The women’s 5-step guide to get noticed at work

Women working together on a business project. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

We’ve all heard the old chestnut: Part of the reason why women don’t earn as much as men is that they simply don’t ask for raises as often. As it turns out, that’s just not true. New research by nonprofit business group Catalyst has found that women ask for raises just as much as men. Continue Reading

5 Strategies for Discovering and Cleaning Up Digital Dirt Hurting Your Job Search

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez of Great Resumes Fast

Social networking mistakes can really come back to haunt you when you’re job searching. Don’t think that just because you’re on Twitter and Facebook complaining about a boss—or posting less-than-professional status updates—that it means a current and/or future employer won’t see or read what you’ve put there. Continue Reading

Is Facebook Good For Job Searches?

If Facebook has provided you with a favorable online image personally, you might think it can benefit you professionally too.  However, is it right for your job search?  Learn more in the following post.

One question that often pops up is, “How about Facebook? Can I use it for searching for a job?”

The short answer is, of course you can use Facebook for job searches. The bigger question is, will it be effective? I would not discourage it, however, there are some strategies that are more effective than others, so I would caution you to be careful about being too aggressive.

This article:

Is Facebook Good For Job Searches?

Facebook Photos Help Form Opinion of Attractiveness

How do Facebook users’ photos influence their attractiveness?

Around the world, more than 850 million people use Facebook regularly to communicate. More and more employers also are using Facebook as a way to examine potential employees before making hires. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that comments left by users on Facebook profile pictures strongly affect the level of perceived attractiveness of the profile owner physically, socially, and professionally. Continue Reading

I Have a Great Resume. Now What Do I Do With It?

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez of Great Resumes Fast

Job searching needs to be a diversified effort. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. And many people believe the only way to job search these days is to go online, post their resume to a job board, and spend time searching through the job boards looking for openings. Yes, this is a piece of the job search puzzle, folks. But it’s not the whole pie. You can’t rely on job boards alone to find a job. That makes your job search a numbers game, and you would have to spend 40 hours a week on every job board you could find applying for every position you are even remotely qualified for—literally applying for hundreds of jobs a week to get a few call-backs and maybe one or two interviews. Don’t fall into the trap of believing a job board is the only place to find employment. Below are some great ways to diversify your search and open some doors. Continue Reading

Why Isn’t My Resume Generating Calls for Interviews?

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez of Great Resumes Fast

To understand why your resume isn’t getting any callbacks, you first have to ask yourself a few questions. First, are you applying for jobs that you’re qualified for? If yes, are you customizing your resume each time you apply for jobs you’re qualified for? If you’re not, see my article: “4 Tips for Making Your Resume a Perfect Match”. If you are tailoring your resume to the position (using the tips mentioned in the above article) and you’re completely qualified for the job, then let’s explore some other reasons. Continue Reading

Social Network Yourself Into Your Next Job

Leah O'Flynn, Executive IT recruiter at Redfish Technology

A majority of employers have no formal policy regarding the use of external social networking sites. Nonetheless, work hours or work computers are in most cases not the right time or property to be using to prospect and communicate about your job search. The risk is that your cohorts, your boss, or your future boss may question your priorities and loyalties, and have grave doubts about your effectiveness and your focus.

That said, networking is a professional social activity that you really should be doing all the time, not just when you are looking for a job. Presenting an engaging, responsive, solutions-oriented attitude towards all people you interact with will win you a good image and reputation. Continue Reading

What is a LinkedIn Open Networker (LION)?

Jessica Holbrook Hernandez of Great Resumes Fast

When endeavoring to conduct a successful job search, it’s a good idea to be open to the many networking opportunities available. One possibility that many seekers don’t know about is LION, or the LinkedIn Open Networker.

LinkedIn Open Networker (LION) Defined

The LinkedIn Open Networker is a member of the professional social networking site that encourages connections from any member of the site by publicly declaring they are open networkers. In other words, they are open to connecting with anyone who sends an invitation to them.

Under most circumstances, when you sign up for a LinkedIn account, you are placed into a network—according to your location and possibly your school and professional affiliations. This creates limits on the number of people who can become your connection.

But by becoming a LinkedIn Open Networker, you open the possibility of expanding your connection base by quickly increasing the number of people in your network. Continue Reading

You, Online.

You’ve heard the idea that everyone is connected to everyone else by just six degrees of separation? Well, make that just two degrees of separation, thanks to social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Because of this, your online presence—and the relationships you build through social networking—is vital to building your career.

The majority of people still find jobs and get hired through personal connections. Social media is your route to making more personal connections—and to making them more, well, personal. Having a strong network not only gets you the job—it also gives you the opportunity to exchange ideas and knowledge with other professionals. Continue Reading

Improve Your Job Search Visibility

It is important for people to know that you are looking for a job. While as a job seeker you must commit to doing the work, it doesn’t hurt to have the support of others during this process. The question is: how much publicity have you created in your job search? Here are a couple of ways to improve its visibility moving forward: Continue Reading