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Beware of the Word "Experience"

January 2nd, 2012 @ 09:01am

The word "experience" can hurt you during job search. I say this to candidates of all ages.

How so?

1. The word "experience" can get in the way of other, clearer words that are more specific to your successes.

2. People just don't "see" it any more. It's lost its punch, its meaning.

Saying "I have all this experience" means nothing to the listener, especially if that listener is a networking contact or an interviewer. You'll get polite nods, but little more. They'll be thinking, "So... what does she mean?" But they probably won't ask. You must be more specific from the start -- including on your resume.

So use other words that are more precise, and "sparkier", as I like to say. For example:

Before - "I have 14 years of experience in surface mount technology."

After - "Over several years, I've enjoyed solving surface mount technology project problems."

Before - "I have experience using social media."

After - "At my company, I established the use of Twitter which has led to a 140% increase in our webinar enrollment."

Before - "I have several years' experience in cost accounting."

After - "Within cost accounting practices at my current company, I've become known as someone who streamlines processes without losing accuracy."

Replacing the word "experience" is especially true for the older worker, who is apt to complain to others, "With all my experience, it's taking me a long time to land a new job". But what do you really mean by "experience"? Is it vital stuff or did you do the same thing over and over for all those years? It's painful to see people put the word "experience" out there like it's gold when it's not -- until you say HOW that impacted your organization. Do you now see -- through the examples above -- that changing "that word" to the REAL things you've done will help you break through that barrier? Give it a try.

The word "experience" by itself is just not enough today. Be more specific, and tie the successes you've had to the potential employer's job. That way, you'll be able to apply your actual experience to their problems -- in a new job there.

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Want to "spark up" your wording? Joanne is a published wordsmith as well as a career choice and job search coach. Contact her here.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Job Search, job search strategy, resumes, Social media, | 2 Comments »

Be Proactive Pete, Not Last-Minute Lucy

November 25th, 2011 @ 11:11am

A handful of times in the last couple of weeks, I've heard from people who have interviews they need to prepare for. Their interviews are in days, and the people asking for help are panicked. They say, "I haven't interviewed for 5 years", or 15 years, or "ever".

First, let me say it's great that candidates are getting more interviews. Maybe the slow-hiring logjam is shifting a bit more.

But back to those calls. Are these candidates thinking, "I'll get prepared only when I have to"? That just does not make sense. Or, "When I get an interview on my schedule, then I'll begin to think about it"? Again, I don't get it.

In one case, the deadline was so short I simply didn't have available time for the candidate.

These calls make me want to say, People! If you need to practice your interview skills, I'm happy to help -- but do it WAY BEFORE you really need it.

Why?

Whatever the reason for their delay, these anxious candidates are now up against a deadline. So they do not have time to get really ready by talking with people who work there, or connecting with those who know a lot about the company, or learning about the culture. They just don't have enough time to do this really important stuff before the interview. Which compounds their panic.

Instead, they are going to be rushing to learn or review the basics that they should have taken care of a long time ago, and then which would be easy to "brush up on" days before an interview.

So don't cheat yourself: do a prep session with someone now, before you "have to", and you'll be so much more competitive. And much more likely to get a second interview.

___________________

*My one-on-one Intensive Interview Prep is 1-1/2 to 2 hours, either in my office or via Skype. You'll be taped as you answer typical tough questions. We then play back the video and discuss it, and repeat parts as necessary. We also talk about interview dynamics, interview psychology and employer expectations, so that you know the finer points of the interview. Almost everyone who does "interview prep" with me tells me later that my practice session is way harder than the actual interview, so they felt more confident and came across as prepared. Contact me for fees and available times. I book at least one week out.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in career change, career shift, interviews, Job Search, job search strategy, Networking, Your time, | No Comments »

Rip Van Winkle Would Be Shocked

October 28th, 2011 @ 09:10pm

Today, I spoke with a woman who was referred to me, who has not held a corporate position since 1999. She was raising her daughters, then taking care of her aging parents. Now she wants to -- and needs to -- return to a salaried position.

