The Job Fair Cocktail

Job hunting is hard enough as it is. If you can make it a little easier or less stressful, why wouldn't you.

Well, JobCircle.com has done just that. They have put a fun twist on job fairs...they call them Pink Slip Parties! As JobCircle.com puts it: "You might say that this is a casual version of a job fair, minus the tables and the lines!" Not to mention a cocktail to boost the networking.

The Party is held at a pub or tavern to set the right mood. You can check out the JobCircle.com website to see the companies that have signed up for the event and the types of positions available. And it only costs $10 for job seekers.

JobCircle.com is the largest independently owned and operated job board in the Mid-Atlantic region, connecting employers and jobseekers in PA, NJ, NY, DE, MD and DC.

Though I'm not looking for work in those areas, I find JobCirlce.com offers resources that are helpful and so I follow them on Twitter.

If I were in the area, I'd definitely attend a Pink Slip Party.

Tweet this:
Pink Slip Parties - Mid Atlantic Region - the job fair cocktail http://tinyurl.com/ptvnzq

Free LinkedIn and Social Media Seminars

Through the JobAngels group on LinkedIn, I learned of Paul DeBettignies, Co-Founder of Minnesota Recruiters who is offering free online seminars for job seekers. I call this paying it forward and personally thanked him.

There are 3 seminars scheduled this week:

• May 19th, 3 PM CDT: Job Search Toolkit - Be Your Own Headhunter
• May 20th, 3 PM CDT: LinkedIn A to Z - Use LinkedIn Like A Headhunter
• May 21st, 3 PM CDT: Using Social Media For Networking, Lead Generation And Job

Click here to register for the May 19-21 free seminars.

If you miss any of these seminars, they are offered again next week:

• May 27th, 12 PM CDT: Job Search Toolkit - Be Your Own Headhunter
• May 28th, 12 PM CDT: LinkedIn A to Z - Use LinkedIn Like A Headhunter
• May 29th, 12 PM CDT: Using Social Media For Networking, Lead Generation And Job

Click here to register for the May 27-29 free seminars.

More about Paul DeBettignies: By trade he is an IT Recruiter, writes the MN Headhunter blog and for the past seven years has been doing job search, networking and LinkedIn seminars in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and in January 2009 started doing them online.

Tweet this:
Free LinkedIn and Social Media Online Seminars for the Job Seeker http://tinyurl.com/pmz25w

"Experience Unlimited" - EDD Job Club

Found another source of networking beyond your personal circle.

The Employment Development Department (EDD) has a program called Experience Unlimited job club where people can network to find new employment opportunities.

"A wide range of professional, technical, and managerial job seekers participate in these voluntary, networking groups to lend one another job hunting assistance and direction. Provided at no fee, the program provides a place where job seekers can meet regularly with other career professionals to share job leads, provide support, and update their job search skills."

Resources include:

• Workshops on job search strategies, résumés, interview techniques, and networking
• Résumé evaluations and mock interviews
• Networking opportunities
• Access to on-line job listings
• On-line résumé postings through CalJOBSSM
• Special events and guest speakers
• Use of computers, printers, copiers, telephone, fax, and Internet

Find a local chapter near you to learn more or join.

Tweet this:
"Experience Unlimited" - EDD Job Club - no fee assistance program for job seekers - http://tinyurl.com/q4kx8e

Free Skill-Based Online Training

Since my last post - Paying It Forward Can Pay Off - I've been searching the Web for free online training. And not just training that I'm particularly interested in, but whose offering what, if any.

I was delighted to find through the EDD website (and buried so deep I think it took me about 20 clicks to find it) that the E-Learning Center offers free online courses.

Here is the list of courses they are currently offering at no fee:

• A+ Certification
• JavaScript
• Business Management
• Visual Basic .NET - DataSets and XML Data
• PHP and MySQL
• Customer Service
• HTML and XHTML Basics
• Windows Server 2003 - Working with Active Directory
• Excel 2007
• Leadership - Creating and Communicating Vision

Take the time to pick up a new skill. Adding a new skill to your resume can help you compete better in this tough job market. Or sharpen some of the ones you already have. When you're asked in the interview about your skills, you can more confidently say how well you know them.

Tweet this:
Free skill-based online training to help you compete in this tough job market. http://tinyurl.com/rbg4ac

Paying It Foward Can Pay Off

I read somewhere reputable that the job market is the worse it's been in the past 25 years. And from my personal experience, that sounds about right. I believe people, and companies, need to step up and help out - pay it forward.

On an individual level, people are helping people. I experience it every day on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. A great example is JobAngels started by Mark Stelzner whose vision is for everyone to help just one person find gainful employment.

On an enterprise level, what are corporations and organizations doing to help? This question arose when I reached out to a corporation to get training that I needed to compete better in the job market. I was told, "sorry, can't help you."

I thought to myself, why not?! I'm not stealing any company secrets. And I'm not asking to give me their product for free. I had suggested a training account for a limited time so that I could practice and sharpen my skills on their application.

I tried persuading them to consider me an evangelist for their product and how this would be an investment in their customers as I most likely will become a client when I get a job. And that it would be a way to promote themselves and build and boost a positive reputation through social network marketing. They weren't persuaded.

This gave me the idea that corporations should develop "pay it forward" programs to help the unemployed. This doesn't have to drain company resources. They can have self-paced online basic training, video practices, and time-limited training accounts for online access to software. This idea is about skill training and not career training that you can find through the EDD and other places. Maybe the government could give them acknowledgement for participating in helping rebuild the economy, and even some type of subsidy. (You heard it hear.)

I looked around to see if any companies were paying it forward and I found that Microsoft was. They offer free self-paced training courses for Office programs. Microsoft also has a program called Elevate America where they are providing 1 million vouchers to states for no-cost access to Microsoft E-Learning courses and select Microsoft Certification exams. Good for them. We need more corporations doing the same.

Paying it forward can pay off. Corporations can:

• create evangelists for their product/services
• promote themselves
• build a positive reputation
• gain exposure
• foster goodwill

And, when THEY need to hire someone, there will be more qualified candidates for them to choose from.

Tell everyone to read this post. Maybe more corporations will step up and pay it forward.

Tweet this:
Paying It Forward Can Pay Off...for everyone. http://tinyurl.com/q7c5dh (Retweet please)

LinkedIn Introductions

I'd like to start out saying I'm a big fan of LinkedIn and have found it very helpful in my job search. That said, I'm a little frustrated with the Introduction feature and have quite a few questions.

When I find a job opportunity on LinkedIn, one of the first things I do is see if I'm connected to the person who posted the job or the hiring manager.

Most of the time, I have found either a 2nd-degree connection where someone I know directly knows the hiring manager. Considered a direct connection. Or a 3rd-degree connection where someone I know knows someone that knows the hiring manager. There are two middle men.

Is it a quantity versus quality issue? I write my introduction email and send it off to my connection and I often get a reply saying, "I don't really know her/him..." But then why are you linked? Do you need to know her/him just to send an introduction?

Is an introduction being interpreted as a recommendation? Asking my connection for an introduction seems to elicit feelings of putting themselves out which sounds more like a recommendation than an introduction. But I'm not asking my connection to recommend me, at least not in an introduction.

Is passing on the message effective? I'm simply requesting my connection to pass on my message to their connection. But I've submitted a resume with a well thought out cover letter. And now I'm sending a message often through a chain of 2 or more people. What would the message say that my cover letter didn't? Or do people find it impressive that I've gone through the trouble of sending a message through this human link?

Is there something I'm missing? Have you been asked to introduce someone? Did you do it or did you decline?


Tweet this. Just copy and paste:
The effectiveness of LinkedIn introductions. http://tinyurl.com/d8duye

Keep On Selling Yourself Even After The Thank Yous

We all know that you should send a thank you note (or email) to the people you interviewed with. And that you should add more information about your skills and accomplishments to further sell yourself.

I'm finding that you need to keep on selling yourself even after the thank yous. You need to stay foremost in the mind of the hiring manager as s/he interviews other qualified candidates and eventually needs to make a choice.

