New Features released last month

New Features released last month I meant to blog about all these new features on this blog but I did it on the Jason Alba blog, then forgot to do it here.  I did mention some new features but heres the big list from an August 16 post.  Part of the reason I posted this there was to share what a software release looks like the reason Im posting it here is to that JibberJobber users can know what is new Last night (Aug 15) we did a release on  JibberJobber  with a lot of things.  I share some on the JibberJobber blog but usually not all of them (some are UI tweaks that no one really cares about, but they are good changes to make).  I’m going to try to document all of last night’s upgrades here. Google Contacts  sync.    I’m not talking about this yet because I don’t think it is working 100% the right way… but it’s there in beta mode if anyone wants to try it.  I have done it a number of times and it won’t break anything or mess up your data, but I’m not getting the results I think I should get.  This has been a HUGE project, but it isn’t over yet. Recurring Action Items.    Another HUGE project.  Documented, with pictures, here. Interesting menu change: Network â€" Contacts.    After years of having the first menu item read “Network” we changed it to “Contacts”.   Both make sense to me but the more we thought about it, Contacts makes way more sense.  Some people were confused at what they would get under Network… but Contacts is more intuitive.  Crazy little change. Another menu change: adding LOGS to the menu.    I’ve said that JibberJobber is a tool to manage contacts, companies and jobs, and the interactions between them.  You can now see this reflected on the menu with the fourth menu item: Logs (which shows the interaction between any of those three things). Log Entries and Action Items on the Quickview Stats box:  this makes a ton of sense… not only are we looking at the number of contacts, etc. you have in JibberJobber, how about your activities for the last week?  We show you how many Log Entries you enter in the last 7 days, as well as how many Action Items you’ve closed in the last 7 days (we’ll make that a ratio in the future, to show you how many were due, and how many you closed). Cleaned up notice box.    If another user sends you contact information, or requests to be your coach, or anything like that, you get a notice in a white box in the Action Items panel on the homepage.  We cleaned this up… it is easier to read now.  And, the action links are more intuitive (I don’t remember what the old words were but they were not as intuitive as they are now).  Seems like it isn’t a big deal but it really is.  This takes away friction from the user experience… and we need to take away as much friction as possible. Finally cleaned up the Add Contact issue that no one reported.  But it bugged me a lot.  A few years ago we introduced the ability to track prefix, suffix and middle name… but there was a glitch where the middle name always showed up, even if you clicked the link to hide it.  This made the form see a little more clunky… the box is now gone and the link works fine now.  Whew.  Isn’t it amazing how little things can bug you so much? Fixed and enhanced the Quick Add on Contacts.    First, we fixed the Twitter quick add (1).  Using APIs from other companies is a double edged sword.  On the one hand it allows us to do great things.  On the other hand, some companies change their APIs in a way that breaks everything.  We’ve experienced this with other APIs (like Google)… but we finally fixed the Twitter quick add. We also, at the last minute, added the Quick Add from Facebook (2).  I tried this last night where I went to a Facebook contact, copied the URL, and then pasted into the box (after you click on the Quick Add link).  It worked charmingly!!  Try it (go to the Add Contact page, this is towards the top-right of the page): Cobranded users get an alternate username and password.  If you get a JibberJobber account through another company (outplacement company, university, etc.), with a single click to create your account, you probably don’t know what your username/password is.  That model makes you go into that system and then get to JibberJobber. By popular demand we allow you to create your own JibberJobber username and password.  This means that you don’t have to go through that system anymore, and if you ever lose access to that other system you can always come back to JibberJobber through your alternate login.  This is critical because the data and work is YOURS, and you should always have access to it. Simply click on Account and you’ll see the option to create another username/password.  This is what it looks like after you have created it (note, the password tab is where you will change your new password, if you ever want to change it):  Interview Prep without limits on text.    For some reason we capped the answers in Interview Prep to 250 characters.  I have no idea why, maybe to keep it under 30 seconds… or something like that.  Anyway, this limit is gone.  Just try and keep your responses concise   Ability to add documents from the Detail Page.    When you click on Associate Documents from a Detail Page you will see a new button to Add a new Document.  Before you had to go to the Doc Manager and add the document, which was a round-about way to do it… now it is a lot easier to easily add a document at the right time. Cleaned up the Video Library.    Our UI designer had us put these big image icon things in two columns.  That was great, but it really restricted how long a title of a clip could be, and it quickly became a problem.  So we changed it so that only one video would show on each “row,” which gave us as much room as we needed for clip titles. Another popular request is to only show OPEN jobs on the Jobs List Panel.    In the past you were able to order by open jobs, or do a search (status:open), but those were kind of temporary and required a lot of hard work (okay, well, maybe about 10 or 15 characters). Now, the default view is to show only the open jobs, but you can change that, as you can see in this new drop down. You can change the Primary Contact from the Detail page.    Before you had to go to the Company Edit page, then scroll to the bottom and then choose a new primary. Now you simply double click on the gray box over Primary Contact and then choose from any Contacts you’ve associated.  You can see by (1) the Primary is Jason, by (2) you can see Barbara is a second (or other) contact, and in the drop down I can easily change from Jason to Barbara.  Note, this is how most of the Detail Page can be edited, but this was one of the few things we didn’t do when we introduced the double-click edit feature.  You can now associate an existing Contact when you add a Job.    We need to do more work on this (allow you to add a new Contact and associate more than one Contact per Job), but this is an important start. From the Events box it is easier to add a new “event” date.    