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What does it mean to network?
What does it mean to network?
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As many job seekers know, and as many job-search resources will tell you, it is important to network as you look for your next position. Everybody says it, but what does it really mean? How can it help you to find the position you want or the person you want to speak to?
Long story short, it doesn’t always do that, but both concentrated and light networking can help to supplement your job search. Hopefully by creating some new connections, an internal recommendation or two, or even a tidbit of information about a person, position or department you wouldn’t otherwise know about.
Here are two tips we’ve come up with to help our candidates best focus their networking efforts.
Map out your social connections: Using resources like LinkedIn and Facebook, take stock of who you know and what those people do for work. Do they work in a position or at a company you’d like to target? Ask to speak with them briefly over a cup of coffee to find out more about what their career trajectory was like, or who they know in a department you’re trying to target. Be open about your desire to work for the company or in a specific position and ask them what they think you should do to get an informational interview.
Find a MeetUp Group: If you have completely exhausted your existing network, it’s important to grow some new connections! There is a MeetUp group for virtually every interest under the sun (sometimes two!). MeetUps offer a way to connect with new and different people around a shared career, field of industry or simply a shared interest. These group meetings follow a variety of different layouts, usually meeting at a neutral location for some education, networking and socializing. While these do tend to be more prevalent in urban areas, it is always possible that you’ll find something close to where you live. Here in Boston, from the Boston Volunteers MeetUp, which covers a variety of volunteer opportunities in and around the city, to the HTML5 Game Development MeetUp to the Boston IT JobSeeker’s MeetUp, there is a lot to do and talk about.
Do you have a networking strategy that’s worked for you? Let us know about it in the comments below!
Blogging Forward,
The Importance of SEO and Resumes
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In late 2010, we encouraged people who are actively job seeking to revamp their resume for 2010. If you missed it, you can catch that post here. So that post was a good first step in taking the fluff out of a resume. The next question is what will recruiters want to see? How can a simple resume rewrite make you an easier target for the recruiters and headhunters at companies you want to work for?
The answer lies in keywords. Just like websites and companies focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)- so should you as a job seeker. Many companies that are hiring rely on resources like Monster.com, CareerBuilder and internal job search engines to divert qualified candidates right into the email inboxes of recruiters and hiring managers based on established searches built around—you guessed it—keywords. This means that because companies have an automated and easier time finding candidates, your job as the job seeker is harder. It should be obvious that you reread and tweak your resume to fit every position you’re applying for, but now failure to do so can mean that a well-qualified candidate could be skipped over completely (or rated a low percentage match).
Make a habit out of comparing the description of every job you apply for with the words on your resume. If a company is referring to a position as a “Web Developer” and you’ve got “Software Engineer” on your resume, it will be harder for a search filer to catch your resume first. Additionally, if a non-technical person (such as a human resources representative) doesn’t know that these phrases are synonymous, you risk the chance of being passed over all together for a job for which you are qualified.
This simple exercise should make the job hunt a more productive endeavor. Good luck!
Blogging Forward,
Mobile Job Apps: LinkedIn
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Last week we discussed a bunch of free web-apps that can help your job search improve in various aspects. This week I want to highlight different mobile apps that can help you with a job search as well. When you are commuting to work or school, taking a break for a coffee, or having lunch etc. most people always have their smart phone or some sort of mobile device on them. The expression goes, “The best camera is the one that you have with you,” well now the best job search tool is the one that you have with you.
We blogged about the benefits of having a LinkedIn profile a while back, and hope by now you have signed up. Be sure to download the LinkedIn mobile app to enjoy all the functionality of the professional network on-the-go. The UI is cleverly put together with an office motif by giving you a “badge” icon as your profile, a stack of paper as your updates, a stack of mail for your inbox, and more. Through the app you can adjust your status updates, browse the profiles of others in your network, browse open job positions, and plenty of other options. Download the app and let us know what you think!
Blogging forward,
Glassdoor: Get a Referral from Facebook
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As you very well may know, and as we have mentioned several times on this blog: the best way to get your foot in the door at a company and securing an interview is by having a referral from someone that works there. Luckily social networks like LinkedIn have made this process easier by being able to see what connections you have work at what companies. However, Facebook’s almost 1 billion users greatly outweigh LinkedIn’s approximately 100 million. There are so many more connections to companies you have through Facebook friends that you may not be aware of yet.
