Lessons on using LinkedIn

If you missed Kay Luo's tutorial on how to best use LinkedIn to find your next job, no worries. I was there and took notes for you.

Kay, who's director of communications at the company, previously offered those affected by the newsroom cutbacks a free account upgrade.

Based on what I saw in today's one-hour demo, I think it's definitely worth opening an account if you haven't already done so and spending some time on the site playing with the different features and search functions.

Below, in no particular order, are some of the main tips worth your consideration. If you attended the session and want to add something I missed, feel free to add it in the comments.

My Profile: In addition to filling out your work experience as much as possible, be sure to include keywords your want to be found under (multimedia, technology, editor) under "specialties" which is located under "summary" (in the "My Profile" tab)

Your connections: Kay said that a user needs at least 20 connections to have good visibility on the network. However, as her personal rule of thumb, she generally only accepts connections from people she would, say, trust with her cell phone number. She also noted that it's not entirely about quantity of connections but the quality -- LinkedIn's effectiveness is largely based on leveraging people's trust in you. If you have a hundred connections with people you hardly know, how effective will they be in putting in a good word for you and giving you an edge in the job hunt?

Tell your network you're looking for a job: Once you have your profile set up and a decent number of connections, inform the network that you're in the job hunt. Under the "Profile" tab, go to "edit my profile" and right above your name should be "forward." Click on that, select your recipients, and then compose your message. TIP: In your subject line, briefly state what you're after ("I'm looking for a new career ..."). You can always elaborate in the body of the message. Kay said this was one of the most powerful tools of LinkedIn -- and that it could be an especially effective way to find jobs that aren't listed yet.

Advanced search, the real "gem": Kay spent a fair amount of time during the tutorial focused on "advanced search" under the "People" tab. She described this tool as a real "gem" because of all the different ways to use it. For example, if you're not sure what your career track should be (hmmm, what comes after being a multimedia editor?), you could do a keyword search on your existing/previous job title to see the profiles of other LinkedIn folks who had a similar position. Then you could see what there next jobs were, the companies they worked for, the skills they have, etc. All of this could guide you in your next move and how you might position yourself. It could be a good way to dig up career ideas, based on other people's profiles. Another way to use advanced search: If you landed an interview, see if the interviewer has a LinkedIn profile. Research their background to find out their job experience, as well as things you might have in common (same school, interests, positions). One more example: If there's a specific company you want to work for, enter it into the company search field and see whose profiles come up, and the degree of separation. Then leverage your close connections to get you that interview, even if it's just informational.

E-mail signatures: A simple but helpful thing -- include in your e-mail signature the URL (Web address) to your LinkedIn account. This way, if you e-mail someone about a job opening, the recipient can get easy access to your profile and get a quick sense of who you are. If you haven't already done so, you should customize your URL to something that resembles your name. For example, instead of something like "www.linkedin.com/9o8asjdfasdfj," you might have "http://www.linkedin.com/in/marcuslowchan," which is simpler and more intuitive. You can customize it in "My Profile" and then look for "public profile."

Get recommended: Raise your profile by getting recommended. It will also elevate your standing in the "Services" tab. It's another way to stand out among the crowd.

I hope this helps.

Marcus
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marcuslowchan

Guild providing workshop to help in transition

From Kathleen Rhodes:

If you are leaving The Chronicle under the downsizing agreement -- this workshop will give you pretty much all you need in the transition in the area of unemployment. kr

---

The Guild is providing through California Employment Development Department, U.S. Department of Labor and One-Stop Career Link Centers another workshop to help those of us in transition out of the Chronicle with information on unemployment, etc. The workshop will be held in the Guild office conference room Wednesday, August 22 at 2 p.m. You will need to register for this session. If you can not attend be aware we will have future sessions.

The session will cover:

· Unemployment insurance
· Job placement assistance
· Resume and interview assistance
· Free job training in the Bay Area
· COBRA & HIPPA Health Care Benefits

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP:
Kathleen Rhodes x 7217 or cell 408-674-2625 krhodes@sfchronicle.com
Margo Brenes, Guild Office, 415-421-6833 mbrenes@mediaworkers.org

DATE: Wednesday, August 22, 2007
TIME: 2:00 PM
LOCATION: GUILD OFFICE 433 NATOMA ST. SAN FRANCISCO
ROOM: 3RD FLOOR

Adding Poynter job listings to My Yahoo

Bill Mitchell, editor of Poynter Online, recently discovered this blog and offered this helpful tip for jobseekers:

If you have My Yahoo, which allows you to personalize a Yahoo page with news feeds of your choice, you can add a module that lists the latest job postings on Poynter's Web site (http://e.my.yahoo.com/config/cstore?.opt=content&.sid=4022651&lg=us).

