How to Ask For An Informational Interview

How to Ask For An Informational Interview This is a follow-up post to Fridays Help: How can this job seeker get results from his phone calls and emails? There are awesome, excellent comments in that post from job seekers and career experts.  A lot of the comments have the same theme. Take some time and read through Waynes process and then read through the comments, suggestions and advice.  Wayne is a smart guy and the fact that hes got this process (a) documented and (b) that he does it is pretty amazing.  The comments are all very, very good. So, instead of me telling you what the others have already said in their comments, let me tell you how I ask for an informational interview.  Ill give you two options to choose from. I think the main thing to understand, and you get this from the comments on Fridays post, is that you are a peer/colleague to the person you are contacting, not a needy, whiny, begging job seeker.  You bring value to the table and are not desperately hoping theres a job offer to be had before your 20 minutes are up.  Important question: what is the objective of an informational interview? With that in mind, here is what I most often do: OPTION 1: Subject: Call this week? (or, Follow-up from Friday) Body: Hi Wayne, hows it going?  I found you on LinkedIn and was hoping we could get on a call in the next week or two.  Id specifically like to talk about what you think about how Obamacare is going to impact our industry.  I am hearing conflicting opinions and would love to know what you think, based on your experience and current role. Can we get on a 20 minute call this week or next week?  Let me know if there is a time that works best for you. (email signature even if you have to take some stuff out or change it so its on-brand for this message) Now, understand, Im pretty casual.  If you want to beat this up in the comments, go for it.  Tell me what to do better.  Of course, understand that the example above is hypothetical (Im not really asking anyone about Obamacare in the industry). I like how SHORT Option I is. Heres another style that I really like. OPTION II: Subject: Call on Wednesday?  (something VERY specific, and the intent is that this Subject isnt going to cause you to delete it simply by reading the subject) Body: Wayne, I found your LinkedIn profile while doing research in our industry. Yours kept coming up in my searches. (put this email into context where did you find this person which might be something like I met you at or I saw you at the ___ event.) I would like to get your opinion on how Obamacare is going to affect our industry. I see you have experience in a few different companies over the last 15 years in this industry and as the VP of Whatever Company, Im guessing this has been a hot topic.   (please let the person know you arent going to waste 20 minutes of his life dabbling on about garbage.  Yes, I have had this happen multiple times If you can specify what you might talk about that lets them know this is a purposeful conversation) Can we get on a 20 minute call in the next week or two?  I have some very specific questions, and am happy to share what Ive learned from other executives in the industry on how they are going to handle the 50-person issue. (ASK FOR IT! And notice, I snuck in some value add for the person I dont think its necessary but as an executive or strategist I always like hearing about what others in the industry are doing right or wrong.) I look forward to hearing from you, Email Signature (same comments as in Option I) What is the purpose of this call? Is it to ask for a job? Is it to let the person know you are ready for a transition? NO!  The purpose is to start a professional relationship. Some coaches will tell you that you need to have a different type of conversation, but I think you need to establish a relationship with the person first.  Once they begin to know and trust you, then you can have other conversations, but dont start off needy. Start off as a peer and colleague.  Start off as someone who has something to GIVE.  Start off as someone who they WANT to have a relationship with. There will be a right time to say you know, Im looking at a change who should I talk to.  It might be at the end of the first conversation, it might not be.  But if you have a 20 minute conversation (aka, informational interview) and you dont have a stronger relationship with that person, youve wasted 20 minutes. And, you might end up on some peoples black lists.  