Before, it said “n/a” and it wasn’t clear how to get a date in the box… now you simply click the “Add” link and it will bring up a Log Entry box with the Event already chosen from the drop down box.  This is 1000 times more intuitive than before.  The List Panel search now works with quotes.    If you search for Jason Alba you would get results, but if you searched for “Jason Alba” you wouldn’t… now “Jason Alba” is basically the same search as Jason Alba (which is Jason OR Alba).  We need to do the same thing on the general search but it didn’t make it into last night’s release. When you get an Action Item via email (which is a premium feature), you can customize the email you get.  Before you would get the title of the Log Entry and the whatever you put into the Comments for the Log Entry… now your email is either that OR you can override it and put whatever you want to best remind you of what you need to do. We now have the duplicate checker on non-advanced imports.    If you unchecked the Advanced checkbox when importing Contacts (a premium feature), it would do a “quick import” and simply import and then tell you how many records it imported.  But, it wouldn’t check for duplicates.  Now we are checking for dups so you can have a cleaner database.  For the record, I always do the Advanced Import      I like to see my data and how it is mapped before I pull the trigger. Speaking of the import,  if you choose a non-CSV file we’ll now tell you.    Before it just kicked back an error, even though you are supposed to only upload a CSV file, but now it will say something about that (some people try to upload an xls file). The autosave (3) was a great enhancement we introduced a few months ago.  The problem we found is this: if someone called me and I started taking notes in the Comments box (2), I typically didn’t put a title in before I started to write in the comment area.  JibberJobber didn’t like that.  So, we simply made a title for you, until you make your own: Untitled  (1).  Simple, I know, but now the autosave will kick in even if you ignore the title field, which is one of two required fields on that form. There were dozens of minor word changes throughout the system to make things more intuitive, and other minor changes I’m not documenting here.  I’m sure we have a long ways to go but this was a great and significant upgrade.  Thanks to my team for their hard work and diligence and to the users who gave us suggestions for improvements! New Features released last month I meant to blog about all these new features on this blog but I did it on the Jason Alba blog, then forgot to do it here.  I did mention some new features but heres the big list from an August 16 post.  Part of the reason I posted this there was to share what a software release looks like the reason Im posting it here is to that JibberJobber users can know what is new Last night (Aug 15) we did a release on  JibberJobber  with a lot of things.  I share some on the JibberJobber blog but usually not all of them (some are UI tweaks that no one really cares about, but they are good changes to make).  I’m going to try to document all of last night’s upgrades here. Google Contacts  sync.    I’m not talking about this yet because I don’t think it is working 100% the right way… but it’s there in beta mode if anyone wants to try it.  I have done it a number of times and it won’t break anything or mess up your data, but I’m not getting the results I think I should get.  This has been a HUGE project, but it isn’t over yet. Recurring Action Items.    Another HUGE project.  Documented, with pictures, here. Interesting menu change: Network â€" Contacts.    After years of having the first menu item read “Network” we changed it to “Contacts”.   Both make sense to me but the more we thought about it, Contacts makes way more sense.  Some people were confused at what they would get under Network… but Contacts is more intuitive.  Crazy little change. Another menu change: adding LOGS to the menu.    I’ve said that JibberJobber is a tool to manage contacts, companies and jobs, and the interactions between them.  You can now see this reflected on the menu with the fourth menu item: Logs (which shows the interaction between any of those three things). Log Entries and Action Items on the Quickview Stats box:  this makes a ton of sense… not only are we looking at the number of contacts, etc. you have in JibberJobber, how about your activities for the last week?  We show you how many Log Entries you enter in the last 7 days, as well as how many Action Items you’ve closed in the last 7 days (we’ll make that a ratio in the future, to show you how many were due, and how many you closed). Cleaned up notice box.    If another user sends you contact information, or requests to be your coach, or anything like that, you get a notice in a white box in the Action Items panel on the homepage.  We cleaned this up… it is easier to read now.  And, the action links are more intuitive (I don’t remember what the old words were but they were not as intuitive as they are now).  Seems like it isn’t a big deal but it really is.  This takes away friction from the user experience… and we need to take away as much friction as possible. Finally cleaned up the Add Contact issue that no one reported.  But it bugged me a lot.  A few years ago we introduced the ability to track prefix, suffix and middle name… but there was a glitch where the middle name always showed up, even if you clicked the link to hide it.  This made the form see a little more clunky… the box is now gone and the link works fine now.  Whew.  Isn’t it amazing how little things can bug you so much? Fixed and enhanced the Quick Add on Contacts.    First, we fixed the Twitter quick add (1).  Using APIs from other companies is a double edged sword.  On the one hand it allows us to do great things.  On the other hand, some companies change their APIs in a way that breaks everything.  We’ve experienced this with other APIs (like Google)… but we finally fixed the Twitter quick add. We also, at the last minute, added the Quick Add from Facebook (2).  I tried this last night where I went to a Facebook contact, copied the URL, and then pasted into the box (after you click on the Quick Add link).  It worked charmingly!!  Try it (go to the Add Contact page, this is towards the top-right of the page): Cobranded users get an alternate username and password.  If you get a JibberJobber account through another company (outplacement company, university, etc.), with a single click to create your account, you probably don’t know what your username/password is.  That model makes you go into that system and then get to JibberJobber. By popular demand we allow you to create your own JibberJobber username and password.  This means that you don’t have to go through that system anymore, and if you ever lose access to that other system you can always come back to JibberJobber through your alternate login.  This is critical because the data and work is YOURS, and you should always have access to it. Simply click on Account and you’ll see the option to create another username/password.  