Jennifer McClure`

Helping Leaders Leverage Influence & Create Maximum Impact.

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Turning Passion Into Purpose: From Career Coach to Recruiting Tech Company Founder With Ariel Lopez

photo of Ariel Lopez

One of the best things about the work that I do is that I have the opportunity to connect with so many talented people doing great things to make the world of work – and the world – better for us all in the future.

Early last year, while looking to expand my network of leaders with diversity and inclusion expertise, I reached out to my network and asked a simple question – “Who should I know that does great work in this area?”

What followed were over 90 recommendations, and I was able to make some great new connections, have some great conversations, and add to my list of potential referral partners in the future.

The first person who responded to my question was Daniel Chait, the CEO & co-founder of Greenhouse, an HR tech company that helps organizations become great at hiring.

Daniel was quick to recommend that I connect with one of his mentees – Ariel Lopez.

Ariel followed up with me shortly thereafter, and suggested that we connect briefly to get to know each other better. I enjoyed chatting with her so much, that I made introductions for her to a couple of leaders in my network as well, not because she or they had any specific need at the time, but because I could see that Ariel is someone who is making things happen, and I felt that they needed to know more about her and her work as well.

Which brings us to where we are today, where I’m also introducing Ariel to many of you. Pro tip: that’s how effective networking, relationship building, and follow up works, and you’ll hear more about how Ariel values that process in our conversation today.

So, without further adieu, let me introduce you to Ariel Lopez – a career coach, entrepreneur, and public speaker with an expertise in digital media and technology. Ariel is the Founder and CEO of Knac, a platform that provides recruiters with a more efficient tool for screening applicants, managing their pipeline, and ensuring that they don’t miss out on great talent.

With over a decade of recruiting experience, Ariel has had the privilege of helping some of the biggest brands in the world to build great teams, and as a career coach, she’s worked with thousands of marketing, advertising, and tech professionals to help them grow in their careers and find lucrative opportunities.

Passionate about the future of work and making the job search more humane, Ariel’s ultimate goal is to help people to find career happiness, and to live their best lives.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:​​

  • Why Ariel loved coaching people in their career journey, and how that experience set her on the journey to helping people to find jobs that they’re passionate about, and care for.
  • Ariel’s recommendation for people interested in finding a career that they love.
  • The importance of resilience and confidence for reaching career goals.
  • How identifying your leverageable skills can help you take charge of your career, and make wise choices.
  • Ariel’s tips for networking and building relationships during COVID times.
  • The importance of figuring out your values, and the pillars that you will focus on and speak to as a thought leader.
  • What inspired Ariel to start a company focused on helping candidates to break through barriers and gain access to opportunities.
  • The trait that most Founders need in order to keep pressing ahead on any Founder’s journey.

IMPACT MAKERS PODCAST – EPISODE 54

(Email subscribers – click HERE to listen to the podcast.)

Key Quotes From This Episode:

“Keep the why strong. If your why is strong, you’ll be flexible with the how.” ~ Ariel Lopez

“Take your ego out of it. That’s very helpful in knowing that it’s not about you. Anything that happens in your journey that doesn’t work out, ultimately wasn’t meant for you.” ~ Ariel Lopez

“Figuring out what your leverageable skills are is probably one of the things that most professionals don’t know how to do well. You have to review your experience and your background, and figure out what skills are transferable into the new job that you want. The funny thing is that you probably have more transferable skills than you think.” ~ Ariel Lopez

“You’re going to have great conversations, and people are going to say no. You’re going to have great conversations, and people are going to say, this sounds cool, but I can’t do anything right now. And, you can’t take that personally, You have to accept it as ‘this is a no for right now, but that doesn’t mean a no forever.’ Having that approach to some of the people in our network has been life changing.” ~ Ariel Lopez

“Network you ass off is always my piece of advice — and trust the process.” ~ Ariel Lopez

People & Resources Mentioned In This episode:

Ariel Lopez

Ariel Lopez LinkedIn

Ariel Lopez Twitter

Knac

Knac on Twitter

Knac on LinkedIn

Connect with Jennifer:

Send her a message [https://jennifermcclure.net/contact/]

On LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermcclure

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferMcClure

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_mcclure/

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JenniferMcClureSpeaker

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How HR, Recruiters And Job Seekers Can Prepare For The Future Of Work

Recently, I had the opportunity to be a guest on the Copeland Coaching Podcast, which is hosted by Angela Copeland – Career Coach and the CEO of Copeland Coaching.

