IM Unemployed- Advice

Check… Check…Check. You’re ready for the interview.

Administrator — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:41:11 +0000

Finally it happened. The results all unemployed people long for. A recruiter answered what seemed like your 100^th resume. You passed the phone screen with flying colors and they have invited you in for an interview. You may be thinking it’s time to go out and celebrate. Your charm and charisma almost guarantee the job is yours. Getting in the door was the hard part. This could be the end to your unemployment. Your job search is over.

Not so fast…

You are correct that getting in the door was the hard part. Your resume obviously worked. Now it’s time for you to take over and finish the job but you need to be prepared. The more prepared you are for the interview the better chance you have of landing the job and ending your unemployment. The goal of every unemployed person is to turn an interview into a discussion instead of a Q&A session. The more you understand about the company, the industry and the competition, the more equipped you are to discuss relevant topics with the interviewer. Do you want to be back on the job search next week? If not, you need to prepare.

Let’s start easy…

1) Have your resumes ready to go. You should be tailoring your resume for each company so make sure it’s the right version. Bring 10 copies just in case.

2) Make sure you know the interview location. Don’t get lost and don’t be late. You may even want to drive to the location a few days prior to the interview. Drive around the interview time to make sure you are familiar with the traffic at that time of the day.

Now we’re getting warmed up…

3) Review your interview answers. You know a lot of the standard interview questions. You don’t want to memorize answers but you should be prepared by reviewing your answers prior to the interview.

You can get a resource to help you study answers. Here is one sample e-book series which can help.
I’m Unemployed also have a list of interview questions and answers. It’s a rough draft and work in progress so please give us your feedback.

4) Closely analyze the job requirements and how you meet it.

Write down each job requirement and an example of how you meet that requirement. List specifics which demonstrate your excellence in this area.
Brainstorm additional interview questions based on the job requirements.

These will take a little time (luckily since you are unemployed you have the time)…

5) Study the company. You would be shocked at how many candidates show up at an interview with only a superficial understanding of the company. When that happens they leave the interview as unemployed as when they arrive.

Thoroughly go through the company’s website.
Read the press releases.
Read their most recent annual report.

6) Learn about how the company operates. You want to gain an understanding of the company culture. This can give you a leg up when compared to other candidates who are surprised in the interview.

A membership at Vault.com can be very useful for learning about how a company works. With a membership you can get insider information on thousands of companies. What it’s like to work for those companies, salary information, and what type of people they are looking for.
Search LinkedIn for people who are current or former employees of the company. If they are in your direct or extended network you might be able to garner some useful information.

7) Identify industry trends and competitors. You should understand any trends occurring within the company’s industry. Is the industry growing or shrinking? Do they have a lot of competition? Is the competition aggressively marketing and selling?

Identify industry specific websites or trade journals. These industry journals typically contain articles, advertisements, and marketing which can be every insightful.
Use your favorite search engine to look for products of the competition. The competitors should be immediately visible. Study their offers and marketing messages.
Take time to review the competitors’ websites. How do their products and service offerings compare to the company you are targeting?

8) Study the interview team. If you are given an interview schedule you will have the names of the interview team. This is a great advantage because you will be able to research the team members. How long have they been with the company? Have they spent their entire careers in this industry?

Research them on LinkedIn. Look at their profile, their former jobs, their career progression.
Do a general web search on them. Can you find a personal blog or website? A twitter profile? What does that tell you about them?

9) Write down a set of questions you have for the company. They will ask you if you have questions and you don’t want to draw a blank. At this point all of your research should reveal countless questions.

Did I miss something? Can you add something to the list?

Networking for Introverts

Administrator — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Michael Jordan, Queen Elizabeth II, Warren Buffet, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Steven Spielberg, Mother Teresa, and Mohandas Gandhi all have something in common and it's not just fame. Along with 30% of the population and 60% of gifted people, they're all introverts. Are you?

The terms "extravert and introvert" were originally conceived by the psychologist, Carl Jung, but have been largely misunderstood to mean the simple difference between loud and shy. Rather, extroverts derive energy from the outside world while introverts have enormously rich interior lives. Introverts are abstract and intense. They have a public and private self whereas extraverts have one face for all. This doesn't mean introverts lack confidence or despise people. What it does mean is that social activities can cause anxiety for introverts. Bottom line, networking can seem like an introvert's worst nightmare.

Many job seekers view networking as a frenzied process involving hundreds of phone calls, trolling for job leads. Networking isn't about asking favors or begging for a job—or misrepresenting yourself by saying that you're "not looking for a job." Of course you're looking for a job—it's just that you don't expect your contacts to know of (or have) any open positions at that time.

Networking is about building and maintaining relationships. It's an evolving process,and you don't have to be extroverted to be good at it. Whether you're aware of it or not, you're developing relationships all the time. When you seek information or ask for an opinion, it's technically networking. When you ask for a recommendation or information on a vacation destination or anything else—you're actually networking.

It's a major misconception that an extroverted personality is a prerequisite for success. Shyness and discomfort are sentiments germane to most job-seekers and career-builders. Extroverts and Introverts experience these same feelings, but handle them differently. Rest assured that Steven Spielberg didn't get promoted from un-credited Assistant Editor to one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. He had to get noticed. Getting noticed and getting remembered requires networking. There are aggressive and there are subtle networking techniques. It's best to let your personality determine your style.

Understand Your Personal Style

Successful networking doesn't require a personality makeover. Being a perceptive listener is both an introverted quality AND an essential relationship building quality. Case in point: Some introverts are very successful in sales because they are superb listeners; they have an ability to understand needs and develop relationships with customer, rather than trying to sell them a product or service. In fact, understanding your personality and communication style will improve your approach toward career conversations with people in your network

Networking Backdoors

Don't Cold Call!

Introducing yourself with a letter and mentioning the person who referred you will create an immediate connection. Your letter's already broken the ice when you call and say: "I'm following up on the letter I wrote to you last week;" then proceed from there. Make your calls when you feel upbeat. Perhaps, plan on making these phone calls after exercise.

Play-Write!

Write a script and highlight key words to prepare for a networking phone call. Practice with a tape recorder, but don't memorize each word. You want to have a conversational tone. You do not want to have an unemployed desperation tone.

Action Speaks Louder Than Words!

Volunteer your time and skills at professional, recreational, community or other organizations. This will help you gain visibility while fostering new relationships more naturally and comfortably for your personality style.

Get Published!

Draw on your expertise and write articles for your association's newsletter or other publications in your field. This will help you to establish name recognition that can lead to new relationships—and possibly end your unemployment.

Cheers to Networking!

Join a Toastmasters group. This organization offers a non-intimidating avenue to meet and interact with others while enhancing your presentation/communication skills. Bring a buddy if you're anxious. Or consider practicing career conversations with trusted people that you know rather than strangers. This may not only help keep your jitters in check, but can also teach you to be socially adaptable.

Online Net-works!

Join an online discussion group. There are special-interest groups, news groups, chat rooms, web-based networks, forums and electronic mail lists on virtually every topic you can imagine. A few of the websites you can check out include: liszt.com, LinkedIn.com, deja.com/usenet, corporatealumni.com, industryinsight.com and sixdegrees.com. While joining an online discussion group is a great way to supplement your networking effort, remember that there's no substitute for good old fashioned face-to-face exchanges.

Most of all, remember that you are not alone in your discomfort--no one enjoys unemployment and having to contact people. To help, think of networking as a series of one-to-one career development conversations--conversations familiar to other people who have lost their position or have searched for a new one voluntarily. So, you are likely to meet many empathetic people who understand and share your feelings--and are inclined to help. Keep in mind that you don't have to perfect it; you only need to learn how to network properly. To quote Harvey Mackay, author of Rolodex Network Builder and other books: "We don't have to do it alone. Wherever we're going, we all need the help of others to get there. Don't ever be afraid to ask for what you need. That's what your network is for? There are plenty of people out there waiting and willing to help. All they ask is that some day, some time, some place, you find a way to pass it on."

