Professional Success 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 creating a 'Culture of Kindness' in workplaces.

Episode Highlights:

• Sheila Boysen says that kindness isn't always seen as a priority in the workplace.
• She states that to bring in the 'Culture of Kindness' at workplace means carrying authentic quality to work, being gentle and kind to ourselves and to other people around us.
• Sheila narrates how the researchers from the University of California studied a group of workers, mostly female employees from Coca Cola's Madrid headquarters, on kindness.
• The participants were asked to give details of the generous acts or acts of kindness they performed towards their coworkers each week, said Sheila.
• According to Sheila, we can perhaps perform random "Acts of Kindness" anytime on a regular basis instead of celebrating it just for a week in February every year.
• Sheila discusses some ways of showing kindness at workplace.
• She points out that genuine compliment really can leave a lasting impression on someone who is receiving it.
• Be an active listener for our colleagues, says Sheila.

3 Key Points:

1. Sheila Boysen shares that wellbeing is tremendously important and as per research over a period of time, wellbeing in workplace, can help organization, team, company or institution.
2. As per Sheila, small acts of kindness, not only benefit the receiver, but they benefit the person who is giving that act of kindness and they benefit the whole organization.
3. When someone does something for you or when someone's does a good job or favor, show them gratitude by saying it out loud or even better.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Office culture today can be tremendously cutthroat and competitive. It can lead to lots of hurtful comments and criticism, complete lack of collaboration and miscommunication." - Sheila Boysen - Rotelli
• "After about a month, the study showed that the acts of"" kindness do not go unnoticed and it had a huge impact on the overall positivity in the workplace and the employee's sense of wellbeing." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "I think the most interesting aspect of the study was to show that acts of kindness are contagious." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "Each of us can improve our social communication skills and positively contribute and impact the culture of our working group of our professional network or of our organization." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli
• "Active listening is about giving your complete intentional focus on what someone's saying." - Sheila Boysen – Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: WebsitePodcast

In today´s episode of 'Professional Success Podcast', host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter, and Talent Development Leader, talks about a really popular concept referred to as a "Portfolio Career".

Episode Highlights:

• Sheila Boysen says she has identified that many people struggle to find that one specific path or career which makes them completely happy or fulfilled.
• She questions that what if one don't need to choose a single path or career?
• "What is Portfolio Career?" discusses Sheila.
• As per Sheila, the biggest theme around a Portfolio Career is the idea of self-management.
• Sheila stresses that 'Portfolio Career' allows us to take control over the route of our own career, and enjoy more flexibility and variety in our work.
• It lets us pursue multiple income streams, which could provide financial security and the ability to spread risk across projects or businesses, says Sheila. She updates that she has learned a new educational & psychological term - Multi Potential Reality, which refers to the ability of a person with strong intellectual or artistic curiosity, to excel in two or more different fields.
• The host talks about some examples of what can a portfolio career look like?
• According to Sheila, if you have answered 'Yes' to a certain set of questions, you might want to consider whether a 'Portfolio Career' could bring you that variety, and autonomy that you're looking for.
• She gives examples of two of her colleagues who are into 'Portfolio Career' and are doing extremely well.
• A 'Portfolio Career' doesn't have to be completely independent, states Sheila.
• Sheila gives insights on building 'Portfolio Career', if one really wants to get into it.
• She advises that we need to assess our hobbies; things we love to do. How do we feel during our weekends? What do we do during vacations and leisure time?
• Need to find that support system (Family / Friends) so that we can tap into those while letting them know what we're doing and get them on-board.

3 Key Points:

1. Sheila Boysen shares that the rise in self-employment, combined with exploding gig economy, is making the Portfolio Career a viable option for many Americans.
2. Sheila points-out that a Portfolio Career is a working style where you combine multiple different streams of income and often what you're doing is creating a mix of full or part time employment, freelancing or working as a Consultant.
3. She recommends tapping into our network and talking to them about our 'Portfolio Career' interests so that they can help us in the journey of achieving it.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "I'd say today, more and more workers are prioritizing freedom and flexibility over what used to be considered kind of that standard what everybody wanted, seemingly secure corporate job." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "So to determine if a portfolio career might be the right fit for you, it's good to ask yourself a few different questions." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "In this changing work environment, specializing in one thing can be a little bit risky." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Luckily, having been a Career Coach Recruiter, and having gone through my own big career changes, I've taken some really great notes." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Look at your skill sets, what are the things that other people come to you for naturally, that are a huge opportunity to tap into something that can be an important part of a Portfolio Career." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Head over to professionalsuccesscoaching.com to claim your own free comprehensive six step job search success workbook." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: Website
• Enroll today @ Fast-track Your Job Search

In today´s episode, host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter, and Talent Development Leader, talks about her process for creating and delivering her TED talk.

