San Diego Jobing Community Blogs

 

If you want to learn how 250K+ job hunters effectively networked with their existing circle of contacts to land great jobs:

Mark your calendars for Tuesday December 8th at 6PM PST for JobRadioUSA’s Episode 23 “Highly Effective Networking – How to Meet the Right People and Get a Great Job.”

Orville Pierson – career expert, author, and SVP for Lee Hecht Harrison - will discuss:

The best way to network for a job

How to create highly effective job search and networking plans

The components of structured and effective network meetings

How to set up network meetings with insiders of your targeted companies, establish rapport, and generate referrals to hiring managers

How to use network meetings with hiring managers to uncover hidden opportunities and transition from networking to interviews and job offers

You can access the show by either dialing 347-838-9326 or visiting http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thecareercatalyst

Feel free to share this information with employed, underemployed, and unemployed job seekers.

During the listener Q&A session, Orville will reveal:

How job seekers can use a small network to reach dozens of insiders and decision makers

How job seekers can get the right message to the right people, even if they have never met

How job seekers can talk to hiring managers before job openings are announced

A network step-by-step strategy job seekers can follow to generate referrals, uncover job leads, and/or generate interviews

This should be a great show. Likewise, I look forward to your live participation Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thecareercatalyst and listen to any of the previous 24 career shows you may have missed.

A job seeker should seek opportunities in both the advertised and hidden job market. For the past two weeks, I predominantly discussed how to locate relevant, advertised jobs on Twitter. Next week I will discuss how to use LinkedIn and Twitter to apply to advertised jobs and to locate hidden opportunities. For this post I will discuss how to locate targeted companies and individuals of interest using Twellow.

Visit www.twellow.com and register (if you are new to Twellow) by clicking on the Register for Free link (in the upper right of your screen) and inputting your Twitter screen name, password, and email address. Otherwise, just log in.

In the search field (at the top center of the screen) type the name of a targeted company. Let’s assume that Southwest Airlines is one of my 20 targeted companies. Likewise, I typed Southwest Airlines in the search field.

Next view the results. In my case, there were 44 matches including the official Twitter account for Southwest Airlines, profiles of employees including corporate recruiters, profile of the former CEO, and so on.

Click on the profiles of interest and click the follow button to add these individuals and/or companies to your group of followers on Twitter.

In my case, I clicked on the official Twitter profile of Southwest Airlines and on the Click here to visit this user’s Twitter page link under the profile.

Next I viewed some of the company’s tweets and viewed the Twitter list (located under the Lists area of the company’s profile) created for the company’s employees.

Most importantly, when you conduct a basic search for other companies like Pepsi, there will be thousands of matches or Twitter profiles for both employees and non-employees. Viewing all of these matches to locate company insiders is not efficient.

Likewise, you need to conduct an advanced search on Twellow. To accomplish this: go back to www.twellow.com, click the Search tab in the top center of the page, and view the search tips.

Now let’s assume I wanted to locate Pepsi employees who work in marketing. Likewise, I typed @(bio,extended_bio), Pepsi, marketing in the search field. Afterwards, I located the profiles for a marketing manager, international marketing director, and VP of marketing at Pepsi. These are three individuals I can follow and contact to ultimately generate referrals to other individuals of interest including hiring managers.

Next, I wanted to locate all the marketing and product managers on Twitter located in Dallas Texas. Likewise, I typed (”Dallas”) “marketing manager” | “product manager” in the search field. I retrieved one match.

In conclusion you now know how to locate advertised jobs, targeted companies, and individuals of interest on Twitter. Next week, I will discuss how to use both LinkedIn and Twitter to be introduced to hiring managers for both advertised and potential hidden opportunities.

 

I admit, I have a personal bias against Wal-Mart, and won’t shop there.  Why?  Because of their employment practices. 

By RODRIQUE NGOWI, Associated Press Writer Rodrique Ngowi, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 2, 8:22 pm ET

BOSTON – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $40 million to 87,500 Massachusetts employees who claimed the retailer denied them rest and meals breaks, manipulated time cards and refused to pay overtime, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

The settlement — believed to be one of the largest of its kind in the state — seeks to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed in 2001. It comes less than three months after the world's largest retailer reached a deal with state prosecutors to pay $3 million to settle complaints that it didn't give its Massachusetts workers proper meal breaks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091203/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wal_mart_wage_settlement

 

Wal-Mart continues to defy good employment practices and apparently doesn’t care about the money it has to spend to resolve these issues.  Is this the kind of company you want to promote?  Are the savings worth the cost?

I believe in being flexible when times call for it, it is obvious that Wal-Mart has a consistent practice in place and feels it is entitled to disregard employment law as long as the profits are rolling in.

As times get tougher, employment best practices often take a back seat to expediency and employees are less likely to speak up or take any legal action.  This goes back to the “be lucky you have a job” management philosophy.  And if an employee doesn’t like the practice, he/she risks a job; possible denial of Unemployment if fired for cause or the first to be on the lay-off list.

If other companies start following Wal-Mart’s lead in fear-based employment practices, as employees we have lost a great deal of power; earning power, and personal power over our working life.  De-motivated employees do not seek additional responsibilities, or challenge themselves to do the best job possible.  They wait for the first opportunity to leave.

 

So, this holiday season, think of where you shop and what the company stands for.  We can regain some self-respect by following our own value systems and promoting companies that treat their employees as assets to the company. 

 

 

Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 2:   Networking

How are you using your network?
a.  People I know from my old job know I am looking - but I haven't talked to people outside of my current professional circle.
b.  I sent out a blanket email to everyone on my email list - but nobody responded.
c.  I am not sure where to start.  People know I am looking, but I don't know how to get the help I need from them.

If any of the statements above describe you, you may benefit from revisiting some of the basics of networking:

Be a giver:  The best networkers I know are amazing at providing value to the people they are connected to at every opportunity. Whether it is sharing an interesting article, a piece of new information, a new contact - they always collect and share what is of value to others. Give to your network and it will give back to you.

Ask for help:  Once you are connected and begin bringing value to your network, there is a strong chance those in your network will want to help you back.  Have a clear, short statement to share with people in your network (personally - not in a spam email) about what you do and what type of job/contact/help you are looking for.  Good examples are:

example 1.  I am a materials engineer and I am looking to make a contact with someone who works in the XYZ industry.
example 2.  I have worked at salons for 10 years and I am looking for small business owners to talk with about what I need to do to get started on my own.
example 3.  I have recently graduated with a liberal arts degree and I am looking for an entry level position with a growing company.

Act on help and follow-up:  The most important step of networking is to use help that is offered to you and thank the person who has provided it.  This means you need to reach out to the contacts you have been introduced to, read the information people have shared, or go to the events that people have told you about.  After you've received help or information, follow-up with your contact and send a sincere thank you.  Include specifics about what was most helpful to you.  If the help lands you a job or something of substantial value, a thoughtful gift or dinner might be a nice gesture too!  Gratitude is great to receive and makes it more likely that a person will help you again in the future.


My next blog post will uncover opportunities for improvement in Interviewing ...

Karen Austin is a Certified Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) and resume writer for Jobing Career Services.  For more information about Jobing Career Services or to get professional help writing a resume - email resumereview@jobing.com or visit our information page at www.jobing.com/careerservices.

In today’s business world, the climate has definitely changed.

Certainly, your organization has changed along with these economic times.

To stay current with this ever-changing world, you must ask questions such as:

How do you approach restructuring strategically so that your current workforce remains positive and productive and focuses on the future?

How do you promote trust with your customers?

How do you build a genuine and open environment in a climate of trust?

SDSU’s College of Extended Studies will help answer these questions – and others – during a "How to Rebuild Trust after Downsizing" training & development exchange Friday, December 11, 8:30-10:30 am , in the SDSU Extended Studies Center .

This workshop will help you create a strategy for (re-)building trust in your organization, as well as help you define important questions you must ask and steps you must take to ensure that employees and customers can have confidence in the organization and where it is headed.

 Key takeaways will include learning how trust is a strategic issue in an organization by:

Analyzing behaviors that impact the workplace and cause lack of trust

Learning how to establish a common language to address issues precipitated by downsizing

Identifying personal strategies and methods to increase trust in your organization

Evaluating how trust impacts customer reactions and ultimately results

Presenters include:

Cynthia Olmstead, the CEO of TrustWorks Group, Inc., who has more than 30 years of organizational development and training experience. She helped develop TrustWorks to assist leaders and teams by teaching them proactive ways to manage conflict, improve communications skills – and ultimately build a culture of trust.

Rose Avila, Ph.D., RMA Consulting, who has more than 20 years of experience and success in helping people become top performers and achieve quality results. Her clients work in all sizes of businesses in a cross section of industries, from start-ups to billion dollar corporations, as well as public and private companies and non-profits and municipalities.

