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Archive for online job searching

Taking Care of You during a Job Search

January 28th, 2016

Taking Care of You during a Job Search

Many jobseekers struggle with keeping a schedule and maintaining a healthy mental and physical lifestyle during a job loss.  Today I would like to offer a few tips to help those who are struggling after their loss.

Tip #1:  Get to bed at a reasonable time and get up early like you already have a new job – EVERY DAY!

One of the biggest struggles unemployed jobseekers tell me about is having a regular schedule for sleep.  Letting your sleep habits get out of whack and create additional fatigue and stress for you is a bad idea.  Go to bed by 11:00 PM each evening, and make sure that two to three hours before you go to bed you are off all cell phone, computer, and tablet media (which can keep your brain awake for hours after you quit).  That means, no video games, no looking at Facebook or Twitter feeds, no doing research or searching for jobs after about 8:00 PM in the evening.   I also recommend getting up sometime around 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM daily.  Keeping a work-life routine and being rested will help your search, your attitude, and your interviewing!

Tip #2:  Get dressed daily!

So many jobseekers seem to sit around in their PJ’s all day while doing a job search.  This makes it too easy not to shower, to stay home instead of networking, and to be in an overly casual mode that breeds a casual and lackadaisical job search.  Get dressed every day just like you would if you were going to work – except in this case you can definitely do “jeans day” most days.  You will feel better, you will be cleaner, and it will again help your attitude.

Tip #3:  The Honey-Do List!

I call this the Honey-Don’t List – hello jobseeker spouses and significant others – please don’t give the jobseekers a list of things you want them to do all day and then come home asking them why they don’t have a job yet.  Just like any work, a job search is a job in and of itself.  A jobseeker needs uninterrupted time during the day of at least five to six hours to search and apply for jobs, go to networking events, maintain their LinkedIn and other social media for a job search, personalize their resume and cover letter to different job ads, do phone interviews, prepare for in-person interviews, and make follow up calls.  And that is just to start!!!  Any of your Honey-Do List can be done on nights and weekends just like they would if your spouse or significant other is working a traditional job.  Let them do their job search during the day.  Yes, you the jobseeker will need to push back at that list and make sure those things are done during off-job search times, but that doesn’t mean you don’t do them at all – a handy little piece of advice from someone who has been happily married for nearly 26 years.

Tip #4:  Take the weekend off!

Your job search should be done during the weekdays so you can take the weekend off and have time with your family, to do some of that Honey-Do List, go to a religious service, and to enjoy your life.  Trying to do your job search seven days a week will only result in one thing – burn out.  Unfortunately that burn out will result in you effectively quitting your search or performing it haphazardly at best.

Tip #5:  Don’t spend all of your time just applying for jobs online!

This is another common jobseeker issue.  You need to break up the day with other tasks that are job search related, including:

–Networking (online and in-person) and maintaining ongoing, active, and professional social media.

–Making follow up calls.

–Researching potential companies.

–Going to local free seminars at your library about interviewing or networking.

–Scheduling lunches and coffees with networking contacts.

–Preparing for phone and in-person interviews.

–Going out and applying for stop-gap jobs if the money is running out at Home Depot, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Barnes & Noble, your local grocery, or other similar venues, etc.

Just sitting at your computer and applying for jobs hour after hour will have the same result as trying to search for a job seven days a week – burn out.

Tip #6:  Volunteer

Get out of your house and away from your computer one day week for at least four hours and help someone else.  Whether you volunteer at the local Habitat for Humanity Restore Store (a favorite of my clients), Catholic Charities, a local hospital, or a soup kitchen, you will be rewarded in many ways well beyond time away from the house.  First, you take this volunteer work (needs to be at least four hours a week for most organizations to provide you a recommendation/reference) and use it as a current job on your resume – now you have something listed “to present” on that document.  Be honest and say you are a Volunteer Customer Service Rep, or Soup Kitchen Volunteer, but show that “job” on your resume with one bullet point that describes the work you perform.  Remember, work is work whether you get paid for it or not.  Volunteering also shows Human Resources or the Hiring Manager that you aren’t sitting home all day watching television and taking naps.  Second, the time spent helping others will help you to feel better about your situation and give you incredible fulfillment in knowing you are making someone else’s life a little brighter or easier.

Tip #7:  Keep your social media posts professional!

