If you think someone is important with whom to network, then chances are you are not alone. Those people will be well sought after.
How do they decide with whom to share their networking contacts? Assume you are on par with the other candidates in being polite, prompt, etc. So what will set you apart?
Make the meeting a true networking meeting where both people feel they have gotten a benefit by practicing what I call the “80% Rule”. 80% of your networking should be figuring out what you can offer the other person.
My friend, Jeff Arnesen of Houlihan Lokey, one of the best networkers I’ve met, tipped me off : Give first, get second. With 8,000 contacts, Jeff can offer more than the average networker. He offers them when he feels the person with whom he meets is there to build a relationship.
This is how you should start the meeting and set the tone that you came to network, not just to get three or four more names with whom to network. Trust me, with 600+ networking meetings under my belt – you’ll get those names and then some.
If you take care of your networking contact – they will take care of you. Learn about their business, what is a target client, how do those clients make decisions, and what is a good networking contact for them. Then think about the people you’ve met or know – is there someone you can connect them.
See the Toolkit at www.candidateschair.com for ideas on 80% Rule on the types of connections you can make for different people you meet.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
#1 networking rule: Practicing the 80% rule
Monday 31 August 2009The Liquor Store Joke – A Lesson in Asking for Help
Friday 28 August 2009I was standing in line at the liquor store with a six pack in hand and could not help but notice the man in front of me. He had three cases of beer, a dozen bottles of wine, and several bottles of scotch, gin, brandy and whiskey.
I leaned forward and said “Looks like you’re going to have a heck of a party”
The man turned around and replied “Nope, just trying to build up the courage to go to confession.”
_________________________________________________________________
Asking for help can be hard, especially from people you just meet, but it’s a necessary part of networking.
Remember that the people that agree to meet with you are also agreeing to help you. With your search documents and pitch in order, you give them everything necessary to provide that help. Also, you will be surprised by how many successful people have been through transition – so they understand.
Being prepared (hopefully, without a trip to the liquor store) will give you the confidence to ask for help.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Job Applications – Done a bit differently
Thursday 27 August 2009With the current economic climate – yes, that one again! – more and more people find themselves on the hunt for a new job. Some are more qualified than others, some have more experience than others. But thinking about the tsunami of job applications MDs, CEOs and HRs are flooded with the question remains:
How do you separate yourself from all the other applicants?
Surely, there will always be someone with just a little bit more experience, someone with just a little bit better references. So how can you make your application stand out?
The trick is, be creative! Try something daring and different from the standard black and white CV in .doc or .pdf and the classic cover letter.
The video below is an example of what I find to be definitely different and especially daring:
Judge for yourself, but I found it to be very entertaining and actually made my chuckle quite a lot. Unfortunately, as the title suggests, he didn’t get the job. But that might have had something to do with the complete lack of experience. Hey, but even without the experience and the job, he still already has over 16,000 views on YouTube!
This blog post was brought to you by 77Academy. To find out more about our exclusive ten week new media marketing training and placement programme go to www.77Academy.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
LinkedIn Invitations – A couple tips to be more effective
LinkedIn invitations are easy to send, but not as easy to get everyone to accept (outside of a LION – ‘LinkedIn Open Networker”). Here are a few tips to help the person receiving the invitation to feel more comfortable in accepting:
Wait until you have met the person to send the invite:
The likelihood of them accepting goes up tenfold. The likelihood of them acting on your behalf goes up a hundredfold. Accepting the invitation is good, acting after the invite is relevant.
Always use the personalized message for an invite:
Explain who recommended you connect, if you connected previously, why you are connecting with them, who in your network might be of interest to them – be specific and straightforward.
Only use the “Have done business with you at” when it’s true
Making reference to a work relationship that does not exist will risk starting off the relationship on a bad foot – when the person reads it and say “I’ve never done business with that person or that firm”
If you don’t have a referral, use a Group connection
Most people treat their LinkedIn network like their off-line network – so personal referrals still open the most doors. If you do not have a personal referral, then see if you are connected in common groups – often people allow other group members to contact them via the Inmail feature. It’s not an invitation to connect, but could use lead there. In a similar fashion, the direct message feature of Twitter can allow you to start a conversation.
As always, hope this help you along.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search advice and tools from a candidate’s perspective
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
To data dump or not to data dump
Wednesday 26 August 2009To data dump or not to data dump – that is the question. My answer is ‘Not until it’s asked for’.
