Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Read this if you don’t have time to read anything else

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I know – it seems overwhelming. The amount of information available, the articles, blogs, tweets, updates…Digesting it is more than most people really have time to do in a day. Some of us (raising my hand here) LOVE to read the blogs and filter through the articles relevant to us. Some of us (uh um) THRIVE on taking it all in, sharing what seems most relevant — all while managing the rest of our work.

People always ask me how I manage to stay so involved on Twitter. I often catch the undercurrent of their question — “You must not be very busy if you can tweet the way you do.” Sometimes, I explain that Twitter feels like a part of my day…it’s not an interruption to me to reply to people and share posts from my great Twitter community. Other times, I remind the questioner of  the adage, “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” We have time to do what we prioritize.

But I digress! I am lucky, because I have a constant flow of information in my Twitter stream and many useful blogs in my Google reader, and I enjoy going though them and sharing what is useful for my community. You need to have tools and resources to help you get the best information so you can use it in the time that you have.

So, I thought it made sense to share some ideas and resources to help you gather the best information in the little time you probably have!

My first suggestion: sign up for SmartBrief. Their tagline is: “We read everything. You get what matters.” They have over 100 industry newsletters, including my favorites that may interest you (in the Business category): SmartBrief on Your Career and SmartBrief on Workforce. There are many categories of newsletters, each curated by expert editors who comb through the news of the day to share it with subscribers.

Newsletters are free, and delivered directly to your designated email. Visit SmartBrief to select the newsletters that interest you. I’d suggest that you follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

photo from Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL)

5 ways to market your skills across industries when no one is hiring

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On Monday, I shared a question from a job seeker who is trying to change fields, but is running into predictable problems, including the fact that she appears overqualified for her targeted jobs. I shared ideas about how to expand her network using social media to become a subject matter expert and possibly connect with someone who can help. Today, a few more ideas that don’t involve social media. Here is the question again:

My career background is as an analyst…My previous employers have been smaller firms, under 50 employees.  Social media isn’t used very much by advisory firms that I’ve targeted as a good fit.  Much of that is due to FINRA compliance constraints that keep them from engaging clients online.  I’m still tweeting, but relying more on networking in-person and making connections on LinkedIn where employees of these firms and their connections are likely to be.

The biggest challenge I’m having on the job search is that analytical roles in the personal (retail) side of the financial services industry have been slow to pick up. There are new demands for sales producers, operations and administrative staff, but very few new opportunities for analysts.  The institutional side of finance has also picked up, more so than the retail side.  It’s difficult to convince employers that skills can be transferable from retail to institutional, or from smaller firms to larger firms.

Some of the recent jobs I’ve interviewed for have been at a lower level of experience than I have, and the firms decided I was overqualified.  I would like to broaden the scope of the jobs that I’m looking at, because I think that my advanced skills.. could be applicable in many areas of corporate finance and planning. How can I best market my skills to other industries…so that employers will recognize the skills as transferable and qualified?

First thing: STOP applying for jobs that are beneath your qualifications. Look at comparable jobs that need your transferable skills instead. If you want to rely on transferable skills to land a job, the onus is on you to prove that you have what it takes.

  1. Study the job descriptions. Break them down by skills and accomplishments. Use a highlighter to mark the parts of the job that you know you can do. Look at each skill and then prove your successes on your application materials, including your resume and online profiles. Keywords from job descriptions may be your best and easiest source of information.
  2. Use LinkedIn to research information about people in your targeted job titles. Read their summary and skill sections. If these are filled out, you should be able to garner a lot of skills and keywords relevant to people who are successful in the jobs you want. Incorporate those keywords into your resume and online profiles.
  3. Don’t include information in your application materials that the employer does not need to know or may distract him or her. In other words, everything on your resume must be relevant to the targeted job. Describe your background using words and phrases relevant to the desired employer — eliminate anything that will encourage the reader to say, “Oh, she wants to do XYZ,” when XYZ is not what they want. Make a point to describe the experience you have as relevant to what the employer wants. This is key.
  4. Talk to people. Informational meetings are key to job seekers who are bridging industries or types of jobs. Ask questions about necessary skills. Mention the issues you have been encountering and make a clear pitch for why you know you can do the job. Focus on the organization’s needs – not your own. This isn’t about “I need a job.” It’s “I am skilled and experienced, and my background enhances my ability to do this job well.” You need to know how you solve the problems that the organization needs solved. Convince some people along the way by making a clear, solid case. Your goal is to connect with people willing to go to bat for you.
  5. While it is controversial, consider offering to do some consulting or problem solving for a highly desired organization for a reduced fee or for free. Before you do this, make sure you understand exactly the parameters of what you will be allowed/expected to accomplish and how much leeway you will have, as well as what access to people you need to meet. Only do this if you are pretty sure it will be a win-win. It could be a way to prove your expertise and land an opportunity.

photo by Anirudh Koul

7 tools to help market your skills across industries when no one is hiring

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This is the first of a two-part series addressing a question from a job seeker. Feel free to send me your questions for possible inclusion in later posts. Just send your question via my contact form.

