The Downtown Women's Club womensDISH blog

The Big Dogs are Quoting and We're Rallying, Right? Right.

Summer’s over, but for those of you in Job Hunt Mode, its more bittersweet than sad – after all, its back to work – fall is infamous for its activity. Companies are not hiring quite at 07/08 levels, but they are absolutely heading in the right direction for the remainder of this year. Already I’ve seen a significant increase in Tech hiring in the Boston area, and too, people are feeling stable enough to consider a new opportunity, as long as it’s the right one – naturally.

You’ll still hear about lay offs, but you will hear less and less – after all, who wants to come this far only to fail? Basic human nature tells you - no one. Ben Bernanke said “the recession is very likely over, but the labor market still has a long way to go”. Though a statement centric to the national audience and not specific to either Information Technology or the greater New England area, it was good news for the lot of us who are heads down, push forward, don’t look up until you can breathe without pain – a little dramatic? Likely – But I’ve heard enough stories this year to know I’m not reaching too deep for that analogy.

Combine Bernanke’s statement with Warren Buffets proclamation that the recession “past the critical point” and we have us a little hope on the horizon. Now is NOT the time to give up – it is at this point you will feel the temptation to run to Vermont and decide you’re quite suddenly into making Maple Syrup; it's just when you are about to find your way out of this mess, that you want to give up – Don’t. Stand up – edit/update the damn resume (again), and let’s get back to work, find a role that actually challenges you or one that gets you out of that incredibly long commute. Hey, the way things are going, we might even be able to nudge in a pay increase, slight, but possible. But then, anything is, right?

Jennifer Tortorella-Taylor is a Director at Footbridge Staffing and the co-director of the Downtown Women's Club Boston North chapter.  (More from Jennifer at:  http://headhuntress.typepad.com/). 

DWC Guest Post: From Fired to Hired

DWC Guest Post by Tory Johnson, author of Fired to Hired: Bouncing Back from Job Loss to Get to Work Right Now.

1) When you tried to go from fired to hired after losing your job at NBC News, what obstacles did you face?

When I was fired from NBC News from a job I loved and a place I considered heaven on earth, I was stunned. I thought my world had come to an end. I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I stayed in my apartment for weeks and weeks. Ultimately I had to accept that the job was over, but my life and career could continue just fine. I had come out of hiding, pick up the phone and reach out to all of my contacts. I had to hold my head and realize that the skills and successes were still mine—and nobody could take those away.

2) If I get laid off today, what’s the first thing I should do?

Two things simultaneously: Indulge in a pity party--give yourself a moment to let your emotions run wild. You'll no doubt feel scared, frustrated, angry, and maybe a tinge of relief. Acknowledge those concerns, but don't allow them to consume you. After all, you've got a lot of work to do. Focus on your finances. If you've lived paycheck to paycheck, it's time for a reality check. What are your monthly obligations and which ones can you lower? How much money do you have in reserve? File promptly for unemployment, with an emphasis on accuracy and honesty so your claim isn’t delayed or denied.

3) What are 3 mistakes you see jobseekers making most often?

• Trotting out the “nobody’s hiring” excuse. By assuming “there are no jobs out there,” you’re looking for an easy excuse—a crutch—to throw in the towel and give up on your search. When I appeared on Larry King Live earlier this year, a caller phoned in to ask how he could possibly find a job when 90 percent of the local employers in his area weren’t hiring. My answer is always the same: Focus on the other 10 percent. You don’t need 100 percent of the employers to be in hiring mode. You only need one to say yes.
• Talking mainly about your needs. It's not about what you want, dummy. It's about what they want. No employer will hire you because of what you want—such as an “opportunity for growth in a progressive company.” Forget that nonsense and recognize that you’ll only be hired based on what the company wants. Figure out what they want and position yourself as an ideal match. (Ultimately you have to want the same things for yourself, but as a jobseeker, sell yourself based on their needs first, not your own.)
• Spraying and praying. Only a fraction of online time should be spent on the giant job boards because they lead to a false sense of accomplishment. You submit hundreds of resumes and you feel pretty good about yourself. You assume someone out there will respond to at least one, if not more, of your submissions. All logical assumptions—and all wrong. Job searching in a recession is more about quality than quantity. If you’re not following up and proactively reaching out directly to decision makers, your chances of being discovered in that big black hole are slim.

