Get Beyond the Pile: Three Ways Your Cover Letter is Hurting Your Chance for a New Job.

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For many people, sending a resume is one thing. Then, when you read the job posting and it asks for a cover letter, you just kind of put one together and hope for the best.

Rather than doing this, it’s better to take some time on this document. Putting time in on the front-end will save you time and effort for each future job opportunity. However, even though you think you have a top-notch cover letter, here are three cover letter mistakes that I consistently see from clients that really hurt their chances of landing that job interview.

Your cover letter format is different than your resume format. The fonts are different, headings don’t match, and the consistency just isn’t there. When the formats don’t align, it looks like you are not consistent with anything. This is your first impression and shows that you don’t have attention to details. Instead, copy and paste your heading from the resume to the cover letter file and ensure fonts, colors (if used), and formatting is the same. This shows cohesion, organization, and alignment with your documents.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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(Want more tips? Download our TOP 5 Resume Tips to GET THE INTERVIEW in Today’s Competitive Job Market. Click HERE to access the free download NOW!)

You addressed the cover letter “To Whom It May Concern.” I like to think of this as the ultimate deal-breaker. If you can’t take the time to find out the appropriate contact person or even just say, “Dear Human Resources Manager,” then you are not worth calling in for an interview. That may sound harsh, but hiring managers need to find an easy way to weed people out and this is one of the easiest. To Whom It May Concern or Dear Sir or Madam are old-fashioned and tired phrases that shouldn’t be used in today’s job market.

Every paragraph starts with the word “I.” After you write your cover letter, quickly scan the left margin and count the number of times you used the word “I.” If it’s more than twice, then you need to rewrite some of the verbiages. Remember—it’s all about the employer—not you. By starting with the word “I,” you are making it about yourself. Use the you-attitude and think of what you can do for the company and how your skills will help them. Mention things like “your company,” “your needs,” “your unique vision,” etc.

Remember that the cover letter is one of the first items that an HR Leader(recruiter) reads. Make a great first impression so they are interested enough to keep reading and find out more about your skill-set and how you can successfully impact the organization.

FSC Guest Author: Dr. Heather Rothbauer-Wanish has a BBA in management from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, an MBA from Lakeland College, and a Ph.D. in Organization and Management from Capella University. She LOVES helping people position themselves for today’s job market. She can help boost your confidence by creating a resume that helps you land your DREAM JOB. Visit her website @ https://www.feather-communications.com

 

 

FSC Career Blog | March 4, 2020 | FSC Guest Author, by  

What Should I Be Adding To My LinkedIn Profile?

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This is a common question I hear, “I don’t know if this or that should be on there” or “I wasn’t sure so I just downloaded/copy/pasted my whole resume to my profile.”

While you want to establish the information you add is relevant to your brand and impactful, you don’t want it to be a duplicate of your resume. They are meant to complement one another. You want your reader to see a little more of a human side to you as well. Think of the LinkedIn profile as the friendly, humanized version of your resume.

Here are some things to think about when building and adding to your profile:

☑Fill out all the sections. Don’t leave anything blank. Fill in the volunteer, certifications, languages, projects, honors, awards. You can add PowerPoints, photos, samples of your work (I have these on my profile) coursework, and things you have done in your career.

☑Add a profile photo AND a background cover photo (get rid of that blue LI background!). This makes it uniquely you. I love seeing customized background cover photos on LI profiles. They definitely add personality and/or help brand the client by having a photo of the company, service or product they represent.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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☑ Write a headliner that sizzles. Instead of “Account Executive”, write “Account Executive specializing in the development of groundbreaking sales and service strategies internationally”. Add a little zing to it. Get your reader interested. Some even call the headliner “prime real estate” meaning it’s a great place to add keywords and branding that help direct LinkedIn’s algorithms to your profile. Get as clear and focused as you can. Add buzzwords if you know what they are. Not sure? Find jobs that interest you and notice the same words listed over and over? Add them. Don’t neglect this section.

☑ Create an About section that speaks to the reader. That section used to be more formal and many people wrote theirs like a biography–3rd person, boring, etc. These days, it’s all about the conversation. Get them interested in what you have to say. Write in the first person. It’s OK to be a little more human here. People expect it—and love it.

The About section should be engaging, interesting, and conversational. Think of it as if you are speaking to someone at a networking event. How would you speak? What would you say? You’d keep it professional but interesting, right? You want to tell a story about why you do this type of work and what makes it interesting. Be enthusiastic.

