From the EU to Digital Marketing

From the EU to Digital Marketing Success Story > From: Job To: Freelance From the EU to Digital Marketing “I was feeling out of place, and lacking freedom.” * From the EU to Digital Marketing Luca Tagliaferro craved more flexible work. Seeing a family membershiftinto a new field gave him the beginnings of a plan. Here's how he's moved into fast-paced, meaningful work that gives him the independence he always wanted. What work were you doing previously? I was an EU grants consultant in Brussels. I helped companies apply to the European Commission for EU grants and use those grants to create new projects in the field of innovation and science. I landed in this career purely by chance. My former girlfriend at the time was living in Germany and I wanted to move there, so found a Masters Degree in European Studies for a career in the European Institutions. I got a place, completed the Masters and then moved to Brussels to work. What are you doing now? I work in digital marketing. I help companies grow their traffic online and create new experiences for their users to love. How did you feel in your work before you decided to make the change? I was feeling out of place. While I loved my job, I felt there weren't many opportunities in that line of work. I was lacking the freedom to move around to different countries, such as Italy (where I'm from), Germany, the UK and Belgium; my future plans were looking very limited to Brussels. Why did you change? When the financial crisis hit the sector, I was made redundant. After that I struggled to find new opportunities and started to do several temporary jobs. At first I became an Italian teacher, then worked as a barista. These were jobs with very low pay; I felt I could use my time better. When was the moment you decided to make the change? After splitting up with my German girlfriend, I moved back to Italy to refocus and think about what to do with my career. That's when I decided to plan a career that could guarantee me total flexibility, good money and remote working. How did you choose your new career? First I talked to my cousin who completed a Master's degree in the UK in Marketing, and who went on to have a very good job. I also researched online to see what jobs were available for new marketing graduates. I loved the internet so I opted for digital marketing. Are you happy with the change? Yes! I've been working and growing in my job every year for eight years now. It's very fast paced. I feel I'm doing meaningful work for the companies I help, and I've become very good at it. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I miss working in an international environment, with people from all over the world. I don't miss the formal and corporate world of the European Union offices. How did you go about making the shift? I travelled to London to university open days to find out more about new courses in Digital Marketing. After getting lots of information from several courses, I made three applications and got two offers â€" one from Portsmouth and one from the London School of Economics. I opted for the Portsmouth Masters degree in Digital Marketing, simply because the costs were lower and the course was very practical. The course allowed me to work with real clients, so I could establish a good basis for a new career, with a portfolio of clients to show prospective employers. What didn't go well? What wrong turns did you take? For the first four year after graduating, I was a bit stuck in a company I didn't enjoy working for. But I had the need to learn as much as possible at that time, so I decided to work for them until I was ready to move on to a better job. How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible? Luckily my dad was available to finance me. I couldn't have done it without him and I will always be grateful for this opportunity. What was the most difficult thing about changing? I felt too old to start studying at 31 when everyone else was 21â€"22 years old. I just couldn't relate to them. I also started to work as an assistant in my new field when I was 31, where people who were 25 were my managers. What help did you get? Apart from family help, I've just kept studying, learning and doing more courses online. What resources would you recommend to others? Start with speaking to family and friends. What have you learnt in the process? It's never too late to make a change! What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Plan your career with love, attention and much care. Don't let your feelings get in the way during the shift process â€" be as efficient as you can, and never give up. To find out more about Luca's services, visit www.lucatagliaferro.com. What lessons could you take from Luca's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

