Top Posts of January 2008

Top Posts of January 2008 2 These were among the most-visited articles on JobMob during the month of January 2008 according to Google Analytics: 27 Wise Life Tips My wise non-farmer uncle sent along this wise “old farmer's advice”. There are many good lessons that will serve you well before, during and after your job search. How Do You Score on this Human Resources Personality Test? The following is usually called Dr. Phil's Test, after Dr. Phil McGraw tested Oprah Winfrey with it. It's a 2 minute test that HR departments can use to quickly estimate your personality. Curious to know how you'll score?eval Are Hitech Jobs Hell? High salaries, comfortable offices and “reaching for the stars”. Long hours, crazy pace and recovery “sabbaticals”. Are you sure that you want to work for a hitech company?eval How to be a Compassionate Job Seeker Any job search help you can get is a good thing, right? Well, what about any help you can give? Funniest Resume Story Ever While compiling the 150 Funniest Resume Mistakes Ever, I came upon the following anecdote and it was too funny not to pass on

Trend iPhone Applications For Personal Branding - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Trend iPhone Applications For Personal Branding - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career It fascinates me how powerful information is and how much we have to consume each day to remain current. In fact, if I didnt peruse the live feed on Facebook a week or so ago (I saw Brian Solis commenting on Jeremiah Owyangs app), I would be late with this post and might have missed the next personal branding phenomenon.   One of the trends Ive noted on the Personal Branding Blog is the rise of video and mobile mediums for branding.   Well, aside from Hollywood celebrities developing their own iPhone applications, now everyone will have one.   There will be a slow adoption at the beginning, but in about six months to a year, were going to see a major growth in this area.   The reason might you ask?   More eyes are being drawn to the mobile platform than ever before and that number is guaranteed to increase because our phones activate our lives. The facts 607.5 million people globally accessing social networks by 2013, which is 43% of all mobile internet users (eMarketer) 50% of mobile phone users will access the mobile internet at least monthly by 2013   (eMarketer) 6 billion songs sold in the iTunes Store as of January 2009, which was 70% of worldwide online digital music sales (Mac Daily News) 100,000 third-party applications are available and there were 2 billion downloaded as of October 27, 2009 (Apple.com) Do people need iPhone applications? You dont need an iPhone application if you dont have an objective behind it. For instance, I wanted an iPhone application to remain positioned as a forward thinker in this space, to be competitive, to try it out and because I want the content of this blog and my Twitter account to be everywhere possible.   Its the reason why I set up multiple syndication agreements for this blog.   I also wanted to emphasize how the same branding strategies that companies use can be leveraged by people all in the same. There are currently 7 thought leaders who have their own iPhone applications: Myself (Download) Jeremiah Owyang (Download): one of my all-time favorite bloggers Brian Solis (Download): quite possibly the best networker in new media Tim Ferriss (Download): Fast Company called him innovative for a reason Guy Kawasaki (Download): the venture capitalist, blogger, startup founder, etc Juan Cole (Download): president of the Global Americana Institute Brett Petersel (Download): events director at Mashable.com Just tell me how to get my own app already! My iPhone application was developed by MotherApp. They did an excellent job and I would recommend you try them if you have the content, the ambition and a little creativity.   As you can see in the below screen shot, you can customize the main screen, the iPhone icon, and then append your blog and Twitter feed. Here are some of the other highlights that MotherApp offers: You can create apps for the iPhone, Android, Windows mobile and more. Apps can be created using HTML. The apps are turned around in one business day. You have complete control of the look and feel of your application. Brian Soliss application was developed by Mobile Roadie, a company where he sits on the board of advisers.   His application has a few interesting elements, including a list of his appearances and a fan wall. My application for example Download here

INTERNS WANTED - Classy Career Girl

INTERNS WANTED Woohoo! Its a fun and exciting time for Classy Career Girl as we expand our team. We are currently searching for interns with potential growth on our team. These interns will have an interest in one or all of the below: -Editorial and writing. Huge plus if you believe in proper grammar.  HIRED!!! -Social media.  Huge plus if you love Instagram. -Photography. We provide the camera, you practice your photo taking skills. Here are the details: -Must be in the San Diego area. (UPDATE: Due to the global response, we will consider virtual work outside of San Diego). -Must be hard working, organized and innovative. -Must be flexible to work at home and drive to meetings, events and shoots, etc. -Apply by sending your resume and cover letter to anna@classycareergirl.com. Bonus points for links/usernames of your blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. -You must be passionate about supporting other women. -This internship is unpaid to start but offers potential  long-term growth within the company.

Make Sure Professional Email Address Doesnt Negatively Brand You - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Make Sure ‘Professional’ Email Address Doesn’t Negatively Brand You - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Could it possibly be that something as commonplace and mundane, as the contact email address you include on official job-hunting correspondence, result in your personal brand being cast in a very negative light? You bet it can! Every single element, no matter how large or small, or apparently insignificant, of your personal branding “package” can have both a positive and a negative effect on how potential hiring managers, human resources professionals and headhunters perceive you as a potential job candidate. And that, of course, definitely includes the contact email address you use in any official correspondence during a job search. Put yourself in a hiring manager’s,  human resources professional’s, or a headhunters place for just a moment. What immediate image would you likely have of an applicant who used a contact email address like any of the following on his/her résumé, cover letter, online application, etc.? (For the record, these example are not “made up.” Over the years I have actually seen candidates use these specific contact email addresses, plus some even far more outrageous and professionally inappropriate!) beerman@myisp.net sexylady@myisp.net golfnut@myisp.net partygirl@myisp.net Would it be fair to say that you would at least have some . . . er . . . “reservations” about the level of professionalism possessed by such applicants/candidates? Of course it would! Yet, I (and hiring managers and HR professionals) see these kinds of email addresses used on official job-seeking correspondence and documents virtually all the time. Amazing, and so self-defeating  for applicants/candidates who might actually possess excellent credentials and sought-after skill sets. Your email address can get you eliminated Rather than receiving at least a cursory initial review of their correspondence and/or job-seeking documents, these candidates risk being quickly ELIMINATED from further consideration. Why? Hiring managers and HR professionalsâ€"and, yes, “headhunters” like me!â€"simply don’t have the time (or at least won’t take the time, usually) to look beyond this email faux pas. There are just too many candidates to screen to go the extra step. Right or wrong, our thinking usually is: If the candidate/applicant is this careless (or clueless) about this detail, what other negatives will we find upon closer examination? The point is, why even risk being negatively branded by such an easily avoidable misstep? The best advice I can offer is to stick to the tried and true. That is, I recommend that all of our candidates create a professional contact email address that consists of their first names, followed by a dot, and then their last names, plus of course the domain at which they have registered their email address. For example, here is my business email address: skip.freeman@hiretown.com Similarly, your professional email address could become: firstname.lastname@yourisp.net Setting up a professional email address is really quite simple and is almost always free. Google’s Gmail is widely used nowadays for creating professional email addresses, as is Microsoft’s Hotmail. Simply go to www.google.com and/or www.microsoft.com to create your own FREE, unique email address quickly and easily. Consider setting up your own website Want to really stand out from your competition, i.e., other job seekers, and substantiallyâ€"and very positivelyâ€"enhance your unique professional brand? Establish your own website, and then use one of the email addresses associated with your personal/professional website. For example, if your name is Jenna Jones, once you establish your own website, your professional contact email address would become: jenna.jones@jennajones.com I am aware of an excellent site that offers a FREE website: www.wix.com (an upgrade to the basic site is around $10 per month, but an upgrade is not required). I’m sure you can locate other sites that are either free or very inexpensive merely by doing a Google search. Check out the site that a recent college graduate created using wix.com at this link: http://www.tylanemiller.com/ Pretty impressive, huh? This is the kind of “out of the box” branding some of the Generation Y folks (and others, of course) are doing to compete effectively in today’s very challenging job market. Efforts such as this are certainly a very creative way to significantly enhance one’s personal brand! It can also pay you to check out the advantages of creating a SlideRocket presentation at www.sliderocket.com. (Click on the following link to check out my recent blog on how one young woman landed her dream job after creating a SlideRocket presentation: http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/how-hanna-landed-her-new-dream-job/) Hey, don’t misunderstand me here. I, like nearly every hiring manager and HR professional do have a sense of humor. But remember, applying for a new job, a new career, is serious business, and it is absolutely imperative that you reflect and maintain a very high level of professionalism in every contact with a potential employer. Otherwise you seriously risk degrading your personal brand. Keep your humorous email addresses to use in your personal email correspondence, but never, never use it as your professional contact email address. It’s tough enough to compete in today’s job market without throwing unnecessary obstacles in your own path. Author: Skip Freeman is the author of “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed . . . Forever! and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The HTW Group (Hire to Win), an Atlanta, GA, Metropolitan Area Executive Search Firm. Specializing in the placement of sales, engineering, manufacturing and RD professionals, he has developed powerful techniques that help companies hire the best and help the best get hired.

