Here is a job search tool you must have in today’s U.S. employment marketplace… which has been called by many in the media the worst since the 1930s. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of January 2012, reports the official unemployment rate to be 8.5% which translates to 13 million workers.

What got me on this particular job search topic is talking with my great-niece at a recent family birthday party. Her name is Cassy and she will graduate from college in May of this year. She is beautiful, smart and educated in her field of study, but is unsure of how to best search for that important first job in her chosen industry.

Now with all the bad news concerning unemployment the truth of the matter is clear – there are many companies still looking for that talent they need to grow and they’re hiring when they find the right job candidates.

What Cassy and all the new college graduates need to know is that Social Media has gone mainstream in the recruiting community and has drastically changed the way companies recruit new people. I’m still active in the recruiting industry and I’ve seen articles claiming that some companies are filling 25% or more of their open job positions using LinkedIn® as their major recruiting platform. Some companies hesitate to advertise their open positions because they are then inundated with hundreds of resumes from people who sometimes don’t have even the minimum requirements. It’s easier for them to conduct their confidential searches and then contact you if you are a fit for one of their positions.

LinkedIn® has become the top “business” social network in the world with over 110 million people including hiring managers and company recruiters who perform searches every day looking for new hires for their companies.

New college graduates and people searching for better jobs absolutely must have a professional profile set up on LinkedIn® so they can rise above their competition and be easily found by the companies searching for them.

LinkedIn® is like a dream come true for job candidates for the following reasons:

• LinkedIn® is a living, professional community that is growing larger every day and is filled with hiring managers, corporate recruiters and headhunters who are searching for new employees to solve their problems

• LinkedIn® is free to join and set up your profile. All you need to do is to go to www.LinkedIn.com and follow the instructions and it’s done

• As a LinkedIn® member, you can search for groups of interest to you. There is an active group or several for just about any occupation you can think of. These groups are filled with your peers and you can ask questions, answer questions, read their latest posts and articles and become actively engaged in their conversations about your industry. You will make new friends and if you participate in these conversations you will become noticed by hiring managers and corporate recruiters and if they have an open position they will reach out to you to learn more about your career plans

• You can do searches for companies of interest and locate the names of people on LinkedIn® who work there. One caution here, never directly contact anyone on LinkedIn® and pester them for a job. This would be like you attending a party of friends and someone coming up to you wanting to sell you insurance. You need to engage them in a conversation by either offering information of value to them or asking them a question about their company and how they enjoy working there. Get into their conversations and become known as someone who adds value to their group and you will begin to attract their attention when there is a position to be filled.

LinkedIn® has free tutorials for new members and you should take the time to learn all the valuable ways you can use this site to advance your career. There are also great new books written on how to best use LinkedIn® to find your new job or to market your new services. Just check on www.Amazon.com to see what’s available to you.

I’ll be personally coaching my great-niece Cassy on how best to use LinkedIn® and you can learn more about my services at www.NewJobCoach.com.

Good luck in your job search and I’ll see you out on LinkedIn®.

Frank Welzig
www.NewJobCoach.com

I’ve started New Job Coach with a single objective in mind: to help you find a better job… faster.

A job that pays you more, and will give you the satis­faction you need from your work. It doesn’t mat­ter if you are currently out of work, stuck in a dead-end job, or just ready to move ahead with your career. New Job Coach is designed to take you step-by-step through the process of researching, interviewing, negotiating and moving up to a bet­ter job.

You don’t need to be told that the workplace is changing rapidly. You may already be a casualty of a downsizing or reorganization. People are changing jobs more often and this trend will only accelerate in the next few years.

My hope is that the job search strategies presented here on New Job Coach will allow you to conduct and conclude an intelligent job search in the shortest possible time.

I’m going to show you how to showcase your skills and talents in the best way possible to get you in front of the hiring manager; the one person who has the power to hire you.

The key here is to quickly identify the hiring manager, and then show him or her that you can do the work and you can do it profitably.

Most job seekers fail miserably in their job search because they listen to, and buy into, all the advi­sors, counselors, and human resources employees that make up the employment industry.

My advice is… don’t listen to them.

Searching for a new job is difficult enough as it is. And the truth is many people struggle and fail.

Signifi­cant reasons for failure include:

1. Chasing each and every interview possibility.

   If you want to cut your search time by 50% or more you must invest more time in research and less time in interviewing.