☑ Add Content! Make sure to add descriptions of what you do at your job. Add your daily responsibilities as well as your accomplishments. This is where I see clients fall short. They add their company and job title but nothing else. LinkedIn rewards content. While you don’t want to copy and paste chunks from your resume, you also don’t want to leave critical information out. Rewrite those areas but make sure to add content to your roles.

What were you most proud of accomplishing? What projects have you worked on that added value? What is interesting about where you work?You can also add numbers and percentages. If you are hesitant about sharing exact figures, you can say, “increased revenue 87% in two years”. Adding numbers adds to your credibility and gives the reader a glimpse of what you have done.

☑ Get a recommendation. A recommendation or two on your profile livens it up and gives you more credibility. What good do thousands of connections do for you if you don’t have one recommendation? It might feel awkward, but once you’ve asked it’s done and guess what? You’ll most likely get that recommendation!

☑ Create an endorsements section. Complete the skills and endorsements section and pin the top 3 that related to your job hunt. Again, these are key with algorithms and recruiter searches as well.

When all of this is done, remember the key to a strong LinkedIn profile is engagement. The more you use LinkedIn, the more it rewards you by showing your profile in recruiter searches. Reach out, plan on getting on LinkedIn 10-15 minutes every other day and watch it go to work for you.

 

FSC Career Blog Guest Author: Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW, CERW, CEMC, is a Certified Professional Resume Writer/Career Consultant, and the President of Professional Resume Services, named one of Forbes “Top 100 Career Websites”. Considered an influencer, she is consistently listed as a “Top Career Expert to Follow” on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

FSC Career Blog |  March 3, 2020

 

 

 

Don’t Make These Resume Mistakes. Great Two(2) Min Read!

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Whether I am working with a CEO, a customer service manager, or a teacher, I consistently see the same resume mistakes over-and-over again. Remember—if you haven’t written a resume in five or more years, things have changed!

Please see the list below for the most common resume mistakes and how to avoid them.

Tip #1 – Don’t include personal details. Believe it or not, people sometimes include photos, marital status, and personal hobbies. Photos and personal details allow individuals to pre-judge you BEFORE you even get to the interview. Stay with professional information and documentation.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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Tip #2 – Don’t include SO MUCH information. I understand that your work history is important and it’s difficult to know where to ‘draw the line’ with what is and what isn’t included. However, including everything makes NOTHING stand-out. Focus on what that particular employer needs to know about you. Keep the information concise and on-target for your desired positions.

Tip #3 – Beware of strange formatting. Don’t decide to utilize three different fonts, some clip art, and various colors. It’s very important to be consistent with your formatting and to give your resume a clean, cohesive, and consistent appearance. Remember – a recruiter or hiring manager is most likely only reviewing the document for about 5-7 seconds…you do NOT want that person to be distracted by formatting.

Tip #4 – Ensure space is utilized. Your resume contains prime real estate and we want that real estate to work for us. Put a header at the top of your resume instead of the word “Summary.” Mention your past positions or future desired positions by stating something like, “Executive-Level Administrative Assistant” or “Entry-Level Accounting Professional.” And, don’t include things like hobbies and volunteerism if you have more pertinent and relevant information that is DIRECTLY related to your future roles.

The tips listed here are just the start of things to consider when crafting your updated resume. If you are still unsure of how to include certain information or what sections you need to use on your resume, I’d love to chat – click HERE now!

 

FSC Career Blog Author:  Dr. Heather Rothbauer-Wanish, owner of Feather Communications, based in Colfax, Wisconsin, has been working with job seekers since 2008 to develop eye-catching and dynamic resumes for today’s marketplace. She is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and has written thousands of resumes for clients in a variety of fields. Dr. Rothbauer-Wanish has a BBA in Management, an MBA, and a PhD in Organization and Management.

 

FSC Career Blog| February 27, 2020

#ResumeWriting – How to Not Appear OLD on Your Resume

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Now that you have decided to rework your resume and start applying for new positions, it’s important to set-up your resume correctly so that you don’t appear old and out-of-date in today’s job market. And, yes, I agree that age shouldn’t be a factor and experience count for a lot. However, we all know that age discrimination can and does happen in today’s world.

Whether you are 40-years-old or 65-years old, there are some ways to list dates on your document so that you don’t hinder your job search with your age.

Tip #1 – Only go back 10-15 years with your job history. Frankly, anything prior to that is most likely not relevant and if you start detailing your work history all the way back to 1982, people will start to calculate your age. The most recent work history tends to be the most relevant to your future roles.

