Job Searching during the Holidays!

Author Dan Shaughnessy for www.employmematch.com.
Dan Shaughnessy is the owner and CEO of www.employmematch.com, an online job board that matches people to the best suited job openings based on their skills and preferences. EmployMeMatch is created by Resource Navigation, Inc, a Boston-based computer software company providing Payroll & HR solutions to a variety of companies.

Whether you are just starting your job search, are in the middle of it, or just considering a career switch, do not put it off until after the holidays. In fact the holidays might just give you the push you need.  If you want to hear it directly from a professional, “We look for the candidate that does everything possible to land a job and never takes time off to do so including the Holiday season” says  Jane Swansea, HR Director at Preferred Electrical. Here are certain things you should keep in mind with respect to continuing your job search during the break.

Companies continue hiring-

As a job seeker, you have an option to take a break and restart your job hunt process in the New Year. However, the HR managers don’t. If they have a post they have to fill, they will continue looking. Take advantage of this and make sure you apply and make use of the additional opportunities out there for you.

Keep up the momentum-

It’s the end of the year. People will slack off, and you will see much lesser competition for the position you covet. Depending on the agenda for the next year, companies have positions they need to fill irrespective of the number of applicants. So don’t slow down, this might be good way to get in the forefront for your dream job.

Make constructive use of your time-

Use your down-time wisely! Work on your skills, create samples of your work or put together a portfolio. Keeping all your work samples in one place will go a long way even if you just want to go back to it for inspiration. Research the industry or company you are interested in.

Network! Network! Network!

At this time of the year, there will be quite a few personal and professional events you will be invited to. Attend them and network! Never underestimate the power of networking. Go to these events, talk to people and let them know what it is you do and what you are looking for. People are more likely to remember when they have spoken to you personally.

Reach out-

The holidays are the perfect excuse to contact old and current colleagues. You never know who can help!

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

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How to Create a Job for Yourself

If you’ve been jobless for an extended period of time, maybe you ought to stop looking for the right job.

Instead, try looking for the right employer.

If you do, and contact them with the right message, employers may create a job just for you.

It happens all the time -- even in today’s economy.

Here are three case studies and takeaway lessons to illustrate …

1. Offer to help first and get hired later

While not every company wants to expand hiring these days, every company wants to increase revenues, save money and increase profits.

In other words, every company has problems to solve. And all jobs, in good economic times and bad, are ultimately created to solve problems.

The best employers -- the ones you want to work for -- are flexible and opportunistic enough to hire people who demonstrate that they can solve problems.

Michael Mingolelli, Jr., CEO of Pinnacle Financial Group, in Southborough, Mass., has twice created jobs to bring promising employees on board. “These people approached us with a good value proposition to help us continue to grow our practice, and we made positions for them.”

Both prospective employees first contacted Mingolelli by phone and demonstrated their knowledge of Pinnacle. “They were very attuned to what we do and the type of clients we have,” he says.

Your takeaway lesson: Answer these three questions before approaching any employer:

A. What are their problems?

Put differently, if you were the CEO, what would keep you up at night right now?

B. What are their opportunities?

If you were CEO and could wave a magic wand, what would you make happen? What are the industry leaders doing?

C. How could you help solve their problems and/or capitalize on their opportunities? Match your skills and achievements with your target employer’s needs. For example, if they need to save money and you’ve saved money, there’s a match. Quantify your results in dollars, numbers and/or percentages.

2. Prove you fit the employer's culture

When contacting employers, try to match your message to their corporate culture. Otherwise, you’ll never connect or fit in long term.

That’s the advice of Annie Huidekoper, VP of Community Partnerships and Customer Service for the St. Paul Saints Baseball Team, whose corporate slogan is, “Fun is Good.”

Fun may explain how the Saints’ Executive VP was hired for a role created for him, after he overnighted an introductory letter to owner Mike Veeck. What set this letter apart? “It was written with a Sharpie on a piece of frozen lutefisk,” says Huidekoper.

Trust me: Nothing says “fun” like lutefisk.

And lutefisk is 100% Minnesotan, like the Saints. A perfect fit.

Your takeaway lesson: Research an employer’s culture to know if you’re a fit. It’s as simple as picking up the phone. “Talk to people who have worked there and find out what’s important to that organization,” suggests Huidekoper.

3. Meet and get hired

The more meetings you have with company presidents and other executives, the greater your chances of impressing someone enough to create a job for you.

After interviewing an applicant for a job that didn’t fit his qualifications, Jordan Solomon, President of Ecostrat, Inc., in Toronto, was impressed enough to make a counter offer. “This young man was too good to pass up -- he was eager, showed all the right qualities and I thought he would be a success. So we created a position and gave him a two-week trial,” says Solomon.

