Why Networking is a Waste of Time for Some Grads

Saturday, 02/13/2010       3 Comments

If you’ve spent your time joining professional associations, going to events, volunteering for committees, building relationships, following up for coffee, and you still aren’t getting any support from your network, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that networking is a big waste of time. And you’d be right. Most likely there are plenty of skeptics around warning you, “your time is better spent working on resumes and at that part-time job”. But, here’s the deal, networking is not a waste of time, and it will help you more than you can possibly fathom right now, but there is a caveat. Though building relationships exposes you to opportunities (that you would have never had otherwise), if you don’t seize them, you will never reap the benefits networking. To get help from the people in your network, you need to ask for it. Only then can the true power of networking begin to make a difference to your career. You have to ask, and you have to ask in the right way.

Is there someone in your life who you need some help from right now, but you feel awkward about making the request? Perhaps you need an introduction, a letter of recommendation, a reference or perhaps a freelance project. Is this person someone who knows you and feels positively towards you? If so, you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable to ask them for help.

If you have a large network and you cannot find anyone who is willing to help you, then it’s not a network. You may be connected to a ton of people on social networks, but you have not succeeded in building true networking relationships. The people who claim that they never get anything from networking are usually the people who look at their network as a list of contacts instead of treating them as a group of friends (we’ll talk more about that in a later post). On the other hand, some people just don’t know how to ask the people in their network for what they need.

If you have developed good relationships with the people you consider to be a part of your network, they won’t be offended if you approach them respectfully, politely, and with a tremendous amount of consideration for their time. Don’t be afraid to ask. If you never learn how to ask, the people you network with won’t know how to assist you – and more often than not they are extremely willing to help .

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posted in Uncategorized

The Three R’s of Networking for Grads

Wednesday, 12/16/2009       2 Comments

While you studied at a college or university, you learned many skills, but there’s a good chance you didn’t focus any attention on developing your networking skills. In fact, most college curriculums do not include coursework that teaches you how to find a job, or how to build a career. And that’s a shame because it is these types of skills that lead to long-term success.

Your college major matters very little compared to what kind of person you are to work with. Why? People want to work with people they know and like. The people making the hiring decisions will get to know you during the interview process, and if they like you, your chances of getting hired go up. If they don’t like you, you’ll probably be starting the job search process back at square one. To avoid that, work on strengthening your networking skills, and meeting contacts who can give you referrals, recommendations, and references.

For example, a referral is when a networking contact informs you of a job opening or connects you with someone else who knows of one. A recommendation is when a contact puts in a good word for you directly to the person who is hiring. And a reference is when someone can personally vouch for the quality of your work.

Here are some examples:

Referral. “Hi Tom. Last night I met an impressive young man at the Business Marketing Association networking event in Milwaukee. He mentioned he was currently looking for an entry-level position and I remembered we have one open in your department. Just thought I’d pass his resume along.”

Recommendation. “Good morning Leyla. Last week I met an impressive young man and I’ve had a chance to sit down and talk with him about his internship experience and I’ve got to tell you, I think this is someone we should bring in for an interview. He mentioned he was currently looking for an entry-level position and I think he’d be a great fit here at our firm. Isn’t your department hiring right now? I really think we should give this young man a shot.”

Reference. “Paulo, glad I ran into here. Listen I wanted to mention a potential candidate for that marketing coordinator position your company has open. There’s an exceptional graduate from the University of Missouri that’s been temping for us all summer. She’s fantastic. Self-starter, great attitude and completely competent. If we didn’t have a hiring freeze I’d hire her myself. Interested, great! I’ll email you her resume this afternoon.”

If you have very little work experience, or none at all, look for volunteer opportunities so you can build a list of people who can speak directly to the quality of work you are capable of producing.

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posted in Networking

Holidays Are a Great Time to Network!

Tuesday, 12/08/2009       3 Comments

A strong network is the single most effective career advancement tool you can have. Therefore, it is critical that you maintain your network by keeping in touch with the people you have developed relationships with. The holiday season is a great time to reach out to your contacts as well as people you may have fallen out of touch with. Why not send a holiday card to someone you’d like to reconnect with? Want to let someone know you’re graduating soon and looking for work, but don’t want to seem pushy? Include a handwritten note in your card to update everyone on what you’re up to. People expect these types of updates over the holidays!

Here are a eight tips additional tips for maintaining a strong network.

#1: Stay Visible
Much in the same way a celebrity stays relevant in the media, you need to stay visible and relevant to your contacts. For instance, you may stop working in the same field as many of your contacts, but don’t want to fall off their radar. How can you do that if you won’t be attending the same association or work events anymore? Read on…

#2: Stay E-mail Buddies
A common practice is to send an email every so often to the people you want to stay in touch with. This is most appropriate when you change jobs, or have an exciting announcement to make.

