Great Occupations

On Monday, I led a session of the weekly Career Strategies meeting at the local firm where I do outplacement consulting. The topic this week was, “What’s in your strategy?” One person shared what had become a big focus for him right now... and that is how to stay positive. He said it was easy to be positive at first, but as his unemployment period drags on (it’s been 5 months now), he finds it more and more difficult to keep his momentum strong. Read the rest of this entry »

When we teach the AIM module of the Job Search Boot Camp, Jay and I stress the importance of networking. Why do we stress the importance of networking? Because it’s not answering postings on the job boards that gives you the best chance of landing your dream job – it’s networking. Over 80% of jobs landed in the U.S. are because someone knows someone… and one thing leads to another.

Psst… there’s something else you should know… You’ve probably heard all this stuff before. Jay & I can’t be the only ones urging you to beware the sweet allure of answering online job postings. And maybe you’re even listening. Maybe you’re getting off your duff and getting out there to talk to people. If so, that’s awesome!

There’s something else you should know. The economy is improving. Jobs are slowly – ever so slowly – coming back. This means that you could be working very soon in a decent job. And I don’t mean one of those garden variety survival jobs (like beating the streets for the Census Bureau). I mean a real job that you might even possibly love. What will do you do then?

Networking should NOT end when you land! Will you go back into your cocoon once you start your new job? Maybe you’ll “hang out” with your co-workers at occasional happy hours and call that networking. Okay, so, yes, that is networking, but I’m talking about creating and maintaining the kind of connections that will last your whole career.

Please tell me you’re not naively thinking that once the economy rebounds that it’s going to stay permanently on the upswing. Hey, the market goes up and down every so often, and we adjust. It’s just a fact of life.

Did you know that the typical college graduate today will have more than 14-16 jobs during their career? They might have as many as 3 career changes, too. This is the new reality. These youngsters know they need to network with each other, and so they do. The market has even responded to this demand with tools to help like Facebook, Twitter and iPhone apps.

Create a career maintenance plan Once you land, follow up with your network. Thank them if they’ve helped you along the way. Be sure to put a strategy together in which you’ll touch them at least every 6 months. How you do this is up to you. It might be as simple as sending a mass email, sort of like a newsletter, to let them know how you’re doing. Or you might use LinkedIn to do rotational little notes to check in. The best way to keep in touch with someone is to say, “Hi, how are you? I was thinking about you. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Networking is not rocket science, but we know it’s not always easy to do. But do it you must if you want to stay ahead in the changing market.

If you find yourself faltering, just ask yourself this question: “Do I really want to start from scratch with my network during my next job search?”

Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and career coach. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through workshops, webclasses and 2×1 individualized coaching services. Listen to them on The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more about their programs & services at www.greatoccupations.com.

In a recent workshop, a discussion came up about whether or not to list volunteer experience or hobbies and special interests on the resume. I think it’s perfectly fine to list your volunteer experience since it can show you to be a well-rounded person, but it all depends on what you’re trying to say by doing so.

There are times when your special interest can be an enhancement. One of my clients, an administrative support professional, listed her special interest in Scottish folk dancing at the bottom of her resume. Hold on, before you roll your eyes wondering why in the world would she say that on her resume, check this out. Turns out she was one of the founders of a local association of Scottish folk dancers which sponsors annual events for the public. She holds an elected position on the board. Through this organization she has developed and, therefore, can demonstrate leadership ability that she might not otherwise be able to do as an administrative assistant.

But, if it’s not relevant, please omit it. Years ago, a job candidate who applied for a job I was trying to fill had the following hobby on her resume: “Walking my dog on the beach at Cape Cod.” At the time I remember thinking, “And how is this relevant to your qualifications for the job?” Needless to say, this candidate did not receive a call from our firm. Instead, we all had a good laugh and put her resume in the “no way” stack.

To avoid being screened out, consider this too… Is your volunteer experience or special interests controversial in nature? Does the organization you’re involved in reveal hints about your religion, political affiliation, sexual preference or ethnicity? Most of these are protected classes under employment law, which means that employers aren’t supposed to take the information under consideration.

If you do add this kind of information to your resume, be sure you understand and accept the possible disadvantages. If you have strong enough convictions to volunteer, you might have strong enough feelings about being hired for who you are – and what you believe in. I totally understand that point of view, however, in the real world, discrimination does, unfortunately, exist, and most experts would encourage you to play it safe and leave it off. The cardinal rule is to avoid putting anything on your resume that will possibly screen you out.

