Whether you’re new to LinkedIn or you’re an All Star Power user, if you intend to connect with new people on LinkedIn make sure you come across like a professional – not a stalker or spammer. Here is How. Read more
Got a job interview invitation? Brilliant – yay …. #GetHired2018
Are you worried or just hoping for the best? Well, hope and fear are the big enemies of anyone competing for a job. Especially in the last mile. Don’t let it unravel you. Instead, think about the other likely types of candidates and how you can outclass them in the upcoming interviews. Read more
You’re all set to go. Your resume and your LinkedIn profile are all professionally optimised and aligned to your target positions. It’s time to reach out to your friends network. But, what’s the right strategy and how do you actually achieve results?
I know from experience that most people are open to being contacted, and those who want to know you are also often ready to provide help. However, it’s important to know how to ask for help and how to make their job easier, so they can actually help you get better results without it becoming a major project. Remember, everyone likes easy and no stress. This is the step that most people miss: asking the right people for the right things, in the right way.
So, to ensure that you get the most out of “networking” I’ve put together a five-step plan — sample email text included — so you can enlist the help of your friends and LinkedIn network as you’re looking for a job.
Your resume should be ready and on standby if required, but most people will find it much easier and quicker to look at a short, bulleted list of where you’ve been and where you want to go. You will be amazed how little both your friends and connections actually know about what you really do for a living, so avoid assuming that they do. This should take no more than 5-10 minutes to pull together, but it will deliver serious help.
Here is what you need to include:
Work Experience
Positions Seeking
Preferred Companies
Your next step is to map and select your network contacts. Generally, avoid mentors, former managers or co-workers who you’re close to, and anyone who works for your dream companies. (more on that later)
Draft an email in which you share that you’re looking for a new position, and that you would really appreciate their help. Ensure to be simple and more importantly specific about what you’re asking for. Is it job leads or something else? Vague messages get vague or no responses.
Also include all the details about you: your current position and company, the length of time you’ve been there, and what you’re looking for and where. Even if your friends know this information, this email may be passed around to people who don’t know you well. Finally, include your bullet- ed talking points at the end of the email, and attach your (hopefully professional and updated) resume.
Hello friends,
I hope all is well!
You may know that I have been at my current position as Maintenance Manager for UBS for almost 3 years. I have decided to search for a new position in the civil construction maintenance field and I am seeking some help with potential job leads or introductions to key industry contacts.
I am looking for a mid-level position in Melbourne or Sydney, preferably in the civil construction, maintenance or building management field. I am particularly keen to change careers away from big project remote field work. Whilst my ideal target companies are the big players, I would also consider working for a local company or a new venture business.
If you know or hear of any job opportunities or leads in these areas, I would really appreciate the assistance. To make things easier for you, I have created a brief bullet summary of my current job search strategy and I have also attached my resume. Feel free to pass it along.
Many thanks for your consideration! I sincerely appreciate it and, of course, am more than happy to help you out if I can.
If possible on the same day as Step 2, show that you value certain key friendships or Level 1 connections and actually draft and deliver personalised emails to this select group, who you think might be able to help you out in a specific way.
Keep it smart, short, simple and don’t beg. Be brave and don’t be afraid to suggest introductions or job leads at a particular company. You can also suggest or request informational interviews, general advice on companies and positions, general feedback or even meeting over a coffee at their convenience.
Hello Melissa,
I hope you are well. I saw your most recent Facebook post and wanted to congratulate you on xyz. I’m also messaging you to let you know that I am searching for a new position. As you know, I have been with UBS for almost three years and it’s time to change careers and move into another company and position.
I know that you used to do work for Stockland, which is on my list of preferred employers. Do you still have any contacts there, or can you maybe share some news, insights, tips or maybe even job leads with me? Any introductions you could make would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help! Please keep me posted on how things are going and if there’s anything I can do to return the favour.
Remember that good things will come to those who are patient and know how to wait. Real friends will consider your message, but not necessarily respond right away. Assume that they’re keeping their eyes out and that you’ll be on their radar if any opportunities come their way.
Give it at least a month, and if you haven’t received many responses send a follow-up email / inmail (LinkedIn) to those you reached out personally to.
Do not, under any circumstances, forget to send a personal “Thank you” to every single person who responded to your email or offers to help you out, no matter how small or large the help offered is. People value feedback and they expect a thank you.
It’s not who you know, it’s who wants to know you. These friends might need you one day, so be a real friend or genuine connection / networker and make you sure pay it forward.
Whatever you do, be real, show professional humility and most of all remember to hunt wisely!
Uli
Your most valuable asset as a Job Hunter is your time, so don’t waste it! Finding the right jobs to apply for can get frustrating. A big part of this is because most job ads are poorly written and can be a nightmare to decode. So, I’ve put together 11 useful tips to decode job ads, so you can secure your job interviews faster for jobs you deserve.
Here is some simple HELP so you can start to figure out what different terms mean in job listings, and you figure out which parts of a job listing are actually important, and which parts don’t really hold much weight.