This is what it looks like after you have created it (note, the password tab is where you will change your new password, if you ever want to change it):  Interview Prep without limits on text.    For some reason we capped the answers in Interview Prep to 250 characters.  I have no idea why, maybe to keep it under 30 seconds… or something like that.  Anyway, this limit is gone.  Just try and keep your responses concise   Ability to add documents from the Detail Page.    When you click on Associate Documents from a Detail Page you will see a new button to Add a new Document.  Before you had to go to the Doc Manager and add the document, which was a round-about way to do it… now it is a lot easier to easily add a document at the right time. Cleaned up the Video Library.    Our UI designer had us put these big image icon things in two columns.  That was great, but it really restricted how long a title of a clip could be, and it quickly became a problem.  So we changed it so that only one video would show on each “row,” which gave us as much room as we needed for clip titles. Another popular request is to only show OPEN jobs on the Jobs List Panel.    In the past you were able to order by open jobs, or do a search (status:open), but those were kind of temporary and required a lot of hard work (okay, well, maybe about 10 or 15 characters). Now, the default view is to show only the open jobs, but you can change that, as you can see in this new drop down. You can change the Primary Contact from the Detail page.    Before you had to go to the Company Edit page, then scroll to the bottom and then choose a new primary. Now you simply double click on the gray box over Primary Contact and then choose from any Contacts you’ve associated.  You can see by (1) the Primary is Jason, by (2) you can see Barbara is a second (or other) contact, and in the drop down I can easily change from Jason to Barbara.  Note, this is how most of the Detail Page can be edited, but this was one of the few things we didn’t do when we introduced the double-click edit feature.  You can now associate an existing Contact when you add a Job.    We need to do more work on this (allow you to add a new Contact and associate more than one Contact per Job), but this is an important start. From the Events box it is easier to add a new “event” date.    Before, it said “n/a” and it wasn’t clear how to get a date in the box… now you simply click the “Add” link and it will bring up a Log Entry box with the Event already chosen from the drop down box.  This is 1000 times more intuitive than before.  The List Panel search now works with quotes.    If you search for Jason Alba you would get results, but if you searched for “Jason Alba” you wouldn’t… now “Jason Alba” is basically the same search as Jason Alba (which is Jason OR Alba).  We need to do the same thing on the general search but it didn’t make it into last night’s release. When you get an Action Item via email (which is a premium feature), you can customize the email you get.  Before you would get the title of the Log Entry and the whatever you put into the Comments for the Log Entry… now your email is either that OR you can override it and put whatever you want to best remind you of what you need to do. We now have the duplicate checker on non-advanced imports.    If you unchecked the Advanced checkbox when importing Contacts (a premium feature), it would do a “quick import” and simply import and then tell you how many records it imported.  But, it wouldn’t check for duplicates.  Now we are checking for dups so you can have a cleaner database.  For the record, I always do the Advanced Import      I like to see my data and how it is mapped before I pull the trigger. Speaking of the import,  if you choose a non-CSV file we’ll now tell you.    Before it just kicked back an error, even though you are supposed to only upload a CSV file, but now it will say something about that (some people try to upload an xls file). The autosave (3) was a great enhancement we introduced a few months ago.  The problem we found is this: if someone called me and I started taking notes in the Comments box (2), I typically didn’t put a title in before I started to write in the comment area.  JibberJobber didn’t like that.  So, we simply made a title for you, until you make your own: Untitled  (1).  Simple, I know, but now the autosave will kick in even if you ignore the title field, which is one of two required fields on that form. There were dozens of minor word changes throughout the system to make things more intuitive, and other minor changes I’m not documenting here.  I’m sure we have a long ways to go but this was a great and significant upgrade.  Thanks to my team for their hard work and diligence and to the users who gave us suggestions for improvements! New Features released last month I meant to blog about all these new features on this blog but I did it on the Jason Alba blog, then forgot to do it here.  I did mention some new features but heres the big list from an August 16 post.  Part of the reason I posted this there was to share what a software release looks like the reason Im posting it here is to that JibberJobber users can know what is new Last night (Aug 15) we did a release on  JibberJobber  with a lot of things.  I share some on the JibberJobber blog but usually not all of them (some are UI tweaks that no one really cares about, but they are good changes to make).  I’m going to try to document all of last night’s upgrades here. Google Contacts  sync.    I’m not talking about this yet because I don’t think it is working 100% the right way… but it’s there in beta mode if anyone wants to try it.  I have done it a number of times and it won’t break anything or mess up your data, but I’m not getting the results I think I should get.  This has been a HUGE project, but it isn’t over yet. Recurring Action Items.    Another HUGE project.  Documented, with pictures, here. Interesting menu change: Network â€" Contacts.    After years of having the first menu item read “Network” we changed it to “Contacts”.   Both make sense to me but the more we thought about it, Contacts makes way more sense.  Some people were confused at what they would get under Network… but Contacts is more intuitive.  Crazy little change. Another menu change: adding LOGS to the menu.    I’ve said that JibberJobber is a tool to manage contacts, companies and jobs, and the interactions between them.  You can now see this reflected on the menu with the fourth menu item: Logs (which shows the interaction between any of those three things). Log Entries and Action Items on the Quickview Stats box:  this makes a ton of sense… not only are we looking at the number of contacts, etc. you have in JibberJobber, how about your activities for the last week?  We show you how many Log Entries you enter in the last 7 days, as well as how many Action Items you’ve closed in the last 7 days (we’ll make that a ratio in the future, to show you how many were due, and how many you closed). Cleaned up notice box.    If another user sends you contact information, or requests to be your coach, or anything like that, you get a notice in a white box in the Action Items panel on the homepage.  