Career Diversification

Once again, Rebecca covers a topic that is so critical, yet I'll bet that the majority of readers of this blog NEVER think of it. Stated another way, never stop asking yourself what you want to do/be when you grow up. If you do, you may find yourself disgruntled with the jobs that are "available" to you.

Rebecca's line "Nothing about the market is static" is very true and applies to life in general. Nothing stays the same, despite our wish for it to do so, but then, it is also true that "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." ("The more things change, the more they remain the same." Alphonse Karr). Life is in constant change, and as jobs/careers are an important part of life, you can count on them to change; however, if you're like me, you now notice that the changes are predictable and are the same ones you endured at a previous job or from a previous boss. So, things change, and things don't change. :)

Thanks, Rebecca!

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October 27, 2009

Career Diversification

The employment landscape is littered with people who’ve allowed their skills sets – and their careers – to become inert. The more competitive the job market, the greater a liability this becomes.  Nothing about the market is static. 

Economies fluctuate. Industries and products alike progress through inevitable stages. External influences – like foreign markets – shift and transform. The one thing you can count on is change.  If you want to succeed professionally, you need to be just as dynamic as the market –and you must avoid tunnel vision. 

Think like a company:  figure out how you can diversify. How can you broaden your reach? How can you break into new markets? How can you extend your brand?

The key is to ensure you’re as marketable as possible. What do you need to do to augment your skills? Is there some sort of project or initiative that would give you good experience and exposure? Volunteer for it.
How might your background and experience apply to another industry? Are there competencies you should pick up that will make you a more attractive candidate should you want to attempt that kind of transition? Who do you need to meet?

Stay on top of trends. Know what’s “hot” and figure out what you need to do to position yourself to get closer to it. Find out what you need to learn…and figure out how to pick up that knowledge or proficiency.
Think ahead and always be looking to broaden your skill set. You’ll be much better positioned to survive during the lean times, and ultimately to thrive.

Rebecca Metschke is the author of The Interview Edge, a comprehensive guide for those who are serious about their careers. Visit http://blog.TheInterviewEdge.com for free tips and strategies to gain a professional advantage.

Job Hunting Presentation in Second Life

Just finished a live presentation in Second Life on job hunting and the use of social media in a job hunt.   Was a very fast hour, and had about 16 avatars/people in attendance.  I got some very nice comments on the presentation, and I sincerely hope that everyone will use what they have learned. 

Job hunting is and isn't the same as in "the past."   I talked a lot about the use of electronic media and how to aggregate job listings to save time looking for openings, but as usual, I came back to something that has never changed in job searching since the beginning--- networking.

Despite all of the wonderful tools and electronic gizmos, finding a job comes down to getting in front of a human and selling yourself.  Bottom line.   Electronic networking tools, fancy resumes, hours spent searching job openings will NOT net you a job.   They can only get you in front of another human....and then, the fun begins.

If I were to list what I consider the second most important thing in job searching (behind networking), it would be to practice, practice, practice your 30-2 min commercials (elevator speeches) until you were mumbling them in your sleep.   This is part of being able to interview well, which is where you win or lose a job offer.  If you know who you are and what you have to offer, and you couch it in "sales" terms ("here's what I can do for you"), you'll have a tremendous advantage over 90% of the rest of the population.

Being prepared for an interview is a book in itself, but being emotional prepared will help you even more.   Frankly, if you go into an interview so worried about getting the job that you can't function, you will fulfill your own prophecy.   Now I have been in some tight spots in my time---had no job/income and was interviewing---and those are tough.   I am blessed with not having debt, and that relieves a lot of pressure.  Of course, picturing my family scraping by because I'm out of work adds a tad more pressure.   I have had to learn the hard way that if I really trust that God will take care of me, I will relax in an interview and my thoughts will flow much better.   It's a test, or should I say like a test that we've all had in school (remind your kids of the kinds of tests adults take and the stakes of performing poorly on THOSE tests).   If you are prepared for the test, your stress level is much lower than if you know you're winging it.  Of course there could be a test that asks questions poorly (bad test design) or something you totally forgot, but that's where part 2 of preparedness comes into play---trust God.

No test, no interview is life ending.  Though we don't believe that we'll ever find another job as our last good job, honestly, we will.   I have often counseled job seekers with two words:  patience and persistence.  You must be patient, and you must never give up.   Since I like Star Trek, the analogy I offer is that of the Borg.  For those unfamiliar with Star Trek:  The Next Generation, the Borg are a race of cyborgs who are notorious for taking over and assimilating other races in the galaxy, and they are incredibly persistent.  Nothing seems to phase them...they just keep coming and coming.   Like the Borg, we must all keep pressing on to find the next job, and most of us need to work on our patience while we do that.

