If you are writing your resume from scratch, go find postings for jobs that you are interested in. What are the keywords in those postings? Make a list of keywords that are specific to your target industry. Keywords include things like job titles, skills and requirements, education and certifications, and acronyms and industry terminology.  Don’t forget to customize your resume for each job you are applying for.  Look at the keywords in the job posting, and include those in your resume.

An interesting tool that will highlight what your resume communicates is a word cloud. Making a word cloud of your resume, using websites such as  Wordle or Tagxedo, will show you what words are emphasized in your resume. As an example, I am including a Tagxedo word cloud of CPI Twin Cities’ home page. As you can see, our emphasis is on CAREER, COACHING, DEVELOPMENT, and TRANSITION.

What words are emphasized in your resume?

We’ve all heard the above quote from Louis Pasteur.  And we all know about the “chance” element of every job search.  You need to be in the right place at the right time with the right skills and the right personality match.  How can you maximize your chances of being prepared when the right opportunity comes along?  Research.

Studies have shown that the efficacy of the job search is directly proportional to the self confidence the job seeker has in his/her ability to conduct the search.  Research can play a key role in helping build that confidence.

There are many aspects to research during a job transition.  You may research just how the process works these days if you haven’t been in a search for awhile.  Or you may need to research which companies in a given geographic region meet your criteria for inclusion on your target list.  Perhaps you’ll need to evaluate a job offer to see if it is, in fact, a good fit for you or to verify that the compensation package offered meets your needs.  Your research may result in your staying on top of the goings-on in the local business community.

But one of the key aspects of research during a job search is to prepare yourself for the job interview.  Understanding the company, the role the position you are interviewing for has within the firm, how your skill set matches with the company’s needs, etc. can help you stand out from the crowd during an interview.  You will also need to know about the firm’s industry and who the major competitors are.  Your research will help you prepare some questions to ask at the end of the interview when you are asked if there is anything the interviewer can answer for you.

We are fortunate at CPI to have access to several tools that can help make this interview prep process a little easier.  The first is the powerful company/industry database OneSource, accessible through the CPI portal at www.CPITwinCities.com.  This database can help you create target lists, provide you with a profile of your target firm including corporate family tree and financials, access reports on the firm from other analysts, locate SEC filings and annual reports if the firm is public, and find up-to-the-minute news items.  Many of our outplacement program packages include being able to access the second research tool, the resident research librarian (ME!) for help.  You can ask me to help you learn how to do your own research or just ask me to do it for you.  Check with your consultant to see if you have a program that allows you to tap into my research services.  The third tool to consider is the workshop on research skills for job seekers offered every other Tuesday morning.  It’s a long session, but jam-packed with good ideas for using the tools available to you to help navigate the uncertain waters of the job transition.  It’s constantly being updated, so if you haven’t been for awhile, please consider this an invitation to join me for a refresher.  And, of course, if you are new to the job search, it’s a must.

We hope you’ll take advantage of the tools we provide to help you take some of the uncertainty out of the job search process and get your mind prepared so that chance will favor you when the time is right.

The purpose of the conversation is to increase your knowledge and to development meaningful contacts.  The insights can help you develop self-confidence and to see if you may be a “fit” based on the culture and values of the company.  The interviewee is providing you with their insights and advice about their experiences.

I’ve used this technique many times in my career and most recently when I choose to explore my Portfolio Career.  I began contacting people who already had Portfolio Careers and I found them through the LinkedIn Groups.  In addition, Patricia Berg provided me with valuable connections and I tapped into professional organizations and associations for contacts.  I met with 11 people who provided invaluable insights as I moved from a traditional career to my ‘Freedom Plan’ Portfolio Career; I have a variety of jobs with different employers, none of them as a traditional full time employee.

The steps:

•  Identify your needs – a new career, a targeted company or maybe if you would like to pursue a degree.
•  Get organized; create a Interview Guide sheet to ensure that you can track when you’ve communicated and followed up with contacts and to measure the outcomes.
• Create a list of possible contacts, names, addresses, phone numbers – use the CPI Alumni database, LinkedIn, check with your career coach, Association Executive Directors, Alumni Career Centers, and friends
• Create a communicates strategy – start contact by leaving a voice message, follow up with an email, follow up again with another email to confirm the time and location
• When scheduling a meeting, it’s important to be considerate of the location.  I like to meet at the interviewee’s office or a local close to their office, which is convenient for them.

Be prepared:

• Do your research. Research to contact, Google them, look them up on LinkedIn. Research the company, the jobs that they have open and the latest news or Twitter Tweets.
• Prepare a list of questions (see list of examples below).
• Take notes on the Interview Guide (It is okay to take notes during the meeting.)

Follow up:

• Send a THANK YOU note.  I suggest both an email thank you and a more formal, hand written note.  Your email may be blocked by their spam blocker and never get through. With the hand written note you can include your business card again and perhaps an article that would be helpful to them.
• Ask how you can help the interviewee.

