Sital Ruparelia

“Every adversity carries within it the seed of equal or greater benefit”

-  Napoleon Hill

In 2005, when I ran a half marathon for the first time, I tore my calf 8 weeks before the race and was advised to pull out of it. But I kept telling myself that it was a hurdle to overcome and not a brick wall. So I found an amazing physiotherapist who I visited twice a week, radically changed my diet and started visualising daily so that I was mentally prepared to complete the race.

And it worked.

Click here to read the rest…

Thank you

We’re all busy these days and suffer from information overload. Which is why I don’t take your attention or time for granted.

So thank you for taking the time to read the blog this year. And thank you to those that have commented, linked back or forwarded on articles and links to friends, family and colleagues – I appreciate it.

Merry Christmas

I’m logging off for a few days and travelling up to Birmingham (100 miles north of London). I’ll be spending Christmas with my parents and family for our unique British / Indian Christmas celebrations. A family day involving lots of eating (turkey and all the trimmings blended with lots of Indian food), a few drinks plus lots of games and fun.

Wherever you are and whatever you’ve got planned for the festive season – have fun.

From January 2010 I’m reinventing myself and what I do.

The website branding will change, the newsletter will change. I’ll be widening the range of services I provide and the range of clients I work with.

Why?  What?  How?

Below are 9 peices of advice I gave during 2009 and I explain how I’m listening to my own advice to reinvent myself next year – and how you can use the same advice to reinvent yourself and your career in 2010.

1. “If you stand still – you’re in trouble”

Due to the pace of change in modern business, we all need to reinvent ourselves every 2-3 years just to keep up. Given that it’s almost 2 years since I started the 6 Figure Career Management site / newsletter, it’s time for a change to coincide with the significant developments in the market-places I operate in.

How about you?

How’s your market changed over the last 2 years?

What are the likely trends, problems and opportunities in the next 12 months?

How can you adapt to meet this changing landscape?

2. “Don’t define yourself by your job title”

Don’t define yourself rigidly by your job title – but instead look at the results of your talent.

I’m rebranding things under one brand: ‘Sital’ – and one website: SitalRuparelia.com, so that all the work I do will come under there – speaking, coaching, consultancy, career management, resourcing, employee engagement and retention.

When you’re reinventing yourself, start identifying the range of problems you’re adept at fixing and the results you’ve helped deliver, rather than a job title.  Get known for your talents. Then build your brand around ‘you’ – your unique style, values and approach.

That’s how you minimize your exposure to market downturns whilst standing out from the crowd.

3. “Widen your service offering”

We’re all effectively freelancers nowadays – even if we have a permanent contract. And as a freelancer you must constantly widen your service offering to survive and thrive in ever-changing markets.

That’s why this newsletter and my blog will from January provide not only career resources for individuals but ALSO advice for employers and business leaders on how to manage talent within their organisations.

So, as you look to reinvent yourself, look at who else you can help.

What skills do you have that other teams, firms or indeed industries can benefit from?

Better still, ask them and listen…

4.  ”Listen to your audience / clients / the market place”

You’ve been telling me that you want a shorter, punchier newsletter and blog posts. You’ve been asking for advice on dealing with people issues in your teams and businesses – particularly around employee engagement and retention.

You’ve been telling me you wanted something you could read on your Blackberry or iPhone. You’ve been telling me you like the newsletter’s upbeat tone blended with humour.

So the ezine will be much shorter and will focus on both:

A. Career management advice for individuals on how to build exceptional careers in less time and with less stress

B. Talent Management advice for organisations and business – advice on finding, engaging and retaining the right people

We’ll maintain the humour and rebrand the newsletter:  “Straight Talk With A Smile.”

But I’ll still share links to longer articles on my blog so you don’t miss out.

5. “Be agile and flexible”

Between 2003-2007 about 80% of my time was focused on helping firms to find and keep the right people and 20% on helping individuals with their careers. During 2008-2009, 80 percent of my time was spent helping individuals manage their careers and 20 percent helping firms.

