7 Top Ways to Use Facebook to Land Your Next Job

In today's digital age, Facebook isn't just for sharing photos and connecting with friends—it's become a powerful tool for professional networking and job hunting. Here's how to leverage Facebook's features to advance your career and find your next opportunity.

 

4. Engage with Company Pages

Build connections with potential employers:

• Follow companies you'd like to work for
• Turn on notifications for their posts
• Engage meaningfully with their content
• Watch for hiring announcements and company culture posts
• Use company posts as conversation starters when networking

5. Utilize Your Personal Network

Your Facebook friends can be valuable allies in your job search:

• Post a professional status update about your job search
• Share your career achievements and professional development
• Ask friends to recommend you for positions
• Message contacts privately about potential opportunities
• Share industry-related content to stay visible professionally

6. Create Professional Content

Position yourself as an industry expert:

• Write and share thoughtful posts about your industry
• Share relevant articles with your professional insights
• Create short videos discussing industry trends
• Use Facebook Live to showcase your expertise
• Share your professional accomplishments tastefully

7. Network Through Facebook Events

Virtual and in-person events can lead to job opportunities:

• Search for industry conferences and meetups
• Attend virtual career fairs
• Join professional development workshops
• Network with attendees before and after events
• Follow up with new connections professionally

Pro Tips for Success

Remember these key points while using Facebook for job searching:

• Maintain professionalism in all your interactions
• Be consistent in your engagement
• Follow up promptly on leads and connections
• Keep your profile updated
• Balance personal and professional content
• Stay active but don't spam

By strategically using these Facebook features, you can expand your professional network, discover new opportunities, and increase your chances of landing your next job. Remember to combine these tactics with traditional job search methods for the best results.

 See ways 1-3 and the complete article

15 Tips for Using LinkedIn and Facebook to Find a New Job

by Gabi Casin

Today, recruiters and hiring managers are increasingly using social networks to find talent. This is why it’s essential to have a professional social media presence if you’re in the market for a new job (and important to manage the privacy settings on your social accounts you don’t want recruiters and hiring managers to see). Below are some general tips for using social media to job search, along with specific job-search tips for using LinkedIn and Facebook.

General tips

1. Put your personality on display

In addition to your educational background and professional experience, hiring managers and recruiters are interested in your lifestyle, hobbies, and the media you consume—such as books and articles in your field of work or study. At best, this type of personal information can be a decisive element for recruiters when deciding between candidates. And at least, being present on a social network and showcasing your personality and what makes you unique will allow recruiters to know more about you.

2. Search for and connect with employers

Social media is a great place to discover new employers and connect with them. For example, start-ups and tech companies are usually very present on social networks. Don't hesitate to send a short message or interact with companies that interest you via their social feeds. Maybe, someday, you’ll see a job opening at one of these firms, which could lead to an interview and ultimately a great job offer.

LinkedIn tips

1. Let it be known that you’re looking for a job

First of all, if you're looking for a job, make sure to let recruiters and your network know on LinkedIn that you're open to new career opportunities. If you indicate which job offers you’re interested in and your preferred location, LinkedIn will ensure that your profile is found in search queries when recruiters are looking for suitable candidates.

2. Expand your network

Widening your networking will improve your chances of landing informational interviews and job interviews. So, make sure to connect with fellow students, colleagues, friends, clients, and partners.

4. Be active

Don’t just sit around and wait for recruiters to reach out. Instead, share photos, articles, and social posts that you think are relevant and interesting. Or publish content yourself such as a blog on a topic in your field to highlight your expertise and improve your visibility. At the very least, make sure to link to any outside portfolio or blog that you host.

Facebook tips

1. Tidy up your public posts

Even if you already know this, it’s worth repeating since it’s so important: Don’t make intimate, personal photos or political tweets public on Facebook. Recruiters can, in fact, eliminate your job application if they consider that you’re posting inappropriately. So, scrub your public profile until it’s squeaky clean.

5. Pay close attention to how a company deals with criticism

How companies deal with negative comments on Facebook says a lot about their ability to accept criticism and their culture. Is there room for open dialogue? Is criticism taken seriously? Is criticism welcome? A company’s corporate culture is clearly evident in its communication with Facebook followers. Closely looking at this communication will help you weed out employers you don't want to work for, while pointing you in the direction of what could be your dream employer.

Read all 15 tips and the complete Vault article

 

 

 

 

 

4 Ways To Use Facebook To Find A Job

Susan Adams

Kevin Mueller was in his last semester at Miami University in Ohio and he hadn’t yet landed a post-graduation job. So he jumped when his marketing professor posted a status update with a link to a job opening at Launchsquad, a PR firm in San Francisco. Mueller, 22, responded to the post, which led him to connect with Miami University alumna Kristen Hay, a senior account executive at Launchsquad, who hired him.


All of our job searches should be so easy. But as social networking matures, stories like Mueller’s are increasingly common. Still, until I saw a new survey from a company called Jobvite , I thought most job seekers were using LinkedIn LNKD -6.39%, not Facebook, to find work. But according to the survey, 83% of people looking for a job say they use Facebook in their social media search, compared to 36% who use LinkedIn which, to my surprise, is the most infrequently used site among job seekers. Some 40% use Twitter and 37% use Google GOOG +0.19%+. Jobvite also surveyed recruiters, 94% of whom use LinkedIn, while 65% use Facebook, 55% use Twitter and 18% use Google+.

