BYOBM - If you've got it, flaunt it!

Spring has sprung! Birds are chirping, pedestrians are darting out in front of my car, I narrowly avoid running into people on bikes – seriously some of you people are slightly dangerous. Ahhhhh…. Summer is on its way. And to top it off I’m seeing signs of an upswing in the market. WOO HOO!!

Recently, I was fortunate enough to take part in a few events focusing on job hunting, technology, new products, etc. at the Microsoft building in Cambridge, MA. Can we talk about how awesome the facilities are? 3 words – fully stocked fridges.

Highlights of the meetings included an evening devoted to discussing how best to use social media in an organization, 4 hours of resume review helping professionals market themselves, and yet another evening devoted to proctoring presentations for MITX (Massachusetts Information Technology Exchange) technology awards. And now I shall share what I’ve learned. I feel the need to put a “Confucius Say” here but will refrain.

Social Media:
First and foremost - BYOBM!! Be your own best marketer. Social media is what you make it. Are you Twitter savvy? Perhaps you are able to connect with millions via a group on Facebook? Or even better- you can do both and they are linked together? ROCK ON. The evening (Girls in Tech – Using Social Media in your organization) had 4 panelists answering questions regarding this very topic and I realized something when I left that night – if you are putting yourself out there – whatsoever – it will bring a response. Twittering (sending Tweets), updating your Facebook status, creating content for a website or (giggle) a blog.
BYOBM and they will come….

Resume Review:
I’m sure most of you know by now – I love helping people with their resume. Why? No clue. I get giddy knowing that I may be helping that person. And when it works – I sing the following song. The other night a gentleman who I had helped in a VERY packed resume review session came up to me at another event and said “I got an interview by using what you told me.” I had one of those moments where I had to think of what my face was looking like at that moment – because inside I was jumping up and down. Small win for him, a huge joy for me. HOWEVER – the moral of the story is: tailor your resume. BYOBM – don’t assume that a company will “guess” that you have the skills. If they’ve taken the time to write a description – you need to take the time to acknowledge the description. Assume that the first person who sees your resume will have NO CLUE who you are or what you do – then what?

MITX Awards:
OK – I have to say helping with MITX was probably one of the COOLEST nights. Technology companies far and wide came to Microsoft to show off the newest concepts in several categories. My categories – gaming and rich media. Can we talk about how awesome the future of gaming and rich media is going to be? There’s nothing like sitting in a room with insanely smart people (MIT, Harvard, Yale, Carnegie Melon – the gang’s all here) and feeding off of their intelligence. Stay tuned IN folks – join industry groups. You will learn a lot and it will allow you to BYOBM at the events.

The moral: To succeed in this crazy world – you have to BYOBM (SERIOUSLY GIVE IT A SHOT), attempt to help others, and spend a few minutes with a nerd. Trust me.

Fa La La La - Layoffs??

2008 – What a year! We have a historic President-Elect who we are hoping will inspire the American public. It has been officially declared that the United States has been in a recession for the past 12 months. Companies are laying off ten’s of thousands of workers while others are closing completely. And finally to top it off – a Journalist in Iraq attempted to hit George W. Bush with not one, but both of his shoes and almost succeeded. This one is definitely headed for the record books.

Of these moments, my guess is that most Americans are going into the Holiday season bracing for what 2009 will bring – more layoffs? Who will be next? The longest recessions on record since WWII have been 16 months total – are we nearing an end?

For those of you out there affected by the layoffs, I offer some tips on putting yourself back out on the market.
1. Sit down and spend part of an entire day on your resume. Whatever you do, don’t throw together your most recent job history out of anger and spite – because let’s be honest, it won’t serve to hurt the company – just YOUR job prospects.

2. Be very detailed with regard to how you can help the company with whom you are applying by utilizing cover letters, well thought out emails, etc. Be your own best marketer. (BYOBM) If you’re applying for a Project Management role, your resume should talk about Project Management skills and your cover letter should indicate your strengths with regard to – Project Management.

3. Send your resume to a friend to have them proof it for errors – you would be surprised at the amount of errors despite your best effort to read it dozens of times.

4. Take your suits to the dry cleaner – yes I know that the world is more casual, however, hiring managers want to see you in a suit. This goes for both men and women.

5. Sell, sell, sell – Post your resume, consult with Recruiters that you trust (like me), and apply to roles on-line. Don’t expect the job to come to you. (Sidenote: Keep a detailed list of jobs that you have applied to and be very clear with Recruiters regarding roles that you have applied to directly).

6. Carry copies of your resume with you. Do not assume that they have one printed out – take the burden off of them. They will notice. You can print at Kinkos.

7. If you have non-competes, have a copy with you so you can speak to the restrictions.

8. Have your references ready to go – already contacted, primed, and excited to talk about you. A big red flag goes up when a company asks for references, and the candidate answers “ummmm. Let me check on that.”

9. Be very clear about your salary needs but be realistic. You may have been making $150,000 last year, but have you done the research recently to see what folks are now making? I bet you’ll be surprised to see it has dropped somewhat. You must let them know your flexibility.

10. Eye contact, firm handshake, and enthusiasm – they go a long way.

Just some friendly advice to those job hunters unexpectedly tossed back on the market.