Mac Prichard's Blog, page 11

A Message From Team Mac’s List on the COVID-19 Pandemic

We want to take a moment to talk about the coronavirus pandemic. This situation has rapidly escalated over the last few weeks, and we think it’s important to address here as it is impacting every aspect of the local job market, from networking events, to in-person interviews.

We are not experts, and we don’t know what the future holds. But it is clear the next few weeks or months are going to be an extremely challenging time for everyone in our community and beyond. We want to extend our support and continue to be a career and community resource for everyone in the Pacific Northwest during this crisis.

For job seekers reading this, know that we have your back during this uncertain time. We can help you refresh your resume, talk about your job search concerns, or chat about how to navigate working remotely. Please reach out to us on any of our social channels, or you can email us directly at support@macslist.org. 

For employers reading this, know we are here to assist you in any way you need. Our Hiring Solutions Director, Nichol, is always available to chat if you have any questions or need help figuring out what to do next. You can reach her at nichol@macslist.org.

We are open to your feedback. Please reach out if you have any ideas on how we can improve this website, our social channels, and our weekly newsletter to provide better resources for you in the weeks to come.

As this situation evolves, we will continue to listen to the needs of our community and provide updates on our plan. We hope Mac’s List can continue to be a helpful resource for job seekers and employers in the months ahead.

–  Mac’s List Team

The post A Message From Team Mac’s List on the COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Mac's List.

Advice for Older Job Seekers: Lisa Lawrence’s Job Search Success Story

Everyone’s job search story is different, but each individual story can inspire and empower others who are on their own unique path. We love to hear how our readers have found rewarding careers in Portland, and we want to share these stories with you to inspire you in your job search and to help us all better understand the local job market! In this success story, Lisa Lawrence shares how patience, persistence, and being discerning helped her find a job with Digital Mark Group.

What do you do for a career? Who do you work for?

I work for Digital Mark Group, where my career is all about helping businesses of any size understand and implement digital marketing campaigns. 

How long did it take you to find this job?

Philosophically, it has taken me years to find this job. In real time, it took about three months. 

How did you find your job? What resources did you use? What tool or tactic helped the most?

I used Mac’s List primarily, and LinkedIn secondarily, to gauge the need for my skill set. In the end, it was my prior knowledge of and working with DMG in a previous capacity that led me to inquire about an opening. 

What was the most difficult part of your job search? How did you overcome this challenge?

I remained patient and discerning throughout the process. I knew that I couldn’t continue the path I was on, but I also wasn’t going to jump from the frying pan into the fire. This was going to be a real change; not just the same job with a different company.  

What is the single best piece of advice you would offer other job-seekers?

As an over (age) 50 job seeker, I had a lot of misgivings about making a change; never let negative social-driven messages about age/workplace derail you. My years of experience are very worthwhile to my employer and to me. 

Why do you love your job?

I love my job because it embodies the future. Marketing is evolving faster than we realize and I get a rush of excitement knowing that I can help businesses successfully navigate the most cutting-edge digital marketing and advertising platforms available.

The post Advice for Older Job Seekers: Lisa Lawrence’s Job Search Success Story appeared first on Mac's List.

The Best and Worst Predictors of a Successful Hire

Most companies don’t actually measure the success of a hire. Instead, they focus more on metrics like cost-per-hire and time-to-fill without considering whether the candidate they hired for a role was ultimately successful in it. The question of quality often gets left out of the equation, as most companies assume that filling a role equates to success, regardless of whether the employee accomplishes what they were hired to do. 

To avoid making completely gut-based hiring decisions, employers often use criteria like degrees, assessments, behavioral interview questions, or other factors to help determine which candidate to hire for a given position. Many don’t stop to ask – are these factors truly predictive of success on the job?

Traditional thinking about what ensures a successful hire has been upended in recent years by studies analyzing this very question. In fact, there’s only a 50 percent chance of making a successful hiring decision based on the traditional hiring process of only reviewing resumes and conducting interviews. Can you imagine another business process that fails half of the time? It’s likely that leadership would make it a top priority to improve outcomes. Somehow, when it comes to talent acquisition, the failure rate gets swept aside as a cost of doing business, never measured at all, or measured as “time-to-fill” vs. quality of hire.

What factors actually predict the success of a hire? 

Factors that are more likely to lead to the best candidate are a proven track record at prior jobs, general mental ability (or aptitude), and behaviors that are more highly-correlated to success. In other words, their track record, motivations, and behaviors, and not their education, “likeability,” or “skills,” are the best predictors of future success.

Factors that are less predictive of success include grade point average, personality, appearance, and responses to trick questions. Laszlo Bock, the former SVP of People Ops at Google, said it best: “In our analysis, the school you went to and the places you’ve worked are poor predictors of performance.”

Many employers have hard and fast rules about minimum GPAs or degrees from “top” schools. Studies show that academic performance or the reputation of a school has very little correlation with on-the-job performance. Being book smart does not necessarily translate into success in the working world – it’s actually quite the opposite. 

Grades are an indicator of performance for maybe a couple of years, after which time, on-the-job performance and other maturity-based factors become stronger signals of success. By eliminating candidates based on an arbitrary GPA or lack of degree, employers are missing out on candidates who may have many competencies to offer. It’s no longer relevant whether a candidate graduated in the top third of their class or from a distinguished university, but more relevant that they produced quality work on the job, delivered consistently, and solved real-world problems.

Additionally, many employers have tried to make the hiring process seem less biased by relying on personality assessments like the Hogan, Big 5, or DISC. While these assessments can give insights into team dynamics and can help with enhancing manager and employee relationships, they are pretty terrible for hiring and managing talent pools. 

When interviewing candidates, employers can also be swayed by superficial factors such as appearance and personality. Studies have consistently shown that interviewers make hiring decisions based on their impressions in the first 90 seconds of the interview. 

Beware – these are cognitive biases that can mask other red flags that may surface in the interview or be revealed in a reference check. Try to avoid making snap judgments and dig below the surface to ensure that the candidate truly has the skills and temperament to perform the job. Although a candidate may have a sparkling personality, this quality does not necessarily predict success on the job.

Look carefully at the candidate’s past job performance. Did they take on increasing responsibilities or were they pigeon-holed into a narrower role? Is the candidate open to learning new things or taking alternative approaches to challenges? Did they take on a leadership role or otherwise take initiative? And how do these behaviors translate to success in your company? 

However, digging below the surface does not mean asking trick questions or brain teasers to see if the candidate can “think on their feet.” Google was notorious for asking these types of questions in interviews and ultimately abandoned this tactic as it did not produce the desired results. Instead, spend sufficient time before the interview structuring the questions and feedback to focus on the candidate’s past job performance. Ask them what they liked and did not like about past roles. Get clarity on why they changed jobs and why they are seeking a new position at this time. Ask them about their career goals and how the position you are offering fits into those plans. Is the candidate looking for “any job,” or do they have specific reasons why the position you are offering is attractive to them?

What should employers do? 

There is no magic formula for hiring the perfect employee, but employers are more likely to ensure success in the hiring process by:

Defining what success looks like (and how it will be measured!)
Developing a job description
Creating a clear, equitable hiring process, especially developing consistent, specific, open-ended questions designed to elicit information regarding the candidate’s track record, aptitude, motivation, and core behaviors
Taking the time to question their own bias (we all have it!) and how it is reflected in their impressions and judgments
Training hiring managers on giving objective evaluations of candidates and making sure that candidates are evaluated using the same rating scale

And after you’ve been through the process, think about actually evaluating your new employee’s success in the role after they’ve been with your company for a while. Was it actually a successful hire? 

The post The Best and Worst Predictors of a Successful Hire appeared first on Mac's List.

The Power of Relationships: Elizabeth Lattanner’s Job Search Success Story

Everyone’s job search story is different, but each individual story can inspire and empower others who are on their own unique path. We love to hear how our readers have found rewarding careers in Portland, and we want to share these stories with you to inspire you in your job search and to help us all better understand the local job market! In this success story, Elizabeth Lattanner examines how the power of relationships and networking led her to a position with Portland General Electric. 

What do you do for a career? Who do you work for?

The bulk of my career so far has been in communications for federal elected officials and campaigns in Washington, D.C. and Indiana. When my husband and I decided to move to Portland, I decided to leave the political sector, but wanted to remain in advocacy-related communications for good. I searched for a communications position at a values-driven company or nonprofit organization, ultimately deciding to join the external corporate communications team at PGE.

How long did it take you to find this job?

I arrived in Portland in early September and accepted the position with PGE right before Christmas.

How did you find your job? What resources did you use? What tool or tactic helped the most?

I am a big believer in the power and value of relationships. Before I moved to Portland, I met with my colleagues in Washington, D.C. who worked for Oregon’s federal elected officials and asked for recommendations as I started my in-person networking in Portland. During my nearly four-month search, I met with approximately 125 people in the Portland area who were kind enough to take the time to have coffee and informational conversations. It was helpful to hear how those folks got their start in Portland, how they found their current positions, and what advice they could share about navigating the job search. Learning about each person and their background allowed me not only to meet dozens of people making a difference in this community, but also helped me to identify organizations to target in my search. The one question I asked everyone I met with was: Who are the people and what are the organizations that stand out to you doing impactful, important work? From there, I met more and more people in Portland doing innovative work for good and found the opening at PGE. When I saw the opening on LinkedIn and decided to apply, I asked folks I had met along the way for their feedback about the company and the team and was pleased to hear the company had a reputation as both an industry leader and hyper-engaged in the community. As I went through the interview process, I was impressed by the people on the team I would be joining and their vision for the company’s future and determined PGE was the best next opportunity for me.

