Today’s job seekers must assume that they will be pre-screened online. A scenario may unfold as follows… as resumes pour in for the dream job you recently applied for, the hiring official sorts the resumes into three groups: the Yes’s, the No’s, and the Maybe’s. Great, your Print effort paid off and you made it into the Yes group! But, so did six other top candidates. The hiring official now becomes “virtual detective” and goes to the internet to valid their Yes selections, prior to scheduling interviews. Unfortunately, you may be removed from the Yes group if you didn’t represent yourself well online.

Here are some suggestions on how to showcase your virtual persona and make the cut.

• Make sure you have an online presence. None, or too little online presence can hurt you. At a minimum create a profile on a professional networking site such as LinkedIn (other professional networking sites).
• Using a major search engine… find yourself online. Is it easy or hard? Your potential future employer will not want to spend more than a few minutes tracking you down. Ideally, you want to show up on the first few pages of the search results. If you have a common name, this can be challenging. Read on for ways to help them find you.
• Think how an employer might try to search for you. Likely, they will use your name, geographical location, and your current/past employer names as keywords when searching. Other keywords they may use include your job titles, projects, and awards/honors received. You should shape and edit your online content to include keywords from your resume.
• Beat’ em to the punch! One way to make sure the employer finds the right you, is to do the detective work for them. You could include URLs throughout your resume, pointing to past relevant online work examples. Consider this approach if the online content adds value to, or embellishes a particular job or skill noted in your resume. Another approach is to include a bibliography of your online work (with URLs) at the end of your resume, or on a separate page. Examples include: recommendations from peers and former colleagues on LinkedIn, a website re-design that you spearheaded, or an article you authored that spotlights your expertise.
• Verify that your online job begin and end dates, job titles, and former employers match exactly what’s on your resume. Keep the red flags down.
• If you actively use social networking websites, it’s important to manage your information that’s publicly available. If you decide to use social networking sites for professional networking, look carefully at your content from an employer’s perspective. Anything offensive? Any joking that may be misunderstood? Too many cryptic instant message abbreviations (OMG)? Too much information about your personal life? Typos? Keep it professional!
• Promote yourself! Start a blog related to your chosen profession or field of interest. Participate in professional online forums, message boards, and newsgroups. Doing so, will build your reputation, credibility, and increase your search engine visibility.
• Create a professional portfolio. Showcase your life’s work online in one central place. A good example of this is Interfolio’s Portfolio product. Highly customized pages allow you to include documents, videos, pictures, links and text to help you present your online identity in the best possible light, all in one place.
• Control your tweets! Don’t post the blow by blow details of your job search on Twitter or other micro-blogging sites. The last thing a prospective employer needs to read is how your other interviews went, how desperate you may be feeling in your job search, or that their position is not your first choice, but you’d take the job anyway because you really need the money.
• Review the search results for your name periodically to monitor your online “reputation”. There are a number of reputation management tools. One such tool is Google Alerts, a free and simple service that automatically sends you an email or RSS alert when there are new Google results for your search terms (e.g., your name, your works, employer, etc.). This is also a good way to make sure the major search engines are indexing your latest works. If you are relying on organic searches to be found by employers, you may need to work on search engine optimization and/or link building to increase your online visibility.
• Remember, what you post online today may be around for many years, even if the original source content is deleted. In particular, blogger content can have a long shelf life – thanks to article syndication, RSS feeds, and Creative Commons licensing (increases sharing and improves collaboration). So post thoughtfully today, and increase your odds of getting that next dream job!

ProAssociationCareers.org, your gateway to professional association jobs!

Author: Ron Herzog

You’ve just lost your job. Give yourself a few days to deal with the emotions involved and then get moving toward finding your next position. Under any circumstances, finding a job can be time-consuming. Given the current economic climate, those job-seekers that are organized and dedicated to the search will get the positions. It’s important to realize that conducting a job search is a full time job. Here are some guidelines for items you need to have on-hand for a successful job search as well as some help determining your daily structure.

Your New Workplace
Designate a place in your home which you can call your job-searching base. All your lists and notes should be in one place.

• Create an off-line file and an online folder dedicated to job search materials.
• Get a notebook solely for your job search in which you can take notes from conversations and research.
• Make sure you tag people as job search networking resources in your email contacts or address book.
• If you don’t have one already, you MUST get a calendar, there is nothing worse than missing an interview or scheduled call due to a scheduling error.

