Invitation To My Next LinkedIn Presentation

I hope to see you at my next presentation!

WHAT EVERY JOB HUNTER

NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT LINKEDIN

Wednesday, May 22^nd from 6:00-7:15pm

Career Source, 186 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge MA

3^rd floor of Fresh Pond Shopping Center near the Alewife T Station.

There will also be an opportunity for networking along with refreshments.

In this forum, you will learn:

• Why you should build your online network, and how to do it
• How to use your network to help you get your next job
• How to create an effective, compelling profile
• The value of recommendations and endorsements
• How to use LinkedIn to research opportunities and stay up-to-date in your field
• How to identify and be seen by the thought leaders in your industry
• How to use LinkedIn Groups to multiply your networking efforts, and may you “findable” by the right people.

Registration: Space is limited. Pre-registration is required. Please call 617-661-7876 ext. 0 to reserve a seat and pay with a credit card, or pay cash at the door.  Cost: $10.00.

Career Source is operated by Middlesex Community College. Learn more at: www.yourcareersource.com.

5 Springtime Ways to Catapult Your Job Hunt Forward

The spring days are getting longer and warmer, flowers are sprouting, and recent economic reports show signs that the economy is bouncing back to life at long last. This is the season when corporations move hiring into high gear.

In my U.S. News & World Report article this week I speak about five season-sensitive activities for you to capitalize upon this spring. Learn how by embracing the job hunt process, responding positively to the success of others, volunteering, and two other key activities can spring your job search forward. Here’s the link: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/04/02/5-ways-to-put-spring-into-your-job-hunt

Happy hunting!

 

Great Tax Tips for Job Hunters

I often say that getting a job is a job. It turns out that the IRS sees it that way too! Job hunters can (under certain circumstances) deduct expenses they incur in their search for employment, as if the job hunt were a business. 

In this week’s U.S. News article I offer some great specific suggestions from a CPA about how job hunters can find and take several unexpected deductions, as well as how to get a handle on their finances. Please pass it along to anyone who may find it useful! Here’s the link:

 http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/03/19/5-smart-tax-tips-for-job-hunters. 

 

Revealing the Hidden Job Market

The “hidden job market” is one of the biggest of buzz phrases for job seekers. Believe it or not, experts suggest that up to 80 percent of the available jobs at any one time are hidden from public view, although absolute documentation is hard to come by. So where are all these jobs, and how can you access them?

My article, “How You Can Find a Hidden Job“, in USNews & World Report demystifies all the “buzz” about the hidden job market, explains why some jobs will never be made public, and how you can go about the task of pulling back the curtains to reveal the opportunities that are just waiting to be discovered. Here’s the link to the full scoop: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/01/29/how-you-can-find-a-hidden-job

Swap a Stale Objective for a Fresh Branding Statement on Your Resume

These days resume evaluators assume that their job is your objective.  They are tired of looking at “Objective Statements” at the top of a resume, because at this stage the process is all about the employer’s objective to find great talent rather than the job hunter’s objective of finding a great job. A successful resume today replaces the “this is what I want” statement with a “this is the value that I offer” branding statement.

“Personal Branding” is today’s operative buzzword. Some job hunters are befuddled by what that is all about. In my USNews & World Report article I get to the heart of the statement that gets to the heart of who you are: your attributes, your value, and your uniqueness. Moreover, I provide examples of three different “knock your socks off” branding statements and how you can go about the task of projecting your value through your personal brand.  Here’s the link to the full article: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/01/15/resumes-101-swap-a-stale-objective-for-a-fresh-branding-statement?goback=.gde_4051582_member_204643023

 

3 Tips To Power-Up Your Resume

The New Year is at hand. With holiday parties over, now is the time to roll up your sleeves and execute your resolution to move your career to the next level.

As you sit down to compose or edit your resume, remember that its singular purpose is to address an employer’s first question: “Can this person do the work that is associated with this job, and do they have the right background to make a potentially strong fit?” Only if you pass this test can you begin to move along the other stages of the hiring process.

In my latest article published by USNews & World Report I show how you can use your intelligence, perspective and especially the power “How” to juice up your resume and jumpstart your job search for 2013. Here’s the link: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/01/02/3-ways-to-power-up-your-resume-for-the-new-year

Happy hunting!

How Headhunters Hunt… and How To Get Yourself Found

This week I interviewed Susie Hall, the President of VitaminT – a very large recruiting agency that deals primarily with “creative types”. We spoke about how recruiters go about finding great candidates, what they look for, how they network, and how job seekers can get on their radar. I’ve shared the highlights of that discussion, along with several tips about things that a job hunter can utilize to create an effective personal brand and get hired faster. Note: her advice is valid for people with all kinds of backgrounds, interests and aspirations. You can see what she says by following this link to my USNews & World Report article for this week: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/12/26/how-to-be-found-and-prized-by-headhunters#comments.

Happy reading… happy hunting, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

If You Want a Great Job, Tell a Great Story

The film Lincoln is getting rave reviews because it tells a great story in an engaging way. And, it reminds us that the 16th president was most effective at convincing someone to take his side when he was able, without hesitation, to reach into his past and relate a story to the current moment. If you are a job hunter, there are several important lessons you can learn from this movie to aid you in your search.

First and foremost, you need to begin to see yourself as a storyteller. In my article this week in USNews & World report, I explain what I mean by this and offer five other key insights about your job hunt gleaned from this great new movie. Here’s the link: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/12/11/if-you-want-a-great-job-tell-a-great-story?s_cid=related-links:TOP

3 Things LinkedIn Can Do To Help You Nab Your Next Job

Have you noticed the zillions are articles written about the virtues of LinkedIn and necessity of you getting on board in order to have a successful job hunt? Social media permeates our society, and LinkedIn has become the most fertile hunting ground for talent for recruiters and businesses of all sizes. The buzz about LinkedIn does point to something real, but it often doesn’t clarify, beyond “help you get a job” the three basic ways this business social media site can help you do just that.

Put in simplest terms, you should use LinkedIn in such a way as to:

1. Make you findable by companies and recruiters looking for someone with your talents and experience;
2. Enable you to find employment opportunities worth pursuing; and
3. Help you learn what you need to know about the “latest and greatest” in your field, about companies you want to work for and the people who already work there, especially including the people you want to hire you… and much, much more.

In my latest article, 3 Ways LinkedIn Can Help You Nab a Job, published by USNews & World Report I not only talk about these three things, but give specific tips about how to do so. Here’s the link: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/12/04/3-ways-linkedin-can-help-you-nab-a-job

Happy hunting!

 

Put Pizzazz Into Your Job Interview

Chances are good that as a job hunter, you have agonized over dealing with the standard, hackneyed interview questions like, “Tell me about yourself” or “What will you be doing in five years from now?” And so on.

As much as these questions might cause angst for you, they likely create boredom for the interviewer. They read the same articles you do, interview many candidates, and can tell a canned answer a mile away. In my article this week in USNews & World Report I suggest ways that you can reframe questions like these to avoid giving your history and instead focus on your brand and the things that make you truly an exceptional candidate. Click on this link to learn how you can take the initiative at the very beginning of your job interview to stand out from the pack: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/11/06/put-some-pizzazz-into-your-job-interview

Happy Hunting!