We see recent graduates testing the water frequently. They graduate with a specific degree and career path in mind – to be a journalist, to be a white-collar crime analyst, to be a genetics researcher, etc. They land an entry-level position and soon realize it’s not the career they expected.

For recent graduates and individuals just starting a career, making a change in one’s career path is not as challenging as it is for those who have established themselves as an experienced professional in their field(s).

Many employers understand the drivers of this change. Some even see early professionals make several changes within the first five years of graduation and they realize that the positions sought most often by entry-level professionals may be considered a learning phase, so employers are not as critical about the change of heart.

Credit to PhotoRack.net

However, it’s a different story for candidates who have established themselves in a particular career. Whether you are someone who has started a career and left to be a stay-at-home parent, was laid off or have lost the passion behind a particular career path, making a career change has its challenges and employers are more critical.

Off the bat, employers will question the interest to change careers mid-way and whether you have thoughtfully processed what a change in career may mean. Often times, there will not be an opportunity for a lateral move and the pay scale may be different. Other questions employers may have will concern whether you have transferable skills from your previous experience.

Faced with the various challenges of a career change, be prepared to address the questions that will come your way by following some simple rules of advice. You’re going to need a different approach to impress potential employers.

1. Transferable skills: Identify 3-6 important skills that are transferable from your previous career that the employer will want to see out of a job candidate for the position. You can identify what skills are desired for a particular position by reviewing related job postings. You will notice a common list of skills employers tend to highlight for the position.
2. Focus on skills versus positions you’ve held: While most job candidates may showcase the positions they’ve held and highlight companies they’ve worked for, it will likely be irrelevant to an employer in your case. Immediately out to the gate, you need to focus on the transferable skills you have on your cover letter, resume and discussion with the potential employer. Whether it is leadership, project management, budgeting, writing or other skills, that needs to be your focus.
3. Demonstrate how the skills were applied: Maintain focus to express specifically how the skills were used and applied in your previous jobs and how you can see it apply in this new career. As tempting as it may be to discuss other skills you used and were successful at in your previous job, if it is irrelevant, it will add no value. In fact, discussing irrelevant skills for a position dilutes your message to the potential employer.
4. Obtain needed skills and knowledge: If at all possible, obtain some of the essential skills you will need with this new career before leaving your old one. If your employer offers education-assistance benefits, make use of the opportunity to obtain necessary skills that are transferable. Some employers only permit courses of relevance to your particular career and may require that you obtain a minimum grade level, in addition to a commitment to stay employed with the company for a certain amount of time after the completion of a course, to be reimbursed. Also, take the time to read up on the industry and field of business that the employer is involved with. Be familiar with terms commonly used in that line of business. Each field has their own lingo and you will impress the employer when they can see you are up-to-date with what’s happening in their world.
5. Find a mentor: Knowing someone already in the field is one the most beneficial things you can have in the process of a career change. A mentor can give you the inside scoop on what it’s like to work in a particular field, address the essential skills to have to be successful, and introduce you to important contacts or information to look for in potential job opportunities.

Many things in life change and while it may feel risky to make a career change mid-way, it is a step one should take having thoroughly reviewed and evaluated what the change may mean. It’s important to feel satisfied and fulfilled by one’s career, especially when one will end up spending most of the day in this environment.

When making a career change, you need to understand what sacrifices need to be made, which may include catching up on necessary knowledge and skills for a particular field, rebuilding a contacts list from scratch and, possibly, taking a pay cut and starting as a lower level.

If you are confident about your decision for a career change, willing to face the challenges to succeed in a new career and can demonstrate to potential employers you can apply what you already know and continue to learn and advance, you will make leaps over the hurdles of a career change.

Credit to PhotoRack.net

Networking is not about how many resumes or business cards you hand out, but how you establish rapport and build a relationship that can lead to opportunities. 

Attending a networking event is only the beginning of the networking process. Effective networking takes time and builds lasting relationships where both parties can help one another. 

Many job seekers I often speak with are intimidated by networking events. It’s not that they do not want to network; it’s that they don’t know how to approach people they don’t know. 

