comparing apples to oranges

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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.