TheLadders Blog

I recently attended the 2013 NAPW National Networking Conference. Approximately 1,500 successful business women from all over the country gathered in New York City for a day of learning, networking, and inspiration.

If you’ve read my articles on The Career Chronicles, or follow me on Twitter and Facebook, you’ve probably read about my involvement in the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) before. NAPW is an exclusive network for professional women to interact, exchange ideas, educate, and empower.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Ignite Your Network” – and it did not disappoint! The day began with an introduction from our host and NAPW National Spokesperson Star Jones. During her talk, Star spoke about what she calls the “Seven Steps to Success.” I liked them so much that I wanted to share them with all of you:

1. Investigate: What do you want to achieve? Do your research and figure out how to get there.

2. Initiate: How do you plan to change? Do you need to bring someone into your life to get there?

3. Insight: It’s time for some self-examination. If something’s failed in the past, ask yourself, ‘Why?’

4. Intuition: We all know that ‘uh-oh’ feeling that tells you not to do something. It comes in a flash – don’t disregard it.

5. Intention (my personal favorite): Focus your mind on the results you want to have. Your attention will send you in the direction that determines your destination.

6. Inspiration: What brings you joy? Is it working with children, meditation, or perhaps giving back to the community? Find out what you love to do and figure out how to incorporate it into your goals.

7. Innovation: It’s time to break out and do something you’ve never done before. Take a risk; think outside the box.

Star set the tone for the conference with these seven steps. The day continued with conversations from world-renowned keynote speakers, Adrianna Huffington and Martha Stewart, insightful panel discussions, and interactive workshops. The event not only inspired and motivated me, it gave me an opportunity to practice my networking skills.

I urge all of you to find a professional association (or two) that aligns with your career aspirations and start networking – you never know who you will meet, what you will learn, or how one simple meeting could change your career path!

Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert for TheLadders, the online job-matching service for career-driven professionals. She is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) who provides job search and career guidance for professionals looking to make their next career move. Have a question for Amanda? Submit your question here for a chance to have it answered in her weekly column, and be sure to follow @JobSearchAmanda on Twitter and “Like” her on Facebook for up-to-the-minute job-search advice.

Last week, we held our third annual Career Day at Richard R. Green High School of Teaching. Career Day is an afternoon when professionals from across the city come to the school to speak with our students in small classroom settings about their career paths and industries. The big idea, of course, is to expose our students to careers they may never have even heard of through a compelling personal connection, in hopes of inspiring them to pursue whatever it is that they really love and are excited about during and after college. What’s unique about this event is that every single one of our 550 students, regardless of academic standing or self-motivation, gets to participate.

Given that many of our students have had limited exposure to different careers and have faced challenges and stifled opportunities throughout their education, Career Day has the potential to be a truly transformational moment in their lives, opening them up to a future they simply could not have imagined before.

Career Day is my favorite project, and each year I try to come up with ways to make the event more meaningful and engaging for students. It has grown tremendously from 19 speakers in the first year to 48 speakers this year.

Additionally, we added a Career Fair, in which Amanda Augustine, job search expert for TheLadders, spoke with students about their individual passions and dream jobs. At the fair, students had the chance to speak with representatives from a variety of professions, including the military (Navy and Marines) and AmeriCorps (Vista, NCCC and CityYear), as well as non-profits that offer internships to high school students.

The speaker series featured professionals from non-profits (including Russell Simmons charities), magazine journalism (the editor and art director from US Weekly magazine), graphic design, product design, music entertainment, system design, cinematography, social media, law, nursing, fitness, software engineering, architecture, broadcasting (Terrence McKnight from NPR & WQXR), finance, healthcare management, and education. A week later, students are still talking about the speakers they met and spoke with at Career Day. In high school time, that’s an eternity!

To learn more about Career Day, or to volunteer next year, please visit the website at wix.com/rkessous/rrgcareerday.

Rachel Kessous has been a public school teacher in NYC for 9 years. In addition to being a teacher, Rachel is also the Director of the Liberal Arts Academy, where she coordinates career preparedness programming for students and mentoring programs focused around finding students passions and preparing for college.