There is always a temptation to pack as much information into an e-mail, resume, biography, or answer so the person on the other end gets the ‘full picture’ of who you are. You are also worried about time – it always seems best to jam in what you can.
I find that after three major points, most people don’t hear or read much more, they are still processing the initial three points – so the rest is blather. I’ve confirmed this theory with blank stares I’ve received.
So let the information build: Think of your e-mails, resume, marketing plan, etc. as a commercial. Give them enough to get interested to ask for more detail.
A decent commercial gives you what need the product fulfills and a couple unique points – that’s it. Do the same for yourself.
Your networking contact will guide where they want more information – so let it them seek it out. You will be amazed at how much information you will convey and how much they will remember.
Always start with what commitment you seek from the person with whom you network (provide a referral, etc.). Give them enough to be interested, through their questions they will decide if they make the commitment.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Advice and tools from a candidate’s perspective
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Sharing the Secret Sauce – E-mail template to set up a networking meeting
Tuesday 25 August 2009For the vast majority of my job search networking meetings I did not know the person I was asking to network. I suspect that is what you face as well.
So we both know the trick is getting someone who does not know you to take time to network.
We also know that it is often through the good graces of another that you receive a contact or lead that will help land the role. So let me share some secret sauce to help you land that meeting – a simple e-mail template that got me a 90% response rate (after much trial and error!)
For a copy, please visit: http://candidateschair.com/?attachment_id=630
Like any other tools you see – consider my template a starting idea – take time to make it work for your situation.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search from a Candidate's Perspective - Advice and tools for search organization and networking
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Up, Up and AWAY!
Monday 24 August 2009
After TwitJobs Gets You In the Door
Sunday 23 August 2009You’ve applied on TwitJobs and been asked for an interview. Congrats. As a veteran of loads of interviews (on both sides of the table), a few tips to share:
1. Keep on the gas – No matter how strong the fit, phone screen, initial interview, etc. there are dozens of reasons that a position may get delayed or go unfilled. So keep applying and networking. It’s not over until the paperwork is signed.
2. Use your networking to learn more about the company – Reading a company’s website is a good start, but the real workings are found out from talking with people inside the firm. Your goal is to spend more time on discussion versus discovery when you get to the interview
3. Understand the business – You should have a firm handle on what client need is being fulfilled, how they make money, etc. Here’s the 10 questions I used to help prep for interviews and meetings: http://candidateschair.com/?attachment_id=391 The better you know the business, the better you know your skills can help.
4. Make a list of questions – Candidates without prepared questions are candidates with lower interest in the role, as they have not invested the time to get the most out of the interview. Under “Candidate Resources” on my site, I list a couple of books I’ve used – otherwise, just do a search on “Questions to Ask in an interview”
5. Practice your answers aloud – To avoid rambling answers, take the questions you expect to get (usually focused on critical skills and experience for the role) and write out the answers (either bullet points or full answers). Using the written notes as a guide, say your answers aloud at least five times per question. This will help you make the answers more direct and sound more natural when you deliver them.
6. Don’t fall in love with the job – A good friend of mine gives this advice regularly, as those candidates who fall in love tend to come across as desperate in their interviews and thus do not show themselves in their best light.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
Job Search Tools and Advice from a Candidate’s Perspective
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
20 Reasons to follow TwitJobs
Saturday 22 August 2009We're always constantly surprised with the amount of people that are following us every single day - here are 20 reasons we think TwitJobs is so popular:- (in no particular order)
1) We've been built by social media experts. People working in social media in the UK, USA and around the world for many years are the people behind TwitJobs.
2) TwitJobs has 13 profiles on Twitter. Not 100, or 1000's each with a handful of followers but 13 profiles. This makes your job get the best coverage.
3) RT's nobody RT's more jobs than TwitJobs followers - as we actively promote and started the 'RT a week' scheme to help peoples followers back to work.
4) Not just Twitter - we also broadcast and engage across a total of 9 social networks.
5) Expertise. We understand what jobseekers need - and its not just jobs. We provide expert and impartial advice for jobseekers on our blog and post daily updates.
6) Linkedin - Our linkedin group gives people a unique opportunity to network with hiring managers, recruitment consultants and HR managers in the UK. 100s of members have joined already.
7) We have conversations. For us, using twitter and social media is not a one way conversation. Or a one way feed. We engage and talk with people, thank them for RTs and give individual support through DM or @ replies too.
