Shortly after she gave birth I learned the baby’s middle name was the same as my first name. Given I am not a parent I was flabbergasted. When we got a chance to discuss the baby’s name I learned her husband’s late sister and I shared the same name. However, given my involvement they had decided when the time came they would also tell her how I cared for her brother and sisters while she was being born.

There are valuable lessons to be learned about networking from this blessed, memorable event. If you are currently or have been in a job search, you likely have been told that networking is the best way to get hired.  Approximately 80% of all people are hired due to a personal recommendation. Despite the high success rate networking can be frustrating, frightening and confusing.

Much like effective networkers, Melissa and I share a personal connection. This connection is what makes us willing to help one another. A week before she gave birth she made time to help me set up a budget to accommodate my new life as a single woman. Your professional network can help you achieve your goals when you treat your contacts like valued friends. To build and grow your network, select and for the next 90 days, implement three tips from the list that follows:

1. Determine what traits, values, and interests you share with people in your network. It’s best when these are both personal and professional.  Music, sports, philanthropy are great denominators.
2. Have heroes, role models, mentors – these are people who are where you want to be. Let them know how they have inspired you when you ask for advice and guidance.
3. As simple as it may sound, let people like you. People like to do business or help those they like. Smile, tell a joke or funny story, and make good eye contact.
4. Develop a genuine interest in other people’s lives. Listen for and seize opportunities to help other’s achieve their goals
5. Stay on the radar screen, both socialmedia and technology offer various ways to keep your name popping up. If someone doesn’t reply to your email or text try contacting them using Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
6. Ask your contacts the best way and times to contact them. Some will prefer email, while others will prefer LinkedIn.
7. Keep it friendly, keep it social, but keep it professional. If you haven’t spoken in awhile, schedule a lunch meeting or phone call to catch up with each other. This will go further then sending an email about their company’s need for a Senior Vice President.

To stand out, your LI profile should:
- immediately engage your reader
- be conversational
- distinguish you from everyone else in your target network
- contain a personal story or testimonial
- be 250 words or less
- promote your unique value proposition – UVP
- be unified with your resume, cover letter, and other career communications
- be written using key words and phrases

During my former career as an account executive I realized people needed to like me before they could sign an agreement with me. So I made a conscious decision to let them know me. I took the time to ask about their business, what was happening with their family, and how their weekend was. In turn they asked about my life. Several clients became lifelong friends.

The lesson I learned is people like to do business with or help people who they feel a connection. In addition to your business card and resume be sure to bring your smile and curiosity to your next networking meeting.

• Employers are abandoning costly and ineffective job board giants and databases. Traditional job search is dying. It won’t be revived; nor will job seekers clinging to traditional resumes.
• Google is career GPS. Google results are replacing the resume as a screening device.
• Hiring managers are sourcing candidates via cost- and quality-effective “social solutions” including Google, LinkedIn profiles, social media venues, video presentations, and more.
• Social job search requires more than a resume. Candidates need a multi-channel online presence within a branded, value-infused career communications (CareerComm) network.
• “Bottom-line-it-for-me!” managers and recruiters increasingly prefer bold, brief, brand- and value-rich career documents—as easily readable on a smart phone as on a computer.

Two nationally recognized authors, coaches, and innovators in branded career management—Deb Dib and Susan Whitcomb—created the G3 Coach Program (offered through theacademies.com) to train career professionals in the new techniques their job seeking clients need for success in an employment market driven by speed and social-media recruiting.

The pioneering Certified G3 Coach program (which stands for Get Clear, Get Found, Get Hired!), equips career coaches, job search strategists, resume writers, and personal branding strategists to help job seekers flourish in today’s Social Search employment market. Anne-Marie Ditta, a resident of  Westchester County, graduated from the inaugural class, becoming one of the first in the world to earn the elite Certified G3 Coach designation.

Dib sums up the need for this training: “Today’s hiring managers are inundated multi-taskers with little time and patience. As a Certified G3 Coach, Ditta has the skills to help job seekers meet today’s employers’ mantra, ‘So what? Make me care! Do it fast!’”

Fast forward to 2011 – LinkedIn remains the social network of choice for job search. Twitter and Facebook, the new kids on the block, have impacted job search strategy so much that traditional resumes and cover letters are consolidated into CareerComm.