After many weeks of careful planning, my colleagues and I were proud to launch our inaugural JobMobile event in New York City last night. This was the first in a series of nationwide events that brought together the talent acquisition community to discuss major innovations and strategies in mobile recruitment. It also served as a festive platform for us to honor the top 1% of recruiting professionals in New York, better known as TheLadders ELITE.

Our CEO and Co-founder, Alex Douzet, gave a keynote presentation on the ever-increasing demand for mobile solutions across a broad spectrum of sectors, including recruitment. It’s estimated that within the next twelve months, employers can expect 50% of their web traffic to come from mobile devices. This shift in our businesses creates many opportunities, but also comes with its challenges.

Employers cannot simply transform their companies’ web experience to an iPhone screen. Mobile requires an intuitive design and user experience that brings convenience to the job seeker with functions like “one-click apply.” With that in mind, Alex discussed TheLadders’ latest projects, including our mobile-responsive site redesign for job seekers; the introduction of our proprietary, competitive-analysis tool, TheLadders Scout; and our impending mobile app that will allow job seekers to find and apply to the right job on the go.

I had the honor of moderating a diverse panel discussion featuring industry thought-leaders Karen Miller, vice president of people for Seamless; Jack Kelly, managing director and co-founder of the Compliance Search Group; Karsten Vagner, director of people for ZocDoc; and Melissa Enbar, director of recruiting for Birchbox.

Our goal was to have an honest conversation about mobile recruitment and discuss what’s working for their organizations and what challenges remain. This group did not disappoint! Not only did they share their best practices and common gripes, but they also talked about the differences in their approaches. For instance, corporate recruiters look for synergies between their product and marketing teams to build a mobile recruitment strategy that fits their brand and shows off their corporate culture; whereas agency recruiters tend to utilize mobile and social in different ways to attract the right type of candidates to suit their clients’ needs.

What I learned from this lively conversation is that every professional interprets mobile recruitment differently to suit their business needs. From the utilization of social media, to developing mobile-optimized career sites and mobile apps, to incorporating Skype and texting into the interview process, organizations can find large and small ways to attract the right candidate pool.

After the panel discussion, TheLadders Director of Client Relations, Employer Marketing & Sales, Thomas Murphy, honored TheLadders ELITE and presented them with their awards and ELITE jackets (I have to admit I’m jealous – those jackets are great)!

The night ended with cocktails and conversations. As always, it was a pleasure to meet so many great people and get a chance to chat. I want to thank everyone who was able to attend and give a special shout-out to our wonderful panelists for their participation. If you’re a recruiting professional who lives in Chicago, San Francisco, or Atlanta, keep your eyes peeled – we’re coming to your town soon!

Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert for TheLadders, the online job-matching service for career-driven professionals. She is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) who provides job search and career guidance for professionals looking to make their next career move. Have a question for Amanda? Submit your question here for a chance to have it answered in her weekly column, and be sure to follow @JobSearchAmanda on Twitter and “Like” her on Facebook for up-to-the-minute job-search advice.

What a day!

I’m glad I had the opportunity to speak at Job Central, Presented by TheLadders. The event, which was held in Grand Central Terminal’s beautiful Vanderbilt Hall, brought together thousands of professionals to network and gain valuable advice from dozens of career experts in the Tri-State Area.

As many of you know, I normally provide job-search advice through my weekly column on The Career Chronicles, and on Twitter and Facebook. So, it’s always a great privilege when I get the chance meet professionals face-to-face and answer their questions.

While I presented on one side of Vanderbilt Hall, the other side was occupied by a phenomenal speaker series. Among the industry experts was our CEO & Co-founder Alex Douzet, who announced exciting updates to TheLadders’ suite of products. Not only is TheLadders now device-agnostic, meaning it can be viewed from a computer or any mobile device, job seekers on TheLadders will soon be able to size up their competition using “TheLadders Scout.” Available only to Premium members, TheLadders Scout will provide job seekers with competitive information about anonymous fellow candidates in five categories:

1. Years of experience
2. Education level
3. Areas of expertise
4. Current title
5. Current salary

With all the advances in technology, the recruiting process has become more mobile, competitive and cluttered. It’s TheLadders’ goal to give job seekers the tools they need to target their search and find their perfect match.

