Blog - Carolyn Smith

Why you need to plan for career success

March 5, 2013 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

It is a rare creature that lands the perfect job and climbs the career ladder, without any preparation or planning. Ironically we plan for success for our employers, but don’t plan for our own success. We engage in meetings to see if we can enhance processes at work, we might be involved in complex projects and we ensure that they are completed on time and on budget, or we ‘bust our guts’ and prioritise and plan, so tasks are completed every day. Yet very few people actually engage in planning for their own career success.

Finding the right opportunities, getting a company or agency to invite you in for an interview, and competing with so many other candidates for the same job can be a daunting task. I mean if you are working full time, how to even get the energy to find open positions, let alone staying motivated after rejection, or spending time prioritising job search activities, such as increasing your networking, improving your resume, writing complex and tedious selection criteria and contacting recruitment managers (or rather chasing up recruitment managers).

The key to all of this is developing your own job search and career program. You need to think of your career in a different way. Shaping your career is something that is an ongoing activity. It is not about updating a resume when a new job arises, or networking only when you are shown the exit door or your current position becomes untenable to you. It is something you work on as an ongoing activity and the best time to work on it is when you are fruitfully employed.

So start career planning and break the whole process down into a series of simple steps, so you will know exactly where and how to find that dream job and ensure career success.

The key components to your plan should be as follows:

Program goal

Set a goal, as this will help you focus on what you want to achieve. Make sure the goal you set is realistic, but will stretch you beyond your comfort zone, so you are moving upwards, or into a position that is more suited to you as an individual. Once your goal is set, then try your best to meet it and reward yourself for your efforts, not just the results.

Job search approaches

Set your strategies in regards to what you will be actively doing everyday while looking for a job. If your focus is on government jobs, then your approach and activities will be on searching job listings and developing strong claims to selection criteria. If your focus is the private sector, then you need to select your various approaches, such as networking and referral building, contacting potential employers, informational interviewing, contacting recruiters, through to searching specialised job listings.

Daily and weekly actions

Make a list of daily actions that need to be completed and make these realistic and stick to the plan. You could even set yourself a 30-day plan, or develop a worksheet. Daily and weekly actions could include:

Research industries, job or employers for 3 hours every week
Network online for 1 hour a week
Call industry contacts for 1 hour a week
Contact 1 new industry organisation each week
Review resume and revise and update
Write to a person at a target company every day
Touch base with a contact officer at an agency to gather more information
Send resume and cover letter to 2 recruiters each week
Follow up with recruiters weekly
Spend 2 hours per week, searching specialised job listings
Develop your LinkedIn profile
Develop an online profile through a web portfolio, writing articles, making presentations, and developing a blog.

Identify areas that need improvement

Identify those areas that are hindering your career progression and remedy them. For example:

Improve your resume and responses to selection criteria
Enhance your interview skills
Learn how to network effectively both online and offline
Enrol in new courses, to enhance skills and knowledge

Attitude is everything

No plan will succeed, unless you have the right attitude and understand that rejection is part of the journey to success. You also have to ask yourself whether you are resisting the process and avoiding setting a career goal or plan, due to some past negative experiences. Are you afraid of failing? Succeeding? Looking silly? Being rejected? What is it that is preventing you from planning and achieving your dream career?

All the planning and goal setting will not succeed, unless you discover what attitude is holding you back. Make a conscious choice to change what is stopping you and then develop your goal and implement your plan.

Networking your way into a job

February 18, 2013 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

In past generations people went to work for a company, stayed a lifetime and enjoyed job security.

Today, you are responsible for your own job security. No matter what your position, you cannot assume that your job is safe, or that the company is stable (including government jobs). So you need to prepare, even when you are employed.

Since many experts agree that more than 70% of jobs are found and filled through networking – creating and maintaining a network will be vital, so you can quickly find new employment, or new opportunities. (The reason why networking works, is because a typical employer prefers to hire someone that is known through a network, or someone that comes recommended by a friend or colleague. Job boards are used as the last resort, not first resort by employers).