Most job hunters search for the title, location and the $$$ first and then create a shortlist. Once you have your shortlist, start to review each job ad from the bottom – up. Read the submission instructions and if they fail to clarify how they want you to submit and who to, move on. 75% of all job applications are discarded by ATS software. Your chances get even slimmer if you apply for jobs with companies who fail to provide decent instructions and human interaction. Enough said.
In most job ads, the buzzwords and catchphrases really don’t mean much. This is because the person actually writing the job ad often doesn’t know much about the job or because the job listing has been taken straight from a template. In that case, try to decipher them as best you can, and then apply.
A lot of job titles won’t include terms like “junior” or “senior”. In that case, they probably fall somewhere in between junior and senior, unless words like “management” or “head” are included in the description.
If a job is listed as a senior position, they likely want someone with at least 3-5 years of experience (and sometimes much more), and probably someone with some management experience. Senior positions are usually in charge of a team.
Junior positions, on the other hand, are entry-level or maybe have a couple years of experience, and often work closely with other team members.
A fast-paced environment isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if that’s how you like to work. Personally, I thrive under deadlines and get more done in less time when I have a lot on my plate. But not everyone is like that, and if you’re not, you should probably avoid applying for jobs with this kind of keyword in the title. It’s a clear indication of a fairly high stress situation.
“Growth opportunity” might indicate a few things, but it often means your responsibilities and tasks will expand over time. It can also mean that there’s some opportunity for advancement. A common thing “growth opportunity” tends to hide is a lower starting salary. That’s not always the case, but it can definitely be an indicator, especially at a start-up business.
Flexible jobs are sometimes remote, and remote jobs are often flexible, but the two terms are not entirely interchangeable.
Flexible usually means that you have a high level of control over your hours, and that you may be able to work from home at least some of the time.
Remote means that you can work from home (or elsewhere outside of a central office) most or all of the time.
A lot of most of the innocuous job description terms can actually be potential red flags. “Detail-oriented” might translate to expecting perfection, or flag a control freak of a boss. “Team player” could mean that you’ll be at the bottom of the totem pole for tasks that no one else wants to do. “Self-starter” usually means that they have no idea what they need you to do and/or that your induction and supervision will be minimal, and you have to figure it out based on vague descriptions of what they think they need.
Job titles can be one of the most confusing parts of a job listing. Job titles may be created to appeal to the widest number of potential applicants possible. “Web designer” might sound too generic to some applicants, but UI or UX designer makes it sound like a more advanced or exciting job, and so those writing the job listings may opt to use those terms.
The other thing you’ll likely see with job listings, especially in the tech & start-up world, is funky titles like “rockstar”, “hero”, “ninja” and the like. Job titles like “Front-end Rockstar” don’t really tell you what you need to know about the job requirements. You’ll need to read the job requirements with a lot of attention to the detail to figure it out.
This is usually the most important section of the job ad listing. Hopefully, this has been written by someone who’s actually familiar with the specific job at the specific company, and not just taken from a template site.
Either way, consider each item on the responsibilities list and honestly consider whether you can meet those responsibilities immediately or in the near future. Really ask yourself if you want to spend your valuable time submitting an application if you can’t answer these key responsibilities with at least a 70%:30% yes to no ratio. If you’re below that, move on to your next job ad.
First things first: job “requirements” aren’t really requirements. Thousands of job ads out there have taken the “requirements” from a template, rather than from the hiring manager’s actual needs. Add to this that all too often the job descriptions are written by people who don’t actually know everything they need to about the job.
So, don’t obsess over the job requirements and stress out about all the ways you don’t match up. Instead look at the responsibilities of the job, and see if your skills and past experience are in line with them. Then, when you actually apply, highlight your skills and experience, and downplay wherever you don’t meet the “requirements”.
Companies of virtually every size and type need employees with skills. But, there’s a big difference between working for an established company outside of the industry you know, an established company in your industry, a start-up, or an agency, to name just a few.
Established companies often have more stringent and rigorous hiring standards and procedures than start-ups do. They might also attract more applicants, simply because of name recognition. That means competition will be tough, and they may be looking for any reason not to hire you, rather than reasons to hire you.
Here’s an example to demonstrate some of what I’ve outlined above.
here is how to read and decode job ads properly
Contrary to many job seekers’ fears, job ads are more likely to be wish lists than demands. In addition, it’s often hard to tell what these companies are actually wishing for.
Whilst I always recommend networking and referrals as the best way to find your next job, if you still decide to search and apply the traditional way, fine tune your radar with our decoder and always remember to hunt wisely!
Uli
Our team of career service coaches, resume writers,visa and migration experts and recruiters depend on their phones.The phone is both their most valuable tool , and the most frustrating instrument of our daily communication with our clients. Read more
The most annoying part of job hunting is Lead Generation for job opportunities that are actually aligned to your skill and expereince. “What is the best source for finding good jobs and Generate Job Leads?” How do you generate job leads… and “Where should you focus your time?”
If your days are primarily characterized by searching and responding to ads online, you are spending most of your time using the same resources as the vast majority of other job seekers out there. To effectively find and connect to someone that is not being overwhelmed by candidates, you must go where others don’t and do things differently. Become a Job Search Hero.