Tip #2 – List only the month and the year or the years only in your work experiences. You don’t have to list exact dates. And, more importantly, if you have changed jobs extremely frequently in the past few years, you can also choose to just list the years only. It’s a way to be concise and also allows you to eliminate the look of a ‘job-hopper.’

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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Tip #3 – Don’t put dates on education. Whether you graduated last year or three years ago, it doesn’t matter. And, if you start to list that you graduated in 1990, you begin to date yourself and your experiences. The ONLY time that I put the dates with education is when someone hasn’t graduated yet and has an anticipated graduation date.

Tip #4 – Don’t list old technical skills. If you decide to include a technical section on your document, choose only those programs that are aligned with today’s workplace. Don’t mention that you are proficient in AOL (yes, that does happen) or Lotus Notes. Instead, focus on the programs that are used at the target company and software that is utilized NOW.

Tip #5 – Include volunteerism and community engagement from TODAY. That’s great that you were the football team captain and participated in 4-H during the 1990s. If you don’t have any community engagement since that time, then eliminate that section. And, again, things from 20 years ago are most likely no longer relevant to your job search.

FSC Career Blog Author BIO:  Dr. Heather Rothbauer-Wanish, owner of Feather Communications, based in Colfax, Wisconsin, has been working with job seekers since 2008 to develop eye-catching and dynamic resumes for today’s marketplace. She is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and has written thousands of resume for clients in a variety of fields. Dr. Rothbauer-Wanish has a BBA in Management, an MBA, and a PhD in Organization and Management.

FSC Career Blog Author: Dr. Heather Rothbauer-Wanish-  Owner, Feather Communications

Author of Getting Back in the Game: How to Build Your Resume After Taking a Break

NEW Free Download: Cover Letter Tips Checklist That Gets INTERVIEWS! Click HERE!

Free Resume Download: TOP 5 Resume Tips to GET THE INTERVIEW in Today’s Competitive Job Market. Click HERE!

Website Link: https://www.feather-communications.com/

FSC Career Blog | February 26, 2020

#BestofFSCBlog : How Often Should I Be Posting (job boards) Resumes for My Job Search?

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When searching for a new career position, the job seeker has two options – as an active search or passive candidate.  A passive candidate will update their resume, ensure their LinkedIn profile is robust and complete, and post their resume online to the big resume databases (e.g., Monster, Indeed), but then sit back and wait for folks to find them.

 An active candidate will update their resume constantly (especially if still employed) and consistently post to open positions. They will also upload resumes into company resume databases, regardless of whether the business has an open requisition that matches their skills.  The purpose of loading resumes into company databases is to help recruiters ‘harvest’ skills of qualified candidates from their ‘resume farm’ when that new job requisition is posted.

An active job seeker should be seriously networking with friends, peers, co-workers, clients, and industry group members. Statistics seem to support networking will result in hires for about 65% of the time.  It’s also productive to be a part of a trade group or industry organization. For instance, MeetUp.com has trade groups from computer geeks and coding programmers to quilters and writers and website designers and marketers.  Members in these network groups join to learn something new or interact with like-minded folks. Recruiters may pop in to scope potentially qualified candidates for future positions.   The human resources organization, SHRM, has job opening posted on their website, as well as monthly meetings for continuing education credits, where sometimes as many as a few hundred HR-related members will show up, including recruiters.

Sales reps should track top clients’ point of contact – not just to respond to work-related communications, but to develop friendships beyond work. If the job seeker is an amazing salesperson or customer service rep, that customer will remember you and maybe a great source for industry job openings – as well as being able to provide work referrals.

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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One overlooked source is state employment agencies. The Virginia Employment Commission is an example.  Job seekers can visit the website, create a profile, upload a resume, and post to positions online or wait until an employer reaches out.  Some companies post open jobs to this resource to save recruiting costs (its free to Virginia-based companies).  Other companies use this option to ensure Affirmative Action Plan goals by postings jobs to reach the minority, disabled, and veteran job seekers.

There is nothing wrong with driving around a geographic area and looking at businesses located within the desired commute.  Alternatively, use Google maps to search.  For instance, a Computer Scientist with a desired commute of no more than an hour from Gloucester uses the search term ‘Software Development.’ They may find a few software or IT companies in Gloucester, as well as a dozen potential employers in Richmond, Williamsburg, and Newport News.

So, the answer to the question, “how often should I be posting my resume into databases?” is varied.  If you are unemployed, and a serious job seeker, then your full-time job is ‘looking for work.’ You should be posting resumes to job announcements and uploading the resume into company resume databases (ATS) for between 10-20 resume uploads and applications daily.  Your goal is to get your resume into as many company databases as physically possible to increase the potential for ‘being seen’ by recruiters.