How did it turn out? “He ended up working for us for about seven years.”

Your takeaway lesson: Lightning won’t strike if you’re sitting in front of a computer. Try sitting across from an employer.

What company presidents would you most like to work for? I suggest you make a list of 10-20. Then contact them with offers to meet and discuss how you could help, based on careful research.

Employers are always on the lookout for smart people who can solve problems and fit with their corporate culture. “I would give anyone like that a chance, and if they were good, I’d create a position for them,” says Solomon.

- Kevin Donlin

Kevin Donlin is author of "Guerrilla Resumes." To learn how people are getting hired for new jobs in 30 days or less, please visit: Guerrilla Job Search International.

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Recession Proof Your Career

Recession Proof Your Career

 

Lay offs, companies closing, 401K’s that look more like 201K’s…these are jittery times. If you aren’t wondering if your job security is at risk, you probably should be. But rather than spike your blood pressure, why not take some smart steps to recession-proof your career?

If you were around for the last few recession swales, you may be sharpening the survival skills you honed last time around. If this is new territory for you, these tips may help you sleep at night.

Step up your face-to-face and online networking.

Although you may think, “Why network before I need it?” I can count hundreds of examples of people who told me that they regretted not having an active network before they lost their jobs. Trying to pick up the pieces after they were on the street was emotionally and physically daunting. It’s much easier to establish a network while you have a job because people don’t see your motive as purely needing job hunting help.

There are plenty of obvious reasons to connect with people. Projects you are working on, personal interests, professional memberships are all logical reasons to get to know others who have ideas and insights. Afraid others won’t want to make time for you? Don’t be. The smart ones are doing exactly what you are doing.

Reach out beyond peers to former managers, classmates and neighbors to reacquaint yourself with people who know you and like you. Meeting for lunch and simply reaching out by phone is a time-tested way to establish the connections that can lead to opportunities later.

Searching the Internet in your areas of interest will yield many opportunities to connect with people you can start developing relationships with now—geography doesn’t matter. Even if they are in Singapore they may be able to lead you to someone you might need to know later. And if you do lose your job, the Internet can lead you to sites that offer jobs, opportunities to collaborate on short term gigs, job-hunting help and information on starting your own business.

Find ways to add value at work.

This is not the time to be whining about how busy you are and how unfair it is. It’s also not the time to be running for the door at 5 o’clock. The best way to have job security is to have work security. That means you add so much value to the work at hand that the company would choose you over someone else if tough decisions have to be made. And even if you are cut, you will get a glowing recommendation.

Most companies have abandoned seniority as the only factor when deciding who stays and who goes. Performance ranks first. If you add extra value by contributing beyond your job description and being a valued team player, you have a better chance to survive a cut.

If you are one of the first to be picked (or volunteer) for new initiatives and serve on cross-company committees that are working on recommendations for new processes and policies, you have even more work security insurance. Have you been asked to train others, be a go-to person, or assist your manager on his or her projects? Even better. If middle management takes a hit, you will be well positioned in a leader role.

Get your resume ready.

Why now, you ask? First of all because it makes you feel more in control. Second, because it prepares you in advance if an opportunity presents itself. Once you step up your networking you are bound to stumble across work opportunities online or at a cocktail party, whether you are looking for them or not.

Finally, redoing your resume is an eye-opening exercise. You may not have looked at your old resume for years—or maybe you don’t even have one. Doing a resume makes you take stock. It puts you in a position of reviewing where you’ve been and assessing where you want to go in the future. Even if you don’t use it, it will help you figure out where you could go next, rather than simply showing up for work everyday and hoping for the best.

In addition, if you do your resume right, you will highlight accomplishments. For each major job responsibility think, “What result can I point to that will show how well I performed in this area?” Use third-party quotes from customers and from your manager (look on your past performance reviews). Tell a little mini-story about how you approached and solved a challenging situation. Think proof—did I sell more, do more, and get asked to take on more responsibility? Did I cut expenses, reduce turn over, or minimize complaints? Talk about so many results a potential employer will drool. Play makers are in big demand any time but especially during tough times.

Even if the sky is falling don’t look up.

Project confidence and have a positive outlook—after all, you are prepared! If you wring your hands and spin yarns of imminent doom in the cafeteria, you will only be adding to the problem. Management will be looking for ways to keep up morale if your company’s clouds darken. It’s difficult for everyone why make it worse? Instead, take the opportunity to rise above and shine.

-Joan Lloyd

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