How To: Follow Up After a Job Interview

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Enough can’t be said about the importance of follow-up. Especially in the interview process. We spend so much time making sure our resume is perfect to make sure we get that interview. Today’s reader question is about what to do once the interview is over:

Hello. I worked for a tech company for over 10 years as an executive assistant. Due to a company reorganization, my position was eliminated. This has been a very challenging time, as I’m having difficulty finding a job. I’m currently working as a temp for a large medical company. It’s a great company with many great benefits but I’m not happy in my current role.

I’ve come to realize I don’t interview very well. My true friendly personality doesn’t come out during the interview. I just applied for a terrific job, where I know I can make a difference. I had an interview and I believe it went well but I’m not sure I convinced them that I am the right person for the job.

I did send the interviewers a thank you email and they responded it would be a while due to the holidays. It’s been 2 weeks and I want to follow up with an email to show my continued interest in the position and in their company. What would be some words to add to this follow up email to convince them that I want this job and that I can be successful in this role? Thank you.

To offer some insight, I reached out to two very accomplished talent management professionals. Kevin W. Grossman, is an executive at BraveNewTalent, a leading social learning career platform and author of the book, “Tech Job Hunt Handbook”. Chris Havrilla is a sought-after recruiting consultant and author of the blog, Recruiter Chicks. I’m thrilled they graciously agreed to share their expertise.

So tell me, should candidates send a follow up note after an interview?

[Kevin] Yes, always. Whether or not a candidate is truly in the running, the interviewer can get crazy busy and it’s important to always follow up with a note and even a call in a week if there’s no word back on next steps. Candidates should never be afraid to ask for acknowledgement and closure, even if it’s not the news they want to hear.

[Chris] Definitely yes!  It is a great way to not only let someone know that you appreciated their time and insights – but also to make sure they are aware of your interest and enthusiasm, and reinforce how you “fit”.

The reader mentions “convincing the company that this is the job they want” in the follow-up note. Isn’t that too late? From a recruiting perspective, what’s the purpose of sending a follow-up?

[Kevin] The follow-up is a way to reiterate interest and reaffirm why the candidate is the best fit for the role. It’s never too late, although at that point the hiring manager may have already made her decision. But front-running candidates do decline offers and take other positions, so there’s always a possibility of being considered.

[Chris] A note will probably not be able to turn around an interview that did not go well, but it could be something that could help differentiate you from equally strong candidates.  From a recruiting perspective, I appreciate someone showing their understanding of and connection with the company, the role, and/or the people they met.  That could make a big difference.

Interesting story…I had a friend who had received an email that after interviewing, they had selected a stronger candidate for the role – and like your reader, had really felt it was a great fit.  I advised her to reply with a simple thank you for their time and consideration – and to keep her in mind for any future opportunities as she was still very much interested in them and felt she could make a great impact.  It established a connection and it kept a door open – and in this case, within a month, they did call her and hired her for an additional role that had opened up.  It can make a difference.

Is email an acceptable way of sending a follow-up?

[Chris] It is has become more acceptable, especially in today’s world – and in the interest of time, clearly the most rapid way to respond.  Having said that, a written note, which is becoming more of an exception than the rule, could still help you stand out.  Look at each situation and do what you feel would work best.

Name 1-2 things a follow-up note should include.

[Kevin] Again, the follow-up should always include: 1) your legitimate and enthusiastic interest in the job and 2) why you’re best candidate for the job, including a quick highlight of applicable experience and skills.

Is there anything a follow-up note should absolutely not include?

[Kevin] What your salary and benefits should look like. Seriously, that’s left to when you’re made and actual offer. And unless it was already discussed during the interview process, refrain from editorializing too much about personal or other professional issues that could affect your job performance in any direction.

Lastly, once a candidate follows up, should they ever follow up a second time?

[Chris] I think that really depends on the timing and the situation. You don’t want to ‘stalk’ – or push where there is no real interest.  However, if the company genuinely seems interested and is giving no reason to make you think they are not – keep the conversation open and take cues from them to decide the cadence.  You can even say, “…if I haven’t heard anything in the next week, would it be ok or appropriate to follow up with you directly?”

In this case, the company indicated that a decision would potentially be after the holidays.  I would send a holiday card to their main point of contact wishing them a happy holiday, reiterating her interest in joining their team, and looking forward to hearing from them after the holidays…

Again my thanks to Chris and Kevin for sharing their experience. If you want to get more of their recruiting wisdom, be sure to check out their blogs Reach West and Recruiter Chicks and follow them on Twitter at @RecruiterChicks and @KevinWGrossman.

