Career Advice from Lisa Mauri Thomas

Lisa's Career Advice

Transition from Summer to Job Search

September 2nd, 2010

Jump Start Your Job Search

Summer can be an odd time for job seekers.  Schedules are out of whack, kids are out of school, and there is a widely-held assumption that employers don’t hire during the months of June, July and August (not true, by the way).
Whatever your reasons for having scaled back on your search efforts the past few months, now is the time to re-invigorate your approach.

How?  Just get ready, get set, and GO!

Get ready
Get all of your primary and supplemental search tools ready including the space and related environmental needs for effective phone interviews.

Think carefully through these 8 job search preparedness steps:

1. face any fears that may be holding you back
2. plan how you want to promote yourself
3. create your list of companies and organizations of interest
4. identify career-related networking events and job fairs
5. test and update your Linked In account
6. prepare a brief, professional outreach message to encourage informational interviews
7. craft a clear job search strategy including ways to handle rejection
8. establish ways to evaluate the effectiveness of your job search efforts

Get set
Get your resume and cover letter professionally critiqued.  It’s not just about avoiding typos or strengthening visual appeal and keyword-richness.  It is about: a) creating clear alignment between your goals and materials and b) having materials that will allow you to effectively navigate the current hiring landscape including the wide variety of automated applicant tracking systems used by employers, large and small.  If you’re not sure what this means, read more about the pitfalls of Online Company Applications.

Go
Take action!  No job search will be effective until you do; consistently, methodically, and regularly.  The number one activity:  networking.

Reach out to others every single day – set a goal such as 5 people per day – and conduct as many informational interviews as possible.  Be curious; ask excellent, open-ended questions.  Collect business cards and additional contacts/referrals.

Follow-up on every potential lead.  Not all contacts will lead directly to your goal; often you will need to go through a chain of people to finally arrive in the presence of someone that can make all the difference for you.

Whether you are currently employed or not, you can adapt this structured game plan to shape your own situation and professional goals.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

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Posted in Cover Letters, Job Search Strategy, Networking, Resumes, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Working Your Network

August 24th, 2010

Striking a Strategic Balance

Overdoing It:
Chances are that you have grown tired of the phrase, “network, network, network”.  We have all heard the advice, “tell everyone you know”, when searching for a new job.  However, this does not mean that you simply shout your desires from the nearest rooftop.  There is still a need to be savvy about it, to be strategic.  There are no real short-cuts.  And at no point does “networking” equate to not doing your homework.

Being Strategic:
The 3 things to avoid are:

a) telling everyone you know that you want “any” job

b) begging for a job generically through broad channels

c) ranting publicly about the reasons you’re prevented from getting a job

I cringe every time I see something come across LinkedIN or Twitter or a discussion board that simply says, “Need a job. Please help” or outright blaming of others in power.  Right or wrong, it’s not likely to be perceived well by others who can make a difference for you.

While you might not have gone to that extreme, you still want to ensure that your goals are clearly articulated to your individual contacts.  This advice also applies to those of you who are currently employed and looking to advance.

Here are 5 specific networking tips:

  1. Ask for ONE thing at a time. With each person in your network, identify one critical task they can help you to accomplish.  This approach keeps things straight- forward yet realistic.  For example, ask one person to help you secure a 15-20 minute informational interview with the HR Director or appropriate hiring manager at a current or former company.  Ask a contact to put in a good word for you about one position that would be an especially good fit, and not just “any position”.  Ask another person to obtain clear information about their company’s hiring process, key milestones and to what extent they look for outside talent versus promote from within.
  2. Less is more. When people speak on your behalf, be part of the pre-dialogue planning.  Agree on a handful of descriptive words that will most closely align your talents and personality with one position of interest – and if at all possible, tell them one thing about you that will set you apart from other candidates.  Don’t let them “oversell” you.  They should say concrete, positive things about you, clear the way for an actionable “next step”, and stop.  Practice with your contacts about how to move things from one clear action step to the next.  For example, have them obtain a hiring manager’s or HR representative’s business card with specific permission to have you contact them directly or have the hiring manager make notes on a printed job posting about what they especially want to see in their next hire.
  3. Find one new ally each day. Outreach.  Stretch yourself.  Join a new group.  Get outside your normal circles.  But it is not just about meeting new people, rather, meeting new allies.  You need help, but not by just anyone.  Think about the kind of people you need to meet and why – and formulate a game plan to connect.
  4. Listen first and offer to help. Re-think “network, network, network”, as “listen, listen, listen”.  Get to know people better and seek to understand what is important to them.  Everyone has a problem requiring a creative solution.  Listen carefully to understand what it is and how you can help.  Sometimes you can help yourself by helping others first.  If your efforts toward one particular position within a company doesn’t work out, stay in touch about other possibilities that are especially of interest to the company to fill in specific ways.  Keep the dialogue moving forward.
  5. Promote yourself. Portray yourself in a positive and energized way.  Carefully construct the image you are presenting to the world.  Get feedback about how your presentation is coming through in terms of your conversations, your networking opportunities, and your resume.  Start with your college career center, local workforce center, professional association, or career coach.

Now is the time to fine-tune your networking approach.  Take control.  You can do this!

Lisa

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Posted in Job Search Strategy, Networking, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Are You Opportunity-Oriented?

August 18th, 2010

Effectively Riding the Winds of Change

Lots of very smart people talk about opportunity, advancement, preparedness and related terms.  What do these buzzwords have in common?  They all signify change.

Change signals opportunity
Change is the process which makes something different from what it is now.  Proactive change happens when you’re in control and can shape the direction and scope of the evolving variables.  Reactive changes put you in a defensive position to make the best of altered circumstances.  Initial questions include:

* Which form of change do you engage in most often?
* As a result, how comfortable are you with change?
* What would you like to change?
* What opportunities help you direct and manage that change?
* How long will it take to make the change official?

Being prepared
While some people pride themselves on their ability to “wing it”, there’s a lot to be said for preparedness.  Think of it in terms of being prepared, being in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that can suddenly spring up when the winds of change are blowing.  Preparedness is being “properly expectant, organized, or equipped” (Dictionary.com).

Being proactive with your career
In terms of career preparedness, most people think of updating their resume.  That’s great advice, but have YOU done so?  And don’t stop there.

Carefully consider the following 15 questions:

1. What would you do if you were laid off tomorrow?
2. Is your debt-to-income ratio low and manageable?
3. Have you mapped viable, direct and alternate career pathways?
4. Is your education level on par with your experience level?
5. Could you do your boss’ job?  Would you want to?
6. If your current position was eliminated, could you move up 1-2 levels or go out on your own as an independent contractor or freelancer?
7. Do you maintain strong connections with people in your industry?
8. Do you know the hiring practices of your company’s closest competitors?
9. Do you stay current with the best and emerging practices of your industry?
10. Do you bring added value to the table, every day?
11. Do you listen to others more than you speak to them?
12. Are you aware of the most pressing concerns of your company and/or your industry and have ideas toward resolving them?
13. Are you comfortable with at least a moderate level of risk?
14. How comfortably do you make big decisions?
15. If someone were contemplating a career change in your industry or location, what advice would you give them, based on your verifiable knowledge of the current situation (because assumptions don’t count)?

Next steps
Whether you are currently employed or not, you can adapt these questions to shape your own situation and professional goals.  There are creative ways to apply tried-and-true preparedness techniques to your own life.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

Feeling fired up to manage change?
Want additional questions to consider?  Try any of the free quizzes available on the Change Your Job, Change Your Life website.

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

Source:  prepared. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved August 16, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prepared

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Need a Job Search “Breakthrough”?

