Take a Rest from Your Job Search
By Marilyn Albert

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the beginning a very long Holiday Season if you are still in a job search. This is for those who have been job seeking throughout this year and still have not found a job. When you are working the Holidays are synonymous with gift giving, spending time with family and friends. It’s time to rush around and find the perfect gift and once you do, smiling with the sheer joy of giving it away. It’s full of feel good stuff: food, smells, and laughter.

When you’re unemployed it absolute disaster, the very sights and sounds that made you happy, now remind you of all your misfortune.

The message I want to give to all job seekers is BRAVO! You have worked hard. You have applied for jobs you were eager about; as well as, those jobs you thought you would never apply for. You politely said thank you for the opportunity to interview when the rejection came.

To families here are 3 things you can do for the job seeker:
1. Thank them for all the hard work they have done and how they have stuck to the job search!
2. Let the job seeker know how proud you are of them for never giving up!
3. Listen, listen and listen some more. It doesn’t matter if you have heard the same story a dozen times. Listen, again.

Three gifts for the unemployed:
1. Massage certificate
2. Department store certificate
3. Movie passes and concession-stand certificate

Most importantly, here is my advice for the job seeker during the Holiday season.
1. Take a break from your job search. You have worked hard the past few months (even the year). Beginning Nov 27 through Jan 1, 2010, don’t worry about your job search. You have the greatest gift of all—time to spend with your family and friends. Take advantage of this, it may not happen again.
2. Clear off your desk and desktop. Clean up your work area. Clean up your “head.”
3. Organized your job search (get rid of outdated job postings and failed resumes)
4. Have your resume reviewed by a professional and revise it. Don’t start the year with a resume that didn’t get you very far last year.
5. Set some new job search goals to begin on January 2, 2010 (ask about the two below)
a. LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/
b. Start a blog https://www.blogger.com/start

Using LinkedIn for Your Job Search: Who, What How

by Marilyn Albert

Who: LinkedIn is a free professional social media network with over 50 million members in over 140 industries. Most of members are employed or job seeking adults. The people are very serious about their reputations and professional standing in the business community. Executives from all the Fortune 500 companies are on LinkedIn. Most have disclosed what they do, where they work now, and where they’ve worked in the past.

The purpose of LinkedIn is to maintain a list of contact details of people you know and trust in business. Unlike other social media networks, this one focuses only on your professional life, not your personal life. You have control of the content and the ability to keep it absolutely professionally, pristine.

According to Kevin Eyres, the London based Managing Director of LinkedIn’s European operation, it’s all about professionals now “taking more responsibility for their own careers.” Getting into LinkedIn is being proactive about your own networks, rebuilding an interrupted career, and reorganizing one’s reputation. (Telegraph.co.uk).

Think of LinkedIn as leveling the socio-economic playing field. Whether you are currently employed or job seeking it is extremely useful to establishing and maintaining a professional network. If you aren’t developing your network on a professional social media network, you are missing out on future networking opportunities and job search information that can change your life.


What: Think of LinkedIn as a Gated Approach
1. Connections:
a) Your direct connections with other professionals which eventually establishes second-degree and third-degree connections (people you know, who now people).
b) Can use connections to find jobs, people and business opportunities—all recommended by your trusted contact network.
c) Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.
d) Job seekers can review profiles of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contact can introduce them.

2. Research: Using the “search box” type in the company name, statistics about the company are provided. Look for percentage of most common titles/position held within the company, list of present and former employees.

3. LinkedIn Answers: Simple to Google Answers or Yahoo! Answers. You can ask questions for the community to answer. This free service provides more business focused answers, and both the identity of the people asking and answering questions.

4. LinkedIn Groups: You can establish new relationships by joining alumni, industry or professional and other related groups. You can create a large number of primary and secondary connections by following a group you join or was once a member of.

5. Mobile version and embedded applications are also included: link to Twitter, etc.

How to Make Connections
Build your network, everyday: LinkedIn is for everyone. Whether you are happy with your current employment situation; or, working at a dead end job, underemployed, or unemployed you should be spending time building your LinkedIn network. For LinkedIn to work you need at least 20 connections. Start with co-workers, supervisors and colleagues at other jobs. When others ask you to connect, check them out and connect. Just get started. It’s not who you know, it who knows you.

