New Mexico Jobing Community Blogs

 The positive growth turned in by the American economy in the third quarter of this year suggests that maybe, just maybe this Great Recession is now in our rear view mirror.  As it fades away, of course, the tales will begin about what we did during this terrible time.  While recounting those legends is surely important, so too is sharing the insights we’ve acquired from our experience.

Cataclysmic events often alter our perceptions of the world around us.  That was true during the Great Depression, and it will be true as we emerge from this Great Recession, as well.  Some of these new views are opinions about what happened and why, but others are actually lessons that we’ve learned about how best to survive and prosper.  They’re the things we wish we had known before the event occurred because that knowledge would have undoubtedly enabled us to fare better than we did.

I think the sharing of this wisdom is good for us—it’s cathartic to acknowledge that we’ve earned an advanced degree in the school of hard knocks—but it’s even more helpful for our kids and grandkids.  In a very real sense, we are giving them a gift, a roadmap for the future that may help them avoid the dead ends and dangerous potholes they are sure to encounter.

Each of us has our own view of the lessons we should pass along.  For me, the following four insights are among the most important.  They are realizations everyone must have in order to chart a successful and fulfilling career in the 21 st Century world of work.

Seeking job security makes you vulnerable.  In today’s turbulent economy, employers have no idea what will happen tomorrow or the day after.  They may promise you job security, but they can’t deliver it.  So, counting on it is likely to put you out for the count.  A far better objective is career security—the ability to stay employed in a job of your choosing regardless of the condition of any single employer or the economy as a whole.  Unlike job security, career security is a state you create for yourself.  You don’t have to rely on the good will of some employer.  You anticipate the changes in your career—the timing of a move from one boss or organization to another, the refocusing or reskilling that’s necessary to accommodate shifts in your industry or profession—and then you plan and execute those changes so they benefit you.

Recognition is something you give yourself.  Most managers and supervisors mean well, but if you wait for them to recognize your accomplishments at work, you’re likely to be disappointed.  Some have the social skills of a brick and others are too worried about their own security to take care of yours.  That’s why it’s important for you to keep track of your own “career victories.”  Sure, it takes a little effort to maintain a contemporaneous record of what you’ve done and how well you’ve done it, but that account will give you more satisfaction than most managers ever will.  Don’t just write it out, however; also review it regularly.  Take the time to remember what you’ve done and pat yourself on the back when you deserve it or give yourself a little counseling if you’ve let yourself down.

 

Working tirelessly is a sure way to get tired.  Sadly, many people in today’s world of work find themselves wired up with no place to go.  They’ve learned the hard way that staying continuously in contact with the office doesn’t protect you.  It exhausts you.  We’re all worried about the H1N1 flu becoming a pandemic, but workaholism already is.  If you have any doubt about that, look left and right the next time you’re lying on the beach.  Every other person will be glued to their Blackberry or iPhone checking their email.  The impact of such behavior on both individual performance and wellbeing is already acute and likely to get worse.  In a knowledge-based economy, your worth is measured not by your connectivity, but by your contribution.  And, your contribution suffers when you don’t give your mind and body a chance to rest.

Taking care of your career is the best way to take care of you.  The conventional approach to career self-management has been to get an annual checkup and leave it at that.  Historically, we paid attention to our career just once each year—during our performance appraisal and salary review.  That approach was dangerous then; today, it’s a sure-fire way to induce career cardiac arrest or what most of us call unemployment.  The only safe course in a workplace as turbulent as the one we now have is to develop career fitness the same way you develop physical fitness.  You have to commit yourself to building up the strength, endurance and reach of your career every single day.  Yes, that’s a lot of work, but it’s also a smart investment.  You spend one-third or more of your day in your profession, craft or trade, and you deserve an experience during that time that is every bit as good as the rest of your life.

We have acquired many insights from our experience over the past two years, but these four maxims are the key lessons we have learned.  They are the things we wish we had known so they are now the things we want others to know.

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit me at Weddles.com

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including Recognizing Richard Rabbit, a fable of self-discovery for working adults, and Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reser

 

Keywords are a central feature of our business day.  We use them to search our resume databases and to parse through the profiles and resumes posted on job boards and social networking sites.  The problem, of course, is that we pesky humans have a bad habit of using different words to express the same idea.  That variability in human expression makes it difficult to know which keywords will actually identify the best candidates for each of your openings.

So, what should you do?  How can you select the right keywords when there are so many competing alternatives?  The answer, I think, is to create a keyword taxonomy—an annotated list of search terms—that is rich in the language of the top talent in the specific career fields for which you are recruiting.  Think of it as a “set of master keys in words” that can unlock the candidate databases you are probing.

Creating such a tool is not particularly difficult.  Doing so, however, is a departure from the current practice in many organizations.  It involves temporarily stepping outside the press of individual, day-to-day assignments and taking a longer term view of how keywords can best serve your recruiting strategy.  Here’s what I mean.

The rule of thumb in developing a list of keywords has usually been to rely on the information provided to us in a job description or requisition.  The problem with this approach, of course, is that those documents are typically formulated by hiring managers—one of the least articulate populations on the planet.  The terminology they provide, therefore, is necessary but insufficient to unlock the best talent in an ATS or job board database.  It is a part of the master keyword set, but not all of it.

