Find Your Dream Job: Insider Tips for Finding Work, Advancing your Career, and Loving Your Job

Volunteering is an important component to any job search, and can benefit the job seeker in myriad ways. So says this week's guest, Mark Anthony Dyson. While most volunteer gigs won't lead to a formal job offer, Mark argues that giving your time and energy as a volunteer helps you stand out from the crowded field of job seekers.

Here some of the many benefits to volunteer service:

• It's a great way to network within an industry or an organization you want to work for.
• It shows value-alignment between you, your peers, and target organizations.
• It allows you to showcase your professional skills or learn new skills
• It give you a chance to help others, who may, in turn, be able to help you
• It can fill in employment gaps in your resume.
• It can make you feel better about yourself and your job search.

This Week's Guest: Mark Anthony Dyson

Mark Anthony Dyson is a career consultant who helps unemployed, underemployed, and under-appreciated job seekers. Mark’s advice has appeared in U.S. News & World Report, Monster, Fox Business and TIME magazine. He’s also the founder of the award-winning career blog and podcast, The Voice of Job Seekers.

This Week's Job Search Resource

Ben’s resource this week is the website VolunteerMatch. It matches volunteers with organizations in search of volunteers and vice versa. The are thousands of volunteer opportunities in a hundred different cities and even virtual volunteer positions.

This Week's Listener Question

Jessica, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Mary Anne Rice who wants to know if she should be her authentic self in a job interview.

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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Many people believe retirement means working until a certain age and then enjoying a life of leisure. The problem with this thinking, says this week's guest expert, Nancy Collamer, is that most of us are facing the 40/30 dilemma. After working (only) 40 years in a full-time career, 30 years of retirement can be too many hours to fill, and too many years to fund.

That's why Nancy urges people to make retirement more than just gardening, grandkids, and golfing. You can also use this time to explore a second act career.  A part-time job to supplement our income, or a volunteer position may be just what the doctor ordered.

A Second Act Career

A second act career is the work we do after our primary careers. In general, the work is more fun, more flexible, and more fulfilling than our previous work. Nancy notes that many people find it daunting to plan for their second act career, so she suggests three steps to help with the process:

Introspection —  Think about what you want, and how you want to do it.

Idea Generation — Get out there, and research your options.

Experimentation — Try things out, to see what fits.

The sooner you start this process, the better! Finding your encore career earlier in life, may allow you to quit you unfulfilling 9-5 job before you otherwise expected. A second act career can also mean you don’t have to dip into your savings as early. You can delay accessing your Social Security, and that is a financial gain.

Bucket or Chuck It?

Nancy recommends planning for your retirement hours with a bucket list and a chuck it list. A bucket list is a way to make sure you get in everything you’ve ever wanted in life, while a chuck it list allows you to say goodbye to those things you never really liked, such as traffic and spreadsheets.

This Week's Guest: Nancy Collamer

Nancy Collamer is an expert on second-act careers, semi-retirement and boomer career trends. She writes a career blog for Forbes.com and the PBS website NextAvenue.org. Nancy is also the author of Second-Act Careers: 50+ Ways to Profit Your Passions During Semi-Retirement and a contributor to Not Your Mother's Retirement and 65 Things To Do When You Retire.

Nancy publishes her free newsletter on My Lifestyle Career and she is working on a digital product to help people jump start their second act career planning process.

 

Resource of the Week

Ben’s resource this week is the Huffington Post — Reinvention Section. This entire section is for those lucky people who are 50+ are interested in reinventing their life, career or location. There are some great articles here and some not so great, so browse around.

Listener Question of the Week

Jessica, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Ryan Wilson who is looking for guidance about to talk about himself and his accomplishments, without coming off as boastful.

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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It is against the law for employers to discriminate based on age. Yet, ageism is an undeniable truth in the modern workforce.

In this bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job, Kerry Hannon,  author of Love Your Job: The New Rules of Career Happiness, shares her tips on how you can overcome age bias when looking for a new job.

