BroadPeak Blog

Tips For Finding A Job In The Internet Age

The internet is one of the greatest tools around for finding a job but the key to a successful job search is to understand what the internet can and cannot do for you. The internet isn’t magic. Just because you post your resume on a job board doesn’t mean you will be discovered by the company of your dreams. Quite the opposite can be true.

The internet has created efficiencies for job seekers who want to apply for a lot of jobs. Remember the days when, to apply for a job, you had to write a cover letter, print your resume on nice paper, address an envelope and mail it off to an employer? That method was, relatively speaking, a lot of work so job seekers were often more selective about the jobs they applied for. Today, all a job seeker needs to do is point and click a mouse and “shazam” he/she has applied for a job. A lot of job seekers apply for jobs that are a stretch for them, meaning jobs they aren’t totally qualified for, just because it’s so easy to send in a resume now.

These advances in technology mean that recruiters are swamped with resumes. Sometimes recruiters have to wade through hundreds of resumes just to find one that has the required qualifications. That means that posting your resume online or sending it to an employer through a job board like Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com is a virtual guarantee that hundreds of others have also applied for the job in the same manner.

So, how can a savvy job seeker use the internet to her advantage? 

1.Use the internet to research companies that have job openings.
Try going to Monster.com, typing in your town or zip code and looking to see what companies are hiring. It doesn’t matter what jobs they are hiring for because all you want to know is what companies have the money to hire. Then, open up another tab on your browser and start Google searching companies in your area. Maybe you will find a company that looks interesting to you and for which you think you would be a good fit. Send a resume and cover letter to that company. You never know what additional jobs they may have available that they didn’t post on Monster.

2.Use LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) to search for companies in your geographic area.
LinkedIn is built to facilitate networking so when you do a search the list that comes up will be of names of people. Individuals who use LinkedIn often write blurbs about their companies on the site so you can find out a lot about interesting companies in your geographic area from reading personal profiles. From there you could Google search companies and apply to ones that look interesting. Or you could make contact with individuals whom you find on LinkedIn and talk to them about their employers

3.Find websites of associations that relate to your field of interest or expertise.
Many associations have job boards or networking events that are great places to start a job search.

4.Target job search sites that have a narrow focus.
Savvy employers who use job boards use those with a narrower focus than the huge catch-all sites like Monster.com.   The Ladders (www.theladders.com) offers jobs that pay $100,000 or more. Six Figure Jobs (www.6figurejobs.com) also lists jobs that pay in the 6-figure range. Bridgestar (www.bridgestar.org) has a job listing service for not-for-profit jobs and board memberships.  Ivy Exec (www.ivyexec.com) is a website for individuals with graduate degrees from top-tier schools. You can also do a Google Search to find job posting boards for jobs in your area of interest. Even if your salary isn’t in the $100K range you can use The Ladders, for example, to find out what employers are hiring in your area.

5.Target companies that interest you without regard to the jobs listed on their “careers” page.
Have you always wanted to work for the Federal Reserve? Or Kraft Foods? Or for City Hall? Don’t worry about whether or not they have a job opening when you apply. There are many examples of companies creating jobs for top talent. If you find a company that you think you would like to work for, research the company, and any senior individuals in the firm. There are some great online resources to help you research companies, company culture, and executives. ZoomInfo (www.zoominfo.com) is a great website for researching individuals. The site pulls articles, speaking engagements, employment history, and educational background from people on the web. It’s a great way to find out if the CEO of your dream company wrote a book that you should read before your interview! The Vault (www.thevault.com) and WetFeet (www.wetfeet.com) offer company profiles and information based upon interviews with former employees. Those sites are great resources for finding out more information about a company before you interview or accept a job.


6.Apply directly to the CEO.
Human Resource professionals are extremely busy and, often, not terribly creative when it comes to thinking about how an individual with a non-traditional background might fit into an existing job opening. If you find a company that interests you write a targeted letter to the CEO which explains why the company interests you and what your value proposition is. Stay away from generic statements like, “I have good people skills”, or “I am looking for a job”. Replace generic and meaningless statements with high powered statements that show that you have done some research about the company and that you have given thought to how your background could add value. For example, “I am interested in working for Company X because of your record of environmental responsibility. I have a degree in environmental policy and I believe that my background at the EPA could enhance your already strong governmental affairs team” Fax or mail the cover letter and your resume to the CEO. There are no guarantees that you will get a call but, from personal experience, generally if the CEO sends a resume to HR it gets more notice and consideration than if it comes from the internet.

Originally posted on the Ultimate Resumes Blog

Interview Tips E-book Now Available for Free!

I recently published an e-book which outlines some useful tips for ensuring a great job interview experience. The booklet covers topics that include:

Do's and Don'ts of Interviewing
Tips for Selling Yourself
Feature, Advantage, Benefit Selling
List of Common Questions Interviewers Often Ask
Step by Step Instructions for Closing the Interview
Tips for Writing a Thank You Note That Sells
Sample Thank You Note

I have decided not to try to sell this book because there are so many free sources for interview tips on the web that I am not sure there would even be a market for the book. So, this booklet is free to anyone who would like some help preparing for a job interview!

