It was probably a beautiful day. I don’t remember, but I imagine that the sun was shining because my classroom was the very last place I wanted to be. I was sitting in a large auditorium, staring at my professor as he toggled with his laptop, trying to make the sound work on a video he planned to play for the class. As the video finally started to play, the boisterous atmosphere of the class lulled. It was on that boring day I heard something that would change the way I looked at success forever.
“People who have 2 or 3 browsers on their computers are more likely to be successful than those that have only the default browser.” This observation struck me as odd. How could the number of browsers you download impact your ability to succeed? I thought about my computer. Had I downloaded Firefox? Would that really make a difference?
Ultimately, it is not the number of browsers you have downloaded that makes you successful. If success came that easy, I would have downloaded thousands of browsers by now. Instead, it is the action of actually seeking out and downloading different browsers that makes one more likely to be successful. Someone who goes out of their way to try new things and implement different systems is someone who wants to succeed, and will do what it takes to reach their goals. Because of that class, I vowed that I would never become complacent, and I would strive to find ways to make things more efficient.
How can you become more efficient?
Here are some software applications and ideas that use modern techniques to help you organize and build your network.
Apps that help with administration:
Outlook 365: This isn’t exactly innovative or new, but there are creative ways to learn how to best organize in Outlook. Keep up to date with Outlook; Microsoft may have rolled out new features since you last explored. All of the apps are interconnected, so all of your information is shared on one platform. There are a lot of features that you may not have thought to explore.
Email: You can make folders to organize jobs and accounts, schedule emails to be sent out at certain times, and even schedule team meetings that ensure everyone is available. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/outlook-training-8a5b816d-9052-4190-a5eb-494512343cca
Excel: You can share and organize information to make it more accessible.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/excel-video-training-9bc05390-e94c-46af-a5b3-d7c22f6990bb
OneNote: Keep all of your documents and important notes in one easy-to-access location. You can even use OneNote to keep track of short-term and long-term To Dos.
Calendly: https://calendly.com/
Calendly allows you to send a link with your availability to contacts. You can set different meeting types, and adjust your availability. It can connect to your Outlook calendar so that the events will populate there, and any changes made to your availability within your Outlook calendar will be reflected in Calendly.
Grammarly: https://app.grammarly.com/
Stop relying on your Microsoft word spell check! You can run documents and emails through Grammarly before sending them out. You can even install it as an add-on to your inbox to prevent errors in your emails.
Apps that help with sourcing, and building a brand for yourself:
Canva: https://www.canva.com/
You can easily create graphics to post on different social media platforms. Is graphic design not your strong suit? Part of engagement is creating quality content. Luckily, Canva is super easy to use because of its archive of templates.
Here is a link to videos that help teach you best design practices with Canva. https://www.canva.com/designschool/tutorials/designing/
After you create a graphic, you can post it directly to your page, or schedule it to post at a time when it will see the most engagement.
For scheduling a post on LinkedIn, here is an article by Jacinda Santora from Influencer Marketing Hub about when to post a job or ad on LinkedIn. Make sure the posting time reflects the time zone the intended candidates are in.
https://influencermarketinghub.com/best-times-to-post-on-linkedin/
If you are the type of person that falls into patterns, or says, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” try to mix it up. You won’t know how much more successful you could be if you never give new techniques a shot.
Written by
Elyse Rosen, Associate Recruiter
