LinkedIn Tip: Premium Account Elevates Job Seekers

LinkedIn announced this week a new paid account exclusively for job seekers called the Job Seeker Premium Account. The upgrade, LinkedIn says, is intended to help LinkedIn members stand out from the crowd, reach out to hiring decision makers and manage their job search more effectively.

This is the latest feature LinkedIn has added to its site that is tailored specifically for job seekers. Last month, LinkedIn announced a free tool that matches users to job openings.

As a member of the premium account, you will be moved to the top of the hiring manager's list as a "featured applicant" when you apply to jobs on LinkedIn. When hiring managers log in to their LinkedIn accounts and view who's applied for a job, "they're highlighted and displayed in a more eye-catching way than a non-featured applicant," says Parker Barrile, director of product management at LinkedIn. Hiring managers, Barrile says, have responded positively: "These job seekers stand out to hiring managers because they've invested extra time and money to make their job search successful, so they know they're serious about it."

The premium account also lets you to send InMail messages directly to hiring managers, even if they reside outside your network, and you have access to the Profile Organizer, which lets you save profiles, add notes to the profiles and keep track of contacts from your job search.

As a paid account member, you also have access to tutorials and videos on how to use the premium features such as InMails and the Profile Organizer (which are also part of the standard upgrade account) in a way that can help you in your job search.

There are three account tiers you can choose from: basic, job seeker and job seeker plus.

Basic: The basic account costs $19.95 per month. You're allotted five folders in your Profile Organizer and can view 100 profiles of hiring decision makers per search. You're also allowed 10 introductions to inside sources at companies.

Job Seeker: This account costs $29.95 per month. You're allotted five InMails that let you contact hiring managers directly and ten folders in your Profile Organizer. You can view 250 profiles of hiring decision makers per search and you're allowed 15 introductions to inside sources at companies.

Job Seeker Plus: The Plus account costs $49.95 per month. You're allotted 10 InMails, 25 folders in your Profile Organizer and can view 500 profiles of hiring decision makers per search. You're also allowed 25 introductions to inside sources at companies. All three accounts come with a webinar on looking for jobs on LinkedIn.

Staff Writer Kristin Burnham covers consumer Web and social technologies for CIO.com. She writes frequently on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google. You can follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.

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Top Social Networking Sites – Applications for job seekers

If you are looking for most of the Internet in your job search to be sure to check the following Web sites and applications:

Twitter

You can change the visibility as a work in sport or an expert in your field level Twitter to participate in discussions on topics that are familiar in that position you as an experienced professional. job seekers must be on Twitter, because the recruiters use to source candidates to search for documents in theirBIOS. I suggest that job seekers have a link to their LinkedIn profile or web resume so recruiters can go to another site for more detailed information, Since Twitter is the short power.

Twellow.com

You can use the network to expand finding thought leaders and other professionals in your area using Twellow.com. Twellow many different categories you can search for people. Since you do not need anyone's permission (unless they are to follow tweetssure), you or someone you want to follow, and many people will follow you back. You can also see who are the people who follow retweeting. The people can be good for you to follow.

Tweetmyjobs.com

Know of open positions, I would recommend the use of job seekers tweetmyjobs.com. It 'a service that directly post jobs for job seekers to text message, and it takes about eight seconds to find a position. Jobseekers can register asMany of the more than 7500 channels they want, quoting the job title and geographic areas. You can follow me on Twitter at @ TweetMyJOBS TweetMyJobs.

LinkedIn

Many recruiters are looking for social media sites for the candidates than positions on job boards instead. Profiles occurs on potential candidates' contact with them on LinkedIn. In addition to a LinkedIn profile job seekers can get their profile on LinkedIn increased participation in groupsand answer questions on LinkedIn Answers section. Recruiters have a positive impression of the candidates who deserve the best answers through thoughtful answers to the comments section.

Also, I recommend that job seekers use the page works on LinkedIn to find open positions. LinkedIn is all automatic connections you have on contract jobs company's vacancy. This is a useful feature, since it is always useful to try to network your wayto a company.

Facebook

You can join groups on Facebook and on topics of interest as a work in sport is based. If you are a member of a group can help people in the group that you want to identify the friend. Members of the group is probably very open free ding you because you had the group together. You might say something like: "I see we are both members of the group of accounts in the government. I am very interested in connecting with other professionalsarea and would like to introduce you to my network connection "It 's a good way to grow your network and find out about job opportunities ..