Getting Started – Deliverables List
Start by creating a list of the things you need to start your search. For example:
1. Resume
You always have to have an updated resume at your fingertips outlining your latest skills and contributions to your previous companies.

2. List of skills & potential contribution
While some of this is covered in your resume, some of it is not. You need to determine what your quantifiable contribution to your next company will be. What do you bring to the table? Essentially “why should they hire you?”

3. 30-second pitch
You never know when you are going to run into someone who can help you in your search. When someone you just meet asks “what do you do?” or a friend asks “what are you up to these days?” simply responding “looking for a job” will get you nowhere. You need to respond by saying “I was recently working as an X in the X industry. I’ve had a lot of success doing X for my last company. I am currently in the job market. Do you know anyone who I can network with?”

4. Networking contacts – professional
Make a list of everyone that you already know in the business world that you can network with. You will add to this list as you make new business contacts.

5. Networking contacts – friends and family
Remember that people you know also have professional lives. They may have contacts that you need to know. Make a list of friends and family who will be helpful networking sources. People want to help and they are better equipped to do so if you give them a really clear understanding of exactly what you need them to do.

6. Set up accounts on LinkedIn and other business networking sites
Business networking sites are growing at the speed of light. LinkedIn is adding a new user every second, according to some reports. If you are not using it yet, do it now.

Measurable, Achievable Goals
One of the biggest challenges of a job hunt is dealing with the emotional ups and downs. It’s important to keep a positive outlook during a job hunt, so one of the things you can do is to have small successes along the way to the ultimate goal of finding a new job. Set small, achievable goals such as “find 5 new contacts to network with today”, or “set up an informational interview” or “connect with 10 new people on LinkedIn.” Make sure they are realistic and achievable in a relatively short time span.

Since job searching is your new job, you need to show up to work every day. Set a realistic daily schedule with a do-able amount, so you don’t get burned out. A schedule will allow you to achieve some of your short-term goals every day. An example of a daily schedule may look like this:

Sample Day
Monday
9 – 11am
Log into networking accounts and locate new contacts relevant to your search, answer questions posed by others in your area of expertise to gain exposure and credibility. Add people to networking list to be contacted.

11am
Contact 5 new people

12pm
Lunch

1pm – 3pm
Research companies on LinkedIn to see if you know anyone at the companies you want to work for. Research contacts from alumni associations and add them to contact list

3pm Exercise – any form of exercise that you find invigorating or centering – get outside (if you can) and walk, run, bike or do yoga

4pm Contact 5 new people

5pm Set specific goals for the next day

If you have kids that are home, put time in your schedule to spend time with them. Family time is one of the things we miss most when we work, so take advantage of this time to reconnect.

You are Your New Boss
It may sound strange to think of yourself as your own boss, but you need to wear multiple hats in your job search. One of those hats includes the boss. Don’t let yourself give yourself excuses for why you don’t want to work on your job search that day. This is why your schedule needs to be comfortable enough that you won’t find yourself justifying why you really need to go fishing for a week. Build in enough time for yourself so you can focus when it comes time to focus.

Checks and Balances
It’s always helpful to have an accountability partner. Someone who, besides you, can be kept apprised of your progress. It can be a spouse, friend, relative or even kids can make great accountability partners. It feels good to report successes and activity to someone else. It doesn’t feel good to report no progress, so designate someone as your accountability partner and report your progress to them (daily or weekly, whichever is more appropriate.) Be specific with them as to what you need them to do.

Time for Yourself
Most people are employed for the majority of their adult life, so when you are in between jobs, you can build time into the schedule for yourself – reading, walking, exercising, or socializing. It shouldn’t replace the job search time, but feeling good is such an important part of how you project yourself to others, so schedule time for yourself into your day.

Time for Others
Volunteering builds self-esteem and is another networking outlet. It also gives a hiring manager a greater depth of understanding of who you are and what you are about to see volunteer roles on your resume. It will make you feel good about yourself and your contribution and that extra confidence is helpful during a job search, especially if it turns out to be somewhat more extended than you have experienced before.

Professional volunteering not only gives you a boost on your resume but it is an outstanding networking opportunity. Offer to give a talk to an association or company in your area of expertise. Host a networking event. Write a white paper for a publication. Any opportunity to get in front of your peer group is one worth taking.