How can you fill in the gaps?

I suggest you borrow a page from your colleagues in sales and marketing and form a focus group.  Such a group is only useful, however, if it is composed of the right participants.  You’re trying to uncover the language used by the best talent for your openings, so your focus group should be populated with the same kind of people.  And, you have a ready source of such individuals among your organization’s “A” level performers in the career fields for which you’re recruiting.  They, better than anyone else, know exactly which terms their peers will use to describe their qualifications.

Top performers are usually very busy, however, so you may have a hard time breaking them free for such an exercise.  If that’s the case in your organization, you can also build your set of master keywords by conducting a similar survey with your new hires during their orientation.  This approach is clearly more challenging to implement, however, because you will have to base your selection of the group’s participants not on their demonstrated excellence at work, but on your judgment of how they are likely to perform once they are on-the-job.

In either case, your focus group will yield the best results if its work is conducted in three steps.

·         First, build your baseline.  Ask the participants to list all of the terms they would use to describe the qualifications required for an individual to be able to perform their job effectively.  These attributes can include specific skills, occupational and/or industry knowledge, prior work experience, personality and any other factors that would bear on their ability to contribute.  If the group has a hard time knowing where to begin, ask them to review one or more of the keyword references that are currently available.  These include Google’s Keyword Tool, which will suggest keywords based on previous Google searches; Wordtracker, an online research tool; and WEDDLE’s 3 volume set, Finding Needles in a Haystack, which lists over 25,000 keywords and keyword phrases, across 5400 job and position titles in 28 industries and professions.

·         Second, restate the terms in order of their importance.  Ask the group to prioritize each of their terms according to its impact on an individual’s job performance.  While there may be some disagreement among the group about the placement of specific terms, encourage them to arrive at a consensus rank ordering of the overall list.

·         Third, group the terms into search baskets.  The best way to probe a resume or profile database is to conduct your search in concentric circles of ever greater specificity.  This approach enables you to hone in on and eventually determine a reasonable slate of the most qualified prospects in a database.  Therefore, ask the group to break their list into the following categories: absolutely critical, very important, somewhat important and nice to have.

Those four baskets of search terms should then be added to the terms you derived from the hiring manager’s job description or requisition.  If those documents enable you to do so, assign each of those terms to one of the categories used in Step 3 above.  If not, the most politic course to assign them to the absolutely critical category.  The resulting integrated list of search terms is your set of master keywords.

The above process is clearly labor and time intensive so think of it as an investment to develop an asset.  The product you create—your keyword taxonomy—is just such a resource.  It is a state-of-the-art search tool that can be used over and over again by the entire recruiting team.  No less important, that tool gives them a genuine competitive advantage because it will increase both their efficiency and their performance.  It should, therefore, be password protected and carefully monitored.  As with all assets, it will require updating from time-to-time, but the effort involved will be substantially less than of the original development.

Keywords are typically viewed as one of the basic tools in our profession.  For better or worse, everybody uses them so it’s easy to assume they have little or no differentiating value.  When forged into a powerful asset, however, keywords can help an organization unlock talent other employers can’t reach.  That’s why no recruiting team should be without “a set of master keys in words.”

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit me at Weddles.com

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including Recognizing Richard Rabbit, a fable of self-discovery for working adults, and Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

Hello New Mexico.  We're all about keeping you posted with the latest employment news, so we'd like to invite you to sign up for updates via SMS text.  If you're often away from your computer or can't use Facebook at the office, this is a killer way to stay current.  Here's what you have to do.

1. Visit our Facebook fan page.  
2. Become our fan.  
3. On the left side of the page, click "subscribe via SMS."
4.  Follow the instructions to set up the text service on your phone.  

It's that easy.  See you on the trail.

Back in the day, accomplishments at work were only accomplishments if they were acknowledged by a supervisor.  That reality had at least two downsides for you.  First, it limited the definition of an accomplishment to whatever made sense to your supervisor, whether or not it made any sense at all for you.  And second, your accomplishments were only recognized if your supervisor bothered to do so, and sadly, not all supervisors have good human relations skills.

The net effect of this situation was to diminish your perception of your accomplishments.  If you have any doubt about that, think back to the last time you wrote a resume.  Remember how hard it was to recall your achievements in your most recent job, let alone those in jobs you held before that?  That fuzziness indicates how little impact your accomplishments have had on your own sense of success at work.

Such a malformed view of your role at work is a threat to you and to your career.  It undermines your self-image and, ultimately, your self-confidence in your own capability.  And, it clouds how people see your contribution on-the-job and potential in the workplace.  If you are only as accomplished as your supervisor acknowledges, they are in control of what happens to you and your career, and nothing could be more dangerous in today’s much more demanding world of work.

What should you do about this situation?

Throw out supervisor-defined accomplishments and focus, instead, on personal “career victories.”  A career victory is different from an old fashioned accomplishment in several ways:

·          First, a career victory is defined by you.  You set a goal—I will improve my work skills or I will increase my output on-the-job—and you determine what constitutes reaching that goal—I will improve my work skills by completing this course of instruction or I will increase my output on-the-job by learning how to use that software program.

