Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Learn how social media can help with your job hunt

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I am excited to share details about a webinar panel that JobAngels founder Mark Stelzner invited me to join. The topic is one of my favorites! Details and a link to sign up for the free webinar are below:

Social Media for Job Seekers: A Career Coaches Panel

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Noon EST | 9:00 am PST

If you believe the hype, it would seem that all you need to do is turn on your computer, log into your favorite social media account and your dream job will be waiting for you. For many of you, reality is much different, as social media for job seeking is something you have yet to meaningfully pursue. Our distinguished panel of experts will help you separate fact from fiction and embrace social media as one of many tools in your career arsenal. We will address common questions, including:

  • How do I prepare for a social media job search?
  • How can I avoid common mistakes?
  • Which tools are right for me?
  • What should I share publicly?
  • Will this actually work?

Moderated by JobAngels founder Mark Stelzner, our panel will answer these questions and more, including an opportunity for you to pose your own questions directly to our experts. Please welcome coaches Miriam Salpeter, Dawn Bugni and Shahrzad Arasteh as they join Mark for a taste of what these new and exciting tools have to offer. And if you’re on Twitter already, follow our hashtag #voc10 to participate in real-time with your fellow attendees. This is sure to be a popular event so sign up today!

illustration by Matt Hamm

7 tools to help market your skills across industries when no one is hiring

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This is the first of a two-part series addressing a question from a job seeker. Feel free to send me your questions for possible inclusion in later posts. Just send your question via my contact form.

My career background is as an analyst…My previous employers have been smaller firms, under 50 employees.  Social media isn’t used very much by advisory firms that I’ve targeted as a good fit.  Much of that is due to FINRA compliance constraints that keep them from engaging clients online.  I’m still tweeting, but relying more on networking in-person and making connections on LinkedIn where employees of these firms and their connections are likely to be.

The biggest challenge I’m having on the job search is that analytical roles in the personal (retail) side of the financial services industry have been slow to pick up. There are new demands for sales producers, operations and administrative staff, but very few new opportunities for analysts.  The institutional side of finance has also picked up, more so than the retail side.  It’s difficult to convince employers that skills can be transferable from retail to institutional, or from smaller firms to larger firms.

Some of the recent jobs I’ve interviewed for have been at a lower level of experience than I have, and the firms decided I was overqualified.  I would like to broaden the scope of the jobs that I’m looking at, because I think that my advanced skills.. could be applicable in many areas of corporate finance and planning. How can I best market my skills to other industries…so that employers will recognize the skills as transferable and qualified?

This is a tricky dilemma, and one that many job seekers today are facing. Specifically, these are the main issues:

– Social media isn’t widely adopted in your field.

– There are few (maybe no)  job opportunities calling for your expertise.

– You are hoping to find a job in the “other side” of your field (retail to institutional) and in a different type of organization (smaller to larger).

It may or may not help you to know that many share this dilemma of having previous experience in an industry or field that simply isn’t hiring or has become obsolete. Networking becomes even more important in this case. Even though you have not found a large group of your potential colleagues using social media, I would suggest you still mobilize all of the tools at your disposal to try to extend your networking circle.

If not many in your field are taking advantage of the tools to connect online, you have a chance to become a recognized online expert in your field. The regulations add a layer of complexity to making this work, but do some searches for others who ARE engaging online.

  • Google {keywords relevant to your field}, blog and see what you find.
  • Look in Alltop.com to find listings of blogs in your field.
  • Use Google blog search to find some blogs of interest.
  • Connect with the authors by commenting, sharing retweets (if they use Twitter) and make it clear that you have your finger on the pulse of your industry.
  • Track information from news outlets that report data relevant to people in your field and be the one who disseminates what people need to know NOW. (Via Twitter, a blog and/or LinkedIn updates.)

Combine media and in-person meetings:

  • Use LinkedIn to demonstrate your expertise. Investigate the Answers section; see if there are any answers you may be able to provide, illustrating your expertise — ideally in your targeted field. (Find Answers in the toolbar on LinkedIn under the More tab.)
  • While in-person meetings are great, be sure you are doing all you can to extend the number of people who may be able to connect you with the ONE person you need to meet and impress to land an opportunity. Don’t forget to talk to people who CAN’T help you.

The combination of these strategies could very easily lead to meeting contacts that will be able to help you overcome your experience gap efforts as you build a bridge to a new career.

Stay tuned for more advice to address the “you’re overqualified” issue.

3 ways to make networking fun for introverts and extroverts

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Today’s post is one of many from members of the Career Collective community I co-coordinate with my colleague Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter.

This month’s question? How to overcome networking fears and make networking fun – tips for introverts AND extroverts. [Read more…] about 3 ways to make networking fun for introverts and extroverts

What you need to know about your endorser

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Is it a big election year where you live? In Georgia, this is a big primary season. We have about 100 people running to be governor, and equal numbers hoping to land jobs as insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, etc. (Well, maybe not 100 — but it seems that way!)

There is an inverse relationship when there are so many candidates – the more people running, the less likely it is that you know a lot about each person. Sure, there are always a few higher-profile candidates, but the rest likely fade into the background. (Sounds kind of like any job search, doesn’t it?)

One way to get ahead in your job search is to have someone endorse you — an internal referral directly to the hiring manager. This political season has made me stop to think about this concept of endorsing candidates (clearly an important way to help you land a job).

Earlier in the summer, there were several candidates I knew nothing about. Then, I learned that one had earned the recommendation of someone I did know  — and didn’t like. That helped make my decision easier. While I will still do some research about the candidate, the fact that someone I (vehemently) disagree with is endorsing her makes it pretty easy to determine that she will not earn my vote.

I know job seekers have plenty to worry about, but do you consider the standing of the person you are hoping will promote your candidacy? Is your contact well liked and well respected? If not, he or she is unlikely to help you land the job. Sometimes, you won’t know. You might have been lucky to land a referral and you can’t worry about anything else. Other times, you do have some opportunity to get insight…

Job hunting advice often includes the suggestion to find a mentor to help guide your career. Clearly, you don’t just pick a targeted mentor out of a hat. When you are researching people you respect, think about ways to identify how they are seen in their company. Is anything written about them? Do they have LinkedIn endorsements from colleagues, clients and staff? What about their digital footprint? What does Google say? What about their invisible resume? These are things to think about when identifying someone to endorse you. It’s one extra layer that could make the difference for your job hunt.

The fact is, a recommendation from someone who is not in favor is more likely to hurt than help you. It’s something to consider when you try to take advantage of an inside track at an organization.

What do you think? Do you consider the referrer’s reputation? How can job seekers decide if someone is a good bet or not?

photo by Svadilfari

With social media, you decide what others find when they Google your name

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Do you keep track of your online profile? Just as tracking your credit rating is key for learning what people might uncover about your financial history, it’s also important to know what people may find out when they Google your name. Consider tying it all together with a site such as Flavors.me. [Read more…] about With social media, you decide what others find when they Google your name