Professional Success Podcast

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach and Talent Development Leader talks about Micro-credentialing which aligns well with the topic of up-skilling and re-scaling. She discusses what micro-credentials are, why they are so in demand in the marketplace these days and how it helps you to grow your career.

Episode Highlights:

• Employers are very quickly realizing that the old ways of doing things as before the pandemic, might just not be a fit anymore to help companies succeed.
• The pandemic has really necessitated a vast and immediate change in the employment landscape.
• Sheila talks about Digital Credentials and what they really are.
• Micro-credentials sometimes take less time to complete than a full academic certificate or degree program.
• Micro-credentials and Digital Badges really give you the edge to customize a set of skills that you align with your interests, and then strategically align with the business needs and positions that you would like to become a part of or grow into.
• Sheila discusses how to think about different types or content areas of micro-credentials.
• "They can be used for both academic & professional purposes, and give you that opportunity to really be able to pick skills that align with what you'd like to do next" says, Sheila.
• Micro-credentials are worth it, but it takes a little bit of research and opportunity to think about what skills would be most helpful.
• Check out Episode No. 32 to explore more about value of up-skilling and re-scaling.

3 Key Points:

1. Forward-thinking organizations are doing better than they were before the pandemic and due to the rapid evolution of digital technology, they are thinking about how they can shift what they were doing to meet the future demand of business.
2. Digital Credentials are a different way for us to look at representing a specific competency or a specific skill. Meanwhile, Micro-credential is a compact digital credential that verifies some type of achievement in, in demand skills and competencies.
3. Micro-credentials are specifically designed for professionals who want to advance their knowledge and fill in the gaps, either with specific skills, or on their resume, and one of the biggest benefits is that you don't have to go and take two years off to get an MBA.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Last year, when the global pandemic hit, it seemingly up-ended the American workplace almost overnight."- Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "Micro-credentials allow us to represent a specific competency or a specific skill." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "Micro-credentials give you the opportunity to really choose what you learn." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "While still working and not putting your career on hold, you can go study a specific area of skill and achieve a micro-credential." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "We're seeing a tonne of Micro-credentials in Business, Project Management, Digital Marketing, and Computer and Data Sciences; Micro-credentials are becoming huge in the education space." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: WebsitePodcast

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', host Sheila Boysen - Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter and Talent Development Leader talks about the transition of going back into the office after the pandemic.

Episode Highlights:

• A recent study done by PwC shows that many employees are concerned about the transition back to the office.

• Many people feel that they'll be less safe if they're forced to commute on public transportation, spend nine to five and close quarters with colleagues again.

• On top of health and safety concerns, many employees are also worried about losing the benefits of working from home and working remotely.

• There are ways that we can ease this transition.

• There are even some advantages of resuming work in office.

3 Key Points:

1. This transition can be a little bit easier to think about and things to be mindful about to make sure that you're taking care of yourself, and really tapping into that self-care during a time of what could be a big transition.

2. There are a lot of mixed feelings because working from home really did provide people with a way to continue to earn a living without risking exposure to the Coronavirus.

3. For many of those people who are already vaccinated the biggest concern is losing the benefits that come from working from home.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "We know that many employers are starting to reopen their offices and workers employees have mixed feelings about this." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

• "This will be a big change-we even saw things like the common cold, really not be a big issue this year, because so many people simply weren't exposed to it." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

• "The reality is the disruption of changing from what you've become used to over the last year and a half can be a little bit daunting." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

· Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: Website Podcast

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', host Sheila Boysen - Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter and Talent Development Leader talks about learning and building "Power Skills" and the ways to move further in this direction.

Episode Highlights:

• When we talk about how we define skills (hard & soft skills), she thinks it helps when we consider it in a way that's opposite.
• Power skills are essential in the world that lays ahead of us in central in the future of the world of work.
• Creative thinking would be another example for being able to come up with unique solutions, or alternatives because that's what drives innovation.
• One of the most interesting new corporate competencies that she wants to touch is actually curiosity.
• Put some intention into continuously developing each of your own power skills.

3 Key Points:

1. Hard skills change all the time, they're constantly becoming obsolete and they're actually relatively easy to learn.
2. The bottom line is that we need to take these power skills seriously and we need to build ways for people to really learn them.
3. Focus on listening to learn, and not just listening to respond.