·          Second, career victories occur wherever you say they do.  They may happen on-the-job or outside it, in an academic institution, a professional association or a volunteer activity.  A career victory is not limited to what happens in your employer’s workplace; it describes what happens to you—the self-improvements you realize by reaching goals you set—in whatever venue you select.

·          Third, career victories occur however you say they do.  They are not dictated by what best serves your supervisor or employer.  A career victory may certainly do that, but its purpose is to reinforce your self-esteem and advance your career.  You decide what self-improvement will do you the most good and the conditions under which it will be realized.

·          Fourth, career victories occur whenever you say they do.  They don’t depend upon your supervisor’s ability to recognize them or their willingness to express that recognition in a way that will do you any good.  A career victory is a success that you recognize, and it is a well deserved pat on the back that you give yourself.

Career victories are based on a very simple, but powerful premise.  It analogizes achieving career success to riding a bicycle.  In other words, you can coast for a short while in your career, but most of the time, you’re going to have to peddle—you’re going to have to engage in continuous self-improvement—to keep making steady progress.  If you don’t, your career will start to wobble and eventually topple over.

Although this concept may seem a bit strange at first, it’s not all that hard to get used to.  After all, almost all of us know how to ride a bike.  And even if we haven’t done so for awhile, it’s one of those skills you never really lose and thus can quickly regain.  Achieving career victories, therefore, is something anybody and everybody can do.  They are a democratic activity.  And, unlike accomplishments, where recognition can be colored by the biases and limitations of your supervisor, they are an equal opportunity form of celebration.

You can use your career victories in several ways.  To start, I suggest that you memorialize your victories in writing by creating a “career record”—a diary of sorts that describes all of your work-related successes.  This document isn’t a resume, although it can certainly make writing a resume much easier.  It is, instead, a simple listing of your self-improvement goals and what you did to meet them.  That record, in turn, can help you see your progress in the world of work so you can celebrate your successes (whether or not they are recognized by your employer’s performance appraisal system).  And, it can provide a wake-up call if you find yourself coasting along and losing momentum in your career.

Focusing on your career victories doesn’t mean that your contributions on-the-job are any less important.  Indeed, they can and should be career victories to which you aspire and for which you strive.  The reason you do so, however, is not to gain the recognition of your supervisor, but instead to express and experience the best you can be.  That’s the true definition of success in the modern workplace.

Thanks for reading,

Peter

Visit me at www.Weddles.com

Peter Weddle is the author of over two dozen employment-related books, including his latest, Work Strong, Your Personal Career Fitness System.

© Copyright 2009 WEDDLE’s LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

Don't forget this month's JSEC meeting.  We have a great community project starting with  Peanut Butter and Jelly Family Services, Inc. and breakfast of course!   
 
Thursday,  November 12th 
8:00 am  to 10:00 am 
ITT Technical Institute 
5100 Masthead St. NE 
Theory Room 4    

You must RSVP to: tlieber2@comcast.net  
Designated parking is recommended for all guests located
on the East Side of the building.

The New Mexico SHRM State Council is pleased to announce an impressive lineup of keynote speakers for its 2010 conference.  This event provides an opportunity to hear some of the brightest speakers on HR matters working today.  The conference will feature China Gorman, Chief Member Engagement Officer for National SHRM, employee recognition expert Chester Elton, an engagement guru Robert Van Arlen.  Click here to see more information about the conference.  Early Bird discounted rates are in effect right now.  Sign up today.  

China Gorman 
HR:  WHY IT IS CRITICAL IN TODAY’S ECONOMY

Every day, HR professionals are stepping up to the plate to help their organizations confront the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.  They are being called upon to address a daunting array of workforce challenges that could significantly impact whether their organizations survive the current downturn and have in place a solid foundation for success when the economy recovers.  This presentation will highlight innovative strategies HR professionals are employing to avoid or minimize crippling layoffs, to maintain morale and employee engagement, and to retain and develop top talent during this crisis period.   Participants in this session will look at best practices they can employ, drawing from SHRM Economic Stimulus Prize case studies, recent research by SHRM and other authoritative sources, as well as statements by leading CEOs and CHROs.   

Chester Elton

The Carrot Principle:  How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage their People, Retain Talent and Accelerate Performance

Turnover can absorb resources at an astonishing rate. It is the most significant uncalculated expense in corporate America . Some estimates to replace a departing employee range up to a stunning 250% of that person’s annual salary. Turnover is an issue for organizations, especially in today’s economy, organizations that fail to effectively recognize their employees are losing the workers they wish they could keep. Retaining outstanding performers is critical, whether in a recession or boom. Elton will show how the transformative power of purposed based recognition produces astonishing results for you and the managers in your organization.  As an HR professional, learn the tools to help your managers motivate their employees to achieve higher productivity, engagement, retention and customer satisfaction.  This exceptional session presents the simple steps to becoming a carrot principle organization and to building a recognition culture in your organizations.  Following these simple steps will make you a high performance leader and take your team to a new level of achievement. 