For more information, call (619) 594-1138, email traindeve-CES@sdsu.edu or visit www.neverstoplearning.net/TD

It’s a great way to spend Friday morning!

Did you know that most colleges and universities will start the spring semester in January 2010?

For the past couple of months, I have been getting more and more inquires in how to get started in re-careering and re-educating. 

The re-educating question means going back to school.  So as I researched this question, the answer was basically that a lot of people didn’t even know -- that there were colleges located right in their own back yard.

In order to help my clients as well as possibly help you, I compiled a list of websites for our local colleges.  Please review these links and then review the questions at the end of this blog.

Hopefully you can use them to get started back in school.

CSU San Marcos = http://www.csusm.edu/

Cuyamaca College = http://www.cuyamaca.edu/

Grossmont College = http://www.grossmont.edu/

MiraCosta College = http://www.miracosta.edu/

Miramar College = http://www.sdmiramar.edu/

Palomar College http://www.palomar.edu/

San Diego City College = http://www.sdcity.edu/

San Diego Mesa College = http://www.sdmesa.sdccd.cc.ca.us/

Southwestern College = http://www.swccd.edu/

San Diego State = http://www.sdsu.edu/

University of San Diego (USD) =  http://www.sandiego.edu/

UC San Diego (UCSD) = http://www.ucsd.edu/

NOTE:  National University, Phoenix University, Alliant, and other Private College are on line as well.

Do you need or want to go back to school?  If your answer is yes to one of the following questions, then it’s time to get signed up.

I NEED COLLEGE FOR;

Re-Career

Re-Train

Finish my A/A Degree

Finish my B/A (or ) B/S Degree

Become better on the Computer

Take a fun class like Art, or Swimming

Get my Motorcycle License

Become a Notary

Become a School Teacher

Get my Masters Degree

If I can help you get started, please let me know!!! 

Coach Eddie 

Last week I created a post that discussed how to source job leads using TwitterJobSearch, locate targeted companies, and create a targeted company list. For this post I will discuss how you can locate job leads using TweetMyJobs and have your resume tweeted every 24 hours (if you choose to do so). Next week I will discuss how to determine if specific companies are on Twitter and to potentially view relevant tweets from company insiders.

Below I will discuss how to create an account on TweetMyJobs, subscribe to the desired job channels (by location and industry), and have openings automatically sent to your cell phone. I will discuss how you can also view these openings under the Job Listings link of TweetMyJobs.

1. Visit www.tweetmyjobs.com, click on Sign Up (if you are new to TweetMyJobs), fill out your profile, click on the link provided in the TweetMyJobs activation email (you’ll receive), and afterwards log in.

2. Click on the Enter your Twitter id/password in Account tab link (under Job Seeker Dashboard on the Home page), input your Twitter username and password, and click the Save button at the bottom of the page.

3. Select the Subscribe to Job Channels link or click the Job Channels link at the top center of the page, select the appropriate location (country, state, or city/state) in the left drop down box, select the appropriate job function (such as energy) in the right drop down box, click Filter list, and click on the green button (with the white plus sign) to subscribe to this channel.

Repeat this process to subscribe to more relevant job channels. Once you have established your channels, click the Job Listings link at the top center of the page, view the number of listings, and make any job channel adjustments. For example, I changed the location filter from Texas to Dallas, Texas to reduce the number of postings.

4. Select the Public Profile link at the top center of the page and create your profile by providing your contact information; links to your website, blog, LinkedIn profile, and/or other social media sites; profile title and objective; employment preferences; and text and MS Word resumes. If you do not want to receive text messages for relevant jobs, do not include your cell phone number in your profile.

If you choose to do so, you can tweet your resume every 24 hours by clicking on the blue Twitter icon located above your public profile under the Public Profile link. You can also submit it by clicking on the Home link, the Tweet or retweet your profile to the twittersphere link (under the Job Seeker Dashboard), and the Click Here to Send It!! link.

5. Click the Job Listings link at the top center of the page, click on a job posting of interest, and click on the Apply to this job button. Afterwards, you will be directed to the company’s website where you can apply. Also after clicking on a job posting, you can click the blue tweet button to view the original tweet and follow the individual who tweeted the job (by clicking on the individual’s twitter name and the follow button).

You can place these individuals in a dedicated list located under your main Twitter account or in the same targeted company list.

