While it may seem like all those ‘finance guys’ are alike, we’re actually not. Neither are all the ‘marketing folks’, ‘engineering types’, etc. For every profession there is a wide range of skills, yet I’ve found that people often overlook this aspect in their preparation.
I will use myself as an example. I have loads of finance/operational analysis experience, since I had been around so long in finance; I tended to think I knew most of the areas well enough to take a role.
As I prepped for an interview and read the requirements, I realized I had not thought about whether or not I could really handle them (or care to handle).
So what I did was create a list of the different skills required to be a CFO, then rated my level of skill and interest for each skill. It was a real eye opener.
Here is what I created: http://candidateschair.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/cfo-vs-controller-candidates-chair.pdf
Three things happened:
One. I was able to identify the skills I needed for the role I sought.
Two. I could figure how to better answer the questions about where I had less experience.
Three. Almost without exception, I identified areas of the role that were needed that the company had not identified.
To get a list of your skills, just Google “Skills needed for marketing”, or whatever your profession or post a question of where you can find a listing to a LinkedIn.
Good luck today! Please have a safe and wonderful holiday.
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.net
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Know the complete skill set for your profession
Tuesday 22 December 20092010 - A Fresh Start
Sunday 20 December 2009A lot of the people we speak to are really looking forward to 2010. Finally some good news to come out of 2008/9's bad recession, all that talk of doom and gloom that we've been battling - it looks like we are finally turning a corner.
2010 will bring a lot of challenges too. More and more social media roles are being created and developed - I for one, see this as being an enormous part of a businesses growth. Their marketing departments will take on social media executives/managers/directors encouraged to be creative with the space and generate traction in some way for their business.
If you are looking for a social media role in 2010, there are some things that you should be including in your application. Don't just reel off a list of the blogs, social networks, youtube pages etc that you have, but include some success stories from what you have done, what it's achieved and how you maximized the opportunity. Social media is about interaction, so don't let it be just one way (just links to your 'stuff') give it some meaning and substance.
This will really make you stand out as someone who not only knows what they are talking about, but has experienced it, first hand. After all, that is what employers ultimately look for, matching their needs to your potential skill set.
Make every opportunity count, and all the best for 2010 - we'll be here to see you through a fantastic year, whichever career path you decide to take. - Who knows what the future holds? - But there is a different feel of excitement in the air! Embrace it.
http://TwitJobs.net
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Your hobby could land you millions!
Friday 18 December 2009Well, first of all I don't want this blog to sound like one of those terrible get rich quick plans. Its really not about that, but it is about another very cool social media story that has not only landed Fede Alverez (a previously unknown producer from Uruguay) an amazing job!
The video below was put together for $300 - and created quite a social media buzz, with over 1.5 million views and counting.
His unique take on science fiction, together with some pretty amazing production created such a stir that Sam Raimi (Spiderman, Drag me to hell, 30 days of night, evil dead and many others) decided to not just reach out, but to offer Fede a $30 million deal to join his production company - Ghost House Pictures.
The short - entitled 'panic attack' (below) will be started from scratch as a feature in the new year.
The question that this amazing story makes me want to ask, is how would have this been possible on $300 before social media?
Happy Holidays!
http://TwitJobs.net
101 Ways To Find A Job
Tuesday 15 December 2009Here is a great post that really is univerally adaptable wherever you are in the world, and gives you some great advice on making the best of your chances to find employment.
Whatever industry you are in, there are some really useful nugetts of information that anyone looking for work currently would find useful.
Provided by the redcarpetbroadcast - http://TRCB.com
The post can be found at http://bit.ly/4uTBc1
http://TwitJobs.net
Considering a start-up? Start with these 4 considerations
One of the oddities of a recession is that is also when many start-ups are launched. More colleagues of mine have considered start-ups for the first time in their careers. If you are considering a start-up, here are four items that will help indicate their chance for success. As I am in a start-up, I can vouch for these!
ONE: Experienced management team
The experience is they have succeeded in the industry, commercialized similar products or launched start-ups. These are critical factors as there is simply limited room for repeated errors – so the team simply needs to have a rock solid business plan.
TWO: Large addressable market
There are loads of good ideas, but you really need to understand how big market is for the product. To attract capital, there needs to be a large market.
THREE: Protectable Intellectual Property
The intellectual property is essential to the value of a company; it’s what draws customers and investors. The intellectual property may be possessed at the start of a venture, via a patent or process, or built over time like a customer database.
FOUR: Capital plan
Understanding the capital needs for growth is critical. A common shortcoming of early stage company business plans is an assumption that one round of funding is enough. Typically it takes several rounds of fundraising to achieve moving from product development to beta testing to initial rollout to full distribution.