4) Where do jobseekers say they’re spending most of their time online?

Sadly, the sites they turn to most often are the giant job boards. That’s fine for finding job leads and getting a sense of who’s hiring and what’s out there. But it’s hardly enough. I steer them to social networking sites. Anyone looking for a job should be on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. It’s not good enough to simply have an account and amass a slew of contacts, friends and followers: you’ve got to work those connections to make them work for you. Embrace the 60/40 rule: 60% of your jobsearch time should be spent offline, with just 40% spent online using job boards, social networking sites, blogs and industry sites.

5) Give us a few quick tips that are easy to apply:

• Enhance your digital identity. When we want to find out about someone or something, we google it. If nothing comes up, it must not exist. Don’t be absent in cyberspace. When a prospective employer or contact googles you, make sure something comes up—ideally information that enhances your professionalism and touts your credentials. Online social networks—Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn—can help you do just that. Create a free digital resume at VisualCV.com. Start a blog. Post comments on influential industry blogs to tout your knowledge.
• No typos, duh. Three out of four (76%) executives surveyed by staffing firm Accountemps said just one or two typos in a resume would remove applicants from consideration for a job. Ask 3 people to proof a hard copy—don’t rely on spell check. Read it backwards too.
• Don’t blame your age. Resist the urge to blame the one thing you can’t control—age. Even though workers age 45+ are disproportionately represented in the long-term unemployed, it’s not impossible to get hired. You’ll no doubt encounter “over-qualified,” which is often code for “too old,” but keep plugging away.
• Spend 3 to 4 hours a day devoted to your search. If you’re not working on it daily, it’ll take longer to get hired. If you’ve been struggling for months without success, wipe the slate clean and start over.
• Mind your credit. Poor credit, which is more and more likely for some people in a recession with prolonged unemployment, can prevent you from getting hired. Don’t bury your head to mounting debt and unpaid bills. Be proactive about addressing this if it’s an issue for you.
• Ask for feedback. If you’re going on interviews but never hearing back, ask for candid comments on why you weren’t selected. Don’t get confrontational; just make it clear that you’d greatly appreciate the benefit of feedback to help you going forward.

About the Book

At just 22, Tory Johnson was fired from her dream job as a publicist at NBC News. What followed is an all too familiar story—days of denial, Häagen-Dazs, and daytime TV. Tory’s pity party turned into a misery marathon until she decided to own up to her new reality and move forward. After writing a cathartic “Dear Andy” letter to the boss who arrogantly sent her packing, Tory made a cognitive shift—vowing to get going on the next chapter of her life, learning valuable lessons along the way. After a few intermediate jobs, Tory founded Women For Hire, a leading provider of comprehensive career services for women, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this fall.

Making it real

I have found the secret to successful networking.  Well, it's not really a secret, but a lot of people overlook this.  It's all about being yourself and being authentic.

I recently had coffee with an old friend, someone who I haven't seen in a couple of years.  I decided to approach this meeting as a conversation between two friends, an exchange of ideas rather than a meeting with a goal.  Of course, I had a goal for the meeting, I wanted his advice.

This new relaxed attitude helped make this meeting one of my most productive.  We really talked and exchanged ideas.  Ideas came up that probably wouldn't have surfaced if I had been so focused on the end result.

Sometimes, the slightest attitude shift can work wonders.

Nancy Loderick

Exhilaration and exhaustion

My MBA-refresher/career guidance course is now over and my mind is still spinning.  We went from 7:00 am until 8:30 pm every day for 6 days straight.  I went from exhilaration to exhaustion and back again.

My lessons learned from this life-changing program:

1.  Push yourself.

You'll be surprised how much you can accomplish.  I never thought I could work so intensely and still have so much energy and ideas flowing.

2.  Think differently and use your mind in new ways.

You'll be amazed at the new ideas that are generated.  I'll never have to calculate an internal rate of return, one of the case work assignments, but I had fun figuring out the steps needed to do it.

3.  Visualize the future.

We were asked to close our eyes and picture ourselves in our "perfect job."  We were to capture the details and the feelings, even if we couldn't quite figure out what our job was.  We discussed our thoughts in small groups and solicited their feedback.  It's fun to see how others' perceive you; they can find strengths you didn't know you had.

4.  Be comfortable with uncertainty.

It's okay to not know what you want to do next.  Just thinking about it and noting what images come to mind can help you clarify things.

