Using XBox Live to get your next job

Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on January 22, 2010

Sounds unusual doesn’t it - XBox Live is an online gaming platform that allows users to play each other using the Xbox game console. It’s not usually where you would look for work, well now it can be used for exactly that!

We’ve heard many stories recently about how people have landed their new job - through an an introduction from an ex-colleague; through another parent at a child’s daycare; through a blog; via a direct contact through a recruiter on LinkedIn; etc. These are all great accomplishments and congratulations again to those involved; but the most interesting story we heard was when one job seeker told us how he found work through a gaming friend on Xbox Live.

For the purposes of protecting his identity let’s call him Brad. Brad was laid-off last April from a bank that has recently been merged with another (not an unfamiliar story). For the first couple of months of unemployment, he took the normal route with recruiters and online job boards for the with no success. Then, he decided to target specific people from his past that he knew were working at banks or similar institutions. Brad systematically identified people that might be looking for candidates and got in touch with them directly or through other colleagues. However, there were a few for whom he didn’t have contact information. He tried LinkedIn for a few contacts and that helped, but he couldn’t find one particular contact.

He knew an ex-colleague on Xbox Live that would have the target contact details so he just had to find a way to ask politely. He began to spend more time on Xbox Live in order to find his ex-colleague, and to do so “naturally” within that environment. Now, he was also able to justify why he was spending so much time gaming to his wife;-). Then when he got the chance to open up a conversation he asked for the contact information of the mutual ex-colleague. Ultimately, this led him to start work through that contact at another bank in September last year.

For Brad, this worked out perfectly; but for you Xbox Live may not be an option. Perhaps you don’t have the Xbox console already or perhaps you don’t know anyone on there anyways? Well, that’s not the point! In this job market you have to build and leverage your network - doing so within an environment where you are most comfortable gives you the unique opportunity to set yourself apart.

Please share your story on the unusual way you have built your network in the comments section below.

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How to Define the Goal of Your Job Search

Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on December 3, 2009

This post is Part 1 in our 7 part series on how to manage your job search.

Defining Your Goal:

Before you start out on any journey it’s important to know your destination. In this case it’s a life-long journey so it’s best to be realistic. In other words, don’t set your goal to be CEO of GE when you have only 2 years of experience. You need to set goals that are attainable, but also stretch your abilities and afford you the opportunity to learn. The approach we are suggesting is best shown by using an example:

The Subject: Jean Hughes
She wants to move from project management to product management, and ultimately product marketing. She sees herself in a VP of Marketing role within 5-10 years. She has 4 years of experience in project management and enjoys her job but would prefer to work in areas that she feels more passionate about, has more aptitude for and where some of her education might help (she has a degree in Business & Marketing). Jean has defined her goals as follows:

# Jean’s Goal Jean’s Notes Jobspeaker Comment
1 Marketing Project Management I want to get more exposure to the marketing function than in my current role, so I think I can leverage my project management experience into managing projects on the marketing side of the business. This is a good approach, particularly in this job market. It’s not settling but it is being realistic about her experience and the job market today. While it’s similar to her current role, it’s different in a very significant way that provides her experience within or alongside the marketing function.

Thus, she is leveraging both her project management experience and her education while learning more to better position herself for the next role*.
2 Consulting: Marketing Analyst Working at a consulting firm will give me more exposure to lots of companies and their different marketing strategies. I may have to take a step back but ultimately this will benefit me long-term. By thinking long-term, Jean has decided that taking a step back in her career may be the best thing right now, in order to position herself better for her next career move*.
3 Senior Marketing Manager Perhaps at a smaller company my project management experience and my industry exposure combined with marketing education can be enough to propel me directly into this role. This is Jean’s aspirational role that would make her transition into the marketing function quicker and increase her rate of learning towards her longer-term goal.

Jean is also comfortable with the sink-or-swim aspect of this role - she has learned quickly before in some of her project work and so it’s likely the pros outweigh the cons. She enjoys the pressure that this enforced learning environment might require.
4 VP of Marketing This is my long-term goal. Keeping an eye on the long-term goal is a great idea.

The basic premise here is that you can’t afford to focus exclusively on one role and that you should employ a strategy that will give you tiered options: a role that you know you can attain based on your experience today, a role that is a stretch, a role that takes a different approach and even a role that is your dream job just to keep you focused. Then you’ll be better able to understand the pros and cons of each of the options and put them in the context of your long-term career goals.

* You’ll notice that we talk a lot about “next career move”. We do this because you can no longer rely on an employer to employ you for your career or to manage your career for you, you must do it yourself. Therefore, it is assumed that this approach to managing your career is now or is becoming THE strategy for job seekers. This is our recommended approach as it puts job seekers in the driving seat by pro-actively managing their careers and taking a step-by-step approach to learning the skills they need to get to the role they want over time.

Next:
Step 2: Understanding and choosing the right Job Search Strategy(s)

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Acing the On-Campus Interview

Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on October 25, 2009

It’s that time of year again: the time of year when the leaves change color, football season gets into full swing, and companies begin their on-campus recruiting efforts at colleges across the country.

