Coffee Shop Networking

Thursday, May 27, 2010 by Jeff Bockelman
I have to admit I am someone that does listen to some of the conversations that go on at other tables around me at the local Starbucks, Paradise Bakery and Panera Breads.

It's amazing how many of those conversations seem to touch on employment. Either someone is unhappy in their job, looking for a job, trying to fill a job... or just frustrated with their staff. My guess is that 75% of coffee shop conversations will touch on employment at some point.

Furthermore, coffee shops have become second offices for many professionals, and one business meeting can result in 3-5 mini meetings when you are introduced to others by the person you're with at the time. Kinda like speed networking!

Those mini meetings at coffee shops allow the next meeting to be warm, and much easier. Likewise, building a profile on CareerScribe, along with an introduction video, is an easy way to introduce yourself beyond a one page resume, making that next meeting all the more warm. When you realize that you can build a professional portfolio as part of your CareerScribe profile, you can understand how first interviews can be eliminated, and why online employee screening is becoming so popular.
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I love Mr. Peanut

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 by Jeff Bockelman
I never thought the Weiner Mobile could be outdone.



... but then the Nut Mobile comes along!!!











You just never know what you'll see when you're out driving around. Brands are all around us. If we were only as recognizable as Mr. Peanut, we wouldn't have to worry about a career portfolio. A place like CareerScribe to put our best work and examples of our accomplishments to help develop our own personal brands.

Companies are always looking for progressive ways to differentiate and screen employees, both internal and external. Consider progressive ways to represent yourselves to them!





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How can giving back can boost your Professional Profile?

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 by Susan Kent

When your un/underemployed, finding a new job can be all consuming. The last thing you're thinking about is giving up precious job-seeking hours to volunteer at the Boys Club or be a Brownie Club Leader. But these activities actually boost your professional portfolio. When a company fouces on quality hiring, well rounded candidates are a must. Leadership, communication, team work, and motivating others are just a few of the attributes that can be displayed and developed while volunteering. Don't forget to document those experiences in your free onine portfolio at CareerScribe.com.
Community work is also a great way to network. Some of the most powerful people in an industry will roll up their sleeves and coach kids or mentor students on the weekends. So take the focus off yourself for awhile, and reap the many rewards of volunteering.

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Vancouver Winter Olympics... talk about personal branding!

Thursday, February 18, 2010 by Jeff Bockelman
What better examples of personal branding.... Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Ohno, mogul star Dale Begg-Smith (the Man of Mystery).















All memorable brands, but if you think this happens by chance, or without effort.... think again! And without these brands, will their athletic accomplishments be remembered years in the future?

Much in the same way, individuals need to be developing their own personal brand through use of career portfolios and personal branding tools. By using tools like this, professionals can stand out amongst their competition, and be remembered during the candidate sourcing and candidate evaluation process.
 
Check out CareerScribe for just such a solution!
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Are you born with a personal brand, or must you create one?

Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Jeff Bockelman

In a recent comment to the Smaller Indiana question above, I offered these thoughts:

The term "personal brand", is a bit lame... but it has begun to stick. I live in this space, and I can tell you, that in just the last 30 days, I have heard the term "personal brand" used and recognized more than in the last 6 months. I'm willing to wager, you are going to hear it more in the next year, and it will be nothing new in 3 years.

Call it what you will, the concept is about the information that is available to everyone about you. Information that forms a basis for who people think you are.... whether it is your hobbies and interests, your religious affiliation, your family, your education, your career, charitable work, where you grew up, etc., etc., etc. Organizaitons use this information to screen employees. Fair or not, all of these things collectively allow others to form an opinion of you. An opinion that you can't discuss with them.... not that they would even give you a straight answer if you asked them anyway.

Everyone should consider being proactive with this. You will have a tough time removing much of the information on you that can be found on the internet, but you can make a conscious decision about what you would like others to think about you in the next 5-10 years, and try to manage that impression. Develop an online professional portfolio of your best stuff. Over time.... you can likely change your "brand", much like Target did.... but it takes time.

Most are going to talk about personal branding, but many aren't going to take the long term steps necessary to really make a difference. I believe that there is great opportunity here.... obviously (CareerScribe), to get ahead of your competition, at least for a few years.... then who knows.

