10 Ways to Take Control of Your Job Search
It can be tempting to attribute a long job search to factors beyond your control. The factors that I hear jobseekers mention include age, experience (i.e. over- or under-qualified), resume gaps, weight, ethnic background, gender, or some other physical feature. While, at times, these factors and biases do cause problems for job-seekers, nine times out of ten I see that the problem is actually in their job-search strategy or execution.
So, here’s a checklist of 10 questions to ask yourself first, before attributing a long search to factors beyond your control. Your answers will help to put you back in the driver’s seat and on the road to the job you want.
Employment Data Shows Pockets of Opportunity
The latest BLS report showed the unemployment rate stuck at a dismal 9.1%. BUT, more positive news for many jobseekers can be found within the data. In particular, the unemployment rate for those with a bachelors degree or higher remained much lower than the overall rate, at 4.3%,
Performance Reviews, Part 1: What Managers Should Know
This post first appeared on the Five O’Clock Club’s website
Performance reviews are widely used in organizations, yet are implemented inconsistently and are often controversial: Do they work? What’s the best way to implement them? Don’t unfair grudges or favoritism, or other forms of bias, fatally compromise them? I’ll begin to share with you a few thoughts on each of these questions in this first of a two part blog post.
Sending an email vs an old-fashioned letter
Job-search clients often ask me whether they should mail or email their cover or followup letter. I tell them to default to email unless there is a compelling special case for sending a traditional letter. The reasons I recommend email:
Four Ideas for Getting Interviews via the Hidden Job Market
Most of my job-search clients get interviews by tapping into the hidden job market; they are both reaching out to their network and cold-emailing/calling people they don’t know. You, too will want to prioritize efforts that will allow you to bypass the glut of applicants going through the “front door” – job postings. This strategy is especially vital for my executive-level clients – since roughly 80% of these jobs are landed through networking or even cold outreach, including networking with retained search firms. So, focus your efforts on the hidden job market. The goal is to land lots of informational meetings with hiring decision-makers that could lead to interviews via referrals or your keeping in touch. Here are four ideas to get you started.
In a Job Search? You Should Be On LinkedIn
LinkedIn, accessed for free at www.linkedin.com, enables users to keep in touch with and expand their professional network, get introductions to others outside their network, and join groups of professionals organized around industries, professions, and associations. Recruiters routinely use LinkedIn to scan profiles for viable candidates.
LinkedIn has become essential to conducting an effective, productive job search! I hear from clients almost every day about how they got an interview or informational meeting via LinkedIn. Below I’ve included a few success stories culled from my clients’ experiences, to help generate ideas on how you can use LinkedIn. Read More
Six Keys to Success On-the Job Part 1 (Keys 1-3)
I’ve created a podcast from the mini-talk that I gave on January 17th as part of my weekly Monday seminar series, “Ask A Career Coach“. You can access the podcast HERE. FYI, the Six Keys are: 1) The New Goal is Marketability, 2) Manage Up, Down and Across, 3) Develop a vision for your Career, then a Plan, 4) Build and Maintain a Network, 5) Know when it’s Time to Move-on, and 6) Demonstrate Leadership.
Work experience too “dated” for your resume? It depends.
I recently received a couple of questions about the most appropriate resume format, and whether a friend’s comment is true that all experience older than 10 years should be left off the resume. Here is my response:
1) You need to put your resume in “reverse chronological order”, meaning most recent experience first, because that is what hiring mangers are used to seeing. Try something different and they will either a) not take the time to figure out your format (given the
Top Resume Mistakes to Avoid (Part 1- the top two)
by Robert Hellmann • Career Change, Getting Interviews, Resume, LinkedIn, self-promo