How Twitter can help during Job Search

For those not familiar with Twitter – it is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? (Source: Twitter )
Read recently somewhere - is Twitter the next Monster (the well known job search site); sure, it can very well be, and quite a personal one too. The web is evolving and the present recession can offer different opportunities for companies to diversify and expand their horizons to meet the customers needs. Sure enough this social media website can help you in your job search. Here are some tips:

• Quite a few companies now have their twitter sites or presence. If you are interested in those that are there and you might get some relevant tweets when the open positions are announced.
  


• Quite often someone you know on Twitter might tweet an internal job opening or someone you do not know may be ‘retweeted’ for a freelance position that suits your qualification. Also know who to follow, search for recruiters or career experts who post advertised or internal job openings and add them to your follow list.
  


• Follow the job boards and the career experts and you have some great free job search and career advice in less than 140 characters and some latest links come your way almost instantly as they are published. Fresh, crisp information right from the oven.
  
  
• And now you have the Twitter Job Search engine! Just type in a search query and see which jobs have been posted recently on Twitter. You can also add jobs on this website. Cool.

Some Resources on Twitter Job Search Tips

• And right now there are many articles online on this very topic (I just found out as I googled the titled). One of the very best advice comes on Mashable from Sarah Evans.
  
• Another good article is here Twitter: the new way to find a job
  
• Although Twitter may seem like a simple application but there are many features which can be used to your benefit, Darren Rowse has a great website on twitter tips – TwiTip, browse to discover how to use Twitter.

Yes, I am on Twitter too. Follow me on twitter.

Related Posts:

• Where to find Free Career and Job Search Advice
• Online Job Boards can Help during Recession
• How to be Optimistic during the Job Search Process
• How to Find a Job when there are none around

Where to find Free Career and Job Search Advice

Of course, the internet being one of the largest resource for the free information on everything, count on it for your job search and career advice as well. Here are some others which you might or might be aware of:

Internet, Of Course
Of the various job boards, Monster and CareerBuilder offer great tips and articles from career experts as well as tested job hunt strategies and personality assessments. You can also assign job alerts on some job boards based on your qualifications; it helps since you do not have to keep on login on to the website to see when new job openings are announced which might interest you.
The US department of Labor publishes the Occupational Outlook Handbook yearly which has a comprehensive list of where to look for job openings as well as step by step process on how to plan your job search.

Magazines and Newspapers
Get the job and careers related journals or magazines, they might not be free but with subscriptions lucratively priced under $10 per year (look around for special offers) they very well fall under “almost free” information. And you can read these magazines and career books for free at your local library where you can apply for free.

Government Career Centers
In the US the state and counties have their One-Stop Career Centers or EDDs - Employment Development Department which offer seminars, resume preparation tips and counseling on regular basis to the unemployed. Often these centers have an extensive database of job available and can match these to your qualifications. Don’t feel shy to visit these centers; you might only gain more information by reaching out in different ways.

Career Experts and Career Seminars
Often the local community centers hold free career seminars and workshops from known career experts, look up the local newspapers and community center announcements for such events.

With a lot of information around it is very important to learn to manage your time while job searching. Consider your job search as a full-time job and demarcate time spent on the job search and recreation time clearly.



Where else have you found helpful job search advice for free?

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Online Job Boards can Help during Recession
How to be Optimistic during the Job Search Process
How is the Job Outlook for 2009?
2009 Graduates – Tips on getting Hired this year
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In Job / Career Transition? Is your Family Supporting you?

Stay Clear of the Internet Marketing Scams and the Phishing Emails

"Reports of Internet-based crimes jumped 33 percent in 2008, according to a group that monitors Web-based frauds. " An article in Mercury News wire services section says, "The Internet Crime Complaint Center said it received more than 275,000 complaints last year, up from 207,000 the year before."

With many people out of jobs and searching for quick income on the internet, there is a higher possibility that you might fall in for the internet marketing scam traps. Now more than ever before many internet marketing companies are advertising lucrative incentives because they know that there is a higher possibility of you being lured towards such fast money making schemes or work-from-home ‘easy dollars’.

Protect Yourself and your Identity
Beware, don't be a victim - always check/search on the internet to read reviews on such offers and programs.
It is your responsibility to research first; do not rush to a decision and fall for minor incentives like "be among the first “100 callers” and get special shipping free or some dollars off the asking price".
Stop and research first; your best bet is to look up the websites on the internet and perform a search for the company that you are interested in. In most probabilities there are perhaps hundreds or thousands who have fallen in such traps.

The Washington Post had an interesting quiz on how to 'catch a phish'. Check your awareness here.

SpamCop is one of the online services for reporting spam. SpamCop determines the origin of unwanted email and reports it to the relevant Internet service providers.

If you are in the US, protect yourself by reading resports on the Federal Trade Commission website, which is the nation's consumer protection agency. The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection works For The Consumer to prevent fraud, deception, and unfair business practices in the marketplace.

