Career - The Voice of Job Seekers

5 Ways to Add Career Value Today (The AWE Yeah Factor)

What are you learning that would add to your career value TODAY? Other than scouring the earth for open positions and contact, adding VALUE is a priority, especially if you’ve been unemployed and unappreciated for some time.

Most of us really cannot waste a day not learning, yet move forward to advance our careers. We need to add value to our careers daily. We require rest, relaxation, revitalization, and recreation. Most of us need to pursue new opportunities. Not only to pay bills, but also to find a career that showcases our talents and gifts. We need to add that “awe” yeah to our skill set and our likability factor.

My mistakes as an employee and manager in the retail and corporate world are not making efforts to leverage my strengths often. My value was lost in tasks rather than optimizing my production by using my talents. Honestly, I didn’t feature it and shine a light on it. There’s a difference between helping others and pleasing others. The first focuses on others; the second focuses on self. I encourage you not to make the same mistakes.

The job hunt is still fiercely competitive, and unemployment is preying like a lion ready to eat. It is critical that job seekers add ammo to his or her career arsenal daily. Accept this challenge: Remain focused and show value in your career.

I would like to offer these five ways to incorporate it in your job search:

1) Increase Your Skill Set Quality Through Freelancing
If you learned new skills in the last few years, and the boss has no use for what you learned freelancing is a great way to cut your teeth and polish unused skills. Go over to freelance.com to show off your entrepreneurial skills and abilities.

2) Go Beyond the Job Description
If the “great recession” has taught us one lesson…create your own opportunities. Looking for projects is not just about filling time. It’s an investment to creating career value. Find your potential team members even if is not a company you would work for but roles that you would partner with in the job you want. This will give you additional insight that would help you sell yourself to an employer.

3)Test skills through competition
Competition expose strengths and weaknesses in skill sets, but demonstrates how you handle pressure. Expectations are higher, and the anxiousness is intense, but you discover whom you are. It is also an opportunity to learn from competitors and new trends in your industry. You never know the quality of your work until the quality is tested.

4) Find Your Future From Failure
Failure is a framework for new learning in your life. In 2011, Denzel Washington’s speech to University of Pennsylvania students, he advised them to “fail forward.” We miss learning opportunities failures appear in the loss column rather than deploying new sustainable strategies that appear in the win column.

5) Long and Short Term Educational Goals
Employers are not impressed by job seekers who allow their career aspirations and resume become sedentary. Whether an unemployed, underemployed, or under-appreciated job seeker must achieve certificates, degrees, or and prove competency through skill testing.

6) Be well versed in the quantified results of your career

The “awe” yeah factor shines through is when you can expertly speak to the measures that define your performance. Not only numbers stand aesthetically, but also stand out when speaking about it to others. It shows you are aware of your intention to thrive in any environment.

Regardless of your employment situation, just finding any job is only a short term solution. The mindset does not help you compete nor does it indicate to employers that you are a long term solution. You can remain employed as long as the job remains or your demonstrated value outlasts your last position. If you want the value you offer to have sustainable power, it has to be an “AWE” YEAH factor that shines through the clouds, darkness, and smoke.

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

How Can Career Services Engage College Students Through Social Media?

Editor’s note: Alexandra Levit, is a member of the Career Advisory Board answered some questions . I interviewed Alexandra Levit last fall about another survey conducted on behalf of the Career Advisory Board, DeVry University, and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). She offered insight and advice on how college career centers, students, and employers can engage more effectively on social media.

Mark: It seems as if Career Centers pass the eye and enthusiasm test initially in their use of social media, but not particularly the ear test because of the lack of conversations and engagement. Is that a fair assessment of this study?

AL: That’s a great way of putting it, Mark. Although social media awareness and usage skyrocketed in recent years, career services professionals leverage social networks in a similar fashion to email – as one-way communication devices to share career center-related information with constituents. Only about 25 percent of respondents use social media to engage in back-and-forth advisement sessions with students and only 20 percent of respondents engage with students daily on social networks. This is a wasted opportunity.

MD: Since enthusiasm of the use of social media does not equal success, does the disappointment continue of the adaption of social media?

AL: I do see some disappointment, yes, especially as the centers try to set up shop (or their own pages) on the social networks. Advisers may set up groups and neglect them as static entities, thinking that “if we build it, people will come.” We know that this is not the case on social media. Students will join and regularly visit a center’s group or page because it continually provides value to them and a chance to engage productively with people they know. If the centers understand this, they will put more focused effort into their online properties, will attract more engagement, and thus will receive more positive reinforcement.

MD: Can we assume that this process of career service/student engagement will take time since building an online reputation is a process itself?

AL: It absolutely takes time. I like to tell people that my blog Water Cooler Wisdom was launched in 2004 and only now that it’s 9 years old does it have a really terrific following. Everyone likes to try their hand at online engagement, but only a handful actually stick around long enough to engender trust and credibility. Career centers have to be patient. Slow and steady wins the race.

MD: What will really change the average student’s perception of career services brand universally?

AL: I think this will require a critical mass of career centers keeping up with the times and showing students how they are relevant from freshman year to graduation and beyond. Eventually, word will trickle down to students just beginning university that career services can be a major asset. I think we are a long way from this happening, but every bit of awareness helps.

MD: Why wouldn’t career services use a model like TweetMyJobs to bring opportunities mobile but still use career services as the main contact?

AL: The most sophisticated centers are doing this in combination with other strategies. The key is, I think not to do anything in a vacuum, but to present a uniform online communications approach for students (and other constituents) that showcases job opportunities as well as other offerings.

MD: What suggestions would you have to provoke meaningful dialogue between career services and students?

AL: Instead of “friend blasting,” career services professionals should connect selectively – sending unique and highly personalized invitations to each individual based on compatibility. The purpose is not to collect contacts, but rather to view, comment and converse on postings so that advisers can develop relationships that will eventually move offline. A student is much more likely to attend an event or seek in-person advice from an adviser he or she has already learned to like and trust through social media.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

The Evolution of The Career Internship [INFOGRAPHIC]

It’s hard to believe that the predecessor of today’s internship came to life in the 11th century. The interns in the past were actually apprentices seeking practical experience to grow their skill set in a trade, art, or calling.

Today, students embark on internships during their college years to gain out-of-the-classroom experience prior to entering their industry. But just like the 11th century, an internship are key to gaining the necessary experience to get hired in a full-time position.

InternMatch, an online platform connecting the best intern candidates and employers, compiled the infographic below which showcases the impact internships have had on our world. In the 80s, only 3 percent of college students completed an internship, but today, 47 percent of employers boast structured internship programs. Here are some key points to note:

37% of students say internships are a good job search resource
81% of employers find they have better experiences with new hires that have intern experience
33% of employers hire virtual interns, a 20% increase from 2011 to 2012
The average wage rate for interns at bachelor’s level is $16.21

Check out the full infographic below and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

What do you think? Do you think internships will continue to evolve into a mandatory aspect of every career?