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The Everyman’s Guide To Summer Drinking

2013-summer-drinking-guide

It’s always been my philosophy that summer drinking is the best drinking. In winter we do it to stay warm. In spring and fall, we drink to pass the seasons. But in summer, that’s when the real fun happens. So to kick off this summer season, I wanted to make sure I brushed up on my drinking etiquette and shared the findings with all of you.

Behold, the ultimate recipe for summer boozing:

Part 1: How To Order Your Drinks

Ever hear someone order a neat whiskey, on the rocks? I have, and its damn embarrassing. It’s time to brush up on your basic bar jargon (bargon?) so you don’t sound like a jabrone when ordering your drinks.

1. Naming Your Drinks - When ordering drinks, always start with the type of liquor, followed by mixers, followed by extras. This will eliminate a ton of confusion, especially when getting complicated drinks or multiple orders. If ordering a specific brand, replace the liquor with the brand name.

Good Examples: Tanqueray and Tonic with Lime, Vodka Cranberry, Jack and Coke, Double Vodka Red Bull (double the vodka!)

Bad Examples: Club Soda with Lime and Vodka, Double Red Bull Vodka (unless you want twice the Red Bull), Coke and Captain

Be wary of drinks with nondescript names like “Pain Killers” or “Mind Erasers”. Different bartenders might have different interpretations of the same drink name. If you want your cocktail made a certain way, don’t be afraid to ask.

2. Drink Quality - When you order a drink without specifying the brand, you’re likely to get a “well” drink. These are made with the cheapest booze behind the bar and are typically more affordable.

A “call” drink features a specific brand and is often served with mid-range liquor (think Jose Cuervo Margarita.) If you have a real job, consider switching from well to call drinks. Your hangover will thank you tomorrow.

And for my players in the house that can buy the bar, consider ordering Premium or Top Shelf drinks (think Patron.) A night spent tossing back Patron shots or sipping on Macallan 18 can lead to you waking up in a stranger’s bed or waking up in a dumpster outside New Mexico. Either way, you got there with class.

3. Special Requests - These are the fancy monikers attached to drinks that separate the pro drinkers from the noobs. Simply memorizing the below terms will instantly up your street cred.

On The Rocks: A drink served over ice
Chilled: A drink served cold (shaken with ice and strained into a shot glass)
Blended: A frozen drink mixed with ice in a blender (margaritas, pina coladas)
Double: Twice the amount of liquor
Tall: Poured into a tall glass with extra mixer (don’t mistake this for a double!)
Neat: Straight liquor poured into a sipping glass without ice
Up: Chilled liquor strained into a martini glass
Dirty: A martini with olive juice
Dry: A martini with dry vermouth
Sweet: A martini with sweet vermouth
With a Twist: Usually a spritz of lemon or lime juice

I guarantee you instantly feel more confident getting your summer drinks now that you know how to order like a true American. Now it’s time to explore some of our favorite summer beverages.

Part 2: The Top 6 Summer Drinks

This list was originally comprised of my top 3 beverages, until I realized how much of a drinking enthusiast I am (I also enjoy euphemisms.) You’ll also notice I don’t have any “Fuzzy Navels” or other ridiculous drinks on here, because ordering anything similar is akin to shaving your legs and carrying a satchel. Just…don’t.

1. Fireball Chilled: One of the hottest drinks of summer, Fireball is universally loved and admired by every person who enjoys fun. The love child of Big Red Gum and a barrel of whisky, Fireball is hands down my favorite summer shot. The company slogan sums it up pretty well: “Tastes like heaven, burns like hell.”

2. Firefly & Lemonade: Not to be confused with the above-mentioned Fireball, Firefly is a masterfully crafted sweet tea flavored vodka brewed with summer in mind. Mixing up some Firefly with lemonade will give you a dirty Arnold Palmer, which is quite possibly the most refreshing trip to drunk city that I can think of. Bonus points: Order a John Daly at the bar, and if they get it right on the first try tip an extra few dollars. You’ll want to stick with that bartender for the rest of the day (yeah, I said day.)