Oh, and P.S. Check back this weekend when we’ll talk about the second part of this reader note – What to do when the interview doesn’t go well.

via hrbartender.com

How to Ace the 50 Most Common Interview Questions - Forbes

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I recently laid out the year’s most oddball interview questions. The Glassdoor list included queries from companies like Google, Bain & Co., and Amazon, which are notorious for their perplexing and unusual job interview questions.

In 2012, the search giant asked a candidate, “How many cows are in Canada?” while Bain challenged an interviewee to estimate the number of windows in New York. Amazon asked a candidate, “If Jeff Bezos walked into your office and offered you a million dollars to launch your best entrepreneurial idea, what would it be?”

The moral of the story was that job seekers need to anticipate less conventional interview questions, and that they should think of oddball queries as an opportunity to demonstrate their thought process, to communicate their values and character, and to show the prospective employer how they perform under pressure.

But as it turns out, most companies will ask more common interview questions like “What are your strengths?” and “What are your weaknesses?”—and it’s important that you prepare well for those, too.

Glassdoor sifted through tens of thousands of interview reviews to find the 50 most common questions.

The 50 Most Common Interview Questions:

  1. What are your strengths?
  2. What are your weaknesses?
  3. Why are you interested in working for [insert company name here]?
  4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
  5. Why do you want to leave your current company?
  6. Why was there a gap in your employment between [insert date] and [insert date]?
  7. What can you offer us that someone else can not?
  8. What are three things your former manager would like you to improve on?
  9. Are you willing to relocate?
  10. Are you willing to travel?
  11. Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of.
  12. Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
  13. What is your dream job?
  14. How did you hear about this position?
  15. What would you look to accomplish in the first 30 days/60 days/90 days on the job?
  16. Discuss your resume.
  17. Discuss your educational background.
  18. Describe yourself.
  19. Tell me how you handled a difficult situation.
  20. Why should we hire you?
  21. Why are you looking for a new job?
  22. Would you work holidays/weekends?
  23. How would you deal with an angry or irate customer?
  24. What are your salary requirements?
  25. Give a time when you went above and beyond the requirements for a project.
  26. Who are our competitors?
  27. What was your biggest failure?
  28. What motivates you?
  29. What’s your availability?
  30. Who’s your mentor?
  31. Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss.
  32. How do you handle pressure?
  33. What is the name of our CEO?
  34. What are your career goals?
  35. What gets you up in the morning?
  36. What would your direct reports say about you?
  37. What were your bosses’ strengths/weaknesses?
  38. If I called your boss right now and asked him what is an area that you could improve on, what would he say?
  39. Are you a leader or a follower?
  40. What was the last book you’ve read for fun?
  41. What are your co-worker pet peeves?
  42. What are your hobbies?
  43. What is your favorite website?
  44. What makes you uncomfortable?
  45. What are some of your leadership experiences?
  46. How would you fire someone?
  47. What do you like the most and least about working in this industry?
  48. Would you work 40+ hours a week?
  49. What questions haven’t I asked you?
  50. What questions do you have for me?

Continue to page 2 [forbes.com] for advice on how to prepare for common interview questions, and page 3 [forbes.com] for tips on how to answer them.

via forbes.com

Meetings: How not to suck at them « Silicon Florist

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Meetings: How not to suck at them

[Editor: Most of us go to meetings, but do we really get value out of them? As a startup, every second counts. And every meeting matters. Eli Rubel, cofounder and CEO of Glider, provides some awesome guidance on how to get the most out of meeting. *cough* And they're hiring. *cough*]

“There are the people who get it, and then people who don’t.” When it comes to meetings, most simply don’t.

This article will be the beginning of an ongoing series, and hopefully an open conversation, specifically focused on how not to suck at meetings.

Ok, cool. Meetings. They seem simple enough, right? I mean, you just book the thing, show up at a coffee shop, ask some smart questions, and then on to the next one. Boom. Am I winning, or am I winning? NO. WRONG. TRY AGAIN.

That was me two years ago. And the worst part? I thought I was crushing my meetings. Two per day, five days a week—that’s not bad right? WRONG. In retrospect—I was clueless. We’ve all been there at some point, and if this is you now, do not despair. It’s a process that takes time, trial and error, and the willingness to truly put yourself out there. It is my hope that through this mini series, I’ll be able to impart some of the Meeting Judo I’ve picked up over the last two years.

Below, is an index for true meeting pwnage. Master these, and you may very well be on your way to being the Mr. Miyagi of meetings. Each week based on audience vote/feedback, I’ll be expanding on one of the titles. So give it a read, and let me know what you’re interested in hearing more about.