What social media networking has done for us is level the playing field in the area of schmoozing. There was once a time when schmoozing only occurred face to face by well-outspoken individuals. Online, even the shyest person can reach out to express their ideals. It’s part of the unspoken language of the social media networking landscape: The electronic schmoozer’s are eager to help reach out and help. They are more inclined to think, “What can I do for this person?” They are not thinking “What can this person do for me?

Get the Word Out: Tell your network you are looking for a job. Everyone acknowledges it is smart move to use this resource when job searching. The negative stigma is gone. Status updates provides your connections with your status on a regular basis.

Get Recommendations from your manager, supervisors and colleagues in your field. Ask people you supervise for recommendations. All recommendations are legitimate. I received status updates from a former colleague of mine who I had not seen in years. Curious, I looked at her site. She was looking for a new job. Although, she originally did not ask me to write for her, I was happy do so since I knew and respected our previous professional relationship.

Using Keywords, find where people with your back ground are working. Find companies that employ people like you by doing an advanced search for people who have your skills in the same zip code as you. You can be that specific.

Look at “company profiles” to find career paths of people before and after they worked for a given company. What kind of jobs did they have before? What skills did they develop? This could help you define your own career aspirations. Company profiles also can tell you where people go after leaving a company or business sector. For example, if you want to work Epic having experience as a technical writer is helpful.

Get the Inside Scoop: Company pages include a section called “new hires” a list of people who have recently joined a company. Take a look at the backgrounds of the new hires to examine their background to see what may have lead to their success at getting hired. This also works for current employees. Look at profiles of the people who work at the company to get an idea of their backgrounds and important skills.

Degrees of Separation: You can search for any job you want, but pay attention to those people who have a direct or one degree of separation. These people can offer key inside information or even walk a resume over to the right person inside a company. Most hiring managers will look at resume given to them by a current employee.

Look for Start-Ups: Want to be your own boss, own your own company, but aren’t certain who, what, and how to get started? Use the advanced search using “startup” or “stealth” in the keyword for company field.


Helpful Links:

LinkedIn overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV_7yAPnkFw&feature=related

How the network can be used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzT3JVUGUzM

LinkedInTutorials: http://www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com/blog1/linkedin-superguidetutorials-tips-and-tool/

How to Conduct an Online Job Search

by Marilyn Albert

We have talked about a lot about resources for the job seeker. Today, we are going to talk about how to actually conduct and online job search. Based on years of creating and managing online systems as well as consulting with employers that use online systems, here are the key elements of how they work. There are four factors in an online job search: The Players, the Hidden Rules, The Dark Hole; and, Human Management.

The Players
For every online system there are three separate players—each hoping for find each other.
1) The database managers of the system who make sure “real” jobs are being posted by “real” employers
2) The employers who follow-through with their postings
3) Candidates that hit the mark each time they submit their applications

The Hidden Rules
A successful online job search is not which database you use, but understanding how to conduct an online search. For the most part, people believe once they have entered their information, they are one click away from a job. The promise of an easy online job search is a huge myth. For an online job search to work keep your eye on the prize.
1) Focus: Highlight precise words and phrases for each job you apply for
2) Connect: Make sure those words and phrases appear on your resume
3) Restructure: Match your experience and keywords for each position you are applying for on your resume

The Dark Hole
1) Employers constantly scan their websites for resumes with keywords
2) Recruiters physically read resumes and refer only a few to hiring managers
3) Electronically scanned resume receive a percentage score (93% or 85% of a match). The more “matches” the higher the score.

