It’s that time of year again and the SXSW Panel Picker is live once more with a huge selection of panel suggestions for the general public to weigh in on. SXSW Panel Picker is the process whereby they pick the best submitted panel ideas for the Conference in March, 2011 based on input from the general public (that’s you), their staff and an advisory board. The selection process seems pretty clear but who knows - if you are not in you can’t win ;-/. So, we are putting our best efforts together to help promote our panel, titled:

Post Recovery Recruitment - What Now?

The panel will be full of people from the industry who understand the challenges that job seekers face and represent their views as to how things are changing. Yours truly, Jarlath O’Carroll, the CEO of Jobspeaker plus Dan Schawbel, the Gen-Y personal branding expert along with several others representing recruiters, employers and job seekers will be present to share ideas, stories and challenges with all attendees. It should be fun, engaging and an informative session for all working adults i.e. not just those looking for a job but also those in jobs who need to understand how they should be prepared for managing their own career.

So please Vote “Thumbs Up” for this Panel now and let’s get a lively debate going on how we should approach this new job market.

I went to Starbucks the other week to grab a coffee - something I do on occasion particularly as in this case when I was driving, getting tired and everyone else in the car was asleep or likely to be soon. I chose to go through the drive-thru window to avoid waking my precious cargo.

I got to the order speaker thingy - a difficult experience at the best of times but in this case it was very clear that the person at the other end had very little time for me. Once I got to the window the experience didn’t get any better. She seemed more concerned about what was going on inside the store than just helping me. After I paid, I asked for some sugar but it seemed like I must have asked for gold sprinkles based on the reaction I got. Then to top it off she says “and have a Great Weekend”. Well, the idea was nice and said with even an ounce of sincerity I might even have believed her. But she didn’t even wait to finish the sentence before the window was closing and she was already turned around for her next super efficient task.

I’m sure you all experienced something similar at some stage but my question is: have you ever been less attentive than you should to people you have interacted with? I know my answer is unfortunately yes but for those of you in the job search it’s especially important to engage with your audience. Presidents Bush and Clinton are rumored to have that quality - people feel like they are the only person in the world to the ex-Presidents when they meet them. Can you do the same in a formal interview or in an informal networking meeting? If you are not used to it, it will take a lot of effort but if you are not engaged in the conversation people notice it and conclusions like being insincere, scattered, or unfocused might follow. You might be the most sincere, interesting and perfect job candidate on the planet but if you can’t connect with the people you are speaking with then your job search is going to be difficult.

I can share some other experiences of people in the interview process that similarly failed to connect but I’d prefer to hear your thoughts or experiences.

Why would we try to launch another service in the crowded job market? Good question - well the answer lies in what we see happening in the job market today. We believe that the job market has changed significantly and irreversibly in the last couple of years. All parties in the recruitment process are seeing changes: employers; job seekers, recruiters and job posting services.

Employers are looking to do more with less; examining the cost-benefit of recruiters and the large job boards; exploring the benefits and pitfalls of social media from a recruiting perspective and looking for employees that fit better within the company. Job seekers are also changing the way they look at their job search and their careers: with the massive layoffs across the economy (I was one of them but more about that later) job seekers now tend to be less committed to a company and more committed to managing their own career; they are becoming less tolerant of the command and control structure of more traditional companies (read: Gary Hamel’s WSJ Blog); they expect more from their employers and are looking for roles they can really sink their teeth into and they conduct their job search very differently than before.

Recruiters too are seeing the difference: executive recruiters maybe not as much as others although there has arguably been less work in this area recently (I’ll get into this more in a later blog post). Recruiters in general though are seeing less work or are being paid less for their services, some have quit the profession and some are moving to be in-house recruiters. Offline posting services have seen huge declines in job posting revenue in recent years and this has contributed to their on-going decline (read: USA Today). Online services too have seen significant changes as employers have pulled back their advertising and hiring or have started looking at other channels. Monster alone experienced a 33% drop in revenue in 2009 versus 2008 (Read: Commentary). Hotjobs sold to Monster earlier this year which in part was due to the changes in the online job market.