This booklet compiles all the information you need to prepare for a job interview in one place. These interview tips are targeted to folks interviewing for jobs that range from entry level through middle management roles. This book isn't written for senior executives although some of the tips could be useful for senior level individuals.

To obtain a copy follow this link to the Ultimate Resumes Website. Click on Interview Tips e-book and you will be able to download the e-book in pdf format. I hope that you find this information helpful.

Don't Forget to Have Fun

Sometimes we all work too hard or get too caught up in what is going on at the office. It's natural because I think that for most professionals, our jobs are important to us and we want to excel at in our career of choice. There is nothing wrong with working hard but it's important to keep your job in perspective. This is especially true for entrepreneurs who usually have to work long hours to make their businesses successful.

I find that it's easy for me to spend hours and hours in my office working on resumes for clients, writing articles, working on marketing programs for BroadPeak, or networking. The work never ends and I can always think of something that I should be doing to expand or improve my business. I have been working really hard at completely breaking away from work for chunks of time to spend time with my husband. It's so important to remember that our loved ones are more important than our business and to make sure that we take the time to enjoy our relationships rather than letting ourselves get sucked into the never ending cycle of work, ideas, and more work.

Last week, my husband took a few vacation days and I rearranged my workload so that I could take a day off to spend with him. We drove to San Antonio to go to Sea World (we had always wanted to see the Shamu Show which was pretty impressive) and had a great time. We didn't talk about work at all...instead we just laughed and had fun together. By the time I turned on my computer the next day I was totally recharged and reconnected with my husband. The time I spent having fun helped me to rest, relax, and to be more productive when I returned to work.

It is so easy to think that if we aren't at our desks we aren't being productive. And believe me, when you are an entrepreneur there is always a feeling of panic when you aren't working because if you don't work you don't make money. I find that when I take a little time off work to focus on what is really important in my life (family) that I return to work with a renewed focus and energy that makes me a little more efficient and effective at what I do.

So, don't forget to have fun with your loved ones...that is really what life is all about and you may find that your work improves when you take time off to enjoy life a bit.

Happy 4th of July!

Original post can be found on the Ultimate Resumes Blog

The Art of Exiting Gracefully

You may have heard that Yahoo! CEO Terry Semel is stepping down from his post at the helm of the publicly traded search engine/email provider. Yahoo! has made it clear that his decision is voluntary and that he won't be given a severance package because he is sticking around in a non-executive role as Chairman of the Board of the company. What is interesting to me is the classy way that which both Yahoo and Semel are handling communication of this situation. I think we can all learn something from it.

Understand that Terry Semel, as leader of Yahoo!, has presided over a 30% drop in stock price during the last 18 months. Stockholders are not happy with his performance and they want him out. And for his part I would imagine that Mr. Semel is not too happy with the fact that his performance is seen as less than stellar. You don't become CEO of a publicly traded company if you aren't used to being considered a star in your field - to be told otherwise is probably a blow to Mr. Semel's ego. But, with all of that as background, both the company and the ousted executive realize the value of his graceful exit from his position.

If you read this blog or my Ultimate Resumes blog with any frequency you may have read some of my commentary on the Julie Roehm vs Wal Mart situation and the public mudslinging that has ensued. I think that, at this point, between the lawsuits, countersuits, and salacious allegations, both Wal Mart and Ms. Roehm have damaged their reputations. Will another corporation hire Julie Roehm? It will certainly be interesting to find out. Will Wal Mart have a more difficult time hiring talented executives from around the U.S. and convincing them to move to remote Bentonville, Arkansas after they publicly skewered their former SVP of Marketing? I would bet that they will. In other words, by not maneuvering her graceful exit, Ms. Roehm and Wal Mart both suffer financially and reputationally.

Both Terry Semel and Julie Roehm worked hard and built track records of achievement that enabled them to land high profile roles in their respective fields of expertise. Yahoo! investors were unhappy with Mr. Semel's performance and wanted him to step down from his role while in Ms. Roehm's case Wal Mart's senior management team felt she should leave the company. Both situations were probably stressful and difficult for the two executives who were being told that their performance was lacking. It's hard to be a told that you are a star one day and an under performer the next.

The key to exiting the situation with your pride and future employment options intact is to forget about getting even or making a public statement or making sure that the public knows "who is right and who is wrong. Of course the same statement is true for employers...take the high road instead of maligning a former employee. No good will come from public negativity and it costs the company and its shareholders money.

Learn from Terry Semel...a graceful exit from a job is more profitable and less stressful for all concerned. And remember that thanks to the Internet any public statements, lawsuits, or stories in which you are quoted or mentioned will be around forever.

Original post can be found on the Ultimate Resumes Blog