Lamplighter Vol 2 Issue 6 Dec 2010 - Jan 2011

ISSN: 2154-5804 Vol. 3, Issue 1

December,2010 to January, 2011

Page 1 of 28

Lamplighter

We are now known as Empowering Today's

Professionals (ETP). As is our tradition,

September 1, 2010 marks our 6th new year

celebration.

- Rod Colon, CEO & Founder

ETP was established specifically to help

individuals in transition find jobs.

MISSION

Encourage, train, support, mentor and advise

fellow CEOs of ME, Incorporated in all aspects of

defined responsibilities to their personal Board of

Directors.

ETP CORE VALUES

ETP has a special concern for the advancement

of professionals worldwide and is committed to

delivering its core values of INTEGRITY,

RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, and

COMPASSION to its members. Today, ETP

consists of 13 million LinkedIn professionals and

1000s of members. We are developing teams

globally to assist members with their networking

and career management programs.

Since 2004 Empowering Today's Professionals (ETP) has

helped hundreds of people successfully land jobs and

business opportunities. It's a known fact Members land

jobs quicker, with over 250 people landing safely in 2009

alone. Combined with Member benefits, Rod Colon's "Win

the Race for 21st Century Jobs" is a must read for anyone

who wants to insulate their career from all types of

economic conditions.

Win the Race for 21st Century Jobs Order Book Now

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Lamplighter Articles

Welcome Message

This issue's Spotlight

Feature

Benefits of

ETP Membership

The Alchemist's Arcanum

Barbara Daisak's

Tech Tip

Meet the Lamplighters

Featured Writers

High Tech High Touch

"The Human Side of Social Networking"

by Carl E. Reid

The CEO Of ME, Inc. Paradigm

Rod Colon

Your Career is Calling

101.7 The Bronc

Make Your Uniqueness

Work for You

Rod Coln

Change Happens...

Deal with it!

Barry Goldberg

Practice...Practice...Practice

Aaron Cohen

Selling Your Product

Jerry Clifford

Welcome to WorryCatcher.org

Wanda Megaro

Toastmasters

How to Get People to

Ignore Your Emails

Carl Reid

Go to Welcome Message Go to Lamplighter Articles Go to Featured Writers

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Welcome Message

Glancing Back . . . Looking Forward

Glancing back in time and seeing the effects of your work is such a gratifying

experience. It also proves that when you volunteer to help others, everyone wins

including yourself.

December, 2010 will mark my first anniversary as editor-in-chief of the Lamplighter.

Its been a very interesting and self-gratifying journey. I have met a lot of interesting

and capable people. What is most important is that I have acquired valuable

friendships and relationships.

Fortunately, I have been surrounded by supportive people who have helped make this year a successful one.

Eric Nilsson has been a stalwart friend and colleague. Barbara Daisak has always been ready to lend a

helping hand. Rod Colon, Carl Reid, and Chip Hartman have given me their trust, confidence, and support.

The contributing writers have generously shared with us their personal experiences. The ETP members and

readers have been very supportive and encouraging. Together we have worked hard to share ideas and in

the process have touched each others life in the most meaningful way. My special thanks to each and every

one of you for a most fruitful year.

And now looking forward . . .

Welcome to the December 2010 to January 2011 edition of the Lamplighter

It is very apt that in this joyous season we look forward to giving you an even more interesting

Lamplighter. So sit back, relax and enjoy reading this edition. After doing so, please help us serve you

better by filling out the Lamplighter Survey. We would like to present you with the following special

features:

Book Excerpt from The Secret

Special Section - Spotlight on Carl Reid

Carl Reids High Tech High Touch The Human Side of Social Networking (first of a series)

Rod Colons - The CEO of Me, Inc. Paradigm

Your Career Is Calling - Interactive Talk Show on 107.7 The Bronc

Benefits of ETP Membership

Rod Colons Make Your Uniqueness Work for You

Rod Colon invites you to join Toastmasters

Barry Goldbergs Change Happens Deal with It

Aaron Cohens Practice . . . Practice . . . Practice

Jerrold (Jerry) Cliffords Selling Your Product

Wanda Megaros Welcome to WorryCatchers.org an anonymous place to put your troubles on the Web let them go and move on

Eric Nilssons Alchemists Arcanum

Carl Reids How to Get People to Ignore Your Emails

Barbara Daisaks Tech Tip

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In the spirit of the Yuletide season, we have made some enhancements for this edition. For our Lamplighter

logo, we decided to give the young boy and the old lamplighter a well-deserved holiday vacation and

temporarily replaced them with a younger lamplighter. All the pages have a lighted tree background; four

snowmen and a Christmas wreath adorn some pages. Lastly, my favorite photo of the cute little boy in front

of the Christmas tree would like to wish everyone

Go to Lamplighter Articles Go to Featured Writers

You Are Not Your Past

By Jack Canfield

From The Secret

ISBN-13:978-1-58270-170-7

A lot of people feel like theyre victims in life, and theyll often point to past events, perhaps growing up with an abusive parent or in a dysfunctional family. Most psychologists believe that

about 85 percent of families are dysfunctional, so all of a sudden youre not so unique.

My parents were alcoholics. My dad abused me. My mother divorced him when I was six. . . . I

mean, thats almost everybodys story in some form or not. The real question is, what are you going to do now? What do you choose now? Because you can either keep focusing on that, or you can

focus on what you want. And when people start focusing on what they want, what they dont want falls away, and what they want expands, and the other part disappears.

