Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Job search planning – steps, tips and tricks

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july2582874758_5bebef06c2_mSince we are on the cusp of a new month, a new fiscal year for some and have just officially crossed into a new season, I am declaring this week on my blog as “Job Search Future Planning Week.” Everyone engaged in a successful search needs to have a plan.

Today, some tips and/or reminders about how to get your job hunt off on the right foot. Stay tuned this week for posts and ideas that are a little off my typical path!

Identify your 3%…

Peter Weddle explained that the genome project taught us that humans are 97% similar! So, he suggested that we each have 3% that is special and unique. Have you thought about that 3%? You need to focus and purposefully identify what you have to offer that makes you stand out from everyone else. It’s not enough to assume that it’s obvious or that everyone will recognize your talents. Stop, outline what you have to offer and focus on your goals. Then, move forward with intent.

Stay upbeat and positive – it really matters

You’re not alone – try to focus on the silver lining in the job hunt. No one wants to hire Debbie Downer. There’s no telling how much a positive attitude will help you succeed, so do your best to stay upbeat, or at least to look upbeat to the outside world.

Work on identifying companies – not just looking for openings.

Searching for job opportunities posted online can certainly take all of your time. Instead of focusing on open positions, consider targeting companies of interest (even if they do NOT have openings) and network your way into the organization so that you will be “top of mind” when there is an opportunity.

Know how to tell your story…

Did you know that being able to tell your story is probably the most important part of the job hunt? You need to be able to share your “elevator pitch” when you meet people and it’s important to have some good stories to tell on your resume, in your cover letter and during an interview. I like Kathy Hansen’s Tell Me About Yourself, a book that is all about how to tell your job search story. Be sure to pick up a copy!

Dive into social media if you haven’t already!

Yes, this can take some time if you are going to do it full force. But, you have time, so go for it! Start searching for blogs in your niche. Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop list is a perfect place to find blogs in an array of topics, but you can certainly use Google to find current information in your field of interest. Spend some time researching and exploring. See if you can identify the stars in your field. Use online mechanisms to connect to them! (More about LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook later.)

In fact, the New York Times published an article, The Brave New World of Digital Intimacy, which emphasizes the importance of expanding your network beyond your immediate circle:

This rapid growth of weak ties can be a very good thing. Sociologists have long found that “weak ties” greatly expand your ability to solve problems. For example, if you’re looking for a job and ask your friends, they won’t be much help; they’re too similar to you, and thus probably won’t have any leads that you don’t already have yourself. Remote acquaintances will be much more useful, because they’re farther afield, yet still socially intimate enough to want to help you out.

This idea is also proven in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, an excellent read for those interested in being connected!

LinkedIn

I can’t emphasize how important it is to enhance your LinkedIn profile. Recruiters are sourcing from LinkedIn in large numbers, so if you aren’t there with a strong statement of your qualifications, skills and accomplishments, you are missing out!

Use Twitter to help you find a job

Yes, you CAN tweet yourself to a job. Get set up using the tips linked above and follow these links to learn what people to follow to help accelerate your search and about Twitter applications to use to help you propel your job hunt.

FaceBook

While Facebook isn’t my favorite social network for job seekers, you can use Facebook groups to help with your job hunt, and there are many Facebook applications that are useful for job seekers. You may also want to review how to use Facebook for your job hunt.

Start taking care of your digital footprint

Satisfying Career, Happier Life suggests these services to help control your digital dirt:

These resources may be useful, but you don’t want to be in the position of worrying about whether or not unsavory pictures or trash talking could have cost you an interview or a job. Be careful what you put online and you’ll never have to find out how well or quickly these services work!

Don’t forget to keep up your in-person networking

If you want to succeed in business or your job hunt, you need to be able to engage on a person-to-person basis, tell your story and share information to help you connect.

Consider the cost benefits of seeking career advice.

The fact is, most people don’t have a very good resume and have no idea how to search for a job in today’s economy. In a competitive environment, your job seeking materials (this includes your LinkedIn profile and web 2.0 presence) will be even more important. Money may be tight, but hiring a coach and/or a resume writer might be just the boost you need to propel your search. Anita Bruzzese, career advice columnist and author suggests,

“If you don’t think you can afford a career coach, consider giving up some of the extras in your life (a gym membership, eating out, cable television, etc.) which can can help you pay for a coach.”

Consider the cost of unemployment and the fact that you are much more likely to land a job in a timely way if you have a great resume, understand how to market yourself and are well prepared to interview and negotiate.

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

photo by phlyersphan

Can you find a job on Twitter?

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twitterbirdLindsay Olsen recently posted about how to help recruiters find you on Twitter. She should know, because she is a recruiter sourcing candidates on Twitter!

