The Truth About Social Networking Sites

One of the “secret-ingredients” to any job search is knowing where to find the jobs/openings and knowing where to be found as a candidate! As a Human Resource Consultant that offers advice on “recruiting best practices” it is inevitable that my conversation with HR folks includes a map on how a great recruitment campaign must include social networking sites. LinkedIn is a great tool for business professionals and we have included a few articles on this blog dedicated to business professionals. But as a career coach it is sometimes difficult to get folks engaged with the ‘possibilities’ that these tools can bring to the active and passive candidates, they struggle with buy-in! Kevin Wheeler, President and Founder of Global Learning Resources, Inc. a recruiting expert to companies has written a great article on the usage of these sites as the boomers retire and open up the avenues for the Gen-Xers and Millennial to take the reigns: http://www.ere.net/articles/db/77CDC812823B4EB59203543E3723B814.asp While his viewpoint is strictly from a recruiter’s viewpoint, I encourage you to read it for insight into how the HR folks are finding candidates these days…what a change from just 5 years ago!

Kevin states that the power of social networking is amazing, he gave the example of adding someone to his network and within a few weeks he went from 450 to almost 2,000 direct connections or better yet, 8 million recruiting professionals throughout the world. It is no secret as a career coach and HR consultant I have supported the LinkedIn channel but as I mentioned before this is not the only avenue for your name, face, credentials and profile to be out there. While LinkedIn grew 700% in one year, Facebook increased by 77% and smaller boutique sites like Twitter, 4000% I myself have yet to launch a Facebook site but plan to do it in the next month, I hope to document the ease…or difficulty of this, hopefully to serve as a map of as much “what to do” as it is “what not to do”.

In the end, social networking is a key to any good job search and the recruiters are moving in droves to source folks from these sites. If you have not signed up for LinkedIn yet, do it! Send me an invitation to join your group based on reading this blog, it’s a great way to start getting connected to those folks that know about jobs…I have almost a half of million people 3 degrees away from me, eat your heart out Kevin Bacon!!! http://www.career-forward.com/ is an HR Consulting and Career Coaching firm focused on helping connect great talent with great companies, contact one of our career coaches today to assist in your plans to move up in tomorrow’s business world, we can help you map your future and find your destiny!

Find Your Dream Job

I had the fortune this past week of attending an industry conference for Human Resource Professionals…I say “I had the fortune” because normally these things are boring, mundane and at most you leave a couple of good leads or contacts and a bunch of free stuff. This conference was just a bit different…in addition to the conference, a few breakout workshops were offered. I attended a session by Chip Madera, the Leadership Lion, www.chipmadera.com, titled “How to take your career and life up a notch”. Wonderful speaker and coach, I recommend his presentation for yourself or a team looking to gain direction or a path in the road of confusion. From the word go, Chip offered some great advice on what to be passionate about. In fact, what Chip offered was some great insight into the psyche of most folks. Chip insisted (and had some great factual data to support his theory) that people who find their passion and capture it in a career are much more likely to be happy…and wealthy than those that simply find a job.

His message resonated with what I see in clients and folks that I speak to as an HR consultant and career coach. Most people and I do mean most…have buried their dream for a desk and hope to find happiness outside of the office. This is rarely achieved and thus folks lose their inspiration.

The reality is that in order to truly have happiness, and thus success, you have to be passionate about what you do. Your passion is evident on your work, your morale and your face!!! A career coach has great tools to help map your passion, believe it or not most people cannot put their finger immediately on what brings them joy. If you have not found the brass ring in your career then now is the time for action, seek out the things that give you extreme satisfaction and get close to it. Assessing your talents and skills is one of the tools we utilize as career coaches to help you achieve greatness! Confidence comes with passion! Let us help you with your skill set inventory to map your career of tomorrow. Contact us at http://www.career-forward.com/ to find your destiny.

How to Prepare for an Interview...Isn't it Obvious

It’s amazing to me that while some things seem so obvious to most, there is always the exception to the rule. Take for instance this sign outside a local McDonald’s restaurant. I stopped for shamrock shakes with my 4-year old today (a guilty pleasure every St. Patrick’s season) and snapped this photo. I cannot think of one person I know that would have thought that it even needed to be said that “refills are for purchases that were made in the store” but…the truth is that things obvious or not sometimes need to be mentioned.

As a Career Coach and HR consultant I have coached on the obvious many times. The obvious can be as simple as having done your research on a company before you apply for a position. Making sure your resume has been updated and presents your skills in the best possible light or being sure to arrive early and prepared for an interview…any of these are obvious to most but still need to be reminded to those changing careers…especially if you are not the experienced job changer. But, there are of course many things that are subtle or less obvious that a career coach is experienced to help you with them. For instance, when I say research of a company, what does that mean? Well it can include internet research, informational interviews and understanding the financials and performance metrics of a company. It should include understanding, before the interview, what the organizational structure is and how the role will fit into the company objective; it includes being prepared to answer questions about how your experience meets their need and finally why you…AND ONLY YOU…are the Best Person for the Job!

While most of this information is readily available with a few clicks or phone calls a career coach can help uncover the hidden information, preparing you for the task at hand! Since the obvious is…well, Obvious…contact one of our career coaches at www.career-forward.com today to learn about the not-so-obvious tools to help you with your career transition…and feel free to bring a cup for free refills!!!!

Four Tips for Power Networking

There has been a lot of discussion about social networking sites and how you can stay and remain connected using web based tools. As a Career Coach and HR Consultant trying to find the balance of what and where to spend my time is a struggle, I know as a person seeking to change career paths it is even more of a challenge. Should you stay or go? Shouldn’t you be looking to connect on-line vs. wasting your time at events where you know most folks already?

To say it bluntly, Networking Takes Commitment…a commitment of time, energy, involvement and interaction. A good friend of mine is what I consider a ‘power networker.’ He stays connected via the web of-course but he is always involved with events outside of the office. He is also family man with two little girls so you cant say he has too much time on his hands, but he is the person that is always networking to keep in touch. The payoff, besides a packed social calendar, he knows or knows someone that knows any person he wants to connect with in the city. He is one or two phone calls away from the decision maker and he is considered a “Mover and Shaker” in the business world. While the web and social sites are great tools to stay connected and keep close to friends and associates, nothing replaces the importance of those “in-person” events. An e-mail or a voice mail may be easy to blow off but the power of persuasion in-person is priceless. It is amazing how talking to someone on the phone or via e-mail can yield much different results than face-to-face. When networking for career opportunities keep in mind these four items:

1. There is no shame in asking folks if they know of opportunities, most people can relate very closely with what you are going through and want to help if they can. Give them the chance to think about what they know.

2. Even if they don’t initially know of any roles you may be suited for, they or someone they do know, does! The world we live in is very connected, your image will remain in their mind if you talk about what you are seeking and where you would like to go.

3. Follow-up after the event with an e-mail. Create a network of “career scouts” when you are searching for a change. Keeping as many folks engaged in your search is a great way to learn about the “hidden job market.” Once you have landed your role, update people on your change.

4. Remember where you came from. It is easy to slack once your need is satisfied but keep in mind, networking should stay constant. Return that call, respond to that e-mail and go to that event, returning the favor is how we accomplish so much as professionals. We are all part of a community whether we are active or not…staying active makes you powerful and connected…it also increases your chances of finding that internal balance most of us seek between professional and personal.

Contact one of our career coaches today at http://www.career-forward.com/ to see how you can
Network for a better tomorrow.