September 2009

Showing newest 22 of 41 posts from September 2009. Show older posts

Old Workers Vs. Young In A Tough Labor Market

Forget about mall-walking and midday bingo games. It seems that workers over 55 just aren't interested in retiring. This is problematic for the young people who, under different circumstances, would have replaced them in the workforce.

These observations come from a new Pew Research Center report, which looks at current workforce trends and predicts what may happen in the near future. So why are people over 55 staying at their metaphorical desks? For many of them, it's not because of the hit their investments have taken—it's because they want to stay engaged and relevant.

When asked to identify specific reasons for working, older workers emphasize psychological and social factors: 'to feel useful'; 'to give myself something to do'; 'to be with other people.' Younger and middle-aged workers are much more inclined to cite classic pocketbook considerations: 'to support myself and my family'; 'to live independently'; 'to qualify for retirement benefits'; 'to receive health care benefits.'

Meanwhile, fewer Americans between ages 16 and 24 are employed or looking for full-time work, and they are generally remaining in school because of the number of jobs that currently require college education of some sort. Or because school is a much safer place to be than the job market right now.

Recession Turns a Graying Office Grayer [Pew Research Center] (via Consumer Reports Money)

(Photo: Hitchster)

How To Use Common Sense In The Job Search

From Brazzen Careerist by Andrew Weitsman

So I’m gonna gloss over the whole networking aspect of this, as I think it was covered pretty well in a previous post, and skip right on to the cold-call aspect of the job search, what with the Internets and the classifieds and the trade magazines and so on.
When considering a job to apply for, there are only two questions that one needs to be able to answer:

What kind of work do I want to do?
How far (literally and figuratively) will I be willing to go to do it?

The answer to the first question should come based off of your personal checklist and your prior work experience, education and so on. I’m not saying that it’s a bad idea to apply outside of your comfort zone, but rather to make sure that you have some expertise/logic/reasoning to bridge the different industries. Unless you’re prepared to jump into an entry-level position in your new field, you might want to rethink your options.
According to a recent survey I lost the link to, relocation is becoming more prevalent among today’s workers. And while this may be a good thing for those of you who are afraid of being the only kid on the block to move because of a job, it’s also something to take into consideration in another way. Due to the stressful economy, fewer and fewer companies are helping to fund relocation expenses for new hires, so one may have to weigh the costs and benefits of the move financially first.
Finally, you might have to think about the costs of the job. I’m not just referring to money you might lose paying for the commute, but also the comparative value of the work. What would you lose (besides the opportunity at a different job)? What would you gain (besides employment and money)? It’s essentially a pros-and-cons list, but many people gloss over this step only to be sorry that they didn’t think about these things beforehand. After all, some jobs are almost entirely bad.
As for where to look, there are so many different job search sites that it can be confusing. I am not much of a fan of the Big Two because of the number of unrelated jobs/pyramid schemes/repeated postings that flood their job boards. I’ve made a list of a number of good search sites on the links bar on this site.
You can usually find a website or twitter account devoted to job searches in your particular career field, and in many cases, a social network as well. You can use these sites to find more pertinent job postings in less time than if you were using a generic job search site. Or, you could skip the third party stuff and go straight to the company’s website itself. In many cases, companies will not post all of their available positions on job search sites. So it’s to your benefit to do some industry analysis and track down the business’ web sites to see all of the positions that they really have available.
Does all of this seem a bit elementary? Like stuff that you already know? Of course it does, and of course it is! It’s common sense! But are you using it in your job search?

Don't Say These Things In A Job Interview

from Consumerist by Chris Walters

Don't hit on the interviewer. Don't ask whether they might be able to discover your past arrests. Don't ask what the company does, or see if they can pick you up when it rains. In fact, here are 43 things you shouldn't say during an interview if you actually want the job.

On the bright side, if you're looking for work try to remember that there are people out there who do say stuff like this, so if you can learn from this list you'll already be one step ahead of them.

"43 Things Actually Said in Job Interviews" [AOL Jobs]

Turning Your Natural Born Talent into a Career

Original Post: Turning Your Natural Born Talent into a Career

Image via RagingRouge

Crystal Cotton says: With 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Recruitment and Staff Development, I‘ve had my share of really bad interviews. I confess, early in my career the bad interview experience could have conceivably been my fault. After all, the interview process can be just as grueling for the interviewer as it is for the interviewee, especially if either are inexperienced, overly nervous or just have poor communication and social skills. But, as I became more experienced, more precise with my questions and more skilled at soliciting critical information without crossing any lines of legality (this takes a great deal of intuitive skill), it became apparent that sometimes…no, most of the time; it’s not me it’s you. Yes, YOU…the ill prepared, inexperienced, unprofessional and inconsiderate job applicant. YOU are the primary reason why you’ve gone on a dozen interviews and were not hired!

Before I move on and explain, let me put in my disclaimer to stave off all the nasty-gram email I am bound to get. The job market is bad and opportunities are few and far in between. There are more job seekers than job opportunities. However, when you are getting interviews but no offers, you must look at yourself more closely. Something could be amiss.

Recently at a round table discussion with several of my HR colleagues, I posed the following question, “assuming all major qualifications are met, what’s the one stand-out thing that makes you think twice, or even disqualify an applicant for hire?” These are the things that make a difference when the playing field between you and another candidate is leveled and now the employer is making character judgments, as a means of finding just the right fit.

Eager to vent and air their pet peeves, my colleagues all chimed in, almost simultaneously. It was like HR harmony as they vocalized their top 5 reasons for not hiring an applicant. It echoed what I’ve personally experienced over the years, and have heard time and time again from employers and recruiters. It’s YOU… and your inability to make a good and convincing impression. This explains why you’ve gone on a dozen interviews and were not hired! Listed below are the top 5 reasons revealed in my informal, unscientific query. Take heed, these are opinions of people who influence and sometimes make the final hiring decision. These are experienced Human Resources Professionals who give weight to these 5 things when deciding who gets hired and who doesn’t.

YOU ARE DRESSING INAPPROPRIATELY: By inappropriate we mean too much cleavage, or too body conscious. It’s a job interview, dress like you have a clue. Tone down the cleavage. Ok, I get that some people don’t have a suit, and no-one’s saying it has to be Armani, but at least put on a blazer. Please remember that flip- flops are traditionally beach wear, and even if they are embellished with rhinestones, or made from the finest leather, they are not appropriate for a job interview.
YOU ARE NOT PREPARED: Did you do your homework? Employers are impressed when you know more about the job than what is on the posting. It shows you have a sincere interest in the job and the company. Take what you’ve learned about the company and formulate some questions to ask at the interview.
YOU CANNOT CLEARLY EXPLAIN YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, GOALS OR POTENTIAL WORTH: This is a key point. So you’ve got skills, but what have you done with those skills which demonstrates your successes? Can you clearly state your goals and align those goals with the company in mind? Worth, in this sense does not mean salary, it means value. What value do you add to the company? What will be your contribution to their bottom line? Know how to express these things and you’re well on your way to your next job or career move.
YOUR RESUME DOES NOT SUPPORT YOUR INTERVIEWING SKILLS: A prime reason to draft your own resume (get the help of a professional if necessary, but know what it says and make sure it accurately reflects your skills and capabilities). When I work with people to re-write their resume, I make sure we do it together, I get their input, and see that the client understands how to present it to employers. Know that the resume is an extension of you and is the first way you are identified by the employer; know it like you know your birth date and social security number.
YOU’VE FORGOTTEN YOUR MANNERS: Never under estimate the power of being polite and just using a bit of common sense. Confirm your appointment, this shows responsibility and interest. If by some freaky chain of events you are late, call. When you get there, apologize and offer some explanation. Let me be clear, your explanation should be short and simple. Save the melodrama for your friends. Don’t interrupt the interviewer when speaking. It might lead the interviewer to think you have control issues. Lastly, say thank you for the opportunity to interview at the end of the meeting and in your follow-up communication.

