There’s No Magic Bullet for the Job Hunt

Don’t you wish you could close your eyes, spin around, open them again and learn that you’ve been hired for your dream job? We all do, but it definitely doesn’t work that way. There is no magic bullet, no one answer to the “How do I get a job?” question. Unless you are very, very lucky and land a job quickly, or you give up hope and drop out (in which case you should seek counseling help right away), if you want to get a job you just have to keep going. Dropping out will get you nowhere.

Finding a new job after a layoff in a down economy takes hard work, ingenuity and persistence. You are competing with a vast sea of other laid-off professionals for a compressed bank of job openings. Seems depressing, doesn’t it? It could be, but with the right approach you can overcome the odds.

It is important to maintain a high level of energy and attention in order to achieve your goal in the shortest time possible. Eat healthy foods and exercise, take fresh air breaks, call a job search buddy, listen to music that inspires you and stay as positive as you can. Stay as organized as you can by establishing files and maintaining a calendar and expense records. Your attitude will pervade every meeting, letter, hand shake and phone call—so maintaining a realistically optimistic outlook should be part of your job search strategy.

Set aside up to six core hours a day for your job hunting activities. Overdo it and you could burn out. The secret lies not in the number of resumes you send out each day but rather in developing and following a strategy that fits today’s job market. That means using your connections, targeting companies, doing research, ferreting out the hidden jobs that never get listed, and staying current.

The job hunt process doesn’t have to cost you much. Email and electronic applications have reduced the expenses formerly associated with sending resumes. You can find low cost ways to network with local business leaders and peers in your field and conduct informational interviews. You can also network online and by phone. Friends and family may be able to help through people they know.

You could decide to go back to school and learn a new set of skills either to enhance your career chances in your previous line of work or to give you a shot at a new field where jobs are predicted to be more plentiful.

No, there’s no magic bullet, but to use a sports metaphor, you can’t win the game if you’re not in it.

It’s Tax Time—What Can You Deduct as a Laid-Off Jobseeker?

The last thing we all want to deal with is taxes unless we expect a refund. Chances are that as a laid off worker, you will be eligible for a refund this year, if you played your cards right.

Hopefully, you’ve kept records and receipts since your layoff, because if you have been looking for a job in the same profession, many of your job search costs are deductible on your federal tax return. Also, if you’ve been collecting unemployment, hopefully you’ve had taxes deducted.

The IRS allows a few job search-related itemized deductions, including:

• Employment agency or headhunter fees (if you pay them yourself and they are not later reimbursed).
• Resume preparation, printing and postage (and faxing).
• Long distance or cell phone charges related to your job search.
• Career coaching fees, and travel or phone costs related to their services.
• Local travel expenses. Mileage by car is reimbursed at 55 cents per mile, but you need to keep a log of your car travel, including local trips for job search purposes, including parking. If you travel by public transportation, be sure to keep track of your fares as well.
• Unreimbursed out of town travel expenses for interviews, including meals, transportation (air, train, taxi, bus), lodging, parking and tolls.

If you didn’t do it in 2009, I recommend keeping an inexpensive travel log with you all the time this year and setting up a spreadsheet to record your travel and other expenses. That way when tax time comes around again, you’ll be ready.

 

This CNNMoney article is from last year, but it has many excellent tips for unemployed taxpayers that remain relevant.

The Dreaded KSAs—Your Tickets to a Federal Job

According to Karol Taylor, a guru on getting a government job who has many years in government HR behind her, KSAs are going to be changed. Speaking to a Washington, DC job hunters support organization in February, she said it’s in the works to replace KSAs with another assessment tool, but she said they will really just reappear in a new form with a new name. In the meantime, in order to land a federal job, you have to master the dreaded KSAs.

What the heck are KSAs?

K=Knowledge • S=Skills • A=Abilities

In up to 4,000-character answers to a series of questions specific to a job opening, you are asked to describe your successes to demonstrate these three attributes. Your answers are read by real people, who then score your response. If your KSA score combined with your application score is higher than 90, you are more likely to be asked to meet for an interview.

