I have just been laid off – what do I do?
You’ve just been laid off…and are feeling lost, angry, upset…don’t panic. Here are some steps to take. 1) Take care of your emotional needs: Take time to mourn the loss of the job, the office, the co-workers. But don’t take too long. A week or two is plenty of time. Don’t go away for three weeks or a month and say you’ll start looking when you get back. 2) Take care of your financial needs:. Make sure you file for unemployment insurance. Create a budget – If you have not saved enough for 6 to 10 months of expenses, you will have to take close look at your budget, your fixed expenses such as rent and utilities, and cut back on wants or luxury items. 3) Take stock of your human capital: Assess your strengths and weaknesses – what are you good at? What do you like to do? What successes did you have on the job? 4) Brand yourself – pitch, cover letter and resume. Let them reflect the best skills you have to offer and your accomplishments that distinguish you from the rest of the pack. 5) Get professional help…whether it is a job coach, a therapist, or a life coach. You need someone to lean on, learn from, and help launch yourself during this difficult period. Don’t forget to take care of yourself…get some exercise. Go for a walk, meet your friends, eat your favorite dessert (just not every day) and treat yourself to a massage or haircut or a movie. FREE workshop Friday August 17 12-1:30 at SIBL, 188 Madison Avenue on “Finding the HIdden Job Market”. (c) 2018 Amy Geffen All rights reserved To unsubscribe to this blog, reply to this email with UNSUBSCRiBE in the subject line. GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
How to use LinkedIn for your Job Search
Do you think LinkedIn is only for your profile? Or only for networking? Well it’s both and more. See the five ways you can make the most of LinkedIn. 1) Use your profile to highlight your skills and accomplishments. Key words will get you noticed. All search firms, recruiters and HR managers are using LinkedIn to search on key words. 2) Expand your network – Just don’t find people and ask to connect to them. Start with your first level connections and ask them to introduce you to their first level connections. 3) Find jobs – Yes jobs are listed on LinkedIn. But don’t depend on answering them only online. Research the company and find out the person most likely to hire for that position and write directly to that person. 4) Research your interviewers – Find out about the people who will interview you. Where have they worked? What schools did they attend? What are they passionate about? See if you have anything in common with them. 5) Research the companies where you would like to work. Learn about their values and mission. And then search on the company to find out people who work in the company. Make your LInkedIn profile work for you by using key words in the to 140 characters and by highlighting your accomplishments in your summary. — GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
One-Touch Networking (and the worst networking notes ever)
I’ve been the recipient of some great and many terrible networking notes. The ones that I usually ignore involve asking me for… A job outright. (I’m not hiring right now.) A physical meeting. (I struggle with making time for my own lunch most days.) Twenty minutes of my time. (Whenever I am asked for twenty minutes, I seem to end up being the subject of a very pushy sales pitch.) A referral to a person who can help them. (I’m always reluctant to subject my contacts to complete strangers.) A referral to anyone! (These notes require too much work – “Out of my thousands of connections, who should I send you to?” Also, see point above.) Bonus: I also receive notes calling me “Dear Sir.” Once in a while, I’ll receive a very beautifully written, well-researched, well-meaning note with one of these “asks.” I always respond to those because I understand how much work went into writing them, but I do not respond positively. I politely reject the sender and let them know why I can’t help them. I always feel very bad for doing this, especially when I get detailed “cover emails” and copies of resumes. I know hardworking job seekers spend a lot of time studying their contacts’ LinkedIn profiles and tailoring their notes. Even when I feel like I’m being mass-messaged, I have a lot of respect for people trying to network. They are usually smart, sophisticated professionals that happen to be the victims of the resume “black hole” – online application systems – and want to supplement their application activities by networking. These professionals are miles ahead of other candidates in that they’re at least trying to tap into their network and the hidden job market. And while the approach of reaching out to folks on LinkedIn is far better than just applying online, often, the only response job seekers will get to their outreach is something like, “Thanks for your note. Please apply for this job online.” And the reason this happens is that recipients of these notes are busier, smarter, and warier of connecting with strangers than ever before simply due to the sheer number of bots and scammy people out there. According to a survey by Radicati Group, in 2017, the average professional was getting 121 emails a day – and opening only a third of them. So, in order to stand out, not only must our emails