Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Holiday Networking – Free Ebook

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Am I the only one who can hardly believe we are quickly approaching the new year? Did 2008 fly by or what?

Here’s hoping that 2009 turns into a much better year for our economy and  the job market. To get you started on the right foot, I put together the first in my “Drive Your Own Career Bus” e-Series on Holiday Networking. It is specially designed to help those of you who are about to embark upon the (sometimes dreaded) holiday party networking circuit.

With the right preparation and follow-up, in-person networking events offer unmatched opportunities to broaden your networking circle and to connect with people who may be in a good mood!

Don’t miss out on all of the great opportunities awaiting you! Pick up your copy of Drive Your Own Career Bus – Holiday Networking for Success. It is full of advice, tips and tricks to get you through this holiday season in good networking shape.

How do you get your copy? For a limited time, it is yours free when you subscribe to Keppie Careers.

All you need to do is enter your email in the navy box on the right side of your screen. That’s it – enter your valid email address and press “Subscribe Me.” You’ll receive a free subscription to my blog (a weekly email) and we will email you a copy of Drive Your Own Career Bus – Holiday Networking for Success.

What a deal!

Don’t delay, this offer is limited. My marketing team thinks I should sell this report, but I’m in a giving mood, so I decided to make it free for a limited time!

If you are already a subscriber, just send an email to [email protected] from the email address where you are already subscribed and we’ll be happy to forward you a copy.

Don’t forget that Keppie Careers offers many services to help you get your job hunt on track. Stop wasting your time! Visit the OUR SERVICES link for more information about how we can help you.


photo by smaku

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Empower Yourself for Career Success – Job Action Day Blog

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Today’s post is in honor of Job Action Day, a blogging event organized by Quintessential Careers to encourage service-oriented articles and blog entries that provide workers and job-seekers with information, ideas and concrete steps that they can take to secure their futures — both in the short-term and the long-term.

Secure your future for the short- and long-term – a tall order in today’s turbulent, fast-changing economy. According to former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley, the top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 may not have existed in 2004. (Hat Tip: The Creative Career.) How can you thrive professionally when keeping up seems about as easy as holding water in your bare hands?

While there is much we as individuals cannot control (e.g., the stock market, whether or not the industry we chose for our career will thrive in tomorrow’s economy and if layoffs will be necessary in our company), careerists still have a lot of power. My advice for those who expect thrive in today’s marketplace…

Seize control of what you can! Don’t be a victim of circumstances. Drive your own career bus. Steps to take:

  • Draw your own career map.
  • Design your vehicle.
  • Take the keys and start the ignition.
  • Don’t let fear drive you.
  • Back out carefully, but do get rolling…

Draw Your Own Career Map
Identify your goals. You can’t get anywhere until you decide the destination! Stop and evaluate. What characteristics and traits make you special? What are you (or do you hope to be) known for in your field?

Review trends and industries with career potential. See if there are matches between your skills and interests and the fields and organizations most likely to have opportunities. If not, consider re-focusing slightly without altering your dream.

When setting your goals, be open to the possibilities that new industries provide. Consider the glass “half full.” Instead of cursing a business with a shrinking job market, be willing to re-adjust, re-tool and re-train to take advantage of possibilities coming down the road.

Design Your Vehicle – Brand YOU!
Once you identify a destination, you need to drive there! Take the time and effort necessary to learn how to position yourself as the expert in your field of choice. Use all of the tools at your disposal to create a “vehicle” (your brand) that will drive you where you want to go.

If you haven’t looked for a job in a while and/or aren’t tuned in to managing your “digital footprint” – what comes up when someone “Googles” your name – it’s time for a quick lesson in social media. The long and the short of it is this: an online presence is key to how people will perceive you. Presenting yourself well both online and in person will help open doors that seemed closed to you.

Dan Schawbel, Personal Branding Expert, suggests these steps to get you started: “Buy yourname.com to secure your brand, make a video resume, start a WordPress blog, use Google Reader, participate (comment on blogs and link to them), get on Facebook and LinkedIn, network and more.”

The key is to become the “go to” person in your field. When you leverage your expertise online and become part of the social networking community, doors will open that you otherwise would never have even considered knocking on!

Take the Keys!
The key to a successful career is to network generously. There is nothing more important or more useful than networking. In our digital, Web 2.0 world, success will depend more and more on your ability to broaden your professional circles and to reach out to a diverse socio-economic group of people representing a mix of opinions and beliefs. Professionals who habitually introduce people who otherwise may not meet earn goodwill and reputations as valuable resources and colleagues. Become that professional to help you overcome obstacles to career success.

Start the Ignition – Communicate Your Value
Your ability to promote, communicate and connect your value to colleagues and superiors is crucial. Hone this “soft” skill – practice your writing, emailing, speaking, interviewing and presenting skills. Join Toastmasters. Make a point to learn how to communicate well. There is no doubt that the superior communicator in a field has the best chance to win the job. When you can articulate why your role is vital, you will certainly help secure your future.

Confidently Forge Ahead – Start Rolling
Adjust your rear-view mirror, but keep your eyes on the road! Move forward with your plans knowing that you DO control your career. Is it as easy as reading these steps? No, but if you follow this plan, you will be on your way to managing your job hunt and/or your career with finesse and aplomb!

Have other ideas to help empower job seekers and workers? Please share them in the comments. I also invite you to review an updated list of Job Action Day participants and to visit their blogs.

You’d love to drive your own career bus, but it sounds like a lot of work? I can help you! Contact me at [email protected] to discuss how to get your career bus moving in the right direction!

photo by gwen

Stressed At Work? Look for These Intangibles for a Better Work Life

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Work presses your stress button? You are not alone. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or an MD) to figure out that work stress can cause health problems and a generally miserable life.

