Don’t give up! Learn what you can do to take your search to the next level. The Smarter Job Search Workshops are interactive, information-packed one-hour workshops designed to make you more successful in a number of ways:

• Create winning resumes and cover letters
• Job search more effectively
• Network live and online to get more interviews
• Interview persuasively to become the candidate of choice
• Negotiate the best possible offer

TOPICS (see our Meetup page at the link above for specific times and locations)

• The Above & Beyond Job Search by CAREER-Magic – September 10
• Smarter Interviews & Salary Negotiations by CAREER-Magic – September 10

• Cover Letter Magic by CAREER-Magic – September 24
• Generating Job Leads for Fun & Profit by CAREER-Magic – September 24

• Using the Phone Effectively in Your Job Search by CAREER-Magic – TBD

• Job Search Skills For Introverts by CAREER-Magic – TBD

CAREER-Magic Job Search Workshops are facilitated by Denver Job Search Expert Tracy Laswell Valdez, leveraging 16+ years of job search support for 3000+ clients. For more info, please call 303-424-1700 or email tracy@career-magic.com. Please RSVP online by clicking here!

WHEN & WHERE: See calendar of events at http://www.meetup.com/The-Smarter-Job-Search-Workshop/

Cost: $10 per session by cash or check. Please RSVP online by clicking here!

Why it’s Denver’s longest-running job search club. Often imitated, but never matched!

At the Caffeinated Careers Club, we network, share advice, job leads, resources, and encouragement. The Arvada CCC, facilitated by job search expert Tracy Laswell Valdez, is positive, businesslike, uplifting, and focused. Established October 1999 and going strong, with typical attendance of 30+ individuals.

Cost: $1.00. The restaurant appreciates it if you do business with them as well. Please, no outside food or drink (other than celebratory chocolate).

Dress: Business casual, accessorized with a smile.

RSVP: We use Meetup.com for RSVPs and to share meeting minutes (uploaded under files), click here to join Caffeinated Careers Club (Arvada) on Meetup. Info on meeting process and protocol is listed here as well. When you RSVP, add your target job titles and target companies to the comments.

We also have a LinkedIn group to share job search resources, click here to join.

More Info: Call Tracy Laswell Valdez at 303-424-1700.

http://www.careerxroads.com/news/SourcesOfHire10.pdf

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1956-Denver-Jobs-Examiner~y2009m11d30-Job-Seeking-Skills-Top-Time-Wasters

If you find you have been wasting time in one, two, or all five of these approaches, call me so that we can discuss some smarter, more productive job searching tactics.

At your service,
Tracy Laswell Valdez

CAREER-Magic.com

303-424-1700

If you’ve been searching unsuccessfully for a new job for some time now — or if you’re about to start a job-search — you’ll want to review the 10 job-hunting concepts we discuss in this article. We refer to these job-search concepts as reality checks because we so frequently hear from job-seekers who have been struggling to find a new job but are approaching one or more aspects of their search unrealistically. If you’re having difficulty finding a new job, you too may need a reality check.

You need a reality check if…
You’re only spending a small portion of your time on job-hunting activities.
Many experts believe job-hunting should in itself be a full-time job. If you’re in school or employed while seeking a better job, your time may be somewhat limited. But you should put as much time as you can into it. Try to contact people in your network every day with the goal of setting up interviews with your contacts or people they’ve referred you to.

If you have other time commitments (such as a current job), carve out time, such as very early in the morning or during the evening, to work on job-hunting tasks (such as polishing your resume) that don’t need to be done during business hours. Try to schedule interviews for lunch hours, early mornings, or late afternoons so you take little or no time away from your job.

If you’re unemployed, treat job-hunting as though it is a job. Invest time in your search just as you would a typical workweek.

You need a reality check if…
You are conducting a “scattershot” approach to your job-search.
Some job-seekers think the best way to find a new job is to apply for as many jobs with as many employers as possible. Some job-seekers even apply to multiple positions within the same company and jobs they are not totally qualified for. The faulty thinking behind this strategy is that the more jobs you apply for, the more likely at least one of these efforts will result in a job interview. Beyond the flawed logic here, the other problem with this strategy is giving yourself a false sense that you are actively seeking a new job.