Jobvite cares about such numbers because it sells software that enables companies to identify and source job candidates through their employees’ social networks. To compile the survey, Jobvite ran an online poll of 2,000 people in mid December.

I was struck by the Facebook stats and I realized that while I’ve written a half dozen articles about using LinkedIn to find a job, I have never focused on Facebook as a job search tool. At 1.23 billion users, Facebook is nearly five times the size of LinkedIn, which has 259 million members. For that reason alone, job seekers should tap Facebook’s professional networking power. For advice on how best to do that, I turned to Dan Finnigan, 51, the CEO of eight-year-old Jobvite. Finnigan helped me hone these four ways that you can use Facebook to find a job.


1. Fill out your profile with your professional history.


2. Classify your friends


Read more about these two ways, all four ways, and the complete Forbes article 

5 Ways to use Facebook for your Job Search

Yes the words work and Facebook do sound like a contradiction in term; some offices have even banned Facebook for being the ultimate time waste application (back to Solitaire everyone). During the last few years we have learned how one can easily get fired by using Facebook, all you have to do is update your status with how much you loathe your boss or publicly post pictures from last weekend’s shenanigans portraying you slightly worse for wear. Let me now pose a much more intriguing question; is it possible to land a job using Facebook? Surely not you say, let’s investigate I say.

Stats first; we are looking at 300 million active users on Facebook (about the population of the United States). Facebook is ranked the 2nd most popular Internet site by Alexa, just behind Google. The users on Facebook spend 20 minutes per day on the site, whereas the average for any website is roughly 10 seconds. So we know there are shed loads of people on Facebook, it’s very popular and users tend to spend a lot of time on the site.

Now let’s crack on with the 5 ways to use Facebook to get hired:

1. Networking

With the stats fresh in mind, we can assume that most of your colleagues and business partners will be on Facebook. Furthermore, we can assume that recruiters and prospective new employers (hiring mangers, HR people) will be on Facebook. This gives you a unique opportunity to network yourself to whoever is hiring at the moment.

Everyone expects to get contacted via Twitter but Facebook is not a professional network, and therefore you contacting somebody professionally could actually help you stand out from the crowd. I know sales people that use Facebook exactly this way as they can get through, whereas Linkedin ships hundreds of messages every week to buyers. As long as you tread carefully, this tactic will work.
Let’s say you identify a company that is recruiting, now find out who the hiring manager is. Then check for friends or friends of friends in common, in order to get referred to people working for the company or even the hiring manager direct. Contact this person with your best spiel and take it from there.

2. Status Updates

The most obvious way to use Facebook for a job hunt is to update your status with your current situation and what you are looking for. Friends, family, old colleagues, long-time-no-speak acquaintances are all there to help you. People want to help others, it’s in human nature. You will be delighted at how much support and help you’ll get. Bear in mind that another human trait is forgetting, so you best keep updating your network and giving them the latest on your job hunt and thus staying in the forefront of their minds.

3. Facebook marketplace

Craigslist, Gumtree and other online marketplaces are simple tools that can be very useful for your job hunt. Have you tried Facebook marketplace? Have a look through your local marketplace for job listings, you will be able to see a description and also who posted the job. You can now either apply or contact the person behind the position for more information. Facebook’s marketplace may not be as comprehensive as other marketplaces but that can benefit you as there is likely to be less competition for any roles posted there.

Ways 4,5, and the complete UnderCover Recruiter article

Seven Tips for Using Facebook in Your Job Search

By Helene Cavalli

Lee Hecht Harrison research on hiring trends reveals that recruiters and hiring managers have found the effectiveness of social media in sourcing qualified candidates has increased 51% over the past two to three years, and they expect effectiveness to jump another 68% over the next two to three years.

While LinkedIn is still the overwhelming favorite of HR managers and recruiters, Facebook is increasing in importance as an effective recruiting tool. Our research indicates that currently 16% of recruiters and 14% of HR managers are regularly using Facebook to source both passive and active job candidates – and it’s increasing.  If you’re limiting your Facebook activity to friends and family, you might want to consider expanding activity to include professional connections – and possibly uncovering job opportunities.
Here’s how to maximize your search success on Facebook:

1. Target your targets. Follow your target companies to uncover job openings and stay current on new company products, services, initiatives and acquisitions.
2. Follow the leaders. Follow pages from career-related organizations (such as LHH on Facebook) to have real-time access to employment trends and information.
3. Work smart. Follow search- and career-related sites such as Monster’s BeKnown and Glassdoor (voted the Best Employment Site of 2012).
4. Connect. Use the Facebook search feature to connect with people in your field or to join groups with a common interest.

Tips 5-7 and Complete Article

Switching Facebook From a Time Crusher to a Career Booster

By RITIKA TRIKHA

For most, Facebook can be a real time waster—one minute you're browsing your friend's photos from Costa Rica, the next thing you know an hour and a half has gone by and you've wound up watching the latest viral "Call Me Maybe" parody someone posted from YouTube. Oh, and apparently 88 percent of Facebook users spend a good amount of time stalking an ex, according to a recent Western University study.

While Facebook is undeniably fun (and a little addictive) for personal use, it's also a great job-search tool. After all, it's the world's largest social network and contains untapped resources for professional use as well. It's all about how you use it.

Here are six steps to leveraging Facebook to land a job:

1. Create a separate professional account. Although Facebook offers lists and customizable privacy controls, the best way to make sure that no unnecessary personal information slips through the cracks is to create a new professional profile dedicated to your job search.

