At EmployInsight we are really excited about becoming part of Get It as it will allow us to fully execute our long term vision of better connecting employers and job seekers where both sides are truly a match.

Our passion from day one has been about helping people find jobs they will love, as Confucius famously once said “find a job you love and you’ll never work another day in your life” a mantra that EmployInsight has been built on. Get It has been executing this same mission for many years, by providing highly specific destinations for employers and job seekers to connect, so it was a natural fit from the start and we couldn’t be happier to join forces and provide a truly market leading product over the next few years.

EmployInsight pre-employment candidate matching tools will soon be available to all employers who list jobs on Get It’s boards. This will enable employers to instantly gain a deeper understanding of their candidate pool and the applicants that have the character strengths required to succeed at the job they are advertising.

All job seekers will have the opportunity to take EmployInsight’s proprietary StrengthInsight assessment to find out more about both themselves and their potential job matches. While many job seekers using Get It are very focused on their field of employment the StrengthInsight Assessment will give users additional data to decide which organizations are the best fit for them.

By combining Get It’s large number of niche job board destinations with our matching technology we believe we can create unrivaled service to employers and job seekers alike, the result, lots of people who love their jobs!

Onwards and upwards!!

The EmployInsight Team

I’m networking and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Moments like this have happened at least a dozen times since I’ve set out on this path towards professional success. There’s so much noise and so many people, it’s as if I’ve been swallowed inside the hollow mouth of a piñata without any escape. Networking has always made me nervous because I’ve never been sure of how it works. Thankfully, I’ve managed to walk away from my personal experiences with strong lessons to build off of until the next one.

Friends = jobs. You know that saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”? Despite how much I loathe the phrase, considering I’m going to have to pay Sallie Mae back for the “what you know” part, it’s true. When I first started my Communication program, I was unemployed. I became friends with another student from the program and she happened to be working at a local think tank. She told me about a position that had opened up at her organization. Luckily for me, it was aligned with my degree and career goals. She spoke with the person doing the hiring and shortly after my interview, I got the job. That experience taught me to open up more and get creative with my job search. It’s a lot better to have someone else vouch for you than to just have your resume sitting on someone’s desk.

Follow up. Period. Consistency has been my best friend in this area. I’ve missed opportunities before simply because I didn’t keep track of the business cards I’ve collected and emails I’ve received. Following up with your contacts is so essential because it can either make or break a budding relationship. Timeliness and maintenance of your correspondence can be as easy as checking in every month or so, even if that connection isn’t beneficial for either you or the other person at the time. I’ve sent emails and didn’t get any responses until months later. Sometimes it’s immediate, other times it’s a total miss. But I’m learning to leverage the now to work in my favor for more possibilities in the future.

Search for jobs in the most unlikely of places. I incorporate social networking sites into my job search more often than I used to. LinkedIn seems like an obvious choice, but Twitter is actually my strongest resource. A 50 character tweet directly from the source has yielded faster results than some of my hour long online applications. Would you believe me if I told you that Instagram lead me to a potential freelance gig? All I did was ask a question in a comment section! In this digital age, creativity is your best chance at employment. The fact that you can follow, comment, like and tag industry professionals puts you at a unique advantage. Embrace it.

Emiley Mallory is a freelance journalist who recently graduated into the real world. Currently, she is a contributing blogger for StrengthsInsight and freelancing for an event planning team at a major television network. She is using her posts at StrengthsInsight to foster inspiration and informative content for young people full of goals and great potential.

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Deconstructing the Event, aka the Post-Mortem:

After one of these episodes, the first thing many of us do is beat our self up. If you’ve ever seen a boxing match, you know that the best fighters always get up! Think about why you performed poorly. Did you even perform poorly, i.e., are you being too hard on yourself? Were you unprepared? Were you scared? Did you feel like you would have failed a polygraph test, when saying that you see yourself growing with the company for the next five years? Hindsight is 20/20. The brilliant or alternative response always seems to come the moment the interview ends, so the first thing to do is ease up. No one is perfect. If you feel like you gave it your best shot but didn’t like your answer, then chalk it up, practice responding to this type of question and on the next interview you will answer the question to your satisfaction. What about if you were unprepared? Well, if you went into an interview, without doing research on a company or practicing your pitch, then you must first be honest with yourself. If you blew a legitimate opportunity because you were unprepared, then a little tough love will do you right. Know that you missed out on a great job because you didn’t do your homework and you have no one to blame but yourself. If this is the case, then practice and read up before the next one. What if you felt really uncomfortable when the interviewer told you about his/her experience and if you felt like you didn’t believe your own responses? Sometimes, we just have a bad day or we’re under the weather. For now, let’s forget about the nerves or the sudden onslaught of a bad cold. Sweaty palms and sickness, aside, I know that I have been in an interview, where the person described the corporate culture and I thought, “Wow, I think I would feel really uncomfortable here…in fact, I already do!” Guess what? If that thought ran through your head, then unless you’re a great poker player, your body language indicated some degree of discomfort. Furthermore, it would not be surprising to give a disingenuous answer about how you wanted to join a company, when your gut told your brain it didn’t feel right.