Believe it or not, these things can be just as important as your skills. Make one of these faux pas and you may still be a contender. Make a few of these at once, and you’ve earned yourself a standard rejection letter. So the next time you go on an interview and things don’t go well, think about what you could have done differently.

Guest Expert:

Crystal Cotton is a career development consultant, President of Crystal Clear Connextions, and author of career blogging site, Job Ready, Job Savvy www.JobReadyJobSavvy.Blogspot.com. She specializes in empowering individuals with communication skills necessary to succeed in the workplace and beyond to create meaningful and intentional relationships. Through communication workshops, seminars, and coaching, Crystal helps people connect, influence, create and achieve career goals. Get Better Communication Skills Now at www.BetterCommunicationSkills.com .

Crystal has a Master’s in Public Administration & Human Resources; a Corporate Training Certification from NYU’s School of Professional Studies, and is the Director of Human Resources for a NYC non-profit.

Recently Laid Off? Here’s A Quick Job Search Refresher Guide

Recently Laid Off? Here’s A Quick Job Search Refresher Guide: "

First job search in years? Use this refresher guide to get your new job search moving in the right direction.

This a guest post by Pearl, a veteran Human Resources Specialist.

The employee trap

Searching for a new job can be very stressful and is actually a job in itself. If you are the one who just got laid off, do not forget that staying in the same job for years sometimes has its own share of disadvantages.

When we know our jobs are secure and safe, we tend to become complacent and lazy and learning a new skill either never comes to mind or when we do think about it, it feels like an effort especially if it’s something that has no use in our current job.

With many companies completely going out of business or closing their plants and offices, many of your skills may also be outdated and not needed by other companies.

Solution: learn new skills

Treat your time out of work as an opportunity by

enrolling at a vocational institute or take a class at a local community college
doing something positive with your time instead of sulking will stand out in the stack of resumes.

But what if you cannot afford to go back to school? And finding another job is the only way you and your family can survive?

Start your job search off right

The very first thing you will have to remember is not lose heart and stay positive. Treat this whole process of job searching as an important project and not give up until you have achieved your desired goal.

There are many ways to tackle a job search project. The easiest and quickest way is to do a Google search of course. Now, most people use the Internet but not everyone knows HOW to search and find the things they are looking for.

As a matter of fact, I know quite a few people who have no clue how to search through millions of pages on the Internet without giving up. If you want to learn how to get better results from Google when doing job searches, watch the following video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Don’t forget that Google is a general-purpose search engine. With that in mind, you might prefer to go directly to where the jobs are being listed.

There are hundreds if not thousands of job sites and resources to choose from. Make your job search activities more effective by taking the time to find the right job site for your job search goals.

But how to know which is the right job site?

Use these criteria to judge which are the right job sites for you

1. Look at the site’s popularity.

If the site is popular, it’s probably because many companies regularly post their jobs there and more companies will get to see your resume.

2. See how their notifications process works.

Many sites notify their candidates via email and keep them up-to-date for free about the site’s various features, new companies or new jobs in your area, etc.

3. Confirm that the job site allows you to modify your resume after posting.

As you look for a permanent job, you might be working on smaller projects or temp jobs during summer which should be added to your resume on an ongoing basis. Any job site that doesn’t let you modify your resume after posting it is no good for your purposes.

4. Make sure the site lets you register for FREE.

If they want you to use your credit card or pay them to just register and search for jobs, move on to the next job search site.

5. Check out their search process.

Does the site let you search based on location, industry, years of experience, education, etc.? Once you get the search results, make sure they meet your search criteria.

6. Use job listing aggregators.

Save a lot of time by using job search sites that aggregate postings from multiple search engines and companies for your location or your industry.

7. Job portals are more useful than simple job boards.

Many sites have company reviews and demographic information, which are always helpful. Sites that incorporate job search articles, advice and assistance are better than the ones that just spit out the search results.

8. Make sure they let you build your profile in addition to just posting a resume.

Companies sometimes don’t just search for the resumes, their recruiting agent might want to view a virtual profile.

9. Pay attention to the date of posting of the job in your search results.

You might get a good batch of jobs within your industry and your location, but what if those jobs are from last year? If that’s the case, this job site is probably not getting new jobs posted or isn’t removing old listings.

10. Most importantly: read the job search site’s Privacy Policy.

Especially before posting any of your personal information such as address and phone numbers you must read it first.

Now that you know how to recognize good job sites, here are some recommendations.

21 top job sites

With hundreds of jobs listed on these sites, there is sure to be a match with your current skills.

Once you’ve found matching listings, learn about the hiring companies so you can approach them in the most appropriate way.

Where to do company research

To educate yourself further for an American job search, use the Open Business Directory which lists companies by state. The site has also business directories for:

Also, use LinkedIn which has 160,000 profiles of different companies as well.

About the Author

Pearl has a Bachelor of Science and Education, Post Grad in Computer Information Science. She has many years of experience as a Human Resources Specialist with one of the Civil Service Commissions in United States. She blogs over at Interesting Observations.

This article is part of the 3rd Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest. If you want Pearl to win, share this article with your friends.

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas on how to manage your job search.

-- Jacob Share, Job Search Expert and Professional Blogging Consultant

Why I Walked Away From A Job Opportunity

Original Post:Why I Walked Away From A Job Opportunity

This is the first year in a few that I do not have a job for the school year, and am not involved in any way in Welcome Week (McMaster’s orientation/frosh week). But I happen to have McMaster’s campus events co-ordinator on Facebook, and in my news feed it showed up that a company she knows of was hiring a promotion team for a few days during Welcome Week.

It also turns out that I somehow managed to get both Thursdays and Fridays off for first semester this year (long weekend every weekend woohoo!). In my head, I thought “Hey, this could be a good way to make some extra money before school, and maybe turn into something a bit more permanent during the year.” So I emailed the contact person asking what sort of information they wanted from me, hoping for a quick response.

Shortly afterwards, I got a reply. They told me to send the sort of things I was expecting:

Resumé
Contact info
Time available for a phone interview
Availability during the school year

But there was another item on the list that really threw me off. I was required to submit a head shot. But I didn’t feel comfortable applying for a job where part of the basis for me being hired was my physical appearance.

This position instantly reminded me of the scantily-clad girls at sporting events and concerts handing out swag, samples or coupons. That is something I could never see myself doing. I do not ever want to feel like I’m using my body to sell a product – it would make me feel I had abandoned my values.

I’m not necessarily insulting my physical appearance here, but I feel that my ability to work for an organization should have nothing to do with what I look like, but the skills I possess. I have developed lots of skills that would be useful for doing promotions because I’ve previously done some niche marketing work.

Now, I’m not saying that the people who do this kind of work are knowingly using their physical appearance to sell products. Money is money and sometimes jobs in your field of interest can be hard to get, especially without a degree to back it up. I’m just saying it’s not for me because I feel it compromises my values.

Part of me still wonders if I should have gone through the application process. Maybe I’m making everything seem worse off than it is. I don’t know how likely it would have been for me to be walking around campus in booty shorts and a halter top hawking a product – as well as part of myself – to passers-by.

