Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Peer Infiltration Networking – Network Down and Across for Job Hunting Success

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Regular readers know that networking is one of my favorite topics. I especially love when I find expert sources who confirm the advice I’ve been giving my clients! A recent New York Times article by Hannah Seligson highlighted a trend identified with Generation Y job seekers, but I think it is a valuable strategy for everyone to use when networking. What is it? “Peer infiltration” – networking down and across instead of networking “up.” In other words, don’t try to network with the top branches of the tree; if you’re a middle branch, or down near the roots, find others like you and network with them!

How does it work? The article quotes Tamara Erickson, a researcher on generational differences in the workplace and author of Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, as saying that most job seekers born since 1980 prefer to network with their peers instead of targeting high-level professionals.

Seligson notes:

Lindsey Gerdes, 28, a staff editor at BusinessWeek who writes about Generation Y, says that, particularly in finance, knowing someone your own age can be an important step to getting your foot in the door. “If you are one of these young analysts that lost their job and you don’t know someone in your demographic or from your college that works in your industry, get to know one,” she says. “These young people are the ones with their ears to the ground about hiring needs.”

The article suggests that savvy job seekers take advantage of formal and informal, in-person (“schmoozing”) and online networking opportunities. Networking isn’t rocket science; it makes sense to create a lateral network with friends and extended contacts for information about opportunities.

I think an approach that focuses on peers makes networking much more do-able for anyone who hesitates to “ask for help” and for those who are not comfortable contacting high-level professionals. The fact is, starting where you are is the best networking strategy, as long as where you are includes a tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and even Twitter, and that you make a point to attend in-person networking events as part of your plans.

The article also reminds us that job seekers (and everyone hoping to have a great network) needs to cultivate relationships beyond basic friendships so that contacts will be able to vouch for them professionally. When networking in social settings (including online), keep your professional goals in mind.

Just as it isn’t a good idea to bad-mouth your boss on your Facebook page, it may not sit well with professional “friends” to learn about unsavory job antics, such as when you called in sick after a long night out or how you manage to stretch your lunch on days you’re bored. Oversharing about your personal relationships and anything else that may be considered “TMI” (too much information) is best kept for close friends.

If you’re hoping for a strong professional network, keep it friendly, but save the nitty-gritty details of your life for friends who aren’t prone to judge you based on your own errors in judgment.

Have you successfully used peer networking? Does it sound more do-able than what you’ve been trying to do? Share your thoughts!

Don’t forget that Keppie Careers can help with every aspect of your job search. Need a resume? Don’t know where to get started? We can help!

photo by Old Shoe Woman

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When Your Past Impacts Your (Job) Future

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Much is being written about President-elect Obama’s application for employment. The new administration will fill about 7,000 jobs that last until the end of his time in office. Sarah Needleman at the Wall Street Journal wrote that you can find listings at gpoaccess.gov. She notes, “The positions are projected to be filled throughout the first year of the new administration, and will range from jobs such as director of accounting services for the Department of Defense to deputy manager of cleanup for the Department of Energy.”

Applications are available at change.gov. The site shares information about the transition and various updates, including an ethics policy.

The application itself, which includes 63 detailed questions, may deter many job seekers. In fact, Nisha Chittal at Brazen Careerist suggested that anyone who posts information online not even bother with the application. She points to questions such as:

“If you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but not limited to an email, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-elect if it were made public, please describe.”

“Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.)”

“If you keep or have ever kept a diary that contains anything that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect if it were made public, please describe.”

“Please list, and, if readily available, provide a copy of each book, article, column, or publication (including but not limited to any posts or comments on blogs or other websites) you have authored, individually or with others. Please list all aliases or ‘handles’ you have used to communicate on the internet.”

Certainly, anyone with a deep digital footprint would need to be careful about answering these questions. What? You forgot about that diary/blog you kept two years ago detailing an intimate relationship with someone who is anti-government? Can you imagine providing copies of everything you’ve ever published? Including comments on other blogs? What about offering your online aliases? What is the point of an alias if it’s not anonymous?

Clearly, most people are not going to be applying for one of these 7,000 jobs, but I think the application should make all of us think about what we are doing online and in our personal lives that may impact our employability later on. The fact is, when you go online, you enter a very public space and content you create will be out in cyber-space forever. Think before you post (or do) things that could incriminate you. Don’t assume that “it won’t matter” or that you “won’t use your own name, so no one will know.” I wouldn’t be surprised to see more employers asking for online aliases, and to answer honestly, it would be necessary to provide them.