A person who sets his or her mind on the dark side of life, who lives over and over the misfortunes and disappointments of the past, prays for similar misfortunes

and disappointments in the future. If you will see nothing but ill luck in the future, you are praying for such ill luck and will surely get it. Prentice Mulford

If you go back over your life and focus on the difficulties from the past, you are just bringing more

difficult circumstances to You now. Let it all go, no matter what it is. Do it for you. If you hold a

grudge or blame someone for something in the past, you are only harming You. You are the only

one who can create the life you deserve. As you deliberately focus on what you want, as you begin

to radiate good feelings, the law of attraction will respond. All you have to do is make a start, and

so you do, you will unleash the magic.


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With corporate travels from the mail room

to the board room, Carl E. Reid knows

what it takes to be successful. Coming

from humble beginnings Carl learned

from his mother of Puerto Rican heritage

and his father from Barbados, to keep the

bar raised high in the honest values of

work ethics to achieve success. Through

survival skills learned growing up on the

mean streets of the Edenwald projects, in

the Bronx, Carl transferred his street

smart savvy into the corporate arena. His

first introduction to business success was

achieved by obtaining his first managerial

position at the age of 16.

Carl has used his life experience and

knowledge gained to assist others in

achieving their own desired level of

success. Carl continued his quest for

success from being a temporary worker in

the mailroom to becoming Co-Founder,

CEO & President of a successful

technology consulting firm NetTECH

Systems, located in the New York City

area. Carl combined his "must do"

attitude and being a student of other

successful mentors to climb the corporate

ladder to success. Carl is publisher of the

Library of Congress recognized newsletter

blog "Savvy Intrapreneur" and is engaged

by companies as a professional blogger

and social media consultant.

In addition to being a sought after

speaker and published author, Carl

advises small businesses on Internet

Business-2-Business opportunities.

Combining 40+ years of business

experience with 27 years in the

Information Technology field, Carl has a

proven track record in identifying

emerging technology business

opportunities, before they become trends.

He has also helped many people

successfully advance their careers and

start businesses with 15 years as a

Business Career Coach.

Carl's workshops combine proven "career

management" techniques with "street

smart" business savvy. He learned both

perspectives as a career professional,

hiring manager, staff recruiter liaison and

entrepreneur. Carl founded Savvy

Intrapreneur, which teaches professionals

how to run their career like a business.

Carl E. Reid

Chief Operations Officer, Empowering Today's Professionals

Wrote the "foreword' to Win the Race for 21st Century Jobs by Rod Colon

Creator and Developer of Career Management Swiss Army Knife

Professional Blogger, Blogging Coach and Social Media Expert

Business Career Coach


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High Tech High Touch

"The Human Side of Social Networking" by Carl E. Reid

Using Google Alerts to Track Your Web Presence

Many people use Google Alerts as a

automated tool for acquiring news stories

and doing research on various topics. You

can even use Google Alerts to search for

job or business opportunities. Place 2 to 3

words within "quotes" for each alert. Then

you automatically receive an email with

results found anywhere on the Internet.

You can use Google Alerts to track how

your company fares in the public eye or

keep up with friends, family and

associates. Just create an alert with their

name in quotes.

Former New York City Mayor Koch

endeared himself to people with his

famous line "How am I doing?". That's a

question you can and should answer

about yourself, using Google Alerts.

What do hiring managers, human

resource professionals, recruiters or

business associates see when they type

your name into Google or any search

engine?

By creating different Google Alerts with

different variations of your name spelling,

you receive feedback on what type of

information people are viewing about you.

This also provides intelligence on whether

you should make adjustments to profiles

you may have on Myspace, Facebook,

Twitter, LinkedIn, or articles mentioning

you or your company name etc.. Oh, did

you think that information about you

was private because you have to

login? Think again.

Your web presence should reflect the

name you use on your resume, bio or

LinkedIn profile. Google Alert

intelligence is also valuable, if you have a

similar name to someone else. Talk

about a case of mistaken identity, if that

person has a less than acceptable Internet

web presence. Consider making your

name more unique by adding a middle

initial, generation qualifier or certification

distinction (i.e. Al Q. Brown - Jim Smith,

III - Joe Smith, PMP etc..


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THE CEO OF ME, INC. PARADIGM By Rod Coln

The CEO of any company runs the company. CEOs direct all critical operations such as sales and

marketing, research and development, strategy, finance, corporate culture, human resources,

community affairs, public relations, and so on.

CEOs are primarily responsible for setting the corporate strategy and vision. They decide which

products to introduce into which markets and against which competitors. CEOs decide how the

company will brand itself and differentiate itself in the marketplace.

Ultimately, the CEO is responsible for the success or failure of the company.

Here are some key CEO responsibilities that you must learn to incorporate in managing your career as

a business:

As the CEO of your career you will:

Learn to partition your responsibilities to ensure that all critical operations are carried

out and none get overlooked. For example, your Research & Development Department

will be in charge of networking making connections, digging up new leads, gathering business information, etc Right from the start, anything you do that's part of this effort is processed in the R & D department of your mind. Likewise, your Sales & Marketing Department will oversee the development of a powerful value

proposition and various parts of the 7-Step Job Search Methodology until every task is

properly niched.

Take responsibility for making tough decisions theres just no way around this. Tough decision-making is a skill with tremendous short and long term benefits. It

trains your mind to weigh options before you commit to a course of action.

Accept the consequences of your tough decisions both good and bad. You can savor the good results and analyze why the bad results occurred. Most importantly, dont waste time beating yourself up when a decision yields poor results. Pick up the pieces

and move on. Learn from every aspect of the failure experience because it will move

you closer to winning the race for 21st century jobs.

Bring a new level of personal accountability to managing your career. Why? Because

you have a governing body to which you now have ultimate responsibility: your Personal Board of Directors (e.g., spouse, family, extended family, significant other,

etc).

