7 Tips For Job seekers – Part 3

This  is the final post of Christmas for job seekers, offering job tips for job seekers.  The previous posts discussed Finding a job through Personal branding for job seekers, using  personal branding  for job search , using LinkedIn for job search,  networking for job seekers, resume for job seekers,  7 tips for job seekers – Part 1, 7 tips for job seekers – Part 2.

 

Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand
then be Understood

Concentrate on what the hiring managers and recruiters are looking for in their candidates not what you think you understand what they need.

Human nature migrates towards the desire of being understood, so all our actions, thoughts and words try to convey our message so others can understand where we are coming from, as a result we spend most of our energy wasting time.

This habit is an important key that puts different dynamics to the conversation that should exist between job seekers and hiring managers and recruiters.  Try to get to the bottom of the qualifications they are looking for which will affect your chances to get called in for an interview and hopefully ace the interview and get the job.

By sincerely spending the time and effort to understand the prospective employer’s position, they become more open, more understandable, reachable, and more interested in what you may have to offer.

 

Habit 6 – Synergize

Synergy means: the interaction or cooperation of two or more people, organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.  It means putting two heads or more together to brainstorm and come up with better and broader creative solutions that will be win-win.

It can only be done successfully if you have first practiced habits 4 and 5. The well-known definition of synergy is as follows:  It is “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”.

Win- win solutions can be reached only if we understand the other party position, if we believe that we can change a bad situation to a better one, if we visualize where we want to go.  It is like a pyramid or like a domino effect once triggered properly everything falls in the proper place.  It is the sequence of events that start by applying and executing the habits properly; synergetic solutions will be an inevitable natural product of your efforts.

 

 

Habit 7 – Sharpen the Saw

The last habit of the 7 Habits is - Sharpen the Saw. In this habit, you are the saw; and to Sharpen the Saw is to always be at your best game, find ways to sharpen your skills, increase your knowledge, become better, keener and more effective.

Always take the time to Sharpen your Saw. What is meant by Sharpening the Saw is to regularly engage in the exercise of the three dimensions which make up the human condition: body, mind and spirit.

Because of the nature of job-hunting, you will face ups and downs and sometimes even some potholes, but by trying to stick to the positive attitudes on the 7 habits you may also find some great corners and crossroads that you have never expected.

Take the time to breathe in, look at the silver lining because it always gets better no matter how long it takes, the sun always rises after a long night; just be prepared to change your attitude and do adjustments on the way.  Celebrate your progress, rest when you need then jump back on the wagon.

Always remember that your next interview might be starting now, so always be on your best tip top shape mentally and physically.

 

Best of luck in your job search

 

Thank you Santa for the jobs you brought throughout 2011- We need a lot more jobs in 2012 and please start very early-like right after you rest from New Year’s Eve,

Happy New Year

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com 
(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

7 Tips For Job Seekers- Part 2

This  is the seventh post of Christmas for job seekers, offering job tips for job seekers.  The previous posts discussed Finding a job through Personal branding for job seekers, using  personal branding  for job search , using LinkedIn for job search,  networking for job seekers, resume for job seekers, and 7 tips for job seekers – Part 1.

On my seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

Tip 2 – Begin with the End in Mind

People in certain cultures like the U.S. culture define themselves by the degree of success they achieve either at work, or the house they own or the car they drive.  So when they lose their jobs they feel humiliated or feel that they lost their identity forgetting that they make the job and that the job doesn’t make them.

 

When job seekers start visualizing themselves where they want to be and how they will be in their new job they can start planning to get there   The “end” they begin to think about represents the purpose of their life and where the job will fit.   It is the general purpose of your life what does it mean to you, that you have control on how to maneuver your life and switch gears whenever needed to bring you the greatest satisfaction.

There are no short-cuts here.   We need to visualize what will become of our dream, define our vision and set the path to reach it to happen.  Until we have defined our vision – the big dream to which we will be working – we will be unable to reach it – we need to know where we want to go so defining what job you are seeking, in which industry, and name few companies in a list then you can start moving to execute your plan.  This habit provides a basic framework for us to re-align your efforts so that we will ultimately achieve our heart’s desire.

 Tip 3 – First Things First

 

This habit is about managing your time effectively.  Consider the simple urgent/ important, which plots the concepts of urgency and importance against each other; and represents where you are spending your time.

Developing a detailed time based strategy — and sticking to it becomes crucial to avoid anger and frustration.  The job-search must be balanced to take advantage of all potential opportunities. Focusing too much time in one area, such as job-hunting online, or trying for any job without specification will be just a waste of time.  First things to think assess where you are in your career if you lack the necessary experience to move into a new job, so find the time to volunteer or find internships or even part time jobs; if you do not have a big network chart time for networking either online or offline to increase your contact list that might help you find a job; or you may find you are lacking some skills, certifications, or education you need as minimum requirements to get hired — or even to get job interviews. So you will need to plan for time to take a course online or offline, get training, or certifications you need. Don’t be discouraged if you need additional education — regardless or your age or situation. There are many non expensive education resources like the one stop job centers or local community colleges.

Prioritize your projects, divide them to small goals, have a daily to do list, use a calendar or a journal and reward yourself when you finish part of your plan.

