“Assessment” Tools for Discovering and Articulating Strengths

http://www.reachcc.com/360reach   360 Reach Personal Branding assessment tool (Basic tool is free)

http://www.dependablestrengths.org/   Dependable Strengths (self-assessments)

http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx  Clifton StrengthsFinder  (1.0 and 2.0)  Code accessed through several books by  Marcus Buckingham, Douglas Clifton and/or Tom Rath (Gallup organization)

http://www.cappeu.com/Realise2.aspx  Realise2 (Marketed as a strengths assessment AND development tool)

http://viacharacter.org/www/   http://www.viacharacter.org/SURVEYS.aspx  VIA Classification and Inventory of Strengths (Billed as the scientific study of character, and the “backbone” of the science of positive psychology”

Articles on (and Definitions of) Social Media and Job Search Techniques

http://mashable.com/follow/search?q=job+search+and+social+media+2012&commit=Search   (a search on Mashable for job search and social media 2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites  (pretty current)

http://www.job-hunt.org/social-networking/social-media.shtml  Social Media and Job Search

http://socialmediatoday.com/jorgen-sundberg/358886/how-social-media-will-help-your-job-search

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/05/09/social-media-helps-hinders-job-search-for-grads

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/onlinecareernetworking/a/socialrecruiting.htm   Social recruiting and your job search,  by Alison Doyle
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/a/socialmedia.htm  How to use social media in your job search,  by Alison Doyle

http://windmillnetworking.com/2011/02/25/tips-integrating-social-media-linkedin-job-search-2011/

http://www.recareered.com/blog/2012/04/05/get-the-strongest-impact-from-your-weak-linkedin-connections/

http://www.fastcompany.com/1818177/the-unexpected-way-to-use-your-social-network-strategically

Top Social Networking Sites (and Articles, Reviews and Comparisons)

http://social-networking-websites-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://jobmob.co.il/blog/gigantic-linkedin-job-search-tips/

http://www.cio.com/article/508121/Facebook_Bible_Everything_You_Need_to_Know_About_Facebook

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites    (April 2012)

http://social-networking-websites-review.toptenreviews.com/  2012 Social networking Website Comparisons

http://jobsearch.about.com/b/2011/07/11/companies-using-social-media-for-hiring.htm

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/onlinecareernetworking/a/socialrecruiting.htm

http://www.fastcompany.com/1818177/the-unexpected-way-to-use-your-social-network-strategically article by Don Peppers

For more current, and very lively, discussions of job search, resume techniques, cover letters and anything job-search related, look at LinkedIn’s  Career Central Group – managed by Phil Rosenberg (an uber-connector, recruiter and prolific writer of inflammatory articles on related topics)

http://www.preptel.com/resources/   company has developed an ATS-look-alike computer process (called Resumeter) to “grade” resumes for “Fit” with a job description – claims that ATS determines the keywords and phrases used (for Resumeter™, sign up for 7 days free – normally $25/month after that)
…Articles of particular interest on the resources part of the site  “Technology: Foe or Friend?”
Information cited:
…At most companies, computers read your resume, not humans.
…About 75% of resumes are discarded for low word match..
…More than 20% of resumes have formatting issues (per machines).
…Only 1% of total applicants get an interview.
…worthy of a news flash: Today, most employers no longer share your résumé with hiring managers. Hiring managers receive a summary report generated by Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software that removes bias-causing problems, tracks EEOC compliance and performance, and supposedly levels the playing field across the applicant pool. Regardless of how your clients are getting into the company – friend, job board, recruiter, or online application – everyone goes through these ATS systems
….A survey of more than 300 biotech and health care job seekers showed only 20% knew the importance of keywords and the correct way to use them strategically in a résumé. About 80% knew the importance of doing pre-interview company research, but none of them thought about using that research to devise and derive keywords to use in their résumé.
— Quotes above from http://www.preptel.com/resources/   by Jon Ciampi

Also see  http://wordle.net   Word Cloud tool

For continuing information on the topic later, see Seattle Career Trainer   ( http://seattlecareertrainer.com/blog/ )

Basics of Job Search, Resumes&CVs, Interviewing&Negotiating

6. Network – think of it as “academic service networking.”

If you consider that your networking purpose is to help others – you will be far more remembered and contacted later than if you spend all your time talking about yourself.

If you think of research as being of service to others, networking can be re-framed as a pleasure. It then means talking to people about their research, offering to send them references that you think may relate to their work – and being generally interested in and helpful to others.

You’re not networking only into established networks of famous academics, you’re also connecting down the social ladder and establishing your own network. Taking younger students under your wing (small as it may be), will earn you thanks, trust and credibility that you can’t get any other way.

7. Before you arrive and while you’re at the conference, ask questions.

Use the opportunity to find the recent trends in the field and the funding situation, especially if you’re just starting in grad school. Most likely, some research areas are hot and others are cold. Know the difference before you decide on your thesis or dissertation topic.

Find out where your school stands in the pecking order of the discipline. What’s the competition like for academic jobs when you graduate? What do people in the field do outside of academics?

If non-academics attend the annual conference, how can you find them to ask questions? You may want to stay in touch with them if you’re planning for future non-academic work. Your world may be constrained back in grad school and these contacts may represent a lifeline, or at least another perspective of life beyond the walls of academe.

