Based on the idea behind Notational Velocity, Notes is designed to focus on organizing plain text notes that are saved automatically. Just write your note and don’t worry about saving them.
Now with Simplenote synchronisation.
via onethingwell.org
One Thing Well
Should You Apply Even If You’re Not Qualified? » Blog | Great Resumes Fast
A friend of mine recently left his position at our former company to start his own business. He has 15 years of excellent work experience, including 10 years of managing others, and an MBA. His former job is now advertised online, and over the weekend I met a woman who had applied for it. This woman was unhappy with her current company and had noticed that my friend’s former position paid really well. Interestingly, she failed to notice much else about it.
I talked to this woman about the position opening at length, and was surprised to realize that she had barely read the job description before deciding to apply. She told me about her previous work experience, which was only vaguely related to the requirements of the advertised job. She was stunned when I told her that the position required managing a department of 10 people, and then it started to sink in that her lack of supervisory experience might hurt her chances of getting the job. She also mentioned that the opening had asked that applicants have knowledge of a specific online database system. She then asked me the most surprising question of all: “Do you think they’re really serious about only hiring someone who has experience with that system?”
At this point, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this woman. So I will offer you the same advice that I gave her. There are dozens of candidates applying for most open positions these days. Hiring managers will tell you that one of their main job duties is “shortlisting” these applications into a small pool of qualified applicants—in other words, disqualifying everyone they can in order to whittle the list down to only the best candidates for each job. Many times, companies find themselves ruling out perfectly qualified candidates simply because they have too many from which to choose. With this in mind, please do yourself the favor of not applying for jobs if you’re just not qualified. Employers purposely write their job descriptions in order to attract candidates who are a good match. If the ad says they’re looking for X, Y, and Z qualifications, I can guarantee you one thing: Yes, they really mean it!
Best of Branding: Top 5 This Week | Brand-Yourself.com Blog
Here are the Top 5 This Week – @andywergedal
Here is the eclectic mix of articles in the top 5 this week.
The Top 5 This Week
1. You Can’t Trademark Your Name…But You Can Buy It In Google – [Career Rocketeer]
You have probably seen the recent viral video about the guy who bought the names of some top New York ad executives in Google to help land his dream job…and it worked!
This brings up an interesting dilemma for individuals who want to be found in Google. Unlike companies and businesses, individuals rarely have unique names. And there are few legal guidelines to help protect individuals in this area. You don’t get to trademark your name..
2. Company Career Sites – Consulting Firms – [Secrets of The Job Hunt]
Consulting is “The act of providing information, analysis, and recommendations” and is a career choice that is very different than most. To be a successful consultant, you need to have great interpersonal skills, a high level of confidence, good communications skills and a particular area of expertise. It also doesn’t hurt to be good at sales (in fact, it is a requirement at the more senior levels) and not mind traveling. Many consultants are “road warriors” for much of their careers. Continuing the series of posts targeting company career sites, today we review several consulting firms.
3. College Grad Job Search Resources – What You Think – [Career Alley]
It doesn’t always have to be about me, sometimes it can be about you too. I get lots of emails suggesting links that many of you think will appeal to CareerAlley readers. I generally collect these until I have enough that is worth a dedicated post and today is your lucky day. So thanks to all of you who have submitted your ideas and please keep them coming!
4. Five Email Oversights That Kill Your Brand – [Personal Branding Blog]
Sometimes, with the pressure to do a good job on the big things – close the sale, deliver the code, solve the problem – we overlook the little things along the way, and destroy the very brand we are trying to create.
5. Use the Internet to Find a Job – Part 3: Marketing You – [Career Alley]
You may also consider creating your own website for your skills and resume. Although it can be expensive, the chances on being found increase due to the Internet being used a main search tool for recruiters. Post projects you have worked on, and a portfolio of the services you can offer to a prospective employer. When sending out emails, include a link to your personal marketing website; it makes you stand out from everyone else as someone who is serious about their job search!
I’ve been branded a professional encourager and a diplomatic pessimist. (I’m not sure how those work together but they do). Check out my editorial posting on 40×50.com and on twitter @andywergedal… I have a passion for helping people find jobs.
Let’s Stop Praying to the Credit Score - Credit Slips
posted by Nathalie Martin
Mortgage brokers, and those hoping to buy homes, are disgusted by the preeminence of the credit score in “scoring” a home loan today. According to an article, in Friday’s New York Times, this overemphasis on credit scoring in the home mortgage market is not helping the economic recovery either, because people just cannot qualify for a home. Some people’s scores have decreased even though they have done nothing differently. The author’s interesting article recounts many mistakes in his own credit report, a common phenomenon as it turns out. The author is so disgusted he thinks the CFPB ought to take up credit reporting and scoring as a high priority once it is up and running.
