by Angela Copeland | Nov 30, 2016 | Advice, Career Corner Column, Networking
The holidays can be a difficult time in the life of a job seeker. Very often, things at work slow down a bit. We begin to consider what we would like to find in a new job, whether it’s more money, a new position, or a better work-life balance. Unfortunately, the time between Thanksgiving and the New Year is also a slower time of year for hiring. Managers may go on vacation, and hiring may be put on hold for budgetary reasons.
But, the holidays can also be the perfect time to prepare for next year. Don’t wait until January to begin your 2017 job search. And, if you’ve already started your search, don’t slow down. Companies will put hiring back into high gear after the first of the year, and you want to be ready.
There are many areas where you can spend your time when searching. But, these specific activities will add the most value: your resume, your LinkedIn profile, and professional networking.
First, be sure your resume is up to date. It should include all of your recent and relevant work experience. Have a friend proofread it for both errors and readability. Once you are happy with it, save it as a PDF and email yourself a copy. This will allow you to always have a resume on hand to send to friends or professional contacts who offer to help you look for a job.
Then, update your LinkedIn profile to match your resume. Be sure that you are representing yourself in a way you’re comfortable with, and that communicates your current career interests. Ensure you’re using a current photo and include a short bio about yourself in the “summary” section. Connect to as many old friends and colleagues as possible. The more people you’re connected to, the larger your reach will span on this professional social network.
Last, spend time during the holiday season building your in-person professional network. You can do this in a number of ways. First, take advantage of holiday parties and events. They will allow you to reconnect with those you haven’t seen in a while. You might also want to send holiday cards or emails to your contacts. Take the time to learn about what’s going on with each person, and to share what’s new in your life. These personal connections are important not only to your immediate job search, but also in your career over your lifetime.
As you can see, there are a number of advantages to using the holiday season to prepare for your upcoming job search. You are often less pressured at work during this time of year. There’s more time to work on personal goals, including your resume and LinkedIn profile. Plus, you have an opportunity to reconnect with so many of the special people in your life.
Using this time of renewal to focus on your future job will prepare you to be at the top of your game and the competition in the New Year.
Angela Copeland is CEO and founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
by Angela Copeland | Nov 23, 2016 | Advice, Career Corner Column, Media
Can we agree that the interview process can be stressful? It can be exhausting. You spend weeks, sometimes months, going through many rounds of interviews, tests, and background checks. You do all this in secret, slipping out of work and trying not to spill the beans to coworkers and friends. Your current job stress may be growing, and you cannot wait for the process to be over.
Most often, when a job offer comes, it’s delivered by a human resources representative or the hiring manager. They call you on the phone and offer a few quick stats, including starting salary and vacation days. Then, they ask if you accept, and what date you can start.
Often, your first instinct is to accept right away. You want to keep the hiring manager happy, and to ensure your future at the company. You definitely don’t want to rock the boat.
Unfortunately, this approach can have pitfalls. For example, your hiring manager may not end up being your actual manager. This sounds unlikely, but I once had my own hiring manager announce his departure on my second day. If we had not agreed to our terms in writing, there’s a chance I might have had to renegotiate with the new manager.
When you receive a job offer, the best approach is to thank the company and express your gratitude and excitement. Then, you should thoughtfully ask if they are able to send you the details of the offer in an email or official letter. Tell the recruiter you have a personal policy that you must sleep on the decision overnight.
When you receive the offer in email, review it closely. First, ensure that all the details explained on the phone are outlined as expected. If something is left out, or is different than your understanding, ask clarifying questions.
Sleeping on an offer also gives you a chance to discuss it with your family. And, it can give you an opportunity to decide if you want to negotiate the offer up. There are two key things that candidates are concerned with: salary and vacation. To ask for more of either, follow up with the company. Express your gratitude and excitement again. Then, ask if they would be willing to adjust their offer.
Select your requests carefully. A good negotiation is one where both parties walk away feeling as if they have won. Neither should feel like they were taken advantage of. But, don’t avoid asking for what you need. As long as you communicate in a professional manner, the company should respect your request. The worst case scenario is that the company will not increase the offer – not that they will resend it.
And, note – if a company cannot increase your salary, many corporations have flexibility around vacation (even if they have a standard vacation policy).
But, again, get everything in writing – no matter what you agree to. It will ensure there are no misunderstandings and help to solidify your future success within the organization.
