I just wanted to let you know I’ll be doing a webinar tomorrow night (Thursday, September 3rd) at 5:30 PM titled “The Top 5 Startup Questions Answered.”
The webinar will be free for everyone who signs up. If you miss it, I’ll post the replay for 24 hours :0)
I’ve been a member of Brazen Careerist for a long time and have since become good friends with Ryan Paugh, one of the co-founders.
Today, they’ve relaunched and morphed into this awesome social/idea/professional network that will be sure to have people joining left and right.
Personally, I love ideas. I love everything about ideas. And the new BC appears to center around them!
Here’s an excerpt from Penelope Trunk:
Starting today, we are calling Brazen Careerist the career management tool for next-generation professionals. In the online career space where experienced professionals win, we’ve created a network that will help young professionals level the playing field. Instead of just a traditional résumé, at the core of the new Brazen Careerist profile is an idea-based feed that showcases your knowledge, opinions and thoughts. In other words: Your potential. We all know there are pools of new talent coming into the market, but no career site showcases the most critical thing that talent should be sharing: Ideas.
Check out more at Brazen Careerist.
Sometimes, the best way to get into a market is simply to buy an already established website! You buy traffic, content, a domain name and the credibility.
I’ve bought and sold lots of stuff on Sitepoint, Flippa’s predecessor. I have yet to try out Flippa – but it’s highly receommended by a lot of my friends..
Check it out if you feel like instantly getting a targeted audience!
Flippa: The #1 Marketplace for Buying and Selling Web Sites.
Problogger has a great interview up about the website Twitter Should Hire Me. The founder has an interesting perspective on how you can find a great job through social media!
What advice would you give to people trying to get a job in social media?
If you want a job in social media, prove you can utilize social media without a paycheck. I recently was just asked to be a social media marketer for a company because I had spent the month I was unemployed building my own brand online. I didn’t wait for a company to give me a chance to prove I was successful within social media; I took it upon myself to let my actions speak louder than my words. If you can’t build your own brand (your blog or your Twitter, etc), then you can’t be successful in social media. And, companies will hire the person that has proven to understand social media, rather than the person who says they do.
Admittedly, the story of the website is a bit intriguing. But Jamie Varon, the site’s owner, used her time away from employment to build her brand. Now she has three job offers on the table!
I am curious… Have any of you ever found employment or freelance work through social media? One of my friend’s only marketing stream is Twitter, and he’s doing very, very well!
JD
Just this morning, I got a Facebook message from a student at my Alma Mater. His question was simple – ‘How can I find a job and what should I expect.’
I don’t know if you know me, but a i saw (you) graduated from Mercyhurst not long ago, so I thought maybe you can give me some tips on how to find a job in todays market or what should I expect after graduation.
I am sure you’ll agree – these aren’t the best times to graduate college… Not with student loans due and bills to pay.
So, I’m putting together this little list, which is an expanded version of my comment to my Facebook friend:
Start checking in with the people you went to school with who work in the field you want to be in. This could be close friends, roommates, or friends of friends.
These people can get you in the door farther than your resume will. In fact, they might even be able to get word to the person directly in charge of you, should you get the job.
Your resume should include all kinds of things, not just your previous work history. It should include projects, skills, awards and accomplishments, and anything else of note.
A prospective employer isn’t going to care that you worked at Burger King for two years during you sophomore and junior year. They are going to care that you are a brilliant strategic planner, though.
Online job boards, notably Yahoo Hot Jobs, are of particular importance. Just recently, I had my resume pulled by 3 people, two of which were headhunters looking for more information about what I did for a living and whether I would fit into various projects they were looking to fill.
This might seem counterintuitive, but look for a couple freelance gigs. First of all, you need money to survive. Freelancing will give you a bit of a cushion until you pick up steady work. And secondly, sometimes, those freelance jobs will lead into steady work.
There are several times that I hired a person after I was so impressed with their freelancing. It’s a no risk way for employers to find good people, and it puts money in the your pocket.
Over 60% of potential employers will google an applicants name before they ever sit them down in a chair to interview them. If you have stuff in your publicly available profiles that would shame your mother, chances are you need to delete it before you even think about submitting an application anywhere!
The bottom line is you need to start with your friends and contacts. These people will be able to get you much farther in the hiring process than a simple resume or application will. But please make sure your social networks and your resume are up to snuff. I would hate to see you embarrass your friends and acquaintances with something terribly subpar…
Do you have any job hunting tips to add? What has worked for you?
