Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How to find the work you love

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Today, I’m happy to share a bit of “love” from my colleague, Sital Ruparelia. Sital wrote this poem to help careerists everywhere think about what they want to do next…and how to get there. Learn more about Sital via his site: www.SitalRuparelia.com/blog.

Roses are red, violets are blue
Here’s a Valentines poem, I wrote just for you

Maybe you’re searching for “the one” job you’ll truly love
A job so special, it fits like a glove

Maybe you’ve set your sights on becoming a career changer
To start a new business and become an entrepreneur

Or maybe you’re just looking for one last romance
To grab some “me time” and precious work-life balance

Alas, the secrets of career success are no different to finding personal joy
Where the winners get nowhere by being shy and coy

To find that job, promotion or brand new lifestyle
You need to step up a gear and go the extra mile

Step out of your comfort zone and step out onto the wire
Take some risks and the occasional flyer

Stop hiding behind your inexperience and personal history
And build a competitive advantage around your unique story

Stop procrastinating and waiting for your ducks to line up in a row
The time will never be “right” – so go on, just have a go!

Stop putting off the dream until “someday”
When the best time to get started is, in fact, today

The world is waiting for you to do the work you love
And maybe this poem is “the sign” you’ve been waiting for, from “up above”

For today is Valentine’s Day, a time for celebrating great romances
So start scaring yourself by taking a few more chances

Happy Valentines day folks,

Sital Ruparelia

If that doesn’t inspire you to start thinking about creating your own future, I don’t know what will! 🙂

If you’re interested in a social resume (YourName.com) to start you off on the right path, be sure to visit my new site: YouNeedASocialResume.com.

photo by jikido-san

You need a social resume. Get one here!

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You’re a job seeker or a small business owner. You know you need an optimized online presence, but it’s too important to go it alone. Today, I am launching a new product – a social resume or “YourName.com.”

When we are finished, you will have a website with a custom URL and an online “home” to let employers or customers know what you offer. Having a website helps you control what Google knows about you.

Microsoft found, “79 percent of United States hiring managers and job recruiters surveyed reviewed online information about job applicants. Additionally, 70 percent of United States hiring managers in the study said they have rejected candidates based on what they found.” When you have your own site, you seize some control over what people find when they google your name.

Let me help put YOU in the driver’s seat to steer your reputation from a position of strength!

YOUR SITE WILL:

  • Link you to a community of colleagues, experts and potential mentors.
  • Provide opportunities to expand your network, instigate two-way communication and meet new people from around the world.
  • Help you further define your message and potentially become known as a subject matter expert.
  • Serve as a 3-D portfolio of your work.
  • Influence how Google and other search engines index your name, and therefore what people find when they search for you.

Learn more about how to get your social resume.

steering wheel photo by NateBW

How to find a job — stop competing and start excelling

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Everyone wants to know the job search rules.

  • How long should my resume be?
  • What should my cover letter say?
  • When is the right time to follow up?
  • How do I introduce myself in a networking setting?
  • Do I list “job seeker” in my LinkedIn heading?
  • Should I use Twitter? How often should I tweet?

The list goes on and on. The short answer I tell all of my clients? “There’s no one *right* way to approach a job search.”

It’s not difficult to find many answers to the same question. Experts disagree about how to write resumes, respond to interview questions, what to put in LinkedIn profiles and how to use social media. Ask 5 people a question about job hunting and you may very well be bombarded with 10 opinions.

This month, the Career Collective (a community I co-coordinate with my colleague Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter) addresses the question of job search “rules” and outdated job search beliefs. What are the job search “rules” so we can know which ones to break? The short answer: While there are guidelines and best practices, there are no “rules.” What works for you is not right for your neighbor, and your colleague needs to follow a totally different path to success.

