Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Are You Linkedin?

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Today, my cyber-friend, Chris Russell blogged about how linkedin.com has become a national resume database and a source of choice for recruiters who love to snag “passive” job seekers who are not actually looking for work!

Personally, I think linkedin is a fabulous resource, even if you aren’t looking (even passively) for a job.  I first became a fan when I located two long-lost high school friends on linkedin when Google and other search resources proved useless.  

When I first joined, I was amazed at how quickly my network grew and the connections I gained.  If you don’t join, you may never know that a good friend of yours has a first-hand connection to someone in a position to hire you or provide crucial career advice or information!

In addition to serving as a source for recruiters, Linkedin offers tools to help you create and promote  a personal brand.  The “Answers” section provides a forum to demonstrate your expertise as well as a great place to network with professionals in your industry and beyond.   Often, if you provide a response that seems useful, you will be invited to “link” with the questioner, thus expanding your contacts.

Don’t forget that networking is important throughout your career, even when (especially when) you are NOT looking for a job.  Don’t miss the linkedin boat!

Keppie Careers will help you with every aspect of your job search.  www.keppiecareers.com

U.S. Jobs Data Isn't Pretty

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The AP reports on the March 7th Jobs data, and it isn’t pretty:

Employers Slash 63,000 Jobs in February, Most in 5 Years, Feeding Recession Fears

They also report that the unemployment rate actually went down from 4.9% in January to 4.8%  in February, indicating that hundreds of thousands of people stopped bothering to look for work. Hard hit sectors:  construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and professional and business services.

Better sectors:  education, health care, leisure and hospitality and the government.

The AP notes that the troubled job market  “Certainly solidifies the notion that the economy has fallen into a recession,” said Ken Mayland, economist at ClearView Economics.

A silver lining (if there is one), as economists predicted, workers with jobs showed slight wage gains, to to $17.80 in February, a 0.3 percent increase from the previous month.  The AP reminds us that these tiny increases don’t go far when prices for gas, food and other necessities continue to rise.

All of this information should re-focus the job seeker (and job holder) on the importance of a well run job search (and strong performance at work).  If you are an unemployed worker, consider alternatives to dropping out of the search – Keppie Careers  offers ideas for how to recession proof your career, suggestions of the best careers for today’s economy, information about what to do next if you’ve lost your job, rules for job hunting in a recession and tips if your search is going on and on.  

Be sure that your job search is on the right track.  Keppie Careers will write your resume,  help you with your correspondence and coach you through your interview and job hunt.  When you find your job, you will agree that seeking help is a great investment in yourself.

Be Sure to Vet Your References

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Do you know what your references are saying about you?

Many job seekers overlook this important part of the job hunt.  Especially if you have often reached the final stages without landing the job, touching base with those who may hold the keys to your next position is a great idea!

Whom to Ask?  Ideally, you should have a current or immediate past employer as a reference.  Co-workers and trusted subordinates may also be references, but most hiring managers will want to hear from employers.  If you are a student or recently graduated, faculty members may serve as references. If you have had a leadership role in a volunteer organization, “supervisors” from that organization may be good references for you.

Ask permission.  Once you have in mind who you’d like to serve, ask their permission.  If they seem hesitant or hedge at all, allow them to bow out gracefully. You don’t want to browbeat your references into helping you.  (They may hurt more than help.)  The best references are those who are enthusiastically supportive.

Prepare your references to support you! Be sure they have the most updated version of your resume and a cover letter for the position if you have one.  Let them know if you expect they will be called, and offer suggestions of topics they may want to emphasize.

When I was applying for one of my jobs, I knew that teamwork and the willingness to pitch in when necessary were crucial for my potential employer.  I emphasized how I was the perfect match (I really was!) in the interview. I also asked my current supervisor (who knew about my search and was my #1 reference) if she could mention some examples of my teamwork when she spoke to my potential boss, who offered me the job as soon as he spoke to her!