My Yahoo is easy and free to set up; I believe the only requirement is that you have an e-mail account with them (which, of course, is free).

If you're not interested in setting up a My Yahoo page, you can always look for jobs on the Poynter site here:

http://www.poynter.org/indeed/Default.asp

Thanks, Bill.

Seeking help from a career counseling

Here's a second post from former Chron editor and writer John Hubbell. You can find his first post on federal funds for retraining here. In this offering, he talks about a career counselor who helped in his Chronicle afterlife (Ed note: If you know of career counselors or career resouces geared for former journalists, please send them my way):

A few years ago, deciding to move beyond the newsroom was the easy part for me. The big question was: Move where?

It was confusing because I'd loved newspapers all of my life, and changing directions was bracing and downright frightening.

But one of the first steps I took was to see a career counselor. It was easy enough: The person I went to was one of my best friend's mothers, Gina Snyder.

The experience was thoroughly helpful. Over a couple of sessions, I took tests, talked out thoughts and ideas, and walked away with both general and concrete ideas what to do.

I've passed her name onto other journalist friends looking for a change in their lives. They've reported back that they loved working with her as much as I did.

Gina is personable and down to earth. She may have embarrassing childhood photos of me that she can show you, too -- perhaps injecting a little mirth in this otherwise unsettling time.

Gina's phone number is 707-643-8937. Her email is ginas@pacbell.net. That's Vallejo, ye olde homeland.

Some of you sent notes from my last post asking what I've been up to since obtaining (and that's the right verb) my master's degree last month from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The short version is that I'm consulting on a variety of media projects, and splitting my time between Chapel Hill and Memphis, Tenn. You can check out my company web site, and drop me a line if you'd like, at www.oldbridgemedia.com.

Good luck all,
John Hubbell
jhubbell@email.unc.edu

Help on resumes, negotiating offers, etc.

An offer of help from former Chron legal affairs reporter Harriet Chiang. Thanks for thinking of us, Harriet:

I'd be glad to talk to people about job markets, resume-writing, how to negotiate an offer, and other insights I picked up from some excellent consultants. I'm at harriet.chiang@gmail.com

Harriet Chiang

IN ADDITION ...

Harriet passed along these two job opps, although they may be more suited for those outside the newsroom. Here goes:

Director of Human Resources (San Francisco)

The company, a full-service television production and product branding company in San Francisco, is seeking to fill a newly-created position of Director of Human Resources to guide and manage the overall provision of Human Resources (HR) services, policies, and programs for staff positions as well as benefit administration services for an approximate 75 staff and freelance employees. The company expects to grow both domestically and internationally.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Director of Human Resources will assist and advise company managers and employees about HR issues. The ideal candidate is experienced in the full range of HR functional areas including compensation and benefits, strong recruiting knowledge and skills, HR systems, and the identification and implementation of successful employee relations and retention practices. The Director will be very “hands-on” initially but may supervise a small staff either directly or on a project basis.

Major areas of responsibility
• HR function development and management, including strategy/policy/process/supervision;
• Recruitment and staffing;
• Employee orientation, development, and training;
• Employee relations;
• Compensation and benefits administration;
• Employee safety, welfare, wellness, and counseling programs
• Assisting in organizational, space, and other company planning

Essential Requirements
• Minimum of 10 years human resources experience, including experience directing or managing a human resources function or team. International HR experience is desirable.
• HR experience in media/arts production, broadcasting, or similar field which has included creative staff.
• Strong management, analytical and written/oral communication skills.
• BA degree in business or job-related field; MBA is desirable.

Compensation: Necessary to hire the best person and will include base salary + bonus + excellent company benefits.

Please forward a resume & cover/transmittal letter to Becky Taylor: BLTaylorAssoc@comcast.net. All resumes will be kept confidential and no resume will be submitted to a client without the candidate’s prior approval.

