The Job Search and Gardening

This weekend I went to a mother’s retreat with my church.  It was something that I’ve never done before and it sounded like a good idea to help me return to what is important in my life.  The invitation read, “Work, Parenting, Chores; The demands on our time and energy leave us feeling depleted…” The theme of the retreat was gardening. We reflected and shared “gardening” as it parallels our lives; preparing the earth, sowing seeds, weeding, watering, resting, messes; all the things related to cultivating and harvesting a beautiful garden. 

I pushed all thoughts of Blackbird Learning Associates and job search training out of mind at this retreat and concentrated on tying the theme to my family life.  Today, however, I realized that many of these same things are related to a job search.

Preparing the Earth: Obviously you can’t just put some seeds in the ground and hope that they’ll grow.  You need to plan your garden and prepare the soil.  These same techniques are part of planning your job search.  Reflect on your career direction by first identifying your strengths, weaknesses, skill sets, career aspirations, accomplishments and networking contacts. This is also the time to prepare your resume taking care to use the proper wording and to also think about the types of questions that you may be asked in an interview.

Sowing Seeds:  When you plant a garden some seeds will take and germinate while others will remain in their hard little shells.  The same holds true in the job search. You may feel as if you are sending out hundreds of resumes but not receiving a single response.   This is normal but so discouraging.  Take the time to reflect on why this may be happening. Is your resume focused on the job requirements, is it tailored to the specific job?  Are you networking? Perhaps you are interviewing but not getting anywhere.  Are your responses specific and measurable? Do you ask questions? Do you know the company background?

Watering: Just as you don’t plant your garden and cross your fingers that it will grow without water or food, sending out resume after resume doesn’t always work.  It’s not always productive nor makes good use of your time. Remember your network contacts and now and again send them something that may benefit them.  Is there a recent article that they might find interesting? Is there an event that they may want to attend?  If you interviewed, don’t forget to follow up with an electronic or written thank you. 

Messes: Gardening is dirty and hard and sometimes you may wonder if anything is ever going to peek out of the ground.  This is also true with losing a job and starting up again.  Try not to let the negativity and uncertainty eat at you. Get out of the house for a while and get involved with other things.  Volunteer and you will meet a new network, learn some new skills and most importantly, help clean the clutter from your mind.

Weeding: Not a lot of people like weeding. Its tough work and you can’t do it just once.  If you let it go for a week or two, the weeds can overcome the garden and make it difficult for you to want to go out and clear the space.  Have patience, continue your efforts, don’t give up and understand that this job search may have a very positive impact on your life as a whole.

Resting: Slow down, don’t push too hard, refocus and don’t let the “garden“take every moment of your time.  Find time for you and your family.  If you find that you are spending too much time at networking events and not enough time to respond to job inquiries then something is wrong.  Cut an event or two out of your schedule and concentrate on what is important.

If you’ve ever grown anything you know the joy that the first glimpse of a new seedling can bring.  Eventually your garden will bear fruit, and so will your job search. 

Using Twitter For Your Job Search

Today I'm going to write about something that I admit, I’m not very good at using – Twitter. I’m pretty savvy with my website (thank you Christine.biz) and blog (thank you me) but Twitter makes me feel amateurish.  I do know that Twitter is already a great learning tool (see Grey's Anatomy Episode 13  about Tweeting in the operating room) and it is a wonderful way to help with your job search.

I have had a Twitter account for about a year.  At first it just sat there and I didn’t have the time to figure out how to follow people or have them follow me.  Slowly, I discovered that Twitter is just one of the many tools that can be used to offer job search advice and help my business; I learned to use it a bit more.  I’m still stumped at some of the lingo and functions, but with time and research, I’ll figure them out.

Since this is a blog on the job search, I thought I’d share with you a couple of ways that you can learn AND look for a job on Twitter.  You first need to sign up for a Twitter account and then connect with people and organizations.  You then need to Tweet, or add content. The Twitter basics in the Help section can walk you through these as well as explain some of the lingo such as # and RT and @.  There are two pieces of advice that I’d like to share to get you started; job search help and looking for jobs (these sound like the same thing but they’re different).