Free E-BooksThis is an excellent example of the quality content which appears in the free Career Hub e-books. Over 250 pages of information on resumes, interviewing, networking, and job search strategy are free to I'm Unemployedregistered users. If you haven’t registered yet, what are you waiting for? Create an account today.

Louise Garver, President of Career Directions LLC, has 20 years of experience as a partner with executives to create targeted career campaigns that include branded resumes and other career marketing documents, search strategies, and coaching in networking, interviewing and salary negotiations. She holds a Master's degree in psychology and career counseling combined with 7 professional certifications in the careers industry. Contact her via www.careerdirectionsllc.com

Get Off Your Butt: 16 Ways to Get Motivated When You’re in an Unemployment Slump

Administrator — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Even the most motivated of us — you, me, Tony Robbins — can feel unmotivated at times. In fact, sometimes we get into such a slump that even thinking about making positive changes seems too difficult. Unemployment can certainly be one of those times.

But it’s not hopeless: with some small steps, baby ones in fact, you can get started down the road to positive change and out of unemployment. If you are unemployed and are losing motivation these 16 tips will help you get off your butt and on the way to defeating unemployment.

Yes, I know, it seems impossible at times. You don’t feel like doing anything. I’ve been there, and in fact I still feel that way from time to time. You’re not alone. But I’ve learned a few ways to break out of a slump, and we’ll take a look at those today.

This article was inspired by reader Roy C. Carlson, who asked:

“I was wondering if you could do a piece on why it can be hard for someone to change direction and start taking control of their life. I have to say I’m in this boat and advice on getting out of my slump would be great.”

Roy is just one of many with a slump like that. Again, I feel that way sometimes myself, and in fact sometimes I struggle to motivate myself to exercise — and I’ll use that as an example of how to break out of the slump.

When I fall out of exercise, due to illness or injury or disruption from things going on in my life, it’s hard to get started again. I don’t even feel like thinking about it, sometimes. But I’ve always found a way to break out of that slump, and here are some things I’ve learned that have helped:

One Goal. Whenever I’ve been in a slump, I’ve discovered that it’s often because I have too much going on in my life. I’m trying to do too much. And it saps my energy and motivation. It’s probably the most common mistake that people make: they try to take on too much, try to accomplish too many goals at once. You cannot maintain energy and focus (the two most important things in accomplishing a goal) if you are trying to do two or more goals at once. It’s not possible — I’ve tried it many times. You have to choose one goal, for now, and focus on it completely. I know, that’s hard. Still, I speak from experience. You can always do your other goals when you’ve accomplished your One Goal.
Find inspiration. Inspiration, for me, comes from others who have achieved what I want to achieve, or who are currently doing it. I read other blogs, books, magazines. I Google my goal, and read success stories. Zen Habits is just one place for inspiration, not only from me but from many readers who have achieved amazing things.

Get excited. This sounds obvious, but most people don’t think about it much: if you want to break out of a slump, get yourself excited about a goal. But how can you do that when you don’t feel motivated? Well, it starts with inspiration from others (see above), but you have to take that excitement and build on it. For me, I’ve learned that by talking to my wife about it, and to others, and reading as much about it as possible, and visualizing what it would be like to be successful (seeing the benefits of the goal in my head), I get excited about a goal. Once I’ve done that, it’s just a matter of carrying that energy forward and keeping it going.

Build anticipation. This will sound hard, and many people will skip this tip. But it really works. It helped me quit smoking after many failed attempts. If you find inspiration and want to do a goal, don’t start right away. Many of us will get excited and want to start today. That’s a mistake. Set a date in the future — a week or two, or even a month — and make that your Start Date. Mark it on the calendar. Get excited about that date. Make it the most important date in your life. In the meantime, start writing out a plan. And do some of the steps below. Because by delaying your start, you are building anticipation, and increasing your focus and energy for your goal.

