Posts
Jason Baptiste
(Editor’s note: Jason L. Baptiste is the CEO and co-founder of PadPressed and co-author of the OnStartups blog. This story originally appeared at that site.)
In between the winning and being ringmaster of the year’s biggest media circus, Charlie Sheen has been spouting off a lot of one-liners that are becoming pop culture catch phrases. But mixed in are a lot of interesting quotes that can be applied to entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur, after all, often straddles a thin border between insane and brilliant.
Here are his best:
“Defeat is not an option. CBS picked a fight with a Warlock.” – Most entrepreneurs don’t end up losing because of market forces or what can be attributed to specific failures. At the end of the day, entrepreneurs fail because they decide to give up and accept defeat as an option. When starting a company, Elon Musk referred to it as the equivalent of eating glass and staring into the abyss on a daily basis.
It may be a hard road, but complete and utter defeat is NOT an option. Take a look at Airbnb. They failed to attract any attention and failed continuously for not only days, months, but actually years. Instead of accepting defeat, they persevered and kept going. Most startups don’t die due to specific circumstances, but because they commit “suicide”.
“Everyone will say: Don’t be special, be one of us! NEWSFLASH: I am special, and I will never be one of you” – No one will understand what you do. They will hear the entrepreneur word and think you are crazy or broke. To succeed, you have to ignore those that don’t understand us.
We’re a crazy breed and we’re special. If this were for everyone, then it wouldn’t be special. As an entrepreneur you have to have thick skin and trust that it will all work out. Even when it does, you will always feel as if the respect you deserve isn’t where it should be. Steve Jobs said it best with a quote that goes along the lines of “You have to be insane to do this and you have to love it. Any sane person would do what a sane person would: just quit and give up.”
Focus in on being different and drown out the noise. They will be fast to hate on you and they be move even faster to congratulate you.
“[My brain] fires in a way, not particularly from this terrestrial realm” – As an entrepreneur, you need to think at a level that is not from this world. Look back at the legendary Apple ad campaign about “Think Different”. The rest of the world happens to be a fickle bunch. On the one hand, they want to vilify you for being an entrepreneur and take you down a level or two. On the other, they want something that is outside the box and pleases them.
The only people capable of doing that are entrepreneurs. If what you’re doing is criticized as “tame”, then you are doing something very wrong. At the end of the day, you should seem as if your creation is from another planet. Your brain needs to think in a manner that is truly extra terrestrial.
Quotes 4 - 6 and Complete Article
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
What's In A Name? A Lot, Says LinkedIn
Names tell stories: LinkedIn locates divides by gender, nationality, and profession.
If I had my sights on the corner office, I'd do well to re-brand myself as "Bill." According to LinkedIn, that is. After scouring its repository of 100 million professionals, LinkedIn has released some fascinating data about first names and career paths, not to mention some delightful infographics.
Thanks to its global reach, LinkedIn has data on professionals from across the planet. Senior Research Scientist Monica Rogati started by combing the database for names over-indexed (over-represented) among CEOs. The results revealed a gender divide.
The top five CEO names for men were either short or shortened versions of popular first names: Peter, Bob, Jack, Bruce, and Fred. The top five names for women executives, meanwhile, tended to use full names: Deborah, Sally, Debra, Cynthia, and Carolyn. Of the contrast, Rogati cites Onomastics specialist Dr. Frank Nuessel, who posits that males use shortened names to "denote a sense of friendliness and openness," whereas females employ full names to "project a more professional image."While monosyllabic names are over-represented amongst American executives, globally it's another story. The Brazilians have Roberto, Spaniards Xavier, Germans Wolfgang, and the Italians—I'm not making this up—Guido. And that's before season 4.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Hunt - A Graduating College Student's Search For A Job
Dan Treadway
I opened my inbox to find yet another email with a generic yet familiar subject line. Its content was predictable:"Reaching the final stage of interviews is an accomplishment, and as we mentioned, competition is extremely high for a very limited number of positions. While we were very impressed with your qualifications, regretfully, you will not be continuing on in the process."
As far as form letter job rejection emails go, it was surprisingly thorough, containing three whole paragraphs. A separate rejection email I had received a couple of weeks prior was only a couple of sentences long. I can't recall the copy of the email exactly, but in my mind it read, "You didn't get the job. Sucks."
I had made up my mind in September of my senior year that I would try to find a job after I graduated in the hopes of gaining some real world experience before eventually going to graduate school.
Naturally, I understood the economy wasn't begging for another wide-eyed communications major to be unleashed upon it, but I had a fleeting sense of optimism that I'd be a compelling candidate for something at least. I felt like I had done most things right throughout college: I maintained a high GPA, got solid internship experience, and somehow I had managed to never get arrested.
At first my optimism seemed warranted. I got a response from the first large company I applied to and subsequently was in contact with them until January. Following five interviews, I assumed that I was a shoe-in for the position. After all, I had answered and re-answered questions regarding just about everything except my dental history. But alas, one fateful Friday my phone rang and I was given a classic, "We really like you and think you're going to be successful, but we just don't think this was the right fit." Not the right fit after five interviews? That's one complicated puzzle.
I decided to change up my strategy and, in addition to applying to jobs, I attended the glorified meat market known as a career fair on my campus. While I was there I met a woman who thought I was a good candidate for the media organization she represented and I was encouraged to apply for a paid internship there. I kept in touch with her as I applied, and was eventually contacted by the organization and told that several shows were interested in me and that they would call me individually for interviews in the coming weeks. I sat by my phone, and, as phones have a tendency to do whenever one sits by them, it never rang.
From there I continued my search and somehow was selected as a finalist to drive the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile around the country. It started as mostly a joke when I first applied on my colleges career services website, and within a month it became a realistic possibility as I was flown out to Wisconsin to interview with 29 other candidates, of which 12 would be selected. The interview was fun, and everyone at the company was nice, but alas three weeks later I learned that I did not cut the mustard. I was Oscar Mayer humbled.
Now, eight months, dozens of applications, and six final interviews with various companies that resulted in generic rejection phone calls/emails later, I've begun relating to excerpts from the Upton Sinclair novel The Jungle, of all things.
"They were beaten; they had lost the game, they were swept aside. It was not less tragic because it was so sordid, because that it had to do with wages and grocery bills and rents."
Read The Rest Of Dan's Story @ HuffingtonPost
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
10 Tools You Need To Land Your Dream Job
Ford R. Myers, Career Potential
You've spent hours crafting the perfect resume. The format is eye-catching, the paper feels substantial and the wording is practically Pulitzer Prize(r)-winning. But you'll need much more than a well-crafted resume if you want to land that all-important first job.
Unfortunately, most people don't know what these other tools are or how to use them. By integrating other elements into the job search - and not relying solely on your resume - you can add power, professionalism, and flexibility to your efforts.
To stand out from the crowd, every new college graduate should have the following 10 items in their "Job Seekers' Tool Kit."
It may take some time to produce certain documents, and to learn how to use them effectively, but it will be worth it. Building a satisfying career is much easier when you have the right tools.
You've spent hours crafting the perfect resume. The format is eye-catching, the paper feels substantial and the wording is practically Pulitzer Prize(r)-winning. But you'll need much more than a well-crafted resume if you want to land that all-important first job.
Unfortunately, most people don't know what these other tools are or how to use them. By integrating other elements into the job search - and not relying solely on your resume - you can add power, professionalism, and flexibility to your efforts.
To stand out from the crowd, every new college graduate should have the following 10 items in their "Job Seekers' Tool Kit."
It may take some time to produce certain documents, and to learn how to use them effectively, but it will be worth it. Building a satisfying career is much easier when you have the right tools.
Click here to see the tools >
Monday, April 25, 2011
Resources for Job-Hunting Seniors
By TOM LAURICELLA
The tough employment market of the past few years has been particularly hard on people age 55-plus. But older job seekers don't have to go it alone. A number of online tools -- as well as in-person training centers scattered across the country -- can provide support.
The hurdles that older adults face in finding work today are considerable. They include basic age discrimination, as well as rapid changes in information technology. The latter, in particular, have transformed not just the workplace, but the job search itself, leaving many older adults at a disadvantage.
Statistics show the need for a leveling of a playing field that's tilted against older workers. In 2010, among those aged 50 and over and out of work, more than 53% were unemployed for more than six months, according to government data analyzed by Richard Johnson, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. In contrast, 46% of jobless men ages 25 to 49 were out of work for more than six months.
Older workers "really have a hard time becoming re-employed," Mr. Johnson says.
To help older workers, the Department of Labor in 2009 awarded $10 million in grants to organizations in Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Washington state and Wisconsin. This new program, called the Aging Worker Initiative, is aimed at helping anyone 55 and older who is unemployed or underemployed -- earning, say, close to the minimum wage. (The list of program managers can be found by searching dol.gov for the Aging Workers Initiative.)
This effort is in addition to the long-standing Senior Community Service Employment Program. SCSEP offers a job-training program for those in low-income families and the unemployed.
The Aging Worker Initiative programs generally start with the basics, such as training older workers to be more tech-savvy. That includes showing them where to look for jobs online. One prominent example: careeronestop.org, the Department of Labor-sponsored website offering thousands of job listings nationwide.
More Advice and Complete WSJ Article
The hurdles that older adults face in finding work today are considerable. They include basic age discrimination, as well as rapid changes in information technology. The latter, in particular, have transformed not just the workplace, but the job search itself, leaving many older adults at a disadvantage.
Statistics show the need for a leveling of a playing field that's tilted against older workers. In 2010, among those aged 50 and over and out of work, more than 53% were unemployed for more than six months, according to government data analyzed by Richard Johnson, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. In contrast, 46% of jobless men ages 25 to 49 were out of work for more than six months.
Older workers "really have a hard time becoming re-employed," Mr. Johnson says.
To help older workers, the Department of Labor in 2009 awarded $10 million in grants to organizations in Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Washington state and Wisconsin. This new program, called the Aging Worker Initiative, is aimed at helping anyone 55 and older who is unemployed or underemployed -- earning, say, close to the minimum wage. (The list of program managers can be found by searching dol.gov for the Aging Workers Initiative.)
