Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Humanize your pitch – use your ears!

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bigears85771531_44de825632_mThe current issue of Entrepreneur Magazine (September 2009, page 30) makes a great point about “pitching.” The piece, by Michael Port reminds us to “focus less on making your pitch and more on listening to what your customers need.” While this article is geared toward sales people and entrepreneurs, I think this message is equally important for job seekers!

Port points to Daniel Goleman’s work that indicates “your ability to sell depends, in large part, on your self-awareness and social savvy.” So, too, with job seekers. Even a degree from a prestigious university won’t matter if you don’t make a point to connect with your target audience (in this case, potential employers) on an emotional/social level.

Port’s advice? Throw out the “pitch” and focus on being a good listener. He suggests, “…study your self-presentation so you can foster credibility, trust and customer confidence.” Translate “customer confidence” to “hiring manager confidence,” and this advice is timely and crucial for job seekers.

Yes – it is a competitive market. Yesterday, I wrote about how to stand out in a sea of sameness. Today’s tip offers yet another way to stand out. Instead of focusing on YOU – what you want, what you offer – start listening. Ask questions. Be the candidate who connects on an emotional level with your audience. There’s nothing that people like better than someone who seems interested in THEM – it’s human nature. Be the one who listens first and answers based on what you learn. You may be surprised by how well this technique works!

Learn how I can help you propel your search forward.

photo by cindy47452

Stand out in a sea of sameness

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standout3533395983_e846d2cf51_mThere’s no shortage of information about how difficult the job market is right now. Over and over, job seekers look for ways to “stand out,” to be one in a crowd, to grab (and keep) the attention of the hiring manager.

You might be surprised to know that it may not be as difficult as you think to stand out in a crowded market. Some ideas for your consideration:

– Know what you have to offer. You would be surprised (or maybe not!) to learn how few job seekers I meet can easily describe what skills they bring to the table. Being able to succinctly describe those skills in a networking setting – without resorting to the catch all/kiss of death, “I can do anything” will absolutely help you stand out. Follow THIS link for more ideas about your “elevator pitch.”

– Know where to look. I teach clients to identify organizations and companies, not specific jobs. The fact is, most jobs are not actually advertised. (It may be as many as 70-80% of positions.) Rather, they are filled via networking and referrals. Stop spending all of your time looking for jobs. Research and target organizations instead and you will automatically stand out as someone not overly concerned with focusing on a specific job and more interested in the big picture.

– Great materials. This is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, most resumes are simply not very good. There are basic concerns – aesthetics, grammar, verb tense, consistency. These are not difficult to address. The bigger concern is making sure the resume specifically focuses on the employer’s needs and highlights the job seeker’s skills and accomplishments. If you are sending out a resume that lists “stuff” that you have done but is not adequately connecting to the employer’s needs, you are missing a key opportunity to stand out in the crowd.

– Excellent follow-up. Again, a factor that is completely in the job seeker’s control. When you network, you have the opportunity to leave an impression and gain an advocate. However, everyone is busy. How you follow up can help you stand out in a way that may make the difference between learning about a “hidden” opportunity and not.

Stay tuned for my next post….Follow-up that is head and shoulders above the rest!

Learn how I can help you navigate your job hunt.

photo by picsbycam

Holidays are great for networking.

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bbq138519714_b63415aa6e_mAre you on your way to a Labor Day bar-b-que? Have you considered that it is a great opportunity to network if you are looking for a job?

Many new job seekers or people who haven’t looked for a job in a long time may not know about the “hidden job market.”  Sounds sinister, but all it really means is that most (70 – 80% or more!) of jobs aren’t actually filled with people applying to a job posting or announcement; they are filled via personal connections.

You can see why it’s a good idea to get on this networking bandwagon!  Networking is a huge topic, and I have tons to say on the subject, but since we are in the midst of another holiday, let’s leave it at this:

If you’re going to a picnic or party, you will probably have an opportunity to meet some new people.

How can you introduce yourself with an eye toward seeing if there is a potential career link with your new acquaintance?  Ask someone if they did anything fun over the summer…Strike up some conversations that have NOTHING to do with your job search.

You never know where you’ll meet the professional connection that will link you to a new opportunity.

If you’d like a copy of my ebook about how to optimize your networking for holidays (or anytime, really), subscribe to receive my blog via email. It’s free! Click here to subscribe and receive a free ebook.

Learn how I can help you navigate your job hunt.

photo by andreassolberg

Spell your name wrong in LinkedIn?

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LinkedInpic_logo_119x32Today, my colleague Dan Schawbel tweeted a link to an article by Scott Kirsner with information about LinkedIn that makes some interesting new suggestions and tips for LinkedIn users. I’ve been writing about LinkedIn for some time, but found a few great tips from Kirsner’s sources, Lee Hower (part of the founding team of LinkedIn, reporting to the chief executive) and David Gowel (called a “Jedi knight of LinkedIn.”)