Robert Van Arlen

Focused Synergy

Through Focused Synergy, he has developed a process for learning what challenges his audiences to think, react and change to achieve the results they desire for themselves, businesses or organizations.   You will  walk away with specific techniques to inspire growth, you will learn the value of practicing excellence, teams will improve alignment and everyone takes something away that they can share with others. Robert speaks about the power of Vision and how HR professionals are critical to the process of achieving vision and values alignment within their organization.

Hello Employers, 

I'd like to introduce you to a program that provides rent assistance to prevent homelessness in our community.  They are looking to reach out to local business and we're pleased to help.  Contact them directly to learn more. 

HPRP was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in Collaboration with the City of Albuquerque and US Department of Housing and Urban Development.Our mission is to prevent community members from falling into homelessness.  Through our rental assistance program, individuals can access stimulus funds to pay rent up to 12 months.

·   Are you currently being evicted from your apartment? Or are you homeless?

·   Are you able and willing to work?

·   Have you worked at least 3 consecutive months during the past 18 months?

·   Have your hours at work been reduced, or you have currently lost your job?

·   Is you annual income at 50% or less than the median income for your household size?

·   Does your apartment meet HUD Fair Market Rate?

·   Do you have a birth certificate, state issued id and SS Number?

If you answered yes to these questions, you may be able to access support from HPRP. For more information please contact our main office at 724-4615. We will be conducting phone screens to determine full eligibility. 

What does it mean to “sell yourself”? It’s ensuring that your resume makes it to the top of the stack, or that your name is on the short list of preferred candidates. Sure it starts with a good cover letter. But does it really start there? It’s having confidence in yourself and your abilities in order to convince others that you are the perfect person for that incredible job that you really want.

In order to be the best, you have to know that you’re the best, and that means you have to do your homework. That’s right, education. There are many jobs out there but you may not have the right background. Well get it. You may be busy with a job that you don’t really want, but it pays the bills. Or you may be collecting unemployment for the time being, but that won’t last forever. Take a big tug on those bootstraps and earn the education that you need to better position yourself, professionally.

Going back to school… the idea is quite inspiring, really. But where will you find the time? You have it… you just need to carve it out of your schedule. The good news is that you live in the day-in-age of the Internet and what an awesome tool that is. Because of its widespread access, there are some really great online education options out there that offer you the opportunity to study wherever and whenever you want. The fact of the matter is, online education is booming right now and because of the competition, you have some excellent options.

So here’s the drill: finish your bachelors, get your masters, differentiate yourself with a specialized certificate in an up-and-coming field like Sustainability Leadership, Software Engineering and Networking, or go global with an international business doctorate. Do your homework. Research your options. You may be surprised at the educational opportunities that exist today within our pivotal global economy.

Sell yourself with confidence, knowing you have the right education. Research your educational opportunities at JobingEducation or learn more about one of our sponsored schools, UC Irvine - Extension or California http://tucson.jobing.com/company_profile.asp?i=127019} (online certificate programs) or California Intercontinental University {http://tucson.jobing.com/company_profile.asp?i=127036}  (CalU – online master’s and doctorate degrees). Use your time wisely to better your life and let the bidding begin!

(This post is based on some of the principles included in my new book, Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough which I wrote with San Diego-based executive coach, Duncan Mathison. For a free sample chapter, visit the book's official site: www.unlockthehiddenjobmarket.com )

If you’ve been following my posts, you’ll know that I’ve been writing about networking a lot lately. Or at least it seems like it. Networking, networking, networking. Maybe it’s me but don’t you think that when you say it out loud enough, it begins to sound like earwax? Okay…it’s probably just me.

Networking doesn’t have much appeal, does it? It doesn’t sound nearly as much fun as going to your local Applebee’s with some friends for a beer and some wings. Now there’s a problem with even that Applebee’s scenario. Based on the emails I’ve been getting, a lot of you are feeling that you don’t have too many friends either. And the ones you do have are getting, like, really tired of hearing you talk about your struggles to land a job. And you’re getting really tired of talking about it too. In fact, you’d just wish they’d change the subject.

I don’t think my readers are social losers. (At least I hope not, but, then again, what are you doing reading this blog post when it’s such a pretty day outside?) When you’ve been out of work for any amount o time, it’s easy to feel that you have run aground in the contacts department – especially in recent years when we’ve all been so busy taking care of our jobs and our families. We’ve let outside friendships perhaps atrophy. Maybe all your friends were work-related. And now that you’re out of work, you’re also fresh out of buddies. Or you’ve moved to a new town where you really, really don’t know anyone.

Whatever the reason for your feelings of isolation, you know you have to mix it up a little bit, well, a lot. Get some fresh meat, I mean talent, into your tight circles of relationships. Get out of the house. So I thought I’d offer some tips in that direction.

Remember that one thing leads to another. The thing about circulating is that your first dip into big world probably won’t net you a job. It’s a cumulative kind of thing. So leave that desperate, graspy, over-eager feeling at home when you head out the door. Just be open to meeting who you meet. Maybe tonight you’re destined to actually help someone else. And you’ll come home feeling just a little better about yourself.

