Colleen on Careers

Finding the next move in your career often starts with making sure your resume gets to the right person. Now with so many opportunities to post your resume online, there are more ways to reach editors, but also more ways for your resume to get lost in the mix.

There are a number of factors to consider when posting your resume online. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a piece, "Protecting Your Privacy When Job Hunting," which offers some insight into the potential repercussions of online posting. The piece also provides tips for keeping your contact information and former employers' information confidential. We offer that option when you post on Poynter's Career Center.

When posting your resume, be honest and offer easy ways for people to contact you. The harder you are to find, the less likely a recruiter is to contact you. I will tell you as a former hiring manager that resumes lacking key contact information often make recruiters suspicious and less likely to pursue candidates.
 
If given the opportunity, it's best to give your resume to recruiters in person. This is ideal for several reasons:

• The recruiter doesn't have to hunt through a pile of resumes to find yours.

• The recruiter can go over your resume with you and ask you whatever questions come to mind.
  

• You can ensure that your resume makes it to the recruiter.
  

• You have an opportunity to ask the recruiter, "What next?"

Remember that posting a resume online, and even giving it to a recruiter in person, won't necessarily yield immediate results. It takes persistence, promotion and confidence to find the next move in your career. 

IT World recently offered seven tips for surviving a layoff in a troubling economy. I've listed the tips below and offered some additional advice related to them.
 
1. "Negotiate the best possible severance package." Know that what H.R. offers you may not be the final word.

2. "Don't second-guess yourself." Resist those negative thoughts. Your two best friends in job hunting are confidence and persistence.

3. "Examine your finances." Plan three to eight months for your job search. With those we have been coaching, an average time frame has been four to six months from the start of coaching. This, of course, depends on your drive and persistence.

4. "Make job hunting your new job." Stay active and network. Bring structure and discipline to your life and take control of your situation. Do your reporting on the market and reach out to prospective employers as sources.

5. "Expand your search." Make a long list of company prospects. Focus on high potential employers. Use the Web to research the top 100 companies to work for. You can search geographically as well.

6. "Approach online applications and search firms with caution." Whenever possible, it's best to hand your resume to recruiters in person.

7. "Stop reading about the economy." I don't recommend cutting the news out of your daily life, but I do recommend focusing on the positives that you can build. Networking will introduce you to many new contacts, and even new friends. Work the network religiously.

The timing was perfect. The same week that we ran our first Standing up for Journalism program here at The Poynter Institute, Romenesko linked to the Typepad Journalist Bailout Program. The site says it helps laid-off journalists set up their own blogs, while providing them with professional help and enrollment in an advertising program.

Here is what I find interesting about the program:

• It is another venue for good journalism that brings journalists together and lets them know that storytelling is alive and growing.

• It acknowledges that to survive, journalism needs a business model. Even nonprofit Web sites functioning on grants need to plan ahead and think about future revenue streams. The Typepad Journalist Bailout Program's advertising program seems as though it could help journalists do this. 

• It acknowledges the importance of promotion and promotes journalists' new sites on Blogs.com.

• Through its VIP program, the site begins to show some of the business-side metrics of managing a site.

You can visit the Typepad Journalist Bailout Program's home page for more details about the program.

Despite its apparent perks, some have criticized the program. MediaShift published a blog post last week quoting Wired journalist Priya Ganapati, who "simply dismissed the idea as a publicity stunt to promote Six Apart's products and advertising program." The article also includes commentary from Henry Copeland, founder of Blogads, who says some journalists don't adapt as well to blogging as programs like the Typepad Journalist Bailout Program seem to suggest. The New York Times provides additional context on the program in this article.

At the very least, the program is an initiative to help journalists survive in a changing industry. Such initiatives make me hopeful that people are thinking about how journalism is going to evolve online and passionate about helping journalists make the leap.

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		Subscribe to Colleen on Careers, sent via e-mail on Mondays. Related articles: "Networking: It Works if You Work it," by Colleen Eddy "Network With Recruiters Online?" by Joe Grimm "How Can I Network?" by Joe Grimm "How Do I Start Networking?" by Joe Grimm

The most effective way to get a job is through networking. Too often, the fear of picking up the phone and asking to speak to a hiring manager paralyzes job hunters, yet this is the most valuable way to get results.

Make the call exploratory. Tell the hiring manager you are looking for work and would appreciate any advice he or she could offer. Ask what the manager looks for in a candidate and whom you might talk to. Take notes. Write a follow-up thank you note.

Networking should warm you up to constructive interviewing and help you discover the value of learning from, and helping, others. It should come naturally for journalists. Look at it as reporting on a valuable topic: You.

Use a solid resume as your business card. Use it to market your value and strengths, accomplishments and results. Then build your network. Everyone in a network counts: family, friends, church associates, work associates, neighbors, vendors, kids' parents, acquaintances you meet at the gym and more.

The people you meet may advocate for you when it comes time to finding a job. Build good rapport with them through face-to-face meetings and regular follow-ups, and the jobs will eventually come.

Here are a few examples of networking using different approaches:

The New York Times describes a new networking world called "likemind," a casual group for young professionals worldwide. You can find similar social groups in your geographic location online and in your local newspapers' business section. Sites such as LinkedIn and Women Empower, a networking site for women in business, are also worth a look.

I particularly like Salary.com and the advice it offers:

• Network everyday, everywhere.
• Use resumes like personal flyers.
• Use informational interviews.
• Network toward a job.

Remember to keep records of all your networking activity by recording the names of those you've met, where you met them and what you discussed. Then follow up until you secure that next job.