Looking for a job?
Raise your hand if you love networking.
I thought so.
And why don’t you get a thrill out of talking to friends and family about your job search?
For many folks, it’s a problem of how to start. There’s really no way to ask, “Know anyone who’s hiring?” without feeling awkward.
To fix that, here are two ways to open your next networking conversation that are proven to produce job leads — and won’t make you feel self-conscious .
1) Use Me as an Excuse to Call
Over the past year, I’ve quietly …

I recently reviewed several hundred emails from job seekers across the country. As you might imagine, many things are bugging many job seekers in this economy.
But I boiled their frustrations down to four common ones.
Here they are, with suggested solutions. Which of them apply to you?
Frustration #1: “I submit my resume for a posted job and never hear back
from employers. Did they even read my resume?”
Solution: Here are three ways to make sure your resume is received and read.
1) Call the employer after applying.
Obviously, you can’t do this if you’re …

I’ve been following Dr. Woody and his “You Plan Book” and he’s really onto something. He’s got some very practical advice anyone can use to help get a job. This video’s part of a Fox Business News update which targets college students.
Watch the latest business video at video.foxbusiness.com

Hey, college graduates — pay attention.
What follows is an interview I did with Megan Gebhart, a junior at Michigan State University. She is doing several smart things to position herself for rapid employment upon graduation in 2011.
There are at least three job-search lessons in the conversation below. Can you find them?
Kevin: Megan, you posted a discussion on LinkedIn about how you used your alumni connections to land three informational interviews. What did you do, exactly?
Megan: Last summer [2009], I had an internship for six weeks in San Francisco. I thought, …

Speaking to an audience with your back turned is like networking online without a photo. It’s completely ineffective – so why do people do it and what are the other 6 mistakes people make when networking online?   

They don’t include a photo on their profile page
They don’t fill in their profile
They don’t post on group discussion boards
They do not practice the four essentials of the likeability factor
When they post they don’t put their URL into their signature.
They make it a mission to collect as many names as …

Networking is a hot topic. It’s common to hear that the majority of jobs are won through some form of networking. So, if you plan on getting another job in your lifetime then learning about networking is a wise choice!
If you are wondering where in the world to start learning how to network or if you are apprehensive to network because it’s new for you or you have had a negative networking experience from the past, this article is for you. Here are three must-haves that are easy and powerful …

In part one of this article (click here for that one), we looked at the facts and fallacies of the hidden job market including why you should consider tapping into it, why you should consider sending your resume to a company that has not advertised positions matching your skills and the level of experience you should be at in order to benefit from the hidden market.
Now I bet you are wondering precisely how to tap into the unadvertised market. There are three strategies to quickly get you started focusing on and …

LinkedIn has been called “Facebook for grownups” and “the world’s biggest networking group.”
It’s both of those — and more.
Used correctly, LinkedIn can be one of the most valuable weapons in your job-search arsenal.
To get the latest and best tips, I interviewed Rob Mendez, an expert on LinkedIn and other social media, who helps job hunters via his CareerNetworkMinistry.com web site.
Here’s what we talked about …
“First, you have to figure out your target audience and your goal with LinkedIn,” advises Mendez. “Use LinkedIn to network with as many people as possible, …

I love the hidden job market. I have built my career on showing professionals how easy it is to shorten their job search, get more quality interviews and bigger offers using a very simple yet powerful system to tap into it.
A statement I often hear is “isn’t tapping into the hidden job market just networking?” In short, no. It’s about going direct – and cutting out both “internal” and “external” middle men. Internal within the company (i.e. HR) and external outside of the company (i.e. recruiters).
Let’s begin by dispelling a …

If you’re job hunting in this tough economy, take heart from the following
three stories of people who found work in three to four months — about half
as long as the average job search, which takes nearly 8 months (31.2 weeks)
as of March 2010.
How did they do it?
By using Guerrilla Resumes (explained below), LinkedIn, and smart
networking, among other tactics.
Read on to learn more from the Q&A I did with each of them …
Case Study #1:
Brad Viles, from suburban Madison, WI.
Time to hire: about four months (hired on March 8, 2010)
Tactics used: …

