Skill Stacking: The Way to Fast-Track Your Career and Compensation

Who doesn’t want to sound more accomplished? Amiright?!?! More accomplished = more attractive to potential employers. I’m not talkin’ “accomplished “in the “overqualified” sorta way. I wouldn’t run that risk. I’m talkin’ “accomplished” in the I’m-smarter, more-knowledgeable, performed-more-repetitions, solved-more-problems, achieved-more-goals sorta way! If you sound more accomplished, you have a better chance of getting more too. True story. But, what if you’re, well, junior? Or, what if you’ve been doing the same job for a long time? Or, don’t have a “big” title? Or, interviewing for a job that manages lots of people? And you haven’t, like, ever? For the bajillionith time, “Don’t worry!” Your Houdini of a career coach has you covered. Join me today for 10 nifty ways to punch up your resume and job interview stories to sound more accomplished, senior, and all-around desirable! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

It hurts me when I see people make a mistake. It practically kills me when I see them repeating—on purpose—the same mistake. I’ve made lots of mistakes, so please don’t think I think I’m a know-it-all. I don’t judge anyone because they made different mistakes than I did. We’re all different and have walked different paths, experienced different things, and built different perspectives. I like to think, however, that age and experience have helped me test different theories and note the results. Today, I’m sharing 9 unconventional pieces of wisdom, tactics, and habits I’ve learned through my testing of life. It’s a gamut from building skills to solving problems to dealing with people I’ve learned from running all those tests and making those aforementioned mistakes. A real rainbow of goodness. I hope you enjoy it… If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

The job market is tricky these days. It’s always confusing for some, but nowadays it seems like it’s unknown for all. Good news. Your favorite career coach has yet another timeless lesson on steps you should ALWAYS be taking to protect yourself, your career, your family, friends, neighbors, and everything else connected to you! Yes, there’s A LOT riding on this. Which is why I like the always-kinda-stuff. The stuff that makes you bulletproof or, at least, gives you an ability to get up quickly after you’ve been knocked down. Just think for a millisecond about what happens if you lose your job. You become unhappy. Then you’re sitting around the house all day annoying everyone. Ha ha. You get the picture. Maybe not that bad, but can we at least agree you in a great career and fully employed making lots of dough is better than you not employed making no money? K? K. That’s why today you’re getting 4 steps, questions and answers if you will, on how to determine your job security and the tactics to stand out from the crowd and stay ahead of the pack. Let’s make sure you have job security… If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

If you’re struggling in your job search, you’re in luck today! I’ve got 10 big tips to help you ignite your results. They’re not your run-of-the-mill-tips and you can’t get them anywhere else. I know this to be true because I’m the only person on the planet who wrote The Zebra Code: A Step-By-Step Guide to Mastering Career Skills That Make You a Standout Professional. And that’s where these tips came from. You might think based on the title of my recent book it’s all about career development. It IS about career development and getting what you want out of life! But it’s about skillsets that are not a luxury, but an all-out requirement for success, in your job search or any endeavor. Would it help if you could focus to stay locked in? Were self-aware to know what to look for, how to evaluate whether it fits, and make great career decisions? Good habits? Effectively plan and run your (job-search) day? Have more confidence? Become more empathetic and use it to your advantage in interviews? Uh, network more effectively? HELLO! Communicate better? Be more persuasive, well, in everything from cover letters to interview answers? Improve your personal storytelling? How ‘bout using a creative formula to generate more job-search and employer possibilities? Yeah! No fib. I covered a lot. It’s all in today’s lesson on 10 Ways to Improve Your Job Search Results | Tips from The Zebra Code! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

I have a new podcast this morning titled How to Tell a Story That Wows the Interviewer | A Job Seeker Case Study because, well, it wows the interviewer and it’s a real-life example from someone I coached (hence the case study part). It’ll be the best 11 minutes and 13 seconds you spend all week if you’re in job-search mode next to the few hours you can spend with me live this Thursday at 11 AM CDT when I offer up my NEW, FREE Job Interview Playbook Webinar. Join me this week to crush your job interviews! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