If you want to locate jobs on Twitter by a specific city or zip code, you can visit www.twitterjobcast.com. You can either locate all jobs or certain jobs in a specific zip code.

If you have not done so, I recommend you listen to Duncan Mathison’s “How to Conduct an Effective Holiday Job Search,” BTR Show. This show is excellent. Click here: http://tiny.cc/JedZR to listen.

SHRM Foundation has launched a new product, Recruiting and Attracting Talent. Hiring talented individuals is critical to an organization's success. This new SHRM Foundation report offers specific recommendations on developing an effective external recruiting program. This report is free and can be found at the SHRM website at www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products. The SHRM Foundation Effective Practice Guidelines series makes research findings easily accessible to HR practitioners. The reports provide practical, research-based guidelines for implementing effective HR practices in your organization.

Do you do candidate selection based on any type of testing?  Some common tests include computer skills testing for Word, Excel and Outlook.  The standard typing test to assess speed and accuracy is another popular one.  Even many organizations have moved into testing the skills that are specific to the job function (IE: Telephone skills, Customer Services Skills and physical machine operation.)  Not a bad idea since “The percentage of people who lie to potential employers is substantial, says Sunny Bates, CEO of New York-based executive recruitment firm Sunny Bates Associates. She estimates that 40% of all resumes aren’t altogether aboveboard.”

There is a potential problem for those companies using pre-employment testing…  and, as usual in any employment situation, the problem lies in the ability to be consistent.  Organizations must consistently deliver the candidate testing and consistently interpret the results. Sounds easy enough…  But, what happens when there has to be an exception.

Let’s look at an example.  As you will see the potential for EEOC claims in our example become much larger than just in the testing practices. You have sales and marketing department for which you need an Operations Manager.  The hiring Executive has told you they need the  following:

1. The ideal candidate will have an accounting background including a minimum of an associates degree.

2. The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years prior experience in an office environment including 4 years of management experience.

3. The ideal candidate will test at an Expert Level on Outlook, Word and Excel. (Yep, a certificate of proof is necessary.)

4. The ideal candidate will be able to type 60+ words per minute. (Yep, include the certificate for this too.)

Of course there are many other qualifications that the management is looking for the in the ideal candidate. But, for this example, we will stick to the four. You run the ad requesting resumes to be sent to you.  Because you live in So Cal and it is the end of 2009 your in-box is about instantly flooded. Hundreds and hundreds of resumes come in.  You shut down the ad  after 450 resumes- surely one will be your ideal candidate.

You begin filtering.  Ok, 275 did not include any/all certificates verifying skill levels as you required.  Those get tossed to the side.  You have 175 left.  You continue to filter…  Typing Certificate says 48 WPM, Excel level is Above Average, No prior management experience, no minimum associates degree.  Whew, after all the filtering you, you are down to 10 candidates.

Now, for our example our Senior Hiring Executive has been out there doing his own “candidate search” via his friends/colleagues network and found his own candidate that he likes.  (This example works the same if none of the 10 candidates end up being the “right” match and you go back to the other 440 for more to interview.)  Now the candidate he likes has the prior experience, but only 3 in management and does not have a degree.  And, because it is a hand selected candidate the hiring executive does not require this candidate to provide the testing results.  This Hiring Executive decrees this is the perfect candidate and moves them to the offer/orientation process.

Does this sound familiar? Despite your best candidate selection process and filtering… candidates still seem to make it in without ever having gone through you?

Here is the big problem that most do not think about in this process… because the selected candidate was not required to have the skills listed in the job posting… now, everyone that sent their resume for that job opening that did not have the qualifications should not have been considered as potential candidates.   So, if one of those candidates felt that they didn’t get the job because of their race, sex, etc… the can go to the EEOC.  And, while the EEOC does their investigation… they will uncover all of the resumes you have that were not considered and will identify them because they are in a protected class.  And, now your open position for $60,000 annually is costing you 450K to pay out for the 245 in the protected classes that were never considered for the position.

The potential is there for something as simple as a Typing Test and minimum words per minute.  You said you needed candidates to type 75 words per minute.  But the candidate you selected (perfect in every other way) only types 60 words per minute.  Now, you are open to possible discrimination charges because of all of those that type 60 words per minute that were not selected and just so happen to be in a protected class.

Coach you managers to understand that they need to protect the organization from EEOC claims… and that means when determining qualifications for the perfect candidate, they HAVE to stick to them.  It will be a hard discussion to have with your Senior VP that insists on hiring their nephew fresh out of college for that seasoned position… But, point out that you are saving the company hundreds of thousands and numerous headaches.  If they don’t believe you, simply point them to the EEOC website to read Headline after Headline of the extraordinary settlements paid by those organizations who go up against the EEOC for discrimination.

This past year, I have been on the front lines of our economic meltdown – assisting layoffs, holding career workshops, talking with the media and have been able to witness transformations within our society and within individuals.   It has been an incredibly challenging time for many people where their world has been turned upside down and they have truly have had to reinvent themselves in a new world where newspapers are dying, financial institutions are crumbling, and the new way is not completely clear yet.   

I feel that my role in this process has been to be the beacon of light and the calm in the storm, because I can see in each person I meet with whether that is helping them through a career transition from a layoff, financial bankruptcy, and even more common from a job that they hate to finding a job that they love – I see that each person is unique with incredible gifts and talents to offer to the world.  The key is to help to them reconnect or maybe for the first time connect with that and believe in themselves and go out in the world with a clear message of what they want to do and present that with energy, enthusiasm and confidence.   I have seen clients go from complete devastation to joy and fulfillment that in their breakdown of a layoff or whatever the condition may be – they have been able to really connect to their passion and purpose.  In fact, most people who come to me are no longer satisfied with just the grind, the paycheck – they want to figure out how they can take their true strengths and talents and translate that into how can they make the biggest impact in their community, the nation and sometimes the world.   

What I have seen from this process is a stronger sense of community and connections where people are really coming together to support each other and step outside themselves and think how can I do something bigger than themselves.   I feel a whole new sense of awareness of the incredible greatness within people – I have one client who took 2 years off to build an orphanage in South Africa and now has returned to the United States to use his leadership skills to make the biggest social impact that he is capable of, I see a 16 year old high school student who feels that no one should have to live in poverty and has founded a non-profit , I see galas sold out to support amazing social causes, I see incredible acts of kindness to support those in need.  

Can you imagine our quickly our economy recovery can happen if we can all tap into our passion, strengths and continue to support each other and search for ways that we can all make the greatest social impact.  What is your calling?  How will you change the world?  How can you take a breakdown in your life and turn it into a breakthrough?   

If you feel the need for support, please look into these resources below.

www.careerswithwings.com/view/resources.aspx

Marcy Morrison is a Career Strategist and owner of Careers With Wings(www.careerswithwings.com).  Marcy is passionate about helping others find their dream career via speaking engagements, media appearances, workshops/training, one-on-one sessions and her book "Finding Your Passion:  An Easy Guide to Your Dream Career”(www.myeasycareerguide.com).  “Finding Your Passion” is filled with inspirational stories of people living their passion along with practical, interactive tools of how to live your passion.  Sign up on Marcy’s website to receive information of how you can start living your passion through your career now (www.careerswithwings.com).  Marcy is equally dedicated to her vision of giving children and communities opportunities – or wings – to rise above poverty.  She serves on the advisory board of the Just Like My Child Foundation(www.justlikemychild.org) and donates 10 percent of her earnings to the organization.  Marcy received San Diego 's North County Philanthropy Association's Volunteer Award for her work.

As we approach the end of the year, naturally we begin to review the events of the year as well as think ahead to the upcoming year. I think that most of us would agree that 2009 has had its set of challenges. The economy has been tough!  Personally, when I launched my business full time in January, I had contracts set that would have made it my best year ever.  However, as you might be able to guess, that is not what occurred! 

 I experienced such challenges as contracts being cut and scheduled classes being cancelled (sometimes with only 24 to 48 hours notice!), resulting of course in reduced income.  Then in keeping with Murphy’s Law… “If anything can go wrong it will” the sump pump on my property went out and needed to be replaced, the dryer broke and had to be replaced, and then of course there was the skateboarding accident with my 10 year old, when she cracked her two front teeth! So needless to say this has been a tough year. It’s tough to keep to a planned budget when your income drops and your expenses increase!

My strategy for surviving these challenges has been to keep my eye on my main goal “to grow my business and provide value driven service” (this is driven in part by the desire to feed the children and keeping the lights on, in the roof over our head). I have managed to keep my sanity most of the time b y focusing on what’s most important.  In order to do that however, you must have done the work so you know what’s most important.  I have done much work on goal setting in my personal life, and as I launched my business full time, I did the work to develop a strategic plan so I would be crystal clear on my business priorities. 