So, what does this all mean? It means that we are experiencing a seed change in how recruitment happens and it will effect all of us. Those of us in full-time long-term employment to those in temporary/part-time positions. A job for life is a very rare thing these days and we used to think that a stable career means changing jobs no more than every 5-10 years, is that still the case? More and more employees seem to be changing positions every 2-3 years. And for those new additions to the job market, their expectations are very different than previous generations (Read: Commentary).

So back to the original question: so why are we doing jobspeaker anyways? Now that you know the back story it’s a relatively simple answer - we exist to build tools for job seekers looking for work and managing their career in this new environment.

How do you think we can help you?

I just finished “Crush It” by Gary Varnerchuk. Gary (@garyvee) has become a bit of an icon online with his video blog for wine – wine library tv. Gary grew his own family business from a local wine shop to a hugely successful online business through his use of online media. People follow him, watch him because he is entertaining, knowledgeable about wine and just so passionate about what he is doing. His book explains how he launched his personal brand and why you should too.

He insists that this is the perfect time to start talking about what you’re passionate about whether it’s your job or not. He urges people to “Crush it” - his expression for being truly passionate about what you are into and leveraging it into a business. He cites examples of people who managed to do so (Tara Swiger of blondechickenboutique.com) and made it their full-time gig and others still who are doing so to further extend their brand - even baseball players are using social media to extend their reach.

Of people in employment he asks the following 3 questions:

1. Are you happy with your present job?
2. Do you work for a company that allows you to have a public persona about your job or your passion?
3. If not at work can you develop a public persona during your personal time?

If you answer no to 2 or 3 then Gary’s advice is to get out of your job, it’s not the place for you. You’ll suffocate because you need to be able to build your personal brand. If you are not happy in your job but allowed to build your personal brand then he sees that eventually you can build your brand while continuing to pay the bills and ultimately you can make that your full-time gig.

Whether or not you agree with Gary’s approach it’s hard to argue with the passion that he brings and the success he has had in his own business. For employed or job seekers the message that I get from the book is clear that you should always be developing your brand and that you should follow your passion because life is just too short – and I couldn’t agree more with that statement!

The next book I’m reading is about leadership and how to communicate effectively – more of a management book but it’s really interesting as I try to figure out how best to communicate within our small company and externally about what we are doing.

Can you recommend any other books on social media?

However, most of you are here to read about how to improve your job search and there are a few nuggets of wisdom here to help you as well. The advice in the book is generally pitched at founders or business owners and it speaks to these individuals about how to approach hiring. But if you flip this advice around and think about what it means for you, the job seeker, then there is also some common job search myths displaced. Here is a quick synopsis of what those ideas are:

1. Resumes are ridiculous

- the authors argue that resumes are full of half-truths, exaggerations and are for lazy job seekers that “spam” employers. So in order to stand out from the pack they recommend writing a focused cover letter that shows how you are interested in THAT company

2. Years of irrelevance

- Years of experience in a industry or a particular function is not a good predictor of future performance so employers need to look for how good candidates are at the job. Therefore you as a candidate with or without years of experience need to focus on how well you can do the job and perhaps be prepared to demonstrate it

3. Formal Eduction?

- If you don’t have a formal education from a well known school don’t worry, some employers are looking for those who do not necessarily excel in the classroom. Speaking from personal experience here: some of the most talented people I have ever met never finished any college education. These employers will look for your ability to deliver and your enthusiasm for the company and role.

4. Managers but not delegators

- the authors urge employers to look for people who are used to managing themselves, define tasks and accomplish those tasks themselves without oversight thus freeing the employer up to do other work. They challenge employers not to hire delegators who like meetings, who clog up the system with busy work and who don’t know how or want to roll up their sleeves and get the work done. Executing an effective job search is arguably a great test for this ability!

5. Be a great writer/communicator

- No matter what the job function - clear, concise and effective writing is a core skill that will benefit the employer as writing (via email, sms, etc) is the main form of communication today. So as a candidate use whatever chances you have prior, during or after the job search process to show your own style, personality and communication skills through your writing.

Taking this approach requires you to know what type of company you are applying to, how they hire and whether this approach will work. It won’t work for all situations but there are certainly some that it will help you significantly (particularly smaller companies). But this is the approach that we are recommending anyways as job seekers who are looking to take control of your job search.

Tell us what you think, is this good advice?

I started as I usually do with attending a few conference sessions. But it seemed no different than other conferences so I started to wonder: what gives? I thought this was the conference that everyone was talking about as one of the best … That’s when it happened: I attended my last session of the day and the first related to the job environment. I started talking to some of the people that attended and there were some great people who welcomed me and our message of providing better tools to job seekers. In particular, Jessica Merrell (aka blogging4jobs), Brian Batchelder, Chris Hoyt (aka TheRecruiterGuy) and Leanne Chase were very kind to listen to what I had to say and in some cases generally just hang out over the course of the conference. Thank you for your time!

Soon thereafter I realized that the SXSW conference is not really about the sessions, while some were good – it became clear that it’s much more about networking with people. Time and time again, I met people who in other situations might be impossible to get in front of. So, thank you to the following people for being so gracious:

• Tim Ferris – thank you for your time; if you want to hit a (hurling) ball around next time you are in San Francisco, let me know
• Chris Brogan – thanks for your very entertaining panel, for taking the time to chat and for your engaging comments
• David Meerman Scott – thank you for an authentic, informative, lively discussion on social media for business and being a true gentleman when I came to talk to you
• Capt. Nathan Broshear - thanks for the video (inspiring!), for being so helpful and for doing what you do

Thanks too to everyone else I met, names too numerous to mention who made my trip very enjoyable. The only disappointment was that the conference didn’t have a real top level forum about jobs, one of the biggest problems in our country today. There were some small sessions but none that really grasped the gravity of the problem for a lot of Americans which is a real shame.

So, what’s it all mean for us: It means that I have come back with a renewed vigour, a new enthusiasm for what we are doing based on what I heard, read and who I talked to over the 5 days I was in Austin.

What was your SXSW experience like and/or does it sound like other conferences you attended?

Congratulations you’ve probably done a lot of work to get this far and now you have contact with the hiring manager within the company. In Star Trek, Captain Kirk often wandered onto a new planet without finding out much about the aliens that lived there. Kinda saying, “Hi, I’m from Earth, you’ll LOVE me!”. Well, that might have worked for him but it probably won’t work for you. Assuming you are going to talk to this company about a role then you’d better do your homework on the company and the people you are going to meet. Arguably this stage and the next (the interview) are where you need to put in the most effort.

Now that you’ve got the introduction to the hiring manager you need to put your best foot forward and to do so you need to present yourself as the perfect candidate (without making things up). You need to work the network that got you into the role in the first place in a very short period of time so that you can alter your resume and cover letter to fit the role and company. Speak with those that introduced you to the company, speak with others that you know at the company or people who used to work there to get a better understanding of the company, the individuals and more specifics on the role. Most job descriptions are not written very well and there is always more information about the role that is pertinent to your application than can be explained in the job description. This is what you are searching for - the information that once highlighted in your resume or cover letter makes the hiring manager sit up and take notice. For some great advice on resumes and more generally on job searching, check out these bloggers: Susan Ireland and Alison Doyle.

It is our opinion that you need to customize your resume and cover letter for every role. You should maintain a standard resume for the major job roles that you are applying for i.e. a version for all of the project manager roles and a version for all of the copywriter roles. Then when applying for a role you customize your application (cover letter and resume) with details that highlight your skills/experience for the role even if that means changing just a few words or a sentence or two. In other words, you need to make the resume fit the job description and bring out information that address the must haves in the job description or that you have found in your research. Now that you have a better understanding of the company and the role than anyone else in the application process (based on the homework you’ve done) - you now must use that advantage to move your application to the top. This background knowledge also serves as a great basis for the research you need to do when you move through to the next stage, the interview.

