100 Fastest Growing Tech Companies...and guess what? They're hiring.

If your'e a techie and looking for work with a fast growing company check out Business 2.0's new ranking of the fastest growing tech firms around the country. Last year they hired over 70,000 people and show no signs of slowing down this year. You can even sort the list according to job growth.

Here's what Ask Annie has to say about this years IT job market.

Avoiding the Resume Blackhole

This excerpt from an article I read illustrates just how difficult it is to have your resume seen when applying on one of those online applicant tracking systems that Fortune 500 companies typically use. The results may shock you.

"Big companies receive thousands of applications and so often use a computer tracking system to sort applicants by skill. To catch the computer's eye, you need to tailor your resume to the keyword searches these systems use. ``Sending a resume to a big company's website is like sending your resume into a black hole," says John Sullivan , human resources consultant and professor of management at San Francisco State University.

Sullivan tells of a study where researchers took a job opening and wrote 100 perfect resumes for that opening. Then the researchers added 10 percent more information to the resumes. Of those resumes, only 12 percent were picked up by the tracking system as qualified. This means that even if you are the perfect candidate, if you submit your resume blindly to a large company, there is almost a 90 percent chance that no human will ever see your resume. But you can increase your chances by knowing how to use keywords in your resume.

``Recruiters locate individuals based on a certain skill set of the job they are looking to fill," says recruiting adviser Matt Millunchick .

So try to imagine how someone else would use a search box to find you, and be very specific about your skills. These rules also remain true if you post your resume to an online database . The mass of resumes on job sites is so unruly that human resource staff are paying people in India $20 an hour to sort through resumes to find the good ones, according to David Hanley, the owner of recruit'n, an online recruiting service. So, even in this case, keywords are your best friend."

More Companies Confirming Resume Data

Experts Say Job Seekers Not Always Truthful An increasing number of companies have consulted agencies that catch lies on resumes before a job seeker's hiring. NBC News reported the agencies, like American Data Bank, check former employment, dates, education and degrees -- everything that's on a resume.

"We've actually contacted previous employers where (job seekers) said they were a marketing director and the employer said, 'No, this individual was actually a janitor,'" said David Bradley, operations manager at American Data Bank. (WBAL)

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Enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend folks, I'll be back with more next tuesday.

A Most Unusual Job Interview

Now here's an interview story I just have to laugh at.

Guy Goma, a graduate from the Congo, showed up for an interview at the BBC Television Centre in London and was indeed interviewed--on air. Goma, who was applying for a data support cleanser job, suddenly found himself in the studio being asked questions about the Apple vs. Apple court case. It turns out Goma was the wrong "Guy." The BBC meant to interview Guy Kewney, editor of Newswireless.net. Goma, meanwhile, thought the questions were part of the job interview process.

BBC News, A Most Unusual Job Interview

Interviewing A Prospective Boss

A job interview is much more than a company searching for a new candidate. It's also about you interviewing the company and more importantly, who you'd be working for. Forbes.com has a new slideshow out that helps guide you through the process for interviewing a prospective boss.

Check it out >>

So You Want to be an Internet Entrepreneur

As the founder of multiple websites I derive all of my income from the internet. I guess I'm not alone. I've been reading tons of stories like the million dollar homepage and others, who with creative thinking are making websites that rake in the dollars. Just like the recent boom in the real estate market, making money on the internet is a craze that just won't go away.

There seem to be no shortage of creative ideas. Here's the latest internet success story I just came across.

A new type of career has surfaced over the past few years, but you won’t find it listed on Careerbuilder or Craigslist. Its most accurate title is “Internet Entrepreneur” and it can pay up to millions of dollars a year.

A new type of career has surfaced over the past few years, but you won’t find it listed on Careerbuilder or Craigslist. Its most accurate title is “Internet Entrepreneur” and it can pay up to millions of dollars a year. Brandon Rowe is one such entrepreneur making $50,000 a year, and he expects his newest website (http://www.linkexperiment.com) to rake in the cash.

Rowe, at only 23 years old, is his own boss and collects his monthly checks from various online endeavors. “My friends’ joke that every month ‘The Internet’ sends me a check,” says Rowe. In his first month as a full-time entrepreneur he made $1,000. “That’s when I realized I could actually make a career out of this thing,” says Rowe. Brandon’s endeavors include selling advertising space on his websites, earning commissions on selling items, and for his newest website, selling links.

The concept of Rowe’s newest website is to sell links on his homepage to the highest bidder and display the amount the site has earned in bids. He believes as the total amount the site earns increases, its popularity will increase, which in turn leads to more bids. “I think people like a story about an ordinary person making a lot of money for a simple idea,” says Rowe. That’s the appeal that Rowe is banking on for his newest endeavor. However, Rowe says that it’s not as easy as some might think for a website to succeed.

According to Rowe, succeeding online is about creativity, hard work, and persistence. “A lot of people trying to make a living online expect it to be easy and to sit back and just watch the money roll in,” says Rowe, “You have to work hard and be persistent. For example my newest website made 21 cents its first day. A lot of people will look at that and say ‘this isn’t working’. I look at that and say ‘great’ with minimal work I made 21 cents now I’ll put some work into the site and I’ll be making two dollars a day.”

When asked how much he thought his newest site would make, Rowe responded, “I’d say in the thousands of dollars… Websites like this one are how I make my living.” Rowe’s newest website ( http://www.linkexperiment.com) features 100 links sold to the highest bidders. The starting bid was one cent for a link.

