Career Planning Is Like Joining a Gym

In January I decided that enough was enough and that it was time to join the local gym.  As an incentive, the gym offered a free session with one of their personal trainers.  I went for it and wound up buying two months of training sessions with a wonderful, inspiring trainer.  My sessions ended yesterday but I will continue to do the exercises and routines that my trainer guided me through; difficult as they were/are.

What does going to the gym have to do with your job search (other than make you feel and look younger and give you more energy)? I can think of several things.

1.    Get out. Losing a job or going through all the mind numbing effort of finding a new one is exhausting. Take a break and try to look at things in a different light.

2.    Evaluate. Before starting my training I was evaluated for any medical or physical issues.  My body size and weight were measured and I set up a goal.  With a  job search, evaluation is an important first step and should include your career path, needs, strengths, weaknesses and wants.  You will also need to establish a goal so that you have something to work towards.

3.     Get into a routine. At the gym I started with a warm up on the tread mill or elliptical machines.  Then I went over to the weights and the resistance machines. Establish a routine with your job search.  Set aside some time to network, make your calls, and review the internet for opportunities. 

4.     Step out of your comfort zone. Ouch - this is such a difficult step. If in the gym, you continued to use the lighter weights and didn't feel any discomfort, what would your results be? Sure you might be a bit firmer in places but if you really want to make a difference you have to graduate to heavier weights or more repetitions.  The same hold true with the job search.  It is easier to apply for jobs on line and then keep your fingers crossed for a bite.  It is harder to network or call on some of your contacts.  Networking can result in 80- 85% more jobs so that's something to think about.

5.     Learn. Sometimes I felt uncoordinated and clumsy when using some of the equipment. At times, my body just didn't want to cooperate. With a job search, it helps to attend training or review the latest job search techniques via social media.  Check out your local library for free career planning sessions or join a networking group.  As far as social media goes, this can relate to #4 above. You need to learn it even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone.

Like exercise, finding a job takes time, patience and a lot of practice. It can be painful at first but rewarding in the long run.

Great Resource for Baby Boomers

If you are from the Baby Boomer generation, a great resource for job search assistance to myboomer2boomer.com. A recent feature within the site is Re-Invention Connection, a column devoted to Baby Boomers who have reinvented themselves.  This week, Blackbird Learning Associates was featured in the Re-Invention Connection.  Please take a look and tell me what you think.  There are a number of very interesting career reinvention stories.  Boomer2boomer has a wealth of information for the Baby Boomers among us.

On Pursuing Your Dream Job

My son turns 18 years old tomorrow. He is getting ready to graduate from high school and move on to college; then who knows what direction he will take.  Every year, on the eve of his birthday I write him a letter.  We call it the birthday love letter and it is a recap of the year.  It includes events, friends, dates and a mother’s proclamation of love and pride.  Both of my children get a Birthday Love Letter and it has become a tradition that they actually look forward to and is the first thing they open on their birthdays.

As I prepare to write my letter today, I think about what may be in store for my son.  He has a focus and knows that he wants to pursue a career in the music industry; something he has wanted since he learned to play the guitar in the fifth grade. Did you know what you wanted when you were eighteen? I sure didn't. 

 If you could do it all again, would you choose the path you have taken? Maybe.  In Job Search for Moms, I wrote a piece on going after your dream.

Never underestimate the value of your dreams and aspirations when starting a job search or considering a career change. Unfortunately, many of us question our own abilities and skills or we discount our dreams due to our daily responsibilities or negative thoughts. We often listen to the opinions of others and this too keeps us from following a path that we had once envisioned. In order to realistically look at your interests, visualize a star.

In the center of the star, state your aspiration or dream. What is it that you have always thought about doing? No one is looking over your shoulder; just jot down that one career that you always dreamed of doing. The top point of the star is your support system; those people, places, and ideas that can help and sustain you. List the names of those people or organizations who can offer assistance through child or family care, guidance, emotional encouragement or any other support. The remaining four points of the star are the skills, competencies, training, and actions needed to make your dream a reality. You can establish these pieces by reviewing your personal and professional skills. What skills and competencies do you have that you can apply to your dream job?  What skills and competencies do you need to develop?  You will also need to research the training options and action steps needed to explore your career aspirations. Much of this data can be found by visiting your library or local college, speaking with your mentor or a career counselor but you can also start your search on the internet. Then map it and set your goals.

