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Does your LinkedIn Profile make you standout?

6 January 2009, 10:03 pm

Have I got a great article to share with you! Jason Alba, job search guru and JibberJobber founder, tweeted about it on Twitter earlier today. He’s mentioned in the article, hence the tweet.

 

This article is packed full of such useful information, I can’t add anything other than “do what the article says.” Here’s the link to How to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile: Stand Out to Employers, Recruiters. Read it and then follow me to LinkedIn. I’m off to tweak my own profile.

 

Be sure to read the comments after the article. You’ll learn how to add bullets and special characters to your profile as well.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

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Do I really need professional help?

3 January 2009, 11:20 am

Some would say yes … but then I’m not talking about me. <smile> I’m talking getting professional help as you contemplate or begin a job search. When it comes to creating a compelling sales and market document, targeted toward landing interviews in a competitive job market, are you up to the task?

 

If some of this looks familiar, it’s compiled from an answer I wrote in response to a question on LinkedIn a few months ago. So many people start job searches after the holidays, it’s appropriate to make sure everyone is armed with the tools needed for career management success.

 

First, remember, putting together a resume is not about an individual’s writing capabilities. I’ve written resumes for clients with master’s and doctorate’s in English. Obviously, someone with advanced English degrees has strong writing skills, but there are different types of writing. A professional rez writer knows how to create a compelling document and grab someone’s attention in the 10-15 seconds allowed during that first pass read through. That’s a different skill set and a very specialized type of writing.

 

Second, a rez is not a career autobiography or a list of job duties. It is a sales and marketing document designed to sell your two most important commodities – your time and your talent. If you’re like most, you’ll find it difficult to objectively edit your own careers and create a targeted, focused document. You’re too close to your career wonderfulness to not want to tell everything. Do you spill your guts and tell absolutely everything about yourself when you meet that special someone? Probably not. You tell just enough to entice interest and land a date. A rez does the same thing. It entices an interview – that “first date” in the employment world.

 

Third, look at it in from a monetary standpoint. If a well-crafted document can reduce your job search by two or three days, the investment in the resume is returned almost immediately. Think about it: $15 an hour x 24 hours (three, eight-hour days) = $360. As you can see, a well-crafted resume pays for itself in the first week at your new job.

 

Bottom line – if your résumé is written in red crayon on a cocktail napkin and it’s getting you interviews, then no, you don’t need a professional. But, it you’re sending out hundreds of rezs with nary an interview, it’s usually not your skills; it’s your presentation. Invest in yourself and seek out a professional. You will get a noticeable positive impact in your job search.

 

And in a shameless plug for me, here’s more info on why to work with a professional …

 

 

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A smile — Your best job search accessory for 2009

31 December 2008, 7:25 pm

My goodness. Where did the day go? My intent this morning was to get one more blog post up before the end of this year – posterity thing, I suppose. I had all ideas I would tie a job search topic into something having to do with the New Year and new beginnings, etc., etc., etc.

 

Then, it happened – the unexpected. Last night, I had a flat tire last while out on pet sit rounds. I pulled in a stranger’s driveway, to get out of traffic and knocked on the front door to let the residents know why this woman pulled into their yard and was changing a tire. To my surprise, a Good Samaritan came out and changed the tire for me. Thank-you kind soul!!!

 

This morning I got up early in hope of catching a tire repair shop in the area open on this New Year’s Eve Day Holiday. I looked out the window and the “donut” spare was flat. AAARRRUUUUGGGHHH!!! Darling husband put enough air in the donut to get me the six country miles to the repair shop. Looking at the wear on my tires, the mechanic suggests I need an alignment … a service they don’t provide. Four calls later, I found a shop able to do the alignment today, not Saturday, or next Tuesday …

 

Colorful New Year's EveSo, rather than researching and composing a career-related post, I spent the day dealing with unexpected car issues and expenses. Instead of leisurely musing about job searches and resumes, I ran around the countryside – literally – to get everything done on a holiday.