#3: Customize Your Message
Your list of contacts could include hundreds of people and since you can’t write a personal note to each one, at least tailor your message to each group. If you do this, make sure the content of the email is appropriate to the audience that will be reading it.

#4: Segment Your Contacts
It might be helpful to mentally segment your correspondence. For example, draft one version of your email update for contacts you consider friends, another for contacts you aren’t particularly close with, another version for clients, and so on. This is customizing your message.

#5: Be Helpful
Another way to stay visible to your contacts is to pass along any relevant information that may be useful to them. For example, if you come across an article online or in a magazine that you know would interest them, send it to them. Include a note wishing them well. Keep in mind that a gesture like this loses its impact and sincerity when you ask for something in return.

#6: Extend Invitations
If you have access to a cool event or networking opportunity – and you can bring colleagues – invite special people from your network. However, do not invite people to an event where there is an expectation that they buy a product or service – unless they are fully aware of this ahead of time and express an interest.

#7: Refer Clients
This is the second best way you can tell someone in your network that you truly value them. Refer them, their company, or their individual services and products to others.

#8: Keep Your Promises
Here is the best way to maintain strong connections to those in your network. If you say you will do something, do it. If you agree to help someone out, make sure you come through. There is nothing worse than letting others down, especially if you have the ability to come through and make good on your promise.

(It is also important that you say no when you must, and not feel guilty about it. Maintaining your integrity is just as important as maintaining your network.)

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posted in Networking

Go Getter Girls vs. Get Along Girls: Which One Are You?

Monday, 11/09/2009       No Comments
Go Getter Girl's Guide (St. Martin's Press, 2009)

Go Getters Girl's Guide

Debra Shigley is the author of a new book, The Go Getter Girl’s Guide,  that is gathering a big following. She’s been a recent guest on several tv news and talk shows, including The View and CNN. Her book is the result of  hundreds of interviews with successful, stylish young women, including Soledad O’Brien, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, and designer Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Debra, and she offered a lot of great advice for young women just starting out in their careers.

Something she talks about in the book is the difference between being a Go-Getter Girl and a Get Along Girl. I asked her about this concept in the interview and here’s how she explained it.

“I think it’s the difference between sitting around and waiting for life and opportunity to happen to you (Get Along Girl), and taking charge of and responsibility for your career path (Go-Getter Girl!).  Especially in the current economy, the people that get ahead are the ones that have a ‘can-do’ spirit and demonstrate initiative.”

To read the entire interview with Debra click here. To take the quiz and find out if you’re a Go Getter Girl or a Get Along Girl click here.

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posted in Books

Best Cover Letter Samples and Tips Online

Monday, 11/02/2009       2 Comments

You should always include a cover letter when sending, faxing (does anyone do this anymore?!), or emailing your resume to a potential employer. If a networking contact (who may not be aware of all your skills and accomplishments) requests a copy of your resume, you should include a cover letter. The cover letter enables you to focus the reader’s attention to specific skills or achievements that are particularly relevant to the company you want to work for, or the job you are seeking. It is every bit as important as your resume and has the same exact purpose – to get you an interview!

1. Quint Careers
QuintCareers.com has over 40 easy-to-open cover letter samples ready-to-view right on their web site or in PDF format. They include cover letter samples for internships, recent college graduates, cold calls, email, military, and samples of cover letters in response to salary requirement requests.
View Cover Letter Samples

2. Virginia Tech Career Resources Center
Here you’ll find helpful cover letter samples and tips such as: how to address your cover letter if you don’t know exactly who you’re sending it to, how to write cover letters for informational interviews, how cover letters send via snail mail differ from cover letters sent by email and more. The page format is sort of messed up. It looks like the page wasn’t updated for new browsers or something. But the information is good so the effort is well worth it.
View Cover Letter Samples

3. Monster
Monster’s career resources section has a wonderful cover letter samples section complete with user reviews. Definitely check out this cover letter resource.
 http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/cover-letter-samples/jobs.aspx

4. Florida State University Career Center
FSU has a terrific white paper about how to develop a system to keep your communications with employers (including cover letters) organized during your job search. This paper also includes sample cover letters, ways to identify the different types of letters that you may need to write during your job search, tips for knowing what to do and what not to do when writing cover letters, and access to additional sources of help.
http://www.career.fsu.edu/employment/letter-guide.html

5. The Department of Employment and Economic Development for Minnesota
Complete with cover letter samples, this site has some of the most original advice on the web for crafting cover letters that help you win the interview. The Minnesota DEED has a great example of how to write a cover letter using bullet points that highlight your skills that relate directly to the needs of the employer. I highly recommend visiting this web page. It’s a quick read and you’ll learn a lot.
http://www.deed.state.mn.us/cjs/cjsbook/resume7.htm

And here’s another quick way to view several of their cover letter samples.

