At times, job seeking can feel like an undercover spy movie. After all, if your boss were to find out you’re looking for a new job, your current job could come to an end.

Although it may seem silly at times, the importance of using discretion in your search can truly not be overstated. Here are a few tips on keeping your search under wraps.

1. Don’t tell your coworkers – At work, we often befriend our coworkers. In some cases, they were our friends before we started working at our company. We have built trust in them and so we feel like we can share the burning thing on our minds – we’re looking for a job. But, beware! Your friend is still your coworker. They may feel the obligation to protect their own job by telling the company you’re looking. Or, they may have a tough time keeping secrets. Either way, if your news gets out too soon, you could be without a job.
2. Don’t tip them off with LinkedIn – This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be updating your LinkedIn profile. In fact, you should – all the time. The fact that a few things have changed here and there shouldn’t be unusual. But, if you are doing a mass update, ensure that your notifications are turned off. Have you ever received an e-mail from LinkedIn that a friend has received a promotion, or has a new title? These notifications go out automatically when you update your profile if you don’t specify in your preferences that you don’t want them to be sent. While you’re looking for a job, take the time to turn off these notifications.
3. Be discrete when you tell friends you’re looking – Often at dinner parties or networking events, we update our friends on our careers. These social gatherings can often be a good time to let those around you know you’re looking. But, if you do disclose your status, do it quietly and carefully. The last thing you want is to become the center of gossip that finds its way back to your office.
4. Don’t post your grievances on social media – Let’s face it. If things were perfect at work, you probably wouldn’t be looking. Even if your Facebook wall is private and even if you aren’t friends with coworkers there, do not post negative things about your boss, coworkers, or workplace. And, keep any interviews to yourself. The world is small. You’d be surprised at how quickly things can get back.
5. Don’t suddenly begin dressing formally at work – One of the biggest visual clues that you’re looking is how you’re dressing. If you typically wear jeans and a polo shirt to work and you’ve started wearing suits every day, people are going to wonder what’s up. If you have an interview during the workday, consider packing your suit in your car. Worst case scenario, you can change in a public restroom after you leave work, on your way to the interview.
6. Be consistent – Even though you may be tired of your job and sure you’re going to land another one soon, keep delivering the same quality of work you always have. Show up at the same time. Leave at the same time. Produce good quality work. First, this will keep people from suspecting you’re looking. Second, it’s important to maintain your integrity as you wrap up one job for the next.

Last, but not least, be prepared to let it roll off your back if someone suspects you’re looking for a job and brings it up to you. When I worked in corporate, I would often wear a suit to work. About five years ago, I was walking through the hallway at work when a C-level executive stopped me. “Wow! You look great! Do you have an interview today?!” I quickly (and casually replied), “Every day’s an interview!” The executive was so impressed with my response that he completely forgot his original question. Truth be told, I DID have an interview that day! But, I was able to dodge being discovered because I had been wearing suits to work frequently and I didn’t react when asked about it.

Being a stealthy interviewer is both helpful to your job search – and to preserving your current job. Just because you’re interviewing, there’s no guarantee you’ll get (or want) an offer from a particular organization. Keep things quiet to protect your current position and future opportunities.

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland

@CopelandCoach

One of my biggest pet peeves is bad voicemail messages. I’m not when my distaste for voicemails started, but it has really ramped up in the past few years.

Maybe it’s because we’ve started using e-mail and text messaging so much. Our standards for leaving a voicemail may have been forgotten.

But, your ability to leave a great voicemail will still impact whether or not you’ll get a callback. Leave a bad message and the receiver will delete it. This could impact your job search, you current role, and even personal relationships.

Here are a few tips for leaving an awesome voicemail message:

1. Be brief – The worst kind of voicemail you can leave is one that’s too long. Practice leaving short, concise messages that get to the point quickly. I prefer to keep mine at twenty seconds or less. If you’re leaving two-minute messages, there’s a good they aren’t being listened to all the way through.
2. Leave your full name – So often, I hear voicemails similar to, “Hey! This is Jack. Give me a call back.” There are many common first names. Leave both your first and your last name, so the receiver can identify you. Even if your name is unique, the person you’re calling may need to look you up to remember who you are or how you’re connected. Unless you’re calling your grandma, don’t assume the other person will know who you are by just your first name.
3. Leave your phone number – This one is becoming a bigger issue every day. Have you ever forwarded your desk phone to your cell phone? Have you ever used a Google Voice line? In both of these scenarios, there’s a chance the receiver’s caller ID won’t pick up your phone number. I know it may sound crazy, but it’s true. In fact, I run into this issue with my own business line. Because of my setup, if a client calls me, I won’t see their phone number. I won’t get into the setup details of why I’m doing it this way, but suffice it to say, I get lots of voicemails with no phone number in them. When you don’t leave your phone number, you’re forcing the receiver to do research to figure out how to get back in touch with you. It greatly reduces the likelihood that they’ll call you back.
4. Explain why you’re calling (briefly) – Help out the person you’re calling. Let them know why you’re calling, and be straight forward. This morning, I received a general message to the effect of, “Angela, this is Jill. We spoke last year and I’m calling to reconnect.” I searched everywhere for Jill and couldn’t find her in my records or online. I was honestly hesitant to call her back at all. When I did, she wanted to sell me something. It was completely disappointing that Jill didn’t leave her reason for calling in the first place.
5. Look for patterns – Let’s be honest. With the changes in technology over the past twenty years, different people communicate differently. Certain age ranges seem more likely to want to text over calling, for example. Also, different kinds of jobs make someone more or less able to take calls in the middle of the day. If you notice that a person responds better to e-mails, you may want to skip the phone and go straight for e-mail. And, if you really need to get in touch with them, consider setting up a time to talk via e-mail. For me, this kind of communication is especially effective. Given that I’m in client meetings all day, it’s rare that I’m able to pick up the phone when it rings. I know this is also true for many other people.