Employers can be skeptical about hiring older workers because they worry:

• You don’t have the stamina for the job.
• You may not be up to speed or willing to learn new technology.
• Your salary demands may be too high and your health benefits cost more.
• You won’t be able to answer to or take direction from younger bosses.

To fight back against this perception, Kerry suggests the following:

• Don't get stuck in the past
• Get a career coach
• Don't get caught up on salary
• Study up on technology
• Use social media
• Focus on networking
• Volunteer
• Join (or create) a job-hunting group
• Do your homework
• Believe in yourself

You can find more useful job search insight in Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, now available on Amazon. To preview the first chapter for free, visit www.macslist.org/anywhere.

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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"What do you do for a living?" It's a question you probably get often, especially when meeting new people. What you say matters a lot, says this week's guest expert, Christina Canters. Your answer may lead to your next job or it can help you move up in your career.

Because the question is so common, however, most people don’t give it much thought. They simply spit out their title and then stop. Christina says a title doesn’t give the other person anything to respond to. A better answer to "what do you do" can be a starting point to a more engaging conversation.

Christina offers these tips when sharing what you do:

When speaking with people outside your field, explain your job in language and metaphors that are easily understandable.

Explain who you help in your job--and how you might be able to help the person you're speaking with.

Add a fun fact about your work just after your title.

If you're currently unemployed and looking for work, use the "what do you do" question as an opportunity. Put a positive spin on your situation by saying “I’m looking for new opportunities at the moment. I’m looking to help or do…”

Christina also emphasizes the importance of confidence when explaining your job.  If you don’t come across as confident in yourself, why would anyone else be confident in you?

Her tips for projecting confidence include:

• Get into a positive state-of-mind before you arrive at an event or presentation.
• Do power poses to put yourself in a positive physical state.
• Watch your language and remove the words “just a” before your title.

This Weeks Guest: Christina Canters

Christina Canters is a communication skills speaker, coach and host of the podcast, Stand Out, Get Noticed. Her website, the CMethod, helps ambitious professionals become more effective and confident when they speak, present and pitch. An engaging speaker, Christina has wowed audiences at organizations and conferences around the world with her passion, humor, and the occasional ukulele song.

Resource of the Week

Ben’s resource this week is the blog post Why Are Job Titles Important to Your Career? from The Balance. Titles are an important part of the compensation management system. The article includes common job titles and descriptions of what the job title includes.

Listener Question of the Week

Jessica, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Abbey Pendley who is looking for guidance about mentioning ongoing freelance work to a possible new full-time employer?

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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Build it and forget is not a good strategy for your LinkedIn page, especially if you are job hunting. Job seekers need a strong, robust presence to demonstrate their capabilities, and communicate what makes them stand out above other candidates. If your profile is not updated, it may appear you are out of touch with the new world of work.

Tips for Writing Your LinkedIn Content

• Provide the information your intended reader will be looking for.
• Make it as easy as possible for employers to know what you need them to know about you.
• Blend your soft skills with your hard skills to tell a good story about yourself.
• Use your personality to differentiate yourself and communicate what you have to offer.

This week’s guest expert, Meg Guiseppi says making use of the Awards section and other rarely utilized sections can elevate your profile by way of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Completing these sections gives you more content, more searchable keywords, and it passively promotes you.

Meg advises users to post on LinkedIn’s Pulse Publishing Platform. Writing posts and sharing them, can benefit a job seeker by demonstrating their areas of expertise and thought leadership. If you are a person of interest, hiring managers may search for your name, and interesting posts will make you a more viable job candidate.

This Week's Guest: Meg Guiseppi

Meg Guiseppi is the CEO of Executive Career Brand. She helps C-suite and senior-level managers with executive job searches. Meg is the Personal Branding Expert at Job-Hunt.org and is the author of several books, including 23 Ways You Sabotage Your Executive Job Search and How Your Brand Will Help You Land.

Resource of the Week:

Ben’s resource this week is from Portland’s own Tripwire. The article, "A Guide on 5 Common LinkedIn Scams", helps prepare you for the dark underbelly of America’s most popular professional networking site. It’s worth your time to review this article because no one wants to be the person falling for a Nigerian Prince who just wants to get them a job.

Listener Question of the Week

Jessica, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Kellie Goodman who recently graduated with a Master’s Degree and wants to know what tips the team has to help her land her first gig.

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.    If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

 

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The most important—and most difficult—part of any job search is finding focus. You need to have some idea of what you actually want to do in your career. Without a focused job search goal, it’s almost impossible to sell yourself to potential employers.

Aubrie De Clerck, of Coaching for Clarity, says the best way to find focus is to explore your natural gifts. In this bonus episode, Aubrie reads her contribution to our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, in which she explains how you can identify your “better than the rest” qualities.

You can find more useful job search insight in Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, now available on Amazon. To preview the first chapter for free, visit www.macslist.org/anywhere.

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

 

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Job interviews can be dry and intimidating. They normally have a set format in which the interviewer and interviewee go back and forth, over and over. But it doesn't need to be this way.

Our guest this week, Jeff Altman, suggests that job seekers have the power to turn any interview into a dynamic conversation between equals. He believes you can do this by asking one question as soon as you begin the conversation. The question is simple: "Tell me about the job as you see it, and what I can do to help?"

This question is a game-changer because it sets you up with all the information you need for the rest of the interview--specifically, what the hiring manager sees as the biggest challenge for the organization. Plus, you level the playing field with the interviewer and set yourself apart from the competition.

Jeff discusses how to interpret the hiring manager's reaction to this question, and other workplace dynamics you can infer from how he or she responds to your prompt.

This Week's Guest: Jeff Altman

Jeff Altman, known as The Big Game Hunter, has helped organizations find leaders, employees, and consultants since 1971. In this role, he’s evaluated almost 700,000 people and filled more than 1,200 positions. Jeff also publishes the No B.S. Coaching Advice newsletter to help job hunters, HR professionals, and business owners make better staffing decisions. And, he’s the author of eight books about job hunting and the host of the Job Search Radio podcast.

Jeff’s site, Job Search Coaching HQ, is a great resource where Jeff helps people find work more quickly.

Resource of the Week

Ben’s resource this week was written by the nicest member of the Mac’s List team, Ben Forstag, and is titled: "The Questions You Should Be Asking at Your Next Interview".

Listener Question of the Week Jenna, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Kristen Pfeiffer who is looking for guidance on applying for a job if the salary listed is too low or isn’t included in the posting.

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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LinkedIn is the dominant social media platform for professional networking, and employers have taken notice. Nearly 80% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates.  They are searching for specific skills and when they find the right fit, they won't hesitate to reach out--even if the person isn't actively looking for work.

If you've never been contacted by an employer on LinkedIn, you might not be using the right job titles and keywords in your profile. This week's guest expert, Marc Miller, argues that you've got to optimize your LinkedIn profile to make it easy for employers to find you. He explains how to use keywords in your job title, summary and headline that an employer would use is key.

Marc shares how to use tools like Tag Cloud or Wordle to identify the keywords that most resonate with prospective employers. Then he identifies explains exactly where to use these keywords in your LinkedIn profile.

His most important point: take advantage of all the available space in your 120-character headline and the 180-character job title. These are the most searched fields on LinkedIn. If you're leaving white space in those areas, you're missing a huge opportunity!

This Week's Guest: Marc Miller

Marc Miller has worked at IBM, taught high school math, and had a near fatal bicycle accident that changed his perspective forever. Marc credits his varied career with teaching him a vital lesson: Most people don’t know what makes them happy. Marc now helps others — especially Baby Boomers — find careers that they can grow into for the decades that lie ahead on Career Pivot.

Marc’s updated Repurpose Your Career book is available for pre-order on March 15, 2017, and his Repurpose Your Career Podcast episodes are released every Monday.

Resource of the Week

Ben’s resource this week is the article titled, "LinkedIn Profile: First Person or Third Person?" There is no empirical data on which is the correct version, but the Mac’s List team, and many people on LinkedIn, prefer the use of first person on the social media platform.

Listener Question of the Week

Jenna, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Gregory Rouse who is looking for guidance on how to talk about being fired.

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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"To apply, contact Human Resources."  These words are enough to induce a groan from many job seekers.

For many people "HR" is an impermeable, mysterious gatekeeper, standing between them and the job of their dreams.  But sometimes you simply can't avoid working through a human resources department--especially in larger, most formal companies. And, if you play your cards right and get HR on your side, you have a strong advocate within the organization.

In this bonus episode, Melissa Anzman, CEO of Launch Your Job, shares her contribution to Land Your Dream Job Anywhere. She takes a scientific approach to working with HR and her advice will help you move along in the hiring process.

Here are Melissa's three keys to success:

A personal value proposition - Know what value you bring to the table and put your best marketing and showcasing efforts forward.

Networking and outreach - The HR person needs to be interested enough in you to want to meet you in person.

Understanding your audience - Your conversations with HR should be high-level in nature and save the nitty, gritty details for later. 

You can find more useful job search insight in our new book Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, now available on Amazon. To preview the first chapter for free, visit www.macslist.org/anywhere.

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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Have you ever had a prospective employer ask about your desired salary? Or inquire about your salary history? Companies ask these questions to weed out applicants and (sometimes) get the upper-hand in pay negotiations.

This week’s guest, Jim Hopkinson, argues that your response to salary questions can be the difference in whether or not you get an offer and how much leverage you have in future pay discussions.

The employer does not necessarily hold all the cards when it comes to negotiating salaries. Jim recommends finding out all the facts about the job before you even start discussing salary. You may find there are job responsibilities which warrant a higher pay scale. And if you are the right fit for the job, you can enter the salary discussion knowing you have something of exceptional value to the company.

Here are Jim’s recommendations if you are required to enter your desired salary in an application:

Respond with a phrase like “negotiable,” or, “To be discussed during interview.”

Try adding a nonsense number like “$0” or “$1,000,000” to show you are purposely not answering the question.

If the system doesn’t allow a nonsense number use a numerical range.

If you are unsure which salary range you fall into, Jim says there are five different ways to research how much you are worth:

Go to salary sites. (Glassdoor.com, Payscale.com, etc.)

Look at industry salary guides. (Robert Hath)

Go to job sites and search your title.

Internal networking with people you know.

External networking with people you don’t know.

Pro Tip — Job seekers should be spending 4 out of 5 days at job fairs and other face-to-face networking events.

This Week's Guest: Jim Hopkinson

Through his Salary Tutor website, Jim Hopkinson teaches people how to negotiate their salaries, and get paid what they are worth. He’s the author of Salary Tutor: Learn The Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You, and the co-author of How To Quit Your Job - The Right Way: A 5-Step Plan To Ditching Your Day Job. His free introductory course, The Negotiation Mindset, is available on his website.

Resource of the Week

Ben’s resource this week is a blog post, How to Respond to Salary History Requests, from the U.S. News and World Report Careers Blog by Alison Green. He also shares a related news story from the New York Times entitled Illegal in Massachusetts: Asking Your Salary in a Job Interview.

Listener Question of the Week

Jenna, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Jeff Croxford, who asks: “What current platforms and skills would be transferrable to most IT careers?”

If you would like the team to answer a job-related question or if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about email it to [email protected] or call at 716-JOB-TALK. If we use your question on the air, you will receive either a copy of our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere or a Mac’s List Coffee Mug, your choice.

If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes. We appreciate your support!

Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com.

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