Her career, until she left it, clustered into two areas.

Certainly re-entry is doable. Even with the 12-year gap, networking is key to her landing. But she has much work to do first.

So as I spoke with her, I found myself saying things like:

"Sure, you could return to either of your former fields, but as you may know, salaries have contracted...you may not get near the pay you once had." (Her answer: "Really?" Then silence.)

And --

"Technologies have changed a lot since 1999." (She knows only parts of Microsoft Office.)

And --

"Are you familiar with the current issues in your field(s)? The trends, what people are talking about?" (Her answer: no.)

I was afraid to go on, out of fear that my answers would discourage her from even trying to get a job.

I recommended several activities for her, including a variety of sites where she could learn about salary levels today. But I asked her to also talk with at least 8 people currently in her former fields. "Ask them about the field, the industry, what's happened over the last 12 years, what is the technology they use today, what are the salaries, and so on."

She needed to do this to get somewhat caught up, and to get an orientation to 2011, and 2012. So she agreed.

Today, even two or three years away from your career is huge. The speed of change keeps accelerating.

But 10 or 12 years away? I wondered if she felt like Rip Van Winkle, waking up to overwhelming change.

No books or even web sites can update you. People who've been in the field a while can. If you're aiming for a re-entry, they're the people to talk with first. Check local professional associations, for example, for local members you can have coffee with. Keep them as part of your network and when you're ready with your resume and other job search marketing, connect with them again.

If you can show them you've done some homework, they'll be willing to help.

______________________

Have gaps? Want to re-enter the W-2 world? Contact Joanne.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in career change, Career coaching, career shift, Change, | No Comments »

Conquer those Monday morning job search blues

September 25th, 2011 @ 10:09pm

Whether you're IN a job or between jobs, Monday mornings during job search can be tough.

You're in a job and can't wait to find a new one. So Monday mornings are a reminder you're still stuck where you are.

You could be a new grad who's overwhelmed and doesn't know where to start, and each Monday means you're wondering where to begin.

Or you're between jobs and Monday mornings remind you that there is no office to go to. Especially if you're a manager or executive, your energy has nowhere to land for the day. The sense of loss is profound and can be powerfully dispiriting.

This is Monday Morning Syndrome. Or the Monday Morning Job Search Blues.

How to beat the blues? Here are a few ideas.

- Get out of the house! Getting out of your house or apartment, and being at the library or local cafe, will reset your energy. Bring your laptop or tablet and make a list of target contacts for the next week or two, or do research on companies, for example.

- Schedule networking meetings for that time slot. Make good use of Monday morning; don't use it to start planning your week, something you should have done last week. You'll have that to look forward to instead of an empty, lonely morning.

- Meet with a job search "buddy" at a coffee shop, each with your own set of goals set from the week before. See how you each did with your own goals, and how you rewarded yourselves for meeting your goals.

- On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, send invitations to contacts to do networking meetings this week. As a client of mine, Jim, says, "The replies will come in on Monday, making your email that morning full of replies, and many will be 'yes'. It's great!"

- For those IN jobs who are always struggling with inadequate time for their search, working with a job search coach can keep you on track will give you a sense of "I'm doing something for myself and my search", instead of you having yet another week slip by.

What about YOUR ideas?

_______________________________

Shake the blues: talk with Joanne about how you can manage your search so that YOU are in charge, not your emotions. Contact her today at www.TheJobSearchQueen.com.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Career coaching, Change, Job Search, job search strategy, Networking, The job search roller coaster, Your time, | 2 Comments »

THE Biggest Mistake You Can Make on LinkedIn

September 6th, 2011 @ 09:09am

So often people ask me to "Take a look at my LinkedIn profile", and then request feedback.

I've done this so much now I can almost predict what I'll see, because so many people do the same thing:

- Their headline -- that line right after their name -- will have either their exact current title and company name, or it will say something like "in transition". (It should be your title. You may have been laid off, but they didn't take away your profession.)

