Holiday networking

For many who are not at ease with networking, this time of year presents the perfect opportunity. As the holiday season unfolds it exposes a population suddenly acknowledging those around them, extending greetings and sharing smiles from the heart! This is the time of year that transitions even the most unreceptive and stoic of individuals into a world filled with camaraderie and joy. It is a time for giving and caring and sharing. So share the story of your job search and reap the benefits of a new contact or a new lead but be sure to keep in the spirit of holiday networking by asking what it is that you can do to help in return.

The family get together finds you catching up with your cousin not seen since this time last year and in sharing information about your job search, including your interest in a specific company, you discover his neighbour is not only the CEO but a close friend! Holiday networking success! And in the spirit of giving, your cousin is equally elated because you have offered to help him get his recently acquired, antique vehicle ready for the road in the spring. This  is surely what networking and the holidays are all about.

Season’s greetings to all! And to all, the very best of luck in your job search! For further job search strategies or to obtain a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer contact Elite Resumes.

Networking is the most successful job search tool available and an indispensable resource in uncovering the hidden job market. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to network while in an elevator, standing in line at Tim Horton’s or attending a networking event. Those managing a successful career should consider memberships with networking organizations such as ExecuNet, offering a free associate membership or HAPPEN which offers an annual membership for a nominal fee.  If you are interested in attending networking events, HAPPEN, Toronto ExecuNet and Senior ExecuNet all offer regular monthly meetings.

Monster and Workopolis are known for online job postings and provide an online venue to post your resume. As a job search resources there is a wealth of information; expert advice that could provide you with the key to succeeding in your job search. Many service providers offer free advice for managing your career as we do here at Elite Resumes including the opportunity to acquire a free resume critique. Check out MonsterThinking, a Monster blog, “exploring the complex world of work”. If you have special needs in your job search you may want to contact Northern Lights Canada and About.com job searching provides lots of great advice from Alison Doyle.

Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook are all exceptional job search resources! There is no fee to establish a profile along with millions of others worldwide including companies, organizations, groups and recruiters. These social media sites are only three of many free job search resources available which will allow you to develop valuable networks and open the door to infinite opportunities.

One simple tweet on twitter could provide you with a connection you would like to follow and multiple job search resources.

Are you using a professional email address for your job search? An email address that is not outdated? One which identifies who you are? An email address that is easily deciphered even when hand written?

I’m sure we can all agree that an email address such as sexykitten@, beerking@ or gonefishing@ lacks the professionalism expected from anyone who is serious about managing their career. Get rid of them or use them exclusively for the singles sites.

Dots, dashes, underscores: Unless you are an extremely neat printer, it is possible that you’ve added your email address to a list in the hopes of receiving some important correspondence that will never be sent. Is it a dash or an underscore or maybe that line was supposed to represent a dot? Don’t leave anyone struggling to decipher your email address. For those of us who require reading glasses, a neatly typed email could still present a problem with the use of symbols which are smaller than letters.

You are known as George Brown but you created an email address cbrown@. This was done because you wanted to confuse people? I’m going to send the email to gbrown because I’m sure I must have made a mistake when I entered it as cbrown@. One more email that you will never receive.

What were all those numbers George added to his email address?

I just received an email from latvicus@. Since I have no idea who it is, I’m going to delete it. How was I supposed to know it was George Brown? His middle name you say?

It is completely understood that a common name requires some modification to obtain an available address so a middle initial or full name will be necessary; GeorgeLatvicusBrown@ or georgelbrown or georgezbrown. No, your middle initial is not a z but does anyone else know that? It still enables anyone looking at it to recognize that it is in fact George Brown. The George Brown that introduced himself at the last networking meeting you attended. But who was gb1234@hotmail.com?

If you are using Hotmail or AOL you’ll need to update to a new address. Those continuing to use them are dating themselves and perceived as not keeping up with the times.  @gmail and @rogers are both very popular today. Did you acquire the domain for your name or business? If so, you will have access to create email addresses such as, george@georgebrown.com or martin@aneliteresume.com.

What email address are you using for your job search? What does it say about you?

Facebook partners with Labour Department to help job-seekers. Labour Secretary Hilda Solis also hopes to expand this initiative to Twitter Linkedin and other social media sites. 3 million job openings

Spaceport America conjures up spine-tingling future Forecasting 2000 jobs

Target Canada now hiring for 2013 launch 

Starbucks U.S. microlending program aims to create jobs “In the United States, small businesses hire more than half of all private-sector workers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. But these businesses have been in a no-man’s land of tight financing, with little capital to grow. According to Starbucks, for every $3,000 donated through the program, a job will be created or maintained.”

5 Hot Jobs for Retirees, Two government agencies in particular — the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Transportation Security Administration — are known for seeking older workers. Both agencies have openings requiring little or no experience.

3,290,000,000 results are found if you google, jobs! Of course a successful job search will require a more specific search, one which may target a location, industry or organization. Do you have a company in mind? Did you know that company could be found on Linkedin and many of their employees are connected to the company as well as past employees? An old friend or relative may be one of them and can get you an interview or a past employee could provide advice to let you know they are planning to downsize and relocate outside the country. You will be amazed at the wealth of information you are able to dig up online and despite the millions of results, you’ll soon learn that so-and-so knows somebody that knows you and surprisingly it becomes a very small world. An online world which is easily manageable and not so overwhelming after all that enables you to seek out the opportunity that is right for you.

Create your professional online profiles on Linkedin, Twitter and establish a Facebook Page. You will increase your presence to be easily found by the recruiter who is looking to find the perfect candidate and you will be amazed at the wealth of information available which may lead you to the perfect job!