If you haven’t yet, try to discover your discipline’s place in the universe. Get an idea of your own relative place in the pecking order too (and check again at next year’s conference – seeing progress is its own reward).

8. Socialize with your peers from other geographic areas.

They may be your future colleagues and competitors for academic jobs.  Find out what they’re doing in the field and be aware of the potential for collaboration, especially with the ones who “click” with you.

Even if some of these individuals may be potential competitors, get to know them because you can’t contrast your own strengths with theirs if you don’t know them.

9. Set a goal of meeting at least 10 new people.

It’s a natural urge to hang around with familiar faces, but conferences are held to find out what colleagues are doing and to have a chance to discuss and exchange ideas. The more people you know (who are doing work you’re interested in), the more potential there is to publish joint papers with them. When you see that potential, suggest a collaboration.

This point is even more important for those looking to work beyond traditional academics, and in fields emphasizing cross-disciplinary work. Both industry and cross-disciplinary grantors look for a track record in teamwork, a trait that academics have generally not emphasized.

10. Have a good time.

Conferences are part of your professional work, but being able to combine pleasure with the focus makes the work itself more pleasurable. And you may be able to develop relationships with geographically distant researchers that will be both productive and pleasurable for many years.

Do you want to be remembered

• •    with a chuckle – as that goofy guy who criticized the main speaker’s research design – while standing next to her?
• •    with a questioning frown – as the shadow-woman who walked behind her advisor and was never seen to say a word to anyone?
• •    with a frown – as the arrogant fool who endlessly told everyone what he was researching – but never even asked anyone else’s name?

Attending conferences while you’re in grad school can be seen as a waste of time or as an overdue reward for the hours of partying you gave up to study. But other conference participants (including those who may be able to hire you in a year or two) will form an opinion of you no matter what.

A little awareness can not only save you grief later, it can give you a head start on the right kind of visibility and credibility that upholds and extends your developing professional image.

Naturally, your goal will be somewhat different if you’re a recent grad student vs. ready to graduate. In either case, you are training to be a professional. Act the part, even if you have to pretend.

1. Decide what you want to know and accomplish before you go – and you’ll accomplish more.

Before you leave for the conference, especially if you’re new to the field, get an overview of who’s doing what and where they are. Know the names (and faces) you should recognize before you find yourself criticizing the work of a person – who you later find was standing next to you.

2. Get involved – and you’ll be remembered.

Especially if you’re not presenting a talk or poster session, volunteer to help.
(If you’re tight on funding, volunteer to the organizers several months ahead. You may be able to negotiate a discounted registration fee.)

Or, volunteer to help at the registration desk or in one of the hospitality suites a few hours before things get started, or when it’s really busy.

If the conference is in your home city, offer to staff an information booth at registration and help with directions and things for visitors to do/see while in town.

At the very least, take an ownership attitude and initiate conversations and introduce people who seem not to know each other.

A friend of mine says she looks for people who stand quietly in the background at receptions. She introduces herself and asks them what interesting things they’ve been doing. Several years ago, she met a guy who had been in a meeting with the President (of the United States) the previous week.

3. Schedule your conference time for maximum efficiency.

Review the conference program as soon as you get it and make yourself a schedule of where you want to be every hour – the important talks, your “free” time and who you want to connect with, including the receptions and parties where you can mingle informally with the “names” in the field.

4. Take business cards so you can present yourself as a professional.

Having business cards does not mean that you’ll be passing them out like a sales rep.

The real goal is to make it easy to be found later – and to avoid having to tear scraps of paper off your note pad to write your contact information when someone wants to stay in touch with you. You are training to be a professional – why not act like one?

5. Prime your mentor or advisor to introduce you.

You need to become known in the field, and even though you are you are still your advisor’s potential product at this point, you can ride that reputation until you are able to produce your own. Decide who you need to know, and who needs to know you.

Consider who is doing the work that’s most interesting to you, or related to yours, and either get introduced, or introduce yourself. This is especially important when you’re presenting posters and papers.

The top 10 sources used to find jobs
13.3% – ad posted on Internet job board
7.0% - tip from friend
6.8% – other
6.3% – newspaper ad
6.2% – posted resume on job board
6.0% – called by a headhunter
5.8% – referred by employee of company
5.2% – sent resume to company
4.9% – career fair
4.8% – networking at work

Note that the only double-digit percentage is Internet job boards, definitely a growing trend, but when you add the numbers from all that we can include as networking, you get a different perspective.

7.0% – tip from friend
5.8% – referred by employee of company
4.8% – networking at work
——
= 17.6%

And, if we add attending “career fairs” as networking (It IS an active, face-to-face method, as are all the other networking methods.)

+4.9% – career fair
——
= 22.5% (nearly twice the success rate of job boards)

Also, note that being called by a headhunter is not likely to happen for entry-level college grads, advanced degree or not.

Interestingly, Weddel found that just 3.9% had found jobs either through a social networking site or published through a professional association. It may take more time to see whether social networking becomes effective enough to make it into the top ten, and whether
professional associations continue to decline.

Of course, these stats shouldn’t discourage the use of Internet job boards, but it should encourage more networking.