College Internships

It’s that time of year again; time to look for internships. As I have written in the past, you need to show a potential hiring manager that you have valuable and current on-the- job experience and an internship is the most practical way to do that. The following sites are only a few of the many valuable sites listing openings for summer internships. 

http://www.internships.com/
https://www.firstjob.com/jobs/?q=&l=
http://www.myfuture.com/index.php?url=careers/articles-advice/internships
http://www.snagajob.com/teen-jobs/first-job/
http://www.onedayonejob.com/
http://www.internzoo.com/
https://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/best-50-niche-job-boards/
https://biginterview.com/blog/2014/10/best-job-search-sites.html
https://www.glassdoor.com
http://vetjobs.com/niche-job-board-sites/

It’s also a good idea to make an appointment with your school’s Career Services Office or visit their website. Many offer listings of career fairs, job search workshops and other valuable tools. Try to get a head start on the competition.

Make Room for Change: A Story for the Older Job Seeker

We bought a new car last week. It’s beautiful, sleek, and clean, smells good and has a great sound system. I love it but it scares the hell out of me. It has a back-up camera that makes it easier to see behind me when I put the car in reverse and I hate it. Every time I put the car in reverse to leave my driveway, I still look over my shoulder to the road. The car has a narrower back window so looking over my shoulder isn’t as safe and practical as it used to be. I'm supposed to look at a panel in my dashboard instead. It also has different temperature and radio settings that without my glasses, make it difficult to read. I can’t drive with my reading glasses so I need to figure that out too. I have to or I can't go anywhere.

My new car and my complaints of why couldn’t the manufacturers just leave things the way they were had me think of some older job seekers that I’ve worked with. Sometimes they get stuck in a cycle of “It’s too hard to change”, “Why should I change?”, “I’ve only got a few more years of work, why do I have to change” thinking. 

The other day I met with a very pleasant man who wasn’t comfortable with using any Microsoft Office tools. In his old job his assistant did that for him. When I explained that using MS Office is so expected and common now that companies assume that everyone uses it, he looked annoyed. When I asked him to check his local library, evening classes, community college or even YouTube for some instruction, it seemed like a chore. He also doesn’t have a LinkedIn profile. Today, that too is essential. 

Here are a couple of tips for the older job seeker or for anyone who doesn’t like change:
1.      Learn the skills needed to do the types of jobs that you want to pursue.
2.      Understand how your own computer works. Learn how to save files and pictures and learn how to download them into applications.
3.      Write a complete LinkedIn profile and include a photograph.
4.      Network. Use your contacts and make new ones.
5.      Update your look. Get honest feedback from a true friend or family member about your interviewing clothing and style.
6.      Update your resume to a newer format.

While these tips may seem bothersome they are essential for today’s marketplace. It’s easy to complain about a younger hiring manager or a complex hiring procedure when sometimes all it takes is a few changes to our own style and ways of thinking.

Here's another thing about my car's back up system.... when I told a friend about it she said that her in-laws feel the same way that I do. My friend is in her 50's and her in-laws are in their 80s. I'm not going to go there.

Setting Job Search Goals in the New Year

I don’t know about you but I’ve found that the older I get the more I need to write things down. If I don’t do this I find that my thoughts and activities are scattered. Goal setting helps here.

Every January when I worked in a business environment, I got used to writing formal annual goal statements. It was part of the culture and while I (and everyone else) was never in the mood to do it, we put aside the time to design a specific road map for the year ahead. I even taught a class about it.

Even now when no one is looking over my shoulder, I actually look forward to getting my 2017 goals down on paper and starting the year with a fresh direction. It’s not too difficult if you make your goals SMART. SMART is the acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. 

Goals aren’t just for work or for your job search; they help in all parts of your life. Here’s an example of one of my personal goals. In the spring of 2017 we are putting our house on the market. Obviously there’s a lot of tasks to do between January and March. One easier task is to clean out my hall coat closet. “To make a SMART goal for that task I’d write out: 

Clean out and organize the hall coat closet by January 31, 2017. This includes:
1. Sort coats, gloves/mittens and hats by size by Friday January 6, 2017.
2. Organize coats, gloves/mittens and hats to donate or throw away by January 13, 2017.
3. Donate usable coats, mittens or hats to Good Will by January 20, 2017. Bag and toss remaining items into the receptacle in the Pep Boys parking lot on the same day.
4. Clean, sweep and paint closet by January 27, 2017.

Setting goals for your job search is important in that it will help you visualize your future, clarify the steps to take, and focus on dates. Within this context, your goals should be written in specific terms, have precise time frames, and they should be measurable. A specific goal tells you exactly what you want to accomplish. It's helpful to break each broad job search goal statement into manageable smaller statements. This step not only keeps you on track, but it allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment when each step is achieved. A time-oriented goal statement should include specific target dates and the approximate time you will need to complete each of the steps. Here’s a sample that breaks down the steps needed to write a resume.

Prepare final version of resume by January 25, 2012.