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Tools for American Job Seekers

Saturday, January 9, 2010 by Jeff Bockelman

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is conducting a challenge to find online career and search tools.  This is a perfect challenge for CareerScribe as we are a free, ongoing virtual career management system for individuals to develop their personal brand.

The DOL has created a website for this challenge, that allows a company in enter information about its solution. After a company enters into the challenge, it is up to the public to vote (and comment) on entries.  CareerScribe has already submitted our application and would love your help in securing a top spot in this challenge, as we provide opportunities for both individuals and companies to utilize our online platform and services for career management and development.

One vote already cast for us summarized our tool in a great comment:

"As a Career Coach, I find this tool to be extremely useful in two primary ways.

1. Information -
While preparing my clients for a job search, this tool gives them the ability to collect all of their valuable information about their career in one place.

2. Presentation-
The CareerScribe system allows for a through and organized presentation of their skills to potential employers.

I am confident that this system has helped many of my clients in the acquisition of their next opportunities, and I intend on using it for years to come."

To cast your vote and help us continue the CareerScribe movement, and grow our community, follow these steps:

1) Visit the U.S. DOL Challenge
2) Click "Login/Signup"
3) Enter unique email address (each email counts as 1 vote) and create password
4) Answer the 2 questions and click "post data"

Here's the important part!

You are now logged in and can submit your vote.... to do so:
5) Visit the CareerScribe entry page

  • Be sure it says "CareerScribe" before you vote!

6) Click "Recommend Tool" to vote

And your done!

We appreciate all your help, and look forward to helping more individuals develop their personal brand and manage their careers!  For more information on how CareerScribe works with companies for quality hiring and our applicant tracking system, you can find more information here.
 

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Have you Googled yourself lately?

Thursday, December 10, 2009 by Jeff Bockelman
Recently I conducted several career classes at IU University where I discussed personal branding and CareerScribe.

One of the first questions I asked each class of 60 was... "How many of you have Googled your own name recently?". I was shocked that only 4-5 students raised their hand. Taking into consideration that probably 8-10 of the students were sleeping... I still think those are surprisingly low numbers. Upon asking the question... you would have thought I asked who in the room had logged onto a pornography site recently. Students appeared embarrassed to admit they checked what was out there on themselves.

Fact is.... If you're not paying attention to the personal brand that is being developed about you online, you are really missing the boat, and the longer you wait to develop these habits, the harder it is going to be to change that brand if it's inaccurate.

All progressive companies are utilizing the internet in their candidate sourcing process, as well as internally for performance management and to screen employees. Individuals are using search engines to form an opinion about people to network with, friends, coworkers, etc. If you ever used an web dating site and not Googled the person you met to see what else you can find, you are REALLY taking a chance!

More and more career portfolio sites are surfacing to help individuals better tell their stories and have an impact on their personal brand. I can certainly be accused of being biased, but over the next 3-5 years, I believe you will be left behind by your peers if you are not developing the habits of true "Career Management". Of course I also believe CareerScribe is one of the best tools out there to help you do that now!

Happy Branding!!!!
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Will an employer take the time to review my profile?

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Jeff Bockelman

In a recent career class at Indiana University, a student asked an interesting question. This student was concerned that an employer would actually take the time to review their professional portfolio on CareerScribe.



















My response is "Well... do you think an employer is taking the time to review your resume among hundreds?"

It's not the first time that I've heard this comment. Unfortunately, what I've come to find is the question is really less about whether they believe an employer would want to have additional details, proof, artifacts and a video introduction to screen employees... OF COURSE THEY DO! The reality is that most people just dread the idea of having to spend more time documenting their career accomplishments, successes, etc. Do a video?..... "I hate the way I look on video." They are hoping they can just get by with that boring resume!

Fact is.... you can get by with just a resume. Resumes will not be going away anytime soon. The question to ask yourself is do I want to be competing for jobs with an archaic, dying tool like a resume, or do I want to give myself an edge by using progressive tools that help me tell my story through a free online portfolio... and make my best first impression through video? Give a potential employer the opportunity to get some real insight on you, without asking them to invest 4-10 hours of time scheduling, and bringing you in for an interview, which most of the time doesn't result in a fit.

