Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Altruistic Tuesdays: Can volunteering win you a job?

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In a competitive job environment, I have often advised that clients and readers consider volunteering and/or interning for free in order to gain some valuable experience and/or to bridge a gap (in experience/in time since last worked for pay, etc.)

Adult internships are not new. In fact, in a New York Times article from two years ago, Elizabeth Pope wrote that:

Adult internships emerged about 10 years ago as the concept of “golden years” retirement expanded to include paid work, volunteering or pursuing a life passion, said Mark Oldman, a co-founder of the career site Vault.com.

A more recent piece by Tory Johnson reminds readers that an unpaid internship can be a great way to get experience that is directly related to your target job. It’s a good idea for people changing careers or planning to go back to school. Kind of a “try before you buy” approach.

Eve Tahmincioglu explored the legal ramifications of for-profit organizations working with unpaid interns in a story for Time Magazine this month. (Hat tip @heymarci.) Eve notes,  “Michael Schmidt, an employment attorney in New York City, has seen an uptick in recent months in private employers calling him to find out if they can bring in unpaid interns as a way to cut costs. His answer: volunteering at for-profit companies is, legally, a no-no. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has spelled out several criteria with the goal of ensuring that internships not only provide real training but also can’t be used by companies to displace regular employees.”

This is really the month for focusing on legal issues for unpaid interns. Steven Greenhouse wrote a piece for the April 2nd New York Times exploring the fact that “Leading federal and state regulators…worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.” The piece notes, “The rules for unpaid interns are less strict for non-profit groups like charities because people are allowed to do volunteer work for non-profits.” (Thanks @workinggirl for sharing the link.)

Clearly, this is a tricky issue, but nonprofit organizations may not be so concerned, as they are allowed to work with volunteers. So, especially if you are considering working for a nonprofit, it may make sense to log some valuable volunteer hours to indicate your strong interest in the organization. In some cases, your hard work and hours as a volunteer may help put you first in line for a job should one become available.

Encore.org has a very useful (and free) ebook on the subject of how to turn volunteering into a job. They suggest:

  • Find volunteer work in an organization whose mission you share.
  • Offer your expertise.
  • Show your range.
  • Make yourself indispensable.
  • Identify an organizational need.
  • Incorporate your volunteer work into your resume.

The ebook (available to download HERE) offers practical tips and resources and reminds careerists to focus on the experience and its usefulness rather than expect that it will lead to a job .

Be sure to visit Encore.org for many resources to help transitioning professionals.

photo by SanJose library

How to research your way to a networking contact

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Is it socially acceptable to go up to random people on the street and invite them to coffee? Typically, no. You need to have a reason to meet, and it is up to you to come up with the reason before you do the inviting!

Research is a key factor for successful networking. I like to tell my clients, “Don’t look for a job, look for a company.” Similarly,  networkers should not first try to identify a list of people to meet, but rather identify organizations to infiltrate.

How to begin? Easy!

Think about geography. It’s always easier to connect in person with people who are local. Plus, are you willing to relocate for a job? If not, clearly, the organizations in your area will be your targets. Use all available resources to identify organizations of interest in your area. Don’t forget word-of-mouth resources, newspapers, information online and business journals.

Julie Abraham had some great ideas posted on Career Rocketeer to help job seekers:

“Research these companies by looking at their website to understand their mission and values. Use Hoovers or Yahoo finance or some other library database (like Mergent) to look up financials (if public company), read the most recent annual 10-K report (if public company) to understand their strategy and vision, check their website for PR articles and look up articles on Proquest or some other database at the library.

This should give you a good understanding of the companies strengths and weaknesses so you can ask intelligent questions when you speak with an officer of the company. Set-up Google alerts on these companies so you can read any breaking news. Search them on Twitter and other social media sites to understand their social media presence.”

Once you have identified several organizations, begin to tap your way into them. Leverage your LinkedIn connections and search other social networks (Twitter is my favorite) to determine logical connections. Now, it is time to contact people.

