Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Can you find a job on Twitter?

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twitterbirdLindsay Olsen recently posted about how to help recruiters find you on Twitter. She should know, because she is a recruiter sourcing candidates on Twitter!

In any case, she shared some data from a recent survey from Hubspot on the state of the Twittersphere.

Of Twitter users:

  • 79.79% failed to provide a homepage URL (My tip: use your LinkedIn URL if you have nothing else.)
  • 75.86% of users have not entered a bio in their profile
  • 68.68% have not specified a location
  • 55.50% are not following anyone
  • 54.88% have never tweeted
  • 52.71% have no followers

Honestly, I was not all that surprised to see this data. While Twitter has grown exponentially in terms of people who have profiles, I think many join because they can’t turn on the TV without hearing someone talk about Twitter,  but they don’t know what to do once they get there. I often talk to certain Tweeps about the fact that Twitter fanatics and uber-users (Twuber users?) forget that this social media “stuff” isn’t second nature for everyone!

So, what is a job seeking Twitter wanna be user to do?

First of all, take a look at my intro to Twitter for the job search HERE. Then, take a look at some suggestions of applications you might want to use HERE. Finally, some people to follow for your job search HERE. Stay tuned for my review of The Twitter Book, by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein, a resource to help “twanna be” users become Tweeps in their own right!

Need a little help ramping up your search? Read how I can help get you going!

How to evaluate a job description – are you qualified?

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knocking on door206400298_9c650c5585_mThere are a lot of elements to job seeking. In a perfect world, no job seeker would ever need to apply for a job – the jobs would all come knocking. Well, clearly, this isn’t a perfect world. Most job seekers are not in the position to move from job to job effortlessly. So, reviewing and evaluating job descriptions is a necessary evil.

It’s both a blessing and a curse that todays descriptions are so elaborate and LONG. Some of you will remember when applying for a job involved reading a three-line ad in a newspaper and hoping you would get lucky and hit the nail on the head with your application materials. Now, companies have no limits to the number of words they can use in their “desired qualifications.” If you are lucky, someone who really knows what the job involves will write the description, but you can be sure there’ll be a lot of words, plenty of lingo and probably a lot of qualifications to meet.

So, what’s the good part of looking at these job descriptions that don’t seem to end? At least you get a good sense of what the organization values. If they want four of five key qualifications, they will list all of them (and then some), so you will know from the start their wish list. (In the old days, they may have left something off that would come back to bite you in the butt later in the process.)

The other advantage to long job descriptions? You can use them to help connect the dots between what they need and what you offer. Connecting the dots is the key to success with applications.

When you review a job description – first, think about the type of organization. Is it a government job? If there are required minimum qualifications (for example, a four-year degree in a particular industry AND 4 years of related work experience) – you are likely out of luck if you do not have those exact qualifications. Applying for that job without the minimum qualifications, unless you have some sort of great networking connection or otherwise have reason to believe that you are  “special” circumstance, is likely to be a waste of your time for a government job. Since targeting your resume for each job is important and targeting and cover letter writing takes your valuable time, looking at the situation with a realistic view is important.

Does this mean that you should never consider jobs beyond your qualifications?

NO! In fact, I’ve written tips for applying for jobs that are a reach. However, it’s important to spend your application time well, so evaluating the job description is key.

We all know that job descriptions often seem to be seeking the “sun, moon and stars.” Employers “shoot for the moon.” They want the equivalent of an accountant who has written a novel and has a perfect golf game! In other words, an unlikely combination!

When “desired qualifications” include experiences you do not have, it can still be worth applying. As long as you can make a direct connection between what they want and what you offer, I advise going for it!

Make a point to understand your skills and qualifications. Know your limitations and where you have potential to successfully stretch.

A little self-assessment can go a long way. You must know yourself to sell your skills. If you apply for an interview for a position that is a stretch, be prepared to sell yourself and defend your ability to get the job done. Know what transferable skills you possess that will make you successful. You can apply for “reach” jobs until you are blue in the face, but if you don’t know how to convince the employer that you CAN do the job, even if you haven’t ALREADY done it, you’re going to be looking for a long time.

Let me help get you started ahead of the job seeking pack. Learn more about what I can do for you.

photo by cupe vampe

Edit your resume. It's very impotent. :-)

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Have you ever written an important document, poured over it a million times and sent it off, only to find that you included a silly error? Like, “I’m looking forward too meeting you” or “Its nice the the market is recovering” (can you find the two errors in that sentence)?  Your resume is as important a document as any, and the list of potential errors long.

Thanks to Lindsay Olson, who blogs about recruiting and PR, for sharing this terrific video that she saw on Rowan Manahan’s blog, Fortify Your Oasis.