Easy Resume

You can do this program on Facebook with a smaller version of your resume to your Facebook profile instead.

Brave New Talent

This social networking application that allows you to have direct contact with employers and employers' organizations to participate in online communities.

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Don’t Be A Stealth Job Hunter!!!

Are you trying to find a new job without letting anyone know you’re unemployed? Many people try, very few succeed. Especially in today’s job market, it is extremely difficult to get a new position without extensive networking!

That word seems to scare many people. In their minds it conjures up images of glad-handing Multi-Level-Marketing salespeople who wants to show their “plan” with the “perfect” opportunity for you without knowing anything about you. Or it draws memories of the brother in-law who became a life insurance agent and has been haranguing every distant family member for months to buy a new policy from him.

Those bad memories are caricatures of networking or sales, and not the image you would create by effective networking for a new job.

Don’t hide from the people that can help you! Here are some thoughts and some practical help to do it right…

Especially now, there is no shame in losing your job! Often, I hear people say they don’t tell others they are looking for a job because they are embarrassed over being unemployed. Too often they blame themselves somehow when in fact market conditions can make anyone a casualty of a lay-off. When companies are forced to make drastic cuts in their expenses, they often have to cut broadly and deeply. Often they will cut a whole department, or a straight percentage from every department. The decisions of who stays and who goes are often made very arbitrarily with the bottom-line the primary concern. Survival of the company is more important than cutting carefully with a scalpel.

Over the past 2 years, virtually everyone recognizes that no one is immune. There is no stigma to a lay-off as there may have been years ago. There is no need for embarrassment, or shame. It is what it is and generally people don’t view your unemployment as a reflection on you, but rather a sign of the times. I was told of someone recently that didn’t tell his wife that he had been laid-off for 3 weeks. He rose, dressed and left for ‘work’ each morning just as he always had so his wife wouldn’t suspect, but spent his day at a coffee shop. Now that’s stealth, and not at all a good idea.

Who do you tell? Everyone! You never know where your best leads will come from, and usually they come from the most unlikely sources. Make a list of everyone you know. Studies show that most people, on average, know more than 350 people. Create lists in groups to help jog your memory. List ALL your family members, close and extended. List friends. List ALL your previous co-workers from everywhere you’ve worked. List service providers like your doctor, accountant, lawyer, real estate agent, dry cleaner, mail carrier, etc. List other parents on your kids’ sports teams. List other parents you know from your kids’ school. List people you know at church, temple, or mosque. List people you know from former vendors, customers, trade associations, user groups, or professional associations. List alumni from your schools. Hopefully, you get the idea… make lists of everyone you know!

Then gather contact information… find where they work on LinkedIn, call the main number of the company and call them. Gather email addresses if you have them. Google their name to find something of theirs with contact information. Use resources like Jigsaw.com, ZoomInfo, or the phone book!

What do you say? That will vary with how you know them, how well you know them, and what position they hold. However, as a general rule, one thing you don’t want to say is: “Do you know of a job opening?” The vast majority of people you talk to will not know of something off-hand and then the conversation becomes awkward and cut short.

As a suggestion:

“I’m connecting with everyone I know in order to network effectively to find a new position. I realize you may not know of a specific open position in my field. However, I figure my job while I’m looking is to keep adding links to my chain of people, connecting one to another until I find the right opportunity.

I’m hoping you may be able to give me names of a couple of people that you know that would be worthwhile for me to talk to… either anyone else you know in my field, someone that you might reach out to if you were in my situation, someone that just seems to know a lot of people, or anyone you know at companies that seem to be doing well.

I’d be grateful for any specific job leads if you know of one, however, I’m really only hoping for the next couple of links in my chain.”

People can’t help you if they don’t know you are looking! Don’t keep your job hunt under wraps. Let everyone you know you are looking, touch base with them regularly (every 4 to 6 weeks), and keep adding to the links in your chain until you reach someone with the right opportunity for you!

Author:

Harry Urschel has over 20 years experience as a technology recruiter in Minnesota. He currently operates as e-Executives, writes a blog for Job Seekers called The Wise Job Search, and can be found on Twitter as @eExecutives.

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The Do's and Don'ts of Using LinkedIn to Find a Job

Pervin Shaikh

Everyone who is anyone in the business world is likely to have a profile on LinkedIn. It does pay to have a profile on LinkedIn because more than a quarter of the people on the site are senior executives, with every Fortune 500 company represented. LinkedIn is not just used for job hunting, but more and more people are turning to the site to research before sales calls, asking for advice, and compiling information on companies or individuals and clients.

People are no longer relying on traditional avenues to seek employment, such as sending out resumes or CV’s to companies and agencies, or applying to jobs advertised in local or national newspaper job classification sections. Instead, people are being enterprising and inventive in seeking employment through other channels, such as social networking sites LinkedIn.

The rules of job hunting have changed considerably since bygone days when the process was more formal, secretive and reactive, and the candidates were more passive. Instead, as a result of technological innovations, social changes, changes in the workplace and globalisation, individuals are more empowered due to their ability to connect with others at a click of a button.

Facebook for Grownups

LinkedIn is also known as the “Facebook for grownups” and it gained momentum since its inception over a decade ago. Its founder, Reid Hoffman, believed LinkedIn would provide a unique professional platform for millions of people across the world. At present, the professional networking site has over 60 million profiles and there are ambitious plans to move the platform into more ambitious and profitable territories.

Facebook created headlines for social networking, but LinkedIn is now making global headlines. A recent article in Fortune Magazine, How LinkedIn Will Fire up Your Career, highlights the example of the accounting and consulting firm, Accenture, who believes 40% of their new hires over the next five years, will come from social networking sites such as LinkedIn.

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Is Your Job Search Opportunity Pipeline Big Enough?

I recommend to my candidates that they build an opportunity pipeline 3 times as large as their expectations ... or compared to their last job search. Why do candidates need such a large pipeline?


While we've seen a glimmer of hope in recent US Department Of Labor numbers, we're still in the middle of a lousy job market ... the worst in our lifetimes. What are you going to do about it?

Yet, most candidates I talk to are satisfied with about the same opportunity pipeline level that they built during their last job search - in the midst of a good job market. Even recent bad job markets (2001-2002) are good compared to today's hiring numbers.


Why does a candidate need a pipeline 3 times the pipeline initially expected?
  1. If your opportunity pipeline isn't big enough, you aren't getting enough "at bats": As a candidate you're a salesman ... of your services. A good, experienced sales person is able to meet their goals, regardless of the market by increasing their pipeline when business gets tough. You can increase your pipeline by 1) adjusting the effort or 2) innovate to improve response rates.

    The sales person - or in this case, the candidate - can adjust by increasing the number of prospecting events (calls, resume sends, job applications, networking lunches, informational interviews).

    Alternatively, a candidate can innovate (change tactics) to improve response rates. In today's lousy job market, your response rate is about 1/3 of what you would expect in a normal job market. I recommend using both tactics to achieve the pipeline you'll need in today's market.

  2. The "perfect storm" requires additional effort: Today's poor hiring economy has met the perfect storm - ease of applications, employer technology and increased employer expectations.
    • It's never been easier to apply for a job - So you have a huge number of competitors per job
    • Employer technology - Employers pre-screen with Applicant Tracking Systems (databases), so that HR reps or recruiters only look at resumes that may meet hiring manager criteria. These aren't intended to capture all applicants who are qualified - they are intended to short list a limited number that meet the minimum requirements, even if well qualified applicants are left unseen in the database.
    • Employer expectations - Today employers expect exact fits. When employers had fewer candidates due to strong job markets and the limitations of newspaper advertisements, they were forced to look at close matches and train to fill gaps. Not so today, when employers see many more candidates than jobs and when employers are forced to squeeze multiple roles into a single job with a minimal training budget. If it seems that employers are looking for a 3 headed monster, it's because they really are.
  3. Here's where you can blame the economy: It's harder to find a job today. That means you'll have to work harder and work smarter than you're used to.
Why 3 times? In a normal market, if you got an interview the odds averaged 1 in 3 that you'd get an offer. In today's market, it's about 1 in 10. In some industries (construction, for instance) it's even worse. This doesn't mean that it's impossible to find a job - it means you have to change volume and tactics to beat the odds.

