Career Hub

Can You "Zoom" Your Way to a New Job?

I was intrigued to learn in a recent Resume Writer’s Digest newsletter that a website called ZoomInfo is working hard to gain buy-in from recruiters for use of their site as a passive recruitment tool. ZoomInfo is a site that contains more than 35 million profiles of professionals and executives.

Although ZoomInfo is not a social networking tool per se, it is currently used by 20% of Fortune 500 employers for recruitment activities. It can be expected that this percentage will increase and that substantial numbers of smaller companies are also using the site. So it would be wise to make sure not only that you have a presence there, but also that it is a flattering one.

ZoomInfo creates profiles on individuals and on companies by aggregating information that it gathers from online sources. You can add a profile on yourself for free by registering, or “claim” and edit one that they may have already compiled for you. Since it is likely that a profile on you currently exists, it would be prudent to monitor what is there and verify its accuracy, as well as to insert your own information to flesh it out. If you have a relatively common name, it may also be necessary to distinguish yourself from others whose profiles will also come up on a search, and to see that information erroneously applied to you is edited out.

On another related note, the Resume Writer’s Digest article also pointed out some interesting facts regarding online social networks. There are currently in excess of 300 of these, with the most relevant to employment seekers being LinkedIn with its 10 million members in 130 industries and Ryze, which boasts 250,000 members in 200 countries.

While MySpace and Facebook target younger audiences (Facebook seems to be especially attractive to college students), the fastest growing demographic on these sites is the 35 and older group. Neither site is currently viewed as particularly suitable or relevant to those in the employment market, but they bear monitoring in case this should change. If you should decide to join MySpace’s 100 million member base, you’ll need to be prepared for tremendous quantities of spam.

Posted by: Laurie Jeanne Smith

Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

“I thought, I can either feel guilty about surviving, or I can do something positive that will help other people.”
Megan Blunt (Cancer Survivor)

This is 15 year old Megan Blunt from the UK. Megan is a cancer surviver who chose to use her experiences to produce an A to Z guide for children on how to deal with cancer. She turned a bad situation into an opportunity to do some good. She turned lemons into lemonade.

She couldn’t change the fact that she had cancer – that was her situation, her condition. But she chose to attach a very different meaning to her illness – a meaning that involved using her experience of cancer to help thousands of other young cancer sufferers better handle the stresses and pains of the illness.

Megan is one of the inspirational individuals that has been recognised by the “Pride of Britain Awards” in recent years. Pride of Britain celebrates the achievements of the remarkable unsung heroes who make our world a better place. It’s the biggest national event of its kind in the UK.
 
Megan’s story perfectly illustrates how it’s not what happens to you, but about the meaning you give to what happens to you that dictates your level of success. Instead of focussing on her own pain, Megan chose to give her illness another meaning – that it was an opportunity for her to help other kids going through cancer and to help minimise their pain and suffering. She has in turn inspired me to write this blog post, and through the power of the internet, use her story to inspire you and other people around the world that follow this blog. All this from the decision of one young girl.

If a 15 a year old who has gone through chemotherapthy since the age of 12 can choose the meaning she gives to the pain from of a life threatening illness, what stops the rest of us doing the same with challenges that come our way…..?

So whatever ‘pain’ you’re suffering right now - whether it’s the pain associated with being out of work, the threat of job cuts hanging above your head, financial problems or health issues that arise from the ongoing stress you’re under – ask yourself these 3 questions now:

1. What meaning am I giving to this situation right now?

2. What’s a more empowering and inspiring meaning that I could choose to give this situation?

3. If I were to do choose that meaning, what would my response be? What actions would I take right now?

I know, I know…

It sounds like I’ve swallowed a self development manual hey!

But I don’t care. It may sound cheesy and it may sound ‘fluffy’ – but it’s absolutely true. It’s not what happens to you that is important - it’s your response to what happens to us. Central to that response is the meaning we choose to give to any given situation.

Attaching a ‘we’re all doomed’ meaning to your situation ensures that you are doomed. Having a bigger, more empowering meaning on the other hand sets you up to potentially create some good from your situation – for you and for others.

So if you’re approaching the holiday season with a sense of worry, anxiety and pain due to the challenges you’re facing, think about the pain that young Megan would have gone through during her chemotherapy and how she was brave enough to turn her pain into a much bigger meaning.

Then ask yourself how you can do the same thing now. How you too can turn those lemons into lemonade……

By Sital Ruparelia, Cross posted on the 6 Figure Career Management Blog

Holiday Networking: Pass The Nuts And Your Resume, Please

You never know what can happen at holiday parties, who's going to attend, who works for what company, and what the employment scoop may be, so buck up. It could be a gift waiting to be opened by you, and that gift could be a job.