A few weeks back, Miami’s private high schools sent their fall term acceptance letters.  It’s a big deal for us Miami locals as many of us are alumni and would like to see our kids attending our alma mater.  We were blessed when we got news our youngest daughter was accepted to her school of choice.  It’s the school one of her sisters attended. Both my sisters attended high school there.
Unfortunately, not everyone is so fortunate.  We have a friend whose son got rejected. Instead of celebrating, his …

Fact: The advertised job market is literally the tip of the iceberg.
Fully 70-80% of jobs go unadvertised by employers, who fear being deluged by hundreds of resumes from applicants, most of whom won’t be qualified.
With that in mind, it makes sense to spend about 80% of your time cracking this “hidden” market of unadvertised jobs. And a good way to do it is to contact hiring managers at companies you want to work for. Your aim? To prove that hiring you would be a terrific investment, one that makes or …

So far in this series I’ve covered Taking Aim of Your Target in Part 1 and Writing your Pocket Resume in Part 2.  So at this point, we’ll assume the following:

You’ve met this person who you previously didn’t know.
You’ve chatted with them socially in some way.
They are in possession of your pocket resume.

Now don’t get frustrated by the fact that your treasured pocket resume is now in some business card pile with OTHER cards that will never see the light of day.  Your job now is to get your new …

Whether you’re a new college grad or a seasoned executive, if you’re hitting the pavement in search of work this spring, here’s good news …
After more than a year in the dumpster, hiring appears to be on the upswing with employers in the Twin Cities and other metropolitan areas.
“Things are ramping up exponentially. This year, we’ve seen a lot of upper managers and directors being hired,” says Linda Forseth, President of recruiting firm IQ Staffing Solutions, in Spring Park, Minn. (www.iqstaffingsolutions.com).
Forseth reports about a 90% increase in job placement requests …

Last week, I started Part 1 of this series stressing how important it is have your job hunt or career goals clearly written down.  If you were short on goals, you don’t have a target so you’re aiming at who knows what.  That’s not a good thing.  In Part 1, I also provided some recommended resources so you can set your goals and get that part of your job search settled.  Here is a quote worth repeating from that earlier article,
“…if you even think you are unclear about your job …

How do you find a job quickly, in this rotten economy?
Hunt like a Guerrilla.
That was the experience of Mark Thomas, a systems administrator from Mesa, Ariz., who started a new job on March 8, 2010, after a search of only 6 weeks.
According to Thomas, he would have been hired sooner, but “the entire executive team was gone at a conference for a week.”
Thomas succeeded after using three unconventional job-search tactics:
1. The Job Shopping List
2. The Guerrilla Resume
3. The Coffee Cup Caper
Read on to learn how he did it …
1. The …

People come to me looking for help with their careers and businesses and I tell them if we are going to partner, they have to adhere to my three “golden rules”. Thou shalt not prejudge, compromise or assume.
Now that sounds simple enough, right? But how many times each day do we do that?
Many people prejudged Grace Groner and assumed a few things about her, including the folks at Lake Forest College in Illinois.
Since it’s been big news this week, you may have heard how sweet Grace gave the school a …

I wrote my Think Pocket Resume Mentality for a Better Resume and Pocket Resume: Who Would Have Thought articles about a year ago.  Since then I’ve given several presentations using the material and every time, job hunters tell me,
“I can put this to use.  This can make a real difference.”
So in this series, I’m writing a multi-step article on how to write yourself a pocket resume and get it trolling the waters (them’s saltwater fishing terms for you non-Miami folk) to get you back to work and fast.
Step 1- Taking …

You might think there’s never been a worse time to look for work in the traditional job market, with unemployment at 10.4% and no relief in sight.
But you would be only half right.
While there’s never been a worse time for traditional job-search methods, “Guerrilla” job hunters are enjoying consistent success — even in today’s awful economy.
Why?
Because Guerrillas choose not to participate in the recession.
To illustrate, here’s a recent story from our client files: Steve Cobain, from Pittsburgh, Penn.
Cobain was laid off as a financial services executive in December 2008, after …

Toni Bowers’ wrote an article on her TechRepublic Career Management blog with the headline “Talking smack about former employers is not advisable.” She points to the farewell message sent by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dan Neil announcing his departure from the Los Angeles Times to go work for the Wall Street Journal. It’s the kind of note you can get away with if you’ve won a prize like that. It’ probably not the best approach for the rest of us. We just don’t have the clout.
Your first …