Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How to find a community of job seekers: Part I

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If you’re a regular reader, you know that I am working with Carolann Jacobs from Vivid Epiphany on a free teleseminar series to help job seekers dive into their job hunts. (Click HERE for more information – you can still sign up; there are 7 weeks to go!)

At our first session last week, one caller made a comment that really resonated with me. She pointed out that it was so nice for her to join the call with so many other job seekers and to realize that she is not alone in her job hunt. All along, I had been focusing on offering specific information in the seminar that would be useful and practical. I hadn’t specifically considered the value of bringing a group of job seekers together for support and encouragement. I’m glad to be enlighted! It was exciting when the participants on our call started to help each other and make suggestions to fellow callers. We started to build our own community in only one “meeting!”

Which leads me to this post…Where else can job seekers find support and encouragement?

My business partner Hallie Crawford made several good suggestions in her recent guest post.

I thought it would be useful to make some additional specific suggestions.

When I started to write this post, I realized that there are so many resources, I decided to break this up into a mini-series of posts. So, please stay tuned for the next few days for a slew of ideas if you are looking for a job! Don’t hesitate to comment with additional ideas or resources. I’ll be happy to include them in future posts.

Blogs

I am a bit biased, but I think blogs are terrific sources of support and can be community building mechanisms. I’d like to think that my blog is a place for job seekers to gain support and information, and there are many other great bloggers in the job hunting niche. You’ll find all of my favorites and more oncareer.alltop.com.

Select online resources

  • Online job seeking support forum, such THIS ONE on about.com, hosted by career advice guru Allison Doyle. At this site, “you can discuss issues related to job searching, employment, and work. Ask questions, provide answers or start discussions on topics of interest to you.”
     
  • Secrets of the Job Hunt is another terrific site that brings job seekers and career professionals together. If you have a question, you can post it and Chris Russell, who created the site and is also a founder of JobRadio FM, may repost it to all of the career professionals who are members on the site to respond to you. You can also read blog posts from many career professionals on this site. (I am a contributor as well.)
     
  • job-hunt.org has a wonderful list of resources and in-person groups by state.
     
  • I’m the Career Advice Expert for GreatPlaceJobs, a job board that only posts positions from award winning companies. Since we know that networking is key to the job hunt, GPJ hosts a LinkedIn networking community for our members, employees at great workplaces and recruiters. We are also planning teleseminars and other opportunities for recruiters at great workplaces to connect with employees. This could be a great resource if you are interested in working for an organization that has the potential to outperform in a recession.
Keep your ears and mind open to the possibilities that exist when you actually engage with people in person instead of focusing all of your networking online. Do you host or sponsor a group or site that supports job seekers? Feel free to add it in the comments! I would love to add it to one of the next posts in this series.
Stay tuned for in-person resources and more!

You have no idea how to network and could use a little help? I can teach you how to take the steps you need to be successful. Contact me to learn more.

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Holiday Networking – Free Ebook

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Am I the only one who can hardly believe we are quickly approaching the new year? Did 2008 fly by or what?

Here’s hoping that 2009 turns into a much better year for our economy and  the job market. To get you started on the right foot, I put together the first in my “Drive Your Own Career Bus” e-Series on Holiday Networking. It is specially designed to help those of you who are about to embark upon the (sometimes dreaded) holiday party networking circuit.

With the right preparation and follow-up, in-person networking events offer unmatched opportunities to broaden your networking circle and to connect with people who may be in a good mood!

Don’t miss out on all of the great opportunities awaiting you! Pick up your copy of Drive Your Own Career Bus – Holiday Networking for Success. It is full of advice, tips and tricks to get you through this holiday season in good networking shape.

How do you get your copy? For a limited time, it is yours free when you subscribe to Keppie Careers.

All you need to do is enter your email in the navy box on the right side of your screen. That’s it – enter your valid email address and press “Subscribe Me.” You’ll receive a free subscription to my blog (a weekly email) and we will email you a copy of Drive Your Own Career Bus – Holiday Networking for Success.

What a deal!

Don’t delay, this offer is limited. My marketing team thinks I should sell this report, but I’m in a giving mood, so I decided to make it free for a limited time!

If you are already a subscriber, just send an email to [email protected] from the email address where you are already subscribed and we’ll be happy to forward you a copy.

