Archive for the ‘Job Search’ Category

Ever since I read that business owners should spend at least 40 percent of their time on

marketing, I’ve kept an eye out for interesting opportunities to promote my business.

For example, I signed up to be an exhibitor for three days at the first-ever “Women’s Life Expo” in Portland this past weekend. I had no idea who or how many women would come, but since many of my clients are women, and the promoters had given me the opportunity to give a presentation each day, I decided to make the investment in time and money.

I kicked my design skills into high gear and created a “room in a booth”, complete with a couch, hassocks, soft lighting and a gorgeous arrangement of French tulips. With the help of my mother-in-law, I stuffed hundreds of mesh bags with French lavender as the requisite “give away”, and a memorable way to promote my annual “http://www.yourprovenceretreat.com/” women’s retreat to Provence.

When Friday arrived, I moved into my booth and was excited to experience the world of Expo exhibitors. By day’s end on Friday, having spent most of the time commiserating with vendors about the paltry number of visitors, I considered packing up and going home to reclaim my weekend.

But, I had made this commitment and decided to stick it out, hoping for a larger crowd on the weekend. While Saturday was more brisk with people coming and going, it was far from what I had hoped as far as attendance at my presentations and opportunities for conversation about Provence or “http://www.barbarababkirk.com/” career counseling services.

Since it was the first of its kind in Maine, I don’t think there was any way I could have known in advance how effective this Women’s Life Expo would be for me. But, perhaps I should have thought twice about committing myself to two new Expos–the first ever ” “http://expoproducers.com/boomerexpo/portland/portland.html” Boomer Expo” takes place May 2,3,4. Live and learn.

“I’ve lost a sense of belonging” was Jane’s honest reply to my question about the worst part of being unemployed.

With eight or more hours devoted to the workplace each day, most of us develop an experience of community that we take for granted—until we lose it.

Whether or not we get along with all of our co-workers, we tend to develop relationships at work that go beyond the necessary work-related conversations or collaborations. For most, there’s a feeling of connection and built-in support system for life’s trials and jubilations. From sounding boards to cheerleaders, the people with whom we work can serve important roles in our lives, even if our connection exists exclusively at work.

When we become unemployed for whatever reason, we lose the connections that have progressed beyond talk about the weather or favorite sports teams. With our thoughts focused on more obvious losses like income and benefits, the loss of community is unanticipated and sobering.

While we cannot replace the relationships from our last job, we can work to make new connections that help us feel part of a larger community.

Here are a few examples of resources to tap:

“http://www.careeronestop.org/” Career One Stop centers are sponsored by the Federal and State Governments and offer a vast array of services and programs. In Maine, Career Centers are located in 22 towns and cities. The Portland, Maine office sponsors “http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=CCEvents&id=13220&v=article” UP Groups (Unemployed Professionals) that feature speakers, job search tips and great opportunities to network with fellow job seekers. Check out the One Stop office in your area.

Chambers of Commerce networking opportunities are great places to meet new people, learn about issues in the marketplace and develop contacts for your job search. Check out “http://www.mainechamber.org/local_chambers.asp” http://www.mainechamber.org/local_chambers.asp for the chamber in your area.

Regular informal meetings with friends will keep commitments in your calendar and give you a chance to connect and, even ask for help with your transition.

Adult education classes—could this be the time to take that class in car mechanics, Microsoft Office, or intro to watercolors? You never know whom you might meet there…

Community service agencies often need volunteers to help with projects. Making a short-term commitment can provide structure to your week, new relationships, a welcomed balance to your job search efforts and allow you to feel productive.

Re-building a sense of community takes effort and determination. It’s a good idea to resist the tendency to isolate by exclusively using the internet for your job search. If you balance your strategies with a combination of time alone and time for socializing and networking, you’ll probably feel less alone and more upbeat and connected to your plan of finding new work.

Finding a job from a distance may not be easy, but if you take the right steps, you’re more likely to have success.

Know the type of job you want and the specific ways you are qualified.

List the criteria that describe the job, rather than a job title, might broaden your options in the marketplace

Be clear about your skills and abilities and how they relate to the positions you seek.

