Articles - The Voice of Job Seekers

Winter Fashion for Professional Personal Branding

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Your first impression could result in your only chance to further your career. Aaja Corinne (@aajacorinne) and I discuss not only how you can impress in the winter, but also how your actions may impact your career. Your fashion faux pas could impede your personal branding efforts if you’re reckless.

What are a few of the goals you’re trying to achieve in your career. Can we talk? Here’s how you can participate in the discussion:

Call and leave a voicemail or text me at 708-365-9822
Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message
Send email feedback to mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com

Let me re-introduce Aaja Corinne. Aaja has appeared in JET magazine, N’DIGO, WVON 1390, and is a new contributor to Ebony Magazine as well as consulting with a few well-known clients such as Babyface. You can find her site at AajaCorinneTheBrand.com!

Wintertime is a great time to make impressive bold statements with the way he or she dresses
Winter coats are a great way to express your personality
Retailers are having coat sales now so you don’t have to spend lots of money
Tailored coats with buttons and belts are good. Don’t wear casual coats to interviews
Don’t lay your coat anywhere. The fabric can determine how often it needs to be cleaned
Clean your coat monthly especially when the color may warrant. Lint balls are not impressive
Shoes are very noticeable especially when the shoes are affected by the weather. Men should watch tucking their pants in the boot. Pants may end up wrinkled
How you handle clothes has a positive or negative impact. Your personal branding is impacted by everything you do. Your image needs to be aligned with your online presence and communication style
Nothing is more of a turn-off to a connection if your online and off-line are negatively contrasted. The impression is powerful when both are consistent, positive and exceeds the other person’s expectation. This could impact your personal branding for the future.
We are branded by association and a negative appearance could defer your chances of furthering your career
New job seekers/entrepreneurs become easily flattered by the newness of being impressive they take on all opportunities instead of filtering to consider the best opportunities. Aaja says, “…every opportunity is not a good opportunity.”

Need help with your career goals, directions, or efforts? Do you need coaching or instruction? I am here for it!Also, join our Linkedin community! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!

I would still like to help self-published career professionals promote their books. If you’re interested, find more info here.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

How to Use Your Blog for Today’s Job Search

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I’ve known Ileane Smith for several years now. She owns one of the largest blogs for basic blog tips in the world. If you are thinking about starting a blog, find solutions to your questions at BasicBlogTips.com. For this episode, as I have done in the past, suggest that you blog to help find opportunities. To help me persuade you, Ileane and I will discuss the benefits and a few how-tos on blogging.

What is keeping you from blogging? What are a few of the goals you’re trying to achieve in your career. Can we talk? Here’s how you can participate in the discussion:

Call and leave a voicemail or text me at 708-365-9822
Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message
Send email feedback to mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com

Let me tell you about my friend Ileane Smith. She has worked in a publishing company for 30+ years, and other times, she is founder and publisher at Basic Blog Tips. You can also find her popular You Tube channel showing you how to use many social media tools, You Tube, and Blab platforms. She has a gift to make complex and obscure tools seem simple and possible to use by anyone. Here are a few highlights from our discussion done live on Blab with a few folks in the virtual audience. I will eventually publish the video. Special shoutout to @SmartOfficeHelp aka Elizabeth Hall for helping us document Ileane’s web references.

Ileane started blogging in 2009 accidentally and found it empowering through subscribing to her daughter’s blog
Optimizing your web content is imperative to be found by search engines for exposure. Branding and images are a critical part of attracting audience
We talked about branding your blog, the look, and people who are searching for solutions
Exploit your expertise, views, through honing your writing skills and reading other blogs
Ileane recommended guest blogging (writing on other blogs) increases your exposure and increasing your connections
Guest blogging duels as a way to get promoted and helping others to promote
We discussed some of her blog’s guest posts provided the writers with other career opportunities
Find ways to write the way to be identified by an audience. You can start by writing the way you talk
Be careful with the content you publish when blogging and using live streaming platforms such as Periscope. Everything is exposed forever for current and future employers to scrutinize
Find the platform and/or tool to use to increase your exposure to employers and hone your skills. Your blog is the platform you own

Need help with your career goals, directions, or efforts? Do you need coaching or instruction? I am here for it!