One final caveat before things get started, while some of these may seem entirely obvious, it’s generally the obvious ones that people neglect the most. I’ll kick things off with these:

The Obvious

1. Don’t be late.
I’m not your mom, nor is the person you’re meeting. Being anything less than early to a meeting is a sure-fire way to tell the other person you simply don’t care. Sure, things come up; you get into a car accident, your dentures just won’t stick, you’re dog has IBS—whatever it is, you have email… use it. And no, the quick, “Hey I’m running late! Sorry!” text three minutes before your meeting starts just doesn’t cut it.

2. Do your background research, know who you’re meeting.
We’re fortunate enough to live in an uber connected world where LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and even personal websites can all inform what we know about an individual. Generally speaking, a 10 minute search can fill in all of the blanks from professional to personal. You don’t want to be the guy who gets back from a meeting only to find out Person X sits on the board of the same Company X you’ve been courting as a customer for months. There are definitely some specific points you should touch on for everyone you meet with, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll save that for later.

3. Understand their motivations.
Unless you know what someone cares about, how are you supposed to, A) Control the conversation, and B) Add value for them. What do they do for fun? What organizations do they volunteer for? What makes this person tick? Incidentally, this is also a super important question to ask yourself when hiring!

4. How are you helping them?
This one should be really self explanatory, but in my early days I made this mistake all the time. Luckily, people who are willing to meet with you early on in your career know that you’re green, and get gratification out of being able to be a part of this early part of your career rather than expecting something of more tangible return. But don’t rely on this wave– this article isn’t about how to float through meetings, its about how to be F*c*!@%# awesome at them. If you did your research for #2 & 3 then you should feel pretty informed for #4.

5. Leader or Learner?
In the grand scheme of things, who’s helping who? Who was more “excited” to get the meeting. Generally this is obvious, but make sure you know going into things.

The Less Obvious

Enough already Eli! All of this stuff is SOOOO obvious. Ok smarty-pants, lets move on to some of the more subtle topics that can really effect the outcome of your meeting mastery.

6. Have an agenda, seriously.
It took me a while to grasp the value of having an agenda, but after three months of TechStars meetings, there is little doubt in my mind that this should be on the list. If you write out an agenda, even if it just has three bullet point topics that you want to hit, you’ll have more control over the meeting’s outcome. Simply putting yourself through the 30 second mental exercise of writing out your goals/topics to cover for the meeting will greatly inform it’s outcome. At TechStars they even go as far as to encourage you to share the agenda with the other party. I’m not that hardcore unless we’re meeting with our investors, advisors, or key out of town mentors.

7. Be polite. Know when to bullshit, but more importantly, when not to.
Whether you’re the leader or the learner, everyone loves it when you respect their time. It’s amazing how much time people waste at the beginning of meetings with the usual BS. The worst part is that both parties know it’s just fluff to get comfortable. Lead the meeting. Get to the point. Save the fluff for after you’ve hit your agenda points, it feels more genuine that way. Pro-tip: if you’re the leader, starting the meeting with a bunch of fluff can put a nervous learner at ease, but it can also be a subtle way to imply your control over the proceedings. If you’re the learner, any early fluff beyond simply being polite makes you look nervous (unless you’re really good at it).

8. Quality vs. Quantity. (re: speed, efficiency, tie it back to the agenda)
I’ll use another TechStars example to illustrate this one. Once a week, Justin and I were fortunate enough to sit down with Chris DeVore to go over our progress, questions, and thoughts on strategy. We always had an agenda, and our meetings generally lasted between 10-15 minutes max, with some as short as 5. These meetings were consistently some of the most valuable conversations we had during our tour in Seattle. We respected Chris’ time, and in return, he always carved time out of his busy schedule to meet with us.

9. Know when to agree. Also, know when not to.
This feels like a rookie mistake looking back. But I see tons of people make it, so it’s worth going over. Just because you’ve already thought of the idea that the person you’re meeting with suggests (especially if they’re the leader) doesn’t mean you can’t let them think they came up with it for you. AKA If someone says you should approach Company X as a customer, and you had a meeting the night before about how to land that same Company X, it would behoove you to respond with something like “Oh, thats a great idea!” Why? Two key reasons – A) Bonding. If someone feels like they’ve helped you, they’re much more likely to engage again. B) What if they know exactly who you need to meet with to land Company X? If they suggest it as a solution, they’ll be more inclined to help you make it a reality.

10. Know when to buy. Also, know when not to buy.
I almost omitted this one because it’s subjective, but here’s my personal credo. Always buy (coffee/lunch/drinks) unless they’re either A) An investor / service provider, B) You’ve bought for them more than once, or C) They explicitly said they wanted to take you out while setting the meeting up.