Human Management
Make your electronic information work for you. The online system is there to store your data not get you the job. To make sure the system is working for you each time you apply for a job, do the following:

1) Take your cue from job descriptions. If resumes are being electronically screened then only words that appear in both the job description and resume garner results. If resumes are being read by a person, the person screening the resumes may not be a part of the decision-making team so may not read between the lines--they will only look for specific words.
2) Match your profile with each job you apply for online. Rewrite portions of your resume to match job descriptions. Use full words, not abbreviations. The computer scans will only read full words. A screener may not know what an abbreviation means.
3) Create a “header” of Interest Fields or Competencies. This section can be the most flexible and easiest to change per job description, rather than rewriting an entire resume. Some electronic systems will only screen the “interest” area.
4) Print hardcopies. An active and productive job search needs to be tracked carefully. Print all application materials and resumes for each job you apply for easy reference. Keep them in a table top file next to your computer. Print out all jobs you are interested in applying for, place them at the front of your file. As you apply attach application materials and file alphabetically. Customize your job search system so you can find things and keep track of any contacts or hits you get.

Mulit-Dimensional Job Search :Unique Resources & Renewal for Job Seekers

How long is too long? The measure of unemployment is easy—you’re running out of money; but, what about all your other resources, friends, energy, self-esteem, pride, spiritual well-being? With school starting and everyone returning to work and classes this week, staying at home and plugging away at the never-ending-job search is frustrating. It's time to look at some unexpected resources to help keep going. Some are just great resources, others are unique. I have looked at of them and think they are the type of resources and groups than can energize any job search.

Now is the time to meet new people either in person or online.

Here are unique resources that tap into each of the spoken and unspoken dimensions of the unemployed. These resources hold the promise of reenergizing, hope for the unemployed. Some are expected and some are new.

1) Online Networking
Brazen Careerist: http://www.brazencareerist.com/

Start building a professional identity that reflects the things people won't find on your traditional resume: ideas, passions, expertise and potential! Then, become a fan of people to watch this page turn into your customized fan feed.
• Complete Your Resume
• Share Ideas
• Join a Group
• Share Your Blog
• Get a Job (no employer listings, just help w/ the process)

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com

Look for companies that have Linkedin groups. Connect with them to get inside information about openings. Getting your name out there into the cyber-world, whether someone is reading about you—or not, opens up a new area of your brain and psychic where you know you’re doing something worthwhile with your job search.

2) Social Networking, for those starting their own businesses from home an unlikely but interesting resources is MeetUp.com. if you have an idea and need support from other entrepreneurs try this social network. In the Business and Career section there are great people who have started their own business or have free information to share and support during your journey.

MeetUp/Business & Career Group:

http://www.meetup.com/cities/us/wi/madison/groups/business/?radius=25.0

3) Job Search Links
http://www.madison.com/marketplace/jobs/

http://www.jobsinmadison.com/

http://wisconsin.jobing.com/
http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/jobnet/mapwi.htm

http://jobs.countyofdane.com/

http://wisc.jobs/public/index.asp
http://www.usajobs.gov/
http://www.simplyhired.com/
http://www.getthejob.com/
http://www.idealist.org/
http://Academic360.com

http://chronicle.com

http://higheredjobs.com

4) One Stop Centers, offer information and resources for job seekers.
https://jobcenterofwisconsin.com/

Dane County (WI) Job Center http://www.comeherefirst.org/

Serving the communities of Belleville, Black Earth, Blue Mounds, Cambridge, Cottage Grove, Cross Plains, Dane, De Forest, Deerfield, Fitchburg, Madison, Marshall, Mazomanie, Mc Farland, Middleton, Monona, Morrisonville, Mount Horeb, Oregon, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona, Waunakee and Windsor.
Hours of Service
M-F, 7:45a - 4:30p
Contact Information
•Telephone: 608/245-5390
•FAX: 608/242-7410
•TDD/TTY: 608/242-7491
•e-mail: Mailbox
Location Address
1819 Aberg Avenue
Madison, WI 53704

Spiritual Support
Hard Times: Spiritual Opportunity, Are you worried about job loss, keeping your home, the financial struggles of those you care about? Is social justice a reality for all in the Madison area? Could interfaith spiritual wisdom offer insight and support in these hard times? These workshops span a six week period, come for one or more of the following events:

http://wisdomswell.org/fallProgram.html

Hard Times: What Spiritual Traditions Offer
Wednesday Sept. 16, 7-9pm
An interfaith panel of spiritual leaders addresses how faith traditions offer strength and practical wisdom when the world seems to be falling apart.

