110% digital career search

go with the flow

2012-01-02T18:36:00.000-05:00

Batman had Robin -- The Lone Ranger had Tonto -- Maverick had Goose

What do we have? LinkedIn. Yes, Constant Online Reader, I said LinkedIn. It's our pal, our support, our access to takin' care-o-business. We are once again looking at LinkedIn.

[come on, this is an online job search blog. how do we not talk about linkedin a zillion times?]

Lets combine the conversation about video webcasts and this months topic of LinkedIn. I recently found out that LinkedIn does a free webinar about maximizing your LinkedIn profile for job search purposes. In advance, I will say that I feel this webinar is offered to promote one of LinkedIn's products - Job Seeker Premium. Shameless promotion aside, there is still value to be had in this 60 minute shake down. Here's a few of my take aways (and no, once more, I do not work for LinkedIn):

There's 120 million professionals using LinkedIn.
There are 1 million company profiles.
For employer and search engine purposes - your profile must contain key words, key words, key words. Can't say it enough - KEY WORDS! Your profile needs to be content rich with the language of your industry and desired position. You will be indexed and ranked accordingly.
Check out the competition. Search for your doppelgangers at other companies and see how they are positioning themselves. Strive to be the key word/content king of the castle.
The presenter shared that the standard for community engagement on LinkedIn is to comment and connect at least one to three times weekly.

There's more to mention but really that's what the free webinar is for - so have at it.

moving forward

2011-12-01T13:21:00.001-05:00

Can you hear the holiday music playing? It's my retail opinion that the Halloween costumes aren't even out of the store before you can hear Bing busting out those warm and fuzzy Christmas carols. Although this post is not sponsored by your local shopping mall, there is a gifting message for you. Give the gift of a job ~ or at least a job recommendaaion. Some of you might be aware that HR departments give employee rewards for referrals that result in sustained employment. That can be upwards of a couple hundred or thousand bucks. Hellooooo holiday presents.

~OR~

There is a new website that makes job gifting a breeze. It's called Top Prospect. Just found this sucker and it looks like a great way to look through your friends and match them up with open job positions which could result in YOU getting a little green (cash that is, not envy).

Point, click, and connect your way to good career karma. Yes, this does get your buddy a job but ask them to return the favor. Call it a holiday present. Now you don't have to regift the loud Christmas sweater crazy aunt Suzie gave you 'cause you are low on financial resources.

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'E' for Employment.

rome wasn't built in a day

2011-11-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

Have you ever read Moby Dick? I did for school. Was not a fan. Was a little slow for my little attention span. Wish I had the cliff notes. Today, however, I can share with you the cliff notes version of a recent job search event I went to.

The Advertising Women of NY, or AWNY, is a local, professional association that has brought tremendous value to my life. The association has a career development arm that offered an event this month that focused on digital job searching. [would have been cool if they really took on the digital theme and streamed the event online]

I saved my job search shekels and $35 later was registered for the two hour event. Half hour was spent networking and an hour listening to a panel talk about online job searching. Pammy Brooks from 24/7 Real Media (moderator), Rochelle Geller from Rochelle Geller Associates, MaryAlice Almendinger from Google, and Virginia Hanchar from Mediacom composed the expert panel. Here's what the ladies had to share about online job searching:

PB - 24/7 Real Media

LinkeIn is a game changer.

RG - Rochelle Geller Associates

LinkedIn is a great resource to use when romancing a company.
Just because LinkedIn is available and convenient is not a reason to present an informal or unprofessional side.
Right now hiring managers are looking for big picture thinkers and in the weeds workers.
When delivering the experience of you, consider your intuitive and empathic sense of self.

VH - Mediacom

Aim for positively assertive when following up on a job interview.
Researching a company gives a candidate competence and confidence.
Take the time (or money) to have a complete online profile created to represent you.
Don't underestimate your relationships with people. It's like managing an PR campaign for yourself.

MA - Google

When Google gets a resume, a real person reviews it.
Aim to make all your communications powerful and valuable.
Don't apply for multiple positions at one company at one time.
We use key words to create boolean searches for qualified candidates.
Google looks for four things in a candidate: experience, cognitive ability, leadership in your professional or personal life, and "Googliness".
A candidate will be considered questionable if we see inconsistencies across resumes and online profiles.

fail to plan and plan to fail

2011-10-13T15:14:00.000-04:00

We all wanna make a buck. How do you do that quickly and with integrity?

No, honestly, I am asking YOU. How do you do did?

[email me if you have the answer - I promise a profit split]

Professional coaches have decided to accomplish this is by offering free seminars. Coaches are doing this to attract potential clients and gain back end percentages or fees. What does this mean to you, my digital career connecting crew? YOU can get FREE guidance and inspiration. Here's the deal...

Consultants and coaches offer no cost seminars over the phone or online video about a variety topics that might interest you. Here's a couple career-cash examples:

WouldYouHireYourself.com

Dan Jessup, Groupon’s Head of People Strategy, discusses precisely how candidates can attract attention in fast-growth markets and land their ideal job.
Jean Allen, partner at top search firm Heidrick & Struggles, is a veteran financial services recruiter and she discusses how she has seen candidates succeed in the job search so you can land the position you want at the company you want
Dr. Ivan Misner, Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world’s largest networking organization, shares cutting-edge networking strategies to broaden and strengthen your networks.

SoulAndProsperityEntrepreneurs.com

Sage Lavine, Unlock your Purpose & Make Money Living It!
Rha Goddess, Live Your Dream Now! How to Stay True, Get Paid, Do Good
Pam Slim and Desiree Adaway, Partnerships: How to join forces with other business owners, non-profits and sponsors-for impact, for influence, for profit, and to change the world.

These are just a few examples of video and tele-summits offered recently. The key to this free, value loaded info session is to participate live. If you miss the session then you more then likely have 24-48 hours to catch the recording. After that time, it'll cost you, usually around $50 for the series. Considering you can participate from anywhere there is a phone or computer and it only takes an hour and an email address ~ why not give it a try?

Let us know if you find a series you really like.

expect what you inspect

2011-09-20T16:25:00.013-04:00

I heart this online job search idea.

Let me introduce you to Bianca Cadloni. Bianca likes Chipotle, employment, and social media. Her online recipe for job success is to build the Bianca brand around her skills and interests. In this case, we're talkin' 140 bytes of burrito. Yup, this Mexican lovin' maven is tweeting her way into a job.

“When I saw the job listing for social media and public relations coordinator, my heart skipped a beat. It was as if my love of PR, social media and Chipotle came together to give birth to the job description I had been dreaming of since I took my first bite of a sustainable chicken taco. ” - Bianca Cadloni

Bianca has developed a personal website that reflects Chipotle's look and feel. This whole idea is a great way to approach a job search. What brands do you love? Is there a place who's flair or flavor you would consider becoming a champion for? If you could campaign and win entry, what brand would you embrace?

The business world would be a more *spicy* place if we could all go to work for our BFF brand.

don't put your eggs all in one basket

2011-08-17T14:36:00.004-04:00

:-) = happy

:O) = clown

vizualize.me = new resume

We can all thank Eugene Woo for translating us from boring text versions of ourselves into fascinating infographics of ourselves. Yes friends, soon (it's in beta) there will be a web app that generates an infographic of your resume based on your LinkedIn profile. Vizualize.me is the key to a new colorful career.

Check out what Vizualize.me whips Woo's wesume to wook wike ;-P

Wouldn't use this as the primary source of career collateral but it's a fun supplement especially if your chosen field uses visual flair. It's free and within a couple clicks you could see your working history in a whole new way!

it's crunch time

2011-07-30T10:28:00.005-04:00

Think Amazon's 1-Click ordering. Think social media buttons at the bottom of any internet article. Now think online job submission. This digital combo is LinkedIn's recent attempt at streamlining the web employment process.

“Our goal with Apply With LinkedIn is to help every professional put their best foot forward, anywhere across the web when they take that leap to apply for a new position,” - Jonathan Seitel, LinkedIn Technical Product Manager

Reviews are mixed about the Pros and Cons.

PROS

*Helps potential employees hit application volume numbers faster.

*3 clicks to application and 0 cover letter.

*Uniform and searchable submission data for employers.

CONS

*Mass employee impulse applications.

*Employees in the relationship building process are being undermined. Eroding LinkedIn's job board point-of-difference that it creates personal and direct connections from employee to employer.

*Increased time and money waste for employers having to sift through an even larger applicant pool. Good candidates getting the boot because there are too many considerations.

Technology help or hinderance? You decide.

the whole nine yards

2011-06-26T14:37:00.011-04:00

Do you like me? Yes, it's my un-answerable question BUT in the new age of social media measuring, "like-ability" is all the online rage. Tell me what you think - is at the tip of our digital tongues. User reviews can tip the scale when it comes time to make a decision. In this day and age, you can Google 'best nyc hamburger' [editorial side note - I pick the Original 5 Napkin Burger, although I do like the S.S.] and make your choice based on the quality and quantity of ranked consumer stars. Example)

How does this relate to online job searching? Let me introduce you to Indeed.com where you can read and write reviews about employers. Consider adding to your job research what past employees say about working in an organization. Consider letting future job applicants know what your experience was with a particular company. For example, the company Reputation Institute looks like it has some work to do...

In this time of consumer generated media, I ask you friends, take to the internet and help a user out. Let us know where the great company culture exists or tell us about the never ending TPS reports.

Log on and unleash.

everthing from soup to nuts

2011-05-12T13:11:00.000-04:00

Act One - Scene One

Employer:

Thank you for coming in today. We'll let you know about our next steps.

You:

Great, thank you. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Act One - Scene Two

[You are done with your interview. You really want the job. You are sitting there in your new suite and wondering what's next.]

----------------------------

Say it with me folks, THANK YOU NOTE.

Yes, you are psyched up that you had a great connection with your potential next boss. You are cool with the commute. You've even crossed out your bosses name on the business card he/she gave you and written in your own. This could be it. Your next job.

Only you don't get it. Why? Because you were one of the 22 percent of people who didn't write a follow-up thank you note. CareerBuilder released a survey that shared, "more than one-in-five (22 percent) hiring managers say they are less likely to hire a candidate if they don’t send a thank-you note after an interview".

Good news my electronic community, 89 percent of hiring managers say sending this follow-up acknowledgement through email is cool. Heck, 50 percent prefer it! I know you are disappointed about having just bought a bunch of forever stamps. Write your mom instead. 'Cause an email is a quicker, cost effective way of becoming a real contender for employment.

