Returning to Work after Having Children

Few job seekers face higher hurdles than at-home parents trying to return to work do. Much has changed in the past 5-10 years – job boards and keyword scanning software are probably completely new concepts, and much has stayed the same – networking is still the way most people find opportunities. With tenacity, a willingness to learn, and solid marketing tools, parents can be back in the swing again soon.

Do what you love. Some parents left thriving careers to raise their children, while others had kids earlier in life. In either case, this is the perfect opportunity to find a career that makes your heart beat a little faster. Returning to school for a degree or certificate will assure your future employer that you have the training to do the job while demonstrating your interest in that field of work. If you loved what you were doing before, it may be more appealing to pick up where you left off.

Don’t apologize for the gap in employment. Just because your decision to raise your children created a difficult return to the workforce, it doesn't mean it wasn’t the right decision. Your experience with kids might even make you more qualified for certain roles than someone without them. If you were in marketing before having children, for example, consider a marketing role where the focus is on appealing to parents. Some employers, particularly those in the sales industry, will see your break as a good thing. They may want to train you on their way of doing things and will value your fresh perspective.

Employ a pro. Consider hiring a professional resume writer to keyword optimize your resume while giving voice to your accomplishments. For most people, figuring out all of the components of a truly great resume is not a good return on your investment of time. It is much better to spend your time networking and learning, no one can do that for you.

Give yourself credit for having life experience and maturity. In many companies, hiring managers would rather choose someone known to be sane and stable than take a chance on a “fresh” grad. Your task is to figure out how that maturity would benefit the employer and then help them see it.

Consider networking with parents who have already done what you want to do. Ask them how they did it, talk about what they like about their jobs and what surprises they encountered after resuming their careers. Also, check out networking groups that are industry related; the professional associations section of www.iloveseattle.org is a good place to look or do an Internet search. Be an interested and helpful networker; seek out ways to be a resource to those in your network.

Not ready to return to work yet? Consider volunteering to keep your skills sharp. Plan an event for the pet shelter, fix the local non-profit’s network, or put the church bake sale on Facebook. Companies value community service and you will have relevant experience to put on your resume.

Parents who are smarter about preparing to return to work have a much easier time of it. By networking, sharpening your skills and updating your presentation (resume, interview skills and appearance), you will have an advantage over your competition.

Job Search Strategies (as published in the Washington CPA Magazine, May/June edition)

I was honored to be asked to write an article on job search strategies for the WSCPA.

Effective Job Search Strategies from a Recruiter’s Perspective

You have spent hours online searching job boards for open positions and have applied for hundreds of openings. You are exhausted, but don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Is there anything else you should be doing? Absolutely! Like with anything, the smarter your job search strategy is, the more effective it is going to be.

While working as a corporate recruiter, I had a front-row opportunity to see how candidate’s different job search strategies worked out. If the company I worked for extended an offer to a candidate, I backtracked several key factors, including how the person found out about the job, how their resumes looked, how they interviewed and how they followed up. Now, I share that information with my business clients. One of the first questions my clients want to know is how to find a job and in this article, I’m going to share that advice with you.

Start your job search by choosing 15 - 20 companies for whom you think you would love to work. They can be employers you have heard great things about from friends that have worked there, businesses you have read about in the news, companies that are geographically convenient or employers who make a product or service that you love. They should meet your "hard" criteria too; they should be of a size likely to provide you with the type of employment opportunities you seek, for example. This is a list you will add to and subtract from, as you gain more insight.

Don’t wait for an opening to be posted to apply. Some open positions can’t be posted, the person leaving may not know it (performance termination) or may not announce it publicly (planning a move), for example, but often the recruiter or hiring manager has already started looking. If your resume were to land on their desk before they needed you, you would likely get more attention than if you applied when they posted the job.

Once you have selected your target companies, start your research and record your findings on Excel. For each company, assign a worksheet and add information gained from news articles, blogs, company websites or word-of-mouth. Search your LinkedIn contacts for people you already know that can offer insight into the company’s culture, hiring process, opportunities, etc.

Not on LinkedIn? Join! LinkedIn provides a great place to keep track of your network. These are people that you work with or used to work with, friends, family, neighbors and fellow group members. The first step to using LinkedIn is to create a profile. You will enter information about where you have worked or volunteered, where you went to school, and the groups you are a member of. Then, start adding contacts; I suggest you only add people that you know, like and trust.

