Last night, as I was thinking about what I would post about today I was feeling uninspired. I wasn't feeling very creative and I was drawing a blank. After a long holiday weekend you would think I would wake up with all kinds of creative thoughts ready to put pen to paper.
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But... I had nothing.
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Nothing until 11 o'clock PM when I was suddenly inspired by our local news who ran a story about amazing accomplishments and highlighted Jonathan Lester. You know who he is, right? I know are least 2 people reading this blog know who he is.

Jonathan Lester is a left-handed Boston Red Sox pitcher. His 2006 rookie season was cut short due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. But, less than two years after being diagnosed with lymphoma, Lester pitched the final game of the 2007 World Series against Colorado and just last week he threw a no-hitter as Boston beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-0. He is the first Red Sox lefty to toss a no-hitter since Mel Parnell against the White Sox on July 14, 1956.

If that's not inspiring - I don't know what is. So I started to think about what inspires and motivates me. Although I am not pitching no hitters for a Major League Baseball team, I am raising two children who I hope will grow to accomplish amazing things just like John Lester. And that is what inspires and motivates me.
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What about you? What inspires and motivates you?

Courtesy of Sodexo Careers Blog Making every day a better day.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 30, 2008 at 2:23 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Hey, want a piece of me?

Go right ahead, just steal my content...

In case anyone noticed the comments between a couple of readers and me over the past few days, you might be wondering why I'd ask anyone to steal my content.

But first, how can today's rant affect job seekers? As a job seeker you publish content also. Maybe it's just your resume, but hopefully you're getting other ideas from this blog and others. Hopefully, you've got content on your personal web page, LinkedIN, Facebook, MySpace, Interview on Demand, on an online portfolio, or your ResuBlog. Maybe you have video or audio on YouTube, pictures on Flickr, or bookmarks on Del.icio.us. Or you've shared your thoughts and commented on other blogs, forums, and groups.

Sharing expands your web presence and helps you promote and expand your subject matter expertise. As for me - I'm a "give before I get" kind of guy. For example, at networking events, I ask people how I can help them...and it usually has nothing to do with career search. In the same light, I want the content of this blog to be shared widely, and to benefit as many job seekers and career changers as possible. It's my form of "Business Karma".

This blog is about sharing, and hopefully making the job search market a little less dysfunctional. Fortunately, enough people appreciate my advice and want more. This allows me to pay my bills, and have time to give back to the job market through my blog and the 30 minute evaluations I offer free of charge.

What greater compliment can someone give me than republishing my work? It makes my day when I get a heartfelt email or comment of thanks. But there's no greater validation that the hours I devote to this blog are worthy, when someone else uses my work.

I ask you to steal my content for the same reason Robert Scoble asks in Steal My Content, Please! Scoble, one of the brighter bulbs in the Blogosphere, writes "I WANT YOU to steal my content. In fact, next year I'm going to do stuff to make all my content available via Creative Commons license so you can use it whereever and whenever, including my video shows. I'd like a credit, yes, but don't demand it. I'd rather just add to the human experience and if that means that other people make money off of my work, so be it. I've found that the more I give away my content, the more magical stuff happens to me anyway and if that means my photos or writings or videos get used in some way that I don't really like, well, that's a risk I'm willing to take." You're welcome Robert...I've stolen your content.

So now that I've asked you if you want a piece of me, I'm releasing any copyrights on material in my blog. Use my content anyway you like. If you can find a way to make money on it...good for you! You don't even have to email me asking for permission to republish, if you don't feel like it (Of course, I'd appreciate it if you did email me, so I can properly thank you for stealing my content, and just maybe make a new friend). It would be nice if you cited me, and linked back to this blog, but you don't even have to do that.

Why would I release copyrights? For starters, copyright laws are designed to protect large corporations, not entrepreneurs. If one of the big boys wanted to steal my content, they could anyways...so I'm inviting you to. Besides, do you have any concept how expensive and time consuming it would be to protect a copyright? I'd rather spend my time helping career changers.

And how could sharing my content hurt me? I don't take advertisers on my site, so it's not like someone else is getting ad revenue from my content. And if you can make ad revenue from my writing...Do it! WAY TO GO!

The worst thing that could happen is that my Google page rank could go down just a bit, because Google penalizes exact duplicate pages published elsewhere. No worries, I've already republished many places already. Page ranking is nice, but helping more people is much better.

This is one of the really beautiful things about blogging. It's altruistic. Blogging is about helping and reaching as many people as possible. Bloggers, even competitors in the same market, are collaborators who help each other. It's a phenomenon I've never seen before in 25 years of business experience. Thank you for listening, and for your readership.

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 30, 2008 at 2:07 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Last week I was honored to give a presentation on interview tips to students at Ellis College via webcast. About 40 people participated and we had a very lively discussion of interview tips and tactics for handling specific interview questions. Several participants asked me how I would recommend that they respond to some specific interview questions. The questions we discussed all revolved around issues that could elicit a negative response from the interviewee. We also talked about questions that interviewees might want to ask a potential employer that could be construed negatively. Without rehashing every specific question we discussed let me offer one piece of interview advice: don't tell everything you know.

If a potential employer asks you to give an example of a time that you had to deal with a difficult employee, boss or co-worker make sure that your answer is as positive as you can make it. Don't give a lot of ancillary information - answer the question clearly and honestly but don't risk sharing additional information that could make you look bad. Stick to the facts and don't share every little detail if those details could in any way be misconstrued or interpreted in a way that isn't to your advantage.

Think one step ahead of the game. Before words come out of your mouth think about the possible response that a reasonable person might have to whatever it is that you are going to say. For example, if you are asked to give an example of a time that you had to deal with a difficult client, and the reason the client was difficult to deal with was because of a big mistake you made in the past, you may not want to describe the whole history of your relationship with the client. Instead you might want to simply focus on the tactics you used to resolve a specific problem with the client. If telling the whole story could make you look less than professional just discuss the parts that make you look good. But make sure that in doing so that you don't lie. Never lie in an interview but you don't have to tell everything you know.

Another participant in the call posed a question about how to find out how a potential employer treats its employees. In the past this man had been employed as a cable installer. His previous employer hadn't paid for the cell phone he had been required to have and didn't pay for travel time in between jobs no matter how far apart they were. He was planning to interview with a different company for a similar job so he wanted to know if he should tell the interviewer how his previous employer treated him as a prelude to asking whether or not they would provide a cell phone and if they would pay for travel time. I suggested that sharing his past negative employer relationship wasn't necessary to elicit an answer from the interviewer. Instead of rehashing the past he should simply ask about the employers policy on providing equipment such laptops and cell phones and on travel time between jobs. No need to get into additional details because he might have appeared to have a negative impression of his previous employer. Think about how your comments might be perceived or misunderstood before you speak them in an interview.

Remember that potential employers don't know you at all...their impression of you will be made almost entirely from your performance in the interview. So, if you share to much information it could come back to bite you.

If you would like a free copy of my Interview Tips eBook click here!

Article by Liz Handlin and courtesy of Ultimate Resumes

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 30, 2008 at 2:02 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

This is a guest post by Steven Krager.

"You know, like nunchaku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... girls only want boyfriends who have great skills."

These wise words from Napoleon Dynamite are the theme of the promoted video on the new Australian website skillsone.com.au. If Napoleon is right, it looks like I'm going to be single for a long time. Luckily for Australians, the Australian government has funded a program to increase interest in trade skills within the country. The funds back the Institute for Trade Skills Excellence. The first aim of the Institute is to "improve the profile and status of trades." One of the ways they plan on achieving that goal is through the new video-based skillsone.com.au site.

The site is actually pretty cool. The videos are broken down into eight different categories of trades such as Building and Construction, Automotive, and Manufacturing. Dozens of videos exist for each category, and most of the videos seem to be profiles of people in a specific trade. For example, the first video on the Electrical category is called, "Training Future MacGyvers." They interview electricians on the job and observe what they do.

The videos give a great sense of what the day-to-day practice of each trade is actually like. Obviously there is a lot of variation of types of jobs within each trade, and the site reflects that by profiling hundreds of different people.

If you're curious about different trades, the videos are worth checking out. If you live in Australia, you may even find a future employer, as the site also incorporates "virtual tours" of different employers in Australia.

One great thing about the site is that because its government funded, there are no annoying ads. And the best part for non-Australia residents: the iste was paid with somebody else's tax dollars!

So give it shot and see why the site recently won a Webby Award for Associations. You may find the tools to develop some "great skills."

Article by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 30, 2008 at 12:18 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

I just read a great post over on the Exalt Creativity blog about Twitter Etiquette. The blog's author, Rebecca Coggan, reminds us that the etiquette rules for Twitter are similar to those of other social networking sites and that it's important to observe the community first and post content that adds value. She also warns that posting too frequently may be perceived as spamming. I've heard that people who misuse Twitter are sometimes referred to as twits. Perhaps we should refer to spam on Twitter as spit???

Keep your posts relevant and think of ways to share information that will help those who read your tweets. Just like traditional networking, be cognizant of what you can give, not what you can get. Enjoy!

Article by, Barbara Safani and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 30, 2008 at 11:48 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

In April central Ohio's unemployment rate was the lowest it has been in over a year, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Throughout the state, jobless rates fell in all but two of 88 counties. Despite this, Cleveland's unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percent from 7.8 percent in March to 8.3 percent.

One industry that has been relatively solid nationwide will soon lose Cleveland jobs. The MetroHealth System recently announced that it will be cutting $17 million from this years budget. To achieve this, the hospital system has decided to do away with certain positions and change the hours that others work.

MetroHealth plans to get rid of 73 Cleveland jobs as of June 1st. On top of this, many positions that the hospital has been trying to fill will also receive the axe. An additional 33 employees have been informed that there will soon be working less hours and therefore receiving smaller pay checks. It is unknown at this time if and how patient care will be effected by these changes.

Those who will be losing their jobs in Cleveland have been informed that they have the option of finding other positions within the healthcare system, but that each vacant slot is being investigated to determine if it is absolutely necessary. Individuals that chose to look for employment elsewhere will continue to receive health benefits until the end of June.

MetroHealth's came to decision to do away with these Cleveland jobs after experiencing a first-quarter loss of almost $8 million. Interim President Mark Moran said in a message to employees that all department s were asked to come up a plan of action to reduce expenses and/or increase revenues to reach budget commitments. Because of this Moran says that departments will be expected to make smarter purchasing decisions, consolidate services and find new ways to increase the hospital system's efficiency. Aside from the changes in staff numbers for filling jobs in health care, the company will be doing away with their catering and travel budgets.

Posted by Joel Cheesman on May 29, 2008 at 2:34 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Blogging is all the rage these days, especially for freelance writers like Kay B. Day. In her article, "The blogging toolbox - where do you blog and how do you talk to your visitors?," she talks about how she started her own blogging site and lists some of the platforms you can use to start your own blogging Web site.

Day started out using Google's Blogger but wanted to do something more. So she started researching and discovered that WordPress.com works best for her. It's free, user friendly and suits her need. Unlike Blogger, she can't use plug-ins or third party ads.

Her full list of recommended platforms:

WordPress.com (free platform)
Wordpress.org (must be downloaded and installed on your own site)
Squarespace.com
Blogger.com
TypePad.com
MovableType
Joomla

If you'd like to learn more about setting up your own blogging site, Day suggests reading What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting by Ted Demopoulos.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 29, 2008 at 1:45 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

We've talked periodically about the impact that the economy's downturn is having on the job market. Last week, in the new Outside Voices blog that recruitment guru Joel Cheesman is writing for U.S. News and World Report, the topic is compensation in traditionally hot fields like technology, finance, and government contracting.

Joel cites a May 2008 JobFox report on the most wanted U.S. job candidates. According to the report, there is still an extremely high demand for these professional and highly skilled employees, but there are budget constraints and cutbacks that make it difficult to offset the demand for jobs. This has driven businesses to lower the salaries they offer for some of the hottest jobs on the market.

Most salary decreases are around $10,000 for technology jobs, product management, network/systems administration, governmental contracting, and finance. The good news? It won't stay this way forever. Says Joel: "These are high-profile jobs with high demand so salary adjustments are imminent when the economy strengthens. Employees who are able to look far enough into the future know that taking a job at a lower salary today is a smart bet for tomorrow."

So here's a question for you all: would you take a job for less money than you'd have commanded at this time last year
either to keep yourself out of the unemployment line, or to break into a competitive field?

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 29, 2008 at 10:54 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

One of the limiting factors of Facebook is that you only get one degree of separation, while LinkedIN gives you 3 degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Here's why that matters....I have almost 3K first level connections on LinkedIN, which gives me access to 10M members. On Facebook, I have over 1K first level connections, and that's all I can connect to.

Facebook has 2 applications that can help you: More Friends and People You May Know. Both applications attack the same issue from different approaches: Connecting to the friends of your friends efficiently.

Sure you could go through your friends lists, and invite people you know (or don't know) to grow your network, but that takes a lot of time. Both applications suggest people who are friended by many of your friends. This means that the person is likely to have a lot in common with you, or be an open networker who accepts all friend invitations.

Using these tools also avoids the spam problem. Going through your friends' list of friends and emailing them also looks like spam to the Facebook spam police, and will likely get you a nasty email warning saying Facebook will explode your PC if you continue (or kick you out of Facebook). Instead, sending invitations through either of these applications generates a default email that tells the receiver that you've got like a gazillion friends in common, and don't you think we should connect?

More Friends: More Friends is an application that you need to add to Facebook. In order for More Friends to work, your Facebook friends have to have installed it also. This can be through your invitation, or you'll probably see many friends have already added the application. After you add the application, More Friends searches your database, and the databases of all your friends who have added the application....and lists common connections, ranked by the number of common friends. I find people regularly that I share over 100 Facebook friends in common. I like that More Friends also lists location for most members, so I can add US based friends.

The real upside to More Friends is that many are open networkers, who are also looking to build large databases. This means that few will view your friend request as intrusive, and most will have large networks - giving you access to still more people through More Friends. In addition, the greater number of friends you have using More Friends, the greater number of common connections you will show with others. I get personally get a dozen or two inbound friend requests from people who want to add me to their databases.

More Friends does a great job by ranking the number of connections you have in common, but it has a downside. More Friends is useless unless you have friends in your network that have also installed it. You might have to invite some people to add the application, and some people consider this junk mail. You'll also get a couple of Facebook spams, but it's nothing like your junk mail folder.

People You May Know: This tool was recently added a few places within Facebook. It's not an application, it's part of Facebook, which means you don't have to add it - it's already there. People You May Know also suggests you might know others through common employers and education. You'll see People You May Know on your home page (Right hand column), Find Friends, and also as News Feed stories. You can deselect, if you don't wish to contact someone, and Facebook takes this feedback to make better future recommendations.

An interesting feature of People You May Know is the ability to not just friend people, but to refer them to other of your friends. Perhaps this is because you know that all of you were friends from work, or because you felt that person's background was interesting. For instance, if you have a friend that's looking for a job, you can suggest that I friend them. That will give them Facebook notifications when I post new articles to my blog (don't worry...just like I don't spam you, I won't spam your friends either).

Will you find More Friends and more People You May Know to help your job search networking efforts? Please let me know about your experiences, and what works well (and not so well) for you on Facebook.

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 29, 2008 at 10:49 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I've had a lot of jobs over the years. Most of them have been office jobs and mostly through temporary agencies. The majority of them, whether through temp agencies or the want ads were customer service jobs. I even applied my customer service skills to the telemarketing jobs - three altogether - I had. My favorites, were the ones where I got to interact with the general public. I twice worked as a cashier in a grocery store. I was married and a mom and wanted to earn extra money. I loved them both, but I must say the second one was more enjoyable. It's cool to have customers seek you out when they come in to do their shopping. It makes you feel as if you must be doing something right.

The reason for this anecdote is an article by Teresa Odle, "Great Jobs, Aisle 7," about the growing popularity of careers in grocery stores. Odle's article focuses on Whole Foods Market, which has been one of Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" for 11 years straight. The reason Whole Foods is such a great place to work, according to Paula Labian, vice-president of Team Member Services, is because "Whole Foods Market offers an empowering environment, and our success in our 28-year history is dependent upon the collective energy of all team members."

Whole Foods Market and others like it are popular among their employees because they offer great benefits packages and, in the case of Whole Foods, the employees actually have some say in the matter. Another thing that makes grocery store jobs popular is shift work. People with families can work in the evenings, as I did, students can work afternoon shifts, and there are even overnight shifts for those who like to have the daylight hours to run errands or enjoy personal activities.

Grocery store jobs aren't glamorous, you do have to spend most if not all of your time on your feet. You don't necessarily have to have a bachelor's degree, unless your planning to move up into a managerial position or the corporate offices. What grocery store jobs do offer is flexible working hours, good benefits packages - if you work for a store like Whole Foods - and almost non-stop human interaction. Since soft skills are so important, taking a part-time job at a grocery store in addition to doing a summer internship might help college students gain the necessary skills that today's employers want in their new hires.

But don't knock a career in a grocery store. It doesn't have to be a stepping stone to something greater. As noted by one Whole Foods employee, Kyle Barhammand, working for Whole Foods has improved his eating habits and expanded his culinary horizons. And just think, where would you be without your local grocer?

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 29, 2008 at 9:39 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

It would seem that outdoor jobs are gaining popularity as more and more people become more environmentally conscious. Landscapers are enjoying a booming business as a result. But landscaping isn't a job for the faint of heart. Stil, if you love sunshine and nature as much as I do, you might want to read the article "Working Al Fresco," by Teresa Odle.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), "landscaping and grounds keeping workers are among the fastest growing occupations between now and 2016."

Park rangers and aides, and forest rangers work outside most of the time. During the summer, they get to enjoy warmth and sunshine, but they also edure rain, snow, and winter's bitter cold. Odle's article focuses on Oregon, which has five national parks and lots of forest land.

Odle point out that Oregon has "some field positions with state, city and park systems that are entry-level and offer good summer employment."

If you think you might be interested in an outdoor job like park management, be aware that a bachelor's degree is required. If not, perhaps a summer job or internship working for a national park or game preserve would be a nice way to get basic work experience while enjoying the great outdoors!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 29, 2008 at 8:51 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Working virtually and with teams from around the world is the norm of the 21st century workforce and with the world getting smaller and technology enabling the global workforce to collaborate from one end of a globe to another, the global workforce needs empowerment and the ability for a sustainable and effective interaction.
The new technology assists those looking for an efficient team work across the time zones and virtual interaction.

Here is a compilation of some not-so-new and some recent tools and services which enables complete mobility and connectivity to the global workforce - empowering them with better collaborations and making the best of the virtual workspace.

LogMeIn
LogMeIn services provide on-demand, remote-connectivity and support solutions to small businesses, IT service providers and consumers.

Businesses and IT service providers use LogMeIn's solutions to deliver remote end-user support and to access and manage computers and other Internet-enabled devices more effectively and efficiently. Consumers and mobile workers use our solutions to access computer resources remotely, thereby facilitating their mobility and increasing their productivity.

GoToMyPC
Similarly with GoToMyPC, you have the power to:

- Work on your office PC from home -- in real time
- Travel anywhere and use your PC remotely
- Increase your work flexibility and productivity
- Access your files, programs, email and network
... with easy, secure access to your PC from any browser.

Virtual team meetings enables the workforce around the globe to interact 24-7. Some of the products which enable you to meet online and save money, time and travel are:

MeetMeNow
A product of WebEx enables you to connect with up to ten clients, colleagues, and team members any time, anywhere. Deliver engaging online sales presentations. Train coworkers and clients quickly and effectively. Share resources with dispersed teams. Even solve remote clients' technical issues by taking control of their PCs from wherever you are.

GoTo Meeting
GoToMeeting is a Web conferencing tool that allows you to meet online rather than in a conference room. It's the easiest and most cost-effective way to organize and attend online meetings.

Adobe's ConnectPro
- Enables attendees to jump into always-available personal meeting rooms -- no scheduling or registration required.
- Share screens, use a whiteboard, chat, and videoconference -- enjoy real-time interactions without the travel.
- Control meetings and related assets with robust management and reporting tools.

MPK20
And now welcome to the world of 3D interaction. According to Sun's website: On any given day, over 50% of Sun's workforce is remote. MPK20 is a virtual 3D environment built using the Project Wonderland Toolkit. In this 3D world, employees can accomplish their real work, share documents, and meet with colleagues using natural voice communication. Just like on Sun's physical Menlo Park campus, known as "MPK," inhabitants of the virtual MPK20 office building can work together in planned meetings, or can talk informally in unplanned encounters. Unlike the physical campus, however, in MPK20, the community can be built and maintained without the constraints of physical location.

Tixeo's Meeting3D and WorkSpace3D
They are web conferencing and real-time collaborative work tools. They allow by using shared 3D workspaces, to communicate and work simultaneously on the same documents or applications.

Article by Shweta L. Khare, founder and president of Careerbright and Speakbright and courtesy of Careerbright blogspot

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 1:58 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

For years now, I've secretly hoped to get an invitation to be a commencement speaker at an educational institution. I've never really cared which one, as long as the students were graduating from something. But now another spring has arrived without one phone call or email asking me to share my words of wisdom with newly minted graduates. And, since I would hate to go to my grave without fulfilling this burning desire, I've decided to deliver a commencement speech via this newsletter and ask that you pass it on to all the graduates in your life.

Below you will find a compilation of the 25 years of unsolicited suggestions given to my numerous nieces and nephews, surrogate nieces and nephews, and all other young people I could get to listen to me.

The first advice I want to share is the very thing I screamed at the television screen when I watched Princess Diana walk down the aisle toward Prince Charles: DON'T DO IT! In other words, are you sure you're ready to leave the Ivory Tower? What's another year or two going to matter at this point?

