Lamplighter Volume 8 Issue 3 May - June 2016

Lamplighter

JOB SEARCH PATHOLOGY

By Jerrold (Jerry) Clifford

Everyone uses the internet. It has gotten so huge that it seems that even trees “login”. Potential employers do too.

If a hiring manager were to type your name into a search engine, what would be displayed? Before your next job interview try doing this yourself. If something that is untoward or incorrect pops up be prepared to address it. It probably isn’t too bad or it

Volume 8, Issue 3 May-June, 2016

would have eliminated you from being invited to an interview. But it might be significant enough to eliminate you from final consideration.

When you are invited to a job interview, knowing the company’s interview process can be helpful in your preparation. Determining who your interviewer will be can be difficult. However if you are fortunate enough to have this information do a search on them. You may find Information which can help you establish a rapport, give you a hint of the problems they might be facing which you can address (and score with a strong positive impression when you reveal how in the interview), give you some insight into the best way of communicating (vocabulary, tone, body language), or perhaps give you some insight into how to make yourself memorable.

While you are at it, research the company as well.

Showing the interviewer that you took the initiative to learn about and understand the company and its competitive challenges helps create a positive impression. You may discover items that make you extremely enthusiastic about the company. When this enthusiasm carries over into the interview the interviewer will definitely react to your positive attitude. On the other hand, you may determine factors that give you second thoughts about applying. This is not a negative result - - it can save you significant time in avoiding the application process for a job you don’t want and thereby generates an additional window to seek something more fulfilling.

If you are not experienced in the industry in which your desired company operates, research it as well. You may determine trends with which you are familiar, or recognize problems similar to ones you have addressed in the industry in which you worked. This information can be useful in overcoming an interviewer’s objection to your lack of industry experience.

Use the internet to find and review target company press releases. These will give you information about the company’s latest products and how they are positioning them, key individuals in their marketing approach, and terminology (buzzwords) with which you want to be familiar - they may be used in the interview and a blank expression from you will not make for a positive result.

The internet is a powerful tool when you are preparing for an interview -- there are no limits to where you can go.

Like the tree that “logs in,” there are many branches.

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WELCOME MESSAGE From the Editor’s Desk “EMPOWERING TODAY’S PROFESSIONALS (ETP) was established specifically to help individuals in transition find jobs. It encourages, trains, supports, mentors, and advises individuals in their job search.”

One of the many venues that ETP utilizes is its online newsletter, The Lamplighter.

The Lamplighter staff (Aida A. Rodriguez, Eric Nilsson, and Barbara Daisak) has been successful for the past eight (8) years in promulgating the ETP mission. The staff has been blessed with the unflagging assistance of Rod Colon, Carl Reid, Jerry Clifford, our generous contributors, and our faithful readers.

Our staff’s unending aim is to make your job search as less painful as possible and to choose the right articles that would help enhance your networking capabilities. In this issue, Eric Nilsson presented the articles for more ease of reading and navigation. The networking articles and Barbara Daisak’s Tech Tips are complete articles (with complete acknowledgements). Any mistakes in copying them are inadvertent. The articles are in place to help job seekers in their search (which is the original intent of all the articles from the start). Of course, bear in mind, that there are other articles, in addition to the ones printed, that could keep you well -informed on the various topics in your job search.

Lamplighter also tries to lighten up your job search by bringing you up-to-date reminders of happy, upcoming events.

Enjoy life and happy reading!!!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY (MAY 8TH )

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY (JUNE 19TH )

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Note Don’t miss reading Eric Nilsson’s “TO MY MOM ON MOTHER’S DAY” on page 3.

And my article, “My Father’s Camera” after this message.

INDEX PAGE

AUTHOR/SOURCE

1

Jerry Clifford

2 2 3 4 5-7 7-8 9

ARTICLE/S

Clifford’s Notes – Job Search Pathology Welcome – From the Editor’s Aida A. Rodriguez Desk Aida A. Rodriguez My Father’s Camera Eric Nilsson To my Mom on Mother’s Day The Biggest Mistake You're Vault Careers Making on LinkedIn Rod Colon Rod’s Remarks Barbara Daisak Social Media Tech Tips Lamplighter Contributors and Staff

Aida A. Rodriguez

MY FATHER’S CAMERA By: Aida A. Rodriguez

I have very fond memories of my father, but this is the one that sticks out in my memory the most.

