• An active Twitter presence is a very good thing for a job seeker to have.  It demonstrates understanding and shows participation in the online conversation.
• On the other hand, a badly-done, poorly-managed, or out-dated Twitter presence can hurt a job seeker.

A Twitter account is not always a “good thing” for a job seeker, depending on how it is managed.

Let’s say that, on Twitter, you enjoy connecting with friends, using colorful language, sharing outrageous opinions and discoveries, discussing (or arguing about) sports and politics, and a million other things.  No topic is too sensitive or controversial for you to tweet about.

Do you think potential employers may see your tweets, particularly after you have submitted a resume to them?  Yes, they very likely do see those tweets.

Assuming you are not looking for a job tweeting for a business or doing colorful writing, do you think these tweets are helping your job search?  Depending on your job search goals, those tweets may not be helping.

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For example, let’s say your resume shows that you are an expert in IT project management.  Your LinkedIn Profile confirms significant relevant experience and  accomplishments.  And your activities on LinkedIn – your connections, recommendations, and participation in Groups and Answers – support and demonstrate your expertise.  (Excellent!  You read and implemented the tips in Social Proof: Linked(In) to Your Resume.)

Should you stop tweeting about the things you love and want to share with your family and friends.  Maybe and maybe not.

So, what should you do?

If you enjoy Twitter for personal use – sharing your opinions on many things, people, sports, and political and religious issues - think about having a second “business-only” account which supports your job search and career.

Since a Twitter account is either “public” or “private,” consider having 2 Twitter accounts – a public account for your job search and private one for your family and friends.  So, one account is the business-only account that is a public account while the personal account is private.

Or, keep your personal account public and simply set up a separate business account which is also public.

If you choose to use Twitter only for your personal amusement, disconnect or – don’t connect – that Twitter account and your LinkedIn Profile, and, if possible, don’t use your “professional” name on the personal account.

Twitter Can Be “Social Proof” of Your Resume and Your Expertise

With your “business-only/professional/job search” Twitter account, you can enhance and demonstrate what your resume tells potential employers:

1.  Combine your “clean” professional name plus @Username SEO for the greatest impact on the professional/job search Twitter account.

Perhaps, continuing with the IT project manager example, you could establish the Twitter account’s Username as “ITProjectManager” (if it was available).  So all of your tweets would come from @ITProjectManager.  Nice keywords for search, and good for personal branding as well as SEO (“Search Engine Optimization”).  Then, you could use your real name (e.g. Mary Jane Smith) for the Twitter Name on the account, connecting the two (more good SEO).  So, when someone visited your Twitter account, they would see: @ITProjectManager  Mary Jane Smith.

(Read about “Defensive Googling” to understand why a clean name is important today, and read the 8 Twitter Power SEO Tips for Job Search post for more information about putting SEO to work for you on Twitter.)

2.  Follow – and connect with – the “thought leaders” in your profession.

Stay up to date with what is going on.  Often you can interact with the thought leaders on Twitter which is a good way to become “known” in the larger professional community.  Since many people follow them, such interactions can bolster your professional reputation online.  And be very good networking!

3.  Share good information, on topic, using a professional tone.

Be on the lookout for good articles and information relevant to your profession (set up Google Alerts for “news” on your profession and relevant topics).  Tweet and generously ReTweet good information which is on topic about your profession and/or industry.

In general, I think it’s a good idea to stay positive.  Try not to spread unsubstantiated rumors and gossip.  Stick to news and solid information that will help people.

4.  Follow the employers who are your targets.

Many, MANY employers tweet their job postings on Twitter, so it’s a great source of job leads.  Search Twitter for the names of employers who interest you.  You’ll find individual tweets and you will also find Twitter accounts.  These will help you stay up-to-date on the latest news from the employer, and it may also help you connect with someone who already works for the employers you want.

@JobHuntOrg on Twitter created several popular Twitter Lists, and the most popular is Employers-Recruiting on Twitter – nearly 500 employers tweet about their job openings, career fair participation, and other information about their recruiting.  Check it out, and follow the List or pick out the employers who interest you from those the List follows.

5.  Stay active on Twitter.

Tweeting at least 5 times a day keeps you involved and visible.  It also helps you stay up-to-date with your field and to demonstrate that you are up-to-date.

