Tips For Work And Life With Andrew Lacivita

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me a question about working with executive recruiters, I probably wouldn’t be typing this to you right now. The good news is I don’t have those nickels, which means I get to keep living my real dream of helping you with your career. Part of helping you with your career means dissecting these thorny people (oooops, meant thorny issues) for you. In today’s podcast, I open up the entire kimono, which apparently takes exactly 46 minutes and 50 seconds, on working with third-party recruiters and executive search firms. You’ll get the myths and mistakes that accompany these often-misunderstood individuals and companies. As a very long-in-the-tooth recruiter myself (see, we’re not all bad), I give you the insider’s view of what recruiters do and how to leverage them for the wonderful assets they can be (no, seriously). It’s a don’t-miss for anyone who wants to expand their network with and get help from people who are doorways into the employment market. I hope you carv

Do you care to be great? It’s easier now more than ever to be awesome at your craft. It’s also more important now than ever that you ARE an ace. Why? The world has changed and employers have changed with it. There are so many factors that have altered the landscape of the employer-employee relationship. The number of opportunities in the workforce are only the beginning. This has created a lack of loyalty on the employee’s part. Employers, in turn, have mirrored the behavior. (Let’s not argue which is the chicken or egg.) Remote working means you’re building less camaraderie or affinity to each other. That means, unfortunately, employers are becoming less patient with employees who are not producing. For these and so many other reasons, it's more important now than ever to be the star employee—the one they cannot live without. Let’s make that happen today! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk

Is it possible your natural inclinations about corporate recruiters are all wrong? Would you believe me if I told you they were? Indulge me. I’ve only worked directly with a few hundred of them. Only surveyed more than 20,000 over the last 16 years. Would you spend some time with me if I could show you why they want to be your advocate? See, as a job seeker, you help them take one giant step toward fulfilling their goals—filling their open positions! Most job candidates consider recruiters gatekeepers. That’s certainly one way of looking at it. But, recognize they want to fill those positions...as quickly as possible. These “gatekeepers” are more like doormen trying to hold the gates open for you. They might even carry your brief bag if you let them (no tip required). They want to move you forward in the process. They want their company to hire you as quickly as possible because this makes them look good! Want to know how you can help recruiters do that? Want to know what’s happening behind the scenes so you

Fear is learned. For proof, look at a child. Don’tcha just wish you could get it back? True story alert. When I was not quite a teenager, I used to head to Rehm Park in Oak Park, IL. They had this amazing platform, which they built the year I was born (another true fact, coincidentally). The first platform was 10 meters, but that wouldn’t have been reckless enough, so I had to head to the top (~25 meters). Now, when I was 12, I didn’t know my 100 lb. body would be traveling at 22.14 meters/second and it would only take me 2.26 seconds (give or take a hundredth) to hit the water. All I knew was when I jumped off, I was moving toward the water so fast that my heart felt like it was pushing at the top of my head. It wasn’t until I was in college and had advanced physics as an electrical engineering student where I learned these petrifying numbers based on velocity and energy at impact and a bunch of other stuff I’ve thankfully forgotten. 12-year-old Andy: “Let’s do it again! Let’s do it again!” 19-year-old Andy

You just couldn’t do it. You just couldn’t hold back your expected salary like Coach wanted you to. You caved. Dang. Well, the bad news is at some point in the interview process—whether in the beginning, middle, or right before the new employer wanted to extend a job offer—you slipped and blurted out, well, anything! The good news for you is I’m your Coach and I not only love you, but have a trick in my bag for everything. I mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! I’m like your personal, little, Swiss-Army knife for all things career-related. Here’s what I want you to do if you gave an expected salary and want to negotiate for more even IF they gave you what you asked for… If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my three books related to interview

We’ve all been there. We need someone to do something we need them to do. That is, they don’t need to do it. We need them to do it for us. It might be for us individually or for the greater good. It makes no diff what your title is, what your job is, whether you’re the boss, or, more likely, not the boss. You’ll probably find yourself in this situation, well, for the rest of your work life. Matrixed organization anyone? No direct reports? Help from a business partner? Someone who just happens to work for one of the other seven groups contributing to this massive project? Any which way, you need to persuade them. Good news. I’ve got a 9-minuter on exactly how to do this. Join me today for a podcast on how to influence without authority! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational vi

