On Wednesday, Nov. 3, I’ll be presenting a highly
interactive workshop at the Schmoozers’ Job Network for today’s job seekers right here in Connecticut. This free event will be held in Kessler Hall at Beth El Temple, 2626 Albany Avenue, West Hartford, and begins with registration, networking, and schmoozing — plus complimentary coffee — at 8 a.m. The program will start promptly at 9 a.m. Please enter through the double-glass door entrance.
In addition to strategies for working with recruiters, I’ll also share the most effective techniques for leveraging the power of the Internet, social media, and networking in a job search. These best-in-class strategies are designed to help job seekers open doors and focus on two key elements: presenting your distinctive brand and differentiating attributes in the “CAR” stories that appear on your resume and using expert strategies for networking, interviewing, and securing critical job connections.
Through its Jewish Employment Transition Services, the Jewish Family Services presents this free workshop to all members of the community searching for work. For reservations or additional information, contact Lynn Preminger, program manager, at jets@jfshartford.org or call 860-236-127, ext. 37; the program facilitator is Judy Rosenthal. For further details, visit http://tinyurl.com/3xzdcpu
–Jan Melnik, MRW, CCM, CPRW… President, Absolute Advantage
“Be Inspired. It’s your career. It’s your life.”
“If you want a job and you’re not LinkedIn, you’re nowhere.” This according to an article in the March 25, 2010, issue of Fortune magazine. What else about social media and networking has changed staying connected and job search? Consider the following stats, gleaned from colleague Jay Block (www.jayblock.com) and www.socialnomics.com:
♦50% of the world’s population is under 30 years old and 86% have joined a social network
♦Facebook just hit 500 million; and added 200 million people in less than a year
♦60 million status updates are made on Facebook every day
♦If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest country on the planet; third only to India and China
♦The fastest growing segment on Facebook are women age 55-65
♦Social media has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the web
♦It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users; TV 13 years; the Internet 4 years, and iPods 3 years; iPod application downloads hit 1 billion in nine months
♦A 2010 US Department of Education study stunningly revealed that online students out-performed those receiving a traditional face-to-face education?
♦Generation Y and Z consider email passé?
♦Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears have more Twitter followers than the entire populations of Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Panama, Israel, and Ireland?
♦YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world?
♦While you read this article, more than 200 hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube?
♦“Wiki” is a Hawaiian term that means “quick” and that Wikipedia has over 15 million articles where experts agree that they are as accurate as those of the Encyclopedia Britannica? (and 78% of the articles are NOT in English).
♦There are over 200 MILLION blogs; and growing?
♦78% of consumers trust peer recommendations whereas only 14% trust advertisements? In fact, up to 90% of the people who watch television skip ads via TiVo/DVR.
♦Last Christmas, Kindle eBooks outsold paper books?
♦24 of the largest 25 newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation and most people are getting the news delivered to them via their Smartphones and computers? (for someone who loves her print newspapers, this makes me sad)
♦80% of companies use social media for recruitment; 95% of which use LinkedIn
What are the implications to job seekers today? Reread the last statistic above: If you aren’t getting in touch and staying connected, it’s truly at your own peril. Networking has been the #1 means by which people find their next jobs - to an overwhelming extent - for more than 25 years. What *has* changed is the *way* people network and stay in touch. I’ll share tips about what should (and shouldn’t) go into your LinkedIn profile in a future article. Meanwhile, Google yourself and check out what others are seeing.
–Jan Melnik, MRW, CCM, CPRW… President, Absolute Advantage
“Be Inspired. It’s your career. It’s your life.”