When things are crazy-busy and I am trying to fit one more thing on my plate, or when I want to forge ahead with something new but am not sure how, I sometimes think of the story of The Shoe Maker’s Elves. The magical elves would come in during the night and make beautiful shoes and take care of all of the old man’s work.

When I’m that busy I would welcome their visit. But unfortunately elves will not be coming into my home at night to finish my chores either will a personal assistant just show up wanting to take care of the grocery shopping, laundry or cleaning. If I want my house and personal life to run smoothly and be something I enjoy, I have to do the work myself. I can’t wait for the elves, I have to make things happen and be responsible for my happiness.

The same is true in my professional life, and yours. If you want to move your career to a new direction or a new level, it is up to you. The wonderful thing is that you are able to choose any career that aligns with your interests and passion, but again it is up to you to prepare and act in order to make it happen. Preparing can come through completing education or training, building a large and helpful network, or working smart to grow your work experience.

In growing and looking for the next great opportunity, whether it is a promotion or a new position with a new company, it is your decision and action that will to find you the job of your dreams. You deserve the very best and a job that fits your skills, competencies, experience and passion. Make that passion a driving force in your job search will help to keep you motivated.

You can hire a career coach to help you understand where you really want to focus your search. Or invest in a resume writer to create powerful marketing tools (ie., resume, cover letter, reference sheets, LinkedIn profiles, biographies) but to get noticed, meet the right contacts, and use creativity to stand out – that’s all you !!

Professional contacts, friends, colleagues, and family are always willing to listen, provide support and lend a hand but again, the work must come from you. Do you hear a recurring theme? I think by now I’ve stressed the “it’s up to you” point enough to make you sit up and listen. I do this because so many job seekers only take their search to a low-reaching level. They accept whatever comes along and don’t take the initiative to reach for their dreams and then they are never truly happy with where they end up. It is scary, nerve-wracking, time consuming and sometimes takes thick skin but you won’t regret it.

I’ve never had a client come back to me and say that the hard work and pay off of a rewarding job wasn’t worth it.

Don’t wait for The Shoe Maker’s Elves or settle; the rewards of pursuing your professional dreams are priceless. The job search is always full of lessons, new industry or field knowledge, and is a great way to meet new contacts. Hard work helps you appreciate the outcome, making it very rewarding. Finding a job that is fulfilling and that you are passionate about (or at least truly enjoy) will make getting up every morning and your life – a joy!

My new client Sandy called me recently with a question about knowing whether her skills can be used for a position in a different field. She feels it would be a good move for her and loves the idea of the new position, but has no idea if the move is possible and if it will offer a similar (or higher) salary and benefits to what she currently is receiving.

Sandy’s question was, “How can I know that I can make the change successfully?” Unfortunately there are no guarantees with any career change or in life in general. But I told her that she can prepare through research, to eliminate as many roadblocks as possible; which will give her a clearer understanding if the move is right for her.

I suggested to Sandy that she start with research to see what was needed for her new targeted career choice in order to find out if she currently meets the requirements of the job. This will be her first hurdle. If Sandy meets the requirements, great! If she doesn’t, what will it take to get there and will she want to make the commitment to meet these requirements? All things she’ll have to answer before moving forward.

Next step is to research the position and see if the salary will meet her expectations and what benefits are usually offered. If the salary is within Sandy’s range, she can move forward and develop a targeted resume to focus on the desired position. With continued research she can begin making tactical connections within the industry to find out more about the industry, prospective companies and to build a network that will benefit her career goals.

LinkedIn and its’ related groups are a great first step, joining associations and local affiliations within the industry will help too. The more Sandy becomes part of the niche community the more she will be able to build relationships and zero in on companies that will provide the job she is looking for.

This process can and should begin before Sandy leaves her current job. The preparation may take only weeks or it could take months or longer. Learning all she can about the position, industry, and building a related network will greatly help to make a smooth transition when the time is right.

Making the decision to change careers is definitely a stressful process. Changes are made for many different reasons; job dissatisfaction, economy fluctuations, income, and lack of advancement are all incentives to make career changes. Once the decision has been made, measures should be taken to make the transition a smooth, lucrative and rewarding experience. Below are five points to consider before ever leaving your current job. Proper assessment of each point will help you facilitate an enjoyable transition.