Director of Business & Legal Affairs (San Francisco)

The company, a full-service television production and product branding company in San Francisco, is currently seeking to fill a newly-created position of Director Of Business & Legal Affairs to execute and manage the full range of business and legal issues common in the entertainment, broadcast, and advertising industry. The company is privately held, has an approximate 75 staff and freelancers, and is expected to grow both domestically and internationally.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Director is expected to assist and advise management on general contractual risks, negotiation strategies, and contractual/legal best practices both in the US and internationally. The role is very “hands-on” at this time with limited use of outside counsel. The ideal candidate is experienced in the full range of business affairs and legal affairs, including licensing, copyright, and other intellectual property-related issues, as well as negotiating new arrangements and alliances in production and licensing.

Major areas of responsibility:
• Guiding general contractual matters and transactions;
• Negotiating, drafting, and analyzing agreements that relate to licensing, substantiation, real estate, and compliance;
• Advising senior staff on terms of use and intellectual property and copyright matters;
• Recommending and implementing improvements to forms, processes, and procedures related to substantiation, releases, and licensing.
• Reviewing administration-related legal issues in areas such as human resources, finance, and purchasing.

Essential Requirements:
• J.D. degree from an accredited law school and a valid State of California Bar license.
• Minimum of 5 years legal experience in a related industry, ideally in a production/copyright and broadcast environment. International experience is desirable.
• Knowledge of laws related to direct response advertising and television production is preferred.
• Strong analytical and written/oral communication skills.

Compensation : Necessary to hire the best person and will include base salary + bonus + excellent company benefits.

Please forward a resume and cover/transmittal letter to Becky L. Taylor: BLTaylorAssoc@comcast.net. All resumes will be kept confidential and no resume will be submitted to a client without the candidate’s prior approval.

Guild workshop on unemployment

Important announcement about a workshop from Kathleen Rhodes:

If you are leaving The Chronicle under the downsizing agreement, this workshop will give you pretty much all you need in the transition in the area of unemployment.

The Guild is providing through the California Employment Development Department, U.S. Department of Labor and One-Stop Career Link Centers a workshop to help those of us in transition out of the Chronicle. The workshop will cover:

· Unemployment insurance
· Job placement assistance
· Resume and interview assistance
· Free job training in the Bay Area
· COBRA & HIPPA Health Care Benefits

Date: Thursday, June 21, 2007, 1:00 p.m.
Location: Guild Office, 433 Natoma St., SF, 3rd floor

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP (by Tuesday):
· Kathleen Rhodes x7217 or cell 408-674-2625, krhodes@sfchronicle.com
· Margo Brenes, Guild Office, 415-421-6833, mbrenes@mediaworkers.org

If you can't attend, be aware that we will have future sessions.

Job opps at KQED; offer of help on resumes

This is from Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle reporter and local president of the Guild (thanks, Michael):

Adrianne Cabanatuan, my wife and former Chronicle recruiting manager, is now the HR manager (for employment) at KQED/Northern California Public Broadcasting. She says they have three editor jobs and some other positions open, and they're willing to consider print people. She also has information on positions at some other broadcast stations in the Bay Area.

As someone who was laid off by the Chronicle in 2004, she really has felt your pain. She's also willing to do general resume and job search consultation, whether it's for KQED or elsewhere. She can be reached at: 415-553-2307 or acabanatuan@kqed.org

New career: Small business

This is from small business columnist Ilana DeBare. A lengthy post but very informative. Thanks Ilana!

Marcus asked me to provide some ideas for former Chron folks who might be considering starting their own business.

The first step is a mental one -- to impress upon yourself that you have marketable skills that some people will be willing to pay generously for. That is not an easy thing to hold in your mind after a layoff, so get help from friends.

Whatever you did here ... photography, editing, writing, research ... you may be surprised how rare your skills are in the non-journalism world and how valuable they can be to other people.

The good news is that you can get an amazing amount of free information and help in starting a business. Check out the workshops offered by the SBA. There are SBA offices in most big cities, but SF has an unusually broad and robust set of workshops that go far beyond the basic "Introduction to bookkeeping" type of thing. The teachers are very experienced experts in their fields, they offer about three dozen different workshops each month, and the classes are either free or cheap.

