KM Chicago: January meeting follow-up
The most recent KM Chicago (http://kmchicago.blogspot.com) meeting was a roundtable discussion format, focusing on helping KMers in transition. I thought that it was a really rich discussion with a lot of good tips and suggestions, some of which include:
- Approach career opportunities with the idea of “fit” in mind. How can you answer the questions:
- What are they trying to achieve with this position?
- How can I make the critical difference in this role?
- How can I best communicate this?
- When discussing previous experience that wasn’t 100% focused on KM, show how the skills/responsibilities relate to or are KM (e.g., knowledge sharing, capture, etc.)
- On the other hand, where organizations are looking for a KM role that isn’t actually branded as KM (more on this below), describe your experience and skills in their terms
- Focus your resume on impact statements
- Organizations are often looking for people who have “been there, done that” and not those who are new to the particular skillset they’re looking for - particularly in the realm of technology. For those KMers who are looking to expand their skills, volunteering at organizations who need the particular skillset you’re trying to develop is a great opportunity to gain experience and prove that you have actually been there, and done that
Job search strategies were also discussed and tended to hammer home the key points below:
- Create a database of personal contacts, let them know what you’re looking for
- Network, network, network (at event such as KM Chicago —- PLUG!)
- “If you’re not on LinkedIn, you might as well not even be trying”
- Set up saved searches on vertical job search engine sites, such as www.indeed.com and www.simplyhired.com
To the last point above, and what I mentioned earlier, not all KM roles are identified as such. Many use similar terms to describe the same ends, or may only be KM-ish in nature, but may still be an excellent fit for you. With that in mind, I captured a list of these similar terms that were thrown around during the meeting. So if you’re stuck on what to search for, or other ways to describe what you’ve done, try using some of these keywords:
Informatics, process control, content management, knowledge management, knowledge manager, information management, web 2.0, web analytics, market intelligence, competitive intelligence, online community moderation, community management, communities of practice, social media, organizational change, adoption, taxonomy, collaboration, learning management, organizational learning, learning organizations, competency development, training, distance learning, distance education, informal learning, expert mapping, knowledge transfer, innovation, optimization, optimize processes, business improvement, knowledge integration, systems integration, records management, communications
And, if there are any keywords that we might have missed, feel free to let me know in the comments.