My final comment.... as your "Career Personal Trainer".... Don't be so lazy, and get out there and compete in the top 10% of your peer group who are using these technologies to present themselves and their personal brand in a compelling way.
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Person of the Year

Sunday, October 11, 2009 by Susan Kent
 I'm not sure Bernacke would have been my first choice for Person of the Year (let alone anyone with a hand in this financial mess). BUT, no one asked me. But it did get me to think, "Am I anyone's Person of the Year?"
What have I accomplished this year? Who have I impacted? I hope my manager put my name on his short list of nominees for Person of the Year. If he didn't, I could use my CareerScribe portfolio to document, describe, and share my accomplishments to make a case for my eligiblity for POTY. And if he still doesn't see my value, I'll take my career portfolio on the road to market myselt to managers who will see that value!
So here's a little something for you to think about. Are you known for your accomplishments? Do you have a free online portfolio through CareerScribe to document your value? Would anyone pick YOU as their Person of the Year?  If not, get a professional portfolio started and set your New Year's resolution to become your organization's POTY for 2010.
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Projecting Forward

Sunday, October 11, 2009 by Susan Kent
A resume tells me what you've done in the past. Yips.

A bio or cover letter tells me the process that took you from point A to point B. Yeah.

A portfolio shows me the artifacts from your past. Mmm Hmm.

Have you ever noticed the irony of using your past to change your future. Which is fine, except most people do it badly. See, they are so focused on the past when creating their career marketing tools (including, of course, online career portfolios), they forget to keep their eye on the prize i.e. where they want to go.  Simply detailing your duties at previous or current employers will not attract future employers. Potential employers want that information AS IT PERTAINS TO THEM. If you used a proprietary system at your last employer, you next employer won't care...it was proprietary for crying out loud! There is no chance that skill is meaningful to them. BUT if you streamlined that proprietary system and saved the company 100K, now a potential employer cares.  See the difference? You have to show results and relevant information, not just a list of the facts. But if you like facts, here's one for you - they are going to train you on their way of doing things, so even if you already know how to oil a widget, you're going to be trained on their widget oiling method. Better to demonstrate a history of quick learning and adaptability. So go back through your professional portfolio and make sure it projects you forward, rather than holds you back. 
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Personal Branding and Your Online Portfolio

Sunday, October 11, 2009 by Susan Kent
Personal Branding - I hope for your sake you're not saying, "what?"  

Here's the short of it - if you were selling yourself, how would you design the package? What words would you use, what colors, shapes, pictures, etc. would you choose? What exactly do you want people to think of you professionally? Now ask yourself this question..."What exactly DO people think of me professionally?" You may have some work to do. 

Now that we're square on personal branding, what in the world does this have to do with creating a free online portfolio with CareerScribe? Well, if you aren't projecting a clear brand you've definitely got work to do.  See, employers aren't big on guessing who you are going to be in the workplace (confident, loyal, decisive, etc). so you better make it really clear in your professional portfolio. 

And one word of caution. Selecting items to include in your career portfolio that define and reinforce your brand isn't rocket science. I recently met a man who claims that without him, you can't possible be effective at creating a brand. And for a mere $3,000 and two days of your time, he can turn you into the type of individual people throw money at. (google 'your business card is crap' and you'll have the misfortune of meeting him) Keep your three grand. There is plenty of great advice on the web, and even a For Dummies book about it. The point is, it's important, but it's not that difficult. Now go on, you've got work to do!

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David Rowe's personal marketing statement

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 by Sean Reiche
David Rowe has joined the legions of people looking to stand out on big job boards (i.e. CareerBuilder, Monster, Craigslist).  Right now those sites have more candidates than they can present to their employers in a powerful way.  That means so many people are getting lost in the fray.

So how do you stand out?

David Rowe decided to take a sandwich board and dress up in a suit to walk the streets.  He offered to work the first month for free at which time his employer could decide whether or not to keep him.

This has been a tactic many sales people have used to get their foot in the door with their product.  This time, the market is saturized with candidates just like you.  You have to make a more compelling offer, share more information about yourself up front (not just a resume and cover letter), and act like a salesman, even if you're a computer geek like me.

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Improving the Candidate Sourcing Process

Friday, September 18, 2009 by Jeff Bockelman

There seems to be a real opportunity out there for recruiting and staffing firms to reinvent the recruiting process for their customers. The old processes that have been around for years, which involve presenting resumes to companies for their open positions, is dying a slow death... significantly increased by the events of the past year.