All that money. I’m just gonna take it. Not. So. Fast. Today, we are the sum total of the decisions of our yesterdays. Don’t get technical on me. Yes. I know some were born with a silver spoon. Others came from the school of hard knocks. Whoever you are. Wherever you started. You are a byproduct of your decisions. The longer term you think, the better short-term decisions you make that eventually pile up to a high mountain of long-term goodness! Enter the job offer to test your mettle. Jim, a member of our beloved community, asked me during one of my Live Office Hours shows how to determine whether a job offer was in alignment with his career goals. I squealed with glee at this question because it gave me a chance to give you a formula to avoid one of the biggest mistakes many professionals make. Here’s the long-term, thoughtful approach in a short-term-9-minute package on how to evaluate a job offer! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I

How’s your personal brand? Didn’t know you had one? Don’t think you need one? Every working professional has one whether they want one or not! In fact, here’s a scary little, uh, fact…not only do 70% of employers check your digital footprint as you are being recruited, but 43% of employers also check up on their employees after they’ve been hired! And, that’s just the online part. Employed already? Then your reputation needs to be managed as you progress inside—and eventually outside—your current company. Today, I’ve got you covered with a full-blown podcast on exactly how to build your personal brand! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my three books related to interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Ama

Confused about asking questions in a job interview? Thinking, “But, Coach, they only gave me 3 minutes to ask my questions in the interview. What’s up with that?” (So what.) “Ok. This time they gave me 10 minutes. How many questions should I ask?” (Talk fast.) “How do I not incriminate myself or burst my awesomeness?” (You won’t.) “How will I know if they’re lying to me?” (They don’t.) So on. So forth. So confusing! I get it. The only difference between you and me, beside the fact I have four crazy dachshunds that boss me around all day, is I’ve conducted or witnessed or debriefed more than 20,000 job interviews. Yes, I’m old. But, I’m your old fogie. And, I have the goods. And I ain’t afraid to share them with you. Join me for today’s podcast on exactly how to approach asking your questions in a job interview! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for f

Has an employer ever lowballed you? This could be for a job offer for your new employment. It can be a promotion and pay “raise.” Really anything where you think you deserve A LOT more. Well, the bad news is you got lowballed. The good news is I help you with exactly what to do when this happens. The first thing before we get all huffy and puffy about it is to understand the situation. That’s right. Perspective goes a long way. Information goes a long way. Put the two together and you can go, well, pretty darn far. If you maintain composure and ask the super-duper, right-to-the-heart question I serve up in this week’s podcast, you’ll nail this. Join me for How to Negotiate a Lowball Salary Offer and let’s get you some more dough. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos o

Are you an executive? Wanna be one someday? Today? Then you MUST be able to elevate your job interview tactics and performance to an incomparable level. IMHO, there are 12 techniques you need to employ to wow the interviewer. 12. No less. In today’s podcast, I give you everything I have regarding the biggies, the nuances, the tricks, and the rest of the kitchen sink as they relate to absolutely crushing senior-level interviews. There is so much info in this session, it’s worth listening a few times, especially if you’re in the top ranks. If you’re a junior or mid-level employee and can do these steps, you WILL get hired. Check out Executive Level Interviews: 12 Steps to Win the Job. I think on a value-per-minute basis, I’ve never offered more valuable insight. I’m dead serious. I genuinely hope you soak in all of this one! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training

Would you love to learn some nifty tricks for discovering more job opportunities? Who wouldn’t? Right?! Wait. It gets even better. I sat down. Put on my executive recruiter hat. Listed out how I and the milewalk recruiters used the sites like LinkedIn, Google, and other webpage-tracking tools and so forth to discover job candidates. I included the adjustments we’d make as recruiters to widen the job candidate pool for our clients. Then, I flipped everything as if I was a job candidate looking for companies and roles. And, voilà, there you have a slick, double-secret, dozen-trick formula to uncover more opps. I even, for an added dash of piquancy, threw in a few bonus tricks related to your cover letters and recruitment screens. Served up all these techniques in today’s podcast called 12 Secret Tactics to Find More Job Opportunities! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching an

Ever look at a job description and see “blah blah keyword blay blah keyword?” I know. Right? Well, some people look at a song sheet and only see notes. Others hear the music. When you look at a job description, do you instantaneously hear the interview questions? Automatically know exactly which stories you need to tell and how to tell them? If not, it’s a good thing you have me and this heck-of-a detailed case study on how to start “playing by ear” during your job interviews! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my three books related to interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my n

