Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How to use your time in a job hunt

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Are you looking in the mirror when you search for a job – to take a good, hard look and see if there is something about your attitude or approach that you can change? Staying positive and upbeat is important to your ultimate success.

Another important tip? Use your time well if you are not currently working. It’s easy to let hours, days and weeks pass by before setting up a strategy that will help you succeed in your  hunt.

I’ve already shared great reasons to volunteer if you have some free time. Here are a few additional tips to consider if you’re not quite sure what to do with your time.

If you haven’t started, dive into social media and Web 2.0 applications! Yes, this can take some time if you are going to do it full force. But, you have time, so go for it! Start searching for blogs in your niche. Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop list is a perfect place to find blogs in an array of topics, but you can certainly use Google to find current information in your field of interest. Spend some time researching and exploring. See if you can identify the stars in your field. Use online mechanisms to connect to them!

How? Post smart comments on their blogs. See if they use Twitter and follow them. (Read more of my suggestions about using Twitter for the job hunt HERE or check out my book, Social Networking for Career Success. (You can even get in on Kindle for a great price on Amazon.) Make sure you are using LinkedIn effectively. You may be amazed at  how quickly you can connect and “befriend” people online. (Learn more about my book and my Google+ Guide!)

Consider authoring a blog. If you are a strong writer, there isn’t a better way to influence your Google rankings and demonstrate authority in your subject matter. If you have the time, why not try? You have nothing to lose. (If you want to learn more about what you’d put on your own website/social resume, but sure to check out my site. I can even help you get into your own site if you’re not technically inclined.)

Stop and think about what you really want to do. Use your time to assess yourself, your goals and plans for the future. How often are we forced to take a moment to really think about the future. This is your chance. Do you like the way your life is going? Are you happy with your path? If not, consider a coach to help you figure out a new direction.

Learn a new skill. Have you been thinking about taking a class in something that will help you with your job? Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to knit? This is a good time. Doing something new and learning a new skill is good for your attitude and will help you in multiple ways.

There is so much information and opportunities to learn new things online for free. High-profile and talented people are offering free teleclasses, webinars and seminars all of the time. If you plug in, you’ll learn about these opportunities and benefit from them. Take advantage of your public library as a resource for information. Check in with the librarian for information you might be missing!

Don’t wait until you have an interview scheduled to prepare for the interview! Do you know what you’ll wear to an interview? Does it fit? Is it clean and pressed? How about your shoes? Do they pass muster? Dont’ wait until you’ve been searching for two months and get a call for an interview tomorrow to look in your closet!

Once you have an outfit ready, start planning and practicing what you will say in an interview, in a networking situation…Use your time to get ready. I work with clients on mock interviews, so you will really know what skills you can improve. If you are prepared, when you start pulling in opportunities, you won’t panic!

Of course, much of your “free” time will be taken up with job hunting. Don’t forget, many of the activities listed above are part of your job hunt. I would be remiss if I didn’t specifically mention that networking (in person and online) is key – spend more time doing this than searching for online postings. Make sure your resume and materials are top-notch and use your time to prep for everything you will need.

What ideas do you have?

photo by Earls37a

How to find the work you love

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Today, I’m happy to share a bit of “love” from my colleague, Sital Ruparelia. Sital wrote this poem to help careerists everywhere think about what they want to do next…and how to get there. Learn more about Sital via his site: www.SitalRuparelia.com/blog.

Roses are red, violets are blue
Here’s a Valentines poem, I wrote just for you

Maybe you’re searching for “the one” job you’ll truly love
A job so special, it fits like a glove

Maybe you’ve set your sights on becoming a career changer
To start a new business and become an entrepreneur

Or maybe you’re just looking for one last romance
To grab some “me time” and precious work-life balance

Alas, the secrets of career success are no different to finding personal joy
Where the winners get nowhere by being shy and coy

To find that job, promotion or brand new lifestyle
You need to step up a gear and go the extra mile

Step out of your comfort zone and step out onto the wire
Take some risks and the occasional flyer

Stop hiding behind your inexperience and personal history
And build a competitive advantage around your unique story

Stop procrastinating and waiting for your ducks to line up in a row
The time will never be “right” – so go on, just have a go!

Stop putting off the dream until “someday”
When the best time to get started is, in fact, today

The world is waiting for you to do the work you love
And maybe this poem is “the sign” you’ve been waiting for, from “up above”

For today is Valentine’s Day, a time for celebrating great romances
So start scaring yourself by taking a few more chances

Happy Valentines day folks,

Sital Ruparelia

If that doesn’t inspire you to start thinking about creating your own future, I don’t know what will! 🙂

If you’re interested in a social resume (YourName.com) to start you off on the right path, be sure to visit my new site: YouNeedASocialResume.com.

photo by jikido-san

Are flexible work environments inevitable?

