So you have a profile on LinkedIn; pictures on FaceBook; tell the world about your day on Twitter and your job at your blog. If you are looking for a job, and I were to trace your steps and follow each of these footprints, what type of picture are your painting? Are you someone who likes to “get down” on the weekends, drinking everything in sight (proof provided by you or your friends FaceBook pics). Maybe you like to read science fiction novels (you can show the books you are reading on LinkedIn). Better yet, you’re an avid video game player who plays Call of Duty until the wee hours of the night (some people use their gaming avatars in their profiles).

Regardless of what you do in your private, non-internet connected life, you must go to great lengths to protect the image you are presenting online. Each of these activities give a potential employer a clue about the type of person you are and insight into what makes you tick and what excites you.

So what? Does this really matter when you are interviewing and meeting with real, flesh and blood, non digitized people? The answer is a resounding yes! Employers, recruiters, HR staff, hiring managers - EVERYONE - is going online to verify you are who you say you are. They are checking you out. The days of employers just using references that you’ve provided are gone; deal with it and be prepared.

Now that we’ve established the importance of your online image, how do you develop and protect it:

- Keep a consistent name / user id across the different sites your belong to. Consistency is the key.

- Block information you don’t want the public to know about. Think before you tweet, post or message.

- Friends matter! Just like in high school, be careful who you associate with and friend.

- Never, ever, ever bash a previous employer. (It’ll come back to bite you).

- Set up Google alerts for your name and online id’s.

The bottom line is this - You are what you tweet. Think before you post. Research before you friend. Whatever clever phrase you want to use, be mindful of what you do online because it is not private. Many people forget the social part of social networking. The whole point is to share your experiences and network your way to a job. This only works if you open up and share some of yourself. Just be sure you’re sharing the part you want us to see.

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If you are looking for a job, you must pull out all the stops. Can you relate to any of these scenarios:

- Former colleagues don’t know you are looking for a job.

- You have a large following on LinkedIn or FaceBook that you haven’t networked with.

- You haven’t checked in with past employers to see if they might be interested in rehiring you or referring you to new opportunities.

- Your resume is not updated.

I could go on and on with examples but the bottom line is this - you can’t approach your job search like you are selling Amway or any other home based business. What do I mean by this? We’ve all been approached by the person who has put together a list of everyone they know; people who will be interested in their can’t miss business opportunity. In the beginning, this person is very excited to tell everyone about what they are doing but after a couple of negative conversations they begin to get deflated. This person starts to question themselves and becomes apprehensive about what they are doing. They no longer want to talk to anyone about their business because they’ve been beaten down.

Job searching in 2009 and beyond is not a  sprint. Treat your job search like a marathon. Put another way, slow and steady wins the race. You have to do the basics including calling and emailing all of your past employers, clients, former colleagues, classmates, high school sweet-hearts, anybody and everybody because you don’t kow who is in a position to positively impact your search. And you know what, if you are still unemployed in a couple of months, call them again. Some might consider you a stalker. Some people will call you rude. If you need a job, this doesn’t matter. You have to pull out all of the stops because there is one things I know for certain — if they don’t know you are looking for a job they won’t call you with a job lead.

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Now that all the hoopla has died down I figured I throw my hat in the President Obama, Nobel Prize, drama. First a couple of qualifiers:

1. This isn’t a political post.

2. It doesn’t matter who I voted for.

3. Unlike most people who have already discussed this subject, I’m going to keep this brief and focused on my area of expertise.

Looking at this from a career accomplishments point of view, a resume stuffer if you will, this is pure gold for President Obama as a recent “hire” of the U.S. Regardless of your political affiliation or views:

- His resume read well enough to be considered

- He passed the interview process

- He got enough votes to win the “interview”.

- He was hired to lead our country based on his past experience and his in person question and answer sessions.

To me the electoral process is not unlike the interview process one goes through at a typical U.S. company. (Obviously the stakes are higher for the job he was interviewing for but I think you get the point). As President of the United States, every action is scrutinized, each speech analyzed, each clip slowed down and replayed. Not only do all of these actions become part of the public domain but they also become the career of our newest employee (the President). Just like your career, each challenge is a chance to succeed or fail. Looking at it from this point of view makes the Nobel Prize a great resume stuffer for our President. Again, this isn’t an argument about if it was deserved or not, but rather - he’s received it and can now use it as leverage as he goes about achieving other important aspects of his Presidency.

