Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How to write your LinkedIn profile

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I’ve written about using Facebook for your job hunt this week, but clearly LinkedIn is an obvious place for professional networking and connecting. While your resume typically will be a formal document that doesn’t include the words I, me or my, LinkedIn is a place where you can tell a story.

In the “Summary” section, you can describe yourself and highlight something you have to offer that is unique. There is no need to be overly formal – write something that will draw the reader in!

My colleague Barbara Safani inspired me to write about this today with her tweets from the Career Directors International conference during Louise Kursmark’s presentation. Follow the hashtag #CDI09 on Twitter for lots of great insights from the speakers and participants in Orlando this week!

Here’s a sample of Barbara’s tweets to whet your appetite:

LI from Barbara

Feel free to share success stories, questions and thoughts about LinkedIn in the comments section!

While you’re at it, be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community!

If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you!


Facebook for your job hunt?

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FBfriendwheel693439830_51fcf34cc4_mI don’t write very much about using Facebook for your job hunt. Why? Honestly, it’s not my favorite social network. I’m a bit of a Twitter fanatic, and LinkedIn is an obvious social networking tool for job seekers. I usually say that Facebook is my #3 “go-to” social network for job seekers.

That said, you may have read recently that Facebook has reached over 300 million users. We know that, if it were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest. My friend Dan Schawbel tweeted stats that LinkedIn just hit 50 million users and Twitter has ~20 million.

So, it would be unwise to ignore how job seekers can mobilize their Facebook networks for professional networking. That’s why I was so excited to read THIS POST by Sarah Welstead, a Recruitment Marketing Consultant who works with Head2Head and RetiredWorker. She really nails down some great reasons to re-look at Facebook.

Some of her points? (In bold – commentary is mine.)

Just because it’s ‘fun’ doesn’t mean it’s not ‘productive.’

Au contraire, mon frere. (Ah, Facebook reminds me of high school – just something my old friend used to say!) How amazing is it that something that is a “guilty pleasure” for some can actually be useful! How is it useful to reconnect with old high school (or grade school!) friends? Read on…

Still a ‘sphere of influence’ – just a different sphere

You need to network? Well, Facebook is a network! I have a colleague who mentioned that she gets a lot of referrals from connections on Facebook, as her high school friends are all professionals now, many of whom need resumes and job search help.

Similarly, you can connect with friends on Facebook for professional information and advice. You never know who knows someone who knows someone.

Your school friends have grown up into successful people – who’ll make great business contacts!

Welstead notes in her piece: “Remember, people tend to move in peer groups:  That means that if you’re ambitious and successful now, the kids you hung with in high school or university, and the friends you made in your first career jobs in your early 20s, have probably gone on to be successful and ambitious, too.  In other words, they’re worth knowing for professional reasons.”

So, if you use Facebook only to take quizzes and complain about your spouse, it probably won’t be terribly useful for professional networking. But, if you include enough information to let people know about the professional you, it can be a very personal and successful way to connect.

While you’re at it, be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community!
Stay tuned tomorrow for more great reasons to be on Facebook!
If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you!

Job competition at all-time high. Time to raise the bar.

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thebar3740145835_98f6af34d7_mThe AP reports that, according to data released Friday, October 9th, competition for jobs is tougher now than when the recession began, with the Labor Department reporting an average of 6.3 unemployed workers competing for each job opening. (This compared to 1.7 workers when the recession began in December 2007.)

The article by Christopher S. Rugaber indicates that, while layoffs are slowing, companies are hesitant to begin hiring. Several key points from the post:

“Fewer people are facing job loss,” said Heidi Shierholz, an economist at Economic Policy Institute in Washington, “but once you have lost your job, you are in serious trouble.”

“The recovery in output continues to be unaccompanied by a recovery in jobs,” said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight. He expects the unemployment rate, currently at 9.8 percent, will be at 8.6 percent in 2012.

Economists offer several reasons why companies aren’t hiring. Many employers laid off huge numbers of workers earlier this year but have since found that productivity jumped, enabling them to maintain output.

It appears that American workers, possibly afraid to lose jobs if they still have them, have managed to outperform, inadvertantly making some employers believe that ramping up hiring is not necessary.


