Mon, Oct 26, 2009 16:12 EDT

Job Search: Four Ways to Stand Out In Today’s Market – Marketing Your Expertise

The 2nd of a four-part series on ways to differentiate yourself as THE candidate employers are seeking. 2) Brand Your Expertise

Posted by: Mark Cummuta in Best Practices

Topic: Personal Management

Blog: CIO Job Search: A Real Life Chronicle

Current Rating: Comments: 16

In my first post in this series on how to differentiate yourself in today’s job market, I relayed one executive recruiter’s advice to me: “If you’re doing all the right things right (with your targeted job search, networking, resume and interviewing), then the key to job search success is being in the right place, with the right skills and solutions, at the right time.”

I make sure I'm in the right place at the right time by thinking BIG:

B – Be There: I aim to be where my targeted employers are and where they are looking for talent.
I – Identify Needs: I identify what my targeted employers are looking for.
G – Get Noticed: I get noticed by marketing myself as their ideal solution, on- and off-line.

Be Where Your Targets Are
You can’t be where your targeted employers are if you don’t have any targets! Studies and my own personal experience demonstrate that a targeted job search – one that focuses on a particular industry or specific employers who might need your skills, for instance – is far more effective than the “shotgun” method of plastering your resume everywhere during your search for a new job.

Once you’ve identified your targeted employers, let technology save you time. Create saved searches and RSS feeds for the specific roles you want with these firms, using your skills, experience and certifications as keywords. You should create these searches and feeds on employers’ Career/Jobs web pages, as well as on key job boards. For those employers’ whose websites don't use these tools, use LinkUp and Indeed, which pull jobs from employers’ websites directly. These tools enable you to "be where your targets are" by keeping you abreast of the positions they have open.

You can also be where your targeted employers are by attending the conferences and events that they attend. I’ve noted before that industry conferences and seminars are one of the best ways to stay connected to and network within your industry. Over the past month I’ve attended three major conferences in Business Intelligence and HR Technology, and with TechExecs’ CIO Forum. From these I have gained over 100 new contacts in my industry, many of whom have indicated an interest in my skills. The leads I get by attending conferences are invaluable as employers increasingly rely on internal referrals to find candidates for jobs. Bradley G. Richardson, a partner at executive-search firm Kaye/Bassman International Corp. in Plano, Texas, says "Many employers have cut back on advertising jobs online because they are overwhelmed with applications." Instead, they are relying on word of mouth and referrals to draw a more manageable number of applicants, he says.

Social media and social networking tools provide yet another way for job seekers to be where their targeted employers are. Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, notes that between 45 and 63 percent of employers use social networking sites "as both recruitment tools for new talent and as screening sites for potential employees."

You can use LinkedIn and Twitter to identify and connect with individuals within your targeted firms. Career counselors advise using conferences, seminars, online articles in online industry sources (like CIO.com) and corporate and personal blogs for “…news and trends in (your) target industry (and firms) to identify potential job opportunities.” Not only can you use this information as a reference

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Mon, Oct 26, 2009 17:08 EDT

Standing Out Above the Crowd

Posted by: April M. Williams
Rating:

Mark,
Excellent advice for both job seekers and those currently employed.

It is important to be where hiring managers and recruiters are. Surveys say 80% of all companies use LinkedIn as their primary recruiting tool. I meet many candidates who tell me it is too much work to update their LinkedIn profile. Is the few minutes time you save not updating your profile worth ignoring 80% of companies?

What your hiring manager DON'T find can say volumes about you. They are expecting a seasoned professional to have an online presence: published papers, speaking engagements, quotes by media. You are turning off hiring managers if you don't have a online brand.

Read more about your online brand on my blog:
http://bit.ly/44RKdH

April M. Williams
President CyberLife Tutors
http://www.cyberlifetutors.com

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Mon, Oct 26, 2009 17:38 EDT

Standing out in Today's Job Market

Posted by: bborque
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Mark,

Great commentary on where most individuals go wrong. Not being where their target companies are, or not even having targeted companies identified. Having a clear plan, executing that plan and building an online and offline brand is key to success in these tough times. Even then, it can be an uphill climb.

Without a doubt most jobs are found through relationships. Establishing a wide and strong network continues to be paramount to success.

Bill Borque
Owner - Zonegig Design, LLC
http://www.zonegig.com

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Mon, Oct 26, 2009 18:39 EDT

Spot ON - With the right tools, you CAN get that job

Posted by: Vickie Smith-Siculiano, PMP
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Mark, you make some great points in an easy-to-digest format. Sometimes online tools aren't all that easy for those who might be out of a job and never had the opportunity to use them. But it doesn't have to be, if you just listen to those who are generous enough to share their advice and help you get back up on that horse!!

I knew that I wanted to get a job in digital marketing, particularly in social media, and as a project manager. One month ago, I did just that, using Twitter, my blog (http:/Vickiesoup.Blogspot.com), and most importantly LinkedIn, where my employer found *me* - so if you brand yourself strategically with keywords and comments as you said, you can do it, too.

Thanks for keepin' our chins up and believin', Mark!

Vickie
@Vickie_Smith

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Mon, Oct 26, 2009 19:16 EDT

Right Place Right Time

Posted by: Gayle Howard
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A really comprehensive appraisal of the current environment Mark! My wish is for jobseekers to see this article and act on your very sound advice. A recent client of mine--a CIO--was expert in finding out "pain points" of organizations by just having a coffee with friends/former colleagues. Forming a strategy to resolve the issue (using himself of course to lead the solution!) he was able to find out names of decision makers over these casual get togethers and pitch his solution to the right person. By keeping in touch with people who are employed and in industries you want to target, you are given the opportunity keep your ear to the ground. There's probably one piece of advice that's particularly relevant and that is for networking to be effective, the individual must listen to what people are saying. In my case of the CIO client, he was simply having casual chats with old friends. It was when they started to complain about work, or talk about difficult challenges, that his radar started to kick in. These are the ways to leverage yourself into a company and make a job where none exists. A brilliant strategy that certainly worked for my client.

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Mon, Oct 26, 2009 21:03 EDT

great article

Posted by: Paula Caligiuri
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Mark --
This is a great article, as building one's brand is critical -- at every career stage. Even if one is happy in career, it is still important to have an online and offline presence/brand. In fact, I try to share this advice with my university students -- building credibility and personal brand should be an ongoing career process shaped throughout their entire career.
Thanks for sharing this -
Paula

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