As a job seeker you need to do the same thing. What is the “Nobel Prize” in your background? What have you accomplished in your career that can be used as a selling point during your next interview? Make a list of success and be prepared to share them during every job interview you go on and include them in every summary when you send out your resume. This is not the time to apologize for your good work. Do as our President did - graciously accept your praise, use it as leverage to get the next interview / meeting / door opened, and keep moving forward to accomplish your agenda (finding a job) regardless of what others think.

Job searching, like being President of the United States, is not for the faint of heart…

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I know the MLB World Series is over and the Yankees have been crowned the champs but there was an interesting side story that I think really applies to your job search. Cole Hamels, superstar pitcher and MVP of last years World Series and National League Championship Series (yeah he’s kind of a big deal), really upset fans when he said he couldn’t wait for the season to be over. The problem - he said this after a poor outing and losing pitching effort against the Yankees in game 3 of the World Series.

- His timing could not have been worse.

- He probably shouldn’t have said it.

- This caused his teammates to question his dedication to their goal and their team.

How does this apply to your job search and or future employer concerns? Companies want to hire employees who can work under duress and deliver in spite of the odds - tight deadlines, under staffed projects, not enough resources, etc… These firms aren’t going to hire a “Cole Hamels” who cracks or wants to call it a day because the going is tough and he is “mentally drained”. As someone who is in the job market, someone actively looking for their next opportunity, you have to rise above your competition (other job seekers) and show why you are the MVP (most valuable person) they can hire.

- Highlight specific accomplishments in your background that relate to their needs.

- Emphasize how you’ve delivered in a clutch situation.

- Point out times that you’ve excelled or exceeded even your own lofty expectations.

You can’t be ordinary if you want to get the job. You must be extraordinary if you are going to get a job in this market. The Yankees won the World Series and many will say it was because of great pitching, timely hitting or better coaching. At the end of the day, the Phillies may have been undone by a lack of harmony in the dugout. Show your future employer that you are an asset not a liability. Someone who can bring the team together while delivering beyond their wildest dreams. Be the Cole Hamels of 2008 (World Series MVP, National League MVP), not 2009. Be uber-committed.

* Disclaimer: I am a San Francisco Giants fan. I generally root for the National League when the Giants don’t make it to the World Series but I did root for the Yankees this year (for what it’s worth) *

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This week I am interviewing Joe Rohde. Joe has had a great sales career and agreed to chat for a bit about what’s been successful in his job search.

First, can you give an over view of your background and the circumstances that led to your unemployment?

My experience was continuous growth which alternated between startups and established companies. Typically my success was in establishing the ‘early adopter’ customers for new technologies and products. The immediately previous 14 years were spent starting and running a company, located in the California foothills, acting as a reseller for a set of products and services that changed over time. This lent itself well to having a lifestyle balance, raising kids and helping with grandchildren, and we also made a very good living. Ultimately things changed, resulting in that company being merged with a MSP and after effecting the transition it was time to re-set my career. It was a strange to be ‘looking’ for a job as in the past I’d generally been referred into my next position.

What was the first thing you did when you started looking for a job?

There were actually several months that I took for myself before commencing my search. When I decided it was time I took the typical steps today of subscribing to job boards, researching companies and applying directly (electronically and direct snail mail) and also engaged a firm to assist in the search. None of this met with any substantial success. With the depth of the talent pool these days it seems there has to be an exact match between skills, experience and education to even make it through the screening technology. It was frustrating as I knew that in the interview process I’d shine.

What was the most valuable or successful thing you did to land the job?

Becoming frustrated with the lack of prospects I looked at ways to make myself more valuable and took several online courses, specific to sales skills and tools. This led to attending local events put on by vendors (NOT job fairs) where I could make personal contact. It was at one of these events that I was introduced to an entrepreneur who had interesting technology and that needed some business development help. Since he was bootstrapping the company there was no compensation other than commissions that would be earned. After getting some decent traction for that product that same entrepreneur introduced me into my current employer. Basically I took the opportunity to show what I could deliver and that led to a great new job with a talented crowd of people.

The actual act of working productively, not just working at finding a job, did a lot to reinforce my ego and bolster confidence in my abilities.

How long were you unemployed?

The total time was about 9 months. The first 4 of those were absorbed by taking time off purposefully followed by a death in the family. I really got started at the first of this year.

What advice, based on what you’ve gone through, would you give someone who is looking?