I’ve met with several dozen start-ups and these are the items that I initially look into. If you cannot get a good feeling on these items, then don’t bother with reading the business plan.
On my website there are a couple of tools to help you understand the basics fundraising and reviewing business plans.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
TwitJobs Comes In #2 To X-Factor In UK
Monday 14 December 2009Some fantastic news we are delighted to report on the continuing success and growth of TwitJobs in the UK and around the world.
Last night 10 million people voted for their favourite talent on XFactor...Whilst all this was happening 1000's hit Twitter to discuss the votes and who won!
(Click to enlarge) Twirus provides a great service, allowing you to see in realtime trending topics in your (or any given specific) country.
As you can see from the screengrab last night the topic #TwitJobs made number 2! - Second only to XFactor itself!
1000's of people follow TwitJobs in the UK for our realtime job updates, and because we post in person rather than just automated RSS feeds, (and because people like us!) more RT's (Re-Tweets/Shared updates) happened on a already busy Sunday evening than ever before.
Literally 100's of people RT'd our jobs helping their followers (and their followers followers) find work. By doing this, TwitJobs remains the largest job site on twitter per profile in the world, and in the UK by a massive 70,000+ reach every time we send out an update.
Thank you to each and every person for all their sharing last night - and we hope it continues throughout the Christmas period. More people are looking for jobs than ever, and with our service so unique we continue to offer the best possible opportunities to all our followers in the UK, and around the world!
Thank you!
http://TwitJobs.net
The Library - an underutilized job search resource
Wednesday 9 December 2009With so much on the web, it’s easy to overlook the library as a resource. But here are some thoughts on why you may want to visit
ONE: Back issues of local business magazines
I would glance through “Top 100” lists, “People on the Move”, funding reports, etc. – these are great ways to find out what’s going on in town.
I got six interviews simply by sending e-mails to people I read about in the paper. I sent a very short and simple note of congratulations and asked if we could meet.
TWO: Databases
This is generally the weakness in the web – no access to tools like Hoovers. Many libraries have these databases available.
If you are working to created a Targeted Company list (which is one the most important tools of your search) – these databases can give you an amazing array of information to help you understand a business. (If you don't know what a Targeted Company list is, please visit my site - look under Candidates Tools).
The better you understand a business, the better you can prepare your resume and pitch.
THREE: Job Search books
You can find books on: How to ask questions on interviews; resume writing, speaking techniques (huge!), sales strategies, etc.
Besides seeing so many books in one place, there’s no cost – which is always good on the home budget!
FOUR: The staff
I have had the good fortune of seeing the librarians of the St. Paul Public Library in action – an amazing group in helping you find different ways to find information. They understand how to manage loads of information.
Good luck today!
Mark
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Get your Facebook in order
Tuesday 8 December 2009There has been a lot of blogs and articles all over the net about how you need to get your facebook profile in order before applying for jobs.
It's still something that people seem to slip up on when applying for jobs, the key here is to just use common sense, so here are a few tips on getting your facebook profile looking the right way for employers.
Firstly, decide if you need to put your facebook profile on your CV. It's not a condition of employment, but some companies will just try and check you out anyway. Certainly for jobs in social media, marketing, online sales etc - they will probably be looking.
So, once you've decided that you are going to go public - think about what you are letting people see, and the image that will come across from the first 30 seconds (or less) of seeing your profile.
Ok, so thats the common sense bit out of the way, now some concrete tips on having your facebook profile looking sharp.
Show off.
By sharing interesting information and links on your wall, you can build up a profile of being an knowledgeable expert about your sector. Easy, right? Well, obviously don't do this all the time, mix up the messages to get your own personality to come through. You will be surprised how effective this can be, over a period of time. Showing that you are passionate and interested in the areas you're looking for a job, is a great way of demonstrating your desire to get a job in the sector.
Groups
Using the search tool within Facebook, search for topical and relevant groups within Facebook. A good place to start is the TwitJobs group. We have a few so make sure you subscribe to the right ones that are tailored for your specific geographic location. There are 1000's of groups on facebook, for just about every topic or subject you can think of, and some you can't! Be selective with the groups you join, again, mixing business and pleasure to give prospective employers and agencies a good rounded view of your personality.
Share
Sharing content is one of the reasons Facebook has become so popular, and with almost 350 million active users around the world today, who can argue with that! We'll come back to your network and your network choices next (but this is obviously key too). Sharing information, can really make you stand out too for prospective employers and agencies. Actively sharing shows that you are a giving person, willing to give rather than just receive, and every employer out there wants their employees in some way to give without being asked. It's a golden trait that given the opportunity (and now you have it) you should show your sharing nature. But, again don't go over the top, going back to common sense again - there is a happy medium that you need to be striving for.
Networking
Build your network. Feed your network and it will continue to grow naturally, but in the beginiing you need to identify a few different groups of people. People that you admire and look up to, whether in a professional, or personal sense (this could be a footballer, delia smith, james caan or Anthony Robbins, or anyone!). Then research the key influential people in the industry you are interested in getting involved with. Once you have a hit list of 5-10 more people invite to connect and write each of them a brief paragraph of why you'd like to connect. Keep it concise, and not a copy and paste job - make sure it is tailored for each person. So now you have your idols and your business influencers. Now take a look at the next tier down from this which is people that are influencial on facebook, in your ideal industry. This isn't the James Caan's - more along the lines of people that work with him/her - the people behind the scenes that pull strings to make businesses successful.
Once you've done all that, start all over again from the top, over and over again. You will find that with the right attitude and professional approach and hard work ethic, you can steer your profile into the realms of greatness!
Good luck!
http://TwitJobs.net
Real Time Search Hits Google
Monday 7 December 2009Still thinking Twitter and other realtime applications are a load of nonsense?
Well, perhaps this will make you think differently....
Google has just launched real-time search. This is picked up in realtime from places like
twitter, yahoo answers and news articles as soon as they are published.
It doesn't stop there. Google has also announced partnerships from content available on public pages from Facebook and Myspace. This will capture the most up to date information as and when it happens. For instance, brand new jobs, as they are published!
This service is about to be launched in the next couple of days but here is a running example of what it will look like "Real-Time Search"
Fascinating for TwitJobs to be involved in such a fast moving sector, with innovation like this opening up the web even more, and making results and search a place to start from once again.
(Oh, and it also works on iphone and android!).
http://TwitJobs.net
What TwitJobs can offer employers and hiring managers...
We get a lot of feedback from clients and potential new customers looking to advertise on TwitJobs that have had bad experiences with posting jobs elsewhere or just not confident enough that Twitter (or even social media) is the right area that they need to advertise their jobs in.
Lets face it, for many businesses you have to spend months building a decent following, then do it all over again on Facebook, Linkedin etc - Its a time consuming (but worthwhile) process. Even when you are at the point when you feel your presence is big enough that you can post some opportunities, how do you know that your followers are the potential new employees you are looking for. Are'nt you kind of limiting yourself to a small area?
The people behind TwitJobs understand social media. Jason Barrett has spoken at several different types of events including upcoming workshops at London Business School and digital marketing seminars in London, on how social media is "not rocket science, it's just speaking to people". Our TwitJobs profiles do just that - we try and reply and communicate with as many people as possible, thank people for RT's and appreciate every single follower we gather.
Think of TwitJobs as your very own social media employment department, that is just a couple of clicks (24/7) away from making your jobs social - instantly.
The whole idea of Twitjobs is to provide a complete social media employment solution and take that work out of the equation for employers, hr managers, hiring managers and recruitment organisations all over the world.
This solution is here right now. Created just to help businesses that understand they need to do something in social media with their talent sourcing, but don't even know where to start. With TwitJobs you don't even need a twitter account. We've kept it so easy and straightforward to post jobs, just as you would on any other job site. The difference is we work hard on promoting your job mulit-platform across Twitter, Facebook and other social networks to get your jobs seen by the most varied audience possible.
The feedback we get includes some amazing real-time results. Using TwitJobs people can apply directly on their mobile device once they see one of our updates. No sign up, just a straight and easy application process that some people have even applied for jobs on the bus, and got the job!
Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin alone are incredibly powerful tools. We use those tools to promote your jobs to our audience of 10,000's of followers and friends across multiple social media networks around the world.
We've also made TwitJobs very cost effective. In our research before launch, we discovered that we could pass on considerable savings to small, medium and large companies with a one size fits all pricing structure.
We are always open to feedback, you can always message us on any profile you find us on, or if you'd prefer to ask a question in a less open environment, just email us at jobs@twitjobs.net - we are always on 24/7.
Looking forward to helping your jobs go social in the future...
http://TwitJobs.net
A guide to staying completely calm and confident in interviews and presentations (Part 5)
Part 5: Bringing it all together
Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner
http://TwitJobs.net
Using Twitter, Getting Started and Then What?
1,000's of new users are flocking to Twitter each and every week, and have been all through 2009, but why? Well once people come to terms with just what Twitter is about, how powerful it is, theres a number of reasons why people find it so addictive, informative and useful.
Of course, many find it completely useless. It's not for everyone thats for sure. But if you are new to twitter, think of it as your personal information resource.
If you want to keep informed of what Britney is doing right now, or when there is breaking news around the world, to find jobs (of course) or for any other information you can think of, there are people talking about it on twitter right now. Finding them is the tricky part for many (and getting found).
Getting found- Heres a quick 5 point guide to helping others find you and follow you.
1) Add a avatar - obvious stuff really, but including a picture of you immediately gives others the opportunity to identify your tweets with your picture. Over time, your updates will become more trusted, people can identify with you quicker, and it makes your twitter profile more personable.
2) Your bio - What to write? Well think about summing up what you are going to be writing about, what you like, what you dislike and a little about who you are. TwitJobs profiles state that we're human and not bots and work hard for our followers to get the right jobs to them. But, we also post career advice and great content in our blog! - thats why you're reading it too!
3) Your updates - How often do you post, what do you post and why? - Well again, think about what you want to use twitter for. Is it purely your random thoughts? Business advice? Examples of businesses experiences, film reviews, make up advice - the list is endless, but has to be down to you. Think about the frequency of your updates and what to post. Just think before you post.
4) Your friends - There are new ways and new tools claiming to achieve 1000's or 100's or even 100,000's of followers per day/hour/week/month - IGNORE THESE. There will only ever be one way to get new followers on Twitter and thats by posting content that people find interesting. If you have decided to post about dog fashion (for instance) the only people that will follow you are the ones that are specifically interested in dog fashion. Even then, they will have to appreciate in some way what you are saying about dog fashion to follow you.
5) Have fun. - When we say have fun, this is'nt just about you! - but fun is also sharing content. I know a lot of the TwitJobs followers love retweeting (or sharing) our content, especially if we have a really cool *BRAND NEW* job that they like the sound of. They think that their followers might appreciate it too. Sharing is quick, easy and leaves you feeling good inside. But then so does, replying! - remember Twitter is'nt just about one way traffic, be sociable, friendly and yourself.
Hope that is useful and if you are new to twitter, enjoy yourself.
http://TwitJobs.net
Tools for Your Search - for readers without Outplacement Services
I've just passed 100 posts for TwitJobs, all which referenced my job search experiences and mistakes.
I wanted to offer beyond my blog posts with 20 tools for organizing your search and networking. Like this blog, all free.
The genesis of these tools was my search and outplacement. I adjusted the basic tools to reflect what candidates truly experienced. Hopefully, making them more effective and keeping myself more motivated.
To date, over 15,000 copies of the tools have been downloaded. If you use these tools, consider each an starting point and make them your own.
Also, I am always open to feedback on how to improve these tools as well.
I sincerely hope they help in your search.
Mark
Tools available at: www.candidateschair.com Click on "Candidates Tools" on top menu bar.
Getting Started:
1. Job Search Timeline & Related Activities
2. Simple Home Budget
3. Hiring Process - Possible Delays to Making a Decision
Your Search Documents:
4. Tips on Writing Your Resume
5. How to Write a Marketing Plan
6. Creating a Targeted Company List
7. Alternatives for Presenting Your Background
Networking Organization:
8. Tracking Your Networking Contacts
9. Organizing Your Search Week
10. Daily Point System for Job Search
Networking Tools:
11. Practicing the 80 Percent Rule of Networking
12. Anatomy of a Networking Meeting
13. 10 Questions to Understand a Company
14. Using LinkedIn for Networking
15. Networking Meeting Checklist
E-Mail Templates for Networking:
16. E-mail To Set-up A Networking Meeting
17. E-Mail for Initial Introduction to Recruiter
18. E-Mail for Introduction between Your Networking Contacts
Early Stage Company - Is a Start-up Right for you? / Basic Fundraising
19. Evaluating Companies
20. Basic terms and multiple round fundraising example for Early-Stage Firm
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Promoting Others = Promoting Yourself
The first thing you are taught in job search is to promote yourself and never miss an opportunity.
Here is an opportunity to consider. It was one of my big surprises in my search. That promoting others was one of the best promotions for myself.
For me, promoting others is making introductions for networking and job leads. If I felt comfortable enough or knew the person well enough, I would also include a recommendation.
The surprise was twofold. First, the payback from other people came in every form I could imagine (introductions, offer to speak, etc.). Second, I got to be known as a 'networker' - so companies would reach out to me with job openings and asked me if I could make recommendations - which then enabled me to promote fellow candidates even more.
So make promoting others part of your weekly schedule. Opening a door for someone else will open one for you.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Using Twitter for Jobsearch
Saturday 5 December 2009I welcome myself to the Twitjobs community with this first post :)
Social Media is hot now-a-days & its here to stay!
At this stage when Facebook & Twitter have emerged as 2 of the fastest growing social media platforms for both employers & job seekers, Twitjobs couldn’t have come at a better time.
I have been recently involved with quite a bit of social recruiting myself and find certain inhibitions associated with the usage of Twitter especially for seeking jobs- both with freshers & seasoned professionals.
