Much of the research about employment suggests older workers are waiting longer to retire. This means many seasoned professionals are also still job searching. And, many of those are struggling to find their way.
The experience could be compared to someone who finds themselves online dating for the first time after a divorce. Dating is an entirely different ballgame since the last time they were looking. It requires different skills, and a new approach.
In the same way, job searching has evolved significantly in the last two decades. With the growth of the internet, the job search process takes place almost entirely online. And, not only do you need a resume and a cover letter. Now you also need a LinkedIn profile, a social media presence and a personal brand.
The millennial generation can’t remember a time without the internet. I’m often surprised at just how much they’re comfortable to share online and how much time they spend crafting their online presence. Although it’s wise to limit just how much you share, millennials often understand personal branding in a way other generations could learn from.
First, stay connected to your entire network online – even those you don’t speak to regularly. You never know when you might need one another in the future. Your connectedness online is also something your future employer may pay attention to. It indicates things like how popular you are, and how well you get along with others.
Keep your email address up to date. Stay away from emails you created when the internet was born. Using AOL, Yahoo and other email addresses often give the impression you’re behind the times. Stick with something simple like Gmail, or create your own e-mail address like Joe@JoeSmith.com.
Connect to organizations online that you participate in offline, whether it’s your softball team, or a professional association. This will keep you in the know, and highlight your skills and hobbies.
Seek out third-party endorsements on sites like LinkedIn. Ask former coworkers to leave reviews of your work. You will be able to approve them before they’re public, so will be no surprises for you. Having these public recommendations allows employers to get to know you and your work better.
Craft your brand. Post photos of yourself that share your personal and professionals lives in the best light. Highlight activities you participate in. Share your accomplishments online; it allows you to passively keep everyone up to date.
Learn how to use various forms of communication. If you’ve never tried Skype or FaceTime, it’s time to give them a shot. More and more employers expect you to be able to video chat for your first round of interviews. It’s cheaper and faster than bringing you in person.
Overall, the biggest takeaways from the millennials are to perfect your personal brand, stay connected online, and highlight your success stories on the web. Although it can be uncomfortable at first, these strategies will help you to stay ahead of your competition.
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.
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.
Career transitions are all the rage these days. Whether it’s moving between jobs more frequently or updating your skill set midstream, change is happening. One trend growing in popularity is employees who are making a move between the nonprofit and corporate worlds.
Regardless of which side of the fence you’re on now, the grass often looks greener on the other side. And, the good news is, many employers are warming up to the idea too. Now the questions becomes, how do you make such a bold move?
If you’re transitioning from corporate to nonprofit, your journey is a bit more direct. There’s been a trend underway for the last 10 years to run nonprofits more like their money-making cousins. Start by considering the value and skills you bring from your current job to the nonprofit world. If you are a marketer, can you market products in different industries? If you’re in corporate sales, could you consider nonprofit fundraising?
Then, begin plugging into the nonprofit community by serving on boards and volunteering your time. The more people you network with, the easier it becomes get an interview when the right job becomes available. Add these experiences to your resume and LinkedIn profile and you’re on your way.
If you’re making a move in the opposite direction, the journey may be a bit longer, but is not impossible. One approach is to consider for-profit industries that are adjacent to your nonprofit’s cause. For example, if you work at a health related nonprofit, you could consider a health related for-profit.
In addition, you have probably worked in a small office where you’ve become very entrepreneurial by being exposed to many different types of roles. Nonprofits are often short on cash, so employees learn many different skills. Entrepreneurship and the ability to master many different tasks are popular ideas within corporate America today. Prepare to talk about this advantage you bring.
Begin attending networking events where you can meet your corporate colleagues. Look for meetings of national organizations in your specific field of interest like the American Marketing Association or the Project Management Institute. Last, you may want to consider taking on small consulting projects to build up a list of for-profit experience. Include these on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
There’s one other important point to note. No matter how hard you work to prepare yourself for this transition, chances are high that someone who interviews you won’t agree with your plan. They won’t understand how your skills transfer or why you want to change your path.
Do your best not to let it get you down. Remember that you just need one person to believe in you. You may have to talk to more people than you’d like to find that one person, but when you do, your foot will be in the door. Once you’ve made the transition, there’s no looking back. Future employers will view you as a proven resource, and no longer someone who’s making a big change.
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.
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.
