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

"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 ben@macslist.org 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 ben@macslist.org 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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 ben@macslist.org 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 ben@macslist.org 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 ben@macslist.org 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you want to be when you grow up? It's OK if you are still unable to answer this question, argues guest expert, Srinivas Rao. There's always time to change paths and find a more personally rewarding career that resonates with your passions. Most people try to create a linear career path; each new job is a stepping stone to ever increasing levels of responsibility. This thinking is driven by the chase for money and the expectations of others. But the real problem is that a linear career doesn't always lead to interesting jobs. Our interests change as we age, so we need to create opportunities to explore new directions in work. Choosing a job you enjoy allows you to thrive. You may get paid less, but you will be more productive, engaged, and happy. Of course, money is an always an issue. When planning a career, consider what jobs may increase your long-term earning potential, even at the expense of short-term salary. If you are a recent college graduate or have been let go from a position, use the time to evaluate what matters to you and prepare yourself for the job you want. As Srinivas says “sometimes it takes a disruption to initiate change.” If it feels like you are being herded in a particular direction to go along with the crowd, get a decent-paying job and settle in, it’s because you are. Social norms often dictate what people with normal jobs do. To find a compelling interesting career, you need to break the mold and focus on your own personal passions and interests. This Week's Guest: Srinivas Rao Srinivas Rao is the host and founder of The Unmistakable Creative podcast where he’s interviewed more than 600 thought leaders and people from all walks of life.  He’s also written multiple books including the Wall Street Journal bestseller The Art of Being Unmistakable. Srinivas is currently working on his second book, which is about the creative habits and the creative process. He says, “it will be a map of how to create in a distraction-driven world.” Resource of the Week Ben’s resource this week is the article "The 21 Most Valuable Career Skills Now" put together by Money Magazine and Payscale.com. The authoritative list includes which skills generate the highest increase in pay. They found employers willing to pay more for the ability to make sense of big data, the ability to manage the bottom line, the ability to leverage new technology and strategic thinking skills. Listener Question of the Week Jenna, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Anne-Marie Sheridan, who asks: “How do you know if a company reaching out to you on LinkedIn is a scam?” If you would like the team to answer a job-related question, email it to jenna@macslist.org, or call her at 716-JOB-TALK. Or, if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about, send it to ben@macslist.org, and tell him how it has helped you find your dream job. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bonus episode, certified career coach Hallie Crawford reads her contribution to our new book, Land Your Dream Job Anywhere, the complete Mac's List guide to finding work you love.  Hallie urges all job seekers to start their search with some deep personal analysis. This begins by building a "Career Contrast List" to figure out their true career wants. This helps in two ways: People realize there may not be as many barriers to their career path as they initially thought. It helps job seekers become more rational and practical about what they need to do next. Next, she has people construct an ideal model for their career. This means: Exploring career values and enjoyments of job seekers.  Confirming (and sometimes attaining) the qualifications needed for the dream job they are considering.  The goal of these exercises are to complete a comprehensive analysis the job seeker can use to take action in their job search. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is about explicitly about first jobs, but the lessons we share can apply to just about any job, no matter how established you are as professional. The average worker will have 8-11 jobs over the course of their lifetime. Each position can (and should) be a stepping-stone to a bigger, better opportunity in the future. But to make this happen, you need to do more than just show up and collect a paycheck… you need to network! Our guest expert, David Mariano, recommends building relationships within your company, both inside and outside of your immediate job environment. These connections will benefit you immediately with additional understandings of how the piece parts of your organization work together; they will also prove beneficial to your future endeavors. Getting to know people in various positions is a tried and true networking technique. Today’s middle manager could be tomorrow’s VP. If you consistently treat people the way you want to be treated, you will gain influence. Also, asking for help and asking a lot of questions can lead to great insights. You will find people are willing to help if you have an honest motive. It is advisable in today’s work environment to find a mentor. Look for someone with the character you want to have when you reach a level you want to someday attain. It may be someone outside your current organization. To further your business acumen, listen to podcasts and read leadership books. Pro Tip — Many companies have groups or clubs during non-work hours, find an event you can attend. David Mariano Bio David Mariano is the founder of Finance Career Launch, a career development site that includes a podcast, course, and other resources. He is also a director with Western Reserve Partners, a middle market investment bank. In his career, David has worked with company owners, CEOs, and CFOs, as an advisor, part-owner, or executive. Sign up for a free 7-part video course, The Seven Pillars of a Successful Career in Finance. The content includes skills, habits, and mindsets found in the most successful people. Ben’s Job Search Resource: Ben’s resource this week is from Adweek. The post entitled "6 Common Mistakes Recent Graduates Make and How to Avoid Them," by Molly Folse is applicable to any worker at any age. Failing to negotiate, impatience about paying dues, gossiping or griping to fit in are common mistakes. Check it out to see if you have made any or all of the blunders, and how you can avoid the mistakes you haven’t made yet. Jenna’s Listener Question: Jenna, Ben, and Mac offer advice to Taireez Niswander, who asks today’s Listener Question, “What are the skills and knowledge necessary to know to prepare me for future employment?” If you would like the team to answer a job-related question, email it to jenna@macslist.org, or call her at 716-JOB-TALK. Or, if you’ve found a job resource you think everyone should know about, send it to ben@macslist.org, and tell him how it has helped you find your dream job. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices