Posts
Submitted by HRgorilla
The vast majority of employers and recruiters search LinkedIn before deciding whether to interview you. If you're conducting a job search, do you know how to optimize LinkedIn to your advantage? Here are a few ideas. Please add additional ones in comments!
1.After your title, add your industry (if that's the one you want a job in) and then pump it up with your brand if you wish: "Go-to SAP Project Manager"
2.In your summary, nail your value proposition and competitive advantages.
3.Use the common keywords recruiters or hiring authorities would use when searching for someone like you.
4.Put in a comprehensive list of keywords under Specialties to attract search engine attention
5.Under Experience, just hit your main achievements and contributions. Use numbers whenever possible.
6.If your title isn't the one a hiring manager would use to search for someone who does what you do, put your formal, legal title in, then a slash, and then the title that you would have in most companies: "Business Continuity Analyst / Business Continuity Manager"
7.Make your profile as complete as possible. Include links to any websites or blogs and to your Twitter and Facebook pages.
8.List all your educational institutions, training, associations, and memberships to provide keywords that may help other users find you.
9.Include a headshot. Make it professional even if it's taken from your digital camera.
10.List your interests, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. They give you individuality and make you memorable. Also, studies show that skill in one area (swimming) tranfers to perceived skill in your professional area (Program Management).
Tips 11 - 25 From HRgorilla
Thursday, March 31, 2011
4 Lame Excuses to Not Assess Yourself
There's something I tell all professionals looking to advance their careers. When it comes to marketing yourself to employers, remember this piece of advice:
You are not special, but you are unique.
Those who know how to leverage their uniqueness are the ones who create satisfying and successful careers. There is no point in looking for a good job if you aren't 100% sure what ‘good' is for you! Which means, you need to identify and embrace what you want to leverage about yourself so you can find success on your own terms.
So, how should you assess your unique combination of values, skills and interests?
Start by taking the time to write out on paper all the things that you excel at. Ask friends, family and even co-workers (they don't have to know you are looking for a job, you can just say you are doing some professional development work on yourself) to give their input as to what they see as your best assets. It's time to organize your thoughts as to who you are and what you can offer to potential employers. Think about it - how can you possibly convince employers to hire you if you can't articulate your values, strengths and interests in a compelling manner?
To give you an idea of what to consider, look at the list below.
Life Balance - How satisfied you are right now with the 8 key areas of your life. (They are Mental Self, Physical Self, Career, Finances, Significant Other, Friends & Family, Physical Surroundings, Hobbies & Recreations.)
Core Values - Your personal definitions of success for each key area and the priority they hold in your life. (Hint: No two people have the same definitions or priorities.)
Interaction Style - The way you communicate at work and how it is perceived by others. You can learn your interaction style by taking this FREE test. It's the same one we use in CareerHMO.com.
Work Style - The manner and preference in which you like to accomplish tasks.
Learning Preferences - The ideal resources and methods for you to learn on-the-job
Unique Gifts - The things you excel at naturally. Many people struggle to determine this accurately because what makes us ‘unique' feels so normal, that we don't see it as special.
Passion & Interests - The opportunity to observe how your unique combination of values, strengths and preferences are used when you do things you love.
I have to say, in my experience, the self-assessment process (as outlined above) is the most valuable part of any job search because it's not only a validation process, but also gives us the confidence to stop trying to be all things to employers. FACT: It is much more satisfying (not to mention easier AND delivers better results) when we stop trying to be "the best" and just focus on being our best.
Now...let's overcome your objections (a.k.a. lame excuses) for not assessing yourself:
You are not special, but you are unique.
Those who know how to leverage their uniqueness are the ones who create satisfying and successful careers. There is no point in looking for a good job if you aren't 100% sure what ‘good' is for you! Which means, you need to identify and embrace what you want to leverage about yourself so you can find success on your own terms.
So, how should you assess your unique combination of values, skills and interests?
Start by taking the time to write out on paper all the things that you excel at. Ask friends, family and even co-workers (they don't have to know you are looking for a job, you can just say you are doing some professional development work on yourself) to give their input as to what they see as your best assets. It's time to organize your thoughts as to who you are and what you can offer to potential employers. Think about it - how can you possibly convince employers to hire you if you can't articulate your values, strengths and interests in a compelling manner?
To give you an idea of what to consider, look at the list below.
Life Balance - How satisfied you are right now with the 8 key areas of your life. (They are Mental Self, Physical Self, Career, Finances, Significant Other, Friends & Family, Physical Surroundings, Hobbies & Recreations.)
Core Values - Your personal definitions of success for each key area and the priority they hold in your life. (Hint: No two people have the same definitions or priorities.)
Interaction Style - The way you communicate at work and how it is perceived by others. You can learn your interaction style by taking this FREE test. It's the same one we use in CareerHMO.com.
Work Style - The manner and preference in which you like to accomplish tasks.
Learning Preferences - The ideal resources and methods for you to learn on-the-job
Unique Gifts - The things you excel at naturally. Many people struggle to determine this accurately because what makes us ‘unique' feels so normal, that we don't see it as special.
Passion & Interests - The opportunity to observe how your unique combination of values, strengths and preferences are used when you do things you love.
I have to say, in my experience, the self-assessment process (as outlined above) is the most valuable part of any job search because it's not only a validation process, but also gives us the confidence to stop trying to be all things to employers. FACT: It is much more satisfying (not to mention easier AND delivers better results) when we stop trying to be "the best" and just focus on being our best.
Now...let's overcome your objections (a.k.a. lame excuses) for not assessing yourself:
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Guy Kawasaki interview on MPR talks Twitter Apple and Social Media
Guy Kawasaki discusses Enchantment, Twitter, Apple, Social Media
Guy Kawasaki is author of "Enchantment" and former chief evangelist of Apple.
Guy Kawasaki is author of "Enchantment" and former chief evangelist of Apple.
Top 10 Tips For Building A Strong LinkedIn Profile
Author Jay Markunas
Top ten tips for building a strong profile from LinkedIn:
1. Don’t cut-and-paste your resume. You wouldn’t hand out your resume before introducing yourself. Describe your experience and abilities as you would to someone you just met.
2. Borrow from the best marketers. Use specific adjectives, colorful verbs, active construction (ie..”managed project team” instead of “responsible for project team”).
3. Write a personal tagline. It’s the first thing people see in your profile. It follows your name in search hit lists.
4. Put your elevator pitch to work. The more meaningful your summary is, the more time visitors will spend on your profile.
5. Point out your skills. The Specialties field is your personal search engine optimizer when Recruiters are looking for candidates.
Tips 6 - 10 + Graphic + Complete Article
Top ten tips for building a strong profile from LinkedIn:
1. Don’t cut-and-paste your resume. You wouldn’t hand out your resume before introducing yourself. Describe your experience and abilities as you would to someone you just met.
2. Borrow from the best marketers. Use specific adjectives, colorful verbs, active construction (ie..”managed project team” instead of “responsible for project team”).
3. Write a personal tagline. It’s the first thing people see in your profile. It follows your name in search hit lists.
4. Put your elevator pitch to work. The more meaningful your summary is, the more time visitors will spend on your profile.
5. Point out your skills. The Specialties field is your personal search engine optimizer when Recruiters are looking for candidates.
Tips 6 - 10 + Graphic + Complete Article
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
HOW TO: Land a Job at Amazon
by
Amazon‘s business model hit the ground running in the 1990s by revolutionizing retail and e-commerce. In recent years, the company has built on its success, transforming our reading habits and how we store data by selling e-readers and cloud computing services.
Now Amazon is bolstering its workforce to accommodate its growing line of products and services, which have doubled the company’s annual profit in the past three years. Its online jobs board lists 1,900 available positions at its Seattle headquarters alone. That’s twice as many openings the company had last year, reports The Seattle Times.
So how can you get in on the Amazon action that’s already 33,700 employees strong? Here are some tips and resources from the company’s recruiters for landing a job at Amazon.
Who Is Amazon Looking For?
Nearly half of the open positions at Amazon’s headquarters are tech jobs, but the company is also hiring recruiters, buyers and product managers at all levels of expertise.
Amazon has offices, fulfillment centers, customer service centers and software development centers throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. There are currently openings in all geographies, says Susan Harker, director of Global Talent Acquisition at Amazon.
Read The Rest Of The Mashable Article to find out what the application process is like as well as about the culture.
Amazon‘s business model hit the ground running in the 1990s by revolutionizing retail and e-commerce. In recent years, the company has built on its success, transforming our reading habits and how we store data by selling e-readers and cloud computing services.
Now Amazon is bolstering its workforce to accommodate its growing line of products and services, which have doubled the company’s annual profit in the past three years. Its online jobs board lists 1,900 available positions at its Seattle headquarters alone. That’s twice as many openings the company had last year, reports The Seattle Times.
So how can you get in on the Amazon action that’s already 33,700 employees strong? Here are some tips and resources from the company’s recruiters for landing a job at Amazon.
Who Is Amazon Looking For?
Nearly half of the open positions at Amazon’s headquarters are tech jobs, but the company is also hiring recruiters, buyers and product managers at all levels of expertise.
Amazon has offices, fulfillment centers, customer service centers and software development centers throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. There are currently openings in all geographies, says Susan Harker, director of Global Talent Acquisition at Amazon.
Read The Rest Of The Mashable Article to find out what the application process is like as well as about the culture.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma: The Key to Creativity
I was having lunch with one of my clients, the CEO of a rapidly growing mid-size company, when I casually asked for his job description.
He smiled and said, “Well, if you followed me around you’d probably think I do lots of things. But I only have one job. I build passion. Most people think talent is in short supply. Hell, the papers are full of stories about regular folks working miracles when something they really care about is on the line. Talent is not in short supply. Passion is. My job is showing people that what we’re doing is worth doing. I provide the whys so our people can provide the hows. Once passion is in place,” he said with a big grin, “my job becomes insisting that people use their vacation and trying to stay out of the way.”
In a previous article, 8 Keys to Innovation: Building Brands by Killing Frogs, I noted that prisoners are some of the most creative and innovative people. Turning toothpaste tubes into lethal weapons demonstrates their improvisational knack for engineering and product development; their creative selling skills, though usually manipulative, are legendary; and when it comes to applying the law in creative ways, jail house lawyers are second to none.
Obviously, education, training, prior experience, financial rewards, and traditional ways of measuring intelligence don’t account for all this creative achievement. So what does? More importantly if great leaders are creative leaders, what can we learn from prisoners?
The first secret is that prisoners have a high overarching mission that transcends engineering, product development, sales, or law. Whether applied to their fellow prisoners, prison regulations, or the prison itself the prisoner’s mission is freedom. Acquiring all the requisite skills is merely the by-product. The lesson here is that if we don’t have a galvanizing mission personally and organizationally all the skills in the world won’t spare us mediocrity.
Next, prisoners are not only emotionally committed to this mission they are in fact institutionally committed. Like Cortez burning his ships, they have no line of retreat. Freedom is not just a mission. It is mission critical. Prisoners live the old adage that necessity is the mother of invention, and they are living proof that great inspiration depends on some desperation.
Most of us are not creative because we fear commitment. We want guarantees that commitment will always produce successful outcomes, and since this is an impossible demand, we end up frittering away our creative juices “hedging our bets” and rationalizing that hedging represents a “balanced life.”
Listen to Why Prisoners Are So Creative and How You Can Be Too with August Turak on Blog Talk Radio. Turak is a frequent guest with Doug Foresta on The Doug Foresta Show, previously Breakfree to Success. In this episode August shares his always unique and wise perspective, this time tackling creativity and spirituality. August poses the question: “Why are prisoners so creative?”
Monday, March 28, 2011
Is Twitter the New LinkedIn?
Posted by Katie Kindelan
Pulling a page straight from the Charlie Sheen playbook, a prominent ad agency just hired its summer interns based on a search conducted solely through Twitter. First Charlie Sheen and now an established advertising firm, it begs the question: is Twitter #winning as the new LinkedIn?
Twitter, the real time social network better known for introducing random thoughts in 140 characters or less, may just be moving into a new market: job search tool.
Sheen, the troubled actor turned Twitter phenom, was the first to give the Twitter job search trend a boost earlier this month when he turned not to Careers.com, Monster.com or LinkedIn to advertise for an intern.
He sent a Tweet.
And 70,000 people applied to his #winning hashtag, while nearly 100,000 people clicked on the link in the first hour, AllTwitter reported at the time.
And now, one of the nation’s top ad agencies, Minneapolis-based Campbell Mithun, for the first time put its annual “Lucky 13” internship search solely on Twitter, and got its largest response ever.
Read the complete SocialTimes.com post
Pulling a page straight from the Charlie Sheen playbook, a prominent ad agency just hired its summer interns based on a search conducted solely through Twitter. First Charlie Sheen and now an established advertising firm, it begs the question: is Twitter #winning as the new LinkedIn?
Twitter, the real time social network better known for introducing random thoughts in 140 characters or less, may just be moving into a new market: job search tool.
Sheen, the troubled actor turned Twitter phenom, was the first to give the Twitter job search trend a boost earlier this month when he turned not to Careers.com, Monster.com or LinkedIn to advertise for an intern.
He sent a Tweet.
And 70,000 people applied to his #winning hashtag, while nearly 100,000 people clicked on the link in the first hour, AllTwitter reported at the time.
And now, one of the nation’s top ad agencies, Minneapolis-based Campbell Mithun, for the first time put its annual “Lucky 13” internship search solely on Twitter, and got its largest response ever.
Read the complete SocialTimes.com post
12 essential ground rules for getting an introduction
Megan Jones
(Editor’s note: Megan Lisa Jones is an investment banker who works primarily with companies in the digital media, technology, gaming and other emerging industrie. She submitted this story to VentureBeat.)
It’s absolutely true that the right introductions, from a credible and well-connected source, can jump-start a career or company. Partnering correctly, getting money from a top tier fund or making the right hire does add credibility to your venture.
But let’s be honest: Are you bringing something of value to the table or just trying to find an easier way? A mumbled, “Can you please just talk to this person for a minute so they stop bugging me?” can kill your chances forever, while an “introduction” can help.
Having worked as an investment banker for years I’ve developed a contact base of CEOs, CFOs and capital sources such as venture capitalists. Part of my role in counseling and guiding companies is to make introductions and facilitate their ability to grow into an entity that can go public, sell at a rich valuation or have the cash needed to buy other companies.
But I’ve also had to learn how to fend off requests for introductions that make no sense. We all want to meet the success story and hope that their pixie dust rubs off on us. And all service providers want access to successful CEOs. After all, asking for an introduction seems easier than making a cold call.
Last week, one too many request from the same person had me hitting the roof and talking to my computer screen (you don’t want to know what I said…).
So I decided to set a dozen ground rules. Technically, they only apply to me, but many people in my position encounter the same frustrations. It might be wise to factor these in as you consider asking for an introduction.There’s a well known quote, attributed to an anonymous person, that says “It’s not what you know but who you know that makes the difference.” My guess as to why that speaker preferred anonymity is that he or she didn’t want to be inundated by people looking to expand their own list of those they “know”.
Both parties need to benefit from the introduction. Occasional exceptions can be made for my children, clients, friends and those that have proven their loyalty. Know and explain why the introduction makes sense.
If I make an introduction, follow up respectfully and professionally. I once agreed to talk to a company founder (an unwanted introduction on my end) who needed money and then stood me up for two phone calls. Then she wanted me to help her and make other introductions (as someone who is rude and irresponsible?). Impressions count for a lot.
When I tell you that making too many introduction to a certain in demand person will impact my relationship with that person so the introduction better be crucial to you – and you have me make the introduction – don’t ask for too many favors shortly thereafter (you’re willing to risk my career for yours so I won’t be as kindly disposed going forward).
Don’t ask me to make introductions for someone you barely know. Relationships can be lost based on credibility and judgment. What if they aren’t that great? Rely solely on your own insight, not that of others.
My Linkedin and Facebook contacts aren’t your personal calling list. Nor is my less public rolodex. See number one above.
Tips 7 - 12 and Complete Article
(Editor’s note: Megan Lisa Jones is an investment banker who works primarily with companies in the digital media, technology, gaming and other emerging industrie. She submitted this story to VentureBeat.)
It’s absolutely true that the right introductions, from a credible and well-connected source, can jump-start a career or company. Partnering correctly, getting money from a top tier fund or making the right hire does add credibility to your venture.
But let’s be honest: Are you bringing something of value to the table or just trying to find an easier way? A mumbled, “Can you please just talk to this person for a minute so they stop bugging me?” can kill your chances forever, while an “introduction” can help.
Having worked as an investment banker for years I’ve developed a contact base of CEOs, CFOs and capital sources such as venture capitalists. Part of my role in counseling and guiding companies is to make introductions and facilitate their ability to grow into an entity that can go public, sell at a rich valuation or have the cash needed to buy other companies.
But I’ve also had to learn how to fend off requests for introductions that make no sense. We all want to meet the success story and hope that their pixie dust rubs off on us. And all service providers want access to successful CEOs. After all, asking for an introduction seems easier than making a cold call.
Last week, one too many request from the same person had me hitting the roof and talking to my computer screen (you don’t want to know what I said…).
So I decided to set a dozen ground rules. Technically, they only apply to me, but many people in my position encounter the same frustrations. It might be wise to factor these in as you consider asking for an introduction.There’s a well known quote, attributed to an anonymous person, that says “It’s not what you know but who you know that makes the difference.” My guess as to why that speaker preferred anonymity is that he or she didn’t want to be inundated by people looking to expand their own list of those they “know”.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Personal Brand
My friends over at Common Craft do some great work. There videos are simple, yet full of great information. Today I want to share with you this 3-minute goodie on using LinkedIn for more than just making contacts.
Here's the video.
The protagonist in this story used LinkedIn to grow her business. What can you learn from her, since you, as a job seeker, are the owner of your own business who’s sole purpose is to find you a job? How can you search your contacts to find people who will help move your career forward? Who do you need to meet? How can you use LinkedIn to facilitate an introduction?
Don’t forget theses 2 important keys to graceful networking (even online):
1. It’s not about you.
You may feel an urgent need to find a job. However, when networking you will turn people off if you show it. Approach people to find opportunity for them and their network FIRST. When they know you have their best interest at heart they will want to help you fulfill your needs.
Here's the video.
The protagonist in this story used LinkedIn to grow her business. What can you learn from her, since you, as a job seeker, are the owner of your own business who’s sole purpose is to find you a job? How can you search your contacts to find people who will help move your career forward? Who do you need to meet? How can you use LinkedIn to facilitate an introduction?
Don’t forget theses 2 important keys to graceful networking (even online):
1. It’s not about you.
You may feel an urgent need to find a job. However, when networking you will turn people off if you show it. Approach people to find opportunity for them and their network FIRST. When they know you have their best interest at heart they will want to help you fulfill your needs.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
How I’m #winning with Charlie Sheen - Updated
I was fortunate enough to make it to round three of the #tigerbloodinten selection process this week. As a recruiter I would find it interesting to see how they cut the field from 80,000 to 250. Round three’s task was to create a video on a specific social media topic and post it to YouTube.
I learned a couple of things while making the video.
- Being a talking head is harder than it looks
- I hope I come off more animated in person than I do on camera
- If the camera adds 10 lbs where did the other 20 or 30 come from
The reactions of my family and friends to my pursuing this internship had been varied.
Some are: Why? This is an understandable response as I already have a great job with one of the coolest companies on earth. I think that this would be a really great opportunity to learn some new things and be on the ground floor of something that is still taking off. Plus, I think my team is cool enough that they would let me take a leave of absence for the internship.
Most are: Wow that’s awesome. It sounds like a once in a lifetime chance to learn some new things in an area that is really growing. Of course I agree with them.
A few are: An Internship?? Really? My response to them is that you are never too old to learn more and to contribute. I think one of the things that makes me unique is the varied work experiences that I’ve had and how I can bring that to any team.
After I leaned that I made the latest cut I tried to lock up a few pertinent social media names. I got WinningIntern.com and it is now pointed to my WinningIntern blog and it has been getting some pageviews. I also secured @BiWinningIntern from twitter. I haven’t picked up too many followers there but I haven’t been doing the typical follow everyone and hope some follow you back strategy. I have mostly been tweeting from it and then retweeting from my primary account. I figure that when I become “The Intern” then it will take off.
That is where we stand as of today. I hopeful / confident that I’ll make it to the next round and that I’ll be able to update you then. In the meantime I’m including my YouTube posting and I’m hoping you’ll show it some love.
Thanks!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Online etiquette flubs could crush your career
More than three-quarters of HR executives said in a recent survey that technology-related gaffes can be hazardous to your job.
By Anne Fisher, contributor
FORTUNE --
Dear Annie: I absolutely agree with your post about office distractions like March Madness being no big deal, but it reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask for a while now. To wit, at what point does multitasking morph into plain old rudeness?
Certain people where I work seem to be so addicted to their BlackBerries that they miss half of what is said in meetings. Then they waste other people's time afterwards asking about things that were covered while they were texting, checking their messages, etc.
Also, the same individuals seem to have no sense of boundaries, so they will send tweets that embarrass other people by raising issues that are really better discussed privately, one on one. A few people here also use texting abbreviations for everything, even in regular emails, so that half the time you can't tell what they're trying to say. Then there are those who constantly "ping" others with instant messages, which is distracting when you're trying to concentrate on actual work.