Look for opportunities where you can become a regular. And no, I don’t mean the Applebee’s bar. When your face starts becoming familiar, you will emerge from invisibility to someone who people will be glad to see. Maybe they’ll even shout out your name, like, “Norm!” (But don’t count on it.) If you try a business mixer or worship service or volunteer opportunity, and people completely ignore you, keep going. Week after week. Introduce yourself as often as you can. And just let the cumulative effects of time work their wonders.

Stay away from solitary pursuits, even if they’re out of the house. Going to a matinee movie doesn’t count as “getting out there.” Go to local economic development or chamber of commerce meetings, receptions, mixers. Your local bookstore probably offers booksignings, author lectures or special classes. A friend of mine who is a professional coach is part of a team who gives courses at Whole Foods! Go! The home improvement stores offer free courses. Go! The American Red Cross offers courses in first aid, cpr, etc. Go!

Make job-related networking events only a small percentage of your out-of-the-house activities. First of all, you’re so much more than unemployed. And you need to nurture those other parts of who you are. At the very least, this way you’ll lead with an opener that’s so much more interesting than, “Hi, gotta job?” But most importantly is that your self-definition has a chance to stay strong and defined beyond this immediate need of landing a gig. You will also stand a better chance of meeting people other than fellow job-seekers. You know…people who already have jobs? And who would be thrilled to help you get inside their companies or organizations.

Learn something. Go to local college courses – especially the ones at night, when employed people go to school. You don’t have to matriculate and take on the expense of a formal semester. Continuing ed courses can be inexpensive. The teachers are often professionals in the community (hint: employed people!). It’s probably best if you took a course that would help you be more qualified for the kind of job you’re looking for. But even taking a non-job related course will at least remind you that there’s more to life than your daily bread (although, it’s kind of hard to make that argument right now, I know).

Teach something. Surely you know something that will benefit others. How to read, for adult literacy programs, for instance. If you have a profession or skill that’s useful in the for-profit world, surely you can introduce at least the basics to young people. Convene a panel of other experts and put on a program! (You’ll be able to find a venue. A friend of mine hosted the annual meeting of his professional association – on the premises of the company that had just laid him off. Awkward.)

Volunteer. Those same skills you can teach you can donate. It will make you feel good about being who you are and what you can do. That boost in self-esteem will give you the added confidence that will send out the signal that you’re a valuable contributor to the world.

Call old friends – even if they haven’t heard from you in a long time. This is where Facebook comes in handy. The other day I heard from a dear friend for the first time in about 8 years. We’d been looking for each other off and on over recent years but, thanks to Facebook, she found me first! And we talked on the phone for a full three hours. A lot of it was catching up. But, she was also very candid about the fact that she needed some professional advice from me. Did I see this as a cheesy ulterior motive? Heck no! First off all, I owed her a gigantic favor from 10 years ago (I mean, huge). Secondly, I love her and I know she loves me. So whatever I have is hers. (Advice, I mean.)

Ask for introductions. Unless you’re a bitter whiner who needs to blow your nose and brush your teeth (and, uhm, a little roll-on?), the friends you have should be happy to give you introductions you need to move your job search forward. If they’re reluctant to help you, find out why. Wouldn’t you want to know the truth, especially if it was something you could fix? And, if they’re possessive with or protective of their contacts to the point where they’re keeping you from helping yourself, or making you feel judged, it’s best that you should know that now. You might have just discovered a brand new opening in your group of friends to fill.

They say that once you achieve a certain age, it gets harder and harder to make new friends. Everyone is set in their habits, patterns, commuting routine, relationships. Well, one of the upshots of these economic times is that everyone is thrown higgledy-piggledy into a big pile of confusion and some flavor of disconnectedness. Now is a fantastic time to build new circles of friends and business contacts.

And vow to take better care of them in the future. Like, don’t wait 8 years before picking up the phone.

 

In recent weeks I’ve been watching events unfold in Sedona  -- that whole James Arthur Ray thing and how people died in an ersatz sweat lodge.  I suppose for many people, a terrible event such as this (where people paid $9,000 for the privilege of dying a horrible death, surrounded in the gloom by their vomiting and fainting companions) is so exotic to most people that “that could never happen to me” is a thought that briefly passes through our minds.  And that would probably be true.

 

However, this whole clutch of motivation and self-help teachers has been bugging me over recent years, and the cumulative effect of little damages everywhere can also be very destructive indeed. And I’m worried that the general public might be even more at risk as the economy continues its stagger, stagger, crawl mode.  These are emotional frontiers we’re in, folks, and the woods are lousy with snake oil salesmen – people who promise to give you a breakthrough secret to life in a week or a weekend, for the price of a semester of college or a small car.

