Become A Career Advocate

Just a few years ago, we heard about an alarming number of active and passive job seekers. However, times are-a-changin’. Thanks to technology, Peter Weddle reports, active and passive job seekers have evolved to Career Activists or “always-on” Career Advocates, according to the 2013 CareerBuilder Candidate Behavior Study. More and more people are taking control of their career paths and becoming discerning career advocates. So, what does this mean for you as a “job seeker”?

Well, let’s start with putting a little more context on the “always-on” Career Advocate. Most people are not active or passive job seekers; instead, they are open to the possibilities of enhancing a career because they are their own advocates. They may not be actively searching, but they might consider it if a good opportunity presents itself.

SCARY STATS

Let’s put some context behind active and passive job seekers. Gallup reported that 51% of U.S. employees are not engaging at work⁴. That number goes up to 63%, globally⁵. That means most people are not involved in, enthusiastic about, or committed to, their work.

Career Builder found that 58% of employees planned to change their job in the next year. The reasons for changing jobs spanned employees’ dissatisfaction with advancement opportunities, lack of work-life balance, feeling underemployed, high stress, and poor opinion of their boss’s performance, among the few.

So if you’re looking for a change, or think you might consider a change, take on the role of being your own Career Advocate!

BE PREPARED AS A CAREER ADVOCATE – LET THEM FIND YOU

That said, as a Career Advocate, you can’t expect to be digitally hidden and have others chomping at the bit to hire you. As an always-on Career Advocate, you need more, or better, platforms for presenting your talent so prospective employers can find you.

Employers want top talent, excellent people in their field, and fit the organization concerning culture, values, strategy, and skill.

Being digitally available for consideration doesn’t mean posting on Facebook or LinkedIn that you’re looking for a job. Don’t get me wrong, social media sites such as LinkedIn and Google+ will provide background information and present some currently published material, which might get others more acquainted with you and your work. But, a Career Advocate seriously takes the reigns with delivering the goods. You want to stand out from the crowd, have more control over the information presented, and provide details upfront not easily provided in a resume or social media site.

EXPERIENCE & INSIGHTS

Here’s the great news! You can use Pointe Profile® as a platform for others to immediately get detailed information about your skills and determine if you’re a good fit. A good example of an Always-On Career Advocate is our CEO, Mel Brown. He is CEO of CXP, but he is the author and creator of From Zero to Sideman in 5 Steps (02S), a book defining and guiding the career musician. By trade, he is a sideman and has a skill that others look for. He is a Career Advocate in the sense that he doesn’t go out looking for work. He doesn’t have to. He puts information out on the interwebs demonstrating his work and the quality of his work, and people seek him out. If you get a chance to look at his website melbrown.net, take a look around, and you’ll see what we mean.

TOP TALENT IS HARD TO FIND BECAUSE TOP TALENT ISN’T LOOKING FOR WORK

Top talent is advocating for a career. Top talent creates the path for leading employers to seek out and find the necessary information to establish a connection. Top talent stands out amongst the rest.

So, how does Pointe Profile® fit into that grand scheme?

Easy. Pointe Profile® is a unique and ubiquitous online interviewing platform that also allows you to present a personalized profile.

We want you, as a job seeker, to look at yourself as a Career Advocate.

JOB SEEKER vs. CAREER ADVOCATE

As a job seeker, you look for employers and try to fit the presentation of your skills and work into the canned questions the organization is asking every candidate. Typical tools used are a resume, social media site, maybe a video on a popular social media site.

As a Career Advocate, YOU post the questions that are relevant to you. You let employers find you. As an Always-On Career Advocate, you use the tools that allow you to take control of your digital profile and present yourself in a way that highlights YOU.

NETWORKING IS ALWAYS ON

Even when a potential employer looks at you and decides the answer is “no,” they could still recommend you to others. You want to become the person who provides information that’s easy to look at, analyze, and can be vetted quickly. During that process, the quality of your work is very apparent because you present it in an effective way using a simple yet impressive tool with Pointe Profile®. If you have to create examples of your work, then do it! Be proud of what you’ve accomplished and willing to show others what you’ve done.

Young people and college students should become Career Advocates! If you’re using Pointe Profile®, you have a reliable platform to display your life experience and deliver a consistent message with your personal story and branding.

Excellent Note: Pointe Profile® gives you the ability to show employers what questions to ask you, based on the content provided in your profile, instead of you answering canned questions.

This may not be the strategy for everyone, but it should be one of the strategies you use that could speak to the right person. Either way, Pointe Profile® can help, and, in general, maintaining a strong and consistent message and consistently keeping your brand or curriculum vitae up-to-date has to happen!

A NOTE FOR EMPLOYERS TO REMEMBER

Top talent is hard to find most of the time because they aren’t looking for you. They are excellent in their field and likely already employed. But, they are not going to change their situation without knowing how the change will benefit their career and personal situation. The thing about top talent is that they are almost always employed because their network always recommends them.

Provide a great candidate experience, and be willing to review the information these top Career Advocates have created for you.

Career advocacy is a shift that is happening. Candidates can use the Pointe Profile® platform to stay on top of the Career Advocate game. In contrast, companies and hiring managers can use Connexion Pointe® ProNetwork™ to find out more about top talent than they would ever find reviewing a resume or even during a simple interview.

Become a Career Advocate now and start creating your Pointe Profile® today. If you’re not sure how or where to start, we have a free ebook to get you going in the right direction. Just sign up below, and we’ll send it to you. There’s also an inexpensive masterclass with step-by-step guides to get you going on the path to success fast!

In 2023 Control Your Career. Don't Let Your Career Control You!

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