Career Search Action Plan

Tweetchat today in #careerchat was on your Career Search Action Plan

Here are some of the highlights -
What are the main components of a career action plan?

• Where you are, where you want to be and the plan is how you are going to get there
• Plan should be broken up into time frames - 3 months, 6 months, 1 year 5 year etc.
• A start point and an end point. Know how you will start and have a reachable goal in mind, with room to adjust.
• As with any plan - C.A.P. must be SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely
• An interim step... figure out what you want, then make SURE that is REALLY what you want. Volunteer, Intern, job shadow.
• I like looking at LI profiles of people who do what I want to do. Great info on how to get there.

How do you get started on putting together an action plan?

• assess skills, find ones needed, how to obtain the new skills, how to market yourself once you have the new skills
• You might want to use sites like the @Vault or @glassdoordotcom to help you research
• Make 3 column list of jobs that interest u, traits/skills nec., & how u will acquire those skills.
• Prepare Short term and Long term GOALS 5. Prepare action plan to sort the achievable
• Conduct info meetings with colleagues and referrals of people who have the job you are after. Learn how they got there! 
• Your HR Department may be a resource for career plan help, especially if you would  like to stay with your existing company
• Studies show if you articulate it (tell someone) your goals, you're MUCH more likely to do it.

When do you need to adjust/revisit your action plan?

• You should look over it often, even it's just quarterly. If you have gone astray, it's time to kick it back into motion.
• whenever you attain an original goal, you need to reevaluate, you need an if/then philosophy
• If something isn't working or you found a new direction
• Know your PERFORMANCE EVALUATION system-very important thing to do to keep track of career action plan as an employee
• If you find yourself dreading work more than loving it, time to re-evaluate
• Don't wait until you've been laid off or are in a tough spot to start thinking about your plan, it'll be too late
• Career action plans must be PROACTIVE not REACTIVE
• Do you stick to the same profession or change completely? yes, if there is growth potential, if not change!
• Have you written your career plan or is it all in your head?

If you are working on your career plan, you can use http://www.illinoisworknet.com/vos_portal/residents/en/Prepare/ as a resource to help you in the planning and assessment process.

14 square inches of space

How often do you see in the paper an event advertised that is taking place in your community where businesses will be represented.  If there is a small fee for admission or no cost for admission, you might want to make sure that you attend the event.  It is a perfect networking opportunity.

If, for example, the cost of admission is a business card, you should be prepared.  Just because you may not be currently employed, does not mean that you cannot have a business card.  In fact, it is a perfect opportunity to use 14 square inches of space to your advantage.

Office supply stores sell business card stock as do many discount retailers.  Software programs are available with templates for business cards, or you can create one very simply in Microsoft Word if you know some of the basics.  Use the front side of the card to provide your basic contact information that should include name, address, phone(s), email, website address (if you have one), and a link to any of the other social media sites you are using to network for your job search.  A job title that would normally appear on a corporate business card would be replaced with your area of expertise, for example, Marketing Coordinator as an exact title could become a simple switch to Marketing Professional or Social Media Specialist depending upon what direction you wish to pursue.

Use the back side of the card to list your skills in bullet format using action verbs where possible. For example using our Marketing Coordinator position and skill set:

• Instructor for social media formats
• Graphic designer in multiple formats
• Editor for e-news and blog
• Creative writing
• Editorial writing
• Photographer

If you have portfolio type items, include a link to an on-line portfolio where contacts you meet can view your work.  If you need additional assistance creating a resume, enlist the assistance of a Career Resource Professional at an Illinois workNet Center near you.  To find other resume resources, visit http://www.kcdee.org/

Copywriting for your On-line Profile

Today I listened to a webinar entitled Writing Powerful Online Profiles that Lead to More Connections, Interactions & Possibilities with speaker Allison Nazarian author of “One Minute Copy Writer”.  Here are my thoughts and notes based on the webinar.

During your job search, potential employers will Google you to see what you are about. Only 17% of jobs come from job boards. What would a hiring company find if they see your on-line profile?

Writing for paper is different than writing for online profiles. You don’t want to just cut and paste. Your résumé may stay the same for years. Social media allows for more personality. You could potentially be editing your social media profile hourly. The social media medium allows you to brand yourself in your own voice.

You forward a paper résumé to a company, possibly unsolicited and wonder what if anything is done with it. If you update your LinkedIn or other on-line profile, you could receive an immediate response from people within your network. You are able to create a dialogue when writing for the on-line medium that isn’t available in a written résumé.

Copywriting principles apply to on-line profiles. You are selling yourself on your profile to a potential employer. Your profile is your on-line advertisement. Use words to sell your career skills.

1. Know your target market - before you place your profile or make a change to it, determine who you are targeting to read your profile. What is the job title of the person who would hire you? What are the demographics of the company that would hire you? How can you solve the problems your potential hiring company might have? You are also writing to your allies and advocates who might know someone who needs a new employee with your skill set. Be deliberate with your keywords for the search engines to hone in upon.

2. Benefits vs. features – your résumé will list the skills and experience you have, but doesn’t necessarily allow you to express the benefits without adding several pages to the document. On-line profiles allow you to express the benefits of your problem solving actions that could be applicable to the company to which you are applying. Potential employers think “what’s in it for me?” Make it short, sweet and simple so that the employer knows what you are offering.

3. Formatting – make your profile easy to read and visually pleasing – use short paragraphs, bulleted lists, bolded sub-titles, and ensure it is easily scanned for rapid review. Use first person when writing your profile. i.e. Use XX machine to complete orders.

4. Action verbs – use an active voice and action verbs when writing your profile – see our previous post on action verbs for a list of action verbs. Action verbs express that you do things, perform for an employer and act on problems. Get specific with what you can do for a potential employer. When you edit your profile, let your verbs do the work for you. Be conscientious of using the verb groups “to be” (is, are, & were), “to do”, “to say” and “to go”.

Remember you are selling yourself to a potential employer or business associate if you are seeking contract work. Use all of the tools at your disposal to get yourself re-employed.