Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Dr. King's message rings true for job seekers

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President Lyndon B. Johnson and Rev. Dr. Marti...

Dr. Martin Luther King offered many inspiring messages. As we honor him today, it seems fitting to remember his message of hope. His “I Have A Dream” address was delivered in a time when most of his “dreams” really seemed to be just that.

However, having dreams isn’t enough. Dr. King and other leaders of the Civil Rights movement recognized that hard work and sacrifice was key to success. Thinking outside of the box, organizing peaceful marches…Civil disobedience. All of these at a great cost, but prepared and enacted with great hope.

It is impossible to observe this King holiday without thinking ahead to President-Elect Obama’s inauguration. Obama’s message that seemed to resonate with so many voters, “Yes we can,” was another message of hope when things are not looking very hopeful.

Every job seeker can take something away from these optimistic messages. Maybe the message is as simple as a reminder that hope is important, even when it is hard to muster. Maybe the more important take-away is that nothing worthwhile comes without hard work and effort.

No matter the message, as the nation pauses to honor Dr. King, this is a good time for job seekers to stop and think about how to harness hope with hard work to move forward with an optimistic job hunt. Or, take another lesson from King and turn this day into a day of service and volunteer. It’s a great way to spend the holiday, with added benefits for job seekers.

Need some help with your hunt? I can help! Contact me for a free resume assessment.


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Resolutions and Job Change Advice for 2009

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Who can resist resolutions for the new year? It’s a fresh slate, a brand new calendar. A chance to start over. An incentive to really get started on something you have been putting off for too long.

Many of my colleagues have some great suggestions for those of you looking to make a career change or find a new job in 2009. Lindsey Pollak, CareerBuilder and Quintessential Careers all have great resolution ideas. Barbara Safani suggests working “towards a plan for 2009 that aligns hard work, improved timing and even some “premeditated” luck to help facilitate your 2009 goals.”

I’d like to simplify it even more. In the U.S. this past year, you could not escape the topics of “change” and “experience.” Yes, these tended to be political issues, but what better concepts to focus on for your career resolutions? Do you need a change? Do you have the experience you need to get where you want to go? Do you know how to communicate that experience effectively?

Change. Focusing on a need for change is the most important step you must take if a new job or career will be in your future. Write down your goals and carry them with you. Recognize that change does not happen without effort. Decide if you are ready and willing to take that next step.

Experience. Clearly, experience comes into play when looking for a job. However, more often than not, it is more important how you communicate your experience. Can you effectively explain what you have to offer? If not, work on your pitch. If you can’t explain what you can contribute, it will be very difficult for you to network effectively,to write a great resume and to interview to get the job.

I hope that narrowing down your resolutions to:

  1. Choosing change and
  2. Understanding and communicating your own experience

will help you make 2009 the year that you make your career goals come true!

I want to wish everyone a happy and successful new year! All the best for 2009!

Don’t forget that we are here to help you with your goals! If you’ve decided on a change, Keppie Careers can help you identify and communicate your skills. We can write your resume and coach you to a new job. Contact me to see how I can help!

I’m offering a free teleseminar with coach Carolann Jacobs to help you dive into your job hunt. Click HERE for more information!

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Free Teleseminar to Help You Dive Into Your Job Hunt

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Are you ready to dive into your job search head first? You are really resolving to make a career change this year, but you’re still not sure where to start or how to make heads or tails of all the things you need to do?

Help is on the way!

I am excited to announce that I’m collaborating with certified coach Carolann Jacobs, whose business is Vivid Epiphany, for an 8-week FREE teleseminar: Land Your Dream Job: 8 Strategies For Outrageous Success in 2009.

We’ll be talking about how to set yourself up to win and describing a series of steps to help get your job hunt off to a good start!

We will cover the following topics (each seminar begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time):

  • Create a Winning Mindset – January 8th
  • Craft a Magnetic Marketing Portfolio – January 15th
  • Design a Strategy, Devise a Plan and Take Focused Action for Results – January 22nd
  • Change Who You Are to What You Do – February 5th
  • Become a Sought After Expert Using Social Media – February 12th
  • Interview to Triumph - February 19th

Remaining seminars:

  • Secrets to Getting in the Door -  February 26th – We welcome special guest, Stephanie Lloyd, a recruiter with 15 years of experience, to give you the inside scoop from her side of the desk!!
  • Command What You’re Worth – March 5th

Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions during each session.

We are thrilled to report that two of our participants have already landed jobs since joining our calls! One participant who landed her “dream job” notes that the calls helped her become “more confident in interviews and focused on jobs that matched [her] skill set.”

Register HERE.

Keppie Careers is here to help you get your job hunt going. Need a resume? Mock interview? Contact me!