Martin Buckland is proud to be mentioned in this 40th edition as the Canadian career expert! Richard includes the link to Martin’s list of 2,010 action verbs at Elite Resumes available for free when you sign up: 

Be sure to check out this new anniversary edition of What Color Is Your Parachute?, another amazing resource for job seekers!

Martin Buckland, Principal of Elite Resumes and Executive Career Management Expert is one of many contributors to another amazing Guerrilla Marketing book. Check out his War Story along with many others in addition to Case Studies, Guerrilla Tips and more! Advice is wonderful but gaining insight and knowledge from the experts, real life experiences and a strong dash of the recruiter’s perspective is guaranteed to provide positive results.

 

Microblogging Career Strategist Joins Elite Group

When Martin Buckland looked for even better ways to serve career-minded professionals, he decided to pursue world-class training through The Academies, Inc.

With reports of as much as a 10-to-1 jobseekers-to-jobs ratio in today’s economy, job seekers have a new ally on the job hunt. Martin Buckland, Principal of Elite Resumes and executive career management professional, took time from his business to join an elite group of career professionals learning the latest on job searching via social media, specifically via Twitter.

Author Susan Whitcomb, nationally known leader in the careers industry and CEO of The Academies, Inc., co-author with Chandlee Bryan and Deb Dib of The Twitter Job Search Guide (JIST), facilitated the program—a comprehensive curriculum that reveals how Twitter is dramatically changing the ways that jobseekers find and identify positions and how they are landing jobs in a tough job market. Buckland passed the tests to earn the Microblogging Career Strategist credential, an excellent addition to his 18 years of experience with job seekers.

To help people win and succeed in fully satisfying careers, Buckland now has even more powerful tools, including knowledge of:

- The secrets others have used to leverage Twitter to land job offers

- Building a personal brand, professional presence, and community on Twitter

- Using tools like TweetMyJOBS.com to be the first to hear about job openings

- Finding and connecting with previously inaccessible company insiders, recruiters, and other

influential networking contacts.

“I can offer so much more than the sum of what I learned,” said Buckland. “I’m excited about showing people how to use Twitter to turbocharge their job search and advance their careers. “And, I have an expanded circle of colleagues who share my dedication to partnering with people who want to manage meaningful careers and move forward faster.

For more information: 
Contact Martin Buckland, Executive Career Management Professional at Elite Resumes. Or follow @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes @EMBACareerCoach

Many parents are also busy preparing all that is necessary to ensure children are ready to head back to school, again taking them out of the job market and reducing the competition. Timing is everything and this is not the time to ignore a job search. Managing your time effectively to include an active job search could result in landing a job months ahead of those who choose to put it on hold until September.

Establishing an online presence, a recognized personal brand, an impressive professional resume, clearly targeting specific companies and networking are all necessary components of a successful job search. The time and effort required is consistent and unwavering but the summer months do provide a break in the competition so take advantage of the opportunity you have over the next  2 1/2 weeks. There’s still time to land your job while your competition has their job search on hold. Just think about how much more enjoyable your holiday will be when you have a job to return to!

Have you received a free resume critique from a Certified Professional Resume Writer?

How Recruiters Read Resumes In 10 Seconds or Less by Brad Remillard of IMPACT Hiring Solutions generated lots of comments from those who agree or disagree. It appears the majority who agree are also recruiters and HR professionals and of course those who disagree are those who will depend on their decisions. Unless you are a highly sought after, senior executive it is unlikely that you will be the decision maker in whether or not you get a chance to interview for the job! To influence the decision maker the best advice is to listen and learn and ensure your resume presents the pertinent information that the recruiter is looking for.

Of course there will always be a variety of opinions from recruiters regarding what they are looking for in a  resume so again, common sense should prevail. Whether you agree or disagree, consider the opinions of the majority. Do you want to send out a resume that will impress 2% of recruiters because you agree with them or do you want to impress 98% and increase your chances in securing a job interview?

Contact Elite Resumes for a free resume critique from Martin Buckland, Certified Professional Resume Writer.

Further to how you look in a job interview, companies have been looking at your past requesting criminal checks as a standard part of their hiring process. The process was then expanded by some companies to look at your credit history with credit checks and today, companies like Social Intelligence are being hired to provide social media background checks.

Social Media History Becomes a New Job Hurdle, ourbusinessnews.com states, “…75 percent of recruiters are required by their companies to do online research of candidates. And 70 percent of recruiters in the United States report that they have rejected candidates because of information online”

The information you make publicly available online must be carefully considered! It is not just the friend you are messaging  or those who visit the site where you  posted your comment or the relative you invited to the all night bash that will have the ability to look at what you have posted online. How will it make you look to a prospective employer?

Those currently in a job search need only stay current to understand the impact they are creating with every public, online post. Unfortunately, most of our youth are unable to visualize 10 or 20 years into the future or understand the maturity and professionalism that is necessary to successfully manage an executive career.

There is no need to jeopardize an authentic personal brand when giving consideration to what you are posting online. Simply ask yourself if the same common courtesy provided in a face to face engagement is being extended to the online engagement. Unfortunately, there are many people who lack empathy when posting online which is most disturbing considering the fact that a post or comment on a public forum for all to see has a greater potential to emotionally offend or result in devastating consequences.

If you are not sure how your comment will be received

If you are angry or hurt

If your comment is a personal attack or an insult

If your comment discloses your involvement in illegal activities

DON’T POST IT!

Above all, do not post sexually explicit photos online even if you are absolutely positive that you may consider a career within that industry. Most individuals between the ages of 15 and 25 are adamant that they will never change their minds about anything but some of us have been there and know better.