Every time I talk to clients about informational interviews, I always emphasize the importance of approaching contacts NOT as a job seeker, but as someone who is simply gathering information. If you can convince yourself AND the person you want to meet that you don’t expect the meeting to result in a job, you are much more likely to be successful securing appointments.

Let’s face it, if you approach as a job seeker, (“I am looking for an opportunity working in _____, and I would like to talk to you about positions at your organization.”), your contact will not want to speak to you unless he or she actually has an opportunity in mind. No one wants to disappoint another person, so if your target contact has no job in sight, he or she is likely to suggest that you send your resume to HR.

That tact will not help you get your foot in the door, and does not connect you one-on-one to a potential ally. So, be polite, but persistent. Insist that you are gathering information, “not expecting a specific opportunity as a result of our meeting,” and push to talk to contacts in person. If your targeted contact is not interested, ask for a referral. (“I appreciate that you are too busy to meet. Is there someone else in your department who might be able to speak with me?)

The fact is, most people love to talk about themselves, and few of us have a willing audience for our stories! Ask yourself, if someone called you and  requested that you share your story and information about your organization (assuming you weren’t working with classified information), what would you say? I would bet that most of you would be willing to help.

Stay tuned for information about what to ask once you land the meeting!

If you’re ready to hire someone to help you move ahead with your plans, contact me to find out how you can boost your job search – both online and off line. Check out my new book, Social Networking for Career Success, to learn how to use Branchout and other social networking tools to your advantage!

photo by BW Jones

Five networking fundamentals to land a job

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If I had a dollar for every job seeker who told me he or she was “networking ’til they were blue in the face,” but had made no progress in the job hunt, I could take a very nice vacation!

The fact is, many people think they are networking, but all they are doing is telling everyone they know that they are looking for a job. That is not networking. That is telling everyone you know that you are looking for a job. (Let’s ignore the questionable grammar there – you know what I mean.)

In fact, I volunteered recently at a non-profit job fair. I was waiting to have a word with the organizer, but one of the job seekers was speaking to her. He introduced himself and said, “I’d love to talk to someone in your organization about sales, as that is my specialty.” I watched the organizer…She looked like she wasn’t sure what to say or how to respond. The request was so broad and non-specific. I could hear her thinking, “What does he want from me?” (Or, at least that is what I imagine she was thinking!)

I know what I was thinking – “That is NOT a way to ask for a networking meeting or informational interview.”

In a conversation with a client recently, we discussed networking. He considers himself introverted and wonders if in-person networking is for him. My advice to introverted job seekers is the same as it is for my extroverted clients. To successfully network, you need to do five things:

  1. Research
  2. Ask questions
  3. Be interested in the replies
  4. Have a story
  5. Follow up

Stay tuned for more details and how to successfully leverage these steps for your networking enjoyment!

photo by Light Play

If you stay in traffic, it’s going to take you a long time to find a job. Or: More marketing tools to find a job

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Last week, I wrote about hearing John Jantsch speak during his recent visit to Atlanta. (John  is the author of Duct Tape Marketing and the soon to be released, The Referral Engine.) He pointed out a hierarchy of the customer’s experience as marketers see it:

People must KNOW – LIKE and TRUST you…This leads them to:

TRY – BUY – REPEAT – REFER

To sell, you must “create a better customer experience,” which helps solve lead generation issues for those who are seeking customers and clients. Clearly, these marketing fundamentals now rely on creating necessary feelings of trust and encouraging people to try and buy via online channels. It is no surprise that being online and establishing a presence there (in what John calls the “free real estate”), helps move people through the necessary channels for success today.

However, Jantsch made an important point:

“The fundamentals of marketing have not changed,” despite the fact that the tools are different.

I thought that was such an interesting point, and one that is often overlooked. Yes, the mechanisms have evolved and the ways to connect and establish “deeper relationships” are different today than even a year or two ago. (Twitter, anyone?) However, the main points are not different. The  idea is to establish relationships and trust. That is an age-old goal for anyone selling something.

