Keeping Your Tank Full

“Passion is energy. Feel the passion that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

–Oprah Winfrey

Unlike cars, people don’t come with gauges to tell us when we’re running low on energy. It’s up to us to keep tabs on where our energy level is and find ways to pump ourselves up when our tank gets low.

• Pay attention to your energy. Where is it on a scale of 1 to 10? Where do you want it to be, and what would that look like?
• Focus on solutions, not problems. Brainstorm solutions, don’t edit yourself, and see what gets you excited.
• Set your own goals based on what gets you excited. Ideas are like children, there are none so wonderful as our own. (Full disclosure: I didn’t make that up, it was in a fortune cookie.) While other people may give us advice, it’s only when we chart a course for ourselves that we experience a profound shift in our energy level, mindset, and motivation!
• Visualize success and move forward to it each day with inspired action.
• Find at least one person who is good at giving you positive feedback and helping keep you accountable to your goals.
• Watch your internal dialogue carefully, and replace feelings of doubt and inadequacy with feelings of courage, worthiness, and infinite potential. Remember that your ability lies not in what you know, but in what you are willing to learn.

In support of your Abundant Success,
Robyn Feldberg
The Abundant Success Coach

Sometimes, You Just Have to Get Outside of Your Comfort Zone

You’ve probably heard the quote, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This makes sense, but we all do it. How many times have you gone to the same networking event despite the fact that you no longer meet anyone new? Or, how much more time do you spend on job boards instead of using other search methods, despite the fact that you’re not getting many results?

Deep down, you may realize the solution is to try something new or to “step it up.” I did this myself last week, and boy, was it scary! The Chicago branch of 6Degrees2Oprah (Kim and me) actually went to Harpo studios. Kim was fantastic – I was terrified. I’m very comfortable talking to people, but this was completely new territory for me. It was literally an in-person cold call to Oprah Winfrey!

Long story short, we did not get tickets or talk to decision makers. However, we did engage the gatekeepers, and talked to people at three different locations. This in itself was a big win for me, and I highly recommend the strategy to job seekers. For me, it was the scariest, hardest thing I’ve ever done as part of 6Degrees2Oprah. But now, I feel like I can do almost anything, and will probably be more willing to try new strategies than I had been in the past.

Give it a shot – what’s one thing that can yield great results for your job search, that at the same time you DON’T want to do? Reach out to a new networking contact through LinkedIn? Go to an industry event where you don’t know anyone? Even if nothing comes of it, it’s a good exercise to get you out of your comfort zone quickly. You’ll gain the confidence and momentum to try new strategies, bringing you that much closer to your next job offer!

Charlotte Weeks, Weeks Career Services, Inc.

 

Job Seekers: Your Super Bowl Resume? I’m Lovin’ It!

Looking for a job? How marketable are you?

Yesterday a client sent me a question I’ve heard often, especially in this era of nearly 10% unemployment: “Am I marketable?”

If you are asking this question, the first thing to do is to congratulate yourself for “getting” it, for understanding that you have to deliver a compelling message. The answer is a surprising one.

It doesn’t matter how marketable you are.

The success of your job search depends on how good your marketing is, not on you being a quality candidate. Think about it. Does McDonald’s have the best hamburger, or even a “pretty good” hamburger? No. A monkey could fry up a better sandwich. What they do have is a strong brand, a compelling message, and a way to deliver it to their target audience.

Of course, if you ask a recruiter or a hiring manager what compels them to choose a candidate, you’ll rarely get an admission that the decision has anything to do with marketing. They’ll talk about qualifications, experience, and occasionally a “good” resume. If you ask a customer why they’re in line at McDonald’s, they’ll probably tell you it’s because they’re hungry. McDonald’s ad firm knows better.

So, you have a fantastic resume (you do, right?). What can you do to put it to work for you? Do you want Sunday 5 am placement for your ad, or are you committed to a Super Bowl showing?

• Stop applying through job boards! 20% or fewer job seekers find jobs this way. It’s the easy way to look for work but unfortunately, the least effective. Use job boards to find openings. Find someone who works in the company who can hand your resume directly to the decision-maker. (With the fantastic tool of LinkedIn, it is amazingly easy to locate the people you need to connect with.)
• Optimize your LinkedIn profile so that HR pros on the prowl can find you. A fantastic resource for this is Jason Alba’s LinkedIn for Job Seekers.
• Define the type of company you’re interested in and build a list of target organizations. Network with people in those companies, even if there are no advertised openings.
• Explore this blog for career networking strategies that will get you where you want to go.

