The Internet: Friend or foe to your job search?

Job seekers, beware your online identity. It could be what makes or breaks your career aspirations.

Now, not only must job seekers woo employers with their resume and interview savvy, they’re expected to have an outstanding Internet presence as well. Employers have turned to social networking websites and search engines to screen job seekers based on the additional information about them potentially floating through cyber space. In fact, three-fourths of recruiters admit to googling job candidates, according to a recent Harris Interactive poll.

Recognizing that it’s practically inevitable that employers will go online to find information about job candidates, 24% of people age 18-24 say they would post their resume for employers to see on social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook or Friendster, according to the September 2006 Spherion Workplace Snapshot. Unfortunately, the last thing many recruiters want to see is an online resume accompanied by pictures of keg parties or inappropriate jokes posted on the job seeker’s message board; therefore, job seekers who want to maintain professionalism in their job search would be wise to ensure their social life cannot become the subject of skepticism for recruiters, based on an unflattering web persona. Furthermore, career expert Michael Farr, author of the recently released Same-Day Resume, Second Edition, believes there are other, more appropriate places on the Internet for someone to post their resume.

“To create a comprehensive picture of who you are and what you have done professionally, you can create an online career portfolio,” Farr says.

“They enhance web-based resumes in that they provide evidence of your past work performance, including samples, testimonials, articles, videos, photographs and charts.”

Farr acknowledges that an online portfolio could be just as harmful to a person’s job search as social networking websites if they look amateurish and include unnecessary personal information, such as someone’s religious or political views; however, a professional-looking portfolio that features an impressive, diverse work history can create the outstanding online identity many recruiters hope to find when they log online to learn more about candidates.

“Maybe there will come a time when the web career portfolio is as common as the resume; but for now, there is a lot of opportunity to stand out from your competition and be extraordinary,” Farr says.

Get job-search savvy.

Here’s a great article I found that should come in handy for all job seekers in these tough economic times…

Job searches can be a frustrating experience especially in today’s slow economic times. Geoff Dillon, marketing manager for staffing company The People Bank, provides a behind-the-scenes look at some useful job-hunt tips.

Newspaper ads

Companies often get hundreds of responses to just one ad these days. Companies also use newspaper ads because of their immediacy: they want results, and fast.

TIP: If your resume fits with the position requirements, take action right away. Chances are the employer will be so overwhelmed with responses after the first day of their ad, you may have little chance of landing the position if you are slow to react.

Internet job boards

Responses to Internet job postings often end up in a recruiter’s e-mail. Some employers and recruiters receive up to 100 e-mails a day or more! To get your application noticed, send in your resume flagged as a high priority e-mail message to help move it to the top of the list.

TIP: Most e-mail programs display the most recent messages at the top of the screen, so send your resume during the workday when you are more likely to catch the recruiter at their desk. Early morning is also a good option. Don’t send your resume the night before; your resume will be too far down the list by the time the recruiter shows up for work in the morning and may not be noticed.

Employment agencies

Employment agencies work for companies to locate and interview qualified applicants for available positions.

TIP: Keep in touch with your consultant from the employment agency if the job you applied for doesn’t pan out. They are a great source of unadvertised job opportunities, which often means less competition for you if you land an interview through them.

Networking

‘Who you know’ is still the best way to locate job opportunities. Companies look favorably upon referrals because it’s a low cost, highly effective way to locate trustworthy people.

TIP: If you are referred to someone, be sure to address your cover letter to them personally and mention that you were referred to them.

Source: http://career.jobboom.com/career-planning/personal-advancement/2002/12/11/3278451-sun.html

Are you a cloud worker?

This morning as I glanced through the normal news websites and feeds I browse on a daily basis, I came across  an article that fetaured the term “Cloud Worker”. Nope it’s not someone who smoked-up at work! Read on…

SANTA CRUZ, CA, Nov 18, 2008
Plantronics, Inc today announced that “cloudworker” won the nationwide Plantronics TeleWho? contest. The contest was created to coin a new, more accurate and relevant term for professionals who work beyond the office.

According to the winning submission, “a cloudworker is somebody who uses on-demand technology and collaboration tools, such as unified communications, to work anywhere and anytime, and uses the resulting freedom to enable a my-size-fits-me career path and lifestyle. The metaphor of the cloud extends well beyond cloud computing and software as a service applications to include work environments, distributed teams, and communication tools.”

Today, telecommuting means much more than it did in 1973 when the term was born. It’s no longer just about replacing a daily office commute with telecommunication links. Rather, it now involves working from several locations in one day, including from home; communicating on multiple devices and with multiple applications; integrating work and personal life; and providing 24×7, “always on,” service to customers.

