2012 THEME Job Search is 99% Communication

2012 THEME Job Search is 99% Communication Last year the first post of the year was titled The Job Search Rabbit Hole.  I think I should make a (kids) book out of it. Ive used that idea as the 2011 theme, and focused a lot on job seekers chasing something that doesnt exist (read the post for the story/analogy). This year I want to talk about something Ive realized as Ive spoken to thousands of professionals and executives  across the U.S.  I have started to say that the job search is 99% communication. Written, verbal, body language, etc.  Its all about how we communicate.  And we can communicate A LOT better. I just finished a life-changing book written by friend and mentor Mark LeBlanc titled Never Be The Same.  It is a fast read, and completely intriguing.  It was written after Mark finished a 500 mile walk across Spain the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.  Get the book here I loved Marks unique style it was just delightful to absorb. Mark gave me permission to share this excerpt from his book I LOVED this story as it illustrates the communication problem that I want to help YOU think about this year.  Mark talks about going to a networking event and sharing his elevator pitch. It had all the bad, junky, jargon cliche yuck that most elevator pitches have.  One day, though, he wasnt in the mood to share it, so he shook things up (almost accidentally).  He writes: It was my turn-my minute-to stand up and introduce myself, again.  Only this time I didnt blather on about my broad range of services and menu of presentation topics.  None of which, you might recall, had I provided to a single client or audience since Small Business (No-So-Much) Success was born.  My calendar was empty from Day One. Instead, I simply got up and shared my dream. In a monotone, mind you, with nary an inflection of enthusiasm whatsoever. My name is Mark LeBlanc, and I run a company called Small Business Success. I work with people who want to start a business and with small business owners who want to grow their business.  Period, end.  I shut up and sat down. There were about twenty five business people at this meeting, and when it was over, seven of them came up to me.  Now, this was a total surprise, because for ten months, no one-and I mean no one-had any interest in what I did or had to offer. Instead of repelling people, as was my habit, I seemed to be attracting prospects. There was a line, for heavens sake! I want to start my own business, said one woman. My wife has been wanting to start her own business; give me your card, said a business man. Ive been in business ten years, but seem kind of stuck. Id like to know more about growing my business, cranking it up a notch. Can you help me with that? came from another. My favorite response was a friends: Ive been listening to your introductions for ten months, and I had no clue this is what you do. I think I can refer a few people to you. Within thirty days, seven prospects wrote me a check and engaged me in the process of helping them start of grow their business. It was as if the floodgates opened and soon prospects came in faster than I could handle. Okay, maybe not that fast, but when you did not earn a nickel for nearly a year, this new-found success felt like I was sipping from the fire hose. WOW. I had a similar experience, which I blogged about here: Substantiate Yourself. I am convinced that the canned 30 second pitches job seekers are coached to work on lead to really, really bad results.  The pitch sucks. No one responds.  Mark changed his, focusing on the outcomes of his work, and he got results. Small, minor, easy changes can change the results.  He didnt throw in bigger words, fancier phrases, or more stuff.  He whitled it down to the core message, and he got results. This is a theme that will be on my mind all year. Will you join me this year, on our journey to better career management? 2012 THEME Job Search is 99% Communication Last year the first post of the year was titled The Job Search Rabbit Hole.  I think I should make a (kids) book out of it. Ive used that idea as the 2011 theme, and focused a lot on job seekers chasing something that doesnt exist (read the post for the story/analogy). This year I want to talk about something Ive realized as Ive spoken to thousands of professionals and executives  across the U.S.  I have started to say that the job search is 99% communication. Written, verbal, body language, etc.  Its all about how we communicate.  And we can communicate A LOT better. I just finished a life-changing book written by friend and mentor Mark LeBlanc titled Never Be The Same.  It is a fast read, and completely intriguing.  It was written after Mark finished a 500 mile walk across Spain the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.  Get the book here I loved Marks unique style it was just delightful to absorb. Mark gave me permission to share this excerpt from his book I LOVED this story as it illustrates the communication problem that I want to help YOU think about this year.  Mark talks about going to a networking event and sharing his elevator pitch. It had all the bad, junky, jargon cliche yuck that most elevator pitches have.  One day, though, he wasnt in the mood to share it, so he shook things up (almost accidentally).  He writes: It was my turn-my minute-to stand up and introduce myself, again.  Only this time I didnt blather on about my broad range of services and menu of presentation topics.  None of which, you might recall, had I provided to a single client or audience since Small Business (No-So-Much) Success was born.  My calendar was empty from Day One. Instead, I simply got up and shared my dream. In a monotone, mind you, with nary an inflection of enthusiasm whatsoever. My name is Mark LeBlanc, and I run a company called Small Business Success. I work with people who want to start a business and with small business owners who want to grow their business.  