The reality is that the best job-search efforts are ones that are focused on specific jobs with specific employers. Employers want candidates with specialized qualifications and accomplishments. And the glut of resumes from unqualified and marginally qualified candidates is a major factor in the growing ineffectiveness of Internet job hunting.

So use your time more wisely conducting research on jobs and employers and target a select group with a detailed job-search strategy rather wasting your time and energy on a scattershot approach.

You need a reality check if…
You rely on advertised job openings for job leads.
While job ads (in newspapers or online job boards) are useful research tools, you as the job-seeker should not count on these job openings as your sole — or even a major — job-search method. Very few job-seekers ever get a job through this method; however, job ads do serve a useful purpose in researching the qualifications employers seek. You can then develop a tailored resume and cover letter full of keywords, even using some of the employer’s own buzzwords.

A better way to conduct this type of research — and a better way of discovering employers who might have job openings — is to go directly to each company’s Website and search its career or human-resources section. Some employers have an amazing amount of information published on their sites, including job openings, job application procedures, career paths/tracks, corporate culture, and much more.

If you’re struggling with a better way to find job openings, read, 10 Ways to Develop Job Leads.

You need a reality check if…
You’re really not all that comfortable “using” people through networking.
If you’re squeamish about networking because it feels like using people, you’ve got the wrong idea about networking. But you’re not alone in this feeling. Many individuals are uncomfortable with the notion of networking because of the creepy — and untrue — idea that networking means using people. Successful networking doesn’t mean milking your contacts for all they’re worth; it means a give and take. Networking is at its most effective when both the networker and the contact reciprocally benefit from the relationship. Even if your contact does not benefit immediately from knowing you, he or she should gain something from the relationship eventually.

Networking doesn’t mean asking everyone you run into if they know where the job openings are. It means establishing relationships so that you can enlist support and comfortably ask for ideas, advice, and referrals to those with hiring power. Networking is the process through which you get connected and build relationships with people who can help advance your career.

Don’t you have to know a lot of people already to be able to network effectively? Absolutely not. All you have to do is want to know more people than you do now, people who can assist you in your quest for your ideal job. And you should also be willing to do as much as you can to encourage others to want to get to know you and help you. It takes only one person to start your network because that person can refer you to others, and your network will expand exponentially. Your goal should be forming relationships that are so powerful that you contacts feel invested in your success – and you in theirs. When one of your contacts has some promising career information to impart, the first person he or she will want to tell is a friend — you, if you’ve successfully built the relationship.

For more about networking see our Critical Career Networking Resources for Job-Seekers.

You need a reality check if…
You only have one “one-size-fits-all” version of your resume.
In a recent study by CareerBuilder.com, 71 percent of hiring managers said they preferred a resume customized for the open position. And in an age when we can all easily manipulate our own computer files, there’s little excuse not to tailor your resume — at least somewhat — to each job you apply for. Maybe you simply adjust your Objective statement. Maybe you tweak your Professional Profile or Qualifications Summary to suit each job. Perhaps you emphasize different skills and accomplishments for each job you apply to.

For some job-seekers, the idea of tweaking your resume for each job you apply for is unrealistic. But even if you are unwilling to change your resume to increase its chances of prompting an interview, you will likely need more than one version of your resume to accommodate the preferred delivery methods of multiple employers.

More than 80 percent of employers are now placing resumes directly into searchable databases and an equal percentage of employers prefer to receive resumes by e-mail. To meet the delivery requirements of most employers, it’s an absolute must these days to have:

• A formatted, “print” resume in document form that you can send as an attachment to an e-mail message to the employer.
• A text-based (ASCII text) e-resume stripped of most formatting and pasted directly into the same e-mail message sent to the employer (can also be pasted into application/resume submission forms on online job boards). Read more in our article Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes.

Beyond those two types, you might need a Portable Document Format (PDF) resume, a Rich Text Format (RTF) resume, and a Web-based (HTML) resume. Read more about these delivery methods in our article, Your E-resume’s File Format Aligns with its Delivery Method.

