now2planBlog

Twitter and Job Search II

I feel so fortunate to have spent the last three weeks in the first Twitter Certified Career Strategist class taught by Susan Whitcomb and Chandlee Bryan, authors with Deb Dib of the book, The Twitter Job Search Guide. 

Here are just a few compelling reasons to use Twitter as one of your job search strategies:

1. 1.2 MILLION (and growing) job postings are tweeted each month.
2. Twitter gives you access to career experts, company insiders, industry information as well as job search support.
3. Twitter is fun. And fast - once you learn how to use Twitter as part of your job search, you won't need to spend hours on the Internet looking through monstrously large job boards.

Mark Stelzner, creator of JobAngels , wrote a brilliant article about Why Twitter Matters. Read it and be convinced.

Even better, buy The Twitter Job Search Guide. Not only will Twitter enhance your job search, it will enrich your life.

You've Earned that Degree - Now What?

It's summer and you have just graduated from college. How is that degree working for you?

Thinking about putting off life and going to graduate school? Working a (hopefully) temporary job - one that requires you to say, 'Let me tell you about tonight's specials.'? Sitting on the sofa in your parents' home watching The Price is Right?

"Why didn't I at least go to my university's Career Services office?  Wouldn't they have gotten me a job?"

"How can I get a job if I don't even know what I want to do?"

If this is your first serious job search, it may be comforting to know that the job search is a process or project with manageable and measurable steps. Like all projects, there is a beginning, middle and an end. The end of your job search project is you starting your first career-worthy position. 

Want to get started?

Stay tuned...

Twitter and Job Search

I just started digesting Susan Britton Whitcomb's new book, The Twitter Job Search Guide, and believe that this is cutting edge information for job seekers. 

Rebuilding Your Network

Great article below on the importance of keeping your network up-to-date and tips to make it easy to do.

Rebuilding Your Network 

Posted using ShareThis

Make It* Work For You

Refer to my post, "How It* Works."   (It* is the hiring process.)  

In that post, I gave you an insider's view of the hiring process. Now, let's learn how to make the process work in your favor.

You need to know this:

"Recruiters or HR weed out applications/résumés of applicants who do not meet the position's basic requirements. Screeners look for key words and qualifications that match the job description." 

Gone are the days when you are selected for an interview because your résumé's objective states that you wish to "grow in your career and expand your skill set."  In those days, the company probably needed warm bodies and didn't have many in the applicant pool. By contrast, in today's market, you absolutely, positively, MUST target your résumé toward a particular opening or a specific position. If you do not, I can guarantee that your résumé will land in the weeds. 

Just what are the key words and qualifications that you need to highlight?  How can you be sure that you incorporate the words that demonstrate your qualifications?

First, use the company's own words to customize your résumé where appropriate.  Read their website, the job descriptions, and their group's description on LinkedIn.

Two additional and helpful resources are  www.salary.com and the Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook. At salary.com, you can find job descriptions for thousands of positions.  And the OOH gives you occupational details as well as required skills and training. Use those descriptions to strengthen your résumé so that it is obvious that you meet the position's basic requirements.

Need help?  Contact me. I love helping clients produce résumés that work for them.

Look!

According to a recent survey of 250 marketing/advertising executives, it was found that these executives would look at the following in evaluating potential hires:

• 72%  Look at the results of Web search using the candidates name
• 59%  View the candidate's LinkedIn presence
• 44%  Facebook presence
• 35%  Blog postings
• 23 %  Twitter presence 

Manage your online presence whether or not you are in job search.  Someone may be looking.

Find A Port in the Storm

Recently, I read an article about young adults moving home after college graduation.  One statistic says that 80% of 2009 college graduates are jobless and living with their parents!

Elina Furman, author of Boomerang Nation, suggests that these 'quarterlifers' think that 'if they can't find a job in their chosen career, they don't have to be working.' WRONG! 

Ms. Furman goes on to suggest finding a 'survival' job while searching for the ideal position.

I call this 'survival' job a port in the storm, a bridge position, a stop-gap measure.  This employment strategy applies to all job seekers - not just the boomerangers. 

I believe that it is vital to fill in the gap while in job search. I know of executives who work at big box retailers for minimum wage, high-salaried folk who volunteer for no pay, and other job seekers who take positions well below their skill level. The point is that these job seekers are taking control of their situation when they lost their job. They are "out there" doing what they can to stay sharp, be around others and fill that time gap between their last position and their future opportunity.

How will you answer the question, "what have you been doing since you left your last employer?'"

How It* Works

It* is the hiring process. What goes on inside companies when they are looking for job candidates? 

I read in the Careers section of the Wall Street Journal this week a wonderful article called "Lifting the Curtain on the Hiring Process" written by Sarah E. Needleman. Ms. Needleman's insightful article describes the hiring process from the company's viewpoint. She states that while the hiring process varies from company to company, there are some patterns.  To summarize: 

1. Recruiters or HR weed out applications/resumes of applicants who do not meet the position's basic requirements. Screeners look for key words and qualifications that match the job description.
2. In a recent survey, it was found that only 27% of companies have a process by which they inform candidates that they are no longer being considered.
3. A personal referral from a trusted source may fast track a candidate's application to the interview pool.
4. Many companies conduct telephone interviews to ensure that the candidate has the qualifications for the position and that their salary expectations match.
5. If they are still in the candidate pool, job seekers will then be invited to an onsite, face-to-face interview with a hiring manager and other colleagues.
6. Typically, the hiring manager - with input from colleagues - will make the final decision whether to hire a candidate or not.
7. Often the decision is based on 'fit and level of enthusiasm'. 

Implications for the job seeker?  In an upcoming blog I will offer suggestions and "must do's" to help candidates better maneuver the hiring process.

Employment and Occupational Trends

Check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics website at www.bls.gov. There you will discover a wealth of information including:

• Fastest growing occupations and employment statistics by state and region
• Occupational Outlook Handbook that includes working conditions, training requirements, salary information, and 10-year job outlook for hundreds of professions
• Skills assessments and career videos
• and much, much more

You can find facts and figures that support your job search, your transition to a new career or your negotiation strategy for an increase in salary.

Will the Street Corner Approach Help You Land a Job?

Recently, in downtown Nashville, a 33 year old college graduate donned a suit and held a cardboard sign which said, "will work for a job...ask for a resume."   This job seeker has tried the mass mailing of resumes strategy and has been looking for a salaried position for over a year and a half.  He was willing to try the street corner approach at a number of locations around Nashville for an entire week.  No news on the success of his week. 

A couple of local executives commented on this particular approach and were skeptical.  One executive said that he would not hire someone off of a street corner. Instead, he recommended networking and direct contact. Another senior executive said that this approach would make her think that the job seeker would not be a good fit for her company.

What's a nervy job seeker to do?  Use that confidence of his to develop an aggressive and well-thought-out job search plan. Use his determination to set reachable goals.  Use his moxie to reach out to and expand his network.  

If our job seeker can put himself out there on a busy street corner, then he can and will find a job using methods that work.