The reason being micro blogging has a limited number of characters- how could one possibly explain all about oneself in 160 characters to a prospective employer. How on earth could all the experience & achievements be highlighted? And how would an employer know or even find out about any candidate through twitter. How could a twitter-oriented jobsite ever be successful ?
Well for starters, create your profile on twitter with a neat background which can be chosen from among the choices available. Backgrounds can even be bought but I don’t see the need for expense when it is not linked in anyway to benefit a job seeker with the actual purpose of getting a job!
Upload a neat professional photo of yourself as it lends a personal touch to anyone checking out your profile as they can then visualize how you look rather than being a complete stranger.
Use the one-liner introduction provided by Twitter very smartly to highlight yourself as a serious professional or apt resource for an recruiter. Provide a link to your CV/Resume or a website that gives out more information about yourself, your achievements and/or experience.
After making a good profile for yourself search all the possible companies that you intend to apply to for jobs on twitter and since some or many might be using twitter on their corporate website you could find out about the openings whenever they tweet. But then what about the companies that aren’t using this microblogging platform? After all social media is just catching up..most of the organizations are not yet ‘twitter-savvy’ or rather even ‘social savvy’ !
That’s where Twitjobs.co.uk comes in. Follow this twitter oriented job site & you would come to know all the openings there are across numerous organizations in various domains. Twitjobs.co.uk is not just limited to job openings in the UK but also recently launched itself in the US & would be soon in India as well.
Follow like minded individuals or lists that deal with your area of work. A credible way to find out how successful or reliable the person/ website/ group you’re following is by checking the follower Vs Following ratio. The more the merrier!
By following experts you would come to know what conferences they attend, which events could be useful to you & what really is in their mind.
Re-tweet & pass along useful information from which people in related fields could benefit.
Give & spread the knowledge..thats how you will also get & attain the knowledge
Happy Tweeting :)
All content copyright: www.karishmadaswani.com
Karishma Daswani is a Human Resource Consultant.
http://twitter.com/karishmadaswani
A guide to staying completely calm and confident in interviews and presentations (Part 4)
Friday 4 December 2009A guide to staying completely calm and confident in interviews and presentations
Part 4: The 7:11 Breathing Technique
If you have read my first article about how interviews or giving presentations can make otherwise completely competent people turn to jelly, you will be aware that it is the fight or flight response that has been activated.
Of course, one of the symptoms is that we start to breathe faster, a form of hyper-ventilation. Now you would think that this means we are trying to get more oxygen, however this is not the case, in fact it means we have too much oxygen. However it also means that we have too little CO2 in our system, CO2 which is needed for the body to be able to use all this oxygen.
So, this is where this amazingly simple technique, called 7:11 breathing comes in. It is a way of restoring the right level of CO2 and very rapidly creates a physiological response which cannot help but calm you down.
· Align your head over your body, so that it feels perfectly balanced
· Breathe in slowly through the nose using the diaphragm muscle. What this really means is that your tummy expands as you breathe in, leaving your chest and shoulders still.
· Continue this in-breath for a count of seven, counting the numbers to yourself in your head.
· When you breathe out (again using the diaphragm and through the nose) make this out-breath last a lot longer.
· Try to make the out-breath last for a count of eleven, counting the numbers to yourself in your head.
· Continue this for a few minutes. As you continue you cannot help but relax!
The real key to this technique is to make the out-breath last a lot longer than the in-breath. 7:11 is just a handy way of remembering it, although it could equally be 5:8.
This method is extremely effective for stopping panic attacks, but is also great for when we just need to feel a little calmer. It’s almost too simple, isn’t it?
Cathy Simmons
Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner
www.cathysimmons.co.uk
http://TwitJobs.net
A guide to staying completely calm and confident in interviews and presentations (Part 3)
Part 3: Anchoring
Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner
A guide to staying completely calm and confident in interviews and presentations (Part 2)
Tuesday 1 December 2009Part 2: Mental Rehearsal
Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner
http://TwitJobs.net - Search Jobs Today
Networking during the holiday season
The good news about the holiday season is that it easier to set up networking meetings. However, since this is also the time when hiring decisions are less frequent, there is generally a lower chance that they can give you a live job lead.
You will need to put reminders in your calendar for mid-January/early February to either schedule follow-up e-mails with your marketing plan as hiring decisions start to kick in again.
Also during the holiday season, it a good opportunity to send a very short e-mail wishing your networking contacts a good season and New Year. Keep it very upbeat and close with a single sentence that you still are in pursuit and appreciated their networking support.