11. Take notes, or record the conversation.
OMFG if you don’t do this you’re an idiot. Your brain can’t keep it all in. If you felt it was worth spending 10 minutes of prep, 10 minutes of driving, $5 on coffee, and 30 minutes of your time, you better be F(*&%$# writing things down or recording. Lessons aren’t’ always applicable at the time that you hear them. Why wouldn’t you want to be able to reference that same meeting 2 months from now?

12. Follow up.
I don’t care if it was the best meeting of your life—or the worst—if you don’t follow up you’ve just thrown away 50% of the value of that meeting. If it went well, re-affirm the action points/next steps. If it didn’t go well, re-affirm that you were grateful for the meeting, and maybe take the time to recover from the mishap. Same day standard, it helps to write the followup immediately after (if you have the time), and then send it a few hours later.

Top secret meeting hacks

Alright, now for some fun little meeting hacks. Pay attention to these when all of the above seems entirely obvious and you’re ready to throw in some advanced combo moves.

13. Eye contact.
Be smart about it. If you look—you care. If you gaze, you don’t care as much. There’s a lot to read out there about eye contact, and how it can be used to either purposely or inadvertently imply your level of engagement.

14. Mimic body posture.
On a subconscious level, people are put at ease if they can see themselves in you. There are obvious ways to achieve this like, “Hey I like vintage motorcycles too,” and then there are the more subtle ways to do this through things like body language. Are they leaning towards you or away from you? Do they look away frequently? Legs crossed or under the table? You’ll feel silly the first few times you start to play copy cat, but seriously, the results don’t lie.

15. Be passionate, but don’t care. (Be objective).
You don’t want people to be afraid of telling you no, or telling you what you’re doing wrong because they think it would hurt your feelings. In fact, the faster you can get to, “No,” the better. There’s enough BS going around in the startup / business world. Don’t encourage it by being overly emotional or naive.

16. Tools of the trade.

  • For Personal Meeting Notes I think Evernote is the easiest / most intuitive to use. It’s awesome to be able to pull up the app on my iPhone, search for a general topic, and then have it pull up all of my meetings that mention that topic. Having a searchable 300 meeting resource guide becomes pretty handy.
  • I hate typing / note taking during meetings so I tend to record them using the pre-installed voice recorder on my iPhone and then reviewing / typing them up after the fact.
  • For scheduling I recently discovered Fantastical (for all of the Apple users out there), which is an awesome replacement for the native Calendar app and has an awesome iOS app. If you’re booking a ton of meetings on the fly, this app will save your life. (Disclaimer: This app will not actually save one’s life.)

17. Always look for ways to give back.
When I moved to Portland just about a year and a half ago I didn’t know anyone. A lot of people (cc: Rick Turoczy, Scott Kveton, Jason Glaspey, Skip Newberry, Surj Patel, and countless others) went out on a limb, and took 30 minutes out of their day to meet with some random newcomer knowing full well that I had nothing to offer them in return. They were willing to help me through my early learnings, mistakes, and even point me in the direction of the people who would ultimately become my close friends, colleagues, and a co-founder. So with that, once you’ve put in enough time to give back, do so. Take those random meetings, make the time, because without you, the ecosystem quickly runs dry.

Eli Rubel is the cofounder and CEO of Glider, a Portland-based startup that’s an alum of both TechStars and the Portland Seed Fund. In case you’ve got a meeting with him, you can follow him on Twitter as @eli_rubel or on his personal blog.

(Image courtesy Shutterstock. Used with permission. Irony intended.)

BONUS material

Eli’s post inspired me to share some of my tips and tricks. Here’s the little talk I’ve started giving to the PIE startups, to help them make their meetings more effective.

via siliconflorist.com

The Ultimate Guide to Crushing Your Job Interview

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Josh Tolan is the CEO of Spark Hire, a video powered hiring network that connects job seekers and employers through video resumes and online interviews. Connect with him and Spark Hire on Facebook and Twitter.

All your hard work and perseverance has finally paid off. The hours spent scrolling through job boards, the numerous takes on your video resume and the nights you stayed home to take part in an industry Twitter chat have all been leading up to this moment: You have a job interview with your dream company. Congratulations!

Take a moment to savor in your victory, but make sure it's just a moment. After all, there are still plenty of ways you can screw up this huge opportunity and lose out on the job of your dreams. Now is not the time for complacency. With an average of 118 applications for every open position being posted, it's a good bet you're not the only superstar candidate who made it to the next level.

Your resume, credentials, and networking powers have gotten you this far. But now it's time for the interview, which means a different sort of preparation. If you want to really kill it in the interview, whether that interview is in-person or through online video, here are some things you need to think about.

