Why You Should Have a LinkedIn Profile | EmploymentDigest.net

Original Post

LinkedIn’s primary purpose is to allow its users to interact with other professionals to help enhance career opportunities. Although it functions on the same principle as other networking sites in that a set of connections is created, it creates a specific set of business-related benefits for its users:

Joining LinkedIn is a definite advantage for professionals because it allows you to expand your network using the connections of other people. The whole purpose of the site is to allow you to establish a link to someone who is in the network of one of your first degree contacts. It expands your potential opportunities exponentially. It’s not only a resource, it’s a learning tool for you.

One of the most unique features of LinkedIn is that is provides a platform to build an online resume. Past projects, places of employment and notable achievements can be publicly displayed. Recruiters, potential employers, and contacts looking to recommend you can easily see your experience and achievements. Your LinkedIn profile then becomes a floating, open-ended marketing document for you… which opens up the possibility that someone might call and say, “I saw on your LinkedIn profile that you are experienced in x, y and z. We need those types of skill sets…can we talk?”

A highlight of LinkedIn is that it allows for recommendations to be made. Partners, suppliers, or clients can write short paragraphs about other individuals they have worked with. A testimonial like this is one of the most powerful features of a resume. It reinforces the details that are listed as well as helps build trust about how you do your work.

Why is LinkedIn important? In today’s competitive business climate, every advantage is a plus. Not only do potential employers or partners get the opportunity to know more about you, but you also get to control what others see about your work experience and put your best foot forward. It’s how you build your personal brand and increase your online presence.

Peggy McKee is the owner and chief recruiter for PHC Consulting, a recruiting firm providing top sales talent, sales management, marketing and service / support personnel to some of the most prominent high growth companies in the medical and laboratory products industry for over 10 years!

By Peggy McKee – For more information on opportunities available in medical sales, go to => http://phcconsulting.com/.

No matter what industry you’re in, if you would like an inside track in your job search and more tips like these, there’s help for you at => http://job-search-success-secrets.com/home.htm.

USE “Thank You” note envelopes.

Original Post

Everyone’s face lights up when they see one of those
little envelopes that are peculiar to “thank you” note cards – those tiny
little 4 x 4 white envelopes with barely enough room to write a name and
address on the front and a return address on the back. Fold your resume and cover letter together
carefully until they fit inside and then mail.

Don’t use labels, address each one by hand

Use this technique around any holiday – Christmas, New Year’s, Fourth
of July, etc.

Use a small size tasteful stamp.

If you feel you can afford it, use a stamp with your
picture on it. In Canada you can put
any picture you wish on a stamp.
Details on their Picture Postage program can be found here: http://www.canadapost.ca

To really get noticed, use a stamp with their logo on
it and send them the rest.

Compliments
of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Guerrilla Googling for Job Hunters

Original Post

So you read the book and you found the chapter about Guerrilla Googling. Somehow you landed on this page expecting to find "unconventional tips, tricks and tactics." You may be wondering now, "Okay, what's the deal?"Start by grabbing the RSS feed and you'll automatically get updates when we start posting helpful pointers to use in your job search including creating a Job Hunter's Dasboard...coming soon.Next, bookmark the Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters blog and get started with the other 1000 things you should be doing, starting today!

via guerrillagooglingforjobhunters.blogspot.com

Create an Event Card to Make Conference Networking More Productive [Social Networking]

Original Post Here

You need a plan of attack if you want to make your social networking experience productive. Create an event card to help you navigate your next networking engagement and come out with fruitful new contacts.

Photo by coba.

Over at the productivity blog Stepcase Lifehack they've put together a guide to making the most of your time at a social networking event. Whether you're at a mixer for local business people or an international conference you can benefit from creating an event card.

An event card is exactly like an old school dance card. But instead of scheduling dances with pretty people, you'll be marking off successful connections with your targets. The simplest version is a plain list of names. That'll work if you have an amazing memory and ability to place lots of new names with faces. But most of us aren't so gifted.