What I do know, however, is that having a bit more extra spending money right now would be useful.

13 More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits For Some Americans

Original Post: 13 More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits For Some Americans [Unemployment]

On Tuesday, the House voted to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who live in states where the unemployment rate is greater than 8.5 percent. 400,000 people were set to run out of benefits at the end of September, and will now continue to receive them until the end of the year if the bill passes.

The new federal extension applies to 27 states, and will be funded, to the tune of $1.4 billion, with a tax on employers.

As Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke stated earlier this month, while the recession may be over and the economy is growing, that isn't doing anything to reduce the jobless rate. In fact, many experts expect it to go higher.

The House action reflects the continuing depressed state of the job market despite some signs that the economy is recovering. The unemployment rate now is 9.7 percent and economists see it topping 10 percent in 2010.Some 5 million people, about one-third of those unemployed, have been without a job for six months, the highest number since data was first collected in 1948. There are nearly six unemployed for every available job.

''The job-finding situation is still dire,'' said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the research and advocacy group National Employment Law Project. ''Until we figure out how to create jobs there is so much collateral damage'' from neglecting to help the jobless, including people losing their homes and facing food insecurity and mental depression, he said.

Here, according to the AP, is the list of states where the extension will apply, if passed.

Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

House Votes to Extend Jobless Benefits [AP]
Meltdown 101: How extended jobless benefits work [AP]

(Photo: clementine gallot)

Strategies to Enhance Your Job Application

Recently, I attended a career fair at one of our local universities with many of the career development educators and industry representatives sharing some interesting and critical information that all graduates and current students should be aware of.

Employers are now more than ever placing greater emphasis on a candidate’s employability skills than they are on a candidate’s grades in the selection process. While Australian employers have been following this principle for some time - interestingly international employers (who were, up until some time ago, focused primarily on grades) now too are far more interested in a candidate’s employability skills than just their grades alone. So students beware – if you think top grades alone are going to guarantee you a role, you could be sadly mistaken.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics early this year stated that youth unemployment levels had risen to 24%. This means that all students should be implementing sound career management strategies whilst studying to ensure they are able to differentiate themselves within a competitive market.

And, according to the feedback I’ve been receiving, being able to demonstrate employability and transferable skills is critical and will allow a graduate to have the upper hand in the job market.

So what are employability skills and how can you develop these?

The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Business Council of Australia (BCA) have developed the following list of employability skills, which can also be referred to as ’soft skills’:

• Initiative
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Technology
• Problem Solving
• Self Management
• Planning
• Learning

While studying it is important to continue developing your employability skills. Here is a list of activities you can consider to increase these important skills:

• Voluntary work – even if the work is not necessarily in your field of study.
• Part time/casual work – again, either in your field of study or any other environment that will allow you to demonstrate development and growth of the above-mentioned skills.
• Join school groups, societies, committees and any extracurricular activities and ensure you are an active participant in their events.

This information is extremely valuable when developing your personal marketing document – your résumé. The fact that you will probably have limited experience in your field of study, including the information from your extracurricular and other involvements as detailed above, will allow you to create a document of substance, while demonstrating key employability and transferable skills to a potential employer.

Consider including these sections when developing your résumé:

• Extracurricular involvements: memberships and sporting involvements are always a great way to highlight employability skills;
• Volunteer work;
• Work Experience, completed either through your tertiary or secondary schooling years;
• Awards and other areas which have recognised you for your contributions and achievements;
• Technologies and understanding of computer applications, specifically if they relate to the industry/role you are targeting;
• Special projects and assignments that you received impressive marks for to demonstrate your understanding of the information. Include information about the projects, your specific involvement (especially if this was a team-based assignment) and the outcome of the project;
• Academic achievements, including the subjects you have successfully completed, especially the subjects you received top marks in to demonstrate a solid grasp of the information.

As you can see, the list is quite extensive and should provide you with some impressive information to include in your résumé, in order to highlight your transferable and employability skills to a potential employer.

Author:

Annemarie Cross is a Radio Host on CareerCommuniqueRadio.com, a Career Coach, Personal Branding Strategist, a triple certified multi award-winning Professional Resume Writer and Author of ’10 key steps to Ace that Interview'.

Who Has Your Dream Job And Why Haven't You Emailed Him/Her/Them Yet?

Original Post: Who Has Your Dream Job And Why Haven't You Emailed Him/Her/Them Yet?

When most people think about career moves, they consider what is immediately available or achievable. However, if the goal is to build a career that is energizing and enjoyable, people should think in terms of what they want, regardless of immediate accessibility.

Instead of building your career path based upon what's available now, why not start with your dream job and work backwards?

With that in mind, who has your dream job and why haven't you emailed them yet?

(note: I (jakegreene1) initially posted this as a question on Linkedin)

Is My Career Specialty Too Specific?

I've been reading a lot that having a specialty or a niche is very important. The idea is to be an expert or the top candidate in your field so you become the 'go to' person. The last thing you should want is to be good at everything because then you aren't really good at any one thing.

My first job after college was working for a Chairman/CEO. And then I got laid off in a merger. However, even after the first CEO I was pegged as 'the assistant to CEOs.' So be warned - often unfairly, the first job you take out of college becomes your specialty.

After I was laid off I of course had to go look for another job. I was called in for an interview at an agency and it was the assistant that did all the vetting of the candidates. The executive basically yelled at me for showing up for the interview because he wasn't a CEO and he thought it was absurd that I would even show up for a non-CEO executive assistant position. It was a horrible experience because I waited for an hour to see him and the entire 'interview' lasted about 5 minutes.

Originally, my logic to becoming an executive assistant was it was a great job, there are tons of assistants so I should always have a job, and I enjoyed the work. In hindsight, there was fault in my thinking.

1) I wanted to work in the entertainment industry which really only exists in Los Angeles or New York. I already lived in New York and it wasn't for me. So that leaves Los Angeles.

2) Now that I'm job hunting again my biggest obstacle is HR or executives see not working for a CEO is a step down for me even though I don't see it that way. I didn't choose to be an assistant to CEOs. My first two jobs found me and I went on to work for a 3rd CEO. It's been a great resume booster to work for 3 CEOs but that also meant there are only so many CEOs that I could work for, especially in the entertainment industry. All my jobs have been with major corporations or conglomerates which also means only so many exist in the world and also in Los Angeles/entertainment industry.

3) By nature, being a good executive assistant means you're good at admin work. But admin work is very vague - phones, travel, calendar, expense reports, etc. So really, being a good executive assistant translates to being good with people and having great soft skills which is also not specific. So that really comes down to, I'm good at being what you need me to be, which isn't a specialty at all.

So, I kinda fell into what I did and went with it, for better or for worse. However, I am noticing a trend in all the people who headhunt me.

- I can work for any C-level executive or an executive who has very high-profile clients.

- Despite having zero experience in other fields, I've been offered other jobs as I've proven I can hit the ground running and learn as I go.

- Hiring managers know I can work with anyone and deal with anyone because CEOs interact with all levels of seniority, various professions, and a wide array of personalities.

- They also know I understand office politics, have basic business acumen, and keep things confidential because I wasn't a personal assistant or an assistant working out of someone's house.

- If I can handle the fast pace, urgent deadlines, and ever-changing priorities of the entertainment industry, I can probably handle anything.

I've never regretted any of the career decisions I've made. I'll also be able to transition to other industries if I choose to or explore other positions. Nothing is set in stone so don't worry if you may feel your specialty might be too specific as well.