My career background is as an analyst…My previous employers have been smaller firms, under 50 employees.  Social media isn’t used very much by advisory firms that I’ve targeted as a good fit.  Much of that is due to FINRA compliance constraints that keep them from engaging clients online.  I’m still tweeting, but relying more on networking in-person and making connections on LinkedIn where employees of these firms and their connections are likely to be.

The biggest challenge I’m having on the job search is that analytical roles in the personal (retail) side of the financial services industry have been slow to pick up. There are new demands for sales producers, operations and administrative staff, but very few new opportunities for analysts.  The institutional side of finance has also picked up, more so than the retail side.  It’s difficult to convince employers that skills can be transferable from retail to institutional, or from smaller firms to larger firms.

Some of the recent jobs I’ve interviewed for have been at a lower level of experience than I have, and the firms decided I was overqualified.  I would like to broaden the scope of the jobs that I’m looking at, because I think that my advanced skills.. could be applicable in many areas of corporate finance and planning. How can I best market my skills to other industries…so that employers will recognize the skills as transferable and qualified?

This is a tricky dilemma, and one that many job seekers today are facing. Specifically, these are the main issues:

– Social media isn’t widely adopted in your field.

– There are few (maybe no)  job opportunities calling for your expertise.

– You are hoping to find a job in the “other side” of your field (retail to institutional) and in a different type of organization (smaller to larger).

It may or may not help you to know that many share this dilemma of having previous experience in an industry or field that simply isn’t hiring or has become obsolete. Networking becomes even more important in this case. Even though you have not found a large group of your potential colleagues using social media, I would suggest you still mobilize all of the tools at your disposal to try to extend your networking circle.

If not many in your field are taking advantage of the tools to connect online, you have a chance to become a recognized online expert in your field. The regulations add a layer of complexity to making this work, but do some searches for others who ARE engaging online.

  • Google {keywords relevant to your field}, blog and see what you find.
  • Look in Alltop.com to find listings of blogs in your field.
  • Use Google blog search to find some blogs of interest.
  • Connect with the authors by commenting, sharing retweets (if they use Twitter) and make it clear that you have your finger on the pulse of your industry.
  • Track information from news outlets that report data relevant to people in your field and be the one who disseminates what people need to know NOW. (Via Twitter, a blog and/or LinkedIn updates.)

Combine media and in-person meetings:

  • Use LinkedIn to demonstrate your expertise. Investigate the Answers section; see if there are any answers you may be able to provide, illustrating your expertise — ideally in your targeted field. (Find Answers in the toolbar on LinkedIn under the More tab.)
  • While in-person meetings are great, be sure you are doing all you can to extend the number of people who may be able to connect you with the ONE person you need to meet and impress to land an opportunity. Don’t forget to talk to people who CAN’T help you.

The combination of these strategies could very easily lead to meeting contacts that will be able to help you overcome your experience gap efforts as you build a bridge to a new career.

Stay tuned for more advice to address the “you’re overqualified” issue.

3 ways to make networking fun for introverts and extroverts

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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.

This month’s question? How to overcome networking fears and make networking fun – tips for introverts AND extroverts. [Read more…] about 3 ways to make networking fun for introverts and extroverts

Career advice from the experts – LaunchPad, Vol. 3

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I am always happy to be invited to contribute to valuable career advice projects, and Chris Perry of Career Rocketeer has put together a terrific compilation of advice for job seekers. LaunchPad — Getting a Life and Not a Job is available for sale now. My article is about the value of telling stories for job seeking. I reference my favorite book on the subject by Katharine Hanson, Tell Me About Yourself as well as my friend Ken Revenaugh’s blog, FastTrackTools.com, which offers terrific advice about communicating to enhance your status in any organization.

This issue has great advice about how to create or find meaningful work (by Julie Jansen), describes why personal branding is good for you (by Diana Jennings) and provides interview advice for return-to workers (by Carol Fishman Cohen), just to name a few. Read on to learn more about the project and consider ordering a copy!

Career Rocketeer’s goal is to bring you short, relevant and actionable advice to save you time, energy and sanity in your pursuit of your next job opportunity. Launchpad covers topics including: resume optimization, interviewing, personal branding, career search strategy, relationship building, professional networking, the use of web 2.0 search tools and much more. Contributors to Volume 3:

James Alexander, Paula Caligiuri, Carol Fishman Cohen, John Crant, Kristi Daeda, Meg Guiseppi, Jessica Holbrook, Julie Jansen, Diana Jennings, Dan Miller, Dorothy Tannahill Moran, Ford Myers, Cheryl Palmer, Chris Perry, Brent Peterson, Todd Rhoad, Steve Rothberg, Rick Saia, Miriam Salpeter and Billie Sucher

Advertise in LaunchpadFREE GIFT: Career Rocketeer is proud to offer you a FREE, downloadable version of Launchpad: Your Career Search Strategy Guide (Volume 1). Get your free copy today!