5.  Be very open to the process.

I had originally hoped by the end of this program, I would know exactly what I wanted to do next in my career and would have perfectly mapped out plan for getting there.  As the program unfolded, I realized that knowing myself and carefully thinking through what's next are critical before jumping in with both feet.  I also discovered that working in a company culture that is in line with my values is a top priority with me.

6.  Use your gifts.

Being in transition can be a big blow to your ego.  Most of us define ourselves by the job we do and we no longer have that job, we feel lost.  You are more than your job.  And even if you don't have a job, you still have the skills and talents.  Find ways to use these by volunteering.  Volunteering can be as simple as helping others with their job searches.  I've found it so much easier to help someone else with their resume or pitch than it is to do my own.

The program I attended was called "A New Path: Setting New Professional Direction" and it was offered through Harvard Business School Executive Education.  I would highly recommend this program to anyone contemplating their next career move.

Nancy Loderick

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Do you wake up every morning, excited and ready to face the day?  If you've found your calling, you're one of the lucky ones.  When work doesn't feel like work, life is good.

My calling is learning, applying and explaining new technologies.  Today I was fortunate to attend an early morning session on iPhone applications. For those non-techies, iPhone is Apple's answer to the smartphone.  A smartphone is a mobile phone with PC-like functionality.

The meeting was in Cambridge, the seat of new technologies in Massachusetts.  I live in the suburbs, so this meant catching a 6:00 am train into Boston.  Of course, I couldn't give up my morning hour of exercise, so wake-up time was 3:30 am.  That's early, even for me, a die-hard morning person.

Since I love technology, I actually looked forward to getting up so early.  I savored every minute.  I did need a few more cups of coffee to get me through, but I had lots of ideas spinning around in my head.  And, needless to say, I now want an iPhone.

My next project is to compare iPhone vs. Blackberry.  All I know right now is that iPhones are much better for applications and Blackberries are much better for emails.

What gets you up and out the door every morning?

Nancy Loderick

Keeping Facebook separate from the Job Hunt

Just listened to some good tips from CBSAtlanta and Pink Magazine about ways to keep your online social activity separate from the job hunt.

While they recommend using your privacy settings on Facebook or other social networks, this might not always be enough because it doesn't control what your friends might do.  Their suggestion:

• For your social stuff:  Create an email address that is just connected to your social networks.  Then, use anonline "alias" for blogging, twitter or other social networks that is not your name.
• For the job hunt: Create another email address (yourname@.....com) and have that connected to your LinkedIn profile, or a twitter/blogging account which has more of a professional bent . 

On the video, they recommend the "mom" test - i.e., would you want your mom to read this.  Well, that should work for most people outside of Hollywood ...

Think it, say it, do it

The times are tough and tough times call for creative thinking.  No one is immune to hard times, so it’s not what happens to us, it is HOW we deal with and think about our situation.  Many times, the answer is right in front of us, if only we’d take the time to slow down and see it.

For years, I’ve been saying that I would love to go back to school, but I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to study.  Should I take a class purely for the sake of learning something new?  Something like French or Spanish?  Or should I go the more practical route, i.e.  some technical subject?  I’ve always taken on line courses like HTML, web design, advanced EXCEL, but I’m looking for something more involved.   I have also been saying that I’d love to re-do my MBA, after all my years of experience.

It wasn’t until I got an email from my graduate school, offering a week long program that is a  combination  MBA-refresher and career guidance, that everything started to come together.  This course was just the thing for me.  I have already learned so much, just from the prep work.

Here are my lessons learned so far:

1.  Think it, say it, do it!

Just taking that first step can set events in motion.  Now is not the time to think about all the reasons why following a dream is NOT a good idea.

2.  Enjoy the process.

This one was tough for me.  I didn't enjoy the case method used in my MBA program; I'm not one who can think quick and constantly come up with brilliant insights.  When I first got the advance work assignments, I had a flash of anxiety.  But, I then took a deep breath, thanks to my yoga and meditation training, and realized that brilliant insights were not what this program is all about.  The very act of reading the assignments and thinking about them was enough to stimulate my brain cells.  Plus, I won't be graded, so my performance doesn't matter.  Ah, the Type A perfectionist in me is finally letting go.

