Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Archives for 2008

Be Sure to Vet Your References

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Do you know what your references are saying about you?

Many job seekers overlook this important part of the job hunt.  Especially if you have often reached the final stages without landing the job, touching base with those who may hold the keys to your next position is a great idea!

Whom to Ask?  Ideally, you should have a current or immediate past employer as a reference.  Co-workers and trusted subordinates may also be references, but most hiring managers will want to hear from employers.  If you are a student or recently graduated, faculty members may serve as references. If you have had a leadership role in a volunteer organization, “supervisors” from that organization may be good references for you.

Ask permission.  Once you have in mind who you’d like to serve, ask their permission.  If they seem hesitant or hedge at all, allow them to bow out gracefully. You don’t want to browbeat your references into helping you.  (They may hurt more than help.)  The best references are those who are enthusiastically supportive.

Prepare your references to support you! Be sure they have the most updated version of your resume and a cover letter for the position if you have one.  Let them know if you expect they will be called, and offer suggestions of topics they may want to emphasize.

When I was applying for one of my jobs, I knew that teamwork and the willingness to pitch in when necessary were crucial for my potential employer.  I emphasized how I was the perfect match (I really was!) in the interview. I also asked my current supervisor (who knew about my search and was my #1 reference) if she could mention some examples of my teamwork when she spoke to my potential boss, who offered me the job as soon as he spoke to her!

Hopefully, you will have a strong relationship with your references and will be comfortable making them partners in your search.  Let’s face it -you can get right to the job’s door by having a great resume and interviewing well.  The key to get in is in the hands of those who are willing to recommend you for the job!

Tips if Your Job Hunt Goes On and On

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Is your job search getting too lengthy for your taste?  A Wall Street Journal online article, How to Hunt for Jobs as Time Out of Work Drags On and On, by Joann Lublin reports:

18.3% of jobless Americans in January had been out of work for at least 27 weeks. The figure far exceeds the 11.1% of those who had gone as long without work when a recession began in March 2001.

Lublin suggests several strategies for you if you are in the same boat.  (I love to quote experts who agree with the advice I give clients!)  Some ideas she suggests (in bold):

Reassess your strengths and weaknesses.  If you were a brand, why wouldn’t you be selling?  Seek advice and figure out what makes you special so you know how to sell yourself.

One reason may be a flawed résumé.  Lublin notes, “A professionally written résumé counts more than an attractive typeface.”   Ensure that your resume conveys exactly what you have to offer.  Don’t make the potential employer figure out how you fit in.  Connect the dots for your reader.

Don’t waste a lot of time sending online applications. This article notes:

“Posting résumés on job sites should be the smallest part of your search,” because you rarely land positions that way, says Annie Stevens, a managing partner at ClearRock, a Boston outplacement and executive-coaching firm. Nearly two-thirds of applicants find work through networking, ExecuNet surveys show.

Network, network, network, network.  Even if you are shy, be sure to take advantage of the #1 job search strategy!  (Follow the 5 links in this paragraph to get you started on the right foot!)

Consider re-meeting with your references to ensure that they are highlighting your best skills.  Keeping in touch with referees is an important job search strategy from day one, but if you have gotten to the reference-checking stage without landing a job, this could be an important evaluation point.

Do what you can to keep up your spirits.  Frequent exercise, support or networking groups and chocolate can be good stress relievers!  Don’t spend every minute on your job hunt.  You still need to have a life!  Plus, you never know – it could be someone you meet on a trip to the grocery store or a seatmate on an airplane while on vacation who winds up linking you to your next job!

Job search dragging on?  Get some professional help!  Keppie Careers is here for you.  We’ll make sure that your resume is top notch and coach you every step of the way.  Save time and money – hire Keppie Careers!  www.keppiecareers.com

Solutions for Work Gossip

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Did you know that 60% of employees consider gossip their number one pet peeve at work?  This, according to a Randstad USA survey reported in Newsweek’s March 10th issue, Loose Lips Sink Shifts, by Anna Kuchment. 

Kuchment’s article reports that, at one small Chicago firm, the problem was so big that they attacked the issue of office gossip by forcing an employee who says something negative about another person behind his or her back to repeat it to their colleague’s face.  One might imagine that this would stem the tide!

The article acknowledges that some gossip helps employees connect and learn important information that wouldn’t be available to them otherwise.  However, Kuchment offers several tips to keep in mind if gossip is getting out of hand at your office:

Separate the good from the bad.  Venting can be helpful, but mean-spirited bad mouthing is not.

