| CAREERS NOW 01-04-09 |
| New Resources Sharpen Your Job Search |
DEAR JOYCE: As we face a year unsure of our job horizons, I'm revisiting an
idea you once suggested that every month or two, readers ink in calendar time for regular "career checkups."
The point is to conduct an ongoing review of how things are shaping up in your career and consider what, if anything,
you can do to make your work life more upbeat and secure. In my case, I need to consider the real possibility of
an emergency exit to the job market (I work in financial services).
In job market moves, I'm a little out of shape - but not clueless. I've read about the need to customize resumes,
follow up after responding to job ads and networking to find unadvertised job openings. What else could/should
I be doing? - D.E.
I'll be mentioning other tools and resources in future columns, but here're several new or uncommon possibilities
that you may not have considered.
NOTABLE QUOTABLES. A reference dossier is a collection of letters that employers and others have written
about a person's qualifications, experience, education, character traits and employability. The dossier can be
a cool tool when you're on a short list of candidates for a job and the decider has time to read the letters line
for line. But because most reference letters are at least one full page, all that reading may be off-putting to
busy eyes whose owners have a heavy interviewing load and haven't yet determined who's on the short list.
Instead, to gain speedy self-marketing power, you may be better off crafting a compelling "reference commentary."
The commentary is a document of several pages containing approximately a dozen blurbs, which are brief praise statements
similar to those that appear on book jackets.
Each blurb - one to three sentences - highlights one of your strengths, such as being a top performer, reliable,
punctual, cheerful, intellectually curious and so forth. Each blurb is attributed to a former employer, coworker
or other person who has a basis for knowing how wonderful you are. You will, of course, get approval from each
reference giver.
Using a simple, uncluttered design, arrange three or four blurbs on each page and print on quality paper. At interviews,
offer to leave a copy of your reference commentary: "Perhaps you'd like to see a summary of how others regard
my qualifications. I brought this for you."
A sample reference commentary is one of the career management documents illustrated in my new book, "Cover
Letters For Dummies, 3rd Edition."
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS. No one does a better job of tracking all the new job-related Web sites than About.com's
jobsearch guide, Alison Doyle. Among this year's start-ups she notes are:
-- LinkUp.com, a search engine bringing to your screen job openings
from more than 11,000 company Web sites from around the country.
-- Alltop.com, a kind of industrial-strength RSS reader pulling together
both jobs and career news, this site is handy when you need to bone up on an industry or career function fast.
Read about the other digital newcomers on jobsearch.about.com; search for "Best Job Search Sites of 2008."
SNOWBALLING INTERVIEWS. After obtaining from your network a list of names in companies and industries that
interest you, Ron Krannich, Ph.D., suggests you write a brief letter asking referred employees for a meeting without
putting recipients on the spot.
Most important: Your message should leave no doubt that you are asking for career advice, not for a position. Before
leaving a meeting, ask for additional referrals, a process that gathers weight with each interview.
A bonus benefit: If your search turns out to be lengthy, the snowballing referral gigs keep your interviewing skills
sharp.
Find the technique's nuances explained in a 2008 book Krannich wrote: "You Should Hire Me!: Interview Secrets
to Get the Job You Love" (impactpublications.com).
Email Joyce
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