Make sure you use the same professional photo as your LinkedIn account to create a more consistent, memorable presence online. After all, the first thing hiring managers and recruiters do is probe the Web to see if they can find dirt on you. Keep your personal profile off the grid and make your professional profile completely public.

2. Download job search apps. Now that you have a separate account, you can freely take advantage of Facebook job-searching applications without worrying about using your personal account to login. Some popular job-searching apps include "Marketplace," "BranchOut," and "BeKnown." Each of these has a solid following and job listings. You can find them simply by searching the name in your Facebook search bar.

3. Join groups in your area. For instance, for those interested in the business field, groups like Entrepreneurs and Professionals Network, Web 2.0 Entrepreneurs, and Entrepreneur Magazine all have a solid following, filling the feed with industry news, links to free webinars, and other resources. For someone interested in landing a job in the healthcare industry, HCareers is a great, insightful group. Google your industry along with the term "Facebook groups" to see what's out there for you.

Tips 4 - 6 and complete USNews article

Jobvite: How to Get a Great Job Using Facebook

Posted by Patrick Neeman

Jobvite is the full-time gig, and they’re nice enough to let me blog. I talk all the time to recruiters and how they recruit. One of the most recent topics was Facebook, and how it’s a great platform for building out your network to find great jobs. Here’s the repost.

Facebook isn’t just a place for friends anymore.

Job seekers are using this social network to look past personal photos and friends’ status updates for their next big opportunity. Jobvite research shows that over 44 percent of all job seeking activity is happening on Facebook, and that much of the conversation is happening with trusted friends on the network.

These are active job seekers connecting on Facebook, because they see it as one more channel. However, as a recruiter, you have to approach it much differently than Twitter, and it requires users to be more active than other social networks. But it’s not hard, as the Super Socials are finding out.

Here’s how to improve your Facebook to find your next great gig.

Complete Your Profile.

Your chances of finding a job go up significantly when companies know what you do. Fill out your Facebook profile using the information from LinkedIn. For more tips about LinkedIn social profiles, read How to Build a Great Profile on LinkedIn. Every single tip is also relevant for Facebook.

Jobvite and other companies have built Facebook applications tailored for career searches.The application matches your profile information to jobs in their networks, and this allows the tools to better target job seekers and for job seekers to better target companies. Think of it like search engine optimization for your profile: the more relevant the information like using keywords that would match job descriptions, the better your profile matches.

Facebook also targets advertising based on where people have worked and their job titles.Employers can target location, educational background, age range and other demographics to reach candidates. Jobvite is one of the many platforms that can track candidate applications from Facebook, further showing that the platform is a valid place to reach future employees.

It works.

One of the senior product managers here at Jobvite, Lucinda Foss, had filled out her profile and Jobvite used Facebook’s advertising platform to target Product Managers from certain industries. She clicked, applied, and now she’s the lead on several projects here at Jobvite.

Follow Companies You Want to Work At.

Great companies that understand social networks are a great place to find employees — all you have to do it search.

Over 80 percent of employers use social media to find candidates, which means they’re looking for you. And it’s a really easy two-step process: search for companies you want to work at and like their Facebook Fan pages. Once your “Like” is registered, you receive news about the company directly in your news stream.

One of the companies that does it best isYelp! On its Facebook Fan page they have a Work With Us icon that links directly to its job listings, searchable by region and job title. Through Facebook, you are just a couple of clicks away from applying.

Yelp! does a great job of showcasing their company culture through Facebook with their “Day in the Life” series. They profile employees at all levels of the company and what they do in a typical day so people can get an idea what the company culture is like. These posts are featured directly on the fan page and will arrive in your newsfeed.

Yelp!’s Facebook fan page where the jobs listing icon appears.

Find Common Interest Groups and Conferences.  Read more about Common Interest Groups and Conferences and complete article for more job seeking tips and tricks.

How Getting Creative in Social Media Can Lead to a Job

By Amanda Nelson

Gone are the days of simply emailing your resume and cover letter and getting a call back. You need to be creative in your approach to job seeking. After speaking last week at the University of Hartford to students and watching their eyes light up and widen at the thought of working in social media, I had to help.

So here are some of the tactics I’ve used and/or seen that have really worked. And as you’d expect, much of them utilize social media.

Talk to relatives, friends and neighbors. You never know who works in your field and can hook you up with a contact or even a job. So what if that person used to babysit you? Who cares if you mowed their lawn every summer? Times have changed and you’re ready to talk business. They’ll be eager to talk about what they do.

Use Twitter to the max. There are plenty of Twitter chats and Twitter handles to follow that list and discuss job openings. But don’t stop there. Once you see the job opportunity, tweet at the company with that specific job opening. If they are using social media, they’ll see it and respond back. Start conversations with those Twitter handles and connect with their employees on Twitter. And when the recruiter looks for you on these channels, they’ll see you’re already connected to their employees!

Do more than connect via LinkedIn. - More tips and complete article

GET HIRED: How To Use Facebook To Land Your Dream Job

Julie Bort

Facebook can be a secret weapon for those looking for jobs. And not just by posting: "Hey, I'm looking for a job."


Facebook can also harm your job search. Recruiters will go to your Facebook profile and judge you.
Their judgments can be pretty spot on, too, reports NIU Today, citing a study from Northern Illinois University’s College of Business.

Knowing that, here are the top 10 tips for using Facebook to land your dream job.

1. Use applications like Simply Hired, BranchOut, or BeKnown to expose your Facebook profile to recruiters. Simply sign in to these apps with your Facebook login.