There are many keys to being one of those who rises to the top of the heap. Here are some resources to help you get started:

Washington Post online article by Derrick Dortch, career counselor: Common Mistakes in Applying for Federal Jobs

AARP Webinar: The Ins and Outs of Applying for a Federal Job

Tips on writing a KSA from Making the Difference

Downloadable PDF guide to writing KSAs from Our Public Service

Ten tips for applications from USA Jobs

• See a full report in a February post on Karol Taylor's presentation, including her many helpful tips on applying for a federal job.

Capturing a Federal Job—Tips from an Expert

On Monday, Karol Taylor, a career adviser with more than 28 years of federal service, told a standing-room-only crowd at 40Plus of Greater Washington that the federal government is likely to lose more than 60% of its aging workforce by 2019. The government is poised to hire about 273,000 mission-critical workers by 2013.

How do you apply for one of those jobs? Taylor offered many practical tips, including:

• Check out the Partnership for Public Service 2009 Report. It shows the projected number of employees to be hired and by which agencies.
• Federal jobs must be posted for at least three days but not necessarily on USA Jobs. So, be sure to check all the agencies that interest you, not just USA Jobs.
• It takes on average 12 to 15 hours to complete a federal job application.
• Follow directions exactly, or you are wasting your time.
• Before you apply to a job, read these tips offered by USA Jobs.
• Even with the federal government, networking is important. However, you need to get your resume on the desk of the hiring managers and have informational interviews before a job is even posted.
• Be sure to put the same key words in your resume that are used to describe the job and qualification requirements. You need to include them only once. Taylor emphasized that if you do not meet 80% of the qualifications, you should not apply.
• Your goal is to earn at least 95 rating points for your application package. Everything in your resume and application can potentially earn you points.
• Maybe it’s been a while since you were in college, maybe not, but in your application you should list your relevant upper level undergraduate and graduate courses because they earn you points. Also list all the webinars, online courses, seminars, workshops, and other training that relate in some way to the job for which you are applying. Internships and volunteer activities and skills are also relevant to include.
• As with any resume or application, numbers count, so quantify everything you can, using real or approximate data, percentages, frequency rates (daily, weekly, etc.), people (supervised, etc.).
• The two-page standard for resumes doesn’t apply to government applications. They can be 3-5 pages and should cover as much relevant detail as you can supply.
• Remember that what you write will be read initially by human resources personnel, not subject matter experts.
• After applying, wait three weeks before making contact by phone or email with the hiring official to check on your status and how well you scored. Wait another three weeks before calling or writing again.
• The hiring process takes 6 months on average, so don’t hold your breath. Keep looking, networking and applying.

Your Resume Is Never So Good It Can’t Be Improved

Recently, after he sent me his, I sent my resume to a friend who had just been laid off. I gave him some unsolicited feedback on his resume, caught a couple of errors and suggested some formatting changes. He did the same for me. He noticed that my right justified dates were not all the same. He saw a missing word and made other suggestions. Fair game—and very helpful.

My resume has been reviewed many times by HR professionals, recruiters as well as peers. Each time I have emerged with a better document. But, obviously, after the repeated times I had changed, improved, updated and customized my resume over a year’s time, I subjected it to the possibility of new errors or missed details.

And, that’s why I value feedback at any time from anyone.

10 R’s to Keep Your Job Search Alive When Winter Interferes

You were going gangbusters at searching for a new job to replace the one you lost through a layoff or other job loss. Then winter hit with full force.

It’s frustrating waiting for roads to clear and the job market to get back into full swing after blizzards and other natural interferences. What can you do in the meantime? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Review your strategy and make adjustments. Are there avenues you haven’t explored yet?
2. Research companies online to find those that might be a good fit and build a plan for getting inside for informational interviews.
3. Read books, blogs and articles by recruiters and other HR experts on conducting an effective job search.
4. Revise or update your resume and online profile.
5. Reconnect with your networking circle, checking in to see how they are doing, share interesting articles and make future plans.
6. Reorganize your files and workspace.
7. Ready your wardrobe in case you are called for an interview.
8. Recharge your energy with some exercise and healthy eating.
9. Reminisce a bit about your past accomplishments and write up some success stories you can discuss in cover letters and at interviews.
10. Rehearse your 30-second elevator speech—or write the one you don’t have and practice it.

