Career Hub

How to Create Job Search Chi

Job search can be hard work, long hours, and lots of anxious moments - particularly if you are not working with positive energy to bolster your efforts. I was reminded of this when I read Thom Singer's thoughts in Create Your Own Positive Energy (Some Assembly Required blog). Thom points out how chi - positive life force energy - can be created and gives eight tips on how to "find" personal energy.

Later in the day I was watching the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for swimming and was enthralled by the performances of Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff, who both broke world records in their heats for the men's and women's 400m IM. Michael won over his main rival Ryan Lochte in a close race, and Katie fought back after losing her initial lead to Elizabeth Beisel.

Quotes from Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff exemplify four of Thom's eight tips on attitude and personal energy:

• Be Focused / Visualize Success (#1) and Avoid Worry (#3)
  Katie Hoff: "I was just trying for a best time, and it happened to be a world record."
• Surround Yourself with Great People (#2)
  Michael Phelps: "I definitely wouldn't have been able to do it without Lochte in the pool next to me...I'll expect a dogfight every time we get in the water. I love racing him, and I look forward to the 200IM."
• Both Michael and Katie exemplify Thom's fourth tip - Physical Activity - to condition your muscles and your mind.

While you may not be an Olympic athlete or even a wannabee, you too need to incorporate positive energy into your career management and job search campaign to "stay the course" and come out a winner. Plan your job seeking activities around the suggested positive energy tips - do it for one month consistently. You may find that you can "medal" in the career race for your next - best - job!

Cross-Posted at Career Goddess Blog

What is a VisualCV and Why Do You Need One?

VisualCV.com gives you the chance to build a unique web portfolio - a richer, more compelling version of your traditional paper/Word resume. You can add graphics, documents, audio and video files and go from telling about what you've done to showing... and selling.

The site recently held a "best VisualCV contest," and not only are the winning entries inspiring, they have also led to job offers!

Oh... and the best part? You can build and host your VisualCV for free. No fees, no ads, no sponsorships.

I have been affiliated with the company since the planning stages - I'm on the advisory board and I wrote an "Insider's Guide" for creating a powerful VisualCV. (It's a free download.) So yes, I guess I am biased! But I haven't seen anything that comes close to the ease and value of this free portfolio service. Not to mention the other value-added benefits that include connecting with employers, recruiters, and others.

Posted by Louise Kursmark / Cross-posted on my blog

Is It Time to Take Your Business Network Global?

If you haven’t heard by now, building a strong professional network is a key element in proactive career management. Actively participating in virtual networking sites such as LinkedIn as well as specialty sites that focus on your area of expertise or industry is a strategy many savvy professionals and executives are using today to dramatically expand their networks. But what if you are currently in or looking to establish a foothold in the international job market, or do a lot of business internationally?

In researching business networking sites recently, I have found that an international business networking site called “Xing” seems to be getting a considerable amount of buzz. Wikipedia’s entry on Xing describes it as a social software platform providing a “small-world network” which the company says is used by professionals from more than 190 countries.

The majority of Xing’s users appear to be Germans and people from German-speaking countries, although it has expanded its membership into many other countries including China and Japan and is steadily growing organically and also by acquisition. Available languages include English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Dutch, Chinese, Finnish, Swedish, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Turkish and Hungarian. Xing’s “About Us” page says “Around the world every day, over 5.7 million business professionals use XING – the global business network – in 16 languages to do business and promote their career.”

Both Xing and LinkedIn were founded in 2003, but XING beat LinkedIn and all others to the punch by going public in 2006, the first Web 2.0 company to do so.

A reviewer at starreviews.com raves about the site, saying “The 6Star team was really impressed with XING's user forums. Can you believe there are more than 25,000 of them? Wow – talk about active networking at work. Honestly, you can spend days going through that treasure trove of useful information and, better yet, you can get to know other XING members while you do it.”