Post your goal. Print out your goal in big words. Make your goal just a few words long, like a mantra (”Exercise 15 mins. Daily”), and post it up on your wall or refrigerator. Post it at home and work. Put it on your computer desktop. You want to have big reminders about your goal, to keep your focus and keep your excitement going. A picture of your goal (like a model with sexy abs, for example) also helps.

Commit publicly. None of us likes to look bad in front of others. We will go the extra mile to do something we’ve said publicly. For example, when I wanted to run my first marathon, I started writing a column about it in my local daily newspaper. The entire island of Guam (pop. 160K) knew about my goal. I couldn’t back down, and even though my motivation came and went, I stuck with it and completed it. Now, you don’t have to commit to your goal in your daily newspaper, but you can do it with friends and family and co-workers, and you can do it on your blog if you have one. And hold yourself accountable — don’t just commit once, but commit to giving progress updates to everyone every week or so.

Think about it daily. If you think about your goal every day, it is much more likely to become true. To this end, posting the goal on your wall or computer desktop (as mentioned above) helps a lot. Sending yourself daily reminders also helps. And if you can commit to doing one small thing to further your goal (even just 5 minutes) every single day, your goal will almost certainly come true.

Get support. It’s hard to accomplish something alone. When I decided to run my marathon, I had the help of friends and family, and I had a great running community on Guam who encouraged me at 5K races and did long runs with me. When I decided to quit smoking, I joined an online forum and that helped tremendously. And of course, my wife Eva helped every step of the way. I couldn’t have done these goals without her, or without the others who supported me. Find your support network, either in the real world or online, or both.

Realize that there’s an ebb and flow. Motivation is not a constant thing that is always there for you. It comes and goes, and comes and goes again, like the tide. But realize that while it may go away, it doesn’t do so permanently. It will come back. Just stick it out and wait for that motivation to come back. In the meantime, read about your goal (see below), ask for help (see below), and do some of the other things listed here until your motivation comes back.

Stick with it. Whatever you do, don’t give up. Even if you aren’t feeling any motivation today, or this week, don’t give up. Again, that motivation will come back. Think of your goal as a long journey, and your slump is just a little bump in the road. You can’t give up with every little bump. Stay with it for the long term, ride out the ebbs and surf on the flows, and you’ll get there.

Start small. Really small. If you are having a hard time getting started, it may be because you’re thinking too big. If you want to exercise, for example, you may be thinking that you have to do these intense workouts 5 days a week. No — instead, do small, tiny, baby steps. Just do 2 minutes of exercise. I know, that sounds wimpy. But it works. Commit to 2 minutes of exercise for one week. You may want to do more, but just stick to 2 minutes. It’s so easy, you can’t fail. Do it at the same time, every day. Just some crunches, 2 pushups, and some jogging in place. Once you’ve done 2 minutes a day for a week, increase it to 5, and stick with that for a week. In a month, you’ll be doing 15-20. Want to wake up early? Don’t think about waking at 5 a.m. Instead, think about waking 10 minutes earlier for a week. That’s all. Once you’ve done that, wake 10 minutes earlier than that. Baby steps.

Build on small successes. Again, if you start small for a week, you’re going to be successful. You can’t fail if you start with something ridiculously easy. Who can’t exercise for 2 minutes? (If that’s you, I apologize.) And you’ll feel successful, and good about yourself. Take that successful feeling and build on it, with another baby step. Add 2-3 minutes to your exercise routine, for example. With each step (and each step should last about a week), you will feel even more successful. Make each step really, really small, and you won’t fail. After a couple of months, your tiny steps will add up to a lot of progress and a lot of success.

Read about it daily. When I lose motivation, I just read a book or blog about my goal. It inspires me and reinvigorates me. For some reason, reading helps motivate and focus you on whatever you’re reading about. So read about your goal every day, if you can, especially when you’re not feeling motivated.

Call for help when your motivation ebbs. Having trouble? Ask for help. Email me. Join an online forum. Get a partner to join you. Call your mom. It doesn’t matter who, just tell them your problems, and talking about it will help. Ask them for advice. Ask them to help you overcome your slump. It works.

