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| Career Tools | Resume | Interviewing Tips | Job Fairs | Job Sites |
| Your Career In the same way that an entrepreneur can't build a successful business without a business plan, you cannot compete in today's dynamic marketplace without a career plan. First decide on a career destination! Then make a survey of the terrain you'll need to traverse! And don't forget to chart a course that details all the tasks, large and small you need to accomplish along the way in order to arrive! Sound like work? It is. It's work that only you can and must do. On the upside, it's work from which you'll reap the rewards of career success, job satisfaction, and the confidence of knowing that in the face of a job hunt you are not helpless. The Plan Ok, let's get started. I truly believe it is best to sit down and write a career plan, a basic outline so to speak. Come up with long and short-term goals. Obviously your long-term goal will be obtaining a great new career, so most of your goals will be short term. Here are some areas to focus on:
Soul Searching Dig Deep Soul searching initiates the process. Dig down deep. Bear in mind that most of your waking hours are spent working. Come to a clear decision about what you want to be doing during those hours. Do you want to do something that puts you to sleep, or would you rather engage in work that challenges your talents, that makes you feel more alive and alert, that brings out your best? Take time to take stock of yourself. Think these things through. Catalogue your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes. Determine your character and your personality type. Is money what motivates you, or would you rather have a dynamic social life outside of work instead of putting in those extra hours? Neither answer is 'right,' but knowing your own answer, what's best for you, is. Books There are thousands of career books out there that can help. One that I read and that helped me was Zen and the Art of Making a Living. What Color Is Your parachute? By Richard Nelson Bolles, has been a job-hunting classic for decades. Actually my mother gave me a copy of the book back in the 80's when she was trying to get me off the couch and out of the house (it worked). For something a little different I recommend Maximum Success by James Waldroop and Timothy Butler. The authors have identified 12 behavior patterns that can prevent talented workers from living up to their potential, it makes for an interesting read. Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman, by Gail Evans describes many pitfalls that women traditionally face in the working world. Although aimed at women, the book can certainly help male workers who are frustrated by the system. Again there are thousands of great career books out there so check out your local bookstore or on-line at amazon.com for the book or books that best meet your needs. Career Testing I have researched and found a couple of great free sites to help people match their skills, interests & values with careers, occupations and college majors. Both sites include a free career interest test. One site has formatted the test into a game designed to help you match your interests and skills with similar careers. I like testing in that it can help you begin thinking about how your personality will fit in with specific careers and give you a place to start if you truly have no idea what type of career to pursue. So here are the links: www.ncsu.edu/careerkey/ www.career.missouri.edu/holland/ Mentors Another tremendous resource you can tap into is the experience of others. Talk to your family, friends, acquaintances, and coworkers and you may find a mentor. Pick their brains for career tips and information. You'll be surprised at how willing most people are to share their experience with you when you approach them with respect and deference. A great way to discover the right mentor for you is to find people who have what you want and are where you want to be. Ask these people how they got what they have and how they got to where they are now. Be frank with them about what you want, about who you are. You never know just what they'll say that might stimulate your thinking or give you a new perspective on career, lifestyle or just what's really important. One caveat: as the savvy have always known — consider your source. Following the wrong advice takes you to the wrong place. Believe me, there is somebody out there who will try to convince you that flipping burgers or being the fry guy at Jack in the Box is the best of all possible careers. All labor is noble, but shoveling horse manure is shoveling horse manure, and it stinks. You can do better. While you're soul-searching, don't panic. Relax and look for what in life turns you on. Go from there. It will come to you. It may take some time, but if you do the work of taking an honest stock of yourself, consulting some relevant books, and seeking the counsel of savvy mentors, your career objectives will become clear to you. On the Path Once you have a fairly good grasp of who you are and what you really want to do you are ready to move from your strategic soul-searching phase into the tactical deployment part of your job hunt. Muster your energies and let the footwork begin! The journey of a thousand miles commences with a single step and now is the time. Focus on landing your dream job. Consider your job hunt your de facto job until you land it. Structure your day with regular hours and a daily to do list to keep you focused. Start to Think Like a Hiring Manager Managers want one kind of worker: the person who can