Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How can a job seeker stand out?

By

cookiecutters1423128740_50b9ac55c8_mAs co-coordinator with my colleague Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, I am proud to help launch a new community of expert career advisors and resume writing professionals called the called the Career Collective. Today’s post is one of many responses to the question, “Are you a cookie cutter job seeker?” I encourage you to visit other members’ responses, which will all be linked at the end of my post by this afternoon! Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.

You’re a job seeker, so you want to stand out in a crowd. The LAST thing you want is to be called a “cookie cutter” applicant – someone who seems just like everyone else. We all know that the way to find a job is to stand out above a crowd. To be special – to be better.

So, the question is: How can you create your own shape?

As with many things, it may not be as complicated as you think.

– Know what you have to offer. You would be surprised (or maybe not!) to learn how few job seekers I meet can easily describe what skills they bring to the table. Being able to succinctly describe those skills in a networking setting – without resorting to the catch all/kiss of death, “I can do anything” will absolutely help you stand out. Follow THIS link for more ideas about your “elevator pitch.”

– Be a problem solver. Pitch yourself as a solutions oriented hire. Look for the organization’s “pain points” and identify ways that you can help. Remember – it’s all about what YOU can do for them! (Hat tip to Michael Long/The Red Recruiter and Stephanie Lloyd/Dream Job Radio.)

– Recommend someone on LinkedIn for helping you. This really shows that you want to pay it forward. Have something nice to say? Well, say it!  (Another hat tip to Michael Long/The Red Recruiter and Stephanie Lloyd/Dream Job Radio.)

– Know where to look. I teach clients to identify organizations and companies, not specific jobs. The fact is, most jobs are not actually advertised. (It may be as many as 70-80% of positions.) Rather, they are filled via networking and referrals. Stop spending all of your time looking for jobs. Research and target organizations instead and you will automatically stand out as someone not overly concerned with focusing on a specific job and more interested in the big picture.

– Use your ears more than your mouth. Ever been in a room full of people networking? They are all talking, but no one seems to listen? Be the listener. People LOVE listeners! Make a point to connect with people on a social and emotional level and you will stand out. (Learn more about this HERE.)

– Follow up! How many times have you networked your heart out, only to find yourself busy and overwhelmed? You didn’t make an effort to follow up and really connect after the event or to re-touch base online? Don’t let an opportunity slip through your fingers. Learn how to stand out by following up HERE. (There are probably some tips there you haven’t considered…They could change your job search for the better!)

– Great materials. This is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, most resumes are simply not very good. There are basic concerns – aesthetics, grammar, verb tense, consistency. These are not difficult to address. The bigger concern is making sure the resume specifically focuses on the employer’s needs and highlights the job seeker’s skills and accomplishments. If you are sending out a resume that lists “stuff” that you have done but is not adequately connecting to the employer’s needs, you are missing a key opportunity to stand out in the crowd.

There is no one ‘right’ way to look for a job that works for every person. So, don’t try to mold yourself into someone else’s shape. There is no “right” resume. There is no “best cover letter.” Not everyone likes or appreciates being approached the same way. So, stop trying to find the holy grail – it does not exist. Do your best to be your best. Go a little beyond the expected. You may be surprised.

Feel free to add your 2 cents to the comments…How can a job seeker stand out?

How have my colleagues responded? Follow us on Twitter with our hashtag #careercollective and read these posts:

Megan Fitzgerald, Career By Choice’s Expat Success Tips:
 Ongoing Career management is No Longer Optional for the Expat in Today’s New World of Work

Top Margin: Gayle’s Blog:
 Sabotaging Your Prospects: Cookie-cutter Style

J. T. O’Donnell of Careerealism:
 Cookie-cutters are for baking…not job searching

Chandlee Bryan of The Emerging Professional:
 On the cookie-cutter approach to the job search: Do you need a recipe?

Rosa Vargas of Creating Prints Resume Writing:
 Creating Prints Being a cookie-cutter jobseeker is a misfortune

Grace Kutney, Sweet Careers:
 Passive Job Seeker = Cookie Cutter Job Seeker

Barbara Safani, Career Solvers Blog:
 Cookie Cutter Resumes Can Leave a Bad Taste in the Hiring Manager’s Mouth

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, Career Trend Blog: 
 Eating Bananas Doesn’t Make You an Ape

Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog:
 Avoiding Being a Cookie-Cutter Job-seeker In Your Resume and Throughout Your Job Search

Heather R. Huhman, HeatherHuhman.com: 
Break the Mold: Don’t Be a Cookie Cutter

Rosalind Joffe, WorkingWithChronicIllness.com
Forget the cookies! Start with vision

Career Sherpa, Hannah Morgan
Are you a cookie cutter job seeker?