Episode Highlights:

• In 2019 Sheila Boysen was invited to give a TED talk.
• When she wrapped her head around the idea, and she was about to get into the entire process of directing and memorizing her talk, it is then that the pandemic hit.
• Sadly, due to the pandemic, the event that she was going to speak at got canceled.
• This has been a goal for her, and when the TED talk got canceled, it really took a hit on her. She somehow managed to push through the ocean of her emotions.
• Sheila heard some good news in the summer of 2020 when she got another opportunity to get featured as a TEDx speaker.
• She knew the recording of the event was not going to take place until March.
• As the first step of preparation, she wrote down her ideas. The next thing she thought about was, "What she wants her audience to leave with?"
• When Sheila had the idea, it is, then she started writing about the script.
• She wrote the first draft of the script towards the end of October.
• Sheila Boysen got her confidence boost when her sister read the script.
• Finally, when she had just 2 months left for the recording, she buckled up and revisited her script.
• She recorder herself while practicing the script. It was a robust process, which helped her. It is then she made the first modification to her script.
• During her next practice, she recorded it in-camera. This gave her a new perspective about the places that she should emphasize more.
• At this point, she made more edits in the paragraphs. It felt like, finally, the script was falling into space.
• In February, Sheila got the opportunity to rehearse with the planning community of the event. Aside from her sister, this was the first time anybody else heard her script.
• Post that, Sheila receives some excellent constructive feedback from the planning community of the event, which helped her.
• She was finally able to memorize the script, and then she got to the point where it felt like now, she must sound natural.
• Sheila recorded the video on Wednesday in an empty hall, speaking to an audience that does not exist.
• It is impressive how she started to feel comfortable, and she ended up delivering the entire talk in one take.
• The most important thing about "Talks" is that one should always speak on a topic they are sincerely wholeheartedly passionate about.
• The topic for Sheila Boysen's Ted Talk was "Change the question: What do you want to be when you grow up?"
• The question implies that we integrate a part of ourselves into our work.
• Sheila talks about the change she made in her career script instead of thinking, "What I want to be when I grow up?" She started focusing on her values and what was most important for her, and the impact she wanted to make.
• While doing research, she came across numerous quotes that impacted her.
• "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - A quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson really caught her eyes.
• Sheila talks about the three questions that one can ask to determine their values truly.

3 Key Points:

1. Sheila Boysen shares detailed insights about what steps she took to prepare for the TED talk.
2. Write down the free flow of thoughts and start to pay attention to those common threads. From the thread, think about "What do you want to talk or share about the most?" For Sheila, it was about the idea of enjoying work.
3. Sheila is not a nervous speaker, but the process of memorizing the script under 12 minutes did not come naturally to her.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Start writing, don't think about organizing or sentence structure, just write down your thoughts." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Write down the free flow or thoughts and start to pay attention to the common threads." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Speaking from memory but sounding natural; this is one of the things that she learned from the process. - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Many people feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled with the work that they are doing." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Fulfilment in work comes when work and life values meet together" - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Learning is a life-long process; speed of change is only accelerating." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: Website

• Podcast Editing

In today´s episode, host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter, and Talent Development Leader shares her exciting and unique views on Thought Leadership.

• She gives an insightful glimpse of how we all are thought leaders in some way or the other.
• We all have an idea that does not have to be earth-shattering, but the most important thing is it should be unique.
• Think about how you can make the world a better place with your idea. Figure out what drives you or any incident that has impacted you pretty dramatically?
• Sheila stresses that it is essential to figure out what you learned from it?
• She suggests thinking of an idea and then implementing it in a platform. These days there are a plethora of options available on the internet.
• Sheila Boysen shares that for her Ted talk was a platform and the most important is the podcast, which is an excellent platform.
• This is an opportunity that she has curbed. This helps her to share thoughts and words of motivation with the world.
• At the end of the day, it is crucial to figure out how you will share the thought leadership?
• Creating content and taking feedback helps you to know what readers think about it.
• LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are great examples to share and curate your own content.
• Collaborate with others, comment and discuss posts and articles with others.
• This will organically create your visibility and help you build your public profile.

