This is the text of my third speech at Ad Libs Toastmasters Club. By the end of the speech, you will know five things you can do today—while still employed—to facilitate your next job search.
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Gone are the days of lifelong employment with a pension and a gold watch upon retirement. My grandfather and my father both enjoyed lifetime careers; I certainly have not.
This speech came about due to my own current job search. In my last speech, titled “The Accidental Professional,” I explained how my career has developed over the years due to a series of fortuitous accidents—doors of opportunity opening up for me. For the first time in my life, I am having extreme difficulty finding my next job. Sadly, as we all know, I am far from alone.
I actually had to dust off my résumé, which I hadn’t used since 1995. Not only did I have to update it with 14 years’ worth of career developments, I had to change its language and tone, which was appropriate for 1995 but not for 2009.
So with that, allow me to offer you five steps you can take while still employed to facilitate your next job search.
Step 1. Keep your résumé current. Because I had let so much time pass since last updating my résumé, my memory of projects I worked on and responsibilities I had was quite dim. Consequently, it appears that I did very little, especially since 2001 when I was let go of my last outside employment. Nothing could be further from the truth. Under the aegis of my own corporation, I have kept current with database technology, specifically DB2 and MySQL. I have branched out into Web services—Web hosting, domain registration, and website design. I have gotten involved with network marketing, which brings with it a whole slew of side benefits in the personal development arena. And I have studied investing, mostly stocks and commodities but also some real estate.
My hope was that these latter pursuits would by now have brought in enough income to pay all the bills, but I have not been so fortunate. Hence my current job search. But I would be in the job market even if money were no issue. Having worked alone for the past eight years, I yearn for the camaraderie of the corporate world.
Back to the point at hand. When I brought out my résumé to update it, I had no idea how long a process this would be. Several résumé workshops and networking events later, I think it is finally beginning to work with the automated keyword sniffers that companies are using these days. So I encourage you to keep your résumé current on an ongoing basis. Keep a log of your various projects and assignments, including keywords that future employers will be searching for.
Step 2. Set up and actively use a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn hasn’t been around the whole time I’ve been underemployed, but I was invited to connect with a friend on LinkedIn years ago, and it’s only been this year that I’ve become a power user.
LinkedIn is your online professional résumé. Keeping it current will help you keep your offline résumé current. Join LinkedIn groups that might be helpful—certainly professional groups (I’ve joined several DB2‑, database‑, and mainframe-related groups) but also alumni groups. Keep in mind, though, that LinkedIn is for professional networking; leave the social and cultural and political associations for Facebook. Which leads me to my third recommendation:
Step 3. Clean up your Facebook account. A prospective employer is going to google your name and see what comes up. I encourage you to do the same. Just because you’ve only listed your LinkedIn profile on your résumé doesn’t mean he or she won’t find your Facebook page or, for that matter, MySpace, YouTube, blogs, and what have you. Clean up references to you that might cause an employer to bypass you for someone else.
Step 4. Get recommendations from current colleagues. Have them write you recommendations on your LinkedIn account. I learned this step only because it has been so hard ten, fifteen, twenty years later to get recommendations from colleagues that used to think quite highly of my work. I’ve gotten some, just not all that I would have liked.
Step 5. Keep current within your industry. I have a friend who is a PeopleSoft developer, and she is having a terrible time finding a new job, because her former employer kept her using an out-of-date version of PeopleSoft. Participate in LinkedIn group discussions. Purchase and read technical books. Take adult-ed classes at night. Do whatever it takes to hone your skills.
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I hope this has been helpful. I’ve given you five concrete steps you can take to make your next job search much easier. If you are employed, thank your lucky stars—even if you dislike your current job. It’s a whole lot better than not having a job, especially in this market. And don’t think your current job will last forever. I made that mistake once; I’ll never make it again.
