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Greetings! 
Happy April! Just when I thought Spring was really here, we had a surprise snowstorm on April 1 in Worcester (the "April Fool's Storm"). The snow, which was so slushy and heavy, caused damage to some trees in the area; thankfully, nothing close to what happened in the ice storm of December 2008.
While Spring is underway, the U.S. economy and labor market seems poised for full bloom. According to a recent Associated Press article: "The outlook for employment rose slightly, reaching a 12-year high. No firms reported significant layoffs, with the only reductions coming from already planned cuts."
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., global outplacement consultancy, also published an encouraging blog post: "Recovery is No Longer Jobless" citing growth in U.S. private sector jobs: "Since February 2010...private sector employment has seen net job gains for 13 consecutive months, adding a total of 1.8 million jobs. As of March, there were approximately 108.6 million Americans on private sector payrolls, which is about 93 percent of the pre-recession high of 115.6 million."
A well-rounded job search should include a broad mix of both offline and online activities: particularly, how to leverage your presence on social media sites. Along with LinkedIn, Twitter is quickly catching up as a multi-faceted job search tool. My brand new article: "Getting Started with Twitter for Job Search" will give you a blueprint for using it to your best advantage.
Is your job search stuck and your career stalled? Are you frustrated that your solo efforts aren't producing the results you want? If so, a Career Action Planning (CAP) Session may be just what you need to get a fresh perspective on your situation as well as new ideas and strategies to help you move forward. Happy Passover and/or Easter, if you celebrate these holidays! Dedicated to your career success, always... :) Joellyn
P.S. A great big "Welcome" to my new subscribers! |
 Recovery No Longer "Jobless" (Challenger, Gray & Christmas Blog Post: April 14, 2011) 
The economy and job market have a long way to go before reaching pre-recession health, but an analysis of employment data and the recent surge in large-scale hiring announcements indicate that the so-called jobless recovery may have finally evolved into a job- growth recovery.
According to the analysis by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., the job market is stronger than most Americans realize and improved faster than one might reasonably expect, considering the severity of the recession.
Read the entire blog post here: |
Getting Started with Twitter for Job Search
Since Twitter's launch in 2006, it has been emerging as robust job search tool to find opportunities and be found by hiring decision makers.Twitter can help build your online credibility as a candidate and showcase your expertise in an industry or a specific subject area.
Most hiring decision makers are researching candidates online before bringing them in for interviews, so be mindful of how you build your professional presence on Twitter. You may not be aware of this but all of your tweets are permanently indexed by Google.
Here's how to get started on Twitter and build a solid foundation for your career campaign:
1) Go to www.twitter.com and click "Sign Up."You'll be asked for your name, a user name (which becomes your Twitter "handle") and an email address connected to your account.
2) Choose a Twitter handle (up to 20 characters) that reflects your professional persona or even your name -- whichever presents you in a positive light. Mine is @Career_Success because it's an extension of my website: www.career-success-coach.com. Your Twitter handle becomes part of your Twitter URL, like mine is www.twitter.com/career_success.
3) Build your profile at www.twitter.com/settings/profile, where you can upload a professional headshot, provide your location, and list a website (if you have one) or your LinkedIn URL.
4) Write a compelling 160-character bio (last section of the Profile page) that reflects your professional brand. Mine is "The Career Success Coach: Helping Executives, Managers and Professionals Find Perfect Career Paths Since 1991."
5) Use "Twitres" http://twitres.com/ to display your resume. Simply upload a copy of your resume and it will appear as the background on your Twitter page.
6) Find people and places to follow, such as target companies, recruiters and thought leaders in your industry. Use Twitter's advanced search feature (http://search.twitter.com/advanced) to locate company names and inside contacts. One of my clients found a former supervisor on Twitter; he followed him, they connected and he wrote my client a LinkedIn recommendation.
7) Listen carefully for hidden opportunities in your Twitter feed. Hiring managers or other decision makers may mention some unmet needs or possible positions in your industry or target companies. Initiate conversations with people you follow, using the "Message" feature on their Twitter page.
8) Tweet value-added posts (up to 140 characters) that convey your expertise to your network, recruiters and potential employers. You can tweet your own blog posts or links to industry-related articles. Here's an example tweet from someone in sales: "New sales lead tracking software to replace ACT is here: <article link>". Use http://bit.ly/ to shorten links.
9) Open a free account with www.TweetMyJOBS.com, to access thousands of targeted jobs matching your account profile. You can also get instant notification of new jobs in your Twitter feed or on your mobile device, and be able to post (and tweet) your resume and profile to numerous recruiters and hiring managers.
10) Go to Job-Hunt.org to get free job postings of employers who recruit through Twitter: www.twitter.com/JobHuntOrg/employers-recruiting. To see what that was like, I signed up for a trial and was amazed at the quality of opportunities offered from companies like Citibank, Hertz and Kaiser-Permanente, to name a few.
Of course, no single online platform will ever replace the relationships you'll build offline. Nevertheless, with so many job seekers and hiring decision makers using Twitter, it certainly makes sense to add it to your job search toolkit.
© 2011 Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin, The Career Success Coach. All Rights Reserved. www.career-success-coach.com |
Is It Time to Partner with a Career Coach?
 Do you work hard on your job search but seem to get nowhere fast? - Are you burned out with your job, but don't know what other career(s) might satisfy you?
- Do you have trouble understanding how your transferable skills can be used in other professions?
- Do you apply for jobs online, only to get "thanks but no thanks" responses?
- Does it seem like your network can't help you with your job search the way you'd like?
- Do you have difficulty "sealing the deal" at interviews?
Is it time to take a risk -- a giant step forward -- to end the pain once and for all? You may surprised: the problem might not be what you think and simpler to overcome than you thought possible.
Regardless of the issues you face or what you may be frustrated or confused about, I can provide the clarity, creative thinking, objectivity, and perspective you need to get your career and job search moving in the right direction.
Let's get started with a Career Action Planning (CAP) Session, to help you figure out what's working, what needs attention and what the next steps are to landing your ideal career position in record time.
Go to my website to learn more: |
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About "The Career Success Coach"
Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin is a career coach in private practice. She works with executives, managers, and professionals who are ready to make a change in their employment situation, but don't know what that change looks like or what their next steps should be. She uses a proven, 8-module career coaching program to help her clients identify and land ideal career positions much faster than they ever could on their own. Her program starts with a Career Action Planning (CAP) Session to first determine where clients are getting stuck, stalled or confused in the process of making their desired job and career transition.
Joellyn will be happy to discuss your situation on a free call. Contact her at 508-459-2854, joellyn@career-success-coach.com
or visit www.career-success-coach.com. |
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Quote of the Month: On "Perseverance" 
"Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th." - Julie Andrews (Singer / Actress) |
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© 2011 The Career Success Coach
All rights reserved. |
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