Jobsket hopes to mix up the job search market

Original Post: Jobsket hopes to mix up the job search market

With today’s job market, even if there are countless job search alternatives to go around, there’s still opportunity to stand out. Jobsket, a small bostrapped startup operating and Spain and Ireland is jumping on the bandwagon in an attempt to solve a number of job search challenges with their platform.

It’s difficult to find an online tool that equally takes into account both the candidate and the hiring parties. Jobvite, for the companies. Risesmart, VisualCV, are both for the candidate. According to Jobsket, they’re setting out to address both sides of the coin. For now, it appears that they cater more to the candidate.

With social media networking becoming a key factor in landing a new job, you need an effective way to distribute your CV. With Jobsket, candidates can upload their current text/word version or import their LinkedIn or Xing profile, while Jobsket takes care of processing it and make it social. Once processed, you can promote and distribute your uploaded CV on social networks, embed it into your website or spread via email.

Not only that, but Jobsket boasts that the core of their platform–intelligent, automated semantic search technology will evaluate the content of a CV and match a candidate with relevant job opportunities. A time-saver for candidates and hiring managers. They also try to evaluate how much a CV is worth, by comparing it against job openings and average matching salaries. I can only speak for myself–can’t say the results were realistic–not yet anyway. Perhaps Jobsket needs more time and data. In the meantime, it’s an attractive vanity feature. Unless of course your undervalued.

What’s in it for hiring companies? With intelligent matching, they can discover the right candidates, if the candidate marks off the privacy setting making their CV public in Jobsket or even more public, allowing his CV to be indexed. Much like LinkedIn, this opens up the door to passive candidates. Martín Perez, one of Jobsket’s founders, tells me that to meet the needs of hiring managers/companies they´re working on a feature set similar to that of Jobvite, wherein jobs can be promoted on social networks in order to attract most suitable talent.

Some downsides worth mentioning: While allowing users to upload their current version of their CV certainly saves them a lot of time, I don’t see where they can edit the uploaded version, making it very inflexible. Companies like Ceevee for example, recently covered on TechCrunch Europe, or VisualCV allow you to build and hence edit your CV any time. That’s not to say that Ceevee has the better slant. If Jobsket can remedy this particular downside, get enough volume, and IF their semantic matching of CVs with jobs can actually work precisely enough to stray job seekers away from traditional time consuming job search portals, they may have something going for them. Otherwise, they may just become a very good CV distribution tool. They plan on a subscription based billing model, so falling into CV processing and distribution alone, will not be enough to attract mass numbers willing to pay.

Layoff Survival Guide: Back to work!

Original Post:Layoff Survival Guide: Back to work!

So, let’s say you’ve gotten a job offer. Congratulations! But now you may be wondering what to do about all those changes you had to deal with when you got laid off. What do you do about your health insurance coverage now? And how do you stop collecting unemployment? What are all the things you have to deal with when you’re starting a new job?

A friend of mine asked me to write about this subject. Well, one friend complained that my Layoff Survival Guide was too depressing, so my other friend (who is still looking for a new job) suggested this would be a happy twist to the posts.

So, with my first post, I talked about 401(k)s. At your new job, you’ll likely be given the option to enroll in their 401(k) program (or similar program for non-profits, government jobs, and the like). Sometimes you’ll have to wait to enroll, or wait for them to match or somehow contribute to your account. I recommend signing up for a 401(k). If they provide a matching contribution, I would strongly encourage you to sign up. There are usually a few different options for funds you can invest in. Don’t let that part intimidate you! If you’re not sure, there’s often someone you can call at the company running your 401(k) (or even in you HR department) that can give you some general guidance. And while I’m not a certified financial adviser, I would suggest you look into a “life cycle fund”, one that invests in funds that are more aggressive if you’re not retiring for many decades, and become more conservative as you get closer to retirement. That’s what I’m doing with my IRAs. For my 401(k), I’ve tried to make a diversified portfolio with assorted styles of funds, and only looking at the funds with low or no expense ratio.

Next I told you about COBRA and transitioning your healthcare coverage. Now that you’re at a new job, you’ll likely have access to a discounted (or free) health insurance program (depending on what your company offers). If the new insurance available is, in your opinion, better (cost-wise, or cover-wise, or other factors important to you) than what you’d been on while unemployed, you should sign up! Confirm that your new health insurance is officially started, then get in touch with your former company’s HR person in charge of health insurance, and/or your previous insurance company, and let them know that you’re on a new plan.

Finally, I discussed collecting unemployment. At least for me, in Massachusetts, I didn’t have to call to cancel. I just stopped filing claims. Hopefully, that’s what I was supposed to do! I had asked a friend what she did when she got a new job, and she said she did the same thing. It may differ from state to state, so check in with your state’s Office of Labor to confirm.

Hopefully this has given you a good idea of what you can look forward to once you get a new job. As always, feel free to comment or email me(graduated learning) if you have any questions.

What is your "Why Hire Me" Story?

Original Post: Master the "Why Hire Me" Story to Land a Job [Interviews]

So you've finally landed that job interview. Now it's time to seal the deal with a killer interview. How? For one, try mastering your 'Why hire me?' story.

Photo by °Florian.

We've previously highlighted the importance of crafting a successful elevator pitch, but if you're looking to sell yourself in a sit-down interview—which will presumably run longer than the standard 30-60 second elevator pitch—the Wall Street Journal says it's important to perfect your "Why hire me" story.

The key is to create a story that comes across as natural, not canned, and that you can tailor to any job interview in question. A good why hire me story should avoid making too many assumptions about the job itself. This necessitates asking pointed questions both before, during, and after the interview process. The article also notes that a compelling 'about me' interview will make sure to leave out irrelevant details, no matter how impressive they may appear to the employer.

Browse the post for more advice on how to perfect your 'Why hire me' story, then chime in with your own methods for how to conduct a successful interview in the comments. And for more tips on how to interview well, check out our previous post on how to ace a job interview.

After Years With an Employer, Jumping Back in the Interview Process [WSJ]

What Jobs Do You Refuse To Take?

Original PostL What Jobs Do You Refuse To Take?

Earlier this week, I asked freelance writers on Twitter to tell me what jobs they turn down. Their responses provide a clear picture of the types of projects any smart freelance writer should avoid. Here are selection of those responses, in the words of the writers who shared them:

Laura Spencer:

Laura Lee Moss:

Sharon Hurley Hall:

Temerity Jane:

What warning sign will lead you to turn down a freelance writing job? Share yours in the comments.

Suddenly Unemployed: 4 Steps To Cutting The Leash + 7 Sins That Will Be Tempting You

Original Post: Suddenly Unemployed: 4 Steps To Cutting The Leash + 7 Sins That Will Be Tempting You

It was a Tuesday morning. I woke up checking my mobile for the latest roster… “Nopes, no messages received.” I thought to myself as I saw no new notifications on the screen of my handphone.

Initially, I had informed the company that I was available on the 1st till 3rd, and I had just finished an exhausting round of roadshows through the past 2 weeks.

So what was going on? Why didn’t I get this week’s roster?

And it was then, with a tiny grin appearing on my face, that I’ve realized that… I was suddenly unemployed — on 1st September 2009.

“What’s next?” I asked myself.

To be totally honest with you, I had been looking forward to this — except that I wasn’t ready to push the red button for activation of “sudden unemployment”. Although… I had took a series of steps that lead up to this inevitable day.