I suspect 2010 will be 50:50 between the two areas, reflecting the recovery and improvements in the employment market.

So Iike any other small business I’ve had to adapt to the changing market by being agile and adjusting my branding and marketing activities to meet the changing needs of the market.

The very same applies to you – take a close look at trends and the changing needs of your employers and your market to see where you need to position yourself in 2010.

Then ask yourself how you need to change the way you market yourself in this new landscape.

6. “Keep moving forward – even when it’s uncomfortable”

After much resistance, from January, I’ll be  video blogging. That’s right, me on camera giving advice on career and talent management. I’ll also be doing audio pod casts.

My IT guru Sandra De Freitas, who looks after my website, blog etc has been telling me for months

“Sital, you really need to start a video blog. “Your natural style is to speak rather than write and people will get so much more value.  Plus we’re all watching much more video online than we used to and reading far less – and that trend will continue.”

My response has been…..“yes, I know. But not yet, I’m busy. We’ll start soon….’

I knew it was the right thing to do, but like with anything new, I have found myself procrastinating and putting it off. But am now pushing ahead, despite it feeling awkward and uncomfortable, because I know that the more I do it, the more natural it will become.

And the same applies to you. If you’re planning on reinventing yourself in 2010, remember it will be uncomfortable as you make changes, but that’s not an excuse not to do it. If it’s NOT uncomfortable then you’re not testing yourself much at all.

7. “Forget perfection – just get started”

The new newsletter, the updated website, the colour scheme, the logo, will NOT be what I had in mind or what I really want.  But a lack of time and resources mean that I can’t be a perfectionist – I need to listen to my own advice: just get started and make corrections as we go.

Same with you – you don’t have to get all your ducks in a row and have everything perfectly planned out before starting.

Just take the first step on the way – you’ll find that opportunities, resources and ideas ‘show up’ once you’ve taken that first step.

8. “Be yourself. Be authentic”

‘Re-branding’ and “re-invention” sound like such fancy words – and for some people they sound like ‘spin’ and a little false.

But what I’m talking about is the complete opposite. When you re-invent yourself, you need to be getting closer to your authentic self – the real you.

Anyone who’s worked with me in the last 15 years will tell you that humour and fun play a big part in my work. That’s just me.

All my friends will tell you that if we’re going out to a bar or party, my first question will usually be: “have they got sofas?!” becauase I love hanging out on sofas. Call me an old man, but all my video blogs will (you guessed it) involve me sharing ideas from comfy sofas!

All my clients will tell you I’m passionate, creative and draw lots of pictures to make my points. So the video blog will involve me talking to you from a sofa and drawing pictures so that you get tons more value – and some entertainment too.

Are all these a little quirky and different? Sure they are. But they’re also very authentic. It’s just me being myself rather than trying to be like everyone else.

Being the ‘same as everyone else’ is the worst career strategy you can use. To stand out you need to reinvent yourself – not with spin – but with authenticity.

9. ‘Do some good’

Doing good is no longer deemed ‘fluffy’ but is in fact good for business.

And I firmly believe that our success is measured not by what we acquire – wealth, promotions, job titles etc – but by what we contribute.

It’s your contribution – not your bonus cheque – that you’ll look back on when you retire. It’s your contribution that will give your career and life a sense of meaning and purpose. Your contribution and the value you offer that will determine your legacy.

And so, as part of my contribution, the ezine will include an occasional idea or resource you can use to help you do meaningful work right now instead of ‘some day’ when you’ve got all your ducks in a row.

And that’s the biggest tip on reinvention. Changing yourself and what you do is one of the toughest things you’ll ever do. So make sure the goal involves you becoming a better person and creating a legacy rather than simply making more money or getting a fancy title. There’s nothing wrong with money or titles, but it’s long been proven that money, titles and status don’t give job satisfaction and won’t make you fundamentally happy. Whereas doing something meaningful and making a difference will.

