How toTripleYourJobOffers
Albert Qian
Founder, Albert’s List
September 12, 2016
Agenda
 Setting the Right Intentions
 Resumes and Cover Letters
 BuildingYour Personal Brand
 Networking and Relationship Building
 Job Boards and Communities
 Mastering the Job Interview
 Putting it AllTogether
 Q&A
About Me
 Technology and marketing professional focused on
Cloud / DevOps space – past experience at Cisco, HP,
and Ingram Micro
 Founder, Albert’s List – community with 19,000
members
 Members have found work at companies like Google,
Cisco, GoPro, andTwitter
 Author, New Grad’s Guide to Finding a Marketing Job in
the San Francisco Bay Area (Amazon Bestseller)
Before we begin, let’s set some intentions
for the evening.
Finding work is an inevitable outcome.
It is Okay to Ask for Help
It is Okay to Find a Job for the Sake of It
It’s Okay to FeelVulnerable AboutYour Search
That said…
We will throw the kitchen sink at the job search.
Let’s get started.
Resumes andCover
Letters
What isYour
Resume?
 A catalogue of all the jobs you have held and
the capabilities that you carry
 A taste of who you are, but not the main course
 A foot in the door, but no guarantee of an
actual job
 An evolution of who you have been and how
you have grown over the years
Resume Basics
 A typical resume has several key areas that
contribute to the building of a profile.
 Career highlights and summary
 Education and certifications
 Job Duties and ActionVerbs
TheApplicant
Tracking
System (ATS)
 One area of contention and controversy in
recent years is the ApplicantTracking System
(ATS).
 Effective resumes get through the ATS with:
 Skills
 Relevant keywords
AWordAbout
Cover Letters
 Depending on who you ask, cover letters are or
aren’t necessary
 The more entry-level you are or the more
senior you are, the more you may need a cover
letter.
 Cover letter outline
 Introduction
 Why you are the person for the job
 What sets you apart based on previous roles
 Call to action / Get in touch
BuildingYour Personal
Brand
What isYour
Personal
Brand?
 Your message to the world
 Your commitment to the world
 Your change to the world
 Your knowledge of the world
Developing a
Personal Brand
A Personal Brand Needs to be CLEAR
 Consistent
 Leading
 Engaging
 Adaptive
 Real
Building a
Digital Brand
Content
Engagement
Luck
Timing
WhereCanYou
BuildYour
Brand?
Networking and
Relationship Building
What Is and Isn’t
Networking?
 Networking IS building relationships with others.
 Networking IS business development.
 Networking IS adding value for others before yourself
 Networking is NOT selling yourself
 Networking is NOT about you
 Networking is NOT inauthentic
How
Networking
Fits in theJob
Hunt
 In a noisy world, networking gets you in the door.
 Networking opens new doors that online job hunting
sites do not.
 Networking puts you at the table for the right
conversations.
 Networking allows you to understand what the
industry is truly going through.
 Networking enables you to extend your personal brand
online to offline
 90% of jobs are filled for people who go through
personal connections
Where DoYou
Network?
 Broadly
 Chamber of Commerce Mixers
 Network AfterWork (NAW)
 Alumni Networking Events
 Networking-oriented Meetup Groups
 Broad Facebook groups around a topic
 In Depth
 Associations (eg; PRSA, IABC, SFAMA for marketing)
 Focused Meetup Groups on a specific topic
 Events at venues of interest (Hacker Dojo, Corporate HQ)
 Focused Facebook Groups on a specific topic
How DoYou Make
NetworkingWork?
Add value to others – it’s not about you
Follow-up with others and engage
Job Boards and
Communities
Job Boards Do
Work
Making the
Most of Both
 Be specific about what you want
 Update your profile early, update it often
 Like networking, provide to other people
 Be proactive – apply to jobs as well as being
recruited
Mastering theJob
Interview
SelfAwareness
and Potential
Self-awareness
Capability and Potential
Self -
Assessment
andValue
 Situational Assessment
 As a candidate, it’s important for you to understand the STAR
method of interviewing. STAR stands for situation, task, action,
and result.This method enables you to explain clearly how you
did something at a past job that will help you for the future.
 Cost vs. Revenue Role
 Businesses are all about the bottom line and quarterly results.
You must be able to demonstrate your understanding of this
within your role, and understand if you cost your company
money or make your company money. From there, drive the
strengths within you home to show why you would succeed in a
particular role.
Conquering
Interview
Questions
 Interview questions all want to know one thing:
How do you think you fit?
 Behavioral
 Situational
 Confidence and nervousness
The Most ImportantThing:
It’s Not AboutYou
Putting ItAllTogether
AChecklist
Create the vision you want for your
career
FOCUS!
Build the personal brand
AChecklist
Network
Job Boards and Communities
Prepare for the Job Interview
Mindset Resilience Execution
Q&A
ThankYou

How to Triple Your Job Offers

Editor's Notes

  • #5 Before we get into the meat of today’s discussion, I want to set some intentions for today and beyond, especially for those of you who are on the job search. I’ve discovered that my hunt for work is partially practical (what I have done in the past) and partially behavioral (driven by what I think).
  • #6 Some of you might be here because you haven’t found work in a few weeks. Some of you might be here because you haven’t found work in a while. Regardless of where you have come from, it only matters where you are going. The important attitude to have here is that your ability to find work is going to be an inevitable outcome. You cannot think any other way.
  • #7 We live in a world where asking for help is shunned upon, and in reality, nobody does any of this alone. I’ve built communities around the job search and field questions daily from interviews to offers. While Googling for what you need is absolutely something you should do, it’s important to find yourself the right communities that will give you what you need. Don’t shy away from help.
  • #8 We live in a world where messages like “love what you do and do what you love” are top of mind. The reality is, we live in the Bay Area where it’s expensive to even pay rent. If you need to find a job, put that first. It’s okay to not have your paycheck be your passion.
  • #9 Many of us feel vulnerable about our job search. Much like asking for help, we hide away from others because we feel shame for not working. The truth is, as long as you are moving forward in your career and doing the necessary work to move ahead, there is no reason not to feel vulnerable. Finding work is tough in the Bay Area, and everyone should be commended for doing so. Showing up is first and foremost.
  • #12 Interviewing with a purpose – San Diego conversation
  • #20 The Art of Active Networking
  • #22 Consistent: You have to share your message, knowledge, and commitment to the world on a regular basis. Leading: You have to step up to the occasion and show that you aren’t just another voice, but someone to be spoken to. Engaging: Modern brands are not a one-way street. To succeed you must engage and interact with your audience. Adaptive: Today’s job search requires an understanding of marketing and communications. You are selling yourself. Learn what is new and adapt it to your own brand message. Real: Today’s brands must be authentic to shine. Being real and vulnerable will only show others who you are and what you are.
  • #23 Much of my early career was spent in the social media space, so I know what it takes to get noticed and what it means to network online. Your brand will involve this as well. To build a brand well you need three things: Content Content is what you put out there. This is everything from what you write about to your website, LinkedIn, and social media presence. If you are CLEAR on your intentions and what you are looking to do, then people will know what to look to you for. Engagement Engagement are your interactions with other people. This is how you come across to other people and how you reach out to others. Luck When content and engagement are combined together, that creates luck. The more passive content you have out there that shows who you are, the more you provide others, the more you will see coming back to you. Timing Building your digital personal brand takes time. Rome was not built in a day and neither will your personal brand. You should ideally start before you need to find your next job, but it is never too late to begin.
  • #25 When I first graduated from college, networking was something I had no clue about. Having networked on campus was something I thought was enough, but in reality it really wasn’t. As someone who chose to go on a far different path than my parents (engineering), it was imperative for me that (a) I get out of my comfort zone and (b) I learn a new skill. Networking’s base tenet is that of communication. I have found that in everything around the work that I have done as well as the people I’ve interacted with, there is no more important skill. You must do well here to get a job and beyond.
  • #26 Getting to SoCal
  • #29 In attending these networking groups, your intention can be to discover what you are looking for, be that a new job, new connections in any industry, or just to go out and meet people in general. I did this early on because I was new to marketing and had very little idea around what I wanted. Your experience – and mileage – will vary. In depth networking is better for those who are targeting a closer goal. This is me now in my career, attending events where the makeup of professionals is very explicit. These types of events include: In attending these types of networking events, you’ll have a clearer idea of what you are interested in and be able to meet the right people. Back in 2014 when I was in between wondering whether I wanted to do PR or marketing or social media, I found myself at a lot of PRSA events in the City where I would meet recruiters. Ultimately I settled on product marketing.
  • #30 For many, networking comes across as a thankless experience because others don’t seem to meet them halfway. This is to be expected, but not all networking experiences are exercises in futility. For networking to work, you must add value to others and interact/follow-up with others. You never know how someone else might be able to help you, and you never know how you might be able to help someone else. It’s important to not compartmentalize your experience.
  • #32 Building Albert’s List
  • #36 Cisco interview
  • #42 The last few job searches Be willing to do what it takes to get to where you need to be to see results you’ve never seen to live the life you’ve wanted “Be willing to go anywhere, anytime, to reach your destination”
  • #45 As I conclude tonight’s presentation, I want to offer each of you something to take home… Mindset = start with powerful intentions of your job search Resilience = be resilient in Networking, building relationships, interviews Execution = be willing to do what it takes anywhere, anytime to get closer to your destination