Review and update your professional documents.

A current resume is essential as you begin your search. If the address on your resume is in another state, prospective employers may question your commitment to move, or hesitate to contact you because of relocation expenses. Consider using a friend or relative’s address in your contact information on your resume.

Do the job possibilities warrant a portfolio of documents to supplement your résumé? Appropriate for the interview stage of the job search, a portfolio is a collection of materials that might include: a resume, letters of reference or recognition, writing samples, articles written or presentations delivered, or any other representation of your work.

Identify references and notify them of your job search and interest areas.

Create a list of skills you have consistently used during your work history. Keep in mind those skills you enjoy using and be ready to give concrete, brief examples of times when you have effectively demonstrated them.

Become familiar with your target location.

Subscribe to the on-line edition of the local newspaper, especially the Sunday edition. Pay attention to articles on businesses, expansions, and notices of promotions and hew hires, as well as the job postings.

Plan exploratory trips to conduct informational interviews and

network with other professionals. The longer you can stay to network and get your name around, the better your chances will be of hearing of job opportunities.

Contact the Chamber of Commerce, Office of Tourism, and Department of labor and request a relocation packet. Access the Chamber’s on-line directory of members. For information on relocating to Maine, go to:  www.maine.gov/portal/living/moving.html

Identify organizations and companies that employ people in your targeted positions. Visit their websites for job postings and info on new developments.

Check out key resources in your industry or career field.

Research the professional associations affiliated with your target job.The Encyclopedia of Associations, available at most libraries, gives useful descriptions. Note the officer’s names and the date and place of their annual conference. Plan to attend if possible. Contact the officers for help with networking.

Contact the career services office at your undergraduate and graduate

Schools or register as an alum on line. Request a list of alumni/ae working in your field near your target location.

Tell friends and family about your plans to relocate. Ask if they know anyone who lives and works in your target location and if they would be willing to send an e-mail introducing you and requesting a meeting with you.

Check out www.craigslist.com for job postings. Most major cities have a “Craig list” site. This on-line resource has become increasingly popular for finding anything from jobs and roommates to furniture and housing.

You may choose to contact headhunters/recruiters/executive search firms. Search these professionals by location or industry at: www.i-recruit.com

Be familiar with the salary ranges in the new locale for the position/s you are targeting. The informative site: www.rileyguide.com has a links to salary surveys.

Finding a job from afar requires creative and varied approaches to the job search. Resist the temptation to limit your strategy to combing on-line job postings for hours on end.

Get out and meet people, especially those who can connect you in the state to which you want to move. These networking conversations will help you feel as though you are making progress and increasing your connections.

Research consistently shows that talking to people remains the most effective way to get a job.

“Find a job you enjoy, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” – Confucius

I’ve heard hundreds of people describe the type of job they’d love to go to each day. While each person has his or her own particular desires, most share something in common: their descriptions are quite reasonable and in line with the current marketplace.

Yet, for some reason, most people assume that the job they desire does not exist—at least not for them. Consequently, they quickly replace the true description of their heart’s desire with a modified one that does not motivate them to look beyond their current circumstances.

These people busily create discouraging scenarios in their minds, without venturing out the door. While this negative mindset might be a way to ultimately protect them from the prospect of rejection, it does not allow any room for the possibility of success.

A series of short articles on “http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/fasttalk.html” Fast Company.com by people who love their work, highlights the idea that dream jobs evolve over time. For some, finding a great job is a process of trial and error.

I like to think of the evolution of one’s dream job in terms of the child’s game of hiding an object, where the closer to the object the child gets, he’s told “You’re getting warmer”.

In order to discern how close one is to his dream job, he needs to be consistently aware of what he’s looking for because therein lie the clues to it’s whereabouts.

Here are a few tips to keep you on track with your search for your own dream job:

Regularly assess your current job in terms of what’s working well and what needs a change giving your lifestyle and desires.

Make a list of the five most important criteria in a job for you right now.

Think about people whose jobs interest you. Consider interviewing them to determine if what they do is really something you’d like to do.

