Hireway.com

Jump Start Your Job Search

Summer can be an odd time for job seekers.  Schedules are out of whack, kids are out of school, and there is a widely-held assumption that employers don’t hire during the months of June, July and August (not true, by the way).
Whatever your reasons for having scaled back on your search efforts the past few months, now is the time to re-invigorate your approach.

How?  Just get ready, get set, and GO!

Get ready
Get all of your primary and supplemental search tools ready including the space and related environmental needs for effective phone interviews.

Think carefully through these 8 job search preparedness steps:

1. face any fears that may be holding you back
2. plan how you want to promote yourself
3. create your list of companies and organizations of interest
4. identify career-related networking events and job fairs
5. test and update your Linked In account
6. prepare a brief, professional outreach message to encourage informational interviews
7. craft a clear job search strategy including ways to handle rejection
8. establish ways to evaluate the effectiveness of your job search efforts

Get set
Get your resume and cover letter professionally critiqued.  It’s not just about avoiding typos or strengthening visual appeal and keyword-richness.  It is about: a) creating clear alignment between your goals and materials and b) having materials that will allow you to effectively navigate the current hiring landscape including the wide variety of automated applicant tracking systems used by employers, large and small.  If you’re not sure what this means, read more about the pitfalls of Online Company Applications.

Go
Take action!  No job search will be effective until you do; consistently, methodically, and regularly.  The number one activity:  networking.
Reach out to others every single day – set a goal such as 5 people per day – and conduct as many informational interviews as possible.  Be curious; ask excellent, open-ended questions.  Collect business cards and additional contacts/referrals.

Follow-up on every potential lead.  Not all contacts will lead directly to your goal; often you will need to go through a chain of people to finally arrive in the presence of someone that can make all the difference for you.

Whether you are currently employed or not, you can adapt this structured game plan to shape your own situation and professional goals.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

Effectively Riding the Winds of Change

Lots of very smart people talk about opportunity, advancement, preparedness and related terms.  What do these buzzwords have in common?  They all signify change.

Change signals opportunity
Change is the process which makes something different from what it is now.  Proactive change happens when you’re in control and can shape the direction and scope of the evolving variables.  Reactive changes put you in a defensive position to make the best of altered circumstances.  Initial questions include:

* Which form of change do you engage in most often?
* As a result, how comfortable are you with change?
* What would you like to change?
* What opportunities help you direct and manage that change?
* How long will it take to make the change official?

Being prepared
While some people pride themselves on their ability to “wing it”, there’s a lot to be said for preparedness.  Think of it in terms of being prepared, being in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that can suddenly spring up when the winds of change are blowing.  Preparedness is being “properly expectant, organized, or equipped” (Dictionary.com).

Being proactive with your career
In terms of career preparedness, most people think of updating their resume.  That’s great advice, but have YOU done so?  And don’t stop there.

Carefully consider the following 15 questions:

1. What would you do if you were laid off tomorrow?
2. Is your debt-to-income ratio low and manageable?
3. Have you mapped viable, direct and alternate career pathways?
4. Is your education level on par with your experience level?
5. Could you do your boss’ job?  Would you want to?
6. If your current position was eliminated, could you move up 1-2 levels or go out on your own as an independent contractor or freelancer?
7. Do you maintain strong connections with people in your industry?
8. Do you know the hiring practices of your company’s closest competitors?
9. Do you stay current with the best and emerging practices of your industry?
10. Do you bring added value to the table, every day?
11. Do you listen to others more than you speak to them?
12. Are you aware of the most pressing concerns of your company and/or your industry and have ideas toward resolving them?
13. Are you comfortable with at least a moderate level of risk?
14. How comfortably do you make big decisions?
15. If someone were contemplating a career change in your industry or location, what advice would you give them, based on your verifiable knowledge of the current situation (because assumptions don’t count)?

