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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In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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