 

Tip 4 – Think Win Win

 

Think Win-Win is another mind attitude, it is about believing that when we think positively and foster an attitude that is committed to always finding solutions or remedies that will truly benefit both sides in any case.

 

Solutions do not, of course, exist in themselves; they must be created.  Even if we can’t visualize the solution at the moment, it does not mean that it doesn’t exist.

Start by developing a list of your key accomplishments, skills sets, talents, and abilities as discussed in the previous posts about self branding.  Focus on your best accomplishments, advantages and solutions that you can bring to a company and quantify them.  Think how your transferable skills, experience and talents can be a win for an employer, and a job can be a win for you.  Prepare your elevator speech, USP, and interviewing techniques.

 

The more you practice this habit, the more committed you will become as you find solutions which truly do benefit you and the other party.

 

Tomorrow is our last post of the season, if you liked any of the posts please let us know

Cheers, and best of luck

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com 
(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

 

 

 

 

7 Tips for Job Seekers- Part 1

This  is the sixth post of Christmas for job seekers, offering job tips for job seekers.  The previous posts discussed Finding a job through Personal branding for job seekers, using  personal branding  for job search , using LinkedIn for job search,  networking for job seekers, and resume for job seekers.

On my sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

Job searching is a job on its own, especially with the current state of the economy where there are not any guarantees on how long the job hunt will take.  I have friends and clients that found jobs within 45 to 60 days and some that have been out of a job for more than six month to a year.

One thing for sure is that to find a job you need to have total commitment that involves energy, hopes, time, emotions and most of all, planning a strategy.

Job seeking is exhausting regardless, but the roller coaster ride of ups and downs – of hopes and despair is better managed with a strategy.  To be effective, treat your job hunt as a project that require developing, planning and implementing a job search strategy to avoid unnecessary waste of time, panic and pressure.

The philosophy of the “7 habits of highly effective people” by Steven Covey can be used as a general road map for a strategy.  If you haven’t read the book it is a great investment to make.

Being effective is learning to do things “which produce the desired result”.  If you want to be successful in achieving your goals of finding a job, then being effective is consistently doing the things that will bring about the results that you are after.

Covey discusses basic principles of effectiveness that can actually be found in each one of us and can be easily implemented if these habits (which I will call TIPS) can be used as steps of a plan applied every single day till it becomes a way of life even after a job is found.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.” Mahatma Gandhi

 Tip 1 – Be Proactive

You are not captive of your past or your present conditions.  What it really means is to focus our efforts and attention on the long-term and to think in terms of the long-term consequences of our actions.

Reactive people (opposite of proactive) are those who actually believe that they have no control on what happens and they can’t change the fact of not having a job as the whole country is in bad shape.  Whatever they believe in becomes the truth in their hearts and minds.  When they believe that they can’t do anything about finding a job then they simply will not actively hunt for a job as they believe that there is nothing they can do.

Proactive people, on the other hand, simply will not accept status quo, or will not accept that there is nothing that can be done about not working, they believe that there are always choices and decisions that we can make or take, proactive people can and do affect the future. Their thought patterns are based on the fact that we might have no control over what life throws at us but we always have a choice about how we are to respond.  They think of ways either to increase their expertise or gain more knowledge while looking for a job to better their resume and avoid gaps in their resumes so they would enroll in new courses to gain new skills or volunteer for jobs that can increase their expertise

Having a particular attitude of mind can make a huge and positive difference to almost everything we experience in life; is opposite to those who have already internalized having no control. Is the glass half empty or half full, positive attitude is a choice.

Being proactive comes with accepting responsibility and accountability for the effects that manifest in our lives; when we have the strength of character to admit it when we make mistakes (even big ones); when we are completely free to exercise the options available to us in every situation; that way job seekers can start steering their own destiny `

 

Part two to follow

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com 
(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Resume for job seekers?

This is the fifth of the Christmas days posts offering job tops for job seekers.  The previous posts discussed Finding a job through Personal branding for job seekers, using  personal branding  for job search , using LinkedIn for job search, and networking for job seekers.

This post is called “Your resume is a paper tiger”  by guest blogger Michael Schonfeld.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Much has been written about resumes, and the subject seems to be addressed every week in someone’s Blog. Most of us believe a resume is required before the job search begins in earnest. Due to rapid changes in digital technology, web-based services, and how resumes are currently processed by prospective employers, developing a resume should be the very last marketing effort you engage in during your job search.

 

Why? Most of us are under the impression that a resume is used to qualify one for an interview. But quite the opposite is where the truth lies. Advertisements for an open position will potentially generate hundreds of responses. An employer cannot afford the time and effort necessary to interview all applicants or even review all of those resumes. So the majority of applicants are disqualified by an Automatic Tracking System, a machine that scans each resume for job description key words that may or may not have anything to do with the open position to which one has applied.

It depends upon the accuracy of the job description relative to the exact job opening. In many large companies, a job description such as Marketing Coordinator or Marketing Manager is generic by necessity to align compensation range with that particular job title, and a very broad and all-encompassing job description is tied to that generic job title. This is done to streamline the maintenance of numerous job descriptions in the absence of adequate headcount allocation for Human Resources support staff.

