Personalize Your Job Hunt

Most people who are job-hunting use career sites, other online resources, head-hunters, networking and send out zillions of résumés. With so many out of work it seems like those who find a job have hit on some magic formula. If you aren’t one of the lucky few, maybe it’s time to shake it up a bit. Why not try the old-school 1:1, in-person approach?

Personal Touch

A recent WSJ article described how 97-year-old Lillian Brownstein landed a job in 1938 by knocking on doors in an office building in New Jersey. One company she spoke to had just fired their secretary and hired Brownstein after a typing test. Now I’m not suggesting you just drop by companies and ask to speak to someone about a job. These days, the receptionist would probably call security.

But try to make the job-search more personal. According to the article above, only 9% of job-hunters think to contact relatives and friends. Instead 51% are opting for looking at ads and sending in applications. Remember that referrals from someone internal at a company or a trusted client will give you an edge.

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10 Tips to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Business

There have been several financial recessions in the last century or so. Some of these were localized to specific countries or areas of the world. Or others, like the current one, were far more global in nature. The one difference between this global recession and the last one is that anyone who has been downsized now has the Internet to use as a tool for finding a new job. And one of the most job-hunting specific Internet tools is the social network for business people - LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a wonderful way of connecting with potential employers and also for highlighting your skills in a way that any employer can easily digest. But your LinkedIn profile needs to be optimized to make that happen so we're giving you a set of 10 tips to help you make the most of your LinkedIn presence.

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How to Maximize Your Peak Working Hours

Do you find yourself reaching for an energy drink around 4 p.m. on a work day? Or are you just revving up for your day’s work? Finding your peak work hours is a great way to boost your productivity. We usually do know our own energy body/mind rhythms of energy, but if you examine your work/productivity patterns, you can maximize those times.

Morning Person vs. Night Owl

People usually describe themselves as a morning or night person. But you don’t have to buy into your own stereotype: you can take some control over those energy cycles and be more productive at supposedly “down” times, because that self-talk can become self-fulfilling.

In the “Flow”

Published in 1991, Mihaly Csikszenmihalyi’s book “Finding the Flow – the Psychology of Optimal Experience,” is a concept that’s still applicable to work styles today. When you’re in the “flow,” you are so absorbed in a task that you lose sense of time, you feel in control and things just click.  A University of Chicago psychologist, he’s done numerous of studies on this phenomenon. 

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Establishing Work-From-Home Rules for The Family

Some things go together easily. Peanut butter and jelly? Sure. Rings and diamonds? Definitely. High heels and a killer dress? Anytime. But sometimes things that you hope would work together well don’t always gel as smoothly as you would like. One of those tricky pairings—home and work. Working from home seems like the best of both worlds, where you can make money and achieve professional success without leaving the house or even getting out of your pajamas. Whether you are hoping to avoid the stress of a long commute or are trying to balance being a new mom with continuing in your chosen profession, working from home can be a great way to keep all the parts of your life in balance.

But if you have a family, you have probably already discovered that working from home poses special challenges. Your family, whether you have a husband, a wife, a baby, or a whole brood of kids, will have to get used to the idea that even though you are not leaving the house every morning to head to the office, you are still going to work every day. As anyone who has ever worked from home with a family will tell you, family members will always assume that you are available to help with appointments, errands, or any other daytime tasks as soon as they hear that you work from home. To keep your home office running smoothly and avoid running into unpleasant standoffs with family members and friends, it’s best to set firm ground rules for your family members, to help them respect your work from home arrangement and allow you to get some work done.

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Top 10 Words of Wisdom From Pam Beesly, Your Favorite Personal Assistant

Imported from the BBC, “The Office” has become a new American cultural phenomenon. And chief among its characters is Michael Smart’s personal assistant Pam Beesley. Pam is a mix of smart and sassy and just doesn’t know how to put it quite into words. She has the moxie to hold her own in a company that sometimes seems to be out to get its own employees. And like all high caliber, high performing personal assistants, Pam Beesley is wise beyond her years.

Granted her wisdom comes from the minds of a group of television script writers, it is wisdom nonetheless.

There is something to be learned from Beesley in every episode. Presented here, in no particular order, are 10 of her most important contributions to the lexicon of business  wisdom.

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How to Choose an “Emotional” Pitstop - Part 1

Finding Help for Major Career Issues

I can only recall one job that had no inherent stress: I worked in a small card shop while in grad school. I read funny cards, rang up a few sales and had plenty of time to study. The majority of people experience some level of stress or difficult issue at work and it helps to have a supportive, sympathetic ear when you need to talk it through. But sometimes it’s hard to know who would be the best fit when discussing major career issues. Do you talk to your co-workers, boss, a psychotherapist, friends, family or parents, etc.? When does it make more sense to consult a career coach?

First, let’s look at the pros and cons of getting emotional support from the people in your personal life. (Co-workers fall in both personal and professional areas as they can also be good friends.)

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I Wrote Your 2010 Career Resolutions for You

When it comes to work, many of us have the same resolutions.  We figured we'd save you the time and type them up for you. If you truly want to get your career on the right track or just have a better attitude towards work, we recommend you start off slow, picking one or two of the items below and building from there.  These were my resolutions in 2008, and they're pretty much the same this year!

Set a Deadline on "Perfecting" Your Resume

The longer you wait to send it out, the longer it will take you to land a new job. You need to get it error-free but not at the expense of never finishing it. Resumes are fluid. Do not be afraid to hit the send button.

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Be Extra Kind to the “Help”

You Might be a Lay-off Away from their Job

Here’s my axiom that I doubt you will find in any MBA or biz school curriculum: Everyone should be required to work at least 6 months in either retail or food service. I’ve worked in both industries and it’s some of the hardest work there is. (To this day I hate talking on the phone after working as a receptionist in a hair salon.)

First of all, you are just out there on the selling or restaurant floor and subject to any and all personality types and their accompanying moods. Secondly, there are always those folks who enjoy treating you like “the help,” in a condescending, dismissive manner. And lastly, you are often being paid at minimum wage or only slightly above.

And, yes, I realize that there are people in these jobs who don’t take the work seriously, do the job poorly, goof off or are rude. There are things you shouldn’t tolerate as a consumer - being ignored or treated badly. Sometimes that is management’s fault for hiring them and/or not addressing the bad behavior. But try a little patience and kindness and you might be surprised by the response. I just came from one of the dollar stores where I wanted to buy a gift card. When I asked the clerk if they had the kind that you could load on the dollar amount, she responded, “Ya know, I don’t remember.” Then she just looked at me. So I said, “Should we ask someone?” Things went smoothly after she asked her manager and she learned how to do it with my transaction.

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Internship Candidates...Listen Up!

Don’t Forget to Put Your Name on the Resume

I recently visited a friend in Chicago who is at the point in growing her one-woman business that she needs help. Her biz is in a creative field and she’s fortunate to be in a city with multiple art/creative schools. Hiring an intern from one of these places seemed like an ideal solution; she gets a creative, enthusiastic “employee” and the student gets to learn the biz. Win, win, right? Well…until she placed the ad.

The ad stated very clear parameters - the experience preferred, general duties, hours/days, send a resume, etc. In a very short time, she had sixty responses. While she was able to cull some very favorable prospects from the group, there were some surprising clunkers. One person even forgot to put their name on the resume. Duh-oh.

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Working Podcast #93: Too Many Cooks In the Kitchen

Join the Jobacle campaign to help restore linear communication at work!  Who is hiring for the holiday season in 2009?  Find out how much umpires make a year and hear a solution to Major League Baseball's major problem.  Job Song.

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