The Job Searchers Most Needed Tool: Job Search Networking Support Group

January 5, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

In the past 4 years, I have been a part of a job search networking group called Pressed for Success.  When it began there were only 3 of us.  The fStuart Miles advice, support guidance street signnollowing week, 5 and it grew steadily for a couple of years.  However as the economy improves, growth has not been as steady.  But the people who attend benefit in more ways they can count.

The most valuable take away in the job search networking support group is the support.  When members say they understand, they mean it.  Many people say they understand the feelings of the unemployed, but they don’t really.   You have to experience the black hole and sit day after day at the computer looking for your next job to understand what it feels like.

Even a spouse doesn’t understand.  Spouses see the financial situation deteriorate as the job search drags on.  They say they are supportive, but their own fears are standing in the way.

The tips and leads are another great benefit.  Members have many connections to a collection of resources that they share freely.  Whether it’s a tip on the best way to write a résumé or a lead on an open position, it is always welcomed.  In my group, we will pass along any job leads to the appropriate person.  Sometimes the lead is not quite right, but you never know when the right one will come along.

Over 300 people have participated in Pressed for Success in the 4 years it’s been around.  Some people have been repeat members.  They got a job and then laid off again.  There are only a few people who have not yet been able to find a job.  Some joined early on and others more recently. 

The one thing each person takes away from the group is the knowledge that someone cares about them, and they are not alone.  I know I found it comforting to know there were many people in my position.  People who had better credentials, more experience, etc. were there in the group with me looking for the same thing. 

When one person gets a job, the joy is contagious.  The successful candidate comes back to share the win the others.  They share how they found the opportunity, what they did to apply, and any else that may help others succeed.  The best gift they give to the group, they become a contact for the others in their new company. 

Because of this group, I have met some incredible people who have made me a better person.  It has been gratifying to work with these people and share the journey.  They have taught me about myself and the job search.  As a result, I became a career coach.  I want to work with people to achieve their dream job as they have helped me achieve mine.

 

Arleen Bradley is a certified career coach and certified job loss recovery coach.  She assists clients in moving beyond job loss grief in order to land dream jobs.  To learn more about the Job Loss Recovery Program and how you can benefit from it, log on to   https://arleenbradley.com.

  • Do you feel all alone in your job search?
  • Do you feel like no one understands what you are going through?
  • Looking for state of the art job search strategies?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will love the Job Search Networking Support Group.  Click here to sign up.

 

Photo credit:  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Stuart Miles

Posted in career transitions, find a job help, Job Search, need a job, survivng unemployment, unemployed | 6 Comments

Job Searching: Yes, There’s an App for That.

January 4, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

Today it seems like everyone has a phone in his/her hand .  Many people even use it to make or receive phone calls. To my son-in-law it’s a watch.  My brother uses it as his calendar.  Kelly, my daughter uses many apps.  The best one I saw her use was the level.  During football season, my husband can’t live without knowing the latest smartphone appsfootball score.  Brian, my son lives away from home but keeps up with news by reading the local news.

In my last post, I talked about how the features on your smartphone can be used to find a job.  If you are a job searcher, your job search is not limited to your home.  You can perform various job search activities wherever you are, and when you want.  For those of you who are new to using a smartphone for your job search, below is a list of apps that can help you find your next job while on the go.

The apps on this list can be used by iPhone and Android phones.  I tried to seek apps that use both platforms.  The app version listed is free.  Yes, free.  Many of the apps have a one-time download fee or a monthly usage fee for a premium version.

Many of the big job search boards or job search sites have a mobile version.  Most of the same features on the website are available on your phone.  The partial list is only a fraction of what you can find.

Beyond.com

Job Search by Indeed

Jobs by CareerBuilder

Job Search Engine LinkUP Monster Jobs

 

Social media is not to be left out of the mix.  Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter all have mobile apps so you can keep up with your network, update your profile and send out information.

There are some apps that will help you with your job search in different ways.

 Bump:  Share information and photos from one phone to another or from one phone to another or from your phone to you pc.  Just by touching phones you can share contact information without having to use the tiny keyboard.

 CamCard Free: Business Card R Take a picture of a business card with your camera’s phone and store the contact information right to your address book.  No more walking around with a stack of business cards when networking.

 Documents To Go:  View Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on your phone.  Available free on Android, however, only as a paid version for iPhone.

Dropbox:  Store your resumes, cover letters, company research, reference, etc. in the cloud.  They will be available when you want them.

Evernote: Take notes, store articles, pictures and any information you need to write after interview thank you notes and more.

JobTweet Job Search:  Receive notification of all the latest jobs when they appear on the web.

 Labor Stats:  Get immediate access to the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and Bureau of Labor Statistics latest published numbers.

Wi-Fi Finder: Search for free and paid Wi-Fi everywhere you happen to find yourself.

 The above list is only a partial list.  There are many more apps that will help job searchers that I have not listed such as calendar, camera, maps, and internet browsers.  You probably already have these apps and can use them for your job search.  But I know there are more job search apps that I don’t know about.  What do you use that I haven’t listed here?

