BLOG IN THE HEADLIGHTS

Deciding to blog presented a dilemma. I was intrigued when I first came across blogger. I thought wow, I can get a free blog, this is great. I can write about my pet peeves, my dreams, my kids about anything that I like and a few things that I dislike.

Since I was and still am looking for a job, I decided to write about my job search. I wrote a few posts about my experiences as I looked for work and emailed them to my friends for comments. To my surprise, I only received a couple of comments, but my cell phone and email were blowing-up. The calls and emails were from my friends suggesting that I take down the blog . I began to wonder if I should take their advice and delete the site.

Prior to be laid-off, I had been steadily employed for over 20 years. I did not have an online presence and I was somewhat skeptical of social media. My only knowledge of FaceBook and Myspace was that people were getting fired or not being hired as a result of these accounts. The last thing that I wanted was to get tangled-up with something that could cause problems with my job. So I left FaceBook and Myspace to my kids. I also warned them about the problems that could result from keeping those accounts.

However, after being unemployed for a couple of months and not getting any responses from employers advertising on the job boards I started reading articles written by career advisors. Every single career coach or advisor stated that an online presence was essential to the job search these days. When I considered that my friends who were suggesting that I take down the blog were employed I reasoned, what do they know about what is going on out here in the world of the unemployed. So I left the blog up. Then I added a LinkedIn account and FaceBook account to keep my blog company.

I never created a link from the blog to my FaceBook or LinkedIn account. Whenever I checked the blogs I saw that it had very few readers. There was nothing in it that was questionable, no company names, no names of people, it was about me pursuing job opportunities and my occasional interviews. Nonetheless, the fact that it was not being read by many people was fine with me. My well meaning friends had successfully fanned the flames of doubt, which fueled my preexisting uneasiness about social media. I was not confident that social media was the way to go when it came to looking for a job. I was not sure that I would gain exposure that could possibly lead to a job. On the contrary, I felt that my blog might actually hurt my chances of landing a job.

I started searching the Internet for blogs like mine and I came across the same type of blogs in The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal had links to several other blogs written by people looking for jobs. I responded to several of the blogs, but I never put my real name or the URL for my blog in the response. It was a real dilemma for me and I tried to figure out the right way to proceed in this new environment. After some months, I updated my blog less frequently and I recently took it down altogether.

Now months later, I see where many of the people who had blogs similar to mine are employed. Several of them are blogging about their lives and their new jobs. I on the other hand am still looking and only about three-step ahead from where I was months ago when I first stated the blog. I say three steps because next week I have three interviews lined-up. When I created my first blog, it was as a result of not having any interviews, none, zero, zilch.

The blog did not help because I never promoted it. I never included the URL on my business cards and I did not include it following my online signature on emails. My blog and I were like a deer caught in the headlights. Not knowing whether we belonged on the road or hidden in the brush. Nonetheless, my use of social media is responsible for each of these interviews. I found the two of the companies through LinkedIn and the other interview was secured as a result of my activities on Twitter.

This is not exactly 100 percent proof positive that had I promoted the original blog that I would have a job by now; however, the evidence does point in that direction. Judging how social media has started to be a help in my job search, there is a pretty good chance that had I promoted the blog, I would be happily working by now instead of still looking for opportunities.

I recently decided to start this blog, Everyday Dilemmas and this time I plan to go about things differently. First, I don’t want to simply write about my job search. I want it to contain some information about a variety of things that interest me. Second, I’m pretty confident that my well intentioned friends will not be getting any advanced copies. Guys you know I love you, but these days when it comes to finding a job many of the old rules don’t apply.

FINDING A JOB IS NOT A JOB IT'S A BUSINESS

Consider the various departments or functions within a business they usually include: Accounting, Marketing, Human Resources, Sales, Research and Development, Procurement, Business Development and Administration.

If you’re running your job search without incorporating these functions there is a good chance that your job search is not going to run efficiently. Furthermore, things will be slow to improve unless you make some serious changes, which includes incorporating some or all of these functions into your search.

It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating, today’s job search is very different from the job search of 10 years ago. For starters, due to the availability and accessibility of information as well as the means to secure off-shore back-offices business the search is going to take longer. Good economy or bad, candidates and workers from across the nation and around the globe have access to the Internet and the ability to compete with locals for jobs. In short, it is going to take larger companies a while to sort through their options and make a decisons as to how they will go about filling available positions.

This brings us back to why the job search has grown from being a job and into a business. These days you have to conduct your job search as if you are the CEO of a small business. The only thing that makes your company different from a traditional business is that you only have one product to sell and that product is you. To get your product sold you will have to manage all of the functions of your company. You may use the services of a few consultants such as your network, recruiters, employment agencies or coaches but the job of moving the product rests on you.

So let's look at your basic corporate structure:

Accounting
Adequate funding will be needed to support the search. Expenses such as parking, admittance to events, dry cleaning, lunches, gasoline as well as funds to support your headquarters including rent or mortagage, electricity, food, vehicle maintenance, Internet access and so forth. It's good to identify your liquid assets (cash) from the start as well as consider other assets that may be sold-off or liquidated in order to increase your cash flow if necessary.

Marketing Communications
You can’t do this without a marketing department. Your resume and cover letter are your primary marketing tools. You will also have to think of ways to become visible to your target audience. This may mean developing a database of companies that you would like to work with and contacting these companies through traditional methods or social networking. You may consider starting a blog to help to brand yourself as an expert in your field.

Human Resources
Make sure that your documents are in order. Do you have a birth certificate, passport, social security card, drivers license or other acceptable forms of identification. You may want to run a criminal background check and credit check on yourself to make sure that there are no errors. Beware of things that can get you into legal or financial troubles such as work-from-home opportunities or jobs that hire you as an independent contractor. There is nothing illegal about being an independent contractor but remember you will be responsible for managing your withholdings. If you have never done anything like this before and you decided to give it a try it may be necessary to speak with an accountant before getting started.

Sales
Since you are the one person that knows you best you are the one person who is best able to sell your services. Be prepared to tell potential employers not just what you do but how you go about doing it. Make sure that you keep abreast of what is going on in the industry. Listen carefully to what the interviewer is telling you about the position so that you can offer what the employer is seeking. Remember the job of selling is not based on talking it’s based on listening and identifying areas where your product can fill a void. Find out from the interviewer exactly what the company needs, ask them to tell you about the day in the life of the person holding the position. Find out where the interviewer feels that there is a need or room for improvement. For each question, be ready to respond to how you will can fill the company’s needs. For example, you may want to relate a story about how you solved a similar problem for your previous employer. If you feel that you can’t fill the void be honest with yourself and don’t make-up things in order to make yourself look good. If you do this and get hired you may find yourself right back on the job boards, posthaste. No one wants a product that does not perform as promised.

Procurement
You will have to decided what type of paper you are going to use to print-out your resume. You have to decide what type of thank you notes to purchase and if you will be using notes or buying cards. You will need some business cards for when you go out networking. Decide if you want to design and print your own or if you want to hire someone to provide this services for you. If you don’t have a computer in your home you will have to decide if you should buy one or rent one to use during your job search. It may be best to use the library if funds are not available.

Business Development
As the head of business development you are responsible for seeking out opportunities where you can be seen and present yourself to potential employers without actually trying to make a sale or close a deal. Your business development strategy may include attending meetings of experts your industry. Also, attending town and government meetings in your area to get to know businesses owners, and residents in order to develop new contacts. You may also be able to learn about upcoming projects in the area and get information on who to contact regarding job opportunities resulting from community projects. Depending on your level of expertise in your field you may request an opportunity to make a presentation at a local business gathering.

Research and Development
Research and development is important and will ensure that you have evolved over the years. Sometimes people who have stayed with the same company for several years missed out on some of the newest business trends. For example, if your former company used Office 2005 and now you are confronted with Office 2007 you may be in for a bit of a shock. If your former company's main method of communication was through the local newspaper, you may have to get up-to-speed with social media. You may have to redesign your product in order to find more customers (potential employers). This may mean taking a writing class or computer course it may mean learning something totally new such as medical terminology. In short, you don’t want to be dated. You want to be a fresh, innovative and exciting product.


Administration
Remember you are your company's CEO and responsible for your company's suvivial. It is your job to determine if your efforts are providing acceptable returns. You have the final decision regarding which programs will be cut and what programs will be enhanced. The buck stops at your desk and you have to be the enforcer because you want to keep your company afloat. If you are going to temporary employment agencies and spending $30.00 a month for parking but not getting any work, it may be time to make a decision 1) stop going to employment agencies or 2) only go to employment agencies that are located in buildings with free parking. If you are attending networking events and coming home with a pocketful of card from other job seekers but nothing from potential employers it may be time to cut-back on networking events that target job seekers. If you are attending community meetings and becoming known and connected within your community, you may want to keep it up. Remember, most successful businesses know how to do two things really well 1) How to turn on a dime when a strategy is not working and 2) How to capitalize on strategies that work.