8) Its a new dimension. Social networks like twitter are designed to work with mobile devices. Could you imagine applying for a job on a tradtional site, on a mobile device? Horrible! - we've made it easy - 2 click application process.
9) Realtime. 2009 has and continues to be a tough year for jobseekers. If you are using social media (9/10 web users are) and looking for a job, our broadcasts and conversations can really help. Applying in realtime as jobs are posted is a massive plus.
10) Cost effective for advertisers. Since we launched in March 2009 we've been charging for people to post jobs to TwitJobs.co.uk - Until the end of August 2009 our rates start at less than £2 per day - which is a huge saving on other national job sites.
11) We've got big plans. Online is something, offline is another, and we're planning some fantastic free events and seminars over the next few months working closely with some great educational institutions and experts in the fields to help you back into work.
12) Advertising jobs is EASY. If you're about to post a job to any other site you need to sign up, pay, add details, add more info, add logos etc. We do ALL this. All you do is select the package, make a payment, send us your job description by email. EASY.
13) People like what we're doing! - Yep, its that simple. We've taken the fastest growing internet sector (social media) and made a job site incredibly popular (with over 42,000 twitter followers) in less than 6 months. Some could argue what are others doing?
14) We're transparent. You can see on our site (http://twitjobs.co.uk) just how many followers we have across each profile, how many clicks links get (through bit.ly) and how many new followers we get per week.
15) We are genuine. We're not saying we're the biggest, but we have great performance. On average each job gets approximately 8 applications - these are from genuine UK job seekers who are a good match to the job description.
16) We're not an agency. Although we have some very exciting plans and new products and services that we will be talking about and launching very very soon, we are not a recruitment agency, and don't plan to cover that area. Our speciality is social media - we continue to work on making our presence even greater in the UK.
17) People get Jobs! - The very first person to get a job using TwitJobs was on the bus to the job centre using their iphone. Amazing - but this is where technology is going, realtime, mobile and sharing. Those 3 aspects are what we are really excited about taking TwitJobs further.
18) We are concious of noise! - Because RSS feeds are not our focus, we dont post 3-4 jobs all at once every 30 minutes. We are consciously aware of noise levels and try not to post too often. Just at the right times with the right information.
19) The vision is much larger. We are currently broadcasting across the USA and plan to open, broadcast and engage across many more geographic spaces. We love doing what we do.
20) We don't have any hidden agenda. We are solely owned and operated as a Limited company in the UK. We continue to innovate within this space and continue to grow our UK operation through support and focusing on our core ideals.
Well I could have gone on and on and on! But I think this list gives you a better understanding of what we are all about, and of course gives you 20 reasons to follow TwitJobs!
Jason Barrett
Founder/CEO
TwitJobs
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
You are Not a Job Description
Friday 21 August 2009Here’s another one of my mistakes – I described myself by my job description.
In competition for a position, you simply need to be different than the other candidates (Not always better).
If you follow my mistake, you create absolutely no difference. In fact, all I did was playback their job description in your own terms. I was so focused on the requirements of the role – not how my experience has shaped how I delivered upon those requirements.
I find everyone has 3-4 unique characteristics that they use on a daily base to solve issues, work with clients, etc. – these are what you want to promote about yourself.
The characteristics are what people will remember and like about you.
Promote these characteristics in your first sentence, opening overview of yourself, etc. No need to go into detail at this point just set the tone for what sets you apart from the other candidates. Fill in the blanks as you go.
If you don’t know what characteristics to use – ask a friend or colleague.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
How to manage full time job search and still enjoy summer
Thursday 20 August 2009We all know the feeling. Out of school for the first time in a long time, finally time for your friends, great weather and the constant guilt of not applying for all that jobs that you so desperately need right now.
So you enjoy your week, from one BBQ to the next and all of a sudden you find yourself on Sunday night with a seemingly unmanageable amount of jobs to research, e-mails to write and cover letters and CVs to send.
But shouldn’t you be able to do both? Enjoy the summer and still manage the job hunt? Here are some tricks that might help you on your quest.
Time management
I know - it’s a classic. And you have probably heard it a thousand times from your wise professors at University, but that doesn’t make it less true. If you manage your time properly, you will get more out of it. Set aside a certain amount of time per day for your job search and pick realistic times, for example 10am – 1pm. Treat this time like you would treat a job, i.e. be on time and don’t skip just because the sun is shining. If you pick your times right you will still have enough time to sleep and enjoy the afternoons and nights with your friends without feeling bad about not having done anything.
