Have You Assessed Your LinkedIn Profile Yet?

About a month ago, we published a self-assessment matrix by which you can assess the effectiveness of your LinkedIn Profile. In a recent research project/survey, we discovered that less than less than 10% of the LinkedIn Profiles we reviewed of active job seekers meet a minimum standard for effectiveness.

Are you missing an opportunity for personal branding, making recruiters and hiring managers aware of your capability, and falling short of being able to network effectively –  all because your LinkedIn Profile is at a minimum, average and mediocre level compared to best practices in leveraging LinkedIn for your Job Search.

Take the self-assessment today and then start rebuilding your LinkedIn Profile so that you can begin to have better success in your job search.

Bonus Tip: The effectiveness of your LinkedIn Profile extends far beyond just job hunting. An effective LinkedIn Profile can aid in sales, business development, career advancement, and marketing.

Download the Self-Assessment NOW to determine if you LinkedIn Profile is effective for conducting an efficient job search.

Brad and I also discussed using your LinkedIn Profile as an effective tool in a previous Internet Radio Talk Show. You can listen to and download all of our recorded Internet Radio Talk Shows on Job Search by navigating to our FREE Audio Library.

Barry

Upcoming Radio Broadcast – What’s Your Job Search Plan

Most candidates do not have a solid job search plan to conduct an effective job search – then they whine about their job hunt and the fact that it’s taking them 40% longer to find a new job than their peers.

Can you afford to be out work 6 months, 12 months, 18 months?

An effective job search plan is one of the primary methods by which you can significantly reduce the time it takes to conduct a job hunt. Many candidates have used this approach, which is a core element of our Career Success Methodology, to reduce their job search time by 40%, 50%, and sometimes as much as 65% based on traditional projections of the length of job searches by level of position.

Join Brad and I on Monday at 11 AM PST on LATALKRADIO.com as we discuss, banter, and argue about what is a proper job search plan and how do you get started in creating one for yourself. Mark your calendar right now! We take your questions, comments, and ideas and put them on the air to discuss, debate, and challenge each other.

Be on the lookout for our upcoming FREE Self-Assessment 8-Point Success Matrix for a Job Search Plan, our audio program which you can download directly from Itunes or from our website in our extensive FREE Audio Library. Finally, we’ll have a video up shortly about the Top Ten Job Search Mistakes which you can download from Youtube.

Barry

Are Recruiters Looking For Qualified People?

NO.

A common assumption made by most candidates is that, “I’m qualified. Why don’t you call me?” Simply put, you answered your own question. We don’t want qualified people.

Recruiters are only looking for exceptionally qualified people.

Especially in this market, companies don’t need to hire us to find qualified people. They can do that on their own for FREE.

If you want to have recruiters notice you, if you want recruiters to call you once they receive your resume, and if you want recruiters to return your phone call, then you must demonstrate why you are exceptionally qualified. We are not looking for just qualified, or as most candidates indicate in their emails, “I think I’m a good fit.” Recruiters don’t want “a good fit” either. We want exceptional fits.

Our book, “This is NOT the Position I Accepted” was written for this exact reason. We really attempted to help candidates understand how to demonstrate they are an exceptional fit. The 5 steps in the book give great detail on being or becoming exceptional. These 5 steps closely follow a sales model, after all, you are now in sales.

1) Define the product. That is you. Why are you so different from your competition? This is the, “what makes me exceptional” part. If you can’t define this, then you are not exceptional. Don’t feel badly. Not everyone can be exceptional. Only the top 15 – 20% are exceptional.

This is probably the biggest reason most candidates fail at being exceptional. They don’t take the time to perform an in-depth analysis of their strengths and transferable skills. (We have a free skills assessment tool for you do download at the bottom of our home page CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD).

2) Identify Customers. All good sales people have a target list of customers , who they want to talk to in that company, and how to get to them. This is your network. Of the thousands of candidates I interview, very few have a real focused, targeted list and a plan to get to the person. Real sales people don’t just randomly call on companies and neither should you.

3) Marketing Materials. This is your resume. Sales people know that marketing materials are just support documents that open doors. These documents don’t close the sale. Most companies that are market focused have multiple marketing documents. They know that customers are motivated by different things and they need to get to what motivates that customer to make a sale. One size fits all, doesn’t work.

Your resume should be focused to the company/hiring manager/recruiter’s motivation. Your resume should clearly articulate the benefits to the person or recruiter whose attention you want to attract. This is not one size fits all.