The Take-Away

If it’s your fault because you weren’t prepared, then own it and don’t do it again. If you think there’s room for improvement, then diagnose what needs tweaking and practice. If you stumbled because you were thinking about how this place is not right for you, then don’t beat up on yourself! Listen to your body; it’s trying to tell you that you don’t belong there.

Silver Lining

Sometimes, you think you screwed up and you get a call three days later with a job offer. The company might have already made up their mind that you were their guy (or girl). Alternatively, you receive a rejection email and thank your lucky stars, that they didn’t like you. If you felt sick sitting with someone for 40 minutes, how would it feel working with that same person five days a week? You may have some more soul searching left to do, a few more hands to shake and a few more resumes to send out but sometimes the best road, is the one not taken.

Legally Free is a blogger for StrengthsInsight and an attorney at law in the midst of a career transition. As he makes his way through his transition, he is sharing his insights into his journey of ditching his former legal career and rediscovering his love for innovative business, new and interesting people and having fun.

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Key Benefits to Informational Interviews:

• They allow you to see what you don’t want as much as what you do want. For example, about one month ago, I had an informational interview with an in-house attorney at a growing startup. Even though, I go by the name, “Legally Free”, technically, I’m not free, just yet. In any case, there is a common belief among attorneys that you can smoothly transition out of law by becoming in-house counsel for a company, as you are exposed on a daily basis to the business terms and the people who create them. When I inquired as to whether this particular attorney was involved in the business decisions of the company, she essentially told me that she was there to build the company’s legal infrastructure but otherwise, was not involved in any type of strategy or business development. Even though, there were no openings with this company, the meeting was productive because I realized that I did not want to just become an in-house attorney…I wanted to pursue a more business-focused role.

• It’s a preseason warm-up game out there. You can practice your pitch, make plenty of errors and not worry about losing the game. One of the best meetings I ever had was with a CEO who moved from banking to the startup world several years ago. He could easily relate to the difficulties encountered in transitioning careers. About one minute into my pitch, he stopped and questioned my motivation. He then singlehandedly picked apart every piece of my pitch until I felt like I was about two feet tall. I left feeling pretty dejected but nevertheless relieved because I had a very important meeting with a venture capitalist two days later. The following day, I created a new pitch taking into account the constructive criticism I learned the day before. I practiced all day long and the following day, the VC complimented me on my approach and agreed to make two introductions.

• It’s a good way to get allies. Allies may turn out to be your best friends. They typically won’t have a job waiting for you when you meet but these are the people, whom if you make a good impression, will go through their rolodex and make introductions to contacts who may otherwise not respond to you…and these contacts may have job openings…or know of others who do have job openings. Plus, if the ally likes you, he/she will also advocate on your behalf and may give you other meaningful feedback.

• You get the experience of having met a number of people. You may think this last one sounds pretty hokey and non-substantive but I beg to differ. At some point, you will score your next gig. When you do, you will remember how many people you met with over the course of the search. The sense of accomplishment will be a great boost for your ego and guess what? At some point, you may be looking for a job again. Or, you may now just be growing sales for your present company. In either case, you will be perfectly poised to move forward, with full confidence, because of all your prior networking experience! Success in prior experience always informs our future efforts.

So go out there. Meet and greet, drink a lot of coffee, pitch a lot of people and recruit allies. Soon enough, you’ll be out of spring training and in the big leagues.

Legally Free is a blogger for StrengthsInsight and an attorney at law in the midst of a career transition. As he makes his way through his transition, he is sharing his insights into his journey of ditching his former legal career and rediscovering his love for innovative business, new and interesting people and having fun.

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1.  What experience do you have that makes you suitable for this position? Some variation of this question will be presented to you regardless of the position. For me, transferable skills are gold. Working in retail in the beginning of my work career gave me a staple within my skill set. Customer service has helped me in my journey from student radio to my current post in event planning.  I handle any tasks required of me and I do it all within a reasonable time frame. Isn’t that what most employers look for anyway? Think about your past experiences, even duties that seemed mundane, and cross reference them with the skills required of you in new opportunities. The point is to not just sell an idea, but the fact that you’re there asking for the position for a reason.

