What Works — and What Doesn’t — in a Social Media-Based Job Hunt

Brazen Life


We’ve all seen them: the online efforts of eager job hunters, clawing at their social media dream jobs like 12-year-olds at a Justin Bieber concert. They’re interesting. They’re flashy. They’re “outside the box.”

But do they actually work?


Most of these social media stunts gain attention for a hot minute, either in the job seeker’s local newspaper, or, if they’re lucky, on a career blog like this one, before fading into obscurity.
So is it worth developing a job-hunting campaign as part of your next search? Let’s take a look at your predecessors:

Hire Me Krispy Kreme

Braden Young, a fervent fan of the sugar-laced doughnut chain, saw an opening on their team for a sales and marketing manager in Philadelphia, and went all-out with an attention-grabbing cover letter, plus Facebook and Twitter pages. His campaign is detailed in this post by Corn on the Job.

What worked: Young was already passionate about the company he was applying to work for, which came through in his content. But most importantly, he had the skills to back up the ostentatious way he handled the job search. He articulated his qualifications in a succinct and memorable way.

What didn’t: Not much to complain about with this job seeker. He heard from Krispy Kreme four hours after launching his campaign, and guess what? He got the job.

Hire Me Chipotle

Bianca Cadloni created a website devoted to her efforts to snag a social media and PR gig for the Mexican grill, with the words “WILL WORK FOR GUACAMOLE” greeting all visitors to the site. Different sections such as “Social Media” and “Public Relations” detailed her qualifications, in addition to a digital version of her resume.

What worked: She used a Twitter handle, @HireMeChipotle, as well as a hashtag by the same name to get the word out and corral all discussions related to her search. Also, she made herself personable in her content, talking about her first experience with the restaurant chain, and inserting her voice in all communications.

What didn’t: Unfortunately, this job seeker didn’t even get to the interview phase. Even with a solid website and social media efforts, I have a feeling the decision came down to experience. With two short internships under her belt and some editorial work for a niche online magazine, it’s tough to stand taller than other candidates with even two or three years of public relations experience.

Chipotle’s communications director emailed Cadloni to let her know she’d been noticed, but in a candidate pool of roughly 500 people, there was no guarantee they’d even be able meet her in person.
“I stood out in a sea of resumes, but with the job market this tough, even a #HireMe campaign isn’t enough,” Cadloni said in her farewell blog post. So what’s her advice for job-seekers who are considering a similar campaign? “Set yourself apart from other candidates by owning your online presence. … Write a blog about the industry trends in your market. … Confidence is catchy.”

Dear Lisa Rudgers

Read more: http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2011/11/30/what-works-and-what-doesn%e2%80%99t-in-a-social-media-based-job-hunt/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-works-and-what-doesn%25e2%2580%2599t-in-a-social-media-based-job-hunt#ixzz1fCrYu5sj

Job seekers turning to Facebook

Dan Schawbel

You would think that job seekers would cling to LinkedIn because it’s a professional networking site, while Facebook is more for family and friends. But a new research report from Jobvite says that the opposite is true: 48 percent of job seekers have used Facebook in their job search, while only 26 percent have used LinkedIn. Job seekers are receiving more referrals and have filled out their profiles more completely on Facebook than they do on LinkedIn.

Overall, one in every six workers used social networks to get hired this year.  Here are three tips on how to better utilize Facebook to land the job of your dreams:

Focus on your current friends
Instead of trying to build your network on Facebook, try and leverage the relationships you already have. Most job seekers are either too afraid to ask for support or don’t want people knowing that they are job searching in the first place. You need to let people know what you’re looking for if you want them to help you.

Read The Rest Of The Metro.US Article For Tips 2 And 3

Don’t ignore the December recruiter

By Marc Cenedella

We hear the same complaint every year:

“I can’t get candidates on the phone. I can’t get candidates in for interviews. I can’t even get a response.”
We hear it from Fortune 1000 recruiters, HR departments, executive search firms and agencies. We even hear it from our own recruiters at TheLadders!