If you are a passive job seeker, then post your resume to the big databases once and ensure your LinkedIn Profile is ‘open for inquiries from recruiters.’ Both active and passive job seekers should revisit resume databases every 30 days to update (just add a line or space) by reloading the ‘updated’ resume to ‘trick’ the system into thinking it’s an entirely new resume.  (Most job board or resumes systems push resumes down in the results queue as they age.)

How long should a job seeker expect to search for a position?  If you have a well-written resume and are posting to the perfectly matched job descriptions and getting phone calls from employers for interviews (and you interview well), there is a loose standard for time expectations.

Before the 2009 market crash, during the economic boom, the expectations were an average of one month of job searching for every $10K in salary expectations over $40K annually. The present economic environment is similar, so if the job seeker is looking for a minimum of $60K annually, then about two months would be the average search.  To reduce that time factor, it’s vital to post hard, post fast, and apply for the maximum daily time allowance daily.  It usually takes about a week for valid job inquiries to come back from most recruiters who are actively searching for keywords and phrases in the resume.

 

FSC Guest Author: Dawn Boyer, Ph.D., owner of D. Boyer Consulting – provides resume writing, and editing/publishing/print-on-demand consulting in the Hampton Roads and Richmond metropolitan areas. Reach her at: Dawn.Boyer@me.com or visit her website at www.dboyerconsulting.com.

 

FSC LinkedIn Network |  February 19, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Number of words, including title and POC info:  ~829

 

SEO Key Words for web post:

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Bio: Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D., has been an entrepreneur and business owner 20+ years, with her own consulting firm (CEO) in Hampton Roads and Richmond, VA.  Her background experience is 24+ years in the Human Resources field, of which 12+ years are within the Federal & Defense Contracting industry.   She is the author of 822+ books on the topics of business, human resources research, career search practice, women and gender study, genealogy and family lineages, quotes for motivation and self-improvement, and Adult Coloring Books.  Her books can be found on Amazon.com under Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D.

 

#Leadership : 10 Must-Follow Company-Onboarding Techniques.

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Effective employee onboarding is about more than making them feel welcome. It can help employees feel like highly productive and valuable contributors to your mission and success from the start. Plus, when employees have a successful onboarding experience, they’re more likely to feel like members of your team, and this can contribute to employee retention. 

Some of the best onboarding processes are unique, creative and a little bit unexpected. If it’s time to change up your onboarding program, you might find the inspiration you need from these 10 effective techniques.

Related: How to Improve Your Startup’s Onboarding Process

1. Get coffee

During a new hire’s first few weeks with your company, have them get coffee individually with all of their future team members. This works especially well with small businesses, where relationships are crucial. Enjoying coffee outside of the office setting helps to take some pressure off, letting a new employee communicate freely and get to know your staff in a low-pressure setting.

 

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

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2. Send them on a scavenger hunt

Give new hires a list of tasks, like finding an employee who’s been with the company for over a decade or who likes to cook. This can make for a fun icebreaker activity. If you have multiple new hires, you can make this into a competition.

3. Schedule team meetings

Any new hire’s first day will most likely include meetings with human resources, orientation sessions and new-hire paperwork. But you should sit them down with different teams so that each member can introduce themselves and explain how they contribute. This is a valuable strategy in companies with many different teams that work together. New employees can simultaneously put faces to names and gain an understanding of how each group works internally, as well as how the company functions as a whole.

4. Take them to lunch

Have a new employee’s manager or team take them out to lunch during their first week. This can make for a valuable team-building experience, since you’re likely to see more of an employee’s personality and learn about their interests when they’re not physically in the office.

5. Schedule a happy hour

Create a more casual setting with a happy hour during an employee’s first week of work. Invite the whole team to the fun get-together.

6. Give them a meaningful gift

Give new employees something that ties them to the company, ideally some sort of gear or clothing that features your branding. If there’s a certain laptop bag or travel mug that all employees use, make sure the new hire gets it. You can even buy printed stickers and give them to new team members. These company-branded gifts can help bind an employee’s personal brand to the business, establishing a valuable connection.

7. Schedule a one-on-one meeting

During the first week, budget time for a new employee to meet with the CEO for a check-in. This will make the them feel valued right away, which can further help build their emotional ties to your organization.

Related: How to Breathe Life Into Your Formal Onboarding Process

8. Set them up right

It might sound simple, but take the time to ensure that employees are set up with all of the right software, a functional email account, login accounts and passwords and Slack channels. Ideally, do this before they arrive for their first day. If new employees lack these important tools, it can lead to frustration, delays and a slow start.

