Monday, June 30, 2008

Swap meet

Yesterday we were at a dinner party. Everybody I met that was working somewhere wished they were working somewhere else. And everybody that didn't have a job, wished they had a job, just any job.

This led me to an idea - what if we had a big, giant job swap meet. People at company A who wanted to work at company B could explore that, while folks at B who wanted C could meet that desire and so on and so on.

Think of how many $$ we would save on the hiring process. Now, of course, you'd want the hiring managers there too to approve the candidates who want to switch over. But one could just wrap it all up in a day.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Kismet

So today a really weird thing happened. I have been scanning the non-profit section of craigslist for months looking for something interesting. I have also been scanning a local non profit website for open positions as I used to work for their San Diego chapter before the baby arrived. And I loved it. If I could go back there I would in a heartbeat.. In all these months, nothing in my line of work ever showed up. But today, my hands shook as I clicked on a link that said "___ seeks Business Analyst".

I was so excited I had to leave the laptop and walk away to do some deep breaths. Really. So it was only the next day that I could really sit down to put together my application...

What took my breath away was the fact that this organization doesn't usually have a position titled BA... They just recently created this. Sometimes the Universe gives you proof that it has been listening all along.. This was one of them.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Are you Linked In?

Linked In - a professional networking application has now become my new favorite website. Years ago, a good friend, (to whom my post involving Calvin and Hobbes is dedicated), sent me an invitation to join. Back then I pooh-poohed it. I thought signing up would be a colossal waste of my time. Then others started sending invitations to other networking applications. My theory was validated further. What was I supposed to do? Join 6 different websites just to make my friends happy?

In April of this year, I decided that it was time to go back to work. But where was I to start? I had no network here in Dallas. My last job was in San Diego. And my entire collection of friends, colleagues and bosses were all in the Boston area. That's when I decided to give Linked in a shot. And it hasn't let me down! Through it I have reconnected with so many of my former colleagues and managers. Friends too.

I currently have 38 contacts in my direct network. And I am obsessed with growing it daily!

Linked In is a great way to get introduced to people too. Thanks to a former manager, I was able to get in touch with a recruiter here in the Dallas area.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Network, network, network!

Everyone says that your network is your most powerful job search tool. Most jobs aren't advertised. They're filled through referrals. Etc. etc. I've always known this and even touted this to friends looking for work in the last few years. I have finally realized first hand how darn true this is.

My husband has been telling me for the last month that I should write to the people I know and tell them explicitly what sort of position I'm looking for and ask for their help with sharing contacts or freelance work. I had been holding back from doing this on account of two things:

1. I didn't want anyone to feel awkward because they didn't have any help to offer.
2. I didn't want to feel desperate.

Well, I finally caved in and wrote an email last week. To tackle 1) I suggested they could offer me advice. Who can resist that? Everyone's got advice. And the unsolicited kind is the source of 60% of the world's quarrels. So, come on! :-)
and 2) I figured that it's alright to admit I need some help. I'm not less of a person because of it. Isn't that why say "Network, network, network!"? What's the use of an awesome network, if it ain't doin' nothin', you know what I mean? ;-)

So - I sent away! So far I got some great advice and one rock solid lead :-)

Oh, and when he read the email, my husband said, "It's a nice email, but you sound a little desperate.." :-0 !

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Channelling....

Back when I was in college, going clubbing was the highlight of my week. My friends and I would get ready for the event, starting a few hours before we had to leave our dorm. We'd start by blasting club music in our dorm rooms. Somehow the loud music got us into the "clubbing mood". As we listened to the music and danced around, we would get ready. Deciding what to wear, how to do our hair, makeup, earrings etc. It was an intense process and it took those entire two hours to channel our inner Divas and transform us from our sweatpants and ponytail personae to dancing queens.

Trying to get into the mindset of a career woman is rather similar after you've stayed home for a couple of years. You have to surround yourself with .. and channel the inner corporate woman! The woman that is there, deep inside you. I have decided to do this by turning my study at home into what my office would look like, if I did sit in an office building. It is surrounded with white boards - to help organize my tasks for the day, bulletin-boards with pin-ups of inspiring words, a printout of my resume, calendar (no more life is a blur) and documents and contacts from my former work.

It works! I feel like I have an actual office now. I call it my war room. And my mission is to figure out the next step of my career and start working, pronto!

Friday, June 06, 2008

It's a bit like Dating.

I've spoken with two recruiters since I started my job search 6 weeks ago. The first person was a lady who was very chatty and encouraging ... promising to call me for interviews and projects down the road and what not.. I believed her.. and even though I didn't really want to work for the company she was representing, I thought she'd call because she said she'd call. Right? Wrong! She never called.

Yesterday I spoke to a really nice recruiter. I was so nervous about being interviewed after such a long time, that I actually had butterflies in my stomach. He was really cool and sounded very impressed by my background and potential and said how high my market value would be had I stayed in the corporate world. He even went off the record and told me how to modify my resume a bit so that the job would be mine. We got to the point of setting a billing rate... and then in the end he volunteered to make the edits to my resume himself and send it to me by the end of the day!!!! I was over the moon. I couldn't believe my good fortune. All evening I nervously checked my email and voicemail. But there was nothing!

I'm quickly learning that this is much like dating. "I'll call you" doesn't mean they will...

Sunday, June 01, 2008

What's the big deal with referring?

So here's what I don't understand. People who have jobs that are hesitant to reach out and offer to refer a job seeker to their place of work. What's the big deal? It's not like one is asking them to
"get" them a job. You're just trying to get your resume noticed. In a world where HR people are getting slammed with resumes, all it does is say "Hey take a look at this person's qualifications. Perhaps you'd like to talk to them"

That's all. And with the size of referral bonuses at some companies, perhaps it'd be worth their while?