Tips For Work And Life With Andrew Lacivita

Do you have trouble accomplishing your goals? Afraid you'll never be able to achieve that BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)? Don't you worry! I've got you covered in today's podcast on how to set goals the right way! 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: Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. Grab any of my three books related to interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

What does a resume do? Answer: It gets you a job interview by MARKETING you, your background, and expertise. Amiright? Then, why for the love of all that is holy, would anyone tell you there's an exact number of years—10, 15, 20—an employer cares to see on your resume and the rest doesn't matter? This is the problem with the world. Any idiot with a cell phone can turn it on and call themself a career coach. Ahhhhhhhhh. The exact answer is...it depends on what markets you best! That's how you determine how far back YOUR resume should go! Of course, there are some other tricks too otherwise I wouldn’t have created this week’s video for you. Catch this week's podcast on How to Determine How Far Back Your Resume Should Go to set yourself (or at least your resume) apart! 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: Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. I have hundreds of

I’ve long claimed no matter how successful you are, you’ll never feel successful if you don’t reflect. Reflection is a skill. It’s a tool. It’s powerful in that multi-dimensional sorta way. True reflection requires time, effort, and discipline, which usually means most people won’t do it. The great news is a little bit of reflection goes a long way. I do it daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. And, NO, it does not require hours. December is a great time to take stock of all the wonderful moments you’ve had and lessons you’ve learned. Becoming more conscious of them and interpreting them with the right mindset will benefit you now and in the long run. I reflect on nine categories when I do my annual reflection. But, to be clear, this is NOT about looking at where your marriage is or career is or major buckets that tend to consume your life. Reflection, to me, is about asking yourself the right questions—the ones that hurt your brain a little because they require you to stop whatever you’re doing, t

It’s all around you and it’s difficult to make it tangible. Although, sometimes, it does seem palpable. Maybe. Companies think they have it and they’re right. Except most times they’re not right about the one they have. What is it? Culture. The word itself is meaningless. The adjectives used to describe it are meaningful. The behavior that reinforces it is the be-all end-all. That is, if and only if the behavior matches the actual company culture the organization want to promote. In The Hiring Prophecies: Psychology behind Recruiting Successful Employees, I wrote extensively about culture, how to define it, build it, promote it, and, of course, outlined the 20 most common adjectives used to describe it. Of course. But, how is a job seeker or employee gonna notice it? Whether it matches what they want? The signs are everywhere. In today’s podcast, A Story on How a Company’s Culture is All Around You, I share a story (well, you knew that already) about a time I worked with an organization who used a project na

Whether you’re job searching or simply trying to collect your career accomplishments, I’ve got a beauty for you today. Long ago, I created a tool called my Career Achievements Journal. (It’s a FREE download.) My goal is to make sure you understand: The information that goes into resume bullets to make them powerful. The details which provide context that make your interview stories shine. The valuable information that shows your current (or future) employer the impact you’ve made. Talk about a triple-header! This week’s podcast is about what that information is and how to capture it. So, join me for My Career Achievements Journal | The Tool Every Job Seeker and Employee Needs so you can shine bright, reflect on your accomplishments, and know how to sell yourself throughout your career! Warning: It’s a tool you’ll wish you had earlier in your career, but the good news is you can start using it NOW! Enjoy! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places w

There is not one single solitary thing wrong with you. There isn’t. Don’t feel that way? Wondering why you aren’t getting hired? Or even a measly interview? It’s your marketing of you. Period. End of story. No. Really. You don’t need to change your hair style or dye it. Don’t worry about the lighting in your Zoom interview. Focus on the major ingredients like your job search marketing plan! Didn’t know you needed one? Or even what that is? Imagine how much more successful your job search would be if you thought through… Your target market (you have a multi-dimensional one). Their problems and how you’ve solved them. And, the marketing-speak around how you solved them. The need for, uh, YOU! Your special features. Your marketing pitch in short, short-medium, medium, and long form. Your illustrious work history (or, as Coach Andy calls it…your Marketing Document AKA Resume or CV). Your pre-search, search, post-search activities. I mean, are you as breathless right now as I was when I typed this?!?! Then, let’

Go easy on yourself. You’re a WIP. I’m a WIP. That’s work in progress. You are perpetually in a state of change. Most people don’t realize this. They live their lives every single moment as if they’re complete. You are an ever-evolving person. Let’s just hope you’re E-volving and not going in the other direction. It IS possible to do that. Actually, it’s all too easy to do that, in fact. To make sure that doesn’t happen, I have a little podcast to get you charged up today. It’s called Realize You Are ALWAYS a Work in Progress. It’s a shorty, but a goody and I saved it for the day after Thanksgiving for ya. I know you’re busy relaxing (my Dad says I even rest intensely), but I thought this 5-minute jolt of inspiration would make you smile! 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: Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational video