Optimise your research
Rather than starting from zero with your job search every time you sit down, use available tools to help you with your online research, for example:
- Set up an RSS feed for job search sites
- Follow job related tweets on Twitter
- Join relevant LinkedIn Groups
Use Templates
Create prototypes of cover letters and e-mails that are easily editable for the different jobs you are applying to. This way you don’t have to start all over again for each application.
Set realistic targets
Don’t try to do too much. If you expect to send out 30 applications per week you will only get frustrated if you don’t achieve this goal. Set yourself a realistic daily target and don’t forget that it is not only about sending out applications but that research takes up quite some time as well.
Online Presence
Build up your online presence that you can refer prospective employers to for additional information about yourself, for example:
- Your own website with an online portfolio of your work
- A well developed LinkedIn Profile
- A Blog and/or Twitter account where you can show your involvement and expertise on a certain subject
And most of all, don’t forget to go out and enjoy yourself.
This blog post was brought to you by 77Academy. To find out more about our exclusive ten week new media marketing training and placement programme go to www.77Academy.com
Using Twitter to Promote Yourself during Job Search
Twitter is another great tool in the toolbox to promote your qualifications during a job search. The intent is to have potential employers and networking contacts read your tweets.
A couple of thoughts to help get you started
One: Keep it professional and positive
Two: focus on your profession only – especially where you can give advice from personal experience
Three: If you have skills that cannot be easily trained, put those in your tweets, as employers will need to hire someone with them
Four: Tweet on issues/experiences that will likely be raised in an interview/networking
Five: Before starting to Tweet. Write your first 50 tweets. People will go to your profile and review your tweets – so best to have them organized versus random thoughts. So tweet with purpose (I’d wager no one has ever told you that before).
Six: Retweet other good thoughts from people you follow – recognizing good content is as valuable as giving it
Seven: Manage who you follow and who follows you (e.g. Blocking anyone who has ‘Check out my hot profile’ is advised!)
Put your Twitter ID on your business cards (along the URLs for personal blogs, LinkedIn profile, etc.) – so people know you’re tweeting.
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Five Ways to Help a Fellow Candidate
Wednesday 19 August 2009As a follow on to yesterday’s post on keeping your psyche strong during job search, another way to help your psyche is by helping others.
Here are five ways to help a colleague in job search – you can pick as many as you like. Anything you provide will be appreciated as insight from fellow candidates is often the most valuable.
One: Listen to their story - Do their documents match their story? Are they underselling themselves?
Two: Listen to their pitch - Is it clear and crisp? Do you know what role they want? What are the 2-3 skills that make them unique? If not, help them rework their pitch.
Three: State of networking - Are they effectively using all the tools available to locate opportunities or networking?
Four: 2-3 Contacts - Start them off with 2-3 contacts to see how they perform. Call your contacts to see how it went. You can give them valuable feedback.
Five: Follow-up - Drop them an e-mail or call every 45 days or so. A friendly call can go a long way (for both of you)!
Many people may not feel comfortable in asking for help – so reach out and offer!
Good luck today!
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Job Search on Web 2.0 - Can Facebook Apps help?
Tuesday 18 August 2009With the average time on Facebook increasing by almost 700% from 2008 to 2009 the question arises what the social platform and all its applications can do for the increasing amount of job searchers out there.
Rather than getting involved in long and time consuming research I wanted to know what a simple search for ‘job’ or ‘jobs’ would come up with. Some of the – unexpectedly few – results I tried out myself.
insideJob - Get the inside scoop on the organisation you are applying for.
insideJob is an application that can be used by job searchers and employers. It aims to connect those people looking for a job at a certain organisation or company with people who already work in that job at that company.
Let’s say you want to work as a developer at Google. With this application you will be able to get in touch with someone who already works as a developer at Google and might have some good tips or even helpful connections for you.
For employers it offers the possibility to post jobs, search for talented individuals on Facebook and let their employees be ambassadors for their own organisation.
These services are currently still available for free, which will undoubtedly change once insideJob has reached a certain amount of active users. Albeit, with 2,365 active users per month, this is definitely one of the more popular applications we have come across.
Job Openings
When adding and accessing this application I get welcomed by this very minimalistic page:
Clearly the next step from here would be to set up my RSS section or start ‘monitoring job openings’. However, the only links I can click are ‘Share with friends’ which let’s my invite more friends to use this application or ‘Home’ which leads my right back to this page.
So if anyone can figure out the point behind this please let me know.