 

On the surface, the past 24-hours doesn’t sound like a lot of fun for me. But, really, it wasn’t that bad. Without the flat, I wouldn’t have met the wonderful family that helped change the tire last night. While getting new tires this morning, I ran into a veterinary hospital (previous job) client I hadn’t seen in years and we played catch-up for a moment. When I was getting the car aligned, I had great conversation with an older gentleman about the state of society. Overall, unexpected, yet enriching events making for a very interesting day.

 

What did I learn today? And how in the world am I going to segue this into careers and New Year’s Eve? Well, here goes. Things happen everyday. How you deal with them is up to you. And believe me positive attitudes and smiling faces will get your further in life and in a job search than a scowl ever will. Make 2009 the year you smile more.

 

You didn’t expect something profound did you? I told you, I’ve been busy today.

 

  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

 

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Networking can’t be rushed.

24 December 2008, 11:08 am

Catching up on my reading last night, I came across Jason Alba’s, JibberJobber blog post about networking. His wisdom ties into my last post, so take a look at what he has to say, “Networking Sucks in the Job Search (aka, Why Networking isn’t Working.)”

 

Bottom line, networking, as Jason says, is NOT only handing out business cards at a quarterly professional meeting. And it’s definitely NOT calling Joe, who you haven’t spoken with in 10 years, the day after you were laid-off and saying, “Hey man. I lost my job. You gotta help me.” You’ll be lucky if Joe even remembers you and now you’re “expecting” him to help you find employment.

 

Effective networking is seeing an article or an interesting Web site about one of Joe’s interests or even a joke you know he’d enjoy and taking the time to send it to him. Or picking up the phone occasionally – once a year – to play catch-up. It takes only five minutes (if that) to stay in touch and let someone know you’re thinking about them. Doing this over time builds a relationship and dare I say a network.

 

I love the term Jason coined “Microwave Networkers”. There is no 60-second answer to building a network. It takes time. And cultivating long-term professional relationships takes effort. It requires you think about someone other than yourself occasionally and take action on those thoughts. Five, ten minutes a day, over several years and you’ll have a solid, helpful network established. And better yet, people tend to reciprocate, so the energy you put out is sure to come back to you.

 

Networking is an effective way to learn about new opportunities. But, you’ve got to have a network in place LONG before you’re laid-off or considering a career change. Yes, networking works, as long as you make it more than handing someone a business card with the hope they’ll remember you in five years when you need their help.

 

 

 

And on another note, no matter the holiday you celebrate, make it extraordinary this year. I, personally celebrate Christmas, so want to share a plate of Christmas cookies and take a moment to wish everyone

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

 

 

Christmas Cookies

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Web 2.0 – Business in a fishbowl

22 December 2008, 8:57 pm

Goldfish BowlI recently read Gayle Howard’s blog post about how Web 2.0 is affecting company communications and in the long run, operations. (Gayle’s an Australian resume writer and fellow PARW member.)

 

It ties in nicely with what I’ve discovered about this whole cyber-networking thing. Building on her post, there’s another side to Web 2.0. From a company perspective, they now operate in a “fish bowl” – there are no secrets. From a job seekers perspective, that fish bowl is an open resource to lots of information, from untold sources, not available as recently as two or three years ago.

 

As I wrote in my comment to Gayle’s post, “There is no excuse for a job seeker go into an interview unprepared.” And the more time invested (yes, invested, not frittered away …) in networking, the easier it is to get the information needed to prepare for job interviews. Need a contact name? Ask. Someone is bound to know. Need the skinny on a company before you go on an interview? Inquire. You’ll get more than you ever imagined. (Obviously, discretion is needed when using a public forum to support a career change, but there are ways to gather information without tipping your hand. But that’s a topic for another day.) Taking it a step further, with a solid network and a history of give and take, you can prepare for just about anything. You’ll be amazed at how willingly people share valuable information about any topic. It’s a knowledge and information exchange at hyper speed – a bit overwhelming at first, but quickly manageable.

