Monday, January 31, 2011

When did LinkedIn become a job search site dressed up as a social network?

Posted by procureinsights


As LinkedIn moves closer and closer to launching their long-awaited IPO I cannot help but recall a line from the 1976 movie All The President’s Men, when Deep Throat admonished Bob Woodward (played by Hal Holbrook and Robert Redford respectively) to “follow the money.”

To what am I referring and, what does Watergate have to do with a social network IPO?  Well simply put of all the analysis that has been done so far in which data such as revenues, assets, cash on hand as well as registered users and page views, it is the trending relating to LinkedIn’s revenue source that stands out.
Let me share the following numbers with you:
  • Job listings, Jan-Sept 2010: $65.9 million (41% of revenue)
  • Job listings, 2009: $23.75 million (29% of revenue)
  • Advertising, Jan-Sept 2010:$51.37 million (32% of revenue)
  • Advertising, 2009: $23.8 million (30% of revenue)
  • Premium subscriptions, Jan-Sept 2010: $44.1 million (27% of revenue)
  • Premium subscriptions, 2009: $33.2 million (41% of revenue)
While advertising revenue has increased slightly by about 2% between this year and last, it is the almost equal reversal in the revenue percentages generated from Job Listings versus Premium Subscriptions over the past year that is noteworthy.

What these numbers say is that even though the dollar amount relating to subscriptions increased from $33.2 million in 2009 to $44.1 million in 2010, it’s premium memberships dropped significantly in terms of its percentage of LinkedIn’s overall earnings.

Conversely, revenue generated from job listings not only grew in terms of dollars from $23.75 million in 2009 to an incredible $65.9 million in 2010, but its share of the overall revenue generated by the network in in this most recent year grew to 41%.

These are not incidental, by the way numbers.  What they indicate is a trend which would seem to tell us that LinkedIn has become one of the first social networks to discover its true revenue producing formula or model.  And if you follow the money, it is more than likely going to lead to a re-branded business centered around jobs, jobs and more jobs.

Of course, and as I learned during the dot com bust . . . and subsequent boom, most of the early high flyers in the tech industry admitted that they really did not have any idea as to how they reached the lofty stratosphere of big dollar success – a point that was proven with the collapse of so many companies into a remember when oblivion.

In short, I am not certain that the fine people that occupy the executive suites of LinkedIn actually planned to become a premier job listing exchange however, and after their having grappled with various revenue model mixes, you graciously accept the results and capitalize on it through, you guessed it, an IPO.

Now I am certain that the brain trust at LinkedIn will probably pooh-pooh my take on the above numbers, indicating that they are at their core still a social network.  No doubt they will point to recent revisions of the site to include follow options and open forums to support this claim.  But bell and whistle introductions notwithstanding, the bottom line speaks volumes in that in 2009 LinkedIn’s net income was minus – that’s right minus <$3.4 million>.  In 2010 net income grew to a positive position of $10.1 million.  The big question is simply this, if their job listings service had remained the same as it was the year before, would they have turned a profit if their revenue was based on the increase in subscription revenue?  Follow the money.

This in turn leads to another question . . . is the growth in job listings an indication that perhaps LinkedIn has finally found the market’s hot button that will enable it to establish a genuine revenue model versus a pie in the sky valuation associated with other virtual realm sites such as Groupon?  For those who are unfamiliar with Groupon, it is a group buying site that offers collective purchasing power to its members who pass around the savings opportunities to people they know at a viral rate that would surpass any of the worst pandemics in history.  A hot property, Groupon received a $1 billion valuation despite having no visible means of revenue level to support it.  Ahhh, it reminds of the glorious days of the dot com era, when sizzle trumped substance.

The point I am making is that while the majority of social networks and related social media are still struggling to find their income producing footing, LinkedIn just may have found the money artery so to speak.