The Don'ts: Don't over indulge. No whining about your current jobless situation. It's a turnoff. No begging either. Oliver Twist's "more food please" doesn't work when job hunting.

What works? Listening. Listen for opportunities, problems, or situations in a guest's conversation. It could be a golden opportunity for you. One of my clients, an electrical engineer, was visiting a friend during Thanksgiving. My client's friend, who was just hired at a software company, invited him for a tour. Next thing my client knew, he met the owners during the tour and was interviewing for a job the day after Thanksgiving! The interviewers had time to spend with my client because of the standard holiday shut down. He landed the job. Good thing he went to that holiday party. You could be next.

Posted by Wendy Terwelp

 

How to Deal with a Drought

My parents spend a majority of their spare time in a mountain community of 60 houses. The trips have slowed recently due to a water shortage. After five years of drought conditions, the community well is virtually dry.

That the well had limited water was a "known issue," but it was not considered a crisis until a consumption limit was imposed: houses are limited to 50 gallons a week. This is challenging, especially when you consider that the average American uses 100 to 176 gallons of water at home every day. On average, a shower head uses five to ten gallons of water a minute; a flush takes five to seven gallons. Water conserving faucets, toilets and shower heads reduce consumption, but it’s not enough. My parents compensate with sponge baths and antibacterial hand wash. They collect rain water for toilets (it does rain, but drought conditions have a cumulative effect).

There are parallels between my parents’ water challenges and the needs of the job seekers: In drought season, basic needs trump everything. Before the Wall Street meltdown, priority number one for many of my clients was "to stand out in the applicant pool," land the "perfect job," and enjoy their work. Today, there’s a sense of urgency with regard to job security, as many people ask: "is a job even out there?" As my mom says about the water, "It is one thing to hear there is a drought, and we were always really careful with our consumption. But it was hard for all of us to ‘get it’ until the severity of the problem limited what we could use."

Here are five lessons and "career" parallels, I draw from the well:

1. "Rock bottom" forces change, making changes beforehand is easier.

Game changing events such as layoffs, job and personal burn-out, and wells without water force quick decisions on next steps. They also frequently result in fewer options for exploration and deliberation. As with many things in life, addressing a problem head-on at the first sign of trouble can ease a transition.

2. Giving up isn’t a long-term survival strategy.

Just as my parents’ community cannot survive long-term without water; most of us cannot survive without jobs. It’s easy to stay glued to MSNBC and follow the ticker on layoffs. Turn off the TV and don’t personalize it: The news doesn’t guarantee that you can’t get a job, but a lack of effort will increase your chances of a lengthy search…

3. The chance of success increases with a team.

The water crisis brought my parents and their neighbors together to come up with a joint solution to a shared problem.

Statistics show that your job search will probably end in a similar fashion: consider the perennial job search statistic that between 70 to 80% of executive-level job offers are a direct result of networking. In this economy, it’s most likely to be your extended network—the connections of "your friends and colleagues"—who can offer you the most assistance. (Chances are good that your friends already know what you are looking for.)

Be a great virtual neighbor: Create a strong presence and network on LinkedIn, share connections, and swap information on ideal jobs and experience as appropriate. Your good will may make you top of mind as a point of referral when an opportunity appears…

4. If one well runs dry, explore other sites.

My parents’ community solved the "well crisis" by going elsewhere: They are digging a new, deeper well on an alternate site. If work continues to progress, the new well will be up and running in six months.

Likewise, if you can’t see long-term opportunities in your current industry or job function, consider making a switch to a new field or position that offers you stronger prospects. Here are tips for positioning your skills for a new industry and a list of five places to look (courtesy of my friend Lindsey Pollak).

5. Flexibility is essential: what’s new could be the "new normal."

My parents may have a new well soon, but they will not return to life as it was before: brushing teeth with the faucet turned off is the new norm. They expect revised community guidelines, and they will be ready to implement them. You may find the same of your job search: current market conditions may require flexibility in time, position responsibilities, location—and even compensation.

I may have over ten years of experience working with job seekers, but I'm observing and borrowing the above-mentioned strategies from my parents to help my clients in this current market...The irony of this isn't lost on me; these are tough times in which we can all learn from one another.

What are your lessons and survival strategies for the "jobs" drought? I'd love to hear them.

Play the Kevin Bacon Game to Land the Job You Want

I was listening to jobradio.fm the other day and heard some great practical tips on leveraging your network to land your next job.

