Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Discovering Your Value Proposition – The Elevator Pitch, Part I

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Have you written your elevator pitch? Otherwise known as your value proposition or a personal infomercial, this is a brief (some say 2-minutes, I like 30 seconds) introduction to you with a focus on what you have to offer.  This technique is used all of the time in sales and marketing, and since your job search is all about marketing YOU, having a well practiced, targeted elevator pitch is a good idea. (The name comes from the fact that you could deliver your “speech” while going down an elevator with a great contact.  I guess the length may depend on the height of the building! Since most people have a pretty short attention span, assume most buildings are short.)

Just as your resume should be targeted to the reader’s needs instead of your own needs, your pitch should focus on how you can solve a problem for the listener. What do you offer? What is your hook?

Discovering Your Hook

What is special about you?  What skills and accomplishments set you apart from every other person in the room? In your industry?

You need to know two things:

  1. What the employer wants.
  2. What you offer.

You will find out the employer’s needs via research, informational meetings and networking.  Discovering what you have to offer may take longer!

Big brands like Disney decide what they offer before they create and place their advertisements.  When they want to advertise Disney World, they appeal to families and parents’ need for an affordable, yet magical vacation.  Their brand is all about magic and family fun.  Their television ads appear on shows with a high viewership of people Disney targets.

If Disney didn’t consider what they offer, they wouldn’t be able to target their marketing.  By defining themselves and what problem they solve, they can offer a hook (an affordable family vacation).

What is brand YOU all about?  What makes you special and unique? Think about what you offer an employer.  Consider your top five work and personal accomplishments. Write them down and think them over.

Read more about writing your elevator pitch…

Build Your Networking Base as a Connector

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In her recent Shifting Gears column in The New York Times, How We Introduce, and What It Means, Marci Alboher discusses different types of connectors.  She references Wikipedia‘s definition:

Connectors are people in a community who know large numbers of people and who are in the habit of making introductions. A connector is essentially the social equivalent of a computer network hub. Connectors usually know people across an array of social, planes, cultural, professional, and economic circles, and make a habit of introducing people who work or live in different circles.

Although connectors are rare — only one in several thousand people might be thought of as a true connector — they are, like mavens and salesmen, very important in the healthy function of civil society and business. Connectors are also important in trendsetting….

Alboher notes that there are different types of connectors, and describes these types in depth in her article.  In short, some are proactive, some passive and some don’t follow-up at all.

I recently attended a talk with Wendy Kinney, a networking guru, where she spoke about the different levels of connecting.  She noted that we must earn referrals by building trust and relationships with people. One of the strongest recommendations is when an ally inserts our name in a conversation and offers to set up a meeting without even being asked for a referral. (“It sounds like you should meet Miriam Salpeter.  She is a terrific career coach. I will set the meeting up.”)

This assumes that the connector has a fairly close relationship with each party and that it is possible to leverage the introduction.

Dan Shawbel, whose focus and website are all about personal branding, reminds us that it is important to give before receiving.  I agree with this philosophy.  Just being aware of how important it is not only to be connected, but also to connect others, is a great step in the right direction.  Building trust and relationships with colleagues and associates is key to networking.  It’s something every professional should work on regularly – not only when job seeking.

Enhance Your Linkedin Profile for Job Seeking

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In light of the fact that linkedin has become a source of choice for people who love to hire passive job seekers (those who may not actually be seeking a new job), I thought it would be a good idea to remind readers to pay attention to your linkedin profile!

First, a note on visibility….

If you use linkedin, you know that your visibility goes up the more links you have. Your second- and third-degree connections help put your profile in front of more people. I am a 3rd degree link to all three candidates for President! (Yes, Obama, Clinton and McCain are all on linkedin!)

There are several ways to increase your connections:

  1. The preferred way is to link with friends and colleagues. When I started on linkedin, I convinced a friend who always sends mass emails to a g’zillion friends to join linkedin. In about a day, she had over 100 connections, all of which became my 2nd degree connections.
  2. Another easy way to increase your visibility is to link with a LION (linkedin open networker). These LIONS have over 500 connections and welcome any invitation to link. You gain visibility to all of their connections with the click of a mouse.

Your profile…

First things first – Be sure that anything in your profile is spelled and punctuated correctly! Typos scream “don’t hire me” to anyone with a critical eye. Have someone with an eagle eye proof your profile. (Keppie Careers will be happy to assist in revising or proofing your profile. Email me at results@keppiecareers.com for details.)

Especially if you are looking for a job, focus your profile to include skills and experiences that will be of interest to potential employers. As with a resume, don’t just list what you did – help the reader envision you working for them by highlighting your skills and accomplishments. As you would with your resume, use active and interesting language.

Unlike a resume, you can use mini paragraphs in your profile. Keep it short – large blocks of text are hard to read. It should be somewhat conversational to grab the reader’s attention. It is okay to use “I, me or my” in your profile, unlike in a resume. (Don’t overdo it, though. You don’t want to appear self-centered!)

Make use of the “HEADLINE” feature. It goes right under your name and is the first thing people see. If you are a marketing professional, you can say so! Maybe you are a “Skilled problem solver and community builder.” Think of a tag line that grabs attention and describes you.

Be sure to edit your “Public Profile” to have a vanity URL (that has your name at the end).

I really like the “Summary” and “Specialties” sections. This is where you can briefly sum up what you offer. If you have a “Highlights of Qualifications” or an “Accomplishments Summary” section on your resume, it should be easy to transfer it to linkedin. The “Specialties” section is like a list of tags – keywords that describe you and your work.