2.   What are your weaknesses? In my last post, I addressed that an interview is a time to discuss how you can turn your weaknesses into triumphs. I’ve learned the best way to tackle this question is by providing an example of when your “weakness” worked in your favor. I ruminate over details constantly. Some may find that time consuming, but I think an extra 10 minutes (or 45 for that matter) is less trouble than going back to correct an error you might have missed. So in reality, I’ve not only saved face, but saved my employer some time. Allow your weakness to save the day. Give it a cape and let your diligence do the rest!

3. Do you have any questions to ask me? This question is great. One, it marks the conclusion of your mild interrogation. Two, it means it’s your turn! Here, you get to find out if the job will be a good fit for you. This question may seem easy enough, but if you haven’t researched the organization, it’ll show. Not everyone is out there applying for their dream job right now. But you still need to demonstrate that you’re interested in the position enough to have more than one question. Instead of asking how much you get paid, find out what were some of the interviewer’s most rewarding experiences with the company. Remain genuine and always exude confidence!

Emiley Mallory is a freelance journalist who recently graduated into the real world. Currently, she is a contributing blogger for StrengthsInsight and freelancing for an event planning team at a major television network. She is using her posts at StrengthsInsight to foster inspiration and informative content for young people full of goals and great potential.

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I recently learned this lesson when preparing for an interview with a company I was very interested in working for. In a role-play, my career coach asked me to pitch him on why I would be a good fit for his company. I immediately started my pitch by saying,

“For the last 6 ½ years, I’ve been a practicing commercial real estate attorney but I realized that the strengths I valued most—things like teamwork, having fun and being innovative, were not being validated on a daily basis. Nevertheless, over that time, I’ve managed projects, built relationships and strategically communicated with clients and counterparts, alike…with these skills, I can immediately be a value-add to your company because…”

Immediately thereafter, I was greeted with the following words of tough love.

“No one wants to hear the drama of why you don’t want to be a lawyer. Save it for the law blogs. There are tons of unhappy lawyers and the last thing you need to do when trying to convince someone that you’re different from your legal counterparts is to immediately remind them that you are one.”

Was it an ego blow to have the pitch I worked on for four hours in the bathroom mirror, so highly critiqued? You bet. Was the criticism constructive? Absolutely. I revised the pitch so not to use the word “lawyer” more than once. Additionally, I organized it with the following structure:

1. After first thanking the CEO for his time, I told him the type of role I was interested in to immediately let him know why I was there.
2. Next, I gave a brief overview of my educational and professional background, while only mentioning the word lawyer once. I then illustrated my core competencies by explaining how I managed sophisticated projects, solved problems, efficiently organized closings and strategically communicated with many different types of personalities. These are my core skills that I bring to the table.
3. I ended the pitch by complimenting the company and asking to hear more about its growth and needs to make a natural transition into a conversation.

When pitching yourself, remember that less is more. People, especially very important people with limited time, also tend to have limited attention spans. You can go into further detail if asked specifically, but you will leave a better impression if you succinctly identify your core skill sets, while glossing over details. If someone wants more substance, they will ask.

So when on your next interview or pitch, check your drama at the door and bring your skills to the table. If you follow those words of advice, you’ll start out on solid ground.

Legally Free is a blogger for StrengthsInsight and an attorney at law in the midst of a career transition. As he makes his way through his transition, he will share insights into his journey of ditching his former legal career and rediscovering his love for innovative business, new and interesting people and having fun.

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Confidence. I’ve walked through tons of double doors and had no idea what to expect. I’ve read the job post, reviewed the website and researched the organization. However, no Google search results yielded the perfect formula to nailing a position. There are many factors that help you, but one I’ve found to be considerably helpful has been confidence. I’ve let it radiate despite fear and sail me into the warmth of certainty regardless of anxiety. Once, I had an interview with a campaigning organization. They had a great mission that excited me and I believed in it. But it was also another one of those interviews I had no idea how I was going to be able to deliver. I lacked some of the skills they were asking for and that worried me. However, I surprised myself. For each question he asked me, I convinced myself that I had it. I didn’t have all the experience, but I let my eagerness for the position and my potential speak for me. In the middle of the interview, the interviewer said with a refreshing tone, “you are very confident!” as if surprised by it. I was hired on the spot!

