JobTabs Job Search & Resume

March 10, 2009

Job Search Wisdom from a Broadband Installation

Filed under: Job Searching,Networking,Sell Yourself — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:21 am

Technicians yield insight into the job search.So happy to get Uverse. Lots of channels with lots of bells and whistles not to mention a screaming fast internet connection. The guys installing the system were a hoot and we had the opportunity to talk while we were waiting for everything to sync-up. One of the guys was a trainee and I naturally wanted to know everything he went through to get his job. It was very insightful.

Of the 2,500 applicants, 17 were selected. That is not a typo.  There were 2,500 applicants.  Of the 17 trainees in the class about half of them knew someone at Uverse. On the surface of things that would be a testament to networking, but not entirely. How many people knew someone at Uverse, but did not get the interview or if they got the interview did not get the job? We will never know. Out of respect for their privacy I am not going to mention their real names , so if the Lead’s name was “Larry” and the “Trainee’s” name was “Tom” what did Tom do before getting the job at Uverse? He had worked as a plumber.

While I am not one to determine what would qualify someone to install high tech equipment, I would venture that his inside connection helped to pull him out of the stack for a critical review. He was pretty much able to confirm this. He said, “With 2,500 applicants who has time to scour all of those resumes? If the company can get a testimonial as to character and technical aptitude, why wouldn’t they want to save themselves time and money?” It certainly made sense. Tom had no criminal record and was drug free. He was professional, polite, knowledgeable, earnest and had all of the qualities one would want a technician to have when having their high tech equipment installed. Another insight?  Tom was living in another state when he interviewed for the Uverse job. He said, “You have to be willing to go where the work is.”

What about the other half of the applicants who knew no one at Uverse, but were able to get the job? Again, this leaves a lot of room for speculation but without knowing anybody on the inside I think it is safe to say – whatever their credentials – they were able to make the credentials they did have shine. I asked Larry about his experience in the hiring process. Larry also had a contact on the inside when he was hired. He was able to tell me that about half of the people in his training class of 25 knew someone who was already working at Uverse.

The crux of my message is networking is very helpful, but it is not the begin and end all to getting a job. If you do not know anyone on the inside, you can still get a job. While JobTabs Job Search & Resume is geared primarily at professionals, there are insightful lessons to be learned from Larry and Tom’s job search experience.

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

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March 5, 2009

The Job Search Game Plan

Filed under: Job Searching,Motivation,Networking — Tags: , , , — admin @ 12:36 am

Image of a football huddle.If your job search isn’t going anywhere, how can you change it if you never had a game plan in the first place?

Show me someone who advocates looking for a job by the seat of your pants and I will show you someone who is unemployed.  Gentle reader, a game plan doesn’t have to be a complicated flow chart or something constraining.  A simple agenda is all we are talking about.  The means which people use to find their next job will be as varied as the people themselves. What works for Bob may not work for Ann, however anything that helps both Bob and Ann keep their head on straight and objectively plan and implement their job search will work for both of them.

I work with a lot of job seekers and I often advise them to work with  job listings and recruiters first.  Most people are not used to writing or even looking for a job for that matter. This is the reason that I advise them to, initially, work the job boards. They have to get in the groove of selling themselves and that like many things this will take practice. While networking is touted as the best means of getting a job, it is better to make a mistake/faux pas on your job search in the anonymity of cyberspace than it is to make a mistake networking with your next door neighbor.

The recruiters will serve as pseudo-career coaches because when you meet with a recruiter, that recruiter can give you a lot of advice on honing your resume and helping you sell yourself. Granted, a cannot recruiter provide the comprehensive feedback that a career coach can provide. However, when you work with a recruiter you are, so to speak, their product, and they have a vested interest in helping you convince employers that you are the candidate of choice. Recruiters are battle hardened professionals and they have much to gain by helping you get a job offer.

After job seekers prep their skills with job boards and recruiters, I encourage them to start working their network. They will be much better at selling their qualifications after getting some exposure to recruiters and job boards. Planning/implementing your job search is important.  Write down, how many jobs you will apply to on the job boards.  Commit to sitting down face to face with recruiters in an effort to get their feedback on your marketability.  Beg them to shoot straight with you  if you have to – just get the facts. Come up with a plan that allows flexibility to create more resumes and tweak each one depending on the requirements solicited.  Schedule time to meet with your networking groups.  Finally – and this is so important – review the plan and change it.  You know, like wash, rinse, repeat.

Show me someone who advocates looking for a job by the seat of your pants and I will show you someone who is unemployed.