Have you ever taken a job and wondered what they hey???? The employer lied to me in the interview! This company is so not congenial, autonomous, collaborative.  There is no work/life balance and the deadlines are horrific. What gives? I’ll tell you what gives. You didn’t ask very good questions. Or, you didn’t ask your questions the right way. It is my belief (prolly because I have faith in people) interviewers do not lie to you in the interview. They respond to the questions you ask, based on the way you ask them, and offer insight into what they think you want to know. Sounds reasonable to me. BUT, as in a capital BUT, you need to ask your questions so you’re eliciting proof of their behavior. You assess their behavior—and likely what you’re getting yourself into—based on actual evidence not theories or circumstantial information. Trackin’? Wanna know how? Listen to How to Ask Questions About a Company’s Culture | The Reverse Critical Behavioral Interview Technique! Enjoy! If you'd like to build a great car

We’re heading into the end of the year, which means your employer, hopefully, is considering giving you a pay raise or a promotion or both. Yeah! Ever wondered whether you should negotiate your raise? Let’s not keep you in suspense to which I’ll ask, “Why would you ever not negotiate it?” Getting paid too much are we? LOL. If that’s you, skip today’s podcast. But, if you’re like the rest of us grinders, enjoy the show. The technique is extremely potent when used properly and most employers will never expect it—but it flat out works. Take a listen to How to Negotiate a Raise During Your Promotion to make sure you get the salary increase you deserve! 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: Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. Grab any of my three books related to interviewing, hiring, and goa

I KNOW job searching is tough. I don’t just teach it, I’ve done it. I live it with so many of you I feel as if I’m going through it with you. I thought it was about time I turned the tables and shared with you exactly how I found my last corporate job. I’m even gonna throw in some bonus pieces about what I did to change my role right after I started. And, wouldn’t ya know it, all the tactics I used in 2003 way back when dirt was discovered are the exact same ones I teach today. Here’s a funny. It’s even easier for job seeker’s today than it’s ever been. That is a capital “T” truth…provided you take the right steps and don’t do something silly like continue to shove your resume into the Applicant Trashing System. Regaling starts once you fire up the podcast on 9 Steps to Job Search Success | My Personal Story! 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: Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemi

Lots of people changing jobs these past few years. Amiright? But, what about if you’re a beloved, faithful employee? You know the kind. The ones getting dumped on with extra work when everyone heads for the exits? Take Catherine for example. She started a new job in March and her direct supervisor quit in June. She inherited her boss’s responsibilities and wants to know how to get more money if she’s doing more work! So, I gave her my 5-step process to ask for a raise. Maybe you can use it too? Or, maybe you can consider this technique when negotiating your new job offer? Oh, the possibilities of applying this technique are endless! So, make sure to join me for today’s podcast on How to Ask for a Pay Raise When You Get More Responsibilities! 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: Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational vi

Right now, it’s hiring silly season for employers and they’re interviewing job candidates like crazy. Don’t believe any career coach who tells you to slow down your search. Everyone is SO NOT out on holiday. Companies are panicking because they’re looking at their 2023 budgets and wondering where on Earth they’re gonna get all the great new employees to work those projects. I keep telling every employer I know they don’t need to look any further than Andy’s community! Amiright? How about today I give you one very sweet video to help you impress the job interviewer over and over and over until your new payday? I’ll cover how to capture their attention right after you get the obligatory “Hello!” outta your mouth? And, when you intro yourself “at length!” And, how about when you answer a “real” job interview question? And, when YOU ask a question! And, when you close the deal! It’s tough to dazzle and dazzle and dazzle, but it won’t be after today. Join me for this week’s new podcast on How to Impress the Job In

Is your network helping you? They want to. More than you know. They just need a little help from you. It’s true. I’ve talked long and hard about this throughout the years. Put oh so many videos and podcasts out there on the Internet-z about networking. Let’s see… I’ve talked about how to network when you’re job searching, turning applications into networking opps, using networking groups, fixing referral mistakes, and, of course, how to actually build a professional network. I even talked about crafting the perfect networking message. You can check out an entire playlist here if you want. Today, I’m bringing you a podcast on why it’s so important to be networking right now. Whether you’re job searching, building your network for the future, or applying to college (yes, this too!), networking works if you do it the right way! 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 traini

Tell me…is there anything more difficult than taking your “entire” life, your purpose, and your mission and trying to share it…quickly? So someone can remember it? Challenge Alert: How quickly can you introduce yourself? Speed matters. Impact matters. And, you need to be memorable! What if I promised you a great way to introduce yourself at an interview, in an email, on your LinkedIn headline, at a job fair, or at a network event? Would you take me up on it? Spend a few minutes with me? You’re in luck. In today’s podcast, I’ll teach you the external and internal value of having this super tight, powerful pitch, three key components to include, and the exact sentence structure (remember, I’m a pleaser not a teaser). Join me for How to Describe Yourself in One Sentence | The Elevator Pitch! 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.

