Job Search Tips: Soapbox Job Search

“It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” – Mark Twain

In my last job, there was this one woman who worked for me who always had the 30 minute answer to a 30 second question. Even worse, god forbid you sent an email to her asking a question, her answer would be War and Peace. Not only that, but she would attach spreadsheets as support that were so long and complicated that sometimes they looked like the plans for the Space Shuttle.

Anyway, everybody has something to say, some useful and some not.

The same is true for job search (both on the receiving end and the giving end). Some of the information is useful and lots is not. There must be thousands of job related websites (mine included), many have really useful information and lots do not. The trick is to know when to keep it short and when to pour it on.

That leads me to one of today’s topics – the Elevator Speech. I’ve also listed a few interesting career sites for your review.

Interesting Job Search Resources:

• CareerDigital – This site’s tag line says it all – “Career Insights and Advice”. It has an easy to read design, with the main content center page. The site aggregates a number of career related sites in one place, with four featured articles at the top of the page. This is followed by a list of additional articles continuing down center page. Do you prefer to read by topic? No problem, the left hand side of the page topics by concepts, tools (like LinkedIn), type (company, blog, etc.), Organizations, Industries and more. The right hand side of the page has featured sites where you can click directly to the content of that site (embedded in the Career Digital format).

• NY Creative Interns – This site is a great resource for anyone looking for an internship or articles about internships. The left hand side of the page has featured articles (and you can click for older posts at the bottom of the page).

• eBossWatch – This is a really neat site, the tag line alone is enough to make you visit the site (Nobody should have to work for a jerk). Who hasn’t had that problem? There are three main sections at the top of the page (America’s Worst Boss, Rate Your Boss and Sex Harassment Registry). You can even search for your boss OR if you are looking for a new job, check out the people you are interviewing with.

Elevator Speech:

• The Elevator Speech is the Swiss Army Knife of Job-Search Tools This article, by Quintessential Careers, offers a comprehensive review of the topic with background/history, several suggested formats, the different situations where an Elevator Speech is useful as well as several examples. There are lots of embedded links to related topics. While you are there, also take a look at some of the related tools on the top left hand side of the page.

• How to Design an Elevator Speech – This article is posted on lifecareerplan.com and a good overview and three examples followed by how to start your speech. There are related job search resources at the top of the page as well as a number of links on the left hand side of the page.

• Job Search Marketing Toolkit Your Elevator Speech – From yours truly, I start with a “what if” story to set the stage. There are three links to related elevator speech sites as well as a few other links.

Good luck in your search.

Author: CareerAlley

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 for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.