Thanks everyone for your kind words about my new office! It’s been such a positive experience. I’ve enjoyed seeing everyone who has stopped by since the move.
The past month has been a whirlwind! First, there was the move. Then, I had the opportunity to speak on the radio and TV about topics like applying via Snapchat (who knew!), and to share my career advice in a number of online publications, including Glassdoor, CNBC, and Society for Human Resources Management.
I also had a chance to interview former Starbucks President Howard Behar, career author Caroline Dowd-Higgins, and human resources expert Jennifer McClure. And, if you missed it, I chatted with the head of HR at Indeed.com (the #1 job search website), Paul Wolfe, back in June.
It’s been a great, exciting time. Below is a review of the month and what to look for in August. I hope you’ll find this content fun and informative.
Coming in August!
Friday, August 11th – I’ll be presenting at the Memphis Public Library about updating your resume. Saturday, August 19th – I’ll be presenting at the 2017 Modern Day Women’s Conference about marketing yourself, and finding a new job in the current market.
July in Review
If you haven’t had a chance to check out my TEDx Talk, you can watch it here. The title of my talk is “How I broke the rules & found my perfect job.” It was a great opportunity to share my personal career experience and what I learned along the way.
The digital age of hiring, Wreg (web) – McDonald’s is hiring 250,000 new employees this summer with the help of Snapchat. I got a chance to talk about what it means on Live @ 9, and whether or not you should be searching for a job on social media.
Employers Are Using Snapchat to Reach Generation Z, Society for Human Resource Management – After just four weeks of running a series of ads that prompted Snapchat users to swipe to the McDonald’s careers page, the fast food chain has received 35 percent more job applications as compared to this time last year.
Usual Suspects Permeate 2017 Top Employer Rankings, Society for Human Resources Management – It has become something of an aspirational refrain in the business world: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google. The ubiquitous tech juggernauts dominate the rankings of the most attractive companies for job seekers. I provided my perspective on what it means to the future of job searching.
Breaking the Rules to Find Your Perfect Job, Recruiter.com – In your career, things don’t always work out the way you plan them to. In my piece on Recruiter.com, I share a little bit about how I was able to find my path.
Tech Jobs Tour, TechJobsTour.com – I participated in the Tech Jobs Tour as a mentor. This tour is traveling the country, so check it out to see when it’s coming to your city.
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.
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.
It’s been an exciting month for me and for Copeland Coaching! I’m so excited to share some big news with you. Just days after my TEDx Talk release, I graduated from my office at Emerge Memphis!
If you never got a chance to visit my office at Emerge, you might wonder what I mean by “graduation.” Well, let me share a little background with you. Emerge is a small business incubator. They were founded around 2001 to help small business owners like me get off the ground and running strong.
I moved Copeland Coaching into Emerge a little over three years ago. It’s been an awesome environment that has supported me through my business growth.
But, like other past successful Emerge businesses, it’s time to spread my wings. Copeland Coaching has graduated and moved to a new location. I will miss the Emerge team and other small businesses terribly, but I hope you will join in my excitement about my new office location.
Copeland Coaching’s office is now officially open in iBank Tower!
iBank Tower is located in east Memphis, near I-240 and Poplar, next to Whole Foods at 5050 Poplar Avenue. If the name iBank Tower sounds new or unfamiliar, it’s because the building went by a different name before a few years ago.
The building is fast and easy to get to from any part of the city. And, it features easy, free parking right outside.
You’ll recognize the building when you see it. It has a rounded top floor that was once a rotating restaurant.
Above is a photo from inside my Copeland Coaching office. It’s the same great setup as before, but in a more central location. If you live or work in Memphis, I look forward to seeing you in person soon!
For those in other cities, I continue to offer the same flexible virtual meeting options, including phone, Skype, and FaceTime.
Thank you to everyone for all of your support over the past three years. I couldn’t have done it without you! Thanks you to Carlton, Lavinda, and the entire Emerge community for all of your help. And, thanks to the management of the iBank Tower for making me feel so welcome in my new office home.
If you’d like to setup a time to come in for a coaching session, send me an email and we’ll get it set up. Copeland Coaching is open for business at iBank Tower!
Just like before, I meet with clients Monday through Friday during normal business hours. It’s the same great service, but a new great location!
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.
Oh my gosh! I have such exciting news to share with you today! My TEDx Talk video is live!
I haven’t said much about it, so in case this is the first you’ve heard about this news, let me fill you in. I was recently invited to give a TEDx Talk about my career success.
(Pretty exciting, right?! Also, what a big honor!!)
The event took place in Columbus, Ohio at TEDxWorthington with a theme of “Interference.”
My TEDx Talk, entitled “How I broke the rules & found my perfect job” shares my story of not waiting for permission in my career and a little obsession I developed along the way.
I share the story about how I went from being an engineer to being a marketing executive to a career coach. I share the bumps and the bruises — and the good parts (like negotiating up my salary – more than once!).
Oh, and, it turns out, I really like interviewing. Did you know that I once snuck into a graduate school campus where I didn’t go in order to get a job interview? When word got out about my ‘love,’ people starting asking me for help with their careers.
But, the biggest lesson I learned along the way was… well, you’ll just have to watch the video to find out!
This is my career story, from the beginning to now. I really hope you’ll enjoy watching the video as much as I enjoyed making it! You can watch the video on YouTube by clicking the link below or any of the photos in this email.
Please watch it, like it, and share it with your friends. You can share the video on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Or, you can simply forward this email to a friend who’s currently on the job hunt.
My hope is truly that the ideas behind my book Breaking The Rules & Getting The Job will catch on far and wide. I want to help job seekers to be more successful in their search, and in their lives.
It’s time to think outside the box and stop living life by other people’s rules. It’s time to push boundaries, to try new things, and to dare to ask for more money. It’s time to find a job that you TRULY LOVE.
And, speaking of love— I need to thank so many people. First, thank you to the TEDx Worthington team for inviting me to participate in such a wonderful event in your special community. A special thank you goes to Dirk for all your support and for listening to my talk countless times in multiple states. A HUGE thank you goes to Irene Crist and Roy Kaufmann for your incredible guidance through this process. Thank you to Daniel Lynn for doing what you do the best. And, thank you to all of my friends who encouraged me to have the courage to share my own story.
I would love you to help me share my “big idea” too. Please forward this email, share on Facebook, share on Twitter, or whatever way works the best for you. I don’t usually include an ask in my e-newsletter, but this is it. Please share my story.
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.
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.
You may have noticed on my social media. I took a trip to Austin, Texas in May. But, it wasn’t any ordinary trip. Indeed.com invited me to come as a member of the press to their annual Indeed Interactive conference.
As far as conferences go, this one was awesome for me. It was like a job nerd’s dream. I had the opportunity to interview Paul Wolfe, the SVP of HR at Indeed for my podcast and for my Career Corner newspaper column. Indeed employees presented on all sorts of job search related topics, including the economics of hiring and what job seekers are looking for in a new job. They brought in outside speakers too, including my very favorite author, Malcom Gladwell. If you wondered what was going on with my crazy Twitter feed, this was it!
I will be releasing my entire interview with Paul Wolfe soon, and you should check out my Career Corner Column about him this Wednesday. We talked about everything from employee benefits to why employers “ghost” employees during the job search to the supply and demand of job seekers (and how it can impact your search).
Here’s me with Paul.
I can’t possibly include all the excitement in one newsletter, but I do want to share a few facts and photos from my trip.
First, did you know that career decisions are one of the most stressful life decisions? Of course you did! But, here’s a slide with the data to back up that feeling. Dismissal from work is rated as more stressful than foreclosure on your home!
And, here are some of the top (stressful) issues reported by job seekers.
#1 – Waiting to hear back from the prospective employer.
#2 – Finding the right jobs I want to apply to.
#3 – Circumstances that triggered the initial decision to begin my job search
Can you relate? Of course you can! The job search process can be very, very frustrating.
Speaking of #3 above (“Circumstances that triggered the initial decision to begin my job search”), Indeed found that people often start looking for a new job after a trigger event. For example, you were thinking of maybe, possibly one day getting a new job. Then, your boss acted like a real jerk and yelled at you for no reason. Suddenly, one day just became today. Your job search has started – now.
The conference was geared toward the Human Resources departments at companies across the U.S. It makes me excited to think that HR teams were exposed to so much great information about the factors impacting the job seeker, and the job seeker’s perspective. Here’s one last photo. This is Malcom Gladwell explaining what it is that we (as hiring managers) are getting all wrong about the job search process — and what we can do to make it a little more fair for everyone. Exciting, right?
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.
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.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out my 
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