And, if you you’re a career-changer, or have minimal experience, highly diverse experience, or gaps in your work history, you may want to consider multiple organizational formats for arranging your information on your resume. Such variations include the traditional chronological resume, the functional resume, and the hybrid or chrono-functional resume. Read more in our article What Resume Format is Best for You?

You need a reality check if…
Your resume is not a marketing document loaded with keywords and accomplishments.
Too many job-seekers confuse resumes with job applications. They think a resume should be a dry recitation of every aspect of their job history, including duties and responsibilities of each job. In fact, resumes should be marketing documents that entice employers to invite you for an interview. That means that resumes should focus on the highlights of what will sell you to an employer — information that tells the employer what you can contribute to the organization. In today’s world of job-hunting, accomplishments and keywords are two of the critical elements your resume needs to prompt employers to interview you.

Job-hunting today increasingly revolves around the mysterious world of keywords. Employers’ increasing dependence on keywords to find the job candidates they want to interview has come about in recent years because of technology. Inundated by resumes from job-seekers, employers have increasingly relied on digitizing job-seeker resumes, placing those resumes in keyword-searchable databases, and using software to search those databases for specific keywords that relate to job vacancies. Most Fortune 1000 companies, in fact, and many smaller companies now use these technologies. In addition, many employers search the databases of third-party job-posting and resume-posting boards on the Internet.

The bottom line is that if you apply for a job with a company that searches databases for keywords, and your resume doesn’t have the keywords the company seeks for the person who fills that job, you are pretty much out of luck. Read more about the importance of keywords in our article Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness and how you can identify the best keywords in Resources for Identifying Keywords and Researching Keywords in Employment Ads.

Accomplishments are the points that really help sell you to an employer — much more so than everyday job duties. In fact, there’s a direct relationship between keywords and accomplishments in that keywords can be tied to accomplishments rather than job duties, so a good way to make the leap from keyword to a nice, contextual bullet point is to take each keyword you’ve identified as critical to the job and list an accomplishment that tells how you’ve used the skill represented by that keyword. For more about maximizing your accomplishments in an e-resume, see our article, For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments.

Professional resume writers specialize in transforming mundane resumes into sparkling, enticing marketing pieces; consider hiring one of these experts if you can’t get your resume to sing. Our sister site, Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, offers such a service.

You need a reality check if…
You’ve posted your resume on a few job boards and are waiting for employers to contact you.
The key to any successful job search is mixing up your job-search techniques so you do not rely on any one method, whether it is posting resumes on the Internet, answering ads, networking, making targeted contacts, or cold-calling. Statistics vary on the percentage of job-seekers who find jobs through the Internet, but most studies suggest figures in the single digits. The largest percentage of job-seekers succeed in landing jobs through networking. Therefore, job-hunting time should be invested in proportion to the methods that are likely to be most fruitful. You will likely find it more effective, for example, to spend four hours networking with colleagues at the meeting of a professional organization in your field than to use those same four hours posting your resume on Internet job boards.

But beyond mixing up job-search methods in general, the wise job-seeker also mixes things up within individual methods. Take posting resumes on job boards, for instance. An increasing number of employers are using their own Websites to seek job candidates rather than through the major boards, such as Monster.com. So it makes sense to check out company Web sites, using, for example, The Quintessential Directory of Company Career Centers or DirectEmployers, a site that enables job-seekers to apply directly to company Web sites instead of third-party sites. Job-seekers may also find success in posting resumes on smaller, niche job boards that are industry-specific or geography-specific. Sites that cover classified ads for multiple newspapers may also be useful.

Finally, virtually every job-search method requires follow-up. Experts are now suggesting that submitting frequent — even daily — updates of your resume to the major job boards will keep your resume near the top of the virtual stack. If you’ve taken a step beyond merely posting your resume on job boards and are submitting your resume and cover letter in response to Internet job postings, follow-up, though difficult, is also advisable. See more about follow-up below.

