1. Update your resume. The last week of December was one of my busiest weeks ever. People who had no expectations of being sourced for a position and interviewed called me in a frenzy because they had to put a resume together pronto. You never know when someone will want to speak to you about a great opportunity. Update your resume before you need it and keep a list of running accomplishments throughout the year so if someone wants to see your resume quickly you will be ready.
2. Stop ignoring Facebook as a job search tool. I speak to job seekers every day and ask them if they use Facebook as part of their networking and  job search strategy. Usually they snicker or say, “I just use Facebook for personal relationships.” Job search is about all relationships…personal and professional. You never know where your next job lead will come from. Embrace the gray area and blur the lines. A friend is just as likely to introduce you to a great connection as a business colleague. Use tools like BranchOut and BeKnown to optimize your chances of finding key people via the Facebook platform.
3. Invest in a professional photo. With the explosion of social media sites, the expectation is that your photo will accompany your profile. If no photo is there people wonder why. By investing in a professional photo, you can ensure the best angle and lighting and be able to select from multiple shots. And some photography studios can help with hair, makeup, and wardrobe choices. Some can even Photoshop out certain imperfections from the shot.
4. Update your wardrobe. You don’t need to make a huge investment. A new jacket, tie, sharp scarf, pin or something similar might be all you need. If your look screams 1985, you could give hiring managers the impression that your skills are stuck in that era as well. Find a style savvy friend to help you update your wardrobe or hire an image consultant to get you on the right track.
5. Join a professional association. Many job opportunities are shared through professional associations. Why post a job to thousands of strangers when you can go to your internal colleagues and advisors and quickly source the best candidates? Being involved in a professional association helps you become part of the inner circle in your professional community.
6. Let someone pick your brain. Perhaps you read the recent Forbes article, No You Can’t Pick My Brain, It Costs Too Much recommending you be cautious about giving free advice because doing so means you are devaluing your knowledge. I disagree. Giving free advice could mean more opportunities in the future. Spend 20 minutes with someone to help them resolve an issue and they will remember it. And you will be on the top of their list of people to help in the future. It’s possible for someone to pick your brain without them siphoning your entire knowledge base. Don’t be stingy with information.
7. Give kudos. Offer endorsements via LinkedIn and other social media sites to people whose work you know and trust. This will keep you top of mind with your network and increase the likelihood that people will in turn help you when you are seeking advice and information.
8. Make time for lunch. We get so wrapped up in work and other priorities that we forget to take time to socialize during the work day. The lunch hour is a time to reconnect with people, share advice, and gather information. This is a critical aspect of career management. The more people that know you and the more people know about you, the greater the likelihood that someone will be able to assist you with some aspect of your career in the future. And if you’ve been spending your lunch hour with the same 2 people for the past 5 years, now’s the time to change that and branch out your inner circle.
9. Buy a piggy bank. For many job seekers money is tight. They forgo a promising networking event or dues for a professional association membership due to the cost. They may fail to realize that for every week that they make poor job search decisions they stay unemployed longer and lose valuable income. Inquire about “in-transition” rates for professional organizations. Some don’t advertise these cost reductions aggressively but do offer a reduced rate for in-transition professionals.
10. Learn something new. What’s trending in your industry? Which of your skills are rusty? What gaps are there between your skills and the needs of your industry? Gaining education doesn’t have to be expensive and doesn’t necessarily require a formal education. Read industry publications, follow the blogs of industry thought leaders, or make an investment in a class or degree program if you think it is warranted.

Here’s to your career in 2012 and beyond!

Job Search Advice

Common Interview Questions and What They Mean

Resume Writing Tips For Susan Lucci and Others Who Haven’t Written a Resume in 40 Years

Ask the Job Search Coach: How Can I Get a Raise?

Career Advice From the Class of 2015

Changing Careers: Look Before You Leap

Rants

The Real Reason Why Most LinkedIn Profiles Suck

Working Women Need Wives

Breastfeeding Breaks at Work: How Far Have We Really Come?

Working Mothers and Letting Go of the Guilt

Just for Fun

Handshake Horror Stories

Funny Job Postings

Outrageous Interview Blunders

Lying to Get a Job: 9 Famous Fibbers

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Other Famous Affairs With the Boss

Why is it that people think the two are mutually exclusive? Why do many  people assume that you can’t find a job on Facebook? According to a recent survey by JobVite, nearly nine out of 10 job seekers (86%) have a social media profile. Facebook has the majority with 84% of job seekers, followed by 39% using Twitter and 35% using LinkedIn. Nearly 1/3 of job seekers (31%) have a profile on all three networks. But more than 1/3 of job seekers surveyed that have a Facebook profile don’t use it in any way to look for work. On the other hand, nearly all job seekers with a profile on LinkedIn and almost 3/4 of those on Twitter leverage their networks for job hunting.