Actively pursue and expand your social connections. You can never tell where they’ll lead, plus it can be very isolating when you go from the social aspect of having co-workers to being on your own in front of the computer.
And take a flyer when something interesting comes along. You can still job search, but the act of work can be gratifying on it’s own. As a friend and advisor likes to say, “You can’t count the apples in a seed.”

A couple of valuable lessons here for folks to consider. If job boards or recruiters aren’t working, push the envelope. Depending on your situation, it may make sense to take a “flyer” as Joe did (commission only or volunteer role) to show what you can do. As we can see, these can often lead to a paying job. Lesson #2 - expect to get frustrated in your job search. But don’t let that frustration derail you. Joe used that frustration to re-invigorate his search.

Joe - thanks again for taking the time to chat and share your experiences. We wish you continued success!

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I’m sure you’ve heard the a saying, “The grass isn’t always greener”. Does this apply to you when it comes to your career? How many times have you left a company thinking it was the right thing to do?

Maybe you left for:

- more money
- loftier title
- closer to home
- more flexibility
- better people

The problem is once you get to the new company you realize they have their own warts that you didn’t see during the interview process. This blog is for you.

I started recruiting 14 years ago for a British based recruiting firm. I joined with absolutely no experience or technical training but I did (and still do) have a love for technology. I describe myself as a geek who can’t code; I used technical recruiting as a way to stay informed about all of the cool companies and the things they were working on. From these humble beginnings, I thought I had reached the pinnacle - working for the largest executive search firm in the world; recruiting Senior VP’s, Presidents and CEO’s for top companies - until I was laid off. I’ve been told that I have the kind of personality that attracts people. There’s something about my un-assuming style and demeanor that people can appreciate. I was brought up to treat people fair but to always speak my mind (and let you know where you and I stand) and I guess people can appreciate this. This is the way I’ve approached not only my recruiting business and careerunleashed.com but also my personal life - the end result, I’ve been hired by the same employer, the firm that I started my recruiting career three times. Each time I’ve left, “it’s been for a better opportunity” or so I thought. Each time I’ve gone back, I’ve been in a different role and made it a point to not only add value but to exceed expectations. I don’t know if I’ll end my career there but I do know that I consider the President a mentor, a great person and most importantly a friend.

How many of you have been lucky enough to have a similar experience? I’m not talking about someone that will serve as a reference or who will say good things about you. This is more than that - a genuine friendship built on respect. With all of the bad news being reported and discussed, let’s take a moment to celebrate the good in our business lives. I think we can all benefit from a moment of cheer.

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Gina and I met while networking on LinkedIn. She is someone who has successfully found multiple jobs this year who was happy to share her experience with us.

Gina -

Thanks again for volunteering for this. Can you give the folks a quick over-view of your background and the circumstances that led to your unemployment.

My background is Marketing and Administration. I have moved from High Tech Marketing in the Bay Area, to Newspaper Marketing, to Retail Marketing throughout my career. I also have a background as an Executive Assistant with an emphasis in event planning. I hold a Bachelors of Business Administration from University of San Diego. I took a voluntary buyout from the local newspaper to pursue other interests after sixteen years with the same company. I felt it was time to try something new. I landed my new Retail Marketing job within 3 weeks of accepting a buyout offer. I left the Retail Marketing position after 8 months, and in two weeks, was employed again, this time in the health care industry. So this is the second job search I have done in the past year.

So you are very aware of how tough the market can be. What was the first thing you did when you started looking for a job?

Fortunately, the newspaper industry is a great place to network. I had planned to leave the paper within the next few years, and had started my networking much earlier. I also built my Linked In network prior to the buyout. Our company provided outplacement counseling and I took full advantage of that. I targeted high growth companies and searched for a Marketing/Communications position where my colleagues had successfully secured positions. After I had my resume complete, I talked to everyone I could think of about career opportunities, then started sending my resume out online. I personally called my contacts and secured my references before I left the newspaper. 

Can you share with us what you consider to be the most valuable or successful thing you did to land the job?   

Networking - It is all about who you know. When I targeted a particular company, I would look through my contact list to see who I knew within the company, or who could give me an introduction. I am a firm believer that sending in a resume “blind”, through a website, is not the best way to apply for jobs. You really need to know the players, who can make it happen for you? I also did not limit myself to the corporate environment to network. Every day is a new networking opportunity. The grocery store, the gym, my daughter’s tennis team. You never know who that person is who can help you, or who you can help in return.