Still not convinced your career can benefit from thinking like a CEO? Are you saying, "Why bother? This

sounds like a whole lot of work for very little benefit."

If thats how you see it, consider this: For every terrific opportunity you identify and for which youre qualified there could be hundreds, maybe thousands of others competing for the same position. But theres one critical difference: Most of them fail to adopt the Im in charge attitude and their race for the finish line becomes a mediocre performance at best. They remain mired in the employee mind-set, a part of the Black Hole crowd that inevitably lags behind in the race to get the job that you are busy targeting. And while most of us don't want others to fail, theres nothing wrong with capitalizing on the inept business decisions of others to gain a tactical advantage whenever possible.

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In other words, if you are thinking like a business owner and your competitors arent, you have a significant edge over them in the race for 21st century jobs. Do not fail to leverage it!

Will you absorb this paradigm shift overnight? No. In a week? Unlikely. In a month? Maybe. People

internalize it at very different rates. Most of our members can tell rather quickly if they are cut out to

be the CEO of ME, Inc.

The good news is that this mental model will work if you make it work.

Best wishes and own your career,

Rod Coln, Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author Rod Coln, Career Coach,

Professional Speaker & Author

CEO & Director of Career

Management

www.ETPnetwork.com

[email protected] -

732.367.5580

Connect with Rod on:

http://RodColon.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/RodColon

http://www.linkedin.co/in/RodColon

http://www.facebook.com/RodColon1


Interactive talk-show on 107.7 The Bronc


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Benefits of ETP Membership Other career outsourcing companies provide tools that tell you "What" to do.

ETP's proven education programs and methodologies guide you explicitly

through "HOW" to accomplish your career management goals.

Related FAQ topics: What's In It For Me | Membership | Success Stories

Member Benefits That Achieve Results

For less than 21 cents a day receive benefits valued at $879.00

Member

$74.99/yr

Student Member

$37.50/yr

1. Receive copy of book "Win the Race for 21st Century Jobs". ($20 Value) Read more

2. NEW Weekly "high energy" Job Search School conference call and webinar with Q & A. ($250 Value per call)

3. Proven ETP Network 7 Step Job Search (c)" methodology with access to video, audio recordings and document reference libraries.

4. NEW Targeted Resume Review Program gets you to "INTERVIEW" phase quicker.

5. NEW Mock Interview Program with assigned professional increases job offers.

6. NEW Solution Center available at 732-367-5580 for impromptu Job Search Q & A, Personal connection introduction, Pre-Interview preparation etc.. ($150 Value per 1 hr call)

7. Exclusive ETP Angel Program with personal introductions and connections within a network of 13 million company insiders.

Tools Resources & Networking Opportunities

8. NEW Advanced Job Search Class Room Training at New Horizons Learning Center Princeton, NJ, with Internet ready computers. Register Now

9. Practice reciprocal networking techniques, taught only by ETP Network for proven results, at ETP sponsored training events throughout the United States.

10. Career Management Online Webinars: (LinkedIn, Indeed, Twitter, Social Media, Resume Writing, Personal Branding, Relationship development Scripts)

11. Smart Radar subscription makes customized job opportunities come to you. Eliminate time spent looking for a job. Spend more time scheduling interviews. ($60 Value) Start a Smart Radar Subscription

12. Access to member directory.


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Make Your Uniqueness Work For You

By Rod Coln

Since the right job flows

directly out of all the elements

of your personality type, you

need to spend some time

figuring out what makes you

tick. By making a conscious

effort to discover the real you, you learn how to focus your natural strengths

and inclinations into a career you can love for

a long as you choose to work.

This is where type is so helpful. It provides a systematic, effective way to evaluate both

your strong points and your probable

weaknesses or blind spots. Once you have

these figured out, youll know how to make sure you are always operating from a position

of strength.

Each one of us has a distinct personality, like

an innate blueprint that stays with us for life.

We are born with a personality type, we go

through life with that type, and when we are

laid to rest (hopefully at the end of a long and

fruitful life), and it is with the same type.

Now you are probably wondering, Wait a minute. I might be one way sometimes, but at

other times Im a very different person. Doesnt the situation influence my personality type?

The answer is no, it doesnt. Do we change our behavior in certain situations? Certainly!

Most human beings have a tremendous

repertoire of behaviors available to them. We

couldnt function very successfully if we didnt. Sure, we act differently at work than we do at

home, and it makes a difference whether were with strangers, close friends, at a ball park, or

at a funeral. But people dont change their basic personalities with every new door they

walk through.

All this is not to say that environmental

factors are not extremely important; they are.

Parents, siblings, teachers, and economic,

social, and political circumstance all can play

a role in determining what direction our lives

take. Some people are forced by circumstances

to act in a certain way until they are literally

not themselves.

If you are skeptical about the idea that

personality type is inborn, take a look at

different children from the same family. These

could be your own children, your siblings, or

even children from a family you know. Do they

have different personalities? Absolutely! And

the differences are often apparent from birth.

The concept of personality type is not new. People have always been aware of the

similarities and differences between

individuals, and over the centuries many

systems and models for understanding or

categorizing these differences have been

developed.

For more information on how to make your

uniqueness work for you contact me at

732.367.5580 or email me at 732.367.5580.

Best wishes and keep networking alive,

Rod Coln

Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author Empowering Todays Professionals Running the Business of "ME" www.ETPnetwork.com

[email protected]

Go to Lamplighter Articles

Go to Featured Writers

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Change happensdeal with it! by Barry Goldberg

One of the things that holds back many

people is their resistance to change. To

succeed in the business world, you need to

first recognize that change is happening,

and then quickly adapt to the change.

While such a simple philosophy, there are

so many of us who are not very good at

handling change. I know because for way

too many years, I was one of those people.