Read The Rest Of The Article

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Master LinkedIn's advanced search tips to get ahead of the competition

In a recent post, I talked about leveraging LinkedIn as a resource to help you identify both decision makers and competitors. To do that successfully, you have to get used to doing advanced search queries in LinkedIn's vast database. I'm going to give you a few scenarios below with specific examples to help you understand how to do this. If you're not technically inclined, it may seem a little daunting at first, but if you take the time to try these tips, you'll find that a wealth of information can be available to you in your job search.
Scenario 1: Research the Competition (Competitive Analysis)
Say you want to find competitor profiles to see how you stack up against them. If you're a writer, type in "writer" in LinkedIn's search box and you'll be presented with results that include "writer" in the profiles.  If you're a project manager, however, you have to include quotes around your search terms to find "project managers," instead of just profiles with the words "project" and "manager."
Type in: "Project Manager"
When you search for project managers, you're going to get profiles from various backgrounds. To exclude the non-relevant results, use the NOT feature (i.e. NOT construction would exclude results containing project managers with a construction background.) It's important that you use the word NOT in ALL CAPS.
Type in: "Project Manager" NOT construction
Scenario 2: Industry Networking
What happens if you're trying to set up informational interviews at various companies and you want to target people you may not already know? Say you're a software developer, and you know from experience that potential hiring managers would have the titles "Engineering Manager" or "Software Development Manager," etc. You can use the OR feature of LinkedIn to display both results.
Type in: "Engineering Manager" OR "Software Development Manager"
Scenario 3: Research Decision Makers (Prospecting)
Now you see a particular job at Microsoft that intrigues you, and you're tempted to blindly submit your resume. Then you remember from my columns that companies like Microsoft can get as many as 900 applications, so you don't want to be just one of the masses. You know that if you can speak to the potential hiring manager, you can learn more about the job beyond the job description and that can help you better tailor your application.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs

EpicLaunch


There are hundreds of social networks out there. You can’t be everywhere and we all need to focus our efforts and time on the most effective social networking sites. Here are the social networks I would recommend most for entrepreneurs.


Linkedin – Over 50 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.
Pro: Largest business network on the web.
Con: Some features require payment.
Entrepreneur Connect – Start networking with entrepreneurs just like you.
Pro: Free membership.
Con: Self promotion is not encouraged.
PartnerUp – Network with other small business owners just like you.
Pro: Free membership.
Con: Very wide range of topics.
StartupNation – Source for Small Business Advice and Entrepreneur Forum.
Pro: Many resources available and advice.
Con: Limited networking capabilities.
Biznik – Business Networking.
Pro: Free membership.
Con: Small network.
Perfect Business – Powerful Business Planning Software , Find Startup Funding.
Pro: Resources and networking.
Con: Very small network.
Young Entrepreneur – Small Business & Entrepreneur Community.
Pro: Very active community.
Con: Forum is a bit difficult to use.
Ryze – Business Networking.
Pro: Very easy to use.
Con: Design is poor.
Xing – Social Network for Business Professionals.
Pro: Second largest business network.
Con: LinkedIn is better to use for mass networking.
Musts:
  • Facebook – Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.
  • Twitter – Twitter is without a doubt the best way to share and discover what is happening right now.
  • Flickr – Flickr is certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world.
Reposted from EpicLaunch

Friday, January 21, 2011

Recruiters Rethink Online Playbook

As recruiters wade cautiously back into hiring mode, they're throwing out their old playbooks. Rather than sift through mounds of online applications, they are going out to hunt for candidates themselves.

Sodexo's U.S. unit has cut job posts on third-party sites since the recession started. Above, its Paris offices.

Many plan to scale back their use of online job boards, which they say generate mostly unqualified leads, and hunt for candidates with a particular expertise on places like LinkedIn Corp.'s professional networking site before they post an opening. As the market gets more competitive again, they are hiring recruiters with expertise in headhunting and networking, rather than those with experience processing paperwork.

Inundated by online applicants, McLean, Va.-based government contractor Science Applications International Corp. plans to cut the number of job boards it uses in the coming fiscal year to six from 15 or so, says company vice president Kara Yarnot.
SAIC has asked its 125 U.S. recruiters to find candidates for analyst, engineering, and other jobs on professional social networks instead.

"It's almost a throwback to the old, dial-for-dollars method of recruiting," says Ms. Yarnot. "We need to reach candidates earlier, before they're being pursued by competitors."

