The Best College Grad Job Search Sites - Vol 1 - Secrets of the Job Hunt Career Podcast

“College is the best time of your life. When else are your parents going to spend several thousand dollars a year just for you to go to a strange town and get drunk every night?” - David Wood

A little humor for this post, but seriously, you will need to find a job once you graduate (or step it up a notch if you've already graduated). Following the trend of some of my other posts, I thought it would be a great idea to list the best college grad job search sites. Just to be clear, there was no voting, no analysis, no surveys and no criteria. This list is simply based on my view. Also, there is no particular order to my list (like the best of the best or official ranking). I will, where appropriate, mention those that are in my top ten.

With Christmas just around the corner, some of you may be home for the holidays. Use the next few weeks to get your plan in shape so you can start (or re-start) your job search. Remember, it is never too early to get your Job Search strategy (and you Job Search Marketing Toolkit) in order.

College Grad / Entry Level Job Search Sites:

• CollegeRecruiter.com - The main page for this site is very simple, center page is job search (and advanced search if you want). There are also links for internships (over 10,000 when I checked) and entry level jobs. Click on entry level jobs to see a listing of functional jobs (and click on any of these to see the details). You can create an account or use it as a guest. According to the site, there are hundreds of thousands of internships and entry level jobs.

• CollegeGrad.com - Another great search site for College Grads and Entry Level job seekers, "The #1 Entry Level Job Site" is the tag line. There is a search box at the top center of the page, with links for top jobs, top employers and top careers. There are additional links to resources on the left hand side of the page for resumes, cover letters and more.

• AfterCollege.com - "Search over 200,000 jobs" is the tag line for this site. In addition to job search, this site also has a network you can use. Below the job search box (which is center page), are links for featured organizations, employers and jobs. You can browse jobs by functional category or by the generic search box. There are links at the top of the page for Jobs and Resources,

College Grad Job Search Advice:

• Gradspot - With a tag line of “life after college”, you better have a great college grad careers page (and they do). Click on "Preparing for the Job hunt" at the top of the page and you will see an, Finding the perfect job and settling into the Workplace. There are articles on a number of related topics as well as Career Features with links to great articles such as “What are the best city for Grads” the best and worst cities to look for jobs and so much more.

• Career Advice for College Students - As a college student or recent grad, you should be seeking career advice as early as possible. This resource, from Employmentspot.com, provides some good advice (like internships). Additional links and resources can be found on the left hand side of the page.

• College Student/College Graduate/Entry-Level Job-Seeker Articles – This link, by Quintcareers, provides a wealth of information in the form of articles for the recent grad or entry level job seeker. Topics ranging from “Considering Grad School” to “Beyond the Apprentice” offer advice and guidance to help you find your way.

• Entry Level Jobs – Finding Entry Level Jobs – This article provides advice and additional links to help you in your search. Topics range from Job Search Help to Career Office Services with embedded links for additional information. There are a few relevant videos on the right hand side of the page and the bottom of the page has quite a few related links. Last, but not least, you can sign up for Alison’s newsletter or visit her blog (these links are at the bottom right hand side of the page).

Company Career Sites for College - Check out these links:

• Wal-mart College & Recent Grads

• Chevron Students and Recent Graduates

• Johnson & Johnson Students

• ScanSource Inc.

• National Semiconductor

via secretsofthejobhunt.com

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Are you burnt out? How to Manage burn out effectively - Careers advice blog - Position Ignition - taking you to the next step in your career

Are you burnt out? If your work is affecting your health it is time to stop, think and make a change.  If you find yourself exhausted in the office, surviving off regular doses of coffee and collapsing when you reach the weekend – you are burning out.  If you do not get this under control you can get seriously ill if you are not careful.

It is a challenge getting the right balance between hard work and good health.  Here are some steps to help you keep feeling burnt out under control.

• Think hard about whether you are in the right role
• Ask yourself some hard questions:
  • Do you enjoy what you are doing?
  • Is it interesting, fun, stimulating?
  • Do the hours work for you?
  • Is the working environment good for you?
  • Is there a good progression path?
  • Does the role suit your values, passions and strengths?
  • Are you burnt out all the time? Is it worth it?

If it is becoming obvious that maybe this isn’t the most suitable role or place for you to be in then you have the option to change it!   It is better to be in the right role and position for you than not.  You will be much happier and healthier all around if you live the lifestyle that you want.

