For this week’s #sasearch chat, we’re going to try something different. For a couple of reasons, it’s been hard to get a bunch of fresh ideas for each week’s chat and this week, Laura McGivern, my co-moderator (and the organizational powerhouse that makes tweets go out each week), has jury duty. I am knee-deep in writing resumes and coaching clients, as well as participating in a mentor coaching group each week as I work toward earning my ACC Credential with the International Coach Federation.
So it’s been a busy couple of weeks, and we know that many who would otherwise participate in the chat are going on Spring Break, going to a placement conference, or both. So we decided to keep it simple.
This Wednesday, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm ET, tweet out your favorite inspirational quote, article, video, or Pinterest pin with the hashtag #sasearch. I will go in and re-pin as many of these as possible to my Pinboard titled “Inspiration for Student Affairs Professionals.” And if you are a Pinterest nut, like I am becoming, and would like to help co-moderate this Pinboard, let me know and I will add you. Melissa Judy, my content development intern, is also adding items to the board. I think this could be a fun way to share inspiration and also to use this Pinterest addiction I am building into something good.
So please join the #sasearch #pinchat this Wednesday and let’s get people all inspired and stuff. Woo-Hoo!
I really enjoyed the recent “Leap Day” episode of 30 Rock. I never knew that nothing counts on Leap Day, but it sounds like a great concept to me. In the spirit of the “holiday,” I am going to look for some blue and gold to wear and think up some crazy stuff to get into. I may even see if I can trade children’s tears for candy.
Or maybe I’ll just catch up on work. What will you do for “Leap Day?” Will you make it count?
A while back I posted that I was looking for someone to help with some of the site development tasks and social media efforts related to Higher Ed Career Coach and my other websites (Primarily AthensGACareerCoach.Com). The initial interest and buzz on Twitter soon gave way to the sound of crickets chirping, and the application deadline passed without anyone applying. (Insert sad face here.)
I set the idea aside for a while, because I have been busy with clients, their resumes, and other issues, figuring that if there wasn’t any interest, I would just keep doing what I have been doing, and hope for the best. Then, in late January, I received a tweet from Melissa Judy, asking if the position had been filled. We struck up a conversation over Twitter and then e-mail and I told her how she might apply.
Not long after, I received her application and interviewed her over Skype, and I can honestly say she is exactly what I have been looking for in an intern. Melissa brings experience as a writer and content developer, as well as the perspectives of a somewhat non-traditional learner to the table.
Melissa graduated from George Mason University with a bachelor of arts in English in 2004. She
continues to support her fraternity, Zeta Tau Alpha, as an alumna member. Upon graduating, she spent time in the Army, but was injured in basic training and unfortunately had to be chaptered out. She then spent 4 years as an emergency veterinary technician before rediscovering her love of academia. While working in veterinary medicine, she met and married an Army officer before moving to Daytona Beach, FL. While there, Melissa worked in the Alumni Relations office at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University as a Communications Specialist. In addition to her alumni duties, she consistently volunteered to work with the Student Activities Office there and greatly enjoyed working with undergraduate students.
In the fall of 2010, Melissa began pursuing an online master of science in higher education administration at Drexel University and expects to complete her degree in August, 2012. Her interests lie in Greek Life, student leadership, alumni relations, communications, orientation and first year programs.
Over the remainder of the semester, I’ll be working with Melissa to develop some new resource pages and anchor content, and teaching her the ins and outs of running a small business blog. Please welcome Melissa and congratulate her on her new position. She can be reached at melissa@higheredcareercoach.com
Keeping track of your applications and all the related communications between yourself and potential employers is one of the biggest challenges of the job search. Some people use paper lists, some use Excel sheets, and for papers, mail, and important documents, some people use folders and pocket portfolios.
All of that is well and good, and you should definitely use whatever works for you. But there are so many tools available for free on the internet that will make it easier for you to keep track of information. One category of tools, called Social CRM tools, can help you track your communication, follow up with your contacts, and get more information about your contact or your target employer, so you can develop a more comprehensive profile.
I use one of these CRM (Customer Relationship Management or Contact Relationship Management systems) to keep track of information and learn more about my contacts: Gist. (Available at Gist.Com) Gist aggregrates information from your e-mail, calendar and social media interactions and searches the internet for public information to give you a better view of a person or company in your network. In the video, I provide an overview of how Gist works and some ideas about how you can use it to keep track of your job search.
If you like this video, please like it, leave a comment here, and share it with your networks. You can also subscribe to the higheredcareercoach channel to get new videos as I publish them.
Looking for a job in Student Affairs?
Join me and Laura McGivern from theSASearch.Org at 11:30 am ET today (Wednesday) for the #sasearch hashtag chat. We’re talking about keeping track of your job applications and following up with employers about your status. Use the hashtag #sasearch and join in, or use TweetChat or a similar tool to follow the chat.
A good résumécaptures and keeps the attention of the person reading it, and creates in that person a desire to know more about you. Hopefully, that desire will lead the reader to seek out more information about you and to put your candidacy into context. This could mean that the reader goes on to read your cover letter, if they haven’t already. It could mean that you get invited to interview for the position. But it’s not likely that someone will just read your résumé and offer you a job.
Résumés are used by employers for screening candidates, but interviews are used for selecting the best qualified person for the job. So think of your resume as a ticket. It gets you in the door, so you can continue making a case for your candidacy.
If you’ve never been on the hiring side of the table, the screening process may be foreign to you. So let’s dive into that part of the process and try to understand it.
Screening can happen in many different ways.
A single person might do it.
A committee might do it.
Sometimes, a machine might do it. (Initially.)
But let’s not confuse the issue. They are all looking for the same things. You might call them keywords or key concepts or key phrases, but essentially they are the same thing.
A keywordis not the same thing, necessarily, as a “buzzword.” It can be, but it really depends. Many job seekers spend time consulting websites, résumé books, and their colleagues and mentors about what the latest hot topics are in their industry. The difference between a “buzzword” and a keyword is this: a “buzzword” is a word that everyone is talking about; it may or may not relate to the position you are applying for; a keyword is a term that relates directly to the specific role to be played, and therefore, is directly relevant.
It’s important to recognize the difference between these two concepts. One (using “buzzwords”) is a cynical ploy that may lack coherence; the other (using keywords) is a smart, strategic move that brings together the aspects of your unique offering, and shows the match between what you offer and the employer’s needs.
This post is an adapted excerpt from my e-book, 7 Points to a Winning Resume, which is available for $10 and comes with a $25 discount you can apply toward a resume-writing or career coaching package.
Work with Sean. I help higher ed professionals take control of their careers with tailored services including resume and CV development, LinkedIn profile optimization and networking strategy, interview coaching, and one-on-one career guidance.
I really enjoyed the recent “Leap Day” episode of 30 Rock. I never knew that nothing counts on Leap Day, but it sounds like a great concept to me. In the spirit of the “holiday,” I am going to look for some blue and gold to wear and think up some crazy stuff to get into. I may even see if I can trade children’s tears for candy.