My father loved to take pictures and he had a Nikon camera that he treasured very much. He hung that camera by his bedroom door and kept the camera and its case spotlessly clean.

It was a few days before my birthday and I kept on badgering my Mom and Dad to buy me a pretty doll. My Mom told me that they can’t afford the expensive doll, but they’ll get something else for me. On my birthday, I woke up early and the first thing I saw by my bed was a big nicely wrapped box with my name on it. Excitedly, I jumped from my bed and started opening the box. I squealed with delight when I saw inside the pretty doll that I wanted. I thanked my Mom and Dad happily and didn’t even bother to ask where they got the money to pay for it.

At my birthday party, I noticed that my dad wasn’t taking pictures. When I asked him about it, he just mumbled vaguely. That night I noticed that his camera was not hanging from his bedroom door. I asked my Mom where the camera was and she told me that Dad sold his camera so he can get me my doll. I just ran to my Dad and embraced him long and hard.

“Fathers sacrifice greatly for the ones they love. Often it makes them happy to be in the last place.”

(Excerpt from Lamplighter- June-July 2014 issue)

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Volume 8, Issue 3 May-June, 2016

To my Mom on Mother's Day

By Eric Nilsson

Moms and mothers, not always the same thing, are older than their children. For this reason alone, they have more smarts -- perhaps not in book learning, but from that greatest educator of all: Experience. My Mom left high school while in the 10th grade to help her family during the 1930s, so her book learning is not as great as that of her two college-educated children (your humble narrator being one). She did, as the Chinese curse warns, "live in interesting times."

Currently, Mom is in the same situation as she was when I was born – in a hospital bed. This time she’s the victim of the scourge of mankind: Age. Age is relentless and beats down even the strongest and fittest; while Mom was never either, she is providing Age a worthy opponent.

Contrary to my earliest beliefs, Mom started young, just as I did. My sister, who now takes care of her, knows more about the young Mom than I do. But I know that, as was the custom of the day, she was given a $1 bill as a stake for the future. That $1 bill, as old as she, is huge by today's standards, much as she appeared to me when I was little.

Mom grew up in Detroit, Buffalo, and Brooklyn, where, as World War II reared its ugly head, workers male and female flocked to the Navy Yards. She met my Dad, a Brooklyn boy, and after a whirlwind courtship, the kind most common during the early days of the War, married him on Washington's Birthday in Brooklyn. He soon shipped out for Fort Lewis in the State of Washington.

While he was away she worked at the Yard and stayed with his family. Dad had been sent with his Division to Cherbourg, France and saw his first combat in October, 1944. Mom received a letter from Dad posted the day before combat. He let her know he was all right and that he would be back for her. And he was.

He was mustered out at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas and took the train back to Brooklyn. They soon found an apartment in Queens, Dad found a job, and Mom found herself with a surprise, one opened nine months later. The little girl born so close to Mom's birthday was a present she still cherishes.

A few years later, like an actor waiting in the wings, I entered the stage at a different hospital in mid-town Manhattan. The entire family never seemed to venture more than 10 miles from when Mom and Dad first met: Mom and Dad in Brooklyn, my sister in Queens, and I in Manhattan. It was a tightly knit family, with in-laws in Brooklyn, although my Dad's father owned a house at Packanack Lake, NJ. After a terrible accident, my sister was in the hospital for several years. Mom and Dad visited her each weekend (I was a tot playing with the adding machines and the nuns). Mom took a job at the hospital to be close to her firstborn; in fact, Mom and I rode the bus each day to downtown Yonkers, where she would drop me off at nursery school before hiking to work. On the bus returning home, my 4-year old voice would sing "O bury me not, on the lone prairie" or whatever song Gene Autry or Roy Rogers was singing at the time. Although my voice even then could drop birds from trees, the other passengers and the driver tried to tolerate it.