I know the idea of paying more tuition makes every parent cringe. I can hear them barking, "Hey, isn't it time to get out into the real world and start using some of that very expensive education to pay off those steep student loans?" Yes, that's certainly a good point, but also consider that we are in the throes of a recession, despite what our president says. Delaying your entry into a cold and clammy workforce that has already laid off 260,000 employees since the beginning of this year might not be such a bad idea.

When you're already up to your neck in debt, what are a few more loans? It's the American way, right? So this might be the perfect time for grad school or some professional training, before life becomes complicated with family and financial obligations. However, if you do decide to extend your education, savor it! Fully immerse yourself and appreciate the experience like a fine wine. Many people I know look back wistfully on their graduate school days as the best years of their lives.

Whether it's now or later, when you are ready to take the plunge into the workforce, first contemplate what you really want to do, what you're good at, and where your skills and talents lie. Don't just accept the first opportunity that comes your way. Think about each job as part of a career collage that you are creating. A particular position might not be what you want to do forever, but can add to your repertoire of skills and experience.

Whatever you do, don't try to figure out your whole career at once. No matter how much you might want to, you can't. It's like teaching a pig to sing--it's impossible to do and it just upsets the pig. Besides, if you follow in the footsteps of your parent's generation, you'll be changing jobs 10 times between now and when you are 40. I know turning 40 seems like an eternity from now, but when you were 12, you never thought you would make it out of high school, let alone college. The lesson? It goes by really fast.
Once it's time for the big interview, be sure to prepare and prepare and prepare. Research the company. Generate questions to ask about the organization and the position. Practice talking about yourself and your accomplishments in an enthusiastic, conversational manner without ticking off a list or regurgitating your resume. Prepare for the zingers you might be asked (i.e. "You've never had a job before, so tell me why you think you can do this one") and work out your responses beforehand. Then go in there, be your best self, and give it your all. Don't lose sleep over whether or not they'll like you. If you are turned down, find out why. If the reasons given are things you can and want to change about yourself or your circumstances, make the changes as soon as possible. Then move on and try again. While it's hard to believe at the time, no single employer or job holds the key to your happiness or success. In fact, a year later you probably won't even remember what the interviewer looked like or what kind of questions you were asked, even if you end up working for the company--unless they ask you something like, "If you were a cereal, what kind would you be?" So relax!

It's important to consider what your talents are and what you enjoy doing, but there are no guarantees you'll be able to make a living following your bliss. There are many very talented--even brilliant--actors, artists, musicians, and athletes out there who never "make it." Our society rarely rewards these pursuits in the same way it compensates lawyers, bankers or insurance brokers. It's not fair, but that's the way it is. As much as you can, seek out a career path that will allow you to intertwine your passions into your work, but eventually you'll need to find something that also can put a roof over your head. So when it comes to how to make your living, stay as flexible as possible. If you end up with a different position than the one you envisioned, you might just find that you enjoy it immensely. Of course, if you do end up with a day job that doesn't incorporate your true love for writing poetry or acting or singing, this doesn't mean you have to say good-bye to your passion. Carve out time to explore your pursuits. Take classes, join a writing group, act in the local theatre. Your spirit and your soul will thank you.

Take your future into your own hands. If you sit around waiting for your ship to come in, it's going to be a very long wait. There are no magical influences. Getting that lucky break is almost always the result of groundwork we lay. Good luck isn't something people are just born with; it's something we make for ourselves. Aptitude, self-awareness, leveraging opportunities, and plain old-fashioned hard work are what bring about good fortune. It's up to you to create your own luck.

And for goodness sake, ignore the advice of those motivational speakers and self-help gurus who insist, "If you think it, you can be it." That's nonsense! If all it took to make something happen was thinking it, then each of us would be rolling in money, joyously happy, and look like supermodels. Although thoughts do influence your state of mind and ultimately your behavior, it's your actions and the choices you make that bring about success.

My final piece of advice? Independence is highly overrated. I know, you want to do it yourself. You're ready to make your own way in the world. But the simple truth it this: No one can do it alone. Ultimately, it's our interdependence with those around us that fosters success. So find mentors and advocates, develop a network, and stay in regular contact with everyone you've ever known. Go ahead and call the uncle of your mom's friend's sister. You never know which contact or connection will lead to the next great opportunity or a life-long friend.

So whether you hit the books for a little while longer or take the job plunge right away, it doesn't really matter--for as the eminent scholar Dr. Seuss says, "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the one who'll decide where to go."

Congratulations graduates!

Article by Peggy Klaus and courtesy of Jane Rohman and Associates, targeted, world class public relations

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 1:33 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

An interview by Alexandra Levit

We're continuing our conversation with Kori Carter, an event planner with her own business, Kori Elizabeth Events.

Alex: What personality traits do you think it takes to be successful in your job?

Kori: Being bossy, neurotic (in a good way), organized, and able to communicate and to write effectively are necessities, as is being a quick thinker who can manage clients through a process smoothly and with candor, versus just saying what they want to hear. If a client has a bad event idea, I definitely speak up because ultimately I am responsible for the outcome of that choice.

Alex: What skills are critical to your success in your job?

Kori: Being proactive, not reactive, and anticipating your client's needs. For a clam bake for 1,200 people on a Pier at the Navy Yard the weather forecast called for rain, so I had 1,200 rain ponchos delivered overnight -- guests thought they were wonderful, and no one even noticed the rain. Multi tasking, thinking outside the box, and remembering that there is "no crying in event planning" are crucial. Sales skills are also important because in essence you are selling a client a vision of what the event will look like. A job has to be sold before it may be created, finessed, brought to fruition.

Alex: Anything else cool about your job or career path you'd care to share?

Kori: It's a little industry joke that everyone thinks they'd like to be an event planner - the truth is, nobody fresh to the profession knows what that really means. What it doesn't mean is attending wonderful parties, mingling among VIPs, and dining on caviar belinis while looking flawless. What it does mean is long, grueling hours (usually on weekends), working tirelessly behind the scenes to make an event happen while you watch your client receive accolades and praise for the successful event. Don't get me wrong-- I love my job, but it is not for everybody!

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 1:16 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Here's a very useful article by David Allen, author of the extremely useful book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.

I stumbled across his website about 7 years ago, and spent about an hour reading various tips, many of which I implemented immediately - and more importantly, still use today. He offers a collection of free articles in addition to various books, supplies, and more.

Getting and staying organized can definitely reduce the stress involved in a job search - having everything you need easily accessible and where it should be can save you time when you need to reply quickly or want to accomplish those 2 or 3 extra things each day that can make a huge difference.

"The workspace should function like a cockpit - all the controls easily accessible as required, allowing for maximum focus on the work at hand, quick over-viewing of work to be done, and easy ad hoc processing of all forms of input (from email, paper mail, phone, and live conversation).

BASIC HARDWARE

Here's a basic toolkit:

• In-basket (top basket)
• Work-in-progress basket
• Standing wire racks for file folders (work-in-progress support)
• Out-basket
• Computer
• Printer (have one right at hand - it'll save you hours!)
• Clock
• Phone/answering machine
• Capture/communication tools - writing pad, stapler, tape; desk tray and holders for pens, post-its, paper clips, scissors, stamps
• Labeller (for files)
• New file folders (lots, at hand!)
• Filing cabinets (within reach)
• Telephone/address database
• Calendar
• Personal supplies (best in at-hand drawers): pharmaceuticals, refills for writing instruments, batteries, business cards, stationery, envelopes, headphones, blank CDs, small tools, and the like."

For the rest of article go here.

To your success.

Article by David B. Wright and courtesy of "The Job Search Strategist" providing strategies, tips and tutorials on how to find work and advance your career.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 1:08 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you're considering what career to pursue or if you're thinking about a career change, I suggest you seriously look into technical, vocational or occupational training. Many of the jobs that are hard to fill do not require four-year college degrees. So consider lucrative careers in...

• the trades
• health sciences
• culinary arts
• manufacturing
• technology

Ask your local technical college what they have to offer and link that curricula with the industries in your region. If you do your homework, you can go far!

Article by Melanie Holmes, Vice President of World of Work Solutions for Manpower, and courtesy of Manpower's Contemporary Working blog. Melanie shares Manpower's extensive knowledge while building strategic partnerships with government, universities and other leadership organizations across the country. She is also responsible for social responsibility at Manpower, which includes diversity, volunteerism, community involvement, community relations, philanthropy and workforce development.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 12:49 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you're looking for new media job postings, there's a new job board you'll want to check out: NewMediaHire.com. Covering everything from blogging gigs to online video production, the Website promises the freshest leads in the rapidly-expanding digital technology niche.

Jobseekers can apply for free, while job posters will pay $199 per posting ($25 per internship posting). Employers can also peruse anonymous resumes, only paying a nominal fee when the reach out to a potential candidate - and the person says they are interested.

NewMediaHire lets you pinpoint your job search with RSS feeds that can be sent to your computer or mobile device.

As a new media professional myself, I plan to upload my resume to explore the effectiveness of the system and the quality of the job leads.

Discussion forums are promising for the new media field, though at this point, are lightly trafficked. During several different visits, I was the lone troller.

Featured jobs scroll on by on the left of the homepage and the job search is categorized by specialty.

Personally, I would like to see a site that appeals to new media folks contain more new media. Where are the blogs, podcasts and videos?

Article by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 12:12 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Do you want to build a network that works for you? Who wouldn't?

In past articles, I've talked about mass network strategies, about how to build a large database of names through social networks. But I've also said that I use a dual approach of large and small networks. In addition to spending time building a network of size, I work with a subset to build a network of quality.

These are my go-to people, people who will gladly introduce me or help me if I need to ask. No there aren't 10M of them. But every one of them has a commonality. I've helped this group first.

I call this Networking Karma, and it works beautifully in face to face networking, as well as online networking. There's nothing that turns a loose connection into someone willing to spend time, effort, energy, and reputation to help you faster than Networking Karma.

Many readers of this blog were people I met face to face at networking events, who experienced Networking Karma first hand. When I meet someone at a networking event, and am asked what I do, I often answer "I help people for a living". This nearly always get a response like "Sure...what do you really do?". That gives me the opportunity to reply "Why not tell me what you do, and I'll show you how I might help you?"

This exchange does a few things...First, I truly am at networking events to find people I can help - not find clients (sure, I've found a few this way). I look to help people connect to others, to refer someone, to help others get to the contacts and resources they need to thrive. If I'm given the opportunity to help someone, it's rarely forgotten, and I've just made a new friend.

This exchange also helps me to listen. I'm best able to listen when I turn the conversation to the other person, inviting them to talk about themselves, their business, their job, and their goals and challenges. I find that after I've heard another persons' story, I'm often able to ask them about what they've left out (sometimes it's their goals, their challenges, or to describe two people they'd really like to meet in the next 30-60 days).

At the end of this exchange, after the other person has had plenty of time to describe themselves, I suggest how I might help them, and add that my hobby is Career Coaching, and authoring this blog. If the other person asks who they might help me, I suggest they refer people considering job change to my blog. It's free, it gives innovative job search information, and there's no pressure to buy anything.

A job seeker can make this effective also. Go to networking events with a different goal in mind than looking for a job. If you recall my earlier article Would You Stop Looking For A Job Already?, I wrote how job seekers are more effective if they stop searching for a job, and start searching for problems to solve. Networking works the same way. If you search for problems you can solve at networking events, you do more than collect cards, you build a fan base.

And when you ask how you can help someone, you are searching for problems you can solve, even if your solution is referring someone to solve that problem. This type of referral not only wins you fans, but instantly builds your trustworthiness in the eyes of others. Try it at your next networking event, and see how it works.

But how can you make this work for online networking? When I send an initial email to someone I wish to connect with, I ask "How can I connect you to people you'd like to reach?" My profile on LinkedIN and Facebook starts with "I'm a professional at helping. How can I help you?", long before I describe my business. Why do I start this way? Because I'm looking for people to help.

Along the way, sometimes through people kind enough to refer me or point a career changer to this blog, the right clients find me. These are job seekers who believe in the job search strategies that I teach, and who want help. I don't want thousands of clients, because reCareered is set up to work personally with the clients I serve. I want to work with fans.

As a career changer, how can you adopt Networking Karma to your job search? Same way...build a fan base, by helping people, connecting people, referring people. Don't be surprised if good things start to happen. Not overnight, but how often does the perfect job materialize overnight? Now along the way, make sure your fans know you're in career transition, and have seen your online profiles, ResuBlog, and online portfolio. I do this through my email signature block, and by referencing my online presence on LinkedIN, Facebook, and this Blog.

In future articles, I'll feature interviews with experts in Networking Karma, to give you their take on how to best use networking to accelerate your job search.

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 10:45 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

By now, you may already know that networking is an important job searching technique. But how do you find the networking contacts needed to find the unadvertised jobs in your field? How do you get started on building a productive network of the right kind of contacts? Here are some clever and effective ways to begin to create your Network Purposefully, to connect directly with hiring decision makers at your target employers.

If you develop these important relationships now, then when you need a job lead, you may have the inside track through the people you know or from referrals from these strategic contacts to individuals in their network who can help you with your job search. In fact, if you continuously expand your network, your exchanges with your contacts may suggest your next career challenge even if you are not officially a candidate meaning that you may never have to proactively look for a new job ever again.

1. Create a list of target employers and identify current contacts affiliated with these companies. Reach out to each insider offering something to attract their attention- not by asking about a position opening. Make your communication about them, not you!

2. Re-establish and promote/maintain existing connections through scheduled email exchanges, invitations to events, sharing relevant resources and links, occasional phone calls, holiday cards, inperson meetings, etc.

3. Initiate new networking connections with employees at target companies identified through corporate research, conference listings, author by-lines, letters to the editor, trade publication and business press citations, personal introductions by mutual contacts, affinity group connections, etc.

4. Expedite your insider networking contacts by a third party referral - ask each of your contacts if they will personally recommend you to one of their connections inside a target employer on your list

5. Be proactive- set up a three way discussion, make an introduction or referral by email, send an appropriate gift, subscription, blog quote, to start a conversation and interact one on one,etc.

6. Promote your online visibility - publish and promote a blog, establish a web portfolio, join and interact on email lists or chats, develop a video resume, give an interview, produce a podcast, give an interview, publish an e-book, etc. Periodically update these and inform your network contacts about them and about all revisions.

7. Offer to chair an industry conference section or social meeting at a industry event. Follow up on the contacts you make for this event.

8. Volunteer for community education programs, school events, sporting activities, etc. where you can demonstrate your expertise and be remembered.

9. Write a book, or column or article for your professional association - differentiate yourself as a niche expert.

10. Organize monthly or quarterly inperson networking gatherings (eg., breakfasts, lunches, dinners, cocktails) at an attractive and convenient venue and invite targeted contacts- organize around a shared interest or event.

11. Send your compliments to journalists, academic pundits, etc. and offer to help by sharing your knowledge, contacts and expertise. Stay in touch and promote a relationship through multiple exchanges, not a one time comment.

Article by, Debra Feldman and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 10:39 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

During my four years in college, I worked as a temporary office worker for various agencies. Robert Half International was one that provided me with the most assignments, through the Office Team agency. Accountemps is another agency under their umbrella. Robert Half, International, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in business this year, specializes in staffing high skilled professionals. In fact, accounting and finance professinals are their main focus.

What sets Robert Half apart from other staffing agencies is that they are global. They have "more than 400 staffing locations worldwide," according to their Web site. Visiting a foreign country would be nice, but living in one would be even better. And it might be a way for someone who is a first or second generation American to learn about the country his parents or grandparents came from. There truly is no better way to appreciate what people in other countries experience than to get totally immersed in the culture and the customs.

One thing I discovered while browsing the Robert Half Web site is that salaries in countries like England and France are comparable to those here in the United States. For example, an accounts assistant in Birmingham, England earns 9 pounds per hour through the agency, but in London, the same position offers 12 pounds per hour. As in the U.S., location matters. The cost of living in London is probably similar to that of New York City. Monetary exchange rates notwithstanding, an entry-level job in the U.K. is going to pay roughly the same amount as that position would pay in the U.S. You just have to consider the cost of living. You also have to take into consideration the fact that you are expected to be fluent in the language of the country where you want to work.

When I clicked over to the page for job postings in France, everything was in French. In France, a general account assistant is offered 20,000 to 21, 600 euros per year. Again, you have to take in the cost of living of the area of France where you will be living. Paris, like London and New York, is very expensive.

The application process is the same as it is here, except overseas you submit a CV (curriculum vitae) instead of a resume. And if you're planning on applying for a job on the French site, you should probably do it in French. In Belgium,however, everything comes up in English. If you want to work in Germany, you have to be fluent in German. Each page is unique. The British and French pages listed salary amounts but the German page didn't, and neither did the Italian page - written in Italian.

It's a totally interesting site, and if you're a recent college graduate who is seriously considering relocating to another to live and find entry-level employment, Robert Half International is a good place to start your job search.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 8:30 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Telling the truth isn't always easy, especially if it means letting someone else down. If that someone else is the boss, telling the truth gets even harder. But if telling a lie puts you in a bind, the person who will suffer the most is you. Anthony Balderrama, in his article, "Five Lies We All Tell at Work," offers ways to tell the truth and still be seen as a competent and reliable employee.

1. "I'd be happy to." - You probably wouldn't. Find out how important the task is that you're being assigned, then prioritize. and be sure to let your boss know where it falls on your list of things to do.

2. "No, I don't have any questions." - If you neglect to ask a question because you're afraid of looking stupid, just imagine how much more stupid you'll appear if you do the job incorrectly because you didn't ask any questions.

One of my father's favorite sayings is, "If you don't know, ask." I absolutely agree with him.

3. "My alarm didn't go off." - It probably did. If you're not chronically late, you won't get into trouble for hitting the snooze button once too often. Own up to your mistake and make every effort not to let it happen again any time soon - if at all.

4. "I'm not sick - it's just allergies." - If you're sick and contagious, stay home. Your coworkers probably hate being sick as much as you, so make use of your sick days when they're really needed and spare your coworkers your fate.

5. "I'm right on schedule." - This is a lie that could easily come back and bite you in the butt. If you're running behind schedule, don't say you're spot on. You'll be expected to meet your scheduled deadline. If you don't, "you'll have some splainin' to do."

Balderrama's expert, corporate consultant, Dr. Gabriela Cora, advises saying, "I'm working on it." At least then, she says, you will convey that you are hard at work on the project and not just goofing around.

I don't know that everyone tells these lies at work, but I imagine some variation of them gets tossed around by most of us.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 28, 2008 at 8:04 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

What does the content of your resume say about you? Is it an Autobiography, or a solution to your readers' problems? IF your resume gets seen by human eyes (remember, 97% get pre-screened by a database search), you have an average 8-15 seconds to capture the reader's attention. That's the average time spent reviewing a resume. In 8-15 seconds an interview/no interview decision is made. Just 8-15 seconds - That fast.

So how do you grab your reader's attention?

Write about what is important to them. Don't write about what is important to your own ego. Do you realize the majority of today's resumes don't address an employers' problems? Most are written for the job seekers own pride. Do you think it matters much to your audience what you are most proud of? Will your reader care enough to read your resume in detail to get an idea of who you are and what you can do? Or does your audience care more about rapid solutions to their problems? A common resume improvement is writing for your audience.

A resume is very personal...especially if you're a professional, manager, executive, or have had a long career - your resume describes your life. Most people write resumes listing accomplishments they are most proud of. I can recall numerous recruiting candidates I worked with who fiercely defended wording that made them feel good about themselves, while sacrificing opportunities to make statements that would interest their audience - the hiring manager.

So what's important to hiring managers?

Hiring managers today hire people who can solve their problems without much ramp-up time or training. Today's hiring decisions are made efficiently. And the quickest way a hiring manager can find someone who can solve specific problems is to search for someone who's already solved those specific problems. For instance, do you list detail of accomplishments that are important? Who are they important to? To the hiring manager for the job you're applying for? Or just to you? If you are a manager or executive, do you write about general leadership, or about detailed accomplishments? Do you write about general things that should be important to every hiring manager, or write about accomplishments that are important to that specific hiring manager? Think of it this way - if the vast majority of resumes are written for the job seekers' own ego, and just a small percentage address what an employer wants to see, isn't it far easier to stand out in the crowd? Could this help you gain an Unfair Advantage over other candidates, if you are one of the few? So write your resume to solve an employer's problems, and you'll get interviews.

Discuss how you can an solve employer's problems in an interview, and you'll get offers. Be the solution -> get an Unfair Advantage -> get the interview -> and get the job. In subsequent articles I'll give tips on how to deduce the potential employer's problems.

By: Phil Rosenberg President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global Blog. If you'd like more information, a free 30 minute resume consultation, or some advice about your career transition, just email your resume to reCareered at phil.rainmakers@gmail.com, and we'll schedule a time to talk.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Lisa Colbert, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 27, 2008 at 2:00 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Leadership? You? Isn't that just for the top of the 'food chain'? You just want an entry-level job, a promotion to the next rung, or to simply keep your job in tight times, right? In today's corporate world, you think to yourself, you'll be lucky to get to a leadership position in the next five years. Wrong! If leadership is not the most overused and misunderstood word, then it certainly ranks in the top ten in today's corporate corridors. It's time to set the record straight.

In my book, The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable, Gwen, a key character, learns leadership is not about title or position or being the decider - that's positional authority. It's not about knowing it all, creating a fearful atmosphere, or getting obedience from others. Real leadership is about collaboration, asking questions that promote learning, and creating an atmosphere of innovation. And, she also learns, real leadership is for everyone. Moreover, it can be honed with practice, but it starts internally and grows from there.

Gwen comes to understand real leadership is a way of life. It is a choice about creating open, honest, authentic relationships that urge others to want to discover their power and focus on what matters to them and their community. It is about knowing what matters to you and what you want from your life, not just your job. Gwen learns real leaders ask, "what do I want my life to look like today" not, "what do I have to do today". Big difference.

