First impressions are key.
The Resume is the first point of contact between employer and applicant. Its purpose is to separate the potentials from the time wasters so an attention getting yet informative design is extremely important.
Apparently some people did not get this memo. (more…)
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Well everyone knows me…my name is Roooomoommiiii. Well not really, my name is Thaddeus or Thade, whatever rolls off your tongue better. I might not be as cool as Romi, but I hopefully I fit in with the rest of these guys. I must say being able to screw something for my job is pretty cool, especially when its something like the recession, because I don’t really have much money but somehow get to experience so much. I definitely get more out of my wallet, than I do of women. (more…)
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Hey Recession Revolutionaries!
Things are getting hot at the Screw You Recession Summer Intern Search! The videos are awesome and we’ve had tons of voters, but we’ve grabbed the eye of one really important voter… Richard Branson himself! He’s so into the contest and the energy in the videos that he’s asked us to expand it. He couldn’t pick just five faves (and neither could we) so we’re opening the contest up a bit:
1. Like Mandi announced earlier, we’re extending the deadline to enter a video until May 22, 2009.
2. The top five videos, as voted on by Canadians, will still go on to the second round. In addition to that, we’re adding Branson’s Fave Five! Richard wants to personally pick five more recessionistas to go to the next round. That means we’ll have ten savvy semi-finalists moving on to the interview round, instead of five.
Thanks again for all your awesomeness and if you don’t have your vid in yet, what are you waiting for? You get glory, a paycheque, prizes galore, and hang out time with us. Get on it!
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Twitter and Facebook have basically revolutionized the way we talk to each other. But with that kind of of overhaul comes a few pitfalls - like not being able to control who sees your dumbass comments. Just becuse you haven’t friended or followed someone doesn’t mean they won’t see what you’ve posted. It’s called the internet, people - word gets around and it gets around fast.
Resume Bear has it exactly right - don’t ever post anything you wouldn’t want your bosses (or future bosses) to read about you. It’s that simple. Check out their hilarious list of the stupidest things employees (or, after this, former employees) have said about their jobs on Twitter. Here are some of the best ones…
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You know when something comes out of Harvard, it must be good, right? Just look at Elle Woods. Am loving this article from Marshall Goldsmith; Recession Proof Yourself…Four Tips for Twentysomethings.
At first glance, the tips are neither new nor revolutionary. But it’s a refreshingly simple perspective on a few basic tips that can help us get through the big R with our spirits and wallets intact.
1. The sky isn’t falling.
“Things are pretty wild right now, and lots of Chicken Littles are telling you to be afraid. The truth is that events are bound to bring more changes than you like. You may watch some of your peers lose their jobs, while others will end up with cut wages. But we’re not going to unplug the sun and live in the dark. Things will get better, and we will get through this just as we have in the past. You are, however, going to have to be mentally tougher than you’ve had to be in the past.”
Yup. No doubt it’s a challenging time for all of us, whether you’ve lost a job or half your savings. But, like a really awful Paris Hilton movie, you can take comfort in the fact that it will be over soon. How soon, no one knows, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that recessions come and go, and we’ll survive this one like we’ve survived all the rest. A little poorer, a little wiser, and a little more reluctant to blow a paycheck on Jimmy Choos.
2. Don’t take your job lightly.
As my boss Nathan reminds me on almost a daily basis, I’m a member of Generation Y, a group (and I quote) “with a strong sense of entitlement, an aversion to authority figures and a resolute confidence in their value to society.”
Right. And as I remind him on an almost hourly basis, he’s lucky to have me. And not just because I get him a soy latte most mornings or because we do a really great Celine Dion lip sync performance together. He’s lucky to have me because I’m young, (relatively) hip to what’s happening, and I can speak to my age group, and our target market without using words like “anti-establishmentarianism” or “Jeepers.” It’s true though, right? We’re used to feeling in demand…in control and indispensable, especially in the workplace. But according to Marshall, and to the delight of many Gen X managers, “those days are over.” At least when it comes to your job.