Of those surveyed, 42% had 150+ contacts on Facebook, compared to just 26% with the same number of contacts on LinkedIn and Twitter.  So job seekers are using social media more aggressively on the platforms where they have fewer contacts. The odds of finding someone who can help you are greater when you have a larger network to draw on. Why are avid Facebook users less inclined to use it for job search? Here are some of the reasons I have heard in the past and my rebuttals to the Facebook for job search naysayers.

1. My friends don’t know anyone. Usually when someone tells me this it means that their friends are not in their field so they don’t know anyone that could be useful in their search. But that is an incorrect assumption. You don’t know who your friends know until you ask them. Who are your friend’s friends and who do they know? That’s the real question you should be asking and Facebook is a great tool for shedding light on this.
2. I want to be myself on Facebook and I can’t do that if employers can view my profile. You don’t have to share everything about yourself with everyone. Facebook has an extensive privacy section and you can make decisions about who sees what every time you post.
3. My current boss is a Facebook friend and I don’t want  him to see my job search activity. Job seekers can use a third party application like BranchOut or BeKnown to source important contacts via Facebook without adding them as Facebook friends.
4. No serious employers will be sourcing talent via Facebook. Go to Facebook and do a search on an employer you are interested in. I’m pretty sure you will find their Facebook page. And that page is filled with fans who “like” their page and regularly comment on it. Facebook fan pages are a place where companies build engagement with the people who use their products and services. It’s also a place where job seekers can source valuable information about the company and even job leads.

Who Uses BranchOut?

BranchOut is the largest professional network on Facebook, with millions of users in more than 60 countries. We have users that are Fortune 500 CEOs, and we have entry level employees. We’re empowering Facebook users to network with those whom they have the most authentic relationships – their friends – and search for hundreds of thousands of jobs through the world’s largest social network.

How does it work?

You have two options to add BranchOut to your Facebook profile.  Either visit branchout.com, or after logging into your Facebook account, search for the BranchOut app and select the app that appears. Once you have the app, click “Grow Network” and you’ll find a number of options to select from, including email, wall posts, and a few additional communication channels on Facebook.

Your Facebook friends who are existing BranchOut users will automatically be added to your BranchOut network. If you’re Facebook friends, but they’re not already BranchOut users, you can invite them to BranchOut using wall posts and the request channel on Facebook.

When reviewing the more than three million job postings or 20,000 internships, you’ll see all of your inside connections – your Facebook friends, who you’re connected to through BranchOut, and their friends. This alerts you to your vast network of insider connections, who you just happen to have the most authentic relationships, so that you can network with them to ensure your resume is at the top of the pile or make an introduction to a hiring manager.

Through BranchOut, you can upload your resume, or create one from scratch, ask for or give endorsements, share updates with your BranchOut network and browse jobs.

What was the inspiration for BranchOut?

The idea for BranchOut came from a phone call that BranchOut’s founder Rick Marini received from a friend. The friend asked Rick for an introduction at a company where the friend wanted a sales lead. Rick wanted to see who he might know at the company by searching Facebook. Unfortunately, that search functionality was not available on Facebook, a major frustration point for Rick, which lead to Rick asking his Director of Engineering to build a search widget. They immediately saw the potential for leveraging Facebook connections to increase professional success.

What do you think is BranchOut’s top feature?

One of the features our users love is the ability to see who they know at companies that interest them. For example, if they are looking for a job at Google, all they have to do is type in “Google” to BranchOut and see everyone they know, both their friends and friends of their friends, who can help them.

Can you share a user success story?

BranchOut has so many examples of people who have found jobs on Facebook. One BranchOut user, a salesman in Florida, was unemployed for six months. He used BranchOut and not only found a job he loves, but also got a 45% salary increase. Another BranchOut user is a disabled veteran in Detroit, who was looking for a job that allowed him to work from home. Through BranchOut he quickly found his dream job at Apple. He was thrilled and now loves what he does.

What’s on the horizon for BranchOut?

BranchOut continues to release new features that take online professional networking to the next level such as new professional profiles and enhanced job posts. We will also be launching more community features that facilitate communication and collaboration between BranchOut users. BranchOut has also recently released a number of tools that help recruiters find great job candidates on Facebook through BranchOut.

