Do One Thing Incredibly Well

Theres certainly a temptation or has been over the past few months to suddenly become an expert in everything!

Thats certainly the case in the online world today.

The amount of people iv'e come across personally who are experts in PPC, SEO, Social Media, Communication, Digital Marketing, Interaction Specialists, Engagement Masters etc etc

On their twitter profiles they list all these areas of expertise, or ask us via a social network we cover for a job covering all of these specialties.  Training, learning and personal professional development I think are core drivers that you have to be constantly looking at in 'the digital world' today.  But sticking to the one thing you have the most expertise in, experiences, successes, learns whatever it is that you feel most passionately about - that needs to remain your core skill set.

Its the same for brands.  It's OK with things like coke - then we've got diet coke, vanilla coke, cherry coke etc - thats alright.  But so many companies fail by trying to do so many different things.  Taking their brand to new places to dip their toe into new markets, risk a whole bunch of resources and time and lose, big time.

Think about your ideal job title, your perfect role and then what that is actually going to include in the day to day activity.  Is this really what you love? What you believe passionately about and what you can excel in? - If it is, then interview successes have to be more of a formality rather than a popularity competition.

Passion, desire, belief - these are things that will or won't come across in an interview.  No matter how good you are at going to a job interview for a stop gap job.  These are sometimes things we have all had to do in our life at some point.  But if you can find the job that you are clearly the obvious first choice, why would you spend time applying for anything else?

For that one job, you will have the passion, desire and commitment to write a superb cover letter, customize your CV specifically for the role and that will come across in volume to the hiring manager.

Iv'e spent a long time working in the online space - and my passion is social media.  I live it, breath it 24/7 - 365 days a year - ask anyone that knows me! - But other areas we are working in, i'm learning - and whats more important I'm keen to learn more so that TwitJobs can continue to provide a fantastic service for its 100,000's of users searching for jobs with us every month.

Be open to new opportunities - but focus on your core passion...after all, we spend a lot of time at work, i'm lucky - I do something I love.

Jason

You can search 100's of jobs in your local area (by keywords and location) just by going to http://TwitJobs.net - think about YOUR perfect job, and let us help you find a job you love.

http://TwitJobs.net




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Get An Introduction to Improve Your Odds

You have your immediate network, so to get started, you should ask them to make your initial introductions. Those introductions lead to more introductions which will lead to opening doors critical to putting the odds in your favor.

The introduction not only can get you a chance to network, but it can also lower the barriers to getting help or give the person you are meeting more insight on why they should meet you.

Job search is not always fair. The best candidate does not always get the job. In fact, their resume may not even get reviewed. Why? They did not get a chance to tell their story.

So get an introduction to networking contacts to help you get in the door. In this busy market, it's even more important.

Good luck today!

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.net




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Checking Your Referrals

This is a lesson in protecting your reputation. Before you meet with someone – see what you can learn about their business dealings.

In this environment, you want to take every referral possible. But it is important to make sure that referral will bring you closer to a decision maker.

I was able to meet with Clyde (Surprise! Not their real name). He was very gracious, professional and extremely well connected. Our meeting resulted in sixteen network contacts. Wow! That is a candidate’s dream – a week’s worth of networking in a single meeting.

Being so stoked about the meeting, I told my colleagues. Then a good friend said “I’d be careful tying your name to Clyde’s. His business reputation is very mixed”. In time, I found this was very true, nothing unethical, but let’s just say he took care of himself.

Thank heaven my friend said something, as I’ve networked with people who prefer to not deal with Clyde. Bullet dodged, lesson learned.

I did follow-up on Clyde’s contacts, but I was certain to establish my relationship with him as one of networking for a new role. I inserted this point in the opening sentence in my networking e-mail. (For a template on networking e-mails, please look under "Tools" at www.candidateschair.com).

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.net




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Confessions of a Rotten Networker

When I worked, I did not make networking a priority in my calendar. Sure I did some, but I mainly filled my day with everything else. My help to individuals in transition was even less.

Having been in transition, now my approach to networking has forever changed, but it was after, not before.

As you reach out, you’ll find loads of people like I was: Never through transition, low value on networking, etc.

These folks can still help you, but you need to be persistent and guide them on how they can help you.

To help avoid frustration and help them to get your contact to follow-up on your meeting, it all starts with the preparation.