Resumes. Job interviews. You can manage those two. I know you can. After all, writing your resume is all about you. You know you, right? Simple stuff. Discussing your work history and all those plaque-worthy accomplishments during a job interview is pretty fun too. I mean, more or less. But, how do you get from your resume to that job interview with your dream company? (Aside from the ATS, which seems to be nobody’s friend!) You know what I mean…when you need to reach out to an (actual) human being to ask for help with your job search (gulp)! Most people (let’s call it 99%) are uncomfortable contacting others! This discomfort ranges from rough-enough when reaching out to a lukewarm connection to downright vomit-inducing when it comes to someone you don’t know…at all. Have you tried this? Is it working? If not, perhaps you’re not including the 7 most vital pieces of information that need to be in your email. Don’t sweat it. I’ve got you covered in today’s podcast on how to craft the perfect job search networki

Trouble figuring out whether an employer is the right for you? Or, will even survive for that matter? Today’s market is tricky. Many employers won’t make it. I don’t want you to pick a dud. That’s why today’s gift is a video with 28 questions I want you to ask employers RIGHT NOW considering our current state of affairs (the stock market, employment market, mutating viruses, so on and so forth). These 28 beauties have been designed by me to address the areas companies are most likely to go wrong. If your employer goes wrong, you go wrong. I hit finances, resources, commitment/patience levels, risks, previous problems, tomorrow’s problems, and some of Andy’s extra favs. Quite a nice list, eh? Ok. It’s GO TIME. Get these questions in your arsenal. Enjoy! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and

Join me for today’s podcast to keep yourself up-to-date on the job market so you can make the proper adjustments whether you’re a job seeker or job stayer! Inflation 9.1%. Housing, up 5.6%. It’s fine to look at a snapshot in time, but if you want to know what’s going to happen when, you need to look at trends. The JOLTS report (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) indicates job openings are on a two-month slide. The PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditure) shows contraction in personal spending four months in a row. These are tell-tale trends! Listen in to find out where we are, where we’re going, and what you can do about it when choosing a potential employer or asking for a pay raise from your current one! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel.

Tough time getting job offers? I’ve got job interviewing gift for you today that might be of major help! SPOILER ALERT: When you unwrap the present, inside you’ll find: - The six stories you need to be able to tell in any interview. - 11 groups, which include 30—yes, 30—interview questions and how to answer them. - The ONE formula you need for storytelling. - A case study on how to use the job description to absolutely smoke your interview. - Advanced storytelling tactics. It only took me 58:48 to get all that covered in today’s podcast Top 30 Job Interview Questions and Best Answers! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my three books related to interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4

Got a goal you want to achieve? Just not disciplined enough? Maybe there’s a habit you want to change? I know I have a few. Whether you want to drop a few pounds, become a better planner, or reach your personal Mount Everest, I’ve got a little somethin’ for you today on becoming more disciplined to achieve any goal. There are 5 real keys to this. There are obviously umpteen techniques, but I’ve stripped down this convoluted, ambiguous, overly-discussed topic into stuff that will make complete sense to you. Of course, this all starts with you truly wanting to make a change. Oh. Spoiler alert. I’m gonna toss out a few quotes from my orange book Out of Reach but in Sight: Using Goals to Achieve Your Impossible. If you want to learn my techniques on being disciplined by developing great habits so you can achieve anything in life, check out today’s podcast on how to achieve any goal using discipline! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I shar

Ever have difficulty deciding which interview story to tell? You get asked a question and you’re left to choose the example you give. Tough one! You start wondering should I choose a recent story? But, the oldie from 20 years ago is truly a goodie. Longer one? Maybe shorter is better. Go strategic? Tactical? Should I try to showcase one big talent? A few good talents? Choose the correct story and all you need to do is tell the story well. (Sure, easy enough for me to say.) Choose incorrectly and, well, game over. Maybe not that bad. Or maybe… Hey, just teasing you a little. But, you know I’m a pleaser not a teaser. That’s why today I’m giving you a this-or-that and here’s-why podcast on how to decide which stories are best to tell. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos

Time management is dead. I don’t even use a daily to-do list. No lie. Haven’t for years. Why? Because daily to-do lists are where the important, but not-urgent tasks go to die. You know the ones…the ones you should be doing, but don’t because you always seem to get distracted by the shorties (my endearing term for those “urgent,” short-term tasks). Those “urgent,” non-important acts are bad, bad, bad. Those little culprits not only prevent you from working the important, long-term stuff, but also seem to drain you of your energy. So, long ago I said, “No more!” to daily to-do lists and time management. I said, “Heck yes!” to energy management. Don’t get me wrong. I have lists. Killer lists. Just not daily to-do lists. And, if you’ve ever seen one of my live shows, you know I have no trouble with my energy. If you want to know how I plan my day so I never run out of energy (and get a ton of stuff done), join me for today’s podcast! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some