The new shorter, punchier newsletter will be out from early January. As will the www.SitalRuparelia.com website

(the current www.6figurecareermanagement site will redirect to the new site automatically)

The video blogs will be up and running from early January – or even earlier if I push myself through my procrastinating, ignore those uncomfortable feelings and just get them done!

I Hate…

I hate formal ‘networking events.’ The ones where you have to ‘work a room.’

I hate ‘networking breaks’ at seminars and conferences where you have people madly collecting business cards and staring over your shoulder (instead of looking and listening to you) to see who else they can exchange business cards with after they’ve finished with you.

I  hate breakfast networking events – I’m a night owl and so prefer to avoid early morning appointments and events wherever possible.

I hate blogs where the people taking part in conversations are simply there to self promote: comments such as “Hey great article! By the way, your readers should take a look at my 6 part course on xyz – follow this link now!” (I never ever click on those links).

I hate networking with anyone that doesn’t say ‘thank you.’ Good manners cost nothing. Bad manners tell me lots about the other person.

I Love..

I love hanging out in coffee shops and hotel lounges with nice sofas to catch up with friends and professional contacts.

I love going for drinks in cool bars where you can actually hear yourself speak – especially if they’ve got nice sofas (..as you can see, it’s all about the sofas for me!).

I love pinging an email or a LinkedIn note to introduce two people in my network who I think may be able to help each other. Not because I want a ‘kick back’ or a favour; but because I enjoy connecting people. And as a by product of this, I strengthen my relationship with them

I love sitting in the lounge at my local gym (on a comfy sofa off course) with my Blackberry and emailing or calling people I haven’t spoken to for a while just to say “hey, long time no speak – how are things?”

I love catching up with old friends over an informal dinner

I love blogs where there is an exchanging of ideas, resources, opinions and debate in the comments sections. A genuine desire to add to the content/discussion rather than it being all about self gain and self promotion.

Networking With Authenticity Is Effortless

I find networking effortless because I choose those networking activities that play to my strengths and natural style. So instead of it being a chore – it’s fun. Anything that is fun is effortless. And any activity that is effortless, is more likely to yield the results you want.

I mean, who says networking “should” involve going to fancy ‘networking events’ and ‘working a room?’ That’s just one version.

Networking is all about establishing and developing genuine relationships – you can’t build genuine relationships if you feel really uncomfortable and a bit of a fraud. So network in a way that feels natural and authentic to you and you’ll build deeper relationships and be better placed to attract the kind of results you want.

How To Network Effortlessly

1. Choose the networking activities you love

Those networking activities (or relationship building activities), that you really enjoy. The ones that come naturally to you and have always come naturally to you.

2. Avoid networking acitivities which you hate

Activities which don’t suit your style and make you think “that’s just not me.”

3. Be honest with yourself

There’s a big difference between activities which are not your natural style – and activities which you’re scared to try out because they are outside your comfort zone.

So yes, play to strengths – but please don’t use this article as an excuse to avoid testing your comfort zone!

4. Keep a close eye on these 21 networking tips

By The Way….If you’re struggling to find job opportunities and would like help in finding your next job via your networking you may want to look at our audio programme “How To Get A Job Using Your Network’. During this instantly download able 60 minute programme we’ll take you step by step through the process of finding your next job through your network – even if you feel you don’t have many contacts. Click here for all the details.

Similar Posts:

3 Reasons To Network Yourself Into Your Next Job

Job Hunters: Further Tip On Networking

Are You Missing 60% Of Opportunities?

21 Networking Tips For Job Seekers

 4 Reasons Why You Stop Yourself Getting Support After Redundancy

They say we often teach the things we need to learn the most. I’m not sure who ‘they’ are but I think they’re right.

I’ve just got off the phone from delivering a teleseminar about how to find a job. Whilst, on the whole, it went well – my self critical mind went into over drive straight after I finished.  