THOROUGH CAREER CHANGE EVALUATION – Search inward and outward to find the reasons for the desire to change careers. Some decisions are made easily and for very practical and clear reasons. Those still unsure should search to understand why they want to change careers. What are they trying to leave behind and what are they looking for? Are you looking for changes in your industry, field, position or all three?

Determine if this new career choice is the right job and fit for you before you give notice? Have you looked into requirements for the position, the growth potential, or what skills you will be regularly using? Have you anticipated how the career change will affect your family and personal life? Realistic understanding of your new career will help to ensure satisfaction of the job once you have obtained it. After evaluating your options and deciding that a career change is the right decision – you can be confident in moving forward and giving full attention to your new career search.

DOCUMENTATION PREPARATION – Before giving notice and jumping into your new career, get all your ducks in a row. This includes all career documents beginning with your resume, cover letter, thank you letter and reference list. Your new documents should showcase your transferable skills relevant to your new career choice. Your cover letter should also include transferable skills and provide examples of how you can contribute to a new company. All documents should emphasize the skills and accomplishments applicable to your new career.

References can be a deal maker or breaker and are something valuable to invest time in. Always ask permission before including anyone on your reference sheet. Provide an outline if possible for what should and should not be included in the reference. Groom your contacts by providing skill sets, accomplishments and examples that would be appropriate affirmations for the desired position.

PRACTICAL PLANNING – What will it take to be successful in your new career? It is crucial you are aware and prepared for what is expected of you. Do you need to become certified in something, complete a degree, or pursue a masters program? Talk with others in the position and build your network in your new field. Find out the pitfalls to be aware of and discover the best ways to get noticed and ahead.

DEVELOP A STRATEGY FOR YOUR JOB SEARCH – A career change within the same industry can be used to your advantage. You already have an in-depth understanding of the industry and this can be an added value highlighted on your resume, cover letter and during interviews. Existing contacts within the industry can and should be relied upon for networking. The majority of jobs found (some say as high as 80%) involve some form of networking. Networking within the same industry may be a bit tricky if you don’t want your current employer to know you are searching for a new position.

Careers sought outside of your current industry will take a little more work for network development, however joining associations, utilizing LinkedIn and other online networking sites can help. Having a flexible time frame is optimal because you would then be able to select the best fitting job instead of feeling pressure to take the first job that meets most of your requirements.

DON’T BURN BRIDGES WHEN LEAVING YOUR CURRENT JOB – Make every attempt to leave your current position on a positive note. A helpful reference will be much easier to acquire from a boss, department head or coworker that enjoyed working with you and respected your work. Depending on your new career you may easily be back in contact with your old employer or former company. You may even be able to find contacts for your new career through someone at your current employment.

With a new season of The Apprentice beginning, we will once again be hearing and joking about the now house-hold phrase, “You’re Fired”. But for those in the real world that have to pick up the pieces and carry on after being fired, the phrase is far from common. Just like a personal breakup, professional relationships can end on good and bad terms. As the employee, the outcome will stay with you and affect your career, so it is important to handle any professional breakup, regardless of who initiated it, with professionalism.

It is understandable that emotions come into the breakup equation, but if you were fired from your job it is critical to assess how this will impact your career and then immediately begin implementing damage control to salvage what you can of the relationship and your reputation.

Clients often ask me about the best way to proceed after being fired. My suggestions usually depend on the situation but dusting off the old and preparing for the new is usually my best advice.

You can begin by seeing if you can get a positive reference from someone above you at the place you were let go. If you are not able to generate an effective letter or contact name it might be worth a small investment to contact a reference checking company such as www.alllisontaylor.com which will inquire about your services at your previous employers to see what they’re recommendation will be. It can save you in sleepless nights and the uncertainty of not knowing what they will be saying about you.

As you prepare for your job search make sure your online presence has a consistent message and relates directly to your resume and your current goals. Take time to make the necessary changes to your online and offline materials to ensure a strong branded message. Develop a motivated plan for your search  including  narrowing down the industries, companies, and location you will focus your search on and ramping up your networking.

Assume you will have to discuss the reason you were let go from your previous job. Spend some time either writing or talking with someone to get out your feelings, fears, frustrations and even anger regarding your departure. Once you’ve got it all out you can organize an honest yet positive response that isn’t dripping in spite or excuses. You want an answer that does not bog down the interviewer with details or emotions, but does leave them seeing the positive nuggets that came from the breakup which you learned about yourself. Share with them that what you learned about yourself will be valuable to your next employer.

