Jonathan Vaudreuil

Want to make a new friend? Grow your circle of influence? Maybe sit down with Mr. Bigshot? Give them an idea.

Before you give them an idea, make sure it’s not any idea. Most people will not be receptive if you say, “I have an idea! When you get hungry you should eat something.” A dunce cap will magically appear upon thine noggin. ABRACADABRA!!!

The sad part? This is what retailers and salespeople do. This is what people who don’t listen, or don’t want to listen, do. This is what annoying coworkers and bosses do.

Walk into a store and almost every time you’re greeted with a variation of “Can I help you with something?” It’s phrased as if everyone walking in has no idea why they walked in, or how to navigate a cookie-cutter mall store. It’s borderline insulting.Read more

Besides getting a company’s attention and blowing them away in the interview, here are the 59 things you should consider just in case Plan A does not work perfectly.

1) Make sure your cover letter and resume reference the position you are applying for. It shows you paid attention, and in a downturn nobody wants to hire someone who’s not paying attention.

2) Some people say to skip the cover letter. I love them. It’s the best chance I have of getting to know someone before I call them on the phone.

3) Give the person going through applications some way of getting to know you in your cover letter.Read more

You got their attention and the interview. Here are two things an interviewer wants to know:

1) You can do everything the position requires, and more.

2) You like to work hard and get things done fast.

If you cannot meet both of those requirements, you need to ace #2. You will open more doors for yourself in life if you work a little longer, a little smarter, and a little faster than everyone else around you. Why? Most people clock in, get stuff done, clock out. The good ones are not worried about the clock, get more done, and want results. The best don’t care about a clock, get everything done, and get results.Read more

The average job seeker has little idea how to knock someone’s socks off when applying for a job.

In the two years I’ve looked to hire people I must say I’m underwhelmed. Maybe horrified is a better word. Horrified. I’m horrified at the applications I sift through whenever I post a position. Besides the usual pitfalls – misspelled words, no cover letter, no relevant information, and sometimes no relevant job experience – most people lack any kind of style OR substance which sets them apart.

What can you do about it?Read more

Have you ever had a salesperson help you find what you’re looking for whether or not they’d get the sale?

It happened to me this morning. My fiancée and I are looking for a place to hold a wedding reception. The coordinator we met with, Marla, from one of the places we looked at over the weekend, the Emerson Inn, called me to ask if we had made any decisions in a courteous way. I told her we loved the place, though we want an evening reception and the Emerson only does afternoons. She asked a few more questions about what we were looking for and offered to send me some suggestions via e-mail. I thanked her and hung up.

Her e-mail hit my inbox about 3 minutes later.Read more

For me, Opening Day in baseball is like Christmas or my birthday.

The playoffs in October are when I chew my nails off watching games.

After going to my first Red Sox game when I was 8 years old I began asking my father to take me to Opening Day with him. He told me he’d do it my senior year of high school. I’m not sure if he thought I’d give up, forget what he said, or if he was testing me. Every year I reminded him of his promise, and sure enough I went to Opening Day with him my senior year of high school. I was so giddy I told my teachers I was going to Opening Day – forget about “calling in sick,” I was going to Fenway Park and no one could stop me.Read more

Would you rather have someone offer to help you with a mistake you made, or punish you for making the mistake?

In 2001 Portugal decided to decriminalize drug possession (dealing is still illegal), replacing jail time with meeting with a “Dissuasion Commission.” These 3-person commissions have at least one lawyer or judge and one health care or social worker, and they recommend treatment, impose a small fine, or send the person on their way.Read more

What would you rather be, a person of great experience or a person with endless creativity?

I’m going with creative on this one. Give me original ideas over a book of facts any day.

The title of this blog is from a Paul Arden book, It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be. Paul Arden had a fantastic mind for marketing and advertising. The first half of the book I mentioned focuses on the how and why of creating ideas before going into business advice. It’s a fast read and he makes some fantastic points on originality and creativity.Read more

Has anyone ever told you that you confused the crap out of them?

Have you ever thought about the phrase for a moment?

Confuse the crap out of someone. If I could literally confuse someone to the point where they had to, well, take a crap, I’d be on my way to making millions of dollars. I’m not talking about using it as a way to make people do what I want (“Give me your money or you will poop your pants right now!”). I’m talking about alleviating constipation.Read more

Do you read a bunch of blogs or news websites? Let me make your life easier.

A few weeks ago I began reading every blog I follow and many key news websites I read by going to one webpage, which tells me when there are updates and lets me read them without having to go from page to page. All I use is an online feed reader. Google Reader to be specific.Read more