Personal Assessments

Hello everyone, I just finished talking with Jennifer Tuma Young from inspirista.net and we talked about the personal assessment process and how it relates to job search. Below is some information that I know would be helpful for you during your search.

The websites for finding out about corporate culture or just companies in general are below.

www.ledova.com

www.jobvent.com

www.glassdoor.com

www.indeed.com – type in company name under the forum section

 Please go to the website (www.3smartcubes.com) and sign up with them for just you $9.95.  I have our dear jane clients take the Aptitude, IQ and Personality Tests.-IQ Tests (optional). These reports will give you a lot of objective feedback about yourself.

Please go to www.humanmetrics.com and take the Jung typology test (aka, Meyers Briggs personality test). Please score the test and print the results. Your printout should say you are an E S F P or something similar. This is a free site. Then when you receive your printout and get your type i.e.: ESFJ, you should then go to the public library and copy the chapter ESFJ from the book called “Do What You Are.”

Also have them check out this site. They can take some free skills tests, etc. They have a lot of resources here and can print out some good reports.

www.http://online.onetcenter.org.

Strength Finders and Now Discover Your Strengths are popular. These are books to help people with their career exploration as well and they have DVD’s included.

Check out the Johnson O’Connor Research foundation. Use google to find the website. It is the best aptitude testing center I know of for people looking to change careers and interested in career exploration. I tested with them 20 years ago and I have actually worked in 3 out of the 5 professions they suggested.

Are you bored? Are you interested in finding part-time work while you look for a full-time job?

YOU CAN GET A JOB IN THIS MARKET!

YOU CAN GET A JOB IN THIS MARKET!

Career Action Plan

 

There are many ways to find a job! See below.

 

§          Networking:  It’s all about who you know, so contact everybody you know and start to network with them to gain information on the hidden job market, which are the jobs that aren’t advertised on the job boards or in the paper. Then build a target list of companies that you want to work for and send it to your networking contacts and ask if they can help you or if they know of anyone that works at one of your targeted companies and ask them to sponsor you into the company through their contact. Remember, networking is about gathering information. 80% of the people that use their network will get hired within 6 weeks to three months.

 

§          Cold Calling and Warm Calling:  I know candidates are afraid to push themselves out of their comfort zone but you have to in tough job markets. Recruiters and HR professionals are receiving 100-300 resumes per day. They are working on about 20-200 positions each. So to differentiate yourself you will want to call them directly and try and sell yourself over the phone or ask them about their hiring processes. Don’t forget to mention that you will be in there area and would love to stop by and introduce yourself.

 

§          Recruiters:  Sign up with and meet the recruiters and headhunters in your local area. I.e. Kelly Services, Volt, Manpower, TEKsystems, and Robert Half International. Recruiters will be calling you once you post your resume on the job boards. Also, check out www.rileyguide.com. See www.dearjane.info –tips booklet

 

§          Internet Job Boards:  Post your resume on the internet job boards. Also you can search for jobs on these job board sites. The top 4 posting sites are listed: craigslist.com, monster.com, careerbuilder.com and dice.com if you are in the high tech field. It is extremely important to refresh your resume twice weekly on the boards. So you will have to make changes to it and then submit changes and save. This will refresh your resume. Recruiters only review the last 2 days when searching for candidate’s resumes.  On craigslist.com you will have to upload a new one twice weekly.

 

§          Professional Associations:  Post on user group websites and professional association websites. I.e. AMA, NCHRA, SHRM, PMI, STC, ASTD, and PDMA etc.

 

§          Indeed.com! Check out the new one stop solution to finding jobs on the internet. Please use www.indeed.com – it’s a mega search engine for searching jobs all over the internet from various job board sources.

 

§          Company websites:  Go to company websites and submit your resume online. Go to their Career Sections and even if they don’t have a job posted upload your resume anyway.  This will enter your resume into the Human Resources applicant tracking system.

 

§          Job Fairs:  Attend job fairs and find the job fairs online at www.jobjournals.com or in the local newspaper. 