I agree that this is a shame, all this focus on credit scoring in lending, but I also think consumers can whip themselves into a frenzy over these scores, even when they do not want, need, or plan to use future credit. Always remember what the score is for, to qualify for more credit. Staying out of debt is as good a strategy as any for keeping the score high. Students acquire more credit cards than they need in order to get three open items. Before they know it, their scores are lower because they cannot pay. I know a terminally ill woman, with no job and no intention to take on any more credit. She wants to keep paying dribs and drabs on her enormous medical debts to protect her score until the end. Why? I hate to give these scores, and the agencies that create them, more power over us than they deserve.
via creditslips.org
5 Little Secrets about Networking - Secrets of the Job Hunt Career Podcast
1. BE "OTHER CENTRIC"
Networking is not about spewing your 45 second commercial. It is about meeting people and developing a relationship. Always show interest in others. Ask them what they do and really listen to their
answer. Even ask sincere follow-up questions.
2. GATHER INFORMATION
The time to start gathering information is while you are employed. Speak with co-workers and peers about what they are doing, what they find interesting and listen. Listening is a key ingredient to being a good networker. Ignore that voice in your head that wants to weed out information or discard it. All information is good information!
3. TRACK MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Carve time into your schedule to meet industry movers and shakers. Read their work, follow their activities. See what makes them tick.4. MAKE IT FUN
Every time you leave your house you have the opportunity to meet new people. Consider it a personal challenge or game, because you just never know what may happen or who knows who. The next time you go to fill up your car with gas, pay inside and chat with the cashier, just for a second. Doing this is great practice at making small talk and again, you just never know. Maybe it is the dry cleaner, supermarket check out or coffee shop barrista...all of these folks are great practice and worthy of becoming new acquaintance's.
5. "LATHER RINSE REPEAT"
Just as the instructions say on a shampoo bottle (or used to) networking is an on-going process. Meeting someone once does not form a relationship. You need to continuously make the effort to re-connect with them. It can be as simple as sharing an article or sending them a quick note about an upcoming event they may be interested in or a message asking them about a project they said they were working on. Listening is important. It will be very difficult to do this follow-up if you haven't been listening to what they've talk about.
FINAL NOTE:
Greater than 80% of jobs are secured through some form of networking contact. If you feel this sounds like a game, ignore that voice in your head. Approach networking as "information gathering" and an "opportunity to meet new people". There is no hidden agenda there.
Be patient. Networking takes time and so does establishing trust. This is not a wonder drug that will promise immediate results. This is an investment in your future. Networking is about establishing relationships and it is a quality vs. quantity mentality that will best serve you.
5 Most Popular Twitter Directories That Will Grow Your Personal Brand | JobMob
Like the classic phone book, being listed in the most popular directories is a surefire way to be found more on Twitter.
Directory listing tips
- Popular directories became popular because they are generally easy to use, and specifically so for listing yourself. Take advantage of all the options to give yourself exposure is as many relevant categories as possible.
- When a directory limits the number of categories (or tags) where you can list yourself (such as 5 for WeFollow, 10 for Twellow), browse all the categories that are relevant to your personal brand and then choose the best trade-off among the categories that you ‘must’ be in and the categories where you can rank highly e.g. on the first page of listings for that category.
User directories
WeFollow – to add yourself, click here.
Then, enter your city and choose your 5 ‘interests’ which will determine in which categories you appear in WeFollow (elsewhere on the site, they’re called tags).
One annoyance- be careful of the fine print at the bottom of the page, in particular where WeFollow ‘offers’ to have your Twitter profile page link to your WeFollow profile page. Otherwise, I like WeFollow for the simple reason that it works- it has definitely brought some people to me and vice-versa.
Twellow – Click the ‘Register for FREE’ link in the upper right-hand side of the homepage to begin. Annoyingly, Twellow then requires giving your Twitter username and password (even though other sites only require that you be logged in to your Twitter account).
Once you do that – which you should, because it’s worth the risk – you’ll also give your email address and sign up. Twellow will analyze your Twitter profile page and pull in as much information as possible to create your Twellow profile page and make suggestions for which categories you should be in. Important: You’ll need to validate those suggestions and/or add other categories before you actually appear in the directory’s listings.