I sent dozens of these “Seasons Greetings” e-mails and I could not believe how many people responded with an invite to meeting in January/February.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
A guide to staying completely calm and confident in interviews and presentations (Part 1)
Monday 30 November 2009Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner
http://TwitJobs.net - Search Jobs Today
Are you selling an end or mean?
I had the pleasure of meeting with a colleague last week to help him with the ‘branding’ of his finance consulting business.
As we walked through his documents, he was leading with some very technical skills, which is very similar to what you see in resumes.
I shared with him the best marketing advice that I had received “Your clients don’t buy your products; they buy what your products do for them”
After another 10 minutes, the document now had all of the items that he could deliver at the top of the page – using terms and language of the client, not a finance person. The second page was his experience/technical skills, revised to use lay person language to back up the first page’s claims.
Now helping my friend was easy for me, because I went through the same transformation of my pitch during my job search. I am sure that I bored several networking contacts to tears with my technical skills delivery. Thankfully for them, I got things sorted out.
Companies are interested in the ‘end’, not just the ‘means’ – so when you read your pitch, use that great advice I got “Companies don’t hire your skills, they hire what your skills do for them”.
Good luck today.
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Its just a few days to Christmas...Don't Panic - we can help.
Sunday 29 November 2009Leading up to Christmas there are literally 100's of new jobs that appear for short term / part time positions in your local area, the problem is often finding these positions and starting ASAP.
The job sites that you may automatically go to every day might not cater for these types of roles, or they may not be offering the flexibility that is so important for so many job seekers at this time of year.
Maybe you are looking for work just leading to Christmas/New year and then not looking to work after that period, perhaps you are looking for additional hours in this busy time but don't have them available with your current job.
Lets face it, everyone needs a little extra cash at this time of year, so don't be afraid to start your search now. We have partnered with some amazing job services to provide over 10 million worldwide jobs available right now. Not just in the UK and USA but also in India, UAE, Japan, China, Australia, France, Germany and Brazil.
You can start searching 100's of local opportunities for contract, part time, freelance and flexible jobs right now at TwitJobs.net
We wish you all the best in your search and hope you can find your perfect job using our fantastic service for more and more people all over the world.
http://TwitJobs.net - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
UK Job Centres - Are they working hard enough?
Saturday 28 November 2009We've had a few discussions within our linkedin group thats covered this topic, and the thoughts from a range of employed, unemployed, recruitment consultants and HR managers seems to point at a big fat no being the answer.
Sure, when it comes to a certain type of jobseeker, and I say that meaning no disrespect to the people looking for those type of jobs, after all the country would'nt run without cleaners, drivers, shop workers etc - and for those people, i'm pretty sure the job centres in the UK do a great job.
A good range of local jobs part time and full time in your area with immediate starts, flexible hours are perfect for many people. I'm sure you can feel a but coming...and there is a big but - the gap between unskilled and skilled workers - and the difference in support these people need.
The problems that i've been told about with the job centers right now is that they seem to have the inability to help (to the right level) more skilled managers/former directors/managing directors etc.
What are your experiences? - and we'd be really interested for both good and bad, this is certainly not an effort to have a go at the job centres in the UK - more of an idea of their strengths and weaknesses.
http://TwitJobs.net - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Where to find us - (Updated)
Sunday 22 November 2009UK - http://TwitJobs.co.uk
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsUK
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsMedia
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsGrad
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsFinance
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsMarktng
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsCreativ
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsFashion
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsIT
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsUKTemp
http://Twitter.comTwitJobScotland
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsRetail
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsMedical
http://Twitter.comTwitJobs_Sales
USA - http://TwitJobs.net
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsUSA
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsUS
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsCA
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsNY
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsMA
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsTX
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsIL
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsNV
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsAZ
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsDC
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsFlorida
CANADA - http://TwitJobs.net
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsCanada
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsToronto
INDIA - http://TwitJobs.net
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsIndia
UAE - http://TwitJobs.net
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsUAE
AUSTRALIA - http://TwitJobs.net
http://Twitter.comTwitJobsAUS
CHINA - http://TwitJobs.net
Hows social media helping recruitment?
Friday 20 November 2009The last few months we have certainly learnt a whole lot at TwitJobs, some of it interesting, some of it painful but all of it is necessary for us to continue to progress and grow as a business. It's a fantastic growth surge with a lot of knowledge building all the time through our small team.
These learns have been vital and will continue to be vital to our businesses continued growth. But the simple facts remain, every day people are talking about social media. Facebook itself has grown into a global animal of a social network with 100's of millions of users on a daily basis - that's just one network that businesses just can't continue to ignore.
LinkedIn has been the professional choice for businesses to hook up and maintain contacts for the last few years. It's an incredibly valuable tool for any business looking to meet new people or just maintain contacts you have connected with over the years. Very valuable information indeed.