 

§          Linkedin.com:  Sign up with www.linkedin.com. 50% of the people that use linkedin.com use it for job searching and networking for jobs.

 

§          Newspapers:  If you live in a remote area, don’t forget to check the newspapers for local job fair events. Companies still post their recruiting data and job descriptions in the local newspapers.

Go to www.dearjane.info or contact rebecca.martin@dearjane.info for more information. Check out our blog at www.dearjanedialogues.com

 

 

 

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

 

This is a really hard time right now for job seekers. This is not a normal job market. Many people are having a difficult time finding a job. Everyday we turn on the television and read the newspaper and are constantly barraged with bad news about the economy and more news about companies laying off hundreds and thousands of employees.

 

A lot of our clients are taking the time to analyze their job situations, career professions and ask themselves if they were really happy doing what they were doing. Some client’s say getting laid off was a blessing or that they stayed too long and this gave them the push they needed to change careers. Everyone’s situation is different.

 

Some candidates/job seekers are fortunate enough to take time off and be with their family, travel or just pick up a hobby. Some can’t do any of the above things because they need to start working again right away just to fulfill their basic needs of having food on the table and having a roof over their heads.

 

Changing professions at this time could be the best thing for a person or maybe a very scary proposition. If you have the financial security to allow yourself to take at least three months off and really pursue a new profession or career then you shouldn’t hesitate about doing the research.

 

If you have the time to explore a new career you will want to interview family, friends, or colleagues that work in the industry or profession that you want to move into and ask them the following questions. 1) How did you get started in this new profession? 2) What type of education did you need to pursue to become eligible for this new profession?

3) How long did it take you to get your new position?  

 

If you don’t have the financial security right now to pursue a new profession that’s ok too. You will need to leverage the your current and past experience you have gained and find a position that will pay you your market value and provide you with enough financial security to help you find a job.

 

It’s extremely important to look at what you value most in life during these hard times and you will probably find that it isn’t money, that it’s your family,  quality of life and having a balance, being with friends, living a healthy and productive lifestyle, laughing a lot or maybe volunteering and being of service to those who are in need.

 

We can always attach ourselves to material things but during times of stress, crisis or emotional and economic downturns most people care about the important things that we mentioned above.

 

So be kind to yourself and do what you need to do for you and your family. This too shall pass…

 

More tips for job seekers today. You will need to push yourself out of your comfort zone and go the extra mile to differentiate yourselves. First, find your sense of humor and start laughing more, start your own networking group or job search support group,

Work twice as hard at getting the job you really want, cold call on hiring managers, send  handwritten thank you notes to all of the people you have interviewed with in the last two months and to those people that have helped you, hire a career coach, visit or stop by to meet HR representatives and hiring managers.

The great news is that we are coaching people into jobs everyday and they are receiving strong offers and compensation packages. This is not to trump you this is to let you know there are career opportunities waiting for you everyday.

 

Building a target list of companies and surveying your professional environment is very important right now. Check out www.bizjournals.com and conduct a search on Google regarding the top 100 companies that you want to work for by profession or industry.

If you go to linkedin.com and click on the company tab and then scroll down to the bottom right hand corner of the page, you’ll see “browse all industries” and you should click on that link and build a target list based on your company interests and zip code location. Their will be companies in linkedin.com that you have never even heard about before and this will give you more options.

 

Internet resources that will land you a job and help you through the process!

How to deal with the desperate anxiety that naturally occurs during your job search. Keep this list parked where you sit at home working away at your job search and look at it whenever you start to feel anxious and alone. See the internet resource list below.