The Obvious: Dress to Impress

This might seem like old news, but just because it's obvious doesn't mean it's not important. You need to dress to impress when it comes to your interview. If your interview is through online video, you might think you can dress down a bit and worry a little less, but this certainly isn't true! Dress just as nicely as you would for an in-person meeting.

You'll also want to pay attention to the colors you choose before heading out the door or turning on your webcam. This isn't a fashion show, and some colors won't be right for an important job interview. You'll want to stick to conservative and neutral colors like browns and blacks. If you want to throw a little color in there, think about green, which is the color of money and can send a subconscious message that you'll be able to bring real dollar value to the company. Stay away from bright primary colors like red and yellow because you want your interviewer focused on your words, not your outfit.

However, if everyone is running around the company in t-shirts and jeans, it might be tempting to wear your best sneakers to the interview. But, keep in mind that you want to make a professional first impression, and always dress for a position several notches above the one for which you're interviewing. If you're interviewing at a creative, casual agency, make sure the attire you settle on is professional and conservative (although perhaps don't show up looking like a Wall Street power broker). Wait until you're hired to show off your more fashionable and fun side.

The Extra Mile

Now that you've decided on your interview attire, it's time to dig deeper into the organization. Read the company's stated values and objectives on its website. Search on the web and in trade publications to see if the company has achieved anything noteworthy recently, whether an industry award or opening a new branch. Look at the larger issues in the overall industry and compare your company of choice to see how they stack up. All of this research can give you great ideas for tailored questions to ask about the organization when the interviewer turns the floor over to you at the end of the meeting.

Perhaps another employee's experience can help you avoid a huge misstep or prepare you better for tricky questions. Ask questions on social sharing sites like Quora and LinkedIn Answers to see what experiences others have had at the company. You might also want to see what users have posted about the company on Glassdoor, where employees and candidates alike go to share information about companies from interview tips to salary ranges.

You can also use social media to connect with current and former employees to get the inside scoop. Send a polite message asking the contact if they have time to discuss the company and then pick their brains about the organization. This will help you get a better view of what the day-to-day life would be like at your dream job. Make sure you ask good questions, but always be tactful. You don't want to phrase your questions too negatively for fear you'll get evasive answers.

You might also want to consider asking those current and former employees you connected with about their working relationship with the boss. The leadership style of the boss can really impact the company culture, whether negatively or positively, so this is important information to know before heading into your interview. You want to enjoy your job, after all, which might be hard if you're managed by The Office's Michael Scott.

Finally, it's also important to do some research into your interviewer. Look them up on the web, read their company bio and find them on social media. Their social media presence might even help you gain insight into their interview style. Will they be more conversational or stay by-the-book and stick to their questions? Looking at an interviewer's social media profile can help you gauge how to interact with them in the interview setting. Plus, social media can help you connect with your interviewer before ever stepping foot in the office. You can share an interesting article or even discuss a recent trend to make a connection before the job interview begins.

The Curve Balls

Companies from Google to Amazon like to use tough questions to get candidates turned around during the interview process. This is because companies want to see how well you think on your feet under pressure. If you get a question about filling a bus with golf balls or what kind of animal you would be, don't panic.

Make sure your answer has some form of real-world value and show the employer how you think through a problem. For the animal example, you might say you'd love to be a cat because you like to work independently and set your own goals. You've now answered the question and brought it back to your own skills and qualifications, instead of just providing a wacky answer.

The most important thing to remember with tough questions is to always remain calm and collected. If you seem like you're going to pieces, the interviewer will think you can't handle the stresses of the office.

The Questions You Absolutely Must Ask

It's just as important for you to use the interview to find out about the company as it is for the employer to test you. Here are five questions you should make sure you ask to discover a little bit about the company culture before mentally decorating your office.

What do you like best about working for the company?

The answer to this question will tell you a lot about the company culture and the interviewer in general, which is important if your interviewer is also destined to become your boss. If the things they name off sound completely unappealing to you, this is probably not an organization you'll enjoy spending your 9-to-5.

How would you describe your company culture in five words?

This question might seem a bit obvious, but it's also helpful in learning just what the company values. The five words your interviewer chooses will most likely be the most important and prevalent aspects of the company culture.

What is the growth opportunity like for this position?

You want to have room to grow, learn and achieve in your new position. Asking about growth opportunity is both a good way to find out how much you can achieve and also brand yourself as a forward-thinking candidate. If the interviewer is a little light on details for how you can grow in the position or acquire additional education and training, perhaps career growth isn't in the cards at this company.

What are the qualities of your most successful employees?

This question will tell you the most important qualities you should possess in order to succeed in the company environment. For instance, maybe the ability to multi-task and thrive in a chaotic environment is essential. Or perhaps the ability to work as a team and communicate clearly is key. Listen carefully to these ideal qualities and consider what they reveal about the overall organization to see if you'd fit in.