9. Help them set up their calendar

Navigating a new calendar isn’t always simple, so help with the setup to ensure that new employees have the tools they need to succeed. This is a great time to talk about meetings, conference calls, remote work, an employee handbook or any other helpful communication or information that new hires should have.

10. Give them some immediate goals

Don’t hold off too long before letting people get started in their new roles. Give new team members some immediate projects to work on and goals to meet. Even if these are smaller projects or part of a training program, employees will feel more useful and productive if they have work to do from day one. This also gives you a chance to learn about an employee’s work style and to give them some feedback and establish a working relationship from the beginning.

When you put some careful thought into your new employee onboarding process, you can transform it into a useful tool that helps you learn about who you’re hiring. Plus, your new hires can learn about your company and its teams. Workers can tell when their hiring process has been carefully planned. Remember, team members aren’t only focused on making a good impression. Many of the more savvy new employees will be looking to see if your company can make a good impression on them during the onboarding process, too.

 

Entrepreneur.com |  February 5, 2020 |  John Boitnott

 

We Are In One Of The Best Times Of The Year To Find A New Job. Caution: A New Trend of the “Juniorization” of Jobs is Taking Hold.

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Now that we are in February, the real work starts. The holidays are a pleasant and distant memory. The cold, hard reality kicks in that we’re all back in the office with a lot of work to catch up on and there are no vacations in sight. It’s a sobering, back-to-reality period of time. This can actually be good news for you if you’d like to land a new job.

Why This Season Is A Perfect Time To Start Searching

There are solid and practical reasons as to why starting in February—and throughout the springtime—is a great time to actively engage in a job search.

Budgets and new headcounts have already been approved by companies. Bonus payments, which are a large portion of total compensation in many industries, such as Wall Street, are starting to be paid out. The conversations surrounding yearly reviews and raises have been held. Now, people act upon it. Those who receive their bonuses quickly cash them and are free agents and mobile. If you were passed over for a promotion or given a poor performance review, it means that you’ll likely seek new opportunities. This contributes to the start of the game of musical chairs, in which people seek out new positions that will create open seats that need to be filled.

What You Should Do Right Now

To jump-start, your search, refresh your résumé and LinkedIn profile. It’s appropriate to have several different versions of your résumé. You should customize and tailor it for specific jobs that you wish to apply for to ensure that you stand out. Similarly, tweak your Linkedin profile to highlight your work responsibilities to closely correlate with the jobs you desire.

Studies show that a significant percentage of jobs are found through networking. Make it your priority to tap into your colleagues, friends, college alumni, former co-workers and all other sources. This is not the time to be shy. Politely, but intently, ask the people in your network—which also includes friendly online social media contacts—for job leads and introductions.

 

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With the swift rise in applicant tracking systems, artificial intelligence and other technology inserted into the application and interview process, there is much less human interaction than ever before. This hurts your chances of being chosen, as you’re dependent upon having the robots read your résumé and push it through. Find contact and booster at the company where you made an application submission. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and ask them to please make sure that the résumé gets in front of the appropriate people hiring for the position you desire.

Be Forewarned—There Are Issues That You’ll Confront

Nothing in life or at work is perfect. There are things that you’ll experience in your job search that you should be aware of. A new trend of the “juniorization” of jobs is taking hold. Companies, in an effort to cut costs, pursue younger, less expensive personnel. Instead of hiring a senior-level person who would be appropriate for the role, the job will be downgraded. At a lower title, the corporation will then hire a more junior person and pay them far less than the position usually offers. To further save money, corporations have been aggressively moving jobs from costly cities, like New York, to less expensive locations (both within the United States and in other countries). Once again, a large percentage of these jobs are filled with more junior people at lower salaries—compared to what would have been offered to a senior-level person based in New York.

This feels like ageism with a twist. It’s not necessarily that the companies are purposely penalizing older workers. Executives understand senior people have more experience and require higher levels of compensation. Younger professionals, for the most part, could be paid less, as it’s viewed by management that they don’t possess the sufficient amount of years of experience to receive a larger pay package. This too seems somewhat discriminatory against younger people who possess the talent and abilities to be paid more.

The job market is not immune to the real world. It’s no secret that while the U.S. economy is strong and enjoying record-high levels of employment, there are dangers lurking everywhere that can derail the euphoria. The coronavirus continues to claim more casualties and more cases are being confirmed each and every day. The U.S. has narrowly avoided a war with Iran with the potential of other countries getting involved. There is constant political bickering, which has divided our nation and even pits friends and families against each other. The stock market can’t go up forever and experts say that we are long due for a market correction. These and other black swan events, which we are not aware of, can stop the rolling economy and cause companies to pump the brakes on hiring.