Sacred Texts: Help in Hard Times
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 7-9pm
Dialogue with words of the Hebrew Bible, Taoist texts, the Christian Gospel, and Buddhist sutras to uncover the relevance of ancient wisdom for today.

A Day Away and Aware
Saturday Oct. 17, 10-2pm with lunch
Explore with others how the wisdom of the Universe awakens our courage now
and our hope in the future? Discover ways to bring the BIG picture down to Earth.

What Are You Doing With Your Greed?
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 7-9pm
How does greed cause suffering? Can interfaith meditation practice work with greed to break through suffering? Real life situations and practical help.

Hard Times: Opportunities Ahead
Wednesday: Nov. 11, 7-9pm
An interfaith panel reconvenes to offer ways to turn hard times into spiritual opportunities
for creating justice, abundance and trust.

Never, never, never give up!

Make List

Today, it's about lists. For all the job seekers who have no idea what they want to do or are looking for, I suggest a day of writing. Close down the job search engines and get a fresh new legal pad. Find your favorite writing device and a comfortable chair. I prefer a hammock on my patio on these bright sunny days. Whatever your choice, make sure you are comfortable and ready to brainstorm with yourself. This is a lone walk for you, do it by yourself first. You can ask others to join in on a different day. But for now, this is your day, your brainstorm, your stuff.

Make a list of everything you have done. Write it down whether you were good at it-- or not, whether you liked it--or not. Don't limit yourself to just work tasks, think outside the cubicle. Think of the things you have done that fun while you were on a vacation. Think of favors you have done for friends. Think of clubs and organizations. Think of children and grandparents. Think about what's important to you. Think of your values.

Here are some examples:
Read a book
Rake the lawn
take a photograph
operate a digital camera
snow ski
water ski
teach a child to tie his shoes
create a blog
change a tire
type a letter
paint a picture


I think you get the idea. I just want people to truly understand we do so many things. Some of those things are very enjoyable and some are a real pain. Lots of times I teach people about the opposites. Once you can identify the opposites there is a huge range of possibilities scattered in between.

Once you have written as much as you can, keep writing. If you have 50 items, think of 50 more. You are never done. I once had a person fill up about 20 pages of a legal pad. It was phenomenal. He had enough material, that we worked on his list for several sessions. We found the common denominators and continuous thread of interests that he was really excited about. We crossed out things. We added more things. When we were done, we were able to identify all of his favorite things, differentiate between work and fun activities, as well as eliminate activities he hated to do. These pages became very important to him. He was able to focus on what he really wanted to do. He identified skills he wanted to learn more about.

These pages can become very important to you. It is a living document--you can add more information and delete other information. You can stop an pause as you think about different jobs and activities. You can lay the legal pad in you lap and take a nap. Just be easy on yourself. Include your values. What is important to you. By the end of the day it is possible to be very satisfied in this process. I believe in hand-writing this type of exercise. Don't do it on the computer. I want you to engage your brain with your body. It's even better if you can do this as soon as you wake up.

If you want you can send me your list via this blog. I will be glad to look at it.

Remember! Anything you do that moves you closer to finding the essential YOU counts as a very productive day.

What are Employers Truly Interested In?

A few weeks ago, I attended the Wisconsin—Association of Colleges and Employers (a regional meeting for the National Association of Colleges and Employers [NACE]). NACE is the gatekeeper and watchdog for college students seeking jobs. Whenever you hear a statistic about the market for college graduates, NACE is doing the research and publishing the results.

NACE brings college career counselors together with hiring managers to exchange information from both sides of the job search arena. College career counselors are representing college students to employers, and employers are revealing job search tactics that get their attention.

My question to employers:

With job applications increasing by 300% how do you sort through this many applications and narrow it down to people you are truly interested in?