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Can you imagine being asked to select your work style at the same time as you choose your benefits package when starting a new job? Neither can I! However, a new study, Flexible Work: Perceptions & Realities — Findings from the Flexpaths – LinkedIn Virtual Think Tanks December 2010, suggests this seemingly impossible scenario may become a reality. (Take a look at the entire whitepaper, embedded at the end of this post.)

The study was significant because, of the 45 participants in the research groups, 24 were managing directors or CEOs (mostly from companies with 200-700 employees) and 16 were senior Human Resources leaders (mostly from companies with over 1,000 employees).

It’s not surprising to learn that a commonality between all of the companies represented was an array of  cultural obstacles to embracing a truly flexible workplace. Even defining “flexible work” was a challenge. Participants suggested several approaches, including:

  • Flexibility Around “When” – working non-traditional hours and compressed workweeks
  • Flexibility Around “Where” – involving telecommuting/telework
  • Flexibility Around “How Much” – inviting workers to share job hours, reducing hours in exchange for less pay, sabbaticals, etc.
  • Flexibility Around “How” – incorporating freelance and contract workers

Few of the think tank participants had formal policies to govern flexible work, but a main impetus for making flexibility a part of their plans was “attracting and retaining top talent.” The study notes, “Several (participants) remarked upon how saving even a couple of high performers from leaving had more than paid for their flexible work initiatives.”

Additionally, several CEOs noted they want to attract the best Generation Y talent, which is driving their interest in a flexible workplace. Some saw a shift in their approach to flexibility as being customer service focused and others acknowledged that having flexibility helped engage workers.

A majority of participants expect flexible work arrangements to be an important factor to remaining competitive, suggesting “significant increases in the proportion of their workforces that would be engaging in flexible work” by 2015. Some thought it would be as high as 80% of their workforce, but most predicted around 50% of their employees may take advantage of flexible work options by that time. (Compared to 25% currently.)

No doubt, significant changes will be necessary to achieve those percentages, as participants recognized that flexible work appeals to a lot of workers, but  “employees are afraid that requesting flexible work will jeopardize their career opportunities.”

Barriers to a truly flexible workplace mentioned in the study include:

  • Fear of lost control and lack of trust (on the employer’s part)
  • Losing a team spirit (if people don’t work face-to-face)
  • Legal issues
  • Measuring success and rewarding results – how to manage flexible workers without sacrificing quality

(The entire whitepaper is available at the end of this post for your review.)

If a flexible work arrangement appeals to you, here are some tips from Cali Williams Yost, author of Work+Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You (Riverhead, Penguin Group, 2005):

Three Fool-Proof Tips for Making Flexible Work a Success

Tip 1: Don’t expect your manager to come up with a solution. Start the conversation with him or her by presenting a clear flexibility plan that specifies the:

  • Type of flexibility you are proposing
  • How the work will get done (not “why” you want flexibility—it doesn’t matter)
  • How the business will benefit from your plan, and
  • When the plan will be reviewing (e.g. initially 90 days; annually thereafter)

(Step-by-step guide to create a win-win flexibility plan guaranteed to get a fair hearing: “Work+Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You” by Cali Williams Yost.)

Tip 2: Remember that it’s your job to (over) communicate with your boss, your team and your clients.

When you are out-of-sight because either you work from home or work flexible, non-traditional hours, be mindful of consistent accessibility and reliability:

  • If you aren’t immediately reachable, make it a priority to check messages regularly and respond in a timely manner.
  • Initiate a “check in” by email, IM or phone once or twice during the day with your team or your manager to see if there is anything you need to be aware of. Most likely there won’t be, but they will appreciate the extra effort.
  • Each week, put together one-page of highlights of accomplishments. In today’s economy, we should all have a record of what we’ve done…not just flex workers! It comes in handy when negotiating for a raise or promotion.

Tip 3: Be flexible with your flexibility.

Nothing causes a manager or a coworker to lose patience with your flexibility faster than a consistent unwillingness to periodically “go the extra mile.” If there’s an unexpected deadline and it’s your time to leave, offer to stay now and then. If you’re scheduled to work from home, offer to come into the office if it’s the only day a client can meet.

Taking the initiative, being conscientious and going the extra mile (from time to time), are small actions that go a long way to making your flexibility work for everyone.

ABOUT FLEXPATHS LLC

FlexPaths® is a leading global provider of web-based software solutions and advisory services that help companies create and leverage a flexible working culture. You can find them on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

ABOUT CALI WILLIAMS YOST

Cali is the CEO of the Flex+Strategy Group / Work+Life Fit, Inc., a flexibility strategy consulting firm. In addition to her book, Work+Life: Finding the Fit That’s Right for You (Riverhead/Penguin Group, 2005), Yost created the award-winning Work+Life Fit blog, and is an expert blogger for FastCompany.com. You can follow her on Twitter @caliyost.

