Job Search

Re-Discover Joy at Work

Written by Julie Jones, Guest Career Coach

Recently, I was doing a bit of spring cleaning, going through boxes and getting rid of a few things we no longer need. As I sorted through the pictures from when my kids were small, I noticed their faces — when they lit up as they mastered their pogo stick, or celebrated July 4th watching fireworks. Their expressions showed pure joy, anticipation, and wonder. But I did notice some of the uninhibited joy faded from their faces in later photos.

Doesn’t the same thing happen at work? Do you remember the first day of a new job? You are so excited about the possibility, but stuff happens, and the luster fades. And over time, work may become an obligation instead of an opportunity. You wonder how others find joy or fulfillment in life and work.

If so, you’re not alone. Consider the career changes driven by the pandemic and the so-called Great Resignation when it was estimated that more than 40 million people quit their jobs. Of course, not everyone had a choice, but, during this time, people made decisions about how they work and what is important to them.

Richard Bolles, in his book, What Color is Your Parachute? Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success includes many planning exercises to guide career development or shifts. One of them includes developing your expertise and enthusiasm matrix. Enthusiasm is on the X axis, and expertise is on the Y axis yielding four quadrants:  high enthusiasm, high expertise; high enthusiasm, low expertise; low enthusiasm, low expertise; and low enthusiasm, high expertise.

When I completed the exercise, I found that some skills I honed over 25 years with high expertise weren’t necessarily ones I looked forward to using as much anymore. How many of your current job roles or activities fall into the lower enthusiasm quadrant?

Drill down and get specific with your current job roles and functions and consider these questions:

In your job (or other pursuits),

  • What activities do you love to do?
  • What gives you energy or sucks your energy?
  • When do you operate at your best?

When I considered the high enthusiasm quadrants, I identified skills and activities that gave me energy, fueled my work tank, or I made time for in my busy schedule. I was excited by the high enthusiasm and low expertise quadrant. Learning can jump-start curiosity, possibility, and joy. I participated in a few online and in-person learning activities as well. I WAS a beginner, and learning was sometimes challenging. But I had fun pivoting to a new interest. Change is good.

Are there skills you want to develop to grow your expertise in these high-enthusiasm activities?

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN? HOW CAN YOU CRAFT A MORE JOYFUL WORK EXPERIENCE?

Organizations hire for expertise in the role — the top half of the graph. But are there other high enthusiasm skills or activities you could add to your work functions, or would your leader be open to providing you the opportunity to develop?

Many skills complement other primary skills, such as visual design in learning or empathy in leadership. Leaders who learn more about each person’s expertise/enthusiasm matrix, strengths, motivations, and desires begin to craft a culture of meaning and joy at work. And, in the process, help others realize their potential.

BUT WHAT IF YOU CAN’T INCLUDE MORE HIGH-ENTHUSIASM ACTIVITIES IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?

Plan A:  Volunteer in an organization where you can use or develop these skills. Be selective in finding the right fit for you.

Plan B:  Explore additional career options or consider a career shift:

  • Complete job shadows and interview others who have these jobs.
  • Identify career planning priorities – there are a variety of books and tools to guide this process.
  • Online searches – job postings and job descriptions paying close attention to the roles and duties.
  • Take a side job in an area of interest to learn more and gain experience.
  • Join a new professional association you are interested in — Talk with others.
  • Create a personal advisory board of mentors or others who know you well. How might you use their skills to help you navigate a career shift?

The enthusiasm/expertise matrix helped me identify when I’m at my best — when I’m in the flow, and an activity consumes me. For me, joy and flow are connected. For over 35 years, I have kept a picture from my first job on my desk as a reminder of the excitement I felt for my first dietetics job.

What can you do today to help rediscover joy at work? Small steps and positive mind shifts can make a meaningful difference.