Next steps
Whether you are currently employed or not, you can adapt these questions to shape your own situation and professional goals.  There are creative ways to apply tried-and-true preparedness techniques to your own life.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

Feeling fired up to manage change?
Want additional questions to consider?  Try any of the free quizzes available on the Change Your Job, Change Your Life website.

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

Source: prepared. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved August 16, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prepared

Go Beyond Basic Networking

I recently read an article that claimed, “Informational interviewing isn’t just for new college grads anymore”.  Actually, it has always been a networking tool of choice for professionals at all levels and is particularly useful in a recessed economy.

Don’t like to network?  Informational interviewing can be viewed as a way to put your research skills and project management talents to work for your own benefit, whether you’re employed right now or not.

Setting goals
Identify the industry and niche area that interest you the most, along with related job titles.  Also determine the type and size of organization to which you want to contribute.

Building your question bank
Create 15-20 or so open-ended questions that will yield the most immediately usable information.  Think about HOW you will use information gained:

* to validate or refute your existing assumptions,
* to lead you to additional sources of information,
* to strengthen your resume and cover letter content,
* to improve the quality of your responses to formal interview questions,
* to build your professional reputation and visibility, etc.

Locating strategic allies to ask
Use your resources including networking groups, Linked In, professional organizations, industry publications, professional peers and others.  Specifically, look for people who:

* know the desired industry and niche area, inside and out
* work in the type of role or actual company of interest, currently
* serve HR and Recruiting needs for the roles and companies in question
* manage individuals and teams comprised of the roles you seek

To learn more:  please visit my Linked In profile, Lisa Mauri Thomas, and view the Informational Interviewing PPT slideshow, attached as a Box.net item.

Whether you are currently employed or not, you can adapt these principles to your own situation and professional goals.  There are creative ways to apply tried-and-true informational interviewing techniques to your own life.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

Learn more about Lisa at: http://changeyourjob.us

Change Your Job, Change Your Life

When You’re Ready for a New Career

Craig, 43, owned a financial planning franchise which he recently sold.  After 20 years in the business, he decided it was time to move on.  His biggest question today:  “Now what?!”

Craig is intelligent, articulate, and has numerous interests.  Surprisingly, such a multifaceted approach to life presents a unique challenge.  There are so MANY things Craig would be good at – so how do job seekers like him make the best choice?

Starting point for career transitions
Initially, I had 3 thought-provoking items for Craig to start addressing his “Now What?!” dilemma.

1. Do you prefer to work with PEOPLE, DATA, or THINGS?
2. What kinds of jobs appeal to you and why?
3. Describe your dream job (even if there’s no title for it).

Not surprisingly, he likes working with all 3: people, data AND things.  So, that didn’t narrow down the possibilities.  In terms of appealing jobs, Craig’s wide range of interests included: environmental issues, renewable energy, education, foreign exchange/travel, diplomacy/poliotics, research, and software design.

His dream job?  Owning and managing an outdoor gear/outfitting business that also arranges and guides adventure trips.

Leveraging professional strengths
Transitioning to a new career field has its challenges; especially so in a recessed economy.  Therefore, it’s important to discern what was so unrewarding about a current or previous line of work.

In Craig’s case, he felt stifled by the lack of redundancy of the work that favored production quotas and unattainable incentive plans over creativity.  He liked consulting with clients and his ideas were routinely well-received; his active listening skills and appreciation for financial stability and growth made him highly successful.  His admitted “problem with authority” made it easier to work alone but he missed the social benefits of working within a team environment.  At the end of the day, Craig knew he needed to make a change.

We brainstormed about how to continue leveraging his strengths, especially his financial subject matter expertise and creativity.  Ideas included building financial planning software solutions, selling custom financial planning software, educating for financial literacy, and designing fiscal policy initiatives for local political candidates.  Now, we need to translate those ideas into action.

Next steps for career changers: Locate 10-12 job postings of interest using identified keywords.  Analyze the postings to identify common themes: where they occur, arenas and environments including company size and mission, required qualifications, etc.  Plan additional next steps based on the results of your analysis.

