Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Keep in touch with your job references

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phone2600570497_cd1a8038b1_mDo you know what your references are saying about you?

Many job seekers overlook this important part of the job hunt. Especially if you have often reached the final stages without landing the job, touching base with those who may hold the keys to your next position is a great idea!

Whom to Ask? Ideally, you should have a current or immediate past employer as a reference.  Co-workers and trusted subordinates may also be references, but most hiring managers will want to hear from employers. If you are a student or recently graduated, faculty members may serve as references. If you have had a leadership role in a volunteer organization, “supervisors” from that organization may be good references for you.

Keep a list of people to contact. Joann Lublin recently wrote about this topic for the Wall Street Journal and suggested taking this step to be extra prepared. It’s important not to be caught off guard. Having a list of contacts (and up-to-date information) is important. Lublin also reminds readers that it’s a good idea to keep in touch with references. Sending emails, notes, updates about your search – all of these are great ways to stay in touch with the people who are key to helping you land the job of your choice.

She quotes William Arruda, founder of Reach, a New York personal-branding organization, who suggests job seekers set up “Google Alerts” for references so that you can quickly email a congratulatory note. I always suggest that my clients set up Google alerts for networking contacts to give them an extra reason to be in touch; extending this idea to references is a great idea!

Ask permission. Once you have in mind who you’d like to serve, ask their permission. If they seem hesitant or hedge at all, allow them to bow out gracefully. You don’t want to browbeat your references into helping you. (They may hurt more than help.) The best references are those who are enthusiastically supportive.

Prepare your references to support you! Be sure they have the most updated version of your resume and a cover letter for the position if you have one. Let them know if you expect they will be called, and offer suggestions of topics they may want to emphasize.

When I was applying for one of my jobs, I knew that teamwork and the willingness to pitch in when necessary were crucial for my potential employer. I emphasized how I was the perfect match (I really was!) in the interview. I also asked my current supervisor (who knew about my search and was my #1 reference) if she could mention some examples of my teamwork when she spoke to my potential boss, who offered me the job as soon as he spoke to her!

Hopefully, you will have a strong relationship with your references and will be comfortable making them partners in your search. Let’s face it – you can get right to the job’s door by having a great resume and interviewing well. The key to get in is in the hands of those who are willing to recommend you for the job!

Don’t overlook anything in your job search! I will help you every step of the way! Need a great resume? Interview help? Contact me!

photo by willposh

Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling to get jobs and propel your career

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tellmecovercorrect“So, tell me about yourself?”

Is that not the most obvious interview question? The one that every job seeker should anticipate and prepare to answer? Unfortunately, it may seem so obvious, many don’t spend the time they should focusing on how to answer it.

In fact, most aspects of the job search rely on being able to tell your own story.

  • Networking (the all important elevator pitch)
  • Your resume – connecting your accomplishments with the employer’s needs
  • Cover letter – another opportunity to sell your skills to a targeted employer
  • Portfolios – online opportunities to connect with people
  • Interviews – sealing the deal
  • On the job – to connect and advance

I highly recommend that job seekers take a look at Katharine Hansen’s new book, Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling to Get Jobs and Propel Your Career.

Her book is organized into several sections:

  • Part I – Career propelling story basics
  • Part II – Using storytelling in your job search
  • Part III – Continuous storytelling

Katharine explains how stories can help you get a job by demonstrating your personality, helping to make you memorable and establishing trust. People who know how to tell good stories can communicate their value proposition, which is key for job seekers and careerists.

This book helps you with every aspect of telling your story – from figuring out what the story should be through tips for how to recall stories stored in your brain! (For example, give your stories names.) It is full of samples of stories and many, many ideas that are critically useful for job seekers and all professionals.

If you’re engaged in a job search – or maybe you should be – don’t miss this great resource!

UPDATED ON 6/21/11:

Could you use some help to come up with your story AND to learn how to tell it well in networking, interview and social networking situations? What about your resume? Does it tell your story and tell it well? I can help. If you’re ready to hire a pro 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 tell your story in a way that can get you noticed.

Review of Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel

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me-21I work with Dan as an editor for Personal Branding Magazine, so I’m delighted to review his book, Me 2.0. If you’re a regular reader, you have already learned about Dan and a bit about the book on my blog, but now that I have had a chance to read it, I thought I would share some highlights!

First, and most importantly, what is personal branding? Dan describes it as:

“…The process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leverage it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers and build self-confidence” (p. 4).

