Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

People to follow on Twitter to accelerate your job hunt

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Since I first started writing about Twitter for your job search, it has continued to grow into an even better resource for job seekers. I am planning some posts to updates my readers in the near future, but in the meantime, I’d like to offer some compilations that my colleagues have put together.

Alison Doyle, the author of about.com’s job search blog, maintains a list of top job sites and career experts to follow on Twitter. Be sure to take a look at her list to find job search sites and many terrific career professionals to follow.

Willy Franzen from One Day, One Job compiled another list of the top 25 “must follow” Twitter users for your job search.

I’m so pleased to be named on both of these lists! I’m happy to share pertinent career advice and forward information from my colleagues (via “retweets”) on Twitter! I’d be delighted if you “follow” me on Twitter HERE.

What I liked most about Willy’s list is his suggestions about how to fill out your “top 50” people to follow on Twitter. He says,

“…The true power of Twitter comes through connecting with people who share your interests and passions. Instead of focusing on specific people, this second half of the list will focus on the types of people that you should look to connect with on Twitter. Finding them may not be easy at first, but once you find one, you’ll be able to look at whom they’re following to fill out the rest of your list.

26-30. Thought leaders in your industry – You need to be up on the latest news. Find the big names in the industry that you want to be in and hang on their every word.

31-35. Local leaders in your industry.

36-40. People who share a common passion – Although you may not be pursing a career that is aligned with their interests, you never know when meeting someone with common interests might help your job search.

41-45. Amusing people – You need to stay entertained. A job search can be depressing, so make sure that you follow some people who can make you laugh.

46-50. Real life friends – It’s easy to get caught up in social media and social networking, but make sure that you’re using tools like Twitter to connect with people that you actually know. It’ll help you keep things in perspective.

I think this is great advice! Let me know if you have any additional recommendations of people to follow for useful career and job hunting information! Stay tuned for more up-to-date tips about optimizing Twitter for your search.

Still can’t figure out how to use all of this to help propel your search? I am happy to help get you started. Contact me to learn how a little coaching can go a long way!

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Diversity in the workplace

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Inspired by the King holiday and the inauguration, it seems timely to write about the issue of diversity in the workplace and offer some links to online resources for members of a variety of diverse groups.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers says the following about diversity on their website:

Valuing diversity means acknowledging that other people, other races, other voices and other cultures have as much integrity and as much claim on the world as you do. It is the recognition that there are other ways of seeing the world, solving problems, and working together.

Read more thoughts on diversity and find useful resources and online links at my blog at GreatPlaceJobs…


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How to find a community of job seekers, Part 3

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This is part 3 of a series to describe a selection of resources to help job seekers support each other for networking and information sharing. Today, the topic is college/university alumni groups. I’ll also share some additional on-line resources targeted at helping alumni and mentors connect.

Read Part I – On-line resources

Read Part II – In-person resources

Don’t forget your alma mater!

Some college and university career centers have begun to extend benefits (some for a small fee) to graduates, and alumni organizations may be great resources of information and support. LinkedIn is full of opportunities to join alumni networking groups.

Andrew Rosenthal, President of the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Club of Philadelphia, acknowledges that his club is encountering increased discussion of how the alumni group can help connect people to job opportunities. While focusing on what services alumni should provide and what services the University should offer,  the club does partner with Penn’s career services for job seeking events.

Will Robinson, owner of Virtual Career Coach, has contact with college career offices as a business owner, and he suggests that both alumni and career offices have experienced an uptick in addressing their alumni relations. He notes that Yale, his alma mater, has had an evolving program that offers job-listings for alumni and the beginning of some ‘career transition’ seminars to local alumni groups.

Old-fashioned networking with a modern twist is alive at Wake Forest University. Business school professor Aneil Mishra, co-author of the book (with Karen Mishra), Trust is Everything, maintains a network of well over 1000 current and former MBA students whom he helps find opportunities for free via his “Trust Network.” He receives “scores of job opportunities” via his network and then passes them along to students and other alumni.

Mishra is connected to members in a variety of business school networks, including Princeton and U-Michigan alumni. He notes, “There is not much of a chance that Princeton, Wake Forest, and Michigan alums would have naturally had the opportunity to learn about and share such opportunities with each other, so we thrilled about how [the network has] taken off.”

Ben Holcomb, Mishra’s former student, learned about his current job via this network. He says, “The Trust Network was an invaluable tool to further my career upon completion of my MBA at Wake Forest University…I was connected with Green Resource LLC, a rapidly growing business (in the top 5 of The Business Journal’s FAST 50 Awards Program) who sought a Controller to manage the company’s finances. Without being a part of the Trust Network I would not have been presented with such a great opportunity.”

It is worth investigating if YOUR alma mater offers a network or resources. Otherwise, you may be missing some great opportunities.

Interesting online resources.

As with in-person networking, there are new businesses aiming to help connect alumni for networking.  One such site is www.onedegree.com, which is University specific (only 5 schools are online now), and offers social and professional networking for students, fans and alumni.

Another interesting service to investigate is GottaMentor. This site aims to connect those who have advice to offer (mentors) with those who seek it. CEO Ron Mitchell notes, “We felt that, particularly in this tough economy, people needed a resource they could use to get more personalized career advice and feedback from people they know and trust.”

Potentially useful tools in GottaMentor’s library include a public database of searchable career advice from trusted sources related to finance, consulting, education, media, marketing, healthcare, entrepreneurship, technology and more. The site offers certain services free to anyone who joins and has a list of paid services.

Summary

The last topic in this series is corporate “alumni” groups. I am still collecting information about these groups and welcome you to email me at [email protected] if you are involved in a corporate alumni group or have benefited from an affiliation with one.

Do you host or sponsor a group or site that supports job seekers? Feel free to add it in the comments!

You have no idea how to network and could use a little help?I can teach you how to take the steps you need to be successful. Contact me to learn more.

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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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Tips to Help You Survive Working for an Abusive Boss

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Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a sure-fire way to avoid working for an abusive boss? One good plan is to search for a job at an award-winning company known for treating employees well! Elvira Aletta offered some “rules” to help you cope if your boss could compete with the boss in The Devil Wears Prada. Click through to my blog at GreatPlaceJobs to read all of the tips and commentary!…

Read more…

Need help getting away from an abusive boss? I can help with your job hunt! Contact me to see about getting started.