A message from The Career Clinic’s Maureen Anderson

Maureen Anderson here, host of The Career Clinic radio show, career blogger at www.thecareerclinic.com, and friend of Anne’s. I’m so happy to fill in for Anne on this post, and I volunteered to do that so I could share–the way we did on the radio recently–my top ten reasons we at The Career Clinic love Anne. Anne didn’t feel right about passing this list along herself, and I understand. Plus as I recently pointed out on my own blog, getting someone else to share your story is the sweetest way to do it, I think. “Don’t take my word for it. Take hers…” So here goes. In no particular order…

1. Anne has spunk, and at The Career Clinic, unlike Lou Grant, we love spunk.
2. Anne experiments with her life, by doing radio interviews–for example (lucky for us), so she has more credibility when she suggests her clients experiment with their lives.
3. She stays on me to do things–like blog–that are good for my career.
4. She lets me stay on her to do things–like write a book about leaving a job with class–that I think are good for her career.
5. She tells me what she thinks I’m doing right.
6. Perhaps more importantly, she cares enough about me and trusts our relationship enough to suggest things I could do better.
7. She posts comments on my blog!
8. She sends me great guest ideas for the radio show.
9. She’s funny, and fun.
10. When I tell her I worry that she isn’t getting enough out of our relationship, she objects–and tells me why in detail.

I am aware that Anne is compiling her 2nd annual Gift Guide for the Unemployed. I propose that we all take the time to appreciate our friends who are out there in the job market by letting them know why they are special to us and why they will be an asset on the next job.  Feel free to take the Late Night format of the Top Ten List to express appreciation  - we all need this feedback.

The 24-Hour Job Search: who needs it?

Many job seekers suffer from guilt that they are not looking all day every day – and evenings, too.  Not to be reading, exploring, tweaking your resume, writing thank-you notes, shining your shoes for the next interview  - it feels decadent and self-indulgent.

Stop!  Let’s be reasonable about this.  I would like you to ask yourself when your most productive time of day/night occurs.  Your peak hours are those in which much can be accomplished.  It’s a wonderful piece of information to have about yourself.

When you were in school, there were peak times for you to attend class, take notes, participate, and learn without much effort.  Likewise, there were those times when attending was an effort, never mind being on time, when you struggled to take notes (which didn’t always make sense later).

Why not apply that knowledge to your job search activities?  If you’re not a morning person, then don’t do the most important stuff then.  Get the laundry done, do some cleaning, and slowly, as the fog lifts and mid-day approaches, get into your search.  Maybe you’re meeting someone for lunch.  Maybe you’re following up on email.  Maybe you’re hand-delivering a resume to a contact you met at a job fair.

Don’t struggle against yourself.  Go with your flow, working with your 24-hour cycle of peaks and valleys. This is especially important when setting up interviews.  You don’t have to explain your reason, but try hard to schedule that meeting during your best time.  You’ll need that sparkle in your eyes to make a great impression.

Do you have any experience relating to your peak/off hours?  Other readers would love to hear how you handle this.

The LinkedIn Status Update

If LinkedIn is your new online resume, then I hope you are taking full advantage of the status update box. Think of it as your chance to practice, and update, a professional answer to “what’s new?”

Remembering that anything you change in your LinkedIn profile will be transmitted to your connections, you might think of it as running into any of those people and exchanging chitchat about what is new in your life.  To your colleagues, you might mention a conference you’re planning to attend, an article you just read, a new website, or a professional challenge in your life.

The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can change this box easily, as often as you have something new to say.  If you are going to  a trade show, you can mention it, adding (space permitting!) that you are looking forward to seeing friends there.  If you are taking a course, it would be interesting to see what kind of response you might get by mentioning it.  If you are reading a book in yuor subject area, you might mention it in addition to listing it in the book section of the profile.  If you are considering a career change, you can find a way to showcase your exploration, being mindful that your boss may be reading this (discretion advised!).  Please note that if your status update includes a specific event, you absolutely must change the status update by the next day at the latest.

Status updates that will not enhance your professional reputation are those items about parties, vacations, pets, kids, and your favorite tv shows.  They are fun, but perhaps better suited to another web site.

I always read the status updates of my colleagues.  It’s a great way to stay in touch, and also a path to further communication if it is appropriate.  At this point, I must go an update my status update – I’ve just written a blog post about it!

Resume help? You may be wasting your time!

The statistics that give feedback to a blogger have consistently told me that my postings about sections of resumes have been the biggest lures to my blog.  Now this is good news – I love having readers.  And those sections do prompt many of you to contact me for further assistance.  Thank you.  That tells me this blog is doing part of its job.

But wait!  It also says that many of you readers believe that the perfect resume (whatever that is) is the object of your quest.  And if you arrive at the perfect position description, work history, extra skills, references, or whatever, the next great job is sure to follow.  And I want to say stop.  Stop now.

