Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Is the Personal Professional?

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Today, one of my “read daily” blog writers, Penelope Trunk, wrote about getting on Twitter and used it as a way to talk about doing something that scares you.

For those who don’t know, Twitter is a way to post updates about your daily activities so that your “followers” will know your every move. Some people use it to give details of their day. “Went to the store. No fresh chocolate croissants. Bummer.” You get the idea.

I actually started posting when I update my blog on Twitter. (Feel free to “follow” me. Don’t worry, I won’t let you know what I have for dinner or how many poopy diapers I change in a day!)

For me, Penelope’s post brought to mind an issue that is important for all professionals. Where do we draw the line between the personal and the professional? We already know that recruiters review FaceBook and “Google” potential employees to see if there is any “dirt” that would make them undesirable.

I met a woman this month who told me the story of a son’s friend (new college grad) who showed up for an interview at a big firm only to be shown all of the unflattering materials they had found about him online. They used it as an opportunity to let him know why they wouldn’t be following through with the interview.

Social media is here to stay, though. In fact, it becomes more and more necessary to understand and participate in it. (For example, if you’re not linkedin, you may be missing out on great professional opportunities.)

Where do we draw the line between the personal and the professional?

Keith Ferrazzi says something pertinent in his book, Never Eat Alone…

“Power, today comes from sharing information, not withholding it. More than ever, the lines demarcating the personal and the professional have blurred. We’re an open-source society, and that calls for open-source behavior.” (p.146)

It seems that Twitter and other social media encourage this openness and offer vehicles to link personal and professional interests. As “the personal is political,” maybe “the personal is professional.”

Something to think about…

Keppie Careers will help you use social media to your advantage. www.keppiecareers.com

Work Getting Lonely?

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photo by mrhappy

Feeling lonely at work?  Work by yourself or from home and miss all of that great office banter?  The exchange of ideas?  The politics?

Keith Ferrazzi suggests seeking out a peer for support and camaraderie.  It’s a great idea to find a colleague who is in your field or a complementary field (a realtor and a mortgage broker is a classic example) to get together, shoot the breeze and share ideas.  I make a point to get together with other career coaches as much as possible.  There’s only so much online networking you can do before you want to actually speak to someone in person!

Another great idea is to find a mentor.  Coincidentally, the folks over at brazencareerist.com are highlighting how to get and keep a mentor.  Check out blogs by Caitlin Weaver and Ben Casnocha for thoughts on another way to network and avoid a lonely work life.  

Remember – it’s up to you to drive your own career bus. 

Don’t be lonely during your job hunt.  Keppie Careers is here to help.  www.keppiecareers.com

Liven Up Your Job Hunt – Tips for When Things Look Bleak

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Photo by coral11

Yesterday, I wrote about some unfortunate job hunting misteps that characterized desperate job seekers. Since it’s never a good idea to tell people what NOT to do without following up with some helpful suggestions, today’s blog offers some things to consider if you are really getting tired of looking for a job.

If your job hunt makes you feel like Ms. Allie (pictured above), read on for tips to get a jump start:

Click here for some suggestions to get you started. I also thought you’d like to consider these additional suggestions from Penelope Trunk for when you think all is lost and you feel like crawling back into bed and watching reruns instead of looking for work. (Summaries are my own):

Check your attitude.
If you let yourself wallow in the “down and out,” you’ll hurt your chances to find a job. The power of positive thinking is real. Penelope suggests actually writing a list of things that are going well in your life and a list of your positive personality traits.

Check your focus.
Rethink your resume and the type of job you are applying to get. Maybe you need to readjust your focus for success. Penelope always recommends hiring a professional to write your resume. I agree 🙂 I wouldn’t suggest waiting until you are desperate, though.

Check your pace.
Focus your networking efforts and set attainable (push yourself a little) goals. Meet people you DON’T think will be able to help you. You’ll be surprised.

Check your personal life.
Don’t forget to see your friends. Have a life. Don’t spend all your time networking externally at the expense of your honest-to-goodness support system. Avoid spending time with negative people.

