How to get a job!

Andy Sernovitz is coming back to Milwaukee in a couple weeks to speak to BMA-Milwaukee about Word of Mouth marketing. I was surfing around and came upon his blog and his fabulous advice to job seekers. This blog post offers some great pointers, I included the points, but read his actual post for the detailed insights on each of them. Please forward the info on to anyone you know entering the job market anytime...that might be you (perhaps you should get registered with C2 if that's the case), or someone you know.

1. Write an amazing cover letter.
2. Zero errors
3. Tell me what have you done ... specifically.
4. Can you do THIS job?
5. Don't take the wrong job just to get in the door.
6. It's about me, not you.
7. Show industry expertise and interest.

Speaking of getting a job, in the last week I've been invited to join a new social network called NotchUp.com. It's an interesting concept, you post your profile and indicate if you're an active or passive candidate, then you determine your "asking price" for an interview. If a company is seriously interested in you, they offer to interview and agree to pay the asking price. I set up a profile out of curiosity ONLY (the employer site beta launches March 1). I was able to download my LinkedIn profile and make modifications easily. The most compelling area of the site (in my opinion) was the rationale statement to employers for using NotchUp. Essentially they're competing with recruiting firms, trying to eliminate recruiters from the equation. It won't work for all hiring managers, but it's an novel approach and reinforces yet again the power of social networks. This may change the landscape of recruiting...

Web 2.O for the layperson

I'm astounded by the options for electronic social and professional networking! As a general rule, we at C2 try to stay well connected via networking, attending professional organization events 2-3 times weekly in Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago. Just check out the Pipeline to see where you can find us. We're out there!

Recently, the topic of many of these professional organizations' presentations is web 2.0 or social networking. I have a vested interest, as I spearhead marketing and sales efforts for C2, but I also have an interest on behalf of my clients, many of whom call me and ask for web designers and developers. They used to ask for web talent that knew about SEO (search engine optimization), usability and accessibility. Now they're asking about web 2.0!

We're embarking upon a new era. Our clients need our help navigating the options for their clients and their own companies. What was I to do? I decided to jump in and start learning!

I started small (and ignorantly). I went on dates with men I met on match.com, found the love of my life through yahoo personals. About the time I pulled my profiles from those two sites (they had outlived their usefulness), I created a MySpace page. I tried LinkedIn.com, played with plaxo.com and Xing.com, picked up a facebook page (I'm a level 9 Barbary Pirate!), joined some MeetUps, started to blog, hence my blogger.com profile, was invited to participate in ning.com and naymz.com. And I'm not alone, everyone in the office subscribes to blogs, participates on facebook, myspace, second life, flickr, LinkedIn, MeetUp, the list goes on and on. We're out there!

Even with all those profiles, I'm not even close to being connected with all the tools available. I recently read an article about social networking that made me feel like my efforts merely scratch the surface. The article's original intent references OpenSocial, an effort by Google to support developers who create applications specifically for social networking sites. It provides a pretty long list of social networking sites, many which are unfamiliar to me. But, just as I was feeling small and disconnected, I discovered social networking experts in my backyard! Kelli and Jeff Fitzsimmons own Area 444, an online media production company dedicated to exploring social networking strategies. BRILLIANT! In September, Area 444 launched a Facebook application geared at social connections, Friend Connector. Area 444's main web property, Comic Wonder, is the first competitive arena for joke-telling online. Of course, I picked up the phone and invited Kelli to coffee, so I could learn a bit more!

Bottom line: We're at a point in which an electronic connection is approaching the relevance of a face-to-face connection. In fact, the two together are more powerful than just one alone. We must find ways to help our clients understand and embrace the options available to them as well as find the skills or professional practitioners that can apply these new tools to their needs.

Do you have ideas or answers for navigating the labyrinth of opportunities? Let us know, we're curious, interested...we're out here!