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Using Twitter to find your dream job

February 4, 2013 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

When you talk to jobseekers, using twitter does not exactly come into mind when trying to find a dream job. Twitter is about Justin Bieber having more followers than Lady Gaga, about politicians, business and sports people making inappropriate ‘tweets’ and for news service updates. Yet this online networking service and microblogging service is a ‘golden’ and often under-utilised resource for jobseekers.

The benefits of Twitter

The benefits of using Twitter can be enormous if used appropriately. For jobseekers, this includes:

A vehicle to gain support if you have lost your job.
It allows you to tap into a wealth of free job search information, including information specific to Australia. Australian career experts post regular and up-to-date tweets including myself (I know, a blatant plug and my twitter name is @carolyncoach)
It is a platform to locate job leads, as recruiters and companies hire via Twitter.
It allows you to connect directly with the hidden job markets and insider contacts.
It allows you to expand your network FAST.
As a professional it will help shape your online brand as an expert and authority.

So how to you use twitter for job hunting?

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What is holding you back from securing a new job?

January 21, 2013 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

So you are bitterly unhappy with your lot at work, or perhaps you are just bored, frustrated, lack motivation, procrastinating, blaming the economy, resigned to believing that a midlife career change is not appropriate, or perhaps you are just uncertain about the future. Whatever your reason, before you can genuinely look for alternatives, a career change or a new job, you need to understand what might be holding you back.

Fear and career change

Are you fearful of change, fearful of failure, fearful of rejection? I’m not going to lie to you, making a significant career change or even simply changing jobs, takes courage and you will experience setbacks. But by allowing fear to stop you from exploring new possibilities, will always inevitably result in boredom and frustration.

You also need to realise that everyone will experience rejection while making a career change. You might experience rejection getting into that new degree course, or get a rejection letter after applying for a job.

Nobody likes rejection – I mean rejection is really hard to take, especially if it is a job you really wanted. But you have to remember, you are not alone as even the most famous amongst us, where rejected, or faced obstacles before they succeeded.

Take these examples from history:

Chester Carlson, a young inventor, took his idea to 20 big corporations in the 1940s. After seven years of rejections, he was able to persuade Haloid, a small company in Rochester, N.Y., to purchase the rights to his electrostatic paper- copying process. Haloid has since become Xerox Corporation.

Thomas Edison tried over 2,000 experiments before he was able to get his light bulb to work. Upon being asked how he felt about failing so many times, he replied, “I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000-step process.”

Persistence paid off for General Douglas MacArthur. After applying for admission to West Point twice, he applied a third time and was accepted. The rest is history.

In 1927 the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School, instructed student Lucille Ball, to “Try any other profession. Any other.”

Buddy Holly was fired from the Decca record label in 1956 by Paul Cohen, Nashville “Artists and Repertoire Man.” Cohen called Holly “the biggest no-talent I ever worked with.”

Academy Award-winning writer, producer and director Woody Allen failed motion picture production at New York University (NYU) and City College of New York. He also flunked English at NYU.

Excepts taken from Obstacles are the Stepping Stones of Success by Harvey Mackay

No idea about what you want to do, when you grow up

If you have no idea what you want to do, when you grow up, it is really difficult to make a positive career change. Start by researching career options, or alternatively use a career counsellor who will provide appropriate guidance and support.

Self-limiting beliefs and behaviours

So many people have really limiting beliefs and behaviours, or very little insight into their personal strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps you have little in the way of formal education, so severely underestimate your abilities. Perhaps you don’t know how good you are so avoid situations that challenge you, or highlight your strengths. Maybe you are one of those people that undersell their skills and abilities, even though they know that they could probably do the job.

Alternatively, you might be aiming too high, not realising that you don’t have the intellect, demeanour or qualifications for a position. Such lofty expectations might result in applying for unsuitable jobs and a pile of rejection letters.

Whatever camp you fall into, you need to recognise that these self-limiting beliefs and behaviours are holding you back from securing the ideal new job.

Procrastination and career change

You can have the greatest qualifications, credentials and résumé on the market place, but unless you get out there and put yourself in front of decision makers, follow up with phone calls and recognise that a rejection letter is part of the process of a career change and getting a new job, then you won’t succeed.

If you want to succeed, then you need to:

Commit to a job search campaign and then schedule time to implement the campaign.
Commit to gaining the relevant qualifications required by the career change.
Stop making excuses and putting the job search task off. If you think procrastination is the problem, rest assured it isn’t. Procrastination is always the symptom, not the problem! So if you are procrastinating, you need to get to the root of your procrastination and resolve it.
Getting that dream job is like anything else, it can take time. I’m willing to bet that you have time in the evening. So instead of watching TV, spend that time job hunting and making a transition to a new career. If you set aside just two evenings a week, just imagine how much progress you would make.

Changing career or securing a new job is usually always a challenge, but with the right attitude and mind-set, it is possible to make the change and secure a rewarding new job.

Job-hunting over the holiday period

December 17, 2012 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

Christmas is coming and this is the quiet time for head hunting, hiring and recruitment activities. But before you wind down your job search to zero or give up, keep in mind, while not so many jobs get advertised, some companies are still hiring over the holiday period. What this means to you as a job hunter, is that contrary to what most people tell you, this could be the perfect time to get your resume or selection criteria in front of a decision-maker who need to hire a person as a matter of urgency, (plus you face less competition as less job seekers looking). So keep on looking.

The holiday period is also a perfect time to prepare for a future job hunt. Use the time to:

Take a good hard look at your resume and selection criteria

Like it or not, these documents are your key to obtaining an interview and your only chance to make a good first impression. Competition is really tough for some jobs, so before you put pen to paper, make sure you are suitably qualified so you are only targeting those jobs in which there is a good chance that a well-written application will get you through to interview. If applying for a government job, I strongly suggest that you touch base with the contact officer and obtain more information about the position, including ascertaining whether someone is acting in the position, so you can gauge your competition. Once you have obtained the relevant information, set aside at minimum a whole day so you can write strong evidence based responses to selection criteria.

In terms of your resume, effective resumes are highly focused marketing pieces that must be strategically written and designed to sell YOU as the best solution to potential employer’s needs and problems. Both your resume and selection criteria, must illustrate your unique value proposition that will differentiate you from your competitors in the job market. Do your documents accomplish these goals? Are they outcomes focussed? Do they accurately represent you in the way you wish to be presented?

If not, it is time to rewrite these documents, as poor marketing documents might be the key reason why you are not securing interviews.

Use the downtime to start networking

If you are working at a company where the holiday season is a slow one, take advantage. If on holiday, take the time to use your network of acquaintances and contacts to network. The holiday season is a great excuse to get in touch and let your contacts know you are on the market for a job. For example:

Send a Christmas card to networking contacts, recruiters and to employers that could help you with your job search.
Connect with your professional network online via LinkedIn. The season to be merry is a great excuse to touch base and reinforce or expand your network.

If networking freaks you out, remember that networking is not about asking for a job, you are simply asking for referrals or advice from people that might be able to assist you. I mean, would you be upset if someone you knew contacted you to inform you of their job search and asking for some advice, or to point them in the right direction during the silly season? Of course not, in fact you would probably be very flattered, so why not use this method as a way to discover new opportunities and network your way into a position?

Use the holiday to research job prospects

This is the perfect time to undertake research on various opportunities that will be available in the short-term future. Use the time constructively and research companies over the Internet. This is a great time to get information relating to whether a company is experiencing growth, or compile a list of the right contact person within your targeted companies. Remember, companies experiencing growth need to hire and won’t stop hiring over the holiday season. Even though holidays are bunched up at this time of year, if a business has competitive pressures, are growing markets or undertaking a new strategic initiative they are not going to stop hiring because of Santa Clause.