As you may know, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon was a trendy game in the last decade in which the players tried to connect any film actor in history to Kevin Bacon as quickly as possible and in as few links as possible. The Bacon number of an actor or actress is the number of degrees of separation he or she has from Bacon, as defined by the game.

All the rage on college campuses in the early 1990s, this trivia game is a variation on the famed "Six Degrees of Separation" concept widely popularized through exposure in the play by John Guare and adapted for the big screen in 1993 (featuring a stellar cast including Stockard Channing, Will Smith, and Donald Sutherland). According to this concept, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is an average of six "steps" away from each person on Earth.

The idea actually has some pretty solid support and research behind it, such as an ABC Primetime investigation that verified it is a small world after all and a study by Microsoft researchers that examined records of 30 billion e-mails among 180 million people in various countries and found that any two strangers are, on average, distanced by precisely 6.6 degrees of separation.

What exactly does this mean for you? It means that you really can in all likelihood use networking to zero in on a valuable contact that will help you successfully conclude your job search, and you can probably do it in far fewer than 6 steps. After all, you are probably not trying to reach the Queen of England or the Pope--just someone who works in your field of interest or at a company where you would like to work.

So how does one play the Kevin Bacon Game to land a dream job? We all know by now that networking is one of the most effective ways (if not the most effective way) to search for employment. The Kevin Bacon strategy encourages us to think outside the box when considering who is in our network, to leverage that network to the utmost, and build on it.

Here are 3 key rules that will greatly expand your network horizons and help you to achieve success in your networking efforts:

>>> Look outside your normal network. Consider people such as your hairdresser, mechanic, doctor, manicurist, pharmacist, etc. who know a lot of people.

>>> E-mail everyone in your address book with specific information on the job you want. Ask each person to identify at least one person they know in your field of interest (or if possible who works at a company that interests you).

>>> Once you have made a new contact, never fail to ask "Who might you suggest I speak with next?"

You'll be surprised at how rapidly your network will expand, and amazed at the unlikely sources from which good job leads will flow.

Posted by: Laurie Smith

Are you perfect?

Just went to this You Tube video from a Twitter recommend by Guy Kawasaki - really has changed my whole thinking about the day. It explains what drives Tiger Woods to continue to want to improve - the pursuit of perfection. The scene setting is a little long - but worth the wait for the last 30 seconds - awesome

Cross posted on Reflections of a Square Peg

Choose Your Own Adventure

Interested in exploring new opportunities but feeling guilty due to employment declines from Wall Street to Main Street? Do you dare disturb the universe by imagining what could be—if only you knew what it was? Are you wondering if the sky is falling—and if your employment prospects are tumbling after?

Pull yourself out of a “Chicken Little” moment with Alexandra Levit’s book How Did You Score That Gig? This slim tome of wisdom provides you with a slick strategy to choose your own adventure—as well as practical advice from others who have done it before.

Don’t have time for reading an entire book? Take the quiz at the beginning of the book and you’ll land in one of seven personality categories: are you an adventurer, a creator, a data head, an entrepreneur, an investigator, a networker, or a nurturer?

Flip to the category that suits you best and read up on the positions that may align with your personality style; Ms. Levit presents 60 “hot jobs” determined by an online survey of 20’s and 30's somethings. From actor and fashion designer (“creator”) to art curator and criminologist (“investigator”), she profiles successful executives in each category, and presents career trajectories and tips for breaking into the field.

Restless or determining a non-fit? Move onto another section and explore the alternatives.

Whether you’re looking for a new opportunity and not sure what you’d like to do, or if you’ve identified where you want to go but don’t know how to get there—this is a great way to jump-start your search. Packed with resources, career tips and insider insights, it’s easy to use. (So simple, in fact, that I recommend this format to the folks over at the Department of Labor who produce the Occupational Outlook Handbook--they'd be well advised to take a lead from Ms. Leavit in the next biennial redesign.)

For more information, check out How Did You Score That Gig? and the author’s Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

By Chandlee Bryan, Cross Posted at the Emerging Professional.

Give More (Networking interaction) to Get More

When networking, remember to bring the other person’s interests into the conversation. Networking is about relationships and developing connections and a sense of trust. One of the best ways to create good interpersonal chemistry and promote a productive interaction is for both parties to potentially benefit from the encounter, Even though only one of the individuals may currently seeking job searching assistance, the potential candidate can provide value by praising the other person's knowledge and generosity, offering future support, providing follow up to the conversation's outcome, etc. If you are the individual seeking assistance, look for ways to give something back. It can be a simple thank you email or voice message, a holiday greeting, an invitation to an event so you can get together again, a link that they might find interesting, an introduction to someone that you think they should know, etc. In other words, don't treat your networking contacts as "one off" /one-sided exchanges but incorporate them into your existing relationships.