Tweetable Quotes:

• ""You've probably heard the terminology quite often of hard skills versus soft skills." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "Specifically, we're starting to see the language change from soft skills, to power skills." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "And how does shifting the language to something like power skills, make a difference?" - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "So this means not only being cooperative, but also displaying strong leadership skills when necessary." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "So let's all change this language, let's all focus on how we can actually go about calling these not soft skills, but power skills." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: WebsitePodcast

In this episode of "The professional Success Podcast," the host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter and Talent Development Leader shares great tips to advance and grow professionally and discusses the concepts of multipliers and diminishers.

Episode Highlights

• Multipliers and Diminishers, this terminology and these concepts were made famous by a book written by the author. Liz Wiseman.
• This book has personally changed Sheila in terms of how she works with and influences other people positively.
• There are two types of managers or leaders; first who make you feel like you were born to do your job and second who make you dread going to work in the morning.
• "Mltipliers increase the intelligence and the achievement of their team", states Sheila.
• Talent magnets people excel at bringing people and teams together, and then, maximize that talent.
• Many leaders aren't aware of how management practices that they hold, also never think of empowering them.
• Diminisher on a team member can be very negative. People are unable to enlist their full brainpower to meet whatever challenges are at hand.
• We need to use knowledge of the business and the situation and need to ask insightful and challenging questions instead of selling own ideas and vision.
• Think of ways to become more of a Multiplier and try to gain awareness from her accidental Diminisher tendencies.
• We all need to capitalize all those multiplier tendencies, and find ways to let go of some of those accidental Diminishers.

3 Key Points

1. Some specific multipliers are those who first look everywhere for talent, if someone's skilled, they are valuable; second, they ascertain an individual's instinctive skill; third, they engage that skill, wherever it's best suited and fourth, remove obstacles.
2. To create a healthy environment, we need to encourage experimentation, support teams to do the best work possible and try not to punish someone for a bad outcome.
3. One need to create room for others to contribute and then their words will be more heard and become more influential.

Tweetable Quotes

• "Now, a Diminisher oftentimes can be very smart person, but they're usually focused more on their own intelligence than they are on taking advantage of the potential intelligence or smarts within their own team". – Sheila Boysen - Rotelli
• "So don't build a people team I should say, of people who all have that exact same talent or have your same talents or are very much like you". – Sheila Boysen - Rotelli
• "So, if we go back to the Steven Spielberg example, he knows that every job on his crew is tremendously important and he knows every job backwards and forwards". - Sheila Boysen - Rotelli
• "The best leaders don't provide all the answers; they ask the right questions". - Sheila Boysen - Rotelli

Resources/ Links:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: WebsitePodcast

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', host Sheila Boysen - Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter and Talent Development Leader shares her views on our strengths and how to understand and assess these strengths.

Episode Highlights:

• During Sheila's work in recruiting and talent acquisition, she would find that if she actually asked someone about their strengths then most people had trouble articulating that.
• It's good to be aware of our weaknesses, so that we can think about or reflect on how they hold us back from being as successful as we'd like to be.
• When we come into this world, we naturally develop certain interests early on, resulting in our own personal life experiences.
• You can also assess your strengths by asking yourself certain questions.
• According to Sheila, if you get stuck as you compile list of strengths, consider asking a few people who are close to you for some insight.
• Sheila suggests taking a strength assessment which will surprise you with how much power comes from this type of self-awareness.

3 Key Points:

1. Awareness or our weaknesses can be a good thing but we want to be focusing most of our time and our attention on our strengths.
2. In general, knowing your strengths will allow you to make smarter choices, and smarter decisions about your life, career, goals, and circumstances.
3. The majority of our strengths come from our interests and these interests are built upon our curiosity as well as our willingness to be more inquisitive about certain things.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Understanding your strengths can be of tremendous value for your life and for your career." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "And you put yourself in a position to raise your standards, which will also help to improve results." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "These are areas of your life that you have developed through disciplined effort." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "So there are a tonne of strength assessments and different things that you can take." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "I encourage you take some time to sit with these questions, reflect on these questions." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: WebsitePodcast

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', host Sheila Boysen - Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter and Talent Development Leader shares her views on our strengths and how to understand and assess these strengths.

