Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

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

Intimidated by Your Job Hunt? Enter the Career Search Organizer

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Do you ever feel that even resources that should be the most useful for your job hunt may actually make the job of looking for a job seem overwhelming? For example, the vast amount of information available online is both amazing and intimidating. If you are lucky enough to be faced with an array of jobs to consider, it can be a blessing (Wow – so many great jobs!) and a curse (Do I really need to target a resume for each of these jobs?)

Sometimes, you just need a great checklist and a method to organize the myriad of information and paperwork that you’ll need to plow through for a successful search.

Enter Lauren Hasson, who calls herself The Resume Girl. Lauren specializes in working with college students and recent graduates, but her new product, The Career Search Organizer is full of useful information for any job seeker hoping to help keep track of everything needed for a successful search. With checklists, tips and a place to keep track of resources, contacts, follow-up, research and more, the Career Search Organizer is a great tool for any job hunter.

I particularly love the level of detail offered right from the start. The “Getting Started” checklist goes so far as to suggest that job seekers identify a same-day dry cleaner (in the case of a fashion accident as you are preparing for an interview) and notes that it is a good idea to locate the nearest overnight mail service in case you need to send something urgent at the last minute.

When I coach job seekers, one of the first things we discuss is how important it is to manage the process and not to let it manage you! The Organizer is one-stop shopping for anyone looking for a method to track what can become job hunting madness. With each job requiring targeted materials and research, job seekers can easily lose direction. Think of the Career Search Organizer as job search GPS for anyone who plans to drive his or her own career bus!

So, after reading all of my blog posts about goal setting and getting organized, you have a clean desk, all the right tools and you’re ready to go? 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!

More On Organizing for Your Job Search – Your Desk is Prime Real Estate!

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Did you know that you own prime real estate? If you’re in a job hunt, it could be more valuable than beach front property in, say Maui! Didn’t know you were such a high roller? Your desk is your prime real estate. Being organized and productive are key goals for anyone involved in a job hunt. How it is organized may mean the difference between getting a job and not even remembering to follow up with an employer!
I know from personal experience how important an organized work space can be. Even the little things make a big difference in your day. I always seem to be looking for the same desk reference. Every time I look for it, it is somewhere else. Inevitably, I get annoyed that 1) I can’t find it and 2) I’m wasting my valuable time looking for it. Especially when it is a really busy day, I’ll start getting stressed and annoyed with myself that I can’t keep my reference handy!
I finally decided to ALWAYS keep it in the same spot – close by, but not in my way. It’s not rocket science, but I’ve already saved myself time (and sanity) by being able to just reach for it at a moment’s notice – no stress!

Yesterday’s post reminded us that a clean desk is NOT the sign of a deranged mind! If you are in the midst of a search or want to appear productive and valuable at your current place of employment, you’ll want to get your desk together. Here are some tips from Atlanta based professional organizer, Lauren Davidson, owner of Around Tuit Organizing & Productivity:

Sure-fire Ways to Organize Your Office for Job Hunting:

Be a real estate magnate: Surfaces and storage within arm’s reach are prime real estate! Frequently used items “live” there: very active files, phone/PDA, a note pad, favorite pen. Floaters get lost, while items with a home are predictably found (think: always know where my___ is). Make the home convenient, and you have a winner.

Keep your thoughts in one place: A job seeker’s best friend is a notebook that stays on the desk, to jot down anything from brainstorming to your daily to-do list. Not a pad, definitely not sticky notes. Just a plain, spiral notebook – you choose the color.

Keep priorities in plain sight: In a standing file on the desktop, each job for which you are interviewing has a separate, labeled file. Applications awaiting a response are together in their own file. No-go’s in another file (those can go in a drawer if the visual bothers you).

Take paper by the horns: Paper clutter is distracting and can be a source of anxiety. As a professional organizer, much of the paper clutter I see is caused by over-printing. Print out items you need to take with you, or that will no longer be readily available. Print out essential information you would not otherwise remember. Less printing leaves more room on your desk, in your file drawer and, dare I say, in your head.

Lauren says, “Getting rid of clutter makes room for life!” I agree!

Don’t underestimate the fact that being organized can impact your thought process and bring more calm to your hectic job searching existence! Spend some time getting yourself together. If the thought of making your workspace productive is overwhelming, hire someone to do it! You will not regret the effort.