6. Resumagic.com
If you dig around this site there is some good information. I liked their take on networking cover letters and recommend reading not only their section on cover letters, but on networking for novices also.
http://www.resumagic.com/cover_letters4.html

7. Job-Employment-Guide.com
Here is a link to a cover letter sample that can be used to blast your resume out to friends and family to jump start your networking efforts. If done well, this could be a useful way for busy college students and recent graduates to let people close to them know that they’re starting their job search.
http://www.job-employment-guide.com/free-cover-letter-samples.html

8. Vanderbilt Career Center
If you’re looking to find some industry related jargon to include in your cover letter, Vanderbilt has a pretty good selection of industry based cover letter samples that aren’t just filled with fluff.

9. DePaul University Career Center
Download this free cover letter sample packet. Lots of good information. They also have a free resume sample packet that’s worth checking out too.

10. Online Writing Lab at Purdue (The OWL at Purdue)
One of the best writing web sites in existence. Worth checking out for more than just cover letters too. But they do have a great page with quick tips for writing cover letters.

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posted in Cover Letters

5 Career Planning Myths for College Students and Recent Grads

Monday, 11/02/2009       2 Comments

Myth #1: There are a few “safe” careers that make parents proud, have prestige, and mean you’ll be happy and make money for the rest of your life. Truth: No career is truly safe. Different professions come in and out of vogue. Authenticity never goes out of style. Follow your heart and your interests, not what someone else thinks you should do.

Myth #2: You must decide what you want to do for the rest of your life before you graduate, or very soon after. Truth: The only thing you will do consistently for the rest of your life is ask yourself what you want to do. You need to find jobs you enjoy and that allow you to gain new skills. Eventually you’ll realize you have been building a career all along.

Myth #3: In order to get your first job, you must have already had a job. Truth: You merely need to demonstrate that you possess an understanding of the job to be done and that you have the necessary skills. This is where resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills and networking are critical.

Myth #4: The Campus Career Center is a waste of time. Truth: Many CCC’s employ Ph.D’s in Counseling Psychology; people who are trained to assess your intrinsic aptitudes and attitudes. The staff is knowledgeable, cares, and wants to help you.

Myth #5: The Campus Career Center really rocks! They have all the answers. Truth: Some CCC’s don’t have properly trained staff, they don’t care (or, they’re understaffed and underpaid) and you won’t get the attention you need. Some companies actually avoid recruiting at college based because of staff.

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posted in career planning

10 Tips for Writing Resumes That Get You Noticed

Sunday, 11/01/2009       3 Comments

As if you don’t have enough on your plate already, now it’s time to write a killer resume. Grab some coffee and have a seat. The task of writing a resume is daunting to almost everyone…even successful professionals who have been working for 30+ years. It’s feels overwhelming to know where to start, what to include and what to leave off. The following 10 tips will help you write a resume that will not only stand out, but is sure to get you noticed by hiring managers.

1. Throw out the objective statement.
Get rid of it. If the objective statement on your current resume says something like “Looking for entry-level job in Information Systems that will allow me to use my technical skills, organizational skills and people skills”, hit the delete button now. The hiring manager knows what your objective is the minute he or she receives your email with the subject line “Application for entry-level information systems position”.

2. Include LOTS of white space.
Human Resources staff review hundreds, sometimes thousands of resumes a day. They’re already cross-eyed by the time they get to your resume, so do them a favor and don’t litter your resume with extraneous words that take up lots of space but have no impact.

3. Bullet points are your friend.
Lengthy, rambling, important sounding paragraphs that mean nothing are out. Bullets are in. HR will be impressed if you explain your accomplishments concisely. They will contact you for an interview. You will be happy.

4. The purpose of a resume is to get an interview, not win a formatting contest.
The only purpose of your resume is to create enough interest in you to have an employer contact you for an interview. No one cares if you don’t have an objective statement. No one cares if you list your activities above your skills or vice versa. Make your resume interesting, not a clone of every resume template you’ve downloaded from the internet. (HINT: Most of those resume sites exist to make money from google ads and other revenue streams that depend on lots of pages of content.) Don’t be fooled into thinking your resume has to look like everyone else’s.

5. Keep your resume professional and mature.
Do not include activities you participated in while you were still in High School unless they are REALLY spectacular, or they are something you continued to be involved in all throughout college. For example, if you were a photographer for your high school yearbook, but now you can’t even operate a camera, leave it off your resume. Here are some more suggestions.

