Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Branding You for Career Success

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In some circles, “branding” sounds more like something you do to an animal than a topic for a career column.  Others nod silently, recognizing the concept…Self branding, actually thinking of yourself as a brand like Coke, Disney or Nike, is a career strategy.

If you recognize that a resume is nothing more than a marketing document – marketing you – thinking of yourself as a brand can actually help you focus on what you have to offer an employer.

You need to know yourself to sell your skills.  Think about it:  What makes you special or different?  Can you succinctly talk about it in 15 words or less?  How about in a 30-second “infomercial” for yourself?  Otherwise known as the “elevator pitch,” having something short and sweet to say that describes you (your brand) is key to networking and job searching.

Once you clearly and efficiently describe what is unique about you, you are on the road to defining “BRAND YOU.”

Stay tuned for more on personal branding in future blogs!

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Looking for a job, but you need help figuring out what makes you unique?  Can’t put your finger on what skills you have to offer?  Keppie Careers can help!  We’ll transform your resume and support you every step of the way!

Our mission:  to advise, encourage and enlighten job seekers!

www.keppiecareers.com

Best Companies and Work Happiness

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Fortune announced its Best Companies to Work for in 2008.  Based on employee surveys, Google ranked #1, probably as a result of their unique company culture, benefits and work environment.

What makes a great company?  Great pay and perks, training, job growth and flexibility are among the characteristics that employees appreciate in their work place. 

Free scuba classes, prayer and meditation rooms, free trips and free lunch are among some of the unique perks at some of the top 100 employers rated in the survey.

Even if your company or employer didn’t make the list, less tangible factors also make for a great workplace.  For example:

  • Mentorship,
  • Support for implementing innovative ideas,
  • Latitude to be creative,
  • Emphasis on promotion from within and
  • Support from non-micro-managing leadership.

Working with people whom you respect and like is another important, although intangible factor that influences your experience at work.  Although pay and perks are great, in my opinion, working with people whom you admire and enjoy being around may be the most important factor influencing a positive work life!  After all, many of us spend more waking hours with our work colleagues than our friends and families.

Feel free to share what makes a top workplace in your opinion!

Let Keppie Careers help you find a better job!
We advise, encourage and enlighten job seekers.

www.keppiecareers.com

Soft Skills for Your Job Search

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What are “Soft” Skills?

“Soft” skills, otherwise known as emotional intelligence, may make a difference between an employee who can do the job and one who does it well. Soft skills include: leadership, written and verbal communication, problem solving, motivation, interpersonal skills and creativity. Soft skills are transferable to any position; they do not rely on technical abilities. They are not skills typically taught in classrooms. (Although some business school programs are incorporating training in emotional intelligence to give their students a competitive edge.)

Take a look at this soft skills (emotional IQ) test that you can take on line to get a sense of how your skills rate.

Some recruiters believe that soft skills make the difference between the candidate who is hired and the second choice applicant. Employers today seek flexibility, teamwork and integrity. They realize that someone who communicates well and has a strong work ethic makes a good employee. As a result, incorporating these skills on your resume may make the difference between getting an interview and getting passed over.

The key is to incorporate soft skills with specifics that SHOW your abilities. For example:

Before:
Excellent oral and written communication skills.

After:
Wrote and presented successful training sessions to 200 telephone operators, resulting in measurable gains in company’s ordering efficiency.

The first bullet begs the question: Prove it! The “after” bullet leaves no room for doubt: This applicant can communicate verbally (in front of a group) and in writing.

Selected Soft Skills List

approachable
business acumen
charisma
communication
composure
conflict management
creativity
crisis management
critical thinking
decision making
dedication
empathy
energetic
ethical
flexibility
hard working
honesty
humor
ideas
initiative
inspire others
instincts
integrity
interpersonal skills
leadership
listening
management
morale building
motivational
multicultural sensitivity
multi-task
organizational
passionate
personality
planning
poise
problem solving
professional
public speaking
reasoning
research
respect for others
self confident
self-motivated
sensitivity
supervisory
take constructive criticism
team building
team leadership
team player
time management
verbal
visionary
work well under pressure
writing

To thine own self be true…

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It’s more than just a line from Shakespeare! Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone who worked had the luxury of spending their work hours doing something that they enjoyed and was true to their values and skills? If you are considering a new career, have you done any thinking about how that career intersects with who you are (or want to be)?

Focusing your your values is one way to help direct your search.  Check out the University of Minnesota’s Values Inventory to get you thinking about your values and what you really want in terms of work.

Another strategy is to focus on skills.  So many job seekers can’t really identify what they have to offer in the way of skills.  This is a real problem when it comes to the self-marketing, self-selling and interviewing aspects of the job search.  I’ve said it before:  If you don’t know what you have to offer, who does?

There are many ways to approach figuring out your skills.  There is a basic one that I advise my clients to consider:  look at a skills list.  Highlight all of the skills you’ve EVER used or could remotely be related to you.  Then, go back and check off the skills that really resonate and feel like “you.”  This is a basic, not time consuming and free way to get you thinking about  your skills.

Another suggestion is to use an on-line skills profiler tool.  This instrument  allows you to identify and match skills used in a variety of different jobs with specific occupations.  You can search by skills or start with occupations.  This tool may give you some new ways of thinking about how you can use your transferable skills.

Personality and occupational tests are tools to help focus your plans.  John Holland’s Occupational Test functions on the belief that people who have similar interests may prefer the same types of work environments.  It aims to categorize your interests, abilities and personality into themes that may then be grouped to target careers.  This is one of many personality driven assessments available that may help focus your goals.

Transferable Skills

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It is so important for you to know what you have to offer when you are looking for a job!  Transferable skills are a great avenue for marketing yourself into a new job or career.  These skills, when used to your advantage, can open doors and present opportunities that may have seemed unattainable.

Keppie Careers’ “Free Career Advice” has an article that describes transferable skills and offers a link to an assessment to help you figure out what you have to offer.  I hope you’ll take a look!  You may be surprised to realize all that you have to offer.

keppiecareers.com…We advise, encourage, enlighten!