3. Brojito: OK, so you’re going to get some blank stares if you order this at the bar, considering it doesn’t really exist. A classic mojito (rum, mint, sugar, lime, club soda and ice) is hands down one of the most delicious summertime drinks you can order. Its also a pain in the ass for bartenders to make, since it requires muddling the mint into the glass. The brojito simply replaces the standard rum with 100 proof Captain Morgan so you get more kick out of each cocktail. The less work you give the bartender, the more awesome you will be.

4. Long Island Iced Tea: I imagine the LIT (don’t ask where the other “I” went) was invented by someone that took the term “mixed drink” way too literally, and decided to mix every major liquor category into a single glass. The result is a dangerous combination of numbing deliciousness and cloudy memories. For you first timers, it’s basically a glass full of rum, vodka, gin and tequila with a spritz of cola (for color) and a twist of lemon (and sometimes made with sour mix or triple sec.) One gets you buzzed, two get you drunk, three get you black out and four get you arrested. Plan the rest of your night accordingly.

5. Dark & Stormy: Rum strikes again. While there are certainly other more popular drinks I could have gone with on this list (margaritas, pina coladas, etc.), I felt this classic summer drink was too unique to be ignored. A traditional Dark & Stormy is made of Goslings Dark Rum, Ginger Beer and a lime garnish. Unfortunately these ingredients don’t translate well into other drinks, so you’ll have to commit to having a few of these heavy cocktails if you choose to take the plunge into drunken deliciousness. But don’t just take my word for it – trust Devin Jones on this one.

6. Any Light or Yellow Beer: Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of heavy craft beers. I’ll rip through a case of Dogfish Head in the fall. There’s just no place for them in the summer time. Instead, shitty light beers like Miller, Bud, and Coors reign supreme, with island favorites like Corona, LandShark and others coming in close second. Do they taste great? No. But when the sun is beating down hot and you’re sweating out drinks as quickly as you drink them, light beer is an easy winner over its heavier counterparts.

Part 3: Damage Control

I hope the first two parts got you excited for summer. Hell, I’m tempted to crack open a cold one right now and get this party started. Yet as we all know by now, drinking too often has its costs. Things like “jobs” and “money” and “chronic liver failure” keep us on the wagon most of the time. Don’t fret though; there will be plenty of opportunities to get your liver wet this summer, as long as you practice a few rules to limit the damage from your drinking escapades.

1. Hangover Prevention

I feel like the older I get, the longer my hangovers last. I had one recently that spanned two full days. TWO FULL DAYS. Needless to say, it was terrible.

The best way to get rid of your hangovers is to do your best to prevent them. A few ways to do this include:

Stay super hydrated this summer. Drink 10+ cups of water a day if you can handle it. I try to drink a gallon or more.
Eat healthy. Hangovers are the result of dehydration and nutrient loss. Eating fruits and green veggies daily will help you keep body full of precious vitamins, minerals, etc. This also prevents a condition called “fat”. Also, eating lean protein (like chicken) is helpful before you drink.
Avoid too many sugary mixers. Sugar = terrible feeling the next day. I prefer to mix my drinks with club soda and a twist of lime, or stick with beer to avoid the really brutal sugar hangovers.
Drink better quality liquor. Want to know why Popov is $14 for half a gallon? Because it’s rocket fuel. Spend a few extra bucks and save yourself a day of misery.
Order water throughout the night to keep hydrated. I try to order one glass of water for every two drinks. Don’t worry, you will still get hammered since you are putting in the same amount of alcohol into your body – its science (I think.)
Know your limits. OK, I fail every single time at this. But I’m told that knowing your limits is helpful in hangover prevention. I’ll let you know when I get this technique down.