- Their Summary will be a paltry 4-5 lines. (You have up to 2,000 characters, so use 'em. Just keep each section very short.)

- The Specialties section will have some keywords but will need more. (It's all about keywords. Content, not "pretty".)

- They will not use any of the apps LinkedIn offers, like your reading list courtesy of Amazon, or WordPress, or Twitter. (LinkedIn loves it when you use an app or two or more, and rewards you by finding you more readily in searches.)

- And jobs back to the 1980s will be listed, with lots of detail but too few accomplishments or keywords. (Just focus on the last 10 years. Too much has changed with your older jobs. Recruiters want to know what you've done lately.)

- The Interests section will be all personal. (Minimize the personal, accent work interests, so that you repeat keywords.)

- There will be a handful of groups, most of them "job search"-related. (Choose a majority of professional groups, with only a few job-search groups. This shows career orientation, not "I'm in job search.")

- And they'll have no recommendations and maybe 50 connections. (Shoot for at least 5 recommendations: That's what people want to read about you. Add connections: your network grows geometrically instead of "just" by, say, 10 or 25.)

In other words, too many are making the biggest mistake you can make on LinkedIn: not using it to its capacity.

And therefore, they are not being "seen" online.

Every day now, clients are landing interviews because they've been "found" on LinkedIn.

Make the changes suggested above, and you'll be on your way to getting noticed -- and interviewed -- as well.

LinkedIn is a great tool. Now use it to its maximum potential!

________________________________________

Having trouble doing your LinkedIn profile, especially the Summary? Not getting any hits on LinkedIn? Contact Joanne for help.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Job Search, LinkedIn, LinkedIn for job search, Networking, Social media in job search, | 1 Comment »

Don't Wait for the Job Postings Tidal Wave -- or You'll Miss Getting a Job

July 29th, 2011 @ 07:07pm

From time to time hiring warms up and candidates get hopeful that finally, things are "back to normal". People around them are landing, and they see more jobs posted. Finally, the tidal wave of openings is coming back! Or is it?

All indications are that just as 2008 changed the economy for the last 2-3 years, it will have changed it *permanently*.

And that means that job seekers will not see any big wave of openings like there used to be. Yes, there are rare exceptions in certain locations and certain markets. But generally speaking, there will be no big rising tide that will lift all job search boats automatically.

Think about why: Today, companies are much more savvy about finding candidates in other ways, mostly by depending on current employees to find them. They are also attracting future employees through social media and inbound marketing. Their own screening systems are getting more and more sophisticated.

Yes, this month I've seen more job postings AND more job landings in my contact world than since the end of 2008. But 95% of those who've landed -- yes, a full 95% of them -- have come through networking, not by answering job postings and waiting for a response.

And just this week, Delta Airlines announced a workforce reduction of 2,000...and Boston Scientific announced cuts of 1,400 jobs. Despite there being some more postings lately, the cuts continue, unfortunately. One step forward, one back.

Lesson? Those who are looking must network: It's how people are landing jobs. If they continue to wait instead at their computer for the mythical wave of openings, they'll likely miss getting a job anytime soon. I've seen executives make this mistake as much as individual contributors.

So there's good news: With networking, you have more control over your search than you've ever had before.

So take control. Don't wait for waves that aren't coming.

____________________________________

Stuck in your search and not sure how to break free? Contact Joanne Meehl.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Job Search, job search strategy, Networking, resumes, The job search roller coaster, Your time, | No Comments »

A Resume DON'T: Don't Do White on White Keywords

July 24th, 2011 @ 03:07pm

Last week I was doing a presentation for over 50 professionals in job search about keywords. Keywords in a resume, LinkedIn profile, during networking meetings, and so forth. These nouns, adjectives, and phrases are growing more and more important in this technological age when so many resumes and LinkedIn profiles are being checked for them.

The old "white on white" text trick came up. This was something that began around the dawn of the Internet job search, back in the mid-90s: Create paragraphs of keywords, then put that paragraph in a blank area of your resume, then turn them white. They become invisible.