Sometimes re-evaluating your career direction and focus is a refreshing change from your day-to-day job search efforts.  Even if you don't wind up pursuing your dream job, the activities within this exercise allow you to focus on your support system, your skills, knowledge and abilities and your overall direction. It gets the wheels turning.

Happy Birthday Christian, may all your dreams come true.

LinkedIn Survey About Resumes

Yesterday I participated in a LinkedIn survey about the length, style and of course, content of a resume.  The results and comments are here.  Take a look.

The comments are very interesting.  The creator of the survey summarized them and a couple of themes emerged:
1. Length is also very important with 2 pages being ideal -
2. Accomplishments are the key to demonstrating whether or not a candidate "can" do the job or has actually "done" it previously - this is a huge difference -
3. If a candidate is unable to articulate their experience in a concise, compelling & memorable manner, how well will they communicate to others in the organization?

What do you think? What is the most important part of a resume?

Private vs. Public Job Search

A woman in one of my job search classes recently asked me to compare the differences in the process for applying for a federal versus a private sector job.  Good question.  As I have applied for federal positions in the past, I knew it to be more specific and complicated than that of a private sector position.  One area that remains the same in both sectors is to define the key competencies; the skills, knowledge and behaviors necessary for the job.  When applying for a federal position they are known as SKA or skills, knowledge and abilities. With either the private or public job applications you must be prepared to list and speak about these skills and behaviors. (One of the major exercises we do in every job search class is to identify these competencies and prepare specific, measurable examples to support them.)

Applying for a federal position is a time consuming and exact process.  The forms required are longer and as an applicant you must follow the instructions precisely.  I found a couple of sources to assist you if you'd like to pursue it further.  One, written by Career ProPlus offers an easy to follow step by step explanation of the process and the necessary forms and format.  The second written by the Partnership for Public Service also explains the steps, terminology and points you to the websites for finding federal opportunities. 

Two Great Articles About the Job Search

I read two very interesting articles today about the job search.  One was about the top 20 new trends in resume writing and job search and was written by Brenda Bernstein from The Essay Expert.  The second article provided some insight into why people aren't being hired and was written by John Heckers of the Heckers Development Group, LTD. His piece is in  CAREEREALISM. 

I found both articles on Twitter, a rich resource of interesting job search articles.

How Does the SPCA Do It?

I follow the Monmouth County SPCA on Facebook.  After all, my very first dog, a Springer Spaniel named Rebel came from that special place back when I was in the fifth grade.  Over the years I have checked in, but since I don't live in the area anymore it's been difficult to keep up. Lately though, through Facebook, I can see the amazing love they give to their charges on a daily basis. 

Today I read a post that over the weekend, twenty five animals were adopted. Those are really good odds and the new pets now have wonderful homes.  How do they do it?  I think a lot of it comes from the way the staff expertly uses social media.  They have Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts and a great website that rates each pet based upon many factors including temperament and energy level. 

Every day the Facebook followers (all 6,443 of us) get to see a variety of pictures of cats and dogs, all with names and a story.  The pictures are posted and then the comments pour in.  I wouldn't be surprised if after seeing a picture, someone gets in the car and drives right over there to adopt a special pet. In addition to this, an SPCA staff member answers any questions that may come up in the comments section and encourages people to call in with any specific concerns.

Like the SPCA, anyone looking to get back into the job market should also make use of social media.  We've talked about it in previous articles and it doesn't hurt to repeat. 

1. Join LinkedIn and create a complete account.  Join groups, ask and answer questions.  Let it be known that you are a subject matter expert. 
2. Get a Twitter account and link it to your LinkedIn page.  Follow the job search, interviewing, resume and TweetMyResume pages.
3. Post a professional picture on all of your social media accounts.
4. Start a blog and provide articles about your professional expertise.  Link that to your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
5. Take a cue from some of the sites that you follow; what do they do that draws in a crowd?

All of us, like the folks over at the Monmouth County SPCA can draw attention to our strengths by using social media; how have you used it? By the way, in the 20 minutes that I used to create this blog, they got another follower.