   You must aggressively pursue only those interviews you are genuinely interested in and forget the rest. Otherwise, you will waste your precious time and energy and end up burned out and frustrated.

2. Not investing enough time in the preparation stage where you uncover and polish all your skills, talents and aptitudes.

   Key Point: Employers are not at all interested in hiring new employees.

   What they are interested in is paying for the skills to solve their problems and make them a profit. So we have got to do a thorough job of understanding exactly what it is we have to offer the employer.

   What is the value you can bring to the company, the position and the problems you will be asked to work on? This is what gets employers excited and moves them past the fear of hiring a new employee.

3. Spending valuable time jumping through hoops that are held up by the gatekeepers.The gatekeepers are the Human Resources employees and some headhunters and the hoops are the sometimes endless procedures they require each and every candidate to go through.

   The Human Resources department does not do the hiring. The Human Resources department many times does not even understand the real requirements of the position.

   What they do understand is how to knock you out of contention. You need to learn exactly how to handle the gatekeepers and how to minimize their impact on your job searches.

4. Not taking control of the interview to ensure that you address the hiring manager’s problems and how you have solved similar problems and you’re ready to solve his problems.

   A job candidate should do everything in his or her power to show the hiring manager how he or she can do the job. You must hammer home how your hard-earned skills can be applied to solving their specific problems.

   During the interview, you can ask about an existing problem and demonstrate how you would solve it to see if your ideas are in line with those of the manager.

5. Fail to uncover all the possibilities that exist for job openings. Most job seekers use limited resources in searching for positions that could be of interest.

   They religiously read the want ads, and network with their 20 closest friends and associates, and then cross their fingers and hope for the best. With a little effort on your part, you are going to learn how to explore all the resources that are readily available to you.

These are just a few of the problems we are going to address and provide solutions for on this website. When you understand them, and know how to deal with them, you will see the job market from a dif­ferent perspective.

You will have a perspective that will instill confidence in your ability to locate, interview, and close the position that will launch the rest of your career.

Frank
www.NewJobCoach.com

I have been where you might be now… you can’t seem to find that next job you need desperately or you’re working every day at a job that’s sucking the life out of you. I know you’re probably feeling frustrated, scared and lost if you’re in this position but you absolutely can not give up now.

As I write this, it’s early January 2012 and believe it or not the employment picture seems to be getting a bit brighter. I belong to several forums where professional recruiters hang out and post their thoughts. Lately, there is an air of optimism about hiring picking up in 2012 and there’s even talk of a new and bigger “talent war” brewing for corporations seeking highly skilled workers.

A talent war benefits us all because new jobs are created by internal promotions and company growth and that creates a trickle down effect for all sorts of support companies, consultants, restaurants, and so on.

You will find your new job in 2012 and when you do here are a few facets of your life that will get better, sometimes amazingly better, when you discover or rediscover the work you were meant to do.

Health – I read a study recently that cited “satisfaction with work” as the #1 predictor of a long life. And, no one will argue that stress is a “cold blooded” killer. Tremendous stress builds up inside you from hating your work.

Financial situation – Millionaires tend to love their work. Most millionaires have found the intersection where their passions and the needs of the world cross. This is one of those “secrets of the universe” that are so obvious we sometimes miss them completely.

Energy level – Finding the right work for you is like lifting a 200 lb. weight off your shoulders. Your energy levels skyrocket when you believe in what you are doing.

Personal relations – There are countless dynamics going on in our relationships but removing the “toxic work stress” can’t do anything but help. There will always be stresses involved with your work but the ones built up over months and years of doing work you hate, are truly “toxic.”

Family life – The divorce rate has hit the 50% mark here in the United States and I believe most couples would have a better chance if one or both weren’t weighted down with the stresses they bring home from toxic work situations.

Drug/Alcohol abuse – I grew up in Philadelphia where many of the men would go to the neighborhood tavern to relieve some work stress before going home. I’m not sure much has really changed since then. Today the “beer and a shot” has been replaced with more exotic drinks along with pot, coke, ecstasy and who knows what. There’s nothing wrong with relaxing over a cocktail but if you’re using it to dull the pain of a daily work beating than you have moved into the area of abuse.

Sports / Recreation – Golf, tennis, skiing, soccer, etc. they all get better because you can better focus your energy when you know your work game is together.

Vacations & time off – I’ve noticed over my years that people who are satisfied in their work seem to enjoy their time off more. I chalk it up to less stress and the ability to balance their lives between work and relaxation.

Enjoyment of the work process – I believe that enjoyment and deep satisfaction is to be found in the “process” of work and not just the rewards. A person becomes a Success the moment they have clarified their work and begin the journey down the path.

Getting out of bed in the morning – The person who loves his or her work is anxious to get to it in the morning. That statement may not ring true to you, but I believe it because I’ve experienced it both ways.

I.Q. – You’ll amaze yourself at how intelligent you are when you start doing work you love. A passion makes it easy to learn, and the more you learn, the smarter you get.

Sex life – When your mind is filled with stress and hatred for your work, it’s difficult to let go and enjoy your partner.

Creativity – Doing the right work connects you to all that is bigger than you and puts you into Alignment so all the creative forces can flow through you and into your work.

Finding your right work is worth all the time and money it takes – period. Never give up!

Frank Welzig
www.NewJobCoach.com

The biggest challenge faced by job searchers is the problem of chasing every “job opportunity” that comes across your screen. I’ll explain exactly why that happens and how you can elevate your job search so that hiring managers and recruiters are chasing you instead.

I’ve been coaching job candidates now for over 25 years as an executive recruiter, also called a headhunter. Back when I was actively recruiting I would touch base with 20 potential new job candidates every day, 5 days per week.

Over the years I’ve learned a few things… actually some very profitable Insider Secrets… and I’m going to give you all of them on this Blog and my various coaching programs. I’m not going to hold anything back. I know these Secrets work because I have earned a good living using them. Executive recruiters either learn what works or they go hungry!

Today’s employment marketplace is tough and ugly for a lot of you but, the way I see it, there are only 7 steps you need to pay close attention to. You must:

1. Build a powerful new mindset that will open you up and attract new opportunities. Every time someone mentions “mindset” these days it seems they need to ensure you that they aren’t tree huggers or engaging in some sort of esoteric woo-woo science. My stance on this “mindset” subject is that it just might be the most important aspect of your job search. I’ve personally interviewed thousands of job candidates and very often it was a matter of “mindset” that set the winners above all the rest. You can’t fake it and I’m going to tell you how you can get this winning mindset so you can rise above your competition and get the hiring manager to want to hire you on the spot.
2. Develop the basic tools you will need to highlight your talents and experiences. You’re going to have to create the new tools for today’s job search but they don’t have to be perfect and they’re not that hard to create. You will need a decent résumé that communicates your experience, education and accomplishments in a format that is easy to scan, read and understand. You will need a cover letter that presents you as the solution to the hiring manager’s problems. You will need an Online presence through your Personal Website, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. These are all easy and can be done at little to no cost to you.
3. Position yourself so you stand out above your competition. Corporations and headhunters conduct searches very quietly these days using the latest tools to find job candidates that fit their basic qualifications. The “hidden job market” has grown bigger because no company or recruiter wants to run an ad for a position and receive a thousand résumés from candidates who don’t have even the most basic requirements. They want to sharpen their focus and find the best candidates as quickly as possible. I’ll show you how they do it and how you can position yourself so that they are pursuing you and not you pursuing them.
4. Secure the interview with the hiring manager. The “gatekeepers” job is to block you from accessing those who have the power to hire you. It’s a waste of your time and energy to fight them every day and I’ll show you several ways to get around them. I guarantee you that when a hiring manager sees a job candidate who can solve his or her problems they will demand that you be invited in for a live interview as soon as possible.
5. Control the interview and get them to want to hire you on the spot. You absolutely must understand who holds the power during the interview and know how to recognize when that power switches over to you. You’ll feel it immediately because you’re no longer discussing trivial subjects but you are actually working on possible solutions to the work problems you will be hired to solve.
6. Negotiate your new deal like a true professional. There are basic rules and specific techniques you can use to maximize your new salary and any and all the benefits that come with your new job. I will share with you some of the biggest mistakes ever made during live interviews and show you how to avoid them.
7. Close the deal on both ends so everyone is happy. The deal isn’t complete until you resign your current position, if you have one, and report to work at your new company. There are some important details to take care of on both ends to ensure a smooth transition into your new and better position.

Okay, until my next post I will say goodbye and encourage you to ask me any questions you might have using the Contact Us form. I will do my best to get back to you with an answer as quickly as possible. Thank you for your time and I look forward to getting to know you better.

Frank Welzig
www.NewJobCoach.com