Create time and space in your life for investigating other options. Taking action is often all someone needs to feel more in control of their life and begin to think more positively about their situation. On the other hand, it could uncover a new possibility that’s a much better fit.

Be aware of your assumptions and how they might limit your attempts to explore new options. Try to stay neutral until you determine the facts and match them with your desires.

It’s a story I hear over and over again: job applicants left in the lurch by prospective employers. This situation happens to admins and CEOs alike without regard to specific positions, compensation or place on the hierarchy. It’s frustrating, annoying and unprofessional and you need to know how to deal with this inevitable downside of the job search.

In most cases, you’ve taken all the right steps: followed application directives, used your network wisely and/or submitted professional documents as requested. At this point the ball is in the employer’s court and the waiting game begins.

It used to be common practice for the applicant to receive an email or a postcard indicating receipt of the application materials. This seems to be the exception to the rule nowadays. Consequently, it’s up to you as the applicant to check on this important detail yourself. I’ve heard many scenarios where the applicant believes he or she effectively submitted an online application only to find out (too late) that it was never received.

You may be told by the prospective employer that you will hear news about the hiring process by a certain date. These dates often go by without any word. In this case, it’s appropriate to wait a couple of days then make a call to inquire about the process and the status of your application. You may have to repeat this step a few times in the course of the hiring process. If you do this within reasonable timeframes, you do not need to be concerned about being pushy.

The hiring process can be delayed for dozens of reason unknown to you. Ideally, some indication of a change in the process should be communicated to the applicants. But, I don’t hear of that happening very much. So, be careful not to jump to conclusions about your candidacy or why the search is delayed. It’s common to make up stories when you don’t know what is going on, but this is not in your best interest.

Since you can never know how a particular hiring process will proceed, it’s wise to keep several options going at once. That way, you will not be waiting by the phone or your computer waiting for word from your only prospect.

Clarify what you want to do for work and identify your skills or particular market niche and you might land the right job, a raise, or a key position in your organization. However, your road to success does not end after you’ve established your goals. Knowing how to set yourself apart from similar businesses or distinguish yourself from other job candidates will further insure your being selected as the business of choice, candidate for a raise or the latest hire.

In this Maine Women’s Journal Business segment, you’ll learn different strategies on how to position yourself so people will notice you and recognize what you have to offer.

From using color to enhance how you look with tips from Carrie Costello (?), presenting your best self in an interview by Amy Jaffe, negotiating your next salary by Annie Houle (?) and choosing the job that’s right for you by Barbara Babkirk, you’ll come away with new ideas to strengthen how you see yourself and enhance how you are perceived in the marketplace.

If you’re feeling discouraged about your job search, you might achieve better results with one simple change to your process: diversify your approach. Polls indicate that more than half the people who employed only one strategy to look for jobs lost their momentum and abandoned their search after two months; while those who incorporated several strategies stayed the course until they found an acceptable position.

It may seem like an easy path to your next job to sit at your computer and surf the Internet. But, I’m sorry to say that a computer-based job search is typically not that effective if it’s your only course of action. Furthermore, it is an approach that keeps you isolated and out of touch with individuals who could encourage you and keep you motivated in your efforts to find new work.

I suggest spending no more than an hour each day reviewing on line job postings and perhaps another hour with resume submissions and researching prospective employers’ websites. The rest of the day could then be divided into a variety of activities, including ones that could have an indirect impact on your jobs search success by lifting your spirits or helping to relieve stress.

Below is a list of the primary ways people find jobs. The first four are by far the most effective. Select one or two to add to your job search process—doing that just might increase your success rate as well as improve your outlook.

Get clear on what you do well and what you enjoy doing. Then identify where in the marketplace those skills are needed. Conduct “http://www.quintcareers.com/researching_employers_method.html” informational interviews with people who have these jobs to determine if there is a match for you. Ask for names of more people to speak with who are in this field.

Make cold calls and/or knock on doors of organizations or companies of interest to you and where you could add value to determine if they have openings.

Ask for job leads from family, friends, former colleagues and acquaintances.

Attend a group organized for people in the job search where networking is encouraged and practiced.