Stay tuned for more ideas and products to help you stay organized for your job hunt!

Photo by taminsea

Get Organized for Your Job Hunt

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So, maybe you have a great resume or are on your way to having one? You know what you’re looking for, you are keeping track of your contacts and are up-to-date with your follow-ups.

Does that sound like you? The well-oiled organized job searching machine?

No? You’re the job seeker lost in a sea of papers who can’t remember what job you applied for last? If you had to pinpoint your next scheduled follow-up date or walk the plank, you might actually be eaten by alligators? (Or would it be crocodiles?)  Do you spend a lot of time spinning your wheels, but you don’t seem to get anywhere? You’d like to believe that setting goals and writing them down will help you achieve them, but you know there is something else in your way.

That something most likely is an organizational plan. Last week, I wrote about making time to manage your digital footprint, setting goals, keeping track of your contacts and managing your job hunt and career.

This week’s theme is getting organized to help you get where you need to go. First things first: organize your desk. I can tell you from personal experience – although it may seem like an overwheming job, it is so worth it to tackle the clutter that is keeping you from being productive.

Eve Tahmincioglu, who writes about career issues for MSNBC.com, recently focused  on the issue of clutter in the workplace and pointed out that, in today’s culture of downsizings, employees should avoid having the desk that looks like a tornado just struck. She quotes expert Karissa Thacker, a workplace psychologist, who cautions, “You don’t want to be sticking out as having the most Frappuccinos on your desk.”

The bumper sticker saying, “A clean desk is a sign of a deranged mind” is cute, but the fact is, most people who see a tower of tumbling papers and evidence of what you’ve eaten for the past week (month?) on your desk are going to assume you’re a slob, and slobs don’t usually have reputations for productivity.

So – as a job seeker AND an employee, an organized desk is a good idea. (Especially if you are an employee who doesn’t want to become a job seeker against your will!)

Stay tuned for tips to keep your desk in job seeking/productive employee shape! (And for more advice and tools to help you manage your job hunt.)

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!

Keppie Careers will get you organized for your job hunt and help you every step of the way! From a great resume to step-by-step job hunting assistance – Keppie Careers is here for you! www.keppiecareers.com.

Photo by Arellis49

Need a Roadmap to Drive Your Career Bus?

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Since this week’s posts have been about managing your time and focusing on your job hunting goals, it is a good time to share information about a resource developed by my new cyber-friend, Jason Alba: Jibber Jobber.

Jibber Jobber is an online tool with both free and paid features. Need help keeping up with where you’re applying for jobs? Need to track when to follow-up with employers or networking contacts? Jibber Jobber is for you! This is how Jason describes some of Jibber Jobber’s features:

Jibber Jobber allows you to keep track of all of the information that you collect during a job search. Track the companies that you apply to. Track each job that you apply for, and log the status of each job (date first interview, thank you letter sent, etc.). Want to know where you sent your different resumes? Jibber Jobber can track all this and more!

But then you need to go a step further – work on those relationships. Jibber Jobber allows you to track the relationship with each person, log important information about your contacts, and manage the relationship as it is enhanced. Keeping track of these relationships, and proactively working on your network may be the most important thing you do to help you land your next job.

For an explanation of the differences between the free and premium services, click here.

In addition to creating Jibber Jobber, Jason is an expert in social networking and the author of the books, I’m On Linkedin, Now What? and I’m On Facebook – Now What? After following Jason on Twitter and keeping up with his blog, I recently had an opportunity to speak to him about his business and how he hopes to help people who need help organizing their job hunts and managing their contacts.

His goal is to “Help people who want to manage their career.”  In addition, having experienced a job loss that served as the impetus for starting this business several years ago, Jason hopes to help people understand what it means to manage their own careers. He uses his blog to help educate readers about career management and provides ideas, resources and inspiration to everyone who has a job and/or a career!

I’m sure anyone involved in a job hunt can benefit from investigating Jibber Jobber and by taking advantage of its great tools! Take a look at Jibber Jobber and let me know what you think!

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!

Need more help with your job hunt? Keppie Careers will assist you every step of the way! From a great resume to step-by-step job hunting assistance – Keppie Careers is here for you! www.keppiecareers.com.

Photo by ChinCillaVilla