 I have had in my bookshelf for a couple of years now the book, SHAM, by Steven Salerno. And I’ve been really reluctant to read it. Primarily because I knew he would blow the lid off of the mechanics behind self-help gurus and their business models. And at the time I was also reading Martin Seligman (the very legitimate founder of the very legitimate positive psychology movement), and I was also dabbling in more than a little Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, Marianne Williamson and even Joel Osteen. And, frankly, I liked the way their messages made me feel.  And while I certainly didn’t buy The Secret’s promises hook, link and sucker (I mean, sinker), having grown up in a family whose mantra was mainly, “ain’t it awful, ain’t it tragic,”  I knew there is definitely something to be said for willfully focusing on the positive side of things. If you have read my earlier postings, you’ll know that I believe that a positive attitude is more conducive to creative thinking and endurance during a time where everything seems to be hitting the fan.  At least it makes the ride a little more tolerable.

 But I also know a manipulative head-game when I see one. (At least I hope I do.) I certainly learned to recognize the signs when I’ve bought into one, much to my ever-lasting regret pretty quickly thereafter.  So, I thought I’d lay out a list of danger signs for you – with the hopes of helping you keep your money in your pocket.  (I get the fact that this could mean that I might miss out on a few sales of my own books – but at the end of this post I’m actually going to offer you my first book for free. I won’t even ask you for your email address as one of those cheesy quid pro quo gambits.)

 Avoid any course with titles containing such words as “breakthrough,” “success,” “transform,” “dream,” and whose tuition includes a comma.  Speaking from personal experience here.  These kinds of courses are mostly warmed over material drawn directly from the texts of books that you can purchase for $20 to $30.  There will be much playing of John Denver and hugging of total strangers  -- most who look like they either haven’t been hugged in decades or they’re really really really looking forward to hugging you. The break times are dedicated to urging you to sign up for the advanced course at twice the price (but today – and only today – slashed to the same amount you just paid for the basic course). My memories of those break times involve softly trance-inducing singing from the stage and a certain zombie-ness of the people moving to the back of the room where tables are conveniently set up, where staffers cheerfully accepted credit cards. Did I get anything of value from that basic week? Yes…my mastermind group is still intact after almost five years. We meet on the phone every other week and have become supportive friends. But have our circumstances changed significantly since we met that that “breakthrough” week?  Nope.  (As you can imagine, I’m usually the cranky one on our phone calls.)

 If you go to any course with a title that includes the words “spirit,” “warrior,” “vision quest,” make sure there is an EMT on call at all times before laying your money down. Most spiritual quests are flat-out scary. Who are these people to say they know the way, and will lead us there through a regimen of fasting, meditation and bodily deprivation? The way people refer to spirituality as Spirit, as if Spirit is their next door neighbor with handy cable piracy skills, is revolting. And the way white Americans romanticize the mysteries of Native American life and traditions is deeply hypocritical or willfully shallow. If they’re so enchanted by the Native American way, how about coming out to the Southwest, don't stop at the spas or casinos, and spend that week teaching Native American children to say no to crystal meth addiction and alcoholism? Share the inspiring benefits of your own education, skills and privilege, rather than trying to siphon off a few sips of mysticism from authentic traditions that you will never get anyway?

 If someone wants to teach you how to be rich (for whatever price), first find out how he got rich himself.  Look at the frequent fliers of this particular line of work, and you’ll find out that most of them got rich by sticking their hands into pockets of people just like you (and me). And they’re getting richer.  Did he ever grow a company, other than the staff of eager minions he has working for him now? Did he turn around a major corporation? Did he emerge from his own family of alcoholics and desperados to blaze his own trail by making something or contributing something useful to society (that is other than an ultra-expensive retreat)?  Is he an unimpeachable researcher who has the gift of translating esoteric, hard-to-understand information into immediately useful ideas that anyone can have for the price of a book?  That might be someone worth paying some attention to.

 When someone tells you that you’re nowhere without his secrets or gift, laugh and walk away. Need I say more? Okay, I will. I know of one so-called Buddhist guru (she’s American) who actually replaced the words “Higher Power” in the 12 Step Program with her own name.  That’s amazing. But what’s even more amazing is that hundreds of otherwise intelligent people said, “Duh, okay.”

 Just say no to any product marketed to you via email by someone you’ve never heard of but endorsed by someone you have. These people exchange mailing lists, knowing full well that purchasers of self-help products are the most likely to come back for more and more. The cynicism is mind-blowing.

 Avoid self-help books that were Number 1 on Amazon for, like, three hours one day.  Again, it’s the lists at work. These people know how to game the system and they use each others’ lists to snag that coveted spot, even for an instant. This way they can call themselves “bestselling authors.”  Big whup.

 Don’t give up your own dreams.  Life is full of true mysteries. My personal favorite one is the mystery of synchronicity. I’m a total sucker for those stories, and I have true, first-hand stories of my own that would curl your hair. But I wouldn’t bet the ranch on a synchronicity that I perceive to be an omen. (Even though, in my heart of hearts, I kind of hope it is.)

We all need fresh infusions of inspiration now and then. And  personal growth does involve keeping your mind open and venturing into uncomfortable zones now and then. But no breakthrough experience should involve group puking or even close bodily contact with strangers to the strains of “Sunshine On My Shoulders.”

 Keep your wallet in your pants. Or purse.