Spring Flowers and Job Growth

Sometimes I think that I will run out of job search tips or that perhaps you have heard them all.  Then suddenly something hits me.  This morning as I was putting something into my car I looked around at the yard.  We have had a tough winter here in the North East; the snows came in December and just kept on coming.  I looked at the twigs and branches that had fallen and hoped that the weather would hold so that we can begin the clean up.  Then, something caught my eye; the daffodils, tulips and snow bells were pushing out of the ground - the very ground that we never got a chance to rake up before the snows hit.  There they were, piercing through the leaves that covered them as they stretched upwards. How resilient, I thought. They don’t let anything stand in their way of growing.  Then I thought of how this could relate to a job search (after all, that’s why we’re here!).

Discouragement, roadblocks, the endless search for the elusive job is taxing but maybe we can learn something from the spring flowers.

1.   Make a job search goal on Monday morning and stick to it.  Make it SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely).  Whether it is to call three people in your network, apply to six company website openings, create a LinkedIn profile, just do it.  Next Friday afternoon, review your goals, revise them as necessary and then relax.

2.   Discouragement is natural in a job search and it takes quite a bit of physical and emotional effort.  If it is concerning though, speak to someone or visit your doctor.

3.   Network.  All of those flowers didn’t push up by themselves.  They were in clusters and it was the strength of the group that pushed the leaves out of the way.

4.  Ask for help.  Later today I’ll go outside and clean up the flower beds and give the flowers room to grow without a mess.  Ask for help, let people know that you are looking for work and you’ll be surprised at the assistance you receive.  Make use of your support group.

Enjoy the weekend, take a look at the flowers around you and perhaps you can think of another way that nature reminds us to keep going.

On Opening a Business

This past Saturday I was a guest on a radio show to talk about my book and to discuss some of the ways people can increase their chances of being hired.  Towards the end of the show we talked about becoming an entrepreneur and some of my thoughts on the startup steps for beginning that new adventure.  I thought of six steps and there are many more.....please add to the list.

1. Focus on one product or service.  To start, don't think that you can be all things to all people.  What is that one "thing" where you shine and are highly accomplished? That is what you aim towards.

2. Research.  Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Handbook and look up the service you are offering and read the statistics.  The same holds true for a product.  Do research and investigate the projections and data.  Is this something that can provide a need in years to come?

3. Create a business plan. Research business plans on the internet and get a free template.  Fill in the data and refine it as necessary.

4. Schedule an appointment at the Small Business Administration Office.  This service is available and many times they located in a community college or other local source.  Bring your business plan and be prepared to work.  This is one of the best kept secrets around and they are invaluable in their suggestions, services and resources.

5. Create an online presence.  Invest in an internet site, create a Facebook business page and Twitter account. Make sure that your wording and photographs are professional and enticing.

6. Join some social networking groups for entrepreneurs and business owners, join your local Chamber of Commerce, and investigate how to create a press release.  Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and some other sites have several supportive and informative groups for start up and existing businesses.

Please add your ideas and any sites that you have found to be helpful to your business.  Opening a business is thrilling yet can be overwhelming.  The idea that IT IS YOURS and you created and nurture it is very fulfilling.  What's your story?

My Prayers for the People of Japan

I'm off topic this afternoon.  I want to send my prayers and thoughts to the people of Japan.  They are living an unspeakable horror and it seems to be getting worse by the hour. I was born in Japan.  My Dad was in the service and stationed there in the 1950's.  He and my Mom lived there for several years and my sister and I were both born in Osaka.  My parents often reminisced about the lovely people of Japan and their kindness, manners and warm friendships were remembered long after my parents returned to the US.  They kept in touch with letters, calls and the most beautiful Christmas cards I had ever seen. My parent's considered returning but never again had the opportunity.  I know that they both regretted it.

It is hard to imagine an earthquake followed by a wall of water traveling over five miles.  It is hard to imagine the threat of nuclear meltdown just miles from your home.  Limited food, water and fears of a reoccurrence are deadly threats.  Yet, I read of the calm, the manners and the gentleness of a people who when faced by an unthinkable natural disaster are strong and courageous.  Now I know exactly what my parent's spoke of with such respect.

The picture in the post is of my first doll, a gift from the Chief of Police from Osaka.

Dream Job Radio Interview

I was interviewed for Dream Job Radio today.  The topic was job search advice but we touched on developing yourself as an Entrepreneur.  Here is the link through ITunes.  Another source can be found here.

