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Career Tip Tuesday: Identifying Transferable Skills in your Career

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:31:38 -0400

In our current job market, you are more likely responsible for things that are both inside and outside the realm of your job description. You have to know how to do a little bit of every job. While this may seem exhausting and maybe a bit overwhelming now, you are building your resume and increasing your set of transferable skills in the long run.

Sodexo is a known powerhouse in the world of social media recruiting and has won numerous awards. Trish Freshwater, Senior Communications Manager for Talent Acquisition at Sodexo, defines transferable skills as: a set of skills that you can apply to more than one job. She also believes that in order to leverage these skills, one must be able to successfully market them.

In her blog post, “Beyond Your Major: Building Transferable Skills,” Freshwater breaks these transferable skills down into five categories:

Soft skills

These are the skills that help you relate to, communicate with, influence and inspire other people. Examples include delegating, coaching/mentoring abilities, listening, presentation and cooperation skills, and leadership skills.

Analytical skills

These are your problem-solving skills. Examples include research abilities, data gathering and analysis skills, needs assessment, creativity and risk analysis skills.

Technical Skills

These are specific hands-on skills you’ve acquired, like how to use specific computer software programs and electronics, your ability to work with specific machinery or other trade/craft skills.

Organizational Skills

These skills reflect your planning skills, how you sort data, manage projects, records and tasks. Examples include prioritizing, time management, task management, resource management and coordination.

Workplace Skills

These skills reflect on your work ethic and workplace character. Examples include integrity, reliability, punctuality, diligence, decision-making ability and teamwork.

Be sure to include these skills as keywords in your resume to showcase what you are really capable of.

Find out What You’re Good At

Use the chart below to organize your skills and find out what you’re good at. Write down your daily tasks, skills you use to complete each task, and your skill level. Then rank the skills based on how much you enjoy each of them. Identify skills that both appeal to you and that you are proficient in. This will help you leverage the power of transferable skills in your resume.

Career Tip Tuesday: Is your Employer Latino Friendly?

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:21:01 -0400

Choosing an employer is an important and difficult decision. Most of your waking hours during the week are spent at work, so before you commit to signing on with a new employer, consider these five tips from Robert Rodriguez, Ph.D., president of DRR Advisors LLC and author of "Latino Talent: Effective Strategies to Recruit, Retain & Develop Hispanic Professionals."

1. A History of Support to the Latino Community: Truly inclusive work environments tend to have a history of supporting diversity initiatives. A long history as a diversity champion tells you that diversity is embedded in the company culture.

2. Diversity Annual Reports: Companies, with a truly inclusive work ethic will document and reflect this prominently in every aspect of their annual report as well as dedicated diversity report. These reports are usually downloadable from the company website for review by potential employees. Latino professionals should review the report for evidence of support to the Latino community. Aetna makes their “Diversity Annual Report” available on their website and highlights their broad based support of diversity and several Latino organizations.

3. Awards and Accolades: Numerous diversity non-profits, associations and publications recognize employers with strong diversity programs and Latino inclusive work practices. Job seekers should see if a potential employer has earned awards or recognition by an external organization for substantive Latino diversity programs. For example, each year DiversityInc Magazine honors and recognizes the top 10 employers for Latinos.

4. Affinity Groups: Latino job seekers should inquire whether a company has a Latino employee network. A company with active affinity groups demonstrates a commitment to their Latino employees.

5. Top Latino Executives: Latino job seekers should explore whether Latinos have risen to senior level positions or serve on the board of directors. Companies with Latinos in senior management roles tend to offer a climate where Latinos are likely to be successful and progress in their field. For example, at Latino recruiting events, FedEx regularly provides a recruiting brochure that spotlights successful Hispanic employees who have reached the level of senior director or higher at their firm.

There is a big difference between a company simply being diverse in their hiring and being truly inclusive. Researching the above five elements will give you a good indication of whether your future employer will offer you the solid opportunities that make it Latino friendly.