Keep on selling yourself and don't stop until you have an offer or you are no longer interested in the job. Here are some ideas and real-life examples:

Elephant In The Room - I had a phone interview and my gut told me it didn't go well. I looked up the hiring manager on LinkedIn to better get to know her. I sent her an email confessing that I didn't think the phone interview went well but I'm a great candidate for the job and explained why. One hour after I sent the email, she contacted me to schedule an in-person interview. When we met, she confessed she wasn't going to call me but she was impressed with my email. I thanked her for giving me a second chance for a first impression.

Pizza Interview - A candidate was referred to a job and was suppose to connect with the hiring manager, but the hiring manager was too busy to schedule a meeting. The person who made the referral said the hiring manager was still interested in interviewing him but was just having difficulty finding the time. The candidate had to get in front of the hiring manager somehow, so he bought a pizza, printed out his resume and drove to the offices of the hiring manager at lunch time. He told the receptionist that he had a pizza for the hiring manager and when s/he came to the front, the candidate proposed a lunch interview.

Coffee On Me - My friend wasn't convinced the hiring manager was "wow-ed" with her in the interview. She bought a coffee cup and a $5 dollar gift card from Starbucks. She delivered them with a well-crafted letter saying she didn't think he was impressed with her so "have a cup of coffee on me and let me tell you more about myself." The hiring manager replied that he had been impressed with her and now even more so.

Recipe For Success - Another friend delivered home-baked cookies with her "recipe for success" which outlined how mixing her skills and experience with the employers needs would make a perfect creation.

If you're submitting your resume online via email or a website, it's

bound to get buried under hundreds of other emails and submissions. Try to stay on top (literally) by submitting your resume every 5-8 days with a different subject line each time. Submit at the end of the day so that your resume is on top of the pile in the morning when the hiring manager logs on.

How often you connect after the interview and what interesting way you stay connected depends on who you are, what job you interviewed for and what you think is best. Just keep selling yourself.

Tweet this. Copy and paste:

Keep selling yourself after the interview. http://tinyurl.com/c78a3n

Twitter Apps For Your Job Search

Just when I thought I knew how to use Twitter for my job hunt, I find there are more ways to tweet while searching.

I found another good post from Tawny Labrum, key contributor to the AskBINC Blog: "15 Twitter Applications For Your Job Search."

Labrum says, "With the right tools Twitter can become a never-ending source of information to assist you along your way." There are hundreds of applications you could use, but I suggest you start with Labrum's 15 she finds most interesting.

Labrum also suggests following these Twitter Users specializing in job postings:

• @JobAngels – Helping the unemployed find jobs
• @indeed - One search. All jobs.
• @jobshouts – General job postings
• @simplyhired - Job search site
• @StartUpHire – Jobs at VC backed companies
• @twithire - Job board service

Tap into Twitter's power!

Facebook Apps To Help The Job Hunt

I admit I'm not as acquainted with Facebook as I am with LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs. But it's being said that Facebook is one of the key social networking tools to help with employment searches.

If you're going to use Facebook, learn it to your advantage.

Through a tweet on Twitter, I learned of Tawny Labrum, the Blog Admin for BINC, Inc. and key contributor to the AskBINC Blog. Tawny posted an article on how to use Facebook to help your job search: "20 Facebook Applications To Assist In Your Job Search." Twenty!

Check out Labrum's article and then check out Facebook's applications. To find the applications on Facebook, type "applications" in the search window at the top right. From that page, click on the "Applications" tab at the top. There are over 500 applications available, but remember, you'll only need 20!

Or not. Check out a few. You can always remove the ones you don't find useful for your search.

Interview Preparation

Rob McGovern, Founder and CEO of Jobfox.com, wrote a helpful article about preparing for a job interview.

It's pretty straight forward stuff, but you'd be surprised how many people don't use these steps:

1. Mentally prepare. The day before the interview write a list of questions you think you'll be asked. Prepare answers for them. This will mentally prepare you so that you'll sound confident. After the interview, add any new questions.
2. Do your homework. You should visit the company's web site, learn about their products, and read the recent press releases and news about the company.
3. Prepare questions that showcase your talent. Don't say "No, I think you covered all I need to know." Here are a few of Rob McGovern's favorite questions:

• How do I get an "A" in this position?
• What are the long-term goals of the organization?
• If I earn an "A" in this position, what areas of growth would be available to me?
• What's the leadership style of my manager?
• How would you describe the candidate that is a great cultural fit for the company?