In the past, a resume was your primary marketing document used for a job search. Times change and you must change to meet the new dynamics of hiring practices in the 21^st century. A resume is used by the prospective employer to disqualify potential candidates from further consideration. Given current circumstances associated with elevated unemployment, your resume alone will almost never work to your advantage.

By design, your resume is currently used to work to your disadvantage. Your resume is a paper tiger (or these days, a digital monster) that will jeopardize your job search efforts if you allow it to do so. Keep your resume confined to the digital vault of your computer until you have identified, contacted, and developed a professional rapport with the key decision maker (the hiring manager). The hiring manager is typically one or more levels higher in the organization than your future direct supervisor.

Truer now than in the past, the best positions are rarely advertised and the job description is written to accommodate a favored candidate. After you’ve identified the hiring manager, you must then focus upon promoting your professional reputation and leveraging your network. Call upon your professional network to support your efforts and pave the way toward that first interview. Once you are fully aware of the requirements for that particular position, and your initial interview is almost certain, that’s when it’s time to prepare your resume. Until then, don’t worry about having your resume ready to submit. That’s just a waste of time and effort.  Due to current digital technology, your resume will change to meet the requirements of each position for which you hope to be considered.

For now, focus upon professional networking and meticulous contact management practices because this is how opportunity will knock loudly upon your career door.

You can reach Michael Schonfeld on Facebook or Google Plus

Please let us know if you liked any of the Christmas  posts.

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Networking for Job Seekers

This is the fourth of the Christmas days posts offering job tops for job seekers.  The previous posts discussed Finding a job through Personal branding for job seekers, using  personal branding  for job search and using LinkedIn for job search

This post is about Networking for job seekers: It’s All About Who You Don’t Know…Yet! written by a guest blogger Michael Schonfeld.

On the fourth day of Christmas; my true love gave to me….

We all seem to buy into the status quo of the current job market; apply on-line, give the prospective employer the desired information, wait a week or two and then follow-up with a live person if one was listed. You must realize by now if that strategy worked, you’d be gainfully employed. So don’t waste your time. The best opportunities are rarely advertised. Hiring for those positions is most often based upon reputation, the hiring manager’s familiarity with you, and the success of your personal brand in a particular market niche.

So, what is the best strategy for securing a new position in the current job market? Networking! Networking is the practice of engaging a person or an audience by maintaining contact, listening more than talking, and providing potential solutions and pursuing opportunities as a follow-up action. The objective of networking is to make yourself memorable, if not unforgettable, by your contacts and connections. The first step in networking is to prepare a short, pointed introduction of about 30 seconds length followed by these quick questions: What do you do and how can my skills be applied to add value to your efforts?  Go silent, then really listen, and learn where there could be a potential fit for you in the future. Once your contact is done speaking, thank the person for his or her time, exchange business cards or contact information, and conclude the conversation with, “I look forward to contacting you again soon. Feel free to reach out to me anytime.”  After your conversation, write keywords on the back of the business card and move on to your next introduction.

Now, the above leaves one with the distinct impression networking is only done in person. While in-person networking is important, it is only part of an effective networking strategy. Use on-line networking, e-mail, phone calls, and hand-written notes and cards sent via postal service in conjunction with in-person networking to establish a truly effective networking plan.

On-line Networking:

LinkedIn is unilaterally recognized as the on-line service for posting your qualifications in the form of an on-line resume. This is a typical under-utilization of LinkedIn’s features and benefits. Focus upon joining LinkedIn groups, up to 55 groups can be joined, and review the group member list. Identify group members who are potential decision makers and to whom you wish to introduce yourself. As a group member, you are permitted to send other group members messages to introduce yourself and highlight your professional interests. It’s a wonderful networking tool.

LinkedIn Events can provide you with local opportunities to meet and familiarize yourself with local members having common interests and goals.

LinkedIn has a networking-friendly feature, “Who’s Viewed Your Profile?” that affords you a great opportunity to send a detailed “Thank you for viewing my profile” message informing others of your business, professional, and community activities as well as your career interests. If you check the box to allow recipients to view each other’s e-mail address and check the box to send a copy to yourself, you now have that contact’s e-mail address for future follow-up efforts outside of the LinkedIn site. If you’d like an example of this note that has proven to be quite effective, send in a quick note or post a comment, and I will arrange to forward one or more examples to you.

LinkedIn connections can be invaluable for introductions, but few people interact effectively with new connections.  Each time you add a valuable connection to your professional network, plan on sending an e-mail thanking that person for connecting with you on LinkedIn. Research your new connection’s professional and personal interests using Google and FaceBook to identify one or more areas of common interest. In your e-mail should be the basic conveyance of your appreciation, mention of common interests, and an offer to meet and collaborate with your new connection to achieve his or her goals & objectives. Then ask for more contacts with similar professional interests that you can connect with to further build your professional network.

After you send that first e-mail, add each new contact to your Address Book and make a point to fill in as much personal data and add your own notes regarding each contact. If a birthday is included in the profile, enter the birthday into your address book and schedule a reminder. But don’t just send a quick e-mail to recognize a birthday, send an e-card with an image reflecting your contact’s personal interests and then reinforce that by attaching a free e-book as a birthday gift. Follow up with a phone call for an added personal touch. Be creative, personable, and make it memorable!  And ask for other contacts who might know of an exciting position where you could be a good fit. Keep repeating this effort with every communication, and your efforts will pay remarkable dividends.