Posted by Debra Feldman, JobWhiz

The Economic Crisis is Not a Job Search Crisis

Seven Positive Trends We're Seeing Now

1.    Top talent always lands; that has not changed. Where you land has.

Recently New York's CBS radio hosted a networking breakfast and reported on the business buzz. They found that the business-leader participants spoke briefly about challenges stemming from the meltdown, but then quickly segued into animated discussions about their new ability to capture top-talent. We're seeing that companies that could not afford you or pirate you away are now vying for you. They are even ready to ante-up salary-wise so they can get you on board.

2.    Career transitions are less difficult.

Companies (especially those in distress) are finally looking for "square peg/round hole" "career transition" talent. They realize they are in an environment that they have never faced before and those "in the know" may not know what's needed. Fresh ideas become very appealing, even critical. Some companies are requesting that recruiters deliver a slate of traditional and non-traditional candidates. If you have a strong value proposition that is "portable" and can cross industries, it's possible you've never had a better time to move.

3.    "Seasoning" helps.

We've just experienced the worst week of market losses, ever. Those who have successfully navigated companies through multiple US and global recessions and recoveries will be valued for the knowledge that experience provides. A recent MBA, emerging professional, finance whiz kid, or mid-career executive -- no matter how good -- cannot offer that "street cred." A touch of silver in your hair is not an issue when a company is looking for salvation.

4.    On-line means on-radar.

Recruiters looking for a top candidate with a special slate of requirements are working harder to find that person within the flood of executives available today. We're hearing that they are using Google, LinkedIn and other on-line social networking tools more than ever to narrow the field to a manageable slate of potential candidates. If you have been diligent about using LinkedIn, Twitter, and other on-line ID tools to raise your visibility and build your brand, your chances of rising to the top are even better now -- especially since many of your colleagues have not done so. Hint: If you've not been focused on building on-line identity, get busy ASAP!

5.    Green is gold.

The economic crisis has affected the financial sector in a big way, yet there are growing opportunities within the green, sustainable, and alternative/clean energy fields.  The global climate and energy crises are not going away anytime soon, the voting public is demanding change from both parties, and growth will be strong moving forward. That means new jobs, better jobs, and good salaries -- in public and private enterprise and in education, too (that new workforce has to be trained).

6.    Contraction is expansion.

When an industry contracts another industry often benefits. Here are just two examples. People are not buying cars, especially gas guzzlers. The auto industry is hurting. Auto mechanics, tire companies, and replacement part manufacturers will fill the void as people keep their vehicles longer and require maintenance to keep them on the road. Suppliers to the building industry are hurting, but if they have retooled their offerings to appeal to home repair and renovation, they have a growing market as people stay longer in their homes waiting for an up-tick in home prices or move into newly less-expensive homes they want to update.

7.    Active, passive? Who cares?

Historically, retained recruiters sought "passive" currently-employed executives to persuade away from their positions and get on board with their client company. Companies and recruiters shied away from "active" (meaning unemployed or "looking") executives. Now with so much talent on the street they can no longer limit themselves to passive candidates. If you have a strong value proposition and clear record of ROI contribution, "active" is no longer a dirty word. 

Helpful resources.

Executive job outlook:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122107646884520479.html

Career transition advice:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122213453826766057.html
http://www.careerhubblog.com/main/2008/10/15-ways.html

Job search for Wall Street pros:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122168055696748857.html

Industry and employment trends by region:
www.jobbait.com

LinkedIn for senior executive job search:
http://www.executivepowerbrand.com/2008/06/linkedin-recomm.html

Twitter for senior executive job search:
http://www.job-hunt.org/executive-job-search/twitter-job-search.shtml

A call to action!

If you are a job seeker, employer, or recruiter what positive changes in job search are YOU seeing now? Or are you seeing trouble ahead?

Whatever your experience, in this uncharted territory, we need all ears to the ground. Every experience shared is an experience that can help. So leave a comment, please.

"Do You Still Need a Resume?" Experts Weigh In.

In a recent post "Do You Still Need a Resume?" I opined that the resume, although still useful, is fading in importance in the new world of on-line tools that provide companies and recruiters an array of information about potential candidates. I requested that readers share their opinions, and received some compelling comments -- from a job seeker, a career professional, and a recruiter.

Jeffrey Ishmael shared his success with building an on-line presence to enhance his job search...