 

·       Remember – it’s not you

·       Get up from the computer and go do something

·       Call someone right now and have a conversation

·       Expand your network – find one person to meet today

·       Make lunch plans

·       Meet someone in your network for coffee

·       Attend job search support groups/ career networking meetings – make new friends

·       Create an effective network

·       Plan networking get-togethers with fellow job searchers or past colleagues

·       Surround yourself with positive people

·       Tell friends and family what you need from them to help you feel good

·       Use an upcoming holiday to celebrate

·       Consider opening yourself up to new target markets

·       Consider expanding your search to include other areas including global opportunities

List of internet resources:

Internet Resources

SEARCH ENGINES www.google.com Indeed.com (one search “jobs”) Simplyhired.com (one search “jobs”)   DATABASES+JOB BOARDS+RESUMES Airsdirectory.com/jobboards Allstarjobs.com Brassring.com Careerbuilder.com Careercentral.com Craigslist.com Careerfairs.com Churchillclub.com Computerjobs.com Dice.com Directemployers.com Excite.com Flipdog.com Freeagent.com-consulting Futurestep.com Gettingthejob.com (sort by month) Guru.com (creative/consulting/IT/admin) H1B.com Hotgigs.com Hotjobs.com Hundredk.com Jobanimal.com Jobfairs.com Jobfox.com Joboptions.com Jobs.com Jobshadow.org Jobstar.org Linkedin.com LatPro.com(Hispanic and Bilingual) Monster.com Nationjob.com Quintcareers.com Rilleyguide.com/jobs Techies.com Thingamajob.com Vault.com Weddles.com Wetfeet.com Workit.org Job Search Support Groups: Please google – CPC Job Connections Group, Graceworks, and your local One Stop Career Center to get more information on these organizations

EXEC.SEARCH/VENTURE/NEWS/RECRUITERS 6Figuresjobs.com Brilliantpeople.com Careerjournal.com Execglobalnet.com Execsearches.com Executives-ulimited.com Garage.com Recruitersonline.com Wsacorp.com/index.asp (fee-based)   NON-PROFIT JOB BOARDS Nonprofitdirections.org Npsolutions.org Npworks.org Opportunityknocks.org Paschalmurray.com Upwardlyglobal.org   SALARY SURVEY Benchmark.com CompanyPay.com (Executive Level) Execunet.com Futurestep.com Salary.com Spencerstuart.com/professionalresources/       Research&tools/salarybenchmarking Salaryexpert.com Indeed.com   RECRUITERS Cspnet.org Recruitinglife.com Searchfirm.com Salesrecruiters.net   SOCIAL and professional Networking Sites www.facebook.com www.Linkedin.com www.Spoke.com www.Ryze.com www.Friendster.com www.orkut.com   FREE INTERNET EMAIL SITES Hotmail.com Yahoo.com GMail.com – google mail   Get the inside scoop on companys below: www.glassdoor.com www.indeed.com -check out the forum section www.jobvent.com www.ledova.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Career Tip for the day! Refresh your resume – Don’t leave it hanging out there in cyber space

I want to let you know about the three job boards you should be posting on to get results. Recruiters only look at the last two days of postings. So you can’t forget to refresh your resumes every three days. What this means is that you need to go into your resume profiles on these sites and make changes to them and then save changes. This will refresh the resume and bring it to the top of the pile. My clients that do this have 3-4 interviews per week. People are getting hired everyday and there are a lot of jobs in the US despite what they say about unemployment. Hang in there and keep focused. Also, check out the job fairs at www.jobjournals.com.

You need to post on www.craigslist.com, www.monster.com, www.careerbuilder.com when looking for a job. Now if you are High Tech Professional you should post on www.dice.com and if you are in Bio Tech you should post on www.biospace.com.

Can taking a personality or aptitude assessment help you find the perfect career?

As a career coach and trainer I have been using psychometric tests a.k.a. personal assessments to help clients identify their personality type and natural talents and abilities. These assessments are one way to learn about yourself and help you focus in on what type of job/career is going to make you happy. We all know that if you go towards your strengths, natural abilities and skills you will be more successful and prosperous. Most of us don’t know how to communicate our value and/or our core competencies to future hiring managers/employers. These assessments/tests will provide you with reports and information that is accurate and useful to you during your job search. Please check out the links below and the information about Marcus Buckingham.

www.humanmetrics.com  (free site) please take the Jung typology test and then go get the book, “Do What You Are,” and copy the chapter that describes your type, i.e. ESFJ. It’s fun and informative reading. www.3smartcubes.com ($6.95 per month) Go to this site and take the IQ, Aptitude, and their version of the Personality Test. It is based on the DISC methodology. (I only ask people to take the IQ test if they tell me they think they are stupid or not very smart.) I BELIEVE WE ARE ALL BRILLIANT no matter what your background is. You don’t have to be “double ivy” and grow up with a trust fund and be friends with Al Gore or George Bush to get into a great college. Ok don’t get me started. The two most widely used Personality assessments in corporate America are the Meyers Briggs and the DISC.