Don’t forget that Keppie Careers offers many services to help you get your job hunt on track. Stop wasting your time! Visit the OUR SERVICES link for more information about how we can help you.


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Peer Infiltration Networking – Network Down and Across for Job Hunting Success

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Regular readers know that networking is one of my favorite topics. I especially love when I find expert sources who confirm the advice I’ve been giving my clients! A recent New York Times article by Hannah Seligson highlighted a trend identified with Generation Y job seekers, but I think it is a valuable strategy for everyone to use when networking. What is it? “Peer infiltration” – networking down and across instead of networking “up.” In other words, don’t try to network with the top branches of the tree; if you’re a middle branch, or down near the roots, find others like you and network with them!

How does it work? The article quotes Tamara Erickson, a researcher on generational differences in the workplace and author of Plugged In: The Generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, as saying that most job seekers born since 1980 prefer to network with their peers instead of targeting high-level professionals.

Seligson notes:

Lindsey Gerdes, 28, a staff editor at BusinessWeek who writes about Generation Y, says that, particularly in finance, knowing someone your own age can be an important step to getting your foot in the door. “If you are one of these young analysts that lost their job and you don’t know someone in your demographic or from your college that works in your industry, get to know one,” she says. “These young people are the ones with their ears to the ground about hiring needs.”

The article suggests that savvy job seekers take advantage of formal and informal, in-person (“schmoozing”) and online networking opportunities. Networking isn’t rocket science; it makes sense to create a lateral network with friends and extended contacts for information about opportunities.

I think an approach that focuses on peers makes networking much more do-able for anyone who hesitates to “ask for help” and for those who are not comfortable contacting high-level professionals. The fact is, starting where you are is the best networking strategy, as long as where you are includes a tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and even Twitter, and that you make a point to attend in-person networking events as part of your plans.

The article also reminds us that job seekers (and everyone hoping to have a great network) needs to cultivate relationships beyond basic friendships so that contacts will be able to vouch for them professionally. When networking in social settings (including online), keep your professional goals in mind.

Just as it isn’t a good idea to bad-mouth your boss on your Facebook page, it may not sit well with professional “friends” to learn about unsavory job antics, such as when you called in sick after a long night out or how you manage to stretch your lunch on days you’re bored. Oversharing about your personal relationships and anything else that may be considered “TMI” (too much information) is best kept for close friends.

If you’re hoping for a strong professional network, keep it friendly, but save the nitty-gritty details of your life for friends who aren’t prone to judge you based on your own errors in judgment.

Have you successfully used peer networking? Does it sound more do-able than what you’ve been trying to do? Share your thoughts!

Don’t forget that Keppie Careers can help with every aspect of your job search. Need a resume? Don’t know where to get started? We can help!

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How to Land Informational Interviews

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I am a huge fan of informational interviews.  What is that, you ask? An informational interview is a fancy way of saying that you’re requesting a meeting with someone who may be able to share insights or information with you that could help in your job search. (Click HERE to read more about info interviews and HERE for specifics on getting started.) In fact, I’ve even advocated for job seekers to talk to people you DON’T think can help you.

Talking to people about their jobs and companies is a great way to (1) learn about people and organizations and (2) introduce yourself, your skills and accomplishments to people who will (hopefully) like you and want to help you with your plans.

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.

So, take the plunge. Find some contacts and land some informational interviews!

Networking for Success…Think Being, Not Doing

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Today, columnists JT O’Donnell and Dale Dauten of JT and Dale Talk Jobs included a quote from me in their Best of the Month – Career Resources Worth Checking Out:

J.T.: A lot of job-search advice boils down to more and better networking. That assertion always frustrates people who aren’t naturally outgoing. Those who think of networking as mere “schmoozing” will always struggle. Networking is about sharing information, about being genuinely interested in what you might learn from others and what others might learn from you. You don’t need to be a smooth talker or the life of the party to network properly. There’s a great discussion of this in a blog written by a fellow career coach, Miriam Salpeter. Find it at www.KeppieCareers.com. I particularly like this quote: “I try to think of networking as a way of BEING instead of something to DO.”

In light of today’s economic situation, it has never been more clear how important it is to network effectively and with goals in mind. Stay tuned next week for more about how to network well, including a post about people who actually found their jobs using Twitter!

(If you haven’t started using Twitter, NOW is a good time to start! Feel free to “follow” me at: http://twitter.com/Keppie_Careers.)

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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.

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