Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Career tip — what makes you special and how will they remember you?

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This is part two of my series where I share tips from colleagues I met in October, when I attended the Career Directors International conference in San Diego. Today, a tip from Sherry Mirshahi of Interview Roadmap:

I agree that it is a great idea to carry networking cards. Some believe they are out-of-date, because people are using smart phones and apps to exchange information (via “bump” or another, similar technology). I admit that I am as guilty as the next person of taking a business card and intending to follow up, while the card slips to the black hole that seems to live inside my purse! However, I also often find myself referring to the cards I collected for contact information, a reminder of someone’s website I wanted to visit or to get connected via LinkedIn or Twitter after an event.

I don’t always remember all the details that I need to follow up, so business and/or networking cards are great for me.

However, be sure your card is professional. Alicia Sanera, founder and CEO of Sanera, The People Development Company, is a distinguished business consultant, coach, corporate facilitator and speaker. She recently wrote a post called, “Why I’m Shredding Your Business Card.” Sounds harsh, but her points are well taken, including:

  • Tiny font (we need to be able to read it)
  • No name (!)
  • No email contact

Make sure you hand out cards that represent the image you want to portray. I’m a fan of inexpensive services such as VistaPrint, but don’t hand out their free card with the ad on the back; it doesn’t say anything good about you, especially since the upgrade is only a few dollars. Aren’t you worth it?

Read Susan Kelly-Easton’s tip here.

photo by medialoog

Career tip — Find out what people think of you!

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In October, I attended the Career Directors International conference in San Diego, but I have been so busy traveling and attending events since then, I have not had a chance to write about it yet!

One thing I did when I was there was take some video of my friends sharing their “best career tip.” Today, a tip from Susan Kelly-Easton of Competitive Edge Career Services.

It was so much fun meeting and spending time with Susan, and I am delighted to share this tip with you!

One way to collect this input is via the Reach 360, a tool that is available for free online for a 15-day test. It allows you to request feedback from people anonymously and to learn what your contacts and colleagues think of you!

The secret to effective job search

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Today’s post is one of many from members of the Career Collective community I co-coordinate with my colleague Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter. I encourage you to visit other members’ responses, which are linked at the end of my post. Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.

This month’s question focuses on common job search misconceptions. Unfortunately, “confused” is how job seekers often feel. They want to know the “right” way to apply for a job, what exactly their resume should say (and how it should look), whether or not anyone is reading their cover letter (should they even bother sending one?), when (and how often) to follow up…The list goes on and on.

However, I think the most important point that confuses job seekers is that the job search is not really about them. Nor is the resume, application, follow-up notes…None of it is about the job seeker.

The secret to successful job hunting? It’s about the employer.

If you are looking for a job, you need to research organizations and target your materials and networking efforts to appeal to them. You used XY skill at ABC place? That’s great, but what does it have to do with the job you want NOW? Everything on your resume and other communication (social media, in-person networking, etc.) needs to be geared to the employer’s interests and needs. Think of the employer as a spoiled child who wants everything his/her way. Avoid the temper tantrum in this case (which may be YOUR tantrum): give the employer what he needs to see. Convince her that you are the ONE candidate who is qualified and can do the job.

I’ve recently shared information about how to target your resume using keywords. Do that. If you are qualified for the position, you should be able to tweak and target your resume to appeal to your audience and land the interview.

When it comes to your resume, do your research to identify the employer’s salient points. For example, a manager may find that employers need candidates who have the following skills:

  • Mentoring/supervisory skills,
  • Diplomacy/communication
  • Leadership and
  • Specific subject matter expertise.

Once you identify the important skills – write the resume to identify and PROVE you are the candidate with the goods. When someone else reads the resume, will that person see proof of the necessary skills? Does the resume include accomplishments related to each of the points? It is not unusual to see a resume that states something but fails to prove it in the body of the resume. Any point that you are not supporting with evidence in your resume is a lost opportunity to drive home your point to the hiring manager.

Stop focusing on you and your needs – think about what someone else will be thinking when they encounter your materials or meet you. It’s the secret to job hunting successfully: it’s not about you.

Don’t miss my colleagues’ responses to this topic:

photo by Tambako the Jaguar

Feeling stuck in your job search?

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I want to thank my friend Jane Pollak for sharing a funny video that illustrates how I think a lot of job seekers feel today – stuck! However, as the video demonstrates, sometimes, feeling stuck is really just that – a feeling. Looking for a job can be frustrating, but there is a lot that you do control. You really do drive your own career bus.

I hope this video makes you chuckle, but if you are feeling stuck, I hope it also helps you recognize that you CAN start to put one foot in front of the other and get your job search strategy moving!

If you need some help to get started, that’s my specialty! Need a resume transformation? A social resume? An online presence? Some guidance about what to do next, or how to get started? Contact me for information.

(Excuse the ad. I couldn’t resist posting this, though.)

photo by xJasonRogersx

How to incorporate keywords in your job search materials

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Well-informed job seekers know that companies typically screen resumes using software that searches for key words. That’s why your resume should be targeted/personalized for each job. Re-writing even a section  of your resume can help scanning software (or Applicant Tracking Systems) mark your resume as one to review further.

I recently presented a webinar for The Career Summit about how to build a bridge to your next employer, and keywords (how to find them and how to USE them) play a huge role in paving the way to a new employer.

It is crucial for job seekers to identify the words that employers are using to look for them and to use those in their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, Twitter bios and Facebook bio.

You don’t want to waste any words on your resume. Earlier this week, I asked, “are you a job seeker or a French fry?,” making the point that job seekers need to select words carefully to be sure they make sense and will attract employers.

The best place to find keywords that are most relevant for your targeted organization is in job descriptions. Study job descriptions on job boards, via LinkedIn and any place that employers advertise opportunities. The descriptions don’t need to be for jobs you’d actually apply to do. For example, maybe the job is in Omaha, and you plan to stay in Miami. If the description itself is relevant to what you want to do, that information can be useful to inform your materials.

Review job descriptions and identify the nouns and noun phrases. (Remember from grade school — a noun is a person, place or thing.) Focus on being as specific as possible. For example, assistant (a noun) is not as specific as administrative assistant, or executive administrative assistant (noun phrases). Technical skills (including software), degrees and other specifics related to the job may all be keywords.

For example, a job description for a sales manager position for a fitness company includes the following keywords (among others):

  • Personal sales,
  • Model for team members,
  • Weekend production,
  • Sales Department Head,
  • Sales team,
  • College degree,
  • Member adviser

One way to be sure you are targeting keywords is to highlight all of the keywords in a variety of similar job descriptions and then incorporate all of them into your resume. Include acronyms (for example IT) as well as complete words (information technology). You should probably have at least 25 targeted keywords or phrases included in your resume.

Some fun tools I suggested during the webinar to help you visualize your keywords are Wordle — (http://www.wordle.net/) and Tag Crowd (http://tagcrowd.com). The picture accompanying this post is a Wordle representation of that sales manager position description.

You can see in the Wordle that words such as team, success, sales, benefit and healthy are highlighted. (Yes, I know that healthy is an adjective!) That would suggest those words should appear (among the others) in your resume. The bigger the word appears in the word cloud, the more significant Wordle considers it. Consider creating a word cloud of your job descriptions and comparing it to one of your resume. It’s not scientific, but it does offer a visual way to identify if you are including the details you need to land the job.