Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Yes, you can find a job during the holidays

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89748333_0a07698b96_m“No one gets a job around the holidays. It’s a good time to take a break and relax until things ramp up in the new year.” Are you hearing this advice, or convincing yourself it’s true? If so, you could be missing out on an amazing career or job opportunity.

In fact, the holiday season can be the best time to look for a job. It is a big mistake to take a break now. Finish the year strong! Here are eight reasons to ramp up your job search at this time of year.

1. Organizations may suddenly realize they have money to spend before year-end.
Wouldn’t it be nice to suddenly discover money you didn’t know you had? That happens more often than you think at large companies. They realize at the 11th hour that they have enough in the budget to fill extra positions, but they need to get the people in seats before the end of the year, or the money will disappear. If you stop looking for a job or get lackadaisical about checking emails, you may lose an opportunity and never even know it.

2. Your competition may be taking a break. The myth that November and December aren’t good times to find jobs is strongly engrained in our psyches. (Plus, everyone wants to take a break and focus on things that aren’t related to the job search!) Not everyone is keeping up with the latest and greatest when it comes to job search like you are! As a result, the competition is a little less fierce. When people are on vacation, they may not answer a recruiter or hiring manager’s call in a timely way, which could mean you have an opportunity to impress your next boss on the phone before your otherwise more qualified colleague stops to check email.

3. You want to be prepared and get ahead. Anyone in the careers industry, including resume writers and job search strategists, will tell you January is typically a very busy time, because that’s when many people try to fulfill their New Year’s resolutions that involve getting out of jobs they hate. Don’t sit back and wait to re-enter the pool with everyone else! Get ahead of the crowd. At the very least, use this time to prepare materials to help you land a job, even if the calls don’t come until January.

4. People leave jobs after they receive bonuses.
Some companies give big bonuses at this time of year, and employees who were waiting for those big checks to clear before giving notice will begin to announce their intention to leave–or, in some cases, just walk out the door. When you make yourself available, you will keep yourself open to potential opportunities that would otherwise pass you by.

5. When people take vacations, you may be able to swoop in. Have you ever been in the situation where a lot of co-workers were off for the holidays and a big project came walking in the door? It’s not unusual for companies to find themselves in need of some contract help at this time of year to get their work done. When the regulars are off vacationing and decking the halls, you have an opportunity to audition for a role in the company and to enhance your resume and credentials, even if you know the regular employee is coming back. If you are impressive enough, the organization may find a place for you.

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6. Recruiters and hiring managers appreciate quick responses.
No doubt, it can be more challenging to connect with the best candidates at this time of year. When recruiters are in a hurry or hiring managers have an urgent need, the fact that you get right back to them during a holiday period will make you stand out and give a good impression. There aren’t a lot of other times during the year when just being prompt makes such a difference. When you communicate well and quickly, you have an advantage.

7. Improved networking opportunities.
The best people to network with you are the people closest to you and their friends. If nothing else, be sure to get out of the house and accept all of those holiday party invitations. Plan ahead to make the most of these social events by finding out who will be there. Avoid awkward networking moments: check potential contacts out on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter and rehearse what you may want to say if you see them. Bring your business or “contact” cards with you and be sure to ask for a follow-up meeting with anyone who could be a great contact for you. Don’t forget to use social media to impress friends, new contacts and recruiters. (Read how to use social media to your advantage in a job search.)

8. This is a great time to authentically reach out to your neglected network.
When is the last time you mailed a note to a friend or contact? Have you switched from mailed cards to quickly typed up email greetings or Facebook notes? While it’s best to touch base with your network throughout the year, now is arguably the time when you can feel comfortable writing a note to someone who hasn’t heard one word from you all year long. Don’t use a holiday greeting card to ask for job contacts, but do use them as opportunities to re-open doors that you haven’t knocked on. For example, “It’s been so long since we connected…I’d love to touch base in person to talk about XYZ.”

If you mail out your cards early enough, you may benefit from looser schedules around the holiday season and land a meeting you wouldn’t otherwise get. If you can finesse a reason for one of your contacts to meet with you, when opportunities come up early in the year, you will be top-of-mind.

 Appeared on AOLjobs.com.

How to become a recognized expert

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keppie_businessownerNo one wants to hire a novice. It’s crucial to be able to demonstrate your expertise to land your target job. This can be a challenge, especially if you’re transitioning to a new field or applying for a job that can best be described as a “reach” for you. What can you do to become a recognized expert in your field?