Sorry to rant, but I'd love to know whether it's just me, or do others find this kind of behavior unacceptable as well? What do you and your readers think? —Biting My Tongue
Dear BMT: Funny, isn't it, how some people seem to view technology as an excuse to abandon basic courtesy and simple common sense? Rest assured that you aren't the only one who finds this tendency alarming, or at least annoying.
Consider: 76% of human resources managers believe that "technology etiquette breaches" --including checking email during meetings -- could "adversely affect a person's career prospects," according to a report from global staffing giant Robert Half International.
"Mistakes like sending a confidential email to the wrong person, or impulsively posting an offensive comment on Facebook or Twitter, can have serious, career-impacting consequences," observes Robert Half executive Brett Good.
If you would like to help your clueless colleagues avoid such fallout (which I realize is a big "if"), one alternative to biting your tongue would be to suggest they download RHI's new, free online guide, Business Etiquette: The New Rules in a Digital Age.
A compilation of advice from Robert Half's own executives and half a dozen etiquette experts and new-media gurus, the guide includes a few cautionary tales, like the one about a job candidate who, when offered a job by Cisco Systems, sent out this overly candid tweet: "Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."
Someone from Cisco tweeted back: "Who is the hiring manager? I'm sure they would love to know that you will hate the work."
Gulp.
Read the rest of the Fortune Article
By Anne Fisher, contributor
FORTUNE --
Dear Annie: I absolutely agree with your post about office distractions like March Madness being no big deal, but it reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask for a while now. To wit, at what point does multitasking morph into plain old rudeness?
Certain people where I work seem to be so addicted to their BlackBerries that they miss half of what is said in meetings. Then they waste other people's time afterwards asking about things that were covered while they were texting, checking their messages, etc.
Also, the same individuals seem to have no sense of boundaries, so they will send tweets that embarrass other people by raising issues that are really better discussed privately, one on one. A few people here also use texting abbreviations for everything, even in regular emails, so that half the time you can't tell what they're trying to say. Then there are those who constantly "ping" others with instant messages, which is distracting when you're trying to concentrate on actual work.
Sorry to rant, but I'd love to know whether it's just me, or do others find this kind of behavior unacceptable as well? What do you and your readers think? —Biting My Tongue
Dear BMT: Funny, isn't it, how some people seem to view technology as an excuse to abandon basic courtesy and simple common sense? Rest assured that you aren't the only one who finds this tendency alarming, or at least annoying.
Consider: 76% of human resources managers believe that "technology etiquette breaches" --including checking email during meetings -- could "adversely affect a person's career prospects," according to a report from global staffing giant Robert Half International.
"Mistakes like sending a confidential email to the wrong person, or impulsively posting an offensive comment on Facebook or Twitter, can have serious, career-impacting consequences," observes Robert Half executive Brett Good.
If you would like to help your clueless colleagues avoid such fallout (which I realize is a big "if"), one alternative to biting your tongue would be to suggest they download RHI's new, free online guide, Business Etiquette: The New Rules in a Digital Age.
A compilation of advice from Robert Half's own executives and half a dozen etiquette experts and new-media gurus, the guide includes a few cautionary tales, like the one about a job candidate who, when offered a job by Cisco Systems, sent out this overly candid tweet: "Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."
Someone from Cisco tweeted back: "Who is the hiring manager? I'm sure they would love to know that you will hate the work."
Gulp.
Read the rest of the Fortune Article
50 Intelligent LinkedIn Tips That Could Change Your Life
LinkedIn is sometimes referred to as Facebook for grown-ups. That may be true, as LinkedIn is a much more respectable site on which you can network, share information, and build relationships that can grow and support your career. Check out these tips to find out how you can use LinkedIn to make a change in your life and career.
General
Pay attention to your manners, be a real person, and follow these tips to do well on LinkedIn.
These tips will come in handy for those working on a job search.
General
Pay attention to your manners, be a real person, and follow these tips to do well on LinkedIn.
- Be polite: Remember your manners when interacting with others on LinkedIn.
- Stay active: Update routinely-you don’t want it to look like no one’s home.
- Keep an eye on your competition: Check out the public profile for companies to see who they are hiring and more.
- Research a company’s health: Look for former employees to get candid opinions.
- Say thank you: Always remember to say thanks, publicly or privately, when someone does something thoughtful for you.
- Write like a human: Avoid dry writing-robots are reading your profile, but people are more important.
- Ask questions: Get answers and contribute to the knowledge available on LinkedIn with questions.
These tips will come in handy for those working on a job search.
- Make connections where you want to work: Get connected with people on the inside that can give you an in where you want to work.
- Don’t advertise being unemployed: Avoid the temptation to advertise that you’re unemployed-recruiters believe that employed workers are better employees.
- Look up potential employers: Before going into an interview, make sure and look up potential employers to find all of the information you can.
Networking & Connections
Pay attention to these tips that can help you with your network of LinkedIn contacts.
Pay attention to these tips that can help you with your network of LinkedIn contacts.
- Send personalized connection requests: When you send an invitation, make sure you’ve for a personalized message to go along with it.
- Connect your contacts: Provide a valuable social resource and become a more influential person by connecting your contacts.
- Initiate a conversation: After you’ve made a connection with someone, keep the ball rolling with a new conversation.
- Raise funding: Find mentors or potential investors with the help of your LinkedIn network.
- Look up everyone you know: You’ll never know the connections you have until you find everyone you possibly can.
- Get answers to questions: Ask your friends to help you out with tough business questions.
- Reply to connection requests: When you accept connection requests, be sure to send a short message back.
- Search in terms and industries: Connect with people you don’t personally know by searching on terms and industries.
- Start a group: Become the center of information and a connector on LinkedIn by starting a group.
- Do small things: Click "like" on shared articles, write short notes of congratulations, and find other ways to show others that you’re listening to what they’re saying.
- Reach out to event attendees: If you’re attending an event, be sure to talk to attendees that you’re connected with.
- Take advantage of travel: Check out your connections by location, and let them know when you’re going to be traveling to their area.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
100 Of The Best Social Media Blog Posts So Far In 2011
Niall Harbison in Social Media
I bookmark a huge amount of content and rather than keeping it all for myself I thought I would split down some of the best stuff in to 10 categories relating to social media and share the best 100 posts in 2011 so far. You are never going to be able to get through all of these in one go but they do all come from the best people in the business and there is a great mixture of inspiration, practical tips and ways of generally expanding your knowledge of social media. There is something to suit everybody here from twitter and Facebook to how to improve your own blog and also larger resources that you can digest in greater detail. Here is your full list of social media blog posts from early 2011…
Growing a blog to 10,000 subscribers in one year ; The stats
Build Your Community Before You Need Them
5 Steps to Captivating Readers with Your Secret Message
It Takes A Village To Grow A Blog .. Along With Your Girlfriends
17 Plugins to Improve Your WordPress Blog
Overcoming Blogger Fright
7 Key Elements to a Successful Business Blog
5 Steps a Newbie Blogger Never Misses
40 Dead Simple Ways to Get More Comments on Your Blog
What If You Only Had 20 Blog Posts Left?
26 Ways to Enhance Your Blog Content
Linkedin
LinkedIn Files For IPO; Revenue $161 Million
50 LinkedIn Tips, Many of Which are Awesome
7 Tips for Using Your LinkedIn Profile to Land Great Projects
8 New LinkedIn Features Worth Exploration
100 Million members and counting
LinkedIn for Bloggers – Branding, Authority and Traffic
Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile’s New Skills Section
Reid Hoffman’s 10 Rules for Entrepreneurial Success
6 Tips For Giving Your LinkedIn Profile A Facelift
Other Topic Areas Videos, Facebook, And MORE
I bookmark a huge amount of content and rather than keeping it all for myself I thought I would split down some of the best stuff in to 10 categories relating to social media and share the best 100 posts in 2011 so far. You are never going to be able to get through all of these in one go but they do all come from the best people in the business and there is a great mixture of inspiration, practical tips and ways of generally expanding your knowledge of social media. There is something to suit everybody here from twitter and Facebook to how to improve your own blog and also larger resources that you can digest in greater detail. Here is your full list of social media blog posts from early 2011…
Blogging
The Simple 5-Step Formula for Effective Online ContentGrowing a blog to 10,000 subscribers in one year ; The stats
Build Your Community Before You Need Them
5 Steps to Captivating Readers with Your Secret Message
It Takes A Village To Grow A Blog .. Along With Your Girlfriends
17 Plugins to Improve Your WordPress Blog
Overcoming Blogger Fright
7 Key Elements to a Successful Business Blog
5 Steps a Newbie Blogger Never Misses
40 Dead Simple Ways to Get More Comments on Your Blog
What If You Only Had 20 Blog Posts Left?
26 Ways to Enhance Your Blog Content
50 LinkedIn Tips, Many of Which are Awesome
7 Tips for Using Your LinkedIn Profile to Land Great Projects
8 New LinkedIn Features Worth Exploration
100 Million members and counting
LinkedIn for Bloggers – Branding, Authority and Traffic
Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile’s New Skills Section
Reid Hoffman’s 10 Rules for Entrepreneurial Success
6 Tips For Giving Your LinkedIn Profile A Facelift
Other Topic Areas Videos, Facebook, And MORE
15 Invaluable Websites for Job Research
There are dozens of free sites on the web that help you advance your job search. From these you can learn all about a company including getting a candid insider’s view from those who work there. You can also get expert advice on industries, resume writing, networking, using LinkedIn, networking and more. Below are some of the best:
Quintessential Careers has over 4,500 pages of free content to empower your career success. This site has tons of expert advice, templates and career articles for all levels. If you have a question, you can find your answer here.
Job-Hunt.org offers a comprehensive list of useful job-search resources and services on the Web. All the sites listed are audited by the job-hunt.org staff to ensure they will add value to a candidate’s search and not compromise the job seeker’s personal information. Job-Hunt is a wonderful resource for helping clients sample multiple job search tools.
Spoke Spoke provides business data and detailed contact information on demand. It contains over 40 million people at 2.3 million companies. Spoke lets you create, customize, and promote your own online profile as well. Like ZoomInfo, Spoke is a great tool for finding decision makers. Spoke even has an interface with Simply Hired (a job aggregate board) that allows users to search for decision makers in the companies where Simply Hired has posted jobs.
Jigsaw is an online directory of more than 8 million business contacts. Users can access names, titles, postal addresses, e-mail addresses and direct dial phone numbers. Membership is free and you can get a contact by adding one of your own. For each one you add, you get access to any other in the Jigsaw directory. As an alternative, you can sign-up for a premium account and access 25 contacts for $25 a month. We all know that the best jobs are found through the hidden job network. Tools like Jigsaw help job seekers uncover the right person to talk to at their target companies.
