The Voice of Job Seekers

Mark Anthony Dyson ★ Career Writer ★ Speaker ★ Thinker ★ Award-winning Blog & Podcast! ★ I hack and reimagine the modern job search!

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by Mark Anthony Dyson Leave a Comment

Avoid relying on job boards! Do this instead.

Avoid relying on job boards! Do this instead.
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Job boards are not evil. They are not the only way to find jobs. In fact, if you use the strategies mentioned in this show, you’ll experience its effectiveness without waiting for job boards and applications result. Austin Belcak, founder of CultivatedCulture.com gave me the rundown of how he applied, tweaked, and perfected strategies that landed him around 50 interviews.

More about Austin:
Austin is the creator of Cultivated Culture, a blog helping job seekers succeed with several strategies including:
– Get a referral to companies where they previously knew no one
– Network and get to know hiring managers resulting in receiving job offers
– Ultimately land jobs without relying on a job board

Got something to say? Got a topic for the show? Disagree?
– Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number
– 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

Listen to: The State of Job Search

Show highlights:

– Austin shares about his frustration as job seekers applying to hundreds of job board postings without results
– It didn’t make sense to him to do so much work without any resemblance of results
– He asked immediately family, friends, school career professionals who gave the same answer
– Finally, a career coach got him started networking to find people in the company to reach out and make connections
– He learned through networking with the right people in a company gave him tangible results
– He used LinkedIn and cold emailing to reach people in companies where he wanted to work
– It was a lot of work in talking with 10-15 in each company to find out what they did and how they were hired
– Most people either got in the company’s door through a referral
– They also found ways to illustrate to employers their value

The show epilogue
The next show will be on April 14. There will be FOUR SHOWS left for the year. Two in April and two in May. Then my summer hiatus will last until Sept. 15.

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.

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Filed Under: Job, job board, Job Referrals, Job Search Tagged With: job boards, Job Search

by Mark Anthony Dyson Leave a Comment

14 Essential Tools to Thrive in Today’s Job Market

14 Essential Tools to Thrive in Today’s Job Market

One of the most significant differences between the job market of the past and the job market of today is the need to sell yourself. If you’re on the hunt for a new job, you must not only promote yourself in interviews but to everyone who matters — which, generally speaking, is everyone in your network.

Read: 5 Ways Job Seekers Should Act Like a Consultant

Those who ignore this aspect of the modern job hunt are likely to find themselves stuck in a string of unfulfilling jobs.

You have to think like a marketer if you are to land your dream job.

Click To Tweet

Recruiters and hiring managers are always scouring social media for new talent. To catch their attention, you have to promote yourself.

Here are 14 tools, traits, and skills that will help job seekers build and promote their brands — and get the job as a result:

1. Your Purpose

What motivates you? What drives your passion for your work? Your reasons should be your own — not those imparted to you by your mother or a well-meaning professor.

Stop letting clichés direct your career. Find your unique purpose, embrace it, and let it drive you.

Click To Tweet

2. An Elevator Pitch

Many people cannot clearly articulate what it is they bring to a team or company. Just as big brands are clear about the value they create for consumers, you must be clear about the value you create for employers. Craft a brief elevator pitch that clearly outlines the value you create for employers — and back it up with metrics that convince the skeptics.

3. Stories

Stories grab people’s attention, and when they are compelling enough, they can win you support. In addition to a high-level elevator pitch, you should prepare a few stories of your value-creation in action.

4. A Blog/Portfolio

Every job seeker should maintain a comprehensive portfolio of their work, whether it takes the form of a blog or something else. This becomes a one-stop shop for people who want to learn more about what you have to offer.

Maintaining a blog or other public site is also a great way to build an audience, establish yourself as a thought leader in your field, and maybe even attract employers.

5. Business Cards

At the minimum, an electronic business card is essential. Every gathering is a networking opportunity with the potential to advance your career. No matter where you go, bring your business cards and be prepared to hand them out. If you don’t have a business card, yet have the Linkedin mobile app, then you can easily use the recently rolled out QR scanner in the search bar of your app.

Read: Every Job Seeker Needs to Act as Their Own Hype Man

6. A List of Target Companies

A list of target employers allows you to conduct your job search in a more precise and purposeful manner. Plus, it allows you to focus your networking on contacts at the companies you’d like to work for.

podcast: Networking is more effective if you build and deepen those relationships long before you need to cash in a referral favor.

Click To Tweet

It’s okay for your list of targets to change over time.

