Job Search Tools

Where Is The Interview Doctor In March?

March 7, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Here are a few of the places where Katherine will be speaking in March.

There are links to the events that are open to the public to register and attend.

March 9, 2017

Search Techniques That Bring Results: Proactive Recruiting
Kent State Stark Nursing Home Administrators
9am – 12pm private session

March 13, 2017

Tell Me About Yourself
Lorain County Community College Job Club

Sptizer Conference Center Room 118
7 – 8:30pm Open to the Public

March 20, 2017

Guest Interview for Find your Dream Job

Mac’s List Find Your Dream Job Podcast

Are you a Daydream Believer with your Job Search

September 6, 2016 By Katherine Burik

When we allow our mind to relax, our thoughts are free to flow.

I had a stimulating discussion last night with Darlene, recently laid off from her employer after 20+ years of progressively more responsible positions with the same employer. She is a strong, successful person. But now she wonders if there is something else out there for her. Is it ok to not follow the path she was on before? She has already been approached by two competitors so she could jump right back in if she wanted. A small voice in the back of her mind is telling her not to jump back in, to take some time to find something different.

It made me think about how to find the perfect job that fits your needs at this moment.
It is ok to not want to jump back into the pool right away. Maybe the first thing to do after leaving your job is not update your resume. Updating your resume means you want to continue doing what you have been doing. Maybe that is not right for you anymore. But how do you know what you want to do next?

Daydream.

Seriously.

Where do your thoughts take you? What do you like to do in your spare time? Are there any common elements?

What activities make you smile and what activities would you scoop dog poop in the yard to avoid (my personal measure!)

I write about my daughter, Marissa, often. I think she is wonderful, naturally, but truth be told she is not always social, not always easy to work with. Employers have told her this before! I’ve told her this before! She finally seems happy in her latest job because she works alone on detailed work on which she is an expert and only needs to talk to people on her own terms. She is thrilled! She finally found the right combination of tasks, people, responsibilities that match her interests and style.

Darlene has always worked with building materials. Her husband is a contractor. They own rental property. So while she was healing in the first few weeks after the layoff, she fixed up an apartment that had been empty for 2 years. It took her 10 days and she finally got the apartment rented. She found an unexpected sense of accomplishment and pride. She also found it easy. So now she is thinking maybe she can craft a career that centers around real estate; maybe commercial real estate. She will let the experience percolate while she daydreams some more about her future. We will see what happens!

Darlene is taking a little time to explore what she wants so she can craft a career that makes her happy, pays the bills, and builds on her skills and interests. Marissa found a position that exploits her natural talents. Sometimes it takes a little time and a little daydreaming to discover the right next step.

Give yourself a little break and figure out for yourself your next best step!

Get the confidence you need with a FREE copy **of The Interview Doctor’s Job Requirements Comparison List and prepare yourself to prove with evidence that you can do the job!**

5 Steps to Supercharge your Job Search Networking

May 31, 2016 By Marta Goertzen

Joe sent a nice update email the other day describing his job search status.

It was chatty and informative. His last gig did not work out the way he hoped so he is in the market again.

Joe says:

Unfortunately, [that company] wasn’t a good fit for me. I have been networking over the past few months and met with many great, helpful people. My network is continuing to expand. I continue to evaluate opportunities, but haven’t found the right one yet.

My career search is focused on a Human Resources Manager or Operations Manager position within a small business of $5M to $100M in revenue with 50 to 200 employees.

I appreciate any help and support in my job search. Feel free to contact me if you would like to get together for a chat or if I can help you in anyway.

This is a nice note. I really applaud Joe’s efforts to stay in touch. He has a very specific job in mind and he is utilizing his network to find leads.

However, he leaves the next step to me. What if the reader does not help? Then Joe’s nice note does not forward his cause.

I wonder if there is not another way Joe can focus his job search in addition to this kind of outreach?

Joe has a very specific job objective in a very specific size of company in a very specific geography. Although it seems counterintuitive, Joe has the right idea. Being very specific HELPS his job search.

These very specific requirements become the parameters for a search! He can search within his geography for companies that are $5M to $100M in revenue with 50 to 200 employees. There is a limited number of these companies, enough to make a great pool for his job search.

Here are 5 steps to this kind of proactive job search:

Create the list of possibilities.
Research those companies to prioritize in order of best fit for you – interesting products or initiatives, culture that seems to be a good match.
Use LinkedIn to find people who work at those companies who sound interesting.
Reach out to connect with those people.
Start a conversation via LinkedIn email about something in that company – a product, an initiative, a problem you know they probably have, a question that can start a conversation. After a few exchanges, you can ask for coffee meeting then VOILA you have expanded your network to people who can help you in your target market!

This kind of search is more sophisticated, requires more planning and research, and definitely more patience. But with this kind of search you take your networking into your own hands with more control over your future!