Some of the questions I like to ask are:

• What kind of challenges do you think I would face?
• What is the leadership style? (in general, not just your manager-to-be)
• What is the communication style of the department/across departments?

And don't forget to dress for success. Good luck.

My Job Search Recipe

I've been job searching for a few months now. I read a lot of online advice. I'm on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. I have this blog and others.

The key message I'm hearing is that job searchers need to shift the way they have been traditionally looking for work. The job sites, such as Monster.com and CareerBuilders, are black holes for resumes. The focus is online networking and searching people.

Based on what I've learned and experienced so far, I've developed my own recipe for job searching. My ingredients are based on searching for Marketing Manager positions.

Here's my recipe for job searching:

• LinkedIn - (1) I keep my profile up to date, search for new connections that I know, and request for recommendations when appropriate. (2) I only apply for jobs on LinkedIn and through LinkedIn if there is a way to connect with someone in the company - get an introduction - and there usually is. If I can't find a connection to introduce me, I go straight to the company's website. Though I don't know for sure, I'm guessing that there are fewer resume submission from a company's website than on LinkedIn.
• craigslist - I've had success with getting interviews from jobs listed on craigslist, so I'll continue to search and apply. When I find an opportunity, I go straight to LinkedIn to look up the company and see if I can make a connection with someone.
• Twitter - The objective is to build a network of followers and followings. I follow people who tweet about things I find helpful. I tweet and re-tweet about things I hope people who follow me find helpful. By doing so, more people are following me which builds an extensive network for me to tap into while gaining valuable information.
• Competition - I have identified the competitors of the last company I worked for. I am in the process of finding out the names of the Marketing Directors/Managers. Then I will research the names on LinkedIn in hopes of finding a connection. I will tailor a cover letter for each person and send it along with my resume via mail. Whether or not these companies have a job opening, I'm hoping they will be impressed with my resume and approach.
• Traditional Networking - Not everyone is on a social networking site, so I sent mass emails out to my address book contacts. I divided my contacts in subgroups: family, friends, all others. I used an affordable (.02-.05 each) and easy online email service called VerticalResponse which allowed me to personalize each email and get real-time results.

Like any recipe, you make changes based on your personal taste.

What's your winning recipe?

7 Social Media Secrets To Get a Job

Another great article by Dan Schawbel, "7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media."

This one has some new ideas - at least to me - I thought were great. Schawbel not only has helpful ideas, but provides specific steps and examples to help you get started.

Schawbel's 7 secrets are revealed:

1. Conduct a people search instead of a job search.
2. Use attraction-based marketing to get job offers.
3. Be proactive on Twitter.
4. Capitalize on LinkedIn.
5. Advertise your brand using AdWords and Facebook social ads.
6. Construct a video resume and upload it to YouTube.
7. Subscribe to blogs that have job listings.

I found secrets 5, 6 and 7 most interesting, but I don't think I'm ready for a debut on YouTube quite yet.

If you have other secrets you want to share, please comment.

Online Networking For Career Success

Social media - blogs, posts, tweets - is online networking and networking has always been an effective way to find a job.

Dan Schawbel says "Your digital assets — blog, podcast, and social networking profiles — are your online identity and how people discover and connect with you. You have the ability to leverage one or all of these social media tools in order to present a positive image and be recruited for a position that aligns with your passion."

In Schawbel's article, "HOW TO: Leverage Social Media for Career Success," he claims "social media tools are becoming mandatory for career success." Schawbel goes through several steps to help you identify your personal brand, select the best social media tools to connect with your prospects, build your online brand, and market yourself for career success.

Dan Schawbel is the author of the newly published book "Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success" and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog.

Answering Tough Interview Questions

I'm retweeting this from a recruiter, Dan Green of VP of Marketing.

Dan's tweet cites an article, "How To Answer Tough Interview Questions," where the author, Ram, addresses 10 tough questions:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why did you leave your last job?
3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
4. What were your weaknesses?
5. Why were you laid off?
6. Tell me about the worst boss you ever had.
7. How would others describe you?
8. What can you offer me that another person can't?
9. If you could choose any company to work for, where would you go?
10. Would you be willing to take a salary cut?

