Latest news with #careerSuccess
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
What To Do In Your First 30 Days Post-Layoff (That Most People Miss)
Start building immediately after receiving layoff news; don't wait for a job offer first You've just received news that your role is on the block for elimination. Within the next few hours or days at most, you're about to be thrust into the unrelenting world of unemployment. What do you do next over the coming hours, days, and weeks mean everything and can determine your career success, not just for the here and now, but for the long-term. They can make all the difference between you remaining unemployed and broke for months or even years, or actually being able to rebound and rebuild your life and career from the scraps you've been handed. If you've been searching for advice on the internet on what to do after you've been laid off, you've probably read about the importance of doing things like negotiating your severance package, filing for unemployment benefits, or refreshing your resume and LinkedIn profile. But there are some other things you need to do within your first month after being laid off, which are vital to your career success. Many professionals wait until it's too late to take these actions, and because they fail to take these steps right away, their unemployment situation worsens. To avoid falling into this trap, here are some things you can do immediately to protect your finances and career, now that you've been laid off: Neglecting to start building immediately has to be the number one most fatal mistake professionals make after being laid off, because it puts you in a position where you're more vulnerable to outside forces like industry changes, the volatile job market, etc. And you're now in a position where it's easier to say yes to opportunities that do not serve you because after all, you need to pay the bills. As a result, you're taken advantage of and ghosted by fake employers or by shark recruiters and hiring managers who can smell that you're desperate and offer you bogus or questionable job offers and compensation packages. So, instead of waiting for the perfect job opportunity to appear, be open and start monetizing what's already in your hands. Leverage your brain capital--the wealth of skills and expertise you've acquired from your job. There's nothing worse than the regret of being turned down for job opportunities and realizing that you could have been well on your way towards making money all along if only you started earlier. Never allow your skills to go dormant because you're waiting for an employer to see and value them. Dormant skills means dormant money. You're literally sitting on gold. So begin today and start building momentum, even if it's just a small service that you're offering directly to your LinkedIn network or Fiverr and Upwork. It could be part-time. It doesn't need to consume your 9-5 hours. But the most important thing is that you're building something. Even if it's small money, it helps when nothing else is coming in. And if you're faithful with it and can improve what you already have, then just $300-$500 a week from your existing skill set can prove to be a lifesaver and can multiply to $1,000, $2,000 or even $3,000 a month. It might even become your full-time business pursuit. Panic applying is when you apply for jobs in a hurry because you're anxious. You use every waking moment to hit the 'quick apply' or 'easy apply' button on Indeed or LinkedIn. And you send so many applications that you're unable to keep track of where your resume has been. This method is not only ineffective, but it's health destroying. It leads directly to burnout and increases your anxiety because you feel like you're chasing your tail. But more than this, panic-applying hurts your career success because you're not able to put thought and depth into each application. It's not possible to customize and tailor your resume and application answers when you're hitting send to 200 job applications a week. Instead of panic-applying, try this approach: Finally, you might have been in your job for so long that you're totally out of touch with the current job market, the evolution of your industry, or what skill sets are in demand right now. The worst thing you can do at this point is to carry on job-searching like it's five, 10, or 15 years ago. So much has changed in the global job market, especially within the past two years since AI has gained global traction. In light of these changes and the constantly evolving needs of employers demanding fresh, updated skill sets, it's essential that you rebrand yourself and reframe your value by upskilling for in-demand skills. Focus on relevant skills like problem-solving, analytical thinking and data analysis, communication skills, applied AI, and cross-functional leadership and remote working skills. Layoffs are the perfect opportunity to reset your career so you don't remain stagnant or too ... More comfortable to progress The first 30 days after being laid off are critical to your career. Your future is in your hands. For many people, it can feel like a disaster, like it's the end. But not so with you. You now understand that layoffs are simply a career reset, and that they are simply the page turning to a new chapter. Now that you have more time on your hands, this is your chance to start building something new, strategically align yourself with decision-makers who can pour into your career growth, and prepare yourself for the future of work by upskilling for what's in demand today and what will be needed over the next few years.
