Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

I recently had the pleasure of reading an advanced copy of Relocating For An Entry Level Job: Why You Probably Have To & How To Do It by Heather Huhman (of Come Recommended). It’s a great read and it’s one of the few eBooks that I would recommend to all Entry Level Job Seekers.

Here’s a sneak preview:

On with the review…

What I liked:

1. Heather has a great, straight-forward writing style. She gets right to the point and shares information that is bound to help all Entry Level Job seekers.
2. This book has tons of information on everything from major city data, to networking tips, to how to budget for the inevitable move. This is an extremely thorough resource on a topic that is often overlooked by new grads.
3. Loved the style and branding. The professionalism shines through in everything Heather does.

Areas For Improvement:

1. At times, the first half reads less like a book and more like a detailed set of PowerPoint slides. This becomes less of an issue as you get into the later chapters.
2. Many of the statistics were from 2008 and now that we are already in 2010, I fear that the content will be dated before long.

Overall:

An excellent read from a very talented career expert. I would recommend this eBook to anyone who is looking for an Entry Level Job.

What is How To Nail An Interview?

The short answer is that it’s a site with job interview tips. The long answer is more complex.

It seems that the creator of this site, Steinar Skipsness, wanted to do an experiment to determine why people fail in interviews. So he created a fake job posting on Craigslist, rented some cheap office space, then held “real” interviews (which he recorded). The result is a collection of tips on how to excel in a job interview derived from the litany of mistakes, gaffes, and embarrassing situations he witnessed during this experiment.

In his own words:

What is it that certain people say or do while interviewing that makes them stand out? Why do some people struggle to find work, while others land a job in no time? I wanted to know, and the only way to find out was to experience the interview from the other side of the table. If I could be the one asking the interview questions, not answering, I could see first hand what made candidates stand out. I could then take that knowledge and cater my behavior in any future job interview to give myself the best chance of getting hired.

When the site first loaded up, I did what I expect many people do: skip right to the videos. However, after watching two or three, I started to think that this was scripted with actors. Apparently, it isn’t. While I find it hard to believe that people would act like this in an interview, it’s certainly possible. If so, I just hope they stop by Gradversity in the future for some good, old fashioned interview advice.

On with the review…

The Good:

• The site is simple, linear, and easy to navigate through. This seems to be a rarity these days.
• There is actually a lot of great advice on the site. There is nothing that is truly groundbreaking, but the advice is solid and worth following.
• I particularly like his advice on selling yourself in 10 seconds or less. When you are faced with a busy employer, you need to be able to cut to the chase quickly. Refining and practicing your elevator pitch will help you do this.

The Bad:

• I don’t like to see anyone being used as a public example of “bad” interview technique, even if they signed a waiver prior to being filmed (which each person apparently did before their interview). Regardless of whether they agreed to allow the video to be posted on the site, it could still come back to haunt them down the line.
• The site seems to be more about embarrassing those people who made mistakes and less about “Nailing the Interview”. Just my interpretation.

The Ugly:

• The music is downright painful to listen to. I wanted to cry each time I heard the circus tune that plays at the start of each video.
• The flirting girl. ‘Nuff said.
  

The Result:

I really like the idea for this site. However, I think that the execution is lacking. With a little more work, a tighter focus, and a less carnival-like approach to the videos, this might be less cringe-worthy.

A few weeks ago I received a note from someone named Gary asking if I would be interested in reviewing a site called TweetMyJobs. I was quite busy at the time and didn’t have much of a chance to look at it. Now that I’ve had a chance to check it out, I have many good things to say.

What is TweetMyJobs?

According to the site:

It’s a new service that brings recruiters, hiring managers and job seekers together on Twitter. We’ve set up Twitter Channels for major cities and job types, and an easy-to-use interface to subscribe to those channels. You will get instant notification of any new jobs as a text message on your cell phone.

Sounds simple enough. Let’s take a closer look.

The Good:

• The signup process was extremely simple and the site provided an easy dashboard which outlines all the features and why you should use them.

• Of all of the site’s functionality, my favorite is the Job Channels. These are broadcast accounts that send out Tweets by region and industry. This allows you to keep an eye on the jobs that are available from both perspectives. I can see myself using this when it comes time to find my next job.

• Also, the ability to create and Tweet your profile is a great feature for the job seeker. You can include information such as contact details, social networking links, salary expectations, your plain text resume and much more. I see this as being an excellent compliment to a LinkedIn profile as it will help to increase your online visibility.

• Finally, if you are an employer posting a job, it’s dirt cheap in comparison to the major job boards. A definite plus.

The Bad:

There was only one thing I didn’t like:

• You don’t actually need to sign up for the service to follow each job channel as each has its own separate Twitter account. For instance, Business/Management Jobs in Toronto can be followed by anyone, assuming you know the account name. I hope that this doesn’t cause the site to bleed users.

The Ugly:

• The Why Choose TweetMyJobs page. C’mon guys, the rest of your site looks great. Clean up this page.

The Result:

• A really great tool both for job seekers and employers. While it took some time to get used to, I can see how this would become a key element in the job search for any New Grad.

Shortly after I posted my take on Jamie Varon’s Twitter Should Hire Me site, I received a request to take a look at a similar site called 100 Reasons You Should Hire Me. While the creator (Srinivas Rao) openly admitted that he was inspired by Jamie’s success, he thought his site was worth a review. Let’s take a look:

The Goal:

The goal is pretty simple. Try to use a guerrilla marketing gimmick (similar to Jamie’s) to attract the attention of recruiters and land a job.

The Good:

Personally, I like his bravado. He seems to be the outgoing type who will do whatever it takes to get noticed. This will be an asset to his job search when competing in a tough economy. While I wouldn’t necessarily use the same techniques that he is using, if he plays his cards right, it just might work out for him.

I also like (what I perceive to be) his sense of humor. A number of his 100 reasons are laugh-out-loud funny. They include:

57. You see tremendous potential in me

79. If I were determined enough, I could probably find a way to eat at no cost for seven days a week

82. I dare to dream

94. My sister is in med school. So, if we are hanging out in a social setting, and you have some sort of near death experience, and she happens to be there, she can save your life. Hopefully, that will never be necessary

At least, I hope these are an attempt at humor.

The Bad:

One of the things that is included on his list of 100 Reasons is…

You are sick of reading boring cover letters

While I agree that this site is a unique tactic which will likely garner him more attention than the average cover letter, I don’t see any reason for someone to hire him based on this site alone. Yes, he talks about his skills and what he can bring to an organization, but he doesn’t provide any concrete details on how he will fit into the organization or how his previous track record projects future performance.

More importantly, this site lacks the one thing that a cover letter must do: explain how you will fill the need for a company. Your cover letter needs to let the employer know that you can step in and solve their problems. A targeted cover letter will accomplish this in a way that this site cannot.

Unfortunately, when I see this site, I see only a marketing gimmick and I don’t feel any connection to him at all. You need an employer to understand what you bring to the table and know that you are keenly interested in what they are doing and what they have to offer. Without these key ingredients, it becomes a publicity stunt.

The Ugly:

The Facebook profile picture of him holding a drink and wearing sunglasses. These are the types of pictures that employers look for when vetting candidates. He’s just made the process easier for them by including one on the main page.

Oh yeah, and a Twitter widget which displays Tweets like:

Few more hours till my last class ever. Zoned out in strategic management

Nothing impresses an employer like “Zoning Out”.

The Result:

Only time will tell. It appears that as I write this, he is still in school and will be pushing hard for a job in the near future. I hope he posts information about his job search on this site. I’m interested to see what happens.

Lessons Learned:

If you take anything away from this, know that publicity is a double-edged sword. Properly used and controlled, it can be a powerful tool. But a poorly executed campaign will ruin your chances.

Everyone I’ve talked to has found this site polarizing. Leave your thoughts and comments below.