Lost track of some people? LinkedIn has several ways to find people with whom you have lost touch. You can look up an old employer and see all of the people who have identified that place as their current or past employer. If you remember them, add them. In addition, LinkedIn has a feature where it will “look” in your email and tell you who you already know that is signed up on linked in. Alternatively, you can type in someone’s name and see if they have an account. In any case, the person will get an email from you asking if they would like to connect. Once they do, you will be able to see their profile and that is when the magic happens!

Let’s say you connect with 100 people on LinkedIn and they have worked an average of five jobs each. That is potentially 500 employers where you now have an inside connection. The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can also see friends of friends, raising your potential inside connections exponentially. You will know right who to go to to get the inside scoop on a particular company.

LinkedIn has a few other terrific features and I have learned a few job search strategies that they do not talk much about. In addition to a terrific Q&A section and job board, you can learn a lot from looking at the profiles of people who hold your “dream job”. Wondering what industry affiliations to join? Check what groups that people holding the jobs you want are members of. Wonder what your ideal employer is looking for in a candidate? Look at the profiles of recent hires for clues on certifications, volunteerism and education.

Join and attend professional organizations. Typically, they meet once per month and you will often find that there is a guest speaker, they may offer snacks or a meal, and there is usually time for networking. Set a goal to talk to two or three people at each meeting. More than that and you will forget with whom you spoke. Ask for the cards of the people you converse with and jot down some notes about the conversation on it after your talks. Then, follow up – add them to LinkedIn and arrange a coffee meeting if your conversation went particularly well. Folks I have worked with have had great luck with alumni associations, so consider joining those as well. Many have a charter to provide services to job seekers.

Treat your network connections as you would your friends. Always ask about how you can be helpful to them, for example, to ensure they do not feel as if you are purely contacting them to see what they can do for you. Since the best networking is always done in person, casually ask if you can chat with the person in their office, short of that, a coffee meeting or other gathering is perfectly fine. Phone contact is next best, but try for a face-to-face meeting if logistically possible.

The best networkers never ask for a job, they know that someone who knows, likes and respects them will be alert to potential opportunities without having to be asked. The key is to keep your network responding to you in the “yes” mode – Yes, I can tell you what I like about the company – instead of the “no” mode – No, we don’t have any openings. Don’t encourage your network to avoid you because they don’t want to say no.

Did you get a “yes, you can stop by” response? Let them know you will have five questions prepared and that you won't take more than 15 minutes of their time - then stick to that. Make it clear when you have reached the end of your questions and observe the time, this will help them gain trust that you stick to your word and are not taking advantage of their kindness in seeing you. Quite likely, they will want to extend the conversation and at this point, it will become more of a conversation and less of a favor they are doing for you. Even so, be respectful of their time and they will feel more confident in referring you to talk with someone else. Your tone should be curious and positive while asking questions. Make notes during the meeting, add new information to your Excel worksheet and follow up on leads.

In addition to asking about what the person with whom you are talking likes best about the company, other great questions include, "What was your first position with the company?" "What is the hiring process like?" and "What advice might you have for someone in my situation?" Also, ask what groups or industry associations they are active in; consider following up on those groups to see if they might be a good fit for you. During your job search, strive to meet two people per week and join two groups that meet monthly.

Be sure to triangulate information whenever possible and don’t dismiss a job opportunity just because you hear negative comments from one or two people. They may be disgruntled, had a bad boss who is no longer there, or were bad employees. Even the happiest employees will bring their own skewed perspective; just keep that in mind.

Where you cannot seem to source a "warm" connection to a particular target company, be sure to drop the name of the place into your conversations with people. Chatting with your neighbor? Toss in, "I wish I knew someone from XYZ, it seems like an interesting place to work." If they know someone there, and if they know and trust you, they will introduce you. Don’t pressure them by asking outright whom they know; you want your network to say “yes” to you and you want it to be their idea, so they’ll take ownership of it down the road. Consider the difference: “Here’s that great controller I was telling you about,” vs. “John asked me to ask you if there were any openings for a controller.” The best connections come from a mutual party's desire to make a match, not a desire to get you off their back.

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned answering want ads yet. That is mostly because the numbers are against you. As a warm contact referred by someone that the hiring manager knows and trusts, you are much more appealing than a stranger answering an ad on the Internet. This factor alone explains the reason why 70% of all open positions are filled by someone who knew someone who knew the hiring manager. Sure, that leaves 30% of all jobs, but would you rather be one of 3-4 people personally referred for a position, or one of 300 – 400 who apply for a position posted on Monster?

