Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Is it important to be happy at work? Lessons from A Night At the Museum-Battle of the Smithsonian

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4522672_night_smithsonian_150Is it just me, or do many movies for young people tend to have a career theme? I first noticed this back when I watched the Bee Movie. (I blogged about this HERE), and then again with Bedtime Stories, a comedy about a hotel handyman (Adam Sandler) whose life changes when the outrageous bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to actually come true. (Am I the only one who thought that movie was a career story?)

Now, it’s Night At the Museum – Battle of the Smithsonian. Larry (Ben Stiller) realizes that running his own business isn’t half as much fun as hanging out with museum objects that come to life at night. Concluding that happiness is the most important thing in life, Larry makes a move.

What about you…Have you thought about the most important things in life? Given any thought to how happy (or unhappy) you are in your current job?

Read the rest on my blog at GreatPlaceJobs...

If you are ready for a change and could use some help with your search, follow THIS LINK to learn more about me and how we can work together!

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Blog Carnival – Job search advice and food for thought!

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carnival170024684_e22d050f48_m1Several weeks ago, Ben Eubanks inaugurated the Career Carnival Blogging Event on Jobacle by showcasing a number of blogs and
a variety of topics. He invited me to take the reigns this time to share some links and possibly introduce you to some new blogs to follow. So, I put out the call to many bloggers to share a link and a “twit pitch” or summary of the post. I heard back from some bloggers whose posts I never miss as well as several people whose blogs are new to me. I hope you will have the same experience and find some favorites as well as a few new blogs to review…

Tiffany Monhollon shared her post, Mature Workers Face Toughest Job Market in this Recession. She summarizes:
“The debate about youth versus age is hot again, as competition in the job market continues to increase. Research shows that both mature workers and new graduates face a difficult job search. But, a recent online poll on the Express Job Blog showed that 70% of over 950 readers agree – the job market is more difficult for mature workers than for new grads. But, there is hope for both generations in today’s
job market.”

Trevor Wilson from Gradversity examines the benefits of sending individually targeted applications over a ‘mass mailing’ approach with Quality vs Quantity in Job Applications.

Ben Eubanks noted that “leadership was born from an interesting conversation about bad leaders and the people that follow them.  Do Not Follow the (Bad) Leader reminds us of times and situations where we do follow bad leaders, and it also shows us how those experiences are short-lived.  Almost everyone has spent some time with a bad leader, but some of the article’s comments show a different side of the story.”

Kirsten Grant summarizes: “What do Batman, Spiderman and the Bat Mobile have in common with finding a job and your online profile? It’s about consistency in online branding. You wouldn’t expect to see Spiderman riding around in the Bat Mobile, nor Batman shooting spider webs from his wrists! This article discusses the importance of picking one area to be known for and gives tips on branding yourself online to ensure long term job search success. This blog topic provides a step-by-step guide to taking your social networking profile from good to great and increasing your chances of finding a job!”

Kristi Daeda shares a timely post about networking with confidence. She notes, “People are nervous about networking because they fear failure, even though there’s no such thing! Learn more about how to be successful in networking by enhancing your confidence.”

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter’s, “The Branded Resume: An Essential Tool,”  illustrates the importance of convincing the hiring manager by creating the emotional hook with kernels of inspired resume writing to get the interviews you deserve.

Stephanie Lloyd reminds readers that “…interviewing is extremely subjective, and if you apply to jobs that you meet the qualifications for, are prepared for the interview, and use common sense, there is no reason to beat yourself up if you did not get the job. Rather than second-guessing yourself or feeling defeated, after each interview take a few moments to do a self-assessment – and write the answers down so you can use them to prepare for your next interview.” Take a look at: 75 Reasons You Didn’t Get the Job.

My own most recent favorite post reminds readers that, to succeed in your job hunt, you need to know where you are going and what you want when you get there. So, it’s not a good idea to do the job search equivalent of going to a pizza place if you feel like eating sushi! (It will make sense when you read it!)

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

photo by wallyg

How to find the job you love – don't go to a pizza place if you crave sushi!

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sushi442805346_9d0ef42d2f_m

This week has been all about food analogies! First, I reminded you that it’s  not a good idea to order your Chinese food in French. Or, more specifically, to use the language that your targeted employer will understand when writing your resume. Yesterday, I offered tips to help you think about spoon feeding your resume to your targeted employer. Today, another food analogy:

If you are going to have an exceptional resume and successful search, it is very important that you KNOW WHAT YOU WANT! Yes, it’s
true – you can’t have a great resume unless you have an end goal in mind. It’s kind of like planning a trip when you don’t know where you want to go. It would be pretty hard to get there! Ah – but this week is about food, so here it is:

Analogy #3: You wouldn’t go to a pizza place if you are craving sushi.

That is, if you were actually hoping to GET sushi – you would go to a sushi place. What does this have to do with your job hunt? It’s about knowing where to spend your job search time and resources! So, are you doing the equivalent of driving to the pizza place when you don’t even want pizza?