I learned to read by following Mom or Dad’s fingers as they read to me – the Harvard Classics' Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen were my favorites. When I was old enough, Mom took me to St. Mary's, next to the hospital where my sister lay, for my grade school education. Dad was working in White Plains at the time, in the opposite direction, so we still rode the bus and I still serenaded the passengers and driver on my way home, my Mom apologizing to all as we stepped off.

When my front teeth were knocked out on a playground, Mom rushed out and shoved them back in my gums. I've not been called "Bucky Beaver" for a while, but between clarinet playing and the way my teeth grew in place, I had a definite overbite. I can say, though, that thanks to Mom I could wish at Christmas for toys instead of my two front teeth.

My Mom and Dad stayed in touch with their friends from the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan, so when my second sister had an infection in her leg, I was shipped off to the Bronx while Mom spent time caring for my sister – with my third sister in her arms.

I eventually went away to college and, as my younger sisters grew up, Mom and Dad were drifting apart. I moved back home for a time. Mom and Dad were, I hope, happy

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to have me back and my sisters seemed to enjoy my presence. But I had found a girl down South and presented her to my family, a rather awkward situation where my sisters were ecstatic and my parents less so.

My girlfriend (now my wife) and my Mom became friendlier after I wound up in the hospital for two months.

When my Mom later needed someone, she turned to my wife and me in times of trouble, staying with us for about 12 years, off and on.

Mom is no longer married to Dad and my two sisters are themselves married. Mom eventually left for Las Vegas and her new beau, returning first on the death of one of my aunts and the second time when her own health failed.

Since then, she has been in and out of hospitals and nursing homes. My second sister keeps me up-to-date on Mom,

and, while both are aware Mom is entering the final lap of a lifelong race, tells me that she is eating once again and drinking fluids. She'll hopefully be around a lot longer.

My Mom's history is probably a lot different than other moms. Although we did not always agree, I’m proud to look back on her courage and endurance. If you still have your mother, you’re fortunate. Adults who've grown away from their Moms, who've often been angered by their Mom's' comments against spouses or children, or who've lost the ability to be childlike and respectful around their parents, should still treat Mom with kindness and gratitude this Mother's Day. If nothing else, thank your Mom for being there for you.

The Biggest Mistake You're Making on LinkedIn

that LinkedIn will find for you. Others who've also included the same company, school, and other organizations will show up in the “People You May Know” suggestions. This can help you expand and grow your network.

Yet another reason for completing your profile is that, under the Jobs tab, LinkedIn will populate the first page with positions that relate to the information included in your profile. This doesn't eliminate the need to use the search functions. However, you may find something under that first page that you might not otherwise have thought to search.

Along with failing to complete your profile, another common mistake is cutting and pasting your entire resume to your profile. Of course, there will be some overlap between your resume and LinkedIn profile, but you should think of your resume as a beginning point for creating your profile and avoid simply copying/pasting information. Think of your LinkedIn profile as an addition to your resume, an opportunity to showcase and highlight information not on your resume.

While your resume is a great tool for showing off your accomplishments and qualifications in order for you to move forward in the career direction of your choice, your LinkedIn profile creates an excellent opportunity to show off some of your personality (in a professional manner, of course). It's a tool that can supplement, showing a real person behind the facts on your resume.

by Vault Careers | April 12, 2016

LinkedIn has undergone several changes and updates since its inception, but it's still considered to be essential for jobseekers. A recent Forbes article notes that both jobseekers and hiring managers view LinkedIn as a primary tool. And most career advisers recommend that everyone, from emerging professional to seasoned executive, should have a LinkedIn profile. And it's this very profile that's the most important tool that LinkedIn offers. However, many LinkedIn users are a making a huge mistake when it comes to creating their profiles.

According to Laura Gonzalez, a certified expert resume writer, “One of the most common mistakes I see on LinkedIn profiles is the lack of completion. Many users are missing entire sections. They skip writing things like the summary, or they have no groups. Others don't include any details for their work history. It's absolutely critical to achieve 100 percent profile completion on LinkedIn. And taking the time to fill out the necessary details is a must, especially if you want to be found.”