Several free tools exist that make networking and contact management much easier than it initially seems. These are a few of the products I rely upon. They’ve proven to be invaluable.

G-mail is so feature reach with available add-ons and extensions, it is a perfect tool for on-line networking. G-mail allows you to add a signature block that can reference all of your social networking accounts so your connections and followers don’t have to expend too much effort to connect through multiple on-line social networking channels.  Rapportive replaces the advertising that appears in G-mail’s right-hand window pane with a useful summary about the person who is sending or replying to your e-mail.  This summary draws account information from LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and a host of other accounts that will prove to be invaluable in completing each contact’s profile.  You can use the summary from Rapportive to collect information for completing each contact’s profile. Visit www.rapportive.com to learn more about this G-mail add-on.

LinkedIn offers the free on-line contact management service, Connected, to aggregate your contacts from multiple on-line e-mail and networking services into one collective contact management service. Connected will notify you of birthdays, job changes, promotions, and other events in a daily brief appropriately called “Connected Daily.” Visit www.connectedhq.com to learn more about Connected.

If you use an iPhone or iPod Touch, CardMunch is a business card transcription App from LinkedIn that allows you to scan a business card using the camera included with your iPhone. CardMunch includes a utility that allows you to send invitations directly from within the App ensuring the recipient will remember you from your recent in-person introduction. CardMunch also shows you LinkedIn profile information and common connections. Visit http://www.cardmunch.com/ using your iPhone or iPod Touch to download the App for free.

Klout measures influence through on-line social engagement. But most people don’t fully realize how useful Klout can be for professional networking. Use it to identify influential subject matter experts in your field of interest and reach out to them by commenting on their blog articles and by giving frequent and repetitive gifts of +K to recognize knowledge and expertise. You’ll get attention doing this; you’ll also promote your personal brand, and this effort will open doors you never thought existed.

EssentialPIM Free is a PC-based integrated personal information manager that I’ve used for a couple of years now. There’s a desktop version and a portable version that can be carried with you on a USB stick. I use the outstanding free desktop version and I understand the Pro (paid) version is even better as it features direct synchronization with on-line services including LinkedIn, Google, and Yahoo among others. It has too many features to list here, so check it out at http://www.essentialpim.com and download it for free.

Make frequent telephone calls to your contacts. Notice the word, telephone, not cell phone. A telephone is normally situated in a quiet home office where one is insulated from environmental distractions such as beeping horns, traffic noise, public announcements, and others speaking on their cell phone. Just devote 15 minutes each day to make networking calls between 9:30 and 10:00 in the morning. This time slot seems to be when most people are available, situated, and relaxed with a cup of coffee in hand. Use the five-minute rule that places a known time constraint upon you to make and complete each call. This will allow you to connect with three people everyday who can provide you with leads for finding a new job, meeting new subject matter experts, and possibly break into a new career field. While most networking by phone is done during the regular work week, don’t rule out making phone calls on Saturday and during holiday weeks as these are prime quiet times when busy people are most open to spending a few minutes for a quick chat with you. And what to do if you connect with voice mail? Don’t hang up! Be prepared to leave a 30-second message that conveys the purpose of your call.

How do you prepare for that voice mail message? Have you ever heard of an elevator speech? It’s a prepared and well-rehearsed 30-second message of who you are, why you’re making contact, and what you can offer to enhance the success of those who keep company with you. In your elevator speech, mention both common and complementary interests that will spark thoughts of future collaboration. If you’re successful, you’ll receive that return call in due time and continue to build upon a meaningful professional relationship that will grow in the future.

What about sending traditional mail through the Postal Service?  Nobody does that anymore, right? That’s exactly why you should. Send a handwritten card or a note on custom stationery with a token gift to show your appreciation to those who reply to your e-mails and those who accept your telephone calls even when swamped with work. There is absolutely nothing like a personal touch to solidify and strengthen a professional relationship.

Networking is such a critical skill, it’s amazing so few people actually know how to do it effectively. The time to begin networking is now, before you’re in need of a new job. The good news is that you’ll be quite surprised how quickly effective networking can deliver real results.

Remember and burn the following words into your brain. “If you’re not actively engaging your network, you don’t have one yet.”  Use this holiday season to begin meeting, greeting, and networking with real people that can make a difference for you instead of just collecting on-line profiles.

If you feel this post is useful to you, click the Like button or ask for similar content by posting your comments.

You can reach Michael Schonfeld on Facebook or Google Plus

Please let us know if you liked any of our posts.

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

LinkedIn for Job Search

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

We discussed Personal branding and how to use it in job search in the first two posts

How to use LinkedIn for Job Search.

The first step towards leveraging LinkedIn is to create a profile.  It is important to note that profiles have to be Personal profiles and not Business profiles.

Your LinkedIn profile should be a showcase of your professional experience, accomplishments, and preferences.  Your LinkedIn profile is not a resume so do not just copy and paste your resume to your profile rather showcase your expertise, how you are different and what value do you add.

Think of your profile as an asset and as a portrait of you as a professional who someone would want to possibly hire for a newly available job. LinkedIn does not allow formatting so you are better off format a word document then copy and paste into your LinkedIn profile.