Forbes
26-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
5 ChatGPT Prompts To Create Your Internal Scorecard For Career Success
ChatGPT prompts to create your internal scorecard for career success Results deceive you. External validation lies. The charts don't reflect reality fast enough. Most founders anxiously wait for numbers to validate their work. Stripe dashboards. Social media followers. A bank account balance. But champions operate from a different playbook. What if you could guarantee success before any metric shows it? In The Score Takes Care of Itself, legendary football coach Bill Walsh wrote about building a standard so high that outcomes became a by-product. Excellence in, inevitable excellence out. These prompts flip how you measure success, so your business scores take care of themselves. Copy, paste and edit the square brackets in ChatGPT, and keep the same chat window open so the context carries through. Building unstoppable momentum comes from consistent standards, not occasional brilliance. When I sold my social media agency, our culture of excellence mattered more than any revenue figure. We secured the exit because our standards were elite, regardless of what happened outside our control. The scoreboard follows your inputs. Your outcome becomes automatic when you refuse to accept anything less than your best effort. "Help me create a weekly scoreboard based on my standards of effort, focus, and leadership. First, predict what excellence looks like in each area for me specifically, using what you already know about me. Then, create a scoring system with specific metrics I can track daily and average weekly. Help me connect these standards to my long-term business vision. Ask for more detail if required." When the heat turns up, your true character comes out. Winners maintain their standards regardless of circumstances. Your approach to chaos today predicts your results tomorrow. You can't succeed without tracking how you respond when things go wrong. Your reaction to conflict, pressure and unexpected challenges predicts your future success. "Create a self-review template that tracks how I handled pressure and conflict this week. Include 5 specific questions about how I responded to challenges, maintained my principles under pressure, and treated others during difficult moments. Create a scoring system that helps me quantify my performance in each area. End with a section that asks me to identify one specific situation where I could have responded better, and exactly how I'll handle a similar scenario next time." You can't do everything. You can't be everywhere. Your choices of how to spend your time today define your business success tomorrow. The quality of your decisions determines the trajectory of your business. Average entrepreneurs measure results too late, when they've already missed their opportunity to improve. But everything transforms when you score yourself on how you prioritize, decide and execute each day. Your daily choices compound into your future reality. "Score me on decision-making, priority setting, and consistency based on my actions this week. First, ask me to describe (using voice mode) an important decision I made, how I prioritized my time, and where I was consistent or inconsistent with my standards. Give me a score for each area with specific feedback on what I did well and where I can improve. Provide exact steps to level up in each category next week." You become what you repeatedly do. Each day you either reinforce the identity of a founder who wins or one who struggles. Your daily actions vote for the person you'll become in the future. Typical business owners never connect their habits to their future self. They stay stuck because they reinforce the wrong identity through their choices. "Based on what you know about me through our conversations, as well as the calendar screenshot I will upload, analyze how I spent my last 7 days. What identity am I reinforcing through my actions? Identify 3 patterns in my behavior that align with my goals and 3 that might be creating an identity that works against my success. For each misaligned pattern, suggest a replacement habit that would reinforce the identity of someone who achieves what I want to achieve. Create a daily reminder I can use to keep this identity shift top of mind. [Add screenshot]" Winners don't wing it. They reverse engineer success from a clear vision of championship performance. You can't get extraordinary results from ordinary standards. Moving beyond average means imagining how your future self operates, then bringing that reality into today. Conventional founders plan their day based on current limitations. But everything changes when you schedule as if you're already the founder you aim to become. "What would my day look like if I was living as the founder who always wins in the long term? Based on what you know about my business goals and personal values, create a new detailed schedule for my ideal day. Include both specific activities and the mindset I'd bring to each one. Highlight where this 'future me' day differs from my current patterns, particularly in how I make decisions, interact with others, and maintain my energy. Create 3 specific questionsI can ask myself each morning to step into this identity before I start work." Obsessing over the final result is surplus to requirements. Instead, define your standards. Create metrics for how you show up, and your achievements will take care of themselves. Score your effort and focus daily. Track how you handle pressure and make decisions. Check which identity your actions reinforce. Live from your future self's playbook. Don't be held back by your current limitations. Raise your internal standards and external results follow naturally. Become the type of person who wins before anyone else notices. Play the long game and win every time. Access all my best ChatGPT content prompts.