PLANNING Your Job Search!

I teach an 8-week job search class, and one of the most common comments I get from participants is that they don’t feel like they’re being as productive in their search as they could be.

For most people, when they are in a job, they have a task to accomplish, a schedule they keep, a routine they go through each day, and someone that’s placed expectations on them to get certain things done. When they become unemployed, there is no expectation to work 9 to 5, no specific tasks they need to accomplish for someone else, and no established routines.

Most everyone has heard the cliche’ that a job search is a full-time job, but very few people treat it that way. One of the biggest reasons is that few people are prepared or plan their time. Daily and weekly planning can be transformational for your job search!

Here are some ideas for you to consider:

• Gather your tools! Decide what format you will use. Whether it’s Outlook, some other desktop or online application, a Franklin Planner or some other paper planner, a PDA, some kind of desk calendar, or a simple spreadsheet… use something where you can document your daily schedule. Use a separate Task List, as well as a place to record your accomplishments.
  
  
• Block your time! Most people have no problem marking off time for interviews that they got scheduled, or networking meetings. However, just as important, is making appointments for yourself to make phone calls, work on your resume, research companies, and time for planning! If you block out 2 hours on a Tuesday morning to make phone calls, you should have blocked out time sometime prior to that to create a list and gather the phone numbers of the people you will call, and write scripts. Otherwise you will be spending most of your ‘calling’ time gathering that information. Block out time to plan your next week, otherwise it either won’t get done, or you will be doing it during prime contact time.
  
  
• Track your accomplishments! A job search can be discouraging, and it’s very easy to get to the end of a week and feel deflated because you still don’t seem closer to an offer. When you’re in that state of mind, it’s easy to forget what you did do, and feel like you haven’t accomplished much. If you have a list of what went well in the last week… i.e. 5 new job leads, 20 new contacts, 3 informational interviews scheduled, found a new job networking group, etc. you can feel good about the fact that you are doing the things that will eventually lead you to your new career. If you’re doing the things necessary, it’s just a matter of time.
  
  
• Work your plan!!! The most sophisticated, elegant, well thought out schedule or plan in the world won’t accomplish a thing if you don’t do what you’ve planned! It’s not uncommon for someone to thoroughly plan their week, and then not do the things they’ve written. Follow through in order to start seeing results.
  
  
• Be smart! Be sure to plan your work keeping ‘prime time’ in mind. You can search job postings online at 2:00 in the morning in your pajamas if you choose. However, you can only reach potential hiring managers at their desks during standard business hours. Don’t fill up your days with computer tasks, working on your resume, or doing your planning, when you can do those things ‘off-hours’. Make sure to schedule your time for the greatest impact.

No matter how self-disciplined you may be, you will always be more productive if you plan your time in advance. If you’re in the middle of the day on a Thursday, wondering what you’re going to do next, you will have wasted time vs. moving on to the next task on your planner. Put in the effort to plan your days and your job search will be greatly accelerated!

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Tough Job Search? Ask Yourself These 5 Questions!

Is your job search taking longer than expected? Most are right now. Certainly the difficult job market is making things harder.  However, a great number of people could speed up the process by asking themselves five critical questions.

Take time, think them through, be honest, and your job search may improve dramatically!

1. What makes me unique? Companies are seeing dozens or hundreds of resumes for each opening. They interview several people as well. It doesn’t take long for things to seem like everyone is the same. If you can’t communicate in your resume and in your interview what makes you different, and more valuable to the company than every other candidate they see, you will be an ‘also ran’. Take assessment tests, ask friends, family and previous co-workers, and do a self-evaluation to figure out what you offer that others don’t. EVERYONE has assets and ‘uniqueness’. Discover yours and learn how to communicate it well.
   
   
2. What am I looking for? Many job seekers are too wishy-washy in their objectives. They only know that they need a new job, but aren’t clear on exactly what it is they are seeking. Using the same process to discover what makes you unique, narrow down your search to the type of job or career you want. When you are networking, people can’t help if they don’t know what you want. Have a clear target, and learn to communicate it effectively. You can find more help here.
   
   
3. How am I spending my time? Nearly everyone has heard the cliche’ that “Looking for a job is a full-time job in itself.” However, most people don’t put nearly the time or effort into their job search that is required. It’s difficult sometimes to know what to do. However, if you diligently plan your work each week, and work your plan, you will be far more productive than all of a sudden trying to figure out what to do next on a Tuesday afternoon. You can get additional guidance here, here, here, and here.
   