The video offers an exaggerated example of why you can’t assume that your spell check is a good editor! How often are words misspelled only to inadvertently form other words? You don’t want to advertise that you were distinguished as the “best manger of the year.”

I headed up a career center in a school of public health. You can only imagine how many of my students were touting thier credentials as something slightly indecent! (Think “public” without the all important L!)

Be sure to read through your resume, and have a trusted friend review it as well. (Or a professional!)  You never know when “public” may become indecent, or you’ve used “suing” instead of “using.”  The list goes on and on: their/there, and/an, faculty/facility, board/bored…

A tip to consider:  create an ”exclusion dictionary” in your Microsoft Office program.  This personalized dictionary will flag a word as misspelled (such as manger), even though the main dictionary knows it as a proper word.

In the meantime, take a look at this video for a good laugh!


Learn more about what I can do for you – and how you can benefit by hiring a professional to help you.


The "right" way to look for a job…

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one way440308423_823520a6f8_mWouldn’t it be nice if there were just one “right” way to look for a job? Everyone would be able to look at the manual (it would be free online) and know what font and style to use on a resume, how long it should be, whether or not to list a graduation date, if a cover letter is really necessary, which keywords to use or not use, what online tools to incorporate, how and when to follow up and at what intervals, what answers to prepare for an interview…I could go on and on here!

Well, I’m here to tell you that there is no manual to follow that ensures you’ll appeal to every employer all of the time!

I recently worked with a client whose resume I totally redesigned using a very modern style. Her reply, “I thought it was going to look more like the one I sent…Will this appeal to recruiters, since they read resumes in a Z pattern?”

Not an unexpected question, and also interesting, since I know recruiters who just skip the top section and look for the resume’s “meat!” I explained that the best resume professionals are not writing “your mother’s resume” anymore. Times have changed, and we need to change with them. My client showed her new resume to an (older) recruiter who admitted it wasn’t what she expected to see, but that she liked the format and how it outlined the candidate’s skills and made her stand out! I couldn’t have been more pleased!

But, remember, no one can say, “This is the way to go…It will appeal to EVERYONE and win you the interview every time.” If you meet a professional who has all of the answers and does not acknowledge the fact that there are many shades of gray when it comes to the job hunt, be skeptical. Stay tuned tomorrow for a sardonic, but funny look at why there is no one “best” way to job hunt!

So, are you ready to get in the search? To grab the keys and climb the stairs to your own career bus? Let me help get you started ahead of the pack. Learn more about what I can do for you – and WHY you should hire me to help you.

photo by loopweaver

Strawberry picking and your job hunt

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strawberriesI wrote the following post last year, and I thought it was appropriate to share it today. I learned my lesson and plan to go berry picking this morning. In fact, I may be out picking berries as you read this! (Or eating the fruits of my labor!)

The career lesson in a nutshell? Don’t delay your job search. I know that it is tempting to take a break over the summer. It’s hot and a good time for vacation. The kids are home from school, and schedules are off kilter. However, if you hold off and delay your search – you don’t get your resume in order, start (or grow) your online and in-person networking efforts, you’ll just be that much further behind in the fall. So, take some time now and get some help with your search. Contact me for a quote for a resume revision. Did you know that you can probably make back your investment in the first few days – maybe even hours – on the job?

Read on for some additional incentive to get up and get going from last year’s post!

Have you ever wanted to do 
something but waited too 
long and it was too late?

This happened to me this week. I had planned (by planned, I really mean thought about it and decided it would be fun) to go strawberry picking. Although it would be hot (really hot), the idea of having a productive day in the sun, resulting in lots of juicy, inexpensive strawberries seemed like a great plan.

To make a long story short, I waited too long. The strawberries are all picked over. It’s not even worth going now. But, blueberries are in season soon! You can bet that I’m not going to miss out this time. I’ve already penciled in a blueberry picking time – right as the season starts.

Even the best intended plans sometimes go astray. My problem? I didn’t focus on my goal (mmm…strawberry shortcake, strawberry shakes, strawberries and cream…) and my idea never actually became a plan. When a job hunt is at stake, the results are more important than a lack of strawberry treats. A new job isn’t going to come knocking on your door any more than a bale of berries was going to start growing in my yard.

You need to plant the seeds -
make a plan to get things moving 
in the right direction for your career.

Are you someone who planned for a “new career for a new year” back when the ball dropped? If you are, I hope you aren’t letting someone else pick all of your berries! It’s hard to believe, but this year is almost 1/2 over.

If you haven’t focused on your hunt, you’ll be right where you started when another new year comes around.

What is holding you back from making a positive change in your life? Even if the strawberries are all gone, you still owe it to yourself to make sure you have a fruitful career! I can help by walking you through every step of your job hunt, from writing your resume to negotiating your offer. Learn more about me and how I can help and be sure to get in touch soon!