In other words, they might think that person is needy and wounded I just dont have time to help and give and save What do you think? How to Ask For An Informational Interview This is a follow-up post to Fridays Help: How can this job seeker get results from his phone calls and emails? There are awesome, excellent comments in that post from job seekers and career experts.  A lot of the comments have the same theme. Take some time and read through Waynes process and then read through the comments, suggestions and advice.  Wayne is a smart guy and the fact that hes got this process (a) documented and (b) that he does it is pretty amazing.  The comments are all very, very good. So, instead of me telling you what the others have already said in their comments, let me tell you how I ask for an informational interview.  Ill give you two options to choose from. I think the main thing to understand, and you get this from the comments on Fridays post, is that you are a peer/colleague to the person you are contacting, not a needy, whiny, begging job seeker.  You bring value to the table and are not desperately hoping theres a job offer to be had before your 20 minutes are up.  Important question: what is the objective of an informational interview? With that in mind, here is what I most often do: OPTION 1: Subject: Call this week? (or, Follow-up from Friday) Body: Hi Wayne, hows it going?  I found you on LinkedIn and was hoping we could get on a call in the next week or two.  Id specifically like to talk about what you think about how Obamacare is going to impact our industry.  I am hearing conflicting opinions and would love to know what you think, based on your experience and current role. Can we get on a 20 minute call this week or next week?  Let me know if there is a time that works best for you. (email signature even if you have to take some stuff out or change it so its on-brand for this message) Now, understand, Im pretty casual.  If you want to beat this up in the comments, go for it.  Tell me what to do better.  Of course, understand that the example above is hypothetical (Im not really asking anyone about Obamacare in the industry). I like how SHORT Option I is. Heres another style that I really like. OPTION II: Subject: Call on Wednesday?  (something VERY specific, and the intent is that this Subject isnt going to cause you to delete it simply by reading the subject) Body: Wayne, I found your LinkedIn profile while doing research in our industry. Yours kept coming up in my searches. (put this email into context where did you find this person which might be something like I met you at or I saw you at the ___ event.) I would like to get your opinion on how Obamacare is going to affect our industry. I see you have experience in a few different companies over the last 15 years in this industry and as the VP of Whatever Company, Im guessing this has been a hot topic.   (please let the person know you arent going to waste 20 minutes of his life dabbling on about garbage.  Yes, I have had this happen multiple times If you can specify what you might talk about that lets them know this is a purposeful conversation) Can we get on a 20 minute call in the next week or two?  I have some very specific questions, and am happy to share what Ive learned from other executives in the industry on how they are going to handle the 50-person issue. (ASK FOR IT! And notice, I snuck in some value add for the person I dont think its necessary but as an executive or strategist I always like hearing about what others in the industry are doing right or wrong.) I look forward to hearing from you, Email Signature (same comments as in Option I) What is the purpose of this call? Is it to ask for a job? Is it to let the person know you are ready for a transition? NO!  The purpose is to start a professional relationship. Some coaches will tell you that you need to have a different type of conversation, but I think you need to establish a relationship with the person first.  Once they begin to know and trust you, then you can have other conversations, but dont start off needy. Start off as a peer and colleague.  Start off as someone who has something to GIVE.  Start off as someone who they WANT to have a relationship with. There will be a right time to say you know, Im looking at a change who should I talk to.  It might be at the end of the first conversation, it might not be.  But if you have a 20 minute conversation (aka, informational interview) and you dont have a stronger relationship with that person, youve wasted 20 minutes. And, you might end up on some peoples black lists.  