by: Tina Kashlak Nicolai

Boost Your Career Happiness. For 30+ years, I’ve been interviewing talent for various roles in a wide range of industries.  I’ve reviewed 50K+ resumes as a recruiter for domestic and global companies as well as crafting resumes for clients. I’ve seen and heard it all. *(This I love!)

Whether you’re an executive, sr. manager, or recent college graduate, executing positive behavioral patterns can turn your sinking ship around.

Habits, priorities, and investing are the three areas that separate those who are happy and those who are in a chronic state of dreading Sunday nights and living for Friday mornings. 

This weekly cycle of never-ending despair leaves most people exhausted, unhappy, miserable, and, worst of all, pointing fingers at everyone except themselves.  

“Discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons” Jim Rohn

I LOVE this quote so much that I have it taped to my computer monitor. I read it every day as I pluck away on my keyboard, answering emails, fan mail, writing blogs, crafting resumes, or writing my book. I read this quote when I’m too tired to work out. It works!

#1 Habits – Boost Your Career Happiness.

My resume clients benefit from creating foundational habits when working together, depending on where they have a deficiency. Most people come to me trapped, frustrated, and frankly, mixed-up. Most clients do not have action-oriented and metric-driven results.  

Solution: Track your achievements weekly in a systematic approach that showcases an obstacle you overcame, a contribution toward an innovative idea, a metric achieved, or a competency exercised.

My 52-week tracking system works and has helped hundreds of clients build important marketing documents to land jobs aligning with their organic strengths.  

By creating a weekly habit of tracking achievements, you make a strong future for yourself where you choose your next role.

I provide my clients with the tools to make this easy, fun, and rewarding! 

#2 Priorities – Boost Your Career Happiness.

Time is one of the most common complaints I hear from clients. “I just don’t have time.”  

If you have time to sit in a Starbucks line 8-cars deep, you have time to jot down notes on your iPhone. 

If you have time to sit in a car lane dropping off or picking up your kids, you have time to think about what you did well during the week. 

Every time you pick up your phone to check social media or answer an IM, challenge yourself to dedicate one 1-minute to yourself and jot down your achievement.   

#3 Investing – Boost Your Career Happiness.

Potential Client: “I can’t afford a resume.”  

 Me: “You can’t afford to have your current resume.”

Investing in your marketing tools is critical to landing the correct position for yourself, making a career change, getting out of a bad job, leaving a toxic boss, and showing up on paper reflecting what you offer that is of value to your future employer.

Successful people know that they are their means to fulfilling work and a solid future. They budget accordingly, live below their means, and pay themselves first. They are willing to pay to have a seamless brand across their professional social media platforms and align with who they are when they show up on paper. They understand that their skills, talent, attire, brand, and marketing documents are aligned. They are polished from head to toe and reflect this consistency on the internet and paper. This group will always understand the importance of investing in oneself.

For those who say, “I can’t afford a resume,” the pattern of behavior is often reflected in excessive spending and collecting high-end shoes/sneakers, drinking 4-5 times a week, driving leased cars, and keeping up with the Jones’.   

Dave Ramsey said it best in a recent Instagram post, “How to waste $5,000 a year by spending $13.70 per day on things you don’t need.”

When it comes to investing in yourself and your future, you are #1. Your car, home, closet of $300 per pair of unworn shoes, and a daily dose of liquid happiness–coffee, drink, or Panera ($13.70 / per day) will not get you your next job.

If you want to learn more about getting yourself on track, flipping your switch, and living to LOVE Sunday nights, follow my posts on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Let me help you turn your career around one achievement at-a-time on your resume. tnicolai@me.com Read more blogs.