1. Attend holiday parties. Many professional associations host holiday parties. This is a great way to meet others in your field that may be able to make meaningful introductions for you.
2. Throw your own party. Have an intimate dinner party or a bigger bash at your home or nearby restaurant. This is a great way to practice your pitch, and reconnect with people who may be able to assist you in your search.
3. Ask for informational interviews. The last two weeks of December are traditionally slow for most businesses. You may find that some of the decision makers you need to get in front of  are in the office during those last two weeks and it may be a lot easier to get in front of them during this time of year.
4. Volunteer. Tis the season…volunteer to do something meaningful in your personal or professional communities during December. Doing so can increase your visibility and jump start some conversations with people who may be able to help you in the New Year.
5. Take a vacation. What better way to meet new decision makers? It doesn’t need to be extravagent…just find new people to have conversations with. Let them know what you do and ask for their suggestions for expanding your brand’s reach in a very informational, non-threatening way. You may just pick up a lead or two.
6. Reconnect with friends of “Christmas Past”. Check out LinkedIn and Facebook and search for old friends. What better time to reconnect than the holiday season? Get over the fact that it’s been awhile since you last spoke and take the first step. You may be pleasantly surprised by the response you get.
7. Send holiday cards. Holiday cards provide a natural “touch point” or opportunity to reconnect with friends, family, and colleagues. Reach out to your network now with some “best wishes” and holiday cheer and you will have a natural entrée into a job-related conversation in the New Year.

1.  When you contact the person, remind them of the affinity relationship. Alumni connections from schools and corporations are powerful affinity groups. Even if you didn’t know the person during your time in school or tenure with a company, there is still generally a stronger bond between people who traveled in the same social and professional circles.
2.  Let the person know why you are interested in connecting with them. Perhaps they are in the same profession or industry as you or they work for an organization you have identified as one of your target companies. But state very clearly that you have no expectation that they can help you secure an interview. Let them know, however, that you have identified the company, profession, or industry as one you are interested in learning more about.
3. Ask if they would be willing to speak with you so you can learn more about the company, profession, or industry’s culture. Stress that you don’t expect them to give up a lot of their time and that you would make the meeting very brief.
4. If the person agrees, plan for a 20 to 30 minute conversation that includes a brief introduction of who you are and what your professional accomplishments and future goals are. Follow with an open Q&A about them. Ask questions about what they do professionally, what their role in the company is, and their thoughts about trends they see in the company, profession, and industry.
5. Ask for recommendations of other people they suggest you talk to or other ideas on how you might get closer to your professional goal. If you know of a particular opening at their company that you are interested in pursuing, ask what would be the best way to get closer to the decision maker (without asking them to refer you).
6. Thank them for their time, ask them if you can help them in any way, and offer to reciprocate information on a topic of interest to them.
7. Create a strategy for staying in touch periodically, either through a social or business networking tool or general emails or meetings if appropriate.

1. Work a minimum wage job during the academic school year. I’m a firm believer that everyone should work at least one minimum wage job during their life. Flipping burgers, bagging groceries, running deliveries, or working a cash register are all jobs that help kids gain a comfort level dealing with people and working under fast-paced and often stressful conditions. These jobs teach humility, patience, and control and give kids a sense of independence. And they will make them better appreciate the next job when it comes along. Juggling school and work efficiently also conveys a certain level of responsibility and maturity to prospective employers later on when the student is searching for a full-time role.
2. Visit your college career services office early and often. Most students show up in the college career services office once or twice and rarely before their senior year. A better strategy would be for the student to make an initial appointment freshman year and build a relationship with the counselors so they can guide him throughout his college career and keep him top of mind for appropriate internships. This may be the only time in your child’s life when they he receive career counseling services at no additional charge as it is included in the college tuition.
3. Get as many internships as you can as early as you can. During the summer months and winter breaks, recommend sourcing an internship. If your child worked for pay during the school year he may be able to go without the paycheck over the break and pick up some specific professional experience crunched into a 2 to 3 month break. If he has a strong interest in a particular industry,he can try to source something in that industry, but if not, he can shoot for an internship where he can pick up some general professional skills that he can repeat in other industry internships later on until he figures out his career aspirations.
4. Source relevant volunteer opportunities. This may include taking on a leadership role in a student chapter of a relevant professional organization or starting up an on campus club related to something your child is passionate about. Help him brainstorm activities that can supplement the college curriculum, showcase leadership skills, and provide opportunities to source important connections.
5. Join LinkedIn. Freshman year of college is not too early. Your child will already have some skills to add to the profile, maybe a job or two, and perhaps some volunteer or internship experience. For a student, it’s better to have an abbreviated profile on LinkedIn than none at all. And by being a member, he can begin to search for people who may be able to help him decide on a future career direction and eventually land a job.
6. Become findable. It’s easy for anyone these days to create a digital footprint without years of experience. Students can position themselves as subject matter experts or at least subject matter experts in training by showcasing their talents online. A journalism or English major could start a blog and link to articles or creative writing pieces. A finance major could blog about the financial markets. A theater major could post performance videos on YouTube. A history major could post a video explaining a particular historic event. The possibilities are endless.
7. Show your kids how to source important connections. Teach your child to be cognizant of who on campus may be an ally for him once he starts looking for a job. It may be his favorite economics professor, an alumni that came to the school to do a presentation, or a guest lecturer who presented on a topic that fascinates your child. Suggest he build relationships with upper classmen. By doing so, he will be able to learn from their experiences following graduation and benefit from their trial and error of what worked and didn’t work during their job search.
8. Encourage good grades… but not too good. We all want our children to succeed academically, but it’s important not to overemphasize the importance of grades over other critical career building and character building activities. The reality is that the only time an employer will ever care about your child’s grades is the year he graduates from college. At that juncture, employers may view the GPA as an indicator of success in school which may have some transferability to the world of work. But once your child applies for that second job out of school, few employers will care what his GPA was and will base his candidacy on success achieved in the previous job. So achieving a 4.0 while sacrificing opportunities to attain real life work skills and build authentic relationships with others is not a sound career management strategy. Achieving a 4.0 doesn’t make a student a better candidate and it may even work against the student as some employers will wonder what other important life experiences the student gave up in order to attain the exceptional GPA.
9. Suggest an activity to improve public speaking. Interviews can be daunting for seasoned professionals. They can be even harder for new graduates. A public speaking class, a job giving incoming student campus tours, or a role in an on-campus play can help students hone their public speaking skills and become more confident during interviews.
10. Let go. Be supportive, offer suggestions and recommendations, and introduce your child to contacts whenever possible. But set the expectation that this is your child’s job search, your child’s life, and another important step on his road to independence.

