A Brief Look at 2011

Another year is almost over and we come to that time of year where everybody looks at what the accomplished (or failed to) in 2011 and what new goals or resolutions they want to make for 2012. For myself, 2011 was an incredibly busy year; work has shown again and again just how popular the Second Career program is within Niagara Region as was seen by the popularity of my advice post on the whole process (here).

In addition to dealing with Second Career applications and providing job search advice to clients, I have also been assisting people in utilizing different Social Media platforms for their job search as well as developing a workshop on the subject. I have also been working on my Sociology degree, which has left me with less time for blogging than I would have preferred but has still been a challenging and engaging experience so far.

Over the past year I’ve looked at a number of different topics related to job search and career development and in the New Year I hope to continue updating this blog with useful and relevant advice on a monthly basis.

Finally for those who are either still looking or that intend to start looking for work in the New Year allow me to point you in the direction of a posting from last year entitled Revitalizing Your Job Search for the New Year. The dates may have changed but the principles contained within are still the same and can be used throughout the year.

A companion PowerPoint to go alongside my last blog posting.

Social Media and Job Search for Beginners

You’ve started your job search, your resume has been updated and you’re applying to jobs in person or through job boards. However everyone keeps telling you about this thing called social media and how it can help you in your job search; so you decide to give it a try but where do you start? The following points are from a workshop I created to introduce individuals to Social Media and how it can be utilized as a part of their job search strategy.

How does social media impact job search?

A recent survey by CareerEnlightenment.com stated that:
• 79% of hiring managers / recruiters review online information about applicants
• 70% said they rejected people based on the information they found
• 89% of companies will use Social Media Networks for recruiting in 2011
• This is an increase of 6% from 2010

What are your options?

There are a number of different social media sites that individuals can use, the three most popular which are connected to job search are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

Facebook
• Has over 800 million active users
• It utilizes personal connections and the average user has 130 friends
• Businesses now use Facebook for advertising and to connect with customers
• Still seen by many as personal and unprofessional but these opinions are changing

Using Facebook to Job Search
• Make use of applications (apps) such as Branch Out or BeKnown that are sponsored by job boards to track vacancies, companies and your network
• Clean up your profile, remove any negative content such as embarrassing photos
• Check your privacy settings, can employers see you
• Follow or ‘Like’ company pages so you can see what they are doing

LinkedIn
• Is business focused; seen as the professional version of Facebook
• #1 Social Media tool used by employers - 80% of employers use LinkedIn to find talent
• In essence it is an online resume that potential employers can view
• Incorporates company pages, a built-in job board and groups which consist of industry specialists or individuals with a common interest

Using LinkedIn to Job Search
• Make sure you have a complete profile so that employers can see what you have / can do
• Like any other part of your job search you want to target your audience
• Use groups to connect with your industry and the people within it
• Take the time to share relevant content and opinions

Twitter
• 140 characters or less
• Twitter has real time relevance, the past stays there
• People are constantly talking about trends, companies, general advice

Using Twitter to Job Search
• Learn the language – ‘hash tag’ ‘retweet’ ‘DM’
• Start slowly and with purpose
• Active participation is essential and add value to the conversation
• While there is some value in retweeting, let people hear what you have to say
• General rule 80% professional 20% personal

Other Sites of Interest
• Google - #1 Search engine in the world
• You Tube - #2 Search engine (owned by Google)
• Quora – Questions, Answers and Advice from industry professionals
• Blogger / Wordpress – Personal websites for individuals that want to share more of their expertise with the world
• About.me – A customized profile / launch site

What Next???

So now that we’ve had a look at what options are available to you, now is the time to pick a site to get started with and set up your profile. We generally recommend the one site to start with, so that you can get comfortable with using the site, seeing how others use the site and so that you are not overwhelmed.

Here are 3 things to keep in mind when using Social Media for job search.

1 – Don’t hide behind the computer – Anonymity is an easy trap to fall into, because no one knows who you are, you can say whatever you want. The problem is, you have to come out from the computer at some point and how you act online will be how employers perceive you.
• Social media will never fully replace face to face meetings such as in person networking and Interviews
• Having a professional looking profile picture shows the employer you are a real person (Simple headshot recommended)
• Your online actions affect how employers perceive you

2 – Present yourself in good light – This involves taking a look at what is currently online about you and taking steps to correct any negatives; for example pictures from parties where you were drunk are not going to impress any employers. It also involves taking the time to check any posts that you make for spelling mistakes, clarity and most importantly the content, updates about your lunch are not going to interest people; however comments related to the work you are interested in will.
• Take steps to correct any negatives such as drunken pictures from parties
• Check updates for spelling mistakes
• Clarity and content are important – updates about your lunch are not going to interest people

3 – Reputations take time – Building an online reputation / brand is going to take time for most people, rushing it can lead to mistakes and a negative reputation, so start out slowly.
• Rushing can lead to mistakes and a negative reputation
• Start out slowly
• Seek advice from experts
• Be part of the conversation

Networking is not…..

One of the things that there is an abundance of online is articles about networking. There are articles talking about what networking is; how to build a network and why you should have one; in fact I’ve added to this pile with my last two blog postings. So to buck the trend a little what I would like to do for this posting is to share four things that networking is most definitely not.

Networking is not…..

