I believe that I have successfully described my “transferable” skills on my resume and in cover letters. I do not have a large network of friends or associates whom I can tap to help me. I have been posting resumes on company web sites when I see a job that catches my attention. I went to a couple of job fairs (no luck). I gave up on web sites such as, Monster or CareerBuilders.
The Career Doctor responds:
You need to build your network. Networking — particularly face-to-face — is the best way to find jobs. You can’t just throw up your hands and say you don’t have a network. Everyone has the capacity to build a network. Especially try informational interviews. Here are a couple of resources:
When Harry and I met, I had just started blogging. I knew him as the marketing headhunter from the career column in the Wall Street Journal's the Career Journal online.
He was the first one to put me on his blogroll. That was a vote of confidence for sure, and the ability to see beyond a few posts to the person. Because I'm still here, as prolific as ever.
Recruiting high level candidates for ecommerce, like he does, requires a certain agility to do a special kind of math of the talent pool. To tell who is a good fit for which company and job, and I'm sure you realize, to detect who's ready to move up and who still needs experience is a skill.
How does he do that? He's a really good listener, knows what to listen for, and questions to ask. He's not been afraid to get his hands in the business he recruits for -- which puts him in a very good position to spot the real deal from fakes. My definition of fake is -- has no intention of putting in the work to get there.
Recruiting in good times is hard. It's even harder when the economy contracts. The job market is also changing a great deal, marketing and communications/PR jobs require analytical skills and social media experience more and more.
So I thought it would be helpful for us to learn more about recruiting for top talent from a top recruiter.
_________
How did you get to becoming a executive recruiter specializing in integrated marketing and new media?
Harry : I was a business development consultant who had a process for researching, identifying, and developing profitable new market niches for B2B clients.
Part of each engagement involved trying to teach my clients' inside sales reps my multi-step process, which involved choreographed phone contact, permission-based direct mail, and email.
Over time, I noticed that some inside sales reps were simply more talented than others -- and much more importantly, some were simply more driven.
Occasionally, in like 5% of cases, I'd see trainees who were both talented and driven, and it seemed clear to me that the other 95% was either unwilling or unable to rise to that level.
After a year in the business, I decided to chuck it and go into a business where I could be an agent for the "5% who matter." That business was recruiting, and integrated marketing was the closest practice area to what I had been doing.
Your work is designed around understanding the skills of top online marketers and delivering results for brands. Can you tell me a little bit about the challenges and rewards of your activities?
Harry : One of the most challenging aspects of my job is to help my clients understand what it is they really want in a new hire.
Clients will come to me with statements like "The new hire MUST come from an Internet Retailer Top 50 company." And I'll say "Why is that?" And they'll say "Because we're huge, so the candidate must know how to operate in a huge company." Which of course, does absolutely nothing for the customer.
So I have to gently press the client and say "Wait a minute. Who is your customer? How do they think? How do they buy? What are there top three daily frustrations as it pertains to the problem that your product claims to solve? Is there a built-in bias to the way they buy online ... like, are they logical or emotional, etc?"
In my mind, the only question any client needs to address is "Can we find a candidate who sells stuff in the same way our customers buy currently -- and can this candidate ultimately predict how our customers will want to interact with our brand in the future?"
One of the most rewarding things about my job is that I have been doing it for so long that I have begun to work with the same candidates as they progress from one job to another. Candidates that I placed in 2005/6 are coming around now, asking "What's in the pipeline? I'm ready for a new challenge."
It's like being a sports agent. I've placed managers, directors, and VP's with some of America's most successful brands. It's a privilege to be in the middle of all that at this time in history.
Do expectations align between employers and candidates? Why/why not? What was your worst experience?
Harry : I'll close my 100th executive search this year, and I have seen some crazy stuff. I've seen deals collapse that I thought would go through -- and deals that had died come back to life and close. Having said that, disasters are rare.
When they do happen, it's usually because one party wasn't shooting straight with the other. Come to think of it, it was the companies who didn't play fair in the couple of deals where somebody got burned.
I'm not a big fan of companies that want a 90-day money back guarantee from me, and then make the candidate a job offer that includes an "employment at will clause" with employment beginning with a "90-day probationary period."
If I were to ever look for another job myself, I'd ask the recruiter about his deal with the client and I would run from any company that has zero skin in the game in the event that the deal doesn't work out after only 90 days.
What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to earn attention online?
Harry : Two things:
1.) Blog.
Have a teachable point of view in your professional area of interest and make sure that your POV is reflected in a way that clearly transmits your integrity, passion, experience, knowledge, skill, leadership potential, commitment to your profession, vision for the industry, and humility.