Stop wasting time and money on fad diets, try the military diet

Stop wasting time and money on fad diets, try the military diet Think about all the money you’ve spent on weight loss programs, products, pills and potions. All the diets you’ve tried- and there’s a new one around the corner all the time- that have not worked for you. Some estimates put the failure rate of diets as high as 90%. That’s a number that no one should have to deal with. Isn’t it time to just stop all of it and to try something new? A diet plan’s simple, but more importantly, that actually works? Something that shows quick results and uses not exotic food but staples you may well have in your pantry and fridge right now even as you read? Now that we have your interest, read on. We are talking of the military diet. So, let’s learn about this diet. Think about it- why do people go on a diet in the first place? To get quick results. This is exactly what the military diet promises. We are talking about a whopping 10 pounds a week weight loss. In the week divided into two phases, in the first 3 days, you eat 1400 calories a day and nothing more. The diet eases up a bit in the next 4 days and goes up to 1500 calories per day. Make sure you don’t fall lower than 1200 calories a day. This will ensure emotional equilibrium, energy and fewer hunger pangs. You can go through this diet as many times as you want. Staying true to its name, the military diet is tough, demands discipline and cuts no corners. It’s called the 3-day diet as well because of the way it is divided. There are no snacks except those certified by the diet- think saltines and other light things. There’s no alcohol, soda, sweet drinks. You can drink water and as much as you like. The meals are simple and incorporate simple foods like broccoli, apples, hardboiled eggs, toast, tuna, bananas, peanut butter, cottage cheese, and vanilla ice cream. There are many sites devoted to full length plan. If you’re a vegetarian, you can go in for nuts, lentils, and soya. The diet works because it focuses on: Raising metabolism Lowering calorie consumption Focussing on fat burning, filled food Like with any diet, it’s important to take expert advice. There are opposing viewpoints about the military diet and it doesn’t work for everyone because it’s not low on salt or fat. If a dieter has cholesterol or blood sugar issues, they need to get the doctor’s approval before they try it. The weight loss- 10 pounds in a week- is higher than the recommended number which is a pound per week. To sustain this kind of weight loss will require a firm commitment to exercise and diet. The military diet can serve as the first step in this entire process. It’s great motivation to see the weighing scales tip lower and this is incentive to keep at it. Ultimately, no diet can help you till you stick with it through its entirety. Stick with the military diet, and enjoy more energy, lower weight and enhanced productivity.

Do you belong in NYC Take the test

Do you belong in NYC Take the test More than 80% of young people say they want to live in New York City, according to Time Out New York. I can understand that. I lived there for seven years. Of course, NYC is amazing. But I have also lived for about ten years each in Chicago, LA, and Boston. And now I live in Madison, WI. And I can tell you with certainty that anywhere you live requires you to give up some things. NYC has the most extreme benefits to it, but it also requires the most extreme concessions in order to get those benefits. This makes sense. Its how most of life is. So in order to understand how good a fit youd be in NYC, you dont need to look at the benefits â€" we all want the benefits of NYC. What you need to look at is what you give up. Here are three questions to ask yourself. You need to answer yes to at least two before you start researching movers in New York. 1. Are you a maximizer? Optimizers are people who are always looking for the best of everything. You know if you are this kind of person because you are never complacent. You are always trying to find if there is something better. It could be a someone who cuts bangs better, a better pickup basketball game, you keep trading up boyfriends, maximizers are always looking for something better, and they usually get greatness in their lives in many aspects. Non-maximizers can be satisfied with what they have. Each of us falls somewhere on this spectrum. New Yorkers skew heavily to strong maximizers. This is because you can find pretty much the best of everything in NYC. (Yes, maybe there are some things, like the best ski slope, that you cannot find there, but if thats what you want most, you probably shouldnt be in NYC.) I know you have heard that NYC is expensive. But you will never really know how insanely expensive it is until you live there.Its like having children. Everyone will tell you having kids is really, really hard. Harder than anything theyve ever done. And everyone will also say that after all those warnings, they still were not prepared for how hard it was when the baby came. This is what money is like in NYC â€" you absolutely cannot imagine how expensive it is there until you are there, living day to day. So New Yorkers constantly have to ask themselves: What am I paying so much for? What am I suffering so much for? Life in NYC is very hard (heres funny commentary on that), and if you go to any city in the US, there is a bond that ex-New Yorkers have because they know they each understand how hard life was. I say this to tell you that the only way to justify the cost and hardship of NYC is because youre an optimizer. You appreciate having access to the best of things. Not everything â€" you probably have a few things that are really important to you. And youre willing to trade off a lot of comforts to get it. 2. Do you want to be at the top of your field (or marry someone like that)? In many cases, people have to work in NYC in order to rise to the top in their field. (Or, they want to marry someone like this â€" NYC is a very competitive place to find a husband but only because women recognize that the pickings are superior: Maximizing knows no bounds.) Wanting to be at the top of your field is not for everyone. Business Week reports that eighty percent of generation Y thinks they are in the top ten percent of all workers. So a bunch of you are overestimating your capabilities, right? But the truth is that NYC is very, very competitive, because its a magnet for ambitious, strong performers, and if you are not in the top, you will probably not do very well there. So if you do not go to NYC thinking you will work your way to the top of your field, you probably dont need to be going there for your work. And, of course, you do not necessarily have to live in NYC to work in NYC, but in order to get a substantially lower cost of living, you would have to move pretty far from the city. This is why New York has the longest commute times of anywhere in the country. This is a fine line to walk, though, because long commutes do a lot of damage to ones ability to be happy. So you are probably better off paying to high price to live closer to work if you want to get to the top of your field. 3. Do you value an interesting life over happy life? New Yorkers are not known for being happy. In fact, they are known for being unhappy, and they dont care. On balance, New Yorkers understand that most people who are happy are complacent â€" they like the status quo. And people who like what they have do not do innovative things to change the world. They like the world just fine how it is. This is probably why 95% of New Yorkers voted democrat in the last presidential election. Republicans are typically happier with their lives than democrats. And most New Yorkers are maximizers, and maximizers are almost never happy. New Yorkers think an interesting life is more important than a happy life. What you really pay for with the exorbitant cost of living and the hard lifestyle is to be surrounded by strong performers, huge ambitions, and constant need for change and innovation. To live in New York City, you have to trade happiness for this. To most New Yorkers, its a no-brainer. They would take that trade any day. To most people outside of New York City the trade-off is crazy. Hat tip: Time Out New York