Also, join our Linkedin community! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!

I would still like to help self-published career professionals promote their books. If you’re interested, find more info here.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Closing the Gender Pay Gap

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I invite you to learn and participate in today’s show today. The gender pay gap struggle is real and the disparity is wide-spread. This show is packed with practical and powerful advice to help women to level the salary playing field. Lydia Frank (@lydia_west)and Katie Donovan (@KDSalaryCoach,@Negoti8Pay) are experts in this field and two of the best. The data geeks at PayScale have just released their 2016 Salary Negotiation Guide. .I would love to hear what you think? Here’s how you can let me know:

Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822
Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message
Send email feedback to mark@thevoiceofjobseekers.com

Lydia Frank was on episode 68 last year. I bought her back to discuss the latest study conducted by Payscale.com. Lydia is the Senior Director of Marketing for Payscale and salary negotiation columnist for Money.com. Her media contributions include TechCrunch, Havard Business Review, The Huffington Post, and CBS News.

here are a few highlights from our discussion:

Payscale’s latest study shows that women are make 74 to 78 cents on the dollar compared to men. Some of the nuances overlooked are the types of positions men are able to obtain such as leadership, S&P, and Fortune 500.
The pay level gap grows (showing the disparity between men vs. women) at each level of career advancement
To help close the gap more women need to advance in men dominant fields such as STEM and promoted at the same rate as men
When you drill into industry, marital status, or when women opt out of work to raise children, in comparison to men when returning to work, the pay gap is significant
Lydia stated that we need to consider the message we send to kids with the unbalanced gender pay
The Payscale study also considered if there were differences in men and women who are chosen for additional training (special skills or leadership). They found that men still received a more significant bump in opportunities and salary.
More companies are examining the pay gap issue, increase training opportunities
Despite conscience effort the disparity in the gender pay gap remains an issue
Men ask for four times as much as women for 30% more money
Women should not offer salary history. The past has no bearing on your present job opportunity

Katie Donovan is the founder of EqualPayNegotiations.com. She frequently consults with employers, employees, and policy makers. She has been seen in major media outlets such as CNBC, Forbes, NPR, and Mashable. Katie Donovan’s 360-degree background in employment, which includes working for a staffing firm, an applicant-tracking developer, and a trade association, brings a unique and pragmatic perspective to the work.

Here are a few highlights from our discussion:

The notion of “work hard and keep your head down” is wrong in expecting results in the increase of pay
Learn to be a marketer for yourself in letting people know what you’re doing. Women tend to follow rules in hopes people will see
Understand what the “first offer” means during the hiring process
Negotiating may mean a million dollars more in the duration of a career
Career centers in high school and college focus more on resumes and cover letters. Students must educate herself
In your research, find out what the men are making, not just the median between men AND women
Katie states to always to take the time to think about the first offer. Have the HR person walk you through their compensation package
We discuss if the negotiation strategy is any different in government jobs. Katie offers a great perspective here
Trade organizations and associations are under-utilized while researching salary. It’s worth spending a few minutes to see what they have
Call staffing firms and headhunters to find job openings that pay higher as an additional data point. No one source is completely accurate. Find forums and LinkedIn groups for more help
Resist to answer salary questions on applications. Employers are looking to exclude as many as possible if your salary expectation is too high
Don’t bring up anything until they make the first offer. Katie says it doesn’t have to be in writing if companies want to put the final offer in writing

Need help with your career goals, directions, or efforts? Do you need coaching or instruction? I am here for it!

Also, join our Linkedin community! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!

I would still like to help self-published career professionals promote their books. If you’re interested, find more info here.