 According to an article in the September 2009 Harvard Business Review, “How Strategy Shapes Structure” http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/09/how-strategy-shapes-structure/ar/1 we can apply the concepts of business strategy to many aspects of work and life, from job search to business development to family management. With a clear strategy, we can provide the much needed structure we need to survive challenging times.

I developed a Strategic Goal Setting Worksheet  as a tool to assist in the process.  I am a visual learner and like to see the “Big Picture” all on one page. In short, the process involves focusing on one overarching goal, such as “Grow my Business”, then defining three to five strategic goal categories, such as:

1) Product Development

2) Marketing Strategy

3) Administrative Management

4) Client Service

The next step is to identify specific action steps for each category and who is responsible for the actions.  The key to successful implementation is the discipline to keep your focus on the goal, complete the action steps and follow up to revisit so adjustments and changes can be made as necessary. You must truly believe in the power of your dreams and keep your vision clearly set on what is possible!

If you are interested in a copy of the Strategic Goal Setting Worksheet, just send me an email wlpg@cox.net  I will be happy to share it with you for free!

To Your Success!
 

This week I had the pleasure of attending the 2009 Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association Conference in Colorado Springs, CO. At the annual conference, outstanding employees in the hotel & lodging industry are recognized for exceptional service in their respective areas of expertise. If you’ve traveled in Colorado you’ve likely met some of these service providers. They are the people who go out of their way to make guests feel “at home” while on the road and include bellman, concierges, reception desk staff, chefs, etc.

The evening before the award dinner I heard about one particularly outstanding employee …. Ken Wall of Doubletree Grand Junction. If memory serves correctly, Ken has worked at the property for 19 years. In that time he has not missed a single day of work, has never been late and has not been the recipient of a single disciplinary action. Ken is a “getter done” guy who is committed to exceptional service and making life easier for others.

Here’s the challenge……and the story as I heard it from several sources…..I-70, the highway leading from Grand Junction to Denver/Colorado Springs was closed. If I-70 is impassable it would be really unsafe and unwise to attempt any other way down the mountain. It looked like Ken would miss the conference….and the presentation of his award for outstanding service.

The owner of the Doubletree Grand Junction property is in the Denver area and was already at the conference. When he heard about Ken’s predicament he immediately went into action. Ken arrived later that evening…….by plane. The property owner recognized the importance of going above and beyond for Ken.…..just as Ken had gone above and beyond for so many guests over the previous 19 years.

My reaction to this story as it was relayed to me….in a word: Goosebumps.

If you want your employees to go the extra mile for your customers…..go the extra mile for them.

Are you holding yourself to the same standard you expect of all employees?

May all your Endeavors be Insightful,

Nora A Burns, SPHR


p.s. Next time I’m in Grand Junction ….. I’ll be staying at the Doubletree. They have earned my business by displaying exceptional leadership.

 

Keywords are a central feature of our business day.  We use them to search our resume databases and to parse through the profiles and resumes posted on job boards and social networking sites.  The problem, of course, is that we pesky humans have a bad habit of using different words to express the same idea.  That variability in human expression makes it difficult to know which keywords will actually identify the best candidates for each of your openings. 

So, what should you do?  How can you select the right keywords when there are so many competing alternatives?  The answer, I think, is to create a keyword taxonomy—an annotated list of search terms—that is rich in the language of the top talent in the specific career fields for which you are recruiting.  Think of it as a “set of master keys in words” that can unlock the candidate databases you are probing. 

Creating such a tool is not particularly difficult.  Doing so, however, is a departure from the current practice in many organizations.  It involves temporarily stepping outside the press of individual, day-to-day assignments and taking a longer term view of how keywords can best serve your recruiting strategy.  Here’s what I mean. 

The rule of thumb in developing a list of keywords has usually been to rely on the information provided to us in a job description or requisition.  The problem with this approach, of course, is that those documents are typically formulated by hiring managers—one of the least articulate populations on the planet.  The terminology they provide, therefore, is necessary but insufficient to unlock the best talent in an ATS or job board database.  It is a part of the master keyword set, but not all of it. 

How can you fill in the gaps? 

I suggest you borrow a page from your colleagues in sales and marketing and form a focus group.  Such a group is only useful, however, if it is composed of the right participants.  You’re trying to uncover the language used by the best talent for your openings, so your focus group should be populated with the same kind of people.  And, you have a ready source of such individuals among your organization’s “A” level performers in the career fields for which you’re recruiting.  They, better than anyone else, know exactly which terms their peers will use to describe their qualifications. 