Local and Independent Authors Day at the Princeton Public Library

I am looking forward to reading from my book, Job Search for Moms at the Princeton Public Library next Saturday, March 19, 2011.  I will be speaking at approximately 2:45 PM in Session 3.  This is a very exciting event for the library.  The morning will feature the following presentations:

10:00 – 10:45am - Don Lafferty: Using Social Media, Marketing and public relations

10:45 – 11:30am - John Calu and David Hart – Transition from self to traditional and writing as a team

11:30-12:00pm - Chris Illuminati: Boggling and Self-Promotion

In the afternoon a wonderful selection of local and independent authors will introduce themselves, speak about their books and have a selection of books available for purchase. 

 Please stop by if you are in the area.  I would love to meet you.

Make Your Resume Wording Specific

I want to say a few quick words about resume preparation this morning.  I am helping a friend put his resume together.  We created one last year and he used it to find a position right away.  Lately he has become dissatisfied with the new company and wants to move on to something new.  What I thought would be a quick rewrite has become more of a challenge.  He sent me his accomplishments for his first year on the job but they were very vague.  Here are a few of his statements and the questions that I asked him to answer before we get started:

1.    Made the transition of the Linden, NJ service area a smooth process. What does that mean? What did it involve?  How many people were involved? What role did you play and what was the result?

2.    Learned the new MODE System. Why is this important and how does it help? What is it and how/where do you fit in? What does MODE stand for?

3.    Worked with assigned customers. How many customers do you have? Are they all over the country? What does “worked” mean?

4.    Use the HIS System proficiently.  What’s the actual name for the HIS system and what does it do? What does proficiently mean?

5.    Assist sales rep with their service needs. How many sales reps do you deal with and where are they?  What are their needs?

When you get down to writing your resume and can’t come up with anything specific, ask yourself some of these same questions to get specific, measurable accomplishments.  Write out the wording for acronyms.  Ask yourself this, “What did this job task result in?” That should help you get started.

Becoming Socially Connected For Your Job Search

If you are reading this, chances are you are somewhat technically savvy and I'm just preaching to the choir.  If you know someone who is not socially connected, perhaps you can point them to this article or at least print out it for them.

I've been giving a lot of training sessions for the age 40+ job seeker lately and the folks in these classes have to be some of my favorite people.  Still, when I mention social media, many of the aged 50 and over in the crowd freeze, roll their eyes or poke the person sitting next to them.  I can understand as I was in their shoes just a few years ago.  Other than opening a LinkedIn account using my name and position, I let it sit there and well, do nothing.  It wasn't until I was released from my former position that I learned the value of diving head-on into social media. 

Now, most of you reading this don't know me.  If you did, you'll know that several years ago I wasn’t interested in the internet. I didn’t really use it much at work except as a research tool and at home, I didn’t bother with it.  Well, times have changed and I have become a full fledged fan, especially when it comes to helping people find jobs.

After using the worn out phrase, "Google yourself at least once a week", at a Job Search for the Age 40+ Seeker the other night, some of the people started snickering.  Of course a few years ago, if I had said that, I might have blushed. It hit me then that for whatever reason; they too were not connecting (no pun intended) with the value of this remarkable technology.  Unfortunately, they will be left behind unless they catch up.

The bottom line is this.  Research shows that in 2011, many companies will move away from recruiters and job boards to list open positions and find prospective employees through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.  If you don't have a strong presence in these groups then your chances of finding employment will start to decline.  Where should you start?  I would suggest you start by creating a LinkedIn profile.  Here are a couple of ideas:

1.   Follow the directions on the LinkedIn profile page to create a profile. Take a tutorial if you're uncomfortable just jumping in or read an article about creating a strong on-line presence.   About.com has some good, easy to follow articles.

2.  After creating a profile, look for personal contacts and let them know that you want to connect.  In your invitation, explain how you know each other and modify the standard LinkedIn greeting to reflect how you know one another. 

3.  Join groups representing your interests and experience.  You might also want to join some of the job search groups and perhaps a group representing another area of interest.  The other day I joined a Sales Training Group.  I don't know anything about sales training but thought I might learn something if I joined.  Finally, join a group where you can learn how to use LinkedIn properly.  I suggest the group called, Linked Strategies.  It is excellent.

All it takes is for you to make the first move and get started.  You’ll be amazed at the information and people at your finger tips and you will be creating a social presence.   There will be more to learn but this is a good place to start.

"Slow Down, Your Move to Fast....."

Have you had this happen to you?