Fortunately try signing up for Glassdoor and connecting it to Facebook. Now when you click on a company you will see a list of friends, and friends of friends, who work at that company! Glassdoor will also provide you with information on the company’s open jobs, salaries, interview questions and more. This helps you discover a much larger network to help give you a referral and provides you with valuable information on the company for when you land an interview. Let us know in the comments section if you try it out!
Blogging forward,
Twitter Re-design
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Today Twitter released a major update to its user interface across multiple platforms including its webpage, TweetDeck, iPhone, and Android formats.
This marks one of the biggest changes to the look and feel of Twitter since its inception. The new UI is more elegant while it may confuse people at first (your Twitter feed is now on the right side of the window!). Now when you click or tap on pictures and videos people Tweet they open right in the feed instead of leading you outside the app or website to a pop up window.
Other new features are the “Connect” and “Discover” tabs geared to help you become more immersed in the twittersphere. The connect tab shows you a feed of people who follow you, have tweeted you, have re-tweeted you, and mentioned you. There is also a generated list of people they recommend you follow based on who you follow, and your past tweets and interests. Similarly the “Discover” tab brings you personalized tweets and topics marked with #hashtags related to your interests based on the #hashtags you use, your location, and who you follow.
So far i have used the new iPhone version, Tweetdeck, and the web-page. I will say there are great improvements to the UI and functionality of all the above; however, my one complaint is with the web-page’s window size. Unless you maximize the window to be full-screen your Twitter feed overlaps with your profile information and the “whats trending feed.” Hopefully this is just a small error that will be fixed soon. Otherwise I like the update. What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments section below!
Blogging Forward,
Why You Should have a LinkedIn Profile
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By now I am sure most people have heard of LinkedIn; it was the first social network to have an IPO and is used for business networking. There are plenty of reasons of why you should be on LinkedIn to help your job search, for example one survey found that 86% of companies that use social networking to recruit for candidates use LinkedIn. Here are some tricks and tools on how to get your LinkedIn profile off the ground and in good standing.
For starters, try as hard as you can to make your profile 100% complete. This will insure that you have a digital resume of your work experience and specialties, as well as key words, and even classes you took in college. All of these will show up when recruiters and employers are searching for a candidate they need for a position. For example I can type in an advanced search for “Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, Drupal, WordPress, Within 50 miles of Boston,” and see what my results are. That’s how a lot of recruiters start to narrow down searches for candidates by getting more and more specific by these key-word searches.
Also by having recommendations and your work history it shows potential employers what type of person you are, and how long you have stayed at companies. If you have switched jobs many times you may want to leave some off.
Linking up with different applications is another valuable aspect of LinkedIn to use. You can use the “tweets” application to sync of your twitter account to your profile. However, make sure that you include #in to filter out non-professional tweets: You don’t want them to know that you are “being lazy and watching reruns of your favorite reality tv show” do you? Other valuable applications to use are “Creative Photo Display” which showcases visual work of designers and “GitHub” which displays examples of coding projects. There are tons more available and worth checking out.
Connecting with LinkedIn Groups is another great way of getting in touch with other professionals who are in your field or specialty. For example I am in a marketing group, an IT recruiters group, and several other technology groups for the Boston area. Plenty of different posts are made asking general questions about your field and by answering them you are building your credibility into the community around you. You will also see frequent posts in groups from other members looking to hire someone and will have the chance to jump on it before it even hits a job board.
Connecting to the people that have the most connections is a sure-fire way to beef up your network quickly and gain exposure to the most people. For example I currently have 500+ connections on LinkedIn, just by connecting with me gets you access to 500 more people to add to your network. Finally it is also important to follow companies on LinkedIn. That way you can see when they post positions, and start hiring people right in your news feed. Using these methods will certainly help you connect with more people in your field, increase your chances of finding open jobs, and increase your chances of being found by hiring managers and recruiters.
Blogging Forward,
5 Ways to Enhance Your Job Search
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We’ve all seen the lists of tips and tricks that aim to help applicants in their job search. As many people in Massachusetts and the country continue to look for work, we decided to take this list of tips to the next level, and outline additional steps job seekers can take to make sure that each and every job application has the best chance possible of being noticed and then called for an interview. Below, we outline a few ways for applicants to set themselves apart from a field of competitors and be sure that their resume ties more directly to the job they want.
