Greetings!                                 

Many thanks to those who participated in last month's Get Seen, Get Interviewed, Get Hired Virtual Speaker Series which ran from February 19-22. My colleagues and I provided little known strategies, tactics and top tips for getting noticed, getting interviews and landing a good job in this economy...in spite of hundreds of candidates with better credentials who are competing for the same jobs as you are. In case you missed my segment on February 21, you can scroll down to download and listen to it.  

I'm continuing my article series, introducing the core content of my soon-to-be-launched  "Wake Up to a Job You Love ©  Home Study System."  Last month, I explained how all of these articles are part of the "The Six Dimensions of Career Clarity"  model I use with clients, to help them sketch out what their most ideal career position looks like before beginning their job search. This month, my article focuses on Dimension #4: Which Corporate Culture is Ideal for You? Let Your Personal Workplace Values Be Your Guide.  

Is your job search stuck and your career stalled, no matter how hard you try? Celebrate Spring by scheduling a private Career Action Planning (C.A.P.) Session with me. We'll get to the root of your career problem and get you on the road to landing your dream job in record time! Read the testimonial of one client who landed soon after his C.A.P. Session; and the quick story about another client I highlighted in the October 2012 issue, who had a C.A.P. Session last July and landed in September...and another who had a C.A.P. Session last October and landed in December!   

In this article series, I've emphasized the importance of choosing a job that maximizes your skill set, fits well with your personality type and preferences, and is on your Top 50-100 places to work. However, it's important to know how well a company's corporate culture will support your personal workplace values so you'll perform to the best of your ability.  

So, what exactly is "corporate culture"? Journalist Linda Ray refers to it as "the collective attitudes, beliefs, and codes of behavior that prevail among the staff, from top to bottom, of any business. The culture is generated by individuals and their relationships with each other, and by the basic goals, orientation and context of the business."  

1. Traditional: promotes clearly-defined roles and relationships between co-workers; 
2. Highly-skilled: focuses on recruiting top talent and staying ahead of the curve, with high turnover as a trade-off; 
3. Innovative: encourages creative initiatives among employees; evaluates risk versus reward of new ventures; 
4. Social: values collaboration, teamwork, and healthy, trusting relationships among the staff.  

Before I became a career coach, I worked in the corporate world for several years. My favorite jobs included working in the curriculum office of a medical school and in the HR department of a social service agency for special-needs adults and children. I enjoyed these jobs because I could work independently, my contributions were valued, questions were expected, and everyone was treated equally. Most likely, these corporate cultures were "Social" in nature. 

The jobs I disliked were in a market research firm and in an apartment complex rental office. The atmosphere in both companies was dictatorial, favoritism-driven, and negative. Training was nonexistent; those who didn't catch on the first day were not treated very well. Clearly, I didn't last long in those toxic settings, regardless of what the corporate culture was.  

Looking back, I learned through trial and error how my personal workplace values factored into choosing ideal workplace environments. As a career coach, I encourage my clients to be more proactive in figuring this out. Here's a list of 40 Personal Workplace Values - see which ones resonate for you.

When you know what your top workplace values are, you'll be more attuned to a corporate culture where you'll thrive, whether it falls within the four listed above or somewhere in between. Even so, a corporate culture isn't always easy to decipher, nor are hints of toxicity obvious from the outside. Here are some research ideas to help you get some good clues:  

• Company website: Check out the "About Us" section; read the mission and vision statements to get a sense of how customers, clients and employees are treated. 
• Employment interviews: Observe how everyone you meet acts toward you, including the receptionist; note how their behaviors support the company's mission and vision. 
• Internet research tools: Websites like www.glassdoor.com and www.indeed.com offer candid opinions from employees about their experiences in specific companies. 
• Networking: Reach out to your networking contacts; get referrals to people who work in your target companies and ask them what it's like to work there.

Choosing your ideal workplace environment is a marriage of your personal workplace values and a corporate culture that supports you. You'll find that these values will serve as an internal compass to steer you in the direction of a company where you'll be the most productive and valued. 

Wake Up to a Job You Love © Home Study System  (Beta) Coming Soon! 

I've been planning a "beta launch" of this self-study system of my career coaching program. It's based on the core content and tools I use with my private clients, to help them build a solid, laser-focused plan to land a job they love which is fun, fulfilling and financially rewarding. This system is perfect for you... whether you're unemployed and struggling to land...or unhappy with your current job or employer and you don't know which way to turn.  

A tentative launch is has been rescheduled for mid-April and will be priced at an introductory "Charter Member" rate of $147.00.   

Depending on how many people enroll, I may host monthly Q & A group calls and create a private Facebook group for participants to post questions and interact with each other. I am planning to offer some special bonuses for the first 10 people who sign up.

There will be a special sales page created for this program and you'll be notified when it's ready. Until then, here's a description of it on my website: 

If you have any questions, please email me joellyn@career-success-coach.com; and I will be personally reaching out to those of you who have already expressed interest. 

Career Action Planning (C.A.P.) Session 

• Do you work hard on your job search but seem to get nowhere fast?
• Are you burned out with your job, but don't know what other work might satisfy you?  
• Do you have trouble understanding how your transferable skills can be used in other professions?
• Do you apply for jobs online, only to get "thanks but no thanks" responses?
• Does it seem like your network can't help you with your job search the way you'd like?
• Do you get interviews--- but no offers?   

Is it time to take a risk -- a giant step forward -- to end the pain once and for all? You may surprised: the problem might not be what you think and simpler to overcome than you thought possible.

Regardless of the issues you face or what you may be frustrated or confused about, I can provide the clarity, creative thinking, objectivity, and perspective you need to get your career and job search moving in the right direction.  

Let's get started with a Career Action Planning (C.A.P.) Session to help you figure out what's working, what needs attention, and what the next steps are to land the job of your dreams!  

Skeptical? Here's what one client said about his experience. He got hired five months after his C.A.P. Session!