by Angela Copeland | Jan 24, 2018 | Career Corner Column, Job Application, Job Interview, Job Search, Resume Writing
I love resumes. They’re a very important part of your job search. They allow you to brand yourself. You can feature your past work experience. A resume allows you to highlight accomplishments, such as awards and education. It allows you to share who are you, and who you want to be in a future career.
But, if you had one hundred hours to use on your job search, how exactly would you divide up your time?
Many job seekers would devote ninety-five percent of their time to their resume. It makes sense, right? If your resume is perfect, then you ought to get a job faster. Because, job fit is determined by experience. And, experience is outlined in your resume, right?
Well, sort of. But, not exactly. In reality, many job offers are determined by other factors – like who you know. Look back at your own resume and think about how you got each job. If you landed every job by applying online with the perfect resume, you’re an exception to the rule. Most people find jobs through other people.
Does that mean resumes don’t matter? No, they’re important. But, it does mean that you should update your resume and then move on to other job search activities. For example, spend more time researching the companies you want to work for. Devote time to meeting new people and networking with people you already know.
One of my most successful friends has a six page resume. For years, I’ve had a burning desire to update it and shave it down to two pages. But, before I have ever been able to get my hands on that resume, the friend has already landed a new job. He has both unique skills and a strong network of contacts. Most likely, his resume is a complete afterthought. It’s a formality. After a company has decided to hire him, he submits the resume to complete the hiring process. It’s simply a checkbox.
What’s the lesson in this? Is it that you should forget your resume completely? No. The resume remains an important part of your job search materials, along with your cover letter, your elevator pitch, and your LinkedIn.
But, your resume is not the ultimate destination. If you feel that your resume is high quality and you’re still not landing interviews, step back and look at the bigger picture. Take a look at your entire job search process. Aside from updating your resume, what else could you do?
Consider spending more time at networking events. Ask more friends to have coffee meetings with you. Connect to new people you want to know (but don’t yet know) on LinkedIn. Volunteer for nonprofit boards.
If you spend your time looking for ways to connect and to grow your professional network and your business skills, you will go much farther in your job search than if you stay behind your computer screen.
Angela Copeland, a career coach and founder of Copeland Coaching, can be reached at copelandcoaching.com.
by Angela Copeland | Jan 22, 2018 | Job Application, Job Posting, Job Search, LinkedIn, Networking, Newsletter
There’s a question that many new job seekers are thinking about. “Do I really need to use Linkedin, and how can I use it effectively?”
The first answer is straightforward. Yes, you need to use LinkedIn. You need to use it for your job search. And, honestly, you need to use it before your job search. It should be part of your professional brand – similar to carrying a business card. Integrating LinkedIn into your daily business practice will make it both easier and more effective in the long run.
So, the next question is around how to use LinkedIn effectively. Sometimes, people ask me if there’s a course they can take. And actually, I do teach a workshop about LinkedIn. But in reality, you don’t need a special class to use LinkedIn.
The main thing you need to do to become good at LinkedIn is use LinkedIn. You heard me right. Use it. It’s like Facebook. If you only looked at Facebook every six months, you might wonder how it works. It would be a bit unclear how to find your friends or how to accept party invitations. But, if you’re like most people, you use Facebook every day. And, after a while, it becomes second nature.
So, where to begin? First, you need a profile picture. I get it. You may not really like putting up photos of yourself. You may not have a recent photo you like. I totally hear you. But, in order to use LinkedIn effectively, you’ve gotta do it. Don’t feel like you need to hire a professional photographer. A friend could even take a decent photo on your smartphone. Just be sure that you look professional and the photo is only you. Ideally, you want to smile.
Next, fill out your profile. Put in as much information as you can. Include a mini-bio of yourself in the Summary section. Include your jobs in the Experience section, along with detail about what you did. Include your degrees (but omit the year you graduated). Fill it out – all of it.
Then, ask your trusted contacts to leave reviews of your work under the Recommendations section.
If you’re really feeling ambitious, turn on the “open candidate” feature. This is where you let recruiters now that you’re open for new jobs. It’s also a place where you can leave notes for recruiters about your dream job, including desired job titles, locations, and industries.
Now, get out there and use LinkedIn. Follow companies, participate in discussions, share articles, connect to colleagues and yes – do consider connecting to someone you don’t already know in real life. After all, how are you going to meet new people if you don’t meet new people?
That’s it. Just like Facebook, the more you use LinkedIn, the easier it gets. The more intuitive it becomes. The more aware of little features you become. It’s just that simple.
Remember, don’t put information on LinkedIn that you wouldn’t want your boss to see. Don’t share confidential company stats. And, definitely don’t SAY that you are looking for a job.