Angela Copeland is CEO and founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
by Angela Copeland | Nov 16, 2016 | Advice, Career Corner Column, Media
I received a question that’s important for job seekers to consider: “Should I work with an external recruiter, and if so, how does it work?” If you’ve never tried it, enlisting the help of a placement firm can appear to be a confusing proposal. It can be tough to know where to find a recruiter, how to begin, and what to expect.
The good news is, working with an external recruiter (aka a “headhunter”) is not hard to do. First, you should know how they work. Typically, headhunters are paid a commission if they are able to help place a job seeker in a job. The hiring company pays this commission and they are only paid when and if a placement is made. Think of a recruiter as a matchmaker, or a salesperson, of sorts. They help source candidates that fit well within the companies they work for.
Arranging a meeting with a headhunter isn’t hard. You can find local recruiters online. Then, you can reach out to them by phone or email to request a meeting. Most placement firms are open to meeting with new candidates because it allows them to keep the pulse on the available talent in the job market. They will keep your resume and personal details in their database.
Along with your resume, you must typically disclose all your salary information right up front. This is a bit different than applying directly to a company, where you can often skirt the salary issue until the end of the interview process. In addition, you may also be asked to take exams in order to demonstrate your competency in certain subjects.
Keep in mind – headhunters meet with many candidates every day. You need to work closely with them in order for the process to be effective. It rarely works to sit back and hope the recruiter will show up with the perfect job completely on their own. Keep them up to date on your employment status, what kind of job you’re looking for, and of any changes that occur. If you stop reaching out, they’ll assume you found a job.
Although there are many positives to working with a headhunter, there are also pitfalls to consider. We often feel that because a placement firm makes a commission, they work for us, the job seeker. Although they are there to help, they ultimately must keep their client happy – the hiring manager. Additionally, they will only be paid a commission if they make a placement. If you’ve ever sold a house, you know that there are times when a real estate agent would be happy to sell a house at a lower than ideal price, in order to ensure a commission.
Placement firms can be helpful, but like other parts of the job search, they’re a tool rather than a complete solution. To maximize success, continue looking on your own. You’re your own best advocate, and after all, you’re searching on behalf of just one job seeker: you.
Angela Copeland is CEO and founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
by Angela Copeland | Nov 9, 2016 | Advice, Career Corner Column, Media
There are few groups I have more respect for than our US Military. These honorable men and women are on the front lines of our country each day. In fact, they spend many of their most employable years in service.
At the end of that service, they must begin a new career. This often occurs somewhere between the age of forty and forty five – a time when many professionals are just peaking in careers they have been developing for twenty years.
Starting over can be a daunting and humbling task, but there are a few things that can make the transition a bit easier.
First, plan ahead. Finding a new job can take a year or longer, especially when you’re changing your career path. Start looking before you have left the military. Create an emergency fund for yourself that could be used to pay your bills if you were out of work during the transition.
Seek outside help. Many former military personal rely on military resources to find their next job. Use those resources, but don’t stop there. Reach out to friends and family for help. Begin looking for opportunities to meet new people within the community, so your professional network will expand beyond the military.
Revise your resume and LinkedIn profile. Your future employer will be very impressed with your military career – but, only if they understand it. Ask a few civilian friends to proofread your resume for you. Get them to share what was confusing, and make adjustments. And, if you were managing hundreds of people, be sure to spell that out. Although this may seem normal in the military, it is both unusual and impressive in the civilian work world.
Learn as much as you can about how the corporate interview process works. Getting a civilian job is often about knowing the right people. It’s about going around the online process. It’s about bending the rules a bit. This goes counter to much of the military structure you may be used to.
Identify your strengths. What is it that makes you good at your military job that you could bring with you into the corporate world? Perhaps you are an outstanding communicator or a great manager. In order to land a job in the civilian world, you have to know what makes you stand out.
Select a target job (or jobs) and target companies. Narrow your search down as much as possible. If you keep your options too broad, friends and family won’t know how to help you. But, if you know exactly what you’re looking for, it empowers them to act.
Last but not least, remember that finding a job isn’t easy – for anyone. If you struggle to find something right away, keep trying. It’s often a numbers game. Try not to fall into the trap of believing that nobody understands your background. Assume that you just haven’t met the right company yet and keep looking.
Good luck with your transition, and thank you for your military service!
Angela Copeland is CEO and founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
by Angela Copeland | Nov 2, 2016 | Advice, Career Corner Column, Media
In the 1989 film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner’s character builds a baseball field after hearing a voice say, “If you build it, he will come.” As job seekers, it seems we often try to take a similar approach.