Phishing Emails
Not only the internet scams are increasing, there is a sudden influx of scam emails from Nigeria and the other such emails which announce you as winner of their lotto which you never played and were never even aware of. Don’t you wonder why Nigeria is not a super rich country despite having so many super rich people who die and have no one to inherit the amount of money that can get the whole world out of the economic mess?
These emails are the phishing emails, an attempt to steal your credit card number and also play a major role in identity thefts.

Job / Employment Scams
And now not only the internet scams that you have to worry about but also where all you are sending your resume? Which companies are bogus is sometimes hard to tell but do read the articles below which are an eye-opener:

• Recruited to crime: an employment scam


• The Reshipping Scam

Right now all the spammers and people who make money duping people know that you are willing to take a risk to make ends meet, but always remember that if it sounds too good to be true – It IS.

Some tips for you:

• Delete lottery winning/ work from home – ‘easy money’ emails and don’t be curious to click on the links provided, spyware, malicious virus and phishing codes are waiting to pounce on you on your every step.
  
• Never click on a link that is not taking you to the company’s original website or if the link has an IP address or an address that looks strange.
  
• Change your passwords on the sites you visit often and make your passwords strong.

What would you do to avoid being a victim?

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How to Generate Income and stay Positive when you have no Job – Part 2

How to Move Away from Work During Weekends

A deadline at your workplace is round the corner and you are at pressure to complete the task in the next two weeks. Did you just think: “I’ll work this weekend and get done with it”?
If you thought so, you are not alone; many office dwellers are working on weekends to ‘compensate’ for work overload and then there are the work-addicts and the multitaskers.

Want and Have
There are two aspects of working weekends: one that you want to work and the other that you have to work.
Want is more for the love, obsession and excitement of the work that you do. Have is more towards meeting a deadline, pressure or extra monetary benefits.
The reasons may differ but the point is that you are working on a day ‘supposed’ to be spent away from work. Often continuous work leads to stress; stress affects performance and the overall result that you seek from work.
When you say yes to a lot of things in life, you say no to others, it is up to you to decide which to choose.

The Upsides and Downsides of a Working Weekend
One of the upsides of a working weekend is you are at home and working and not at the mall and spending money so perhaps some money saved. Another probability is you might cook at home and not eat out and that retains some more bucks in your pocket.

The downside, of course you are missing out on the ‘life beyond work’. As has been always said, when you are on your deathbed would you regret more not getting on that project deadline 25 years before or not finding time to spend with your little ones and they grew up so fast and now so detached from you?
Working weekends can become a habit if you fall in the trap of getting more done; there will always be work and it will never be done. Does this sound familiar – it was just another weekend and with no deadlines, I could have stepped away from the computer but had failed to notice that now it is my addiction to continuous work that I inadvertently opened my laptop and saw that of course there were some other tasks I could do to get a head start on the next week..

If you are one of those addicted to working weekends, question yourself first:
Are you working today because you enjoy work or has it now become and addiction? Checking emails, social networking and blogging lure us from our family time and into the cyberspace; what are you losing out on being online today?

Exceptions apart – Move Away from Work during Weekends
Don’t make work your obsession, make it a part of your life and with everything else in life ensure that you try to give some time to each activity that you love and that is important to you. Agreed, there is a lot of work and pressure but look back and see when was there not? Take time to step out and do things that mean more to you than work.
The time we invest on things that matter to us now will matter to us in future, don’t fall in the trap “Honey, it’s just this weekend. I’ll stay away from work the next one.”
Of course there will be some exceptions and we have to put in something extra at times to get so far, but don’ t make it a habit and we can do it by making a conscious effort of reminding us when we do.

Often I hear people justifying their working weekends by saying that they are good multitaskers, they can be at work and also do the chores at home and spend time with family. For them, I would like to share this a adapted excerpt from macronews.com:

A CEO was having a conversation with his 10 year daughter. He was focused on several things as he listened to her speak. She soon realized that she didn’t have her father’s complete attention. “No dad,” she reproached. “I want you to listen with girl ears.”
In today’s fast paces world, multitasking has become the norm. We read our emails while listening to our voicemails, talk on our cell phones while paying for the groceries, write a report while watching our kids soccer game.
We believe that we’re making the most efficient use of our time. But how much information do we fail to process when we’re not engaged in any one activity? If we are too busy to give our undivided attention to a loved one, neighbors, or colleague, are we too busy to care?

Do you work on weekends and if so, do you enjoy working on weekends?
Also;
What would you do if you did not work and turn on the computer for 2 consecutive days?

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Motivation to Work

With the news of layoffs and companies going out of business; your friends getting the pink slips and life getting pressured with the economic tensions; often motivation at work is lost. Or even finding motivation to begin work again is hard to come by. Here are some inspirational quotes I would like to share with you today:

If you have achieved any level of success then pour it into someone else. Success is not success without a successor.
T. D. JAKES

Strategic planning is worthless – unless there is first a strategic vision.
JOHN NAISBITT

If you want to success I the world you must make your own opportunities as you go on. The man who waits for some seventh wave to toss him on dry land will find that the seventh wave is a long time a-coming.
JHON B. GOUGH

Learn to adjust yourself to the conditions you have to endure, but make it a point to trying to alter or correct conditions so that they are most favorable to you.
WILLIAM FREDERICK BOOK

What possibilities would exist for you if you could eliminate the worry from your day?
HARVEY MACKAY

Train beyond your ability
Perform beyond your expectations
Reach beyond your imagination

Online Job Boards can Help during Recession

Online job boards might be most viewed websites these days. With mass layoffs and not much employment in sight there are hundreds and thousands on these job boards scouring through the few jobs and sending resumes to even those with remote possibilities of getting a call back.
How relevant are the job boards in recession?