Thank you to everyone who made it to Job Central yesterday. For those of you who couldn’t make it, please visit www.theladders.com/jobcentral to see what you missed.

Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert for TheLadders, the online job-matching service for career-driven professionals. She is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) who provides job search and career guidance for professionals looking to make their next career move. Have a question for Amanda? Submit your question here for a chance to have it answered in her weekly column, and be sure to follow @JobSearchAmanda on Twitter and “Like” her on Facebook for up-to-the-minute job-search advice.

Awhile back I joined a group called the National Association of Professional Women, or NAPW for short. This national organization is an exclusive network dedicated to “connecting like-minded professional women to develop innovative business and social relationships.” If you’re looking for new networking opportunities, I recommend checking them out!

Last week, TheLadders allowed me to host our NAPW September meeting at our office in SoHo. One of our fellow NAPW members from out west, Robin Fisher Roffer, was in town and offered to give a presentation to our local NYC chapter.

Robin is the CEO of Big Fish Marketing and ranked among the Top Five Most Influential Brand Gurus in the World. In addition, she’s written a number of books on leadership and personal branding.

Let me start by saying that Robin is an AMAZING speaker. She went out of her way to speak with many of the members before the presentation began, and she captivated us with her stories for a solid 2 hours. Her presentation was based off of one of her books, “The Fearless Fish Out of Water: How to Succeed When You’re the Only One Like You.” In her book, Robin discusses seven steps to courageous leadership:

1. Go Fishing for the Real You
2. Use Your Differences as a Lure
3. Find a Few Fish Like You
4. Swim in Their Ocean Your Way
5. Put Yourself Out on the Line
6. Evolve by Casting a Wide Net
7. Reel in Your Unique Power

I’m not going to go into all these steps (you’ll have to attend one of her presentations or buy the book), but I want to communicate her main message. At the end of the day, it’s important for each and every one of us to stand strong in the face of uncertainty.

If you want to have a successful career that you love, you first need to take the time to truly understand who you are, and not who you’ve tried to become to fit in.

What do you stand for? What do you want to achieve?

As Robin puts it, when you “uncover your essence” and accept yourself for who you are, you will find great power in “your authentic self.” Your personal brand and mission statement will spring from your passion. Celebrate your differences, as they will help set you apart and steer you towards the right type of work for you.

I think everyone left that presentation with a renewed sense of purpose. If you’re looking for a change in your career, the first thing I suggest is taking inventory of your key skill sets and passions, and seeing where those two intersect. This will help you pursue a career that you’re not only great at, but passionate about!

Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert for TheLadders. She provides job search and career guidance for professionals looking to make their next career move. Have a question for Amanda? Submit your question here for a chance to have it answered in her weekly column, and be sure to follow @JobSearchAmanda on Twitter for up-to-the-minute job-search advice.

Mentoring job seekers is a common goal that StreetWise Partners and TheLadders have always had in common. On Tuesday, September 11^th, the two entities came together once again to present the ‘Train the Trainer’ session to approximately 75 mentors.

TheLadders Job Search Expert Amanda Augustine instructed the mentors on how to effectively coach their trainees. Throughout the night, the mentors learned how to overcome various obstacles including unemployment, employee gaps, and job-hopping.

Mentors broke into five different groups to execute role-playing scenarios moderated by talent specialists, career advisers, and resume writers from TheLadders in addition to seasoned mentors from StreetWise Partners, an organization that works with low-income individuals to help them overcome employment barriers and achieve economic self-sufficiency. The mentors were then charged with devising a plan that would help to build rapport, set short- and long-term goals, and manage expectations with their trainees.

For example, new mentors Jessica and Tanya were given the following scenario: Ramona, a recent college graduate, is extremely shy when it comes to networking and doesn’t feel confident enough to approach potential employers. The two mentors worked together to come up with a strategy to conquer these fears with the help of an experienced mentor, Kimberly Fernandez.

