Exciting Stuff

Exciting Stuff… Heres some exciting stuff Im headed to Virginia/D.C. tomorrow (Tuesday).  I thought I wouldnt be there often but this quarter I think Im presenting on four different trips.  Tomorrow night at 8pm Ill be at the Mclean Bible Church, presenting at their job club. Details here. I just submitted the manuscript for my LinkedIn book: Im on LinkedInNow What??? This is the THIRD edition.  Much needed updates included in this edition. LinkedIn book page (not sure when you can pre-purchase). This is my birthday month.  On Friday Ill be thirty something (I lost count a while back and havent done the math recently.  Seems to not matter anymore :p) and can say that Im really enjoying this phase of my life. My next trip is to Silicon Valley / East Bay (details pending), the week after Thanksgiving, and then Ill be in Philadelphia for my first ever Philly presentation (but not my first ever Philly  cheese steak) details here. I have two new book ideas, one of which came from a presentation I did to young wannabe entrepreneurs (that went exceptionally well I even changed clothes 3 times in my presentation, which was really successful and funny :p). More on that later, in my spare time :p Im, um, NOT writing for AOL anymore.  Not really a long story but it was a business decision I had to make. Were making some really exciting changes to JibberJobber that will impact most users I cant announce it yet but Im really jazzed about it. Im sure theres more but thats whats on my mind right now. Exciting Stuff… Heres some exciting stuff Im headed to Virginia/D.C. tomorrow (Tuesday).  I thought I wouldnt be there often but this quarter I think Im presenting on four different trips.  Tomorrow night at 8pm Ill be at the Mclean Bible Church, presenting at their job club. Details here. I just submitted the manuscript for my LinkedIn book: Im on LinkedInNow What??? This is the THIRD edition.  Much needed updates included in this edition. LinkedIn book page (not sure when you can pre-purchase). This is my birthday month.  On Friday Ill be thirty something (I lost count a while back and havent done the math recently.  Seems to not matter anymore :p) and can say that Im really enjoying this phase of my life. My next trip is to Silicon Valley / East Bay (details pending), the week after Thanksgiving, and then Ill be in Philadelphia for my first ever Philly presentation (but not my first ever Philly  cheese steak) details here. I have two new book ideas, one of which came from a presentation I did to young wannabe entrepreneurs (that went exceptionally well I even changed clothes 3 times in my presentation, which was really successful and funny :p). More on that later, in my spare time :p Im, um, NOT writing for AOL anymore.  Not really a long story but it was a business decision I had to make. Were making some really exciting changes to JibberJobber that will impact most users I cant announce it yet but Im really jazzed about it. Im sure theres more but thats whats on my mind right now. Exciting Stuff… Heres some exciting stuff Im headed to Virginia/D.C. tomorrow (Tuesday).  I thought I wouldnt be there often but this quarter I think Im presenting on four different trips.  Tomorrow night at 8pm Ill be at the Mclean Bible Church, presenting at their job club. Details here. I just submitted the manuscript for my LinkedIn book: Im on LinkedInNow What??? This is the THIRD edition.  Much needed updates included in this edition. LinkedIn book page (not sure when you can pre-purchase). This is my birthday month.  On Friday Ill be thirty something (I lost count a while back and havent done the math recently.  Seems to not matter anymore :p) and can say that Im really enjoying this phase of my life. My next trip is to Silicon Valley / East Bay (details pending), the week after Thanksgiving, and then Ill be in Philadelphia for my first ever Philly presentation (but not my first ever Philly  cheese steak) details here. I have two new book ideas, one of which came from a presentation I did to young wannabe entrepreneurs (that went exceptionally well I even changed clothes 3 times in my presentation, which was really successful and funny :p). More on that later, in my spare time :p Im, um, NOT writing for AOL anymore.  Not really a long story but it was a business decision I had to make. Were making some really exciting changes to JibberJobber that will impact most users I cant announce it yet but Im really jazzed about it. Im sure theres more but thats whats on my mind right now.