© 2010 Cynthia C. Rosso

Posting Your Resume on a Major Job Board—A Shot in the Dark?

Job boards like Monster and its competitors have their detractors. Complaints include:

• They’re too big and not targeted.
• A large part of the jobs are lower-level positions.
• Many jobs they include are already filled.
• Employers will post jobs and then hire from within.
• When you make your resume searchable, you lay yourself open to approaches from scams.

Despite the negative possibilities, you increase your odds by adding another layer to your search when you use a job board.

Here’s a recent real case in point:

After keeping her resume private on one major job board, one professional decided that she had nothing to lose a year after a layoff by opening access to all employers and recruiters and making it searchable.

Predictably, within days she started receiving emails from insurance companies and other “recruiters” offering her a great future if she only contacted them, took a course, or something else suspect. Because these were anonymous emails and obviously not targeted to her personally, she trashed them immediately. For a couple of companies, though, she took the time to check them out on the web—and found several results that associated the word “scam” with them. At that point, she could have changed her settings to block public access to her resume, but she persisted.

One afternoon a week later she received a phone call from a legitimate employer’s recruiter, who had found her through a resume search. The call led to an in-person interview with the recruiter and a planned second interview with the executive team.

The following week she received an email about a temp-to-perm job that called for the skills she offered, asking her to call if interested. The sender signed the email, but forgot to mention that a job board resume search was the source. Our subject called and learned that the job was a real lead offering good pay. The short phone call concluded with plans for follow-up by the recruiting firm and a pitch to the employer.

So, you decide.

Major Online Job Boards—Are They Worth It or Not?

While online job boards, such as Monster or CareerBuilder, should not be your first line of attack in finding a new job, or even your second, they can be one piece of your overall strategy. Major ways to use them include:

• Searching for jobs and applying to them on your own
• Searching for jobs and applying via their own “Apply Now” feature
• Posting your resume so it is searchable by recruiters and employers, or keeping it private to use only for applications
• Setting up job agents so you receive likely matches by email
• Reading advice articles and using other resource tools they offer, such as salary benchmarks
• Letting them broadcast your resume to recruiters

Whether you apply for jobs through the job board’s mechanism or not is your choice, but I recommend researching each company and seeing who may be in your network from the company before submitting an application. Leverage your connections to learn more about the job or the organization. Then write a targeted cover letter to accompany your resume.

Keeping your resume private makes sense if you still have a job. To protect your personal privacy, be sure your posted resume does not include your home address, email or phone number. You can set your account to make all or none of your contact information available to employers and recruiters.

If you are out of work, however, you can increase your chances of being found by making your resume public. It’s a passive strategy, but it occasionally works. Keep in mind that your online resume should have all the relevant key words for your skills and job goals so that recruiter searches will land on your name.

Job agents are great, especially if you have chosen your key words well and set up a database friendly profile. They save you heaps of search time.

I have advocated against using resume broadcasting services, because they are too random, totally untargeted and generally unproductive. Many recruiters and hiring managers absolutely hate and ignore them. Such “robo-resumes” also eliminate the direct, personalized approach you should normally use, including your cover letter.

Large online job boards are a mixed bag. Used right they can be an asset, but they should rank low on your priority list of possible strategies. See last Thursday’s post on how job hunting expert Richard Nelson Bolles ranked them against other approaches.

Playing Your Job Hunt Cards Wisely—The Most and Least Successful Strategies

In a September 2009 interview published in “Bottom Line Personal,” Richard Nelson Bolles, author of the seminal job hunter’s guide What Color Is Your Parachute? ranked today’s most and least successful job hunting strategies. His latest assessments are worth noting:

The Least Successful Strategies:

Mailing out unsolicited resumes/submitting or posting resumes online. Odds: 7%
(My note: Not your best use of time, and certainly not a good first line strategy.)