What was the most difficult part of your job search? How did you overcome this challenge?

As I was attempting to switch sectors, my biggest challenge was identifying and articulating how my political and policy skills from years in Washington, D.C. and on campaigns would transfer to a corporate or nonprofit environment. The informational conversations I had with fellow communicators here in Portland in the corporate and non-profit sectors, as well as particular episodes of the Mac’s List Find Your Dream Job podcast, were extremely helpful in that effort, and I learned new jargon and ways to relate my previous work to a new sector.

What is the single best piece of advice you would offer other job-seekers?

I will offer two: First, be kind to yourself. A job search can be a rollercoaster of highs and lows, and it can be difficult to see past the most immediate disappointment or frustration to the happy ending of landing your next opportunity. Second, meet with anyone you can. I never turned down an email introduction or contact information for a new person to meet with. I met dozens of dynamic, fascinating people along the way who were both helpful in offering feedback as I applied for actual openings and in helping me identify the people and places I wanted to work for. I hope many of my informational interviews will lead to future colleagues and friends. 

Why do you love your job?

I get to continue to tell stories that make a difference. I am part of a high-performing team at a company that is firmly rooted in the community and is driven to lead the region and the nation on some of the most pressing issues of our time: carbon reduction, transportation electrification, energy efficiency, and much more.

The post The Power of Relationships: Elizabeth Lattanner’s Job Search Success Story appeared first on Mac's List.

Setting Clear Intentions: Maddy Abulencia’s Job Search Success Story

Maddy Abulencia knew she wanted to build a career in the nonprofit world. Setting clear intentions for her job search helped Maddy to discover a job opportunity that aligned with her career goals, instead of settling for a job that was unfulfilling. Learn how Maddy stayed positive, reached out to her network, and selectively applied for new jobs to uncover the right opportunity at the right time.

What do you do for a career? Who do you work for?

I work for OHSU Foundation where I have the privilege of raising philanthropic support to make discoveries faster, save more lives, and transform healthcare. I started as an Assistant Director of Development but am now a Director of Development.

How long did it take you to find this job?

I knew I was ready to take the next step in my fundraising career so I was intentional about my job search.  I had been periodically checking Mac’s List for about two months before the Assistant Director of Development position was posted, which I knew would be the right next career step for me.  

How did you find your job? What resources did you use? What tool or tactic helped the most?

Mac’s List helped me find my job!  When I came across the job posting, I reached out to someone who I knew worked at the organization to gain a better understanding of the position, team, and work environment.  It was only after that talk did I decide to apply for the position.  

I also used Willamette Valley Development Officers — another local job board that serves the nonprofit community.  

What was the most difficult part of your job search? How did you overcome this challenge?

Even though I knew I wanted to be intentional about my job search, it was hard to resist whenever I saw something interesting on Mac’s List — but didn’t quite align with my career goals.  There was always a sprinkling of nonprofit job openings but I didn’t want to apply to every opening just because I could. I had to constantly remind myself of what I wanted and needed to grow my career.

What is the single best piece of advice you would offer other job-seekers?

Stay positive.

Why do you love your job?

I love what I do!  My job allows me to help people accomplish what they didn’t think was possible and it challenges me to grow every day.  It also helps to have a supportive work environment, wonderful colleagues, and leadership committed to inspiring us to be the best that we can be.

The post Setting Clear Intentions: Maddy Abulencia’s Job Search Success Story appeared first on Mac's List.

Identifying Your Career Motivations: Roxanne Myslewski’s Job Search Success Story

For Roxanne Myslewski, the trick to finding a great job was examining her own career motivations. She asked herself what mattered most: was it a collaborative culture, a larger mission, or learning new solutions? When Roxane identified her priorities for a new job, the pieces started to fall into place.

What do you do for a career? Who do you work for?

I’m a fundraiser for the American Red Cross. I build and steward relationships, connect giving interests and priorities, and design campaigns and strategic plans in service to a life-saving mission. I work to ensure we meet our goals by creating and leveraging the power of relationships to sustain and grow programming in blood services, disaster response, service to the armed forces, and beyond.

How long did it take you to find this job?

I was lucky to be recruited for this position. While I was employed at my previous organization, I was looking to transfer my experience to a new organization with more career growth potential for about six months before a Red Cross recruiter contacted me in May 2019.

How did you find your job? What resources did you use? What tool or tactic helped the most?

A recruiter found me via LinkedIn – so the best advice I can offer here is update your networking tools. Make sure you’re all up to date and you have that little box ticked so recruiters can find you. But I was browsing job boards like Mac’s List and interviewing for several months before I was contacted. In terms of tactics, people say this all the time—so much so that it makes me cringe to repeat it. But, here goes: activate your network! What has proven unfailingly true over the years as I’ve grown my career here in Oregon is that people want to help each other succeed. Ask people you admire for advice. Buy them lunch. Be generous, appreciate their time, and ask specific questions to help you advance toward your goals. The more you’ve done your homework, the better your network can help you move forward. And word of your interests and competency will travel.

What was the most difficult part of your job search? How did you overcome this challenge?

Without question, the most difficult part of job-searching is the vulnerability we feel. But over time I’ve learned the hard way to be kind to my instincts and to trust my gut. We’ve all experienced that feeling of “something here doesn’t feel right.” Often, we suppress this. Better the devil we know, right? Change is scary, time-consuming, and can feel exposing. But eventually, that feeling continues to build, resentment can grow, the work can suffer, and you’re still stagnant. Sometimes we can boil over, or anxiety and depression can set in. Trusting our guts is a practice. When these scary feelings arise, we need to listen generously, get curious, and ask questions to help ourselves get specific. Is now a good time to look elsewhere? What are my goals? Am I prepared for a job or career change? Am I dealing with the “Should” or “Enough” language that can hold me back? (I’m not smart enough for that job – or – I should really be farther along by now.) Often, the most difficult part of any job search, aside from the time it takes, is the vulnerability we feel.

What is the single best piece of advice you would offer other job-seekers?

You already know the usual: an attractive, error-free resume and practiced, confident interviewing skills. But just as important is knowing what motivates you. We job-seekers are not looking for the next rung on the ladder, but rather the opportunity to grow, learn, engage, and find fulfillment. How can we determine if the job(s) we’re looking at will be the right fit if we’re not clear on what motivates us to come into work every day? Is it service? Money? Security? Creative collaboration? Innovation? Before we start looking for a new job, we must start by probing our motivations. This helps guide the entire process. 

Why do you love your job?

I’m lucky because I have my motivation trifecta: a strong, intelligent team, career growth opportunities, and I can see a direct through-line from my work to people in need receiving help.

The post Identifying Your Career Motivations: Roxanne Myslewski’s Job Search Success Story appeared first on Mac's List.

Perks That Work: 48 Ideas For Perks & Benefits To Boost Employee Engagement

With unemployment rates at a 50-year low, employers are starting to offer more to their employees than a cost of living increase to attract, retain, and reward their talent. Many are taking their cues from 100 Best Companies lists and tech companies, which often offer a dizzying array of perks. Some have become a bit punchline, like ping pong tables and bean bags, but many perks add tangible meaning and fun to office culture, and boost employee engagement. In fact, perks are often the things employees tout as the best part of working for their employers (beyond pay, flexibility, and growth opportunities). 

However, the costs of running a business are high and salaries are often one of the biggest buckets of expense. So how do you provide meaningful and inclusive perks that don’t break the bank? 

I’ve outlined a slate of options that I’ve seen clients offer to their employees. Some were so great we couldn’t resist the opportunity to implement them internally at Boly:Welch! While these are just examples, I hope they spark ideas for creative ways you can show your employees you value them, and improve your employee engagement. Offering more benefits can do wonders for your retention rates and team morale!

Health & Wellness

Nap Room, or dedicated room for employees to relax and recharge. Bonus if there is a white noise machine, weighted blanket, and essential oil diffuser
Coverage for alternative medicine, including acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic services
Free CPR certification offered every two years
On-site massages, either employer-sponsored or by the minute 
On-site flu clinic (with lollipops!) 
Standing desks and ergonomic chairs and stools 
Access to gyms, on-site yoga classes, or discounts to local studios and fitness centers
Generous support for environmentally-friendly transit, such as walking, biking, carpooling, and TriMet passes
Dedicated wellness teams with the budgets to sponsor challenges with prizes: a steps challenge, healthy bake-offs, plastics-free challenge, etc. 

Family Forward

Bring-Your-Children-to-Work policies, particularly infant-specific policies to allow bonding and breastfeeding or the holy grail of working parents – on-site childcare 
Added amenities in lactation rooms, including massage chairs, mini fridges, and aromatherapy 
Stipend for holiday travel or vacations – one company offered employees $1000 to spend on a vacation
Celebrations for the big moments – wedding showers, baby showers, and retirements 
Extra money and time-off in addition to paid parental leave 

Furry Friends

Bring-Your-Dog-to-Work policy
Pet bereavement and adoption leave 
Adoption and pet insurance discounts 

Community Engagement 

Sponsored Hood to Coast or other athletic team events, including dodgeball, soccer, kickball, and more! 
Charitable giving and volunteer hour matching program
Discounted lift tickets to Mt. Hood 
Tickets to local events, including concerts, sporting events, plays, wine tastings and beer-fests
Monthly team lunches and book clubs 

Continuing Education

Access to Rosetta Stone, for improving language skills 
In-house seminars and trainings 
Lending libraries 
A LinkedIn Learning account
A yearly stipend toward learning, training, and development 
Assistance with career planning, including identifying stretch projects, educational opportunities, conferences, mentorship programs, and tuition allowance  

Lighten the Load

Employee resource assistance programs, such as a concierge service that manages everything from party planning to scheduling repairs 
On-site dry cleaning delivery service 
Discounts at local retailers (Nike, Adidas, Columbia) or support local Oregon B Corps with gifts for your employees
Cell phone or other device reimbursement and monthly discounts 
Internal mentorship programs that pair senior level employees with new hires

Food & Drinks

Weekly breakfasts, monthly lunches, quarterly salad bars – all free meals are appreciated
Tea and coffee bar – and annual taste tests to select new offerings! 
Kombucha, water, kefir, or beer on tap
Healthy snacks and treats 
Baking contests 
Annual Costco membership

Fun!

Spring Break – an annual themed week of celebration and fun. Some ideas: free movie passes for use during work hours only, snack and candy table, scavenger hunts or lawn game style-competitions, catered lunches, and a secret activity to cap off the week 
Annual celebrations: picnics, bike rides, Halloween costume contests, Turkey Bowls (bowling and turkey door prizes), white elephant parties, holiday breakfasts
Office parties. While they can get a bad rap for being awkward, a theme, surprises, and great food and drinks keep them highlights 
Lunchtime concerts, film screenings, field trips to the Oregon Historical Society and Portland Art Museum, gallery openings, or other cultural gems 
Company trips, including to locations like Hawaii and Mexico 

Time

Time – the gift that keeps on giving! We especially appreciate the time to volunteer, birthdays off, and full office closures during the holiday season
Summer Fridays! Many companies give employees half-days on Fridays from Memorial Day through Labor Day
Flexible schedules, including multiple start-times, ability to work remotely, and compressed workdays 
The biggest perk of all – the sabbatical! 

While no company can offer every perk, it’s important for companies to talk to their employees and listen to the perks that will benefit and excite them the most. And it’s equally important for companies to make the effort to continually improve their office environment, which directly impacts your employee engagement. The market will only get more competitive – companies that want to thrive and grow must go above and beyond to show they value their employees. 

 

The post Perks That Work: 48 Ideas For Perks & Benefits To Boost Employee Engagement appeared first on Mac's List.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Successful Career Change

Navigating a career change is a challenge for every job seeker. You may know you’re ready to start over in a new career path, but where do you even begin to determine what’s next? It’s hard to know where to start, so I’ve put together a step-by-step guide including tasks, books, and online resources you can use to take action in your career change. 

Changing careers is possible! It helps to start with yourself: by reflecting and assessing your talents and strengths, you can clarify your career goals and narrow down your options. With more focus, you can find new networking opportunities to learn the lingo and build connections in new industries. Then, you’ll be ready to dive into a new career that brings you fulfillment and purpose. Let’s get started! 

Step One: Reflect and self-assess your strengths.

When you’re thinking of changing careers, it’s crucial to understand what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing. Start your exploration with yourself! Sometimes this is the hardest part. Luckily, there are lots of resources out there to help you identify and name your core strengths, skills, and passions.   

Get started with these recommended resources:

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath: Do you ever wonder why you sometimes finish a task feeling exhausted and depleted, yet other days you walk away with a strong sense of self-worth and satisfaction of a job well done? Chances are that on the exhausted days, you didn’t get to use your strengths. On the days when you’re in the flow, you were able to use your talents toward a job well done. 

What Color Is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job Hunters and Career Changers by Richard Bolles: Yes, it was first published in 1970 and has had over forty editions since then, but it still remains an invaluable tool for professional self-discovery. Doing the exercises helps to uncover new ideas and to reveal potential areas for informational interviews, exploration, and research. It’s a great career guide and self-discovery tool all in one. 

The Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People by Carol Eikleberry: Exploring your strengths can lead you down several different career paths, so you may need to get creative in your search for happiness at work. This book can help you identify opportunities that you may never have thought of.

Ask yourself the hard questions.

What do you want out of your next career? Is quality of life more important to you than a large paycheck? Do you want to collaborate with a team or work alone? Do you love networking?  Dislike sitting in an office? What are your passions? What are your values? Where do you see yourself in five years? In ten years? 

Your answers to these and other questions will help you make informed decisions in your job search. Assessing what you want from your career keeps you from wasting both your own time and employers’ time when you’re applying and interviewing. Truly knowing yourself helps you make a smart career change from day one. 

Step Two: Focus in on your dream industry and job position.

Allow yourself to dream big and consider all career possibilities. Build a list of industries, job positions, and opportunities that are of interest to you, based on the work you did to understand your strengths and passions. Outline all of your job considerations, creating a robust list of pros and cons for each option, including salary requirements, location, flexibility, benefits, and company culture. 

Target specific roles and positions rather than working off of vague ideas. Imagine yourself getting the job that you want. What do your days look like? How do you feel arriving to your office? Does this job grow with you over the next 10, 20, or even 30 years? Narrow your focus and target industries where you can showcase your strengths, and look for job positions where you can work to achieve your career goals over time.

A foundation of research will help you determine what career direction is right for you. Get started with these resources:

CareerOneStop – Discover the fastest-growing industries where demand is high, and which industries are experiencing declining employment. 
Vault – This career intelligence website offers pros and cons for each employer in its database, so you can assess the full picture of what it’s like to work for each organization.
Glassdoor –  Job seeker review website where people anonymously report their salaries and experience with employers.
Bureau of Labor Statistics – While it can be a difficult site to navigate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has the most robust collection of wage and benefit data available publicly.
PayScale – PayScale uses crowdsourced data and machine learning to provide salary ranges for many industries and roles. 
Salary.com – Salary.com collects worldwide, HR-reported compensation data and makes it easy to add filters to customize your salary search. They also provide a methodology for producing their salary numbers in a clean report.
Comparably – Comparably shares salary ranges and culture reviews for job seekers, though it’s tailored to the tech industry.

Step Three: Reframe your work experience and package your transferable skills. 

There are a few great ways to gain experience in a new industry in order to make a career transition. You can seek out volunteer work in that field, take a continuing education course, and attend industry events to meet new contacts and learn about new opportunities. But, you probably already have some applicable skills that you can repackage in your resume and cover letter to better fit the position you’re looking for in the eyes of the hiring manager. It’s all about how you present your transferable skills.

For example, let’s imagine you have a background in customer service working at a call center, and you’re now ready to follow your dream of working in an administrative position in the nonprofit sector. Even though you don’t have nonprofit experience, you can highlight several of your existing skills in your resume, cover letter, and interview. Customer outreach, conflict resolution, time management, and top-notch organizational skills are all transferable in this context. You’re likely already more qualified than you thought!

Get started translating your past experience into a new role by pinpointing your transferable skills using these six key skill categories:

Basic: Basic skills are essential in any professional context. These include the ability to carry out written instructions and communicate with your team members.
People: Interpersonal skills rank high on hiring managers’ wishlists. You’ll need to prove you excel at building relationships with clientele, navigating conflicts, and contributing to a friendly office culture.
Management: Even if you’ve never been a manager per se, you may have experience overseeing the work of others in previous positions. Perhaps you’ve trained a new employee or helped set shift schedules. Remember to keep an open mind when looking for managerial experience in your past.
Clerical: Most jobs include some level of clerical expertise such as proficiently using programs like Microsoft Office or using internal communications systems effectively.
Research and planning: This can include skills as small as knowing which tasks to prioritize when juggling multiple customers’ needs or helping to strategize for a company event.
Computer and technical: You may take your technological skills for granted, but remember that simple tasks like scanning and copying documents aren’t second nature to everyone. Let your techie side shine!

Step Four: Start building a network in your target industries.
Incorporate networking into your weekly routine.

Here’s the good news: you already have the most important asset every networker needs — a group of friends, family members, classmates, and current and past coworkers. Now that you’ve decided on a new career direction, reach out to your contacts, attend networking events, and immerse yourself in the communities relevant to your new role. Try to build a rapport with experts already thriving in your chosen industry. Networking comes in many different shapes and sizes, with numerous formats to choose from. You’ll find more success, enjoyment, and connection in networking when you seek out the opportunities that align with your personality and your current career goal. 

Identify networking events and find local organizations where you can get involved and start forming new connections. Get started with these networking guides for Portland professionals:

Nonprofit Networking Events – Discover nine local nonprofit organizations that host monthly meetups, weekly seminars, and other regular forums.
Tech Networking Events – Whether you’re a seasoned tech industry pro or looking at tech as a new career path, Portland has numerous opportunities for networking.
Marketing Networking Events – Portland has dozens of great networking events for marketing professionals aspiring to learn from industry leaders, and each other.

Keeping your relationships strong will enable you to navigate the hidden job market (all those jobs that aren’t posted online).

Get involved and help others.

There are many benefits to helping others, including improvements in health and well being. It’s also good for your career.

Make time for informational interviews, become a mentor, or serve on the board of a community group. Share your contacts far and wide. You’ll not only feel good about giving back, you will also receive far more in return professionally.

Step Five: Make that career change happen.
Revamp your resume.

Crafting an effective resume will help you set you up for a successful career change. In revamping your resume to reflect your career change, it’s essential to keep these points in mind:

Determine the best resume format.

When developing a career change resume, you want to emphasize the skill set you’re carrying over to a new role. A functional resume is often the best way to accomplish this. It places the skills you’ve acquired at the top of your resume, with your specific work history below.

Include a summary and objective.

Presenting a summary and objective at the start of your resume demonstrates how your previous professional experience applies to a new opportunity. Tie together where you’ve been with where you’d like to go. 

Prominently list your transferable skills.

Highlight those transferable skills you outlined in Step Two! Create a “Skills” section within your resume and emphasize the specific skills that are relevant to a new position. 

Use the right keywords.

Optimize your career change resume to fit the role for which you’re applying by including keywords highlighted in the job description, such as “customer service” or “multi-line phone system.” Not sure what keywords to include in your resume? Take time to research the top keywords in your next career path.

Refresh your cover letter.

In a career change cover letter, you’re presenting your case for any employment gaps, as well as explanation as to why you’re headed in a new direction. It is an important opportunity to highlight the skills you’ve acquired and discuss past job transitions. It’s also a chance to define why you’re the right person for the role.

Introduce yourself and position your transition.

Use the opening paragraph of your career change cover letter to summarize your skill set and express how your experience aligns with the organization’s needs for the open position. 

Cover your career change bases: Explain why you’re evolving

As you transition to the second paragraph in your career change cover letter, share your story in more detail: why are you making the transition from your previous role and how you hope to utilize your previous professional experience in the new job. What brought you here and why does the open role interest you at this time? 

Show your work and feature your transferable skills.

Use the third paragraph to share examples of your skills and experiences and how they’ve shaped your path to the new role. Give specific instances on how you’ve developed your skills, and be sure to highlight previous successes. 

Reveal your passion and align your goals with the organization.

Wrap-up your career change cover letter by expressing your thoughts and feelings behind the new career transition. Include your insights as to how you plan to utilize your past experiences to succeed in your next role.

Summarize and show enthusiasm.

End your cover letter by summarizing the paragraphs above, recapping your story, your successes, and your transferable skills. Be sure to include contact information and relevant links supporting your successful career transition.

Planning for a career change can mean the difference between success and failure. Finding a job that fulfills you is the ultimate goal, but you have to do the work to figure out where you want to go. With a clear plan of action, you’ll be ready to make your next move and find a career that excites and motivates you.

This article was originally published on the Boly:Welch blog.

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The Importance of Networking: Jackie Starr’s Job Search Success Story

Jackie Starr began her job search seeking a part-time position. She was new to the Portland job market, and as a result she anticipated that it would be a challenge to find an interesting and rewarding position. By using her network and putting together a compelling resume, Jackie was able to find her dream role within two months.

What do you do for a career? Who do you work for?

I am the executive director for Friends of the Multnomah County Library, a member-supported nonprofit that advocates for the library and its programs/services.

How long did it take you to find this job?

I reviewed job postings on Mac’s List for a period of two months and ultimately secured my current position. 

How did you find your job? What resources did you use? What tool or tactic helped the most?

I found my current position solely by consistently reviewing the various postings on Mac’s List. I think having a resume that accurately reflects skills and experience is most helpful when applying for opportunities of interest. 

What was the most difficult part of your job search? How did you overcome this challenge?

I was in search of a part-time position so I initially thought it would be challenging to find such an opportunity that would be appealing. My timing was perfect because I did identify two positions on Mac’s List that I felt would be a good fit for me. I didn’t experience much difficulty with this particular search. 

What is the single best piece of advice you would offer other job-seekers?

Networking is extremely important even if it’s a simple conversation letting others know that you are searching for a new job. I met a person while getting a manicure and she introduced me to Mac’s List after I advised that I was looking for employment. I was somewhat new to Portland’s job market and wasn’t familiar with Mac’s List prior to this. 

Why do you love your job?

I enjoy supporting the various community efforts that take place in the nineteen libraries that are affiliated with Multnomah County.  It’s very hard to find individuals who don’t appreciate libraries so it’s a joyful and happy environment in which to work.

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Leaders On The Move: Working with an Executive Search Firm

Hiring is complicated, puzzling, and cryptic. Power is concentrated with the employer, even in a candidate’s market. A lot of the career advice for job seekers has good intentions, but it doesn’t usually come directly from hiring managers. That’s why it makes sense for job seekers to partner with professionals who specialize in getting folks hired – recruiters, executive search firms, and employment agencies.

If you’re job searching and looking for high-level leadership roles (think Executive Directors, VPs, and C-Suite roles), it’s often a smart move to work with an executive search firm. But how do you know how to pick the right executive search partner? And what should you expect from working with with an executive search firm versus another recruiting partner?

Executive search firms differ from their recruiting and placement counterparts in a few key ways:

1. Companies use executive search firms to fill key leadership positions with specific traits in mind.

Hiring organizations partner with executive search firms to find great leaders. If you’re thinking: “Great! I’m looking for a new leadership role right now.” Not so fast. Let’s talk about what most companies are looking for specifically.

Most companies hire executive search firms because they want a custom-sourced pool of candidates. Usually they want candidates who are: familiar with their industry, experienced at companies of similar size and pace of growth, and ideally coming from jobs with known competitors. 

For example: you’re an incredible VP of Finance. You reach out to an executive search firm and connect with a recruiter who is looking to fill a VP of Finance role. However, your background is in large, multinational organizations, where you lead a global team in a specific vertical, and the role they are working to fill is with a growing start-up in a totally different industry. 

“No problem!,” you say. “I’ve got great experience and transferable skills!”

Unfortunately, the search firm’s client typically won’t see your background in that context. They are retaining the executive search firm for upwards of 33% of the candidate’s annual compensation. Listening to their client is paramount and guides the criteria and flexibilities. In many cases, they want to see candidates who fit a very narrow slate of criteria. Companies using an executive search firm are relying on the firm’s ability to find and connect them with talent they could not attract on their own, and they expect to see the selected pool who match every criteria, including both hard and soft skills.

So, unless you are lucky enough to connect with the right executive search partner on a day when they have a search that aligns perfectly with your background and experience, an executive search firm is likely not a great resource when you first connect. It’s usually a relationship that flourishes over time, so it’s almost always a better experience for someone who’s open to a new role but not on a deadline to land a new job.

Job seekers who develop long-term relationships with executive search firms will likely have true partners in their search. While you might not receive an immediate payoff from the relationship, executive search partners have deep industry insights, valuable connections, and existing relationships in mind for their searches. If you take the time to connect, without expecting immediate payoff, these can be valuable relationships for the future.

2. The executive search process is more in-depth and long-term than many other forms of recruiting. 

As you might expect, a company’s key leadership role typically isn’t a quick and easy hire. There are many considerations and stakeholders to work with to ensure that a critical position is filled by someone with the right experience, character, and skillset. You’ve probably heard about superstars at one company who quickly flamed out in another role, because they didn’t have the right mix of background and leadership style. 

To ensure their clients’ success, executive search firms often have a defined in-depth, proprietary process. They use tools and assessments that gauge management qualities, strategic thinking, people development, as well as detailed background checks to certify a candidate. If you’ve never been recruited for a role by one of these firms, you might not have experienced the level of commitment and the amount of information the firms glean from working with you. If you’re selected as one of the final candidates, the firm has probably created an entire profile that includes your background, skills, experience, references, and assessments for the client company to review. 

You’ll also go through several rounds of increasingly in-depth interviews, with both the firm and the client, receive in-depth interview preparation and debriefing, work together on total compensation negotiation, and have multiple post-hire check-ins to ensure a successful onboarding. It’s a time-intensive process to ensure it’s a long-term relationship for you and the client company. 

3. Although websites can look similar, every executive search firm is different, so make sure you’re connecting with one that aligns with your professional goals. 

Just like attorneys who work in a specific practice area, doctors in specialty fields, or real estate agents who work in limited locations or on particular property types, every executive search firm has a unique focus and distinct values. Most first work exclusively in specific industries, regions, or in functional areas. This benefits you because they’ll have the knowledge, insight, and connections to best align in your search. 

However, not every executive search firm will be right for you. Make sure you research their recent placements, the roles they currently have open, the clients they work with, and any other information that gives insight into what they can do specifically for you.  

There are large, international firms who often work with large, international organizations. There are boutique firms that specialize in niche areas – for example, food & beverage, hospitality, or higher education. Many firms also work with clients in limited geographical areas, even if they source candidates from a much larger market. Some will only spend time with you if you are a match to an active search and others like to build their network; it’s up to you to ask.

Every firm has a different reputation. Like all areas of recruiting, there is a relatively low bar to entry. Basically anyone with a computer and a phone can claim they are an executive search professional. However, reputation, a long track record of success, reviews, and awards will shed light on which firms can truly back up their work. 

An executive search partner can be a powerful resource in your search, if their experience aligns well with yours. Hopefully, they can make the hiring process a little less complex and serve as a true partner for you as you search for your next leadership role!

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