The other day a friend confided that she is networking and volunteering so much that it has started to eat into her job search time.  I'll bet that's common, especially for the person used to working for eight or more hours a day.  We all know that networking brings about 70 - 80% of the job opportunities and volunteering develops new skills or strengthens existing ones.  Still, overdoing can take an emotional toll.  Slow down, choose your networking and volunteering activities and make sure that there is time to job search, spend time with your family and take care of YOU.  The Job search is stressful enough...

Creating Strong Resume Wording

While talking about resumes the other night to a very bright group of job seekers, I had a mini epiphany.  I notice that when preparing their resumes, most people have trouble coming up with measurable, specific examples of their past achievements.  I'm telling you, so many of the resumes that I have seen look exactly like job descriptions and have phrases like, "Displays excellent communication skills" , "Utilizes project management tools", "Demonstrates leadership skills" ,"Innovative thinker".  Since these words don't tell me anything about a person's skill set, how are they going to make an impact to the hiring manager?
As we discussed the importance of measurable results, it dawned on me to relate creating resume statements to that of goal setting.  I asked the group how many of them participated in annual goal setting at their former companies.  The majority had.  Then I asked them how they went about it and basically, most of them followed the SMART acronym.  SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. We then took this and applied it to writing resume statements.  We decided that we didn't really need the A and the R (yaaaay, less steps!) but we certainly did need the S, M and T.  So what does that look like?

Specific: Make your resume impactful by being specific.  What did you do that made an impact? Let's say that you once managed a large domestic operating unit. Don't just say that.  Something like, "Manage $24MM US budget with influence on $43M North America unit expenditures with emphasis on improving total cost of ownership.  2010 accumulated cost savings of $1.1 M and projected 2011 savings of $584K" has more of an effect.

Measurable: Think of these words, "So what?" How were you acknowledged by your clients, did you have certain items published, did your excellent customer service skills save time or money?  In other words, what did your excellent skills result in?  Here’s an example, "Plan and schedule weekly shift work, conduct monthly quality control calls and correct service problems to ensure clients are satisfied with support and services resulting in a consistent completion rate of 98%." This is so much stronger than just, “Excellent customer service skills.”

Timely: Were you always ahead of the projected schedule, did you consistently make the target? Did something that you designed, developed or implemented save time for you, your organization or customer? An example is," Developed process validation and operating procedures for the start-up of a new pharmaceutical production facility ahead of scheduled implementation date resulting in a 20% increase in operating revenue.”

Can you see the difference? Think about goal setting when you write out your resume statements by asking yourself these three questions:

·         So what?

·         Resulting in what?

·         What was so special about that?

Don’t let your resume read like a job description or it may be passed by.

Planning the Job Search While Still On the Job

Last night I gave a resume writing class to a great group over in a local library.  A couple of people in the session had jobs but they were concerned that due to the economy and hearing the news around the water cooler that some changes may be in order, that they too might receive their walking papers. If that's what’s going to happen then it will happen but it occurred to me that there might be a couple of things that they can do now, while they are still there.  In no particular order they might consider these:

1. Network: Get to know your vendors or outside service providers better.  They work with people in other companies and may be privy to news of job openings or hidden positions.  Also, be aware that some of your co-workers have networking contacts and those people might be able to help you as well.

2. Learn something.  Take advantage of company-sponsored training and don't say that you don't have time for it.  You may not be able to afford it if you have to pay for it on your own later.

3. Stay current in your field: Either at home or on your break or even at work, research your particular field.  Learn what's new and what's changed. I know firsthand how difficult it is to carve out some time to do this but it is mandatory and necessary.  If someone newer comes into your department and can say and use the buzz words associated with your industry and you are not keeping up, you're in trouble.  Don't ever think that your tenure can keep you safe.

4. Join LinkedIn.  No, it is not used only by job seekers.  Use it to stay current in your field by joining groups in your industry.  You don't have to join the job search groups - stay close to the groups associated with your industry.  Make sure that while in these groups you answer questions and participate.  This will allow you to become a subject matter expert and you will learn something new.  (See # 3 above).

5. Join a professional group.  If your industry has one and your company will pay for the membership, go and participate.  You'll learn something and you'll make many networking contacts in your field.

6. Gather your past performance appraisals, goals, thank you notes, calendars, etc.  You may not realize it now but these will help you compose your resume, interview and network later on down the road.

What else can you do? I've only listed six items but there are many more. Who knows? Perhaps by doing some of these things, you’ll prove that you are a true asset to your organization and maybe you can stick around a bit longer.