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It’s a Business Card…It’s a Resume…It’s a QR Code

July 8, 2011 by Daisy Leave a Comment

It is (or used to be) the norm that a business card would include a name, title, phone number, email address, website and sometimes a tagline. That was yesterday. Today, in addition to the elements mentioned, the business card could contain one’s elevator pitch, branding statement or mini resume, thanks to the arrival of the QR (or Quick Response) Code.

A QR Code is a collection of symbols that when scanned by someone’s mobile device provides more detailed information about an individual. See the sample below which was created from my LinkedIn Profile using Pingtags:

 

 

As trendy as a QR Code may be, it could present a challenge to those without a  barcode scanner or mobile device with a QR Reader App. That said, from a job search or business perspective, it could be seen as another way for someone to set him or herself apart from their competitors and enhance their brand. What will they think of next?

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Related Website: Skanz

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday Morning Rx: What Can You Do for Your Job Search Today?

June 27, 2011 by Daisy Leave a Comment

What is the one thing that you could do TODAY that would bring you closer to your career or job search goal?

  • Do you want to reach out to someone for help?
  • Should you research companies you would really want to work with instead of spending more time on job boards?
  • Have you completed your LinkedIn Profile to make it more attractive and easier for hiring managers and recruiters to find you?
  • Is your resume ready for your next opportunity, or are you waiting on the next opportunity before getting your resume ready?

Whatever it is, it only takes one small step, and you can start right now. Confucius says, “It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.”

Now get working on it, and have a great Monday!

Filed Under: Monday Morning Rx Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

If Facebook Were a Country…

July 22, 2010 by Daisy Leave a Comment

Whether you are a job seeker, you are in a career transition or you are an entrepreneur, it’s impossible to ignore social media these days. Career and business opportunities are aplenty via Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, but are you taking advantage of them? If you are not already convinced, read the following stats taken from an email from John Assaraf, of OneCoach:

Did you know that…

  • If Facebook were a country, it would be third-largest in the world, and growing faster than #1 and #2 combined?
  • YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world. Every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded to it.
  • LinkedIn is the largest network of business professionals in the world, with over 70 million users in 200 countries. 12 million of them visit daily, and a new one joins every second.
  • Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers. 96% of them have joined a social network.
  • 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations about products. Only 14% trust ads.
  • 93% of all business buyers believe all companies should be on social media platforms.

Although these questions were geared to business owners, it applies equally to job seekers and those in a career transition.  Arm yourself with the tools of the social media revolution. Test the waters and swim in the one that appeals to you. Do something, will you?

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Job Search Trends for 2010 and Beyond

February 16, 2010 by Daisy Leave a Comment

In writing this article, I perused a couple of blogs and extracted some interesting job search and work trends that provide insights and forecasts to help both job seekers and career practitioners stay ahead of the ever-changing world of work. The common thread in these resources is how we get our messages across in this 140-character era and what we do to stay on the radar of recruiters and hiring managers.

Resumes: These will continue to become shorter, tighter and more laser-focused, according to one Career Thought Leader. Individuals who like to detail their entire work history in a resume will now have to make sure to include only information that will entice the hiring manager to contact them for an interview. Therefore, that way-back-when job, that has no relation to your current focus, should not be on your resume.

Personal Contact Information on Resumes: With multiple means of contact – email address, home and cell phones, faxes and pagers – the trend is to limit personal contact information, especially because of identity theft issues. Jobseekers should be careful not to list home address on resumes being posted online. It’s adequate and appropriate to just use an email address and cell phone number.

Career Coaching – Group and Online: With the economy as it is, and people becoming more conscious about their money, group and online coaching are growing in popularity. Career coaches have long offered online or telephone coaching to clients, but now corporations are beginning to do the same for their employees via email, instant messaging, and other web platforms versus the more traditional voice-to-voice and face-to-face coaching methodologies.

Interviews: Because of the proliferation of webcams and companies looking to save time and money, the use of cheap video-chat software is becoming a low hassle way to vet job candidates. That means a growing number of people looking for work are meeting their prospective new bosses not at the office, but in the comfort of their own home. Read the Time.com article: How Skype is Changing the Job Interview.

Social Networks: Social networks like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook (to a lesser degree) are replacing Job Boards as the ‘go-to’ sites for recruiters as they look for talent. Some companies, that haven’t yet started, say they plan to begin using these vehicles very soon.

Latest statistics show that the use of social networking sites to find information about candidates has risen from 22% last year to 45% in 2009, and another 11% of employers have plans in place to use social networking sites for screening. A survey conducted by Head2Head, a recruiting firm in Toronto, revealed that more than 69% of Canadian recruiters are using LinkedIn to source for jobseekers.

Smart professionals are creating and maintaining online profiles, whether they are actively searching for a new job or not. It is imperative, therefore, that jobseekers embrace social networks to raise their visibility and become known by the people who need to know about them. LinkedIn is referred to as the “passive database” allowing recruiters to keep an eye on potential candidates.

Manpower World of Work Trends

In this report, Manpower identified the following megatrends  as critical to navigating the changing world of work: Demographics/Talent Mismatch, Rise of Customer Satisfaction, Individual Choice and Technological Revolutions. Companies will be under pressure to find the right skills in the right place and at the right time, and individuals will have to make sure they are equipped and ready to be found. Below are three takeaways that I would bring to your attention:

  1. Because of changing economic conditions, motivations and preferences, individuals with the ability, access and self-motivation will benefit from the shift of power from employer to individual.
  2. Individuals with general, mainstream skills, shared by many, will be marginalized unless they improve their skills and workplace relevance.
  3. Individuals will need to take more responsibility and ownership for their careers and development.