The link below is a networking checklist I created during my transition. I did mine in a notebook, but tough to share via a blog.

http://candidateschair.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/networking-meeting-checklist.pdf

My notebook was valuable because it allowed me to get more efficient as it helped me see what I did previously.

Remember that when people agree to meet with you, they are also agreeing to help you. So help them to help you.

Good luck today!

Mark Richards

www.candidateschair.comJob 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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5 Golden Rules For Twitter

If you're a celebrity, a business owner, looking for a job, or simply looking to expand your social circle, Twitter can be the ultimate self-promotion tool, as long as you know how to use it.

As far as I’m concerned, there are only three things you have to remember...

• Conversation
• Conversation
• Conversation

Social media (and Twitter in particular) are just massive networks of people interested in similar things, helping each other and sharing information. If you want to get anywhere in this world, you need to join that party.

How does that work in practise? Well, I’ve outlined my 5 golden rules for Social Media below...

1. Converse, Don’t Preach

Think about this. If you want people to like you, and recommend you, they have to have a reason. You have to make yourself valuable to them. So how do you do that?

By doing everything you want other people to do for you. Post interesting/informative links, retweet often (but not too often, you don’t want to be known as an “excessive retweeter”). When you get new followers, thank them personally. When someone replies to you or sends you a direct message, make sure you respond. It’s called being polite, and it works just as well online as it does in the real world.

Just tweeting your own promo and/or links is the fast way to get a bad reputation in social media. Don’t do it.

2. Don’t Argue

More specifically, don’t have arguments. Light disagreement and jesting is (usually) fine, it’s all part of life. But starting a large disagreement or a flame war (trading insults) is not big, not clever, and definitely not wise. If you have to disagree, do it politely. Get your point across, and leave it. It doesn’t look good for any of the protagonists to be slagging each other off in public.

If you’re the victim of a personal attack, ignore it as best you can. You might find that being super polite to the attacker stops them in their tracks. If it becomes too much, unfollow or block that user, and if you feel it necessary, you can report them to Twitter (or whichever network you’re on). I’d recommend this only in extreme circumstances however.

3. Be Social, Be Respectful

Being social on the web is about conversation, but you also have to make use of the things that are there. If you’re talking about a topic, and there’s a hashtag for it, use it. Participate in things like FollowFriday by recommending your favourite tweeters (twitter users). Post links to services or websites you find useful, and check out those services that are recommended to you. And whatever you do, avoid auto-follow services like you would the plague. It’s all about being real.

Respect for others is a key part of social media. You may not agree with them, but that doesn’t matter. We’re all human and entitled to our opinions. You’ll also find that race and disability are never an issue on social media. Don’t be the one to break that unwritten rule. If you do, I can guarantee everyone who ignored the “Don’t Argue” rule above will be onto you!

4. Don’t Be Afraid

One of the hardest things to come to terms with when you start using Twitter (and all forms of social media) for the first time is the idea that almost everything is good. Don’t worry about promoting your competition, or retweeting something that may, in the end, turn out to be not what you thought it was.

The chances are it won’t, and most people understand you can’t vet everything. And far as your competition is concerned, the “pay it forward” principle applies here. Be friendly and helpful to them, and they will return the favour. If they don’t, it’s their loss, and you will come out looking better in the long run, because you were the one being helpful rather than just promoting yourself.

5. Use a Twitter Application

Using Twitter is so much better when you use a 3rd part application for your tweeting, rather than just using the website. There are many applications (Twhirl, Seesmic, etc), but my personal favourite is TweetDeck. It’s available not only for Mac, Windows and Linux, but also for the iPhone, giving a seamless interface no matter which platform you’re using.

Most Twitter applications are (like Twitter itself) completely free, and they make my golden rules so much easier to follow.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it, my 5 Golden Rules for successful Twittering. They apply whether you’re a celebrity, tweeting for a company, or just for your own enjoyment.

Just one last thing... if you find yourself in a foul mood, wanting to argue with lots people and just plain grumpy... walk away. Your followers will still be there tomorrow, just so long as you don’t annoy them today!

Good luck, and enjoy being social!

Dan

This is a guest post from Dan Nash, disabled entrepreneur and social media maven. You can find out more at www.DanNash.net. You can also follow me on Twitter.

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