It’s not that I don’t want you finding me through searching for terms about resumes.  I just wish more people would search for articles and information about expanding their world.  Yes, I’m talking networking.  I almost never note an upswing in readership because of a search for networking, contacts, or informational interviewing.  Come on, people.  You’ve heard it, you’ve read about it, you’ve experienced it in your own life.

Networking can:

• Keep you current in your field,
• Take you in new directions,
• Get you out of your job search rut,
• Open a secret gate to the hidden job market,
• Provide new perspective,
• Cause you to enter a friendly, supportive new community.

How do you make the switch from obsessing about resumes to becoming an active networker?  Here’s a reminder:  get a copy of Make your Contacts Count by Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon.  This book is chock full of ideas you have not considered about how to make the most of the people you know and how to position yourself to meet new ones. Remember that tired (true) statistic about the hidden job market?  How up to 85% of jobs are found through personal connection?  The perfect resume won’t help you in your search for these opportunities, but the helpful buddy from your neighborhood, volunteer organization, or classroom just might.

I’ll know you have gotten the message when I see more searches for networking and fewer searches for resumes.

Welcome to the blog’hood, Maureen!

A new resource has been added to the blog world, one that is long overdue.  If you are a fan of thecareerclinic.com and/or its weekly Saturday radio show (if not, you should be!), you’ll rejoice that Maureen Anderson has begun to carry her upbeat career messages into the creative field of blogging.

If you blog, you know the constant pressure to be thinking of something new to say, or communicate an old message in a new way.  It is a real commitment to your readers, clients, customers, or other supporters.  And busy people can be forgiven for being loath to take on yet another marketing tool.  But Maureen is an experienced author, and the readers of her blog will be rewarded for taking the effort to read her polished prose and refreshing content.

Run, don’t walk, to thecareerclinic.com and hit the blog button. You’ll see what I mean.

Ask an Intern: What did you do this summer?

If other interns are like Jackie Witkowski, they are going back to college with stories to tell – beyond their expectations.  Jackie is completing a twelve-weeks’ stint at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and will be heading back to DePaul University in Chicago.

What did Jackie, a twenty-one year old from St. Louis, actually expect?  Well, she expected that she would do whatever she was asked, that maybe she would get involved in a special project, and generally enjoy her first visit to the nation’s capital.

True, she enjoyed herself.  But her 40-hour work week quickly progressed from all-around helper in the Education Department of the museum to, well, running a few things on her own.  Here’s the short version of how her responsibilities rocketed upward:  the already-small department was depleted by job changers, including the Intern Coordinator and the Volunteer Coordinator.

• Suddenly, instead of assisting the intern coordinator, she was organizing other interns in all the departments for training, sharing, and socializing.
• Instead of assisting the volunteer coordinator in continuing education training,  she was herself  coordinating a special tour at the National Gallery of Art for the museum docents.
• Instead of reporting to coordinators, she suddenly reported directly to the Director of Education.

As one of the weekly volunteer docents at this museum. I noticed Jackie early in the summer.  She introduced herself to one and all, asked to sit at the information desk and began to learn the answers to questions posted by visitors.  She remembered names from week to week.  She kept on smiling as her workload shifted in responsibility.

Jackie’s performance did not go unnoticed.  The chairperson of the Department of Education, Deborah Gaston, describes Jackie as a rock star.  Ms. Gaston, who has seen many interns, says you can tell early in the summer who will be capable of increasing responsibility and ownership of projects.  She cites evidence of the high quality of Jackie’s work:

• She wrote enthusiastically, prolifically, and  professionally for the new blog on the museum’s website (http://womeninthearts.wordpress.com).
• She displayed an excellent work ethic.
• She had a fine grasp of the basics of art history, as shown in her blog postings.
• She asked for help when she needed it.
• She continually showed a fine sense of humor, something needed in an art museum in these tight times.

As Jackie returns to her senior year in college, she reflects on the lessons learned during her internship:

• You need to immerse yourself in your work as soon as you arrive – there is no time to lose.
• You need to meet every single person you can and learn as much as you can about the work of the whole organization.
• You can leave your internship with vastly increased confidence in your own ability.
• There are many career paths that lead to your goal, not just the ones that professors tell you about in the classroom.
• You can stay in touch with your new friends and associates, because you’ll be looking for a job very soon.
• You can plan a return visit as soon as possible because it will keep your network alive.

Ms. Witkowski has set a high standard for interns at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.  She is to be congratulated for  recognizing  opportunities and for creating solid accomplishments to carry back to college.  Other interns, please take note!

Time for a Job Change

How do you know when it’s time for a job change?

I am not talking about the obvious – being laid off, being told to start looking.  Those painful situations have the advantage of clarity – you know what you have to do.

For others, the situation is not clear.  I think there is an art to knowing when it is time to take steps.

Signs:

• Your role in staff meetings comes under fire,
• You become identified as a problem when you raise a concern,
• You are not given the tools/authority/assistance/space  you need to do your job.

I know one person whose job included bidding on contracts for continuing education.  He consistently told his superiors that there was increased competition for a major contract, and he needed to come in with a lower cost.  They refused to let him do this.  To no one’s surprise, the contract was awarded to someone else.  I mentioned that yes, it was time to look for another job before people started noticing that this was a highly-paid individual without much to do. The loss of the contract could be blamed on him.  Yes, he started looking, and now has a very responsible job in a major university.

Are you getting an uneasy feeling that nothing is going your way?  I suggest that you take a few steps now:

• Update your resume,
• Set up a few lunch meetings,
• Get on an ad hoc committee to solve an industry-wide problem,
• Get your financial affairs in order for a time of transition.

Yes, tough times make it challenging even to consider leaving a job with a steady salary.  Take the time you need. You will feel better knowing that you are moving in a direction of more respect, more opportunity for success and recognition, more real satisfaction.

If you would like to share some signs that it is time to look for another job, I invite you to post a comment.  This will be of help to other readers.

The Power of your Online Presence

According to a study by CareerBuilder.com, 45% of employers are now searching social networking sites for information about job candidates.  Their searches are almost evenly divided among Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn.  In addition, some are reading blogs and following candidates on Twitter.

What does this mean for you, the job seeker?

The study goes on to summarize a few reasons you might be accepted or rejected based on what you have put out there in cyberspace.  Employers may reject you if:

• You have posted inappropriate, gross, drug-influenced material,
• You communicate poorly (spelling, grammar, overall appearance),
• You lie about your qualifications for the job.

On the other hand, your online presence can work for you if:

• You seem to be a good fit for the company,
• You show creativity,
• Your entries support the qualifications you claim to have.

This is a fascinating study, and I urge you to read the whole story.  You will see that your online identity cannot be ignored in your job search, but rather it can be a real plus to you.  Don’t self-destruct by careless comments or unwarranted bragging.  Ask a friend – call a career counselor – be your own most severe critic.  Clean up that site now!

To read the whole story, go to:

http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=pr519&sd=8%2f19%2f2009&ed=12%2f31%2f2009&siteid=cbpr&sc_cmp1=cb_pr519_

To get help in repairing or enhancing your online presence, please contact me through my website:  www.anneheadley.com.

Basic career message with a light touch

If you know someone who needs to brush up on the tools of the job search, yet dreads the process of slogging through all those steps, here’s a suggestion:  pick up a copy of Courting your Career by Shawn Graham. This paperback book draws parallels between courtship and the job search in a way that should be appealing to job seekers, especially the young ones.

• What to include/leave out in your resume?
• Why should you write a cover letter?
• Why fill out these tedious forms?

Well, let’s think about it.  When you are going out on a date, or arranging to meet someone,

• does it matter what you wear?
• why take a shower?
• why did you choose that shirt?

I find this analogy not only fun to think about, but persuasive .  According to Graham, the first characteristic in effective resumes is to be attractive.  Easy to read, lots of white space, not too much detail.  And no typos, no spelling errors, no misplaced apostrophes (my personal campaign).  Easily related to no ketchup stains on the shirt or spinach stuck in the teeth.  We get it!

If you have a recalcitrant job seeker in your life, this just might help.  Congratulations to Shawn Graham, who has combined very basic career information with an easy-to-digest, funny metaphor about the quest for romance.

The Enemy of the Successful Job Search

If there is one thing than can defeat even the most talented or experienced job seeker, it is inertia.  Call it boredom, depression, discouragement, frustration, I am referring to the condition of doing nothing.  Nothing.  No phone calls, no neighborly chats, no research, most of all, no human contact.

Remember the lottery slogan, You Gotta Play to Win? There is such obvious truth in it that we need to consider it here.

The small mistakes that people can make while looking for a job (not sending a thank-you letter, not asking references for permission to use them, not doing adequate research on a company of interest) pale beside the error of doing absolutely nothing.  If you are in this situation, Couch Potato, it is time to take a step forward.

(Well, hey, I’m reading a career counselor’s blog, doesn’t that count?)

Reading a blog or a website only really counts if you take the effort to write a comment, follow up on the advice you gained, read a suggested book or article, or otherwise show that you gained from reading the item.

What are you going to do today?

• But it’s Sunday and nobody’s at work…
• I have three applications out there.
• Haven’t you heard about the high unemployment rate?

I’m not impressed with the above-listed whines.

• Yes, it’s Sunday. And tomorrow, people will be checking their email and listening for phone messages.  Will yours be there?
• You can leave messages about those applications, restating your interest.
• Yes, unemployment is climbing.  And I could name you a few clients of mine who just got good to great jobs.  Why?  Because they worked at it.  They aren’t really any smarter or more experienced than you.  They’re hard workers.

Need more of a nudge?  Feel free to contact me through my website, www.anneheadley.com.  I’d love to help you recover from your inertia.