It turns out that employees need some very basic things to help them feel valued and committed to an organization, thus reducing stress and work angst. You may be surprised to find out that none of these basic core needs have anything to do with salaries or free massages at work! Click to read the rest at my blog on GreatPlaceJobs.com to learn more about basic stressers and the environments that may help you avoid them!

Starting a New Job? Evaluate and Acclimate Before You Try to Revolutionize Your Work Culture

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Yesterday, I blogged about tips to help you in your first day (or week) of a new job. Today, I’d like to share some of my own experiences starting a new job right out of school. Getting started in a new job is always a transition – no matter how many jobs you’ve had. This is the article I contributed to Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding Magazine, a publication I help edit…

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My first job out of college was as an analyst on Wall Street. As I recall, from my perspective, our group needed help to become more efficient and comfortable.

Initially, my only suggestion that met with results pertained to our comfort. Our desk chairs looked like they could be props in a 1950’s movie. Our boss ordered new ones when she realized that I was scavenging around the building to find a chair more suitable to a 14-hour day! (This demonstrates that suggesting a change that clearly benefits everyone can be a good starting point.)

I quickly noticed that my other suggestions met resistance. I was too new, inexperienced and unaware of corporate culture to expect changes at my request. I’ll never forget the day my colleague told me that I “asked too many questions.”

Luckily, I realized before it was too late that I needed to slow down, re-evaluate and acclimate before I tried to revolutionize my group.

It is important to learn a thing or two before you can become an effective change agent in an organization not accustomed to transformations.

Make a good first impression. You know that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Work hard! Get there early. Stay late. Don’t complain. Ever. Demonstrate that you care about a job well done. Offer to help your colleagues when appropriate. Volunteer to take on projects that no one else wants to do. You could wind up a hero by solving an “unsolvable” problem. Bonus: a hero’s ideas are usually well received!

Develop relationships. You’ve heard it a thousand times – relationships are key to career success. Before you try to convince your colleagues that you have a great idea, get to know them. Understanding what makes them tick will make it easier for you to persuade them to your way of thinking down the road.

Stop. Listen. Learn. Take it all in. Ask questions (but not too many!) Avoid jumping to conclusions. Learn about the decision makers and what they value. Try to determine why things are done the way they are. What’s the back-story?

Drink company ‘Kool-Aid.’ Adapt to the corporate culture. Show you’re a team player and that you appreciate what everyone has done before you came on board. Don’t arrogantly expect to change something before you’re invested in it. Demonstrate that you value the work, the people and the organization. Once you’re fully on board, know the issues, the why’s and the how’s, you may be surprised by how easy it is to convince your colleagues to consider changes.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more tips to focus on to build good long-term rapport at a new job!

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Wish you had a new job to start? Get your resume in gear and start searching in a way that will yield results! I can help: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by Amber Rhea

More On Organizing for Your Job Search – Your Desk is Prime Real Estate!

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Did you know that you own prime real estate? If you’re in a job hunt, it could be more valuable than beach front property in, say Maui! Didn’t know you were such a high roller? Your desk is your prime real estate. Being organized and productive are key goals for anyone involved in a job hunt. How it is organized may mean the difference between getting a job and not even remembering to follow up with an employer!
I know from personal experience how important an organized work space can be. Even the little things make a big difference in your day. I always seem to be looking for the same desk reference. Every time I look for it, it is somewhere else. Inevitably, I get annoyed that 1) I can’t find it and 2) I’m wasting my valuable time looking for it. Especially when it is a really busy day, I’ll start getting stressed and annoyed with myself that I can’t keep my reference handy!
I finally decided to ALWAYS keep it in the same spot – close by, but not in my way. It’s not rocket science, but I’ve already saved myself time (and sanity) by being able to just reach for it at a moment’s notice – no stress!

Yesterday’s post reminded us that a clean desk is NOT the sign of a deranged mind! If you are in the midst of a search or want to appear productive and valuable at your current place of employment, you’ll want to get your desk together. Here are some tips from Atlanta based professional organizer, Lauren Davidson, owner of Around Tuit Organizing & Productivity:

Sure-fire Ways to Organize Your Office for Job Hunting:

Be a real estate magnate: Surfaces and storage within arm’s reach are prime real estate! Frequently used items “live” there: very active files, phone/PDA, a note pad, favorite pen. Floaters get lost, while items with a home are predictably found (think: always know where my___ is). Make the home convenient, and you have a winner.

Keep your thoughts in one place: A job seeker’s best friend is a notebook that stays on the desk, to jot down anything from brainstorming to your daily to-do list. Not a pad, definitely not sticky notes. Just a plain, spiral notebook – you choose the color.

Keep priorities in plain sight: In a standing file on the desktop, each job for which you are interviewing has a separate, labeled file. Applications awaiting a response are together in their own file. No-go’s in another file (those can go in a drawer if the visual bothers you).

Take paper by the horns: Paper clutter is distracting and can be a source of anxiety. As a professional organizer, much of the paper clutter I see is caused by over-printing. Print out items you need to take with you, or that will no longer be readily available. Print out essential information you would not otherwise remember. Less printing leaves more room on your desk, in your file drawer and, dare I say, in your head.

Lauren says, “Getting rid of clutter makes room for life!” I agree!

Don’t underestimate the fact that being organized can impact your thought process and bring more calm to your hectic job searching existence! Spend some time getting yourself together. If the thought of making your workspace productive is overwhelming, hire someone to do it! You will not regret the effort.

Stay tuned for more ideas and products to help you stay organized for your job hunt!

Photo by taminsea