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Know what company you want to work for? Find hiring managers on LinkedIn

Paul Anderson — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:37:17 +0000

LinkedIn is the largest professional network on the Internet with more than 135 million members in over 200 countries and territories. As of Sep. 30, 2011, executives from all Fortune 500 companies were registered users.

What does this mean to you? If you’re looking to find decision makers at a particular company, chances are [...]

Want a job in January? Leverage LinkedIn’s “All Updates” hidden feature

Paul Anderson — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:08:14 +0000

When you connect with folks on LinkedIn you’ll receive an update from your connection’s activity. Those updates will be displayed on your homepage when you first login to LinkedIn, very similar to Facebook’s “News Feed” feature.

LinkedIn calls this feature “All Updates” and it will display when your network connects to someone, joins a group, [...]

Your competition is hibernating

Paul Anderson — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:19:57 +0000

I love this time of year. I don’t mean the stress of the holiday season; I’m talking about the best time to job search. In the past two years, more of my clients have found jobs between Thanksgiving and Christmas than during any other time throughout the year. Last weekend alone, I got three emails [...]

The best lesson my boss ever taught me

Paul Anderson — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:27:59 +0000

I recently interviewed Rod Brooks, chief marketing officer of PEMCO Insurance, about career development. He shared with me a conversation he once had with his boss.

The lesson was so profound that he’s given dozens, if not hundreds, of speeches on the topic. It has shaped both his team and his personal decisions when it [...]

What if you don’t know what you want to do?

Paul Anderson — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:30:23 +0000

One of the questions I’m asked most in my workshops is, “What if I don’t know what I want to do?” Taking the time to answer this important question is invaluable, as we spend a good amount of our lives at the workplace.

Discovering what you want to do is a process; there’s no quick [...]

Chances are, you’re talking to the wrong people

Paul Anderson — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:31:51 +0000

How many times have you counted on contacts at a prospective employer only to find out they’re useless when you really need them? Have you ever tried to get information on a company’s hiring process or interview questions, for example, or asked someone to pass along your resume to the hiring manager, but gotten nowhere?

[...]

Why applying online first is a waste of time

Paul Anderson — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:34:30 +0000

I recently gave a presentation called Career Search Optimization to professionals in transition, emphasizing the need to become more strategic if they want to find their ideal job. Many, if not all, job seekers are so focused on advertised openings that they often miss out on what’s most important to them.

It’s a little like dating. [...]

How to make the right contacts, part 2

Paul Anderson — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 08:36:19 +0000

In my last column, I gave you two tips for developing relationships with key contacts who could help with your job search. These influential connections have the potential to give you everything from guidance and contact information to internal referrals and insider information about a particular company’s hiring process.

Asking leading questions is both an [...]

How to make the right contacts

Paul Anderson — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:36:59 +0000

In my last post, I discussed the importance of leveraging your connections to help you meet people at the companies you’re targeting in your job search. For some job seekers, this raises the question: “What if I don’t have the right contacts?”

For starters, see “Who are the top three ‘super connectors’ in your [...]

Are you leveraging your connections?

Paul Anderson — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 08:37:49 +0000

As I’ve discussed in previous columns, finding a job in Seattle depends on who you know, who knows you, and what they think of you.

Too many times, job seekers new to the game think it’s all about the numbers and try to meet as many people as possible. While I advocate expanding your reach [...]