Learn how I can help you navigate your job hunt!
photo by alessandropinna


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

By

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!

Do you know what your “invisible resume” says?

By

 

 

foggy3072712788_0f57d48dbaI bet you’ve thought a lot about your resume (hopefully), and you may have even spent some brain power evaluating your “digital footprint,” but have you ever considered your “invisible resume?” I recently read a terrific piece by Dr. Vicky Gordon, CEO of the Gordon Group, a Chicago-based leadership and organizational development consulting firm, for the Harvard Business Review that explains the concept and offers job seekers a lot to think about! (Hat tip to my friend @jonathanduarte for tweeting about the article!)

Your invisible resume, in essence, is your reputation! Just as your digital footprint impacts how people will think about you, your reputation, as the old saying goes, absolutely precedes you. When is the last time you stopped to think about what your supervisors and employees think (and say) about you? You don’t want your “invisible resume” to be, as Gordon notes in her post, “visible to everyone but you.” If you are a little foggy on the subject, Some examples from the Harvard Business Review piece:

The vice president of sales for a major technology company delivered the numbers quarter after quarter. Relentlessly pushing for higher sales, he thought of himself as passionate about the business. During a 360º feedback exercise, he discovered that his colleagues saw him as “unreasonably demanding” and “a slave driver.”

Another example:

The co-founder of a highly successful online company had difficulty delegating responsibility. He would assure people that he would get to the work that went into his office, but somehow he never did. As a result, his colleagues regarded him as untrustworthy, and people began to question his integrity.

Gordon makes several suggestions to help you increase your awareness of your “invisible resume” (bold points are her’s, commentary is my own):

Find out what’s on your invisible resume. The only way to do this is to actively make a point to consider what other people are thinking about you. Ask them!

Ask your manager for substantive feedback beyond perfunctory annual performance reviews. Do you know how you stand in the pecking order of your organization? Would you be surprised to be passed over for a promotion? Not all managers are skilled at offering useful feedback. It’s your responsibility to manage your own career. In this case, ignorance is no excuse. Make it your business to find out what you need to know. Gordon suggests “going directly to HR or…asking your manager.”

Begin to rewrite the story. If you find out that your invisible resume doesn’t read the way you would like, it’s in your hands to make a change. Changing how people perceive you is not easy, but with direct communication and some honest reflection and work, it is not impossible. You may even want to consider enlisting the help of a coach to address your needs and create a plan for change. The fact is, you will need to change how you act in order to adjust how people perceive you. It is not easy, but you can’t do anything unless your recognize the problem and move for change.

Establish channels for ongoing feedback. Gordon recommends “regular 360 degree feedback…augmented with more frequent feedback from a trusted peer.” She reminds readers that it is a good idea to identify a trusted mentor who can offer honest and useful feedback.

Periodic self-assessment. It’s easy to be “too busy” to purposefully manage your own career. I advise my clients to “drive their own career bus” with regard to the job search, and the same advice applies to anyone who hopes to go places professionally. Stop and identify areas for improvement before it’s too late!

Need some help with a job hunt? I can help!

photo by aidanmorgan

 

Structure your time to land a job sooner

By

clocks.60496147_3330a11d13_mHave you been thinking about how you are using your time? My friend Jessica recently wrote about the topic of how she spends her job seeking time. She breaks it down pretty well – and notes that it keeps her pretty busy, eight hours a day!

When is the last time you really sat down to review how you were spending your hours? I think about this all the time as a business owner. What is the best use of my time? How can I help the most people? What are the best ways to approach new clients? What are efficient uses of my hours? How can I automate or outsource administrative tasks? What can I do to achieve my personal and business goals more quickly? Are there things that I need to say “no” to in order to stay on track and/or maintain my sanity?

I think many people struggle with these issues, but they are magnified for job seekers, who often allow themselves to be adrift in a sea of “job hunting” that doesn’t have much structure.

I have a client who lets me know that she is doing “a lot of networking” and applying for jobs, but is really frustrated because she has not landed something yet. She believes that she is doing everything she can. However, when I ask about what she is doing (specifically) or re-suggest a particular site or something to consider, she typically has NOT followed up on that suggestion.

So, some advice!

I’d suggest you make a list of all the things you are doing – people you are informational interviewing, companies you have researched, jobs you have applied for and other job seeking activities you have been doing so you can best evaluate the course of your job search. I know you feel that you have been doing a lot, but if you outline things, it may help identify deficiencies if there are any.

Take a good, long look at your list. What can you do MORE of? What can you do better? Maybe it “feels” like you are really busy and you have a sense you are doing a lot, but in reality, you can’t break it down in writing. Make yourself accountable. It makes a difference.

Need some help moving ahead with your search? Learn how I can help!

photo by Leo Reynolds