Career Archives - Page 22 of 43 - The Voice of Job Seekers

Enhance Your Job Search Through Infographic Resumes and Your Personal Brand

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My colleagues and I advise you (in most cases) to stay at your current job until you find a desired career. Well, my friend and sometimes co-host Keith Townsend (@VirtualizedGeek) broke the social rules. He announced his departure from his job at a Big four company for an unknown destiny.

Hannah Morgan (@careersherpa) is back to talk about her new book, “The Infographic Resume: How to Create a Visual Portfolio that Showcases Your Skills and Lands the Job.”

Welcome back to the podcast. I’d love to hear what you think about leaving a job before having another. Is that too big of a risk? Would you take the chance? Why or why not?

How about using an resume infographic? Have you tried it? Let me know if you do.

I’d love your feedback in these three ways:

Blog: TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com (Use the send voicemail feature)

Email: [email protected]

Voicemail: 708.365.9822

Hannah is founder of CareerSherpa.net and a career contributor to U.S. News & World Report. Her as mentioned discusses in detail the value of creating and sharing an infographic resume, how to create it, and where you can create one today. Her book is available at bookstores near you, and on Amazon.

Here are the highlights from our conversation:

She interviewed people from different backgrounds such as IT, doctors, educators, and librarians that used the infographic resume and were offered opportunities
These tools will automatically generate an infographic resume based on your LinkedIn profile or entered work history and data:

Kelly & Visual.ly: http://create.visual.ly/kelly/

Pictocv: http://www.pictocv.com/

Re.vu: http://re.vu/

Vizualizie.me: http://vizualize.me/

Since the eye processes images faster than words, so it appeals to the short attention span
Places where an infographic can stand out is your blog, Pinterest, and LinkedIn as well as most social networks
It will have more impact to share it after creating it as well as tagging it with the right keys words for you to be found and indexed by Google

Keith has been writing and tweeting about his leaving his Big 4 job before obtaining another job. Keith has successfully leveraged his blog and social activities to display his knowledge and strengthen his personal brand. So far, the article has been read more than 2,00o times with more than 40 comments.

Here are some of the highlights of our discussion:

Keith is receiving interviews, which is hard to get for anyone, especially for a short period since resigning
Keith stated that influencers are retweeting his content because of the relationships he has nurtured throughout time
He said that he didn’t interview with anyone who doesn’t share the social values as a result of activities
Keith emphasized social networking allows the conversation to get to the point quicker

Melissa Cooley (@thejobquest) and I created a YouTube video on interviewing that I think many will find valuable. This is Melissa’s third appearance on the show. The two shows that we’ve done together are the most downloaded shows thus far. I would encourage you to go listen to both.

In this short segment (we have a full 23-minute conversation on YouTube), we banter about what you shouldn’t say in an interview. Many of them are obvious such as, cursing, bad grammar, or using big words that seem awkward and out of place. There is insight that Melissa provides in how it comes across when or if you do.

Please subscribe to the podcast through any podcast directory, but I’d love for you to leave an iTunes review. That is the largest directory and hopefully I have served you well for you to leave positive feedback.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

The Science of Successful Job Hunting with Mildred Talabi

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Today’s job hunting requires being proactive in every way. This means using social media and other tools including video, blogging, and Twitter. It is one of the ways to stand out, and today’s episode we’ll discuss how important it is to be proactive and get noticed.

Thanks for joining us for a very special edition of this podcast! It’s special because for the first time, there will be a video version of the podcast on YouTube which is now live. There is a slight difference in the editing of the video, but the same conversation. I am always open to suggestions for switching it up. If you have suggestions of any kind, you can contact me in three with ways:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 708-365-9822

Blog: TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com

Twitter: @MarkADyson

My guest for this episode is Mildred Talabi (@MildredTalabi). Her latest book is The Science of Successful Job Hunting. She started out as a journalist and eventually, became a career advisor on the side. Her career advice has appeared on a Google forum (you can find this on YouTube), JobMob, and Guardian.

When I first talked to Mildred last May, she was writing a book regarding youth unemployment and the affect joblessness was having on them. Then she shifted and was inspired to write a book for the general job seeker population.

Writing about youth is not a stretch at all. In fact, Mildred works a full-time job in training 16-24 year-old youths career development.

Two things you should know about the episode recording:

1) This was recorded on Labor Day when people were in a festive mood. You will hear a little music in the background.

2) Around 4: 00, Mildred’s audio dramatically improved through the use of headphones. The audio editing reflects.