Angela had some great questions related to typical challenges faced by job seekers, such as how to prepare for an interview, how to work with HR in the process, and how to ask for – and get – constructive feedback.

We also talked about the importance of managing your career like an entrepreneur, and why we must all become life-long learners – because the world of work is changing so rapidly that we’ll be left behind if we don’t.

[Read more…]

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Exploring Career Opportunities Without Jeopardizing Your Current Job #AskJennifer

Are you happily (or contently) employed, but at the same time wonder if there are better career opportunities out there?

(Email subscribers click here to view the video)

If that’s the case, you may wonder how you can position yourself for career growth – either inside or outside your current company – without making your employer nervous – or even worse – risking being blackballed or fired because they consider you a flight risk.

I’m diving into this topic on this week’s edition of Ask Jennifer – a new video series where I’ll be answering your questions – in five minutes or less.

Except this week’s episode is slightly longer. Oops.

Let’s chalk it up to inaugural excitement about the new format. 🙂

In Episode 1 of Ask Jennifer, I’ll answer the following question for “Valerie”, a woman who recently attended a workshop I led on “Defining and Communicating Your Personal Brand for Career Growth”.

Valerie has been with her current company for almost 20 years. She’s not unhappy. But she would like to explore career opportunities to understand how marketable her skills are – and if the grass really is greener somewhere else. But she also doesn’t want to send any red flags to her current employer that she may be looking. (Smart!)

Want to know what advice I have for Valerie?

Take a few moments to watch the quick video to learn more about the 3 steps I recommend to Valerie (and others) who want to get noticed for opportunities without causing any drama.

  1. Update/fully complete your LinkedIn Profile.
  2. Talk to/offer to help Recruiters that reach out to you.
  3. Attend and get involved with your local professional networking association.

Have a question related to growing your career, your leadership or your skills as a speaker or presenter?

Send it my way!

I’d love to hear from you, and maybe your question will be featured in an upcoming episode of Ask Jennifer!

 

 

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Interested In Career Growth? Let’s Chat! #VZWHRChat

Do you currently have a job – or a career? Chances are, you have some version of both, or you’re aspiring to claim them.

Unfortunately, most of us only think about our careers when we’re looking for a J-O-B, but the smart ones (that’s you) know that nurturing a career is an ongoing activity.

One aspect of managing your career is maintaining an attitude of continuous learning. Reading articles, blogs and news related to your industry and your profession will always be helpful – and so is networking and connecting with business leaders, industry experts, and fellow career navigators to learn from and help each other.

I’m excited about co-hosting one such learning and networking opportunity next week on April 22, 2014 from 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET, and I’d like to invite you to join me!

I’ll be partnering with several HR and Recruiting leaders, job seekers and seasoned career professionals for #VZWHRChat on Twitter.

This Twitter chat is the first in a #VZWHRchat series, where the team from Verizon will be partnering with HR experts across the Midwest to host various Twitter chats related to finding a job that’s more than a job – it’s a career.

Why is the team at Verizon coordinating these Twitter chats?

Because they’re convinced that by sharing information and helping professionals to grow in their careers, a few sharp-minded, solution-oriented folks might be interested in joining their team. They’re growing – and growth fuels careers.

However, you don’t have to be interested in a career with any specific company to receive value from joining in. During the hour-long Twitter chat, we’ll be discussing the following:

  1. During an interview, what should you ask to determine growth opportunities at the company?
  2. Once you start the job, what critical steps should you take to advance your career?
  3. What are examples of career development programs/training that prepare employees for individual success?
  4. You’ve been in the same position for years and haven’t been promoted. What should you do?
  5. What should you avoid doing that could hinder your ability to grow with your company?
  6. What lessons have you learned working for (or with, on the HR side) companies that both provide/don’t provide opportunities to advance?