August 18th, 2010

Free Teleseminars – For You and Job Seekers You Know

There’s a FREE TELESEMINAR series starting very soon that might interest you…

http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=1231544

The goal of the Job Search Breakthrough Teleseminar is to give you the inside scoop on what it takes to get your ideal job in 90 days or less.  Often, small changes can make a huge difference in your job hunt.

The Job Search Breakthrough is part of my friend Joy Moore’s Pay It Forward Initiative.

The goal is to help 500+ people find their dream job
by January 2011.

As a way of getting closer to her goal, Joy asked me and other top job search experts to divulge their best tips and tricks for getting a job offer quickly.

http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=1231544

Fabulous speakers & topics include:

Applying Online: Into The Void; presented by Lisa Mauri Thomas
Monday, August 23 at 10am Mountain Time (9am PST, 11am CST, noon EST)

Ace Your Interview; presented by Joy Moore
Monday, August 23 at 2pm Mountain Time (1pm PST, 3pm CST, 4pm EST)

The Employable Environment; presented by Stephanie McWilliams
Tuesday, August 24 at 10am Mountain Time (9am PST, 11am CST, noon EST)

Network Your Way To A New Job; presented by Sean McCaffrey
Tuesday, August 24 at 2pm Mountain Time (1pm PST, 3pm CST, 4pm EST)

5 Keys To Landing That Federal Job; presented Daphne Houston
Wednesday, August 25 at 10am Mountain Time (9am PST, 11am CST, noon EST)

Using Social Media Your Job Hunt; presented by Joy Moore
Wednesday, August 25 at 2pm Mountain Time (1pm PST, 3pm CST, 4pm EST)

Overcoming Fear; presented by Mitch Friedman
Thursday, August 26 at 10am Mountain Time (9am PST, 11am CST, noon EST)

These calls are offered free at their time of broadcast
and for 72 hours afterward.

http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=1231544

If you have to miss a call or would rather listen at your own convenience, you will have the chance to buy the series!

This is a unique opportunity to learn from top job search and career experts and I look forward to seeing you on the call!

Lisa

P.S.  Help us reach this goal of helping 500+ people find a job – it should be YOU and those who are important to you!

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Posted in Cover Letters, Job Search Strategy, Networking, Resumes, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Informational Interviewing for Career Success

August 16th, 2010

Go Beyond Basic Networking

I recently read an article that claimed, “Informational interviewing isn’t just for new college grads anymore”.  Actually, it has always been a networking tool of choice for professionals at all levels and is particularly useful in a recessed economy.

Don’t like to network?  Informational interviewing can be viewed as a way to put your research skills and project management talents to work for your own benefit, whether you’re employed right now or not.

Setting goals
Identify the industry and niche area that interest you the most, along with related job titles.  Also determine the type and size of organization to which you want to contribute.

Building your question bank
Create 15-20 or so open-ended questions that will yield the most immediately usable information.  Think about HOW you will use information gained:

* to validate or refute your existing assumptions,
* to lead you to additional sources of information,
* to strengthen your resume and cover letter content,
* to improve the quality of your responses to formal interview questions,
* to build your professional reputation and visibility, etc.

Locating strategic allies to ask
Use your resources including networking groups, Linked In, professional organizations, industry publications, professional peers and others.  Specifically, look for people who:

* know the desired industry and niche area, inside and out
* work in the type of role or actual company of interest, currently
* serve HR and Recruiting needs for the roles and companies in question
* manage individuals and teams comprised of the roles you seek

To learn more:  please visit my Linked In profile, Lisa Mauri Thomas, and view the Informational Interviewing PPT slideshow, attached as a Box.net item.

Whether you are currently employed or not, you can adapt these principles to your own situation and professional goals.  There are creative ways to apply tried-and-true informational interviewing techniques to your own life.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

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Posted in Job Search Strategy, Networking, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Transitions and Starting Over

August 6th, 2010

When You’re Ready for a New Career

Craig, 43, owned a financial planning franchise which he recently sold.  After 20 years in the business, he decided it was time to move on.  His biggest question today:  “Now what?!”