 Bottom Line

Savvy use of social media is a job skill growing in importance!  So, your skillful use of Twitter and LinkedIn is “social proof” that you understand today’s online social world.  It will help you in your job search, whether you are 24 or 64.

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

———————————————
About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been  observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.

“Looking for a Job Opportunity.”

No kidding!

And, then he invited Group members to check his LinkedIn Profile, and send him appropriate opportunities.

In other words, he expected complete strangers to spend their time analyzing his Profile to:

• Figure out what he was good at (skills, experience, accomplishments).
• Know where he wanted to work (location, industry, target employers).
• Determine exactly what job would be best for him.
• Send him appropriate opportunities.

How many people do you think had – and took – the time to provide him with a useful responses?

A Generic Response Is a Wasted Opportunity

Job seekers have told me that they give generic responses so they can “be flexible” and “keep my options open.”  That sounds logical, but it doesn’t work!

A generic response is a wasted opportunity, compared with telling a waiter at a restaurant to “bring me anything.” Would you get what you liked or wanted or could afford? Possibly, but it is much more likely that you would get better service if you specified what you wanted (a cheese burger or a cup of coffee).

If someone asks what you want, it’s usually because they want to help if they can.  Don’t waste those opportunities.  Be easy to help – be prepared, be brief, and be focused.

Be Specific about What You Want Right Now

It may take time to figure out what you want, but it will be time very well spent!  And, you can modify it later, if you need to.

Instead of an I’ll-take-anything desperation answer, when someone asks what job you are looking for, tell them -

• The job title(s) that interest you – maximum of 3.
• The industry(ies) or class(es) of employers that interest you – maximum of 2.
• The employer(s) that interest you – minimum of 10, by name if possible.

Then, even if the person you are talking with has known you for 20 years, briefly share why you are interested in those job titles, industries, and employers -

• A summary of your background (e.g. 3 years working as a project lead in a Ruby-on-Rails environment for an eCommerce company)
• One or two major related accomplishments (e.g. led the successful implementation of 2 new applications to collect user feedback and product reviews)

Your goal is to give someone a very good idea of what you want next.  Something concrete and memorable.

Bottom Line: Focus for a Shorter Job Search

When you can quickly and memorably tell people what you are looking for, you will have a more effective network. Being generic may feel like you are “keeping [your] options open,” but it is self-defeating in a job search.  So, fight that instinct, and focus – for a shorter job search.

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

———————————————
About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been  observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.

But, often recovery is possible for two reasons:

1.)  You might not have been as bad as you thought you were, and/or

2.)  No one else was better.

So, don’t count yourself out of contention unless you have been told that you aren’t being considered.  Do your usual follow up as though everything was fine (because it might be).

5 Steps to Recovery

Because it may take a while to discover whether or not this particular situation really is doomed, do these 5 things:

1.)  Launch damage control.

If you haven’t sent your thank you messages yet, send your thank you, as usual, and, if possible, use it to launch your recovery.  If you didn’t answer a question well, answer it better in your thank you.  If whatever mistake you made is fixable, try to fix it with the thank you.  If you forgot to hand them your list of references, send it along with the thank you.  If you call Mr. Smith by the wrong name, be sure to use his correct name in the thank you.

Don’t reference the mistake (“Sorry I might have come across as socially inept when I called you Mr. Brown rather than Mr. Smith…”), but do try to correct what ever was wrong.  This requires finesse, but it can be done.

If you’ve already done your thank you but didn’t use it for damage control, try a follow up message which attempts damage control.  Simply correct the situation (still without admitting any specific mistake).  ”As we discussed, Mr. Smith, forecasting has become more scientific.  When I saw this interesting article about forecasting, I thought you might find it useful…”

2.)  Don’t beat yourself up about what happened.

Being down on yourself won’t really help your job search.  It’s over.  You did what you could to recover the situation, and you need to move on.  Your damage control may, or may not, have worked.  Time to put the situation behind you so you can be confident going to your next interview.

3.)  Analyze what happened.

Think about what went wrong, and see if you can figure out why it happened.  Were you too tired?  Were you distracted by something else going on?  Were you not well-enough prepared?  Was it a group interview and too many questions were being asked at the same time?

Did something or someone surprise you?  If so, why and how?

4.)  Develop a strategy for handling this kind of situation the next time you run into it.

What could you have done differently?  How can you do better next time?  Think about it.  Ask friends.  Maybe even do some research.

For example, if you didn’t answer a question well, write down the question.  Perhaps do some research on what the answer should have been.

