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New Solutions for Job Seekers Competing in Today’s “Social Search”

There’s a new breed of Career Coach and Professional Resume Writer helping job seekers navigate the toughest and most confusing job market in decades. For job seekers, the stakes have never been higher, and the job search landscape has never been more volatile as Google, social media, employers, and recruiters drive the switch to “Social Search.” These are 2011′s job search realities:

  • 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!’”

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How finding Mr. Right can be like finding the right career

Last night, my best friend Susan and I met for dinner. Given that she still lives in Brooklyn and I am in Westchester, we don’t see each other as much as we’d like to. The last time we got together was around the holidays. Yikes!  Had it been that long? None the less, she looked radiant.

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.

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6 Word Resume

There’s a new meme going around for a 6 word resume at G.L. Hoffman’s blog. The goal is to come up with a 6 word resume that captures the essence of who you are. This is great exercise for defining your brand.

Hint: What do you stand for? What distinguishes you from everyone else?

  • Here are some famous and not so famous examples:

    • “Women should be obscene and not heard.”
    Groucho Marx

    “They always leave a little taller.”
    The Little Gym

    “80% of success is showing up.”
    Woody Allen

    “Whatever you are, be a good one.”
    Abraham Lincoln

    “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
    Benjamin Franklin

    “Whatever you focus on, will expand.”
    Steadman Grant

    “Dare to Dream – Dare to Do”
    Anonymous

    “Inner Gremlin Tamer, Life Purpose Guru”
    Anne-Marie Ditta

    “Change has come to America.”
    Barack Obama
    Victory speech in US presidential election, home state of Chicago, November 4, 2008.

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    6 Tips to Help You Stand Out Amongst the Masses

    This evening Value Drugs (an independent pharmacy and housewares store) in my community was filled with holiday shoppers. Reminiscent of the old Woolworths, Value Drugs is nestled off the main road in a community cluttered with 3 CVS’s, 1 Walgreens, 2 True Value Hardware Stores, and a large Stop n’ Shop. While the parking lots of the aforementioned sat vacant, Value Drugs was bustling with activity. The reason for the increased activity was a unique promotion that invited “family and friends” to their holiday party.

    With 533,000 jobs cut in November, the unemployment rate rose to 6.7%.  According to Nigel Gaust, chief domestic economist for IHS Global Insight “we are caught in a downward spiral in which employment, incomes and spending are collapsing together.”  The current situation is unnerving regardless of whether or not you have been downsized. The question is What Will You Do About It?

    While you cannot turn around the entire economy, you can take control of your situation.  My bet is the people who will survive and thrive the current recession are people  like the owners of Value Drugs who use their creative talents to devise strategies that help them stand out amongst the masses. Below are some ideas to help you do this:

    1. Treat your job search, career change, or performance improvement like a major project. Have clear, measurable and achievable objectives; project schedules and deliverables; establish a budget; define who your stakeholders and resource pool are; plan for unexpected changes.
    2. Define your professional brand and include it in your resume, cover letter, elevator speech…
    3. Start a blog or contribute to one that builds on your professional brand and your unique expertise..
    4. Have lunch or coffee with someone you who you admire. These people might be  colleagues, vendors, speakers, supervisors, former bosses, etc…
    5. Call someone you have been meaning to call. Follow up with a face to face meeting, whenever possible.
    6. Put together a portfolio that highlights your greatest accomplishments. Show it to someone who can help you achieve your goal.

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    IT Employment On The Rise (or Not)

    According to the article by Eric Chabrow in the July 7, 2008 issue of CIO INSIGHT, Mr. Chabrow claims that the IT workforce reached a record high in the second quarter of 2008 with nearly 4 million workers being employed.
    At question is the accuracy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting.

    Conventional wisdom amongst readers who responded is employment in the IT sector is anything but thriving. Overall readers agreed that the jobs posted online don’t present genuine opportunities. Additionally the impact of outsourcing and the hiring of those who have an H-1 visa was a frequent cause for concern.

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