Timing Is Everything 

For now, things look bright. The economy and stock market has withstood the shocks of possible war, the coronavirus, impeachment and other factors. Who really knows what will happen six months or a year from now? Having the right timing is the difference between success and failure. With the job market aligned in your favor, it’s a smart move to start searching now.

Forbes.com | February 4, 2020 | Jack Kelly 

7 LinkedIn Tactics To Attract Recruiters.

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Do you wonder what else you should do to get recruiters to discover you on LinkedIn? I had an in-depth conversation with LinkedIn expert Susan Joyce, editor of Job-Hunt.org, as we discussed the strategies must people miss when they create their LinkedIn Profile. These are mistakes and omissions you can quickly correct once you know what to do. Joyce was a former researcher at MIT. Currently, she devotes herself to helping job hunters land jobs by sharing information via her blog and website.

Here are her seven proven tactics to help you get found by recruiters.

Know your goal. You cannot be a jack-of-all-trades. It would be best if you focused on having the right keywords fitting one job title so that targeted employers can find you. Using the appropriate job title is imperative. The purpose of your LinkedIn Profile is to define your work abilities and the job you do well, along with often noting the role you want to do. Sometimes the job title that your employer gave you won’t be found. For example, “administrative wizard,” which was the real job title yet recruiters would search “Administrative Assistant” or “Executive Assistant” as these are the likely keywords recruiters will look for to try to find someone who is an admin assistant.

Use a word cloud. Review the company’s job title and the appropriate job opening and place them into a word cloud, found using Google and typing in Create a word cloud. Word cloud will then look for the most prominent words that come up, making them dominant and more significant. Those words are some crucial keywords you must use in your LinkedIn profile. Joyce recommends you try Tagcrowd.com

 

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Mark profile for all to see. Most people restrict their LinkedIn profile to just the people who are on LinkedIn. If you do this, you are missing all the recruiters who are using Google or Bing to try to find you. When you look at the settings options, select “Public” to broaden your scope and reach more to recruiters.

Put work titles into the headline. The headline is the most searched part of LinkedIn. Unfortunately, some people have a job title that is not very explicit as to what their skills are. For example, they use Engineer 2 because that’s their real job title. Instead, clarify the work so that it’s more findable in the recruiter’s search. This example:

Structural Engineer l Manufacturing Engineer l Aerospace Engineer

Location is imperative. Employers want you to live where the opening is as relocations are costly, and many employers do not wish to pay for them. Therefore use approximate “location” instead of saying your specific town. For example, instead of Marina del Rey, it’s better to say greater Los Angeles area. Don’t use a small town when LinkedIn asks for a zip code. Use a major city if you can such as greater New York City area as opposed to the actual Bronx zip code. If you want to live somewhere else, select the new location where you want to work even though you don’t live there right now.

Prioritize your skills and endorsements. Recruiters look for skills such as project management, graphic design, leadership, etc. and specialized certifications along with computer skills. This section may be near the bottom of the profile. Still, many people mistakenly think that means the skills section is not essential. That is incorrect. Prioritize your endorsements by the number of people that have endorsed the skill. It is much more impressive to have 99 people endorse your Photoshop skills than only five. The best way to get endorsements is to go out to colleagues’ profiles and give them actively.

Be well-connected. Some recruiters are not going to spend $10,000+ a year to use the LinkedIn Recruiter tool, so if you want to be seen, you need to increase the number of connections that you have. This allows recruiters at smaller companies and organizations to find you. They can only see first and second connections. Be sure to seek out industry connections. For example, if you are in education, find people in the field and add them to your connection list. If you’re looking for a job in higher education, definitely try to find people in that area and get connected to them. One word of caution, some people have fake profiles out there, so be thoughtful and use good judgment when you decide whom you want to connect to.

 

Forbes.com | February 4, 2020 | Robin Ryan

 

3 Things You Need To Know About A February Job Search. Here’s What you Need to Know to Maximize your Efforts.

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There’s no bad time to look for a job, but there are seasonal trends that can work in your favor or slow your progress.

Despite robust hiring and low unemployment numbers in the U.S., job seekers still need to prepare for the unique challenges and opportunities each month presents.

If you’re planning to launch or continue a job search in February, here’s what you need to know to maximize your efforts.