We cleaned this up… it is easier to read now.  And, the action links are more intuitive (I don’t remember what the old words were but they were not as intuitive as they are now).  Seems like it isn’t a big deal but it really is.  This takes away friction from the user experience… and we need to take away as much friction as possible. Finally cleaned up the Add Contact issue that no one reported.  But it bugged me a lot.  A few years ago we introduced the ability to track prefix, suffix and middle name… but there was a glitch where the middle name always showed up, even if you clicked the link to hide it.  This made the form see a little more clunky… the box is now gone and the link works fine now.  Whew.  Isn’t it amazing how little things can bug you so much? Fixed and enhanced the Quick Add on Contacts.    First, we fixed the Twitter quick add (1).  Using APIs from other companies is a double edged sword.  On the one hand it allows us to do great things.  On the other hand, some companies change their APIs in a way that breaks everything.  We’ve experienced this with other APIs (like Google)… but we finally fixed the Twitter quick add. We also, at the last minute, added the Quick Add from Facebook (2).  I tried this last night where I went to a Facebook contact, copied the URL, and then pasted into the box (after you click on the Quick Add link).  It worked charmingly!!  Try it (go to the Add Contact page, this is towards the top-right of the page): Cobranded users get an alternate username and password.  If you get a JibberJobber account through another company (outplacement company, university, etc.), with a single click to create your account, you probably don’t know what your username/password is.  That model makes you go into that system and then get to JibberJobber. By popular demand we allow you to create your own JibberJobber username and password.  This means that you don’t have to go through that system anymore, and if you ever lose access to that other system you can always come back to JibberJobber through your alternate login.  This is critical because the data and work is YOURS, and you should always have access to it. Simply click on Account and you’ll see the option to create another username/password.  This is what it looks like after you have created it (note, the password tab is where you will change your new password, if you ever want to change it):  Interview Prep without limits on text.    For some reason we capped the answers in Interview Prep to 250 characters.  I have no idea why, maybe to keep it under 30 seconds… or something like that.  Anyway, this limit is gone.  Just try and keep your responses concise   Ability to add documents from the Detail Page.    When you click on Associate Documents from a Detail Page you will see a new button to Add a new Document.  Before you had to go to the Doc Manager and add the document, which was a round-about way to do it… now it is a lot easier to easily add a document at the right time. Cleaned up the Video Library.    Our UI designer had us put these big image icon things in two columns.  That was great, but it really restricted how long a title of a clip could be, and it quickly became a problem.  So we changed it so that only one video would show on each “row,” which gave us as much room as we needed for clip titles. Another popular request is to only show OPEN jobs on the Jobs List Panel.    In the past you were able to order by open jobs, or do a search (status:open), but those were kind of temporary and required a lot of hard work (okay, well, maybe about 10 or 15 characters). Now, the default view is to show only the open jobs, but you can change that, as you can see in this new drop down. You can change the Primary Contact from the Detail page.    Before you had to go to the Company Edit page, then scroll to the bottom and then choose a new primary. Now you simply double click on the gray box over Primary Contact and then choose from any Contacts you’ve associated.  You can see by (1) the Primary is Jason, by (2) you can see Barbara is a second (or other) contact, and in the drop down I can easily change from Jason to Barbara.  Note, this is how most of the Detail Page can be edited, but this was one of the few things we didn’t do when we introduced the double-click edit feature.  You can now associate an existing Contact when you add a Job.    We need to do more work on this (allow you to add a new Contact and associate more than one Contact per Job), but this is an important start. From the Events box it is easier to add a new “event” date.    Before, it said “n/a” and it wasn’t clear how to get a date in the box… now you simply click the “Add” link and it will bring up a Log Entry box with the Event already chosen from the drop down box.  This is 1000 times more intuitive than before.  The List Panel search now works with quotes.    If you search for Jason Alba you would get results, but if you searched for “Jason Alba” you wouldn’t… now “Jason Alba” is basically the same search as Jason Alba (which is Jason OR Alba).  We need to do the same thing on the general search but it didn’t make it into last night’s release. When you get an Action Item via email (which is a premium feature), you can customize the email you get.  Before you would get the title of the Log Entry and the whatever you put into the Comments for the Log Entry… now your email is either that OR you can override it and put whatever you want to best remind you of what you need to do. We now have the duplicate checker on non-advanced imports.    If you unchecked the Advanced checkbox when importing Contacts (a premium feature), it would do a “quick import” and simply import and then tell you how many records it imported.  But, it wouldn’t check for duplicates.  Now we are checking for dups so you can have a cleaner database.  For the record, I always do the Advanced Import      I like to see my data and how it is mapped before I pull the trigger. Speaking of the import,  if you choose a non-CSV file we’ll now tell you.    Before it just kicked back an error, even though you are supposed to only upload a CSV file, but now it will say something about that (some people try to upload an xls file). The autosave (3) was a great enhancement we introduced a few months ago.  The problem we found is this: if someone called me and I started taking notes in the Comments box (2), I typically didn’t put a title in before I started to write in the comment area.  JibberJobber didn’t like that.  So, we simply made a title for you, until you make your own: Untitled  (1).  Simple, I know, but now the autosave will kick in even if you ignore the title field, which is one of two required fields on that form. There were dozens of minor word changes throughout the system to make things more intuitive, and other minor changes I’m not documenting here.  I’m sure we have a long ways to go but this was a great and significant upgrade.  Thanks to my team for their hard work and diligence and to the users who gave us suggestions for improvements!