Source: interbiznet Bugler

How a Blog Led to a Job (again)

Or in this case a blog led to a business opportunity. Joel Cheeseman started a blog in January 2005 where he commented on search and the online recruiting industry. At the same time he started his own consulting firm. He began blogging on the subject and started to get known in the industry. Today, his daily blog posts basically drive his entire consulting business. He makes NO sales calls. The clients just come to him.

The guys over at Recruiting.com have an audio interview with him. If you are anxious to start your own consulting business this is a great story to pump you up. Your blog could be the key to success.

Business Networking is Moving from the Boardroom to the Chatroom

Boston, MA (PRWEB) May 18, 2006 -- Businesswomen are trending towards choosing e-mail over the telephone to network, with online social networking emerging quickly as a tool for business development, according to a new DowntownWomensClub.com survey that was designed to spot the networking and technology trends of businesswomen.

The DowntownWomensClub.com 2006 Online Networking Survey: “High Tech or Not High Tech, That is Our Question,” reveals attitudes and evolving trends about technology and online networking across three generations of businesswomen – Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. The survey of more than 1,000 working women was conducted in January. In-person networking is still the most common networking method for women from all three generations, with 90 percent of Boomers at the lead. The telephone was the second preferred method for Boomers. However, networking via e-mail outpaced the telephone for Gen X and Gen Y (70 percent for e-mail vs. 60 percent for telephone among Gen X; 65 percent vs. 60 percent for Gen Y).

Gen Y showed the strongest preference for using online social networks as a networking tool, preferring it even more than online communities dedicated exclusively to professional networking. Gen Y claimed more than double the ratio of Gen X and Boomers in this category (28% v. the other two at 11%). On the other hand, about 20 percent of Boomers and Gen Xers find value in online professional networks.

According to the survey, respondents prefer online networking for its time management options. The top five reasons to network online are time efficiency (71 percent), the ability to multitask (49 percent), 24/7 availability (47 percent), the ability to network with multiple contacts simultaneously (35 percent), and no need to travel (29 percent).

“Our survey demonstrates that businesswomen of all generations like the ease of networking at their convenience – what DowntownWomensClub.com calls ’networking-to-go,’” says Diane Danielson, founder, DowntownWomensClub.com. “And while in-person meetings are still beneficial, ‘Clicks and Mix’, as we call the combination of off- and on-line networking, offers the balance working women demand,” she continues.

The relative anonymity of online networking cut both ways in the survey. The 41 percent of respondents who said they do not network online listed the top two reasons as “too impersonal” or “can’t leverage personality or image.” However, that anonymity appealed to the 29 percent of online users who said “I’m more gutsy online.” The younger the respondents, the more likely they were to say they were “gutsier” networking online, with percentages rising from 12 percent of Boomers, to 17 percent of Gen Xers, to 25 percent of Gen Ys.

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Top online networking sites include: LinkedIn, MySpace, Ryze, Tribe.net.

Kudos to the Recruiting Animal for pointing out this BusinessWeek cover about outsourcing. It's a sign of things to come folks.

Watching the Career Channel

I haven't met too many career coaches as web savvy as Sue Morem. Her latest podcasts on job hunting are as close as you can get to watching the "Career Channel". She recently interviewed me for a new book she's writing so I thought I'd return the favor and tell job seekers to watch her latest video snippets on how to interview. In Episode 3, "Jamie's Interview" Sue lets you watch an actual interview and then critiques the candidates responses.

In an online world where many career coaches exist only to sell you something, it's nice to see professionals like Sue offering these interesting and informative podcasts.

And if anyone out there wants to to start a new cable channel, call me.

5 Questions for Jason Alba, founder of the Job Search Management Tool: JibberJobber

Last week I posted an item about JibberJobber, a new job search management tool for job seekers. Today it's time for a brief interview with its founder, Jason Alba. I think you'll find his story an interesting one.

1. What is your background and why did you create this tool?

I have a CIS degree and an MBA from Idaho State University. I had a rich internship with Simplot programming on their intranet, and had my first professional job before I had my degree. My last role was as general manager for a small IT company in Utah. I was laid off with a very small severance package, and hardly any notice. It was embarrassing and hurtful, but I soon came to realize that there is this massive underground of people that have lost their jobs (and are looking) and people who have lost their jobs in the past and are very empathetic to us jobless folks ;) I wasn't even sympathetic before because I had worked very hard to get great credentials, including cool job titles (CIO, VP, GM, etc.) and my degrees. I knew we had a great job market, so if you couldn't get a job, it must be your problem. Boy was I wrong.

This site came from a simple spreadsheet that I created to manage my job seek process. I had about 100 prospective employers, 29 recruiters and 7 job boards that I was communicating with. It was very confusing to keep track of all of these contacts, even with my spreadsheet. One day I realized that having something like the spreadsheet, but web-enabled, would be so powerful because of some of the features of the web (access it from anywhere, interface with an e-mail server, etc.) Because of my last 8 years doing Internet applications, from idea to market, I knew what it would take to put this together, and I went for it. Oh yeah, and not getting any calls back from the places I put my resume in kind of nudged me to think of a Plan B.

2. whats the best feature in Jibber Jobber?