You can pace the floor, ruminate over lines, but once you sit in that seat, across from that desk is just a person asking you what can you do. You’re there to offer your services. Times like this call for you to display your best assets and discuss how you can turn your weaknesses into triumphs. After what seems like forever, your time is up and you get back to breathing. None of what happens in those 30 minutes or so determines who you are as a person. They tell the hiring director what you are capable of as an employee. Find what makes you believe in seeing yourself in that position and own it!
Emiley Mallory is a freelance journalist who recently graduated into the real world. Currently, she is a contributing blogger for StrengthsInsight and freelancing for an event planning team at a major television network. She is using her posts at StrengthsInsight to foster inspiration and informative content for young people full of goals and great potential.

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I love the Tupac Shakur classic, “Keep Ya Head Up” because the chorus is so universally uplifting. “Keep ya head up, oooo child things are gonna get easier, ooooo child things are gonna get brighter.” When you’re out there in the midst of a career transition, if there’s one thing you gotta do, it’s keep ya head up!

Regardless of whether you’re waiting for that email back from your college friend’s ex-office mate who’s now the CEO of a hot, new startup or if you were just rejected from the one place you had your heart set on, it’s inevitable that doubt will creep into your thoughts. Whether it’s triggered by downtime, rejection or boredom, there is no fool-proof method for preventing the uncomfortable feelings associated with doubt during times of uncertainty.

Here are a few tricks for staying positive and breaking out of the funk:

Structure

I’m a process kind of person. I need to break things down into smaller components in order to understand the big picture. When I first contemplated leaving the law, the scariest thing was picturing what I would do next. I had no road map, let alone a clear end in sight. Guess what? I also had the same feeling when training for a ten-mile obstacle course relay race last fall.

When it came to the race, I started a cross-fit regimen two months prior. By training with short-intense workouts four times per week, I built a combination of muscle mass and agility. With each week, I became faster and stronger, which in turn built my confidence.

Similarly, in my career transition, I enlisted the help of a great career counselor. Between each session, I completed homework assignments that were the building blocks for figuring out what I wanted in my professional life. One week, I listed every single job I had from the age of 12 and what I liked, didn’t like and the lessons learned. By reconnecting with these experiences, it was easier for me to identify my core values. After identifying my core values, it became easier to identify the type of work that makes me happy. All in all, the smaller steps made it much easier to take the bigger leaps.

Work Out

It’s not just the chorus to an LMFAO song. Exercising is an integral part of staying positive because among other things, it helps reduce stress. There are way too many articles online linking regular exercise with all sorts of positive effects like improving mood and boosting energy, for a non-expert like me to give lip service in a short blog post. Suffice to say, that in the middle of a long run, while listening to uplifting music, I personally start to feel like anything is possible and with the help of Runkeeper, I can track my results. Good tunes + good vibes + measurable physical improvement = great way to feel positive.

Momma said there’d be days like this

Did you ever have a time in your life when what you wanted didn’t work out? Did you pick yourself up? If you did, then you certainly have some empirical evidence that with time and perseverance, the cards fell in your favor. There’s no exact formula but patience, a little luck and hard work go a long way. The timing may not always be on your own watch but it’s a whole lot easier to have faith when you have some proof that you powered through a difficult time. Plus, if all else fails, then I suggest remembering the helpful adage used time and time after again by my sister, “Rejection is G-d’s form of protection”.

Staying positive, upbeat and enthusiastic about the road in front of you is equally, if not more important for landing that next job because everyone, from employers to friends to family members and even pets feed off our energy. Quite simply they pick up what we’re putting down. So if you ever find yourself in a funk, just remember, keep ya head up!

Legally Free is a blogger for StrengthsInsight and an attorney at law in the midst of a career transition. As he makes his way through his transition, he will share insights into his journey of ditching his former legal career and rediscovering his love for innovative business, new and interesting people and having fun.

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Introspection = Soul Searching

In my post last week, I blogged about the importance of the pivot. Pivoting, or changing course can only occur after you’ve had a gut check moment with yourself. It requires introspection, that is looking inside ourselves and asking some basic questions about our emotional well-being. Am I happy? If not, then, why? Will this career path satisfy my core values for the long term? What alternatively would make me happy and why? For the record, these types of questions are neither easy to frame or answer and require amongst other things, time, list-making and cataloguing past life experiences. In my case, I was fortunate to have the assistance of an inspirational career coach to help me frame these questions and who furthermore questioned my responses to those very same questions.