“Your boss is in the driver’s seat, and you will have to reapply for your job every day. How? Pay attention to the things that may tick him or her off: showing up late, calling in sick, turning in shoddy work, and being anything less than a first-rate professional. Bring your “A Game” to work; focus on what you’re giving, not what you’re getting. There are others who have lost their jobs, and they want yours.”
And while it may be a tough pill to swallow for all of us who are used to (feeling like we’re) calling the shots, it’s also a good chance to remember that we’re lucky to have jobs. And as incredible as we may be, it’s likely that there’s someone else out there who may be just a little more incredible, with maybe a little less attitude and a little more drive to show up for meetings on time and not hung over. So do what you can to appreciate what you’ve got – and make yourself indispensable at work. As for me, I’m headed to Starbies to pick up a venti-latte for Nath.
3. Save like a maniac.
Duh. You’ve heard it a million times, but I love the balls that this is written with….
“You’ve been cautioned to save for a rainy day, right? It’s raining! If you’ve been living from check to check and maxing out your credit cards, things are going to turn very ugly for you.”
Save a minimum of 10% from every paycheck - until the day you retire. Make sacrifices wherever you can; live within your means. Downsize your apartment, your car, and your addiction to shoes and video games. Learn the difference between your needs and your wants. The closer you get to being debt-free, the better you will sleep each night, and the easier it will be for you to make a career move if an opportunity presents itself.”
4. This is the time to shine … so shine!
“The key to success is to notice what everyone else is doing and do the opposite. When your coworkers are dragging, hustle. When everyone in the cafeteria is moaning and complaining, smile like you’ve just found the Hope Diamond.”
Ok, so now’s a good time to call on your common sense. If all of your colleagues are hard at-work, heads down and hands busy, this isn’t the time to take a long lunch or put your feet up. I think the point here is to find creative ways to do the best job you can, and make sure you get noticed doing it. Ladies, I’m not suggesting you need to bust out your leather hot pants, but there’s nothing wrong with a little lip gloss, if you know what I’m saying.
So there you go. An abbreviated Harvard Education in less than five minutes. Surely that should give you a leg up in the office.
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Happy Monday, Recessionistas!
So here is our inaugural post from our certified Job Expert. Lauren Friese from Talent Egg will be joining us on a weekly basis, answering all your job hunting questions and giving free, wicked-awesome advice on how to score a job you love. The first tip? Don’t say wicked-awesome.
Lauren will be writing a weekly post each Monday so feel free to e-mail us with your questions and we’ll pass them along.
Job Hunting is like Selling Yourself
Hello screwyourecession-ers! I’m Lauren and I’m here to write about job hunting.
A brief intro: In my job, I live and breathe entry-level careers. Over the past year, I have developed a major chip on my shoulder and some pretty controversial points of view. For example, I think traditional resumé writing is ridiculous when you have no relevant work experience, campus career fairs are so 1985, and I generally advise students against going to grad school (even though I have a Masters myself).
I also think that career advice is at its best when it’s based on personal experiences. And so at TalentEgg, instead of giving straight-up advice, we share our own life experiences – what’s worked (and not worked) for us.
And that’s what I’m going to do here. Relatable, practical, you-can-do-something-about-it-right-now job searching tips.
With that, it seems practical to start with Step 1 in recession-time job searching: Realizing that when you’re looking for a job, what you’re actually doing is conducting a sale where the product is you.
Now I know this sounds kind of sleazy, but it isn’t. Think about it – The concept of treating your job search as a sales transaction can be applied to the whole process….
· Finding companies and jobs that fit = Gathering + prospecting leads
· Resume writing = Preparing custom proposals
· Interviews = Sales meeting – your best opportunity to
a) ask lots of questions to figure out fit
b) ask lots of questions so you can answer their questions properly
· Job offers = Closing the sale and negotiating price (salary!)