Resume Writing (CV) and LinkedIn Profile Optimization

Resume Writing (CV) and LinkedIn Profile OptimizationThe internet has opened the doors for resume writing (CV), LinkedIn profile optimization and social networking. In fact, many people are marketing on these websites. For example, people in your network are also promoting other products or services. This is another great way to reach potential customers.Businesses using LinkedIn should use resume writing (CV) to market their business and create interest. It will help them get more people to reach out to them and make a purchase. When you are applying for a job, CV and LinkedIn profile optimization will help you get noticed.LinkedIn is not just about your business. It is also about your life. You can use it to create interest in you by highlighting your interests. This makes you more interesting and people will be interested in knowing more about you.Resume writing (CV) and LinkedIn profile optimization can help you gain more followers. People will notice you. If you have friends or family members who are in the work force, you can also talk about the things that you do in your spare time. Use this information to build your profile so that people know that you have a lot to offer.CV and LinkedIn profile optimization are great for building a social network. When you use these techniques you will build your social network. Once you have built your social network you can use LinkedIn profile optimization to market your business and gain more followers.In addition, you can use LinkedIn as a marketing tool. If you have a business website, you can link it to your LinkedIn profile. This can increase your presence on LinkedIn. People can follow you on LinkedIn because they are following you on LinkedIn.LinkedIn is very popular. It is even used by many people. Many people use LinkedIn because they like the features that it offers. CV and LinkedIn profile optimization is an effective way to get noticed and used by people.LinkedIn is very easy to use. You don't need to kn ow anything about web design or content. All you need to do is find a niche and market your business in it. LinkedIn has a lot of content and many people use it as a way to build a network.

3 Reasons Why Personal Branding is Essential For Networking - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

3 Reasons Why Personal Branding is Essential For Networking - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career When I was in college, I was always told that its all about who you know. I heard this common saying from teachers, my parents, older friends and managers at my internships. It was very hard to disagree with this phrase because I had spent months interviewing to get a job upon graduation because I wasnt comfortable networking. There were many opportunities for me to attend events, meet alumni and connect with friends, but I felt introverted and didnt have the confidence back then to take the networking leap. By disregarding networking from my job search, I quickly found out that it was going to take me more time, energy and luck to get a job. Some of my friends called their uncles and parents and secured a job without even interviewing and I had found myself pledging to companies, just like I had done with my fraternity at college. I vowed once I got my first full-time job out of college that I would always prioritize networking as the key to my future. It is also one of the parts of the personal branding Success Triangle. A new world with new rules While networking could have given me a competitive advantage and saved me time in the corporate recruitment process, today its your cost of entry into the new world of work. The new rules are forcing us to become networkers, both with some degree of reach, engagement and reciprocity. The reason for this change is because our network, for the first time in history, is visible to anyone who wants to access it online, and competition to either get a job or get into college is massive now. Rule #1: Everyone with a pulse matters Rule #2: Less applications and more connections Rule #3: Nothing is for certain Rule #4: The internet is the primary recruiting source Rule #5: People need to be discovered Rule #6: Stay relevant or become extinct Rule #7: Quantity and quality of your network matters Rule #8: There is no work/life balance anymore, its just life Rule #9: Everyone is a consultant Rule #10: Your personal brand is all you have Im not going to go through all of these rules, but we can discuss them in the comments if youre interested. Rule #1 has really come alive to me recently when I was given an opportunity to speak to a large company because a college graduate heard me speak for free at her school. When she graduated, she got a job with this company and they were looking for speakers and she had already heard me speak so she made the referral. When this occurred, it really dawned on me that, not only does visibility translate into opportunities, but that everyone matters. You never know who will become what when they grow up or progress in their career, so you have to treat everyone very well.   The internet has made the world smaller, so every action you take and every person you meet can extend to an even greater audience. 3 reasons why personal branding is essential for networking At the beginning of this post, I was explaining how we all grew up with the idea that its all about who you know. Id like to argue that its much more than who you know now.   Its who you know, who they know and who knows you. As mentioned in rule #7, the quantity and quality of your network are both equally important. Id rather have Bill Clinton and CNN follow me on Twitter than one thousand people Ive never heard of. Your influence and credibility will always expand when youre associated or followed by people that are more successful than you are. The perception of the size of your network is also important because if you dont seem like youre popular, you wont be taken as seriously. 1. Who you know You know more people than you think you know. Youve been networking throughout your life, sometimes without even thinking about it. All the people you say hello to in the morning, that man who exchanged business cards with you on your flight to Florida and certainly your parents and extended family. I believe networking is all about finding people that will go out of their way for you.   If you revisit the Networking Strength Model, which is also captured in my book Me 2.0, youll notice that family is the most important part of your network, then friends and finally, acquaintances. When you know people, you can reach out to them.   They will respond favorably if youve formed a healthy relationship with them and dont come off as a user. 2. Who they know If LinkedIn and Facebook have taught us anything, its the fact that we are all connected and have multiple degrees of our network. Your friend might not be able to hire you, but her friends fathers sons manager can. Without the internet, it was almost impossible to really figure out how we are all interlinked, but now we can perform searches on LinkedIn and identity people in each others networks that were interested in. Most of the time, your first degree network arent the people that are notifying you of job openings. Instead, their networks are posting jobs and youre discovering them through your mutual contact. This is another reason why its better to have a thousand contacts than only a few. The more people youre connected to, the larger your overall network will be. 3. Who knows you Its 2010 and beyond, you cant just rely on traditional networking tactics to meet people anymore. In order to expand your horizons and filter the right people into your world, you need to be discovered. Just like a musician might be discovered in a club in LA, you need to be visible online so that people can find you. If you arent visible, then you dont exist to the world. The more people that kn0w (I call this the sphere of influence in Me 2.0), the more opportunities youll receive and the more friends youll have that are genuinely interested in what you have to say. Some might call this inbound or attraction based marketing, but the core principle is that if people havent heard of you, you cant do business with them. If your book doesnt appear in Borders Bookstore, then people cant buy it and if your CD isnt available at Newbury Comics, then youre out of luck too. Become an expert, achieve visibility and people will hire you. Your turn What steps are you taking to become more visible online or offline?   Has it resulted in new business opportunites?