Bottom-line, don’t depend on “winning” just because you’re good at what you do. And abandon all belief in job boards as a core job search activity. In my experience, most job seekers to not want to hear or accept these truths, but if you can be one of the few who do, you’ll accelerate your career progress.

Follow your bliss,

Kim Mohiuddin, Chief Career Strategist, Movin’ On Up Resumes

A New Job Search Approach: One Step Backwards

We’ve all heard the expression, “One step forward, two steps back.”

Today, though, I’m advocating for a new expression and a new job search approach: “One step backwards, two steps forward.”

The step backward to which I’m referring pertains to taking a step away from technology and toward a simpler time. A technology diet, if you will, with the intention of moving forward–something I’m sure we’ll all agree is a good thing.

This new expression could apply equally as well to taking a step back from what you’re doing to evaluate what’s working from what’s not in order to focus on new solutions. That’s a good idea too, and maybe one I’ll tackle another day.

For now, though, I’m going to focus on just one thing: taking a step away from the computer, and specifically away from job boards and emails.

“Where is this coming?” from you ask. Let me tell you.

Yesterday I cleaned out a drawer and had an epiphany of sorts. Among things I stumbled on were books my kids had written and illustrated while in grade school (self-published, original, highly adorable, on brightly colored construction paper) and cards my husband had written and given me when we first started dating more than 21 years ago (when our love was just beginning to blossom).

Had my kids written those books on the computer and saved them as .doc files and had those cards my husband sent me been emails, I’m quite certain it wouldn’t have elicited the same reaction in me.

I like — people like — having something they can hold in their hands.

While technology does make it ridiculously easy to send someone your resume via email, nothing will ever replace the tangible feeling of holding paper, good quality paper, in your hands.

Yes, it requires more work, but this effort is precisely what will make you stand out from the people you’re competing with for jobs. It shows a level of professionalism, engagement, and caring that goes light years beyond merely pressing the send button.

That’s why today I want to challenge you to go out and buy some high-quality cotton resume writing paper. I recommend Southworth — it is, in my humble opinion, quite simply the finest resume paper you can buy.

Then, print your resume on the paper and snail-mail it to prospective employers along with a nice cover letter asking for an interview and telling them what’s in it for them if they give you one. Remember: it’s not about what you want but what you can do for them and their bottom-line.

See what happens, and let me know the results.

In support of your Abundant Success,
Robyn Feldberg
The Abundant Success Coach

Let Prospective Employers Know You Are Interested!

In the last couple weeks, Oprah aired a two-part segment with former regular Iyanla Vazant. Iyanla had appeared on the show 20 times in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Suddenly, she disappeared. Oprah brought her on to discuss exactly what happened.

Ultimately, it ended up being a case of miscommunication. Iyanla thought Oprah was angry after finding out that she had been approached to do a show with someone else; Oprah thought Iyanla wanted to go, and didn’t want to stand in her way. Both sides admittedly made incorrect assumptions about the other, which weren’t addressed for 11 years.

How often does this happen in the job search – where you’re NEVER given the opportunity to correct assumptions? You may assume an employer is not interested if they don’t call you back after an interview; you may be surprised to find out THEY might not think you’re interested! In an economy with more than enough people to fill each open position, hiring managers want to make sure they bring someone on who truly wants to be there.

Why? For one, this increases the odds that the new employee will want to stay, reducing the risk of turnover. This benefits the employer since they won’t need to invest more time and energy in the hiring process. Another reason is that it shows initiative, which is especially important in certain industries. For example, sales professionals are in the habit of following up with prospects constantly. If they don’t do this to sell themselves, why would they be effective at promoting a product or services?

There are several ways to show your interest in a position. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1)      Convey interest in the cover letter.

2)      After submitting your resume, call to check on the status.

3)      Express your interest in the job after each interview, and ask about next steps.

4)      Send a thank you letter after the interview, and remind the hiring manager that you want the job!

5)      Call to follow up after the interview (if you haven’t heard back from the hiring manager by the day they said they’d contact you). 

If there’s a job you truly want, don’t hide it! You don’t want to go overboard, but sincerely expressing your interest in a position and company can go a long way. 

Charlotte Weeks, Weeks Career Services, Inc.

LinkedIn Optimization Basics

Kudos to you if you’re already using LinkedIn for career management or as component of your integrated job search campaign.

Surveys show that employers are looking for talent on LinkedIn before they go to Facebook, Twitter, job boards, or search engines. And, LinkedIn is now the #1 tool that recruiters use to publish jobs, get referrals, research candidates, and direct-source candidates (according to JobVite Inc., 2010).