You can download a free audio on, “Why Traditional Resumes Are Worthless” by CLICKING HERE

4) Sales Presentation. In the candidate’s case the presentation is the interview, either via phone or face-to-face. Sales people practice this at length. Sales reps often have the manager go along to ensure they are skilled at this. Sales reps anticipate objections, seek out the answers to overcome the objections, and then practice to make them appear unrehearsed. Sales people know exactly what questions to ask to elicit the information needed to make the sale.

Most candidates don’t rehearse their presentation to anyone. They practice answers in their head, but rarely write out the answers. I have watched more interviews collapse when the hiring manager asks, “What questions do you have for me?” The candidate sits there like a deer in the headlights. This part of the interview is so important that we have included over 150 questions to ask in an interview in our book and have even divided the questions into categories. The list includes questions on leadership, initiative, values, management style, and questions specific to the job, organization, etc.

The questions you ask are often more important than the answers you give.

To receive a free chapter on, “Winning the Phone Interview” CLICK HERE.

We also have a whole chapter on the ten most important questions to ask in an interview.

Less than 10% ever ask even one of these. Amazing.

5) Follow-up and closing. It is all a waste of time if the follow-up and closing doesn’t happen. For candidates, this happens in a couple of different areas, thank you letters (we even provide an example), second and third interviews, and of course closing the deal. This may even include a contract.

Mastering, NOT JUST KNOWING THESE, but mastering these will make you the exceptional candidate recruiters are seeking.

Knowing them will ensure you stay a qualified candidate.

For more information on becoming exceptional see all of our free resources, review the free audio library where we post new audios every week, read our other career management blog entries and even listen to our talk radio show on Monday’s at 11 – noon PDT on www.latalkradion.com.

You can receive our candidate job search workbook for FREE by CLICKING HERE

Now you have the resources and tools to become an “exceptional” candidate. We hope you will pick up the tools and begin using them.

Become a Beacon in Your Job Search

Adam Singer, writing today in his blog, The Future Buzz, used a lighthouse with it’s powerful lens as an excellent metaphor for networking on-line, particularly in using on social media, groups, discussion boards, and other communities to draw attention to yourself in your job search.

Adam uses this powerful metaphor and visualization to call attention to the importance of establishing your own personal brand in social networking, for both your success, career, and job search. He states:

A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to focus attention on a specific location.

Visualize what image the word beacon conjures in your mind:  perhaps a lighthouse casting light onto an otherwise dark horizon, or a signal fire atop a hill illuminating the night sky.  In the physical world, a beacon is used to draw attention, act as a guide, or call to action.  Civilizations have long used them to rally citizens together, protect ships from coastlines, and act as signal points.

But the concept of a beacon is not limited to purely physical signaling points.  There are beacons on the web – they are people, companies, networks, blogs, anything that can direct attention.

You must become a beacon or you are essentially at the whim of others who point attention at their own discretion, perhaps shining the light on you for fleeting moments…if you’re lucky.

You can read Adam’s full blog post at The Future Buzz.

Are you a beacon to others in your job search. Is the attention of hiring managers drawn to the light you cast?

If you missed our last post about using your LinkedIn Profile to become visible in your job search, you can still download the 8-Point Success Matrix for Your Job Search LinkedIn Profile. Within minutes, this matrix will help you to improve your existing LinkedIn Profile to become a bright beacon and attract the attention of recruiters, HR managers, and Hiring Managers in your job search.

Barry

Photo courtesy of Adam Singer at the Future Buzz

Stop being a job search voyeur – let your voice be heard

Many candidates join groups on LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning, Yahoo and on a variety of other platforms  to languish in “lurker” land. What’s the use of joining a group unless you’re willing to actively participate? Is not one of the major reasons for joining groups on-line or off-line  to network in your job search?

One of the most powerful methods of networking for job hunting is to become known to other group members through your posting of job search-related articles, sharing of informational links/sites (a major element of active Twitter networking), that might help other job seekers, and commenting on the posts by others. Learn about networking in our 5-Step Career Success Methodology.

Through your active “voice”, others in the group get to know you, trust you, and start to go out of their way to help you when you become a valued member of their community.

Not becoming active in sharing your “voice” in these groups you join is the equivalent of “being beige” – fading into the woodwork. See the blog post I wrote titled “Networking Failure –  Stop Being Beige”.

