CVs and Interviews

Been quite busy over the last few weeks working on a few outplacement projects and this explains the lack of activity. I have written a few posts for Bloggertone that may be of interest. These articles are all based on my belief that job search success requires – activity, creativity and visibility.

Linkedin is becoming an increasingly important tool for jobseekers. My Linkedin article explains how to get more traffic to view your profile.

The next article is about bringing creativity into your self marketing to help you stand out in the crowd.

Enjoy

Measurability Careers & Jobs Club on Linkedin.

Jobseekers stand up and take note!! We now have some of Ireland’s leading career, HR, recruitment and job market professionals delivering expert advice to jobseekers. Below is a list of the key contributors over the last month since we launched – I want to thak you for your suport. We have 86 members of which 80% are active jobseekers supported by 20% professionals.

Lindsay Browning (CPL)
Ivan Stojanovic (EmployIreland & JobsBlog.ie)
James Garvin (Lionbridge)
Mark O’Donnell (Deloitte)
Rebecca Clarke (RecruitIreland)
Derek Crynan (RetailJobs365)
Greg Fry (CareersCoach)
Mairead Griffin (Career Mentors)
Mandy Spencer Hunt (Spencer Hunt Consulting)
Julie Anne Lawlor (Rapid HR)
And last but not least ME!!

Come and join now – Measurability Careers & Jobs Club.

Below are some jobseeker comments

“thanks to both for the comments, they do help a lot”
“thanks everyone for all the good answers and clarifications”
“thanks a million for the extensive response to my initial question”

Come and join now – Measurability Careers & Jobs Club.

Just a quick reminder that I will be presenting at the Keep Ireland Working Careers Fair on the 12th November. My topic will be CV Writing – How to deliver more interviews. I will be about the RDS most of that day and will be helping man a career stand. This stand will offer advice and tips to jobseekers all day. Why not pop along and introduce yourself.

My recent activity …..

My work – Just delivered three excellent career workshops last week working with a great bunch of people who had recently been let go. Serious days but we had some fun throughout. Off to Cork today for a few days work with my VEC project. Then next week I have more outplacement work.

In the papers – I commented on a recent ST article about motivating staff in tough times. My angle really was good communications and strong leadership. I will be in the weekends ST talking about the upcoming Career Event in the RDS. Keep an eye out for it as there will be some useful tips on maximising returns at a career fair.

Online – I have started writing some articles for a new business blogging site called bloggertone. There seems to be good interest and traffic which is probably down to my pearls of wisdom . I have posted two articles to day Linkedin – Do You Dance & Jobhunting – Time to turn the lights on. My RecruitIreland article will be out this week and the topic is Personal Branding. Ensure that you are registered for RI monthly e-zine – some great advice and I write most weeks.

Linkedin – My Linkedin Group – Measurability Careers & Jobs Club is growing from strength to strength. We now have 83 members with an 80/20 split. 80% jobseekers and 20% career/HR/Recruitment experts. Why not join up as there are some excellent discussions, job news and advice.

Twitter – Feel free to follow me at Paul Mullan Twitter

Good Luck

Paul

I set up Measurability Careers & Jobs Club on Linkedin 4 weeks ago and we already have 80 members. The Group was set up to support Jobseekers and I offer advice and have gathered a group of professional and experts to help with this. We now have about 80% jobseekers and 20% recruiters/HR and career professionals.

If you are a jobseeker and you use Linkedin please feel free to join. If you are a recruiter/HR/Career professional you can also join BUT I expect contribution from you.

The Link to Measurability Careers & Jobs Club

Below are some Linkedin Tips for Jobseekers taken from the Measurability Careers & Jobs Club.

1. Profile headline

Your Headline is a very important part of your Linkedin profile. This is normally the first thing people see when they view your profile. For example if you posted a comment or started a discussion in the Group it would show your Name/Picture and Professional Headline.

Increasingly Recruiters/HR Managers are searching Linkedin and this can help them find you. Active jobseekers should insert the words “seeking” or “looking” in their Headline. Other information to consider is preferred location/industry or name drop a previous employer (reputable). Remember your Professional Headline is a marketing opportunity – use it effectively.

Some users are very creative and a good tip is to view what others are doing and take their ideas and make them better.