CareerComm is the 21^st Century version of the career portfolio. In addition to your resume, cover letter, and thank you letter, your CareerComm package must include:

• Branded Resume with High-Impact Pitch Profile: shorter, sweeter and demonstrates value from the first word on. Accomplishments are the size of a tweet (140 characters) and support high-impact power profiles. The reader can easily scan critical data.
• Cover Letter: enforces your brand and guides hiring managers, HR staff, and recruiters, etc. through the key points of your resume.
• Power Note(s): immediately grab the attention of hiring managers and are used when both sending your resume by email and with email follow-ups.
• Personal Marketing Brief: provides people in your network with the names of companies and people on your target list and talking points to get you in the door.
• Personally Dynamic Value Driven LinkedIn Bio: differentiates you from people inside and outside your network.
• Branded Bio Suite: puts the perfect document for every event at your fingertips. From articles and introductions to corporate announcements, these documents project your brand in as little as 25 words.
• Thank You Letter: impress hiring managers, recruiters, and HR specialists by sending them a powerful letter within hours of your interview.

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Change is process. There is a beginning, middle, and an end. In the beginning you may be unclear about what your options are. You may wonder whether your experience is relevant. Or you may have concerns about things over which you have no control such as your age or race. This is just your Inner Gremlin or Fearful Voice talking.  The fact you are reading this blog already tells me  you ARE employable.

Once you make the decision to explore a career transition you might be tempted to jump in and reply to postings that you find interesting. Hold off, there are some steps you need to take before you can start looking at opportunities.

You might make an appointment with a career coach expecting him or her to tell you what you would be good at. A reputable career coach will NOT tell you that instead they will give you the tools and the feedback to reach an informed decision.

A satisfying transition starts with a thorough exploration of career history, interests, and values. Make a date with yourself to go to visit a place that is relaxing. Some of my favorite places include the beach, park, or down under the Brooklyn Bridge. Bring along a pen, notebook and print out of this posting. WARNING: you may find it difficult to answer these questions, so you bring along some Kleenex, too. While you might find it painful, answering the following the questions is the first step towards a better road.

1. What is causing you to make a change? Has there been a significant change in your industry or the culture of your organization? Are you frequently passed over from promotions? Are you unable to find work in your field?
2. How long have you been feeling this way or thinking about making a change? Days, weeks, months, years? How often do you think about making a change?
3. How has this affected your life? Do you feel irrelavent? alone? Do you lose sleep? Have headaches? Frequent disagreements with friends and family?
4. What will it cost you financially, emotionally, spiritually… if things remain the same?
5. How do you envision your life will be different once you have completed your change?

In MyCareerCoach’s next blog post I will share more tips for making a rewarding career transition

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You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.” Jan Glideswell

This quote describes one of the most costly roadblocks to change. The loss of a job can be extremely painful. One woman I know held on so tightly to the idea of getting back her former life as a top level executive in an industry that was rapidly changing. She neglected to keep up with the trends or consider other options. After 3 years of unemployment and the loss of her entire savings she accepted a much lower position.

The corporate landscape has changed over the last decade. Social marketing and other new technologies have impacted jobs in publishing, marketing, and manufacturing. Other jobs have changed so dramatically that everyone from support staff to the executive suite are forced to learn new skills. This is great if you enjoy the new way of doing things and quite stressful if you don’t .

Recently my husband read When Everything Changes, Change Everything by Neale Donald Walsh. If nothing else the title describes exactly what I suggest for you to consider. As industries change you may find that what was once a great fit is now your worst nightmare.

Signs that this might be happening to you is frequent job changes. Feeling overwhelmed and frustrated because you can cannot keep up with new technologies or strongly disagree with how business is being run. If you are unable to embrace changes in your industry, it might be time to let go.

Would you like to make a career change? Contact amditta@mycareercoach.net / 917-576-2821 about the Change Your Career, Change Your Life program, starting soon.

Susan was divorced several years ago. Up until about a year agao she had been looking for Mr. Right. However, the men she dated were more like Mr. “More of the Same”; needy, immature and self-centered. Did I mention that Susan was a social worker?

The problem was Susan had been attracted to the wrong men.  Over the years, I encouraged her to be open to men who did not immediately appear to be her type. It took awhile but eventually she started to do things differently.

About 14 months ago, Susan met Mike, who was also divorced. Initially Susan thought Mike was a nice man even if she didn’t feel that spark of excitement. It wasn’t until the fifth date that she realized how special Mike really was. Over the past year, they have laughed together, overcame a crisis’ together, and more recently set up home together.

Career paths can sometimes be like dating. Over the years, I have known really smart talented people who keep going back to “More of the Same” industries and companies that keep giving them headaches and disappointments.  Let’s face it, if nothing changes then nothing changes.

If you frequently find yourself in this position it might be time for a change.

For learn more about making a  career transition or to to receive information about our new Change Your Career, Change Your Life Coaching group, email us at amditta@mycareercoach.net.