In Summary
Provide yourself with structure and confidence and your job search will be much more focused and effective. If you are not used to networking, do some research to find out how to network effectively.

About the Author:
Ron Herzog, CEO and President for FPC (Fortune Personnel Consultants,) has spent a number of years developing extensive knowledge of the recruitment industry and successful franchising since joining FPC in 1995.

Ron is considered an industry expert and has provided insight into workforce trends for print publications, radio broadcasts and industry podcasts.

Ron earned his MBA in management and undergraduate degree in marketing and management.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Job Hunting Is Your New Job – Here Is Your Daily Plan

Step 1. Pick Your Ideal Position
OK, dream big, think about what your perfect association job would be. Associations offer careers in many areas, such as: administration, education, public policy, human resources, finance, membership, marketing, meeting planning, publications, and technology. For illustrative purposes, lets say you have grant writing experience and that your perfect job would be in fundraising. The ideal position is where your passion, skills, and real world organizational needs intersect.

Step 2. Pick Your Ideal Location
Life’s too short for long, blood pressure-raising commutes. Define a maximum radius from where you live, to where you would be willing to commute to (the assumption is that full-time telecommuting is not available). An example would be that you would be willing to work at an association located within 15 miles from where you live.

Step 3. Pick Your Ideal Employer
By using the following research tools and resources, you can select organizations whose missions align with yours and who match the distance criteria you set in step 2.

• A good place to find associations seeking help near your home is to use a job search aggregator such as Simply Hired or Indeed. ProAssciationCareers.org (PAC) partners with Simply Hired and provides quality association searches by state, city, zip, and distance in miles.
• PAC also offers comprehensive, hand-picked resources for researching associations – great for identifying associations with interests similar to yours.
• A quick way to locate nearby associations is to use Google Maps. Simply enter: “category:”Associations Societies & Foundations” loc: 20219″ in the search box (omit outer quotes). This example will return a map displaying all the associations, societies, and foundations near the Washington, DC zip code 20219. You can replace the zip code with your own and narrow the results by distance as needed.

Step 4. Start Digging
Now that you’ve identified some top association prospects, it’s time for some in-depth research. Start by visiting their websites. Take close note of their latest news items, in particular look for any new programs, projects, or initiatives. Read their leadership profiles, and information about their governance, Annual Meetings, public policy, advocacy, etc. If their newsletters are available to the general public, read the last years worth in detail. See if they have an internal job board/career center. Even if there are no open positions of direct relevance to you, read a few of the other job opening descriptions to get a flavor of what the workplace environment may be like. You may also want to see if the career intelligence site the Vault has any anonymous employee reviews about the organizations – to gain an insider’s perspective. All this information will be invaluable in your interview (positive thinking!), but for now you are looking for one or two ways you can bring tangible value to the organization.

Step 5. Sell Yourself/Solve a Problem
Locate the name and contact information of the person who think would make the hiring decision related to your ideal position. The website may have a staff directory, or you may need to call the organization for this information. Mail this person an introductory letter stating how you may be able to add value and fill an organizational need. As an example, in your research you learned that Association X has just launched a new multi-year education initiative for underserved populations, a light bulb may go on in your head… they are going to need sustained funding for the project. That’s a nugget that you can incorporate into your letter. You would note your interest in the new initiative, and then describe your expertise in fundraising and how you might go about procuring long-term funding.

Step 6. Patience & Persistence
In the above scenario you are making a “blind” contact, not responding to current job announcement. A likely first response is that they will keep your information on file for future consideration. Ideally, they would see the benefit of creating a new position, but this may not be possible within their current budget cycle. This is where patience and persistence is crucial. You should ask your contact if it’s OK to follow-up periodically with a call or an email. Bookmark the organization’s website and check it weekly for new openings, promotions, or staff turnover. A job email alert could also be setup with one of the major job search engines (e.g., SimplyHired.com, Indeed.com) to automatically send you an email whenever the organization’s name appears in a job listing. You’ve identified your dream job – don’t give up!

ProAssociationCareers.org, your gateway to professional association jobs!

Author: David E. Stevens

Recruitment is the most important activity for association membership development, correct? Not necessarily.

