Archive for the ‘job’ Category

I’m pleased to announce that I am now a business consultant for the Economic Development Collaboration in Ventura County (EDC-VC). I’ll be helping small businesses in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties formulate and clarify, their marketing, technology, and e-business planning.

This past Monday I did a presentation at the Moorpark Community Center as part of the Small Business Forum entitled “Marketing Your Business for Success.” I presented to almost 30 small business owners plus the Moorpark Mayor Janice Parvin, City Councilwoman Roseann Mikos, Ph. D., and Patrick Ellis, President of the Moorpark Chamber of Commerce. It was a great way to step into the role. I’m glad everyone was awake and energized at 7am! Thank you Daylight Saving Time!

What I love most about this opportunity is that I get to do what I love – working with small businesses and organizations. Additionally, services are free to the businesses. These are your tax dollars hard at work. Strengthening existing businesses and growing new enterprises is an important part of our economy’s engine. I’m proud to be helping with this endeavor.

This is the end of the personal part of the post. If you’re a small business owner, or in the process of starting one up, then you really should read on, no matter where you live in the U.S..

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Small Business Development Center – SBDC

The EDC-VC also hosts the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The national SBDC program assists more that 1.3 million businesses through over 950 Service Centers. The SBDC is funded by the Small Business Administration. The EDC-SBDC center provides free consultations and low-cost training sessions in these key areas (I highlighted the areas in which I’ll be counseling):

• Business planning
• Start-up assistance
• Capital sourcing
• Government contracting and procurement
• Financing/Loan packaging assistance
• Human Resources
• Legal issues
• Marketing/Sales
• International trade
• Managing a business
• Technology
• E-commerce
• Social Media

Small Business Forum Events – Also Free!

The EDC-VC and SBDC offers a host of small business forum events. There’s an upcoming presentation on Planning & Financial Management Tuesday, November 16, 2010 in Moorpark. Click here for more information.

These are great networking events and extremely informative.

Need business advising?

For businesses and start-ups in Ventura and Santa Barbara County, you can contact the EDC-VC here:

EDC-VC
1601 Carmen Drive, Suite 215
Camarillo, CA 93010
(805) 384-1800
info@edcsbdc.com

Join the EDC-VC email list for updates on business events throughout Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Follow the SBDC LA Twitter account. This covers the Los Angeles SBDC area which includes the Ventura County Center.

Call to make an appointment. It’s not really a drop-in type of center. Tell them what type of support you’re looking for and they will set up an appointment for you to meet with an adviser. If you need support in one of my areas of expertise then they will schedule a time for us to meet, either at the Camarillo center or at your business site. I’ve started working with some of the other advisors and they’re amazing. You will be in good hands. Please tell them you heard about the Center from me, Jesse Luna.

Centers throughout the country



You can find your nearest SBDC center via the Small Business Administration SBDC Locator tool.

I’ve been on the job hunt since June 1, 2010, almost five months. In that time I’ve been very fortunate to have received support from my family, friends, and social network buddies.

Job searching can be an energy-draining and demoralizing process. Dozens of resumes and cover letters are sent out, screening calls happen, interviews happen, and zippo. Despite coming up empty, I’ve managed to stay sane by following these five rules:

1. Say Yes!
2. Exercise
3. Eat well
4. Network like it’s going out of style
5. Be Grateful

Say Yes!

Life isn’t a movie but I love the film Yes Man with Jim Carrey. If you haven’t seen the film, the Jim Carrey character meets a personal development guru and he is bound to say “Yes” to everything that comes into his life – or really bad things happen.

I’ve taken the same Yes Man approach to opportunities and it has taken me on some interesting paths. For example, rocker Dave Navarro (@davenavarro6767 on Twitter) posted a tweet asking if anyone was interested in free tickets to see him perform at the Staples Center for an E3 event. It was 6:30am on a Sunday and I tweeted him back. A couple of days later, I was watching Dave and Jane’s Addiction, Eminem, Rihanna, Usher, Will.i.am, and N.E.R.D. perform a few feet away. It’s really difficult to feel down when you have amazing experiences like this.

There was also a certain amount of serendipity at play as I had a scheduled job interview the very next day at the LA Convention Center, only a hundred yards away.

Exercise

Rejection is physically draining so doing exercise is great way to counteract the negative juju and keep the engine going. I take my Lab, Ivory, for a 30-minute walk every morning. This gets me out of bed, starts off my morning routine, and serves as a solid victory that I can build upon. Walking and spending time with Ivory is also very grounding. I give myself permission to enjoy the time and be present.

I’ve considered taking up more intense sports but the closest I’ve gotten is doing more gardening. The tomato plants are doing nicely, thank you.

Eat Well

I’m a stress eater. When the negative boo birds start chirping my impulse is to go straight for the cookies. About a year ago, I decided to give my body a break from red meat, all soda, cookies, and greasy food. By replacing those foods with healthier ones, I dropped 30 pounds in three months and found that I had a lot more energy.

I really needed that extra energy boost after being laid off. It would have been super easy to have given up on the healthy eating but I’ve mostly stuck with it and kept off most of the weight.

Foods that have helped me release the weight and boost my energy:

• Oatmeal
• Trail Mix of unsalted mixed nuts and berries. I add these to my morning oatmeal with soy milk.
• Salmon fillets. Costco has great deals on them. I grill them with a chili powder, chili pepper flakes, paprika, and olive oil rub.
• Chicken salads. You can actually get pretty decent chicken salads at most major fast food places. I go for a balsamic vinegar dressing on the side.
• Turkey burgers. I love hamburgers but I’ve cut way back on red meat. A turkey burger with moderate dressing on a whole grain bun is still delicious.

Network like it’s going out of style

Job searching can drag you into a pit if despair, if you let it. The best way to do that is to isolate yourself.

I’ve been networking my ass off for the past five months. I’m a people person so I get energy being around other people. I’ve been attending networking events even if I have to drive two hours into LA. Networking surrounds me with creative, energetic, entrepreneurial, cool people, and new learning experiences. I’ve also received a lot of job leads, offers to review my job search strategy, and partnering opportunities.

In addition to saying “yes” to the purely fun stuff, I’ve also said yet to volunteer opportunities. This includes helping to plan a CAUSE fundraiser where we raised over $80K. It was great connecting with community resources and I made a lot of contacts that led to job interviews. Volunteering is a great way to tap into new networks.

Volunteering is also great because it puts you in the “work zone.” It was interesting seeing this season’s The Apprentice opener which includes laid off and underemployed participants. In the first episode, participants were totally rusty at working together and project management. Several of them commented on that. Volunteering will help you stay sharp. Right now I’m knocking on doors to help Get Out The Vote, co-producing a Latinos In Social Media (LATISM) conference, and managing online sites for two Stanford Alumni groups. Are these activities helping to keep me energized? Yes. Will they lead to a job, we’ll see.

Be Grateful

Being unemployed sucks. If that’s all that’s on your mind then it will drag you into its negative vortex. Focusing on the people and things in my life that matter has helped me stay hopeful and positive.

If you’ve read this far then I suspect you may be in a similar situation. Let me know if I can help in any way and best of luck to you.

I’ve heard people say this many times and have experienced it myself, job hunting is a full time job. This isn’t a pie in the sky tech blog post, this is coming from the trenches. I’ve been job searching for the past four months and I want to share my observations using LinkedIn to help you with your search.

Update Your Profile

The main tip for creating your LinkedIn profile is to create a focused account of your recent career experiences. Fill out the entire profile, including past positions, education, interests, and groups. Manage your profile information as closely as you manage your updated resume(s). Be professional, accurate, and put your best foot forward.


Key Sections

• Make sure to update your Contact Settings to match your job search strategyIf you can list that you’re interested in “Career Opportunities” then make sure to list it. If you’re currently in a job but looking for another opportunity, you may not want to add the “Career Opportunities” to the list to keep your search under the radar.
• Take some time to carefully craft the Summary section. I had a one sentence “mission statement” there for a long time but as I used LinkedIn more and more I found other people’s Summary statements useful. Plus, I received feedback from a career counselor that it needed to be beefed up.

  Think of the Summary as a condensed job description. If you’re currently working then write a one or two paragraph description of your key duties and also fold in some of your key accomplishments. If you’re unemployed then list some of your key experiences that match the jobs you’re looking for. You can do this by pulling out one of the job descriptions that you’ve applied to (because you think there’s a great fit) and reflect those qualifications in your Summary. Employers labor over writing those job descriptions and use very exact language to attract the right possible employees so make use of them.

Do Some Networking

1. Connect with current and former colleagues. Reach out to people you have good relationships with in your social network communities. The stronger the relationship, the more valuable they will be in your job search. You’ll be helping them out in the future. Connect with in real life and also online via LinkedIn. The photos above are from local networking events.
2. Use your contacts judiciously and only request connections to people you don’t know when they are super strategic to your search.
3. If you can connect with reputable recruiters, then do so. A Twitter friend recommended a recruiter and she’s been great at sharing job listings and keeping them updated with the current status. While I’ve been connected to her, she’s found jobs for dozens of people via LinkedIn. Contact me if you are in IT in the LA or Ventura County and I’ll pass you her information.

Use It For Research

LinkedIn is incredible for doing research on possible employers:

1. Many companies are listed on LinkedIn. During a typical day’s search, I’ll look up ten companies on LinkedIn and usually nine of them are listed.
2. You can “follow” companies. Then, you can see when new jobs are added, if people leave the company, or if someone gets a promotions.
3. Just as employers can research you online, you can research employees, especially hiring managers and people who will be interviewing you.
4. I also like looking at who’s being promoted and who’s recently left the company. This is a way to get a peek into the current company activities and may point out a new way for you to fit into the organization. “What, I won’t fit into that online marketing manger role? Well maybe I would fit in the Systems Analyst side of things.” This is all valuable intelligence.
5. Look at the Summary descriptions for existing company employees. This give you an idea of what people are really doing. You may be able to get a better picture of who you might be reporting to or who you might be managing.
6. Look at recommendations written for people in the company (you may need to be connected to them to see this). Recommendations from employee colleagues can tell you what employees value and some of their company lingo. For example, if several people recommend an employee and mention “excellent team player” then you have an idea that working in a team is important to that company culture.

Use The Job Search Tool

LinkedIn also has a good job search tool. You can actually apply for some jobs directly via LinkedIn.

I must say, I applied for several positions using this method but never heard back from the companies. This could indicate a hole in the application process or just a bad match. At the very least, this is a great way to discover job opportunities. If you have better luck applying to jobs via different channels (on Monster, Dice, Indeed, recruiter, etc.), you may want to use the LinkedIn search results then go check your favorite channel.

(click below to enlarge the image)

Review

LinkedIn provides an intelligent set of tools to help you with your search. Take the time to set up your LinkedIn account then use it wisely. I hope these tips help. Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by. Please share you LinkedIn job tips and comments below.

Photo Credits:
Atomicshark (cat picture) – License
Stefan (strormtrooper investigator) - License

We know about energy. We need it to heat our apartments and homes, we get more of it being around inspiring people, and we lose it when our bodies tire out. But I had never thought of emotional and physical energy as a business resource that has to be managed.

Traditionally, when we think of resources we think of time and money. If we are managing people then we realize that people are also resources so we add that to our list.

I suggest we should add energy to that list of resources.

Getting Things Done Workshop - Camarillo, CA

Getting Things Done and Energy
The concept of energy as a business resource made sense after attending a Getting Things Done (GTD) seminar a few weeks ago. In the GTD productivity method, one sets up a series of “Next Actions” steps. These are discreet tasks that must be taken in order to advance to the next step of a project. In this framework, a project can be a large and complex production or it can be a simple as completing an office keeping function.

One participant at the seminar asked, “If you’re always working on the big projects, when do you have time for the little ones on your list?”

This is a classic workplace dilemma and one that can cripple productivity and zap communication.

The presenter’s response was, “That’s why you have different types of projects that must get done. If it’s Friday afternoon and you can barely stay awake, that might be a good time to change out the printer cartridge that’s on your Office Management project list, for example.”

I loved that response and it makes sense. If you’re working on a big project but just don’t have the energy to do an effective job at that moment, then completing a smaller task can actually get you back on track. Work with your energy, not against it.


Prioritizing By Energy
Scott Belsky (@scottbelsky on Twitter), CEO of Behance.com and author of Making Ideas Happen (affiliate link) sees energy management as extremely important in project management.

Energy is your most precious commodity. Regardless of who you are, you have only a finite amount of it. Just as a computer’s operating capacity is limited to the amount of memory (or RAM) installed, we all have our limits.

-P.59, Making Ideas Happen

Belsky suggests prioritizing projects based on energy level, ranking them on a continuum from “Extreme” to “Idle” in terms of their energy requirements. In this model, energy is equated with project importance, as opposed to the how-much-energy-do-I-have-at-that-time factor which the GTD presenter discussed. Either way, being mindful of energy is key to leading projects to completion.


Final Thoughts
I actively plan my daily schedule around my energy levels. Right now, my job search activities are the most important and deserve the most attention and energy. Because of that, I schedule my job search activities at the beginning of each day when I have the most energy and am in “work mode.”

When it comes to blogging, I often start at 10pm and work as late as my brain lets me. That’s when I can write most effectively and not feel like I have other higher priority tasks (or honey-dos) to accomplish.

