Job Search

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When It Comes to Networking, "Just Be a Person"

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When It Comes to Networking, "Just Be a Person"

Depending on who you are, you will approach the concept of “networking” with various feelings and preconceived notions based in part on your personal experiences and your overall affinity (or lack thereof) for this critical professional advancement activity. A fundamental question that many job seekers are asking when it comes to networking is, “who/how should I be when I’m out in the world trying to network [to land a job]?” This question isn’t usually voiced overtly, but it underlies the many questions around how they should approach, frame, respond, react, and what they should say, do, expect, etc.,in various scenarios. You know how people occasionally ask you, “what is the best advice you have ever received on ___?” Well, if the fill-in-the-blank was networking, my answer would be:

“Just be a person.”

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Networking Isn't Instant, But It's Worth It

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Networking Isn't Instant, But It's Worth It

“Network,” they say...“expand it,” “tap into it,” “leverage it,” blah, blah, blah. You’ve repeatedly heard about the necessity of networking, but what often gets glossed over is the difficulty of the process and the medium to long-term nature of the results. Unfortunately, the way that networking is often discussed makes it seem as though it’s a simple, 1-2-3 process and then boom, someone puts you into an interview process and/or offers you a job. The problem with this framing is that it’s misleading and it leaves job seekers feeling frustrated, confused or even inadequate because their networking efforts are seemingly leading nowhere. This upsets me because I don’t want my clients or anyone taking on any more emotional stress than they need to in the already difficult job search process. So, let me correct the record… networking isn’t instant, but it’s worth it.

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How to Take the Pain Out of Tailoring Your Resume

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How to Take the Pain Out of Tailoring Your Resume

Product marketers invest a lot of time and effort in researching the needs and desires of their target audience. Their goal being to learn the most effective ways to make their product appealing to said audience and convert them into buyers. They also segment their audience into groups and create targeted/customized advertisements that will better connect to their specific needs and sensibilities. In the case of the job hunt, you as the job seeker pull double duty playing the role of both the product and marketer. In an ideal job search, you have done the work to identify your target audience (companies), conducted thorough research (online + informational interviews), and you are now ready to create tailored ads (your resume) to get them to buy what you’re selling -- right? The challenge with this last step is the tedium that comes with customizing your resume for every application. Too many job seekers skip this step or do it minimally -- to their own detriment. So...how can it be done, and done less painfully?

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3 Steps to Get the Best ROI from Your Professional Resume Rewrite

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3 Steps to Get the Best ROI from Your Professional Resume Rewrite

I am not clairvoyant. Perhaps this is an obvious, rhetorical statement, but as a career coach/resume writer, I sometimes wish I was since this gifting is projected upon me often enough by some prospects and clients. In today’s ‘Amazon Prime Now’ world, we have all become accustomed to, and even somewhat expectant of near-instant service delivery. Advancements in technology and logistics now allow us to push a digital button and anything from our most basic needs (groceries) to our most frivolous wants (fancy gadget/clothing item X) are delivered to our doorstep (within hours) -- all by lifting one finger -- literally. Though resumes are now almost exclusively a digital product (LinkedIn profiles included), the process to generate one is still rather analog and it’s important to make this connection. 

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Be Kind to Yourself During Your Job Search

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Be Kind to Yourself During Your Job Search

Job searching is hard. Let’s just collectively acknowledge this as fact. While the degree of difficulty varies by person, local job market, experience level, and more, we all have the innate ability to make it feel worse based on the pressure we place on ourselves. One’s emotional and psychological fortitude are certainly tested during the search process by myriad external factors. It’s important to note, however, that our inner world plays a major role in how we respond to these external factors. Our responses can either attenuate or exacerbate our experience, which can have an impact on the success of our search. What’s the solution to handling the inevitable ups and downs of a job search you ask…? BE KIND TO YOURSELF.

We are all taught from a young age to be kind to others throughout all our interactions in life. As the father of a 7yo girl who I’ve seen cry after receiving a 23/25 on a first-grade math test and is for some reason (don’t ask me why) already worrying about getting good grades in college, I’m seeing the critical importance of teaching her to be kind to herself. As a society, I’m not sure we are taught well or enough about being kind to ourselves because of the modern, performance-driven culture we live in -- especially in the United States. 

Many of you reading this are successful because you were raised with high expectations and/or you place them on yourselves to this day. Logically following, the job search would be no exception. You are a great candidate, so finding a job shouldn’t be too hard, right?