The answer is YES if you:

  • Have a resume that isn’t particularly clear regarding your goals.
  • You spend a lot of time online, aimlessly looking for job postings that “seem good.”
  • You sit down to “job hunt” at your computer, and 6 hours later, you realize that you’ve spent the whole day and haven’t accomplished anything.

So, if you want sushi (a job you love, in this case):

  • Make a job search plan so you will avoid aimlessly “driving” around online.
  • Your plan should devote a large percentage of time to networking (in person and online) and to following up and keeping in touch with people you have already met.
  • Identify job opportunities of interest (you may want to use GreatPlaceJob’s new, free search feature to help with this) and ensure that your materials identify you as someone who is well qualified for the jobs you seek.
  • Stay tuned to the rest of my “food analogies” posts for more about how to position yourself to compete for the job you’d love to have!

If you are ready for a change and could use some help with your search, follow THIS LINK to learn more about me and how we can work together!

photo by Zeetz Jones


How to get an employer to review your resume – spoon feed it!

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spoonfeed2136507155_3b31d1f9ab_mYesterday, I reminded you that it’s  not a good idea to order your Chinese food in French. Or, more specifically, to use the language that your targeted employer will understand when writing your resume. Today, another food analogy:

Food analogy #2: You need to spoon feed the employer exactly what you have to offer.
In other words, you would not hand an infant with no teeth a whole apple to eat; he or she wouldn’t know what to do with it. (For the uninitiated, take my word for it here. The baby may just throw it back at you and still be hungry. And crying.)

Instead, you would offer applesauce and manipulate the spoon full directly into the infant’s mouth. Similarly, (see where I am going here?), you need to give the employer exactly what he or she needs and understands with regard to what you offer that will help him or her. Just like a baby couldn’t really care less about YOUR needs, your potential employer cares most about his or her own requirements and is not all that interested in what YOU want.

To extend the analogy, you better not be serving up green beans if the baby employer wants bananas! To top it off, the bananas need to be peeled and mashed and on the spoon if you want a chance to succeed.

So, two lessons from this analogy.

#1 – The resume is about the employer and how you directly fit what he or she wants. Spending a lot of time including things on your resume that are unrelated to the job at hand is only going to confuse the employer and make him or her wonder why you are interested in THIS job.

#2 – Don’t expect the employer to spend a lot of time figuring you out. If you aren’t making it easy to “eat” your resume – if you are passing crunchy apples when applesauce is preferred, you are not likely to pass the initial screen, no matter how great your underlying skills may be.

The fact is, recruiters and hiring managers are too busy to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your job is to break things down for them into easily digestible, bite-sized pieces AND spoon feed it directly to them. When you do make solid connections between what they want and what you offer, you will find that your search goes much better and your chances of landing an interview increase exponentially!

If you are ready for a change and could use some help with your search, follow THIS LINK to learn more about me and how we can work together!

photo by seandreilinger

Improve your job search prospects: Don't order in French at the Chinese food restaurant!

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chinesefood429537352_e3f1654733_mFor some inexplicable reason, I seem to be thinking of a lot of food analogies when I’m coaching clients. I’m blaming this on reading too many peoples’ lunch and dinner menus on Twitter, but the analogies really do make a lot of sense when thinking about the job hunt.

For example, I was explaining to a prospective client how important it is to identify and target job and career goals in order to write a resume that will appeal to employers. She was having trouble deciding where to focus her search, and rather than choose some specific areas to address that would appeal to hiring managers, she combined everything in one resume – kind of a “jack of many trades” document, in an effort to demonstrate all of the various “things” that she could do.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times – the resume must speak in the language that an employer will understand. If that job requires someone who knows how to “develop proposals and presentations detailing new implementation process plans implemented by top management,” saying that you have done that is terrific! If the job has nothing to do with developing proposals and presentations, that language might as well be Greek to the hiring manager simply stating your ability to do that task is not likely going to help your cause.

Food analogy #1 – Would you go to the Chinese food restaurant and place your order in French?
Not if you want to get your order right, you wouldn’t! Similarly, you need to speak the language that your target audience will understand.

To do this successfully, you need to:

1. Know Your Skills
Assess your skills and accomplishments. How? Talk to your friends and co-workers. Review written evaluations of your work. Think about the skills you use/d in your positions. Study a skills and accomplishments list.

What aspects of your job do you enjoy? What type of work do you hope to do in the future? What skills do you have that will be the stepping stones to getting to the next rung of your career ladder? Once you identify what you have to offer, it will be easier to connect the dots between the employer and you.

2. Know the Employer
What does the organization value? Use the job description as a guide and research the company using the internet and any available published material. For example, if the organization uses the words “team player” four times on their company home page, you will want to emphasize your ability to work well in teams. If possible, conduct informational meetings with people in the organization or those who know about it.

Parse their information down and pull out the language that resonates with your audience. Identify exactly what they want and demonstrate how and why you fit the bill.

For more information and some examples FOLLOW THIS LINK! Stay tuned for more food analogies…I need to get something to eat!

If you are ready for a change and could use some help with your search, follow THIS LINK to learn more about me and how we can work together!

photo by voteprime