How do most candidates really respond to today's market? Sadly, I've found that most candidates drastically underestimate today's job market - this is unlike anything they have ever experienced and their adviser's suggestions are based on past job markets ... rather than the realities of today. I typically see candidates react in the following steps:
Contrast this list with what I see (and coach) successful candidates do:
  • Realistic timeframes
  • Understand how competitive the market is today
  • Written job search planning - using project planning methodology
  • Manage pipeline by innovating (increasing response rate) and slightly increasing volume
  • Understand company and hiring manager needs - through intensive research and listening, before even sending a resume
  • Put themselves in hiring manager's shoes - understand WIFT (see http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/03/job-seekers-tell-your-readers-wift.html)
  • Using all tools available - using more than just job boards and company websites
  • Active networking - used to gain information, not to ask for jobs or to pass resumes
  • Social media to build Social Brand and thought leadership - Including Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and blogs
  • Not depending on any single opportunity - because their opportunity pipeline is large enough that they know something will come through. They stack the odds in their favor

Job seekers - How many opportunities are in your pipeline today?

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In the Search for a Hot Job Title, Enter the Ninja These Silicon Valley Warriors Write Computer Code; 'Guru Is So Web 1.0'

I guess I'll have to give myself a new title.....

By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER

Nicole Sullivan's job used to involve promoting the latest technology, so her résumé described her as an "evangelist." But after starting her own company, she needed to emphasize a different skill set.

Now, she likes to be known as a "ninja."

Ms. Sullivan isn't a black-hooded martial artist in Japan. She's a 32-year-old computer programmer in San Francisco who says she applies the sly skills of feudal Japanese warriors to writing software. "In the way you approach the code, you have a ton of tools available: throwing stars, knives, darts," says Ms. Sullivan, who founded Stubbornella Consulting in 2008. "The key is knowing which one will do some damage."

In Japanese folklore, ninjas were warriors who were skilled in espionage, traveled in disguise and often employed stealth fighting techniques many centuries ago. Today, a ninja is a hot new job title, vying to become the "guru" of the new century.

In 2009, the growth of "ninja" as a new job description far outpaced the growth of other trendy titles, according to LinkedIn Corp., a Web site that provides networking for more than 65 million professionals. While the numbers are still small on LinkedIn—some 800 current or former ninjas have public profiles on the site—their growth has skyrocketed past other fashionable careers such as "gurus" and "evangelists," says Monica Rogati, a scientist at LinkedIn who finds patterns in jobs data.

It's harder to quantify precisely what a ninja is.

"They're not coming from Japan," says Ms. Rogati, who first spotted the ascent of ninjas in 2003, but says they really took off last year. "They're just as likely to be software engineers or people with specialized skills working in the cubicle right next to you."

While most are computer programmers, the term has been used to describe expertise in everything from customer service to furniture movers. Jon Carlson sells the services of "ninja workers" in the Salt Lake City area. For $10 per hour per ninja, his team will do everything from housesitting to personal security to hauling junk.

Todd Bavol likes to be called the "Job Search Ninja," and published a book with that title last year that encourages people to use "creative skills from your bag of tricks" to find a job. "People who are doing the regular everyday things to find a job aren't being successful," says Mr. Bavol, the CEO of recruiting firm Integrity Staffing Solutions.

"The concept of a ninja is metaphorical. It's about confidence," says Alex Schliker, who has been advertising to hire one for his San Francisco business software start-up, CureCRM. It's "an easy way to say you need to be good at learning anything new I throw at you," he says.

Ninja is "sexier" than its predecessor, Mr. Schliker says: "Guru is so Web 1.0."

In finance, ninja has a more dubious meaning—it's an acronym for a kind of loan in which a bank hasn't verified an applicant's income, job, or assets. After the housing bubble, many of these sorts of loans ended up in default, with their borrowers disappearing like ninjas.

Valerie Frederickson, the CEO of an eponymous human resources firm in Silicon Valley, says ninja is just the latest in a string of unusual job titles for the tech industry that began in the 1990s with "evangelists."

"Technology was changing so quickly that companies needed somebody who could go out and convince customers to go with the new technology," she says.

But today's economy needs more employees who are willing to do a lot with a little. "Ninja panders either to the young or the young at heart. It is designed to make them work harder but feel good about it," says Ms. Frederickson.