1. Improve your time management

Cut down on inefficient uses of your time and activities that are draining you.  Cut down on late nights out, especially when you have to get up early the next day.  Prepare everything you will can for the next day the evening before e.g. clothes, documents, meeting preparation and so on.   This will save panic and stress in the morning or during the day.  Create to do lists to help you stay on top of things.  Use it as a checklist you can tick off tasks from.  It will keep you focused and also make you feel good when you have achieved each task.

2. Watch your diet

What you eat can affect your energy levels and therefore how you cope with the amount of work and stress you are under.  Cut down on ready meals, take-outs and fast food.  Eat more fresh vegetables, fruit and manage your diet.  The healthier you are the less burnt out you will be.  It is easy to let your diet suffer when time is limited but by taking short cuts you will make things worse.  You need to maintain your health if you are to carry on with your work focused lifestyle.

3. Exercise

If you do not have time to exercise, make time!  Early in the morning, after work, on the weekends or during your lunchtime perhaps.  Maybe even flex your working hours to fit it in if you can. It is important.  Keeping fit will make you feel better, give you more energy, make your brain work more efficiently and effectively and overall help your performance at work.  You will be in a much better position to handle the stress and strain you may be under. 

4. Flex your working hours

See if there is some flexibility around your work.  Talk to your boss.  Explore whether working from home is an option.  Having just one day at home every now and again can really help with your energy levels by cutting out travel and giving you more control over when and how you work.  You might want to get into work slightly earlier and leave earlier, or get in later and stay later in order to avoid rush hour and traffic.  You can reduce the time needed to travel and hence save a lot of energy.  See if you can manage your timetable to help avoid longer travel journeys.  If you are burnt out then anything you can do to help with your energy levels is crucial.

5. Manage your workload

If your workload is overwhelming and too much to handle, see if you can delegate it or get your colleagues and team mates to help out with different elements to spread the load.  If you cannot do that, be smart in how you spend your time and what you prioritise.  It is also important that you communicate what you are doing with those you are working with.  Making others aware of your priorities, tasks and workload will help them in identifying how much more to give you or perhaps how to work more effectively with you to help achieve your goals.

Author: Nisa Chitakasem - Founder of Position Ignition - taking you to the next step in your career

via positionignition.com

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My Story: From Nobody to Brand Name Entrepreneur in Under 3 Years | Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

"I’ve been waiting a long time to share my success story, but now that I have my own business, I feel it’s worthy of a blog post. I really hope that this story inspires you to work hard and live your dreams, regardless of your age. It’s been quite the journey, but most of you have only been following it for about three years. I have been involved in the branding and internet world since I was very young.  Here is my story…"

From Nobody to Brand Name Entrepreneur in Under 3 Years

The Story of 26-years-old Dan Schawbel

Personal branding, or how we market ourselves to others, was an innate talent of mine. My real passion for the Internet came together when I started to learn how to craft websites for a hobby. My first website was a James Bond fan page, and I was very proud of it so I told all of my friends who shared the same interests, which was my way of marketing the site.

Read the rest of this post at personalbrandingblog.com

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Job Seeker: Are You The Tortoise Or The Hare?

There is a job search strategy for everyone.  One for those more impulsive and one for the planners of the world.  The only problem is that one works better than the other.

Which one are you using?  Really?  Are you sure?

This is an important question.  Especially for job seekers new in their search or for folks who are three months in and still trying to figure out what they are doing right and wrong.

So if you said “Hare” because you are a Type A personality and have pursued job search with reckless abandon, well, we need to talk.

If you said “Tortoise” . . . you, like the tortoise in the fable, will find a faster route to your next job.

Now I guess I could be done with it here by saying:

Be the tortoise.

Seems like I’d leave you hanging a bit – something I’m hesitant to do.  But, really, don’t you already get it?  Sounds reasonable that a solid, consistent strategy will beat half-baked aggression, right?

And because it is only 11:30 PM and I don’t feel good unless I write until somewhere near 2:00 AM. That gives me a good 4.5 hours of sleep before getting up and heading off to work.  Somedays I feel like a happy but sleepy tortoise regardless of my depth of strategy . . .

So since the hare and tortoise’s differences are part personality type and part skill set, how does one describe those differences in the job search world?

Well, bullet points, of course!  Here goes:

The Hare

• So the hare is about bursts of speed.  Especially early bursts.  Ones that leave everyone else feeling slow and lazy.  A disconcerting feeling, to be sure.  ”Should I be sprinting right now?”

