Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

When Should You Tell Your Employer You are Looking for a Job?

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You have one foot out the door. When is a good time to tell your current boss that you’d rather not work for him or her anymore (for whatever reason), and that you are looking for a new job?

The short answer – when you give your notice!

While there are certainly specific circumstances when discussing your plans to leave might be prudent (for example, if you work for a family member and want to be sure they don’t disown you), typically, it isn’t a good idea to let everyone know that you have one foot (literally or figuratively) out the door.

Why, you ask?  If everyone knows that you’d rather be somewhere else, you are less likely to be assigned interesting work. You probably won’t take on additional leadership roles and may very well be stuck right where you are (career wise) until you manage to find another job. The fact is, that could very well take a long time.

Being candid about wanting another position may seem like the right thing, but the fact is, unless you are at the point of needing your current boss to provide a reference for another opportunity (which usually means that you almost have the new job), talking about your plans to leave goes under the category of TMI – too much information.

Now, giving appropriate notice to your employer is a different story. Most workers can appropriately offer two weeks notice. Some, in more responsible positions, may be required by their contract to provide a longer period of time, and in some industries, workers don’t give any notice because they are not  welcome at work once they announce their intention to leave. (This is typical on Wall Street, for example, where employees are led out of the building by security once they announce their plans to leave.)

So, do the right thing. When you’re at work, give it your all. Do your job, and do what you can to continue to build your resume and list of accomplishments while you are still working at your current job. You’ll thank me later!

Ready to leave your job? Subscribe for free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt! Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

Need help to jump start your search? We can help you with a successful job hunt. Need a great resume? Career search advice? Mock interivew? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by aripeskoe2

What to Eat Before Your Interview

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Who would have thunk it? It turns out that eating yogurt and nuts can help reduce anxiety, according to a new study by scientists in Slovakia. (Hat tip: Speechworks)

Joey Asher reports on Speechworks’ blog:

The scientists gave either amino-acid supplements or a placebo to a group of men and asked them to give a speech. The men who had taken the supplements experienced half as much anxiety according measurements of stress hormones in their bloodstream.

Yogurt and nuts have very high levels of the type of amino-acids used in the study.  So a healthy snack might help reduce your anxiety.

It seems logical that this stress-reducing snack might be a good choice in advance of an interview, which is kind of like a super-stressful speech and presentation all rolled into one!

So, prepare for your interview, and give yourself an extra boost by downing some yummy amino acids!

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 via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

Anxious about your job hunt and don’t think that eating yogurt and nuts will solve all of your problems? We can help you with a successful job hunt. Need a great resume? Career search advice? Mock interivew? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by josephp

Potted Plants and Other Ideas to Make You Feel Better At Work

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Real Simple Magazine (October 2008) notes that, “Researchers at Texas State University, in San Marcos found that people who had a plant in their offices rated themselves as more satisfied with life and work than did those without them.”

So, if you notice a lot of new plants at work this month, you’ll know why!

Unsatisfied at work? Carly Chynoweth offered 10 tips to help make life at work better on the Work Bloom Work Satisfaction Blog:

  1. “Keep things in perspective.”
  2. “Recognize the possibility of happiness.”
  3. “Change your focus.”
  4. “Surround yourself with happy people…”
  5. “Accept reality.”
  6. “Do the best you can.”
  7. “Balance.”
  8. “Take a break.”
  9. “Take control.”
  10. “Be honest with yourself.”

What helps you keep sane at work? Social networking? Daydreaming? Focused goal setting? Going to lunch alone (or with a co-worker)? Please share your keeping sane strategies in the comments section. And, if you have a very unhappy co-worker, consider the gift of a nice potted plant!

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 via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

We can help you with a successful job hunt. Need a great resume? Career search advice? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by jark

Great Place Jobs – Online Job Posting Site for Great Employers

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I am happy to announce that I am the designated career advice expert for an online job posting site, GreatPlaceJobs.com. (Take a look at my blog at GreatPlaceJobs, where I will be sharing exclusive content.) Asher Adelman, the founder and CEO of eBossWatch and greatplacejobs.com calls the site, “the world’s first exclusive ‘great workplace’ job site to help people find jobs at award-winning employers.”