This effort is in addition to the long-standing Senior Community Service Employment Program. SCSEP offers a job-training program for those in low-income families and the unemployed.
The Aging Worker Initiative programs generally start with the basics, such as training older workers to be more tech-savvy. That includes showing them where to look for jobs online. One prominent example: careeronestop.org, the Department of Labor-sponsored website offering thousands of job listings nationwide.
More Advice and Complete WSJ Article
Friday, April 22, 2011
Don’t Answer That Interview Question
Inappropriate interview questions and how to respond (diplomatically).
By Lisa Vaas
He was in his early 50s, and he looked every bit of it.
The questions on the job application went right to his age.
After stewing over the form and discarding his first draft, he filled out a second copy. Then, he sat and waited for his interview. As he waited, an attractive, young woman entered the room for a job interview.
She was called in before him. She wound up getting the job.
He didn’t. He did, however, receive $50,000 after filing age-discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The above encounter happened to a friend of Matt Rosen, who shared the story with TheLadders but asked not to identify his friend.
Rosen has seen employment discrimination from almost every angle. He has been a certified labor and employment attorney since 1981, has worked in human resources since 1995, and recently found himself looking for a new job. He’s been on both sides of the interview table and witnessed many inappropriate questions that can lead to discrimination.
“Every place, it’s mind-boggling,” said Rosen, who recently began HR and legal work for Franklin Street Financial in Florida. “You are always asked for birth dates, for EEOC (-related information such as race and disability status). ... Places, in my viewpoint, just ask for too much.”
The reason interviewers ask inappropriate questions varies. Sometimes they discriminate, as they did in the scenario above. Sometimes they need the information for internal statistics, he said.
And then sometimes interviewers are simply trying to make conversation, according to Ellen B. Vance, senior consultant and advisory services practice leader for Titan Group, a Richmond, Va., human-resources consulting firm. “Many inexperienced hiring managers use questions about family as an icebreaker for interviews, not realizing that what seem to them as innocent inquiries about spouse, children, etc., are unlawful.”
Most job seekers don’t want to sue over these practices. They just want to know how to deal with them diplomatically. Job seekers want to avoid appearing combative and thus jeopardizing their chances of being hired and want to avoid handing over information that can be used against them in discriminatory situations. Knowing what questions to shy away from is the starting point, and knowing how to skirt them is the next step.
Answer the questions they should have asked
Vance typically advises job seekers to redirect inappropriate questions back to the interviewer. For example, if asked whether you have children, you can respond by saying, “It sounds like family is important to you — tell me about yours.”
“By redirecting, the applicant is not placed in the situation of being perceived as adversarial,” Vance said. If an interviewer presses, she suggests that another response option is, “I am perplexed by your question because I cannot determine why my age/my marital status/my nationality is critical to performing this job. Would you shed some light on why you are asking this question?”
“If that doesn’t cause the interviewer to catch their mistake, then the applicant is left only with the option of saying, ‘I would prefer not to respond to that question,’” Vance said.
Don’t answer these questions - to find out which questions and how to answer read the complete Ladders article
The questions on the job application went right to his age.
After stewing over the form and discarding his first draft, he filled out a second copy. Then, he sat and waited for his interview. As he waited, an attractive, young woman entered the room for a job interview.
She was called in before him. She wound up getting the job.
He didn’t. He did, however, receive $50,000 after filing age-discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The above encounter happened to a friend of Matt Rosen, who shared the story with TheLadders but asked not to identify his friend.
Rosen has seen employment discrimination from almost every angle. He has been a certified labor and employment attorney since 1981, has worked in human resources since 1995, and recently found himself looking for a new job. He’s been on both sides of the interview table and witnessed many inappropriate questions that can lead to discrimination.
“Every place, it’s mind-boggling,” said Rosen, who recently began HR and legal work for Franklin Street Financial in Florida. “You are always asked for birth dates, for EEOC (-related information such as race and disability status). ... Places, in my viewpoint, just ask for too much.”
The reason interviewers ask inappropriate questions varies. Sometimes they discriminate, as they did in the scenario above. Sometimes they need the information for internal statistics, he said.
And then sometimes interviewers are simply trying to make conversation, according to Ellen B. Vance, senior consultant and advisory services practice leader for Titan Group, a Richmond, Va., human-resources consulting firm. “Many inexperienced hiring managers use questions about family as an icebreaker for interviews, not realizing that what seem to them as innocent inquiries about spouse, children, etc., are unlawful.”
Most job seekers don’t want to sue over these practices. They just want to know how to deal with them diplomatically. Job seekers want to avoid appearing combative and thus jeopardizing their chances of being hired and want to avoid handing over information that can be used against them in discriminatory situations. Knowing what questions to shy away from is the starting point, and knowing how to skirt them is the next step.
Answer the questions they should have asked
Vance typically advises job seekers to redirect inappropriate questions back to the interviewer. For example, if asked whether you have children, you can respond by saying, “It sounds like family is important to you — tell me about yours.”
“By redirecting, the applicant is not placed in the situation of being perceived as adversarial,” Vance said. If an interviewer presses, she suggests that another response option is, “I am perplexed by your question because I cannot determine why my age/my marital status/my nationality is critical to performing this job. Would you shed some light on why you are asking this question?”
“If that doesn’t cause the interviewer to catch their mistake, then the applicant is left only with the option of saying, ‘I would prefer not to respond to that question,’” Vance said.
Don’t answer these questions - to find out which questions and how to answer read the complete Ladders article
Thursday, April 21, 2011
10 Tips for Effectively Using Your LinkedIn Status Update
By Careerealism
One of the features of LinkedIn that tends to be underutilized is the "Status Update" (also called your "Network Update") in your LinkedIn Profile. Your status update "block" is a white box located just below your picture on your "View My Profile" page. If you don't see such a block, then you've not posted a status update.
From your LinkedIn home page or your "Edit My Profile" page, you can change your status update as frequently as you desire. EVERY time you update your status, the home page of ALL of your network connections is "pinged" with your status update. Status updates are also distributed to your network via email when LinkedIn sends you your weekly "Network Update." Your latest status update is always displayed on your LinkedIn profile.
Your status updated is limited to 140 characters - just like Twitter - so keep that in mind, particularly when cutting and pasting information into your status update "window."
Updating your LinkedIn status is a great way to communicate to your network on a frequent and ongoing basis. I update my status at least once each day with different types of information. 10 tips for effectively using your status update to distribute useful information are presented below:
1. Insert the title and a "shortened" URL link to one of your recent blog articles. Bit.ly is a great resource for shortening URL's.
2. Insert the title and a "shortened" URL to a blog article you read and really liked. Particularly one that is timely, informative and relates to your "brand" or area of specialty in some way.
3. A link to a newsworthy web posting or news item. Include the title and a shortened URL. Alignment with you brand "voice" or area of specialty makes it more powerful. I like to focus on POSITIVE news as opposed to negative news.
4. A great "quote of the day." A great source of quotes of to search the #quote "hashtag" on Twitter. Since Twitter updates are limited to 140 characters, you'll find quotes that fit the LinkedIn status update window.
5. A brief piece of advice relevant to your brand or area of specialty.
One of the features of LinkedIn that tends to be underutilized is the "Status Update" (also called your "Network Update") in your LinkedIn Profile. Your status update "block" is a white box located just below your picture on your "View My Profile" page. If you don't see such a block, then you've not posted a status update.
From your LinkedIn home page or your "Edit My Profile" page, you can change your status update as frequently as you desire. EVERY time you update your status, the home page of ALL of your network connections is "pinged" with your status update. Status updates are also distributed to your network via email when LinkedIn sends you your weekly "Network Update." Your latest status update is always displayed on your LinkedIn profile.
Your status updated is limited to 140 characters - just like Twitter - so keep that in mind, particularly when cutting and pasting information into your status update "window."
Updating your LinkedIn status is a great way to communicate to your network on a frequent and ongoing basis. I update my status at least once each day with different types of information. 10 tips for effectively using your status update to distribute useful information are presented below:
1. Insert the title and a "shortened" URL link to one of your recent blog articles. Bit.ly is a great resource for shortening URL's.
2. Insert the title and a "shortened" URL to a blog article you read and really liked. Particularly one that is timely, informative and relates to your "brand" or area of specialty in some way.
3. A link to a newsworthy web posting or news item. Include the title and a shortened URL. Alignment with you brand "voice" or area of specialty makes it more powerful. I like to focus on POSITIVE news as opposed to negative news.
4. A great "quote of the day." A great source of quotes of to search the #quote "hashtag" on Twitter. Since Twitter updates are limited to 140 characters, you'll find quotes that fit the LinkedIn status update window.
5. A brief piece of advice relevant to your brand or area of specialty.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
How Non-Profits Can Maximize Engagement on Facebook
by
he Facebook Marketing Series is supported by Buddy Media. Eight of the world’s top ten brands use the Buddy Media Platform to power their social marketing on Facebook. Find out why here.
It’s important for any digitally-minded non-profit to be on Facebook because of the sheer number of active users. So, great — you set up a Facebook account for your organization. Now what?
Best practices are pretty variable when it comes to social media. This is especially true with Facebook, which switches up its appearance, services and features every few months. We did our best to put together some of the best approaches for non-profits, with some serious help from three social media mavericks at top causes.
Read on for some dos, don’ts, and a golden rule or two for how non-profits can better utilize Facebook.
This certainly doesn’t preclude the ability to have conversations with your audience. However, the format does change how and what your audience will respond to. A question about IT staffing on Facebook may result in crickets, but that question would perform well on LinkedIn, says Holly Ross, executive director of the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). “But if we ask our Facebook group what kind of music we should add to our hold lines, we’ll get twenty responses in an hour.” Ross sees NTEN’s Facebook community as a virtual water cooler — great engagement is about knowing what your community wants from your various social media profiles.
For Brigida (NWF), her golden rule is actually the age-old golden rule: “I engage with people how I want to be treated on Facebook,” Brigida said. “I don’t post things that will not engage our members … or overshare.” The NWF has specific audience pages — for photographers, teachers, gardeners and more — which Brigida targets from message to message. Understand that your community may be interested in different facets of your organization and tailor your posts to those niches.
