Demons, Roadblocks and Pitfalls on the Way to a New Job—Part One

You have probably already encountered one. Almost everyone who has been “put out on the street” by a layoff or job loss faces some demons, roadblocks and pitfalls that get in the way of an effective job search. Some can be overcome simply by focusing on them and making changes yourself. Others will take special effort or reaching out for professional help. Each requires a different strategy, but if you can block the following from railroading your job search, it will be smoother, and quite likely, faster:

Lethargy & Laziness—Not enough sleep. “Tomorrow is good enough.” “I’ll take this week off.” “Job hunting is so much work!”

The solution lies within you. You have to decide to get enough rest and to become focused and stay on task.

Fear & Panic—“No one will hire me now.” “I don’t know what to do.” “What if I can’t find a job and ____ (you fill in the blank) and a year goes by? Then what?”

If this is holding you back, get professional help. Talk to a career coach, your college career counselor, your best friend or spouse, your pastor, a psychiatrist…anyone who can help you get a grip and focus back on the task at hand.

Getting Overwhelmed by your own Disorganization—Can’t find anything. “Which resume was the last one I revised?”

Start now, early in the game, and you will be glad you did. Already deep into piles of unidentified papers and files? Dig in now and sort them out. Rename your computer files and put them into folders. Establish a naming convention for your documents and stick to it.

Falling in the Email Trap—Too much time spent checking, reading and responding. “Where did the day go?”

If your time is being eaten up by email, pick a couple of times a day and a certain length of time you’ll spend on emails. Delete or get off lists that fill your inbox with emails you never read.

Pressure (perceived or real)—“I am the sole support for my family.” “Everyone will think I’m a loser.”

Focus on the pressure you put on yourself, not what others think of you. If you are in danger of running out of funds and your unemployment has run out, take an interim job—anything you can get—whether in or out of your normal line of work. Set aside time daily for job hunting and enlist the help of friends, family and former colleagues. There’s nothing about being laid off that reflects on you. It’s not about you. So, redirect your energy to finding a new future.

Listening to Recruiters—Your LinkedIn Profile Is Important

After hearing a recruiter give advice in a recent job hunter’s support session, I realized that the LinkedIn profile I had thought was so great could really use some revision if recruiters were going to find me. So, I have made a few already.

 

She had some other helpful insights as well. For instance, she told the group that recruiters at her firm, which specializes in filling creative, marketing and web-based positions, check LinkedIn more often than massive job boards such as Monster or CareerBuilder to identify and screen candidates. LinkedIn members, she noted, represent an overall higher caliber of professionals.

Here are some of her other tips for jobseekers who want to be noticed:

• Add language to your title that tells people you are available, such as “Open to New Opportunities.”
• Add your email address to your title or name, if you want people to contact you directly. This also implies you are an open networker, which you may or may not choose to be. If you do, it will lead to a larger network.
• Make sure your profile summary tells visitors:
• Who you are
• What you do
• Why you are on LinkedIn
• How to contact you
• Under Specialties, list as many key words as space allows so you will come up in more searches.
• For descriptions in the Experience section, cut and paste from your resume, so they match. If you later change your resume, also change your LI profile.
• In your Contact settings, include an email address, but make it a professional address via a current email provider, such as Gmail or Yahoo, rather than AOL or Earthlink. Because these latter providers are not mainstream anymore, they imply you are out of tune with today’s wired world.

If you are not on LinkedIn or have done little with your profile, check the LinkedIn Learning Center to discover the basics to making it a proactive tool in your career, whether you are a jobseeker or currently employed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Do Recruiters Say? Retool Your Job Search Strategy

“For every quality job you see listed, there are probably between 5-7 qualified applicants competing for it. You need to focus on being the top person for that job.” These words were spoken by a recruiter, who specializes in IT and finance jobs, at a Northern Virginia job search support group session last week.

He added: “One of the biggest mistakes people make is to rely on just one job strategy. You need multiple strategies. The Internet is an incredibly powerful tool, but only 25% of people get jobs through the Internet. So you need to use a balanced approach. Use the Internet as your after-hours strategy or while you are watching a football game. Don’t make it your only strategy.”

At another presentation last week, a Washington, DC-based recruiter said she wants to see one- or two-paragraph cover letters—nothing longer. She and other recruiters can’t afford the time to read more—and often don’t read cover letters at all, especially longer ones. But, if you want yours noticed and read, your cover letter should directly address the requirements of the job, which you can accomplish in 3-4 bullet points.

