Sell yourself: How your job search is like running a business

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/j5/ar5f4w96yn4h8s7w9gj5.gif?time=3/8/2011%205:55:52%20pm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/j5/ar5f4w96yn4h8s7w9gj5.gif?time=3/8/2011%205:55:52%20pm" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There are many factors that contribute to a business's performance, but, for the most part, success or failure comes down to one thing: How well the company sells a product or service to its customers.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Try approaching your job search the same way. Are you doing an effective job of selling your product (you!) to your customers -- namely hiring managers?</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Following are tips you can use to become <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/CEO/" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">CEO</a> of your job search and run it like a successful business:</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Deliver a clear message</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">What does this business do? That's often the first question customers ask when selecting a service provider.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Hiring managers ask themselves a similar question when evaluating job candidates. They want to know your story -- what skills and experience you have, what your areas of expertise are and what can you bring to the table.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ask a friend or colleague to review your résumé, then without looking at the document, briefly summarize the key points. If he or she struggles to articulate the main themes, you may need to make some revisions.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Many job candidates put too much information in their résumés, whether it's a laundry list of routine duties performed in past positions or after-work interests. Take an objective look at your résumé and remove items that don't relate either to your professional abilities or the needs of the company.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Highlight your selling points</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In order to stand out, a company needs to play up what makes it better than its competitors.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In this job market, you're in competition with numerous other applicants. Therefore, you need to describe for hiring managers what makes you unique. Do you have in-demand expertise? Years of experience? A proven ability to cut costs or drive revenue?</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Look closely at the job ad, as well as the company's website and other materials, to see if you can get a sense of its mission, both for the open job and for the business overall. The better you can explain how your skills will help the firm achieve its mission, the better your chances of being asked to interview there.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Exude professionalism</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If you walked into a <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/law+firm/" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">law firm</a> and saw employees playing video games and foosball in the lobby instead of tending to their clients, you'd probably have doubts about hiring them to represent you. The bottom line: Customers want to deal with a business that behaves professionally.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The same is true of hiring managers. Use your application materials to demonstrate your professionalism. One of the easiest ways to do so: Submit documents that are free of grammatical or spelling errors. It's also important to arrive early and dress appropriately for your interview, and to treat every employee you encounter at the interview with the same level of respect.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Protect your reputation</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A company that doesn't properly respond to criticism risks damage to its brand, possibly resulting in lost business. That's why more and more organizations are using <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/social+media/" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">social media</a> to respond directly to consumers, correct service issues and protect the company's reputation.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">You can use social media to influence your reputation, as well. But be careful. Depending upon how you use it, you might actually harm your reputation. That's why you should always think twice before posting controversial comments to Facebook, blogs or any other public website. Many hiring managers search for information about job candidates online, and you don't want them to find anything that will make them think twice about hiring you.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Of course, social media and other online tools allow you to strengthen your reputation if used correctly. Adding insightful comments to blog posts, following industry experts on Facebook and Twitter, and actively participating in LinkedIn groups are all good ways to distinguish yourself among your peers.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Rely on multiple resources</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If a company wants to introduce a new product, it won't rely on a single person to do it. People from several departments throughout the organization need to collaborate to develop the product so it has the best chance to succeed in the marketplace.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Similarly, you shouldn't limit yourself to just one or two resources when job hunting. In addition to relying on job boards, also spread the word about your search within your professional network. In fact, tell everyone you know, unless your job search is confidential. You can also have someone conduct your job search for you. By registering with a <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/staffing+firm/" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">staffing firm</a>, an expert recruiter can look for opportunities that match your skill set and ensure your résumé is seen by hiring managers.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i></i></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Robert Half International is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm with a global network of more than 350 offices worldwide. For more information about our professional services, please visit <a href="http://www.roberthalf.com/" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">www.roberthalf.com</a>. For additional career advice, follow us on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/roberthalf" style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">www.twitter.com/roberthalf</a>.</i></div>

Sell yourself: How your job search is like running a business

There are many factors that contribute to a business's performance, but, for the most part, success or failure comes down to one thing: ...

Read more »

Social media can kill your career -- but not the way you think Why to avoid being overexposed in a digital world

<div class="ArticleHeadline" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -30px;"><div class="cbmsnArticleImage" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/d6/ar5m6546dp6qhy4bnrd6.gif" /></div><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #ff7700; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></h1></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder.com</span></b></div><div class="ArticleContent" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Social media has become the norm, both as a part of everyday life and as an integral part of your success or failure during your job search. You hear all the time about how to utilize social media as an essential part of your job search or about social media as one of the many ways you can get fired -- or not hired.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Usually when we talk about social media as a firing or non-hiring mechanism, it's in the context of your digital footprint: not posting inappropriate photos, racial slurs or nasty comments about your boss and colleagues, for example.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But now there's a new piece of the puzzle to consider: if an employer sees that you're overly active on social media -- they might question your professional commitment.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"If you are very active on social media an employer should question how your online activity is contributing to the company's mission and achievement of your individual goals," says Michael R. Neece, president and COO of JobTacToe.com<b>.</b> "An employer would certainly ask what is not getting done by you spending so much time socializing on social media sites."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There is the possibility that your social media activity is being mistaken for personal use when really, you're using it for professional reasons. If that's the case and you're still lucky enough to get an interview, address the issue verbally, says Ginny Clarke, president and CEO, Talent Optimization Partners.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"You might indicate that you were in active job seeking mode – presuming the overexposure was in terms of frequency, not questionable content," she says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So what's the happy medium between being visible on social media but not so much that it ruins your chances at finding a new job?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Most employers are looking at social media sites to find qualified job candidates," Clarke says. "Your goal is to be visible for networking purposes and to have a professional and personal profile that are up-to-date and descriptive enough for someone to make an preliminary screening of your suitability for a potential opportunity."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Aljolynn Sperber, account executive and social media manager, Marketing Maven Public Relations, Inc., says that having at least a Facebook and/or Twitter profile on the Web will do the trick  --  you just have to be cautious about your privacy settings.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Just be smart about what is posted and customize your privacy settings. Good rule of thumb, don't post anything on the Internet that you might regret later," she says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Here are six tips to avoid social media overkill and manage your online presence effectively:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>1. Add to the conversation</b>"Use LinkedIn to post your résumé online, contribute to industry- and occupation-specific discussions," Neece says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>2. Have more than one account</b>Have two social media accounts, Sperber says. "One that is geared toward your desired industry so employers can see that you're attempting to be active and another one for personal use." Be sure to protect your profiles so they aren't accessible to the public.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>3. Score face time</b>"Use online resources to get face-to-face or voice-to-voice with another person.  Each of us is most memorable and most influential in-person," Neece says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>4. Just say no</b>If your social media profiles are protected and a potential employer requests to follow you, don't feel obligated to accept, Sperber says. "That's what your other 'professional' account is for."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>5. Stay positive</b>"Don't bad mouth any of the companies that you're applying to, especially if you feel the interview didn't go well," Sperber says. If you put something on the Internet, it's out there for anyone to see.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>6. Keep things to yourself</b>Don't publicize that you're going to an interview or just finished an interview at a company. Some companies do not like to have their recruiting process -- or that they're even having one -- publicized, Sperber says.</div></div>

Social media can kill your career -- but not the way you think Why to avoid being overexposed in a digital world

Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder.com Social media has become the norm, both as a part of everyday life and as an integral part of yo...

Read more »