Personal branding Archives - Page 4 of 14

Unemployed – Dull? 9 Ways to Stay Sharp During a Lengthy Job Search

I am surprised how many job seekers become dull while unemployed. We can discuss how he or she becomes dull while working a job (to be discussed in another article). Dull people miss opportunities passing under their noses. WAKE UP!

Working a temporary or contract position is the ultimate because you earn while building relationships with your co-workers.

Of course, we have to include a side hustle.

If you’re not working in some capacity, laziness could be at your doorstep. Yes, you become lazy, sleepy, and sedentary! It affects everything and every part of your life when you’re unemployed.

Here are a few signs you’re becoming dull during this time of your life:

You are not meeting new people and perhaps too comfortable around people who don’t care enough to challenge you.
You can’t sit down to read for more than a few minutes without agitation.
Your health is declining, and you are moody and not eating as healthily as you can.
You’re finding comfort and complacency OK by casually responding to job leads.
You’ve given up on hope and faith in your abilities–you’ve become a settler–you’ll take anything.

Here are a few suggestions to remain sharp during a long job search:

1. Find a place outside your home to read career and job search-related articles, books, or videos. I find it helpful to meet others and add to your network.

2. Join a Job Club (they still exist), LinkedIn groups, and Twitter chats. Challenges aren’t always direct, but you’re more motivated when you hear about other people’s successes and failures. Then when you’re succeeding in certain parts, you can encourage others. Courage, patience, persistence, perseverance, and resilience are often underestimated and underused in our lives. You can’t put a price on those attributes. Or, you can create a job club and invite those in your neighborhood. You can do what I did and work with your church or one near you to host one.

3. Get out and work out. If you don’t have a gym membership (check out your local YMCA, park district, for affordable memberships), then look up “Playground Workouts” on YouTube. There are many rigorous and challenging workouts to learn and do. It has been proven exercise challenges you mentally.

4. Read and write. It doesn’t have to be something career related. You need to feed your brain in a way to keep you sharp. Too many people want to sit in front of the television or computer to participate in mindless activities. It is better to be in learning mode than distracted mindlessly. Writing will counteract dullness even quicker (non-scientific statement). Crossword puzzles help as well as writing poetry.

5. Teaching/coaching/instructing/mentoring. Career-related participation is the first choice, although you’re not limited to your industry. I would even say helping your kids with homework is a way to remain cognitively engaged. If you don’t have kids, volunteer.

6. Volunteer.

Volunteering is a great way to hone and build skills best to market yourself

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. With the experience you lack, volunteering can help you get what you need to get hired. If you’re looking for a leadership position, joining a board of directors is not hard. Sometimes, there is a vetting process, but most non-profits want to fill seats. Consider this as an easy win in sharpening your skills.

7. Keep a schedule. It is a very good time to maintain or gain discipline when you’re unemployed. A schedule will sharpen your focus and impress people you network with because you have a purpose. Even if you’re single and living at home with your parents, a schedule will help keep your discipline. It’s best to fill your schedule to optimize potential opportunities, especially during the week.

8. Practice interviewing. Since there are so many books to read with interview questions, it’s hard to narrow down to one choice. But more important than the book, practice with someone who can help you get better at answering questions. While I don’t recommend scripting rehearsed answers, the practice will inform your thoughts of how you’ll need to come across.

9. Help and serve family or extended family members. Why shouldn’t others benefit from your extra time? When you focus on yourself, there are temptations of self-doubt and unhealthy doses of isolation. Looking for opportunities to give to family members without asking for anything brings personal satisfaction.

There are so many other ways to sharpen your mind at a time.

It happens too often where people will go to interviews stumbling on frequently asked questions, unfocused, and lacking clarity. I have had clients who were asked in an interview what they have been doing during unemployment. Employers want more substantive answers than “Looking for a job.”

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

7 Ways to WOW Employers During Any Recession

Design by Mark Anthony Dyson

It appears we’re at the dawning of another recession, and the layoffs of 2022 right before the holidays can scare job seekers into pausing their efforts to find new opportunities in 2023. On the contrary, this job market will require creative and bold ways to stand out to employers and recruiters. Companies will always hire or reach out to great talent. You have to be visible to be included ahead of passive job seekers.