Luckily for you, all is not lost, even if you’ve never considered yourself an expert in the past. Embrace technology as your friend, and you too can be fielding questions from others in your industry as a recognized expert. It will take time and effort, but if you can accomplish your goal, it will be worth it. Follow these steps and you’ll become a go-to expert in your field.

1. Learn something new.
Even if you consider yourself an expert, there’s always something new to learn. Especially if you are transitioning to a new career, take advantage of online tools, where you’ll be able to learn information for free. For example, Udacity and Coursera offer various types of courses. You can learn everything from how to program code to developing a website or making a robotic car, often for free. Also, don’t underestimate YouTube as a source of information and knowledge. You can Google just about any topic and find someone who posted a video about it.

Social media is swimming with information and insights; don’t miss opportunities to use tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn; these are resources to enhance your expertise. Find out about industry conferences and determine if there is a hashtag for events that interest you. Even if you can’t attend, if you follow updates from participants, you may learn a lot. Follow industry leaders who are active online or who participate in online forums or groups.

2. Keep on top of salient topics in your profession.
If you want to be recognized as an expert, you must know about the hot topics in your industry. What are people discussing in your field? What problems are thought leaders trying to solve? What are the best solutions? If you want people to see you as an expert, it’s important to insert yourself in these conversations–and to join the conversations, you should first do your research and be clear about your opinions on these issues.

3. Expand your network.
You can’t demonstrate expertise in a room all by yourself! If you want to be considered a go-to expert, you need to have more contacts and connections. Look around: who in your network would be willing to go to bat for you or refer you for an opportunity? The more people you know who are able to speak about what you know and connect you with jobs or gigs, the better. If you have a close circle of contacts, plan to expand it by attending in-person meetings relating to your industry, volunteering for leadership roles and speaking up. In addition, use social media tools to expand the number of people who know, like and trust you. Join groups on LinkedIn and communities on Facebook and make a point to answer questions and provide resources regarding your expertise.

4. Find a mentor.
Even experts have mentors. A mentor–especially someone who is already well-respected in your field–will be well positioned to help you grow your reputation. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to impress someone who is well established in his or her niche who is willing to help shine the light on new talent (you!).

5. Showcase what you know.
Once you’ve built your knowledge base, grown your network and found a mentor, all you need to do is broadcast your expertise to as many people as possible. Luckily for you, there are many easy ways to do just that:

a. Use social media tools, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to share useful news and information relevant to your industry. Comment on articles and post links to useful information your colleagues will want to know. Be a resource and people are more likely to turn to you for your expertise and insights.

b. Publish your own content. Did you know you can publish blogs on LinkedIn? If you have an opinion about a topic, write about it and post it online. If you’re really enthusiastic about becoming known as an expert, you’ll create and manage your own website and blog where you regularly author useful, insightful articles. You can impress others in your field and attract attention.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

c. Organize online forums. Choose your favorite social media tool. It should be where you enjoy spending your time online and the tool most people in your industry prefer. Invest time and effort in creating a group or forum using that platform. For example, you may wish to start a LinkedIn group. If you prefer Twitter, it may make sense to start a regular Twitter chat. Launch a Facebook Live series. Invite others to join you and keep the conversations interesting and useful. Make sure your forum is a must-see for people in your field.

d. Identify thought leaders and make an effort to help them. Who is delivering keynote speeches at industry conferences? Who heads up industry groups or professional associations in your area? Every leader relies on people to assist and volunteer. Offer to co-moderate a LinkedIn group or volunteer to chair a committee. The more you engage with leaders in your field, the more likely they are to recognize your expertise and share your name with others in the field.

When you are able to leverage your knowledge online and in person, it won’t matter as much how many years of experience you have: your ability to hone in on important topics and to be a resource for professionals in your industry will trump everything else, and you’ll be recognized as an expert. Is it easy? No, but if you truly want to be a go-to leader in your field, it is worth it.

Avoid these mistakes when starting a side business

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moonYou’re starting a business on the side while working full time? Join the club. You’re in good company. MBO Partners research shows “30 million Americans (are) already…self-employed — either as a main source of work (17.9 million solopreneurs) or by using self-employment as a way to augment other income (12.1 million side-giggers).”

Running a business on the side can be a great way to supplement your income, but you want to be careful not to jeopardize your day job while you start your own business if you’re not ready to quit and be on your own full time.

