By CAREEREALISM Founder, J.T. O'Donnell
For those of you that don't 'tweet' - let me tell you the #1 thingyou are missing out on: generosity. Twitter is the most giving community I've ever experienced. Yes, there are spammers and unsavory folks who are trying to make a quick buck, but get past that, do your homework on the right way to use Twitter and you can enter a world that, until now, has only been dreamed of. Let me explain....
Twitter is the great equalizer. You don't need extensive credentials, lots of money or a secret password to become a player in the Twittersphere. Anyone can sign up and tweet. Aside from internet access, there's no barrier to entry. Your success on Twitter will be determined by your ability to convey your message in a mere 140 characters. All it takes is some thoughtful consideration of what to say and how to say it. In other words, those using Twitter effectively have mastered how to say more with less. (A trait we can all work on, don't you think?)
You'll connect with the greatest folks you'll NEVER meet! In the last 7 months I've used Twitter, I've made more professional contacts, and even have a whole new set of folks I call friends, that started via simple Twitter exchanges. Like minds show no discrimination on Twitter. You can connect and befriend people on Twitter that I GUARANTEE you may not have otherwise. Where else can you get access to someone clear across the country (the world, for that matter) who lives in a small town that you most likely never intend to visit in your lifetime?
The Twitter community is rooted in kindness and good professional etiquette. If you want people to follow you, listen to you, and most importantly, respect you on Twitter - you need to create interesting, non self-serving tweets that make people say, "That was worth reading." Honestly, Twitter's power to do good makes me giddy. Why? Because it helped me make a dream come true...
Twitter Makes 'FREE' Worth Something. Years ago, when I became a career strategist, I took a course on how to promote my services. The advice given was, "Charge as much as you can. The higher the fees, the more satisfied the customer will be because they won't want to feel they made a bad buying decision, and thus, will embrace your ideas and rave about your services." The old, you-get-what-you-pay-for theory. As you can imagine, that didn't sit well with me. I already knew thousands of people were unhappy in their careers and couldn't afford working with a professional strategist (and that was in a good economy!). Fast forward to today, and Twitter's enabling me help those who need it most!
We started the Twitter Advice Project (a.k.a. T.A.P. into CAREEREALISM) less than 2 months ago. The idea was to have professional experts (I was lucky enough to convince a few charitable colleagues using Twitter to help me) donate their time and expertise to those in need by tweeting answers to career questions sent in by followers of the CAREEREALISM Twitter feed. As of today, we have 19 AMAZING experts tweeting to OVER 5,000 followers in need of advice. The program has exceeded every expectation I had for it. I get tweets daily from job seekers, thanking us for donating our time to help them get the advice they need. I've received dozens of requests to join the program from fellow experts as well. The best part everyone can participate. Experts who want to share their advice can tweet their own answers that will show up in the search results on Twitter, or they can post their advice directly on the original blog post of the question. And job seekers can easily go back and look at all the questions we've already answeredto immediately see the advice shared by the experts. Or, if they have a new question, they can submit it to us at twitter@workitdaily.com and get it answered directly.
So, if you are one of those folks who's been saying, "Twitter?! What do I need to do that for?" - I hope I just convinced you to get on board. There is a lot of wonderful giving and receiving going on via Twitter. The kind of stuff that makes you feel really happy. Don't miss out on your chance to experience the generosity of Twitter. Whether you choose to give or receive - it's all good!
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It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
- How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
- The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
- How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
- The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
- And, a lot more hacks for job search success!
Let us show you the secrets to getting a new, better-paying job you actually love. Sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp today.
Are you ready to land the job of your dreams (and leave the job of your nightmares)?
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