Responding to ads in professional or trade journals. Odds: 7% (Many require relocation.)
(My note: By the time you see the ads, they could be outdated.)

Responding to ads on Internet jobs sites. Odds: 10%

Responding to ads in the local newspapers. Odds: 5% - 24% (Most jobs listed are lower wage positions.)
(My note: If your local paper is like mine, there are so few ads, it’s not worth even looking at them. Even a recent “Mega Jobs” section in a major city paper was only six pages.)

Working with a private employment agency. Odds: 5% - 28% (Your odds increase if you are looking for an administrative position)

The Most Successful Strategies:

Networking for job leads. Odds: 33%
(My note: See earlier One Tomato at a Time posts on networking.)

Knocking on doors unannounced at employers of interest. Odds: 47%
(My note: This is a strategy that might surprise you!)

Calling companies of interest that are listed in the local Yellow Pages. Odds: 69%
(My note: Even more surprising!)

Partnering with other job hunters. Odds: 70%
(My note: Great idea, and it goes hand in hand with networking.)

Taking inventory of yourself then targeting the employers where you ought to be working. Odds: 86%
(My note: Yes. Yes. Yes. See an earlier post on this topic.)

There is no one strategy alone that will get you a job. You need to explore all the appropriate channels for your career path. I believe that networking, including partnering with other job hunters, is an important key to success, along with making sure your campaign is well targeted.

Resources:

Check out Bolles’ latest book The Job Hunter’s Survival Guide: How to Find Hope and Rewarding Work, Even When “There Are No Jobs. (His website: http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/)

General link to Bottom Line, a subscription based service.

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.

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.

Leaving Behind the Muddy Tracks of 2009—Here Comes 2010

All the hard-learned lessons and trials of 2009 may be caked to your boots, but it’s time to leave the muddy tracks behind you. We’re entering a new year and a new decade. On Sunday, December 20, the Washington Post’s Kiplinger Personal Finance column started off with: “In 2010, look for a sign of prosperity that we haven’t seen in years. It reads ‘Now Hiring.’”

What shape this hopeful turn takes and how many new jobs will open up, and when, remain to be seen, but 2010 holds promise for opportunities for the more than 7 million who lost their jobs in 2009. The Post added a caveat to its cheery employment outlook—that a “full recovery is far off”—but that’s nothing new. Economic recoveries are never fast, and they tend to be different from region to region, depending on what makes local economies tick.

Whether the new job opportunities turn out to be permanent or temporary, full-time or part-time, freelance or contracted, they will be competitive. Salaries may not match what they were in 2008, but it is better to be back in the market at a somewhat reduced income level than living on memories. As the economy grows, your salary will also rise again, but you have to be part of it for that to happen.

If you are unemployed—possibly since months ago or even longer—or underemployed, now is the time to recharge your job hunting batteries. Make sure your resume is current, get back in touch with your network, connect with agencies, refresh your online profile, and be ahead of the rest of the contenders for the jobs that do open up.

Good-bye mud. Hello new decade. Happy New Year!

One Tomato at a Time will resume two posts a week on January 5.

Hiring Decisions--How Do They Do It?

Recently, an online employer located in the Washington, DC area that was seeking to fill five lateral positions received more than 1,500 applications. As a hiring manager, I can’t imagine what a daunting job it must have been to sort through them, but they did. I say “they” because it must have been a team. I recall receiving 150 or more for one opening many years ago and thinking I’d never get through them…but I did.

Before applications went almost entirely electronic, I would create three piles. As I whittled the stack of letters and resumes down, I tossed all that lacked required information, had gross errors, or were obviously done in haste or addressed to the wrong organization, straight into the NO pile. Why waste time? My other two piles—MAYBE and PROBABLY—were trickier. The PROBABLY category was for those whose experience most closely matched the requirements and who wrote convincing, well crafted cover letters. This never turned out to be a large pile, but it had depth in quality. The MAYBEs were all the rest that had some qualifications but weren’t shoe-ins. Since the process went electronic, the physical piles have disappeared, but the general approach is often still the same, and it’s not easy.