Flexpaths & LinkedIn Present Think Tank Findings, Flexible Work: Perceptions & Realities

View more documents from FlexPaths.

Keep upbeat to improve your chances of landing a job: here’s how

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I recently noticed some of my friends on Facebook taking advantage of apps such as “my year in status” that analyze their status updates and list out their top-used words. If you use Facebook, no doubt you’ve seen this, too. How would your updates look? We all have friends who seem to post about their every headache and punctuate every status update with “UGH” and similar exclamations that tend to be negative. Then, there are those whose posts stand out because they are always positive – and hopeful – even when facing really tough circumstances, including illness and joblessness.

Think about it. Are you more likely to want to hire Debbie Downer or Sally Sunshine?

Clearly, it is easy to feel discouraged and hopeless if you are in the midst of an unsuccessful job hunt.

Eve Tahmincioglu recently wrote about the issue of hopelessness in her MSNBC column:

The nation’s jobless rate has been hovering near 10 percent for many months now, but one of the most disturbing statistics is that as of October, 6.2 million, or four in 10 unemployed Americans, had been out of work for 27 weeks or more. That’s the highest number on record, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

However, keep in mind, as Eve notes in her post: “Feeling hopeless — and appearing hopeless to others — can actually keep you from landing a job, according to Savitri Dixon-Saxon, associate dean of the School of Counseling and Social Service at Walden University.”

A study led by Ron Kaniel of Duke and reported in MIT Sloan Management Review found that “Optimists fared better than their less-optimistic peers in some important ways…For one thing, the optimistically inclined MBA students found comparable jobs to their peers — but found them more easily, with less-intensive job searches.  Even better, two years after graduation the optimists were more likely than their less-optimistic peers to have been promoted.” (Hat tip: Maggie Mistal.)

Sandra Naiman, author of The High Achiever’s Secret Codebook: The Unwritten Rules for Success at Work, points out that while this certainly is a challenging time, there are steps that can help people stay upbeat. “The key is to engage in activities that provide self-satisfaction and build self esteem,” she says. She offers the following suggestions:

  • Engage in activities that make you feel good about yourself.
  • Achieve tangible results. It can be as simple as cleaning out a closet, organizing the garage or waxing the car. It can also be related to volunteer or family activities, such as writing a neighborhood watch newsletter or making cookies with the kids. Make sure, that at the end of each day, you can point to something you accomplished.
  • Surround yourself with positive, supportive people. Avoid the people who always see the glass as half empty or those who drain your energy.
  • Keep promises to yourself.
  • Reward yourself. Children aren’t the only ones who need a “gold star” at the end of the day.
  • Follow a healthy routine. Eat well, exercise and take good care of your body.
  • Allow yourself some down time. You can’t be up and optimistic all the time, so give yourself permission to have a bad day. If you diligently follow the above suggestions, you can count on tomorrow to be better.

Read more suggestions:

Stay positive and upbeat while job hunting

You control your job hunting destiny

It might be easier to stay positive if you have a coach in your corner! Need help getting your job search jump started? Not sure you can put all of the great tools at your disposal to good use? Need a great resume? Learn how I can help you propel your job hunt forward.

photo by Proggie

Making a difference may help you find a job

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Over the weekend, I was honored to be invited and to attend Civic Ventures’ Purpose Prize awards gala and the day of learning that followed. Civic Ventures is “a think tank on Boomers, work and social purpose.” People over 60 who are improving their communities and the world receive Purpose Prizes that recognize and reward their efforts. Five people receive $100,000 and five receive $50,000. It was something else to meet the prize winners and fellows who are doing amazing work in what might otherwise be their “retirement” years. (View highlights of the events captured on Twitter by searching #purposeprize.)

In fact, I didn’t hear anyone mention the word “retirement” without it being followed by a laugh. As if to say, “Like there is time to relax. There is too much to do.”

Inez Killingsworth won a $100,000 prize for her work heading Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People. The organization helps homeowners avoid foreclosure by negotiating with banks for more favorable terms on mortgages. When receiving her award, she commented, “if you know something is wrong and you don’t try to do something about it, why are ya’ here?” (Learn more about Inez and her work here.)

Take a look at the video (below) about Inez from Civic Ventures. (See more videos at Civic Ventures’ site.) I will be sharing stories from winners and other remarkable people I met during the weekend in Philadelphia on my blog in the next few weeks. I hope their stories help inspire you if you are a job seeker to begin to think about how you can use your time and expertise. No matter what your age, there is something out there for you to do that makes good use of your skills.

Maybe you don’t want to start your own non-profit or launch a movement in your community, but there is sure to be some place or organization that needs you. You never know when that something may turn into a paid position.

Learn more about Inez below:

photo courtesy of Civic Ventures.