So, whether or not you are thinking of going to work for President-elect Obama, this application is a wake-up call for every professional. Be sure your digital footprint isn’t resting on a pile of quicksand that is ready to swallow you whole!

Are you prepared to respond to personal questions for a job application? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

Don’t forget that Keppie Careers is here to help you succeed in your search!

photo by orebokech

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"Interview Suits" Make a Return Appearance

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Image via Wikipedia

With many companies “casual” and Google and similar organizations with relaxed dress codes heading up “top employer” lists, knowing what to wear to an interview is a lot more complicated than it once was.

Conventional career advice says to dress more formally for an interview; it helps job seekers appear serious about the position and (when done correctly) gives applicants a more professional, polished look.

Well, now it’s officially stylish to turn back to the interview suit, according to Eric Wilson in the New York Times Style section. He explains, “… With the unemployment rate in America at a 14-year high and more than half a million jobs lost in the last three months alone, there has been a detectable shift in the way people are dressing for work. In the financial sector, certainly, the tone has become more serious, and as a predictable result, somber suits are making a comeback.”

The article reports that stores such as Men’s Wearhouse and Tahari are seeing higher sales for suits, especially classic navy and gray pinstripe styles classified as “interview suits.”

“We are back to a time when every company expected both women and men to wear suits and we didn’t have a Casual Friday,” said Gloria Mirrione, a managing director of A-L Associates, a financial services placement firm. “They are looking for a sharper style. I recommend a strong suit that says you are collected and ready to work.”

The fashion mavens do disagree about one thing: pant suits or skirts for women.

The bottom line is that interviewees must do their research to help determine the best choice for interview attire. Women especially have many choices. Pants or skirts, accessories, colors or traditional navy and gray?

Should you dress creatively – perhaps a flashy tie or colorful bag? Or conservative pin stripes? There is really no hard and fast rule. Do be aware that, in a tight job market, all of your choices are matters of scrutiny.  Before you even get to the interview, employers have potentially vetted you online by checking social networks and Googling your name.  Your resume was scanned for key words and scoured for skills and accomplishments.  You need to know who you are, but also how other people perceive you.

Bottom line – keep an eye on trends, but make choices that suit your plans. (Pun intended!)

What did you wear to your last interview? Was it the right choice?

Don’t forget that Keppie Careers is here to help with every aspect of your job hunt. Explore this site to learn how we can help you.

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Using Facebook Groups for Job Hunting

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Facebook, Inc.
Image via Wikipedia

Thanks to Alphonse Ha , social media marketing strategist and the Communication & Marketing Coordinator at Télé-Ressources Staffing Services Ltd., for this guest post!

Use these simple steps add Facebook groups to your job hunt networking strategy! The overall strategy revolves around a simple logic.  Social networks are SOCIAL. Thus, join the conversation and network!

Before you join the conversation, be aware of the image you project to potential employers or anybody that can help you meet potential employers.  It is important to know how to manage your personal branding on Facebook in order to maximize your chances to be hired via the social network.

Where are the conversations?

Conversations are everywhere, on people’s walls, in private messages, on event walls, on picture comments, ect.  The important thing is to have a strategy.  There is so much happening on Facebook, it can be overwhelming.  Stay focused.  What do you want to do with Facebook?  Find a job? Ok.  What kind of job? In a certain field? A certain position? Write it down on a post-it and stick it on your monitor, because Facebook can be quite distracting.

Use the Search Function

Look for groups related to the field that interests you.  Some Facebook groups are even dedicated to certain professions.  If you have a certain company in mind that you would like to work for, search for the company’s group.

Join the Conversation!

Talk to the people on the group’s wall. If there are no conversation (which is very likely for most groups), look up the members in the group and send them private messages.  Facebook groups are a gold mine of resources.

Initiating Conversations Through Private Messages

How you approach these people is very important.  There is a certain etiquette you must follow.  Nobody likes to be solicited and you don’t have time to waste. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Be genuine, honest and transparent.
  • Introduce yourself and state your intentions.
  • Be aware that you are entering somebody else’s private space and be respectful.  I like to mention where or how I stumbled on their profile, i.e., that you saw they are members of a certain group or they listed their job in their profile. This introduction doesn’t need to be more than 2 or 3 sentences.
  • Explain your situation and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Suggestions to consider: Ask about the best ways to get a foot in the door in their field. Ask if they can suggest resources or organizations for you to explore for information. Ideally, mention something that you have learned about them that you admire or make a connection. (For example, “I see you attended the University of Illinois; so did I!” or, “I read your article about ______ and was thrilled to find you on Facebook.”)  Be sure to offer something in return. (I produce podcasts as a hobby, and I’d be happy to share my expertise if you’re interested.) Limit yourself to 1 or 2 questions per message.