You may be very mad at your former company or a particular employee, or one of your “friends” may have an opinion you find atrocious, but do not respond negatively in any way.  One of the biggest issues for jobseekers is having their social media posts, including pictures, come back to haunt them in a job search.  Go back through your social media and delete those things that are inappropriate and avoid them going forward.  Your social media is NOT PRIVATE, no matter what the privacy setting is, and you risk losing a great job by thinking no one can see your activity.  Be smart and keep your posts on the professional level.

Tip #8:  Schedule your day!

This is my last tip for taking care of you during a job search.  If you don’t have a schedule, you will just do a willy-nilly search for couple of hours, maybe applying for a job or two, and spend the rest of your day watching television, mowing the lawn, doing dishes, but not doing your search.  From setting a clock to keep you timely in various tasks, to making sure you get a lunch, each day should have an overall schedule.  Yes, you will need flexibility, especially in those online applications which can take from one-half hour to almost two hours to complete, but that schedule will help you get a great deal done every day.  Additionally, you will receive a great deal of satisfaction in crossing off each to-do item.

So, take care of yourself throughout the job search and your job search will take care of you.  Many job search blessings!

 

Karen Silins is a multi-certified resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses.  After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm.  Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals.  She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 50-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area.  She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Job Search
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How to Stop the Excuses and Start Networking

May 19th, 2015

 

How to Stop the Excuses and Start Networking

Networking

You hear or read about it every day as a jobseeker – you need to network to get a new job!  The biggest issue is not what you know, but what you are doing about it, because most people find networking downright overwhelming despite understanding its importance in their job search.  Here are 10 of the reasons people don’t or won’t network:

–I’m uncomfortable introducing myself to, and talking with, someone I don’t know (shy).

–Fear of rejection.

–Expecting networking to work like magic, and giving up when after a couple of networking events, I don’t have a new job.

–I don’t have time.

–I can do all my networking online now.

–I can find a job without networking if I just apply to enough jobs online.

–I like my privacy.

–I have no idea how to network.

–I have no idea where to find networking opportunities.

–I don’t want to ask others for help or a favor.

Do any of these sound familiar?  So, how do we overcome the “land of excuses,” here are eight suggestions to try:

First, I recommend getting a networking buddy; a friend or acquaintance that may also be looking for work.  This person should be outgoing and comfortable talking to strangers, and may already be experienced in networking.  Your buddy will introduce you to others, and get you used to the process of having a networking conversation.

Second, privacy does not exist anymore to the extent it did before Google and 9/11, so don’t be afraid to let people know where you might have worked or what you do.  Remember, there is no need to give them your address, Facebook account password, and driver license, you are merely having a conversation.

Third, use a networking business card with your name, specialty/job title, email address, telephone, and LinkedIn link.  You can print them via Microsoft Word yourself.  Having a personal business card allows you to control what information is given out, and to get business cards/contact info from networking contacts.

Fourth, networking online is fine, but don’t become a hermit only looking through social media venues for contacts, when that face-to-face meeting will get you more “bang for your buck.”  Furthermore, just applying for jobs online over and over doesn’t work for most jobseekers, and is again relying on online efforts only to get you a job.  Combine your online and in-person efforts and your job search success will accelerate.

Fifth, look at your local business journal (all large cities have them), local LinkedIn groups, and other local publications for networking opportunities throughout your area.  You can also go online for articles and check out books at your local library on networking to get more comfortable with questions you can ask, tips on introducing yourself to others, and how to keep a conversation going.

Sixth, remember that networking is NOT ABOUT YOU, but how you can help the other person.  This approach should leave you feeling less anxious about networking and trying to “impress” others.  Always provide some information that might help the person you are networking with, like a company you hear is hiring, the name of contact you have, other networking events around town, or even how to create their own networking business card.

Seventh, we are all busy, but truly we all make time for what we really want or need to do.  If you want to network you will schedule that time into your job search.

Eighth, you will not get great contacts at every event.  Not every person you meet will “love” you and want to hire you or help you in some way to get a new job, and yes, it can be hard to ask for a favor.  Networking will not work like magic within the first two or three events you attend.  The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” is still true and very much applies to networking as relationships aren’t built in one event.  Give networking a try; be yourself, be polite, go into it with an open mind and relax, and it will ultimately pay great dividends to your job search.