   
4. What’s my attitude like? Your attitude is one of the most critical aspects of your job search. If you are sincerely optimistic, and upbeat, you are a much more attractive candidate and you will approach your search in a positive way. If you are bitter, discouraged, defeated, or just crabby, your ability to land that next job drops dramatically. Attitude is critical! Be sure to read: The ONE Best Thing You Can Do For Your Job Search.
   
   
5. How well do I present myself? The way you present yourself to networking contacts, recruiters, and potential hiring managers is critical to your success in landing a job. That presentation is a composite of professional appearance, effective communication, attitude, and being prepared. You have to be qualified to do the work, but they are most likely talking to several people that are qualified. Presentation makes the difference between who gets hired and who doesn’t. Spend time to work on your presentation and you will see better results. You can find pointers here, and here.

Do the self evaluation, and make the effort to make changes where necessary. You will find they will make difference in your search and give you a great deal more confidence as well!

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Five Social Media Rules for Your Job Search

Looking for a new job? Be smart online! Your activity on the internet may make or break your chances of getting a job you want. Too often people sabotage their job search by leaving a trail online of careless, controversial, or foolish posts, pictures, or comments. Others use their time online to create an image that screams “Hire me!”

Here are five rules to follow to help insure your success:

1. Maximize your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a tremendous tool for your job search, not the least of which is being found. Also, a recruiter or hiring manager may check you out during a hiring process just to see what you have posted. Spend time to create a full, professional profile. Be as meticulous as you are in creating your resume. Be sure there are no spelling errors and make it readable. Whether it’s to find you in a search, or to check you out as you’re being considered for a position, your LinkedIn profile is critical to give you an advantage when you’re competing for an offer.
   


2. Picture this! Clearly, having pictures online that show you drinking, doing drugs, or something else foolish or worse can be deadly to getting an offer. However, often people forget that ALL pictures online form a portrait of who you are. I saw a LinkedIn profile of a middle-aged heavy-set man with a picture of an apparent vacation in Hawaii where he was shirtless and wearing a lei. Not the image a potential employer is likely hoping for. Pictures on Facebook, MySpace, Flickr or any other site are accessible, often even when you think they are marked ‘private’. If you put it on the web, it can usually be found. It’s public information and can be a factor in a hiring decision. Make sure the pictures online, particularly on LinkedIn create the best professional image you can.
   


3. Avoid controversy. You may have strong opinions about politics, wars, healthcare, or a number of other topics. Airing them out publicly online, however, may alienate a potential employer. Whether the recruiter or hiring manager agrees with your opinions or not may be irrelevant if they consider the potential turmoil it may produce in their organization. Debate and discussion live and in-person is great, but anything posted online is open to public consumption now and years from now.
   


4. Watch your language! Just as controversial subjects can be off-putting when being considered for employment, so can bad language. If your posts in a blog, ‘Tweets’ on Twitter, comments to articles, or discussion in online forums are characterized by profanity, or sexual references it’s not likely to create the image you’d like a hiring manager to have of you.
   


5. Exude optimism! Complaining about your previous company, boss, current circumstances, neighbors, products, businesses, associates, or anything else creates an image of a whiner. Body language and tone don’t come across online. It’s critical to create an online persona of professionalism, helpfulness, graciousness, and optimism. If you read everything you’ve written online, would it sound like someone you’d like to spend time with each day, or someone that would bring you down? Create the impression that will make you an attractive employee and co-worker.

All of these things are not guaranteed to make a difference, however, if a recruiter or hiring manager were to Google you (and a high percentage of them do), what they find can be a deciding factor as to whether they will move forward with you or not.

Be careful to craft your online image and remember that EVERYTHING you post is open to consideration!

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Do You Know What You’re Looking For?

So often, I have people that are looking for a new job, network with me but they can’t tell me what kind of position they are seeking. Sometimes they only know they don’t want to do the same thing as their previous position, or they don’t want to ‘limit’ their options, or they just don’t know what’s available. They tell me they are “open right now”.

I can’t help you if you can’t tell me what it is you want!

That may sound obvious, but to a great many job seekers it’s the biggest obstacle to getting meaningful leads. Before you send your resume to a job posting, or go to a networking meeting, or pursue specific companies, take the time and put in the effort to figure out what you want to do and what you are looking for.

Here are some ways to help you figure that out:

~ Take assessment tests to help you figure out your strengths, and understand your personality better. Google “career assessment test” and you will find a multitude of options. I recommend taking multiple tests to see if you get consistent results.

~ Ask family, friends and previous co-workers what they think your strengths and abilities are. Often others see talent and passions in us we didn’t recognize ourselves.

