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Do I have to be on Twitter?

Job Search Expert — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:16:35 +0000

If you want to build your personal brand, establish an online presence, and be in the right place at the right time for your job search, then you have to utilize social media. The big 3 social media sites are LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. While LinkedIn is focused more fully on business, and Facebook leans toward the social, Twitter lands somewhere in the middle. Nearly 75 million people visited Twitter in January 2010.

Twitter relies on "tweets," which are posts of 140 characters or less. They're short, but frequent. Life moves fast on Twitter. But then, the world moves fast and this is a way to keep up. And yes, while some tweets are huge time-wasters (some of us don't want to know what someone else had for breakfast), there's quite a bit of useful information you can gain from following the right people. It's both a way to research and a way to network.

You can follow companies, customers, suppliers, vendors, industry experts, and recruiters who post jobs (there's even a Top 25 Recruiters on Twitter list--anyone who's going to be useful for you. You'll be able to keep up-to-the minute current. And then you can be useful yourself--pass along job leads, industry info, or the great book you just read. Any help or advice you can provide your contacts is a nice way to contribute.

You can ask questions, find people, and make contacts. Look for people to follow on www.twellow.com. You can search industry-specific keywords, or any other keywords that matter to you at search.twitter.com.

There are all kinds of ways to use Twitter for your job search. More and more companies are getting involved, and 75 million people means you ought to be able to find a job lead or two. You can put your elevator pitch in your bio, and provide links to your resume, LinkedIn page, or anything else that's cool about you. Check out my Top 10 Twitter Tips for more tips on how to use Twitter for your job search.

The point is: Twitter is a fantastic networking tool. And networking is critical to the success of your job search and your long-term career.

Set up your bio on Twitter today. Need more help? Check out Mashable.com's Twitter Guide Book.

Are You Job Hunting? What Will Employers Find When They Google You?

Job Search Expert — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:46:44 +0000

Online social media is a fantastic tool for job hunting. The Big 3 (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter) each have their own unique style that you can

what will employers find when they search your name online?

utilize in different ways for your job search. But while you're working these sites to land the perfect job, employers and recruiters are looking for you, too. And if you get their attention in the early stages of the job interview process, they're going to be actively searching for more details about you. According to one survey, 70% of hiring managers and recruiters have rejected an applicant based on what they found online. Have you Googled your name lately to see what they'll find out about you?

You can manage your online identity to control your reputation and your image in the job market in these 5 ways:

LinkedIn: Take the time to set up a professional LinkedIn profile, join some groups, and get active. LinkedIn is the primary business networking site for professionals. It's a tremendously powerful resource for you to research companies, keep tabs on the hidden job market, and contact hiring managers about jobs. A well-crafted LinkedIn profile will showcase your job history, your skills, and your recommendations.

Facebook: Although this can be a great, casual place to network socially, it's important that you don't get too comfortable. No trashy pictures, bad language, or any controversial religious/political comments. It's still a public forum, and you really don't know who might end up seeing something you've said, even if you're trying to be careful of your privacy.

Twitter: Twitter is a terrific place to be in the conversation on just about anything. Again, watch what you say. Keep it professional. Ask questions, and try to help others. An employer will be impressed with someone who's engaged and relevant.

Show up in unexpected places: In addition to interacting on the social sites, think about writing a guest post for a relevant blog, or start your own. Comment on other writers' articles with something of value.

Be consistent: Get a professional photo (it doesn't have to be professionally done; it should just be a formal, businesslike pose) and use that photo every time a photo is called for. Make sure your name is consistently written so that it shows up in a search.

Ultimately, you decide how people will see you. Since you know they'll be looking, be proactive. Make sure they see the confident, competent professional they want to hire.

3 Easy Ways to Strengthen Your Online Brand Identity

Job Search Expert — Tue, 18 May 2010 08:42:32 +0000

Your personal brand is nothing more (or less) than the image you project to others. It's the whole (although abbreviated) picture of who you are and what you do--professionally. Online, it's the sum of the parts. A large (maybe the whole) purpose of creating and maintaining an online brand is so that people who don't know you (employers or potential clients/business partners) can find you, evaluate whether they want to meet you/work with you/recommend you. And that's why it's a big deal.

Be the candidate who stands out from the crowd.

Your online brand is your first impression for people, job leads, or opportunities that you might miss if it's not everything it could be. And, it's definitely a piece of the puzzle for those who have met you in person and are looking to find out more. If you don't think a hiring manager is going to look around online for more information about you before they make the offer, you are seriously misguided.

So, what can you do to make sure your online brand identity is a strong recommendation for why someone should hire you?

1. Use every opportunity to establish a presence. Although LinkedIn is my favorite online networking site, you should also incorporate Twitter, Facebook, Visual CV, and others. (One article says that you should "cybersquat as much social real estate as possible" to both strengthen your online brand and to combat social identity theft.) Make absolutely certain that every site provides a professional profile with dynamic words that describe who you are and what you do.

2. Make sure your photos are professional and consistent. Attach a head-and-shoulders professional photo to each of your online pages. Having the same photo on all sites will help those who don't know you recognize you. And please remove the too-personal photos of you with your friends at the party, or you at your political function, or anything else that could cause controversy. If you're trying to land a job in medical or health care sales, you want potential employers to concentrate on your job skills without anything else getting in the way.

3. Participate. Join groups and discussions, and try to share something of value to help others. Always keep your brand in mind as you contribute your thoughts and ideas. (It's not hiding the "real you," it's simply keeping a public face that's separate from your private one. Or, to put it another way...there's a lot you wouldn't say in front of your grandmother that you wouldn't hesitate to say in front of your friends. Think of cyberspace as your grandmother. ) You decide how you want people to see you, and develop a consistent theme. It presents a unified, clear, positive image to the rest of the world that will pay off for you in your career.

