Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Guest post: Do something new for your job hunt, PT II

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twitterppl1824234195_e6b913c563_mThis is Part II of a guest post from Jessica Lewis. Jessica is a job seeker who joined Twitter about a month ago with the intention
of using it to help her drive her own career bus. She has been writing a Twitter-for-beginners series on her blog (which you should read!)

You can find Jessica on Twitter @copytailor.

Read Part I HERE, where Jessica addresses hesitations about joining Twitter.

Focus your Twitter usage.

I heard that a college football coach recently said that those on Twitter are “a bunch of narcissists that want to sit and type stuff about themselves all the time.” Twitter sure does lend itself to facilitating narcissists, but using it doesn’t automatically make you a narcissist. You are going to enter Twitter as a niche user.

Career-focused people have smartly taken Twitter and focused it for their own use. They tweet actual information. They work to be seen as unique voices on Twitter. That means they don’t bother with the silly, time-wasting stuff generally associated with Twitter.

And as long as you more often than not aim your tweets at advancing your job search and show interest in others, Twitter will actually facilitate your success. And just as you see the value in a niche blog like this one, you’ll see the value in everyone’s niche microblog.

You can start from scratch. I did.

Step 1 is the most difficult: You’re going to start a Twitter account from scratch. This seems daunting because here you are with a pathetic number of followers trying to get the attention of people with thousands and thousands of followers. Trust me, no one will ever view your follower count as pathetic. If you are focusing your tweets, people will see that you are trying to be a valuable contributor to their conversation. Everyone on Twitter started from scratch. You just happen to be doing that right now. No big deal.

Here’s the bottom line about Twitter: It’s here right now, the people you need are on it, and it will help you get things done faster, whether advancing your career, learning information or targeting your job search. Just ignore the hype and perceptions, think of yourself as a unique voice in what you do (and if you’re not sure what that voice is, don’t worry because you’ll end up developing one), and get really good at being concise!

I’ll be happy to help your follower count grow. Just send me a tweet saying you found me on Keppie Careers.

Need help getting your job hunt going? Learn more about me and Keppie Careers!

The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use

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workinggirlfor-about-the-book-copy1It’s not often I review a book whose author self-proclaims NOT to be an expert! (In this case, not an expert “in the field of work. Or in any other field.”) If you are a believer in the value of experience, however, I think you will agree that Karen Burns, author of  The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl has a lot of great insights and useful information to share with readers seeking a job, a career or just a nice way to spend an afternoon reading an empowering story about work! (Don’t miss her blog – an equally good read!)

Karen’s claim to fame is that she held 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities and 4 countries. (Mind you, she started when she was 9.)  All that job hopping and experiences led to a lot of terrific life lessons. One of my favorites was the chapter on “Advanced Job Hunting.” Here, Working Girl notes:

The best way to get a job you will LOVE is to figure out:

  • What you want to do,
  • Where you want to do it,
  • and WHO you want to do it for,
  • and then go apply at places that supply all that, whether or not they “have an opening (p. 96).”

Another reason I liked this book? It gives advice that mirrors what I tell my clients! For example, job seekers should:

  • Be prepared. (To talk about what you have to offer.)
  • Be cool. Job hunt from a position of strength.
  • Be irresistible.  Build a website. Write a blog. Comment on other blogs.
  • Be in the loop. Ask for help.
  • Be thorough. Find as much as you can about potential employers.
  • Be persistent.
  • Be real. (Not arrogant.)
  • Be patient.

(Read more on pages 97-99.)

This book encourages readers to take their own paths (even suggesting reading the book itself in random order) and reminds job seekers and careerists that, while there are certain factors that may be out of their control, the journey along the way can be exciting and even fun! I’d recommend this terrific guide to anyone who needs some practical, down-to-earth advice about job seeking, job hopping and finding your career bliss!

Here is Karen’s video about her book:


You know what you want to do, but need help getting there? Learn how I can help you find a job!

A new paradigm for work? Slash careers and Gen Y

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sunnyday325950178_aaa3c571cd_mA shadow seems to remain over the job market for new college grads. The Hire Ground blog quoted my colleage, Lindsey Pollak:

While many of Gen Y’s employment troubles can be blamed solely on the current economy, there are other difficult circumstances they must overcome, Pollak says. Those with the misfortune of having been born in the 1980s are also the first wave of job seekers who have been trained to seek conventional careers yet are entering a workplace that is alien to every previous generation.

“The old paradigm is clearly not working anymore,” she says. “The thinking was that all the baby boomers would start to retire and there would be lots of new positions open, but that’s not happening. Even the meaning of the word ‘career’ is changing. You’re not going to see people working for one company for 30 years anymore.”

There’s no doubt that Gen Y (and all) job seekers who embrace the new paradigm will be the most successful finding fulfilling positions, but those positions may look very different from the old norms.