I spent more time coming up with complete title of The Zebra Code: A Step-By-Step Guide to Mastering Career Skills That Make You a Standout Professional than writing the entire book. 7 months for the title. 6 months to write the entire book (really 5, because I spent a month polishing). True story. Why? I wanted to get in… Something unique (and avoid generic leadership-y titles like The Leadership Code yawn). Short main title (2-3 words only). A metaphor people will understand. Ability to coin, copyright, unique URL for the title, etc. Ongoing books in a series (for future offsprings). Tell them what’s inside (of course). Demonstrate there’s a framework (but didn’t want to be wordy). Make a promise as to what will happen when they read the book. Be specific about reader avatar (title needed to include something about the “who”). So, it shakes out… Code = Takes care of the item on methodology inside. Guide = It IS a guide, but I could have used the word “system” here instead. Mastering the Career Skills = It’s really about this and there are detailed lessons inside. Standout = This is what will happen to you and picks up zebra metaphor. Professional = The book is genuinely for white collar professionals even though anyone can read it. Don’t even get me started on the number of sleepless nights I had thinking about the cover design. Wondering what gives with my analogy? Seconds baby. Seconds. As in S-E-C-O-N-D-S. That’s what YOU have to make the impression. You don’t actually think you get your entire resume to make an impression??? Uh, heck to the NO. Your career profile, the executive summary of your ENTIRE professional life if you will, is your billboard. It’s your title and subtitle. It’s your ONE and BEST chance to get them excited. To entice them to review the rest of your glorious resume which substantiates everything you CLAIMED in your career profile. Just like The Zebra Code. I enticed you with the title and subtitle. Then, fulfilled my promise on the 352 pages that sit inside the cover. You get 2 paragraphs and then the remaining 1.875 pages to make good on your promise. It happens in seconds. Or 2 paragraphs. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

I’ve changed careers twice, which basically means I’ve got it down to a science. It’s absolutely brutal. You deserve the truth. How brutal? This picture of my office popped up in my “memories” on my phone. It's from August 25, 2015, a shade over 9 years ago. 3:43 in the AM. I was knocking off for the evening so I could catch an hour or two of shut-eye before Harley or Ginger started licking my face as if it was their food bowl. That’s a whopping 55 (calendar) days after I decided to “change careers” and become a career coach in addition to an executive recruiter. Of course, the long-term plan was to drive the jumbo jet on the runway until liftoff when I could go “all in” on the career coaching thing. I was on the runway for…let’s see…carry the seven…a mere 5 years. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on. Lemme go get Andy Sunshine. Okay, he’s back. I’d do it all over again. Anything worthwhile will take a bit of time. Fine, maybe a lot. But it’s incredibly rewarding IF and ONLY IF you truly want it badly enough. Ever consider making a change? I like to say, “This world needs more of you, not less. There are people who need you to do what you ache to do. That’s the part of you, you need to give them. That’s the part of you I’d love to see. That’s the part of you the world wants.” (From The Zebra Code, Chapter 21, My Gift to Find Your Gift) Maybe you like the way things are going and are on the right path. Maybe you’ve thought What if? Either way, today, I have 5 steps I’d suggest if you want to make that change! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

What would you give to be happier in your job? In your office? In your career? Would you give 25 minutes and 52 seconds? If you’re willing to do just that, you’ll learn exactly what I’d do. Warning: I’m not going to say anything to you like smile, have a better attitude, or blah blah blah. I wouldn’t insult you with that trite stuff. I’ll get you focused on and building the six “deliverables” I’d create and have “at the ready” so I’d feel happier about my situation! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

Have you been struggling to get your career to the next level? Maybe you’re awesome at your trade. Maybe you are well networked in your company. Mayyyybe you’re even the go-to person that seems to be able to fix everyone’s “problems.” So, why is awesome you not getting awesomely ahead? It’s one thing to be great at your job. It’s entirely another to be all-out spectacular in your career. As a consultant, recruiter, business owner, and now career coach, I’ve long known skill stacking is what makes you powerful. It’s the mind-bending formula where 1+1=4 and 1+1+1=10. Truly exponential in nature. You might hear me say, “The more “layers” you have, the more desirable you’ll be to an employer.” I speak of how many boxes you check when it comes to their silly job descriptions. This is part of the equation. Now, skill stacking isn’t just about how you match. It’s about how much impact you’ll have. At this point, you might be thinking I’m using my 9 semesters of higher math to make up new formulas. But have you ever heard of someone’s pay rising and rising until all of sudden their compensation seems to be in a new stratosphere? They likely skill stacked. Today, I’m sharing my skill stacking concepts and how I’ve built my career using these techniques. Give it try and note the awesome results! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

Ever been snookered by a fake job? I mean, if you know you have? You might have been hoodwinked and didn’t even know it. Perhaps you applied and silence. I glanced over a survey from Resume Builder very recently (not a site I recommend, but they ran the survey so what the hey?). A few key findings... 40% of companies posted a fake job listing this year. 30% of companies currently have active fake listings. 70% of hiring managers believe posting fake jobs is morally acceptable. Their rationale… Hiring managers say fake job postings led to boosted revenue, morale, and productivity and alleviate employee workload concerns. They indicate “company growth” as one of the top reasons behind fake job posting strategy. Sure. So, you know these fakers are out there. Now, how can you spot them and what can you do about it? If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to interviewing, hiring, goal setting, and career development. All can be found on  my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy