This week we conducted a non-scientific poll via Twitter regarding how job seekers are changing their vacation plans.  Those who took the poll were overwhelmingly unemployed (75%).  More than 80% of respondents said that the economy has changed their vacation plans.  Examples they give run the gamut, including:

• Camping instead of renting hotel rooms
• Visiting family instead of going someplace requiring hotel
• No plans versus dive vacations in past
• Usually take a cruise or international travel
• This year I have taken one vacation - last year I took 4 (4 includes weekends away)
• Not taking any vacation at all which is a big change

Many people are vacationing around the house (taking a “stay-cation”) or trying to find a few days to get away.

The results were about even between those who think taking a vacation while unemployed is a good thing, vs. those who think it will take away from their job search.  Some of the reasons they gave for their answer include:

• I get a lot of support from the family and time to relax.
• Leaving the area will use extra gas and have to use money. On vacation we end up spending more on food. We don’t have any extra dollars.
• Get some perspective, talk to new people and get ideas, recharge so can approach search with new motivation    Take advantage of the slow summer to network and meet new people who can help in finding me a job.
• Give me some time to separate from the email checking, Twitter, etc., and re-focus on a strategy that aligns me with an organization admire or role that interests me.
• I spend several hours a day searching. I will not do so when on vacation. Therefore, it will be a pause where I won’t be applying for jobs.
• Time away means missing opportunities.

Thank you for taking the poll.  We will be writing another blog post on what we think is the best approach!  Stay tuned. . .

However, sitting on your couch playing X-Box or updating your facebook every 10 minutes can get old fast!  These activities will NOT get you the next gig, so at some point you will need to get into a new routine.  That can be tough, especially if its something you have little experience with . . . like looking for work.

Never fear!  We have been through this ourselves, AND we work with dozens of job seekers every week.  Here are some things to consider when you go to make a schedule for your job search:

• Set weekly goals that you can measure.  Nothing is more frustrating than getting to the end of the week and not being able to say, “I accomplished something this week.”  EVERY Sunday evening sit down and decide what you need to achieve over the next week.  Then, on Friday, review your goals to see how you have done.  It will make the job search much more bearable!
• Network, network, network.  How many networking groups do you attend each week?  How many 1-on-1 meetings or informational interviews do you conduct?  Your goal should be somewhere in the 8-10 range PER WEEK.  If you aren’t out talking to people, your chances of finding a job are slim!  More than 80% of people find their job through networking, so get out and do it!
• Don’t answer email or touch the computer during daylight hours.  (That’s when you should be networking!)
• Practice your “elevator pitch.”  Nothing is worse than being in a group and listening to a bunch of people drone on about where they worked before the company went and laid them off.  Have something interesting to say and say it with ENERGY!  People will listen if you give them something to listen to.  But you better be well rehearsed, or they will tune you out!
• Plan for some “you time” in your schedule.  Stephen Covey calls it “sharpening the saw.”  You can’t cut wood with a dull saw.  If you don’t take care of yourself, you will be dull and ineffective in your job search.
• Let it go.  When you have completed your day’s work, leave the job search behind.  Let it go.  Disconnect.  Go enjoy time with your family and friends.  One of the reason’s you need to set clear goals, is so you can look back and say, “I’m finished for now.”  Then disconnect.  The job search will be there tomorrow.

When you leave your job, your regularly scheduled routine evaporates.  As a job seeker, you will need to set goals and create your own schedule.  A schedule helps you track your progress along the job search, and it allows you to take time for yourself, your friends, and your family.

Great question!  Here’s the truth about using Job Boards in the job search process:

First, you must remember that only about 4-6% of people find their jobs through the job boards.  That’s because job boards are NOT set up for job seekers – they are set up for company recruiters.  You are not the customer – the company is.  They are the ones paying the bill to post a position.  Job boards provide the “raw materials” to these companies – job seekers.  YOU are the raw material.  YOU are a commodity.  YOU are the product.  Job boards make their money by selling volume to companies who pay significant fees for a posting – anywhere from $400-$1,000 each.  These things aren’t cheap.  However, from the employer’s perspective, they are effective.

Second, MOST people find their job through some form of networking.  Remember, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”  Since networking is the most effective job search method (at somewhere between 60 and 80%), you should spend MOST of your time talking to people.  Too many job seekers go wrong in their job search because they spend most of their time behind a computer searching the job boards. If you want to accelerate your job search you should be sitting face to face with several people EVERY DAY.  Find out what they need and offer to help them achieve it.  That’s what networking is all about, “finding opportunity for you, the person with whom you are networking, and your respective networks.”

That being said, there are some job board strategies that will HELP you in the job search.

-    Consult local job boards (such as Craig’s List, or http://portlandtwitterjobs.com/).  Since networking is about finding opportunity, the chances of you knowing the person or company who posted the position on the local board is much higher, which allows for more networking.
-    Update your Monster/JobDango/CareerBuilder profile frequently.
-    DON’T post to job boards during the daylight hours.  That’s when you should be talking face to face with your networking contacts.
-    Use specialty job boards that target your specific industry or position.  For instance, people who are in pharmaceutical sales and healthcare have had some luck with medzilla.com while engineering & techie-types have found good postings through dice.com.  What boards do recruiters in your field consult?
-    To fee or not to fee?  I would steer clear of job boards that want to charge you something.  Remember, for job boards you are a commodity, the “raw material”.
-    Don’t forget about LinkedIn.  LinkedIn has its own job board.  Some of the postings there can’t be found anywhere else.  The good thing about LinkedIn is that if you submit an application through them, the recruiter can go directly to your LinkedIn profile where they will see your resume, your contacts, and your recommendations.  (You DO have LinkedIn recommendations, don’t you?!)

Finding a job in this tough economy is a full time job in itself.  No matter what career position you have held or seek, to be most effective you will need to become an expert at sales.  As a job seeker you are selling the most important thing you have to offer – the ability to help a company achieve their business goals.  Job boards can help you in the sales process, but they are limited in their ability to produce.  Use your time wisely.  Spend 80% of your time face-to-face with your network and 5% of your time searching the internet.  That’s where the real results are!

Happy hunting!

“Joe” found a job posting online that looked perfect for him.  He checked his LinkedIn network and found that a former work colleague was working at that company so he reached out.  Following good networking etiquette, Joe didn’t ask for help getting to the hiring manager or for any favors from his old friend.  Joe simply called to re-ignite the relationship and to ask some questions about the company culture, how his friend liked working there, etc.  Joe focused the conversation on what he could do to help his old friend.  They talked for about 30 minutes.  During that time Joe and his old friend caught up on work, family, their careers, and a variety of other topics.  It felt good to reconnect.

After half an hour or so, Joe said, “Well, I better let you get back to work.  That’s about all of the questions I have.  I’d ask you more about the position I’m interested in applying for, but you probably don’t know much about it.”

Joe’s friend responded, “Actually, I know quite a lot about that position.  I am the hiring manager.”

Silence.

Joe had not intended to use his relationship to gain any favorable treatment so he apologized to his old friend and told him that he hoped it didn’t make him feel awkward.  A bit embarrassed, Joe signed off by saying, “I’ve put my application in through you website.  I don’t want you to be surprised if you see it.”

His friend replied, “Joe, send your resume DIRECTLY to me.  You fit the bill, and I want to include you in our formal interview process.  Ultimately our entire management team will make the decision, so I can’t promise anything.  But, I DO think you are a very qualified candidate.”

Joe did all the right things when it comes to networking and it has paid off.  He focused on the needs of his friend.  He reached out to rekindle an old relationship, but didn’t ask for any favors or special treatment.  He learned about the company and got more information about the job – but he DIDN’T ask for a job!

Great work Joe!  Thanks for showing us the right way to use networking in the job search!

This is a VERY interesting observation.  Many people feel its true that applying for a job is a “game” and that the odds are stacked against the applicant before the game ever begins, but think about it from the standpoint of the employer.  Who would YOU rather hire?  Someone you don’t know that you pulled out of a stack of 1,000 resumes?  Or someone you know or have met through someone you know?  I’m sure MOST of us would rather hire the latter.  People hire people they know, because finding someone who is the “right fit” is often MORE important than finding someone who has the skills you need.  You can always train people new skills.  But if someone is not a good fit for your organization. . . well, you can’t really change that, can you?!

Then there is the cost of hiring.  Consider that it costs about 1.5 to 2 times the annual salary of the employee per hire.  That means, if I am paying someone  $70k per year the cost to hire them is somewhere between $105k and $140k.  If they end up not fitting into the organization I might have to pay that out again in 6 – 18 months.  However, if I  hire someone I know (or meet through a friend, colleague, current employee, etc) my chances of finding a good fit are much better – thus saving the cost of hiring someone else within 6 to 18 months.  Again, which would YOU prefer?

Since THAT is the game, the secret for job seekers is to activate your network to be the person with the odds stacked in YOUR favor.  Use your friends, colleagues, and former co-workers to find out where the opportunities are.  Have them submit your resume or introduce you directly to the hiring manager.  When you do get in front of the hiring manager, don’t focus on your needs.  Instead focus on THEIRS!  Show them what you can do for them – how you will help them achieve their business goals and cause their business to grow.  Give them concrete examples of how you have helped previous employers make or save money.  And don’t forget to make sure that you and the company are a good fit.

If you need help activating your network, find a good coach or mentor.  Use Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks to help you – but remember, ALWAYS focus on what you can do for others.  People don’t care what you know or are capable of until they know you care about them and their needs!

Happy Hunting!

1. There are going to be LOTS of people there and very few jobs . . . if any.  You may be going to a Job Fair looking to find a job, but employers go for a completely different reason.  Most companies don’t show up with jobs to offer.  Companies are there to promote themselves and assess job seekers.  They are seldom there to offer jobs.
2. Company representatives will see dozens (perhaps hundreds) of job seekers at the fair.  The chances of them remembering you from the Job Fair are slim.  Your best bet is to get a verbal commitment for a conversation at some time in the future.  Get a name and email address, and follow up immediately after the event.
3. Take plenty of copies of your resume and business cards.  Give them out liberally – even to other job seekers.
4. Have a strategy, set goals, and know what you want to get out of the Job Fair.  Since landing a job at a Job Fair is not realistic, your goals should simply be to make a certain number of connections that will lead to a face-to-face meeting within the next week or two.  A good goal is to come away with 3 solid follow-up “leads”.
5. Other job seekers might be your best bet for making contacts.  Don’t neglect making connections with other job seekers.  They can be a great source of information and support.
6. Use the job fair to assess opportunities.  While specific jobs may be few and far between, you can tell what areas of the economy are gearing up for growth.  Companies are not going to waste their time or money by going to a Job Fair if they have no plans for growth in the near future.  Be aware of the companies and industries represented.  They may be hiring soon.
7. Follow up.  My mentor, Kathie Nelson says, “The money is in the follow up.”  A Job Fair is a great place to meet people.  If you want to turn those meetings into potential job offers you MUST follow up.
8. Follow the advice of my good friend, Cleon Cox III – “Meet people, learn something, and have fun!”

Job Fairs can be a lot of fun and very instructive for your job search.  Just be realistic about what you hope to accomplish from attending the fair, and you won’t walk away empty-handed.  Go looking for a job and you will be disappointed.  Go looking to make connections and you will succeed!

• You Career Objective needs to be built around your own personal brand.  What do people think about when they hear your name?  What do you WANT them to think?  Tom Peters has written the classic article on ‘Brand You’ — and you can find it at Fast Company (here).
• Keep it short — 10-15 words is best.  At MOST it should be only 2 sentences.  You want the reader to know what you can do for them — without putting you in a box. Your goal for the Objective Statement is to get them to read the rest of the resume. Period.
• Don’t put yourself in a box — don’t use a title unless you are applying for a specific job.  Think about what you do for a company.  What kind of ROI (Return on Investment) will their organization get from hiring you?  If you say, “Accountant” they will put you in the “Accountant” box in their mind.  If you say “Save a company money by organizing key financial data” they will actually want to read on.
• Get them to read further and make EVERYTHING on the rest of the resume point to your Objective Statement.  If you have done things in your past that don’t relate to your objective, you probably want to leave them off.  The resume should be a FOCUSED document.
• Remember that the point of the Resume is to get an interview.  The Objective Statement should get them to read the resume, so that they will want to interview you.

With only 8 seconds to grab the attention of your potential employer, you better have a clear Objective Statement.  A good Objective Statement will help them see that you are a person they want to learn more about. . . and ultimately that’s what it takes to get the job!

1. No postings does NOT equal no job — people are always being hired, even in a deep recession.  Why? Because other people move, get sick, quit, retire, die. . . Just because there is not a posting, doesn’t mean there isn’t a job there to be done … stop thinking of yourself as a “employee” and start thinking of yourself as an “independent contractor” — ee’s get hired and fired.  Independent Contractors are always on temporary assignment (who isn’t these days) and are able to pick up a “new gig” as the need arises.
2. Don’t wait until you are looking for a job to update your resume — or your network.  If you are currently employed you are probably aware of how temporary that could be.  We have had client with 25 years of experience in the same company come into work to find they no longer had a job.  NOW is the time to think about your next job . . . even if you aren’t thinking about your next job.
3. It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you now.  Somewhere 45-80% of all job seekers find their job through networking.  Networking is about WHO you know — not so much for what you can get from them, but what you can OFFER TO THEM.
4. Don’t work all the time.  You have heard that finding a job is a full time job.  Finding a job is also (for most of us) a series of learning and applying new skills — most of the time these are DIFFERENT skills than you will use in your regular job.  The process of learning new skills is exhausting.  You need to take some time off.  I recommend you spend 30-35 hours a week on the job search.  Plan into your day some time for networking, a small amount of time on answering ads and submitting resumes, AND time for physical exercise.  It’s really important.  Set goals.  Measure your success towards the achieving of those goals and not “did I get a job.”  You will be able to take some time off at the end of the week knowing that you have accomplished something.
5. You WILL land.  Eventually you will find work.  Hopefully it will be your perfect career.  Hopefully it will fit your life goals.  Hopefully it will be sooner than later.  But have faith, you WILL land.
6. You WILL go through this again.  Learn the process of finding a job now so you can use it the next time you need it.