As you look for your next job make sure the position and the company are the right fit for you. Do your due diligence to confirm that the company, culture and employees align with your personality and goals. Use your networking savvy to find contacts that can provide rave reviews and hand deliver you to your next opportunity.

Math was never my best subject but I did enjoy parts of it. I remember always enjoying the process of factoring whole numbers down to prime factors in order to find common denominators for fraction problems (weird I know, but true). I am often reminded of the factoring process when working with professionals in the throngs of a career change. As we sort through their transition, we work to uncover common denominators that highlight their new career criteria.

Guidelines for developing the common denominators are the new job descriptions and announcements for the type of position the professional is looking to transition into. We look for skills, achievements and experiences to demonstrate these smaller fractions in a way that will peak interest in the hiring manager. Our goal is to combine the fractions to create a whole number or in a job search would equal a dynamite resume and career search strategy.

A resume developed to lead a career-change job search must bring all of the fraction fragments together seamlessly in the form of a targeted, concise resume.

Any professional contemplating a career change can determine whether they have the actual requirements for the position the same way. Using job descriptions for the type of position you are interested in, review each past position in your career history and extract all nuggets that fit your current focus.

So, identify your focus, use job descriptions to determine what to leave in and highlight and what to leave out. Build and polish your resume so that it can brilliantly stand alone as a whole number and get you the interviews you deserve.

Shine on Job Seekers!

Most of my clients are experienced professionals in their 40’s or 50’s and come to me in the throngs of a failed job search. Usually their career has progressed easily through internal promotions or word of mouth referrals. Now faced with a struggling economy and a new job search arena, they feel unsure and even fearful of the challenge before them.

Suddenly they are 6 years old again and afraid to step off their bed for fear something is waiting underneath. Too afraid to look, they sit on their bed waiting for their mom to appear, then begs her to check for a safe path.

As adults, the wait for someone to come and hold your hand, help you look under the bed, and calm your fears might be a long one. There is help of course, in the form of certified career coaches and resume writers that are qualified to help with the process. We come with a flashlight and often a hug to light the way and rebuild confidence.

For those job seekers that want to overcome their fears themselves and succeed in a 21^st century job search, the most important tip I can offer is to get educated. Things don’t seem as scary when you know how something works, what to expect and which strategies to use to succeed. Doing nothing only makes the fears grow and immobilizes you even longer. If you are like most job seekers, you really can’t afford to allow the fear of the unknown to threaten you and often your family’s wellbeing and safety for too long.

“…the only thing to Fear is Fear itself.” ~ FDR

It isn’t finding a job that is fearful, it is not knowing how to find a job and not knowing where to look that holds people back. So how do you educate yourself? You start small. While you are beginning your job search make sure to read blogs, articles and books on successful job search strategies – it will save a lot of pain and suffering!

While you are educating yourself, realize what type of job you are looking for and begin researching companies that support that kind of a position. Research 5 – 10 companies to find out their current needs, goals, culture and whether it is a company you would like to work for. If none seem to fit find, 5 -10 more and do it again. When you have located several companies that do seem to fit, have your resume written to specifically answer and solve the problems of those companies, targeting their needs using your career history to back up your abilities.

You can find these companies and contacts using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other online networking communities. Or you can work offline using the phone, knocking on doors and communicating face-to-face. I think a combination of the two works best. Finding contacts that can refer you directly to the hiring manager will put your resume on the top of the pile – every time!

If you are uncomfortable with communicating or networking with new contacts researching the contacts will help you feel more comfortable and give you specific content to use as ice breaker conversation. Find a few contacts for each company you have researched. Find out something you have in common such as, did you attend the same college, work at the same company, know mutual friends, or have similar outside interests; pets, sports, or volunteer activities? Even just by knowing their history will help to generate interesting conversation.

Doing your homework, having questions prepared and knowing the background of your potential targets will help you gently engage these new contacts. Your preparation can open doors to new connections, friendships and referrals. Remember to say and write thank you letters to your contacts and ask if you can reciprocate the assistance in some way.

The more you know the easier it will be to take that leap of faith, trust your preparation and look under the bed. You might be surprised to find a new job hiding under there!

5 Tips to Make the Most of Your Meandering Work History

Each individual is different of course, but those with a history of job hopping might find resistance by hiring managers looking for candidates that will remain loyal to their company as the economy works to recover.