Boost Your Career Progression with LinkedIn

 

Any working professional knows that LinkedIn is the de facto hub for networking and career development.  This online resource is an excellent way to cultivate your professional network, building relationships with acquaintances, keeping your current achievements and ideas top of mind, and more.  It also (conveniently) serves as a live portfolio of your career achievements, replacing the need for a resume and cover letter in a networking setting.

What you may not realize is that there are a myriad of ways to utilize LinkedIn in your career progression that don’t necessarily have much to do with the networking aspect at all. More than  simply the “professional social network” it began as, LinkedIn offers multiple resources in its bid to be an all-inclusive professional development hub. Below, we explore a few of those resources for you.

1. – Easy Apply

One of the biggest complaints among jobseekers in today’s market is that job applications are too tedious and time consuming, with the average job application taking upwards of 35 minutes to complete on an employer’s website.  LinkedIn has taken steps to streamline that process and take the pain out of applying for jobs by introducing its “Easy Apply” feature.  For jobs posted to the site’s built in job board, employers can elect to have candidates utilize “Easy Apply”.  With this feature, eligible candidates can get their resume and profile to a hiring manager within just a few clicks without ever leaving the LinkedIn site.

2. –  LinkedIn Learning

Whether you’re currently in a job search or simply looking to stay up to date with current trends, you’ve likely heard that one of the most important things a mid-career or seasoned professional can do to remain competitive in the job market is to take advantage of upskilling opportunities.  LinkedIn provides an excellent avenue for upskilling through its on-demand learning platform, LinkedIn Learning.  This platform provides access to more than 13,000 high-quality courses on a litany of subjects that you can access wherever (and whenever) you’d like.  LinkedIn also takes it a step further by offering badges of recognition to let your network know when you’ve completed a course!

3. – Company Research

While this one is not something specifically outlined as a separate feature on LinkedIn, it is one of the best advantages of being a member of the site.  LinkedIn essentially functions as a huge database, and with its excellent filtering system, there are many opportunities for job seekers to perform company research, including getting a good understanding of company titles and organizational structure, keeping up with the latest news from a company, seeing job postings all in one place, finding employee reviews, and more!

In short, there are no shortage of advantages to keeping up to date with LinkedIn, regardless of where you are in your career progression.  Even if you are not huge on networking and sharing information about yourself, the platform offers many helpful ways to improve your career standing and get to your next level.

This month, our Job Club session will focus more intently on how seasoned professionals can use LinkedIn to their advantage in their own job search. More info is below – we hope to see you there!

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Job Club: LinkedIn and the Seasoned Professional with Dr. Elisse Wright Barnes

LinkedIn has become a mainstay in the professional networking arsenal of working professionals.

It is especially important for savvy seasoned professionals seeking to make career advancements to understand how to leverage the power of this platform in order to fully access the opportunities that may be available to them within their extended networks.

Join the Alumni Career Management staff and special guest Dr. Elisse Wright-Barnes, lead trainer at Your LinkedN Driving Instructor, for an innovative conversation on how to best put LinkedIn to work in your career endeavors.

Tuesday, April 26

2–3 p.m. ET
Virtual

Cost: Free

Registration:  https://www.osu.edu/alumni/activities-and-events/events/2022/job-club-linkedin-and-the-seasoned-professional.html

 

 

Resource Spotlight – Getting Hired in Healthcare for Veterans

As a veteran who has fearlessly and faithfully served our country, you may be wondering what a post-military career looks like for you.  If you are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, we invite you to explore a new resource from EduMed.

Healthcare Careers for Student Veterans: An Online Guide (edumed.org)  is an step-by-step guide to launching a civilian career in the healthcare industry for veterans.  This in-depth guide offers advice on military-friendly degree programs, interview advice, skills assessments, and more.  Visit EduMed at the link above to take advantage of this excellent resource, and visit our veterans resources tab for more tools to support you in your post-military career development journey!

 

EduMed Guide:  Healthcare Careers for Student Veterans: An Online Guide (edumed.org)

Veteran’s Resources:  For Veterans | Welcome to Career Corner! (osu.edu)

From the Director’s Desk – Don’t Forget Your Job Search Etiquette!