FTT Research can leverage information on millions of domestic and international companies and provide in-depth coverage of thousands of the world’s top business enterprises to identify target companies and business contacts. FTT canvases an entire industry, geography, and job function to find the right kinds of decision makers across multiple potential targets.
Highbeam is an online library and research tool that collects millions of research articles from trusted published sources and puts them all in one place. You can access some information for free or purchase a very reasonably priced annual subscription. This is an excellent resource for you to use when searching for potential company targets or preparing for an upcoming interview. By thoroughly researching a company ahead of time, job seekers can have more engaging and thought-provoking questions based on what they have read about that company. This helps them gain credibility during the interview, and in turn, elevates their candidacy.
See the full list of 15 and the full CareerRealism article
Quintessential Careers has over 4,500 pages of free content to empower your career success. This site has tons of expert advice, templates and career articles for all levels. If you have a question, you can find your answer here.
Job-Hunt.org offers a comprehensive list of useful job-search resources and services on the Web. All the sites listed are audited by the job-hunt.org staff to ensure they will add value to a candidate’s search and not compromise the job seeker’s personal information. Job-Hunt is a wonderful resource for helping clients sample multiple job search tools.
Spoke Spoke provides business data and detailed contact information on demand. It contains over 40 million people at 2.3 million companies. Spoke lets you create, customize, and promote your own online profile as well. Like ZoomInfo, Spoke is a great tool for finding decision makers. Spoke even has an interface with Simply Hired (a job aggregate board) that allows users to search for decision makers in the companies where Simply Hired has posted jobs.
Jigsaw is an online directory of more than 8 million business contacts. Users can access names, titles, postal addresses, e-mail addresses and direct dial phone numbers. Membership is free and you can get a contact by adding one of your own. For each one you add, you get access to any other in the Jigsaw directory. As an alternative, you can sign-up for a premium account and access 25 contacts for $25 a month. We all know that the best jobs are found through the hidden job network. Tools like Jigsaw help job seekers uncover the right person to talk to at their target companies.
FTT Research can leverage information on millions of domestic and international companies and provide in-depth coverage of thousands of the world’s top business enterprises to identify target companies and business contacts. FTT canvases an entire industry, geography, and job function to find the right kinds of decision makers across multiple potential targets.
Highbeam is an online library and research tool that collects millions of research articles from trusted published sources and puts them all in one place. You can access some information for free or purchase a very reasonably priced annual subscription. This is an excellent resource for you to use when searching for potential company targets or preparing for an upcoming interview. By thoroughly researching a company ahead of time, job seekers can have more engaging and thought-provoking questions based on what they have read about that company. This helps them gain credibility during the interview, and in turn, elevates their candidacy.
See the full list of 15 and the full CareerRealism article
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Can we learn anything from Charlie Sheen's social media activity?
Despite having nearly 3m followers on Twitter within three weeks, Charlie Sheen is on the lookout for a social media intern.
With all the coverage in the media at the moment I want to come from a different angle: is Sheen already in the middle of a social media strategy? If so, what can we learn from it?
Sheen has gained more attention on the internet than ever before, using his fame and behaviour as a catalyst for his successful online presence. His already famous interview with Good Morning America made people question his state of mind. From a social media point of view, he's executed his personal brand perfectly.
Within two weeks he has amassed nearly 3m followers on Twitter. Here's some more statistics (as of 17th March):
With a little pep talk on how to use hashtags and uploading pictures to twitpic.com, Sheen has been able to prove that he is indeed winning, online that is. His personal brand is more popular than the show he was fired from.
This may be true considering that people such as Joaquin Phoenix faked, for over a year, that he was retiring from acting to instead pursue a career in music - all whilst having a mental breakdown that was questioned after his infamous interview with David Letterman.
What is clear is that what Team Sheen are doing right now is a case study of what to do if you're at a certain level of celebrity, it doesn't always matter what is said or done. Whether the publicity of the role is a strategy within itself is for us to evaluate once the intern's time is complete.
With all the coverage in the media at the moment I want to come from a different angle: is Sheen already in the middle of a social media strategy? If so, what can we learn from it?
Sheen has gained more attention on the internet than ever before, using his fame and behaviour as a catalyst for his successful online presence. His already famous interview with Good Morning America made people question his state of mind. From a social media point of view, he's executed his personal brand perfectly.
Within two weeks he has amassed nearly 3m followers on Twitter. Here's some more statistics (as of 17th March):
- He's ranked 35th on Twitterholic (who gain ranking by number of followers). Every other profile above him is at least 18 months old.
- He's only made 111 tweets. That's an FPT (followers per tweet) of around 26,000.
- Has uploaded 8 photos to his Twitpic account, with a total of 7,641,030 combined views.
Is Sheen already in the middle of his social media strategy?
Patricio Robles covered how ad.ly acquired his profile and how Twitter made an exception to verify his account within 24 hours.With a little pep talk on how to use hashtags and uploading pictures to twitpic.com, Sheen has been able to prove that he is indeed winning, online that is. His personal brand is more popular than the show he was fired from.
My theory on Sheen's strategy:
Thinking more and more about the recent interviews I've watched and heard made me realise this could be one big strategy to increase his personal career. And what is his job? He's an actor.This may be true considering that people such as Joaquin Phoenix faked, for over a year, that he was retiring from acting to instead pursue a career in music - all whilst having a mental breakdown that was questioned after his infamous interview with David Letterman.
What is clear is that what Team Sheen are doing right now is a case study of what to do if you're at a certain level of celebrity, it doesn't always matter what is said or done. Whether the publicity of the role is a strategy within itself is for us to evaluate once the intern's time is complete.
What can we learn from Sheen's strategy?
Let LinkedIn help nurture your network
By Lily Whiteman
The time to build your professional network is before you need it. Once you need help, it may be too late to find allies who are ready, willing and able to provide it.
Among the tools that can help you grow your network is LinkedIn. com — a free, searchable database of professionals in virtually every field.
Use LinkedIn to connect with current and former contacts, the contacts of your contacts and so on — just as you may use in-person opportunities to generate such connections. Also, use LinkedIn to initiate contact with strangers with whom you share common ground; find such allies by searching the LinkedIn database by name, keyword, employer or industry.
Once you register on LinkedIn, you can create a profile that includes varied features, such as your professional summary, a list of your educational and professional credentials, your photograph, as well as links to other LinkedIn members, relevant professional organizations, and websites that cover your work. You can also arrange for your LinkedIn profile to showcase written recommendations from your professional associates and a downloadable version of your résumé.
You can link your profile to those of other LinkedIn members who, at your request, give you permission to do so.
Alternatively, at your request, your own contacts or the contacts of your contacts may introduce you to members of their LinkedIn circles.
With these features, LinkedIn can help you:
• Arrange for hiring managers and other professional contacts to instantly access your résumé and professional recommendations online without you even having to e-mail these documents. To promote such access, change the online address of your LinkedIn profile to your own name, and then link to it from your private e-mail signature and your other private online communications.
• Find potential mentors who have held certain positions, gained experience in particular fields, conquered the same types of obstacles you are confronting or done anything else that may qualify them to advise you on your career choices or answer questions about issues in your field.
• Identify potential speakers for conferences, and identify experts to recruit onto work groups, advisory panels, conference panels or professional organizations.
More Tips and Complete FederalTimes Article
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Guy Kawasaki’s “Enchantment” Really Does Enchant
by Adam C. Engst
Baseball manager Leo Durocher has been much quoted for noting that “Nice guys finish last.” And certainly it seems that attitude, snark, and general bad behavior are guaranteed ways of attracting attention, whether on the Internet or in the real world. But attention doesn’t necessarily equate with desired results, and former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki (“The Macintosh Way,” “Rules for Revolutionaries,” and many other titles) argues in his latest book, “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions,” that there’s a better way of not just getting what you want, but also bringing about a voluntary and enduring change in others.
That better way, of course, is to enchant them, and while the word feels slightly stretched to fit into Kawasaki’s usage, the book repeatedly emphasizes that the goal is not to manipulate people into following your cause or buying your product, but to transform them into true believers and loyal customers. This separates “Enchantment” from many other business and marketing books, where the goals often seem to justify the means.
Despite a few humorous asides about the role of enchantment in marriage, “Enchantment” focuses on the business world, cutting across huge swaths of the work-life landscape and explaining how to employ enchantment regardless of whether you’re an employee with a boss, a boss with employees, a marketer looking to increase sales, an entrepreneur launching a new product, or even a community organizer trying to attract volunteers.
With twelve chapters, each containing a number of short sections, “Enchantment” is easily scanned and a quick read, though going through the book once in order is a good idea to ensure you’re exposed to the early chapters on likability and trustworthiness, personal qualities essential for creating enchantment. Next come four chapters on preparing, launching, overcoming resistance, and making enchantment endure — these chapters are the core of the book, focusing as they do on helping you achieve your goals in a successful and lasting manner.
Read Adam's Complete Review
Baseball manager Leo Durocher has been much quoted for noting that “Nice guys finish last.” And certainly it seems that attitude, snark, and general bad behavior are guaranteed ways of attracting attention, whether on the Internet or in the real world. But attention doesn’t necessarily equate with desired results, and former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki (“The Macintosh Way,” “Rules for Revolutionaries,” and many other titles) argues in his latest book, “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions,” that there’s a better way of not just getting what you want, but also bringing about a voluntary and enduring change in others.
That better way, of course, is to enchant them, and while the word feels slightly stretched to fit into Kawasaki’s usage, the book repeatedly emphasizes that the goal is not to manipulate people into following your cause or buying your product, but to transform them into true believers and loyal customers. This separates “Enchantment” from many other business and marketing books, where the goals often seem to justify the means.
Despite a few humorous asides about the role of enchantment in marriage, “Enchantment” focuses on the business world, cutting across huge swaths of the work-life landscape and explaining how to employ enchantment regardless of whether you’re an employee with a boss, a boss with employees, a marketer looking to increase sales, an entrepreneur launching a new product, or even a community organizer trying to attract volunteers.
With twelve chapters, each containing a number of short sections, “Enchantment” is easily scanned and a quick read, though going through the book once in order is a good idea to ensure you’re exposed to the early chapters on likability and trustworthiness, personal qualities essential for creating enchantment. Next come four chapters on preparing, launching, overcoming resistance, and making enchantment endure — these chapters are the core of the book, focusing as they do on helping you achieve your goals in a successful and lasting manner.