Think about the benefits, not the difficulties. One common problem is that we think about how hard something is. Exercise sounds so hard! Just thinking about it makes you tired. But instead of thinking about how hard something is, think about what you will get out of it. For example, instead of thinking about how tiring exercise can be, focus on how good you’ll feel when you’re done, and how you’ll be healthier and slimmer over the long run. The benefits of something will help energize you.

Squash negative thoughts; replace them with positive ones. Along those lines, it’s important to start monitoring your thoughts. Recognize negative self-talk, which is really what’s causing your slump. Just spend a few days becoming aware of every negative thought. Then, after a few days, try squashing those negative thoughts like a bug, and then replacing them with a corresponding positive thought. Squash, “This is too hard!” and replace it with, “I can do this! If that wimp Leo can do it, so can I!” It sounds corny, but it works. Really.

Leo Babuata is a top 25 blogger (according to Time magazine). His blog, Zenhabits, is read by over 110,000 people and growing. He blogs on a wide range of topics including Productivity, Organization, Happiness, Simplicity and Health. He also the author of the bestselling book The Power Of Less.

What is a Personal Brand and Why Should I Care?

Administrator — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:00:00 +0000

You know a lot of brands. Think of a few. Pepsi, Audi, Nikon...you.

Each brand conjures up certain attributes in your mind. For a business, no stone is left unturned when it comes to the perceptions of a brand. The color and shape of the logo, the design of the website, and the text printed on the products all carefully shape the brand. Companies spend enormous budgets crafting their brand in the minds of consumers.

The same branding concepts are important for individuals. A personal brand will dictate how you are perceived in the eyes of your consumers (recruiters, human resource people, and hiring mangers). Luckily you don't need a personal branding budget, however, you will have to be diligent in how your personal brand is built.

But why should you care about a personal brand? Will it help me end my unemployment? Here are 10 reasons why you should care:

Opportunities have a way of finding you. It is hard enough to go out and find a job if you are unemployed. You certainly do not want to give up on any opportunities for a job to find you.
You will have an audience to validate your opinions and expand your horizons. Part of creating a brand is establishing a professional network and displaying your expertise to your network.
Your credibility skyrockets. The more people begin to experience your brand they begin to value your opinion.
Google and Yahoo become your friends - your personal brand is usually built through various online outlets such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and other blogs/forums. Over time these pages are shown on the search engines. People see your name on a search query and recognize your expertise.
You can gain more promotions (and more money) than you otherwise would have. You will be differentiated from your peers. Supervisors and hiring managers will take notice.
You get an opportunity to shape your own brand instead of letting others cast your brand for you.
The more people you meet and the more relationships you strengthen, the more you will grow as a network.
Your self-confidence sores! There is nothing like it.
Success, however you define it, will come much more quickly if you have a network of people who recognize you as an expert in your field.
A friendly network gives you something to fall back on when required. Your network is there if you need advice for your career, help ending your unemployment, or just a group to debate a topic.

OK, so now you care. But how can you build your network? It is not very hard, you just have to know the tricks. You find out all the tricks by reading Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, a great personal branding book by Dan Schawbel.

Can you think of other reasons why a personal brand is important? Please share.

30 Ways to become the Most Interesting Person You Know

Administrator — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:55:11 +0000

Unemployed? Are you boring? Do people want to spend time with you? Do people really listen to you in an interview? Here are 30 ways to become the most interesting person you know. It's not without a little work but it will pay off if you take the time to follow the advice. There is a lot here to digest. How about creating an 'interesting month' and dedicated some time each day to these 30 tasks? If you follow these steps your unemployment can end sooner than you think.

1. Avoid the Always/Notice the Never. Find out what people who do what you do ALWAYS do, then do the opposite. Similarly, find out what people who do what you do NEVER do, then do the opposite. Here’s a helpful video module with an exercise you can implement to make this practice happen. What are you currently doing that’s unpredictable?