Then one of my managers recommended

the book, Who Moved My Cheese, and

ever since, I have been a convert. I loved

the book so much that I immediately went

out and bought copies of the book for

every member of my team and made it

required reading for them followed up a

training session to discuss the book.

The premise of the book is about two mice

that go the same spot everyday in a maze

looking for their daily cheese. One day the

cheese is moved to another location. One

of the mice went looking for the cheese in

another location while the other mouse

stayed in the old location waiting for the

cheese to return. The mouse that went

looking for cheese in the new location

thrived as it found the cheese while the

other mouse did not fare so well.

Apply this to the business world. First,

you need to realize when change is

happening. This requires you to be aware

of your environment and read the signs.

Weve all seen signs of impending change

that we refuse to comprehend. The change

can be small or it can be life-changing.

Regardless it is best to be ahead of the

change and be proactive, rather than

simply reacting to the change. Second,

when change does happen, quickly figure

out what you need to do to adapt to it, and

then do it.

So if your cheese has been moved, be the

mouse that goes looking for new cheese.

Follow this simple philosophy throughout

your career and your personal life and you

will be all the better for it. Now go find

that cheese!

To read more, pick up a copy of the book

Who Moved My Cheese? It is a quick read

and well worth it.

Barry Goldberg is a senior digital operations expert who knows the advertising agency business inside

and out. Goldberg manages operations for agencies, both in ongoing or turn-

around situations, and has managed operations for companies such as

Agency.com, Euro RSCG Life 4D, and Tribal DDB. Read more about Goldberg and

his way of doing things at www.peopleprocessandprofit.com, or contact him at

[email protected].


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Practice ... Practice ... Practice By Aaron Cohen

[email protected] Greg Schiano is credited in a recent

issue of The Star Ledger with saying

that the greatest expanse in football is

between knowing and doing.

Years ago, at a bar mitzvah in an

orthodox synagogue, Rabbi Kanelsky

was exhorting the congregation to

observe every ritual aspect of Jewish

tradition, even ones that seemed

arcane to our modern Western

sensibilities. He complained that

many people without a traditional

background wanted to understand a

practice before deciding to engage in

it. First you do, and THEN you understand, he admonished.

I cannot say that his message fell

upon deaf ears, because I still

remember it, but I did not give it

serious consideration at the time.

But Aaron, what does this have to do with football? I hear you ask. Stick with me; well get back to that. Two more totally disjointed points, and

then well bring it all together.

Laura and I have been teaching the

principles of job search embodied in

Rod Colns Seven-Step Process, and beautifully documented in Winning

the Race for 21st Century Jobs.

Getting people to really embrace the

concept of being the CEO of ME, Inc.

requires regular reinforcement.

Getting them to view the Seven Steps

as an integrated process, not a menu

from which to pick and choose is even

harder. Some of the steps are just

plain hard work, and others are

especially hard for the shyer among

us. We emphasize the value of

working through the entire process,

and the fact that it gets easier the

more you do it.

Here is your last data point before my

brilliant conclusion. In his recent

book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

concludes that the difference between

world class and just very good is

10,000 hours of practice. The very

best only get that way because with

early identification of potential, they

have grasped the vision of what can

be, and dedicate their lives to

becoming ever better. This seems to

be true for as diverse activities as

hockey and playing the violin. Maybe

it is true that First you do, and then you understand.

My conclusion (here it comes) is that

there is a gulf between knowing what

to do and doing it (Schiano), and a

further gap between doing and

understanding why what we are doing

works (Kanelsky). The first gap

begins with learning and is closed by

good teaching and coaching. That

second gap is closed by repetitive

practice of the methodologies learned

(Gladwell) and learning from our

mistakes. Knowing Doing

Understanding represents a

continuum, and as we move through it

we progress from neophyte to master

in any endeavor we set our minds to

conquer.

Go to Lamplighter Articles

Go to Featured Writers

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Selling Your Product

By Jerrold (Jerry) Clifford

You are the best at what you do. You know it. Your friends know it. Your present or former

colleagues know it. The catch: the folks who read your resume dont know it. They have to be convinced.

Convincing people to buy something is called selling. Like it or not, when you are job

hunting you are selling and the product is the combination of your expertise and time.

Therefore it makes sense to follow established selling principles.

One of the basic principles of selling is to make the people you are talking to want your

product. Often, you first have to make them aware of your product and this is frequently

done by advertising or brochures. The objective of your product brochure (a.k.a. your

resume) is to get companies to want to meet you so you can convince them in person just how

great your product (you) really is and why they dont want to do without it. Your resume may be your only vehicle to persuade them that they really want to do this.

Resumes have been around for a very long time. Businesses have relied on them as an

important part of their employee search and hiring process and frequently even have people

who spend much of their working day reviewing them. However, the business climate has

changed. The economy, laws and competitive factors have made companies ever more

conscious that they cannot afford to hire the wrong individual. They look for the expertise

they want and if they cant find it quickly they usually wont spend time searching for it. This has resulted in an overall change in presenting resume content. If you are relying on

the same document (with a little update in job history) that you used to convince Noah that

you are the best expert in ark technology, you actually are missing the boat.

At one time, companies wanted to know up front whether you as a person would fit in their

environment. They were interested in things like marital status, children, whether you

owned a home, possibly even your age. Now there are laws intended to prevent company

bias in hiring. Even accounting for discrimination laws, companies still want to know if you

would be a good fit, but are willing to wait until they meet you to find out. Rather, the most

important thing they want to know is whether you can satisfy their objective in hiring you.

Your job is to create a resume that generates an answer of YES.