Whether or not you use these tips, be sure that you optimize your profile to include all of your previous jobs and keywords that will help people find you!

Some points they suggest in the piece that I have not written about (points theirs; commentary in my words):

Spell your name wrong.
How many people are searching for you, but spelling your name wrong? O’Mally suggests including typical misspellings of your name in the “Summary” section. My suggestion – if you have changed your name after marriage or have a nic name many people know (or used to know) you as, include those as well.

Take advantage of the toolbars.
While I don’t think that job seekers should spend an excessive amount of time searching for jobs on job boards, I thought this was a great reminder from the article:

Add the free LinkedIn Browser Toolbar (available at the bottom of any LinkedIn page, to the right of the “Tools’’ heading). “If you go to job-hunting sites like Craigslist, CareerBuilder, or Monster and you’re looking at a job at a specific company, the toolbar tells you the number of people in your network who work at that company,’’ O’Malley says. “You can also see lists of those people’’ who might be willing to help call attention to your resume once you’ve sent it in.

I love this idea! It’s the perfect combination of networking and job board searching! Although, I like to advise clients to research and identify organizations rather than specific jobs, this is an enhancing option for job board fans.

LinkedIn can replace business cards.
There’s a tiny link called “View/Edit contact info” that is in the right column of the screen for people who are connected to you. Did you know that you can actually save information about your contacts and use LinkedIn as a rolodex of sorts?

Automated searches.
Did you know that you can track people being hired or leaving a company? (Stealthy!) Gowel says, “After you’ve done a search (regular or advanced), just click the link that says “Save this search.’’ LinkedIn will email you information weekly or monthly!

Stealthy vs. public prowling.
You may or may not realize that LinkedIn tracks who views your profile. Well – there is a way for you to avoid being tracked. The post notes, “Click “Account and Settings’’ in the upper right corner of most pages, then under “Privacy Settings’’ choose “Profile Views.’’ You can select:

This can be useful if you are stalking profiles, but think carefully about this option…There may be reasons that it would actually HELP you if someone knows you have reviewed their profile. For example, if you are going to be interviewed and you review the profile of your interviewer. I think it is a good thing for that person to know you are doing your homework!

There are other tips, but these were a few that I haven’t shared in the past! Read the entire post HERE.

Need an optimized LinkedIn profile? Some tips to get your search moving forward? Learn how I can help with your job hunt.



Conscious awareness and your job hunt

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cookies3544731083_141829b5ee_mIf you are looking for a job, do you feel stuck and like you don’t know what to do next? You are not alone, as most job seekers I know don’t intend to become professional job hunters and don’t feel confident that they can move from step to step, knowing exactly what they are doing.

Last month, I attended a workshop with Havi Brooks. She specializes in what she calls “Destuckification: working through the stucknesses that get in the way of doing your thing.” Havi teaches about how to get unstuck via a mind-body/yoga practice called Shiva Nata. She calls it “brain training that looks like martial arts and acts like drugs-that-make-you-smart-and-hot.”

Even Havi calls is “wacky,” and it is nothing if not a bit unconventional – teaching your brain to act differently by focusing on patterns, deconstructing them and building new ones!  (I’m no expert on the subject, having just starting studying it, but I think that gets at the basics for our purposes! Read Havi’s blog and explore her site for more details.)

So, what does this all have to do with you – the job seeker who is stuck and can’t figure out the next step? One of the big things we discussed at the workshop was how important it is to bring “conscious awareness” to patterns in order to challenge and change them. Really, that’s just a fancy way of saying that you need to notice what’s happening and point it out to yourself to impact a change.

So, instead of wallowing in self-doubt and avoiding your job search like the plague, stop and think, “Hmmm…how am I feeling when I think of my job hunt?” Does it give you a stomach ache? Your head hurts? You panic? You know it’s important and urgent, but instead of working on it, you decide to take a bike ride instead? Or, eat a plate of cookies?

Every time you think of your job hunt and you go numb and panic, try to be aware of the pattern.

Look at  your intellectual response – I “should” do this now. I feel guilty if I don’t work on my search.
Examine the physical response – I can’t breathe. I get a pain in my neck. Stress creeps into my shoulders.
Focus on what you do – I clean the house instead. Or eat chocolate. Or watch TV.

Then, think about little steps you could do differently. If, when you think of sitting down to your search and start getting stressed, you took a moment to be really aware of all that is going into those feelings, you may have a much better chance of jumping over the hurdle and making a change – step-by-step. Maybe instead of cleaning the whole house, or eating the whole box of cookies, you decide that you’ll JUST clean one bathroom or eat two cookies and then do 30 minutes of job searching.

I’m no expert in teaching about conscious awareness, and I want to make it clear that is my interpretation of when of the things I learned from Havi, but I thought it was too important of a concept NOT to share the idea. Take some time to be aware of what is going on with you – you may be surprised by the results!

Would it help to have a coach on your side? Learn more about how I can help you overcome your “stuck” by teaching you what you need to know to propel your search forward!

photo by dyanna