A. Harrison Barnes, CEO of Career Mission, discussed the importance of communicating in a manner that connects you with your audience.
Harrison says that one of the biggest marketing secrets of all time is that the number of people who are willing to respond to your marketing efforts is directly proportional to how relevant your marketing is to them. This is true in the case of your job search as well. Your chances of landing a job will increase dramatically if you speak about things that are relevant to the job and the company that you are applying to.
In order to substantiate his view point, Harrison cites an example of a European whom he himself hired about four years back. This person researched Harrison’s company thoroughly and called Harrison, the CEO of the company, directly to tell Harrison that he was planning to move to the US for work and then started discussing with Harrison the areas that needed attention in Harrison’s organization.
The European spoke in a manner that was relevant to Harrison and Harrison got into a long conversation with him. Harrison then flew this guy to the US to continue the conversation, hired him, and paid for all the expenses relevant to the move. This guy even stayed at Harrison’s place during his six weeks of training. What’s more is that this guy was hired for a company that got off the ground 30 months after he joined Harrison.
What was special about this guy was that he had researched exactly what Harrison’s company did and what made it unique. He spoke about things that were relevant to Harrison and succeeded to make a connection. This is exactly what you need to do the next time you go for an interview. In a nutshell, the more focused you are on explaining why and how hiring you will be beneficial for the employer, the greater will be your chances of getting the job.
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed that in order to succeed you need to provide more value than you receive.
According to Harrison your rewards will be in direct proportion to the value you provide. This law of economics controls a great deal of what happens in the world. And yet people ignore this most basic law of economics. The result of ignoring the law is instant to gradual failure. In your career if you are providing more value than you receive you will probably have a very good career.
There are many professions in many major cities of the United States where Americans are not hired. That is because they are not willing to work hard. They do not have the motivation to do what it takes. If you do not have the motivation to do what it takes then you are not going to get to where you want to go. Most Americans who are talented enough to become doctors do not become doctors because they are not willing to work incredibly hard to become doctors. People from other countries are willing to do what it takes; they believe that they need to work hard in order to get ahead. They feel they need to produce more than they earn.
One of the most important rules of economics is simply that the economy will generally pay for the value that you provide. In order to advance in society you must respect and understand the law of economics.
The law of economics that is always operating in the background is that you always need to give more than you take. Many people at some point in their lives lose touch of this law and it always does them in. They do not put in the effort needed to really succeed.
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed various factors that will help you in your job search and will also help you in holding onto your job.
According to Harrison, in your job search and in your job as well you have to give yourself a competitive advantage. For this, it is important that you use timing to your advantage. When you investigate the market at the right time you are more likely to get good offers.
Again, when you are marketing yourself, it is important that you get the attention. There are many ways you can stick out in an employer’s mind in a positive way and this can make a major difference in what ends up happening both in a job search and after you are hired. One of the best ways to hold a job is to do more than is expected of you.
Your appearance also makes a huge competitive difference. Your employer would like to have someone well dressed and professional, to represent the business. When you are searching for a job, you need to draw in as much interest as possible. This will vastly increase the number of offers that you get.
Harrison advises people to apply to every employer they are interested in regardless of whether or not the employer has a job opening. If you are searching for a job, approach every prospect and not just the people who are interested in employing. You need to have an outstanding resume because it can make a difference in how you are remembered. If you cannot create a world class resume then hire a resume company to create your resume for you. The same goes for your cover letter. The skills that you are putting into your job search and your job should be so superior that people will go out of their way to hire you and to hold on to you.
You should go out of your way to cultivate networks and friendships with people. It can make a giant difference in the results that you get when you are looking for a job and it can also make a huge difference in your ability to keep a job.
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed how we can be happy if we do not compare ourselves with others.
According to Harrison, we are always comparing what we have to what others have. We feel that someone else probably has a better job, a better spouse, a better house, is happier or is more successful.
When you start to feel good about whatever you have, you start comparing with others. We evaluate the things that we have in relation to things that other people have. We are always comparing and contrasting. When you start feeling good about something in your life, you will find that someone will come and tell you that someone else has it better. Harrison feels that there are people around us who are happy to contrast what we have in a negative light. These contrasts start getting on to us.
Harrison believes that there is no such thing as perfection, and so you should not fall into the trap of contrasts. Many people spend their entire lives chasing a barometer of happiness that cannot be met.
Harrison feels that there are many people who relish bad news about other people, and frown when they hear good news about other people. These people are caught in the game of contrasts and they believe that if someone else they know is having problems, then their lives are somehow better in contrast.
People whose opinions about themselves are based on how others are doing are in a bad trap. They have put their happiness in the hands of others. If your own happiness is dependent on how others are faring then you can never be genuinely happy. You should be comparing yourself to how you are doing and not how others are doing.
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar stated that your ability to help people and the degree of help you provide will determine the degree of success you have.
There are some people who become successful because of being in the right place at the right time. Harrison talks of one such person who happened to be one of Google’s first employees. He had been hired by Google before the company even had a business. Eventually, he became incredibly successful because he was working for a company that managed to help hundreds of millions of people.