There are four simple to remember principles to keep in mind as you begin a leadership journey like Gwen. We call them Robert's Rules: The Four Commitments.

First, Show Up. Be present at all times. Leadership is a moment-to-moment choice. Close the gap between your beliefs and behaviors. If you can't walk the talk, sit down and zip your lips. Listening deeply to others and considering their perspective is a must. This gap closure creates a credibility path so that others want to "join" with you and not just be viewed as mere followers.

Secondly, Speak Up. Be heard. Discover your voice. Help others find theirs. Speak from your heart and create a vision story that offers a script of a positive future as well as everyone's potential role in it. Consider today's story and what the future needs to look like. Keep in mind who or what will assist or oppose. Invite others to join. Just because they are working with you doesn't mean they feel welcomed. They need to know the benefits of walking the path with you.

Third, Step Up. Be an action hero. Erase your limiting thoughts. Question everything, especially systems, policies and procedures. Urge others to blow up their mental boundaries and see obstacles as opportunities for innovation. Remember, it's okay to fail. Not getting the result you thought you would get from an action might be the best learning tool on the planet.

Finally, Serve Up. Be of service at all times. Be an integral part of a diversified cast of talented leaders. Honor everyone's individuality. Recognize efforts creatively and meaningfully. Create your masterpiece and help others create theirs.

And don't forget to commit. Gwen learned that with commitment, people will climb the highest peak to help you challenge the largest obstacles. Without commitment, nothing changes. Not you. Not them. Nothing!

Article by Robert H. Thompson and courtesy of WorkBloom, an employment blog incorporating a comprehensive career resources section, including the largest database of professionally written resume and cover letter samples on the Web.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 23, 2008 at 11:18 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

It takes more than just the role-specific competencies to succeed on the job. I'm not saying that having the hard skill isn't important -- you've got to have it to even begin to think about qualifying for the job. But in addition, you need some other very important stuff:

• The softer skills -- like communication skills, problem-solving ability, teamwork.
• An acceptable work ethic -- dress appropriately, show up on time and show up every day, get along with your co-workers, respect authority.
• Culture fit -- the often-subtle corporate culture nuances can make or break you on the job.

Article by Melanie Holmes, Vice President of World of Work Solutions for Manpower, and courtesy of Manpower's Contemporary Working blog. Melanie shares Manpower's extensive knowledge while building strategic partnerships with government, universities and other leadership organizations across the country. She is also responsible for social responsibility at Manpower, which includes diversity, volunteerism, community involvement, community relations, philanthropy and workforce development.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 23, 2008 at 10:59 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

One of the foundational rules of networking is to build relationships and give generously - of your time, support and resources.

By building relationships in this way you will undoubtedly benefit from being generous in spirit. As they say "one good turn deserves another".

Building your network online through social networking platforms mirrors the good practice we know offline - yes there are guidance rules for netiquette.

One of the professional networking platforms that I recommend online that you should definitely ensure you have your profile listed at is LinkedIn.

An excellent feature that you don't see in many online social networks is the opportunity to include LinkedIn endorsements - in other words online testimonials - from people in your network who have worked with you.

Having connected with someone online through LinkedIn, drafting and submitting your endorsement of someones work is a great way to further strengthen a relationship online.

Here are three keys to providing effective endorsements on LinkedIn:

• Give before you ask - I was reminded of the importance of being generous and providing an endorsement to others before we ask for one ourselves when within the last few days I have received notes from people in my network requesting endorsements.A much more effective way to build rapport online in your social network would be to generously offer a testimonial to someone.That happened for me recently - someone who had met me at an event where I had been a speaker kindly wrote a LinkedIn endorsement for me. Receiving such an endorsement was such a wonderful gift to receive and believe me I now watch out for that person's connections much more closely.And yes I did react differently to receiving an endorsement versus the requests I received for endorsements. But perhaps I am alone in that?
• Think before you write- take time to consider what you will write in a LinkedIn endorsement. Take time to write an endorsement that will be meaningful to the people reading it and also that the person you are endorsing will really appreciate.Think about the person you are writing a LinkedIn endorsement for, their skills, capabilities, impact, personal brand and their target audience and see how you can include these in your endorsement.
• Don't forget Brand You- many people forget that writing a LinkedIn endorsement is an opportunity to reflect their personal expertise.Remember that the fact that you are writing a LinkedIn endorsement means that you too are on LinkedIn and that people reading the endorsement will be able to find you there online. And who knows what thiat might lead to - more clients, new career opportunities, new friendships?Take the time to craft your endorsement so that it also briefly mentions your area of focus and how that connects to the person you are endorsing. It's a great way to reinforce your personal brand online.

Taking the time to write LinkedIn endorsements for people in your online social netowrk is definitely worth the investment.

Why not consider who you could write a testimonial or LinkedIn endorsement for in your network and perhaps take time to write one a week - I am sure that your LinkedIn network will reciprocate.

What other ideas do you have for writing effective LinkedIn endorsements?

Article by Krishna De and courtesy of Biz Growth News blog

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 23, 2008 at 10:55 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

LinkUp, a JobDig site that aggregates jobs directly from almost 10,000 company web sites, received a very favorable review today on AppScout:

If you're looking for a job, and Monster and Indeed are not helping much, then you might want to check out LinkUp-a new site that exposes the hidden job market.

LinkUp scours the nation to find real jobs from real companies by monitoring thousands of small, mid-sized, and large business career sections. Jobs listed on the site are directly from company web sites, so there's no need to worry if the business you will send your resume to is a fake.

There are also many features of LinkUp that make it unique compared to the hundreds of other job web sites currently on the market. On the site's search feature, you can browse by location, job description, company name, keywords, and company size. A tab feature allows you to click through several jobs simultaneously without ever having to click back or re-enter the terms on your search bar. A special job cloud section helps the user think of key terms to match their desired career.

Because it's also important to have several different resumes and cover letters when applying for a job, anyone can customize their resume as many times as they want and then store it inside LinkUp's online database through the resume and cover letter manager. The site's alert system will notify you whenever a new job comes up so you can be one of the first applicants. This feature is customizable, allowing you to have the alert system report new jobs according to only certain key terms.

LinkUp is very user-friendly. When I tried out the service, I searched for a job and found what I was looking for in just a few clicks.

We certainly appreciate the favorable comments.

Article by Toby Dayton and courtesy of Diggings, a blog about recruitment advertising, media, publishing, HR, work, & technology, among other things.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 23, 2008 at 10:43 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

This past weekend, I spent hours planting all types of flowers and seeds. Trips to garden centers and big box stores produced a plethora of plantings for the abundantly rich soil here in the Heartland. From Impatiens to daisies to a Ballerina rose from my favorite gift and garden center in Chicago, the flowers were carefully poised and planted in their new environment. Did you know that before planting morning glory seeds, it's best to soak them in water for 24 hours? I didn't know that, but thanks to one of my recent clients, a Master Gardener, it's a good tip to know. Now, back to planting seeds...

Are you in a job search? Is it progressing the way you thought it would? Are things moving along fast enough for you? Have you tended your network, both online and offline? Are you cultivating relationships for a future of abundance, or are you more focused on what's not happening at the moment? Are you weeding out job search strategies that aren't working for you? Are you constantly thinking of creative ways to plant seeds, or have you given up trying to grow something new?

In one of my favorite works by Stephen R. Covey, Principle-Centered Leadership, he writes about The Law of the Farm, page 161:

"The only thing that endures over time is the law of the farm...I must prepare the ground, put in the seed, cultivate, weed, and water if I expect to reap a harvest."

And so it goes with a career transition; consider planting some new seeds today for a more prosperous tomorrow. How does your job search grow?

Article by, Billie Sucher and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 23, 2008 at 10:38 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

A recent ExecuNet article indicates that, according to their survey results, approximately 44% of executive recruiters say that they have dropped a candidate from consideration for a position due to information they learned about the candidate after Googling them. This startling high number is starkly up (nearly 10 percentage points) from responses they received to the same question just 2 years ago.

Top-ranked reasons for elimination were:

1. Police arrests, felony convictions, legal entanglements, and a career track record of firings.

2. Resume fraud.

3. The candidate's background was shown not to be a match.

Combine this information with statistics gathered in the same survey that nearly 86% of recruiters say their firms use Internet search engines to uncover information about potential candidates, and it becomes obvious that negative information about you that is on the Web can be detrimental to your career health.

It is a wise practice to conduct an online search for your name at least every month or two, something that ExecuNet reports about 44% of executives surveyed say they do. Knowledge is power: If there is false information out there about you, you can work to correct it. If there is negative but true information about you out there, you can work to create a positive online reputation to counteract it. Methods to build this positive reputation include publishing articles online, maintaining a blog, participating in online networking through sites such as LinkedIn, and creating a website or online portfolio that showcases your background, knowledge, and expertise.

Article by, Laurie Smith and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 23, 2008 at 10:33 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Most people have a Facebook or MySpace page. Some of those people even log in to their pages while at work. Now just imagine working for a company that not only allowed its employees to log in to their Facebook pages, but actually made it a part of the job?

In a recent interview with Serena Software's Marketing Coordinator, Chirstina Johnson, I learned that Serena does encourage its employees to use Facebook. Christina explains how and why.

Serena Software first came up with the idea of using Facebook as the company intranet in October of 2007, shortly before Christina joined their team. The first thing I wanted to know about was "Facebook Fridays:" What are they and how did they get started?

"Serena is a distributed company with more than 800 employees in 18 countries and 35% work from home. This made it difficult to network with colleagues. So the senior execs decided that all employees should get dedicated time to create and update their profiles on Facebook. We are encouraged to block off an hour or so on Fridays to use Facebook! We can post pictures, update our profiles, add our colleagues as friends, and get to know each other better--virtually," Christina said.

Next, I wanted to know other ways she and her colleagues use Facebook as a part of their work.

"I use Facebook at work to develop relationships with colleagues that I don't get to see face to face very often. It is very common for me to communicate on a daily basis with colleagues who live in foreign countries. Since some of them I have never met face to face, or maybe just a handful of times, Facebook allows me to share myself with them and vice versa," she replied.

Although Christina didn't use Facebook when conducting her job search - she used only online sources like local and national job search Web sites - she does think it's a good idea. "Facebook is a networking site," she said, "so network! If you're interested in working for a company, look for people that work there, see who you might know in common and then write that person a note in Facebook. Think of it as an additional way to meet people, get information or simply market yourself."

"One of my marketing colleagues makes videos to promote our products and posts them on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLTs6jlbkjE)," Christina continued, "Just think there are jobs out there for people that know how to play with technology, so if that's what you're interested in look for those companies and look for the people who work at those companies and start networking today."

So what advice would Christina give to recent college graduates who are still looking for entry-level jobs? "I would tell recent college graduates to interview with confidence! I would encourage them to fill their resumes with software applications and technology skills that they may not have learned in the classroom, but on their own in their daily lives. Gen Yers are very technologically savvy and very willing to teach themselves to use new software applications on the fly. This is not the norm for many veteran employees, and Gen Y should use this to their advantage! Highlight the abilities you have to be more efficient by using and embracing technology.

"I learned that Facebook skills are very similar to creating a business mashup at work. Rather than mashing pictures, maps and videos in Facebook now I mash a marketing system and sales system to ensure that campaigns are accurately targeted to the right customers. Creating a business mashup is just like creating a Facebook profile only I get paid to do it!"

Facebook continues to expand its horizons. It's not just for socializing any more. Sure you can still post photos (be careful), chat with friends, and rant about personal grievances, but now you can also search for a job or, like Christina, connect with colleagues or create your own mashups. If you don't know what a mashup is, I suggest you take trip over to YouTube, type Serena Software into the search bar, then begin your education. A Serena executive has dedicated one seven-minute video to explaining just what a mashup is and how it's used on Facebook as opposed to how mashups are used in business. It's very interesting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 22, 2008 at 1:51 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Many of you have read Tim Ferris' outstanding book, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. If you haven't - you should! It's one of the three most powerful books I read all of last year.

If you're at all familiar with his book, you're probably wondering why in the world I'm even mentioning it in a blog geared towards job seekers. Well, here's why: Tim also runs a useful blog, and in a recent post he shares tips for emailing busy (read: important) people. This can be tremendously helpful in your job search, particularly with the large percentage of jobs being found through personal connections and connections of your personal connections.

Tim writes:
"Even after outsourcing my e-mail to a virtual assistant, there are still a few messages that come over the transom.

Since the success of the book, I've been able to see some of the worst e-mail pitches out there. Here is an example of how to do it properly, with 5 tips and good template phrases bolded:"

(see his blog post for the email example)

Now for the real value: his dissection of the email and explanation of why it's far more likely to get a response than most of the email that clogs up the old inbox...

"Here are a few notes on this e-mail and what makes it more likely to get a response:

1. It's short and what he's requesting is clear. No "let's jump on the phone for 10 minutes; it'll be worth your time."

2. He made an impression in our initial meeting, and he hasn't irritated me with zero-content "keeping in touch" e-mails. He hasn't worn out his inbox welcome.

3. He makes it clear that he's doing his part and has explored other avenues before asking for my help. It's amazing how many would-be mentees or beneficiaries ask busier people for answers Google could provide in 20 seconds. That puts you on the banned list. Explicitly state what you've done to get answers or help yourself.

4. He used the executive recruiter referral trick. Seldom will a headhunter call a gainfully employed CXO-level executive and ask them to take another position. They'll instead ask the exec if they know anyone who might be interested in position X. The intention is clear (might you consider this job over your current employer?), but it gives the executive a comfortable decline option.

5. He makes it clear that it's OK if I can't help or if I'm too committed elsewhere. This -- paradoxically -- makes it much more likely he'll get a response, which he did.

The above 5 tenets should be considered for any e-mail to someone who probably deletes more e-mail in a day than you read in a week. If they appear in media regularly, assume that you are competing against at least 100 similar requests."

As a job seeker, or someone at any stage in their career, this information should be of tremendous use to you. For example, take point #3. As a job seeker, after a brief elevator pitch on your relevant background, you could mention how you've researched the company on Hoovers, read their annual report and the press releases they issued over the past 6 months (which are usually available on their company website and also on investor websites), and searched on LinkedIn for contacts and information.

Keep it short and simple, though, so that your well-prepared request doesn't come across as an annoying imposition.

To your success.

Article by David B. Wright and courtesy of "The Job Search Strategist" providing strategies, tips and tutorials on how to find work and advance your career.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 21, 2008 at 11:55 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I read an interesting article about The Slight Edge Philosophy - it's not a new concept, but one that can have a huge impact on your career, your salary, your productivity, and in fact your overall quality of life as a whole.

Here's a brief excerpt from the article:

"WINNING IS ALWAYS A MATTER OF SLIGHT EDGE. Who can forget that moving moment of triumph in the '94 Olympics when American speed-skater Dan Jansen at last overcame years of discouragement, disappointment, and frustration to finally win the gold medal in the 1000 meters, setting a world record of one minute, 12.43 seconds?

Do you know by how much of a margin Jansen won? Do you know what the difference was between the winning world record gold medal and the virtual oblivion of second place?

Twenty-nine hundredths of a second! That's a very Slight Edge!

No matter where you look, no matter in what area of accomplishment, life, work, or play-the difference between winning and losing, between going down in the record books as first and best...or not at all-the gap that separates success and failure is always measured as ... THE SLIGHT EDGE.

And the best news of all is that it's not just the winning goal that's THE SLIGHT EDGE. The Slight Edge is the process itself that all winners use to achieve their goals. "

In your job search, how much faster would you get hired if you took the few minutes each day it would take to send your resume to one extra (targeted) company? Or making that one extra phone call to someone who may know someone at a company you'd love to work for?

In your daily work, how much more effective would you be if you did one extra thing each day? What if, instead of taking that trip to Starbucks, you got coffee from the breakroom and used the "extra" time to work towards something that would help your career? (Tip: work on one of those things in Steven Covey's Quadrant of "Important and not urgent" during this time) from his classic book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

How about your finances - instead of that $4.00 daily trip to Starbucks, if you got your coffee from the breakroom for free, you'd save $1,000 per year (based on a 50-week work year, 5 days per week at $4.00 per day), not counting whatever return you'd get by investing that money instead of drinking it. That's like getting a $1500/year raise (since you'd be spending post-tax dollars) just by changing one simple habit!

Or knowledge - how much more would you know if you just spent an extra 15 minutes a day (or only 1/96th of a day) reading something that would help you get that extra edge over your competition?

For more, there is a book called The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life by Jeff Olson.

To your success.

Article by David B. Wright and courtesy of "The Job Search Strategist" providing strategies, tips and tutorials on how to find work and advance your career.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 21, 2008 at 11:48 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Today's post is about making mistakes at work.

We all make them right? Some of our mistakes are small and often go unnoticed, some might not be as minor but the they are easily corrected, and other mistakes are so massive they are instantly noticed by everyone they touch and can even jeopardize your career. Thankfully, and knock on wood, I have been able to avoid massive mistakes but have had my share of minor mistakes in the course of my career.

How we handle mistakes is what can make or break your relationship with your boss and coworkers . It's safe to say the best course of action is take ownership of the mistake. I also think it's important to encourage others who may share responsibility to follow your lead in confessing to your boss but... don't point fingers. Pointing fingers and placing blame on your coworkers to deflect some of the attention from yourself will only come back to bite you in the end. If you come to the confession table with a well thought out and clear solution and action plan, you may redeem yourself before you've really had a chance to fall too hard. And most important, don't beat yourself up too badly. Take responsibility but don't berate yourself, especially in public because then you risk losing even more of your credibility.

If you're reading this and thinking, "uh-oh, what has she done that inspired her to write about mistakes at work...?" Not to worry... I am happy to report that I am mistake free for at least the last 24 hours. This post is inspired by a video I saw this afternoon and wanted to share. I am thankful that my mistakes are not on national television like this person!

So what about you? What mistakes have you made at work and more importantly, how did you handle the situation?

Courtesy of Sodexo Careers Blog Making every day a better day.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 21, 2008 at 11:43 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

In Interview in a Snap, I discussed research that found that hiring decisions are made within the first 30 seconds of an interview...perhaps as short as just 2 seconds. The rest of the interview just served to justify the hiring manager's initial impression.

Was that shocking to anyone else?

That led me to wonder, how can a candidate influence the first few seconds of an interview, and quickly become the favored candidate?

So I talked to a few experts in workplace Non-Verbal Communications, who gave some fascinating comments about how to make an instant connection upon walking into a room, and passing the 2 second interview test with flying colors.

Mike Murray, Author of Forget the Parachute, Let Me Fly the Plane stated that "Most hiring managers don't understand how they hire, because we have no concept of our own bias. Humans have a fundamental attribution error...we often don't understand what motivates us to an action."

What Mike is describing, the rest of us call "Gut Feel", and it's all established based on Non-Verbal Communications. While we don't always understand what motivates our "Gut Feel", we usually follow it.

Based on research, you only get between 2-30 seconds to form those "Gut Feel" impressions with the interviewer. So how can a job seeker establish rapport with a hiring manager in the first 2-30 seconds? It's all about mastering Non-Verbal Communications, which establishes trust, likability, & rapport almost instantaneously.

So what can you do in the first 2 seconds to instantly Non-Verbally Communicate that you're the best person for the job?

Karen Rothstein, Non-Verbal communications coach with Transformation by Design, suggested "The biggest thing you can do within the first few seconds is to adopt a Physiology of Confidence". Karen suggests the best way to exude confidence is through preparation. Karen advised " Visualize a time when you were at the top of your game, and remember how that felt. Practice that feeling, and then visualize that time just before you go into the front door of your target company." Feel confident, and you'll be confident.

What can you do in the first 15 seconds to slay the interview?

Mike Murray has additional ideas. Mike suggested "Most hiring managers want to hire someone like themselves. The first thing you can do is to look like you already work at your target company. Dress like them. Do some research and ask other employees about the company. Look at the brochures, press releases and website. How do people dress? What are the employees like?"

Mike even recommended reconnaissance - by going to the lunch place closest to your target company, and watch people who come in. Strike up a conversation if you can, or just watch, paying attention to how people talk and what they are wearing. The closest bar for happy hour may work also, or just stopping into the office at the reception area - just notice the first few employees that are in the lobby.

So after you've done your reconnaissance or pre-networking (think LinkedIN and/or Facebook) to ask about the culture and office attire, you're prepared to look like you're already an employee. This goes a long way to establishing rapport, by blending in and causing the hiring manager to think "Wow, this person already looks like they work here".

What can you do in the first 30 seconds to own the interview?

Mike then suggests "After you've established rapport, build upon it with mirroring. Keep your energy level comparable to the interviewer. Adopt similar posture, gestures, and tone. Even breathe at the same pace, by watching how their shoulders rise and fall, and copying their breathing pattern."

If you really want to ace the interview, do some research on the hiring manager, to find out what they are like. I'll do a later article on that topic, as it's more involved.

Finally, eye contact is critical. Keeping eye contact when you first approach an interviewer and shake hands gives non-verbal cues of confidence and trustworthiness. Keeping eye contact when you are being asked questions gives non-verbal cues of listening skills. And finally, keeping eye contact while answering reinforces the answer, builds rapport, and reinforces trust.

But also evaluate the company's Non-Verbal Communications to see if you want to work for the company or hiring manager. How the company communicates to you non-verbally will help you make a good choice of companies and opportunities.

Keep in mind that your goal is to:
1) Find a problem that you are uniquely qualified to solve
2) Make sure that you WANT to solve problems for this company

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 21, 2008 at 10:55 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

This is a guest post by Lauren Kleinman.

Everyone seems to be talking about the "R" word lately. Although it's a scary and extremely overused term these days, it unfortunately has become a reality that we are perhaps living in: a Recession. Who are the lucky people, you wonder, whose careers won't be affected by this dirty word? Here is a list of "recession proof" industries:

Security. Do you really think that crime will stop for a spiraling economy? If anything, we'll probably need to beef up our police force. I've already contemplated just driving away at the gas pump a few times now.

Energy. I will employ people to find alternative fuel options if necessary. Enough said.

Education. Our children still need education, even if we hand them over a bankrupt country. Actually, education is probably more important than it has ever been since they will need to fix our problems that we created.

International business. While our economy descends downward, other economies outside the U.S. are actually doing well. Being versed in another language or culture can open up many doors, as well as keep a steady career.

Don't have a job in one of these sectors? Don't have a complete meltdown quite yet. Here are a few tips to recession-proof YOUR career.

1. Save, save, save. This money can help if the worst case scenario occurs (layoff) or even if you decide to look to the long term and take a lower paying job.

2. Vamp up the resume. This means two things: literally, rewrite or hire someone to rewrite your resume so it sparkles, and take it up a notch at work. Take on a project that will add to your long list of accomplishments.

3. Focus on your strengths. Only you know where your strengths lie in your job. If you aren't sure, schedule a meeting with your boss to go over your strengths and weaknesses. Then take on projects or other opportunities to highlight those strengths. This will get you noticed more at your current job, as well as add to your growing resume.

More than likely, the stimulus check most of us are drooling over, isn't going to pull us out of this recession, so continue to plan ahead. Above all, focus on performing well at your current job in the short term, and if necessary, looking for a future job in the long term.

How will you stay safe from the "R" word?

Article posted by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 21, 2008 at 10:53 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Will the Pipeline Dry Up?As you are well aware, effective August 1, 2009, candidates for CPA licensure in the State of New York will be required to have 150 credits of qualifying courses, up from the 120 that was previously required. What does this mean for you? Well, it depends on where you are in the hiring process. For those of you graduating in 2008 and seeking employment with the Big 4 this year, it may help your chances. The reason for this is that, once the new requirement kicks in, there may be a shortage of accounting students in the pipeline.

In the April 2008 issue of the CPA journal that is a great article that highlights this issue (see Meeting of the Minds - Preparing Future Accounting Professionals The CPA Journal, April 2008). According to Charles A Barragato, professor of accounting and director of the C.W. Post School of Accountancy, "practitioners are apprehensive about how many students will be coming out of the pipeline after August 1, 2009." In response to this, notes Barragato, "some firms are considering ramping up their recruitment efforts-preparing themselves to hire more people to make sure they can service their clients during the transition period." Thus, in the short run, firms may be looking to hire extra graduates to prepare for the downturn in the number of graduates the following year. Let's take a look at this in more detail.

In a typical year, Big 4 firms would look to hire a "new class" of recent graduates to begin working in the summer/fall timeframe. The number varies by office, from as little as a few new hires in smaller offices to over one hundred in larger offices. Due to the "move up or move out" promotion patterns found in most of the Big 4, it is essential that a fresh class of grads be hired to fill the spots of the associates hired the previous year who are now "experienced associates." Beginning with the class of 2009, however, the number of accounting graduates entering the workforce is poised to significantly decrease. As the new requirement kicks in these students will be faced with an additional year of college in order to get their 150 hours. Accordingly, that shrinkage in the 2009 graduates is boosting the demand in graduates in 2008 to comply. Look for an increase in the number of new hires in the Big 4 this season.

Should you accelerate Your Degree to Beat the Deadline?

The new requirement presents a difficult dilemma for students who are set to graduate in 2009. Should you continue your degree at the set pace and thus require an extra year of educational experience? Or, should you accelerate your study in an attempt to graduate early and beat the deadline? This is a difficult decision and one that requires your own cost/benefit analysis. What does another year of accounting study mean? The cost of an additional year of study and an advanced degree will be the fact that you will be forever one year behind in your career. At this point it is likely too early to say what advantage an extra year of school will provide. 150 hours and a masters degree will be the status quo in 2009 so it does not seem to offer much in terms of a competitive advantage. Should you stick around for that 5th year you will be competing with a whole new class of students with Masters degrees. However, what really matters is getting your foot in the door of the Big 4, advanced degree or not. In this regard, it seems to make sense that jumping at the hiring ramp-up in 2008 would make more sense. As mentioned, this is a difficult decision and a personal one. In the end, could another year of college really be a bad thing?

By: The Big 4 Guru wants to help you land the perfect job! Get all the insider information that recruiters don't want you to know!

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Lisa Colbert, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 21, 2008 at 8:20 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

1/30th of a second... that's all it was. But that 1/30th of a second has raised a bit of a ruckus thanks to a post on YouTube, where a video posted has already been viewed over 750,000 times and another similar video being viewed over 990,000 times! It happened on the widely watched cook-off "The Iron Chef" and in case you haven't heard, it's about subliminal advertising. McDonald's denies it, the show's producers say it was a technical error, but many think it was a form of subliminal advertising being tested.

As marketer and "subliminal persuasion" guru Dave Lakhani writes in his blog,

"...the real question is does short exposure to messages have an impact. It would appear that in the case of video it does. This research from University College London 'found the first physiological evidence that invisible subliminal images do attract the brain's attention on a subconscious level.'"

So what does this matter to you, as a job seeker? Would you like to super-size your Iron-Chef-prepared gourmet meal? Or how about subliminally super-sizing the chances that your video resume stands out above the rest?

(Hire me)

Now this isn't a recommendation, nor have I tried this, but I wonder what impact subliminal advertising would have in the form of, say, a video resume?

With video editing software, it would be quite easy to pop in a frame that says "Hire Me" into an otherwise ordinary (or hopefully, extraordinary) video resume. Anyone game? Among the recruiters reading this, do you even look at video resumes?

Or in a traditional resume, what about using the first letters of your bullet points to make a subliminal statement such as:
-Have managed teams of up to 20 people with project budgets over $5 Million
-In-depth knowledge of industry issues, best practices, and emerging trends
-Reduced delivery costs by 32.4% through effective workforce utilization
-Effectively utilized technology to streamline processes and reporting
-Managed projects to budget, timeline, and business requirements
-Executed in-depth cost savings analysis to save clients $1.2 Billion over 3 years

Do you see that "subliminal" message? ;o)

Perhaps instead of a text blog, I should have done a video post....Maybe I should pop in a quick frame that says "Buy My Book!"?

To your success.

Article by David B. Wright and courtesy of "The Job Search Strategist" providing strategies, tips and tutorials on how to find work and advance your career.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 20, 2008 at 11:49 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

A WCW reader writes: "Dear Alexandra, I've read your advice about the right way to leave your job, and I think it's good. Only trouble is, the people I work with aren't exactly helping me out. I gave them six weeks notice so that I could find and train a replacement, but no one except me seems to feel this major urgency to hire someone. My six weeks are almost up, and there's no one to take over my many and complicated responsibilities. What should I do?"

Great question, and I feel your pain as I was in a similar situation as I prepared to take a long maternity leave from my marketing communications consulting gig. First of all, I think it's admirable that you care so deeply about what happens to your work once you've left. Believe it or not, most people look at a job as a paycheck, and as soon as they're assured they don't need it anymore, they check out.

Giving a healthy notice and going out of your way to try and hire and train a replacement was the considerate thing to do, but there is a limit to how much you can control the behavior of others. You've told them of your desire to keep the machine running well in your absence, but at the end of the day it's their organization, and they'll do what they will with it.

The best you can do is prepare a detailed transition memo of all of your projects, so that your old team members have the information they need to divide and conquer them in the event that a replacement isn't hired before you depart. And then it's time to start focusing on your new job and the contributions you'll be able to make there.

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 20, 2008 at 10:59 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Over the past few months, I have made numerous commitments to myself that I was going to tone down the negativity of my posts regarding the daily newspaper industry. I don't know whether the people who read this blog are getting tired of the topic or not, but it has started to feel to me like it was becoming an old story and that I needed to broaden my viewpoints. Along the same lines, I have frequently vowed to write more posts than I currently am about topics other than the dailies. But despite my best efforts, daily newspapers just keep delivering irresistible fodder for this blog, and I continue to find myself unable to pass up the opportunity to comment.

The latest blunder occurred on the op-ed page of Saturday's Star Tribune. I typically enjoy reading this portion of the daily and find myself in agreement with the editorials more often than not. It also remains one of the last arenas for actual journalism in the paper - original content, usually focused on local issues, with an identifiable voice and a combination of fact and opinion that makes for a compelling read. But on Saturday, there was an editorial entitled "Are You LinkedIn Yet? Does It Really Matter?" (I'd link to the editorial directly, but the Strib's web site returned no matching search results for the search term 'LinkedIn' or even 'are you linkedin yet' in the search box on their site).

First of all, an editorial like this seems to be at least a year or two late. If the Strib is just now becoming familiar enough with the social networking tool to write about it, it further proves how far behind the times the dailies are. Secondly, the article itself is very poorly written. Sentences like the following - "The initial lure of LinkedIn is that for most of us it's a complete waste of time, but it looks and feels like work" - make absolutely no sense whatsoever. What does that even mean? How does a task that someone feels is a waste of time have any initial lure? Are people at the Strib trying to find things to occupy their time that come across as work? The editorial also ends in mid-sentence. If this is the type of writing that we get even before the Strib cuts another $2.5 million from the newsroom budget, the paper will be bankrupt even sooner than anyone can imagine.

But most importantly, the editorial wavers between dismissing the tool as useless on one hand and possibly considering it a valuable resource on the other. At the end of the paragraph bashing the tool as a waste of time, the writer asks, "Where else can you have an intelligent e-mail discussion on leadership?" The entire piece is afflicted with similar bi-polar contradictions. It's a complete mess of an article.

I will grant that social networking tools present some interesting challenges and issues and determining their professional, social, and entertainment value is not an easy task. I like LinkedIn as a way of keeping track of people and making interesting connections that I might not otherwise make (more detailed comments are here). I am also keenly interested in seeing the technology of social networking tools evolve over time, as it undoubtedly will. Facebook, on the other hand, is a somewhat less valuable use of my time and MySpace is not for me at all. I am still trying to figure out what to make of Twitter as I've only been using it for a few weeks. The pace of new entrants into the market is dizzying, and some social networking tools are better than others, especially in certain niches.

Some people will gravitate to new, emerging technologies and find enormous value in them, while others will not. There is little doubt that smart, highly informed people can come to completely different conslusions about the practical utility of social networking tools. But asking if LinkedIn matters at all in today's world, especially when the question is posed by a media company that is attempting to build an online community, is not only myopic and naive, but borderline absurd and perfectly indicative of why daily newspapers are rapidly becoming obsolete in today's web-centric world.

Article by Toby Dayton and courtesy of Diggings, a blog about recruitment advertising, media, publishing, HR, work, & technology, among other things.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 20, 2008 at 10:27 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

As many as 143 Virginia jobs could possibly be done away with in the near future when a government contract with a wellness program provider based in Richmond expires.

Continental Health Promotion, which has been working with state and local government workers to encourage healthy living practices for over 20 years, recently filed notice with the Governor's Office for Workforce Development that they will be doing away with an undetermined number of Virginia jobs on July 4th. The company's contract with the government expires on June 30th.

Continental spokesperson, Laura Campbell, says that all of the companies 86 full-time and 57 part-time employees may be affected.

According to a state director, the wellness program contract was only supposed to provide 32 Virginia jobs for Continental employees. State officials decided against renewing the contract, which was worth $5 million, with Continental in favor of creating their own program internally, says Mike Salster, director of employee services for the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management. Salster says that the state stands to save approximately $3.2 million per year.

All of those who found Virginia jobs with Continental were notified that they may soon be laid off due to the fact that the company has yet to decide how many staff members will be retained. According to Campbell, "They gave notification to everyone but they intend for some employees to stay on."

Continental was responsible for offering fitness classes, quarterly educational seminars and on-site health assessments for state employees through the CommonHealth program along with the employees of over 230 local governments through The Local Choice Health Benefits program. These programs included assistance in weight lose and smoking cessation. Continental is a subsidiary of Gordian Health Solutions, which is based in Tennessee. The company has other local contracts but did not disclose the exact number of their clients.

Posted by Joel Cheesman on May 19, 2008 at 3:38 PM

This is a guest post by Steve Krager.

If you're not a part of a social network, you probably don't spend much time on the Internet. The phrase "social networking" has been around so long, it can't even be considered a buzzword anymore. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn... they all take up a large portion of many people's lives. LinkedIn is an example of a site that attempts to link social networking with business networking. A new site called Workology takes a similar approach.

I decided to give Workology a try. The site seemed easy enough to use, and they let me get started quickly, only asking for a name and e-mail address. Here are a few features that I found useful:

1. You get a personal "mini site" with your own URL. Here you can outline qualifications, experience, education and recommend other "experts" among other things. Mine is pretty bare right now, but you can check it out here.

2. The "Knowledge Market". It is a big discussion group where you can post jobs or ask advice.

3. Job matches (if you want them) based on keywords that you choose. This is very similar to the service that sites like JobScore and Vitruva provide.

There are some problems with the site. Workology is in the beta stage right now so understandably there are a few bugs (like when trying to recommend "experts," the button to add someone does not show up). As far as I can tell the site is not very active right now as well. I posted a discussion question in the early afternoon and received no responses into the late evening. However it may have been the content of my question, which raises another important fault. I asked if there were any Americans around the site, as I quickly realized the site is based in England and most of the members seem to be from there. While it is open to anyone, it is most likely that the site will grow from its England base. It may take a while before the site is really relevant to American workers.

Overall the site looks very good and is easy and fun to use. It may become a useful tool to connect and find jobs in the future, but I would wait until it is more heavily used.

Article by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 19, 2008 at 12:47 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Whether you "Twitter" or not, you need to know about Twitter.

Why? Because Twitter is fast becoming a powerhouse business and social tool that has the potential to change the way businesses (and you) communicate. Check out today's article in BusinessWeek "The Escalator Pitch" (coined "Twitpitch").

Twitter is "a micro-blog" that allows messages of just 140 characters. It's brevity forces precision messaging -- you'll need to start thinking in "essential vs. important" terms. And even then, you'll likely need to edit down. In fact, the article suggests that for the best impact, you get your Twitpitch down to 10 seconds and 8 words! Try that out -- NOT easy! I'm not talking about idle Twittering (the "I'm going to lunch with Aunt Sally today" 8-word messages). I'm talking about concise brand- and value-driven pitching for business, and even for employment.

Twitter is relatively new, and it's suffering some growing pains, but it has a loyal following of early adopters and a growing community of new and consistent users who are building buzz around products, creating networks, creating touch points with a legion of "followers," and delivering notices of blog posts and other activities. Yes, you've got the "I had spaghetti for dinner" crowd in there, but there are many individuals and business who are using Twitter as a serious business and social tool.

I'm a "Twitter novice" myself and just signed on today (I have to thank Jason Alba of JibberJobber and Sabrina Compagno of Netshare for leading me to that decision). I'm curious to see how I'll use it. So far it's a grand experiment. (Then again, so was LinkedIn and now I can't imagine doing business without it.)

For more on Twitter see an earlier CareerHub post by Barbara Safani as well as another BusinessWeek article.

Article by, Deb Dib and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 19, 2008 at 12:30 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

First, what in the world is a ResuBlog? And why would I need one? No one else does?

It's just what it sounds like - a mashup of a Resume and Blog. That's exactly why you need one, because few others use ResuBlogs.

Need a reason to start a ResuBlog?...here's 5:

1. Google Rankings - Good blogs can get the author ranked page 1 of Google. Want proof? Search for my name on Google & Yahoo. Blogs and social networks in combination got me 5 first page listings.
2. Subject Matter Expertise - The single fastest way to promote your subject matter expertise is to write about it. Tell your war stories.
3. Networking - Blogging makes you the expert. People seek the advice of experts. And other bloggers are big online networkers.
4. Conversation - A blog isn't just your pulpit, it's a conversation. Employers can reach you through your blog, and have a reason to comment. Companies have a reason to tell you about their problems. Wait a second...Aren't you looking for problems that you're uniquely qualified to solve?
5. Differentiation - So few job seekers blog, it makes you stand out - when everyone else sends out a personal biography, you're describing industry expert solutions to business problems.

So how do you Resublog?

It's so easy, you don't even need a website. The two leading blog providers Blogger & Wordpress can host for you. You don't have to know a thing about programming, as Blogger & Wordpress make it pretty automated for you (Blogger is easier). Or if you want to heavily personalize, Blogs give you a chance to show off your design and programming skills.

Pick a blog name that reflects your expertise. Calling your blog "Billy Bob's Blognation" might sound cool to you, but it won't give your readers a clue about your content.

But I'm not a writer, how am I going to blog?

No worries...there's so much content already on the web, you can be a publisher instead. A publisher takes other author's content, and makes their own collection of articles on their own blog. If you want to get fancy, put comments before the articles, to review them. Even if you don't write original content, as a blog publisher, it makes you an expert on the blog's content. Just make sure you give credit to the original author and blog, or copy the links into your blog article.

Be specific - think long tail

Don't write about the trials and tribulations of being a controller. As gripping as the stories about reconciling accounts might be, it's tough to stand out. Instead, write about cost saving efforts in your industry. Don't just tell your war stories...interview your peers and tell THEIR stories. Interview your peers' bosses and tell their stories.

Wait a second....when you're interviewing your peer's boss, you'll want to send that CFO a link to your ResuBlog (that contains your digital RESUME), so they'll see who's interviewing them. Encourage them to tell their friends! That gets you more readers, more content, and more people seeing your resume in your ResuBlog!

Have an opinion - Take a stand

A blog's no time to be shy...you're the boss of your own blog. Take a stand, have a strong opinion. What if people disagree? Let them....having a healthy dialogue and even disagreement on a blog can be very entertaining for your readers.

Don't forget - Attach your Subject Matter Expert Resume! Back up your subject matter expertise with your experience.

Let's review:

You can stand out from the competition, get listed front page of Google, you have an excuse to interview hiring managers and discover their challenges, and get your ResuBlog in front of many hiring managers...and you don't have to write If you aren't comfortable being an author.

What are you waiting for??

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 19, 2008 at 12:05 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

You've heard me say it before -- it may not be fair, but we are judged by what we wear and how we are groomed. My favorite publication, DiversityInc.com, has hit the proverbial nail on the head with their article What Not to Wear to an Interview.

The ten things not to wear (or take) to an interview are 'right on.' Read the list carefully. If you take your interview seriously, take this list seriously as well.

And I'd argue that what we wear to work could be improved by following this advice. My particular favorites for the workplace are:

• Short skirts / tight suit
• Evening- or casual- wear
• Fancy nails
• Excessive make-up
• Heavy cologne or perfume

Anything to add?

Article by Melanie Holmes, Vice President of World of Work Solutions for Manpower, and courtesy of Manpower's Contemporary Working blog. Melanie shares Manpower's extensive knowledge while building strategic partnerships with government, universities and other leadership organizations across the country. She is also responsible for social responsibility at Manpower, which includes diversity, volunteerism, community involvement, community relations, philanthropy and workforce development.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 19, 2008 at 11:57 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you graduated and have not yet landed your first dream job, here are some tips to get the post graduation job search into high gear.

Of course it goes without saying that a post graduation job search won't be effective without a good communication package including great resumes, cover letters and thank you letters.

1. First and foremost - Do not panic! You are not alone. Keep in mind there are more than 1.5 million new college grads this year and I would venture a guess, based on 9 years as a career development professional that more than half are in the same boat. Keep in mind that even in a slowing economy, there are still great opportunities available.

2. Reconsider your options and parameters. This is the time to explore all options including relocation, salary packages and commute. Discarding options that you would not have considered a few months before graduation, isn't wise.

3. Explore multiple industries and make the distinction between a major and career. Many new college grads make the mistake of holding on to their college major rather than exploring careers. For example, all psychology majors do not have to work in Healthcare and are very much in demand in other industries.

4. Sign up for alumni career services with your college career center. Most offer free services for new grads, but a few may offer services at reasonable rates.

5. Commit to and schedule daily job search activities. Set a minimum activity schedule daily and work on it. Let your job search be your job.

6. Consider post graduation internships and fellowships. Internships and fellowships are a great way to expand your skills and get your proverbial foot-in-the-door.

Article courtesy of WorkBloom, an employment blog incorporating a comprehensive career resources section, including the largest database of professionally written resume and cover letter samples on the Web.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 19, 2008 at 11:25 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

An Interview by Alexandra Levit

Today, we're chatting with Kori Carter of Kori Elizabeth Events (www.korielizabethevents.com) in Boston, MA. Kori has her dream job planning weddings and other special occasions and is featured in my new book, How'd You Score That Gig?.

Alex: Describe some of the day-to-day activities of your job.

Kori: Some of my time is spent marketing my own business, and working with clients to plan and execute events including weddings, corporate events, and special occasions. I am also a sales and event manager for a high-end boutique catering company in Boston. I enjoy working on different projects with multiple clients and aiming toward a specific goal. Event planning is both innovative and creative and logical and planned.

Alex: How did you get your first paid position?

Kori: When I was in second grade I had a lemonade stand - not just any stand but a yellow wooden one with brightly striped curtains. Under my supervision, my friends sold lemonade, cookies, and candy to tourists coming out to the country to pick apples. From that point on, I was always on the hunt for an entrepreneurial challenge.

Alex: What's one piece of advice you'd give to recent college grads that aspire to become event planners?

Kori: The best advice I can give for those wanting to be an event planner is to work for a hotel or catering company as a banquet server or on the wait staff. Catering is the backbone of how an event flows, and the most successful event planners have a strong catering background.

Also, network with people within the planning industry to get your foot in the door, and explore creative options where event planners may be needed, such as historic properties, non-profit groups, academic organizations, design companies, destination management companies, and convention bureaus.

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 19, 2008 at 11:09 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Can being optimistic and visualizing "success", whether attaining a new job or a stretch of a goal, actually play an important role in achieving that goal? Many notable individuals, from Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to Shaquille O'Neal and Olympic Gold Medal winner Janet Evans would heartily concur.