2. These apps also let you sift through your network to find friends who work at companies with job openings so you can hit them up to put in a good word for you.

3. Use Facebook to get noticed by the companies you want to work for.
"Facebook offers you ways to engage with companies you like. You can Like pages, participate in discussions, participate in groups in occupations, locations, discussions which are about the company," Gautam Godhwani, CEO of Simply Hired.com, told Business Insider.

4. Scout out the likes of other employees at the company. Make your profile show similar interests by liking  similar groups or pages. (And if you don't like those pages -- why do you want to work with those folks?)

5. Fill out the education and job history parts of your profile. Turn your job history into a resume, similar to how you would fill out a LinkedIn profile.

Read tips 6 - 10 and more advice: http://www.businessinsider.com/get-hired-how-to-use-facebook-to-land-your-dream-job-2012-3#ixzz1oK6uqlO7

How to get a job at Facebook

The social network eschews the puzzles favored by other tech giants. But, proving that you have what it takes to live up to the firm's hacker ethos may be even harder.

By Miguel Helft and Jessi Hempel


FORTUNE -- For engineers hoping to land a job at Facebook, here's the good news: Facebook is not Google. You don't need a computer science degree from Stanford or Carnegie Mellon. You don't need a Ph.D. You don't need a quasi-perfect GPA, and you may not have to chase copies of your SAT transcript. After all, Facebook was started by a college dropout with a passion for hacking, not by a pair of doctoral students working on the seemingly intractable problem of finding relevance in a sea of Web pages.

Now here is the bad news: none of that means joining Facebook's engineering ranks is easy.

As the company has grown, and Mark Zuckerberg has moved from coder to curator, he has needed a never-ending supply of engineers who are not only smart programmers but also embrace Facebook's hacker ethos. Many have come through the company's vast recruiting operation, which has reached well beyond the top schools. "I'd rather have the top student out of U.T. or University of Central Florida than the 30th best from Stanford," says Jocelyn Goldfein, an engineering director. To reach students in schools where it cannot send interviewers, Facebook has set up online programming puzzles that students can try to solve in hopes of getting noticed.


Those lucky enough to make the first cut should be prepared to show their hacker chops: the first interview will involve coding, not brainteasers first popularized by Microsoft (MSFT) in the 1990s. "There's no hand-waving your way through a coding interview," Goldfein says. "So it's just sort of a great first litmus test that we're dealing with someone serious."

Read the rest of the Fortune article

Are You Overlooking How Facebook Could Help Your Career? [NEW STUDY]

What’s your Facebook policy on friending professional contacts?

Users between the ages of 18 and 29 tend to use the site mainly to interact with friends and family, not as a career resource, according to a new study by Millennial Branding, a Boston-based branding consultancy that worked with Identified.com to pull data.

Only a third of GenY users add a job title to their Facebook profile, the study found, yet more than half of those young professionals add at least a handful of work contacts as their Facebook friends.


That leaves Generation Y in a bind. While many don’t see Facebook as a professional space, we still interact with work contacts – which means how we present ourselves on the social networking site spills over into our professional life.

“GenY needs to be aware that what they publish online can come back to haunt them in the workplace,” said Dan Schwabel, a personal branding expert and managing partner of Millennial Branding. “GenY managers and co-workers have insight into their social lives, which could create an awkward workplace setting or even result in a termination.”

Before it gets that far, you can take some simple steps to ensure your Facebook profile feels and looks professional, even while remaining personal. It might even help you use your network to your advantage.

Facebook as a resume

First, add your current and past job titles. While 80 percent of Millennials include their college or university on their profile, only 36 percent list an employer, Millennial Branding reports. Especially if you’ve changed jobs recently, make sure to keep your work information current.

Then check out Facebook’s recent design changes, which make your work history even more important. The redesigned profile is more than a new look; it presents a timeline of each user’s life, with past events ordered chronologically and easily accessible.

The timeline format could effectively become a digital resume, says Job coach Gerrit Hall. He predicts employers will increasingly turn to Facebook to vet potential hires.

“From the giant cover image at the top to the chronological organization down the line, your Facebook profile is a resume for your life, not just your career,” Hall, co-founder of RezScore, a company that analyzes and grades resumes for job seekers, wrote on digital news site Mashable.

If you activate the new look, Facebook gives you a week to review everything on your profile before making the changes public. Take that time to review old status updates or photos, and delete ones that might not be appropriate for your professional friends. And don’t just think about what to take off; the switch is a good opportunity to literally see what information, including your work experience, is missing and what you might add.

Other helpful Facebook features

Read more: http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/01/09/are-you-overlooking-how-facebook-could-help-your-career

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

Target Your Next Employer With a Personal Ad

By Chris Prentice



After graduating from Davidson College in 2009, Marian Schembari sent out scads of resumes and cover letters to the big publishing companies she wanted to work for. No results.
So she decided to sell herself direct.

Using Facebook's self-serve ad technology, she created eight ads in a two-week campaign. They featured her face with a short headline that said "I want to work for..." then listed her favorite companies: HarperCollins Publishers, Penguin Group, Random House, Inc., Rodale, Inc., Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, McGraw Hill and Hachette Filipacchi Media.

Within two weeks, her ad received thousands of clicks and she had two scheduled interviews. "I was just blown away by the success," said Schembari, 24, who is now a digital account manager at Young & Shand in Auckland, New Zealand.