Once you accept this, you’ll be in a fantastic position to confidently move forward toward an awesome and ideal job. More importantly, once you accept this, GET STARTED! Here are 3 things you can do right now:
· Take stock of your Lead Sources: Who do you know that might be able to help you with a reference or referral? What job boards are available? Who’s blogging in your industry i.e. where might there be community around your industry/job target? What kind of networking events can you attend?
· Figure out your Qualifying Criteria: What are the make-or-break factors about the job and company you want to work for? i.e. Are you willing to work weekends? Do you want to work for a big company or a small company? What kind of role would you be willing to accept? What kind of pay range?! Basically - Figure out exactly what it is you actually want to do, and what kind of environment you want to do it in.
· Determine your competitive advantage and Unique Selling Point (USP): What can you offer your target job/company that blows the competition out of the water? What’s your angle?!
Each Monday I’ll build on these core job hunting principles, showing how you can leverage all this soul-searching you’ve done to absolutely smash your job hunt.
A few topics you can expect include:
How to write a Career Launching Resume – based on a personal experience involving dressing up like a little boy for a production of Macbeth…when I was 15.
Why going to grad school is probably a bad idea – including my personal story of the London School of Economics and some pretty hefty opinions.
How to become Google friendly really, really quickly – So that employers find the stuff you want them to see instead of those embarrassing pictures of you in university/college (we all have them).
How to get a (good) job when you have an Arts degree – I have two of them (Arts degrees).
In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with any questions or leave a comment below!
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Sometimes it can seem like looking for a job is a full time job all on its own, and now with greater pressure to bring home the coin and higher numbers of recently laid off people joining the hunt, job seekers need any edge they can get. Besides never leaving the house with business cards and always carrying a résumé (it pays to be prepared!) what else can you do to make sure you’re a lean, mean, job hunting machine?
Check out this list of the top ten job-search Apple apps, collected by Dan Schawbel on Mashable:
The Careerbuilder.com app was the first of its kind when it came out last year and is still quite popular because of its brand name and built-in geolocation technology. It’s a free application that enables you to search for a new job from wherever you are, and has the full functionality of the Careerbuilder.com website.
The application automatically determines which city you’re currently in and allows you to find a job using a keyword search. This is really useful if you’re currently employed and don’t want to make it obvious that you’re searching for another job. You can also read job descriptions and salaries, save jobs to a list of favorites, and email job links.
2. Job Compass
Job Compass uses the locator feature to hone in on your position on a map and then gives you the ability to search for a job within a 5 to 100 mile radius. This application will help you find out what jobs are available around you at lightning speed, and once you find a job, you can read about it, call the hiring manager up, and send yourself an email with a link to the job description and apply for the job right from then and there. Job Compass used to be a paid application and is now free.
3.Now Hiring
Now Hiring, an application that costs 99¢, is great for anyone looking for a new job or complete career change. With Now Hiring, you can save your job searches, email search results to yourself or others, filter searches by miles, date, relevance, full/part-time, contract, internship or temporary and search by city, state, province, zip code, or postcode. Searches are available in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Spain and India. The app retrieves only the latest jobs that are open, so you’re up-to-date and not applying for jobs that aren’t available anymore.
4. Job Finder
Job Finder aggregates jobs from multiple job sites, instead of you having to visit them all individually. All you have to do is specify the locations that you’re interested in and your other preferences and this application will remember them and use them whenever you open it in the future.
The application uses RSS to gather information and aggregate it from job sources such as SimplyHired, StarTribune.com’s jobs, Hireability.com and others. Job Finder organizes jobs into 73 categories, including Accounting, Advertising, Government/Military, Insurance, IT, Law Enforcement/Security, Transport/Logistics, etc. The app costs 99¢
5. Craigster
Craigster, the application for Craigslist, is a great place to search for jobs in your respective area. At 99¢, you’re able to search all cities on Craigslist. You can search or browse through thousands of classifieds, bookmark your favorite searches, email listing to friends and call numbers directly from listings. Also, you can view locations with direct address links to Maps, post your own classifieds with you own pics and save drafts of your posts that you can finish up later.