2. Poverty Prevention

Unless you’re a Hilton or Kardashian, chances are you can’t go out every night because you have real bills to pay. A night out can quickly add up to $60, $80, $100 or more depending on where you live. To make sure you don’t end up homeless and broke, you’ll need to budget your boozing this summer while still having fun. This can be done a few ways:

Pregame. If you don’t do this, you’re dumb. Next.
Know the specials. Find bars that have good deals and stick with them to save some dough. It takes less than 5 minutes on your phone to look up local bar specials, unless you have a flip phone, in which case you might have to actual call someone (do people still make calls on phones?)
Don’t buy rounds of shots. It’s midnight. All of a sudden you have a new found love for all your best friends. So you buy a round of Patron to thank them all! See ya later $50! There is no faster way to bleed money than to buy rounds of shots. Its fine once in a while, but don’t make a habit of it.
Stick to a budget. In my opinion, having a strict budget is the best way to maintain a fun lifestyle over the long term. Figure out exactly how much money you can afford to spend each week on fun and stick to it religiously. Sites like Mint.com can even text you when you reached your limit, so you know when to stop.
Never go to 711 after a night out. You will end up buying taquitos, cigarettes, gummy worms, and a bag of other things you’re destined to regret tomorrow morning. Avoiding these unnecessary costs can make a big difference in your bank account.

Well folks, that’s all I’ve got for you. Memorial Day Weekend is in sight, and now you’re ready for 10-12 weeks of sun soaked debauchery.

Did I miss anything important? Let me know in the comments!

Source 1 Source 2

opportunity

Adventures In Accountability: How To Finish What You Started

accountability My mind is a crazy place. I like to think of myself as a creative adventurer, always chasing change and innovation. New ideas seem to bounce around my imagination like a bumper car birthday party. Unfortunately, sleep seems to get in the way of non-stop action, and I often go to bed feeling as if I’ve forgotten the milk.

The simple translation: I start a lot of personal projects that never get finished.

Don’t get me wrong; I take care of the priorities in life (paying my bills, getting work done, watching Boardwalk Empire every Sunday.) It’s the less important tasks that typically fall through the cracks. Luckily I’ve recognized this weakness, and I have embarked on a quest to learn more about what makes humans accountable.

Almost by fate, I stumbled into an interesting passage about self-discipline in Tim Ferriss’s new book, “The 4-Hour Chef.” In it, Tim notes:

No matter how good a plan is, how thorough a book is, or how sincere our intentions, humans are horrible at self discipline. No one is immune. The smartest, richest, and most dedicated people abandon commitments with disgusting regularity.

This made me feel slightly better about myself, but it begs the question: What methods can we put into place to make sure we finish the most important tasks? How can we manipulate the equation to increase our rate of completion? Upon further inspection, I’ve found three “pressure points” that I think will help me become more accountable.

1. Social Pressure

A promise is a powerful social contract. It’s the currency of trust, and the commitments we make to others often shape the strength of our friendships. When you break a promise you’ve made to yourself, it’s easy to rationalize the loss and move on. Breaking a promise you’ve made to others has much more serious repercussions.

This is where group accountability comes into play. Instead of tackling your projects solo, include others to solidify your pledge to finish. A great example is fitness. Find a dedicated gym partner that will work on the same schedule as you. Choose group activities so that your involvement is crucial to the other person’s success (for example: kickboxing.) This social pressure should convince you to commit to any cause, or risk losing a valuable relationship.

2. Fiscal Pressure

Like it or not, we’re all slaves to money. Every dollar you have determines what you can do. No money? No hamburger. Plain and simple. And as Ferriss notes, we’re much more motivated at the fear of losing money than we are at the prospect of earning. Countless psychology experiments have shown that people work harder when they know that failure to complete a task will result in money lost versus a reward based structure.

Fiscal pressure works great when you’re tackling solo tasks, such as learning a new skill. Let’s assume your goal is to earn a new certification at work. Choose an amount of money that will make you cry if you were to lose it (Tim suggests 1% of your yearly salary.) Now, hand that money over to someone you trust, and instruct them to donate it to a charity of their choice if you fail. I’m not a normally betting man, but I’d place a wager on your success. That’s a lot of cheddar on the line.

3. Deadline Pressure

OK, so this isn’t entirely independent of the other two, since most projects or goals have a deadline. Use this pressure to transform your low priority tasks into high priority tasks. If your goal is to learn how to cook a four course meal, schedule a dinner party at your house in two weeks. Canceling would be awfully rude, and would make your friends mighty angry at you (see “Social Pressure.”) Given the extra food you’ll have to buy, your hard earned cash is also on the line. You are now left with two weeks to make the best damn chicken parm of your life. Tick, tock.

Currently I don’t have any empirical evidence that proves these pressure points will work, but common sense and basic logic screams their validity. I promise I’ll follow up in 1 month to let you know which works the best for me (social + deadline pressure!)

How do you create accountability for yourself? I’d love to learn some new techniques, so feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments!

the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare

Check out my recent interview from the Credit Card Select blog:

Unemployment and Debt Wounds Causing a ‘Millennial’ Mess

Apple Is Past Its Prime

I’m a little late to the party here, but I honestly think Apple has finally made the shift from an innovator to a profit protector. When I got my iPod in the early 2000′s, it was one of the best tech investments I had ever made. My second Apple purchase was an iPad 2, which was the best tablet on the market by miles. Nothing could touch Apple products, and their popularity skyrocketed.

When I looked at their recent product releases, they are all just incremental adjustments to past innovations. Faster processor. Thinner body. Brighter screen. While these are certainly improvements, they don’t come with the same flair that propelled them from nearly bankrupt to the most valuable company on Earth in a little over a decade.

Shareholders are certainly happy with the influx of money now, but so were Microsoft shareholders in the 90′s. Complacency has set in, and if they don’t start taking risks and pushing the envelope once again, Apple will die on the vine like so many other tech giants.

</rant>

Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities

obstacles-into-opportunities We face new challenges everyday, both big and small. Your boss gives you a new project with an incredibly short deadline. You can’t find a parking space at the mall. Bad weather knocks your power down for a few days. Regardless of the event, the natural response is to feel crappy and eat Häagen-Dazs until you pass out.

I’m no different from anyone else, and my typical response is to follow the boo-hoo-why-me protocol. But all that is changing with a few mental tweaks.

Creating Productive Rituals

Lately I haven’t been accomplishing the lofty goals I have set for myself. Blame it on moving to the beach, or lack of motivation, or a million other things. At the end of the day, it comes down to habits. I’ve created a series of unproductive habits, and I have put in place a plan to create new, productive daily rituals (thanks to Tony Robbins for this term.) One of these rituals is to write for an hour each night. Another is to drink three liters of water each day. These are small changes, but I believe the benefits will be massive. But I digress…

My latest ritual is forcing myself to find a silver lining in all of life’s grey clouds. Here’s an example:

Recently my town was hit by Hurricane Sandy, leaving hundreds displaced, distressed and down right depressed. I lost my house, my car, and many of my possessions. Clearly, this was a shitty situation. So how did I apply my new ritual? I was probably paying too much for rent anyway, so this gives me a chance to find a more affordable housing option. My car was a lease, and the comprehensive insurance coverage allows me to get into a brand new car with virtually no extra expenses. Finally, I am somewhat of a hoarder with old stuff (especially clothing), and this gives me a reason to finally buy some grown up clothes.

Boom, positivity.

This works on a much smaller scale too. If your friends don’t invite you to the bar, you’ve just saved $50 for that new camera you’ve been eyeing up. Can’t find a parking spot close to the mall? Congratulations on your new commitment to exercise. Give it a try; see how many ugly ducklings you can turn into swans.

Transforming Rituals Into Success

There is a method to all this madness. My hypothesis is that with enough repetition, I’ll train my brain to see opportunities where others only see obstacles. My self imposed ritual will become second nature. The most successful people see the world this way. I want to see the world this way.