As much as we all want to know how others can help us, when networking, it’s not recommended for you to go straight into pitching. It’s a turnoff to many people, especially when you don’t know the person. 

So, how does a job seeker tackle breaking the ice at networking events and approach people in a way that later affords relationships where they can help one another? 

1. Change your mindset: Think of networking as a chance to get to know others and as a place where you can seek advice from someone who may come with a different point of view. As you show interest in others and ask for advice, the conversation will naturally redirect itself in a manner where others will be more willing to help you or connect you to people who can help.
2. Mind your appearance: Walk in to a networking event with the appropriate attitude. Appear approachable and be willing to approach others. The simplest things you can do is offer a smile to people you come in eye contact with and avoid poor body language such as crossing your arms or keeping your head down.
3. Ask a mutual acquaintance for help: Asking a mutual friend or acquaintance to help with an introduction is one of the easiest ways to help get a conversation started between two people who don’t know one another. After the introduction, it’s up to you to build rapport and find out possible commonalities that will help both of you establish a relationship.
4. Directly introduce yourself: If there is a contact you know something about, you may want to approach them directly with an introduction. Introduce yourself by full name and appropriately ask a question or make a comment. For example, the person may have just given a presentation, so you may ask a question or comment related to what was discussed. As the conversation between the two of you becomes more comfortable, steer the conversation toward a direction where you may ask for advice.
5. Ask a general question or provide comment: You are not the only one who may be feeling awkward at the networking event. If you see someone simply standing there or sitting at a table by themselves, be willing to approach them and simply ask a question or provide a comment that they could relate to. It can be a simple statement such as, “Wow, this event has a big attendance turnout!” This opens the door for conversation. After two or three more questions or comments, you can go in and say, “By the way, my name is… What’s yours?” From there, your conversation can change focus where you learn more about the other individual and share information about yourself.

A key to breaking the ice during networking is to establish a relationship where the other individual grows to feel comfortable speaking with you. Keep all questions open-ended and leave comments that allow others to probe. A question or comment that leaves one to simply have room to say “yes” or “no” will not help build a conversation. 

To succeed at networking events, leave people you meet with a good impression. You want people to feel your positive energy and to see that you are willing to help others, as well as have a special area of expertise that they will potentially want your advice and counsel on in the future. This will help ensure the relationship and conversation you have continues to grow after you leave the event.

There are dozens of free sites on the web that help you advance your job search. From these you can learn all about a company including getting a candid insider’s view from those who work there. You can also get expert advice on industries, resume writing, networking, using LinkedIn, networking and more. Below are some of the best:

Quintessential Careers (www.quintcareers.com) has over 4,500 pages of free content to empower your career success. This site has tons of expert advice, templates and career articles for all levels. If you have a question, you can find your answer here.

Job-Hunt.org (www.job-hunt.org) offers a comprehensive list of useful job-search resources and services on the Web. All the sites listed are audited by the job-hunt.org staff to ensure they will add value to a candidate’s search and not compromise the job seeker’s personal information. Job-Hunt is a wonderful resource for helping clients sample multiple job search tools.

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) has become a powerful tool for researching a company and its employees. Using the company search feature, you can identify companies, see who has joined, who left, where they came from and all sorts of other useful information. Of course, this is a must-use tool for networking and should be a major part of anyone’s job search plans.

ZoomInfo (www.zoominfo.com) is a business information search engine used to quickly find information about industries, companies, people, products and services. It crawls millions of company Websites, news feeds and other online sources to identify fresh information on people and companies. ZoomInfo currently has profiles on 37 million people and over 3.5 million companies, and its search engine adds more than 20,000 new profiles every day. ZoomInfo also lets users, create and customize their own profile online. This is a great tool for researching people before an interview or finding the right decision makers at a given company.

Spoke (www.spoke.com) Spoke provides business data and detailed contact information on demand. It contains over 40 million people at 2.3 million companies. Spoke lets you create, customize, and promote your own online profile as well. Like ZoomInfo, Spoke is a great tool for finding decision makers. Spoke even has an interface with Simply Hired (a job aggregate board) that allows users to search for decision makers in the companies where Simply Hired has posted jobs.