Here are six things you can do today to optimize your profile on LinkedIn:

1. Upload a professional headshot: If possible, have a professional photographer take your picture. Make sure the lighting is good and that there are no shadows on your face or behind your head.

2. Use your links wisely: LinkedIn enables you to link to three separate URLs and customize unique labels of your choice for each one. Use these links to your advantage. If you are in an active job search, consider having one of those links go to your online resume with a label that says “View My Online Resume.” Two choices to host your resume online are emurse.com and visualcv.com), and both are free.

You could also link to a professional blog, a Web portfolio, an industry association, or a news article in which you were quoted. Make sure all your links are professional and support your brand (why someone would want to talk to or hire you over other people whose qualifications, experience, and education might be similar to yours).

3. Maximize your character count allowance: The “Summary” section will allow you to include 2,00 characters, including spaces. Use as many of those 2,000 characters as you can to not only demonstrate your brand in a compelling manner but also load that section with multiple occurrences of the relevant keywords that someone might use to find someone with your qualifications.

The “Specialties” section will allow you to include 500 characters. Again, my advice: use them to include relevant keywords that someone might use to find someone with your unique set of skills.

If you’re not sure what keywords are relevant, read through several job descriptions for the specific type of position you’re trying to secure and identify the words that are found in several of them. Pay close attention to the job titles, requirements, and desired certifications. These can all be keywords.

4. Join groups and then participate in discussions: Search for groups on LinkedIn and then join them. Choose groups that are relevant to your desired profession, geographic area, or industry. Although you’re allowed to join 50 groups, I only recommend joining as many groups as you’re comfortable participating in. Otherwise, there will be no value.

I also recommend joining a mixture of small and large groups. There will be more opportunities for meaningful interaction in small groups; however, joining large groups will enable you to make more first-degree connections, so there is still value in them. Why? Because LinkedIn will allow you to contact first-degree connections directly and this can be a critical step in building a strong network of mutually beneficial contacts. Remember, a strong network is always give and get, not just get. Neediness is never seen as an attractive quality.

5. Ask for and give recommendations: Connect or reconnect with past coworkers, employees, and supervisors on LinkedIn, and ask them to recommend your work. One way to do this is to recommend their work. Once they receive your recommendation, LinkedIn will ask them if they’d like to reciprocate and recommend your work.

Important: Recommendations dramatically increase where you come up on LinkedIn’s internal search engine. Each recommendation makes the keywords for the associated job in your profile count twice.

6. Build out your profile 100% and connect with people wisely: Don’t slap your resume on LinkedIn as-is. Make sure you customize what you put on LinkedIn using a sound strategy. When it comes to connections, more isn’t necessarily better. Think about the quality of connections and not just quantity.

In support of your Abundant Success,
Robyn Feldberg
The Abundant Success Coach

The “Accidental” Network

I met with one of my favorite clients this week to discuss strategy for the next phase in his career. “How is your network?” I asked. “Are you on LinkedIn?”

He laughed and said something to the effect of, “Boy, am I ever.” Apparently, instead of selectively inviting contacts to connect he accidentally sent a notice out to everyone on his email list. Many of the people were those he wasn’t comfortable approaching in a networking context, either because he considered the relationship not very strong or because he viewed the contact as being far above him in their career path (presidents of big companies, that sort of thing). Horrified, his first thought was that there should be a back button for email. (How many times have we all wished for that?!)

To his pleasant surprise, almost everyone he invited connected to him and he now has organized access to a truly amazing network. Many of them posted recommendations for him and/or emailed him to let him know how highly they thought of him. With astute management, this supercharged network will be an invaluable career management asset for years to come.

Lessons learned?

1. Understand how you are perceived by people you know. My client had no idea his reputation was so stellar. If you are not well thought of, you’d better know about that too so you can mend your ways! For help with this, Reach Branding has a great tool that is free for 15 days: http://www.reachcc.com/360v4register
2. Be bold in your networking. Don’t be afraid to approach the “unapproachable”. Do remember to come from a standpoint of giving to them. My client had obviously built a reputation for being generous in his dealings or he would not have gotten the response he did. In most cases, a personalized note with information helpful to the person you are connecting with will go a long way.

Anybody who so much as dips their toe into the job search pool knows that networking plays a critical role in landing faster, making more money, and finding a company you share a real synergy with. Fearless, generous networking can take you to heights you never dreamed possible.