2. Recommendations

Recommendations are an important part of building your online profile. If you do not have any recommendations I suggest that you go and get some. For me an old boss, a customer or a client work the best – work colleagues don’t carry as much weight but are ok if it is all you can obtain.

If you have old references/recommendations why not include them in the text of your description about previous roles. I added some to the text this of my role at Measurability on my profile. I didn’t want to bother the client again BUT also some of the testimonials are for sensitive projects.

If you are really cheeky – when you are asking for a reference/recommendation why not tell your contact that to save them hassle you will write it and email it to them. Many will agree to this and it will give you more control over what is written.

3. Ask & Answer Questions

This is easily one of the most important aspects of using Linkedin. Some jobseekers get this point but unfortunately many never do. You see there really is no point creating a profile on Linkedin and sitting waiting for things to happen. You have to make it happen.

Answering a question – You can answer questions in the groups you have joined or you can answer general questions via the answers drop down menu bar. Answering questions will increase visibility, draw readers to your profile and it is an opportunity to show readers your expertise in an area. Apart from potential employers/recruiters finding you there is also the opportunity to make new connections.

Asking a question – Users ask questions for many reasons. This will increase visibility but more importantly you can get free advice and tips.

Market Yourself effectively and land more jobs ….

Linkedin, Networking, Social Media Networking, Job Hunting

I set up a new Group last Friday (2nd October) on LinkedIn – Already 7 members. The goal of this Group is offer a platform for Jobseekers currently active in the job market – enabling online networking and access to free advice. Yes – free advice!! Aside from jobseekers there are a number of experts in recruitment/hr/careers/interviews/CVs. All are welcome to join and my only request is that you contribute. Believe me when I say if you are invisible people will not find you.

Join now — Measurability Careers & Jobs Club

According to some online job boards and agencies the recession could be a thing of the past. Over the last week or so I have noticed much positive comment from recruiters and job boards. Is this the end of the recession? I am no economist but I would not get too excited yet. It sure is good to read some positive stories though. We could have reached the bottom of the recession but according to many experts it could take a while to reach economic heights when the recovery does arrive. Below are some comments from senior people within the recruitment sector. It has always been my belief that recruitment is the pulse of economic activity

Comment from Jane Lorigan (Marketing Director – IrishJobs.ie)

August figures from the IrishJobs.ie Online Jobs Index were released yesterday. Jobs advertised by companies in August increased by 3% over July and have increased 10% since the Index began in April.

Comment from David Block (MD – Brightwater)

After a nightmare, almost indescribable 12 months we’re finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel with 4 months in a row of growth, with a jump in vacancies of 45.61% in June and a further 20% in July – compound growth from April to August of 86.79%. With Recruitment taking so long now, we’re looking for this to translate into September figures – and onwards and upwards from there!

I am getting much of this information from a number of groups that I have joined on Linkedin. As I pointed out in previous posts Linkedin is a great tool to make great connections but it has many other uses including being a great source of useful information.

Career Coaching – Job Search Support, CV Writing and Interview Coaching.

Linkedin has changed my business in a very short space of time. It provides an excellent tool for networking, business development and marketing – It offers a new platform to gain additional exposure to potential corporate and individual clients.

Not only has it impacted how I generate business and contacts but it has also impacted the content of job search discussions with jobseekers participating in private 1-1 coaching or outplacement programmes.

Social Media Networking and Linkedin is now a critical tool for jobseekers. Although not established as a job hunting tools it is proving very valuable. Many of my clients embrace this advice but there are those who fail to gravitate away from traditional reactive job hunting techniques.

I have many positive stories about how Linkedin has worked and I hope the most recent quote will help convince other jobseekers to increase proactive efforts and access the hidden job market.

“Hi Paul, I have some good news – got a job! So much of what you mentioned came to light. More interviews came my way after the re-jig of my CV. Got the job via Linked In, which I need to update. Thanks again for your assistance, it was a great help.”

Measurability helping jobseekers navigate a tough job market in Ireland – Career Direction, Job Hunting Advice, CV Writing and Interview Coaching.

Linkedin, Networking, Social Media Networking and Job Hunting.

There are no jobs in Ireland …….