Then, write down how you think you should answer that question the next time it is asked, and read your answer out loud.  Say it a few times, too, so you feel comfortable speaking the words without reading them.  Have a family member, close friend, or career counselor ask you the question and give you feedback on how well you answered.

Or, perhaps you interviewed with a new kind of employer, a different industry or larger (or smaller) than your previous employers.  Things can be quite different for the same profession or job function in different industries.   And a large employer often does things quite differently than a small employer.  So do some research into what the differences are and how the “other side” (the new industry or differently-sized employer) works – a good reason for a few “informational interviews.”

5.) Keep looking for a job.

Unless you’ve recently won the lottery, you can’t afford to let this stop your job search.  So keep looking for a job.  The best news is that, for most of us, interviews will be a part of our lives for many years.  So, the better we become at interviews, the easier our subsequent job searches will be.

Bottom Line

“To err is human” is a very old, very true statement (Alexander Pope, 1688 – 1744).  So, welcome to the human race.  Try to look on the bright side – you now have more experience with interviewing, and practice does make perfect or, at least, better.  If you follow the 4-step recovery process, above, I bet you don’t make this mistake again.

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

———————————————
About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been  observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.

No matter how abused you feel you were in the old job, resist the urge to tell people off.  For a few moments of satisfaction, you may pay a very high price in your long-term career and your next job search (yes, there will be another one some day).

Corporate alumni groups are excellent networks for your long-term career.  I’m still in contact, and in business, with people I worked at in my last corporate job (18 years ago!).  So, leaving on the best terms you can will help you retain that network and retain a good reputation.

Before You Give Your Notice

Some important things to do before you give your notice:

1. Look for HR or other official policies or guidelines on how to give notice, and then follow them as closely as you can (if you find any).

2. See if you can get access to your personnel/HR folder to get copies of your reviews, if you don’t already have them, and any other important relevant material.

3.  Add a personal email address (even a Gmail or Yahoo account) as your contact email account for your LinkedIn Profile, if you have been using your employer’s email address for LinkedIn.

4. Write up your letter of resignation and print it out at home on your own paper – definitely not on your employer’s letterhead stock.

In the letter, stick to the facts:

• You have accepted another opportunity and will be leaving their employment.
• The date that will be your last day of work (hopefully more than 2 weeks from the date of your letter).
• Your mailing address for that last paycheck if they still use paper and don’t do an automatic deposit.

And,

• Thank them for the opportunity to work for them.
• Say that you enjoyed working there and look forward to staying in touch with many of the people.

About.com has an impressive collection of sample resignation letters for you to read. That will help you get started.

Give Sufficient Notice

One thing that will help a lot is giving an appropriate amount of notice before you leave. Walking in on Wednesday and telling them that Friday will be your last day is a bad idea, and even illegal in some places.

The former coworkers and bosses are people who will hopefully be in your network for a long time, and you may help them find other jobs some day as they may help you. This is why burning bridges is not a good idea.

In the USA, many states have regulations requiring 2 weeks notice. Leaving in less than 2 weeks is usually considered unfriendly.  In other countries, the notice required may be as long as 4 weeks, possibly longer.

Depending on your job, employers would often like more than just a couple of weeks notice that you are leaving.

But, Be Prepared to Leave Immediately

While many employers will want you to stay as long as possible, other employers will show you to the door the day you give your notice.  It’s probably because they have had departing employees take important things with them, like customer lists, internal reports, even patent applications and other highly-sensitive information.

As soon as you have indicated that you are leaving, some employers want you OUT immediately.

• Understand that you may never get back to your office once you have turned in your notice, or perhaps security will accompany you to pick up your coat, purse, briefcase, etc. on your way out the door.
• Expect that your access to your employer’s email system and computer network will be terminated immediately.

Consequently, before you turn in your notice, you need to do some cleaning up and clearing out:

• Clear all your personal information off your employer’s computer system, network, cell phone, etc.
• Remove everything personal from the computer you’ve been using, like your resume and cover letters (which shouldn’t be there anyway!), perhaps an App you have paid for, and also contact information for your personal friends.
• Collect your old performance reviews and other personnel records, if you have them in “hard copy,” and take them home.
• Go through the desk, bookcase, files, etc. to see if you have any personal items stored there you might have forgotten – personal books, personal photos, an umbrella, your old iPod, or an employee-of-the-month award.

