Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Don't Make the Same Mistake Twice – In Your Job Search or Otherwise!

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What an incredible coincidence (or maybe it isn’t?) that, just as the U.S. Gulf Coast areas hit by Katrina three years ago should be pausing to remember the victims of that horrible disaster, Hurricaine Gustav threatens the region still struggling to recover three years later.

This time, it seems as if people aren’t taking any chances. The AP reports that 1 million residents fled the Gulf Coast, well ahead of any official orders to evacuate the area. The mayor of New Orleans has told tourists to leave, hospitals are preparing and shelters are being set up. (The Superdome NOT being one of them.)

Hopefully, lessons learned from the Katrina disaster will inform and improve the response to this oncoming storm. People have not forgotten Katrina and will do what they can to avoid getting involved in a similar situation.

Does it always take an epic catastrophe to learn from our mistakes? Ideally, we will all be able to recognize that there’s something to be learned from every mis-step, especially as mistakes pertain to job hunting.

In my networking, I’ve recently spoken with two job hunters who face similar situations. Both out of work, they desperately needed jobs to earn income. As a result, both allowed themselves to be sucked into interviews and positions that were not well suited to their skills and experience.

“Amy” said to me, “I knew that I didn’t really have the experience to do the job. There were red flags, but they were willing to hire me, so I signed on.” Unfortunately, the result was that the contract to permanent position did not become permanent when the organization realized that their hire couldn’t manage the project they had in mind. While she had a paid job for several months, she stopped job hunting while employed, and when her concerns became reality, she realized that she had wasted several months when she could have been seeking the permanent job she needs.

“Kris” describes a similar situation. She took a job that she knew she couldn’t really do. She’s not sure how she landed the position, but after only four weeks, faces being asked to leave.

“Amy” is back on the job hunt, and finding that things haven’t changed…She’s still being recruited for jobs above her qualifications. “Kris,” facing her worst fears, now wonders how to approach her job hunt.

Maybe these stories are not familiar, but you have a different recurring job hunting problem? I met “Bill,” who says he “keeps coming in second” in his search. Others keep sending out the same resume to literally 100s of jobs, but don’t get a single interview.

Job seekers need to take stock and learn from their mistakes. Maybe trusting their own instincts will help. Maybe asking for help with a resume or interview coaching will make the difference. Recognize that doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result, isn’t smart. (Not a political statement, but I can’t help but think that this sentiment is relevant here!)

Just as you (hopefully) wouldn’t hole up in your New Orleans home as a huge storm approaches, don’t make the same mistakes over and over in your quest for a new job. Take some time to evaluate your plans and consider seeking some help. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing a job hunting disaster, partly of your own making.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Tired of making the same mistake twice? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services, including resume writing, interview preparation and job hunt coaching: www.keppiecareers.com

Salary Transparency in the Job Hunt and On the Job

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Have you heard the new tread in career-ology? Lisa Belkin of the New York Times recently wrote about it. It’s called “salary transparency,” and the point is that everyone in an organization will know what everyone else in the organization earns. The thought is, if everyone is paid what he or she is worth, there is no need for workers to be secretive about salaries. A key point for job seekers, true transparency will offer more than one leg up when it comes to negotiating compensation.

Some workers have always had salary transparency. Government workers’ salaries are public, as are many non-profit employee salaries.

The JobBoard reminds us that there are a variety of tools to help workers learn what their jobs are “worth,” such as Salary.com and “next-generation competitors like PayScale, GlassDoor and SalaryScout, [who] are taking things even further.”

Portfolio.com notes that actual salary transparency raises “prickly privacy issues and lets rivals poach more easily (they know what to offer to snag desirable employees).”

However, the site also notes benefits of salary transparency:

  • A fair compensation system based on actual performance.
  • Employee understanding of the business (e.g., why payroll is usually the largest cost; why certain employees earn more).
  • A culture of trust, as employees and senior managers share more information.
  • Pay would not be a primary weapon in the fight for talent.
  • Organizations could create a more collegial, open system with some salary transparency.
  • Companies would be able to create a rigorous performance-based pay system.

So, what do you think? Is it a good idea for everyone to know what everyone else earns? Would it encourage fairness in compensation? Or is it a train wreck?

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to keep up with workplace trends and help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

You have no idea what you’re worth? Can’t even get your resume underway? Keppie Careers is here for you! Did you know we offer a resume consulting service? We advise, you write! Or, hire us to write your resume for you. Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by Tony Ciranjiiva

What Do Job Seekers Really Control?

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If you’re in the midst of a job hunt, you probably think a lot about all of the things that are out of your control. The fact is, you can’t control the job market, the employer or recruiter’s time schedule or behavior, the traffic on the way to the interview…The list goes on and on.

You can, however, manage your own reaction to all of it, which I think is a good lesson or reminder for anyone in the midst of a (sometimes frustrating and long) job search.

Penelope Trunk recently wrote about one thing that should be in every job seeker’s control: the importance of being kind and its impact on your career. She says:

Living up to your potential is not crossing off everything on your to do list on time, under budget. Or canonizing your ideas in a book deal. Really, no one cares. You are not on this earth to do that. Trust me. No one is. You are on this earth to be kind. That is your only potential.

…If you want to live up to your potential, be as nice as you can be. Be as respectful as you can be. Be as honest with yourself as you can be. Because you can’t be honest with other people if you are not honest with yourself.