Career Tip Tuesday: How to Stay Ahead of Your Competitors

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:34:53 -0400

With the nation’s unemployment rate at 8.2 percent, competition is still high among job seekers. Beyond having your professional profile posted across your preferred social media sites and keeping an up-to-date resume and LinkedIn profile, try these tips for a leg-up in your job search:

1. Use Google Alerts

Set up alerts using Google Alerts to notify you when news breaks about your job, industry, or a company you are interested in applying for. Google Alerts is simple to set up. Just type in a topic you are interested in and Google will continually check for updates on your topic of interest. If there is any pertinent news, Google Alerts will send you an email with a link to the news. This is a quick and easy way to stay current on a particular industry or company news and ultimately, can help you during an interview or career fair.

**Quick tip: Google suggests being as specific as possible in your alerts. You can use quotes when searching for something specific, e.g. “Jobs at AT&T”.

2. Set Up Job Alerts

Be efficient in your job search. Decide on a focus and stick to it. Once you have chosen what you would like to focus on, set up job alerts on iHispano.com weekly or daily. You can specify which jobs will be sent to you via email by keyword, location, or industry. Set as many alerts as you would like. Don’t waste time pouring through 180,000 jobs; use technology to your advantage and apply only for jobs that truly interest you.

3. Use Your Connections

As the old saying goes, “It’s not about what you know, but who you know.” Monster’s BeKnown app on Facebook will populate your professional information into a profile. Use this to connect with friends and acquaintances professionally. If you are lacking references, use Beknown or LinkedIn to request them. Each site makes it easy to do, and gets the job done without stepping on any toes or making anyone uncomfortable. Ask to be “endorsed” by a former coworker. A pre-populated email will be sent out from you asking for a recommendation. Although this is the simple way, be sure to take the extra time to personalize each message sent – you are asking for a favor, after all.

4. Harness the Power of Your Networks

What could be better than finding a job at a company where one of your friends is employed? Having a friend inside will give you a window into company culture and working with friends can be especially satisfying! Connect with Facebook or LinkedIn on iHispano.com to populate a list of your professional contacts and their positions. See where your friends are working and if their company has any openings for a position that interests you. Apply for the job and send your friend a message highlighting the job you just applied for. Ask your friend if he or she feels comfortable mentioning your name to the HR department. A recommendation can go a long way to open up a door for you.

Rachel Barsky is one of the Channel Managers at iHispano.com, the nation's premier professional networking site and job board for Latinos in the United States. Follow iHispano.com on Twitter @iHispano and on Facebook to stay up-to-date on the latest career tips and job opportunities.

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Career Tip Tuesday: Guess Who is Not Reading Your Resume?

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:54:30 -0400

If you are applying for a job today, odds are that automated readers in the form of Applicant Tracking Systems or ATS are filtering you out. In many cases, a human will never even lay eyes on your resume.

What is an ATS?

An ATS is a program that a company uses to power their recruiting process. Chad Hoersten, CTO at Professional Diversity Network explains:

“The ATS handles all applications as well as the hiring process, workflow and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs information. If your company does business with the Federal Government, you have to be able to prove that you are compliant with federal guidelines in your hiring process.”

How Do I Pass through the Resume Gate Keepers?

You have to use the right formula. This includes using the correct keywords for your industry and placing the keywords in the right spot in your resume. With each job you apply for, you should use different keywords prominently in your resume. Use the most important keywords high up in the resume- the ATS will find these more easily. Be sure to highlight your skills early in your resume as well.

How Do I find the Right Keywords to Use?

Take a look at the job description for the particular position you are applying for. Do they mention any specific skills that the employer is looking for? Target the skills that are being sought in the description. Which of these skills pertain to your professional abilities? Use the same phrases- they are ATS-friendly.

As important as it is for you, the job seeker to research the company that you are applying to, it is equally as important to research the job description. Look at different job descriptions with similar job titles to find any repeated skills or words. These will become your keywords- and the key to getting your foot into the interview room.

Is My Resume ATS-Friendly?

Make sure that your resume is written in plain text. Avoid using a frilly font or special characters, like bullet points or numbering. Don’t use excessive spacing in between words. If you have more than one email address or more than one phone number, separate them with a new line.

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