What do these sports greats know about achieving goals and success that could be put to use in a career transition? Well, that question is what prompted Dr. Lynn Joseph to research guided mental imagery and advanced visualization techniques. Her ground-breaking Job-Loss Recovery study (published in the prestigious Consulting Psychology Journal) demonstrated that guided mental imagery CAN shorten job-loss periods for out-of-work professionals by as much as 50% (from 4 months to 2 months).

In fact, her Job-Loss Recovery Program garnered a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Award from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Join Dr. Lynn Joseph as she is interviewed by William Arruda of the Reach Branding Club (RBC) on Thursday May 22, 2008 (12 noon EST) on "Self Leadership: Achieve Career Transitions and Goals More Quickly and Powerfully with Advanced Visualization Techniques". She will cover:

• What is guided imagery?
• How have world-class athletes used this tool to reach their goals?
• How could this apply to job search and career transition?
• How important is our expectation of success or failure to the outcome?
• What are some suggested uses of guided mental imagery?

Dr. Joseph has been an executive search consultant and has worked with Fortune 100 companies in the management of sales, training, and human resources. Her broad background in the careers arena combined with her Ph.D. in Psychology, has made her a thought leader in visualization techniques and their practical application to real-world goals.

If you are interested in boosting self-confidence, relieving stress, improving your job-search skills, revitalizing your hope for your future, and/or landing a new job more quickly, be sure to register for this mental imagery teleseminar. Having trained with Dr. Joseph on the use of guided mental imagery in career transition and job search, I can personally attest to its powerful impact in creating the kind of positive mindset that can achieve what might seem to be impossible goals.

Article by, Susan Guarneri and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 19, 2008 at 10:38 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Two new career-expert friends have terrific books out that are great companions to my latest effort, How'd You Score That Gig? Starting out, my fellow Ballantine author Pamela Skillings has written Escape from Corporate America, an extremely detailed and thorough roadmap to assessing if leaving traditional business is the right move for you, and if so, how you can do it without going broke or losing your sanity.

What I appreciate most about Escape from Corporate America is its practicality. A veteran of traditional business herself, Pam understands while the corporate world has its disadvantages, it's not necessarily easy or realistic to just up and quit. Her book provides a concrete approach to developing an escape plan - for example, how to set goals, determine your timing, and evaluate your financial situation.

Escape from Corporate America presents the reader with various options for discovering a meaningful new career - from fulfilling a creative dream to taking a job that "doesn't bite" in a nonprofit or startup. It's chock-full of useful resources and exercises for undertaking a career change, and I was engaged all the way through by the entertaining stories of Pam's "corporate escape artists" - people who left Corporate America behind and lived to tell the tale. If you're fed up with your corporate job but aren't sure where to start to better your plight, this is the perfect book for you.

Next up is Kristen Fischer's Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes. When Kristen was interviewing me for the career sections of her book, what I remember most was her positive attitude about the time she refers to as "After-College." This enthusiasm for post-graduate life shines through in her book, which addresses common twenty-something issues such as career, graduate school, living situation, finances, and emotional crises.

Ramen Noodles, Rent, and Resumes portrays a twenty-something life that college seniors can look forward to. With Kristen's book in hand, you can be sure that you will grow and thrive during this period, and when you do run into one of the inevitable challenges, Kristen has a workable solution you can employ today.

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 19, 2008 at 10:15 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Got a nice note and a plug from a blogger looking to build a website for sales engineers. He wrote some nice things about me after a conversation earlier this year.

And his blog is cool - and targeted. Engineers Can Sell, by Eric Bono.

When I was pondering starting this blog I talked to as many people as I could. One gentleman that kept coming up as a recommendation was James Durbin of Durbin Media. I emailed him for a quote on designing and setting up the blog site for me.

We talked on the phone for about an hour and by the end of the conversation James recommended that I take a stab at designing the blog by myself to not only learn the process, but to reduce costs until I was sure that I had a sustainable Web presence - which can take a year to determine. He further offered to have me email him when I had it set up so that he could take a quick peek and offer any suggestions.

One suggestion, Eric - where's your name on the blog? It's important to let people know who you are. For more advice on candidate niche blogs, go read Good Product Manager.

Article by Jim Durbin and courtesy of StlRecruiting.com

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 16, 2008 at 1:56 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Seth Godin, one of the marketing geniuses of our time, had a brilliant post yesterday, "We Specialize in Everything". Seth recognizes that when we can easily find the best, we want the best.

So what does this mean for job seekers? It means Subject Matter Experts Rule!

So why did this change? Remember, back in the day, when employers wanted generalists? Well rounded employees that could adapt to anything?

From 2000-2001, a "perfect storm" of events all combined to change employer demands for subject matter expertise. Consider this...during that time period, all of the following happened:

- The majority of resumes were delivered online
- CareerBuilder, Monster dramatically increased membership of job seekers
- Numerous other job boards grew in popularity
- The majority of company web sites now housed expanded Career sections. The majority of large and mid-sized companies were listing all of their jobs on their websites.
- Advertised jobs were now drawing hundreds, in some cases thousands, of resumes for each position
- Proliferation of inexpensive home internet connections
- Reasonably priced Human Resource Information Systems were implemented to manage the flood of resumes companies were receiving electronically
- Hiring of consultants for small projects became widely popularized, as timely project completion became mission critical
- Companies were careful not to add headcount during a recession.
- The distinction between employees and contractors became blurred as more subject matter experts chose to work as independent consultants
- Subject matter experts were suddenly available due to a recession

This perfect storm of events allowed Hiring Managers to micro-target multiple criteria in job searches, allowing them to search for subject matter expertise. And since a post 9/11 recession was underway, there was a great deal of specialized talent available.

So why did Hiring Managers begin to favor subject matter experts? Because they could.

And Hiring Managers over the past 7 years now have gotten used to and expect Subject Matter Expertise.

But strangely enough, most job seekers haven't gotten used to living in a Subject Matter Expert world. Most still describe themselves as generalists, and write resumes to look like they can do all things for all people.

But as Seth comments ..."When choice is limited, I want a generalist. When selection is difficult, a jack of all trades is just fine. But whenever possible, please bring me a brilliant specialist."

Bet Seth in the end, why did you cave? You added a PS the next day, stroking the generalists in your audience who complained, and gave the irrelevant reference that Leonardo was a generalist. That was in the 15th Century, where Leonardo was considered a Subject Matter Expert, the best in the world....just in many things. Then again, people like Leonardo daVinci just don't come around every day, and in today's world, could you afford Leonardo's salary or hourly rate?

So which do you want to be today...a generalist, or a specialist?

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 16, 2008 at 1:49 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

I feel like an expert on this topic, raised by a librarian and living as I do in the newly annointed book reading capital of America: Seattle, at least according to this New York Times article. I use my library card a lot and enjoy Seattle Public Library's (SPL) new, Koolhaas-designed downtown Central branch pictured at left.

My top 5 suggestions (no particular order) for using your public library as an online career exploration tool:

1. Take advantage of online career information databases and resources made free to you with a library card. Most states have a career information system, but make sure their career test is scientifically valid before taking it. The O*Net Interest Profiler, offered by many services, is NOT valid.


2. Find job hunting prospects in specialized databases about regional industries, like high-tech, medical providers, and nonprofits.


3. Choose books on careers that interest you and have them delivered to your local branch for pickup. Don't forget biographies of people in your prospective career path - "self help" books can get repetitive after awhile. For careers organized by Holland personality type, I recommend Laurence Shatkin's and J. Michael Farr's 50 Best Jobs for Your Personality.


4. Listen to podcasts by people in careers that interest you. For example, I found a podcast (listen here) about a cartoonist's career path billed as, "Comixtravaganza: 'Getting Into Comics' panel: In this Q & A panel, held January 26 at the Central Library, local lights of the comics world discuss what they love about comics, their experiences in the comics industry, and more." Google it for more options.


5. Check out digital or print books about skills needed in careers of interest. An example for information technology geek wannabes, in addition to books on the "shelves," SPL offers the Safari Books Database described as "Access digital books on computing, databases, programming, Web design and more. The collection includes over 1,000 titles for the three most current years from publishers such as O'Reilly, Addison Wesley, Que and Sam's Publishing."

Article by, Juliet Wehr Jones, M.D. and courtesy of Career Key, striving to help all people make the best career choices, worldwide.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 16, 2008 at 12:28 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Need a push? This tugboat helps one of Washington state's ancient ferries reach some much needed TLC at the WSDOT Spa & Drydock. Like that ferry, beaten up by life's adventures (and a few dock collisions), in a career change we need some TLC, reconstruction and a push to take another risk on the open ocean.

People making a career choice, either starting out or as part of a career change, often suffer from misconceptions and biases. A little reconstruction of your beliefs about yourself and about career options may be in order. A career path you may not consider an option because of biases about its legitimacy or prestige, may turn out to be the right choice. Here's an example.

A Generation X'er friend of mine recently switched from HR recruiting to retail sales at an upscale department store. Having left her unsatisfactory recruiting job and stagnating in her career choice process, she needed to pay the rent. So she applied for her current retail job and contrary to her expectations, loves it and believes it will lead to several satisfactory career options as she gets promoted. She's energetic, outgoing, enthusiastic, and has a great sense of style and risk - so it works well for her. It was a job she thought she'd be good at and she was right, although she had some preconceived negative ideas about it as a longer term career path, which turn out not to be true.

I also posted last week about careers in the trades and how some people in office jobs with college degrees regret they did not pursue trade work, not only because of the better salary but more importantly because the job duties themselves would have been more compatible with their personality. We do not recommend ignoring biases you may have against "blue collar" work. We recommend that you consider these biases (and those of your family and other influences on your decision making) as part of the larger picture, and as you gather more fact-based information (i.e. through information interviewing and other methods of career exploration), you can evaluate all the information in a cool, reasoned, and scientific way to make a good decision.

You may find that your biases are just that - not based on fact or are no longer relevant when measured against your greater satisfaction with a career path. While the grass is often greener elsewhere, you are less likely to feel that way if you've followed a successful, considered method for making a career choice decision.

Some of my more popular posts and the most popular parts of The Career Key website are on career indecision, showing many people struggle with the process of choosing a career. Rethinking your perspective on career options and taking a risk (while paying the rent) may be your next move towards career success.

Article by, Juliet Wehr Jones, M.D. and courtesy of Career Key, striving to help all people make the best career choices, worldwide.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 16, 2008 at 10:16 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

The influence of age on decision making is once again in the limelight. While monitoring the Democratic nomination bloodbath in Pennsylvania, I came across an interesting NYT article on age as a predictor in voting habits. The article basically says older people go for Hillary because they identify with her level of experience, the time in which she grew up (or became "socialized"), and according to one voter, "People who are more mature analyze things. They're wiser." And vice versa with Barack Obama - he's young (46), offers more inspiration to younger people and has less baggage than Hillary because he has a shorter track record among other reasons. Generational politics appears to be more important in this election than the last.

How does age influence career decision-making? Is it true that older people, which I define as anyone making a career transition - whether they are 25 or 65, are "wiser" in career decisions than high-school or college students? According to a survey of studies on work and vocational psychology in the 2007 Annual Review of Psychology, they are.

I singled out a few interesting findings:

• Skills in making decisions increase with age.


• Making a decision is complex, and people who have difficulty making decisions often have other problems, usually related to anxiety.


• Career maturity helps increase confidence in one's ability to make a career decision.

This is good news for most of us. We need every advantage we can get to adapt to the current working world truths:

• Your work life will be a series of career transitions. It will not be predictable and the only constant will be change.
• Your work life will be interconnected your personal life. This doesn't mean your coworkers will necessarily be your personal friends, but how you feel about work and the demands it places on you will impact your personal life and relationships.
• Not everyone can choose to be an astronaut. As education costs spiral upward, the differentiation between social classes increases, and the digital divide expands, opportunities to advance into more educated jobs decrease. This is not a political statement; ask any workforce or unemployment counselor and this is their clients' reality.

Successful adaptation skills, whether you are just starting out or transitioning your career/job, are now critical to lifelong career success. And as I've gotten older, I have no choice but to learn how to adapt to life's positives and negatives - whether it is achievement, illness, losing family members, or having a baby. Practice makes perfect, right?

Article by, Juliet Wehr Jones, M.D. and courtesy of Career Key, striving to help all people make the best career choices, worldwide.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 15, 2008 at 12:51 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

When will our leaders, Republican and Democrat, focus on solving our economic problems here at home with greater emphasis on career and technical education and workforce development? Reading this week's New York Times column by Thomas Friedman, "[w]ho will tell the people?" got me fired up again on this issue. Who is going to tell the truth about America's diminishing economic power due to increasingly subpar workforce development, and fix it?

I just got back from an international counseling conference in Istanbul (post about this is coming) where I was reminded that other countries look to the U.S. as a role model for excellence in career guidance. Federally funded national treasures like the Occupational Outlook Handbook are looked upon by developing countries as the "gold standard." Not even the U.K. has an online equivalent. And yet, our government continues to cut the funding and support for our national systems for workforce development and occupation information. For example, America's Career Resource Network website reports:

"No funding has however been appropriated for sponsoring occupational and employment information related activities. This program [Perkins] had earlier provided funding to each state and territory to "support academic and career guidance."
I understand and agree with wise, efficient use of my tax dollars - big government is not necessarily smart government. But smart government means planning for the future, not exactly a priority in 1 year federal budget cycles. Apparently "Bridges to Nowhere" are more important than our future economic growth. So hopefully it will not be too late, before the U.S. has squandered its superiority in its innovative and productive workforce, for us to rebuild and keep our reputation for career guidance excellence. Some leadership in this direction would be helpful.

Article by, Juliet Wehr Jones, M.D. and courtesy of Career Key, striving to help all people make the best career choices, worldwide.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 15, 2008 at 12:46 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

In starting a business, you need to consider many important questions like what business idea to choose, how to implement it, and how to pay for it. But what about your personality's compatibility with starting a business - and its compatibility with certain types of businesses?

There are a few quizzes and tests on the internet that try to assess your entrepreneurial personality, but only one test, The Self-Employment Key, relies on science in using Holland's theory of career choice and the Big Five Personality Dimensions, two of the most studied and popular personality theories. Now I admit this is a shameless marketing post, however, I find people are so used to the same advice over and over again from mass media, that new, unique, scientific ideas sometimes get buried - people stop thinking to even ask unique questions. Like how the science of personality is relevant to your success in entrepreneurship.

So if you're tired of superficial advice about starting a business that is repeated over and over on the internet, you should try visiting our website and taking The Self-Employment Key. Like the folks at The Riley Guide, I think you'll find it worthwhile. Please learn more about our research online here and let us know what you think.

Article by, Juliet Wehr Jones, M.D. and courtesy of Career Key, striving to help all people make the best career choices, worldwide.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 15, 2008 at 11:41 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Graduation time is fast approaching and with it, the need for good, practical career advice. This time of year reminds me of my own jump into the wilderness of "real life." My 15th college reunion is taking place in a few weeks and oddly enough, in some ways I feel like the same person I was then. But I am different. I learned the following about career and financial aid choices:

Your first job out of college is unlikely to be the same type of work you do 15 years later. So don't fret too much about how unsatisfying it is - just do something about it when choosing your next job. If it's your dream job and you're happily still in the same field 15 years later, good for you. I know few people who are in the same job track now that they started out doing after college.

What you think is important in choosing a career now, will change. I used to think making good money, in order to pay off student loans and to have a nice standard of living, was a top concern. I later learned that paying off student loans more quickly, but being miserable at the same time, was not a good tradeoff. Try to objectively view your assumptions.

Graduate or professional school is not a good "fallback" position if you are unsure of what to do. Choosing the wrong education is a very expensive mistake to make. At least if you are going to "find yourself," do it cheaply - like staying in youth hostels. It becomes mind numbingly easy to sign loan forms. I should know, I attended private college and grad schools (and didn't regret either). But don't sign unless you are sure.

If you do go to grad school, don't use your financial aid to live the lifestyle you have always aspired to. In other words, don't use the maximum they will loan you unless you truly need it (and daily Starbucks lattes are not a necessity). Making education loans is a business, just like credit cards - the more money you use, the more the loan companies make. Just because you can use the maximum, doesn't mean you should.

Mentors you acquire along the way will have a deep and lasting impact on your career, even if you change fields - a likely possibility in this economy. A good job reference and mentor is the gift that keep on giving, even over 5 years later - a long time in today's careers. So write your thank you notes for time people spend having coffee with you, or for someone being a good boss - you will not regret it.
Don't get discouraged if your career and whole life picture isn't what you hoped right away. Choosing career paths over the years is a process, and an economic reality - you might as well enjoy the excitement of change. A close girlfriend of mine once said, "you can have a good man [or partner], a job you love, and be financially secure, but not all at the same time." Up until recently I found that to be true. Maybe the sun, moon and stars are in alignment from the beginning for a few lucky people, but for most of us it take time to calibrate our lives.

Hopefully this doesn't sound too preachy, especially the caution about using money. But I'm not your parents - these come from my personal experience and listening to my friends and colleagues over the years. I'm not perfect and you won't be either, but at least I don't have any regrets about my career path and education choices.

Article by, Juliet Wehr Jones, M.D. and courtesy of Career Key, striving to help all people make the best career choices, worldwide.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 15, 2008 at 11:31 AM | Leave a Comment (1)

Failures or shortfalls in careers do not usually result from the lack of education and training. The number one reason for such disappointments is most often not knowing "how to work".

Said another way, the difference between winners and losers in the world of work is that achievers know how to translate their "know-what-to-do" skills into "how-to-get- things-done" strategies and actions.

People who can carry out the procedural functions associated with a job are a dime a dozen. But those who can manage people and resources to complete a successful project are in the minority.

CAREER TIP: COMMON SENSE IS THE KEY

Without common sense, the careerist is severely handicapped in driving ideas from incubation to results. He may have brilliant ideas, but unless he can move them through the organization to achieve tangible results, those ideas will die without serving a useful purpose for anyone.

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, father of the U.S. nuclear navy, put it this way: "What it takes to do a job will not be learned from management courses. It is principally a matter of experience, the proper attitude and common sense--none of which can be taught in a classroom."

In his groundbreaking book EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Daniel Goleman posits: "I would argue the difference (between high achievers and also-rans) is quite often in the abilities called emotional intelligence, which includes self-control, zeal and persistence, and the ability to motivate oneself."

That equates to common sense in my experience.

Common sense is not very common. This rare quality is much easier to see in hindsight. Some people are lucky. They seem to have been born with common sense. But most have to work to learn its rules. Common sense can be identified and embraced by observing successful careers in action. It can be learned from studying the biographies of achievers.

CAREER TIP: COMMON SENSE IS RARE

It is the goal of this blog and other publications from Common Sense At Work© to provide common sense career advice for ambitious men and women who want to accelerate careers.

All you read in Common Sense At Work publications is written from my real-world experiences working with a wide range of men and women from working as a common laborer in the sawmills of South Arkansas, to the power offices of the Federal government in the nation's capital, to the elegant towers of American Express's New York City headquarters and the sedate club rooms of Europe.

I have also interviewed scores of careerists including those just beginning their careers, middle manages and chief executive officers. I have benefited from the input of professionals who practice in the fields of management psychology and organizational dynamics. Finally, I have done exhaustive research on what has been written and said on the subject of how to get ahead in the world of work.

From these sources I have learned that Common sense is the essential ingredient in career success.

Article by, Ramon Greenwood, a career counselor with common sense advice on how to achieve your career goals. To subscribe to Ramon Greenwood's free semi-monthly newsletter and blog, go to Common Sense at Work Ramon's take-it-to-the bank advice comes from a world of experience, including serving as Senior Vice President of American Express, an entrepreneur, professional director, career coach and author.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 15, 2008 at 11:16 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

New college graduates with degrees in the engineering and computer science fields are boasting the highest average starting salaries, according to a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). In fact, chemical engineering graduates are pulling the highest average starting salary offer of $63,616 followed by computer engineering graduates of $59,962, a 14.7% increase from Spring 2007, reveals the Spring 2008 issue of NACE's Salary Survey. "There is competition among employers for many graduates in the technical disciplines, and the high salary offers we're seeing reflect that'" states NACE executive director, Marilyn Mackes. Furthermore, many disciplines have seen their starting salaries offers rise by 10% or more over the past year. Indeed, the average offer to construction science/management saw a 13.4% increase from $46,506 to $52,745; aerospace engineering saw an 11.3% increase from $52,131 to $57,999; and agricultural business and management saw an 11.2% increase from $38,055 to $42,299. Conversely, many of the business disciplines seem to be feeling the effects of changes in the economy and have seen little movement in their average starting salary offers. In fact, the current average salary offer to accounting majors, $47,429, is literally only a few dollars higher than the average these grads posted in Spring 2007 of $47,421. Business administration and management graduates didn't fare much better - their average offer increased a mere 0.3% from $44,048 to $44,195.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 14, 2008 at 6:45 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Regardless of what the popular press might have you believe, not everyone who is job hunting is living in a crappy work situation. There are other reasons to want to leave a job besides being miserable. You could be wanting to learn more, become a cardcarrying member of management, try new challenging projects, or move to a different city (to name just a few options).

If this sounds like you, you may also note a strange limbo-like feeling where you're standing in two different worlds. It's a peculiar window of time that starts when you're thinking seriously about changing jobs and the time you actually make the jump. It can drive some folks nuts. But it's in this window that opportunities continue to appear if we're open to seeing them. The problem is that we focus so much on that next great gig, we often don't see them. These can be important stepping stones we can use to continue building our professional portfolios.