According to Harrison, in order to achieve success in your career, you need to be in the right place at the right time. You need to be a part of a company that you believe is doing something incredibly important, something that will positively affect the lives of millions of people. It is beneficial to join such companies because these are the companies that are on the verge of, or are, helping people do something in an entirely new way. They will help millions of people and will make a huge difference in how the world functions.
The ultimate is to do something that benefits the lives of millions of people. Your success in your career is going to come in direct proportion to how many people you are able to touch with your work. The more revolutionary what you are doing is, the more people you will touch and the more memorable of a career you will have.
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar elaborated upon the point that a true leader is the one who is able to stand for something he/she believes in, even if it means, standing alone.
There are very few true leaders in the world. Most of us spend our lives trying to be like others. We never get in touch with our inner leader and the things we believe in.
The world respects people who stand behind ideas despite all opposition and are able to act alone. There are very few people out there who are able to stand behind an idea and act alone. In order to really lead, you need to take a stand for the things you believe in and you often need to do this alone.
If you are a bureaucratic figurehead you are supported by the group. You need to stand for what the group stands for. However, personal leaders take a stand they believe in—regardless of whether they are supported by others or not. According to Harrison you need not worry about others’ opinions. In order to lead and take charge of your life you need to act and do what others are afraid, or unwilling to do. This is personal leadership and this is going to give you incredible results in everything that you do.
When you do what you want to do you are able to reach your highest visions and be the person you are capable of being—instead of the person others say you should be.
Personal leadership will change your life. You can be whoever you want to be but you need to be a personal leader and do what is deep inside your heart. You need to be the person you are capable of being no matter what others may think.
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed the importance of having access to right information.
According to Harrison, your lack of information can cost you your home, your career, your business and your life. When you do not have access to information about circumstances and facts that affect your daily life then you may often find yourself in trouble.
Not having access to correct information is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in your career and in your life. In your interactions with people you will find many of them trying to take advantage of your lack of information about one thing or another. Not having complete access to information is extremely dangerous. If you do not have access to information it can destroy you.
Knowledge can make a huge difference in your life. Access to information can literally change your life and your career as well. You need to find the right information. With the right information you can understand how everything works and you can win. Having the correct information gives you incredible power; more than you may even realize. It gives you the means to make important life decisions.
Harrison suggests that next time when you are making an important decision make sure you have complete access to information. People prey upon your lack of information and you can only succeed by knowing all the facts
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed the importance of not letting your ego be influenced by others.
Harrison recalls buying a Rolls Royce. He realized soon that the car was entirely inappropriate for him. The problem with taking this kind of car anywhere was that people thought he was really important. Harrison wondered what was he trying to prove and accomplish with the car.
Many people who are motivated by such cars and other branded things are the people who are lacking something. They need something that will make them look good to others. Your association with brands stokes your ego and makes you feel important. The more insecure a person is the more he/she will associate with brands.
Whether we are buying a car, trying to be part of a social group, trying to go to a certain school or trying to get a certain title or responsibility: we are almost always being controlled by the need and desire to be something so our egos can be made to feel good.
According to Harrison, when you have really made it in life you do not care what kind of car you drive because your ego is not being influenced by others. You are in control. In order to take charge of your career and your life, the most important thing that you can do is be who you want to be. Do not be influenced by what you think you should be. Be your own person and go with what you are and what you like. This is the only way you can ever be truly happy and free.
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed why being consistent is more effective than being talented.
Harrison believes that work ethic and consistency trump brilliance and talent. There are many talented people, who may know a lot. They may be better socially and may have better ideas. They may even be better educated. But none of these attributes really matter. People who win and become successful are the ones who generally put in a massive effort over the long run. Nothing is more effective than being consistent. If you are consistent, you will achieve a lot more over time than if you are not.
Talent is fickle. Sometimes talent shows up, and other times it does not. In contrast, being consistent requires a high level of tenacity. You need to keep plowing through. You cannot give up. Anyone can be a better performer in one thing or another for a short time. However, what really matters is to be able to perform consistently over time. Consistent effort is what creates the best results and enables people to win over time. Only certain people are born with brilliance and incredible talent; but we all have the option to work hard.
When we are consistent, we make small bits of progress on a daily basis; and this is what transforms careers and lives. Many people lack the ability to consistently focus over time, and instead believe one small flash of brilliance or talent will make a difference. This is almost never the case. So, Harrison recommends consistency over talent.
Career Mission’s Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed why you need to be relevant to your employer.
We get comfortable with one specific type of job and believe we should always continue to do it. However, the sun does not shine on any specific type of job forever. You need to understand what your basic business is. Far too many companies and individuals fail to understand this, and end up going out of business.
In your career, it is essential you realize what business you are in. You should not be blinded by the specifics of what you do and, instead, should understand the generality of what your specific profession is. This is the way to stay employed.
You need to understand your market and you also need to know where and how to market yourself. Harrison believes that when you understand your market, you have the ability to provide your customers with products and services that meet their needs. You need to be relevant and understand the skill that you are offering.
It’s easy to be relevant when you understand what you are doing and what purpose you serve. Being relevant is much more than just getting a job; being relevant also relates to serving your employers with the skills they need. You are a product, and your job is to give your audience exactly what it wants. This is the way to get, and keep a job.
