Tips For Work And Life With Andrew Lacivita

There are so many reasons we don’t have what we want. Usually, not always, they’re surmountable. Some of the time, it’s in our head. Much of the time, we simply don’t want to make the, uh, time. But, I’ll step out on a limb here. In virtually all of the cases, you have the ability. In fact, I’ve never met anyone whose effort couldn’t beat their talent level. Change is never function of ability. It’s a function of desire. If you have the aspiration, you can fulfill it with enough hard work—and time. Over the years, I’ve covered how to overcome many of the mental and tactical roadblocks. I thought it was about time to mesh together a medley of some of my motivational favs. Inside this week’s podcast are 11 separate lessons to inspire you to chase—and accomplish—your dreams. (Breakdown of times is in the PS.) Join me for today’s podcast Motivation Medley to Get What You Want to get charged and in motion! For today’s podcast, here’s a list to help you revisit you favorite messages whenever you need them. 00:00 Do

Do you wonder what employers want to know about you? That answer is actually quite simple. But, making sure you know what that is and delivering the message so they receive it with zero distortion? Well, that’s the stuff legends are made of. Or, members of Andy’s community! At least after today. It’s not just here’s who I am, here’s what I do, here’s how I can help you. Yawn. Getting hired is about so much more than having a shiny resume with all the right keywords. It’s about so much more than telling great interview stories. There are stars that must align. There is a level of congruence that begins with what you’ve accomplished historically, what you want presently, how you package it up in your marketing messages so it hits what the employer needs, and how you drive home your worth during the job interviews. Job seekers screw this up because there’s often something broken along this chain. In today’s podcast on How to Show Your Value to Employers so You Get Hired, I teach how to get rid of any weak links

Empathy doesn’t sound sexy, but it’s like still water that runs deep. It’s like roots of giant trees you wonder how can possibly stand so tall. And, yet, so few people are actually empathetic. Why? Because you have never, not ever, had an experience that you were not at the absolute center of. Your thoughts and feelings about those experiences are automatic. My experience of the same scene needs to be communicated to you. My feelings need to be communicated to you. And even if I did that perfectly, you still wouldn’t be able to know exactly how I feel. That’s because my current experience (with you) is nuanced by all the other experiences I’ve had. Which, by the way, you haven’t had! So, how is one to become a better person, better communicator, better at understanding their friends, partners, and spouses. How does one become better at providing service or anticipating reactions or so many other desired life and business skills? You need to stop being automatic. The formula is not hard. The practice and execu

Interviews are complicated. They get further complicated when interviewers ask bad questions which in turn gets exacerbated by job candidates trying to regurgitate interview speak. It’s really a stitch except for the part about you needing the new job. Enter your Coach to reassure you we can simplify things. The first thing you’ll need to do is listen to this week’s podcast as I break down the 11 most common types of interview questions and how to answer them. Then you’ll know how to answer everything from the lazy questions to the silly questions to the questions they ask that make you go all Nostradamus. I even threw in the regrettables, the oh-so-ugh Sophie’s choice, and a few of my other favs (Negative Nelly, deal breakers, etc.). They’re all in there. 17 minutes. Easy peasy. 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

Money. Actually, more like money you’ll get in the future. Money is funny that way, especially when the money we’re talking about is your salary. We negotiate like heck for what we’ll be paid in the future. So, why is it that so many employees try to argue for a new salary based on what they did in the past? Wasn’t that so yesteryear? Wasn’t that so your last job? Past performance is not an indicator of future performance when I change the variables. Here’s a funny. I earned a nice living as an executive recruiter. Then, I became a career coach. And, well, as smart as that rich executive recruiter guy was, that new career coach didn’t know $h!t about email marketing, YouTube-ing, podcasting, and TikTok-ing (still don’t). I could have argued with myself and said, “Self. You’ve been awesome at recruitment, sales, serving your clients, and everything else that goes with it. I’m sure you know your stuff and can explain it to all those people who live in Germany, Canada, and California. Here’s a big fat raise.” Th

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