2. Make the mundane memorable. What do your voicemail, email signature, business card, website and blog have in common? ANSWER: They’re all boring. Keep in mind: Nobody notices normal. Nobody buys boring. And nobody pays for average. So, the secret is to create a seamless predictability among all marketing touchpoints. All of these are underused branding hotspots (and more!) require a unique touch. How many customers is being boring costing you?

3. Don’t be one-dimensional. I once had a boss whose sole interest, purpose and passion in life was sports. That’s it. The guy couldn’t carry conversation like a normal person unless the topic related to sports. Or, if the conversation was not about sports, he’d go out of his way to make sure it slowly became that way.

THE most uninteresting, one-dimensional guy I ever worked with.

Now, I’m not against having a passion for sports. I love sports. (Go Cardinals!) What IS as a problem, however, is when you maintain such a limited worldview and openness for activities and experiences outside of your scope of interest, that is mars your ability to relate to others in a healthy way. Bor-ring. How many dimensions do YOU have?

4. Learn the principles of amazing storytelling. Stories are powerful. Stories are better than statistics or quotes. Stories are what customers; readers and audiences remember and connect with most. Ultimately, stories are the best way to communicate a message. So, if you want to become a master storyteller, my suggestions are: (1) Listen to Garrison Kiellor, (2) Read Made to Stick and (3) Attend Doug Stevenson’s Story Theater program. How many people are repeating YOUR story?

5. Be a story distiller. BUT, you can’t just tell the story. Because that’s not enough. So, when your story is over, don’t just move on to the next story. First, figure out the lesson(s), universal human experience/emotion, practical take home value and Call to Action. Here's a helpful article on how to extract take-home value. Why are you telling this story?

6. Be a Smokin’ Hot Piece of Brain Candy. One of Edward DeBono’s most underrated books is called How to Have a Beautiful Mind. In the opening he states: “As you get older, physical beauty tends to fade. But beauty of the mind is independent of age and can actually increase with wisdom and experience.”

In short: Be Brain Candy.

This idiom of psychological attractiveness means “someone with high mental appeal AND significant substance.” It’s more enduring, attractive, marketable, approachable, memorable and, of course, more INTERESTING. Check out my Top Twenty List of Smokin’ Hot Pieces of Brain Candy. Are you eye candy or brain candy?

7. Be childlike, but not childish. One person’s playful spirit brings out the same in another. So, by acting childlike, you subconsciously give other people PERMISSION to the same. It’s contagious. It’s approachable. It’s memorable. And everyone can relate to it. How are you giving people permission to be playful around you?

8. Be more challenging. Ask questions like: Is that always the case? So what? What stops you? What would happen if you didn’t? What’s your proof? Break people’s patterns. Make them stop, think and say, “Wow…” It works. How challenging are you?

9. Be radically honest. It’s unexpected and unforgettable. Read this life-changing book and, if you practice what Brad practices, I guarantee you’ll become twice as interesting of person by the time you’re done. How are you branding your honesty?

10. Become a Question Master. It’s not just about asking a bunch of questions; it’s about valuing a questioning attitude. So, every time you hear or read a question that makes you react in ANY way, write it down. Add it to your running list of questions. Categorize them. Sort them alphabetically to make it easier on your eyes. My list has 6000. How many questions do you have on your list?

11. Books. Speaking of books, I suggest you make a list called, “Top Ten Most Interesting Books I’ve Read.” Next to each one, write three attributes, actions or states of being that make those books so interesting. When you’re done, look for patterns. Extract the key ideas and then ask yourself how you can practice that in your own life. What did you read today?

12. Consciously choose how you experience the world. In his mind-blowing book, Playful Perception, Herbert Leff suggests, “Expand your repertoire of useful awareness plans and you will improve the flavor and value of your inner experiences. Increase the choice about the quality of your experience.” Check out this awesome list of 43 awareness plans to make your daily life more interesting. Are you making mindful choices for experiencing the world?