Moms Toolkit Frugal Tips that Work

Mom’s Toolkit Frugal Tips that Work When you put your little one to bed, they were still little. The next morning they are standing taller and their pajama pants are now high waters.   Every parent has experienced this.   As they get older, it gets harder to stay on top of their unpredictable growth patterns.   There are some telltale signs â€" increased appetite, sleepiness, moodiness â€", but we often don’t realize what’s happening until too late. And then we have to make a quick run to the store. How do you keep your kids in clothes that fit without breaking the bank?   How do you find deals on the extra food you hadn’t expected to buy?   Here are some tricks for ushering your kids through growth spurts without breaking the bank: Outlets Outlet malls aren’t what they used to be. While the irregulars you could get for dirt cheap are a thing of the past, you can still get styles from seasons past at a discount.   Your two year old won’t care if her sweater is from last season. Consignment Stores We spend money on clothes that are worn only a handful of times before they are too small.   That’s where consignment shops come in. Parents sell these items at consignment shops for a fraction of their original cost. The shop itself only allows consignments that are in good condition, so you can shop confidently and get some great deals in the process. Sales There’s always a sale going on somewhere. There’s a sale when the seasons change, a sale for back to school, heck, a sale because it’s Tuesday. Take advantage of these opportunities.   Shop a size or two ahead and stock up for next season. Weekly ads from Wal-Mart is the best place to find cheap deals. Yard Sales Many people swear by yard sales. A quick sort through might yield you some much needed play clothes for next to nothing.   If you look closely, you may find some hidden gems with the department store tags still on! Hand Me Downs Getting a lightly used item from a friend or family member is like getting a bonus at Christmas.   Or finding that the frilly dress your oldest wore to graduation fits your youngest when she needs it.   These unexpected goodies just make you smile. Join Store Clubs Several stores will give you discounts off your purchases throughout the year because you are a member of their club.   Some will give you free stuff too.   Join every club you can.   It doesn’t cost anything to sign up and it will get your rewards every time you shop. Use Cash If you’re like a lot of people you rarely come home with just the item you set out to get.   This can add unforeseen costs and wreck your budget. If you want to reduce impromptu spending, think about using cash when you shop. This might be the best deterrent to spending more money than you can afford to. If you use cash for everything, you can only spend as much as you have in your pocket. You are not as likely to go back for an item after leaving a store, so most times what was considered a “nice to have” as opposed to a “need to have” will stay right there on the shelf and the money will remain in your pocket. A Word about Coupons These little gems are lifesavers. It doesn’t matter if you physically clip them out of the paper or print them from a coupon repository online, the result is the same: more money in your pocket. Coupons can be printed and taken with you to a store or scanned from your phone at check out. There are even coupon codes available to use when shopping online.   Check the coupon sites before you hit the stores and save a little money. Saving money on items that you would buy anyway is one of the smartest things you can do for your bank account.   And here’s another trick:   put the money you saved in the bank and actually save it. To really make this work for you, figure out the difference between the retail prices and the total you actually paid.   As tempted as you will be to do so, don’t pocket the difference and consider it found money.   Make a b-line to the bank and save it. You’ll be surprised at the amount of money you’ll save in a month. Try these tips to combat the growth spurts, the ‘I don’t know how I got that hole in my knee’ moments, and any other gotcha that comes up. Happy shopping!

