job search

Stand out from the crowd – How to write a great LinkedIn profile

tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, Uncategorized , , ,

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LinkedIn is a powerful tool allowing you to have a professional presence in the world. It provides the opportunity for you to tell other professionals what you can do and what you can offer.

Do you have a LinkedIn profile and does it represent you in the best way?

Having a LinkedIn profile is fast becoming an essential professional requirement. You now have to assume prospective employers will look at your online presence before approaching or hiring you and if your LinkedIn profile is out of date or poorly written, it could potentially close doors. Who would want to employ someone who does not spell correctly in their shop window?

It is therefore really important that you spend time completing your profile. To assist, I have provided some hints and tips to help you write a great LinkedIn profile.

Some initial thoughts:

  • Make sure your CV and online profile match (consistency around dates is particularly important).
  • Think about your brand. Does your profile match the kind of jobs you are applying for?
  • Complete every section of your profile.

 

Your profile

Headline

The headline appears directly under your name and will be the first thing people read about you. It will also appear when people search for you and decide whether to click onto your profile. To make it more compelling, include a short description of your role as well as your job title.

For example, my headline reads:

‘Career Coach, Specialist in Career Change & Career Development – Achieving the best career path for you.’

You should also upload a professional photo of yourself.

Summary

Make life easy for a potential employer by using this section to tell them about what you can do, including your achievements. This is your chance to sell yourself in 2,000 characters. To give potential employers an even better chance of finding you include keywords which you know your industry uses. The more you use these keywords within your profile, the higher you will rank for that term in the search results

Perhaps include your contact information in this section (otherwise your contact details do not appear until the end of your profile).

Experience, Skills, Publications and Education

Include all relevant employment and education in these sections as well as your skills and publications.   If your CV is up to date, simply copy and paste the information.

Additional Sections

There are many additional sections to choose from, the most important being the ‘Volunteer Experience and Causes’ section. If you do any relevant voluntary work, add this section to your profile using the ‘Add Sections’ link. Relevant voluntary work will make your profile stand out even more.

Additional Information

This section gives you the opportunity to link to your website, blog, twitter account and any other sites providing professional information about you. Do not provide links to social networking sites used on a personal basis.

Recommendations

This is your chance to request recommendations from people who have worked with you. Make sure you personalise your requests rather than using the standard LinkedIn wording.

 My final tip is to make your profile public to ensure people can find you – market yourself and show potential recruiters what you can do! http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tessaarmstrong

 

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

Why you should have a LinkedIn account

tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, Uncategorized , ,

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LinkedIn is a powerful social networking tool which will expand your network and enable you to stay ahead in your career.

I am always surprised when someone tells me they don’t have a LinkedIn account because they can’t see the point. There are lots of reasons why you should be on LinkedIn and here are just five of them.

  1. Employers and recruitment agencies are now using LinkedIn as a headhunting tool. It is an easy way for them to find out about you and make contact with you.  Even if you are not actively seeking a job, you may be approached and may be offered an even better job with more money. If you are not on LinkedIn, you are closing the door to these opportunities.
  2. Many employers now automatically download a candidate’s LinkedIn profile when they apply for a job. Your LinkedIn profile gives you another opportunity to tell them what you can do and what you have achieved.
  3. Group discussions on LinkedIn can enhance your knowledge on topics you are interested in and create job opportunities.
  4. You can build a large network of contacts. Imagine you are made redundant next year. Who would you turn to for help? Is your current network big enough? LinkedIn is a hassle free way of networking and can connect you with past colleagues, friends and acquaintances.
  5. LinkedIn is an online CV which must be kept up to date in order for you to get the most out of the social networking tool. This means that when you are actively looking for a job you will always have an up to date CV to hand.

Without LinkedIn in your life, you are missing out on a whole world of opportunity to connect with people with similar interests. Start building your LinkedIn profile now and use my blog on writing a great LinkedIn profile to assist.

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

Overcoming Fear of Failure – Making a Career Change Possible

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Have you ever thought about changing career but have been so afraid of failing that you decided not to?

In the UK, we are surrounded by opportunities and choices yet so many of us do not take advantage of what is available. We have the option to find a career best suited to our personalities yet choose to remain in a disheartening career because we believe a career change is simply not possible.

Fear of failure is one of the most common beliefs preventing career change.   You may be a perfectionist, a procrastinator or feel you are not good enough. These all come from a fear of failure and can cause you to miss out on career opportunities, leading to unnecessary stress, worry and unhappiness.

