Hannah Morgan

Move On Over with Me

2010-08-19T13:47:08-04:00

I am no longer posting new content to this site. I have officially moved over to the other side- Wordpress!

Let's stay connected. You can see my new site by visiting www.careersherpa.net

If you subscribe in a reader, you can do that from the new site!

If you subscribe to get posts via email, you can do that now too!

Thank you to all who have supported me over the past few years on Typepad! It has been a great experience.

Now, what are you waiting for, go see the new site! www.careersherpa.net

Have You Seen My Daily News?

2010-08-12T06:52:10-04:00

The other day I stumbled across someone using this new free tool... @bobWarren retweeted this for @Karen Bice. (Kudos to paper.li for developing this). What I love about it is that it combines my interest and activity on Twitter with new technology! It is oh so simple to create, as long as you have the right key words or are following the right people! Many thanks to the wonderful people I follow who are Tweeting great information!

Here is why I like it.

You can click through to the actual post referenced!
It lays out the information in a more "traditional" format
All the formatting and layout is done for you!

Now, imagine you are trying to demonstrate your knowledge in your industry or occupation...how could you use this to visually demonstrate what you know???

Organization- Electronic Style!

2010-08-11T06:55:47-04:00

I struggle every day (and have for a long time) with how to file emails. I am afraid to delete messages that I might need in the future. When I get really ambitious, or fed up with my lack of organizational skills, I create seemingly meaningful folders in my inbox. Sure, that works fine the first day, but the next day, the categories I've created either make no sense or I can't remember where I put an email.

Now let's carry this over to organizing contacts in my email, Google reader, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Sheez, this gets tricky. I've been to workshops on "how to organize your life". Usually they say, "find a system that works for you". Well, if I could figure out a system, maybe it would work. What I do know is that by organizing and categorizing my eLife, I would spend less time searching and more time doing. I would be able to send stuff to the "right" people in less time and be able to locate information when I need it.

It makes sense to me in Job Search that these would be the email folders (and other categories) one might want to use.

Friends
Family
Networking group (use its name if it has one)
Volunteer (again, use the organization's name)
Industry contact
Occupation contact
Referrals
Job alerts
Company Name of Job submitted (so there will be many of these folders)
Company Insider

LinkedIn allows you to categorize contacts as well. Would it make sense to use many of the same? Facebook allows you to create LISTS. This can be important if you only want some of your network to see some of what you are up to. You can set security settings according to Lists.

Twitter, as it appears from their site is too cumbersome for my liking. I've been using Tweetdeck since I started using Twitter and have become familiar with it. There are others that do pretty much the same thing (Seesmic, DestroyTwitter, or for the really serious Hootsuite) . These tools allow you to separate the Twitter stream by category (hmmm, maybe use the same ones from above).

My google reader is set up a bit differently. I categorize the sites I read by topic more than category, though there is some overlap!

Does anyone have a system they use that they would like to share? I think there are many others out there who struggle like me! We need help!

What Is it you REALLY want to do?

2010-08-10T06:33:16-04:00

Focus! What makes you truly unique? What combination on knowledge, skills and abilities best represents you?

You don't want just any job. You want a job that you'll enjoy and be successful in. So where do you find such a job? Before you go looking, you have to know who you are.

I've just finished reading Career Distinction by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson. The book leads you through their process of assessing and defining your personal brand and shows you how to manage your brand from this point forward. It is full on great information and even has an online workbook you can access!

If you don't have it in you to read the book right now, at least visit their website www.reachpersonalbranding.com and poke around. There are lots of great articles and videos! This job search won't be your last. It is worth it for your to start investing in yourself and being true to your values.

College Grads Need Your Help

2010-08-06T06:29:11-04:00

Actually, they needed your help before they got their cap and gown. But perhaps not the kind of help you think.

They need mentors (and that isn't you)

You can't be your child's best friend or mentor. You could help them find a mentor, but don't do it for them. Ask them who they would like to meet, or what industry or occupation they might be interested in. You can provide the introduction.

They need to understand how to make small talk

We all could use a little help in this area, but what does a 20-something have in common with a 40-something? Probably more than you would think. Encourage them to attend multi-generational events.

Teach them manners

If you missed this opportunity before, now is a great time to teach them how to write Thank You notes and letters. Don't assume they know, because they don't!

Encourage personal and professional development

The soft skills generally aren't taught in schools. Have them do some reading on the topic. Encourage them to be life-long learners.

Review Employment Etiquette

They will be expected to show up on time and ready to go. They need to dress appropriately. They need to understand that a college degree doesn't qualify them to be a CEO...yet.

The World of Work has Changed

When you looked for your last job, things were different. Before you go giving them job search advice, you better make sure you know the new rules.

There are some great resources out there for them and here are just a few:

Heather Huhman

Dan Schwabel's Student Branding

Careerealism

Retraining Alone Is Not the Answer

2010-08-05T07:23:29-04:00

For those of you who are not familiar with Peter Weddle and his newsletter and other resources, I encourage you to peruse his site here.