 

Add to networking the ability to set-up a Google Alert for ANY topic and there’s no reason you can’t speak intelligently about the company during a job interview. You’ll know the company CEO won the charity fishing tournament last week because the article containing that information came to you in the form of a Google alert – straight to your inbox. Knowing an interesting tidbit, not readily found on the company’s home page shows you did your homework and positively sets you apart from the rest of the interview pool.  

 

Since I started spending a little time on Facebook and Twitter everyday, I’ve found, if you ask a question in cyberspace, someone will answer it or at least head you in the right direction. People are grateful for your offers of assistance and advice too. (There’s the give and take.) Plus by participating in the knowledge exchange, you’re building a positive reputation as an expert in your field, in your industry. Doesn’t sound like frittering away time to me. 

 

As a businessperson and writer, I’ve only scratched the surface of what I can do and what I can learn with Web 2.0 interactions and the networking opportunities out there. As a job seeker, those same opportunities await. The #1 way to locate new opportunities is through networking. Be prudent in postings and the network you build and generous in your sharing. The world is now, literally, at your fingertips and it comes to you, anywhere, with the click of a mouse or the push of button on a desktop, laptop or mobile device.

 Two Goldfish

Twitter Tweets? Facebook posts? RSS Feeds? LinkedIn connections? Blogging? Web 2.0? Google Alerts? If this is all foreign to you, Google it. Dig, learn and jump right in. It’s a whole new world, waiting to be explored.

 

 

PS – if you’re of a certain age and think this is for the twenty-somethings … you couldn’t be more wrong. A little time; a little thought; a little tenacity and you’re communicating with brand new audience in a very effective way. (I only look young in my pictures. <wink>  )

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Drive your own bus.

21 December 2008, 11:43 am

“You’re a resume writer? I bet your business is booming.” That’s the reaction I get lately when I tell people what I do for a living. Then it’s almost a wink-wink, nudge-nudge, “You must be lovin’ this economy.” The first time it happened, I politely mumbled something and changed the subject. By the third time someone “assumed” I was thrilled with the economy and that my business was booming because of it, I exhaled and decided to take a moment to explain employment basics.

 

Yes, my resume business is steady – thankful for that blessing. And no, I’m not any more thrilled about the rollercoaster economy and jobless rate than you are. <Large smile> Funny thing though, the bulk of my clients are not recently laid-off employees. Some are, but most are currently employed and have decided to make a career move, are preparing for the “what ifs” or are smart enough to know opportunities surround them and stay ready to explore them. I have several astute clients come back every 18 months or so to freshen up their information. Three Headed Monster

  

When I say that, people look at me as if I’ve grown a third head. The idea of doing a resume before you “have to” is foreign to a good many folks. You don’t need a resume unless you’re looking for a job, right? Well, as I said in my last post, the smart person is always a job seeker.

 

Putting together a compelling sales and marketing document and starting a job search takes lots of positive energy and confidence. I tell my clients all the time, “You gotta break out those pom-poms from the back of the closet and get ready to cheer about you. ‘ Coz if you don’t do it, no one else will.” I’ve worked with plenty of recently downsized individuals and believe me, it’s difficult to help them expound on career wonderfulness when they’ve been forced into an unplanned career move. At least with a current resume, it’s one less worry. They can hit the ground running.

  

Wendy Haylett, fellow PARW member and elist contributor, has this quotation as part of her signature at the end of her emails:

 

“The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career!”
– Earl Nightingale, author, speaker, motivator

 

And there’s this from Jay Block’s Web site:

 

If you are not living life on your terms, you are living on other people’s terms at the expense of your own. A meaningful career should serve only one purpose – to give you the life you want and deserve. Career casualness leads to life casualty.
– Jay Block, author, career coach

 

Drive your own bus, whenever you can.

 

 

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Is there ever a right time to start a job search?

