(Note: I’m happy to have a content sharing partnership with IvyExec. I hope posts from their blog help provide additional resources and ideas for my normal readers, and I welcome IvyExec members to regularly read my blog. Follow the links to learn more about IvyExec.)

Contributed by Barak Epstein and IvyExec.

Perhaps youâ€ve heard of the phrase “Knowledge Economy,” popularized by Peter Drucker in The Age of Discontinuity. If so, youâ€re most likely familiar with the idea that more and more of us work in positions that depend upon the creation, use, and manipulation of knowledge, as opposed to of materials or rote processes.

You understand that the skills that we need to work are changing. Maybe you understand that the skills you need to find a job have changed. But what you may not understand is that your power to define your profession has grown enormously as well.

My key recommendation to you is to think about how your electronic footprint communicates who you want to be, professionally, and what you have to offer. Letâ€s take a look at three electronic leads that have helped to change my career.

A Bloggy Footprint
I was interested in moving from the education field to the technology field. As a result, I built up a series of blog posts on the topic. When I landed an interview with a prominent technology firm, I shared my URL with the interviewer. She later wrote me to say that an article I had written about electronic textbooks in Texas resonated with personal experiences her family had had. I believe that this view constituted a key moment in my job search. My blog didnâ€t have a large following, numbers-wise, but its impact on my life had still been huge.

Donâ€t Let them Forget You: Regular Updates
Twice a year, I send out an update to professional and personal contacts about my achievements, plans and interests. I make sure to make the note conversational and link-filled. The body of the e-mail is short, but the links are rich. I recently was contacted by the head of a think tank that had passed me over for a job two years earlier. He wrote “I have been following closely your incredible career” before offering me interesting contract work. What convinced this gentleman, in the aftermath of my unsuccessful interview with him, that my career was “incredible”? One thing only: My semi-annual updates.

Trust the Crowd: Donâ€t Focus Too Much on Your Targets
Many folks will tell you how to use Ivy Exec, LinkedIn, etc. for targeted searches of companies that interest you or to scope out individuals you would like to meet. Those activities are critical. But donâ€t underestimate the importance of having an electronic network that is large and diverse enough to surprise you. I use Facebook, for instance, to share my thoughts on professional topics and to provide updates on issues at work that engage me. As a result, an acquaintance I havenâ€t seen in 20 years offered me his rich rolodex of contacts at my new firm. I wouldnâ€t have thought to seek him out for this sort of help but I did think to spend time digging up old contacts from the electronic universe.

Summing it Up
You are not the only person bombarded with social media opportunities; the people you seek to influence are in a similar situation. The challenge, naturally, is to get through to them. The opportunity, however, is that you can, through a few well-placed communications, shape the perceptions of those who have increasingly little time to evaluate you. If your electronic footprint is thoughtful, regular, and not over-targeted, I believe that you, too, can make the career change you desire.

The original article can be found on the Ivy Exec Blog.

Barak Epstein is transitioning his career to technology management after working as a teacher and social science researcher. Barak is an IvyExec All Access member at IvyExec. Ivy Exec, a web-based recruiting company that combines next generation technology with human power to deliver customized hiring solutions targeting high caliber professionals to help place them in executive jobs. 

photo by dekade

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One of the fastest ways to lose a job opportunity is by submitting a resume with typos or spelling errors. In a competitive market where employers have a choice of qualified candidates, many hiring managers toss out error-laden resumes and choose the most perfect documents to review.

It can be difficult, even for the most skilled writer, to proofread his or her own resume. Itâ€s easy to overlook mistakes, especially those not picked up by spell-check programs. For example, listing you were “manger” instead of “manager.” Since manger is a word, spell check wonâ€t point out this mistake, and you could send in a resume with a silly error.

In this week’s U.S. News & World Report post, I interviewed Roleta Fowler Vasquez, owner of Wordbusters Resume and Writing Services, for tips on how to avoid those persnickety errors in your resume so they are not inevitable.

