The Voice of Job Seekers

Mark Anthony Dyson ★ Career Writer ★ Speaker ★ Thinker ★ Award-winning Blog & Podcast! ★ "The Job Scam Report" on Substack! ★ I hack and reimagine the modern job search!

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How Pruning Is Helpful To You Like Coach Prime

How Pruning Is Helpful To You Like Coach Prime

Deon Sanders, coach of the University of Colorado Boulder football team, taught me one valuable career lesson lately. Maybe you saw other things (I would love to know if you saw anything else applicable), but one thing happened before Saturday’s game was critical to success.

When Sanders was named coach of this 1-11 team, he did something unprecedented in building a team that was his: He replaced last year’s team except for ten scholarship players from last year:
*85 of them were scholarships last year. This year, just 20 were full-time scholarship players.
**New coaching staff.
***Signed the #1 high school prospect

Once he was announced head coach, Sanders said, “We’re bringing kids that are smart, tough, fast, disciplined with character.”

Colorado athletic director Rick George said, “I have confidence in him and his staff, and they know what they’re doing,” George said. “… He’s been very honest and forthright. He’s been very open about it publicly and privately. He’s trying to build a winner at Colorado, and this is his way to do it”(Bleacher Report, 8/30/23).

Skeptics and critics were waiting, reserving their opinions for a more opportune time. Sanders said he kept the receipts (noting those who criticized him).

I call it “pruning.”

Cut off the parts no longer useful and make room for new growth. While we can call it gardening 101, it’s also an essential part of building. To build a strong foundation, you must replace the weak one.

What does that have to do with your #career? Sure, starting over can be refreshing, but your career’s weak or dead parts must be replaced with newer, more vital ones. You’re not rebuilding if you only eliminate the unusable parts.

It’s not good enough to get new training to advance your career. What is most relevant to your next career move/company/industry? Identify those skills/thoughts/moves

Keeping irrelevant jobs on your resume and LinkedIn profile is not good enough. Are they relevant to your new chapter? If not, emphasize the things your next move requires.

It’s a process needing thoughtfulness, strategy, and execution. You can’t be sentimental about past skills or victories to the point of keeping them if they’re not required.

Colorado won 45-42.

He’s got a respectable record, now. What do you think?

Well, he matched last year’s record by doing it his way. Even if he loses the next four. If he wins, he doubles the wins from last year. In either scenario, it’s a work in progress.

Shouldn’t we all prune our careers at some point? Like Sanders, they’ll be critics waiting for their opportunity to ask what and why are you doing this pruning.

Also, like Sanders, keep receipts, but remember, you’re a work in progress, making room for growth.

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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5 Easy Unordinary Ways to Make Employers Notice You

5 Easy Unordinary Ways to Make Employers Notice You

 

5 Easy Unordinary Ways to Make Employers Notice You by Mark Anthony Dyson

About five years ago, Geoffrey Owens, once a regular on the legendary Cosby Show, was seen working a — *gulp* — regular job at Trader Joe’s. The press quickly ran with the story, and people worldwide began commenting negatively about Owens’s situation. Owens ended up quitting his job because of all the unwanted attention.

However, there was a silver lining in this: Tyler Perry invited Owens to join the cast of his show, The Haves and the Have Nots. He’s had other movie and television appearances since then.

Think about this: Press coverage put Owens’s name out there, and while there was a little turbulence at first, that coverage also led to new jobs for Owens.

There’s a lesson here for every job seeker. Today’s job search is all about making yourself seen. If employers know who you are and what you can do, they’ll turn to you when they need someone with your skills.

So few job seekers use all the tools available at their fingertips to stand out. While different searches will require different strategies, there are a few easy steps almost anyone can take to maximize their visibility:

1. Showcase Your Personality on Social Media

As I always say, employers can’t train great personalities — they have to hire them. Why not spice up your public social media profile pages with exciting cover art and other details that showcase who you are? Instead of coming across as a generic job seeker, personalize your profile and give people a reason to stay on your page a little longer. Tell a story about yourself — a sincere, personal story. Help employers see you as more than just another candidate.

2. Create a Facebook or Instagram Business Page for Your Job Search

Employers want to see your personal Facebook page because it tells them much about who you are, but your privacy settings say, “No way!”