How has it worked so far? Its too early to tell, but the results look promising. I’ve noticed that positivity is contagious, and it can light a fire under the people around you. I also feel better about the future, because I know that each day will bring new opportunities (instead of just problems.) My stress levels have also dropped significantly, which reflect on my overall well being.

I encourage you to try this new ritual in your life. Its free, takes only seconds out of your day, and the potential gains can be incredible. All I ask is that you share your results in the comments, or with someone else in your life.

Surround Yourself With The Best

be the best Back in 8th grade, I received one of the most memorable Christmas presents of my life. It was a shiny blue, semi-used Ibanez bass guitar that my sister bought from her boyfriend at the time. This gift “rocked” my world. There was only one slight problem: I didn’t have a damn clue about how to play the bass.

Lady luck came knocking when a new neighbor moved down the street from me. He was a music teacher who had just started his own business, and was eager to sign me up at a discounted rate. I signed up for weekly lessons, practiced every day, and made my family permanently hate each and every song I learned.

It eventually came to a point where I was no longer satisfied playing with myself, and I longed for others to join me (have fun with this one.) I told my guitar teacher I wanted to join a band, and at this time he dropped a wisdom bomb that I still live by today.

“Steve: If you join a band, make sure you’re the worst one.”

This confused the hell out of me. No one likes being the Ringo Star of the band. Why would I want to put myself through that kind of misery? He then elaborated for me.

“If you’re the best player in the group, you’ll never be challenged and you won’t get any better. If you are the worst, you’ll work your ass off. And that’s how you’ll become the best you can be.”

From that point on, I made it a point to surround myself with those who are more talented, more driven, more intelligent, more compassionate, and all around “more” than me. I’m still far from perfect, and I can’t wait to keep getting better. I look to those around me to keep me grounded and continue to show me areas I need to improve.

And so I pass this wisdom on to you. If you’re the best in your band, find others better than you to jam with. If you stop learning at work, take on new challenges to keep your mind sharp (or find another job that will let you.)

Surround yourself with the best, and you will become the best you can be.

As an added bonus, please enjoy this throwback 80′s gem:

Sea Bright, Post Sandy

Our city is in ruins. Sea Bright, a place I spent my childhood summers and now call my home, lies in rubble from the storm of the century known as Sandy. Homes are wrecked, businesses gutted, and access to the tiny beach community is still restricted due to gas leaks and collapsed structures.

But despite the broken buildings, Sandy was unsuccessful in breaking the spirit of our community. I’ve seen strangers come together to start repairing and rebuilding. I’ve seen an unprecedented amount of love flowing between neighbors, friends and families. I’ve seen a tragedy spark a new sense of humanity that I haven’t seen in a long time.

Sure, there are some serious dicks out there. The looters, the selfish, and the malicious exist only feed their self interests. These people will not last long past the storm, but the spirit of community will only grow stronger.

It sucks to have lost everything (my home, my car, my clothes and possessions), but at the end of the day I see it as a chance to start again with a clean slate. Let’s move forward.

The photos below were taken by a group of gentleman who stayed through the storm to document everything. They are working to set up donations for victims of the storm. I’ll post the link once its all set up.

Update: Make A Donation Here

Photos: Daniel Ekdahl

Silent But Deadly: Why You Need To Speak Up At Work

speak up Staying quiet is easy. Just sit back, relax, and let everyone else do all chattering. But is this type of behavior beneficial to your growth? The answer is a resounding “hell no.”

By no means am I the role model for the meek. There are certainly situations where I talk too much, and others where I should step up to the plate and let the world know what I think. Still, I’ve found that voicing my opinion and being an open communicator has made an enormous impact on the way I live my life.

There are many reasons you might choose to remain silent in social situations. A few common examples include:

I really don’t have anything important to say
I’m afraid everyone will criticize and judge me
There are enough people voicing their opinions, so I don’t really need to contribute
This day dream is way too interesting to interrupt with real thoughts

This “silence is golden” mentality is an excellent defense mechanism, but it will rarely lead you towards meaningful personal growth in your career. Below are four reasons that I believe you should make a proactive effort to speak up more in the workplace:

1. Your Life Is Unique

Every single person on this planet has lived a different life. We hold a collection of unique experiences with us that guide the thousands of decisions we make every day. Your experiences can bring a new dynamic to any conversation. This is how innovation happens, and the input of many will usually beat out a single individual (crowd sourcing, anyone?)