I recently encountered such a client who was concerned with his resume and interview options because of the wide range of jobs he has had over the past 15 years.  We discussed strategies and decided that it would be best if we identified the skills and requirements of his current job search and focused the resume on those criteria.

Passionate about the career and direction he has chosen, he wanted to do what ever he could to make sure this issue was addressed in the best way possible.

Five quick tips I offered include:

1. Determine the crucial transferable skills, experience, and requirements of the current career focus. Investigate what education, certification, skills, experience and other requirements are expected when pursuing the chosen position. Research targeted companies to uncover the culture, values and expectations of the company for further use in your resume. Check out the job descriptions on a few job boards to get the full understanding of what will be expected in that role.
2. Build your resume with the new career focus in mind. Determine which transferable skills and experiences to mine from each past position. Showcase these skills in the resume by knowing what the reader is looking for and boldly providing examples of the sought skills.
3. Show commonalities between jobs to increase the look of a strategically planned background. If you are seeking a position in an industry you have worked in before, make sure to show the total number of years in the industry to give your experience more credibility. Also, highlight the repeat use of transferable skills in your past positions such as customer service, IT, leadership, training, or management.
4. Prepare a few answers ahead of time for interview questions pertaining to your work history. First and foremost, always be honest. Be sure to communicate to the interviewer that the strength of the skills and achievements you developed has led you to your ability to succeed at the targeted position. Convey your passion, interest and excitement for a chance to work with their company or in the particular position.
5. Use those past positions to regain contacts, make new connections and build your network. A varied history can actually have an advantage over someone who has been in the same industry for 20+ years with like minded professionals. Use the diversity of your background to expand your networks and opportunities into areas that might have normally seemed too remote.

For my client and other job hoppers to succeed, use your vast experience to address the needs and expectations of the targeted position or company by building your resume to showcase your value toward those needs. What can you offer that will help them or fill a need? Promote that value and you will get noticed regardless of your job hopping past.

Job seekers looking for information, experts and direction, will definitely find it at this week’s blog review. I am excited to share with you CareerRocketeer.com, a new site that offers top-quality career search, career development and personal branding information.

Many of you have already heard of it due to its rapid growth and escalating reputation. I first became aware of the CareerRocketeer LinkedIn group last fall and was immediately impressed with the membership, discussions and information being shared. Its following grew quickly and soon the LinkedIn group beckoned for a site of its’ own. This past May, the CareerRocketeer blog was launched as a broader platform for the LinkedIn group.

CareerRocketeer.com is the idea of Chris Perry, an MBA graduate from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary and a career search and personal branding expert. Both the LinkedIn group and the CareerRocketeer blog have seen tremendous growth with more than 3,000 members in the LinkedIn group and more than 15,000 unique monthly visitors to the CareerRocketeer site.

The blog has several unique features it offers job seekers. First, it has daily expert contributors from a variety of career areas including resume writing, networking, social media, career coaching and personal branding. These guest experts including Harry Urschel (@eExecutive) and Anne Marie Cross (@annemarie), contribute weekly to the blog offering fresh articles, information and advice to job seekers. Along with the team of contributors, the blog also has many guest contributors offering insight through articles on many different career related topics.

The Profession Confession section of the blog reveals an inside look at career industry professions.  I was honored earlier this summer to be the first to contribute to this interesting page. Experts from different fields within the career industry answer a set of questions about their industry, their personal branding efforts dedicated to building their expertise, and a little personal insight into each expert.

With the enormous success of this blog, many new features are in the works. Two I can share are The Global Directory of Career Websites which will be very extensive and free to job seekers, allowing you to search for professionals by industry and service area. The other awesome feature is the Fair Frog which will calendar upcoming career fairs nationally.

I highly recommend CareerRocketeer for job seekers on the move that want to keep informed and learn from the experts. Whether you’re working, laid off, changing careers or just getting started, this site should be your first stop and with such current content, should be visited often.

Thursday’s Review

Finished a great book a few days ago and wanted to share it with you. It is an inspiring book written by an ex-corporate junkie that found and fell in love with being an entrepreneur. In her new book Escape from Cubicle Nation, Pam Slim has given readers an easy read that is packed with real, practical content.

Pam Slim provides an awareness for the reader of what to expect emotionally and steps to take as they plan their departure from corporate stress and trappings toward independence and the freedom to begin their own business. This book really highlights the stress and feelings felt at each step and how to practically deal with them as they arise with dozens of examples, including many personal ones to cement the understanding. There are also many resources to help get you through each stage.