Here are a few springboard questions to ask:

Is there a gap in my resume or portfolio that I can work on now?
If you've started putting feelers out there for a new job (in particular if you've had some interviews), you've likely started getting ideas on areas where you can add a little extra meat to your portfolio (or extra tofu if you're of the vegetarian persuasion). I'm a firm believer that a portfolio can always be enhanced so look for opportunities to improve your marketable expertise and results.

Is there a network or contact relationship that I can cultivate?
Don't discount your internal contacts now. Just because you're thinking of leaving a workplace doesn't mean you have to stop making professional connections. If anything, this is a prime time to keep meeting and talking and learning from people. Oh...and those external networks are pretty good ones to continue to cultivate, too.

It could be that you've tapped out all of your opportunities. If that's the case, then it's definitely time to move on quickly. But if you recognize that there's still something left in the tank, take some time to step back and reflect on what you can do right now to build a stronger portfolio rather than dwell exclusively on a future yet to come.

Any other road-tested wisdom out there from folks in job change limbo?

By Chris Bailey and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 14, 2008 at 11:20 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.

This is what Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos recently said in an interview with Business Week. He says, "I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do."

If I may take the liberty to relate this message (which was in fact in relation to queries about his and his company's approach to innovation) to the present times when recession if the buzz word and layoffs are rampant all over - would that mean when in a layoff it is time to innovate, reinvent oneself or make a move towards independece - towards being your own boss?

Well, all these options sound good but it depends for different situations. A single working mother or the single earner of the family in a layoff does not have many options and the main focus is to find another job as soon as possible, but then are we not falling under the same cycle of affairs? You land another job that helps you meet your daily needs and then get comfortable in it until another layoff, re-org happens or another cycle of recession hits the industry. Of course this is not always true but history repeats itself and if you have been doing what you always have been doing then the chance are that you will be getting what you always have been getting.

The point is not get too comfortable and grooved-in wherever you are. Another reference here to the "Who moved my Cheese?" - "Movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese", staying where you or just following the same path that you had taken before might not give you different or better results. And also remember that "Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese. You can believe that a change will harm you and resist it. Or you can believe that finding new cheese will help you, and embrace the change. It all depends on what you choose to believe."

So if you are in a layoff what are your next steps? Or if you have been in one before how did you reinvent yourself?

On a Personal Note

This post is on some personal reflections as well; in the coming weeks and month I will keep you posted on the New Cheese that I am after. What I share with you is a personal experience --

I had been getting comfortable in what I was doing - blogging on the blogger account for almost two years now; yes Careerbright is heading close to its 2 year anniversary and has risen to new heights with quality readership from all over the world, a good ranking with Google and of course the reputation that Google and blogger are associated with had engulfed me in a comfortable and 'taken-care-of' zone. And when you get too snug in your comfort zone you often continue sitting on that comfy bean bag and building your world around it. After all who wants to move unnecessarily or to move towards a change - it takes efforts and change is the scary, unknown territory which one would rather avoid.
One day out of the blue the blog gets locked and I felt helpless - not being able to edit and write posts my own blog - this is outrageous! A couple of days of feeling utterly confused, unsuccessful searching and doing nothing was good enough to drive home the message - If you continue doing what you have been doing might get you similar results time after time. And another message did rounds in my head - perhaps too much trust on someone else prompts you to slip off your shoes and put your feet up.
The point that I want to share is -- you will eventually know when to leave the comfort zone and stand on your own, but being aware of the transient reality will help you to be on your feet at all times. Always equip yourself with new knowledge, be ready to move at all times and remember to keep that shoe on. Once you do all these, change is not that frightening after all.

The bottom line is that too much dependency gives you the false sense of security, the earlier you snap out of it the better it would be for your future success.

I shall keep you informed in the coming weeks as Careerbright strengthens still further and learns to be more independent.

Article by Shweta L. Khare, founder and president of Careerbright and Speakbright and courtesy of Careerbright blogspot

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 13, 2008 at 6:07 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

April Jobs data from LinkUp.com echoes the jobs data from the Department of Labor earlier this month: The number of total job posting is down slightly from March and most states are experiencing weakness. LinkUp data shows the number of jobs listed directly on corporate web sites and reports both the number of new, unique jobs posted as well as the total number of jobs posted during the month.

In April, company web sites listed a total of 806,538 job openings, down slightly from 827,353 in March. Of those listings, 542,056 were new job jobs, up slightly from 523,498 new jobs posted in March. A surprisingly high number of states (38) reported a decline in total jobs listed, while only a few states (12) reported an increase in total job openings. Removing California's numbers (growth of 43,000 new jobs and an increase of 42,000 total jobs listed) paints an even worse picture of what is happening around the country.

LinkUp.com aggregates job listings that employers post on their own corporate web site. These job listings or openings are often not advertised anywhere else on the web or in print. As well, the aggregated data, pulled from 8,385 companies of all sizes and in all industries throughout the U.S., does not include any duplicate job listings. But while the data presents a high-quality, unique, and relevant snapshot of the nation's employment picture, it is not meant to represent the exact number of job openings in any given state. The vast majority of companies in the U.S. do not list their job openings on their company web site, if they even have a corporate web site, and LinkUp is still accumulating data from new companies being included in the data set. (The percentage declines from March to April might be slightly understated since the April numbers listed in the chart above include data from more companies than the March numbers). In any event, the LinkUp numbers provide further evidence that the employment market is pretty grim.

Article by Toby Dayton and courtesy of Diggings, a blog about recruitment advertising, media, publishing, HR, work, & technology, among other things.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 13, 2008 at 5:22 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

I was recently interviewed for a piece on telecommuting for CNN's Your Money. So many people want telecommuting work arrangements, but few know how to go about getting one. Some believe that these opportunities exist on a job board, but the reality is most of these listings are scams. Telecommuting arrangements evolve from relationships between employees and supervisors where there is a trusting relationship and a past record of strong performance.

If you are a job seeker hoping to secure a telecommuting opportunity in the future, target companies that tout themselves as companies that embrace workplace flexibility. Research the organizations that consistently gain recognition on the Fortune Best Companies to Work For list or those profiled as the best by Working Mother Magazine.

Telecommuting opportunities will continue to grow as the world becomes a much flatter place. Telecommuting presents enormous opportunities for employers to decrease infrastructure, technology and telecommunication costs. The arrangement can help employers compete globally in the war for talent and help attract and retain a loyal, motivated and productive workforce. But telecommuting arrangements still need to be earned. Show your employer how you add value to the company by helping them make money, save money, save time, grow the business and keep the business. Take on assignments that showcase your ability to work independently and be trusted when there is limited supervision. Build your business case for a telecommuting arrangement long before you ask for one. Once you have proved your value to the organization, negotiating a telecommuting arrangement will be easier to do.

By Barbara Safani and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 13, 2008 at 5:09 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you have traveled from Plan A to Plan Q in your job search strategy, and are worried that there aren't that many more letters in the alphabet left, you might want to consider taking the "1 Day Dream Job Challenge", developed by Phillipe Desrochers.

I read about this challenge today at 24 Hours Vancouver. This challenge is not for the shy. After reading about how to do the challenge you may try to weasel out of it by claiming it has not yet been tested in the U.S. But that would take all the fun out of it.

The object of the challenge is to land your dream job (or any job) as a result of your efforts during one single day.

How to do it:

1. In the morning, from 9:00 am until noon, you physically visit seven companies.
2. In the afternoon from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm, you call decision makers in 20 companies (not Human Resources).

This challenge is based on an 18-month research study with 355 professionals. You can download a one-page challenge itinerary, with sample scripts, here.

Cold calling is probably not part of your job search plans A,B, or C, but when the chips are down and you're feeling sluggish, this kind of focused day may be just what you need to keep moving forward and talking to people.

By Heather Mundell and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 13, 2008 at 5:03 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

This is a guest post by Lauren Kleinman.

For the 130 million households receiving an economic stimulus check, it's a very exciting time. You are probably daydreaming of new furniture, a new bathing suit for the summer or perhaps that 'can't miss' diet plan. Whatever your refund dreams, set aside part of it to put back into your career. Just as Prince told us to party like its 1999, invest your money into your career like we're in a recession. How, you say? Here are a few ideas:

1. Buy a new suit. That suit you bought for your first interview has lost a few buttons over the years (or decades), and yes, everyone notices. If your profession doesn't require a suit, spring for the required outfit to spruce up your appearance.

2. Purchase a relevant career book. If you want to get ahead, career-focused and motivational books can lend a helping hand. Even if after graduating high school/college you made a vow to never read again, some rules were made to be broken.

- Management recommendation: Good to Great by James C. Collins and Winning by Jack Welch

- Freelance recommendation: The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside of the Cube by Michelle Goodman

- Time management recommendation: Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy

3. Attend a workshop in your field. Turn it into a mini-vacation by picking a workshop in California or Florida. Here's the perfect opportunity to attend that seminar that your boss was too cheap to spring for.

4. Spend it on someone else. Studies often show that we feel the best when we give to others.

What could be better charity than helping a friend or family member crawl out from a career black hole?

5. Save it. There's something empowering about having money in the bank. We realize that a single tax rebate check isn't going to change your life, but in this tumultuous economy, you'd be well served to sop that cash into a savings account. The proverbial rainy day might be around the corner. Even if it never comes, a little extra cash can give you more options and confidence when making career decisions.

Bonus Tip: Take your stimulus check to retailers like K-Mart, Sears, Land's End or even Kroger. These stores have made an offer that if you turn your check into a gift card, you'll receive 10% extra ($300 becomes $330, $600 becomes $660 and so on). Some of these stores sell the career books or possibly the new outfits you are looking for to kick start your career.

There are many ideas of how to spend this money wisely: pay off credit card debt or put it towards a down payment on a home (a small one!). While these are all important and practical ideas, have a little fun with this 'free' gift. Make Uncle Sam proud. Spend it by investing for the long-term: your career!

Article posted by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 13, 2008 at 11:31 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

A few months ago, I met Lia, a woman who has done what I think is a very sensible thing with her career - fulfilling her desire to make a difference in the world in the context of working for a large company - so I thought I'd share her story here.

When Lia chose to transition from the non-profit to the corporate sector, she wanted to continue to be actively involved in the philanthropic causes she had passion for. Beginning in college, Lia had directed and produced three large charity fashion shows for the Ronald McDonald House, a children's bereavement center, and an organization devoted to raising cultural awareness and ending prejudice.

Taking a job at insurance powerhouse Aetna, Lia was concerned about when she would find time outside of work and commuting to volunteer. But Aetna solved this problem for her, providing employees with opportunities to volunteer either during the work day or as part of company initiatives. While working in the Connecticut sales office, Lia volunteered at two Catholic charity golf events and was the team captain for the Light the Night walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. And because Lia now has a more flexible schedule and is able to work from home several times a week, she has been able to start working for her local chapter of Hospice. She visits patients during her lunch hours, or right at the end of the work day.

A sense of social responsibility is of the utmost importance to Lia, and she's not alone. In attracting and retaining today's twenty and thirty-somethings, companies like Aetna are wise to support volunteer programs and flexible scheduling to ensure better work/life balance. As for Lia, she has the best of both worlds. She's able to make a good salary working at a prestigious Fortune 500 while living her dream of philanthropic service.

The lesson? Instead of lamenting how tragic and soulless it is to work in Corporate America, look around you for opportunities to do something meaningful. They might be right in front of you.

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 13, 2008 at 10:13 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

A guest post by Heather Johnson

It is now proper job-seeking etiquette to send your interviewer a thank you note when the first meeting is over. In fact, many hiring managers will take notice if you don't follow up with some sort of acknowledgment. Not only is a post-interview thank you note a great way to network, it can also help you clarify information that was discussed during (or omitted from) the meeting.

Handwritten Cards

The most common post-interview thank you notes are sent via snail mail. Any local greeting card store will sell a variety of thank you cards, but you don't need to be creative here. Avoid anything humorous or unprofessional. Ideally, you should choose a thank you card with a conservative cover and nothing written on the inside. You will handwrite this part.

Email

If you have been corresponding with your would-be employer through email, it would not be deemed inappropriate to follow up in this fashion. Virtual correspondence is more commonplace in the business world than ever before. While you do not want to email a thank you "ecard," you can write a professional email to follow up and thank your interviewer for his or her time.

What to Say

Whether you are using snail mail or email, the sentiment will be the same. You will want to express how much you enjoyed meeting with your interviewer and thank him or her for the opportunity. You may wish to reiterate why you feel you are a good fit for the position. If you feel you left the interview without clarifying certain points, do so now.

Thank you notes can even give you a forum to do some damage control. If you were five minutes late to the interview due to traffic, for instance, you can express your regret again for the faux pas. Remember, this will be a hiring manager's last impression before he or she makes a decision. Use this medium wisely and you could increase your prospects of being short listed for the position.

Article courtesy of WorkBloom, an employment blog incorporating a comprehensive career resources section, including the largest database of professionally written resume and cover letter samples on the Web.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 12, 2008 at 12:14 PM | Leave a Comment (1)

One of the less promoted features of Linkedin is their job search tools.

While LinkedIN heavily promotes its ability to connect you to friends of friends of friends, it also features some tremendously powerful job search tools. I'll discuss some of the best today.

LinkedIN JobsInsider: LinkedIN JobsInsider is jaw dropping. Amazing. It downloads into your IE or Firefox browser, and is a brilliant use of technology mashups.

After you download - and then go on to some of the top 7 job boards, pull up a job. LinkedIN JobsInsider will overlay contacts from your LinkedIN network who work at that company. So you can contact people for informational interviews, to find out more about the employer, and network your way to the hiring manager....and bypass HR.

Are you saying WOW yet? I did when I first used it.

Find the link at the bottom of your LinkedIN home page, listed under Tools. You'll be sent to a download page, that gives you instructions to load the LinkedIN JobsInsider widget into your browser. It will appear up near the toolbar after installation.

After you're loaded up, use LinkedIN Jobsinsider with: CareerBuilder, Monster, Hotjobs, Dice, CraigsList, SimplyHired, and Vault. LinkedIN is building support for many other job sites to be released going forward.

Whenever you view a job listing on a known job site, the JobsInsider opens up in a side pane in your browser. In the JobsInsider, you will automatically see your inside connections to the company whose job you are looking at. These inside connections can help you get hired for the job through informational interviews or by introducing you directly to the hiring manager.

Jobs Tab: At the top of any LinkedIN page, you see a Jobs Tab. By clicking it, you'll have access to simple and advanced search tools that connect to SimplyHired, a job board aggregator.

SimplyHired is a job board aggregator, which crawls thousands of other job boards, aggregates listings. SimplyHired claims they have the most jobs on the planet (I believe them). You'll get a very broad view of job postings from the major boards, Craigslist, and many niche boards.

Not only does SimplyHired crawl the net for new job boards, it encourages job boards to submit feeds, to list new jobs on smaller sites quickly. SimplyHired pulls jobs from job boards, company pages, online classifieds and other data sources.

SimplyHired has partnered with both LinkedIN and Facebook to integrate sjob search with online networking. For instance, clicking "Who do I know?" will instantly reveal whether your old cube-mate back at that awful job you used to have is now the hiring manager for the job you want. In a broader sense, it works in a similar way to the LinkedIN Jobsinsider feature, but it's even easier to use.

Watch for a more in depth review of SimplyHired coming soon.

LinkedIN Advanced Search: Click People on the top LinkedIN tab, and use the Advanced search features to find hiring managers with specific titles, specific companies, industries, geography, or skill sets.

Let's say you're a Controller in Boston looking for work - you probably want to talk to CFOs and VPs of Finance. Search for the key words CFO and segment by only listing contacts that are close to Boston.

Maybe you're a Java developer in Minneapolis. You probably want to see which other companies are Java shops, and maybe find some Project Managers or Directors of Application Development. Search for Java and segment by searching close to Minneapolis. Take your list of Java shops as your Target company list.

Maybe you're a Manufacturing Manager for an Auto OEM, and you're open to move. Search for OEM, under the industry dropdown Automotive, and see what companies appear. Then individually search those companies one by one to see who is likely to be close to your prospective hiring manager.

With a reasonably sized database and LinkedIN Advanced search, you can find Kevin Bacon or Elvis.

What innovative ways have you found to use LinkedIN in your job search?

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 12, 2008 at 10:52 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

My friend Penelope Trunk has a clever little post to help you determine if you're actually in line to get a promotion, or if it's just wishful thinking. Some of it echoes advice I've given on this subject, but I think much bears repeating, so here are some highlights of Penelope's quiz:

1. Are you friends with your boss? The hardest workers don't get promoted, the most likeable ones do. Here is the big test for you: Did that sentence make you angry? You lose one point. That's because you are wishing that you did not have to be likable and you are mad that people who work less than you do get promoted ahead of you.

2. Are you working on high-profile projects? Do you work on the project that everyone else wanted? Give yourself a point. Did you say to yourself, "Who knows? I don't know what everyone else wanted." You lose a point. How can you get yourself onto good projects if you are not in the middle of the fray finding out what's available and what's hot?

3. Are you paid at the high end of the range for your position? Investigate the salary range for your job. Check PayScale. If you're at the top of the range, give yourself a point. If you're at the low end, then you were not highly valued to begin with, so getting people to switch their opinion of you is going to be hard. You can do it by asking your boss to get you to the top of the range, and then back up your request by listing all the achievements you've made in your new position.

4. Do you work fewer hours than everyone else? If you work fewer hours than everyone around you, your boss and colleagues are probably annoyed. You should not be the hardest worker because that makes you look desperate, but you can't work the fewest hours either, because then you look like you don't care. If you find you have a lot of extra time because you're a total genius and you finish everything early, spend more time networking at the office.

5. Do you feel like you are due a promotion because of your experience? No promotion is set in stone, so you need to constantly campaign for yourself. Do you spend your days focusing on doing your job, or do you do a little extra so you can be considered a star performer?

Want to see if a promotion is coming your way or if you need to go back to the drawing board? Take the full quiz over at Penelope's blog.

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 12, 2008 at 10:46 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."....Albert Einstein

I speak to frustrated job seekers every day, people who have been looking for a career change for a while. Sometimes a month...sometimes over a year.

In particular, older workers blame a broken system and age bias. I agree...the hiring process in most companies is dysfunctional. There is age bias. It's unfair.

But this broken system can give the smart job seeker an unfair advantage. Would you like to know how to exploit the cracks?

I'm surprised that most don't. Many job seekers want to stay in their comfort zone of what they were taught many years ago, and what worked earlier in their careers - before electronic resumes and CareerBuilder...back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Not only do many job seekers do the same thing over and over, expecting different results....when the going gets tough, they do MORE of the same thing, expecting different results.

These are some examples of insanity that continue to be used by many job seekers.

• Expecting a recruiter will do their job search for them
• Confusing a headhunter with a coach
• Continuing a job search strategy based on paper resumes
• Writing a one page, or even a two page resume
• Using your resume for more than a single job application
• Customizing cover letters, when they aren't included in database searches
• Use LinkedIN to talk to someone about their company, then turn it into an ambush interview
• Go to local Chamber of Commerce networking events, but looking for a Fortune 500 job
• Poor use of Resume Real Estate
• Writing your resume as an autobiography
• Describing about what you managed instead of what you accomplished
• Mailing or faxing a paper resume
• Defining yourself as a generalist
• Blaming the system, instead of changing your tactics to beat the system
• Applying for more than 20 jobs per week
• Junk mailing or email spamming your resume

Ask yourself honestly, are you using any of these?

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 12, 2008 at 10:37 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

A client of mine called yesterday to say that he is on the verge of getting an offer from a large bank. Before they will extend him an offer the recruiter has requested that he submit a business plan outlining his plans to achieve his goals. The job is a wealth management role which would require that my client bring about $10 million in investment dollars to the job within the first year. If you are not familiar with this type of job it means that he needs to find and solicit individuals with that much money to invest and persuade them to invest the money through the bank.

My client is a relative newcomer to the community in which he currently resides so the potential employer wants to make sure he has a plan for finding and selling individuals in his new community on their wealth management services. Seems fair. But it got me thinking that, really, anyone starting a new job should create a plan before taking the job. The plan will probably have to be modified once you take the job because jobs frequently change over time. With that said, if you create a plan for adapting, learning, and succeeding in your new job before you start it will give you a good starting point and the associated confidence that comes with having a plan.

To give you a sense for how you might think about creating a plan let me walk you through a few elements that my client and I are incorporating into his plan:

Goal - we have a stated goal that is a specific, measurable, and achievable

Tactics - the specific actions that will be taken to achieve the goal

Analysis - we have analyzed our local market to determine which civic and professional organizations, philanthropic, and social/sporting groups my client should get involved with in order to meet people who have the characteristics of potential clients

Targeted List - we created a list of organizations that my client will join or has joined to start meeting potential clients

Every job is different so each plan is going to be different but you can use some of the thought process and some of these elements to help you get started when you create your own roadmap to success in your new job. I don't necessarily recommend that you share your plan with your new boss or co-workers until you are sure you understand the expectations, politics, and goals required in the new job. The business plan is something you can create to give you a jump start before you commence work for a new company.

Article by Liz Handlin and courtesy of Ultimate Resumes

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 12, 2008 at 10:31 AM | Leave a Comment (1)

Starting today[May 6, 2008), domain names with a dot me extension will be sold for the first time to the general public.

Originally reserved for the tiny nation of Montenegro (extra points if you can spot it on a map), the country has decided to ride the social networking wave by removing previous restrictions on .me domain name ownership. Smart move. After suffering financial losses of over $6 billion in the late 90s, the dot me revolution could help the territory dig out of debt.

Domain registration service EnCirca will be facilitating the sale process and has announced the following roll out schedule:

* May 6 - May 20, 2008: General Sunrise
* May 20 - June 6, 2008: Quiet Period
* June 6 - June 26, 2008: Land Rush
* June 26 - July 17, 2008: Quiet Period
* July 17, 2008: Open Registration

I would recommend marking July 17 on your calendar today. That's the day you would be wise to purchase YOURNAME.me. It's a natural fit for an online resume and a smart way to take ownership of your name (especially if someone already owns the .com version or you have a popular moniker).

