From the Desk of Janet Barclay

I recently asked Karen Silins, President of A+ Career & Resume, LLC and the Association of Online Resume and Career Professionals (AORCP), about her typical workday, and she agreed to let me post the information on my blog.

A typical day for Karen includes the following activities:

• Reviewing and responding to emails
• Calling potential clients to discuss her company’s services (at a time which has been scheduled in advance, to eliminate telephone tag and ensure that both parties are able to be fully engaged in the conversation)
• Answering phone calls from potential clients and setting a time to speak with them
• Preparing for and then meeting with two to four clients daily in person or on the phone (typically a mix of coaching and resume clients)
• Taking care of any administrative activities that aren’t handled by her  Virtual Assistant (yours truly), such as planning website updates and marketing initiatives, or booking speaking engagements
• Writing resumes/cover letters, or other career documents for clients
• Networking with colleagues – sometimes lunch or dinner, sometimes a phone call or email, sometimes online networking such as LinkedIn.com
• Forwarding information to clients, such as links to assessments, questions to be answered, weekly assignments, resources (including book and website recommendations), appointment reminders, and any handouts being covering in the next appointment

In addition, she conducts evening seminars a few times a month.

Karen’s Tip:

With such a busy schedule, in order to make sure that nothing is overlooked, Karen takes time each night to review what she wants to accomplish the following day. She also does this each Sunday for the next week.  This helps her to formulate a plan that she can execute the next day or week. 

Do you have a time management tip to share?