How this relates to YOU
Does Craig’s situation sound similar to your own?  You may find About.com’s Career Planning articles of interest.  Check them out!  Need more help?  Ask Lisa!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

It’s All About Consistent Credibility

Scott, a 39 year old successful restaurant manager, is enjoying a career he never thought was possible.

With no formal education, Scottie was a bartender for many years and played his role to the stereotypical hilt: flirting with all the female patrons, bursting into song just because, telling stories in a booming voice whether or not anyone was listening, and generally being “the life of the party”.

However, the day came when he had to look himself in the mirror and admit that it wasn’t the life he’d envisioned for himself at age 35 with his 40th birthday clearly on the horizon.

How did he turn it around and get to where he is today?  Branding.

Starting point

First, Scott visited other restaurants similar to the one he worked in for best comparisons.  For several weeks, he observed the managers in action, noting behaviors, facial expressions, how they spoke to customers and staff, how they carried themselves, etc.

Then he introduced himself to each of the managers during quieter times and started asking questions about what they liked about their job, what their career path looked like to date, and what advice they had for someone interested in restaurant management.

He documented his findings and reviewed his notes at the end of each day.  A gameplan began to emerge and along the way, Scottie became Scott.  To be successful, Scott had to remake his professional image by clearly articulating and demonstrating that he was ready for specific opportunities within the restaurant at which he works.

Professional image

There are 3 primary ingredients to branding YOU:  perception, marketing, and consistency.

Perception: Determine how you want others to see, think about and talk about you to others.  Obtain feedback, from those who know you well, to determine your top 3 perceptual and/or observed strengths and weaknesses.  From your research, tease out what makes you unique and relate it to your desired career goal.

Marketing: Identify every communication pathway that can be used to reveal and showcase who you are and who you want to become.  Align your LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, resume and cover letter, email messages, verbal presentation strategies, clothing style, and other outlets to fully support your goals.

Consistency: You have to walk, talk, live and breathe your brand, consistently, every day.  Why?  Effective branding involves creating and maintaining a desired persona with clear, observable behaviors to reinforce your message, whether you think others are listening or not.  Remain consistently positive and focused – and “in character” if it’s easier to view this process as a role to play – until it becomes a natural part of you.  In essence, you become what you desire.  Consistency is the precursor to credibility.

How this relates to YOU

Whether employed or not, you can adapt these principles to your own situation and professional goals.  There are creative ways to apply tried-and-true branding techniques to your own life.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

Compare and Contrast a Typical Scenario

Chris, a Sales Executive specializing in business applications software in the Washington, DC area, has been looking for work for over 12 months.  He found my website last month and decided to invest in professional services as his “do it yourself” methods were not yielding any positive results aside from a small handful of phone interview screenings.

Starting point

First, I reviewed his resume and cover letter.  Second, I asked him to describe his job search strategy approach.  Brief consultations are free.

His resume was nearly 3 pages long, in 10 point font with tiny margins, detailing over 10 sales and marketing positions held over the past 20 years.  His cover letter was addressed as “Dear Hiring Manager” and consisted of a brief, 2-paragraph generic spiel asking the recipient to please consider his talents for the position in question, which wasn’t actually identified in the letter.

His job search approach?  Continually revising his resume hoping to capture his varied background as fully as possible, then applying online for no less than 10 advertised positions per week, telling everyone he knew that he was “still looking”, and building up his LinkedIn connections to over 500 names.

Professional help

The first professional service I provided for Chris was to fully critique and redesign his resume and cover letter based on a sampling of 2 ideal job postings he provided.  Within 24 hours, he had a new resume and cover letter that were:

• critiqued to show the specific strengths and weaknesses in play with rationale and tips provided for each suggested change
• strengthened considerably in terms of professional content that did not contain any fluff or falsehoods (never recommended) yet were well-aligned and fully supportive of each other
• quantified with numerical metrics to support his claims of what he could do and how well he could do them (impact)
• formatted in an easily customizable manner with complete instructions and personalized follow-up to ensure he could do so on his own going forward

From there, we focused on his job search strategy and overall networking approach with measurable benchmarks in LinkedIn and other avenues.  For starters, I advised him to stop “chasing” online job postings and showed him how to use posted information as a basis for further research for networking and outreach BEFORE sending in his materials.

