Category Archives: Networking

10 Tips to Conquer your Networking Anxiety

networking

 

If you’ve recently graduated from college and are looking for a job, networking is, by far, the single most effective tool in your job search. Yet many recent grads fear networking and fail to grasp why it’s so important. Understanding why you need to network and how to do it effectively can help you move past your networking anxiety and on your way to finding a great job.

According to a recent study published on LinkedIn, 85% of jobs are found via networking. Career experts agree that the majority of your job search time should be spent networking. In my experience as a career coach, my clients who actively network find jobs in nearly half the time as those who don’t. (more…)

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Counting on a bit of Irish luck in your job search?

irish luck

It’s St. Patty’s Day and we’ve all heard about the luck ‘o the Irish. The expression actually has its roots in a bit of irony. Rather than necessarily being lucky, the Irish leaned into their positive attitude to get through a history filled with difficulties. If you’re counting on a bit of Irish luck in your job search, a little never hurts but a positive attitude and lot of hard work will work better.

In ‘1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History,’ author Edward T. O’Donell, shares that the origin of the expression started in America and comes from the gold rush years. “A number of the most famous and successful miners were of Irish and Irish American birth . . . Over time this association of the Irish with mining fortunes led to the expression ‘luck of the Irish.’ Of course, it carried with it a certain tone of derision, as if to say, only by sheer luck, as opposed to brains, could these fools succeed.”

All my Irish friends are very smart and I’m sure that you’re no fool if you’re reading up on job search advice. After you’ve finished celebrating St. Patrick, whether it’s with a parade, a green beer, a pub crawl or a hearty Irish stew, here are 3 things you can do that might bring more luck, a preferably results, to your job search.

  1. Narrow your focus. If you’re not sure what you want to do, this can be very hard but an unfocused, overly broad job search will mean more effort and time on your end, fewer results and more disappointment. You can narrow your search a number of ways: by profession, industry, geography or by targeting specific companies. Spend some time early on thinking about what you want in a job and what you are naturally good at, and use that to narrow your focus.
  2. Mine your connections. Irish pride runs deep and so does their loyalty to true friends. Lean into your friends and family for advice and introductions to others who can expand your network. Do the same for your friends too. A broad circle of friends may be your best job search secret weapon.

There are good ships and there are wood ships,

the ships that sail the sea.

But the best ships are friendships

and may they always be.

  1. “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with blarney.” Great advice for a bar conversation, but terrible for an interview. Always prepare for an interview, do your research, know your strengths and how you can put them to work for the company. Even if you might not have the highest GPA, a positive attitude, self-awareness and being likeable will take you a long way.

An old Irish proverb states: “The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.” Wonderful advice for job searchers. Ádh mór to you.

 

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12 Things To Do Today To Find A Job or Internship

job search tips

February – the month when winter doldrums are overtaking your hopes and expectations. If you’re in college and don’t have an internship lined up or are graduating this spring with no job in sight, things might seem even bleaker. Here are 12 things you can do today to find a job or internship.

Employers always are looking for college students/grads with problem solving, decision making and prioritization skills. An organized job search requires all the above, especially when you are balancing your classes, final exams, and the endless senior year social events.

Here are 12 action steps to find a job that you can take to improve your success rate in your  job search and demonstrate to employers that you have what it takes to be successful in the real world. (more…)

Posted in Career Advice, Interview Tips, Job Search, Networking, Resumes & Cover Letters |

Surviving the Job Search Rejection Blues

unsuccessful job applicant shuttle service dumpster truck
photo by David Blackwell via Flickr

photo by David Blackwell via Flickr

Surviving the job search rejection blues requires a thick skin, a very thick skin. For recent college graduates, the job-hunting experience likely may be the first time you have faced rejection, at least in the quantities that job searches tend to produce. This also includes the silent rejection that comes when your resume enters the black hole and never resurfaces. Nearly half of all applications never make it past the initial screening process.  (more…)

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Ignoring These 5 Important Job Search Steps Might Cost You The Job Offer

Don't Ignore These 5 Critical Job Search Steps

Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You

Sometimes, it’s the little stuff that no one tells you that need to do to get a job. Other times, it’s things you know you should be doing but you resist doing it. Either way, you are not doing you, or your job search, any favors, when you ignore these 5 important job search steps.

1. Networking. You are probably sick of hearing about the importance of networking but there is a good reason for it: it’s the single most valuable tool in your job search arsenal yet often it is the most overlooked. I am continually amazed at the reluctance of the Millennial generation to follow up with networking leads and referrals if they do not know the contact personally. If someone gives you a lead, follow up on it. Here’s why. (more…)

Posted in Career Advice, Interview Tips, Job Search, Networking |

The Best Way To Improve Your Chances Of Getting A Job

This post originally appeared in the Bangor Daily News on June 23, 2015.

Photo by Dick Uhne

Photo by Dick Uhne

The Black Hole. If you are actively searching for a job, you know all about the resume black hole. You’ve applied online and sent your resume in to so many companies that you’ve lost track.

If you are lucky, the company’s online application process will send you a computer-generated email thanking you for your submission. And that’s it. Days, weeks, and sometimes even months go by with no communication.

So what are you to do?

First, step back and consider your job search strategy. Getting a job, a good job, is a full-time endeavor and requires effort — lots of effort, and a plan. Winging it won’t work.

If you don’t have a clear idea of what you want to do, nor a solid job search strategy, it’s the equivalent of taking a shotgun and shooting at the sky, hoping that something will fall out. It won’t work.

A good job search strategy starts with narrowing your focus. In addition to targeting an industry, you’ll need to specify what roles you are interested in and qualified for. This is often where job searchers get stuck. Not only is networking the best tool to help you get un-stuck, it is arguably the most critical step of any job search. (more…)

Posted in Career Advice, Job Search, Networking |

How to Get Out of Your Dead-End Job

deadendjob

Your Job Search Questions Answered Here

I asked my readers and Facebook community what questions they had regarding their job search challenges. Today’s blog post topic is courtesy of my fabulous group of Facebook followers, one of whom wanted to know how to get out of a dead-end job, specifically retail or administrative work. If you have graduated in the past few years and are one of the many “underemployed” college graduates, here are some tips to get out of your rut and on to a more interesting and rewarding career path. (more…)

Posted in Career Advice, Job Search, Networking, Resumes & Cover Letters |

6 Tips on how to move to a new city without a job and not go broke

Moving?

Moving?

1. Start saving. I know I am stating the obvious but it is important and most Americans don’t have great savings habits. Saving comes in a variety of forms, from socking away cash, to selling off possessions to eliminating all but the most essential expenses. Before you make a move to another city, it’s advisable to have a minimum of 3 months of living expenses. You need to have cash to live and running up credit card debt to finance a move without a job is a lousy investment. (more…)

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The one job search tool you probably aren’t using and need

C2C College to Career, Maine's premier career services site for college students, recent grads and young professionals

frontdoor
What if there were a secret tool that could open doors to great jobs where you had an inside track that others do not have? If you have just graduated from college and are embarking on your job search, you are likely feeling a bit overwhelmed. Where do you start? Are you spending hours, or days, or weeks, looking for jobs online, applying and hearing nothing back? Trust me, this is not the best way to find a job, and here’s why. (more…)

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