Here's SEO blogger Dave Pye's assessment: "Xing: The “first Web 2.0 site to go public” definitely looks the part. The clean design, mobile capabilities, and numerous mentions in top trade publications make it 2.0 all the way. Purporting to transcend all countries, languages and industries - Xing is definitely a must for professionals who do a lot of business internationally. HQ: Hamburg, GER."

Xing is free to join, but there are also premium memberships available at a reasonable price. If you are looking to expand your horizons globally, you may want to check it out.

Posted by Laurie Smith

How is Job Search Like One Political Campaign?

As a political junkie, I've been watching the Presidential primaries, and now the general election campaign, with interest. I've said before that elections are like really long (REALLY long!) job interviews and I always enjoy seeing how the different candidates approach the process. (And no, I'm not going to tell you which one I'd choose if I were hiring - that's not the point of this post).

This year I've been interested in Barack Obama's proactive approach to negative issues, because it mirrors the advice I give my clients about addressing potential negatives upfront. With various rumors swirling about his background and religion, Obama has started the general election campaign with a TV ad in which he talks about his all-American background. His team have also established a website that is used to counteract email rumors about him.

The website has caused a lot of discussion among political pundits, since in order to fight a rumor, you have to first restate it. People have wondered whether the website does more harm than good by repeating the rumors.

Personally, I don't think so. And this is where we get back to your job search. I think that if there are potential "negatives" in your background, it is better to face them head on, address them, show why they're actually NOT negative and then move on.

For example, if you have diverse experience across a wide range of positions, you might worry that employers will see you as "a jack of all trades, master of none." Well, they might! So you have to take that and address it head on. You might start your resume introduction with something like this:

"'Jack of all trades' who has consistently excelled in every position, no matter how diverse and how little training is provided."

Or start your resume with a direct quote from yourself:

"No matter what the assignment, you can trust me to succeed. I've done it time and time again in a variety of industries and functions."

Or find the common thread that runs through your experience and highlight that:

"Whether working in IT, Marketing or Sales, I have always been able to quickly assess the situation, develop a workable action plan and motivate others to succeed. I've never missed a deadline and every one of my employers have grown in revenue during my tenure."

You can also address perceived weaknesses in your cover letter and by raising them during an interview. Say something like "many people have wondered about the fact that ..." or 'Maybe you're wondering..." and then take the opportunity to address that issue.

There are many other ways to address potential negatives and how you address them is less important than making sure you do address them. Just don't let them sit there like the elephant in the room because if there is a concern, you may never be told about it and you may well lose out on the opportunity without ever understanding why.

Resumes: When Hobbies Count

Hobbies on resumes? You have got to be kidding! I thought that went out in the ’70’s.

They did, when people put their hobbies like this:

Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Bicycling.

Who cares? No one, and that’s why they went out. But here’s a way to make them “in” again. If you list hobbies, make sure they are relevant to your targeted career (your audience) or differentiate you in the right way or are truly a part of your personal brand.

For example, I worked with an IT consultant who wanted to relocate. He was a young person with three years’ experience in IT. In his previous life though, and while working his way through college, our IT consultant had a side job - as a rock climbing instructor. How cool! Here’s a person who takes risks, who is athletic, and has a life outside a dimly lit screen. We added this job to his resume. Result? He sent out two resumes and got two offers. He called me while on the road - in his new company-paid car - and said, “Wendy, all they talked about was my rock climbing! Can you believe it?”

Here’s another. I worked with a nurse (RN) who had experience and wanted out of staff nursing. She wanted to transition into pharmaceutical sales, but she technically had no sales experience. In addition to her many transferable skills (like terminology, physician connections, etc.), we added her “hobby.” She was a marathon runner. And she had placed in the top three for a variety of marathons more than once. She also competed worldwide - and had run a marathon in Prague. Again, GUTS. This hobby demonstrated that she was very competitive, had drive, endurance, and played to win. Good traits in sales.