Then develop an editorial platform of topics you will and won't blog about. For example, nobody wants to read about your cat.
2.) Tweet only to the extent that you can showcase your teachable point of view in 140-words or less.
Don't Tweet about random things. Tweet about things you might blog about if you had the time. Be professional. People are paying more attention than you think.
***
He makes you want to be a better candidate, doesn't he? Harry was able to pick a new direction in his career because he worked hard at understanding what aligned with his passion, *and* worked extra to teach himself how to transfer that skill.
There are plenty of opportunities for professionals who build that agility in their attitude and approach, for those who while still in school, or in a job they're comfortable in, ask themselves:
how's the market changing
what are businesses' needs tomorrow
what kind of problems need solving?
what kind of thinking is required?
And put themselves to work on figuring it out. Forget corporate politics, in today's market the ability to develop new skills, to participate in the knowledge flow, to think and tinker matter.
Whether you have lost your job or want a change in your present job situation, the fact remains that you are about to face a shift in your career, a transition which can at times be very difficult to deal with if you do not get the proper guidance! A transition in your career can be a boon or a curse depending on your choice and your adaptability to your new job.
The new job responsibilities, the new work pattern, the new atmosphere and new colleagues together can make the new job very difficult for you if you have not been prepared to cope with it all. This preparation is exactly what a career transition coaching gives you. It deals with both the emotional aspects of job transition as well as guides you in finding the job direction that is most suitable for you!
Each individual is gifted with certain skills and talents and the choice of one’s career should be based on these skills and talents.
A wrong career can ruin your life whereas a right one can help you prosper like you had never thought of before! But how do you make the right choice? The answer is through a proper career transition coaching that will help you to recognize your strengths and help you to develop on these strong areas and accordingly will show you the right path to step on.
Though this might sound easy and you might think that you can prepare yourself for the transition in your career on your own, it is not exactly so. The experience and knowledge of a professional coach plays the most important role in shaping your future! So it is recommended that you take the aid of a professional instead of doing it on your own.
Moreover, most career transition coaching nowadays provides one to one teaching, which makes it much more effective. It builds up your confidence by educating you on exactly what the employers want which helps you to stand out from the mass. They also give you the right guidance on all job related areas starting from how to face questions in an interview to how to negotiate your salary. These tips are highly valuable and you realize their importance as you start applying them in your job life.
Not just career tips, a career coaching also assists you in recovering from post job losing trauma. Losing a job can be mentally very stressful. It can cause loss of all interest in improving your career. It can lead to unnecessary fear and nervousness. A job transition coaching keeps all these in mind and gradually brings you out of such situations.
So, instead of trying your own hand at it and messing things up for a lifetime, take the help of career transition coaching and rejuvenate your life with a blooming career!
As a child of the 70's, I am a card carrying member of the (small but proud) Generation X. This generation is generally defined by people born between 1961 - 1979.
The other week, I had the opportunity to listen to a valuable presentation on Generation X by Harvard Business Review contributer Tammy Erickson. The webinar was titled "The Leaders We Need Now. Are We Ready for Gen X to Take Charge?" An interesting question indeed in consideration of the perceived "Boomer-Y Love Fest" (quoting Tammy).
To its credit, Gen X does have top representation in the White House (Barack Obama was born in 1961) and in the British Parliament (David Cameron was born in 1966).
Here are some Gen X characteristics from Tammy you may connect with:
1. Intensely Private 2. Mistrustful of Other People and of Organizations 3. Self Reliant 4. Tribal (strongly committed to a small circle of friends) 5. Impacted by skyrocketing divorce rates of parents (for perspective, the divorce rate was 22% in 1960 and by 1985, it was 52%) 6. Influenced by a changing workforce (more women in leadership roles and the start of the "free agent" nation)
The late John Hughes effectively defined the generation with his movies about resourceful and smart Gen X teenagers and their slow clueless parents. Consider.. Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Pretty in Pink. So as I continue to explore and understand the boundaries of social media networking for job seekers and small business entrepreneurs (myself included), I have to ask... is my generation afraid of the full potential of Facebook?
By observation, it appears the answer is yes.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Gen X doesn't use Facebook. It has become a perpetual high school reunion. I can't believe I just hit my 20-year point. Class of 1990 rules! Who am I kidding? Better to quote of my favorite Gen X musicians Ben Folds (b. 1966) about how we really feel, "Whatever and Ever. Amen."
I'm saying look at the numbers of friends.
I know Gen Y and Boomers who have maxed out. We're talking 5,000 Facebook friends! They're networking like crazy.
They friend everybody while Gen X does background checks. We're the latchkey generation. My mother made me afraid of anyone. Don't talk to anyone until your father and I come home from work!
So I think I finally figured out the Facebook secret for networking ... Lists!
Facebook Lists allow you to control who sees what about you.. even at the photo album level.
Give it a try Gen X! And let me be the first to go out on the proverbial limb (gasp!) and extend a hearty Gen X invitation to network with you on Facebook. Brent's Facebook Personal Profile Interview Angel Facebook Page (Just getting started here too and will be offering special promotions)
What other thoughts and recommendations do you have for networking on Facebook? Do you agree Facebook use varies by generation?
Author:
Brent Peterson, PMP, MS, MBA, is the founder of Interview Angel Inc., a company that offers a comprehensive guide and toolkit for job seekers to use in interviews. Interview Angel is in use at universities, corporations, non-profit agencies, and local governments.
Brent has also started an Interview Angel Facebook page for professionals that would like to share ideas and feedback about careers, entrepreneurship, and social media. There will be Facebook page promotions starting July 2010. Be sure to join in!
Ankle-deep in water, we waded across the ramp to our dock. The next day, after a satiating weekend of sailing, we returned to the ramp for departure, and alas, the water had risen to our knees.
Granted, we had slept the prior night ‘on the water,’ and then sailed through the day, water skimming our hull and sails pulling us through this liquid highway. As sailors, water clearly is our friend, but it was the unexpected creep of the wet stuff that startled us, interjecting itself where it wasn’t welcome, creating a potential barrier to our sailing lifestyle entry and exit.
Fast-forwarding a few days later, the water had ascended to waist level, forcing the more serious sailors to don swimsuits and paddle to their docks and boats. At this point, the marina owners and technicians stepped in, erecting temporary, gangplank type structures that bridged the water, facilitating an adventurous journey for eager sailors to meet up with our awaiting sailboats.
Nonetheless, as in a career course that only appears smooth, unwavering and secure, the signs of flooding had preceded our alarm. A spring and early summer of heavy storms and rain forewarned us, as the mounting raindrops created soggy lawns and rising lake waters.
As well, the wisdom of experienced marina folk, in particular a retired Coast Guard professional who now helped manage the marina, had anticipated this occurrence. In fact, he had strongly suggested to the owner that bridge building supplies laboriously created in the wake of prior summers’ storms be stored for future such emergencies.
The marina owner had declined his suggestion, and in the wake of this latest storm, was caught unprepared and forced to react urgently and quickly, and quite frankly, expended more abundantly in human and financial resources than he would have if he heeded the wisdom of the retired Coast Guard expert.
Likewise, many careerists find themselves unprepared and seemingly unaware of impending job course changes, despite storms that intermittently erupt and the rising tides signaling distress. Instead, they look the other way, or, are so swept up in their day-to-day that the distraction of building career plans to bridge potential career floods seems too onerous.
Several key steps to maintaining a healthy career, built to endure storms and bridge job floods, include:
1. Maintaining a modern resume, updated with your CURRENT achievements and challenge/action/result stories that show (don’t tell) your nuanced talents as well as problem-taming skills, selling your value to a very targeted audience. Unfortunately, after situated in a new role, many careerists allow their career resumes to sit idly, collecting dust, and only when they are in the throes of job transition or job loss, seek a hasty resurrection and quick-fix of this most integral of career tools.
2. Nurturing, giving your time/attention to and maintaining a solid, trust networkof individuals and groups on whom you call when needed to shore up during and after a career flood.
3. Creating and maintaining a current online presence;ensuring your primary social media profiles are fed with contemporary contributions and roles.
Preparing for career storms and floods, particularly in the environment of Me, Inc., should become an intuitive process that careerists embrace. Empower yourself with a portfolio of career documents and profiles, career colleagues and coaches who lift your message and propel you through a journey of success.
Did you enjoy this article? You can read more articles by this expert here. Also, check out all of our free webinars!
CAREEREALISM Expert, Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter is one of only 28 Master Resume Writers (MRW) globally, has a BA in Writing and has amassed 15 years’ corporate experience. An intuitive researcher, Jacqui unearths clients’ most compelling story details, applies an inventive approach to content development and design, and originates uniquely branded career resume and social media profiles, including LinkedIn, Twitter and personal marketing websites, stirring interest and response. She can be found at www.careertrend.net and on Twitter.
The photo for this article is provided by Shutterstock.
If you’re visiting this Web site, you understand the importance of having a polished looking resume to use during your job search. Whereas having a marketable resume is extremely important, a fantastic resume by itself won’t get you a job. So, what do you do with your resume now that it has been tweaked (and proofread three times) and is ready for distribution?
Send it to your references
It’s really helpful to give your references something to reference while they’re recommending you. It also helps jog a person’s memory about any previous jobs you may have discussed with them in the past.
Carry it around with you
Whenever you walk into a job fair, networking event, or even lunch with a colleague, you should have several printed copies of your resume with you. Think about how often the subject of work comes up, and someone ends up saying, “Send me your resume and I’ll see what I can do.” Giving them a paper copy right then and there emphasizes your urgency and speaks well of your preparation. Just be sure to follow up with an electronic version that they can forward to their connections.
Post it online
It’s a tedious task, but uploading your resume to job boards like Careerbuilder and specific company Web sites in advance will save you time when you see a specific job for which you’d like to apply. Plus it gets you into that company’s database, where you may then be searchable to their hiring managers. If you don’t want to spend hours uploading it yourself check out our resume distribution service.
Use it to build your brand
Having a copy of your polished resume in front of you as you create or update your LinkedIn profile, Google profile, twitter page, or any other social media presence will help ensure that you’re conveying a consistent message. That’s the way to build a personal brand!
A rock-solid resume is essential to any successful job search. If you work your resume, it will work for you!
A goal among many is to create an online presence. Essentially you want to make a name for yourself online.You want people to associate your face with your brand, and an easy way to do this is through social media. Twitter is a great tool to use when trying to reach your audience. There are so many different options to choose from, but Twitter offers a unique approach to personal branding. You’ve picked your expertise and now you want the world to know you’re the baddest and the best. Twitter allows you to share this with anyone and everyone. Now that we’ve established that you can do this. Let’s explore how you can.
Set yourself apart
How can you set yourself apart on Twitter? How can you build your personal brand on Twitter? Here are a few ideas.
1. You are your brand. Everything you do and say represents you. Post and share content that is reflective of how you want to be thought of. This is one instance when it is literally all about you. Revolve around what you want people to know, think of, and say about YOU. Don’t get this confused with talking all about yourself on Twitter, but keep in mind your best interest. Does this serve you? Are you being highlighted in the best way? Is this a good reflection of who you are as a person? You get the idea.
2. Define your brand. In order to become a brand, you must first define what it is. What are you passionate about? What can you offer? In High School, did you ever have to take a career assessment exam? It’s a list of questions that, once answered, reveal what you should do with your life. I’m not suggesting this test holds the key to brand discovery, nor do I suggest to take it. However, it does serve as an reminder of the importance to define what you’re good at, what your skills are. Essentially, you have to find your niche, define it, and see if it rings true to how others perceive you. If not, redefine.
3. Get Discovered. The way to build your brand is to be acknowledged. Get discovered by building up your network on Twitter. The more followers you have engaged with what you do (your brand), the more credibility you have. If people are recognizing you for what you do and who you are, the more associated you are with your brand. Twitter is ideal for networking.
A goal when creating a personal brand should be to network. It’s a channel for others to get to know you as a brand in a personal way, which is why I emphasized number one. The connections you make on Twitter can be added to your database of contacts to translate Twitter into usable business connections.
4. Don’t leave blanks. In order to build your brand, you must be thorough. Your Twitter profile should have a completed bio, a picture (avatar) cohesive with your other sites, and provide links to your other sites, such as LinkedIn. In order to be completely flush, you must be completely filled out. The goal is to get people to know the whole you, not half of you.
5. Communicate. If you’re on Twitter, then tell others. Good news spreads fast, especially online, so promote your Twitter profile. The more you communicate, the more people will know of you. Communicate with others on how to reach you outside of Twitter. Whether we like it or not there is only so much that can be done on Twitter. So direct your audience to your other outlets. In order to stand out, you can shout out. Share on Twitter why you follow others by giving shout outs. Communicate your goals and ambitions. Others may share the same or similar aspirations, and you’ve now found a beneficial connection.
Important, interests and news
Twitter allows you to share with others things that are important to you, interests, and news – all in 140 characters. It’s a great approach to get out what you want in a concise way. In a sense, it cuts through the B.S. Set yourself apart by being different. Connect with others in new ways. When someone follows you, don’t send out an automated message. Try and take the time to actually greet them. You’d be surprised by how much weight that one action holds. Think outside the box and remember you are who others perceive you as, especially online.
Author:
Kyle Lacy writes a regular blog at KyleLacy.com and is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media strategy and training company. His blog has been featured on Wall Street Journal’s website and Read Write Web’s daily blog journal. Recently, Kyle was voted as one of the top 150 social media blogs in the world (on two websites), and produces regular keynote speeches across the Midwest. He also just finished writing Twitter Marketing for Dummies by Wiley Publishing.
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