With the matching process between jobs seekers and employers becoming increasingly difficult, one way to cut through the noise is to take out your own ad on Facebook or LinkedIn. Targeted advertisements can help you reach out directly to your dream employer, instead of passively waiting for a job posting. With 100 million users on LinkedIn and 500 million on Facebook, you're likely to find a hiring manager who wants you.

"Targeted advertising helps you reach the decision-makers in a relevant and engaging way," said Ryan Roslanksy, director of product management for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions in San Francisco.

Facebook has offered precise, targeted self-service ads since 2007. LinkedIn began its targeted ad service in January 2011.

Both sites have a tool that allows you to create an ad, link it to your personal website or LinkedIn or Facebook page, and target specific individuals and hiring managers. For instance, the settings allow you to target women who say they are in a hiring position at an advertising firm in New York.


Clicks or Impressions
You can pay for the ad via credit card, with LinkedIn charging a minimum of $10 a day plus a one-time fee of $5. Facebook costs a minimum of $1 a day. You also have to bid the price of your ad -- thus if someone else is willing to pay more to reach that same female hiring manager at the ad firm, their ad will appear on that person's Facebook or LinkedIn page and not yours.

Payment options are either by "clicks," the number of times someone clicks through to your website, or you can buy "impressions," the number of times your ad appears to your targeted hiring manager or company.

To maximize chances of connecting with the right employer, it's best to buy "clicks" instead of "impressions," said Jacob Young, 34, interim chief executive officer at SocialTown LLC, a Chicago-based social media consulting firm. That way, you're assured employers will click through to your landing page with your resume and related material about your fitness for a particular job.

"If you want to be sure people see your resume, you want to go with the pay per clicks," Young said.
The most important item to include in your ad's headline is the name of the company you want work for, said Schembari. That directness will draw the attention of a potential employer. It's better to simply say "I want to work for [name of organization]" than look for a specific position because it exposes you to more options within a company, said Schembari.


Design a Simple Landing Page
Once a user clicks on your ad, he will find himself on your landing page. Your site should have a copy of your resume and your contact information in an easy-to-read format, Young said. Do not make the process of finding you difficult for a recruiter or an employer.

A personal website as your landing page can be more professional than a LinkedIn or Facebook page, Schembari said. Plus, a well-organized website shows off digital design skills.

Including testimonials of people you have worked with is a good idea as long as they agree, Schembari said. Having such references can spark a potential employer's interest.

And, of course, everyone prefers a happy worker. Make sure you're smiling in the photo you include.


Target Your Employers
Read the Complete Article for more advice

5 tips for finding a new job in 2011

CBS 6 Staff

Among the many new year’s resolutions, a popular one is getting a new job or career.

Answers Team member Dan Moran, President and Founder of Next-Act, says two things are needed to follow through on that resolution: a plan to fulfill it and the attitude to succeed.

Moran offers these tips:

* If you make the resolution to get a new job or career, create your plan to make this happen. “Break your resolution into a number of goals – such as updating your resume, making a list if network contacts you can approach, identify the ideal job or career – and each time you finish one of these goals, cross it of your list and reward yourself in some way for your achievement – even if it I just a hot chocolate”! Moran continued, “The most important tip – write your resolution down, post it on the mirror and write out your plan – it is critical to success and motivating as will”.
* Get organized. “Create calendars to keep your schedule on track, an schedule time to work on your resolution and make networking contacts. Being better organized will help you achieve your goals”.
* Be a better friend. “With social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and others, you can reconnect with friends and colleagues and let them know you are on the search for a new opportunity.
* Set realistic expectations. “This is very important as well. We live in a society of immediate gratification, but some big changes take time. Don’t think – and want a new job in two week – but be reasonable in your timeline or goals”.
* Develop an attitude of success. “You can only win if you believe you are a winner”, stated Moran. “ Creating a winning attitude in your mind will keep moving you forward. Give yourself permission to succeed – truly succeed. Be positive – and be with positive people – their positive energy will fill you, if you let it”.

Original CBS 6 Article

Top 10 Job Hunting Tips of 2010

Posted by Lindsey Pollak

I absolutely love end of year lists, and swooned when I found Time.com’s list of The Top 10 of Everything of 2010.

Although Time’s list of lists is pretty comprehensive, ranging from apologies to new species to Twitter moments, I wanted to add my own top 10 list -- top 10 tips for job seekers. And so here are the 10 tips that readers found most helpful to their job search efforts this year.

1. Ask for honest feedback. Recruit a trusted relative, career services staff member, professor or friend to assess you honestly as a job seeker. Ask the person to list your best qualities and most impressive accomplishments. On the flip side, ask for constructive feedback on your weaknesses. Find out if the things you’re most concerned about — lack of experience, a less-than-desirable GPA, shyness, etc. — are legitimate concerns or if you’re obsessing over nothing. If your fears are unfounded, let them go once and for all!

2. Don’t be turned off by the terms “internship” or “part-time.” This tip came from Lauren Porat, co-founder of UrbanInterns.com. In a difficult job market, sometimes you need to be flexible and “settle” for a less-than-perfect opportunity, such as a non-full-time job. According to Lauren, many people have developed incredible careers by serving multiple part-time clients. Also, starting out this way may allow you to get your foot in the door with some very cool, interesting startup companies.