Employers revealed three major tactics:
• Frequency
• Persistence
• Repeat Applications

Frequency, attend as many networking events as you can. Attend job fairs, information interviews, and mock interviews. Don’t be afraid to attend business mixers, Chamber events and industry fairs. Apply for more than one job at a company. Employers track this information. They will go back to their offices and document the name and employment interest of everyone they meet. They have elaborate electronic systems that track this information. Employers will get your name from a conversation with you, sign-in sheets, name tags, etc.

Persistence, no matter now frustrate you are keep active in your job search. Do something every day. Review job search sites, review and update resume. Match keywords in resume with job descriptions. Do company research. Do something every day.

Repeat Applications, if you applied for a job with a company you are truly interested, but didn’t get the job, apply again when the next job opens up.

These are great strategies, not only for students, but for anyone engaged in a serious job search.

Other Information:
1)Employers revealed they only read resumes for 7-10 seconds on the first pass.
2)Employers are more interested in graduates that begin their job search prior to graduation or immediately after. Don’t take the summer off. Even if you are planning a trip, apply now. You are always available vie cell phone or email not matter where you are. If you wait to the end of summer, employers interpret that as a red flag.

Top Best Cities For Recent College Graduates
(Includes average rent for a one-bedroom apartment)

Indianapolis - $625
Philadelphia - $1,034
Baltimore - $1,130
Cincinnati - $691
Cleveland - $686
New York - $1,548
Phoenix - $747
Denver - $877
Chicago - $ 1,133
San Antonio - $696

http://CBcampus.com

The top industries for summer job hiring include:

Hospitality (38%)
Retail (34%).
Office support (26%),
Customer service (18%),
Research (12%),
Landscape/maintenance (11%)
Restaurant/food service (11%)

I have changed my view. I no longer have easy and quick access to the ocean. I have moved to the middle of county. My view has changed and so has my view point. I have to admit my view point is much much better. I am not as stressed or sad as I used to be. I am not saying everything is hunky-dory, I am just saying there is a better balance between my work and my life. I feel more appreciated at work, and I come already relaxed. I don't have to spend two hour decompressing from a hectic day at work. I am writing more about things I know more about. I have started two blogs and twitter.

If you are a job seeker you may want to take a look at my other blog and twitter. Both titled: Getajobgetalife (Get a Job Get a Life). They are all about helping people helping people to do a job search. I talk about resumes, cover letters and information I get from working with hiring managers. I had to change jobs, in part, due to the economy so I know what it is like to have to be out their job seeking, interviewing, getting turned down, etc. However, I did land somewhere totally unexpected and now I have the energy and balance to help others.

Have a great day.

Persistance and frequency pay off. Go to as many job fairs and recruiting events as possible. I just returned from a regional National Association of Colleges and Employers day-conference. I kept asking the same question all day: With a 300% increase of applicants, how do employers figure out who they will interview and eventually hire. The response was overwhelming. Those candidates that attend career events (job fairs, mock interviews, information interviews); and, go to business mixers (see your local Business Journal for dates and locations) show employers you are serious about your job search. I hadn't realized that professional recruiters record every name of every person they network with. They go back to their offices and enter names, skills, and areas of interests for every person they talked to about jobs. When your application comes up in their system, they already know how many times they have made a contact with you or heard your name.

Another resource for recruiters is LinkedIn. I was amazed at how many recruiters mentioned using it to find qualified candidates. It is free form them and it is free for you! How to best use a media networking resource: create your profile. Then do searches for the types of companies you want to work for. Example: Search for American Family Insurance and see how many people are linked. BTW I don't work for American Family.

Are you looking for a job?

This blog will offer job search advice for the job seeker. I have a passion for the job seeker. I have been one as well as help others to successfully find jobs. I will provide job search tips and advice that get great results. I have use these tips for my own job search, and I use them in my practice as a professional career counselor. I have worked with college students, executives, and dislocated workers. Mostly, I work with frustrated job seekers. They come to me very sad and in desperate need of help. I have developed great techniques that have helped even the most disappointed job seeker. Techniques that get results.


I am doing this a free service the job seeker. Let others know about this blog. If people are really down about their job search, if they are truly frustrated and think NOTHING is going to help, then they need this blog.

Never, never, never give up!

Respectfully,
Get a Job Get a Life