Period, end.  I shut up and sat down. There were about twenty five business people at this meeting, and when it was over, seven of them came up to me.  Now, this was a total surprise, because for ten months, no one-and I mean no one-had any interest in what I did or had to offer. Instead of repelling people, as was my habit, I seemed to be attracting prospects. There was a line, for heavens sake! I want to start my own business, said one woman. My wife has been wanting to start her own business; give me your card, said a business man. Ive been in business ten years, but seem kind of stuck. Id like to know more about growing my business, cranking it up a notch. Can you help me with that? came from another. My favorite response was a friends: Ive been listening to your introductions for ten months, and I had no clue this is what you do. I think I can refer a few people to you. Within thirty days, seven prospects wrote me a check and engaged me in the process of helping them start of grow their business. It was as if the floodgates opened and soon prospects came in faster than I could handle. Okay, maybe not that fast, but when you did not earn a nickel for nearly a year, this new-found success felt like I was sipping from the fire hose. WOW. I had a similar experience, which I blogged about here: Substantiate Yourself. I am convinced that the canned 30 second pitches job seekers are coached to work on lead to really, really bad results.  The pitch sucks. No one responds.  Mark changed his, focusing on the outcomes of his work, and he got results. Small, minor, easy changes can change the results.  He didnt throw in bigger words, fancier phrases, or more stuff.  He whitled it down to the core message, and he got results. This is a theme that will be on my mind all year. Will you join me this year, on our journey to better career management? 2012 THEME Job Search is 99% Communication Last year the first post of the year was titled The Job Search Rabbit Hole.  I think I should make a (kids) book out of it. Ive used that idea as the 2011 theme, and focused a lot on job seekers chasing something that doesnt exist (read the post for the story/analogy). This year I want to talk about something Ive realized as Ive spoken to thousands of professionals and executives  across the U.S.  I have started to say that the job search is 99% communication. Written, verbal, body language, etc.  Its all about how we communicate.  And we can communicate A LOT better. I just finished a life-changing book written by friend and mentor Mark LeBlanc titled Never Be The Same.  It is a fast read, and completely intriguing.  It was written after Mark finished a 500 mile walk across Spain the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.  Get the book here I loved Marks unique style it was just delightful to absorb. Mark gave me permission to share this excerpt from his book I LOVED this story as it illustrates the communication problem that I want to help YOU think about this year.  Mark talks about going to a networking event and sharing his elevator pitch. It had all the bad, junky, jargon cliche yuck that most elevator pitches have.  One day, though, he wasnt in the mood to share it, so he shook things up (almost accidentally).  He writes: It was my turn-my minute-to stand up and introduce myself, again.  Only this time I didnt blather on about my broad range of services and menu of presentation topics.  None of which, you might recall, had I provided to a single client or audience since Small Business (No-So-Much) Success was born.  My calendar was empty from Day One. Instead, I simply got up and shared my dream. In a monotone, mind you, with nary an inflection of enthusiasm whatsoever. My name is Mark LeBlanc, and I run a company called Small Business Success. I work with people who want to start a business and with small business owners who want to grow their business.  Period, end.  I shut up and sat down. There were about twenty five business people at this meeting, and when it was over, seven of them came up to me.  Now, this was a total surprise, because for ten months, no one-and I mean no one-had any interest in what I did or had to offer. Instead of repelling people, as was my habit, I seemed to be attracting prospects. There was a line, for heavens sake! I want to start my own business, said one woman. My wife has been wanting to start her own business; give me your card, said a business man. Ive been in business ten years, but seem kind of stuck. Id like to know more about growing my business, cranking it up a notch. Can you help me with that? came from another. My favorite response was a friends: Ive been listening to your introductions for ten months, and I had no clue this is what you do. I think I can refer a few people to you. Within thirty days, seven prospects wrote me a check and engaged me in the process of helping them start of grow their business. It was as if the floodgates opened and soon prospects came in faster than I could handle. Okay, maybe not that fast, but when you did not earn a nickel for nearly a year, this new-found success felt like I was sipping from the fire hose. WOW. I had a similar experience, which I blogged about here: Substantiate Yourself. I am convinced that the canned 30 second pitches job seekers are coached to work on lead to really, really bad results.  The pitch sucks. No one responds.  Mark changed his, focusing on the outcomes of his work, and he got results. Small, minor, easy changes can change the results.  He didnt throw in bigger words, fancier phrases, or more stuff.  He whitled it down to the core message, and he got results. This is a theme that will be on my mind all year. Will you join me this year, on our journey to better career management?