Craig is intelligent, articulate, and has numerous interests.  Surprisingly, such a multifaceted approach to life presents a unique challenge.  There are so MANY things Craig would be good at – so how do job seekers like him make the best choice?

Starting point for career transitions
Initially, I had 3 thought-provoking items for Craig to start addressing his “Now What?!” dilemma.

1. Do you prefer to work with PEOPLE, DATA, or THINGS?
2. What kinds of jobs appeal to you and why?
3. Describe your dream job (even if there’s no title for it).

Not surprisingly, he likes working with all 3: people, data AND things.  So, that didn’t narrow down the possibilities.  In terms of appealing jobs, Craig’s wide range of interests included: environmental issues, renewable energy, education, foreign exchange/travel, diplomacy/poliotics, research, and software design.

His dream job?  Owning and managing an outdoor gear/outfitting business that also arranges and guides adventure trips.

Leveraging professional strengths
Transitioning to a new career field has its challenges; especially so in a recessed economy.  Therefore, it’s important to discern what was so unrewarding about a current or previous line of work.

In Craig’s case, he felt stifled by the lack of redundancy of the work that favored production quotas and unattainable incentive plans over creativity.  He liked consulting with clients and his ideas were routinely well-received; his active listening skills and appreciation for financial stability and growth made him highly successful.  His admitted “problem with authority” made it easier to work alone but he missed the social benefits of working within a team environment.  At the end of the day, Craig knew he needed to make a change.

We brainstormed about how to continue leveraging his strengths, especially his financial subject matter expertise and creativity.  Ideas included building financial planning software solutions, selling custom financial planning software, educating for financial literacy, and designing fiscal policy initiatives for local political candidates.  Now, we need to translate those ideas into action.

Next steps for career changers: Locate 10-12 job postings of interest using identified keywords.  Analyze the postings to identify common themes: where they occur, arenas and environments including company size and mission, required qualifications, etc.  Plan additional next steps based on the results of your analysis.

How this relates to YOU
Does Craig’s situation sound similar to your own?  You may find About.com’s Career Planning articles of interest.  Check them out!  Need more help?  Ask Lisa!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

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Posted in Job Search Strategy, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Employment & Hiring Update – July 2010

July 28th, 2010

Latest Info from SHRM: Society for Human Resource Management

I subscribe to Staffing Management Update, produced monthly by SHRM, and I’ve compiled the items that relate closest to comments and questions I frequently receive.  If you’d like to see ongoing updates of this nature, please let me know!

Here are six U.S. highlights to review as we end July 2010:

  1. HR claims to be optimistic about the job market yet is hesitant to hire.  Hiring is expected to remain slow in the third quarter.  Read more.
  2. U.S. unemployment benefits to be extended through November 2010 for the long-term unemployed.  Read more.
  3. Business incentives are being created to hire veterans (H.R. 5484) and establish a job training program for unemployed veterans (H.R. 929).  Read more.
  4. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is 20 years old but has not been found to have made a significant difference.  Read more.
  5. Applicants in certain cities are likely to see questions about criminal background disappear from online and paper application forms.  Read more.
  6. Bureau of National Affairs reports that private sector wages in the U.S. continue to grow at near record low rates.  Read more.

How this relates to YOU

Whether employed or not, stay current with employment and related issues.  You never know when you’ll need up-to-date, expert information.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

If you’d like to see ongoing updates of this nature, please let me know!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

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Posted in Job Search Strategy, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Branding for Career Success

July 27th, 2010

It’s All About Consistent Credibility

Scott, a 39 year old successful restaurant manager, is enjoying a career he never thought was possible.

With no formal education, Scottie was a bartender for many years and played his role to the stereotypical hilt: flirting with all the female patrons, bursting into song just because, telling stories in a booming voice whether or not anyone was listening, and generally being “the life of the party”.