About 24% of companies plan to decrease their usage of third-party employment websites and job boards this year, according to a December survey from the Corporate Executive Board Co., a business consulting firm. Meanwhile, nearly 80% of respondents said they plan to increase their use of job-board alternative methods this year, such as employee referrals and other websites like Facebook Inc. or LinkedIn.

Food services company Sodexo USA, owned by Paris-based Sodexo SA, slashed the number of jobs it posts to third-party job boards by more than half since the recession started, says vice president of talent acquisition Arie Ball. The number of applications to some executive openings at Sodexo rose more than 50% to 300 since the downturn started, Ms. Ball says, but the increase brought many unqualified candidates.

"Recruiters had to put in all this extra time to read applications but we didn't get benefit from it," she says. Now, the company is hiring different types of recruiters who specialize in headhunting, including finding candidates to poach from competitors, rather than those who are good at processing and filtering applications.

Companies are adapting their plans as they start hiring again after the downturn. Between November 2009 and November 2010, the total number of job openings rose 32%, according to the Labor Department.

Job seekers who were reluctant to leave their existing jobs—as well as unemployed workers sitting on the sidelines—have begun casting about for opportunities, too. Between December 2009 and December 2010, recruiters saw a 17% increase in applications per opening, according to the Corporate Executive Board.

The trend has in many ways been a boon for job boards, which say they haven't noticed any impact from some companies' pullback. But some of the largest sites acknowledge that the new environment means they must do more to keep customers happy.

In the coming months, Monster Worldwide Inc. plans to roll out technology that ranks candidates based on how well their applications fit requirements set by the recruiter, says chief global marketing officer Ted Gilvar. The product has been available to some customers since late last year.

Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group Inc. remains concerned that relying too much on job boards could be bad for business.

Read The Rest Of The Wall Street Journal Article

Beyond LinkedIn — Creative Ways to Land a New Job


There was a time when careers advisors would warn jobseekers against printing their resumes on pink paper, using strange fonts or including pictures to make their names stand out in the pile. It was enough to have good skills, solid results and a persuasive cover letter to grab attention, they would say. The rest was up to the interview. Not any more. In an age of almost 10 percent unemployment, LinkedIn profiles, job sites and social media, tech-savvy jobseekers are using all their skills to grab attention and win an interview.
YouTube is for Lolcats and Video Resumes
It worked for Justin Bieber, and for countless other amateur music stars who shot footage of themselves singing into the vacuum cleaner, uploaded it to the Web’s biggest video site and found a record contract and a new career waiting in their comments. Almost. But these things are rare. The more usual route, even for bands, is to build an audience on the pub or student circuit then watch bootlegged versions of their gigs appear on the site once they’ve made it. For people looking for jobs whose descriptions don’t include bad haircuts or television-tossing though, video resumes are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to Word docs and PDFs. Search on the site for “video resumes” and you’ll be offered a list of more than 235,000 results, including both resumes themselves and guides from “experts” explaining what to include and how to make a good impression.

And for some people, it seems to work. When Graeme Anthony began searching for a job with a PR company in England he uploaded a video that showed himself sitting at a table with a guitar in the background. Having introduced himself, he then invited viewers to click through to other parts of his resume, with the clicks leading to new, more detailed clips. It was all well done, very professional and won him a job with a PR company.
But not all video resumes are that well done. Too many look dull and lifeless, with little to offer the viewer but an audio speech. While written resumes needed very little writing skills, the best video resumes need some pretty keen awareness of video editing — and of copyright too.
If the technical challenge of creating a video resume isn’t a big enough hurdle, there are also a couple more.  The resume has to be seen, first of all. Serious jobseekers can’t expect to upload the story of their life and wait for the offers to pour in. Employers, like everyone else on the site, are looking for lolcats not potential employees. Even Graeme Anthony’s video was unlisted and viewable only by those who had the link. The video might be the resume but you’ll still need a cover letter to persuade people to look at it.
And there’s also the matter of being taken seriously. Some of those 235,000 results for video resumes include some pretty toe-curling spoofs.  You don’t want to look anything like Dave.