Member recruitment is certainly important. But if you want your association to thrive, membership retention is the more important metric.

Here are three reasons why retention is more important than recruitment:

One: Get retention right, you will have built the basis for recruitment. High retention rates are the signal that you have happy, satisfied members. And happy, satisfied members tend to share the association story with others, automatically creating a grassroots recruitment campaign. The take-away: start with retention, and follow with recruitment.

Two: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is certainly true for associations and membership organizations. It’s true not only because it takes less effort to keep a member than find a new member, but because it is less expensive to retain a member than recruit a new member. The take-away: recruitment oftens gets the attention, but retention will make your director of finance much happier; ultimately, the membership numbers will make your board happier, too.

Three: A low retention rate is a signal that you have serious underlying problems in your association or membership organization. Recruitment of members is primarily a function of great marketing. But member retention is a function of both marketing, and more importantly, a great membership experience. If you can’t keep your members, then you are wasting money recruiting them until you fix the association. The take-away: if you can’t retain, recruitment will burn through prospects because they won’t join a second time.

The bottom line is that recruitment is important for your association or membership organization. But retention must be your first priority. Get retention right — then move on to recruitment.

About the Author:

For more advice, resources and books about association membership retention and recruitment, membership development, member benefits, event marketing, event registration, meeting planning, non-dues revenue, government affairs, and association jobs, visit the Best Association® Resources & Tools website at http://www.bestassociation.com.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Association Membership Recruitment — or Retention?

Author: D. Denay Davis

Before you go and email me for using the word “ain’t” stop, because it is being used here strictly to catch your attention. The truth is, the way we find a job today, is nothing like the days of handing your resume and application to the HR representative and getting a call back in a week or two telling you the job is yours or not yours. The days of response or any facsimile of are gone. It is a buyers market out here in unemployment land and employers know they can now get the cream of the crop for less.

So, what can a middle-aged divorcee, mother of one tell you about being a working stiff? Worse yet an unemployed working stiff? Plenty! Thirty years and seventeen jobs later (full and part-time jobs I might add) I have finally settled into my “life’s work.” The journey had its ups and downs, but through it all the lessons learned have been invaluable.

Believe it or not there really are advantages to seeking a job when the economy is rocky, even when it’s on the edge of collapse. Unemployed people have to become problem solvers, not just a good problem solver, but a great one; and surprisingly it does not take that much more work to become a great problem solver. You will need to be organized, committed, tenacious and a bit ruthless in your pursuit.

Ask yourself.

• Can you save the company money?
• Can you add money to the company’s bottom line?
• Are you creative enough to design a new process or procedure?
• Are you a good communicator?
• Do you possess emotional intelligence?
• Do you raise the bar? (Making your co-workers a bit jealous?)
• Are you willing to work as an independent contractor?
• Are you disciplined?
• Do you have faith in your ability?
• Are you hungry? (Because hunger can make a monkey eat pepper!)

If you answered yes to these questions you just might have what it takes to land a fairly decent job in coming years. Those who find success in the job market today are not the smartest, most attractive or most cunning. Those who find success in the job market today are folks who can easily adapt to change and are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. You have to think, plan and pursue when everyone else is sleeping.

Sounds a bit crazy? It is crazy. These are crazy times we live in and the traditions of the past are just that, lingering in the past. Why would I hire an executive for $100,000.00 when I can not get an Obama-Techno savvy Blackberry caring consultant who will deliver more than I asked for in less time for less money? There are consultants who keep themselves on retainer and company hop from one to the next working 9-10 months out of the year then surfacing for air and a quick recharge, doing it all over again the next year. This may sound nuts, but they are always working, in demand and for many, headed toward an early retirement. And I don’t mean that in a bad way.

Recently a professor suggested that the day of formal education may even be coming to an end. There may be a time when you will simply contact a specialist in your field, negotiate a price for studying under the individual, sort of an apprenticeship and surface as their “Mimi-me” protégé working toward building a brand around the brilliance of a great learned man or woman.

The truth is the $100,000.00 plus jobs will always be out there, but there will be fewer of them and the folks that occupy that country will find their residency short lived. Those will be the new job hoppers of the day.

It matters not if you are employed or unemployed; today the question you must ask yourself is what type of worker am I? In the days that come will I be the person who can only do one thing for the rest of my life, refusing to adapt to the realities around me; or will I be a “McGuiver” a jack of all trades, but a master of none.

