Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Archives for 2010

Job search success – look up from your phone and pay attention

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During a recent trip to New York City, I was excited to have a chance to get together with a colleague/new friend. We confirmed our meeting time and place. I got there early, stepped into the restroom to freshen up and then took a seat near the door, figuring my friend would be sure to see me when she came in.

As has been my norm since I started using my Google phone, I took it out and busied myself — checking email, Twitter, Facebook – whatever caught my attention. I certainly wasn’t going to just sit and watch for my friend if I could be productive! I occasionally kept my eye on the door and the clock, and noticed that my friend was a little late, but it didn’t phase me. She and I had each been at different parties, so I figured she got held up.

Ten minutes after we were scheduled to meet, my phone rang. It was my friend, “Um…Miriam? Aren’t we meeting tonight?”  Once we both looked up, we laughed — she was sitting several feet away, around a corner. She must have come in while I was freshening up, so we missed each other. Since both of us were early and busy on our phones — being productive — neither of us thought to really look around or keep a keen eye out for the other.

Do you remember a time when meeting someone involved actually watching for them, instead of keeping busy with your head buried in your phone? I do! Time seemed to move more slowly then — waiting actually involved waiting, not working or answering emails every second.

I think this is a great reminder for job seekers. Do you have your head down, buried in your search? Are you waiting for someone (or something), that is sitting right around the corner, but you’ll never notice, because you are too busy LOOKING for the job? Technology provides a lot of opportunities for job seekers, and I am the first one to extol the virtues of using social networking for job hunting. I think there are opportunities there, just waiting for people to discover them. But, if you are too self-involved, keeping busy doing what you think you should be doing, you are not likely to benefit. Like me and my friend in that restaurant, you may just miss exactly what (or who) you want to meet.

Keep your eyes open. Take your face out of your smart phone. Look around. You never know what you may find!

What have you found when you stopped to look around? Tell me your stories in the comments section!

Social media for job seekers – what you need to know now

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I was honored to be invited to serve on a panel for the Voice of Careers webinar series. Mark Stelzner moderated the webinar: Social Media for Job Seekers: A Career Coaches Panel, where I joined fellow coaches, Dawn Bugni and Shahrzad Arasteh to provide advice for job seekers about how to leverage social media for job seeking.

Luckily, Laurie Ruettimann, co-founder (with Mark Stelzner and Yasha Morehouse Stelzner) of New Media Services, live tweeted our talk. The tweets are below…I hope there is a tidbit or new piece of information you have not considered. (Note – to read everything in order, start at the bottom and work your way up! These are in reverse chronological order.)

The next free Voice of Careers webinar  is Networking With A Purpose Via Social Media on September 15th!



Are you faceless and nameless to your targeted employers?

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Did you play with Lego blocks as a kid? (Or, maybe you still do? I have a friend whose brother – an adult – has a house full of Lego structures. He never outgrew his Lego obsession.)

Earlier this week, I shared thoughts about how to break down your job hunt, inspired by a Lego “big apple” I saw while visiting New York City in June. I took another photo during that visit that made me think. This big, faceless, naked Lego guy was in a window.

I couldn’t help but think that this figure represents a lot of job seekers; the ones who are not doing anything to make themselves stand out. The job seekers who believe applying online to hundreds of jobs is the same as a job search strategy. The employee who just does what it takes to get by and doesn’t think about his or her career plans or path.

Take a look at yourself; are you this Lego figure? Indistinguishable from your peers, with nothing significant to attract a hiring manager? If you are plain, it is going to be very difficult to land an opportunity.

Think about what you can do to distinguish yourself. Start here – put some SIZZLE in your job hunt – before summer is over!

Building blocks for your job hunt

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It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over. I have done some traveling, which always gives me some ideas to share. Usually, my inspirations come in unexpected, unlikely places. (That’s a career lesson in itself!)

Today’s post idea came while I was waiting to meet my friends and colleagues, Chandlee Bryan and Donna Sweidan, in NYC in June. We met in Rockefeller Center at a time that happened to coincide with the grand opening of a Lego store in the plaza. In celebration, they were building — what else — a big apple!

So, where is the career lesson? They didn’t just have a pile of blocks that the expert builders were using to create their masterpiece. Instead, there were stations set up where they invited guests and passersby to construct a block. Everyone who built a block contributed it to a box of blocks that the Lego employees used to construct the apple. (See photo below.)

It occurred to me that we need to take this approach more often in job hunting — and in life! Instead of thinking of a huge project (searching for a new job, for example) as one, big task, which may seem overwhelming, what if we thought about it one “block” at a time?

And, even better — what if we could collaborate and share pieces of the work to create a result everyone could enjoy? (Have you thought about partnering with an expert coach to walk you through the process?)

Think about it: what are the building blocks of your job hunt?

Have you thought about breaking it down into manageable pieces to make it seem easier to tackle?

You will need a pitch, a plan, a resume and a cover letter.

You will want optimized materials: a LinkedIn profile is a must, social (online) resumes are more and more common and an online presence is key. Not to mention use of Twitter and Facebook, both of which fuel today’s successful searches.

So, what is a job seeker to do?

It seems obvious – you can’t be successful until you get started. You can’t get started on everything at once, so break it down and work on one thing at a time.

As a career coach, I advise my clients to break down their tasks so they won’t be overwhelmed by the process of finding a job. It’s great advice for any of us facing lots to do and not enough time. (That pretty much describes most people I know!)

Some tips:

1.) Review your assignments and goals. Create a list of everything you need to do. Make sure you have a complete picture of the tasks and create a time frame.

2.) Break down the project into natural segments. “Write a resume” may be one project (with several parts). “Make a networking plan” is another task. Prioritize the segments and think about how much time each piece will take to complete.

3.) Focus on one thing at a time. Compile a daily “to do” list. Make sure it is reasonable; don’t give yourself too many tasks on one day. Depending on the job and your patience, you may need to further chunk down the steps. (No one should expect to write a resume in a day!)

To decide what to do first, consult your list of priorities. To keep your focus, try to include some fun, interesting or simple tasks early on. If you’re doing things you enjoy or finish rapidly, you’ll give your project a boost and quickly check things off of your “to do” list.

4.) Plan ahead. Make sure you have everything you need to work on your task as scheduled.

5.) Seek help. It helps to have a good support system. Ask for advice when you’re really stuck and to ensure that you are on the right track.

6.) Reward yourself. Celebrate your accomplishments. Do something fun!