The business world's love of vivid job titles dates back at least to "black belts," who first became popular in the 1980s thanks to the Six Sigma management strategy that uses the term. Management theorists spawned a generation of "gurus," although one of the most famous, the late Peter Drucker, once remarked that "we are using the word 'guru' only because 'charlatan' is too long to fit into a headline."

Bonobos Inc., a New York City start-up that makes and sells men's apparel online, has dubbed its customer-service employees ninjas. Its first customer-service representative happened to hold a fourth-degree black belt, CEO Andy Dunn says, which started the trend.

All of the ninja talk in the U.S. only sows confusion in Japan, where the term isn't used for jobs. Ninjas are mostly seen in TV period dramas and cartoons.

Jinichi Kawakami, honorary master of the Iga-ryu Ninja Museum in the city of Iga, is known as one of Japan's last living ninjas. He says that calling efficient workers ninjas is not completely inaccurate. But he's disappointed that the term has lost touch with its roots in the military arts. "As a Japanese person, I feel a bit of discomfort about it," says Mr. Kawakami, 60.

Ninjas aren't assassins, insists Mr. Kawakami, who trains by walking on his big toes. A real ninja must have stealth, intelligence, a righteous heart and patience, he says.

"Lacking any one of those, you cannot make a useful ninja. These things are required in the business world as well," he says.

The rise of ninjas in the tech world is being fueled in part by Amazon.com Inc., which hosts a ninja brain-teaser contest at job fairs and industry events when hiring computer-software writers. Winners get the title of Amazon Ninja Coder and a miniature foam statue of a sword-carrying ninja.

Ms. Frederickson, who says she has seen "enough ninjas to take a castle" recently, isn't convinced that becoming one is a good career move. "If you're going to give people funny titles, they should describe what the person does," she says. "What are you going to do after being a ninja—senior samurai?"

—Miho Inada in Tokyo contributed to this article.

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10 Job-Search Mistakes of New College Grads

People entering the job market (and all job seekers) should avoid these common errors.
by Charles Purdy, Yahoo! HotJobs

Although this year’s college graduates are facing a tough job market (and the smart ones are facing it now, rather than waiting until after graduation), they have an advantage over other job seekers, according to Andy Chan, vice president of career development at Wake Forest University: they are among the age group most likely to be hired in coming months.

“Organizations are very interested in hiring young people because they have a lot of energy and are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done,” Chan says.

But no matter how well-positioned these young people are, they—and all job seekers—will have a better chance of success if they avoid these common job-hunting mistakes of new college grads:

1. Not being proactive enough
Emily Bennington, the author of “Effective Immediately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job,” says, “This isn’t the time to sit back and be casual in your approach. Create a hit list of five to ten target companies, and really utilize your network to locate an ‘in’ at each.”

2. Relying solely on the Internet
In a recent Yahoo! HotJobs poll, 57% of respondents said networking was a factor in landing their current or most recent job. Brad Karsh, president of JobBound, says, “When thousands of candidates are applying to the same jobs online and posting their resume to the same job boards, candidates need to stand out by making connections and networking their way into a company.” Job boards are an important tool, but Karsh says new grads also need to focus energy on networking.

3. Not creating wide networks
Career expert Liz Ryan agrees: “Use your parents’, grandparents’, and friends’ networks to help you in your post-graduation job search,” she says. “Don’t be shy—reach out to any long-ago Scoutmaster, choir director, or babysitting or leaf-raking boss. … There’s no statute of limitations on networking.” (Read more Yahoo! HotJobs articles about effective networking.)

4. Not creating customized resumes
Ryan says, “Don’t send out any resumes that simply list your courses, the degree you’ve earned, and your part-time and summer jobs—use this opportunity to make a stronger statement about what you want to do with your adult life.” And according to Jay Block, the author of “101 Best Ways to Land a Job in Troubled Times,” younger job seekers often haven’t thought about what they have to offer an employer (as opposed to what they want to get from one). With this mindset, they create resumes that are “boring biographies” instead of effective marketing tools. (Read more Yahoo! HotJobs articles about crafting better resumes.)