In other words, they might think that person is needy and wounded I just dont have time to help and give and save What do you think? How to Ask For An Informational Interview This is a follow-up post to Fridays Help: How can this job seeker get results from his phone calls and emails? There are awesome, excellent comments in that post from job seekers and career experts.  A lot of the comments have the same theme. Take some time and read through Waynes process and then read through the comments, suggestions and advice.  Wayne is a smart guy and the fact that hes got this process (a) documented and (b) that he does it is pretty amazing.  The comments are all very, very good. So, instead of me telling you what the others have already said in their comments, let me tell you how I ask for an informational interview.  Ill give you two options to choose from. I think the main thing to understand, and you get this from the comments on Fridays post, is that you are a peer/colleague to the person you are contacting, not a needy, whiny, begging job seeker.  You bring value to the table and are not desperately hoping theres a job offer to be had before your 20 minutes are up.  Important question: what is the objective of an informational interview? With that in mind, here is what I most often do: OPTION 1: Subject: Call this week? (or, Follow-up from Friday) Body: Hi Wayne, hows it going?  I found you on LinkedIn and was hoping we could get on a call in the next week or two.  Id specifically like to talk about what you think about how Obamacare is going to impact our industry.  I am hearing conflicting opinions and would love to know what you think, based on your experience and current role. Can we get on a 20 minute call this week or next week?  Let me know if there is a time that works best for you. (email signature even if you have to take some stuff out or change it so its on-brand for this message) Now, understand, Im pretty casual.  If you want to beat this up in the comments, go for it.  Tell me what to do better.  Of course, understand that the example above is hypothetical (Im not really asking anyone about Obamacare in the industry). I like how SHORT Option I is. Heres another style that I really like. OPTION II: Subject: Call on Wednesday?  (something VERY specific, and the intent is that this Subject isnt going to cause you to delete it simply by reading the subject) Body: Wayne, I found your LinkedIn profile while doing research in our industry. Yours kept coming up in my searches. (put this email into context where did you find this person which might be something like I met you at or I saw you at the ___ event.) I would like to get your opinion on how Obamacare is going to affect our industry. I see you have experience in a few different companies over the last 15 years in this industry and as the VP of Whatever Company, Im guessing this has been a hot topic.   (please let the person know you arent going to waste 20 minutes of his life dabbling on about garbage.  Yes, I have had this happen multiple times If you can specify what you might talk about that lets them know this is a purposeful conversation) Can we get on a 20 minute call in the next week or two?  I have some very specific questions, and am happy to share what Ive learned from other executives in the industry on how they are going to handle the 50-person issue. (ASK FOR IT! And notice, I snuck in some value add for the person I dont think its necessary but as an executive or strategist I always like hearing about what others in the industry are doing right or wrong.) I look forward to hearing from you, Email Signature (same comments as in Option I) What is the purpose of this call? Is it to ask for a job? Is it to let the person know you are ready for a transition? NO!  The purpose is to start a professional relationship. Some coaches will tell you that you need to have a different type of conversation, but I think you need to establish a relationship with the person first.  Once they begin to know and trust you, then you can have other conversations, but dont start off needy. Start off as a peer and colleague.  Start off as someone who has something to GIVE.  Start off as someone who they WANT to have a relationship with. There will be a right time to say you know, Im looking at a change who should I talk to.  It might be at the end of the first conversation, it might not be.  But if you have a 20 minute conversation (aka, informational interview) and you dont have a stronger relationship with that person, youve wasted 20 minutes. And, you might end up on some peoples black lists.  In other words, they might think that person is needy and wounded I just dont have time to help and give and save What do you think?

