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Networking is a great way to explore your options, gathering intelligence and insights over lunch or coff ee with many friends and colleagues.
KIM Matters
Making Knowledge and Information Management personal
will start by off ering an apology for the personal nature of this column, but I hope these experiences will help to illustrate how using knowledge and information management will help secure your next career opportunity. For anyone that has found himself or herself in this situation, securing a new role is a major project; putting it another way your current job is to fi nd your next job. First, you need good market intelligence to inform your decisions. Second, you need to capture your experience and knowhow, as well as building a narrative to tell your story. Finally, you need to raise your profi le by building your presence through PR and marketing.
First decision: determine your next career choice. Should you build a portfolio or lifestyle career by contracting and freelancing, or fi nd a corporate role?
Insights and intelligence
One of the best ways to understand these choices is to ask those that have already gained this experience. Networking is a great way to explore your options, gathering intelligence and insights over lunch or coff ee with many friends and colleagues. Freelancers, consultants, corporate professionals, suppliers and recruiters, populate our industry; I have found them to be generous with their time, insights, advice, as well as referrals and introductions. We are fortunate that so many supportive people are willing to share their experience and wisdom. It is one of the greatest qualities of our profession.
Next, you should begin collating and packaging your personal information. With a view to preparing a compelling pitch and CV to diff erentiate yourself. Recruiters use AI to screen candidates,
March 2020
so careful use of specifi c keywords improves the chances of being shortlisted. If you can get past the AI engines, you have 8.9 seconds of reading time to capture a recruiters’ attention! Clearly, it is imperative to convey your suitability for a role quickly, helping an employer make their decision to call me for interview! In other words, getting the right information to the right person at the right time.
What is the “right information”? Recruiters and employers look to candidates’ achievements, SOAR1 or STAR2
story techniques capture and recount your experiences. In my experience, we are too self- eff acing. Whilst we recognise our own contributions or achievements, we struggle to communicate our value.
Knowledge capture
It is too easy to take things for granted, but you have to build a list of your qualities and skills; this is classic knowledge capture, turning your tacit knowledge into information to share with your target audience. Building this list and documenting your skills will improve your self-awareness. What seems mundane to you has value to others; take nothing for granted. Your list is dynamic, evolving and adapting to respond to specifi c job descriptions. Sharing your CV with critical friends enables you to refl ect, refi ne and develop your messaging.
Unfortunately, no CV can be “decision ready”. It is only one component in the recruitment process. Employers use LinkedIn to evidence and substantiate a CV, so you should use LinkedIn as your personal PR platform. There is a science to building a profi le; mine needed work to refl ect your skills and ability. It must reinforce and be consistent with the messages in your CV. It is also important to be active, “liking” or commenting
Stephen Phillips (
sjp23480@gmail.com) is a senior manager with a proven record of accomplishment in the corporate sector leading a large team delivering comprehensive research, information and knowledge management services. He is Vice Chair of CILIP’s Knowledge and Information Management SIG.
INSIGHT
on posts or creating your own material. Again, these posts must be consistent with your profi le. LinkedIn provides a great platform to promote yourself, by broadcasting your interests and activity. If your network of contacts like or comment on your posts, broadcasting to their network and so forth. Amplifying your stories and presence to a much wider audience.
If you manage your own information
eff ectively, it should put you in good standing to secure an interview. This will be the opportunity to tell your story and for an employer to fully understand your ability to meet their needs. As your journey continues, you should proactively manage your personal knowledge and information. Preparing yourself for your next career move while fulfi lling your current role. IP
References
1 SOAR: Situation Obstacles Action Results 2 STAR: Situation Tasks Action Results
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