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Summer is here.  This weekend marks the beginning vacation for lots of people and will undoubtedly play mayhem on the hiring process.

All it takes is one of the decision makers to be out of the loop and the whole thing can get way laid.

This makes it very hard to keep track of what’s happening between interviews and it can be tough to get feedback.

The key is to follow up with your contacts and to make sure you stay on the radar of the people involved in the hiring team.

When I say follow up, I don’t mean spam.  Be careful; it’s a pretty fine line.

Spam is information with little or no value to the reader.  Don’t do that.  It won’t help your cause.

• “I just wanted to follow up with you to see if you had any feedback yet” Is not good.
• “I might accept another job on Tuesday but I like yours better” is awkward and shrug-inducing.
• “If you don’t get back to me, I will have to get in touch with your boss” will not endear you to anyone.

You need to craft more constructive messages if you want to get a response or even stay in someone’s inbox.

• “I have been thinking about our conversation last week and wanted to share another strategy idea.”
• “The Globe and Mail had a feature on your competitor and I thought you might be interested in reading it.”
• “Just wanted  to know if you will be attending the industry conference next week.  If so, perhaps we could get together for coffee.”

These are messages that people will want to read and will demonstrate that you have a genuine interest in working with them and a real sense of what’s happening in their space.

Resolve to make this a no-spam summer and life will be better.

 I have been thinking about the whole Rob Ford affair, in particular the information that has come to light about his brother’s high school career.  Dougie, it seems, was a very successful supplier of cocaine and other mind altering substances in his Etobicoke neighbourhood.

It was 30 years ago.  Does it matter now?

Thirty years ago, I played saxophone.  Does that matter now?  Well, I know a lot more about music than most of my peers and I still have some close bonds to the people I played with during high school.

My husband was a waiter in a high end café in Yorkville 30 years ago.  He has no connection with that today except that he still really likes cake.

So, I guess the answer is “it depends”.  If that stuff you did as a teenager is still a part of your daily life, then yes, it does matter.  If your friends are all from the period of time, yes, it matters.

What is important is to know how to talk about it.  When I took a course in stand up comedy writing, we learned to deal with the “elephant in the room”. 

If there is a chapter in your resume/life that seems out of place or downright weird, be prepared to call it out right from the get-go.  Don’t wait to be asked.  Be proactive and use the most candid and authentic language possible.

What if it took you seven years to finish university?  The message is not “I flunked out of first year and had to take some time to get my head out of my ass.”  But rather, “I was not quite ready for university, so I took some time to refocus, worked for a year and then selected a much better program that lead me to where I am today.”

So yes, your past matters but what matters more, is how you talk about it.

I love sitcoms.  I get a few laughs and no matter what kind of trouble befalls the main character, it all gets resolved by the end of the 29^th minute.  Sickness, joblessness, relationship trouble – it all goes away at the end of the show.

It is too bad that our careers don’t go that way.

If we want something to change like a relationship or the work we do, we have to make that change happen ourselves.  We can’t just wait for the next commercial and hope for the best.

Making a change requires thought and action.  Throwing resumes at job postings will not cut it.  Having coffee with friends just to vent is also not going to fix anything.

1.  What specifically do you want to change?
2. Which parts of your job do you do best?
3. Who needs what you do?
4. How can you get a conversation going with the right people?

Keep in mind that the things you want to fix or change might be present where you are now.  You won’t know if you don’t ask.

So, here is your challenge this week:  give up two sitcoms and one reality show.  That will give you two hours to think about this stuff and start to formulate at plan.

Bye bye Bachelorette and hello new job!

It finally started to warm up this week here in Ontario. I know this because I arrived for a meeting yesterday practically glistening with sweat from walking outside.

I am thrilled to have beautiful weather but it really can be a problem for people going to interviews.  The last thing you want to do is to wipe sweat from your brow after the first question.

What to do?

We all arrive early for interviews. Instead of heading to the elevator bank, wait in the lobby until you cool down. Have some water and take a few minutes to compose yourself and do some strategic blotting.  

You could wear an undershirt/camisole and then head to the bathroom for a quick change.

Carry your blazer over your arm.  You can put it on at the last minute.  No one on the subway will care. 

Don’t be tempted to wear a lot of cologne to mask a potential BO problem. That’s not the answer.  A lot of people have scented sensitivity and that would be a sure fire way to make a crappy impression.

So just take it easy and arrive calm, cool and ready to talk about what you and why you do it so well. 

When someone takes the time to speak with you about your resume, a job posting or gives you a referral, it would be good if you took the time to acknowledge them.

This is important because there is a perception that everyone under 30 is an ingrate. Also, it is polite, respectful and leaves the impression that you really are a classy and caring person.

There is considerable debate around whether the thank you should be hand written or emailed.  I don’t think it really matters. You can even call and thank the person. It’s truly the thought that counts.

You can throw a couple of notecards and stamped envelopes into your bag and then you have them ready to drop in a mailbox on your way home.

Or make a calendar reminder for yourself to call or email in two or three days.

Most people think thank you notes are just for interviews but they are not. If your friend’s mother gives you some tips, say thanks. If your neighbour connects you to a colleague, say thanks.   You can even send a thank you note to the person who called to tell you that you did not get the job.  After all, it was nice that they called to let you know. 

Don’t slip up on this. It’s an important habit that if you develop now, will really help to set you apart over the life of your career.

Oh and hey – thanks for reading this.

My son is looking for a summer job. He went through our neighbourhood dropping off resumes. Guess where he got his first interview?

Our local bong shop.

Really.

He came home excited as all get out. He scored an interview on his first go. He has a real appreciation for this because he has grown up hearing about tough job searches at the dinner table.

When I furrowed my brow, he pointed out to me that if he found something he was passionate about, it would not seem like work at all.

For Pete’s sake.

Then I decided that he would learn some good lessons about customer care, working in a regulated environment and maybe how to serve good snacks.  That would not be so bad on a resume.

So here’s the thing: it does not matter what we, the parents, think about our kids first or second jobs.

We blather on about kids finding their passion in the hopes that they will find it before we did. A first job is not about passion. It’s about a paycheque and hopefully some valuable lessons about what you don’t like.

A couple of those kinds of experiences will point you in the direction of your first real job. The one that you would do for free. The one that you think about when you are sleeping. The one that’s really important. Maybe you will get that job before you are 30, maybe you won’t. But don’t let your parents bring you down on this. Just learn how to rope all your experiences into a really good story and practice telling it.

So he sells smoking accessories. Is that really worse than flipping burgers or mowing grass? Not to me. And certainly not to him.

Peace out.

Soon school will be over and then what are you going to do?  Whether you are looking for summer work or your first job, gird your loins because it is a tough market out there. 

This is a big topic so this will be the first in a series with tips of finding jobs for students and new grads.  It’s going to cover getting ready to look, where to look and what to do when you find the gem jobs.

Getting Ready

If you have not already created a LinkedIn profile, then do it. Right now.

Make sure it is attached to an email address you actually check. Fill in your courses and credits but also be sure to include the part time jobs, the clubs and any volunteer work you have done. Also see if a couple of people will give you recommendations. All of these things will make you easily found by people like me.

When your profile is complete, start connecting with folks. You can connect with professors, managers, student leaders and, brace yourself, your parents. Their connections will add a whole new layer of depth to your profile.

Don’t be afraid to use the network you have built. If you find someone doing what you want to do, reach out to them with a brief note that either invites them to join your network or invites them to chat with you about their career and how they got there.

If you see a job posting that interests you, see if you can find someone who can give you some background info on the role or the company culture.

Did I mention that all of this is free?  Yep. Free.

So get on it right now. And don’t forget to invite me.

If I had a dollar for every session that promises the secrets of networking, I would be richer than I am now.

It used to be that networking meant going to cocktail parties with a well-rehearsed elevator pitch and a fistful of business cards.

You can still do that.  Grab an appletini and let’s go.

The problem with this approach is that it’s random.  You have no idea who is going to be at these sorts of functions.  Will there be anyone who is interested in your skill set or industry knowledge?  You really don’t know.

These days, it’s all about targeted networking.  You know want to be connecting with people who get you. That’s where the real value is.

How do you find the bulls eye in targeted networking?  Think about what you do,  not in terms of title or responsibility but what problems you fix. Let’s face it, we get paid for work because it solves a problem.

Maybe you take care of customers, maybe you find cheaper supplies or maybe you can get groups of people to do things. Take your job to the bare bones of what you do and what problem it solves.

Once you know that, the next step is easy. Who else has this problem?  Think of five organizations that have the same issue and boom, there is your target list.

The next step is to decide how to connect. You can use LinkedIn. You can go to industry association trade shows. You can read newspapers and trade journals. Just keep focusing on connecting with people who have problems you can solve.

Leaving things to chance is fine if you are in a romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl, but I am pretty sure this is a better way for the rest of us.

So you have decided to start spreading your resume around in the hopes of landing a new gig.  Excellent!  The market is waiting for you.

Your resume is your calling card and you need to do everything you can to make it attractive, accurate and edgy without being weird.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• No spelling mistakes – print it and read it backwards word by word.  This will help catch those pesky typos.
• Avoid acronyms – even people who work in your industry may not know what they mean.
• Keep it searchable – use sensible phrases to describe what you do so people like me can find you.  I am probably not going to google “Head Wrangler” when I am looking for a Project Manager.
• Tell the truth – it might not set you free but it won’t bite you in the ass after your reference check.
• Make sure your personal phone number and email address are near the top – you would be surprised at how many people don’t put their email on their resume.  How will I contact you if you don’t?

Finally, throw some hobbies and interests at the bottom.  They offer insight into who you are and what you do when you are not at work.  But for heaven’s sake, if you say you are into French cooking, you had better be able to talk about soufflés and croissants or they will see right through you.