14 Strategies for an Effective Job Search Job Search Tips, Resume Tools, and Branding Best Practices Slides: E to do 1-5, Cate to do Tips 1-2, and then we’ll alternate (each do 2 at a time) Welcome! Our goal: walk away with 2-3+ suggestions that will make your job search more effective AND which will help reduce anxieties. Major agenda items for today include: talking through our Job Search Navigation Map, which includes 7 steps for an effective job search process; top 14 job search strategies; working with Recruiters; resume & branding advice; and differentiation tips, i.e. how to gain an advantage of other candidates Engaging the right talent. Providing the right solution. www.apexsystems.com

Introductions Technology/PM Career Coaching expertise! Suzanne Ricci Executive Director, Computer Coaches Organizer, Tampa Bay Tech Career Advice MeetUp Founder, LaSalle Computer Learning Center Author, Beat the Curve Co-Organizer, Tampa Bay iWork Career Fair Erica Woods Sr. Manager, IT Contractor Programs & Philanthropy Project and Program Management of initiatives that support our national IT contractor base STEM, Tech4Good and Philanthropy Advocate Tech Career & Transition Coaching MS SQL Tips Professional Development Author & PMI PDD/BA World Conference Speaker Technology/PM Career Coaching expertise!

#1 - Understand Motivators Know your Motivators: What have I liked about the opportunities I’ve had? What’s important to me (regarding a company, project, manager, culture, job functions, technology, growth potential, benefits, etc.)? What motivates me to do something well? In what direction do I want to move? What are my priorities (personally and professionally)? Best Practice: You want to think through what your career interests are before you start your job search! Prior to starting a full-blown search, ensure there’s no potential for extension or transitioning to a different role/department at current client. One of the biggest components of career management and job searching is being aware of your needs, wants, concerns, desires, goals, motivations, value drivers, and what you’re avoiding. When you’re aware of these desires, goals, concerns or other factors, you’ll be able to visualize your needs. Awareness of situations and surroundings will help you make wiser decisions and offer you the power of choice. Guide Strategy + Customize “Elevator Pitch” + Showcase Interest

#2 – Determine Hiring Trends & Skills Dev Determine 2-3 hiring trends  develop key areas Ask Recruiters, look at Tech Trends Radars (i.e. ThoughtWorks, Gartner, etc.), evaluate job postings and capture trends Invest 1-2 hours a week in learning skills in demand and using in home environment How will this benefit you? Add to resume under ‘Additional Training’ to show knowledge and optimize resume Shows initiative and other positive traits Increases marketability “I’ve hired candidates who only had 50% of the original list of requirements if they were culture fits and demonstrated strong initiative and a desire to learn over other candidates who had 100% of the requirements but didn’t demonstrate those traits.” – Senior Network Manager Apply the 80:20 rule to your Job Search. If you meet 80% of the qualifications, apply for the position and have a plan on how you’ll obtain the remaining 20% of the skills needed! Trends: Consult TRs and peers, user groups, job alerts, Thoughtworks Technology Radar We believe that investing 2+ hours a week training and developing skills/knowledge around the key tech/skills “in demand” by clients related to your skill set should be part of your job search!!

#3 – Build Portfolio / Collect Recommendations Community Contributions Nonprofit Tech Support / Skills-based Volunteering Recommendations and/or References Provide proactively LinkedIn Recommendations Get from various sources Have references that will be relevant for role you’re applying for BEST PRACTICE: Have examples of your work on GitHub, Stack Overflow, PMI, IIBA, LinkedIn, a personal website, etc.? Include that URL on top of your resume! Give yourself some differentiators from other job seekers right out of the gate!