Online course Write great blog posts that go viral

Online course Write great blog posts that go viral This is really the course Id like to teach every day of my life. But for now, Im teaching it only four  days: May 2 -5  each night for one hour, from 7pm to 8pm Eastern. All videos  will be available on demand if you cant come to the live session. The cost is $195. Sign up now.   One of the  best methods for figuring out what you should be doing with your life is to think about times you have totally loved what you were doing.  One of my favorite jobs was giving lectures about writing at  Brown, Harvard, Boston University, and University of Paris. For the most part, I loved it, except when  I had students whod confess that they wanted an A in my class only because they were applying to law school.  But then there was the kid who wrote every assignment describing his summer working as a garbage collector. It was a joy for me to get him an agent. Writing a great blog post can  bring you plenty, like Recognition! Appreciation! Money! And writing great blog posts has helped me solve a wide range of problems: I received  numerous corporate job offers because people recognized expertise in my blog posts. I can  work from home and support my  family financially. I figured  out if homeschooling is right for me by starting a blog about it. I want to help you solve your problems  by writing great blog posts. I want you to know the amazing feeling of writing a blog post people love, and watching the conversation bloom from your  ideas and your outlook. I realized I have a formula that works for routinely coming up with the type of blog post, and I want to share it. Also, Ive noticed that in the last year, people are paying a lot of money for good blog posts. Maybe we are in the Golden Age of Writing. While the disruption of newspapers was terrible for journalists, and the  automation of reproduced content was terrible for readers, we have come to a happy spot where product-focused companies are paying for top-flight writers to create engaging content for their sites. Which is one way to say that Im making about $1,000 a post for writing on corporate web sites. So I can teach you how to write that kind of post. This course will teach you how to write for both your own blog (where you will represent yourself as a someone who has a lot of interesting things to say) and how to write posts for companies that will pay you to be interesting. We will also have a workshop night, where  everyone will read your  blog post (if you want) and I will comment on it. I really cannot tell you how much I love this blog. Its saved my life so many times. And there are perks I never expected. Like learning faster than I ever learned in school, and meeting smart, engaged people every day of my life even though Im at home, and  having somewhere special to post my favorite family photos. And getting to meet you. So sign up. Heres what will happen in the course: Day One:  Master the elements of a popular post What makes a post interesting (interesting is not as subjective as you think!) The secret litmus test great bloggers use to tell if we are saying something new. My own  list of rules for writing a good post (I use it myself on every post!) Spend as much time on the headline as you do on the post. Avoid time-wasters: SEO, design, promotion and copyediting. Day Two:  Make your posts go viral How to get more comments. How to get more likes. How to generate media requests about your post. How to cut corners to go viral: expert roundups, lists, and video. How to avoid pitfalls: newsjacking, shock-jocking, and leg-jerking. Day Three: Get writing gigs on other sites Write guest posts to drive traffic to your own site. Get paid by companies to write posts for their site. Get a job as a full-time blogger (even if youve never had a job before.) Make money from blog affiliate programs without even having your own blog. Turn your blog post into a magazine article (get paid $1 per word!) Day Four: Ask me anything! Ill answer any questions you have that we did not cover in the first three sessions. And, special bonus! During this session I will critique any blog posts you send to the group. It will be a mini blog-writing workshop to kick start your own amazing blog post writing extravaganza. Sign up now.

Sweet Spot The Intersection of Passion, Purpose Skills - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Sweet Spot The Intersection of Passion, Purpose Skills - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Do you like sweets? When I was a kid I used to tell my mom I couldn’t finish my dinner because there was a special part of my stomach that was just for dessert. My rule now that I’m an adult is to keep sweets out of the house so I’m forced to walk and get them. That worked much better before Sprinkles and More Cupcakes joined the already popular Ghirardelli and Whisper gelato shops within 6 blocks of my place. This is becoming a walking nightmare or dream depending on the day! If you live in, or have walked through, Georgetown near 33rd M you know that it’s become the land of Georgetown Cupcakes. This sweet little spot on the Northwest corner has given rise to round-the-block cupcake consumer lines making even Oprah wait more than 20 minutes. How did this pretty little cupcake bakery build such a hot brand? It’s a revolution Sisters, and stars of the new TLC show DC Cupcakes, Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne didn’t start off as cupcake crusaders. These gals were professional women who traded careers in fashion and finance to pursue their passion of baking their beautiful (and delicious) cupcakes. Their passion ignited more than a few ovens in Georgetown. The cupcake revolution has gone crazy coast to coast with Beverly Hills-founded Sprinkles stores popping up in LA, AZ, Chicago and NY; these little ditties have now replaced wedding cakes. Why the buzz about cupcakes? Georgetown and Sprinkles are both women-owned bakeries started because of family recipes