Professional Headline

It is restricted to 120 characters so use them wisely.  Make sure to use proper Keywords in the headline so you could be found in searches.   The headline is an explanation of what you do and what your value is. It always shows whenever your profile is brought up by anyone or in any lists.  Make sure that your headline is your USP or your brand statement and not just your job title.

The Photo

People worry about discrimination because of their age, race or gender so they choose not to add a picture.  The picture represents 15% of your profile without it your profile will not be 100% complete.  Pictures have to be a professional headshot.  Hiring managers will get to see you anyhow so better sooner than later.

Experience:

It includes both “Current” and “Past” positions they are both entered under the same field “Experience”.  The “current” section is created directly from the Experience items for which you check “I currently work here”. Use keywords in your job titles.  You can have more than 1 current job, you can position them in order by entering them in the order you want them to show.  LinkedIn just added the possibility of listing your volunteer jobs; make sure to use that especially to fill gaps in your resume

Summary:

Use this area in a similar way to a cover letter. Showcase why and how you are unique or different, what can you add to a company that will hire you.  Make it engaging to capture attention.

Both the experience and the summary add credibility to your profile, you are also subtly selling your expertise.  That is another place where you need to add your keywords.

Web Site fields

You can add up to three website links. Links you include in other parts of your profile won’t be clickable so these are valuable. Make sure you add your blog/s, Twitter account, Facebook or personal website etc…

It is very important that you personalize the website links by naming them instead of leaving the generic “My Website” by clicking “Others”.  Again remember your keywords

Public Profile URL

LinkedIn sets a generic public URL to your profile, but it also gives you the opportunity to edit it to a personal vanity URL so you can be found easier on LinkedIn and on the different Search Engines, it does help with your search engine optimization and ranking.

What you need to do, is to click on the Edit next to the public URL you are given, choose other then enter the URL that you want to be listed under.

Connections

LinkedIn is based on three degrees of separation, so your contacts up to the 3^rd degree connections are very important hence increasing your network is very beneficial to your job search.  Many do the mistake to restrict their contacts to people they know and they are missing a pot of gold.  You don’t rank high in searches on LinkedIn unless you have a big network.  If you don’t show in the first page of a search you will not exist for job hunters.

One note of caution, you need to be very careful when you invite people to your network as not to get the famous IDK (I Don’t Know) status as people have the choice to IDK your invite and 5 of those will suspend your account.

If you don’t have the Email for a person and it is crucial to communicate with them, then you can send them an Inmail that will cost you $10.00 each.

Recommendations

Recommendations are a great way to add quality.  The more recommendations the better. Headhunters look at the number, quality of the recommendations, and of course who is giving them. They also have an impact on where you show up in search results.

If your recommendations are from people not on LinkedIn, use the “Box.net” free application on LinkedIn you can find under MORE, upload your recommendation and make sure to name it with a keyword so it will help you in your SEO and searchability.

Applications

LinkedIn applications rock, especially the slideshare and google presentations. Add presentations that best shows your work.   Show your personality, show your creativity and be memorable. These slide shows can go a lot farther than a text description and a nice avatar to help you stand out from the crowd.

If you are searching for a job online, you really should have a blog on your profile LinkedIn offer a wordpress and bloglink free applications.   If you are involved in any organizations or have had some good press somewhere, you can use google presentation or Huddlespace to add a video that best demonstrates who you are.

Follow companies

Search the companies you want to work at, look where are their employees, the groups they join, the keywords they use, the apps they use, and the books they read. Checkout the forums of the groups they are in and participate (you can invite them to your network). Look for the questions and answers on the Q&A forum. Listen, interact, and treat everything you say as thoughtfully as you would an interview.

None of these steps will result as a golden bullet, but all should help you stand out from the noise. Finding that next great job is a stressful challenge and even more difficult within today’s high unemployment. Opportunities are out there, and LinkedIn is a key tool in helping your cause.

Do not exclude the non-work related experiences. If you belong to a local networking group or other affiliations, add them.

Job Search:

Use the Jobs tab on LinkedIn to search a job position, you can limit it to zip code and save he searches, while you are saving the search it will be able to set alerts to be emailed to you at the frequency you want.

If you need any further help on how to use LinkedIn contact me.  I have out as much information as I could in this post

Happy job hunting

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

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Personal Branding for Job Search

On my second day of Christmas my true love gave to me …

This is the second post for job seekers, the first one about self branding.  If you ever wondered why you never heard back about a job you applied for that seemed a perfect fit, then this is what you need to start

with: Position yourself, get the attention of the hiring managers simply by looking at the world from their perspective, i.e. clarifying that you know, what exactly the company is looking for, echoing with the hiring manager criteria m

aking them believe that you have something valuable to offer, communicate potential.

 

A positioning statement is one that separates and differentiates a product (meaning YOU) from all competing products in such a way that it becomes the top choice of consumers (meaning employers).

 

A personal positioning statement should identify the one or two things that make the job-seeker unique and valuable to the employer.

 A positioning statement is also called a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) which we all (especially job seekers) need to develop to communicate our brand, and develop “Brand Equity” & “Brand Image” exactly as the big corporations do.

 

Now the question that presents itself is: “How do I brand myself, or how do I find my brand?”