The Ultimate Productivity Hack - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Ultimate Productivity Hack - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This is something you do not want to hear. It’s the opposite of human nature. It is anti-happiness. The only thing good about it? It’s the truth about productivity. The ultimate productivity hack is sticking to a very boring routine. A life filled â€" at least for a short time â€" with almost no variety. No choices. No novelty. Happiness has been dissected by the experts. Novel, fun experiences create happiness. So the highest level of productivity comes down to eschewing anything that is new and exciting. The anti-happiness regimen is largely about removing any variety, any distraction and any fun for a period of time. That time is when you are able to fully engage in whatever your work or project demands. I can hear the life balance people moaning. Take heart. This is not a prescription for living your life. It is the prescription for getting something done rapidly, with the full force of your intelligence and imagination. How many times in your life do you need to be ultra productive? It depends on your life, your desired ultimate outcome and your ability to pledge allegiance to a burning desire. Without a burning desire, this won’t work. I just finished writing my third book. It took 32 edits. It isâ€" as each book has been â€" my life’s work for a period of time. It â€" like the other books â€" aren’t my whole story. I work. I teach. I coach. I speak. Oh yes, and I live. Bathe. Dress. Drive. Work. Teach. Coach. Speak. But mostly I WRITE. READ. EDIT. REVISE. And repeat. (You get the idea.) The secret of the ultimate productivity hack is to put everything possible on auto-pilot. At the simplest level, I start with what I eat. I make something I call my “writer’s mix.” It is turkey, Brussels sprouts, spinach, carrots, and a huge volume of turmeric and chile paste. I eat it three times a day. I start out with a huge stewing pot of this stuff. Then, for breakfast, lunch and dinner: I eat it. The goal is simple: no joy of eating. I start out hungry. I eat the mix. I am full. I do the same with every other task in my life, while I am writing and editing. I do my social media interactions every three hours. I pick up my email while I’m eating. I walk my dogs for an hour, during twilight so it’s cool enough for them and the right time to clear my head. I don’t hibernate nor am I rigid. I went to a wedding of a dear friend last Friday evening. I met another dear friend for lunch on Sunday afternoon. So, part of the routine is two times over a weekend, I have three hours with people I know well and adore. There’s a religious text with a passage about there being a time for everything. When you have a project that must be done and have a life that must be folded in around it: this is the time for being focused on your purpose. Promise yourself, you will be happy. Later. For now: set up the rules, routines, rituals and habits that protect you from distraction, confusion, choices and decision-making. The more boring your life is the better, when it comes to being super successful at getting something important done. Need some tips on setting up your routine? Email me at Nance@NanceRosen.com. Subject line: Productivity.