3 Key Points:

• Develop your thought leadership message; one of the best ways to start is to find out what gets you excited?
• She talks about her personal experience and how she turned around difficult situations at work and moved in to identify her passion.
• If you will share an article and post, attach your thought leadership and perspective and add your voice. This helps to build an online reputation.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Bring your passion in the place of your work." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "If it is something thing you are passionate about, then it is going to help you build your thought leadership." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Take some time and think about your thought leadership idea and platform." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

Sheila Boysen-Rotelli: Website

How to Land a Job When You Are Overqualified

In today´s episode of the Professional Success Podcast, host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter, and Talent Development Leader, talks about how to navigate a job search conversation, interview, or process when you are perceived as being overqualified for the job.

Episode Highlights:

• Think about why you are overqualified from the employer's point of view.
• WIll overqualified candidates get hired and then leave soon?
• What concerns do employers often have regarding overqualified job candidates?
• What are some of the common reasons people take positions that are perceived as a step down for them?
• Employment turnover is expensive.
• Your resume tells the story of your career and can be tailored to the direction of what you want from this new job.
• Why should you remove the word "objective" from your resume and put in "summary?"
• Create a transition pitch as a compelling story for why this is the move you want to and why you want to be there long-term.
• Which red flags should you avoid when applying for a job?
• Scale back slowly, job by job.
• Small organizations need good talent and may have a more open-minded hiring process.

3 Key Points:

1. Employers are afraid that overqualified candidates will get bored and not want to do the work very long.
2. Employers are concerned that an overqualified candidate will look at the job as a stopgap or an intentionally temporary stop until they find a better job.
3. Employers fear that overqualified candidates won't be able to take direction or be managed.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Is there anything that feels more unfair than being overqualified for a job? I mean, if you think about it, why would we be penalized for that? Isn't that a good thing?" – Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "An overqualified candidate might not want to linger very long in that position, and employers definitely want to avoid turnover." – Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "There might be lots of reasons why you're looking for a job that is a step back, a step down, or maybe going back to something that you used to do." – Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Contact Sheila: [email protected]
• Fast Track Your Job Search: com
• Professional Success Coaching: com

• A vision statement is basically a declaration of objective based on some economic foresight

• Career visions act as an inspirational image of the future that you want to achieve

• You want your vision statement to remain basically the same ten years and twenty years down the road

• Revisiting your vision statement every few years allows you to ensure that it still aligns with your values

• There are three key components to a strong career vision statement

  • Make sure to mention who you want to help, including individual people and groups

  • It should speak to the change you want to create and the impact that you want to have

  • Get specific on the actions and contributions that you want to make along the way

• While there is no wrong or right answer, it does take some time and intention to create a vision statement

• Put yourself in the driver's seat of your career by putting in the time and thought to create you ideal vision statement

• A career vision statement can act as your North Star for value alignment along the way

• There are tools that you can leverage to actually create your career vision statement

• Writing your retirement party speech allows you to imagine and be inspired to make the right decisions to get there

  • Identify the key relationships that you want with the people that will attend your retirement party

  • Write out the legacy that you want to leave behind and how you want people to benefit

• Define in detail what perfection looks like in your career and what you would have to achieve to get there

• Reflect on common themes and words from these exercises and look to them as a point of focus

  3 Key Points:

  1. Vision statements give both companies and individuals something to lean on to make sure they are heading down the right path.

  2. Who you want to help, impact you want to make, and how you're going to do it are the three things that make up a strong vision statement.

  3. Tools to create your career vision statement include writing your retirement speech, the people who would attend your retirement party, and defining the legacy you want to leave.

  Tweetable Quotes:

  "A career vision is an inspirational idea of the future to use to guide your career decision-making process." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

  "You want to make sure it's something that is meaningful to you today, but you can revisit it." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

  "There's no right or wrong answer here, but it does take some intention." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

  Resources Mentioned:

  Contact Sheila at [email protected]

  Fast Track Your Job Search: fasttrackyourjobsearch.com

Host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli is teaching you how to write a fantastic professional bio that will make future employers want to meet you. It may seem like a daunting task, but as long as you stay authentic and professional, you will do great!