In the age of texting and in shorthand and immediacy on social media, don’t forget the basic manners that your parents taught you…and your career coach! A positive and grateful attitude will get you far in job search and may even land you the position.

Always say, “thank you”.

A must in your interview follow up is to send a thank you to your interviewers. But prior to that step, it is important to express thanks along the job search process. Networking is a critical step and skill in your job search strategy. Think of all the people who have given you advice and recommended others that can add to your network. Hiring managers are the ultimate contacts, but don’t forget the people along the way who connected you to that hiring manager or opportunity. This could be family, friends, acquaintances, faculty, advisors, and colleagues. A simple “thank you” can go a long way. Always respond with a note to someone who has sent you advice. And if you miss that step, then you may not receive help in the future.

Remember, you are building your personal board of directors for your entire career journey. So, keep your network in the loop along the way, to include when you land a position. Express gratitude for contributing to your success.

In a fast-paced era of communication, don’t drop the ball. Networking is a give and take exchange. Keep your network alive. Your life will be richer for it!

 

Job Club FAQ – What You Need to Know About Our New Series

We in the Office of Alumni Career Management are so excited about the launch of our new series, the Alumni Career Management Job Club!  We know that the last year has been challenging for many, and in the constantly changing environment of the post-COVID world has many considering a career transition.  With that in mind, our office endeavors to assist job seekers through this transition.

Structured as a four-part series, the Job Club is an immersive and interactive career readiness program designed to give you the latest industry information and proven methodologies for landing your next role.  We will hold one session per month, with short presentations on a timely topic followed by Q&A and an interactive networking session. We will provide a certificate of participation for each session attendee, and those who attend all four sessions will receive a small gift from our office as a token of our congratulations.

Below are answers to your frequently asked questions:

1. – If I miss a session, will I be able to make it up?

Yes!  This is a series that we plan on making an ongoing effort.  We will be offering the four sessions this spring, and taking a break in July before starting again in the fall.  We will cover the same basic topics in each series, with some modifications based on industry trends at the time.

So, if you miss out on a session this time, don’t worry!  We will be offering it again in the fall!

2. –  Will we be doing anything outside of the monthly sessions?

Yes!  Although the sessions are monthly, our office will work to continue the conversation over the weeks between each meeting by engaging in discussion on AlumniFire.  AlumniFire is Ohio State’s exclusive professional networking platform – it is free to join and open to any member of the Ohio State community.  If you don’t already have an account, we encourage you to set one up here. If you are an alumni, staff, or student of Ohio State, please enter with that status. If you do not fall into those categories, please check Job Club member.

3. – Should I prepare anything for the networking session?

The networking sessions are designed to be a casual exercise in getting to know others in a virtual setting.  There will be facilitators in each breakout room assigned to help guide the discussion along, but the goal is for you all to get comfortable in conversation with strangers in a professional setting.

While you don’t have to prepare anything formal for this portion of the presentation, it might be helpful to practice how you would like to introduce yourself to others ahead of time.  Things to consider are:

  • Name
  • Educational and professional background
  • Industry or companies you are interested in

You might also want to have a notebook handy so that you can write down the names of people in your group that you want to connect with individually on either AlumniFire or LinkedIn.  This is a great way to open a conversation into a new connection that could very well turn into your next big opportunity!

4. – What are other ways that I can connect with the Office of Alumni Career Management for additional assistance?

Alumni Career Management has several resources available for you to utilize in addition to our Job Club.  The webinar archive holds dozens of presentations on various job search and professional development topics to support your career growth.  Career Corner, our official departmental blog has weekly updates with various timely topics, including alumni spotlights, a weekly hot jobs listing, podcast episodes, and more.

Finally, though we no longer offer individual coaching, we do have a dedicated email address where you can submit your questions.  We send weekly responses for alumni seeking guidance on a variety of job search topics. To submit an individual question to the Alumni Career Management team, email us at ADV-CareersOSUAA@osu.edu.

Introducing the Alumni Career Management Job Club!

Many in our alumni and friends community are currently in career transition, or are considering making a change in their career in the near future.  With that in mind, the Bill and Susan Lhota Office of Alumni Career Management is excited to announce our newest project for supporting you through your career development – the launch of the Alumni Career Management Job Club!

Structured as a four-part series, the Job Club is an immersive and interactive career readiness program designed to give you the latest information and proven methodologies for landing your next role.  Each monthly session will include a short presentation on a pre-determined topic, along with Q&A/discussion time, and a guided networking exercise. Those who attend each session will receive a certificate of participation from our office, and those participating in all four sessions will also receive a small gift as congratulations.

Although the sessions are monthly, our office will work to continue the conversation over the weeks in between each meeting through engaging discussion on AlumniFire, our Ohio State exclusive professional networking platform.  AlumniFire is free to join, and open to any member of the Ohio State community.  If you have not already made an account, we encourage you to do so here.

Dates and times for the spring Job Club series are as follows:

March 9, 2021 – 12 noon ET – Resume “Must Haves” in Today’s Job Market

April 13, 2021 – 12 noon ET – Networking in the New Normal:  Link In or be Left Out

May 11, 2021 – 12 noon ET – Interview to Win the Offer

June 8, 2021 – 12 noon ET – Salary Negotiation:  Don’t Leave Money on the Table 

Register for the Job Club meetings here, and stay tuned for more information about this exciting project. We are looking forward to connecting with you!

Looking Back and Moving Forward – How Alumni Career Management Supports You from 2020 and Beyond

Wow… 2020 was really something, right?

The Ohio State University Alumni Association launched the Bill and Susan Lhota Office of Alumni Career Management in 2012, largely in response to a significant movement among alumni requesting career guidance following the “Great Recession” of the late 2000s.  For the last nine years, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to supporting Ohio State alumni in their lifelong career management.  We strive to provide assistance in career development and transitions through a robust variety of resources, keeping our clients abreast of current trends and dynamics within the industry.  Through a combination of relevant programming, original content, and other offerings, we have remained true to our goal of inspiring, motivating, and encouraging alumni in their journey toward finding satisfying and successful careers, all within a professional environment fostering a community of Buckeyes helping Buckeyes.

The goal of the Office of Alumni Career Management has always been to ensure accessibility to resources for every member of our 550,000+ strong global community of Buckeye alumni.  We are proud to have been pioneers in providing virtual career resources among alumni offices in higher education for several years.  When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the university, and the world at large, in early 2020, we were well poised to pivot to all virtual offerings, ensuring that we could meet the needs of alumni that we knew would need us now more than ever.

Although this is a scenario that no one imagined or could have been prepared for, the Office of Alumni Career Management staff was able to quickly assess and address the challenges stemming from our “new normal”.   The most urgent issue was the need to create programming and materials to guide alumni in navigating this new career landscape.

Looking Back – How We Adjusted to a COVID-19 World in 2020

In March of 2020, we began offering webinars tailored to topics immediately relevant to the COVID-19 crisis.  Our presentations, “Laid Off – Now What?” and “Career Pivots for Experienced Job Seekers” had more than 250 combined registrants – many of whom were first time attendees for an event hosted by our office.  Our presentation, “How to Optimize Your Job Search During COVID-19” featured alumna Marissa Lee, who provided invaluable insight as a human resources professional and career coach. We supplemented this with podcasts relating to topics including, “Managing Stress when Working from Home”, “Maintaining Connections Across the Digital Distance”, and “Work/Life Balance for Working Parents”.