If you have other personal items visible in your work area, remove them as subtly as possible.  Or collect them all in one place where you (or someone else) can put them in a box.  If you can, take them to your car or your locker, before you give your notice.

Handing in Your Notice

When you tell your boss you are leaving, have a letter of resignation ready, and try very hard not to smile as you tell him or her you are leaving – I was too happy leaving a job once, and it was a big mistake!

Make an appointment to see your boss, and when you go to the appointment, hand your boss a printed – and signed (!) – copy of your resignation letter. You can follow up (after the meeting) with an email version, but the printed version is more formal and official. Ask your boss if an emailed version is needed.

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

———————————————
About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been  observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.

So, even though you may be leading a blameless life, avoiding Facebook and other social media, and feel you have no reason to worry about what is online about you, you could well be wrong.

The actions of someone else – who has the same name you have – could be sabotaging your job search.

Recruiters who Google the name you put on their application or in your resume will be unaware that the “bad” person Google showed them is not you.  Result: opportunity lost!  Perhaps, many opportunities…

Mistaken Online Identity Is a Major Issue – Defensive Googling Is the Solution

Since the best defense is a good offense, find out what is available online related to your name.  If you don’t know about it, you won’t be able to address it.  When you do know about it, you can differentiate yourself from the individual(s) with the problem.

1.  Search Google (and Bing) on the name(s) you have been using in your resumes, job applications, and other job search documents.

You need to know if you someone who has the same name you have is causing you a problem in your job search to avoid using that version of your name.

To search -

Type the name you usually use on your resume into a Google (or Bing) search bar with quotation marks around it, like this:

“Firstname Lastname“

Enclosing your name within quotation marks tells Google and Bing that you want those words in a phrase, side-by-side.  Otherwise, the search engines will show you results where those two words appear anywhere on the same webpage, regardless of how far apart or unrelated in context.

If you typically include your middle initial, middle name, or some other configuration, search for that version of your name.

2.  Carefully study the first 10 pages of search results.

Look for anything negative that an employer would see associated with your name (even if it is NOT about you).  This could include photos and videos as well as standard web pages, blog posts, comments on blog posts, news items, public records (like court dockets), and other information readily available online.

If you find something inappropriate associated with your name – something that would make an employer put your resume in the “reject” pile rather than the “possible” pile – you have a potential problem.

The problem could be someone with your name who has been arrested for drunk driving, posted inappropriate photos of themselves in social media, been accused of being a tax cheat, contributed racist, sexist, or other nasty “*ist” comments on blogs, or hundreds of other things.

If that entry on the 8th page, and moving down toward the 9th, it may not be a big issue.  But if it is on the first page or the second page, pay close attention.  Monitor that entry.  You need to find a version of your name without something bad associated with it.

3.  Continue to search using different variations of your name until you find a “clean” version.

A clean version of your name doesn’t have anything negative – from anyone – associated with it, but it is still your real name.  Check all the versions of your name you can think of – with your middle name or middle initial, etc.

My favorite example of smart name usage is the famous actor, James Earl Jones.  There are probably very many people named “Jim Jones” in the world, and one is definitely infamous.  But James Earl Jones is distinctive!   He could have called himself “JJ,” “Jim Jones,” “Jimmy Jones,” “James Jones,” or even  ”James E. Jones.”  But there is no confusing him with anyone else now.  He claimed a clean version of his name, and made it famous.

4.  Use the clean version of your name for your job search.

Pick one, clean version of your name, and use it consistently for  your job search.

• Resume
• Cover Letters
• Email address
• Email signature
• LinkedIn Profile
• Business/networking cards
• Job applications
• Anything else related to job search

Keep everything “in sync” particularly in relation to your LinkedIn Profile.

5.  Set up a Google Alert on all versions of your name, including the “clean” version.

Keep track of what is happening to your clean name in case someone else using that name does something that makes it unusable.

Google Alerts are free and will notify you when something new associated with the name appears in Google search results.

Online Reputation Management Is the New Reality

This is NOT “vanity Googling.”  This is “defensive Googling” – enlightened 21st century self-defense!

Defensive Googling is just the beginning of an online reputation management program, and it shouldn’t besuspended when the job seeker has found a new job. Mistaken online identity is a permanent risk for all of us,unless we have particularly unique names.