The staffing firm of the future, must be able to present their candidates in a much more progressive way than resumes, if they want to beat their competition by helping their clients screen employees more efficiently. Thinking you have a better database of candidates than the next guy, and that is your competitive edge.... has been over for at least 3 years now.

Staffing firms should be considering the use of candidate profiles, which isn't entirely a new concept.... but the content and look/feel of the profile has changed. Profiles should likely include portfolios of documentation that prove the accomplishments, experience, education and certifications a candidate has. Furthermore, video should be considered to introduce presence, professionalism, passion, enthusiasm, etc. A profile might also include background verification and personality/skills assessments. Essentially, you are eliminating a first interview through the use of a professional portfolio.

CareerScribe offers this type of candidate evaluation tool. An application that allows professionals to develop an online personal brand.

 





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Fear of Video

Friday, August 28, 2009 by Jeff Bockelman
Video is a great tool for personal branding. If you're not using it currently, you should and likely will. So better to start getting comfortable with it now.

Speaking as a former Accountant and CPA, I know video is scary for 75% of the professionals out there. You see it all the time on the internet, YouTube, etc., everyone makes it look so easy, but you get paralyzed before even explore it.

Most phones or even cameras have decent forms of video quality now. Quality that is perfectly acceptable for use in your professional portfolio, etc. Other options include webcams, flip videos ($129 or less at Best Buy) and personal digital video cameras. I often try to steer professionals away from overdone, overedited videos. Being yourself, or at least your professional self (so know kegger party videos), is usually more effective these days when using video for personal branding or video job interviews.

Since it is highly recommended that you keep these personal, professional video introductions to no more than a minute or so, it is frequently possible to do the video in one take, with a little practice. However, using simple video editors, like MS Windows Movie Maker... which comes standard on most computers, can be a lot of fun and not take a lot of time. If you're video is much longer than 1 to 1.5 minutes, you risk not having it viewed during the online employee screening process.

When you think about your opportunity to make YOUR BEST FIRST IMPRESSION through the use of video, or you can just follow the heard by continuing to send resumes, I don't understand why everyone isn't using video.
 
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Branding Yourself

Friday, August 21, 2009 by Jeff Bockelman
     This morning, CareerScribe presented at an event called "Branding Yourself". The name is pretty self explanatory. It's exciting to see that many people are becoming aware of the concept of personal branding. Although, when the attendees were asked why they were there, of the 120 in attendance, most were there because they were involved in an Indianapolis Job Search.
     Unfortunately, it seems that most people associate personal branding with resumes and looking for a job. Personal branding is something that needs to develop over time, it's not something you do in a day, week or even a month. Brands are not developed overnight! It should be viewed as a long process. Be deliberate about the brand you want to develop, and add something every week to your story, and eventually over time, your brand will develop.
     There are many free online portfolios that can help you accomplish the organization associated with this process. Selecting the best tool, like CareerScribe, is an important part of the process. The right tool should allow you to tell your story with words, documents, photos and video. It should be easy to navigate, and it should allow you to share your story, or professional portfolio, with others.
    
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Networking as a lifestyle...

Saturday, August 1, 2009 by Sarah Wells
"True networking is when you spend time with people who do the work you want to do, talking shop.  Good networking involves working with other active professionals, even if it's on a volunteer project, or to learn something new.  Good networking is rubbing elbows and enjoying talk and activities related to the work you want to do." - http://kensoper.com/?p=240 -

I helped coordinate and presented at a job seeker event this morning at my church (shout out to Greenwood Community Church in Greenwood Village, CO).  After a short introduction and setting expectations, I went into a round table discussion about networking.  My first question to each person was "Why are you here today?"  The group was 28 strong; every single person in the room told me what they wanted and/or needed (a job, lead, encouragement, networking contacts, resume help, etc). 

Surprised?  Not one person discussed what they could offer or how they could help the group.  Based on my experience as a sales person, recruiter, and active networker; if you want to people to follow you (as on Twitter) or more importantly, want to lead you to that next opportunity, be prepared to focus on giving, not getting.
  • Make networking the way you are, not something you do.
  • Build relationships before you need them.
  • Become a resource for your clients, colleagues, company, networking partners, family, and friends.
  • Look for relationships outside your areas of interest and expertise.
  • Be purposeful, prepared, persistent, and patient.
"The message is clearly a proactive one, "take the initiative", but not in a self centered manner.  Rather, put the other person(s) first in your life, and what goes around will come around. " - - http://kensoper.com/?p=240 -

At CareerScribe, our mission goes beyond "just" providing a polished and creative career management portfolio to help you enhance your personal branding campaign.  Social responsibility is a key motivator behind our vision.  Join us, share your story, and tell us...