Head Hunting [Jobs] – Post a Job, Find a Job
In a classic manner, this application allows you to post jobs, browse job listings, search for specific jobs and keep track of the jobs you are interested in. With 107 active users per month and a current total of 18 job posts it’s apparent that this is a rather new application and even though it might not win a Nobel Price this application has all the necessary elements and usability and looks like a candidate worth to keep track of.
This blog post was brought to you by 77Academy. To find out more about our exclusive ten week new media marketing training and placement programme go to www.77Academy.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Keeping Your Psyche Strong During Job Search
The saying goes “Desperation does not work in dating or job search”. I can verify both of those when looking at my school years and job transition.
At one point in my search I had six solid job leads go completely dark within a week’s time. I remember going to a 7 a.m. networking meeting the following Monday. Big mistake – I wasted a good networking opportunity. If a job search is selling, you have to believe yourself first before anyone else will.
When I got home, I cancelled all of my job search activities for the next two days, so I could get my psyche back in order and avoid a downward spiral (which we all know can be tough to pull out of).
So here’s a tip to help you keep your psyche strong – which has worked for me many a time. Make a list of small projects that you would like to accomplish. When you feel down, pull out the list and work like mad to finish the project. The sense of progress, accomplishment and putting your mind somewhere else for a stretch of time will work wonders. Trust me.
There are loads of other good ideas like volunteering, etc. – whatever they are, put them on the list and keep it handy. It’s not a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’ you will use it.
Remember, if you run into someone who needs to take a break – do them a favor and tell them.
Good luck today.
Regards,
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Fixing two of my mistakes = Less Job Search Frustration
Monday 17 August 2009Greetings and welcome to what is hopefully the first of many posts on job search from a candidate’s perspective. My thanks to Jason Barrett for the invite!
A quick background, I have been in job transition twice and have run a job transition group since April 2007 – which has led to 600+ networking contacts related to job search and creating the site www.candidateschair.com to share tools and advice. (The site also landed me my current job!)
I made loads of mistakes in my search, so let’s start with two that once I corrected helped me really reduce the frustration in my job search.
Having proper expectations for a job search:
A job search is making a sale. You are the product. So think, act and expect to be treated like a sales person. You need to work hard to get a meeting, harder to get them to move forward and even harder to make a close. So expect to hear ‘no’ more often than ‘yes’. Even the best salespeople (or rainmakers) hear ‘no’, but they expect it and keep on knocking on the next door. If you always expect to hear ‘yes’, then it’s hard to keep going. Don’t take a ‘no’ personally, it’s hard not to, but not everyone is a fit for every role.
Make a plan with a purpose:
There are plans for activity and plans which focus on getting you in front of the hiring manager. You want the latter.
I could easily fill my day with search activities. However, activity does not equal progress. Each step should be moving you closer to meeting and influencing the hiring manager. Even after you apply, the work still needs to continue on researching the firm, getting prepped to interview, etc.
The best rainmakers make the best plans – and they adjust their plans after each experience to get better.
==
We’ve just started the journey – loads more to share. I will be posting some tools on the TwitJobs site.
Best regards,
Mark Richards
www.candidateschair.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Using LinkedIn to Increase Your Job Prospects
Thursday 13 August 2009LinkedIn has become the premier networking site on the internet. They claim to have over 44 million users from over 200 countries and you will find it difficult to come across a company that is not represented on the business networking site.
As a jobseeker LinkedIn can help you to increase your chance of getting a job whether it’s through increasing your online visibility to employers or preparing for an interview.
Keep your account up to date
Make sure that all you contact details, career history, educational history and personal description are complete and accurate. Especially make sure these correspond to your CV in case the recruiter checks your profile against your CV for consistency.
Gather recommendations
Request recommendations from previous employers. Try and ask for recommendations from senior figures within organisations you have previously worked in. This can help to provide alternative references of your professional capabilities.
Answer questions
If you are skilled in a particular field take advantage of LinkedIn’s question and answer feature. Here any LinkedIn user can ask a question or ask for some advice. Any user can then answer these posted questions. If a prospective employer sees you are providing clear and professional answers to questions it will give them an example of your skill level and professionalism.
Optimise your account
It is important you use the correct language, terminology and skills throughout your LinkedIn account to make sure that prospective employees will find you. For example if you are training to be a new media marketer make sure you use an array of carefully thought out and highly relevant terms (i.e. search engine marketing, social media, search engine optimisation), instead of more generic terms (online marketing, internet marketing).