3. Overprepare. Think about your confidence level when you walk into a test for which you’ve studied really thoroughly versus how you feel walking into a test for which you’ve skimmed your notes for ten minutes the night before. Most people don’t realize that a job hunt is something you can study for. Before attending a job fair, spend an hour or two on the websites of companies that will have booths. Before a job interview, spend an hour reading the organization’s website (especially the mission statement, recruiting pages and recent press releases) and study the LinkedIn profiles of the people who will be interviewing you. Read e-newsletters and blogs from your industry to keep up with current events that might be discussed at a networking event. The more preparation you do, the more confident you’ll feel when you interact with recruiters and other professionals you’ll encounter during your job search.

4. Do not ask to “pick someone’s brain.” Okay this one is more about how not to ask me in particular for advice on your job hunt (or anything for that matter!). Some people don’t mind this phrase, but I definitely do. Why? First of all, I think it sounds kind of gross (think about it). Second of all, it is very one-sided: if you are picking my brain, what’s in this conversation for me? It feels as if I’ll be left brainless afterwards. My advice is to always request advice in a way that makes the ask-ee feel respected and like he or she will leave the conversation with something, too.

5. Clean up your online image. According to a Microsoft survey, 85 percent of HR professionals responding said that positive online reputation influences their hiring decisions, and 70 percent said they have rejected candidates based on information they found online. Make no mistake about it: your online image will affect your job search and your career. If you haven’t already, set up strict privacy settings on all social networks (often, including on Facebook, the default setting is for all of your information to be public, so check every setting!), take down any inappropriate pictures or content, set up a 100 percent professional profile on LinkedIn and Google, and think twice before posting any new content on Facebook, Twitter or a blog. In many recruiters’ minds, you are what you post.

Tips 6 - 10 and Complete Article

Tips for Cold Calling for a Job

With our economy headed into a double-dip recession, with all economic indicators heading downward, this is going to be a challenging period for job hunters.  Yet, we all know that some people are getting jobs.  Are they better than you?  No, they're just better at finding the jobs.

When you have exhausted your personal contacts, worked Facebook and LinkedIn to death and attended every networking event you could find and still don't have any viable job leads, it's time to start cold calling and meeting new people to invigorate your job search.
One of the most challenging skills to master is the ability to effectively cold call.  Cold calling, by my definition, are calls made to people you have never met before where you are looking to establish a business relationship.  It is truly the most difficult process in business.

Cold calling can be made either by sending a letter, e-mail, or phone call.  I personally like calling a new contact.  People today get way too many e-mails which can be daunting for most of us.  I would never e-mail a person if you have never met them.  It's not productive to send information to a potential contact via the e-mail and disrupt their personal space.  In fact, if they do not know who you are they'll probably delete your e-mail without opening it or it will end up in their Spam folder.
Cold calling should be based on a marketing plan you have comprised.  It is essential to have some sort of a game plan before you pick up the phone and start calling a prospect.  This is what separates you from a whiney job seeker who doesn't get return calls from someone who gets return phone calls.
Once you identify who you are contacting do research to see if they have been honored for anything recently or have written any articles lately.  This will give you some insight into how they think and may give you an advantage in your early communication with them.  Compliment them on their achievements: make it about them, not you.
Know that these people you are calling on are extremely busy.  They probably have piles of paper on their desk, fifty e-mails to be answered, and an almost full voice mail.  This is the kind of environment we work in today and will continue for the foreseeable future.  So remember whoever you are contacting cold is probably overworked, tired and bombarded by a number of other people who are trying to reach them.
When you are making a cold call by phone you may only reach a voice mail.  If you do reach a voice mail then leave a short message of who you are, why you're calling and your telephone number.  You may get a return phone call depending on the business ethics of who you are calling.  Many successful executives will return calls out of courtesy but a number of business people will not.  In most cases, you will have to call back a few times.  Don't call back at the same time each time you call.  Be creative and tenacious, but not annoying.
Companies are hiring people, just not at the pace people are losing jobs.  Firms are always looking for new talent.  The key is to be in the inner circle of hiring.  I recognize that personal referrals into a company are easier and sometimes better when looking for a job, but it also limits your chance of getting a job. Personal referrals are quickly exhausted and then what do you do besides applying online as everyone else does?
You have nothing to lose by cold calling.  Just make sure that you target the right people to call.  Do your homework by knowing something about the person you are calling. Compliment them on an article they published or a promotion, something they feel good about and feel compelled to respond to you to thank you for acknowledging.
Be enthusiastic, confident and informed. This confidence and enthusiasm will be infectious.  Whether you leave a voice mail or speak directly to the person you are attempting to reach by phone, make sure to make your proposition clear.  The mission of a cold call is not to sell your goods on the spot, but to open the door with this person for dialog.
Great sales people make great cold calls.  Take a cue from them.  Meet with one of your friends who have made a career in selling and ask them what they do.  This is not a time to sit back and wait for a phone call.  Get out there and keep talking, until you get the job you want.


Original Article

5 Tips for Job Seekers on Corporate Social Networks

Anne Berkowitch is co-founder and CEO of SelectMinds, the leading provider of networking and referral technologies and of the recently launched TalentVine referral recruiting solution. You can follow SelectMinds on Twitter at @SelectMinds.
There’s a lot of talk these days about using social networks as job search tools as well as sources for recruiters and HR executives to scout talent. Many organizations opt to build secure, private networks for their current and former employees that provide a place for people to connect and refer opportunities, contacts and information to one another. Here are some tips to get the most out of these increasingly common company networks.

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1. Remember Your Resources

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While it may be natural to dive into the wider web in your job search, you might be better served to take advantage of resources and people you are already connected to. Many businesses of all sizes offer networks to connect current and former employees. Check in with HR heads of former employers and find out what networking tools they offer. In the battle for great talent, it’s in their interest to keep up with you and where your career is headed.

