Career Opportunities

Another great #CareerChat Twitter chat today. Below are some of my comments during the chat. Join is for #careerchat, each Tuesday Morning at 1pm EST/10am PST. You can view the entire chat using this Twitter Search on #CareerChat.

• For me, I think that people need to get the word out immediately about their availability. Put your network to work.
• Keep your LinkedIn profile updated at all times. It is easy to do and doing it little by little is much easier than big updates
• Put some thought into what you WANT in your next job, not just what you NEED. You want the BEST job, no just the NEXT job.
• FYI @careertips is Douglas E. Welch from Career Opportunities column and podcast
• just published a Kindle booklet called Career Compass to help people decide what they truly WANT to do. Timely
• In many cases, your network might turn up opportunities you can act on within days. Best case scenario.
• As for volunteering, consider starting your own org/group/etc and “volunteer” for yourself.
• You need to constantly be showing people “what you do and how well you do it!” Never stop looking.
• After a layoff is not the time to be trying to figure out LI, updating resume and such. Need to be prepared.
• Need to be prepared even if you are working. Never know what opportunities might come your way. Be ready to take advantage.
• I always recommend “telling a story” in your resume rather than just listing skills. Stories really help sell you.
• Think out if it is time to relocate geographically, too. Where are the best opportunities for your type of job?
• Speaking with our Sicilian relatives, temporary relocation for work is a fact of life for them. That surprised me.
• Further on starting own group – if you are group, you know some people, if you start a group, everyone knows YOU.
• Don’t undersell your own skills. Chronic problem with workers today. Not askign you be arrogant, but respect what you bring.
• I feel they (paper resumes) are dead. I WISH they were dead, but old habits die hard. Seems an antiquated job search tool to me.
• Educate! There are so many sources for online lifetime learning these days. Heck, you can learn much just searching YouTube.
• Most resumes are designed to be consumed by digital systems at companies, so they look more like data than a resume
• My recent podcast on Lifetime Learning – Lifetime learning enhances your life and career – http://t.co/4Uy3jKsv
• I am also highlighting online classes that I find interesting on my blogs, etc. All sorts of topics – iTunes U, CodeAcademy, MIT
• Use About.me and others. It is not an either/or question, but Yes/And. That said, have your own home base blog to point to
• A blog is your home base to show people what you do and how well you do it. Collect EVERYTHING there.
• Give people as much opportunity to stumble upon you as possible. Be everywhere you can be, but link all to home.
• You never know where your next opportunity might come from. You don’t know who your audience might be.
• My goal for everyone is to attract work TO THEM, rather than having to go looking for work.
• t seems only right as the Internet has given us great tools to network and market ourselves, if we only used them
• You are just as likely to find your next in a locker room, in the coffee shop or online as you are in traditional process
• As a freelance consultant, a lot of my clients come from happenstance meetups around town, through friends and family.
• I think of “opening the lines of communication” to be one of our most important jobs for our own self preservation
• No one else can/will care as much about your career as you do. They simply can’t. It is up to you to build career.
• ..and trust yourself, and love yourself, and respect yourself…
• As Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
• I find that work for yourself and on yourself is far less onerous than work for others. Tough to do, but good.
• I find that constructive criticism is hard to find. Too many people cloak as constructive, but are actually destructive
• Shameless plug – My Kindle books on careers and social media available from my site at http://t.co/y5CQ0xSw
• Have to consider the source greatly. Too many “blocked” people build themselves up by tearing down others. Sad.
• Insecurity is one of the most damaging traits in society today. It leads people to do some amazingly bad things.

In case you haven’t heard it elsewhere  – on the Career Opportunities blog, in the Twitter Feed or Facebook Page — I am here to announce the release of my latest career ebook, Cultivating Your Career Reputations.

Listen to the audio promo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This 11,000 word book is available for immediate download in the Amazon Kindle bookstore. Kindle books can be read on almost any device including Windows and Macintosh computers, iPhone, iPads and Android tablets and phones using the FREE Kindle Reader software.

Here is an example from the introduction of Cultivating Your Career Reputations.

“While we often talk about one, monolithic, Reputation – with a capital R — I believe that there are a series of reputations that make up the whole. This book will focus on the combination of reputations that make up your one, overarching, Reputation. By examining each of these reputations in detail, I hope you will find specific areas where you can improve your work, your actions and your thoughts so that your overall professional reputation grows.

Why break your Reputation down into its constituent parts? It is often said that you can’t “do” projects, you can only do the individual tasks that make up the project and achieve the desired result. The same can be said for reputation. You don’t build your reputation as a whole, you cultivate the smaller reputations that create it. Each individual action builds your reputation in unique ways and each requires some thought as to how they relate to the whole.”

Sections include:

• A Reputation for Fairness
• A Reputation for Honesty
• A Reputation for Trustworthiness
• A Reputation for Decision-making
• A Reputation for Empathy
• A Reputation for Helpfulness
• A Reputation for Compromise
• A Reputation for Clarity
• A Reputation for the Big Picture…and the small
• A Reputation for Balancing Work and Self
• A Reputation for Creativity and Innovation

Buy the book, or download a sample, today!

Other Kindle Books by Douglas include:

• Social Media Self Preservation
• The High-Tech Career Handbook

Follow @careertips on Twitter, Career Opportunities on Facebook or Career Opportunities on Google+ for more career tips

Also, you can join the Career Opportunities Mailing List to stay in touch with everything that is happening here.

I recently had this discussion with a new acquaintance over on Google+. I love getting questions like this and I have even branched out into providing one-to-one career consulting so I can help more people.  You can follow my personal profile on Google+ or circle (Google+’s version of follow) the Career Opportunities profile. Clicking either link will take you to the appropriate page.

Do you have career questions? Drop me a line on Google+ or any of my other blogs or social media sites.

T: I absolutely fail at job interviews. I don’t know what it is but, I could be the most confident person walking in, but as soon as I get in front of the interviewer, especially if it is a job that I really want, I freeze up. I start thinking all of these negative thoughts in my head, and I just know they can read my uneasiness on me. Right now I am applying for an opportunity at Red Cross, and even though it is a volunteer opportunity and not a paying job, they want to interview you for it. I am fearful that I will look good on paper, but not so much in person.

Is there any advice you can give to help me to not sabotage myself at interviews? Any secrets or tricks of the trade to help with my self-confidence?

Douglas: I would call what you are experiencing a “crisis of confidence” and it happens to everyone on occasion. (Been there, done that myself) You allow yourself to get so stressed about what MIGHT happen that you aren’t paying attention to what IS happening. We can all doubt ourselves and our skills on occasion, but you DO have the skills you need, you DO have the knowledge and you CAN do the job. This is true of all of us unless we have some impairment. Look around you and see everything you have accomplished in your life. You can accomplish even more.

The stress can also come from being judged. I know I hate being judged so I can empathize with you. That said, let them judge. You are who you are regardless of what they think about you. You need to feel confident in yourself and it will matter less how they judge you. They will judge you, but you will handle it better because you have an innate confidence in yourself.

Think of the interview as a conversation and treat it as such. I think many of us take an interview much too formally. There should discussion about the job of course, but if the conversation turns in an interesting direction — follow it. If you have an illuminating example of something from your life, share it. Try to show as much about WHO you are as WHAT you know. Remember, an interview is basically about them trying to see if they could stand to be around you day in and day out. (SMILE) Of course, you will want to avoid the typical touchy areas — sex, religion, politics — unless you are working for a company or group who specializes in those areas. No need to go into your drunken revels, either, but that probably doesn’t need to be said. (LAUGH)

Also, You might just be caring too much about getting this job.True to your present circumstances or not, you need to feel like you don’t NEED the job. You may WANT the job. You may LIKE the job, but you don’t NEED it. Feeling needy can stop us in our tracks and, I think, the interviewer can feel it, too. Try to push the NEED from your mind, even if you are feeling that you really do NEED it. You should always feel that you have other options. If not this job, then the next, or maybe the next. You should never feel you are there begging for a job. The company needs you as much as you need them. Remember that always. It is true — and if it isn’t true at this particular company, find a company where it is true.

This neediness has a lot in common with the “desperation factor” that we can sometimes see in others (and maybe ourselves) when we are dating. These people are so desperate to have a date, a girlfriend, a wife that it spills over into their actions. The come on too strong. They come on too needy. They come on as desperate. Other people can sense this desperation and recoil from it, as you have probably done yourself at one time or another. You are not desperate, you are just looking for a job.

Finally, find a quiet place and imagine what a perfect interview would look like.

(INSERT DREAM SEQUENCE HERE)

The interview meets you and provides you a coffee exactly as you love it. Tall Latte, 3 caramel pumps, extra whipped cream. You go to a comfortable office where you sit across from each other in comfortable arm chairs. You chat. You discuss. You have a great conversation. You think, “Hey I could see myself being friends with this person.”

Of course, most interviews won’t go like this, but imagine how would feel if they did. No remember that feeling and keep it within you no matter what actually happens. I hope it will make you feel calm, comfortable and confident, not matter what questions they ask.

I hope this helps on your next interview. Let me know if you have any follow up questions to this topic or any new questions you would like me answer.

T: thank you so much for all your advice. I can only hope that when I go into the next job interview that I can keep all this in mind. 

I have submitted my application with Red Cross and am now awaiting their phone call. That’s another thing I hate – waiting. Even though this is only a volunteer opportunity it is an amazing one and I do hope to get a callback for an interview about it. I have been unemployed for about six months, and it has been 3 months since I last got an interview, even though everyday I have been sending out resumes and attending job fairs. I am running out of options, really.

Douglas: You are very welcome! I hope that it helps you feel better about your interviews.

As for waiting…Go do something else while you wait! 

Don’t sit around waiting and worrying. It is so important to have many “irons in the fire” so you don’t end up obsessing about any one of them.

What else can you be doing?

Want to organize a +CareerCamp International in your area? (SMILE)

How about just getting together with others to share techniques, job leads and more.

Get out there and DO as much as you can. It often leads to bigger and better things you never imagined.

Join me for the Career Opportunities Office Hour Google+ Hangout on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 1pm EST/10am PST.

Circle my personal Google+ account or the Career Opportunities G+ page to see the link to the hangout on Wednesday.

The office is now OPEN!

The office hour has ended. Thanks to all who attended.

Here is what I had to say on today’s #careerchat. The topics was “What makes a good job candidate?” I got into a good discussion on how companies should be looking for candidates instead of waiting for them to submit their resumes.

