Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Best steps to find a job in the new year

By

If you can demonstrate that you have the skills to solve their problems, you will position yourself to be competitive to land a new opportunity.

Determine how you will communicate what you are worth. Once you know what you offer, you’re on the right track, but the real trick is being able to convince other people that you have what it takes. Being great isn’t enough: you need to be able to communicate your value to employers. The best way to do this is via a consistent stream of information from your social media profiles. When you showcase your expertise online, you can convince people who visit your social media properties that you really are an expert in your field. Your resume and online portfolios (including your LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and any other profiles, for example), are equally important, so don’t neglect one in favor of the other. When you can communicate your value, it’s much easier to successfully interview for a job.

Apply for the right jobs. Stop applying for jobs you’re not qualified to do. Do not apply for every opening at an organization, and never blanket applications without ensuring you are a good fit for the positions. It will not help you to apply for positions if you don’t have the necessary skills, so don’t waste your time.

Target and identify specific organizations where you want to work. “Focus” and “targeted” should be your buzzwords when you search. Select organizations where you’d like to work, and make a point to learn everything you can about those companies. Can you hone in on any specific problems they have that you can help solve? Do you know people who work in places where you’d like to work? Should you set up an informational meeting with one of those people? Who would be most likely to be willing to make an introduction for you?

Identify allies for your job search. Avoid appearing desperate. Instead, be the professional you are, explain what you’re looking for and be specific when you meet new contacts who have the capacity to make a useful introduction for you. You cannot focus on your job search when you talk to people about your goals; if you do, you become just another desperate job seeker. Instead, focus on what you have to offer: ideas, suggestions and expertise relevant to your field. Offer it in exchange for an introduction to someone at one of your target organizations, and you’ll be on your way.

Eliminate information from your resume that confuses possible employers or causes them to say, “hmmm.” Don’t include jargon or acronyms on your resume that don’t relate to the target job. Don’t incorporate details on your resume if they do not identify why you are a good fit for that job. The last thing you want to do is confuse someone who receives your resume. If you are careful enough to pass the initial computerized resume review, don’t squander your opportunity by mucking up the works with a lot of extra, unimportant information in your materials.

Step by step, you’ll be well on your way to landing a job on your targeted list.

Learn how Keppie Careers can help you succeed in your job search. Contact us!

How to get respect at work

By

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-business-office-workplace-flat-design-style-infographic-computer-monitor-vector-illustration-presentation-booklet-image40921442Ever go to a restaurant and get seated in the very back? The minute you sit down, you realize you’re going to be in for a long night because the waiter always seems to forget you’re there? What if the same thing happens at work and you get seated in the equivalent of “kids’ table.” In that case, you wind up with a lot worse than cold soup and an empty drinking glass: you could be passed over for opportunities that could improve your career.

There are a lot of reasons why people seem to be “out of sight, out of mind” at work. While a poor cubicle or office location can be an obvious way to marginalize someone, other situations also contribute to many talented people being left out in the cold. For example, if you telecommute, or if you absent yourself from staff social and networking events, it is easy for others to forget you when the time comes to pass out the plum projects.

How can you keep the spotlight on your accomplishments and potential if you drew a poor seat or aren’t in the office regularly?

Keep these tips in mind for various situations if you want to take charge of your career:

You telecommute

If you never see your colleagues in person, don’t be surprised when they forget about you! Use technology to keep in touch. Between email, IM, texting, phone calls and even video or Skype meetings, you can make it seem like you’re right next door, instead of two or three states away. When you don’t have true “face time” with the boss or your team, the onus is even more on you to stay engaged via FaceTime or another technology tool. No matter how busy you are, schedule regular opportunities to touch base to update your boss on your projects and to discuss plans for the future. If you fly under the radar, it’s your own fault.

You’re an introvert

Not everyone likes to attend in-person networking events or happy hours. Regardless of your preference, in some office environments, it’s clear that being engaged personally with colleagues and supervisors is key to success. Do your best to participate in staff get-togethers as often as possible, and consider offering to arrange opportunities to socialize that are more conducive to your preferences. For example, if every staff networking event is at the corner tavern and you don’t drink, think of more palatable alternatives.

Set up a co-ed staff soccer or softball league, a viewing party for a television program everyone enjoys or a book club. While these may still take you out of your comfort zone, at least you’ll have some say about the event if you are planning it, so it should be a little easier to manage. If the result is a great, casual conversation with your boss (or the boss’s boss) that lands you a great gig, it will have been worth it.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

No one knows you outside the office

Maybe you got stuck in a cubicle in the back corner because no one likes you at work. It’s time to expand your network and start impressing people outside of your office with your accomplishments and savvy. Turn to social media to meet people who don’t work with you. Find like-minded colleagues around the city, state, country and globe and exchange messages, insights and ideas. Post links to demonstrate you have your finger on the pulse of your industry. If you play your cards well, you could have some new job offers or invitations to apply for new opportunities without even officially seeking a new job.

Another way to get some respect if you don’t have it at work is to join your professional organization and begin to volunteer. Every organization needs and values its volunteers and leaders, so this is a great way to grow the number of people who know and like you and may be willing to refer you to a better opportunity than the one you have.