By the time most jobs make it to Monster, they are picked over. The company’s recruiter has exhausted their network of strong candidates as well as the networks of everyone that works for the company and is forced to go fishing with a large net. Instead of taking the work of someone she trusts that the candidate being referred is sane, smart and motivated, she has to shuffle through hundreds of anonymous resumes to try to find the best candidates. If answering ads on the Internet is part of your job search strategy, try to keep it under 15% of your search time.

Consider using staffing services, especially if your network is skimpy in your industry or if you are new in town. Know that it is thousands of dollars more expensive to hire you through a service than if you found the job yourself, so if you have leads on certain companies, be sure to let your recruiter know not to refer you to those places due to the commissions involved. Wonder which service to contact? Check the LinkedIn profiles of people working where you want to work for prior involvement with staffing agencies. Or, contact the HR departments of your target companies and ask if they are contracted to work with a certain company. When you meet with the staffer, talk about temporary, temp-to-hire and permanent placement options.

You never know where your next job will come, so take advantage of every opportunity and be prepared. Practice a brief “elevator speech” about what kind of job you want and why you are a valuable candidate. Tell a story about a time where you “saved the day” in some way in your last role. Don’t be overly concerned about not being completely qualified for the positions that interest you. An 80% skill match is close enough for most places as they are also interested in hiring people that are a good culture fit and show enthusiasm for the company.

Jill Walser, of I got the job! Career Services, is a former corporate recruiter now sharing inside secrets with her clients. www.igotthejob.us

Cyberstalking, Something to Think About

It has never been easier to keep in touch with people online – including those with whom you would rather not.

According to the National Association for Victim Assistance (NOVA), growing numbers of people report being pursued by stalkers via cell phones, Internet services, GPS systems, wireless video cameras, and other technologies. With technology, stalkers have more tools to use against their victims than ever.

A recent Department of Justice report indicated that of the 3.4 million Americans who reported being stalked between 2005 and 2006, 27% reported cyberstalking. Half of these victims indicated that there was at least one unwanted contact per month and 11% said they had been stalked for five or more years.

Stalking is action directed at a person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. In the study, people were classified as stalking victims if they reported at least one of seven types of stalking behaviors on two or more occasions.

The most common type of stalking behavior was unwanted phone calls from the offender (66%) followed by unsolicited letters or email (31%) and the spread of malicious rumors (36%). One-third of victims stated that offenders were likely to show up at places they frequent for no reason. Nearly 75% of victims knew their offender in some capacity, while 10% of victims were stalked by a stranger. Stalkers include former spouses, lovers, friends, roommates and neighbors.

Victims experience a range of emotions. The most common was not knowing what would happen next (46%) and being afraid the behavior would never stop (29%); nearly 10% of stalking victims reported that their worst fear was death. About 130,000 victims had been fired or asked to leave their jobs because of stalking and 12% lost time from work because of fear for their safety or to pursue activities such as getting a restraining order or testifying in court.

One of the ways that victims experience stalking is identity theft; 6% said stalkers stole their identities to open or close financial accounts in their names, steal funds from their existing accounts, or make unauthorized charges to their credit cards.

High-tech stalking comes in many forms:

Caller ID. Caller ID systems on many phones reveal callers’ names and locations. Using an online phone directory to conduct a reverse lookup of the callers number, stalkers can pinpoint a victim’s place of residence.

Cell phones. When cell phones are in analogue mode, radio scanners can intercept conversations.

GPS services. If a stalker has access to a victim’s car, global positioning devices can be installed that pinpoint the car’s exact location. Telephone-based instant-messenger services and some cell phones’ location services are also potential tracking tools.

Spyware. If the stalker has access to the victim’s computer, spyware can be installed to send them notifications listing all websites visited and the contents of every email sent or received. Stalkers can also use keystroke loggers, which record every key typed and thus disclose passwords, PINs, websites, and emails.

Cameras. Cameras today are more powerful, less expensive, smaller, and easier than ever to secretly place inside a wall.

Public databases. A surprising amount of information about individuals is public record. Some counties even publish the names and addresses of individuals who obtain protective orders.

Another type of public database is a job board. Those of you who are clients of my writing services will note that I have left the exact street address off of your resume and cover letter documents.

E-mail and instant messages. Stalkers can impersonate their victims by sending out messages in the victims’ names. One abuser changed his wife’s email password and sent threatening messages to himself from her account. Then, he took the messages to the police and convinced them to arrest her.

The Justice Department report offers some advice for keeping safe from stalkers:
Know who calls you. Use per call (*67) when you get an unknown call, and make sure your phone has caller ID.