His most recent "eye catching" news letter article was entitled "Retraining is Useless". Weddle sites a Department of Labor study of 160,000 Unemployment Insurance claimants and the outcome...neutral. Completion of training subsidized by the DOL neither helped nor hurt the students.

You can read the full article here. Weddle's article provides helpful advice on what to consider if you do plan on going back for retraining.

The best solution to protecting your career is to stay current, period. Self study and use of that knowledge in a real environment can certain work wonders. Here is a post on professional development resources you may find helpful. "Finding Professional Development Ops"

When was the last training you attended, formal or informal? How did you use that new knowledge? Oh, and why did you want to learn that stuff?

Personal Branding Is A Way of Living

2010-08-04T07:03:17-04:00

You've heard the term PERSONAL BRAND more often than you care to admit. What's all the hype? What does it really mean?

Personal Branding is a way of living. It is about being true to your core values and capitalizing (literally) on your strengths. Think "reputation". What is it your friends, family, peers and others say about you? What do you stand for and what do you take a stand on?!

Your brand is more than a catchy tagline. It is the whole shebang, you. It includes your quirks too. It is what you say and do and what how others perceive you.

I would guess that every one reading this already has the beginning of a personal brand. They have strengths and a reputation.

Step 2 is to take what you know about yourself and find ways to "live" it - thought, word and deed.

Thinking your brand

What are your priorities, goals, values, biases, phobias, motivators, stressors?

What are those thoughts, ideas, concepts that pop into your head regularly? Do others know about your thoughts?

Speaking and writing your brand

When you communicate, your brand oozes out. Your choice of words, your tone, your attitude are all conveyed. Who is hearing this? Who else needs to hear it?

Acting out your brand

The things you choose to act on, the things you do, the activities you support and are involved with, the events you are associated with are all ways you act out your brand. Are the right people seeing this?

You can't live your life constantly worrying about this stuff, it would drive you crazy. You CAN assess it every once in awhile. When was the last time you stopped and took a look at this? Try using the SWOT analysis to see how you are doing. What are your strengths in living your brand (are you thinking, speaking, acting on-brand). Where are your weaknesses in living your brand (what could you be better at doing). Where are there opportunities to live your brand more or better? Are there threats to living your brand? (What might be a concern now or in the future to you and your brand).

Don't live in a bubble, get help with this. Brainstorm with people you have trusting relationships with. Is living on-brand something you do now? I would love to hear from you.

Find the Back Door for a Job Posting Using LinkedIn

2010-08-03T06:07:29-04:00

As I read and write posts, there is a heavy influence on networking into your next job. Right?
You also have to use the the job boards. You want to cover all your bases. So rather than just sending your resume and cover letter over to the company, do some follow up on LinkedIn.

I searched Indeed.com for a buyer/supply chain job.

Then I went into LinkedIn and searched for the company name. Sometimes this won't work. (As more companies and people start using LinkedIn, this will greatly improve.)

This is what the company profile looks like. (I have crossed out the names to protect the innocent!)

You may have first degree or second degree contacts within the company. This would be wonderful. If you don't have any connections, you can usually see the names of employees on LinkedIn (they've added their profiles to LinkedIn).

If you don't know any of these people, you can click on their profiles and see what groups they belong to, what companies they used to work for and see if there are any commonalities. If you share a group, you may be able to connect with them through that avenue.

As you view their LinkedIn profile, see if they are on Twitter. I have found Twitter to be a great "stalking tool". Follow them on Twitter, observe their tweets. See if you can find a way to start a dialog with them based on their tweets. You may even find that they maintain a blog. Read that and see if you can comment on something they've recently written about.

While you are at it, "follow" the company. This will update you when they update their status or LinkedIn information!

A referral from someone inside a company carries a lot of weight. It is worth every minute of your sleuthing to try and find connections to a job posting!

Has this ever worked for anyone? Do you have a better way of finding company insiders?

Career Sherpa Update

2010-08-02T06:18:53-04:00

Some of you have been asking me "what's next". Others may have no clue what I am talking about.

My blog, Career Sherpa, started almost three years ago as a way to help provide information to job seekers and a share some of what I had learned over the past 10 years of being in HR and transition services.

I love writing and will continue my daily blogging. I find it personally therapeutic, challenging and fun.

I plan to introduce additional services and products that are not commonly offered by those in my field. At least as far as I can tell.

For those who have worked with me or been in workshops with me, you know that I don't beat around the bush. I provide straight-forward, honest feedback and information. I know the clock is ticking and you are eager to find a job and I too, share that sense of urgency. I've been on both sides of the desk, hiring and being interviewed for jobs and I have worked with thousands of job seekers over my career in serving as a guide. This is my passion and vocation!

I truly believe that this will not be the last job search any of you will conduct. So I want to help you understand why and how you can manage your career and personal brand/reputation for the long run.

Over the course of the next month, I will be moving my work over to Wordpress. I am really excited to be moving over to this platform, it offers great flexibility and a slick presentation. Please bear with me as I make this conversion (with the help of some talented experts, whom I will credit later).

If you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me at careersherpa at gmail dot com.

Summary Sunday

2010-08-01T05:32:10-04:00

From around the blogosphere, this is a round up of interesting articles for job seekers this week: