Jeannette Kraar - Executive Career Coaching » Blog Articles

Finding Your Dream Job Through LinkedIn and Other Tips

Jeannette Kraar — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:46:21 +0000

The Financial Post reprinted an article by Susan Adams from Forbes that gave some really good advice on using these social media sites to get ourselves some real job hunt value. You can get to the article by clicking here.

It not only gives some good specific and practical advice. It gives links to six articles at Forbes that include additional advice.

WEDDLE’s 2010 User’s Choice Awards, The Elite of the Online Employment Industry

Jeannette Kraar — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 22:37:27 +0000

I wanted to share with you a list I discovered online. It contains some really solid online employment sites. Check them out and tell me what you think about using them to find your next job.

Absolutely Health Care http://www.healthjobsusa.com/
AfterCollege.com http://www.AfterCollege.com/
AllHealthcareJobs.com http://AllHealthcareJobs.com/
AllRetailJobs.com http://www.AllRetailJobs.com/
CareerBuilder.com http://www.CareerBuilder.com/
CollegeGrad.com http://www.CollegeGrad.com/
CollegeRecruiter.com http://www.collegerecruiter.com/
Dice.com http://www.dice.com/
DirectEmployers.com http://www.DirectEmployers.com
DiversityJobs.com http://www.DiversityJobs.com/
EmploymentGuide.com http://www.EmploymentGuide.com
ExecuNet http://www.execunet.com/
GetTheJob.com http://www.GetTheJob.com
Hcareers http://www.Hcareers.com/
HealthCareerWeb.com http://www.HealthCareerWeb.com/
HEALTHeCAREERS Network http://www.HEALTHeCAREERS.com/
Indeed.com http://www.Indeed.com/
Job.com http://www.Job.com/
JobFox.com http://www.jobfox.com/
Jobing http://www.jobing.com/
JobsinLogistics http://www.JobsinLogistics.com/
TheLadders.com http://www.TheLadders.com/
Monster.com http://www.Monster.com/
Net-Temps.com http://www.Net-Temps.com/
SimplyHired.com http://www.SimplyHired.com/
6FigureJobs.com http://www.6FigureJobs.com/
SnagAJob.com http://www.SnagAJob.com/
TopUSAJobs.com http://www.TopUSAJobs.com/
VetJobs.com http://www.VetJobs.com/
Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/

Do You Offer Others Real Value?

alextarasiuk — Thu, 06 May 2010 06:59:56 +0000

“Everything You Do MUST Have Value to Others.” That’s the title of a Career Opportunities podcast I listened to recently. It made a recommendation we should all consider when we doing just about anything.

I see this problem over and over again. Someone takes an idea for a new business, a product idea or even something they’d like to do as a career and when they execute the idea, it flops. It gets flat out rejected by the target audience. Then everyone sits around staring at each other asking, “What happened?”

Those in denial might be tempted to blame the economic climate, the user’s inability to grasp the concept, a lack of support, distribution network, etc. etc. There’s no shortage of excuses.

The BIG, BIG, BIG question to ask is:

What value does it have for others?

It’s tough to stay objective when you work on something for a long time. Your passion takes over and it’s tough to stay objective. That being the case, you’re typically the last one that’s going to call your baby ugly. But unless you ask yourself this question and really work to get the true answer, you could be making a huge mistake.

You have to ask yourself:

What do other people see in it?
What’s your spouse, friends and fellow business contacts think?
Did you ask them?
Are you afraid to?

I know when someone presents me with an idea, my first question inside is, “What’s in it for me?” The podcast says just that. It’s just the way people think. People have so many options. They need a way to quickly trudge through things and pick out what matters from what doesn’t.

So if you are considering a move, deciding upon a new business, product or some other new venture, here are some steps you can follow to force yourself to identify its value before you spend a lot of wasted effort.

Step 1 – Explain the Idea to an Outsider. The key here is to get outside your head and the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together” plays against you here. People in the same industry or the same age group or the same peer group often see things from the same perspective. This develops a blind spot that can prevent you from seeing how your audience could miss your value.

If you can’t get someone to understand the value in a few paragraphs you’ve got to go do some homework. Either your idea sucks or you have to work on the value it provides. Remember: If your audience can see the value, there is no value.

Step 2 – Ask your spouse. (Careful here. This one’s dangerous. It just might hit your ego.) If you are married or in a longer term relationship, you and your other half probably see the world differently. Figure that half of your potential audience sees your product from the other person’s perspective. Also figure your spouse isn’t as tied to your idea as you are. They can be a little more objective.

If they’ve been down on your idea from the beginning, explore the reasons why. If it’s because of the risk or issues it brings up in their life (like a reduction in security), you have some other things to discuss. Maybe I’ll write about that one in the future.

However, if you can dig and discover why they don’t see value, you have ammunition for improving it or deciding against it.

Here’s some food for thought. If you have avoided updated your spouse on the idea, if it feels more like a scheme, ask yourself, “Why is that?” Are you hiding something from them? Are you hiding something from yourself?

A spouses is an inexpensive sounding boards vested in your outcome. Leveraging the relationship can reveal some interesting info.

Step 3 – Take advantage of organizations. If you have a business idea, take a look at your local SCORE office. They have program where experienced executives review your idea and provide you with some feedback. If you are considering a job change, make a point of meeting with a recruiter or two. Get their thoughts on your career change idea and how best to go about it. If you have an idea for a product, check out what your local business schools have available. Sometimes faculty or entrepreneur programs there are eager to hear about ideas like yours so their students can apply what they’ve learned on real world projects.

I’m sure you can come up with other ideas, but the key is to confirm the value of your project in the early stages before you commit a lot of time and resources to it. That way as you proceed you have the assurance your own passion and biases aren’t your worst enemies.

Anyone have examples of an approach you took the look over the value of your idea?

For Greater Professional Success – Let Lady Gaga Make You A Star

Jeannette Kraar — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:49:05 +0000

Even if you’re my age you’ve probably heard of her. In a very short period of time Lady Gaga has become a phenomenon – an internationally celebrated and very successful icon. So, the question is, how did this young, 24 year old performer – a total newbie – climb to the top of pop music and to the top of charts?

One thing we know for sure – it took more than just talent. The music industry is one of the most difficult and competitive of any professions.

So how did she do it?

Rather than simply rely on her talent, Gaga also used a superb business instinct, a unique style and the desire to incite attention that makes her a standout.

If you’re finding that your job search and/or your business is flat, you might want to try a few of Gaga’s strategies.

First: Flaunt your talent. Get it out into center stage – but keep something in mind. You use your talent for your personal satisfaction, but you give of your talent to provide for others. While Lady Gaga loves to sing, she gives of her talent to entertain others. She “flaunts her talent” by adding “over-the-top” costumes and an element of surprise to her persona. That attracts and retains interest.

If your talent is sales or marketing or designing, or consulting or teaching or whatever, what does your talent give to others? What about your talent attracts others and retains their interest/support? (If your answer is nothing – get an agent (or in your case a coach) to get from the audition stage to become a headliner!)

Once you figure this out – sing it loud and sing it proud. Just make it a song that your
target audience wants to hear. Gaga didn’t try to reinvent the sixties. She’s hip and now. You need to be current and relevant too.

Second: Get business savvy. Gaga studied success. Her look was inspired by models like Bowie, Grace Jones, Cindy Lauper and others. Gaga has said that she wants to set a revolution in the pop music industry surpassing the queen of pop Madonna. So she started by studying Madonna’s success to see how she could improve upon that business model to make it her own unique brand.

The lesson here is to embrace competition and learn from it – especially from people/professionals/companies/businesses that are more successful then you. Then take that information and make it authentically yours.

Three: Be unique. From the time we’re old enough to know what it means we
all want to “fit in”. But in business this is the kiss of death. If nothing makes you better, smarter, more valuable, nicer, more affordable, more dependable, more productive, more interesting, easier to work with, higher quality, more consistent… why should I care?

And, like Gaga, you can’t just talk about it – you have to demonstrate it.
This is a “performance piece” for everyone.

Four: Incite attention. None of us want to be the industries best kept secret. Gaga aligned herself with people in the business that could help her. She wrote music for others besides writing for herself to get more exposure. She took her look and made
it extreme to attract attention in an industry that is all about fashion and image. But
rather then create a “signature look” she created a signature brand that’s all about
change and innovation. Gaga knows getting attention is one thing. Keeping it is another.

The good news is you don’t have to bleach your hair platinum or walk around in see-through clothes (although if you went to a networking meeting dressed that way I’m sure you’d be highly memorable).

Just a few ways you can become a rock star in your own rite is to build a strong network, get testimonials, referrals and endorsements for your work, stay current, be visible on line and off, watch and set trends, get out into the industry and/or community as a known expert or leading provider by participating in associations, organizations, civic groups, boards of directors and Chambers. The key here is to participate. You must get involved – give of yourself and your expertise.

Thea Andrews, who until recently was Entertainment Tonight’s senior correspondent
covering music and celebrity has said of Gaga, “She’s got that faux-edgy, boundary-pushing persona that makes people feel like they’re indulging in something just a little naughty and cutting-edge.”

Consider this – my thesaurus says “naughty” can also be defined as playful, mischievous and lively. “Cutting edge” has lots of positive connotations like superior, progressive and innovative. So go push a boundary and let people in on your progressive self. You may not get a recording contract, but your professional star power is sure to rise.

Let me know how you’ve used ideas like that to grow to the stardom you want for yourself.

Do Your Next Boss a Huge Favor

Jeannette Kraar — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:26:04 +0000

When filling any position a hiring manager’s biggest headache (or pain in the ass depending upon your point of view) is finding the right set of “potential” candidates to begin the interview process. After getting a pile of resumes, they have to trudge through them figuring out what these characters bring to the table. I’m sure every hiring manager wishes and prays for the applicant that does tells them, “Here’s why you should hire me.” Note this statement carefully. It’s “Here’s why you should hire me” not “Here’s why I want to work for you.”

There’s a difference here. Read your typical resume and what you’ll find is a list of former jobs followed by a bulleted list responsibilities for each one. For example, I read the following under the Director of Operations title:

“Carried out manufacturing floor operational responsibilities overseeing 12 supervisors and running quality assurance functions.”

I’m mean like, duh. Operations Directors do that kind of stuff. Otherwise you’d be the Finance Director or HR Director or Marketing Director. Of course you need to make sure your reader understands what you did, but your main focus must be telling the reader about your accomplished.

Here are the kind of bullets I’m sure your next boss prefers when looking over your resume:

Increased sales from $1M to $1.7M over an 18 month period.
Outsold every fellow sales rep 4 out of 12 months and consistently ranked in the top 10%.
Improved plant floor efficiency increasing production capabilities by 7.5% over six months while maintaining high quality levels.
Improved team moral ratings from 50% to 72% during my first 12 months in the position.

When your next boss read bullets like these on your resume, they start picturing how the person can help then in the position they are needing filled.

Now I completely understand your apprehension. Coming up with these kinds of facts for your resume is no walk in the park. It’s work. This is especially true:

if what you did isn’t easily measured,
if you’re changing industries and accomplishments in your former industry aren’t easy to explain to those on the outside and
if you never spent much time thinking about your work this way.

Here’s my challenge to you. Take just one position on your resume and dissect it. For each bullet put a check mark next to each ones that describe an accomplishment. Put an “X” next to each one that describes a job responsibility. If you have more “X”s than checks, you have some work to do. You’re better off making it 75% check marks.

If you dedicate some time to reviewing what you did on any job, you’ll run into a problem that’s common for many of us. We’ve done what we do and done it well for so long, we don’t consider it a big deal. Well it just might be and you’d better be able to tell people why it was a big deal.

I’ll give you the example from one of my clients. This guy ran an IT department. One of his many tasks was moving the firm’s data center from their corporate offices to an outsourced data center. It took the team he led six months of planning and execution to get the job done. When it was over, his users experienced zero downtime and they pulled the project off under budget.

For all of his work, this guy was surprised that his boss was most impressed with the fact that he didn’t exceed his budget. His supervisor had never seen an IT project of that magnitude get delivered on the originally projected budget.

My client thought that was the least of his accomplishments. He considered that the basic part of his job. My response to him was,

“If you boss was that impressed, it goes on your resume.”

So that made it on his resume as follows:

Delivered a six-month, $750K data center migration project on time, under budget and with zero user downtime.

Now I’m not in IT, but here is a measurable accomplishment even I understand. I can read an accomplishment like this on a resume and envision how this guy might be able to help me with my problems.

So take a look at your resume, and do your next boss a favor. Make it high on accomplishment and low on job responsibilities so the boss doesn’t have to work so hard.

Let me know how this made a difference on your resume.

What Can We Learn from Forrest Gump, Rainman and Radio?

Jeannette Kraar — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:45:19 +0000

Whenever I run into someone who’s a bit odd, I find myself whispering to myself, “What’s with that guy?” I know. I know. I shouldn’t. But I’m so used to having people behave a certain way that when they fall outside my version of the norm – whatever that is – it’s something that calls my attention.

Now I’m not always a fan of the heroes Hollywood lifts up for us, but let me point out a few that definitely inspire me and better yet – cause me to spend a little time thinking about how I can improve myself.

Take “Forrest Gump.” Here Tom Hanks plays a simple, unintelligent (“Stupid is as stupid does”) Alabama boy that:

reaches outrageous success on Bear Bryant’s Crimson Tide,
is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam and
starts a shrimp boat empire after Hurricane Carmen that makes him a millionaire.

Dustin Hoffman plays another one of these types. As the autistic “Rain Man” he plays opposite Tom Cruise, the “normal” brother, who learns a lot about himself when his father passes away. He is left to care for Rain Man – a brother he never knew he had. Another great example and a super movie.

Finally take a look at Cuba Gooding’s role as “Radio” a true story about a developmentally challenged man who is taken in by a high school football coach. He becomes the team and the town’s inspiration.

Gooding was nominated for Best Actor for his role and both Hanks and Hoffman took the Best Actor Oscar for their performances. Though in real life the challenged or oddballs get pushed aside, there’s something inside us that feels inspired by them. It’s like by being around these folks something inside gets activated and we feel called to be better people.

I’m the first to admit we are definitely too uptight as a society. As working professionals we feel we must fit a certain mold in order to “get ahead.” This runs contrary to what we learn from these film characters.

Whether it’s something that’s been bred in us or something we’ve conditioned ourselves to do, this “uptight-ness” or need to fit the mold decreases who we are and pigeon holes us into being something we’re not.

My recommendation? We should all spend time doing some personal self-reflection to expand our self-awareness. If you don’t spend some time doing this at least once a year, you are long overdue. How would you go about this? My own “Breakthrough” book has some exercises for doing this. There are books like “Now, Discover Your Strengths” that have both an assessment and an explanation of people with different areas of strength.

You may consider taking a Myers-Briggs assessment or maybe even a 360 degree teamwork or leadership assessment. There are books like “Emotional Intelligence” that help you become more aware of the non-technical skills that are necessary for success because of the relationships they can help us foster.

Any one of these or many others can help you explore the real you versus the conditioned you and help you tap into the strengths that can contribute to your success.

Ya Know What They Say About Assuming…

Jeannette Kraar — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:28:35 +0000

People come to me looking for help with their careers and businesses and I tell them if we are going to partner, they have to adhere to my three “golden rules”. Thou shalt not prejudge, compromise or assume.

Now that sounds simple enough, right? But how many times each day do we do that?

Many people prejudged Grace Groner and assumed a few things about her, including the folks at Lake Forest College in Illinois.

Since it’s been big news this week, you may have heard how sweet Grace gave the school a donation that will enable their students to pursue internships and study abroad. Grace was a lovely, unassuming basic senior citizen so perhaps you can imagine the surprise when the College received her donation. It was seven million dollars.

No one would have ever guessed in their wildest dreams.

In a Chicago Tribune report “Secret millionaire donates fortune to Lake Forest College”, I learned that at age of 12, “Amazing Grace,” as they papers are calling her, and her twin sister were left orphans. They were taken in by a local leading family who paid for them to attend Lake Forest College. She graduated in 1931, never married and worked as a secretary at Abbot Laboratories for 43 years.

As a child of the Depression, her friends described her as “exceptionally restrained with her money.” She shopped for clothing at rummage sales, walked instead of buying a car and lived in a one-bedroom house near the college. She only moved into the tiny, scantly furnished house because a friend willed it to her. It has a smaller living room than most people’s closets.

You might think she was a miserly old hag, but that’s not the case. She had plenty of friends. After retiring she traveled widely and would occasionally give anonymous donations to needy locals. She remained connected to the college all her life, attended football games and donated $180,000 to create the scholarship fund.

When she passed away this January at age 100, God bless her, she gave them her fortune. She made it off a $180 purchase of Abbott stock. Since 1935 she’d been reinvested the dividends and after all the years, it added up.

If you’re in a job search, I’m sure you’ve heard to the point of nausea that networking is key. You probably know that most people get the best leads and introductions once they get beyond their small circle of immediate friends and family.

The problem is we all have a tendency to prejudge, assume and compromise.
There is a little voice in our heads that says:

That person can’t help me…..
They wouldn’t know anyone……
They’re too old, too busy, too important, too removed, out of my industry, out of my life, blah, blah, blah.

This is when I get sick. See, this is the stuff that trips you up and makes any challenge harder than it needs to be.

Grace built her life on a foundation of values. She could have moved up given the very affluent area where she resided, but it wasn’t something that mattered to her. Because she needed so little, she probably had so much. You think she had too many worries. I’m sure her most valued wealth was her relationships and the love she shared with those around her. Even the house where she lived was given to the college for use by the students receiving her scholarships.

As you work your search, I challenge you to build your network based on real values not perceptions and assumptions. Consider what’s important to you in terms of respect, trust, integrity, honesty and perhaps even legacy. How do you want to be thought of and remembered by others?

Then let’s knock the challenge up a notch…… I challenge you to go out and meet 10 new people this week. (Ten a day if you’re highly motivated)… And Don’t Compromise. Lock in your number and make it happen. (If you get stuck, send me a post and I’ll “unstuck you” or as my clients tell me, I’ll get your ass in gear again with a not so gentle nudge).

Make a phone call. Go have coffee. Attend a meeting. Talk to folks. Learn more about them. Find out how you may be able to help them. (Their need could be something completely unrelated to you – which is why a diverse network is quite handy). Share you marketing plan and ask for their feedback.

Am I making you cringe? Is the challenge too much? Well think about it anyway. There are very few times in our lives where you reach a crossroads like a job hunt. Besides the worry and anxiety, it opens up options for you. You are given choices and the decision you make can take you a lot closer to where we really want to be. Life is full of surprises….. Surprise yourself with a whole new level of productivity, contacts, information, direction and maybe even a new friend or two. You’ll end the week feeling like a million… or maybe even seven million.

Share your thoughts with me.

Former Co-Workers Are Your Best Allies

Jeannette Kraar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:59:01 +0000

Toni Bowers’ wrote an article on her TechRepublic Career Management blog with the headline “Talking smack about former employers is not advisable.” She points to the farewell message sent by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dan Neil announcing his departure from the Los Angeles Times to go work for the Wall Street Journal. It’s the kind of note you can get away with if you’ve won a prize like that. It’ probably not the best approach for the rest of us. We just don’t have the clout.

Your first reaction when given the sorry news is to lash out, but please keep this in mind. Your former co-workers (remember their titles change really fast) suddenly become your networking contacts. And they are the most valuable ones you are likely to have. They:

know your work
understand your capabilities and
can serve as your most credible references.

If you’ve worked somewhere for several years and developed good ties with your co-workers, they’ll be sympathetic to you. They may even see in you as the person they could have been if the guns had been aimed a little closer in their direction. They may see you as the person that took the bullet that was meant for them.

You don’t want to taint your reputation by throwing a public tantrum in the office, sending anyone a torching tirade of an email and you certainly want to minimize any out loud derogatory remarks you make about that employer. (I’m sure you would never do these things, but fantasies like these are likely to flood your mind for a while.)

But what should you do? First of all, you should reach out your former cohorts. Depending upon how you were escorted out the door, you may not have had a chance to say the proper goodbyes. A phone call or email are appropriate. Don’t be surprised if some employees prefer to disassociated themselves from you, especially while at work. It’s like they want to avoid having what happened to you rub off on them. (Like that would happen.)