Sneaky tricks to overhaul your resume and selection criteria

November 30, 2012 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

Ask any professional resume writer and what they enjoy most is transforming a resume from a chronological work history, to a document that effectively markets a client. Done correctly, your resume is your ultimate marketing tools and will substantially increase the odds in your favour of securing an interview. Below are some of the key strategies that I use to transform client resumes.

Select Accomplishments / Selected demonstrable examples

The key word I use as a professional is select and it is used frequently on purpose. This word successfully implies that you have many more accomplishments to list, or many more examples that you could incorporate into your responses to selection criteria. In your selection criteria, just add – Selected demonstrable examples include and then insert your STAR’s or CAR’s. In your resume, just bullet the top 3 – 5 accomplishments that are relevant to the job you want to land. Make sure you use short phrases and action words. For example:

Instrumental in growing temp hours by 150% to 300% consistently exceeding consultant quotas by 150% or more.
Architect of new benchmark assessment process within the industry, which significantly improved candidate quality and reduced the pool of unsuitable candidates.
Drove business development with key clients, including successfully securing preferred supplier agreements.

Special Skills / Relevant Skills

You can use the term special or relevant, since it implies that you have more skills, but the ones you have listed are unique to the potential employer’s needs.

Other Work History / Prior Employment

Use this heading if you want to disguise very old work history, but this old work history it is still relevant to the position you are applying for. Just list the various positions, without inserting the dates, after your more current work history. For example:

PRIOR EMPLOYMENT:

Hanimex (NZ) Limited – Importing & Costings Clerk / Secretary to Sales Manager

Delivered top-level secretarial support and juggled multifaceted administrative tasks, including accurate costings and completion of weekly consignments, letters of credit, liaison with Customs Agents and general administration.

FC Mathews & Sons Limited – Sole Charge Office Manager

Autonomously managed a range of tasks, from general bookkeeping, wages, reception, bank reconciliations, through to ensuring a superior level of customer service.

Graphics and symbols that add punch

Add a chart, which demonstrates a quantitative improvement, for example in sales. (Just ensure the chart only takes up a small amount of space on your document).

Use symbols, such as %, rather than percentage and $, rather than dollars, and numbers, namely $1,000,000 rather than one million dollars to emphasise your achievements. Both symbols and numbers tend to jump off the page, when employers scan your documents.

Use bold to highlight key words

Bold key words, for maximum impact in your resume or selection criteria, as this is a great tactic to get reader’s to slow down and take notice. For example:

Top performing consultant for the whole of New Zealand (consistently in 1^st position for the North Island or 2^nd overall for the whole of New Zealand).

Use online resources to write your job descriptions

Why reinvent the wheel when developing descriptions for your jobs in your resume and selection criteria. So long as you don’t plagiarise material, the Internet is a great source for obtaining job descriptions that make you sound like a real wiz.

Mirror the employer’s language and requirements

Your resume and your responses to the selection criteria are actually not about YOU. Yes, you heard me – they are not about YOU – they are about what you can offer THEM (the employer and agency). Once you understand this vital principle, then you can start creating a document that meets their needs and the best way to do this, is to simply mirror their requirements, right down to the language they use. So if they require someone with a bubbly personality, list one of your personal features in your cover letter, as a bubbly personality. It is all about creating the linkage between what THEY require and what YOU can offer.

Recruiters – friend or foe?

November 5, 2012 by Carolyn Smith Leave a Comment

Like most job seekers conducting a job search, you will probably have dealings with recruiters, be it responding to a recruiter’s advertisement, or contacting recruiters directly.

Before working with recruiters, there are a few things you need to know, which will make working with a recruiter so much easier and more effective.

About the industry

Before using a recruiter, it is important to understand a few of the key issues relating to the sector. The industry by its very nature, is very competitive and cut throat, head-hunters rarely talk to each other, little training is required of recruiters i.e. there are no mandatory education or training prerequisites and the industry is very fragmented

Recruiters are working for themselves, not you

Recruiters are working for the company (or rather themselves, as they get paid a commission for placement) and the company is their client – and you are essentially the candidate (product) they are offering the client.

Because of the way the industry is structured, recruiters will be looking to work with the candidate most likely to get hired by the client. What this means to you, is that they won’t be recommending you, if you don’t meet the client’s specific requirements – so don’t rely on a recruiter to nail you that job. (Recruiters should only ever be one aspect of your overall job search strategy). Also keep in mind, that because the recruiter has to meet the client’s exact requirements, a recruiter is probably NOT the best job search strategy, if you are starting out, or looking to change career direction.

The Distinction between headhunters (recruiters) and temporary employment agencies

Headhunters (or recruiters) are either retained or contingency. Retained, is when the agency has a financial relationship with the client company and is paid an up front free for completing an assignment to match the candidate to the specific job specification (this is quite common for government recruiting drives). Contingency is when the recruiter gets paid, only if the recruiter presents a candidate that the company likes and hires.

As a result, many recruiters will tell you that you should cultivate an exclusive relationship with just a couple of recruiters – since if they are getting paid on a contingency basis they might be competing with other recruiters to fill the same position.

If you decide to enlist with several recruiting agencies and the recruiter working on contingency discovers this, then it is likely that the recruiter will view you as a ‘risk’ and not worth working with you. However keep in mind, that most recruiters are unlikely to share information about who they are working with, so many career professionals actually recommend contacting as many recruiting firms that specialise in your industry or profession, as is practical. That way you won’t miss out on a position, when it arises.

Temporary employment agencies, are exactly what the name implies, they supply their clients (companies), with staff on a temporary or contract basis. When working through a temporary agency, you are working for the temporary employment agency, (they pay you and then invoice the company) not the company you are working at. Temporary agencies are a great place to get your foot in the door and often a fantastic opportunity to get a permanent position. If the company decides they want to employ you on a permanent basis, then the company will pay a fee to the temporary agency.

Be selective in the recruiters you approach

As the industry is currently so fragmented, it is vital to be very selective in regards to the recruiting agencies you approach. A small number of recruiters don’t act in a professional and ethical way, which might potentially be detrimental to your job search.

Build a personal relationship with your recruiter

Now that you have an understanding of how the recruitment game works, your next step is to begin to build a personal relationship with the recruiter. Treat the recruiter, no differently than you would treat any other contact in your network and make sure you treat the recruiter with respect. That means:

Respect the interview with a recruiter, by treating the interview process as a business meeting. It is not the time to get on your soapbox and gripe about your current circumstances. Even if the interview is informal, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security – keep it strictly professional and don’t inadvertently disclose personal details that could be detrimental to your application.
Respect the recruiter’s time (most recruiters work long hours and are extremely busy), so make sure you return their telephone calls and keep appointments
Keep it honest, – for example, don’t tell the recruiter that you are interested in a position and then not turn up for the interview arranged with the prospective employer. Also keep in mind that most recruiters are not interested in functional resumes, (they often chuck them out) – they want the resume in a chronological format, without the experience being embellished or exaggerated!
Present yourself as a candidate of high calibre and make their job easier. For example, (a) any application to a recruiter should be fact filled and written to help the recruiter match you to their exact client requirements, (b) your job search aspirations should be crystal clear and (c) if asked your salary expectations, give an honest answer. By making their job easier, it is more likely you will establish a good working relationship and the recruiter will work with you in partnership. (Just remember though, the recruiter’s allegiance, will always be to their client, not you).
Avoid any potential conflicts, by being very selective in the company’s you contact directly. If a recruiter presents you as a candidate to a company, you have already approached, it could result in the company, not wanting to pay the recruiters fee, resulting in you potentially being overlooked for the position and a blacklisting by the recruiter in question.