For survey details click here Manpower Research

Feel free to add your comments on job search trends for 2010.

Sources:

Career Thought Leaders

MANPOWER Research

Filed Under: Career Coaching Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Career Coach Roundtable Session at Schulich School of Business

February 10, 2010 by Daisy Leave a Comment

I was one of seven coaches invited to participate in roundtable discussions on career related matters at Connect 2009 – The Annual Schulich Alumni Forum.   This Personal Coaching session was quite popular, and sold out prior to the event.

Here I am with a captive MBA audience facilitating a discussion on Building Your Presence in the Social Media Era. Gist of the session included:

Why Social Media?

  • The traditional approach to job search has changed
  • More competition for available jobs
  • More touch points for recruiters and job seekers

For those who are not aware of two of the more popular social networks, here’s a summary:

LinkedIn is one of the fastest-growing recruiting tools used by recruiters. It is a great source for finding candidates because it’s free and top professionals can be found there.

Twitter, a free online micro-blogging application is also popular with recruiters, HR professionals, career coaches, resume writers and hiring managers. Therefore, in order to connect with these people, it is important to incorporate social media into your job search mix to enhance your chances of being found by employers.

As a micromessaging service with its 140-character limit, Twitter allows you to build your personal or business brand, develop relationships with people you wouldn’t normally meet, and gives you a chance to expand your network and sphere of influence.

So jump on the social media bandwagon, use it wisely and prioritize your efforts so that you don’t waste time.

My next post will take a look at Manpower’s latest research on Social Networks and the effectiveness of social media.

Filed Under: Career Coaching Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Boost Your Visibility & Profits With Web 2.0 Technology

April 27, 2009 by Daisy Leave a Comment

The caption of a recent article written by Janis Foord Kirk, career columnist for the Toronto Star said, “Entrepreneurs need coaching”! As I read the article I couldn’t help but see the commonalities between an entrepreneur and a jobseeker. Both have attributes and competencies that their ‘clients’ need, both are facing challenges in these turbulent economic times, and both need strategies on how to brand themselves, stand out and stay competitive.

As a departure from the norm when I would focus on jobseekers, I am dedicating this article to CEO’s (Chief Entrepreneurial Officers), otherwise known as small business owners. Some of these people are also feeling the residual effects of downsizing and layoffs just like GM, Chrysler and Ford. I will discuss three simple strategies that small business owners can implement to increase their visibility and ultimately their profits.

One of the first strategies a CEO could implement is the tried and trusted act of networking. Networking – whether it’s face-to-face or online – is a crucial skill for entrepreneurs, and should be practised regularly. This is a good time to get out of your comfort zone and connect with people you hardly know, including your competitors. Many business relationships and alliances have been forged between people who once considered themselves competitors.

The second strategy is to become familiar with social media or Web 2.0 technology such as LinkedIn, Twitter, VisualCV and MuchMor, among a long list of others. A former spokesperson for Facebook said, “People are going beyond their face-to-face network and reaching toward that next layer of people that could play a role their success…but these people may be hard to reach through traditional media”. The rise in the use of social media is not limited by geography and has allowed people to connect with each other wherever and whenever they wish. These forums do not replace face-to-face communication, but add another dimension to networking and increased visibility. Below are several popular social media resources you may find beneficial to you and your business:

LinkedIn. This is “an online network with more than 30 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries”, according to its website. Its main aim is to help professionals forge and maintain business connections, but more and more business owners are making valuable connections through LinkedIn.

Twitter. The new kid-on-the-block, when compared to LinkedIn, but it is growing at an alarming pace. What started out as 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, has blossomed into one of the most popular online communities. Not only are business relationships being developed through this forum, but it provides fertile soil for learning and keeping up with industry trends. One of the great things about Twitter is that one has only 140 characters to get one’s point across.

VisualCV. You may not have a website and probably you don’t need one, but you do need an online presence. If you want to put together an online bio or portfolio, then you will want to take at a look at VisualCV. It combines elements of a traditional resume with additional features like videos, photos, and a portfolio with samples of one’s work. Because it’s web-based, it is very easy to be incorporated into an email and send to prospects.

Blog Talk Radio. Are you aware you can host your own radio show to keep in touch with your clients or reach a wider audience? There are numerous online radio stations available, but you can check mine out at www.blogtalkradio.com/CareerCoach.

Maestro Conference. The third strategy is specifically for business owners who conduct teleconferences on a regular basis. Do you host teleconferences or teleseminars? How would you like to be able to have breakout sessions during one of your teleconferences? Literally having several discussion groups going on simultaneously and you, as host, having the capability to monitor and moderate these groups. Think Maestro Conference. Maestro Conference allows you to create a dynamic environment combining the convenience of traditional conference calls, with the interactivity of a live workshop. Check them out at http://www.thewrightcareer.com/links.htm.

MuchMor Business Network. Muchmor is a dynamic social media organization that powerfully combines online business & social networking with real life events & workshops. The vision of Muchmor Media is to provide our clients with a quality & knowledgeable service that enables their businesses to grow & prosper.

“Small is the new big. Sustainable is the new growth. Trust is the new competitive advantage”, states one company’s tagline. What about you? As Chief Entrepreneurial Officer of your business, are you ready to explore the benefits of social media? If you would like additional information or need help in creating your profiles for any of the above media, call us at (905) 840-7039 or send an email to daisy@thewrightcareer.com.

Links as referenced in the article:

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/careercoach4u

Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/daisywright

VisualCV: http://www.visualcv.com/daisywright

Radio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/CareerCoach

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