Here’s a list of what not to do when you start your business if you want to be sure to keep your job:

Do not work on your side job while you are on the clock at your full-time job. This is a big “no no.” While it is challenging to accomplish everything you may want to do for your own business after hours, if you use company time, equipment or resources, you are asking for trouble. Use your lunch hour wisely and consider taking advantage of your vacation or leave time to manage important tasks for your side business that cannot be done after hours.

Even if you use a company phone or computer for personal use, do not use it for your side business, or you may be in legal hot water in the future.

Do not ignore non-compete agreements. Assuming your new business is related to what you do at work, be aware of any legal agreements you have with your current company. In the future, if your consulting business takes off, it’s best to make a clean break and maintain your relationship with your employer; you don’t want to gain a reputation of building your business on stolen clients. If you are lucky, the company where you worked will become a client, especially if you’re an essential employee they can’t do without.

Don’t forget to familiarize yourself with company policies regarding side businesses. Read your company’s manual. If there is a rule against having a side business, even if your business is not related to your current work, be prepared for the consequences. If you choose to move ahead and your new business is successful, it may be difficult to keep it a secret. On the other hand, if your side business does not compete or seem to interfere with your day job, you may face no resistance at all. Even if there is no rule against it, if you are building an empire similar to your current employer’s, and you can’t make a case for how your personal success helps the company, be prepared to be shown the door if your employer accidentally runs across your new website or reads an article about you online.

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Never share proprietary information from your current company to grow your own business. Can you say, “lawsuit?” You don’t want to launch your new business with the prospect of legal action against you. Be mindful of ethical rules as well as specific guidelines your current company expects you to adhere to so you won’t be in trouble later.

Don’t forget you can still look for opportunities to learn new things at work to help your future business. Plan ahead. It may be a long time before you are ready to leave your day job, or you may choose to continue to work for someone else while you maintain your business on the side. Think about how you can learn new skills while on-the-job. Volunteer for projects and position yourself to meet people who will be good contacts for you in the future.

Appeared on AOLJobs.com.

How your personality can help you land or lose a job

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ManWomanShakingHands-6It’s difficult to find a job if you don’t know what you want to do. Sounds obvious? Have you really focused on your skills and accomplishments and whether they help qualify you for the jobs you seek? One pet peeve of recruiters and hiring managers is that job seekers often apply for positions ill-suited to their requirements. Don’t be one of those job seekers. Before applying, take some time to figure out what you want to do – and what you’re good at – and it will be easier to get hiring managers to notice you.

Kerry Schofield, chief psychometrics officer at Good.Co., a self-discovery platform and network serving professionals who are looking for more meaning in their careers, suggests the following reasons why knowing yourself better will improve your job prospects:

1. You’ll narrow down your options. Don’t focus on the most general factors about the job, such as whether it has the right pay grade, prospects and location. These are all important variables to consider, but many positions fit these basic, practical criteria.

Schofield notes: “Self-assessment can help us move beyond these questions to make more informed selections from the possibilities available, based on our individual personality and how it fits with the culture of the organizations we’re considering.” For example, do you prefer a more structured environment with hands-on guidance, or a flexible one where initiative is rewarded? Is it more important to have a supportive, friendly team of co-workers, or the opportunity to work as independently as possible?

Your personality will dictate your answers to these questions. “When you narrow down the options, it allows you to focus on quality over quantity – a smaller number of more tailored applications with a higher probability of success,” Schofield explains.

2. You’ll know yourself better. You may prepare to discuss your strengths and weaknesses at an interview, but how well do you really understand them? “You’ll want to assess any gaps in your skills, but when you look at these from the perspective of your personality and values, you can gain a realistic, genuinely insightful understanding of your true pattern of strengths and weaknesses,” Schofield says. The result? You will appear more sincere, mature and self-aware in applications and interviews. “Everybody has weaknesses; if we can demonstrate that we already recognize ours, and know how to ameliorate or channel them in a positive way, this will come across much better than a half-hearted stock-phrase.”

You will be better prepared for interviews, and when you’re honest about whether you’re a good fit for the job, you’ll have a better chance of landing the interview.

3. You’ll avoid applying for unsuitable jobs. You can be more confident when job searching if you understand what has gone wrong in the past. If you keep missing out on positions that appear to be perfect matches, you’ll want to put your finger on what went wrong.

Get my free white paper: 5 Mistakes Preventing You From Landing a Job This Week 

“Self-assessment and an understanding of organizational culture and cultural fit can help us recognize the reasons why previous applications or positions may not have worked out,” Schofield says. “This knowledge gives us the tools we need to make changes next time around – we can learn more about the organization’s culture and our fit with it before applying for a job, for example, identify any potential mismatches in personality, goals or values, and plan for how to deal with this at the outset.”