3.  Maintaining a strong network pays off in countless and unexpected ways.

For the career part of the program, I had to ask colleagues, bosses, friends and family members to assess my skill set.  I actually had fun with this!  If I had been asked to do this a few years ago, I would have had angst about who to ask.  Creating and keeping a strong network has been a top priority for me for the past few years.  I was able to quickly come up with a diverse group of people to help me with this.

4.  Make it easy for people to help you.

All those that I asked to assess my skills wrote back and said they'd be happy to help.  They also wanted to hear how the program went.  Most people want to help; make it easy on them by being specific on what you need and make it so they don't have to spend a lot of time doing it.  The survey I asked them to complete took 10 minutes. 

5. Timely follow-up is important.

I immediately thanked all who took the survey; I'll also write them after the program and let them know how things went.  Thank you notes and updates don't have to be lengthy, just sincere.

Nancy Loderick

 

 

Could your email hinder your job hunt?

Megan Pittsley at the Free2Succeed job center has a great article about how your email address is crucial to your job hunt.  She rightly advocates skipping the silly monikers and using your real name in the address.  I couldn't agree more (as you'll see in the article).  But, here's a quote that just sums it all up:

In closing I leave you with these thoughts from Bruce Powell, Managing Partner of IQ Partners, an Executive Recruitment Firm: “Why work so hard on making your resume the best it can be, only to have something as simple as your contact information plant a seed of doubt in a Hiring Manager's head and make all that hard work for nothing? With such fierce competition out in the job market today and the critical importance that hiring carries, Hiring Mangers can get extremely picky and have eliminated candidates for much less. In the end, why risk it?”

Pittsley recommends getting a separate email address for job hunting, so that you give a consistent, professional impression; and that you're not using your company email or a silly moniker.  However, I have another reason I'd like to add.  If you are going to use a separate email for job hunting, you may have to loosen up on the spam filters.  Sure you may get a few Nigerian Princes writing you, but isn't it worth suffering through a handful of those and NOT missing an email from a recruiter with a short timeframe? At the very least, you need to check your spam filters daily.

7 Tips for Job Hunting in a Recession

Last month, Lindsey Pollak, joined the Downtown Women's Club for a teleclass about job hunting in a recession.  Pollak is the author of Getting from College to Career: 90 things to do before you join the real world and co-author of The Savvy Gal's Guide to Online Networking (or What Would Jane Austen Do?).  More from Lindsey at www.lindseypollak.com.

1. Cast a wide net.  Expand to all industries, go beyond same old associations.

2. Become an indsutry insider.  Do in-depth research. Follow influential people on twitter. Set up google alerts on companies.

3.  Network the right way.  Start with who you know, but avoid going back to the same well too many times.  Don't be shy.

4.  Social networking needs to be part of your strategy. Google yourself, Post a profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  Make sure your profile is completely filled out if you are going to use a social network.

5.  Focus on your resume.  Make sure you differentiate yourself, focus on results achieved, showing that you have taken a project from beginning to end, and measurable results.

6.  Volunteer.  Use volunteer opportunities to build skills, resume, and your network.

7. Follow up.  The people who get the jobs are willing to go that extra mile.

And, she left us with a great point:  Positive people get jobs in a down economy.

DWC+ members of the Downtown Women's Club can listen to past teleclasses through our Teleclass Library (Our January teleclasses are not available yet, but will be soon).  Visit http://www.downtownwomensclub.com/teleclass for more information and to see upcoming classes.

Clicks & Mix Networking

Some great insights into networking in the year 2009 from Lindsey Pollak in her ABC News column about how to incorporate both new and old methods.

If you walked around midtown Manhattan during the summer, you might have seen the financial executive, in his late 40s, who paraded around in a sandwich board declaring "Experienced MIT Grad for Hire" and handing out copies of his resume.

A few months later, you might have come across a group of job-hunting, 20-something recent graduates promoting their skills though sidebar advertisements on Facebook and links to their online resumes.

What intrigues me about these methods is not just the guts these job seekers displayed. It's the different generational approaches to self-promotion. The baby boomer gravitated to in-person, face-to-face networking; the Millennial went right to the Web.

If you are looking for a job in the current recession, my best advice is to borrow from the playbook of both of these self-promoters: combine "old-fashioned" methods with new technologies.

Click here to read the different ways to combine the two, including a reference to yours truly's favorite mantra: "clicks & mix networking."

Diane K. Danielson
ceo, www.DowntownWomensClub.com