#4 – Evaluate Online Presence Engage in ORM (Online Reputation Management) Scope out social media channels, doing a mini “online channel audit” Ask and act: “What can I do to improve my online brand? How can I increase my credibility?” Goal: have 1+ channel that really acts as a professional reference check and communicates credibility! Step 1: Audit Step 2: Profile Review/s Step 3: Profile Enhancements Step 4: Add URL to Resume & Application

#5 – Start Fine Tune & Optimize Resume 2 Major Resume Tools Resume Builder Content & Layout Best Practices Certification Placement URLs to positive sites in contact information Tag Line Technical Skills Summary Tech & versions in each job Accomplishments / Career / Project Highlights Community Involvement QA against Accomplishments, Target Brand & Motivators Have a ‘Resume Review Buddy’ Resume Templates, Optimizers, etc Brand yourself further for your target role by labeling your Skills Summary section accordingly. For example, if you’re a BA, label Business Analysis Skills Summary. There are lots of resume builders out there, but we really like Live Career’s, which is under $20 a month. Bottom line, invest time and money on the front end and use a template service to create an initial strong product (i.e. resume) that you can continuously build on with each new job! Job Scan - Free Forever: 5 Match Rate Calculations / month + 5 Keyword Comparisons / month + Limited Scan History (20) + Resume Manager + Jobscan Learning Center 1st month free, then $89.95 USD every 3 months after trial - Unlimited Match Rate Calculations + Unlimited Keyword Comparisons + Unlimited Scan History + Resume Manager + Jobscan Learning Center + LinkedIn Optimization * Cover Letter Optimization Jobs That You Match + Resume Live Scoring + ATS-Specific Tips + ATS Revealed eBook + (10 pages with screenshots) + 20 ATS Friendly Resume Templates + Premium 2018 Cover Letter Template https://www.jobscan.co/plan

#6 - QA Your Resume What stood out within 6 seconds? Many of our hiring Managers will look at a resume and ask candidates to speak to their experience on any technologies mentioned. If you can’t answer basic questions, take it off your resume! What stood out within 6 seconds? What do you evaluate first? What’s your top piece of feedback for improving?

#7 - Generate a List of Target Companies What companies in your immediate area use the methodology, technology, etc. you want to work with? Have positions similar to yours? LinkedIn Search Job Postings Asking Network Determining from Recruiters Companies that sponsor your local User Group Leverage your network to get direct contact Best Practice – always have a running list of organizations in your area that hire your skill set that you might be interested in if and when it comes time to explore a new job! Especially useful if you have a skill set or work with a technology that’s not common, i.e. Java Developer. Another example, if you’re a Project Manager, good to know which organizations have larger PMOs in your target location. Side benefit of doing this  equips Recruiters with great info and we could proactively submit your resume to companies you’ve identified you want to work with that we have strong client relationships with!

#8 – Consult with Network Which resources work for you? Do you have recommendations on companies who are hiring? Do you have a Recruiter recommendation? Any other tools you utilized or recommend? Work with Skills-Based Recruiters User Group Leaders Other User Group/ Community Members Previous Managers/ Co-Workers Best Practice: Back Door Resume Submittal! Best Practice: Go the referral route if you know someone who looks at a company you see a job you want to apply for!

#9 - Work Effectively with Recruiters Identify, screen & work with skills-based Recruiters Set expectations when and how you’d like to conduct your job search (communication channels, target timeframes, # jobs) Communicate decision making criteria: interests, motivators, career goals, target companies, timeline/process for accepting offers, etc. Consult with them on ‘Career Services’ type advice Keep informed on status of other opportunities you’re targeting Help. Us. Help. You! Best Practices: Prospect Recruiters Build relationships with those you identify could be strong “partners” 1 - Provide insight on how you like to search for jobs Good recruiters become adept at resume formatting styles and techniques, along with what is pertinent to a specific target job.  2 - what are you looking for in a company and opportunity? What aren’t you looking for? 3 - what resources do you use? How many opportunities do you like to consider? What do you like to know about an interview? 4 – if you work remotely on Fridays, let us know you would like to catch up on the status of any opps via phone during that time 5 – EX. if you have 2 other interviews next week, and you want to make a decision by the following week, encourage us to get an interview set up in the next couple business days. Don’t be afraid to communicate when you have other interviews.