Consider the following best practices before you press Send:

send it immediately after the interview
thank the employer for the interview
restate your interest in the position
give one or two keys reasons why you feel you are the best candidate for the job

-END SCENE-

as clear as mud

2011-04-06T12:00:00.006-04:00

Remember grade school? Remember getting back your test results in math, history, or science class? Remember wishing with every fiber of your little kid heart that you did well and got a gold star? 95 questions right - 5 questions wrong. Sure you did a good job but 5 questions were wrong. I believe this is the beginning of focusing on The Wrong instead of The Right. We spend more time looking at our weakness then our strengths.

To be clear, I love looking at the wrong and fixing it. It's part of my Restorative strengths. My Restorative strength has been identified through Gallup StrengthFinder assessment. This online resource tool is "based on a 40-year study of human strengths, Gallup created a language of the 34 most common talents and developed the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment to help people discover and describe these talents. The goal was to start a global conversation about what's right with people."

In the book, authors share that people should basically give up what they don't do well and focus on their strengths. The assessment takes 20 minutes. In the end you get a report on your strengths. My top five are: Restorative, Futuristic, Command, Intellection, and Input. What are yours?

Once you know your strengths, revisit your resume and online candidate profiles. This is a whole new context to reframe what you do well. More then likely, your happiest or most productive times at work involve you using your strengths. Your next move is to build success stories around your strengths and share.

Holler your online communities (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) about your next success story, emphasizing your strengths in the workplace and the positive impact of your results. Give prospective employers something to chew on. Demonstrate your value. Celebrate your accomplishments.

comparing apples to oranges

2011-03-31T16:29:00.005-04:00

Did you go to college? I did, Ohio (think Bobcat not Buckeye) and Columbia University. Let's go back to those good old college days. Regardless if you went for the education or experience - your affiliation can still pay off. Most schools have a career department you can access online.

Pictured above is the online presence for Columbia's Career Education department. This web resource is an untapped gold mine for Employers, Students, Alumni, Faculty & Admin, and Parents. We're looking at Columbia's site but check out your own institution of higher learning. In fact, check out any universities online career resource section. Not all college websites are password protected. Anyone is free to jump online and avail themselves of the resources and recommendations.

The website College Prowler issues a report card to universities based on their career centers. Pick one of these A+ collage career centers for more EDU JOB support. Within these electronic education employment areas are tools like: online assessment tests, exclusive job boards, community directories, and webinars to name a few.

What's your online alma mater look like?

finally in your element

2011-02-26T15:33:00.007-05:00

Getting a job can be such hard work. Isn't there an easier way?

Indeed there is, Constant Online Reader! Winning it.

In this day and age, winning a person, place, or thing is not out of the question. Heck someone can win a chance to meet David Beckham. Someone can win a trip to Mexico. Someone can even win an iPod.

{Wouldn't it be great to win all three?! I can just picture me now ~ ~ sitting on a beach in Mexico, listening to my iPod while my companion, David Beckham, turns his head and smiles at me. Sigh, I don't even need a frozen concoction to help me hang on ~ ~}

Outside of fantasy land, real people like Chris Michalak and Colleen Lewis, are big winners. Job winners that is. Really and truly, Chris and Colleen found out about a career contest, submitted, and won. Chris was offered a softwear engineering position at Interactive Brokers. Colleen was awarded a field scout gig at Glacier National Park for BACKPACKER magazine. There are lots of candidate contestants out there like Chris and Collen. Are you one of them?

No joke, popular prankster Ashton Kutcher is looking for second chair to his position as President of Pop Culture. If you are a social networking, salty dog or BBQ Betty, YOU might be the perfect person for the Popchips position.

After all people, all I can say about this is - it's a harsh job market. We gotta do whatever we can. We gotta work hard for the money, so hard for the money.

take it with a grain of salt

2011-01-05T12:19:00.003-05:00

Among us brothers and sisters are people who HAVE jobs but are looking for something else. Perhaps daunted with the yo-yo unemployment numbers - they stay in bad working relationships. Feel for these employed but burdened brethren because Big Brother is on their back.

JT and Dale, at King Features, recently received a question from a job seeker that demonstrates why we should not covet thy neighbors job:

I am currently in a position I hate, working for an employer I dislike. I want to look for a new job while I have a job, but I have a challenge: My company uses some sort of service that notifies them as soon as someone posts a resume on a big job site using the company name. So how do I go about looking for a job when my current job will be in immediate jeopardy?

Yikes, right?! The crew at Talk Jobs subscribes to a Fishbowl Assumption theory that everyone finds out everything. Their advise? Go into stealth mode when looking and be prepared with a well-rehearsed "surprisey-face" or cover story for plausible deniability purposes.

Good recommendations just the same. Have a read...

the lion's share of the work

2010-12-26T12:44:00.005-05:00

00001100001010100001000110000101010100010

That is binary code for - A New Job is Just Around the Corner. Ok, my binary code writing is a little rusty but it STILL represents some kind of data.

Making sense of Internet data, namely your online resume, is a huge undertaking for HR folks. To aid them in their search for the best-fitting candidate, many are employing technology that uses a semantic program to evaluate the enormous volume of resume data. To explain…

Scenario: pretend for a moment that you have a job. You’re an HR person and you need to match up an open job position you have with hundreds or thousands of candidates. Feeling a little ~ needle in a haystack?

Solution A: you spend weeks and weeks wading though resumes looking for top contenders.

Solution B: you spend a couple hours looking through resumes that have been selected for you by a resume semantics program.

Survey says – Solution B.

Alternatively…

You remember those 2D cartoons - fun, colorful, and entertaining but a flat visual compared to 3D. Think of the currently popular 3D CG animated films that literally jump off the screen and blow your mind. The 3D/CG example is the semantic programs for HR folks. It’s not JUST pinging keywords (2D). Semantic programs are making contextual relevance of your resume position descriptions (3D). This will yield HR personal better candidate results for open positions. Do yourself a favor folks and create context in your resume, the 3D version of you on paper, so that the hiring programs and people can find you.

let's agree to disagree

2010-11-30T15:32:00.004-05:00

Facebook. Reason #862 why you didn't apply to that job yesterday. Getting on the massive time suck site can really veer a job seeker off course. Never fear my employment challenged friends, a sweet justification is near! Monster.com's FB page hosts many 'getting hired' handy tools.

Last month the company asked jobseekers to submit questions about jobs and the economy they’d like to have answered by the White House. Although there is a ton of responses already, it's been said that the most interesting questions (most "likes") will actually be answered by the WH. Bring it Barack.

Need a couple more justifications to spend time on FB that don't include stalking your ex?

Connect with the almost 11,500 people who dig Monster
Get informed and entertained by the nearly 60 videos
Find job events near you
Trash talk my old employer on the Wall (on second thought, skip that)

Maybe someday YOU could be on their Success Story tab.

water under the bridge

2010-10-26T16:33:00.006-04:00

WARNING: it might be too late for you!

Yes, it's true, LinkedIn has a new online career tool but it's only good for college students. Although this new career connector isn't for seasoned professionals, it still acts as a good exercise to understand where you are and to start navigating to where you want to be.

Currently, Career Explorer takes the person's educational degree and indicated industry and displays traditional entry-level jobs. Depending how large your LinkedIn universe is, Career Explorer will then show you people who have the job titles that match your academic and professional experience. Next step? You know it, you electronic social butterfly.

How does LinkedIn refine their new online functionality? Let college student bang around on it and see what's popular and what needs more work. Select colleges have been given access to test out the new tool. When it's ready, the whole LinkedIn community will get access and a new career path is just a hop, skip, and jump away.

let's cross that bridge when we get to it

2010-09-01T21:06:00.015-04:00

Good advise is good advise but for the ladies out there, these sites are female friendly AND a good resource for employment:

EVENTS

Dames Bond

The Boss Network

Women for Hire

ADVISE

James Has A Job

She Takes on the World

Works by Nicole Williams

SUPPORT GROUP/EMPLOYMENT CLUB

Waggle Force

Happy navigation and participation!

don't throw anyone under the bus

2010-07-15T17:38:00.003-04:00

HowIGotLaidOff.com is all I am going to say.

I know faithful readers, this is a blog about GETTING a job.

Well, sometimes we just need to blow off a little steam. Enjoy.

look at this from the 30,000 foot level

2010-06-22T15:10:00.005-04:00

With all this blog talk we haven't really gone near the idea of making your own blog creation. Yes, yes, online friends I feel your hands trembling on the keyboard. Create my own blog? Yes. For those of you who have made the online journaling commitment - good on you! For the late adopters... come on, the internet pool is nice and warm and ready for you.

Do you have an opinion about something? Are you passionate about an area in your life? Do you need a forum to complain about your less then stellar love life? Then share it. NO WAIT - don't share about that last one ~ unless you are ready to be Carrie Bradshaw 2.0. Let's keep it to our online career topic. The whole idea here is to show potential employers that you can write, have a unique point-of-view, and embrace digital technology.

Follow these steps and prove to yourself and the online universe that you CAN do it!

Choose what you want to write about
Pick an online resource - Blogger & WordPress are both FREE and work great
Determine some sort of publishing schedule - how often are you going to write
Populate your posting with images, video, and anything that makes for a rich experience
Start building your followers by asking friends and family to support your blog

The previous steps are incredibly simplified but it really is easy to set up and get going. There are also hundreds of sites, forums, and blogs that can coach you in blogging 101.

Still timid to try? Then YOU start following blogs that are already out there. After awhile you might even be so bold to comment on posting topics that interest you. This is a great way to start a conversation with pros in your chosen industry.

On your mark, GeT sEt, START BLOGGING!

knock the ball outta the park

2010-05-06T14:04:00.011-04:00

Folks, Twitter is still here. Despite the confusion about its utility, there are ways to bring Twitter into your life without having to dress in a big bird suite.

For our purposes, we'll stick to how Twitter can be your 411 for job searching. First at bat, your Twitter bio. IF people like recruiters and hiring managers check you out, let them and your following audience know you are on a job search. Don't forget to point to other elements of your online presence and capabilities. Include links to your personal .com, blog, LinkedIn profile, or portfolio like the one we talked about earlier on Visual CV.

Submitting for a job online can seem like there is no real HR person on the other side the Submit button. Twitter can give you access to the faceless folks who are looking for good talent everyday. Find HR recruiters at companies you are interested in working for and follow them. They are sure to tweet job avails as they come up and you'll be the first to know.