Episode Highlights:

• It seems like when you finally sit down to write this bio, writer's block stops you from putting anything on paper
• People waste hours before surrendering to their writer's block and giving up for the day
• So often, negative self talk comes up during this process, but there are ways to get through that
• Know that there is no one right way to do this and you are not doing it wrong, but you could be doing it better
• You don't need to be everything to everyone, rather, determine the ideal audience for your bio
• Stop comparing your bio to others in a negative fashion or you will sabotage yourself
• Bios are about more than just listing your professional achievements
• Let go of the hope that your bio is going to appeal to everyone; it's unrealistic
• Use your bio as a digital introduction that can grab people's attention when you use it as a branding and marketing tool
• There are a few things that you absolutely must focus on in order to write a great bio
• Choose the tone of your bio based on the platform that you are sharing it on
• Start writing your bio for one platform, then tweak that in whatever fashion you need for other platforms
• Get started with your name, your job title, and your responsibilities - the things that you need someone to know about you
• There's nothing wrong with bragging in moderation as it establishes credibility and helps you stand out from others in your industry
• Clearly differentiate between job responsibilities and achievements when making your bio
• Bring in some of your personality by sharing a little bit about your interests outside of work and who you really are
• In certain circumstances, it might behoove you to add a call-to-action at the end of your bio

3 Key Points:

1. When writing your professional bio, it's important to find a balance between being authentic and professional.
2. Avoid writing a bio that is going to be everything to everyone or you risk coming across as scattered and making it difficult to know what your goals are.
3. Writing in first-person can help make a bio more casual which makes it easier for others to connect with you.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "We want to showcase ourselves as being incredible, accomplished, and a likable expert in the industry that we work in." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Most likely, you're not doing it wrong. It's just that with some tweaking and a little bit of help, you could be doing it better." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Now we have access to everyone's social media bios and their online resumes and their LinkedIn, so I think that comparison trap creeps in a little bit more easily and a little bit more often." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

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

Host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli is discussing the current reality that we find ourselves in where most of our interactions take place over Zoom. It has been a year now and the Zoom fatigue is definitely real, but there are things you can do to help!

Episode Highlights:

• Zoom fatigue is something that most of us have been living and experiencing for the last year
• Though video conferencing is by no means new technology, its heightened use is new for everyone
• Over the last decade, there have been many innovations in video conferencing technology
• Zoom is the one getting a bad reputation, but this phenomenon is interchangeable across video platforms
• There are four key factors that make Zoom fatigue a unique and exhausting experience
  • It's very unusual to have everyone staring at you all the time which brings on a state of stress
  • The more people that are staring at you, the worse the anxiety of public speaking, even if you are not speaking
  • Depending on your computer setup, the size of the faces on your screen can make it feel like people are in your personal space
  • There is a difference in cognitive processing between audio and audio-visual concentration
  • Give yourself audio-only breaks whenever possible so that you can decrease the cognitive load
  • Human beings aren't meant to be looking at themselves all day which has a strange effect on the human mind
  • You can fix the settings on multiple video platforms so that you don't have to see yourself
  • When you are video conferencing, you are basically stuck in the same place for long periods of time
  • Encourage meetings over the phone so that you are freer to move around
• While there is value to video meetings, there is something freeing about a purely audio connection
• Zoom isn't going anywhere, so reflect on what is in your control to reduce the fatigue

3 Key Points:

1. It has been one year since the world shut down and everyone had to make the switch to video meetings.
2. Extended periods of close-up eye contact on Zoom have been linked to similar anxiety of public speaking, regardless if you are the one speaking or not.
3. Whenever possible, it's important to switch to audio-only, as in turn your camera off and turn around. This helps decrease the cognitive load and increase your ability to focus.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "I think, maybe 2020 is when "zooming" became a new term." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "It just gives us a chance to pause and think about how we might be able to use it in a different way, in a more mindful way, in a way that's going to cut down on this fatigue." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Zoom pretty much turns every single one of us on every call into a constant speaker who is smothered in eye gaze." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

• Contact Sheila at [email protected]

Fast Track Your Job Search: fasttrackyourjobsearch.com

Host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli is talking about the value of upskilling and reskilling in your career. Whether you're happy where you are or looking for a new career, it's important to constantly evolve with the world!