And my own experience (albeit a while back), I was a newspaper reporter. I covered the HOG (Harley Owner’s Group) rally in Milwaukee. Yep, dressed like a biker and interviewed Harley owners from around the globe. Awesome! My story got nominated for a national award. I put this on my resume when job hunting. Got called by a recruiting firm. They had heard about me before, and now it was time to interview. Guess what? The guy interviewing me owned the Harley parked outside. We talked about the article and Harleys for about an hour. I then met the operations manager and the president and got the offer. Here I had my portfolio with my performance evals and records, and they wanted to talk about Harleys. Later, I asked about that. They said, “Wendy, we already knew all about you. We know that when so-and-so took over the old office, people were still asking about you for two years. We knew about the performance records. That’s why we kept calling. But, we needed to see if you’d be a fit for our team. Well, after you talked with so-and-so about Harleys, we knew you would fit right in.” Old “so and so” was my boss for a while. When he left, I got to be boss - for that department. 

These stories are not just about hobbies, but rather a culture fit within the organization. In the employment biz,  we call it “right fit.” Think about this, the average person spends 2080 to 2600 hours per year at work! Wouldn't it  be nice to enjoy being there?

Challenge: What are your hobbies? Are they relevant to your career goal? Would they be a differentiator for you? Do  they demonstrate your brand? Your attributes that are hot selling points for the role? If so, take a risk. Add it to your resume.

Posted by Wendy Terwelp

More Tough Interview Questions

Remember the line in Ocean's 11 when Danny quips "You're either in, or you're out. Right now!" Have you ever thought about how that line applies to today's interview process? You know, when you're in the interview and feel under such pressure to deliver an all-star performance? No time for wishy-washy responses, for sure; you have one chance to hit a home run with solid answers. No matter how many people you get a chance to perform before, in the end, just like in the movie, you're either in, or you're out, and the lines you deliver as you play your part will ultimately land you the role, or not.

Since January of this year, I have been collecting tough interview questions from clients -- questions they have been asked in an interview (or have asked candidates) beyond the typical tell me about yourself and why should we hire you? Here are a few of the questions:

• If we hire you, will we be taking a risk, or earning a reward, and why? (Commercial Loan Officer - Banking)
• Please tell us how you're an asset or a liability to an organization and defend your answer. (General Manager - Automotive Industry)
• In what ways do you support a company's vision and values and in what ways do you sabotage it? (Engineer - Manufacturing)
• In general, would your colleagues describe you as a giver, or a taker, and share some examples? (Project Coordinator - Non-Profit)
• By your very nature, do you act or react and give us specific examples of your choice. (Customer Service - Telecommunications)
• Please describe three strategies you will use to contribute to our bottom line, and how long will it take for you to achieve same? (Account Executive - Medical Sales)
• Will you lead or will you follow and which do you think is more important in today's volatile climate? (Administrator - Health care)
• Do you inspire, or do you despair, in the face of change and adversity and tell us something about that. (Branch Manager - Tech-related service)
• What can we expect from you as an employee and what do you expect from us an an employer? (Uncategorized)
• What is the number one reason for us to not hire you? (Manager - Hospitality)
• If we bring you on board, how will you earn your keep? (Project Manager - Construction)
• Tell us something about you that only your mother would know. (Senior level executive - Insurance Industry)
• Are we better off with you, or without you, and how so? (Sales Manager - Graphic Design Firm)
• If you were a member of this Selection Committee, what is the single-most important question that we should be asking you, that we haven't? (Vice President - Human Resources)
• As a manager, do you implode or explode when things don't go your way and what happens after that? (Manager - Retail Chain)

What is the toughest question you have ever been asked during an interview?

posted by: billiesucher

Career Assessments De-Mystified

Career assessments are a hot-hot topic for job search and career development; in fact, a Google search of the term "career assessments" yields close to 60,000 hits! But, are all career assessments equally good? And are they really the "magic bullet" that assessment vendors would have us believe?