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2. Present Your Best Self

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When building your identity and reputation on a company network, it’s important to remember that these networks are professional environments that are rarely anonymous. While you may have shared some drinks at the holiday party in 2007, you still want to engage with current and former colleagues on a strictly professional basis. Remember to update your information (title, company, leadership experience, etc.) regularly, perhaps every quarter, and point it out to relevant people as appropriate.
Also note that while you’re maintaining a professional presence on internal company networks, your public social profiles on Facebook (), Twitter () and other sites will often be checked by recruiters before they make contact with you. We’ve all heard the horror stories — for example, applicants updating their status or tweeting before and after an interview with disparaging or confidential remarks about the company. We’ve heard about recent college grads who have thousands of photos on Facebook, many of which are not work appropriate. These are lessons applicants need only learn once. Showing some personality is important, but it’s a fine line.

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3. Reconnect

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People are used to getting “Friended,” “Followed,” “Connected With” and more on a regular basis, so reaching out to past colleagues with whom you’ve worked should be well received. It’s a great way to share opportunities, personal and professional news, and stay up to date on happenings at your company. When you join a company network, spend some time identifying colleagues and friends within the organizations and acknowledge them on the network.
The foundation of many workplace relationships is gained in the first few days working together. A vendor my company works with recently had an influx of new hires due to business growth. The new team they assembled is full of characters and they promote camaraderie as an essential piece of their corporate culture. These employees are not just all Facebook friends but they’re neighbors, they Follow each other on Twitter, retweet each other, etc. They are connected personally and online in a way we know will continue even if one of them should make a career move.

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4. Show Your Self-Motivation

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As everyone knows, finding a job is work in itself. If you want to get advice from a former colleague or talk about business connections or job opportunities, you have to reach out. (Re)connect online and then consider setting up a get-together with former colleagues. Being outgoing and organized is a quick way to get recognized — a factor that’s sure to pay off in the future.
In-person meetings always go farther than a phone call ever could. For HR managers who work at large, global businesses, it’s nearly impossible to meet candidates face to face. But if you’re an executive and someone local is asking to meet up, it’s a great activity to make time for. I recently heard about a young job seeker who wanted to relocate and found out the local director at her dream firm had gone to a competing high school. That connection alone (pointed out in an e-mail she sent him when she happened to be in town) got her in the door and ultimately, the job itself.

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5. It Can’t Hurt to Ask

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Given the professional nature of company networks, it’s more common and expected for the topic of job openings and hiring to come up. Don’t be afraid to ask your connections how they got their newest job, why they left a company, or if they would be willing to make an introduction for you. Understand that these networks create mutual relationships, so be sure to offer connections, guidance and thoughts to others — engendering good will when it comes to a professional network goes a long way.
A woman my company works with has had previous high profile jobs in her field. As a result, many people know her and ask her for favors. The one she tells us she always obliges is giving honest answers to people who are considering going to work for her previous companies. Often these connections come through people she may need a favor from someday too, so it’s a valuable practice to help past companies find great talent, even though she’s already left.

Original Mashable Article

Facebook Becomes Job Search Engine

• Posted by Phil Rosenberg 
• View Phil Rosenberg's blog

SimplyHired, a job search aggregation site, announced that it's just released new features allowing integration with user Facebook friends. How does this help job seekers?

This integration marks the first time Facebook has entered mainstream job search. Facebook has long been a way that a candidate can be found by recruiters and hiring managers who are searching for an employee. Now SimplyHired makes it easier to find companies where they have Facebook friends to contact about the hidden job market.

SimplyHired has featured integration with Linkedin for awhile, allowing Linkedin users to overlay network contacts on top of job ads. Facebook integration is a little different, allowing candidates some different ways to search for jobs.

“Simply Hired is showing what’s possible when you make it easy to find jobs through friends,” said Ethan Beard, director of the Facebook Developer Network. “Personal relationships and professional networking have always been the best ways to find a new job. By integrating with Facebook, Simply Hired is bringing this to life online and helping users tap into their social connections to personalize the job search process.”

There are some broad similarities in how SimplyHired integrates with Linkedin vs how SimplyHired achieves integration with Facebook. There are many differences, making each integration a unique tool for job search, used in different ways.

Similarities to Linkedin/SimplyHired Integration:
* Connections ...
* Sign-in ...
* Privacy ...

“Personalization is the next generation of job search,” said Simply Hired CEO Gautam Godhwani. “Today, Simply Hired takes another significant step toward making job search simple by combining the largest social graph with the largest job database. Finally, your friends can help you find a job online.”

Differences Between Linkedin/SH integration and Facebook/SH integration:
* Linkedin contacts are displayed to the side ...
* Facebook friends are displayed in sections ...
* Different assumptions ...
* Degrees of separation ...
* Types of searches ...

( Continued ... How To Set Up & Use SimplyHired/Facebook Integration )

Article: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/06/facebook-becomes-job-search-...
Source: http://recareered.blogspot.com

Ten Tips For Startup Job Search Success

These days I see a surge of new startups as we fight our way out of the recession. If you are not starting one yourself, the next best thing is joining one as a partner, or being an early employee. Believe me, there is no better way to get the experience you need for your own venture.
According to Ford R. Myers, a noted career coach, and author of “Get The Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring,” many job seekers and career changers make the mistake of halting all their efforts during the summer, believing that nobody will be hiring until early fall. He and I believe that summer is the perfect time for starting a new career.
Here are some tips from his perspective and mine to stave off the summer “brain drain” and focus on the next step or starting a whole new career as an entrepreneur:

1. Create and control your Internet image. Whether it's LinkedIn, YouTube, or Facebook, you need an online presence. No online presence may brand you as “old school,” and not startup material. Carefully monitor the "personal brand" you're building on the Internet to keep it positive.
   
