Get Hired with Andrew Seaman

Halloween is right around the corner, so today we’re sharing some positively frightening job search stories from members of the Get Hired community. All to show you: no matter how frustrating or long your job search may be, you’re not alone!Andrew is joined by Leah Smart, host of the LinkedIn News podcast In the Arena to dig into listener letters, including:- A letter from listener Amy, whose interviewer was unprofessional and downright dismissive- A letter from listener Chan, who experienced a hiring manager ghosting… while the company’s marketing team kept sending them “apply to this job!” emails.- A letter from LinkedIn member Amber, whose experience on job sites as an infrastructure laborer proves why affinity groups and finding community in your industry is so important- A call from listener Gertrude, whose first job out of college taught her never to accept the first offer without asking some pointed questions first.Follow Leah on LinkedInFollow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

You are more than your job title — a lot more. Unfortunately, most people get so hung up on their title that they miss an ocean of opportunities waiting for them. The key is to look beyond what you call yourself — an accountant, engineer, customer associate, administrator — and focus on all the skills that you’ve learned during your career. While you use those skills in your current role, it’s likely not the only place you can use that knowledge. A person who is skilled in interpersonal communications as a customer associate at a retail store can also put that to use in a number of other roles. If you’re job searching, or trying to level up in your career, it can be helpful to think in terms of all those skills, rather than job titles. Today’s guest, LinkedIn Learning instructor Marielle Legair, joined Andrew in the studio to get to the bottom of how to do a skills inventory and make sure you’re letting your hard-earned skills shine when you apply to new jobs.Ask for FeedbackIt can be difficult to see all your wonderful accomplishments in an impartial light. So ask a friend or colleague to help you make a list of all of your skills. As Marielle told Andrew, “feedback is really, really crucial for anybody looking for a job.”Fill in the GapsIf you know that your target field requires some skills that you don’t yet have, begin to fill in the gaps. Marielle suggests starting with free online learning platforms, like Google, LinkedIn Learning, or YouTube, and absorbing information that will help you grow your career.Develop an Entrepreneurial MindsetEven if you’re not currently on the job market, you still want to keep your skills sharp and up-to-date. Marielle’s advice? Have a quarterly check-in with yourself to make sure that you’re keeping up with industry trends and new technologies.Network, Network, Network As Marielle likes to say, “your network is your net worth.” But beware of asking for things from the people you meet without offering something in return. Even offering an informational article or podcast that’s relevant to someone’s work is a helpful conversation starter. Follow Marielle on LinkedInFollow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

No matter who you are, or what you do, you have the same 24 hours in each day. The difference between the most successful people and everyone else often comes down to how they use their time wisely.Today’s guest is productivity expert Laura Vanderkam, author of the new book Tranquility by Tuesday: Nine Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. She goes through some of the key research-backed ways that she’s found to stop setting goals you can’t reach, once and for all. Make Time to PlanAccording to Laura, the first and most important way to maximize your time is to take a moment out of your week to plan. It may seem counterintuitive, but pausing to look at your calendar from a ten thousand-foot view is the best way to make sure you’ve left time for everything that’s important to you. Laura suggests taking 20 minutes every Friday to make a list of your priorities for the next week, and to schedule in activities or tasks that need to happen in order to make sure your home and work life is balanced.Get a HobbyLaura says, “one thing I suggest people do is take one night for you. And ideally do something that is personally meaningful, personally enjoyable, like ‘I'm gonna join a choir. I'm gonna sing, you know, with other people who are expecting me to be there at seven o'clock on Thursday. So even if I'm tired, even if life's busy, I go.’” That level of commitment, which requires you to show up for another person or a group of person, can help you stick to your self-care, and make it more meaningful.Go to Bed on TimeIt’s so easy, even a five year old can do it! But making a bedtime for yourself, and then sticking to it, can help you avoid the temptation to scroll mindlessly for hours, and set your body up to get good sleep to power you through the next day.Focus on Three Days a WeekIn Laura’s research, she realized that many people who tout “daily habits” were actually only committing to their habits Monday through Friday, and not even doing them on vacation. So, she figured, wouldn’t three days a week be both habit-forming and easier to stick to? As Laura said, “for many things, three times a week is often enough that it becomes a part of your identity. Somebody who practices the piano three times a week is a regular piano player.” So rather than becoming defeated and breaking a habit when you don’t do it perfectly every day, consider creating a three-time-per-week habit. And see if that helps.As always, if any of the tips you learned today helped you, leave us a review, and reach out on LinkedIn.Follow Laura on LinkedIn Follow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

People often want to make a change in their careers but few do until they’re forced to shake things up. Often, fear is one of the main obstacles that hold people back from making a transition.Fortunately, more and more people are finding the courage to change careers thanks to some self reflection during the pandemic. LinkedIn Editor Andrew Seaman has talked to several experts about how people can change careers during that time.This episode brings together the advice of three all-star Get Hired guests: former Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno; career coach Christopher Taylor, aka “The Occupation Optimist; and coach Austin Belcak, the founder of Cultivated Culture.Overcome the Fear of Changing CareersThe first step when you’re trying to make a hard pivot, says Apolo Ohno, is to overcome the fear of change. “No one wants to climb the mountain, go back down to the bottom and then go back up again,” he shared, but sometimes it’s important to start with a beginner’s mindset. You can’t operate in a state of “FOPO,” or “fear of other people’s opinions.”Your Skills are Still ValuableNext, remember that even though you might be jumping from one industry to another, the experience you’ve gained is still valuable. Chris Taylor, who focuses on skills-based hiring in his coaching, says that “if you have six out of ten” of the requirements listed on the job description, you are likely more than qualified and should apply. You can also look at the company on LinkedIn to see the profiles of people who hold similar roles, and see what skills they have. You can then focus on building those skills, using your network or free platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn Learning.Don’t Wait for Others to Give You ExperienceFinally, Austin Belcak offers a way to get started: just do it! Start by offering your newer skills for free or low rates to local businesses. As a freelancer, you can build up a portfolio and make sure that this new field is for you. You can also start to publish articles in order to build your own education. As Belcak says, “If you made it a goal to create one post about your target industry for the next 60 days on LinkedIn, not only are you going to educate yourself in this new space, but you're also creating this breadcrumb trail of evidence of you actually learning everything.”If you’ve been inspired by our guests’ advice on making a pivot to a new industry or career, leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts.Follow Apolo Ohno on LinkedInFollow Christopher Taylor on LinkedInFollow Austin Belcak on LinkedInFollow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

We are brands just like the items you find in supermarkets. People may gravitate to some brands over others for a variety of reasons, such as reputation, flashy labels, and cost — to name a few. The key is to create a brand that speaks to the people you want to attract in your career.Deja Riley, a fitness instructor and former professional dancer, has been able to craft a brand that exudes her endless energy while also attracting a string of job and career opportunities.“My personal brand has probably been the most important part of me getting these different opportunities, and finding them, and aligning with other brands,” said Riley. “I think, oftentimes, when you think of yourself as a brand, it is hard to really understand that relationship of building with other brands. I think that one of the key components for me has been collaboration, and that's how I continue to grow my brand.”How to Start Building a Personal BrandRiley said the key to building the foundation of a strong personal brand is knowing your message. Her brand is built out of three elements: joy, wellness and inclusion. She said to think about your foundation.“Get out a pen and a pad right now and write down, what are those three things that light you up inside,” said Riley. “What are three things that empower you, or three things that, you know, you can draw as a thread through your story? I think, for me, those three key elements that I base my brand off of are something that are constant threads through everything that I do.”Riley said you can also look around for inspiration when it comes to crafting your brand, but don’t try to be a carbon copy of another person; be authentic.“It is important to be inspired by others, it is important to have mentorship, and maybe get advice from people that you admire or people that continue to motivate you,” she said. “But I think from that you can mold and use all of those tools that you receive to be an original, to be the best version of yourself, and acknowledge that you bring something special to this world."Also, Riley said don’t be afraid of personal evolution. People change over time and your brand will, too. Riley has evolved her brand from her time as a professional dancer (for musicians/icons like Beyonce) to being a fitness professional. She says the key is to know how to use those foundational elements of your brand to propel you forward.“So it didn't look the same when I was a competition dancer as it did when I was a professional dancer, as it does now as a fitness professional and a public speaker,” she said. How to Manage Your Personal Brand OnlineYour personal brand is clearly important. Where should you put your effort to get it out into the world? After all, there are a lot of social media platforms that can house your brand.Riley said it’s something each person needs to figure out for themselves, but the key is to make sure you’re not diluting your brand or its message.“As I begin to reevaluate that process, it's important not to lose myself in constructing this perception of self for others. Whatever I do, I want to remain authentic, I want to show people who I truly am. And though we all feel the pressures of posting on all platforms at all times, it's now about recognizing where your audience is, i.e. my #SweatySmileSquad, and I'm learning where it's necessary to place my energy and where I can preserve it.”In other words, feel free to start small with your brand online and move intentionally.How To Build a Personal Brand Know what elements you want associated with your brand. Look for inspiration to grow your brand but don’t imitate another person. Start small and move intentionally to avoid diluting your brand. Don’t be afraid to evolve as a person and change your brand as well. Listen now to hear more of Deja Riley’s wisdom, and check out her work on Instagram or at dejariley.comFollow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

We’ve all probably set and managed goals at work, but the same skills can be used to jumpstart your job search and career. Jessie Withers, a leader in People Development at Google and a LinkedIn Learning instructor, joins Andrew to talk about how to use OKRs (that’s “Objectives and Key Results”) to set meaningful career goals.Follow Jessie on LinkedIn and check out her popular LinkedIn Learning course.Follow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

Change is one of the only constants in life. So, it’s a given that at some point in your career you’ll need to navigate something unexpected. How can you effectively use that change to come out on top? Jason Feifer, Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur magazine and author of the new book Build for Tomorrow: An Action Plan for Embracing Change, Adapting Fast, and Future-Proofing Your Career, joins Andrew to talk about all things change related.Follow Jason on LinkedInFollow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

From the Archives: Andrew talks with legendary meditation and spirituality expert Deepak Chopra, author of the new book Abundance, about how cultivating inner purpose can lead to outer success.Follow Deepak on LinkedinFollow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

While Labor Day in the U.S. is just the end of the summer for many today, it was originally a crucial recognition of the work of labor organizers in the late 1800s. But organized labor didn’t stop there. Labor historian Jefferson Cowie, author of books including Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class, joins Andrew to walk through an abridged history of organized labor in America. He also talks about what we should think about while enjoying Labor Day sales and BBQs this year.Check out Dr. Cowie’s work here.Follow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast

Calm’s Chief People Officer Scott Domann joins Andrew to talk about his journey to a career in HR, and why he believes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts should be “always on.” He also shares how to find an employer that values diversity and inclusion. Also, what to do if your company isn’t doing as much as it can to make all of its employees feel valued.Follow Scott on LinkedInFollow Andrew on LinkedIn and join the Get Hired community at https://lnkd.in/ghpodcast