7 Things Candidates Cant Hide in Their Resumes

7 Things Candidates Can’t Hide in Their Resumes OK, I’m quite prepared to be shot down in flames from all sides for writing this. Shoot me down anyway for starting this blog with a cliché, but here’s what I (as a former recruiter) and other recruiters can work out while we are reading your resume. 1. You are not a native English speaker Your English could be text book for the most part, but I can still work out whether it’s your second language, just from a quick read of your resume. You may leave off an “s.” or you use words in the wrong context. Here’s some strange expression I’ve seen lately: “Providing delightful customer service” “Maintain and strengthen customers” “Organizing equipments” “Good skills in….” If you are new to an Anglophone country, one of the major concerns local employers have about employing you, is how well you communicate. Behind this concern is another concern about how well you’ll fit in. Any incorrect choice of words will fuel any negative stereotypes a recruiter may have about your communication skills. Have a “local” speaker read over your resume before you send it. (Good practice for anyone, really) I receive enough emails from recent arrivals to know cultural stereotyping is a major problem. 2. You are inflating your experience and skills I have often seen people describe a stint of counter service at McDonalds as: “providing high levels of client service.” While this statement is not incorrect, it is misleading. A client is generally someone whom you deal with more than once. A customer is someone who comes to the counter. Most recruiters know what people do at McDonalds, so this statement just sounds silly. The person who wrote the above has oversold what they actually did and not mentioned what is really challenging or interesting about a job at Maccas. Anyone who works there for any length of time can generally work well under pressure and serve people in a fast paced and highly measured environment. That’s the interesting part. 3. You’re not very confident Nowhere on your resume can I read anything about you personally. If you do not tell me your strengths or achievements, I am either going to assume you don’t have any, or do not think they are important enough to list. Most of the employers whom we interviewed for the book, want their employees to be “self aware.” They want people to understand their strengths, so they can apply them to the job at hand. Read what they say here on self awareness. I am not talking about a laundry list that sounds like any other person. That’s almost as bad as no strengths at all. 4. You want to keep your age to yourself I know this because you have not put dates on your study. And fair enough too. Many of the emails I receive are from people worried that they are 40, 50 or above. While I have not seen any out and out age discrimination in my time in recruiting, I receive enough questions and heard enough horror stories about this to know it exists. 5. You lack marketing skills You haven’t sent me a cover letter or written a career objective on the top of your resume. Reading your resume I have to guess what it is that you want to do. 6. You aren’t really that bothered about this job Read point five. 7. You do not write very often, or well. You have too many redundant words on your resume. If you have a list headed “responsibilities, then I do not need to read that you are “responsible for” on the very next line. Other examples are where you say “in order to” instead of just “to” or “planning and strategizing” which are pretty much the same thing. Further reading at 5 Old-School Sections You Ought To Remove from Your Resume. Image: Shutterstock

Dont Put Off Personal Branding to Focus on Keeping Your Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Dont Put Off Personal Branding to Focus on Keeping Your Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Believe it or not, there are actually some people who are taking a not-so-secret delight in the economic recession. Who? Employers. Theyre glorying in the fact that there are so few jobs available that they receive hundreds of applications for a single position. Theyre thrilled that they can wring salary concessions out of their employees by holding the threat of job loss over their heads.   (British Airlines is even asking their workers to work for no money!) Theyre throwing away benefits and paying less to new employees. Why this is happening is obvious. Right now, employers hold all the cards. People who dont have jobs will gladly do whatever it takes to get a job, while people who are still employed are keeping their heads down and working hard to keep their jobs. Its a simple question of supply and demand. Too many people for too few jobs. For all of you out there who still have jobs, its very tempting to put off the personal branding right now. When your job is hanging by a thread, it makes a lot more sense to devote all your energy to keeping that job, right? Branding or focusing on work But this overabundance of workers is not going to last. Eventually, this country will come out of the recession. Then, two really interesting things are going to happen: The Baby Boomers, who are now putting off retirement, are going to start retiring in droves. This wont be a consistent, orderly retirement where only the people who turn 65 go every year. It will be a mass retirement of all the eligible people who put off their retirement for several years and are now jumping at the chance. Companies will be losing a lot of leaders and experienced workers at one time. There are 77 million Baby Boomers. There are only 48 million Generation Xers, not enough to fill all the jobs vacated by the Baby Boomers. There are nearly 80 million Generation Yers who are now in (or will be entering) the job market over the next years. Regardless of which age group youre in, its obvious that when the Boomers begin to retire, there will be new (higher-up) jobs available. Even if you have your nose to the grindstone right now and keeping your job is your top priority, you need to look ahead and start your personal branding now. As soon as the Baby Boomers start to go, there will be plenty of great jobs available (if you want them). If you can position yourself as one of the top people in your specialty, or even in your company, you will have a major head start over all the other applicants who only spent this downturn working hard just to maintain their job. If moving up in the same company isnt appealing to you and youre only keeping your current job because its too hard to find another one right now, you should still be branding yourself like crazy right now. Because when companies start hiring again, you want to be ready to go after your dream job. And youll have a lot better chance of getting it if your brand is already in place and the people you want to hire you know who you are (and think great things about you). Priorities for the long haul This may be a time when employers hold all the cards and your top priority needs to be keeping the job you have. But, dont forget that the tides will turn. The economy will recover, the Baby Boomers will start retiring, and employers wont have all the power anymore. Then, the people who will really win big are the ones who have a very strong personal brand. Theyll be the ones getting early consideration for leadership positions, and the ones scooping up prime positions at their dream companies. Theyll be the ones who can bargain for the best salaries and responsibilities, or demand the kind of work-life balance that they dream about. Make sure that youre one of them. Author: Katie Konrath writes about creativity, innovation and “ideas so fresh… they should be slapped!” at www.getFreshMinds.com.