4 steps prior to cutting the leash

There’s a fine difference between being foolish and actually knowing what you are getting yourself into! Like I’ve mentioned in the previous paragraph, I didn’t cut the cord immediately when I didn’t like the job. In fact, here’s the series of 4 steps that I had taken prior to “sudden unemployment” — systems may differ between individuals, you’ll create your own steps when you are ready.

Step #1: Know who you are and what you really want

Your goal is to not follow or become a carbon-copy of someone else. You can model from the best individuals that you know, but you aren’t supposed to be exactly like them — that will be freaky.

You’ve got to know who you are. That is, to know what exactly you are strong in, what excites you, what will keep you up all day (and night) where when you can feel the sense of fulfillment doing what you really should be doing, and just purely being you!

More than knowing who you are, you got to know what you really want (”really” in this definition means “specifically” — “I want to be successful” is a lousy want, and that won’t get you anywhere).

I’ve got a pretty bad-ass allergy to dust, dislike for paperwork, against indecisiveness (or too much change of plans), hates targets, and doesn’t like to waste energy on stuff or people that don’t yield any results. So anything along those lines are surely out.

But, sales, persuasion, time-freedom, mobility, creating stuff that works, and bearing fruits are stuff that I’d live for. Hence the following statement describes me well:

“I’m a writer, blogger, and I help build amazing business on the web!”

So… who then… are you?

Step #2: Getting back weekends

My previous job was being a part-time sales promoter. And there’s an unwritten rule that promoters are required to work on weekends. But, I don’t do weekends as they go against 2 of my personal principles; spending too much time and energy talking to non-buyers, and weekends were the only days I could spend quality time with my friends.

What I did was to increase my closing ratio from 1:10 (1 sale against talking to 10 people) to 1:1.5 (or 2 sale with every 3 people I talk to) in less than 2 weeks, and then set-up the counter to trigger curiosity of people passing by, and let it sell on its own — and I could simply walk away. That’s for a product where my colleagues thought that it needed tons of convincing to sell.

Then after seeing results on weekends, I started to ask for a Saturday off, then 2 weeks later, asked for both weekends off.

Step #3: Getting back weekdays

By then I was already working on a project where I’d be doing if “sudden unemployment” occurs.

And being a promoter, it is commonly known that weekdays are usually the quietest in form of traffic and sales, and off days are usually taken during this period.

Hence, I just increased my off days from 1 to 2 in the week… and it helped that during my last week I fell ill which left me to having a 1 work day week!

Oh, and did I mention that my first minisite was created? I spent most of that week bouncing ideas off my friends while I attended an amazing blogging course by Leo and Mary.

Step #4: Initiate your plan

You would have probably realized that I’ve been using the term “sudden unemployment” pretty often in this post. Well, it was supposed to be called “world domination” but… Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Nonconformity had already made that catchphrase his.

I’m not here to tell you what your plan is — you’ve already taken way too much instructions and orders in your career.

Instead, find out what you love, and do it. Time to initiate your plan, cut the leash, and execute on being you.

7 Sins That Will Be Tempting You

Of course, life isn’t going to be all beds of roses after that. There are still the critics (oh how we love to hate them) that will wriggle their way through to do some damage to your self-esteem, and also the 7 “sins” that will be out there to tempt you out of your plans.

Sin #1: Greed — Get-rich-quick schemes

You’ve definitely come across this in your junk mail, or from an infected instant messenger account, or through “friends” who just want you to be in their multi-level downline.

Sin #2: Sloth — Time freedom doesn’t equates to sleeping all day

I’ve instead used freed up time to attend a 10 day bootcamp, a 4 day Anthony Robbins’ seminar, totally immersed myself for 3 days in learning up on currencies trading, negotiating a freedom-time job that allows me to work remotely, while also looking into setting up a minisites business model with my friend who has agreed to run the sales side of stuff.

Sin #3: Gluttony — Life’s a buffet… You don’t have to fill your plates up

One common reason why many people can’t get things done is that they keep filling their plates up to the brim before getting started.

Till their cup runs over? More like till their blood gushes out from their head.

A myth is that successful people have an enormous number of stuff to do at the same time. Sounds like multi-tasking? Yeah, but do you know that your IQ effectively drops (don’t ask me how much, I don’t need to know that) when you multi-task? It won’t be much later when your finances drains up, EQ drops to be parallel to your IQ after multi-tasking without getting things done.

Sin #4: Wrath — Critics… the jerks of society

“Oh, you shouldn’t do this…” or they also put it this way, “… you won’t be able to do that…”

Critics asks the lousiest questions – ever – just so they can put their thoughts across, which is to put you down. Most of the time they just create false evidences to back their claims on why you will fail.

They will only give you more problems (and zero solutions). Well, they may think that they have given you a solution, but… in truth, they don’t.

Since, I’ve come to the topic on critics, here’s one exercise you can try if you’ve faced with one… ask him (universal gender) if the conversation was a fruitful one (after being hurled at with stuff without any solid outcome). If he said “very fruitful”, feel free to screw him upside down. If he said “very fruitful” and continues in his self-righteous thoughts, you may proceed in screwing him upside down, and deleting him away from your list of contacts, and then send a “Dear John,” email.

Moving on.

Sin #5: Lust — Power porn

Are you addicted to power porn? This article written by good friend and blogger colleague, Josh Kaufman, says it all, from how you might be spending too much time ogling and “thumbing through stories of the wealthy and famous, studying photo after photo of older men in conservative ties and ladies in pantsuits, hoping to find some little tidbit of knowledge that would somehow make you more successful.” (quoted from article).

Here’s what we’ve come to realize… its a waste of our time and energy to be sucked in by power porn.

Sin #6: Envy — The first step to covetousness

There are definitely friends within your circle who have achieved what you had desired, which could be time freedom, or attaining “impossible” income in a short period of time.

Having a healthy competition is fine. But wanting to accomplish that in an even shorter time by risking too much of your time, energy, and money, might just kill you instead. This is also when people will get trapped in the get-rich-quick schemes, or learn how to scam others by going against their own principles — a big blunder that you will regret.

Sin #7: Pride — The original sin

As written in Wikipedia, pride is the original and most deadliest sin where it is the ultimate source which the others arise.

Pride is far worse than critics. One difference is that critics just want you to join in their status quo (good if you are progressing towards their level, before progressing on eg: you are at ground zero, critic is at level 1 = criticisms can bring you up to a new level — you need these group of people, but bad if they are holding you back from progression), while pride just wants to keep you out from even thinking of progression totally using the talk down approach.

That is when they see you as a competition and not only they won’t help you, they will want to keep you out for good.

Instead, practice humility. Help others because others have helped you before. Appreciate others because they can be your biggest source of encouragement. Say hi, because we are all supportive people. :)

“I’ll take the red pill”: Step up!

In the matrix universe, the titular character — Neo — was given a choice of to take the blue pill or the red pill. While the blue pill signifies the certainty of going back to a “normal” life (perhaps defined by others to the individual), the red pill signifies otherwise… you’ll open up your eyes and get exposed to a whole new universe where you can live life happily on your own terms (or find out that the truth is equally painful and damaging to your ego, status quo, and how much difference you would have made for yourself if you’ve taken action).

Down the rabbit hole now — see what you’ve been missing out.

“You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Anthony Robbins mentioned that to see coincidences upon coincidences coming into your life day after day, you got to do one important thing — that is to take massive action!

Well yeah, I have to agree with him on that.