Kimberly instructed the group to present their shy mentees with small challenges, such as sending them to local organizations to retrieve business cards. “My trainee soon learned she could become more and more confident on a daily basis,” Kimberly said.

Following the interactive sessions, Amanda wrapped up the successful event and wished all the mentors good luck.  We look forward to participating in more events with StreetWise Partners and striving towards the ultimate goal of launching new careers!

Meena Rupani is a Resume Writer for TheLadders in New York City who loves to engage clients in effectively restructuring their resume to land them the perfect job. She also loves reading and spending quality time with her loving family.

Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Dr. Debra Condren, the radio host of “Ambition is Not a Dirty Word” on WebTalk Radio.

In addition to her show, Dr. Condren is a business psychologist who specializes in assessment-based executive coaching, talent and leadership development, and career advising. She is the also author of “Ambition is Not a Dirty Word: A Woman’s Guide to Earning Her Worth & Achieving Her Dreams,” and is the founder of Manhattan Business Coaching LLC. And you thought you were busy, huh?

Dr. Condren invited me on her show to discuss making a career transition – what you need to do to prepare for this type of job search, and what you can expect along the way. We had a really great conversation that covered the job-search gamut, from identifying goals, to formatting cover letters, to keeping upbeat when things aren’t going your way.

Below are three of the career-transition tips I shared with Dr. Condren and her listeners:

1. Do your research

• Identify industries that are strong or emerging, and are similar to your previous experience.
• Once you’ve chosen your target industry, use social networking, online resources, professional associations and network connections to learn as much as you can about the industry, its hiring practices, and any open opportunities.

2. Focus on job requirements, your qualifications and results

• Your cover letter and elevator pitch should focus on your ability to deliver results.
• When applying to jobs, focus on demonstrating how you meet all the primary job requirements for the role.
• If you’ve worked in multiple industries, leverage this point to demonstrate that you have been successful in a variety of industries in the past, and can be so again with this organization.

3. Show passion…and patience

• Determine why you find a particular industry or company appealing and show that passion in your elevator pitch and interviews.
• Remember that transitioning to a new role can be a long process, especially in this saturated job market. The greater the gap between your job goals and most recent experience, the more challenging this transition can be.
• It may be necessary to compromise on compensation and job title in your next job in order to get you on the right track towards your dream job.

Click here to listen to the full radio segment.

Click here for more tips on making a career transition.

I’m always honest, and it’s true that making a transition can be tricky in this current market. But don’t give up on your dreams! It may take you longer than you expected, but it can be done. Stay positive, continue looking forward, and keep working hard!

Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert for TheLadders. She provides job search and career guidance for professionals looking to make their next career move. Have a question for Amanda? Submit your question here for a chance to have it answered in her weekly column, and be sure to follow @JobSearchAmanda on Twitter for up-to-the-minute job-search advice.

This past Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending a Step Up Women’s Network Power Breakfast with Banana Republic’s Chief Marketing Officer and SVP Catherine Sadler.

For those of you unfamiliar with the group, Step Up Women’s Network is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to “igniting women and girls to fulfill their potential.” They provide after-school and weekend programs to help teenage girls from under-privileged communities become confident young women prepared for college. Their members gain access to social networking events, professional development panels and hands-on volunteer opportunities. If you live in Los Angeles, Chicago or New York, I highly recommend checking them out.

The event, which was held in Banana Republic’s Fifth Avenue location, was packed! Catherine discussed the journey she’s taken throughout her career, from her early days in publishing, to leading the marketing groups of renowned retail companies, including Ann Taylor and Coach. She also led her own creative and marketing agency, and worked with Donna Karan on her Urban Zen Foundation.

Catherine then answered a myriad of questions from the audience on all aspects of her career, from how she balances family and work, to what she looks for in candidates when hiring. Here are a few key takeaways:

On marketing: Catherine says that, as a marketer, it’s vital to a company’s success to integrate marketing efforts with other divisions of the organization. Additionally, if becoming CMO is your goal, take an active role in all marketing functions, from public relations and advertising, to branding and visual merchandising.

