Posts Tagged ‘jobs’

Via Scoop.it – Social Media And Digital Influence

CEO wants to put the brakes on his $10 billion ad budget.
Via www.businessinsider.com

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It’s time to let go.  Let new.  Let the past stay in the past.  Move on, move through, and the only way out is through…so, in the words of my new favorite band SafetySuit: Let Go

Transition means saying good bye, saying hello, shaking hands, making decisions, and reaching out for new connections, contacts, engagement, and validation…it’s about engagement, goals, decision making, and even packing, and moving…it all requires one important thing and that’s the ability to let go.

Letting go of an old job, a relationship, or even a city where you used to live requires an innate ability to release the past, both good memories and bad. William Bridges, author of ‘You & Company,’ says every new beginning begins with a good ending. Sometimes we can’t change the way things ‘end,’ but we can reframe it in our minds so we can learn the necessary insights so that we actually can start anew.

It’s a new year. I didn’t write a ‘predictions’ or ‘best of’ posts. Instead, I want to focus on the most important thing, more important than resolutions, and it’s simply this: LET GO, so you can move forward. All those new year’s resolutions won’t amount to a hill of beans until you can effectively let go of the behavior that keeps you bound to the behavior you resolve to change.

It isn’t magic, it is hard, it requires support, inspiration, care, and even friendship at times…the bottom line is this…if you want to change, be sure you are ready to act on the changes you want to make. I say, it begins with letting go.

Are you ready?

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Ok, so I'm not perfect, neither are you=2 paws up=we can be imperfect together.

Remember the book: “Im OK, You’re OK? It was one of my favorite books to laugh at until I realized much of what the author said merited a second look.   In this decade, I’d venture to say: “I’m not perfect, You’re Not Perfect, and That’s OK!” In today’s economy, job seekers are often forced to look inward, measure their strengths, evaluate their weaknesses, and have real-take aways.  Sometimes it might be something as simple as understanding what you don’t want to do for a living anymore. We have to identify what we don’t want until we discover what we do want.  When applying for a job ask yourself, am I really qualified to do this job?  Look closely at the requirements, do they accurately match up to your core competencies?

It’s ok to be imperfect. Everybody thinks job hunting is something that happens to someone else (until they find themselves suddenly thrust into the job market).

Embrace your torn edges, and wounded places.  With that said, don’t put yourself through the agony of applying for jobs you aren’t qualified for because it might be a set up for disappointment. Unless you are reasonably confident that you might be able to get your foot in the door for as an assistant to the role for which you applied, reevaluate how much time and energy you want to put into applying for a job where your resume might fall into the black hole (or the ATS void as I refer to it).  Most candidates would rather get a rejection letter than not hear anything at all.  It’s the “not knowing” that can be so crazy making.  I know, I’ve been there, both as a recruiter, and an applicant.  It happens to all of us at some point in our career.

If however, you avoid this by getting a little more discerning, and strategic for how, when, and where you apply for jobs. Look at a job description (print it out if you need to see it in black and white) now get out your resume.  Scan both.  How many times can you look at each requirement for the position and honestly say, “yes, I’ve done that,” or “yes, I can do that, and I do it better than anyone else.”  Why don’t you get in the habit of doing that.  You’ll probably waste a lot less time, and you might just find yourself feeling less anxious.

The days of spray and pray must cease.  This is my biggest complaint in the recruitment industry, and also among my job search community.  Don’t just spray your resume out like a sprinkler on a hot sunny day.  You don’t have to water all the flowers.  Instead, pick a patch that reflect your true colors, and nurture that garden. Be strategic: In other words job seekers, take stock of what you do, where you’re strong, and where you’re not…and plan accordingly.   Jennifer McClure gave me great advice back in 2009.  She said, don’t think outside the box, get inside of it.  Don’t be all over the place, get into one place, the place you fit best, the place where you are strongest, and the place where you will perform at your peak.  You’ll find yourself getting more interviews, and more job offers.

I’m not perfect.  This blog isn’t perfect.  Nobody is perfect, but we can assess our strengths, minimize our regrets, and maximize our level of interest in our career.  What I want for all of you is to land in a career where you fit best, and where you can do your best work.  I’ll leave you with one funny quote, “I’m not perfect, but parts of me are excellent.”  Find that excellent place, and embrace it.

Your Job Search Pal,

@HRMargo

Margo Rose, Founder of HFChat, HireFriday, and HRSocial Strategy

Please join us for our #HFChat this week when the good people from Loews will host our HireFriday Twitter #HFChat (Noon-1 ET, 11 Central Time, every Friday).

Editors note: Upcoming Event.

Thursday, January, 19 2012

Mark your calendar for a huge-blow out Tweet-up, and Meet Up.  The Topic: Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile For Your Career Search. World-renown talent management professional, Jennifer Way, (WaySolutions) masterful recruiter, Mathew LeBlanc, (ADP) and candidate sourcing expert, Shannon VanCuren (Airs)You can join us Live in Nashville, or simply participate online.  We’ll be broadcasting live via UStream, we’ll be podcasting the event for replay.  The Social Media Club of Nashville is partnering with Compassionate HR, HireFriday’s HFChat community, and The Nashville Career transitions group.  HR professionals, and Recruiters will be on hand live on Twitter to field questions, and cover the panel’s comments.

We have an all-start cast of sponsors, donors, and participants that are leaders in the Career coaching, Resume Development, Recruiting, and HR space…Don’t miss it.

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The holiday season is upon us-quite literally. Sometimes it can feel like a weight on the chest of an unemployed person.  Now is the time to breathe, and affirm that you are a super star, as the song goes, “that’s what you are.”  Sometimes we have to believe it before we see it.  We have to believe in ourselves, and others will believe in us too.  Are you empowering your career development, or destroying it?  Sometimes we spank our career growth without even knowing it.  It’s what I refer to as our blind spot.  People can see things about us that we can’t see in ourselves.  The fact is you are leaving an impression with everyone who interviews you.  During the holidays it is particularly important to affirm your worth.  Embrace what you do best, and learn to articulate your strong points.  As you do so, you are actually reprogramming your brain, and undoing habituated patterns of negative thinking which can lead to negative behavior.

Does positive thinking always bring about positive results? Not necessarily, but I guarantee you this: negative thinking will not ever reap the results you want.  Negative thinking is like a soul sucking vaccume that takes the wind out of your job search sails.  Here is an excellent model illustrated by our friends at CareerBuilder. It illustrates that if you do what you love, it is an affirmation of your strengths, and can put you on the path of career realization.

Your Career And You via Career Builder

So in the final analysis, I want to leave you with this thought: Act like you are a success.  Live your life as if you are succeeding.  Be really clear about what you do best.  Learn to articulate your value proposition, and if you need a reminder grab one of us in the HireFriday #HFChat community, and we’ll empower you, reassure you, and be your job search pal during your transition.  Some people might think I’m a little sappy pollyanna, but hey somebody has to wave the flay for the candidates who happen to be unemployed.  Somebody has to be an career advocate for those people who secretly hate their jobs but feel stuck because they are so afraid of losing their job during this recession we are in (and surviving) and somebody has to get behind both the employed, and unemployed that want to make a change, and care about moving their career forward.  The HireFriday Leadership Team does just that.  Get in touch with Cyndy Trivella, Tom Bolt, Steve Levy or me.  The easiest, and fastest way to reach me is on Twitter just Tweet to @HRMargo.  I reply to every tweet.  It’s hard to reach me by phone, or email, so just tweet me anytime of the day or night and I promise to get back to you.

One more thing.  On January 19, 2012 from 6-8 p.m. Central, 7 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time The Nashville Social Media Club, The Nashville Career Transitions Group, The #HFChat Community are sponsoring an event: Linked In Optimization, Your Job Search, and You.  Panelists include world renown experts Jennifer Way, Mathew LeBlance, Shannon VanCuren (and little ole’ me).  We are recruiting the best recruiters in the business to tweet live, career focused vendors to donate prizes (like resume packages, fun gifts, linkedIn profile reviews and optimizations, books and cool stuff you can really use in January).  Why are we doing this?  Because we happen to know for a cold-hard fact that January is the most depressing time of the year to job search.  Guess what?  We’re going to turn that around.  Why?  Because we care.  We want to remind you (all of you) that you are a super star.  That’s what you are. Will you please help us out and share this post with your social network pals? I’d sure appreciate it.

Your job search pal,

@HRMargo

Social Media Strategist

Founder of HireFriday, and HFChat

Are we LinkedIn?  No? Let’s remedy that today: http://linkedin.com/in/margorose

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Think Like A Recruiter

Last year I wrote a blog post encouraging #Job Seekers on Twitter to think like a recruiter. Why? Because if you use name sourcing skills, boolean search strings (semantic search logic) and understand how algorithms can put you in touch with your target companies, you will astounded how quickly you will find work.  In fact, I’d venture to say that you could increase the chances of your re-employment by more than 50%.  My unscientific data is backed up by my 10 years of experience trend spotting career development. In 1997, I worked in the outplacement industry for one of The Nation’s leading outplacement firm, Right Management Consultants.  I used to say to clients, every new begining starts with a good ending.  If you did not have an leave on good terms, you can heal, and recreate a good ending through processing your feelings, experiencing the grief, and envisioning a brighter feature. William Bridge’s great book, You and Company is a helpful tool for recovery and brand building.   Recently, I wrote a post entitled: Your Fired, Now What? It will be published next week. I taught how understanding The MBTI assessment tool can help you make informed decisions about your career.  There’s a wonderful book entitled, “Do What You Are,” by   Maria Sinatur.     I also recommend a book by David Keirsy entitled, “Please Understand Me.” Every effective job search begins with identifying how your temperament can shape your decision for your signature path.