The first step in selling is to determine your prospective market that is, deciding which

companies you will be contacting. Look at job postings or target companies for whom you

would like to work. Research them to determine what they do how they do it and get a feel

for where you would fit in. If you have a job requirement, match the stated needs to your

experience.

Now that you know what the company (your customer) wants, you need to show them the

features of your product, that is, the skills and experience you have related to their specific needs. Brochures come in different designs and layouts. This is true with resumes as well.

Experiment with different styles until you find one for which you are comfortable. Whatever

the style make sure it includes the information the company is seeking. Stating what your

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product is all about (a brief description of your overall skills and experience) near the

beginning tells the reader whether he or she is looking at the right product. However, be

aware that sales brochures dont leave the most important product features until the end because a reader might not be patient enough to get that far; a resume shouldnt either. Jot down your skills and experience and rank them in priority order. Then include them in your

resume. By grabbing your customers attention early, you are engaging them to read further. Keep their interest and they will want to know more and determine if you are a fit to their

organization. In other words, you will be invited to make a personal sales calla.k.a. the interview.

Jerrold Jerry Clifford ([email protected])

Lamplighter Contributing Writer

Project & Program Manager

Published author of several technical and non-technical books on topics ranging from

computer math to car repair and carpentry.


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Welcome to WorryCatcher.org: an anonymous place to put your

troubles on the web . . . let them go and move on.

By Wanda Megaro

WHAT IS WorryCatcher.org: Similar to a DreamCatcher (an authentic American Indian

tradition from the Ojibway (Chippewa) tribe), WorryCatcher.org is a safe place to

anonymously put your worry, let it go and move on. The legend of a Dreamcatcher is the

placement of it above your bed allows the bad dreams to get caught in the web. The legend

of WorryCatcher.org, is that by posting your worry however big or small, on the website,

acknowledging the worst case scenario, brainstorming ideas to solve the problem, acting on

the solution, you will reduce your stress, minimize health issues and be free to live the fun

productive life you were born to live. You can share your story and ask for help from our

community or offer it as an inspiration to help others facing a similar challenge. We also

post links and tips to help you deal with worry.

How we can help you. Managing all of lifes hurdles is very taxing. There are countless

studies available to show the negative impact worry and stress can create long term in your

day to day life and health. The burden of carrying a worry can really weigh you down, most

times unnecessarily. I say unnecessarily because, although in lifes darkest time it doesnt

seem possible, in all situations you have a choice. The realization that you have a choice in

any situation creates power in your psyche and can create a breeding ground for creativity.

Creativity can create a mental ladder to get you out of a hole, put the monkey on your back

in its cage, and give you keys to drive over the road bump you are facing to arrive at the

great future you can create and can lie ahead. All of it starts with you making a decision.

Is it scary? I would be lying if I said no. Are you alone in this process? The choice is yours.

Will you make wrong decisions? Yes, and will make the right decisions as well. The power

is realizing that when you fall, get up, dust yourself off and get going. Learn from your

falls. Take time to reflect and think about what works and what doesnt. Choices are

powerful.

A long time ago, my father shared with me that fear is a fake expectation

accepted as real.

Worry drives similar feelings. Im not saying that what you fear is not a possibility, rather

saying that where we get into trouble is where we back ourselves into corner and believe

that what we fear is inevitable and is the only reality. Lets walk through an example.

David lost his job at the factory because the company went bankrupt. He became very

afraid that he would never find a job again. He was 55 and had worked at this job for most

of his adult life. He had two pre-teenage kids and knew the next few years were going to be

expensive. His wife was working, but really didnt make too much. He was the major

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breadwinner. He started to become more reclusive, not sleeping at night and not eating.

His wife tried to assure him that things would be alright. She was worried too. They had

always been conservative with their money and saved as much as they could. She saw the

card for WorryCatcher.org at the local supermarket and decided to check it out. As she was

reading posts of other readers, she realized that she too was worried that her husband

wouldnt find a job again and that the way he was carrying on, his health would start to be

affected quickly. One night while her husband was in the living room watching TV, she

pulled out a note pad and just started to write. As a kid she used to write in a diary and it

felt good to just tell someone how she was feeling. She filled 5 full pages and really couldnt

believe how powerful she felt at the end of that night. At first she just wrote about her

feelings as she cried and blew through half a box of tissues. She had been bottling all of

these emotions for 6 months. She acknowledged the worst case scenario would be if her

husband never worked again and asked herself... What could we do? Long story short,

Daves wife ended up developing a six- month plan for herself and her family. Go to our blog

and see what Sarah did. http://worrycatcherblog.worrycatcher.com/

Its all up to you. You have Power, you have options. Check out the website and make your

own success story: http://www.worrycatcher.org/

Help us to help you let go of your worries and live great lives.

If you would like to make an offering to offset the cost of management of the website, feel

free, there is a PayPal link, or you can simply pay it forward and tell a friend to post.

Good Luck. Post your worries let them go, start planning and start really living

empowered!!!

Wanda Megaro is President of Go To Consulting, LLC, a consulting firm in Northern NJ helping businesses save

money and work efficiently.

[email protected] 201-527-7138


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Come And Join Rod Colon . . .

Toastmasters Give Voice to Your Potential

The Proven Way to Become a Better Speaker www.toastmasters.org (International site)

toastmasters83.org (local District site) Rod Colon (Career Coach, Master Networker, Professional Speaker &

Author) has joined the Toastmaster Lakewood, NJ team that meets every

2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:30 PM in the Lakewood Municipal

building. Rod is extending an invitation to all ETP members to join him in

this worthwhile endeavor and ideal training program for the CEO of ME,

Inc.

Whats in it for you? Toastmasters will give you the skills and confidence you need to effectively express yourself in any situation.