Research = Collecting Data

Once I identified my core values and why my career path was incompatible with those values, I was able to start hypothesizing about what I would like to do with my career on a forward-going basis. Anyone who has taken a high school chemistry class knows that a hypothesis can only be proved through research. When it comes to career change, researching involves collecting data to support your reasons for change and to gain insight into what you want to do next. This means reading articles about companies or career paths that interest you, talking to friends and family about what they like or don’t like about their own careers and scheduling informational interviews with professionals who are in fields that interest you.

And guess what? You may discover that what you thought you wanted is not what you really wanted. The research may prove your hypothesis but it could require you to tweak it as well. In my own job search, for example, I expressed some interest in project management roles in the tech community. I was open to these types of positions at the outset but I did not initially have my heart set on it. It was only after speaking with colleagues and friends in the field and going to tech meetups that I was able to confirm my interest, or in other words, tweak my hypothesis.

Advocacy = Networking for YOU

After you’ve looked inside your soul and completed some hands-on research about what you would like to do, it’s time to start advocating for yourself. Advocacy from the perspective of career change is getting in front of people who can lead you to your next gig and explaining why they should introduce you to someone who can give you the job you want or why you would be a good fit for their company. The two key components require identifying the targets whom you would like to meet and developing your pitch to those targets.

In order to properly advocate for yourself, you have to clearly articulate what you bring to the table. This means you must become intimately familiar with your core competencies, give examples of how you used those competencies in the past and how they relate to what you would like to do and what a company would need from you in the future. Once you’re in front of a good target and you’re clearly advocating your core competencies, moving on to your new challenge only becomes a matter of time.

The topic of career change can be quite intimidating, especially when you’re unhappy in your present career and you’re unclear about what to do next. Nevertheless, if you devote time, energy and thought to looking inside yourself, research and advocacy, the process will become much clearer.

Legally Free is a blogger for StrengthsInsight and an attorney at law in the midst of a career transition. For the next several weeks, he will share insights into his journey of ditching his former legal career and rediscovering his love for innovative business, new and interesting people and having fun.

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1. Brazen: Brazen Careerist, co-founded by Penelope Trunk, author of bestselling career advise book, The New American Dream, is a site for career tips and job opportunities. It connects to a blog called Brazen Life that offers entertaining but helpful articles presenting career advice and tips on finding a job. The articles cover an array of topics, the majority of which are geared toward helping you to find your success. Brazen also has a Pinterest account with 16 boards that conveniently categorize the type of advice you need.

http://blog.brazencareerist.com/

2. The Muse: The Daily Muse gives career advice for a range of dilemmas that you may face in the workplace. They answer questions regarding networking, managing your workload, and even handling the morning after a happy hour! Their writers cover several issues that target specific groups such as entrepreneurs, technicians and women. Their advice ranges from healthy living to productivity to style & travel. What they have to say is useful for people of all ages, women and men, who are looking for career advice. http://www.thedailymuse.com/category/career/careeradvice/. Along with advice at the office, The Muse has tips for how to land a job along with insight into the companies in which you have an interest.

http://www.themuse.com/

3. Levo League: ‘Levo’ is the Latin root of the word “elevate” which describes Levo League’s mission to inspire and assist women in the work world, and to provide them with the tools necessary for success. (sorry, men!) Their articles provide news and advice concerning women’s careers, skills, lifestyles and fashion. They also have a unique feature called “Office Hours” which is a live, 30-minute Q&A session that is available for anyone to watch. Career leaders, mentors and experts discuss lessons they have learned and propose personal advice that stems from their different career paths. Finally, Levo also posts job openings that are currently accepting applications.

http://www.levoleague.com/home

4. Vocation Village: Vocation Village requires no transportation to get to (just click the link below) and contains a number of helpful articles that pertain to your current career and/or your search for a career. This service is provided by Dr. Janet Scarborough Civitelli, a vocational psychologist who has years of experience with career coaching and professional counseling. The topics she deals with concern decision-making, job-searching, happiness and stress, success stories, resumes, interviews, and more.

http://www.vocationvillage.com/

5. Career Potential: Ford R. Myers, a career expert, wants to help you “take charge of your career” by providing you (without any cost) with over 60 articles he has written. These articles have also been published in internationally recognized magazines and newspapers. If you are an executive or professional, however, who needs a bit more help, Career Potential offers programs, seminars, and consultation to guide you to success. You can read the free and available advice articles posted on their website or you can further explore their website to find the program that is perfect for you!

http://careerpotential.com/career-advice/

Molly McShea works at StrengthsInsight as a Marketing Strategist. A former varsity athlete at Georgetown University, she has a passion for linguistics, learning new things and discovering more about the world.

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