Miriam Salpeter is the founder of Keppie Careers, a website that provides practical tips, useful advice, support, and empowerment to job seekers, entrepreneurs, and business owners regarding how to overcome obstacles preventing progress. Miriam is a career, social media and job search coach and author of “Social Networking for Career Success” (Learning Express, 2011) and “100 conversations for Career Success” (Learning Express, expected fall 2012). Miriam can transform your resume, teach you how to leverage social media, create or optimize an on-line profile and coach you to success with your career plans. She’s also known for her highly regarded blog and expert source for CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, and other media outlets as well as a CNN top 10 tweeter you should be following.
In addition to coaching job seekers and small business owners, Miriam is an in-demand writer and speaker regarding job search and social media, and she transforms resumes and creates online social media profiles for clients.
What makes Keppie Careers unique is that my advice comes from someone who has a very extensive background in social media and from someone who is actually using the different social media tools out there and getting hands-on experience with them and not only do I use these tools to propel my business but also I engage with my audience and share advice with my colleagues and community, which is key when building a business of any sort.
Getting Started with Keppie Careers
When I first got out of college, I worked as a VP for a Wall Street firm for a couple years but I always knew I wanted to work at a college or university in a student’s services kind of capacity. So, I worked at Wall Street for couple of years but then I left to earn my Masters in Student Personnel Administration/Career advising from Columbia University in New York focusing on career development which it was an awesome opportunity for me to blend what I like to do, which is write, edit, coach, and assist people, with my master studies. When I went back to school I choose career services because I knew I could work for a college, agency, or work for myself doing what I love to do.
I worked at Emory University as Director/Career coach at the Rollins School of Public Health where I advised students and alumni regarding career and job search, critiqued resumes, conducted mock interviews, and presented an array of career strategy workshops. After 5 years of doing this, I decided that it was a good time for me to be on my own and soon thereafter, I started learning how to blog because my former boss had suggested it and got bit by the social media bug and this is how Keppie Careers got started. I definitely have to thank John Youngblood, who was my boss at Emory University, for helping me launch my career on the social media path by suggesting me to start a blog, that’s where all started. I had all this knowledge and experience that I had accumulated over the years regarding career and job search, plus my former boss suggesting I started my own blog that I decided to take all this knowledge and experience and put it online through blogging and using the different social media tools.
Do you think the education you’ve invested in helped you on the road to success?
I’m a big fan of higher education and in my case having a Masters degree was absolutely important because I could have never gotten a job at Emory University without a Masters degree and having the degree and what I learned in the program certainly helped me on how to advise people and gave me a real solid foundation that makes me confident to know that I’m helping people in the best way possible. But again is relative to your particular field, in my case, I could have not gotten a job at a University without a Masters, but for some other people, I can understand being skeptical about going to school without knowing if there’s going to be a job for them by the time they’re done with the program and having invested all that time and money. Some of my clients have a vast experience in their field but because they do not have a higher education degree, they kind of like hit a glass ceiling and cannot move forward with their careers. Most companies out there still use higher education degree as a measuring stick and if you don’t have one, they just won’t hire you. In the end, it’s an individual decision and something to think very careful about depending on your personal goals.
As a young professional, what were some of the mistakes that you made and what did you learn?
One of the mistakes I made when starting Keppie Careers was to say yes to everyone who needed my help and over-provide my services. I’m a person who likes to help others but there’s only 24 hours in a day that it’s essential to come up with a plan with specific goals and targets for your day and only focus on those things because it’s going to be more productive than someone who goes about the day and deals with things as they come.
Biggest job seeker mistakes:
Using the same resume to apply for every job and not personalizing it for employers’ needs. You need to spoon feed your resume to the employer. If you aren’t customizing it, you’re doing the equivalent of feeding a toothless infant a whole apple — she’ll likely use it to play a game of “drop and get.” Ideally, you’ll offer applesauce to a baby, and a resume detailing what you can do to solve the employer’s problems.
Applying for the wrong jobs. It’s tempting to apply for “just any job.” After all, YOU know you can do anything, right? It’s possible you can, but writing to an employer with a broad statement offering to be interviewed for “any” job is a recipe for disaster. The employer doesn’t know what to do with you and thinks you are desperate. In other words, you don’t hear back.
