5 Tips for Leveraging you Social Network in Your Job Search

“Social media is just a buzzword until you come up with a plan.” – Zach Dunn

You know what they say – “It’s who you know, not what you know”. While I’m not so sure the second half of the statement is true these days, the first half of the statement is definitely true. Your network of friends, family and acquaintances is by far your single largest asset. While many people worry that “leveraging your network” means you will need to “cold call” your friends and relatives and ask them to help you get a new job, this is not the case. The Internet combined with your Network makes for a very powerful tool in your job search. Knowing how best to leverage this tool is not always obvious, but if you know what to look for it is quite easy to do. And then, of course, there is your extended network. Before the Internet, it was difficult, at best, to know who was in your extended network. With sites such as LinkedIn, your extended network is immediately known. =>> Ten ways to leverage professional networking Continue Reading

Staying Informed in Your Industry

There is nothing worse than feeling like you’re left out of the loop – especially when it comes to your career. But because there can be so many changes taking place in your field, you can look up one day and realize your entire industry has left you behind.
With the economy changing as quickly as it is, you can’t afford to not know what the latest trends are. Including whether companies are laying off or hiring, as well as what fields are requiring that you learn new technologies. So how can you stay abreast of what’s happening in your field? Let’s look at some sure-fire ways to get this done …
Read Industry Reports and Trade Publications
One way that you can make sure you always know what’s going on in your industry is to read industry reports. You can read reports about what’s going on specifically in your field, as well as reports about what’s going on in the entire workforce. By doing this, you can know if your industry is dwindling, or check on industries paralleling yours that you may be able to move into.
There are a variety of industry reports you can look at to find out what’s going on. For example, Execunet.com offers studies on hiring trends, information on what fields are best to enter, and much more related to top-level executive employment. Another industry reporting example is the Food Marketing Institute, which functions on and offline and offers a variety of surveys, facts and figures, and more through their website and quarterly reports regarding profitability, inventory productivity, and labor costs in the grocery and supermarket industry. Also, you can visit websites like ValuationResources.com that offer dozens of reports related to specific industries. There are many more resources available to keep you informed. You just have to make strides to find out what they are.
Read the Newspaper
Reading the newspaper may sound old fashioned, but believe it or not, it is still a great resource for discovering and staying abreast of industry information. Reading the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the main and business sections of your local major newspaper can give you great insight into the trends of certain industries, as well as specific companies.
If you don’t want to spend the money to subscribe to a newspaper, you can probably visit your local newspaper’s website for information. However, to get in-depth access with the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times websites, you must subscribe online.
Join Professional Associations
Whether you’re joining a local professional association, the Chamber of Commerce, or an online message board, you can find great in-depth information about your field and the workforce as a whole by joining other professionals in your field. It is through these affiliations that you can make necessary professional connections, link up with recruiters in your field, and simply keep your hand on the pulse of what’s going on in your industry.
Staying informed in your industry is beneficial whether you’re looking for a new job or not. By always knowing what’s going on, you can become a major player in your industry, making a difference in your life and others.
Heather Eagar is a former professional resume writer and is passionate about providing working professionals with current, reliable and effective job search tools and information. Need a resume writer? Check out reviews of the top resume services in the industry at http://www.resumelines.com.

Where to Network

The importance of networking cannot be overestimated for people looking for a job or trying to grow their own business. The crucial question is WHERE and HOW to do it in order to get best results for the time and effort spent.
Today I would like to address the issue of WHERE to network:
1. Think outside the box: networking in narrow circles (students’ groups, university related groups only) will not provide you with a lot of opportunities. Think in broader terms with regards of your background: gender, ethnicity, nationality, etc. There are a lot of networking groups in United States tailored for every specific background.
2. Perform a thorough search. Be aware many of the networking organizations that pop-up on the first page of Google search tend to ask significant amounts of money for membership and extra fees for attending events (this is why they have finances to make sure they appear on the top of the search results). Really good job seekers support organizations are usually non-for-profit, they don’t have membership fees and organize events for free or for a tiny fee. But as a result they lack funding and unfortunately not all of them have a website (they communicate via an e-mail list serve). In my experience people find out about their existence only through the word-of-mouth so the more you network the more valuable information you’ll be able to collect.
3. Have a clear picture of who you would like to meet: make a background research on the type of companies you are targeting. After that ask yourself a question: where the managers and key decision makers from these organizations are likely to network? Are you more likely to meet them at a university event, a specific conference, seminar, exhibition or may be a golf networking event?
4. Become a member of a professional association: it will not only give you access to a lot of networking events but also will be a great learning opportunity. Students usually pay reduced fees for membership but enjoy full spectrum of benefits.
Of course, each city and town is different in terms of available networking opportunities. The bigger the city the more options you have: Chicago, where I live, presented me with so much “networking material” that it was more than enough to create a comprehensive networking guide. But at the same time I researched Illinois in general too and I found out that bigger organizations usually have several chapters across a state. In addition to that smaller towns have their own community support organizations. Most likely the latter won’t have a website but chances are they have their regular meetings in a local library (at least it is true for many of the smaller Illinois communities) – don’t forget to check out your nearest library!

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Conducting Your Entry Level Job Search

In conducting my entry level job search, I’ve found many sources of job listings and ways to find potential jobs. Some methods have worked well for me and others not so well, but here are some of what’s worked for me.
The Internet is a great resource for your entry level job searches, with ways to connect to an endless number of job listings. Even the local newspaper will more than likely post their job listings online in order to reach a wider audience. If there’s a company that you’re really interested in working for, why not check out their website and find out what they’re hiring for right now?
Finding a good temp agency could also prove to be a great way to get your foot in the door. Not only do you get to try out the company on a temporary basis, but if you end up liking the job and the people you work with and if they like you back, you’ve got a much better chance of finding a full-time position that you’re qualified for than some unknown job applicant applying for the same position in the company.
Joining a professional group or association could be another great way to help your entry level job search along. You know when your job counselor told you it was all about networking, well, she was right. So many jobs never ever even make it to the public listings and end up being filled from within the company or through a connection. You could get lucky by being open about the fact that you’re out there looking for a job and being open to meeting new people.