PURSUING A CAREER THAT BEST SUITS YOU

A fear of failure can be overcome through changing your thought pattern. Be willing to change and this will be possible. Here are a few steps to help you:

  1. Be aware of your belief, ‘fear of failure’, and the reasons you have for supporting this belief (perhaps you made a mistake in the past or did badly in an exam at school).
  2. Ask yourself if it is useful for you to continue clinging on to these past experiences/beliefs or whether it is now time to update your beliefs.
  3. If it is time for an update, decide what would be more useful for you to believe instead by turning your fear of failure into a positive statement. For example, ‘I am scared of failing’ becomes ‘I am successful’.
  4. Keep repeating your new positive belief; each time your fear of failure belief resurfaces, stop it and replace it with your new belief.
  5. Now take action to support your new belief. Fake it ‘til you make it! Use this new positive belief to empower you to take action.

You may now be thinking this is easier said than done or you are unsure of what to do next. Making the decision to change and knowing where to begin can be difficult and takes courage and perseverance.

I have had many clients who were desperate to change careers but believed it was not possible. One client believed that a job was not to be enjoyed. He had been told this by others in the past. He subsequently developed a fear of failure and remained in a job he disliked. This client then made the decision not to waste any more time and worked towards changing his belief. This allowed him to explore career opportunities available to him.  He is now pursuing a career that he is passionate about.

IT IS YOUR CHOICE

You have the choice to either allow fear of failure to control your life or to overcome this belief and pursue a career that fulfils you and brings a smile to your face.

 

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

How to achieve the best career path for you – Step 3

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Creating a plan of action to achieve your new career goal

In a previous blog I wrote about how building your self-awareness is the first best step towards identifying a career that suits you and in my ‘How to achieve the best career path for you – step 2‘ blog I wrote about how, when you have achieved this, it is time to start identifying and exploring different career and job ideas.

One you have progressed through these two steps, it is time to assess the suitability of the different career and job options you have discovered and narrow them down to those that best suit you. To help you carry out this assessment, continue to talk to people working within the relevant career fields and work out how closely each role matches your skill set and interests. Evaluate each option and work out the gaps needed to be filled in order to work in each area.

Once you have narrowed down your options, set your new career goal and create a plan of action to achieve this goal. Write down when you want to achieve it by and each step you will need to take to get there.

Your action plan may include investigating sources of vacancies, preparing a CV and making applications where relevant. You may want to contact recruitment agencies or attend seminars and conferences. It is also really important to continue talking to relevant people within the career field you have identified – you never know who may open a door for you. Networking is often the best way to move in to a new role.

You may also want to spend some time researching interview techniques and finding someone to practise with.

Finally, remember to celebrate when you have achieved the best career for you!

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

How to achieve the best career path for you – step 2

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Discovering and exploring career possibilities and ideas

In one of my previous blogs, I wrote about how building your self-awareness is the first best step towards identifying a career that suits you. When you have achieved this, it is time to start identifying and exploring different career and job ideas.

If you haven’t done so already, use the information in my previous blog to help you to identify which skills and qualities you would like to take forward and use in your career. Once you have achieved this, have a think about what these skills and qualities say about you. Are there any common themes? What is missing from your current job that you would like to include in your career?

Now think of as many career and job ideas as you can based on your skills, qualities and personality. Perhaps ask your friends and family for ideas or have a go at answering this question:

  • Which jobs would you like to try out for one week?

Make sure you write down ALL your ideas – even those you may feel are an impossibility….don’t write-off any job or career opportunities at this stage. Ignore the voices in your head that say ‘you can’t do that job’. They are only ideas at the moment and with some thought and dedication you may be able to make them a reality.

Now start investigating the careers you have identified. Use your contacts to build your knowledge about each idea and contact relevant organisations or companies to find out more.

At the end of this step, the question you are aiming to answer is:

‘What are the names of jobs and careers that would give me the best chance to use my skills, in a field that is based on my interests?’

Enjoy your investigations!

The third and final step will be to start creating a plan of action to develop your chosen career path and I will be covering this in my next blog.

The more career ideas you investigate, the better you will be at choosing the right career for you.

http://www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

How to achieve the best career path for you

tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search, Returning to Work, work-life balance , , ,

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Building self-awareness to enable the discovery of what you want to do – STEP 1

How do you achieve the best career path when there are so many career and job options available to you? Where do you start? How do you find the perfect match? Is this really possible?

The good news is that it is possible, you simply need to take it one step at a time.