The same is true of job search. I recently helped a client who works in a marketing capacity. He refuses to embrace the “free real estate” of social media for his job hunt, insisting that he does not want to be too self-promotional. This was surprising, coming from a marketing professional, and frustrating for me. I worry that he is approaching his search with only a percentage of what he needs to be successful.

Many of you probably also bristle at all of this “social media for the job search” talk. You may remember a time when all you needed to do was send out a resume, make a few calls, and you would be hired. Unfortunately, those days are over. But, one thing has NOT changed…To easily land, you needed to be able to make a few calls. Today, a “few calls” may translate into having several hundred followers/friends on Twitter, many hundreds of connections on LinkedIn and a professional Facebook page that allows you to leverage relationships with long-lost high school friends and new contacts all in one place.

Having an optimized resume is crucial, but adding a layer – a “social” or online version that is more interactive and allows readers to dig deeper is becoming more important. Just a cover letter was the norm. Now, your calling card may be a blog.

John said it well – “How you move HAS changed, but the point is to create awareness.” That has ALWAYS been the point of job search.

John suggests engaging in social media with this in mind:

  • Listen first
  • Claim your free real estate
  • Publish content – or limit your ability to succeed.

For job seekers, I’d suggest thinking the same way. Connecting and building relationships has always been the point. Yes, there are a lot more ways to get there today. To be successful and efficient, you want to build deeper relationships and expand your network beyond your immediate circle. I cannot think of a better way than by engaging in social media.

Think about it this way: If you needed to get from your home to a friend’s house, and the only way was through treacherous traffic, wouldn’t you appreciate a new bridge that could take you directly there, bypassing the aggravation of bumper-to-bumper cars?

Think of social media as your bridge. If you stay in traffic, it’s going to take you a lot longer to get where you want to go.

What you don't know about the job hunt will hurt you

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As you might imagine, I receive a lot of inquiries from blog readers about my services for job seekers. Sometimes, the communication between us reminds me of just how much help some job seekers need.

Recently, a very savvy, high-level professional with a stellar work history contacted me asking for help with her resume and with moving to a digital format. I replied, delighted to hear from someone who was asking me about a digital, or social, resume before I mentioned it first!

I explained that I am partnering now with an expert web developer to offer online resumes and described my services, which include a free coaching session “to discuss how to look for a job.”

The prospective client replied that she did not need to be told what to wear or how to interview, and assured me she was very capable, thank you very much. She also asked how much a social resume with fewer pages would cost, as she does not have enough to fill more than just an “about me” and resume page.

“Hmmm,” I thought, “This bright, talented and accomplished job seeker has no idea that there is so much she does NOT know about getting a job.” The fact that she thought my offer to help her learn “how to look for a job” would be about how to dress for an interview, yet she cannot envision what information she might use to fill her online profile seemed a bit ironic to me. However, how can you fault someone for not knowing what they need to know to succeed?

This was my reply:

Thanks for your note. I think that the key thing with a social resume is that you create the content to fill the tabs. Maybe it is links to the various news stories you generated, events you impacted, data or stories about previous companies (how they did while you were there), etc. The sky is really the limit – you have lots of room to share your “story,” and readers have the option to explore more or not! (Which is the major advantage of having a social resume that supplements the paper resume.)

I don’t usually focus on how to dress for an interview with my clients. Like you, they know about that, but are less well schooled on how to leverage social media. Why are you not on Twitter? It’s my absolute favorite social network for job seekers. Do you really optimize LinkedIn? There is a lot that most job seekers don’t have the time (or the inclination) to feel their way through. I spend all of my time in that “space,” so I can help you get where you need to go faster. Especially in your line of work, I would imagine the return would be significant.

So, when I offer a free coaching session to discuss how to find a job, I am not talking about “your father’s job search” – what to say in an interview, how to stand up straight – I am offering insight and ideas for job search that you probably have not considered.

Think about it – do YOU know what you DON’T know that may be preventing you from moving forward with your career plans?

photo by flowerbeauty