Getting that Gov Gig – Marketing Yourself in a Tricky Job Market

The next great Government App -You!

Job Search is the New Career….Every 3-5 years you will be looking for a new job. Professionals will on average change careers 11 times.*

*Bureau of Labor Standards

Some Common Misconceptions about Career Search

When is the best time to find a job?

When you have a job!

Who are the best people to help you find a job? Recruiter? Headhunter?

Actually your current and future network, which includes your current co-workers, supervisors and staff.

True or False? I only need to market/network/build relationships when I’m looking for my next job, frustrated with my current job, or have messed up and know I am going to be fired?

False

To find My Next Job All I Need to Do is….

Tell a few friends because everyone knows how great I am

Add my most recent job titles and responsibilities to my résumé and blast it out to my email list

Only answer 1-2 job postings because the right job posting is out there for me

Finding a job is a full time job.

Fast connections are good for….

WiFi,

traveling through Chicago,and

passing through Metro Center during rush hour

But not good for building a network

There are no Silver bullets

Except for Vampires….

To get the job done you have to lay the groundwork, do the work and keep at it.

Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.“

Marketing…

What are some of the brands that resonate with you?

How do they “market“ to you?

What have they done to get your attention? Ads, Social Media, Customer Service, Product benefits

Do the brands have “values” that you can identify and remember?

How do they determine who their customers are?

How do you create the “Brand Of You?”

The Brand of You is…

Packaging – resume, profiles, Product deliveryFulfilling your commitments? Over committing? Pass the blame, accept the fame?How do you interact with people in your office, team, clients?Do you say thank you – and mean it?Do you listen or just talk?

How you live & work is the essence of your Brand.

Guess What?

Your product marketing has already launched!

The brand of You already has its brand reputation, values established in the marketplace.

Do you know what this “truly” is?

Doing the SWOT on the Brand of You…. Strengths……Skills, abilities, clearance, SME Work style Network

Weaknesses…..Do you need more .edu or certs? Holes in your network?

Opportunities…Learning new skillsAbility to move

Threats……Does your brand need an overhaul? Limited skill set?

Looking at the Job Search from the Other Side of the Equation

What is it like for a recruiter, hiring manager, HR person to find the right candidate?

Looking for CandidatesThere are many tools that are used by individuals looking to hire

There is not one standard out there

While having a job board like USAJOBS is good, hiring managers will still use as many tools as possible to find their next right candidate, and

Each manager has their preferred method.

And there is only one way to find out: Ask.

When you meet any recruiter, hiring manager, or HR manager, just ask them “how do you find a candidate?”

It’s not all online

While much of the work in finding the right job or the right candidate is online,

There will always be a portion of the “getting to know you” offline.

Face-to-face events are very important for a candidate to see how the agency represents itself and for the agency to see if you fit into the culture or interface well with their client.

Face-to-face events help prepare you for the interviews.

What is the tried and true, still #1 way that people hire other people?

Referrals

What is the world like for the Recruiter or Hiring Manager?

Usually doing at least one other job besides finding a new person,

Or trying to fill 100+ positions each week

Typically they will have a variety of metrics they need to meet and report on either weekly or monthly

Finding candidates costs $$ but there are no $$ in the budget.

Some of the other considerations on the part of person doing the hiring

Usually doing another job other than recruiting or hiring new staff

Systems that must be used to track the candidates that are considered such as ATS, HRMS

Regulations that must be met to ensure that the right candidates are considered and then hired such as EEOC, OFCCP.

What are the tools that will be used someone is hiring?

Internal career site – USAJOBS, or company siteJob Boards – niche or generalJob postings – paid or freeCareer fairs or eventsContests, games & challenges Social media Mobile

Any combination of or all of the above or some secret sauce – as unique as the person doing the hiring

How is your “customer” going to find Brand of “You”…

Your resume and profiles for a start

When was the last time you looked at your resume? How many versions of your resume do you have?

Do you know how your resume is “read” by a company?

Recruiters will spend no more than 15 seconds looking at your resume.

Keywords the lifeblood of any search – are they in your resume, profiles, bio, summaries?

Updated? Resumes are like cheese and fish, they need to be “refreshed” or they go bad.

Basics of being “available” for your “customer”…..

Are you available in the ways that your customer wants to reach you?It’s great that you are part of XYZ community but if the person who is hiring you is in ABC community, how will you connect?

Email address – not a time to advertise your interests

Cell phone – not the time to share insights into your world

Be a connection and/or dater but not a stalker.

Social Media Used for Recruiting

Social recruiting around for almost 10 years. But, not everyone is using it.

The challenge is knowing who is and who isn’t, which you won’t know.

It is one aspect of marketing your Brand. Are you using social media for “social” or career development?

Remember that your customers might be on different communication channels .

What do your profiles say about you?

Do you have the settings updated?

Are you sharing too much or the wrong thing?

Remember: Referrals # 1 way to find your next gig

Ways to Use Twitter to support your career search and developmentCustomize your “bio” to include your quals & info recruiters to search

Follow companies that you are interested in and/or their job posting feed

Follow/ connect with recruiters & SME’s in your industry

Gather information on key topics, comment on it and share with your network

Quality not quantity

Remember basic courtesies and etiquette - Please and thank you, no profanity, no spam

Ways to Use Facebook to support your career search and development

Active user of Facebook?

Be sure to set up the lists of people you share information with between your close BFFs and the general public;

Fill out your profile similar to your resume if you are in an active search

Not on Facebook?

Set up a minimum profile to be able to communicate and be found

“Like” companies, organizations , government agencies

Be part of key groups in the industry such as AFFRIM, AFCEA

Ways to Use LinkedIn to support your career search and development

Crafting your Profile properly which means:

Picture & SummaryList accomplishmentsBlog, twitter, websiteUpdate at least monthly, more so if in an active search

Status Updates – 2-3 times a weekYour Network – 500+

Connect to Slideshare account

LinkedIn – How You Connect with Others

Your network is part of your brand

Personalizing and customizing your invitations

Providing recommendations for current and previous co-workers

Being part of groups – participating ( also job postings)

“Like” ing posts, commenting, being an active part of the community

Events

Following companies, organizations

Bringing it all together – Your Overall Marketing

What is your product ?

How you network, how you work with others, how you complete your current tasks, what you stand for

What is your product packaging?

Your resumes, profiles, bios , updates, posts

What are you communications?

You have different audiences who want to hear information in different ways

Your product has to be marketed offline as well as online.

Interviewing….

You currently are being interviewed by the people that you work with

Your interviews with companies start well before the onsite , Face-to-face interview

It is your overall interaction with the company before, during and after you meet with the company

Meeting and working with people of different generations and cultures

The mechanics of coming into and going out of a job

When you first come into a new job, do you….

Impress and show off?

Or do you listen, learn and ask questions?

When you are leaving your job, do you….

Build or burn bridges?

Do you plan and prepare for the transition or the Going Away party?

Appreciation – a little goes a long way.

Take time to say “Thank You” to someone you have worked with, who has helped you, or provided key information

Thank you notes are not just for your Mother’s friends, but a critical part of all networking

Handwritten thank you notes are appreciated but in some instances such as interviews an email is OK

5 things to do by the Next Gen Summit July 28th/ 29th

Determine your brand

Can you in 7 words or less describe what you do?

Clean out and organize

Truly say thank you to someone every day

Take a technical sabbatical

Kathleen Smith, CMO, ClearedJobs.NetFriend me on GovLoop, or LinkedIn

Email: KSmith@ClearedJobs.Net