2. It Relieves Stress

Multitasking is a myth. In reality, your brain can only concentrate on one task at a time. The more thoughts you keep inside your head, the less bandwidth you give your brain to work on any given task. By speaking out, you clear your mental cache and give yourself the opportunity to move on to something new.

3. Build Your Confidence

There’s a strong correlation between confidence and communication skills. A well placed comment or idea can help you command respect from your peers, which in turn results in a positive self outlook. Practice makes perfect, so try to make a habit of sharing your ideas.

4. It Creates Opportunities

Wayne Gretzky once said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Aside from being one of my favorite quotes, it is also 100% accurate. Simply communicating your wants, needs, and desires will open an obscene amount of possibilities for you.

Speaking up might be uncomfortable for you at first, but it is far from an impossible task. Start simple by complimenting your coworkers each day. This is a low risk, high reward scenario that will let you open up without receiving much negative attention. Continue to increase the stakes until you are comfortable talking openly, and I guarantee you will see positive results over time.

Do you agree that speaking up fuels personal growth? Share your stories or comments below (its easy practice!)

10 Brands That Rule The World

Its amazing to me to see how many companies are actually just smaller subsidiaries of corporate brand giants. This image below does a great job of illustrating:

Source: Business Insider

great artists steal

Three Reasons To Build Your Personal Brand

Here are three big reasons to start branding yourself:

1. Build Trust

2. Engage Experts

3. Dominate Search Rankings

I hope you enjoy the training!

“Things may come to wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”

~Abraham Lincoln

So close to Vegas I can almost taste it…

Automotive Boot Camp

The Perks of Part Time Entrepreneurship

chicken entrepreneurship Hi everyone, my name is Steve Murphy, and I’m a chicken entrepreneur. A chicken entrepreneur is defined someone who is interested in starting a business, but is too “chicken” to quit their full time job and forego a steady paycheck. I happen to love my full time job, but we’ll stick with the label to spice things up a bit.

For the past two and a half years, I’ve been slowly building my own small business marketing company from scratch. It started as a way to supplement my income, but soon snowballed into an addictive lifestyle that I would never give up. It has inspired me to take risks, fail faster, and learn from my mistakes. Since starting my business, I’ve become a much more mature person, and both my personal and professional lives have benefited tremendously.

I’d like to convince you to also become a chicken entrepreneur. Below I’ll list some of the perks for starting your own business on the side, and then will present you with a unique proposition if you choose take the next step.

Here are the four benefits to becoming a chicken entrepreneur:

1. It Keeps You Sharp

“Hey bro, I can’t start a business on the side, my boss wouldn’t like that very much.” Its sickening how often I hear this used as an excuse. Entrepreneurship is the cheapest and fastest form of education availables, and most bosses would surely opt for this over a $60,000 MBA program. Starting your own business forces you to pick up new skills and brush up on old ones, helping to you to sharpen your abilities and become more valuable as an employee. Growing my business has encouraged me to learn sales, public speaking, graphic design, web development and numerous other skills that I’ve taken back to my full time job. This has accelerated my personal growth along with the growth of the company, and at virtually zero cost to my employer. Can you say win-win?

2. Think Like A Manager

When you own your own business, you change your perspective on how business works. You realize that every single penny is precious, and that time is worth even more than money. This will completely change the way you work, and have a major impact on your full time job. Its much easier to attain a promotion when you already have the mindset of a manager. While many of your coworkers will be content in their day to day activities, you’ll constantly be striving for more, because that’s what entrepreneurs do. They extract more from less, and achieve great success in the process. Combine this with reason #1 above, and your boss will be ecstatic.