Karen Silins is a multi-certified resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses.  After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm.  Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals.  She keeps her pulse on the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 50-70+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area.  She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

 

Categories Networking
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Social Media, the Golden Rule, Your Job Search (and Career)

August 7th, 2013
Social Media, the Golden Rule, Your Job Search (and Career)

Job Search and Social Media

Daily I will admit shock at the posts I see on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social media.  This doesn’t even include blogs, articles (posted remarks after those blogs and articles), and comment sites (like “who called me” for 1-800 #’s).  Somehow the Internet has become a cacophony of voices wanting to list each and every complaint they have publicly, and doing so with inappropriate and vulgar language, verbal bullying, racist slurs, misspellings, misused words, truly uniformed statements, and just overall nastiness. I regularly tell my clients, social media connections and seminar/workshop participants the following:  Just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean you need to share it, particularly online. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly cussed, misspelled a word here and there, and have been unhappy about something on occasion resulting in a complaint, but I avoid the sharing of all that information online.  If there is an issue, I try to go direct to the source, offline, and if, when you get right down to it the subject isn’t that important, or really isn’t going to make a difference to talk about it, I rarely say anything.  I haven’t always been this way.  As a police officer’s daughter who was taught you don’t have to put up with everything that comes your way, a staunch believer in right and wrong, and a Type A personality, I can easily walk all over someone verbally.  But to what end?  In my early 20’s I started to realize, as most do, I wasn’t the center of the universe and people’s feelings, how I acted, and what I said really did matter.

Before the Internet allowed the quick and public exchange of insults, slurs, videos, feelings, and every personal detail anyone wanted to read, individuals would often avoid excessive inflammatory statements and extreme amounts of complaint.  Typically only family and friends received these opinions and complaints, or a person submitted a letter to the editor, and there was often a governor as to what was and wasn’t appropriate!  The over-sharing environment of the Internet has unfortunately created a culture that whatever you want to say is okay.  This simply isn’t true, especially when it comes to your job search and career.

What you say matters!!!  You are not anonymous on the computer, ever.  Put that comment or video on the Internet, and it never goes away.  20 years from now search results could find a salacious comment you made or that video from when you were so drunk at the party you passed out, and so could a potential or current employer.  I get it, sometimes you are looking at a remark a person made and you think – wow, you’re an idiot, but do you really need to say it, particularly online?  Does cussing, using racial slurs or arguing empower you or feed your ego?  Does complaining about everything that upsets you or sharing every aspect of your personal life online offer a cathartic release or help you to avoid confronting the issues in your life?

No!  It only provides embarrassment years later when read and can keep you or your family and friend connections from getting a job.  Indeed your inappropriate diatribes can actually prevent others you are connected to on social media (or that link to you that somehow comes up in a Google or Bing search by an HR Manager) from getting a job.  Still think it’s all harmless?

Clients frequently ask me if they should unfriend a family or friend connection on social media who makes occasional (or regular) overly-personal, racist, outlandish, profanity-laced remarks, which my client doesn’t agree with, but they are linked to that person out of a feeling of obligation and don’t know what to do.  I say emphatically yes, and do it immediately.  I am not trying to start a family or friend fight, I am trying to preserve your job search and career.  This person has no understanding or concern about what their comments might do to others they are connected to, they just want to comment.

Yes, you could say that this blog post is a complaint. Notice the difference though in intent – I am “cautioning” job seekers about how the online culture of complaint can ruin their job search and career, with examples and specifics, not judging you because of a post online I disagree with personally.  A recent study cited nearly 10% of recent college graduates lost a potential job because of a social media post.  Those are only the people who were informed of this fact.  Think about the people that weren’t considered for a job that never knew it was due to their social media or online behavior.  Most companies will not tell you the reason you were not hired or considered for a position these days, so could the number be more like 40-50%.  What about 30, 40, and 50+ year olds, are they feeling these same affects though perhaps in lower numbers.

Remember, it’s not just what you say and do online it’s what your connections say and do.  Freedom of speech comes with responsibility whether you are 15 or 55 years old, and breeches of restraint can result in loss of a job (yours or a network connections’), or even a lawsuit.  I advise my clients to think of the Golden Rule when posting anything in an online environment.  So to quote the movie Bambi – if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all (particularly online)!

