I find the research data interesting but don’t clearly understand why applying between the hours of 6:00-10:00 am is the magical timeframe. Perhaps I will take this approach for a month or so and report back. http://ow.ly/cPeo30gwvan
Tag: #jobsearch
Finally the ultimate no-no. If there was ever a career habit to break, it is this one.
5. Seeking jobs instead of building a career path
Kudos to you for firing off resumes one right after another. Have you stopped to think about what it is you actually want to do?
I know; you want to earn a check so that you can eat. Got it, please know that I do not think that it is a bad goal.
With all due respect to eating, however, be strategic about the positions you are applying for. Are they in your field of choice? Will they help you build a skill set that will serve you in the long run? Will the position help you make connections that will assist you in moving to the next level? Do you have a career path in mind or are you diving in head first and deciding to think about it later? Please don’t let the answer to that question be “yes”.
Think about this way, you typically decide where you are trying to go before you start your car. My car will not even allow me to set my navigation system when the car is in motion.
If my car is smart enough to know that there should be a plan for how we are getting to our destination before we take off, shouldn’t you be that smart? I know you are as savvy as my Hyundai.
Do some goal setting and develop at least a one to two-year plan and make sure that the positions you are applying for support your goals.
This is not a habit you need to break because it is out of date or simply annoying; proceeding with an unfocused job search is a waste of time. Successfully getting hired for a series of jobs does not build a career path.
Remember telephone books? When was the last time you used one? Today we all Google what we need and companies that can not easily be found in these search results typically don’t get as much patronage.
The same principle applies to you. It is important to have an appropriate, online presence.
4. Having no professional, digital presence
I reconnected with a former co-worker a couple of weeks ago and he said that he was not on Facebook. I immediately thought he was lying and probably trying to hide something.
I know that there really are people who don’t use social media but it’s weird. Many employers search for applicants online and having no digital presence can be just as harmful as having inappropriate search results.
Just to clarify, I am encouraging you to develop a professional digital presence. There are some simple ways to start:
- Sign up for LinkedIn
- Update the LinkedIn account you signed up for years ago
- Start a blog about issues pertaining to your area of expertise
Taking one of these suggestions provides another method of defining yourself as a professional. You can discuss accomplishments, demonstrate knowledge, and of course grow your network online.
We are officially 23 days into the new year and most of you have scrapped or at least modified your resolutions for the year. It’s okay, we can resolve to leave resolutions in 2016 and turn our attention to making changes that can actually help you move your career forward.
Every day this week, I will provide one common, career related mistake that you can definitely leave in the past.
1. Including an objective statement on your resume
Please believe me when I say everyone is over objective statements. Very few give insight on who you are as a professional, they take up space on your resume, and are a complete and total insult to people reviewing your resume.
Do you really need to use space on your resume to say that your goal is to get a job with the company? Submitting your resume makes that clear.
Instead of including an objective statement, put your energy into:
- Crafting accomplishment statements for roles that you have held in the past. Focus on telling the hiring manager what you have accomplished, not just what was prescribed by a job description.
- Highlighting skills specific to your industry. Do some research and make sure the language you use to describe your skills and experience is up to date and relevant.
- Writing a cover letter that explains your skill set, accomplishments, and of course why you will be a “value add” to the company and department.
In 2017, quit it with the objective statements. If your objective is to get hired, they do not help!
Don’t let the #holiday season put the bah humbug in your #career progression. Use the cheer that the holiday season brings to infuse your efforts with life! #jobsearch
Whether you are preparing for, enjoying, or recovering from the holidays, it is safe to say that your career goals will not be top of the mind for the next few weeks. Believe it or not, it is fairly simple to leverage the holidays to help with your career progression.
Tip 3: Break the ice with a little holiday chit chat
Use the holiday season as an icebreaker during interviews or networking opportunities. Despite religious affiliation or background, the holidays bring about some very common experiences that allow us to make small talk with strangers.
No matter how uncomfortable the situation (i.e. awkward networking event or job interview) almost everyone can participate in chit-chat crowded stores, their love or hate of the prominent smells of nutmeg and cinnamon, and of course feelings of excitement and anxiety about spending time with family.