What is a job seeker to do? Yesterday’s Career Collective posts addresssed the topic of avoiding being a “cookie cutter” job seeker. My post included several suggestions, and I encourage you to follow THIS LINK and link to other member posts on the topic.

Is this news unwelcome? Of course, but anecdotal evidence (talking to people involved in outplacement and to my own clients) suggests that those who mobilize good information along with cutting-edge job search techniques, such as using Twitter to expand a network and find a job, ARE landing in opportunities. So, take a good, solid look at your resume. Think about how you are approaching the market. Are you doing the same things you did the last time you looked for a job (10 years ago)? If so, it is time for a change.

Another idea? Visit my friend Laurie Ruettimann’s blog with her outside the box ideas on how to manage if you are freaking out.

If looking for a job is tiring you out, and you are not sure that you are doing everything you can to fuel your plans, learn more about how I can help you HERE.

photo by lloydcrew

Desperately seeking a job

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calendar3000315559_bd77043616Stop. Deep breath. You’ve been looking for a job for a long time. Maybe it’s been longer than the “average 25-week search reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” What should you NOT do? You should, absolutely NOT, under any circumstances act desperate for a job. Even if you are. No matter how you feel, act like the confident, competent professional you know you are. Why?

A Forbes post by Susan Adams recently revealed data from a survey of 500 executive recruiters that suggested executive level job seekers are “are preparing poorly for interviews, putting together weak resumes and appearing too desperate to take any job that comes their way.”

Biggest mistakes, according to the article?

Not listening well during an interview. Using your mouth more than your ears is usually a red flag – no matter what type of job you seek.

Letting people know you feel down and out.

“Susan Weil, a New York career transition coach, recalls one client, who was an unemployed banker, finding himself in a social situation with people from his field. When asked what he had been doing lately, he answered, “I’ve been up to nothing.”

Wouldn’t that have been a great opportunity to talk himself up and possibly made some new connections?

Don’t spend a lot of energy trying to apply for  job that you’re overqualified to do. While there are strategies you can use to overcome the “overqualified” label, chasing after these jobs is not a good use of your time.

Go the extra mile…Write a thank you note. Send it with a stamp. Make sure it is personalized.

The article suggests that “… you may have to talk to 150 people before you get a job.” Does it sound like a lot? Maybe that is good news for those of you who haven’t been talking to many people…Maybe it can give you hope that there IS something new you CAN do to get your search moving!

Learn what I can do to help you with your search!

photo by unique gifts

The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use

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workinggirlfor-about-the-book-copy1It’s not often I review a book whose author self-proclaims NOT to be an expert! (In this case, not an expert “in the field of work. Or in any other field.”) If you are a believer in the value of experience, however, I think you will agree that Karen Burns, author of  The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl has a lot of great insights and useful information to share with readers seeking a job, a career or just a nice way to spend an afternoon reading an empowering story about work! (Don’t miss her blog – an equally good read!)

Karen’s claim to fame is that she held 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities and 4 countries. (Mind you, she started when she was 9.)  All that job hopping and experiences led to a lot of terrific life lessons. One of my favorites was the chapter on “Advanced Job Hunting.” Here, Working Girl notes:

The best way to get a job you will LOVE is to figure out:

  • What you want to do,
  • Where you want to do it,
  • and WHO you want to do it for,
  • and then go apply at places that supply all that, whether or not they “have an opening (p. 96).”

Another reason I liked this book? It gives advice that mirrors what I tell my clients! For example, job seekers should:

  • Be prepared. (To talk about what you have to offer.)
  • Be cool. Job hunt from a position of strength.
  • Be irresistible.  Build a website. Write a blog. Comment on other blogs.
  • Be in the loop. Ask for help.
  • Be thorough. Find as much as you can about potential employers.
  • Be persistent.
  • Be real. (Not arrogant.)
  • Be patient.

(Read more on pages 97-99.)

This book encourages readers to take their own paths (even suggesting reading the book itself in random order) and reminds job seekers and careerists that, while there are certain factors that may be out of their control, the journey along the way can be exciting and even fun! I’d recommend this terrific guide to anyone who needs some practical, down-to-earth advice about job seeking, job hopping and finding your career bliss!

Here is Karen’s video about her book:


You know what you want to do, but need help getting there? Learn how I can help you find a job!