solve problems and have a positive impact on the bottom line. Managers have less to spend on the resources they need, and they are increasingly measured on how successfully they (a) reduce costs, and (b) increase profits. Is it any wonder managers expect a lot from job candidates? They need workers who can help them address these two problems. As a job hunter, is it possible to step up to this challenge? Certainly, but you can't offer the value employers need by sending them a cookie-cutter resume that focuses on your history. What a manager needs to know is how you're going to tackle the specific work he (or she) needs to have done. Job hunters on the whole do a terrible job of offering solutions to hiring managers. The most sophisticated workers, who ordinarily produce powerful solutions to problems they face every day on the job, present potential employers with a lame collection of jargon-filled historical data about themselves rather than with real help. Then they puzzle over why a particular manager hasn't extracted from their resumes the justification to hire them. So from here on out think like a hiring manager, and ask the question: would you hire you? Resources I Recommend to do Research on Specific Companies Ok, you better get used to it, I will say it over and over again, do your company research, here are some excellent resources for you to use. Your local, or college library, and of course, you should use the Internet: the SEC's EDGAR database, Hoover's, and Yahoo! But I'll take one good reference librarian at my local library over the next ten search engines. Start with your reference librarian. You'll be surprised how much help he or she can be, and it's free! Career Groups There are a number of nonprofit organizations that offer basic career programs, such as skill testing, networking, interviewing and creating a resume. Look in your local paper or on-line for organizations near you. Here are a few: lifeprint.org, fortyplus.org, The Chamber of Commerce, Jewish Vocational and Career Counseling Service. Also look at your local junior college or adult education for career classes. Network Tell anyone and everyone from friends and family to select co-workers, just what you are looking for in a job or new career, being as specific as possible. You never know who will open a door for you. You need as many eyes, ears, and minds as you can get working for you. The more specific you are with others about what you are looking for, the greater the odds are that they will be able to provide you with the leads and tips you need. Just saying I'm looking for a job doesn't cut it. Whereas telling an old friend that you want to get into producing television newscasts may prompt them to put you in touch with a childhood friend of theirs who does the weather at a local station. Cast aside shyness. Send out e-mails to old friends. Talk about what you're looking for at parties. Do what ever you can to get the word out. Don't forget traditional networking venues such as chamber of commerce events, online events and art shows. Remember, if you are going to pitch yourself at social events, dress professionally. It also pays to keep alcohol consumption to a minimum. Employers hire those who can handle themselves in a professional manner. Most think intoxication at a social event signifies unreliability or irresponsibility. It's hard to imagine assigning a key project to a guy or gal so sloshed they trip, doing a face plant on the floor, and between gasps of laughter shriek out, "someone hand me another chardonnay!" I'm exaggerating, but you know what I'm saying here. It's also a good idea to pay more attention to your dress and grooming while job hunting. You never know in the course of networking just who could be a prospective or potential employer. You don't want to get caught unshaven or unshowered or having a bad hair day. Wearing a "I live to party" t-shirt and frayed blue jeans may be fashionable but while on the job hunt this isn't your best bet. Save that look for weekends and nights after you've landed your dream job. Networking Event Tips:
I'm a firm believer that the best way to obtain a great job is through friends, family and co-workers. Who better to blow your horn for you than someone who knows you and hopefully likes you. However the key to this approach is letting people know that you a looking for work and then keeping them updated on your progress. So what I recommend is setting up a group e-mail hit list that you can add to on a daily basis. This is an extremely efficient way to update and stay in touch with people. I recommend that you e-mail your resume to everyone on your list with a brief note telling him or her the type of work you are looking to do and thanking them in advance for their help. Then update them every two weeks on your efforts. Be as specific as you can, tell them which companies you are interviewing with, you never know, one of your friends may know someone at that firm and will help open a door or two. It is also a great idea to tell them whom you would like to interview with for the same reason. Don't make the mistake of e-mailing people to frequently, because the last thing you want is to become a pest, remember you want their help. (Also don't forget to put me on your list; I, too, need a reminder from time to time.) Also along the same lines, set up a group of other people who are looking for work. This is great for many reasons; you can pass leads back and forth, go to networking events and job fairs together, as well and provide support on the bad days when you think getting a job is hopeless and that you have become a total