Lastly, stay in touch with you new contact.  Invite them to LinkedIn and touch base with them when you’ve landed or made your changes.  People love success stories.

Sample interview questions and interview guide:

http://www.quintcareers.com/information_interview.html

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/infointerviews/a/infointervquest.htm

Contact Title: ____________________________________ Assistant: _________________________________

Email: __________________________________________ Phone: __________________________________

Referral Source & What in Common ___________________________________________________________

Initial Call Date_______________ Time_______________      Message left Y/N___________________________

Subsequent Calls/Emessages________________________________ Call/EM Returned? Y/N ______________

Objective of Call____________________________________________________________________________

General Plan for Achieving Objective____________________________________________________________

Networking Meeting Set Up:  Y/N ______________Date: ___________________ Time: ___________________

Location: ______________________________ Directions: ___________________________________________

Sent Confirmation Email 1 Day Before Meeting:  Y / N ______________________________________________

Bring: Networking Profile _____ Business Cards ______ Questions _____ Research ___­­­­________________

Job Description________________Other_________

Comments_________________________________________________________________________________

If Contact is Unable or Unwilling to Meet Suggest: _________________________________________________

Questions to Ask: ___________________________________________________________________________

Points to Make_____________________________________________________________________________

Referrals to 1) _____________________________ 2) _____________________________________________

1)       ______________________________ Other ___________________________________________________

Follow-up Actions:  Date Sent Thank you Y / N _________ Date Forwarded Info: _________________________

How Can You Help Them / Others: _____________________________________________________________?

I had the pleasure of attending the workshop by Jason Alba, career strategist, author of I’m on LinkedIn—Now What???, and founder of JibberJobber.  Jason presented on December 13^th at Metropolitan State University. This event was sponsored by CPI Twin Cities, MCDA, and Meaningful Connections. Jason was a delightful speaker, very engaging, witty, and knowledgeable. He captivated his audience for the entire two hours.

I attended this event expecting an afternoon of LinkedIn insights, but Jason mixed it up with common sense job search advice and wisdom. His number one recommendation for any job searcher is to use informational interviews on a daily basis. Get out there, meet people, engage your audience, and create, nurture, and maintain your relationships. Follow up with people. Do what you say you are going to do. Jason recommends leaving your resume behind during informational interviews.  This allows for more give and take and you can follow up with the resume at a later time.

Yes, it is a technological age and we all need these tools to survive in a complicated world and economy, but the message that rang true from Jason’s presentation was that relationships are more necessary than ever in our jobs and in our lives.

Jason touched on branding and encouraged authenticity in your brand and in all aspects of your job search. For those in the audience who didn’t have a brand he asked the questions: “How do others perceive you?  If you had a brand, what would it be?”

Jason also had some great book recommendations:

• Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It - by Peggy Klaus
• Never Eat Alone – by Keith Ferrazi
• Six Weeks to Multiple Job Offers – by Michael Webb

For many, Christmas symbolizes the birth of new life. Taken symbolically, it suggests that we can harness a spiritual power to “birth” something new and good in our own lives. As with nature, however, once a new thought or idea is seeded, it requires a development period. This is a period of letting go of what was before, opening up to change, envisioning something different, allowing the idea to develop fully, planning, and taking appropriate action. Then, when the time is right, something new and wonderful emerges!

 “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” — Edith Lovejoy Pierce

The New Year’s Holiday is another reminder that we can begin something new. I am not alluding to empty New Year’s resolutions – the ones that get discarded days after they are made. I’m referring to meaningful changes requiring the pursuit of important goals. This means that you must have a worthy goal, that you are willing to gather needed resources, and that you do something each day to reach the goal.

So, what would you like to be in 2012? What would you like to accomplish? Would you like to learn something new, find a new employment opportunity, or be a better parent? You already possess the power to make the changes you want to make!

Cheers to new beginnings!!!

Tamara Tasche is a MN Licensed Psychologist and the Director of Assessment Services at Career Partners International – Twin Cities.

Bill George, Former Chair & CEO, Medtronic

There is much conventional wisdom about trust (and the lack of it), and plenty of “advice”; trust must be earned, you have to know someone well before you can trust them, etc.  In my experience, the biggest roadblock to creating organizational trust is to see it as black and white.  Unchanging and unyielding.  A harmful trust myth is, “You either trust someone or you don’t, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”  What a damaging perspective!  If we believe that trust can never be regained, what hope is there for moving forward in a positive way?  If you lose trust in someone because they didn’t follow through when they said they would, is that it?    Certainly trust can be violated and lost, but in most situations we cannot afford to just write people off.  Nobody’s perfect and most deserve a second chance.  How can we find a path for rebuilding trust?

