WORK Search Tactics

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#1 ANSWER to a “Question” regarding cold calling as a strategy during jobsearch…

One of the ways we can add ‘relevancy’ to our LinkedIn presence is to ask and answer questions in the ANSWERS area (Top navigation bar in the “More” drop down menu)… its especially worthy when your answer is selected as the #1 answer to any given question… here’s my ANSWER to the person that asked where ‘cold calling’ stacks up as a job search strategy…

<< “Cold calling” is, no doubt, the least popular, but most effective job search TACTIC for most job seekers, including sales oriented folks…

The challenge for the job seeker is to wrap the appropriate STRATEGIES around their cold-calling efforts. Sure, you’ll have an expedient job search if you ‘show up on the doorstep’ of an organization that needs your skill sets and likes you… but that’s needle-in-a-haystack odds!

Improve your odds by making networking a CAREER strategy instead of a job search drudgery. All by itself, this would accelerate your next job search by taking the randomness out of your ‘next steps.’ Use a coordinated, systematic approach to any career transition…

Have you fully embraced the OTHER job market? Not the one that the Department of Labor measures, but the one where the hiring authorities are seeking the most talented individuals… and are you PREPARED to address it?

Have you analyzed your skill sets and experience and determined clear objectives? Have you developed collateral materials that reflect CLEAR POSITIONING of your talent, and do you let them evolve through practice (constant) and marketplace feedback? Are your references in synch with your message? As a job seeker, have you researched the market to determine appropriate target organizations… the ones that actually use your talents? Can you identify trends that are attractive to you, uniquely YOU?

Most importantly, have you assembled your whole personal CONTACT LIST, leaving no stones unturned… and organized your priorities in networking to A) Folks you already know, but need to reconnect with… B) Folks that can bridge you to actual opportunity leads and, specifically, hiring authorities… C) Folks that can directly impact your hire, the actual hiring authorities. LinkedIn can provide you with a digital roadmap to your networking efforts… devote regular time to your LinkedIn network.

Reserve most of your cold calling strategy to the tactics of target organization networking around those organizations that are attractive to you and that need your talent.

Your most important job search strategy, and the skill most job seekers need to constantly develop, is that of converting leads into interviews! Effective tactics, here, include constantly working on your telephone skills… effectively researching your targeted industry and companies (Googled your interviewer lately?)… practicing your verbal collateral to the point of making them spontaneous and conversational…

ALL of which can improve a job seeker’s odds when employing cold-calling tactics, taking advantage of that huge percentage of actual placements that were initiated by a cold call! >>

The bold keywords were added for YOUR benefit… what strikes me is how similar this answer is to some of the things we discussed in today’s session!  I will be adding in a new handout I’m working on… Networking 101 !

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BE PREPARED TO SUCCEED in Interviews

Most interviews follow a predictable format, with logical steps that both the interviewer and applicant follow to decide if both will benefit from working together.  The best interviews are ones in which both participants are equal and have a mutually beneficial, interactive conversation regarding the opportunity at hand.

Think of an interview as the natural extension, the successful result of your effective networking.  In fact, many networking conversations actually become screening interviews, where influential contacts are assessing your qualifications, skill sets and experience relative to an opportunity at hand. 

“Perfect practice” of the basics builds the confidence necessary to perform well in formal job interviews.  Let’s break down the basics into four areas…

  1. pre-contact preparation/ research,
  2. greeting and rapport,
  3. questions/answers, and …
  4. meeting closure. 

All four stages are equally important and deserve your consideration and preparation.

Research the company/position

Second level research will help you to identify attractive companies.  But, this is third level (in-depth) research.  Learn as much as possible about the company, the position and the individual who will be conducting the interview.  Your research goals ought to include developing information about the company’s products, people, organizational structure, successes (and failures), profits (and losses), capital spending, strategic plans, philosophy and labor climate.  Showing your knowledge of some of this information can give you added credibility over other candidates interviewing for the job.

Go into each interview with working knowledge of its good CareerFIT!

