Posts Tagged ‘job search’

It’s time to let go.  Let new.  Let the past stay in the past.  Move on, move through, and the only way out is through…so, in the words of my new favorite band SafetySuit: Let Go

Transition means saying good bye, saying hello, shaking hands, making decisions, and reaching out for new connections, contacts, engagement, and validation…it’s about engagement, goals, decision making, and even packing, and moving…it all requires one important thing and that’s the ability to let go.

Letting go of an old job, a relationship, or even a city where you used to live requires an innate ability to release the past, both good memories and bad. William Bridges, author of ‘You & Company,’ says every new beginning begins with a good ending. Sometimes we can’t change the way things ‘end,’ but we can reframe it in our minds so we can learn the necessary insights so that we actually can start anew.

It’s a new year. I didn’t write a ‘predictions’ or ‘best of’ posts. Instead, I want to focus on the most important thing, more important than resolutions, and it’s simply this: LET GO, so you can move forward. All those new year’s resolutions won’t amount to a hill of beans until you can effectively let go of the behavior that keeps you bound to the behavior you resolve to change.

It isn’t magic, it is hard, it requires support, inspiration, care, and even friendship at times…the bottom line is this…if you want to change, be sure you are ready to act on the changes you want to make. I say, it begins with letting go.

Are you ready?

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Mobile or Noble? You Can Be Both!

You don’t have to be noble to go mobile.  On the other hand some people think they are too noble to go mobile.  Mobile apps for job search, you can love them, you can hate them, but they aren’t going away.  Tonight I spent most of the evening digging into the Facebook Apps Chachinko, Beknown, and BranchOut. Monster, and Career Builder have mobile apps, as do big corporations like Starbucks, and AT&T.  I wanted to test just a few.  I downloaded LinkUp and played with the Indeed Mobile App on my iPhone.  I built out my networks, beefed up my Google+ connections, linked it all to my smart phone.  Then I spent a chunk of time testing these apps.  Here’s what I found.

LinkUp is my favorite mobile job app because it leads you ONLY to jobs posted by companies.  No spam, just jobs, good jobs at that. It’s on my iPhone, and I like a lot.

Beyond.com is an iPhone app that allows you to surf jobs at lightening speed.  I was really bothered by the push Ads you had to scroll through to see jobs. (Not cool, but I guess they have to pay for it somehow). I also noticed their jobs were not current.

Indeed is a great aggregator, and the jobs on their mobile app are easy to access.  The iPhone app works great, it’s smooth, and simple to navigate.  You can easily email jobs to yourself if your resume isn’t saved on your smartphone for distribution.  Indeed had the largest database for social media jobs, and I was impressed.

Mashable is an amazing app, particularly if you want to find out about jobs in social media, and the digital space.

LunchMeet is one of my new favorite mobile apps, you can contact any of your LinkedIn contacts, and set up lunch, or coffee meetings with a few clicks on your mobile phone.  Very smart indeed.

Chachinko lured me into applying for a very cool position that sent me to a spam site where in order to apply for a job, I  had to sign up for an ‘educational assessment.’  In other words, it’s was spam.  I reported it on their Facebook page.  That’s the fun part of being a cyber sleuth and checking out the jobs these apps lead you to-it’s hit or miss…but as a secret shopper, I’m often surprised that the newer mobile and Facebook job apps aren’t more careful. Chachinko is the new kid on the block, and they are going through growing pains.  It’s still worthwhile to check them out on Facebook.

Talent.me is in my top 5. As a social media recruiter, I love it because it is easy to find people, as a job seeker, I love it because the profile buildout is robust, and the ability to shine on that Facebook App is great.  A lot of recruiters are watching this one, so get on it.  Make sure you profile on this (or any App is 100% complete).

BeKnown is much cooler than I originally thought.  I had fun building my network, recommending my friends, and their jobs looked pretty good.  Downloading it to my iPhone was easy, and fun.

BranchOut has a lot of potential.  They are on the right track.  I like the way they connect people, and relevant networks. They have  1 million monthly users.  Not too shabby.  (I’m also partial because they recently hosted an HFChat on Twitter). You can import your resume. Watch it because when it imported mine, it eliminated my recent jobs, and aggregated my experience under the oldest job on my resume.  I  opted to cut and paste my LinkedIn summary instead. Sometimes you have to tweak your strategy.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be watching the mobile, and Facebook job app world, as I’m giving three presentations in Jan/Feb.  I’ll keep you posted about what I find.

I purposely didn’t link back to all these apps until my research is finish, but it’s easy enough to find them yourself, just search any of the above mentioned in the App store on your smartphone, or on Facebook.