Whether you are a professional, student, stay-at-home parent or retiree, Toastmasters is the most efficient,

enjoyable and affordable way of gaining great communication skills. By learning to effectively formulate and

express your ideas, you open an entirely new world of possibilities. Youll be more persuasive and confident when giving presentations and youll improve your one-on-one dealings with others

How does it work?

Dont worry! Everyone in a Toastmasters meeting was once at the level you are now. The environment is friendly and supportive, and the self-paced program allows you to build confidence with each speaking

assignment. And youll love the applause! Constructive evaluation is the heart of the Toastmasters program. Each time you give a prepared speech; an evaluator will point out strengths and suggest improvements. At

first youll be applauded for your effort; later youll be applauded for your skill. Experience a session as a guest - free come and join Rod.

Rod Coln

www.ETPnetwork.com

[email protected]


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The Alchemist is never at a loss for words. In fact, he has incorporated this issue's Crossword into

his Arcanum. There's not much difference between the communal insect worlds or ants and bees

and the connected social networking world. The article below (The Buzz on Networking) attempts

to show one common trait used by bees and networkers.

After puzzling over the analogies comes the real puzzle, this issue's crossword. Thanks for reading

this far and, like Douglas MacArthur, we shall return.

Crossword Puzzle December 2010, January 2011 Crossword Puzzle Answers (After the puzzle, please)

The Buzz on Networking Writing is thinking on paper


Lamplighter Survey

Help us and we can help you

Something you will not hear from the Lamplighter Staff:

Hi. My name is ROBO CALL and I'd like your responses and suggestions

regarding our newsletter, Lamplighter. I know I've called why you and your

family are sitting down to Christmas dinner, but this survey will take less than

an hour if you answer the survey questions.

Instead of an anonymous call coming at an inopportune time, we have this link

to our 4-question survey: Lamplighter Survey. Nothing bad will befall you if you do not take the

survey, but we can guarantee if you do, there is a good chance that something will happen.

So take a moment away from web surfing and job searching and take our Lamplighter Survey buy

clicking on this link: Start the Lamplighter Survey.

Thanks from the staff.


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The Buzz on Networking by Eric Nilsson

Social Network Sites: A Definition We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-

public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection,

and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature

and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.

While we use the term "social network site" to describe this phenomenon, the term "social networking sites"

also appears in public discourse, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. We chose not to employ

the term "networking" for two reasons: emphasis and scope. "Networking" emphasizes relationship initiation,

often between strangers. While networking is possible on these sites, it is not the primary practice on many of

them, nor is it what differentiates them from other forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC).

What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that

they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks. This can result in connections between

individuals that would not otherwise be made, but that is often not the goal, and these meetings are

frequently between "latent ties" (Haythornthwaite, 2005) who share some offline connection. On many of the

large SNSs, participants are not necessarily "networking" or looking to meet new people; instead, they are

primarily communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. To emphasize

this articulated social network as a critical organizing feature of these sites, we label them "social network

sites." 1

Most people join networking groups to learn about the workforce, either actively seeking employment

through the networking groups or sites or to gain information about current technologies or skills.

There is a problem, however, with this some people may become disgruntled because of a lack of success in gaining employment. Perhaps each group should make its members aware that, while job

seeking and its skills are important, equally important are the career-building and interpersonal skills

the groups offer and impart.

A social network group (or site) is analogous to a hive of bees. Just as bees collect pollen and nectar for

the benefit of the colony, so do a networking group's members offer experiences for the benefit of the

group. The benefits derived from the group's members can be information about available jobs, how to

get and keep a job, or how to communicate with others.

Basically, then a social networking group is neither greater nor worse than the old Hyde Park soapbox;

its strengths lie in its ability to teach members and disseminate information, even to the point of

entertaining those members. Its main weakness lies in the inability to satisfy the needs of all its

members.

If you join a social network such as LinkedIn, FaceBook, MySpace,or any of the many Yahoo groups,

consider bees. An individual bee plays small part to the hive, yet the bee derives many benefits from

the help of others. That's the buzz for this issue.

Go to Alchemist's Arcanum

1 boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-

Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

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Writing is thinking on paper. By Eric Nilsson

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make

it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? Politics and the English Language, 1946

George Orwell

Read more: http://practicalanalyst.com/2010/03/09/quoteworthy-george-orwell-on-scrupulous-writing/#ixzz14ky3Q8MR

This article's title is a quote from William Zinsser and cautions the reader to think before writing

and, by extension, speaking. George Orwell's quote defines the essence of proper writing. The four

simple statements require thought, about the reader and the writer. While these two authors wrote on actual paper, today's writers write on the foolscap generated by a computer virtual

paper.

There are two parts to this article, both involving thinking for yourself, not letting someone or

something think for you.

The first comes from the November 12 2010 print edition of the Star-Ledger (newspaper of

Newark, NJ), the following appeared on page 2 of the printed edition and at this online link:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/nj_school_officials_review_div.html

After parents complained, the teacher apologized to the class and lead a lesson on the use of the n-

word.

In the passage, the verb "lead" is in the present tense, yet the sentence context is in the past tense.

From a source, there are a number of possibilities (people who work on newspapers are human and

sometimes make mistakes), but one strikes me as a probable culprit: Spell-check. As a verb, "lead"

has two tenses with different spellings and sounds: (Present) LEAD, sounds like "LEED"; (Past)

LED, sounds like "LED". In the English language. there is a metal (symbol Pb) named Lead ,

sounding like "LED". This error probably started as a typo, but was compounded by the software

and editing selection within that software.

In other words, read what you write before you send it, especially to people with whom you are

unfamiliar. These include potential employers, hiring agents, and othe rtypes of business people.