So what does that mean for you? The reality and the challenge for the job seeker is that you need to consistently pursue dozens of avenues all the time! The best leads often come from the least likely sources and you never know where your next job lead will come from. Here are my 25 job lead generation ideas (that actually work)
You see, it is pretty simply. Just focus on quality. Embrace some or all of the recommendations and make and keep it personal at all times. Leverage your knowledge. Track, follow & foster your relationships and focus on genuine human interaction. And, as always, remember to hunt wisely!
Uli
Two months ago I received another one of those all too familiar calls from one of my clients, Brad from Brisbane. He was frustrated and confused by LinkedIn and he felt he wasn’t getting any job leads or jobs. He was job hunting and spending a lot of his time on LinkedIn searching for quality job ads and job leads.
We had a good chat, followed by a short LinkedIn training session.
Fast forward 4 weeks later and Brad not only generated plenty of solid job leads, he also secured a new job as Financial Controller for one of Australia’s No. 1 pharmaceutical companies.
Like Brad, most LinkedIn users don’t know how to tap the value of LinkedIn or how to generate real job leads with their profile. So, I thought it might be helpful to offer my assistance.
LinkedIn regularly updates its features, but unfortunately, this constant “updating” tends to confuse the users instead of actually helping, So, dear job hunter, career changer, freelancer or contractor, if you are asking yourself, “How do I get real job leads from my LinkedIn?” then:
Here are five sure things that work:
Receiving LinkedIn invitations from someone you don’t know happens to all of us. And, honestly, no matter how long you have been on LinkedIn it’s still a strange experience.
I personally believe that LinkedIn makes it too easy to send an invitation to connect with anyone with absolutely no context, especially via the incessant feature: “People You May Know” page.
If you have 500+ connections and they are not doing anything for you, read this: It’s not who you know, it’s who wants to know you!
When you send a LinkedIn invite, always keep it personal, keep it short and simple and tell them with a personal touch why you want to connect. Give them a good reason to say yes.
Here’s how:
What matters most on LinkedIn is the quality of your network, not the quantity. So, trim your network and apply the learning from point one. A smaller number of connections means you engage with connections that are important to you because they want to engage with you. Downsizing your list isn’t hard.
Here is how I regularly trim down my network connections:
Definite Keepers
Bye Bye
Too many status updates or group discussions are actually self-promotion. LinkedIn is a professional network, not just a jobsite. Of course, we all mingle or network for ulterior business or job hunting reasons, but you have to do it right if you want to get traction. Refrain from the “all about you” approach and instead post about a LinkedIn connection who is doing something of value to other LinkedIn users. Focussing attention on connections in your LinkedIn network offers three instant outcomes:
Here’s a recent post from my blog on how to leverage your skills and experience to secure a job:
An easy social media scheduling app to keep on top of sharing news about your network is to queue up LinkedIn updates in Buffer. I use it regularly when ideas come my way.
It is 2017, not 2009, and most switched-on professionals who have something to say or do interesting things promote their skills and experience on more than one platform. If you’ve connected on LinkedIn, check if you can also follow him/her on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Github, Angel.co ….you name it. Work out where people in your tribe mingle, what platforms and social networks they use and then consider connecting. But, a word of caution – don’t stalk them.
There is more to all of us than our resume. The same goes for your LinkedIn connections. By locating them, listening, and responding, you can often get a better insight into their personalities and interests. I use LinkedIn to observe industry trends and pressures, Facebook for my private social life, and Twitter as a search tool for hot topics.
It’s pretty simple. When people respond to your activity in posts or updates, or when they engage with you in conversation in groups, they are interested in you. They have become fans.
Keep track, follow back and foster the relationship to enable great things to happen in due course.
Here is how:
Write a response. Invite new people to connect, and ask questions about their experiences or challenges or how you can contribute with insight, skill or experience to something that matters to them. See Point 1. This is how you generate genuine networking opportunities and also potential genuine job leads.
You can connect with LinkedIn users all over the world, but what does it all mean? How can you cut through the clutter and generate leads?
The answer is simply. Focus on quality. Make and keep it personal at all times. Leverage your knowledge. Track, follow & foster your relationships and focus on genuine human interaction. And, as always, remember to hunt wisely!
Uli
As a career coach and regular writer on job search issues, I receive a lot of emails from job hunters with questions about every aspect of their professional lives and aspirations.
Some want to quit, or get feedback and advice to start their own businesses. Others want to be promoted, negotiate a pay raise, move to another country, tell their boss to take a hike, and more. Often these questions represent a dilemma that hundreds or thousands of other people are facing. Here, I’m going to focus on The Career Change Dilemma. Read more
Real Reasons Why You are Not Getting a Job. As a career coach and outplacement advisor, I’ve helped hundreds of job hunters secure new jobs. Over this time I’ve learned that the majority of candidates hunt, with little knowledge of what actually happens when they apply for jobs. That is a huge mistake. Read more
If you’re stuck in a career rut and looking for a way out, then perhaps you’ve been searching for a new dream job or even more realistic ones. I have tested 6 free online personality and career assessment tools that can actually be beneficial to your search. Read more