You need a reality check if…
You don’t follow up with each employer after sending your resume and cover letter.
Some job-seekers think their task is complete once they send their cover letter and resume to an employer, but the reality is that their work has just begun. Job-seekers should state in the cover letter that they will follow-up with the employer (ideally the hiring manager) at some specified time, usually a week to ten days. That’s the easy part; the hard part for most job-seekers is actually following-up.

Some job-seekers see this type of follow-up as too aggressive; it is not. Following-up with a prospective employer to check on the status of your application conveys interest and enthusiasm on your part — as long as the follow-up is conducted professionally.

Other job-seekers find it too hard to actually obtain a phone number or email address of the hiring manager. This situation is a reality in today’s job market, but here’s where having a network of contacts can pay off, because if you have a network contact who works at the employer, he or she should be able to get the information you need to follow-up. You can also try our old technique of calling each prospective employer’s receptionist and asking to speak with the hiring manager.

In any job market, it’s the job-seeker who continues to show interest in the job opening who gets the edge over other job-seekers.

You need a reality check if…
You don’t prepare for job interviews by anticipating questions and researching the company.
One of the worst ways job-seekers can sabotage their job searches is by not preparing enough for the job interview. When you get invited to an interview it means that on paper you meet or exceed the employer’s expectations, but it’s at the interview where you can close the deal and beat out the other job-seekers who are also interviewing for the position.

The best way to prepare for job interviews is by anticipating the type of interview and interview questions and by researching the company thoroughly. There are several types of interview styles, from traditional interviews to behavioral interviews to panel interviews. Each type of interviewing format presents its own challenges and opportunities. Whenever possible, it best to uncover the type of interview you can expect — and then plan for it by preparing (but not memorizing) answers to those questions. And if you haven’t had an interview in a while, it might be best to conduct a mock interview with a career professional or trusted colleague.

By researching the employer and showcasing that information in an interview, you are demonstrating your interest and commitment to the company. One of the most common interview questions is “tell me what you know about our company.” One job-seeker we know actually creates a small binder for each employer, filled mostly with pages printed directly from the employer’s Web site; and in every interview where he has used this method, pulling the binder out to showcase his research, he has impressed the interviewers. Learn more in our Step-by-Step Guide to Researching Companies.

And to discover more about types of job interviews, interviewing strategies, and interview preparation, go to our Guide to Job Interviewing Resources.

You need a reality check if…
You don’t follow up regularly with employers you’ve interviewed with to keep your name at the top of the list.
No question about it — once you’ve had an interview with an employer, you must not only thank the employer for the time spent interviewing you, but continue to follow up, treading that fine line between showing your persistence and enthusiasm for the job and making a complete pest of yourself. Be sure to discern a timeframe for the employer’s hiring decision before even leaving the interview. Tailoring your follow-up schedule to that timeframe, plan on regular phone or e-mail contacts to keep your name in front of the employer.

When people generally think of job search we tend to think about things we should be doing. I would like to direct your attention inside and begin to observe how you are BEING in your life. Granted there are always things we need to DO to create our next position, but the way we are feeling and being also plays a large role in our success.

Consider this – when we are in desperate mode we are operating from a place of fear, all of our decisions, the thoughts we think and the energy we convey may feel negative and restrictive. But when we are relaxed we allow ourselves to go with the flow, have fun and trust ourselves and the decisions we are making, our body and mind are naturally more relaxed. Desperation breeds fear and stress and stress stops flow and opportunity from showing up. Fun and relaxation breed confidence, flow and allowing. I know budgets are tight with so many in the job hunt, so what are you doing to relax and have fun? Are you allowing yourself breaks from the job search? It doesn’t have to cost money to relax. For some it is allowing a nap from time to time, for some a hot bath at the end of the day, it could be getting regular exercise, a hike or bike ride can shift the brain and the thoughts within 10 minutes of the activity. During this time of job creation it is the perfect time to do some self-reflecting and self-care and think about what strategies you can incorporate to relax and take YOU time. This type of action actually acknowledges the work you are doing and the more you learn to acknowledge yourself and take care of yourself in this way the easier it will be to stay in a positive frame. And people and employers like positive vibes.