The best feature is.... hm.... If I had to pick a "feature" I'd say it is the ability to "track a job posting", which is done in the company logs. Imagine this - you have a company that you want to work for, say American Express. You hear about a new posting they have - Director of Customer Solutions. Go into JibberJobber, go to the American Express company page, and add a new log entry that says that you are applying for the Dir. of Customer Solutions job. Then, any time that you do something for that posting, like send them a resume, or when they e-mail you info back, you can log that. The ability to track the process of a job posting that you are applying for is really cool.

Well, maybe the best feature is the networking management. I didn't realize this but I've since found out that 60% - 80% of jobs leads, and job offers, come from your networking. JibberJobber allows you to have your personal network contacts (you can share network contacts, but you don't ever open your network up to anyone... there is no way I'd open my entire network up to anyone), rank the strength of your relationship with them, as well as make goals to cultivate the relationships. For example, if I just met someone, I put them in as a "one star", but I have a goal to develop my relationship, JibberJobber can help with that. Also, the networking allows you to see the degrees of separation that you have with network contacts. If you print off a degrees of separation report and take that to your coach, and all of your contacts are the first degree, that is a major red flag -- while you may have a lot of people in your network, you are not asking them for more referrals -- you aren't using your network effectively!

3. Can you explain what parts are free and what features are paid?

On the bottom of the website there is a Premium Features link, which is continually updated. Here is the philosophy behind the free / paid model. First, I don't have the money to pay for something like this, and I think that many job seekers don't. However, I want to allow people to have access to a very cool and functional set of tools. Therefore, as a regular user, you can organize your prospective employers, track your network, access the library, put your documents in, see reports, etc. It is quite functional. For people that realize how powerful this is, and those that want more features, they can upgrade to a premium account for just $9.95/month. This will give them more convenience (like, action items will be e-mailed to their accounts), more reports (like, a phone list from their contacts, or a Job Posting report to show them all the jobs they've applied for, and where they are at with each posting).

Premium users get a site-wide search that searches on all of their data at once, the ability to categorize interview preparation answers / questions, a personal library, and a number of other things. I have a list of some great features that will be coming out in the next month or two that I've gotten from career professionals. This is all simple, easy, common sense stuff, but JibberJobber puts it all in one easy-to-use place for the job seeker.

4. What kinds of mistakes do you see job seekers making these days when it comes to finding work?

I would have hated to hear this three months ago, because I cringed when I had to think about it, but people don't spend enough time networking effectively. Networking should not make you cringe. It is just about developing relationships. It is about figuring out what you can give to others, not just what they can give to you. Face it, you will have job changes. You are the product that you'll be selling until you retire. You have to figure out what your "elevator speech" is, and get very comfortable sharing it. There are many ways to build your network. Most everyone has a network, but they think that because they don't go to after-hour networking meetings they aren't connected. Not true! Also, I've heard many people say that they are uncomfortable talking with people about job opportunities, etc. Well, just develop a relationship with them. Don't hide your objectives, but don't keep a single focus of "what can you offer to me?" either. The longer it takes you to develop your network, the longer it will take you to develop true, personal job security.

5. Do you have any other job search advice for my readers?

Here's my advice to your readers that are looking for a job because they have been laid off, fired or downsized: Don't take it personal! You are just proof of the statistics! Everyone is supposed to change jobs every 2.8 years or whatever. Now that you have had this experience (if it is your first time), you need to realize that it will happen again, and you must figure out how to be as prepared as possible! Make contacts, cast your net wide and develop a strong network. Start today, go ask your friend "who do you know that works in x industry? Starting today is much better than starting when you lose your job! Once you develop a relationship, track it - whether you use a post-it note or JibberJobber, you must track and cultivate that relationship! You never know when you'll need it. One great way to cultivate a relationship is to find out how you can help them. If you help someone now, you'll have a serious advocate when you are in need.

My advice to your readers that already have a job is this: Prepare now! I should not have been laid off, but I was! I strongly believe that you should do your job 110%, but don't believe that you are creating job security! There is no job security -- my degrees, past experience and job titles provided me no job security, and they didn't get me the interviews that I thought I would get. When the time comes, if you are prepared, it will be less scary.

Monster's Resume Secrets

Came across these tips today...good tricks for those of you using Monster.

If you've received poor response from your online career site submissions, you'll soon change all that because here's a secret that most folks don't even know about. Today, we're going to use a Recruiter's Secret and use specific, pre-selected keywords. Were going to build a more effective online profile that will draw far more responses from Monster ® and other online sites.
So, lets get started.

Once you register on Monster®, choose: "Build Your Resume Online".

They allow you to set up 5 different resumes or profiles. Let's just set one up for now. There are only 5 major areas that we will be concerned with here:

1. Target Job Title
2. Objective
3. Resume Title
4. Job Title
5. Work Experience

Tip: every one of these fields has keyword capability, so you must use each of these areas to the fullest extent by including as many keywords as are relevant, for example:

Target Job Title: 2,880 character limit. That's almost 4/5's of a page, if you were to fill it up! List as many different job titles as you can imagine for this role. List other closely allied titles that the searcher may be searching on. For instance, "Java Programmer" might also be titled as "Software Engineer", "Application Developer", or "Software Developer" within even the same corporation, not to mention other companies. How many different but similar titles can you come up with? Put them all here.

