How to steer your own career and find a job in the new economy -

How to steer your own career and find a job in the new economy - Steering your own career, getting a new job or what I like to call driving your own career bus is more important today than ever. Everyone needs to maintain responsibility for his or her own success, and that includes keeping an eye out for larger trends and signs and signals of change at a current employer. Burying your head in the sand and ignoring the writing on the wall when your company falls out of favor in the marketplace or your industry is poised for change is a recipe for disaster. A Fast Company article says the average tenure at one job in the U.S. is 4.4 years. The article asserts men have around 11 jobs in their lifetimes and women have 10 jobs. As the article suggests, Shorter job tenure is associated with a new era of insecurity, volatility, and risk. Its part of the same employment picture as the increase in part-time, freelance, and contract work; mass layoffs and buyouts; and creative destruction within industries. The onus is on the employee to manage all of these ramifications. One point in an employees favor? Increased transparency and access to and availability of information. If you work for an organization and dont monitor the companys Google mentions or keep an eye on Twitter and other social media sites to learn what people are saying, you are missing a rich resource. Especially if you work for a large company (or, if you want to work for one!), “following” the organization on LinkedIn can help keep you abreast of staffing changes and trends. You dont have to rely on a rumor mill. Ignore these monitoring tools at your own peril. Everyone needs to realize we are unlikely to return to the old economy. Dont be complacent! Embrace change and flexibility. Always be looking for opportunities to expand and enhance your skills, even while in your current job. That may mean you volunteer for projects outside of your typical areas of expertise. Attend professional development opportunities your employer offers to improve and update your skills. If your employer doesn’t pay for training, you may want to invest in your own career by taking courses or certifications in areas where you have an interest and that you’ve identified as potential growth markets. If you don’t manage your career and future, you are more likely to be left behind when things change and the focus is on people who are flexible and multi-talented. Closely examine your core, transferable skills. What do your supervisors tend to praise about your work? What skills do you enjoy using, and use well? Don’t ignore the “soft skills,” or emotional intelligence. (For example, are you an exceptional communicator? Do you have a knack for leading teams? Maybe you’re a great negotiator?) Purposefully select your best skills and do some research to identify other fields or jobs where you can use them. Make a habit of self-evaluating regularly, not only when you may want a new job. Once you have your list, try plugging your skills into job board search engines to see what type of positions come up. Consider using LinkedIn’s new “Skills” feature (find it under the More tab) to help identify types of jobs requiring the skills you have and are developing. Learn how to market yourself effectively in this new economy. This may be the most important of all these points. The resume is always at the heart of any new job search strategy. It’s up to job seekers to communicate their skills and accomplishments to appeal to target employers. Make a strong case describing why you are the perfect solution to the hiring manager’s problem. For career changers, this can be difficult. The key is to focus the resume more on the future than the past. Avoid jargon specific to previous industries and use language and key words to suit the new employer. Once you know your key skills and have some ideas of fields to focus on, social media offers tremendous opportunities to steer your career in a new direction. In my book, Social Networking for Career Success (LearningExpress, 2011), I explain how, if you have expertise in a particular topic, but you don’t have paid experience working in that field, you can still market that expertise online, via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. (Google+ is another great resource.) It’s possible to become a go-to expert in a topic and to join a community of thought leaders based only on your skills. For example, a postal worker who always enjoyed event planning (but has never been paid to plan events) can create a digital profile online, including a social resume (professional website) and presences on all the big social networks to showcase her event planning skills. She can access current thought leaders via these tools â€" often without requiring an introduction â€" and she can begin to contribute ideas and resources, thus becoming a member of the community of event planners online. Perhaps earning a certification from a community college would add to her credibility, but if she has the key, underlying skills needed to do this work, and can effectively articulate and communicate her expertise online, she will be well on her way to being able to change careers. Social media is not a magic wand â€" users need to have the skills they want to market â€" but, for those with transferable skills and an eye on a new career, social media can serve as a metaphorical bridge from one career to another. Another trend in today’s market? Becoming a business of one â€" hanging a (virtual) shingle and working for yourself. It’s not for everybody, but the same tools allowing you to recreate your professional image online to land a new job can also help you attract your own clients. Don’t ignore research reporting companies are outsourcing instead of hiring people. By creating a strong digital footprint (online presence)â€" via a professional website (YourName.com), and optimized social media profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+), you will be on your way to embracing â€" and thriving in â€" the inevitable new economy we all face. photo by blackthorne

How to Write a Good Resume

How to Write a Good ResumeWhen you have decided to write a resume for a job in the future, you need to take a few steps in order to make sure that your resume is an effective tool. When you are applying for a job, you will want to put yourself forward as an expert and your resume is a way of showing this. In order to get a leg up on the competition, you will want to consider some key tips in resume writing. Read on to find out more.One of the first things you should consider is the length of your resume. Most job candidates have a rough idea of how long they expect their resume to be, but you need to take this to heart. You may have some ideas about what your ideal length is, but if you do not get the job it is going to show that you are a liability. Lengths ranging from one page to four pages are appropriate, but don't go over three hundred pages. You can go as long as you need to be, as long as it is based on your skills and abilities.The next step you will want to take is to put t ogether a resume outline. This is a basic outline that will include your contact details and what you have to offer to the company. It will also include a summary of your past work experience and education. It is important to consider your career goals when drafting this outline.Once you have completed your resume, it needs to be organized and it needs to be able to list the information needs. Since your career goals are listed at the top of the resume, it is important to identify what the different sections are. Your summary section should have all the relevant details for the position you are applying for. Your contact details should be listed at the bottom. Your curriculum vitae or a resume summary should also be included.It is also important to include the company name and contact information. This will give the hiring manager a reference from which to check out the information you have provided. This will also let the hiring manager know who you are and where you came from. As an employer, it is very important to have the right impression that you want to convey.When you are finished writing your resume, it is important to make sure it is easy to read. Most people have very busy lives and cannot spend time looking at a nine hundred page document. They will therefore want a resume template that is easy to read and you can use for your own personal use. The advantage of using a template is that it saves time, and you can always adjust it to fit your specific needs.Resume writing is a great skill that you can use as part of your CV editing process. It is important to incorporate all the information you have learned about it into your resume and edit it to suit your skills and qualifications. A good resume can really help you stand out from the crowd and win the job that you are applying for.

How to Maximize Your LinkedIn Profile

How to Maximize Your LinkedIn Profile LinkedIn might not be the most exciting social network, but it’s the most important when it comes to your career. As of April 2015, the site has more than 350 million users, with 100 million based in the U.S. alone. And while you might think of LinkedIn as a tool for a job search, it can be just as effective for online networking and personal branding, whether you’re looking to gain cred in your industry or are seeking new clients. Get the most out of LinkedIn with these seven essential rules. Complete Your Profile â€" And Keep It Up to Date “Recruiters like to see a profile that is 100 percent, if not close to 100 percent, completed,” says people management expert Colleen Cassel, CPC. This means filling in the summary (use the entire space to its allowable limit), title, education,jobs, awards, and recommendations. You should also have an outstanding profile picture and backdrop photo. (Selfies won’t cut it.) Rather than seeing your profile as a set-it-and-forget-it report of your career, think of it as a living, breathing document. As your career progresses, you’ll want to strategically tweak and shape your profile for the future you want, says career and life coach Jenn DeWall, MBA, CPC. In fact, the summary section should “highlight the aspects of your job that you enjoy and what specifically you want, not necessarily what you have the most experience in.” She also advises her clients to “post their strengths in descending order…. Most readers do a quick scan of your profile in a short amount of time. Highlight what you want them to see.” Go Beyond Connecting After meeting someone you’d like to work with in the future, DeWall suggests following up with a LinkedIn connection request. She suggests making yourself stand out by sending a note in the request that references a “specific thing that you enjoyed talking to him or her about, or something you want to connect with this person about again in the future.” If you’re looking to expand your network or find clients, ask your connections to introduce you to people they are connected to â€" or, if you have LinkedIn Premium, you can connect directly with others via inMails (private messages). One way to cold-connect effectively is to ask questions, rather than pitching yourself, says career expert Darrell W. Gurney, author of Never Apply for a Job Again. Since you don’t want to put people in the uncomfortable position of turning down a request, make the person feel like they’re “the only person on the planet who has the information you need,” Gurney says. “Most people will give you five minutes to answer a question, and that gives you the basis to begin a relationship.” You might also consider forming communities on LinkedIn by creating a virtual group for your connections that centers around a shared goal, purpose, or interest, so you can take your relationships to the next level. Keep Your Network Fresh and Engaged Make sure you don’t neglect your connections. As Cassel points out, you may have connected with someone years ago whose guidance or referrals could come in handy now or in the future â€" and forgotten they are even in your network. Go back through your list and reach out to these people from time to time. You might even take a peek at your closest connections’ networks to see whether there’s anyone you’d like to be introduced to. Look through your connections and clean them out periodically, Cassel adds, to emphasize quality connections over quantity. Career coachRoy Cohen, author of The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide, says, “Your LinkedIn universe is an extension of your profile â€" who you choose to include should have some connection to what you do professionally and where you want to see yourself over time.” So, it’s important to be strategic about your network. “Navigate ‘up,’” says Cohen. “Mine the site to connect with professionals who are senior to you in your field and who have the potential to be valuable to you professionally.” Know When to Take Things Offline Simply clicking “Connect” isn’t enough: Use your network to its fullest by occasionally meeting in person. “People respond to and remember more about personal contact than online messaging,” says Michael Diettrich-Chastain, LPC, DCC, owner of Synergy Consulting Counseling. “Creating in-person rapport allows them to have a better impression of who you are, improving the likelihood of referrals, sales, and business deals.” If one-on-one meetings don’t make sense â€" perhaps you don’t know people well enough to grab coffee â€" you could organize a networking event or mixer for a group of connections with shared goals or within a certain industry. Get Your Name on the Newsfeed LinkedIn allows you to share updates to a Facebook-like newsfeed. Cohen recommends sharing insights and information about your industry that might be helpful or interesting to your connections. You can also ask questions or for ideas on how to enhance your career or business â€" for example, asking which professional associations you should join. Increasing your presence on LinkedIn can also be an effective personal branding strategy, addsNina Parr, co-founder and CMO at Inspirer, because your name will continually show up in LinkedIn email updates as well as in the feed and notifications section. Parr recommends posting other people’s content (or yours), work-appropriate photos, job openings at your company, and thank-yous to coworkers. You never know who will come across your updates or read one of your comments. Writing content on LinkedIn is also an effective way to get your name out there and draw in new connections: LinkedIn’s career expert, Catherine Fisher, confirms that blog posts you write on LinkedIn will get six times the views from people outside your immediate network on average. (You can alsocheck analytics for each of your posts to monitor their reach.) Recommend and Get Recommended When it comes to LinkedIn’s recommendation feature, take Parr’s advice: What goes around comes around. Giving recommendations doesn’t just get your name on other people’s profiles; it’s also a great way to foster deeper connections and build relationships. And gettingrecommended will help your own reputation. It’s win-win. To be effective, a recommendation should include specific details about a colleague and a list of notable skills â€" it shouldn’t just be a glowing summary of how “great” someone is. If you’re faced with a recommendation request for someone you barely remember or disliked working with, write something short, noting anything you do remember or the one positive point of working together. Trying to opt out, or not responding to the request at all, could cause more issues than being brief, and there’s no reason to burn bridges. Networking is a Two-Way Street Remember that networking involves reciprocity. Actively participate in other people’s content and updates â€" for example, you can offer “a personal message of congratulations when someone has a work anniversary or promotion, or gets a new job,” suggests Diettrich-Chastain. Or respond to posts that you feel you can intelligently contribute to: Leave comments, ask questions, or offer feedback. The bottom line? “Stay engaged and you will be remembered.” Poll: If You Could Make Enough Money to Live, Would You Go Freelance? More from DailyWorth: Your Social Media Strategy â€" From Facebook to LinkedIn 7 Steps to Turning Your Personal Brand Into a Business This Is How Job Recruiters Screen You on LinkedIn Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.