• FYI @careertips is Douglas E. Welch from the Career Opportunities podcast – http://t.co/XMtas25U
• A1: There are so many traits to call out. Action driven, forward thinking, passionate about their work, self-confident…
• A2: On a resume, I prefer to see a “story” or their accomplishments, not just a list. I think stories have more impact.
• Question: Wouldn’t it be better to go out and find your perfect candidates instead of waiting for them to come to you?
• I would love to see people switch over to that method. Look for those people already presenting themselves well on the ‘Net.
• I find it a bit odd that we are still so focused on paper resumes (or online equivs) and such. Look for people, not paper.
• @DavidGaspin I think a lot of people/companies are relying on a method that is 100+ years old and not embracing new tools.
• Constantly be looking for people who meet your needs everywhere — online forums, chats, G+, Facebook etc.
• People present “what they do and how well they do it” every day. We need to pay more attention.
• For me, resumes might as well be stone tablets, as the “technology” is so archaic. Surely we can come up with a better method.
• For a careerist, I recommend using social media to show people “what you do and how well you do it” every day in every way.
• Get jobs to come to them instead of going out and begging for a job
• @DavidGaspin Not a recruiter. I think that people can/do show more of themselves in their interactions than you evr see on paper
• @DavidGaspin You get a much more rounded idea of their skills and who they are as a person if/when you interact with them.
• @LearnDevelopLLC The trouble is, you want it to be easy for you. You want to use resume as a rubric to cull.
• An example, if you are looking for programmers, do you frequent prog. forums, newsgroups, mailing lists? Why not? That is where
• …your best candidates are already
• …and the best people will be demonstrating their skills at programming, communication and interaction there for you to see
• @DavidGaspin I think that we will see that relying on resumes doesn’t scale. Hence the number of tech jobs going open today
• People are starting to realize the a company has to offer something to them and their career, too. They will go where wanted
• @DavidGaspin You can find the candidates you want to bring in for further discussion and present mgrs with small pool
• @DavidGaspin Just as before, you are just finding your candidates, hopefully better ones, in a different way.
• @DavidGaspin You are going looking for people instead of waiting for them to find you.
• I believe that for certain jobs, recruitment is the only way to go. Candidates simply have too many good options/alternatives
• They aren’t reading the want ads looking for a job. People are already coming to them i.e. recruiting them.
• @benwmaddox Nah, I think recruiters are best lurking in forums and such. Places where people demonstrate their skills and such
• Phone calls are yet another archaic tech I would like to kill off. (LAUGH)
• @SalarySchool ..and I think they should. Find your candidates where they live and work.
• @bizMebizgal To me it seems a no brainer. People are willingly showing you who they are, what they do, why not use it.
• @bizMebizgal Here in LA I am constantly referring people to the Web405 mailing list to find progs/designers/etc
• BTW, before it gets to late – Book Giveaway on blog – The Adversity Paradox – http://t.co/XMtas25U
• @DavidGaspin I see more jobs trending the same way as tech, though. People have more options now and will start to see that.
• @DavidGaspin It is a general movement towards everyone seeing themselves as freelancer even if currently an employee.
• @DavidGaspin Email is the new gold standard for contacts or contacting them using whatever service they use. FB, Twitter, etc.
• @SalarySchool I think we are starting to see the non-competes are nearly unenforceable. Too close to indentured servitude.
• @SalarySchool You can’t take my livelihood from me just because you have competitors.
• @DavidGaspin No, since online interaction is immediate and clearly demonstrates who they are and what they do.
• @DavidGaspin I don’t agree. Online interaction is much more free flowing, open and enlightening than any paper (or LI) resume
• @gg3nyc (Re: One Page Resume) That is one reason I consider the resume archaic. Artificial limitation on content. It is one page as that is…
• …less work for person looking at resumes, not because it has any actual bearing on the information.

Here is a collection of career tips recently shared on the @careertips Twitter feed…