Read the full article

Finding a Career Path

Very few people pick their ideal career on their first attempt. Formost of us, it's a discovery process that can lead us down a few wrong paths. One author suggests that a fear of making a bad career choice keeps many job seekers from gaining the "real-world" work experience they need before they can decide what it is they really want to do.

Read more from BostonWorks.com

Businesses Go to High School to Find Next Generation of Workers

A shortage of skilled workers in some labor markets has led to a newapproach to recruiting the next generation of employees. A growing number of businesses are working with high schools to establish apprenticeship and training programs to teach high school students more about what it's like to work in their industry.

Read more from Business Week

College Job Sites Gettin' Busy

The top two college job sites are busily improving their career content. Caught this info online today...

CollegeGrad.com
CollegeGrad.com, a leading entry level job site, has released results of its survey on what employers want most in hiring new college grads. The number one priority for employers is the student's major, followed by the student's interviewing skills. The student's internship/experience comes in at number three.

CollegeRecruiter.com
CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading career site for college students and recent graduates and the employers who want to hire them, has acquired the Jobseeker's Revenge blog from Jim Stroud, a recruiter for Microsoft. Hundreds of entries, comments, and podcasts on Jobseeker's Revenge have been imported into the CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Employers Blog.

As a blogger myself its nice to see some of us cashing in!

Jobs Coming to a Town Near You: The Hot 100 Companies

I read Entrepreneur Magazine for the business stories every month. To me, it's an essential tool for anyone who owns a business. But from time to time there are golden nuggets of information that many job seekers can put to use.

I'm speaking of this years list of HOT 100 Companies published by the magazine in cooperation with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The 2006 list will be posted on their site in a few weeks but in the meantime you can check out the 2005 Hot 100 Companies. It lists the fastest growing companies according to their sales growth. All of the companies must have been founded after 2001. The number 1 company this year is the same from last year's list Huron Consulting Group in Chicago. (I bet the resume's must be flowing in!)

Why am I telling you this? Because fast growing companies equal one thing: JOBS!

So if you are looking to conduct a direct mail campaign that targets companies in your region/field, lists like the Hot 100 can be a great resource for uncovering leads to companies hiring. A direct mail campaign is how I got my first job out of college. You can read more about that here.

The latest issue of Entrepreneur is on newstands now. Pick up a copy and maybe you can work for a HOT 100 Company.

Slideshow: Nailing the Interview

Will Hemlinger, hiring and retention expert and president of Your Hire Authority, shares his tips on how to make the most out of your interviewing experience.

Watch the Slideshow

New job search tool debuts: JibberJobber

More and more job search tools are being developed and launched online these days. Yesterday I received an email from the people at JibberJobber.com.

http://www.jibberjobber.com is a relationship management tool for jobseekers to keep track of who they talk with, prospective employers, people in their professional network, etc. There are other tools including a peer library, an interview preparation area, and a document manager. The premium version has some additional features, and is available for 9.95/month.

According to their FAQs, the best way to use JibberJobber is:

Think about how a salesperson uses a CRM system -- with the idea of "getting that next sale." They need to know the who, what, when, where, and how of their customer relationships. Just as a salesperson uses their CRM to know what's going on, and what they need to do next, JibberJobber is your personal tool to help you keep track of who you talk to, who you want to talk to, what the discussions are about, what the next steps are and any pertinent information that you need to make sure that you can manage the relationship. Don't forget, getting that next job is actually a sales process. You are the salesperson ... and the product!

I'm sure some job seekers may find this tool useful. When I used to job hunt I simply used a notebook to keep track of names, interviews, etc. But I guess I'm 'old school'. If anyone tries it out feel free to send me a review.

Tuesday Jobsearch Tidbits

1) Leveraging Internet search and building your online presence to advance your executive job search is the topic of the next session of Experts Connection(TM) (www.experts-connection.com), the teleseminar series for executive job seekers. The panel discussion entitled "Business Networks and Online Presence -- Making It Work For You" is scheduled to be held Wednesday, May 24 from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. EDT (1:00 - 2:30 p.m. PDT).

2) CareerBuilder.com and Comcast have teamed together to launch a comprehensive online Jobs Channel on Comcast.net. Comcast's more than nine million broadband customers can now directly access more than one million CareerBuilder.com job postings, plus online career services and tools.

3) Jobseekers want security - IN STARBUCKS AND RESTAURANTS everywhere, and any other place they can perch with cell phone welded to ear, graduating and getting-ready-for-their-first-job 21-year-olds are chattering about their job interviews. You can't escape it.

From student to Intern: Why Experience Counts

Since it's May, a lot of articles are being written about college kids and work. Some of what I've read suggests the opportunities for college grads has never been better while some suggest that our graduating seniors are struggling to figure out what they want to do in life.

This "paralysis" causes them to procrastinate in finding work. That's why you'll find many of them "taking the summer off" or picking up a job at a restaurant until they can find "something full-time". I know when I graduated in '92 the job market was pretty bad so I was a waiter for about 6 months until I landed my first job. But I don't think I would have landed that job - I was a Marketing Assistant for a sales team - without the experience I gained during college from internships and summer work.

I think too many college students don't do enough to plan for their career after graduation. As for myself, I had two jobs during school that enabled me to fill up that all important "Experience" section of my résumé. My work as a Student Manager in the cafeteria and my internship as the Business Manager of the student newspaper gave me the stepping stones I needed after leaving school.