Imagine yourself as a hiring manager or recruiter with 1,500 applications to review for those five positions. If you saw your own application among them, how would you do? Which pile would yours land in?

Keep this in mind when you write your next cover letter or fill out an application. Staying out of the NO pile is largely in your control. All you have to do is apply to jobs that are appropriate and pay attention to details. And, by targeting the right jobs—ones for which you are truly qualified—and writing compelling cover letters, you can also avoid the MAYBE designation. Landing in the PROBABLY pile is success and will likely lead to a phone call.

Approaching Your Job Search with an Entrepreneurial Spirit

Taking an entrepreneurial approach to your job hunt is a way to stand out in the masses of jobseekers now on the market. People have been known to stand on the sidewalk hawking their availability with sandwich boards or to buy billboard space. These people reached a point at which they will do anything to get a job…and their tactics reek of desperation.

What are some ways to show your enterprising spirit without seeming weird and crazy? Here are some ideas to jump-start your thinking:

• Make your 30-second “elevator speech” less conventional. Spotlight a remarkable success you had rather than your laundry list of skills or jobs.
• Create unusual business cards. They could be a unique shape, have a fold-over flap, come in an electronic format…use your imagination.
• Start a blog and submit articles as a guest blogger—use every online opportunity to promote your blog (and you), without being pushy.
• Become an active blog commenter on popular, influential blogs in your field. Get noticed by sharing your expertise.

Instead of your resume, prepare a Qualifications Statement as if you are a consultant for hire and send it to the companies where you would most like to work. Sometimes you can get in the door full time after showing off your skills as a consultant.

Since this is Global Entrepreneurship Week, use the occasion to launch your own branded, entrepreneurial job search. Within professional parameters, you can have fun with it and demonstrate your creativity. It can’t hurt!

Passing Unemployment Milestones and Focusing on the Future

Many who were laid off earlier this year or before are still on the market for a job. There’s no denying that job hunting in today’s environment is more challenging than when the economy was booming. You can’t change historical facts, but you can change your future reality.

If you are passing an unemployment milestone, say six months or more, maybe it is time to take stock of your accomplishments to date.

Have you:

• Sought advice from friends and experts?
• Lined up your references?
• Had your resume professionally critiqued?
• Regularly updated your online profile?
• Networked at every opportunity?
• Followed up on leads given to you by friends and former colleagues?
• Shared job leads with fellow jobseekers?
• Developed or participated in a support network?
• Contacted recruiters?
• Attended workshops and seminars to keep your skills up?
• Enrolled with temporary agencies?
• Kept in touch with your contacts?
• Volunteered anywhere?
• Joined Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn groups?
• Conducted informational interviews?
• Updated your portfolio?
• Started a blog or your own website?

While these are great steps to take, especially if you have done them all, you might respond, “Yeah, but,” because so far they haven’t landed you a permanent job. However, at this juncture in your quest for re-employment, it’s okay to congratulate yourself for what you have accomplished…for a moment…and then move forward.

Rather than sagging into the dumps, now is the time to try new angles and ramp up your efforts. Instead of losing steam because of the time passed, energize yourself and get going.

Yes, Volunteer Work Can Go on Your Resume

If you choose to do substantive professional volunteer work or participate in a charitable action group, such as Habitat for Humanity, it’s fair game to include it on your resume. If you’ve been laid off, as time passes, your resume will show a gap that may raise questions for a hiring manager or recruiter. One way to fill that gap is with volunteer work.

Here are some ways you can leverage your experience for the benefit of others as well as your resume:

• Become a volunteer leader in a professional organization.
• Judge a competition that uses your skills and expertise.
• Teach a class at your community center or local adult education program.
• Tutor a high school or community college student.
• Teach English to non-English speaking adults.
• Get involved in planning a local event, such as an arts fair or charity auction.