How long were you unemployed? 

I was employed by the time my buyout was complete, and employed the 2nd time within 2 weeks.

Gina - I really appreciate your time. Wrapping this up would you give someone who is looking for a job?

Don’t be afraid to ask for a recommendation. Don’t limit yourself to one job description, and network, network, network.  It is all about who you know. People genuinely want to help you, and you just need to put yourself out there and ask.   You are selling yourself, so do not be afraid to market yourself! Talk to everyone you know. Someone knows someone who is hiring; even now. I am a true believer in Linked In, and I also would recommend the free class Linked In offers to job seekers. Also, thank everyone along the way who has helped you, and return the favor if you can some day.

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Ross -

Thanks again for being a part of this little social job search experience.

First, can you give a brief over view of your background and the circumstances that led to your unemployment?

My background is in IT sales, specifically as a software sales executive in my most most recent position.  The company is national and my territory was the southeast USA.  Due to the declining US economy and the effects on the company my position was eliminated as part of a company-wide reduction in force.

That sounds like a story that has unfortunately been repeated many times. What was the first thing you did when you started looking for a job?

The first thing I did when I got laid off was to update my resume and started using job boards like Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com that pull job listings from multiple boards.  I posted my resume to traditional boards like Monster and Careerbuilder.  I did a Google search in the first couple of weeks to find networking events in the area and started attending events from there.

You decided to go the more traditional route. What was the most valuable or successful thing you did to land the job?

Utilizing the contacts I met at the networking events as well as using LinkedIn are the most valuable things I did to land my new job.  The job was posted in the Jobs section of LinkedIn and I was able to learn a tremendous amount about the position before the interview from an insider at the company who I also met through LinkedIn.  I would not have met the insider through LinkedIn without developing relationships at the networking events, so networking is the most valuable.

How long were you unemployed?

I was unemployed for about 3 months.

What advice, based on what you’ve gone through, would you give someone who is looking?

I would recommend to post your resume to Monster and Careerbuilder but not browse their job postings.  I used Indeed.com once or twice a day to present a compilation of postings from several boards and company websites.  There are recruiters that look up resumes on job boards, so you should still have your resume out there.  Attending local networking events is crucial.  At every event I attended I either met someone that could help with my specific job search or I learned something new.  Even if you don’t meet someone that can help or learn any new information, you still meet people that you can connect to on LinkedIn.  The more contacts you have in LinkedIn, the more likely one of your contacts is connected to someone at a target company.  You need to find an insider at every company or organization that you apply to if you expect to be contacted.  There are hundreds or thousands of other people that apply to the same job and you have to somehow jump to the front of the line.

So here we have someone that used job boards, networking and social sites (ie LinkedIn) to actually find a job. Good to hear from someone who has had success using these tools.

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Here’s a quiz for you - name as many dual sports athletes as you can:

Deion Sanders football and baseball star.

Jim Brown was stellar in football and considered one of the greatest lacrosse players.

Charlie Ward played basketball and football.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee ran track and was a great basketball player.

Shaun White does snowboarding and skateboarding and dominates his sports.

Jackie Robinson dominated athletics at UCLA - Baseball, Football, Track, Basketball

How many dual career professionals do you know? We are increasingly moving towards a model where folks have more than one job. It used to be that women were expected to stay home, take care of the house and raise the kids. (Yes, I’m talking the dark ages!) Then we saw the rise of the dual income household - both parents working to make ends meet. Now, it’s all hands on deck - many working professionals hold a full time job AND do “a little something ” on the side. They have home businesses and consulting gigs that utilize their professional backgrounds.

We are all part of the connected world where so much of our lives are online. (Unless you’re still in the those dark ages I referenced above.) Many people check email on their BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm while they eat. Send invoices from bed or while brushing their teeth. Have conference calls in their pj’s over Skype at 6 am. These things are being done for the company they “work” as their own boss before/after going to work for their employer.

Mommy and Daddy are now the dual career stars juggling not only their work lives but also their family lives with the kids in tow. The thing to keep in mind is that in most cases the career of the dual sports star was short lived. He/she burned themselves out earlier than if they had focused on just one sport. Don’t let this happen to you. Yes it may be exciting and you get a great a sense of accomplishment but at what cost? It’s important that you set paramaters around the work you do outside of the office. Maintain a schedule and do your best to stick to it. Money is good. Sense of accomplishment and success is great. But none of this is of value without the good health to take advantage of it.