Indeed, completing your profile will help your profile rank higher in searches. Hiring managers and recruiters use LinkedIn as a tool to find talent, so your profile serves as an important marketing tool for your job search. A short, partially completed profile will not hold up to others’ profiles that are complete.

If you need additional reasons for completing your profile, consider the additional networking opportunities. When you include complete information with your work history, schools, organizations, and more, you automatically increase the number of suggested connections

This post was adapted from the new The Vault Guide to Resumes and Job-Hunting Skills.

Article originally appeared at this link: http://www.vault.com/blog/networking/the-biggestmistake-youre-making-on-linkedin

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Volume 8, Issue 3 May-June, 2016

You Are What You Think You Are

By Rod Colón

Henry Ford once said “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

I’m always amazed when individuals come to me with statements of defeat, hopelessness or frustration such as “Rod, I just can’t write a good T-Letter … It’s hopeless!” or “Rod, I keep striking out during interviews.”

Don’t misunderstand: I’m not amazed that they confide in me. I’m amazed that they expect me to wave a magic wand and make the problem go away.

So to keep the spotlight of responsibility properly focused on the only person who can solve the problem, I use a technique called bounce back. Here are three examples: George: “Rod, I’m no good at writing resumes.”

Rod: “George, you’re right … you’re no good at writing resumes.”

Melissa: “Rod, I can’t use the telephone to call advocates; I’m just too shy.”

Rod: “Melissa, you’re right … you can’t use the telephone to call advocates; you’re just too shy.”

Stephan: “Rod, I’m a failure.”

Rod: “Stephan, you’re right … you’re a failure.”

Is this harsh? I don’t think so. I’m not slamming a door in anyone’s face and they all know deep inside that I’m just trying to break down an obstacle that’s preventing both of us from making progress.

But what I’m really trying to do with this technique is to get people to see that they are whatever they truly believe they are. It’s like this: If you think that something really is a certain way, then guess what? It really is! Your thoughts and attitudes become “causation triggers” for the very condition you’re complaining about! I’m confident that Henry Ford would agree with me.

The solution? Stop complaining! Start thinking positively even if it hurts. Just do it! No one has to stay mired in the muck of negativity. It’s time to display a positive face for the world and enjoy all of the successes that are out there waiting for you … so go after them!

We Are Networking Professionals

By Rod Colón

First, a wonderful Saint Patrick’s Day to you!

Second, my friends often tease me, saying: “Rod, you’re always networking. Why not give it a rest?” They

might as well say, “Rod, you’re always breathing. Why not give it a rest?” My answer is the same for both questions: “I can’t.”

For me, networking is all about interacting with people no matter who they are, where they are, or what they’re doing. It could be members of my family, neighbors, members of the PTA, or the UPS driver. I don’t care. I gravitate to people because they fascinate me. I love them. They charge me up and give meaning to my life. Everyone has a story to tell, and I love hearing those stories.

Of course that’s the practical, every day, “fun” side of networking. I need to make sure you understand the business imperative of networking, too.

Relationships are the new “capital” of the 21st century and as such, will have a much greater impact on growth in almost every business sector of the economy. If you opt out of networking, you are taking yourself out of the career landscape for a long time to come. This is one of the reasons why I am constantly in the networking trenches: It’s not JUST about the job search, it’s about becoming masters of networking with an eye toward securing a viable place in the relationship-based global economy of the future.

It all begins with the machinery of networking. And that machinery must never stop.

That's Right - the Secret to Great Networking

By Rod Colón

That’s right — the secret to great networking lies in what you can do to help others!

But now that you know this, don't be surprised that you may still cling to the belief that networking is all about “connecting with others so they can help me find a job, a client or business opportunity.” Unfortunately that’s not networking, that’s spamming a fellow human being. People who do this should put themselves in the role of the spamee and consider how it might feel if the roles were reversed. Let’s just think of it as the Golden Rule of Networking and to be an effective networker, it’s a rule you must follow.

What it comes down to is this: You must discover what you can do, offer, or share that ingratiates you with others and makes them genuinely look forward to your next meeting. Doing this consistently brands you as

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someone of interest, someone who is truly worth knowing. As you consistently treat people in this manner, it's no accident that they look for opportunities to reciprocate.