Our experts honed in on two major non-profit no nos: lack of purpose and being too promotional.
“You have to have a reason to be on Facebook,” says Ross (NTEN). “Are you recruiting volunteers? Cultivating activists? Stewarding your donors? You won’t find any success in Facebook if you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.” McMillan echoed this, urging non-profits to keep their site active and their audiences engaged.
The other unfortunate truth is that no one really likes press releases. You don’t like writing them or receiving them, and your fans will get turned off by boilerplate messages. That said, your fans do want updates and information about your success and new campaigns. Ross recommends writing a post specifically for Facebook rather than copy/pasting a release. Adds McMillan: “In the [non-profit] world we often have really great studies and scientific papers that we want to share, but the general public doesn’t necessarily want to read an abstract for a research study — snoozeville.”
Find a way to deliver this information in an engaging way and your Facebook fans will reward you by actually reading it.
he Facebook Marketing Series is supported by Buddy Media. Eight of the world’s top ten brands use the Buddy Media Platform to power their social marketing on Facebook. Find out why here.
It’s important for any digitally-minded non-profit to be on Facebook because of the sheer number of active users. So, great — you set up a Facebook account for your organization. Now what?
Best practices are pretty variable when it comes to social media. This is especially true with Facebook, which switches up its appearance, services and features every few months. We did our best to put together some of the best approaches for non-profits, with some serious help from three social media mavericks at top causes.
Read on for some dos, don’ts, and a golden rule or two for how non-profits can better utilize Facebook.
How Facebook Can Help You
This certainly doesn’t preclude the ability to have conversations with your audience. However, the format does change how and what your audience will respond to. A question about IT staffing on Facebook may result in crickets, but that question would perform well on LinkedIn, says Holly Ross, executive director of the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). “But if we ask our Facebook group what kind of music we should add to our hold lines, we’ll get twenty responses in an hour.” Ross sees NTEN’s Facebook community as a virtual water cooler — great engagement is about knowing what your community wants from your various social media profiles.
Golden Rules of Facebook for Non-Profits
For Brigida (NWF), her golden rule is actually the age-old golden rule: “I engage with people how I want to be treated on Facebook,” Brigida said. “I don’t post things that will not engage our members … or overshare.” The NWF has specific audience pages — for photographers, teachers, gardeners and more — which Brigida targets from message to message. Understand that your community may be interested in different facets of your organization and tailor your posts to those niches.
Definitely Do Not Do These Things
Our experts honed in on two major non-profit no nos: lack of purpose and being too promotional.
“You have to have a reason to be on Facebook,” says Ross (NTEN). “Are you recruiting volunteers? Cultivating activists? Stewarding your donors? You won’t find any success in Facebook if you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.” McMillan echoed this, urging non-profits to keep their site active and their audiences engaged.
The other unfortunate truth is that no one really likes press releases. You don’t like writing them or receiving them, and your fans will get turned off by boilerplate messages. That said, your fans do want updates and information about your success and new campaigns. Ross recommends writing a post specifically for Facebook rather than copy/pasting a release. Adds McMillan: “In the [non-profit] world we often have really great studies and scientific papers that we want to share, but the general public doesn’t necessarily want to read an abstract for a research study — snoozeville.”
Find a way to deliver this information in an engaging way and your Facebook fans will reward you by actually reading it.
Trade Secrets - Read The Rest Of The Mashable Article To Find Out
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Social Networking for Career Success - LinkedIn tips from a recruiter
by Miriam Salpeter
I was so excited to learn yesterday that Sheryl Posnick, the editor in charge of my book at Learning Express, LLC, received the first copies back from the printer! I can’t wait to see the final version. It’s perfect timing, as I was just ramping up to share some tips here.
One thing I did when I wrote Social Networking for Career Success is tap my network of friends and colleagues to share advice and insights. While, in most (not all), cases, I could have written those sections myself, it made sense to me to provide an array of opinions — and, if they agreed with me (or I with them), all the better! When I headed up the career area at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, one frustrating thing was how students could listen to me tell them something over and over again, but it wasn’t until I invited a hiring manager or recruiter in to say the same thing that they adapted their job search strategies. I figured the same point holds true with readers: having me tell you, “Do this, follow this advice” may be helpful, but backing it up with 100 other insights is even better!
In that spirit, and to start highlighting the terrific colleagues who contributed to the book, today I am happy to have permission to share insights from Craig Fisher (@FishDogs on Twitter) from his post today about LinkedIn. Be sure to read the full post with LinkedIn tips (from a recruiter), but here are some highlights:
- What should you have on your LinkedIn profile if you’re looking for opportunities? A candidate should tell a good story that describes who they are and what they do well. You also need detailed job descriptions in your work history going back at least 10 years. The more relevant detail and specific keywords that you include in your profile, the easier it will be for recruiters and employers to find you when they search for appropriate candidates for their openings.
- What are some LinkedIn tools that you should be using? Use the apps available on your profile page to import content into your page. Apps that automatically import your blog posts, SlideShare presentations, etc. help your profile to rank higher in search results. The idea is to get more eyeballs on your Linkedin profile. Also update your status once or twice per day with something that would be interesting to your targeted employers or prospects.
- Are there any mistakes or misconceptions about this method of job searching? The top misconception is that if you just create a Linkedin profile, then you should get calls from employers or recruiters. Not so. You must optimize your profile with plenty of specific information that relates to your skill set; and participate in Linkedin groups, Q&A, and status updates. You must also grow your network. The more active you are, and the more people you connect with, the more people will see your profile.
More Advice and Complete Article
I was so excited to learn yesterday that Sheryl Posnick, the editor in charge of my book at Learning Express, LLC, received the first copies back from the printer! I can’t wait to see the final version. It’s perfect timing, as I was just ramping up to share some tips here.
One thing I did when I wrote Social Networking for Career Success is tap my network of friends and colleagues to share advice and insights. While, in most (not all), cases, I could have written those sections myself, it made sense to me to provide an array of opinions — and, if they agreed with me (or I with them), all the better! When I headed up the career area at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, one frustrating thing was how students could listen to me tell them something over and over again, but it wasn’t until I invited a hiring manager or recruiter in to say the same thing that they adapted their job search strategies. I figured the same point holds true with readers: having me tell you, “Do this, follow this advice” may be helpful, but backing it up with 100 other insights is even better!
In that spirit, and to start highlighting the terrific colleagues who contributed to the book, today I am happy to have permission to share insights from Craig Fisher (@FishDogs on Twitter) from his post today about LinkedIn. Be sure to read the full post with LinkedIn tips (from a recruiter), but here are some highlights:
- What should you have on your LinkedIn profile if you’re looking for opportunities? A candidate should tell a good story that describes who they are and what they do well. You also need detailed job descriptions in your work history going back at least 10 years. The more relevant detail and specific keywords that you include in your profile, the easier it will be for recruiters and employers to find you when they search for appropriate candidates for their openings.
- What are some LinkedIn tools that you should be using? Use the apps available on your profile page to import content into your page. Apps that automatically import your blog posts, SlideShare presentations, etc. help your profile to rank higher in search results. The idea is to get more eyeballs on your Linkedin profile. Also update your status once or twice per day with something that would be interesting to your targeted employers or prospects.
- Are there any mistakes or misconceptions about this method of job searching? The top misconception is that if you just create a Linkedin profile, then you should get calls from employers or recruiters. Not so. You must optimize your profile with plenty of specific information that relates to your skill set; and participate in Linkedin groups, Q&A, and status updates. You must also grow your network. The more active you are, and the more people you connect with, the more people will see your profile.
More Advice and Complete Article
Monday, April 18, 2011
Banks woo youth with social media
Robert Cartwright drives a company car. He has a laptop, iPhone and video camera paid for by this employer, and rarely spends time in the Bridgeton headquarters of Vantage Credit Union.
Instead, Cartwright is often online where he chats with 'fans' on social networking site Facebook, posts videos on YouTube, microblogs to 'followers' on Twitter, and does the kind of stuff you'd expect from a 26-year-old.
But he's not goofing off. Cartwright is spokesman for the credit union's youth marketing program, a key effort to win the financial business of the young demographic group Gen Y.
Vantage and many competing financial institutions are connecting with their next generation of customers by speaking their language -- social media -- and reaching them on smartphones.
"This age group, Generation Y, it's what we're on all the time," Cartwright said.
Several banks are also rolling out new accounts specifically geared to Gen Y, with no fees if they get their statements online and deposit checks electronically instead of visiting a bank branch.
The group's age range varies, but it generally includes teenagers up to 32-year-olds. It was dubbed "Y" after following Generation X -- typically defined as those ages 33 to 46 -- that succeeded the baby boomer generation.
The focus on youth is a way to build brand loyalty for future banking relationships, bankers say. In 2010, Gen Y's personal income, $2.4 trillion, accounted for one fifth of the total personal income in the U.S., according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a California-based financial services research firm. By 2025, when the last of the employed boomers draw closer to retirement age, Gen Y will account for 46 percent of personal income.
Financial institutions have been slow to use social media, because of regulatory and privacy issues. That's beginning to change as they realize that social media and smartphones are the main way to reach this coveted demographic, which prefers to 'tweet' or text instead of visiting a bank branch. Banks are primarily using social media for marketing and connecting with customers instead of account activity.
"Gen Y is influenced more by the comments of their peers than traditional advertising" such as TV and radio ads, said Jay Sinha, an associate professor of marketing and supply chain management at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Financial institutions are following the lead of consumer products companies such as Adidas and Victoria's Secret that have used social media to increase sales, he noted.
"It adds positive cache to a brand, provided that it's not crass commercialism. Gen Y is really turned off by that," Sinha said.
To make sure Vantage's marketing message gets out, Cartwright posts dozens of Facebook and Twitter messages a week, showing up at baseball games and movie theaters that he tells his hundreds of online followers about and giving out free tickets and gift cards. He writes five blog posts a week on his website, youngfreestlouis.com and creates videos he posts to YouTube with tips on saving money and other topics.
