmacist (after all, it’s a good Indian profession – lots of status and pretty lucrative). Whilst I had little interest in pharmacy or studying sciences, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I settled on the pharmacy career path. But then at the age of 16, I failed all my science exams whilst passing everything else. I realised then that trying to do what everyone else wanted me to do would never work. And it will never work for you either. Take advice yes, but listen to yourself, follow your passions and the things you’re instinctively motivated to do. You’ll be far happier and far more successful.
 
4. “The most devastating things that happen to you, will teach you the biggest lessons”  
Many people who have been laid off in the current economy are learning the importance of having a strong network well before they need one. Some people are realising that they need to take much more responsibility for their careers by thinking and acting like freelancers instead of being wholly reliant on one employer. Most people are learning that it’s not sufficient to just ‘do a good job’ – to succeed, you need to be able to market yourself and develop a distinct personal brand. Whilst sometimes painful, learning these lessons now and implementing the learning in the coming months and years will in fact make you far more successful in the future.
 
So remember – everything is a stepping stone to somewhere else. The thing that may seem like a disaster right now, could be the very thing that teaches you the lessons you need to really thrive in the future.
 
5. “Your definition of success will change over time”
We often find ourselves climbing the ladder of success only to find some years later that the ladder is, in fact, leaning against the wrong wall. What you were striving for 3 or 5 years ago is very likely different from what you want now. So ask yourself: what’s your current definition of career success? Are your actions and behaviours focused on achieving what you want today or what you wanted in the past? 
 
6. “Contribute in some way”  
You can focus on accumulating ’stuff’ – money, fancy job titles, cars, houses – but ultimately your success, your reputation and your legacy will be measured not by what you accumulate, but by what you contribute. In the modern world we live in, there are more ways to contribute than ever before: mentoring, volunteering, blogging, campaigning, fund raising, doing charity runs, lending money to the poor via micro finance schemes. Whilst these are not all directly related to your career, your job makes many of these possible and so, by contributing, you can make your career that much more meaningful. 
 
7. “You’re gonna be ok……so just dance!”
No matter how bad things may seem today, you will be ok. If you’re out of work – you will find a job. It may take longer than you would like, but you’ll get there. If you’re stuck in a career you hate – things will change. Maybe the job, the organisation or you. It won’t happen overnight – but things will work out and you’ll be ok. So instead of stressing too much about what may happen tomorrow, enjoy today and just dance….

To see the 10-minute clip of Ellen talking through these lessons with far more humour than my commentary, click here

I think there’s far too much talk and pressure about “how to find a job” and “how to reinvent yourself,” don’t you..?

Instead, how about embracing the recession and taking some time off to relax, have fun and veg out?

Just think, you could watch day-time telly (Oprah, Loose Women or the sports channel), go play some golf, visit the gym and sit in the sauna (but tell everyone you’ve been working out), play online poker, have fun on Facebook, hang out in coffee shops and “do lunch” with friends.

You could stay up late to watch trashy “made for TV” films whilst eating a tub of Haagen Dazs and corn chips. Maybe buy some completely useless items from the late night shopping channels and wake up the next day when…..well, whenever you like.

With such a lifestyle, why would you want to spend time looking for a job?

Oh yes, I forgot – it’s not socially acceptable is it? You’ve got to at least “look” as if you’re trying to find work.

So why not bluff your friends and family into thinking you are working really hard at the job searching but sabotage it?!

Here are 5 great ways NOT to get a job (but which make it look like you’re trying):

1. Live in the past

Click here to read the rest…

Putting this video clip on the blog may raise a few eye brows. But I don’t really care - it’s Friday.
Enjoy!

Click here to read the rest…

It’s a little bit cheesy
It’s a little long (16 minutes, 23 seconds)

But I can assure you, the following short story film will definitely make you smile and give you some of that ‘feel-good factor’ that’s missing at the moment.

So grab yourself a coffee, kick back and hit the play button below. 

See related posts:

Getting Back Up After A Setback

Smile On This Momentous Day

Somali Pirates in Discussions to Acquire Citigroup

Banking Joke: The Old Front Office / Back Office Gag

Are you struggling to deal with a major setback?