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There's No Reading Between the Lines on Your Resume - Here's Why

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There's No Reading Between the Lines on Your Resume - Here's Why

I recently watched a great job search webinar delivered by my fellow coach and friend, Anish Majumdar. While he was sharing tips about crafting an effective resume, he said a few lines that I just couldn’t shake:

“Don’t expect any employer to read between the lines on your resume…”

“They don’t know you!”

“You have to tell them!”

I’m paraphrasing slightly, but the essence and power of these three statements is clear. One of the mistakes I have seen clients repeatedly make when discussing their resumes is assuming knowledge on the part of their audience. As they distill their stories into concise bullet points (no easy feat), the complete, first-hand narrative they have in their head is somehow assumed to be accessible to their readers who, “should just understand what I mean.” The simple question I respond with is, “how?”

Unless you possess powers of telepathy and/or your target audience has ESP, there is no transmission network yet in existence to share your thoughts/memories/knowledge with another human that ultimately doesn’t rely on speech or the written word. Until we develop the ability to directly beam our thoughts via WiFi or Bluetooth, we have to make the implicit, explicit -- and tell our audience exactly what we mean.

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Don't Forget About Alumni While Networking, Here's Why

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Don't Forget About Alumni While Networking, Here's Why

Though we live in an increasingly digital world, the process of finding a job remains ever analog -- it’s all about who you know. Networking and referrals continue to be the best way for both job seekers and employers to make positive connections. The challenge that many job seekers face, however, is believing that their network is neither large enough nor strong enough to connect them to their desired job. I often meet clients who are stuck on how best to expand their network and broaden their reach. When I work with clients on their networking strategy, I usually start by asking them to list who they have considered contacting and the conversation normally goes something like this:

Me: Who have you reached out to so far in your networking efforts?
Client: Some of my former co-workers and a few friends who I know will help me.
Me: That sounds good. Have you thought about using your alumni network?
Client: Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that…

Typically, they will list former co-workers, friends, and sometimes family and it stops there. More often than not, my clients are oblivious to one of the richest networks they have immediate access to -- their alumni networks.

Why Knowing Your Truths is Key to a Successful Job Search

Why Knowing Your Truths is Key to a Successful Job Search

It is often said that “the truth will set you free.” I would extend that adage, adding that in many aspects of life, the truth will also protect you and guide you. The realm of job searching is no exception. Conducting a job search is fraught with many challenges along the way. These range from what job(s) to pursue and how to effectively market yourself, to what role to accept. One of the biggest challenges is maintaining resilience despite the inevitable frustrations and rejections you will experience. Searching for a job is hard enough. I believe that it can become even more arduous if we either aren’t honest with or forget the truths about ourselves.

I believe that there are two main truths that any professional should reflect on and identify before they begin a job search:

  1. The truth about what you want

  2. The truth about who you are

Having clarity and conviction on these two issues before you take your first steps into a job search will help you save time, act with clear purpose, and provide a degree of psychological and emotional shielding to deflect the slings and arrows sent your way. Think of it like taking an intentional step back and performing a pre-job search gut check before any actions are taken.

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Controlling Your Career Narrative: 3 Steps to Shift Perception to Reality

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Controlling Your Career Narrative: 3 Steps to Shift Perception to Reality

Your career narrative is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal to inform and influence how others see you. Quite often, however, I encounter clients who either aren’t clear on what their narrative is or don’t feel like they are in control of it. In both cases, not having ownership of your career narrative can impact how others perceive and engage with you. This calls to mind the trite maxim, “perception is reality.” While reality is absolute, given that perception is subjective, you have the power to shape it through your storytelling. However, for it to become reality, your storytelling must be accompanied by evidence and action.

We have all experienced the co-worker who we believe is not very good at their job, yet somehow is well known by company leadership and always seems to advance ahead of those who produce better work. Whether we like it or not, these individuals have mastered their career narrative and have learned to bend reality to their desired perception. The challenge for the rest of us who do great work but aren’t the slickest salesperson is to shift perception to our reality.

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3 Ways Helping Others Can Define Your Brand

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3 Ways Helping Others Can Define Your Brand

“You are only as good as the good you do for others.” ~Unknown
The quote above has appeared in my email signature since about 2011 and has come to embody both the philosophy by which I live my life and the mantra upon which I base my career and business. As I have worked with various clients on defining their professional brand, I have come to realize that more than anything -- a brand is ultimately our offer of value to others. The beauty in this perspective is that we all have something of value to offer and contribute to the world. The challenge is how difficult it is to identify and articulate your value in such a way that it connects to others and encourages them to engage with you.

If you think about it, any job posting is just the far wordier equivalent of the classic, “Help Wanted” sign, hung in a retail store window. Employers are seeking the best person they can find to help them deal with a specific set of pain points that are currently hurting their business…