• The hare is also about complacency and over-confidence as early bursts may get them some early results that seem promising.  But those early results risk being artificial.  Supported by what can be a dangerous optimism.

• If laid off at the same time as a hare, you might witness a flurry (I almost wrote “furry”) of early activity.  A couple of days frantically throwing a resume together, e-mailing everyone in your network (if organized), calling 8-10 recruiters letting them know you are now available and blasting your resume to 50 or so hiring managers posting jobs on Monster.

• The hare is less likely to network and, unfortunately, is less likely to help others.  No time, right?  Gotta go!

• The hare will be less prepared to share their job objectives and would for sure not have a Watchlyst™ of their own.

• The hare will not have a well-thought out elevator speech.  They will meander and extend 60 seconds to 5 minutes, losing everyone in a swirl of career details.

• Yes, the hare will burn out and fizzle.  But only after finally realizing six months into their search that the tortoise had a suspiciously simple plan.

OK, after all that tearing down of the cute little bunny, let’s see what’s so great about the tortoise.

The Tortoise

• So, despite the fuddy-duddy voice used and hapless expression typically placed on a cartoon tortoise, I am here to tell you something important.  The tortoise is really smart.  One might say intelligent.  Especially in job search.

• The intelligence comes as the knowledge of what to do, how to plan it and when to expend the energy to execute it.  You see, the tortoise is all about efficiency.  While the hare is racing around in impressive circles, the tortoise is preparing for a short, uneventful walk across the circle’s diameter.

• The tortoise knows that preparation is key.  That there is wasted effort in racing out the door before you are ready with your professional one sheet, business cards, and a really good sense of your job objectives.  All those people that you meet (as the hare) will struggle in trying to help you if you can’t tell them who you are, what makes you different and what, specifically, you are looking for in your next role.

• The tortoise is going to stop along the way and help someone by the side of the road.  Even if it slows their speed to the finish line.  They do this with the knowledge that 1 year or 5 years down the road, the situation may repeat.  That network, nourished, will be needed once again!

• The tortoise also plays the part of a strategic networker on Linkedin.  Looking for real connections that will drive long-term relationships.

• The tortoise has been building solid relationships with recruiters for years.  They seek win-win friendships by helping recruiters find talented people in their network who might fit a search. They are rarely in a hurry when the call comes in.

• The tortoise prepares well for interviews and knows how and when to follow up without looking desperate or winded.

So, in the end, please know that job search is one part of a larger plan that requires an intelligent approach, continuous networking and the utilization of smart tools to build and maintain a successful long-term career.

And, because you took the time to come here and read this post.  I’ll tell you one other thing.

You can be part tortoise and part hare.  And still be successful.

Here’s when.  After all your preparation and smart planning, you will get a job offer.  Once you have the offer in hand and calmly walk out to the car and drive home safely . . .

You can race into your house to share the good news.

via timsstrategy.com

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Social Media Tips For a Multi-Generational Workforce | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

With the burst of technology, social media, and personal branding, it is an interesting experience to be out in a workforce that consists of four different and distinct generations of employees working together. Technology, social media, and personal branding are very important to some and relatively unimportant to others. Your success in ‘playing well with others’ at work comes down to education, understanding, and adjusting your style within this multi-generational workforce.

Social Media Within the Generations

Gen Y (born 1981-1994) is clearly the most influential age group when it comes to social media, technology, and personal branding. They grew up on the computer, are heavy users, and are the most innovative generation in this respect.

Gen X (1965-1980) have more responsibilities with families and kids and did not grow up online but they adapted quickly. This generation is also very active in social media and is growing by leaps and bounds on many social networking sites.

The Baby Boomers (1946-1964) is one of the fastest growing generations in terms of the growth in users over the past several years. However, Baby Boomers are moderate users and spend considerably less time on social media sites and tend to use fewer of them. However, there is a large age span in this generation which makes a big difference. Younger boomers are definitely more active users than their older counterparts.

The Traditional or Silent Generation (1925-1946) is the smallest generation of people using social media sites, as their primary use of the internet is for email and product/information research.

Most People Are On Board, Right?

Where things get tricky in the workforce is when you have to adapt your style towards those in the older generations who simply do not use (nor generally care to learn) anything about social media. They likely don’t even know what personal branding is, at least from the internet perspective. They might think of social media sites as huge time wasters.