Next at bat, identify a company you would like to work for then look within "your" department. Find your potential boss and follow him or her. You'll get a good idea if this is the kind of person you would like to work for. This also provides you with talking points if you can score an interview with the person.

Another area within Twitter to consider are hashtags like #JobAdvice. Find out what is going on in your industry and contribute back with interesting insights. Don't forget the law of Giving and Receiving. If you need a job - help others find one. If you come upon a Tweet for a sweet gig but it doesn't jive with what you are up to - pass it on to someone who could benefit from the posting.

Last at bat, take it easy on what you inform the world about. Yes, I would like to hear about an interesting job you found NOT what your cat just dropped off in the litter box.

It's your turn on deck friend.

let's pick the low hanging fruit

2010-04-21T16:38:00.007-04:00

It's QR time. What's that you say? You don't have your QR code on you? Oh right, you just left it in your other bag. OR maybe you don't HAVE a QR code. Sans or con code, its arrived on the shores of America and YOU could use one. What am I talking about? I am talking about a two-dimensional bar code that was created in Japan. The "Quick Response" code captures information in a cryptic looking image so that it can be shared, mobile, and referenced quickly and easily. What we are talking about here is the image on the left. How it works is by taking your URL, maybe your LinkedIn profile or your online portfolio www, and using a free QR site to generate this image for you. That's all you need.

How are these codes used? Business cards. Hear me out. Yes you are looking for a job but you can still have business cards. There are a couple of companies out there that offer these business cards for free. [Note, they drop their brand name in small point on the back of the cards.] The QR idea being, add your customized QR code to your business card and the next time you are at a networking function, forget your portfolio, it's on your card! Some smart phones, like the Google Android, use the camera to scan and reference the image. Alternatively, people like recruiters also have personal scanners that allow them to quickly reference these codes that can point to vast amounts of data.

The only Q I have for U is - will you try it? Let me know!

we've got to get our basic blocking and tackling down

2010-02-25T16:03:00.004-05:00

How is the job search going folks? If you are like many people, it's going ~ eha. I am here to tell you to stop consulting your magic eight ball and try a more reliable source. Indeed.com has a job trend tool that will help. I typed "blogger" into the tool. As you can see below, I would have gotten no love the summer of '05. Fast forward several years and you can see that my options for getting paid to blog are much greater. Sigh, if I only used the Monetize tab in my Blogger template. Never! How do your job interests trend?

"blogger" Job Trends

"blogger" jobs

The tool might not be able to look into the future but the data it reviews and predicts upon could be more helpful then looking into a black water filled plastic ball. Trust me, All Signs Point To Yes.

eat the elephant one bite at a time

2010-01-25T14:02:00.005-05:00

Greetings Friends,

Just finished my thesis. Sorry its been awhile. Let's see what is happening out there in the world of online job employment...

Looks like Marian Schembari made headlines with her personal online ad campaign. The focus of the campaign? Herself.

For 150 bucks the college grad bought ads on Facebook that were targeted to the industry she wanted a job in. Although publishers (the target audience) took note, ultimately Marian landed a gig in PR. With that kind of online promotion initiative, I'm not surprised.

How would your FB ad read?

Digital MarCom Strategist for hire!

I'm Nikki. I recently got my masters from Columbia. My dream is to work in the health and well being industry. Can you help?

let's not beat a dead horse

2009-08-11T16:19:00.006-04:00

Online Job Tool #862

PEOPLE, PeOpLe, people. Do I have the answer for you! Remember that "potential" boss you had an interview with that never got back to you? Payback, err - make that feedback, time is here.

The folks at EmailYourInterviewer.com have created the perfect communication to tell that almost super boss of yours to shape up. They have written an email that says it all...

Hi,
A job candidate you recently interviewed asked to have this letter sent on his/her behalf and is utilizing this anonymous message service because he/she knows that writing personally would burn bridges.

The candidate never received a response from you about the outcome of his/her candidacy.

As you probably know, most job candidates put significant time and effort into preparing for a job interview: Many spend hours reading up on your company and industry and thinking about how they could best offer something of value to you. They may take a day off work and spend time and money traveling to you. And then they wait ... and wait and wait, anxiously hoping for an answer, any answer.

A quick email or form letter letting the candidate know he or she is no longer under consideration -- that's all it takes. Candidates deserve that. And so does your organization, which looks unprofessional when you leave candidates hanging.

On behalf of your past and future candidates, won't you please reconsider your practices?

Sincerely,
A Fellow
Hiring Manager
www.emailyourinterviewer.com

The best part is that they will SEND IT FOR YOU! No damaged relationships. See what all the fuss is about - http://www.emailyourinterviewer.com/.

herding cats

2009-08-05T14:03:00.003-04:00

They're out there people - virtual job fairs.
Amazon just had one this summer.

Yes there is the good with the bad. Because I am sure you can imagine the bad - I'll keep to the good. Check out this positive experience...

Do you know of any up coming events? Do tell!

value-added

2009-06-29T19:17:00.004-04:00

"Two remarkable figures: 96% of students
and graduates who plan their
next career move go online to look for
information about employers and career
opportunities. And out of these,
89% use the career websites of companies.
That makes company career
websites the number 1 place to go for
job seekers, even more important
than job and career portals or business
and social networks. " -
Top Employer Web Benchmark 2009
The Corporate Career Website Study

What are you waiting for? Get crackin'!

you load my gun for me and I'll shoot

2009-06-18T10:44:00.003-04:00

Ooooo, a new way in!

From Cheezhead this week: employees earn money with one-click

Streaming social media outta Cally: A Conference on Social Recruiting Tools

Keep on keepin' on friends!

on the move

2009-06-12T13:57:00.004-04:00

Is there a rise? MediaBistro clamis so:

Jobs Posted Online Last Month First Increase In Six Months

Does this sound right to you?

lead, follow or get out of the way

2009-05-13T13:47:00.003-04:00

We are a dedicated bunch. We love the internet. We shop, we plan, we communicate our online hours away. If you thought you could get away from social networking, think again. SNS are making a play to stay. Today, with recent insights from the recruiting industry, we have new reasons to love these connector sites.

Shannon hails from a large staffing company here in NYC. In addition to being an American Idol fan, she is also a fan of sites like LinkedIn. I asked Shannon to share her thoughts and feeling about how to use the SNSite LinkedIn as a tool in our online search for work. Her suggestions are as follows:

1. It's imperative that you have a profile. If someone is aware of your skills and abilities but has no way of getting ahold of you - where do you think they are going to look? If you don't have a profile and they can't find you... NEXT!

2. Consider yourself as a brand. Use LinkedIn to market yourself similarly to how you would use a site to market a product or service. Be your own CEO.

3. Don't just create a profile and peace out - get in and stay active. Reach out and make connections with all your old co-workers. Tell them about recent project work that you have completed. For those connections that you value, make a recommendation about your experience together. Ask if they will do the same for you. Check out the Q&A section. Post and respond to issues that you have experience in or are passionate about. Stay fresh, stay relevant.

4. Don't go beyond second degrees of an introduction. Just like the Kevin Bacon game, if you go beyond the known source you're busted and there's no connection. Keep traditional networking rules in mind. Have someone you know (one degree) introduce you. Grow the relationship from there.

5. Last SNS point Shannon has is a Twitter bit. Find your fav executive and become a follower. Knowing what your target contacts are looking at and listening to gives you a better idea of their world. Following is also a conversation point to share over LinkedIn.

There it is folks. From the pros. Listen, learn, get online.

The world is yours. Click to it.

a good rule of thumb is

2009-04-29T13:59:00.009-04:00

Have you ever had a conversation with yourself that sounded something like this?

Hum… I want to apply for this job position but they are looking for five years experience. I guess if I add up all my time here and all my time there it would count. Let’s see, they are looking for a manager. I wasn’t necessarily a manager but I worked with one often so that’s kinda similar. They are also looking for a candidate that has a college degree, which I have but they would like to hire someone who’s academic focus was in something I only had one class in. I guess I’ll leave it blank and maybe they will assume it’s covered.

Yikes, this next part says they want the person to do this, this, and that. Arg. I only did one of those things [and actually I didn’t really like it but I love this company and I would really like to work for them] so maybe I will reference my responsibilities in a general way as to associate my experience with what they are looking for. How much did I make at my last job? [I want to make more, I want to make more] I made $75,000. [I made $60,000] They will never know.

Can you count the number of ethical upsets here? Have you been in this position before? Do you even notice anymore when you have a slight shift in the truth? I bet you do. I bet your body notices. I bet no matter if you have altered the truth once or a thousand times, your heart gets a little heavy every time. Listen to that uneasy and awkward feeling friends! Be true to yourself and your future employers. Tell the truth about who you are, what you have done, and what you would like to do.

In Job Search Ethics: Don’t Lie, Deborah S. Hildebrand looks at a survey done by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) on the most common resume lies. Might recognize these from our internal conversation above:

Inflated titles
Incomplete or inflated degrees
Inflated salaries
Inflated accomplishments

It’s been hard out there people to get a gig but compromising your integrity folks is not the way to go. We are all being tested right now with slim to none pickins for positions. If a company hires you because you came off more inflated and qualified then you are, that is only going to lead to disappointment on both sides when you really can’t do the job right.

Doing the right thing covers more then just correctly portraying yourself on your resume. There is any number of ethical job search dilemmas out there. In this PDF by Vassar Collage, you can see a couple of different scenarios that can happen to anyone. Proper advice is offered after each inquiry but check it out – what would you do?

This isn’t a one-way street. Employers need to be employing best practices as well. According to the NACE guidelines, as a job seeker, you have the right to expect the following from employers:

Confidentiality
Accurate information
Freedom from undue pressure
Timely communication
Fair treatment in the case of changing conditions requiring a revoked job offer
Testing information
Nondiscrimination

The flip here is that potential employers are also expecting you to:

Provide accurate information
Interview genuinely
Adhere to schedules
Communicate in a timely fashion
Accept job offers in good faith
Withdraw from recruiting when you have accepted a position
Claim fair reimbursement
Obtain the information that you need to make the best career decisions

Job of your dreams = doing the right thing.

strike while the iron is hot

2009-04-22T18:35:00.011-04:00

People, people, people. How the heck are you? Me… I’m good. Thanks for asking. I, like the weather, am making a change. Out with the jobless winter and in with the employed, new spring. Don’t jump ahead of me here. I didn’t get an offer YET but it’s close ~ sooooo close. I can feel it.

For me spring-cleaning is in order. This is no basic clean up job we’re talkin’ here. I am moving! Yup, leavin’ my digs of six plus years and witnessing the mayhem of moving. Not going far ~ only seven or so miles. Where am I going with this topic you ask? Good question. I’ll get there in a sec.

Do you know if you have bad credit landlords can decide not to rent to you? Do you know if you have bad credit Home Depot does not have to extend you a credit card to buy stuff to fix up your new place? Do you know if you have bad credit utility companies will charge you a deposit because you are a financially risky customer? [last one I swear] Do you know that you can get turned down for a job because you have bad credit?!

So you might have known those first three BUT the fact that employers run credit checks on potential employees is a BIG DEAL. Accountability for everything in your life starts with you. In this scenario, your financial life is talking to your professional life. Is it a good conversation for you? Check it out.

Once you have made it through the interview rounds and you’re in the middle of the process – it’s important you know what to do and what to ask for. Of course you have now checked out your credit so there’s no scare there but what other issues are you going to face during the pre-job offer period?

Negotiations between you and your (cross your fingers) new boss are a critical time in determining where you start and what you’re worth. As Stuart Smalley would remind us, your good enough, your smart enough, and doggone it, they're going to hire you! This link is industry specific but I think it offers a good shake down on how you should be thinking during the negotiation process in addition to pointers on what you could be asking for from an employer.

A site I would like to direct you to and leave you with today is the Salary.com site. Man do I love this puppy. It totally tells me how much I could be making in XYZ job based in XYZ location. It’s fun info. A good resource tool but honestly I have never found myself accurately portrayed in the average data numbers. See what it says about you…

PS – for all you students out there, LinkedIn just launched a student job search effort on the social (professionally oriented) networking site. For more info on social networks check out the last blog posting

> let’s get our arms around it.

the ball is in your court

2009-04-13T19:18:00.008-04:00

Have you ever had an interview like the one shown above? I hope so [it would be so funny to experience] but at the same time I hope not [how the heck would you get though it]. Today I think we should talk about THE INTERVIEW. Here’s the deal. I know we are all at different stages in the job search process but I would like to address this area for those of you who are ready and/or create this as a real and near future for you folks who are almost there.

To start this conversation, I would like to say there is a lot out there. In my research for this posting I felt overwhelmed and inundated with all the different “experts” I found online. My hope with this blog is to peel back the crap and find a few [free] online resources for us to utilize. If you have deep pockets and don’t mind paying for help – great! There are paid for solutions for you. The guys over at Pongo have a [pay for] service that provides an online training program. There are 40 interactive audio/visual training modules that guide and prepare you for each step of the interview process.

If you DON’T have an open wallet then come with me. I found a couple other places that can help. First up, the So You Wanna web site. I love these guys. They can help you with everything from throwing a bachelor party to joining the circus. In our case, they can get us on our way to acing the job interview in five steps.

I used to sell ads. One time in training the coach told us not to practice selling on our customers. I think the same applies here. Don’t practice your interview skills on potential employers. Call your family, sit down with a friend, heck sit in front of a mirror and practice! Depending on your school situation, past or present, you might be able to set up a mock interview. Here’s a link to show you an example from my under grad edu.

Our resident HR superstar JC offers a few interview words of wisdom. “After you get an interview, it is important to know as much as you can about a company. Read the job description that you applied to. Understand the skills they are looking for and be prepared to discuss your expertise in those areas.

In addition, it is in your best interest to learn as much about the company that you are interviewing as possible. Use your network (if possible) to find out some information. Go to the company’s website, and learn about their products or services. Do a Google search with the company’s name, and see what information comes up.”

Maybe you are quite familiar with this whole process but you would like to brush up on some of the questions you might get asked. Won’t hurt to hear how these questions should be answered either, a? If you are nodding yes then this site is for you. [note, you will have to salom navigate down the page and around paid search ads to get through the content]

If you need it from the beginning and in complete form then CT’s Dept. of Labor is ready to help you. Their web site offers a rather comprehensive shake down on all things interviewing. If you only read that, you won’t go wrong.

One last resource for ya. Once you have read EVERYTHING and you are plugging along this site can help you keep track of What by When. Did you promise Larry from Rubber Duck Company that you would circle back Monday or Wednesday? This site can help.

PS – Got a great informational interview story to share with ya. Check out the posting comments>>A win-win situation

it's the 80/20 rule at work here folks

2009-04-09T17:25:00.005-04:00

Work with me on this one. WHAT IF you were stuck in a room and you needed to get a job and the only resource you had was a computer that had internet access? What would you do? How would you reach out? Would you be able to land a job? That is the point of this blog. Ye old career search using just the internet. Found one more step for ya to make those e-employment dreams come true.

One word people. Virtual career fair. Ok fine, that’s three words but it’s ONE great idea. Just for a moment think about the cons of having to go to a real live career fair. Gotta look good and find the place. Gotta shell out dollars to get the resume ready. My all time fav. is standing in line waiting to talk to someone from a prospective employer. When you finally get to talk to them they look like they want to kill themselves if they have to shake one more hand. People forget those crowded fairs! Stay home. Send electronic resumes. “Shake hands” over the internet while you lounge in your PJs.

How does this online search tactic play out? I have five simple steps for you. Check them out here at eHow.com’s How to Attend a Virtual Job Fair. To lazy to read? [seriously, if that’s true – you really have a problem] Consider listening to this podcast about how the whole thing works from Secrets to the Job Hunt.

If I have piqued your interest then check out these links.

Virtual Job Fair:
By location or employer>>
By industry>>
For students>>

Quick application note, I have had many of the interviewees of this blog say that candidates tend to over apply to positions. The overall recommendation is to find the one position with the best fit for you and go for it. Don’t apply to the same company for several positions.

We'll get there don't worry.

let's think out of the box

2009-04-06T17:18:00.009-04:00

To: The Universal Hiring Manager
From: BKLYN Nikki
Subject: Please give me a job.
CC: any other mythical creatures that create good luck

Dear Universal Hiring Manager,
My name is Nikki and I am looking for a job. I’m a good person that pays her taxes [yikes – I’ve still got a week to do this, right?!] and helps old ladies across the street. I’ve had my share of good and bad employers but right now I need a break! Please if there is a God of Employment – I am prepared if you have just been waiting to send me an opportunity. I am ready. Please bring it on. Thank you.

Your trusted follower,
-Nikki

PS – I can sacrifice a chicken [or a street cat, there’s lots around here but they are kinda mean] if that would speed things up and appease you.

Alright, alright. I can hear you.

“Nikki that won’t work. You silly lady. Praying to the Employment Gods – HA!”

I’ll have you know that I’ve tried everything thing else. Faith is all I have left. Well… faith, the Internet, and the will to go on.

Fine. Let’s keep moving. What else we got?

Have you ever considered working for the man? Maybe a job working for the government is a way to go. One summer I worked for a cities Parks and Recreation department. There are some good benefits there. Although not like working for an employer that’s international!

I have a handful of friends here in the city that have or currently work for over sea employers. THAT’S the way to go if you are looking for time off. You get the US AND the European vacation schedule. It’s like working only a couple weeks each year.

Seriously though, there are many multicultural opportunities out there. Inside the states and outside. Heck to take an example in my own media industry life – the Hispanic population is one of the fastest growing consuming audiences out there. If you or I decided to dedicate ourselves to serving this growing demographic many more job opportunities could present themselves.

There is also the green focus. I am happy to see that companies have decided to increase their positive involvement in the world’s environmental well being. Regardless if it’s a PR ploy or a legitimate business sector, this new area of research and resources is not to be looked over.

If you are not the siesta type or don’t have a green thumb then perhaps Doing Good has more of an appeal. At IdeaList there are any number of ways to apply yourself to the greater good. Looks like they have over one million profiles on the site so it’s gotta be a good conversation to jump into. If not, consider the over four thousand job openings. They also offer a job fair which just happens to be our next stop on the job express! Tune in next time for more info.

BKLYN Nikki OUT.

barking up the wrong tree

2009-04-04T16:49:00.008-04:00

Health, medicine, business admin, law, and information technology are all industries that have predicted growth. Or at least, that’s what I’m reading. Personally, I don’t have the patience or grace to work with the sick, and I lack the memorization skills for medicine. Participated in a law club at school and got creamed in cross-examination [mainly b/c I didn't prepare for the case as I was so busy starring into the dreamy eyes of opposing council]. That leaves me with business admin and info tech. Although I have dabbled in both sides, neither are of great calling.

One great fear I have always had is that I start working in a job that I consider a 'For the Time Being' job. A job that pays my bills. A job that has me participating as an active member of society. A job that keeps me tethered to an industry that I have no interest in, but decades later I have, low and behold, an established Career.

Just so we are all on the same page, I am thirty-two. I have a decade of work experience behind me. It is MY fear that I could wake up a week from retirement and find I have wasted myself in a Career I only started in because I needed to pay bills when I first got going.

[sad retirement note. I recently drove back to Cleveland to see my folks. they are, as usual, overworked at each of their places of employment. here’s where the sad note comes in. set to retire in a year or so, they now have to add several years to their working commitment because their 401k and other retirement accounts took such a hit in the financial market. *sigh*]

OMG. Could this get any more depressing? Here’s the difference we have - the power of choice. At this moment, we can powerfully choose the industry we want a career in. A good place to start that inquiry is at the US Dept. of Labor. Their career guide to industries shares up-to-date info on: occupations in the industry, training and advancement, earnings, expected job prospects, and working conditions.

One last HR note from our friend Jeff Comerford. “The current job market is tough. There are many companies that are laying off people, but there are industries that are growing too (right now there are technology companies that are doing well, there is a nursing shortage, etc.). A lot of things in this country are fueled by confidence. The stock market, consumer spending, etc. Obviously, these things will also impact company’s ability to maintain market share or grow – which will directly impact employment. I think that right now, people are reading all of the bad news and they are scared. That means they are less likely to buy that new car, tv, go on vacation, etc. This obviously impacts jobs in those sectors.”

Here's one last online industry resource for you to mull over before you go off and do something else with your time. Check out what the folks over at Deloitte have published - 2009 Industry Outlook. They have looked into over a dozen top industries to see what’s going on and if there will be opportunity within this years industry tumult. Look to see if there is an area that can help you have a better understanding of where you would like to go. Let me know what you find.