1. It’s a lot like January, but better

January is the most popular month to begin a job search. Many people had downtime during the holiday season to reflect on their career goals, and the new year further motivated them to get started.

Though employers open many new jobs in January, the supply of candidates often outpaces the demand. A horde of job seekers start January with optimism, but it can be a rather frustrating month if you are constantly failing to break out from the pack.

This dynamic will begin weeding out your competition as early as February, when job seekers who weren’t truly committed to their search get tired of the endless networking or get distracted by the increasing demands of their current job.

Meanwhile, most of the jobs that opened in January are still seeking candidates, and companies continue to create new positions at a higher than average pace throughout February.

Market conditions continue to improve in February for those job seekers that can stay committed to their search. You won’t need to do anything differently this month than what you were doing in January as long as you don’t let your efforts trail off or slow down.

The length of the average job search is five months and the search can be even longer for more senior roles. Keep in mind that you are just getting starting and need to prepare yourself for the long haul. Finding a new job will probably take longer than you hope, but it’s ultimately worth the effort.

 

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2. Now’s the time to target your dream companies

There are a lot of reasons that companies need to hire at this time of year. The first motivation is that many leaders start working on a new set of goals that create brand-new positions. This happens all while some of their best and most essential talent are out finding new jobs themselves, quickly creating an additional need to rehire for their positions.

February is when you will start seeing the first wave of 2020 backfill opportunities hit the market.

This means that if you have a specific list of companies you’d like to work for, now is a good time to target them.

It’s fine to canvas LinkedIn and other job sites opportunistically applying to whatever is open, but use your networking sessions this month to inquire about two to three of your most desired companies. There’s a good chance they’ll need someone like you soon, even if they don’t know it yet.

Targeting a company may not be easy if you don’t have anyone in your network currently employed there, but if you are direct in asking your contacts for second-degree connections, you’ll likely be surprised by who they know.

Don’t rule out asking anyone in your network for help because they aren’t in the same industry, live in a different location or lack seniority. While you may be correct in judging their professional network, they may instead have a family member or close friend that can help refer you.

Throughout February, work systemically to get on the radar of one to two hiring managers and one recruiter at each of your targets. But don’t overdo it: reaching out to too many people in the organization at the same time can backfire. Focus on a few people this month and wait to try additional contacts in March.

3. You absolutely need a follow-up schedule

Without a system to track your follow-ups, you run the risk of letting some leads fall through the cracks while you follow up too frequently with others.

Unfortunately, few things are harder to navigate during a job search than knowing when to send follow-up emails.

Timing depends on your previous relationship with the contacts, their temperament and the level of engagement they’ve already shown. While there are no hard and fast rules, here are some guidelines to help you plan and automate your follow-up schedule.

Close contacts, that is, the people invested in you and eager to help, should be followed up with once a month with a quick update on your job search. This is especially true when things are going well and when you finally land that new job. Don’t wait to reach out only when you need something; make sure you continue to nurture your relationships throughout the search.

Loose connections, new introductions and recruiters you don’t have any open interviews with should be pinged twice, spaced about four to six weeks apart, with a short “thanks for keeping me on the radar” email and a hope that you connect again soon.

If someone promises to make an introduction on your behalf but hasn’t yet, follow up with them after ten to fourteen days.

If you’ve had phone or in-person interviews but the recruiting team gave you no idea as to when to expect a hiring decision, you should inquire on the status of your candidacy approximately seven to ten days after your interviews. If you were told you would receive your next update within a specific time frame that has passed, follow up with the recruiter after three to five days.

Finally, if you were contacted about a potential job but that lead hasn’t moved forward to interviews, reach out to the recruiter or hiring manager after five to seven days the first time you inquire on the status of the role, and then wait another two weeks before following up again, if needed.

In general, you shouldn’t have to follow up more than twice to get a job lead moving to the next step. If you feel the need to ping someone more than that, this particular job lead is probably a dead end. By letting it go and not becoming an annoyance, you are more likely to leave the door open for the person to contact you later when they get serious about hiring.

All in all, February is a great month to gain traction in your job search if you stay focused. Take advantage while you can.

Author: Kourtney Whitehead is a career expert and author of Working Whole. You can learn more about her work at Simply Service.

 

Forbes.com | February 3, 2020

Must Read: How To Use The Five-Hour Rule For Career Success In 2020 And Beyond.

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Professionals are increasingly navigating a disrupted job market where no one can predict with confidence what jobs will look like in five years. The current disrupted job market increases a professional’s need to take proactive steps to keep their career on track. Career success depends on focusing on what you can control, not the unknown, to create a career path that multiplies opportunities and increases income. We live in a learning-driven economy where upskilling and reskilling is a key component to success. Success depends on being a “knowledge worker.”