 (Now for the free offer:  I will give you a free copy of my very first book, Find Your Calling, Love Your Life. For absolutely nothing. Not even your email address.  Just go to www.unlockthehiddenjobmarket.com and click the green button that will lead you to free downloads. You can also have a free sample chapter of my new book, Unlock the Hidden Job Market.  Naturally, my coauthor and I would love it if you also purchased that book. But you know what? You don’t have to.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Employer's Disability Resource and New Mexico Business Leadership Network invite you to join them for their annual gala celebration on Thursday November 19th from 5pm-7:30pm.  The event will feature recognitions, networking, food and drinks, and a keynote address from John Kemp, Executive Director of the U.S. Business Leadership Network.  

This event will be held at Hotel Albuquerque in the Old Town.  Please rsvp to Tessah Latson by November 12th. 

Tessah Latson
tessah@newmexicobln.com
Phone:  (505) 379-0572
Fax:  (505) 449-4474
www.newmexicobln.com

This post is by our Social Media Manager, Brett Farmiloe.  Thanks Brett.

One of our community relations managers has been asked to sit on a panel of social media experts to discuss how social media impacts recruiting. She asked for some insight, I had a green tea, and my caffienated self went on a roll. I figured I'd post the email here in case anyone was wondering what the fuss is with social media.

Here it goes:

What is social media?

Social media is an integration of words, pictures, video and/or audio with an element of human interaction. (Essentially, the words, pics, videos are the "media"...the human interactivity of commenting on a Twitter status update, tagging someone in a Facebook photo, watching a video on Youtube and forwarding on to your friends...that's the "social" element of the umbrella term, 'social media'.)

A couple other fun stats to throw around about social media:

 

3 out of 4 Americans use social technology - Forrester Research, 2008 (Meaning, not just Gen Y. This means that my mom and my dad are my friends on Facebook.)

Visiting social sites is more of a popular online activity now than checking personal email, Nielson 2009

93% of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media (meaning, users are open to being a fan of your company on Facebook. It's not intrusive if your company is on there...as 300,000 businesses have found out on Facebook (currently, 300,000 business have Facebook pages)

 

Of the 4,000+ tools that can be grouped into the growing 'social media' bucket, there are only about 4 or 5 that matter when it comes to recruitment.

1) Facebook. The reason it matters in recruitment?

 

There are over 300 million users on Facebook.

There's no other social media site or tool that's better to brand your company. On a fan page, you can share video about what it's like to work at your company, show them what it's like to work at your company with photos, and you can post status updates that go directly to a fan's home page. Plus, there are a couple recruitment applications that integrate your jobs into Facebook and allow fans to share these jobs with their friends (Jobing offers this application, plug intended.)

 

2) Twitter. The reason it matters in recruitment?

 

You have to look at Twitter as a chat room and as a listening tool. You listen to the people you're following, and you chat with the people who are talking about your company by monitoring with tools such as Tweetdeck or Twitter Search. All Twitter is good for is for your company to interact with potential candidates so it positively impacts your brand.

 

3) Linkedin. The reason it matters in recruitment?

 

Allows recruiters to mine a database of resumes (aka Linkedin profiles) to find potential candidates.

 

4) Youtube. The reason it matters in recruitment?

 

Video arguably is one of the best branding tools for a company. Youtube is one of the largest search engines on the internet. Put the two together and you've got a winning social media site.

 

5) Myspace. The reason it matters in recruitment?

 

Myspace is the forgotten son of social media. The other week I was in Texas and asked a woman who was the HR manager for a call center if she had looked into using Myspace to recruit. She responded by saying that Myspace was full of pedophiles and teenie boppers...which may be true, but it still doesn't change the fact that more people go to Myspace than Twitter and Linkedin. The numbers and traffic alone make Myspace a tool to keep in the tool belt.

 

Whew! Those are the tools that are slowly changing the world of recruiting...

Brett Farmiloe is the social media manager for Jobing.com. He'd love it if you became a fan of Jobing on Facebook, and a follower on Twitter. Ecstatic, actually. Also, feel free to contact and connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or by good ol' email (brett(at)jobing.com) for any social media questions.

Martha Finney's new book, Unlock the Hidden Job Market:  6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough, is available online and in bookstores everywhere. Follow her on www.twitter.com/hiddenjobmarket.

Last night I received an email from a reader who had this to say:

"What if I'm not shy? What if I'm just not good at the art of shameless self-promotion and have difficulty identifying my value proposition? Then what?"

Hmmmm. Hate networking as shameless self-promotion? AND you're having trouble identifying your value proposition?  If you had one of those two problems, I'd take you at face value. But put the two of them together, and I'm hearing code for "shy."  But, whatever, call it what you want.

I think you might have missed one of the core points of my earlier post on networking shyness.  To wit: Even though you're networking to find and land a good job, if you hate networking, don't make it about yourself. Make it about discovering how you can contribute your gifts, skills and energy out there in the big wide world.

You can set the tone of how your networking activities come off. Networking is not about shameless self-promotion (unless you're a shameless self-promoting kinda guy, which evidently you're not). If you want a real, authentic, interaction with a full calendar of people who you hope will ultimately lead you to your next job, have a real, authentic interaction. You're out there trying to figure out how and where you fit in. If anyone criticizes you for that, well, that's their problem. Move along to the next appointment on your calendar.