Episode Highlights:

• The world is in a constant state of shifting so we must stay in a constant state of preparation and learning
• Upskilling is all about enhancing your current skills while reskilling is about gaining new skills
• There are many different methods and strategies to both upskill and reskill your soft skills and hard skills
• Upskilling and reskilling don't necessarily mean just working on your technology skills
• Soft skills are just as important as hard skills when it comes to learning and growing
  • Show some initiative by asking for more responsibility which will allow you to learn new leadership from different people
  • Leadership is about influencing and helping a team move towards a goal even if you don't have a management position
  • Participate in cross-training opportunities with peers or mentors because everyone knows something that you don't
  • Developing emotional intelligence increases your ability to lead others through their own emotional awareness
  • Emotional intelligence is something that you can improve and increase through consistent work
  • Improved resilience and stress-tolerance management allow you to recognize what changes need to be made to avoid burnout
• Hard skills are the technical skills that help you shift with the job and industry
  • Your formal education will never give you every single skill that you will need for a job as it changes
  • Stay involved in your industry and the ones that are closely connected to it
  • There are plenty of low-cost/free training and educational opportunities to accomplish your learning goals
  • Up to 80% of jobs come from non-published sources, so dedicate some time to networking
  • If you're looking for a completely different path, then you might want to look at vocational training or formal education
  • Use your growing portfolio of skills to create a side hustle or work on a passion project

3 Key Points:

1. Whether you're feeling stuck or you are completely happy where you are, upskilling and reskilling are highly valuable.
2. Emotional intelligence consists of being aware of your own emotional state and the emotional states of others and being able to navigate that for both of you.
3. In ten years, up to eighty-five percent of jobs that will exist have not been invented yet. That's why you must look at learning as a lifelong process or you'll get left behind.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "Up to eighty-five percent of jobs that will exist just ten years from now haven't even been invented yet." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "Upskilling is really about facilitating enhancements to current skills that you have, building on them, expanding on them." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "It's really all about you taking ownership of your professional growth and development." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli is explaining why transferable skills give you more freedom and creativity in your job search. Everyone has them. It just takes a little bit of self-reflection to realize what your transferable skills are!

Episode Highlights:

• There's a ton of value in taking time to understand transferable skills and what yours actually are
• Transferable skills come into play when you're looking for a new job or to transition within the same company
• Don't be the person that gets in your own way and tells yourself "no" before someone else has the chance
• Everything starts in our own head, so having the right mindset is vital to take on new assignments
• Attacking our own self-confidence and skills takes us out of an opportunity that could help us develop additional skills
• If people could recognize their transferable skills, they would work at jobs that they truly enjoy
• Come up with a simple mantra, such as "I can do anything"
• Many people make the mistake of thinking that they just don't have any transferable skills
• Define your transferable skills that relate to the job that you have your eye on
• Tailor your resume to the specific job that you are applying to by highlighting your relevant transferable skills
• Make a list of all of your skills in management, research, technical, relationship, and any other segments
• Freely brainstorm every skill no matter how small or insignificant you might think they are
• Use past performance reviews and people that you've worked closely with to see what skills of yours that others have appreciated
• Self-reflection takes time and work, but it will serve you very well for years to come
• Organize your list however you would like, but Sheila suggests these 3 sections
• Communication: Speaking effectively, building consensus amongst groups, negotiating, developing rapport, etc.
• Organizing/Planning: Forecasting, analyzing alternatives, managing budgets, meeting deadlines, etc.
• Operational/Technical skills: Building something, software/hardware skills, specific knowledge, hard skills, etc.
• Think through each skill in order to understand how transferable each one
• Is it something that can be applied in a different job or environment?
• How can it be applied in a different job or environment?
• Come up with a measurable accomplishment of your own that relates to that transferable skill
• There are a variety of ways to use your transferable skills to get the job that you want
• Networking events are a great time to explain to people what you want to be doing in your next opportunity
• During an interview, focus on how you have used your transferable skills in specific situations in your past jobs

3 Key Points:

1. It takes a growth mindset to take skills that you have learned in the past and transfer them into something new.
2. When you define and practice your transferable skills, it's a great time to update your resume and tailor it to the specific job that you are applying to.
3. Transferable skills can be acquired through a multitude of avenues, such as on-the-job experience, volunteering, and hobbies that you enjoy during your free time.

Tweetable Quotes:

• "A lot of times, we're the first person to tell ourselves 'no.'" - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli
• "If you think you can do a thing, or think you can't do a thing, you are right." - Henry Ford
• "Transferable skills, most basically, are any talents or abilities that you have that can be used in many different jobs or career paths." - Sheila Boysen-Rotelli

Resources Mentioned:

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