Reader Janet Falk recommended the following additions to the list of volunteer sites I posted earlier in No Pay, But the Rewards Are Many:

• www.smartvolunteer.org
• www.idealist.org

She added this one for readers living in New York City: www.nycservice.org.

I invite you to suggest additional volunteer resources and activities.

Seems Like a No Brainer, Doesn’t It?—Read the instructions

Let my error be your knowledge gained.

I thought I had it nailed. I’m normally a very detail-oriented person, priding myself on not missing anything.

An especially interesting federal government job opened up, but the application period was fairly short and during a very busy time for me. Offline, I prepared my resume, making sure, as instructed, that the references were there to support the numerous essays that I needed to write. After spending considerable time over several days getting ready, it was time for the submission.

On the final application day, after about two hours entering my data, reviewing it, and then checking it again, I took the plunge and submitted my application. However, the next step—submitting required documentation—was yet to be completed and had to be done by midnight the same day. My cursory review early on indicated to me that I wouldn’t need any such paperwork, but the final instructions pointed to a request for my college transcripts. Uh, oh.

I’ve been out of school long enough that my transcripts are truly irrelevant, and I’ve never been asked for them before—not in more than 30 years. At this point I have no idea if I have them or in what box they might be deteriorating. My experience should speak to my qualifications, in my humble opinion, but the federal government (and I’m sure, other employers) requires transcripts.

Transcripts do not materialize in a few hours. It may take a week or more to receive them after your request, depending on your college or university. And, you may need other documentation, especially if you have a military background. So, even though I missed the deadline for this job, I drove to a local shop that same day and faxed the request to my alma mater. If another job arises, I’ll be ready.

Lesson learned: Read all the instructions well in advance and plan ahead. If you miss an important detail, you have thrown away valuable time and effort.

Why Should I Help You? Part 1

Reaching out to others
by Linda Franklin, guest blogger

Last year I became another statistic filing for unemployment. My story was not unlike many others: With a company for 7 years, I thought I would be there for my career. When my notice came, I went through the usual shock and disappointment (“WHAT?!?!?”).

And then came the “What do I do now?” I began reaching out to everyone I knew and began meeting new business contacts at professional networking functions. LinkedIn became my new best friend.

While networking I quickly realized an important lesson: those who had themselves been laid off or experienced similar job ups and downs were the ones most likely to lend a helping hand. They understood the pain and frustration of the job search, and they regularly went that extra step to get my resume in front of the right person.

It was easy then for me to decide that, once I was employed again, I would make sure to reach out to help others in my network going through a layoff/job search. Not just by getting their business cards, but learning more about their background, experiences and their goals so that I could refer them to others or job postings that would be a good match.

_____________________________________

Linda Franklin, who has survived the bruises of 2 layoffs, is happy to be working again as Marketing Manager of WiseChoice.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lfranklin99
http://www.twitter.com/LindaFrank123
http://us.mc518.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Linda.Frank123@yahoo.com

Play the Match Game When Applying for Jobs

There are tons of employment options in the D.C. area, even in today’s fractured job market, but where are you putting your attention? Are you going for those that offer you the chance to do what you know best? Are you following a career path or just going for a “job” to earn a paycheck?

It’s easy to justify to yourself sending out hundreds of resumes, following every remotely possible opportunity. You are actively job hunting, right? Wrong. You are just doing stuff rather than focusing on jobs that truly suit your abilities and experience or that offer career growth. Going for jobs that are not right for you are a waste of time and energy, and if you do land a job for which you are not really qualified, you could be setting yourself up for failure.

Success is the goal. Finding a job that you may not like and may not really know how to do at any salary, for any employer, won’t get you there and may be short lived. Finding a position that allows you to shine while being paid a fair market rate (or better) to provide vital services to an employer is my definition of success and is most likely to lead to long-time employment.

Making the right match and focusing on a realistic target are game winning strategies.