Controlling your name - and information connected to it online - is imperative for job seekers. Heck, even if you're not looking for a job, you want to be in control! You'd be hard pressed to find a hiring agent who will not Google your name. Your goal must be to present yourself in the best light possible.

I'm not sure what a dot me will set you back, or how they will be indexed on the major search engines, but take this as reminder to get a grip on YOU online.

A good resource to find all of those social networking sites you registered for and then forgot about is Pipl.com.

Article by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 12, 2008 at 10:26 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Career Expert Highlights Job Search Pitfalls New Graduates Should Avoid

Those looking for their first jobs out of college also must look out for potential career pitfalls. According to Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Job Hunting For Dummies®, 2nd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), competition for jobs has intensified, making it even more important for entry-level professionals to put their best foot forward.

"In today's employment environment, there is less room for error when looking for your first career opportunity," said Messmer. "Employers want assurances that new hires will be able to contribute immediately. They seek applicants who are polished and pay attention to detail -- traits that must be evident in one's job search materials and interactions with hiring managers."

Messmer noted that the job hunt has grown in complexity in recent years as new online tools, such as professional networking sites, have become increasingly prominent. "Online exposure makes candidates more visible and also more vulnerable," Messmer said. "Because so much information is now public, those with career aspirations need to be especially thoughtful about what they post for everyone to see."

Accountemps cites seven common job search mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Thinking small: Spread the word about your job hunt to everyone you know, including family members, friends, professors and former coworkers. Also take advantage of professional networking websites such as LinkedIn and work with staffing firms that specialize in your field and maintain a broad base of contacts in the local business community.

2. Adopting a one-size-fits-all approach: Tailor each resume and cover letter to the particular opportunity, and try to obtain the name of the hiring manager so you can personalize your cover letter. A little detective work can go a long way in helping you stand out.

3. Failing to proofread: Make sure your resume and cover letter are error free. Be vigilant about spelling, grammar and punctuation in all of your written communication, including e-mails, web pages and thank-you notes. Ask a detail-oriented friend to review all of your job search materials.

4. Remaining in the dark: Applicants who uncover beyond-the-basics knowledge of the job and the company by using the Internet and corporate websites are better able to communicate specific ways they can contribute to the organization's success.

5. Posting indiscriminately: Consider your online image, and don't post anything that would appear unprofessional (think spring break photos, rants about a former employer, etc.) for a hiring manager or recruiter.

6. Leaving a bad first impression: Make sure that both your land line and cell phone voice-mail greetings are clear, professional and succinct. Likewise, avoid using off-color or overly cute e-mail addresses.

7. Failing to thank others: Express appreciation to everyone who helps you in your job search, whether or not their efforts on your behalf are successful. Also be sure to send thank-you notes to every hiring manager you meet.

Courtesy of Accountemps with more than 360 offices worldwide and offering online job search services.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 12, 2008 at 8:51 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Students who graduate from today's universities, business schools and MBA programs have worked long and hard to develop themselves as the ideal candidates for progressive careers in business and technology. University curriculum in this market requires not only courses in strategic financial management and integrated business and marketing communications, but also seminars in career and personal development such as resume building, interview skills, and the construction of an individual career strategy. Business technology in the 21st century demands that job applicants prepare for the webcam interview as a component of their career training.

Mapping a career among the vast highways of technology, competition and outsourcing is not easy. Unlike the career paths chosen by the small percentage of college graduates during the 1940s and 50s, applicants now must 'fit' themselves into the fast lanes of a company's culture and technological purpose. Progressive job seekers know that real career success depends on a comprehensive individual plan that details specific professional goals and proven techniques for achieving them. Moreover, successful candidates must be able to convey their skills and their 'fit' into available business positions during the initial meeting with potential employers. This is where part two of the individual career plan begins....

A few years ago, potential hires were called 'in' to a human resources office for a face-to-face interview. Suits were cleaned, shirts were ironed, and shoes were shined. As business went global, the face-to-face became less prevalent so employers could cut their investments of time and overhead. The telephone interview became the most common method for conducting initial interviews; the limitations, however, of th e telephone interview were obvious and offered interviewers very little information beyond what had been submitted via resume and cover letter. Thanks to technological advances and inexpensive digital and web technology, the webcam interview has been adopted as the initial interview format of choice. In truth, the webcam interview is the least problematic method for both the interviewer and the applicant. Although the human resources representative can't shake an applicant's hand, he or she can observe the candidate's demeanor, body language, energy and reactions to skill and experience questions. Serious job candidates need to be prepared to excel in this new and growing practice.

Experts in the field of human resources offer job seekers advice on preparing for and succeeding in a webcam interview: A webcam interview is not informal; a job candidate must look professional even if he or she will only be seen from the waist up. Having a copy of a resume and occasionally glancing at it is not taboo; reading from notes, however, is amateurish. Looking frequently at the webcam while speaking gives the interviewer the feeling of 'eye contact' and establishes a more personal interview. Experts suggest that job candidates try to relax, smile, and be natural.

Of course, all job applicants should go into an interview with knowledge of the available position and its requirements, information about the company and its policies, locations, benefits, etc. Applicants should also bring a list of questions about the available position and the company to the initial interview.

Graduates and job seekers have labored to become the ideal candidates for today jobs. Career and personal development has become an important component in that labor, and business demands that successful applicants be prepared for the future of human resources: webcam technology.

By: Michael Policano, Live Hire

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Lisa Colbert, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 12, 2008 at 8:38 AM | Leave a Comment (1)

What do you want to be? That is a question that we all have asked ourselves at one point in our lives. At the young age of 17, I decided I wanted to be a physical therapist. Like many others in the this profession, I encountered an injury and participated in physical therapy. I thought the world of my physical therapist and never once questioned my decision to become one. As I watch the video "You Can Be Me" from the APTA, it reminds me of why I became a physical therapist and believe in this profession. As the video states, the physical therapist "teaches....invents...cares...motivates...enables....heals....encourages." Take a moment and watch this video, it may just be what you are looking for in a career. And remember, "You Can Be Me"

Article courtesy of RehabCare Student blog. RehabCare provides college recruiting for Physical Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants and Speech Language Pathologists.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 10, 2008 at 10:41 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Heather Johnson joins us today with a great primer on how to ace the interview. I especially like Heather's emphasis on building confidence by planning, researching, and practicing before the meeting. Enjoy! -- Kim Isaacs

Most people dread going on job interviews. The stress of meeting new people, dealing with tough questions, and possibly losing a good job opportunity is enough to unnerve even the most self-assured people. The good news is that with a little preparation, you can "wow" the interviewer and become a frontrunner for the position. Follow these 10 tips to ace the interview:

1. Research the Company - Employers are impressed by candidates who take the initiative to learn about their operations. Your research findings will also help you ask relevant questions during the interview.

2. Learn About the Interviewer - If you know who is interviewing you, find out a little more about the person. Check out the company's website for employee bios or visit social networking sites like LinkedIn. Be careful not to overdo this, though -- you don't want to appear like a stalker.

3. Practice - Ask a friend, family member, or colleague who is experienced with job interviews to roleplay with you. Here's a list of 50 common interview questions that you can use as a starting point. Just going through some possible interview questions will help ease your nerves.

4. Dress Appropriately, Yet Comfortably - Wear your best business attire for an interview, but don't squeeze into something that's uncomfortable. You'll feel awkward and your physical discomfort might affect your performance.

5. Tell Yourself You Don't Need This Job - Even if this seems like your "dream job," convince yourself that you don't need the job. This way, it won't be the end of the world if the interview doesn't go well.

6. Be Punctual - Plan ahead and allow some extra time for traffic, as you will not make a good first impression if you are late.

7. Make Eye Contact - Make direct eye contact with the interviewer. This shows that you are genuinely interested in what the interviewer is saying.

8. Remain Calm - When people are nervous, they tend to rush through conversations. Take your time while answering questions, and think before you speak.

9. Ask Questions - The interview will help you determine if you even want the job, so be sure to ask questions. You may discover that this isn't the job for you.

10. Thank Your Interviewer - Not only should the interview end with a "thank you" and a handshake, follow up with a thank you card as soon as you return from the interview.

Perhaps the most important rule is #8-you will perform better if you appear calm and collected, even if you are shaking on the inside.

By Kim Isaacs and courtesy of ResumePower blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 9, 2008 at 12:36 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

LinkedIN and Facebook tips

If you don't know, the first thing you're likely asking is...What is a hub anyways?

Hubs are a critical part of any job seekers face-to-face, LinkedIN and Facebook networking efforts.

But let's start out with definitions. A Hub is someone in your network who is extraordinarily well connected. In face-to-face networking a hub is the person who "knows everybody". On LinkedIN and Facebook, a hub is an open networker, and has over 500 first level connections.

Think of a hub like the hub of a wheel, with many spokes.
Why are hubs important to a job seeker? Hubs can bring a huge boost to your networking efforts. Think of it this way....Hubs know everybody, so you don't have to. And if you're someone who wants to know everybody, other hubs accelerate your efforts.

In face-to-face networking events, for instance, hubs can be your most important connections. Think about it...you tell everyone you meet that you're looking for a job - how many hiring managers do you meet that are looking for your skill set right now (unless you're at a job fair)? Hubs can introduce you to many hiring managers, because of the size of their networks.

On LinkedIN and Facebook, for a broad networking strategy, connecting to hubs blows up your database, fast. For a tight networking strategy, where job seekers network with a close contacts, adding a few hubs to your network is efficient and adds tremendous firepower without adding significant network management time to your efforts.

What's in it for the hub? This is an important question to ask.

The good news about hubs is that they are well connected. The bad news is that because they are well connected their time is very leveraged. Hubs have a reason greater than personal ego for choosing to spend their time connecting people. Discovering a hub's needs, and helping the hub first gets their attention and help...every time.

Just as I discussed earlier in Why "Networking Doesn't Work", ask what a hub is looking for to create a bond. Deliver a connection that helps a hub , and you've got a personal fan. Ask questions like:

- What 2 things do you need in the next 60 days?
- Why do you come to networking events?
- What types of people do you like to meet at networking events?
- What are two challenges are you facing? Who could help you?

An experienced hub will also ask what you need, especially if you've asked first. Should you just ask if he knows anyone hiring Application Development Managers who have led Java teams in the Transportation Industry? What are the chances that your hub will know the exact contact you need (unless you're at a Java or a Transportation specific event).

A more effective way of asking a hub for help is to ask a broader question. Ask if the hub knows people at specific companies on your target list, people in your target industry, or Java developers. Definitely mention you're looking for a job and your subject matter expertise. If you ask a hub to connect you to someone else who might know a hiring manager (one off), the hub has a much greater chance of helping you.

On LinkedIN and Facebook, hubs can help in some different ways. Connecting to hubs allows you to see their large networks, especially on LinkedIN. This can give you a broader network to search (LinkedIN), or a braoader network to message through status, blogs, notes, and shared items (Facebook).

Communicating, and offering to help a hub first does so much more. This added step cements a bond, gets their attention, and often their help.

Where do you find hubs online? Look at the active members of user groups databases of open networkers, people who list their email address, or just rank a search by number of connections (LinkedIN). For more information, see Now That I'm Linked, Who do I Link to?

While I'm not looking for a job (for myself), I'm an avid networker and hub in the Chicago area and online. At a face-to-face event, my most valuable contacts are hubs. While I enjoy meeting job seekers, I try to meet at least one new hub at each event because hubs know many people seeking jobs (and hiring managers who might be hiring the skill set of one of my clients). Knowing that hubs know everyone, smart job seekers make sure the hubs in their network know they are looking. Smart hiring managers let hubs know also (to a hiring manager, a hub is like a free headhunter).

On LinkedIN and Facebook, I'm an open networker (I'll accept everyone into my network who asks). I specifically seek out hubs to expand my network - especially on LinkedIN where your network expands to 3rd level (friends of friends of friends).

How can hubs supercharge your networking efforts?

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 9, 2008 at 11:22 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

We've all heard that a positive attitude is critical to your job search. But is it enough?

Visualization exaggerates a positive attitude. And there are many reasons.

For starters, how can you get that great job if you don't even know what your perfect job looks like? How can you recognize and get excited about that perfect job, if you haven't defined it for yourself? Would you even recognize it while you were interviewing or applying for it?

When I speak to clients, I'm surprised how often they don't have a clear vision of where they want to go. All too often, I hear broad undefined ideas of a perfect job. This tells me as a coach, and tells a hiring manager, that you may be unhappy where you are (especially if unemployed), but you really don't know where you want to go. Why would a hiring manager choose someone without direction, who's just looking for anything? A job seeker might be able to get away with this where there are severe labor shortages (nursing), but not in a job market that's even slightly competitive.

In addition, as your job search continues, your goals may change, It's crucial to keep track as they change so you are moving toward your revised goals, instead of wasting time and effort chasing obsolete goals.

The more time you spend thinking about and defining your perfect job, the more excited and driven you'll be to find it. The more you visualize your perfect job, the more effort you'll put into finding it. And the more you think about it, the more likely you are to find your perfect job.

So what's the best way to visualize your next job? The most important thing is that you carve out a short amount of time per day to visualize. Five minutes is literally all it takes.

Writing the definition of your perfect job is a great way to make visualization work for you. You don't have to do the whole thing in a day. In fact, it works best as a continual work in progress. Schedule 5 minutes to work on goal definition and visualization each day, and just revise a little bit. Every day.

Some might suggest meditation, and if you practice meditation, it can be a good way to visualize.

It takes so little effort, and you'll be surprised how visualization can focus your efforts and bring you closer to your perfect job.

Start today ... invest 5 minutes to define and create your dream job.

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 9, 2008 at 11:19 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Just quit yer Whinin'!

Yet another in a long line of things that amaze me....The Fine Interview Whine.

Think back....have you ever caught yourself whining in an interview? Complaining about your old company or boss? How well did that interview go? Did you ever get a job by whining?

Face the facts, managers consider whiners as emotional cancer within their departments. Not every decision made at your new company is going to go your way. Most hiring managers want team players that will support them politically and support their decisions.

We all know better, but yet job seekers still obliterate their chances by whining in an interview. Savvy managers bait job seekers to whine, by asking what they liked and didn't like about an old job, how they got along with their boss, or why they left a past job. These managers just want to see if the job seeker will disqualify themselves by whining.

Some candidates may refrain from whining in an interview, but whine to a recruiter, believing them to be more of a "friend". A recruiter is interviewing the job seeker just like a hiring manager, because the recruiters' impressions of your soft skills will determine if they present you to hiring managers to interview. If you whine to a recruiter, they can be concerned that you may whine to the hiring manager.

So how do you express yourself in an interview without whining?

First, you've got to know when you're whining. Practice your interview with a friend, or better yet, video yourself. Have your friend ask you the bait questions you'll get from interviewers (Why did you leave? How did you like your last company? Last boss?). Watch the video and have someone else watch it too.
So you're a whiner....how do you stop?

A strong strategy is to develop and practice strong, positive answers to the bait questions interviewers ask most.

- "The company changed its strategy, and I don't see it fitting my long term goals" instead of "No one at my last company had a clue"
- "My boss's tactics aren't consistent with my family values", instead of "My slavedriver boss kept me at work until 9:00 each night".
- "I'm seeking a new challenge where my efforts can make a difference", instead of "I got fired because my company didn't appreciate my work"

Wow! You just went from sniveling whiner to strategic genius in 10 seconds!

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 9, 2008 at 11:08 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Yuck! Why would you want to bait your resume?

Do you want your resume reader to have a desire to learn more about you? Do you want your resume's reader to see that you're something special, unique, extraordinary, a "must have on my team" player?

Or do you want your resume to look like the hundreds, maybe thousands of other resumes that your employer sees?

Most resume writers and recruiters will encourage you to leave no questions unanswered on your resume, so you look prepared. And most job seekers follow this advice. Sadly, it doesn't work well.

I disagree with that old school advice. I guess it works if you want to look like all the applicants. But who can afford to be average, when you are competing with large numbers for just one job?

Today, you've gotta stand out. Be different.

Bait makes you different.

So what's bait, and how can I get some? I'm not referring to nightcrawlers, minnows, Pillsbury dough, or anything else fish eat.

Bait is a statement that causes your reader to want to know more - and has to talk to you to find out more. A statement where you tell part of the story - the sizzle. But you've 'forgotten' to tell how you got the sizzle.

If you tell an employer that you solved their problem, BUT DON'T TELL THEM HOW YOU DID IT....don't you think they'd want to talk to you, to hear how you slayed their personal dragon?

Want to sample some bait?

Bait: " - Delivered client application packages 25% under budget and two weeks ahead of schedule, by adopting new management techniques".

Bait: " - Improved profits by 20% by applying innovative tax planning techniques, approved by IRS standards"

Bait: " - Increased division sales by 70% through a variety of new management techniques"

Bait: " - Cut transportation costs 40%, by implementing innovative solutions that also cut delivery time by a day on average".

Bait: " - Increased new accounts by 50% by applying exciting new prospecting methods"

To your reader, this bait doesn't taste like worms, it tastes like gold. You've demonstrated how you've solved specific problems - and if you've laid the bait correctly, you're showing how you've solved your target company's specific problems. Yet you haven't given away the golden goose.

To get answers, the target company has to talk to you.

Target companies needing to talk to you? What job seeker wants that?

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 9, 2008 at 11:01 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Are you feeling burned out at your current job? If so, take a vacation. If you think that by taking some extended time off and contributing to your personal development while benefiting your employer, consider taking a sabbatical. But consider it VERY carefully and take Eilene Zimmerman's advice in her Career Couch column in the New York Times.

In the article titled The Gainful Way to Use a Sabbatical, several tips are covered:

• Take a sabbatical at your own risk. Out of sight, out of mind?
• Don't even ask unless you're considered a high potential employee with long-term value to the company.
• Make sure what you'll do during the sabbatical will eventually make a difference to your employer.
• Develop a plan for who will do your work while you're away.

Article by Melanie Holmes, Vice President of World of Work Solutions for Manpower, and courtesy of Manpower's Contemporary Working blog. Melanie shares Manpower's extensive knowledge while building strategic partnerships with government, universities and other leadership organizations across the country. She is also responsible for social responsibility at Manpower, which includes diversity, volunteerism, community involvement, community relations, philanthropy and workforce development.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 9, 2008 at 10:45 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

This is a guest post by Chris O' Hara.

Ever wonder how those Fortune 500 CEOs do it? How they make so much money, and how they keep themselves so God-damned motivated all of the time? Well, recently I came across a book entitled "How to Develop the Millionaire Mentality," so of course I took a look, hoping to gain an insight into these hyperactive-neurotic specimens. The book says that all you have to do is focus your attention in the right direction, on the right idea and the success will follow. I was interested by it and decided to look further into the idea that there may actually be a "successful mentality." Here is what I found in the numerous biographies and occupational psychology research I've read.

Working Hard

Ever since the beginning of time we homosapiens have been searching for the quick-fix solution, and who can blame us? If I had the opportunity to get rich quick, I would most certainly take it, and never look back. However, this attitude is in complete opposition to that of "the millionaire." A lot of their financial success basically comes down to hard, consistent work over a long period of time (I give up already). This hard work along with the correct attitude is a vital part of the process, which brings me on to the next point.

Attitude

Success is more about attitude than aptitude. Some of these self-made millionaires are not even that bright. In fact, they even appear quite dim at times. However this interpretation was a mistake on my part. What I classified as stupidity was actually a complete fixation on a very specific goal, almost oblivious to everything else. Quite simply, they have a goal in mind, they think about nothing else, and do everything to achieve it. In this way, they do actually miss out on some parts of living, but it all depends on what you are willing to do in order to be "successful."

Fear

Fear of the unknown or fear of failure keeps millions of people in jobs they hate, or even in unhappy relationships. Fortunately, a huge portion of this fear is imagined and totally illogical. Unfortunately many people do not realize this and continue living unhappy lives, settling for mediocrity when they can have greatness. According to psychologists, 50 - 60% of people's worries are concerned with the future, focused on things that usually do not even happen. Another 20 - 30% is concentrated on the past, with the small remainder kept for actual problems. In the "millionaire mentality," the way to overcome this fear is by taking action, instead of sitting around simply thinking and doing nothing. So yeah, get up off your ass and beat the shit out of the bully that is fear.

Perseverance

It is one of life's little truths that the higher you set your goals, the more resistance you will encounter. Having the will to overcome all of these challenges on a long-term basis will enable you to reach your goals. This means that you have to learn to become proactive, and never procrastinate. You must develop the habit of never putting anything off. And that's all it is really, a habit. You developed the habit over a period of time and with some work you can change a bad habit into a good one. At the beginning it will sting a little (especially the procrastination) but after a short period of time, you will develop the habit of doing things now instead of the eternal later. With a little perseverance these bad habits can become good.

Preparation & Confidence

Preparation will help you overcome the fears that come with your goals. This preparation will allow you to understand the problems you will encounter and show you exactly how to deal with them. Preparation will build your confidence, and confidence will give you greater pleasure in your undertakings. This confidence will then help you focus on your new progressively higher goals, and achieve the success you desire.

Remember "money is a terrible master but an excellent servant." - P.T. Barnum.

Article posted by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 7, 2008 at 10:48 AM | Leave a Comment (1)

More than once, I have heard employers or career counselors say today's recent college graduates are sorely lacking in the soft skills area. What are soft skills? According to executive coach, Peggy Klaus, when interviewed for the article "What Do Employers Really Want in New College Graduates: Dos and Don'ts For Demonstrating Soft Skills Savvy on Job Interviews," soft skills are oral and written communication, professionalism, work ethic, critical thinking, and problem solving.