Who can benefit from reading this book? It’s a great choice for job seekers and entrepreneurs who are looking for ways to differentiate in this competitive market. While the target audience is Generation Y, I believe the information is useful for ANYONE hoping to stand out and get noticed.

Dan’s step-by-step guide takes the reader through several stages:

  • Brand discovery
  • Brand creation
  • How to communicate the brand
  • Suggestions regarding how to maintain your brand

My favorite takeaway…

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1000 times – networking is key to job search success. Dan notes that networking and relationship building is one of the many aspects of personal branding.

One of the goals of successful personal branding is to be known in your field or industry for your expertise. Ideally, once you have established this expertise via a campaign of connecting with your peers and colleagues via in-person and online (social) networking, instead of having to apply for jobs, people will find YOU when an opportunity comes up.

It’s not as difficult as it sounds! With the right tools and attitude, I believe that all talented job seekers can discover and share a personal brand in the marketplace. Dan’s book offers a road map of sorts to help readers establish an authentic brand and create a “personal branding toolkit” and suggestions for how to communicate your brand to your target audience.

Dan shares his own ups and downs as part of the book, demonstrating the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is as true as ever.

If you are authentic, hard working, have something valuable to share, and are willing to see life as a giant networking event” Me 2.0 is just the set of directions that you need to get going. So, what are you waiting for?

I can help you optimize your personal brand for your job search. Contact me if you need some help with your resume, LinkedIn profile and techniques!

Facebook applications for your job search

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Facebook, Inc.
Image via Wikipedia

I highly recommend using social networking tools to help propel your job search. My favorites are LinkedIn and Twitter, but Facebook has a lot applications to help job seekers. Just remember that the BEST use of Facebook (in my opinion) is to make networking connections that will help inform your search. I don’t advise spending too much time looking for and applying to jobs online.

There are many Facebook applications that are targeted to job seekers…

I’m happy to share this list, as posted on AskBink: 

  1. jobsterJobster Career Network – Join the Talent Networks of your favorite companies, and get personalized job alerts based on your career interests. Plus, get career advice from your friends; post your resume online, search for jobs, and more!officebook
  2. OfficeBook – What would you tell a friend about your office if he or she was interested in working there? Love your company? Hate it? Say It!indeed
  3. Indeed – Job Search – Find jobs where your friends work. Search millions of jobs from thousands of job sites and company career pages. Receive job proposals and resumes from your profile page.testimonials
  4. Testimonials – Use Testimonials to gather your personal, professional and academic references in one place from your teachers, friends, and co-workers.
  5. Professional Profile – Create a professional profile on Facebook. With one-click,professionalupload your resume in or import your LinkedIn profile and recommendations. Get recommendations from friends. See resumes in your network.
  6. Career Builder – Find a Better Job – Users who add the applications will receivefind-a-better-jobcontinuously updated job and internship listings. Based on information like major in school, hometown and network, users will receive the most relevant jobs from CareerBuilder’s database in their profile. You can apply to jobs directly or access a link to search for more job on the CareerBuilder.com Web site.job_search_agent
  7. MonsterTrack Job Search Agent – Want to get jobs delivered right to your profile? Download MonsterTRAK’s Job Search Agent application today! Your own personal Agent will pimp your profile with only the jobs you want to see.work-with-us
  8. Work With Us by Jobvite – The Work With Us application displays jobs on profile or fan pages. Anyone can browse interesting opportunities at companies where friends work, apply to the jobs and send Jobvites to their own friends and contacts.meetingwave
  9. MeetingWave – MeetingWave is a business or social networking tool that helps you connect offline with people you would like to meet – whether traveling or near home. You can set up meetings with friends only or with a mix of friends and “new” people.
  10. Inside Job – InSide Job connects you to helpful people at places you want to work next by inside_jobgiving you access to where people have interviewed, worked, or are currently employed. Find the right person you are looking for. Post jobs. Get the inside scoop.
  11. Workin It by Simply Hired – Give gold stars to your friends to thank them—think of it as workin-itprofessional props for the people in your network. A good excuse to thank your friends…and a great excuse to get to know everyone else in your network a little bit better. You will thank YOURSELF when you need that “friend of a friend” to help you find your dream job or give you an internal referral at their company, since 80% of jobs are found through friends.seek-job-search
  12. Seek Job Search – SEEK & you shall find. The SEEK Job Search application lets you personalize relevant job search results in your Facebook Profile. Get the freshest jobs delivered every time you log in. Send it to your friends so they stay informed too.konoker
  13. Konoker Jobs – KONOKER Jobs is a job advertisement and job search tool allowing individuals to advertise regular and freelance jobs for free, as well as apply for postings from within the application. KONOKER speaks English and Danish and follow the users’ settingsjobs
  14. Jobs – Search thousands of open jobs, directly from employers. Find jobs where your friends work. See what jobs your friends are interested in. Find a job by updating your profile with your work status and dream job.brave-new-talent
  15. BraveNewTalent – BraveNewTalent.com is a new social networking site that allows you to connect to employers online. It allows you to take control of your career, engage directly with employers that interest you, and be part of their online incircle-connectionscommunity.
  16. InCircle Connections – Receive exclusive job opportunities. Connect with other members. Join inCircle today to get connected and get ahead.my-linkedin-profile
  17. My LinkedIn Profile – Promote your LinkedIn account with a badge on your Facebook profile.
  18. LinkedIn Contacts – LinkedIn Contacts allows you to view and share your LinkedIn linkedin-contactsContacts.
  19. Business Cards – Business Cards will help you network better on Facebook. business-cardsPersonalize your card and attach it to your Facebook messages! View postings and network with others!
  20. Easy CV – Easy CV is an add-on to the famous on-line resume service easy-easy-cvcv.com. It adds a short view of your CV on your profile and a dedicated page. Resume is available in PDF, MS Word or video. Take benefits of your network to get jobs opportunities!
  21.  CollegeRecruiter.com – CollegeRecruiter.com features 250,000 active job posting ads 