I found it very helpful. Thanks Dan.

Online Identity Calculator

These days everyone Googles. And they Google everything! Especially other people.

Knowing what Google says about you is not only interesting, but allows you to proactively managing your online identity. Experts say your online identity can effect your professional goals.

Reach Communications has developed the first and leading tool to help you make sense of your Google results - the Online ID Calculator. Reach says, "In the new world of work, your online profile plays a critical role in your ability to achieve your professional goals. Until now, there has been no way of evaluating the strength of your online personal brand."

It took me about 5 minutes. My score was "Digitally Distinct." I guess I talk alot...online.

It's free and fun. Check it out.

The Resume Critique

How are you going to get your resume to stand out among all the others?

By making sure it is organized for easy reading with the information prospective employers are looking for and showing how you are a unique individual.

I took advantage of a free resume critique from GetInterviews.com that offered me some advice on how to update my resume. I liked their comments and updated my resume using most of them. Following are the suggestions given to me which I thought was worth sharing with you.

A resume is read in 45 seconds. If a resume can't be read that quickly, it won't be read. Suggestions:

• Summary: The most valuable real estate is the first half of the first page. The summary establishes the focus of the resume and should provide the reader with a concise picture of the value you offer.
• Core Competencies: These should be specific areas of expertise and knowledge that can be supported by solid accomplishments, such as HTLM programming, using Eloqua, Google Analytics. Computer skills such as Microsoft Office do not add weight to your candidacy. They are normal, expected skills and should not be listed.
• Professional Experience: (1) For each position held, summarize your duties and company information in paragraph format and then use up to 5 bullets for your accomplishments and results achieved to maximize their impact. (2) Take out personal pronouns - I, me, my. (3) List only the past 10-15 years experience because it is most relevant to the challenges employers face today. If you are concerned about showing depth, there are ways to truncate your older experience while still showing you have good background from which to draw upon. (4) Don't use "References available upon request." It's not done anymore, especially for upper level resumes.
• Education: Employers are looking for education and omitting it is a red flag.
• Associations: A hiring manager only has your resume to get to know you. Include group memberships and volunteer work to make you stand out from your competition.

After you've updated your resume, send it to a few people to get their comments. Once you've got it where you like it, don't forget to upload it to all the job sites you are currently registered.

If you've got more ideas on how to get your resume in tip top shape, post it here.

Uncomfortable Interview Questions

On the Secrets of the Job Hunt blog, Laura Whitelaw writes about some common questions asked in job interviews that make us feel tense. They are:

1. What are your strengths/weaknesses?
2. Why are you leaving your current employer?
3. What are your salary expectations?

Preparing answers for these three questions can help you feel more confident and come across as a strong candidate. You can read the full article here: How To Answer Three Uncomfortable Interview Questions.

Laura Whitelaw is the founder of Best Choice 4 Resumes and a Certified Resume Strategist. Her background includes several years working in the employment services field as well as some time working in corporate training and development. Visit http://www.bestchoice4resumes.com for free job search and interview tips and to download a free report “Top 10 Q & A’s To Help You Ace That Job Interview.”

If you have other interview resources to share, please post here.

Tracking Your Search Efforts

It's imperative to keep track of your job search efforts. You need to know when to follow up, who to follow up with, which ones might have a connection on LinkedIn, and the dates of phone and in-person interviews. You especially need this info to fill out your EDD benefits form.

There is an online career relationship manager called JibberJobber. It started out as an online spreadsheet by Jason Alba to track and organize his first job search in January 2006 and evolved into what it is today.

JibberJobber offers a free basic account - they realize job seekers don't have money for extra expenses. You can get additional features by upgrading to one of three subscription plans.

I think it's worth checking out. You do most of your job search online...why not keep track of it online.

Know of any other online career relationship managers, share it here.

Over 40 Candidates

In my TheLadders.com e-newsletter, there was an article written by Dean Tracy, a professional recruiter, called "5 Magic Words for Older Candidates."

Didn't really like the word "older," but read the article anyway. It has some good advice for candidates 40 and OVER.