It was when I initiated my plans when things started to appear in mysterious and wonderful ways! Such as being given the opportunity to attend the 10 days bootcamp, being sponsored for the Anthony Robbins seminar (this occurred 1 day after “sudden unemployment”), meeting new friends, seeing great people, and seeing results in the first minisite.

All those wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t make my move.

—
Maybe, it is time to make your move…

Am I Depressed about My Job Search?

You've been laid off or lost your job for any number of reasons and the job search is not going well. Now what do you do?

The economy is down and the job pool has appeared to dry up. Most people feel helpless and out of control. These are just a couple of the first signs of the onset of job search depression. According to Webster's Dictionary, depression is "a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies" (www.merriam-webster.com) To understand job search depression further, we must first consider the causes. There are approximately 15 known causes, the most significant include: insignificance from the lack of replies, strain of managing personal finances, and unemployment embarrassment. "It is the crises that follow job loss that are more damaging than the loss itself," says study author Dr. Richard H. Price of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 2002;7:302-312)

Why should you worry about job search depression? You could be your own worst enemy. The negative thoughts and resulting procrastination can sabotage even the most effective job search. Have you ever thought "I can wait till tomorrow to follow up on that job, or I don't have time, maybe I will check on that lead next week?" You could be in the first stages.

How do you know if you are experiencing job search depression? As stated before, the initial symptoms are helplessness and loss of control. Other symptoms, as described by the University of Florida (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FY100), include:

Sadness, depressed mood, crying over seemingly minor setbacks
Increased irritability, crankiness, difficulty being satisfied
More easily frustrated, gives up quickly after initial failures
Poor self-concept, low self-esteem, reluctance toward attempting endeavors
Loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities
Changes in appetite (decreased appetite most common) often signaled by rapid weight gain or loss.
Changes in sleep patterns (not enough or too much sleep)
Slowed, inhibited actions (slow, soft speech; slowed body movements).
Fatigue, loss of pep and energy
Poor concentration, attention and/or memory.
Thoughts or words about death or suicide.
Motivation loss
Wonder if a job will ever be found.

You must experience at least five of these symptoms continuously for at least a continuous 2 weeks, to be considered major depression. Job search depression is a real issue and the ability to recognize the symptoms is the first step in prevention.

Prevention of job search depression is a very important undertaking for any job seeker. As you probably know and have experienced, the trail to finding a job is like a high speed roller coaster with many peaks and valleys. The peaks are the high points where significant progress is being made and it makes us feel good and like something is being achieved. The valleys are low points, which consist of events that make us feel insignificant and let down, such as not getting the job after a good interview. As time goes by, the peaks and valleys become more prominent and more susceptible to job search depression. There are several steps to prevention.

Share your experience with others, with your friends and family, with a local support group, or online.
Educate yourself; read a book such as Listening to Depression.
Take a day or two to reset your mind.
Practice meditation and relaxation.
Visit a counselor; sometimes just one or two visits can make quite a difference.

Knowing yourself is the most important part of beating job search depression. You know what works best for you in keeping your spirits high and focused on the ultimate goal "A JOB." If you feel you're spinning out of control, then please seek professional help. Your health is important to you and your family, so do not take it lightly.

Finally, why should you worry about job search depression? You have more than yourself to think about. There are others in your life that are willing to help you. You are not alone. Take responsibility for your happiness and reward yourself for small successes along the job search path. Not only will this stave off depression, but it will allow continued focus and determination.

Good Job Hunting….

Guest Expert:

Joe Chandler is a Marketing Consultant with experience in education, customer service, and business and consumer electronics. Joe has over 20 years in corporate America and education, with an MBA-Marketing. He is a Navy Veteran trained in Nuclear Power Plant operation. His passions include: History, Politics, Football, Baseball, and Family. Check out his blog at http://thenukereport.blogspot.com and his profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/joewchandler.

20 Ways to Simplify Your Work Life

Posted on July 23rd, 2009 in Productivity By Sara

Image from http://www.rightattitudes.com/

We all get a little crazy on the job every now and then. From moms at home to on-call response teams, there are ways to limit the craziness and typical work day sress. Once you trade the temporary high of battle scars and constant adrenaline, you may find that you actually enjoy your job more than you realized.

Know what you're capable of. If you're confident in your ability to do your job, even emergency meetings can't stress you out.
Don't repeat any gossip you hear. If you can detach yourself from the gossip chain, you cut the majority of the drama out of your work days.
Create an enjoyable lunchtime ritual. Listen to music, read a book, picnic on the grass, or just enjoy your leftovers. Let your mind calm down and mark the day's halfway point.
Keep contact information easily accessible. Any phone numbers that could be urgent should be kept close at hand in a single location. Day planner, cell phone, Outlook contacts, or index card: do whatever works for you, but keep that information available to avoid turning routine calls into desk-tossing panics.
Clear your desk of anything that's not necessary, like stacks of catalogs, outdated correspondence, and yesterday's tea mug. Keep a personal memento or two on your desk, but make sure the items add meaning to your life, like a family picture or an object that makes you smile or reflect.
Always have an update for your supervisor. Always. Even if it's something trivial, be ready to answer the "What's new around here?" or "What's going on in your department today?" question. It's a great way to build trust.
Shorten your task list. I like to keep two task lists, one for ongoing things that need to be handled at some point and one for what's on the docket today.
Be honest when you prioritize. Do what's most important first, no matter how unappealing it may be.
Ask for help sooner rather than later. No one likes getting IMs from the "I have a big presentation this afternoon and need some help" guy. Don't be him. Most people are willing to help, but deserve to have their schedules respected.
Volunteer your help before you can be commandeered. Jump at tasks that interest you and excel at them.
Take the initiative to find useful tasks to fill extra time. It takes about as much energy as trying to find new ways to waste time and it boosts your job security.
Drink water instead of coffee or soda all day to avoid energy spikes.
Use applications that are compatible across all computers you may work on. You never know when you'll need to switch, so save yourself the stress of having to download new software for the crusty backup computer at the last minute.
Smile. People are nicer to you and more patient when you smile.
Get supplies that fit your needs. Quality supplies can cut down on injuries, save time, and slash your stress. In many cases, it's worth a few extra dollars to get the tools you need to do your job instead of trying to fit your job to the tools at hand.
Cop to your mistakes. Cover-ups are complicated and throw your integrity into question. Own up early and often and you'll find yourself apologizing a lot less in the long run.
Leave your personal life at the door when possible. Instead of getting caught up in the battle for whose weekend was the coolest or who's running on the least sleep, smile a private smile and leave it at that. (This is probably the one thing that has saved me the most drama, time, and stress. "Smile and stay out of it" works every time. And it drives gossips crazy with curiosity.)
The recycle bin is hungry. Feed it. If there's only a marginal chance you'll need a piece of paperwork, consider chucking it, especially if it's information that is available in any other format or place.
Spend some time each day on deadline-oriented tasks and some on high interest level tasks. You get everything done while staying engaged with your job. (Keep a tickler file for the interesting tasks to stay focused.)
Do your job. Seriously. Handle your responsibilities without complaint and be the person no one has to micromanage. When you've got the trust of your team, it's amazing how much simpler your work life can become.

How To Kickstart Your Job Search

Original Post How To Kickstart Your Job Search

Sometimes the key to success is getting a good start.

This a guest post by Joey Trebif.

“You’re never beaten until you admit it.” - George S. Patton

Take the job search plunge now

You are on the ledge, inching forward one tiny step at a time.

It took a lot of courage to get up here, now you just need to step off.

You know that once you step off there is no turning back, but you hesitate yet again.