Begging for a job:

Seriously, it’s not; people and especially employers are more inclined to tune you out or try and avoid you if you keep pestering them for a job. Yes at one time they might have admired your perseverance but now they have scores of people doing the same thing so enough is enough.

A quick fix:

Many people think that the moment they start networking, job offers will start appearing. The reality is for the majority of people it takes time to build up a network to a point where you can receive referrals and use it to generate employment opportunities. How long will vary from person to person but the average is counted in months not days.

Only conducted online:

While sites such as LinkedIn have made it a lot easier to research and make connections with individuals / employers it will never take the place of a face to face meeting. It’s at those meetings where we can use tone / body language to express ourselves much more vividly than we could through an email. Also some of those potential connections may not be using the same sites that you use or even have the time to use them at all. So while online networking may be easier don’t sacrifice meeting people offline.

Your only option:

This follows on from the last point as there are a few different job search strategies that job seekers can use depending on the type of work they are looking for. Too many times people will advocate networking as the “be all and end all” of someone’s job search. The reality is though that even within networking there are several different types and there are other job search strategies that someone can use. Something that I recommend to clients is to try one job search strategy and if it doesn’t work try something else. Otherwise you’ll end up beating your head against a wall wasting time you could spend doing something productive.

Developing A Network

After a very busy summer I am back to blogging, at work we have over 20 clients preparing to start school in September thanks to the Second Career program and at home I am about to enter into my second year of university studies (online) as I continue to work towards gaining a degree in Sociology.

In my last posting I talked about the two types of networks that people have Organic and Rational, here’s the link if you want to refresh your memory http://bit.ly/j0L45Q, its ok I’ll wait for you.

In this posting what I want to talk about is how to grow and develop your network. Yes you can go through life with a small network that you are comfortable with; the problem with that though is at some point the effectiveness of your network will reach a limit and you can only go beyond that limit by introducing new people. Let’s face it the reason why we have people in our network is because they each bring unique knowledge and experience to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be, this is also why you are part of their network.

What are your networking goals?

Before we look at building the network, you first need to ask yourself why you are networking; is it to connect with hiring managers that may hire you or is it to gain a support base? The reason you need to ask yourself this question is because the answer will redefine how you go about networking with individuals. If you wish to build a network to find employment then you need to be aware that it is going to take effort on your part and depending on the size of your starting network may also take time to develop and become effective.

If on the other hand you are wishing to develop a support base, you cannot expect jobs leads to start appearing as you will more than likely be connected to individuals that have no connection or interest in providing you with these leads. For example for several years I ran a peer support group for mature job seekers, we had fun, shared information about how to job search, and how to deal with certain issues such as age discrimination. The one thing that rarely happened though was sharing job leads; those that were shared were ones that the individual did not want to apply for as they understandably did not want others in the group applying to the same jobs in order to reduce the competition.

Who are you connecting with?

Now I’m aware that the majority of individuals who are starting to network wish to find work, and that’s admirable. A large number of jobseekers though end up networking with the wrong people, many go to events similar to the one I mentioned above, in the hope that they will hear about lots of job opportunities. As I have already stated though these events are mainly focused on supporting individuals and not with providing job leads.

So if your networking goal is to find a job, then your networking activities should be focused on reaching those individuals within a company that make the hiring decisions and for a number of positions this is not Human Resources. In order to find out who those individuals are you may also need to connect with individuals that work for the company you are interested and ideally work in the same department or are doing the same type of job that you wish to have.

You should also develop a target list of companies that you wish to work for; this will help you to become more selective in your networking, which is necessary in developing a rational based network and will help you to focus on meeting with the people that either make the decisions or are connected to them.

How are you connected to them?

In developing your target list, it is also a good idea to determine how you are connected to an individual. Ideally you would have a personal referral from someone who is connected to an individual within your target company, however for those that are just starting to develop their network this will take time to gain. Another connection you can use is that you and the individual are part of the same professional association or belong to an industry specific group such as those on LinkedIn. I should also mention that LinkedIn is a great way to find people in companies on your target list. The final type of connection that you may have with an individual is that you simply share the same industry. Now if you have recently moved to a new area, this may be the situation you are in, in which case one of your primary goals in meeting with this individual would be to find out who else in the area you should be trying to connect with.

How to approach them?

Now that you know what your networking goals are, who you wish to network with and how you are connected to them; the next step is to reach out to them and arrange a meeting. Career counsellors and advisors such as myself that promote targeted / rational networking approaches recommend sending out an introductory email to the individual followed by a phone call a few days later.

Your initial email should be brief, complimentary and state your connection to them as discussed above. It should also outline what you are looking for career wise and what you expect from them such as a face to face meeting for some advice and assistance; you should not be asking them for a job.

Several days after you have sent your email, which gives them the opportunity to respond, then you would follow up with a phone call. During this call you would essentially restate what was included within your email, making sure to specifically request a call back and to leave a call back number. If after this they still do not respond, then leave them alone for now as you do not want to be perceived as a pest like so many other job seekers.

Finally

Two final thoughts to wrap up with, first you need to be aware that like many things in life, building and managing a network requires time and effort. I have seen people give up on this type of networking after only a few days, this type of networking takes commitment.

Secondly once you have cultivated a network connection, do not let it go to waste. Stay in touch with the individual, either through meeting for coffee or via social media tools. The first thing that people stop doing as soon as they find work is managing their network which means that should they lose their job, they have to start this process of developing a network all over again.