Read Adam's Complete Review
The 101 Best Twitter Job Search/Career Experts Plus 6
I’ve had several complaints that my #FollowFriday Tweets of great career and job search Twitter accounts are overwhelming. So, this is my #FF list, consolidated and broken up by category. I’ve tried very hard not to leave off anyone who is making a great contribution, and agonized about leaving off several to keep the number to 101 of the most useful.
And, there are many other popular Twitter accounts which provide a mix of content with “personality” and they are not included here. But, they could still be useful to you – it just depends what you want.
Find all these Tweeps and more on Job-Hunt’s Job Search Experts Twitter List.
Who is included here:
If you have suggestions about accounts which should be added, or even deleted, let me know.
Keep coming back. I will post new versions of this every month, and, of course, this is Job-Hunt.org – there will always be more resources added soon.
The 101 BEST JOB SEARCH/CAREER TWEEPS:
Many excellent career Tweeps are not included in this version of the list because they are not currently active or not on-topic right now (new baby, new job, vacation time, whatever).
Note: This has been updated numerous times, and I will continue to update it.
March 21, 2011, is the date of the latest update.
March 21, 2011, is the date of the latest update.
Find all these Tweeps and more on Job-Hunt’s Job Search Experts Twitter List.
Who is included here:
- These are the people I’ve judged best at providing good content in their Tweets and trying to help people with the job search/career management process.
- These people Tweet regularly, on topic with new, fresh information.
- For me, the signal-to-noise ratio is usually good – these people are not focused on self-promotion or sending many off-topic Tweets.
If you have suggestions about accounts which should be added, or even deleted, let me know.
Keep coming back. I will post new versions of this every month, and, of course, this is Job-Hunt.org – there will always be more resources added soon.
The 101 BEST JOB SEARCH/CAREER TWEEPS:
Monday, March 21, 2011
Keep that social network profile updated
Priyanka Joshi
Shruti Marathe, an MBA from Symbiosis College, created her business networking profile on LinkedIn two months after she completed her course. “I wrote about my college projects in details and even had work recommendations posted by seniors, who guided me during my internship,” she recalls. Within a few days, Marathe got a call from a company, National Instruments, to come for an interview. “Soon, I had two offer letters in my hand,” recalls Marathe, now working as a sales executive with the Star group.
Social media and career networking portals have become imperative for first-time jobseekers. Whether it’s through blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, people are seeking potential employers through alternative online sources. Take, for example, professionals like Nikhita Arora, who works with Madison Media. She bagged her existing job via LinkedIn. “I maintained my profile on career networking sites like ApnaCircle and LinkedIn. During college, we were repeatedly told how recruiters use social media to hire freshers,” she says. Arora, who had moved to New Delhi for another job, was interviewed by her existing company CEO after he reviewed her LinkedIn profile; he offered a new job in Mumbai within 24 hours of talking to her. Now, she uses her LinkedIn profile to initiate business meetings with contacts she has made online.
The reason why India’s 80-million internet base is turning to social networks to find employment is in numbers. Sites like Facebook have a little over 15 million members from India and LinkedIn claims to have more than nine million professionals from India networking on its site. Twitter has 145 million registered users globally. It is only natural for prospective employers and recruiting agencies to scan these sites to gather detailed profiles while hiring college graduates. For the employees, web 2.0 tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are the newest way to extend the social circle and tap into jobs that aren’t usually advertised.
More Advice and Complete Business Standard Article
Shruti Marathe, an MBA from Symbiosis College, created her business networking profile on LinkedIn two months after she completed her course. “I wrote about my college projects in details and even had work recommendations posted by seniors, who guided me during my internship,” she recalls. Within a few days, Marathe got a call from a company, National Instruments, to come for an interview. “Soon, I had two offer letters in my hand,” recalls Marathe, now working as a sales executive with the Star group.
Social media and career networking portals have become imperative for first-time jobseekers. Whether it’s through blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, people are seeking potential employers through alternative online sources. Take, for example, professionals like Nikhita Arora, who works with Madison Media. She bagged her existing job via LinkedIn. “I maintained my profile on career networking sites like ApnaCircle and LinkedIn. During college, we were repeatedly told how recruiters use social media to hire freshers,” she says. Arora, who had moved to New Delhi for another job, was interviewed by her existing company CEO after he reviewed her LinkedIn profile; he offered a new job in Mumbai within 24 hours of talking to her. Now, she uses her LinkedIn profile to initiate business meetings with contacts she has made online.
The reason why India’s 80-million internet base is turning to social networks to find employment is in numbers. Sites like Facebook have a little over 15 million members from India and LinkedIn claims to have more than nine million professionals from India networking on its site. Twitter has 145 million registered users globally. It is only natural for prospective employers and recruiting agencies to scan these sites to gather detailed profiles while hiring college graduates. For the employees, web 2.0 tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are the newest way to extend the social circle and tap into jobs that aren’t usually advertised.
More Advice and Complete Business Standard Article
The Charlie Sheen Guide to Winning! at Online Marketing
by
Unless you’ve been living without electricity for the last few weeks, you’ve no doubt witnessed what might be the biggest celebrity meltdown in the history of … EVER.
Charlie Sheen has skated along a downward spiral, going from the highest paid actor in television to an unemployed “winner,” ranting about conspiracies, tiger blood and Adonis DNA to anyone who will lend him an ear or microphone.
Though we don’t know how this epic tale of the Malibu Messiah will eventually end, and it’s difficult to discuss without delicate considerations for drug abuse and Sheen’s questionable mental state, believe it or not there are a few things we can learn from Sheen. Here are a few valuable branding lessons from this fiasco.
Before we get started, we’re not suggesting you start taking buckets of drugs, kicking it with porn stars, or neglecting your young children. (In fact, please don’t do any of these things.)
But there’s no denying some of Sheen’s antics can work wonders in the attention-seeking world of marketing — as long as you find the balance at the lip of Crazy Canyon without throwing yourself over the edge.
Fine-tune your public persona. Amplify certain angles, exaggerate others, and create the YOU that’s most appealing for your market.
Never be a phony, but think of all the larger-than-life people you know — and how they present a side of themselves that’s fit for public consumption.
And if you happen to have Adonis DNA, by all means, don’t keep it to yourself.
Sheen took a phrase which was being used to mock him for his crazy rants and twisted it to his advantage, as though it was just another “torpedo of truth.”
Develop a catchphrase for your brand. Be clever. If your brand is tarnished, you might even find a way to inject humor into a catchphrase and hone it to your benefit.
Use your catchphrase in copy, video, and wherever else seems like a good fit.
One word of warning — it takes a special sort of personality to use a catchphrase without coming off like a phony.
And while not everyone cares for that type of show or humor, you can’t be all things to all people.
Concentrate on what you do well, build your tribe around it, and make no apologies to those who “don’t get it.”
Because he delivered.
He showed up to work and did an impressive job on Two and a Half Men, delivering laughs and ratings to the Tiffany network.
Do something well enough and people will let you get away with a lot.
Be a rock star. Put yourself out there.
Say things that flip the status quo and shake every leaf from its tree. Wear glittery pants, if you want. Just make sure you’re damned good at what you do, and deliver on time.
Sheen went after show-runner Chuck Lorre with teeth bared and racist overtones; his vitriol spewing out and spilling over to other network execs.
People appreciate when you slaughter a few sacred cows. And you can always gather a heap of street cred saying the things others are afraid to say. But there’s an uncrossable line you must consider.
Level personal attacks, particularly against the people who can help you, and you can’t be surprised when they come back and bite you hard.
But Sheen, being the firebomb thrower he is, went on the offense, lashing out at his bosses, and taking his particular brand of dementia to the airwaves and Internet, blistering critics with sound bites of awkward brilliance.
While this tactic got him fired, it also gave him a metric ton of buzz, and several rumored offers.
Tips 7 - 10 and Complete copyblogger Article
Unless you’ve been living without electricity for the last few weeks, you’ve no doubt witnessed what might be the biggest celebrity meltdown in the history of … EVER.
Charlie Sheen has skated along a downward spiral, going from the highest paid actor in television to an unemployed “winner,” ranting about conspiracies, tiger blood and Adonis DNA to anyone who will lend him an ear or microphone.
Though we don’t know how this epic tale of the Malibu Messiah will eventually end, and it’s difficult to discuss without delicate considerations for drug abuse and Sheen’s questionable mental state, believe it or not there are a few things we can learn from Sheen. Here are a few valuable branding lessons from this fiasco.
Before we get started, we’re not suggesting you start taking buckets of drugs, kicking it with porn stars, or neglecting your young children. (In fact, please don’t do any of these things.)
But there’s no denying some of Sheen’s antics can work wonders in the attention-seeking world of marketing — as long as you find the balance at the lip of Crazy Canyon without throwing yourself over the edge.
Be yourself
Charlie Sheen lives without apology, embracing his vices, making love to his weaknesses, and getting high on a drug called “Charlie Sheen”:It’s not available because if you try it you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.This has tremendous appeal. Sheen attracts people who dig his free spirit, along with those folks who love to watch the crazy train as it threatens to derail.
Fine-tune your public persona. Amplify certain angles, exaggerate others, and create the YOU that’s most appealing for your market.
Never be a phony, but think of all the larger-than-life people you know — and how they present a side of themselves that’s fit for public consumption.
And if you happen to have Adonis DNA, by all means, don’t keep it to yourself.
Embrace the catchphrase
Sheen turned his “Duh, winning” into a marketable catchphrase, already being screened and inked on a line of tee-shirts. And you can almost smell the popcorn of the upcoming movie screening.Sheen took a phrase which was being used to mock him for his crazy rants and twisted it to his advantage, as though it was just another “torpedo of truth.”
Develop a catchphrase for your brand. Be clever. If your brand is tarnished, you might even find a way to inject humor into a catchphrase and hone it to your benefit.
Use your catchphrase in copy, video, and wherever else seems like a good fit.
One word of warning — it takes a special sort of personality to use a catchphrase without coming off like a phony.
Build your tribe
Sure, Two and a Half Men wasn’t fine art, but it was a damned funny show. It was almost tailor made to Sheen’s public image, while glossing over it with a fine coating of lovable rapscallion, to make both the show, and its star, likable.And while not everyone cares for that type of show or humor, you can’t be all things to all people.
Concentrate on what you do well, build your tribe around it, and make no apologies to those who “don’t get it.”
You can get away with a lot –- if you deliver
Network execs and viewers overlooked Sheen’s partying and domestic violence allegations for years. Why?Because he delivered.
He showed up to work and did an impressive job on Two and a Half Men, delivering laughs and ratings to the Tiffany network.
Do something well enough and people will let you get away with a lot.
Be a rock star. Put yourself out there.
Say things that flip the status quo and shake every leaf from its tree. Wear glittery pants, if you want. Just make sure you’re damned good at what you do, and deliver on time.