One could argue if being kind is really the ultimate goal (feel free), but to me, the bigger picture is:

  1. “Soft” and social skills are key to every job seeker – seek and nurture them.
  2. Focusing on controlling what you can is empowering and helpful in the long run.

Brilliant people aren’t always the best decision makers or the best communicators, but communication and decision making are key to success at work and in life. It amazes me how often smart, well-educated people blow opportunities as a result of poor emotional intelligence. It is easy to underestimate the value of being driven by bigger goals (being kind…being connected).

Life gets in the way, and we excuse our less than stellar behavior because we are tired, or didn’t get a good parking spot, or missed our flight, or missed a deadline…This list goes on and on.

No matter what anyone tells us, there is little in life that is totally within our control. We rely on other people for so much of what we use to define “success.”

I am convinced that people who re-set their gauges to define success based on what they DO control (how they treat others, how they react to difficult situations) are much more likely to jump out of bed in the morning than those who allow others to set those standards.

Ready to take charge of your job hunt? Keppie Careers is here for you! Need a great resume? Some help to write the perfect cover letter? Write to me and visit www.keppiecareers.com for more about what services we provide.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

photo by andrewandlist2153

Razume Relaunches with New Tools for Job Seekers

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I’m excited to share some news from a cyber friend, Sam Blum, one of the founders of Razume. Razume aims to provide job seekers “with all the tools, resources and guidance…to find and land your perfect job.”

This week, TechCrunch announced Razume’s relaunch after completing a 12-week program with incubator LaunchBoxDigital…

While there are lots of businesses out there to help the employer (Job boards, etc.), there is a huge under-served opportunity to focus on the needs of the job seeker, especially ones without the power of a robust LinkedIn network to help them in their job seeking journey.

The opportunity: There are over 20 million job change events happening this year, and the average 18-year old today is expected to make over 10 job changes before they hit 38 years of age.

Razume helps the job seeker along three dimensions. First, it helps a person develop a professional resume, starting with powerful authoring tools and online tips, and then making it simple for a person to reach out and get tips on fine-tuning their resume from friends, associates and, just as importantly, the Razume community itself. Simple annotation and commenting tools allow people to give very specific feedback to turn someone’s resume into a better, more effective marketing tool.

After that, Razume helps get the resume into the market. That’s done through two means: a free one-click posting of the resume to the major job boards (a service that costs $59+ at other sites), and use of the Razume Job Finder to browse and bookmark jobs of interest from over 7 million job listings on the web.

Once a user has a call-back, Razume helps them prepare for that interview with useful tips and techniques, plus tools to help research prospective employers that, ultimately, helps a person get the job and make the right decision.

Want to learn more? Take a look at this video explaining Razume.

As a featured Razume Expert Reviewer, I’m particularly excited to see the new features launched this week. When I spoke to Sam, I was thrilled to learn that his passion for helping job seekers fueled his interest in focusing full-time on creating and growing Razume into an indispensable tool for job seekers.

Are you interested in getting feedback on your resume? Are you an expert in your field who would enjoy sharing your skills with others seeking work in your industry? Want to check out an up-and-coming platform that focuses on helping job seekers – for free? I hope you’ll take a look at Razume and join the community.

I’m happy to offer your my expert resume advice! Need a great resume? Some help to write the perfect cover letter? I’m here to help! Write to me.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Lost At Sea? Career Search Strategies and Tips for Today's Job Market

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Can you believe it is already August? Before you know it, you’ll blink and it’ll be Labor Day, and the summer will really be over.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of good news in the employment sector. Rough waters continue to prevail, and many may be feeling lost at sea in a turbulent economy. Careerbuilder.com summarized the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released its monthly summary of job data for July 2008:

  • Unemployment rose from 5.5% in June to 5.7% in July.
  • There were 51,000 fewer jobs in July. Total job loss for 2008 so far is 463,000. That is an average of 66,000 jobs lost per month.
  • The most notable losses were in construction, manufacturing and employment services. The drop for employment services indicates far fewer companies are using temporary help.
  • The report also mentioned that teenagers and young adults who usually take on part-time jobs during the summer have had challenges in finding a job this year.

What does all of this mean to you?

It depends. If you work in one of the harder-hit sectors, it could very well mean that your job is in jeopardy, and you need to start thinking about what you will do if you are out of work.

I’ve written a lot about job seeking in a recession. Some links that might be useful:

You are still feeling lost in a tailspin of negative jobs data? You can’t focus on what to do next? Here is some advice from my friend and colleague, Walter Akana, Certified Personal Branding Strategist at Threshold Consulting:

Stop everything! Evaluate where you have been, what you most want to do and think about where you can do it. Walter suggests answering the following questions from the book Zen and the Art of Making a Living:

  • What work best reflects who I am?
  • Whom do I want to serve/work with?
  • What will I most enjoy doing?
  • To what will I be willing to devote myself?

To help evaluate alternatives and focus, Walter recommends creating a personal career alternatives matrix. List your ideal job criteria, interests and capabilities in the first column, and then three or four alternatives in successive columns. This exercise is designed to help you focus on getting on a track that suits you, which might be a very different track from the one you’ve been on most recently!

Take the plunge and look for a job! Still need a great resume? Some help to write the perfect cover letter? I’m here to help! Write to me.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Photo by Irish Sheep