Australian Experiential Learning Centre

#job #jobsearch | Another great strategy for acquiring work is to consider the opportunities that exist in your local community.

Recently I was in my local library and happened to notice a guide titled “Focus Your Career – On the City of Fremantle”. I thought this was an excellent example of the hidden job market which I spoke about in a previous post.

If you value the opportunity to work close to home or even in another part of Perth that interests you, please consider the information in this blog post and add this approach to your employment search strategies.

Recently I was helping my partner to choose clothes for work and I picked up a brochure from Portmans which was slightly humorous but also a good reminder of how professional attire can impact on personal branding.

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Looking for this article? – Win-win with Cross Generational Hiring – Boomers vs Gen Y
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Presence & Perception – The Keys to Online Professionalism

As a working professional in 2011 you will almost certainly have a digital footprint. On some platforms there is a record of your interaction with the digital world. Perhaps like 9 million other Australians you visit Facebook each and every month, or tweet on Twitter, post to a blog, check in on Foursquare or maintain a profile on LinkedIn.

When it comes to meeting face to face have you considered that it’s most likely that the other person has already met you or at least looked at your digital footprint? With that in mind, on-line professionalism is a component of your career that needs attention and management. How then do you manage your on-line professionalism?

There are two key elements to consider; 1) Presence & 2) Perception. Before we look at the take away tips lets define these elements. Your Presence is your selected mix of on-line activities, the combination of blogs, web sites and social media in which your digital footprint is accessible. Perception is the impression that others who can access your Presence take from how you craft your on-line image.

It is critical to maintaining a professional on-line image that you allow time to consider these elements and allocate time to managing them. In particular the Do’s & Don’ts you can take away are:

Do…

• Realise people often know something about you prior to meeting you.
• Select your presence and only utilise the on-line platforms that are appropriate for you
• Manage your perception by adjusting your settings within each platform. There is a lot of information on social media privacy that is easily accessible through websites such as www.mashable.com
• Be appropriate to your professional position and maintain consistency over the content you share.

Don’t …

• Make Facebook status updates that could be taken the wrong way or will be of detriment to others’ perception of you
• “Like” Facebook pages that could be offensive to others or could associate you with negative connotations
• Share photos with everyone. Create a list and share them only with these people.

When used intelligently, your digital footprint will add value to your career and increase the likelihood of opportunities coming your way. Make time this week to improve your on-line professionalism by considering your presence and managing your perception. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this in context of your own career, please email me: gavin.williams@aelc.edu.au

#job #jobsearch | In this instalment of the Career Rising video blog, Gavin looks at the huge opportunity for finding employment outside of the ‘normal’ advertised positions. Includes invaluable tips on how to access the hidden job market.

So you have made the decision to move on up in the world huh? That’s excellent! The first challenge is to find your ideal role but after looking on the internet and in the paper you have found that what’s being advertised isn’t of much interest to you. Sound familiar?

Well that’s because, at most, only 20 percent of the jobs available out there are actually advertised. In addition to this, the percentage of job opportunities advertised in the traditional locations such as the employment section of the paper or on major job websites are constantly dwindling.

To overcome these conditions you need to tap into the hidden job market. If 20 percent of available jobs are advertised, then 80 percent must be  available elsewhere. So where do I find them and how do I apply for them you ask?

Simple! Write a list of potential employers; places you would like to work at and companies you would like to work with. Obtain the telephone contact details of each place on the list, call them and use the following script.

“Hi my name is……… I am interested in working with………..(insert name of company).

Can you please tell me how you do your recruitment for…..(insert name of role you desire)?”

This will result in the receiver of the call providing you with details of their preferred method of receiving an application for that role. They may direct you to the company website, ask you to email/fax through a Resume or perhaps even visit the organisation in person.

Be ready to write down the details they provide you. In particular if they direct you to email or fax an application, make sure to ask who it needs to be addressed to and their role or title within the company. Showing attention to detail will ensure your application gets to the appropriate person and stands out from other applications received.

So, if up till now you have been amongst the majority of people looking at the mere 20 percent or less of jobs that are advertised, I encourage you to try this approach. Make a list, place the calls and get the application for your ideal role in. Quick! Before everyone else finds out about the hidden job market!