Posts Tagged ‘Guest Post’

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.

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

In this article, I wanted to touch upon some important points, which can help your entire performance review process go much smoother.

1) Start the process properly – Be clear on your objectives

When you join a new job, or at the start of the review cycle, it is essential to have a very clear understanding of what your job objectives/goals are. The main idea is to leave as little ambiguity as possible. Have a look at the official document which has your objectives and talk with your manger to make sure both of you are on the same page. As far as possible, keep the objectives specific, achievable and measurable – request to make changes to the document accordingly. In addition to knowing what is needed to meet expectation/objectives, it is also a good idea to ask your manager what you would need to do, in order to exceed the expectations and receive an outstanding review at the end of the year

2) Take stock often

Don’t wait till the end of the year to find out how you have done. Meet with your manger every 3 months or so, ask how you are doing and whether you are on track to getting the outstanding review you aim for. This way you can make corrections and change course along the way and ensure that your manager is on-board. In a way you are also preparing your manager for giving you a good review

3) Ask for what you deserve

At the end of the year, assuming you have met/exceeded the performance criteria, make sure that you get what you deserve in terms of final performance rating, promotion, salary increase, more responsibility and so on.

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 Free Resume Builder courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

Every successful person plans his future. The plan organizes each day of your life and leads you in the necessary direction. To succeed in your career you need to think where you are and where you want to be. Follow the tips below to make your own successful career plan.

Think of your goal
You need to have a clear long-term goal of how you want your life to look in the future. To set a goal you’ll need to analyze your abilities and preferences. Keeping this goal in mind will affect everything: your hobbies, your interests, what you watch and read and people you are attracted. Your final goal should consist of smaller goals and objectives. For example, your goal is to reach a higher position in corporate life, then the smaller goals will include:

• appropriate technical and communicative skills
• profound knowledge in a certain area
• a network of necessary and helpful contacts
• certain vocabulary, dress and demeanor

Effective strategies
To achieve your goals you’ll need to look realistically at it and work out effective strategies. An effective strategy is one that satisfies more than one of your goals. For example, you can take a certain professional training course which will both provide necessary knowledge in your field and help improve communicative skills and form useful connections. To develop an effective strategy can take time but it will do you good and save your efforts.

Action plans
Within each strategy work out an action plan. For example, if one of your strategies for acquiring necessary knowledge in the field and developing interpersonal skills is training, you’ll need action steps to support that strategy. These steps can be searching for various institutions that specialize in what you need, deciding which time and classes will fit you best. It’s very important to write down your plan because written plans work much better.

Set dates
Look at your plan and set dates for fulfilling those tasks that are under your control. For example, you can easily set a date by which you should find an institution to get your training. But there can also be some areas which aren’t under your control and depend on other people and where you won’t be able to set fixed dates.

How much time to spend
To have progress in achieving your goals you should spend enough time on it. According to Kate Wendleton if you are working full-time at a job you should spend 15 hours a week. If it is only a few hours a week you’ll see that there is no progress at all. You’ll also need to ensure that you are doing the right things during those 15 hours and getting the most from that time.

With the end in mind
According to Stephen R. Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, to “begin with the end in mind” is to begin today with the picture of the end of your life as the criterion by which everything else is examined.

Be open and flexible
In real life everything won’t go strictly according to your plan that’s why try to consider new opportunities as they come across.

Keep up-to-date
We live in a fast-changing world and in order to succeed in your career you should clearly understand where your industry is headed. Keep up with the latest news of your industry through networking, specific publications and journals that will enable you to plan your career in the right direction.

Planning your career is like planning a business: clear and well-thought-out strategies will lead you to success. Use our tips to develop your own successful plan and let each day get you closer to your goal.

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 CareerAlley courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

“It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.” – Sun Tzu

Not that I’m suggesting that headhunters are enemy agents, but you do need to “recruit” them and have them work for you. Today’s post is the first in the series for the Recruiters/Headhunters “Revisited”. So what can I say about headhunters? According to Wikipedia, a headhunter is – “A recruiter is someone engaging in recruitment, which is the solicitation of individuals to fill jobs or positions within any group, such as a corporation or sports team.” Make them part of your team, give them everything they need to help market you and get a job for you.

Executive Recruiters are typically recruiters that specialize in high-end job searches usually by retainer (paid up front for the job search, rather than after the individual is hired). Headhunters or recruiters tend to work off of commission once they’ve successfully filled a job.

• Korn/Ferry – A global executive recruiter. They have numerous offices across the US and have offices in quite a few international locations as well. You can register with their site, search their site for current opportunities (and apply) or contact a consultant.

• Russell Reynolds Associates – Russell Reynolds is also a global executive recruiter. Unlike Korn/Ferry, you can not search their site directly for current opportunities, but you can find a consultant and send your resume.

• Spencer Stuart – Another global executive recruiter. Similar to Korn/Ferry, you can register on the site as well as send your resume. There does not seem to be an option to search for current opportunities.

• Hitechrecruiters.net – This recruiter specializes in sales and marketing personnel for computer hardware and software. This recruiter offers a few support services (like resume review) as well. The site does not allow direct registration, but you can forward your resume via email (the registration page is under construction).

• Guru.com – This site matches software programmers with companies that are looking for programmers. Both the “employer” ”freelancer” sections seem to be very well designed. For those individuals who are programmers and would like to become an independent contractor (or already are a contractor), this site seems to be an excellent resource.

• Hcrnetwork.com – Health Care Recruiters International is a recruiter that is dedicated to the health care industry. The site has a section where job seekers can search current openings as well as registering with the site. They have quite a few offices across the US (not sure where the “international” comes in, I did not see any locations outside of the US).

• Wallstjobs.com – You guessed it, a financial services recruiter. This website looks more like a job search site than a recruiter site (but it does appear to do both). The site provides job search, registration for your resume as well as career services (resumes, interview skills, etc.). There is an “ask a recruiter” section for questions as well as some articles. Definitely worth a look, likely to be a popular site given the current environment.

Good luck in your search.

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.

I often hear this comment from people – “I’ve been through many interviews and therefore am am quite good at them”. Practice make perfect, right?

In this case – not really.

It is important to realize a few things:

• In my experience, majority of people are not really aware of best-practices for a giving great interview. So having gone through many interview situations doesn’t really help because you’ve been practicing all the wrong things
• You should never just show-up for an interview, thinking that if you meet the requirements of the job, you will be selected
• It is not always the best and most qualified candidate who is selected. How well you handle the interview also plays a big role
• You can have a significant influence on how well your interview goes. There are many ways in which you can improve your interviewing skills, thereby increasing the chance of getting hired
• Techniques that interviewers use to conduct an interview keep changing and you should be aware of current trends so that you can prepare accordingly
• There are many resources (both free and paid) to help you get up-to-speed with interview techniques and to help you prepare/practice accordingly

So no matter how many interviews you’ve been through or how many years of work experience you have, I think your base assumption should be – “If I am about to look for a job, I need a lot of preparation/practice for upcoming interviews.” This way you have nothing to lose (other than being really well prepared for your next interview of course).

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.