1.       Job Search Help: There are numerous Tweets from companies, individuals or sites on Twitter that offer job search advice.  You can learn how to create a resume, interview, network, look for a job as a new graduate, senior, new mom…. The list goes on.  By simply typing Job Search in the Search box, you’ll be connected with many links and Tweets about the process.  It can be overwhelming though and you’ll need a bit of time to pick through the Tweets.  I found this great list of job search Twitter addresses from Career Rocketeer™.  I’ve bookmarked it and refer to it often.

2.       Looking for a Job: Once you get established and walk through the basic how tos, go to the Search box and type in your job title.  Recently I entered my title, “Learning & Development” and a scrolling list of learning and development jobs appeared.  They were global and domestic listings and many included salaries, companies and recruiting firms.  Most had a URL link or shortened URL link to save character space) that I could click to find out more information including the application process.

Twitter is a good place to connect and network too as many of the Tweets are from people in your field.  You can “Follow” these tweets and you can also post a tweet about your job search.  Since you are allowed 140 characters to type, you can ask something like, “Anyone know of an IT engineering position in NJ?”

These are just two simple ways to use Twitter to help your job search and I am sure there must be hundreds more.  I’m still trying to figure them out.  Please add your suggestions – we could all use the advice!

The Job Search, Preparing: Part 3

This is the final piece to the Job Search series that I put on Slideshare. This part looks at creating a resume, interviewing and follow up activities. I would appreciate your feedback. Is there something that you'd like to see? Please let me know.
The material for these shows comes from my job search classes.

The Job Search, Preparing: Part 3

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Job Search: Part 2, Networking

The Job Search, Networking describes many of the skills and activities needed to successfully network for a new position. It includes notes, activities and worksheets.

Job Search: Part 2, Networking

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The Job Search Part One: Planning

This is a SlideShare presentation on the Job Search.  It is Part 1: Planning.  I will be adding Parts 2 and 3, Networking and Preparing in the next few days. Much of the material here is based upon the material I present in my job search classes.  Much of the material in Part 1 is from the class, Career Assessment. 

The Job Search Part One: Planning

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Companies Moving to NJ

I'm not making a political statement here but I saw this article outlining the steps Governor Chris Christie is taking to stimulate economic growth in the state of New Jersey.  He is offering out of state companies incentives to move or expand their businesses within the state.  This article, from the GovMonitor lists the companies that are planning on moving to NJ.  It also lists those existing NJ companies that are expanding. According to the article, this move will bring about 3024 new jobs.

In the job search it's important to scan the internet or papers for news of companies moving to your area.  This move means growth and more jobs.  Remember, if a company is moving to your area, not all of the staff will move with them.

Your Questions During an Interview

Last night a friend asked me if I could suggest some dynamic questions that she might comfortably ask a Vice President on her second job interview. She did the leg work and studied up on the company and had some questions of her own but just wanted to bounce some ideas off of me.

As we got to talking, we went over the three major areas that a company wants to learn about you. If there is a good match, you are that much closer to getting the job!

1.   Can you do the job?

2.   Do you fit into the company culture?

3.   Do you want this job?

Can you do this job?

This is the regular interviewing discussion about your skill sets and measurable accomplishments.  We’ve talked about these before; you’ll need to review the key words in the job description and tie them to your accomplishments. Be prepared with specific examples of your past behaviors and accomplishments.

Can you fit into the company culture?

Your knowledge of the company, major competitors, recent news articles, key executives and company values will show that you have done your homework and have an understanding of the company. Your responses and questions will help solidify your fit into the organization. 

Do you want this job?

This is obvious but your punctuality, attire, preparation, motivation and body language along with your knowledge of the company and your responses to the interviewer’s questions will convey your desire to do the job. These, along with your specific questions for them can help translate your enthusiasm and eagerness to work for this organization.  

Don’t save your questions for the end of the interview.  An interview is a two-way conversation and your questions may naturally come up in the interview.  Here is a sample list of questions that I gave to my friend.  Like her, you may want to tailor them to your needs.  You can change them to suit the level of the person with whom you are interviewing.  For example:

1.    What are the short and long term goals of this department?

2.    What are the short and long term goals of the organization?

These questions along with more detail on interviewing techniques can be found in my book, Job Search for Moms.

a. What are the short and long term goals of the company?
b. What is the vision of the department?
c. What is the company environment like?
d. What concerns need to be addressed immediately?
e. What do you see happening with this position for the next 3 to 6 months?
f. What are the particular attributes needed to succeed in this job?
g. What are the challenges a person coming to this job will face?