>> More in RESOURCES: Closing The Deal 

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Cold Calling effectiveness CAN BE improved…

In a recent LinkedIn ANSWER, I posted…

“Cold calling” is, no doubt, the least popular, but most effective job search TACTIC for most job seekers, including sales oriented folks…

The challenge for the job seeker is to wrap the appropriate STRATEGIES around their cold-calling efforts.  Sure, you’ll have an expedient job search if you ‘show up on the doorstep’ of an organization that needs your skill sets and likes you… but that’s needle-in-a-haystack odds!

Improve your odds by making networking a CAREER strategy instead of a job search drudgery.  All by itself, this would accelerate your next job search by taking the randomness out of your ‘next steps.’  Use a coordinated, systematic approach to any career transition…

Have you fully embraced the OTHER job market?  Not the one that the Department of Labor measures, but the one where the hiring authorities are seeking the most talented individuals… and are you PREPARED to address it? 

Have you analyzed your skill sets and experience and determined clear objectives?  Have you developed collateral materials that reflect CLEAR positioning of your talent, and do you let them evolve through practice (constant) and marketplace feedback? 

Are your references in synch with your message? 

As a job seeker, have you researched the market to determine appropriate target organizations… the ones that actually use your talents?  Can you identify trends that are attractive to you, uniquely YOU?

Most importantly, have you assembled your whole personal CONTACT LIST, leaving no stones unturned… and organized your priorities in networking to A) Folks you already know, but need to reconnect with… B) Folks that can bridge you to actual opportunity leads and, specifically, hiring authorities… C) Folks that can directly impact your hire, the actual hiring authorities. 

LinkedIn can provide you with a digital roadmap to your networking efforts… devote regular time to your LinkedIn network.

Reserve most of your cold calling strategy to the tactics of target organization networking around those organizations that are attractive to you and that need your talent.

Your most important job search strategy, and the skill most job seekers need to constantly develop, is that of converting leads into interviews!  Effective tactics, here, include constantly working on your telephone skills… effectively researching your targeted industry and companies (Googled your interviewer lately?)… practicing your verbal collateral to the point of making them spontaneous and conversational…

ALLof which can improve a job seeker’s odds when employing cold-calling tactics, taking advantage of that huge percentage of actual placements that were initiated by a cold call!

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THIS WEEK’s Event: Thursday, February 16th @ 9AM at The Egg and I Restaurant (NW Quadrant of Arapaho and Montfort) in Addison

Thursday morning’s workshop will focus on the elements of and implementation of YOUR Personal Marketing Plan.   A well thought out PMP will assist you in ‘getting the word out’ effectively and productively and communicating yourself effectively… it is one of our Core Topics:

“Creating and Implementing YOUR PMP” 

Map to The Egg and I

Our Location

  Come prepared to work on YOUR Personal Marketing Plan.   We will cover preparing for collateral development, developing your PMP, and implementing it to score high quality interviews.

YOUR Personal Marketing Plan, and consistent attention to it, is the driving force of a successful work search.  This is a good session for job seekers who feel they have not performed well in their search efforts… or those involved in lengthy searches where they have received inadequate offers.  Bring a guest!

 Who should attend this week?

  1. Those who are just starting or re-energizing their active job search;
  2. Those seeking a systematic, focused, more predictable way to conduct an effective job search effort;
  3. “Regulars” who need a ‘booster shot.’… and bring a guest;
  4. New Comers and tire kickers… this is a great session with which to supplement your job search effectiveness!

      Schedule of future webinars

 

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Note to self: Social Media Here To Stay… LinkedIn Task 1, Developing Your Profile!

This week’s Thursday morning session will focus on developing a well-thought out, and effectively ‘branded’ LinkedIn profile.  If you are planning to attend, consider this post your homework assignment.

Your Careerpilot’s high TECH-HIGH TOUCH philosophy comes into play with the explosive growth of business professionals using social networks to build relationships, meet new contacts, and market themselves.  While the Internet provides many choices, diving into the virtual meet-and-greet can represent a real challenge.  Which one is worthy of your start-up investment: learning curve time and actual ROI of your efforts…  Where to begin? The Careerpilot encourages a choice that reasonably assures one’s confidentiality, has a multitude of useful applications, and can serve as your focal point of networking decisions. 