Not any more. Today, those are highly visible. And they'll get you in trouble for hiding them.

Someone in the room was in a seminar last month where the "expert speaker" TOLD people to do this in their resumes. What that speaker did not know is something that's pretty well documented for at least a year, in publications like the Wall Street Journal and technical blogs: that these "white" words CAN be seen by today's screening software programs. And they say if you do this, your resume (meaning, you) will be thrown out as dishonest and lazy.

That's not what you want, is it?

And given how important they are, why HIDE them? They should be visible to the human eye as well as to the digital one, and they should be woven into your bulleted items and summaries, not just plunked in with no thought.

Now that I've heard this yet again, it launches me on a personal mission to inform those who are telling you in job search to do this "trick", that they are spreading damaging advice. This advice is dangerous, so those teaching it have to learn they should stop.

So please send the link to this article to that person, as a favor to them and to those they speak to each week. You'll prevent a lot of damage to unsuspecting job search candidates.

Or alert me (either reply here or use the Contact form on my site) to those career counselors or others who have told you this, along with a way of contacting them. I will gently contact them and tell them what I've written above.

Thanks!

______________________________________

Not sure what keywords are best for you? Or where to put them or how to use them? Contact Joanne for help.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Job Search, job search strategy, resumes, Uncategorized, | No Comments »

Do Hours = Effectiveness?

June 17th, 2011 @ 09:06pm

This week I saw a job hunt group email discussion about the best amount of time to spend on a search each week.

One person wrote this:

"I might spend 2 hours on a busy day. Most of that checking job boards/emails. I haven't had much traction with informal interviews or researching target companies."

He was joking, right? Unfortunately, no. His search will last a long, long time because in this still-volatile job market, it's ineffective. Here, ineffective means too one-dimensional, too brief, too PC-dependent.

Another person responded that she uses 50 hours a week to search, and listed a wide variety of activities, much better than the one-dimensional search of the first respondent. She listed networking groups for those between jobs and many online activities, and "some" networking. That's getting there, but those are way too many hours and can lead to burnout. If she shifts many of the online hours to in-person networking with employed people in his field, she'll be exposed to far more possibilities than she is now.

My answer is to do 25 effective hours a week. "Effective" means having a variety of approaches that are more heavily weighted toward being with live people than on the computer.

Why? Because it's what's working. Since 2009, when hiring began again after a devastating 2008, right through to this week, the people I'm seeing landing great, new jobs, are doing it by connecting with other people, live.

What does your search look like?

_____________________________________________________

Need to know better how to connect with those who can help you in your search? Then go here.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Job Search, job search strategy, Networking, resumes, The job search roller coaster, | No Comments »

Cheating the Heartless Job Search

June 16th, 2011 @ 04:06pm

I have fantastic helpers at Face2Face, my Minneapolis-based job search networking group for the public. These helpers do a majority of the setup, the take-down, and even keep their ears open for feedback I don't hear, not to mention offering some great ideas that we've put into place. And the helpers are in job search themselves.

One of these is Kathy, who earlier this week lost her golden retriever to cancer. This, on top of the fact that Kathy's mother is ill and Kathy traveled to take time out of her job search to care for her. And between Kathy's gigs doing contract work, she is in job search. Today I could see that she was preoccupied and trying her best to be the usually cheerful greeter that she always is. I could tell it was tough.

The networking cluster part of our program began so I took over at the registration table so that Kathy could participate. It was then that a client and member of the group, Carol, came in, late from another meeting. She looked harried. "I guess I'm preoccupied with the news that we just learned that our golden retriever has cancer and has only 2-3 months to live. We are devastated." I was stunned by the similarity to Kathy's situation so I told her about it. "You may want to talk with one another", I offered, and she said she would, gladly.

Job search is an unforgiving time and it seems that only bad things happen. Another group member had his bank account hacked and had to notify every vendor and every account of his new account number, etc. Some payments then bounced, causing more aggravation. This took him about three days, full-time, to straighten out, time that would be far better spent on his job search.