Last week I hired my own Intern... Tyler is a 21 year-old web whiz from the Wentworth Institute of Technology. He knows the value of "resume building". He's already created several websites at school and this summer he'll be working on a wide variety of web sites under my tutelage. He told me he wants to gain more "business skills" with this internship and I think he's on the right track for a stellar career in the online industry.

So if you are a college student and reading this, take some time to assess yourself and if you are leaning towards one career or another, do everything you can to make that a reality. Gain some experience now or at some point before you graduate. Find an internship or other related work. Contact companies you might like to work for. Get a foot in the door. Doing so will get your career started on the right path.

Talking too much: the most common interview mistake

Job candidates would do well to do more homework, talk less, and generally get over themselves, according to a recent survey of recruiters. Talking too much is the most common interview mistake that job candidates make, according to 36 percent of recruiters who completed the ninth edition of the quarterly Executive Recruiter Index, released today by Korn/Ferry International, a global provider of executive search, outsourced recruiting and leadership development solutions. Other common mistakes cited by recruiters include lack of knowledge about the company or position (22 percent), over-inflated ego (16 percent) and appearing overly confident (9 percent). (hr.blr.com)

Trolling the Web For Superstar Employees

Recruiters can find valuable leads with online tools such as blogs, virtual communities, social networking sites, and biography-analysis software. Your dream employee is lurking out there. How do you find him or her? To track down those stars, recruiters are aggressively using online tools such as blogs, virtual communities, social-networking sites, and biography-analysis software. Here are some best practices in those areas: (Fast Company)

Free online profiles for professionals

According to experts at Ziggs, a Boston-based company that offers free online profiles for professionals, two ideas should be considered by everyone creating an online profile. First, the content used in a profile is important. Online content typically falls into one of two broad categories: professional or personal. Once posted, content is effectively public. Professionals in particular should therefore be conscious of the quality and tone of their online profile. Second, the profile site one chooses to present a profile on is important too. Is it a professionally branded profile site or is it a social profile site?

"Please do not respond to this e-mail."

Those of you not looking for a job may not recognize this subject line. Those of you who are, however, may cringe at the site of the familiar automated response to a job application. Welcome to the world of Internet job search. Back in the day, hiring managers viewed follow-up from applicants as a sign of real interest and persistence -- qualities companies sought in a candidate. If you really wanted a job, you pursued it with letters and phone calls, demonstrating the same commitment you would to the position itself. Not today. Call a company and you'll reach a CIA-like switchboard operator who implies the HR people are hiding in a bunker somewhere, safe from ''job stalkers." Without a name, the operator won't connect you. She won't even tell you where to mail your resume. Instead, she will direct you to the Internet, where you can get the e-mail you can't respond to. (from BostonWorks)

The Mayor and MySpace.com

There seem to be no shortage of career related MySpace.com stories these days. In the case of a 23 year-old mayor from Torrington, CT...yes thats right he's twenty-three, his MySpace profile has casued some negative press.

I will warn you once again people, be careful what you post online. It WILL come back to haunt your career.

City's mayor jumps out of Myspace: Bingham kills page with 'malebigalow' occupation

TORRINGTON -- Mayor Ryan Bingham had been publishing a page on the popular Web site MySpace.com since late October, about two weeks before he made history by becoming Torrington's youngest mayor.

Bingham, who turned 23 Friday, eliminated his page on the online networking site less than an hour after being asked about it by a reporter Tuesday night.

On the page, Bingham listed his income as less than $30,000 and his occupation as "malebigalow," an apparent reference to a 1999 movie, "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo." Bingham said he did not know what a "malebigalow" was and said he did not control all content on the page.

Read full story >>

The 7 Bad Habits of Ineffective Job Seekers

Weddles has a nice article out today in their job seeker newsletter.

"What are the bad habits of online job search? With a nod to Dr. Covey, I think there are seven. I call them The 7 Bad Habits of Ineffective Job Seekers. They are:

Habit #1: Limiting the time and effort you invest in your job search
Habit #2: Limiting the research you do to plan your search campaign
Habit #3: Limiting your search to a handful of the same job boards
Habit #4: Limiting your application to clicking on the Submit button
Habit #5: Limiting your use of the Internet to reading job postings
Habit #6: Limiting the care you take with your communications
Habit #7: Limiting the preparation you do for employer interactions

As is readily apparent, bad habits are all about limitations. These self-imposed constraints curtail the jobs you see, the impression you make, and the opportunities you’re offered in the job market. Let’s look at them in more detail so you can be sure to avoid them." (read full article)

Making Headlines - Its Not About You

Nice post by Louise Kursmark of CareerHub on making headlines work for you. Job seekers just don't realize the power of succintly grabbing the readers attention.

Yesterday I spent some time online looking for a consultant. I went to one of those websites where freelancers advertise their services and began to search the profiles.

Each consultant has a headline and about 25 words to make users want to click through and learn more. (This is very similar to what recruiters see when they log on to Monster.com and other online resume databases.)

I looked for 15 minutes and didn't see one headline that made me want to learn more. Not ONE! Think about that.

Read Full Post >>

Facebook Opens to Companies

Facebook.com, the social network for colleges is now entering the corporate world. Facebookhas begun offering their services to over 1,000 companies and organizations around the world. The list of all of the companies for which Facebook accounts are available can be found below. (JuiceeNews)

For jobsekers this is yet another tool to build your network of career contacts.