Here are some highlights from our discussion:

2:35

Mildred explains that she is an accidental career advisor. Her background is in journalism and as an assistant editor she had to recruit people, and saw people were forward horrible CV’s. Mildred started her first book (7 Keys to a Winning CV) while professionally working as an editor for The Guardian.

6:48

Mildred expands on the notion that passion is a good start but you can’t live off of it. Skill can be developed and that passion and skill is good.

9:30

We agree that you can pilot your passion, meaning that you can charge minimally with friends and family, and grow from then. Once you can test and get results, then you can charge more. Mildred give some examples from her career to reach that “sweet spot.”

13:11

Mildred and I discuss how job seekers should blog, stand out, and be innovative. It allows employers to Google and find you to leave a positive impression of you.

15:38

Mildred also shares how much she’s learned by blogging and reading. “There is so much available out there as far as knowledge…”

17:56

Mildred agrees that it is an employers’ market in the hiring process to eliminate candidates from the basic level.

Our conversation lasted more than 45 minutes. I decided to publish it in it’s entirety because of the loads of gems she offers. You can download a free sample chapter today of Mildred’s latest book.

By the way…

Hey, don’t forget to sign up on the blog for the e-zine, and by doing so you receive my new e-book, 5 Easy Ways YOU Can Create an Amazing Online Presence. I would love to hear and/or read your feedback about the show.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

LinkedIn Won’t Run Your Career For You

Recently, someone in my network of friends posted the following message:

“Many of you congratulated me on my “new” job. Thanks, but the company in which I‘ am presently employed, is neither new nor full time. I’am seeking full time employement. Please review my employement background. If you know of a company in my skills and knowledge may “fit” that company, please refer me. Much oblige!”

A cryptic message is misinterpreted as desperate. If public and desperate people will read into it something unintended. Therefore, the messages sent to further employment efforts need to be intentional and strategic, not accidental. If you are putting your best foot forward on LinkedIn, every message you leave for scrutiny counts, and everything is examined when it comes to employment opportunities.

Like many job seekers, this person arrived at the point in her job search she is expecting someone to go the extra yard to help her job search efforts. Yes, all of us need help in our job search, and there is nothing wrong with asking. The cry for help is essential, but there are other issues with the above statement that makes me want to tear up from laughter:

The person who authored this statement misspelled “I am” twice. A closer at the statement, several grammar errors stand out. If you are like me, you are distracted by the lack of perceived professionalism than the “please help me” request.
Most people will not see her message because it is unlikely people will go look at her profile and see where he or she “fits!” She has a current job that does not fit her current profile but even worse, the “unfitted” job is a part of her LinkedIn profile!
She did not invite a conversation, nor desired to screen the potential referral. She was going in for the score (the referral). No invitation to talk, or extended gratitude for taking the time for consideration
She wanted her network to scour her profile for her network to see if she was a fit! Yes, that’s the way to do it. Let someone else do all the hard work for you!
Her laziness that I read into her status update will scream, “RUN!” to everyone else. Any recruiter or God forbid potential employer, will bypass her profile like scruffy hitchhiker.

If you’re like me, you’re trying to avoid your name from appearing on the “Who’s looking at your profile” section, to avoid the desperate inbox message from the same individual.

The point that needs emphasis is in this story by Elie Wiesel in a speech given at the White House in 1999:

“The story is that once upon a time there was an emperor, and the emperor heard that in his empire there was a man, a wise man with occult powers. He had all the powers in the world. He knew when the wind was blowing what messages it would carry from one country to another. He read the clouds and he realized that the clouds had a design. He knew the meaning of that design.

He heard the birds. He understood the language of the birds, the chirping of the birds carried messages. And then he heard there was a man who also knew how to read another person’s mind. I want to see him, said the emperor. They found him. They brought him to the emperor. Is it true that you know how to read the clouds? Yes, Majesty. Is it true you know the language of the birds? Yes, Majesty. What about the wind? Yes, I know. Okay, says the emperor. I have in my hands behind my back a bird. Tell me, is it alive or not?

And the wise man was so afraid that whatever he would say would be a tragedy, that if he were to say that the bird is alive, the emperor, in spite, would kill it. So he looked at the emperor for a long time, smiled, and said, Majesty, the answer is in your hands. (Laughter.)”

Now for my response to this person’s outcry:

“Look through your network and engage people who are in industries and companies you’re interested in. Look at your 1st level and 2nd level contacts equally as either may know someone who knows someone. It takes time to do this but it is well worth the investment of time.”

I received a half-hearted and obligatory, “thanks!”

Although general in nature, my advice is the moral of Wiesel’s story. The answer is in your hands.