Then there are the new tires you have to get, or the house A/C system quits, or a storm takes off your roof and your insurance deductible is so big that a repair decimates your savings. It always seems to happen only during your job search, adding insult to injury.

But if the job search were a person, s/he would say, "So? You want me to put life on hold for you? I don't think so."

You can't put everything on hold, so you forge on, taking all the interviews you can, despite your heart aching about your dog and will you be there if she dies today, or wondering how you're going to pay for those tires, and is your child's fever getting so high that you'll need to take her to the doctor. Smile, shake hands, make it happen.

The job search is heartless that way. It's very "me first". It is a demanding master: Let up for a week on your networking, and you'll have two to three weeks of other numbers lower than they need to be. Become preoccupied with your sick mother or dying dog, and your interviews suffer. So you force yourself to buck up. Because unless you take care of your search, you'll have an even longer one.

I told Kathy about Carol and the two met, hugging instead of shaking hands. For the next several minutes, they were inseparable, helping each other get through a tough time.

Later, Carol told me "I have to believe I was meant to have this time off to be with my sweet dog...".

So sometimes you can cheat the heartless job search out of its cruelty. Meaning, it can bring together people in positive ways you don't count on, helping one another in ways you never expected. It's like the storm that wrecks part of a city, but which prompts the outpouring of volunteers: You see how the goodness of people can overcome anything.

Even a cruel job search.

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Job Search, Networking, The job search roller coaster, | No Comments »

Are You A Job Search Dabbler?

June 3rd, 2011 @ 04:06pm

The caller wanted to know about my next networking group meeting. It draws about 50 people each meeting. He said, "I heard about it and think I should go. I have been looking for a job since I was laid off a year ago. My unemployment will run out in two weeks, so I figured I should step it up a little."

"Step it up a little"?!

Out of work for a year and about to run out of unemployment and NOW he thinks, "I'd better step it up a little"?

This is not someone who has been shielded in some way from the reality of the job market. Yet he says something like this. I quickly directed him to the group's web site for more information because I really wanted to say, "WHERE have you been?!"

This is the kind of person who will end up being interviewed by a news show reporting on long job searches. He will say "I"ve tried everything, I even applied at Home Depot, and nothing. It's really tough out there."

Yes it's tough out there. But there are people who are making it tougher for themselves with dabbler behavior like this. They hear from everyone how you have to network, but they ignore the advice. For a year. They hear about free job search workshops and webinars, but they ignore them, thinking that sitting at their computer is what works or having "recruiters work for me" will work. Maybe denial has kept them from hearing and doing what they really need to do.

The more effective job search activity you do -- and the earlier you do this effective activity in your search -- the shorter the search. That is a truism I've consistently seen for more than 20 years, and especially true since the end of 2008, when the bottom fell out of everything.

In fact, your activity level should be so intense that 1) you need to keep a database of all your contacts because you are making new ones every day, 2) you need a calendar that lets you detail your back-to-back activities, and 3) it will feel like a vacation when you start your new job!

Anything less is dabbling in a job search. Dabbling means a few intense days this week, a couple next week, none the week after, several the week after that. On, off, yes, no. Sometimes this candidate is "busy" with worthwhile activities not related to search, but still thinks he's in job search. He will be looking for months and months longer, complaining that no one wants him, or that they all think he's too old, and so on.

Contrast that with the candidate who does 8-10 networking meetings a week making the connections that reveal the so-called hidden market to her. She unearths opportunities not found on any job board, opportunities that are much closer to her own career goals. She's doing an effective 25 or more hours a week of search. And when she lands, it's not due to luck. It's due to her making her luck.

So don't be a job search dabbler if you want your search to end quickly. Ask yourself each day: What can I do today that will get me closer to my new job?

Then do it.

____________________________________

Having trouble organizing your job search activity and making yours an effective search? Contact Joanne for help.

 

 

 

Posted by Joanne Meehl | in Job Search, job search strategy, Networking, | No Comments »