Moving to your next issue about not knowing what your value proposition is, that's not an issue to take lightly. It goes straight to one of the main pieces of your place in the world. And with the marketplace changing as rapidly as it is, it's practically impossible to keep up with how your place in the world changes in relation to the world itself.  I think three generations of working adults are going through a mid-life crisis at the same time, right now.

The good news here, for you especially, is that if you're struggling with "who am I" questions, you're going to come off authentically humble in networking meetings. So instead of worrying about "shamelessly" promoting a self when you don't even know who that self is (at least vis a vis your working life), approach your networking from the point of view of gathering data about how you might fit into the changed world now.

Use your early networking meetings to ask questions. And be sincerely interested in the answers. Then ask more questions. And be sincerely interested in those answers. (Remember, we're talking questions about work, not "how're the kids?")  Eventually you'll start seeing how you fit into the world as you're coming to understand it because of those questions. And your value proposition will make itself known to you.

It's about questioning, not crowing.

(There are a lot of books out there that help you discover what your value proposition is. If you'd like to read a collection of inspiring stories of people on that journey, email me and I'll send you a free copy of my book Find Your Calling, Love Your Life.)

I know you had success at Gobs of Jobs.  I just know it.  So, here are some tips to help you follow-up on all the great employment leads you got at the event. 

1.  Say "thanks" the old-school way.  Send a written note to the recruiter thanking them for their time.  There's something classy, and memorable about this approach and it will set you apart from those who aren't so polite.  An email or a phone message is ok in a pinch too.  Just keep it brief and professional.  

2.  Do any assigned homework ASAP.  Many companies will ask you to fill out an online application, or develop an action plan for your position.  You will be judged by the quality and timeliness of your work, so jump on this stuff right away.  When I was interviewing to join the Jobing team, I had to develop a six-month attack plan for my new role.  This was not busy work!  I was being tested, and had I blown this assignment, I wouldn't be here now.  

3.  Be politely persistent.  Every recruiter likes a candidate with persistence and follow-up.  Every recruiter dislikes a scary stalker candidate.  Please learn the difference.  If you don't hear back from a recruiter, give it several days and then try to reach them in a different way.  Some recruiters respond more quickly to one form of communication over another.  If you get frustrated, take a step back and realize that recruiters are really busy people.  Do not take a detour into Crazy Town, people.  Recruiters do have caller ID, you know.

This post is reprinted from an article by the great Laura Smith Proulx.  Thank you Laura
One of the big mysteries that confounds job hunters is that they see a great job posting, apply to it, and then... nothing. Why isn't the phone ringing? It's often that automated systems are "reading" your resume--and they don't like what they see.

Under siege from job seekers, employers are trying to filter out unqualified applicants as hard as they're trying to get IN. If you're not receiving a response from your resume, there are a number of ways you can look at changing it, and this should start with keyword content.

Keywords are simply terms for skills, certifications, and other qualifications that are required for each job. Automated systems make looking for keywords on resumes much easier, and these applications are designed to count the number of times that crucial terms appear in each document.

To ensure that your resume gets read by your desired audience (meaning that picky scanning system!), alter the keyword count using these strategies:

1 - Take out irrelevant terms.

If you possess skills that are transferable to more than one career, consider creating more than one resume version, and then take OUT the keywords that don't apply to that field.

Be aware that including extraneous information can confuse the HUMAN reader too. Like any other marketing document, your resume gives the reader an impression of what you offer... and when it's filled with phrases that relate to a different type of job, employers often react by taking a pass.

One way to gauge whether to take out certain words is to look carefully at the jobs to which you are applying. If your resume contains a large number of skills that are NOT in these descriptions, then it's time to remove them.

2 - Add new keyword content that fits your goal.

Another reason to take a second look at your desired jobs is to see the type of keywords you SHOULD be using.

Many sales leaders, for example, don't give a second thought to mentioning that their skills include prospecting, relationship management, or business development. Yet, the positions they apply to may contain these terms, and the scanner can reject their resumes if it doesn't find a match.

A good rule of thumb is to make a composite list of terms commonly appearing in jobs you are targeting, and then ensure that your resume contains a representative cross-section of the keywords that apply to your background.

3 - Keep in mind that keywords can also communicate the breadth of your skills.

Often, scanning systems will account for synonyms, and may ferret out your resume into a different sub-section reserved for more advanced professionals.

For example, a new account executive might put "relationship management" on a r‚sum‚, but a more experienced sales representative could add "revenue improvement" and "profit growth."

By the same token, an operations manager may add tactical skills such as "production capacity," while a COO can sharpen the focus to add "strategic production planning."

The bottom line? It's important to stand out by backing your resume achievements up with a host of skills that employers seek-meaning keywords. This is a crucial step for anyone who wants to increase results and distinguish themselves from lesser-qualified competitors.

Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CIC, is a former recruiter, a credentialed executive resume writer, and the principal of An Expert Resume, a career services firm that caters to organizational leaders. Published in 6 career bestsellers and cited for global resume industry awards, she partners with executives and seasoned professionals to win interviews with powerful and compelling leadership presentations.