Many want it. The good life. The few. They want the great life. The rest. What’s left. You guessed it. They pursue heights so high that most people dismiss them as unattainable. Whichever group you’re in, I know you’ll eventually pursue some personal Mount Everest. You know the one I’m talking about. The one that, somewhere along the climb, makes you question your choices. Whether it’s a project that takes a week that seems like “the longest week ever” or 20 years to pursue your life’s dream, you’re gonna encounter the “B” word. If you haven’t encountered the B word, you’re probably settling. Ouch. True. Burnout happens. Ask anyone who’s pursued a worthy dream. It’s not if. It’s when. No shortcut ever gave you what you deserved nor ever will. The long and worthy road is filled with a few…”Hang on. I gotta catch my breaths.” I want to help you make sure you get what you deserve, so I’m giving you a bit of my formula on how I manage to “enjoy the doing” during the lengthy pursuits of my biggest goals. Join me a

Ever feel like you’re working hard on your job search, but you’re not getting the output you’d expect? Or, maybe you’re just not sure how to allocate your time each day to search? You might have all day to work your job search or only an hour in the evening. Either way, I’d like to help you get more out of your time and effort. A few weeks ago, one of my #BOOTCAMPERS Cisco asked… “Time management and routine when job searching is key as we all know it. Networking, boss hunting, etc. will need to take a significant chunk of our time. [….] How do you recommend we balance our time and energy because I often feel guilty for not spending all my time on “feeding the funnel” versus [other activities] which have actual [long-term] measurable value and deliverables?” Do you feel this way or wonder this? Good news. This week’s podcast is my conversation with Cisco on how I apply this in my life and how I suggest approaching it in your job search. Enjoy How to Improve Your Job Search Productivity and let’s start getting

I have this expression whenever I undertake something new. Mind you, this is something I say to myself AND I only say it after I’m certain of two things. First, I’m getting great instruction from someone who actually knows what they’re doing. (You don’t always find the right coach on your first attempt. Unless you found me on your first attempt. Then, lucky you. Ha ha!) Second, I’ve made a commitment to the effort. Once those prerequisites are in order, I tell myself… “Shut up and put in the reps.” That’s my north-side-of-Chicago-neighborhood-y way of saying, “Don’t question stuff yet. Get in there. Do the work. Build the discipline. Gather the data. Then adjust only after you’ve experienced and know more.” Until I reach that point, I haven’t earned the right to question anything. When it comes to job searching, I gave you the put-in-the-reps formula to help you find your dream job the fastest. I did that all the way back in November 2018 and again in the summer of 2019 and then again in the fall of 2019. It’

Job searching is hard, like, really hard. It’s even hard in the best of times, which we have now seasonally entered. November through February. That’s right. Start licking your chops. It’s officially open season on all things finding-your-dream-job related. Where I live the weather stinks this time of year, but finding that sweet job in never easier than in these months. Wait. Whaaaa? Doesn’t feel like it? Fact of the matter is, it makes no difference what the employment market looks like, what month it is, or what holiday the world is or isn’t celebrating if you don’t know HOW to job search! Enter my—proven—job search challenge®. I’m in the mood to make some promises so let’s do just that. If… …you do what I challenge you to do and simply follow the steps (heck, just go through the motions but you get bonus points for positive energy), you will get traction. Bold words. I know. How do I know? Because it’s been proven over and over and over again by people just like you. Yes. The ones that are, uh, in my age

I have a saying. It’s one of my Today’s Lines to Live By®, which you can catch daily on my Instagram. “Short-timers focus on wins. Long-timers focus on plans.” That’s true. Short-timers focus on wins, which usually causes them to lose. And quit. That’s how they become short-timers. Get it? Long-timers focus on the plan and the planning process. And, they obsess over abilities they need to grow to add cool checkmarks next to the stuff on their plans. This, in turn, causes them to grow faster, live happier existences, and, oddly, win more. Or, at least win bigger. Build strategy. Add plans. Work the plans. Stay the course. There is one ingredient in working a top-1-%-er plan I consider the secret to the sauce. Catch it in the week’s podcast on The Top 1% at Their Job Focus on This. 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

I wish I could negotiate your salary for you. I truly do. Actually, I wish I could be with you every step of the entire recruitment process because, technically, you’re negotiating from the moment you send in your resume and cover letter. Since it isn’t very likely your future employer will let your fun, affable career coach accompany you through the process, I thought it’d be a good idea to record this week’s podcast for you so you can negotiate the heck outta your next job offer! Inside, I hit over a dozen tips, tricks, tactics, and secrets related to the Dos and Don’ts of building your salary negotiation power. I cover BEFORE the process starts, continue to when you actually start, during the job interviews, at the true negotiation, and, of course, round it out with your inevitable counteroffer on your way to the bank. Enjoy today’s podcast on Salary Negotiation Tactics That Get You Paid More and think of me with every automatic deposit! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, chec