Let’s not forget that warm introduction we talked about in the last segment (Approach) - now you hand your resume and cover letter to your contact at the company and ask them to give it to the hiring manager. Of course, if you can also ask your contact to recommend you that’s even better. But either way, it is your responsibility to convince the hiring manager that you are the person for the job once they see your application.

So unlike Captain Kirk, who had more than his share of unpleasant experiences with alien species - you can increase you chances of a positive response to your application by doing a small amount of additional work.

Next:
Step 6: Interview - be prepared!

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Jobspeaker is a service to help job seekers manage their job search - sign up at www.jobspeaker.com.

So I have to admit that writing this blog post took longer that I expected and I guess it reflects the difficulty of the subject matter. Making contact with colleagues, friends and other acquaintances in looking for a job is difficult, delicate and not what you would expect if you haven’t done it before. But before we get to how you go about doing this, let’s first talk about why:

According to a 2009 survey by Career Crossroads, 38% of all jobs get filled from candidates that are already known to the company. Only 8% get filled by candidates that sent their resume in without an introduction. So, are you better off sending your resume in the hopes of hearing something back or are you better off investing some time and effort to network so that your resume gets a warm introduction?

Clearly the answer is to get the warm introduction wherever possible, but how do you do that? That’s where networking comes in – it is an attempt to get that introduction through one of your existing or new contacts. In our opinion, it’s definitely an art rather than a science as it requires you to be creative, diplomatic, and delicate in how you find/approach people. You need to be able to understand the strength of your relationship with each individual and gear your approach based on that, plus other considerations such as: how badly do you need them to introduce you; how many times have they helped you before; the last time you’ve talked to them and do you have something to share with them. If you have established a pattern over the years to show that you have reciprocated any assistance given or kept in touch with people, then you’ll likely be helped. Otherwise it may take some time and effort in order to re-establish those relationships and politely ask them to help.

LinkedIn is a great tool to help you manage your professional relationships, but it too requires time and energy over a prolonged period in order to help. LinkedIn helps you understand how you are connected to companies in your Target list. Even with tools like LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook at your disposal, you’ll still have to manage it all yourself and keep track of your contacts and the result of conversations. In some cases you might already know people at the company. In others, you’ll have to carefully work your network to get to the hiring manager. In most cases though, you’re probably no more than 3 steps away from someone at that company. Start with the people you know best, but don’t expect a response from everyone – move on to the next person who will bring you one step closer to the company.

There may be cases where you’ll have to reach outside of your network altogether in order to reach someone at the company. In these circumstances we recommend understanding where people from that company might hang out. Remember face-to-face meetings are best where you can establish a personal relationship so whether it be a coffee house, a professional club or another social setting, you need to put yourself in situations where you can meet these people and where they too are more open to meeting new people.

But make sure to stay open to exploring new opportunities during these conversations as that’s the best way to uncover the hidden job market.

Next:
Step 5: You’ve made contact with the hiring manager, now what?

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Jobspeaker is a service to help job seekers manage their job search - sign up at www.jobspeaker.com.

We’ve heard many stories recently about how people have landed their new job - through an an introduction from an ex-colleague; through another parent at a child’s daycare; through a blog; via a direct contact through a recruiter on LinkedIn; etc. These are all great accomplishments and congratulations again to those involved; but the most interesting story we heard was when one job seeker told us how he found work through a gaming friend on Xbox Live.

For the purposes of protecting his identity let’s call him Brad. Brad was laid-off last April from a bank that has recently been merged with another (not an unfamiliar story). For the first couple of months of unemployment, he took the normal route with recruiters and online job boards for the with no success. Then, he decided to target specific people from his past that he knew were working at banks or similar institutions. Brad systematically identified people that might be looking for candidates and got in touch with them directly or through other colleagues. However, there were a few for whom he didn’t have contact information. He tried LinkedIn for a few contacts and that helped, but he couldn’t find one particular contact.

He knew an ex-colleague on Xbox Live that would have the target contact details so he just had to find a way to ask politely. He began to spend more time on Xbox Live in order to find his ex-colleague, and to do so “naturally” within that environment. Now, he was also able to justify why he was spending so much time gaming to his wife;-). Then when he got the chance to open up a conversation he asked for the contact information of the mutual ex-colleague. Ultimately, this led him to start work through that contact at another bank in September last year.