Episode Highlights:

• During Sheila's work in recruiting and talent acquisition, she would find that if she actually asked someone about their strengths then most people had trouble articulating that.
• It's good to be aware of our weaknesses, so that we can think about or reflect on how they hold us back from being as successful as we'd like to be.
• When we come into this world, we naturally develop certain interests early on, resulting in our own personal life experiences.
• You can also assess your strengths by asking yourself certain questions.
• According to Sheila, if you get stuck as you compile list of strengths, consider asking a few people who are close to you for some insight.
• Sheila suggests taking a strength assessment which will surprise you with how much power comes from this type of self-awareness.

3 Key Points:

1. Awareness or our weaknesses can be a good thing but we want to be focusing most of our time and our attention on our strengths.
2. In general, knowing your strengths will allow you to make smarter choices, and smarter decisions about your life, career, goals, and circumstances.
3. The majority of our strengths come from our interests and these interests are built upon our curiosity as well as our willingness to be more inquisitive about certain things.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Understanding your strengths can be of tremendous value for your life and for your career." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "And you put yourself in a position to raise your standards, which will also help to improve results." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "These are areas of your life that you have developed through disciplined effort." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "So there are a tonne of strength assessments and different things that you can take." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "I encourage you take some time to sit with these questions, reflect on these questions." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: WebsitePodcast

Why We Should be Single-tasking Instead of Multitasking

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter and Talent Development Leader shares her views on the need of single-tasking instead of multitasking. She talks about the tips and techniques to single-task and work more efficiently.

Episode Highlights:

• Research shows multitasking is not an effective way to get things done and it actually causes physical and economic damages.
• Multitasking can also damage our brain!
• The trick is to prioritize what's most important in any particular situation and commit fully to that activity.
• "Another technique that will help you to be effective is building in flexibility."
• Single-tasking allows you to partake in active listening.
• Single-tasking can be most effective when it's combined with rest and regular breaks.
• Single-tasking has ended up improving her productivity and self-awareness.

3 Key Points:

1. Instead of multitasking, we should be single-tasking because it helps us to achieve more and perform at our best.
2. It's ok to think about other things while you are trying to focus on something important; we can't necessarily control what's coming into our head, but just come back to that task that you're working on and focus on it.
3. Not only does single-tasking improve your productivity at work, it also helps you to develop your social skills, deeper connections with all the important people in life, and allows to participate in active listening.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "When your brain has to make the switch between multiple tasks, your performance actually suffers, causing you to work less efficiently on the task that you're currently focused on." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "We can enter what is known as the state of flow, which scientists define this as a zone of complete immersion and focus." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "Start slow, unplug, set aside your phone, put it away for just an hour a week, and use that time as a period of personal reflection." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: WebsitePodcast

Host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli discusses how to effectively explain who you are as a professional. If you've ever heard the phrase, "it's not about what you know; it's about who you know," then you can understand that making connections is vitally important to success in your career and life. Learn how to make the best first impression that you can!

Episode Highlights:

• Most people don't know how to pitch themselves as a professional to someone that has an opportunistic vibe around them
• Making a great first impression is the only way to find out how your lives can weave together
• Your elevator pitch is an informative and compelling tale of who you are as a professional
• How much should you be saying?
• Where do you even start?
• If you miss the opportunity to make that strong connection, it's likely that they won't remember you
• You'll be able to casually make the most of the opportunities to meet people
• Use your pitch to force the other person to think about you when that need arises in their life
• People make the mistake of not reflecting on where they want to go
• The pitch allows you to see how others respond to your goals and where you are headed
• Don't be afraid to put yourself out there by sharing your future aspirations
• A solid, lasting connection made with the right person can bring great success in your career
• What makes a great elevator pitch?
• Define where you've been, where you're at, and where you're going in the future in 15-20 seconds
• Think of your elevator pitch as an informative version of a business card
• Do not think of this as a sales pitch, more of an impressionable introduction of who you are that creates a lasting connection
• Help this person realize how you both relate to one another
• Get to know each other while trying to find an opportunity to help them in some manner
• Make yourself more memorable by becoming more relatable
• Imagine you are an IT professional or manufacturing manager for these great examples
• Unless you are currently in school or just recently graduated, do not mention education for risk of sounding inexperienced
• There is no perfect pitch; stay confident, relatable, interesting, and brief
• Follow that incredible elevator pitch with a question about the other person
• People love to talk about themselves more than they enjoy listening about someone else
• You will learn more about what their life is like
• Try your best to avoid asking for anything before building a rapport