So drop in on April 22, 2014 and chat with us from 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET!

Answer questions, ask questions, share your experiences – and help others. It’s an open event, so please invite anyone that you think may benefit or have something to add to the discussion. (If you’re new to Twitter chats, there are useful tools like TweetChat.com that can make following live chats easier.)

I hope to see you on April 22nd! I’d love to hear from you!

Be sure to visit the Verizon Job Center to learn more about career opportunities with Verizon your area.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received compensation from Verizon to partner with them on this initiative. Regardless, I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers. For real. 

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Is Stinkin’ Thinkin’ Keeping You From Getting What You Want?

While flipping through radio channels on a road trip recently, I came across a call-in show where the topic of the day was How to Attract Your Ideal Man.

The host of the show was an author of one of the many books on “Law of Attraction” and although I’m not much of a believer in that stuff, I decided to listen in anyway. (Not at all because I’m single – I prefer to call it research.)

The first caller to the show – a single mom in her late 30’s – explained how she’d given up on finding a “good man”, as she had a history of attracting only Losers. To help her out, the host asked the caller to describe exactly what she was looking for in her ideal man. She rattled off a few things, such as:

  • I don’t want someone who can’t appreciate what it takes to be a single parent.
  • I don’t want someone who isn’t kind and considerate.
  • I don’t want someone who does not want to be in a committed relationship.

After a few minutes, the host stopped the caller and asked if she recognized that she was creating a list of everything she did not want versus what she did want in an ideal mate. Surprisingly, she hadn’t noticed.

He explained his theory that her negative thinking was a huge part of the reason why she hasn’t been successful in finding the “right” man.

The host then suggested that she take some time to write down all of the things that she doesn’t want, then go back and change the wording in each sentence to instead reflect what she does want. By doing this, she would be changing her negative thinking to positive, which would allow her to actually attract her ideal man – who would ride up on a white horse and take her away to live in a castle far, far away where they would live happily ever after. (Ok, so I may have embellished a wee bit with the last part…)

According to the Law of Attraction, thinking about what you don’t want applies energy and focus in that direction and actually brings those things into your life, while applying positive thinking and intentionally focusing on what you do want sends “positive vibrations” out to the universe and attracts those things to you.

I don’t buy the universal positive vibrations mumbo-jumbo, but I do notice when people position things negatively in terms of their businesses and careers and recognize how often that limits their thinking (and mine) to potential possibilities and opportunities.

Ask a client to describe an ideal candidate for a position and they might say “We won’t consider someone who has worked in a very large company – they don’t fit with our entrepreneurial culture”.

Ask a candidate to describe their ideal opportunity and you might hear “I don’t want to be micro-managed or work in a company where there is a lot of bureaucracy”.

With each of these statements, I have to guard against going into a negative frame of mind, where I start subtracting from a mental list instead of adding to it. I’m also curious to find out more about the bad experience(s) in their past that are likely associated with their concerns, and as a result, we end up spending a lot of time focusing on what won’t or hasn’t worked instead of exploring what can.

Take a moment to consider how you’re describing to others what you’re looking for in terms of your career, your job search or your business. Ask yourself what your ideal opportunity looks like and then write down your thoughts without self-editing (just do a brain dump).

Or, go ahead and make a list of all of the things that you don’t want in your ideal opportunity, because those things may be more clear to you than what you do want at the moment. Once you’ve created your list, go back through it and change any negative words and statements into positive ones.

By doing this, when you’re asked about your ideal opportunity in the future, you’ll not only be prepared to positively describe it, you can also create an action plan to make it happen! You’ll find it much easier to create an action plan around what you want to accomplish versus what you don’t.

Do you have some examples of how focusing on the negative or what is not desired has affected you or others? Was there a change in thinking at some point followed by positive results? It’s definitely possible to get in your own way by being a Debbie Downer in terms of your business or career (or love life).

I don’t want that for you.

Scratch that. I want much better things for you!

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