3. Accelerate Your Networking

Let’s flip the coin for a minute and assume your full time job sucks. You’re stuck in a rut, and your endless search for jobs on Craig’s List has come to a screeching halt. But there’s a much better way to find a new gig than scouring job boards all day, and its called networking. Engaging with real people will produce much higher results than passively waiting for an opportunity to drop into your lap. Entrepreneurship requires you to build meaningful relationships with a diverse group of customers, vendors, and partners, who may be able to help you find meaningful full time work. I’m confident that if something ever happens to my full time job (knock on wood), I’ll be able to leverage the connections I’ve made through my business to find another job that matches my interests and goals.

4. It’s Fun

The three reasons above are all great benefits from part time entrepreneurship, but you should only start a business you have fun doing. Don’t start a landscaping company if you’re afraid of spiders (full disclosure: I’m deathly afraid of spiders.) If you’re terrible at math, running a part time tax preparation service is probably a bad idea. The best businesses are built out of passion and excitement, because its much easier to stay up past midnight doing what you love than it is to stay up late working. I can honestly say I love what I do, and that’s what pushes me to work more, sleep less, and sacrifice nights and weekends to meet deadlines.

My Proposition To You

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I have a proposition for anyone out there who is ready to take the next step towards chicken entrepreneurship:

Write a 2-3 paragraph summary of what you plan to do, why you want to do it, and how you plan on pulling it off.
Send me an email at sbcmurphy@gmail.com with the subject line “Chicken Entrepreneur.”
If your response is genuine and sincere, I will take the time to help you plan and start your side business.

I assure you this isn’t a pitch, and there are no strings attached; it’s just people helping people. I firmly believe in the statements above, and I’m willing to put my reputation, time, and experience on the line to turn you into a believer as well.

I hope some of you are up to the challenge, and I look forward to hearing back from you!

The Death of The Resume

Today I stumbled upon an article in the Wall Street Journal that highlighted how many companies are now asking candidates for digital alternatives to paper resumes, such as LinkedIn profiles and Twitter accounts. Its a sign of the times that traditional job search is dead, and today’s candidates must adapt in order to stay competitive in an already competitive job market.

Luckily, the internet has provided us with a plethora of tools to accommodate for these changes. Savvy job seekers have already adopted creative job search strategies that leverage diverse online media to land interviews with major corporations.

If you are just getting started in your job search, here are a few tactics you can use to stand out in the crowd with digital media.

Get Active On LinkedIn

LinkedIn is, and will continue to be, the most important online tool for job seekers and networkers alike. A robust profile filled with your personal experiences, future goals, and personality can give potential employers a much better look into your qualifications as a worker. It also connects you to real people in the companies you’d like to work for, which is much more productive than sending resumes into automated online applications (AKA the black hole.)

Dig Deeper: 10 Tips To Crush It On LinkedIn

Build A Personal Website

Building a personal website is no longer a perk exclusive to super nerds. User friendly platforms like WordPress and Wix have made it incredibly easy for the average person to create a beautiful and free website. Your website should be your digital hub, including all of your social profiles (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) as well as samples of your work, writing skills, and pictures. When employers can see your personality, it really humanizes the job application process and makes you more appealing. Remember that companies hire people, not positions.

Dig Deeper: Two Free DIY Website Builders

Prove Your Expertise

Simply building out your online presence won’t guarantee you land an interview at your dream company. Instead, it is a doorway towards establishing your credibility and expertise. Start reading up on important topics in your industry so that you can form your own opinions. Once you are comfortable speaking about a particular topic, begin blogging and engaging others on social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn. This proactive approach will catapult you above and beyond other candidates, regardless of your age or experience.

Dig Deeper: Think You’re An Expert? Prove It!

I hope these tips prove helpful to you in your current and future job search. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to get back to you.

Have you gotten a job using these (or any other) digital tips? Let’s hear about them in the comments.