Build your network
Increase your network and connect with any former colleagues, business contacts, and clients you may have had relations with before. This will increase your chances of ranking high for any LinkedIn search recruiters may carry out, as well as increase your visibility among other people’s networks.
Connect with possible employers
Once you have applied, or even prior to applying find someone relevant (i.e. HR, departmental manager) within the company and ask them any outstanding questions you may have. LinkedIn also offers you the opportunity to research the company, their history and employees
Perform a search from an employer’s point of view
Imagine you are a prospective employer; Search LinkedIn for various key terms relevant to your job and search for your name. See how you rank for these searches. If you don’t rank very highly consider altering the text to include more important terms as well as increase the number of contacts you have. Also search for your name in Google to see how you rank in their listings (if you are lucky to have a very unique name you should find you rank very highly).
This blog post was brought to you by 77Academy. To find out more about our exclusive ten week new media marketing training and placement programme go to www.77Academy.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
What to do in this Employment Downturn?
Wednesday 12 August 2009For many job seekers the current economic downturn has made finding a job a dead end task. In some sectors graduate traineeships have reduced by 47% and in other recruitment has pretty much halted to a standstill. So where does this leave you? If you feel stuck consider the following options....
Training
Take time to invest in building your professional skills. Whether it is something related to your job or a new skills to help you start a career in a different field expanding your expertise will always help you stand out from the crowd. There are a range of different training schemes available for people of all stages of their career. Many free training courses and training grants are also available to apply to.
Volunteer
If you feel your days of job searching have come to a dead end and want to do something more constructive with your time you should think about volunteering. There are numerous opportunities to volunteer locally or abroad, working on a range of social and development projects. Who knows...through volunteering you may even find the career of your dreams?
Get Creative
It is important to keep your mind in tip top shape while job seeking. It can be a mundane task trawling through applications and filling out endless forms. To counter act this do something creative with part of your time. Write, draw, join a theater or dance group...do something. This will keep your creative juices flowing and ideally will force you into new social situations.
Self Employment
If you have a skill where you can go freelance what are you waiting for. Take some time out from applying and post some ads on freelance forums, advertise your skills on your social media (Facebook, LinkedIn etc.), and get earning. Depending on your skill you can join a freelance website that connect freelancers with small employers. This is a good way to earn a bit of pocket money while you are applying to other jobs and may lead to other opportunities you hadn’t considered.
Network
Take advantage of the internet to promote yourself. Broadcast the fact that you are job seeking on any social media channels you have a profile on. Don’t be shy to say exactly what you are looking for. You may be surprised who gets in contact with you.
Go Public
The public sector is the only sector that has increased recruitment significantly. So do some research into the different public sector jobs available and see how your skills fit in to various job profiles
Apply, apply and apply
Last but not least just keep applying. Sign up to all relevant recruitment channels and keep searching on and offline for jobs. Through sheer persistence (and a bit of optimism) you will find something that suits you.
This blog post was brought to you by 77Academy. To find out more about our exclusive ten week new media marketing training and placement programme go to www.77Academy.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Why applications get rejected
Tuesday 11 August 2009Why applications get rejected...
First impressions
First impressions matter. we've already written about first impressions and just how vital they are, but consider that there is only one opportunity to make a first impression, after that you're leaving opportunity to chance. If your resume does not attract the reader's attention in the first 20-30 seconds then your chances of obtaining an interview are greatly reduced - thats just a simple fact. Even more so recently, in times of down turn or a recession employers will take even longer to make a decision, but also make their decisions quicker based on first impressions. An employer may have a hundred or more CV's to look through and probably only a couple of hours in which to make their selection. So put your work experience at the start of your resume, not personal or educational details, unless you have only just left education.
What an employer really wants to know is why they should invite you for an interview. For this reason a short summary of your capabilities and/or a list of your major achievements can often be a good idea.
Poor layout
The visual layout of your resume is vital. Even though you may spend time and resources on making sure that the wording you use is perfect, if people cannot find the information they want quickly they will move on to someone else's resume. You should use plenty of 'white' space in your resume and appropriate headings and section breaks.
Length of resume
It is usually best to try and keep your CV to two pages, unless someone specifically asks you for a longer CV.
If you cannot keep your resume to this length then you probably have not understood an employer's requirements. Employers do not want to know your whole life history - just enough to decide whether they should interview you or not. Make sure you keep this in mind when writing your application and your CV.
Jason.