6. LinkedIn
Soon after Facebook announced their application, LinkedIn released their own. You can set your status update, browse through your LinkedIn connections and search for jobs. There is also an address book integration utility and the ability for you to save your search history and results. Just like on LinkedIn.com, you can search profiles, which include avatars and bios, and connect with professionals or friends. You can invite people to LinkedIn and receive network updates wherever you go. Downloading the LinkedIn application is free.
7. iJobs
For 99¢, iJobs delivers millions of job listings right to you. There is a keyword search that allows for searching against a word in a title, description, salary and more. In addition, there is an auto detect on your location and a feature that automatically saves your last search. Similar to the other applications, you can add jobs to your list of favorites and filter the results by category, company, title, industry and employee type.
8. ABContacts
While LinkedIn is great for searching for a job and building a network, ABContacts is focused on managing your contacts and organizing them into groups. For $3.99 (you can try a free, lite version here), you can create dynamic groups based on rules. There are five different types of rules and they work on first name, last name, company, notes, job title, department and so on. Rules can be combined into even greater filters and Microsoft Outlook users can create these groups as well. You can show upcoming birthdays, events, unfiled contacts and more. There is an option to display contact pictures as well.
9. BeamME
BeamME is a free and universal business card exchange application. It allows you to send your personal or business card to any mobile device or computer, including BlackBerry smartphones and Macs. Your new contact can add your information to their address book through an optimized vCard. You also get complete tracking information on everyone you’ve met through rmbrme.com, which is an added bonus. There is a free and pro version ($7.99) of BeamME available right now. Instead of wasting paper printing business cards, this is another viable and innovative solution for you.
10. Domain App
A job search isn’t complete without a reactionary method, where you setup your domain name and hiring managers discover you through Google. Everyone should have their own domain name because it ranks highly in search and because it allows you to advertise your brand for a minimal cost. Domain App is an application that lets you search and register domain names from the convenience of your phone, providing you with access to a whopping 80 domain name extensions.
Aside from searching for domain availability, there is instant domain registration, the ability to bookmark your search results and Whois information. This app is free.
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So we’ve been hearing from a bunch of university students and upcoming graduates that a lot of you are feeling more than a tad anxious about the approaching summer and finding your first jobs.
Not to worry, my sexy scholars. We’ve found just the thing for you.
Talent Egg, the best job resource centre I’ve seen in a long time, is a self described “career hub that connects students and new grads with personal and specific entry level job resources.” And unlike a lot of the other online career resource centres, Talent Egg only posts top quality entry level and internship opportunities at reputable companies. So you’ll never find yourself lined up for an interview with someone named “Big G” outside an unmarked building for a job that may or may not involve wrestling giant racoons in a cage down by the river.
The reason behind the site is also really inspiring….creator Lauren Friese is confident that there are still heaps of opportunities for new and recent grads despite the recessionary climate. And according to a recent article in MacLean’s, a lot of people agree with her.
“Even before the global financial crisis, which gained forceful momentum in September 2008, companies have consistently hired recent graduates, explains David Rodas-Wright, coordinator of employer relations at the Student Academic Success Service (SASS) career centre at the University of Ottawa.
‘There are companies out there, especially some of the big companies, [for whom] it’s not as much money to hire new talent as it is to maintain senior talent,” he says. “So they continue to look for new graduates.’ ”
Talent Egg also links to a “career incubator” site which is full of tips and tricks on writing stellar resumes, how to prepare for interviews, and great articles like “Six Steps to a New Career.” The writers are new and recent grads themselves and have some great insight into finding your first job fresh out of university or college.
Jer and I think it’s so great, that we’ll be teaming up with Lauren to offer a weekly advice column for students. So if you’ve got any questions, write in to screwyourecession@virginmobile.ca and we’ll pass them along to the masterminds at Talent Egg.
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