For Brad, this worked out perfectly; but for you Xbox Live may not be an option. Perhaps you don’t have the Xbox console already or perhaps you don’t know anyone on there anyways? Well, that’s not the point! In this job market you have to build and leverage your network - doing so within an environment where you are most comfortable gives you the unique opportunity to set yourself apart.

Please share your story on the unusual way you have built your network in the comments section below.

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Jobspeaker is a service to help job seekers manage their job search - sign up at www.jobspeaker.com.

In theory, building a target company list sounds simple - pick companies that you would like to work for and add them to your list. Alas, creating a good target list requires some work and is an evolving project as you learn more about the companies you are interested in, or as you learn about new companies that you hadn’t heard of before. So, while Google may be a great company for some people, it may not suit your particular requirements. Here are the 5 questions to ask as you build a target list of companies:

1) How should I start my list?

Start with 5 companies that you are interested in today. Don’t over-analyze it, just put down the 5 that come to mind initially (realizing that this list will change over-time). Be aspirational but realistic - if you want to work at Google in Mountain View, CA but live in Austin, TX don’t add them to your target list unless you are prepared to relocate.

2) Are these companies in an industry in which I would like to work?

I know Google is into a lot of things these days but if you are a bio-medical engineer looking to work in the pharmaceutical industry, Google is probably not going to work. I don’t think they have entered the drug industry as yet.

For most jobs, it’s often a pre-requisite to have several years experience in a particular industry. Remember though that experience in an industry is good but sometimes it’s not necessarily a requirement. If you are motivated to work in a specific industry you’ll be more successful in your job search because your enthusiasm will be obvious, and you’ll be willing to put in the extra effort required to work in this area.

3) What if they are not hiring?

Don’t let that stop you! Companies often hire without advertising the positions so it helps to be well-known to a company even if they are not hiring. There are 3 advantageous scenarios which can play out if you target the companies which are not actively hiring:
a. The company gets to know you and creates a role for you because you’re such an outstanding candidate.
b. The company knows you as they are thinking about hiring and therefore you have avoided the resume rush once a position opens up and have landed at the top of the prospective candidates.
c. Offering to volunteer or intern if you are early in your career and if financially viable or offering to cover some temporary position to support a specific project, puts you in an advantageous position to learn the ropes of the company/industry from the inside, get some valuable experience and be first to be considered for hire if a suitable permanent position is available.

4) How should my list evolve over time?

As you progress in your job search, your online and offline research will lead you to the discovery of more interesting companies. . After you do some preliminary research on these companies you should add them to your list and re-prioritize your list based on new information. Some companies will naturally fall off your target list as you better understand what you want. You should be actively targeting a minimum of 5 companies, but 10 interesting companies should be your goal.

5) What else should I be looking for?

Fit - find out as much as possible about how the company’s culture based on information from people working there. If Google is your target company and you prefer to work in a structured, traditional environment, then perhaps Google’s unconventional culture will not fit your requirements. Check resources like Jobnob, Glassdoor or Salary.com to find reviews on specific companies or their hiring processes. Also, remember that your experience within a company is largely determined based on your interaction with your manager and your team, so find out about the people but also the fit within the specific group/department in which you’d like to work.

A word to the wise: Don’t target your all-time favorite company first. I’ve found this out through my own embarrassing interviews after a long hiatus from the “interviewing mode”. You’ll need time to refine your pitch, and to understand and succinctly state why you are different and interesting, especially if you have been out of the job market for a while. Target your favorite companies later in your job search once you’ve had one or two of those terrible interviews where you say all the wrong things - at least then it won’t matter so much and you can be better prepared for when it really counts. More about this in an upcoming post.

So, if after answering all of these questions you still think you want to work for Google, go for it!

Next:
Step 4: How to network into your target companies

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Jobspeaker is a service to help job seekers manage their job search - sign up at www.jobspeaker.com.