and these ladies have developed their personal brands into national success stories. Do these cupcakes fill more than a sweet spot for us? Does stopping in a Sprinkles store make us feel like we, too, can accomplish our life dreams? Does your personal brand fulfill those needs for you? What’s your career sweet spot? Does the job you’re spending hours networking for and hoping to land fulfill your selfish needs? Cupcakes and chutzpah It took guts to walk away from careers in the growing industries of fashion and finance and step into a kitchen full of flour together. Opening a bakery, working side by side each day and running a busy business takes commitment and chutzpah! Katherine and Sophie whipped up family recipes hoping their grandmother’s baking had truly made them bakers with recipes for success. These sisters followed their dreams without knowing it would end up creating a cupcake movement and landing them a TV show on TLC. Job search sweet spot When passion, purpose and skill intersect you find the ultimate career sweet spot that makes it easy to commit yourself to success. The hours it takes to job search for the right job or to build your business are for a bigger reason. Your personal branding statement flows easier because it has greater meaning. Have you found your ultimate career sweet spot? What is your purpose? Which skills of yours align with your purpose? What are you passionate about? How does your passion fit with your job search? Author: Adriana Llames is a veteran career coach and acclaimed author of Career Sudoku: 9 Ways to Win the Job Search Game, released with top book seller Amazon.com. She is creator of   “HR In-A-Box,” a Human Resources software product helping small businesses across America and a professional keynote speaker motivating and inspiring audiences with her focused programs on “9 Ways to Win the Job Search Game”, “Confessions of a Career Coach” and “Nice Girls End Up on Welfare.” For more information, visit www.adrianallames.com

Five tips to boost confidence at workplace

Five tips to boost confidence at workplace The mental stance, a state of cognitive thinking that projects self-assurance and a can-do attitude is what describes confidence. Higher self-confidence increases job security and opportunities to excel at workplace however being over-confident all the time can be devastating as well. Meanwhile, lack of self-assurance may hinder job performance. Wouldn’t it be helpful if you could boost confidence on the basis of your skills and competency at workplace? Self-assured people are happier and fear less on promotion as with it comes more responsibilities and new challenges. Fortunately, you can take particular steps to boost confidence in yourself and learn how to endure pessimistic behaviour. Identify the roots of uncertainty Self-doubt is one of the biggest factors that give your personality an entirely pessimistic and incompetent image. To fight this off, the first step is to identify the root of low confidence that can arise from various sources. Fear of the unknown, failures in the past, inability to withstand criticism and absence of time management; all contribute towards the low poise. In-short, it won’t be wrong to say that the very seed of this lack of confidence is sowed at an early age. On the contrary, some are self-deluded with an unworldly image of perfection which psychologists refer to as ego ideal that they’re unable to live with. As a result, work performance suffers drastically when you don’t meet that self-made standards and unspoilt image. Self-assessment is critical People who lack confidence face certain challenges when goal accomplishment is concerned. This state persists before, during and even after achieving a particular objective! Always keep a notebook or list down your workplace activities and success milestones that you’ve already accomplished. Confidence usually begins to shake during self-assessment or when your performance and character is being evaluated by company’s higher-ups. This is when the list of optimistic achievements would come to aid while your focus is entirely on the shortcomings. Review them and remind yourself that do earn a respectable place in the organisation; both as an individual and employee. Be confident, be yourself accept the facts There’s a renowned Acceptance theory in psychology that states that; “the process of accepting who you are including all the weaknesses and strengths”. When you face your shortcomings, fears and overcome them, the stress level drops ultimately which further helps you to reshape these weaknesses into strengths. Talk out your feelings to a fellow colleague; not the boss as it helps reduce mental stress and he might give you healthy advises as well. Share your achievements and failures without the fear of what might other think of you. This can be difficult but to overcome the feeling would regain composure and rebuild confidence. Overcome office anxiety This is very common but to tackle anxiety, you should start taking small steps and tackle the things you fear. Each time when you achieve success, it helps fight off anxiety and prepares you further to take on a bigger challenge. Whether you fear to take responsibility of a big project or simply shy to address the board members in a conference, push yourself in small steps and make them larger each time. Again, keep a record of your achievements but don’t limit yourself to this; move further, be assertive in your workplace. Cut-off the negative feeling Nothing is more devastating to your confidence than pessimistic feelings so every time they start obscuring your mind, think of all the good things you did so far. A positive and clear mind-set improves learning and boost confidence. If you want to boost your confidence, start practicing the above tips immediately and see the difference! Jenessa Baxter is a Digital Marketer for  Ultimate Recruitment Agency in Dubai. She writes about HR recruitment tips, leadership, HR Management, Career Advisor and in particular UAE.