5. Misusing the Internet
Tory Johnson, CEO of Women For Hire and the author of “Fired to Hired,” says, “New grads don’t use LinkedIn—it’s not sexy like Facebook or Twitter. But it’s the best resource for getting names and building a professional identity. Don’t overlook it.”

6. Failing to follow up
Johnson says, “It’s not enough to send resumes and pray the phone rings.” She cautions that job seekers can’t expect a resume to be discovered in that “big black online hole.” “Hustle to follow up,” she says.

7. Setting expectations too high
Johnson says new graduates too often focus on looking for the perfect job, instead of a first job: “Especially in this economy, the first job should be about finding a position where you’ll learn a great deal, you’ll be super busy, and you’ll be surrounded by lots of people.”

8. Appearing unprofessional
Make sure you’re ready for employers’ scrutiny, says Tim McIntyre, president and CEO of The Executive Search Group. That means you should “sanitize your MySpace page—right now. It will be checked,” he says. He notes that many college students will need to change off-color voicemail greetings. Ryan adds, “Don’t assume that Facebook’s privacy settings will keep your youthful antics away from curious eyes. Rid your profile page of any photos of the ‘three Bs’ (beer, bongs, and bikinis).”

9. Not taking the job interview seriously
Even when you’re applying for an unpaid internship, you need to adhere to common standards of professionalism. McIntyre says those standards include demonstrating you’ve done your research on the company and dressing appropriately. Block adds that new grads are often unprepared for tough (but standard) interview questions, such as “Where do you see yourself in three years?” and “What are your weaknesses?” (Read more Yahoo! HotJobs articles about effective interview tactics.)

10. Not using the college’s career office
“A career office can help [students] identify networking contacts, learn important job-search skills, and significantly improve their resume and cover letter,” says Wake Forest University’s Chan. Ryan agrees, but adds that this is just a first step. The career office’s job is to “to prepare you for your job search, not to conduct it for you,” she says. “Use LinkedIn, reach out to everyone you can, and begin researching employers who’d be likely targets for your job-search.” (Start your job search now.)

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Is Twitter better than LinkedIn for Job Seekers?

Once upon a time, long, long ago (which in the social media sphere is abouttwo months ago!) I was sure that LinkedIn was THE most valuable social media site for job seekers.

Today, it's definite that I'm unsure!

I would never make an argument that job seekers rely on only one site, but if I had to pick one platform as being absolutely crucial for the job seeker, I might now suggest Twitter.

"Is the man mad?" I hear you ask, while my long-suffering wife simply wonders, "Why do you even ask?"

Twitter: Best Real Time Source for Jobs

Here's why you have to be utilizing Twitter in your job search. Twitter provides you with THE best real time source for jobs that suit your job brief and it allows you to get your resume in early. Some recruiters admit that they review resumes on a chronological order and stop reading once they have 8-10 top class resumes. Understandable if you receive 500 plus resumes / job applications. Thus, in today's incredibly competitive environment, simply getting your resume in on time may not be in time!


Numerous major employers are tweeting job openings. As of 10.00am on 4/05, Abbott (608 open jobs via Tweetmyjobs.com) has tweeted openings for Global Product Manager, Patent Assistant, Electro Mechanical Technician and numerous others. You just hit the link and you are taken directly to the online application.

Sears has opted to use TweetmyJobs as its primary social media conduit. You will find 9 Sears entities when you search, including Sears Holdings Management Corporation which currently lists jobs like Lead Systems Engineer, Brand Manager – Craftsman, Multi-Channel Operations Manager.
Other major companies using Twitter include IBM, McDonald's, Deloitte, Accenture. Interestingly, while Pepsi is using Twitter for job postings, I could find no reference to Coca Cola.

Apart from http://tweetmyjobs.com, other sites worth looking at include http://www.twitjobsearch.com/and http://tweetajob.com

Note: Twitter is a fabulous tool for disciplined information gathering as above indicates. Once you register with Twitter (which is necessary to access other Twitter related sites), you do not have to send any 140 character tweets or even accept any tweets from others. So don't get bogged down by all the drivel that is out there, but do register for Twitter. Oh, keep it going on LinkedIn also.

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How Does Google Affect Your Job Search?

What does Google say about you? Why should a job seeker care?

Candidates should care, because employers care, recruiters care, HR personnel care.