collegerecruiter1  from all industries.

 

For help with all things job search – contact me!

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Cracking the networking CODE by Dean Lindsay

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crackingdean_3625x5_ad2b1I can’t seem to talk enough about networking. Maybe it’s because most jobs are found via networking and job seekers MUST empower themselves with good information and techniques (in addition to great job search materials) in order to successfully land a targeted position.

Most of my clients ask, “How can I network well? What steps should I take?” Dean Lindsay’s book: A Progress Agent’s Guide to Cracking the Networking Code – 4 steps to Priceless Business Relationships, offers a lot of terrific ideas for all job seekers and careerists, as well as entrepreneurs and anyone hoping to succeed in business.

I love acronyms…(what would we do without STAR and PAR stories for interviewing?) The title of Dean’s book incorporates a crucial acronym.

CODE stands for:

C: Create Personal Curb Appeal
Effective networkers feel successful and display a genuine desire to help others progress. They look and act the part of someone with whom you would want to have in your corner.

O: Open Face-to-Face Relationships
Effective networkers research the various networking options and commit to a networking strategy. They get out and about and reach out. They open relationships.

D: Deliver Solid First Impressions
Effective networkers know the first impression sets the foundation for all future impressions and make sure it is a good one.

E: Earn Trust
Effective networkers follow-up and keep in touch. They stay involved with the people they meet and earn their trust through a series of progress based impressions. They continually find ways to help. This is where most ineffective networkers drop the ball.

Dean acknowledges most peoples’ perceptions of networking as something manipulative or excessively self-serving. He goes on to explain how those are misperceptions of networking – and convinces the reader that networking is about relationship building.

His assertion that people we meet should ideally view us as offering “progress, not change” is an interesting and perceptive point! Let’s face it, when we hope to engage in a relationship with someone, most of the time we aren’t looking to make a change in our lives. Dean notes, “It is natural to resist change but we embrace progress (p. 26).” If you “genuinely want to understand and help fulfill the needs of others,” a key factor for networking success, Dean offers a step-by-step guide to help readers “Be progress.”

I love the messages in this book: “Don’t make networking more complicated than it needs to be (p. 47).” “You make a much more powerful impression, a much more memorable impression being interested in others rather than trying to be interesting to others” (p. 95).”

But Dean doesn’t just offer quotes and platitudes – he shows readers what they can do to become successful at networking. If you’ve been uncomfortable or hesitant in your in-person networking, this is a great book to give your plans a jump start. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I have!

It’s your lucky day…Dean is giving away several copies of his book to my readers. All you need to do is share a brief comment or story below about networking. Do you have a success story? Or, tell us what makes networking difficult for you. At the end of the week, I’ll randomly choose several winners. (Be sure to give a correct email address so I can notify you.) Feel free to enter at each of my blogs to increase your chances of winning:

Examiner

GreatPlaceJobs

Secrets of the Job Hunt

Need more help to get your job search running? Contact me for advice and coaching to get your career in gear!