I prefer to make small cards that include a name, photo, major interests, a thought I had after reading one of my target's recent blog posts, and a few people also at the event I think they'd enjoy meeting. Putting the time into researching a contact before meeting them has never, ever turned out to be a waste of time for me. It's an act of faith that has always returned far more than I invested.

If you want to really do things nicely, add your target contact's image and information to a special contacts list on your smart phone. That way, when you do get contact information from your new friend, you won't have to enter anything but their number or email address. If they ask you about why you had their information programmed into your phone already, just tell them you're a big fan and had planned on meeting them. After all, you are and you did! =)

Check out the full article for more great tips on how to maximize the effectiveness of your time at the event, including conducting preliminary research and building a presence. Have a tip of your own for successful social networking? Let's hear about it in the comments.

5 Steps to Conquer Any Networking Event [Stepcase Lifehack]

Behavioral Interview Questions – 5 Tips to Ensure You Get Hired | EmploymentDigest.net

Original Post Posted on 12. Feb, 2010 posted by Bill


image by Billie Hara

Behavioral based interviews have become increasingly popular in the past decade. So what are behavioral based questions and how should you answer them to ensure you get the job?

A behavioral interview centres around asking the candidate questions concerning their specific experience. They require detailed responses in which the candidate provides insight into what they have accomplished in their careers.

The result gives the interviewer an accurate insight to the candidates ability to perform the role successfully based on relevant experiences (sign up for our newsletter and receive a free list of behavioral questions).

Unfortunately many candidates are ill prepared for such questions and when put on the spot struggle to give detailed answers. It is therefore essential that you prepare your answers before undergoing a behavioral based interview. So how do you prepare for the interview and what type of questions will you be asked?

Here are 5 tips that will help you answer behavioral questions in an effective manner

1. Preparation Prior to the interview please ensure you get a detailed job description. Whilst looking at the description put a tick next to every area you have relevant experience. Order them strongest to weakest. Now looking at the areas that you don’t have exposure to think of something you have done that is similar or think of a situation in which you have had to learn a new skill. You are going to use this example during the interview in case your lack of experience is mentioned.

2. How to choose the best answers If there are specific responsibilities such as managing a team, meeting sales targets or working to deadlines think of examples/achievements in which you’ve displayed that quality. If you are struggling to think of examples try and think of the proudest moments in your career. Perhaps a time you were commended by your boss, a customer or your colleagues.

3. Break the event into three parts a) THE SITUATION – Describe the scene to the interviewer, was there a crisis? A customer complaint? A tight deadline? How did you identify the situation?

b) THE PART YOU PLAYED – Once a decision had been made on how to resolve the situation, how did you do it? If part of a team, what part did you play. If the plan wasn’t working what did you do next?

c) THE RESULTS YOU GAINED – What was the outcome of your actions? Did sales increase? Did you make a customer happy? Did you save the company money?

4. Do not use Hypothetical answers in behavioral based interviews If you don’t have experience in a particular area be honest and say so. But don’t leave it at that, use an experience that is similar or may have some relevance. If you are asked to provide an example of how you have increased sales but haven’t been in a sales job, perhaps you can provide an example of how you have influenced a decision at work. You may have persuaded an unhappy customer not to buy elsewhere.

5. Always be positive If the example you provide did not have a positive outcome, focus on what you learned from the experience. Articulate how it changed the way you performed your job and made you better. The interviewer may ask you to provide examples of times when you have been under stress, failed at a task or even been fired. It is important to remember that everyone makes mistakes. The behavioral based questions will enable the interviewer to discover exactly how you deal with failure and disappointment.

Remember that 90% of success comes from the preparation. Most people fail at interview not because they can’t do the job but because they don’t convince the interviewer they can do the job!