For instance, on June 25 there is a class from 8:30 to 4 pm on How to Start and Manage a Small Business -- they repeat this one every month -- and it costs only $50 in advance. The SBA's offerings typically include classes on topics such as business for artists; getting started in the fashion or restaurant industries; a variety of marketing topics; starting a consulting business; writing a business plan or learning Quickbooks; how to research the competition etc.
Online registration and a list of classes can be found at www.acteva.com/go/sba. Or call and ask them to mail you a paper brochure, which I find more readable, at 415-744-6771.

The Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center in SF is a nonprofit that offers a longer training program in how to start a business. Their programs last for several weeks and are very thorough. They also offer a "business incubator" where you can rent shared space and thus have a business phone line, copier machine etc. See www.rencenter.org. Again, these are great instructors who are used to dealing with creative types as well as more traditional businesses.

You can get free counseling and help in putting together a business plan from SCORE, a volunteer group of retired executives. See www.score.org. This is a bit more hit-and-miss -- the quality of the advice you'll get depends on the individual volunteer, and a retired auto parts CEO may not be the best person to advise someone starting, say, a freelance photography business. But it can't hurt to give it a try. There are chapters in SF, Oakland, Silicon Valley and other cities.

When you are a little further along (i.e. once you have a business plan), you can get free consulting from your local Small Business Development Center. There is one in SF, one in Oakland, one in Santa Rosa etc. Their consultants are typically experienced professionals -- folks who charge big bucks most of the time for their services but devote a few hours a week to SBDC work -- and they are FREE!. See www.norcalsbdc.org for the SBDC nearest you.

The city of SF has a good online guide to starting a business, which includes permit requirements, informational resources and sources for loans. The illustrations are done by none other than our own Phil Frank. This can be useful even if you live outside SF; just adapt the permitting requirements to your own city. See http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/biz_start/21_GettingBusStarted.pdf.

When it comes to the legal nuts and bolts such as deciding whether to incorporate, I recommend any of the zillion of Nolo Press books. See www.nolo.com for their catalogue.

A good guide to the tax issues and record-keeping requirements of self-employement is "Minding Her Own Business: The Self-Employed Woman's Essentuial Guide to Taxes and Financial Records," by Jan Zobel. This book is useful for men as well as women. Jan has a tax prep business in SF and Oakland and has been a reliably good source for my column. Her book is at http://www.amazon.com/Minding-Her-Business-Self-Employed-Recordkeeping/dp/1580622003

And hey.... if you have questions, send them along to Mind Your Business! mindyourbiz@sfchronicle.com -- at least as long as I'm still employed and writing it. :-)

Best wishes,
Ilana

We're thinking of you

Losing your job can be devastating. But we, your colleagues at The Chronicle, hope to make it a little less devastating.

The goal of this blog is to share information that will help your transition. For those who lost their job, you might want to provide your contact info so we can reach you (either by posting a comment or sending us an e-mail). This also could be the place for you to ask for help, be it on a personal or professional level.

For those still at The Chronicle, maybe there's something you want to offer, be it job leads, career resources, or simply a friendly voice.

For starters, we in multimedia want to offer you whatever help we can. If you plan to seek a job in journalism, chances are that you're going to be asked about your multimedia expertise. Whether you're a veteran multimedia journalist or someone who still isn't clear on what a podcast is, please feel free to contact us by email or cell. Think of us as your multimedia consultants (minus, of course, any fee).

Marcus Chan, mchan@sfchronicle.com, cell is 415-652-8800
Benny Evangelista, benevang23@aol.com
Justin Beck, justin3000@gmail.com, cell is 510-332-3719

But this blog isn't just about multimedia. As we get more organized, we'll make sure that the right people (from various departments) are running this blog in the way that's most beneficial to you.

Also, please note the tone of this blog, which is to support one another. No doubt there are plenty of people who are angry about this situation -- we ask that you choose another venue to express those feelings. Thanks in advance.

And on that note, expect a really useful post coming soon listing some links to journalism job sites. (We'll post permanent links in a separate column a little later.)

UPDATE: More colleagues to call on -- Dan Jung, photo editor and producer of audio slideshows and 360-degree views, has also offered his help for those wanting advice in his areas of expertise. E-mail him at danjung78@hotmail.com

Sincerely,

Colleagues who care