Job Search Tips for Age 50+ New England Executive Becomes CMO - VocationVillage

Job Search Tips for Age 50+ New England Executive Becomes CMO - VocationVillage In my exploration of job search tips for age 50+ job seekers, I interviewed New England marketing executive Tom Hart. Toms job search is a success story and his career advice is excellent.Tom, what is your current job?I am Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Staffing Business Development Leader for Eliassen Group. Eliassen Group is a national technology staffing and consulting services firm that garnered $171.6 million in revenue in 2012. According to staffing industry analysts, it is the 19th largest IT staffing firm in the nation. (Update in 2018: Tom Hart is now Chief Operating Officer of Eliassen Group.) Prior to joining Eliassen Group, you were unemployed. Can you please tell us about that?Yes. My previous job was with Kforce. I was laid off as a result of a corporate restructuring, not for performance-based reasons. So I found myself searching for a job and when you are in your mid-fifties, that can be challenging.Were you worried about finding a new job?I actually gave serious consideration to not seeking another corporate role and just taking consulting assignments from time to time, utilizing an extensive network that I had developed over my thirty plus years in business. When released by Kforce in 2010, I was 53 years old, and I had plenty of trepidation and concerns about my ability to find a role that would be both challenging and interesting to me while also reasonably compensating me commensurate with my skills and experience.I was quite aware that with the New England economy just beginning to recover from a sizable recession that there were a number of highly qualified in dividuals who found themselves in the same position as me, with equally impressive professional backgrounds. When I mentioned to my wife that I was considering consulting, she reminded me that I’m the type of person who thrives on corporate challenge, whether the task at hand is building and developing high-performing teams, solving complex problems, or identifying ways to generate incremental profitable growth for the firm for which I am employed. In her mind, I belonged back in Corporate America so she suggested that I use my network to find my next role.How did you land the new job?I was quite familiar with Eliassen Group, since I had known the founder of the firm, Mona Eliassen, for many years, and I had conducted plenty of business with her firm back when I held leadership positions in IT for two very large financial services firms. More recently, I had developed a professional relationship with Eliassen’s current CEO, Dave MacKeen, whom I had come to know through mutual st affing industry friends. Dave was quite aware that my background included managing several very large IT organizations, as well as playing executive leadership roles in two other companies, with my experience culminating with leadership positions within two staffing companies.I contacted Dave upon my release from Kforce to let him know, and he cleared his calendar for me to spend some time with him two days later. Dave happened to be looking for a CMO that not only knew marketing but also knew the staffing industry. What he got in hiring me was a CMO that knew leadership, marketing, and IT as I had functioned as the Market President of two of the larger Kforce markets in the country (New England and Greater New York). In this particular case, I would say that I was fortunate to obtain my current role as a result of leveraging my network, coupled with a bit of luck and timing, as Dave was actively seeking a candidate to fill a C-level role on his team when I reached out to him.What a dvice do you have for job seekers who are 50+?First of all, you must remain confident in your skills and capabilities. You cannot doubt yourself or your abilities. Remember that in today’s marketplace, many people lose their jobs for reasons that they can’t control and often their separation had nothing to do with their performance.Second, utilize your network. Certainly, over the years, you have probably amassed dozens of business cards, connected with friends, colleagues, and associates on LinkedIn, maybe stayed involved in professional networking groups, etc. Don’t be afraid to reach to these contacts, even if you haven’t kept current with all of them, because chances are they will remember you, and you never know where that next opportunity might come from.Third, you must stay current with technology. Don’t let the pace of industry change leave you in its dust. Endeavor to stay current, whether it means learning how to use an iPad, upgrading your phone, or knowing what the most common apps are that people are using these days.Fourth, don’t underestimate the power of social media and the many job portals that are out there to assist you with your search for your next opportunity. Don’t be ashamed to tweet that you are looking for your next professional opportunity, or to list your status as “seeking employment within IT management” on your Facebook page. Utilize LinkedIn to both build up your network and research who you know who might hold roles within companies that you would be interested in. Leverage the job boards too, searching for positions on Dice, Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed and Simply Hired, all of which have tens of thousands of positions posted around the country at any given time.Finally, keep your head up. Stay positive. Understand that it might take some time to find that next role, but in the end, it will work out for you.Thank you, Tom!