The author says, "you can be the champion in your search strategy – not the casualty in this race for the job," and then offers "five points [to] serve as a checklist of ways to serve up your age in a way that elevates your personal brand instead of diluting your candidacy:"

1. Accomplishment versus seasoned - The way you present yourself on your resume should reflect your energy and commitment. Identifying yourself as "seasoned" is basically saying "I'm old!"
2. Evidence versus claims - Show that you too have the energy and tenacity of a young candidate but that you also offer real experiences that's needed to get the job done.
3. Polish versus wipe - Can't say it any better than the author: "...you must dress for the job you want, not the job you have. "
4. Aware versus well-versed - Simply said, if you don't know about social networking tools (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) that are being used today, learn them. You don't have to become an expert, but it's better to be well-versed than just aware of them.
5. Experience versus age - You can't change your age, but you can change the impression people have of your age. Demonstrate that your experience qualifies you as capable.

To read the entire article you must register with TheLadders.com. It's free and they have some good resources, like this article. If you don't want to register, I hope my overview has given you some helpful tips.

COBRA - A 65% Discount

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “Act”), which includes several important changes to COBRA.

The Act provides for a federal subsidy of 65 percent of the COBRA continuation coverage premiums for qualified beneficiaries receiving COBRA continuation coverage due to the covered employee’s involuntary termination of employment between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009.

Your COBRA office has up to 60 days from the enactment date - which is March 1, 2009 - to notify you of this change.

I spoke with my COBRA administrator and was told that you need to pay your full premium until the COBRA system gets caught up with this new law. Once the system is set up to accept 35% premium payments for COBRA, any over payments will be credited to your COBRA account. If you find a job and cancel COBRA, any over payments will be refunded.

I was also advised NOT to send in only 35% of my COBRA payment because their systems are not set up to accept the reduced amount yet. If you do, your payment will be returned and this can affect your status.

All that said and done...thank goodness. This 65% reduction is a huge help to the unemployed. This deserves a God Bless America.

FREE LinkedIn Tutorial Guide

I mention in an earlier post - "Basic Tools" - that one of the networking sites you should be on is LinkedIn.

I found a website - http://www.networlding.com/ - that is offering a free LinkedIn tutorial guide. The guide is very good and I would advise anyone who is looking for a job to request this free guide and put it to good use.

Email Networlding at info@networlding.com to receive your free LinkedIn Tutorial Guide to help you learn one of the most powerful social networking strategies. Networlding has coached over 1000 people a year on LinkedIn strategies and have done so since LinkedIn started over five years ago.

Any other resources you know of, please post a comment.

Indeed: One-Stop Job Search

It can be overwhelming searching for jobs on the Internet.

There are so many job sites out there and you don't want to miss an opportunity, so you feel compelled to register on all of them...and you should! That's not a bad thing if you're looking for a job when the unemployment rate is so high, and climbing.

Aside from the most popular job sites - craigslist.org, monster.com, careerbuilders.com - here are a few others that I've registered with:

• flexperienceconsulting.com
• glocap.com
• cybercoders.com
• jobscore.com
• simplyhired.com
• job.com
• sanfranrecruiters.com
• net-temps.com
• theladders.com

It's also nice to find a one-stop job search site, and I think I found one...Indeed. Indeed is a search engine for jobs. It includes all the job listings from major job boards, newspapers, associations and company career pages. On Indeed, I have found job listings from most all of the individual job sites I've listed above.

Sometimes I just check Indeed and not bother with the rest.

Know of any other job sites, please post here.

Plan Ahead Now

The reality of the severity of the economic crisis and how much tougher it's going to get hasn't really sunk in yet.

I've been laid off before and the two months it took me to find a new job seemed like hell. But with the high rate of unemployment - and it's increasing every day - it's going to take a lot longer to find another job. A LOT LONGER. Anyone got any predictions?

There is a certain level of stress that comes with being laid off. Then there is a little more after looking for one or two months. After that, it hits you that you could be unemployed for months to come and how are you going to manage!

For the recently unemployed, you're probably not feeling this way...yet. Don't wait till the stress and worries build. Plan ahead and start planning today.