Whether it is the commercial aspect or the spirit of the season, there are common experiences that help us connect to one another. Leverage this time of year to expand and re-engage your network by easing some of the pressure you feel about networking. If you missed any of my previous tips, check them out here: https://takeishascareeradvice.wordpress.com/.
Tip 2: Ask Santa for help for with your career
There is still time to respond to the question “what do you want for Christmas” with a request for career-related items. Whether it is clothing, technology, software, or simply business cards Santa has room in his bag for a variety of gifts. Instead of receiving that countertop growing garden, ask someone to gift you an annual membership to a professional association. Decline the chia pet and request 100 business cards.
While everything goes on sale during this time of year, people are also more giving of their time. Our friends and family have talents that can be very beneficial to our career progression. A novel idea would be to ask a friend to design your logo or give you one or two lessons in a particular software that they have mastered instead of buying you an actual gift.
This approach is a great way to keep your career goals at the forefront during the holiday season while making sure that your network knows what you are working on.
If you missed tip one posted earlier, check it out here: http://bit.ly/2gYTyXX.
Whether you are preparing for, enjoying, or recovering from the holidays, it is safe to say that your career goals will not be top of the mind for the next few weeks. Believe it or not, it is fairly simple to leverage the holidays to help with your career progression.
Tip 1 Spread Some Holiday Cheer
Use the season as an opportunity to reconnect with members of your network. Extend a holiday greeting via social media or email. If you are really ambitious, send actual holiday cards. Don’t worry, you are still within the allowable time frame to send cards without breaking any rules of etiquette.
Whether you send a greeting digitally or via snail mail, include a quick note about what you are looking forward to or will be working on in the new year. Your message will seem timely instead of calculated.
On Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), I will sit around someone else’s table, grateful that I did not have to cook a turkey that I never planned to eat. Each person will take a turn sharing what they are grateful for and I am almost certain that not one person around that table will show gratitude for something career related.
I am not talking about gratefulness for your job because it brings you money, things, and the ability to take care of your family. Those are important reasons to show gratitude but not quite the same as favorably reflecting on the opportunity to grow as a professional.
Take the time to acknowledge successes, challenges that have aided your growth, and other career moments that you should be grateful for this holiday season.
This article from Forbes has some great ideas about showing gratitude through forward facing and private behaviors.
If you still can find nothing to be grateful for on your current path, let’s talk. Comment on this post or find me on LinkedIn.
Just remember, encouraging thankfulness is not the same as promoting complacency. Never stop assessing and moving forward in your career.
Remember how it feels to fall in love?
That “click” you feel when you meet someone who peaks your interest?
They push their way into your thoughts when you are working to focus on something else. Everything you hear makes you think of them. They’ve captured your heart.
This 100% captures how I fell in love with my husband and career development.
That’s right, I have a long standing love affair with workforce development.
I know it sounds odd to hear someone say that they are in love with a career path, but it is February, and in honor of Valentine’s Day, I am going to ask you to go along with it.
A few weeks ago I attended a conference specifically focused on one of the federal grants I manage. I entered my first session alert and ready to engage on the topic, “Telling program stories during the life of the program”. It is actually a pretty important topic with regards to funding!
As the presenter began to speak in a very folksy style, telling a number of stories about her kindergartner, my mind immediately started linking everything she talked about to career development.
Storytelling is a key element of the job search and in career advancement. There will be more to come on this later.
My thoughts did not shift because I was uninterested in the presentation. I made the connection because thinking about career, professional, and workforce development is what I love.
Much like the incomprehensible doodles, fueled by infatuation with a new love interest, my notes include little thought bubbles with ideas related to my next career development blog post.
The week after the summit, I was scheduled to meet with a local nonprofit to discuss creating and facilitating career development courses for underserved women in the Washington DC area.
The night before the meeting, the DC area was hit by a light snowstorm that resulted in roads completely covered in ice. On my drive home, I sat in traffic for more than 4 hours, and when I was moving I slid, fishtailed, and prayed that I would make it safely.
When I woke up the next morning, exhausted and still a bit irritated, I immediately sent an email. It wasn’t an email to say that I was too traumatized to even venture out that day. Instead it was an email to the organization leaders confirming our meeting.
The opportunity to work with groups on the topic of professional and career development motivates me.
It’s my essence.