Categories Job Search
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Top 5: Tips for Online Job Hunters (an interview with the Examiner.net)

February 16th, 2013
Top 5: Tips for Online Job Hunters (an interview with the Examiner.net)

Online Job Search

By Adrianne DeWeese – adrianne.deweese@examiner.net

The Examiner
Posted Feb 16, 2013 @ 12:20 AM
Independence, MO —

From the advent of online job-searching websites, many people have assumed they can go online, post their resume and automatically get a job.

That’s not really how it works, said Karen Silins, president and owner of A+ Career & Resume LLC.

“It doesn’t mean that people don’t find jobs that way,” Silins said, “but there are well over 100 million people on those sites, also looking for jobs.”

As a resume writer and career/personal branding coach, Silins provides workshops throughout greater Kansas City, including with the Mid-Continent Public Library system.

Those on the search for a new job can put their time to better use, rather than just posting a resume on many job sites and facing potential privacy issues. Silins helped The Examiner in developing the Top 5 ways for effective online job searching.

1 USE JOB BOARD AGGREGATORS. Websites like indeed.com and simplyhired.com are examples of job board aggregators, which provide results daily on what new jobs are available. “That is going to save people a lot of time,” Silins said. “If you have more than one specialty – and most people do – you might be doing more than one search for jobs out there.” For example, searching “administrative assistant” could also require searches for “secretary,” “executive assistant” and “office manager.” When searchers find a job they’re interested in applying for, Silins said they should go directly to the company’s website to apply. “You are wanting to identify real companies,” she said. “This protects your identity much more instead of just posting your resume all over the Internet.”

2 GET ON LINKEDIN. LinkedIn, Silins said, “is networking online at its best.” Users can build a profile, offer up information on their work history and education and provide what certifications, licensing and professional development they’ve earned. Under the “skills and expertise” section, users can provide keywords right off of their resume, showcasing traits important to their respective industries. Connections can then endorse their colleagues for their skills, as well as provide paragraph-length recommendations. “It’s proof of experience by someone else saying, ‘Yes, they can do this.’” Silins said. “There’s nothing better than having that secondary opinion of someone saying, ‘Yeah, we think they’re great for you.’” Users can also join groups, where recruiters often offer up job opportunities that aren’t found anyplace else. “It’s another networking avenue,” Silins said of LinkedIn. “It’s going to allow you to connect with people who you would never connect with otherwise.”

3 USE SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSIBLY. Just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean you need to give that opinion, Silins said. “HR immediately goes to online venues to search you out,” she said. “They’re going to Google your name. They’re going to see if they are on LinkedIn – and then they are going to see what you are saying on Facebook and Twitter.” What people don’t realize, Silins said, is that they are making comments about their personal lives and opinions that aren’t appropriate to be posting online, including pictures. “This happens a lot,” she said. “And, it’s not just pictures of partial nudity and people who are obviously drunk. It’s pictures of people with way too personal of stuff that they don’t need to be sharing online. I would just prefer that people don’t post their opinions, but oftentimes, people think of freedom of speech.” But, Silins said, with freedom of speech comes responsibility. “That responsibility translates into your job search, as well, and if employers don’t think you are responsible, they won’t hire you,” she said.

4 BE CAUTIOUS WHILE BLOGGING. Use the same good judgment with blog posts as you would with social media sites, Silins said. If you choose to blog or make social media posts, make them tailored to your areas of expertise. “That’s what personal branding is about,” Silins said. “Personal branding isn’t offering your opinion on every single little thing. Personal branding is discussing your areas of expertise.” Do research to identify trends in your industry that you can talk about, as well as share information from other experts in the field, Silins said. She recommends her clients go to Google to sign up for Google blogs and Google news feeds, based on a digest of keywords they seek out. For example, Silins personally receives daily information on career coaching, personal branding, resume writing and human resources.

5 DO YOUR COMPANY RESEARCH. People often don’t research the companies they are going to go to work for – and there is a lot of information out there, Silins said. Research should consist of more than just visiting the company’s website and clicking on the “careers” tab, she said. Glassdoor and Manta are two popular websites that provide company profiles and information. Or, Mid-Continent Public Library has access to databases that allow company research for job seekers. All they need is a library card, and they can even do the research from a computer at home. “There’s just a ton of information for people out there,” Silins said, “but if all else fails, Google the company.” Lastly, Silins said job searching isn’t “just a numbers game,” contrary to popular belief. “If you provide good information online, showcasing you are a professional in your areas of career interest and utilize the tools that allow you to do a more comprehensive job search, your success will increase significantly,” she said.

Categories Job Search
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