5 Ways to Enhance Your Job Search
• Leverage LinkedIn Make and keep a list of companies with whom you’d like to secure an interview. Use LinkedIn to uncover the names and titles of people you may know (directly or indirectly) at the company. With your LinkedIn account, you can pull up the names of companies you are “connected” to in some way, and view open positions at each of these companies. You can also use LinkedIn to identify hiring managers for jobs you know to be open, but for which you haven’t received a reply using the automated resume submittal system.
• Stay Busy Whether it’s accepting a small or part-time consulting role in the industry you seek to work in, or simply hobby or volunteer work you actually have time to do, the evidence of self-motivated activity will pique the interest of potential employers. These kinds of activities prove that you are a self-motivated person that does not like to be inactive or uninvolved. These can help to set you apart from a field of candidates in an interview, and offer a more interesting avenue of conversation with a prospective employer.
• Conduct an SEO/ Keyword Audit In a down economy, hiring managers and especially corporate recruiters tend select candidates for interviews based on a close (think, as close to word-for-word as possible) resemblance between the job description and the resume. This means it is incredibly important to customize, in whole or in part, your resume to fit every job description you apply for. To be sure your resume is as key-word optimized as possible, complete this exercise: find a job description that is as close to your ideal job as possible. Read through the description carefully, and highlight any key words or industry terms contained in the description. Be sure these key words appear in your resume, profiles saved to online job search websites, your LinkedIn profile, and any other synopsis of your work experience.
• Actively Manage Follow-Up Activities Lately, hiring cycles are longer than is typical. This means that following-up personally with hiring managers or recruiters is more important, and that longer timelines will be harder for you as a candidate to track. A good rule of thumb is to keep a physical personal planner. Mark the date of each phone screen or interview, and pencil in a follow-up task to send an electronic or hard-copy thank-you note to each person you spoke with or met. Mark a week from the date of the interview to follow-up with your contacts at the company via email or a quick phone call (email is great because they can be forwarded). Send your contacts an article or piece of news you found about the company or industry along with any updates regarding your work experience or job search. Continue to follow-up on a bi-weekly basis. After a month or so, you’ll have outlasted most of your competition, and your enthusiasm will be noted.
• Get a Good Editor Whether it’s an old colleague still working in the field or a person you know through friends who is currently working in the type of position you’re working towards, ask them to take a look at your resume and LinkedIn profile. Ask them for candid feedback, based on a job description that aligns with the job you are seeking. Ask them if there is any information that is unnecessary that you can eliminate to add clarity to your resume. Conversely, ask if you’ve missed any industry terms or “hot topics” you can include in your resume (truthfully, of course), that would draw the attention of a hiring manager, recruiter or job seeker search engine.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions, or found this list helpful.
Blogging Forward,
CareerJuice
Job Search 101 via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter
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Have you updated your Facebook page today? Perhaps you spent the weekend sending out “tweets” to your followers on Twitter. The power and reach of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, among others, is undeniable. In a survey last year, HR professionals cited social networking as the second-most effective way to fill openings. Still, for some, utilizing these sites can be overwhelming. So how can you, the active job seeker, most effectively use these sites in your job search?
In fact, there are a number of targeted services and strategies available to the job seeker. Here’s a breakdown of the three major networking sites.
A Revamped Resume for 2011
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Yesterday, LinkedIn posted their list of the “10 Most Overused Job-Hunter Buzzwords,” and we are so happy they did. It is nice when a 3rd party validates the advice we try to give job-seekers every day: write a resume that describes what you do and what you want to do.
…Does that sound like simple advice? It is! But as happens with buzzwords across industries, people—smart people, even—get blinded by the flashy, fun-sounding adjectives and they’re off! Describing what they do in the most vague way possible. Sounding like everybody else out there, and doing themselves a disservice in the process. Did you work really hard to attain the position you’re in? Do you have a number of responsibilities you manage on a daily, weekly and monthly basis? As a job-seeker, you will be better served by properly articulating exactly what it is you do, and exactly what it is you want than by using empty words.
So while we spend 2 weeks gearing up for and then recovering from the holidays, why not perform a simple resume audit for these words? If you find any of them, try to take them out and use a more specific term to describe a position or function.
LinkedIn was also careful to mention that several “edgy” words were also overused in the past year. These words include “evangelist” and “guru.” What words do YOU think are overused on a resume? Let us know in the comments.