Get recruiters to call you with great jobs

Dear Annie: After 12 years as a finance manager (three promotions, consistently excellent performance reviews), I think I've gone about as far with my current employer as I can go, and I'd like to explore opportunities elsewhere. Yet the only calls I get from recruiters are for jobs that aren't appropriate for me in one way or another - either a step down from my present position, or in some other way not suitable. It's gotten to where I just don't take their calls anymore. Meanwhile, acquaintances and former colleagues of mine who don't have my credentials or experience are finding great new jobs through headhunters. Can you explain how this process works? Obviously I'm missing something.

-Perplexed in Pittsburgh (read the rest on CNN)

The Ladders Rising

Signaling a shift in the employment market, savvy job seekers faced with an abundance of choices are heading to TheLadders.com to find the best executive positions. As the world's leading online service for $100,000+ jobs, TheLadders.com is now ranked as one of the top 10 career sites, according to comScore Media Metrix's March 2006 report on Career Resources.

Books can inspire job seekers

Of course I'm partial to my own paperback but this article discusses a few more book about job hunting.

Dianna Tingg had just finished a London internship and was living with her parents in Seattle. She needed a job but didn't know what career to pursue. So she turned to a 36-year-old guide, "What Color Is Your Parachute?"

"The book was very inspirational to me because it helped me realize what I wanted to do and where I wanted to do it," said the 26-year-old, who applied for 20 public relations jobs in New York. She posted her résumé on Craig's List, was contacted the next day by her current boss, bought a ticket to Manhattan, crashed on a friend's air mattress and landed the job at a small PR firm.

Katie Thomas, 23, had just graduated from college but didn't want to pursue her majors of psychology and English. She knew it would be difficult convincing interviewers of job skills in other areas, so when a friend recommended "Sweaty Palms: The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed," she snapped it up.

Continued >>

Postcards from the JobHunt: an Update

JobDig has released a new version of their fun job secret postcards: In its previous version (with all the full graphics on the first page), it wasn’t incredibly useful. It shows thumbnails of all of the secrets (so it loads faster), and also sports an option to print an individual job secret, or to send it to a friend.

Advice and Reality Check for the Unemployed

Barbara Ehrenreich's recent post called "The Laid-off as Lepers" is one of the most interesting and articulate pieces I've read on what its like out there for the unemployed. If you happen to find yourself laid off, downsized or let go you need to read this post. Kudos Barb.

PS...and if you're a hiring manager in a company you should also read it!

Learn what damage you do in job interviews

William Olson has switched employers seven times in 25 years, usually because a search firm pursued him. His success stems in part from his refusal to cooperate unless the recruiter promises to give him frank feedback about his performance during interviews.

He became a regional manager at Guinness Brewing North America, for example, after a recruiter recommended he tone down his aggressive manner. He rose to the top post there five years later. "With good feedback, you can adapt during the recruitment process," says Mr. Olson, now president and chief executive officer of MRINetwork, a Philadelphia search firm.

That's one way to solve a persistent problem. Most job seekers never recognize the shortcomings that kept them from a job -- and so go on to repeat them. The fix: Persuade key players that you will all benefit from an honest reaction. (continue reading)

Going Head to Head Vs. Craigslist

Ok, so here's one for the recruiters out there. Normally I dont post items for the HR side but I felt compelled to share this 'case study' with you.

Every year I hire a webmaster intern to assist me with my network of regional job boards. I posted the job on FairfieldCountyJobs.com which is the top local job board in Connecticut. Then about a week ago I posted the same job on Craigslist >> Fairfield County. I wanted to give the job a little more exposure and since everyone says Craigslist returns quality applicants I figured I'd spend the $25 bucks and see what happens.

Well, a funny thing happened along the way. In the past week I received exactly 6 résumés from the Craigslist posting.

1 was from a person in California: did they think I was going to relocate them for a $12/hr summer job?

4 were from people in Russia: do they think every job in the U.S. should be outsourced?

1 was from a guy in Ireland: well, at least it wasn't Russian.

The job on FairfieldCountyJobs.com brought in 3 fully qualified local resumes.

I interviewed 2 of the candidates.

I hired the 2nd candidate. He starts today.

It's surprising to me that Craigslist performed so poorly, especially for an IT position. Has the popularity of Craigslist become a detriment to employers posting on it? Have other firms gotten similar results? I invite your comments...

New Career Management Services: Job Seekers Will Pay

Living in Fairfield County Connecticut allows me to interact with some great companies and business leaders from the job search world. Last week alone I had lunch with a couple employees from Indeed.com and I attended a networking group that had a decidedly "career" flavor.

We all know of Indeed's success in the job search world. But at the networking event I met 3 career companies that you probably don't know a lot about. All 3 of these companies derive a bulk of their revenues from job seekers.

Here's a snapshot of two of these interesting companies with services geared to job seekers. I'll talk about the third one in tomorrow's post.

CareerDNA is a new career management service that is currently in Beta testing and will launch shortly. Their new online software integrates self-knowledge and career management with its first of a kind highly interactive, graphical, user-driven online solution. The software takes the user through a “journey” of self-discovery providing an understanding of:

-Personality type;
-Temperament;
-Transferable skills;
-Values and interests --

—then maps these findings to a career path and specific jobs that truly fit the user. It also includes resume building and other job search information and advice. The service will be affordable with prices starting at approx. $49 a month. With career management being more important than ever in today's job market, CareerDNA believes there will be high demand for such services.