Resume Writing Techniques - Which Principle is Most Important?

Resume Writing Techniques - Which Principle is Most Important?This is a question which you might find yourself asking if you're doing research into Resume Writing Techniques. Below are some of the most important principles that should be used in order to be able to write a good resume:It has been established that one of the most important principle to be used when writing a resume is the fact that you need to relate your skills and experiences to the job you want. When you use the word 'expert' you must also put in the skill and experience which you have acquired which relates to the job you want. In this way, it will make your resume look impressive and convincing.Another important principle to be used when writing a resume is the fact that the resume itself should be read through carefully. The use of the word 'present' indicates that you are offering the employer information. The second use of the word 'past' means that you are giving the employer information about your previous w orks. Use this on the resume to show that you are a valuable professional.Another important principle to be used when writing a resume is the fact that you must clearly indicate your occupation. The use of the word 'school' means that you do not offer any work. It is best to state that you are self-employed when you don't have any school for kids.There is another important principle to be used when writing a resume. In writing a resume you should state the reason for your leaving the company. By using the word 'retired' you state that you are seeking for a better job.Finally, another important principle to be used when writing a resume is the fact that you should specify the exact job position you are applying for. You should always put in the correct name, title and address of the organization where you are applying. You should never use the words 'to be' in your resume because this indicates that you are a trainee or that you are already employed.Another important principle to be used when writing a resume is the fact that you must provide the most suitable wording possible. The statement 'sought for', for example, would be considered as the most suitable phrasing by many employers.One more important principle to be used when writing a resume is the fact that you should not use the word 'resume' in its proper sense. You should not use the word resume to mean a compilation of all your other resumes. Also, you should not use the word resume to mean a working resume.

How to Overcome the Tech Talent Shortage CareerMetis.com

How to Overcome the Tech Talent Shortage There are different opinions on this matter: some say there’s no such a thing as tech talent shortage and some say there is. The main reason everybody is talking about the tech talent gap is that the majority of companies don’t want to grow and train inexperienced graduates.Instead, they want to get a particular specialist with the right experience fast, easy and without overpaying. One thing is absolutely clear though â€" finding the right specialist is harder than ever.evalClearly, the tech industry is growing and changing too fast for educational establishments to prepare and provide enough specialists in every field.It goes without saying that the situation really depends on location and what kind of tech talent you are looking for. Thus, there might be more than enough web developers in your city but very few somewhere else.Also, the number of specialists in your area might be promising but if you need someone with a special set of skills or extensive experience, you could f ind out that there’s not a single candidate to fit your criteria or those who do suit you are already working for a larger, more successful company.Despite the fact that young people tend to choose a tech career, many of them struggle to find a job after graduation just because they don’t have the experience.1) Highly Skilled Tech RecruitersevalA professional IT recruiter is not only the link between the customer and the candidate, but it is also a good sales manager.Roughly speaking, they sell people to companies and vice versa. The recruiter must not only know how to recruit but competently convince the customer why a certain candidate should be hired and paid a particular amount of money.Sales skills also help to lure the candidate himself at least for an interview. Not to mention persuading him to change his place of residence.Where to look for valuable candidates?The main search channels are:Social networks Specialized events Online instruments Groups and forums With a larg e selection of channels, there is no single right or universal tool with which you can always effectively search for people. Some channels work better in the US market, others in the European market, and some work only in specific circumstances.Each recruiter should not only know how to hire programmers but how to choose a search channel that is convenient for himself and his company and gives access to the best tech talent pipeline.2) IT Staffing Remote EmployeesThe number of IT companies is constantly growing, competition between them on the labor market is tightening and the demand for remote employees is growing.According to Google Trends, the popularity of the “remote developer” query is constantly growing.evalThese days, the most innovative model to hire remote developersis out-staffing but outsourcing and freelancing are still very popular.3) FreelancersPeople become freelancers for various reasons. For some, it’s a problem to constantly go to the office The chance tha t would burn out emotionally when working at these companies is much lower.5) IT Staffing, OutstaffingevalOutsourcing and outstaffing are somewhat similar but the main difference is in how the model works itself. The result and the process “feel” different as well. Outstaffing is a relatively new hiring model but its popularity is rapidly growing.Companies that provide outstaffing services would find, hire and manage an IT specialist or a whole team according to your requirements.evalYou get a contract-based collaboration where your subcontractor is responsible for delivered results.Using such a model brings many advantages:Lower development cost Save on taxes and operating costs Easily scalable team;Access to global tech talent;No need for micromanagement;Full control over the process;Fixed rates;Efficient communication.6) Internship, Employee Training, and DevelopmentThere are four strategies for working with interns:Direct selection;Organizing student competitions;Hackathons and championships;Educational programs and short-term internships.a) Choosing Interns DirectlyDirect selection is easy to organize through a career center at the university. Just place an internship announcement on the university’s website, on social media channels or on the bulletin board.From the applications received, select the most suitable. Be sure to include a test task in the vacancy: this way you will receive applications from really interested candidates. Let the test task be vital.b) Specialized Hackathons and ChampionshipsIf a company needs an intern for a very narrow specialization in IT (Big Data, Machine Learning, etc.), look for candidates at thematic championships and hackathons.Here we need a student who has not only knowledge from the university, but also experience in solving similar problems. KPI for such an intern is a ready-to-use program or script.Keep track of topics and dates of hackathons at all universities of your interest. Hackathons are usually held in the spring and autumn, so do not miss the moment. Or, if you have the resources, do a hackathon on your topic of interest.Keep in mind that the bright participants and winners of the hackathons are in great demand and usually have a big list of opportunities to choose from. Therefore, consider not only the hackathon tasks but also the presentation of your business or project.c) Short-Term InternshipsThis option is the most common and least effective. The company recruits many students for a short time, entrusts them with simple work and involves a lot of employees to train newcomers.Why are massive short-term internships ineffective?This is a high burden for company employees because you need to attach one or two mentors to each intern.7) Own Educational ProgramsIf you have a large company, which is important for a constant stream of qualified trainees for highly specialized activities, create your own educational programs: departments in universities, additional education progra ms or special courses located in your office.This way has a huge advantage and a significant drawback. The educational project allows you to prepare trainees in accordance with the needs of the company.On the other hand, this method is very labor-intensive. The company should highlight several employees who will share their knowledge and skills with students, and if the need for interns is large and constant, it will be necessary to create a whole base of mentors and a system to motivate them.8) IT Certification TrainingIT ?ertification is a relatively new phenomenon among tech specialists. Now it’s clear that IT certificationis becoming more and more significant when applying for a job, and for some organizations the presence of such a “proof” is a mandatory point for obtaining the desired position.The growing tendency to test IT-specialists becomes a necessity not because it is really in demand on the market, but because “everyone does it.” Having a certificate from a bi g reputable company opens up lots of opportunities and makes a candidate much more appealing in the eyes of recruiters.The majority of valuable certificates are provided by tech companies. They usually offer related information technology jobs to those who have proven great ability to learn and grow as a professional.On the other hand, there’s also a pool of organizations that do not hire but only train. It is in their interest to have some kind of tech company ready to offer jobs to their graduates.Thus, having such an agreement is beneficial for everyone: students, course providers, and hiring companies.