For those who are a little shy, reserved, and introverted, what better method exists to let your voice be heard?  You don’t have to engage in physical groups, you don’t have to formulate a response on the spot (you can think about it, analyze, and carefully craft your on-line message). and you don’t have to portray yourself as an extrovert in a live setting.

Allow me to offer a starting point for beginning the journey of letting your voice be heard on-line to improve your job search networking:

Here are Seven Steps you Can Take to end job search voyeurism:

Step 1: Join our LinkedIn Group for Job Search

Step 2: “Lurk” or “kibbitz” and then get active

Step 3: Start to comment on job search articles

Step 4: Follow Brad and Barry on Twitter

Step 5: Subscribe to our Career and Job Search Blog

Step 6: Join other LinkedIn Groups and become active

Step 7: Subscribe to other blogs and comment frequently

In my next blog post, we’ll explore each of these Seven Steps to ending Job Search Voyeurism.

Barry

photo credit by Stewart

Do You Avoid Contact in your Job Search Networking?

I coach High School Girls Basketball and I’ve noticed that the most successful girls love the physical contact of playing basketball – they attack defenders, they draw contact going to the basket, they get physical underneath the basket, and they don’t escort dribble-drive penetrators to the basket.

Job Search is like basketball (my HS daughter who also plays basketball frowns ever time I tell her I’m making another basketball metaphor – I just can’t help myself)

Candidates who are job hunting must seek out the face-to-face contact with others to conduct a successful job search. It’s not enough to sit behind a computer screen all day reading emails, answering job postings, and participating in on-line discussion groups. Learn the fundamental elements of job search networking and personal face-to-face contact through our 5-Step Career Success Methodology.

The very best job search networkers reduce their job search time by half or more through turning the job hunt into a contact sport like basketball. Discover the best practices of master networkers who make job search networking a contact sport.

Here a 5 key thoughts to begin an introspective look at whether you’re doing enough in the physical contact element of your job search:

1. Do you belong to a job search networking group that meets at least every other week in your local community with people at the same level as yourself?

2. Are you asking for and obtaining information interviews with hiring managers who currently do not have any openings?

3. How many meetings are you doing every week with the “A” list of your network – those who are strong connectors and influencers – those with extensive networks – the 20% of your network that will generate 80% of your job leads and referrals.

4. Are you active in at least one non-profit group in your local community by which you’re making a valuable contribution and as a side benefit expanding your network?

5. Do you attend the meetings of the professional networking groups and local chapters of trade associations in your local community. For example, if you are a Controller or CFO, are you attending the FEI, FENG networking meetings. If your company is a manufacturer, do you also attend the local chapter meetings of APICS – the American Production and Inventory Control Society?

When you start getting out of the house and meeting people – one-on-one, in groups, at events – great results will start to happen. One of the basic elements of networking is that people are uncomfortable making referrals and giving you leads until they trust you. To gain trust, you’ve got meet and know people on a more personal level than email, twitter, Facebook wall postings, and lurking in discussion groups.

Barry

photo credit karenphotos

Job Referrals – Do you base them on luck and hope?

Do you get enough job referrals in your job search?

Are you willing to roll the dice on your network?

Is the quality and quantity of job referrals based more on hope and luck than a consistent and focused effort on ensuring you’ve got the right network in place to deliver the outcomes you absolutely must have?

When was the last time you gave your network a check-up?

One of the services we offer is a Networking Assessment and Strategic Networking Plan to measure the strength of your network and recommend solutions. Through this service, we’re stunned by the lack of proactivity and initiative in a job search by candidates to continually tweak and improve their network.

Here are a five key questions you should be asking yourself about the quality of your network. We’ll discuss these 5 questions about your network and much more in our weekly Internet Radio Talk Show on Monday June 8th at 11 AM PST on LATALKRADIO.com. Join us for an hour of an in-depth discussion around “Generating Job Referrals in your Job Search“.

1. Do I have a large enough network to generate the referrals needed for the type of job I’m interested in obtaining?

2. Are there a significant number of hiring managers in my network who hire for this type of position?

3. Is there a significant number of people in my network who know on a 1st degree basis the hiring managers who would hire for this position?

4. Are there trusted advisers in my network who provide services to my ultimate boss that might hear of opportunities and make job referrals (One example might be a advertising account manager selling advertising services to the marketing promotions manager who would be your direct boss at a consumer products company. Another example might be the CPA auditing a company who is working directly with the Controller who might be your potential new boss?

