Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

What LinkedIn’s “apply” button may mean for job seekers

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There’s been a lot of buzz in the past week or so about LinkedIn’s “apply” button. Mashable reported LinkedIn will launch a button to allow users to easily apply for jobs using their LinkedIn profiles as an effective “resume” later this month. Dan Schawbel called for this being one more nail in the resume’s coffin and asserted job boards are on their way out as a result. There’s lots of push back from the recruiting community on the topic and, many of us believe the resume is not going out of style, but I think there is a more important question to consider for job seekers.

Does “one button” applying help or hurt your chances for a job? Easy isn’t always the best approach for job seekers. I would anticipate a one-button solution (eliminating those pesky “hoops” job seekers usually need to jump through) will result in many more candidates applying for jobs. Just a guess here, but I am also guessing it would appeal to more UNqualified candidates. I’m not sure if that’s useful for employers or job seekers, but it’s sure to feed into an applicant tracking system to help make it easy for employers to scan and screen applicants.

The question of what it all means for job seekers still sticks out like a sore thumb. One of the most important things to do when applying for a job online is to target your materials to match the employer’s needs. How you apply for a job can be the difference between getting a job or not. It’s crucial that your application materials make a case for you. This may be tricky for people applying for various types of jobs. It is much easier to tweak a resume and application than it is to worry about what LinkedIn profile is up. (Although, of course, the LinkedIn profile is always a factor, when it is the clear leading indicator when you apply, it can make applying more complicated for career changers or those career change expert Marci Alboher calls “slashers.” She defines “slashers” as people who have multiple career interests and expertise and “can’t answer the question ‘What do you do?’ with a single word or phrase.”)

Donna Svei points out that reports say applicants will have a chance to edit their profiles when they apply, but as she explains, it’s unclear right now if the changes would be permanent on the LinkedIn profile or not.

These are all important details, and it will be absolutely necessary for job seekers to remember that “one button” applying may shorten the process, but it’s not an invitation to apply for jobs without foresight and focus.

If companies do start to receive a lot of unqualified or un-targeted applicants, we may see them preferring to find candidates from other sources. In fact, Career Columnist for The Seattle Times (NWjobs), Paul Anderson recently shared a column describing the fact that some employers advertise and collect applications from places even though they DON’T expect to hire applicants from that pool! A little crazy, right? Paul clarified for me they put out those feelers “just in case” they don’t get a good pool from their preferred sources.

Job seekers should keep an eye on news about easier ways to apply for jobs. If you want to land an opportunity to interview for the job, though, don’t focus on the “it’s easy” aspect — keep an eye on the prize and spend time needed to tweak and target.

Have you seen my new book — Social Networking for Career Success? Take a look if you want ideas about how to get your job search (or business) going in the right direction!

photo by Jim’s outside photos

How remembering names can help your job hunting prospects

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When you’re in the midst of a job hunt, you never really know what will make the difference between being hired and coming in second place. When there are many qualified candidates, employers often rely on subtle, nuanced reasons to choose one candidate over another. Maybe one applicant seemed to have strong observational skills or one candidate seemed a better fit for the team than another. [Read more…] about How remembering names can help your job hunting prospects

Why you’re not getting the job

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Why aren’t you getting the job?

It’s one of the most difficult and frustrating questions to face. Job seekers usually don’t receive feedback from hiring managers or interviewers, let alone hear why their resume may not have been selected for an interview. Instead, they are left to wonder if there is something wrong with them.

I don’t advise job seekers rely too much on the old stand-by reasons why they didn’t get the job: ageism (they want a 25-year old, and I’m 45), the economy is so bad/no one is getting hired (even if they are). There are no jobs in your town, and it would be impossible to sell the house right now. Your situation is unique — you took time off to care for an elderly parent, you want to return to paid work after retiring…The list goes on and on. There are plenty of “reasons” you can identify to explain away why you aren’t getting the job.

No matter what, though, in my experience, it usually comes back to several factors, and these factors are always in the job seeker’s control (unlike the items in the paragraph above, which are more difficult (although not impossible) for the job seeker to address).

– Your search itself — are you looking for a job or a company?

Even if you are getting interviews, it is possible you’re not connecting with the types of opportunities looking for someone like you. If you switch the way you are conducting your search, and instead of focusing on looking for job announcements, you look for companies with problems you know you can solve, you may have much more success.

Searching for a company instead of a job puts much more control in the job seeker’s hands. It can be very empowering to realize you can learn about an organization (via traditional and online research as well as networking) and, instead of trying to apply for a narrowly defined job, you can work on meeting people in the company and getting to know more about the organization. The goal? To be the “go to” person for the job before they even have posted a job. (Maybe before they even know they need to hire someone.)

– Your networking — and social networking

If your network isn’t working, think about making a change. Are you running around, telling everyone you know you need a job, and asking for their help? They probably have no idea how to help you. Instead, focus on letting everyone know about your expertise, take the focus off of the job. Explain what companies, industries or fields you are researching and ask if your contacts know anyone in those companies. However, try to remember not to make your job hunt the key factor when you meet with people. Think about projecting your expertise and leaving people with the impression that you are an expert in your field.

While social media won’t get you an interview, having a complete profile on LinkedIn and engaging on platforms such as Twitter can help you expand your network, which helps you improve your chances to land interviews.