As job seekers work with different channels, their job search skills need to evolve and get stronger. They need to build upon a foundation and pay dividends. The job search for most job seekers is a crap shoot where you put your chips on the table and roll the dice. As the job search progresses they think they are becoming better job seekers, but in actuality they are just becoming better gamblers. It is still a losing game and is leading job seekers down a path of dejection and despondency. They can’t see that because they have no plan nor a record of a an implementation to give themselves or a mentor/career coach an objective view as to what they have been doing.   Write down your goals, write down your agenda, and stick to it until it is time to reevaluate it.

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers.  JobTabs Job Search & Resume motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, as well as by phone at 404-255-0248.

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January 20, 2009

You Are Your LinkedIn Profile

Filed under: Job Searching,Networking — Tags: , , — admin @ 12:42 am

The news story was gripping.  The pilot had ditched the Airbus in the Hudson River and everybody had emerged relatively unscathed.  The broadcast on CNN named the US Airways Captain that had landed the plane safely as the Hero of the Hudson.

And then CNN really blew me away . . . .

During the job hunt, you are what LinkedIn says about you.Not having access to the pilot so soon after the landing, CNN had to do the next best thing.  CNN broadcast C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger’s LinkedIn profile on national television.  I was almost as amazed by this act as I was by the heroism carried out by the pilot.  See Captain Sullenberger’s LinkedIn profile here.

Whether you realize it or not, LinkedIn is a source of information as to who you are as well.   What does your LinkedIn profile say about you?

For the uninitiated, LinkedIn is a social network with a membership numbering in the tens of millions.  What distinguishes LinkedIn from other social networking sites is that LinkedIn has established itself as the premier site for professional networking.  It is focused on connecting people through business related information and focuses mostly on collecting information one would typically find on a resume.  Here are some guidelines for using LinkedIn as well as some pointers to other resources.

Professional Presence

If you have succeeded in garnering the interest of a prospective employer and that employer has decided to gather a little more information on you before inviting you in for an interview, most likely, LinkedIn will be the very first stop.  You want to present yourself professionally under any and all circumstances.

Connect Judiciously

Every person you know can act as a key source of information regarding a company or a job opportunity.  It does not matter whether you know them from high school or your bowling league.  If they would help you and you would help them, they should be considered for your LinkedIn network.  There will be people who have thousands of contacts on LinkedIn.  As to what their goals are and as to what they hope to accomplish with such a vast network of people they can’t possibly know well is beyond us.

Commend and Be Commended

The testimonials your colleages can grace you with are very important.  Lots of high quality compliments will bode well for your candidacy, so we encourage you to gather as many as you can.  Do not be afraid to ask your former colleagues for a recommendation.  If you have to write it yourself and forward it to your friend as a template, then do so.  Get the commendation.  Companies are increasingly looking to these commendations as a means of moving forward with a candidate and you should leverage this movement to the best of your ability.

Now Network

When you are ready to begin networking for a new job, LinkedIn will be a fantastic place to start.

While networking is reputed to be the best means for getting a job, we do not always recommend you start there.  Like many things we begin anew, we will make some mistakes.  It is better to make a mistake in the anonymity of cyberspace than in the close confines of personal networking. Get used to talking about yourself, your accomplishments and what you have to offer via recruiters and job applications before you embrace networking in your job search.  You will be more confident and more convincing when you do.

We think the best thing any job candidate can do to get an interview is have a bull’s eye resume for the job they are applying to.  When you find a job you want to apply to research the company thoroughly.   Leveraging your contacts on LinkedIn for inside information as to what the company is doing and what kind of person they are looking for can be extremely valuable information.  Reword your resume so that your experience is conveyed in the context of the employers goals.

Using LinkedIn with JobTabs

The contact particulars is a free form field.  Whenever you have the opportunity to add a contact’s LinkedIn profile, do so.  When you want to preview thier profile, just click the link on the contacts page and you’re there.  In a future build, JobTabs will have dedicated tab for each contact’s LinkedIn information as well as support a host of other social networks.

LinkedIn Resources

http://www.linkedintelligence.com/Scott Allen’s Linked Intelligence is a resource for LinkedIn resources.  Scott documents over 100 creative ways to use LinkedIn and advertises his site as the smart source for all things LinkedIn™.

http://blog.linkedin.com – LinkedIn’s LinkedIn blog.

LinkedIn Videos – YouTube videos on LinkedIn.

Did I forget anything?  Please comment below . . . .

 

John Coffey is the President of JobTabs, LLC.  Through JobTabs Job Search & Resume Builder, thousands of job seekers have taken control of their destiny in finding new and fulfilling careers. JobTabs Job Search & Resume Builder motivates job seekers by making the job search easier by a huge order of magnitude.  John Coffey can be reached via his website at JobTabs Job Search & Resume Builder, by email via jpcoffey at jobtabs.com, and by phone at 404-255-0248.

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