13. Create Points of Dissonance. Vagueness stimulates curiosity. And curiosity is a natural motivator of human engagement. So, there’s a certain dissonance when people observe an unexpected or unexplained behavior. Especially when it’s inconsistent with their environment. (Like seeing some guy wearing a nametag at the gym, for example.)

The challenge is to craft an idea, a message, or a look that when people are first exposed to it, they can’t help but respond with, “Huh?” or “Ok, so, I just HAVE to ask…” Those words are money in the bank. Remember: The most effective way to attract people’s attention is to B-R-E-A-K their patterns. Copyblogger has a killer post about being interesting as it relates to this topic. What patterns are YOU breaking?

14. Establish your voice. If you want make your thinking, writing and speaking more unique, relevant, persuasive, memorable, appealing and more creative, you need to pull material FROM, and cite examples USING multiple, eclectic and personal sources.

In the words of Kurt Vonnegut: “If you want to be a great writer, be a great date for your reader.” Here’s a meaty, practical guide on how to do this. WARNING: If you're an Oprah fan, you may not want to read it. Is your writing innovative or imitative?

15. Expand your references. In the book Unlimited Power, Tony Robbins said, “Limited references create a limited life. If you want to expand your life, you must expand your references by pursuing ideas and experiences that wouldn't be a part of your life if you didn't consciously seek them out.”

Remember: The more interesting experiences you have, the more interesting people you meet, the more interesting things you see, watch, hear, read, taste, the more interesting places you go, the more interesting you will become. Everything is a plus. How have you stepped out of your comfort zone this week?

16. Explore the word “interesting.” It literally means: Engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity. Arousing a feeling of interest. A state of curiosity or concern about or attention to something. Involvement with or participation in something. An excess or bonus beyond what is expected or due. Something, such as a quality, subject, or activity that evokes this mental state.

OK, so, now that you know that, go do that. Go BE that. On a scale from 1-10, how interesting would you say you are? How interesting would your top 20 customers say you are?

17. Extract the positive characteristics. Make a list called, “Top Ten Most Interesting People I Know.” Next to each one, write three attributes, actions or states of being that make those people so interesting. When you’re done, look for patterns. Extract the key ideas and then ask yourself how you can practice that in your own life. This exercise is how I began writing this very module on being interesting. It works and it's fun. What would an interesting person do in this situation?

18. Extract the negative characteristics. Next, make a list called, “Top Ten Least Interesting People I Know.” Next to each one, write three attributes, actions or states of being that make those people so uninteresting. When you’re done, look for patterns. Extract the key ideas and then ask yourself how you can practice the opposite of in your own life. What would an uninteresting person do in this situation?

19. Fascinate yourself with the ordinary. “Evaluate critically every novelty you encounter,” Mihály Csíkszentmihályi wrote in his amazing book Creativity. “One of the surest ways to enrich life is to make experiences less fleeting.” If you do this, you WILL boost your creativity. You will flood your mind with new ideas. You will build a solid foundation of curiosity. And the combination of those three results will mold your melon into an attractive, valuable commodity that your clients will want to have access to.

Remember: Clients don’t want to hire consultants or marketers or coaches – they want to hire cool, smart people who happen to do those things. What ordinary stuff fascinates you?

20. Find interesting in almost anything. Similarly, Edward DeBono encourages people to embrace curiosity by constantly saying, “Now that’s interesting…”“Be able to find interest in almost anything,” DeBono says in the aforementioned How to Have a Beautiful Mind. “Be curious. Explore things. Bring up a discussion. Get people’s opinions, ideas and values. Explore, elaborate and make connections.” Are you practicing that enough?

21. Gain an eclectic education. In his book, The Invaluable Leader, my friend Dale Furtwengler suggests, “Gain an eclectic education. Expose your mind to things outside your normal areas of interest or discipline. The more quickly you can connect with your listeners, the more effectively you can communicate in their language, the more insights you can port from other disciplines, the more valuable you become.”

Your challenge is to infuse your writing, ideas and conversations with the cool, interesting things you’ve learned through your eclectic education. People will become interested. What weird books have you read recently?