Personal Branding and the Email Signature Dilemma - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Personal Branding and the Email Signature Dilemma Your executive job search is underway, or about to be, and you’re working on your branded email signature. What’s the best way to design it â€" with graphics, logos, and other pretty visual effects or just text with no enhancements? Weve all received email messages with impressive signature sections at the bottom that were well-branded and attractively designed . . . with logos, graphics and hyperlinks functioning perfectly. On the other hand, weve all also received email signatures that didnt function properly or come through as intended. Images and logos were blocked, hyperlinks dissolved, text strings wrapped badly. The sender may have designed a great email signature, but you’re not seeing it. For your own email signature, youd naturally prefer the former. Okay. No problem designing a beautiful one enhanced with graphics. But you want to be assured that it will function perfectly for everyone receiving it. No such luck. Its not possible. Why not? This problem was deftly explained by Rex Weston in his recent blog post, Email Signature Design, Layout and Content: [An email signature] begins simply enough, the user composing a message using their email program (Outlook, iPhone, Gmail, etc.). The formatting of an email message, and signature, almost always starts out perfect. The next step though, is that it’s received by someone who: may be using a computer or may be using a phone; may receive email in Outlook, Gmail, iOS, Android, Yahoo, BlackBerry or something else; may have image blocking turned on (and if so, may or may not choose to display the images); may convert all received email into plain text. They then may reply or forward. In so doing, the settings and capabilities of whatever email program / device they are using apply to the whole message, not just to the new content they’ve added. The whole message includes the original email signature. Depending upon the combination of the above listed factors, the email signature may survive intact or may degrade (fail) in various ways.” So, how do you play it safe, and create a branded email signature that will function properly for every recipient? You settle for a stripped down, plain text version, with stacked content and include URLs instead of hyperlinks. But, you make sure to pack it with brand-reinforcing content that will impress without graphics and other visual effects. Here’s what a well-branded, text-based email signature for executive job search should include (not necessarily in this order): ?  Your Name (use whatever name, full name, or nickname you consistently use online) ?  Current job title and employer (if employed). If not, include the job title or job function you’re seeking, such as “Global Business Operations Leader” or “Senior Turnaround Management Executive” ?  Brief brand statement highlighting the unique value you offer (your branded, keyword-rich profile headline may work here) ?  Email address (use your personal email, not one associated with your current employer, unless you’re self-employed) ?  Phone (the best one to reach you don’t confuse by including more than one) ?  Your personal website name with URL (if you have one and it’s job search-focused) or webpage or web resume ?  One or two briefly-stated career distinctions (could include relevant certifications/credentials, a recent noteworthy publication (book, e-book, white paper, etc.), a link to a professional video of you [Social media include links to each of your accounts, if you’re active there. At the very least,  you should have a fully complete profile, to lead people to further information about your brand and value.] â€" your LI URL Twitter â€" your Twitter URL

Top 10 Ways to Cope with Job Transition - Sterling Career Concepts

Top 10 Ways to Cope with Job Transition Top 10 Ways to Cope with Job Transition Job transitions are almost always stressfulâ€"whether they’re due to layoff, a new job, or working extra hours because colleagues were laid off. If you’re facing one, consider the following: 1. Take an honest look at yourself. What are your strengths, weaknesses, skills? How did those influenceâ€"positively or negativelyâ€"your transition? 2. Step up your self-care. Major changes are physically and emotionally taxing. You need self-care now more than ever. 3. Engage your curiosity. What went wrong, or right? What could you have done better? What worked really well? 4. Focus on what you want, and less on what you don’t want. Keep your eye on the prize. 5. Find support. Since your transition affects your family as well, it may be better to seek the outside support of friends or professionals. 6. Work on your thoughts. Calm your fears and reinforce your sense of hope and happiness. 7. Reassure (or avoid) those who are threatened by, or jealous of, the change. 8. Create your own rite of passage. Ceremony and ritual help with all transitions. 9. Let go of how things were “supposed to be” and accept “how things are.” Find appreciation for what is. 10. Keep things in perspective. Or try on a new perspective. Don’t get stuck. Remember, the only constant is change. In my next post, I’ll dig a little deeper with you into point #9 â€" letting go and accepting how things are now, but for now, connect with me if you’d like some assistance working through a transition. There’s no reason to go it alone.

Protect Your Professional Reputation

Protect Your Professional Reputation Just recently one big pharmaceutical company was fined 1.2 billion dollars for failing to disclose possible serious side effects of one of their FDA-approved drugs. Some companies take these fines in stride as the cost of doing business. Other potential employers realize that there are risks of employing someone from a company who repeatedly breaks the law. Think hard about how one of these companies will look on your resume before you accept a job. Protect your professional reputation. You are a perceived liability to future employers when you work at a company with major infractions â€" so major that they are paying out big dollars in fines. If the company thinks it’s  okay to do business this way, then you as their employee may be perceived as someone who bends or breaks the law at work, when in reality you actually are a very ethical employee. But todays employers are not  only concerned with what you do on the job, they also want to ensure that their employees represent them well  outside of the workplace. While many people feel that their personal and professional lives should be separate, in todays social media-saturated world, what you do outside of work could also affect your chances of being hired for a new job. The recent rash of people faking their educational credentials on their resumes has employers doing full background checks, not just on educational credentials, but credit checks, Department of Motor Vehicles checks, drug screenings and anything else that can turn up infractions or crimes. Your best option if you have DUI’s on your record, or if you have served jail time, is to admit to it up front on a background check. You may still be able to work for the company that wishes to hire you, especially if you will not be driving or handling money or other valuables while on the job. However, the best way to protect your reputation is to not engage in any behavior that will disqualify you on a background check in the first place.