"Most college kids are really bad with their money," he said. "I wish something like this would have been around when I was 18." Vantage Credit Union, which has 15 branches, hired Cartwright last year as its first "Young & Free" spokesman.
The job, which pays $30,000, lasts a year. In June, Vantage will begin the search for the next spokesperson. Cartwright, who has a degree in education, got the job after he created and posted an audition video online that was voted on by the public.
The program has paid off for Vantage, says Executive Vice President Eric Acree. Since last summer, 2,500 customers have enrolled in its account geared to 18- to 25-year-olds, which offers free checking and additional benefits, and 40 percent of those are customers new to Vantage.
Read The Rest Of The St. Louis Today Article
Instead, Cartwright is often online where he chats with 'fans' on social networking site Facebook, posts videos on YouTube, microblogs to 'followers' on Twitter, and does the kind of stuff you'd expect from a 26-year-old.
But he's not goofing off. Cartwright is spokesman for the credit union's youth marketing program, a key effort to win the financial business of the young demographic group Gen Y.
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the ITEXPO East, February 2-4, 2011 Miami Beach Convention Center, FL.Vantage and many competing financial institutions are connecting with their next generation of customers by speaking their language -- social media -- and reaching them on smartphones.
"This age group, Generation Y, it's what we're on all the time," Cartwright said.
Several banks are also rolling out new accounts specifically geared to Gen Y, with no fees if they get their statements online and deposit checks electronically instead of visiting a bank branch.
The group's age range varies, but it generally includes teenagers up to 32-year-olds. It was dubbed "Y" after following Generation X -- typically defined as those ages 33 to 46 -- that succeeded the baby boomer generation.
The focus on youth is a way to build brand loyalty for future banking relationships, bankers say. In 2010, Gen Y's personal income, $2.4 trillion, accounted for one fifth of the total personal income in the U.S., according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a California-based financial services research firm. By 2025, when the last of the employed boomers draw closer to retirement age, Gen Y will account for 46 percent of personal income.
Financial institutions have been slow to use social media, because of regulatory and privacy issues. That's beginning to change as they realize that social media and smartphones are the main way to reach this coveted demographic, which prefers to 'tweet' or text instead of visiting a bank branch. Banks are primarily using social media for marketing and connecting with customers instead of account activity.
"Gen Y is influenced more by the comments of their peers than traditional advertising" such as TV and radio ads, said Jay Sinha, an associate professor of marketing and supply chain management at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Financial institutions are following the lead of consumer products companies such as Adidas and Victoria's Secret that have used social media to increase sales, he noted.
"It adds positive cache to a brand, provided that it's not crass commercialism. Gen Y is really turned off by that," Sinha said.
To make sure Vantage's marketing message gets out, Cartwright posts dozens of Facebook and Twitter messages a week, showing up at baseball games and movie theaters that he tells his hundreds of online followers about and giving out free tickets and gift cards. He writes five blog posts a week on his website, youngfreestlouis.com and creates videos he posts to YouTube with tips on saving money and other topics.
"Most college kids are really bad with their money," he said. "I wish something like this would have been around when I was 18." Vantage Credit Union, which has 15 branches, hired Cartwright last year as its first "Young & Free" spokesman.
The job, which pays $30,000, lasts a year. In June, Vantage will begin the search for the next spokesperson. Cartwright, who has a degree in education, got the job after he created and posted an audition video online that was voted on by the public.
The program has paid off for Vantage, says Executive Vice President Eric Acree. Since last summer, 2,500 customers have enrolled in its account geared to 18- to 25-year-olds, which offers free checking and additional benefits, and 40 percent of those are customers new to Vantage.
Read The Rest Of The St. Louis Today Article
Saturday, April 16, 2011
How to Handle a Bad Boss
By ELIZABETH GARONE
Q: I have worked at the same company for 12 years. I really like my job and all the people who I work with except for one: my new boss. He was brought in from the outside, and no one else in my department can stand him either. We're hoping he won't stick around long, but I don't want to count on that in this economy. I now dread going to work since his office is right next to mine, and he watches everything I do. Is it time for me to start looking for a new job?Denver, Colorado
A: While looking for another job may turn out to be your best option, don't start your search just yet. A job you really like and coworkers with whom you get along are benefits you don't want to lose in the current economy. What a disappointment if you leave your current job, only to find yourself in a new job with a whole new set of problems. So, try to resolve your issues first.
If you aren't happy with your boss, you'll want to determine why you feel that way and then investigate and understand the root causes, says Gaylan Nielson, CEO of The Work Itself Group and co-author of Fake Work: Why People are Working Harder but Accomplishing Less. Then, take the initiative with your boss and try to resolve the issues you have with him.
Start by making a list of the essentials you need in order to be effective and happy at your job. Next, set up a meeting with him. The meeting can serve as an opportunity to bridge the gap between your needs and those of your boss. Mr. Nielson suggests discussing the company, the group, and the team strategies and priorities along with your boss's priorities and how you can best support them.
"Finally, after you have asked several questions about how your boss perceives your work and others' work, ask him for permission to discuss your issues about how he is treating you and others," suggests Mr. Nielson, using "I feel" statements over judgments.
Many times, new bosses are completely unaware of the discomfort their styles are causing, says Lydia Anti, a personal development coach and author of Develop the Keys to Successful Living. "He might not even know he is making you feel so down and agitated because, for all you know, he believes that he is doing his job," she says. "If no one tells him, how will he know and change certain aspects of his people skills if that is the issue?"
More Advice and Complete WSJ Article
Friday, April 15, 2011
How To Negotiate Severance
Susan Adams
The other day a friend called and asked if I’d written anything about negotiating the best possible deal with your employer when you lose your job. A friend of hers feared she was about to be laid off and wanted to prepare.
Preparing for such a thing is a good idea, say career coaches and lawyers who advise workers on how to handle a termination. The emotional shock of a layoff can be devastating, so it’s helpful to try to make a game plan in advance.
Though public sector layoffs are headlining the news these days, and the private sector has backed off of mass layoffs since the bottom of the recession, companies are still shedding workers, coaches say, though the firings tend to come one or a few at a time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics bears that out.
According to Bureau data, the number of people who lost their jobs in layoffs of more than 50 workers at a time fell in 2010 to 1.2 million, versus 2.1 million in 2009. The BLS hasn’t yet released numbers for the first quarter of this year, but coaches say the trend continues. Companies are still shutting down whole departments. For instance, Cisco just announced that it will shutter its Flip camera business and reduce its workforce by 550. (My colleague Quentin Hardy wrote about the news here.)
Coaches say that workers who lose their jobs as part of group layoffs have a tougher time negotiating a better severance package. But it’s worth trying, especially if you’ve logged a number of years at your company and formed strong relationships.
The two most important pieces of advice offered by employment professionals: Take some time to digest your company’s severance offer, and do negotiate for a better deal before you sign anything. Employment lawyer Wendi Lazar, a partner at Outten & Goulden, notes that companies routinely ask departing workers to sign a document that waives almost all rights to sue under any federal discrimination statutes and state or local laws. At the same time, your employers might present you with an onerous non-compete agreements. Lazar says it’s wise not to sign before you consult with a professional, be it a lawyer or a coach, especially when it comes to non-competes. Those agreements deserve a separate article, but suffice it to say that the law requires employers to offer quite a bit of severance if they expect workers not to compete for an extended period.
Under the federal age discrimination law, Lazar adds, workers who are over 40 have the right to take 21 days to review a severance agreement. Lazar says this 21-day period has become routine in most companies for workers of all ages.
As for negotiating, coaches encourage you to ask for as much as you can get, starting with a larger severance payout. One job search professional, who doesn’t want to be quoted, emphasizes that most employers feel terribly guilty when they let a longtime worker go. “You play on their guilt,” he advises. “That’s how this game works.” This longtime job pro has seen departing workers double their severance, from four months to eight, and negotiate perks like keeping a company computer and BlackBerry, continued use of the office and payment for job coaching.
Read The Rest Of The Forbes Article For More Advice
Preparing for such a thing is a good idea, say career coaches and lawyers who advise workers on how to handle a termination. The emotional shock of a layoff can be devastating, so it’s helpful to try to make a game plan in advance.
Though public sector layoffs are headlining the news these days, and the private sector has backed off of mass layoffs since the bottom of the recession, companies are still shedding workers, coaches say, though the firings tend to come one or a few at a time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics bears that out.
According to Bureau data, the number of people who lost their jobs in layoffs of more than 50 workers at a time fell in 2010 to 1.2 million, versus 2.1 million in 2009. The BLS hasn’t yet released numbers for the first quarter of this year, but coaches say the trend continues. Companies are still shutting down whole departments. For instance, Cisco just announced that it will shutter its Flip camera business and reduce its workforce by 550. (My colleague Quentin Hardy wrote about the news here.)
Coaches say that workers who lose their jobs as part of group layoffs have a tougher time negotiating a better severance package. But it’s worth trying, especially if you’ve logged a number of years at your company and formed strong relationships.
The two most important pieces of advice offered by employment professionals: Take some time to digest your company’s severance offer, and do negotiate for a better deal before you sign anything. Employment lawyer Wendi Lazar, a partner at Outten & Goulden, notes that companies routinely ask departing workers to sign a document that waives almost all rights to sue under any federal discrimination statutes and state or local laws. At the same time, your employers might present you with an onerous non-compete agreements. Lazar says it’s wise not to sign before you consult with a professional, be it a lawyer or a coach, especially when it comes to non-competes. Those agreements deserve a separate article, but suffice it to say that the law requires employers to offer quite a bit of severance if they expect workers not to compete for an extended period.
Under the federal age discrimination law, Lazar adds, workers who are over 40 have the right to take 21 days to review a severance agreement. Lazar says this 21-day period has become routine in most companies for workers of all ages.
As for negotiating, coaches encourage you to ask for as much as you can get, starting with a larger severance payout. One job search professional, who doesn’t want to be quoted, emphasizes that most employers feel terribly guilty when they let a longtime worker go. “You play on their guilt,” he advises. “That’s how this game works.” This longtime job pro has seen departing workers double their severance, from four months to eight, and negotiate perks like keeping a company computer and BlackBerry, continued use of the office and payment for job coaching.