Results

Chris is now getting to Round 1 and Round 2 interviews; he’s had 4 interviews in the past 3 weeks.  Effective application materials are supposed to result in interviews.  Successful interviewing leads to job offers.  The added difficulty these days is the fierce level of competition for fewer jobs.  Now I’m working with Chris to stay focused and positive, respond well in interviews, and rise above the competition.  Stay tuned….

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

Visit with Lisa today on LinkedIn or at:

How to Take Charge and Get Back on Track

Holidays are great fun but they have this knack of throwing your job search strategy into a tailspin.  Is your job search strategy blown all to bits?

Recognizing a blown or stalled search strategy

• Losing motivation to do even the most basic tasks
• Discounting suggestions from others
• Feeling discouraged and believing the situation is hopeless
• Believing you’ve tried everything possible
• Going through the motions, to “look” like you’re on top of it all

Core issue

Identify what is fueling your lackluster approach.  Is it an overwhelming sense of hopelessness?  Are you feeling resigned?  Thinking you’ll just “ride it out”?  Or are you just too busy with all that life throws at you?  Chances are, the core issue revolves around power and control (and the lack of each).

Try again.  Practice good habits, consistently, to pave your way to success.  Giving up will never lead to success.  So, get back up on that horse, bike, or other metaphor of choice.

6 steps you can take in 120 minutes

1. Breathe deeply. Clear your mind of emotional clutter and remind yourself about what is important.  Remind yourself that you’ve tackled many tough situations in your life and you’ll tackle this one, too.  5 minutes.
2. Recognize the tools you have.  This includes support systems in place.  Make the most of what you’ve got and don’t dwell on what you don’t have.  10 minutes.
3. Revisit and reassess all of your contacts. Dig out your address book, open your contacts list in LinkedIn, review the email addresses you’ve collected, etc.  Make a list or “tag” the contacts that are in any way associated with recruiting, HR, hiring, etc within your industry.  30 minutes.
4. Contact them anew. Call them, if possible, as that extra personal touch can go a long way.  Craft a brief, upbeat message to convey that you’re still on the market and excited to explore the latest opportunities.  Force yourself to pick up the phone.  Dig deeper to locate numbers.  Send an email or LinkedIn message if you simply cannot locate a number for them.  60 minutes.
5. Acknowledge your efforts. Networking and outreach does not come naturally to most people.  Recognize that what you just did took courage.  You just did real work.  Breathe deeply again and tell yourself, “I did it!”  5 minutes.
6. Decide upon ONE thing you will accomplish tomorrow. Choose an activity that will get you closer to your goal that ALSO involves directly contacting others, reaching out, networking.  Pick a time and place and commit to seeing it through.  10 minutes.

Notice that NONE of the steps above included searching for jobs online or blindly sending out your resume and cover letter.  Networking and outreach comes first – always.  Once you are consistently reaching out to others, every day, build in follow-up activities such as sending requested materials, completing an online application, etc.

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

Part III:  Text-based and PowerPoint Resumes

Exploring alternative resume formats

Job seekers have so many formatting choices including: MS Word, .pdf, rich text format, online resumes with distinct URL’s, video resumes, PowerPoint slide show presentations and online company applications.  Which are most effective?  What do recruiters REALLY want to see?

To date, I’ve asked 24 recruiters and hiring managers from around the globe who have respectfully weighed in on the topic.  This week’s focus is on resumes created in text-based and PowerPoint formats.

Text-based and PowerPoint resumes – defined

Text-based resumes are those that you create in programs such as Wordpad or Notepad and/or save with .txt or .rtf extensions.  They are absent of any formatting styles such as color, bold, italics, underlining, bullets, headers, footers, and related.