Because the internet is basically an anonymous form of projecting speech, people say some things

that normally wouldn't be said in polite society. The second part of this article addresses how to

"speak" in response to requests for comments.

Below is Dr. Paul Krugman's very brief entry regarding language used by respondents to his New

York Times blog. As Dr. Krugman mentions in the first sentence, some of the language used is

normal in day-to-day conversations; I would also add that it is prevalent among many forms of

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electronic communication, such as television and radio. As Dr. Krugman also mentions, this is

unacceptable in a public forum.

November 3, 2010, 10:00 pm

Keep It Clean

Im noticing a rising number of comments containing obscenities usually no more than most of us use in

conversation, but this isnt ordinary conversation, its the !@#% New York Times, and there are rules. Your

perfectly reasonable comment will get deleted if it uses indecorous language.

So keep it clean, for your own sake (and that of the moderators).

Source: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/keep-it-clean/

This is not an accusation of anyone's use of these forums, but using obscenities and poor grammar

shows sloppiness in writing. This is also true of grammar errors and a multitude of typographical

errors, such as all-capitals, all-lower-case letters, or a large amount of misspellings.

In other words, treat your correspondents (either singly or in a group) as you would a person to

whom you have applied for a job. Your use of language is a clue to the hiring agent the sort of

employee you might be. This is not to say that everyone should study speech patterns used by 16th

Century English writers, but it is to say that language used quite often in responses to various

emailing would appall grade-school teachers.

One more item regarding responses to emails through groups. Many job offers are posted and,

depending on where the email is received (such as the web server for Yahoo), simply hitting "reply"

with a statement about your work capabilities sends the email either to the person who forwarded

the email or, in some cases, to the group at large. Most, but not all, emails offering job leads have

instructions on how to reply to the job lead, including a link to the originator, the hiring agent or

recruiter. Please take a moment to review the entire email before applying for the position.

To recap:

Check your grammar and spelling; don't rely on the PC but, instead, use your internal

computer

Ensure your writing is free of obscenities (use a thesaurus to find the "cleaner" word)

Read job offers carefully and follow the instructions therein


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How to Get People to Ignore Your Emails

Posted by Carl E. Reid Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Email communication can be a frustrating experience by our own doing. NetM@nners explains

why. "We live in a me, me, me busy, busy, busy world. Our society is really self-centered . . . One

thing is clear, you shouldnt expect others to behave as you think they should they are not you".

Our immediate gratification based society dictates our expectation that every person we send an

email should respond as soon as s/he finishes reading it. Good luck with that thought.

If we work on understanding what motivates people, responses to emails may be faster. So lets

take a quick trip down the opposite lane on what encourages people to not be in a hurry to open

and actually read emails received.

Establishing these bad habits is a sure fire way to make people ignore or miss emails you

send them.

Not having a compelling statement in the "Subject" that makes someone want to open

your email. Hi, hello and hey says nothing to the reader and may even trigger spam

filtering, causing your email never to be read. Forbes writer, Kern Lewis's article How To

Write A Compelling E-Mail Subject Line covers how to create a sense of urgency. Also

check out 5 Tips for Writing Subject Lines that Will Get Your Emails Opened from

Constant Contact.

Not changing the "Subject" line when the email topic changes. People can easily think

they already read your email, because it has the same topic as a previous email you sent or

they sent. Now your new topic gets deleted, without being read. Bye bye to that totally

awesome idea you had.

Using email to initiate a series of back and forth conversation volleys, when a

single phone call is more expeditious.

Introducing new topics in the email "Body", which are unrelated to the topic in the

"Subject".

Using email as a word processor for lengthy sharing of information. Keep emails short

and to the point.

Bad timing on business email sends. Since business people constantly receive email,

Saturday or Sunday may not be the best time to send emails. By Monday, your email could

be pushed so far down and out of sight by the 50-100 emails delivered after your email.

Just because you send an email during the weekend does not mean other people read

emails during the weekend. Everyone has different work habits. Send email when you

know there is a good chance a person is in their office AND cleared out their "Inbox".

Not paying attention to geographic time zones. Consider your reader's local time

zone, when timing an email send. Your email sent at 9AM might be 9PM to your email

reader. Better to write an email in draft mode. Then send the email during your reader's

local business hours.

Sending email to people in different cultural work environments. Again, consider

timing email sends mentioned above. In many Spanish speaking countries, work stops at

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2PM and resumes at 4PM. In Europe, weekends are definitely considered mini holidays.

Relaxing and spending time with family is a priority on weekends, especially in France.

Disregarding country holidays. Keep a world holiday calendar handy. Time email

sends accordingly, to increase the chances of your email being opened and read.

Source URL: http://itechspeak.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-get-people-to-ignore-your-emails.html


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Crossword Puzzle December 2010, January 2011

Across

2 Trimmings for Typewriters and Presents (6)

6 Keeps people going (10)

9 Something for the top; also used at night (3)

11 Pull back or part of a bridle (4)

13 Animals that come from the sky at Christmas

(8)

14 Food for Fishes (8)

17 What a COBOL programmer is now (8)

19 By the way (3)

21 A method for checking fowls (6)

23 Hign or poor (11)

26 Navy weekend (7)

29 Change shape (9)

30 Found in the skies and Hollywood (5)

31 Christmas relative of Brynner (8)

32 Requirements (5)

33 Terence Stamp played him (6)

34 Likes but doesn't need (7)

Down

1 We have more than Russia (4)

3 What happens when something is needed

now (9)

4 A Type of Spelling (4)

5 An account that costs a company (7)

6 The sides of a page or a type of call (6)

7 This grows in Brooklyn (and elsewhere) (4)

8 How to fill a whole (11)

10 Rocky's Road (12)

12 Coke and Pepsi are two (6)

15 Where "talent" is found (6)

16 What is sought or another name for Steven (4)

18 Hard bread or biscuit (8)

20 Sometime flaky, sometimes very heavy (8)

22 Lots of laughs (3)

24 How people and items are presented (9)

25 Small, chump, or part of hope (6)

27 Make better (7)

28 Hangs on (9)

29 One of four words on a $1 bill (5)


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L Do you know...?