What's a common misconception about the company you would like to clear up?

Almost every company is the victim of common misconceptions, whether it's about the company itself, the larger industry, or a specific department. For instance, a startup company might seem like all fun and games from the outside, but this just covers up the long hours and high stress levels of employees. Don't let perks like free lunch or an office gym stop you from finding out what life is really like at the organization. Your interviewer's answer will tell you both how the outside world views the organization and also how the company views itself.

There's plenty to remember before heading in for your important interview. If you follow this guide, you'll dramatically increase your chance of killing it in your interview and finally landing your dream job.

via mashable.com

Creating A Professional Online Presence Is Crucial For Today's Job Market: Here's How

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Let’s face it, the job market is becoming more and more competitive. Although I unfortunately haven’t experienced other job markets around the globe, I would imagine that no matter where you live, getting noticed is becoming more and more difficult. Employers are now going towards the online application process, limiting the amount of face-to-face contact.

It’s one of the shortfalls of the Internet, but how can you use the Internet and technology to your advantage to stand out instead of being looked over and forgotten?

Many people often think that the “Internet stuff” is just for technology careers and young people, but it’s not. There are many cases where having a solid online presence has proven beneficial to people of all ages and industries.

It All Starts With The Right Mentality

Just like anything, creating a professional online presence starts with a firm purpose and a mentality that you will give it your best shot. You can’t just start a “blog”, never publish any solid content and then expect to attract potential career opportunities. No – you need to have a vision and a purpose for what you hope to gain.

Also, despite your efforts, you’ll likely not see immediate results. It may take several months before you start seeing the benefits of creating your online presence.

So, Why Should I Create A Professional Online Presence?

So if you won’t see results right away and it takes a lot of effort and vision and purpose… why even do it? Why not just put that same effort and time towards other things that might yield a quicker return? Because effort shows. And vision shows. To who? Your potential employers, career contacts and people who share the same passion and interests as you.

How does that phrase go again? It’s not what you know, it’s who you know? Yes. That’s it! Well, that’s what creating an online presence is all about. Some people have accidentally fallen into a career by doing this without really “trying” and have become very successful. However, for many (and probably the majority) it takes a lot of effort, but also quite a bit of know-how.

Alright, I Want To Do This! Now How Do I Go About It?

There are several things you need to do to achieve your goal of creating a professional online presence. But as you read this, don’t look at it each of these as individual things you have the option of doing. Instead, think of all of them as just a piece of the whole picture. Without one part, the picture isn’t complete.

Don’t Share Anything You Don’t Want EVERYONE To See

This is the golden rule with social media and there is never an exception. Perhaps you’ve heard about the recent mishap with Randi Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder’s sister and previous marketing director, who posted a personal photo which someone then posted to Twitter. Many of the original tweets about this have been deleted, but you can read the full story on CNBC, BuzzFeed and other news sites.

In response to all of this, Randi Zuckerberg shared a valid thought:

Digital etiquette: always ask permission before posting a friend's photo publicly. It's not about privacy settings, it's about human decency

She then replied to a follower inquiring about why she posted that:

25 Dec 12

@randizuckerberg What made you post this?

@monicawharton I think people often forget that there is a human on the other end of a post or tweet! Sometimes they need reminding :)

To which Buzz Bishop responded:

Yes, Randi is right – we should be courteous of each other and that certainly is essential in creating a professional online presence, but we can’t assume others will do the same for us! Thus, we must adopt the rule that we won’t post or share anything that we don’t want everyone to see.

Will this photo ruin Randi’s professional presence online or her career? No. But what if she made the mistake with a much more personal photo or status? We never know the future or potential consequences for what we do, so it’s best to play it safe.

For more information, check out the article Clean Up Your Facebook Account Before You Go Looking For Work.

Be Open & Share Your Interests, Skills & Passions

Alright so now that I’ve pounded that in, I’m going to go on the contrary to say that you need to be open about yourself. Some people aren’t comfortable with this and although I think that it somewhat has to do with personality, I think the primary reason why they aren’t is simply because they don’t have a solid understanding of the word “open”.  This doesn’t mean you put all of your life’s secrets on the Internet – just let people know who you are, what you do and hope to do, and why you do it.

There are many ways to go about doing this and I recommend combining some of them. Sure one or two might suffice and stand alone by themselves, but when using the techniques in this article, combined with multiple platforms, you will have a much better chance of achieving your goals, meeting more people, all while doing it quicker than if you were to just use one method.