Student Futures, Inc. provides career planning for college students and recent grads. Through the use of programs & career coaches from across the country, Student Futures helps college kids find not just a job, but a meaningful career. And its the parents who usually foot the bill. Services start at $1900 for a 3 month program for recent grads to $2900 for an intensive 6 month program for college seniors. Putting these fees into perspective, ...if you are paying $100k for college, it makes sense to spend a few thousand dollars to help your kid get a good career they'll be happy in.

Here's a breakdown of their services;

-A detailed, up front assessment of a student's status, career needs and desires.

-Regularly scheduled, personal one-on-one coaching sessions.

-Regularly scheduled "assignments" as a follow up to coaching sessions.

-Guidance on effective use of resume and job-search software.

-Personality and career-match testing.

-Individual "positioning" and "packaging" of the student and his/her background and experiences, with specific employment markets in mind. This includes internship planning and networking, job search coaching, resume preparation, website posting and interview techniques.

-Strategies for leveraging a college's Career Services and its alumni network as well as maximizing other career planning resources.

-'Real-world' information and contacts for generating internship experiences, compensation negotiations, city live-ability, apartment rental, on-going networking, etc.

-Periodic reports and feedback on the student's progress whenever requested. It's a valuable, ongoing procedure for parents/sponsors to have input into a student's career planning.

Job-seekers, ask not what your employer can do for you . . .

I came across this article by Andrea Kay, a career advice author who sets it straight for today's graduates.

In Starbucks and restaurants everywhere -- and any other place they can perch with cell phone welded to ear -- future college graduates are chattering about their job interviews. You can't escape it.

Wherever I've been for breakfast, lunch, dinner or coffee lately, one of these hopefuls is seated nearby reporting back to Mom, Dad or peers with comments such as these: "And I'm like, oh no, did I mess up that interview question about what I do in my spare time?" Or, "They're like asking about my weaknesses, and I'm like, oh my gosh, what do I say?"

Although I've heard the "I'm like" rhetoric enough -- and still cringe every time -- I am more aghast when I hear them blabbering away about the thorough grilling they gave the interviewer regarding the company's retirement programs, compensation and health care.
Hasn't anyone told them this isn't what you're supposed to focus on if you want to get hired? I want to lean over and say, "Never, ever talk about compensation until you've been offered the position."

But I am reminded of how embarrassed I was as a child when my father, a now-retired children's dentist, would walk up to mothers in public and tell them it was bad for the teeth of their 3-year-olds to still be using a pacifier. So I keep my mouth shut.

From the standpoint of these graduating seniors, I suppose this approach makes sense. They witnessed the dot-com crash. And some have paid attention to what's been happening at companies such as Enron or may know something about Social Security's potential demise.
Campus recruiters and researchers say that more than any recruits in memory, this year's crop is asking employers for assurances of security so they don't wind up at the next Enron, according to a report on CollegeJournal.com.

When asked what they expect in compensation packages, students at 123 universities gave a detailed list of long-term benefits from retirement plans to insurance for dependents -- even though most don't have any.

They also prefer "stable, diversified companies that will live up to benefits promises," says the report. And like other graduates of recent years, they rate work-life balance as the No. 1 employer attribute they seek.

Although some large companies are tailoring their recruiting pitches and programs to suit them, most employers tell me they are turned off by this entitlement attitude that is not grounded in reality. It makes you wonder how realistic the campus brochure from PricewaterhouseCoopers is that shows a young man cartwheeling on a beach with the headline: "Your life. You can bring it with you."

This generation of workers may want assurance that they'll have more security then ever before. But it remains to be seen whether they will get more of what they want in the world of work.

One thing is certain. It's not about cartwheeling on a beach. It's about being valuable. Employers are still looking for workers who can assure them they can create and deliver their products and services to more customers around the globe better and faster than ever before.
Andrea Kay is the author of "Life's a Bitch and Then You Change Careers: 9 Steps to Get Out of Your Funk and On To Your Future." Send questions to her at 2692 Madison Road, No. 133, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208; www.andreakay.com. E-mail: andrea@andreakay.com

Friday Funnies from Dice.com

If you ever wanted to know what its like to work in IT then check out this great game from Dice.com. Created by my former colleagues over at Modem Media, the game pits you against a raging salesman, project mager and CEO. Sure its silly, but the things you get to do are just plain fun!

The Next Job Boom

In the heady days of the late 90's job seekers had it made. I fondly remember getting my very last job before I stepped out on my own. I went from a $55k job to a $70k job as an Information Architect with Modem Media. But the good vibe I had quickly diminished after beginning work when the downturn started. The company soon began downsizing. I survived 3 layoffs but would be out of a job and on my own a year or so later.

As I read my latest copy of Business 2.0, the cover predicts yet again that job seekers will soon be calling the shots during the next job boom.

I'll let you read for yourself but here are a few points that I found particularly intriguing.

The first is a quote from a job seeker on the first page. He says simply: "You have to look out for No. 1"...this quote exemplifies the mindset of today's job hunter. There is no company loyalty anymore. Workers must increasingly take charge of their career because you never know when it might end.

