Posts Tagged job search
Book outline: Crush It! part 2, discovering your passion
Posted by eviator in For Job Seekers on December 3, 2009
Too many people ignore their personal passions in order to conform to things that society or other people think they should do. In his 2nd chapter, Success is in your DNA Vaynerchuk discusses his personal background, his early business exploits selling baseball cards, working in his?father’s liquor store, and eventually using the internet to promote the store and his person brand. The general point of the chapter, and of the book in general is that you must be yourself. It can be difficult sometimes, but the good news is that the internet makes it possible for you to redefine yourself, and most importantly to turn your passion into your personal brand.
I can definitely relate to some of what he says in this chapter. I remember my dad working two jobs so that me and my brother could go to the best schools. I’m sure that he wasn’t passionate about loading goods into eighteen wheelers all day (his true passion has always been baseball), but he endured the back-breaking labor because he valued education, a passion that quickly became my own. You should look to your own past and find out what drives you to success. Do some soul searching and find out what you are passionate about.
Notable quotes from this chapter:
- Storytelling is by far the most underrated skill in business.
What are you passionate about. Let me know at EdwardViator [at] evil-marketer [dot] com
Book outline: Crush It! part 1
Posted by eviator in For Job Seekers on December 2, 2009
As a professional I always strive to be the best at what I do, which is why I am a big fan of sharpening my marketing tools. A big part of this is reading the latest business books and trying to learn as much as I can; only a fool thinks he/she knows everything. I recently read Crush It! Cash In On Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk, and have learned some very useful techniques for marketing / branding yourself online, as well as effective ways to use social networking websites to accomplish marketing goals; both of which are essential skills in today’s business world. I’m going to go through this book, chapter by chapter, describing the salient points as well as offering my own commentary. The chapter 1 discussion starts now.
In his first chapter, Passion is everything, Vaynerchuk offers his secret to success.
- Love your family
- Work superhard
- Live your passion
This formula may seem overly basic to some, but if you think about it, you know it’s true. At one of my previous jobs, I found myself dissatisfied even though the pay was good, and the job was challenging. At the time, I had no idea why, but after reading this book, I’ve realized what I was missing. I wasn’t living my passion. I’m betting that this is the point where most people have problems. With food to put on the table and bills to pay, it’s easy to think of success as something to be measured by money. We seldom realize that success should be measured by how happy we are. If you’re not living your passion, you are missing out on one of the most important elements of success.
Living your passion sounds great, but in the meantime you have bills to pay and so you won’t (and shouldn’t) quit your day job just yet. The good news is that with all of the opportunities available using free social networking websites (such as blogs like the one you are reading now), you can still live your passion, and may even be able to make some money off of it in the future. Vaynerchuk discusses these social networking websites as well as money making opportunities later in the book, which we will get to in a future post.
Notable quotes from this chapter:
- Money goes where people go.
- It’s never a bad time to start a business unless you’re starting a mediocre business.
- The person who can dominate in rough times is the person who can dominate, period.
- Social media = business, period.
Have you noticed something missing in your life? Are you living your passion? Email me EdwardViator [at] evil-marketer [dot] com
Dual vs. Duel Focus
Posted by Steve in For Job Seekers, Miscellaneous on April 24, 2009
Did you notice the title of the last two posts was a pun? I used the homophone “duel” for “dual”. It was to summarize the point that saying you have more than one focus is more of a hindrance than a help. They can conflict with each other, as in a duel.
Whether you are managing a product line or your job search, you can extend your brand. It needs to be carefully thought out and managed to prevent conflicts (or duels).
It is very hard to do this on the web, because people can easily do a search for your name and find your dual (or dueling) images. The next few postings will be discussing marketing yourself (and your capabilities, as well as the firms) on the web.
Job Seeker Focus
Posted by Steve in For Job Seekers, Pitch on April 21, 2009
In the first post of this blog, I wrote about focus. One of the hardest actions for an entrepreneur to do is focus; and the same thing goes for a job seeker.
Most people are not good at just one thing, they are good at several things. I find it amazing that while everyone realizes this, HR people and hiring managers seem to forget it. Or do they?
The answer is that they do not forget it, but know that a good employee has many facets. The key is to be able to focus on the job at hand, and on the company that employees them. If the person cannot focus on their own job search and the primary skills needed for that job, then (as the logic goes) how can they focus on the employer? The answer, unfortunately, is they cannot.
Successful job seekers realize this. They deliver a focused message to one market…and sometimes a slightly different message to a different market. The same thing goes for the entrepreneur and how they sell their goods. A defocused marketing message can kill the product.
So, whether you are looking for a job, or looking to sell your product think about your audience and what the expect, need, and want. Then sell that, and only that. The extras are nice, but not what they are buying.
Searching for a job or investor? Step 2: Develop Collateral Part 1
Posted by Steve in For Job Seekers on April 9, 2009
Writing the Resume
Preparations for the job or investor search are similar. At some point you will be asked for your collateral: resume, some form of communication (cover letter) and business cards.
The resume can be a problem if you make it one.