Do you have formal systems in your workplace to help manage people energy? If so, what are they? How about energy management at home?


Related site:
Getting Things Done

Photo Credit:
Łukasz Strachanowski via Flickr

This video shows you how to better visualize the key aspects of job by focusing on important keywords.

When is this technique useful?

There are two main circumstances when this tip is useful:

1. Let’s say you’ve identified ten good job opportunities and you have the full job descriptions, but only want to focus on one or two of the jobs. This method of highlighting keywords, using Wordle.net as a visualization tool, will help you see the keywords better. Once the main keywords are more apparent, you can use them to select the top two jobs and create your cover letters and shape your resume to focus on what’s important.

   Remember, the hiring manager created the job description so it is likely she will be looking for those keywords in cover letters to help her filter her stack of applications.

2. Yay! You received an interview and now you need to prepare for it. By using this technique, you can zoom in on the most important job aspects and skills. I used this technique before an interview and it highlighted a key technical skill. I reviewed the technical skill before the interview (I wish I had prepared more) and was asked about it and was tested on it.
   
   
   I hope the video is useful. Good luck on the job search!

Related Posts

• Using Keywords in Your Job Search – CareerBuilder.com
• Online Job Searching – Job Search Words – About.com:JobSearching

[Previously posted on www.jesseluna.posterous.com]

After the layoff, I’ve thought a lot of about the role of fear in my life. I’ve realized that if one only listens to fear, it covers up who we really are, our essential nature.

Part of living in fear may include an inability to ask for help. Fear tells us that we shouldn’t ask for help because it will make us vulnerable and show that we’re weak. Fear also tells us that asking for help will make us look selfish and feel stupid because we can’t do it all ourselves.

Fear tells us these things but we know they are not true. Most of the people I respect and admire are those who knew the power of asking for help and used it to build movements and achieve transformational change.

I’m looking for job opportunities and I’m asking for your help. I listed my job search areas below and some helpful bits of information that demonstrate my experience in each area. You can help by connecting me with possible opportunities, spreading the news, and by just saying hello and sending encouraging words. I’ve already received a great amount of support and I’m grateful.

Are you also on the job hunt?

If you’re on the job hunt as well, I encourage you to ask for help. If you have your target job areas posted publicly, go ahead and put a link to the page in the Comments below. This will help others reach out and connect you to opportunities and to spread the news.

My Job Search Areas

My personal mission statement is to empower people through technology education. This includes empowering individuals and small businesses.

I’m primarily looking in Ventura Country and Southern California, but will consider moving to the Bay Area or other locations if the salary & growth opportunities are there.

My LinkedIn is at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jpluna
Visual CV: http://www.visualcv.com/jesseluna
My blog: http://www.jesseluna.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jesseluna

I have three main search areas:

• Technology Training/advocacy,
• Online Marketing Manger, and
• Community Manager

Details and experience in each area:

Technology Training/advocacy

• I taught elementary and middle school for seven years in El Monte, Redwood City, and San Francisco (Mission District)
• I was a “user advocate” and tech systems trainer for CDI for the first three years with the company, in addition to doing web design and programming.
• I was a lecturer at Cal State Channel Islands for over a year, teaching Business students the ins and outs for Information systems management and teaching them to blog and build Web sites. I have an MBA and a Masters in Computer Information Systems.
• In 2009, I created an online blogging class. The class was created using the WordPress platform.
• I’ve also done volunteer Internet consulting work for non-profits (low-income law advocacy, alumni group, social justice groups, political campaigns, sustainability)

Online marketing manager

• I’ve worked in this role for the past seven years. Includes online advertising (including Google AdWords), product marketing, email newsletter creation and delivery, SEO, e-commerce site design
• I created and managed over 500 online promotions
• Have also done a lot of offline activities such as print/signage design for marketing collateral and trade shows
• I’m seeking a position that includes social media management.

Community Manager (in social media)

• I introduced social media to my previous company and we took a stepwise approach to folding it into the business
• I managed the company’s Twitter account (@cdi) and created a Facebook group for the company
• I helped set up the company with a blogging infrastructure. We created our first group blog a year and a half ago and now the company has several people blogging. I trained everyone on how to use WordPress.com and WordPress.org sites.
• I was an active part of #Eric campaign, an effort to save a young man’s life. More information is available on the Eric’s Law site and you can see my interview with What Gives on the campaign via my Visual CV page.

I appreciate your help and you can reach me via email at jesse [dot] luna [at] gmail [dot] com.

Photo Credit
Andries3 on Flickr – Creative Commons license