Read more via U.S. News & World Report.

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Why aren’t you getting the job?

It’s one of the most difficult and frustrating questions to face. Job seekers usually don’t receive feedback from hiring managers or interviewers, let alone hear why their resume may not have been selected for an interview. Instead, they are left to wonder if there is something wrong with them.

I don’t advise job seekers rely too much on the old stand-by reasons why they didn’t get the job: ageism (they want a 25-year old, and I’m 45), the economy is so bad/no one is getting hired (even if they are). There are no jobs in your town, and it would be impossible to sell the house right now. Your situation is unique — you took time off to care for an elderly parent, you want to return to paid work after retiring…The list goes on and on. There are plenty of “reasons” you can identify to explain away why you aren’t getting the job.

No matter what, though, in my experience, it usually comes back to several factors, and these factors are always in the job seeker’s control (unlike the items in the paragraph above, which are more difficult (although not impossible) for the job seeker to address).

– Your search itself — are you looking for a job or a company?

Even if you are getting interviews, it is possible you’re not connecting with the types of opportunities looking for someone like you. If you switch the way you are conducting your search, and instead of focusing on looking for job announcements, you look for companies with problems you know you can solve, you may have much more success.

Searching for a company instead of a job puts much more control in the job seeker’s hands. It can be very empowering to realize you can learn about an organization (via traditional and online research as well as networking) and, instead of trying to apply for a narrowly defined job, you can work on meeting people in the company and getting to know more about the organization. The goal? To be the “go to” person for the job before they even have posted a job. (Maybe before they even know they need to hire someone.)

– Your networking — and social networking

If your network isn’t working, think about making a change. Are you running around, telling everyone you know you need a job, and asking for their help? They probably have no idea how to help you. Instead, focus on letting everyone know about your expertise, take the focus off of the job. Explain what companies, industries or fields you are researching and ask if your contacts know anyone in those companies. However, try to remember not to make your job hunt the key factor when you meet with people. Think about projecting your expertise and leaving people with the impression that you are an expert in your field.

While social media won’t get you an interview, having a complete profile on LinkedIn and engaging on platforms such as Twitter can help you expand your network, which helps you improve your chances to land interviews.

– How you are applying

When you do apply for jobs, make sure your materials make it obvious that you’re well qualified and can do the job. If you are applying for a marketing job, make sure the entire resume isn’t about your sales accomplishments. You don’t want to confuse the reader — your materials should address their needs. Target your resume, online profiles, cover letter and all of your materials to their needs.

– Preparation for the interview

Prepare for an interview, even before you have one scheduled. How often will an employer expect you to be available “tomorrow” or the next day to discuss the job? Make sure you’re prepared to explain why you are qualified and why they should hire you. You’ll also need to know as much as possible about the company (which won’t be a problem if you’ve been looking for a company instead of a job!) Have stories to describe working with teams, leading, having problems with other people, overcoming difficult situations and a time when you came up against an obstacle. Be able to describe your successes and accomplishments and identify some weaknesses.

Have questions for the employer. These should be questions you cannot find answered elsewhere. It makes all the difference in an interview to sound well-prepared and interested in the job. Less prepared candidates will not make the cut in this competitive market.

– How you follow up

If you interview with six people, do you go the extra mile and send different, targeted thank you notes to each person? Or, are you emailing out the same messages, copied and pasted from one to the next? (Are you even sure you changed out the names correctly?) Making the extra effort to address each interviewer and mention what you discussed or clarify something you may have forgotten to mention can make a big difference when employers are trying to find evidence that you really are the type of candidate who will go above and beyond the call of duty.

Think about your follow up materials. How could you improve them to try to solidify your chance at the job?

Take a look at some of my other ideas on my U.S. News & World Report blog about this topic.

photo by Ciccio Pizzettaro

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Features:

• Full paid issue (May 1st): 25 articles total
• Sample issue: 9 articles total, including how to make a good first impression, how to manage your digital image, and wardrobe tips.
• Interviews with: Doug Conant (CEO of Campbells), Jim Quigley (CEO of Deloitte), Bob Taylor (CEO of Taylor Guitars), Sam Calagione (CEO of Dogfish Head), Brian Halligan (CEO of Hubspot), and Andy Boynton (Dean of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College).

• Free sample URL:http://personalbrandingsample.com
• Paid subscription URL: http://personalbrandingmag.com
• Facebook page:http://facebook.com/PersonalBrandingMagazine

Be sure to click through or subscribe for useful information, insights and details!

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“The bean counter who saved Delta a few bucks in st. lou hoping he wouldn’t need more de-icing fluid this year screwed a lot of people today.”

“Not a big quote tweeter, but #delta should remember ‘when you fail 2 prepare, you prepare 2 fail.'”

“New #delta strategy on de-icing planes in st. louis: wait ’til it melts. well, the company is based in atlanta.”

While it’s unfortunate these tweets landed Chadd in such hot water, the most important lesson job seekers can learn from this story: companies ARE listening! It’s possible to get someone’s attention via Twitter, and to use it to your advantage.

11 Alive reporter Jaye Watson interviewed me about what Chadd did wrong and how people can use Twitter to attract positive attention.

picture by xotoko

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This is a real honor, as I have been using and recommending Quint Careers as a resource for my clients for just about that many years! I remember meeting Randall and Kathy several years ago at a conference — it was a “brush with career fame” for me, which makes this honor even more special.

Their announcement notes:

As part of the 15th anniversary of the founding of Quintessential Careers, we are honoring and celebrating some of our favorite career visionaries, gurus, and experts — people who truly want to help job-seekers understand and succeed in the job-search.

We’ve selected these 15 career experts, folks we are honoring with the title of Quintessential Careers Career Masterminds, because of their career and job-hunting know-how — and their passion for sharing that knowledge with job-seekers, career-changers, and the entire career community.

It’s especially nice to be recognized for sharing information and resources with the career community, so thank you very much!

Learn about everyone on the Quint Careers list and stay tuned for our involvement on the site in the coming months!

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This month, the Career Collective (a community I co-coordinate with my colleague Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter) looks at how to re-tool, re-focus and generally re-organize your job hunt. It’s almost spring (at least on the calendar), so it’s as good a time as any to review your plans.

1. First thing to evaluate: does your target job exist?

Maybe this sounds obvious, but many jobs are not going to come back. Certain industries may never recover from the downturn, some positions are being replaced with automated systems or being sent overseas, and other jobs are going to contractors and short-term workers instead of permanent employees. (Temp to perm has become a reality for a lot of people.)

Even if you’re doing everything “right,” if you are looking for a job that doesn’t exist, you’re likely going to continue to be very frustrated. Your choice? Either a) hang a shingle (maybe a virtual shingle) and think about going into business for yourself as an independent contractor or b) read on!

2. Have you considered that it may be time to change career paths or directions altogether?

Even if your job “exists,” maybe things have changed and it doesn’t “exist for you.” It’s possible companies no longer want to pay for your experience and prefer to hire less skilled people to do the work. No matter the reason, maybe it’s time to think about a new career path.

Identify growth fields and careers and start researching to learn if you may be a good candidate for opportunities in the new industry. Make sure to target your resume and other materials to your new goal employer. (This is very important, as transitioning between fields is not an easy thing to do, especially when there is a lot of competition for jobs.)

One thing that may help is to have a strong online presence supporting your skills in your new targeted industry. A social resume (website), where you highlight your expertise and skills (maybe via a blog) can help attract interest in your abilities as they apply to a new field. Consider creating your social resume (YourName.com) I can help!

3. Have you been too picky?

Do you have a certain vision of the type of job you’re willing to do? Maybe you don’t even LIKE the work you did in the past, but you have your mind set on doing it again. Have you been too particular about the type of people or places where you want to work? (A 20-minute commute — absolutely not! Work for him – are you kidding? When pigs fly!) I am not suggesting you take just “any” job, but it may be a good time to take a good, long, hard look at what you want and decide if you need to change your goals.