Bottom Line

Mistaken online identity can cause serious problems for the innocent person who has the same name as someone who has publicly misbehaved.  But, it can be managed, as long as you are aware of the situation and address it.

For more on this topic:

Defensive Googling in 5 Steps to Minimize Mistaken Online Identity

Unlock a Succesful Job Search: Reputation Management

5 Ways You Look Out of Date in Your Job Search

Monitor Your Online Reputation with Google Alerts

Guide to Using Google for Job Search

Microsoft Digital Reputation Study

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

———————————————
About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been  observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.

No, I’m not referring to “identity theft” – I’m referring to “mistaken online identity.”

Right now – Google yourself!

Type your name into Google’s search bar and enclose it in quotation marks, like this -

“Firstname Lastname”

The quotation marks around your name tell Google that you want it to find the pages where those 2 words are side-by-side, in a phrase.

Yes, I know some people call it “vanity Googling” – ignore them! I call it “defensive Googling.” It’s a smart thing to do all the time, but particularly during a job search.

You could be a victim of Mistaken Online Identity, but you won’t know unless you look.

But, you say, I haven’t done anything stupid on Facebook!

Excellent!  But someone else with the same name may not have been as smart or careful.

You may have led a totally blameless life, online and off, but someone else’s misbehavior may be negatively impacting your job search right now.

Employers Google/Bing job seekers more than 80% of the time, according to recent research. Something out there that looks like you may be hurting your chances, even if it is not really you.

Employers these days don’t have the need - or the time – to determine if the bad stuff they have found is about the Mary Jane Smith who just applied for a job or about a different Mary Jane Smith.  So, the Mary Jane who applied is out of luck.

A tale of 2  guys named Robert -

A resume writer shared this true story of what happened to one of her clients.  This guy, we’ll call him Robert #1, was looking for a job, and he hired the resume writer to help him with his resume.  He is an accomplished guy, and his resume was impressive (accurately reflecting the person).

Being an old hand at job hunting, Robert was sending his resume in a very rational, targeted way to the employers he wanted to work for and people he met at networking events.

He sent out his resume, carefully, for four months, with absolutely no result at all.  Not even a thanks-but-no-thanks letter or message from people he met at networking events and thought he had developed some rapport with.

What was wrong:  his age?  his approach?  his LinkedIn Profile?  bad breath?  WHAT was going on???

Finally, after four months of silence, Robert #1 Googled himself.  YIKES!  He found Robert #2 - someone with exactly the same name, a disbarred attorney living in his state, also named in a very visible US Supreme Court case.

The people who received Robert #1′s resume thought he might be Robert #2, and they were not interested in hiring Robert #2 for the job Robert #1 was seeking.

How did Robert #1 recover?

Being a smart man, determined not to make the same mistake twice, Robert #1 Googled several versions of his real name (with his middlie initial, with his whole middle name, with “Sr.” on the end) and discovered that no one has (yet) sullied the version of his name which uses his middle initial, Robert W.

So, he added his middle initial to his name on -

• his resume,
• his cover letters,
• his email address,
• his email signature
• his LinkedIn Profile,
• his business / networking cards, and
• everything else related to his identity in the world.

Then, he set up a Google Alert on his name, both the old and the new versions,  so he can keep track of Robert #2 as well as monitor the current name (maybe there’s a Robert W #2 out there somewhere).

And, within 2 weeks of changing his name, Robert W was invited in for an interview after sending a resume (with the new name) to an employer.  More success followed, and he reportedly is happily working in a new job.

Bottom Line

We can no longer successfully operate in the world with our cyber-head stuck in the sand (to mangle an old cliche a bit).  We must pay attention to our online reputations, or risk some very negative results to our reputations and, consequently, to our job searches.

For more on this topic:

Defensive Googling in 5 Steps to Minimize Mistaken Online Identity

Unlock a Succesful Job Search: Reputation Management

5 Ways You Look Out of Date in Your Job Search

Monitor Your Online Reputation with Google Alerts

Guide to Using Google for Job Search

Microsoft Digital Reputation Study

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

———————————————
About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been  observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!  Do NOT “wing it” in your interviews unless you like wasting time and postponing finding that new job!  These opportunities can be rare.

Prepare for the standard interview questions and types of interviews you might have

In her Job Interviews column on Job-Hunt, Laura DeCarlo, Job-Hunt’s Job Interviewing Expert, covers the common questions you will be asked like, “Tell me about yourself” and “Why do you want to work here?” Knowing and practicing your answers is very important for your success.

