Twitter as a Job Search Tool Keith Ferrazzi, Sara and Susette

Twitter as a Job Search Tool â€" Keith Ferrazzi, Sara and Susette Twitter is weird.  Yeah, weird.  I currently have 11,409 followers, and I wonder how many of those followers are spam and fake accounts. I rarely look at the home page to see what people are writing about (I used to, all the time) because its so NOISY.  Too much crap to wade through. Having said that, Ive gotten immense value out of Twitter. I put up a LinkedIn Question a few weeks ago asking: Twitter in the job search? I say: not yet. What do you think? I got some passionate replies telling me that YES, Twitter is all that, and other replies saying no way, pick up the phone instead.  Terrific responses. The irony, for those so passionate about how Twitter is the best things since sliced bread, is that Im not a Twitter hater I even did an awesome video on Twitter in the job search. I think its a terrific tool for job seekers Let me share one of the coolest stories Ive heard in a long time on how people are getting value out of Twitter (this isnt a job search story, but it is a networking story).  Its a terrific story about two ladies who really want to meet celebrity author Keith Ferrazzi in Guatemala you can read the entire story here, on Keiths blog.  Heres the short of it: Keith was in Guatemala to look at some charity opportunities (read more about Keith Ferrazzis charity work here) and let his readers/audience/fans know (Keiths Twitter account). Sara and Suzette found out and were using Keiths tweets to try and figure out where he was, hoping to run into him.  Finally, Susette tweeted to Keith asking if she could buy him a drink. Keith saw that, replied, and the rest is history!  (read his post to see how cool the dinner was) This worked because Keith was (a) on Twitter, (b) using Twitter, and (c) comfortable with Twitter.  Theres something about communicating with someone through a channel that they are comfortable with. Whats interesting is that neither Susette nor Sara have done all the right things, as far as what others are saying you have to do.  They dont have many followers, they dont have bios or websites or links so you can learn more about them they havent tweeted that much.  But they still hit grand slams just by using the tool. Not all of your target contacts are on, or use, Twitter.  However, I would check to see if they are.  Ive communicated with other untouchables through Twitter and gotten further than if I would have just sent an email. Dont discount Twitter as a networking tool.  I dont suggest you go crazy with it (my video shows you how to get value out of it whether you have a Twitter account or not), but use it like all of the other networking tools you have access to. Twitter as a Job Search Tool â€" Keith Ferrazzi, Sara and Susette Twitter is weird.  Yeah, weird.  I currently have 11,409 followers, and I wonder how many of those followers are spam and fake accounts. I rarely look at the home page to see what people are writing about (I used to, all the time) because its so NOISY.  Too much crap to wade through. Having said that, Ive gotten immense value out of Twitter. I put up a LinkedIn Question a few weeks ago asking: Twitter in the job search? I say: not yet. What do you think? I got some passionate replies telling me that YES, Twitter is all that, and other replies saying no way, pick up the phone instead.  Terrific responses. The irony, for those so passionate about how Twitter is the best things since sliced bread, is that Im not a Twitter hater I even did an awesome video on Twitter in the job search. I think its a terrific tool for job seekers Let me share one of the coolest stories Ive heard in a long time on how people are getting value out of Twitter (this isnt a job search story, but it is a networking story).  Its a terrific story about two ladies who really want to meet celebrity author Keith Ferrazzi in Guatemala you can read the entire story here, on Keiths blog.  Heres the short of it: Keith was in Guatemala to look at some charity opportunities (read more about Keith Ferrazzis charity work here) and let his readers/audience/fans know (Keiths Twitter account). Sara and Suzette found out and were using Keiths tweets to try and figure out where he was, hoping to run into him.  Finally, Susette tweeted to Keith asking if she could buy him a drink. Keith saw that, replied, and the rest is history!  (read his post to see how cool the dinner was) This worked because Keith was (a) on Twitter, (b) using Twitter, and (c) comfortable with Twitter.  Theres something about communicating with someone through a channel that they are comfortable with. Whats interesting is that neither Susette nor Sara have done all the right things, as far as what others are saying you have to do.  They dont have many followers, they dont have bios or websites or links so you can learn more about them they havent tweeted that much.  But they still hit grand slams just by using the tool. Not all of your target contacts are on, or use, Twitter.  However, I would check to see if they are.  Ive communicated with other untouchables through Twitter and gotten further than if I would have just sent an email. Dont discount Twitter as a networking tool.  I dont suggest you go crazy with it (my video shows you how to get value out of it whether you have a Twitter account or not), but use it like all of the other networking tools you have access to.

