My last Ask the Expert conversation, Mitigate Your Career Risk by Looking After #1, was with Martin Buckland, global career strategist and EMBA coach. Martin hit us with a number of ideas on how you can mitigate your career risks by looking after #1. I wanted to share my three big takeaways as well as the full conversation. You can watch it in full below, or scroll down for the takeaways.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YckHil-Y-oU&w=560&h=315]
1) Sell people what they want to buy, not what you want to sell… when you’re on the job hunt, you are – simply put – a brand. It’s critical that you think about how your talents, skills, experience and approach can be effectively packaged up to meet the needs of prospective employers (aka buyers). Don’t expect busy recruiters, HR professionals or managers to mine through your resume to see if you’re a fit. Custom tailoring your resume by injecting keywords and critical stats plus polishing your LinkedIn profile is key to ensuring that mitigate career risk and that your ‘buyers’ find what they’re looking for.
2) Being authentic may limit your options… the number one source for recruiters to troll are your social media accounts. How you present yourself on these platforms will provide an instant image of your values, approach and persona. And, the downside is that it’s primarily done through written word which is the worst form of communication. So, if you choose to be a firebrand on social, no problem. Simply be aware that the net you’ll be casting for employment will be much narrower. Martin’s advice is to keep politics and religion out of your social media posts in order to cast the widest net. Not a popular view for those of us who value authenticity but a shrewd reality for job seekers.
3) Build your profile BEFORE you need to build your profile… notice the gainfully employed people in your LinkedIn network that are posting articles and videos on their views about key issues that also align to their strengths. This is strategic brand building at its finest. Although they may not be looking for work, they’re regularly sending a message out to potential employers about their strengths and skills. Martin recommends posting several articles a day to start to build your brand and awareness for your expertise. And if you’re job hunting, spend at least 8 hours or more a day cultivating your leads and your online brand.
This was a dynamic and – at times, I would say – somewhat controversial discussion. Martin really provides some straight talk about the biases that exist in the job hunt if you’re female, older or don’t have an anglicized name.
Resources:
Martin’s YouTube channel
Martin on LinkedIn