2. Perform an internal career audit. Summer is a perfect time to take an honest look at your career -- where you've been, where you are today, and where you'd like to go. Identify new goals based on your own definition of career success and then take action.
   
3. Invest in career coaching. A qualified career coach can help you get totally clear on your objectives, differentiate you from the competition, market you effectively, get the offer, and negotiate the best compensation. Don’t assume it’s a luxury you can’t afford.
   
4. Actively work the network. Summer is one of the best times of the year to make new connections and find new startups, with outdoor activities and sports. Contrary to popular belief, business networking is not all done at investor receptions and conferences.
   
5. Follow-up with existing connections. Make new connections through your network, and always follow up with people you've already met. I’ve never met an executive or professional yet who didn’t enjoy being asked to share his expertise and views, and most will then remember you as someone who really cares.
   
6. Update your career "tool kit." Most job seekers still use only their resume as the cornerstone of their search. But there are many other items you should have in your "career tool kit" – good online profiles, accomplishment stories, positioning statement, contact list, professional references, letters of recommendation, and more.
   
7. Tune your business fashion sense. Fashion trends in startups are more relaxed and modern than you may see in large enterprises. It may be time to update your apparel to prevent the impression that you are stuck in the past and may have a difficult time adjusting to the startup world. It also will boost your own confidence level as well.
   
8. Volunteer or seek internships. There are many volunteer opportunities available during the summer. This is a good way to get practical job experience, help people, and to meet other professionals who may be able to recommend you.
   
9. It is better to give than to receive. The fastest and most effective strategy for getting help is to offer help to others. Ask the people in your network who they might like an introduction to or if there is any way that you can be of assistance to them.
   
10. Become an opportunity magnet. Always think and speak positively, and never say anything negative. This will help you to become an opportunity magnet -- poised to attract, interview and "hire" your next employer.

The most important thing is to get out there and work the territory. If you adopt a defeatist attitude or wait for the job to find you, entrepreneurs will quickly see this, and you will be defeated. Startups are hard work for everyone, so enthusiasm, confidence, and a can-do attitude are essential to success. You make your own luck in this world.

Original Article

Ten Top Secret Job Search Tips

By Barbara Safani

One of the reasons why so many people get frustrated searching for a new job is that they spend all their time on the job boards. While posting for jobs online is one method of search, it's what everyone else is doing too. And it's hard to get noticed when you are one of hundreds of candidates vying for the same position. More people find their jobs through the hidden job market; the jobs that are not posted to the masses, but are uncovered through research and relationship building.

Here are some of the best kept secrets for finding those hidden jobs:

1. Eat.

No, I'm not talking about pity eating and downing a bag of chips and a pint of ice cream in front of the TV. But meeting a friend for coffee, a drink, or lunch is a great way to combine something pleasant and fun with some power networking. Meeting with friends keeps you top of mind and increases the likelihood of them recommending you to others.

2. Write.

Journaling is a great way to record how you are feeling during your search and examine the trends that could be indicators of what is working in your search and what is not. Some even turn their journals into blogs to create a following and make new friends and contacts as they chronicle their unemployment experience.

3. Study.

Did you know that The Department of Labor funds job training programs? You may qualify for training in a specific skill or funding to return to school to complete a degree program. And an advanced degree or certification may make you more marketable in the long run.

4. Volunteer.

Find a cause you are passionate about and volunteer for a role that allows you to create visibility in front of the decision makers in this volunteer community. You never know who these people may know and what types of introductions they may be able to make for you. And volunteering helps you feel needed and reminds you of all you have to be grateful for. (See How Volunteering Landed Me a Job.)

5. Exercise.

Aerobic conditioning and weight workouts can help you feel better and burn calories more efficiently during the day. Pilates can help reduce the muscle aches often associated with hours of sitting at a desk hunched over a computer, and many people find that a regular yoga practice is a great way to reduce stress. Plus an exercise class or gym can serve as a great affinity group and connector to people who may be able to make valuable introductions for you.

6. Do Someone a Favor.

When you were working you probably didn't have the time to watch someone else's kids or pet or help someone with a home improvement project. Now that you have some free time, offer to help make someone's life easier. Your efforts will be remembered and that help may be reciprocated in the form of an important introduction or job lead.

7. Primp and Pamper.

This is not an indulgence. The little details like your hair and nails count during a job search. And it can be rejuvenating to get a new hairstyle or experiment with a new nail color.

8. Shop.

I'm not suggesting a totally new wardrobe. But a new scarf, tie, hair piece, or handkerchief can change up the interview suit you are tired of wearing and give you a renewed sense of confidence.

9. Read. Books by Harvey Mackay and Keith Ferrazi have provided inspiration for millions of job seekers over the years. Check out some of their titles at your local library.

10. Reconnect. Get over your concerns about reconnecting with past colleagues and friends. Social media tools like LinkedIn and Facebook have made it fun, easy (and less creepy) to get back in touch with people from your past. Rekindle past relationships and you are bound to find a friend or two that can help you with some aspect of your search.

Original Article