By contrast, MS PowerPoint (PPT) provides a full range of formatting options including everything a text-based program will not.  PowerPoint allows you to create a brief set of slides (as few as 1 or 2) to display your resume content as a slide show in which you can control the timing from slide to slide, any animations in play, and more.

Pros and cons of text-based resumes

Text-based resumes are boring.  There is virtually nothing about them that will attract and hold attention.  So why are they used?  Two words:  compatibility and compliance.  Rarely are acronyms like ASCII seen as a submission requirement anymore, which indicated a basic or older applicant tracking system was in use or was intended to ward off viruses and corrupted files.  Current virus protection programs and the improved stability of MS Word have alleviated most of those concerns.

Ken Winters, CEO and Founder of Staffback.com and Hireway.com out of the San Francisco Bay area, advises job seekers that, “Text and Rich Text resumes are OK but I have seen some hiring managers look down on them because they are quite plain when compared to Word and .PDF documents.

He compares it to “seeing a car without paint… it gets the driver from point A to B, but it sure looks funny driving by”. He also adds, “Using these plain formats for Marketing and Communications type positions would result in instant rejection.  With the ability to create Word docs for free in Google docs, there really is only one reason to have a Text or Rich Text resume: some Applicant Tracking Systems/websites require that plain text be entered in the resume box, so for that reason, it is nice to have a copy of your resume handy on your PC in a plain text format.”

He concludes by indicating that compared to MS Word and .pdf formats, “Plain text based resumes sit in a distant third spot“.  So, while widely compatible, text-based resumes simply cannot compete with MS Word or .pdf formats when it comes to conveying visual impact.

Steve Anderson, Managing Director of C. Anderson Associates in St. Paul, agrees and says “Almost without exception, employers know how to handle .doc files. It can be easily edited with Word, GoogleDocs, Open Office, etc. The same is true for .rtf, but .doc is more recognizable. As for .txt, you lose a lot of formatting options, so I have never received a resume in .txt“.

Of all the recruiters interviewed, no one indicated a preference or even a genuine appreciation for text-based resumes.

However, if you copy/paste your Word resume into online application forms, the receiving system generally converts your content into a text-based format, which is perfectly acceptable, as it indicates how a prospective employer’s applicant tracking system needs to handle your information.

Pros and cons of PowerPoint resumes

The overall feedback on PowerPoint resumes was mostly poor and cautious at best.  For example:

Steve Anderson says of PowerPoint resumes, “PPT is for presentations and no one likes to sit through presentations in the first place.”  Therefore, it should never be sent as a first point of contact.

Ken Winters, warns, “PowerPoint resumes are absolutely not acceptable as many hiring managers do not have PPT on their PC.  It is an expensive program and is not included in the lower tier MS Office Suite packages.”

However, PPT can be perfectly acceptable as a follow-up bonus if you know it will be accepted by the receiver.  Ken adds, “Anything submitted in PPT should only come after being requested, such as a 90 day marketing plan or other types of work samples in professions that use this format“.  So, if you’re applying for an Executive Assistant position and will need to produce PowerPoint presentations for your new boss, sending a professionally prepared sample can set you apart from your competition.

Tip: You can also have your resume available in LinkedIn using multiple formats and uploaded through the Box.net application.  For example, you can load your resume in Word (using both .doc and .docx extensions, separately) .pdf, PowerPoint, text-based format, etc.  This allows recruiters and hiring managers to select their preferred format.  An added benefit:  the Box.net application will alert you by email whenever one of your documents is downloaded and viewed so you can see for yourself which versions capture the most interest.

Stay tuned…

These hiring professionals provided such a wealth of information, this topic quickly turned into a multi-part series, weighing the pros and cons of multiple resume formats, so stay tuned for all installments, and go back and read both Part I and Part II.  Next up:  online company application methods.

VIEW Part IV at: http://changeyourjob.us/wordpress/?p=119

-Lisa