But how can you differentiate yourself from your classmates in a crowded market?  How can you convince employers that they want, no need, you to work for them?  And how do you find the time for several rounds of interviews when you’ve got midterms, papers, and beer pong tournaments that demand your attention?  In this article we’ll answer these questions and give you tips on how to ace the on-campus interview.

How to prepare: If the company is simply looking for good applicants in case a position opens up, you don’t need to cram too hard for the interview.  But if they are looking to fill a specific position, you should spend several hours getting to know the company.  Get a really clear understanding of what they do, how they make money, and how you would fit into the equation.  Are they on LinkedIn?  If you know who you’re interviewing with, find out where he went to college, or what his interests are.  Is the company on Twitter, and if so, what do they like to tweet about?  Search Google News and see if they have gotten any recent press.  Read the company’s own press section on their website - what are they proud of, and where are they headed?  Use websites like The Vault to learn about your particular job description and industry.

What to bring: Several copies of your resume, your letters of recommendation, and any samples of your work that would be impressive and appropriate.  You should also bring the notes you made about the company prior to the interview.  These will help you sound knowledgeable during the interview, and will help you ask intelligent questions when the time comes.

Get ready to wait: Once you arrive 10 to 15 minutes early for your interview, be prepared to wait a few minutes until you’re called in.  If there’s an administrator present, be sure to ask the name of the interviewer.  Spend this time going over the information you have about the company and rehearsing your answers to some of the standard questions.  Go over some of your best stories for use during behavioral interview questions.  And smile.  If you don’t smile and make eye contact with the interviewer, you can just go home.  So even if you’ve got crazy butterflies in your stomach, you still have to appear happy, enthusiastic, and excited about getting a chance to prove yourself.

Use what you know: Unlike a job interview in the real world, in an on-campus interview you already know who your competition is.  They’re your friends and your classmates.  Think about who they are, who they know, and what they know, and use this information to guess at their strengths and weaknesses.  If you and your friends are interviewing for an entry-level programming position and you know you’re the best at Ruby on Rails, be sure to say as much during the interview.  Marketers would call this selling yourself based on your “unique value proposition.”

The STAR approach: On-campus interviewers are famous for using behavioral interviewing techniques.  This means that they will ask you about situations you have faced, and will use your answers to predict likely behavior in the future, should you get the job.  One classic behavioral question is, “Can you tell me about a time you faced a conflict and what you did to resolve it?”  The STAR approach refers to a method used to answer these types of questions: Begin by describing the Situation you were in or the Task you had to complete.  Then describe the Action you took towards resolving the situation.  And finally, describe the Results you achieved.  Keep the focus on you, tell the interviewer what you did, not what you might do, and give specific details but keep the story down to about a minute in length.

And remember: The interview starts the minute your name is called.  Use every moment you have to sell yourself, show off that you’ve done your homework, and make a great impression.  ALWAYS follow up with a hand-written thank-you note, preferably the same day.  You can give it to the administrator to give to your interviewer as he leaves for the day.

The on-campus interview is the first step toward the on-site interview and your entree into the real world.  If you take it seriously, you’ll already be light years ahead of your less enlightened classmates.

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I just got laid off - Now what?? 5 lessons for coping

Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on August 11, 2009

I remember the time I was laid off from my first job out of college.  My boss told us all to meet him in the conference room.  I joked, “I’m not in trouble, am I?”  And he replied by giving an uncomfortable half-laugh and a nod toward the door.  Once we were all gathered he told us about how we knew that budget cuts had been looming, about how the jobs we were doing were never permanent, and then boom!  ”You’ve all been let go.”

After the initial tears, anger, and bargaining subsided, the cold reality set in that soon we would all be out in the street.  Fortunately my first reaction was not to panic, but to laugh.  I had a cynical, “of course I would get laid off from my first job” kind of attitude, and quietly accepted that in your career there are no guarantees.

Lesson 1: Don’t Panic.  The bright spot in any layoff is that most employees get some kind of severance package from their employer, even if it’s a small one.  People who have been laid off are also likely to be eligible for some unemployment benefits as well.  And you might be able to get free out-placement counseling from your HR department or someone your company has contracted with.  Take advantage of all of these services immediately, because they all disappear after a certain amount of time.

Lesson 2: Secure income. Make sure that any layoff payments, unemployment checks, and other sources of revenue are secured.  This will enable you to take a small step back and focus on how to get your next role.

I unfortunately did not get any unemployment benefits when I was laid off, so I had to immediately look for a new job. If possible it would be best to use the time these benefits provide to find the job you really want next.

Lesson 3: Work smart not hard.  I’m not telling you to hit the snooze button in the morning, but don’t start sending out resumes to every job you see online either.  A careful, steady approach will be rewarded in due course.  Depending on the size of your community, you may get a reputation for being someone who applies to anything and everything - and you definitely don’t want to come across as dishonest or indiscriminate.