 

 

Arleen Bradley is a certified career coach and certified job loss recovery coach.  She assists clients in moving beyond job loss grief in order to land dream jobs.  To learn more about the Job Loss Recovery Program and how you can benefit from it, log on to   https://arleenbradley.com.

  • Do you feel all alone in your job search?
  • Do you feel like no one understands what you are going through?
  • Looking for state of the art job search strategies?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will love the Job Search Networking Support Group.  Click here to sign up.

 

Photo credit:  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Salvatore Vuono

Posted in career transitions, Dropbox, GPS, Job Search, job search help, smartphone, state of the art job search, unemployed | Leave a Comment

5 Job Search Features on Your Smartphone.

January 3, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

smartphone (2)If your smartphone is so smart, why can’t it get you a job?  Well it can with instant information, no more phone tag, and lets you know when you should be doing something.  Who knew that you can perform all this with one compact device?  The only problem is you have to remember to keep it charged, so it’s ready for action.

Job searchers can benefit from the many features on a smartphone beyond the basic phone call to assist them in a job search.  Like many things today, the smartphone performs tasks that the owner doesn’t even know about.  I know I don’t use many of the features of my smartphone because I don’t know they are there.  I need someone else to point out how they are using their device to realize that I can do it too.

Some of the ways job searchers can use their smartphone for their job search are:

The Calendar is useful for keeping track of your job search schedule.  A quick look at your phone’s calendar will show what you have been doing with your time when filling out unemployment activity tracking.  It can be programmed to alert you to various events you want to attend.  Not to mention when you are free to interview.

The GPS feature keeps you from getting lost on your way to interviews with turn by turn directions.  It can even reroute you when a traffic tie up is ahead of you.  The GPS feature takes the stress out of getting to your interview on time.

You have instant accesses to the Internet to research a company or person just before an interview to get up to the minute details before the interview begins.  You send, receive and read your email at any time and any place.  Your resume can be sent at any time when you have access to it on the cloud or in your phone.  Log on to social media to update your profiles, post to your sites, and share information.

Using the camera to scan QR codes where you can be taken to sites that will provide you with additional information.  You can scan business cards into your contacts, so you don’t have to carry around a stack of business cards.   Your camera won’t lie to you, so it’s a good choice to record a mock interview and review it later for places to improve.

There are many job search apps to access job boards such as Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder and many more.  Some of these job board apps use the phone’s GPS to find jobs in your selected area.  Use Evernote to keep notes, articles and photos you collect while out to be available at a later time. One app called bump allows you to share information from one phone to another by simply touching one phone to another.

Whether you’re at home or on the go, your job search continues.  No more phone tag or missing an opportunity because you didn’t get your resume in on time.  Waiting around doesn’t have to include last year’s magazines or being bored, you can take your job search wherever you are.

 

 

 

Arleen Bradley is a certified career coach and certified job loss recovery coach.  She assists clients in moving beyond job loss grief in order to land dream jobs.  To learn more about the Job Loss Recovery Program and how you can benefit from it, log on to   https://arleenbradley.com.

  • Do you feel all alone in your job search?
  • Do you feel like no one understands what you are going through?
  • Looking for state of the art job search strategies?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will love the Job Search Networking Support Group.  Click here to sign up.

 

Photo credit:  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net  Stuart Miles

Posted in Bump, business cards, calendar, career coaching, Evernote, find a job help, getting a job, GPS, internet access, Interviews, Job Search, QR code, smartphone, state of the art job search | Leave a Comment

The Infographic Resume: The latest and greatest or a flash in the pan?

January 2, 2013 | Author: Arleen Bradley

Getting your resume read and put into the short pile is difficult.  With so many resumes arriving for each and every job posting, job searchers are struggling to find ways to stand out.  Short of spelling out your resume in pepperoni on a pizza, what’s a job searcher to do?

There are so many ways to get noticed in today’s job market.  But are they getting the kind of attention you want them to get?  One of the ones that has come into fashion of late is the infographic resume.  However, there are pros and cons to the infographic resume.

The Pros:

  • They are new and state-of-the-art—shows that you are current and forward thinking no matter how old you are.
  • Colorful and attention grabbing—resumes are best when they are specific to each opening, and this format allows the job searcher to incorporate the company colors and logos into the design.  Doing so will grab the reader’s attention and associate it with the company.
  • Appeal to younger readers—the colorful display and pictures/graphics are appealing to a generation that read books on color display electronics and communicates by texting without using complete words but use emoticons.
  • For creative fields using color and graphics regularly—the creative arts will support this resume type because of their appreciation for visual appeal.  Marketing, design, social media, and web positions are best suited for the infographic resume.
  • Each one is unique—in traditional resumes, there are only a few basic formats, font faces, and text colors. Visual creativity is limited to bullets and lines for the most part.  However, infographic resumes can contain various graphs, pie charts, colors, angles, fonts, and many other options.  No two people will create the same document even if they have the same data.