1. Identify areas of expertise and accomplishments by January 11, 2017.
2. Choose resume template by January 11, 2017.
3. Identify job specific key words by January 11, 2017.
4. Create career history using key words by January 11, 2017.
5. Create summary statement using key words/phrases by January 12, 2017.
6. Type first draft using selected template by January 12, 2012.
7. Review and get objective feedback from contacts A, B and C by January 20, 2017.
8. Type final version by January 25, 2017.
This example is for just one step of the job search process - writing the resume. You should to go through the same steps for career assessment, networking, designing your LinkedIn profile or planning for your interview.

If you have any questions on using goal setting for your job search, please let me know. Happy New Year!

The Election and the Job Search: Button Down Your Social Media Accounts

What a week! Political pundits are calling the 2016 Presidential Race one for the record books. The displeasure or pleasure with President-elect Trump’s win continues to be splashed all over social media and polite and impolite conversations are still going on days later.

As a job coach I thought I’d pass along this bit of advice. If you are looking for a job or if you are currently in a position that you love and have no intention of leaving, you might want to check your social media security; especially on LinkedIn and Facebook. Why take a chance on messing up your chances for receiving or even keeping a great job?

Here are a few steps to button up your accounts if using a laptop. If you are using the app the steps are similar.

Facebook

1. Go to your named page (the one with your name on it) and click the three buttons next to the words Activity Log.

2. Click “View As”

3. Go towards the top of the page, right above your photo to see, “This is what your Timeline looks like to: Public or View as Specific Person

4. Click Public to see how you would look to a potential hiring manager.

5. Correct your security measures by clicking the lock icon on the top right of your page where it says, “Who can see my Stuff”

6. Where it says “Who can see my future posts”, click friends.

LinkedIn

Stop posting political or personal things. If you insist on using this forum for personal messages do the following.

1. Go to your Profile page and by your photo, click View Profile As

2. Up on the top, under the banner you will see, “This is what your profile looks like to:” and a box with a drop down menu.

3. Click Public

4. If you don’t like what you see, click Return to Your Page

5. Click the little gear icon under your photograph and LinkedIn URL. This takes you to your Public Profile page.

6. On the top right it will Your Public Profile URL. Change your settings by checking or unchecking what you would like the public to see and hitting Save..

Check your Instagram account too and any others that might be iffy. Remember, a hiring manager may Google you after receiving your resume. Make it easier on both of you by buttoning up your profiles. This goes for anything; not just politics. Why take unnecessary chances? 

There are a number of articles on the legality of hiring or firing based upon political beliefs. Please take a look at these for additional information.

Protests, Safe Rooms, Scooters, and the Job Search

The protests last night about President–Elect Trump and the high schools and universities exempting their students from class or mid-terms or allowing them some respite in a safe place have been on my mind all day. It’s interrupting my work so I have to put this out there and then move on.

A few years ago I wrote an article for LinkedIn named, “If Everyone is a Winner, Why Can’t I Find a Job?” It dealt with a generation of Millennials who in part want something for nothing. Now before you jump down my throat, let me state the obvious. Not every Millennial is like this and there are examples of this behavior in every generation.

True Story

When I was a high school sophomore I wanted nothing more than to be a cheerleader. I practiced jumping, yelling, clapping, cartwheels and donkey flips until I collapsed. I was pretty confident that I would make one of the squads; at least the JV team. The day before tryouts we were playing a game in gym class called crab ball. In the game you used scooters to roll around the gym floor kicking a huge ball. It was like soccer and normally I loved the game. One this particular day I gave the ball a kick and when I did, the scooter went out from under me and I landed on my tail bone; my coccyx. I bruised it so badly that I could barely sit or stand and was in severe pain.. It would take time to heal on its own, probably a few weeks.

Obviously this screw up totally blew my chances to make a cheerleading squad.  The night of tryouts I showed up and when I did the routine I looked like a total idiot. The faces of the “judges” could barely contain their smiles. I could read their faces, “Why is she even here?” “She is an embarrassment.”

I never told them I was injured. 

The next day the list of the new teams was posted on the gym door. At a distance I could see the smiles and delight from the girls who made it and the disappointment in the eyes of those who didn’t. I knew that I didn’t even need to look at the list because of my disastrous tryout but I did when no one was looking. Obviously I didn’t make any squad.

I went home in tears that afternoon. I asked my mother if I should have said something about my injury when I tried out. She said that I could have but that might not have made a difference. She also said that I shouldn’t assume that my injury would halt the entire selection process. There were other girls who worked just as hard as me and my problem was not their problem. She told me that there was always next year and another tryout. While that’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, she was right. 

That year my desire to work harder at cheerleading stuck its face at me every time I attended any football or basketball games. At home I practiced jumping, yelling, clapping doing cartwheels and donkey flips and when the tryouts were announced in the Spring I was there and better than before.

So what does this have to do with the job search, the President Elect Trump protests or even life in general? 

When bad things (what you consider to be disasters) happen, work harder on making yourself better. Stand taller, learn something new, learn from your mistakes, practice something, help someone, or volunteer somewhere.  Don’t throw things around, light things on fire or use crude language to get your point across. It only lessens you.

Take time to be sad or even angry but study, learn and practice for the next time. Don’t put your head under a safe pillow; do something that you are proud of and make a difference.