Job hunting like gardening?

I recently read this article about how looking for a job is like planting a garden. It makes sense. You must spend time everyday weeding, cultivating, planting seeds, etc. (The corny analogies are endless...) It takes time to find the right job. Don't assume that your qualifications are going to get you as far as you need to go. If you ignore certain parts of the process, you won't reap as many benefits. Not good at gardening? Hey, look at the bright side, it is impossible to over water your job search.

Think your resume is bad?

Check this out. These are hilarious!

How come I get nothing when I Google your name?

Have you ever tried? Googling your own name I mean. I have a very generic name, so most everything that comes up is about another Andrea Newman. I have to go the the second page of listings, and then only does a directory of LinkedIn users come up with my name. Luckily, I'm the first one.

According to "Turning to the Web to verify jobseekers’ data", 77 percent of executive recruiters use the Internet to uncover additional information about candidates. My advise? Google yourself. Find out if there is any potentially harmful information about you on the world wide web. If so, fix it if you can. If you can't find anything, make something; a blog, a LinkedIn profile, a CareerFolio, etc. You want to have a good presence online, not a non-existent one.

Not enough jobs...just as bad as not enough credit.

I usually hear complaints from people who "career-hop" every six months, that it is getting increasingly difficult to even get interviews. FACT: Changing jobs constantly is a red flag to employers! They assume that you won't stay with their company very long either, and why would they want to take the time, money, and effort to train you if you are going to pick up and leave after a short amount of time?

However, only having one job for a very long period of time is also a red flag. Employers may think that you don't handle change well, or that you are stuck in your ways and working for a new company with new ways of doing things will be too challenging for you.

It seems to be just like credit. Having too little is not a good thing, but you can work around it in a resume.

Think you've exhausted all avenues in your job search?

This article has an interesting take on this problem. I have always thought you should try everything when looking for a job, but these are new ones - even for me!

Appropriate attire for job interviews

Think about what you wore to your last job interview. How did that reflect on you? Did you wear a suit or shorts? What type of job were you applying for? These are all important questions to ask.

You want to present the best you possible. I always slightly overdress for job interviews. Think of what the appropriate attire for the job will be and go up one notch in formality. For example, if you are applying for a job where the dress code requires a polo shirt and slacks, coming to the interview in a fancy suit may be a little too much. I would keep the slacks, but add a long-sleeved button-up shirt and tie. You need to look the part.

Here is an article that has some basic rules about what to wear and what not to wear.

Getting noticed in your job search!

Let's be honest, there is so much competition out there for jobs, that you can't just open Word on your computer, type up your previous job experience, put your name at the top, and expect that you will be able to find a job with that "resume". Employers need something that will stand out from the crowd.

This article talks about things like a podcast or a virtual portfolio to get noticed. I think it depends on the type of job you are after, but these are both viable options.

Reputation Defender? Or pay us money and we'll cover your tracks?

I recently found this website that can "protect your reputation" online. When someone puts your name into Google, it controls the information that they see about you. You tell them what you want it to say about you. From personal to professional information, they will take care of hiding your secrets.

One customer even said, "I Googled myself last night and you guys are [expletive] awesome!" I'm not quite sure I agree with what this company is doing. I get that there are things we don't want future employers to see about us, but this seems manipulative and wrong. What are these people hiding that they are willing to pay money to cover up? Seems a little fishy to me...

Check it out for yourself.

The importance of spell check

When sending an email or resume to a perspective employer, it is very important that you make sure that all words are spelled correclty. Not only is it distracting, but it can be a huge detterant and most likely you will not be getting a call for an interview.

However, shift+F7 wont save you from all mistakes. Their are certain words that spell check won't catch because, well, they are actually words but the moron typing doesn't no how to use them correctly. Alot of times it is just because we are typing so fastly that we dont realize that we are actually making a mistake. Please proofread all documents before sending them out. This is there first impression of you and you don't want it to be a bad won.

For more help check out this website with common grammatical errors.

Taylor Mali on "The the impotence of proofreading":


Now how many mistakes did you see in this post?

MySpace, Facebook, or Xanga bringing you down?

Do you wonder why the last few interviews you have been on haven't turned into any jobs? Did you feel that the interview went really well, but no one ever called you back? Have you checked your MySpace recently?

What do your "top 8" friends say about you? What crazy pictures do you have of yourself? These things can deter future employers! Who would want to hire the guy that has 1037 friends, most of whom are half naked women. Or think about what story is told by your "about me" section...

I'm not saying that you can't have these type of things online, just be aware that everything is public. There are measures that you can take if you want to keep your MySpace or Facebook account (i.e. making your profile private, or accessible only by friends) but there are ways to get around these settings, so make sure that this is something that is important to you, or take it down.

An alternative, and actually something I recommend is a LinkedIn account. It is similar to MySpace, but it is for professional networking. You can add your picture, information about your professional skills, previous jobs, etc. Now this is the type of thing that future employers will want to see-and these are the type of people they actually hire!

3 resume formats you MUST know about.

Have you ever had an employer ask you for an electronic resume? What does that even mean? Well here are three examples of electronic resumes, and descriptions of each. Before applying for a job, you should have your resume available in all of these formats:

Email

HTML

Scannable

Web Resumes

As technology becomes the norm in every aspect of our lives, why would we not apply that to our resume? Yet there are still many people who have avoided this trend. Employers today are looking for candidates on the web.

I don't really understand the hesitation on the part of the job seeker. What could be easier? You create a web resume, and employers come to you. This is what I call the "easy button". It would be similar to only looking in one newspaper for a job-it is limiting your job search!

If you still need more convincing....read this.

Sometimes too much really is TOO MUCH!

Have you ever been the recipient of a scratch and sniff resume, or maybe a singing telegram describing why a certain candidate is best for the job? Well, no doubt there are people out there who go to great lengths to get their "perfect" job. But does it work? No. Let me repeat that...NO! If you want to look unprofessional and creepy, by all means. However if you want the job, stick to the basics.