Still looking for that job? Are you making these time wasting job-seeker mistakes?

Social media is great for crowd sourcing information. Hannah Morgan (@CareerSherpa) and I are lucky to have an amazing network of friends and colleagues from the career coaching, recruiting and careers industries. We hope you will check out their other advice we are showcasing in honor of our upcoming eBook, You Need a Job: 5 Steps to Get One.

This is part two of two posts I published this weekend with great information from our colleagues — and Hannah has two unique posts filled with more information planned this weekend as well. I told you our colleagues had plenty to share about the subject!  Be sure to check out Hannah’s post today.

We hope you will learn something new from these responses to the question: What mistakes do job seekers make?

Passive job seekers

No job seeker can afford to sit back and hope for the best. If you are not driving your own career bus, who is driving it?

Job seekers engage in passive searches that put way too much emphasis on resumes, cover letters and job boards. ~ Walter Akana, Threshold Consulting

Online Info

Both Hannah and I are big proponents of using social media and online tools.  Are you giving enough thought to your online presence when it comes to job search?

Some job seekers are still failing to clean up their online presence — most recruiters and hiring managers will do an online search on each job candidate. ~ Heather Huhman, Come Recommended

Create a personal alias and a professional profile online. Use separate emails for both. You’ll be glad you did when it’s time for a background check. ~ Jim Stroud

Learn new things

One thing that is a guarantee for job seekers – the job market, types of positions and the skills you need will continue to change and evolve. Are you keeping up?

The job seeker doesn’t take the time to learn new skills (e.g., social media) that could add to marketability while expanding their resources. ~ Walter Akana, Threshold Consulting

Applying, resumes and interviewing

It is amazing how much there is to do and think about before you are ready to think about your resume, job search materials and interview skills! Some tips from our colleagues:

Job seekers are in a hurry and rush through writing their resume or having their resume written, which ultimately costs them more time (and money) because they chose speed over quality. ~ Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, Career Trend

Chris Havrilla, Havrilla, LLC, points out these job seeker errors:

• Not taking control of your resume (don’t be generic, treat like a business proposal – one size does not fit all) or interview process (making sure Recruiter/Interviewer walks away from the interview with the information they need – not just the answers to the questions they ask).
• Applying for a job for which you are not qualified or for which you cannot add value.
• Not interviewing the company – just letting them interview you.

Too often, job seekers stay within what feels like a safe zone for their cover letter and other application materials. Remember that doing something unique and outside the box will help you stand out! ~ Alexis Grant

Follow up

You applied, so now itâ€s time to wait and see? Not if you actually want the job! Follow up is important!

Applying online only, not following up with company, recruiter or hiring manager directly. ~ Chris Havrilla, Havrilla, LLC

The process of applying online and waiting for a call does not work well in this job market. You have to proactively contact people in the organization. A personal connection goes a lot farther than a piece of data coming over the internet. ~ Harry Urschel, e-Executives

Other Tips

Thereâ€s so much more advice! (There is a lot to say — our eBook has 29 chapters packed full of it!) Here are some additional, useful tips from our colleagues we didnâ€t want you to miss:

Job seekers spend far too much time listening the media and the ‘doom and gloom’ brigade. In fact, job seekers don’t screw up enough. Resumes, networking and interviewing all improve by making MORE mistakes, not less. ~ Sital Ruparelia

Job seekers frequently focus on the “one” thing they canâ€t do (some new technology) or donâ€t have (degree) or canâ€t control (age), using that one factor as a roadblock to a search. They forget the 1027 things they can do and what value they do bring. ~ Dawn Bugni, The Write Solution

Do any of these answers make you squirm? Maybe you are the job seeker who isnâ€t quite as prepared as you should be? Maybe your resume isnâ€t quite right, or you arenâ€t following up? Our ebook, You Need a Job: 5 Steps to Get One, which we are so excited about launching TOMORROW, Monday, June 11^th, will give you specific advice and information about how to address most of these and many other concerns that prevent job seekers from landing opportunities.

Itâ€s 29 chapters of “how to doâ€s” for job seekers who want to stop looking and start working in their new opportunities. Stay tuned – for those who buy the eBook first, we are offering some free bonuses. Keep your eye here tomorrow for details.

If you want to read more ideas, don’t miss yesterday’s post about what not to do when you are looking for a job.

Update: the ebook is available. If you want to learn how to find a job, learn more here.

photo by Alan Cleaver

The post What mistakes do job seekers make? Part 2 appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Beyond the resume and typical job search materials, I believe using social media tools can really help build a career changerâ€s bridge to a new occupation or vocation. In my book, Social Networking for Career Success, I explain how social media may help career changers who naturally have a difficult time proving they have what they need to succeed in the next job: How? It solves several problems:

• It allows you to extend your network to meet people you otherwise would never encounter. Statistics show how important introductions and “warm leads” are to job seekers. Companies value referrals from within their organizations, and meeting new people you would not otherwise know via online interactions provides more potential for referrals. (Moving those social networking interactions to in-person or telephone conversations is a good next step.)
• You have easy access to information and resources about your targeted profession. I like to think of social networks as offering a constant opportunity to learn what people in the field and thinking, saying, writing and sharing. Twitter is particularly useful in this regard. In the book, I describe how itâ€s possible to follow content from conferences you donâ€t attend in person via hashtags, and share tips from Mark Stelzner, of Inflexion Advisors, for live tweeting a conference. If you find and follow people like Mark in your field, you may be able to grasp the key problems your new targeted industry is grappling with, without leaving your home and without spending a dime! (I elaborate on all the details in the book for HOW to find and follow the right community online.)
• Social media allows you to demonstrate your newfound expertise, engage in your targeted community, and make a name for yourself in your new industry. Social media canâ€t MAKE you an expert, but if you have what it takes to excel in your new field, you should be able to demonstrate it online. Show that you know whatâ€s going on, suggest solutions based on your expertise in other industries or fields and be someone who contributes to the conversation in your targeted field.
• Your lack of actual experience in the field may become less important once potential colleagues view you as an active contributor. If youâ€re good at sharing what you learn and know, the connections you gain and their willingness to promote you as a contributor will outweigh your actual lack of industry, paid work experience as a factor. (It wonâ€t totally erase it, but it goes a long way to helping you get where you want to go.)
• Being familiar with social media tools may be just the unique skill you need to help you land a job. Social media isnâ€t going away. Having an online profile, a Twitter feed and/or using LinkedIn to connect with prospective colleagues helps show you are staying ahead of the curve regarding technology. In and of itself, that may help you exceed another qualified candidateâ€s credentials.

In the book, I share career change success stories from several contributors, including:

• Alexis Grant (@alexisgrant), social media coach and owner of Socialexis, who is now Careers editor for U.S. News & World Report.
• Jessica Lewis, who transitioned to a non-profit career after 10 years in a different field.
• Kate-Madonna Hindes (known online as @girlmeetsgeek), who used blogging and Twitter to launch an entirely new career as a social marketer and career columnist. (She notes, “Social media changed my life.)

Don’t let the competitive market discourage you from making a change. Dive into social media — I hope you’ll take a look at my book to teach you how to get on the right path — and you may be surprised by the results! Be sure to learn more about my book, Social Networking for Career Success, as I teach you how to use all the social networks you know about — and some you haven’t even considered — and Amazon has it for a great price!

photo by vistavision

The post How social media can help you change careers appeared first on Keppie Careers.