Don’t trash the people you work for
This might prove to be the real reason Sheen got canned from Two and a Half Men.Sheen went after show-runner Chuck Lorre with teeth bared and racist overtones; his vitriol spewing out and spilling over to other network execs.
People appreciate when you slaughter a few sacred cows. And you can always gather a heap of street cred saying the things others are afraid to say. But there’s an uncrossable line you must consider.
Level personal attacks, particularly against the people who can help you, and you can’t be surprised when they come back and bite you hard.
Be unpredictable
When CBS ceased production of Two and a Half Men, Sheen could have (and probably should have) quietly retreated to rehab, or laid low, and let things pass over.But Sheen, being the firebomb thrower he is, went on the offense, lashing out at his bosses, and taking his particular brand of dementia to the airwaves and Internet, blistering critics with sound bites of awkward brilliance.
While this tactic got him fired, it also gave him a metric ton of buzz, and several rumored offers.
Tips 7 - 10 and Complete copyblogger Article
About the Authors: Sean Platt and David Wright help good writers make a great living. Get their free report, The 9 Mistakes Most Writers Make That Are Keeping Them Poor.
Friday, March 18, 2011
8 Tips for Returning to Work Stress-Free
The numbers are crawling. They are crawling slowly. Nonetheless, unemployment numbers are moving in the desired direction: down! My personal experience illustrates this, as I see clients and friends going back to work after being engaged in a job search for months -- even years. Recently, a concern that I have been hearing a lot, as a result, is how to successfully transition back into a full-time, structured work schedule after not having one for so long
.
Below, I've outlined some tips here on how to make this transition a graceful one:
Go To Bed
I've noticed people frequently develop erratic sleeping patterns when structure and schedule are fluid and flexible. If you're moving into a position that is going to require you being at an office at an early morning hour, I strongly urge you to start shifting your sleep pattern. More than likely you will want to start getting to bed earlier and setting an alarm for an early hour. Some tips to do this include preparing for sleep time an hour prior to getting into bed. This includes turning off your computer, dimming lights, engaging in your bedtime rituals (this can be as simple as setting the alarm on your coffee pot and flossing).
Get Your Clothes Ready
If your formal, work shirts have been rolled up in a laundry bag since your last day on your last job, it is time to grab the bag and drop it off at the dry cleaner. Also, do yourself the favor of pulling your clothes out the night before, when you go to bed.
Take Care Of Yourself
Make sure you eat healthy, drink enough water, take necessary breaks and keep exercising. It may be very easy to get swept into the whirlwind of a hectic work environment when you go back to work. You may even think this is the way to impress your boss and new colleagues. However, if you're not taking care of yourself, and end up calling out sick sooner than desired or are unable to function optimally, then who, may I ask, does that impress? (See my article: "6 Tips to Recharge at the Office.")
Leave Work At Work
Before leaving the office for the day, make a list of the things that you think might plague your mind when you go home or move on to the next day or evening's event. Then tear it up! After tearing up the list, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and say to yourself, "Breathe in love, breathe out peace." After a few of these breaths, envision leaving all of your work concerns and stress behind, as you walk through your office door and turn to lock it.
Read The Rest Of The Huffington Post Article
Jason Mannino is an Executive Talent Acquisition Consultant and Coach. For inquiries, e-mail info@jmannino.com.
Follow Jason Mannino on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jasonmannino
.
Below, I've outlined some tips here on how to make this transition a graceful one:
Go To Bed
I've noticed people frequently develop erratic sleeping patterns when structure and schedule are fluid and flexible. If you're moving into a position that is going to require you being at an office at an early morning hour, I strongly urge you to start shifting your sleep pattern. More than likely you will want to start getting to bed earlier and setting an alarm for an early hour. Some tips to do this include preparing for sleep time an hour prior to getting into bed. This includes turning off your computer, dimming lights, engaging in your bedtime rituals (this can be as simple as setting the alarm on your coffee pot and flossing).
Get Your Clothes Ready
If your formal, work shirts have been rolled up in a laundry bag since your last day on your last job, it is time to grab the bag and drop it off at the dry cleaner. Also, do yourself the favor of pulling your clothes out the night before, when you go to bed.
Take Care Of Yourself
Make sure you eat healthy, drink enough water, take necessary breaks and keep exercising. It may be very easy to get swept into the whirlwind of a hectic work environment when you go back to work. You may even think this is the way to impress your boss and new colleagues. However, if you're not taking care of yourself, and end up calling out sick sooner than desired or are unable to function optimally, then who, may I ask, does that impress? (See my article: "6 Tips to Recharge at the Office.")
Leave Work At Work
Before leaving the office for the day, make a list of the things that you think might plague your mind when you go home or move on to the next day or evening's event. Then tear it up! After tearing up the list, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and say to yourself, "Breathe in love, breathe out peace." After a few of these breaths, envision leaving all of your work concerns and stress behind, as you walk through your office door and turn to lock it.
Read The Rest Of The Huffington Post Article
Jason Mannino is an Executive Talent Acquisition Consultant and Coach. For inquiries, e-mail info@jmannino.com.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Top 10 LinkedIn Profile Deal Breakers
By
Regardless of how active you choose to be on LinkedIn on a weekly, monthly or even yearly basis, it is essential that you ALWAYS maintain a complete and up-to-date LinkedIn profile. This not only serves as your resume online to which you can refer new contacts you meet in your job search and/or career networking, but also serves as one of the most searchable outposts for your personal brand on the web thanks to its high rankings in Google and other search engines.
When employers, clients, partners or anyone for that matter searches your name specifically or relevant industry keywords, your LinkedIn profile will often be where they find come across you first. Therefore, how your profile presents you can literally make or break a potential career or business opportunity for you, and in most cases, you won’t even have a clue that you missed out!
I have compiled a list of the top 10 LinkedIn profile mistakes professionals make in hopes to help you optimize your LinkedIn personal brand presence and avoid losing out on new opportunities for career success.
1. Not having a 100% complete profile. LinkedIn provides you a step-by-step guide to complete your profile. Not only does completing your profile 100% make you look more professional, but it also, helps optimize your placement in LinkedIn’s People Search results.
Here’s what you need to have a 100% complete profile:
3. Not proofreading your profile for grammar, punctuation and capitalization. Make sure to review your entire profile a number of times to avoid missing any grammatical errors. Ask someone you know to review your profile for an outside perspective and for an extra pair of eyes to catch possible mistakes or opportunities for improvement.
4. Not including your personal brand or statement in your profile. First of all, in your profile subtitle, don’t miss the opportunity to attract more profile viewers and impress potential employers and career stakeholders by listing yourself as “Finance Professional,” “College Student” or anything else generic or boring. Use this area to share your brand and unique and differentiating value with your network and future target audience. Also, don’t forget about your summary section where you can feature your personal brand and supporting pitch and really hook viewers to read the rest of your profile.
5. Not customizing your own LinkedIn profile URL. Many professionals forget or neglect to personalize their LinkedIn profile URL with their name and leave the default letters and numbers in place. This looks less professional, but also prevents you from using this in your networking efforts to link your contacts back to your profile.
Deal Breakers 6 - 10 and Full Career Rocketeer Article
Regardless of how active you choose to be on LinkedIn on a weekly, monthly or even yearly basis, it is essential that you ALWAYS maintain a complete and up-to-date LinkedIn profile. This not only serves as your resume online to which you can refer new contacts you meet in your job search and/or career networking, but also serves as one of the most searchable outposts for your personal brand on the web thanks to its high rankings in Google and other search engines.
When employers, clients, partners or anyone for that matter searches your name specifically or relevant industry keywords, your LinkedIn profile will often be where they find come across you first. Therefore, how your profile presents you can literally make or break a potential career or business opportunity for you, and in most cases, you won’t even have a clue that you missed out!
I have compiled a list of the top 10 LinkedIn profile mistakes professionals make in hopes to help you optimize your LinkedIn personal brand presence and avoid losing out on new opportunities for career success.
1. Not having a 100% complete profile. LinkedIn provides you a step-by-step guide to complete your profile. Not only does completing your profile 100% make you look more professional, but it also, helps optimize your placement in LinkedIn’s People Search results.
Here’s what you need to have a 100% complete profile:
- Your Current Position
- Two Past Positions
- Education
- Profile Summary
- Profile Photo
- Your Specialties/Skills
- 3 Recommendations
3. Not proofreading your profile for grammar, punctuation and capitalization. Make sure to review your entire profile a number of times to avoid missing any grammatical errors. Ask someone you know to review your profile for an outside perspective and for an extra pair of eyes to catch possible mistakes or opportunities for improvement.
4. Not including your personal brand or statement in your profile. First of all, in your profile subtitle, don’t miss the opportunity to attract more profile viewers and impress potential employers and career stakeholders by listing yourself as “Finance Professional,” “College Student” or anything else generic or boring. Use this area to share your brand and unique and differentiating value with your network and future target audience. Also, don’t forget about your summary section where you can feature your personal brand and supporting pitch and really hook viewers to read the rest of your profile.
5. Not customizing your own LinkedIn profile URL. Many professionals forget or neglect to personalize their LinkedIn profile URL with their name and leave the default letters and numbers in place. This looks less professional, but also prevents you from using this in your networking efforts to link your contacts back to your profile.
Deal Breakers 6 - 10 and Full Career Rocketeer Article
Are Recruiters To Blame For The Job Market Blues?
Posted by Adrienne Graham
As A recruiter, I sit on both sides of this issue and I’m bound to make a few people mad. But so what, the truth hurts because, well, it’s the truth. Recruiters aren’t to blame, but they sure don’t help!
Now, before all of you recruiting professionals go grabbing the pitch forks and torches, I’m not throwing my recruiters under the bus. And I’m not blaming all recruiters because we don’t make the hiring decisions.
But I can’t help but notice that recruiters aren’t exactly trying to ease the market woes either. If you read any of the articles that talk about job search, job market, unemployment, etc., you’ll see various comments (ranging from disillusioned to angry) about how a person’s experience is going with their job search.
There’s an air of frustration, and rightfully so. Recruiters aren’t getting back to candidates to close the loop. Applicants are submitting resumes into the black hole we call an applicant tracking system. Companies spend thousands of dollars to make their websites look pretty and reach out (and I use that term loosely) to candidates via social media to say “Hey, come work for us.”
You’re giving candidates mixed messages! The bottom line is whether or not they even get a phone call, people rarely hear back from recruiters after that initial contact (unless they are lucky enough to get called in for an interview with the hiring manager) and that’s a problem.
How many of you feel that it’s getting increasingly pointless to apply for jobs any more? I’ll venture a guess and say a great deal of you feel that way.
It’s understandable. The gloom and doom jobs and unemployment reports are enough to discourage even the biggest optimist. But when companies ARE hiring and you still hear nothing, it can be frustrating.