Create a Personal Website &/Or Blog

If you’re like me (or were like me), you read that title and thought to yourself:

Ugh. I can’t make a website. What would I put on it? I don’t even know code! Plus, it’s too expensive.

I’ll tell you this – I thought that exact same thing. That is until the spring of 2012 when I read Thomas Frank’s article The Ultimate Guide To Building A Personal Website. His article is geared towards the student because his blog, College Info Geek, is obviously geared towards students. But like many of his other articles, the same advice can be applied to you if you aren’t a student.

At the very beginning he states 4 reasons why you need to build a website. It’s too long to quote, but if you found yourself saying those things above, you need to read his article – I guarantee it’ll change your perspective. Of course, it’s not just about the why, but the how too, which his article covers in depth flawlessly.

In June and April of 2012, we shared our own advice in creating your own website without any coding skills with sites like About.me, Flavors.me, Sidengo and others.

An Example Of An About.Me Page

I personally believe that WordPress is the best platform to build your website on and although knowing some code might help you, you don’t need to know any to get a basic personal website running – you can always learn how to code for free later. Also, as a quick note, I used to be very intimidated by WordPress – I honestly don’t know why. I created this huge mountain of doubt about why I couldn’t use it. But after reading Thomas Frank’s article, I jumped into it and realized how simple and easy it really is. If you’re having those same doubts, I encourage you to first read his article and, second, jump into it!

If you don’t want to fork over the money (although it’s not much) now for a website domain and hosting, you can always start with a blog. We’ve covered how to get started with a blog on WordPress as well as providing you 5 tips for starting your own personal blog, both of which are excellent resources I encourage you to read and save for future reference.

Find Your Niche In The Social Media Community

So you’ve created your website and blog, now you’re thinking, how do I let the right people know about it?

It’s one thing to tell your friends and family about your blog, but sadly, they aren’t the ones who are really going to benefit you or even care. They might read it occasionally because, well, they know you and they want to show you their support. But they aren’t the ones who are going to aid you in your goal of building your professional online presence. However, they are better than none. So don’t feel like you shouldn’t tell them about it – they just might be interested or even be able to help.

Family aside though, how do you find your niche? Well, first you have to know your niche. What is your blog or website going to be about? I feel you should focus it on you, but if you have additional interests, it might not be a bad idea to create blogs and websites for those too, depending on what they are. Such niches might be cooking, travel, politics, art, photography, film making – the list goes on.

Using Thomas Frank as an example, his niche is college students, thus he runs a very successful blog/website called College Info Geek.

After you have settled what your niche is going to be (it shouldn’t be hard as you should already have an idea what you like and don’t like), go out and network, finding people along the way who have the same interests as you. Remember what I was talking about being open and sharing your skills, interests and passions? This is where it comes into play. There are several mediums which you can achieve this on and I recommend using several, if not all, of them.

  • LinkedIn – the ultimate professional profile
  • Twitter – find people with your same interests, passions and skills
  • Facebook – everyone uses it, don’t forget about making those career-specific posts public
  • Tumblr – a very social blogging platform, great for creating a community
  • Quora – create a name and reputation in your area of expertise by answering questions
  • Pinterest – excellent for creative types such as photography, art, etc.
  • Google+ – still young, but is starting to build communities in several niches

Of course there are many more. For example, if you’re an author you might consider Goodreads or if you’re a videographer or actor you might consider YouTube or Vimeo.

Again, it may take a while to build an audience and find people to interact with, but by constantly using the services you will find new ways to integrate them into your life and create your own system and style.

Blogging & Guest Blogging

Blogging is a medium all in itself. I mentioned Tumblr above, but there are so many platforms which you can blog on. Of course, there’s the famous WordPress, which you probably already know of. It’s really all about what you are most comfortable with. Personally, I’ve used many of them and I really never could decide which one was my favorite, so I have blogs on Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress and previously Posterous. They’re all great.

What’s more important is using your blog as a tool. Once you start creating posts and meeting other bloggers and contacts in your niche, consider guest blogging. Sometimes it pays, but the reward is far better than the small amount of cash that you’ll make with your post. It’s about connections and getting out there. When you establish a connection not only with fellow bloggers, but their readers too, that is when the connecting begins. Remember me mentioning Twitter? Most bloggers have a Twitter account – use it to keep in contact with them.

Communicate With Your Followers & Those You Follow

Creating a website, blog, social media accounts, content, contacts, etc. does you no good if you don’t communicate. You must communicate. Whether this be through social media, email, blog comments, whatever – it is essential to follow through with your followers and fans. If you don’t, you’ll be forgotten and they will move on to others who are more responsive and value them more.

This isn’t just about the average subscriber to your blog. I’m talking about career prospects and people who can make a difference for you – don’t ignore them, no matter how trivial it might seem.