16 December 2008, 12:23 pm

A returning client asked recently if she should wait until after the holiday to “even start looking” since everyone is on vacation this time of year.* Combine “holiday slowdown thinking” with a “slow economy mentality” and we’ve got a bunch of talented professional sitting around on their hands waiting for the magical moment when it’s right to start a job search. Vacationing Santa

 

This is what I told her:

 

“As far as a job search this time of year – keep your eyes open and do a targeted search all the time, regardless the season. True, hiring slows to slower than its normal glacial speed, BUT it does not stop. Critical positions are filled on Christmas Day if need be…. OK. I’m going for the drama, but you see what I mean. A “targeted search” means you’re looking every day and have notifications set up when new jobs post and you’re using other Internet marketing tools to research companies. And you’re responding to jobs that fit your criteria. There is no holiday from being open to opportunities. But know responses may be slower than their normal slow pace.

 

“You’re right in some aspects about this time of year. Doing a “shotgun approach” during the holidays has the potential to stall because of the heavy vacation schedules in most companies. Although, if you need a job you do the research and the follow-up to make it happen, regardless the time of year. Someone’s always got a day off sometime. Do what you need to do to find your bliss and forget what the rest of the world is doing. Make it happen.” 

 

As far as searching in a slow economy, CareerBuilder.com editor, Kate Lorenz gives marvelous tips on Job Searching in a Recession. In fact, recession or not, it’s great advice.  

 

Job searching, like sales, is a numbers game. The more you get out and do, the more you succeed. There is no perfect time to start a job search. In fact, properly managing your career means you’re always searching; always open to opportunities; always preparing for the next big thing. 

 

 

*PS – I went to Indeed.com and did a quick search for the positions we’d discussed when we did her update. Two weeks ago we found two positions; today there are five – in a recession, during a slow season. Get busy.

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Extra! Extra! Personalized approach nets personalized contact.

11 December 2008, 8:19 pm

My phone rang the other day. It was BB. I did his resume for him in October. We targeted the resume in response to a specific company’s job posting. BB emailed one resume; got one interview; received a job offer. Whoooo-hooooo. Love a success story like that. But that’s not the point of this post. Three weeks into the “dream job” BB realized this was a case of “careful of what you ask for; you just might get it”. He tendered his resignation and is back on the market again.

 

It’s been a while since BB searched for a job. More than 10 years. He called the other day for a bit of insight into what happened to job searches since he’d been away. That conversation could fill pages. But not here. Well, not right now anyway.

 

BB told me he’d been mailing out resumes the old-fashioned way – via the USPS. (OK. I guess it’s still done that way.) He went on to describe one resume packet he mailed. He printed a cartoon graphic depicting a delivery person rushing in with an urgent package on the envelope. My staunch business soul bristled at the thought of a cartoon on the outside of business correspondence, but kept that opinion to myself. Am I glad I did.

 

Extra ExtraLater on in the conversation, BB said he’d researched the “cartoon envelope” company and found them to use logos, similar to the graphic he printed on the outside of his envelope. He received a personalized “thank-you, loved the presentation, but no openings” email response. He plans on continuing contact with the organization to build a long-term relationship in hopes that when a job opens, he’ll be the first name on the list. My marketing heart sang and my staunch business soul lightened up. BB used an effective method to draw attention to his resume and it worked. And he had a plan in place to continue contact. YEA!

 

BB’s plan paralleled perfectly the ideas Nick Corcodilos outlined in an article titled Pursue Companies, Not Jobs. Corcodilos encourages employees to “investigate the depth and breadth of opportunities” and carve your own career path. Not pursue jobs and hope you find a company that fits.

 

Can BB use the same cartoon character on every single resume envelope he sends out from now on because it worked so well with this company? Absolutely not. BB took the time to understand the company and connect with them on their level. He let them know he’d done his homework. He made it all about them.

 

 I’m glad I didn’t offer my initial impression to BB when he told me about the cartoon. I would have been wrong. BB understands marketing. He understands he’s marketing his talents to a potential employer. And BB is selling; not telling. He researched his target audience and appealed to their sense of fraternity by using a similar graphic. And it worked. Not landing a job, but landing a contact. And contacts can lead to jobs … network, network, network.