And I suppose it’s a very good explanation that, of course, at the end of the year, with all the holiday parties, end-of-the-year budgeting exercises, and vacation planning going on, professionals can find themselves with too much to do and not enough time on their hands to be responsive to the companies looking to hire them.

But my advice is…

Don’t let this happen to you.


Candidates, i.e., your competition, get very distracted during the holidays with all the family and friends and festivities to enjoy.

Turn this to your advantage.

Rather than allowing your holiday schedule to get in the way of your search, double down and make an extra effort to be proactive this December.

You see, for every candidate who misses a phone call, an interview, a job opportunity, there’s a frustrated recruiter on the other side. And if you can be that golden ticket — the responsive candidate who makes life easier for the recruiter or HR department — you’ll be that much more likely to land a gig before the end of the year.

Read The Rest Of The Article

Marc Cenedella is the CEO & Founder of TheLadders.com, the world’s leading career network.

Great Career Advice From Country Hall of Famer Roy Clark

By Dan Armonaitis
dan.armonaitis@shj.com

Roy Clark was a young boy when he got some sage advice about music that he's used to guide his entire career.

“My dad played music — never as a living, but he was a good guitar player and banjo player — and he told me something very early in my life,” Clark, 78, said in a phone interview from his home in Tulsa, Okla.

“He said, ‘Don't close your mind off to anything you hear that is new until your heart hears it. At first, you may hear something that you don't really think is your cup of tea, but if you listen to it long enough with an open mind and an open heart, you'll hear something that is going to inspire you.'”

Clark is best known as a country singer and as the co-host of the classic TV variety show “Hee Haw” — impressive credentials, indeed, but not ones that instantly reveal the diversity the Virginia native has displayed as a professional musician for the past six decades.

A guitar virtuoso and a highly respected multi-instrumentalist, Clark has delved into an assortment of genres ranging from country and bluegrass to jazz and rock 'n' roll.

One of his earliest jobs, in fact, was as a sideman for Wanda Jackson just as she was transitioning from rockabilly to country in the early 1960s.

“That's what started me trying to build a career of my own,” Clark said. “I was playing clubs around Washington, D.C., and I guess that's where I was going to be (for the rest of my life). … And then Wanda came to town, and we met through some mutual friends, and she said she was getting ready to open in Las Vegas and that she was putting a band together to go to the Golden Nugget.”

Read Pages 2 - 4 

Career advice from the ‘Headhuntress’

MONICA WEYMOUTH/METRO

PHILADELPHIA                                 

A meeting with Wendy Doulton isn’t easy to come by. As a headhunter for high-profile clients such as Amazon, Gap and Sony, she’s responsible for finding the best talent to fill positions that command paychecks beginning in the six figures. Don’t have the résumé to land that interview? She’s also the founder of coaching service Katalyst Career Group, but be warned: She won’t hold back when your skirt suit is too tight, and she doesn’t like being bored.

Tonight, however, you can get a sneak peek of what Doulton’s looking for in a Fortune 500 executive when her Bravo special, “The Headhuntress,” premieres. While she’s the perfect reality star — successful, intense and quick with sharp, British-accented one-liners — she was more than gracious when we asked her to share some of her core career advice. Here’s how to land on Doulton’s radar — or at least avoid incurring the wrath of her tough love.

Know what you offer

Before looking for a job, spend some time evaluating yourself. “My foundational coaching is to know who you are and know what you bring to the party,” says Doulton. “Pay very close attention to anything that affects your mood — positively or negatively — and let that inform you.”

Interview your interviewer

Interviews go both ways. “The trick here isn’t to answer the question right, it’s to get the job that’s right for you,” she says. “It’s like a date: ‘Does he like me, does he like me?’ Well, do you like him? Do you want to have coffee and breakfast with him every day of your life?”