The biggest complaint I hear is that people aren’t getting feedback. And if they are, it’s the generic, canned “thanks but no thanks” email. How impersonal!
In this economy,the least companies can do is make people feel human. People are shocked when I call them to tell them they won’t be moving forward in the process. One woman told me that she wasn’t expecting to hear anything because “that’s just the way things are today.” It saddened and frustrated me…and I’m a recruiter!
I’m not perfect, and it often takes me a while to get back to people. But I do try. I don’t always 100% deliver but I do try. I’m woman enough to admit that publicly. It doesn’t matter if an applicant is applying for a janitor or VP position, they deserve the courtesy of a follow up.
And, no, a canned email is not enough. People want to feel acknowledged, human. It’s hard enough for someone who has been out of work for an extended amount of time to go through the humiliation of deafening silence, especially when they know they’re a fit. And even if they aren’t, don’t you owe it to them to let them know they’re not and why? I think so.
Now don’t think I’m letting you job seekers off the hook that easily. You take some of the blame here too. I understand the market is tough. But apply for jobs that fit your skills or that you have a chance at getting.
Be upfront in your cover letters (yes, people still do write those) if you’re looking to make a career change. If you’re a Wal-Mart pharmacist and you send a resume for a HP project manager position, of course you’ll end up in the reject pile. But if you send a cover letter stating your intent to change careers, perhaps that will open the door at least to a conversation. Then it’s on you to close the deal.
Also, ask about the etiquette of follow up. calling and emailing a recruiter five times a day is excessive and annoying. You want to stay in touch but with respect. Don’t make a recruiter avoid you. So do your part too! It’s a two way street.
Read The Rest Of The Forbes Article
As A recruiter, I sit on both sides of this issue and I’m bound to make a few people mad. But so what, the truth hurts because, well, it’s the truth. Recruiters aren’t to blame, but they sure don’t help!
Now, before all of you recruiting professionals go grabbing the pitch forks and torches, I’m not throwing my recruiters under the bus. And I’m not blaming all recruiters because we don’t make the hiring decisions.
But I can’t help but notice that recruiters aren’t exactly trying to ease the market woes either. If you read any of the articles that talk about job search, job market, unemployment, etc., you’ll see various comments (ranging from disillusioned to angry) about how a person’s experience is going with their job search.
There’s an air of frustration, and rightfully so. Recruiters aren’t getting back to candidates to close the loop. Applicants are submitting resumes into the black hole we call an applicant tracking system. Companies spend thousands of dollars to make their websites look pretty and reach out (and I use that term loosely) to candidates via social media to say “Hey, come work for us.”
You’re giving candidates mixed messages! The bottom line is whether or not they even get a phone call, people rarely hear back from recruiters after that initial contact (unless they are lucky enough to get called in for an interview with the hiring manager) and that’s a problem.
How many of you feel that it’s getting increasingly pointless to apply for jobs any more? I’ll venture a guess and say a great deal of you feel that way.
It’s understandable. The gloom and doom jobs and unemployment reports are enough to discourage even the biggest optimist. But when companies ARE hiring and you still hear nothing, it can be frustrating.
The biggest complaint I hear is that people aren’t getting feedback. And if they are, it’s the generic, canned “thanks but no thanks” email. How impersonal!
In this economy,the least companies can do is make people feel human. People are shocked when I call them to tell them they won’t be moving forward in the process. One woman told me that she wasn’t expecting to hear anything because “that’s just the way things are today.” It saddened and frustrated me…and I’m a recruiter!
I’m not perfect, and it often takes me a while to get back to people. But I do try. I don’t always 100% deliver but I do try. I’m woman enough to admit that publicly. It doesn’t matter if an applicant is applying for a janitor or VP position, they deserve the courtesy of a follow up.
And, no, a canned email is not enough. People want to feel acknowledged, human. It’s hard enough for someone who has been out of work for an extended amount of time to go through the humiliation of deafening silence, especially when they know they’re a fit. And even if they aren’t, don’t you owe it to them to let them know they’re not and why? I think so.
Now don’t think I’m letting you job seekers off the hook that easily. You take some of the blame here too. I understand the market is tough. But apply for jobs that fit your skills or that you have a chance at getting.
Be upfront in your cover letters (yes, people still do write those) if you’re looking to make a career change. If you’re a Wal-Mart pharmacist and you send a resume for a HP project manager position, of course you’ll end up in the reject pile. But if you send a cover letter stating your intent to change careers, perhaps that will open the door at least to a conversation. Then it’s on you to close the deal.
Also, ask about the etiquette of follow up. calling and emailing a recruiter five times a day is excessive and annoying. You want to stay in touch but with respect. Don’t make a recruiter avoid you. So do your part too! It’s a two way street.
Read The Rest Of The Forbes Article
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Personal branding gives workers an edge on keeping job
Written by NATHAN PHELPS
GREEN BAY — In a bumpy economy, holding on to your job has become a more artful task.
One of the keys is standing out, said Barbara Jordan, owner of AdvantEdge Success Coaching here.
"Toot your own horn," she said. "Don't wait for your leadership to notice what you have done or how much you are accomplishing. They may never notice unless you bring it to their attention."
Jordan has seen an increase in business in recent years as people look to increase their visibility — both those who are employed and the unemployed who are re-evaluating their career goals and aspirations.
"I present it as an opportunity to hone their skills and polish who, and what, they are and what they represent," she said. "Some people can see it as 'This is another thing I have to do. I'm spread thin already, ... ' but this is a preventative measure and is also an esteem-building exercise because you are evaluating what your strengths are."
Mandy Nycz, associate director of St. Norbert College Career Services in De Pere, Wis., tells students they need to go above and beyond expectations in the workplace — especially in this economy.
"You can't do just your job description anymore. You have to give more at your job; that's something a lot of employers look for," she said.
Like Jordan, Nycz said it's important for employees to track their workplace successes.
"You should always maintain a record of accomplishments," she said. "Let's face it, companies are having to do more with less in the current economy, and your boss may not always have the time to recognize what you have been up to and what you've been accomplishing."
Those lists can be helpful when completing an annual review.
More Tips and Complete Northwestern Article
Breadwinners now begging for scraps: Men 55 and older face soaring unemployment
Graham Cawthon
KINGS MOUNTAIN — Allan Nichols describes himself as a well-read, self-motivated native Cheesehead. He has a law degree, spent time with a chamber of commerce, was a corporate lobbyist and spends his nights teaching himself astronomy.
But, since July 2006, that hasn’t been enough to get Nichols, 58, a job.
Older workers out of work
And he’s not alone. Nationwide unemployment in 2001 among people 55 and older seeking full-time work stood at 442,000. In 2009, that number quadrupled to 1,624,000. And it continues to rise, with 2010 at 1,816,000.
But the story within the story is who’s out of work. Year after year, roughly 50 percent of the annual average is attributed to the white male demographic.
Nichols refers to it as a ‘manpression,’ as older, white male, experienced middle management workers can’t find footing in today’s economy.
“We were the breadwinners,” he said. “Now, we're begging for scraps.”
1,200 job applications
Unemployment benefits “expired long ago” and Nichols, who isn’t married or having to support kids, said he’s not willing to turn to food stamps or the Department of Social Services for assistance. And so the self-described “aggressive saver” sells on eBay and works as a handyman to pay the bills.
“When you’re unemployed, finding a job has to be your job,” he said.
He estimates he put in 1,200 job applications in 2010. Of those, he said, he actually received rejections from 16 or 17. He says his education and professional experience have worked against him, with prospective employers classifying him as overqualified for the job.
“Do I lie on my resume and leave out law school and a college degree?” he asks. “Not lying is one of the earliest rules of Sunday school.”
And there’s no lying when it comes to his gray hair. Age too, he said, has worked against finding employment and has been an issue of discussion at job interviews.
“But that goes more to motivation,” he continued. “I don’t tweet, I don’t Facebook and I don’t play fantasy football on the boss’s time.”
‘It’s terrifying’
Nichols’ days begin early with several hours spent searching online and in the media for tips that may lead to employment, not only in the county but nationwide. He studies the front page of the newspaper, looking for familiar names of people who might know more about potential job growth.
There was once an opportunity to land a position with a small museum in his native Wisconsin. It would have meant $30,000 per year, no retirement and no health benefits. And, despite his efforts, that too fell through.
He looks for more museum positions, and even has his eye on potential opportunities with the Earl Scruggs Center, set for a 2012 opening. But, so far, nothing.
“It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to be optimistic,” he said. “It’s terrifying.”
He still owns a laptop and has a cable TV subscription, which he contends is about as luxurious as his expenses get. But even those may fall by the wayside as his job search continues.
‘I don’t know the solution’
Read The Rest Of "The Star" Article
KINGS MOUNTAIN — Allan Nichols describes himself as a well-read, self-motivated native Cheesehead. He has a law degree, spent time with a chamber of commerce, was a corporate lobbyist and spends his nights teaching himself astronomy.
But, since July 2006, that hasn’t been enough to get Nichols, 58, a job.
Older workers out of work
And he’s not alone. Nationwide unemployment in 2001 among people 55 and older seeking full-time work stood at 442,000. In 2009, that number quadrupled to 1,624,000. And it continues to rise, with 2010 at 1,816,000.
But the story within the story is who’s out of work. Year after year, roughly 50 percent of the annual average is attributed to the white male demographic.
Nichols refers to it as a ‘manpression,’ as older, white male, experienced middle management workers can’t find footing in today’s economy.
“We were the breadwinners,” he said. “Now, we're begging for scraps.”
1,200 job applications
Unemployment benefits “expired long ago” and Nichols, who isn’t married or having to support kids, said he’s not willing to turn to food stamps or the Department of Social Services for assistance. And so the self-described “aggressive saver” sells on eBay and works as a handyman to pay the bills.
“When you’re unemployed, finding a job has to be your job,” he said.
He estimates he put in 1,200 job applications in 2010. Of those, he said, he actually received rejections from 16 or 17. He says his education and professional experience have worked against him, with prospective employers classifying him as overqualified for the job.
“Do I lie on my resume and leave out law school and a college degree?” he asks. “Not lying is one of the earliest rules of Sunday school.”
And there’s no lying when it comes to his gray hair. Age too, he said, has worked against finding employment and has been an issue of discussion at job interviews.
“But that goes more to motivation,” he continued. “I don’t tweet, I don’t Facebook and I don’t play fantasy football on the boss’s time.”
‘It’s terrifying’
Nichols’ days begin early with several hours spent searching online and in the media for tips that may lead to employment, not only in the county but nationwide. He studies the front page of the newspaper, looking for familiar names of people who might know more about potential job growth.