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Online Applications: The Dos and Don’ts
Monday 10 August 2009The internet has changed the way we search and apply for jobs. No longer do we rely on pages and pages of hand written forms or have to rely entirely on the postal service to ensure that our application is received.
Now many businesses, if not the majority, advertise job openings online and enable you to apply directly through their website or a third party website through completing an online application form.
As much as applying online makes application process straightforward it also offers some drawbacks to traditional offline applying. For example the online form will most probably be standardised so there is no room to jazz up your CV as you may do offline. To help you make sure you make the most out of applying online follow these simple do’s and don’ts to make sure your online application gets noticed:
THE DOs
Do have a decent internet connection
Ok this one may seem obvious but it is vital when applying online. Make sure that you have a stable and reliable internet connection. If your connection is likely to break at any point go to an internet cafe or somewhere with a more reliable connection. There is nothing worse than filling out most of an application form and then losing the connection...and all of the applications content with it.
Do create a draft offline
Before you fill in the application view it before hand, download it if you can, or copy and paste all the required fields’ offline. You can then work on an offline copy ensuring that all the information is complete and correct, using spell checkers to ensure spelling and grammar is correct. It is also good practice to keep an offline copy for your records in case you have any technical problems or for some reason your applications is not received.
Do proof read you application
Ensure that you read through you applications answers a number of times. Look out for spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, and make sure that the answers are clear and easy to read. Additionally ask a friends or family members to read through the application answers for you.
Do have an online presence
In case a prospective employer search for your name online (i.e. through Google or Yahoo) it is beneficial to make sure you have an online presence. Make sure you have a LinkedIn account with all your previous work and education experience. If you have a blog or other professional networking accounts be sure to make sure these are up to date.
Do have a sensible/professional email address
If you don’t have a sensible email address get one. If a possible employer see’s that your email address is mickeymouse@freemail.com they may disregard your information. Use one of the main and trusted mail services (i.e. Gmail, Live) and have a memorable address that includes your name or surname.
Do check your email regularly
Once you have applied make sure you check your email account regularly so you don’t miss any communication from the prospective employers. Also check you junk mail in case any communication has been misplaced in this folder.
THE DONTs
Don’t copy and paste
If you are applying to multiple jobs online you may be tempted to copy and paste the answers you have used in one application into another. It is far better to treat each application as unique; do some research into the business before hand and tailor your answers accordingly. This will result in more inspiring and relevant answers.
Don’t leave blank spaces
It is important to make sure that all fields are complete. Make sure that all contact details are filled in and all answers are answered. Blank spaces in an application form will make it appear as though you have neglected or can’t be bothered to provide the required information.
Don’t go on and on and on
It is generally harder to read online content then offline. Refrain from writing entire essays. Instead provide only essential information and resist the urge to waffle. In this case little is more...if you go on and on and include pointless information recruiters may feel you are full of nonsense.
Don’t start and then procrastinate
Remember internet pages have a tendency to time out if left. This means that, maybe for security or technical reasons, the page is no longer available and you have to refresh to view it again. If you have filled out half of your application and then leave your computer for some time you may have to start all over again.
Don’t forget where you have applied
When applying to multiple jobs online it is sometime hard to remember who you have applied to and when you have done so. Keep a spread sheet to show who you have applied to, when you have applied to them and any other relevant information. This will help you keep track of all online applications you have completed.
Have we forgotten anything? Based on your experience of applying online what advice would you give to job seekers?
This blog post was brought to you by 77Academy. To find out more about our exclusive ten week new media marketing training and placement programme go to www.77Academy.com
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
TwitJobs Updates 10/8/2009
TwitJobs Updates 10/8/2009
Just to give all our readers a update on what we're working on at TwitJobs.co.uk
This week we've got more bloggers contributing to our TwitJobs blog - we'll introduce those to you later in the week, but they will be able to offer even more to you and your job seeking.
TwitJobs.net - our USA site now has it's first few jobs listed and over 6,000 followers on twitter already. If you have any North American people that follow you on twitter its definately worth telling them about it. You can follow them at @twitjobsusa
More Jobs! - TwitJobs.co.uk has more jobs than ever right now. We've got over 65 jobs listed right now, and more and more being added every day!
More people getting jobs! - We're hearing from more and more people each week who thank us for starting TwitJobs. We will be collating all of these comments and messages for a special section on our website over the next few days.
Job Seeking Advice - Our new blogs will be adding lots and lots more content about making the most of your job search in the UK. All the advice and valuable tips you need to make the perfect first impression.