Hopefully, you will have a strong relationship with your references and will be comfortable making them partners in your search.  Let’s face it -you can get right to the job’s door by having a great resume and interviewing well.  The key to get in is in the hands of those who are willing to recommend you for the job!

Tips if Your Job Hunt Goes On and On

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Is your job search getting too lengthy for your taste?  A Wall Street Journal online article, How to Hunt for Jobs as Time Out of Work Drags On and On, by Joann Lublin reports:

18.3% of jobless Americans in January had been out of work for at least 27 weeks. The figure far exceeds the 11.1% of those who had gone as long without work when a recession began in March 2001.

Lublin suggests several strategies for you if you are in the same boat.  (I love to quote experts who agree with the advice I give clients!)  Some ideas she suggests (in bold):

Reassess your strengths and weaknesses.  If you were a brand, why wouldn’t you be selling?  Seek advice and figure out what makes you special so you know how to sell yourself.

One reason may be a flawed résumé.  Lublin notes, “A professionally written résumé counts more than an attractive typeface.”   Ensure that your resume conveys exactly what you have to offer.  Don’t make the potential employer figure out how you fit in.  Connect the dots for your reader.

Don’t waste a lot of time sending online applications. This article notes:

“Posting résumés on job sites should be the smallest part of your search,” because you rarely land positions that way, says Annie Stevens, a managing partner at ClearRock, a Boston outplacement and executive-coaching firm. Nearly two-thirds of applicants find work through networking, ExecuNet surveys show.

Network, network, network, network.  Even if you are shy, be sure to take advantage of the #1 job search strategy!  (Follow the 5 links in this paragraph to get you started on the right foot!)

Consider re-meeting with your references to ensure that they are highlighting your best skills.  Keeping in touch with referees is an important job search strategy from day one, but if you have gotten to the reference-checking stage without landing a job, this could be an important evaluation point.

Do what you can to keep up your spirits.  Frequent exercise, support or networking groups and chocolate can be good stress relievers!  Don’t spend every minute on your job hunt.  You still need to have a life!  Plus, you never know – it could be someone you meet on a trip to the grocery store or a seatmate on an airplane while on vacation who winds up linking you to your next job!

Job search dragging on?  Get some professional help!  Keppie Careers is here for you.  We’ll make sure that your resume is top notch and coach you every step of the way.  Save time and money – hire Keppie Careers!  www.keppiecareers.com

Solutions for Work Gossip

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Did you know that 60% of employees consider gossip their number one pet peeve at work?  This, according to a Randstad USA survey reported in Newsweek’s March 10th issue, Loose Lips Sink Shifts, by Anna Kuchment. 

Kuchment’s article reports that, at one small Chicago firm, the problem was so big that they attacked the issue of office gossip by forcing an employee who says something negative about another person behind his or her back to repeat it to their colleague’s face.  One might imagine that this would stem the tide!

The article acknowledges that some gossip helps employees connect and learn important information that wouldn’t be available to them otherwise.  However, Kuchment offers several tips to keep in mind if gossip is getting out of hand at your office:

Separate the good from the bad.  Venting can be helpful, but mean-spirited bad mouthing is not.

Learn to deflect. Try not to get sucked in to a gossip mill.  If someone makes a nasty comment, stay neutral and consider playing dumb.

Set a time limit. Are layoff rumors running rampant?  Make a point to touch in with a reliable source once a week, but don’t spend the rest of your time spreading unproductive gossip.

Don’t overshare.  Keep personal sharing to a few close friends who will keep your confidence.

Never gossip by e-mail.  A paper trail is dangerous – and hard to deny!  Plus, you never know who might “accidentally” forward your scurrilous e-mail message to the entire office. 

Is the word at work that jobs are in danger?  Can’t stand your gossip-y colleagues?  Keppie Careers will get you ready for your job search!  We’ll write your resume, prep you for interviews and coach you along the way!  www.keppiecareers.com