This is frustrating for job seekers. One approach? EMBRACE the system instead of raging against it. Is it fair? No — job seeking is not listed under “fair” in Webster’s…it is anything but! (Plus, how much harder would it be to land a job if  there was a rule book everyone followed?) The nature of selecting candidates is discriminatory: the organization has a set of criteria, combined with personal biases, personality considerations and individual impressions. Hiring someone with the “right fit” for the job is as nuanced as it gets.

So, an oxymoron for you: If there are no rules, what rule do I suggest you break?

I was inspired by my friend Laurie Ruettimann’s recent post, “On Competition.” I’d be hard pressed to find a job seeker who doesn’t obsess about the fact that he or she is competing with the hundreds of other job seekers targeting the same positions. It’s overwhelming to consider the statistics of job search; it can be paralyzing and depressing to think about all the other people out there trying for the same position.

Consider this – instead of competing with everyone else for a job, focus on demonstrating exactly what a perfect fit YOU are for the position.

Laurie outlined her take on competition:

“I am unique and wholly differentiated from anyone else in the marketplace. I know that I don’t have competition — and neither do you. Time spent obsessing about your mistakes and worrying about your competition is time that is taken away from being your best and learning from your mistakes.”

Laurie explains:

“There is no competition when you believe in yourself and you act on your abilities. When you stop viewing success as a zero-sum game, people become partners instead of adversaries.”

“Stop competing” is not an easy “rule” to break; it’s too obvious to focus on how to beat out everyone else for the job. Some action steps:

– Focus on what you offer as it relates to the targeted positions. Think long and hard about why you are the best person for the job and do what you need to do to convince everyone else. Identify best practices that make sense for your job search and invest in them.

– Since you are the best candidate and well differentiated, don’t spend all of your time obsessing about job search. Use that extra time to focus on how you can help colleagues and other job seekers. Think about what you can do to create a team of partners instead of  adversaries.

You may be surprised by what happens when you shift your focus.

If you’re serious about differentiating and highlighting your strengths, I am launching a new service to help job seekers and entrepreneurs own their digital profiles. Don’t have your own website? What are you waiting for? Learn how you can help control what people find when they Google your name.

I encourage you to visit other members’ responses listed below. Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.

Juice Up Your Job Search, @debrawheatman

It’s not your age, it’s old thinking, @GayleHoward

Want a Job? Ignore these outdated job search beliefs @erinkennedycprw

Job Search Then and Now, @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes

Break the Rules or Change the Game? @WalterAkana

The New: From The Employer’s-Eye View, @ResumeService

Job Search: Breakable Rules and Outdated Beliefs, @KatCareerGal

Job Hunting Rules to Break (Or Why and How to Crowd Your Shadow), @chandlee @StartWire

Shades of Gray, @DawnBugni

3 Rules That Are Worth Your Push-Back, @WorkWithIllness

Your Photo on LinkedIn – Breaking a Cardinal Job Search Rule? @KCCareerCoach

How to find a job: stop competing and start excelling, @Keppie_Careers

Be You-Nique: Resume Writing Rules to Break, @ValueIntoWords

Modernizing Your Job Search, @LaurieBerenson

Don’t Get Caught With an Old School Resume, @barbarasafani

How Breaking the Rules will Help You in Your Job Search, @expatcoachmegan

Beat the Job-Search-Is-a-Numbers-Game Myth, @JobHuntOrg

25 habits to break if you want a job @careersherpa

photo by alancleaver_2000

Vote for your favorite career resources

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As part of About.com’s 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards, About.com is asking for you to vote for your favorite career related sites. I’d be honored if you’d vote for Keppie Careers (www.keppiecareers.com) for best career resource website, and there are a lot of other categories for you to review. Take a look and take a minute to vote. Voting ends this Friday, February 4 at 11:59pm EST.
Just click through to vote for each category.