8 Questions You Should Ask in Every job Interview

8 Questions You Should Ask in Every job Interview It might sound odd, but some people actually enjoy interviews. It is one of the few opportunities in life that one has to outline her merits and gain an advantage over the competition.A common misstep in interviews is to fail to ask thoughtful questions. The following questions will show the interviewer that you are serious about the position and passionate about the industry.1. “How Does The Company Define Success?”evalFor both companies and individuals, success should be defined broadly. Sometimes all of the necessary conditions for success are in place, even when one fails. Companies should recognize that. If the interviewer tells you that they define success based more on effort and output than on results, that will be a positive sign.2. “What Has Made You Successful At This Company?”evalThere are a few reasons that this question might be a good idea. First, it will make the interviewer feel good about herself, creating a positive rapport with her. Second, it will give yo u an idea of the skills that you will need to work on to succeed. Third, it will show the interviewer that you have intellectual curiosity about this job opportunity.Further, though your goal is to build rapport with the interviewer, you should avoid being too personal. Questions about her personal life that are not immediately accessible should be off-limits.3. “Can You Identify Some Opportunities The Company Has Right Now?”Most of the questions that you ask should highlight your skills. This question will show that you are opportunistic and want to contribute to the company’s future. It will also demonstrate that you are interested in the company landscape.4. “Do You Need Me To Clarify My Qualifications?”Some items on your resume or your personal history might come off as a little obscure. If you worked as a virtual bookkeeper, for example, the interviewer might be a little confused about whether you worked from home and if you would have trouble merging into an environm ent with other people. Similarly, if your degree is in a somewhat related discipline, perhaps you can explain to the interviewer how your degree is relevant.5. “Have I Answered All of Your Questions?”evalDuring the interview, there may have been a time when you misunderstood something that the interviewer said or overlooked a careful nuance in her question. Rather than leaving that question in the air, let her know that you want to hear her feedback and provide clarification where necessary.This question will also function as a gauge for your current standing. If she says that you answered everything to her satisfaction, then you should be optimistic. If she asks for further clarification, then you have an opportunity to repair any missteps.6. “How Do My Qualities Align With The Ideal Candidate?”This direct question could exhibit confidence and a capacity to hear the hard truth. If she delivers the bad news right there, then you know that you should not use your time and ene rgy pursuing this position. On the other hand, she might give you a reason to be hopeful.7. “Where Have Previous Employees In This Position Gone?”evalThis is not an opportunity to gossip. It will provide insight into whether there is room for advancement. It will also show the interviewer that you are ambitious.8. “What Is The Company’s Management Style?”Everybody has had a manager with a few negative attributes (do not mention that during the interview). Asking about the management style will allow you to assess whether you would be compatible with this potential employer. If the managers rely heavily on negative reinforcement with scarce encouragement, it might be a sign for you to go elsewhere.Interviews can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. But if you prepare accordingly, bring a list of question and plan to clarify anything you said, you can improve your odds.

