Mohamed Ibrahim's Blog

In every new encounter, be it wanting to pass a job interview, completing a sales deal, or networking with new people at some gathering, you always seek to leave a good first impression. The power of first impressions is that they usually last, and there is a good reason for that: In this fast-paced life, we are typically too busy to give a second chance. Our brains try to economically process the loads of information they are exposed to, so the time window we leave open to judge someone or something is short, and once we create a perception, we stick to it and it becomes hard to change.

Creating a positive impression simply means that you need to actively manage both how people “feel” about you, and how they “think” about you. There are hundreds of books, articles, and videos on how to impress others, but many of them lack the proper balance between these two components. Some resources accentuate the importance of building rapport and excellent communication (the “feeling” component), while some others favor the presentation of your achievements or the solution you’ll bring to a business problem (the “thinking” component).

To learn the balanced formula that can help you make powerful impressions in your first encounters, read the book "Career Compass" at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOPPA1K

There is a story about a man who found a cocoon for a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared stuck. The man decided to help the butterfly and with a pair of scissors he cut open the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. Something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man watched the butterfly expecting it to take on its correct proportions. But nothing changed.

The butterfly stayed the same. It was never able to fly. In his kindness and haste the man did not realize that the butterfly's struggle to get through the small opening of the cocoon is nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would grow and become ready to fly.

Like a butterfly needs to struggle through its cocoon so that it can grow normally and become able to fly, we all need to be challenged through our jobs so that we can learn, develop, and grow in our careers. That is why you must always appreciate, and even seek challenge.

To learn more about the secrets of how to grow and ignite your career progress, read the book "Career Compass" at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOPPA1K

Post by Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim.

One day, I got a phone call from one of my mentees. She was a young, hard-working, and ambitious professional, but she was perplexed when two exciting career opportunities knocked her door almost at the same time. One opportunity would grant her high visibility through constant exposure to upper levels of management and main decision makers in her organization, while the other one would allow her to foster her creativity and develop her problem solving skills by leading an effort to enhance complex cross-departmental processes. She was asking me: “What would you choose if you were in my shoes?”

I responded to her: “Nobody can choose for you. You must choose for yourself.”

And I added: “But, let me tell you my version of the author James Patterson’s metaphor: Imagine work is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called power, autonomy, expertise, creativity, and stability. And you are trying to keep all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to realize that some balls are made of rubber. If you drop them, they will bounce back. The other balls are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered… Now you are the only one who can tell which balls in your game are glass balls and which ones are rubber.”

It is important for you too, to know the “glass ball” motivators and the “rubber ball” motivators in your game. This will help you make better career decisions.

You can understand your own motivators and raise your self-awareness by taking the various mini-assessments in the book "Career Compass" at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOPPA1K

Congratulations! You are hired, and you went out celebrating this major event in your life with your buddies. Now, you are back home and you find it hard to sleep from the excitement about this dream job you are going to start in a week or so. It is even getting nerve-racking.

You must be asking yourself what kind of things you must do right from the start to put you on the right track, because as career experts say, the first three months of any job are an extension of the interview process.

Read more on how to nail your first 100 days in a new job and become destined for a long-term success, in the book "Career Compass" at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOPPA1K

A career plateau is the situation in which your career stagnates. Your chances of moving up the career ladder diminish. This could happen because of reasons that have to do with your organization, like the end of advancement or the lack ofchallenges, or more seriously, it could happen because of personal reasons, like loss of identity, direction, meaning, self-esteem, or when one undergoes self-doubt in his or her life. Ask yourself the below questions to realize whether you are currently trapped in a career plateau:

• Do I accept high-visibility assignments?
• Am I recognized by other leaders in my organization?
• Am I routinely promoted?
• Am I known as a versatile employee?
• Do I continue to get larger-than-normal raises?
• Do I rate at the high end of the performance ratings?
• Do I have a plan with measurable objectives, and have I updated it recently?
• Do I continue to advance my education, both formal and vocational?

If your answer to most of these questions is “No”, then you probably are experiencing a career plateau.

Read more on how to escape, or better avoid, a career plateau, in the book "Career Compass" at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOPPA1K

Post by Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim.

Post by Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim.

Goodreads Quiz Test Your Understanding About Career Issues taken 5 times 10 questions take quiz

.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; background: white; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget img { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0; color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:visted { color: #660; text-decoration: none; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget a:hover { color: #660; text-decoration: underline !important; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink { display: block; width: 150px; margin: 10px auto 0 !important; padding: 0px 5px !important; text-align: center; line-height: 1.8em; color: #222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; border: 1px solid #6A6454; border-radius: 5px; font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif; background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... background-repeat: repeat-x; background-color:#BBB596; outline: 0; white-space: nowrap; } .goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover { background-image:url(https://www.goodreads.com/images/layo... color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; } Goodreads Book Giveaway Career Compass by Mohamed Ibrahim

Giveaway ends November 17, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win