Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Don't Try to Grow a Bigger Ox and Your Job Hunt

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Musk Ox of Alaska

photo by drurydrama

So, you’re wondering what a bigger ox has to do with your job hunt?

Today’s post was inspired by a quote from Peter Shankman, author, PR guru and owner of the list “Help A Reporter Out.” Today, his email reads:

In pioneer days, they used oxen for pulling, and when one ox couldn’t budge a log, they didn’t try and grow a bigger ox.” Peter says, “When one pitch doesn’t work, sending six more of the exact same pitches usually won’t, either.”

Peter’s focus is PR – pitching stories to reporters or other influencers in hopes of achieving good buzz for a client or product. I’ve often written about how a job search is an exercise in marketing and PR, so the jump from a focus on a “pitch” to thinking about your job hunt is more of a hop than a leap.

If you’ve been sending out your “pitch/resume” and haven’t been getting the response you’d like, consider if your plan is as effective as trying to grow a bigger ox. Sending and re-sending that same resume is not going to help you get anywhere but frustrated. Most likely, a revision (maybe a transformation) is in order!

Throw in some great networking and interviewing tips, and you’re on the right path.

Keppie Careers can help you get your job search moving! www.keppiecareers.com

Clarify Expectations for Your Job Search

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Photo by yourpaldave

Growing up, my good friend frequently offered two words of advice that seemed to work for most any situation. The advice? “Clarify expectations.” Think about it – how many problems would be prevented if only the parties had set up specific expectations prior to engaging in whatever caused friction or hurt feelings? Letting everyone know what to expect – upfront – is a great problem-preventing strategy.

So, why am I telling you about my friend? I think his advice works well for job seekers.

Clarifying expectations for your job hunt will solve you countless
problems and needless anxiety.

Clarify how long you expect to search for a job. In the old days, the figure that was tossed around was to expect to search one month for every $10,000 in salary. So, if you are hoping to earn $80,000 – expect an 8-month search.

The fact is, there is no specific data that indicate how long it will take to find a job. Everyone’s situation is unique.

While hiring a resume writer or coach will most likely shorten your search, and focusing your hunt in productive areas (networking) and avoiding time drains (zapping tons of resumes online) will help, there’s no hard data on the subject.

So, you are kind of on your own here. Assuming you need to find a job, the choice factor mostly pertains to holding out for the “right” job. Maybe you have opportunities to take positions for less money than you’d like, or jobs that are not as interesting or challenging, but you want to hold out as long as possible for a job you’d appreciate.

Think about this…What is your time line? What is your financial situation?

How long can you wait before you will need to take a job – any job?

Be clear with yourself – and realistic with your expectations. Most people probably won’t be able to pick up their dream job in a month, but maybe your network is so evolved and your job hunting skills so well trained that you can meet that deadline. Your search will be more productive if you know how long you’ll allow yourself to hunt. You may be less stressed after one or two months if you’ve recognized and clarified the fact that you expect your search to take 6 months or more.

Stay tuned for more tips about how clarifying expectations will help you in your job hunt.

Keppie Careers is here to help you meet your expectations. Do you need a great resume? Tips to get you through the day? Contact us: www.keppiecareers.com

Why Your Job Hunt Isn't Like Barry the Bee's, Part II

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Photo by bbum

Yesterday’s post served to remind job seekers that picking a job or career could be worse…You could be a bee who, after a 3-week course of study, must choose a vocation in the hive for the rest of his life!

I promised more reasons not to stress out about a job search in Part II…

In her blog, “Take the Pressure Off the Process of Choosing A Career,” Penelope Trunk makes some great points that are perfect to support the “don’t sweat it too much” theory of job hunting. She suggests the following points (commentary my own):

Squash perfectionist tendencies and get comfortable in gray areas.
No job is perfect. The job hunt is a process. For some, a lifelong process, of exploring. Things will change along the way. Your life will change, which may require your job goals to change. Or vice verse. Again, the key point is that no choice is set in stone, so don’t feel that you have to make a “perfect” choice.

