networking – Resolution Technologies

How To Craft Your Elevator Pitch

November 13, 2015/in Career Guide/by Resolution Technologies

Looking for a way to sell yourself and your career experiences? An elevator pitch is the perfect way to showcase your talents to a potential employer. Your pitch isn’t limited to an elevator though; you never know where you may meet a future boss or coworker, even in the most casual of settings. That could be at a conference, on vacation, or in a coffee shop.

When someone asks you what you do, simply answering the question with “I’m a Salesforce Developer” likely won’t lead the conversation anywhere. You should instead use your elevator pitch to guide the conversation, quite possibly leading to new career opportunity.

The elevator pitch consists of three parts:

The Benefit. What’s the reason someone should buy what you’re selling?
The Differentiator. What makes YOU special from everyone else?
The Ask. Is there an opportunity to learn more about this person or this company?

1. The Benefit

This includes the impact of what your product (yourself) can have on this person’s business.

“I was able to decrease inventory error at our company by 40 percent through a new initiative.”
“Through improvements to our information management system, I was able to increase efficiency and cut costs of $1.4 million.”

2. The Differentiator

This is what makes you different from everyone else. If there’s no differentiator, you’re selling anyone who has your position, not yourself. There’s no particular reason to invest in YOU.

“I have over 15 years of expertise in this field.”
“I’m constantly looking for new certifications and courses that will help me perform my job better.”

3. The Ask

Elevator pitches are short, so this isn’t meant to be an interview. Next steps would be setting up a meeting to find out more about this person or the company they work for. Again, this usually happens in a more casual setting as a social conversation, so don’t feel like you need to go for a hard sell strategy.

“I’d love to learn more about what you do. What’s your availability next week?”
“I really appreciate the conversation we’ve had. What’s the best way to get on your calendar?”

With practice, your elevator pitch can take you great places. Remember, keep it straightforward and simple. There’s no need to over-complicate the situation. Use this as a way to network with like-minded professionals and potential employers if you’re looking for growth in your career.

Once you’re ready to explore new career opportunities, check out our blog post “5 Tips for Beginning Your Job Search” to learn how to get started.

Click here to view our IT and business job board.

Here at Resolution Technologies, we understand that serving our clients and consultants is what matters most and promise to never lose sight of that! We take the time to understand your individual needs through face-to-face interaction and strive to always make sure your objectives are met. Resolution Technologies is a full-service Information Technology Staffing firm offering flexible solutions for our clients ranging from contract, contract-to-perm, and direct perm placements. Whatever your needs are, we promise to provide unrivaled quality and service.

Should I Be Tweeting Professionally?

July 14, 2015/in Career Guide/by Resolution Technologies

If you’re looking to gain a competitive edge in your job search and want to stay up-to-date with industry trends, the answer is yes. With 302 million monthly active users and 500 million tweets sent daily, Twitter is one of the strongest and well-known social media platforms out there.

You’ve probably noticed your favorite celebrities and brands are on Twitter posting engaging and entertaining content, because it’s a place to showcase things you’re passionate about. It’s also a great way to showcase knowledge. By creating a professional Twitter account, you can read and post about industry news, trends, and developments.

Interested in learning how to grow your professional network with Twitter? Read more below.

It’s important to identify yourself appropriately.

When choosing what you want your profile to look like, think of it as a resume. What do you want people to know right off the bat? Choose a Twitter handle that will make it easy to search and recognize who you are. That can be your name or the title of your blog if you have one. Include a professional photo, a link to your website, and a short description of who you are and your experience/interests.

Here’s a great example of what your Twitter profile should look like.

Tweet about professional topics and interests.

Now that you’ve created your Twitter profile, you can start posting updates. You can create original content or share/retweet from other sources, but make sure to keep it professional, engaging, and entertaining. It’s ok to have a personal twist — it shows that there’s an actual person behind your tweets. Just make sure you only post professional content.

Follow relevant users.

You’ve created a Twitter and posted content, but now it’s time to build your network and find accounts that interest you. Depending on your goal, that can be colleagues, industry leaders, your favorite brands, or companies you would be interested in working for. Using the search feature at the top of the page, it’s easy to find an account you love. If the person or brand you follow likes your content, they might even follow you back.

You can also tweet at the account with a simple greeting to introduce yourself.

Keep up with trending topics and #hashtags.

A hashtag is the # symbol followed by a word or two that relate to a topic or event. Formerly known as the pound sign, hashtags allow Twitter users to search for specific content. You can search #socialmedia, #Twitter and #jobs, and you can find tweets that relate to these topics. If you’re at a networking or professional event, they’ll often have hashtags relating to the event. You can live-tweet the event using the hashtag; you may get retweeted by the organizer of the event, leading to more retweets and new followers.

Stay organized.

It’s important to tweet consistently, but not constantly. You don’t want to tweet 25 times a day, but enough to show that you are staying up-to-date and generating thoughtful content. Applications like TweetDeck and Hootsuite help you schedule content in advance and create feeds that allow you to see and respond to tweets in a user-friendly way. Because 80% of Twitter users are active on mobile devices, it’s easy to keep track of all your information on-the-go.