Read The Rest Of The Forbes Article For More Advice
Business networking start-up aims to break LinkedIn stranglehold
By Michelle Hammond
A new business-oriented social network has launched in an attempt to break the increasing stranglehold of LinkedIn, which has hit two million users in Australia alone.
The new entrant, titled WhenTheMeetingsOver.com, was born from the founding member’s frustration at being unable to connect with like-minded people while away on business, not only on a professional level but on a social level as well.
Based in the United Kingdom, WTMO chief executive Stuart Dawson says the site provides an environment to “epitomise our time online”.
“It’s not designed for the Facebook generation of soul-baring wall writers, but for professionals that require a purpose-built social network to enhance their work/life balance,” he says.
However, Foad Fadaghi, research director of market analyst firm Telsyte, predicts it will become increasingly difficult for new entrants to compete with the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
“Maybe the horse has bolted in the sense that the big guys have shown their market dominance,” he says.
Fadaghi estimates around 40% of professionals in Australia use LinkedIn.
“There are many non professionals on the site as well... LinkedIn has the critical mass that other sites don’t have,” Fadaghi says.
Read the rest of the StartUpSmart article
A new business-oriented social network has launched in an attempt to break the increasing stranglehold of LinkedIn, which has hit two million users in Australia alone.
The new entrant, titled WhenTheMeetingsOver.com, was born from the founding member’s frustration at being unable to connect with like-minded people while away on business, not only on a professional level but on a social level as well.
Based in the United Kingdom, WTMO chief executive Stuart Dawson says the site provides an environment to “epitomise our time online”.
“It’s not designed for the Facebook generation of soul-baring wall writers, but for professionals that require a purpose-built social network to enhance their work/life balance,” he says.
However, Foad Fadaghi, research director of market analyst firm Telsyte, predicts it will become increasingly difficult for new entrants to compete with the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
“Maybe the horse has bolted in the sense that the big guys have shown their market dominance,” he says.
Fadaghi estimates around 40% of professionals in Australia use LinkedIn.
“There are many non professionals on the site as well... LinkedIn has the critical mass that other sites don’t have,” Fadaghi says.
Read the rest of the StartUpSmart article
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Nobodies: The New Somebodies
Josh McHugh
Secret Sauce
I recently interviewed Guy Kawasaki at an event hosted by INFORUM at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club.
I’d heard from an entrepreneur the previous week at South by Southwest that Kawasaki is an absolute terror when you’re pitching him, so I was pleasantly surprised when he turned out to be as genial a guy as you could hope to interview.
Kawasaki’s new book, Enchantment, contains a lot of wonderfully anti-Machiavellian advice not just for entrepreneurs, but for nonprofits and pretty much anyone hoping to get the kinds of things done in life that require the cooperation of others. The pearl of wisdom underlying the entire book: “Be a mensch.”
But the section of the book that had me underlining, circling, and festooning its margins with post-it notes comes where Kawasaki deftly unhorses a marketing orthodoxy that has launched a million PowerPoint decks, a thousand marketing plans, and scores of recent startups: “Engage the Influencers.”
Kawasaki’s counterpunch: “Nobodies Are The New Somebodies.”
Want to know how to engage an “influencer” who has a PeerIndex or Klout score of 85? Have your manager call his agent. Don’t have a manager? Child, please.
Hanging your marketing strategy on getting retweeted by the likes of Kanye and Rainn Wilson is like pasting a Powerball ticket to the first page of your business plan. Because guess what? Those influencers are busy – converting the hard-earned attention of their thousands or millions of followers into cold hard cash.
“You still have to pay someone to suck up to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal,” Kawasaki said. “But you should also be sucking up to Lonelyguy15.” That’s because you never know who will end up becoming your project’s most impassioned and effective cheerleaders. Indeed – to cover his bases, Kawasaki sent advance copies of his book not just to the 100 or so usual traditional media gatekeepers, but also to 1,500 bloggers, Tweeters, and other assorted “nobodies.”
I’d heard from an entrepreneur the previous week at South by Southwest that Kawasaki is an absolute terror when you’re pitching him, so I was pleasantly surprised when he turned out to be as genial a guy as you could hope to interview.
Kawasaki’s new book, Enchantment, contains a lot of wonderfully anti-Machiavellian advice not just for entrepreneurs, but for nonprofits and pretty much anyone hoping to get the kinds of things done in life that require the cooperation of others. The pearl of wisdom underlying the entire book: “Be a mensch.”
But the section of the book that had me underlining, circling, and festooning its margins with post-it notes comes where Kawasaki deftly unhorses a marketing orthodoxy that has launched a million PowerPoint decks, a thousand marketing plans, and scores of recent startups: “Engage the Influencers.”
Kawasaki’s counterpunch: “Nobodies Are The New Somebodies.”
This is not likely to be a welcome message to the marketers and would-be audience-builders currently scrambling to throw enticements at Twitter users with high influence scores.
Social Media Influence Scores: Return of the Velvet Rope
One big problem with an approach that focuses disproportionately on established online influencers: there may have been 5 minutes at the dawn of Web 2.0 when you stood a solid chance of Robert Scoble or Ashton Kutcher replying to one of your tweets. But that moment has passed. You can ask Ben Stiller. Just don’t bother asking him over Twitter.Want to know how to engage an “influencer” who has a PeerIndex or Klout score of 85? Have your manager call his agent. Don’t have a manager? Child, please.
Hanging your marketing strategy on getting retweeted by the likes of Kanye and Rainn Wilson is like pasting a Powerball ticket to the first page of your business plan. Because guess what? Those influencers are busy – converting the hard-earned attention of their thousands or millions of followers into cold hard cash.
Egalitarianism Pays -
“You still have to pay someone to suck up to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal,” Kawasaki said. “But you should also be sucking up to Lonelyguy15.” That’s because you never know who will end up becoming your project’s most impassioned and effective cheerleaders. Indeed – to cover his bases, Kawasaki sent advance copies of his book not just to the 100 or so usual traditional media gatekeepers, but also to 1,500 bloggers, Tweeters, and other assorted “nobodies.”
Heresy, perhaps, to a generation of marketers steeped in the sociological topology frequently ascribed to Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point.It may be unfair to Gladwell, but for better or worse his book popularized the notion that success in marketing depends on identifying a relatively tiny group of key influencers in any given sphere and winning them over.
Past Results Do Not Guarantee Future Performance - Read the rest of the Forbes article
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Top 10 overused buzzwords in LinkedIn Profiles
- Extensive experience
- Innovative
- Motivated
- Results-oriented
- Dynamic
- Proven track record
- Team player
- Fast-paced
- Problem solver
- Entrepreneurial
Here’s a chart we put together that shows you the #1 most overused LinkedIn profile buzzword in each of those countries. Not surprisingly, in most cases, the closer you are geographically the similar the most overused buzzword.
Read The Rest Of The LinkedIn Blog
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
How iPad Apps Are Transforming Job Search and Recruitment
By Stephanie Taylor Christensen
It stands to reason that more and more job seekers are turning to the iPad to seek new opportunities. A recent survey conducted by Robert Half International indicated “Forty percent of seekers will be more inclined to look for new hiring opportunities once the recession is over.” As such, companies who want to stay competitive must adjust their online recruitment functionality to work in tandem with iPads features.
Monster.com , the flagship brand of Monster Worldwide (MWW) reports that “the highest usage of Monsters website is during normal business hours.” Searches are conducted by what it terms “discrete seekers” -- those who search and apply for jobs at work. What better place to conduct a secret job search than on the handheld mobile device, easily concealed from prying eyes? In January 2011, the company announced the release of Monster for iPad, a free app that integrates existing Monster user accounts to work with the best features of the iPad, including the ability to utilize GPS technology in job searches, access application history, and stored resumes and cover letters. In its review of the new app, PC Mag summed up the new service as one that “makes looking for a job less of a job.”
New apps make it easy for "discreet' job seekers to search for a new gig from the office, or find the most innovative companies at job fairs.
Just one year after the release of the Apple (AAPL) iPad , more than 15 million people are now proud owners of the mobile tablet device. While emailing, web surfing, playing games, and reading e-books top the list of user activities on an iPad based on a survey conducted by NPD Group, companies are also integrating the iPad into their daily operations. On a January investors call, Apple shared that more than 80% of Fortune 100 companies were using or testing the iPad. Despite that an iPad actually has less traditional functionality than a PC, iPad users are increasingly drawn to it thanks to portability and ease of Wi-Fi connectivity. Its slick interface and ease of use by practically anyone with a fingertip has transformed doldrum tasks like web surfing, checking email, and reading into a more sensory experience.
It stands to reason that more and more job seekers are turning to the iPad to seek new opportunities. A recent survey conducted by Robert Half International indicated “Forty percent of seekers will be more inclined to look for new hiring opportunities once the recession is over.” As such, companies who want to stay competitive must adjust their online recruitment functionality to work in tandem with iPads features.
Monster.com , the flagship brand of Monster Worldwide (MWW) reports that “the highest usage of Monsters website is during normal business hours.” Searches are conducted by what it terms “discrete seekers” -- those who search and apply for jobs at work. What better place to conduct a secret job search than on the handheld mobile device, easily concealed from prying eyes? In January 2011, the company announced the release of Monster for iPad, a free app that integrates existing Monster user accounts to work with the best features of the iPad, including the ability to utilize GPS technology in job searches, access application history, and stored resumes and cover letters. In its review of the new app, PC Mag summed up the new service as one that “makes looking for a job less of a job.”
Monday, April 11, 2011
Howard Schultz on How to Lead a Turnaround
By Bobbie Gossage | @bobbiegossage
In his new book, Onward, the Starbucks founder describes how he overcame slumping sales and quality control issues that threatened to destroy the company he had built.
Howard Schultz took a small Seattle coffee store and turned it into a global business with more than $10 billion in annual sales. Yet one of his greatest accomplishments, says the Starbucks CEO, was making it through the past few years. In his new book, Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul, Schultz chronicles his return to the helm of Starbucks during one of the most tumultuous times in the company's 40-year history.