Top performers are usually very busy, however, so you may have a hard time breaking them free for such an exercise.  If that’s the case in your organization, you can also build your set of master keywords by conducting a similar survey with your new hires during their orientation.  This approach is clearly more challenging to implement, however, because you will have to base your selection of the group’s participants not on their demonstrated excellence at work, but on your judgment of how they are likely to perform once they are on-the-job. 

In either case, your focus group will yield the best results if its work is conducted in three steps.

• First, build your baseline.  Ask the participants to list all of the terms they would use to describe the qualifications required for an individual to be able to perform their job effectively.  These attributes can include specific skills, occupational and/or industry knowledge, prior work experience, personality and any other factors that would bear on their ability to contribute.  If the group has a hard time knowing where to begin, ask them to review one or more of the keyword references that are currently available.  These include Google’s Keyword Tool, which will suggest keywords based on previous Google searches; Wordtracker, an online research tool; and WEDDLE’s 3 volume set, Finding Needles in a Haystack, which lists over 25,000 keywords and keyword phrases, across 5400 job and position titles in 28 industries and professions.
• Second, restate the terms in order of their importance.  Ask the group to prioritize each of their terms according to its impact on an individual’s job performance.  While there may be some disagreement among the group about the placement of specific terms, encourage them to arrive at a consensus rank ordering of the overall list.
• Third, group the terms into search baskets.  The best way to probe a resume or profile database is to conduct your search in concentric circles of ever greater specificity.  This approach enables you to hone in on and eventually determine a reasonable slate of the most qualified prospects in a database.  Therefore, ask the group to break their list into the following categories: absolutely critical, very important, somewhat important and nice to have.

 

Those four baskets of search terms should then be added to the terms you derived from the hiring manager’s job description or requisition.  If those documents enable you to do so, assign each of those terms to one of the categories used in Step 3 above.  If not, the most politic course to assign them to the absolutely critical category.  The resulting integrated list of search terms is your set of master keywords.  

The above process is clearly labor and time intensive so think of it as an investment to develop an asset.  The product you create—your keyword taxonomy—is just such a resource.  It is a state-of-the-art search tool that can be used over and over again by the entire recruiting team.  No less important, that tool gives them a genuine competitive advantage because it will increase both their efficiency and their performance.  It should, therefore, be password protected and carefully monitored.  As with all assets, it will require updating from time-to-time, but the effort involved will be substantially less than of the original development. 

Keywords are typically viewed as one of the basic tools in our profession.  For better or worse, everybody uses them so it’s easy to assume they have little or no differentiating value.  When forged into a powerful asset, however, keywords can help an organization unlock talent other employers can’t reach.  That’s why no recruiting team should be without “a set of master keys in words.” 

Thanks for reading,

Peter

 

The positive growth turned in by the American economy in the third quarter of this year suggests that maybe, just maybe this Great Recession is now in our rear view mirror.  As it fades away, of course, the tales will begin about what we did during this terrible time.  While recounting those legends is surely important, so too is sharing the insights we’ve acquired from our experience. 

Cataclysmic events often alter our perceptions of the world around us.  That was true during the Great Depression, and it will be true as we emerge from this Great Recession, as well.  Some of these new views are opinions about what happened and why, but others are actually lessons that we’ve learned about how best to survive and prosper.  They’re the things we wish we had known before the event occurred because that knowledge would have undoubtedly enabled us to fare better than we did. 

I think the sharing of this wisdom is good for us—it’s cathartic to acknowledge that we’ve earned an advanced degree in the school of hard knocks—but it’s even more helpful for our kids and grandkids.  In a very real sense, we are giving them a gift, a roadmap for the future that may help them avoid the dead ends and dangerous potholes they are sure to encounter. 

Each of us has our own view of the lessons we should pass along.  For me, the following four insights are among the most important.  They are realizations everyone must have in order to chart a successful and fulfilling career in the 21^st Century world of work. 

Seeking job security makes you vulnerable.  In today’s turbulent economy, employers have no idea what will happen tomorrow or the day after.  They may promise you job security, but they can’t deliver it.  So, counting on it is likely to put you out for the count.  A far better objective is career security—the ability to stay employed in a job of your choosing regardless of the condition of any single employer or the economy as a whole.  Unlike job security, career security is a state you create for yourself.  You don’t have to rely on the good will of some employer.  You anticipate the changes in your career—the timing of a move from one boss or organization to another, the refocusing or reskilling that’s necessary to accommodate shifts in your industry or profession—and then you plan and execute those changes so they benefit you. 