Five Ways to Lose Your Job in the Electronic Age

Five Ways to Lose Your Job in the Electronic Age Sure, by now you know that displaying pictures of you partying on Facebook or tweeting about how much you hate your boss are electronic no nos. But there are other, less well known faux pas that people are making every day at work that can get them and their employers in hot water. Here are five of them.Textual Harassment. Thinking about texting a co-worker on your company cell phone to ask if they want to go for a drink after work? Think again. If your advances are unwanted you could be accused of textual harassment and the accuser will have the electronic breadcrumbs to back up their claim.Privacy Breaches. Want to shoot your boss an email to let him know that a colleague wont be in today because she is going to the doctor for chemotherapy or a colonoscopy? Dont do it. HIPPA legislation was enacted to ensure that people are protected against having their health information exposed electronically.Emailing While Off Duty. Are some of your employees  non-exempt workers who are paid a n hourly rate and are eligible for overtime pay? If so, your company may have a strict policy against them doing company work remotely on a company laptop or cell phone after hours.Blogging Without a Disclaimer. Pondering starting a blog to express your musings about life at a particular company? Check to see if your company has a social media policy. Many companies will either request that you dont mention your affiliation with the company on your personal blog or that you add a disclaimer stating that the views expressed on the blog are yours alone and not reflective of the companys position.Electronic Organizing.  Union organizers  are using electronic leafleting to encourage employees in non-union shops to print and sign authorization cards and distribute union literature. Many organizers have been able to fly under the radar of companies with these methods because they are not as invasive as traditional union activity, but before you forward that email to your co-workers, find out if your company has a clearly defined policy against this type of activity. Going against the company policy could land you on probation or cost you your job.

How do I Answer the Do you have any Questions, Question - Ask Me Anything Tuesday IM HIRED

How do I Answer the Do you have any Questions, Question - Ask Me Anything Tuesday What reply does the interviewer expect when they ask, Do you have any questions for us? The interviewer genuinely wants to give you a chance to ask them anything. In turn allowing you to test whether or not the job is right for you. Secondly they want to see your passion for the company through your questions and get a true insight into you as a person. Ill start by saying you must ask at least one questions. Never leave an interview saying you have nothing further to add. First impression count but so do last impressions so leave the interview on a high not an anti-climax. You should have prepared your questions prior to the interview. Research the company and then you will be able to think of questions that are tailored to that role/organisation. Take notes into the interview so make a list of all your questions. Have more than one prepared, dont ask a question that has already been covered. It is so important to not repeat. An interview should be conversational and natural so when it comes to your time to quiz the interviewer take full advantage. Find out all the information you have not already learnt from the interview. Finally, interviews are two sided make sure you have all your questions ticked off before you leave. The second you leave an interview you should be able to say for certain whether or not you want to go forward with that position. Thanks for this great question if you want examples of questions to ask head to my blog post  Recruit Yourself What Questions to Ask? Want your question answering? Submit your question through the contact form below or comment your question. Ill be in touch to let you know when your question will be answered.For full TCs please check out policy page.