Innovative thinking a desired quality

By Suzy Kridner
Career Specialist
Innovation is just one of the qualities that prospective employers are seeking in new hires. In today’s world, a company needs to stay one step – or many steps -- ahead of its competition.
The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs built his fortune on innovations. There is the digital music player, the iPod, and the most successful digital media service, iTunes. He introduced the first super-smartphone, the iPhone, and the only truly successful tablet computer, the iPad. And then there’s the chain of retail stores.
But for many of us, there are roadblocks to innovation, including assumptions we may have that may hold us back.
Mitch Ditkoff, co-founder and president of Idea Champions, writes that assumptions are invisible, insidious and habitual.
They stop us before we even start -- the default position for those of us too consumed by our past to consider the future the way it really is: pure potentiality, according to Ditkoff.
Steve Jobs recognized that potential and we have a better world for it.
Read more about the Sump of Assumptions in this excerpt from Mitch Ditkoff’s Creative Thinking Guildbooks.

Are You Thinking Outside the Box?

By Suzy Kridner
Career Specialist
How often do we hear "You need to think outside the box?"
And what exactly does that mean?
When I was laid off after a fulfilling career as a newspaper editor, I was often told I need to reinvent myself and think outside the box. I was resistant to change as I loved my career.
But with the Internet stealing our newspaper readers, I didn't have a choice but to think outside the box. What to do? . . . What to do?
I hung out at the Daytona One-Stop trying to find myself -- and find a job. The dedicated staff there helped me with my resume and interviewing skills. I also was active in their Pro-Net, a professional networking group that made me realize others were in the same situation.
I was fortunate to land a temporary position there as an administrative assistant for the Center for Business Excellence, which operates the One-Stops. It was perfect, working on special projects and even writing an occasional blog.
And when that job was about to end, I was offered a position in the One-Stop Center as a career specialist. Now I am helping others who are in the same situation I was not so long ago.
The Daytona One-Stop, as well as our offices in Flagler and DeLand, offer many services to help us in our job searches. They can be found on our website, http://www.onestops.com/.
And the state of Florida's phenomenal website, http://www.employflorida.com/ lists hundreds of jobs in Volusia and Flagler counties, and throughout the state. Just register and you can build a resume, tailor a cover letter, and with the virtual recruiter even have jobs listings delivered to your email's inbox every day.
Sometimes a job may not be our ideal position but it often can lead to better things.
Read more in Mitch Ditkoff's blog on the "The Six Sides of the So-Called Box."

Adapting to change is crucial today

Posted by Suzy Kridner
CBE Administrative Assistant

We all remember the “good old days?”
But now the dial phone has given way to the smart phone.
The roll down car window has given way to the push button window.
A watch that winds has given way to an electronic or automatic watch.
The list could go on and on.
As Bob Dylan sang, “The Times They Are a-Changin'."
Change is difficult. Change is constant. Change causes problems, and change creates opportunities, according to blogger John Mariotti, a time-shared executive advisor and columnist. He says most people agree with those statements. And yet, most people resist change.
"Ironically, their very unwillingness to change, disregards the fact that change is happening all around them, and in not changing, they are 'left behind' by that change."
Jobs also have changed and that poses real problems for employers -- and for job seekers. Most jobs today require some use of computers or computer-based equipment.
And managing people now requires change, change from the employee and from the employer.
You can either learn to change or suffer the consequences.

Learn more about dealing with change.