In addition to reframing our existing webinar curriculum to reflect the new circumstances we found ourselves under in 2020, the Career Management team also launched a new initiative to assist the influx of new job seekers with their many questions surrounding the search.  Job Search Q&A sessions were held monthly beginning in May of last year, with a total of 724 alumni and friends registering for these events throughout the year, an average of 80 participants at each of these roundtables.   We also piloted a biweekly group coaching program for six months last year as we worked to phase out one on one coaching and were able to support a number of alumni in crafting an effective elevator pitch, learning to network in a virtual medium, and job searching in the hidden market.

All told, in 2020 the Office of Alumni Career Management website had a total of 435,600 individual visits to our departmental website, which includes invaluable resources for alumni and friends such as resume and cover letter templates, our webinar archive, job search tools, and our alumni-specific job board, Alumni Career Connection.

Our departmental blog, Coach’s Corner, also received significant attention in the last year, with more than 13,000 individual users visiting the site during the year from all over the world, including 14 countries other than the United States.

Moving Forward – What We Are Looking Forward to in the New Year

It is safe to say that the Office of Alumni Career Management was successful in pivoting our offerings to meet the quickly changing needs of the Ohio State alumni community over the last year, and we look forward to continuing to elevate our offerings as we move into 2021.  In February, we will launch Career Corner, a monthly newsletter curated to include relevant career content, advice, and events for alumni interested in job search or professional development topics.

In March, we are excited to announce that our office will launch a monthly Job Club series.  Inspired by our group coaching pilot last fall, the Job Club will be a monthly meeting that combines guidance on a specific job search topic and a guided networking experience for participating alumni. We look forward to engaging with you in a fun and interactive way that provides meaningful assistance to those alumni who need it most.

Other projects on the horizon for the Career Management team include the launch of three self-paced mini-courses on leadership and professional development, for which we will be offering a Certificate of Completion for alumni who participate in those modules, collaborative partnerships with our colleagues in the alumni association, around campus, and around our community to further the reach of our services and advice, innovative volunteer opportunities for alumni who would like to give back to the university, and engagement with companies seeking to connect with our alumni and our university.

Where We Need You

For alumni who have not yet taken advantage of the many resources offered through the Office of Alumni Career Management, we extend an invitation for you to do so now – there is so much that we have available, and it is our sincere hope that you will utilize these resources as you continue in your own career development journey.

We’d also like to lean on alumni in the coming year, asking you to weigh in with your own expertise as our subject matter experts in your individual fields.  We would love to see you engage with us on social media – particularly in our LinkedIn group or on AlumniFire – where your commentary can be seen by thousands of your fellow alumni, as well as current students.   If you would like information on how you can get involved with our office, and ways that you can contribute, feel free to contact us directly at lacount.7@osu.edu.

Buckeye to Buckeye – Top Free Career Resources to Help You Get Started

Below are just a few of the great offerings available to you through the OSUAA Office of Alumni Career Management. Your fellow Buckeyes have been utilizing these continuously in their own career search, and we invite you to take advantage of them as well.

  1. – AlumniFire

AlumniFire is Ohio State’s premier professional networking tool that allows you to connect directly with other alumni and students, as well as employers seeking to fill positions with Buckeyes like you!  Here you can find people volunteering to give general career advice, resume reviews, relocation assistance, and other fun topics – you can also raise your hand to help another Buckeye in need as well!

  1. – Alumni Career Connection

Alumni Career Connection is our Buckeye alumni exclusive job board.  With more than 20 new jobs posted every week from all around the country, you’re sure to find a position that fits what you’re looking for in terms of a next career move.

  1. – HireOhio Virtual Alumni Career Fair

Ohio State’s biggest alumni career fair will be going virtual once again this year! Join us in June and November as we provide opportunities to get in front of employers looking to hire someone like you.  Upcoming career fairs are posted regularly on our departmental webpage in the “Upcoming Events” section.

  1. – Goin’ Global

COVID got you thinking of taking a wander year somewhere outside of the United States?  As an alumnus of the university, you have free access to Goin’ Global, a database that contains country-specific career and employment resources for more than 90 locations worldwide.  Create a free account to access this resource and find your next great adventure abroad.