That choice is to create your own personal LinkedIn account.  Before you can begin this digital networking adventure, you must develop your personal profile.  While your page will detail your work history and other facts about you, don’t assume that you can simply cut and paste your resume content and be done with it.  Unlike your resume, your LinkedIn profile page should reflect all your professional interests, passions, and ambitions at this stage of your career.  It becomes the core of your digitalm written collateral

As you proceed, keep your goal in mind…

  • Do you want to have that fully optimized, SEO-centric magnet that attracts interested parties TO you?  -OR- 
  • Do you want that terrific, user-friendly home page and profile that is easy for a reader to navigate?  -OR- 
  • Do you want your profile and homepage to be appealing to both?

A checklist of things to include:

1. A picture. It’s been said that, “People do business with people.”

2. A specific and high impact “headline” with keywords relevant to your industry… your headline follows you around through several of the interactive applications.

3. Preferred contact method and data… At the bottom of your profile, you can let people know how you want to be contacted — through LinkedIn, by e-mail, or over the phone.

4. Desired information, networking “targets…  What you want to be contacted about… At the bottom of your profile, you can select interests like reference requests, consulting offers, or career opportunities.  Be sure to update your profile to stay in synch with your career.

…and don’t overlook the “power” of recommendations… start thinking of who you might want to encourage to endorse you and your services.  Job seekers: your references are a great start!

The LinkedIn site will walk you through filling in the blanks, but you’ll want to think ahead about two areas:

Positioning Yourself

Just like on a GREAT RESUME, directly underneath your name will be a short headline area. More than anything else in your profile, these words are how people find and define you.

Be Clear on What You’ve Done, and What You Want to Do…

>> For more info see the full article in the RESOURCES Page!

Your homework assignment?  Bring your profile up to 100% complete before Thursday morning’s workshop.

 

 

 

 

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THIS WEEK’s Event: Thursday, February 9th @ 9AM at The Egg and I Restaurant (NW Quadrant of Arapaho and Montfort) in Addison

Thursday morning’s workshop will focus on the evolution of your LinkedIn profile as the cornerstone of your digital footprint… the social media extention of collateral development.   A well thought out Profile will assist you in ‘getting the word out’ and communicating yourself effectively… it is one of our Core Topics:

“Your LinkedIn Profile: Task ONE” 

Map to The Egg and I

Our Location

  Come prepared to work on your LinkedIn Profile.  Bring your laptops!  We will cover preparing for collateral development, developing your branded message in all your collateral–the core of your Personal Marketing Plan, and actual editing of your LinkedIn Profiles.

This is a good session for job seekers who feel they have not performed well in their search efforts… or those involved in lengthy searches where they have received inadequate offers. 

 Who should attend this week?

  1. Those who are just starting or re-energizing their active job search;
  2. Those seeking a systematic, focused, more predictable way to conduct an effective job search effort;
  3. “Regulars” who need a ‘booster shot.’… and bring a guest;
  4. New Comers and tire kickers… this is a great session with which to supplement your job search effectiveness!

      Schedule of future webinars

 

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REGISTER NOW for this week’s WEBINAR: Wednesday, February 1st @ 4:30 PM

Due to the popular demand of both webinar activity and PRACTICE time, this week we will have a webinar on Wednesday (Feb 1st) afternoon at 4:30 PM followed by our normal Thursday morning session. 

Wednesday afternoon’s Webinar will highlight communication strategy models:  Where does your keyword selection come from and how can you best utilize them in all your collateral development?

Click  >>HERE<< for registration information

Thursday morning’s workshop will focus on assessment and collateral development to assist you in ‘getting the word out’ and communicating yourself effectively… it is one of our Core Topics:

“Achieving CareerFIT.” 

Map to The Egg and I

Our Location

  Come prepared to work on the land mines that you’ve been stepping on during your current job search… We will cover preparing for collateral development, developing your branded message in all your collateral–the core of your Personal Marketing Plan, and turning leads into interviews.