And it all starts with the “small talk," the key to making those first connections!

What Is Your Disaster Recovery Plan for Your Career Enterprise?

By Rod Colón

As the CEO of Me, Inc you need to consider the following four questions: 1. Are you in the Ideal Job/Career/Business? Ask yourself the following question on Sunday night. How do I feel about what I am going to do on Monday morning. If you are not satisfied with your answer, what are you doing to change it? How long will you continue to do the same thing expecting different results?

2. Do you have a Career Backup Plan? Every business has a disaster recovery plan. Do you have a written CBP? What action steps are you prepared to take tomorrow, God forbid something were to happen to your job or business?

3. What is the Strength of Your Professional Network? Have you taken inventory of your network? Can you count on your hands the amount of individuals who would be willing to go out of their way to support your goals? Key to an empowered network is having 200 individuals willing to do whatever it takes to support your goals as you support their goals.

4. How Many Sources of Income do you have? Key to any successful business is a diversified revenue stream that are not in conflict with your primary source of income.

If you are struggling with any of the questions above listen to Own Your Career Radio show archives on www.BlogTalkRadio/OwnYourCareer.

When people lose their jobs, the resulting pressure comes not only from a sudden lack of income, but a sudden lack of confidence as well. Along with the nagging fear that nothing will ever be the same again, worries about how to support a family while getting back on track professionally can drain even the most toughened job-seeker.

The loss of a job is bad enough but there is something far more insidious facing the “newly terminated” professional: getting hooked up with an outplacement service that, despite its best claims, offers no genuine guidance coupled with a credible program of ongoing support.

Since 1997 Rod Colon Consulting, LLC has provided expert-level career counseling for individuals who are facing a period of transition — whether the transition is voluntary (e.g., changing careers) or involuntary (e.g., getting caught up in a corporate downsizing). The whole focus is to provide customized solutions for the full range of career management needs faced by those in transition in order to keep the transition period as brief (and productive) as possible.

RCC offers participants a well-defined path through the maze of traditional career management and job searching techniques. But it does so using a paradigm of business ownership and personal accountability for all of your career decisions. The advantages of this model are powerful.

Briefly, participants will: • participate in a group of self-assessment exercises designed to make them keenly aware of their talents, strengths, skills, and overall fitness for the kind of career or position they wish to pursue; • learn how to think about their careers as business owners instead of some random task on a “to do” list and learn how to manage the day-to-day operation of that business as its Chief Executive Officer; • learn the art of making connections in order to develop sound, stable, and longterm relationships; • learn how to develop “targeted value propositions” for the positions they seek; • learn and master the critical 21st century skill of personal branding; • master certain fundamental and missioncritical Internet skills; • learn and master a specific 7-Step Job Search Methodology that practically guarantees success in getting interviews (provided it’s followed precisely); • learn the key behaviors that drive successful connections and master the techniques for finding advocates; • learn how to access and leverage the “hidden job market”; • learn how to prepare for a successful interview; • learn how to manage negotiations successfully;

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learn what must be done during the first 90 days of landing a new position to ensure success on the job while continuing the never-ending task of expanding your network.

This is by no means a complete list. There are many other techniques, tips, tools and procedures that will be introduced as the program’s topic sequence requires them.

For further details contact me at 732.367.5580 or Rod@RodColon.com

Volume 8, Issue 3 May-June, 2016

Now we know what that competency was meant to solve—and that it worked.

Before: Launched new product.

After: Launched new product, which evolved into a $5 million business.

Now we know that product launch didn't end in a faceplant.

Before: Reduced product development costs by 25%.

After: Reduced product development costs by 25%, which tapped into my extensive network of international outsourcing partners.

Now we know not just that you got costs down, but how you did it.

Here are three quick steps to help you do an inventory of your own resume and work a little which-craft on it.

1. EXTEND YOUR BULLET POINTS Let's assume, first of all, that the bullet points on your resume already describe concrete actions, rather than just generic duties (that should be a given). Start with the very first bullet and read it out loud to yourself, pause for a moment when you get to the end, then add "which." Now think about the context or approach that led to action that the bullet describes or the result it brought about.