How can we help you?
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Social Media and the grammar playground

Friday, July 31, 2009 by Susan Kent
I heard a discussion recently that really made me think (and I do everything I can to avoid that!). It was like having two good friends angry at each other, both with valid points. So it left me feeling torn...

The discussion was about social media, progressive thought, and professional representation. One party thought content ruled the day, and that the occasional word omission, misspelling, and "make up a word if you need to" line of thinking is progressive and powerful - and people who feel grammatical astuteness and spelling perfection are a must are archaic.

The other party feels writing as though you didn't pass 8th grade english is childish, ignorant, and misplaced in the professional world. And arguably, it depends on what professional world you are in. But the parties involved feel in most cases, they are right. Maybe they are both wrong. 

See, I was an English major. No misspelling, word omission, or punctuation error gets by me. I don't always take the time to correct them, but I always notice them, particularly in professional documents. But I get that not all people find those areas important, that sometimes the content and the attitude of the material far outweighs the need for proper comma usage. So who's right? Do you form impressions of people/products based on their command of the English language? Would you forgive word omissions and other errors when evaluating candidates if their content was great, or would you dismiss even the best candidate if you saw mistakes in their career portfolio? I think the real deal breaker is who is READING the content, not who is writing it. And by the way, those were not rhetorical questions...I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

So my point today is that even if you don't place a high level of value on grammatical perfection, the person who reads your professional portfolio through CS might, so take a moment to proofread.  Class dismissed.
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Candidates play the odds - an interesting encounter

Saturday, July 18, 2009 by Sean Reiche

I was speaking with someone about their job search today.  They were frustrated by their job search.  They were being selective about the jobs they were applying to through the big boards and not receiving any calls back.

This caused them to stop and reflect.  The result of that thought, though, produced some interesting results.

Instead of concluding that he needs to find a way to seperate from the rest of candidates that are sending the same cover letter with the same resume attached to an email, the conclusion was that they were not sending to enough jobs.  The odds were not in their favor.

What we are proposing is a change in philosophy.  What a lot of people do not understand is that for good jobs, they are not entering a pool of 20-30 candidates.  They are entering a poole of several hundred or more inside of a talent management system.  They usually just use the big job boards for candidate sourcing.

Every hiring manager knows the secret to quality hiring is getting past the several hundred into a manageable amount.  There are many different ways that different managers use, but obviously, someone that sticks out as interesting or deserving of more attention gets included in this.

The short story is most professionals are only beginning to realize they have to market themselves just like any other product a company buys.  CareerScribe is a great tool that allows people to do just that.  It allows you to market all of your skills and value in a professional and dynamic way and share a rich amount of information beyond a boring resume/cover.  If you want that first interview, you can still be selective.  It's just time to start being your own biggest fan and spend some time with CareerScribe.
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The MOST important thing about creating a video on CareerScribe

Friday, July 17, 2009 by Sean Reiche


Do not let your video be anything at all like this:


In all honesty, there are so many things wrong here, I thought it was a joke a first. It isn't and he really thought this would land him the job. You can learn more video tips inside our site and through the welcome series you get shortly after registering.
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Where did all the jobs go? Where did all the good candidates go?

Monday, July 13, 2009 by Sean Reiche
I was walking around the streets of Boston this week and saw this sight:



It actually made me laugh that people would turn to a newspaper dispenser to look for their next career.  What's even funnier (or maybe scary?) is that candidates believe companies look for candidates in a similar manner.

They think that companies go to their file cabinet, pull out a list of resumes, and start going through them.  Some more technically inclined may think they do the same, only digitally.  Download some resumes, look through hundreds, and make a decision from there.

The reality is companies don't have the time to do that.  Instead, they would like to view the information about a candidate in a professional manner, dynamically, and using smart search tools.

This is why it's so important to have a great career management profile.  Companies use this info to quickly find you and evaluate you deeper than a paper (or word doc) resume.

So instead of focusing on finding jobs in newspaper dispensers; manage and share your own career.  You can then use CareerScribe to share your profile and tell your story.
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