See More Great Tips and The Rest Of The Article

26 Tips to Enhance Your Experience on LinkedIn

By Debbie Hemley


With more than 85 million users and “a new member being added every second,” LinkedIn is often regarded as the premier social networking site for business professionals. Companies also see LinkedIn as a valuable place to promote their products and services.
Let’s explore LinkedIn together and see if you can identify new ways to enhance your user experience by considering the topics discussed below. As I’ve done in the companion pieces to this post, 26 Twitter Tips and 26 Facebook Tips, I’ll introduce LinkedIn Tips from A-Z.

These tips will reference both personal and company perspectives. But before we get started, let’s go over a couple of LinkedIn basics—who’s on LinkedIn, creating your LinkedIn profile and developing your list of LinkedIn connections.
Develop a network of relevant connections.

Who’s on LinkedIn?

To put it simply, everyone; full- and part-time employees, contractors, freelancers and key decision-makers from any given industry or company can be found on LinkedIn.

Creating Your LinkedIn Profile

If you’re just getting started on LinkedIn, you’ll want to strive for 100% completeness on your personal profile by adding your current position, at least two past positions, information about your education, a summary of your background/experiences, a profile photo, details about your specialties and at least three recommendations. And if you’ve been on LinkedIn for a while, think about profile changes you can make to further demonstrate who you are and what you have to offer.

Developing Your List of LinkedIn Connections

You can grow your list of LinkedIn connections through webmail contacts (email contacts who are already on LinkedIn), colleagues and classmates, and through networking on LinkedIn groups.
Your connections are what make LinkedIn work for you, so taking the time to expand your reach is time well spent. A unique perspective on connections is offered by Stephanie Sammons in her post, How Connecting Your Connections to Connect with One Another Will Help Elevate Your Social Status.

LinkedIn Tips From A-Z

#1: Applications

As LinkedIn suggests, you can add third-party applications to “enrich your profile, share and collaborate with your network, and get the key insights that help you be more effective.” There are currently 19 applications to choose from. Depending on what you want to highlight, you can give a good example of your specialties, areas of interest, and work samples.
For example, on my LinkedIn profile I’m currently using Reading List by Amazon, Blog Link and the new Publications feature. You can have a total of 15 modules and/or applications on your profile. A message bar will appear at the top of the page if you need to remove an application prior to adding another.

#2: Blog Links

You can bring your blog posts into LinkedIn with applications such as Blog Link or WordPress LinkedIn. It’s a powerful way to engage your connections with material you’ve written and if they hadn’t already been visiting your blog on a regular basis, your posts will make it in front of their eyes when they receive their LinkedIn updates.

#3: Company Pages

LinkedIn has offered company profiles since 2008 and last month the profiles were upgraded to “Company Pages.” Companies can now showcase significantly more about their business. With the new Products and Services tab, companies are able to feature products and services with descriptive overviews. Videos can also be embedded on the page, one per product or service. At this time, you can only upload videos from YouTube, although LinkedIn expects that to change in the near future.
linkedin company page
Recommend your favorite products and services on LinkedIn Company Pages
“Since the Company Page roll-out, 20,000 companies are sharing over 40,000 products. Companies of all sizes and industries are using Company Pages,” said Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn’s director of product management. When a LinkedIn member recommends a company’s product, they share the recommendation with all of their connections.
Ryan spoke about the power of recommendations for businesses, and referred to the Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, in which Nielsen found that recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising. Ninety percent of consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online.

#4: Direct Ad Campaigns

LinkedIn Direct Ads allow you to target ads by industry, company, geography, job function, seniority, gender and age. Ads can appear as a media box, banner ad or text hyperlink. Ads are pay-per-click or by impressions and can be stopped at any time.

#5: Events

With the LinkedIn Events application, you can browse by event type, topic, location and add your own event for users to find, promote and attend. Coree Silvera has a helpful post, Promote Your Event by Using LinkedIn Event Application. As she suggests, you can share with your contacts and also purchase paid advertising options targeting a specific audience on LinkedIn. This would entail going outside your own network of connections using advertising methods such as CPC (cost-per-click), CPI (cost-per-impression) or text ads.
You can also follow LinkedIn events on Twitter.

#6: Follow Companies

Company follows make it possible for you to keep your eye on key events happening at companies you’re interested in. You’ll see information regarding new jobs, new hires and promotions, what it’s like to work there via employee testimonials and how to contact a recruiter.

#7: Groups

LinkedIn Groups are a great way to stay on top of topics of interest to you and to network with others in your field. You can see who was most influential in the group the past week and follow their activities on LinkedIn. To find groups, go to LinkedIn Groups Directory.
LinkedIn has restrictions about whom you can reach out to with a free account. The person has to have been a colleague, classmate, someone you’ve done business with or a friend. One of the best bonus features of Groups is that you can send InMail to group members without having to upgrade to a premium account.

Tips 8 - 26 and Complete Article

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

20 Best iPhone Apps for Job Hunting

In college, no one ever bothers to tell students the tough truth that looking for a job is itself a full-time occupation. There are job boards to scour, resumes to type, cover letters to proofread, meetings to take, interviews to prepare for, and on and on. It can be daunting for anyone, especially recent grads just getting used to the pressure of the working world. There's no shortcut to making it easier to land a job — sorry — but there are plenty of ways you can streamline the job hunt and give yourself as many advantages as possible before, during, and after the all-important interview. These apps are a great place to start, whether you're looking for updated job listings or trying to brush up on what not to do when you meet with human resources. Most are free, and the rest are pretty inexpensive. (And really, if you're willing to pay several hundred dollars for a smartphone and contract, 99 cents isn't going to kill you.) Download away. And good luck.
  1. LinkedIn (free): LinkedIn is a social network that's a lot more limited than Facebook, but that's a good thing. It's not meant for cat pictures or pithy status updates; it's about connecting with colleagues, friends, and everyone else you've ever known in an attempt to learn about new jobs as soon as they become available. The free app lets you manage your profile, search jobs, send messages, and research companies on the go. Great for last-minute refreshers before an interview.
  2. Job Search by Indeed (free): Indeed.com is a wonderful job-search engine that combs multiple boards and displays all the results at once, so it's no surprise that its iPhone version is so popular. The app also saves recent job searches (e.g., "Manager" in "Los Angeles") for easy retrieval and updating.
  3. Jobs by CareerBuilder (free): CareerBuilder is one of the most popular job-search sites around — they launched in 1995, which makes them ancient in Internet years — and the app version is just as helpful as the full site. You can search for work by keyword or location, sync with your existing profile, mark job listings as favorites, and email results to yourself. A necessary tool for anyone.
  4. LinkUp (free): Some people question the worth of having multiple apps that cover multiple job boards and often provide overlapping results. Those people have a harder time finding work. The key to success in the job hunt is to cover as much ground as possible, and that means using as many tools as you can to bring in information about potential openings. LinkUp is another great aggregate that lists postings often found only on a company's specific website and not on general job boards, exposing you to more listings than other services.
  5. CraigsPro (99 cents): There are many versions of Craigslist available via the App Store, but CraigsPro is one of the better ones. It's only a buck, and it lets you simultaneously search multiple cities for specific keywords. It also detects phone numbers in postings and gives you the option of calling the poster directly. A good way to spot new job openings in different markets.
  6. Job Search Organizer: A must-have. Job Search Organizer is just what it sounds like: a way for you to keep track of every job you've applied for, manage your resume and info, and search for new listings.
  7. Resume Pro ($2.99): A simple but effective way to get your c.v. out there, this app takes your personal and professional information (and a photo, if you desire) and works up a professional resume that can then be emailed as a PDF to recruiters, managers, and the like.
  8. SnapDat (free): Making business cards can be expensive, so let this free app help you out. Create your own digital card that can be swapped with other app users via username searches or just emailed to new contacts. A helpful way to save some cash while looking for work.
  9. Internship Seeker (free): Whether you're a college student searching for that perfect internship or a seasoned worker in need of a change of direction, this app can get you where you need to go. You can search open listings, earmark your favorites, and more.
  10. iJobs (free): This simple, direct app does what it says it will: connect you with jobs in your area. The clean interface lets you search for jobs by ZIP code as well as limit those findings based on how far you're willing to travel.