Give yourself permission to take breaks in the middle of the day to breathe, walk, laugh, etc. When we are creating regular patterns of self-care in this way you think clearer, work more effectively and feel happier. And that all adds up to being more relaxed and letting the opportunities and ideas flow. I find when I take breaks in the middle of my day I work much more effectively and feel much better. I invite you to share what you do to relax and when you find it hard to relax what simple techniques work for you in helping shift your mental state?

Remember you are more than your job and your job search. Pay attention to your feelings and will begin to enjoy the journey!

Happy Relaxing,

Katie

Katie Smith is a professional life coach & executive search consultant. Her expertise lies in helping individuals that are interested in bringing their goals into reality, reinventing themselves and their livelihoods and creating a more relaxed joy filled life.  www.katiebsmith.com

Very large employers are harder to get into because they attract so much candidate attention, they are forced to create systems and obstacles to protect them from a barrage of thousands of new applicants – each day.

Additionally, many of the largest employers have lawsuits and reputations to indicate that they often discriminate on the basis of age in their hiring practices.

While many people may be aware, at some level, that small businesses (less than 500 employees) produce about 50% of the U.S. GDP, and represent more than 50% of the nation’s employment numbers,  did you know that your best chance of employment, by the numbers, is with a company of fewer than 20 employees? Recent data shows firms with less than 20 employees account for slightly more than 18% of the employment.

Click here to read the SBA’s Report to the President, 2008:

http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/sb_econ2008.pdf

Another article on why it is a good idea to target smaller employers in your job search (and how to do so):

http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/employerresearch/a/compresearch.htm

Generally speaking, it is easier to network into a smaller company than it is a very large organization. My recommendation is to include a diversity of companies on your target list, including at least 50% of companies in the range of 100 or fewer employees.

Happy hunting!

Tracy Laswell Valdez

Do’s

Listen: deeply and non-judgmentally to everything and anything we need to say.

Understand: that a job loss very often results in a grieving process. Shock, anger, sadness, fear – be prepared for any or all of these normal responses – losing a job and looking for a new one is a marathon roller coaster ride. We need to have a shoulder to cry on. Let us save our game face for networking and interviewing.

Ask: How can I help?

Tell: Remind us of our good points. Compose a list of our best attributes. Write a glowing letter of recommendation.

Brainstorm: When we’re ready, help us brainstorm different employment options and with permission, help us figure out ways to reduce expenses. Encourage us to think about what would really make us happy in a career.

Share: News, the good and the bad, work-related or not. In other words, it’s okay to be happy because you got a promotion or had new grandbaby. It’s okay to mention the fact that your cube-mate made you mad. Just stay in touch. We job seekers need to know that life goes on and we’re still included.

Network: Talk to your friends, PTA members, teachers, doctors, Mary Kay ladies, hairdressers, insurance agents, and everyone else you know about us. Share contacts and job leads – most of us appreciate the gesture even if it’s not quite what we’re hoping to find.

Help us focus: Help us create a plan and offer to help with its execution, stopping short of nagging.

Help distract us: All job search and no play makes us dull, cranky, and sad. Take us out to a movie, dancing, hiking, whatever. Encourage us to keep up with our normal recreational routine, including workouts, sports, and hobbies. Pamper us with hugs or even a little massage now and then.

Be patient: Job searching takes time!

Don’ts:

Don’t freak out (or at least don’t let it show).

Don’t nag.

Don’t EVER ask “Did you find a job today? Did you get any interviews lined up?” Trust the job seeker to immediately share good news – you’ll be the first to know.

Don’t ask us to do more chores than we previously negotiated. Don’t assign special household projects or ask us to run your personal errands unless you want to pay us the going rate. Don’t completely eliminate the day care. Just because we’re not working doesn’t mean we have all the time in the world – job searching is exhausting, full-time work in and of itself.

Don’t assume or insinuate that those networking meetings we’re attending are just a form of socializing.

Don’t push the person to take the first offer received if it’s not the right job. It won’t be the last offer.

Don’t let us wallow in too much negativity, booze, ice cream, or couch time.

Don’t discuss the job search at every family gathering and make it the major topic of conversation.