Other notable passages;

"a dramatic shift underway in the dynamic between American workers and their bosses"

"They've subjected employees to downsizing, productivity squeezing, outsourcing, and myriad lesser indignities. For most workers lucky enough to escape the mass layoffs, there was little choice but to hunker down and take whatever the boss dished out. Even as the economy took off in 2003 and corporate profits -- and CEO paychecks -- ballooned, the job market languished. The "jobless" recovery was for many beleaguered workers the "joyless" recovery."

"But now the tables have turned. "

and there's this;

"As workers move, of course, bosses countermove, and the result is a volatile labor market that teems with opportunity for employees - and peril for companies trying to hang on to them. "

I bolded the word peril for a reason. Companies need to heed this warning if they wish to win their own war for talent. And for all you 'A Player', passive job seekers out there, get ready for the next chapter in your career. Employers will soon be turning on the charm for you.

Side Note: Business 2.0 continues to be my favorite read of the month. I've been a loyal reader since the beginning. If you aren't subscribing - it's your loss.

10 hot cities for job growth

Go west young man - thats where the jobs are.

Top 10 Job Seeker Mistakes

Here are some good tips from a CEO about job hunting.

Top 10 Job Seeker Mistakes
Fred E. Coon, Chairman, CEO Stewart, Cooper & Coon

So many people wonder why they have trouble getting a job. They go on interview after interview, thinking they did well, but then don't get a call back. This can lead to frustration, anger and depression. Most people do not know why certain people are hired, and why others aren't.

Following are 10 mistakes that many people make when searching for their dream job. Hopefully, after reading this article, I can help you avoid these blunders.

1. Mailing Unsolicited Resumes
Unsolicited resumes are garbage, scrap paper, wasted effort and job-search (junk), according to Jack Chapman, author of "Negotiating your Salary: How to Make $1000 a Minute." Frank Traditi, Career Strategist and author of "Get Hired NOW!?" feels the same way. He says that people "treat their job search like a direct mail advertising campaign. They expect great response from blindly sending out hundreds of resumes. They wait by the phone and it never rings. They sit at their computer and never get a response."

2. Looking for "Vacancies"
Many jobs are not advertised. Harvard's Mark Granovetter found that 43.4 percent of jobs are created for the applicant, often at the time of the interview. Traditi agrees. "It's no wonder that job seekers spend many months on their job search, or become so frustrated that they give up looking for work. They are looking in all the wrong places," he says.

3. Inept Networking
When people are beginning their careers, asking their friend to get them a job probably works. Once people enter the senior job market this strategy doesn't work anymore. Person-to-person networking is a highly effective way to land a job.

4. Trying to Go After too Many Types of Jobs
My friend Jack Chapman put it best when he said, "Don't confuse a job market with a singles bar." You will not find a job by applying to everything and hoping one lands in your lap. You must pick certain targets and go after them.

5. Losing Your Motivation
It is hard to face rejection on a daily basis, which is what usually happens when people are looking for a job. However, you cannot let this rejection get you down or you will never find a job. If you want your job search to be successful, you must look at life with the glass half-full, not half-empty. The most successful people have a positive attitude, no matter what life throws at them.

Read the rest of Top 10 Job Seeker Mistakes >>

Getting to the Point on Your Resume

Far too often I see job seekers write boring, 'looks like every other candidates' resume's.

For example, the OBJECTIVE part of the resume will usually say things like this;

Objective: a management position that will utilize my skills and experience within a dynamic organization.

And when it comes to the SUMMARY of skills I often see phrases like this;

SUMMARY: Experienced administrator with proven abilities for successful project management. Respected leader with excellent communication skills and team-building concepts.

The problem is that statements like these try too hard to SELL yourself and don't do enough to communicate your VALUE to the Hiring Manager.

The top of your résumé is the most valuable piece of real estate so you need to use it wisely. Tell the person reading it WHY you will help make them money or solve their problems. Anything less is a waste of your time and theirs.

Instead of saying SUMMARY or OBJECTIVE, be direct with an opening statement like this...

What I Offer XYZ Company as Your New Sales Manager

What follows next should not be a list of your skill sets (i.e. interpersonal skills, team player) but actual, powerful capability statements that a hiring manager can immediately associate with the right candidate. These would be things like;

* Penetrating and growing new markets

* Sales intelligence gathering and leveraging that information faster than your competition

* Listening to your customers so I can anticipate their needs

* Powerful sales closing techniques to increase sales

Statements like these enable your resume to stand out among a crowd of look-a-like resumes. It entices the reader to find the proof they need in the rest of the document. The result should be more interviews.

Now go out and get to the point job seekers. Your new résumé awaits.

Missing Traits of Today's Jobseekers

The Society for Human Resource Management polled its members to determine what competencies their employers want in new hires, but can't find in today's job seekers. According to the respondents, the missing traits are;

• professionalism
• analytical skills
• business knowledge
• written and oral communications skills

What should you do with that information?

First, treat every interaction with an employer's representatives' whether it's an e-mail message from a recruiter, a brief introduction to a company representative at a career fair or a formal interview with a hiring manger as if it were an important business occasion. It is which means its not the time for casual dress or behavior. Second, if you possess some or all of the skills identified by the HR poll, make sure that you highlight them on your resume and in those interactions. The best way to do that is to identify the skill and then describe how you used it on-the-job to make a meaningful contribution to an organization's success.

Source: Weddles