7. An Engaging LinkedIn Profile

By now, you know “all-star” status is your goal on LinkedIn. Stay active by commenting on, liking, and sharing content. To stand out against other LinkedIn all-stars in your industry, utilize your recommendations, publications, awards, and volunteer sections whenever possible.

8. Deep Network Relationships

These days, many people seem to value quantity over quality in their networks, but it is the deep relationships that lead to new career opportunities. People with whom you have mutually beneficially, trust-based relationships will remember you when unposted jobs open up. You can then start increasing the ask of your network. This conversation is a good example of the type of information you can benefit from by deepening your network relationships.

9. Powerful References

You want network connections who can speak to your strengths in a compelling way. Stay in touch with your references so that your connections are always warm. Keep them interested in and excited about your career. Share updates so that they can accurately convey the essence of your professional value when the time comes.

10. An Email Newsletter

I facilitate a monthly “Job Lab” in the Ashburn-Wrightwood community in Chicago. One of the regular attendees keeps his connections apprised of his career happenings with an email newsletter. He shares details of his consulting gigs and his insights on relevant topics. This is a powerful way to keep your connections in tune with your efforts.

11. Gratitude

Make sure thank-you notes are part of your strategy — not only for interviewers, but also for references, network contacts, and even the friend who babysat your kids so you could attend a networking event. A nice touch might be using something like the Starbucks app to send $5 digital gift cards right from your phone.

12. Persistence

For people to get to know you as a professional, you’ll need to engage multiple times. Keep at it — but don’t overwhelm your contacts.

You must be there for others, too! You will need to give more than you get, and that’s okay.

13. Resilience

You will hear a lot of “nos” and “maybes” throughout your career. Your ability to endure these inevitable rejections will make all the difference.

14. Social Proof

Social proof is an essential part of your personal brand — but you need to make sure you’re posting the receipts where employers can see them. Don’t be afraid to self-promote. That’s the only way to get on people’s radars.

Originally publish at Recruiter.com! 

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.

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Filed Under: Atrributes, Career Management, Job, Job Search Tagged With: job market, Job Search, Jobs

by Mark Anthony Dyson Leave a Comment

5 Tips on Interview Prep From Thea Kelley

5 Tips on Interview Prep From Thea Kelley

When it comes to landing a job, interview prep is just as important as your resume. Hiring managers interview hundreds of candidates throughout their careers; they can spot your lack of preparation from a mile away.

Thea Kelley is an experienced career coach and the author of Get That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview. Recently, she was kind enough to speak with me and offer her advice on interview prep:

1. Be Real

Many job candidates prepare for interviews as if they’re bracing for the impact of a car crash instead of getting ready for a conversation. Hiring managers can sense how guarded you are when you walk into the room, and it doesn’t make you look good.

Kelley says it’s important the interviewer “feels like they’re connecting with [you] as a human being.” In addition to letting your guard down, avoid talking as if you’re some kind of job-seeking machine.

“Phrases such as ‘I possess the ability’ – who talks like that?” Kelley ponders.

2. Keep Your Language Simple

It’s okay to use a little industry jargon to demonstrate your knowledge, but don’t deliver memorized soliloquies or use large words that are unnatural to you. If you can answer a question using smaller, simpler, more direct language, do so.

I like using a recorder with coaching clients so they can hear their tone, vocabulary, and grammar and take corrective action if necessary. Every aspect of your delivery will face scrutiny in an interview, so pay attention to it all when practicing.

3. Display Your Emotional Intelligence

“Emotions can be beneficial for job interviews,” Kelley says.

Telling stories rather than dryly answering questions allows you to showcase your passion, enthusiasm, and even a little appropriate humor. This makes it easier for the interviewer to envision sitting next to you for eight hours a day.

4. Relax

Kelley points out world-class athletes who earn millions of dollars take the time to learn relaxation techniques. You, too, can benefit from practicing relaxation techniques before an interview. Kelley suggests using visualization to “imagine yourself in an interview and being authentic.”

5. Be Memorable; Tell Vivid Stories

Stories connect candidates to interviewers in ways that data can’t. They foster relationships and conversation, rather than inquisition. Storytelling is also a valuable way to work your own questions for the interviewer into the conversation.

Kelley says a list of attributes is not enough to demonstrate your fit or expertise. You must be able to show how your experience is relevant. Offering the interviewer vivid and specific examples makes your qualifications real and convincing.

Don’t just interview to pass a test. Interview to make it real, capture the interviewer’s imagination, and connect with them.

The article came from excerpts from my interview with Thea below:

This article was originally published on Recruiter.com!

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.

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Filed Under: Interview, Job Tagged With: Interview, Job

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