• [Tip] We don’t just need jobs. We need purpose! We need passion! We need projects that improve the world – local and global!
• [TIp] If you are not finding work, try letting work find you. Use social media to demonstrate “What you do and how well you do it!”
• [Tip] Doing everything to avoid being fired means doing nothing for your career and yourself. Don’t let fear make you abandon your career.
• [Tip] Working for a company that doesn’t allow you to build your career is a slow, painful decline. Be aware of what is happening around you
• Career Opportunities Bookstore and more – http://bit.ly/rceU7y – Check out my favorite items.
• [Tip] Working for a company that doesn’t allow you to build your career is a slow, painful decline. Be aware of what is happening around you
• [Tip] You are the only one who really cares about your career, so it is up to you to do what needs to be done to make it great.
• [Tip] I believe it is better to be aggressive, take initiative and be fired, rather than keep your head down and be laid off anyway.
• [Tip] Being a team player is nice, but it never pays to be on a team that is headed nowhere. Sometimes you have to break out.
• [Tip] Are you sharing job leads, career advice, good feelings with others? Why not? Help others to help yourself! Everyone wins!
• [Tip] What have you done for YOUR career today? Doing something for yourself is the highest act of charity towards you career.
• [Tip] We all underestimate our own skills, knowledge and abilities. Don’t. For your own benefit, try to believe that you can do even more.
• [Tip] Want to expand your horizons, knowledge and understanding of the world. Get out of town! Literally. Get out of the country even better
• [Tip] “You can be fired from your job but you’ll never be fired from your career” Radical Careering/Sally Hogshead -http://amzn.to/p9T0js
• [TIP] Do you give back in your career relationships or constantly take. Balance is required for long term health of relationships
• [Tip] Great book about art, but lots of advice that can be applied to your career, too – The War of Art - http://amzn.to/qt2Jcq
• [Tip] Chances are your work will always be unappreciated. Might as well be unappreciated for doing something you love.
• [Tip] Some see different as wrong and there is little you can do about it…except keep being different and knowing your not wrong.
• [Tip] If you don’t do something today the odds are pretty good you won’t do it tomorrow either. Take one step forward today. Then another.
• [Tip] If you see something as the “same old, same old”, it is a clear sign that change is needed. Don’t ignore these signposts. Change!
• [Tip] If you are not being led by a leader, become one yourself. You will find that others are also missing a leader and will follow you.
• [Tip] Opportunities can arise from anywhere. Be prepared to take advantage of them. They may be odd, or different, but could be next step
• [Tip] Be organized i.e. getting things done, is one of the best traits you can bring to your career. Talk, sure, but Do much more frequently
• [Tip] Give your own career and reputation the dedicated attention that an artist, actor or musician might give. Your career is just as impt!
• [Tip] It is time to start attracting work TO you instead of seeking it out. Tell people what you do and how well you do it.
• [Tip] When a leader begins to control your actions, not enlighten your thinking, it is time to find another. Leaders inform, not control.

Here is what I had to say during this week’s #careerchat. You can join in each Tuesday at 1pm EDT/10am PDT using your Twitter account.

• @bizMebizgal: TODAY Topic: What are the top mistakes that people make when job searching? Join us from 12-1 CST. See you soon! #careerchat
• Build the the Career You Deserve! It’s time for  #careerchat
• @bizMebizgal It has been the tagline for my podcast for years now. I truly believe it, too. Everyone deserves a great career! #careerchat
• Be open to opportunities outside your usual realm of work that present themselves. Don’t just ignore them. Could be new career!
• Also, don’t just take the first job offered. Make sure it takes your career in the direction you want to go.
• In job search, just like relationships, seeming too desperate can kill your chances.
• @Tiffany_Rainbow Yes, mis-addressed letters can easily happen when you are creating multiples. Must carefully proof.
• Re: misaddressed letter – Have a “process” to step through each letter individually so this doesn’t occur.
• @YouTern Networking also isn’t just about “what can you do for me?” Help other and you will get help.
• Don’t think that you have to/should have the exact same job at another company. Job search is the time to experiment and grow.
• @DaveYouTern Well, actually, I think job search is all about YOU. It is finding a job that fits your wants, needs and desires.
• @DaveYouTern Yes, you are trying to fit company’s needs, but also trying to find a great fit for you. Should be balance between
• For many years we have labored under the concept that “company over all”, but we need to break away from that.
• @bizMebizgal Important to internalize what you know so that it becomes a part of who you are. You should be able to share your..
• …knowledge and skills automatically. I can talk about new media extemporaneously because I have done it so often.
• Re: wide range of skills - @BethAnneEretto I think it makes you more employable as you simply have more options of possible jobs
• @bizMebizgal Yes, repetition sticks your career story in your mind and also make you think and discover what you truly want.
• As an exercise I sometimes list out everything I want out of a dream job, then try to find something that fits.
• Good exercise to do with my career consulting clients, too. You never know unless you think about it.
• Yep, it makes them think. Then, at least, you can aim in that general direction. I call it the Career Compass!
• I have a Kindle booklet coming out on the Career Compass as a tool to guide your career. I use the idea a lot.
• I don’t think you can convince someone who is biased against older workers. Need to find more willing people.
• I think a LinkedIn profile is just one more tool in the toolbox and costs you nothing to create. Could be useful so do it
• You may need to do some of that work for freelance clients to gain experience you can then show to others.