Introducing Hire - Googles New Recruiting Application

Introducing Hire - Googles New Recruiting Application As competition for people continues to grow, attracting and retaining the cream of the crop talent has become everything to employers and recruiters. Your businesses depend on the best talent to drive it to its full capability. A few weeks back at the Google I/O conference the company formally announced its AI-based job search engine ‘Google for Jobs’. Now, Google have just come out with a new tool specially designed to help small to medium-sized businesses recruit future talent. It’s simply called Hire and it makes it easy for recruiters to identify talent, build strong candidate relationships and efficiently manage the interview process from the beginning to the end. If youre like me, and more than 3 million other businesses globally, you probably use the Google Suite (G Suite) for a wide plethora of things like Google Docs, Google Calendar and more. Google Hire integrates seamlessly into the G Suite, and is designed to make your hire process much more fruitful than it has ever been. For example, as an employer you could communicate with potential candidates in either Gmail or Hire, and your emails will sync automatically in both of them. You could schedule interviews in Hire with visibility into an interviewers schedule from Calendar with important information stored such as the candidates contact details, the full interview schedule and what key topics each interviewer should focus on. Instead of wasting time and creating a separate document with notes and details that might come up at specific stages of the interview, the Hire tool simply stores all your notes in one place and syncs everything together. As an employer, recruiter, or whoever you might be, you might have been using Taleo, LinkedIn, Indeed, Jobvite and more to do all of this. Well now you have Hire too, and it will definitely provide serious competition to those I’ve just listed. Google have, in conjunction with their announcement, said: Hire addresses the needs of our G Suite customersâ€"making it easier to hire the right people.” Everything is one place and the G Suite now looks even more enticing than it ever has been to businesses. It’s an integration that truly makes sense, and one that was long overdue in my opinion. Here is a short video explaining how Hire with G Suite might make your scheduling process easier: Speaking with James Lloyd-Townshend, CEO at  Frank Recruitment Group, and he said that: Google is creating tools to help job seekers and now employers throughout the recruitment process and it’s great that small but growing organisations have these tools at their disposal. Even with these, recruitment can still take a lot of time and energy, which is why recruitment services such as those provided by Frank Recruitment Group will continue to exist. Hire is designed specifically for businesses with under 1,000 employees, of which we work with many. Ultimately, if it benefits the clients we work with, that’s got to be a positive thing. Furthermore, Lisa Jones, the Director of Barclay Jones  said: One of Google Hires concepts is to connect and nurture silver medal talent to use them to either get to placement down the line, or for referrals to their friends. This is what agency recruiters should already be doing to keep their market share. Im interested to see how the agency market reacts to this. Currently Hire is only available to United States based G Suite customers which have under 1,000 employees. However, if you’re not sure if the service is right for your company or you want to test out the product then you can request a request a demo by clicking on this link. With Hire, and Google for Jobs, Google have formally staked their place within both the employee and employer side of the recruitment industry.  Let us know what you think about Google Hire, and whether or not you will be using it when it comes out internationally!