She also covers the common – and uncommon - kinds of interviews you will face – CIDS, one-way video, fishbowl, and many more.

But wait!  There’s more you can do, and it will help you succeed at that interview…

5 Kinds of Critical Pre-interview Research – the Winning Difference

In the current job market, you want to stand out from the crowd.  You will impress potential employers by showing them how interested you are in the job, which also means demonstrating your interest in the employer.  So, prepare for the interview by researching the organization and, if possible and without “stalking” them, researching the people, too.

Prepare by knowing as much as you can about the organization, the people, the location, and the industry.

The Internet provides a wealth of information for job seekers.  These are 5 places where you can start your research.  If you have time, keep looking.  The more you know, the better off you will be.  Not only will you be in knock-their-socks-off mode for the interview, your research could help you determine that the employer might not be a good place for you to work.

Throughout this process, keep notes on questions that are raised.  At the end of your research, you should have a good idea of what to say when they ask, “Do you have any questions for us?”

1. Visit the organization’s website

This is “the party line” about the organization – what they tell the world, and potential customers/clients, about themselves.  Study the home page, but don’t stop there.  Read the “About Us” and “Contact Us” sections.  Then, look around at the other pages.

• Know the industry or purpose of the organization.  Be sure that is what you expect and want to be involved in.
• Become familiar with the products or services.  Know the brand names, if any, or at least the purpose or function.
• Look for names of the officers or founders.  Are they familiar to you, perhaps, known to you?
• Where are they located?

Does the information on the website raise any questions for you?  Any concerns raised?  What opportunities do you see as a result?

2.  Put Google, Bing, and YouTube to work gathering important information.

This is where you see how well “the party line” relates to what the rest of the world thinks.  Reality about an employer could be quite different than what the website tells you, depending on the quality of the website and/or the quality of the organization.

If you have product or service names, use a search engine (or two) to see what is being written, said, and videoed about the products or services.  Dig in past the first couple of pages of results.

Look for reviews.  Look for happy and unhappy customers.  Look for the names of competing organizations and competing products or services.

4.  Check the LinkedIn Company Profile

The name “Company Profile” extends to school districts, non-profits, and other non-corporate entities, so click on the word “Companies” at the top of your LinkedIn home page.  For many organizations from Fortune 500 to local small businesses, LinkedIn will often have information about the people who work there and also the organization itself.

Plug in the name of the organization you are researching, and see what LinkedIn finds for you – well worth checking out!

4.  Use Google/Bing/YouTube to research any names you have (e.g., executives and the people who will be interviewing you), and also check their LinkedIn Profiles.

Have some of the executives been taped giving talks at conferences?  Watch a video or two, and know the conference dates and names.

Again, does this research raise any questions or show you any opportunities? What are their reputations?  Experience and education?

You may find that you have some “connections” with someone interviewing you.  Perhaps you attended the same college or have the same former employer.

5.  If the organization is a publicly-traded company, check what the stock is doing on Yahoo! Finance.

Particularly if you are interested in a role in finance or accounting, it is a very good idea to become familiar with how well the company is doing, financially.  In addition, look over the balance sheet, the short-term and long-term stock performance, and the other information available.

And before you head out the door to go to the interview, do this last bit of research…

Check Google News for the latest news from – and about – the organization.  You don’t want to be surprised, or look clueless,  if they have very recent BIG news – like a new product or service recently launched, a new plant opened (or an old one closed), a new CEO/COO/CFO hired, etc.

It would also be good to know if the stock price just took a big jump (or drop), and why.

Bottom Line

The Boy Scouts are right – Be Prepared!

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

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About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+.

Recent research by Microsoft has shown that 86% of employers were impressed by what they discovered about job seekers in social media, like LinkedIn, helping the job seekers land  jobs.

The LinkedIn-Resume Connection – 5 Important Benefits to Job Seekers

One of the interesting things I’ve discovered in my discussions with job seekers and employers is that employers often compare the job seeker’s resume and cover letter with the job seeker’s LinkedIn Profile.

Discrepancies between the resume and the Profile show up quickly, but so do accomplishments and other positive things.

LinkedIn has become the Online Portfolio of millions of professionals, and it offers 5 very important benefits to job seekers when employers make the LinkedIn-resume comparison.