Equity in Healthcare - A Look at Womens Efforts and Retributions CareerMetis.com

Equity in Healthcare - A Look at Women's Efforts and Retributions â€" CareerMetis.com Image Source: Unsplash.comFeminist theory has been discussing the wage gap between the two sexes, as well as women’s misrepresentation in the workplace for decades now. Despite all the intense debates, these problems still exist in 2018. Even high-paying and indispensable fields such as medicine and healthcare battle this issue today, although we’d want to think they’d be the first to progress.If you’ve been wondering about what the position most often filled by women in healthcare are, or even how much a female nurse earns on average, then you already know how complicated the discussion can get. Here is what you need to know about equity in the field through the lens of women’s efforts and retributions.About Women Healthcare AidesevalAccording to The Economist, the positions of health aide and nurse are two of the four jobs dominated by the female gender, alongside those of teacher and secretary. 80% of these occupations are held by women, which leaves the remained of 20% to men. The difference is considerable and quite visible as far as numbers are concerned.evalFor example, only 11.4% of the registered nurses across the territory of the United Kingdom are men, which means that women represent the remaining majority of 88.6%. Of course, this underlines a problem in itself, namely stereotyping and stigma. Have you ever seen a man disclose the fact that he is a healthcare aide to his male friends in a sitcom episode?This joke scenario is thrown around all the time, and it usually has the same punchline. The registered nurse comes clean, and his friends mock him for not being masculine enough. This is a huge problem, and it is undoubtedly a bias that exists. However, this still doesn’t explain the inequity that exists at this level between men and women in the industry.And we’re not talking about numbers from a demographic point of view here. We’re speaking financially. Did you know that, although women dominate the field, they are still grossly underpaid for their services? In the next section, we will explore the issue from the wage gap, as well as workload. So, what are the most notable differences? Let’s find out.Workload and the Wage GapAs far as the workload of women in the healthcare department goes, the situation is somewhat directly proportional. Female physicians work shorter hours each week due to the added responsibility of parenting and domestic labor. Because women are considered responsible for this in the household, many of them take time off of work to see to such matters.Traditionally speaking, this is something men do not have to deal with or hear from their peers. A survey published by Reuters has revealed that there are higher chances for women working in healthcare to find themselves in the middle of a conflict between their work and their family life. From this point of view, we haven’t progressed that much since the 1950s.This leads to more and more female medical professionals to cease their act ivity after pregnancy, which diminishes the already low numbers in the field. Thus, the outdated notion that women cannot be both nurturing mothers and successful in their field at the same time is deeply damaging to this facet of the healthcare industry.Of course, the wage gap still very much exists as well. Data compiled from the last six National Sample Survey of Registered Nursesconducted quadrennially between 1988 and 2008 together with the American Community Surveys of 2001 through 2013 have established this. Although only 7% of the participants were men, their pay was considerably higher.evalThe gap for ambulatory care was a whopping 7,678 dollars, while for hospital settings it was of 3,873 dollars. These numbers are calculated yearly of course, but this doesn’t make them less significant or demonstrative. They are the testament of a worrying level of inequality that is institutionalized and hasn’t disappeared half a century ago with the Equal Pay Act.This proves without any shred of doubt that the system is still very much flawed. The gender wage gap exists in nursing, and it spreads to even the highest paying fields on the job market. In this case, the discussion focuses on medicine. Even though it is one of the most prolific occupational domains in the world, inequity is still a problem in 2018.The Bottom LineUpon starting the discussion on the role and position of women in healthcare, concerning statistics come to light. In the field of nursing, the vast majority of professionals are qualified women. And yet, they are grossly underpaid when compared to their male counterparts. This still-existent wage gap permeates every single profession in the healthcare spectrum.Still, it is prominent in the case of healthcare aides, where women lose thousands of dollars yearly to their male peers. Even though the year is 2018 and the fourth wave of feminism is on the rise, this issue still exists. What are more, women deal with having to balance work and fa mily, while men hardly ever deal with such a problem?evalSo, what can be done? The solution is simple on paper, yet challenging to apply from a practical point of view. Women need to take a stand when negotiating their position in the workforce and demand to be seen and heard. But for this to entirely happen, a welcoming environment for this kind of empowerment has to be created. But is this a catch-22 situation? Only time will tell.