These two networks as examples both have incredible power alone. This is what social media is all about. Preferred choices of ways of communication, whilst utilising the platforms features and benefits.
It continues to amaze me how many experts in social media and particulately the recruitment agencies that claim to understand social media, completely fail at making it work for their business. A blog, a twitter profile and a facebook page is not 'doing social media'.
Without naming names, (and I could list a dozen right now) companies that have blogs that dont get updated for months. Twitter profiles with 10 followers, and just a rss feed plugged into it. Facebook fan pages with 500 fans, that they never do anything for - so why are they fans?
But - having said all of that, for some people it's a confusing space to operate in. Some of these businesses have been established for many years and the people running the businesses just don't think others are interested in their business, certainly in that way anyway.
Its a really important aspect for recruiters to start considering. If they are recruiting lets say a "Head of Social Media", do you advertise the job in the same places you have been for the last 5 years? - Do you use a job board aggregater just to get a whole bunch of cv's to pass on (and hopefully impress) your client?
The businesses I have spoken to don't want 100's of CV's (or resumes) from agencies. They want 4-5, hoping that they can perhaps see 3 of them and hire 1.
OK, so quality is the issue? - but how are you going about quantifying the quality? - theres a simple shift to other ways to find the better people.
Right now, there are many, many talented people who are early adopters in this social media space. How can a recruitment consultancy (and lets say they specialise in social media) advertise positions in non-social media spaces?
TwitJobs continues to innovate and lead in this space today, and into the future. Our worldwide beta launch is just the tip of the iceberg for a whole bunch of new innovation that we will continue to bring to talented people around the world. How can we measure this? Take a look at our site and see how social media should be done.
We appreciate everyones support and fantastic attitude to share our content. Social media is not rocket science, it's what businesses have been doing for years - talking about themselves, their products and the services that they provide - its just another channel to do so.
Jason
TwitJobs WorldWide
TwitJobs UK
Embracing the ‘dark’ side – A lesson in pitching one’s self
Thursday 19 November 2009In 2007, BusinessWeek did a survey asking business people to rank their performance. The result: 90% believed they were in the 10% of performers. (Seems to makes the saying “there’s no room at the top” a load of hogwash.)
If you read 100 resumes, 100% are in the top 1%. The first rule of resume writing is present yourself in the best light. I did, you did, they did, etc.
In 2008, I met some investors from the San Francisco area, who got me to rethink my “top 1%” approach. In seeking advice on how to pitch better, they said “We don’t invest in people who have not been part of a failed company. They cannot recognize problems and fix them”.
My first reaction was “If you eat meat from a mad cow, won’t you get mad cow disease as well?”
Then I thought about some my career’s hard-earned experiences. Most were associated with a disaster of some sort. None were on my resume. Yet all made me a smarter and shaped how I approached business. But how does one go about pitching a disaster?
“Learned valuable lesson by being part of budget with significant cost overruns due to misidentifying client requirements”
Not much of a compelling bullet point. More like taking a bullet.
“Reexamined client requirements to bring project costs in line with budget, saving $10 million in development costs”
I find that during my interviews that if I discuss my key lessons and poke a bit of fun at my mistakes, virtually everyone does the same.
When it comes to making mistakes: I do, you do, they do, etc. – now we are in the 100%!
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Power of a Marketing Plan
Wednesday 18 November 2009Don’t let the title mislead you, this is not a multi-page plan on how you will approach your search.
It’s one page. Whew.
It’s also the most powerful tool to in your networking; because it gives people the specific direction they need to help you. If you ask someone to help, the ‘AFTER’ statement below will give them the ability to ‘think’ of connections.
Before: “I’m looking for a senior-level finance position in a company that is seeking a leader”
After: “I am looking for a CFO role at a privately held service firm over $500 million in Atlanta. Firms like ABC Architecture, DEF Call Centers or GHI Industries.”
A marketing plan takes that statement and puts it on one page (along with a bit more on your background), which can be sent before a meeting, used during a meeting as a discussion tool and as a follow-up.
A marketing plan tells people the role you seek, a resume shows you have the experience to rock at it.
http://candidateschair.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/marketing-plan-outline-candidates-chair.pdf
Here is an example of a marketing plan – use it as starter for your own.
Good luck today.
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Taking Advantage of the Freedom in your Schedule
Monday 16 November 2009There’s a saying “The problem with unemployment is that when you wake up, you’re on the job.” – Actually that’s not completely true, though it does feel like it.
Outplacement firms and fellow candidates will recommend you spend 35 – 40 hours a week on search. After 40 hours, your productivity begins to slide.