Those are my five tips for more effective voicemail messages. Give these a try and your colleagues will thank you. And even better, they’ll call you back!

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland

@CopelandCoach

In our relationships, especially the personal ones, we often ignore the signs. We hope things will get better and they usually do. When it comes to love, it can at times be better to let things slide at first in hopes that they’ll work out.

But, when it comes to work, this philosophy can leave you blind-sided and without a job. I once had a friend whose entire department had been eliminated. They were the only survivor, and their office had been moved into a storage area. Fortunately, they got out just in time, but if any additional months had gone by, I’m not sure what might have happened.

Waiting until you lose your job to find another takes away your power. It leaves you helpless and desperate for anything. You’re not able to effectively negotiate and it’s unlikely your salary will grow at your new job.

Here are a few of the signs to watch for:

• Your position has been what’s called “layered.” Suddenly, there’s another layer of management between you and your boss, and you’re reporting to someone else; someone lower in position.
• You’ve been demoted. You’ve been moved into another role that’s more junior, or have been given a less significant title in your same role.
• Responsibilities are slowly being taken away from you.
• You’ve received a pay cut.
• You haven’t been given a bonus you were expecting.
• You didn’t get a raise when everyone else on your team did.
• You’re not being invited to meetings anymore.
• Your boss is beginning to send e-mails documenting all sorts of complaints about your work that you’ve never heard before.
• After years of great performance reviews, you’ve suddenly started receiving negative reviews.
• Your boss has left the company and your new boss doesn’t seem to be as “into you” or your work.
• Your department is losing money, people, and power within the organization.

What should you do when you see these signs? They’re good to take note of for your own sake. When you begin to notice the writing on the wall, it’s time to take a proactive stance. Brush off your resume, begin networking, and look around you for new opportunities outside of your current organization.

Whatever you do, don’t wait on your company to decide what they think about you. Decide what you think about your situation, and act! It will save you significant heartache in the long run. And, chances are good that if you act fast enough, you’ll end up on top, possibly making more money in a better job!

For more tips on what to do when you find yourself suddenly without a job, be sure to download tomorrow’s Copeland Coaching Podcast. I will interview Jim Simpson, an employment attorney from Allen Summers law firm. Jim has many great suggestions on what to do, and how to completely avoid a potentially negative workplace situation.

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland

@CopelandCoach

As you know, one of my favorite topics is negotiation. I love helping my clients to make more money at work.

A number of factors influence how much you’ll be paid at your next job, including:

• Your years of experience
• Your education
• Your career field
• Your location
• Your negotiation skills
• Whether or not you manage others

Often though, a manager in one department makes a very different salary than a manager at the same level in another department. This is despite having similar experience and education.

Why is that?

If you’ve found yourself in this situation, one thing to consider is how close you are to the money. In other words, how critical is your role to generating revenue for the company?

That’s right. How close are you to the customer? How close are you to sales?

Even if your role is a very important one, upper management often prioritizes positions based on their impact to the bottom line.

For example, in the digital marketing world, there are many roles. Some people manage social media sites, like Facebook. Others keep the company website up and running. And, some focus on customer lead generation. If you were to compare the salaries of these positions, on average, you would find that those marketers who focus on generating leads and sales are more highly compensated than those managing social media.

Again, all these roles are important. But, if you think of it from a company perspective, what’s the most important thing to the company? Getting new customers and generating more revenue.

Have you ever wondered why the sales force drives new cars and is rewarded with company trips? It’s surprising, but in some organizations, a top performing salesperson is even able to bring in more income than their manager!

So, if you find yourself in a situation where you want to make more money, reflect back on the entire list of factors above. If you feel you’ve covered everything else, such as education and experience, consider your impact to the bottom line. Is there another role you might consider that has a more direct impact to the health of the company?

Focusing on “the business” will often get your further and help to put more money in your pocket.

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland

@CopelandCoach

Chances are, you’ve heard the term “personal brand” at least a few times since you started looking for a job. But the question is, what exactly is a personal brand – and why does it even matter?

In theory, employers should only care about whether or not you can do a job. They should look at your education and work history.

The entire process should be straight forward, right? Although the logic seems to make sense, you’d be wrong if you expect the process to work this way.

In reality, there are many people who can do the same job. Just ask a friend who’s a hiring manager. How many applications did they receive for the last position they posted? A local non-profit recently shared with me that within two days of posting one job, they received more than 200 resumes. The staff became so overwhelmed with the volume of applications that they cutoff the deadline early. And, of the volume of candidates who applied, more than just one or two could have done the job.

This level of competition forces you to up your game. You need to stand out from the crowd. And how do you do that? By refining your personal brand.

Your personal brand is made up of all the things that reflect upon you during the interview process. The list of components includes:

• What you wear
• Your elevator pitch
• Your resume
• Your cover letter
• Your online presence, including LinkedIn

It can even include simple details like how you shake hands, how you speak, or whether or not you make eye contact.

As you can see, many of these things may be disconnected from whether or not you can “do the job,” but they give an employer an overall impression of you.

Before you begin your search, spend some time refining these pieces and you’ll find your job search success will increase.

If you’re located in the Memphis area and you’d like to learn more, you’re invited to attend a “Building Your Personal Brand” workshop I will be presenting at Christian Brothers University in Buckman Hall’s Spain Auditorium next week. It will help you to prepare for the upcoming Multicultural Career Expo. It’s free and open to the public. It will be held on Tuesday, February 24th at 6 PM. I hope to see you there! To learn more, visit www.CareerExpoMemphis.com.

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland

@CopelandCoach