I lived in a small community at the time, with only 1 or 2 major employers, and so my efforts were mostly targeted to those companies.  I had 7 interviews with 7 different departments of one employer, and got a job offer after number 7.

Lesson 4: Make lemonade.  Being laid off is a horrible experience, but you can choose to make it into an opportunity all by readjusting your attitude.  A career change gives you an opportunity to try something different, move to a different city, go back to school, or finally write that screenplay.  So decide what you want to do:  do you want the same job all over again or do you want to take this opportunity to find something in a different field?

Lesson 5: Start networking.  As with my tip in Lesson 3, you don’t need to e-mail every friend or co-worker you ever had just to tell them you lost your job.  It makes you seem desperate and unfocused.  Telling your friends isn’t a search strategy unless you’re really well connected.  Unfortunately in today’s downbeat market you have to be much more clever than that.  Target your networking energy towards reaching those that are particularly in the position to help you, and meet them in person to chat about the job market.  And always ask for advice, not for a job!

After I was laid off, my next job ended up paying almost $10,000 more per year, I loved my new bosses, and I had much more interesting work to do.  So being laid off was ultimately a great thing for me.  It’s hard to see that silver lining now, with daily news reports about job losses and home foreclosures, but it is entirely possible that a layoff could be a miracle in disguise.

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Job Search: Top 3 Irritations and How to Fix Them

Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on June 19, 2009

Frustration is a feeling near and dear to all job seekers. Whether you were laid off, you just graduated, you’re changing careers, or you just hate your current job, looking for employment is seriously not fun. Here are three common irritations of the job search, and three ways to make them a little less troublesome.

1) Recruiters are slow to get back to you, or never get back to you at all.

When you send your resumé out into the cold world, with it go your hopes for a better job. How depressing is it, then, when you never hear back from anyone? The truth is that recruiters are inundated with thousands of resumés each day, and simply lack the resources to sift through each one and craft a response. Fortunately some companies have created auto-responses that assure you your resumé was actually received. Not all recruiters have caught on to this practice however, and many job seekers are left wondering. The best thing to do if you have not heard back from a recruiter is to send a follow-up e-mail a few days after your original letter. Wait a few more days, and if you have still not heard back, call the recruiter. Remind them who you are, and what kind of job you’re looking for. Offer to come in for a face-to-face meeting. The point is to get your resume out of the stack of thousands and into the hands of a real person.

2) You don’t know how to find recruiters in your industry.

It’s a big challenge to find recruiters working in your industry, either because you’re entry level, you haven’t used a recruiter in years, you’re in an unfamiliar city, or because all the recruiters you used to know have since moved on. The challenge is even greater if you live in a small city with limited opportunities. The best way to find recruiters is through word-of-mouth. When you meet people at networking events or at informational interviews, ask them if they know of any industry recruiters. Their contacts may be old or obsolete, but they can at least point you in the direction of the appropriate firm. You can also search social networking sites, job boards, or conduct an internet search for local industry recruiters. The goal is to get a name and an e-mail. In your e-mail, say who referred you. Be brief and direct - recruiters are very short on time. And remember to emphasize how YOU can help THEM.

3) You’re having a hard time keeping your job search organized.

A job search in today’s economy could easily span over 6 months, and require hundreds of applications and e-mails. It’s a full-time job just to stay on top of the paper trail. But it’s essential to keep a record of which jobs you’ve applied to, who you’ve contacted at each job, and what steps you’re taking next. How embarrassing (and damaging!) would it be if a recruiter called you about a job and you had no idea which position she was talking about? A record management system will make all the difference between making you seem organized and competent, or sloppy and unprepared. Keeping on top of your job search will also save you time (since you won’t be applying to the same jobs twice) and headaches (since you won’t have to spend hours sorting through e-mails in your Sent folder trying to find the one relevant to your interview tomorrow).

Jobseekers: Help is coming …

Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on April 9, 2009

Welcome to the JobSpeaker blog.  We are launching our blog to give you an opportunity to learn about our service before we launch our alpha product, influence what we do before and after the alpha and generally get you an opportunity to learn about what we are all about.

We are planning to have the alpha version of our product available very soon, so please stay tuned to receive an invitation to join when we are ready. In the meantime, what is JobSpeaker all about? JobSpeaker is a service specifically aimed at helping you manage your next career move, be it your 1st or your 20th job. Looking for a job is a difficult task and one that can be emotionally, physically and financially stressful. In these times particularly, looking for a job becomes even more difficult because of the number of jobseekers on the market. That’s were we plan to help. We are going through the same issues, we are technology professionals that have recently been let go, are having problems finding work and having problems finding services to make the whole process easier. We are experiencing the same emotional highs and lows, having some of the same financial strains and we want to help others in the same situation.

We want to launch a service that you find helpful as you are pursuing your next career move. But we don’t assume we know what problems you experience so let’s first discuss what you do as you begin thinking about a career move. Do you contact all your friends, do you use LinkedIn to contact people in interesting companies, do you take a look at your resume again, …? And where do you run into problems however small or big that frustrate or make the process more difficult.

Looking forward to your input.

Team JobSpeaker.

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