Until next time – peace.

finally in your element

2009-04-01T13:53:00.010-04:00

Do you have a dream team of employers? Maybe for you it’s just that ONE company you have always yearned to work for. My brother is a CG animator, so as you can imagine, Pixar is that place for him. I am trying to figure out who that company is for me.

What I like to do is match advertisers up with their customers on the web. Usually this means working for a publisher or media company. My current inquiry is to find a major content developer or media company that has a diverse demographic audience that advertisers would like to reach in the internet space.

BUT how do I find that one working environment, that one super boss, that one stellar crew of co-workers? First up, I figure we should look at who the best or most recognized players are. This list of Top Companies is a good start. Looking for inspiration or know who you would like to target? CareerTV has great employer profile videos for you to check out. You can find them listed in the left navigation bar under - By Company. If you don’t know someone on the inside that can give you a behind the doors tour, then these sneak peek videos are a great way to go.

OR you could be one of the lucky ones that does have an inside track to the employer of your dreams. If so, get crackin’! You got people to meet and questions to ask. Go back and review our posting on informational interviews.

BECAUSE I love you guys so much, I’ll share with you the source of my mystery interview from the last posting and her thoughts about the current standing of her awesome company.

Rosa Allen is in the HR department for the MillerCoors brewing company. Here she tells us about working for the parent company that offers brands like Coors Light, Peroni, Miller, and Miller Genuine Draft.

"My opinion is that the situation at my company is solid and stable. The company is performing as planned and forecasted and is in a good position financially, product-wise and in its market. Although sales had been on a dropping tendency for the last few years, the sales for 2008 and 2009 actually seem to be increasing. The company used to be solely Coors and since July of 2008 fused in a joint venture with Miller. So basically our company is twice as large and has twice as many resources that they did before.

There have been various job cuts recently; however, they are not at all related to the economy, they are all products of synergies and consolidation of resources between the two companies. Some positions were duplicated during the joint venture process and had to be eliminated to cut out unnecessary manpower. All in all, I feel the company is stable and will not face any hardships either financially or with its brands in the market. People basically drink anyways; it doesn’t seem to matter if the economy is doing well or not."

There you have it. Good or bad, people keep boozin’. Maybe we should just get a job at our favorite liquor company. Hey, Brooklyn Brewery, you hiring?

it's on your radar screen

2009-03-25T16:42:00.011-04:00

Don’t you just love watching movies that have a character looking for a job - where they’re opening a newspaper and circling potential job openings with a big old red marker? The closest I can get to that these days is book marking the darn thing and putting a red ppt oval around it. Sigh, I miss the olden days of print. [internet, you didn’t hear me say that. I love you 2. darn it. I think that print comment already got search engine indexed. I am so much lower in my own blog search results! the internet hates me!]

Coming from someone who can’t figure out where her hours are going everyday – I swear, it’s a full-time job getting a full-time job. Do you know how many entries come up when you go to Google and search: job search? 199,000,000 entries pop up and I am going through ALL of them for you, my 27 blog following buddies. OK, that’s not true, but still, you can see how the web can be a bit overwhelming. Maybe we should let a pro guide us…

You remember our HR master and commander, Jeff Comerford. Here Jeff takes a look at two different sites – the profit and the not for profit. “If you are going to look for jobs that are advertised, a great place to look is Indeed.com. Indeed.com is basically a search engine for jobs. Enter your job title (general or specific) and a geographic location, and it will show you recently posted jobs. There is also a way to narrow down your search, based on potential salary and other criteria. If you are looking at non-profit opportunities, you can go to a website like Guidestar.com. This will give you access to the non-profit’s 990 – which is their annual tax form. It gives information like their revenue, top 5 highest paid employees, and the number of employees making over 50k. Let’s face it, if you are looking to make $60k, and the executive director makes $70k, this non-profit may not be big enough for you.”

There are also many sites out there that are aggregators of industry specific job postings. I happen to like my grad school’s online resources. On the Columbia site I can check out media/communication job links. They also have an advertising/marketing resource list that points to more inside info and job listings. Columbia or any college can provide resource lists for industries that you are interested in - regardless if you are a student of theirs or not. Hellooo, it's online. Another example in the media world is MediaBistro. In this portion of our job search, let’s start big [industry/aggregators] and go small.

Feeling a little Down With The Man? There’s even a link for you, “…there are thousands of jobs listed on (Rat Race Rebellion) that offer people free-lance or direct employment jobs that can be performed off-site, remotely or in a personal office. Some companies even provide good benefits to their employees or contractors. The entire resume, application and interview process is conducted online, or in some cases by phone.” Readers, stay tuned - the source of this mystery interview to be revealed next time!

run this one up the flagpole

2009-03-24T11:35:00.010-04:00

Monster, CB (CareerBuilder) and the other online job search big boys are big for a reason. They do have some cool job search toys to play with. Consider CB’s iPhone app. Lucky iPhone owners can bust out this app on the bus ride home from their super fun jobs to see what better positions are open in the neighborhoods they are traveling through. All thanks to the Apple geo-location capabilities. Go Mac. Head to iTunes and download today! Maybe you have been holding out for the perfect job widget. My friends, HotJobs has answered your prayers. Your desktop job search just got easier. Heck, even Facebook has a ton of job assistance applications to add to your profile. Applications or widgets, these e-tools are here to help make your job search time more streamlined and targeted. Make sure to tailor each to your preferences.

But wait! There’s more….

Another tool I find to be particularly useful are email alerts. Not to be confused with marketing messages, these tailored lists can be a quick update during your search. All the big boys provide these emails. What I suggest is finding a company that you would like to work for and signing up for their career openings notification. Note, this e-communication is usually only offered for large to mid-sized companies. This might not be offered by small businesses.

PS - if you are more of an RSS person over emails then consider getting a companies RSS job feed. Here is an example of TW's RSS.

that dog won't hunt

2009-03-22T11:25:00.010-04:00

It is no surprise that after moving to NYC for a few years and wanting the company of a gentleman caller, I decided to get onto Match.com. [I have to admit that I was looking forward to moving to an island of lots of men. little did I know it was more like the island from Lord of the Flies!] Sure there was some online flirting, but really the end result? Nothin’. Zip. Zero. I swear those are the same feelings I have about using the major online job sites.

There’s a listing and you are all oh man, oh man, oh man – this is just what I am looking for! I’ll respond with how well I fit the bill. Either dream job or man of my dreams ends up as the same [sucks to your asmar] disappointment. Too many folks responding for the one job or one dude. No, seriously, think about it. How many people do you know that got the big prize for using a big job site or a big dating site? Honestly, I don’t know anyone who got hitched from Match or employed from Monster. [in my opinion, Monster should have been the name of the dating site – yup, it’s that fun] For those of you who have yet to be disappointed [by dudes – you’re lucky] by job sites - then let me recap where the trail of broken hearts starts.

Monster.com - Hotjobs.com - Careerbuilder.com

I recently got some great insights from a well-versed HR leader who’s been in the biz for many years. Here’s what Jeff Comerford had to say about the big job sites: “Monster.com, Hotjobs.com, Careerbuilder.com, etc. These are your more traditional job boards. Something to keep in mind is that for each of the positions posted, there may be over a hundred responses. If you are going to use these methods, make sure to use a cover letter that explains why you are a match for the position that you are applying to. Showing a link to what they are looking for is a great way to increase your chances of getting an interview.”

Just like Match, Friendster [don’t think we’ve mentioned them yet. sigh, they were my first major SNS] or Monster.com – ya gotta have a profile. Hopefully you did the homework from Get Your Feet Wet and put up a profile of yourself on the big job networks. The three things that I use these massive job sites for is to one, maintain a professional profile so that employers can find me; two, search job listings; and three, buff up on my latest career best practices.

If you are wondering, I am more a Monster girl over the others. Personally I find CB (CareerBuilder) to be wrought with ads and opportunities for me to upgrade to some paid version of the site. Even the CB site and email communications are heavy on the Google text ads making it difficult and distracting to find job search info. [note to websites that use Google Ad Sense – layout your sites and communications so that users can get to what they want right away! don’t start the page off with ads and bury the content. bad websites. bad, bad, bad!] Both Monster and CB have a ton of job search info, which I find very helpful, as you’ve seen from the links I have shared so far. Kinda like how I take my religion - I use a little bit from everyone. That’s the backbone of this blog.

a win-win situation

2009-03-16T20:56:00.008-04:00

And now, dear friends and followers, we come to a most important recommendation. It just so happens that Amy [a commenter from the previous posting AND an AWNY member ~ hey, hey, hey] has set the conversation topic for the day – make it a point to meet your network connections. Before we launch into that, I just want to remind everyone that I am trying to keep within the frame of the blog topic/mission, which is to locate a job using only a computer/the internet. I completely agree with Amy that meeting face-to-face is the number one way to go, but for now we’ll keep communications web based – online phone calls, Skype, and email. And away we go…!

I’ll start off with the oh-so-smart Lynnette Lebron from Simon & Schuster. During our call a few weeks ago, she dropped that HR departments are “actively recruiting” candidates. Lynnette and her team are “at the helm and ready to go”. When a position opens up and a candidate is needed - they have cherry-picked the best folks for the gig. Nice! How do we become one of these at the ready representatives? Lynnette’s advice is to conduct “exploratory interviews”. Get into the ear of an employer. Start the dialogue for a potential new future. Lynnette says she knows a sincere candidate when she sees one. Another good tidbit Lynnette shares: during an informational interview, “ask for more internal references”. Expand your chances. Clever, eh?!

Need a little helping hand? This online pdf from FSU [man, I love acronyms] is just what you need. The easy-to-read guide walks you though finding contacts, preparing for an informational interview, questions to consider asking, actually arranging the interview, and of course, follow up.

Have you ever participated on either side of the informational interview process – interviewER or interviewEE? Let’s hear from you…

cast a broad net

2009-03-13T16:57:00.010-04:00

I rambled on about AWNY in the previous post because I wanted to share with you my experience of a great local professional network. There are soooo many different kinds of these groups out there - you just need to look around and find the ones that have a proper fit for you. For me, this also includes networking with my academic institutions of Ohio and Columbia University.

Within those two schools, there are many networking groups like college groups, alum groups, and career placement groups [this link takes you to a FAB career newsletter for Columbia grads - look for one from your school!] Still within association of the schools, but sitting on the SNS side, are the Facebook and LinkedIn profiles of OU and Columbia – still more groups!

Side note about finding groups/associations on SNS (Social Networking Sites). Be aware that you might join a group that is not the “real” organizations profile. Although there might be a lot of members, which is good, it might have started outside the formal organization. If you want the real deal – check with the actual group as for its whereabouts.

Even my sorority Delta Gamma has a ton of sub-groups like my original Zeta Rho chapter, my old Cleveland chapter, and my recent tri-state area alum group. All potential contact points for employment!!!

All the groups I have just mentioned are merely a portion of the associations I have, and an excellent starting place to reach out and get the employment conversation rolling. As of this posting, there are twenty-eight followers to this blog [thank you, by-the-way!]. It doesn’t take a secret handshake to make US into a group and a network. Put up those comments, people, to start sharing the outlets and resources in your lives. Ya never know, opportunity could just be waiting for you to click - SEND.

don't burn your bridges

2009-03-12T13:41:00.015-04:00

A lot of people find opportunities in life through people they know. Not having the nepotism card to play, I've been relying on personal and professional contacts to search for a job. I belong to the Advertising Women of New York group, AWNY for short. Joined about six years ago. This group has given back to me in so many ways that I can hardly keep my typing fingers from running ahead of my whirling and grateful thoughts. I’ll start with the most recent experience and digress from there.

I have always wanted to work for Google but I have never been able to get the timing right with a position and availability. Rewind to a few weeks ago, when we started researching companies we would like to work for – queue Google to the top of my list, and low and behold, they have a position. After having already worked over my resume from our resume posting, I still end up spending a whole day re-framing my experience for the position I was already well suited for.

Here’s where the network connection kicks in. I go online to the AWNY web site and search for all the members [mostly women] that work for Google. My search yields over two dozen connections with women who work at Google. I email them all. My message was simple. Hi. I don’t know you, but we are AWNY members and I’m hoping you will help out a fellow professional in this difficult employment time. Can you please circulate my resume? Note, this is not verbatim what I said, but almost ten members responded. Email message replies varied.

Got one sorry I can’t help unless I know all about you because Google has very rigid recommendation guidelines. Many women said sure thing and sent my resume along to the HR dept. The greatest number of responses gave me excellent coaching. Do this or that to your resume. Google needs to see a GPA – add it. [which I had never included before] A couple ladies even told me that my Yahoo email address wouldn’t fly and that I should be using a Gmail account. [not the biggest surprise coming from Google, but still a big ol' wow on the details]

I am sad to report that exactly one week later, an Ops person from Google People got back to me and said that they did not have a position that matched my qualifications.

[come on man, I spent a whole day directly re-positioning my resume to fit the listed position] Aside from sharing my disappointment, I wanted to share this story, because at the heart of it is a great handful of women that did all they could to help me get a job at a company I have always wanted to work at. This, dear friends, is just one of the advantages to making connections and seeing how the networks you surround yourself with can help support you!

One last shout out about AWNY. For the Givers of this world, consider becoming a Mentor. AWNY has 'em, and I got the US Marketing Manager from USA Today when I first moved into the city and was looking for guidance. For the Get-ers of this world, check out your groups to become a Mentoree and learn more about the industry and to start the hand shaking.

AWNY also has an AwEsOmE VIP Silent Auction. Until I turned thirty, this was only available to young professionals; I had a great time buying my way onto top VP's schedules. Think about it: having the opportunity to lunch with:

Carl Fremont, Executive VP/Global Director Media & Digital Marketing, Digitas
Ed O’Donnell, Senior VP Marketing, NBC
David Verklin, CEO, Carat North America
Caroline McCurdy, Director Business Development Marketing Communication, Wall Street Journal

A one-hour lunch with each one of these folks is a mind-bending experience. Wanna see what the AWNY group is about? On March 24th, they have a networking clinic, as well as a year round activities calendar. Give it some thought.

massage your networks

2009-03-11T14:36:00.010-04:00

Anyone reading score a job yet? If so, please let us know! If not…well, just keep reading. We’ll get there. We’ve done some good work so far. Look behind you. There’s a path of self-discovery and refinement now. Consider the fact we started talking a month ago. Since then, we have bemoaned the current economic climate and unemployment rates. We’ve looked at retreating into the continuing education shelter and listened to what our souls work should be. Hopefully, one of the assessment tests cleared up some internal inquiry or maybe you got better answers when we looked into researching industries and companies.

Certainly, our review of cover letters and resumes got us moving in the right direction. BUT if there is any part of our online career journey that is the most critical, then it’s where we are headed now. Working our social networks. If you don’t believe me, then take a look at the headlines. Most news sources tout networking as the key to getting a job during this difficult time. CNNMoney.com offers many articles. Check out: Hired! Putting your best face forward for example.

At this point, y’all, I expect that you plugged in your online profile. If you haven’t... for heavens sake! Stop reading and GO SIGN UP! If you have, good on you. Now, a key thing to remember is this is a two-way connection. We are going to be asking for help, but we are also going to be giving help or offering help along the way as well. For those of you who recognize karma, this is the law of giving. To get (which we’re gonna need), we’re gonna have to give. Practice this beyond when it’s asked of you. Pass things along to other folks if they seem like a good opportunity but not such a good fit for you.

Before we jump into different stories, recommendations, and good jokes, I would like to point out a couple great resources for online career networking. The first is a podcast that sits on the JobDig web site. Or maybe you are more of a contributor and want to participate in an online conversation of sorts. In that case, the networking tips and advice forum at Monster might be a better resource tool for you. Oh heck, it’s free. Check’em both out!

You all remember Jane from the local NYC gov. agency and Lynnette from Simon & Schuster? These two ladies could not stop advocating the benefits of networking. Jane says, “It’s all about working your connections in professional groups.” Lynnette comments, “You need to leverage everybody. Look for connections several contacts deep. Don’t stop at first level or direct friends.”

It just so happens friends that I have a great example of this kind of exercise and I’ll share it with you TOMORROW. Ohhhhhh! Such a Fox ending. At least it’s not a commercial break. Ryan Seacrest OUT. [and yes, I am not giving that RS an extra hyperlink in the universe]

let's get our arms around it

2009-03-08T18:50:00.019-04:00

Sure enough, the President has “People”. We know that celebrities have agents and image consultants. I’m sure a whole team manages the business of Brad Pitt, but who is looking out for us? Yes, we have headhunters and professional recruiters (more on that later), but when it comes to who is looking out for you and I to become successful - all we have is each other. These days,because of social networks, that rather small or insignificant one-to-one connection between you and I has become HUGE.

Let's set the stage with a look at an interview Monster did with the authors of ‘The Virtual Handshake'. I think this is a great frame through which we should talk this week. There is an overall paradigm shift happening here as the article demonstrates. And I would love to know – are you feeling the effect?

When I moved from Cleveland to NYC, I wondered how the heck was I going to keep track of all the new people in my life. Sure, I had an address book and a [heavy and awkward] Rolodex, but I needed some kind of online people tracker. I was honestly at the brink of buying a personal software package to keep track of contacts when a site called LinkedIn popped up. Mission accomplished. I now had a FREE online tool at my fingers tips to track my professional connections.

No social network exposure is complete without a profile on either MySpace or Facebook. Any combination of profiles can result in a tsunami of friends. If you are fleeing from this tidal wave of long lost chums, I advise you abandon your futile efforts at running and get Friended. I am not trying to talk you into the latest electronic high school reunion, BUT the odds are that through all of these connections, we will find someone who can connect us to something to help us earn some kind of a paycheck.

Don’t stop reading now – you need to know a couple more things before you start logging on. Namely, that you should not confuse two of the sites I just named or their purposes. DO NOT post party pix on LinkedIn. Post your resume instead. DO NOT post your resume on Facebook. Post your upcoming weekend plans. Different sites – different objectives. Combine them and all your hard work could be for nothin’.

At this time, I would like to give a little shout out to the followers and folks who leave comments. In late February, Wei left a comment with a great URL pointing to many of the sites I was hoping we could take a look at – thanks again, Wei! Since they are all consolidated and in neat list form, might as well just check them out at Mashable: Top 10 Social Sites for Finding a Job.

Consider for a moment LinkedIn from the Mashable list. You might remember our ‘to remain nameless’ friend from a local NYC government agency. During our interview, "Jane" told me that she knew of twelve people that have gotten jobs in the last year through LinkedIn. That’s a healthy number of people placed based on random online connections. Right now, and at this moment, whom are you connected to that you don’t even know? You might be surprised. Don’t wait… get clickin’!

get your feet wet

2009-03-08T13:38:00.017-04:00

Howdy online friends and neighbors. It’s about that time. We’re heading into exciting stuff. [side note, I love the word STUFF. it covers so much STUFF. nothing is left out when you use the word STUFF] What stuff are we headed into, you might ask? Our personal online profiles, dear friends - the digital versions of ourselves. The electronic blips and beeps that come to represent each of us as a unique flavor on the web. Who shall we be today? I suggest we jump aboard the Good Ship Employment and sail into the waters of Internet profiles.

Let’s start from the idea that we are able to create an online likeness of ourselves that exists somewhere in the computer cosmos. Although we might be sitting on a beach looking at the Gulf of Mexico, our online personalities or profiles are hard at work representing who we are and what we want in that parallel computer universe.

There are a handful of different ways you can be manifested on the web. Maybe you’re a text based like the web resume I showed you before. Could be that you are an image and some personal info or you could be a straight up avatar. [totally not plugging my brothers current CG work on JC’s Avator or anything, but if you’re really interested…] You can be anyone online! For now let’s keep the conversation within a professional context. Don’t Tron out on me.

I recently talked to one of the HR folks over at Simon & Schuster to see if we could get a little insight about what HR departments are thinking. Lynnette Lebron shared with me her thoughts about professionals and job searchers having a “live self”. Lynnette warns that people need to be cautious about how they represent themselves online. She suggests not to over inform, but don’t remain isolated either. Lynnette had some great additional pointers in the online job search area but we’ll circle back to that later in the week.

The Washington Post has a good article about being aware in this area: Maintaining an Online Profile -- and Your Professionalism. OMG note – I have a classmate who works at an very large media company and she has personally seen her boss chuck out potential job candidates who have unacceptable (all party/no professional) online profiles. Take the time to establish yourself. Use friends, family, and trusted professionals to check out what you have created and if it works to represent who you are.