In any case, she shared some data from a recent survey from Hubspot on the state of the Twittersphere.

Of Twitter users:

  • 79.79% failed to provide a homepage URL (My tip: use your LinkedIn URL if you have nothing else.)
  • 75.86% of users have not entered a bio in their profile
  • 68.68% have not specified a location
  • 55.50% are not following anyone
  • 54.88% have never tweeted
  • 52.71% have no followers

Honestly, I was not all that surprised to see this data. While Twitter has grown exponentially in terms of people who have profiles, I think many join because they can’t turn on the TV without hearing someone talk about Twitter,  but they don’t know what to do once they get there. I often talk to certain Tweeps about the fact that Twitter fanatics and uber-users (Twuber users?) forget that this social media “stuff” isn’t second nature for everyone!

So, what is a job seeking Twitter wanna be user to do?

First of all, take a look at my intro to Twitter for the job search HERE. Then, take a look at some suggestions of applications you might want to use HERE. Finally, some people to follow for your job search HERE. Stay tuned for my review of The Twitter Book, by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein, a resource to help “twanna be” users become Tweeps in their own right!

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

How to evaluate a job description – are you qualified?

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knocking on door206400298_9c650c5585_mThere are a lot of elements to job seeking. In a perfect world, no job seeker would ever need to apply for a job – the jobs would all come knocking. Well, clearly, this isn’t a perfect world. Most job seekers are not in the position to move from job to job effortlessly. So, reviewing and evaluating job descriptions is a necessary evil.

It’s both a blessing and a curse that todays descriptions are so elaborate and LONG. Some of you will remember when applying for a job involved reading a three-line ad in a newspaper and hoping you would get lucky and hit the nail on the head with your application materials. Now, companies have no limits to the number of words they can use in their “desired qualifications.” If you are lucky, someone who really knows what the job involves will write the description, but you can be sure there’ll be a lot of words, plenty of lingo and probably a lot of qualifications to meet.

So, what’s the good part of looking at these job descriptions that don’t seem to end? At least you get a good sense of what the organization values. If they want four of five key qualifications, they will list all of them (and then some), so you will know from the start their wish list. (In the old days, they may have left something off that would come back to bite you in the butt later in the process.)

The other advantage to long job descriptions? You can use them to help connect the dots between what they need and what you offer. Connecting the dots is the key to success with applications.

When you review a job description – first, think about the type of organization. Is it a government job? If there are required minimum qualifications (for example, a four-year degree in a particular industry AND 4 years of related work experience) – you are likely out of luck if you do not have those exact qualifications. Applying for that job without the minimum qualifications, unless you have some sort of great networking connection or otherwise have reason to believe that you are  “special” circumstance, is likely to be a waste of your time for a government job. Since targeting your resume for each job is important and targeting and cover letter writing takes your valuable time, looking at the situation with a realistic view is important.

Does this mean that you should never consider jobs beyond your qualifications?

NO! In fact, I’ve written tips for applying for jobs that are a reach. However, it’s important to spend your application time well, so evaluating the job description is key.

We all know that job descriptions often seem to be seeking the “sun, moon and stars.” Employers “shoot for the moon.” They want the equivalent of an accountant who has written a novel and has a perfect golf game! In other words, an unlikely combination!

When “desired qualifications” include experiences you do not have, it can still be worth applying. As long as you can make a direct connection between what they want and what you offer, I advise going for it!

Make a point to understand your skills and qualifications. Know your limitations and where you have potential to successfully stretch.

A little self-assessment can go a long way. You must know yourself to sell your skills. If you apply for an interview for a position that is a stretch, be prepared to sell yourself and defend your ability to get the job done. Know what transferable skills you possess that will make you successful. You can apply for “reach” jobs until you are blue in the face, but if you don’t know how to convince the employer that you CAN do the job, even if you haven’t ALREADY done it, you’re going to be looking for a long time.

Let me help get you started ahead of the job seeking pack. Learn more about what I can do for you.

photo by cupe vampe

The "right" way to look for a job…

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one way440308423_823520a6f8_mWouldn’t it be nice if there were just one “right” way to look for a job? Everyone would be able to look at the manual (it would be free online) and know what font and style to use on a resume, how long it should be, whether or not to list a graduation date, if a cover letter is really necessary, which keywords to use or not use, what online tools to incorporate, how and when to follow up and at what intervals, what answers to prepare for an interview…I could go on and on here!

Well, I’m here to tell you that there is no manual to follow that ensures you’ll appeal to every employer all of the time!