5. Are there a large number of people in your network who are not competing directly with you for the position, but might hear about the job opportunities due to their proximity to the type of work you’re interested in obtaining (For example, the engineer in the R&D function might be aware of a product development role in marketing or the materials specialist role in the supply chain department).

Try ranking yourself on these 5 core questions about the strength of your network on a scale of 1-5 (1 being you’re a long way from completing your job search and  5 makes you a rock star in networking). Which one of these 5 components of an effective network should you spend time developing.

Are there gaps in your network that you should be focused on filling?

I hope these questions stimulate your introspection about the quality and strength of your network to generate good job referrals.

Barry

Networking Failure – Stop Being Beige

Dale Dauten had a post the other day on the Career Realism Blog that caught my eye. Dale is a well-known author and blogger on networking. In his blog post, he “turned” a couple of phrases that really caused me to start thinking about why networking fails for most people – particularly candidates in a job search.

He suggests to “Stop Being Beige”. Dale offers metaphor of don’t wear beige and lean up against a beige wall. STOP being invisible in your job search, in your career in the office, and taken to an extreme — in life.

This conjures up images of fading into the woodwork of your network, being invisible in groups as a lurker, and hiding behind your mother’s skirt when you were 3. You don’t have to be the life of the party or the center of attention – but you do have to engage with others. Great things come from engagement with other people. If you’re uncomfortable in group gatherings (an important element of networking is getting out meeting others in groups), take some courses to overcome your fears and discomfort. Practice with your friends.

Risk a little – go a networking event (conquer your fears Geronimo – If you haven’t read the children’s book series on the mouse that conquers his fears I would encourage reading them – if the mouse can do it – so can you! Social Media Sites and On-line Social Networking is great – but no substitute for classic face-to-face “pressing the flesh” and physically meeting other people.

Dale Carnegie offers courses. There are hundreds of on-line resources about conquering your fear of engaging with others – blogs-webinars-articles-coaching. Toastmasters is one of the best places to build confidence speaking in front of groups – one of the best things I ever did in my 20’s was to participate in a Toastmaster’s Chapter for a couple of years.

My daughter plays on a high school varsity basketball team. Up until the last year she had pretty much mastered the art of being beige. Now she can’t be beige. She craves the play time on the varsity team. She’s learning at a very early stage in life that if there’s something you really want – you can’t afford to be beige – or you’ll ride the bench and observe from the sidelines – that’s no fun.

Read a new book once a week. Job Search, Networking, Personal Branding, Self-Help – the list is endless. Are you learning how to avoid being beige. What’s the last great book on job search or networking or personal branding you’ve read?

Have you read our book, This is NOT the Position I Accepted, which  has an entire chapter devoted to job search networking.

We offer as a service a Strategic Networking Plan for Executive Level Candidates –  have you asked for an initial assessment to determine if you’re a victim of being beige?

Brad and I moderate an Internet Talk Radio Show and cover a wide range of job search frustrations, mistakes, and best practices. Have you entered our virtual library of archived radio shows and listened to the programs on networking.

What are you doing right now to change and transform yourself from being beige?

Getting the ‘Dirty Ear’ When You Network? (You Better Hope Not!)

Barry

Using Social Media in Your Job Search

Using social media sites such as Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook to find customers, new employees or a job is new to most people. Today’s show is all about how you can leverage these sites to get what you are looking for. My partner Barry Deutsch and I discuss all the reasons to begin using these sites but most importantly how to use these sites to accomplish your objectives.

Social media sites are all the rage but few know how to use them to drive business, sales or sourcing for people or a job. Most become overwhelmed and just give up. We will show you how to start, which sites are best suited for your needs, how to engage people and the real purpose of these sites. Social media may be right for some and a waste of time for others. Find out which category you fall into to most effectively leverage your job search.

You can listen to or download our Career and Job Search Radio Show in our FREE Audio Library.

Building Relationships Gets Job Leads

STOP NETWORKING TO FIND A JOB. Instead learn how to develop relationships so you have people marketing and selling you. Interview with Dave Elliott. Learn how to convert networking contacts that forget about you, into a relationships that become advocates for you. The key to successful networking is getting a 100 or 200 people that know you to become your sales team. Dave Elliot will show you how he does it and how you too can take networking contacts and turn them into relationships.

Every Monday from 11 – noon Pacific time, on www.latalkradio.com you can listen live as we discuss every aspect of your job search.

To download and listen to this show and all our radio shows just go to our audio library.  CLICK HERE