Dexter Cousins is an Executive Head Hunter and has been helping people with their careers for over ten years. As a consultant to Global organisations, Dexter has advised companies in the UK, Europe, USA, Asia and Australia on best practice hiring processes. He is motivated by helping people reach their career goals and provides coaching and counseling on job search and interview success.http://www.careersassistant.com

The Business Card Is Alive and Well After All

Original Post

Earlier this week we asked if you still carried business cards, pointing out that the business card feels more and more outdated in a digital age. Your response: Digital age be damned! Around 70 percent of you still carry business cards—37 percent carrying them wherever you go, 33 percent making sure they're on hand where people commonly exchange them. Only 13 percent of you have gone the "who needs 'em" route, while 14 percent of you have them but don't carry them often.

Photo by boblet.

New Twitter Tools for Job Seekers

Last week, my post featured a short video by my friendthe Recruiting Animal about how to stand out on Twitter. This week I thought I would go more in depth about how Twitter can be used in your job search.

Being in the job search is tough, and as a job seeker you are not alone (especially with the more than 15 million who are out of work and in the job hunt). People don’t always prepare adequately for the job search, although they should be giving themselves a solid six months to get everything in order before they can expect results. This provides the opportunity to grow and build your network using both traditional (face to face networking) and non-traditional methods (social media networking). Keep in mind that this can all be done while you’re still employed. Don’t wait until you’re actively looking to build your network!

One non-traditional networking tool is Twitter. Think of Twitter as a virtual cocktail party with more than 27 million people in attendance. Like any traditional cocktail party or networking event, there are conversations (known as your twitter stream) that happen all around you. Twitter is no different. If your goals for Twitter are primarily business-based, it is extremely important to selectively join and be present for key conversations among decision makers or influencers in the industry in which you are looking for work.

These tips will help you turn Twitter into the ultimate networking tool:

• Follow People. Following others and retweeting or reposting their tweets is a great way to begin to build a relationship. Use Twitter directories which are essentially online yellow pages to search for influencers in your target industry, location, or by keyword like Twellow, and We Follow. Here are 15 more great Twitter directory sites courtesy of Mashable.

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Be found by making sure to include keywords that are searched by recruiters and hiring managers in your Twitter bio. Consider words including industry specific software programs, certifications, and words that are repeatedly listed in job board advertisements. Recruiters use keywords within your tweets and your bio to find you. Make it easy to be found including key words and a link to your blog or profile.

• Hash Tags (#). Hash tags are used in Twitter as a way to sort and search by topic. Some common hash tags for job seekers including #jobs, #jobhuntchat, #jobsearch, and #jobadvice. Using your iGoogle account, you can set up an RSS feed of common keywords and hash tags in Twitter Search. Setting up your RSS feed is a great time saving tip!

• Find Recruiters. I almost always suggest that job seekers take an aggressive approach to their job search. Just as recruiters source and search for you, job seekers can seek out and connect with recruiters, human resource professionals, or hiring managers using social media search tools. Twitter directories are a great start, but there are more advanced tools like Follower Wonk andTwitter Search which can help you further focus your search. Both of these offer advanced search options, allowing you to search by keyword and even zip code. Follow Wonk provides advanced bio search options.

• Building Relationships. Chris Brogan provides a crude yet effective example of social media networking and how to build relationships. He likens immediately asking for a job or sale just after meeting someone to sticking your tongue down someone’s throat just after meeting them. Basically, don’t ask for the sale until you have an established relationship. Social media is undoubtedly a great way to connect, but can be somewhat superficial. Networking takes time! Make sure you establish a meaningful relationship with someone before asking them to help you.

Brand-Yourself.com is an award winning toolset that helps you proactively manage your online reputation and promote yourself across the social web. Create an account today to see how we can help you win new opportunities, jobs and clients online. It’s easy and it’s fun!

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is an author, new mother, and human resources professional with a passion for recruiting and all things social media. She has over 10 years of experience in human resources & recruiting.

Her company, Xceptional HR provides businesses with social media, recruitment, and human resources strategy and consulting. Jessica’s book, Tweet This! Twitter for Business was released January 2010. Follow Jessica on Twitter, LinkedIn, & FaceBook.