No problem: You can create a public business page for yourself instead. This can be dedicated to your professional journey while keeping your personal page personal. Use your business page to share professional musings and post content that delivers value to your readers and potential employers.

You can also use your business pages to run ads to better target employers on these platforms. Master entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk swears by Instagram ads for brands. Why shouldn’t you try a similar strategy to increase your own visibility?

3. Expand Your LinkedIn page

While a social media page can be a good supplement, your professional presence should really have its own headquarters on the web. LinkedIn is where most people can get noticed where recruiters are looking.

Treat LinkedIn as your own dedicated site. You can control the positive professional narrative about your abilities, explore ideas, take your readers on your journey, and tell great stories about your achievements.  The time investment is a small price for a robust multimedia professional portfolio.

4. Host a Local Radio Show

Does your community have a local radio station? Ask if you can host a weekly show.

Many cities have local stations that encourage community members to participate in content creation. Go ahead and get involved! You can use your show to interview employers and entrepreneurs, chat with industry experts, and answer questions from listeners. Not only will you create a valuable resource for your community, but you’ll also build a powerful channel for reaching potential employers.

5. Volunteer

Charity work is a great way to hone specific skills to help you land your next job, even if you’re currently employed. If you’re not employed, it’s also a great way to gain additional experience and fill the gaps in your resume.

Volunteering can connect you with organizations you want to work for. Working with a nonprofit allows you to meet local employers who support that nonprofit’s mission. These connections can be leveraged into job opportunities once you’ve demonstrated your value through volunteer work.

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When building a stand-out brand, use these strategies and any others that can help you effectively broadcast your value. Whatever tactics you choose, be sure they truly assist your job search and capture the right audience’s attention.

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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How To Show Your Brand is More Than Your Title

How To Show Your Brand is More Than Your Title

I want to share my annual thoughts on job search trends that are slightly different this year. Instead of one list where I share a list, I want to dive deeper into each one I share and then write a round-up linking to each article.

Let’s start by stating the obvious. You’ve heard me say that job search is a lifestyle. You’re going to need to market the brand you have. It’s more than titles, acronyms, and letters behind your name unless it’s an M.D., JD., and others. Even MBA letters behind a name have lost their essence.  It won’t evolve into anything significant until it’s visible with applied knowledge.

If you differentiate yourself from your peers and competitors, you’ll lump yourself in. It would help if you wanted to stand out, but listening to many folks who are telling you a brand is something you create. If you’re making a persona instead of exploiting the one that markets yourself, you’re doing it wrong.

Yep. I used “markets.” Get used to it as of right now. We’re all trying to get some visibility. It’s not magic. It’s intention.

Let’s talk about the title with the letters behind it. Many experts will say on LinkedIn it doesn’t matter.  Titles are marketing if they’re useful and universally known. Labels are marketing if you do something only 50 people in the world do. Titles are helpful when you are professionally involved in an industry where you’re paid to have those skills, and everyone knows what it is. OK, so maybe I’m wrong about this. It may get you some helpful LinkedIn SEO.

But it’s not your brand.

I’ll argue if you can’t capture your brand in the fewest words possible, you’re thwarting your marketing efforts. It works well spent if you want your brand and work to be its referral engine. People need to scan and click. Take their thinking from them, and infuse it wherever possible, with as fewest words as possible.

We’re remote, and we’re online. Present yourself as a gold mine, not a land mine:

  1. How are you valuable?
  2. What do people need from you (what have you been told)?
  3. What solutions are you known for?

You have to explain a title; if you have three inexplicable titles, people may not ask anything of you.

My wife and I contracted our electrical work to George for many years. George has been our go-to guy for whatever electrical job we needed for our two-flat. We thought that’s all he did, and in fact, we also enjoyed his company. We know that he also owned several pieces of property.

We didn’t know he retired from the government after 32 years of finding hidden money as a tax accountant. We didn’t realize this until this year about George.

If we’d known, it wouldn’t change our relationship with him. But he only wanted us to understand what is relevant to us. George solved one problem for us. He has received many referrals from us just for the work he’s done for us. George created the demand for his work only as an electrician for us.

Be like George.

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.