 

The “My brand” exercise starts by thinking about 3 things you are very passionate about (loving chocolate is not one of them) and 3
It is a process that has 4 steps: DCCMthings other people think you excel at.

• Discover: What is your brand (As described above)
• Create: your USP
• Communicate: Promote your USP
• Maintain: keep adding new content and manage your brand reputation

 

Your USP should be one concise sentence that best describes you.  For example a USP for a Marketing expert would be:  “I am an experienced Marketing expert strong in creating marketing campaigns and developing new business that have resulted in additional revenues of over $ 2.5M for my last company during the last 5 years.”

This sentence demonstrated who you are, your biggest strength and how you benefited your company.

Next step is promoting your brand – Marketing promotion is about using persuasive communications in describing your brand to a specific market. For job-seekers, marketing promotion tools can include:

• Social media networks
• Personal Website
• Blogs and white papers
• Cover letter
• s and resumes
• Elevator speeches
• Portfolio

 

Some ideas to help you promote your brand:

• Write articles in your field for online publication.  You can start your own blog or be a blogger for an established blog to get already existing recognition like “technorati”, or use ezine to publish your articles.  There are free and paid blog platforms the most popular are wordpress, blogger and Tumblr
• Become an expert. If you do not have the time to write entire articles, focus your efforts on being quoted as an expert in your field.  For example many bloggers, writers and journalists ask questions on Q&A to add comments to their publications
• Develop a marketing Website for yourself — focused around your career branding statement and including all or parts of an online portfolio.
• Join and make helpful contributions to online discussion groups in your profession. LinkedIn is a great tool (A post will discuss LinkedIn), Facebook or Google groups, just do not overextend yourself, and focus on the groups that have your audience.

 

Nowadays recruiters and hiring managers research your digital footprint online, if you are not in Google you do not exist; and your online presence better be credible highlighting your achievements.

Recruiters and employers are using the results of a search on your name to help determine whether you are a viable candidate for the position you are seeking.

 

You need to make it easy for employers to find you online, even if you are a passive job seeker.  Make your information (resume, skills, experience, etc.) easily findable when companies are looking for candidates; so you show up in the search results generated by employers who may have a job that’s a good fit, add specific information regarding your credentials and qualifications

 

Employers are seeking specialists in this tough economic market. Determining your specific expertise or niche is very important to establishing a strong brand. Many job seekers shy away from “declaring a major” in their field but that strategy is the complete opposite of what is needed. Strongly branded professionals have a specific area of expertise and they leverage that expertise across a broad market.

As a job seeker, you need to decide your own niche and push hard in that direction.  Establish who you are as education, expertise, training, role, situation, job title, projects etc…; mention your positive points that will help you reach your goals; your strength; your skills: as languages, time management, planning, project management, efficiency, great customer service, dealing with difficult customers and excelling; areas of expertise: e.g.: Marketing professional with in depth knowledge of social media marketing; personal traits: What stands out about you e.g.: Project manager always finished projects ahead of time while cutting expenses; and finally back up your claims: have testimonials or references

To start gathering information about yourself to showcase your brand: Ask yourself:

• What are the projects I am mostly proud of and why?
• Did I ever save money to an employer or increased revenues?
• Did I add a new process or ameliorated an existing one in a previous job?
• Any difficult situation I turned around?
• What are my specific strength?
• What awards did I get and most importantly explain why did I receive them?
• What are my best achievements?
• What is it that I want and NOT what I think you can get?

 

Best of luck, keep reading the posts till Christmas

 

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Finding a Job through Personal Branding

There will be 12 posts for the 12 days of Christmas to help job seekers hopefully land a job.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

Given the current economic situation, where there is more demand than supply, no longer is job search simply a matter of posting your resume on popular job sites and waiting for the phone to ring. As a job seeker, you need to stand out from the rest of the crowd now more than ever.

Branding is a combination of tangible and intangible characteristics that make a brand unique and readily identifiable. Branding is about developing an image using a strong message – that promises equally strong results to match. A brand is a promise of what a product or someone can deliver. The development of a brand makes you a valuable asset, rather than merely an addition to corporate head count.

What goes into a brand?

• name
• reputation
• quality
• performance
• appearance
• promise of value

You need to examine which characteristics, features, and skills comprising your personal and professional qualities that employers will seek and expect in their employees. After identifying these unique qualities, you must embrace them as your own and ensure they are nurtured and cultivated into an appealing and admirable product that demonstrates value.

It’s about identifying and promoting your exceptional qualities, marketable skills, work experience, unique leadership experience, professional memberships, education, training, and institutional knowledge and build a reputation that captures the attention of employers and those within your professional network.  Personal branding defines who you are, where you excel, and why you should be sought out.

Personal branding defines your reputation and emphasizes your unique selling points. Personal branding is about building a name for yourself that others instantly recognize and admire, showcasing what sets you apart from others, and describing the added value you bring to a situation.

Your brand should answer a few questions like:

1. How can I help an employer address challenging issues and exploit unique opportunities it will have in the future?
2. How can I leverage personal successes, and emphasize my capability to handle these challenges and opportunities?
3. Why I believe I am the perfect fit for this position?