There was once an opportunity to land a position with a small museum in his native Wisconsin. It would have meant $30,000 per year, no retirement and no health benefits. And, despite his efforts, that too fell through.
He looks for more museum positions, and even has his eye on potential opportunities with the Earl Scruggs Center, set for a 2012 opening. But, so far, nothing.
“It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to be optimistic,” he said. “It’s terrifying.”
He still owns a laptop and has a cable TV subscription, which he contends is about as luxurious as his expenses get. But even those may fall by the wayside as his job search continues.
‘I don’t know the solution’
Read The Rest Of "The Star" Article
Monday, March 14, 2011
Job recruiters shifting tactics to find ideal hires
By Greta Guest
Experts say job growth is expected this year and recruiters may step up efforts to find the right candidates.
But the ways in which they'll find those workers won't necessarily be traditional.
Will Boland, chief administrative officer for Sageworks, a Raleigh, N.C.-based firm that analyzes industry financials, said some recruiters would post openings on sites such as CareerBuilder, Craigslist or LinkedIn, but not all of them. The biggest frustration in posting jobs this way is the sheer volume of responses.
More employers are using social media sites such as Facebook to find candidates, while others are hitting the streets in search of workers.
Here is a sampling of recruiting methods from several business sectors.
ACCOUNTING/FINANCE: Kevin Suksi, a recruiter for consulting and executive search firm Accretive Solutions in Troy, Mich., recently posted a job to his Facebook friends looking for a logistics manager for a consumer products company in metro Detroit. The candidate needed trade experience in China.
While Suksi typically focuses on accounting and finance jobs, he will turn to Facebook when trying to fill something unusual.
"You just never know who knows who," he said.
But for the bread-and-butter jobs such as chief financial officers or certified public accountants, he is more likely to use LinkedIn, the professional networking site.
"The group that we are targeting in metro Detroit is a pretty finite group, and we pretty much know who they are," he said. "I think that our core value to companies is that we are able to get to people who are passive, who they wouldn't get on their own."
MORTGAGE: For jobs that require strong customer service skills, there's nothing more effective than going out to find them at their current jobs, said Michelle Salvatore, director of recruiting for Detroit-based Quicken Loans.
"We're doing a more rogue-recruiting style where we will send the recruiters out on the streets," she said.
The company's recruiters, for instance, will approach people who work at stores.
She says that up to 20 per cent of hires are personally approached by her in-house recruiting team. Salvatore oversees 27 recruiters.
Her team also uses on-site job fairs and online job sites to find candidates, particularly for the mortgage banker position, which has the highest turnover of any job at the company. The company needs to hire 1,200 mortgage bankers a year to keep up with demand and turnover.
Quicken Loans is in a trial over a lawsuit from more than 300 people working as mortgage bankers in Michigan and Ohio who argue they should have received overtime pay from 2002 to 2006.
RETAIL: With 30 per cent turnover, Wal-Mart is recruiting pretty much nonstop. Baldomero Silva, division human resources senior director who oversees Ohio, Michigan and parts of Pennsylvania, said much of the hourly and management recruiting happens at the company's website, www.walmartstores.com/careers, and in-store kiosks.
For the three states, he's looking for more than 30,000 employees a year. The company also recruits at job fairs in communities, colleges and military locations. And starting in June, Silva will be looking for 300 employees for its new store in Southgate.
Experts say job growth is expected this year and recruiters may step up efforts to find the right candidates.
But the ways in which they'll find those workers won't necessarily be traditional.
Will Boland, chief administrative officer for Sageworks, a Raleigh, N.C.-based firm that analyzes industry financials, said some recruiters would post openings on sites such as CareerBuilder, Craigslist or LinkedIn, but not all of them. The biggest frustration in posting jobs this way is the sheer volume of responses.
More employers are using social media sites such as Facebook to find candidates, while others are hitting the streets in search of workers.
Here is a sampling of recruiting methods from several business sectors.
ACCOUNTING/FINANCE: Kevin Suksi, a recruiter for consulting and executive search firm Accretive Solutions in Troy, Mich., recently posted a job to his Facebook friends looking for a logistics manager for a consumer products company in metro Detroit. The candidate needed trade experience in China.
While Suksi typically focuses on accounting and finance jobs, he will turn to Facebook when trying to fill something unusual.
"You just never know who knows who," he said.
But for the bread-and-butter jobs such as chief financial officers or certified public accountants, he is more likely to use LinkedIn, the professional networking site.
"The group that we are targeting in metro Detroit is a pretty finite group, and we pretty much know who they are," he said. "I think that our core value to companies is that we are able to get to people who are passive, who they wouldn't get on their own."
MORTGAGE: For jobs that require strong customer service skills, there's nothing more effective than going out to find them at their current jobs, said Michelle Salvatore, director of recruiting for Detroit-based Quicken Loans.
"We're doing a more rogue-recruiting style where we will send the recruiters out on the streets," she said.
The company's recruiters, for instance, will approach people who work at stores.
She says that up to 20 per cent of hires are personally approached by her in-house recruiting team. Salvatore oversees 27 recruiters.
Her team also uses on-site job fairs and online job sites to find candidates, particularly for the mortgage banker position, which has the highest turnover of any job at the company. The company needs to hire 1,200 mortgage bankers a year to keep up with demand and turnover.
Quicken Loans is in a trial over a lawsuit from more than 300 people working as mortgage bankers in Michigan and Ohio who argue they should have received overtime pay from 2002 to 2006.
RETAIL: With 30 per cent turnover, Wal-Mart is recruiting pretty much nonstop. Baldomero Silva, division human resources senior director who oversees Ohio, Michigan and parts of Pennsylvania, said much of the hourly and management recruiting happens at the company's website, www.walmartstores.com/careers, and in-store kiosks.
For the three states, he's looking for more than 30,000 employees a year. The company also recruits at job fairs in communities, colleges and military locations. And starting in June, Silva will be looking for 300 employees for its new store in Southgate.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
How I’m #winning with @CharlieSheen
From a social media perspective it has been interesting to watch the whole media swirl around Charlie Sheen. Once you get past the “waiting for the train wreck” portion of it and see that he set a record for getting to a million Twitter followers in the shortest time and a record number of intern applicants I’m hoping that there is something beyond the frantic ravings about #tigerblood...
So there you go. That is how I am #winning with @charliesheen
I’ll have posted this right away Monday morning so that Charlie’s peeps will find it if they have some keyword searches set up and we’ll see if I make the first cut.
Probably the thing that made me think that there might be something beyond craziness involved was his funny OR DIE #winning cooking sketch. It was actually funny. So I figure he either is a really good actor or that there is some thought process involved, either way it is a good sign.
This past week my blog included three articles that we about Charlie. They generated 300 visitors for the blog. That might not seem like a lot to most people but not too long ago 300 visitors would have been a good week for me. Will these 300 visits translate into anything for me? Probably not. I don’t have ads or anything else to monetize the blog.
So, how am I actually #winning with @charliesheen?
I got 300 extra visits to my blog.
I’m posting my first self generated content to my blog.
I’ve applied to be Charlie’s intern.
I actually did apply to be Charlie’s intern but since I am twice as old as I’m guessing the average applicant is I’m not too confident of making the first cut.
Why Charlie should pick me:
Experience - I actually have a real job and work experience with industry leading companies.
Social Media - I am the group owner and manager of LinkedIn groups with nearly 60,000 members.
Maturity - I’ve been around enough that if they are looking for someone with opinions and a long term perspective instead of star struck yes men I think I’d be a great addition to his team.
So there you go. That is how I am #winning with @charliesheen
I’ll have posted this right away Monday morning so that Charlie’s peeps will find it if they have some keyword searches set up and we’ll see if I make the first cut.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Top 25 LinkedIn Groups ALL Job Seekers MUST Join
One feature you job seekers may not know about or have fully explored is LinkedIn Groups. LinkedIn Groups are free to join, and you can choose to join up to 50 groups from a list of thousands of user-created groups for literally just about anything. Not only do these groups provide you access to connect with and contact fellow group members who could become future partners, employees, investors, customers etc., but the groups’ newly updated discussion board feature can provide more networking opportunities, answers to your questions and insightful advice, tips and support. You can also join the groups' subgroups and contribute answers, comments and your own expertise to the groups’ discussion boards to establish your own online personal brand on LinkedIn.
Last year, I published a list of the top 20 LinkedIn groups for job seekers which became a very popular resource on Career Rocketeer. It's been over a year since the list originally went out and some of the groups have changed and new groups have emerged. Therefore, I have updated the list and am pleased to present the Top 25 LinkedIn Groups ALL Job Seekers MUST Join to help you build your brands and launch your careers:
Last year, I published a list of the top 20 LinkedIn groups for job seekers which became a very popular resource on Career Rocketeer. It's been over a year since the list originally went out and some of the groups have changed and new groups have emerged. Therefore, I have updated the list and am pleased to present the Top 25 LinkedIn Groups ALL Job Seekers MUST Join to help you build your brands and launch your careers:
- JobAngels - Non-profit job search network of professionals helping other professionals find job advice and opportunities.
- Executive Suite - Community of over 100,000 US-based executive-level and recruiter members.
- Star:Jobs Professional Career Center - Group working in tandem with Linked:HR, the largest Recruiters’ Group on LinkedIn, to help top candidates find jobs quickly and efficiently.
- Career Rocketeer - Career Launch Network - Fastest-growing professional network for personal branding, career search and career management, bringing job seekers and employers, recruiters and career experts together for mutual success.
- The Talent Buzz - Group for job seekers, recruiters and HR professionals interested in expanding their professional networks.
- Helping Friends Career Network (LI2HF) - Business and career network where entrepreneurs, hiring managers, recruiters, and talented professionals worldwide can make meaningful win-win connections.
- JobsDirectUSA - Official job search group on LinkedIn for JobsDirectUSA.com.
- Career Change Central - Group linking job changers and professionals in career transition with recruiters, hiring managers and career coaches.
- CareerLink Network - Community providing job seekers spiritual, physical, social, mental, economic and personal growth to meet their ever-evolving needs
- Jobs Alert - Job search group for middle and senior-level managers worldwide.
- A Job Needed - A Job Posted - Group is for all LinkedIn members searching for employment, posting employment or recruiters helping members find employment.
- Looking for a Job? - Group designed to allow job seekers to share ideas, network, post jobs, advise on job market trends and ultimately help them find work.
- MyCredentials - Career Presentation - Group helping members to network, expand their resumes and enhance their interview skills.
- JibberJobber - Career Management - Network for executives, professionals, students and all those involved in the career services industry, including counselors, coaches and resume writers.
Chris Perry, MBA is a Gen Y brand and marketing “generator,” a career search and personal branding expert and the founder of Career Rocketeer and Launchpad.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)