Part of the challenge for job seekers is many depend solely on job boards, bracing themselves for interrogation during the interview process and hoping to get picked. What’s unfortunate is waiting to be chosen, often by the company, as if it were the NFL draft. Many will even go with companies that are the wrong fit for them.

When it comes to your competitors, they settle for being the hired hand instead of being the shepherd of their career. They do enough to say they did something. It’s an intrinsic battle most of us fight once during our careers. I did it when I needed the check. It’s not the worst decision ever, but unfortunately, for some, it’s the only way to navigate career moves year after year.

Yes, you can have a say in where you work. You can determine if a job has the ideal culture for you. But it’s work you must do, and connecting with the right people is an essential part of the work.

WOW them before your first interview. Remember, there are no quick fixes or immediate results here. Build an online presence over time, make meaningful connections consistently, and be twice as helpful as what you receive. The result: You have built a direct and indirect referral engine (more powerful than Google).

Here are a few suggestions:

1. WOW employers by weathering the storms

Resilience is a powerful attribute to show. You showed it during the pandemic’s recession. You can do it again. If you’re telling your story online and offline, part of your story explains how you navigated the challenges and overcame fears. Show how you create workarounds without complaining about obstacles. It’s tough to do, but it’s doable. Show them you are flexible, adaptable, and capable.

2. WOW employers with your diverse network

Showing you can work with different types of thinking and people from various backgrounds demonstrates you’re relatable and are a skillful communicator. You will also notice your networking opportunities will open global possibilities for jobs. You maintain composure when it’s challenging to understand a dialect or language different than yours—or show no indifference if a culture or race is new to you.

3. WOW employers with a consultant mindset

Good personal trainers assess your physical movement before prescribing exercises. They will only offer training to weaken a weak body part if the exercise strengthens the muscle. The trainer may defer to your doctor for further tests or a physical therapist who can rehabilitate the weak muscle. In the same way, the consultant mindset finds the problem, facilitates team solutions whenever possible, and targets, plans, and implements short and long-term fixes.

4. WOW employers, with your agility

Job seekers who are getting it done are adding skills valuable to many different industries. They also invest in the training instead of expecting a company to pay for it. They perpetually scale their careers and prioritize networking to connect with employers, recruiters, and referrers.

5. WOW employers with a bold delivery of solutions

While video applications have yet to be widely used to apply for jobs, it increases the chances recruiters and employers will get to know and grow to trust you. When using these mediums as storytelling tools, you can ensure ways to be memorable. Creating a podcast or being a guest on a podcast, radio, video, or television show changes how you are remembered and valued.

6. WOW employers with your use of video

Video can help you reach employers in many ways, and you can optimize its use on LinkedIn Live and Instagram Stories. Recruiters and employers actively use both, and there is a growing use of Instagram to show their culture and employees as brand ambassadors.

7. WOW employers by extending your resume to the web

Your resume needs more than accomplishments and results to stand out in a competitive job market. Blogs, vlogs, and podcasts are slowly growing as a way for job seekers to demonstrate expertise. An article on JobMob.co.il shows 17 examples of people who found creative and bold ideas to present their credentials to target employers. When it didn’t work for the original target employer, it helped them stand out to other companies like the intended employer.

It takes time to find out what employers want at the beginning of your job search. Since so many job candidates don’t have anything, online employers want to see, for you, it’s where you want to lead them. So many people need to put in the consistency and the thought to build an impressive online presence.

Consider this advice an opportunity to make it easy and insightful for employers to find you and, at times, discover you before you know they are looking.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Be Figureoutable on LinkedIn Before They See Your Profile

This is another job search trend where I continue to dive into one trend and not just a listicle of trends. Networking is hard for so many, but if it were easy, more people would do it. We’ll see how this goes, and I’ll try digging deeper than three lines and a period.

I changed the way I write my profile while noticing my own LinkedIn habits. I want others to know who I am and to check me out before I want to know about them. It’s a large investment of time and curiosity people don’t want to waste. I think recruiters and employers want their time to count, and they process profiles even more judiciously. That’s what they’ll do but in secret.

Whom I connect with is important, and although my philosophy differs from so many other networkers, I, too, want my connections to offer quality. It’s not possible with all on my list, but it is possible with whom I want my content to complement. I want every job seeker to create content from when they write a note to request a connection to produce their own regularly. I know many career professionals will not accept a connection without a note. My thought is, ultimately, how will they learn if I don’t teach them?