Job Search Awards

    Nominate Your Favorite Job Search Resources For:

  • Best Job Board
  • Best Job Search Engine
  • Best Career Resource Website
  • Best Professional Networking Site
  • Best Social Media Site for Job Searching
Health Careers Awards

    Nominate Your Favorite Health Career Resources For:

  • Best Medical Job Board
  • Best Healthcare Professional Networking Site
  • Best Smartphone App for Healthcare Professionals
  • Best Healthcare Industry News/Information Website
Legal Careers Awards

    Nominate Your Favorite Legal Careers Resources For:

  • Best Social Networking Site for Legal Professionals
  • Best Firm To Work For
  • Best Legal Blog
  • Best Legal Publication
  • Best LSAT Prep Program
  • Best Law Firm Website
  • Best Twitter Feed (Legal/Law-Related)

photo by Lars Plougmann

How to use LinkedIn’s tools to get a promotion

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One great feature of LinkedIn is that you can follow companies and keep on top of when people update their profiles indicating they changed jobs.

Just follow the Companies tab from LinkedIn’s top toolbar (see below):

Then, select a company of interest (you may choose a location a certain distance away from where you live or want to live):

Search companies or browse industries, and LinkedIn will show if you have anyone in your network working in those organizations. When you follow companies, you’ll receive regular updates when someone working for that company updates his or her profile indicating a change in position — maybe suggesting an opening to pursue via your network!

In fact, LinkedIn just released information suggesting the best months (statistically, per their network) to get a promotion. Their press release noted a Buck Consultants survey, “Compensation Planning for 2011,”saying workers in the U.S. can expect only modest pay raises this year, although salary increases for 2011 will average 2.8 percent, an increase from the two previous years.

According to LinkedIn’s data, the top three months for professionals in the U.S. to get promoted within their company are:

  1. January
  2. June
  3. July

Interestingly, their data show professionals in accounting, defense & space, education management, higher education, military, non-profit organization management and research tend to see a spike in promotions over the summer months more than other industries.

The data indicate a generational link to the timing of promotions. Their study notes that Millennials (born in the 1980s) “are the most likely to be promoted throughout the year (rather than just in January which is the case for most professionals).”

Job seekers (and anyone driving their own “career bus” should take advantage of LinkedIn’s tools. The amount of data they access regarding professional trends and the services they provide are extremely useful beyond simply sharing a profile. DJ Patil, LinkedIn’s chief scientist explains,

“LinkedIn was launched in 2003, but our data allow us to identify professional trends that span decades…By shedding light on professional patterns, we hope to help our members achieve their career goals by using LinkedIn in the most effective and productive way possible.”

“One of the best ways to get promoted is by promoting yourself,” said Lindsey Pollak, a career and workplace expert. “LinkedIn is the perfect place for professionals to get clients, vendors and other third parties to post recommendations on their profile. By encouraging other professionals to champion the work you do in your current role, you’ll be more likely to advance to the next level.”

Take a look at how LinkedIn suggests you leverage their social network to land a promotion:

Shine the Spotlight on New Skills

Impress your manager by learning new skills that go above and beyond your current role. Make sure your LinkedIn Profile is complete and includes all the skills you’ve acquired. Expanding your horizons while working full time is a commendable endeavor that’s worth calling attention to. If your company offers an education reimbursement program, take advantage of it. If you have industry certifications or went back to school for a higher degree, mention them in your profile and during your review.

Get Connections in High Places

LinkedIn Advanced People Search lets you search by title so you can find professionals that have the position you want to be promoted to. Reaching out to mentors and peers is one way to prep for that 2011 promotion. After the promotion, a strong relationship with a peer will give you a friendly ear you can rely on for advice if things get tough.

Toot Your Horn

Remind your manager of your accomplishments. Even if they were monumental, he or she may have forgotten about them. Document milestones in your career by requesting quality recommendations on LinkedIn. If a customer sends you an email thanking you for the amazing event you put together for them in record time, gently suggest that they provide you with a recommendation (if they feel comfortable doing so) and also forward the email to your manager so they’re aware of the praise you’re receiving.

photo by nan palmero