In discussions with fellow candidates, we all agree as you tend to focus on issues with diminishing returns - but it is also a way to drag down your attitude which is even worse than wasting time.
Your weekly priorities should be to dedicate time to your search and then dedicate time to yourself.
Use the extra time to take some on-line courses/seminars to develop your skills, volunteer, etc. – it does not matter. Just think of all the stuff you never had time to do when you were working. If you can, sleep in on Wednesday.
The non-search activities allow you to make progress and accomplish tasks.
For ideas on your schedule, take a look at Candidateschair.com - under Candidates Tools you will find “Organizing Your Search Week”
Good Luck today,
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
Candidates Chair LinkedIn Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=2328268
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
The Best Method to Learn - Teach It
Friday 13 November 2009To discover how to improve your search, I recommend accepting any opportunity to speak about or teach others about networking and job search.
In order to deliver a concise presentation, you need to distill your experience into a few key concepts. Your explanation of these concepts are pure gold to your fellow candidates.
But here is what you will discover during the process of distilling and explaining - a greater sense of clarity within your own search.
I have given 30+ presentations on different areas of job search. With each presentation, I was able to reshape my approach to networking and search - by taking away activities that were ineffective or inessential.
Some discoveries will be bigger than others, but all will save you time - which is one of your most precious commodities in search.
Even in a recession there are jobs available, its a matter of how effective you are finding them - trust me, if I can land one during a recession, anyone can.
So take this lesson - no, better yet, give a lesson.
Good luck today.
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's view - advice and tools
Fellow candidates - Please join my LinkedIn group "Candidates Chair" and teach others.
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Getting Creative in Raising Your Profile
Tuesday 10 November 2009In the past few months, I have connected or encountered with several job seekers who have taken advantage of different social media/web tools to raise their profile and promote their skills.
http://surkanstance.blogspot.com
Michael Surkan has used his blog to reach out to people to be interviewed for his podcasts. In the process, he made connections that may not have happened through a normal networking.
The Blog Zone - a LinkedIn Group
Mike Clough started this LinkedIn group in early 2009 and it has almost 1,900 members to discuss blogging. He sends out announcements, start discussions, etc. to both provide and receive advice.
Success Through Networking - a LinkedIn Group
Marleen Graham is an IT specialist, who began the group as way to make connections. Her group is very active and had led her to being interviewed by Career Success Radio from Australia.
LinkedIn Answers
Charles Caro has made a name for himself by asking and answering questions on LinkedIn. This is one of the simplest ways to raise your profile.
My point is that all of these items are things that you can highlight to people with whom you network or seek employment. Remember that your goal does not need to be better than every other candidate to set yourself apart. You do not have to be a marketing whiz to do any of these items.
The beauty of the low cost of these models is that you change directions quickly.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Tools and Advice for networking
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
First the UK, now USA, Canada, India, China, UAE and MORE!
Monday 9 November 2009Its just what people have been asking for!
Since we started back in March of 2009 (a whole 7 months back) we have seen a lot of messages come back our way through twitter, facebook and the other profiles we manage for TwitJobs massive distribution channels through social media.
This has given us amazing insight into our offering, and have been lucky enough to experiment with different options and ways to generate the best results for people. What other medium would give a company the ability to do that at no cost? Not many! - It would cost £10,000's for research documents, interviews, questionaires and such like. So thank you to everyone that has given their feedback and opinions. Good and bad, we have taken them on board, and continue to do so.
Now with that information we have more jobs than we have ever had before, with searchable jobs in 8 different countries (UK, Canada, USA, China, UAE, Australia, India and Ireland). This gives our audience just what they have been asking for - more jobs in their area, and in their specialised area. Wherever you are in the world (almost) you can use twitjobs.net and search for your perfect job.
Also, to make sure our advertisers are'nt wasting their money, we make sure we check each CV that comes though, just to make sure the person applying fits all the suitable criteria for the role. This makes sure the advertisers are getting great quality applications from TwitJobs and we then continue to get the best possible jobs featured on our site for the 10,000's of people searching and sharing our updates.
Exciting? Well its just further incredible growth for our business. As we expand we make sure we iron out all the things you don't like, and add more great content that you love. Our blog, our Facebook fan page and our Linkedin Group are great places to interact with us directly, or you can always get in touch the old 1.0 way of email - Jobs@TwitJobs.co.uk / Jobs@TwitJobs.net we write back to everyone, its always good to hear from people! Of course, another way is you can leave a comment on this blog.
We'll keep working on making our site the best for jobs across the social web in the UK and around the World - we have a lot of work to do, but please drop us a line if you'd like to contribute to our blog, or have an idea on how your business could collaborate with ours - or just for any reason. Enjoy the new jobs!
Jason
http://TwitJobs.net - WorldWide Network
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