Now let’s walk through an encounter with a former employee. First of all, they still work with and for the jerks and company that no longer needs you. (They may not be jerks, but let’s make the assumption here.) They may feel some pride for the place. They still drive to work every morning the way you used to. Any conversation with them should lean toward the side of respecting the firm that still employs them. Your discussion with them should be forward looking.

If they open the door, maybe express your regrets to them, but be careful. Their loyalty is still to the company and anything you say might be shared with other former co-workers and damage their willingness to network on your behalf.

Moaning and groaning about the past makes no sense. If these people are now to become your advocates, you need to assure them you are still the right postive person for them to promote to their network of contacts.

You should ask former co-workers to review your resume. Even if you don’t think they would be the best people to do a review, by reading through your resume they refresh themselves on all you can do for your next employer. They can look at your situation objectively and possibly come up with job search tips and tactics that may not have occurred to you. Remember, they are in your same industry. They have similar professional interests. They know you.

I’ve had clients tell me that former co-workers approached him asking for help in their job hunt. They didn’t like how things were going for them at the firm and thought they could be a layoff target. That was a surprise. Former co-works may have opportunities they were following in anticipation of a possible layoff themselves. They may have job leads they were nurturing in case they were the ones that were hit with the layoff.

Again, inappropriate gut reactions are not the way to go. Clear headed thinking is. Don’t take steps you’ll regret later.

Please share with us interactions you had with former co-workers and how you handled them.

Demystifying Twitter and your Job Search

Jeannette Kraar — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:17:15 +0000

Flipping out 140 character messages may not be the salvation to your job search, but these few tools and tips just might help. I found Marci Reynolds’ site and it gives a good overview of what you need. It gives a Twitter primer (It’s a mystery for many of use, I know.) and offers an e-book called “How To Use Twitter For Your Job Search.” You can click on this link for a PDF one-pager giving you the basics on the Twittering state of mind.

Twitter isn’t going away. Just like email, it’s now part of the employment (and unemployed) landscape. You can fight it all you want, but it’s here to stay.

I also recommend checking out her Twitter Job Resources Page for some more information.

Listen Up If You Are in Job Search Mode

Jeannette Kraar — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:10:42 +0000

Keith Ferrazzi wrote an article called “Are Your Poor Listening Skills Hurting Your Career?” Ferrazzi’s the guy that wrote a “Never Eat Alone” and another one recently called “Who’s Got Your Back.” In both books Ferrazzi talks about networking and gaining support from the people around you. Could your listening habits be undermining all the hard work you’re putting into your job hunt?

Listening. Talk about a basic skill. Talk about a skill that can get you in good with people or make you look like a jerk. And it’s one that can help you succeed in your job search or completely tank it.

Remember, people tend to connect with people they like. People who listen are more likable. Bad listeners come across as just plain rude and who likes that? Ferrazzi’s article describes the different kinds of listening from removed listening to receptive listening, but what I was thinking was,

“What impact might listening be having on your success today?”

When someone listens well to me, I feel … what’s the right word…pampered. That’s the feeling I get. If I wasn’t at my best or even “bitchy” before my encounter with this fabulous listener, their behavior lifts my spirits. I feel important. The other person cares.

But what happens when the other person’s messin’ with their Blackberry, staring at something over my shoulder or, worse yet, impatiently interrupting me mid-sentence not allowing me to finish a thought. That bugs me. It’s not much better than an order taker at McDonalds taking my order while talking to their co-workers about what they’ll do after work, failing to make any eye contact and mumbling my total while looking over at the French fryer. (Boy, does that bug me)

Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the person helping me network, hopin’ to hire me or a fellow job hunter helping me research a potential employer thinking mentally,

“This guys treating me like the kid at Mickey D’s!”

I want to be held in esteem and something as simple as (or maybe it’s not so simple) listening can give the kind of positive impression I need to be making…especially during the search.

I’d love to hear what you have to say about people you know who listen well and how that made you feel. And better yet, give us the scoop on the times when someone didn’t listen well and how that came across.

I impatiently await your response.