Recognition is something you give yourself.  Most managers and supervisors mean well, but if you wait for them to recognize your accomplishments at work, you’re likely to be disappointed.  Some have the social skills of a brick and others are too worried about their own security to take care of yours.  That’s why it’s important for you to keep track of your own “career victories.”  Sure, it takes a little effort to maintain a contemporaneous record of what you’ve done and how well you’ve done it, but that account will give you more satisfaction than most managers ever will.  Don’t just write it out, however; also review it regularly.  Take the time to remember what you’ve done and pat yourself on the back when you deserve it or give yourself a little counseling if you’ve let yourself down. 

Working tirelessly is a sure way to get tired.  Sadly, many people in today’s world of work find themselves wired up with no place to go.  They’ve learned the hard way that staying continuously in contact with the office doesn’t protect you.  It exhausts you.  We’re all worried about the H1N1 flu becoming a pandemic, but workaholism already is.  If you have any doubt about that, look left and right the next time you’re lying on the beach.  Every other person will be glued to their Blackberry or iPhone checking their email.  The impact of such behavior on both individual performance and wellbeing is already acute and likely to get worse.  In a knowledge-based economy, your worth is measured not by your connectivity, but by your contribution.  And, your contribution suffers when you don’t give your mind and body a chance to rest. 

Taking care of your career is the best way to take care of you.  The conventional approach to career self-management has been to get an annual checkup and leave it at that.  Historically, we paid attention to our career just once each year—during our performance appraisal and salary review.  That approach was dangerous then; today, it’s a sure-fire way to induce career cardiac arrest or what most of us call unemployment.  The only safe course in a workplace as turbulent as the one we now have is to develop career fitness the same way you develop physical fitness.  You have to commit yourself to building up the strength, endurance and reach of your career every single day.  Yes, that’s a lot of work, but it’s also a smart investment.  You spend one-third or more of your day in your profession, craft or trade, and you deserve an experience during that time that is every bit as good as the rest of your life. 

We have acquired many insights from our experience over the past two years, but these four maxims are the key lessons we have learned.  They are the things we wish we had known so they are now the things we want others to know. 

Thanks for reading,

Peter

 

Over the next few weeks I will discuss how to use Twitter and Facebook during the job search. For this post, I will share how to source job leads, locate targeted companies, and create a targeted company list.

1. Visit www.twitterjobsearch.com, sign in to Twitter, and click on the Allow Access button (if this is your first time using TwitterJobSearch).

2. Next complete your TwitterJobSearch profile by providing contact details, your skills, and URLs to your LinkedIn and online resume. You can log in to LinkedIn and click on “View My Profile” to obtain your public profile URL (located above the Summary).

3. To source job leads, click on the Browse button in the upper right of the screen, and type your job function in the search field. For example, I typed “corporate strategy” and retrieved 3500+ results. You can also use the categories and subcategories located under Browse Jobs on TwitterJobSearch’s home page.

4. Next refine your search using the filters on the right of your screen which include: Date, Job Title, Country, City, Salary, Job Type, and so on. For example, I clicked on “United States” under the Country filter and then clicked on “Dallas” under the City filter.

5. After setting up your search, click on the Subscribe button (on the right of your screen above the filters) to automatically have relevant jobs sent to your RSS reader.

6. Next follow individuals of interest who tweeted jobs (by clicking on their twitter name and the follow button) to ultimately network and establish relationships with.

7. To follow targeted companies that are recruiting and posting jobs on Twitter, visit the two links below:

http://tweepml.org/Employers-Recruiting-on-Twitter/

http://tweepml.org/Top-10-Companies-Recruiting-on-Twitter/ 

Then deselect the companies you do not want to follow, click on the Sign in on Twitter button at the bottom of the screen, and click on the Allow Access button. In an upcoming post I will discuss how to determine if specific companies are on Twitter.

8. Next place your targeted companies in a list. To do so log in to your regular Twitter account, click on the Create a new list button in the upper left of your screen, type the name of this list, select the appropriate privacy setting, and click on the Create list button.

Click on your following icon to locate the individuals and companies you are following. For each of the targeted companies (you are following), click on the manage list icon under actions, and select the targeted company list (you just created).

Click on the Home button and under the Lists section on the right of your screen, click on your targeted company list, and you will only see the tweets from these companies.