Everyone you meet will have an opinion: 1 page, 2 pages, as many pages as needed, 10 years back, 5 years back, funky layout, strict layout. More whitespace…less whitespace. It can and will drive you crazy. They will state that opinion as if it gospel and make you feel that if you do not follow it you will fail.
An investor needs your resume so as to quickly know whether or not you are qualified for the position you currently hold. Can you lead? What have been your past successes? What are your skills that bring victory?
The biggest difference between job search resumes and resumes for investors is this: most resumes for the job search weed you out. Investors usually want to meet you first, and thus the resume qualifies who they know you are already.
However, you can have one set of resumes that supports you in both areas. Yesterday I briefly mentioned John Lucht’s book, Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+. It talks about the comprehensive executive resume. However, the book stipulates that every element on the resume should talk about a success.
Be careful, as the executive resume stated by the book may be too long.
From my experience writing and reviewing resumes here is what I found works:
- Have three versions of your resume. A full length, multiple page version. A two page version, and a one page version. Always lead with the two page version. If they want something more or less, you are prepared. The only exception is if you have less than five years work experience or just out of college. In that case, you should only have a one page version.
- Have a Text Version. This means that if the investor or hiring person needs you to fill it into a box on a web site, then you can do so. When it prints it will print out in a good format and the person will not need to reformat to read it. They will appreciate you. Read Rites of Passage, it explains this a bit more.
- Do not list career objectives. Is your objective to do something other than the job you are applying for? No? Then, why is it there. Your objective is to get the job and exceed the expectations of your hiring manager/investor. Everything about the resume should scream what you can do for the company.
- Use a summary section, and as per the Rites of Passage book, be objective. Do know fill it with subjective adjectives like, “Excellent”, “Superb”, “World-Class” unless you won an award that has that in the title. Be objective and let your achievements stand out.
- At most, have one or two lines about the job description.
- All other bullet points on the job should be about successes and what you achieved for the company.
- Write for your audience. If they say you should list skills, then do so. If they want a one page resume, then do one. The point is that you deliver to your customer’s needs (or perceived needs).
All the other pointers on writing resumes such as font size, layout, white space, skill listing, placement of education, awards, depends on the industry, your preferences, and what the thousands of other books and articles on resumes say you should do.
One more thing, have a short bio about yourself. The bio should speak of your strengths and experience that applies for the company. The bio and full resume should go into an appendix in the business plan.
Searching for a job or investor? Step 1: Research
Posted by Steve in For Job Seekers on April 8, 2009
The preparation for a job search is similar for the preparation for a startup idea search and presenting it to an investor. Some people try to do both: find a job, or find a startup. There are ways to combine the two and that is the point of this next series of articles.
How do you combine the two, but also present the right information to the right audience.
The preparation steps are:
1. Research
2. Develop collateral
a. Resume
b. Cover letter
c. Business cards
3. Advertise and network online
4. Advertise and network locally (in person)
5. Develop more marketing materials
a. Special projects
b. Website
c. Blog
The first step is to do some basic background research to know where to start and how to put together a plan. I found three job search books that are most helpful to both a job search and preparing yourself for the investor:
Book 1: Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+: Your Insider’s Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21st Century by John Lucht, ISBN: 978-0942785302
The book covers the whole gamut of job hunting for the executive. It talks about how to create the resume, identify whether someone is the right type of recruiter, how to communicate with other executives and in general, how to present yourself as the executive they need to hire.
Fairly obvious then why it would be a great book for someone trying to start a new company and get investors. The investors need to see that the person is the right executive for the job.
Book 2: 60 Seconds and You’re Hired! by Robin Ryan ISBN: 978-0143112907
This book covers how to make a positive first impression and leave the person with the right impression. Basically, it says that you identify the three to five key strengths that person needs to have in someone to do the job; and you repeat that theme several times as you answer their questions. The book also includes other sales techniques and typical interview questions.
This book is integral in the conversation that follows the pitch. What are your five top qualities? What are the five top qualities of the business that the investor needs to hear?
Book 3: Any Interview Question book. One example is: Boost Your Interview IQ by Carole Martin, ISBN 978-0071425476.
I like this book because not only does it give sample questions, but sample answers and what they mean.
There are no Q&A books for investors asking entrepreneurs questions. However, if you are an investor or really want to do some intense strategy look at these two books:
- Boost Your Hiring IQ by Carole Martin, ISBN 978-0071477017.
- 96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire by Paul Falcone, ISBN: 978-0814413517
Both these books present it from the hiring point of view. What are the right questions to ask and how, and what do the answers typically mean. This is a great book for investors trying to get in the heads of their prospective entrepreneurs. Just like you would hire a CEO or senior manager, an investor needs to consider the person receiving their investment.
To the job seeker/entrepreneur: Investors and hiring managers are going to ask many questions. As they get beyond the basic questions they will start to find out about your management style, your decision making process and what makes you tick. They might ask you tough questions like, “So, why did you get fired?” when you did not say that you were fired. Practice the questions and answers to give you a strategy and the ability to stay calm under pressure.
These resources help you prepare yourself for the “inquisition”. Whether you are a job seeker talking to large companies and starups, or a startup trying to find investment, you can prepare for the “interview” in a similar way.