However, the day came when he had to look himself in the mirror and admit that it wasn’t the life he’d envisioned for himself at age 35 with his 40th birthday clearly on the horizon.

How did he turn it around and get to where he is today?  Branding.

Starting point

First, Scott visited other restaurants similar to the one he worked in for best comparisons.  For several weeks, he observed the managers in action, noting behaviors, facial expressions, how they spoke to customers and staff, how they carried themselves, etc.

Then he introduced himself to each of the managers during quieter times and started asking questions about what they liked about their job, what their career path looked like to date, and what advice they had for someone interested in restaurant management.

He documented his findings and reviewed his notes at the end of each day.  A gameplan began to emerge and along the way, Scottie became Scott.  To be successful, Scott had to remake his professional image by clearly articulating and demonstrating that he was ready for specific opportunities within the restaurant at which he works.

Professional image

There are 3 primary ingredients to branding YOU:  perception, marketing, and consistency.

Perception: Determine how you want others to see, think about and talk about you to others.  Obtain feedback, from those who know you well, to determine your top 3 perceptual and/or observed strengths and weaknesses.  From your research, tease out what makes you unique and relate it to your desired career goal.

Marketing: Identify every communication pathway that can be used to reveal and showcase who you are and who you want to become.  Align your LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, resume and cover letter, email messages, verbal presentation strategies, clothing style, and other outlets to fully support your goals.

Consistency: You have to walk, talk, live and breathe your brand, consistently, every day.  Why?  Effective branding involves creating and maintaining a desired persona with clear, observable behaviors to reinforce your message, whether you think others are listening or not.  Remain consistently positive and focused – and “in character” if it’s easier to view this process as a role to play – until it becomes a natural part of you.  In essence, you become what you desire.  Consistency is the precursor to credibility.

How this relates to YOU

Whether employed or not, you can adapt these principles to your own situation and professional goals.  There are creative ways to apply tried-and-true branding techniques to your own life.  Need help?  Ask Lisa!

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

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Posted in Job Search Strategy, Networking, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

Anatomy of an Ineffective Job Search

July 21st, 2010

Compare and Contrast a Typical Scenario

Chris, a Sales Executive specializing in business applications software in the Washington, DC area, has been looking for work for over 12 months.  He found my website last month and decided to invest in professional services as his “do it yourself” methods were not yielding any positive results aside from a small handful of phone interview screenings.

Starting point

First, I reviewed his resume and cover letter.  Second, I asked him to describe his job search strategy approach.  Brief consultations are free.

His resume was nearly 3 pages long, in 10 point font with tiny margins, detailing over 10 sales and marketing positions held over the past 20 years.  His cover letter was addressed as “Dear Hiring Manager” and consisted of a brief, 2-paragraph generic spiel asking the recipient to please consider his talents for the position in question, which wasn’t actually identified in the letter.

His job search approach?  Continually revising his resume hoping to capture his varied background as fully as possible, then applying online for no less than 10 advertised positions per week, telling everyone he knew that he was “still looking”, and building up his LinkedIn connections to over 500 names.

Professional help

The first professional service I provided for Chris was to fully critique and redesign his resume and cover letter based on a sampling of 2 ideal job postings he provided.  Within 24 hours, he had a new resume and cover letter that were:

  • critiqued to show the specific strengths and weaknesses in play with rationale and tips provided for each suggested change
  • strengthened considerably in terms of professional content that did not contain any fluff or falsehoods (never recommended) yet were well-aligned and fully supportive of each other
  • quantified with numerical metrics to support his claims of what he could do and how well he could do them (impact)
  • formatted in an easily customizable manner with complete instructions and personalized follow-up to ensure he could do so on his own going forward

From there, we focused on his job search strategy and overall networking approach with measurable benchmarks in LinkedIn and other avenues.  For starters, I advised him to stop “chasing” online job postings and showed him how to use posted information as a basis for further research for networking and outreach BEFORE sending in his materials.