While WeFollow’s profile pages are very simple and attract new followers solely based on your public Twitter statistics such as follower count, Twellow’s profile pages are much useful, with the options to add links to your other social media profiles and letting you include an ‘extended bio’, handy for giving visitors more reasons to follow you.
Just Tweet It – this 3rd Twitter directory is the most complicated to join. Register here by giving a username and email address, to which you’ll be sent a password and a link to a Profile editor page (WordPress bloggers will recognize it) where you can fill in some more personal information and choose a new password if you like.
Once that’s done, head on back to the homepage to add yourself to a category from the dropdown menu at the top. For each category, you need to enter a short bio (and it doesn’t need to be the same text each category, important for the multi-niche personal brand), then click ’send’. You can add yourself to a maximum of 5 categories.
List directories
While WeFollow, Twellow and Just Tweet It are directories of Twitter users, the following are directories of Twitter Lists.
There are 2 ways to get into List directories- either by getting your Lists added (by you or someone else) and/or by being on Lists that were added.
Listorious – add a List to the directory by clicking Add List. Listorious will then connect to your Twitter account, using it to generate a simple profile page for you like this, and display a form asking for a List’s url, one-line description and descriptive tags. A nice touch is the check to see if the List actually exists when you submit it, catching any typos. Once your List is added, a dedicated List page is created, and the List automatically enters Listorious’s rankings, which are calculated by number of followers.
TweetDeck Directory – this directory was relaunched in December 2009 to focus on Twitter Lists. To make an entry, “just create your List and once it starts getting followers, it will be discovered automagically and included in the directory”. Perhaps, but using TweetDeck’s search I couldn’t find any of my Lists in the directory, and I suspect the reason is that I created them directly on Twitter.com. In other words, it seems that the TweetDeck Directory only discovers Twitter Lists that were created or updated using TweetDeck. Category rankings, such as Jobs & Careers, are by List follower count.
Bonus
Geofollow – calling itself the ‘Location Based Twitter Directory’, Geofollow’s main draw is just that: instead of being organized by category, listed users are organized by location. Don’t worry- you can still use up to 3 tags to differentiate yourself among the locals or be found by your personal brand.
Other directories worth considering
I originally published a version of this article on the terrific Personal Branding Blog.
Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas about using Twitter for job search and personal branding.
--Jacob Share
via jobmob.co.il
3 Songs That Make You Want to Work : CAREEREALISM
“Gonna make you sweat. Sweh-het. Let the music take control. Let the music move you…” – C & C Music Factory
There’s an oldie-but-goodie, right? The song, entitled “Everybody Work Now,” makes me laugh every time I hear it. Why? Because images of people going crazy dancing to it at a wedding reception immediately come to mind – and the characters come to life in my head too! For example, there’s always ‘that guy’ doing the Running Man in the middle of a big circle of guests. His shirt is untucked, he’s dripping with sweat, he’s wearing his tie as a headband, and the rest of the attendees are smirking at the thought that they aren’t nearly as drunk, nor as bad a dancer, as he is.
Music = Mental Images = Emotional Reaction
I don’t know about the rest of you, but for me, there are literally hundreds of songs that create these kinds of mini movie reels in my head. Music sets my brain in motion. Memories come flooding back. Just one song can change my mood in seconds.
Why am I telling you all this?
As I was sitting here getting ready to write a post, “Everybody Work Now” unexpectedly began playing on Pandora. Suddenly, I thought, “If music has this much power over our minds and emotions, then there must be a set of songs I could put together as the ultimate job search and career development mix.” In short, I’m thinking we need to create the CAREEREALISM playlist!
So Careerealists, tell me:
- What 3 songs should we add to the playlist and why?
- Which tunes inspire you to want to look for work?
- What types of music make you happier on-the-job?
Share your all-time favorites in the comments below - the ones that make you smile and say, “I can do this!” We’ll compile the list and put it together. We might even find a way to embed it on the site and let you listen when you need inspiration. (Okay tech people, send me the instructions on how to make that happen.)
Here are my three:
#1 – Life is a Highway (Tom Cochran) – I get immediate images of driving in a convertible on a hot, dry sunny day.
#2 – Pon de Replay (Rhianna) – The first time I heard the song was on the show “Entourage” on HBO – my favorite TV guilty pleasure.
#3 – Anything by Jack Johnson – I have incredible memories of a trip to Savannah, GA where we sat out on a roof-deck restaurant all night eating the most delicious southern food. They played his CDs repeatedly.
via careerealism.com