It’s up to you

Don’t take a poor situation at work sitting down. Be the squeaky wheel and let superiors know how you’re contributing, even if it is from around the globe or from the back cubicle.

Originally appeared on AOlJobs.com.

Things that drive you crazy about corporate life

By

file0001344010980What drives you crazy about the corporate world? In an environment where conformity seems to be the rule, you may have even caught yourself participating in some of these hated rituals – even as you mock them to friends in happy hour after work. In the new, third edition of her book, They Don’t Teach Corporate in College, Alexandra Levit points out these conventions and traditions we love to hate.

1. Corporate Déjà Vu. It seems as though it’s a requirement in business that you spend huge amounts of time reporting the same information in a dozen different formats, attending status meetings where conversation from the week before is repeated word for word and where you put out the same fires, because your department doesn’t learn from its mistakes.

2. Name dropping. Also known as “invoking syndrome,” this occurs when colleagues try to persuade you to do what they want by name-dropping someone higher up. Whether the executive manager was actually involved or not, invoking him is a manipulative tactic used to get you to bend to your colleagues’ wishes. For example: “Really? Well, I spoke to the CEO last night, and he told me we have to do the event this way.”

3. Ego-mania. When certain people reach a high level in a company, they think that they are better than everyone else and that they are entitled to be treated like a god. Regardless of the issue, they believe they are always right and that they can’t possibly learn anything from someone lower on the chain.

4. Corporate jargon. If you think everyone in the business world speaks your language, think again. The business world’s language is one of subtlety, filled with euphemisms and pet phrases to cleverly disguise what people actually mean.

5. Bureaucracy. How many departments does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Corporate business has a lengthy approval process for everything, and companies delight in changing those processes constantly so that you’re never sure which 10 departments you need to consult before a decision can be made.

6. Hypocrisy. Don’t you just love the way some companies tout values such as quality, entrepreneurship, innovation and integrity, when they would be perfectly happy if their employees just kept quiet and never suggested a disruptive change?

7. Uncommon Sense. Is common sense dead in the business world? People might make a joke of it, but this dearth of logical thought is kind of sad. It’s also frustrating when the obviously correct way to do something is staring everyone right in the face, and no one sees it.

8. Nonsensical Change. Every now and then, companies will decide to throw their departments up in the air and see where all the pieces land. Yes, it’s the reorganization (otherwise known as the dreaded re-org). Despite the fact that it results in mass confusion, greatly decreased productivity and low employee morale, companies continue to do it year after year.

Originally appeared on AOLJobs.com.

Communications skills lesson

By

Screen Shot 2014-07-03 at 10.24.40 PMAs a career and business consultant and coach, I focus a lot on teaching clients how to identify and market their key skills and accomplishments. Usually, we think first about the “hard skills” — the skills that have a tangible result at work. For example, the things they probably learned how to do in a class or someone taught them in a previous job. It’s important to focus on those abilities when job hunting, as employers need to know that you are capable of getting the work on their (likely long) list of “must haves” documented on job descriptions.

More and more, however, employers are including “soft skills,” also known as “emotional intelligence” in their requirements. Soft skills include: leadership, written and verbal communication, problem solving, motivation, interpersonal skills and creativity.

It’s not surprising that soft skills continue to play a big role in hiring decisions. Employers realize that they can teach hard skills, such as how to use a software program, but it’s virtually impossible to retrofit employees with soft skills. A study from Millennial Branding showed soft skills topped the list of “must have” skills that employers want, with 98 percent of employers saying communication skills are essential.

Early in my career, I learned a lot about the value of written communication as an editor for publications at a Wall Street firm. A new college graduate, I worked with many brilliant financial minds to help them explain the markets to their clients. Just one word out of place could give someone the wrong impression. I saw how difficult it could be for people who could explain a strategy to a client in person to put those same concepts together in writing.

Making sense
Our department’s job was to take their words and ensure they made sense when read. Over and over again, I noticed how adding (or subtracting) a comma or changing a phrase could alter the entire document. (For better or for worse!) Careful reading is so important to success in written communication.

In my second career as a career advisor in a university setting, I learned a lot of lessons about communicating well face-to-face. I remember the very first student I met for a resume review. I pointed out a few things she had included on her resume and asked her, “So what?,” intending to help her focus and clarify her accomplishments. Having come from Wall Street, where verbal communication tends to be very direct, it didn’t occur to me that she’d react poorly to the inquiry and think she needed to rewrite her entire resume!

It was a great reminder for me to always think about the person who needed my help and adjust my communication accordingly. I certainly didn’t want to offend students via blunt questions about their marketing materials. I find today, working with more business owners and experienced professionals, I do sometimes communicate bluntly to make a point.

The lesson is that communication is a two-way street. It doesn’t really matter what you intend to say, or the takeaway you expect. What matters most is how the person or group will receive your communication. Like marketing; it’s important to think first of your target audience when you put your thoughts together to share with someone else.

Originally published on AOLJobs.com.

Fix your work reputation

By

Lamborghini Gallardo DrivingHow’s your work reputation? Your future career depends on how well you maintain and manage your reputation as a reliable, competent employee. Getting started at a new job can be tough, and sometimes, you’ll make a misstep that has the potential to derail your path. [Read more…] about Fix your work reputation