How to Recruit Using Pinterest [3 Top Tips]

How to Recruit Using Pinterest [3 Top Tips] The CV is now a very old fashioned way of understanding what personality and talents a candidate has nowadays its all about Twitter feeds, Instagram photos and Pinterest boards. Pinterest boasts over 12 million users and (according to RJMetrics) is retaining and engaging users as much as 2 to 3 times as efficiently as Twitter was at a similar time in its history. The site is also responsible for sending more referral traffic to websites and blogs than Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn all combined so could be a great source for initially attracting talent to your job spots. 1. New Position? New Board! Pinterest users can create boards to organise their photos into different themes and events, so when you have a new job to fill create a new board! Fill it up with pins (which can be photos or videos) that explain your job in interesting ways a good example is when  Work Club were looking for a new Creative Director. They used images and graphics from popular films (such as Jaws and Saving Private Ryan) as well as some of their own branding to tell a story of the job, instead of just one simple graphic full of words. You want a user to stumble across the board and have a something to follow something that is interesting, amusing and trendy (trendy is what Pinterest is all about). However, boards dont have to just be used for jobs. You could create boards that show the perfect elements of an employee at your company (or the perfect elements that you want to see from a candidate), or a board that gives a photographic tour of your office, introduces the members of your team (or recruitment team especially if people are going to be engaging with them during the process) the possibilities are endless! Why not promote your companys culture and values through Pinterest? 2. Be Creative, Trendy and Social When pinning to Pinterest, use both types of media available photos and video and make sure that they are different to each other.  Pinterest is all about getting repins (the same as retweets on Twitter) and being trendy. The biggest demographic of users is woman aged 25-34, so post the job boards, but also make yourself relevant to Pinterest make some boards about fashion trends, travel trends etc. As with all social platforms you need to be social! As well as creating boards and posting jobs, make sure you comment, like and re-pin other users content. That way you may even catch the attention of a possible candidate, who will check out your boards and maybe follow you. 3. Links and Description One of the best features of Pinterest is the linking feature and use it to your best ability. Above every pin, there is a from link (seen right), which will link to an outer website. In the example to the left, it links to the workshop page that the video promotes (Pinterest shortens all web addresses to just the first part). Ensure everything on your board is linked back to your website make every pin link to the job application/description if on a job board, and back to your general website if on any other board. These links can be edited properly by clicking Edit Pin on any of your pins. You want users to click the link to see more, and possibly stumble across your website its free advertising! In addition, add a description that holds all the keywords for your job, pin or photo and this way your pins are more likely to turn up in search results if someone is looking for that certain job! Conclusions With over 100 million users, Pinterest is a whole another place where possible candidates could find your job positions. By using these tips and creating boards, pinning interesting and relevant media, and linking and describing properly you could catch the eye of the perfect candidate that may never have seen your position in the first place. Have you used Pinterest to recruit? Any success? Let us know in the comments below! RELATED:  How To Use Pinterest for Social Recruiting [Cool Example]

