Tom’s Tips: What’s my Brand

One the most important items for your Job Hunt Toolbox is your brand.  By brand, I mean what makes you different from the rest.

Too many times I hear phrases like;

 “I am a PMP that brings projects in on time and under budget”
Isn’t that what PMP’s are suppose to do?

 “I am a Sales person that always exceed quota”
If you don’t you are going to get fired anyway.

 A good brand differentiates you from the pack.  Whether, it is on your resume, talking to a group or on the phone with a recruiter.  A good brand is short, catchy and not too cute – keep in professional.  

 Here is mine.
I am Thomas Jackson, I see through mountains.  I have strategic vision that turns nominal revenue to phenomenal revenue.  I am Thomas Jackson.

Lying

I must admit that I was a bit naive about the topic of lying on a resume. I knew it happens I just did not know the frequency. After speaking with some HR folks and Recruiters over the past month, a number of them told me stories of people who they caught lying. Not just ‘overstating’ the issue but manufacturing of a wholesale false hood that was so easy to verify. The same folks also told me that they except about 25-50% of the resumes they receive have LIES in them. They assume the number is so high due to the market – “desperate people in desperate times do desperate things”.

I was shocked, who would call themselves a VP of Sales if they were only a Manager or who would say they have a MBA when they did not even attend college? This got me thinking. Over the course of my own job search I have had a few interesting phone calls with recruiters and HR. Nothing bad just a weird line of questioning that really did not go anywhere. On one occasion the recruiter asked me if I attended college (it is on my resume) and I said yes and that is normally the end of that question. But no, I was asked where (again on my resume), what was my degree in (on my resume), did I work as an engineer (again, job history on my resume and if I graduated (on my resume). I found this line questioning a bit odd for a sales job, but did not think much of it. Then I had another call from a different recruiter. This time the focus was on my sales achievements. The person wanted to know what was the largest deal I ever closed (on my resume), did I close the deal (on my resume), who was it with, where and when (not on my resume but addressed the questions). This went on for 5 minutes. I used all my ‘Job Stories’ using the old Problem Action Result (PAR), but nothing. I finally told the person to go to my web page and click on my Press Release tab and there is a copy of the sales press release. The recruiter did so and said “OK” and on to the standard line of questioning.

After hearing about the increase in lying on resumes, it dawned on me – they thought I was lying. The more I addressed with a PAR story, the more it sounded like a ‘story’. I am now much more aware of this. When ever I think the question is a bit ‘strange’, I assume the other person is trying to understand if I am lying. I know have two ways to answer most questions. First the PAR, when the questioning is on a more normal line of questioning. The second is for the ‘weird line of questioning’. An example is when the recruiter ask about the largest opportunity, in a ‘prove it’ type of tone. I direct them to my website and the press releases, and that is that. The questioning then becomes a little more of what I expect.

Don’t get frustrated with HR or Recruiters. Simply try to understand where they are going and answer the question in that way. Nobody wants to say you are lying, but many times the questioning can become an inquisition. Take advantage of this and prove yourself a professional and do not get defensive or irritated. That just keeps the questions coming. Remember what Shakespeare said “doth protest too much”

Tom’s Tips

If nothing changes – nothing changes!

It was Albert Einstein that said “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
This is very sage advice for the job hunter. Too many of us keep on doing the same things expecting to get a job. However, maybe the same old things are preventing us from getting a job? Why wait for the New Year? Change something you are doing that has not yielded any results. Maybe it is your old tired resume, maybe it is time to re-think your LinkedIn strategy, maybe it is time to set goals for the number of contacts you will make a day or maybe it is time to really get focused on a target list of companies.
One thing is for sure, if you do not change something – nothing will change. We all want change – a new job for a new year.

Happy Thanksgiving

George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

 

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Tom’s Tips

How does Google find my web site?

Want to increase your chances of getting found on Google?  One fast and free method is to register your web sites directly with Google.  That’s right I said web sites (plural).  Get a list of ALL your vanity URLs – these are there websites with your name in them.  A good example is LinkedIn, mine is www.linkedin.com/in/thomasjacksonjr.  All of links direct people right to your information even if it is not your website.  Once you get your vanity URL list together;

-         LinkedIn

-         Facebook

-         MySpace

-         Google Profile

-         Naymz

-         Zoominfo

-         Etc, etc

 

Then go to the Google URL registration page

http://www.google.com/addurl/

 

Cut and past ALL your URLs in one at a time.  That is all there is to it.  You have just directly registered your URLs with GOOGLE – the biggest name in search engines.  Does this mean you are now a #1 search result? Probably not, but you have just increased your chances over Google randomly finding you.

(Works great for small or large business web sites)

Happy Fishing!

 

Tom’s Tips

What is their email address?

Ever wanted to email someone and do not have their email address? Here is a great FREE website that can help.

http://www.coveryourasp.com/ValidateEmail.asp

This free email verifier will test not only if the DNS (email domain is valid) but the SMTP (whole email string) as well. Of course the limitation is on the email server being tested, supports the necessary protocols – most do.

Just type in the probable email address and hit enter. If it is good – send away. If it is bad, try a different variation. This works much faster than just sending test emails waiting for a response.