A true leader’s role is to give trust as much as to be trustworthy.  As Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner state in their book, The Leadership Challenge, “If leaders want the higher levels of performance that come with trust and collaboration, they must demonstrate their trust in others before asking for it from others.”

In other words, the winning leadership perspective is “Trust is good and I’ll go first!”   To develop a more nuanced view, it helps to define the components of trust.  Here are the four we use in our leadership development program, Building Trust and Respect:

• Sincerity:  Do you care?
• Competence:  Do you have what it takes?
• Reliability/Dependability:  Will you follow through?
• Ego:  Is it all about you?  Conversely, are you strong enough to stand up for what’s right?

Think about someone you trust strongly.  Which of these components do they demonstrate most clearly?  Now, think of someone you don’t trust at all—perhaps someone who has lost your trust.  Which of the components are their weak points?  By understanding the components of trust, strengthening them in yourself, and giving trust to others, you can build a culture of confidence, a firm ethical foundation, and a place where people are willing to give their best.  It’s the Holidays; give the gift of TRUST!

Marcia Ballinger from Keystone Search recently spoke at our Executive Forum. Afterward, Marcia took the time to share what a positive experience it was over a cup of coffee with me.  She told me how much she enjoyed interacting with our executive candidates and staff. I, of course, was grateful for the positive feedback and appreciated the chance to get to know Marcia better.

The part about living one’s brand that strikes me is that brand is about authentically demonstrating our brand through our actions.  In Marcia’s case, she has a reputation for reaching out to people, taking time to build relationships and providing meaningful information and insights that help others.

Her actions were an example of her brand in action.  As you think about living your brand, here are some tips to consider.

Tips for Living Your Brand

• Think about the elements of your brand and how they align with your daily actions
• Do something every week that demonstrates your brand to others
• Make your brand part of who you are rather than words on a page
• Use your brand as a relationship building opportunity

For more information about brand development visit http://www.thepersonalbrandingblog.com/tag/william-arruda/

In about 3 hours, the group of volunteers packed enough food for 32 children to eat for an entire year.  The food is specifically designed to cater to malnourished and starving children. Feed My Starving Children has greatly improved the quality of life in the 70 countries it serves.

During career transitions, it is important to stay busy. Staying busy will keep you in a positive state-of-mind, grow your network, and possibly help you find job leads. One way to stay busy is to volunteer at someplace like Feed My Starving Children. Here is a list of other ideas:

• Take (or teach) a class
• Join a job seekers group
• Go to networking events
• Work as a consultant
• Exercise regularly

A great opportunity to network is coming up. Join us at the CPI Twin Cities Annual Holiday Party December 8^th at 5:00. See our Upcoming Events page for details.

The purpose of these events is to take time out, have fun to celebrate the holidays, spend some time with those you don’t get to see very often, or to meet some new and interesting people.  Even though these are primarily social events, it is important to be aware of your behavior, and observe good business and networking etiquette.

Admittedly, most guidelines are common sense.  However, it’s a good idea to have some reminders so that you can make a positive impression while still having fun.  Remember too that first impressions are generally made within twenty to thirty seconds of meeting someone new.

Here are a few do’s and don’ts to keep in mind as you prepare to attend holiday gatherings:

DO:  Dress appropriately for the occasion, and be on your best professional behavior at all times.  Avoid too much “holiday cheer” or being overly familiar with people you do not know well. You never know who is observing or who knows who.

DO:  Have your business cards with you to network, but be low-key and use discretion.  Keep in mind that you are attending a holiday event that is primarily for a social purpose, even though people with a business relationship are attending. If you are unemployed, avoid handing out your resume at this time.

DO:  Be conscious about helping to connect others.  If you are speaking to someone and another person you know approaches, make the newcomer feel welcome by introducing him or her to the person you are in conversation with.  When introducing people to one another, offer a brief point of knowledge or interest about each person to the other before you excurse yourself.

DO:  Ease awkward moments for yourself and others.  If you have forgotten someone’s name, be straightforward but tactful in asking for his or her help to jog your memory.  Conversely, if someone seems to have forgotten your name, take them off the hook by offering a handshake, a smile, and a reminder.

DO:  Show interest in the other person first, rather than talking too much about yourself.  Avoid controversial topics with other guests, or getting on a soapbox for something you feel passionate about.  Additionally, you need to be sensitive that everyone does not have the same sense of humor, and avoid any comments that could be taken as offensive or disrespectful.

DON’T:  Hover around the bar or buffet table.  It may appear that you are either waiting for “prey” or are overly focused on the free food and drink rather than enjoying the people and the event. Help yourself to what you want, and then be gracious to move on and circulate the room.

DON’T:  Corner the hosts or other guests with long-winded conversations.  Be aware of what is going on around you, and be sensitive to the non-verbal body language of those you are with.  If you have a need for a longer conversation with someone, suggest that you follow-up with a phone call or meeting after the event.

 -Leslie Rose McDonald, President, Pathfinders CTS, Inc.