Resumes are paramount, she said, and they must have all the most important information on the first page, near the top. That’s a good reason, she added, to limit the amount of personal data you put at the top so it doesn’t take so long to get to what makes you different and valuable. Instead, skip your mailing address and include only one phone number and your email. Including your LinkedIn profile link is okay, if you have a well developed, complete profile. The recruiter also noted that your resume should not have blocks of prose to summarize each job—they will go unread—but rather concise bullet points of your major accomplishments and responsibilities. Wordiness won’t win you a job.

There are no universal answers or magic keys to unlock the way to getting hired, but recruiters like these have a better pulse than jobseekers on what goes on in the job market. They are often the gatekeepers between you and a hiring manager. Maybe it’s time to listen.

Finding the Right Job Fair for You

There are job fairs happening everywhere in the U.S., especially in urban areas, and some of them are very specialized. Some are entirely online. If you are thinking of attending a job fair, finding the right one for you will take some research. Here is a list to get you started, but also check your local newspaper for locally sponsored events.

Career Expo for People With Disabilities (http://www.eop.com/careerfair.html) is the website of an award winning recruitment magazine for people with disabilities.

ClearedJobs.net (http://www.clearedjobs.net/) offers the cleared professional opportunities to meet employers with cleared positions across the nation and overseas.

CorporateGray.com (http://www.corporate-gray.com/) lists military career fairs.

Careernet.4jobs.com (http://www.careernet.4jobs.com/) offers the State of Maryland’s offerings such as career fairs at the county level.

CareerFairs.com (http://careerfairs.com/) gives current listings of national career fairs and job listings.

CFG Career Fairs (http://cfg-inc.com/) offers career fairs for IT, MIS, Engineering, Sales, Management and Business Professionals.

IntelligenceCareers.com (http://intelligencecareers.com/) produces job expos calling for experienced individuals with security clearances.

Nonprofit Career Network (http://www.nonprofitcareer.com/) lists jobs and career fairs across the country.

TechExpoUSA.com (http://www.techexpousa.com/) produces job fairs and corporate open houses calling for experienced individuals with active security clearances. Check their website for Career Fairs in California, Colorado, and the East Coast in addition to the metro DC area.

TransitionCareers.com (http://www.transitioncareers.com/) is a relative new site focusing on the military, usually offering the career fairs on military installations but not always.

Women JobFairs (http://www.womenjobfairs.com/) is a site focused on job fairs for women to meet with registered employers in the public, private and nonprofit worlds.

And a few more:

American Job Fairs (http://www.jobexpo.com/)
Career Fairs & Job Fairs (http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobfairs/Job_Fairs.htm)
DiversityJobFairs (http://www.diversityjobfairs.com/)
Hire Quest Job Fairs (http://hirequest.com)
International IT Career Events (http://www.it-careernet.com/)
Lucas Group Hiring Conferences (http://www.bradley-morris.com/)
National Job Fairs (http://www.nationaljobfairs.com/)
PSI Job Fairs (http://www.psijobfair.com/)

See the January 14 One Tomato at a Time posting for further information on job and career fairs.

Are Career or Job Fairs Worth Your Time?

It depends.

Marketing guru and blogger, Seth Godin, earlier this week wrote, “Planning a career at a career fair is a little like looking for a soulmate at a singles' bar.” He thinks that employers are there to fill “average” jobs with “average” people, which he points out don’t really exist. I’m not average, are you?

A 2009 Northern Virginia job fair drew about 3,000 hopeful jobseekers, most of whom waited for hours in the rain to enter the building and talk with a handful of employers, mostly from the federal government. These agencies, it turns out, were looking to fill lower level jobs and sending people to the Web to apply. One attendee reported that the real value for her in this otherwise uncomfortable experience was the networking she did with the others standing in line.

Alison Doyle, who writes for About.com, likens career fairs to ‘“one stop shopping’ at the mall.” She concedes they “can be overwhelming with many people waiting to see the same employer, one-the-spot interviewing, noise and sometimes confusion.” But, she sees their value as providing a unique opportunity to meet one-to-one with representatives from several employers, which you can’t easily do any other way.

For a career or job fair to be a worthwhile experience, it takes advance research and preparation, a lot of energy (and willingness to stand in lines), and a winning attitude. It takes all that plus a little luck.