Got Jobs? - We provide a completely unique service in the UK. If you are interested in advertising your jobs to 1,000's of social media users in the UK please visit our site and select the package from you (starting from just £2 per day).
Have a great week.
Jason.
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
Have you ever had to ask anyone if they have some spare change?
Thursday 6 August 2009Although we all go through good and bad times, thankfully the answer for a lot of us would be no. But think about it, how bad would things actually have to get for you to ask strangers for their help?
Well, lets think about this for a moment. With Twitter you connect with strangers at first,(after you've added your friends and celebrities!) they become interesting, knowledgable, stimulating for you and once you make that connection you no longer think of them as a stranger, even though you've never spoken, messaged or interacted with them directly. Their avatar becomes familier, and you start to think, 'oh thats jim X from X business' just by seeing his/her avatar on twitter.
If you are thinking outside the box a little and looking at other ways to find a 'way in' to a business - this works. Developing your own circle of friends into your recruitment consultants can prove a realistic and very enpowering way of getting an interview. In business recomendations happen based on reputation. If I recommend someone to one of my friends, i'm putting my reputation on the line by saying 'this guys is worth seeing'.
If you can get 4/5/6 people doing this for you, just think how powerful that could be?
So how do you ask for help.
You don't, well not directly. Well not yet anyway.
Lets say you form a strategy to do this. Post regular job related information, information you have learnt on your industry, start a blog, post often, link through twitter and repeat repeat repeat. Your blog in a short space of time can show others just how much an authority you are in your industry, much more than a 2 page CV. This is going to be your add on to your CV and become a very powerful tool.
So what do you do now. Well, now you are in a position to ask for peoples feedback and advice. Now you've created something that you are passionate about, people can read for themselves your experiences that have developed who you are and how you've got to the point in your life right now. Ask people who you believe know their stuff in different sub sectors for them to read your blog, do they like it, can they see any gaps in your experience, can they relate to any of your experiences?
Once people are engaging with you on a one-2-one level outside of just reading your blog then people will feel even more comfortable about helping you out - what's in it for them? Well, maybe you'll blog about how your team helped you find work or even just one person.
If you are not doing this, you are leaving the opportunity open for someone else to do it, and get better results than you applying for 10 jobs a day and waiting for the phone to ring. This kind of creating a brand for your name is scary for some but for others can be incredibly powerful, and create the result you need - getting back into employment.
Remember - think about the other people applying for the job you are about to. Think, maybe 10/20/30 people will apply for this role.
All the way through your application, cover letter, examples of work, CV, etc keep this in mind 'What can I say to show how perfect I am for this job'.
Jason.
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
CV Writing Tips SIX Tips!
Wednesday 5 August 2009CV Writing Tips Part 1
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of sites online that are offering tips and advice on how to write your CV or Resume - this is part of a 3 part programme to give you the basics to get started and feel comfortable and confident about your CV.
1) Use clear formating on your CV - There is no point in having great content if it is layed out horribly. Try to keep things in standard sized paragraphs and keep it clear and easy to read. Remember, your CV has just a few seconds to make a first great impression. You only get one chance for this!
2) Don't make your CV too long - your Curriculum Vitae isn't an essay, but more of a straighforward easy to read summary of your skills and work experience. Remember this at all times when adding content.
3) Only certain kinds of positions will ask for a recent photo (creative/models etc) don't include one unless asked. Save the space for compelling, articulate and accurate content.
4) Your CV is about tomorrow, not yesterday. Concentrate on experiences that you have learnt from and developed you to a more rounded and useful future employee. Think about it, employers and recruiters will probably see several (at least) applications and CV's per job. Yours can stand out from the rest by sticking to these rules.
5) Put yourself in the mind of the reader and ask what will make get excited about you and want to call you now. Think about what the job description has asked for and tailor every CV you send out for each job specifically. If someone is asking for specific tasks that might not be included in your CV now, don't just add them in your cover letter make the CV tailored for the job.
6) Speling...SPELLING SPELLING SPELLING.. check it once, do a spell check then check it again. If you can, have others read it. If you have friends on twitter/facebook don't be afraid to ask them to check it (you might want to edit personal information before sending it to people you don't know so well).
So theres the first 6 big tips for CV writing and getting the IMPACT CV that you need today to get the call back TODAY!
More to follow...
Jason.
http://TwitJobs.co.uk - Jobs Fed Into Your Life