The One Word You Really Need to It may also help to ask yourself, "How was this achieveAdd to Your Resume ment distinct because Idid it?"

After all, there are many people who can do the same "Which" Can Transform Your Resume If job more or less equally well, each in their own a unique You Know How to Use it. way. What was your secret sauce in this case? Did you comBY ERICA SEIDEL bine previous skills? Create something for the first time?

There's one word that can transform your resume and Establish a process that's still in use? Kick off a chain reachelp put you ahead of the pack. Know which one it is? tion that brought tons of value to the organization?

Here's a hint: We use it in our everyday lives all the time.

2. FLIP IT AROUND Here's a second hint: I've already used it once in this article.

Now look at each newly expanded bullet point. Can The magic word: which. you reverse their order so your "which" statement comes Introduce "which" into your resume and it will infirst?

Usually doing that will leave you with a line that stantly gain depth and substance. Why? Because the explasounds more compelling and specific. nations that follow from "which" put all your accomplishHere's an example: ments and responsibilities into context. They show off your Before: Reduced product development costs by 25%, unique approach to your work and, perhaps most imwhich tapped into my extensive network of international portant of all, the results they bring. outsourcing partners.

Here are some examples of which-craft in practice: After: Tapped into my extensive network of internaBefore: Led global sales conference. tional outsourcing partners to reduce product developAfter: Led global sales conference, which united ment costs by 25%.

200 sales leaders from five countries for the first Flipping the bullet point like this can help a recruiter time in order to share their cost-saving practices. picture you in the job. Then repeat for each bullet on your Now we know what the conference achieved. resume.

Before: Built a new product marketing compe3. REVIEW AND STREAMLINE tency.

Now that your resume bullets have more detail and difAfter: Built a new product marketing competency, ferentiation, you may see ways to combine or streamline which aligned sales, product management, and serthem. vice and is still in place today.

Perhaps when you think through a bullet point, the "which" part doesn't really stand out, and neither does the Page 7 of 9

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business result. No problem—delete it! Or maybe you'll spot a novel way to combine two bullet points that demonstrate roughly the same skill or approach.

Working a little which-craft over your resume can help you zero in on the things that actually matter to your potential new employer. Grabbing a hiring manager's attention, after all, doesn't take magic.

Article originally appeared at this link: http://www.fastcompany.com/3056080/hit-the-ground-running/the-one-wordyou-really-need-to-add-to-your-resume

Job Seekers, Learn These 5 Time-Saving Job Search Tricks Posting your contact information on your LinkedIn profile makes it easier for recruiters to get in touch.

By Arnie FertigMarch 22, 2016, at 9:43 a.m

You've probably heard countless times that you should consider looking for a job to be a job in and of itself. In truth, to do it well, it takes a good deal of time and patience. With that said, wouldn't you like to take some of the drudgery out of the process and use your time more efficiently to connect with the people who can help you and be more organized in your overall approach?

Here are five tips to help you along the way.

1. Name your resume. The document central to any job search remains a resume. But do you have any idea how many people circulate this central piece of their personal brand saved simply as "resume.doc?" It is a pain for people to have to rename your document to save and later retrieve it.

Instead, make a new folder on your hard drive called "Resumes." Save your resume into it using this formula: "{firstname lastname} resume for.doc." Each time you are about to send it out, click "save as" and add the name of the person or company you are sending it to. Keep all the versions of your resume in this one folder, without deleting any of them.

2. Save search result links. Whenever you conduct a search – on Google, within a job board or a company site – the results page is a unique URL. Create a spreadsheet in Excel, Google Sheets or Apple's Numbers. Create one column for your search terms, another for the URL of the results page and a third for any other notes you want to make about the search. As time goes on, you may think of more things to track, but this is a good start.

Copy the links of all your search results into the appropriate spreadsheet column, then go back on a regular basis and copy that link back into your search engine, and you'll find the latest updated results to your searches. You've saved time and organized your searching.

3. Use LinkedIn's Groups to communicate directly with people in your target companies. One often overlooked advantage of LinkedIn's Groups is that you can communicate directly with anyone in a group of which you are a member, even if you aren't linked to them.