DO include:

-Winning a gold medal at the Olympics

-Organizing a blood drive for the Red Cross

-Fundraising for important causes and charities

DON’T include:

-Being voted best looking for your high school yearbook

-Organizing Senior Skip Day

-Belonging to the Seinfeld fan club

6. Use action words.
Action words take your resume from drab to dazzling. To add sizzle to your resume, use bullet points that begin with action words like achieved, created, presented and managed. In addition, make sure the grammar on your resume is consistent. For example if you’re using past tense, make sure you don’t switch to present tense for the next bullet point.

Example of what not to do:

  • Won the salesperson of the month award in April for closing 80% of all cold calls.
  • Write sales copy for web site. (should be “Wrote”)

7. Use numbers and dollar figures to make your resume stand out.
This reduces clutter from writing everything out, and makes you seem impressive.

  • Increased web traffic by 45% in less than 3 months.

8. Use keywords to avoid getting screened out by HR computer software.
Many HR departments utilize software programs that screen resumes for the significant keywords listed in the job description or posting. Read through the job description carefully and be sure to sprinkle the important keywords throughout your resume.

9. An entry-level resume should be 1 page only.
No, you should not have a 2 page resume at this point in your career. Yes, hiring managers will laugh at you and toss your resume in the wastebasket. Seriously, keep it to one page. It’s the only formatting rule you really have to follow.

10. Proofread your resume, and then have someone else review it.
You will miss a typo, or a repeated word word. It happens more often than you think think. Don’t get passed over for an interview because you couldn’t spare a few extra hours to perfect the document that is more important than your thesis. Have someone review it and give you their honest opinion. Try to get it reviewed by a career counselor or someone who has experience in the field you plan to pursue.

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posted in Resumes

Career Success Tip #2: Realize That No One Cares About Your Future As Much As You Do

Thursday, 09/24/2009       2 Comments

Don’t assume that anyone in your office or workplace thinks about you, or your professional future, as much as you do. They don’t.

For example, several years ago I knew a young 20-something who was passed over for a promotion. He got all bent out of shape because the person who got the position wasn’t as qualified as he was. He assumed everyone in the company would jump to the conclusion that he was passed over for the promotion because his boss didn’t like him or because his boss had no confidence in his abilities. Basically, he believed his chance at upward mobility at this particular company was shot.

For weeks he internalized his anguish over the situation until one day, he could hold it in no longer. He walked into the office of a trusted colleague (who had been passed over for the same promotion) and blurted out his bitter frustrations. “What is everyone going to think about you and me when this uneducated, under qualified ninny shows up and we have to report to her? Everyone is going to think we must be even dumber than she is!”

To his surprise, his colleague was quite calm about the whole situation. She said, “no one is going to be worried about us at all. They’ll be too busy gossiping about how incompetent the big boss must be for hiring this disaster.”

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posted in Career Success Tips

Career Success Tip #1: Ask your managers for guidance, not approval

Wednesday, 09/23/2009       3 Comments

Avoid falling into the habit of asking your boss for approval when you should merely be seeking guidance. When you ask for approval, or permission, before accomplishing any task, it sends a message to your boss that you are unable to think for yourself. This is not the message you want to send if you aspire to advance your career.

If you want to prove that you are a leader you must demonstrate your leadership skills by making decisions and standing behind those choices. If you want to succeed you must not be afraid to put your butt on the line. Show courage, not cowardice.

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posted in Career Success Tips

Taylor Swift Would Receive Poor Performance Review

Friday, 09/18/2009       9 Comments

Kanye’s latest signature “protest” at the VMA’s against Taylor Swift’s win of Best Female Video Award was inappropriate. Without a doubt. But I find it even more interesting that no one is surprised by Ms. Swift’s reaction.

Ms. Swift, at the age of 19, has quite an accomplished career as a performer. She is paid quite well for singing, talking, and performing in front of large crowds. It’s her job. Yet, something unexpected happens during an on-air appearance, and she looked as though she had never been on a stage before.

Let’s admit it. Kanye’s “rant” was mild. He did not directly attack or insult her, he definitely disrespected her moment to shine, but it wasn’t exactly out of character for Kanye. Ms. Swift, on the other hand, was totally unable to recover. She just stood there with her mouth wide open as if she were going to faint.  And here’s the problem I have with that.

In a “real-life” non-celebrity situation, more is expected from our young professionals. If a young employee (giving a presentation) is unable to swiftly deal with unexpected rants by more established members of the the company, he or she will not get very far. A thick skin and the ability to respond to naysayers are prerequisites for success in the business world. And in the real world, you don’t have managers and PR people telling you what to say, do, wear, and how to act. You have to think for yourself and react quickly to situations that are always changing. For that reason, I am disappointed in Ms. Swift. I thought as a professional performer she would have been more poised. I think she blew what could have been an excellent opportunity,  to show her younger fans  - who are more likely to accept an office job than a Video Music Award – how to handle pressure on the job.

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posted in Career Survival