Let me explain. When looking for a job, we focus a tremendous amount of energy building the perfect resume, making a fantastic LinkedIn profile, and writing a compelling cover letter. We pour hours of work into these items. Then, the clock starts. Months pass by and we become increasingly frustrated. We begin to wonder, “Why haven’t I found a job by now?”
The problem is, a rumor has been going around. The rumor is this: if you’re interested in a job, the only thing you need to do is apply online. If you’re the right person for the job, the company will call you. It makes sense that we’d believe this rumor. It’s the official line companies have been telling us every day for years.
This approach seems perfectly reasonable – and, it allows is to avoid our biggest job seeking fears. For example, contacting a hiring manager directly can be a scary thing. We might be rejected. We might bother them, and they won’t want to hire us. So, we stick with the safe online route.
Then, when we receive the automated rejection e-mail, we try to make up a list of reasons as to why we weren’t the best candidate. We assume something must be wrong with us and our resume. It might be our experience, our education, or even our age. It’s an awful process that can damage even the best self-esteem.
Unfortunately, many of the online systems companies use (called applicant tracking systems) aren’t as perfect as we might hope. If we only submit an application online, there’s a good chance another human may never see our resume, no matter how qualified we are.
And, even if a real live person does see our online application, will the company really want to hire us? Hiring can be a risky undertaking after all. A hiring mistake can cost the company both time and money.
To avoid mistakes, hiring managers typically start with their own network first. They think, “Do I know anyone who might be a good fit for this job?” Then, they think, “Do I know anyone who knows anyone who might be a good fit for this job?” Rarely does the manager begin a search wondering who they might find on the internet.
Rather than be a passive stranger, we should take a bolder approach. We should introduce ourselves. Find the hiring manager. Find the head of the department. Find the HR person. Send an email. Send a LinkedIn connection request. At worst, the company may ignore us. But, otherwise, they may not have ever seen our resume in the first place. This is the kind of risk that’s worth taking.
As Babe Ruth once said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
Angela Copeland is CEO and founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
by Angela Copeland | Oct 26, 2016 | Advice, Career Corner Column, Interviewing, Media, Networking
Sometimes, the devil really is in the details. This is especially true when it comes to the questions you ask when you’re looking for a job. Asking the wrong question, or not asking the right question can get you into trouble when you least expect it. And, it can be tricky to know when to ask which questions.
There are a few good rules of thumb to follow. The first applies to networking. When you’re meeting someone new, they want to get to know you first. They (in theory) have no specific ulterior motive, and they hope you don’t either. When you meet someone at a networking event, avoid asking if they’re hiring. Chances are good that they’re not hiring, and if you ask this up front, you may send the message that you’re not interested to get to know them unless they can give you something. But, do ask them if you can stay in touch. Ask for their business card. Ask to connect on LinkedIn. Ask to have coffee. Relationship building may eventually lead you down the path of a new job.
Another situation to be on the lookout for is when you find a job posted. You’ve found the perfect job at the perfect company. And, you’ve either found a great connection there – or you already have one. When you’re reaching out about a specific job, be up front about it. A hiring manager will want to know that you‘d like to be considered, so be sure to ask. Ask them if they have time to meet with you to discuss the position. Don’t hint around and hope they’ll get the drift. Be direct.
The most important place for questions is the job interview. It’s truly amazing how much your questions can influence the outcome of an interview. First, have questions – lots of them. Having a long list of questions doesn’t mean you have to ask all of them, but it does mean you’ll have options to go to when it’s your turn to ask questions. One of the primary complaints I’ve heard from hiring managers is that the candidate didn’t ask questions. The hiring manager assumes the candidate isn’t interested in the position (or worse, is lazy), while the candidate simply feels all their questions were answered during the job interview. Avoid this situation by asking a few questions at the end. But, keep your questions focused on the job. Do not ask questions that reflect an “all about me” attitude. Topics to stay away from include pay, vacation time, whether or not you can work from home, or anything else that isn’t specific to the work itself. And, always ask about the company’s timeline and what their expected next steps are.
As important as qualifications are, so are first impressions. The questions you ask will influence a hiring manager’s decision. Fortunately, there’s time to plan. If you draft your questions in advance and ask a friend for feedback, you’ll be on your way to success.
Angela Copeland is CEO and founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
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