22. Hang with interesting people. Listen. Watch. Soak it in. Ask yourself what it is about this person that makes them so interesting. Then DO that. Then BE that. How many of your friends are boring?

23. Have a killer vocabulary. That doesn’t mean use fancy words that showcase your brilliance. Just strong words. Powerful words. Well-timed words. Unexpected words. Perfect words. And of course, killer questions that nobody else is asking. Does your language challenge people?

24. How to Answer a Question. Answering questions creatively, counterintuitively an unexpectedly leads to a higher level of thinking. Which elevates the conversation to a new level. Which enables both parties to discover their individual truths. Which yields more compelling results than if you would have offered a simple yes or no.

This, of course, is very interesting. (You may enjoy this handy guide on how to answer questions in more interesting, cool ways, too.)

So, think about the last time someone answered a question in that way. Weren’t you instantly drawn into that person’s radius? Weren’t you curious and intrigued about what they were going to say next? How often people respond that way to YOUR answers?

25. Identify and amplify your Personal Philosophy. Simply ask yourself the following question, “If everybody did exactly what I said, what would the world look like?”

The answer(s) to this question will become a blueprint of your personal philosophy. Your unique, interesting approach to business, life and people. And if you were smart, you would print these bullet points on a Philosophy Card. Very interesting, indeed. Do you have a business card or a philosophy card?

26. Insert your passion into everything. Embed your passion into the pavement of your daily encounters. You will engage, excite and inspire people because that’s what passion DOES. Embed your passion into the pavement that leads the way.

For example, let’s say your passion is guitars. Cool. The next step is to begin inserting that passion into every possible Passion Point. Your metaphors. Your pictures. Your gifts to customers. Your ezines. Your tweets. Your office. Your voicemail. Check out my homeboy Mark Williams, The Rockin’ Realtor. Pretty interesting dude. What's your passion? How many of your customers know what it is?

27. Keep an Interesting Log. Any time someone (yourself included) says, “Wow, that’s SO interesting…” make a note. Write down what was interesting about the topic, thing or idea at hand. Look for trends and patterns. Extract the key ideas and then apply them to your business and life. What three interesting things did you notice yesterday? How many of them did you write down?

28. Pioneer in obscure areas. Believe it or not, I’ve been internationally recognized as “The World’s Foremost Expert on Nametags.” Folks, that’s absolutely insane. I still can’t believe that’s what people call me. However, ever since The Washington Post gave me that title in 2003, it’s stuck. (No pun intended.) So I just went with it. And over time, it’s served me, my business and my wallet well. What specialized knowledge have you developed?

29. Predictable Unpredictability. In Edward DeBono’s book, I Am Right You Are Wrong, he answers the question about what makes something (or someone) interesting:

“There is always interest in a pattern-rich repertoire. If around any subject there is a rich networking of patterns, that subject becomes interesting.”

Your challenge is to build up a critical mass of interest by being what I call Predictably Unpredictable. You do this by positioning yourself in a way where people want to know what’s going to happen next, i.e., "I wonder what nametag related adventure he's going to have today!" I call it The Caveman Principle™. How unpredictable are you?

30. Transform ideas into questions. I call this creative process “Catapulting.” It’s something I’ve been doing every single day for years. Here are two examples of how it works.

*If someone casually mentions, “I can’t believe I just stumbled upon this for the first time!” then you would write down on your question list, “What have you recently stumbled upon for the first time?”

*If you read the passage, “This behavior will make it hard for people to take you seriously,” you would jot down, “What is affecting your ability to be taken seriously?”

See how that works? Pretty cool. Pretty darn interesting, too. That's how I’ve collected over 6000 questions. How are you turning ideas into questions and questions into catapults?

Scott Ginsberg, aka "The Nametag Guy," is the author of eight books, an award-winning blogger and the creator of NametagTV.com. He's the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7 and teaches businesspeople worldwide about approachability. For more info about books, speaking engagements, customized online training programs or to Rent Scott's Brain for a one-on-one coaching session, call 314/256-1800 or email scott@hellomynameisscott.com.