In the end, such a decision is highly personal. As with all the content on your resume, just be aware of what you’re trying to say about yourself. Always ask yourself the question, “Is this relevant?”

Happy Hunting!

Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and career coach. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through workshops, webclasses and 2×1 individualized coaching services. Listen to them on The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more about their programs & services at www.greatoccupations.com.

On Monday, in one of the career transition networking groups that I sometimes facilitate, we discussed our favorite ways to network and shared what seemed to benefit us the most.

Many of us in the room talked about the networking we do with others in our professional areas, as well as the personal causes we volunteered for. Those of us who network at professional events and through associations agreed that, as a whole, this kind of networking yielded the best results for job search and career development. It is also relatively easy to do since hanging out with our own kind makes it easier to break the ice with strangers who obviously have something in common with us… our trade or profession.

Then concept of “giving back” came up.

One gentleman in the group said that he likes giving back by volunteering with his professional organization because he loves the prestige he gains and the visibility it gives him. He’s gearing up to attend the annual conference in California. He’ll be paying for this trip out of his own pocket since he doesn’t have an employer to cover his expenses. However, he sees a tremendous value in giving of his time and energy, creating visibility for himself, maintaining his reputation as a global expert in his field and meeting up with other attendees who might just have the power to hire him. It makes him feel useful while he’s staying abreast of what’s going on his field.

Those of us who network for personal causes talked about how we get motivated by the good feelings we get from our efforts – from knowing we are making a difference. One person in the room talked about how he likes giving back by volunteering for an organization that feeds homeless people in our local community. He says that he gets two main things out of doing this during his job search: 1) It boosts his self-esteem. He’s spent months in a tough job search, and he likes feeling that he has done something worthy during a time in which it’s sometimes very hard to feel good about himself. 2) When he sees others who are struggling – who are in a more difficult situation than he is – he gains a sense of gratitude for what he does have even though he hasn’t gotten a job yet.

Giving back is a great way to maintain a positive attitude whether it’s professionally giving back or giving back to a social or spiritual cause. Remember, a positive attitude is vital to your success. When you feel bad, your body language will give you away – that negative attitude will ultimately sabotage you.

Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and career coach. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through workshops, webclasses and 2×1 individualized coaching services. Listen to them on The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more about their programs & services at www.greatoccupations.com.

Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits. – Thomas Edison

I’m privileged to serve with a bunch of great individuals on the board of Launch Pad Job Club. Each and every one of them are hardworking, caring professionals who make awesome contributions to help job seekers in our community. One of our fellow board members is Jim Adcock, who I think has been a shining example of Edison’s “hustle while you wait” mentality during his own job hunt. In a recent article, he addressed a very good question that gets asked a lot these days in interviews – “What have you been doing since your last job?” Jim’s personal response involves volunteering, getting new training to keep his skills fresh, and even giving training to others.

He writes: I’ve participated regularly in five professional organizations, volunteered regularly at a community service organization (and was elected to its board of directors), organized a volunteer service project event (and am working on a second one), and presented two different topics at three venues. I’ve also been trying to keep my skills fresh by attending online training and reading technical publications related to my career.

What Jim doesn’t mention that he’s doing while he “waits” for his next great job is the blog where he posted this article. He might not tell interviewers directly about it (though he certainly could), they will find out about it if they check him out online – and, apparently, a significant number of hiring authorities check out candidates’ online presences these days. Through his professional blog, Jim is demonstrating his subject matter expertise, as well as creating internet visibility for himself in the marketplace. You see, Jim isn’t a journalist, a recruiter or a career coach, he’s a techie guy – an expert in something called SharePoint technology – and he devotes most of his blog topics to his subject matter expertise. Talk about hustling while you wait!

Jim concludes his article with 2 very important questions:

• What have you been doing since your last job?
• What can you be doing right now to give yourself a great answer to that question?

I join Jim in daring you to be creative in your job search. I dare you to hustle while you wait so you can come up with a better response than, “I’ve just been job hunting.”

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You’ll definitely want to tune in for our next radio show on Saturday, March 6, at 10AM CST. Our guest is Laurel Donnellan, President of ThreeGiantLeaps and author of “Born To Do: The Practical Guide To Loving Your Work”. She’ll join us to talk about how positive psychology and ancient wisdom can help you find work you love. Sounds sorta mystical, doesn’t it? I can’t wait to hear what she says!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and career coach. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through seminars, webinars, tele-coaching events and individualized coaching services. Listen to them on The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more about their programs & services at www.greatoccupations.com.