Ok crew, we gotta start somewhere, so bust out those resumes and let’s get to work. Your homework for the week: establish your ‘online profile’ on three different career sites. I suggest Monster, CareerBuilder, and Yahoo! HotJobs. I must warn you that this will take an entire afternoon to establish and populate completely. Grab a pop [yes, I’m from the mid-west originally], use the bathroom, and find a comfortable chair – you’ve got work to do!

Already hit those sites and looking for an alternative posting location? Try your local craigslist. There is a Resume section or consider the Services section to post your online skills and abilities. This is all free, folks. Here’s a screen shot of when I posted - last listing at the bottom:

Next stop, social networking sites and more fun STUFF!

moving forward

2009-03-03T22:35:00.012-05:00

I was recently talking to my aunt about helping her daughter create an online profile. From that conversation, I started thinking about my entire family “being” online. From old to young, what would it look like if my Grandpa all the way down to my young cousin were online and connected? This leads me to the overall generational differences that exist between, not just my ninety-four year old Grandfather and twelve-year-old cousin, but folks of all ages using the Internet. The chart below takes a look at a variety of online activities from ages twelve and up. You'll see that Gen Y leads the charge of folks online getting info about jobs while Gen X leads as the generation researching for a job.

This chart also demonstrates that my twelve-year-old cousin is amongst the second largest group likely to create a Social Network Site (SNS) profile. On the other hand, my ninety-four year old grandfathers' group, when added with his cohorts in the two previous age ranges on the chart, equal only eighteen percent of folks fifty-five and older who have created online profiles for SNS.

Clearly, getting a job is not the objective of my young cousin when she asks for my help in creating her first online identity. Likewise, my Grandpa is beyond looking to get back in the job market but both of them have similar hesitancies about managing their online identities much like many of us.

I recently interviewed a woman that we will call Jane* about using the Internet as a job search tool. Jane shared with me that in her experience, there is an enormous difference in older users on the web. Jane sees that older executives view the interactive space as a “pain in the ass.” They don’t want to deal with it and would rather have someone come in and make everything work and make all the tech problems go away. One of the things that Jane explained, that I would also encourage anyone who is not tech savvy to do is - surround yourself with the people that DO know what they are doing and can help inform, guide, and support you.

Friends, our next step to full-time benefits and 401k contributions is to start creating online career profiles (next posting). If you feel a little web-wary, do like my cousin did – use a lifeline and call a friend to help.

*Jane works for a local government agency and is not permitted to be quoted as a source unless she goes through her corporate communications department, which she says will take forever. We’ll hear from Jane in later posts.

in a nutshell

2009-02-28T16:51:00.011-05:00

Pop quiz - name some famous couples. Ready? Okay... here we go... Lewis and Clark. Rock and roll. Peanut butter and jelly. Resume and cover letter! [Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?] Where would we be without the favorite companion of the resume – the illustrious cover letter. Oh yes, that swell pastime of sitting and staring at a blank computer screen or piece of paper, trying to summon the gods of writing to help convey your awesome skills and abilities as a potential employee. Sigh, oh how I love delivering myself genuinely time and time again through this one-dimensional communication channel. Arg.

How does one compose a cover letter that connects you with a position and an employer? What words can a person arrange on a page that could possibly launch the hiring manager into action? Surely, putting due consideration into purpose, audience, content, and format are all elements to getting your cover letter to jump to the top of the stack. But let's be realistic and agree that the best way to make things happen is a good old bribe. That never goes out of style. Clearly, I am kidding folks, but here are a few cover letter resources to make the heavens part and deliver you a job, or at darn least an interview!

1) Need some literary handholding? Consider using this pdf worksheet.

2) Maybe you have all the right things to say but you just need a template to get you formatted and moving. My first recommendation is to hit up your local word processing application like Word. If you don’t have Word or are in need of an online template, then Google docs is sporting a great new beta tool you should check out made FOR cover letters.

3) If you are at a total loss and can’t seem to lay anything to a page about yourself, then check out this database of cover letters applicable to many different fields of work.

4) Lastly, this super nice lady has some keen insights about effective cover letters that speaks for itself.

Enjoy, my soon to be employed comrades!

the whole nine yards

2009-02-23T20:39:00.019-05:00

And the resume info keeps on rollin'...

It’s always possible that you, dear user, are an audio learner. If this is the case, then perhaps the podcast is your key method of learning. There are many available online. Anyone can listen in on this Columbia U. podcast but only affiliated students can get the teleseminar materials that are referenced. If you don't attend Columbia, do not fret. Contact your alma matter to make sure they offer similar support. In the following YouTube video/podcast, you can see how the author uses PowerPoint to walk through the basic components of the resume:

Before I jump off the career assistance topic of your beloved college or university, I do want to provide you with an excellent info packet that I know has helped me move forward on a few of my resume strategies. Again, I implore you to shake down your universities career resource office to help you in any way they can. For my fellow Columbia students, the Career Education dept offers many resources for our search.

For some of us, this is all too much work and we would rather be logging Facebook hours, watching as many Instant Netflicks as possible [did you know they have a career selection?], or playing Wii until the wee hours of the morning. Sound familiar? If so, there are an amazing number of paid ways to go. Careerbeam offers a service at ten bucks a month with the option to upgrade to some super sweet online product offereings like a seminar series. Another pay for resource is Peterson's Resume Edge. These guys work with the likes of the Wall Street Journal and Yahoo Hot Jobs.

If you’ve got the green backs and are looking for a resource that’s not online, then consider different software packages. About a thousand years ago, I got the Resume Maker suite that helped me put my first out-of-college resume together. Granted, the software doesn’t give you that much-needed-experience-just-out-of-school, but it did help me craft what to say about where I wanted to go. Although I am talking about having been a recent college grad when I was working with this resume resource - don’t dis it as a vet of the working world. It works for all experience levels.

This next resume resource does sneak into the social networking area, but it’s just too cool to step over or wait for. This web resource, from Peterson's RE, helps you publish an online resume. Looking to share just a link instead of passing the paper version? In ten minutes, your resume can have a URL of its very own. Here’s my jake version: www.webresume.com/BKLYN_Nikki.html

Now THIS, my friends, is an interesting place to sit online. At the Visual CV web site, users are not only able to establish themselves online, BUT may also add many different multi-media elements to round out the resume to provide more of an electronic portfolio. What better way to impress prospective employers than with actual work or accomplishments?! Check out what this guy did.
This is definitely a great place for folks who need to showcase their projects or talents. Don't just leave this for the artistic types. Upload examples of campaigns you've worked with, proposals you've developed, or any variety of bigger then text examples of your accomplishments.

Lastly, if you are looking to work the system to make money, then this recent paid search ad might interest you:

Do you have any other unique resume approaches that have been successful for you? Blog me back, baby!

everything from soup to nuts

2009-02-23T18:35:00.016-05:00

As I sat watching the Oscars last night I wondered what some of the beautiful people’s resumes read like. What are the words that describe these folks in the dazzling tuxes and sparkling gowns? I know I can check out the always illuminating IMDB but have you ever seen an actors resume? They have to list ANYTHING that could get them a gig. I’m sure speaking foreign languages, juggling cats, crying on the spot [always wished I could do that] all pop up on the old thespian resume.

But take a look around you. Everyone is becoming a superstar online. The Internet gives us access to managing our own personal brand image. We may not be dating Leo, we may not wear Galliano but because of the web we now have the opportunity to represent online like never before. This idea plays out more around social networking which we’ll get to soon enough but where has it always been present? On paper, folks - your good old-fashioned resume.

In the last six+ years of living in the city, I have gotten the advice from several professionals about always having the resume waiting in updated form. Here in the city, there is an Always Be Looking attitude amongst young executives. Despite that advice, I really only updated my resume when a job change was just around the corner.

For me, that was managing who I looked like on paper every couple of years. Now because of sites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIN, folks are managing what they look like on a daily basis. But let me pull back on the social networking rains for a sec. What we are talking about today is a person’s resume. That special piece of paper that can sum you up in seconds and tells the world of your accomplishments. Yes that, dear friends, is what were going to dive into now.

It’s safe to say there is a truckload of info about resumes out there on the net. Some are harmless like a mom and pop web site but others might strip you of everything, including your digital dignity. [didn’t think you had that, did you?]

This week, I will to point you in the direction of a few different online resources. As usual, I hope you leave a comment if you happen to know of or use a service that is stellar and can help everyone else.

Just wanna be honest with you folks. There’s a few things that I do well, but can’t say that I am a pro resume writer. What I can do to assist you in this area is track down good ideas. I will not personally be telling you – This Is How You Do It. There are a lot more qualified folks out there to help. Here are some of them…

The team at Career Planning has a plethora of articles to help us. The resume section is quite robust and leads a person from start to finish. Check it out:

Resume Writing Basics
Review: The Resume Catalog
Lying On Your Resume
Putting Together An ASCII Resume
Keyword e-Resume Tutorial
Free Resume Banks
Why Employers Use Resume Banks

Don’t know about you guys, but there’s nothing I love more in the world then a super fun check list. The team at Monster walks us through the Have You's of proper resume writing:

More 2morrow on The Wonderful World o' Resumes...

take the ball and run with it

2009-02-17T17:10:00.001-05:00

It’s time. Time to put down the remote control. Time to put your iTunes music organization project on hold. Time to be in action. Think back to what we have been through, my 18 blog following buddies! After we met online we talked about a number of career obstacles and opportunities, like what difficult times we’re facing on the front lines of unemployment. We considered what life would look like if we had a career coach. We even dabbled in continuing education. But in the end, y’all, we’ve got to put down the snackie cake and get a move on. We can do it together. Hold hands as we cross the information super highway. Next stop – research and preparation.

Let’s be clear about what we want here. Make a list of what you want in exchange for a paycheck every week. Take a look at your past experiences and see what worked for you and what didn’t. We can’t launch into action looking for something if we are unclear about what we are searching for. For example, I would flounder in a job that didn’t challenge me. I need fast paced environments and to be surrounded by people that are thinkers, creators, and committed to open communication. That declaration itself automatically eliminates a ton of industries, jobs, and companies that would not be a good fit for me. Think about it for yourself. Know where you need to go.

For those of you sitting at a computer terminal in an Internet café, put another five bucks on your machine tab because it’s research time. Jump onto companies web sites. Check out their About Us, Media, or Press Room sections. Companies might seem like giant faceless entities, but behind those corporate glass doors are people just like you and me.

