6 things every professional needs

Be ready to seize opportunities

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that there are some things every professional needs,
even those who aren't job seeking right now, and even

(00:24):
those who aren't currently working for pay. I imagine a
lot of Before Breakfast listeners already think of themselves as professionals,
but some may not. However, to my mind, even if
you are not currently working for pay, being a professional
is an identity that is not fully dependent on any
specific job. It's about your knowledge, skills, mindset and relationships.

(00:50):
As part of that identity, there are some things every
professional needs so they are able to quickly seize opportunities
that arise. For starters, you need number one a recent
headshot and number two a current bio. If you are
presenting at a conference, joining a nonprofit board, or even

(01:11):
speaking at career day at your kids middle school, you
may be asked to provide a photo and a bio,
so you want to be able to provide ones you
feel good about at a moment's notice. Make sure these
items are polished and convey the image you are aiming for. Also,
be sure that they are reasonably up to date. If

(01:32):
you wear glasses and have blonde hair, now you should
be wearing glasses and have blonde hair in your headshot.
If you have three kids in college, your bio shouldn't
say that you have elementary school aged kids. Number three.
You also need a current resume or CV. Even if
you are not looking for a job, you might hear

(01:54):
about an amazing opportunity and decide to apply for a
job unexpectedly. You may be asked to provide a resume
if you're up for promotion at work, or if you're
being considered for a major volunteer role in a nonprofit
or professional association. Some people find it helpful to have
a recurring quarterly task of updating their resume. It is

(02:17):
much easier to add any accomplishments from the last three
months than to reconstruct the last five years of your life.
Remember that your resume isn't just for professional positions. You
can also include volunteer work and learning experiences like licensures
or certificates you have pursued. Even if you are not

(02:40):
currently working for pay, you probably have recent skills or
accomplishments to add. Number four. People need to be able
to reach you For many people, a LinkedIn profile provides this.
LinkedIn lets people learn a bit more about you. Your
profile also lets people find you if they're looking for

(03:00):
someone with your skills and experiences. In the past, professionals
tended to have business cards. I don't think this is
especially essential now, but on the other hand, they don't
do any harm. You may have business cards from your workplace,
or you can also have some made up referring to
your freelance or consulting work. Instead of a title and company,

(03:21):
just say what services you provide, for instance, graphic design,
website development, social media management. You could also just have
your name and contact information on your business cards. In
any case, with LinkedIn, it's good to get in the
habit of updating your profile fairly regularly. Otherwise a sudden
major revamp is a tip off to everyone you are

(03:44):
connected to that you are hunting for a new job now.
Sometimes you want people to know that, other times you don't,
so be sure this is more of a regular thing.
You also need to look professional, so to that end.
Number five a business casual outfit and number six a

(04:04):
dressy business outfit. You want clothes that you feel confident
in and can move in and that convey the image
you are going for. If you get a last minute
invitation to give a talk, you want to be able
to spend time planning your talk, not figuring out what
you're going to wear. If you find out about a

(04:25):
networking event happening tomorrow, you want to feel great about
how you look without having to spend all evening shopping
for the perfect outfit. So to recap, you need number
one a headshot, Number two a bio, number three a
current resume or CV number four a way people can

(04:47):
find you, so that means a LinkedIn profile and possibly
business cards. Number five a business casual outfit, and number
six a dressy business outfit you feel good in. If
you don't have all this things, you could set a
goal of adding one per month. If you do six
months from now, you may find yourself feeling more confident

(05:09):
in your identity as a professional and more hopeful for
your future. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

(05:30):
for listening to before breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
Vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

(05:52):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.