My friend is very talented and well connected but lazy when it comes to staying in touch with people. He has always has been but always had been able to get a new gig within 2 weeks of the previous one ending. With the market being good he would treat the 2 weeks as a vacation or a chance to do other things.

We knew his contract was coming to a close at the end of November after a 16 month run.

He kept saying, “Dude, I do not have the time or energy. I do not have time to attend industry events and my LinkedIn profile looks fine.”

He was right about his LinkedIn profile. It was and is still fine. But the issue with the logic is saying you are on LinkedIn and using LinkedIn, two very different things.

Even with the market slowing down he would have been able to get his next gig. He is that good. But then the slow down became a stall.

And then he started marketing himself AFTER his gig ended and slots were filled. Projects were planned and staffed. He found himself on the outside looking in.

One of our friends said, “I thought you would be at XYZ until after the 1st of the year, why did you not say anything? You know we would have taken you on.”

So what did he lose? A lot:

15 weeks x 40 hours = 600 hours

600 hours x $80 an hour = $48,000

Here is the moral to the story, you need to manage your career the way you manage maintenance on your car, doctor check ups and your next family vacation.

Do not have time to manage your career?

You cannot afford not to.

Article written by Paul DeBettignies is Managing Partner of Nerd Search, LLC a Minneapolis IT search firm, author of the http://www.mnheadhunter.com

Minnesota Headhunter blog, listed as a Top 20 Minnesota Social Media Innovator, frequent speaker and article contributor on recruiter, career, networking and social media topics with his related site http://www.beyourownheadhunter.com/

Be Your Own Headhunter Article courtesy of the http://www.recruitingblogswap.com/

Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for  students looking for internships and graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

 1.  BE PREPARED…

THE AWFUL TRUTH is, this will be the only time for you to make the first impression and you are at a disadvantage already. Over 50% of human communication is done through body language and with that piece missing in a phone interview, it is imperative that you be well prepared.  Start with a printed copy of your resume so that you and the person you are talking with are looking at the same document.  Have a list of your top accomplishments written out and placed in front of you.  Remember to focus these accomplishments around ways that you have either saved a company money, made a company money or improved a process or procedure.  In addition, you will want to have the research you have conducted on this company for reference.  As you share your accomplishments, you can relate the information you have gathered to the company and the position you seek.   Have a pen and paper for taking thorough notes.  Lastly, you will want to have your calendar readily available should the opportunity arise to schedule the face-to-face interview.  THE AWFUL TRUTH is, winners don’t wing it, they come prepared, do these things and you should move right on to the next step in the hiring process.

©Copyright, 2009, Nicole Dukehart and Jennifer Bruton. All rights reserved. Used with Permission.

Do you hate your boss?  Are you angry because you were passed over for a position that you were clearly the best qualified for? Are you feeling frustrated and unappreciated in your current position?   Sometimes these feelings are a good thing, they are just the push you need to leave your comfort zone and actually pursue your next best career step.   However, you need to put all of your negative feelings aside during your job search, this is not the arena to exact your wrath.  THE AWFUL TRUTH is, nothing will submarine a great opportunity for you faster than speaking negatively of your current or previous employer.  Your interviewer is not your counselor, they do not need to understand why you are so angry or what a big jerk your boss is.  All an interviewer sees, in those situations, is a person who will be trashing their company the same way next year and a potential employee problem.   You have to put a positive spin on why you are looking at the position.  Speak in positive terms about what this opportunity can do for your career, for example,  “I think I could grow with this company and have a better chance at advancement”, “I love the team philosophy here and could really thrive in this environment.”  When your motivation to make a job change is prompted by feelings such as anger, wrath or rage, then you need to keep that to yourself.  THE AWFUL TRUTH is, you need to put on a happy face when interacting with others during your job search, and then if you really need to, go home and punch a wall.

©Copyright, 2009, Nicole Dukehart and Jennifer Bruton. All rights reserved. Used with Permission.

Do you find yourself thinking things like “I can’t believe Bob just got that new job, my numbers were better than his?”  Do you spend precious moments obsessing over the fact that you and Charlie have the same skill set and comparable experience, but he is getting 10X the number of interviews?  THE AWFUL TRUTH is, it is a significant waste of your time to focus on other people’s job searches.  You will be much more successful in your own job search if you focus on yourself.  Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing, your energy is better spent identifying ways to improve your resume, acquiring new skills to make you more marketable, and networking with those that can help you get hired in the positions you seek.  THE AWFUL TRUTH is, being envious of someone else’s success only takes away from your own.

©Copyright, 2009, Nicole Dukehart and Jennifer Bruton. All rights reserved. Used with Permission.

LinkedIn is able to facilitate the exchange of ideas on a larger scale. In other words, the network does not just exist – it exists for a specific purpose, which is to increase professional and business opportunities for users. One of the ways that LinkedIn accomplishes this is by providing a means to update profiles as often as it is needed. This gives business contacts the chance to see your most recent projects and contact information.

The next question that should be answered is this: so what? A large number of contacts may seem impressive but how does this translate to actual results? LinkedIn is a valuable tool to professionals because it gives the resources that may otherwise not have been accessed. The website has features such as Answers and Groups that will allow you to get in touch with experts that specialize in the field that you’re interested in. Unlike ordinary research, LinkedIn narrows down the process through introductions and lets you search for people by name, title, company, and other pertinent details.

One of the effects of technology is that there is a wide array of information that is readily available. The downside of this is that it may just be too much. You never know what kind of data will appear about you if your name is searched. LinkedIn gives you control of the information that others can see about you. For individuals serious about the professional impression they want to convey, this is an invaluable opportunity.

With a membership over 40 million strong and counting, LinkedIn has become an important networking tool for everyone, but it has become absolutely essential for jobseekers. There are just too many people on it to ignore–and too many opportunities to connect with them. Jobseekers who learn to make the most of those opportunities–and learn to make LinkedIn work for them–are the ones who will experience the most success.

If you’d like to discover how to set up your LinkedIn profile to attract the attention of hiring managers while avoiding common mistakes, click here. To learn how to use your LinkedIn profile to target those hiring managers and get where you need to go, click here.

For more secrets to a successful job search, click here.

Written by Peggy McKee – the medical sales recruiter
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.