Tom’s Tips

Picture is worth a thousand words

One basic tenant of social media for a job search is branding yourself. Nothing brands you better than you – your picture. Get a ‘professional looking’ head shot of yourself and use it on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.. You do not need to spend the money on a professional to take your photo – just crop an image of yourself from the church directory, or any recent image of yourself in professional attire.
Why is the picture so important? Your picture allows people to connect to you, it says I am a confident professional. Besides, what do you think when you see someone’s LinkedIn profile and there is no image? Or an image of a unicorn? You instinctively think what is this person hiding. Worse yet is the casual photo. Keep in mind these photos are small and not hi-resolution. It is hard to tell if someone is sitting a smiling or if they are on their backside intoxicated.
Brand yourself with yourself – use a picture.

Tom’s Tip

A few months ago I met with two friends (Nancy Green and Phil Maternowski) and discussed some of the frustration / feelings of being overwhelmed that occur early in the job search for so many; the “deer in the headlights”.

Since that time we have aggregated information from many sources into the attached document. The table of contents can take you to that related section of the document with the click of your mouse.

Please publish this information to your group. We are open to receiving feedback and additional input for future versions. Our contact information is contained in an Appendix. We are also happy to speak to your group.

This is a comprehensive document (or e-book) that contains a clear road map of activities to help define priorities as well as valuable tips’n tricks that will greatly assist your job hunt.

Please download it from:
http://www.thomasjackson.info/ (click on Sale Fish logo to go to the download page)

-or-

http://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasjacksonjr (go to my profile and down load it from the Box.net application)

Please spread the word and pay it forward.

Tom’s Tips

How to Fish for and Catch your Limit of Target Companies

-OR-

How to Fish for and Catch you Limit of Target Customers

 Part 4 – Final Installment

 This is the final part of my four part ‘How to Fish’ series.  This week we explore finding companies by ‘key words’ search.

Last week we focused on how to use NAIC codes and how to use search by Company Name to find it’s NAIC codes.  Keep in mind that this technique allows you to not only find the target company, but all other companies (ie competitors) that are in that same industry.

This week we will use key word search in combination with a selected geographical filter (ie MSA).  The difference with key word versus NAICS codes is pretty simple.  Key word search will find any companies that are listed by a NAIC description.  This means that you will find many more companies since key words cuts across multiple NAICS codes.  In other words, the key word ‘Software’ will find not only Software manufacturers, but distributors and retail outlets, etc..

 The first step is to select the Custom Search field.

 

Next, select the MSA (ex Dallas Ft Worth) then Business – Keywords/SIC/NAICS.  In the Keyword/SIC/NAICS heading, type in your key word (ex Telecommunications).  A listing of every NAICS code with that word will appear in the scroll down window.

 

From here you can scroll down and select individual NAIC code listings that contain the key word you entered.  For example I selected ten listings, then I clicked on the blue update count button, there are 443 listings for the fields I selected.  You can add as many as you want or as few.

 This type of  search option is very useful in getting a shot-gun view of a specific key word.  Keep in mind that not all NAIC codes with your key word are areas that are focus for you.  However, it does help you refine your search and better understand the breadth of an industry.

Happy Fishing – and – Happy Catching!!

Tom’s Tips

How to Fish for and Catch your Limit of Target Companies

-OR-

How to Fish for and Catch you Limit of Target Customers

 

Part 3 (series)

 

This is part three of my ‘How to Fish’ series.  This week we explore finding other companies that have the same SIC / NAICS as our target company.

Last weeks example was Texas Instruments, at the bottom of the companies description is a listing of all applicable SIC and NAICS codes.  We will focus on the NAICS codes since they represent an improvement to the SIC codes.  From this listing we see four different NAIC codes.  This is not unusual for larger companies who generate revenues in more that one primary industry.  A good point to make here is that any one company may have more than one NAICS assignment – this creates the appearance of duplications some times when you export data.

The next step is to search for all other companies with the targeted NAICS code.  In the case of companies with more than one NAICS code, pick the one that best aligns to your experience.  In this case say ‘All Other Telecommunications’, code 51791916.

 

To start, click back to new search at top of page.  From the screen below click on the “Custom Search” icon.  This will take you to a new menu where you can enable filters for a custom search.

 

The custom search screen allows you to select filters to help focus your search.  If you were to just search on a single NAICS code, a list of several hundred thousand companies would be listed.

For our exercise we have the NAICS code, now let us focus on a geographical area – say Dallas / Ft. Worth.  I like using MSA (metropolitan statistical area), another way to look at it is a grouping of counties around a large city.

 To do our search:

1) Select Business Type from the right hand column: select ‘search All NAICS’ and input the NAICS code (5179196).
2) Select Geography: select Metro Area (aka MSA), then select your state and the metro area.
3) Update Count from upper right hand corner in blue: the record count of 404 indicates that there are 404 companies that are in Dallas Ft Worth in the same telecom industry subset that Texas Instruments is. 

 

Click on the green “ViewResults” button to go to the page with a listing of all 404 companies.
From this screen you can also download the report to excel.

 

Next week we will take a look at searching in the “Custom Search” screen by key words.