 

I told BB, other than learning to trust electronic submissions; he was well on his way to a new career. And if insisted on the safety blanket of snail mailing something after he emailed it, then at least acknowledge he’d emailed it in too so he’d save the person on the receiving end some time.

 

Thanks for the great lesson in marketing BB.

 

 

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Volunteer to network … continued.

10 December 2008, 10:01 pm

 

OK, I mentioned there are marketable skills you can develop while volunteering. Here’s a list of 10. I’m sure you can add more.

 

1. Learn to write, rehearse and deliver effective elevator speeches. If you can effectively communicate you causes’ mission, you’re well on your way to communicating your own value to potential employers.

 

2. Develop the art of small talk. Rather than standing there, staring off into space at a bake sale booth, ask the person on the other side of the table what’s their favorite dessert. Before you know it you’re chatting away. Do it frequently enough and you’ll be comfortable at it. Imagine how helpful that skill is during awkward silences during business meeting, training session breaks or interview lunches. You’ll be remembered for your ability to put people at ease.

 

3. Volunteer to lead a project or event. Words like orchestrated activities, recruited 25 committee members, scheduled four major fund-raising events annually, netting $XXX,XXX, coordinated vendor set-up, designated sub-committee and delegated duties, negotiated venue contracts come to mind. Hmmmmm. Sounds like marketable job skills to me.

 

4. Handle the PR for the event. In addition to learning to work with the media, you’ll pick up selling and publicity tips from the pros. Ask for help and you’ll be amazed at the input you’ll receive. Since job searching is all about researching the market and selling your skills to a target audience (potential employer), learning how to promote an event or other benefits is sure to help you figure out how to put your best foot forward in the job search process.

 

5. Offer to help garner sponsorship or silent auction donations. Try out different sales techniques. Watch for reactions. You want to be successful in fund-raising, but because it’s volunteer, you’ll relax and be more daring in your approach. See what works, outside your comfort zone, while still presenting a positive image for your organization and you’re well on your way to defining some mighty fine selling skills.

 

 6. Spread the word and voila you’re sharpening marketing skills. If you’re working a booth, ask, “How you’d hear about us”. Do that enough times during the day and you’ve conducted an informal market study and grabbed a snapshot of various advertising media efficacy. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee managing a tight budget, you always want to keep an eye on the bottom line. Knowing what your advertising dollar is returning is good information

 

7. You’ll take focus off your job title and find your genuine voice. Knowing how to interest and engage someone about your cause is a great way to learn how to communicate without the safety net of a corporate title or a label. You’re not Joe Smith, CEO of XYZ Company. You’re Joe, dog lover, tearing up as you talk about your boyhood Beagle. The ability to gather support for your beliefs serves you well during a job search and in business dealings at all levels.

 

8. Work behind the scenes and there’s a whole ‘nother set of things you can learn and market. Improve writing or technical skills. Build booths. Keep transport vehicles in repair. Manage email marketing. Gather content and put together a newsletter. Design and host the Web site. Research details for specific projects. Locate and apply for grants. Organize fundraiser mailings. Well, you get the idea. Almost any organization needs this kind of support and most any company can use people with some of those skills.  

 

9.  Patience. Goodness will you learn patience when volunteering. The joy of volunteering and the bane of volunteering is the variety of people you’ll meet. Once you relax and realize you’re all pulling for a great cause you’ll enjoy the diversity. But it you’re a high-focus Type A, driven sort of person, paired with a Type ZZZZZZ, “whatever” personality, you’ll go crazy trying to force them into attacking the task at hand with a vengeance.

 

Get over it. Type ZZZZZZ’s don’t do anything with a vengeance. Relax. Slow down and you’ll be amazed at the different perspectives you’ll gain by adjusting your expectations and your pace to a more enjoyable level. Work hard, but have fun. And realize there’s more than one way to get there. Try a different path once in a while. You might learn something. Besides. You may have to manage someone like that someday. Might as well see what motivates them.