How you can Optimize your LinkedIn Profile in 5 Minutes (InternsOver40)

This issues Tech Tip is submitted by Eric Nilsson.

Thanks again, Eric! It is a definite reference for those new etp members and for a quick LinkedIn

Refresher! From Ann Bergquist http://www.linkedin.com/in/annbergquist

5 minutes to Optimize your Linkedin Profile:Feel'n Like A Needle in a Haystack:

LinkedIn continues to gain momentum as a resource utilized by both internal and external

recruiters to find well qualified candidates. A quality LinkedIn profile is quickly becoming an

essential element of a complete career marketing package.

Like a resume, a LinkedIn profile serves as a summary of your work history. Both your resume and

your LinkedIn profile need to be well-organized, well thought out, and well written.

Although a resume will typically go into greater detail of accomplishments, a LinkedIn profile needs

to offer enough facts to drive further action by recruiters.

As every job seeker is hopefully aware, when resumes are submitted to corporations or job boards,

they are then filtered by Applicant Tracking Software.(ATS) The software looks for key words to decide which of the thousands of resumes being reviewed, deserves a personal review by the

recruiting or hiring manager. There are great resources on the Internet to help job seekers identify

for inclusion, commonly searched key words utilized by ATS systems. These resources will be make

specific keyword suggestions based on the position a job seeker is targeting. However, in the end,

once the resume is submitted, it is a bit of a black box in terms of how your resume is actually parsed. So although, you may attempt to include all the right keywords to go to the top of the pile, a

candidate is never really sure how a particular ATS system will treat their resume.

Conversely, LinkedIn profiles are not a black box. A simple audit will allow you to see which queries

bring your profile to the first few pages of a search. Try it.

Go to the peoples tab and hit advanced search. Now enter a keyword or keywords associated with your targeted position. Ex: customer

service manager

Now enter a geography zip code and a distance quotient. 50 miles is a reasonable choice. Then select an industry or multiple industries that apply to you. Understand the broader you

make your search the lower your ranking will be.

Now hit search. Can you find yourself in the first few pages of the LinkedIn results?

Now look at the top few names that have appeared and open their profiles. By looking at the

highlighted words, you will see the criteria that LinkedIn used to filter the search. As of today,

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LinkedIn appears to scan only four categories: Professional Headline, Titles, Specialties, and

Industries. LinkedIn scans these categories for frequency of the keywords selected. In our example:

customer service manager.

So what do you do with this information? The simple answer is optimize these four LinkedIn

categories with the keywords that you believe a recruiter would most likely use when looking to fill

the employment position you are targeting. If you invest an hour to insert the keywords to make sure

you show up in the first few pages of a LinkedIn search for the position, geography and industry you

are targeting, you will increase your chances of being found.

Now remember, a quality job search strategy encompasses both pull and push marketing.

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile is only one important component of a pull marketing job search

strategy. Never forget as a job seeker, you should focus the majority of your time and effort on a

push marketing campaign focused on targeted job search networking.

Guest Contributor: Ian Levine | Career Brander | For More Information on Career Brander

Email Barbara at: [email protected]


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Meet the Lamplighters

Volunteer Lamplighter Staff

Adelaida (Aida) Rodriguez is the Editor-in-Chief and

Contributing Writer of the Lamplighter Newsletter. She is a

Project Manager Professional (PMP), Business Analyst/

Consultant at the Warranty Recovery Specialist, LLC

[email protected]

732-225-0255

Eric Nilsson is the Design Layout Expert and Contributing Writer for Lamplighter. Eric enjoys the art and science of

newspaper layout. Aside from being an arms-length economist,

he has been an IT consultant at the Professional Service Group

of New Brunswick and previously worked for North Jersey Media

Group (The Record) as a Project Manager and

Programmer/Analyst. Email: [email protected]

Barbara Daisak is the Lamplighter Proofreader &

Contributing Writer and the Lamplighter Proofreader, a

Learning, Training, & Development Specialist and

Microsoft Certified Master Instructor.

Barb is also an Instructor Adjunct with the County

Colleges of New Jersey with specialties in the Technology

Training Divisions and Corporate Training Programs.

Phone Numbers:732.863.4948 732.616.2397-mobile

Email Barbara at: [email protected]


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Crossword Puzzle Answers

Across:

2 RIBBON

6 MOTIVATION

9 CAP

11 REIN

13 REINDEER

14 PLANKTON

17 DINOSAUR

19 BTW

21 CANDLE

23 PERFORMANCE

26 LIBERTY

29 TRANSFORM

30 STARS

31 YULETIDE

32 NEEDS

33 NOBODY

34 DESIRES.

Down:

1 CZAR

3 BACKORDER

4 TORI

5 PAYROLL

6 MARGIN

7 TREE

8 INCORPORATE

10 PRIZEFIGHTER

12 BRANDS

15 AGENCY

16 JOBS

18 ZWIEBACK

20 SNOWFALL

22 LOL

24 MARKETING

25 CHANGE

27 IMPROVE

28 TENACIOUS

29 TRUST


Lamplighter Vol 2 Issue 6 Dec 2010 - Jan 2011

Documents

Transcript of Lamplighter Vol 2 Issue 6 Dec 2010 - Jan 2011