Archive for the ‘Guest Posts’ Category

The following is a guest post from Jessica Holbrook courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

Aside from the basic rules of engagement LinkedIn has established, here are a few other courtesies to remember while making the most of your LinkedIn experience. Follow these points and you’ll be sure to get the most out of LinkedIn—and you’ll avoid aggravating other users in the process. Here are four mistakes to avoid while using LinkedIn:

BLINDLY REQUESTING CONNECTIONS WITH NO MUTUAL BENEFIT

On Facebook you can request new friendships with anybody at all. It’s a social network of friends, and if you want to be friends you simply make a request. With LinkedIn you’re making a ‘connection’ that will hopefully create a mutually beneficial networking opportunity later on down the line. Be strategic when deciding with whom you will connect, and explain to the person why you want to connect; what’s in it for them—and what’s it in for you? Don’t request to connect with just anyone at all; understandably, people will want to know why you are requesting the opportunity to connect. So provide a brief sentence or two explaining what you think a mutual connection can bring to both parties.

NOT BEING TRUTHFUL ABOUT WHY YOU WANT TO CONNECT

If it’s being brought up, it’s because people have done it. Others have complained about it. It’s hard sometimes to establish a connection with someone when LinkedIn only allows you certain ways to request connections. That being said, you should still be truthful in why you want to connect. If the purpose of networking is to create mutual connections that may help either party in the future, do you really want to start that connection with mistrust or deceit? The most frequent use of this is presenting yourself as a ‘friend’ of someone or ‘colleague at XYZ organization’ when you really are not. It’s not going to get you the connection, and in the end you’re going to be perceived as being dishonest—and who wants to connect or potentially help someone who isn’t honest?

PROFILE CONTENT IS NOT A REPRODUCTION OF YOUR RESUME

This mistake is so well ingrained in users that you’re now probably experiencing some disbelief. Don’t just copy and paste your resume into your LinkedIn profile. Here’s why: When you network with someone in person do you give them a word-for-word rundown from your resume of what you’ve done? No, you personalize the conversation and speak in the first person. It is a more casual conversation—not as formal as your resume. Your profile should be keyword-rich so that recruiters can find you if they’re performing a search, but it should also be authentic and sincere, as though you’re talking to the person about what you’ve accomplished.

KEYWORDS ARE NOT JUST FOR RESUMES

Recruiters and hiring managers are performing searches on LinkedIn for qualified candidates, and you want to be found. Why else would you be there? Seriously, make sure your LinkedIn profile is peppered with industry-specific keywords relevant to the target position you want. It should be called LISO (LinkedIn Search Optimization)—like SEO—but for LinkedIn. Keywords = Being Discovered = Interview = New Job. Get keywords now.

To recap: Be sure you are honest, strategic, and explanatory in your LinkedIn connection requests; your profile isn’t just a copy of your resume; and that your profile is keyword-rich so people can find you! These four key tips will make the most of your LinkedIn experience and keep you ahead of the game.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

The following is a guest post from Sandbox Advisors courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

Looking for a job and want to get more interviews? A good and well written cover letter can help.

Here are a few quick points to help improve your cover letters:

• Be specific: There is nothing more putting-off than a generic cover letter, which is used to apply to all positions. Put in the time/effort to make your cover letter as relevant/specific for the job you are applying to. It will be noticed and I can assure you that it is a breath of fresh air for a recruiter

• Use a good headline: The headline needs to catch the recruiter’s attention. Stay clear of the usual/boring/much-overused headlines such as – “Telecom Engineer – Resume Attached” or “CV Client Service Representative, 5.2 years experience”. How about something like “Award Winning Client Service Professional, Interested in Account Manager position”

• Highlight relevant experience/achievements: You need to know what the requirements for the position are and mention relevant experience – “Handled maximum number of MNC client accounts amongst peers and increased client satisfaction by X%”

• State what you want: Especially if you are sending in a general application (i.e. not for a specific/advertised post), make sure you tell the person what you want. Is it an interview with that person, forwarding your application to the relevant people, a phone call to discuss further and so on.

So spend some time behind your cover letters and you should see the results soon.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

The following is a guest post from Lorraine Russo courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

From the New York Times

The reason I am posting excerpts from this article is that I hope you will be as inspired as I was. If you feel stalled in your job search and feel like your options are dwindling, please give this article a read. As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

At the Ballard Farmers’ Market in Seattle on a recent weekend, passers-by could be forgiven for thinking John Morefield was running for political office. Smiling, waving and calling out hellos to everyone who walked by his stand, he was the picture of friendliness. All he needed was campaign buttons and fliers. He was seated at a homemade wooden stand under a sign reading “Architecture 5¢,” with a tin can nearby awaiting spare change. For a nickel, he would answer any architectural question. He received so many commissions — to build a two-story addition, a deck, a master bedroom — that he realized he could make plenty of money working for himself.

Mr. Morefield’s website is here.

When Natasha Case, 26, lost her job as a designer at Walt Disney Imagineering about a year ago, she and her friend Freya Estreller, 27, a real estate developer, started a business selling Ms. Case’s homemade ice cream sandwiches in Los Angeles. Named for architects like Frank Gehry (the strawberry ice cream and sugar cookie Frank Behry) and Mies van der Rohe (the vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate chip cookie Mies Vanilla Rohe), they were an immediate hit.

Readers, what are your favorite concoctions?? Perhaps you can become an ice cream entrepreneur too!

…When Debi van Zyl, 33, was laid off by a small residential design firm in Los Angeles in May, she decided to do freelance design work for as long as she could, and she picked up jobs doing exhibition design for the Getty and Huntington museums. In her spare time, to relax, she started knitting what she describes as “kooky” stuffed animals like octopuses and jellyfish. Then, at the urging of the readers of her blog, she began selling them on Etsy. Les Petites Bêtes Sauvages, as she calls them, have helped her pay the rent and other bills for the last few months.

Readers, if given the opportunity, what kind of business would you start? What hobby or other passion would create the foundation for your business?

(You can read the article in its entirety here.)

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

The following is a guest post from Lorraine Russo courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

With unemployment at its highest rate in decades, there are now six candidates for every opening. As a result, it has become more difficult just to get potential employers to give you or your resume a second look, because the volume of applicants for each opening simply overwhelms a company’s recruiting staff and the technology that supports them.

We’ve talked before about the importance of a well-written resume and how it must be tweaked each time based on a particular job’s duties and skill / knowledge requirements.

We’ve also discussed at great length the topic of interview preparation. Role-playing, refining your answers, and a robust understanding of what a company does (and how you might fit in) are absolutely essential.

So let’s assume you have done all the right things and your excellent resume has garnered you a coveted prize: AN INTERVIEW.

Again, you’re ready. You’ve researched the company and learned everything there is to know about how your skills and knowledge will be an asset. You’ve role-played, chosen a top-notch outfit to wear, and you’re good to go…right??

Well…almost.

Let’s pretend you’re about to interview for a sales position. It goes without saying that the hiring manager will be asking about things like your sales goals, actual sales, pipeline, etc. Easy-peasy, you simply give them numbers and they either like them or not. Most likely, you’ll also talk about how you develop and maintain business/sales relationships and other sales-related stuff. If they like your answers—and like you—chances are good you’ll get hired.

But what if you’re not in sales? How do you “show” a hiring manager what you can do? It’s once thing to “say” you’re a great writer, a top-notch recruiter, or the best widget maker, but how do you show them what you’ve done and how you will benefit a new employer? For sales people, it comes down to revenue: how much business can you bring in? Will you add to our bottom line?

For other job seekers, it may not be so easy. While writers bring writing samples and recruiters bring staffing goals and time-to-hire numbers, it may not be enough. While samples are nice, hiring managers are thinking: “How else can I figure out what this person is all about?”

If they don’t know how to figure you out, you need to show them. Keep in mind that many interviewers really don’t know how to properly conduct interviews, so you must lead them by “managing” the conversation. This is done, in part, through what I call the “I Am Great” folder, which you bring with you on the interview and go to when you respond to a question by saying, “In fact, let me show you what I mean.”

What I’m saying is that for nearly every anticipated question that may come up during an interview, you have a sample that SHOWS the interviewer what you’ve done.

Let’s say the hiring manager asks this question: “How do you feel about writing about brain surgery instead of spontaneous combustion?”

(Now, with a question like this, it is inferred that you may not have the exact skills they’re looking for.)

You respond in this manner: “While I’ve written about spontaneous combustion for a few years now, I like the idea of transitioning to a new topic. IN FACT, here (envision yourself handing the hiring manager a page from your I Am Great File) is a thank-you email I received from a manager I helped out in another division. They needed someone to quickly jump in to write about xxxx, and I was able to complete it in half the time, even though I had not previously done this type of work before.”

Ok, a bit long-winded, but my point is this: it’s one thing to SAY you are flexible and can quickly learn new things. It’s quite another to SHOW an interviewer what you’ve done to back up your claims.

Give some thought to what you’ll place in your I Am Great file. Mine always included writing samples, but I also made sure to include copies of performance appraisals (to show what my previous managers thought of me), any proof of going above and beyond my position, or emails attesting to my absolute greatness.

While lots of folks talk a good game, it’s imperative that, as a job seeker, you learn to how brag a bit (and feel comfortable doing it). You need to find ways to convince employers to hire you by showing them what you’ve done for past employers and how you can do the same for them.

So what will YOU put in your I Am Great folder???

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.