Learning Each Day Keeps Unemployment Away

learn something new I’m not afraid of losing my job. Now I don’t want to come off as cocky by saying this, because I know I’m replaceable (along with everyone else in the workforce.) I’m well aware that I may lose my job on any given day, for any given reason. I’ve accepted these facts early on in my career. The reason I’m not afraid of losing my job is because I’m always preparing for what tomorrow has to bring by educating myself today.

Learning new ideas, skills, and lessons is one of the most interesting human experiences you can be a part of. Its a trait all humans possess, and yet many of us rarely take advantage of our brain’s amazing ability to extract and retain boatloads of information. Think of how good you felt the first time you succeeded at a new task after failing multiple times; its exhilarating.

The internet has created an unprecedented opportunity to help you kick start your education. Blogs, YouTube videos, Wiki’s and other media outlets provide you with the opportunity to build a highly customizable education plan to drive your career forward. Engaging in at least one of these activities for 30 minutes a day can give you a solid grasp of nearly any topic in a relatively short time span.

But enough about the things you already know. Here are a few ways taking advantage of free education can help you in your job search:

1. Read every day. If you don’t have time to read a news article, blog post, magazine, etc., then you need to make time. Keeping informed on the trending topics of interest in your industry will keep you ahead of other potential candidates who have less ambition. It will also provide you with conversational topics that will help you network with others, impress interviewers, and transition into a new job more quickly.

2. Learn a new skill. In my opinion, the best way to learn something new is by trial and error. As children we speak jibberish before speaking real language, and we fall on our butts hundreds of times before taking those triumphant first steps. I’ve taught myself graphic design, web design, bass guitar, and various other skills by investing countless hours of effort into trying new things. Find out which skills will help supplement your core competencies, and try to master a new ability every 6-12 months.

3. Get Certified. There are many low cost certifications that you can use to boost your credentials in the job search. In my quest to become a digital marketing expert, I recently took part of Hubspot’s Certified Inbound Marketing Specialist program. The program was free, and all I needed to do was watch a series of online video lectures over the course of a few weeks. At the end of this training I took a one hour exam online, and now I can proudly flaunt my certificate to potential employers, clients, and colleagues.

4. Ask Questions. Turning to others for help is one of the most useful, yet least used forms of learning available. As I mentioned in an earlier post, most people are dying to be heard. Asking someone for help is the perfect way to feed their desire to be heard, while providing you with invaluable personalized lessons. If you’re desperately looking to get a job at Company A, try to connect with one of their employees to learn what they do. There’s a good chance that person will be thrilled to talk to you about their job, and this may even open up a warm introduction to a hiring manager.

At the end of the day, your career destiny is in your hands. Those who stay hungry to learn and achieve hold a superior advantage over others who are content with the status quo. If you challenge yourself to learn something new everyday, you’ll never fear unemployment again.

Do you agree that keeping educated will keep you employed, or do you think I’m batshit crazy? I’d love to hear from you either way!

Shut Up and Listen

Listening One of the most common misconceptions about leadership is that you need to be a great speaker. While many of the world’s most influential leaders can command a crowd with their words, it’s what they do with their ears that truly inspires.

The art of listening has been lost in a world of endless tweets, status updates and blogs (cough cough). Much like a drunken party, our society continues to turn up the volume so that we can each have our turn to speak. And this is why being a great listener is such a powerful trait. Everyone wants to be heard, and we flock to the individuals that are willing to listen.

In Bob Burg’s book Endless Referrals, he claims you can have an entire conversation with a stranger without divulging any information about yourself, and still make it memorable. This is accomplished simply by asking the other person a stream of meaningful questions and engaging in their responses as an active listener. I’ve tried this approach myself at many networking events, and soon found myself surrounded by a crowd of eager speakers itching to be heard.

Challenge yourself today to become a more perceptive listener. Ask others how they are doing, what they are feeling, and if they have any ideas they want to share. Open your ears up to others often, and see what kind of impact it makes on your day.

I’m sure you’ll find being a great listener will get you much farther than being a constant broadcaster.

Have you had success letting others do the talking? Share your stories below, I’d love to listen to them!