These are some of the things I’ve learned about the job search.  What have YOU learned?

Then there is this post about a man who turned his job loss into a new life. Very inspiring, and I must admit a bit scarry for most of us!

The two posts raise a deeper question about the recession and massive loss of jobs that we are experiencing as a nation and throughout the world.  Every economic shift creates change in the way we live and work, but I believe this one is going to fundamentally shift the work-life balance in America.  What we are seeing is no less than a shift of the tektonic plates deep within the core of the fabric of our work lives.  I don’t know what will come of this shift — no one does.  It will, however, behoove us all to think about what permanent changes may take place because of what we are currently experiencing.  Here are some of my predictions:

• The impending retirement of millions of Baby Boomers will become an accelerated reality.  With it comes a whole list of concerns - knowledge transfer, loss of experienced labor, succession planning (and lack thereof), and additional burden on the Social Security system.  Companies have been thinking about this for awhile, but this economy is going to make it happen NOW.  I am seeing clients in their 50s who have been laid off this go around make the decision to begin early retirement.  I was watching the interviews about Captain Sully (the pilot who safely landed the plane on the Hudson River last month) and thinking, “wow, what would have happened if someone with les experience had tried that stunt?”  Well, I hate to point it out, but many companies today are laying off their “Captain Sullys” in this economy.  Chances are that many of these people will opt for retirement. What happens then?
• Many are going to opt for lower paying jobs with fewer responsibilities.  Not everyone will leave their corporate job for a $10/hr job at Starbucks, but some will. And when they do they will find that they enjoy their life better because they have more time for things that are REALLY important to them — like family, friends, spirituality, and travel.  I’m not naive enough to think that the mountains of corporate greediness will disappear, but I AM hopeful that more people will choose to focus on life goals that are not completely driven by the desire to increase their own personal wealth.
• “Green” and “sustainability” will become mainstream.  It has to!  This is where the federal government (incidentally the ONLY sector growing in this economy!) will be dumping loads of money. How are you (and your company) preparing to take advantage of this opportunity?
• Recruiting and HR practices will change.  I’m not sure in what way, but I do believe that the current focus of many Human Resource departments of being the watchdog for company lawyers will have to change (i.e. “we can’t do that, or we’ll get sued . . . ” “We can’t allow our managers to ‘be human’ by getting ‘too close’ to their workers. . . “).  This generation puts a ton of emphasis on relationships and will not tolerate working for a company where they are a faceless, nameless commodity.  Our recruiting practices are already seeing a shift in this direction.  HR practices will soon follow.  Companies that don’t focus on the personal side of their employees will find it difficult to attract and retain good talent.  We all know that the number 1 asset of ANY company is the people who work there!
• Free-Agency will become the normative approach for job seekers. This phenomenon has been on the the horizon for awhile. I believe that this current economic crisis is going to change the way people define themselves in relation to their work.  My father held the same position for 40 years.  His father worked for the state until the day he died.  My father’s grandfather, however, did whatever he needed to in order to put food on the family table. He was a farmer, a logger, built roads, ran a store. . . he was a free agent.  With people changing careers in 3-5 year cycles, I believe that my children will live more like my great-grandfather than my dad.  They will do whatever is necessary to make a living, and won’t define themselves by their company affiliation.  To me, that’s a good thing!

The temblors of this recession are bringing about some major changes in the way we (and our children) will approach work in the coming years. As with any major change, there are both opportunities and dangers involved.  What are YOU doing to prepare to capitalize on the opportunities and mitigate the dangers of our current times?

Words create relationships. Social networking entries are composed of specific words selected by an author. Those words communicate at least two messages. One message is about the task. This task can be as simple as posting information or answering a question.

The second message is about the relationship. Yes, a relationship of some kind exists between the participants in every piece of communication. The choice of words defines and offers a relationship.

For example, consider two answers a woman received when she asked a LinkedIn group for suggestions in producing an ebook. One answer said “go to my website and purchase my book.” These directive words offered a relationship in which one person tells the other person what to do.

A second person replied that they were also writing an ebook. They included links to three resources and asked a question in return. Through these words the author offered a relationship between peers defined by mutual exchange.

The woman who asked the question may accept, decline or negotiate a different relationship with the people who answered her question. Chances are good she will pursue a relationship if she thinks the benefits outweigh the effort. That relationship will then evolve as it is further defined by the continuing communication.

Social Networking builds relationships through words. Choose your words and you choose your relationships.

Flora Novarra
Novarra Communications
www.novarracom.com
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