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Sneakily juggling two WFH jobs, enjoying Bare Minimum Mondays and taking time off for fake funerals. This is the shocking truth about how my generation are 'hacking' the workplace: LILY AMORY
In an era when twenty-somethings struggle to land jobs and often find it impossible to get on the housing ladder, 24-year-old Charlie is an anomaly. He has a thriving career, lives alone in a flat in central London, is repaying his student loan with ease and – much to the astonishment of his school and university peers – has a salary of over £80,000 a year. Compared with his friends – who largely work in the charity sector, if they have jobs at all – Charlie is an extraordinary success story.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
10 ‘High-Dollar Mindsets' To Land A Dream Job And Six-Figure Salary
Regardless of the career you seek, here are ten golden "high-dollar mindsets" that lead to giant ... More success and huge incomes. Simone Biles has it. LeBron James has it, too. So does Patrick Mahomes and Zinedine Zidane. But one of the world's greatest baseball players of all-time also showed arguably the best 'high-dollar mindsets' when he said, 'Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.' You may have heard of him: Babe Ruth. And he wasn't referring to just money, but a winning frame of mind that earns you the high dollars. What if there was a science-backed way for you to achieve your dream job, plus a big salary? And what if you could use that roadmap to make that happen? Well, there is, and you don't have to be an athlete to develop the 10 'high dollar mindsets.' Top C-suite executives have them, as do some people with side hustles earning extra income or many workers in all sectors. Regardless of your profession, the mindsets you bring with you determines how far you climb the career ladder and how much money you make. That's the promise of a new book. Psychologist Josh Davis and attorney Greg Prosmushkin have written The Difference That Makes the Difference (out July 8th). The information is grounded in peer-reviewed scientific research and offers a clear, practical roadmap for creating change—not just in yourself, but in your work, relationships and leadership. 'Let's say you want to get a better salary or a better paying job. Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) can help," the authors propose. 'It teaches that a small shift in how we process information--think, believe or feel--can create outsized changes in outcomes.' They point out that it starts with clarity. You need to know where you're going to get there or create a 'well-formed outcome.' Davis and Prosmushkin stress that you can rarely hit a target by accident. It all starts by setting a goal that feels realistic to you. 'If you're making $15 an hour, it's highly unlikely to increase twenty-fold overnight. But an executive making $150,000 a year should not have too much of a challenge seeing herself making two or three times that amount,' they state. 'Once you have a realistic goal and you understand better what matters to the decision-maker, then it's time to focus your efforts where they need to be,' Davis and Prosmushkin explain. 'Recognize what is and is not in your control. A well-formed outcome is in your control. Getting lucrative pay or a better job are not in your control. When a goal is not in our control we often give up or struggle unnecessarily. We sense that it is impossible for us to determine our own success, and so experience internal resistance.' Here's the paradox, according to the authors. If you loosen your grip on the need to land the job or salary and focus instead on what is in your control that will help you get there, you're more likely to stick with it until you get there. They insist that it's in your control to ensure that you consider what's important to the people ready to hire you. And it's in your control to help them understand why you're an excellent choice to help them achieve what's important to them. Neuroscientists assert that we're hard-wired to overestimate threats and underestimate possibilities. No wonder it's difficult to believe that we can actually achieve what we seek. But you don't have to be a card-carrying optimist to realize that misfortunes are rarely as bad as the brain registers them. You can flip the neuroscientists' slogan and underestimate threats and overestimate possibilities with the same tried-and-true strategies that highly successful people use to navigate obstacles. Here is the flip side of ten limited perspectives that get in your way of landing the job and salary you desire. Many highly-successful people have used these 'high dollar mindsets' to win in their respective domains: Every loss contains a gain if you look for it. 'I have to pay more taxes this year than ever before' becomes 'I made more money this year than I've ever made.' It's important to think this way, but if you voice it too much, other people might think it sounds Pollyanna--ish. But as long as it benefits you, that's what matters most. Make it a habit to focus on the good news wrapped around bad news. Ask, 'How can I make this situation work to my advantage? Can I find something positive in it? What can I manage or overcome in this instance?' Studies show that 80% of companies claim that when employees have a growth mindset, it directly drives profits. Think of a setback as a lesson to grow from instead of a failure to endure. Ask what you can learn from difficult outcomes or failures and use them as stepping-stones instead of roadblocks. When threatened, your brain is designed to constrict and target the threat like the zoom lens of a camera. While this targeting can keep you safe from life-and-death situations, it limits your ability to see the bigger picture. Expand your outlook with a wide-angle lens that steers you beyond doom and gloom to bigger possibilities. Take small risks in a new situation instead of predicting negative outcomes before giving them a try. 'I won't go to the party because I'm afraid I won't know anyone' becomes 'If I go to the party, I might make a new friend.' Don't let one bad experience rule your whole outlook: 'I didn't get the promotion, so I'll never reach my career goals' becomes 'I didn't get the promotion, but there are more steps I can take to reach my career goals.' You'll feel more empowered to cope with life's curve balls when you step away from the problem and brainstorm a wide range of possibilities. Neuroscientists say high-performance self-talk enables you to regulate an internal emotional reaction to an upsetting external event—as if it's happening to someone else. After a big letdown, underscore your triumphs and high-five your 'tallcomings' instead of bludgeoning yourself with your 'shortcomings.' Give yourself a fist pump when you reach a milestone or accomplishment. Optimism is contagious. When you surround yourself with optimistic people, positivism rubs off. Failure is neither personal nor final. Envision letdowns as temporary and know that you can overcome them. Every time you get up and brush yourself off one more time than you fall, you succeed. Perseverance increases the likelihood of propelling you to the top of the leader board. Building the mindset and skills you need require an unlimited vision--believing in yourself, communicating your value and being resilient in your pursuit of a job or lucrative salary. 'You can use Babe Ruth's wisdom in your pursuits by stacking your 'high-dollar' deck and allowing setbacks to bring you closer to your goals. So keep swinging with that those 'high-dollar mindsets" until you hit your dreams out of the park.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Million-Dollar Careers, The Elite Seven Figures Club
Many people want to succeed in their careers. Some struggle, and others find ways to do well. There is a small segment of the population who were able to amass financial fortunes for their efforts. Earning an annual income of $1 million or more is a remarkable achievement. This milestone is attainable, but rare. Less than 0.5% of U.S. households earn over $1 million annually, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data and recent payroll analyses. In high-earning regions such as the San Francisco Bay Area, only about 0.54% of employees reach this threshold. Certain industries are constructed to produce high earners. A confluence of factors like economic dynamics, market demand, having the right skills and being in the right place at the right time helps. The finance sector, encompassing the stock market, hedge funds, and private equity, is a money generating powerhouse. Hedge fund managers who oversee portfolios with assets exceeding $250 million can earn between $500,000 and $3 million annually. This is how it works. Hedge fund managers traditionally are compensated under what is called a "2 and 20" fee structure. This entails a charge of a 2% annual management fee on the fund's assets under management (AUM) and a 20% performance fee on the fund's profits. As their portfolio grows, the higher the payout will be for the manager. According to Institutional Investor, Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, earned approximately $2.6 billion in 2023, making him the third highest-earning hedge fund manager that year. The 2024 North American Private Equity Investment Professional Compensation Survey by Heidrick & Struggles indicates, private equity managing directors and partners typically earn total cash compensation including base salary plus bonus, ranging from $700,000 to $2 million, depending on fund size and performance. Private equity (PE), including firms like BlackRock, is an investment strategy in which PE acquires stakes in other privately or publicly held companies, with the goal of increasing their value and then selling them off for big profits. Investment banking Managing Directors (MDs) at bulge-bracket investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, facilitate large deals like mergers and acquisitions, and initial public offerings (IPOs). If successful, this can earn total compensation packages that exceed $1 million per year for the MDs. This includes a base salary typically between $350,000 and $600,000, with bonuses often matching or exceeding base salaries. Real estate is another lucrative area. Top agents in luxury markets like Los Angeles earn huge commissions on multimillion-dollar properties. Luxury real estate agents in Los Angeles and similar markets, typically earn commissions ranging from 2% to 3% per transaction. For a $10 million sale, a 3% commission would be about $300,000. Agents who hustle to sell these high priced homes can hit the one million or more level. However, commission rates are often negotiated, and for high-value properties, agents may accept lower percentages. Professional sports and entertainment mint millionaires through their talent. Elite athletes in the NBA, NFL, and MLB secure contracts worth tens of millions of dollars annually. For example, LeBron James earned a salary of about $48.7 million in 2024, according to Forbes. Additionally, his total earnings, including endorsements, reached around $128 million. LeBron's endorsement deals alone are estimated at around $80 million annually. A-list actors and entertainers mirror this. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is a US-based labor union for film, television, video games, and commercial performers. Their rates of $2,000–$3,000 per day could potentially total millions. The real big money is in the blockbuster movies and television serieses. Well known actors stars like Dwayne Johnson can earn $20 million per film, per industry data. Influencers and media personalities, like Jim Cramer, can make millions through TV deals and sponsorships, with continuing fast growth in the influencer creator economy valued at $250 billion in 2024 per Goldman Sachs. Entrepreneurship offers a way to wealth. Founders in tech, and Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists can hit it big. Also, mom-and-pop retail, or services can scale to businesses making million-dollar profits. About 1% of U.S. small business owners, roughly 300,000, achieve this annually, per IRS data. Healthcare, especially highly specialized medicine, enables seven-figure incomes, with top neurosurgeons and cardiac surgeons often exceeding $1 million in private practice. This is driven by demand for life-saving procedures, per a 2023 physician compensation study. Corporate leadership is a significant driver, with S&P 500 CEOs earning a median of $17.9 million in 2025 (projected from Equilar's 2023 figure of $16.3 million), while the top 100 CEOs at firms with over $1 billion in revenue reach a median of $32 million. The highest earners, like the low key profile Jim Anderson, the head of Saxonburg, Pa.-based company Coherent, which makes equipment and products for networks and laser systems, is the new highest-paid CEO in the U.S. with a total salary of $101,497,009 for 2024, according to executive intelligence company Equilar. Moon shots like Elon Musk, heading Tesla, SpaceX, the X-platform, Neuralink and other endeavors may potentially be hitting $1 billion in stock and incentive based pay or more. The tech sector is a major contributor to high earners. Typical compensation packages for senior software engineers and managers at top tech firms like Google, Meta, and Apple, ranges from $200,000 to $500,000. With stock appreciation, stock grants, bonuses and restricted stock units (RSUs), compensation where an employer grants shares of company stock, which vest over a specific period, tied to performance or time with the company, could propel the total package into the seven figure club. Some tech titans who are in a hot space, such as AI, can see $1 million and more in a strong year, often due to large equity grants, RSUs or stock windfalls. One underappreciated factor in these careers is the power of leverage. In finance, earnings scale with assets managed. $1 billion at a 2% fee nets $20 million for the firm, a chunk of which flows to the manager. Tech professionals leverage equity, where RSUs can multiply total compensation during market booms, though this ties earnings to volatile stock performance, a risk often overlooked. In real estate and entrepreneurship, leveraging loans or investor capital can amplify returns. Timing is another critical element. Finance and tech professionals thrive in bull markets, while athletes and entertainers face short peak earning windows. LeBron James' pivot to a business empire exemplifies the need to diversify early. The path to $1 million is filled with setbacks. This includes failed startups, market crashes, athletes getting injured. Hollywood stars lose their luster or get bad investment advice can quickly make a person lose their one million plus compensation.