Maybe a longer commute is worth it if you can land a job at X company or in Y field or industry. Decide what parameters you can change and refocus your search with new vigor. You never know how opening up a few new windows may result in an open door.

Take a look at how my colleagues responded to this month’s question below and follow our posts on Twitter via the hashtag #CareerCollective.

Personal Branding to Fire Up Your Job Search, @DebraWheatman

Succeeding in a “Final Jeopardy!” World, @WalterAkana

5 Steps to Retool & Jumpstart Your Job Search, @erinkennedycprw

Your Job Search: Let’s Just Start Again Shall We? @GayleHoward

Checklist for Spring Cleaning Your Job Search, @careersherpa

5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Job Search, @heatherhuhman

Ten Surefire Ways to Organize Your Job Search, @KatCareerGal

Put Spring Into Your Job Search, @EliteResumes @MartinBuckland

Toes in the Water, @ValueIntoWords

How to Revitalize a Stale Job Search, @KCCareerCoach

How to re-think your job search, @Keppie_Careers

Wake Up and Smell the Flowers: Spring Cleaning Your Resume, @barbarasafani

Spring Cleaning and Your Personal Brand, @resumeservice

Spring clean your mind clutter first, @DawnBugni

Managing Your Career 2.0: On Giving Something Up To Get It Right, @Chandlee

photo by Werner Kunz (werkunz1)

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He explains his job search focus is on “working with a purpose throughout the process…there’s little room for impulse decision-making. It is about efficiency and structure.” A bonus? His background is in consumer marketing (22 years). In case you didn’t already know — finding a job is all about marketing, branding and communicating, so Tim’s experience is invaluable.

30 Ideas offers both practical advice and important reminders.

For example, we know it’s difficult to maintain a positive mindset while job hunting. We also know how invaluable it can be to face the challenge with an optimistic attitude. Tim empathetically provides numerous suggestions to help job seekers keep an upbeat focus, including:

• ideas to create an actionable strategy
• reminders to embrace some of your “free” time to recharge your batteries
• specifics to consider, even on the worst days
• tips to overcome irrational fears
• how to avoid the “out of work” stigma

In addition to these important reminders, Tim takes his readers through practical job search networking steps, offering advice about:

• how to tell your network what you want
• whom to target for networking
• how to handle networking events
• when to readjust your “pitch” — and how
• what NOT to do when you network (which could be as important as what TO do)

Tim’s book is a great resource for job seekers who need a boost and some real-life, honest-to-goodness advice to remind them they can make a difference in their job hunts. Be sure to also visit Tim’s website/blog, where he offers frequent insights for job seekers — extending the advice in the book and interacting with his readers. You may also be interested in Tim’s LinkedIn group, Tim’s Strategy – Ideas For Job Search, Career And Life, where a community of job seekers and advisors share ideas and suggestions.

Learn more about 30 Ideas on Tim’s site and order it HERE via AMAZON or HERE for Kindle.

Tim generously offered to send a copy of his book to one of my readers! Comment below with a tip for job seekers based on your experience or a question!

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Hopefully, you have already been following companies (read more about following companies on LinkedIn here), but this is a pretty neat improvement. All you need to do is go to the top toolbar, select companies (see picture) and include keywords (which could be city, industry, etc.). LinkedIn finds a list of companies with your criteria where you have connections in your network. LinkedIn links you to those contacts and lets you know which companies currently list jobs in LinkedIn.

You’ll also have a chance to follow the company, which helps you track what is going on there. Take a look at LinkedIn’s video describing the new search function:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j5VoN_v-Us&feature=player_embedded

I think job seekers (or anyone thinking of making a change) will find this new functionality extremely useful! Be sure to keep up with The LinkedIn blog for updates.

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