Asher notes, “For most people nowadays, it’s not enough for a company to pay you well but treat you poorly.  GreatPlaceJobs was designed for job-seekers who aspire to work at companies that care about their people as much as the people care about the company.”

What is special about GreatPlaceJobs? They only post jobs from specifically certified employers designated as “excellent” based on criteria such as having a culture based on trust, fairness, respect, open communications, recognition and camaraderie. When you search their database, you know that every organization represented has been scrutinized and/or has won awards as a high-quality place to work.

This is what the site says about itself:

  • Over 150,000 new jobs each month.
  • Only jobs at certified excellent employers are featured on GreatPlaceJobs.
  • More than 1,300 companies approved as great employers.
  • All companies are individually qualified and approved before being added to GreatPlaceJobs.

GreatPlaceJobs posts positions free for eligible companies. Job seekers pay a $20 membership fee for a 3-month subscription. Asher anticipates exploring many avenues to connect great employers with job seekers. Members will be the first to learn about potential opportunities. Learn more by clicking here.

So, looking to add an online site to your job search plans? Consider a site that screens the employers for you! Use your time wisely online: www.greatplacejobs.com.

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 via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

Need help with your hunt? Did you know we offer a resume consulting service? We advise, you write! Or, hire us to write your resume for you. Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

Social Networking Bridges the Generational Gap and Propels Your Career Forward

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So, I’ve written that participating in social networking can help you look younger without the aid of botox or hair dye! Since I’ve been writing about Twitter this week, and how you can use it to help you network and find a job, I thought I would end the week with some stories of people just like you who believe that using social networking tools are useful to propel them along the right career path.

Veronica Gliatti, a 40-something, experienced public relations and marketing expert, believes that her blog, which she created to help her look for not just a job, but the right career position for her, has helped drive interest in her for job opportunities.  She notes that the blog also “Helped instill more confidence in [her] own abilities” and that she knows several recent leads were directly related to writing a good effective blog with a powerful message.

Melissa Balmer, of Creative Conscious Connecting, 44, emphatically believes that being on line with her website, blog, Facebook profile, yelp profile, etc., helps keep her seeming younger, hipper and more connected in the eyes of her current and future clients.

Melissa notes, “Now that I have quite a dynamic web presence, including an updated photo, blogs in more than one place, presence on myspace, Facebook, linkedin and more, I’m finding that the ageism I grew to fear doesn’t exist for me. People are looking for great, responsible, tuned in people who can connect cross- generationally, and the internet is truly the way to go for this – it’s not someone’s age that matters so much as how ready they are to understand what makes things happen now.”

John Williams, Partner in B2B CFO® believes that having a presence on linkedin and other networking sites gave him more visibility than just being on The Ladders, Exec-U-Net and similar job sites. He also suggested that having a Blackberry “created an impression of being connected” and gave him an edge during his search. He notes, “Utilizing the web was very useful [during his search] and much more efficient than networking at the C level.” He suggests that “Job seekers will miss a major outlet if they are not on the web in this fashion.”

Perhaps one of the more persuasive arguments for using social networking to make yourself seem younger in the job hunt (especially for older workers) comes from Gary Stewart, an executive recruiter in the pharmaceutical industry. He says, “The problem that I have experienced as a recruiter is that there is a definite gap between those who are familiar with [social] networking” and the people he seeks – those who have a minimum of 10-20 years of experience.  He notes, “Most people with this much experience are not aware, or do not know how to take advantage of this sort of medium.” Gary acknowledges that anyone with that experience who participates in online networking would have an advantage in his book.”

If you’re convinced that learning about social networking can help with your job hunt, I can help you! It’s not rocket science, but if you’d like a helping hand to guide your entree to the online market, Keppie Careers is here for you. Email me at [email protected].

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 via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

picture by skampy