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Joerg-

Thank you again for taking the time to share with us what you’ve done to land your job.

Can you give a brief over view of your background and the circumstances that led to your unemployment?

My background is electrical engineering, my degree is from RWTH Aachen University in Germany. I specialize in analog circuit design, something that some of our professors told us would be a dying art. Of course they were wrong and I knew it but many others believed them. Then I started my career at Squibb Medical Systems, designing parts of medical ultrasound machines.

I was not unemployed. What happened was that my first employer closed their whole R&D facility in Europe. They offered us jobs in the US but the deal wasn’t all that attractive. So I became self-employed. Loved it. Back then I was able to turn a profit for my first year although I was only self-employed only the last six months of that year. This really baffled the tax folks (they called, asking if that was really true).

Thanks for the background and clarification. What was the first thing you did when you started looking for a more permanent or full time opportunity?

For my first job I compiled a binder with brief outlines, photos and schematics of all the hobby projects I had completed. Plus summer job projects as far as I was permitted to disclose them. Other students and even faculty at the university said this would be silly and I’d be ridiculed. Not so. At my first interview a hiring manager was poring over this binder, became really interested. I nailed it. Later when this manager’s car was in the shop and I gave him a ride home he said “Hey, can we swing by your house? I want to see that monster amplifier you had in your binder when you interviewed last year!”

Interesting approach. Why did you chose to do that?

It shows potential employers that you can organize your work all by yourself, get the design done and tested, plus furnish proper documentation. So they saw that they didn’t have to teach me to do that, they could just toss me into the pool and I’d be able to swim.

What was the most valuable or successful thing you did to land the job?

This binder, for the first job. Later when self-employed I wrote proposals. Whenever I saw something in whatever branch of the electronics industry where I thought “Hey, this could be done much better” I found out who the upper managers were at a particular company, or the CEO. This was not so easy in the 90’s but now with Internet it is very easy. All you have to find is the typical email prefix convention, the correct spelling of the person’s name, and bingo. Usually. It doesn’t work 100% of the time but then there is always the mail.

A proposal can take up to a week which is unpaid time. I try to condense mine into a maximum of 6 pages, or three double-sides sheets. No fluff, cut straight to the chase. This has landed me numerous consulting assignments and the best job I ever had (upper management).

What advice, based on what you’ve gone through, would you give someone who is looking?

Don’t shy away from he more unusual methods of contacting upper managers. Don’t listen to others when they say it’s a stupid idea. Try to get to talk to some managers at trade shows, not at job fairs where they usually won’t be present anyhow. But only do that when you have some ideas for their business, else they’ll politely end the conversation with some small talk.

I would not use platitudes in resumes, things like “team-oriented person”. I find it more important to outline achievements and personal goals, and where exactly you believe you could contribute.

Hint for engineering students: Get cracking with that solder iron. Build stuff. Just learning theory and simulations isn’t going to cut it. Try to land a technical summer job, not serving guests at some restaurant. Yeah, the tips may bring you more money but future employers will be much more impressed if you can say “I designed a so-and-so gizmo at SuperDuper Corporation” or “I worked on an oil rig” (I did both).

Think about whether self-employment is for you. It’s not for everyone but it is a very viable path for engineering and similar professions. Be frugal. I bought almost everything second hand. Desks, equipment, gear, and so on. Curb convenience expenses. No, you don’t really need cable TV, the daily stop at the coffee shop, and a pricey gym membership can often be replaced by chopping your own firewood, hiking and so on. Heck, I even have a prepaid cell phone for business. Costs me about five Dollars a month. We have no cable TV or satellite, my car is well past 10 years and in perfect shape, I use CostCo phone cards for business long distance calls. Not that I have to, but by choice. Resist the temptation to live from check to check, because one day an expected check might not show up. And don’t forget health insurance which can be the big show stopper for self-employment. If you have known risk factors or had too much illness in the past most likely you’d be unable to get any.

Last but not least give back to the community. Volunteer. Be active. My wife and I mostly do this through our church and it is very rewarding. Money is not the most important factor in life.

Joerg - thank you again for your thoughts and insights. Your approach has obviously worked for you and could do the same for others. If anyone would like to reach out to Joerg, feel free to contat him through his site http://www.analogconsultants.com/

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