How to Prepare for Verbal and Numerical Psychometric Tests - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

How to Prepare for Verbal and Numerical Psychometric Tests With psychometric reasoning tests now an accepted part of many recruitment processes, most candidate can expect to have to complete a Verbal or Numerical Reasoning test at some point during their careers. However, if you have never needed to do this before, or if you have previously unsuccessfully completed psychometric tests, then this can be feel quite difficult. The key to successfully completing verbal or numerical psychometric tests is practice. Practicing psychometric tests has a number of advantages: It will allow you to familiarize yourself with the types of questions that are likely to be asked. This means that when you encounter similar questions in the actual test you will already know how to solve them. It will allow you to practice working at the right speed. One area where many candidates fall down is that they do not work quickly enough, this means that they do not reach the end of the test and therefore do not score highly. Completing a number of practice papers will give you a feel for roughly how long you can dedicate to each question before moving on. It will highlight any gaps in your knowledge or areas that you find particularly difficult. This is great news because it enables you to go away and revise or learn that topic. It is far better to know about development areas in advance, when you have time to do something about it, than during a high stakes test. It will familiarize you with the format of the questions and the computer interface. This means that you won’t have to waste your precious energy working out how to operate the test on the day, and you can dedicate all of your efforts to solving the problems. As a rule, the more practice tests you complete, the better your performance will be. It’s like anything else, to get better at something you need to practice! This page has useful resource that includes a useful tips and tricks for success, as well as a number of worked examples and a wide library of practice papers that you can access. Specific preparation for Numerical Reasoning Tests Numerical Reasoning tests are often particularly dreaded, especially if the candidate does not use a lot of mathematics or calculations in their day to day life. But there is nothing to worry about although you may need to do a little bit of work up front. Numerical reasoning tests typically provide you with some information, often in the form of a table or a graph and ask you to perform calculations based on this. This could be a train timetable, a sales graph, or a table showing the price of products in different currencies, for example. To be successful you need to be able to accurately perform these calculations, and you need to know how to do this without having to try and remember the methodology or work it out during the test. It needs to be fresh in your mind (and the best way to get it fresh in your mind is to practice). In particular, you will need to understand: Basic arithmetic such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Percentages, fractions and ratios, and how they relate to one another. Averages Measurement You should also make sure you are familiar with estimating, and with interpreting graphs or charts. The data may be presented to you in a variety of format including numbers, measurements, currency and time so you need to be comfortable manipulating and understanding these. Test-writers deliberately exploit some of the common mistakes that candidates make and include plausible but incorrect answers in the list of potential responses e.g. answer options might include 40, 400, 4,000 or 40,000. To avoid these errors, make sure you check that you are working with the correct unit, put your decimal places in the right place and always use the correct formula. Specific preparation for Verbal Reasoning Tests To be successful on a Verbal Reasoning Test you will need to be able to accurately read and understand a passage of text, and then answer questions about it. These questions typically require you to say whether a statement is true or false, or whether it is impossible to say, based on the information presented. This can be much harder than it sounds, but there are some simple techniques that can really help: Read the question properly. Make sure that you read and re-read the passage of information provided. Then read the question and re-read the passage in order to arrive at your answer. Lots of people get the wrong answers because they haven’t read and understood the passage properly. Make (super quick) notes of the key points if that helps you. Use only the information provided, not your own knowledge or experience. Verbal reasoning tests assume that you have no previous knowledge of the assessment topic. You must ONLY use the information provided in order to respond to the question. At times this may go against what you actually know to be true, and it can be tempting to think you must have read the question wrong. In these situations, check and double check what the passage actually says, and use only this to formulate your answer. Take your time to get to grips with the logic. It can be hard to work out what the passage means (which is the point of the exercise!) because it is written in a complicated or confusing way, and candidates sometimes get themselves tangled up in the logic. Double negatives, for example, can be tricky. For example, “if Raj can’t not go the party”, can Raj go to the party? In this instance, yes Raj can go to the party because the two negative statements i.e. can’t and not, cancel one another out. Working through a number of practice questions will enable you to get a feel for the way the information is presented and what is and is not correct. About the author: Ed Mellett is an entrepreneur, careers professional and founder of practicereasoningtests.com. He is known for co-founding and launching the leading student and graduate careers website wikijob.co.uk. Now in its 11th year, wikijob attracts over 400,000 unique users per month and is a must-visit resource for students considering their careers post-university. In 2011 he founded wikifestivals.com, a wiki resource and global community for festival fanatics. Ed’s other interests include AI, neuroscience and psychology.