Be positive - Read the rest of the Metro article

Upcoming Interview? Success Starts with the Right Mindset

Self-confidence is a powerful, but often elusive, asset when interviewing.  Stiff competition, concerns over qualifications and the uncertainty inherent in the interview process can easily rattle even the most poised job seeker.

Just as you prepare your answers to interview questions, you should also prepare to be confident.  Use this list of techniques to enter your next interview with the right mindset:  calm, self-assured and ready for anything the interviewer throws your way.

Keep the interview in perspective.  One constructive way to manage your fear is by putting your interview into the proper context.  Instead of viewing it as an interrogation, think of it as a conversation.  Remember, you are interviewing the potential employer as much as he is interviewing you.  To boost your confidence, research the company and prepare a list of questions to ask during the interview.

Practice, practice, practice.  If you rehearse answers to common interview questions you’ll be more confident answering them.  Use a tape/digital recorder or webcam to record yourself, or simply practice saying your answers out loud in front of a mirror.  Sure, it will feel awkward at first, but after you get past your self-consciousness you will be able to critically examine yourself.  Are you sitting up straight?  Making appropriate eye contact?  Gesturing too little or too much?  What about your answers – are they concise and relevant?  Once you are confident in your delivery, ask a trusted friend or relative to act as your interviewer.  Ask for their honest feedback, so you can further refine your presentation.

Realize that it’s natural to be nervous.  Do you typically feel uptight before an interview?  This is a perfectly natural response.  In fact, a little bit of anxiety can actually be beneficial.  When you are nervous, your body releases adrenaline, a hormone which raises your energy level.  The key is to control your reaction to this feeling, before it takes control of you.  Learn to recognize an adrenaline surge when it occurs, realize that it’s normal, and then channel the energy you get from it.

Try calming techniques.  What should you do if your nerves get the best of you?  Stop them in their tracks – before you walk into the building.  Controlled breathing is a great technique to help you relax and focus.  If you feel anxious, try closing your eyes and taking a few deliberate, shallow breaths.  Take in air through your nostrils and exhale, quietly, through your mouth.  Repeat a few times until you feel better.

Read the rest of the article

About David Allen

I am the President and CEO of Snelling Staffing Services, LLC, based in Dallas, TX. Leveraging my years of C-level business experience in the financial and service sectors, I help clients and candidates use Snelling’s services to achieve the success they desire. 

Job Search Got You Down? 6 Bits of Advice from Famous Folks

By Anthony Morrison
Quotes are powerful. No matter where you are in your life, a good quote can make you smile, give you that extra motivation you needed, or help you learn about yourself.

Your job search is no different. I’ve done some research and found six valuable quotes from presidents and television personalities that can help just about any job seeker looking for that extra boost.
Read these through and think about how they can help you find the right job. Maybe one of these will find themselves on your bulletin board or fridge!

“You always pass failure on the way to success.”
Mickey Rooney
Got rejected? Flubbed an interview? Maybe you were late to an important meeting. Whatever the case may be, when you face a fork in the road make decision and march forward. The only bad decision is indecision or quitting. Rarely does one simple mistake mean that you’re doomed forever.

“No man ever listened himself out of a job.”
Calvin Coolidge
Whether you’re networking, interviewing, or working, remember what our 30th president says about listening. While your perfect job involves you offering your own ideas, every employer wants to know that their employees are listening to them. Think before you speak so that you sound intelligent and thoughtful.

“Never continue in a job you don’t enjoy. If you’re happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success you could possible have imagined.”
Johnny Carson
Johnny loved his job and you should too. You might be thinking about the tough job market and that you should value the job you have, even if you don’t love it. That’s also true.

If you’re not happy in your job, hold onto it while still networking and getting your foot in the door at other companies. As long as you’re fair to your current employer, you have every right to look for a job that makes you happy.

Read Tips 4 - 6: https://www.publish2.com/organizations/4413/newswires/571/stories/4917283#ixzz1cenHaYXP

Resume Error #1: Believing Your Resume Will Get You the Job

And the Number 1 Resume Wrong is … believing your resume will get you the job.