How To Create An Effective Landing Page

How To Create An Effective Landing Page You have probably heard that nowadays a landing page is a must because it can boost your sales, increase brand awareness and attract valuable leads into your business. That without a landing page, you will struggle and you probably won’t achieve your business goals. And presumably, the landing page is a powerful marketing tool which enables you to properly target your advertising campaigns and pull out of them as much info as possible. I think it’s about time to know the truth. And the truth is that all of the above is honest truth but only on one condition that can prevail the benefits over the possible damages. Or the other way round. And that is the fact that your landing page has to be very good. Not average. Not so-so.   And not okay. Very good. If it is not all your efforts will go down the drain and you get nothing from it. So how to make a good landing page? And why is it important to have a converting landing page? Converting landing pages Basically a good landing page means that it is a converting landing page. It means that your landing is effective and show your potential customers that your offer is the exact thing they have been looking for. I may assure that it is not rocket science and you can learn by yourself how to create landing pages that convert. However, you must remember that there is no such thing as a model example of a converting landing page. That would be a way to easy. Because there are too many factors that need to be considered to create one. When creating a landing page you have to take into consideration four things: Call to action, Reader you target at, Product or service you offer, Niche you address your offer to. And all these four just simply cannot be put in one model example of a converting landing page that can be used for a financial analysis business and an online shop with eco apples. Only well thought and adjusted plan may enable you build confidence on a landing page. And to be effective your landing page has to make your visitors trust you. To see how important it is you should check out https://landingi.com/blog/building-confidence-on-landing-page. Building confidence on a landing page is crucial For a moment stop thinking about your business and customers and try to think about yourself as a customer. If you were to choose between two coffee grinders â€" one highly recommended by baristas from all over the world and the second one very good-looking but not very widespread in the world and rather not famous. I am sure that you would go for option 1 as a recommendation from baristas who are experts in the field make you trust the product and build confidence. And the same is with landing pages. You have to make yourself look like an expert in your field and your landing page should present you with your offer as one. Only this way you are able to attract customers to your business and rocket your sales. If your visitors don’t trust your product or service they won’t go for it. Therefore, confidence is key. And only with that strong confidence, your landing page can convert your visitors in valuable leads.

Convert Social Media Leads Into Sales - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Convert Social Media Leads Into Sales - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career How can your personal brand bring in more sales with social media? The answer is through targeted strategies, stellar content, and consistent communication. A simple share or retweet is not enough to build relationships online, but rather it’s being an active participant with your community. In the age when all the big brands are on social media, it is important to make sure you connect your personal brand with your followers in a way that builds trust. In order to convert leads into money making opportunities you need to build a strong rapport. Today’s social media world is all about meeting the needs of your target market, and making adjustments when necessary. Here are several ways to build your personal brand and convert leads into sales online. Building Great Relationships Through Social Media Smart social media marketing for your personal brand begins with a focused strategy. Start these steps today to make lasting connections: • Promote your content Once your brand has published an article whether this be on your blog or a guest post you will want to spread the word across all of your active social networks, especially Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. Starting with at least three articles a week is a good start to building a reputation and connecting with a wider audience. • Encourage your readers Social media makes it simple to engage with your fans and followers and ask them for their feedback. A strong call-to-action such as asking for a retweet will help promote your content and support word of mouth marketing, which is far more valuable than spending money on advertising. • Include relevant hashtags Depending on the topic of your content you will want to research the appropriate keywords that are trending on social media, and include these with your posts and tweets. Not only will this help build traffic to your website, but it also increases the chances of your information being shared. • Demographics are important Pay attention to who your personal brand’s target audience, especially when it comes to their location. Tap into analytics tools, which are available on the major social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. It is good practice to track and monitor your activity and conversations at least twice a month in order to make changes where necessary. As social media marketing becomes the main hub of customer service and sales for a personal brand, it is important to build authentic and trusted relationships. By staying in communication with your leads and customers you can attract a larger following for lasting and sustained growth.

5 Online Tools Key to Targeted Job Sleuthing

5 Online Tools Key to Targeted Job Sleuthing Photo Credit â€" LinkedIn PulseTargeted research can offer a tremendous advantage when it comes to executing a smart and effective job search, and employing multiple job search methods will help you land a role faster than using just one or two, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics referenced by the Michigan State University Career Services Network.While the Internet should not be your only means of searching for jobs, nothing beats it when it comes to smart sleuthing. Below are five online tools to help you whittle down a list of companies to target, and a list of people who can help you get a job there.1. Business JournalsThe Business Journals’ sites feature local business and industry news from 43 different markets across the U.S. While city-specific business journals are available in print at your library and deep-dive details are available via online subscription, news articles and other nuggets of information are available gratis.evalBusiness journals can allow you to search thousands of professional careers from local employers or from around the country, and help you gain insight into specific individuals within corporations of all sizes.2. Corporate WebsitesCompany websites are a great resource for viewing annual reports Let’s say you’d like to search for IT recruiters. Enter this term into the search field and Twitter will uncover users that include this verbiage in their bio.Click on one or two results and check out their Twitter following. According to LinkedIn Pulse Contributor and The Interactive Footprint Founder Michael Sherman, if they have a large following, they probably are a good person to target. If they have a blog, they more than likely have a website address in their profile which you can use to make a connection.To uncover a handful of like-minded individuals, access Twitter from a desktop and click on the “lists” button on an individual profile. Select “Member Of” to see who else made the cut on related lists.