Clearly, company web sites will tell you simply wonderful things about the organization but don’t stop your search there. What is the rest of the world saying about the company you are thinking about working for? Check out news and information sites, recent articles and online profiles. For this, head to Hoover's or Vault. A little light reading could also come from picking up a (public) company's annual report. Super fast short cut: Google them.

A quick way to put your ear to the ground is to check out career groups and forums. Craigslist has sprung up everywhere. Start listening to your job market area today, click here for NYC.

If you are a percent person – I’ll leave you with this:
CareerBuilder.com's survey "2009 Job Forecast"

19 percent of workers' New Year's resolutions include finding a new job. The same amount plan to leave their current job by the end of the year.
47 percent of workers planning to find a new job this year cite better compensation and/or career advancement opportunities as their primary reasons.
8 percent want to venture into a completely different career than their current ones.
80 percent of workers claim they aren't actively looking for a new job, but they would be open to one if the right opportunity presents itself.
35 percent of workers did not receive a raise in 2008.
80 percent of workers did not ask for or receive promotions.
54 percent of workers say that their workloads have increased over the last six months.
20 percent of employers say they take two months or longer to fill their open positions.
23 percent of employers will decrease their recruitment budgets this year.
19 percent will devote more recruitment dollars to online hiring, such as generalist sites, niche boards and local job boards.

step up to the plate

2009-02-16T18:27:00.002-05:00

It’s becoming clear to me that I am in a circular conversation that I can’t get out of. ["Look kids, Big Ben – Parliament."]

Nik: Hi [insert new persons name]
New person: Hi, nice to meet you. So what do you do?
Nik: Oh, well I’m looking for a job.
Person: Interesting. How’s that going?
Nik: [gulp of stiff drink] Gonna start looking tomorrow!
[and repeat]

That’s pretty much how it goes here in the city. What’s your name? What do you do? These questions give most New Yorkers the two-second insight they need to sum up a person. [if you get a ‘where do you live’ question, then another whole level of deep and rich demographic info is available to judge a person by]

It’s easy to see how looking for a job can get a guy or gal down in the dumps. The good news is – there’s good news. Resources are out there to help us in either direction we decide to go:

5 Custom Solutions by Marty Nemko breaks down your sad stories and offers a nifty two-week get’er done schedule. I like day seven.

10 Reasons Procrastination Is Good For You by Mark D Fillz gives ten swell reasons to justify your sad stories. Again, I like number seven.

But really there are tons of options to keep up the positive attitude during our job safari search. Have an iPod or MP3 player? Download an audio book. You can nab Richard Carlson’s Don’t Sweat Guide to Your Job Search for under ten bucks on iTunes.

Personally, I am a fan of thinking happy thoughts.

schedule a knowledge transfer

2009-02-16T13:55:00.001-05:00

Friends, buddies, peers, peeps, homies, random strangers – hello again from the online waters of BKLYN!

Have you ever considered continuing education? Maybe for some of us it’s finishing that high school or college degree. For others, it’s the conversation that flirts with going back and getting the old masters. We’re also talking about straight up continuing ed. Come on, fellow procrastinators - this job market stinks. [NY just passed the THIRD emergency unemployment extension for a total of 33 extra weeks] What better thing for you to do with your time then become super educated, never mind the outrageous student loans. You know your credit card debt wants a friend.

I am Nikki’s contempt for mounting grad school loans [mind the language kids]. But aside from my moaning, becoming more qualified to have that job you always wanted is a route for your unemployed spinning wheels. There are some pretty solid benefits to getting back into academia beyond student rate discounts at museums. For instance, networking, which we’ll talk about later, is a great student perk. Networking with fellow students [at the grad school level this can be an impressive crowd] or industry leaders can open conversations for future opportunities.

Most prestigious college and universities, as well as your more affordable community colleges, offer opportunities to peek into areas of study without making the commitment to full-time student status. Consider, if you will, the NYU continuing ed catalog. It offers more class then some colleges. If you can’t find a class you want, you can at least collect many of the thick books and build a house with them. [you know somewhere in the city, some smart homeless person is sitting like a king in his own catalog castle]

Bottom line, higher education has frequently been the shelter for professionals during difficult economic times. Consider coming in out of the cold. For those of you who suffer from banner blindness, the University of Phoenix offers distance learning. Maybe it’s right for you.

let's take a look at the big picture

2009-02-10T18:30:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you just need professional help and no I don’t mean the psychiatrist sort [although that’s never a bad idea]. I mean more like a professional career development coach. I recently attended a workshop here in NYC called Discovering Your Soul’s Work. During the lunch break I caught up with the woman running the course. Allie Roth is the founder of the Center for Creativity and Work and is a career coach with more than twenty-five years’ experience in creativity, wellness and career development.

During our interview, Allie shared with me that we can’t separate our careers from what is happening in the economy. Allie definitely hit a cord with me when she mentioned individuals feeling like they forgot their souls and have lost the focus of who they are and the greater contributions they could be making. During the class, Allie talked with the two dozen or so students about feeling overwhelmed by these issues, but perhaps these hardships in our lives have happened to help point the way.

Quieting the mind, not giving way to the voice of fear, urgency, and external worry are all different suggestions she offers to find balance and positive footing. Doing this gives way to letting “creativity surface” and being able to find “your work in the world”. One method Allie suggests is journaling. There are tons of different online options to do this. I like Live Journal.

"Technology can be a distraction. It can also enhance the human experience. We’re living in an exciting time” Allie tells me. So where do I go with this? The two-decade veteran tells me to reframe my current job to fit a new career platform. Ok, what if I don’t have one? Next recommendation: “What do you have in your life right now that creates an opportunity to bridge to where you want to be?” Great, just what I wanted, career homework.

Friends, you will be glad to know that if you are feeling left out of my workshop experience that somewhere near you a coach is glad to help. Interested in Allie? Good news, you can connect with her via Skype. Don’t look for the woman in Second Life. She’s keepin’ it real in-person, by web cam, or email.

If coaches aren't your thing, maybe you have heard of the Myers-Briggs analysis. This is what I think/this is who I am/this is what I should do – kinda thing. Answer a bunch of questions; see where you fall on the map. For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about or have never taken the test, don’t fear – click here. The provided link takes you to a site that does a free, mini example of assessing who you are and what you might possibly be interested in doing based on your answers. FYI folks, there are more robust systems out there for self-assessment, but being low on dough or lacking the desire to give away my private contact info – this is what I got. Know of something else? I would love to hear. As it stands, the quiz told me that I am social, enterprising, and artistic. Last note, this is just a sneaking suspicion but I think the site might be funded by big brother! ;-)

it's crunch time

2009-02-08T20:17:00.003-05:00

Having a father that worked for his entire adult life at one job has left me with the experience of seeing that at any given downward economic time, his friends and co-workers could be laid off. Our parents [I’m 32] were in for the long haul when they came out of college. Here, now, in NYC - it’s more like every 2-5 years we make a switch. Maybe if we look at this moment like it is as it should be – we can find opportunity amongst the madness. What can I learn from where I am right now?

Personal example: I am currently unemployed [for real].
Opportunity to be realized: I have the time to seriously vet out my options and match my interests and experience to the best possible company/organization. I’m not stuck in something just to pay the bills.

In reality, I’ve got handfuls of friends that are sitting on the bench and not out on the court playing full-time. Seriously, think about it for a sec. How many of YOUR friends and family don’t have a job? [no really, stop and count then post your number or story on the blog] I have so many friends out of work in so many different positions that I could gather us all and start a company just by being able to fill positions because of enormous skill and talent availability. Heck, even in my grad school classes or sitting around with friends getting a drink, a general roll call is given to find out who still has work. Good news/bad news, this too shall pass – but WHEN?! These guys say there's hope in the next couple months, but hey you employed people, does this seem likely? 10 Predictions for 2009. So what do we do now? More on that to come. Can you feel the tension building?

Did an employer break your heart too? Drop me a line...

there is no I in team

2009-02-08T15:39:00.006-05:00

Greetings online friends and neighbors. I've got an invitation for you. I ask you to join me on an adventure. An electronic adventure to explore the online world around us and how we can navigate this landscape to get paid and be happy. We’re talking about exploring ourselves through Internet career development, folks.

Some of us will take this journey from the lonely waters of unemployment. Some of us are reading ahead because they feel the world is about to crash around them and are looking for safe ground. The lucky folks who still have a place to go 9-5 might be feeling like there is something else out there, that this just isn’t it. Greater good people, greater good. Does living the dream, doing good, and giving back through your job feel good to anyone else out there? If I got a yes from you, then you got a friend in me.

So how’s about you and me head off into this crazy online space and see what we can find about who we are, what skills we have that we alone express uniquely, and how those elements construct to build a purpose for us. How will we make all these connections? Come with me and I’ll show you. Just a heads up - I’ve got a few ideas but this is a journey for all of us. I might uncover only a fraction of what’s out there. It’s a dense jungle of possibilities that is easier explored and compiled together. So how about it - you in?

If you decide to forge ahead, turn to page 4.
If you decide to turn back, turn to page 5.

Stay tuned...

110% digital career search

go with the flow

moving forward

rome wasn't built in a day

fail to plan and plan to fail

expect what you inspect

don't put your eggs all in one basket

it's crunch time

the whole nine yards

everthing from soup to nuts

as clear as mud

comparing apples to oranges

finally in your element

take it with a grain of salt

the lion's share of the work

let's agree to disagree

water under the bridge

let's cross that bridge when we get to it

don't throw anyone under the bus

look at this from the 30,000 foot level

knock the ball outta the park

let's pick the low hanging fruit

we've got to get our basic blocking and tackling down

eat the elephant one bite at a time

let's not beat a dead horse

herding cats

value-added

you load my gun for me and I'll shoot

on the move

lead, follow or get out of the way

a good rule of thumb is

strike while the iron is hot

the ball is in your court

it's the 80/20 rule at work here folks

let's think out of the box

barking up the wrong tree

finally in your element

it's on your radar screen

run this one up the flagpole

that dog won't hunt

a win-win situation

cast a broad net

don't burn your bridges

massage your networks

let's get our arms around it

get your feet wet

moving forward

in a nutshell

the whole nine yards

everything from soup to nuts

take the ball and run with it

step up to the plate

schedule a knowledge transfer

let's take a look at the big picture

it's crunch time

there is no *I* in team

there is no I in team