Apply for jobs advertised in the newspaper, trade journals or seen on line.

Go to private employment agencies.

Send out unsolicited resumes to random employers. (It is estimated that only one job offer results from sending out 1700 resumes.)

If you have spent time, effort, and perhaps even money crafting a great resume that captures your marketable skills and experience in an attractive format, you may not be pleased by the document the prospective employer actually receives.

Employers’ submission requirements vary, but many, in an effort to avoid viruses associated with attached files, ask candidates to cut and paste their resume and cover letter into an email. There’s no mystery as to what they will see with those instructions: a plain and simple document that is distinguished from others solely by its content. In that case, it is imperative that your information is clear, concise and contains pertinent key words from the job posting as well as examples of times you have demonstrated the skills required.

When prospective employers accept attachments, consider sending your documents in a pdf format, rather than a typical Word file. The pdf format is a “photo” of your document and, therefore, it can not be modified. With this format, you can be certain that the integrity of your documents remains in tact, which is often an issue if the recipient uses a different platform (Mac vs pc) than you.

Pay close attention to the employer’s instructions for submitting your resume and cover letter. You can avoid surprises by first sending your documents to a friend to make sure it is consistent with the original version.

Finally, I always recommend that you mail or deliver a paper copy of your resume and cover letter the same day you submit them online. It’s always a good idea to confirm by a phone call after a few days that your material actually arrived at its destination.

Recently I was touched by the story of a friend who, after 26 years of dedicated and exemplary service to an organization, was not recognized by senior management upon her retirement. While her peers and constituents celebrated her with gifts and praise, her boss said virtually nothing to recognize her work and commitment. In fact, she may not have even said goodbye if my friend had not taken the initiative of going to her office to leave a key.

That same week I spoke with an HYPERLINK “http://www.barbarababkirk.com/private.html” outplacement client who had been laid off after 12 years due to downsizing. While I am helping him set a new direction complete with resume and a networking strategy, that task is more difficult because his self confidence has taken a hit. It seems that there was no official “thank you for your years of service” send off for this person either. The good wishes that were expressed by his peers during a final staff luncheon did not make up for the lack of acknowledgement from management for his work over the years.

In both of these cases, it would have taken only a few minutes and no expense for the organization’s leadership to make a positive lasting impression, rather than a negative one that resulted in ill will and a sense of failure.

Giving a verbal and written thank you and an acknowledgement of a person’s specific contributions to an organization as they leave, may seem obvious to many of us. But, I can assure you that this simple yet profound gesture is too often overlooked to the detriment of both the employee and the organization.

“Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”   ~Jean Baptiste Massieu

Waiting is hard. Let’s face it, if you are like most people, you enjoy being in control and when you’re not, you might get frustrated, angry, or give up.

In the past month, two people shared scenarios that presented alternatives to the typical reactions to a period of waiting—and their actions paid off.

First, there was Austin, who, for several years after college worked in marketing positions that challenged her, but did not satisfy her deep desire for work that made a significant contribution to the world. She had periods of doubt that she’d ever find her niche, nonetheless, she kept talking about it with friends, family and colleagues.

Two months ago, as a result of a networking conversation, she was unexpectedly offered a job. Her new position’s with a “http://www.ticketsforcharity.com/” start up company that makes philanthropists out of concert-goers and sports fans by allocating the typical “overhead costs” to a charitable organization and provides a feel good alternative to Ticketmaster or scalpers.

Austin seems to have found a great match for her skills and her values through persistence and focus on her goal.

James, laid off from a corporate training position that was never a good fit for his favored skills, took time to contemplate what had happened. He realized that his desperate and fearful attitude caused him to accept a job that did not capitalize on his strengths.

Once he got over the fact that he had not initiated the ending of his employment, James began to identify what really mattered and committed to holding out for the right job this time around.

The search took six months, and like Austin’s search, it included consistent and numerous conversations about what he wanted. Today, James works in a company that recognizes and rewards him for his competencies.

So, when you’ve had it with waiting for the job you really desire, try re-engaging with your job search by stepping up your efforts to network and staying focused on your goal.