After stepping down as CEO of Starbucks in 2000, Schultz, who remained chairman of the company, found it increasingly difficult to sit on the sidelines. "In letting go of the CEO post, I had essentially agreed to trust in the decisions of others, even when my heart suggested those decisions were not wise," he writes. "Like a parent standing back and watching his children make their own choices, the entrepreneur-as-chairman role had its unique emotional challenges."
In 2007, Schultz dashed off a now-famous memo to the management team criticizing the state of the company's stores. A year later, Schultz was back in charge and working to restore quality control, going so far as to close all 7,100 U.S. stores for one evening to retrain employees. But as the slumping economy drove consumers to cut back on $4 lattes, he was forced to lay off thousands of employees and shutter some 600 stores. Schultz, 57, spoke with Inc. senior editor Bobbie Gossage about what it is like running Starbucks the second time around and how he got the company back on track.
You write that taking on the challenges of a troubled company was completely new territory for you. How was that experience different from running the company the first time?
There's an energy and excitement when you're building a company. You have so much tail wind. You're planting new seeds. But it's also scary, because there's no safety net. I really enjoyed that experience. At an early age, my mother gave me this feeling that anything is possible, and I believe that. If you look at where I came from and where we are today, my story is like a Hollywood movie. I was able to achieve the American dream. It's not that it was easier or harder the first time I ran the company, but I would say that the feeling that goes with building something—especially when you get some success—it's a wonderful carpet ride.
It's different when you're trying to turn something around, especially something that you built, at a time when so many constituents—the media, Wall Street, competitors, ex-employees—are all saying that Starbucks's best days are behind it, and that Schultz is never going to be able to bring it back. It's not that they underestimated me, but they underestimated the power of our culture and values and the resiliency of the brand and our people.
In many ways, it's much more rewarding to be here today, having made it through the past few years, than it was building the company. It was difficult, because during the financial crisis, there were no navigational tools. No one had experienced anything like this. You couldn't really talk to anyone or read something. You had to make big decisions based on things you believed in your heart were the right things to do.
What did you learn about this new environment?
There's been a real sea change in consumer behavior. And those companies that are consumer based must appeal to the consumer in a different way today than they did two or three years ago. And it's not all based on value. Cutting prices or putting things on sale is not sustainable business strategy. The other side of it is that you can't cut enough costs to save your way to prosperity.
I think the question is, What is your relevancy to the new life of this consumer, who is more discriminating about what they're going to spend money on? The customer today is very well informed. In addition to price and convenience, there's something else they are influenced by, and that's what the company stands for: how it treats its employees and its customers. We've found that consumers are willing to walk another block and potentially spend a little bit more for companies whose values they truly trust.
How do you maintain quality as a company grows and grows?
Read the rest of the Inc. article to find out the answer and more.
In his new book, Onward, the Starbucks founder describes how he overcame slumping sales and quality control issues that threatened to destroy the company he had built.
Howard Schultz took a small Seattle coffee store and turned it into a global business with more than $10 billion in annual sales. Yet one of his greatest accomplishments, says the Starbucks CEO, was making it through the past few years. In his new book, Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul, Schultz chronicles his return to the helm of Starbucks during one of the most tumultuous times in the company's 40-year history.
After stepping down as CEO of Starbucks in 2000, Schultz, who remained chairman of the company, found it increasingly difficult to sit on the sidelines. "In letting go of the CEO post, I had essentially agreed to trust in the decisions of others, even when my heart suggested those decisions were not wise," he writes. "Like a parent standing back and watching his children make their own choices, the entrepreneur-as-chairman role had its unique emotional challenges."
In 2007, Schultz dashed off a now-famous memo to the management team criticizing the state of the company's stores. A year later, Schultz was back in charge and working to restore quality control, going so far as to close all 7,100 U.S. stores for one evening to retrain employees. But as the slumping economy drove consumers to cut back on $4 lattes, he was forced to lay off thousands of employees and shutter some 600 stores. Schultz, 57, spoke with Inc. senior editor Bobbie Gossage about what it is like running Starbucks the second time around and how he got the company back on track.
You write that taking on the challenges of a troubled company was completely new territory for you. How was that experience different from running the company the first time?
There's an energy and excitement when you're building a company. You have so much tail wind. You're planting new seeds. But it's also scary, because there's no safety net. I really enjoyed that experience. At an early age, my mother gave me this feeling that anything is possible, and I believe that. If you look at where I came from and where we are today, my story is like a Hollywood movie. I was able to achieve the American dream. It's not that it was easier or harder the first time I ran the company, but I would say that the feeling that goes with building something—especially when you get some success—it's a wonderful carpet ride.
It's different when you're trying to turn something around, especially something that you built, at a time when so many constituents—the media, Wall Street, competitors, ex-employees—are all saying that Starbucks's best days are behind it, and that Schultz is never going to be able to bring it back. It's not that they underestimated me, but they underestimated the power of our culture and values and the resiliency of the brand and our people.
In many ways, it's much more rewarding to be here today, having made it through the past few years, than it was building the company. It was difficult, because during the financial crisis, there were no navigational tools. No one had experienced anything like this. You couldn't really talk to anyone or read something. You had to make big decisions based on things you believed in your heart were the right things to do.
What did you learn about this new environment?
There's been a real sea change in consumer behavior. And those companies that are consumer based must appeal to the consumer in a different way today than they did two or three years ago. And it's not all based on value. Cutting prices or putting things on sale is not sustainable business strategy. The other side of it is that you can't cut enough costs to save your way to prosperity.
I think the question is, What is your relevancy to the new life of this consumer, who is more discriminating about what they're going to spend money on? The customer today is very well informed. In addition to price and convenience, there's something else they are influenced by, and that's what the company stands for: how it treats its employees and its customers. We've found that consumers are willing to walk another block and potentially spend a little bit more for companies whose values they truly trust.
How do you maintain quality as a company grows and grows?
Read the rest of the Inc. article to find out the answer and more.
6 new LinkedIn updates you need to know about
Before discussing the new, exciting changes coming from LinkedIn, let’s define what LinkedIn is:
LinkedIn is really a huge database of professionals. Unlike other social networks, like Twitter, which lacks profile depth, or Facebook, which is all over the place demographically and is also hard to find people, Linkedin standardizes information entered by users into predefined “Profile Headline”, “Summary”, “Education”, “Company”, etc. categories. In addition to this huge database of information, LinkedIn provides an awesome search tool to allow you to pinpoint the person you are looking for depending on a number of very specific factors.
I read an outstanding update about LinkedIn and 6 new LinkedIn updates and thought I would share
Updates 4 - 6 and complete blackbox article
LinkedIn is really a huge database of professionals. Unlike other social networks, like Twitter, which lacks profile depth, or Facebook, which is all over the place demographically and is also hard to find people, Linkedin standardizes information entered by users into predefined “Profile Headline”, “Summary”, “Education”, “Company”, etc. categories. In addition to this huge database of information, LinkedIn provides an awesome search tool to allow you to pinpoint the person you are looking for depending on a number of very specific factors.
I read an outstanding update about LinkedIn and 6 new LinkedIn updates and thought I would share
1. ‘LINKEDIN TODAY’ IS A NEW PAGE YOU SHOULD VISIT EVERY DAY: LinkedIn.com/today, a new mashup of LinkedIn and Twitter, is one of the most useful ways to start your mornings. As one of the new LinkedIn updates, it displays, in an easy-to-read, easy-to-share and easy-to-save manner, the most shared items among your LinkedIn contacts. It’s also broken up by industries you are interested in, which makes it even more useful professionally.
2. THE NEW RESUME BUILDER IS VERY USEFUL: One of my favorite new LinkedIn updates is the Resume Builder at resume.linkedinlabs.com. It takes your LinkedIn profile and creates an instant, customizable resume that you can save as a PDF or share on the web with privacy settings. There are several templates to choose from, including “classic,” “business,” “law” and more. Here’s my new resume, (which I haven’t done any editing or customization on yet); you can compare it to my LinkedIn profile at LinkedIn.com/in/sreenivasan. (A tip about the profile URL that I learned from LinkedIn’s Krista Canfield, who teaches journalists on using the service better: try to customize it with your full name, not just your last name — since that’s how LinkedIn’s search engine work. I need to fix mine).
3. LINKEDIN LABS HAS COOL FEATURES: LinkedIn’s experimental Labs page at LinkedInLabs.com, which hosts the Resume Builder, is filled with new things you’ll want to check out. Among them: InMaps at inmaps.linkedin.com, which makes visualizations of your network (see my wife’s above); Swarm at swarm.linkedinlabs.com, which shows you the most searched companies; Year In Review at yir.linkedinlabs.com, which shows you who among your connections changed jobs in a year; in 2009, 607 people in my network changed jobs; in 2010, 922 people did; so far 267 have done so in 2011).
Updates 4 - 6 and complete blackbox article
Saturday, April 9, 2011
3 Questions for Career Path Nirvana
Aaron Kahlow
Your career has the single biggest impact on your life. (Sorry, significant other.) You will likely spend two-thirds of your waking hours devoted to your career. It offers the potential to give you support, security, eventual freedom, and most important – fulfillment you need for happiness. A job, on the other hand, is something you do. Something you wake up to and work through with the goal of getting it done. The iconic Dunkin' Donuts commercial comes to mind – the one where Fred the Baker, who looks like a character out of Nintendo's Mario Brothers, trudges off to work repeating the mantra, "Time to make the donuts."
If you're in online marketing or seek to be, don't let the opportunity of a lifetime slip away by doing what you should do versus what you want to do.
Now that I've stated the obvious, let's address the three big choices you must make to have a career instead of a job. Ask yourself:
Choice no. 1: Do you want a career or not?
When the alarm clock goes off, we have two options. Get up or hit snooze. If you consistently hit the snooze button, that's a sign that your job may not be an inspiring career. But, that's not the question you should ask yourself. The questions you should ask are:
"Am I excited about the day ahead? Am I excited about the challenges I need to address, the project I am working on, the people I am working with, and the path before me to build my career? Am I mentally jumping out of bed or am I begrudgingly going in to make the donuts?" Again, the most profound things in life are usually the most simple. But most people don't do this kind of self-assessment. Why? A) They are afraid of the answer and what it takes to actually change that and B) they feel too busy with busy work to think about the big picture.
Maybe the question should be a statement, "Wake up to your happiness and stop hitting the snooze button of fear or malaise."
Choice no. 2: What path you do want to take?
Do you prefer to be a generalist or specialist?
This question comes up a lot on our Online Marketing Summit Spring/Summer Tour across the United States and around the world. Basically it means you either know a little bit about everything or a lot about one thing. Inherently, it's a great thought because it means you must decide where you should beef up your skills and focus your education. That's where the journey between career and job diverges. Those interested in pursuing a career take the initiative to educate themselves, by reading, taking courses, and learning from others.
Back to the question, a generalist usually suits certain personality types and career aspirations. For example, if you are someone who wants to manage or run the entire web services or e-commerce division of your company or future employer, then becoming a generalist will serve you well. Why? You can keep a handle on all aspects of the business, from analytics to user experience, email marketing to SEO and beyond. Also, if you are not juiced about one single facet of the industry, you should consider following the path of generalist. For many, becoming a generalist may be your initial path; you may become a specialist after you get a feel for all the disciplines. It's the old adage that I have repeated many times, "How do you know what you want to do in life and career, until you have actually done it?"
The specialist usually emerges quickly. This is someone who loves details and peels back the onion again and again. Analytics is a great example. Digging into the data and the constant quest for answering, "Why?" or "What does this mean?" has web analytic experts jumping out of bed in the morning. For many, social media is deeply fascinating because of the human behavioral aspects. In contrast, those engaged in social media because it's all the rage will be left in the dust of those passionate about it. The specialist, too, is usually someone who likes to get into the nitty gritty of the initiative at hand and is less apt to wanting to coalesce the group or manage the masses. Consultants, analysts, and real gurus fall here.
Over the past decade in online marketing, I've noticed one other issue: many people fall into a confused state or lull because they have become a specialist by default because they worked in a certain department or company for a few years. But they are really like the more gregarious generalist who excels at pulling together projects and working with a team to do so. My advice: don't let your career be driven by your past; let your past serve as a path to what you want to do and follow your passion.
Sometimes this means taking a half step back to give you the room to take the leap forward down a new, more exciting career path.
Question 3 and Complete ClickZ.com Article
Your career has the single biggest impact on your life. (Sorry, significant other.) You will likely spend two-thirds of your waking hours devoted to your career. It offers the potential to give you support, security, eventual freedom, and most important – fulfillment you need for happiness. A job, on the other hand, is something you do. Something you wake up to and work through with the goal of getting it done. The iconic Dunkin' Donuts commercial comes to mind – the one where Fred the Baker, who looks like a character out of Nintendo's Mario Brothers, trudges off to work repeating the mantra, "Time to make the donuts."
If you're in online marketing or seek to be, don't let the opportunity of a lifetime slip away by doing what you should do versus what you want to do.
Now that I've stated the obvious, let's address the three big choices you must make to have a career instead of a job. Ask yourself:
- Why do you want a career?
- What career path do you to take to become a generalist or specialist?
- How are you going to pave the path and take action?
Choice no. 1: Do you want a career or not?
When the alarm clock goes off, we have two options. Get up or hit snooze. If you consistently hit the snooze button, that's a sign that your job may not be an inspiring career. But, that's not the question you should ask yourself. The questions you should ask are:
"Am I excited about the day ahead? Am I excited about the challenges I need to address, the project I am working on, the people I am working with, and the path before me to build my career? Am I mentally jumping out of bed or am I begrudgingly going in to make the donuts?" Again, the most profound things in life are usually the most simple. But most people don't do this kind of self-assessment. Why? A) They are afraid of the answer and what it takes to actually change that and B) they feel too busy with busy work to think about the big picture.
Maybe the question should be a statement, "Wake up to your happiness and stop hitting the snooze button of fear or malaise."
Choice no. 2: What path you do want to take?
Do you prefer to be a generalist or specialist?
This question comes up a lot on our Online Marketing Summit Spring/Summer Tour across the United States and around the world. Basically it means you either know a little bit about everything or a lot about one thing. Inherently, it's a great thought because it means you must decide where you should beef up your skills and focus your education. That's where the journey between career and job diverges. Those interested in pursuing a career take the initiative to educate themselves, by reading, taking courses, and learning from others.
Back to the question, a generalist usually suits certain personality types and career aspirations. For example, if you are someone who wants to manage or run the entire web services or e-commerce division of your company or future employer, then becoming a generalist will serve you well. Why? You can keep a handle on all aspects of the business, from analytics to user experience, email marketing to SEO and beyond. Also, if you are not juiced about one single facet of the industry, you should consider following the path of generalist. For many, becoming a generalist may be your initial path; you may become a specialist after you get a feel for all the disciplines. It's the old adage that I have repeated many times, "How do you know what you want to do in life and career, until you have actually done it?"
The specialist usually emerges quickly. This is someone who loves details and peels back the onion again and again. Analytics is a great example. Digging into the data and the constant quest for answering, "Why?" or "What does this mean?" has web analytic experts jumping out of bed in the morning. For many, social media is deeply fascinating because of the human behavioral aspects. In contrast, those engaged in social media because it's all the rage will be left in the dust of those passionate about it. The specialist, too, is usually someone who likes to get into the nitty gritty of the initiative at hand and is less apt to wanting to coalesce the group or manage the masses. Consultants, analysts, and real gurus fall here.
Over the past decade in online marketing, I've noticed one other issue: many people fall into a confused state or lull because they have become a specialist by default because they worked in a certain department or company for a few years. But they are really like the more gregarious generalist who excels at pulling together projects and working with a team to do so. My advice: don't let your career be driven by your past; let your past serve as a path to what you want to do and follow your passion.
Sometimes this means taking a half step back to give you the room to take the leap forward down a new, more exciting career path.
Question 3 and Complete ClickZ.com Article
Friday, April 8, 2011
How a LinkedIn title created a qualified lead
This guest post is by Jeremy Epstein, founder and chief marketing navigator at Never Stop Marketing. According to LinkedIn, he is member #146,795 … out of 100,000,000.
Frank sent me an unsolicited e-mail inquiring about my consulting services.
I had no idea who he was at all.
Being the (hopefully) good marketer that I am, I asked, “How did you hear about me?”
The answer shocked me. “I liked your title on LinkedIn.”
As he explained:
I found you kind of randomly. Michael R. accepted my LinkedIn invitation (I have known Mike probably 10+ years) and your name was 1st on his list of friends with the words “Marketing Navigator” by your name.
I found the title intriguing – especially because if Marketing Navigator meant what I hoped it meant, it would be exactly what we need.
It sounds like you could potentially really help us, and if I understand correctly, as your many testimonials suggest, you not only consult, but manage implementation.
Did you read that? A unique title caught his eye … and led to a qualified lead. Pretty low-cost marketing via LinkedIn.
Unfortunately, nondescriptive titles that don’t grab attention and tell stories to would-be connections are just one of the many ways that LinkedIn is completely underutilized.
Another big one is when LinkedIn is not used for pro-active, focused networking.
This has two sides to it.
I am frequently surprised (and frankly, mildly irritated) when people send an e-mail asking “do you know anyone at Company X?”
What this note communicates is that the person is lazy. Pretty much my whole network (and probably a good chunk of yours) is on LinkedIn (here’s the network map) and the person didn’t even bother to look.
The second can be illustrated with a recent example from my trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil.
As a committed networker, I have two rules when I travel for business.
It’s been a while, but your name came up in a keyword search on LinkedIn. The keyword was “Brazil.” I’m going to Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the end of January and am looking to meet/network with
The Results? Find out the results and read the complete article
Frank sent me an unsolicited e-mail inquiring about my consulting services.
I had no idea who he was at all.
Being the (hopefully) good marketer that I am, I asked, “How did you hear about me?”
The answer shocked me. “I liked your title on LinkedIn.”
As he explained:
I found you kind of randomly. Michael R. accepted my LinkedIn invitation (I have known Mike probably 10+ years) and your name was 1st on his list of friends with the words “Marketing Navigator” by your name.
I found the title intriguing – especially because if Marketing Navigator meant what I hoped it meant, it would be exactly what we need.
It sounds like you could potentially really help us, and if I understand correctly, as your many testimonials suggest, you not only consult, but manage implementation.
Did you read that? A unique title caught his eye … and led to a qualified lead. Pretty low-cost marketing via LinkedIn.
Unfortunately, nondescriptive titles that don’t grab attention and tell stories to would-be connections are just one of the many ways that LinkedIn is completely underutilized.
Another big one is when LinkedIn is not used for pro-active, focused networking.
This has two sides to it.
- First, it reflects poorly on you.
- Second, you miss opportunities to grow your network.
I am frequently surprised (and frankly, mildly irritated) when people send an e-mail asking “do you know anyone at Company X?”
What this note communicates is that the person is lazy. Pretty much my whole network (and probably a good chunk of yours) is on LinkedIn (here’s the network map) and the person didn’t even bother to look.
The second can be illustrated with a recent example from my trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil.
As a committed networker, I have two rules when I travel for business.
- Always see something that is unique to that city.
- Always meet at least one new person in that city for each day I will be there.
- First, I turned to LinkedIn and clicked on Advanced People Search. I put in the keyword “Brazil.” (Note: I did this two months before I went there.)
- When I got the results, I sorted by “relationship.” I was looking for all of the first level connections. In other words, I could approach them directly.
- I found 15 people who met the criteria of having some connection to Brazil. This was my initial target market.
It’s been a while, but your name came up in a keyword search on LinkedIn. The keyword was “Brazil.” I’m going to Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the end of January and am looking to meet/network with
- Entrepreneurs
- Marketers
- Technologists (particularly around the sugar cane/ethanol, but also IT)
The Results? Find out the results and read the complete article
Thursday, April 7, 2011
How To Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Profile For Recruiting
LinkedIn offers companies the ability to provide more information about their organization via their company pages. On a company page, you can include information about your products and services along with information about job opportunities.
This is a relatively new feature, relaunched back in November 2010. Several Fortune 500 companies were part of the launch of this new feature including Dell, Eastman Kodak, JetBlue and Microsoft. But company pages are not exclusive to only large businesses—Harvard Business School, Rypple, Squarespace and other well-known, successful organizations have LinkedIn company pages.
Since one of the primary purposes of LinkedIn is career networking, it only seems logical to make sure your company profile is being leveraged as much for recruiting as it is for marketing. Here are five things to consider including in your LinkedIn company profile to attract candidates.
1. List job openings
This might sound very obvious but sometimes the obvious gets overlooked. Candidates expect job openings to be listed under the “Careers” tab on your LinkedIn company profile. Job openings should be current and link to information regarding how to apply. Here’s a great example from CVS Caremark Corporation.
As an example, if you select the first position, it takes you to a page with a job description, desired skills and company description. It also indicates how to apply, whether it’s via the company website or an introduction from a connection.
If the position selected doesn’t look like a good match, a candidate’s time has not been wasted—similar positions are listed at the bottom of the screen.
2. Employee profiles provide information
Eve Mayer Orsburn, CEO of Social Media Delivered, an international social media optimization firm that offers consulting, training and marketing services, says “90 percent of information in a LinkedIn Company Page comes from employee personal profiles.” As such, it only benefits a company to make sure its employees know how to use LinkedIn properly.
One of the places that information is aggregated is in the statistics section located at the bottom of the “How you’re connected” box on the Overview page.
This section offers some very valuable information, as reported by employees. For example, it includes annual company growth, years of company experience, as well as highest degree attained.
Orsburn adds, “If your company really wants to rule the LinkedIn universe and recruit top-notch talent, make sure all employees have completed and fully-optimized personal profiles to improve content and effectiveness of the company page.”
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Career advice from iconic leaders
By Alina Dizik, CareerBuilder
Just because icons like Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison aren't alive today, doesn't mean their leadership lessons should be forgotten. And since history always repeats itself, there is some career advice that never seems to change.
Here, we take a look at the leadership philosophies of iconic leaders and how they can help you get ahead in your own career.
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure."
-- Colin Powell
Career lesson: When it comes to your career, it's impossible to take the easy way out. Most of those who've found success don't have some secret connections that have helped them get ahead. Moving up in a company or building a business is always done the old-fashioned way -- by striving to do your best.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
-- Thomas Edison
Career lesson: Not everyone gets it right 100 percent of the time, and the ability to rebound from career mistakes is just as important as getting it right the first time around. Companies are most interested in workers who can work through problems instead of giving up.
"Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere."
-- Albert Einstein
Career lesson: These days, innovation is a buzzword, and knowing how to think outside the box is a valuable skill. Companies aren't simply looking to hire clones, so understanding how to differentiate yourself in a corporate environment is a plus.
"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Career lesson: There's never a perfect day at work, and dwelling on past mistakes or having a negative attitude can prevent you from making progress. Remember that most of your superiors and managers have erred in the past but somehow managed to score that promotion.
More Lessons and Complete Article
Just because icons like Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison aren't alive today, doesn't mean their leadership lessons should be forgotten. And since history always repeats itself, there is some career advice that never seems to change.
Here, we take a look at the leadership philosophies of iconic leaders and how they can help you get ahead in your own career.
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure."
-- Colin Powell
Career lesson: When it comes to your career, it's impossible to take the easy way out. Most of those who've found success don't have some secret connections that have helped them get ahead. Moving up in a company or building a business is always done the old-fashioned way -- by striving to do your best.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
-- Thomas Edison
Career lesson: Not everyone gets it right 100 percent of the time, and the ability to rebound from career mistakes is just as important as getting it right the first time around. Companies are most interested in workers who can work through problems instead of giving up.
"Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere."
-- Albert Einstein
Career lesson: These days, innovation is a buzzword, and knowing how to think outside the box is a valuable skill. Companies aren't simply looking to hire clones, so understanding how to differentiate yourself in a corporate environment is a plus.
"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Career lesson: There's never a perfect day at work, and dwelling on past mistakes or having a negative attitude can prevent you from making progress. Remember that most of your superiors and managers have erred in the past but somehow managed to score that promotion.
More Lessons and Complete Article
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
How to Create a LinkedIn Company Page
by
If you have a small or medium-sized business, you should take the time to create a basic presence on LinkedIn. 36.5 million people visit LinkedIn every month, and LinkedIn results appear in Search, one more opportunity for your business to get seen.
To build your LinkedIn presence, take the following steps:
Hopefully, your company page isn’t already taken. If it is, you’ve got a problem and you’ll need to contact LinkedIn if you should rightfully own that name. Or use a variation for your company name, “Inc” versus “Corp” and so on. When you have a unique name, click the Add a Company link to create your corporate page.
On the Add a Company page, enter the company name and an email associated with it. Check the box to verify you are a representative of the company. You’ll be sent an email and will need to open it and click the link to verify the account. Then, you can enter information about your company. To create your profile, you’ll need:
If you have a small or medium-sized business, you should take the time to create a basic presence on LinkedIn. 36.5 million people visit LinkedIn every month, and LinkedIn results appear in Search, one more opportunity for your business to get seen.
To build your LinkedIn presence, take the following steps:
- Create your company page
- Optimize each employee’s personal profile to promote the company
- Have each employee “link” to the corporate page
Create Your LinkedIn Business Page
To create your page, log into LinkedIn. Then, in the menu bar, under Search, enter your company name and select Company from the dropdown. Click the Search icon to search for your company.Hopefully, your company page isn’t already taken. If it is, you’ve got a problem and you’ll need to contact LinkedIn if you should rightfully own that name. Or use a variation for your company name, “Inc” versus “Corp” and so on. When you have a unique name, click the Add a Company link to create your corporate page.
On the Add a Company page, enter the company name and an email associated with it. Check the box to verify you are a representative of the company. You’ll be sent an email and will need to open it and click the link to verify the account. Then, you can enter information about your company. To create your profile, you’ll need:
- A list of company specialties (keywords for which you want to be found)
- The blog or feed URL for the company
- The corporate website’s URL
- The Twitter handle for the company or the employee whose tweets you want to appear (if you’re on Twitter)
- Basic information about the company: number of employees, address, founding year, etc.
- A logo graphic to upload
Adding Products & Services
You can create separate pages for each of your products or services, describing them. For each product or service, you’ll need:- A paragraph description of each product/service
- An image for each one
- A bulleted list of features or differentiators
- A URL to link to for each particular product or service
- If you have a promotional (such as a discount or free service), you’ll need a description and a URL for it
- If you have a YouTube video for this product/service, grab the URL for it
- Any disclaimer for this product/service
- In the tabs, select Products & Services.
- Click the Add a product & service button.
- Use the wizard-like form to add your product or service.
- On the right, add the URL of the landing page for this product/service.
- Add contact information—who in your company to contact about it.
- Add any special promotions, and any videos.
Optimize Employee Profiles - to read the rest of the article
Monday, April 4, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
10 Differences Between the Job Search of Today and of Yesterday
By careerealism
Modified from the forthcoming book, “Job Searching With Social Media for Dummies.”
1. Google Has Replaced the Resume
Recruiters are now using Google and LinkedIn searches to find talent, instead of paying for job-board or talent databases, like they used to do. In fact, many companies are even mandating every new application go through a Google screening process. So that means the first page of your Google results matter more than they ever did before during a job search.
2. A Summary is Enough
Today, the resume is used mostly in the screening process while actual decisions are made after interviews. And because there are so many candidates competing for each job, HR people (or hiring managers if they are tasked with recruitment) often scan resumes very briefly. In fact, the average time on a resume is 30 seconds.
3. Social Proof is a Must
Social proof, testimonials or recommendations seriously reduce the perceived risk of you as a candidate. The most costly mistake a hiring manager can make is to hire the wrong person. Some say that if a new-hire leaves within three months, it costs the organization one and half that person’s annual salary. And with the economy as tight as it is, you can understand why hiring managers are so risk averse.
4. Resumes and Cover Letters Are Not Read on Paper Anymore
Most organizations are not receiving paper resumes and when they get them via email or their application system, they don’t print them. So expect your resume and cover letter to be read on a computer screen. This means you have to format your documents in a way that makes screen-scanning easy.
5. Relationships First, Resume’s Second
Resumes are not used as introductory documents much these days. In fact, “send me your resume” is often an after thought after an introduction is made. And if an introduction is made online, then your online profile offers much more information than a resume. So shift your priorities from, “Oh crap, I have to get my resume done!” to, “Oh crap, where can I meet some more people today?”
Modified from the forthcoming book, “Job Searching With Social Media for Dummies.”
1. Google Has Replaced the Resume
Recruiters are now using Google and LinkedIn searches to find talent, instead of paying for job-board or talent databases, like they used to do. In fact, many companies are even mandating every new application go through a Google screening process. So that means the first page of your Google results matter more than they ever did before during a job search.
2. A Summary is Enough
Today, the resume is used mostly in the screening process while actual decisions are made after interviews. And because there are so many candidates competing for each job, HR people (or hiring managers if they are tasked with recruitment) often scan resumes very briefly. In fact, the average time on a resume is 30 seconds.
3. Social Proof is a Must
Social proof, testimonials or recommendations seriously reduce the perceived risk of you as a candidate. The most costly mistake a hiring manager can make is to hire the wrong person. Some say that if a new-hire leaves within three months, it costs the organization one and half that person’s annual salary. And with the economy as tight as it is, you can understand why hiring managers are so risk averse.
4. Resumes and Cover Letters Are Not Read on Paper Anymore
Most organizations are not receiving paper resumes and when they get them via email or their application system, they don’t print them. So expect your resume and cover letter to be read on a computer screen. This means you have to format your documents in a way that makes screen-scanning easy.
5. Relationships First, Resume’s Second
Resumes are not used as introductory documents much these days. In fact, “send me your resume” is often an after thought after an introduction is made. And if an introduction is made online, then your online profile offers much more information than a resume. So shift your priorities from, “Oh crap, I have to get my resume done!” to, “Oh crap, where can I meet some more people today?”
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