How to Get More Than the Average 2.9% Salary Increase in 2017

How to Get More Than the Average 2.9% Salary Increase in 2017 According to the 2016/2017 Mercer US Compensation Planning Survey, the average salary increase budget is expected to be 2.9% in 2017, up slightly from the average increase budget of 2.8% in 2016. So how can you  be perceived as  a top performer in 2016? Here are some tips.Document your accomplishments regularly throughout the year Keep track of all the projects you manage. Upon completion of each assignment, write a note to yourself detailing your contribution and how your efforts helped the company make money, save money, save time, grow the business, or retain customers. Quantify your accomplishments with dollars, percentages, and other appropriate metrics. Actively seek out opportunities to improve efficiencies and profits regardless of the task at hand. By showing and quantifying your specific value add, you build a better business case to support the requested salary increase.Become hard to replace Create opportunities to diversify your experience by offering to learn how to per form tasks that support your main role and make you more efficient at what you do. An alternative strategy is to become a subject matter expert in one specific aspect of the job so you are seen as the go-to-guy for a particular type of information. No want wants to lose the go-to-guy because then they have to do it themselves.Take on tasks that no one else wants to do This does not mean taking on grunt work. It might just mean mastering a new technology that no one else feels comfortable with or taking on an assignment that is outside of the traditional scope of the job. Employees who demonstrate this level of flexibility tend to get more flexibility from their bosses on other issues, including compensation.Accept high profile assignments close to review time Since it is easier for people to remember what has happened most recently, why not take on an important assignment to coincide with an upcoming review? The project is bound to become a focal point of the performance review disc ussion and the boss can quickly remember and document the achievements relevant to the project.Your success negotiating a salary increase or promotion hinges on your ability to discuss the increase in terms of what is fair and reasonable. By including some of these ideas into your career management strategy, you can keep the conversation focused on measureable achievements and build a compelling business case for the requested pay raise.A

How A Resume Review Service Helps In Getting Hired

How A Resume Review Service Helps In Getting HiredResume review has become an integral part of today's modern job market. It is not only a necessity but also a major source of benefit to a person who decides to go for job search. A job is a very good stepping stone in life and it is the one that you want to take. However, without proper preparation, chances are high that you may fall victim to unqualified offers.If you are looking for an opportunity in the job market, you can make use of resume review service. In such a case, you would have to check out with several reputable agencies to get a glimpse of the services that they offer. This will help you understand that what kind of a resume review service you would like to avail. The more varied the experiences and skills of resume review service providers, the better. They will be able to provide you the best employment services in order to come out victorious in job search.Before using resume review service, you should know how the process works. It is a system that is essential for every individual who wants to hire someone for a new position. It is basically a method that takes advantage of technological advances. A number of companies today offer free resume review services online. It is a platform where you can post your resume or even individual applications of employers and get replies right away.Every site will ask you to upload a resume or an application form which can be found on the company's site. These web sites will charge a small fee for their services. However, it is a good thing that they charge this fee to help people get access to the resume review service. The fee that they charge is for the risk they have taken in providing them. Hence, it is always better to go for the cheapest options available in order to avoid paying much.A resume review service is useful because it is the one way portal through which you can get all the information about the hiring company and its potential employees. These services will guide you regarding the technical standards, qualifications, and so on. Once you make use of these services, it will not be a problem to get hired by the employer. The most important thing that a resume review service will do is help you make up your mind to go for the person that you wish to work with.While preparing a resume for your job search, you will have to be very meticulous in the details. Make sure that the details of all the previous jobs and activities are mentioned clearly and concisely. Details of qualifications and degrees that you have got can also be listed out. Another useful tip that a resume review service will do is to point out any gaps that you might have left in your educational background. They can help you solve any doubts that you might have in regard to your past job experience.Prior to taking any decision, make sure that you consult with an expert and look into the details of your career development plan. This will help you gauge whet her you are going to land the job. After making a list of resume review services, your next step would be to select one that is well accredited and has an outstanding reputation.It is important to note that you need not pay for a free service. However, if you choose one that is well established and has a good reputation, then your chances of getting hired will be very high.