It’s a beautiful day, sunny and no clouds in the sky, a great day to be out here.

You finally find the courage to move to the end and you step off.

You drop quickly and look up at the brilliant blue sky before you hit.

Your journey ends and you plunge into the water, the pool water is not as cold as you thought and, now that you think about it, the diving board is not really that high.

If you haven’t…

If you are serious about your job search you need to take the plunge! Leaning towards the edge you may get a little wet but the fastest way to get a job is to be fully engaged in the process. If you’ve not started yet, visit the Job Marketing Toolkit page to get the basics on:

If you have…

If you have started your job search, how do you focus? First, you need to have a plan to focus your search, set goals and track your progress.

Job Search Checklist - This article from quintcareers.com provides an excellent guide for developing a plan of attack.The article has 5 parts with quite a few links, but the very first section (Part 1) focuses on planning and preparation with 10 or so points (understand the process, understand the jobs that interest you, creating your list and more).

Job search planning – steps, tips and tricks - Keppie Careers offers this blog post which has a number of great tips, such as “Identify your 3%” (I don’t want to give this one away so read the post) and Identify companies. There are quite a few more, and all are worth the read. There are additional links at the bottom of the page for related posts.

Create a Job Search Plan - A short article by Careeronestop.org provides 2 job hunting truths, namely that 1) job search takes time and 2) you need goals and a schedule. The blog provides some useful links (like a job hunting schedule, job web sites, finding potential employers and a few more (including resumes and networking).

CareerAlley Website Tracking Template - This template, created by yours truly, is posted on a shared section of Google Docs. You don’t require any special software as this is a Google Docs spreadsheet. Use this to keep track of which sites you’ve visited, when you visited and any special comments. Once you load the document you will want to click File, Export, select .xls and then save the file to your local directory. Keeping track is an important part of the process.

5 Great Job Hunting Strategies that Will Get You Hired - This article, published on Zoomstart.com, provides a number of tips on cover letters, resumes and interviews as well as some other advice. Certainly worth a read as you build your Job Search Plan. There are also some key facts at the top of the article (like the infamous “90% of jobs are not advertised”).

Good luck with your job search.

About the author

Joey Trebif is a senior finance executive from the New York area who has extensive experience in job search and career advice. Joey blogs about career advice, job search advice and job search site reviews at CareerAlley and can be found on Twitter at @CareerAlley.

This article is part of the 3rd Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest. If you want Joey Trebif to win, share this article with your friends.

If you liked this article, you’ll also enjoy 9 Tips For Applying To Job Openings When You’re Feeling Desperate.

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas on how to start your job search.

-- Jacob Share, Job Search Expert and Professional Blogging Consultant

5 Simple Ways to Effectively Manage Your Online Reputation

July 10, 2009 by Yofred Moik

Managing your online reputation is becoming increasingly more important these days. The relevance of the traditional paper résumé is fading and prospective employees are more than ever graded by their online reputation. You might also know someone who was fired or was never really considered to be a good job candidate because of his or her online persona. So what do you have to do in order to maintain a healthy online reputation that impresses potential employers and not cause their repudiation? How can you successfully manage an impressionable online reputation from both professional and user-generated content without curbing your web presence?

1. Take advantage of online reputation management services (ORM).

Use Google alerts. This is one of the easiest tools for tracking a particular topic, enabling anyone to stay up to date with a particular word or phrase. You may want to know when your search phrase is activated in Google's search index. This is an easy way to track down what people are saying about you or your company. Of course, there are subscription-based services that also help to do this like Brandseye, but Google Alerts does it as effectively without posting any fees. Take advantage of this free and powerful tool.

2. Control the message by participating in social media sites.

Once you start tracking certain phrases that have appeared in Google's index pages, you may find certain information that you would rather not have appear in the search results. Social media sites are optimized to be retrieved and viewed by search engines, so participating in them is a simple way to boost your online visibility. By being an active member and emphasizing key phrases onto the six mainstream social media sites (Flickr, YouTube, Digg, Twitter, Facebook, and Wikipedia), search engines will generate valuable positive pages that are traced to your name. These key phrases can be anything that you want to be linked with your name, perhaps your company name or an award you won.

3. Think twice when deciding to use your real name as your username.

An easy way to avoid potential employers searching your name and finding objectionable content is to simply be smart when choosing your username. For sites where your words and opinions may be used against you, like some of the gawker or debate sites, sticking to a made-up online username or alias may be the difference in getting a job or not. Occasionally, perform spot checks with Google to make sure your "clean" name doesn't reference your online mask.

Another approach is to always use your full name whenever possible, maximizing your online presence. By doing this, however, every sentence you write on the internet becomes much more accountable to your reputation. If you plan to use this method, you should have the ability to resist the occasional urge to participate in the juvenile flame wars. Of course, silly things can still be said, but just think twice before posting content that others may view as objectionable. Although this approach may strip down some of your wilder and carefree behavior that the online environment tends to nurture, it's always a good approach to take care of what you say as much online as you do in real life.

4. Don't let your social networking sites hibernate.

Stay active. Many people make the ironic mistake of joining a social networking site and not stay connected. A stagnated profile can quickly backfire if you don't keep up to date with messages, request, and stay active. A rusty profile can effectively stifle your chances of improving your online reputation. Keep your followers engaged; stay in the minds of your clients, bosses, and employees by not just participating in social networking, but being proactive in the site activities.

5. "Drown out" any bad content with good ones.

"Drown out" the negative content by creating positive ones and having Google pick them. You can accomplish this by creating subdomains and active blogs. Google especially likes to pick up sub-domains under their property (such as Google Video). Thus, signing up for these may push any hurtful content further down on their results list, effectively reducing its visibility.

Managing a personal blog is also a very effective way, though self-arranged, to boost positive online reputation. A well maintained blog can regularly draw job offers, you'll be surprised. The higher it indexes on Google's search results page, the more free exposure you get. Maximizing the appearances of positive online references can help you get there.

Yofred an industrial and interaction design major that likes to keep up to date with contemporary technology and media trends. He enjoy staying connected with the always-changing "wired" culture and is obsessively willing to participate in and interpret the new ideas that emerge from the internet.

Does your resume fail?

from getpickd by Adam

image from Bart Clays

Welcome to the getpickd blog! We'll be launching our new online resume service on June 23 at getpickd.com, but in the meantime, be sure to follow our blog for updates, resume ideas, and interview tips. You can also follow us on Twitter @getpickd.

For quite some time, my colleagues, friends and family have been asking me to review their resumes. After years of hiring numerous young professionals for a non-profit in Washington DC, I've reviewed countless resumes. I can say, without hesitation, most resumes are simply not up to par. Beyond being fraught with grammatical errors, most resumes do a poor job emphasizing the uniqueness of the candidate. In addition, they visually fail to stand out from the crowd. Here are a few specific reasons why the average resume fails:

The average resume contains spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors. This one seems obvious, but honestly, over 90% of resumes have at least one serious spelling, grammatical and/or formatting error. Most have multiple errors. The last job opening I supervised had close to a thousand applicants. We probably spent an average of one minute looking at each resume; those with errors were immediately eliminated.

The average resume is poorly designed. The average resume looks no better than the average Word document (many look even worse). This is a tough one, because most people don't have access to or experience with more advanced design software. However, a professionally designed resume will catch the eye of potential employers and really helps you stand out from the crowd.