What do you think?

We can help you organize this kind of search. Just drop Katherine a line or call 330-495-2337. We would love to help you take your search to the next level!!

Create an Approachable LinkedIn Profile

January 12, 2016 By Marta Goertzen

I receive at least ten LinkedIn invitations a week. Some of these folks I know, some I do not know.

Some of the people are not US based, hailing from all over the world. Many of the folks who ask to connect with me have only a few LinkedIn connections. I am glad to be part of their LinkedIn expansion.

I wonder sometimes what makes these nice folks to want to connect with me. We might never know the answer to that question. It is interesting to consider how to increase your LinkedIn reach.

I think it has to do with being approachable. Here are some ideas to make your LinkedIn profile reflect your best possible self:

Sound like someone people will want to talk to. Your profile should be in the first person. Pretend you are at a business cocktail party. What story do you want to tell so people will remember you? Be sure your profile shares your story in the way you want.
Have something to offer or say. Actively demonstrate through attachments and accomplishments what you have done and what you have to offer to people who connect with you.
Be interesting and authentic. Don’t pretend to be something you are not. Be proud of what you have done. You can choose to be boring or you can choose to be interesting. Which person do you want to talk to?
Have a friendly photo. Don’t just take a quick selfie. Get a professional photo wearing professional looking clothing and hair style that reflects the role you want. Studies show you get a better response with a picture in which you are smiling and making good eye contact.
Be visible. Be active in Groups. Comment and participate in conversations about subjects with which you are familiar. Reach out and engage your connections in conversations.
Build relationships. Uncover how you can be helpful then reach out with information and ideas that other people can use. Exchange emails with your connections about ideas that are important in your profession or ask questions about situations in other people’s profiles. It will be hard for other people to resist responding.

It is commonly believed that if you have no expectations of return when you give information or your time, then you will receive more than you give. Maybe not immediately but eventually you will reap the rewards of more connections and stronger relationships that lead to opportunities you cannot imagine today.

It all starts with the impression of openness you leave from your LinkedIn profile. What can you do today to make your profile more open and approachable?

Networking and numbers: using LinkedIn to make connections for your job search

September 11, 2015 By Marta Goertzen

Networking and numbers. The job search world revolves around networking and numbers from both the company and candidate’s point of view. It is simple and yet so complex!

John sent this note the other day after we connected on LinkedIn. He understands LinkedIn is important. He is trying to expand his job search into all the possible connections who can help him so he asks this very logical question:

Hi Katherine,

Thank you for connecting and insight on the right LinkedIn connections. I am always seeking out retained recruiters in supply chain and trying to get their attention, so you have any that you can share with me?

John

This question comes up pretty often and gets to the heart of how to use LinkedIn in a job search. As I have said many times, LinkedIn is more than a big address book of people you know. It is a way to network. Networking means building relationships and sometimes it means using connections to move your career forward.

The trick is for John to find supply chain recruiters (or a recruiter to find candidates for that matter) is triangulation. I bet I am not inventing that term. I mean looking up a piece of information in one source then exploring it or confirming it in one or more other sources to understand whether that information can help you.

When I am searching (or researching) I have at least two search engines open on my computer and often many screens within each search engine. I also take notes in case I lose something or someone I discovered who might be useful to me.

Through LinkedIn Groups: Find the groups that best represent supply chain people like you and / or the portion of the profession in which you want to work. Join those groups then search for people who have “executive recruiter” in their profiles who are members of those groups. Check out their profiles. Look up those companies in LinkedIn under “Companies”. More research. Reach out to people who sound interesting who seem to do the kind of recruiting that might use people like you. Connect with them, start an email conversation with the goal of talking with them on the phone.

Through people: Search in connections of people like me who know a lot of recruiters. In my data base, use Advanced Search for keyword “executive recruiter” then research the people who come up to see if any of them focus on supply chain. Check out their company websites. Reach out to them as above.

Through Google: You can also Google “supply chain executive search firms” to reveal businesses and articles that mention businesses who have “supply chain” and “executive search” in their descriptions. Check out each one, identify the firms then cross reference to LinkedIn to find people.

Through Company Pages: When searching companies, go to that organization’s LinkedIn Company Page. On the right side will be a list of who you are 1^st and 2^nd connections to. There is also a little blue words that say, “See all”. Click on this and open all the people who work for that company who are LinkedIn members starting with the people who are closest to you, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and Group. If you find someone you want to talk to you can either connect through LinkedIn or go to the company website to find out how to get their phone number or email address so you can reach out directly.

Just as a reminder, John is trying to meet recruiters who specialize in supply chain. This is a good strategy. John needs to remember that recruiters only want to talk with you under 2 circumstances: 1) to learn more about you at the initial meeting and 2) when they have an opportunity that might fit you. Then they will reach out to you directly. John should not rely on recruiters to find his next opportunity.