Cyborgs and virtual worlds like Second Life aside, the reality is that job hunting will continue to be the bane of our existence, at least until we land that next job. : )

Using Twitter

I've done a couple of presentations now on the use of Twitter as a job-searching tool, and in both cases, when I asked the groups about using Twitter, I got blank stares (ok, a few people blinked).

Twitter is a "micro-blog" tool/site on which you can network (the magic word for job hunters) with people at companies you have an interest in and actually search (like Google) for job openings. People usually tell me they just don't get it and don't see any use for something like Twitter. Of course I agree with them when someone tweets about waiting in a doctor's office or sitting on their couch.

A very mind-stretching article on the use of Twitter (and why it will grow in importance) is at http://zikkir.com/it/12274, "10 Ways Twitter Will Change American Business" by Renato Leon | 22 September 2009. I thought I was informed, and I was surprised by a comment in his blog entry:

"Outdoor ads are used almost everywhere in the world because of their simplicity and the relatively low cost of creating them. Current estimates are that global outdoor-advertising sales will be a $30 billion business this year. One of the great weaknesses of older ad media, like outdoor-billboard marketing and newspaper display, is that results have been nearly impossible to quantify effectively. Twitter will change that."

Think of the applications of "instant blogging:" instant feedback on TV shows, ads, anything!

Retooling Yourself for the Future

by Rebecca Metschke

Rebecca Metschke is the author of The Interview Edge, a comprehensive guide for those who are serious about their careers. Visit http://blog.TheInterviewEdge.com for free tips and strategies to gain a professional advantage.

How marketable are you right now? What will you need to do to make sure you’re still relevant five years from now? 

When the economy is in recession, workers focus on their marketability. They’re either trying to hang on to their jobs or attempting to land new ones. Nobody wants to be deemed redundant, or expendable, or a weak candidate. Those are labels no one can afford to be tagged with. People spend time thinking about how they can shore up weaknesses and increase perceived value.

Unfortunately, though, when the job market finally rights itself, a lot of those same people will just as suddenly put thoughts about how to stay relevant on the back burner. And that will be a mistake.

Even when the economy begins expanding again, we’re still going to be looking at a dynamic job market. Remember back just a few short years ago when the market was red hot? People were still facing layoffs. Companies were still merging – or outsourcing – or streamlining operations – resulting in head count reductions. Of course jobs weren’t being lost at the pace they are now, but the point is…you’d better make sure you’re marketable.  

If you don’t keep up with the pace of change, you will always be vulnerable. (Emphasis mine.)

Your skill set needs to be broad and relevant. You need to be sure you’re making a meaningful contribution to the organization. You need to identify future trends early and understand what you need to do to adapt and thrive. 

This will require initiative on your part. Nobody’s going to do this for you; it’s your responsibility to make sure you’re as marketable as possible.

Hey, Send Me Your Resume...

I am still shocked every time I ask someone to send me their resume, and they reply that they need to get it together/update it.   Bottom line of this blog entry---ALWAYS HAVE YOUR RESUME UP TO DATE AND "ON YOU!"   No job is ever totally secure.   I could quit here, but I'm on a roll....

It takes so little time to update your resume regularly.  You probably spend more time completing stupid Facebook surveys than keeping this essential document up to date.   It amazes my that especially in the current economic climate some people are not working on their resume.  

As I ask those who don't want to "work" on updating their resume, "would you at least keep a list of major accomplishments, with details, at home, in the event you find yourself suddenly out of work.  In so many cases today, you may be called to HR, terminated, and told, "don't bother going back to your desk to collect your personal belongings; we'll send them to you.  Security is waiting to escort you out of the building."  Ouch.   Shame on you if you aren't ready with all of your accomplishments listed and ready to put on your resume to begin the sales process that is job hunting!

I have talked to too many people who agree that they should update their resume, that it has been YEARS since they've done so.  In an attempt to teach them the importance of keep their resume up to date, I ask a few simple questions....."so, what kinds of things do you think you'd put on your resume from your current job?"   Usual response:  "Oh, I don't know, I'd really have to think about what I've done here"...as though we can all remember things months or years ago in detail.  I'm glad I have a name tag at work, otherwise I think I'd forget my name.

Once you are unemployed from a job and you are away from it any length of time, you will not remember important details that will be major selling points in your next job hunt.

P.S.  With smart phones, USB drives, etc., why wouldn't you have an electronic copy of your resume on you at all times?  Why wouldn't you have your "job hunting" business card on you with your LinkedIn profile URL listed on it?

Don't Believe the Hype!

Is our economy challenged?  Yes.   Are we entering a second Great Depression?  Hardly.   If you listen to the local news media though, you'd think all hope is lost.