You’re ready to tweet.

This will give you some guidance to get started, but don’t forget a few simple rules. Give your content some personality. Post things that are interesting, but don’t be afraid to add a personal spin. Also, make sure to NEVER post anything you wouldn’t want your managers or coworkers to see. You may think you can delete something once you’ve posted it, but it’s actually out there forever. Now, get ready. Get set. Tweet.

Want to learn more about using social media professionally? View our blog post, How To: Use Social Media In Your Job Search to understand how you can use other social media platforms to get a step ahead.

Here at Resolution Technologies, we understand that serving our clients and consultants is what matters most and promise to never lose sight of that! We take the time to understand your individual needs through face-to-face interaction and strive to always make sure your objectives are met. Resolution Technologies is a full-service Information Technology Staffing firm offering flexible solutions for our clients ranging from contract, contract-to-perm, and direct perm placements. Whatever your needs are, we promise to provide unrivaled quality and service.

How To: Create the Most Effective LinkedIn Profile

June 5, 2015/in Career Guide/by Resolution Technologies

In the age of the Internet, social media is becoming a vital tool for finding your next job and networking with employers. The most powerful business networking tool out there right now is LinkedIn. With over 350 million users from 200+ countries, the networking possibilities are endless. In this blog post, you’ll learn why LinkedIn is important and how you can create the best profile to grow your personal brand.

Your personal brand is how you distinguish yourself against other candidates and relay to a potential employer why you’re the best for the job. Because your name is searchable on the Internet, your personal brand also reflects the information that’s available on search engines like Google and your social media profiles. In order to use this to your advantage, it’s important to build a LinkedIn profile that accurately reflects your personal brand.

LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to connect with other industry professionals, share content, join discussions, and create and build valuable business relationships. If you’re serious about building your personal brand and using social media to do so, LinkedIn must be a part of your social media mix. Let’s discuss some tips for creating the best LinkedIn profile to get you noticed by potential employers.

Key Elements of a Great LinkedIn Profile

Professional headline— Below your name, there’s room for you to create a tagline for yourself that will show up not only on your profile, but also on LinkedIn Search. You’ll want to include keywords that will make sure recruiters can find your profile when they search for professionals in your area. Here are some examples:
- Software Developer at ABC Company
- Sr. Network Engineer at Technology Corp.
Photo— Upload a professional headshot to make your profile stand out. Recruiters are more likely to view your profile if you have a photo. Make sure to use a photo that is business appropriate.
Background— Choose a creative background that reflects your personal brand. If you’re familiar with a Facebook cover photo, the LinkedIn background is very similar.
Contact info— Once people connect with you and are interested in your profile, they’ll need a way to contact you if they think you’d be a great candidate for their available position. There is a LinkedIn direct message feature, but there’s room on your profile to add your email, phone number, address, website, etc. Provide whatever information you’re most comfortable with sharing.
Showcase your work (adding media)— LinkedIn allows you to add elements of your portfolio for your connections to see. This is a great way to display documents, photos, presentations, or videos that you’ve created. By showing examples of your work, potential employers or recruiters can get a better understanding of the work you’ve done. You can even add your resume to your profile.
Recommendations— Have a previous manager or co-worker that knows a lot about your skill set and how great of an employee you are? LinkedIn allows you to request written testimonials that show up under the respective company or position. This has the potential to be one of the most powerful aspects of your profile.
Skill and endorsements— Adding skills to your profile showcases your strengths. It also creates keywords that recruiters and employers will find when they search your profile. Your connections can even “endorse” you for your skills. Here’s an example of the skills section:

The number and photos correspond to your connections who have endorsed you for a certain skill.

Staying Active on LinkedIn

The name speaks for itself — if you’re going to create a LinkedIn profile, it’s important to be active and stay engaged. One of the best ways to build relationships and grow your network is by using the website’s “people you may know” section to find former classmates, coworkers, or others in your industry. You can also run an advanced people search and find alumni as search tools to add connections.

Joining groups is another way to stay active in your network. There are millions of groups for LinkedIn users varying from IT Professionals, Young Professionals, and Your Local Alumni Chapter. Groups exist to share content and ideas, as well as bring people together. You can even build your own group if you can’t find one you like. Within a group, you can participate in discussions about hot topics, ask questions, and even share your own content, like blog posts or your favorite articles. Which brings us to our next point…

Generating Original Content

LinkedIn used to be a platform to strictly make connections and search for jobs. It has now become more social and allows for users to share their own content. You can publish your own blog posts and become a thought leader in your industry. If you had something to share, you can share it on your own feed to your connections, as well as to groups you are a member of. This is a great way to showcase your expertise and show that you’re keeping up with the latest trends. You never know, someone could read your blog post and contact you about an available position. Just be sure to keep your content appropriate and professional. Publishing original content can lead to a stronger personal brand.

So, what’s the biggest takeaway?