What's the Greatest Barrier to a Successful Job Search?

Job Search Expert — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:50:58 +0000

What's keeping you from getting the job?

It could be the same thing that trips up others: you don't understand (yet) that the job search is a sales process.

It doesn't matter what career you are involved in: to get the job, you have to sell yourself to the hiring manager. That means that you're the product. You're trying to get the hiring manager to pay you a salary to do work (or, to buy the product to get a benefit).

Watch the video and I'll tell you how to change your thinking so that you understand the job search as a sales process, and how to understand your role in it. Then, I'll explain how that breaks down for you in terms of your job hunting strategy, your elevator pitch, and ultimately, how successful you are in your quest to land the job.

If you're unsure about how to implement this idea in your own job search, get some marketing help in the form of a career coach. A career coach can help you pinpoint what makes you unique as a product and how you can stand out in the marketplace--so you can stop wasting time and get your dream job.

How Can Career Coaching Help You Land the Interview and the Job?

Job Search Expert — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:26:19 +0000

A career coach can be a job seeker's best friend. Just as a coach trains an athlete to improve and achieve more, a career coach can help a professional focus and hone skills that will help him or her reach a higher level of success. A targeted approach to career coaching involves taking a candidate and setting him up for success in the job search--either as a transition into a new career area, an entry-level candidate, or to give a good candidate a powerful leg up in a very competitive job market.

As a career coach, I often get questions about it like:

"What's my best strategy for getting a job in this economy?"
"I've been downsized. What do I do?"
"I am currently in pharma sales, but used to work for XYZ Company selling radiology equipment. I would like to get back into medical sales or medical device sales, but nobody wants to hire someone from pharma. How can I make the transition?"
"I would like a professional to review my resume and cover letter. "

Customized career coaching can help.

Most people only need about an hour, so it's not a big commitment.

How can it help you? Basically, I have years of experience in sales, building successful sales territories from the bottom up, sales managment and recruiting, and I use all that experience to offer you an objective, informed opinion on your personal situation. It can be as broad as a personal branding strategy, or as focused as a resume review. It's effective, and it's efficient. You can learn:

How to write your resume so that it highlights YOUR best qualifications
How to ace your interview--I can ask you questions and give you immediate feedback on your answers and style
What you should include on your brag book and 30/60/90-day plan--with specific ideas for your own situation
Which job offer you should take--discuss pros and cons with someone who knows the industry and has no agenda
How to negotiate salary--everyone is afraid of this one, but it's not that hard
Which follow-up techniques to use to make a great impression
How to build your personal brand so that you get farther faster
Figure out why you're not getting offers even though you're qualified
How to get an interview if you're having trouble--how can you contact that sales manager?
Anything you need to know about sales career success!

Want to know what others say about how I've helped them? See my LinkedIn page.

It's tough in the job market right now, and you need every advantage you can get. I would love to help you. Click here for more information.

Peggy McKee

Job Search Tip: Show Your Professionalism

Job Search Expert — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:29:34 +0000

When searching for candidates, recruiters often conduct internet searches…through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and sometimes, just a basic Google.

If you’d like a chance to be contacted, here’s a piece of critical advice:

Please make sure your online photo is professional.
(Not necessarily professionally done, but that you appear to be a professional in it.)

I’ve posted before about the necessity of cleaning up your Facebook pages for public consumption, especially if you’re in a job hunt, but this is one step further. Your online pages are often your first opportunity to make a great impression. Use it wisely.

Meg Guiseppi has some nice thoughts on making sure that your online photo sends the right personal branding message. She thinks you should put some put some effort into getting a great photo and then using only that one across all social media, so that it becomes an established part of your brand message.

Speaking of personal branding, Dan Schwabel also has some good tips on using social media to get a job. He writes that you should be both proactive and reactive…meaning be active and look, but also position yourself online where people can find you, and make yourself a candidate that recruiters want to call.

Job Search Tip: Beware of Too Much Information on Your Online Social Networks

Job Search Expert — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:30:03 +0000

I get a lot of great comments from my readers (which I love). One of these was a response to MySpace Killed the Candidate...critical job interview tip, in which I told the cautionary tale of one of my candidates leaving too much information on her MySpace page and losing a job opportunity: avoid such issues by setting your social networks to private, and be careful who you accept as a friend.

Still, there are things to keep in mind: like, how much of your stuff automatically gets shared when you interact with a new application? And...even if you are vigilant about keeping up with your privacy settings, your friends can inadvertently share your private information with third parties very easily. Mary Madden has a great discussion of issues like these in Securing Private Data from Internet 'Zombies.' There's also a great stream of comments to go with it. I highly suggest you read it.

Online social networks can be great for boosting your career and job search, so I'm not saying "don't use them," I'm just saying "use them wisely". Aside from the biggies like FaceBook and MySpace, LinkedIn is tailored for career networks and job-searching applications. Tech Crunch's article Nine Ways to Build Your Own Social Network offers a list of nine up-and-coming "white label" social networking platforms and explains what each of them does. They could prove very useful.

Critical advice: you should Google yourself (with all the possible versions of your name) once in a while to see what's out there about you. Is your online identity sabotaging your executive job search? explains that employers and executive recruiters will Google you, and you need to know what they will find. What kind of online presence do you have? Ideally, you should have a positive one, with the number of search results correlating with your years of experience. (It's a personal branding issue.)