...As I found myself in the first "forced" search in my Finance career, I found myself toe-to-toe with some very talented people and needed a way to distinguish myself from the pack...and pursued the development of a website dedicated to corporate finance...while meant to hit the technicalities of Finance, it was also intended to give potential employers and recruiters additional insight into my approach to managing the Finance function of a company...I know that at least one offer I received was the direct result of what they had seen on my site.

Barbara Safani, a New York City personal brand strategist, resume professional, career coach, and author talked about the evolution of the resume into new forms...

...the resume is simply evolving from a piece of paper to a three-dimensional, multi-media presentation of a candidate's value proposition. Hiring authorities still want to know how candidates will help their organizations grow and prosper, but they want to receive that information in more flexible formats. And the "cut to the chase" approach is really taking hold with tools like Twitter...candidates need to be able to communicate a compelling message that screams "pick me" quickly and succinctly to hiring managers in order to get noticed in today's crowded job search space.

Push-back came from "Recruiting Animal" (known for his strong views and cool recruiting radio show)...

...What's your final recommendation? It sounds like you're promoting a good resume to me. Or a good LinkedIn profile which is pretty much the same thing.

Like me, you believe that it's a really good idea to put a detailed profile/resume online. But, then why do you spend half your time saying that you don't believe in resumes?

I'm a headhunter. And I often work with other recruiters. And when we recruit someone, we want a resume.

A LinkedIn profile could very well become the next resume but in the meantime, not enough people understand it. But...none of the other online profile sites are as good as LinkedIn...That's why LI is heavily used by recruiters. If you go on Twitter and follow some recruiters you'll see them whining every time LinkedIn has a problem.

You claim that traditional resumes are too focused on the past? That's how people are hired. On the basis of past experience.You think the focus should be on a brand. But what's your brand based on? My friend Laurence Haughton wrote a book called, "It's not what you say, it's what you do." And your brand is based on what you've done.

Recruiting Animal's comments reflect a certain confusion about points in my post. And that's understandable. The ambiguity Recruiting Animal addressed in his comments about resumes vs LinkedIn; past performance vs potential; brand vs performance, etc. reflects the flux in the job search space right now.

Here's why: There is no "one good way" to get out a clear career-building or job search message -- and there probably never will be. Of course recruiters and decision makers need to know job history. But that's just a part of the process, and the ways to discover that history are quickly changing.

What works best now may be archaic in another year, and something that's a blip on the horizon might be the next new sourcing tool in a year.

Recruiting Animal mentioned "branding" almost as a bad word. I think that's because the way some people use personal branding (if they use it at all) is to showcase "soft skills" without deliver a value message tied to those skills.

Identifying a personal brand is a good place for a job seeker to start, but it's just a piece of the foundation. It certainly helps with the elusive "chemistry and fit" component needed when a candidate hits the short list, but it's not going to help get anyone on that short list. Only value tied to the brand does that. 

As a Certified Personal Brand Strategist, I am not just working a brand message when I assist a senior executive in job search and career management. VALUE that is proven (and predicted) by accomplishments is the thing that we focus upon, because it works.

I like to use the phrase "executive brand" or "branded value proposition" -- both are basically ways to show what your brand looks like when you take it to work and use it to deliver value that hits the bottom line.

Branded value is what needs to be projected across all on- and off-line communication including a resume and LinkedIn.

A good resume (one with an executive brand, short-term and strategic impact shown for each job held, and accomplishments tied to ROI value) is still needed, but I hold fast to my assertion that it is not required as often as one would think.

In regard to Recruiting Animal's comment about people being hired for their past performance, well, sure, that's partly true. Past performance is something we look at, but without a real sense of what that candidate will do moving forward there will be no short list in his future.

That's one of the places executive branding shines -- because value-based branding strips the accomplishment history bare and shows what is beneath it -- what raw ability the candidate delivers from job to job, challenge to challenge. That pure ability is (or should be) a huge differentiator that helps determine the right hire (and fit, too).

LinkedIn (if done right) is a fabulous (albeit static) way to project branded executive value as well as job history, and to be found because of that. Twitter is a interactive way to engage in real-time relationship- and visibility-building. Combining the two is a winning combination.

If someone finds you on Twitter, gets interested in you, and checks you out on LinkedIn (possibly printing out your LinkedIn profile by using the PDF "looks like a resume" option), then you may never need a resume. Then again, you might need to bring one to the interview.

So, do you still need a resume? The answer is still "maybe."

Jeffrey, Barbara, and Recruiting Animal, thanks for giving us lots to think about.

Posted by Deb Dib, the CEO Coach