Most job seekers make the mistake of emphasizing their personal expectations from the position, rather than thinking about exceeding the prospective employer’s expectations. Unfortunately, companies do not care about how you value your skills, but rather care about what you can do for them, including solutions you will bring to their table and the value you are adding to their organization. This means that you, as the job seeker, must tailor your strategy to match the needs of each particular company.

Market yourself as you would market a product; the same tactics are applied for promoting a product or a person using the proper marketing mix. Your brand as a job seeker will be determined by the viewpoint of the audience, and is based upon appearance (packaging), personality (overall attitude towards your brand, how you make them feel), sophistication (a person’s competency) and differentiation (which results in you being selected over your competition).

You control your marketing mix:  (4Ps)

• Product: “YOU”, including your brand positioning statement
• Promotion: The way you brand yourself, and job-search communications, including cover letters, resumes, interviewing, and follow-up activities
• Price: Your salary and benefits and how your negotiate them (the value proposition)
• Placement: Location, job-search strategy, and your network of professional contacts

You need to highlight your achievements more than your rewards, for example instead of mentioning that you were rewarded an achievement certificate for project completion on time, talk about your leadership and time management skills, problem solving capabilities etc., point out positive attributes as strengths related to the job description.

Align your goals with the potential employer and how the company will benefit from you achieving your goals rather than what you’ll get from it.
The first step in personal branding is to determine what your brand is, and then start with an objective understanding of the exact situation where you currently are, where you want to be, and establish a direction for getting there.

The second step is to ensure your brand is genuine and consistent across all communication channels

The third step is to have both an offline and online brand presence as many recruiters search for their candidates online these days

How to begin building your brand:

1. Track accomplishments and gain new experience: Accomplishments are the foundation of your brand.  Plan a strategy and focus your efforts upon gaining new experience in areas that strengthen your brand or develop competence where you are weak.  Volunteering in your field could pay huge dividends if you are currently seeking a job to gain experience (we will discuss this in a future  post).  You can also consider freelancing or consulting to build upon your  portfolio. Many websites, like odesk, and guru, offer attractive opportunities.
2. You might also consider taking a few courses or pursue a graduate degree, specialized training, or industry-recognized certifications. Getting additional education has the potential to greatly enhance your career brand. You can seek advice through professional networking, mentors, career coaches, or community college advisors.
3. “Build it and they will come” doesn’t work anymore. If no one is aware of you and your brand, then you will not achieve success.  Here comes the promotion part; while you should never push your message or brand upon anyone, you can try building relationships and credibility where others will talk about your brand and evangelize it for you.  Using a portfolio both offline and online to let the whole wide world know about the benefits your brand brings is a great idea.  A portfolio should include all important brand artifacts including your personal mission statement, resume, accomplishments, work samples, articles, blogs, videos (a portfolio will be discussed in a later post)
4. Build credibility through establishing yourself as an SME (Subject Matter Expert). For example, write articles or white papers and publish them, look for guest blogging opportunities, interviews, and get quoted by offering your thoughts, ideas, and opinions to journalists and reporters. You can find these opportunities on Twitter or sites like HARO, or seek out speaking engagements at associations or chambers of commerce, even if you do this work for free.
5. Build bridges i.e. relationships, by helping as many people as you can using your expertise; pay it forward and your good will toward others will emphasize your expertise and provide anecdotal evidence about you for others to talk about you. Word Of Mouth testimonials are one of the strongest marketing tools one can have.
6. Self Branding is not static. You must keep working at it to continue strengthening your brand. Do not stop developing your brand once you land a job as there will always be competition looking to fill your shoes.

Tomorrow’s post will discuss brand positioning, USP, how to build your brand and plan it step by step, pitfalls to avoid, and how and where you can promote your brand.

Best of Luck

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Social Media For Business

Social media has totally changed our lives and our way of communication with our prospects, our clients and even with each other, as shown in my previous posts. Social Media for business is becoming more and more crucial in this new marketing era.

Day after day, email is used less as we communicate increasingly through social media networks, blogs or even through our beloved blackberries.The face of marketing as we know it has probably changed forever.  

Nowadays we live in a permission-based marketing culture — this means that the buyers are:

1. More than ever in control of any information disseminated to them
2. More in charge of the buying process than ever before — they want to control what information they consume, when and how they do it, and which companies/ products or services they choose to engage.

Currently to build successful marketing strategies sellers have to include the different stages of the selling cycles in order to engage the majority of the potential early-stage buyers and to nurture the prospective buyers/ clients.

In fact, we are moving away from traditional marketing  – as practiced for decades known as “Outbound marketing” — to a new era of marketing we call “Inbound marketing.

Outbound vs. Inbound?

Outbound Marketing or traditional marketing depended on interruption modes that were not authorized, so customers found a way to revolt against the  intrusion of these modes, even finding ways to stop it with means such as TIVOs and DVRs, Cable radios, using online news sources and RSS feeds that avoid interruptive ads.  Customers also procure services such as  caller ID to block unsolicited phone calls, throw away junk mail and delete spam Emails without even reading them

Inbound Marketing is the new Social Media marketing — it requires the customer’s permission and allows ONLY what that customer wants to hear/read/learn about.