There’s no secret to it. Well, except maybe this one. The secret to using LinkedIn is to use LinkedIn. :c)
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Jan 10, 2018 | Career Corner Column, HR, Human Resources, Indeed.com, Job Search, Job Search Fear
In the age of oversharing online, it seems that searching for a job is one of the last topics that anyone wants to share. The world’s largest job site, Indeed.com, recently commissioned a study by Censuswide, surveying 10,000 job seekers around the world – in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
As you would expect, 65% of job seekers worry that others may find out they’re looking for a new job. 24% of job seekers ranked their job search as the topic they’re least likely to share on social media. This is right up there with personal finances.
And, this makes sense. In much of the U.S., workers have limited employment protections. Simply put, an employer can fire you for a reason. Or, they can fire you for no reason at all. If they know you’re looking for a new job, they may perceive you to be disloyal. And, disloyal employees are at risk for being let go.
They don’t have to give you advanced warning. We’ve all had a friend who has been walked out of the building of their workplace with a small box of their personal things. That horrific thought is enough to cause you to never speak about your own search, ever again.
Professor Paul Dolan, Behavioral Economist at London School of Economics also pointed out the need to be seen as successful. “Admitting that we are looking for a job means exposing others to our potential success or failure. To avoid embarrassing ourselves, we choose to hide our searches.”
This also holds true in romantic relationships. Researchers found that half of job seekers don’t tell their partners when they’re applying for a new job. Those over age 55 are even more likely to keep searches hidden.
Although surprising, this finding makes sense. If you’re searching online, you may apply to a large number of jobs before landing a first round interview. If it takes thirty applications to land one phone interview, who wants to have that conversation with a spouse thirty times? Rather than feel like one successful phone interview, it may very well feel like twenty nine failed applications. Often, a new job requires a lifestyle change of some kind. Waiting until things are more firm allows the job seeker to avoid some level of judgement and conflict.
That said, keeping career changes from your partner isn’t recommended. Your career greatly impacts your personal life, and if you’re sharing that life with someone else, your decisions will impact them too.
But, when it comes to colleagues, there really is good reason to be cautious. Even if you’re doing a great job in your current role, your boss may have second thoughts about you if they know you’re looking. When you tell others about your search, you risk losing control of your search. As it’s clear, job searching really is the last taboo.
Angela Copeland, a career coach and founder of Copeland Coaching, can be reached at copelandcoaching.com.
by Angela Copeland | Dec 27, 2017 | Career Corner Column, Interviewing, Job Search
Interviewing for a job is a nerve racking process. When else do we want others to judge us? We spend so much time preparing – finding the perfect clothes, organizing our resume, and sneaking out of our job. We ask for recommendations from our old bosses.
Not only are we judged during the interview process. But, if we’re rejected, the company doesn’t even owe us any explanation. And, very often, they don’t give any additional information about why we weren’t picked.
That leaves our brain to wonder what happened. We spent so many hours preparing. Where did we go wrong? Did the hiring manager not like us? Did we fail a test? Were they looking for someone with more experience or a better education? Trying to sort through these possibilities is stressful. It can take days, and have no answer.
In reality, it’s possible we weren’t selected for reasons that had little to do with us. Really, this can happen. For example, the hiring manager may have already had a candidate preselected. Or, perhaps the job has been put on hold — and nobody was hired. Rarely will the company fess up to these details.
But, an equally important (but less considered) question is — what did you think about the company? Did you feel that you were a good fit with the hiring manager? Are you excited about the job? Do you want to work for the company?
Think of interviewing a little more like dating, and a little less like taking a test. Sure, you’re not looking for someone to marry, but you are looking for people you’ll spend a considerable amount of time with. You may even see them more than your spouse.
We would never go on a first date hoping the person might marry us – without knowing much about them. Then, why would we ever approach a job interview this way?
If you already have a bad job, why would you want to potentially find another bad job? The best job is always one where there’s a mutual match. The company likes you, and you like the company.
So, rather than spend all of your time worrying about whether the company likes you, shift your focus to whether or not you like them. Decide if you really do want to spend more than eight hours a day with these folks.
And, if you do get rejected, don’t assume it’s the end of the line. The company probably doesn’t really dislike you. Maybe the timing wasn’t right. Or, perhaps they see you in a slightly different role than the one that was available when you applied.
In fact, because they have met you and know you now, they may be even more likely to talk to you again when a future opportunity rolls around. Keep your eyes open for other jobs that may be a better fit. But, if you are called back in, be sure to find out if the company is a good fit for you.
Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
by Angela Copeland | Dec 11, 2017 | Advice, Indeed.com, Job Posting, Job Search, Newsletter
First, can you believe it’s December 11th?! Wow, this year has really gone by fast! Let’s look at what’s happened in the job search world in 2017…!
Each year, Indeed.com takes a look back at how job searching has changed in the last year. And, they ought to know. Founded in 2004, Indeed holds the title as the world’s largest job website. They get over 200 million unique visitors each month from over 60 countries.
As you probably have, those millions of people use Indeed to search for jobs. And, Indeed has saved all that data about the millions and millions of job searches. They’ve analyzed it to share insights with us for this year — by country.
Some of what they found is widespread. People around the world are looking for jobs related to technology — and to flexibility. And, it makes sense. Who doesn’t want a work-from-home job?
In the U.S., searches for ‘hurricane relief’ are up 682% and searches for ‘no experience required’ are up 1,114%. I have to imagine that searches related to experience have to do with young employees feeling the strain of entry level job postings that require many years of experience.
In Canada, ‘tech,’ ‘finance,’ and ‘full time‘ searches grew. But, older programming languages including Perl, Ruby, and Delphi dropped by 48%. This is just a reminder that to stay relevant in technology jobs, you’ve always got to be learning and evolving.
In Ireland, some of the hot searches were: part-time, talent acquisition, summer internship, and new store opening. But, searches around the construction industry dropped by 65%.
In the Netherlands, ‘furniture maker’ grew by 245%, while ‘nurses’ dropped by 72%.
Belgium has seen a jump in people looking for ‘java‘ related jobs – by 422%. Searches are also up for government related jobs and student jobs.
In France, the number one rising search is for “happiness.” French workers searched for jobs related to happiness by over 200% of what they searched for in 2016. And, ‘PR manager’ jobs were down by 49%.
In Germany, folks were searching for: part-time job, education, optometrist, and cyber security.
In India, people were searching for more jobs related to digital marketing (80%), government jobs (60%), and tech-related jobs (98%). Interestingly, as the government promoted Ayurveda medicine, searches for the holistic system jumped, while searches for pharmaceuticals dropped.
In Australia, the search term ‘457 visa sponsorship‘ rose by 91%. This coincided with the government cutting back on its skilled foreign worker program.
It’s both interesting and a little nuts to see how changes in government or in business can so quickly refocus us and our job searches. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2018! To learn more about Indeed’s trends (and a few I left out), check out their entire piece here.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Nov 1, 2017 | Advice, Application, Career Corner Column, Job Application, Job Posting, Job Search, Social Media
Social media isn’t part of a job search. In order to find a job, you only need a resume, business cards, and a nice suit. Right? This was true – if you were looking for a job in 2001.
In today’s wired world, there are so many more options available to you. Why not try them? After all, submitting your resume blindly just isn’t working. If you want to try something new, social media is a great place to start.
Hands down, the best social media site for the job seeker is LinkedIn. It’s an extension of your resume and a Rolodex of your contacts all rolled into one. I often hear the question, “Do I really need a LinkedIn page?” The short answer is yes. LinkedIn is free and it allows you to decide how much you share and with whom you want to connect. In fact, there are estimated to be half a billion users on LinkedIn from over 200 countries.
Use LinkedIn to expand on your resume, connect to old colleagues, and grow your network. The LinkedIn search tool is a great way to find (and to connect with) your future boss. It can also be a great way to learn who else works at your target company.
But, don’t stop there. I have been impressed at the number of business executives who use Twitter. It’s not uncommon to tweet to someone in the C-suite, and to actually receive a real response. It can be an unexpected way to grow a new relationship.
Another site you may want to consider if you’re in a creative field is YouTube. An advertising agency CEO once shared with me that some of her most impressive applicants submitted a short video about themselves via YouTube. It helped them to get the agency’s attention in a sea of other applications.
The one social media I would think twice about using is Facebook. Facebook has long been considered a private space to connect with friends and family. In fact, if you send a stranger a direct message, Facebook will typically filter it out of their inbox by default. That means that the person may never see your message. So, before using Facebook, try other social media sites.
Using social media in your job search can give you a leg up on your competition. It can also help you to shape your online presence. After all, when a company searches for your name on Google, your social media pages are certain to be the first thing that pops up. Think of Google search results like the new cover letter. Your social media pages tell a personal narrative about you and your beliefs.
Don’t worry too much about bothering the person you’re contacting via LinkedIn or Twitter. Social media is just another form of communication, similar to email or phone. Be professional and polite and you’ll find an entirely new way to grow your network. It’s far more effective than blindly submitting an application on a website.
Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
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