Facebook can help you contact men or women who are currently working your dream job or in your field of choice.  It is a great way to ask for informational interviews.  If your contacts are geographically close to the area where you would like to work, be sure to solicit them for an informational meeting.

I don’t recommend sending over 10 private messages per day because Facebook might flag you as a spammer and you can get your account suspended.  My suggestion is to send around 5 to 7 private messages a day and spread them throughout the day.

Facebook is a great self-promoting tool, especially if you are creative and know how to manage your image.  For instance, www.onedayonejob.com created a job search experiment using Facebook ads. The idea was to target potential employers and have the job hunters become the hunted. Be creative and respectful and you may be surprised by the results!

Happy hunting!

Have you used Facebook groups to propel your search? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Interview with Liz Lynch, Author of Smart Networking

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Liz Lynch, founder of the Center for Networking Excellence and author of the newly released Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online, mastered the skill of networking from the ground up and is now a sought-after speaker who brings a practical and insightful perspective to networking that has connected with a global audience. Her printed and audio products have sold on six continents, she’s been invited to speak at conferences and organizations around the world and her writings have been translated into multiple languages.

So, when Liz invited me to join her virtual interview series contest for bloggers, I was delighted to sign on! Liz touts her new book as “the essential guidebook for building business relationships in a wired world.” (Please vote for my interview by clicking HERE and scrolling to vote for me in week #2)

I enjoyed the opportunity to include her expert perspective on a topic regular readers know is one of the most important for job seekers: networking for success!

Here are my questions and what Liz had to say:

What “homework” should prospective networkers do before they attempt to engage in new networking relationships?

I’m glad you asked about homework, because so many people go into networking situations completely unprepared, expecting magic to happen. The best homework is to create a plan for your networking (Chapter 13 of Smart Networking takes you step-by-step to develop one). You want an overall plan, a big picture strategy, but you also want a plan for your ground game. Before you go into a networking event or even a one-on-one meeting, know exactly why you’re going, what you want to know and what you want to convey about yourself. Having a plan will help you sound more confident and give you more confidence. It will also help you achieve what you want much faster.

How do you advise busy people seeking to take advantage of the best online AND in-person networking? What are the “must haves” in a successful networking suitcase?

In marketing it’s almost always more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an old one. If you’re churning and burning through your network, you’ll have to do a lot more work and spend a lot more time just to stay even. So if I had to pick the “must haves” they would be those tools that allow you to stay in touch with your network and communicate with them easily, namely online sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, and those skills like mastering the art of the ask that help you get the help you need when you need it.

What are your top three tips to help professionals who are behind the 8-ball in today’s economy because they haven’t already built a strong network?

  1. Realize that you do have a network already of former colleagues, classmates, etc. and it’s worth spending time reconnecting with those folks to re-establish your connection.
  2. Use online networking sites to find these contacts and invite them to connect with you so you have an easy way to reach out to them later.
  3. Tell everyone you know what you are looking for.

How can an unemployed job seeker network effectively without seeming desperate?

First take action with the steps outlined in the previous question, so you have your network set up to help you. Then, take additional actions to get visible. It may be tempting to stay at home and not want to get out in public because you don’t feel great about yourself, but start meeting people in different ways, like volunteering at a local charity or signing up for art class. Depending how long you’ve been job hunting, getting in a new environment can help shake things up and give you a strong purpose to follow that can spill over into improving how you feel about your job search.

What advice do you have about cultural differences to consider when networking?

I was in China in June and realized how people there seem much more comfortable asking questions that we wouldn’t find appropriate here in the U.S. Questions like, “How much money do you make?” would leave most of us aghast. Networking across borders requires diplomacy. It’s helpful if you know you’re going to be traveling to get some guidance from a local. And be prepared to respectfully decline to answer questions that make you uncomfortable.

What questions do you have about networking? I’d be happy to answer them in a future post or direct you to a resource!

Don’t forget that I am available to help with all of your job search needs! Everything you need to know is right here on this site!