FREE eBook on Smart Personal Branding with LinkedIn - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

FREE eBook on Smart Personal Branding with 8 Reasons Is a Job Search Must In 2009  I wrote a little ebook for Job-Hunt.org on using for personal branding and executive job search. I did a minor update in 2010. Not too much had changed. With s newest 2017 User Interface, I needed to do a major revamp of the ebook. The new title is “Smart Personal Branding with â€" How to Use to Build Your Personal Brand and Land a New Job Faster!” As always, the ebook is FREE and youll also receive my popular weekly newsletter. Just click on this link, sign up and youll get the ebook. 8 Reasons Is a Job Search Must 1. Your branded profile helps position your promise of value to your target employers, advance your thought leadership, and expand your brand community. 2. Recruiters have embraced as their #1 tool for referrals, candidate research and sourcing, and for publishing job openings. That makes one of the best places to be found online by recruiters and hiring decision makers. 3. constantly adds new features and tools to help you advance your job search and career. 4. Networking to uncover leads and stay top-of mind with people who can help you are the best ways to land your next great gig. is the most important place for professional social networking. 5. Many of the people competing for the jobs you want, with the employers you’re targeting, are using to be found and network their way into these jobs. Just to keep pace with them, you need to do the same. 6. Having a strong, fully fleshed out, keyword-rich profile boosts high-quality search results for “your name”. When hiring professionals do a Google search on “your name” to assess you (a standard practice), your profile will likely show up within the first 3 search results. 7. Having a strong profile indicates that you’re social media savvy and up-to-date with the new world of work. NOT having a strong profile can actually be detrimental to your job search. 8. Your profile provides critical “social proof” corroborating the claims you’ve made about yourself on paper (resume, biography, cover letters, etc.). Which Sections to  Use In the ebook, Ive included each of the profile sections available to you â€" from the top of your profile down to the bottom â€" and tips on how to best make use of each one: Professional headline Headshot Public Profile URL Contact information Summary Articles Activity Experience Education Skills Endorsements Recommendations Groups You should fully populate ANY and ALL sections that apply to you. Packed full of juicy tidbits, my updated ebook will help you understand: How to write and strategically position the right kind of content for your profile. Youll start by defining your personal brand, and then write compelling content that will resonate with your target employers. How to build out and brand your profile using the various sections. Why keywords are so important and how to incorporate them into your profile. And, once you complete your profile â€" fully populating all applicable profile sections with keyword-rich and brand-reinforcing content . . . My ebook will also help you: Understand why Groups are important, and how to choose the right ones and use them wisely. Position the content to your best advantage above the fold, or high on the web page, where humans and search engines pay the most attention. Leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to boost the number of profile views you see. The more views you get, the more potential leads you may receive. Use to research your industry and target employers. When you know how you can help them with their current pressing needs, youll have a better handle on how to present yourself in your profile content to attract them. Keep your job search undercover, as you use . Although theres no guarantee that you can keep your search entirely under wraps, there are ways you can minimize that risk. Just  one helpful tip from the ebook regarding how many connections you should have: “Opinions differ on whether it’s more important to amass a lot of connections or concentrate  on building fewer high quality connections. That’s up to you, but be aware that the more connections you have, the wider you’ve cast your net for opportunities. And note that having at  least 500 connections will boost your ranking in search, making you more findable.” It wont take you very long to read this ebook, but youll find yourself going back to it again and again, as you navigate your job search . . . and beyond, as you use for career management and ongoing networking. You may also be interested in my 2 other personal branding and executive job search guides. I updated both of these ebooks this year, too: 23 Ways You Sabotage Your Executive Job Search and How Your Brand Will Help You Land . . . A practical guide to executive branding, marketing your ROI and navigating the new world of job search 20 Little-Known, Insider Tips to Accelerate Your Executive Job Search. More About and Executive Job Search Essential Checklist to Optimize For Executive Job Search 5 Nifty Hacks That Make Executive Job Search Easier How To Exploit the New for Best SEO Hashtags: A New Personal Brand-Building Tactic How to Network Into the Goldmine of Hidden Executive Jobs Executive Job Search and Personal Branding Help Need help with personal branding, your profile, resume and biography, and getting your executive job search on track . . .  to  land  a great-fit new gig? Take a look at the  services I offer, how my process works and what differentiates my value-offer . . . then  get in touch with me  and well get the ball rolling. 00 0