The one networking habit most users on LinkedIn will want to know is who you are and your proposed value. Why should they have to go to your profile to understand? When they put their cursor over your name, the intrigue is there, and they want to know more. By not providing it, you are stunting your LinkedIn possibilities and potential opportunities.

The O’Jays song, “Give the People What They Want,” comes to mind.

I could preach all day about filling out the profile completely, but my networking strategy has everything to do with the first impression. There are a few ways to do it before or even without looking at your profile.

Quality comments in two sentences on my connection posts.

Thoughtful comments can be long or short, but I keep them short most of the time on regular posts. It is possible to be thoughtful, compelling, and serve in two or three sentences most of the time. People seem to engage brevity, especially when most users are commenting long-form, and sometimes, longer comments can be useless.

Below is what I do and what has worked for me. You don’t have to do what I do, but I found them sound strategies for me. You find your sweet spot and keep showing up the way you want and tweak along the way.

Compel a peek at your profile.

Responding to comments on my posts.

Brevity is important here, but I am grateful someone takes the time to post, and I want it to come across that way. Many in my tribe are so thoughtful when they post.

I have a wonderful “tribe” on LinkedIn who provide so much value in their posts to help job seekers. Their thoughtful comments provide inspiration and positive provocative insight sometimes bringing me back to writing an update to what I’ve written. There were also times my mind was changed just by a short sentence or two. It helps when there are more than a few who want to be a resource, and also help you to be a better resource.

Everyone should have a “tribe” of professionals who vary in thought, but want to provide value for their network and perhaps, the world on LinkedIn.

Kind and useful LinkedIn comments on 2nd and 3rd connection posts.

Since I usually don’t know the person, I’m commenting to invites a connection. Even here, I’m intentionally brief mostly, and it often ends up in a connection request with a note. My goal is to offer more value to everyone, but a genuine first impression provides a pathway to an interactive relationship.

Most of the time, respond to those who wrote a note.

I use a short one or two-sentence response to let them know I am not using the auto-respond messages. It’s a small way to show you’re thoughtful and personable. Mention how you found them whether they were referred, you saw them on your “People viewed also,” or your homepage.

I like it when someone says, “Thank you for connecting.” If you get a lot of requests, it’s difficult to respond to everyone. But, if someone writes a thoughtful and meaningful note to connect, it’s worth the time to respond in some way.

Not everyone who writes a note is deserves connection or access.

I do say “no” to those who emphasize selling in their headlines (especially those who help entrepreneurs get to seven figures in the podcast) or anything similar. Furthermore, I delete connection requests with notices that say they want to know more about what I do. Arrgh! I couldn’t be clearer in my messaging and LinkedIn profile. Must we do this dance? No.

I also ignore those who see a clearly written headline and complete profile sending a connection notice that says, “I want to know more about you and your business. Here’s my calendar link to set up a virtual coffee.” No.

What gets a “yes” is, “I am intrigued by the article you wrote, the podcast interview, the comment you made on this thread. This inform my thoughts about XXXXX. Could I talk to you more about it?”

Thoughtful posts or updates

When I started writing mini-articles in my posts, my engagement skyrocketed and 3x-4x connection requests. But they also enacted many Zoom call invites for tea and great conversations. I try to be personable without being personal. I also try to throw a few lyrics from songs or compelling analogies. I update with far more useful and practical tips than offering up my accomplishments.

People who are helpful win the day. If you’re not sure what to post, start with the question, “How can I be helpful?” Start with liking and commenting, but graduate to posting your thoughts and perspective. I know many users are afraid of being wrong or controversial. If your perspective is meaningful, then don’t post it as authoritative. Post it as a first-hand witness to things you repeatedly see.

Linkedin live streams

I do two or more a week with experts I really respect (Jack Kelly and Damian Birkel). These conversations spark other offline conversations or provide the basis for additional networking with viewers.

I know LinkedIn users may take these opportunities for granted, but I found these strategies effective. Networking is naturally hard for me, but it energizes my long-term business efforts. If your net is truly working, you’ll find these small changes to your strategy will stimulate and attract quality connections on LinkedIn.