For the Plantronics TeleWho? Contest, a panel of telecommuting and workplace experts — including analysts, media and bloggers — selected 10 finalists from a pool of approximately 500 submissions. These 10 were selected based on their originality, relevance and lasting impact. Public online voting took place over a two-week period, and nearly 2,200 votes were cast. Cloudworker won with 27.5% of the vote.

Venkatesh Rao, a blogger at www.ribbonfarm.com and research scientist at a Fortune 500 company who divides his time between Rochester, N.Y. and Washington, D.C., submitted the winning term. For his creativity and ingenuity, he will be receiving approximately $2,000 in communication and audio entertainment prizes.
“I’ve been blogging about and researching the future of work for a while now, and personally living the cloudworker lifestyle for years, but I didn’t think to put a name to it until I saw the Plantronics contest,” said Rao. “It is amazing how changing a single word can completely reframe how you think about a big subject. Once I started thinking in terms of ‘cloudworker,’ so many ideas came flooding into my head that I ended up starting a series of blog articles, which my readers really seem to resonate with. I hope the word triggers an equally stimulating shift in perspective for others.”

Honorable Mentions

The open submission process resulted in a wide variety of terms. Although they didn’t make the final cut, the panel awarded the title of “honorable mention” to a few of the most original entries.
The honor of Most Likely to Cause Confusion goes to “Porta-Pro” submitted by Jillian Grant of Sunnyside, N.Y. Though most immediately associate “porta” with another hyphenated word, the term submitted is an abbreviation for portable professional.
Several submissions referred to one of the least mentioned benefits of working from home, but quite likely one of the most appealing. Thus, Most Tell-it-like-it-is Truthful goes to “Robe Warrior” submitted by Faith Zack of Santa Cruz, Calif.

Cloudworking on the Rise

A survey conducted by TNS and released by Plantronics today reveals that high travel costs are transforming how businesses and their employees communicate and collaborate. In fact, 52% of survey respondents work from home at least one day a week and almost half cite “saving money” as the primary reason. Combined with the current economic climate, businesses can also reduce real estate and operational costs by encouraging employees to work outside of the traditional office environment.
To see the full TeleWho contest results, please visit www.plantronics.com/telewho.

Looking for a home business idea?

There are many different ways to make money from home and here are my 7 favorite ideas:

1. Telecommute Jobs. I spend a lot of time online and I can’t tell you how many people I meet online who are looking for a “job” that they can do online from home and make a ton of money … or at least replace their full-time income. I wish I could say that these jobs were plentiful and that there are companies who will beat your door down to hire you.

Truthfully, the very best way to find these types of jobs is OFFLINE. Most people who are doing this type of work talked their “offline” boss into allowing them to work their same position from home … or they got the work through someone they know.

Please beware of the many scams on the internet. Legitimate work at home employers should not ask you for money or to pay for postage for any reason. I suggest checking out all potential companies and potential employers by doing a Google search on the company name and on the hiring person and to also check with the Better Business Bureau before making any decisions.

Read some more information about Telecommute Jobs.

Suggested Skills: computer, data entry, telephone, customer service, sales/telemarketing

2. Party Plan/Direct Sales/MLM (Multi-Level Marketing). Most of us are familiar with the direct sales/party plan business model and it’s certainly a viable option to make some money from home. It’s a great way to jump in an own your own business without the investment and risk involved with starting your own business from the ground up.

The investment is usually under $200 and should give you most of the tools you need to get your business up and running. Most will offer representative replicated websites for free or for an affordable rate giving you an instant online presence too.

Another benefit is that you will have other representatives who will train and mentor you as you start your business and you’ll have access to company training and sales tools as well.

Believe it or not, on my WAHM 2 WAHM site we have over 300 companies listed that fall into this category with product lines ranging from cosmetics and skin care to wine … travel companies to candles … pet supplies … to “green” companies … and literally everything in between.

My suggestion is to make a list of everything that you have a passion for i.e. wine, travel, candles, dogs, investing, babies, books, etc. and then you can go to WAHM 2 WAHM and search by keyword and see what companies are out there to have a look at. We also offer tips on what to look for in not only a company but also how to select a sponsor (mentor) who is a match for your personality type.

Skills: friendly, helpful, email, phone skills, good follow through, persistence, self-starter,

3. Affiliate Programs/Affiliate Marketing. An affiliate program is simply a program that pays you to drive traffic to someone else’s products and/or services. If the traffic you send results in a sale you will be paid a referral fee which is either a percentage of the commission or a flat fee per sale. This allows a merchant to have 100’s or even 1000’s of affiliates promoting their product or service simultaneously without costing them a dime in advertising. These payouts are made on a “performance” basis. It’s truly a win-win. These programs range from Jane Doe’s custom hair bows to well-known companies like Wal-Mart, Amazon, and eBay.

Read the entire list of top home business ideas.

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