Are you finding it tough to get back into the job market after being laid off? Are you concerned about the state of the economy and your job security? Do you sometimes doubt yourself and your ability to deal with many of the challenges you’re now facing?

If you answered ‘yes’ to one or more of the above questions -- you’re not alone. Self doubt, anxiety and indeed anger are very common emotions when you face any kind of set back or fall – be that in your career or in other parts of your life.

Watch this inspirational 5 minute video below and you’ll see that we all have the power to deal with any a setback or fall. The ability to get up and moving again. Then then come back and watch the video again when you’re having a bad day and in need of a lift. 

So regardless of the setback you’re dealing with right now, get right back up. Interesting challenges and opportunities await you.

Who do you know that is currently dealing with a setback? Someone who would benefit from reading this post and watching the video clip? Feel free to forward a link to this page now.

By Andreas Hippin

The Somali pirates, renegade Somalis known for hijacking ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, are negotiating a purchase of Citigroup.

The pirates would buy Citigroup with new debt and their existing cash stockpiles, earned most recently from hijacking numerous ships, including most recently a $200 million Saudi Arabian oil tanker. The Somali pirates are offering up to $0.10 per share for Citigroup, pirate spokesman Sugule Ali said earlier today. The negotiations have entered the final stage, Ali said.

“You may not like our price, but we are not in the business of paying for things. Be happy we are in the mood to offer the shareholders anything,” said Ali.

The pirates will finance part of the purchase by selling new Pirate Ransom Backed Securities. The PRBS’s are backed by the cash flows from future ransom payments from hijackings in the Gulf of Aden. Moody’s and S&P have already issued their top investment grade ratings for the PRBS’s.

Head pirate, Ubu Kalid Shandu, said: “We need a bank so that we have a place to keep all of our ransom money. Thankfully, the dislocations in the capital markets has allowed us to purchase Citigroup at an attractive valuation and to take advantage of TARP capital to grow the business even faster.”

Shandu added, “We don’t call ourselves pirates. We are coastguards and this will just allow us to guard our coasts better.”

Below is an old banking joke doing the email rounds in the City. I’ve heard it before, but it still brings a smile to my face.

A man flying in a hot air balloon realised that he was lost. He spots a man down below and descends. ‘Excuse me’, he shouts. ‘Can you help me ? I promised a friend that I’d meet him half hour ago, but I’m lost. Where am I ?’.

‘You are in a hot air balloon’, the man below replied. ‘You are hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees north latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees west longitude’.

‘Thanks’. replied the lost balloonist. ‘You must work in Operations’.

‘I do’, said the man below. ‘But how did you know ?’.

‘Well’, answered the balloonist, ‘Everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of it all, and the fact is that I’m still lost!’.

‘And you my friend’, said the man below, ‘must work in Front Office’.

‘I do’, said the balloonist. ‘But how come you knew that ?’.

‘Well’, replied the man with his feet on the ground, ‘you don’t know where you are, or where you are going. You made a promise which you are not going to keep, and you are now looking to me to solve your problems. And the fact is that you are in exactly the same predicament you were in before we meet, yet somehow all the blame is now being laid on me!’.

A summary of some of the jokes being circulated in relation to the financial crises. It’s just some light humour - but if you’re at all sensitive then please click away now and don’t read any further…(especially if you’re Islandic)

(By the way, I know you should never try and explain a joke – but some of the jokes below are UK specific so for readers outside the UK I’ve tried to explain in brackets afterwards!)

• Quote of the day (from a trader): “This is worse than a divorce. I’ve lost half my net worth and I still have a wife.”

• Resolving to surprise her husband, an investment banker’s wife pops by his office. She finds him in an unorthodox position, with his secretary sitting in his lap. Without hesitation, he starts dictating, “…and in conclusion, gentlemen, credit crunch or no credit crunch, I cannot continue to operate this office with just one chair!”

• Q: Why are all MBAs going back to school?
A: To ask for their money back.

• The last time Iceland had a crash like this aisle three was closed all day (Explanation: in addition to being an Artcic state Iceland is also a supermarket chain in the UK)

• I had a cheque returned earlier. “Insufficient Funds” Mine or the banks?

Click here to read the rest…