As usual, I attended this weeks #careerchat, held each week via Twitter at 1pm EDT/10am PDT. Today’s topic was accountability and here is some of what I had to say. I join #careerchat under my @careertips Twitter account.

Follow @careertips on Twitter.

• #CareerChat today at 1EDT/10 PDT. Join in via Tweetchat.com.
• What is accountability?
• Taking responsibility for your action and work and being held responsible for the work you are assigned.
• You also need to hold yourself responsible for your actions, your goals, you achievements and your behavior
• Additionally, accountability also means doing what is best for YOUR career, not just your job.
• Your job description merely describes the minimums of your responsibility
• You have to go well beyond these minimums to thrive and grow in your career
• In some cases, blame DOES need to be assigned as this person is accountable for the poor work/no work they do.
• Admit mistakes AND repair mistakes. Also very important
• Accountability must be equally applied throughout company structure. People inherently sense unfairness when not.
• Remember that being a team player only works if the other members of your team believe it too. Don’t be a doormat/fall guy.
• Setting clear/agreed upon goals and holding workers (and managers) to them.
• I find using tech tools to monitor/update/manage status to be highly preferable to F-2-F mtings. More productive
• Everyone should be able to see status of any project at a glance.
• Simple rule for accountability is: Do what you say you will, when you say you will or renegotiate the agreement.
• Most F-2-F meeting s devolve into any number of useless endeavors. Also status out of date when mtg is over
• What in status? Whatever it takes to be clear — a combination of all types of status
• Projects often come off the rails, because someone isn’t performing and no one knows until too late
• The problem being that not everyone understands professionalism. You will always find those people in every company
• Goals are useful yes, but sometimes we all need to ask WHY a project is moving forward. Good goals on bad project go nowhere.
• Excuses for ducking accountability: I didn’t know. It was THEIR fault. No one told me. It’s not my job.
• Accountability for something, without being given responsibility (or power) to manage it is one of most frustrating work experience.
• No follow through on projects can also point out the perhaps project wasn’t that important and shouldn’t have been pursued at all
• Unfinished projects are a complete waste and employees recognize it as such. Enough such projects and employees go elsewhere
• People want to see their work implemented and respected. Dead end projects provide neither. Horrible moral killer
• Great book on meetings – “Read before out next meeting” -http://amzn.to/pErHEO
• There will always be those who try to avoid responsibility. Identify and avoid them at all costs.

#CareerChat is a Twitter-based chat that happens every Tuesday at 1pm EDT/10am PDT. I try to make it whenever I can.

Here is what I had to say on today’s #careerchat topic, “Managing Upwards.”

• Making things happen is always a great way of “managing” everyone around you. Show results.
• Being a team player is nice, but it never pays to be on a team that is headed nowhere. Sometimes you have to break out.
• Much like any goal, look for problems and find a way to solve them. Your boss (and others) will usually appreciate that.
• Pilot the project, under the radar, so you have info/ammo to take to boss
• “Managing Up” is also a great test of your manager’s quality and security. Agressive reaction to initiative is a red flag.
• If you current company isn’t receptive to your good ideas, Perhaps their competitors would be more receptive?
• I always feel it is better to be agressive and take initiative and be fired, rather than keep my head down and be laid off.
• You are the only one who really cares about your career, so it is up to you to do what needs to be done to make it great.
• Hopefully what you do takes the form of something the benefits both you and your company, but if not, find another company
• Their loss, your gain. Working for a company that doesn’t allow you to build your career us a slow, painful decline
• Doing everything to avoid being fired means doing nothing for your career and yourself
• As Admiral Akbar said, “It’s a trap!” (LAUGH)