Cleanse, Tone, Moisturize 3 Ways to Clean Up The Google Version of You - Classy Career Girl

Cleanse, Tone, Moisturize 3 Ways to Clean Up The Google Version of You A comprehensive online presence is essential, regardless of where you are in your career. When someone comes across one of your online profiles, they should be able to see who you are, what you can do and what you have to offer. When you want to find out what time the next movie is showing or how old Goldie Hawn will be on her upcoming birthday, you ask Google. The same is true when you meet new people at networking events, apply for a job or receive a LinkedIn connection request â€" you turn to Google to find out more about them. When people Google your name, you want your well-crafted LinkedIn profile to pop up near the top of the search results. With your personal website or portfolio rounding out those top positions, but what if, instead, they are greeted with your old Myspace page or some questionable photos from your college days? How can you erase your past and put your best career foot forward? Regardless, of whether you are currently looking for a new job or your next client, it is important to perfect your personal brand online. Here are three steps you should take today to clean up the Google version of you. Cleanse, Tone, Moisturize: 3 Ways to Clean Up The Google Version of You 1. Cleanse Review all of your publicly visible profiles and delete anything potentially offensive. Things that seemed like a good idea in your teens and college years may not show you in the best light to potential employers or clients. Beyond being embarrassing, some posts can have more serious consequences. When it comes to old profiles from your teens that you no longer use, like Myspace or Bebo, this may be the perfect time for a spring clean. Save any pictures you want to keep and then delete the account entirely. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Also, take this time to review your privacy settings so you know who your audience is. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram all have privacy settings that allow you to control who sees what you share. Be aware though, having these privacy settings in place does not give you carte blanche to share whatever you want â€" nothing on the internet is truly private. [RELATED: How to Avoid Social Networking Mistakes] 2. Tone Now that you’ve removed the dead weight, it’s time to make sure there is consistency across your online profiles. If you’re a Digital Marketing Ninja on LinkedIn but a Freelance Cake Maker on Twitter, it can cause some confusion. Brian Schepp, co-author of How to Find a Job On LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ cautions that people don’t just check you on one profile, like LinkedIn: “the story you tell on each site should be pretty much the same, although it’s fine to adapt the material for the site.” Look for some more relevant social or business networks you could join to build up your online profile. Are there groups specific to your industry? Are there business networks in your local area? Even consider sites like Fiverr where you could create a compelling profile and work on your side hustle. 3. Moisturize So, you’ve deleted anything you don’t want to be public and found a couple of super relevant networks to join, now what? Do you want to show off the charitable side of your personality or emphasize your awesome coding skills? Now is your chance to shout about your talents and curate your own content. Your social media profiles all represent opportunities to showcase your knowledge and become a valued member of a professional community. Regardless of whether you want to build a traditional career or follow a unique career path, “LinkedIn is the main channel you should be focusing your energy on” advises Jennifer Bartley, Social Media and Communications Manager at Washington Frank. Bartley shared some good advice that you could put into practice across all of your channels: “Make sure you check your spelling and grammar before hitting send to make sure you are presenting your best self and don’t forget to promote valuable content from other people too.” Next Steps Whatever stage in your career you are, it is important to create a well-rounded online presence so whoever comes across your profile on any social network, business network or website can get a clear idea of who you are, what you can do and what you have to offer. It may be tempting to bury your head in the sand but it is better to know what would come up when a potential employer, client or business partner Googles your name. So go ahead and type your name into that search box and have a scroll through the results.

Telling Good Stories Can Win You the Job! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Telling Good Stories Can Win You the Job! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Looking for a workable approach that can effectively set you far apart from other candidates who are vying for the same positions as you and help you become the candidate of choice? Crafting and effectively telling good stories that visually illustrate what is unique, professionally, about you can accomplish precisely that! Why? Because most other candidates will not take this approach. As a matter of fact, most won’t even think about taking it. Whether the result of anxiety, nervousness or simply a case of being ill-prepared (or unprepared) the typical candidate tends to take a ho-hum, “just the facts, Ma’am” approach to answering a hiring manager’s questions during most job interviews. Not only does this approach brand the candidate as boring, boring, boring, it can also prove to be a sure-fire route to the nearest exit. After all, who wants to hire a bore?! Savvy candidates tell stories when appropriate (and as long as they are kept relatively brief) that illustrate and highlight their skills and accomplishments when answering a hiring manager’s questions. Let me illustrate my point here by telling you a story. Our executive recruiting firm, The Hire to Win Group, was coaching a candidate we wanted to present to one of our hiring company clients. The candidate was in industrial sales and one of his significant recent accomplishments was that he had registered a phenomenal sales increase of $800,000 the previous year. Now that was something we were excited about. It was also something we knew the hiring company certainly would be interested in learning more about! How did you accomplish that? we asked the candidate. “It was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time,” he said. “I made the sales call and the company told me they weren’t happy with their current supplier. They asked me to write up a proposal, which I did, of course, and I got the business.” Certainly not a very exciting or worthwhile story for the candidate to relate during a job interview. Why? Because his accomplishment appeared to be based upon nothing more than mere luck, which of course is not able to be replicated time after time. But, as is so often the case, that was hardly the end of this story. After some ‘Digging’ . . . After some digging and further questioning, we learned that the candidate was definitely selling himself short and leaving out quite a few vital details regarding his recent sales accomplishment. Here is what we learned: Since his new client company was in his target market, the candidate had actually been consistently calling on the company for the past three years! And even though he kept getting a “no” each time he contacted the company, he stuck with it. (Shows persistence and resilience.) Because he kept getting shut out time after time, he said he was constantly having to come up with new reasons to revisit the company and try to earn the business. (Shows persistence, resilience and creativity!) Each time the candidate visited the company, like any good salesperson, he said he also asked lots of questions, constantly probing to learn more about the company’s needs, desires and expectations. Soon he learned of the company’s growing dissatisfaction with its current supplier because late deliveries from the supplier were increasingly making the company late on delivering to its customers. With that bit of knowledge, the candidate said he was then able to develop what he believed was a very workable plan to win the company’s business. (Shows persistence, resilience, creativity and good planning skills!) “The plan I put together illustrated how our company’s ‘just in time’ inventory management system could virtually eliminate the problem of late deliveries,” he said. “That sealed the deal.” So, as it turned out, it was not really a matter of the candidate being in “the right place at the right time.” Actually, it was a matter of his being able to win a lucrative new sales contract because of his persistence, resilience, creativity and ability to plan a strategy that ultimately won him (and his company) the new business! Once we showed the candidate how to put together the elements of the true story of how he was able to register such a significant sales increase during the previous year, he was then readyâ€"and ableâ€"to tell that story during the job interview and ultimately win the position! What is Your Story? Do you have a story (or stories) you can effectively (and briefly) relate when you go in to your next job interview? Will you be able not only to tell a hiring manager about your various accomplishments and achievements but also to make her actually see them? Sure you do, because, despite what most of us tend to think and believe, rarely does anything significant happen overnight. Usually it takes many, many “nights” to become “an overnight sensation.” Before going in to your next job interview, take the time to analyze the individual elements and events that went into your significant career achievements and accomplishments. Then, craft a brief story to illustrate and highlight these achievements and accomplishments, as well as showcase the professional attributes and skill sets you can offer the hiring company. Just doing that, alone, will make you stand out from the vast majority of other candidates vying for the same positions as you. They will continue to trudge along, interview after interview, responding to a hiring manager’s questions with monosyllabic answers (“yes,” “no”), answers that obfuscate rather than illustrate, answers that simply will be boring, boring, boring. _______________________________ Be sure to check out  Career Stalled?,  Skip’s latest book in the “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets Series of Career Development Management Publications. You can order your copy TODAY by clicking on this link:  Career Stalled? How to Get Your Career Back in HIGH Gear and Land the Job You Deserveâ€"Your DREAM Job!  Available now in both paperback and Kindle editions, at special introductory pricing, on Amazon.com.

How To Write a Resume That Delivers Advantage

How To Write a Resume That Delivers AdvantageIf you are involved in the writing fraternity, you will be aware of the benefits of a resume. The writing fraternity is primarily interested in information and what it contains, how much it contains and how easy or difficult it is to read. You should try and look for what the job vacancies have to say about the author and the subject matter of the CV.For example, you can take a look at the resume of a candidate for an IT job. If he or she has a long list of qualifications, he or she will obviously be preferred. What makes this kind of resume really stand out is if the CV says that the person does not have one qualification above the rest. This way, you can deduce that the person is untrained or even has not got an education and will be looking for a job based on personal qualities.In the end, these are the things you should consider when writing an application form to work as a resume. These are the little advantages that the writer gets w ith their CV.In fact, the writer is granted some extra opportunities through CV writing as compared to the CV of another person. The CV usually says nothing about why the person is in need of a job and the employer. It is to the advantage of the CV writer to give away information about their skills and education level.An example might be that the person is looking for a job because of their increased knowledge. In fact, they can also go one step further and say that they are the best of the best and that they have the skill set to deal with all the various challenges that a company may present.There are many people who simply do not have the skills to deal with situations in such a manner and hence will look for a job based on personal qualities alone. For instance, the person might be perfect for a job as a research assistant, but not so good at negotiating or at decision making.It is imperative that the resume that the CV writer uses does not contain any information that is contra dicting to the facts. In fact, the CV needs to be written in such a way that it looks as if it is written by someone who has all the information available.In addition, there is one more thing that will help to decide who the best candidate for a job is for a particular person. This is that if the CV gives information about the experiences of the person that are different from those of the person in general, then this indicates that the person has special skills and is suitable for the post. This is the reason why most resumes will contain information about one's abilities and strengths.

Hiring Opportunities for the 2010 Holiday Season - Hire Imaging

Hiring Opportunities for the 2010 Holiday Season - Hire Imaging Photo by Kevin Dooley Wanted: Reindeer, must fly Flying reindeer wanted Position involves transportation of both physical and human assets. Applicant must have current pilots license, and must have antlers no less than 2 meters in span. No red nosers need apply. Good pay, seasonal work, and liberal benefits. Apply to iwanttobeonsantasreindeerteam dot com. (from Kevin Dooley, Flickr) I’ve spoken with many people who are seeking seasonal employmentâ€"either because they are unemployed or just hoping to earn some extra income over the holidays. The good news is that companies are hiring. The not-so-new-news is that the economy is still rough; competition will be fierce. With October’s arrival, it’s the perfect time to pursue   seasonal employment; waiting till November or December may find you scrambling to find the best fit. The outplacement firm, Challenger, Gray Christmas estimates that between 500,000 and 600,000 seasonal retail jobs will be created this year, which is up from last year. Tory Johnson, CEO of Women For Hire and Good Morning America’s Workplace Contributor, says that some of the giant retailers are hiring. Here are a few and their seasonal hiring predictions: JC Penney will add 30,000 holiday jobs, beginning in mid-October through the shopping season. ToysRUs will add 45,000 jobs, including 10,000 for their 600 new pop-up express sites. Macy’s plans to add 65,000 seasonal jobs. Things Remembered will hire about 3,000 part-time seasonal workers for its personalized gift retail operations. Wal-Mart doesn’t give out specific numbers, but says it will hire about the same number of holiday employees as it did last year. Johnson’s advice is to walk through your local mall or shopping areas. Many opportunities exist where there are no advertised openings. Do a bit of cold-calling; ask! Be ready to fill out an application, and follow up on your status. She also advises being flexible for days/times you’re willing to work. She says it’s a good idea to double up, because most seasonal jobs pay minimum wage to $12 an hour (average), with part-time hours most likely. To optimize your income, you may want to juggle more than one seasonal position. Perhaps you’re not thrilled about working retail. Johnson says that there are home-based seasonal work opportunities with reputable companies as well. They range from gift advisors to sales, customer service, technical support and collections. Here are some: Alpine Access (750 seasonal openings) VIPdesk (600 seasonal representatives) Convergys (800 seasonal gift advisors) Arise (6,000 seasonal agents) Johnson warns that you should research these jobs. Each company varies in training, and employees versus contractors or incorporated agencies. She says to visit their websites for details on technical requirements (computer, Internet access and phones, etc.) as well as sought-after skill sets. She also cautions that you may have to reapply for seasonal-versus-full-time openings. Other potential opportunities include shipping and security services, as well as sitter servicesâ€"all which increase in demand during the holidays. Allied Barton will add about 1,000 security guards for the holidays. UPS plans to add 50,000 national hires (driver helpers, package handlers, etc.). FedEx has not revealed numbers, but would be a logical bet for ramped-up staffing needs. Care.com and SitterCity.com are two trusted caregiver sites cited by Johnson. Here’s the link to the Good Morning America’s segment with Tory Johnson, and a more complete listing of opportunities and related advice. Companies are hiring for the holiday season! Do your homework, get out in person where you can, be prepared with résumés and ready to complete applications, be flexible and get a jump on the competition!

How Google became such a great workplace - its all in the data - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

How Google became such a great workplace - its all in the data - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Weve all seen how Google keeps coming out on top of the lists of the best US workplaces. I went to the Googleplex in Mountainview myself in 2011 to see if they really were that happy and they most certainly were. But why is that? This fascinating article in Slate give us part of the answer. From the article: A few years ago, Google?s human resources department noticed a problem: A lot of women were leaving the company Google monitors its employees? well-being to a degree that can seem absurd to those who work outside Mountain View. The attrition rate among women suggested there might be something amiss in the company?s happiness machine. And if there?s any sign that joy among Googlers is on the wane, it?s the Google HR department?s mission to figure out why and how to fix it. Google calls its HR department People Operations, though most people in the firm shorten it to POPS. Every company has an HR department who would be tasked with solving problems like this. Heres where Google is different: when POPS looked into Google?s woman problem, it found it was really a new mother problem: Women who had recently given birth were leaving at twice Google?s average departure rate. At the time, Google offered an industry-standard maternity leave plan. After a woman gave birth, she got 12 weeks of paid time off. So in 2007, they changed the plan. New mothers would now get five months off at full pay and full benefits, and they were allowed to split up that time however they wished, including taking some of that time off just before their due date. And it worked: POPS rigorously monitors a slew of data about how employees respond to benefits, and it rarely throws money away. The five-month maternity leave plan, for instance, was a winner for the company. After it went into place, Google?s attrition rate for new mothers dropped down to the average rate for the rest of the firm. ?A 50 percent reduction?it was enormous!? Bock says. What?s more, happiness?as measured by Googlegeist, a lengthy annual survey of employees?rose as well. Whats radically different at Google is the data-driven approach they employ. Instead of making HR decisions by gut feel, they gather the data they need to find the right decision: At the heart of POPS is a sophisticated employee-data tracking program, an effort to gain empirical certainty about every aspect of Google?s workers? lives?not just the right level of pay and benefits but also such trivial-sounding details as the optimal size and shape of the cafeteria tables and the length of the lunch lines. Read the whole article there are many other great points in it. Heres just one more way theyve done it: Another major POPS finding concerned how to give an employee more money. In 2010, then-CEO Eric Schmidt decided to give all Googlers a raise. It was the job of POPS to determine the best way to offer that increase. The group ran a ?conjoint survey? in which it asked employees to choose the best among many competing pay options. For instance, would you rather have $1,000 more in salary or $2,000 as a bonus? ?What we found was that they valued base pay above all. When we offered a bonus of X, they valued that at what it costs us. But if you give someone a dollar in base pay, they value it at more than a dollar because of the long-term certainty.? In the fall of 2010, Schmidt announced that all Google employees would get a 10 percent salary increase. Googlers were overjoyed?many people cite that announcement as their single happiest moment at the firm, and Googlegeist numbers that year went through the roof. Attrition to competing companies also declined. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related