– How you are applying

When you do apply for jobs, make sure your materials make it obvious that you’re well qualified and can do the job. If you are applying for a marketing job, make sure the entire resume isn’t about your sales accomplishments. You don’t want to confuse the reader — your materials should address their needs. Target your resume, online profiles, cover letter and all of your materials to their needs.

– Preparation for the interview

Prepare for an interview, even before you have one scheduled. How often will an employer expect you to be available “tomorrow” or the next day to discuss the job? Make sure you’re prepared to explain why you are qualified and why they should hire you. You’ll also need to know as much as possible about the company (which won’t be a problem if you’ve been looking for a company instead of a job!) Have stories to describe working with teams, leading, having problems with other people, overcoming difficult situations and a time when you came up against an obstacle. Be able to describe your successes and accomplishments and identify some weaknesses.

Have questions for the employer. These should be questions you cannot find answered elsewhere. It makes all the difference in an interview to sound well-prepared and interested in the job. Less prepared candidates will not make the cut in this competitive market.

– How you follow up

If you interview with six people, do you go the extra mile and send different, targeted thank you notes to each person? Or, are you emailing out the same messages, copied and pasted from one to the next? (Are you even sure you changed out the names correctly?) Making the extra effort to address each interviewer and mention what you discussed or clarify something you may have forgotten to mention can make a big difference when employers are trying to find evidence that you really are the type of candidate who will go above and beyond the call of duty.

Think about your follow up materials. How could you improve them to try to solidify your chance at the job?

Take a look at some of my other ideas on my U.S. News & World Report blog about this topic.

photo by Ciccio Pizzettaro

How to use the holidays to network for your job hunt

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Another holiday weekend, another opportunity to meet someone you never thought could help you with your job hunt! Be sure to take advantage of unexpected opportunities via in-person networking when you are eating hot dogs and watching fireworks. You never know what you could learn by chatting with a friend of a friend of a friend.

Don’t put on your “I’m a job seeker” hat, but  do think about ways to introduce yourself that make it clear what you offer and how you can solve problems for your targeted employer. Think about how you can pitch what you offer, not just what you WANT. Think about your value proposition — what you offer. Think about telling your story. Some preparation in advance is helpful — so prepare!

I wrote an ebook to help job seekers approach holiday opportunities. It’s free! Click here to subscribe and receive a free ebook.

Learn how I can help you navigate your job hunt.

photo by Rampant.Gaffer

How to interview and illustrate skills that are a reach

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What are the skills you need to demonstrate when you apply for jobs? It’s usually not very difficult to identify what employers are looking for; their 3000-word, in-depth job descriptions don’t leave much to the imagination. Many firms also post videos, have Facebook sites and Twitter feeds touting their organizations and why you might want to work there.

Skip these resources at your own peril — they are telling you exactly what you need to know to be a strong candidate.

But, what if most everything on the job description is a great match for your skills, but they want one or two skills or accomplishments you don’t really have a lot to say about? A good example? Leadership skills.

So many jobs are looking for people with leadership skills. You know you need to address how you are a great leader in the interview, but, truth be told — you haven’t had a lot of opportunities to lead. Maybe you’re an entry-level candidate or you’re trying to move into a leadership position. However, as far as specific stories about how you led a team to greatness, you don’t really have it.

Some things to consider:

It’s acceptable (and expected) to share non-work related leadership stories if your job isn’t very leadership focused. Volunteer work is very useful for this. Maybe you led a team and raised a lot of money for a cause. Or, you galvanized a lot of other volunteers and accomplished a big goal. Your leadership stories do not need to focus entirely on your paid work experiences.

That said, it does help to be able to work in information about how you demonstrated leadership at work. Focus on what skills are useful to have as a leader…Break down the topic of “leadership” and see if you can identify some matches between what you’ve exhibited on the job and your career goals. (Note: remember, you can break down the topic for any skill you want to illustrate.)

For example a leader:

  • Shows (and takes) initiative — enthusiastically
  • Takes responsibility for his or her actions
  • Has strong communication skills
  • Can think on his or her feet and make decisions
  • Is able to convince others of a viewpoint or plan — and inspires them to cooperate
  • Demonstrates dedication and confidence
  • Is comfortable with a certain amount of ambiguity
  • Is focused on the best possible ways to get the job done
  • Thinks analytically and focuses on the task at hand
  • Sees the bigger picture and makes suggestions to avoid obstacles
  • Hones strong relationships
  • Shows good judgement
  • Is imaginative and innovative

Consider addressing a question about leadership like this:

When I think of the best leaders, they demonstrate dedication and confidence, can think ahead and make good decisions and have strong relationships with their teammates. (Then, tell a story illustrating a time when you used those three skills.)

Framing the definition of “leadership” and providing a story showing how and when you used those characteristics will help you answer a question that might otherwise have stymied you — if you were thinking of a very traditional example of you “leading” a group or a team, but you have not done that on the job.

What suggestions do you have to answer interview questions that might otherwise really stump you?

Resources for this list:

An article by Barbara White, who has over twenty years experience in leadership. She is President of Beyond Better Development, which specializes in motivation and training in interpersonal skills.

Coach4Growth

photo by Leo Reynolds