Learn to deflect. Try not to get sucked in to a gossip mill.  If someone makes a nasty comment, stay neutral and consider playing dumb.

Set a time limit. Are layoff rumors running rampant?  Make a point to touch in with a reliable source once a week, but don’t spend the rest of your time spreading unproductive gossip.

Don’t overshare.  Keep personal sharing to a few close friends who will keep your confidence.

Never gossip by e-mail.  A paper trail is dangerous – and hard to deny!  Plus, you never know who might “accidentally” forward your scurrilous e-mail message to the entire office. 

Is the word at work that jobs are in danger?  Can’t stand your gossip-y colleagues?  Keppie Careers will get you ready for your job search!  We’ll write your resume, prep you for interviews and coach you along the way!  www.keppiecareers.com

Cross-Generational Offices: Is Gen Y Narcissistic?

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As regular readers may know, I’ve been reading Tamara Erickson’s book, Retire Retirement:  Career Strategies for the Boomer Generation, which is scheduled for release on March 10th.  One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is Erickson’s description of how each generation’s influences (society and culture, formative teen years, etc.) impact who they are as people, and consequently, how they tend to interact in the workplace.  (Stay tuned for a complete review.)

So, today, when I saw Erickson’s article, Gen Y:  Really All That Narcissistic? in BusinessWeek.com, one message really resonated:  In the workplace, it’s valuable to consider our colleagues’ backgrounds and upbringing in order to interact successfully. 

Unlike in life, where we can choose our friends, we don’t always have a choice about co-workers.   Cross-generational workplaces are the norm in most cases, and (per Erickson’s research) will continue to be the norm as Boomers continue to participate in the paid working world long after the traditional retirement age. 

So, what should we know about Gen Y?

Erickson describes research that tags Gen Y as “30 percent more narcissistic in 2006 than was the average student in 1982.”  Dr. Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at the University of San Diego, came to this conclusion by analyzing data from an inventory that asks participants to rate themselves based on statements such as “I think I am a special person.”

Having been raised by parents who have been telling them how special they are for their entire lives, it would seem odd for Gen Y respondents NOT to agree that they are special!  I would suggest that a parent might worry if their young person rates themselves low on the “special” scale. 

Erickson points out that this is a shift in our perceptions.  She observes, “In 1982, saying that you were a “special person” would have been a fairly odd thing to do.” 

So, Gen Y members were raised to believe they are special.  They also have a propensity for praise, having grown accustomed to regular positive feedback.  As workers, they may expect supervisors to shower them with compliments and attention.  Boomers and Gen Xers may see Gen Y as spoiled or lazy (expecting praise for the smallest accomplishment). 

Erickson’s book points out that Boomers have only themselves to blame.  After all, they were the ones passing out trophies to winners and “not winners,” and giving their Gen Y children the sense of entitlement they now resent in the workplace.

So, Boomer and Gen X bosses can be more sensitive to the fact that their Gen Y employees thrive on praise.  Gen Y employees can appreciate that workers from previous generations don’t think that “excessive” praise is necessary in the workplace.  A little understanding can go a long way!

PS – Tammy Erickson’s next book targets Gen Y – Plugged In:  The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, is expected in November 2008.

Keppie Careers can help you at any stage of your career.  We’ll write your resume and coach you through the job hunt:  www.keppiecareers.com

Career Advice from a Comic Book?

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In the March 3rd issue of BusinessWeek, Susan Berfield wrote about a new career advice genre:  the comic book.  Berfield explains that many business publishers have been adjusting their products to be read in limited time slots, such as a two-hour plane ride.  The comic book appeals to those who don’t have time for too many words on one page.

Due out in April, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko:  The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, by Daniel H. Pink, who also wrote Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind, is targeted to college students.  Pink says, “College students are making all kinds of assumptions about their careers that are just wrong.”

Berfield reports that there are six lessons in the book:

  • There is no plan.
  • Think strengths, not weaknesses.
  • It’s not about you.
  • Persistence trumps talent.
  • Make excellent mistakes.
  • Leave an imprint.

All interesting points.  I am curious to see how Pink elaborates on them in his book, which is touted to be a useful and entertaining work that can be read in an hour.

Seeking career advice targeted directly to you?  Keppie Careers will write your resume and coach you through the job hunt maze.