Jessica Pierce of Career Connectors (careerconnectors.org) spoke to the Resume Writers Council of Arizona (RWCA.org) on Saturday, January 28 about using Twitter in the job search. Such an important tool — right along with LinkedIn.

Those jobseekers who do not use social media are putting themselves at a great disadvantage. Jessica offered statistics showing that many, many companies are using Twitter to post job announcements - first. Don’t you want you want to be there too?

And, of course, LinkedIn can’t be beat for making connections in your top-choice companies. Once you build your network …

Take the time to sign up on both of these sites; complete your profiles; and start using these free tools to give yourself an edge in the job market.

Everywhere you turn, as a job seeker, someone is telling you to do something new, something different. If only you followed their advice, you’d be employed, right? Ah, that it were that easy.

The job search process today isn’t what it was 20 years ago. We didn’t follow companies on Twitter (what’s that?); we didn’t have to attend job clubs to network; heck, we didn’t even have “job boards” to search through each day. Life was simple then. We found jobs in the newspaper; we worked with recruiters; we cultivated our network of contacts; and we made sure we had a quality resume. Wait a minute, isn’t that close to what we’re required to do now? The methodology may be different, but the fundamentals are the same.

Research and networking — and a good resume.

Don’t let all the new terminology get to you. When you don’t recognize a term, Google it. Do your research so you can be on the same page as the other candidates. Don’t cut corners just because it sounds like a new learning experience. Take some classes; read job search articles; attend the job clubs.

I strongly believe that jobs are out there for you. You just have to apply thoughtful strategy — and a good resume — to find them.

By now, we all know that the easy days of a job search are gone. It’s no longer simply a waiting game; it’s all about action, energy, networking and making things happen. Here are the top 11 things you MUST be doing today to stay in the race.

11. Sign up for and cultivate your LinkedIn network (www.linkedin.com)

10. Create business cards with your job search focus, areas of expertise and contact information.

9 Attend job club meetings not only to make important contacts but also to learn how to make your job search more effective.

8. Understand how to navigate the Internet to explore companies and job boards and apply for jobs online. If you are a computer novice, GET SOME TRAINING NOW!

7. Know when to use an ASCII resume format and when the Microsoft Word or PDF files will be fine.

6. Get focused. No, any job will NOT do. Analyze the market and your skills; then choose a direction.

5. Practice interviewing. What may have worked in the past may not be adequate now. Research and understand what is expected in your answers.

4. Research the companies you’re appling to. Know their mission; know their products; know their markets.

3. Follow up. It may be uncomfortable for you, but you must follow up on your resume submissions. There might well be a long gap between the job posting and the actual interview / hire period. Let them know how enthusiastic and proactive you are.

2. Send a thank you note after the interview. This one isn’t new, but people tend to forget or avoid it. IT IS IMPORTANT. A hand-written note is best, but if not possible, an email message is acceptable.

And the #1 thing you MUST do to compete in the tight job market …

1. Get professional resume assistance! Your resume has to sell you. If you know next to nothing about what makes a good resume, get some advice — from a certified resume writer, not Aunt Alice who has been a secretary for years or your neighbor who used to work in Human Resources. You want to be sure that your resume will address the needs of the prospective employer and stand out from the competition.

Just like in business, we can’t depend on the “build it and they will come” philosophy. Sure, you know you’ve got the skill sets to handle the posted position, but how do you compare with the other candidates? Have you sold yourself on your resume? Have you made every effort to network into the company? Have you practiced, practiced, practiced your interview answers? Have you cleaned up your online presence (digital dirt)? Are you volunteering within your community (yes, that’s important too).

I’d be happy to review your resume and discuss your job search strategy if you want to give me a call. http://www.4greatresumes.com/

I read a sales article this morning by Dave Cooke, the “Sales Cooke,” http://www.salescooke.com/ the gist of which was that customers do not leave over price. It’s all about value.

This got me to thinking about the value of the job seeker. When a job seeker develops and presents a resume, is it all about him — his history, his credentials, his skills, his accomplishments? Or does it focus on the needs of the prospective employer? The only reason that employer will care about you as a job candidate is if you will help the company / organization be more successful.

Job seekers have to prove that — first, in the resume and then, in the interview. That’s the bottom line.

Writing the resume sounds easy at the outset. Isn’t all about the history of your career? No, it’s not. A resume is more of a sales pitch and you MUST talk to the jobs for which you are applying.

Oh my. Does that mean you might need more than one resume version for your job search. Yes. This will be some serious work. Each time you apply for a posted position, you will want to review the posting for key words and then be sure those words are prominent in your resume — not just listed but proven through action.

I still believe the jobs are out there for you, but it is hard work

“Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”—Mark Twain.

Last week, Grammar Girl* as much as gave permission to use the plural “they” as a generic singular personal pronoun. She said, “English doesn’t have a good singular pronoun to use when you don’t know the sex of the person you’re talking about.” That’s true, but a good writer will be able to work around the he/she issues and write a good sentence without using “they” (or “their” or “them”). She went on to say that “multiple credible style guides will back you up” [should you chose the plural pronoun route].

So what do you think? Is good writing important anymore? Should we just write as we speak? Should we bow to the Twitter generation? Is proper writing archaic?

I know I’m not the first to express concern for this “problem.” Yes, our language is continually evolving, but are we too often using that as a cop out? Or should we give it our best shot every day to use the appropriate words and use the proper punctuation?

Resumes come in to my office for review everyday with endless errors—periods inside quotation marks, capitalization for emphasis, and misused words. So the question is, do we care? Should we care? And if so, what are we going to do about it?

Jan Venolia in her book Write Right! says, “By making the reader’s job easier, you show respect. You show consideration. At the same time, you improve the odds of being understood and thus of communicating what you want to communicate.”

That’s why I write resumes. That’s why you want to hire a professional.

* Who is Grammar Girl? Mignon Fogarty provides quick and dirty tips for better writing. http://www.grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

Jason Alba, the LinkedIn guru (I’m on LinedIn– Now What???) has now written a sequel for job seekers. Order the CD at https://www.jibberjobber.com/pay.php?ceotraining=true 

Jason will be coming to Phoenix the 2nd week in February to speak at a number of job seekers club groups. Be there! Learn more about the value of the social media tool from the expert.

Did you know that Twitter is one of the 50 most-visited websites, the fastest-growing website and the 3rd most-used social network? If you are a jobseeker, you’ll be interested to know that 45% of hiring companies in all sectors are using Twitter. And if you use Twitter well, you will have an advantage in connecting with companies and recruiters — you can be a First Responder!

I’ve recently taken a 3-part course on Twitter (Jessica Pierce, Career Transition Expert, Founding Partner of JobSeekersAZ and Owner of Accelerated Team Dynamics) and now truly understand the value. With the use of some Twitter tools such as TweetDeck, Hootsuite or TweetMyJobs, you only need invest a few minutes per day to monitor the job announcements in your field.

You can’t avoid it any longer if  want to make things happen with your job search — Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook — they’re the places to be!

Target, target, target. Focus.

If you don’t know what you want to do with your career, you’re not ready to write your resume. A resume is NOT a history of your career. It is a sales pitch. You MUST tell your “customer” what h/she wants to hear. How will you solve the prospective employer’s problems? How will you ease his pain? In the private sector, you can’t help him make money in some way, whether directly or through support, you have little value.

Read each job announcement you apply to, pull out the key words and target your resume to that job. Yes, every resume may have to be tweaked a bit, but you’ll enjoy much more success.