3 Sure Fire Ways to Accelerate Your Career with Danielle Cobo
How many of you are wanting to accelerate your career, but feel lost navigating the corporate ladder? In today's episode, I share 3 of my favorite tips for accelerating your career in a field that you love. Let me take care of some of the overwhelm by tuning into today's episode.
"When you're clear on your goals, you will build an abundant career for yourself" - Danielle Cobo
Highlights
💫 2:56 How often do you experience self-doubt?
💫 5:31 Do you really believe that you can accomplish your goals?
💫 8:46 How do you handle life's biggest challenges?
💫 9:42 How to push past your limiting beliefs
💫 13:31 Write down everything you liked about your past jobs
💫 16:54 How to establish your personal brand
💫 19:50 Why it is so important to build your network
Let's Connect!
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Using Setbacks and Challenges to Grow and Thrive in Life
As a career coach, I empower professionals to discover their vision, recognize the power within and build an abundant life. I believe every woman has the power to step into their dream job, earn the income their worth, and create the life they desire. So how many of you have dreamt of being a doctor, musician, or scientist when you were a kid? See, after a successful career as a Girl Scout, I knew I wanted to be in sales. At first, I wanted to be a real actor. And then I found out they work weekends. And out with that dream.
See, I have four-year-old twin boys. And while they are cute, they are master negotiators. I thought I was good at sales, but these two can convince you that wearing underwear and a superhero cape is acceptable to wear to school. One thing is for sure, they too can decide when they grow up to be cowboys, space rangers, or firemen, but are confident that life is big and fun. They don't know the qualifications for each job, or even that they will spend the next 20 years in school. And that's okay. They don't let self-doubt hold them back from grabbing a baseball bat and pretending to be Babe Ruth.
It's easy to feel stuck when you don't have clarity on where you want to take your career, or how to get there. When you're clear on your goals, you build an abundant career for yourself.
So how often do you experience self-doubt? Let's say an alert comes up for your dream job and you are so excited. But when you read through the qualifications, you start to disqualify yourself. You say I'm too old and companies are hiring younger candidates for less money. First, if Betty White can act at 99 years young, yes, she is 99, then you can never be too old to do what you love. See, on the other hand, I hear from clients all the time, I'm too young and don't have enough experience. You may tell yourself, I don't have industry experience. The certifications are even worse. Other candidates out there are more qualified than me. So what happens? You feel discouraged. You second-guess yourself on whether to apply for the job or even worse, you don't apply at all. So how many of you are ready to advance your career but feel lost in navigating through the corporate ladder and the politics? You may start to compare yourself to coworkers and friends and say to yourself, “Everyone else has their life figured out.” You're left feeling stuck and frustrated in your current job and may even lose your passion. So what happens in that situation?
So according to a study by Middlesex University 74% of employees feel that they're not achieving their full potential at work due to a lack of development opportunities. What would your life look like if you stopped disqualifying yourself before you even walked up to bat? Who would you be if you uncovered your power within and pursued your dreams? Whether you want to get promoted, find a new job, or even start a business, the feeling of clarity on how to accelerate your career is priceless. We are worth more than we often give ourselves credit for.
See, I went from closed doors and trash bags and told I wasn't going to amount to anything in life to leading a team for Fortune 500 company with no direct management experience. Our biggest limitations in life can often be ourselves. When we believe we can do it, others will believe in us too. I spent most of my life doubting my abilities. I told myself I wasn't worthy of unconditional love. Not smart or pretty, and comparing myself to others. I grew up thinking my father abandoned me and he chose another family when I was unaware that my mom suffered from bipolar disorder and kidnapped me when I was two years old. The pain of thinking that my dad didn't love me, triggered a lifetime of self-doubt. I grew up thinking I wasn't worthy. I compare myself to others and hid from the spotlight because I feared judgment. In many ways, I also aspired to be my mom. She was a single mother working full time attending college to achieve her bachelor's degree, and raising a five-year-old all at the same time. And let me tell you, I probably wasn't the easiest child growing up. I had that same independent personality as my grandmother, who led the women's equality movement, and my mom who climbed the corporate ladder, breaking down barriers in the 90s. In my eyes, my mom was superwoman. She was driven and passionate and persevered through every obstacle thrown her way. My mom was unstoppable, and I wanted to be just like her.
Then there were the lows of my mother's bipolar disorder. My mom had extended periods of time laying on the couch depressed and had no motivation to live her life. One of the biggest challenges experiencing someone with bipolar disorder is when you walk into your house, you never know what you're walking into. The experience can feel like a roller coaster, with twists and turns, highs and lows. And you never know how to brace yourself for the impact. In my senior year of high school, my mom and I got into one of those blowout fights. She fought me across the face, leaving my cheeks swollen and red, then pushed me down the stairs, leaving rug burns all up and down my legs. I was 17 years old and I was kicked out of the house. The next day, the school counselor called me into her office and told me if I don't go back and amend things with my mom, you're not going to accomplish anything in life. This was a pivotal moment when I learned the value of believing in myself, trusting that I know what's best for me and how to persevere in life. I could choose to listen to the negativity or use it to source the fuel for my power to graduate high school while working full time and rotating staying at friends' houses with my clothes piled into four trash bags.
We have a choice in life – to either fall victim to our circumstances, or to turn our life's biggest challenges into our greatest strength. It's not easy to be a woman in the tech industry. The Center for talent innovation recently found that 27% of women in these fields are so stalled in their careers. The study attributed these feelings to macho workplace culture, isolation, lack of support from executives, and lack of sponsors. So this is our moment to say goodbye to feeling stuck, undervalued, frustrated, and discouraged. And say hello to feeling empowered, fulfilled, energized, and abundant.
Three Pillars to Accelerating Your Career
Crush your limiting beliefs and transform self-doubt into confidence and courage.
Imagine yourself sitting down and across from you is you at three years old. As a kid, who did you want to be growing up? Was it a software developer, programmer engineer, or scientist? As you sit across from your younger self, would you tell her the things that you tell yourself when you're experienced self-doubt? I'm not good enough. Women aren't taken seriously. The others have their life figured out. I'm not smart.
It's time we crush our limiting beliefs and shift our minds to why we are the best at what we do. When I was 30 years old, I interviewed for a sales representative position for Fortune 500 company. After answering a few of the questions in the interview, the director paused and asked me if I was interested in applying for a management position. See, I was an outsider to the company with no direct management experience. I could have let self-doubt prevent me from pursuing the opportunity. But instead, I found the courage within myself to present a three-hour SWOT analysis on my approach to servant leadership in front of six of the executive leadership team. It's time we start saying yes to ourselves and career opportunities.
Have you ever taken a baseball bat and hit a home run out of the park? Do you remember that adrenaline rush when you feel the power of the bat hit the ball and watch that ball soar through the sky? I invite you to experience that same feeling when you break down and crush any of the limiting beliefs you tell yourself. It's time to crush the negativity with that same power and hit that ball. At your next opportunity, I invite you to take a white plate and with a sharpie, write down every negative thought you've told yourself throughout the years. Start from the center of your plate and work it all the way around until that plate is full. Then, in a safe place – and I repeat, in a safe place – throw that plate onto the ground along with all those limiting beliefs on the plate. It's time to let them go. Then on a piece of paper, write down your accomplishments throughout your life and career. Celebrate every milestone, and celebrate every win that you have accomplished throughout your life. There are studies that show it takes 45 to 60 days to change a habit and transform our minds from a place of self-doubt to courage and confidence. So take everything that you've accomplished in life and write it down on a piece of paper. Celebrate your wins. And then write five affirmations you get to tell yourself every day. When your confidence is high. Creating a career plan can feel limitless. When your mind is clear from the negativity, you will have the clarity to create your dream career. Where do you want to take the next step in accelerating your career?
When I was designing my dream career, and where I am today, people often ask me, how did you get to where you're at, and why did you choose a career coach? And what I did was I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down everything I loved about my recent job. My passion in my last role was linking arms with my men, with team members on my team, and building career plans with their short-term and long-term goals. It was so rewarding to watch people on my team promoted to new positions, earn top sales performers and lead my team to number one in the nation. There is nothing like sipping cocktails, poolside in Cabo San Lucas, with members of your team because we all achieved President circle. What I didn't like about my job was chasing down expense reports. Let's be real. No one likes doing expense reports, and also putting out fires all the time. So I created my dream career. And I've helped several clients, promote to leadership positions, attract new job opportunities, max out on their comp plan and launch new businesses. I have my dream career, I built my dream career, and I get to do it every single day. So ask yourself, what brings you joy in your current role and in your life? Then break your goals down into smart goals. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.
A study conducted by Harvard showed that students that created wrote down and tracked their goals made 10 times more than their peers. So how many of you out there want to make 10 times more than your peers? How would you get to spoil yourself? One goal might be aligning yourself with mentors within your organization, and investing in yourself with a career coach. Mentors and career coaches can help you gain clarity on your career. Align your strength and motivations and growth opportunities with a clear roadmap to accelerate your career. Also, expand your knowledge of job opportunities, companies, and maybe positions out there that you may not even know about.
Develop your brand.
What do you think of when you hear Nordstroms, Starbucks, Bloomingdale's, or in my mind, Christian Louboutin? A quote that is posted on my vision board by Tara J. Frank, who's the VP of multicultural diversity at Hallmark, says, “People don't get promoted for doing their jobs really well. They get promoted for demonstrating their potential to do more.”
So what does your brand say about you? If you can't answer this question, you may not be in control of your brand, and it could affect your career. Personal Branding establishes and consistently reinforces who you are and what you stand for in your career and life. Personal Branding is how you present yourself in person and online – how you treat others, how you communicate your skills, your accomplishments, your reputation, and the value you bring to an organization. People don't always remember what you say, they remember how you made them feel. Your brand is your legacy. And what legacy do you want to leave? Developing your brand is a proactive way of controlling your career, and potential future opportunities.
A strong brand will open the doors to opportunities resulting in career acceleration. 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to recruit talent. Furthermore, 80% of jobs are not posted online, and among the ones that are on average, receive over 250 applicants. A comprehensive LinkedIn profile highlighting your accomplishments and value proposition can attract recruiters to your profile versus you spending hours sorting through job opportunities. Oftentimes, it can feel like a job looking for a job. Your profile is a tool to communicate who you are, your skills, the value you offer to an organization, your accomplishments, and your reputation. People are often scared to post on LinkedIn. However, it's an excellent platform to connect and share your experience. Share your expertise, and step outside of that comfort zone. And I invite you to post a couple of times a week. It can be anything from your favorite leadership quote to something that you experienced in your career. Learn from your successes and your failures.
Build your network.
A referred job seeker is up to 14 times more likely to get hired than someone who applies without a referral. LinkedIn is a valuable tool to connect directly with managers and recruiters to build a referral network. We spent 1/3 of our life working, it's important to make sure it is filling up your cup and your wallet. The worst thing you can do is to stay where you are unfulfilled and undervalued. Now is your time to break from self-doubt and transform your mind into a place of confidence and courage, and create a roadmap for your career. Align yourself with a career coach, develop your brand, and expand your network. Channel that inner golden girl and remember that if Betty White can be acting at 99 years old, you can do whatever you want as well. It's time you pursued that dream career. Continue to fulfill your dream and go after what you want.