3 Key Points:

1. Be ready to make an effective elevator pitch at all times because you never know what opportunities a new connection is going to bring.
2. Learn to make an effective first impression on those that you meet to make sure that they think of you when the need for your skillset arises in their lives.
3. Show this person how you and your skillset can add value to their life without going too deep into salesmode

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Until you effectively connect with this new person, you don't know the many ways that your personal or professional lives may weave together." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "You can learn how to casually let other people know who you are and how to contact you." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "In many ways, success really is about who you know as much as it's about what you know." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "You're just planting the seed but you have no idea when the seed's actually going to sprout or when it's going to grow." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Contact Sheila at [email protected]
• Fast Track Your Job Search: fasttrackyourjobsearch.com

The Secret to Networking

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', Sheila shares her views on the power of 'Networking' and the right approach towards it.

Episode Highlights:

• Sheila mentions the book "The 20 Minute Networking Meeting"' that discussed how networking is creating an opportunity to build not only advocates but evangelists who can help you to attain professional goals.

• She recommends having the elevator pitch or your value mansion ready to go.

• When you're networking, the first thing to consider is to not ask for a job!

• Ensure that when you're networking, according to the strategy, you should keep the meetings under 30 minutes.

• It is hard to believe that 50% of networking meetings don't even include the word 'Thank-you'.

• She talks about the 4 steps of the secret sauce of 'Networking'.

• The host stresses the importance of a meaningful follow-up right after the meeting.

• Networking is the key to professional success and it is the secret sauce to any job search process.

3 Key Points:

1. There are three main avenues of where jobs come from including 1)Online Job Postings, 2)Referrals, and 3)Networking.

2. After you deliver the elevator pitch focus on a great discussion-This is when you ask questions about the other person!

3. Networking is the most powerful when you're networking to expand your network. In the beginning, start with the people you already know, you don't have to find the exact right person who's in the exact right industry with the exact right job or what your goal is!

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Networking is connecting with other people, and that is different than just connecting on LinkedIn- it's connecting with other people and having meaningful conversations" - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

• "You already have a network and you want to start there, you want to start networking with people that you ready know….." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

• "Remember, when done right, networking is mutually beneficial!" - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

· Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: Website Podcast

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', host Sheila Boysen - Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter and Talent Development Leader who coaches purpose driven individuals to help them develop their personal brands. In this episode, she shares her views on how to proactively apply to online job applications.

Episode Highlights:

• Sheila Boysen says that we need to network to apply for online job applications and talks about the statistics involved in the process.
• As per Sheila, before we apply we should look for networking to really increase our chances of standing out from the large pool of applicants.
• Sheila shares a few tips if one doesn't have a direct contact in the organization.
• How to answer salary related questions and how to do related research, advises Sheila.
• Sheila gives her views on whether you should apply for more than one job in a company.
• She asks, "What if you have some red flags in your background?"

3 Key Points:

1. Sheila Boysen states that 61% of hires come from some type of referrals and one in ten of these personal referrals get hired.
2. She instructs on how to stand out among everyone else and talks about the reasons why you should Network.
3. Sheila suggests that we may have job gap in the past but such background should not affect out potential job deals. She gives some tips on how to overcome such a situation.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Since only 10 to 20% of hires are made from job board, that's' 1 in 219 online applications, we need to make sure that we're networking and following-up after we submit an online application….." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "Now, in most states, it's becoming illegal for someone to ask you about your past salary history…." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "That you're a little bit scattered, unfocussed or not being strategic about what you want" - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "Episode 2 of the podcast is titled at 'How to Address Gaps on Your LinkedIn'. This might be a great episode to go back and listen to if that is specifically one of the things that you're worried about". - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: WebsitePodcast