Why Job Boards Should Embrace and Not Fear Mobile

Jeff Dickey-Chasins

Jeff Dickey-Chasins a/k/a The Job Board Doctor recently posted an article that reminded me that many job boards are either in denial about the growth in usage of the Internet by those on iPads, cell phones, and other mobile devices or those job boards are fearful about that usage migration.

I agree that job boards largely displaced newspapers as the primary source for job postings and that social media sites such as LinkedIn are trying to displace job boards as the primary source for job postings. I also agree that those social media sites look more and more like job boards and would cite as a further example the Social Recruiting App recently launched to much fanfare (and criticism) on Facebook as well as somewhat similar apps added to Facebook pages by companies such as Jobcast (i.e., CollegeRecruiter.com Facebook page) and Work4Labs. Continue Reading

Retail Workers, Consumers Upset With Thanksgiving Day Hours

John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

Facing increased competition from online retailers, a growing number of brick-and-mortar stores, including Target, Sears and Walmart, have announced that they will begin Black Friday sales on the Thursday of Thanksgiving, with some stores opening as early as 8pm, a time many employees might otherwise spend with family.  The move, according to one workplace authority, is likely to pay off for both retailers and job seekers, but warns there is the risk of negative fallout in the form of decreased employee morale and consumer backlash.

“Retailers are under immense pressure to get the holiday shopping season off to a strong start.  It is the busiest time of the year for them and Black Friday is so named because it is the day when most retailers’ sales move ‘into the black’ for the year.  As big box chains face growing competition from discounters like Target and Walmart, not to mention the fierce competition from online retailers like Amazon.com, they are all compelled to find whatever edge they can to get shoppers into their stores,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Continue Reading

Seven Things Your Customers Can Do Better Than You

Bill Lee

I want you to see your customers in a (lucrative) new light. The old paradigm works like this: Your company produces goods and services that help customers get a job done. In return, the customers pay you money. You take that money and invest a good portion of it in traditional sales and marketing efforts—including product developers, creative people, and salespeople, all of whom are paid to figure out what buyers want and to say good things about your company—in a quest to get even more customers.

Wouldn’t it be far more effective to let the customers themselves drive your sales and marketing efforts and fuel your growth? Continue Reading

$300 Cash Contest for Best Short Video on Voter ID Law

The Coalition for Voting MN (CoVM) is seeking videos to educate, move, engage, enrage, and motivate voters to oppose the proposed amendment of Minnesota’s constitution to require voters to present government-issued photo identification to a Minnesota election official.

CoVM is looking for videos that contain a strong emotional appeal and/or fact based messages to counter the overblown/false anxieties about voter fraud. Don’t tell us who may be disenfranchised by Voter ID – show us. Funny is good. Reference to the cost to implement voter ID is good. Information on the integrity of current voting system is good (why fix something that isn’t broken?). Submissions outside of Twin Cities metro are especially sought so send this to your friends who live outstate. Continue Reading

Marketing: How Businesses Can Attract Today’s Consumers

How do companies have success in the marketplace?  They have to figure out what products and/or services consumers really care about.  Then, they must separate themselves from the competition.

Entrepreneur and blogger, Seth Godin, believes that how marketing was done in the past doesn’t necessarily work for today’s consumers.  In the following video, he shares his thoughts on which ideas are most successful and how to market them. Continue Reading

Killer Cover Letter Tips!

Jimmy Sweeney, President of CareerJimmy

When it comes to writing a cover letter, the experts advise you to make it short—using fewer rather than more words, succinct––clear and focused on your key points, and sincere––writing from your heart and mind.

Good advice! But how are you to accomplish this task? Here are some KILLER cover letter tips to get yours noticed and hired: Continue Reading

What Makes Your Cover Letter Introduction Stand Out?

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez of Great Resumes Fast

Many job seekers fail to thoughtfully consider the importance of the cover letter introduction.  Oftentimes, it’s viewed as just another paragraph among many in the document.  But in reality, the cover letter introduction holds a lot of weight.  In fact, it can be the determining factor in whether a hiring manager will continue to read on through the remainder of the letter.  So what makes your cover letter stand out—not just among other paragraphs within the document but among other candidates’ cover letter intros? Continue Reading

Put an End to Cover Letter Waste!

Jimmy Sweeney, President of CareerJimmy

Thousands of job search cover letters land on the desks of hiring managers every week. After one glance, however, hundreds of them are sent to the gallows. They are tossed, forgotten, and then shredded. What a waste—of paper and personality. The men and women behind these cover letters will wait for a response, but never receive one because their writing was just plain banal, boring, and bad!

But you don’t have to be one of them. You can stop the waste. You can grab the reader’s attention. You can be called in for a job interview. So listen up. Here are five steps to take when you write your next cover letter. Continue Reading

10 Rules For Social Media from the Army Reserve’s Chief of Social Media

By LTC Andrew Morton, Chief of Social Media / Web, U.S. Army Reserve

1. Develop a “Plan on a Page”- Before you sign up for Facebook , twitter, LinkedIn or any platform you must evaluate who your audience is (internal and external), what your organization’s key communications goals are, and what’s your desired “end state”. Having a Facebook page is not a social media strategy it’s a reactionary effort to “keep up with the Jones.” Communications plans are a key part of any corporation’s strategy and social media is not immune to this step.
2. Integrate with all other mediums- Don’t “Work in a vacuum”- Continually ask how you can integrate with the other mediums (your media team, outreach/ events team, executive communications, etc). If your senior executive is doing a media interview he should be plugging your social media sites, and if the chief of corporate policy is sending out an internal communications directive she should be “asking for feedback” via your internal social media channels. Never miss an opportunity to plug and promote your sites through all your organization’s media executions and outlets! Continue Reading

Cover Letters Still Valuable in Hiring Process

Think cover letters are passe when applying for a position? Think again, a new OfficeTeam survey suggests. More than nine in 10 (91 percent) executives polled said cover letters are valuable when evaluating job candidates. In addition, nearly eight in 10 (79 percent) respondents indicated it’s common to receive cover letters even when applicants submit resumes electronically. The results mirror those from a similar survey conducted in 2008.

Managers were asked, “When evaluating prospective job candidates, how valuable is the cover letter that accompanies the resume?” Their responses: Continue Reading