Category Archives: Social Media

How To Get In On The “Hidden Job Market”

According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, nearly 80% of open jobs are never advertised. So why do so many jobseekers spend countless hours in front of their computer scouring job boards? Because they are using job search techniques that served them well in the past. Nevertheless, those techniques are not working very well.hidden job market Today’s job search is a different animal. To find a job today — you must adapt your job search techniques to today’s competitive job market. Job search best practices suggest that you should spend 80% of your time actively looking for work through networking and only 20% of your time passively searching online.

Here are a couple of tips to accelerate your job search and improve your results. Continue reading →

Lights… Camera… Action! 5 Minutes to Mastering the Video Interview

Welcome to the second installment of my blog series on virtual job interviews, with some quick tips to help you prepare for a video conference interview. If you missed last month’s post on telephone interviews, you can catch up here. Next month, I’ll address the recorded video interview.

In the good old days, hiring managers relied on in-person interviews to screen and hire job candidates. As if that was not intimidating enough! Today, many companies are incorporating online video conferencing interviews using Skype, Zoom or Facetime into the hiring process. Virtual interviews are popular with employers because they quickly narrow the candidate pool, which saves the company time and money. But, they can add an entirely new layer of anxiety-provoking stress for job seekers.

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Whether you are new to live video interviews or didn’t do well enough in your last one to proceed to the next round of interviews, you need to learn how to present your best self on camera. Here’s how you can prepare for, and ace, your next video interaction with a potential employer.

Cameras hate me! Do I really have to do a video interview?

Yes. If you want to land that great new job, you must be prepared for live video job interviews. If you avoid them, you may be limiting your employment options. Because more and more employers are relying on video interviews to evaluate candidates’ soft skills, it is to your advantage to become comfortable with this type of interview.  Continue reading →

Your Online Activity Can Either Help or Hurt Your Job Search

Welcome to Part 2 of my summer 2015 blog series on what it takes to conduct a successful job search in today’s competitive job market. In my last post, I shared tips on writing a strong resume. Today’s segment: the importance of using social media in your job search.social media

Your online activity can either help or hurt your job search. It is not simply a matter of using social media; you have to use it the right way to find a job and impress employers. Employers use social media in their recruitment process two ways:  Continue reading →

3 Great Reasons to Customize your LinkedIn Public Profile URL

LinkedIn is the #1 job search tool in the world.   Many employers consider it unprofessional for a jobseeker not to be on LinkedIn. Be sure to customize your public profile link to make it easy for employers to find you – and not someone with a similar name. It only takes a minute. Here are 3 reasons why doing this is important to your job search.Linked-In-icon

1. Your LinkedIn profile is not only searchable on LinkedIn but on all online search engines.   LinkedIn profiles generally rank within the top 3 results when your name is searched.   (To be searchable, your public profile must be Continue reading →

The Importance of Cleaning Up Your Online Image

Recently, I was hired by the parents of Michael, a recent college graduate who had been struggling in his job search. He had applied for nearly one hundred jobs and could not win an interview.your online brand is important Typically, when I hear this I suspect that the job seeker’s resume is not compatible with Applicant Tracking Systems. But, I checked his resume and found that it did not contain any non-compatible formatting elements and did include all the necessary keywords for the position. Despite graduating from a big name school with an impressive GPA, Michael could not land a job or even an interview. Continue reading →

Overcoming Age Discrimination in the Job Search – Part I

As a career coach, I work with fresh college graduates looking to launch their professional career as well as baby boomers looking for a satisfying second career. While they have different obstacles – they have the same goal: they need to make their resumes “age-neutral” and convince the hiring manager that they are the ideal candidate for the job. Jobseekers with little experience need to sell themselves on their potential while more mature workers need to show they still have a lot to offer an employer. There are effective strategies for each to overcome age discrimination in the job search. This week I’ll offer a few tips for the new graduates, next week I will address the boomers.avoiding ageism in the job search

New college graduates and other Millennials need to show prospective employers that they have transitioned from “college kid” to “young professional”. Continue reading →

Twitter Can Accelerate Your Job Search

[I have covered this topic before, but I am frequently asked by jobseekers how they can incorporate Twitter into their job search efforts. Here are a few tips to get you started.]

Most jobseekers already know that professional social networking sites such as LinkedIn are beneficial to your job search, but Twitter is often overlooked. It is a very powerful job search tool, and best of all – it is FREE!
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With the ability to connect you with people across the country or across the world, Twitter enables you to expand your network outside of your immediate circles. It can be used to follow current trends in your industry Continue reading →