Monday, January 10, 2011

College seniors: Start your job search in January, walk into a job in May

Matt Krumrie

Minneapolis Workplace Examiner


About-to-be new grads who begin their job search in April or May can get in real trouble, says Joanne Meehl. Also known as The Job Search Queen, Meehl is an accomplished career management expert who has worked with thousands of people in transition.
"Everyone else is looking then, and employers have already made a lot of choices," says Meehl, who offers a variety of career services for entry-level to executive-level job seekers and other career-minded individuals. "It's tough enough to find a job this year if you’re graduating, so why make it harder?"
If you start in January, you give yourself a longer runway. You may land a part-time job or internship now exactly where you want to be full-time. Prove yourself, and upon graduation, you could be stepping into a full time, professional position.
Here are several things Meehl recommends you should do now, in January and beyond, to get your job search going so that in May/June you can readily exchange your graduation gown for a suit:


- Focus on the companies or organizations you're interested in -- meaning, why do you want to work there over other places? What are their issues, needs, etc.? Then find the people – through LinkedIn and networking – who can tell you more about these places.


- Strengthen your LinkedIn profile (connect with Joanne Meehl on LinkedIn) -- Yes, you need to graduate to business networking sites like LinkedIn. You need to have a Summary here; borrow some phrasing from your resume for this. Add recommendations from faculty, former internship advisors, and others. Add to your connections; tap your existing network and any internship and job contacts.


- No resume? OUCH. Go to your Career Services office for help with this, or to a career coach, and do it NOW! Or, contact Matt Krumrie at mattkrum@yahoo.com to get a resume review and price quote.


- Sign up for Google alerts for job titles and company names. You'll get all kinds of news about your target companies.


- On Twitter and Facebook: Sign up to get alerts from companies you're following there, especially about job openings. Companies ARE posting openings only to Facebook and Twitter. Also, it’s time to get serious: Make sure your Facebook material is appropriate. Look at your material as a potential employer might. There’s “college”, then there’s professional.Delete any "lite" Twitter entries: You should be posting more professional things now, such as links to articles about your field and career area. Start following your idols in your business, and re-tweet what they say. This will create your brand.


- Start networking at any and every business gathering imaginable, in your college's area AND where you want to locate. Be sure to connect with alums there.
Starting to do these things now means you’ll be a stronger candidate who will be more likely to be getting a real paycheck upon graduation!


Resources
For a free booklet with a January-to-May month-by-month task list for your college senior job search, email your request, with the subject line “college booklet”, to Joanne@TheJobSearchQueen.com.

Read The Original Examiner Article

Thursday, January 6, 2011

6 Tips to Use Social Networking More Effectively to Find Your Next Job

On October 28, 2010 I left my last job and had a number of interviews lined up by November 4, 2010. A month later, during a 7 day period, I had 6 serious inquiries into my availability with the result of 2 second interviews and 1 job offer. In a few weeks I will most likely return to Iraq with a significant pay increase. How did I do it?  I used online social networking.
Online social networking will not get you a job alone. You still must have the right expertise, a great resume and above average interview skills. However, it will make meeting the right person who knows of an open position that much easier.

As I mentioned in my last post, it is very difficult to stand out from the crowd in a Monster, Dice, Corporate, or Recruiting firm’s database.


Do update your resume on your favorite job board but have realistic expectations. The days of the old, post resume in volume and the offers will come, technique are over. The best way to land a job is to have somebody already working there recommends you. To accomplish this you really need to put your laptop and Smartphone to work.


Update Your Social Media Profiles
When I arrived in Dubai on October 29, 2010 I had a 24 hour layover. After taking a quick nap, I cracked open my laptop and I logged onto LinkedIn to update my location. I changed my location back to where I am from in Texas and changed my industry from Defense & Aerospace on LinkedIn to Logistics and Supply Chain. This would allow me to indicate to Defense Logistics firms in the Killeen/ Temple and Austin areas I was available for an interview. This resulted in several stateside recruiters contacting me about positions I would not have otherwise learned about. I also clicked on recommended jobs and sent my profile to those firms as well.
I also posted on my Facebook page that I was returning to the US so that all my friends and family would know I was in the market. Besides my contracting buddies alerting me to overseas positions, my brother- in- law told me about Warehouse Manager position in Dallas,TX while people from  my father’s network reached out to me with potential consulting gigs.
I made sure to connect my Twitter account to both my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. I did this in order to share articles, job opportunities and random job related thoughts across all three platforms and save time.