~ Evaluate your previous jobs and determine what aspects and tasks you enjoyed or did well to help you discover what new position would be most appealing. Also, separate your tasks from where, and with whom you did them. Often it wasn’t a job you disliked, but rather the company or culture.

~ Research what kinds of jobs exist related to your interests. You can do this by searching online job boards, getting guidance at your state’s workforce centers, asking others you know, and other online resources. Be realistic as to what you can get hired for with the skills and experience you have, however, for most people there are more options than they might initially realize.

This process may take some time. However, once you determine what your target is, you will be much more effective at communicating a specific objective to others and they will be much more able to give you guidance and effective leads and referrals.

Know what you are looking for!

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Learn to Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty!

If you’ve been reading much on this site or reading virtually any other job search advice, you know that networking is critical to landing a new job. However, most people only begin building a network once they are unemployed. Better late than never. Networking can be far more effective, though, if you have an extensive address book of professional contacts that you’ve been building over time.

Begin building your network as soon as you realize it’s value, but don’t stop once you get a new job!

In the new-normal for a career, you will likely be looking for a new job again someday. ‘Lifetime’ jobs are virtually non-existent anymore. In order to make your transitions as smooth as possible and for you to have more options, keep building the size and quality of your professional network. How do you do that?

• Make networking a lifestyle, not an event
• Get to know co-workers, vendors, customers, people in other departments
• Attend industry networking events, trade shows, user groups, and professional associations
• Always collect business cards
• Keep in touch: call to say Hi, send birthday or anniversary cards, send Thank You’s
• Send articles acknowledging news about their company, hobby, accomplishments, etc.
• Always ask who else your contacts know that are good to connect to as well
• Ask them regularly how you can be of help to them
• Be open to accepting networking calls from others
• Eat in the cafeteria and get to know people rather having lunch alone at your desk
• Always be friendly and upbeat – no one likes hanging around a grouch
• Treat networking as if your career depends on it… because it does!
• Keep good records of everyone you meet and notes of your conversations
• Schedule times for the next time you will touch base with each contact

Sound like work? It is.

Will your life change? Yes.

Will your career and your next job search benefit? Infinitely!

Dig your well before you’re thirsty and you'll be glad you did!

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Twins Win! …and Your Job Search

If you’re not from Minnesota or Michigan or not an avid baseball fan, you may not know that the Minnesota Twins won the division title from the Detroit Tigers for the 2008-2009 season. As a Minnesotan and a Twins fan, I was pretty excited. The tie-breaker game the two teams played was one of the most exciting baseball games I’ve ever seen and it took 12 innings for the winner to be decided. But what’s incredible is what the Twins did to get there. The Tigers had led the division since May, and had a 7 game lead in September. The Twins were in 3rd place earlier in the season, lost Justin Morneau (one of their best players) to an injury, and seemed headed to a very disappointing finish to their season.

So what does that have to do with your job search?

If you’ve been having a tough time, if you’re feeling discouraged, if you’re feeling like you’re never going to find a new job, there’s a lot to learn from the Twins.

The Twins were all but counted out. A little over a month before the end of the season they seemed to be losing more than they were winning and being 7 games behind seemed to be an insurmountable obstacle to overcome. Losing Justin Morneau seemed to put the nail in the coffin. That was conventional wisdom… to everyone except the Twins! They drew together and had faith in their ability. They’ve shown more resilience, grit, and determination than any team I can remember. They won 16 out of their last 20 games! They pulled up and tied the Tigers in the last game of the regular season forcing the tie-breaker game.

The game could not have been tighter. Tied 4-4 at the end of the 9th inning with 54,000 people in the stands, the tension was palpable! Both teams battled with all they had. The Twins allowed the bases to get loaded in the top of the 12th inning but still stopped the Tigers from scoring. Then, against all odds, were able to score the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning. Just after it seemed all hope was gone, they got the run, won the game, and won the division title.

What the Twins demonstrated in the last month and in this game are traits that are needed in bringing a job search to successful conclusion as well. What did the Twins do?

~ They believed in themselves

~ They didn’t let “conventional wisdom”, the news, or the odds get them down

~ They gave 100% effort every day

~ They kept practicing and honing their skills

~ They found a way to win in every situation

~ They focused on doing all the little things right every day

~ They worked at keeping a positive attitude day-after-day

~ They didn’t ease up when they were on a winning streak

~ and, they didn’t let a loss set back their momentum

Every one of these traits will help your job search as much as it helped them win the title. Even when things seem bleakest, a positive attitude and a determination to win can get you the job.

Congratulations Minnesota Twins!

…and use their story as encouragement that you can win your ‘title’ too by following their example.

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