You should view your resume as a tool, but your resume is only one of many tools that you will need for your job search.

A great resume cannot guarantee you will be hired. Resumes are not meant to get you the job, they are meant to get you an interview. No one is ever hired based on their resume alone. This doesn’t mean your resume isn’t important, if your resume is poor you won’t even make it to the interview stage, so in that sense you could say a poor resume might prevent you from getting the job.

An effective resume should highlight your credentials and the skills that match the opening. This is the information that the hiring manager or recruiter needs to determine if you should be called in for an interview. This is why I encourage you to keep your resume simple and on point. Many job seekers make the mistake of trying to anticipate and include answers to all the possible questions they might be asked in an interview in their resumes. I cannot say this enough: Your resume is not meant to tell your life story!

My point here is that you shouldn’t put so much effort into your resume that you neglect other steps in the job search. You should put equal or as much emphasis on your interviewing skills. I don’t care how great your resume is; you must ace the interview, or it’s over. Stay tuned for some interviewing tips next time!

You can find and download resume tools at www.nursepractitionerjobsearch.com.

Resume Errors 2 - 5 

The 10 Worst Mistakes of First-Time Job Hunters

By Kelly Eggers



If you're in your final year of college, be warned: the rumors about landing a job in this economy are true. You should be taking steps today, not next semester, to prepare yourself.

An April 2011 survey conducted by Braun Research on behalf of Adecco Staffing U.S. found that 71% of 500 recent four-year college graduates would have done something differently to prepare for the job market. While companies will hire 9.5% more graduates from the class of 2012 than they did from the 2011 graduating class, according to another poll, employers are still looking for the pick of the litter.
"When you're not familiar with the job market or job seeking, you really don't know how much effort it will take," said Kathy Kane, senior vice president of talent management for Adecco NA,
To find out what students can do to better prepare for the current job market, we spoke with career coaches, recruiters and recent graduates.

"I would have started looking for jobs earlier."
Putting off your job hunt isn't a wise move. Among the Adecco survey's respondents, 26% said they would have started looking for potential positions earlier.
"It's easy to fall into 'my weekend starts on Thursday' mode, rather than 'I've got to put my job search into full gear today' mode," said Kane, "but procrastinators will have fewer choices."
Most students don't start thinking about their careers until they have to, said Lindsey Pollak, a career expert who focuses on Generation Y in the workplace. "There's so much you can do that's not a lot of work and not overly time consuming."
"I would have actually networked."


For students and older professionals alike, networking can feel like the most dreaded part of a job hunt. Twenty-nine percent of respondents to the Adecco survey said they would have spent more time building a solid professional network.
"Networking can be scary," said Pollak, "but about 70% of jobs are found through networking." Students who spend their time trolling job boards should instead spend that time making solid connections with people who are respected and involved in the workforce, industry experts and alumni, and spend only 30% of their time looking at job listings.
For the most part, Pollak said, people love to help students. As long as you are gracious and thankful and not trying to hard-sell yourself right off the bat, potential connections are likely to be receptive.

"I would have taken on a job or an internship in addition to my courseload."
Bottom line: There's no substitute for experience.

Having some professional experience under your belt before entering the workforce has become a necessity for many employers.

"I don't know a company that doesn't want people with internship experience," said Pollak. "My advice is to get yourself through the recession any way you can, and come out with whatever experience you can."

Look for internships that provide college credit or are paid. Otherwise, gain work experience in a setting such as waiting tables -- and talk with people at each and every table. "There are CEOs who started networking while they were waiting tables," Pollak said.
If you can't find a full- or part-time position on- or off-campus, try going to the Internet for virtual work. "There are jobs you can get without even leaving your dorm room," Pollak said, including maintaining someone's social media outlets, working as a copyeditor or building a website for a small business. Many of these types of jobs have flexible hours, an added benefit for busy students.

"I would have gotten more involved in career-relevant extracurricular activities."


Read The Complete FINS Article