On hiring: In looking for prospective employees, Catherine is interested in the person who, in addition to having the required skills, possesses a genuine curiosity about the business and its direction. She looks for people who have the right level of engagement, interest and passion, who’ve researched the brand and industry, and come prepared with questions.

On career: When asked what three words she’d put on a t-shirt, Catherine gave these options: “Dreaming the Dream,” “Follow your Bliss,” and “Find your Passion.” However, she also warns that work shouldn’t define you completely, and you need to keep that in mind when trying to strike that perfect balance between work and life.

I think she’s spot-on. You spend a large portion of your life at work. Shouldn’t you be doing what you are great at and passionate about? I know that I have, and hope the same for all of you!

Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert at TheLadders. Always on the go at work and away, Amanda trains and competes in races and triathlons in her spare time.

For the past eight years, it has been my passion to educate professionals on the job search process. It may sound cliché, but I truly enjoy teaching people the “tricks of the trade” to land them the job they want.

I’ve done everything from one-on-one career coaching, to hosting networking mixers with job seekers and recruiters, to giving presentations and speaking on panels to groups of professionals looking to make a career change.

So, when CBS New York asked to me to provide job-seeking advice for the “lazy days of summer,” I was absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to share my insights with such a large audience!

During the interview I explained how to execute a successful job search in today’s market, and ways to differentiate yourself from the competition during the “lazy days of summer.”

For all of those in the New York area, tune in to CBS New York (channel 2) today at 5 p.m. to learn how you can gain a competitive edge. For everyone else, please visit The Career Chronicles on Monday to watch the segment online.

Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert at TheLadders. Always on the go at work and away, Amanda trains and competes in races and triathlons in her spare time.

I had the privilege of participating in an event called Straight from the Source: Employer Representatives Mentor Women, hosted by Women@Work in Westport, Connecticut, yesterday.

Women@Work, co-founded by Eliza Shanley, is a great organization that is “dedicated to Keeping Women at Work Through All of Life’s Ages and Stages.” They offer a wide range of services which help mid- to senior-level women professionals advance their careers and find jobs. Often times these women took time off to raise their families and are now faced with reentering the workforce in a tight job market.

Every month or so, Women@Work holds an event where they ask individuals from various corporations to meet with its members to discuss two major topics: where they see opportunity in the marketplace, and what key advice they’d give professionals looking to reenter the job market.

I was very excited to attend this event because I could offer a unique perspective – not only could I talk about how I see the job market in the internet space, but I could discuss what job trends TheLadders sees across multiple industries and functions, as well as provide some practical tips to make every person at the event a more effective job seeker.

Eliza opened the event by moderating a short panel discussion with me and representatives from home furnishings retailer Pottery Barn and financial services firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Although we all came from very different industries and company cultures, a few themes seemed universal:

A positive attitude goes a long way. When you’re going in for an interview or even an initial phone screen, you need to be in a good mood and show the interviewers that you want the job. No one wants to work with a Negative Nancy!

Research is key. Employers want to know you took the time to read their website, recent news articles about the organization, etc., and that you have a good understanding of how they work and what’s going on in their world. Prove in your cover letter and during the interview that you’ve done your homework. Whenever possible, find someone you know who works at the company and grab a cup of coffee with them to learn more about the organization and its culture.

It’s more than just skill set. When a hiring manager gets a job requisition approved, they want someone who can not only do the job, but also fit in with the company and team culture. Assume that a portion of every screening and interview is devoted to determining how well you will fit in with the company’s culture and the make-up of your specific team.

After the panel discussion, we broke out into smaller groups where the attendees could sit with each panelist and ask and every question they had about the job market and the search. A lot of this time was devoted to going over the dos and don’ts of resume writing and networking.

This was a really great event. The attendees were very enthusiastic and each speaker brought something different to the table.  Thanks again to Eliza Shanley and Women@Work for putting together such a polished event! I look forward to working with this group again.

Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert at TheLadders. Always on the go at work and away, Amanda trains and competes in races and triathlons in her spare time.