Checking out what employers will be there and what jobs are open ahead of time will tell you if a particular event holds some promise for you. You can’t do anything about the weather or how many other jobseekers show up. You can arrive early, though, to minimize your waiting time, and you can be prepared.
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This You Tube video by Patra Frame of Strategies for Human Resources offers helpful tips on making your job fair experience more successful.

Making 2010 All That 2009 Wasn’t for Jobseekers

As a jobseeker, this is a good time to take what you learned in 2009 and fine tune it to create a new future for yourself in 2010.

2009 was certainly a year of lessons. We learned not to take anything for granted, not our jobs, our assets or ourselves. We learned that we had to set new goals, meet new people, gain new skills, and find a new job or even a new career path. Many of us learned how to live on less and developed new survival skills we never knew we’d need.

If you were new to the job market or re-entering after a long time, you were introduced to networking, even speed networking, and you probably delivered your first “elevator speech.” Did you even have one before?

Social media—from FaceBook to LinkedIn, Plaxo, Bing, Twitter and blogs—more than likely took root in your career plan. These newer communication tools connected you with the wider professional arena in your field of expertise or interest.

2009 gave us new tools for taking 2010 by the horns, seizing the reigns of what we can control—ourselves. Now it’s time to use all that learning, improve upon it, and make 2010 all that 2009 wasn’t.

Back in the Job Market After a Long Time?

If you were laid off from a job you’d had for many years, as many people have been, you probably had a rude awakening when you realized that job hunting had changed dramatically since your last foray into it. Here’s what you found:

• Newspaper listings were nearly extinct.
• Online listings were overwhelming.
• Jobs were scarcer and more competitive than ever.
• New security measures blocked the possibility of knocking on company doors.
• Your old chronological resume was out of touch with today’s requirements.
• Job fairs drew thousands of hopefuls who stood in lines for hours.
• Networking had become the way to find jobs.
• Online networking (LinkedIn, FaceBook, etc.) had become mainstream.

It probably seemed daunting. The question is what did you do about it?

Many people turn to helpful organizations such as 40Plus, a Washington D.C. support group for the older, experienced jobseeker. 40Plus provides free weekly speaker sessions on job hunting topics and a set of courses for those who pay, followed by ongoing peer support. Others turned to their alma maters or professional associations for advice. Career coaches, a fairly new cadre of professional advisors, offer one-to-one as well as group support. These are good places to start your reentry process.

With predictions of a better jobs outlook this year, being ready is paramount if you are going to be successful. Reaching out to learn how the new job market works lays the foundation for your new personal campaign.

Ageism in the Job Market—What You Can Do

We all know that despite their being illegal, hidden prejudices against older workers exist in the business world. However, there are measures you can take if you are 50 or older that can invalidate any internal company push to hire younger, less experienced employees.

I’m not talking here about altering your resume, dyeing your hair or having a facelift. Instead, I’m proposing four real actions you can take to stay vital and fully engaged in the work world.

Energy—Do you get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly? Of course, we all want to look trim and beautiful, but staying in shape will energize you to thrive even through long days facing tough challenges on the job. Your energy level shows in your writing, on the phone and in person. Arriving at an interview full of energy and maintaining it throughout the meeting will demonstrate that, with you, age is not a valid factor in being able to keep up with younger workers.

Technology—You may not love all the technologies that have come to dominate the business world: cell phones; laptops; iPods; blogs; webinars; Blackberries; social media, and the list goes on. Even so, you need to embrace those that are now integral to your line of work, whatever that may be. If the employer is using them, you need to be already using them or ready to adopt them and learn quickly. Ask someone to show you the ropes, if needed. Keep up with what’s new in your field by reading, attending learning programs and practicing.

Flexibility—One worry among employers is that an older worker will be inflexible and potentially difficult in a team setting. Be sure to demonstrate in your cover letter and other communications with employers that you are open minded and able to shift gears when needed. Make your point by relating success stories that show you as an engaged team member who can move in new directions when needed.

Salary—What you earned in your last job may no longer be relevant. Times have changed. Budgets are tighter. Be prepared to take less now and work your way back up again as the economy improves. Make it clear to employers that salary is not everything to you and that you understand the challenges of today’s economic turmoil. Stress how important helping an employer accomplish its mission is to you—and be sure to know what the mission is. Matching your values with theirs will make you a more attractive candidate.