Here's what you can do:

• draft a budget today
• identify which expenses you can temporarily eliminate
• identify which expenses you can cut back on
• get a roommate to share expenses
• stop eating out or at least budget for it
• rent movies to watch at home rather than going to a movie theater
• negotiate with your credit card companies for a lowered payment plan and interest rate; don't wait till you fall behind

Got any suggestions? Please share.

The Credit Crisis

There is a great video by Jonathan Jarvis about the crisis of credit called "The Crisis of Credit Visualized." For some of you, it will be a refresher course, and others an eye opener.

I thought it was very well done and informative so I decided to post it. Check it out.

Maintain Motivation

Though I have the whole day to work at looking for work, I often find myself lacking motivation. Why? Because being unemployed and looking for work can be depressing.

People always say enjoy the time off while it lasts. But you can't because you're stressed and depressed.

Your de-motivation can sometimes come through your online communication when you're applying for a job. So, if you can't "enjoy" your time off, how do you maintain the motivation to keep looking and sound like a happy person to a prospective employer?

Though you need to put a lot into looking for a job, you also need to take breaks and do something else to take your mind off it. I advise having a project that you can focus on to take your mind off the job hunt. And not something like cleaning out the garage - unless of course that brings you great joy. I mean something productive or something you've been wanting to do but never had the time...because you were working!

For me, it was a home improvement project. I gave my bathroom a face lift. I would spend hours on the computer searching for jobs, drafting cover letters, submitting resumes and online applications. It was mind numbing.

So then I'd get the paint and brushes and started painting my bathroom. Every day I took my break from job hunting, turn on the radio - I listen to 98.1 - and start working on something I enjoyed.

You need to do this because it won't help if you're stressed and miserable all the time. And I need to find another project...my bathroom is finished.

Got any other ideas on how to keep motivated during the job hunt, please comment.

Rule #1

Rule #1

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

You did well with the phone interview and they want you to come in for
in-person interviews. Your interview schedule is with Directors and Vice Presidents. You're very excited.

Your in-person interviews go so well that they ask you to stay longer to meet the Chief Marketing Officer. You would've been asked to come back to meet the CMO but they liked you so much that they didn't want to wait. And that interview went exceptionally well. You're even more excited.

Then they ask for your references and you're sure they're going to make you an offer. All the while you have stopped searching for other opportunities, stopped sending in resumes, stopped networking because you don't want to have to deal with cancelling interviews since you're sure you're going to get the job. You've broken rule #1.

This is what happened to me...and I didn't get the job! Not only was I devastated at not being chosen, but back at square one with no prospects. So, don't put all your eggs in one basket. It doesn't matter how well the interview process is going, never stop looking for a job. NEVER! Unless you have an offer in writing.

Basic Tools

Remember the saying "It's not what you know, it's who you know." It was all about networking.

And more so today, but it's a lot easier and better with the social networking tools available.

Here are the 3 basic networks that can help in your job search AND you might also have some fun:

LinkedIn - is a professional network where you can create a profile which often looks like your resume. The great things about LinkedIn are (1) you can ask people to "endorse" you which is a recommendation; something valuable when searching for a job, (2) you can find former colleagues, get linked and then ask them for a recommendation, (3) you can join groups which give you an extended network, (4) you can search for job openings and apply online; (5) you can ask people in your network to help you with an introduction to the hiring manager of a job you've applied for, and (6) you can receive emails from a potential employer about a job through LinkedIn.

Facebook - is a social network used to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people you meet. And just like the olden days, you can let all your friends, family, and associates know that you're looking for a job.

Twitter - is a social network and referred to as a mini-blog. You can post short comments and you can "follow" others to be able to read their short comments. Another way to ask for help and advice on the job search.

Please leave a comment if you have additional advice or comments on these websites.

Why The Working Network

Why? Because I was laid off at the end of last year and it's been my full-time job to look for work. It's hard. And sometimes lonely.

I have friends who are looking too. And almost every day I hear of another person through a friend or family member that just got laid off and is looking too. It just gets worse.

But I've been told by several people that I should take this time to reevaluate myself, my life and find opportunities where you might not expect.

So, I decided to start this blog. This site is to share my experience of looking for work, finding out more about myself and to share the resources that I have found helpful in hopes it will help someone else. And to let others know - and feel - they're not alone.

I also hope that others will share with me on this blog so that we can all help eachother.