Hey Gang! First off, don’t miss this Friday’s Mastermind. We’ll be doing a live group coaching session, so bring your biggest challenge, and we’ll work through it together. Also, the time is different this week: • 1:30 PST • 2:30 MST • 3:30 CST • 4:30 EST Mark your calendars. Second, here’s a really great article on How to Get Hired in an Imperfect System: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-get-hired-imperfect-system-andrew-seaman-b6bse/ A few things really stood out to me: Communication is HUGE. You have to communicate your skills, results, and value clearly: • On your resume• On your LinkedIn profile• In interviews• While networking (Seems obvious… but most people still aren’t doing it effectively.) One thing I especially loved from the article was the idea of building a portfolio directly on LinkedIn using PDFs, presentations, articles, case studies, project examples, etc. That’s powerful. Because the truth is… Most people tell recruiters or hiring managers they’re good. Very few actually show them. And interviews? Let’s be honest… A lot of interviewers are not trained interviewers. Which means sometimes you need to take more control of the conversation and lead the interview instead of just reacting to questions. And this quote at the end really hit: “It’s not just who you know — it’s what they know about you.” That’s networking in a nutshell. Not random connection requests. Not “spray and pray” applications. Clear communication of who you are, the value you bring, and what you’re great at. That’s where things start to shift. See you Friday! PS - In case you missed it, Tavis wrote a great post on how he went from feeling anxious and stuck in his networking efforts to empowered and excited. A 180 degree shift that is landing him great results. I think you'll find it insightful and inspiring. Here's the direct link: https://www.skool.com/thriving-professionals-network/anxious-feeling-stuck?p=408579ee

I found myself worrying and looping on all the bad stuff going on in the world this morning. Sound familiar? I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this struggle. Then, serendipitously, this came across my feed from the sports and performance coach Dr. Michael Gervais: Do a daily “signal vs noise” check. - When something stresses you out, pause and ask: Is this signal (within my control) or noise (outside my control)? - If it’s noise, release it. Don’t feed it more attention.  - If it’s signal, commit to taking one small action within your control—shift your attitude, give your best effort, or refocus your thoughts.  This practice doesn’t just calm the noise—it amplifies your ability to perform where it counts. The mental doomscrolling I was doing was just noise, and a great reminder to let it go and shift. Shift and refocus on what is within my control. What we feed with our attention grows. I wrote this short post to help you calm the noise, shift your attitude, give your best effort, or refocus your thoughts. Because careers and leadership can be full of noise, but if you look closer, you can find the signals that will steer you towards a more peaceful and impactful life. :) Rooting for you, Kris PS. In case you missed it, the recording of last week's Friday Mastermind on the "Tell me about yourself" Framework is available HERE

The votes are in, and it's a win for the "tell me about yourself" question. As a reminder, we'll be starting at 11 AM MST (that's 10 PST, 12 CST, and 1 EST). Here's the direct link to join: https://www.skool.com/live/n9WHzc6l7NG To get the most out of today's mastermind, make sure to read the post "Qualified Isn’t Enough: How to Tell Your Story and Build a Career Brand That Opens Doors" See you soon!

As I pass the year mark on my journey for a new adventure I feel like I should share some insights I’ve gained. The start: Exciting, hard work, deep thinking, and exploratory. All of this and off we went to find opportunities. Applying and restructuring and applying more, wash rinse repeat. Hear nothing and hurry up and wait again. Networking: I hated this idea being a private person, so we started. I was horrible at this and needed insight. I realized I had turned a part of myself off after leaving the sales industry and I had to find that part of me again. Unfortunately, it took me until October and November to become frustrated enough to start believing in this approach. 6 month mark: Questioning my decision, process, value. I was not motivated, my patience was gone and I forgot why I was looking to make a change. I had to find rejuvenation. I started by looking at my networking and how many relationships were meaningful. I refocused my efforts into people that I found like mindedness, posts that aligned with my passions, and work that reminded me of what I want in my next step. I started to give more during interactions versus thinking about what I could gain or what may come. I’m human and it’s easy when feeling anxiety and pressure to put yourself first, a direct opposite of what I enjoy doing. When I started to approach all my new connections through curiosity and how can I best support them my network changed into my people, my group. I found motivation in connecting with those who understand that bumps in the road make us aware, stronger, and are just a learning opportunity. I started to find myself again and all of a sudden I started noticing I was missing opportunities to be thankful. When I realized I had been presented positions that didn’t quite align I would pass, but more importantly I was not recognizing that this was still a chance that was presented; be thankful. Instead of why didn’t this happen I had to recognize the positive of the opportunity to say “No.” Just getting that was an achievement in itself.

Right now, we’ve got a dead tie between two topics: - How to use AI in your job search - How to frame the “Tell me about yourself” question So if you haven’t voted yet, we need a tiebreaker. And on that second topic… I already shared a full resource in the community on how to answer “Tell me about yourself” in a way that actually helps people understand your value, not just your job history. It includes a step-by-step guide and worksheet you can use here:https://www.skool.com/thriving-professionals-network/qualified-isnt-enough-how-to-tell-your-story-and-build-a-career-brand-that-opens-doors?p=d5d51072 The last Friday Mastermind was full of great insights and real learning, and I expect this one to be the same. Cast your vote, show up, and bring your questions. Looking forward to seeing you there. -Kris