The Ability Project » career

Don’t Listen To Us #2: Grace Boyle

Barb — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:00:09 +0000

Last time we brought to you our first “listen to them instead,” which was Rebecca Thorman of Modite.com. This week we are showcasing another person: Grace Boyle of Lijit.

Named by numerous websites as one of the top Gen-Y reads, Grace Boyle’s down-to-earth “Small Hands, Big Ideas” uncovers everything from social media to worklife to the need of finding balance in her busy life. With topics that everyone can find himself relating to and understanding, there is something for each person that comes across Small Hands, Big Ideas. And to add spice to this tasty find, guest bloggers (including her dad!) offer their own insight from time to time, as well as the Friday linky love, which shows off the week’s great finds. And with such an earnest and lovely personality, Grace is a must-follow.

Look to Grace for:

Anecdotal advice from this Gen-Y’er
Thoughts on work and social media
Musings on interesting workplace articles
Advice on balancing that new career and personal life
Opinions from those that she respects and admires
Ways to convince you that Colorado isn’t such a boring place to live

Can’t Make a Splash in the Career Services’ Job Pool? Swim at a New One.

Barb — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:09:26 +0000

You apply to dozens of internship and job listings on your school’s career website and have yet to receive one request for an interview, let alone an offer for any position. At this point, you’re probably questioning yourself. What’s the problem? The answer isn’t so simple: everything.

How did you find the job posting? Online, right? Think about it: everyone at school has access to this career service, and keep in mind that there are at least a couple hundred students in your major that are probably vying for this position. In addition to them, tack on the thousands of kids that are applying for the same position, but that are from different schools (you didn’t think that your school was THAT special, did you?). Your résumé being overlooked is a combination of bad luck and heavy competition. Your file may have been at the bottom of the stack, or the person before you is just that much more qualified. Unfortunately, the latter is the more likely scenario.

Stinks, doesn’t it? Well, take another moment (you’re jobless, so you have lots of time) and ask yourself, “is someone for whom you would rather work.” The two big problems that you may find are that the companies not listed on career services’ job board and that they don’t seem to have any positions open on their website. But that does not mean that you should sit and wait for an opportunity to arise. What you should be doing is creating your own.

After finding a company you like, take the time to find out the key contact person. No one ever enjoys receiving an unsolicited and impersonalized email asking for an internship. Aside from researching the company, try to learn a little about your contact and his/her accomplishments. Even though you won’t be praising them in your cover letter, it is good for you to form a connection in your mind between the name on the paper and the actual person.

What follows is the most important step and your first impression: the cover letter. You’ve already done all this work, so don’t ruin everything by sending them a generic “why you should hire me.” When you’re writing, ask yourself what you really want to gain from your time there and what you can contribute. For instance, are their specific services that they provide to clients in which you’re fabulous, such as graphic design? Pick out the skills that are important to the requested position by discussing the experiences that you weren’t able to elaborate on in your résumé. Be sure to follow-up several days after sending your application, which will not only ensure that they haven’t forgotten about you, but also affirms your interest in the company.

Even though you may not receive an immediate offer, take note of two ideas. First, you’re applying to places that you really want to work for. And second, the competition pool is a lot smaller than that of career services’ at school.

Personal Brand Positioning on LinkedIn

Caitlin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:43:33 +0000

Many college students have grown anxious about finding a job upon graduation. Entering a job pool that is already saturated is obviously difficult and finding a way to stand out is even harder. Developing a personal brand on LinkedIn is the most important choice that a student can make to differentiate themselves.

Bestselling author Dan Schawbel wrote an article entitled, “HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn”. Trying to decide how to best market yourself to prospective employers is not easy. As a student at Fordham University, I know that professionalism takes adequate practice.

Below are some pointers to get started building your personal brand on LinkedIn:

Properly position yourself. If you are in transition mode, portray what you want, not what you currently have. As a student, state your career objectives and goals upon graduation.
Fill in the space. Do not limit your work experience to the last few years. Add all relevant jobs and projects that you have done. Show off your diverse portfolio.
Cover your page with key phrases. Recruiters use keywords to find prospective employees. It is important for you to be highly visible in the search.
Build your network. As a novice, it may be difficult to think of everyone to invite. The best way to start is using the import feature, which adds your contacts from various email accounts.
Join Groups. Find groups within the industry you want to work and become a member. Interact within the groups. This will give you more exposure to potential employers, as well as, help with networking and finding key contacts.
Invitations. If someone adds you as a contact, accept them. The more people on your network, the more opportunities created. One distinct aspect of LinkedIn is that there are three different connections: first degree, second degree, and third degree. Adding one person potentially adds hundreds of two degree and thousands of third degree connections.
Show your leadership abilities! If you have a blog or personal website, add it to your page. If you do not, you can develop a group on LinkedIn to show your interests and strengths as a leader. Or you can create your own blog for free.
Stay up-to-date. Make sure that your profile is updated. As a personal brand, your presence should embody everything that you do. To best market yourself, keep jobs and experience as current as possible.
No Errors! Since you are developing a brand, make sure it is completely flawless because everything you do reflects who you are.

LinkedIn is one of the best professional tools appropriate for college students. Before entering the marketplace, have a topnotch profile. Remember to keep your personal brand consistent among all networking sites! When recruiters are researching you, it will be quite impressive.

Unemployment Slowing You Down?

Eric Barron — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:06:15 +0000

Back in March, TAP asked Adrienne Waldo, a Generation Y talent, to speak about utilizing social media at our Job Search Bootcamp. The full-day workshop was highlighted by Adrienne’s great social media session. Which equipped the audience with some great tools to land a job in today’s challenging economic climate.

This article in AdAge is a must read. The positive advice about finding employment can also be applied to advancing your career.

Don’t Let Unemployment Slow You Down: 7 Tips for Keeping Up Your Momentum in a Difficult Job Market. http://adage.com/gennext/post?article_id=138785

Thank you Adrienne for your “shout out” and mention of The Ability Project. For more from this talented young professional visit her blog: http://askamillennial.blogspot.com/