Can Being a Superstar Be a Disadvantage?

I have been really busy recently but not necessarily because of all the dire news the media is reporting about the economy. Certainly some of my clients are in the financial and mortgage industries and have, therefore, been affected by current events but most of my clients are what I call “superstars”. Superstars, for the purposes of this article, are those individuals who for most of their careers don’t need to write a great resume because their accomplishments are so notable that they get recruited from job to job based on word-of-mouth. Then, one day, for whatever reason, the phone stops ringing as frequently. Or the superstar gets laid off. Or the superstar realizes that the career path that he/she has been on isn’t the one he/she wants to continue on. And then the superstar calls me or any one of the top notch career coaches or recruiters I partner with to try to figure out, for the first, time: what’s the next step in my career?

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Back Links Create Legacy Links

Here is a link to the interview that Jeff Chandler did with me. It’s 53 min’s long. We talked about building community, networking & personal branding. He did a great job & had some good questions.
One of the listeners sent me an email asking a couple of questions:
I’ve never understood clearly the workings of trackbacks, etc. ( I do realize the value, just not how to use them), I was hoping you could explain to me just what you meant by that statement – “put backlinks in comments”.
Trackbacks are created on my post when someone links to the article from their post. A portion of the quote from their post is shown. They are helpful because they show who has referenced your blog post & continued writing about what you’ve written on. And they contribute towards SEO because they show that your wrote something worth linking to.
Backlinks in comments are something else. When I comment on someone’s blog post, I will sometimes leave a link to an article that I’ve written that offers more information on the topic.
The difference is timing:
If I were to respond to the post & write an article linking to the post then that would create a trackback on that person’s post. When I put a link to my blog post in the comment section it’s because my post was written first. If you do this you want to make sure that your link is relevant & adds value to the post. I will also add links to other resources from around the web (not just mine).
The backlinks then create legacy links. Imagine the links that you’ve sprinkled around the web in your topic area (don’t do it all the time). I call them ‘legacy links’ & they provide paths for future readers to find your blog.
In Feedburner I can see where my traffic is coming from. Two came over from a comment I made on Chris Brogan’s post on Skills of a Community Manager. And one came over from RWW’s post on Hiring a Community Manager.
Both of these posts had over 60 comments, but people continue to read the posts. Imagine the effect over a period of time? So I refer to them as legacy links because they help new people find my work on that subject. Usually they are learning & mining blogs. Some people say that this isn’t acceptable, but I’ve never been criticized for it (or told to not do it).
Tips:

• Identify who the influencers are in your niche with lots of traffic. Although everyone likes comments.
• Comment early on (although I don’t think that matters). Sometimes I enjoy leaving a comment after many people have (that’s especially the case on Chris Brogan’s blog).

Does this make sense? What are your tips?
Article by Connie Bensen, Community Strategist, and courtesy of ConnieBensen.com

Job Search Tips in Uncertain Times

Job search can be a daunting process even in the best of times. When unemployment is up and so many well-qualified individuals are in the job market, conducting an effective job search is critical. To compound the task, given the multitude of career choices and job possibilities out there in the world of work, it is no wonder that job seekers are overwhelmed and confused.
Accumulating “best practices” in job search will aid you in maximizing your job search time and impact. You can start here: Anita Bruzzese, author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy, interviewed me recently on her Smash the Ladder with Anita and Diane BlogTalkRadio podcast. Listen in and learn these job search tips:

• Uncovering other job and career possibilities
• Competing in the job-search marketplace
• Using job boards and other job search strategies
• Instilling the essentials in your resume
• Constructing a cover letter that grabs attention
• Avoiding the Internet “black hole” after sending your resume.

Smash the Ladder podcast with Susan Guarneri
In addition, learning from and avoiding the mistakes that so many others make in their job search can put you ahead of your competition. Join LinkedIn and ask questions, turn to your support network for feedback and advice, and explore your industry and occupational field for trends, contacts, and job search strategies.
Remember the saying about doing the same things over and over again, and expecting a different outcome? Expand out of your usual job-search routine and push the envelop on new ideas. For more top-notch job search strategies and tips, check out Job Search Bloopers: Every Mistake You Can Make on the Road to Career Suicide and How to Avoid Them.
Article by, Susan Guarneri and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

John McCain Considers Sarah Palin a MILF

Okay, this has absolutely nothing to do college recruiting, jobs, internships, work, employment, or any other career related issue. I was just cruising Twitter for some ideas for today’s blog article when I ran across a flurry of conversations regarding the newly registered domain name, VoteForTheMILF.com. Apparently, the quasi-pornographic domain name is owned by John McCain’s campaign and takes visitors to JohnMcCain.com.
Even amongst his most ardent supporters, few would consider McCain to be a MILF so what is going on? Well, it appears that visitors to JohnMcCain.com who are referred by VoteForTheMILF.com are shown a video of Sarah Palin. So could McCain be sending the message that he considers Palin to be a MILF? Given that McCain has admitted that he’s a technophobe, I doubt he even knows what MILF means let alone was involved in plotting any type of strategy about what video to show visitors from the MILF site versus people who come to his site from other sites.