4. You’ll avoid surprises. Companies know the cost of making a poor hiring choice, and they are increasingly trying to identify and parse individual differences and match for cultural fit. While not all companies include a personality assessment as part of the application, it is not unusual for potential and existing employers to expect applicants and current to complete some kind of psychometric test, Schofield says.

If you understand the information and processes involved in psychometric assessments, you’ll have a head start on answering difficult questions and assuage concerns employers might have about your fit. The best way to do this is to take self-assessment tests yourself so you’ll be well-informed and prepared.

5. You’ll improve your communication skills, and be a better candidate. Communication skills are key to qualifying for most jobs, and they’re important when job seeking, too. “From reading between the lines of a job advertisement to presenting oneself effectively in an interview, self-assessment brings awareness of the way in which we naturally prefer to communicate,” Schofield says. “Are you bubbly, energetic and accommodating, or serious, thoughtful and straightforward?”

Understanding others’ communication styles and how they interact with you is just as important as knowing about your own. When you have a firm handle on your own skills, personality and interests as they relate to your job search, you’ll be a better candidate and more likely to land the job when interviewed.

Originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report

How to get respect at work

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http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-business-office-workplace-flat-design-style-infographic-computer-monitor-vector-illustration-presentation-booklet-image40921442Ever go to a restaurant and get seated in the very back? The minute you sit down, you realize you’re going to be in for a long night because the waiter always seems to forget you’re there? What if the same thing happens at work and you get seated in the equivalent of “kids’ table.” In that case, you wind up with a lot worse than cold soup and an empty drinking glass: you could be passed over for opportunities that could improve your career.

There are a lot of reasons why people seem to be “out of sight, out of mind” at work. While a poor cubicle or office location can be an obvious way to marginalize someone, other situations also contribute to many talented people being left out in the cold. For example, if you telecommute, or if you absent yourself from staff social and networking events, it is easy for others to forget you when the time comes to pass out the plum projects.

How can you keep the spotlight on your accomplishments and potential if you drew a poor seat or aren’t in the office regularly?

Keep these tips in mind for various situations if you want to take charge of your career:

You telecommute

If you never see your colleagues in person, don’t be surprised when they forget about you! Use technology to keep in touch. Between email, IM, texting, phone calls and even video or Skype meetings, you can make it seem like you’re right next door, instead of two or three states away. When you don’t have true “face time” with the boss or your team, the onus is even more on you to stay engaged via FaceTime or another technology tool. No matter how busy you are, schedule regular opportunities to touch base to update your boss on your projects and to discuss plans for the future. If you fly under the radar, it’s your own fault.

You’re an introvert

Not everyone likes to attend in-person networking events or happy hours. Regardless of your preference, in some office environments, it’s clear that being engaged personally with colleagues and supervisors is key to success. Do your best to participate in staff get-togethers as often as possible, and consider offering to arrange opportunities to socialize that are more conducive to your preferences. For example, if every staff networking event is at the corner tavern and you don’t drink, think of more palatable alternatives.

Set up a co-ed staff soccer or softball league, a viewing party for a television program everyone enjoys or a book club. While these may still take you out of your comfort zone, at least you’ll have some say about the event if you are planning it, so it should be a little easier to manage. If the result is a great, casual conversation with your boss (or the boss’s boss) that lands you a great gig, it will have been worth it.

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No one knows you outside the office

Maybe you got stuck in a cubicle in the back corner because no one likes you at work. It’s time to expand your network and start impressing people outside of your office with your accomplishments and savvy. Turn to social media to meet people who don’t work with you. Find like-minded colleagues around the city, state, country and globe and exchange messages, insights and ideas. Post links to demonstrate you have your finger on the pulse of your industry. If you play your cards well, you could have some new job offers or invitations to apply for new opportunities without even officially seeking a new job.

Another way to get some respect if you don’t have it at work is to join your professional organization and begin to volunteer. Every organization needs and values its volunteers and leaders, so this is a great way to grow the number of people who know and like you and may be willing to refer you to a better opportunity than the one you have.

It’s up to you

Don’t take a poor situation at work sitting down. Be the squeaky wheel and let superiors know how you’re contributing, even if it is from around the globe or from the back cubicle.

Originally appeared on AOlJobs.com.