Immediately after the call, I started focussing on all the things that didn’t go well (we had some technical problems with the phone line at the start of the call, I over ran by 10 minutes at the end, I spoke too fast towards the end as I was trying cram in all the content and forgot to mention some stuff I’d planned to cover) – all of which began to make me feel a little ‘flat’ and, in that split second, decide that I didn’t want to deliver any further teleclasses I have planned.

I realised it was completely irrational and hit the pause button quickly so that I could walk my talk and follow the same 5 steps I ask my clients to follow after an interview: 

Click here to read the rest…

“The harder you work, the luckier you get.”
- Gary Player (South African Golfer)

Just two weeks ago, the race for the English Football Premier League title seemed a foregone conclusion. Manchester United were several points ahead of the chasing pack with games in hand.

My own team, Liverpool, were in second place and seemingly out of the running. Winning their first championship title for 19 years seemed impossible.

After all, Manchester United have a much stronger squad of players, have more recent experience of winning titles and have recently gone 14 games without conceding a goal. It looked like Liverpool would need a huge helping of luck to win.

But things started to change.

Last weekend Liverpool hammered Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford (Man United’s home own ground). 

Then yesterday, Manchester United lost 2-0 to Fulham at Fulham’s ground for the first time in 45 years. And with it the services of some key players who lost their cool and are now suspended from the next couple of matches.

So an unbeatable team, who had recently gone 14 games without conceding a goal, have now conceded 6 goals in 2 games.

At the same time, Liverpool’s other major challengers, Chelsea, also suffered a rare defeat yesterday.

What seemed impossible at the beginning of the month (even for the most loyal and ardent of Liverpool fans), is now very possible. Liverpool could yet win the league title.

Not necessarily because Manchester United have slipped up and created an opportunity – but because Liverpool have stayed focussed on their task, on the things that they can control – their own training, own plans and winning their own games.  You could say United’s defeats were a helping of luck from a Liverpool perspective. But actually, they’ve helped create their own luck by sticking to their task - winning their own games.

That’s very similar to succeeding in your career.

Instead of worrying so much about the economy, what firms are doing and what may or may not happen, stay focussed on winning your own games – that is, staying focussed on the activities you can control and the things you can influence. When you do that, you massively increase the chances of achieving the results you want – whether that’s a new job, shift in careers or surviving and thriving in your current role. 

When you stay focussed on your own tasks and own activities (instead of worrying about everything else), the windows of opportunities (and luck) will always show up at some point in time. And when they do, you’re ready to seize the day and take advantage of those opportunities. You effectively create your own luck by putting in the work when everyone else is sitting around complaining and worrying.
 
I’m just on way to Liverpool today to watch Liverpool play Aston Villa this afternoon. If we win, then we’re just one point away from Manchester United and so very much in the race for the title on again.

I’m hoping we seize the day and continue creating our own luck.

Below is a guest article written by my 11 year old nephew, Nikhil.

He recently spent his school holiday attending the ‘Fun With Finance’ course run by The Cool Heads Company in London. The innovative course helps children learn about money and the world of finance – but in a fun and interactive way. Playing games, competitions, watching videos, touring the City of London.

Nikhil loves new experiences and meeting new people so, unsurprisingly, he came back from the course buzzing with enthusiasm and ideas. Knowing how creative he is and loves a bit of a challenge, I suggested he write a short story about he’s ’Fun With Finance’ week and I’d publish it here on my blog.

Without hesitation, he agreed. Then went off and wrote the summary below almost straight away!

I’m very proud to say the article below is straight from our young author and completely unedited. Well done Niks!

My ‘Fun With Finance’ Week
By Nikhil

During the February half-term school holiday, I embarked on a course where I was to learn all about finance.

Click here to read the rest…

I typically come up with 2 or 3 new article ideas per day for this blog and my weekly newsletter. But it’s not uncommon for me to come up with 5 or 6 really good articles on a particular day. So in an average week I have something like 30+ ideas.  I tend to capture most of them by scribbling the first few lines on my Blackberry and emailing myself so that the idea doesn’t get lost.