I am purposely using the word essence as opposed to “passion” for several reasons. When discussing career related topics, the word passion is completely overused and doesn’t mean very much. Those things that hit on your essence help to define your character, what you care about, and why. Your essence is bigger than a job and perhaps even a career. You find your essence in that compartment where you file your hobbies and your “if I could do anything, I would …”dreams.
I am very good at what I do, my “day job” if you will. People and program management are my crafts. With that said, I don’t leave part of my essence behind in order to do my job. A piece of what makes me such a strong manager is my ability and desire to think about my staff’s professional development needs. I work to coach them to do their best work, but also realize their career goals inside and outside of the organization.
I weave workforce development into my program management as well. When working with a program focused on professional development, like a mentoring or internship program, the connection is clear. It may seem less direct when I discuss having oversight over environmental education programming, but the connection isn’t a stretch.
Creating diverse and inclusive groups of people to discuss environmental issues is a key component of executing good programming and an important outcome of well delivered programs. Job opportunities are an essential entry point for people new to the issue. Job availability and ultimately economic prosperity will motivate people to lean in on a topic that may not have interested them before.
The ability to align my essence with my craft helps to strengthen my direction and my overall sense of joy. It can take time and work to achieve this cohesion, but is definitely worth the effort.
Do you know what your essence is? Does it match up with your job? Do you want it to?
Growing up, my mother had a favorite phrase, “common sense ain’t so common.” What can I say, we are from Texas. After spending the past six months reviewing application packets for everything from leadership awards to full time positions, my mother’s little quip has never seemed truer.
While I love the opportunity to interact with so many hopeful and talented individuals, I have worked in career development for over 15 years and there is no way for me to overlook the common, but unfortunate, mistakes that people make.
Last week, when I could feel a rant coming on after receiving a generic resume that included a headshot, I decided to channel my frustration into something productive. I challenged myself to impart some common career sense by providing reality- based tips.
Let’s start at the beginning of the process: submitting your application. The majority of applications received are submitted digitally. There are pros for electronically submitting application packets including the ease of attaching and clicking submit. However this ease can cause people to overlook or neglect some very important factors.
Faux Pas: Being lazy with your submission
Common Career Sense Tip: If you are emailing your application materials, be sure to address your email/cover letter to a specific person. In many cases, it takes no time at all to visit the company or organization’s website and find out who will likely review your resume. Take the time to personalize the submission instead of using a generic and somewhat maddening salutation, such as “Dear Prospective Employer”. I promise you I’m looking at an email submission with this greeting right now and I’m not happy!
Faux Pas: Submitting your information in an unprofessional manner
Common Career Sense Tip: I’m still fuming after receiving an application packet from someone using an inappropriate email display name. If you are submitting career related information with an email address or display name that does not clearly identify who you are, change it now! Ideally, your display name should be your first and last name. Save the cutesy epithets for your personal email address.
At some point, whether it is program admission or a job application, you will have to provide a resume. My resume is probably one of the most personal documents I’ve ever created. It’s me on a page – everything I am proud of and a constant reminder of what I want to achieve in my career. With that said, resumes are personal, but they are developed for a public audience.
Faux Pas: Submitting your resume in a program specific format
Common Career Sense Tip: Submitting your resume as a Word document does not mean that every reviewer will have an easy time opening it or that it will be formatted correctly once it’s opened. A person using the Google Docs may not see the document and formatting you want them to see. If possible, always submit your resume and supporting documents as a PDF.
Faux Pas: Including unnecessary information on your resume
Common Career Sense Tip: Editing your resume does not solely apply to spelling and grammar mistakes. Resumes should be edited for content as well in order to ensure that information included is relevant to the position and company you are applying to. I don’t need to know everything you can do or have done in your past. If you include a skills section on your resume, make sure the skills are relevant to the position you are applying for.
Faux Pas: Selling yourself short on your resume
Common Career Sense Tip: There is no need to discount volunteer experience on your resume. I review resumes on a regular basis that relegate important, professional experience to a “Volunteer” category and use the “Work Experience” category for one or two temporary or low skilled positions simply because money was exchanged for the service provided. Create a broader heading (i.e. professional experience) and promote that “volunteer” experience to the top of the resume.
360 Career Development Agency 