Happy hunting,

Margo

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Via Scoop.it – Social Media And Digital Influence

Be sure to catch the art of networking on HFChat on Twitter today at Noon Eastern, 11 Central.  Our host Steve Browne will share time-tested tips for strengthening your network!
Via hirefriday.com

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Do you have job search fatigue

Job Search Fatigue.  What is it?  If you find yourself identifying with any of the following statements,  you might have it:

“I’m tired, I give up, I’m sick of job hunting.”  ”I couldn’t possibly apply for one more job.”   “If I have to spend 45 minutes filling out yet another online job application, I’ll scream.”  ”I’ve talked to that recruiter twice, and he never called me back to let me know what happened.” “I’ve passed out so many business cards at networking events, my hands hurt.”  ”I’ve attended so many professional associations in the past two months, I’m practically broke.” “If feel as if my resume’s been lost in a black hole, I never hear back”.

Job search fatigue is real.  In fact, it’s a job hunt killer.  Job search fatigue can not only slow you down, it can murder your morale.  If you’ve been looking for a job for more than 3 to 6 months, you’ve probably grown weary of the job hunt.  If you’ve been looking for a job for a year or longer, you’re probably exhausted.  Some job seekers get so fatigued from the search they give up, retreat, or distract themselves with other activities that keep them from getting the job they want.  One thing’s for sure, job search fatigue is real.  How do you combat it?  How can you transform your discouragement into encouragement?  Where can you replenish your well-spring of support?  That is precisely what we are going to discuss on HFChat this Friday.  Please join us 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Pacific, 11-12 Central and Noon-1 Eastern time.  All you have to do is logon to Twitter, and follow the hashtag #HFChat.   Here are this week’s questions.  Think about these questions, and bring your own.

1. What are the common symptoms of job search fatigue?
2. How can you overcome job search fatigue?
3. Where can you go for help?
4. What can you do to prevent job search fatigue?

These questions will certainly bring up a lot of feelings, and opinions from job seekers, and career professionals alike.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Please bring your questions.  I’ll be hosting this week.  As the Founder of HireFriday, and HFChat I look forward to being of service to you and our entire community.  We’ve had some amazing guest hosts this year from a variety of disciplines.  Next year promises to be even better.  You are what makes HFChat special.  Won’t you please join us, and tell your friends?

Thanks so much!

HRMargo

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Facebook, Job Search, and You!

How many of you have considered using Facebook to boost your job search?  Today, we discussed just that.  There were so many great thoughts, I would like to share a few with you.  Here’s a new job search bumper sticker: friends help friends find jobs.  So, it’s logical that your Facebook friends (even the ones you don’t know) want to help you find a job.  So, let’s give it a go.  Here are my ideas for how to use Facebook to find a job:

1. Let your friends know you are looking (create a Hire Me campaign). See my vizualize.me example from earlier in the week.
2. Use the Facebook time line to create graphics that feature your strongest skills.
3. Be a story teller: the story is you, and your career-your strengths, your proudest accomplishments, paint a picture using words about what you can do.
4. Remember it’s about them, not you-focus more on what you can do for the company.
5. Conduct company research. Get out your targeted company list, find them on Facebook, read their page daily, identify the thought leaders, and go get ‘em.
6. Find a friend who knows someone at the company where you want to work, and ask them for a referral.
7. There are many recruiter centric groups on Facebook, join them, and connect with a friendly recruiter who can point you to a recruiter that specializes in your occupation and industry.
8. Job Boards are now using Facebook to post jobs, check them out.
9. Investigate Apps like Beknown, and Branchout: build your contact network, and ask for referrals.
10. Check out Quora: it’s a great source of information and discussion.
11. There’s a new kind on the Facebook block called Cachinko.  They’re connecting people with jobs. They are job matching careers, and people on Facebook.
12. 76% of recruiters screen candidates on Facebook vs. 48% on LinkedIn. Source: http://t.co/4TQ5Nc1u #
13. Conduct searches of your occupation, and industry.  Facebook has groups for most, and they are a great place to network.
14. Finally, if you are looking for a job, remember what I always say: imprint this in your mind, before every single status update, begin it with the invisible words, “Dear Future Employer.”   Job seekers, clean up your language, and consider what you choose to post will be seen by everyone, including recruiters, and potential employers.

There’s my top 15 tips for using Facebook for a job.  Be sure to check out our HireFriday website.  Our transcripts will be posted soon.  Please leave a comment if you attended today’s HFChat, I’d love to hear you opinions.

Your job search pal,

HRMargo

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