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Resume Objective: Entry Level Accounting

As you probably know, a resume objective is an important part of your resume. It is an introduction to potential employers about who you are and what you have to offer their company. The objective is especially important if you’re looking for an entry level job to jump start your career in a particular field.

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The Power of Reciprocity at Work

From Christianity to Buddhism, almost all of the major world religions believe that the more you give, the more you get in return.
Making the place you work the best place possible falls on your shoulders. Help make the office a better space by giving until you drop.
It’s not just giving; it’s the intention behind giving. You have to want to make it really count without motive or selfishness. Mutual action, or the power of reciprocity, starts with YOU.
What can you give?
Read more …
Article by Andrew G.R. and courtesy of jobacle.com – your cure for carbon copy career advice!

Interview Process for a Community Manager

My most popular posts cover the basics of job description, job posting & salary for the community manager role. So I thought I would round out the job search information with some tips on the interview process. The challenges of the economy are starting to be felt & people are looking for resources. I hope that you find these helpful.
For almost a decade I reviewed applications, interviewed & recommended to hire candidates. Then I followed up with orientation & training of the successful candidate. Because my Director was 80 miles away I had a lot of independence but that also meant a lot of responsibility to make sure that the hiring decision was the best possible for my team.
Here are some tips that apply to any position:

• Make sure that your resume is well done. Have friends review it & give feedback. It’s the only thing that represents you & your achievements.
• The web offers lots of opportunities to be creative, but be careful about silly videos & things that are too unconventional.
• Use positive action verbs – the BEST book is What Color is My Parachute for resume tips & interview suggestions.
• Make sure that your cover letter & resume provide the requested information

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Five Tips for Online Resume Optimization

I recently attended the National Resume Writers’ Association annual conference in San Diego and had the pleasure of hearing Paul Forster, Co-Founder and CEO of Indeed.com speak. Paul offered some excellent tips for resume optimization that can help job seekers increase the chances that they will be found on a job board. Here are my favorites:
Use full and abbreviated words in your resume. For example, a CFO should include both CFO and Chief Financial Officer in the body of the document. A candidate in the pharmaceuticals industry should use both pharmaceuticals and pharma to describe their industry.
Stem keywords and vary your word choices. For example, rather than just using the word analyst on your resume, include variants such as analysis or financial analyst as well.
Use a text only version of your resume for online posting. Many companies use parsing technology to locate the information they need on a resume. Heavily formatted Word documents may be compromised or unreadable when uploaded into their databases. Save a copy of your resume as an ASCII, plain text document to maximize the chances of having your document read.
Refresh your resume. Recent, fresh resumes appear higher in the database cue. By changing something on the resume you have uploaded to a job board, you increase your chances of being found online. Be careful not to use this technique too frequently or your resume could be perceived as spam.
Don’t compromise the reader. While it is important to optimize the resume, it must be done in a way that it still makes sense to the human reader. Be sure to balance the needs of the human reader with search engine optimization techniques to create the best results. Weave word variations into your document in a logical and natural way.
Article by, Barbara Safani and courtesy of CareerHub.com. The Career Hub blog connects job seekers with experts in career counseling, resume writing, personal branding and recruiting.

Do You Want to Climb to the Top of Your Career?

Career counselors often advise keeping an up-to-date resume because “you never know what might happen.” Considering recent events, their advice should be taken seriously. Climber.com are a welcome addition to the Internet because they help job seekers keep their names on employers’ minds.
Climber.com is a cross between a social networking site and a job board. It’s for passive job seekers, and employers who are looking for talented, experienced professionals. Job seekers can create a profile, complete the Work Value Assessment, then wait for employers to come to them with offers.
It should be stressed that Climber.com is NOT for active job seekers. Anyone who needs a job right away should not rely on Climber.com. It’s very much like LinkedIn in that a profile is completed and connections can be made; however, it’s also like a job board because once a brief profile has been completed, jobs fitting the job seeker’s skill set will appear.
“Keeping your irons in the fire” is not a bad thing to do in today’s economy and uncertain job market. In fact, it’s the most sensible thing anyone can do to ensure that they are prepared for anything that might happen in their careers.

From Resume to Cover Letter and Beyond

I just finished reading “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Perfect Resume” (Fourth Edition), by Susan Ireland. It’s an excellent book for job seekers and college students trying to land the best internships. Ireland describes and offers samples of four different types of resumes:

• Chronological
• Functional
• Chronological hybrid
• Functional hybrid

Although I’ve always used nothing but a chronological resume, I discovered that a functional resume would serve me better. I also learned that in the United States, a resume and a CV (curriculum vitae) aren’t the same thing. Resumes are for ordinary job seekers, but CVs are for people in education, medicine or technical fields.
Besides being packed with resume writing tips and dozens of sample resumes, Ireland also gives detailed instructions for making a resume email and scanner friendly. Of course, cover letters are included. What surprised me was that she also offered instructions for how to write a thank you letter. Again, samples were provided. Ireland’s samples are typed, but some career counselors recommend handwritten notes, giving the thank you note more of a personal touch.
“The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Perfect Resume” is a must for any college student looking for an internship or a recent college graduate looking for an entry-level job. I’m glad to have this book in my collection of professional reference material. It’s simple, to the point and easy to navigate if there’s a particular section or sample that’s needed.