I recently worked with a client whose resume I totally redesigned using a very modern style. Her reply, “I thought it was going to look more like the one I sent…Will this appeal to recruiters, since they read resumes in a Z pattern?”

Not an unexpected question, and also interesting, since I know recruiters who just skip the top section and look for the resume’s “meat!” I explained that the best resume professionals are not writing “your mother’s resume” anymore. Times have changed, and we need to change with them. My client showed her new resume to an (older) recruiter who admitted it wasn’t what she expected to see, but that she liked the format and how it outlined the candidate’s skills and made her stand out! I couldn’t have been more pleased!

But, remember, no one can say, “This is the way to go…It will appeal to EVERYONE and win you the interview every time.” If you meet a professional who has all of the answers and does not acknowledge the fact that there are many shades of gray when it comes to the job hunt, be skeptical. Stay tuned tomorrow for a sardonic, but funny look at why there is no one “best” way to job hunt!

So, are you ready to get in the search? To grab the keys and climb the stairs to your own career bus? Let me help get you started ahead of the pack. Learn more about what I can do for you – and WHY you should hire me to help you.

photo by loopweaver

Delaying your job search? Ready to pack it all in?

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suitcases2703024979_ac0bae3e27_mRecently, Jonnelle Marte wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal’s The Wallet about how college grads are delaying the job search. She contacted me for my take on the trend, which she described in the article:

More college grads are putting off the job search this year, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Just 59% of the 16,500 graduating seniors surveyed had started looking for jobs by the end of April, compared to 75% who had started by that time last year and 64% in 2007. Only about 40% have actually applied for a job.

Jonnelle interviewed Winnie Yang, a 2009 George Washington University graduate. Winnie applied for “a few more than 10 jobs between January and April,” and is taking a break from the job hunt in favor of a few months of international travel.

I certainly understand the propensity to avoid the job search. I’m sure that it’s not just young people delaying their searches. People of every age avoid job hunting if at all possible. While my business is to help people overcome their fears of job hunting and offer tools to provide clarity, confidence and job search know-how, I recognize that it’s a difficult and often demoralizing process.

You’re out there, doing the best you can (or you think you are doing the best you can), but jobs are not easy to find. Statistics vary, but I’ve heard that there are anywhere from 4-8 people for every job (depending on your location and field). It’s not a “come as you are” job market.

But, does that mean it is a good time to pack your bags or sit on the beach all summer and just wait for things to improve? I bet you can guess my answer! NO WAY.

Think about it – job seeking is a skill. Just like any other skill – think swimming, biking, photography – you get better at it the more you PRACTICE. “Practice looking for a job?,” you ask? Yes, absolutely! The more you network, the more you use Twitter, answer questions on LinkedIn, revise and tweak your cover letter and resume   – the BETTER YOU GET at it! That’s not even counting possible interview opportunities. The more you do it, the better off you are. (Don’t forget that I do mock interviews!)

A personal story to illustrate the point…

When I first applied for a career services position, I recognized that I was under more than the usual amount of scrutiny. After all, I was applying for a job to teach people how to job hunt! So, of course, I spent a lot of time personalizing and targeting each application specifically for the positions.

Despite my expertise and the care I took, I remember looking back at resumes I sent at the early part of my search and remarking (to myself), “WHAT was I thinking?” Now, mind you, these resumes were solid – well done. I even got interviews from several of them – including some that I wasn’t technically qualified to do (but I digress). The point – even though I knew what I was doing, actually updating my own resume and resending it over and over made me a much better applicant. Practice (and waiting) paid off in the job I landed – heading up the career center at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

So – if you are waiting because you are stuck, or scared, or just plain tired of it all, or because you think the economy will get better in the fall and you’ll be fresher, I honestly think you are kidding yourself. You need to be IN it to WIN it. How can you drive your own career bus if you are not picking up the keys? Think of all the possible lost networking opportunities you can have over the summer. (You can still get a free copy of my networking guide – CLICK HERE for info.) What about the job descriptions that may be posted online or on Twitter or via your network on LinkedIn? If you are not looking, you will not find them. And you will never know what opportunities you may have lost along the way.

Do I think you should spend your every waking moment looking for a job? No way. (In fact, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big advocate of HIRING SOMEONE – ME(!) – to help you with your materials and your search so you know you are starting way ahead of the pack. Save your time, money and sanity!) Yes, take a break, but not a 3-week break! Don’t be a job seeker-a-holic, but don’t step out of the frey if you want to be competitive in today’s tough economic times.

So, are you ready to get in the search? To grab the keys and climb the stairs to your own career bus? Let me help get you started ahead of the pack. Learn more about what I can do for you – and WHY you should hire me to help you.

photo by MollyPop

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