We’ve shared a lot of information with you about creating a LinkedIn profile to build your personal brand. This will get you started, help you find connections, and allow you to gain valuable exposure in your network. However, the most important thing you can do to get noticed by recruiters and employers is STAY ACTIVE. Don’t let your profile just sit there and take up space in the LinkedIn world. Create a profile and then fill it with as much information as you can about yourself and your professional experience. Your LinkedIn profile serves as a visual resume, so use this to your advantage. You might just find your next career challenge if your profile is strong enough and used to its greatest potential.

Want to learn more about using social media in your job search? Check out our recent blog post to learn how!

Here at Resolution Technologies, we understand that serving our clients and consultants is what matters most and promise to never lose sight of that! We take the time to understand your individual needs through face-to-face interaction and strive to always make sure your objectives are met. Resolution Technologies is a full-service Information Technology Staffing firm offering flexible solutions for our clients ranging from contract, contract-to-perm, and direct perm placements. Whatever your needs are, we promise to provide unrivaled quality and service.

How To: Use Social Media In Your Job Search

June 2, 2015/in Career Guide/by Resolution Technologies

Just a few years ago, finding a job was as easy as looking at a job board, submitting a resume, and waiting for a recruiter to pick up the phone and give you a ring. These days, that’s unfortunately not the case. It seems like everyone is on social media, from your co-workers to your great-aunt. While some may think it’s smart to avoid social media when looking for a new job, it’s becoming an important tool that connects job seekers with potential employers.

Not only can you use social media to learn more about a company’s culture, you can also use your social media presence to become more connected with your industry. In this post, we’ll outline the importance of social media in your job search, as well as the “do’s and don’t’s” of using social media to land your next job.

Why Use Social Media?

Employers are starting to recruit potential employees through social media platforms as a strategic tool over conventional job boards. By using the connections you have, you can utilize the networking aspect of social media to find jobs at specific companies or in geographic areas that most interest you.

Being online not only connects you with vast amounts of information, it can also open you up to a wide network of professionals. Networking is crucial to your job search — it’s all about who you know. By making connections, you’ll be able to showcase your expertise and skills to those in your network that can connect you to opportunities that may not otherwise be posted online.

Now, let’s talk about what’s right and what’s wrong when it comes to using social media to take the next step in your career.

Social Media DOs

DO set up a LinkedIn account if you haven’t already. LinkedIn is THE go-to social media platform for professionals. This website serves as a visual resume where you can upload your portfolio of past work and current projects, and it also allows you to connect to other professionals and see their profiles and experience. LinkedIn even suggests jobs that they think you’d be interested in. We’ll go into more detail about creating a LinkedIn profile in a later post, but the key is making sure your profile is complete. If you have an empty profile, you’re not using your profile to its full potential.
DO showcase your expertise in your industry. Join groups on sites liked LinkedIn for professionals that also work in your industry. Social media is all about interacting, so join group discussions about the latest trends and get engaged.
DO follow companies in your industry or others that you’re interested in. By following a company on social media and knowing what’s going on within the company, you’ll be able to speak to your knowledge of the company during an interview. This shows that you’re serious about working for them. Don’t be scared to tweet at them either — they just might respond!
DO share articles relevant to your industry on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. This shows potential employers and others in your industry that you’re engaged with the latest trends and will keep you up-to-date with what’s happening.

Social Media DON’Ts

DON’T post anything you wouldn’t want an employer to see. Everything you put online stays on the Internet forever, so be careful about what you post. Employers often hire third-party companies to perform a search of a candidate’s social media presence. Don’t post anything that could come back and haunt you later, especially photos of alcohol and wild parties.
DON’T create an account and let it sit there. Social networking involves interaction and attention. If you take the time to create a profile, make sure you devote some time to commit to being active and staying engaged. There are many powerful tools behind social media that will be wasted if you don’t take advantage them.
DON’T use a photo on your LinkedIn profile of you at the bar with your friends. If you’re going to use professional social networking, keep it professional. Again, what employers can see online speaks of your character and impacts your personal brand. Put on a button-up shirt or a dressy blouse for your photo that shows you clean up well.
DON’T talk badly about companies or other people on social media. Everyone’s watching what you say. Make sure to keep the content clean. If someone sees you bashing others online, that could reflect the kind of employee you could be in the workplace. It’s important to keep the content you post neutral, so be careful when posting about touchy subjects like religion or politics.

Social media can be a powerful tool when conducting your job search if used in the right way. If you take the time to set up a profile, build a network, and engage in conversations, you could find yourself presented with a job opportunity that you never thought you’d have.

Here at Resolution Technologies, we understand that serving our clients and consultants is what matters most and promise to never lose sight of that! We take the time to understand your individual needs through face-to-face interaction and strive to always make sure your objectives are met. Resolution Technologies is a full-service Information Technology Staffing firm offering flexible solutions for our clients ranging from contract, contract-to-perm, and direct perm placements. Whatever your needs are, we promise to provide unrivaled quality and service.

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