Yes it is a tough job market but there are jobseekers finding jobs and there are jobseekers interviewing for jobs as you read this post. If you talk to agencies, read the papers or view online job boards you will see a drop off in the numbers of jobs advertised. The nature of my work provides me with an insight into job market activity and believe me there is activity in the job market!! Just because jobs are not advertised does not mean that there are no jobs!! I have 4 interview coaching sessions this week – these are preparing for one internal interview and three external interviews.

I had an interesting experience last week when I spoke with a jobseeker and an employer one call after another ……

The first call was with the jobseeker. I was finishing off their CV and was providing some advice on job search strategies. This individual was employed in sales and I was commenting on the usefulness of the tools they used in his day to day sales job for job search. When talking about networking they commented that they did not have the time to network so would be solely relying on agencies.

When I hung up my next conversation was with a company owner seeking advice and costs for services to help a family member. We were having a general discussion when he indicated that he was bucking the trend and hired a sales executive recently. I said “I bet you didn’t have to advertise” to which he responded “no need”. He filled the job through industry contacts.

My jobseeker from the first call would never have landed the company owner’s sales job as their sales experience did not match requirements. BUT what if the individual could have done the job and was suitable for the job. As they are relying on agencies they would never have accessed the opportunity. Yes networking and proactive job strategies do take time and energy but this is the only way to access the hidden job market. I am not saying that you should not use agencies, newspaper adverts or job boards. You should use these tools to access the low hanging fruit (advertised jobs) BUT if you want to access the hidden jobs market (unadvertised jobs) you must get proactive and use strategies like networking.

Perhaps the above satement should read — “there are no jobs advertised in Ireland”

Career Expert – CV Writing, Effective Job Searching Advice & Interview Preparation.

Career Advice – Job Hunting Strategies – Networking

The buzz word with most career experts at present is “networking”. Most will tell you that this is the key to landing a job in a tough market place but very few will tell you how. There is a skill with effective networking. If this is the solution to successful job hunting in Ireland in 2009 why do so many jobseekers no embrace this?

Many job seekers are lazy. They target the low hanging fruit or easy accessed jobs. The ones you will find in the newspapers, the online job boards and with the recruitment agencies. You see networking takes a bit of effort. It involves trying to make thinks happen as opposed to sitting waiting for things to happen.

Many jobseekers are afraid. Networking is moving from our comfort zone. There are many who find engaging with strangers (and even family and friends) quite difficult. I guess it is the fear of the unknown or the fear of rejection that holds them back.

Many jobseekers don’t know where to start or how to do it. Networking is a skill that can be learned and like most new skills I will start with the easier options to try and hone my skills before moving into more difficult scenarios. Alternatively you can jump of the cliff and build your wings on the way down.

Why I like Networking as a Job Search strategy?

Apart from being effective and accessing the hidden job pool it keeps jobseekers active. The biggest problem with job hunting in a tough market is the “silence”. By this I mean when nothing is happening. There are no jobs in the papers, there are the same jobs online and recruiters won’t return emails or phone calls. You see networking and other proactive approaches keep you moving, gaining contacts, valuable advice, valuable information and with the key role of eventually landing a job.

What strategy works best?

The telecoms providers used to say it’s good to talk however today many of us do not. We communicate through other mediums like email, text and other online tools. Again the buzz is around online social media networking. There are many possible channels but my preference is LinkedIn. There are also tools like twitter and facebook. Online networking is easier than face to face. Many jobseekers I work with find it less daunting.

One last option ……

I was asked to join a network the other day on LinkedIn and thought it was a novel idea and quite fun. The network is called “10 minutes street network”. Read a description of the networking event and it certainly does not sound as daunting as going into a room full of strangers.

You have heard of “speed networking” well here comes “street networking” at a street (Grafton St) near you!

Take to Grafton St and make great new contacts in a really fun and relaxed way in just 10 minutes.

Lots of fun, these innovative and dynamic “street networking” events will be staged each month in different venues: Art Galleries; Museums; Theatres and Parks (weather permitting) that will provide a sophisticated but welcoming environment to make new contacts.

To discover where these events are to be staged, you have to ditch the suit, hit the street and get yourself to the top of Grafton Street at the entrance to St. Stephen’s Green.

Need help with your CV or Need help with InterviewTechniques Preparation?

This article is about – Career, Advice, Coaching, Ireland, Support, Irish, Coach, Job Hunting in Ireland, Finding a Job In Ireland, Linkedin, Social Media Networking, Networking