The first step involves building your self-awareness. This means you need to take time learning about yourself so that you become really clear about the kind of career that would best suit your personality. You want to be able to imagine your ideal career and what the outcome of finding this will be like for you.

To help you through this first step, here are some questions to think about:

  1. What are you good at?
  2. What activities and work environments enable you to work at your best?
  3. What motivates you?
  4. What knowledge do you have that you would like to use?

Use enjoyable and satisfying past experiences, in both your personal and working life, to help you to answer these questions. You can then start identifying themes of skills and qualities to enable you to discover what you would like your ideal career to include.

The second step is to start exploring career and job ideas that match your skills and personality and I will be covering this in my next blog.

In the meantime, enjoy spending time focusing on the things you enjoy and are good at!

The more you know yourself, the better you will be at identifying a career that suits you.

 

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

How to improve your job search

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Making the most of the resources available to you in your job search

You have spent months looking for your ideal job and seem to be getting nowhere fast. What is going on? You have spoken to numerous recruitment agencies and applied for lots of jobs but have had little success. You just can’t seem to find the right job.

What more can you do?

Perhaps it is time to review your approach and, in particular, the resources you are using. There are many resources available but are you using them all?

Have a look at this list and answer honestly which job search resources you are using:

  1. Job banks – are your receiving email alerts?
  2. LinkedIn
  3. Specialist Interest Groups
  4. Speculative Approaches – approaching potential employers for opportunities
  5. The job vacancy page on the website of targeted employers.
  6. Networking – to open up further contacts
  7. Job advertisements (online and otherwise)

You should be using a balance of all of these resources and ensure you are not simply focusing on the quick options. Looking for a job does take time and it is important that you take a thorough approach.

If it is all getting too much, perhaps take a break first and start your new approach when feeling refreshed.

With some organisation, you can do it!

Ensure you are using a variety of resources to assist you in your job search.

Overcoming the uncertainty of changing career

tessaarmstrong.co.uk Career Change, job search ,

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How can you overcome the inevitable challenges of changing career?

Would you like to change career? If so, you are not alone and likely to be using the New Year as an opportunity to review your career path. In fact, according to research from the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF), 47% of all workers in the UK (66% of people aged 18-34) would like to change career.  These are extremely high percentages.

However, despite these high numbers, many people who wish to change career make the decision to stay in their current job. The LSBF research identified that 29% would not move because of the lack of financial security in changing career, 20% did not know what new career path to choose and 15% had a fear of failure.

There are so many unanswered questions for those who want to change career and this uncertainty can be a huge obstacle in making any career move. I see it all the time in my coaching business and always think it is such a shame that, although my clients are doing something about it, there are still many people who are not and remaining unhappy at work, an unhappiness which will affect your personal life too.

If you would like to consider a career change, what can you do to overcome the obstacles you face?

What I suggest at this stage is that if you are unhappy at work and considering a career change, take action and do one thing today towards achieving this change. You could prepare a financial budget, ask friends and family to help you, arrange some work experience or talk to someone in a job of interest and find out about their career. You may have already done a lot of analysis on what you don’t like about your current role and what you want from your future career. However, there is a time when you need to move forward from your analysis and take action to enable you to find out more.

Taking action will help you to test ideas and find out what career would suit you.

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk

Coping with redundancy

tessaarmstrong.co.uk job search, Redundancy ,

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How you can focus on the future to help you find a great job

If you have been made redundant, it is unlikely to have been your choice. It can be a shock when it happens and make you feel angry, guilty and depressed. You may even feel like a failure.  At this time, life can seem really unfair.

These are all real feelings and it is always important to allow yourself time to get used to the idea of being made redundant. Your job is likely to have been a big part of your life and you are now facing some changes ahead.

Although it all seems unfair, it is also really important to gain control of these feelings so that you can return to work as quickly as you want to.

Remember:

  • Many people go through redundancy more than once – it’s tough but you are not alone.
  • Don’t take it personally. The job role has been made redundant, not you.
  • Redundancy can allow you to reassess your career and make new choices (remember many people change career direction 3 or 4 times).

Taking action

Now use your family and friends (and colleagues, if appropriate), to help you move forward. Get your finances in order, attend courses and use all available job search resources. Be patient and spend time tailoring each job application. When you tell prospective employers you were made redundant, remain positive and keep doing the best you can. Remember you are now in control.

For further help, please have a look at my factsheet, 10 tips on what to do if you are made redundant, for further guidance

www.tessaarmstrong.co.uk