#10 - Use LinkedIn & Other Social Media Channels Search for Jobs Sign up for Job Alerts “Turn signal on” via LinkedIn Re-connect with Recruiters you’ve worked with in the past Re-connect with other members in your network Channels: MeetUp, Facebook (Tampa Bay Technology Jobs), LinkedIn, Reddit, Twitter, Glassdoor Job Board Relevant hashtags Use LinkedIn to Brand, Connect, Communicate, and stay on the “radar” of your “target audience!” For profiles, there are a number of videos available here to help build strong profiles: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/topics/6042/6043 For updates to LinkedIn.com and articles about finding jobs using the platform and countless other resources, I recommend reviewing and subscribing to LinkedIn’s blog: https://blog.linkedin.com/ Here is a recent post on using LinkedIn to find a job: https://blog.linkedin.com/2017/july/20/finding-your-next-job-using-the-power-of-linkedin

#11 – Sign Up for Job Alerts Allow you to define your criteria Email you relevant opportunities Allow you to pick and choose Gives insight into who’s hiring Gives tech insights, i.e. what technologies and skills are in demand Provides target companies ***Apply 80:20 rule*** **Apex Talent Network, Indeed, LinkedIn, Dice, Monster, CareerBuilder** 80:20 rule = apply for jobs where you meet 80% of requirements. Too many job seekers don’t pursue a position if they don’t have everything on the client’s “wish list!” We’ve found that most clients/Managers would rather hire someone who’s passionate about the job and wants to learn OVER a candidate with 100% of the requirements. We’ve heard of Managers hiring candidates with 50% of the requirements, although our recommendation is applying if you meet at least 80%.

#12 – Go Referral Route See a position you want to apply for? Determine if there’s a way to ensure your resume gets in front of the Manager! Don’t assume resume will get seen if you apply via corporate website or job posting Do LinkedIn search? Any connections work at company? Recruiters have relationship/Manager contact? Share story of Katie Truitt at United Way

#13 - Cover Letter Best Practices If we have Manager contact, we’ll create something similar to this list of bullet points on your behalf to send to the Manager, based on our conversations with you! Elevator Pitch + Key Qualifications + Differentiators + Best URL/s + Communicate Interest + Candidate “Risk Management”

#14 – Provide Differentiators Writing Sample References/Recommendations Pet Projects Links to Positive Profile/s Technical Assessment/s Awards Results of Skills-Based Volunteering Efforts Once you’ve identified a position, ask yourself “what else do I have at my disposal that I can include with my resume to give myself a competitive advantage for that opportunity?” Goal: Provide 1+ piece of professional “marketing ammo” that communicates your credibility! 5 examples - Sarah (submitted Requirements documentation she did for a local nonprofit pro bono), Mo (gave screen shot examples of Database he built for local animal rescue), Tim (included his YouTube Channel link on resume), Jack (included link to some webcasts and articles he’s done via MSSQLTips), Joe (included experience presenting to his local User Group and got a recommendation from UG leader), Paul (submitted Award he’d won for an enterprise architecture system he was the lead on)

Top Strategies Understand Motivators Determine Hiring Trends Engage in Skills Development Build Portfolio Fine Tune Resume Use Resume Optimization Tool Collect References/Recommendations Provide Recommendations Proactively Evaluate Online Presence Generate a List of Target Companies Use Network and Recruiters Sign Up for Job Alerts Use LinkedIn Leverage other Social Media Channels Go the Referral Route Strong Cover Letter Provide Differentiators

Additional Resources and Q&A Workshops – Nonverbal Hacks is a 33 min overview on body language, which can be 12-13x more impactful than the actual message or wording, which is presented by a Certified Body Language Expert who is also an Interview Coach, MSSQLTips Author, and Tech Manager in the BI space. The Giving Effective Presentations is presented by the VP of Marketing at one of our sister companies who is also an author and TedX Speaker on how to give a strong presentation, of which interviews are one of your biggest presentations! Apex Career Resource Site: https://www.apexsystems.com/Pages/CareerReadiness.aspx Computer Coach Training Center: https://www.computercoach.com/ Tampa Bay Tech Career Advice MeetUp: https://www.meetup.com/All-Things-Tech-Career-Forum/