loser. (Please remember you are not a loser, but it's human nature to get frustrated and a little negative from time to time.) Get out of the House Out of college I sold commercial real estate for a few years, talk about a difficult industry to break into, well one day, a follow broker gave me some career saving advice. I was very raw and wet behind the ears and, to be honest, a little scared. So I found myself spending day after day in the office doing research and studying the market conditions and anything else I could think of to keep myself busy. Well this seasoned broker, a top producer in the state for that matter, came up to me and asked how I was doing. I told him things were a little slow. This is what he said "Son, look around this office, I can guarantee you one thing, this is the one place on earth were you will not sell someone a piece of property. Hell son, we are all brokers in here, get out on the street and meet people, that's where the action is." So I will give you the same advice, get out of the house and meet people. Learn where people in your chosen profession hang out, where they eat lunch and drink coffee. Learn which bars and watering holes seem to pull in the happy hour crowd. Then go hang out at these places and meet and greet, the worst thing that can happen is you will make a new friend or two. Consider Relocating Let's face it the more flexible you can be the easier it is to find a great job. And being willing to relocate is the ultimate in flexibly. A few months back a lot of start-ups and high tech firms started moving out of the bay area because of the unbelievable high cost of living. Now their new problem is attracting good employees. So at times, they may be willing to take on someone with little or no experience but who has good smarts and move them into a more senior role. This is a great way to quickly advance your career. However, if you are considering relocation to a different city, I recommend doing your research. Subscribe to the local newspaper as well and taking an extended trip to just hang out and see if you will fit in. Remember you can also move back if things don't work out. The Gut Check I think it is a great idea to every three weeks or so, perform a gut check. Pull out your career plan and take a look. Are you making the necessary number of contacts, are you going to job fairs and networking events? Have you been sending out the predetermined number of resumes each week? How has your follow-up been? If you have been in the job search mode for some time without luck, here is something that I think is extremely important, try to determine where your weak link is located. Are you sending out tons of resumes with limited response? If so take another hard look at your resume and make sure it is the best you can make it. Just as important, make sure your skills match up with the opportunities for which you are applying. The greatest resume in the world will not get you an interview if you lack the correct skill set. Are you gaining interviews with ease, only to not get called back for second interviews, or you gaining seconds and thirds but not receiving job offers? If this is the case, then take a hard look at your interviewing skills and follow up techniques. Something I like to do is ask hiring managers for true feedback on why they did not hire you. Most people will give you true feedback, and actually admire you for wanting to know the truth. I've even seen candidates get hired this way. Give it a try, it works. Make Business Cards Most people wait until they're employed to get business cards. Just doing what most other people do is not the way to land your dream job. Whether you want to be an engineer or a web designer, while you're job-hunting you are a marketer. Your product is yourself. Go out and get a simple card made with your name, phone number and e-mail address. That way when you're out and about, if you meet a great contact and you don't have a pen or paper, you can hand them your card. Some people advise including a photo of yourself on your card. I don't. If you're movie star stunning or leading man handsome, your photo will make others think you're vain and conceited. On the other hand you may not photograph particularly well. Either way I believe it's safest to 86 the photo idea. I don't recommend putting your home address on the card either. It's not necessary for job-hunting purposes. Voice Mail If you have roommates I suggest you set up a separate voice mail number. Put it on your business cards and resume. You dont want your roommate to make the first impression for you. ( No dude he's out, who's this?" is not a great first impression) Setting up a separate mailbox costs only a few dollars a month. Then, potential employers can't catch you off guard at home. Let them leave a message. When it's quiet and you're composed, you can call them back. Job Websites Post your resume on job sites, this is an excellent way to gain much needed exposure, again do your research on which sites are best for your career goals. I have researched and added links to dozens of job boards all across the United States including some of the most popular destinations on the Web, in addition I have added links to sites specializing in certain regions, industries, or skill sets. I have even included a section for part-timers, temps, and freelancers. San Francisco Job Search Ok, since my office is located in San Francisco, I have had tons of requests for a specific section on the job search in the Bay Area. So please, find the following hotlines, career site links, networking groups and e-mail list, which I feel, will be very helpful.