The article notes:

Pollak, author of the new post-grad bible, “Getting From College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World,” says some new terms are cropping to describe the peripatetic nature of employment today, in which workers will commonly jump from job to job, sometimes moving into several different fields. Some are calling these “slash-careers,” she says, referring to the need to add a series of slashes in job descriptions (e.g., editor/speaker/dancer). Others say young job seekers are members of “free-agent nation” and need to become their own CEOs and take more control of their careers.

Marci Alboher, author of One Person/Multiple Careers,  authority on “slash careers” and the writer who likely first coined the term notes on her website:

“…slash careers integrate and fully express the multiple passions, talents, and interests that a single career often cannot accommodate.“

Anyone looking for a job, particularly young people with less experience, will do well to embrace a variety of types of internships, part-time work and entrepreneurial options to take advantage of the opportunities the current economy offers. No, it isn’t your father’s job market…The situation requires a creative approach and may result in different types of results from the ones college students might have expected. However, there are positive aspects to the situation – the proverbial “silver lining.”

For one Gen Y’s optimistic take on the situation, see the video interview with Stephanie Perrett, a Gen Y intern for Stephanie A. Lloyd and Radiant Veracity:


If your search is stalling, consider getting some help to get it 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 hana8hana

Plan your job hunt using The Vision Board to guide you

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Regular readers know that I usually stick to highly practical job search advice – I want to offer a toolbox of practical job hunting tips and advice. But, my tag line is “Encouraging, enlightening and empowering job seekers for success.” So, with that in mind, I want to suggest a book that job seekers and all professionals may want to consider reading!

Joyce Schwarz’s visually beautiful and inspiring book, The Vision Board, reminds readers of a key life lesson. As she says in the introduction, “Your time is now.” She shows her readers how to take the bull by the horns and take hold of their own destinies by offering moving stories of people (and families!) who have used vision boards to improve their lives.

For those of us who have never engaged in this type of work, Ms. Schwarz offers step-by-step instructions that not only help readers know what to DO, but also make the concept of the Law of Attraction understandable and attainable to even the most skeptical of audiences.

By offering her own framework to help the reader engage in this work (GRABS), which stands for Gratitude, Release and Receive, Acknowledge and Ask, Be and Believe and Share, the author helps readers really understand their roles in what she calls their own “quantum leap.” She literally offers readers a “passport to possibility” by describing how to get started both from a spiritual perspective (offering accounts of personal stories, sound advice and tips for expressing gratitude) AND from a practical perspective (even suggesting what type of adhesive to use).

One of my favorite things about this book was that it leads the reader to understand and agree with the premise without seeming preachy or “out there.” For example, who can’t understand the value of stopping during the day for a short walk or a coloring break with kids? Ms. Schwarz offers these as examples of ways to “say thanks for your body and the power of your mind.”

Having read The Vision Board, I suggested that my business mastermind group work on our own vision board projects to help us solidify our goals and propel our plans forward. I  recommend it to anyone who wants to jump-start his or her plans, even if you aren’t already a believer in the Law of Attraction!

Need a little help ramping up your search? Read how I can help get you going!


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Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling to get jobs and propel your career

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tellmecovercorrect“So, tell me about yourself?”

Is that not the most obvious interview question? The one that every job seeker should anticipate and prepare to answer? Unfortunately, it may seem so obvious, many don’t spend the time they should focusing on how to answer it.

In fact, most aspects of the job search rely on being able to tell your own story.

  • Networking (the all important elevator pitch)
  • Your resume – connecting your accomplishments with the employer’s needs
  • Cover letter – another opportunity to sell your skills to a targeted employer
  • Portfolios – online opportunities to connect with people
  • Interviews – sealing the deal
  • On the job – to connect and advance

I highly recommend that job seekers take a look at Katharine Hansen’s new book, Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling to Get Jobs and Propel Your Career.

Her book is organized into several sections:

  • Part I – Career propelling story basics
  • Part II – Using storytelling in your job search
  • Part III – Continuous storytelling

Katharine explains how stories can help you get a job by demonstrating your personality, helping to make you memorable and establishing trust. People who know how to tell good stories can communicate their value proposition, which is key for job seekers and careerists.

This book helps you with every aspect of telling your story – from figuring out what the story should be through tips for how to recall stories stored in your brain! (For example, give your stories names.) It is full of samples of stories and many, many ideas that are critically useful for job seekers and all professionals.

If you’re engaged in a job search – or maybe you should be – don’t miss this great resource!

UPDATED ON 6/21/11:

Could you use some help to come up with your story AND to learn how to tell it well in networking, interview and social networking situations? What about your resume? Does it tell your story and tell it well? I can help. If you’re ready to hire a pro to help you move ahead with your plans, contact me to find out how you can boost your job search – both online and off line. Check out my new book, Social Networking for Career Success, to learn how to tell your story in a way that can get you noticed.