be heard above all that noise, we also must delight our contacts and make them fall so hard in love with us that they have to refer us to the jobs we want. But this is impossible to do with just a single email, or what I like to call One-Touch Networking. As a result, the notes that people send out often do not get responses because they overwhelm the recipient (“this is too much work for me to deal with right now”) and make it difficult for them to respond immediately and positively. I’m sure most people wish they had the luxury of answering each and every note they receive thoughtfully. If like me, you’ve ever been on the receiving end of a note like the ones above, most likely, you’ve done what I have been guilty of doing – move on to the next pressing email in my inbox. The Restless Job Seeker Sending follow up after follow up to recruiters, applying to countless jobs online, and looking at profile after profile for networking research are not bad things to do, but they’re certainly very time-consuming. Even though 40% of all hires are referrals, only 7% of applications come in through referrals. When only a third of all sent emails get opened, it becomes very easy to become discouraged by the crickets your networking may be getting. There are a lot of external factors at play preventing passionate, driven job seekers from efficiently and systematically getting interviews, like… Recruiters have evolving priorities. The people you reach out to can’t always refer you. Because the job market is so saturated with candidates, even the best-on-paper candidates get responses to only about 10% of the jobs they apply to online. As a rule, the job seekers I work with are willing to do whatever it takes to get to their goals because they are doers. And they’re brave for always putting themselves out there, gritting their teeth, and sending out their resumes consistently, night after night, to company after company. Yet I think that’s one of the reasons the hiring world is so broken right now. We’ve become addicted to acting. We’ve become addicted to instant gratification. And when we don’t get that gratification, we don’t stop and question what we’re doing. We keep acting. When you’ve become sick of your toxic workplace culture or when your bills are piling up, it’s impossible to sit on your hands and not act. But let’s take a quick break from acting and think outside the box. We know referrals work. Referred applicants are three times more likely to get hired. How can we systematically and easily get referred for jobs we’re actually excited about? Here’s my solution – take the pressure to mindlessly act OFF, not just from ourselves, but from the people we’re networking with. Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture can help identify patterns and better ways to network. Furthermore, giving people room to breathe actually encourages them to be helpful. The reason for that is we make it easier for them to say “yes” when the requests we send don’t make our contacts feel pressured. This sounds counterintuitive, but it really works. To demonstrate, here’s an example of one of the best networking notes I have ever received: Here’s why I like this note: It’s very easy for me to act on it. All I have to do is copy and paste. I’m not asked to get on the phone or meet anyone face-to-face. It isn’t vague. It doesn’t
5 Tips to Stay Motivated in Your Job Search
Getting stuck? Depressed? At a loss? Here are some ways to keep yourself on track and focused throughout your job search. 1. Make a plan. Stick to a schedule. Every day make sure you eat right, get a good night’s sleep and get some exercise. Don’t sit at your computer all day without a break. For example. Monday do research on companies, salaries and job descriptions. Tuesday send emails directly to companies and hiring managers; Wednesday make calls to get meeting Thursday and Friday go to networking events, informational meetings, and interviews. 2. Find a buddy – someone you can check in with once a week to remain accountable. Discuss what did you do last week? What will you do this week? How many hiring managers did you email? How many companies did you call? How many networking events did you attend? How many meetings did you have? Who did you follow up with an email or phone call? Your buddy might be a friend, relative, or a career coach. 3. Do at least one thing each day. to move your job search forward. No matter how lousy or unhappy you feel, make sure you do at least one thing each day. 4. Make a poster or chart with 99 “no’s” and one “yes.” Hang it on your wall near your desk or computer. Each time you get a no, a turn-down, or no answer from a letter or resume, cross off another “no.” Expect to get a lot of “nos” in your search. Each “no” gets you closer to “yes.” 5. Make time to have fun. Each week make sure you do something for yourself whether it’s meeting a friend for lunch, going to the movies, or a hike, or swimming. But don’t spend day after day avoiding the real work it takes to get your next job! Remember a job search is a marathon, not a sprint. If you are not working you should spend 30-35 hours a week on your job search. Your job search IS your job. GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
How to conduct your Job Search
Resume or Linkedin Profile? Answer ads or call my friends? There is a simple, comprehensive way to conduct your job search. The five-step process was pioneered by the GetFive organization. First – Assess your skills and decide on a job target. You need to choose a job target which includes a job title, geographic location and industry. Once you have a job target or two or three, you can work on your resume. Second – Create one resume for each job target. If you want to be a Project Manager or an Event Planner you really need two separate resumes.. You really don’t need to re-write the whole thing. The first half of the first page includes your job target or title, key skills and top accomplishments. You can easily change those key words and accomplishments for a different job target. Do not include a photograph or references or personal, informal description of you. Third – Linkedin Profile until you have selected your job target. If you have two or more job targets, then you need to make your Linekdin page broad and all encompassing. Make it passionate. Include key words and accomplishments. Hiring managers and search firms are all using key words to troll for candidates on LinkedIn. Don’t say you are “open to new opportunities”. That just says you are unemployed. They will find you.. Do include a photo – better make it professional, not a selfie. Do include three references – NOT endorsements. Include a personal, passionate summary that is written in the first person. Fourth – Make a list of all your contacts, your personal network and professional network. With a job target and a resume you can make a list of companies where you want to work and then send out direct emails to the hiring manager at the company. Ask for a meeting. Make the call. Focus on one thing at a time. Don’t spend more than 10% of your time on answering ads on the Internet. Do something each day to move forward with your job search. Spend your time each day on talking to your network, going to networking events to expand your network, writing directly to companies, calling hiring managers to get informational meetings. Remember, a job search is a marathon, not a sprint. Come to my workshop, August 17 at SIBL, 12-1:30 on Finding the Hidden Job Market. www.geffencareers.com
Why should I Move On from My Current Job?
Fortunately, you are employed. You’re getting a salary and benefits. But it is just not working for you. How do you know when it is time to leave your job and find something else that will make you feel productive, satisfied and put food on the table? 1) When you’re bored out of your mind. The job is so easy you can do it with one hand tied behind your back. You need more challenge, stimulation. You have asked for additional or more challenging responsibilities, but it has not happened. 2) Not treated properly – Your boss or colleagues are not civil or professional. They use abusive language or overwork you. They have no empathy for you or your family situation. You did not get the raise or promotion you know you deserve. 3) Not fun any more – You used to enjoy coming in to work. You loved the work and the camaraderie. It is just not working for you any more. 4) Can’t get out of bed – to face the day. If you literally have trouble getting out of bed because you can’t face the work or the office or your colleagues. If you are dragging yourself to work each day, then it is … 5) Time for a change – It doesn’t mean you are going to quit without another job. It means you need to start your job search before you get too bored, or too de-motivated or too abused…that you really feel like quitting. You say to yourself, how can I quit? You need a job. Yes, you do. So the time to start is now. Before you get so bored, depressed, angry or fed up that you feel like quitting. I am not asking you to have the courage to walk out. Just saying that you need to take steps to change your current situation. FYI Career Workshop starts June 4…Register here: https://geffencareers.wufoo.com/forms/q16mk1480byl3hz/ (c) 2018 Amy Geffen All rights reserved — GEFFEN C A R E E R S www.geffencareers.com
5 Reasons to Keep Working
Thinking of retiring? or not? Here are 5 good reasons to keep working: 1) You are going to live longer and will need the money – so keep working now and keep saving. Put some money into your 401K, IRA, etc. Keep some cash in a savings account for easy access in case of an emergency. 2) Intellectual stimulation – Reading the newspaper and talking to friends is great, but nothing takes the place of work that requires intense concentration, analysis, thinking, and writing. 3) Social interaction – Going to class is fun and so are sports, and you also need to interact with people every day. Doing your own thing every day sounds like fun, but it can be very isolating. 4) Feeling productive – Nothing is worse than waking up in the morning feeling like there is nothing to live for. Why are you here? What are you doing? Work gives you a purpose, whether you are getting paid, or doing pro bono or volunteering, nothing takes the place of being productive and serving a purpose beyond your own needs. 5) You have not yet figured out what you will do all day long – Some of us have hobbies, past times, belong to sports teams, book clubs, knitting circles, etc. But they don’t take 8 hours a day, every day, 7 days a week. Unless and until you have figured out what you are going to do, keep working. www.geffencareers.com
How do you use LinkedIn for your Job Search?