Keep your contact information private. Clear your name from any database that might be published or sold from one company to another.

Routinely check your computer for viruses and intruder programs. According to PC World and PCMag.com, Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html) is the best privacy software available.

My next blog will provide specific information on how to protect your identity while using business and social networking websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.

Did you know?
Bad guys can see all the things you post. You may be revealing personal information that is extremely valuable. Even seemingly innocent information posted on profile pages can sometimes provide opportunities for criminals. For example, names of grandparents or pets in posted pictures can tip hackers off to answers for typical challenge questions asked before providing information about “forgotten passwords” to online accounts. (newsday.com)

Thinking About Moving?

Think the grass is greener elsewhere? Miss your family? Here are some strategies to facilitate your long-distance job search:

1. Read your target city’s local newspapers, journals and publications on a regular basis, for job listings and relevant business news. Note which companies are reducing staff off, who is hiring, who just received angel investments, etc.

2. Join (and start attending the meetings of) at least one locally based professional association or the local chapter of a national professional association. In the Seattle area, www.iloveseattle.org is a great resource for networking organizations.

3. Plan to spend time in your new city, to conduct networking in person rather than just over the phone or on-line.

4. Develop a list of potential employers for whom you would like to work and for whom your background and experience are a good fit. LinkedIn, to do your research, including identifying the name of a hiring executive.

5. Send each of the employers a targeted, personalized letter and resume, linking your interest and qualifications to their area of focus. Try to schedule an exploratory interview even if there are no current job openings for you. You will be setting the stage for future employment should their needs change.

6. Consider short-term consulting gigs with area employers. When you meet employers, think about how you might help them by consulting. Do they mention any projects that you would be qualified to do? This would be an excellent way to establish yourself with locally-based credentials.

7. Use the city and state in your contact info, instead of your own. In a tight job market, hiring managers need not look beyond the local area for highly qualified job applicants. They seek candidates who are ready to work without much training, are familiar with the local market and competition, and perhaps have local contacts. Employers certainly prefer avoiding travel reimbursement and relocation costs.

It is important to demonstrate to the employer that you are committed to being in the area for the long haul, not just until the economy turns around. You may want to consider moving in with a friend for a while during your job hunt. Beware that if you are only pretending to have a local address, you may be caught when an employer wants you to interview on short notice or even during the informal ice breaking part of an interview, e.g., talking about the hometown sports teams and weather.

People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world

When I left my position as corporate recruiter and decided to offer networking coaching as a key component of my business, I realized that while I'd done well networking for the corporation I worked for, I hadn't done much networking for myself.

To remedy that, I joined a few industry organizations and one for business owners of any industry. I looked at about eight different options, the organizations I chose needed to meet four criteria:

1. They needed to be relevant to what I did.
2. They needed to have a face-to-face component and the people there needed to be happy to see me.
3. They needed to be filled with spark plugs - people very excited to be there and to be doing what they did for a living.
4. They needed to be easy to get to and offered at convenient times (ruling out 7:00 a.m. meetings and anything involving rush-hour traffic).

I renewed my Northwest Recruiters Association and National Resume Writer's memberships. One group is nearly all face-to-face and the other is virtual as there just aren't very many resume writers in the world. Then, I joined the eWomenNetwork, which is focused exclusively on teaching business owners and other professionals (not just women!) how to network. Talk about a room full of spark plugs! You could run a small city off the energy at those meetings! If you want to check them out, mention I referred you. You can go to many of these groups once or twice without an obligation to join and some you never have to join if you don’t want to.

I also joined the Puget Sound Career Developers Association, a much more sedate group of people who have been in the career counseling industry for a long time - over 40 years in several cases. This has been a gem of a resource with terrific guest speakers. As an added bonus, most career counselors hate writing resumes and have minimal corporate recruiting experience; many partnerships have formed through this group. More recently, I’ve built my profile on Biznik and have signed up for a few events.

My point in explaining my journey into networking is to illustrate an unexpected issue I faced right from the beginning. Every single time it was time to go to a networking meeting, I thought of a reason not to go. I was too busy. I was too tired. It was cold out. I was in my pajamas. I didn’t really feel like talking to people. Every time I thought of some reason. However, I'd already paid for the lunch or it was a part of my membership, so I forced myself to go.

It didn't take long, maybe three months or so, before I started noticing a pattern. Every time I went to a networking event, something wonderful came out of it. A new referral partner, a business strategy I didn’t know, a new friend, unfathomable resources, and, in many cases, new clients. It was completely unexpected (perhaps I set my expectations too low), but altogether wonderful.

I strongly encourage all of you to get out there, meet people face to face and build relationships with them. Soon, they’ll think of you anytime someone asks them, “Do you know anyone who does…” Now, they know YOU!

On the radio, whoa, oh, oh...

...it sounded really loud
they said it really loud
on the radio whoa oh oh
on the radio whoa oh oh
on the radio whoa oh oh
on the radio whoa oh oh
on the radio whoa oh oh
on the radio, radio, radio

I had the fun experience of being on The Good Life radio program Monday. If I do it right, you'll be able to hear it via the video link. Try it!

Maurice and Vanessa interviewed me about my business, including resume writing, interviewing and a bit about job search strategy. It was a blast.

The highlight of the day was meeting the original Clay Huntington, KLAY's (get it?) station owner. Clay claims to be 86, but I'm not so sure I believe him. He was adorable. Before getting into radio in the early 60s, he was a sportscaster. Very cool!

Enjoy the broadcast!

Get the pink slip?

So it's over. You'll miss that large fake palm in the corner of the lobby. You know the one, the one the new guy always got in their office until they wised up and put it back in the lobby? You'll miss the new guy too, and especially the long-timers.

Before you leave your job (assuming there's a transition period), do everything you can to connect with each person with whom you have a connection. It doesn't matter how random - maybe it's the guy you always parked next to, maybe your buddy who always ate Indian food with you, or the cute receptionist - but especially your co-workers, your subordinates and your boss. Let them know you'll miss them, be sure to get their phone number and email address, add them to your LinkedIn contacts right away.

Then, stay in touch! People that like and respect you want to have lunch or coffee with you. They want to know how your kids are and whether you've broken par yet. If you decide to go a different direction with your career, let them know. They might have a sister/cousin/neighbor/former co-worker in that industry. Get a new resume? Email it to everyone who likes you and/or whom you respect. Say something cute if it suits you, like, “Here’s my shiny new resume, in case you forgot how wonderful I am.” Whatever - just get it out there so people don’t have to remember all your skills and talents when they’re chatting up their Uncle Hal. They’ll remember you’re an analyst and if Hal is interested, they can forward your resume to him.

Then, get out of the house! Go to industry meetings, attend training seminars, and go to job fairs. Let people who may know someone who needs you get to know you enough to where you become a three-dimensional human being, not just a piece of paper (resume) applying for a job. Work at really getting to know a couple people at each place you go to on a more than just professional basis. People remember people they care about, or those that inspire, amuse or teach them. In addition, attending these events cements the idea that you're really committed to the industry, even if it's a brand new one for you. You'll learn something, have a cookie and be able to put the industry membership or new skill on your resume.

Remember that in every interaction, you're demonstrating how you'll be as a co-worker, boss or subordinate. Will you be natural, insightful and fun? That's whom I'd want to work with! I went to a recruiting industry meeting a couple of weeks ago and folks from Getty were there speaking. They shared a statistic that I've known to be true from my corporate recruiting days - 60% of the folks they hired last year for open positions were referred by someone at Getty or someone who knew someone at Getty. It's who you know. Does that sound bad? It shouldn't. Consider that I trust our mutual contact not to steer you my way if you're obnoxious, careless or otherwise unsuitable. Right there you're more "valuable" than the pieces of paper on my desk. They could be complete whack jobs, but you're golden if someone refers you.

So dry your tears and get out there!

Are You Linked In?

When you join LinkedIn, you can see who you know from current and past jobs and add those people to your contacts list. Add your friends, neighbors, and family members. As you meet new people, add them. Soon, when you need the inside story on a company, you can easily see who you know that worked or works there (or who your contacts know). Then, email or call them to get the scoop! Be sure they know you'll be there for them too and be very respectful of their time.

A recent resume client wanted to get into Google, but didn’t know a soul there. I told him about LinkedIn, he added people he knew, and sure enough – one of his contacts was friends with a manager at Google. This manager offered to walk my client’s resume through the process. Without LinkedIn, he would never have gotten on an inside track at Google.

Here are some facts you should know about LinkedIn:

- 19,000,000+ professionals and growing by one million members per month
- 750,000+ senior executives
- Executives from all Fortune 500 companies
- 46% are business decision makers
- Average age: 41
- Average household income: $109,000
- Over 450 million page views per month
- Over 560,000 professionals visit the LinkedIn homepage on a typical day
- Average of 42 page views per member per week

Joined LinkedIn. Today. Really, I mean it!