Of course these job boards help you find the advertised jobs but there is more to these websites. Many of these offer the career tools like resume update help and networking tips.

Here is what I suggest on how to use the job listings on the online job boards:

Time Management First
Time management on the internet must be a priority when searching for jobs.
There are numerous job boards which not only present the current job listings but most of them also offer good career and job search advice; well on that matter there is already an onslaught of information on the web and navigating through the information overload and surfing/reading the articles is a huge task in itself.
You must first work how to be effective at time management on your job search strategies and limit time on the internet. In these times personal approach and interaction might yield better results than sending resumes by hundreds to companies which are already receiving them in hundreds of thousands for one open position.'

Use the Online Job Boards for Research on Available Jobs
Don't be in a rush to post resumes to 100 different companies; take time to research first.
Prepare a list of those companies hiring in your field / area of expertise and short list those which you can approach at the earliest (depending on their location and if you know of friends who work for this company). Networking is the key to finding jobs during recession. Approach your friends to find out of any available open positions relevant to your expertise and try to get in your resume to the hiring manager/ HR through them.

Narrow down on the Specific Industry
Not all job boards have listings on all industries. For example:

• There are quite a few travel industry specific jobs at http://www.travelstaffingusa.com/.


• At EmployeeBuddy.com you can find a job through an employee referral.

QuintCareers has a great line up of websites where you can find a job or post your resume with one or more of these industry-specific niche job sites.

Job Boards Resource list
In 2008 CNNMoney.com had come up with a list of the 2008 Users' Choice Award winners on the online job boards, listed in alphabetical order by category, read more of this interesting article to see the list.

Related Posts:

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Give and you shall get

Our true wealth is the good we do in this world. None of us has faith unless we desire for our neighbors what we desire for ourselves.
- Muhammad

I am inspired today and also deeply appreciate Arianna Huffington’s recent post on why we must be more giving in our contributions towards charities and volunteering in the tough times of recession and economic downturn. True, it is affecting the lives of most of us around the nation and the world but those who are on the lower rungs of the society are suffering more than we are, and giving in these times will also help us feel better.

According to an article in the San Jose Mercury News, the charity organizations in the Silicon valley are feeling the crunch in this downturn. "More than half of Silicon Valley charities plan to lay off employees and scale back services this year after a substantial drop in major donations. Of 100 nonprofi t health and human service agencies surveyed by the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofi ts, only 7 percent reported they are “ financially strong and experiencing no impact from the recession.” Fifty-one percent of agencies anticipate layoffs “ in the near future” and 47 percent report that foundation funding is down from last year. "

Here are some of the stats (from Arianna’s article) which certainly make us feel much worse as compared to just reading about the layoffs and foreclosures day in and out:


The United Way saw a 68-percent increase during the past year in the number of calls for basic needs such as food, shelter, and warm clothes.

31.1 million people received food stamps in November, an increase of 13 percent from a year earlier.

In Arizona, there's been a 100-percent increase in the number of people seeking social services from the state.

In Contra Costa, California, 40,000 families applied for 350 available affordable-housing vouchers.

In San Francisco, food banks report a 30-percent rise in demand for emergency food assistance. In Lehigh Acres, Florida demand is up 75 percent.

And the news is bleaker on the nationwide cuts of around Total: $80 billion on these eliminations:


Head Start, Education for the Disadvantaged, School improvement, Child Nutrition, Firefighters, Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, Prisons, COPS Hiring, Violence Against Women, NASA, NSF, Western Area Power Administration, CDC, Food Stamps

It makes the future bleaker for those who need it. Well, some cuts need to be done and also might be done even if the general population is against it, so the best way to contribute towards the betterment of those affected by these decisions is for those who have now to give to the have nots. Not only on the monetary front but also by contributing time volunteering for charity organizations and showing support at your local food banks and homeless food shelters.
Our earnings might be low and savings even worse; but even a small contribution to those in dire needs might mean a lot to them.
As a solution to such an issue, here is my contribution: our local cultural group plans to organize a fundraiser for a local non-profit environmental (tree planting) group which has already seen a major cut in government aid this year.

What are the other ways that we can be supportive of the non-profits and other organizations which will see funds cut from the government this year? Have your say, please comment.



Related Posts:
How to Generate Income and stay Positive when you have no Job – Part 1
How to Generate Income and stay Positive when you have no Job – Part 2
How to Find a Job when there are none around
How is the Job Outlook for 2009?
Layoffs and Recession - Articles from the Careerbright Blog