1.  Validation of resume information

The assumption is that people are less likely to exaggerate in public, in front of their friends and LinkedIn “connections” than they are in private on a resume sent to an individual or posted privately in response to a job ad.

For decades (probably centuries), job seekers have been known to do a teensy bit of exaggeration on their resumes.  Having worked at Harvard University in my past, I know that one of the things the University Alumni Records Office did frequently, back then, was confirm or deny that someone had attended, or graduated from, Harvard as indicated on their resume.   The answer was “No” almost as often as it was “Yes” which tells you something about human nature and Harvard as a brand.

Now, rather than contacting a university directly, employers can check the LinkedIn Profile to get a basic level of validation, enough to put a resume in the “possibles” stack rather than the “discards” pile or vice versa.

2.  Demonstration of knowledge and expertise

It’s easy for some people to proclaim that they are “experts” or “gurus” in a given field on their resumes, but hard to prove (or to verify).

Through LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn Answers, job seekers can demonstrate their expertise through intelligent participation in discussions and thoughtful Answers.   Recruiters are known to monitor Groups related to the fields they need the most or have the most trouble finding qualified candidates.

In their LinkedIn Profiles, people can also link to their publications (books, ebooks, articles), pull in the feed from their blog, and highlight their skills.  The LinkedIn Profile becomes, in effect, an online portfolio.

3.  Corroboration of Accomplishments

LinkedIn Recommendations offer employers a form of “proof” that a skill or accomplishment proclaimed on the resume has been visible to someone willing to publish a recommendation for the world to see on LinkedIn. And the Recommendations are connected to specific jobs listed in the Profile, confirming the validity of that claim on the resume.

Yes, I’ve heard criticism that the LinkedIn Recommendations are always positive, so they can’t be useful. It makes little sense to me. Who offers references, even privately, that are not from someone with a similarly-positive opinion of the job seeker? Why would anyone expect different action or a different result?

4.  Confirmation of Dates and Time Frames

The dates on the resume can be compared with the dates on the LinkedIn Profile to demonstrate agreement on timing or not. Did the job seeker work at company XYZ for 3 years or 5 years? And, was that 5 years ago or 10 years ago?

5.  Affirmation of “With-It-Ness”

Having a complete and active LinkedIn Profile affirms that the job seeker understands how to operate in today’s largest online business network.  It also indicates that the job seeker understands the importance of the Internet to business, from marketing and sales to research and data collection.  ”Old fogies” don’t have LinkedIn Profiles and don’t understand how important it is (which is really too bad!).

Bottom Line:

Having a public site where the information on the resume may be confirmed (or not) is an enormous help to employers. And, it is also a help to job seekers. Certainly, some people may not be 100% truthful on their LinkedIn Profiles, but they are often more truthful in a venue where false or misleading claims may be “outed” by people who know better. Social Proof comes to job search through, logically, social media.

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

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About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.

Care is definitely needed, but we can trust Google most of the time…  Or, can we?

If those reports about the Safari iPhone hack is true – and it appears that they are – then I would say that, sadly, no, Google is NOT trustworthy.  Combine this revelation with the recent whole Google privacy policy situation, and it actually becomes scary.

Even false accusations are hard to disprove, but it looks like The Wall Street Journal had plenty of details that look very bad for Google.

However, isn’t Google the “don’t-be-evil” company established by two Stanford University students in the late 1990′s?  I have known, depended on, and (I admit) loved Google for this whole century.

In the past, I assumed that Google was a happy engineer-driven company like the place I had worked during the 80′s and early 90′s.  Engineers are interesting people – give them a problem, or a puzzle, and they will work for hours (days, weeks, months, or years, if necessary or possible) to solve the problem.

Above all, engineers love creating something brand new.  Connecting dots in a way that no one has done before – the best-ever kind of fun for engineers!  And certainly Google’s engineers had plenty of new dots to connect and a whole new world to explore.  And they were smack in the center of it, having a big impact on that new world.  So, plenty of engineer fun happening!

Maybe all of those puzzles solved and new dots connected weren’t necessarily good for user privacy, but, all in all, pretty harmless.  Not a big deal.  The don’t-be-evil company wouldn’t misuse that information.  Would they?

Is Google being evil?

If purposefully evading a browser privacy setting to enable data collection about a user is evil (and I think it is), then Google has “jumped the shark” and become untrustworthy, much as Facebook has always been.  Unfortunately, I did expect better of Google, much better based on the don’t-be-evil mythology.

