Tag Archives: Networking

Employment Expertise: Why December is a great month to find a job

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By West Michigan Works!

 

Don’t let long shopping lists and holiday parties distract you from your job search this month. Many people pause their search until the New Year, but December is the good month to find a job. Here’s why:

 

Fewer people look

Between traveling, parties and shopping, many job seekers are busy making plans and they put their job search on hold. Use this time to get ahead of the competition by applying to jobs and connecting with recruiters. Overwhelmed with your to-do list this month? Balance your job search and holiday activities by blocking out time every day for job search activities.

 

Plenty of parties

The holidays are an excuse to reconnect with people you’ve met through networking. Ask them to coffee or lunch to catch up. These meetings will strengthen your relationship and keep you top of mind as they move into the New Year.

 

Consider holiday parties as another networking opportunity. Meet someone new and let them know you’re job searching (even if it’s your grandma’s neighbor!).

 

Extra time with recruiters

Recruiters are more likely to respond to your email because they aren’t as busy this month. Apply to relevant job postings and follow up with an email to the recruiter. Give them a chance to get to know you now, so they’ll remember you once 2018 hiring begins.

 

Did you get an ‘Out of Office’ reply? Great! If they don’t respond to your email upon return, welcome them back to work and then ask your questions.

 

Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.

 

Do you know someone in a service industry job who goes above and beyond their expected role? Do they take pride in their vital, yet under-appreciated job? Nominate them for an Essential Service Award.

 

Employment Expertise: Job Search Buzzwords — LinkedIn

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By West Michigan Works!

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is week four of our five-week series on job search buzzwords.

 

What is LinkedIn?

 

Dictionary definition: a business and employment-oriented social networking service that operates via websites.

Our definition: a networking tool that acts as part resume, portfolio, letters of reference and social media. The social media aspect allows you to highlight your personality as well as your professional experience.

How do I make LinkedIn work for me?

Your LinkedIn profile should represent how you want to be seen by your network and potential employers. All of the topics discussed in our job search buzzwords series can help you build your profile:

  • Use the site to network with trusted contacts.
  • Strengthen your brand by including personal information you wouldn’t include on a resume.
  • Use your elevator speech as your headline or in the summary section.

With this knowledge and the five tips below, you will be on your way to creating a strong presence on LinkedIn.

  • Stay up to date. Be sure to include your most recent positions, responsibilities and accomplishments.
  • Get personal. You should always be professional. However, LinkedIn is a great way to let your network and potential employers understand you better. Include volunteer experience, interests and causes you are passionate about.
  • Give. LinkedIn allows you to write recommendations for others in your network as well as endorse them for skills. Start endorsing, and they may endorse you back.
  • Engage. The site allows you to follow posts about business-related topics or posts from different industries and companies. Read, share and comment on posts that interest you.
  • Make sure your profile is error free. In addition to proofing for typos, spelling or grammatical mistakes, make sure your information is correct and accurately portrays your accomplishments. Do not exaggerate.

Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.

 

Employment Expertise: Job search buzzword — ‘Networking’

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By West Michigan Works!

If you’ve job searched for more than a day, there are a handful of words you’ve probably heard over and over:

  • Network. 

  • Personal brand. 

  • Elevator speech. 

  • LinkedIn. 

  • Soft Skills.

What do these words actually mean? How do you do them well?

Welcome to our five-part series, Job Search Buzzwords. We’ll explain these terms in an easy way to understand. And, give you practical ways to start putting these words into actions.

Job Search Buzzword: Networking — What is it?

Dictionary definition: interact with other people to exchange information and develop contacts, especially to further one’s career.

Our definition: Getting to know other people in the community so you can help them and they can help you.

How to do it?

Forget the phrase networking. Instead think relationship maintenance. 
Networking is about meeting people you want to share ideas and resources with and are genuinely interested in staying connected. Networking is a way of thinking and not a “thing” you do once a month.

Networking is natural.
 When was the last time someone you knew asked you for a restaurant recommendation? Or asked for your thoughts on a problem they had with a project? This is networking in action! You develop relationships with people. And, they trust what you share because you have a relationship with them.

Attend events that make sense for you.
 Don’t go to every networking event planned. You’ll wear yourself out. Instead go to the events with interesting speakers or people attending.

Prepare before you go.

  • Decide your goal for going before you step in the door: do you want to meet with three people, meet a specific person, or find someone you can help.
  • Avoid awkward conversations. Have a few conversation starters in mind: ‘How did you hear about this event?’ ‘Have you ever been before?’ ‘Hi, I don’t know too many people here, so I wanted to introduce myself. I’m [name].’

Follow-up. 
People are busy. The next day, send a quick email to remind them of you and your conversation. Make sure to send them any articles, videos, project examples you promised.

Maintain the relationships. 
After you send your follow-up email, connect to them on LinkedIn. Do they tweet? Follow them on Twitter. Monitor your social media feeds and comment on their posts sometimes. Email them once in a while to check-in. And keep an eye out for them at future networking events.

Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.

Employment Expertise: First steps to a positive online presence

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By West Michigan Works!

 

More and more HR professionals are using the Internet to find information about job candidates. In a recent poll of recruiters, 93% said that they look at a candidate’s social profile and 42% of those said that they’ve reconsidered a candidate based on what they found.

 

Knowing this, how can you create a good online first impression? Here are a couple tips to get you started.

 

Google yourself. Look at the first three or four pages to see what an employer will see. A search that brings up negative or inappropriate content could land you in an employer’s reject pile. And while having negative content online may hurt your chances of landing a job, having no information is almost as bad; recruiters may see this being out of touch or lacking skills.

 

To combat this, you need to get fresh, positive content on the Internet. A good way to do this is to create or update your LinkedIn profile.

 

LinkedIn is the #1 social media site that employers and recruiters use to search for candidates, so it’s important to have a complete profile with detailed information about your skills and experience. Pay close attention to the following:

  • Photo: Your profile is 11 times more likely to be viewed if you include a photo of yourself. Be sure to use a professional-looking photo.
  • Headline: Your headline is the short description of you that follows your photo in LinkedIn. A strong headline uses key words that are relevant to the position that you’re searching for and makes people want to view your profile. This is your opportunity to sell yourself in 120 words or less. Be concise. Be creative.
  • Network: Once you set up your profile, connect with everyone you know: current and former colleagues, past employers, people in your industry, neighbors, family, friends and former classmates. And don’t forgot to follow companies that you may be interested in.

Building your online presence takes time, but these steps are a good start. Once you get some positive content on the web, remember to monitor it on a regular basis.

 

Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.