Don’t Be Afraid Of Joining Non-Work Related Online Groups
Join groups that you are interested in socially such as running, fantasy football, sorority, chess, shooting whatever it is. Eventually someone will open up about work and they may be in a similar field or know someone who is.
This worked great for me. I follow a group of people related to technology startups. Occasionally I chime in with my two cents through a tweet or a comment on a blog. I had this gentleman hit me back last week to discuss a job opportunity which led to a discussion about my site Log Dog Jobs (soon to be Hello I’m Logistics) and a lead to a potential investor.
I would never have run into this person during the course of my normal life.

Tips 4 - 6

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

5 tips for finding a new job in 2011

CBS 6 Staff

Among the many new year’s resolutions, a popular one is getting a new job or career.

Answers Team member Dan Moran, President and Founder of Next-Act, says two things are needed to follow through on that resolution: a plan to fulfill it and the attitude to succeed.

Moran offers these tips:

* If you make the resolution to get a new job or career, create your plan to make this happen. “Break your resolution into a number of goals – such as updating your resume, making a list if network contacts you can approach, identify the ideal job or career – and each time you finish one of these goals, cross it of your list and reward yourself in some way for your achievement – even if it I just a hot chocolate”! Moran continued, “The most important tip – write your resolution down, post it on the mirror and write out your plan – it is critical to success and motivating as will”.
* Get organized. “Create calendars to keep your schedule on track, an schedule time to work on your resolution and make networking contacts. Being better organized will help you achieve your goals”.
* Be a better friend. “With social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and others, you can reconnect with friends and colleagues and let them know you are on the search for a new opportunity.
* Set realistic expectations. “This is very important as well. We live in a society of immediate gratification, but some big changes take time. Don’t think – and want a new job in two week – but be reasonable in your timeline or goals”.
* Develop an attitude of success. “You can only win if you believe you are a winner”, stated Moran. “ Creating a winning attitude in your mind will keep moving you forward. Give yourself permission to succeed – truly succeed. Be positive – and be with positive people – their positive energy will fill you, if you let it”.

Original CBS 6 Article

Monday, January 3, 2011

The Job of finding a Job!!

posted by Dean DaCosta

The Job of finding a Job!!



That is right finding a job is a job, if you cannot commit a minimum of 3-4 hours a day looking, than you will lessen your chances of success. So were to start? What to do first? Well the first you need to decide is what you want to do. What kind of job do you want? What kind of company do you want to work for?

Once you have figured that out, you need to write a resume, learn how to write a cover letter, a thank you letter, and other job hunting communications. I will discuss these in a separate posting.

So you have your resume and it is time to make a search plan. A search plan is basically the places, resources, and methods you will use to search for a job. Let’s look at some of these:

Social Networking: LinkedIn, Twitter, Zoom Info, etc.. You need to create your brand (see my post on social networking). You need to google yourself and see what is out there about you. Join groups on LinkedIn and Twitter and be involved. Answer questions in the groups on LinkedIn, show you have knowledge and are not afraid to share it. Make sure you have a professional profile on Zoom Info. One big key is to remember anything posted on social networks is viewable and trust me companies are looking. Also keep in mind some of these social networking sites, have areas dedicated to job hunters and jobs such as tweetmyjob and more. In addition there are tools out there than can make social networking easy, such as tweetdeck and jobdeck. These tools allow you to post, and monitor the main social networking sites and most of the sub-sites, like the ones above all at once. Remember while I have listed allot of tools and sites, I have not listed them all.

Job boards: These are the Monsters, Dices, Careerbuilder, etc… Remember you need to not only search, but post your resume as well. These sites are also good places to do research. Also look for niche boards that cater to the types of jobs you are most interested in.

Companies: While job boards and social networking are great, they still do not hit every place. You need to check company websites as well. A good place to find allot of the companies in your area is LinkedIn, you can also check the below web address: http://www.hoovers.com/100003475-1.html .

Associations and Alumni groups: These can be very effective networking tools, and allot of their own websites with job boards, such as SHRM (Society of Human resource Management).

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