It's odd seeing critical thinking on that list because when I was in college (Class of 2007), one of my professors told us that the main purpose of college was to teach students how to think critically. Now it would seem that the main purpose of college is to teach the hard skills needed to perform job tasks well, and let the soft skills fall by the wayside.

Recent studies have shown that that's a mistake. What about working in groups? When students have to get together with classmates to work on a project isn't sufficient to teach them how to interact with others. This is especially true for students who attend primarily white colleges or universities or historically black colleges and university. They have few any opportunities to learn about people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Klaus, who is the author of two books, ">BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It and The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They'd Learned Sooner, said that sending college graduates out into the workforce without an education in soft skills is "the equivalent of sending these kids into the woods without camping gear - or at least with nothing but a sleeping bag."

Klaus created a list of 10 soft skills dos and don'ts that can help during a job search:

1. "Proof, proof, and then proof again all written correspondence--that means inquiries, cover letters, resumes, and thank you notes. Whether you are going to e-mail, snail mail or hand deliver a document, nothing will land your chances in the garbage can or recycle bin faster than careless proofreading. Oh, and no resumes with coffee stains either!


2. Forget about one-size-fits-all communication. Whether you're addressing one or thousands, speaking or writing, it's all the same. You need to make a connection with the audience and customize your message. The "throw spaghetti against the wall and see if it sticks approach" simply doesn't work.


3. Do research on the firm and, if possible, on the person who will be interviewing you. That way you will be able to relate to them, know what they're looking for in an employee, and anticipate zingers--those difficult questions that can really throw you off your game when you aren't prepared.


4. Get used to bragging--the right way of course. Don't read directly from your resume during a job interview like some robot. When you self promote, speak conversationally about your accomplishments just as you would with a friend. Leave out the "likes" and "you knows," slang, and curse words.


5. Remember, everything communicates during your job interview, including greeting others with a smile, extending a firm hand (make it strong because no one likes shaking hands with a fish), establishing direct eye contact, and if you're eating or drinking together, your table manners.


6. Listen carefully and don't interrupt.


7. Show you are personally accountable. Nothing will raise eyebrows faster than a job candidate who has a hint of being a whiner in their demeanor. Blaming others always shows a lack of maturity and class. No boss wants to deal with a potential prima donna.


8. Weave in examples that are indicative of a strong work ethic and show that you are someone who can be counted on not only to get work in on time but to go the extra mile when needed.


9. Highlight that you can handle responsibility by providing an example from a previous job. If you have a limited employment history, draw on situations such as volunteering or doing an internship while attending school full time.


10. Ask yourself: What have I done that demonstrates my problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities? For instance, one graduate who had little work experience used an example of addressing a security problem on campus by getting involved with student government and organizing a "night owl" patrol program. This showed her future employer her commitment to community in addition to her ingenuity, accountability and ability to problem-solve.
"

If you're a recent college graduate looking for an entry-level job, or if you're a student looking for a quality internship, now is the time to start learning how to communicate effectively, be professional, establish a good work ethic, be a critical thinker and a problem solver.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 6, 2008 at 7:50 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Last week, I participated on a T&D Magazine webcast with Bill Bynam, the CEO of Development Dimensions International, a leading human resources consulting firm. It got me thinking about a great DDI white paper I saw recently written a white paper on the qualities that predict leadership success. According to DDI, effective leaders:

Are masters at managing through ambiguity: The modern workplace is fraught with chaos. These leaders possess the ability to stay calm amid turmoil and to be convincingly reassuring. They keep their people focused with clear direction and goals, and view change through the lens of opportunity.

Inspire confidence and believe in the future: Leaders who make it a priority to understand and address employee needs, who can differentiate those things that are important from those that are not, and who can communicate a long-term vision that attains the buy-in of employees and customers alike, are the ones who find their organizations rewarded with long-term customer relationships and loyal, engaged employees.

Have a passion for results: These leaders place emphasis on those activities, initiatives, programs, and processes that produce the best ROI. They are able to stay the course, overcoming any obstacle thrown in their way, because they believe their focus will truly bring about the outcomes they are seeking.

Are marked by unwavering integrity: Good leaders must earn trust every day. Their values must be visible through their actions, and they must be both able and willing to be held up as an example to others. Bad news, such as the need for layoffs or budget cuts, or the failure of the organization to meet financial targets, must not be hidden or sugarcoated.

Set others up for success: Leaders who are true talent advocates understand that feeling successful is a prerequisite for ongoing engagement and that successful people are more, not less likely to stay. But they also understand that success is about more than praise. It's about developing people, giving them room to grow (even if it means giving them the opportunity to fail), and coaching them to be their best, so the organization can be its best.

Have strong, rather than big, egos: Leaders with big egos, so good at tearing others down, often are terribly insecure themselves. They lack the self-confidence that leadership demands. On the other hand, those with strong egos have a positive self-image but at the same time are able to acknowledge and value the thoughts and contributions of others--including those at lower levels of the organization.

Have the courage to make decisions: When faced with making tough choices, the best leaders do not shy away from taking prompt action. They know that indecisiveness can lead to the paralysis, and that popular decisions are not always the best decisions. And they understand that too many compromise decisions, while usually less painful to reach, breed mediocrity and lead to results that, in the end, please nobody.

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 5, 2008 at 12:14 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Who do I want to be? Sometimes this is the most difficult question to answer in your career search.

The answer often involves much soul searching, personal introspection, commentary from friends, network, coaches. But in the end...the answer is inside you.

So what is the best way to figure it all out?

Here [are] 7 tips to help:

Set Broad Goals: Set broad goals for Work/Life Balance, material and family goals, knowledge and experience goals, before you set income, title, or company goals.

Ask: Ask yourself what you enjoy, what you are best at, what your challenges are. Ask your peers, ask your network, ask coaches, ask interviewers, ask employers. Ask industry forums and Question/Answer sites (See my earlier article on LinkedIN Questions). Ask everybody.

Listen: Really listen. Remember that listening to this type of advice may be difficult. You may hear things you don't want to (but need to) hear. You may get advice that conflicts with the personal view you have of yourself. Listen to the marketplace, via job ads, industry forums, question/answer sites. The more people you ask, the more conflicting advice you'll get. But listen to your gut and to your close personal advisors...together decide who's right, and who gives advice that makes sense.

Question: Ask Why.

Research: Research the marketplace. See which skills are the most in demand. SimplyHired offers a great tool for this, which I reviewed here Ditch your Crystal Ball. Try Hiring Trends Instead.....

Match: Match your skills with what's in demand in the marketplace based on your research. For more information, see my earlier article Which Subject Matter am I an Expert at? Match your skills with your non work demands and needs for work vs life tradeoffs.

Embrace Change: Change is good. Change is personal growth and progress. Change brings unplanned opportunity and serendipity. If you embrace change with a positive attitude and visualize your goals, you can't help but reach your goals. Just remember, that in your journey to reach your goals...they often change as you grow and change personally.

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

New college graduates looking for a job will likely have an edge over their competition if they have participated in an internship or otherwise gained work-related experience, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Approximately 95 percent of the organizations responding to NACE's Job Outlook 2008 survey said candidate experience is a factor in their hiring decisions. More than three-quarters are most interested in relevant work experience, but nearly 20 percent give candidates points for any type of work experience. On the question of how the experience is gained, respondents were split.

"Slightly more than half of employers told us that they didn't have a preference on how the candidate gets experience, but nearly as many--47 percent--said they prefer candidates to gain their experience through an internship or cooperative education program," says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

In addition, results of a separate NACE study show that employers are placing more emphasis on internship and cooperative education programs to "grow" their own employees--looking first to their own interns when they have job opportunities.

"Not only does participation in an internship make the student a more attractive candidate, but also it can be an avenue to a job," says Mackes.

Since 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media at www.naceweb.org/press/.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 5, 2008 at 10:53 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

This is a guest post by Lauren Kleinman.

When asked to list the most dangerous jobs, my mind immediately thinks of those that require physical labor: deep-sea fisherman, loggers, miners, and even pilots. Just as the workplace is changing to a more virtual environment, the dangers are changing from physical to mental. The New York Times recently had an article that named blogging as a dangerous profession after three well-known bloggers suffered heart attacks. Well of course this scared me a bit, being a blogger myself, so I decided to do some research.

Stress has been the buzz word for quite a few years now and subsequently is changing the list of "jobs that are most likely to kill you." While deep sea Alaskan fishermen and lion trainers still rank on top, other unlikely jobs are joining the list because of stress. A Canadian study completed last October showed that there was a definite link between job stress and heart problems, confirming what most knew all along.

So what are the most stressful jobs?

1. IT jobs: Oh yeah, those people that come when the printer is jammed up? How would you like to spend your day showing someone how to load printer paper?

2. Teachers: Make that middle school teachers. Raise your hand if you ever threw a paper airplane while your teacher was writing on the chalkboard.

3. Stockbroker: Their split-second decisions can cost their clients thousands or even millions of dollars. So stop complaining when your boss asks you to make a decision on what the theme for the 3rd quarter celebration should be.

4. Customer service (primarily call centers): Customer service is a tough one in any industry, but call centers can be especially stressful. Something about not seeing someone face to face makes people think that they can scream at customer service reps.

5. Clerical jobs: Studies have shown that those jobs that have low decision-making abilities feel they have less control over their career. Even though higher ranked jobs come with more responsibility and thus stress, the autonomy one feels over their career cancels out some of the stress.

Other jobs surveyed as the top stressful jobs include law enforcement, social services, servers and journalists. Although all of these jobs won't show up as having the most deaths on the job, they do remain as professions that will kill you due to a stress-induced work environment.

In many of these high-stress professions, it truly does sometimes feel like your boss will kill you if everything isn't done to perfection. If you find yourself in one of these jobs and the heat is on, take a vacation. Enjoy a long weekend with your family. Stop racing to the finish line with the rest of America, because the only thing waiting there for you is a heart attack.

Article posted by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com - your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 5, 2008 at 10:43 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Since we often talk about differentiating yourself in a crowded market around here, I thought you might like to know that twenty-something branding phenom Dan Schawbel recently launched a new magazine, Personal Branding. As you might guess, the magazine is about establishing a professional and memorable identity in order to drive your career forward, and it provides concrete advice you can use today for leveraging online avenues like blogging, social networking, and multimedia.

I would trust anything Dan has to say about personal branding, because he has done it so expertly. In just a year or so, he has firmly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the career blogosphere. As a result of the smart way Dan has presented himself in his networking efforts, he's managed to secure contributions from the likes of Jim Stroud, Guy Kawasaki, and Joel Cheesman. He's a thriving example of how you don't have Microsoft's marketing budget to do personal branding successfully.

Each issue will be sold quarterly as a pdf document in the months of February, May, August and November, and 50% of the proceeds benefit The American Cancer Society. And best of all, you can try before you buy. Check out a sample, and let me know what you think of Dan's latest effort!

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 1, 2008 at 5:19 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

As you know I write a lot about the power of social media to help you build your reputation online.

One of the case studies I share in my speaking about social media, personal branding and career success is of my good friend and mastermind buddy Jessica Bowman who is an SEO expert.

After relocating across the US, taking up a role at Yahoo, Jessica lost her role in the recent massive shakedown to everyone's surprise in just 90 days after taking up her appointment.

Jessica has a blog that is well regarded in her field of expertise and as she has been providing excellent advice and tips there, she is well known by key influencers in the world of SEO.

This has led to her story and how she has successfully managed career transition since leaving Yahoo to be picked up by a major US glossy where she will be featured in their July edition (sorry can't tell you who until she makes it public) and she is attracting great opportunities from consulting to speaking, all through her network both online an offline.

So Jessica is using the power of her social network through blogging to manage her career transition.

But here's the thing - you actually don't need to be blogging yourself to make sure of the power of blogging and social networking when in career transition or when searching for another job.

I can not recall the thousands upon thousands of speculative CV's I have received through the post or email over the years. And unfortunately it is rare that those speculative CV's ever amount to someone landing a new role in the businesses I have been recruiting for- the reasons for that warrant an article or two on their own so I won't go into it here.

I must declare that I get really frustrated when someone connects with me by email with their CV looking for a new role and they have not gone to the time to research who I am or how to correctly spell my name.

Take a situation that happened just this week when someone addressed their email to me 'Dear Sir'. You see I am not a man.

So take note of the following - this is something I can guarantee most career coaches, recruiters, HR professionals and executive recruiters will not even think to tell you...

A little time researching online would have told the job hunter that I have a business blog where they can find out a lot about what I am interested in, what services I provide and what kinds of clients my company serves. They can research me online before even applying fingers to their keyboard to send me their speculative CV or resume.

They could also have found me on Facebook or LinkedIn, noted who is in my network and who are mutual contacts so they could have had someone introduce them to me in a more personal way.

They might even have followed me on Twitter where they could get a feel for other things that are going on in my life, not just work and business.

Even better would have been if they invested a little time in building and nurturing a relationship with me online before they email me about looking for a job move.

For example they could have added insightful comments or experiences about the issues I cover in my articles or podcasts.

You can be sure I would have taken more notice of them when I received an email about them looking for a new role.

I would probably even have connected them to my network to assist them in their job search.

So before you hit the send button on that next email, whether it be a job opportunity you are looking for or a new assignment, why not use the power of the Internet and the accessibility of social media to research and nurture relationships with the people you are connecting to.

That will ensure that you are more specific and relevant in who you connect to and what you say in your letter or email.

The result is that your personal brand will stand out from the crowd of people interested in that same next job or assignment you are interested in.

So why not access the power of social media and social networks in your career research - I'm sure the results will surprise you.

And if you are not looking for your next big gig, why not pass this guidance on to someone you know who is.

Article by Krishna De and courtesy of Biz Growth News blog

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 1, 2008 at 5:02 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Recently launched this April, Jobzerk.com, owned and operated by Elki Media, integrates social media into the job and resume search process through blogging, private messaging, and forums. The site offers the ability to post Company, job, and resume listings as well as find jobs through a keyword or directory search. "I believe that the application of social media and Web 2.0 concepts to more mainstream commercial environments is the next evolution of the Web. This is what we tried to do with Jobzerk.com," says Kelsie Greear, Founder and CEO of Elki Media. "Traditional e-commerce and site concepts... need the injection of new technologies and mediums. The amazing scope and reach of open source technologies, global development, content management, and support resources enables any entrepreneur to accomplish this with an astonishing amount of efficiency and autonomy," Greear adds. Elki Media's goal is to create a suite of web based applications and sites that create industry changing momentum through the use of Web 2.0 and social media technologies.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 1, 2008 at 1:06 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

HR professionals who recruit and hire employees across the country forecast manufacturing and service sector hiring will drop sharply in May 2008 as compared with one year ago reveal the latest findings from the SHRM/Rutgers Leading Indicators of National Employment® (LINE®). LINE data also show that increases in wages for new hires in the manufacturing sector dropped modestly in April as compared to one year ago while those in the service sector fell slightly. "HR professionals tell us that the job slowdown will likely continue into May," says Jennifer Schramm, SHRM manager of workplace trends and forecasting. "Firms in both the manufacturing and service sectors have significantly lower expectations when it comes to hiring compared with this time last year. For employers looking to fill positions, especially in the service sector, recruitment looks like it is becoming easier than it has been over the last few years," Schramm adds. According to the LINE index, manufacturing employment expectations dropped 13.2 points compared with May 2007. This index declined from 43.2 in May 2007 to 30.0 in May 2008. In addition, the LINE index of employment expectations for the service sector dropped 16.5 points from May 2007 to May 2008 (52.0 compared with 35.5). Furthermore, May 2007, saw private service-sector employment rose by 165,000 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis and by 686,000 jobs on a not seasonally adjusted basis.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 1, 2008 at 12:37 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

An interview by Phil Rosenberg

Interview on Demand is a great tool for job seekers, as well as hiring managers, to send video resumes and conduct video interviews of candidates.

I was impressed by the service, so I called Peggy McKee, VP Sales & Marketing of Interview on Demand, to demand an interview of her! But how much did I really have to demand? Peggy's in marketing.

I learned that Interview on Demand is an interesting way to stand out from your competition, but won't work well as a submission to jobs listed on Job Boards or Websites. Instead, Interview on Demand is structured to work well with networking or social networking contacts, as a way to brand your Subject Matter Expertise.

reCareered: Peggy, thanks for your time today to explain your interesting new service, Interview on Demand. Can you give an overview of the service?

Peggy McKee: First, Interview on Demand is free to any job seeker. In less than 25 minutes, you can record a video introduction with any webcam, review it until you like the way you look and sound, and post it on a personal webpage.

reCareered: Can you add other things to your personal webpage and video?

Peggy McKee: You can link your resume, cover letter, work samples, report samples, power point presentations, graphics, etc. You can upload and attach anything you feel would be a valuable addition to your personal brand.

reCareered: How would a job seeker best benefit from Interview on Demand?

Peggy McKee: Interview on Demand gives job seekers great content to send to their personal networks, LinkedIN networks, Facebook Networks, or other social networks or online groups they are active with.

reCareered: Can you give an example?

Peggy McKee: Let's say you've just recorded your video introduction on Video on Demand, and
you've attached your resume and some work samples. Let's say you are a Java developer. There are a number of online user groups, in Yahoo for instance, where you could write an intro, and publish a link to your personal website and video introduction. Then you could make an email template, and send it to your Level 1 LinkedIN contacts. You can also include a link to your personal site on your digital resume and LinkedIN profile.

reCareered: Are there any risks to passive job seekers who don't want their current employers to know they are looking?

Peggy McKee: Since we don't send video files, the personal videos can't be copied into YouTube. Our videos are embedded into our website only, and we don't have search engines index personal home pages. In that way, the candidate controls who sees their information.

reCareered: Sounds like a great tool for job seekers looking to get noticed. What's the downside

Peggy McKee: Interview on Demand isn't meant to be submitted to job boards, or corporate websites, because they are text based, and aren't structured to work with websites or video content. A simple solution is to include links to your personal website on your digital resume and cover letter.

reCareered: What other kinds of services does Interview on Demand offer?

Peggy McKee: Interview on Demand also offers services to HR departments who want more effective pre-screening methods, especially if recruiting from outside their local area or in place of expensive campus recruiting programs. An HR department or hiring manager might develop a list of 5 questions, and email the questions and a link to a prospective candidate. The candidate would answer questions via video (please get dressed for an interview first!), and when completed, send the video to the employer through our site. This can offset the cost of first interview travel (if recruiting out of area), Campus Recruiting, and time and cost of videoconferences. Candidates can be given the option to review and re-record their interview, or one time only, based on employer preference. Interviews can be forwarded to other managers, if a candidate is felt to be a good fit for a different group.

reCareered: How can outside recruiters use Interview on Demand?

Peggy McKee: Many recruiters send highlight bullet points of their Most Placeable Candidates. While bullet point summaries are standard practice, Interview on Demand can give a number of distinct advantages. First, it's the candidate giving highlights about themselves, not the headhunter pitching. Second, it's video, more interactive, and better shows the soft skills and personality of the candidate. A recruiter can have their best candidates record an introductory video, assemble a personal webpage, and the recruiter can send to targeted clients who might need these skills. Since few recruiters send video, this is a great way to get your candidates to stand out from the crowd.

reCareered: All this sounds kind of difficult for a non-technical job seeker.

Peggy McKee: Not at all. Interview on Demand is set up so that even your Grandmother can use it. And we're still small enough that users get personal attention to any technical questions they might have. We are extremely responsive, and can make improvements quickly based on user suggestions.

reCareered: Thanks for the explanation Peggy, great service.

After playing with Interview on Demand, I'm sold.

However, to make Interview on Demand work for you, there's some work to do first. Interview on Demand works well for highly defined Subject Matter Experts, but isn't a good fit for generalists. Why? Generalists haven't branded themselves effectively, so they don't have anything to promote other than your movie star looks.

So unless you're the spitting image of Jessica Alba or George Clooney, develop your personal brand and Subject Matter Expertise FIRST, before investing your energy in Interview on Demand.

Article by Phil Rosenberg, President, reCareered & Rainmakers Global and courtesy of reCareered blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on May 1, 2008 at 11:11 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

"He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution, which rejects progress, is the cemetery." --Harold Wilson.

My consulting takes me sometimes to organizations that seem to love the status quo. They will cling to it, fight for it, and drown anyone who tries to rock their boat. It is not easy. My role is made even more difficult by the fact that I am usually being hired in order to look into this status quo and initiate changes.

Organizational Change

I normally ask; why these things are being done this way? Alternatively, why does the system go that way and not the other way? The typical answers I get: Well, you have to admit that things are as they are. Followed by a frowned forehead and shrug of a shoulder. Why do people react that way? For the last 5 years, that continues to puzzle me. No matter how prepared you are to preclude objections and have clarified your objectives, people will naturally resist change.

Change is inevitable. I remember a company whose motto is "innovate or stagnate!" How profound! If you resist change, that is for the better, you will surely degenerate and be relegated to a cemetery as Wilson pointed out. An organization can only compete in a highly competitive, unpredictably ever-changing, and globalized market if it is willing to adopt to and adapt with changes. Otherwise, it will be left behind, overran by its competitors, and eventually close shop.

Personal Change

A person's maturity does not come with age. Maturity is not the product or result of experience either. Maturity is the result of learning from life's experiences and from that of the others. Maturity most of all hinges on our ability to adopt and adapt to changes (I mentioned this earlier). Have you heard the maxim: Everything is changing except change? True! A mature individual is one who strives to find ways and means to improve and who tries to influence and initiate positive changes around him. He is not the product of change itself but the mover of change.

However, having said that, I have to admit that there are things that cannot be changed (I know, this will be easily construed as contradicting my premises above, I must admit too). Given that, I will go with Mary Engelbert's admonition: "...if you cannot change it, change the way you think about it."

By: Young Urban Professionals

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Lisa Colbert, CollegeRecruiter.com on May 1, 2008 at 8:02 AM | Leave a Comment (1)