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Is there A Silver Lining in the Job Loss Cloud? New Careers or New Locations to Consider

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Marci Alboher, author of New York Times column and blog, Shifting Careers, which recently ended its run, tweeted about a piece on the NBC Nightly News in which she commented. The segment, which is called, “Layoffs Land Some in Second Career,” tries to focus on a potential positive outcome of being let go from a job, especially a long-term career position. The upside? Turning a negative into a positive by retraining for a different career, possibly one that was once a pipe dream or seemed unrealistic.

In the piece, they highlight a former Wall Street executive who decided to go to school to become a chef after losing her finance job. It had been a long-time dream, and she decided to view the lay-off as a doorway to a new career.

The woman in the segment was able to use her savings to pay for schooling, but Marci suggests in the piece that there is scholarship money for those willing to look for it. If you are considering changing fields and retraining, another NBC segment (Recession Proof Jobs) suggests the following industries to consider:

  • Healthcare. Reports show that 1 in every 5 jobs in the next 5 or 6 years will be in health care. This includes doctors and nurses, home healthcare aides and new medical technology experts.
  • Education. In certain parts of the country, especially in the west (California, Utah) as well as in places such as Georgia and Kansas, there is a big need for post-secondary teachers, elementary school teachers and substitutes. Apparently, Connecticut has such a shortage of subs, they were calling in parents to watch classes when teachers were out! While substitute teaching isn’t necessarily a career path itself, you can certainly look into this option while pursuing other training or looking for steady work.
  • Technology. There’s a big need for network systems administrators and main frame experts.

Unless you already have a background in these fields, re-training will be required, but at least you’ll probably be buying yourself some job security for the next few years!

None of these areas appeal to you? Lindsey Pollak suggested some other resources to consider in a recent blog post. Some of her suggestions:

  • North Dakota is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.
  • BusinessWeek offers a list of places to ride out the recession.
  • The following industries have potential, according to one study: railroads and utilities, the logging and mining sector, food, drink and tobacco manufacturing as well as oil pipeline transportation.
  • President-elect Obama pledged to create a huge public works program to stimulate the economy, which will mean jobs in that sector. Lindsey suggests that  “you could set up a Google news alert for phrases such as “public works,” “national infrastructure” or “expanding broadband access” to keep abreast of this growth segment.
  • Accounting is a growth industry.
  • Looking to move outside the U.S.? Lindsey notes that Australia and Dubai are two hotbeds of job opportunities to consider.

The point is – even if you aren’t interested in moving to North Dakota, Australia or Dubai, keeping your options open and thinking beyond the obvious could help propel your search. With open eyes and a strong career search strategy, there ARE opportunities, even in an economy that seems to be spiraling down the drain.

What other locations or fields are offering opportunities? Share your thoughts in the comments!

You’ll want to be competitive no matter what your field of choice. I can help you succeed by writing a great resume and teaching you how to leverage your strengths and skills for today’s job market! www.keppiecareers.com.

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Are You Jumping from the Frying Pan Into the Fire? Would You Accept a Position Because You are Desperate for a Job?

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Maybe you’ve been out of work for a while. You are watching your savings dwindle, the holidays aren’t looking very jolly and you are envisioning a long wait for the right job.

So, when you finally land an offer, it is easy to try to overlook the fact that:

  • During your interactions with the company, they treated you badly,
  • They weren’t particularly well organized and
  • Everyone working there seemed unhappy.

I’ve written about this before, but since today’s economy seems even more likely than ever to make job seekers grab the first job that comes their way, it seems a good time to remind everyone to consider a few important facts:

  • When a company is hiring, an applicant should assume that they (the company) are on their “best behavior” during the process.  So, if arrangements are disorganized, interviewers seem unfriendly, people around the office seem unhappy or disgruntled, someone makes a snide remark about the boss or HR is unclear about the position’s duties – consider yourself forewarned.
  • If you take a job with a company that you know comes with problems, you may very well be jumping from the frying pan (unemployment) to the fire (employment with a badly run organization).
  • If you are miserable in your new job, it will be difficult to spend time searching for yet another job, and you may wind up in a situation (if you leave the  new job) of explaining why you left, which is never easy.

The main point of this post is not to convince you not to take a job offer that will help you pay your bills. It’s to remind you that you should try not to let desperation make a decision for you. If you go into a situation with your eyes open to potential problems, don’t put on rose-colored glasses and assume everything is going to be okay. Use whatever skills you can muster to manage yourself and protect your career. Focus on how you can make the most of the situation while you are there.

I’m a big believer in the idea that awareness of a problem actually helps lead to a solution. So, if you take a job despite red flags during the interview process, remember that forewarned is forearmed. Act accordingly.

Have you REALLY done everything you can to help yourself and the RIGHT job? We can help! You may need a transformed resume, some outside-of-the-box advice and a professional to coach you along. I can help you! www.keppiecareers.com

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