If you have a website or blog, use the “other” category and name your site when you add the URL. Also, you can edit your linkedin URL in your profile to include your name.

Ask colleagues and clients to “recommend” you on linkedin. They can say all of the flowery, fabulous things about you that you can’t say about yourself! Only ask those you know will write a quality review. Most people will discount a poorly written recommendation.

Especially when you are job hunting, your linkedin profile may be your golden ticket. Make sure you keep it shiny!

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Keppie Careers will help you with every aspect of your job search…Resume writing, linkedin summary editing, interview prep, career coaching…Contact us to see how we can take your job search up a few notches! www.keppiecareers.com

Majority Say Recession Is Here…What It Means for Your Job Hunt

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After all of the talk about “are we” or “aren’t we” in a recession, the Wall Street Journal reports that it appears that the people who know these things really think we can honestly say we are in a recession:

“The evidence is now beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Scott Anderson of Wells Fargo & Co. Thirty-six of 51 respondents, or more than 70%, said in a survey conducted March 7-11 that the economy is in recession.

So, the big question of the day for job seekers is this:

What impact does this recession have on your job prospects?

Penelope Trunk blogged today that A Recession Probably Won’t Affect Your Job Market.

She quotes experts who note that Boomers are expected to retire in droves causing a shortage of employees.  (Click here for another take on what the Boomers may have planned.) Penelope suggests that even sectors that have been hard-hit by the economy such as finance and real estate should maintain their hiring.  Trunk notes that “In terms of real estate…almost 60% of people working in this market will be retirement age by 2010.”  In theory, there should be plenty of jobs to go around!

I agree with Penelope’s assertion that it is pointless to get all worked up about a recession.  There are many steps to take to help make yourself more marketable and competitive in your search.  If you need a job, job  hunting at this stage may or may not be harder than it ever has been in the past.

However, the fact is, if you are out of work and can’t find a job, pundits and researchers aside…How you are impacted by the recession is based on your own circumstances.  If you are a Boomer not ready to retire or re-invent yourself, this may be a difficult time for you. On the other hand, Gen Y job seekers right out of school may find many job opportunities (assuming they aren’t starting their own online firms!)

Back to the point of the job search being in YOUR hands…

The fact is, optimists outperform their peers in their job searches. Research shows that persistence and a postive attitude pay off in the job hunt, even in difficult economic times.

I think most of us in the career industry agree that leaders, well-branded professionals  and flexible performers who are on top of their career plans should do fine.

The key point is to be prepared, keep on top of your game and don’t let negative talk get you down. Opportunities happen for people who make them happen.

Job Search Taking Too Long?

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In a recent post on nytimes.com, Eilene Zimmerman compiles a list of things to consider if your job search is going on much longer than you’d like.

Since this is such an important and timely topic, I thought I’d share these suggestions and my commentary!  Be sure to also read my previous blog, Tips if Your Job Search Goes On and On for more tips.

Zimmerman’s article suggests:

Ask for frank advice.  Do you have friends or colleagues who can offer a critique of your resume, professional presence and interview style?  Ask for their honest assessment.  (Miriam’s suggestion – consider hiring a career coach, as most people will not give you honest information.  Or, they don’t really have the answers that you need.)

Customize your resume. I have written about this topic frequently. You must target your resume and include keywords from the employer in your resume.  Many companies, especially large corporations, use computer software to review your resume.  The computer scans for key word matches. Mimic the language from the ad.  Use the organization’s website to inform you of the most important traits they seek.  Then, incorporate them into your resume.

Network. Zimmerman’s article reiterates the importance of asking for ADVICE, not for a job.  Informational interviews, during which you have an opportunity to learn about someone else’s career path and about their company, are KEY to the job hunt.  A great networking idea in the article:

Host a cocktail party and ask each of your friends to bring a friend that can aid in your job search,” said Michael Jalbert, president of MRINetwork, a recruitment firm in Philadelphia. “Gen Y is all about teams and sharing.”

Don’t forget online/social networking. I just wrote about how great linkedin is for the job seeker. Take advantage of opportunities to get your name and profile out.  If you are a good writer, consider starting a blog.  I’ve written about how having a blog is a great job seeking resource.  The Wall Street Journal article, How Blogs are Changing the Recruiting Landscape, reports that one recruitment manager spends one to two hours a week searching blogs for potential hires. In three years, blogs helped him fill 125 corporate jobs. Only take this on if you are willing to work at putting together something professional.  If your blog is sloppily done, it could hurt you.  Blogging about your industry can be a great way to gain a positive reputation.

Zimmerman’s article quotes Kurt Weyerhauser, managing partner of Kensington Stone, an executive search firm in California commenting on the issue of job seekers creating blogs.  He says,

“[Creating a blog] creates a pull strategy rather than a push strategy. Instead of waiting for a response to your resume, you create something — a blog with forward-thinking comments and concepts — and it draws others to you.”

I’ve written about how “passive” job seekers (people who aren’t actually applying for jobs) are desirable.  This “pull” strategy concept – you put something out and they will come – plays on the fact that companies seem to like to hire people who don’t come looking for jobs.

The last two points in Zimmerman’s article focus on the interview and the job seeker’s expectations:

Don’t talk so much about yourself in the interview.  Instead, research the organization’s problems and specifically comment on how you can solve them. Being a problem solver and offering specific examples will  help make you seem more attractive.

Qualify expectations. Looking for a job takes time. The higher up in the corporate food chain you hope to go, the longer it takes.  Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find something right away.