There is a strange pathetic belief by Americans that thing’s will soon be back to normal; unfortunately they won’t. Life will go on and normal will take on a new face. For some the face will be familiar, but for most it will be a challenge. Are you going to adapt willingly or go kicking and screaming into the night?

About the Author:

Detra D. Davis is an online instructor with more than 25 years experience in business-to-business, business-to-consumer instruction. Currently an online instructor for Stiletto Learning Center, Davis teaches the ever popular A Foot in the Door: Employment Opportunities 2009, a four week course that assist IT professionals and displaced workers in learning the skills to land gainful employment during these tumultuous times. Holding a Masters in Distance Education, Davis is a specialist in helping the unemployed design e-portfolios and effective strategies to attract job opportunities. For more information email Davis at: contact@stilettomediagroup.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Job Hunt – it Ain’t What it Use to be

What’s a “Professional Association”?

A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, professional association or professional society) is a non-profit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest. [wikipedia]

Reason #1: Missions That Make a Difference.

If you are looking to support a cause, field, or profession that you are passionate about, then working at a professional association that aligns with your interests, is a great way to affect change. An example would be if a parent of yours has Alzheimer’s Disease, you could seek employment in the Education Department of an Alzheimer’s related organization. You would have an immediate and vested interest in supporting education programs for professionals, patients, and caregivers – making for an extremely rewarding job, both personally and professionally.

Reason #2: The Volunteers.

Most professional association staff interact with “volunteers” at some level. Volunteers are often members of the association who offer their own time, energy, and expertise in support of the organization’s activities. They take time-out from their busy schedules to serve on boards and committees, as well helping with journal and meeting related tasks, for example. Staff often serve as liaisons to committees. In this role you will find yourself working closely with distinguished professionals at the peak of their careers (e.g., CEOs, University Department Chairs, and occasionally a Noble Laureate), as well as eager student and post-doctoral members in the early stages of their careers. Your interaction with this diverse, yet highly focused group of intelligent individuals, will challenge your thinking (in a positive way), and help you grow in your career.

Reason #3: That’s Not My Job!

Want to get involved in the many different facets of a non-profit association? Then you may want to consider working at one of the many smaller professional associations (e.g., up to 25 staff, supporting ~10,000 members). While you will be hired to perform a specific job function, such as Director of Information Technology or Meetings Manager, you will often have the opportunity to work with just about everybody on everything! For instance as the “IT guy/gal”, you may be tasked with setting up an online abstract submission system for the association’s Annual Meeting. This requires organization wide staff interactions and understanding of multiple internal systems. You would need to work with the Membership Department on how to best verify an abstract submitter’s membership status, with the Publications Department on online copyright verbiage and publication output specifications, with the Accounting Department on electronic payment processing reconciliation… well you get the idea. Associations can provide great opportunities for broadening your skill sets, which ultimately will increase your value to the organization.

Reason #4: Annual Meeting Time. It’s All Worth It.

Working at a professional association is very cyclical. The Annual Meeting is the best example of this. It takes a full year to organize and pull off a successful meeting (initial planning starts many years out) and involves almost all staff. The smaller the association the greater the likelihood that you will be “working” the meeting. Seeing thousands of meeting attendees, passionate about their work and energized from networking with their colleagues, is what the Annual Meeting is all about. As staff, it adds meaning to your day-to-day job, reminding you that what you are doing, does make a difference. It may also be the first time you have the opportunity to meet volunteers that you had previously interacted with only over the phone or by email. Working the Annual Meeting also allows you to do something completely different for a week… such as working at the association’s booth selling t-shirts, gathering tickets at an evening social event, or helping an international attendee with onsite registration.

Reason #5: The Benefits.

Ok, time to get practical. The benefits at associations can be pretty enticing. It is not unusual for associations to have a 37.5 hour workweek, although expect to work more hours around Annual Meeting time. Employer retirement contributions (403b) can be very generous, some offering as high as a 10% contribution. A full array of benefits including health, dental, life, disability, etc, is common. Salaries vary by geographic location and by association size. While salaries are generally a little lower than the for-profit sector, they are still very competitive when you take a look at the whole package associations have to offer.

ProAssociationCareers.org, your gateway to professional association jobs!