In 1996, Peter Drucker noted in his book Landmarks of Tomorrow that knowledge workers would be the most valuable assets of a 21st-century organization because of their high level of productivity and creativity. Knowledge workers can solve complex problems, collaborate, innovate and transform organizations. By 2022, everyone will need an extra 101 days of learning to be a knowledge worker. Why is 2022 the pivot point from old skills to new skills? By 2022, the percent of jobs performed via automation will increase to about 42%. Human jobs will increasingly be around innovation and creativity on top of a global digital environment. We are in an age of rapid disruption and increased creativity.

The Five-Hour Rule For A Knowledge-Based Economy

The five-hour rule is a process first implemented by Benjamin Franklin for constant and deliberate learning. It involves spending one hour a day or five hours a week learning, reflecting and experimenting.

Where To Learn

Reading is just the starting point for learning. Staying relevant in a knowledge-based economy requires professionals to become learning “superheroes.” There are several resources and tools for making it easier for professionals to learn.

1. Online Book Clubs: An online book club is different than a typical book club. The book is just the jumping-off point for a bigger and wider discussion. The typical structure of an online book club is reading followed by online discussions started by administrators or members of a Facebook group. Many book clubs also include live discussions with the author.

Book clubs allow you to learn something new, reflect, and experiment with new thoughts and ideas. Every time you expose yourself to different people and ways of thinking, you improve your ability to collaborate and innovate, the cornerstone of knowledge work.

Some examples of popular book clubs include:

• The World Economic Forum Book Club: Anyone can join with a request to the Facebook administrator. Global businesses need professionals who understand Global Cultures. The World Economic Forum Book Club gives you a chance to participate in a global discussion.

• The Next Big Idea Club: In this club, books are hand-selected from some of the world’s most brilliant authors, and the discussion expands even further than the book. There are written course materials, including interactive exercises and a reading quiz, plus a live Q&A session with the book’s author via Facebook Live.

• Now Read This: PBS NewsHour and The New York Times Book Club: Anyone can join via the club’s Facebook group, which is public. Every month, the club will “discuss a work of fiction or nonfiction that helps people make sense of today’s world.”

2. Audiobooks: Listen to audiobooks to and from work or during exercise. There are two great places to start for audiobook ideas:

• Bill Gate’s Reading List, GateNotes: Harvard Business Review suggests that business leaders need to read more science fiction. Innovation and creativity live in a world of possibilities of taking things further. This list is diverse. Gates reads nonfiction and fiction, including science fiction.

• BookAuthority’s “15 Best New Information Technology Books To Read In 2020”: This list is based on reviews and recommendations from multiple sources.

3. Podcasts: According to Citi GPS, for every artificial and machine learning job added between 2002 and 2012, 33 legacy jobs were lost. It’s important to choose podcasts that are focused on emerging technologies and the future.

• Recode: Host Kara Swisher interviews tech executives, politicians and other professionals about big ideas and on how technology is changing our world.

• Stanford’s eCorner: These podcasts discuss the ideas and research coming out of Stanford and are a place for entrepreneurs to find inspiration.

• Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney: This podcast focuses on how innovation is changing our lives.

 

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4. University And Corporate Online Learning:  Online courses offer flexibility in learning and allow you to fit upskilling into your five-hour plan. Some examples of quality online education:

• EdX: You can enroll in classes offered by top global universities and colleges.

• Class Central: Google’s free classes offer training in emerging technologies and digital skills.

• LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn offers stand-alone courses for upskilling and course paths the lead to new jobs.

Ways To Reflect

Take time to explore your new thoughts and ideas. Try one or more of the following methods of facilitating reflection:

• Write it down. Go old school. Use vision boards with pictures and write on a large poster board or whiteboard. Or brainstorm with colored pencils and markers in a journal.

• Mind map. Mind mapping means visually structuring your ideas. You can use mind mapping software to organize your thoughts more easily. Some examples include MindMup, Mindmeister, Trello and Coggle.

• Share new ideas. This is the best way to get feedback. You can write a blog sharing your ideas on LinkedIn, post a discussion starter on your social media feed to test your new ideas, create and share a video showcasing your new ideas or enter a contest to see how your ideas stack up.

It’s important to create your five-hour plan now. Professionals who take active steps to become knowledge workers will know how to solve complex problems through innovation, collaboration, transformation and will always be in-demand.

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Forbes.com | February 3, 2020 | Tracy Levine