Plan on attending the webinar "Career Assessments and the 360Reach" on Wednesday, June 18 at 3PM EST to:

• learn the top 7 reasons to use career assessments
• understand the different types of available assessments
• identify 7 career assessments to use
• learn about the 360Reach tool that gives you external feedback
• and much more.

Presented by the Career Assessment Goddess (that's me Susan Guarneri!), this webinar is designed for both individuals, as well as career coaches, to introduce career assessment best practices and potential pitfalls to avoid. Explore some career assessment websites that are accessible online and, in several cases, without any charge.

If you have ever wondered how career assessments could help you, or perhaps had poor experiences with career tests in the past, this webinar could be your "light bulb moment" to understanding the real value and cautions involved.

You will also learn about the popular 360Reach personal branding assessment AND receive a complimentary password for this external feedback tool that gives you insights into what makes you unique. Personal branding really can have a significant impact on your career and job search - don't you owe yourself the chance to find out? Bernadette and I are both Certified Personal Branding Strategists and can assist you with unearthing your brand!

Sponsored by Visibility Branding and my good friend and colleague Bernadette Martin in Paris, France, your first webinar is complimentary. All you need is a telephone and to be online. Email Bernadette Martin to register and receive call-in information.

Cross-Posted at Career Goddess Blog

Find a Fabulous Fit

I haven't read Pamela Skillings' book Escape from Corporate America, but I like what I read in an interview over on Guy Kawasaki's blog about finding the right fit. She makes a great point that even the "best companies to work for" might not be best for YOU and that due diligence is essential!

Posted by Louise Kursmark

Jobs, Businesses, and The Leisure Economy

With four generations now in the workplace - Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Yers, and Millenials - an unprecedented paradigm shift of work / time / money attitudes has impacted US workplaces, businesses, and the economy. According to Linda Nazareth, author of The Leisure Economy and Business News Network (BNN) economist, this means our present time-crunch economy will be shifting to more of a leisure economy.

If you are thinking of starting a new business or contemplating a career or job transition, you need to be smart about what to expect and prepare yourself to thrive in the new Leisure Economy. Plan on attending the complimentary Reach Branding Club (RBC) June teleseminar (June 12th at 12 noon EST) to hear about The Leisure Economy: Living, Managing and Growing a Business in a Whole New World. Specifically, you will learn:

• Why there is a major shift happening and why demographics is only part of the story,
• What this means for your workplace, whether you are a manager or a worker,
• How to restructure your business to take advantage of the leisure economy,
• What businesses the leisure economy will create and which ones it will
  destroy, and
• What the leisure economy means for the US economy.

Linda Nazareth is an expert on social and demographic change. The Leisure Economy is her second book on the impact of demographics on economy, work and business - her first book was The Ever After Effect: Waking Up From the "Boom" Years (Winding Stair, 2001).

Register today for the June RBC teleseminar and plan to listen in as Linda will translate the economic implications of the Leisure Economy into the language of career and business planning.

Cross-posted at Career Goddess Blog

Want to know what's possible in your career?

Here in Canada we run an annual awards celebration called the Top 20 Under 20 - which recognises the accomplishments of Canadian youth. Each year I am invited to deliver a personal brand workshop for the award winners - the time flies by and I leave every time amazed and energized by the sheer ability of such young people. I think they are teaching me versus the other way around and I should be paying them!

From an 18 year old who has developed an electric motorcycle that is due on the Jay Leno show any day now, to a 17 year old who has developed a 100% accurate lie detector test (should sell well to the HR community!) to an 11 year old who at the age of 8 raised $50,000 for Tsunami victims and has website raising awareness about children in need.

You can read all about them at the Globe & Mail article here - Top 20 Under 20.

All unique and exceptional individuals that are making a difference. But also great examples of strong personal brands - they all have a vision and purpose to make a difference and are following causes or ideas driven by their values and passions.

Now you know what's possible if you connect your Vision, Purpose, Pasions and Values to your career - ANYTHING!