In order to think like a recruiter you must do the following:

1. Assess your core competencies, and compare them to the job descriptions for where you apply.

Take your resume and look at it side by side next to the job description and write out answers for how well you match each of the requirements.

Use those talking points in your cover letter, and one your interviews.

2. Identify the key performance indicators which will predict whether or you will be a success in your new position.

3. Determine whether or not you will work effectively with your recruiter to make rapid decisions, and answer the offer within 24 hours.

4. Don’t make your recruiters angry by stalking them. They are busy people.

Pace yourself, woo them, and give them a good reason to send your resume out to the client, & seal the deal.

5  Use ‘Phone Sourcing Tips ‘ to find hiring managers, their names, and other people in the department.

Find out what it is really like work at that company, seek these people out, and they will tell you what it is really like to work for their boss.

6. Without being creepy, let them know in a round about way that you have conducted your research and were fascinated by their recent product release.

Share an article you found in the news paper. Butter them up a little. Most importantly, lead them to the conclusion that they need you because you are smart, and knowledgeable. Convince them that they should bring you in for an interview.

That way, neither asked them if they had an opportunity, nor did you have to say “I want to work for you, do you have any job openings.  Job seekers, that is a big mistake.  Lead them to believe that hiring you is their idea, not yours.

Use the inbound marketing. you are the product. Pull instead of push.  It works, it really does.

7. Package yourself like a product that everyone wants to have. Articulate your value proposition. You are not a job beggar, rather you are a resource professional. You are highly a skilled,  ”A” player.

8. Act as if you are in high demand. When you believe in yourself, others will believe in you too.

9. Never lose sight that you are a stainless being. You shimmer and shine.

Even if you were fired, downsized or quit, even if you do have job search fatigue, don’t shut down because of depression, or funky morale.  You have skills knowledge, and abilities.

10. All you have to do is uncover the most sales worthy part of what you have to offer it.  Remember it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get back up that matters.  It makes you the person that you are.

Never lose sight of the fact that you can make someone’s day in 140 characters.

A friend alluded to the fact that if you get fired, it’s actually a good thing because if you don’t you’re just taking up space, and preventing someone who can do well in that position the opportunity to perform at his peak.  That may not be what you want to hear, but it’s true.

I told him that even though he had no idea what I was going through that day, he changed my perspective, nurtured a more productive attitude, and made a difference in my life.  Think about that for a moment, take it in and realize that with every encounter you have, you have the power leave a recruiter, human resources professional, or hiring manager with a nugget of wisdom that offers them hope, happiness, and comfort. I say this in love for the community, and in the positive energy and attitude that can and will change your life for the better.  Here at HRMargo.com I am not concerned about making money, I want to change lives for the better by building a small group where I can make a differnce in your life.  Building community can be the most powerful, transformational experience.  You can be better not bitter.

Even if you were fired.  Here’s what Seiden says:

9. A great recruiter is a masterful sales person. World-class recruiters are masterful negotiators, and communicators. Recruiters want to be reassured that they will be able make, and keep their commission. After all, they worked hard for it.

If you don’t work out, a third party recruiter will have to pay the company their commission back any where between 90 days to 6 months.  Trust me, that is not something they want to do.

When was a 3rd party recruiter, and a temporary services coordinator I can boast that I only had 5 send backs after hundreds of send outs.

Think like a recruiter, and develop a sense of empathy, an compassion, they won’t be afraid that you will screw them by not working out.

Sometimes if you don’t work out it’s not your fault at all, but if you go into a company and intentionally sabatoge your position, everyone loses.  Everyone is effected by your negative situation.  It hurts you.  It hurts the recruiter.  It hurts the company.

An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure: prepare yourself before your interview, take a moment and make an honest assessment of the company culture, and ask yourself: Will I be happy in this position. Will I rise and shine in the morning, “and show the world all the love in my heart,” as Carole King sings.  Life is short.  It is not worth putting yourself in an early grave with a type A-heart attack.  You have to do what you love, and the money will follow.

10. You have two ears, two eyes, an one mouth the recruiters who go from good to great are the ones who know how to LISTEN. They listen for buying cues, hot buttons, and signs that the client is sold on the candidate.  Now think this through, if you learn how to think like a recruiter you will listen, mirror the hiring managers body language, listen and interpret the tone of their voice, and make them feel comfortable with you.  Again, a good sales person is flexible, and adapt to the potential buyer. 10. Communicate with people the way want to be communicated you to with communicate with you. Do not communicate with others the THEY want YOU want them to communicate with you. If you think like a recruiter you will cut the time cycle of time to fill the position, reduce the cost of hire, and convince the human resources representative that you are going to reduce their costs, increase their profitability. Human resource managers are plagued by the pressure to justify their existence with metrics that they have to report to their bosses.

Will you please leave a comment.  What’s your opinion about this. Don’t be afraid to let me know, I care about your opinion.

Your HR Pal,

HRMargo Rose

Contact me at (513) 549-3025

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