The Cons

  • HR staff unfamiliar with concept—they are unusual and are likely to be read, but the reader won’t always know how to interpret them and not given serious consideration.
  • Can’t be scanned into an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
  • Not all industries embrace a non-traditional type resume—there are some industries and/or companies that are not progressive enough to appreciate something so colorful and edgy.  Think old, solid institutions that have a long history of conservationism; such as financial, legal, medical, etc.
  • Gaps are more noticeable—an achievement based resume does a better job of masking gaps.
  • Color and graphics can be distracting—there is much going on in this type of resume and can be confusing to read and follow the concepts in only a few seconds which traditional resumes are given.

If you are still interested in using an infographic resume, I suggest you follow these tips.

  • Make it the best you can—there is nothing worse than a poorly executed infographic resume.  Think a traditional resume, you won’t send out something less than perfect.  Put the same care and effort into your infographic resume it is an example of your skills and ability.
  • Consider your industry, the company and position you are applying for.  Some industries are more receptive to this resume type.  Do some research to make sure you are using your time wisely.
  • Have a traditional resume for the job you are applying for.  Again not everyone will appreciate your efforts so don’t get shut out by not having something they will read.
  • Use it as collateral material.   An infographic resume is an attention getting leave behind; or a captivating handout at a networking event.

The infographic resume is only one of the latest job search strategies.  Is it going to become the new “traditional” resume at some point?  It’s premature to determine.  But you can be sure that even if does, it won’t be the “traditional” resume for very long as there are many new and exciting options to come along.  In the meantime, eat the pizza and while you are crafting your perfect resume.

Arleen Bradley is a certified career coach and certified job loss recovery coach.  She assists clients in moving beyond job loss grief in order to land dream jobs.  To learn more about the Job Loss Recovery Program and how you can benefit from it, log on to   https://arleenbradley.com.

  • Do you feel all alone in your job search?
  • Do you feel like no one understands what you are going through?
  • Looking for state of the art job search strategies?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will love the Job Search Networking Support Group.  Click here to sign up.

Posted in Infographic resume, Job Search, Resume, state of the art job search, unemployed | Leave a Comment

Job Search 2013: New Twists on Old Strategies

December 28, 2012 | Author: Arleen Bradley

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Like many of you, I am eager to put 2012 in my past.  It wasn’t the greatest year for me.  I lost my dad in March and 6 weeks later, my son announced he was moving 1500 miles away.  Then my father-in-law and aunt died in July.  I am looking forward to 2013.  I feel so many good things waiting for me there.

The New Year 2013 has potential and opportunity.  It is a new year to accomplish new things like land that new job.  You have some time in the next couple of days to get ready.  And like the New Year, it’s time to think about new twists on job search strategies.  That means thinking outside the 2012 box.

  •  Get your resume ready.  You know each resume you send out should be tailored to the job but is your resume up-to-date?  Some of the latest trends are video resumes, presentation resumes, and Infographic resumes.  Format your resume to be read on a smart phone.  Many people read their email outside of their homes and offices while on the go.  If your resume is easily read on this platform, it has a better chance of being read.
  • Follow up with the people you met this holiday season.  The people you met need to be contacted and a meeting set up.  Start with an email reminding them who you are, where and how you met.  Be pleasantly persistent and not a stalker will bring you success.  If you can’t connect after a few tries, move on to someone else.
  • Practice your interview skills using video and Skype.  Today more companies are taking advantage of these means to include more employees from other locations in the interview process.  If you think a face to face interview is stressful, there is something even more stressful about video and Skype interviews.
  • Social media consists of LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  Concentrate your efforts using these outlets.  Update your profiles and keep up with the changes that appear often.  Include a photo on LinkedIn profile; endorse and recommend others and they will return the favor; keep the information current and accurate. Set your privacy settings, so that employers cannot access personal information.  However, keep digital dirt from destroying your chances at employment. Tweet once or twice a day to share your skills, knowledge and opinions.  Follow your target companies and people who can provide you with the information you need to be in the right place at the right time.
  • Combine your resume, leave behinds, social media profiles, portfolio, and any other information you want recruiters to know about you on the new “nameplate” sites.  There are several to choose from each with similar and individualized features.

The above are your usual strategies but have been updated for the New Year to reflect the changing way we live, work and play.  It only makes sense that job searching advance.  By keeping up with the changes, you show you and your skills are not out of date but are current and up to date.

Arleen Bradley is a certified career coach and certified job loss recovery coach.  She assists clients in moving beyond job loss grief in order to land dream jobs.  To learn more about the Job Loss Recovery Program and how you can benefit from it, log on to   https://arleenbradley.com.

  • Do you feel all alone in your job search?
  • Do you feel like no one understands what you are going through?
  • Looking for state of the art job search strategies?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you will love the Job Search Networking Support Group.  Click here to sign up.

 

Photo credit:  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net  Stuart Miles

Posted in career transitions, getting a job, Interview stress, Interviews, Job Search, job search help, need a job, new year, Uncategorized, unemployed | Leave a Comment