3 ways to make networking fun for introverts and extroverts -

3 ways to make networking fun for introverts and extroverts - Today’s post is one of many from members of the Career Collective community I co-coordinate with my colleague Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter. This month’s question? How to overcome networking fears and make networking fun tips for introverts AND extroverts. I encourage you to visit other members’ responses, which are linked at the end of my post. Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective. I dont know very many people who love to network. (There are some, but when it comes to job hunt networking, most seem to find it onerous and difficult.) First, lets make it clear why you need to network. CareerXRoads found (and continues to find every year) that almost 27% of hires that companies make are via referrals. If you look at the big picture ways that people find their way to jobs referrals account for the majority of hires. In the bigger scheme of things, some people believe that up to 80% of jobs actually are the result of networking. This could mean someone you know letting you know about an opportunity or a Twitter friend passing along a tweet about a job. Neither of those are captured as referrals by a company that hires you, but ultimately, they are networking related hires. Theres no doubt that networking is important. But, what about introverts? Are they at a significant disadvantage in a world where its so important to connect and engage with people for career success? In an earlier blog post, I shared information from Lindsey Pollak about why shy or introverted people make great networkers. You dont need to be someone who loves working a room or sharing your life story to be good at networking, as there are innate traits anyone identifying in these groups may have. In summary, shy and introverted people ask for personal referrals, tend to be polite, are good listeners, bring a friend to networking events and leverage their on-line contacts â€" all great indicators of a successful networker! Here are tips to help make networking fun that apply to both introverts and extroverts: 1. Choose a networking venue that you enjoy. If you like talking to people in person, go to events where you will have that chance. If you like networking in your pajamas, with a laptop balanced on your knees, look to social networking. There are more opportunities than ever there for you. 2. Recognize networking applications of things you are already doing. For example, have you considered the great professional networking opportunities that can come of Facebook? I shared ideas about why Facebook is such a great tool for job seekers in a previous post. The first reason Facebook is fun! Lets face it, most people are not drawn into spending hours pouring over LinkedIn. (Although it might be useful to do so!) Facebook is about relationships. Read more about why you should consider being there for professional reasons. You may decide that you actually enjoy job search networking if youre getting it done without even realizing it. 3. Try new things. Are you using Twitter for your job search? Did you know that some people think Twitter users are more likely to get interviews? If you are not already there, learn how to   use Twitter for your job search and youll have an opportunity to try out some new networking opportunities that are different from what you may have already tried, such as Twitter chats. Twitter chats are a great way to expand your network. (Follow that link to learn more about them.) Chats such as #jobhuntchat (Monday nights at 10 pm eastern) are great places to ask questions and share experiences. If the chat goes too fast for your taste, you can always network as an observer and then reach out to respondents after the chat is done with clarifying questions. I think that chats provide opportunities for anyone who wants to reach out to a larger network to do so. What did my colleagues suggest? 5 Little Secrets About Networking, @Careersherpa Networking: Easy as 1, 2 , 3, @WorkWithIllness How to Take the Intimidation Out of Networking, @heathermundell Networking for the Shy and Introverted, @KatCareerGal A tale of two networkers, @DawnBugni Introvert or Extrovert: Tips for the Job Search No Matter Which Vert You Are, @erinkennedycprw Networking for Job Candidates Who Hate Networking, @heatherhuhman Networking? Ugh! @resumeservice Network, Network, Network, @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes Grow Your Career Networking Seeds Organically, @ValueIntoWords Networking: Its a Way of Life, @WalterAkana Social Media Networking Your Career, @GayleHoward Networking for the Networking-Phobic, @JobHuntOrg Networking: Why Who You Know Doesnt Count, @Chandlee photo by loupiote (Old Skool)