The average resume fails to sell your assets. Most importantly, the average resume fails to sell the candidate's assets and unique qualities. Unfortunately, people are generally bad at marketing themselves and overly concerned with modesty when it comes to their resumes. Modesty is great, but your resume is a brochure of your professional life. It's a time to be proud and sell yourself!

If you're struggling with finding a job, there's a good chance your resume is preventing you from even getting your foot in the door. Get connected with getpickd and let us help you shine!

Adam Sterling is the founder of getpickd

Anatomy Of A Winning ‘Elevator Pitch’

From Anatomy Of A Winning ‘Elevator Pitch’

I was once told that if I can’t explain my company and what it does in a sentence or two at most, then I have no idea what the company does. Ever since then I have tried to fit most of my ideas and soon to be start-up into a sentence and that task is not so easy. Maybe it’s not so easy because I always feel the need to explain in complete detail, thinking that will help the other party understand better and want to work with me. But really, most people that matter and could help grow your business rarely have the time to listen to your “detailed explanation”. They will rather hear a succinct description A.K.A. elevator pitch.

The term ‘elevator pitch’ has been coined with respect to the expected duration of the presentation. An elevator ride is usually short (bar power failures) and lasts about 60 seconds averagely. So the challenge here is can you win over a potential investor in 60 seconds? Many entrepreneurs and investors actually believe an elevator pitch could do more than a complete business plan that even includes the financials. I once watched a YouTube video a while back where a VC explained that he received about 100 new business plans every day, each plan averaging 45 pages. He went on to say he barely ever reads a complete plan, that most times the names on the team sheet, their experience and executive summary is enough to decide whether to keep the plan or toss it. He finished by saying over 60% of the deals he decided to fund was because of what he gathered from the first few minutes he spent with the entrepreneurs. First impressions could make or break your dreams!

There are two bits to a winning ‘Elevator Pitch’: Planning and Delivery. Both are completely important and must be treated as such. An elevator pitch is different from when you have to sit down face to face with investors where you have excel sheets to back you up and a number of PowerPoint slides. In this case it’s just you, so you must commit what you need to say to memory; you only have a minute after all.

Planning: This is the point where you sit down and think about what your company is, what problems it solves and then summarize well until it fits into a 50 second time frame. Everyone loves a product that solves problems so make sure you emphasize that when you are planning what to say. Here are a few pointers to help you plan.

Be concise. They only have so much time to listen to you, so put your best foot forward and tell the other party right of the bat what you do. Research in detail what the problem is and how your product solves it. Have you personally faced the problem yourself? And is that what inspired you to come up with the product? No need for pleasantries beyond “Hi Mr. X, my name is Y and I have this product…”
Prepare for Questions you could be asked and have a business plan plus financial in hand. The person you are pitching might have a bit more time and want to find out in more detail about a thing or two, so be prepared for questions so you don’t look stupid and get caught off guard. Remember to also have a copy of your complete plan in case he/she asks for it.
What is unique about your product and what makes it different from others? Make sure to research your competition and have valid points about what makes you better than them. Never say you have no competition, there is always competition. It might not be close competition, but there’s always competition.
If the product has launched and is doing well, make sure to point this out. Tell the other party that the company is already starting to make its mark but with the large market for it and how well it is being received, you are looking to expand.
If you have already built a successful start-up in the past, include this in your pitch. It shows that you have experience and know what it takes to succeed in business, making you even more investment-worthy.

Delivery. This bit deals with how you physically pitch the potential investor. Have you ever heard that investors don’t invest in ideas? Well now you’ve heard it, they invest in people. So how you carry yourself and your persona does count for a lot. Here are a few things to remember:

Be confident. Nothing is more attractive and comforting than confidence. If you don’t look like you are completely sure about your business, why would anybody want to invest their hard earned cash in it?
Be Personable. This also has to do with the fact that investors invest in people. If they are unable to connect with you, they won’t want to work with you. You don’t have to act like a clown to make the guy laugh but you do have to make the person interested. If you must come up with hooks in your pitch or general discussion, then by all means, please do.
Leave a calling card. It doesn’t have to be an actual card, it could be your business plan, you setting up a meeting e.t.c. just anything to make sure you will be able to reconnect after that day. It’s one thing to leave a lasting impression and another for them to be able to reach you after you might have successfully won them over.

Low-Tech Ways To Twitter From A Cell Phone

Low-Tech Ways To Twitter From A Cell Phone: "

Twitter – the most popular micro-blogging platform available today. I’m a proud member of Twitter and I tweet on an almost hourly basis. My twitter profile contains tweets of all variants such as “at home, chilling”, “doing some work in the office” and “in town having lunch…”. In fact, it was this last tweet which I made yesterday that inspired me to write this article.

You see, I didn’t tweet from a PC, nor am I the owner of a high-tech iPhone. I am what you could call a “low-tech tweeter”. I own a Samsung Tocco Lite mobile phone which cost me just under 130 Euros – pretty average if I do say so myself. When you dismiss the touch screen, all the other features are basic and it’s a little slow with carrying out tasks. There is no Wi-Fi and no 3G. Yet, I still tweet while on the move with photos, links and status updates. I would like to demonstrate a few low-tech ways to Twitter from a cell phone.

how to twitter from cell phone Firstly, let me say that to tweet from the top deck of a bus, the beach or a mountain all you need is a mobile phone such as the ancient artifact seen here on the right. Twitter supports SMS tweets. All you have to do is log into your Twitter account and select ‘Settings’ up in the top right-hand corner of you screen. From the list of tabs that appear, select ‘Devices’ and enter your cell phone number. Then, verify your phone by texting the code that appears on your screen to the Twitter phone number beside it. Also, save this number as this is the number you’ll send your tweets to via SMS. If you live in the US, UK or other major territories then you can toggle whether or not you want to receive tweets from other people to your phone by sending ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ to that number.

This is all well and good if you’re a basic tweeter but many of us like a little more interactivity. A previous review of mine here on MakeUseOf holds the answer – Snaptu. In summary, Snaptu is an application for basic cell phones that uses GPRS to get you the weather, film reviews, news, sports updates, allows you to use Facebook and more to the point in this case, Twitter.

The Twitter function is highly detailed and better than what you’d expect for a basic cell phone app. You can tweet till the cows come home by selecting ‘Update Status’, scroll down through hundreds of tweets, reply to tweets, follow links in tweets and view people’s profiles. More information on that little gem in my original review here.

But hey, what about pictures? Well, I tried several applications and I can safely say that for basic cell phones they just don’t make the cut so e-mail is your best option. I actually think this is better than using applications which require you to start them up and take the picture using their bad camera function. With e-mail, you simply snap and send when you wish. I suggest using TwitPic, which Mark recently reviewed. Go to their site and create an account using your Twitter ID.

Then, click ‘Settings’ and use the options there to set up your e-mail function. You’ll be given a unique e-mail address to which you can send your snaps. A sample one might be JoeBloggs.4528@twitpic.com. Also, when you’re sending the e-mail from your phone, use the subject line as your tweet. As you can see from the picture I tweeted above, my subject line was “My train is here! Yay!”. Needless to say, this will also appear in a link and message on your Twitter profile.

You can use the above methods of low-tech tweeting on basically any cell phone that is post-2005. Once it has a camera and GPRS or EDGE, you should be fine. One tip I will give is to watch out for GPRS charges. They can be costly on some networks. My carrier has a cap of 99c per day and many others the world over offer similar packages. Just phone your network to enquire.

So, how do YOU tweet? Are you old-school or high-tech?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on Twitter ? Now you can follow MakeUseOf on Twitter too.