www.craigslist.org www.craigslist.org/sfo/tec www.hiresanfrancisco.com www.sfgate.com/jobs www.bayrecruiter.hire.com www.bayarea.citysearch.com www.thea-list.com www.4marketeers.com www.webpim.org www.careers.bayarea.com www.bayareacareers.com www.valleyjobs.com www.careersourcemagazine.com Old Standby Don't forget newspaper classifieds. With the advent of Internet classifieds, they're not thought hip any more, but many great companies still spend thousand of dollars on newspaper classifieds. Check out your local paper to see if they run a career section. Most do so on Sundays. I found my first two jobs straight out of college through ads in a local newspaper, and no, this didn't happen in 1952. I believe in reading local papers. A firm may not be advertising job openings, but this doesn't mean that they aren't in need of great employees. For example, let's say you're leafing through your local paper one morning. You spot an article or a brief item about a local company that just scored a large account or opened a new location or invented a great new product. This company may be in need of your services. They just haven't posted a job listing yet because no one there has the time. They are all too busy. If you do your research and find out who the hiring manager is, you can then send him or her a copy of your resume with a very well written cover letter and a clipping of the article. If you don't hear from them send another letter asking for an interview. Keep following up and sooner or later you will hear from them. They may not offer you a job, but you will have a positive new contact, and you never know what may happen in the future. Job Fairs I like job fairs. Some are fantastic and some a waste of time. If you're unemployed though, time is one commodity that you have plenty of. If you do research you can figure out in advance if the fair is suited to your needs. Find out who is putting it on, if it is industry specific, and which companies will be there. Print out some resumes, put on your best suit, and go see what you can uncover. It's a great way to get face to face with hiring managers. If you don't get a chance to chat with someone in person, grab a business card. Remember, you will get much more personal attention if you have a true contact. Here is a list of some Jobfair sites I've compiled. Working with Recruiters Because I'm a recruiter myself, I could sit here and blow sunshine up you know where by telling you that all recruiters are honest and ethical, but that wouldn't be the truth. Unfortunately, as in all industries, there are good recruiters who will listen to your career goals and try to find a good fit, and there are bad recruiters whose only goal is to turn a quick buck. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That said, ask questions: get a job description, get the name of the firm that has the current opening, and, if the recruiter has placed anyone previously at this firm, you can even ask for references. Generally, most recruiters want to make good placements. Normally we do not get paid unless a candidate stays employed 90 days. That is a long time if you are unhappy. In the case of a poor placement many people throw in the towel, walk out the door, and the recruiter loses out. Best Company List There are a lot out there. It seems every magazine published has their own best company list now days. This is a great way to do research on companies to decide if they're worthy of your extensive talents. There are The Standard 100, Red Herring 100, and Business Week's Info Tech 100 to name a few. Simply turn to your chosen industry's trade mags and check to see if they publish lists. I bet you will find they do. You can also look at local business publications, like the Business Journal, to see if they publish local lists. Considering a Start-Up? If you are considering a start-up or a smaller more volatile company, you may want to ask the following questions:
Consider Contract Work Temp-to-hire has become popular for many reasons. From an employer standpoint it's nice to try out employees before you hire them to get a chance to see if they can do what they claim they can. From an employee standpoint temp-to-hire can allow potential employees to check things out for 90 days to make sure they and the company are a good fit without having to cut a hash mark on their resumes if they aren't. If you're as good as you think, you may be able to negotiate a higher salary after your contract is up. Three months of demonstrated on the job excellence is probably always a better bargaining chip than even the best resume and cover combo backed up by even the most fantastic of interviews. And who knows? You may grow to love contract work and choose to make a career out of it. There are a number of excellent recruitment agencies that specialize in professional temp employment, Paladin staffing, Account temps, guru.com and others, do your research on your specific industry. Stay positive This is hard work so allow yourself some down time. If you don't land your dream job in two days don't beat yourself up. If after a few weeks and a few initial interviews you are not getting called back for second interviews or getting job offers, think about how you can improve your approach. Think about the impression you make during interviews. If you are not getting the results you want, change your approach and, based upon the response that you get, keep changing your approach until you get the results that you desire: a fantastic offer of your dream job. Now go kick some butt! |
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