You know what you want. You have a great resume and you’re all set to job hunt. Right? Wrong! You need to update your LinkedIn Profile. Search firms, headhunters, and hiring managers are all searching on LinkedIn for their next hire. Here are five ways to make the most of your LinkedIn profile. 1) 140 characters at the top of your profile. Don’t waste this space with one simple job title. If you are looking for more than one job title, put in two or three. Add your top three to four skills. Searches on those skills by hiring managers will lead them straight to your profile. 2) Summary- Unlike a resume, the summary can be personal and passionate. Be expansive. Show passion and enthusiasm for your field of endeavor. Include several key accomplishments to show you actually have done what you say you can do. 3) Research companies to find out who works there. Then you can write directly to those people asking for a meeting. 4) Research individuals before your interview. Find out all you can about the person(s) who will interview you. Where did they go to school? Where have they worked? What are their certifications? You may find something that you have in common. 5) Get recommendations. Two or three strong recommendations from former supervisors or colleagues are worth more than 20 endorsements for your skills. Remember to write your summary offline before you post it to your LinkedIn Profile. That gives you time to think about it, edit it, polish it. Make sure to set your account privacy settings so that no one is notified when you make changes to your profile. www.geffencareers.com
5 Reasons You Need a Career Coach
So you are contemplating a job switch, or, you have been laid off and need to start looking. Or, maybe you have been job hunting for a while and it is not going as smoothly as you had anticipated. Frustrated? Here are some steps along the way that may challenge you..and how a career coach can help. #1 Don’t know what your next move is? If you don’t know exactly what your next job title will be, a career coach can assess your skills, strengths and interests to help you figure it out. How can you best transition your current skill set to a new job function or field? #2 Don’t have a resume? You know what you want to do BUT you don’t have a resume that adequately showcases your skills and accomplishments. A career coach can rewrite your resume and cover letter emphasizing skills, key words, and accomplishments. #3 Resume not getting responses? You have a resume, BUT you are not getting answers or call backs. You need a coach to help you find other ways to network and get into companies for meetings with hiring managers. #4 Not getting call-backs? You are getting interviews, BUT they are not going well or you are not getting call backs. A career coach can prep you for the typical and difficult questions. And, how to answer those “gotcha” questions that may come up during the interview process. The coach can show you how to follow up to influence the hiring manager to get the next interview. #5 Losing steam? Lacking confidence? You have been job hunting for a while BUT you’re losing steam, lacking motivation. A career coach keeps you on track and accountable. A coach can keep you motivated and keep coming up with suggestions to improve your whole job search. Remember, a job search is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes longer than you expect to get the interviews and get the offer. www.geffencareers.com
How do I answer Job Ads on the Internet
So you are job hunting and answering ads on the internet. Any luck? Only 10% of job seekers actually get jobs from answering ads on the internet. So how do you beat the odds? There’s a right way and a wrong way. 1. Wrong – Just fill in the application and attach your resume. Sit back and wait for them to contact you. Easy, right? Wrong. 2. Right way: Include a cover letter even if they don’t ask for it. Leave out salary. If it is required put in $1 or $100 or $1000 just to fill in the field. Use the same key words in your resume and cover letter that appear in the job description. 3. Find the name of a hiring manager – You can do this in a number of ways. Get the name and contact information of a person in a position to hire you, usually two levels above the job title you are going for. Network through the people you know or your LinkedIn contacts or research on the company website. 4. Write directly to that hiring manager with the same cover letter and resume. Again, include the key words from the job description. Use your accomplishments to show how you can help them. Say you will call them for a meeting at a mutually convenient time. 5. Call them to get the meeting. www.geffencareers.com