Jigsaw (www.jigsaw.com) is an online directory of more than 8 million business contacts. Users can access names, titles, postal addresses, email addresses and direct dial phone numbers. Membership is free and you can get a contact by adding one of your own. For each one you add, you get access to any other in the Jigsaw directory. As an alternative, you can sign up for a premium account and access 25 contacts for $25 a month. We all know that the best jobs are found through the hidden job network. Tools like Jigsaw help job seekers uncover the right person to talk to at their target companies.

FTT Research (www.fttresearch.com) can leverage information on millions of domestic and international companies and provide in-depth coverage of thousands of the world’s top business enterprises to identify target companies and business contacts. FTT canvases an entire industry, geography, and job function to find the right kinds of decision makers across multiple potential targets.

Highbeam (www.highbeam.com) is an online library and research tool that collects millions of research articles from trusted published sources and puts them all in one place. You can access some information for free or purchase a very reasonably priced annual subscription. This is an excellent resource for you to use when searching for potential company targets or preparing for an upcoming interview. By thoroughly researching a company ahead of time, job seekers can have more engaging and thought-provoking questions based on what they have read about that company. This helps them gain credibility during the interview, and in turn, elevates their candidacy.

Glassdoor (www.glassdoor.com) lets you post anonymous employer reviews and salary information. In exchange for your data, Glassdoor offers you free access to browse other people’s comments about their employers or salary information. While the information is self-reported, it is still a resource that can help job seekers uncover information about a company’s culture and salary ranges.

The Vault (www.vault.com) allows job seekers to read employee surveys on particular companies and view message boards for sharing job search information for a nominal fee. It is a great resource for gaining an insider’s perspective on a company’s culture.

Wet Feet (www.wetfeet.com) enables job seekers to search company and career profiles and salary information. This information can help job seekers with company targeting and it can help them prepare for interviews.

Internship Programs (www.internshipprograms.com) is a paid/unpaid internship search engine owned by Wet Feet. This is an excellent tool for uncovering coveted and hard to find internships.

Airs Job Board & Recruiting Technology Directory (www.airsdirectory.com) This is a free resource listing hundreds of job boards. It’s a great way to find niche boards within your industry, profession, and geography.

AnnualReports.com (www.annualreports.com) allows you to search their database for free electronic files of annual reports. This is a great way for you to better understand the firm’s mission, key accomplishments, and problem areas over the past year.

CEO Express (www.ceoexpress.com) provides dozens of links to current newspapers and periodicals in a variety of industries and genres. It’s a great way for job seekers to stay on top of the current events that impact their industries and professions.

If you are not getting enough interviews or job offers then it is time to analyze your job search strategy. Here is a quick way to drill down to the core issues that will need adjusting.

Situation: I am not getting enough calls for interviews

If the phone is not ringing then either your resume is not good or you are not getting it into the right hands.

Look at your resume and scan it for 20 seconds, the same way an employer would. If you don’t say, “I would hire this person”, then it probably needs work.

 Does it have a strong opening that distinguishes you? Is there a compelling theme? If you are unsure, send it to us for a Free Resume Evaluation . Or have it professionally done, just be careful as there are a lot of scams and bad services on the web so see my Free 10-Point Checklist on How to Choose a Resume Writing Service.

If the resume is good, then you need to review your distribution strategy. There are only a few ways to get the resume out and these include job boards and company web sites, recruiters, networking and direct mail/contact.

Of these, the job boards and company web sites have the least effectiveness rate and this is where most people’s job search strategies fall down. When you send your resume through the Internet, you go into the “big black hole” in human resources and are at the mercy of applicant tracking systems and junior clerks weeding out candidates. In fact, a hiring manager recently told me that she gets over 500 resumes for a job board posting. She looks at the first 50 and if she can’t get 5 candidates to bring in, she looks at the next 50. That means that hundreds of candidates are not even having their resume seen.

If this sounds like you, then adjust how you respond to job board openings and also allocate a lot more time to more effective search techniques like networking.

My advice to clients is to NEVER send your resume over the Internet. Once you see that a position is opened, go to LinkedIn, do a company search and identify the hiring manager and their staff. Now do one of two things: 

1. Ask yourself, “Who do I know that knows someone who can make an introduction for me”. This is basic networking and you can use LinkedIn Groups and Q&A to see who is communicating with them.
    