How to Stay Positive During Your Job Search - Jane Jackson Career

How to Stay Positive During Your Job Search - Jane Jackson Career Job search can be daunting at the best of times, however, if you have been looking for a job for longer than you anticipated, doubt can start to creep into your thoughts and affect your confidence. Watch the video above in which I explain exactly what you need to do to maintain momentum.For all job seekers, maintaining a high level of confidence in your abilities is essential to project a confident and professional image during networking and job interviews.For your career success, take time to gain the clarity you need to express yourself with confidence. Ensure you can draw up on the right examples to demonstrate the value that you bring to an organisation.Prepare well by assessing your tangible accomplishments, backing up what is in your resume with results that may speak for themselves.Take the time to update your LinkedIn profile so that the content projects you in your desired direction.Practice your job interview techniques by preparing well. I have a series of interview pre paration videos to help you with this.If you need more help with your job search, please dont hesitate to reach out for help. Visit The Careers Academy Online where you will find a wealth of job search support resources at your fingertips.

Zety Writing Resume Profile

Zety Writing Resume ProfileA Zety Writing Resume Profile is an important part of the process. If you are going to apply for a job at an online business, then you need a way to get noticed in the online employment market.Since so many job seekers are submitting resumes, the larger the databases become. Not only do these databases allow employers to weed out many applicants, but many times these databases also allow them to filter the resumes that are sent to them. This can save time and money for the company that offers the job.Many times your resume will be directed toward one particular person in charge of screening resumes. This is generally known as the hiring manager. Their job is to not only read your resume, but then pass it on to the appropriate personnel to review. In addition, the hiring manager may have a need to see your resume profile to help them decide if they are interested in having you apply for the job.Having your resume reviewed by multiple people may result in the resume being put into a pile to be reviewed by other personnel. This is something that should never happen. Having your resume view by the hiring manager or by another person who works with the hiring manager may result in you not being selected for the job.The purpose of the resume is to provide the employer with everything that they need to know about you before they even interview you. Having the resume to be viewed by the hiring manager means that you are no longer an 'attractive' candidate. It means that you are more of a risk and that you are not a perfect fit for the position that you are applying for.Many companies have their own screening process for finding out whether someone is a good fit for the job. Some companies prefer to take a look at your work history, skills, education, and previous experience in order to see how well you would match with the company's needs. There are no rules that say that your resume needs to be reviewed by everyone. Simply being written in a professional manner is enough to get a recommendation from the hiring manager.It is important that you make sure that your resume is optimized for the website. This means that your resume is formatted correctly and is ready to be read in all of its parts. Many times a job seeker will create a resume to use on their own. When you first submit your resume you should pay close attention to the mistakes that you make on the resume.Creating a resume profile is easy to do. There are many resume websites that allow you to create your own resume. While this does give you a lot of flexibility, remember that there are also millions of resumes that are being sent every day. The best thing to do is to spend some time creating your resume and uploading it to the appropriate website.