The information below came from Marcus Buckingham’s website. He wrote a book called Now, Discover Your Strengths (coauthored with Donald O. Clifton, The Free Press, 2001); This book has been widely used by individuals in corporations, universities, high schools and colleges.

 “It’s About Results”

“Our company’s greatest asset is our people!”

It’s a nice motto, but it’s meaningless without introspection and application. And the truth is, people aren’t your greatest asset, unless they’re in position to leverage their greatest strengths – those things they do well consistently and energetically. www.marcusbuckingham.com

Do your research on companies, hiring managers, etc. using linkedin.com

 I was working with a client tonight and talking to her about using linkedin.com for researching hiring managers and companies. I walked her through www.linkedin.com and told her that it was a warehouse of information. Try using it for research. You will be amazed at what you find out. See below one of the screen shots after you type in the company name.

LooptPlease enter a company name The company you entered is not in our database

30 total, 28 in your network

·                     Jane Doe, QA Manager

·                      San Francisco Bay Area

·                     John Doe, User Experience Designer

·                      San Francisco Bay Area

·                     Julie Yon, Senior Director, Consumer Marketing

·                      San Francisco Bay Area

·                     Gus Planes, Chief Privacy Officer; Vice President, Corporate Affairs

·                      San Francisco Bay Area

·                     George Young, VP, Engineering

·                      San Francisco Bay Area

New Hires

What’s this?

·                     Jane Doe,  QA Manager

·                      was Quality Assurance at Mobile Wireless – 6 months ago

·                     Julie Givens, Senior Systems Architect

·                      was Founder at Unix Software – last month

·                     Sean Pastor, Senior Mobile Software Engineer

·                      was Software Engineer at Omega Software- 2 months ago

Recent Promotions and Changes

What’s this?

·                     Peter Tom, Lead Server Developer

·                      was Software Engineer – 2 months ago

·                     Popular Profiles

·                      What’s this?

·                     Eve Youth, Senior Server Engineer

·                     Sam Jones, Mobile Developer

·                     Hilary Siemens, Senior Mobile Software Engineer

·                     Jan Temp, VP Location Technologies

·                     Robert Byrd, Web Front End Team Lead -

·                    Career path for Loopt employees

·                     before:

·                      Microsoft

·                      Motorola

·                    Loopt employees are most connected to

·                      AdMob

·                      VeriSign

·                      Stanford University

·                      Facebook

·                    Top Locations

·                      San Francisco Bay Area (29)

·                     Headquarters Address

·United States

	·                      Industry	·                      Computer Software
	·                      Type	·                      Privately Held
	·                      Company Size	·                      11-50 employees
·                      Top Schools		·                      Stanford Univ. ·                      23%

 

·                      Median Age

·                      31 years

 

·                      Gender

·                      Male ·                      77% ·                      Female ·                      23%

·                      Estimated based on LinkedIn Data

 

 

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Career tip for the day! Refresh, Refresh, Refresh…

Have you ever wondered why you don’t get a lot of phone calls after you post your resume on the job boards? Well the tip for the day is to remind you to refresh your resume every three to four days. If you leave your resume posted out in cyber space for more than a week, you will get lost in the black hole of cyber space. Recruiters, HR professionals, and Headhunters only look at the last two days of postings. So what this means is that you need to go into your monster.com and careerbuilder.com profiles and make a change to the resume section and then save changes and that will bring you to the top of the pile. For craigslist.com you will need to post a whole new resume. 

Believe me, you will be getting 2-4 telephone interviews and several emails per week if you are consistent with refreshing. Good luck and have fun.