Whats New in the 2nd Edition - CareerEnlightenment.com

Newsle.com  which tells you if anyone in your network published anything online, so you can be the first to congratulate themContactually.com  is a CRM that tells you when you need to get back in touch with someone using email reminders, very handy!Mailchimp.com  now offers free accounts for lists up to 2,000, which is a great solution for sending your network a newsletter.Blog Posts for Career SuccessI introduce readers, in chapter 6, to a technique for writing blog posts in a half-hour or less. This way you can maintain your professional blog and  demonstrate motivation to potential employers.Online Reputation Management UpdatesAs our digital footprint becomes more and more important for our career success, naturally, more tools and solutions have emerged. I capture several new  ones in Chapter 7. Some of them to check out are:NetClarify.comKGBPeople.comSpezify.comI also talk about some paid online reputation services to check out, and how to pick the best one.Brand New Online Resu me Building Tools You’ve Gotta GetChapter 8, Online Resumes, got a huge update with all the new online resume building tools now available. Each one is unique and you’ll probably want to  use more than one. In the book I review 9 different resume building tools. Here are the first three:loftresumes.comsplashresumes.com6 more in the book!You Wouldn’t Believe What’s New With LinkedIn2 years is an eternity when if comes to social media features. Since the 1st edition came out LinkedIn is totally different! Not only are they now a  publicly traded company shamelessly outperforming Facebook, their feature set looks completely different.We said goodbye to Events, Answers, Applications and the timeless baby blue. Now LinkedIn offers one of the most attractive user interfaces on the web.  With intelligent scroll, autofill and easy to find edit features, you’ll invariably spend more time there. Which is a good thing considering how far  LinkedIn can take your career.In the 2nd edit ion, I talk about how to best use the new Multi-media features, how to pick your Skills and how to handle Endorsements. I also offer new  techniques for split-testing the best headline, updated how to grow your network, Thought Leaderhsip and many other unique insights about how to best use  the new LinkedIn. Check it out!Expanded Online Resume SectionWith the retirement of VisualCV, several great options for online resumes have emerged. Each one offers a different way to display information about  yourself. My favorite new tool is called Vizify.com. Here’s my Vizify profile: https://www.vizify.com/joshuawaldmanAnother nifty job seeking approach is to submit a business proposal rather than a resume. 1-page.com guides you  through the proposal process.I’ve added about 15+ brand new job boards, one page personal landing pages, social media vizualization tools and so much more. You’ve got to check out  these new tools!New Twitter, New Tweets, New OpportunitiesTwitter has changed quite a bit in the last two years. Not only is there a new background image on your profile that you should customize, but there are  new ways people use it. For example, if you need a little humor, enjoy these daily Chuck Norris jokes: @Chuck_facts.Dangerous new phishing schemes have emerged that you need to know how to avoid. These robot exploit you network and try to get them to click on their link.  This one click could ruin your online reputation. I show you how to identify these scams.There’s a new job posting network called LocalBuzz.com that will alert you to opportunities in your city. I  introduce you to five new Twitter management tools that will save you time, and make tweeting more fun.Everything About Facebook has Changed!My Facebook chapter got completely re-written. Not only are there new privacy rules, settings and friend categories, but how you manage your friends lists  is totally different. Facebook wants you to fill out your job history and other profile infor mation in order to power the brand new Graph Search feature  that recruiters are starting to use.A few of my favorite new features on Facebook are Graph Search, of course. You can use it to massively increase your network. Use it to find 2nd or 3rd  degree connections working or living anywhere in the world. Then use the Paid Message feature to guarantee delivery of your message.Clean up your past using either Reppler.com or Simplewa.sh. And the new promoted  posts feature let’s you advertise your personal brand simply and easily. All of these new features completely change your job search strategy on Facebook.  