See this notice posted at http://www.google.com/policies/

“March 1, 2012 is when the new Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service will come into effect. If you choose to keep using Google once the change occurs, you will be doing so under the new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.”

So, no opting out.  If you use Google after March 1, 2012, you have officially “opted in.”  Google will combine all the data it has from you to make your “experience” with Google better – whether you like it or not.

All this combined data might make you more valuable to Google’s advertisers, too.  And, who knows what else.

Why does it matter what Google does?

Search engines are a big part of most of our daily lives, and most of us have never worried about “protecting” our searches.  They were private – between us and our computer.  Now, it is obvious that those activities are definitely NOT private!

Most of us use Google or a Google product or service every day, from Google search, Google toolbars,  and Gmail to Android cell phones, Google Groups, Google News, Google Maps, Google Chrome, Google Voice, Google Docs, Google Reader, and more.

For job seekers, the combining of search query data, email, documents, and cell phone data, has the potential to be very damaging.  If revealing information, like frequently used search terms, become visible to an employer or even another employee, a job seeker may be “outed” and become instantly unemployed.

Similarly, if job board ads are always served to a job-seeking employee at work, someone may connect those dots and understand that the job seeker has been searching for employment related information or actually using a job board.  Not a good thing for the job seeker!

Then multiply those possible risks by the millions of other “personal” things you do every day with a search engine, email, or your cell phone.  From researching gifts for your family or getting driving directions to researching medical symptoms or searching on the name of someone you are considering dating or hiring.

And, frankly, I am not comfortable about any corporate entity, no matter how honorable or trustworthy, knowing as much about me as Google can so-easily capture, keep, and sell.

How can we get some of that privacy back?

The best advice I’ve found comes from Joyce Lain Kennedy in her syndicated CAREERS NOW column published on Feb. 5, 2012:

When you’re concerned about Google outing your stealth job search, here’s a simple solution offered by privacy professionals: Split up your online services.

— World Privacy Forum executive director Pam Dixon illustrates this advice with an example: “Now that Google will consolidate their sources of information, use Facebook for social networking, Yahoo for email and Bing or Startpage for search. If you use Google, choose either Google search or Gmail, but not both — you don’t want all your digital eggs in one basket.

Joyce’s column goes on with several paragraphs of very good advice.  Needed unfortunately.  Joyce quotes Pam Dixon’s World Privacy Forum article  http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/searchengineprivacytips.html and Hayley Tsukayama’s article in The Washington Post - http://wapo.st/Advqac Both are excellent sources of information for people who want to protect their privacy in today’s world.

Bottom Line

Perhaps it is time for the USA to consider some of the privacy protections which other parts of the world, like the European Union, have had in place for more than a decade.  Expecting these online titans to self-regulate and to “do the right thing” obviously isn’t working.

Stay tuned…

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

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About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.

Very talented people are unemployed right now, and, if they are like me when I was laid off in 1994, they are wondering if they can trust another employer again.  Or face another job search again.

Perhaps surprisingly, as I’ve written before, that job loss was a GIFT to me – truly a blessing in disguise!  It set me free of the corporate world.

I started my own very small consulting business in 1995.  If I screw up, I am the only one who pays the price.  If I am brilliant (and/or lucky) and do quite well, I reap all the benefits.  That seems more fair than a corporate job, and, frankly, not that much more work than my last corporate job.  It is a whole lot more rewarding, in many ways - and, actually, much, MUCH more fun!

This week on Job-Hunt, Bruce Katcher begins his column, Starting a Consulting Business, to help you consider a consulting business as, perhaps, the next step in your career.  His first article offers “7 Reasons Why Starting a Consulting Business May Be Right for You.”  It is good food for thought.

Bruce L. Katcher, Ph.D. is an Industrial/Organizational psychologist, Executive Director of The Center for Independent Consulting and president of Discovery Surveys, Inc. He is author of “An Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Consulting Practice” (AMACOM) and “30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers” (AMACOM).

Starting a consulting business isn’t for everyone.  Some people seem to instantly understand it, and others seem to struggle to learn.  But both can and do succeed.  Hopefully, Bruce’s first article will be followed by many more that will help job seekers determine whether or not independent consulting is for them and figure out how to do it well.

Stay tuned…

© Copyright, 2012, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved.

———————————————
About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.