I just heard one of our local stations advertise tonight's installment of a series of stories they are running called "Survive in '09" (I have to wonder why they aren't encouraging to job seekers by calling their series "Thrive in '09").   Tonight's attention grabber was, "Let us show you who is actually hiring in North Texas."  The newswoman emphasized the "actually" as though there are few or no jobs to be had in a metropolitan area of 4 million people.

I have a friend from my previous job who was laid off a couple of weeks before I was, who recently told me that she was looking for work, but that there "just aren't any jobs out there."   Horse feathers.  I can't say for sure, but I think she may be listening to the local news hype. 

Several truths nullify the news stations' spin:  1) There are a lot of jobs being advertised (given that only 20-30% of jobs are actually ever advertised, there are many more than we even see), 2) our area is a major metropolitan area with several Fortune 500 companies headquartered here.  Are they challenged?  Sure.  Are they all shutting down?  Hardly.   But the #3 truth about job hunting is the most damaging to the news stations' dire soundings:  YOU ONLY NEED ONE JOB!   

My encouragement goes out to those who are out of work and haven't had much success in landing a new job.  I like to say that patience and persistence is what will pay off (along with a deep-seated faith in God in Christ).   A solid job-hunting strategy and marketing plan must be executed along with being patient and persistent.   My friend who said that there were no jobs also said that she was not spending at least 8 hours a day looking for a job.   This revelation makes me think that there are still plenty of people out there who aren't well-versed in modern job-hunting techniques.   (See Feb 23, 2009 post for more discussion on this.)

If all you do is hit the Internet looking for job openings, you may feel that there aren't many jobs (even though there really are quite a few).   If you deny that you are a product to be marketed, you will spend a long time unemployed.   If you continue to believe the hype of the news media, you will be allowing someone else to dictate the direction of your life and career.  

Another Manic Monday

Just thinking what this week will entail -- job hunting, starting a part-time instructor job....yeah, that'll be about 80 hours worth of work : )

How many job hunters really put in a full day's work into job hunting (8 hours a day)? It's unbelieveable that anyone would send in a few resumes to jobs on job boards and call that job hunting, yet I know it happens. Without starting a part-time job later today, I would have a minimum of 50 hours of job hunting work a week, and that's a conservative estimate.

I've just spent a few weeks (that's right, WEEKS) making sure my marketing materials are "just right"---or at least ready to be tested---so that when I go hit my best contacts, I'll look like I have everything together and am articulate about who I am and for what I am looking. For those of you who've been forced out (retirement not withstanding), please take the time to process your feelings first (could be a couple of days or weeks), get your marketing materials together (resume, business cards, "elevator" speeches, etc.) and THEN hit your best contacts. Too many times, people go to the best contacts they know of/find first, and are unpolished and look unorganized. These people may want to help you, but if you can't succinctly articulate what you've done and are looking for, chances are they'll walk away not knowing of any way to help you, even if they'd like to.

More on contacts later. Time to get ready to go to the new part-time job.

What is Your Marketing Plan?

Recently, I was talking with a friend in Second Life who is an out-of-work psychologist, due to a recent downsizing. I offered to help to her, having helped others and having had outplacement training and experience in job hunting over the past 10-15 years. When I asked her about her marketing campaign/plan, her response was "I am not a product [to be marketed]." I asked if she dresses nicely for interviews. Of course she said "yes." I tried to get her to see that dressing nicely for an interview is a form of marketing herself.

Her response illustrates the unfortunate thinking of a lot of job seekers who "just want to get a job." She didn't understand that job hunting is all about branding and marketing (so that you can get the job doing what you love). While marketing language is most often used to talk about products and companies, WE are now (and really always have been) our own companies/products, working ultimately to make a profit---unless living under a bridge appeals to you.

According to Dictionary.com, MARKETING is "The activities of a company associated with buying and selling a product or service. It includes advertising, selling and delivering products to people." When we are looking for a job, we are marketing ourselves, our skills, and our accomplishments. No one would send a hand-written resume on loose-leaf paper to a potential employer (though having worked at a large copy chain, I can tell you this really has happened), and no one would go to an interview in a t-shirt and shorts (unless you were trying to get a lifeguard job). Yet most job seekers don't spend very much time on preparing the very product they are trying to sell---themselves.

Since job hunting is an activity undertaken to reach a specific goal (getting a job!), we must plan how to market ourselves through crafting resumes and wearing appropriate clothing, but most importantly, we must prepare what to say, what accomplishments and skills to highlight in a cold call or interview, and how to answer predictable interview questions. As the old adage goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Maybe it's just me, but I hate to fail.