I know of many people like this in the workforce and if you work for one of them, you can try to educate but ultimately may have to adjust. There are many generational differences but it is important to point out some things to take note of when working with/for someone like this -where more “traditional” approaches will help your personal brand at work.

What Does it Mean to be “Traditional”?

• Recognize that in-person communications and phone calls are preferable over emails to these people. This is a big one and can be a difficult adjustment. If you want to impress, try to get more face time rathen than sending emails.
• How and where we want to do our work is different across the generations. Selling your boss on using different technologies (webinars, webcasts,smartphones,etc) or different work schedules (telecommuting) might be difficult. Educate! But in the end, you may have to settle with their way.
• Twitter has given us the ability to condense our thoughts into 140 characters or less. How do we do it?  We often use letters and numbers to replace words. Do not do this in company email communications – even if just communicating with a coworker. You never know when it may be forwarded to someone who will consider that means of communication to be very unprofessional.
• It is offensive to many non-users if you “check your phone” often. Many people bring their phones into meetings, put them in front of them and turn them off. The mere presence of your phone is actually disturbing to some people and if it is, checking it is far worse! And if it rings? Watch out! If you know this will bother someone, your best bet is to put your phone away during communications with this person. If you are a job candidate and are in an interview, don’t even think about having your phone on!
• Job candidates, take this tip to heart: do not email a cover letter with a link at the bottom and state, “See my LinkedIn profile for my resume.”  I have actually seen many people do this, and I promise you that many people want to see a resume with a cover letter and LinkedIn cannot replace a real resume no matter how much information you have in your profile!

My advice to those who find themselves working with or reporting to a person who does not participate in (or care about) the use of social media or technology is to respect their place with it and understand that this simply is not part of who they are. Adapt accordingly but educate them as much as you can.

Some non-users will take to it if they just understand it better. Help them! Non-users may also be the same people who are not branding their business online either. Educating using dollars and cents and how it can help the business’ bottom line is the key to winning them over. I have seen people change their attitudes. It can be done, just be very respectful along the way!  Remember that these people may be avoiding social media not because they don’t think it’s useful, but because they don’t know where to start with it, or how to make it work for them.  If you’re a good teacher, it shouldn’t be a tough sell!

Jessica Simko is a seasoned senior level Human Resources professional with over 15 years of experience in all facets of Human Resources Management.  She is a Freelance Writer and  Entrepreneur specializing in career/ life coaching and social media. Striving to help people connect their passions with their jobs and life, she offers great career, personal branding, and life tips on her new blog, Work and Life Solutions.  Feel free to connect with her on:

Twitter
Linked In

via blog.brand-yourself.com

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Member roster | International Association of Employment Web Sites

via employmentwebsites.org

HUGE list of websites that offer jobs.

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Seth's Blog: Do you have a media channel strategy? (You should.)

Twenty years ago, only big companies and TV stars worried about media channels.

Oprah was on TV, then she added radio. Two channels. Then a magazine.

Pepsi set out to dominate TV with their message, and billboards and vending machines. Newspapers, not so much. The media you chose to spread your message mattered. In fact, it could change what you made and how you made it. [Stop for a second and consider that... the media channel often drove the product and pricing and distribution].

Today, of course, everyone has access to a media channel. You can create a series of YouTube videos, or have a blog. You can be a big-time tweeter, or lead a significant tribe on Facebook.

Harder to grapple with is the idea that the media channel you choose changes who you are and what you do. Tom Peters gives a hundred or more speeches a year, around the world, for good money (and well earned). But this channel, this place where he can spread his message, determines what he does all day, impacts the pace of the work he does, informs all of his decisions.

Oprah lives a life that revolves around a daily TV show. Of course it would be difficult for her to write a book... that's a life dictated by a different channel. And she's a lapsed twitter user because it demands a different staffing and mindset than she has now.

This applies to non-celebs, to people with jobs, to entrepreneurs, to job seekers. We all spread our ideas, at least a little, and the medium you choose will change your ideas. If you only pay attention to the world when you need a new job (your channel is stamps and your message is your resume) you'll spend your day differently than if you are leading a tribe, participating in organizations or giving local speeches all the time.

We've come a long way from a worker having just two channels (a resume and a few references) to having the choice of a dozen or more significant ways to spread her ideas. Choose or lose.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

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