 

 10. And last but not least you’ll learn tolerance. Whether professional or volunteer, you’re representing an entity larger than yourself. You’ll run into to people who disagree with you. You’re part of a larger group – at work and while volunteering. While inside you’d really like to tell them what you think, outside you learn to listen respectfully to opposing views. Learning to agree to disagree helps in making business decisions as well. Pick your battles. Better to keep the banter friendly and walk away from one dissenter than gather bad press with an argument – press being media or work reputation.

 

Every one of those 10 points will serve you at some time in your career. If you’re not directly in a sales and marketing department or PR, you’ll still need to know how to promote the company or yourself. Learn what you can, when you can. You’ll probably need it … eventually. In the meantime. Look at all the good you’re doing.

 

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Volunteer to network

7 December 2008, 9:31 pm

I had the best day yesterday. I volunteer with a canine rescue group – Monty’s Home. I spent the day at the Dog Club of Wilmington’s Second Annual Holiday Party. There was food, live music, pictures with Santa, dogs – ranging in size from a teacup Chihuahua to a 130-pound Great Dane – and vendors, selling dog-related wares.

 

As you’ll see on the Web site, we offer several products for fundraising. We don’t’ miss many opportunities to get out, sell product and spread the word about our programs. So that’s what I did on Saturday afternoon – helped raise money for a charitable organization, networked a little and honed marketable job skills. Wait. What did she say? Volunteer, network and marketable job skills, all in the same sentence???

 

logo-montys-home6You can check out the Monty’s Home Web site to find out more about the group. I could rattle on for hours about all the good things this organization does, but since a big part of my volunteer contribution is to write for the Web Site, I’ll send you there to peruse at your leisure. It’ll be like reading my words, only not here.

 

OK – back to the topic at hand. What does volunteering have to do with networking and building employment skills? Volunteering with “common cause” organizations reaching across industry or career boundaries exposes you to people from all walks of life. People you probably wouldn’t have met; or, you may have met them, but not in the relaxed casual atmosphere of a school bake sale or hanging crepe paper for a homeless shelter’s Christmas party or like me, out petting dogs and educating pet-parents.  

 

Helping builds common bonds. It’s the great equalizer. Titles are shed; defenses drop. Pretenses evaporate. People relax. The common cause becomes an icebreaker for starting almost any conversation.

 

The person helping you blow up balloons for a fundraiser may play golf with the HR manager for a perspective employer or might have connections to the company holding the key to your “dream job.” Someone knows someone who knows someone and poof – you’ve landed an interview and then the job — all because you decided to spend some time giving back.

 

 

Don’t get me wrong. Don’t decide to volunteer for the sake of networking. You’ll end up resenting the time you spend there. Do it out of passion for the cause. But don’t be so wrapped up in the cause you miss an opportunity to perform a little soft sell on youself. What better way to demonstrate marketable employment skills than to be a consistent, reliable, involved volunteer.

 

When I started working with Monty’s Home and the Pawsitive Partners Prison Program, I did it to benefit a cause. But, I’ll tell you like I tell the group president. I absolutely love what I’m doing. I am more than thrilled my efforts help the organization, but I am also benefitting and that’s part of why I’m involved too.

 

Because it’s a animal organization, through my affiliation, I’ve picked up pet sit clients. Because we garner media sponsors for our annual expo and I went along to a meeting with our local paper, I had an article written about my rez writing business. Because of the article, the reporter, Elizabeth King Humphrey –Wilmaville blogger and The Write Elizabeth – and I still keep in touch. Since she’s gone freelance, we’ve established an informal solo-preneurs support system and bounce ideas off of each other occasionally. And that’s only three benefits that jump to mind immediately.

 

Imagine whom you’ll meet or what doors you’ll open through volunteering. And you know what? This only scratches the surface of the benefits. We’ll talk about marketable job skills in the next post.   

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