Inbound Marketing is achieved through 3 channels:

1. SEO: Using keywords to get ranked on Search Engines as Google, Bing, and Yahoo etc…
2. Blogs: Using RSS feeds, TechCrunch, Technorati, Youtube (Vblogs)
3. Social media: Networks or platforms as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Delicious etc…

So now we have to rethink Marketing versus how we always knew it and start changing our perception on how we should do marketing.  In summary, these are the fundamental differences:

Outbound Marketing	Inbound Marketing
TV/ Radio ads	Viral campaigns: PPC & Online ads
Interruption	Permission
Email Blasts/ Print ads	Opt in Mailing/ RSS feeds and alerts
Cold calling	Social calling 2.0
Direct Mail	Opt-in social mail 2.0
Tradeshows	Virtual Tradeshows
Telemarketing	Online Search Engine Marketing & Optimization
Companies in control of their brand	Customers in control of the brands
Push Sales method- One way delivery	Pull method – 2 way communication
Sales department in charge/ Company creates content	Peer to peer consulting/ User creates content
Broadcast	Social Media
Repeat the message to educate	Adapt the message to influence audience

Why should you care?

People with the same interests are finding each other online, conducting conversations and creating groups that form communities that can become very influential with on their respective members.

And conversations regarding companies are taking place right now online — these companies may like it or not, they may contribute to them or not. But the reality is that these conversations are not going away, so whichever companies fail to jump on the social media bandwagon will be left in the cold.

And companies that are not getting involved can potentially cause irreparable damage to brands! A very recent example on the effect of Social media is the YouTube video posted by a couple of employees of Domino’s Pizza doing indescribable things to the Pizza they take to their clients and it went viral, millions of people saw it, Domino’s Pizza CEO had to counteract that to salvage their reputation by posting a video on YouTube to control damages and reassure customers that Domino’s cares and is not about that, needless to add that the employees got fired and for a good reason.

Watch for the next blogs about social media marketing, strategy and importance

Cheers,

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™
http://www.saharconsulting.com 
(818)861 9434 

 

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting

Ethical Leadership in Diverse Environments 1

First published on Technorati: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/ethical-leadership-in-diverse-environments-1/

 

The recent Penn State scandal, what transpires from it, and how it was handled by many or not has been fascinating to me.It highlighted the diversity of how different people see or practice ethics. Supporting “Coach Patterno” students had pleasure turning over cars and starting fires while others were outraged having vigils for the victims.

Some knew or witnessed little children allegedly being molested, hurt and raped at Penn State; and just turned the other way. How do we as human beings define ethics and priorities? Do we sacrifice ethics for the sake of priorities, even if misguided? Was winning and having a football team at Penn State more important than protecting children?

Our country is diverse, and this is the beauty of it. Diversity is supposed to bring us all together to a greater good, to better solutions, to better outcomes. I still want to believe in that, despite witnessing leaders like Coach Patterno, that has been a role model for over 40 years, knowing about the children being harmed; and either didn’t care or just felt that it was more important to win and maintain the status quo.

Ethics are ethics and exist in any culture; they are the standards of right and wrong that influence behavior. What is considered unethical in some cultures is considered ethical in others. But harming the people we are supposed to protect is unethical in any culture and no matter how diverse our backgrounds are.

Integrity is an important trait of effective leaders in any culture, and ethics and trust are part of integrity.
Recently we have seen many leaders from diverse backgrounds lose their way. A French politician, inspiring President, and former head of International Monetary fund allegedly accused of rape; a Republican US Senator (Nevada) paying off people to cover an extra-marital affair; a previous CEO for Hewlett-Packard falsifying expense reports covering a relationship with a contractor; dictators in the Middle East like Mubarak and Gadhafi that were aspiring great leaders at the beginning.

 

All these diverse leaders were successful and at the top of their game, their subsequent behaviors are shocking, making me wonder what made them lose their way?
• Was status more important to them than ethics; was money, wining, greed their priorities?
• What turned them to be unethical toxic leaders?
• What made them risk everything they had?
• Did they think they were above the law? And rules that applied to everyone else did not apply to them?
These leaders that lost their way didn’t get to leadership roles to do wrong or be unethical, yet they did. The reason is that at a certain point they lost their ethics, their moral compass and direction, making the other side look greener.
Ethical leadership across any culture, either personal or organizational, requires courage, and the ability to do the right thing at the risk of rejection and loss.
As human beings including the leaders, as diverse as we are, share the need to be liked by others, fitting in without rocking the boat, we take risks when we challenge status quo by speaking our mind and fighting for what we believe is right and it requires courage.

Courage means we do the right thing in spite of fear and it is difficult. It requires taking responsibility for our mistakes and failures, rather than trying to cover them up or blaming others.

Moral and ethical values are important to our well being, it is not just about making money or wining or having an elite status, it is not right to lie, hide or even stretch the truth; Once a lie is made it triggers a domino’s effect of other lies, it has hidden costs, as loosing self-respect, reputation and morals

Leaders from any background should lead by ethical example and enforce ethical standards, because it is the right thing to do.
We will discuss ethical behaviors and more about courage in the next post.

Diversity starts at home,

Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC. - Home of the D.I.A.L.O.G.™ Programs
Diversity& Inclusion in Active Leadership Organizational Growth™
(Exchanging Ideas through Conversation)™

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on:       
Contact me:  saharconsulting