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How To Write A Short, Professional Bio Ft Dan Schawbel

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Linking it Up - 7/28/2009

1. Interviewing? Look for quick thinking, not ‘right answers’ from VentureBeat. Nice little read for both interviewers and interviewees.

“I’m not interviewing for the right answer to the questions I ask. Instead, I want to see how the candidate thinks on their feet, and whether they can engage in collaborative problem solving. So I always frame interview questions as if we were solving a real-life problem, even if the rules are a little far-fetched. I’ll then act as their “product manager” who can ask questions of imaginary customers to learn what they think. (I also act as their combined compiler, interactive debugger, and QA tester.)”

“My experience is that candidates who “know” the right answer do substantially worse than candidates who know nothing of the field. That’s because they spend time trying to remember the “correct” solution, instead of working on the problem together.”

2. 5 Ways to Fix a Tarnished Online Reputation - Alexandra Levit talks about managing an online brand.

Listen and respond to online conversations before an issue reaches critical mass and damages your reputation. The best protection against negative comments and gripes is to build a positive reputation ahead of time.
In the event of a crisis, you or your leader must take responsibility in order to recover corporate reputation.
Explain your solution to the crisis/issue and then carry the solution into action.
Set up specific online destinations to solicit negative comments and deal with them separately. Bank of America set up a Twitter rep to deal with customer complaints.
To change how you appear on the Internet, push down the relevance of negative results and give the search engines positive new content.

3. Why LinkedIn Recommendations Really Are Valuable is a short read where Jacob Share (of JobMob) talks about why LinkedIn is important to use and get recommendations on. Here are his ideas on the topic condensed:

The job search process is a sales process
The relation between the recommend’er and the recommended is what matters most
LinkedIn is reliable

4. Does HR Read Resumes? Probably not but cover letters help you stand out:

“The one thing that will catch my eye and make me look at a candidate that does not have the experience I need, a cover letter addressed to me. Yeah, my own name catches my eye; I bet $10 you’re the same way.”

5. How to Behave: New Rules for Highly Evolved Humans is a new feature from Wired Magazine. Here’s one for you to sample:

Seek Out Your Coworkers on Facebook - So you finally scored a new job and you’re wondering if you should connect with your colleagues on Facebook? Go ahead. Yes, even with all those embarrassing photos linked to your profile. (No, don’t delete the ones from spring break ‘97, when you hooked up with a beer bong every night.) Friending your coworkers actually makes good business sense. According to London Business School professor Lynda Gratton, companies in which employees feel they know each other personally tend to be more innovative—it helps them jell as a team. In any case, not friending people won’t protect you from mortifying revelations. We’ve all been blogging and Flickring and tweeting for quite a while now; anything potentially compromising about you will eventually make the rounds. So own it. Revealing awkward photos and posts yourself is the best way to limit their impact. Show that you don’t take yourself too seriously and you’re less likely to invite ridicule.

6. How to Write a Personal Bio is another nice little read from the brand yourself blog.

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Linking it Up - August 6, 2009

1. Colleges Need to Teach Personal Branding from the personal branding blog. This should probably be included in a short 8 week course every college should have about resume skills and interviewing techniques.

2. From Michael VanDervort comes 15 Job Search Ideas for Uemployed Workers

Utilize non-traditional search tools. I recommended a number of job aggregators and local boards outside the big 3 - Indeed, SimplyHired, workforce50, Linkup, jobshouts, etc.
Network in non-traditional groups (tech, social media) to break challenge age perceptions
Consider other opportunities – contract, consulting, – look for work places like elance,Guru, Sologig, odesk, and others. Consider teaching at colleges or on-line at schools like Webster or the University of PHX.
Get over the idea that you have to work in a certain business sector. Stretch boundaries. Consider non-profit, etc
Increase your geographic reach. Consider New Orleans, for example. Relocate if necessary, and if possible. You can always move back where you left down the road if you want to
Increase your voice wherever possible, with relevance. People will see it. It might help, and certainly can’t hurt!
Spend time on new things just for you. Be assertive about your job search, but don’t let it consume you.
Be sure to post your job search on locations like LinkedIn and Facebook so your extended network is aware, but don’t be annoying or appear desperate.
Open your mind. Be receptive to any opportunity, and don’t let preconcieved notions turn you off to any potential opportunity.
Consider reading HR blogs for job advice. You can find over numerous bloggers and contacts by visiting just two sites, HR Alltop and HRM Today.
Join (or start) an “accountability” group—3 or 4 people who meet once a week and hold each other accountable for job-search commitments.
Volunteer. The United Way, for example, can place you in a position that requires your skills. Broadens your network.
Seek a “hold-me-over” job before you need to dip into your savings. It can be a one-day-a- week job in retail. An evening job bartendering.
Seek opportunities to get out of your comfort zone.
Build a personal brand. See the slideshare presentation Me 2.0 by Maurene Grey.

3. Would I Hire Me if I Were You? From careerealism.com comes a short piece on looking inward when job hunting:

Introspection is a critical part of your job search. Before you send your résumé to every opening you find, you should sit quietly and ask yourself whether YOU would hire YOU if YOU were the hiring manager.

4. Making An Entry Level Salary Work from gradversity.com talks about what you should do after you land your job.

5. Nick Armstrong discusses creating a cover letter from scratch and talks about:

How to analyze a job posting
How to figure out if the job is a sham/the company is cheap
How to know if you’re qualified
How to properly research the company
How to begin your cover letter
What to say in your cover letter
How to end your cover letter
What to do after you’ve sent your cover letter

6. Overqualified and Underpaid Workers states the obvious:

Because of the tough job market, most job seekers are willing to accept positions they’re overqualified for even if it means taking a paycut and a demotion.

Sixty-four percent of workers who were laid off over the last 12 months said they have applied for positions that were below the job level they had held previously, according to a survey by Career Builder.

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