Google can open opportunities for you ... or knock you out of contention. Not having anything listed about you in the first few Google pages may work against you. Then again, having negative results show up in the first few pages of Google can be damaging to your job search.

It may seem that Google is just a huge invasion of privacy, that it only causes problems in your search efforts. While Google can cause problems for your search, in most cases it only causes problems if you let it.

That's right, if you let it. You have some control over Google rankings, a process called Online Reputation Management (see http://recareered.blogspot.com/2008/03/online-reputation-management.html).

Don't get me wrong, you're never going to have total control over Google, but you can manage how Google searches on your name appear ... and the information that these searches reveal. Not every employer searches Google, but most recruiters and mid to large sized companies will as minimum due diligence.

Here's what you might find in a Google search on your name, and how it might affect your job prospects:
  • Nothing: Google returns information on others who share your name. If you've maintained that you are a subject matter expert, industry leader, or corporate executive, and you aren't showing up in the first three pages of Google, you look ineffective at best - misleading at worst.
  • Someone else's Google info: Do you want to risk a job on an employer knowing the difference between you and someone else who shares your name? If you do't manage your online reputation ... then someone else is managing it, especially if your name isn't unique. You might want to use a middle initial, shorter or longer first name derivation if you share the name of an embezzler who was just convicted on fraud charges.
  • Unfavorable information: If your name is very unique than some information may show up that's not as bad as fraud convictions, but you might not want your employer to see.
  • Old court cases or police arrest information: Have you ever been sued or arrested? Depending on locality and local newspaper practices, these records may end up on Google searches.
  • Real estate tax records: Real estate tax records or real estate transactions (including property value) may show on Google depending on locality and local newspaper practices.
  • Charitable and political donations: These may include dollar amount, political, religious or group affiliation
  • Potential embarrassments: Blog comments, Twitter or Facebook posts may be visible, depending the uniqueness of your name and what other information about you is on the web.
The scary part is that judgments are made about you through this information, generally without you having a chance to explain anything. In as competitive, litigious, and risk averse employee hiring is today, many employers will just pass on a candidate if they sense risk - without even asking questions. What can you do?
  1. Avoid surprises: Do an inventory of what's listed on Google searches of your name. Look through the first 5 pages, searching combinations of your full name, search with shortened first name, search under name and address, name and city, name and state, name and phone.

    2.
  2. If you find negative information: It's next to impossible to remove it, but you can shift it. You can manage where negative information is listed by generating information that ranks more highly than the information you wish to shift (see http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/01/online-reputation-management-4-steps-to.html).

    3.
  3. Others information: If your name is John Smith, and a different John Smith was just sentenced for some terrible crime, make sure to warn the hiring manager, recruiter or HR department ... or all three. Let them hear from you first that there will be some confusion, and you're not the same guy as the bank robber John Smith.

    4.
  4. Promote yourself: Google can work for you and can help you be found by employers and recruiters. One of the huge side effects of social media allows recruiters to search using Google ... these are some of the hottest seminars, blog topics, and ebooks out there for recruiters. Given how expensive the major job boards are for recruiters, it's a huge benefit for recruiters to find candidates without having to rely on Monster and CareerBuilder. By proactively usng Online Reputation Management to build your subject matter expertise band, you can make it easy to stand out and be found. This can even work safely for passive candidates, because you're found by subject matter expertise, not by your resume - you're found, but it's not obvious that you are looking.

    5.
  5. Fill out profiles: Fill out profiles on all the social networks you can find (there are hundreds of them - at a minimum fill out profiles for Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Plaxo, and more here: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2008/03/top-50-web-20-tools-for-job-seekers.html). Fill out profiles with all the major search engines and free email services (Google/Gmail, Yahoo, Bing/MSN, Hotmail, AOL).

    6.
  6. Claim a blog Just claim it from a free service (the easiest is Blogger, and copy your basic Linkedin profile into a post). Use your name for the name of the blog.
These are some of the basic steps you can take to manage your reputation. I'll follow with subsequent articles on intermediate and advanced Online Reputation Management techniques that you can use to fine tune your subject matter expertise, and show up on employer searches for specific business problems.

That's when you can really have Google doing the hard lifting of your job search, so employers will come searching for you. Who would want that these days?

Have you searched Google for your own name lately? What does Google say about you? Any surprises?

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