For the entrepreneur, Escape from Cubicle Nation also focuses on the vital importance of life balance and keeping happiness and personal life at the forefront of each decision. If you don’t have a balance you won’t be truly happy with your decisions – know matter what they are. But, she doesn’t hold back on the effort that will be involved with the decision, it isn’t one that should be made hastily.

The book provides great ideas to help you determine your own unique direction and passion and then walks through the business side of building a business plan, website, marketing strategies and more. Having gone through many of the stages and steps in the book as a business owner myself, I love that she prepares the reader for things they wouldn’t even know about until they were hit broadside with it during their own transformation.

If you are in the process or even just dreaming of taking the leap to owning your own business, I strongly recommend reading Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pam Slim. This book gives a real look at the process, pitfalls and paradise found in owning your own business.

Saturday Evening Reposted

By Kris Plantrich, CCMC, CPRW, CEIP – Originally written for and reposted from CareerRocketeer.

In order to get the most out of your job search, it is important to develop a specific plan and use it to guide you through your career search. Developing a plan will ensure your search is targeted to a specific position; it will keep you on course and therefore will be more effective.

Decide on a precise target and keep it in mind during your resume development, job search and during the interviewing stage – become immersed in the process giving it 110% of your attention. A few tips on how to get started include:

Establish Clear Career Goals – Decide on the parameters of your job search. This can actually take some time for those changing careers, or returning to or just entering the workforce but well worth the time. Behavioral and professional assessments, research and even career coaching are often helpful tools to determine your career calling.

Once you know what you are really interested in, the industry, location, and type of company; you are ready to move forward. Be honest in this step because the rest of your search depends on it and the surer you are about your target the better fitting job you will find.

Develop Targeted Resume and other Career Documents – When developing your resume and writing the summary, work experience and achievements in the resume; focus every sentence on the needs of the employer. Include all keywords, skills, and experience requirements that are asked for in the job description.

Eliminate information that has no bearing on your current goals, it just takes up space. Keep the focus consistent in all of your career documents, particularly when developing your achievements. Tell not only what you accomplished, but how and the results of the achievements for the biggest impact.

Recruiters, HR professional and hiring managers are inundated with resumes and the only way you are going to get noticed is if your resume stands out. Let your value shine throughout your resume and cover letter by keeping it focused.

Launch an Intense Job Search – Consistency is key to your successful job search so focus on the industry, field, location and even companies you outlined earlier in your career goals. Find ways to bypass the main forms of introduction to a company. It is estimated that up to 70% of jobs are hidden – so get creative!

Find contacts through Linked In, FaceBook, Twitter, Plaxo, forums, groups, or any other online social networking tools. Google each company you target and read all you can about what they are doing and where they need help. If you are able to land an interview with one of the companies you will have to prepare even further and this will be a good place to start.

You can network in your own community as well. Get involved with community activities, volunteer and church groups, your kids’ schools, your own alumni, associations in the environment you are looking to get into and the associations you may have belonged to in the past.

Stay curious, creative, and motivated for the best results – and stay focused on your goals. Often job seekers hear of other jobs that don’t align with their career goals. It is understandable but when this happens you often settle and wind up unhappy with your decision.

Don’t bail on your goals until you’ve honestly given your job search your best efforts. You job search should be a full time job if you aren’t working and close to a full time job even if you are. This market is too tough to do anything half way.

Get Noticed at the Interview – So, you’ve stayed true to your goals and have landed a couple of really great interviews.  In order to WoW the interviewer and get noticed, you will need to reveal more than just skill and experience at the interview. You have to be the right fit for the company and be able to demonstrate how you can help them, be a value to them, solve their problem or make them money.

The preparation before the interview is crucial to understanding of their current involvements. They will expect you to know about their company – so do your homework. Think of ideas and actions you can take to help them with their current issues and use examples of your own achievements to confirm your value.

Your goals will guide you throughout your job search right down to the job offer. Does it match the goals you established before you began your job search, does it meet your expectations and provide you what you need?

Not all of your goals need to be shared with the interviewers, but they do need to be met by your new employer in order for you to find a truly rewarding career.

Without your career goals and plans you’ll likely be running from side to side trying to grab at anything that comes along. Your resume will have a little of everything, won’t stand out, and your search will find companies and jobs that really don’t fit your needs or wants. Stay the course, stay motivated – you’ll be glad you did.