Results

Chris is now getting to Round 1 and Round 2 interviews; he’s had 4 interviews in the past 3 weeks.  Effective application materials are supposed to result in interviews.  Successful interviewing leads to job offers.  The added difficulty these days is the fierce level of competition for fewer jobs.  Now I’m working with Chris to stay focused and positive, respond well in interviews, and rise above the competition.  Stay tuned….

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

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Posted in Cover Letters, Job Search Strategy, Resumes, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

How Effective is LinkedIn for Job Seekers?

July 13th, 2010

4 Ways to Test and Leverage This Tool

LinkedIn is a tool; specifically, it’s a measuring tool.  While it’s often promoted for networking, the idea of “outreach” simply isn’t concrete enough for many job seekers to appreciate.

Like any tool, its effectiveness depends on if and when you use it, how you use, and how well you maintain it over the long run.  In short, its effectiveness is up to you.

Unlike your old Rolodex, it displays your network connections in real time.  You can set concrete goals and measure to what extent you’ve met them and then search for strategic allies.

Here are 4 ways to use this tool and measure the strength of your network.

  1. Your Connections. On average, only 10% of them are truly useful.  For example, if you have 258 connections, probably only 25 or 26 of them are connected to your industry and in your geographic location.Test: Calculate 10% of your connections.  Then look at each name individually and make a note of how many are connected to your industry AND within your desired geographic location.  Is it greater than or less than your calculated 10%?

    Next steps: Strive to bring that number up to at least 50% which will only happen if you actively reach out to others. Conduct a specific People search to find connection-worthy contacts.  Add to the professional discussions in at least one of your groups that serves your industry.  Also, install the free Beta version on your Contacts page to “tag” your contacts into meaningful categories that you can track at a glance.

  2. Your Views. On the right side of your Home tab, check out the number of times your profile has been viewed and your name has come up in searches.  This tells you how much attention you’re getting and if the keywords associated with your profile are of interest to those searching.  Strive for at least 10 views every 3 days.Test: Check the numbers week to week.  Did the numbers go up or down?  And are the two numbers getting closer together or farther apart?

    Next Steps: Just because your name is coming up in searches doesn’t mean the searchers are specifically looking at your profile.  In your outreach messages, invite people to view your profile and recommendations.  The 2 numbers (views and searches) should be fairly close together, with the number of views being the same or higher than search number.

  3. Your Resume. Attach your resume using the Box.net application.  You’ll get an email alert every time someone downloads your resume.  Track the number of downloads every day or every week.  Upload it in .doc, .docx, and .pdf formats for universal appeal. See previous Resume Format posts.Test: Watch how numbers of downloads increase or decrease from week to week.  If number goes up, you’re doing a better job of marketing yourself.  If number stays flat or goes down, you need to adjust your approach.

    Next Steps: Actively invite people to view your resume by listing the URL to your profile on your resume, increasing your number of recommendations specific to your career field,  and asking recruiters about keywords most relevant to their searches.

  4. Network Statistics. This is found in the drop-down menu of your Contacts tab.  Once opened, it will tell you the expanded size of your network – but the far more important information is found at the bottom of the page.  Look at the industries and geographic locations that are highly represented within your network.Test: Do these numbers mesh with YOUR industry and geographic location?  Most do not, which indicates a more haphazard networking strategy than an intentional or deliberate one that seeks out real allies.

    Next Steps: Conduct a People search for those who ARE in your industry and location and reach out to them with a well-crafted and polite yet brief message that you’d like to learn more about their company from an insider’s point of view, or request an informational interview, or ask about what kinds of software or operating platforms or equipment the company favors.  You get the idea.  Seek to understand and use your new knowledge to customize your resume and cover letter when applying for positions within those companies.

Good luck out there – you can do this!

-Lisa

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Posted in Job Search Strategy, Networking, Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

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