Stop looking for a career to save your life.
Penelope notes that “a career can’t make you happy.” If you expect the “perfect” job to make your life complete, you may be waiting a very long time. Relax about the career choices you make. Be lucky that you’re not a bee…If you don’t like your job, you can make a change. It’s not a good idea to approach jobs without foresight and research to determine what is right, but there are no life-long contracts. If it doesn’t work out, you can adapt and find something new.

Don’t wait until you know yourself.
How can you know yourself until you try yourself? This does not only apply to young job seekers, but anyone in the working world. If you have been doing the same job your whole life, how will you know if something else might be better suited to your skills, needs and interests?

In today’s working world, no one expects you to have one job for life. Unlike Barry the Bee, your choices are only limited by your skills and desires. Think of this as an opportunity…The world is your flower. Don’t waste time buzzing around the same hive!

Keppie Careers will help you find the right fit for your skills and experiences. Visit us at www.keppiecareers.com.

Why Your Job Hunt Isn't Like Barry the Bee's, Part I

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Have you seen the Bee Movie? With Sex and the City being all the rage this week, I don’t image that an older release/kid’s movie is exactly top of mind for most theater goers. However, the Bee Movie had a lot of great lessons for job seekers. (Who would have thunk it?)

In case you’re not familiar, here’s a brief synopsis:

Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) finds himself disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice – honey. As he ventures outside of the hive for the first time, he breaks one of the cardinal rules of the bee world and talks to a human, a New York City florist named Vanessa (Renée Zellweger). He is shocked to discover that the humans have been stealing and eating the bees’ honey for centuries, and ultimately realizes that his true calling in life is to set the world right by suing the human race for stealing their precious honey.

I hadn’t realized all of the great career themes in this movie! There is a telling scene when Barry and his bee buddy are on a roller coaster tour of the hive designed to help them choose their life-long vocation. Yes, a graduate bee must pick a career for the REST OF HIS LIFE. Of course, choices in the hive are somewhat limited. (Can you say, “make honey?”) In an insular world of the hive, it’s all about ONE choice for life. You don’t get to be a worker bee and later switch to being a pollen seeker…Choose wrong, and you are doomed.

Barry Bee strikes out on his own, but in his naivete, he makes a mess of things when he tries to save all of the honey for the bees. (Think “the end of the world as we know it.”)

Compared to the bees, human job seekers have a walk in the park! Just think – you don’t have to commit to a job for life. If you decide to take an atypical career path (as Barry ultimately did), you probably do not have the potential to destroy life as we know it on earth (as Barry almost did).

Recently, I’ve worked with several clients who are exploring career options in a variety of fields. It’s important for them (and you, if you are considering a job hunt) to realize that there may be no “perfect” job or career, but that’s okay! Your job choices are not carved in stone…Jobs, like the rest of life, are as fluid as you allow them to be.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog with more reasons not to stress too much about your job hunt!

Keppie Careers will help you relieve job hunting stress. Take a load off of your mind and hire us to navigate the job search process: www.keppiecareers.com.

Smooth Sailing for Your Job Hunt: Heat Up Your Interview Skills

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Sailing on the Sun

Photo by Auer1816

Seeking smooth sailing for your interviews?

Logically, once you have a hot resume and network for success, it’s key to focus on interviewing skills to win the job. A summary for those hoping to heat up their job search for the summer season:

Prepare for your interview. Decide how to connect your skills to the employer’s needs.

Avoid typical interviewing blunders and turn your interviewer into a fan!

Know how to answer the most important underlying interview questions.

Have structured replies to behavioral interview questions.

Don’t forget to follow up your interviews with a timely thank you note.

Know what to wear. Know what NOT to wear…

Don’t miss interview red flags. Don’t get involved in a bad situation if you can help it!

Keppie Careers will conduct mock interviews and help you prepare to blow your interviewer away with clear, concise and correct answers to important interview questions! www.keppiecareers.com