By J.T. O'Donnell
I recently did an informal poll while speaking to a bunch of professionals. Their ages ranged from early 20's to late 60's. I asked how many of them knew what an RSS feed was. Less than 1/2 raised their hands. I then asked those who claimed they knew what it was if they subscribed to any. Most of the hands dropped. I get it. I was one of those people too! It wasn't until I got hooked on blogging and the power of creating a customized career news source that I started following RSS feeds. So, I've decided to unlock the mystery and share how anyone can use RSS feeds to power-up their professional knowledge and advance their careers.
To start, you need to know why this is vital to your career...
I wrote a post a while back about the popular business author, Malcom Gladwell's theory, The 10,000 Hour Rule. It basically proves people who do well professionally (i.e. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs) rack up thousands of hours of information, experience and knowledge on a certain subject that puts them ahead of the curve, and eventually, at the top of their field. Makes sense, right? It's a fact I think we can all agree upon - we need experience and knowledge to be viewed as a valuable resource (a.k.a. good employee). And yet, far too many job seekers (and even people who are currently employed) fail to recognize that today's changing economy is forcing us all to focus more on educating ourselves to ensure we have the knowledge that keeps us employable both now and in the future. (As we say here at CAREEREALISM, "Because EVERY Job is Temporary!')
So, what can we do about it?
Well, one of the smartest things we can do is create an information resource that keeps us up-to-date on all the latest news related to job search, our professions, and the work world in general. We need to educate ourselves on a daily basis so that we can build our expertise and be seen as the 'go-to' person in our field to ensure we remain attractive to employers. In short, we need to find and follow the RSS feeds of the best websites/blogs (we're talking quality over quantity here) who can help us stay in-the-know.
Creating an RSS homepage full of valuable career content is easy...just watch this!
To show you how easy it is to create the ultimate career tool, I created this quick video which walks you through the process of developing a customized page of RSS feeds you can glance at each time you log on to the internet. In just 5 minutes, you'll be an RSS pro!
VIDEO: RSS Feeds - How to Create the Ultimate Career Tool
Now, it's time to go find the best sources for YOU!
For those of you who are looking for good feeds to follow, I suggest in the video you check out these:
CAREEREALISM.com's APPROVED Experts - All the experts who contribute to our site are proven career professionals with excellent blogs. You can check them out here and find direct links to their blogs.
The Work Buzz - Careerbuilder.com's excellent career blog is a must-follow on your feed and recently created a great list of blogs to follow for your job search and career development.
Alltop.com - It's a magazine rack of blogs where you can search on any topic and find a comprehensive list of blogs on the subject to follow.
That's it! You are officially an RSS news feed user!
You can now say with confidence that you not only know how what an RSS feed is but that you use them to advance your career. And, if you found this information helpful, please consider subscribing to our feed so you can continue to get our cutting-edge career information and resources as soon as we post them.
PS - For those of you who already know how to leverage RSS feeds and have the ultimate career tool homepage working for you, I'd be grateful if you'd please help our fellow readers by sharing links to your favorite feeds below. Let us know who's worth following!
Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
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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