Ignoring social media resources or assuming they won’t make a difference. How many job seekers have been looking for work for over a year, but have never even tried using LinkedIn, Twitter or even Facebook to see how social media may help get them out of their job hunting rut? Too many, in my opinion. Using social media well is a big step in the right direction.
On best use of Social Media
Choose the best networks for you – the ones that highlight and show off your skills. For example, if you love to write (and you’re a good writer), a blog might be great for you. If you’re a better talker, consider creating an online radio program. I outline many different social networks in my book, Social Networking for Career Success.
Completely fill out your profiles using key words – the words people will use to find someone who does your type of work. It’s important to do this well so it’s easier for people who may want to hire someone with your skills to find you.
Find people online in your field of work. Use the various search tools in the different networks to identify potential contacts. For example, in LinkedIn, use “advanced search” to locate contacts and join groups pertaining to your interests. Use Listorious.com and WeFollow.com to find people with common interests using Twitter. See what they are saying online, respond, add to the conversation. Try to become known as a person who is “in the know,” is friendly and giving. Do not ask for job leads until you establish a relationship. You may be surprised by how generous your new online contacts are!
What is one accomplishment that you are extremely proud of?
Earning the respect of my colleagues; people who when I started Keppie Careers I looked to them as advisors and guides and learned a lot from them and I’ve been very gratified to be able to become part of their community. For example, Anita Bruzzese, who is a Syndicated columnist for USA today it’s someone that I’ve always admired and looked up to. When I first started blogging, I would spend hours reading and commenting on her blog just leaving thoughtful ideas and touching base with her. When I finished my book, Social Networking for Career Succes, I asked her if she would write the foreword for the book and she was really generous in doing that and saying some lovely things about me and that really made me free proud of all the hard work I had put throughout the years.
Another accomplishment I’m proud of is publishing my book, Social Networking for Career Success and having another book on the way, which I co-authored with Laura Labovich, called 100 conversations for career success which will be out late summer 2012.
I really want to write more books. The first and second book, I really was not planning on it but the opportunity presented itself at the time and I decided to take it. I really enjoy the whole book writing process, and after having two books out, I think I want to write more books and I’m convinced that being an author is something that I really want to continue doing; the feeling of having a book that you authored in your bookshelf is very rewarding.
What advice can you offer to your readers?
Do not be skeptical about the opportunities that engaging in social media can provide. I think there’s a lot of people who think that social media is just a waste of time but when you look at the statistics, companies are turning to social media to recruit candidates and candidate themselves are crediting social media for being able to find a job. I think one of the most frustrating things for job seekers is feeling that they have done everything they possibly can to get a job, only to be unsuccessful in their search, but if you are a job seeker who is not leveraging the use of social media I highly recommend to jump in and become engaged because that could lead you to your next job opportunity.
What do you do for fun & where do you get your Inspiration from?
Whenever I get this question I always end up asking myself, hmm, maybe I should be having more fun, LOL. When you have a business and lot of other responsibilities as a mother and wife, there’s not a lot of time for hobbies but I do enjoy going out to eat, watching selected TV programs, and going out and about with this nice Atlanta weather. Inspiration for what I do cannot really come from anywhere but my main focus to help other people regarding career and small business; whenever I feel stressed out because I have not written a blog post in a while or something, I go to a networking event, go out and about or hear something on the radio and all of a sudden I think about a career message that I can deliver to my audience. I think I need to manage a bit more the work-life balance because I spent a significant amount of time in my business and blogging. I think the main message I want to transmit is that in my case inspiration can really come from anywhere; you might be sitting in front of the computer the whole day and come up with an idea, or going out and about, meeting someone, going to networking events, etc.
What is your favorite gadget(s), software(s), website(s) that makes your life easier and more productive?
Laptop, Twitter, Twittdeck, Hootsuite.
Who would you like to see featured here and why?
Hannah Morgan from careersherpa.net
Contact:
Twitter: @Keppie_Careers
LinkedIn: Miriam Salpeter
Website: www.keppiecareers.com
SEE ALSO:
The Entrepreneurial Wing-Woman: Dana Leavy – founder of Aspyre Solutions.
Interview with the Best-Selling author of The Zen of Social Marketing – Shama Kabani
[Post Tags: how to empower job seekers, keppie careers, tips for career success, tips for career growth]
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