Conclusion

Again, don’t look at each of these things as individual steps. Yes, each of them start out as little steps, but you can’t do without any of them – they’re all essential to your success of creating a professional online presence.

Each of these things I bring with personal experience, whether it was something I did or didn’t do. I wouldn’t consider myself even close to creating the online presence I want, but each day I strive to do a little bit to get closer.

Have you started to create your professional online presence? Why were you moved to do so? How have you seen its impact on your career?

Image Credits: Young woman looking up at world map via Shutterstock, Young man choosing profession on transparent touchscreen via Shutterstock, It’s all in the mind via Shutterstock, Businessman pressing modern social buttons on a virtual background via Shutterstock, Businesswoman pressing modern social buttons on a virtual background via Shutterstock

via makeuseof.com

4 Things to Leave Off Your Resume

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Brie Weiler Reynolds

Brie Weiler Reynolds is the content and social-media manager at FlexJobs, the award-winning site for telecommuting and flexible job listings, and a former career advisor. At FlexJobs, Reynolds offers job seekers career and work-life balance advice through the FlexJobs blog and social media.

One area of job searching that confounds plenty of job seekers is what to include on a resume. Include too much information, and you’ll lose recruiters in unimportant details. But, with too little information, recruiters won’t be sure you’re qualified for the next step in the process.

Since most job seekers have excessive information on their resume and don’t know what to eliminate, let’s start with four things you can always leave off of it. These tips will help you better organize your information, and present it in a format that is easy-to-read and quickly understandable for recruiters.

1. An "objective.” This is the statement at the top of a resume that tells an employer what you're looking for -- but it’s got to go. They already know you're interested in their job, so it's unnecessary. Instead, use a "summary of qualifications" to introduce employers to your most relevant skills and experience, and to show them exactly how your experience can fit their needs.

2. Unrelated awards, hobbies and interests. Our CEO once had a job seeker who claimed to be a "pig-wrestling champion" on his resume, which is a great accomplishment, I'm sure. But it had nothing to do with the job he applied for, and it distracted from the rest of his qualifications. Unless it directly adds to your qualifications for the job or helps the employer see how you fit with their company culture (for example, if you’re applying to an outdoor apparel company and you are an avid hiker, that’s a hobby that matches their culture), leave it off your resume.

3. Too much formatting. Keep your resume simple, so recruiters can read it quickly and easily. Don't use bold, italics and underlines all at once. Don't use more than one font, and be consistent in the way you present information. Bulleted lists are much easier to read than paragraphs. Keep your resume single-spaced, and shrink your margins to a half inch. You’ll be surprised at how much space poor formatting can take up on your resume, pushing it far longer than it needs to be.

4. Lists of tasks for each job. Instead of telling recruiters what you did at your past jobs, tell them what you accomplished -- what were the overarching results of your day-to-day tasks? Rather than rewriting your job description, tell recruiters how you did what you did and why it made a difference to your employer and customers.

What you leave off of your resume can be just as important as what you include, so make sure that precious real estate is taken up with relevant, well-stated, interesting information. Recruiters should be able to check off their list of qualifications easily by reading your resume, and come away with a sense of who you are and the value you can bring to their company.

via mashable.com

When You Can’t Get Anything Done… Do One Thing. | Time Management Ninja

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Sometimes you don’t feel like doing anything.

When you find yourself not in the zone… what do you do?

How do you get things done when you don’t feel like doing anything?

Not Getting Anything Done

The other night I found myself unable to get anything done.

I was tired. Energy levels were low.

My mind just wanted to shut down for the day.

Yet, I had 2 hours of free time on my hands and a todo list a mile long.

I was having trouble getting motivated to do anything.

“When you least ‘want’ to do something, is often when you most ‘need’ to take action.”

Determined to get something done… (anything really)…  I picked up one small task.

I figured if I couldn’t get anything else done, I would do just this one task.

Just One Task

I forced myself into doing that one task.

It was a low effort task. It could be done in a few minutes.

It involved scanning a 1-page receipt and emailing it to a colleague.

Within a few minutes it was done. Scanned, emailed, and finished.

It felt good to cross even one item off my todo list.

Glancing at my list, I soon found a few other items that I was interested in addressing.

I was soon doing some related tasks. An expense report. Answering several emails. And more.

You could say that once I got myself in motion, I stayed in motion.

One Thing Done, What’s Next? 

When you find yourself unable to get anything done, try focusing on getting just one thing done.

Sometimes you can’t get it all done, but you can get one thing done.

One-at-a-time. That is how progress is made.

Question: What one thing can you get done today?

via timemanagementninja.com