This is a good session for job seekers who feel they have not performed well in their search efforts… or those involved in lengthy searches where they have received inadequate offers. 

 Who should attend this week?

  1. Those who are just starting or re-energizing their active job search;
  2. Those seeking a systematic, focused, more predictable way to conduct an effective job search effort;
  3. “Regulars” who need a ‘booster shot.’… and bring a guest;
  4. New Comers and tire kickers… this is a great session with which to supplement your job search effectiveness!
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THIS WEEK’s Event: Thursday, February 2nd @ 9AM at The Egg and I Restaurant (NW Quadrant of Arapaho and Montfort) in Addison

Due to the popular demand of both webinar activity and PRACTICE time, this week we will have a webinar on Wednesday (Feb 1st) afternoon at 4:30 PM followed by our normal Thursday morning session. 

Wednesday afternoon’s Webinar will highlight communication strategy models:  Where does your keyword selection come from and how can you best utilize them in all your collateral development?

Stay tuned for the REGISTRATION INFORMATION… Members of the Careerpilot’s Personal Services will be FREE, others will be charged $12

Thursday morning’s workshop will focus on assessment and collateral development to assist you in ‘getting the word out’ and communicating yourself effectively… it is one of our Core Topics:

“Achieving CareerFIT.” 

Map to The Egg and I

Our Location

  Come prepared to work on the land mines that you’ve been stepping on during your current job search… We will cover preparing for collateral development, developing your branded message in all your collateral–the core of your Personal Marketing Plan, and turning leads into interviews.

This is a good session for job seekers who feel they have not performed well in their search efforts… or those involved in lengthy searches where they have received inadequate offers. 

 Who should attend this week?

  1. Those who are just starting or re-energizing their active job search;
  2. Those seeking a systematic, focused, more predictable way to conduct an effective job search effort;
  3. “Regulars” who need a ‘booster shot.’… and bring a guest;
  4. New Comers and tire kickers… this is a great session with which to supplement your job search effectiveness!
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THIS WEEK’s Event: Thursday, January 26th @ 9AM at The Egg and I Restaurant (NW Quadrant of Arapaho and Montfort) in Addison

January 26th we will focus on negotiation models that can help you optimize your offers-AND- overview the entire process in our Core Topic: “Embracing The OTHER Job Market.” 

Map to The Egg and I

Our Location

  Come prepared to work on the land mines that you’ve been stepping on during your current job search… We will cover preparing for job search, developing and executing your Personal Marketing Plan, and turning leads into interviews.

This is a good session for job seekers who feel they have not performed well in their search efforts… or those involved in lengthy searches where they have received inadequate offers. 

 

Who should attend this week?

  1. Those who are just starting or re-energizing their active job search;
  2. Those seeking a systematic, focused, more predictable way to conduct an effective job search effort;
  3. “Regulars” who need a ‘booster shot.’… and bring a guest;
  4. New Comers and tire kickers… this is a great session with which to supplement your job search effectiveness!
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THIS WEEK’s Event: Thursday, January 19th @ 9AM at The Egg and I Restaurant (NW Quadrant of Arapaho and Montfort) in Addison

January 19th we will focus on interviewing effectiveness with our Core Topic: “Closing The Deal.” 

Map to The Egg and I

Our Location

  Come prepared to work on real life examples of land mines that you have stepped on during actual interviews in the past… We will cover handling difficult questions, money-speak, and pre-offer negotiation tactics.

This is a good session for job seekers who feel they have not performed well in past interviews… or those involved in lengthy searches where they have received inadequate offers. 

On January 26th, we will have a practice session revolving about answering questions effectively and using negotiation strategy and tactics.  Yes, this means that you need to anticipate our first webinar on Wednesday afternoon, January 25th!!

This will be the last FREE Webinar… I will be announcing the new service offerings soon.

Who should attend this week?

  1. Those who are not confident in the interview skills;
  2. Those seeking a systematic, focused, more predictable way to conduct an effective interview;
  3. “Regulars” who need a ‘booster shot.’… and bring a guest;
  4. New Comers and tire kickers… this is a great session with which to supplement your job search effectiveness!