Don’t give up.

Don’t dump us.

Don’t nag. Yes, we know we said that already. It bears repeating.

Remember: A friend in need is a friend indeed. For richer, for poorer. And so on. If you have additional ideas for helping a close friend or family member through a job search, please let us know!

• Treat your body like the temple it is: quit smoking, exercise, eat yummy and nutritious foods, rest well, keep yourself meticulously well-groomed. Pamper yourself! For more great ideas on self-care, go to www.selfnurture.com.
• Get outside each and every day for at least 30 minutes – fresh air, sunshine, and nature are free and powerful medicine.
• Stay away from booze and other chemical depressants.
• Limit Internet, television, and other electronic depressants.
• Volunteer for worthwhile causes where your contributions are truly appreciated.
• Go to church, meditate, do yoga, read inspirational books – do things to keep your perspective.
• Avoid grumpy, pessimistic, critical, demanding people (how to do this if you’re married to one, I don’t know…). Instead, hang out with supportive, energetic, POSITIVE people who are always trying something new. And contrary to your gut instinct, it’s often quite helpful to socialize with other unemployed people as long as they’re perky, can-do folks who are not going to let life get them down.
• Along those lines, spend some time with babies and puppies and kitties – in other words, those who truly experience the joy of living and therefore can offer you unconditional love.
• Get a part-time job that you can get at least a little excitement from.
• Throw yourself a pity party — I’m serious! Invite your wisest, closest friends, dress in black (or sackcloth and ashes if you’re really dramatic), have party favors and appropriate hors d’ouevres (Kraft Macaroni and Cheese?). Go all out and really get it all out of your system, then move on.
• Ask your closest friends to tell you five great things about you.
• Cut yourself some slack if you’re feeling angry, bummed, or tired. Give yourself permission to take a break from the search every so often.
• Go back to school to develop a new skill, whether it’s job search related or something fun you’ve always wanted to learn (like a foreign language, cooking, pottery, dance). Learn something new even if you have to get a student loan.
• Put something purely fun on your to-do list each day – if you look, you can probably find free and low-cost sources of entertainment (free art exhibits and live music at coffee shops, free video and music rentals at the library, etc.).
• Get your expectations on straight. Job searches take a lot time (approximately one month of full-time searching for every $10k in annual salary you’re seeking – in other words, most people’s job searches can be expected to take 4-12 months.)
• Try not to go through your job search like a lead balloon, tense and tight and deadly serious in all you do. Get wacky, laugh a lot, take a lighthearted approach. Instead of getting tangled up in small details (should I email, should I fax, should I write a cover letter?), realize that the people on the receiving end of your application are people too. This means they all respond differently to different things. Instead of following the job search herd, try to think of some goofy, out-of-the-box (yet legal and somewhat professional) ways to get in front of hiring managers. You really have nothing to lose at this point.
• Develop a habit of gratitude to replace the habit of self-pity. I personally count my blessings at least once a day, often in writing, and it’s a great way to stay up when life gets grueling and discouraging.

If you have consistently tried most or all of the above and you’re still seriously bummed out, STOP what you’re doing and get yourself to a qualified, compassionate mental health professional NOW, no matter what – you’ll be very glad you did.

An esteemed colleague of mine, Carol Ross, writes a brilliant blog, often putting lucid words around the topics that I find myself pondering (though with less clarity). Her most recent, The Upside to a Recession, is about “realistic optimism” –an oxymoron better known as the silver lining. Like Carol, I have pondered the implications of our present economic circumstances — and have come to the conclusion that the changes occurring are not all bad.

One of the good things Carol Ross mentions is that we now seem to have a renewed focus on connecting with others, whether live and in person or on Twitter. Connecting with others, sharing thoughts, ideas, feelings, getting real, getting focused, getting help – these are critically important behaviors, in my opinion. Following the enthusiastic response to another recent article by Carol, Nine Networking Mistakes to Avoid, she created a new educational offering – the Networking Naturally Program. While I have not yet attended this teleseminar, I know Carol well enough to heartily recommend it. If you do, let me know what you think.