Managing Your Own Affairs

Author: Eva Lucas,
             Insurance Producer

You’re in transition. That’s OK. You’re not the only one; it’s not the end of the world. Before you work on your resume or mock interview, consider the following steps.

First, you need to take care of yourself. I mean make sure you are well physically. You might want to consult a doctor for a physical exam. After all, how can you work if you have a tooth ache? Or a migraine? See a doctor to take care of this problem. Refer your ailment, to a certified specialist. Otherwise you would be more of a hindrance to your family than an asset. Remember the phrase, “a sound body goes with a sound mind”. 

Also, you have to eat right to feel right. I’m not going into nutrition. So you have know what 
foods to eat and avoid. Everything in moderation as they say. If you must drink alcohol, drink sparingly. If you smoke, drop it like a bad habit. Do a little exercise like taking leisure walks. Ask your doctor for his/her advise if it is right for you. (That’s my disclaimer).  

Second, your job is to look for a job. Plan your day as if you are going to work. Structure it so that you have a productive day. Have breakfast; your brain needs food. That’s your fuel to start the day. You might want to plan your day by surfing the web. Have a journal wherein you can document the date and time of your correspondence. Whenever you open an  account with a company, have your user name and password documented. My friend has a log book just for user name and password for easy reference.  

Third, make sure you have a good resume. If you don’t know the difference between a 
functional resume as opposed to a chronological resume, you need to see Alex Freund, 
Landing Expert. He helped someone revise an effective resume which led to landing a job. 
Also, read Garrett Miller’s book, Hire on a WHIM. It is full on wonderful incites which you 
might not be aware of. I actually had the library purchase the book so I may benefit from it 
and have it circulated for others in our county.  

If you missed Richard Paino’s presentation  titled: The Psychology of Re-Employment, you might want to invite him again. It’s amazing how one’s thoughts and emotions influence one’s  job search. Read Dave Schuchman’s blog on How to Send an Email to Someone when you do not know their email address. Thank’s Dave, now I know how it’s done. Read Stephen Juro’s blog on Adopting Marketing Principles to Your Job Search. I like the paragraph, Determine a problem the company has and how you can be the solution. Lastly, read Richard Pawlack’s Summer Fun! Tweet! Tweet!  He must a guru on social media. I can surely learn from it.

Lastly, try to remain positive. If you follow the steps above, things can only get better. There is always HOPE.

LinkedIn, Your Second-Best Friend.

Author:  Ed Han
              Wordsmith, Recruiter, LinkedIn Advocate, JobSeeker Ally
              Translating business objectives into strategies & tactics

Any job seeker’s best friend is himself or herself: nobody will ever be better positioned to 
advocate for you as the best candidate for a job opportunity. But as far as tools go for 
propagating your personal brand and your unique value proposition as a candidate, you cannot beat LinkedIn. And this is for several reasons. 

Networking

Networking is how 70% of positions are filled (courtesy of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics JOLTS report). LinkedIn offers an incredible wealth of opportunities to network professionally, which empowers job seekers to get maximum return on investment (ROI) for staying in touch with professional contacts. But far beyond merely keeping the lines of communication with existing connections, LinkedIn users can prospect new connections. In group discussions, job seekers can raise their visibility among thought leaders and prospective hiring managers. By adding value in this way, a job seeker can win mindshare from professional peers. You can do so by sending invitations to connect to others solely on the basis of contributions to groups in which you are active. 

Personal Branding

Although the networking opportunities in LinkedIn are of obvious relevance to a job seeker, the prospect of establishing and controlling one’s personal brand is less obvious—but potentially more important. A lot of people have been talking about personal branding in the past year: Google shows 7.8 million hits on that search phrase. Personal branding is simple: it’s a job seeker’s unique value proposition—a combination of experience, training, skills, and aptitudes no one else has. Identifying your unique value proposition can be a challenge, but it pays great dividends. It provides a theme for elevator speeches, LinkedIn summaries, and any other content a candidate develops to raise personal visibility. And the best way to leverage your unique value proposition on LinkedIn is to incorporate it into your LinkedIn headline. The headline always appears with your name anytime your name appears on LinkedIn, a fantastic branding opportunity! Many job seekers have as their headline: “[industry/job function] professional.” However, in today’s job market, the odds of someone having an identical headline are high—the very opposite of a unique value proposition.

Conclusion

Investing the time it takes to learn where LinkedIn empowers your job search the most will help you stay focused on the Big Picture: landing your next opportunity.