I’ll show you how!Other Social Networks You Shouldn’t IgnoreI’ve added brand new sections for Google+, Pinterest and Mobile. In case you’ve missed it, there are a TON of great new apps for your smartphone that will  help you find work. I introduce you to nine of them, including Apploi.com whose mission is to make the job application  all-but disapear in it’s wake . Very innovative stuff that’s already taking hold.The Strategy Sections are More IntegratedWith Facebook and Twitters new horsepower, I’ve integrated them into the four strategy chapters in the back. I realize that these were very LinkedIn  focused in my 1st edition. Now, you’ll find new and different uses for all major social networks in these chapters. For example, I’ll show you how to use Zoominfo to get free contact information for anyone at any company at any time. And then I’ll show you what to do  with this information so that hiring managers get back to you. It’s pretty cool stuff.Ok, So How Do I Get a CopyThe 2nd edition of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies is now available on Amazon.I just learned that all 100+ reviews of my 1st edition are not going to be ported over to my latest edition. So I need your help. If you grab a copy of the  book and you like it, please let other people know by leaving a review on Amazon. This is the single greatest way y ou can ensure that I’ll be able to write  a 3rd edition in a few years, and be able to help even more people.Support authors. Leave reviews on Amazon.

Is Resume Writing a Risky Business?

Is Resume Writing a Risky Business?Resume writing a risky business? That's one way to think of it. Writing a successful job application can be considered to be risky business, since it involves taking on the responsibility of filling out a much needed document. The work of a professional resume writer begins with preparing a good plan and then proceeding to fill in the blanks with an appropriate degree of care.When writing a resume, the first thing to consider is the format. If you have already completed your college education, you will have an advantage when writing a resume. The college essay is written in the form of a thesis and sometimes this is referred to as a thesis statement. The goal is to convey to a prospective employer that you have taken the time to prepare your future career path.The essay may also be referred to as a thesis or basis. During your college essay you are expected to critically analyze the details of your academic background and to put them into perspectiv e. The essay is used as a way to tell the reader about yourself and what type of person you wish to become in the future.Once you have written a college essay, there are several ways to improve your resume's. You may wish to re-write the essay after you have finished school. As far as formatting goes, the main point is to keep it clean and organized, and to make sure that it is easy to read.The resume is completed and is ready for submission. There are many ways to submit your resume. Whether it is via a fax, email, or to the company via postal mail, the goal is to send your resume in a way that makes it easy for the job company to read it.Besides the resume, there are other documents that are important when you are trying to land a job. These include the interview letter, and the cover letter. A good cover letter can make all the difference in the hiring process. The cover letter lays out your personality and qualifications and can therefore help you to be noticed by the employer.A ll in all, the resume, cover letter, and interview are crucial steps in landing a job. When you are trying to land a job, the best way to succeed is to create a well-organized resume that is well written and easy to read. In the case of a job interview, a good resume and a good, confident handshake is essential.In conclusion, resumes are not easy to write; you will need to follow a plan to develop a resume that can be written well and properly formatted. When you are going through a resume editing process, remember that it is all part of the process of becoming a professional resume writer. In most cases, it will pay off if you have taken the time to develop a plan for your resume writing, then follow that plan to the letter.