2. Alternatively, but not as effective, give the decision maker a call and say something like: “A friend told me you might be interested in someone with my background. I have (insert your 2-sentence pitch), and I have just a few questions for you”. Then ask them some questions that show you’ve done some homework on their company. Be very friendly, down to earth and personable and get into a conversation with them. At some point they will ask you for your resume at which point you have now put yourself at the top of the decision maker’s pile and skipped the HR screeners.

 In general, job boards should not be more than 30% of how you spend your time. Networking is far more effective and this has become much easier when you use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to connect with people.

Situation: I am getting interviews, but no offers

If you are getting interviews but are not moving to subsequent rounds or are not getting the offer, then you need to improve your interviewing skills. Start by answering these key questions:

1. Did you research the interviewer on LinkedIn before you went in?
2. Did you turn the interview into a conversation?
3. Did you build rapport with the interviewer?
4. Are you clear about what the biggest challenge would be to someone in this position?
5. Did you identify any objections or issues regarding your candidacy?
6. Do you have a clear timeline for following up?

If you are unclear as to whether you achieved the above, then you need to change how you interview. There are good books on the subject and you can always hire a career coach to do a mock interview so you can learn how to control the interview.

With the new year here, spend a few minutes today to identify where your search needs help.

Twitter, which started as a 140-character chat forum, has evolved to such a level that it has become a useful way to find jobs and should be included in every job seeker’s arsenal. Major companies like CitiGroup regularly post jobs through tweets and those who follow them will have a jumpstart on other candidates.

Using hashtags and twitter’s advanced search at http://search.twitter.com/advanced you can quickly zone in on companies and opportunities.  Rather than use this forum to walk you through the mechanics, here is a great video you can use. http://on.mash.to/hrECTl

By now you’ve learned the traditional ways of job searching don’t work anymore.  A few years ago you could put your resume up on Monster and Career Builder and wait for the phone to ring. Those days are gone. So here are 5 things you can easily do that will quickly improve your job search results.

1.       Scan your resume for 15 seconds – what message does it send?
That’s exactly what an employer will do so if you don’t get a clear message about what you can do for them, then it is not a good resume. Since this is the most important document in your career, make the investment and have a good resume professionally prepared.  But be careful as there are a lot of scams and mediocre providers out there so see my Free 10-Point Checklist on How to Choose a Resume Writing Service.

 2.       Focus on the high-return job efforts.
Job boards have less than a 5% effectiveness rate while networking has over a 50% effectiveness rate. Start by selecting 10 to 30 companies where you would love to work. Do a company search on LinkedIn and identify the decision makers and their staff. Then see who you know who might know someone who can make an introduction for you. Follow the company and people on LinkedIn and Facebook, join their groups and conversations, comment on their blogs and become known. This is how you move from a passive wait for the right job to appear on the job boards to an active job seeker targeting the kinds of positions you really want.

 3.       Optimize your LinkedIn Profile.
If a recruiter was searching through LinkedIn to find people for the position you are seeking, would you show up? Try it and if you are not on the first or second page, go back to your profile and pepper it with the right keywords to get yourself a higher ranking. A simple trick is to look at the profiles of the people who rank well and follow some of the things they did.

 4.       Review your Online Presence.
88% of employers will Google your name to see more about you. Make sure you look good on LinkedIn (100% complete profile), review your activity in Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and any other online account. Take down or change any comments that reflect poorly upon you. Use your own blog, online exchanges and testimonials to showcase your professional knowledge.

 5.       Create measurable goals.
Searching for a job is like any other project and you must stay disciplined, so set firm goals for yourself. For example, “I will make 10 networking calls and have 2 meetings per week”. Make sure you are focusing on high-impact efforts like networking versus job board submissions. Keep a record of your efforts so if an employer calls, you can quickly determine when and how they were contacted. Send me an email at DGoodman@GotTheJob.com if you would like a Free Job Search Log.

 Use these simple tips and you will see a dramatic improvement in your job search results.

I frequently call my clients at their provided numbers to discuss their resumes. I am often amazed at what happens, and in particular, how harmful it will be to their job search efforts.

For example, I called a Senior Vice President candidate yesterday at the number he put on his resume. He answered the phone and, thinking I was a telemarketing firm, sternly asked me “What do you want?”. He lightened up considerably after he found out who I was, but I couldn’t help thinking how bad an impression he would make under the same circumstances if I had been an employer. Interestingly, when I called back to follow-up on some things, I got a voice mail recording of his 2-year old son trying his best to say “leave a message”. Although it was cute as could be, it wasn’t very professional.

Similarly, the other day I called a Director of IT client and got his wife on the phone. I asked if I might speak to Ted and she merely (and rather abruptly) said “he’s not here”. Now this is a guy who is aggressively job hunting. She made no effort to take a message and offered no assistance.

Then I called a woman who is a CFO candidate, having just accepted a retirement package. I got her son on the phone and, being a typical teenager, he was very abrupt and not particularly friendly.

Finally, I called a senior professional on his cell phone only to listen to a rap song touting the female bootie.

Bottomline, if you are looking for a job, use your cell phone as the primary contact number. That way you will be the one answering the phone. If an employer calls at an inopportune time, it’s fine to say you’re not in a position to speak right now and setup a time to talk.

Also, instruct your family on how to handle calls (even the kids). Ask them to inquire as to the nature of the call and take clear messages. Have a pad and a pen near each phone. You might even want them to offer your cell phone number to potential employers. And most of all, be pleasant!

Remember first impressions are lasting impressions.

LinkedIn announced 2 breakthrough capabilities for employers searching for candidates, which means you cannot afford not to be on LinkedIn anymore.

The Referral Engine lets companies find high-quality applicants by tapping the professionals in their employees’ LinkedIn networks. Referral Engine recommends the most qualified professionals from within employees’ LinkedIn networks. Email and LinkedIn homepage reminders suggest the best candidates, allowing employees to make referrals with just a few clicks.

LinkedIn also announced Jobs for You, which allows companies to distribute their job openings ONLY to individuals with matching backgrounds. You can pick your audience based on LinkedIn profile data including function, seniority, industry, and more.

 So what does this mean to the job seeker? The job boards are dead. Employers received far too many unmatched resumes at too high a cost. Employers and recruiters are flocking to LinkedIn to source candidates. Jobs for You ensures that only high caliber, well-matched candidates are sources while the Referral Engine helps find candidates through employee referrals. Bottomline, you must have an OPTIMIZED profile on LinkedIn and you should make sure you are well-networked to those who can refer you, which can be done through Groups and other tools.

Every professional should be on LinkedIn as it is a great way to increase your online presence and connect to other professionals. If you are employed, you can use it to engage with others in your field, share information, see what your competitors are up to and follow industry trends. If you are unemployed, obviously it has great job seeker tools. But what do you do if you are employed and seeking a job, but don’t want your employer to know?

First review your profile. Make sure that someone reading it will not immediately infer that you are looking for new employment.  A dead giveaway: “willing to relocate”.  If you are not leaving your organization, then why would you put that?

Another tell-tale sign is the groups that you have joined. Remember that people tracking you will see updates and will know if you have joined job seeking groups. I suggest you adjust your settings so connections won’t be notified each time you update your status or make changes to your profile. Remember too that you can indicate which logos appear with your profile, so opt not to show any job search groups.

Use these LinkedIn tips and you can avoid letting your employer know you are searching.

By now everyone knows about LinkedIn. (If you don’t you NEED to get on board the train as it is already racing out of the station).

LinkedIn now has 80 million members and is the place where internal and external recruiters go to source candidates. Members can search for jobs, identify decision makers and staff, see who has joined the firm and who has left, and see how many levels of contacts they are away from key targets. I love it and have seen firsthand how well it works.

Now imagine you can do the same things in Facebook, which has over 500 million users, more than 6 times the number on LinkedIn. Facebook has added new features that purports to provide the same features as LinkedIn and certainly indicates that they are targeting that market.

Personally I see Facebook for personal use and LinkedIn for business, but that’s just me. What are your thoughts?