Check your spending.
Be mindful of your expenses. Don’t deny yourself, but do you really need that new (insert frivilous item that in no way assists with your search)? Purchase what you’ll need to conduct a successful search – clothing, shoes, a nice haircut, professional career advice…Keep your other spending to a minimum so you won’t run out of money!

Turn off the TV and read.
You never know where you’ll find inspiration! Read fun things and books that make you think. Personally, I love going to the bookstore to find all the new books and then going to the library to check them out!

Keppie Careers will help you with your search. Need a great resume? Cover letter? Don’t know how to network? www.keppiecareers.com

Don't Be Desperate…Avoid Unfortunate Job Search Techniques

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Photo by FHKE

Yahoo!Hotjobs posted the following (allegedly true) stunts job hunters pulled to try to get an interview:

  • Put up posters of himself in your company parking lot.
  • Attached pineapple scratch-and-sniff stickers to his resume.
  • Announced his candidacy with a singing telegram.
  • Sent lottery tickets with her resume.
  • Rented a billboard that you can see from your office to list his qualifications.
  • Baked cookies with icing to write several reasons why she should be hired.
  • Delivered pre-paid Chinese food, including a fortune cookie with his name and number.

Other (not recommended) ideas from the survey included:

  • One applicant sent six postcards, each a puzzle piece, which formed his resume.
  • A candidate sent an egg carton with faux eggs and a message saying she delivered fresh ideas daily.
  • A job hunter used an office building across the street to post his qualifications on a large sign.
  • Another sent a baseball mitt and said he wanted to be part of the team.
  • A woman printed her name on golf balls and sent them to executives that were hiring.

Creative? Maybe. Sound a little desperate? Absolutely.

The consensus of the advertising and marketing executives (you would think they’d be a pretty creative group) was that gimmicks like these are not very impressive.

The fact is, no one wants to hire a desperate job seeker. In fact, many believe that the “passive” (not looking) job seeker is the best candidate. See this discussion on linkedin about this topic.

Stay tuned for more tips if you are starting to feel that your search is turning desperate!

Don’t wait until you are desperate to get professional career advice: www.keppiecareers.com

Search for Jobs By Company Size

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Photo by gisarah

This week’s Wall Street Journal’s tip of the week: Search for jobs by company size.

I have many clients who do this.  They say, “I want to work for a small company where I will be able to get involved in a lot of different areas.”  Or they say, “I want to work for a large company with opportunity to be promoted.”  Or, “I’d love to work for a large firm and be pigeon-holed into doing the same work day after day.”  Except for that last one…

I have a client who works for a small family firm.  Her stories are exactly what one would expect based on stereotypes of small family firms…Uncle Bill comes in to do the taxes, Aunt Sue is hired to decorate the waiting area.  Non-family members work at their own peril.  At the same time, this client had the opportunity to take on responsibilities and hone skills she otherwise would not have had the chance to do had she worked at a larger firm. 

Points to consider…

Small businesses offer:

  • Quick response time
  • Decision making flexibility
  • Personal attention
  • Specialization opportunities
  • Ability to change with the times

Salary.com offers these reasons to choose a small company:

  • Improved work/life balance
  • Less political
  • Better company culture

Larger firms may offer better benefits (free lunch, anyone?), training opportunities and an HR department that prevents Uncle Jim from getting a job that someone else is more qualified to do.  Although I was glib in noting that large firms may pigeon-hole their workers, it is also true that they may provide more opportunities for advancement from within or transfers from one office to another that would not be possible in a small firm.

Suite101.com notes these advantages of working for a large company:

  • More resources
  • Leadership potential
  • Ability to specialize
  • More job options

The Wall Street Journal’s expert notes:

In general, small company people find delegating difficult and like to have hands-on control over as many aspects of the business as possible. Conversely, large company people usually like to control large fiscal budgets and see their products or work in lights.

There are pros and cons to every choice, but it is interesting to consider:  Are you a large company or small company worker?

Keppie Careers can write your resume to appeal to any type of company.  We’ll support you in your job hunt every step of the way:  www.keppiecareers.com.