Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How LinkedIn can help you find a job or a gig

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I’ve been writing regularly on my book’s site, Social Networking for Career Success, sharing some tips and highlights included in the book and thanking the many contributors who share their advice and expertise in the manuscript.

I believe LinkedIn is the first social network all job seekers and entrepreneurs should use and master.

Here are links to recent posts about LinkedIn on my book’s site:

Craig Fisher, who provided some LinkedIn tips about using keywords in chapter 5, allowed me to highlight advice from one of his recent blogs about using LinkedIn.

Tim Tyrell-Smith, manager of a LinkedIn Success Story group, and Timothy Puyleart, who runs a very successful, niche LinkedIn group, offered excellent advice about the advantages and challenges of creating LinkedIn groups. Learn more in the post highlighting LinkedIn groups.

Stay tuned for more links to posts with social networking advice thanking contributors to Social Networking for Career Success. Take a look at the entire list of contributors and links to their blogs and Twitter accounts.

photo from LinkedIn Press Center

My book!

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Have you heard? My book, Social Networking for Career Success, is available for pre-sale! I’m so excited to finally be able to share this book with you. It includes my advice and insights regarding how to use all the biggies: LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook for job hunting and business use, as well as tips about networks you may not have considered.

The best part? Over 100 of my colleagues (most of whom I met via Twitter and blogging) provided their thoughts and expertise. Recruiters, social media pros, career coaches — you name it, their advice is included. Take a look at this list of amazing contributors!

I’ve recently launched the book’s site, and have started sharing some blog posts there. I hope you’ll take a look, and please pre-order the book for yourself or a friend!

Jobseekers: don’t overlook the power of your words

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As an avid social media user, I can be a bit cynical. It takes a lot to make me say “WOW” or to convince me to want to share a video here on my blog. (Mostly because I prefer to read things myself instead of click through to a video.) However, today, I saw a tweet from @CareerDiva, Eve Tahmincioglu. She said:

made me cry/see why RT @TheBloggess [she shared a link here – I share it below] The power of words.

(You can find The Bloggess online as well!)

Since I trust Eve, I clicked through to the video, said, “WOW” and decided to share it here so you can all think about the power of words.

Most of you come here because you’re looking for a job. But, have you thought about the power of your WORDS, and how they can help you land that job? Watch this video. I hope it makes you think — not only about the obvious things, but about how you can take control of your situation and adjust your approach to reach a different outcome. Let me know what you think. Does this video make you say, “Wow?”

photo by Calamity Meg

How to show multiple career goals on LinkedIn

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Today, my friend Hannah Morgan, @careersherpa, shared a link to a Quora question about LinkedIn. It asks, “How do you show multiple career objectives on LinkedIn?”

This is my reply…What do you think?

This is a difficult proposition, since LinkedIn forces you to select one industry and it isn’t set up to highlight multiple career objectives. Additionally, if your target jobs are too diverse, you risk confusing the reader about your goals. If the job types are similar enough, it makes sense to share your flexibility in the summary section, using a story illustrating your abilities in more than one area. Be sure to highlight how your skills and accomplishments quality you for each type of job.

Other suggestions:

  • Have recommendations covering all of your career goals, from people who know your abilities in different areas and can address your skills in each.
  • Manage your own website, which gives you a lot more flexibility to highlight and showcase your various areas of expertise than LinkedIn provides! (Take a look at www.getasocialresume.com for one option to create your own “social resume.”)

Learn more about Quora and how you may use it as a way to help propel your career!

Answer the question on Quora and please add your ideas to the comments below!

For more about how to use social media tools to propel your career goals, please consider pre-ordering my book, Social Networking for Career Success.

photo by Horia Varlan

Telephone etiquette for your job search

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Years ago, when I was working on Wall Street (and mobile phones were a lot less common), I called a candidate for a job. She answered her cell phone — from a loud, New York City street corner. You can imagine our conversation:

Me: We’d like to see about scheduling an interview…

Her: I’m sorry…I can’t really hear you so well. It’s really LOUD here. Let me try to get somewhere quieter.

Me: Okay. (Waiting…thinking — why did she answer the phone if she can’t hear me?)

Her: Okay – I think this is better…

Me: We’d like to have you come in for an interview. When is a good time?

Her: Oh, this isn’t any better. Can I call you back?

Me: (Thinking…It hardly matters what I say — she can’t hear me.) Okay. Bye.

While it was great to b able to reach this candidate (in theory) while she was out and about — a communication revolution at the time — the reality was she would have been better of letting me leave a message and calling me back when she was in a quiet place.

That was probably 15 years ago. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if we’ve learned much about telephone etiquette in the interim. Just yesterday, I contacted a job seeker via a mobile number. He answered, and we proceeded with pretty much exactly the same conversation as above. While I am not hiring anyone, I imagine if I were, it would have been pretty much the same story.

It’s not rocket science – potential employers and everyone else will judge you based on anything you offer them. If you can’t hear to speak on the phone, don’t answer the phone!

Once your resume is out there, be aware that any time the phone rings, it might be your dream job on the line. If you’re in a bad or loud spot – let it go to voice mail (to your nice, clear, professional greeting), listen to the message and call back as soon as possible.

While providing a mobile number for your job search should prevent anyone else answering the phone, resist the need to answer your phone whenever it rings – even when we are driving or in the middle of a mob of screaming baseball fans. If you are job hunting, be aware that trying to scream, “I can’t HEAR you” or cursing the driver who just cut you off as you are picking up your phone does not offer the impression you want to give your prospective employer.

You (and the caller) will be glad you did.

photo by woodleywonderworks