Do a "People Search" on LinkedIn to see with whom you want to speak. If you don't know them or aren't connected, you may be limited in your ability to reach out directly. However, as you review their profile, scroll to see in which LinkedIn Groups they are enrolled. Join one or more of those groups to be connected to your target person, and likely many more people like him or her. Once you are a member, you can then message them through LinkedIn, even if you don't have InMails available.

As a side benefit of this hack, you'll likely discover a number of groups to join and people with whom you should be connecting.

4. Make yourself easy to locate on LinkedIn. How much better is it to have people reach out to you directly with employment opportunities than for you to continually be pro-actively reaching out to introduce yourself? Of course, that's why you need a well-optimized LinkedIn profile. But if you happen to turn up as an answer to someone else's search query, and you are a third-degree connection, your name and contact information will be blocked unless they have a premium account.

A very simple workaround is to put your name and email address in the very first line of your Summary section on your profile. That way, you'll be contacted by the people who seek someone like yourself for a role to be filled.

5. Be realistic when applying for jobs. You can apply to your dream jobs all day long, but remember to do a reality check. Is there a realistic reason to believe that the hiring authority will see you as a good fit for the role beyond your conviction that you can fulfill the responsibilities entailed in it?

It's always fine to apply to a few "stretch" positions, but remember that you have to make a really strong case in your cover letter to explain specifically how and why you would be a good fit.

It will be a major time saver to focus your energies on the jobs that are realistically possible. The shortest route to getting hired will always be applying to jobs with descriptions that most closely resemble what you have already been successful in doing.

Happy hunting!

Article originally appeared at this link: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/articles/2016-03-22/job-seekers-learn-these-5-time-saving-jobsearch-tricks

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Lamplighter Contributors Jerrold (Jerry) Clifford is a project/program Management, PMO management and strategic Project planning specialist with advanced expertise in managing multiple, concurrent, highly visible projects and rescuing troubled projects.

He is the author of several books including Computer Mathematics Handbook, Modern Electronics Math, Handbook for Electricians, Complete Car Owners Manual, and Basic Woodworking & Carpentry. He is also the recipient of the President’sVolunteer Service Award from President Obama.

Rod Colon Career Strategist, Corporate Train-er, Motivational Speaker, Radio Show Host, Author and Master Networker.

Professional Training & Coaching - Greater New York CityArea Current: Rod Colon Consulting, LLC, InclusionINC, Wolters Kluwer Health

Carl E. Reid, CSI Chief Savvy @Intrapreneur Empowering People to Achieve EXTRA-ORDINARY RESULTS Greater New York City Area – Management Consulting Current: Empowering Today's Professionals, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Lamplighter Staff Adelaida (Aida) Rodriguez is the Editor-in-Chief and Contributing Writer of the Lamplighter Newsletter. She is a Project Manager Professional (PMP), Business Analyst/ Consultant at the Warranty Recovery Specialist, LLC

Barbara Daisak is the Lamplighter Contributing Writer & Proofreader. In addition, she is a Learning, Training, & Development Specialist and Microsoft Certified Master Instructor. Barb is also an Instructor Adjunct with the County Colleges of New Jersey with specialties in the Technology Training Divisions and Corporate Training Programs.

Phone Numbers:732.863.4948 ― 732.616.2397-mobile Email Barbara at: bndaisak@verizon.net

Eric Nilsson is the Compositor and Contributing Writer for Lamplighter. Eric enjoys the art and science of newspaper layout. He has been an IT consultant at the Professional Service Group of New Brunswick and previously worked for North Jersey Media Group (Bergen Evening Record) as a Project Manager and Programmer/Analyst. Interests include economics, history, and journalism.

Email: ericnilsson@earthlink.net; LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ericsnilsson

EMPOWERING TODAY’S PROFESSIONALS (ETP) MISSION Encourage, train, support, mentor and advise fellow CEOs of ME, Incorporated in all aspects of defined responsibilities to their personal Board of Directors.

ETP was established specifically to help individuals in transition find jobs.

ETP CORE VALUES ETP has a special concern for the advancement of professionals worldwide and is committed to delivering its core values of INTEGRITY, RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, and COMPASSION to its members.

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