But, as you will see from looking at the blog in recent months, very few of them actually make it to the blog.

I could tell you that many of the usual things get in the way – the lack of time (I’m pretty busy these days), my perfectionist streak (I tinker with a post, overcomplicate it – and eventually it doesn’t get posted) or that crazy voice in my head (you know the one, you’ve got it too) tells me that the idea is too simplistic or too controversial and just not good enough so the idea fizzles out.

To some extent these factors are true – and often the reason why I don’t post as many blog posts as I would like to.  But at the same time, I think much of it comes down to *habit*. Or rather the lack of habit.

In order to succeed in posting more articles, I need to create a writing habit so that it becomes second nature to finish and post articles (instead of just starting them). A habit so ingrained that it’s like taking a shower or brushing my teeth every day. If I don’t do it, I just don’t feel right. Much the same way my mum doesn’t ‘feel right’ if she hasn’t been for  her daily walk.

You see, when you have a habit in place, you can overcome the occasional dose of perfectionism (e.g. You don’t not shower because you’ve run out of shampoo. You don’t not brush your teeth if you’ve run out of toothpaste - you just make the best of what you have). When you have a habit that’s second nature, you can out-talk the crazy voice in your head that fills you with self doubt. 
 
That’s the same with your job searching

Click here to read the rest…

Last weekend I completed a charity 10 mile walk with my older sister and 70 year old Mum.  Whilst Mum enjoys walking regularly and is fit for her age, she’s never attempted anything as big as a 10 mile walk through the countryside.

When I booked the charity walk and announced it to friends and family, a couple of people told me that it was impossible that a 70-year old could walk this distance – “she can’t walk that distance” they said.

I didn’t agree with them and so my response was: “Yes she can!”

It’s a similar response I give when people say:

“You can’t find work in the current market” or

“It’s impossible to find meaningful work without becoming a pauper” or

“I can’t change after so many years”

My usual response to all these statements is “Yes you can!”

If you have the right strategy, the right mindset and the right people around you -  blended with hard work and an open mind – “impossible” is often just an over used word.

Below are some lessons from my Mum’s 10 mile goal that apply equally to a 70 year old completing a 10mile walk as they do to a much younger person looking to take their career forward.

Click here to read the rest…

During Movember (the month formerly known as November) I’m growing a Mo. That’s right I’m bringing the back the moustache I used to have in my younger days to help tackle men’s health issues and be proactive in the fight against prostate cancer. You can sponsor me by clicking here.

What is Movember?

Movember is a moustache growing charity event held across the globe during November each year.

At the start of Movember guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache and along the way raise as much money and awareness about male health issues, in particular prostate cancer as possible.

Which ever way we look at it, men are far less healthy than women.

Why?

Men lack awareness about the very real health issues they face. There is an attitude that they have to be tough – “a real man” – and are reluctant to see a doctor about an illness or go for regular medical checks.

Movember aims to change these attitudes and make men’s health fun by putting the Mo back on the face of fashion and in the process raise some serious funds for key men’s health issues including depression and prostate cancer.

Prostrate Cancer – The Facts

In the UK: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK with 35,000 men diagnosed every year. 1 in 11 UK men will be diagnosed in their lifetime.

In the US: Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in the US with one in six American men developing the disease and more than 28,000 men dying of the disease every year.

In Canada: Every year around 24,700 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and about 4,300 die of the disease, making it the number one cancer threat to Canadian men.

In Australia: Every year 2,900 Australian men die from prostate cancer and over 18,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In Other Countries: The rates of prostrate cancer continue to grow in every continent across the world

Where does the money go?
The money raised by Movember is used to raise awareness of men’s health issues and donated to The Prostate Cancer Charity which will have an enormous impact on many men’s lives and the awareness will help us to fight prostate cancer on every front – through research, support, information and campaigning.

Making a donation
You can donate to my Mo by either clicking on this link and donating online with your credit/debit card or PayPal account. 

Thank you for your support!