1. Add a picture. A profile is nine times more likely to be viewed if the profile contains your photo.
2. Fill out the experience section completely. Profiles that contain at least one past position in addition to a current position are seven times more likely to be viewed.
3. Connect to at least 50 trusted colleagues. Fifty seems to be the “magic number” necessary to reach the critical mass that makes it easier to source second and third degree contacts.
4. Try to get at least 3 endorsements. Every time you receive an endorsement, a message goes out to both your network and the network of the person who offered the endorsement. This is a great way to become top of mind with people quickly.
5. Be strategic about your vanity url. LinkedIn allows you to customize your url with your name. This makes it easier for people to find your profile and it helps with optimization efforts overall. When selecting a vanity url, the best strategy is to use your first name and last name with lower case letters and no spaces or dashes. If your name is already taken, the second best choice is to use your last name and first name with lower case letters and no spaces or dashes.
6. Add volunteer experience to your profile. A recent LinkedIn study showed that 20% of hiring managers considered relevant volunteer experience when making hiring decisions.
7. Add skills. This helps with optimization even more than the specialties section. If you click on the skills section under to “More” tab on the toolbar,  you can key in a specific skill and get a list of related skills to help you build out your skills section. You can also view other profiles of people who have listed the same skill and see groups that are related to that particular skill set.
8. Review company pages. If you have your own company and add a company page on LinkedIn, it will be easier for people to find you in searches. If you are a job seeker, viewing company pages helps you find out who in your network works for that company. It also shows which people from your school alumni work at that company.
9. Save job leads. The jobs page allows you to save postings that you are interested in to make it easier to review them.
10. Use LinkedIn Signals. This feature located in the “News” tab,  lets you filter the information that is most important to you.  You can click on the search all status updates button on the homepage and search on a particular topic such as “marketing jobs” or “JPMorgan Chase jobs” and source specific user status updates that relate to your search criteria.
11. Be a stealth job seeker.  if you want to leverage LinkedIn for job leads but are currently employed and don’t want your employer to become suspicious of your LinkedIn activity, customize your settings and turn off your activity broadcasts so you can connect discreetly. You can also hide your connections while you are looking so your boss can’t see if you’ve connected to a competitor or you can hide information on your group activity for the same reason.
12. Use LinkedIn Today to view trending topics. On the LinkedIn homepage you can view the articles that are most shared across LinkedIn, your professional community, and your connections and save relevant articles to be reviewed at a later time.
13. Get on LinkedIn Mobile. LinkedIn recently revamped their mobile apps making it easier for colleagues to connect on the go.

1. Create profiles on business and social networking and online identity sites to make it easier to be found by hiring managers.
2. With traditional networking you can only be in one place at a time; with online networking you can interact with multiple communities simultaneously.
3. Put your name in quotes into a search engine and see what comes back. Do you exist online and is your online presence distinctive?
4. Networking sites are not just for socializing; they are robust searchable databases full of critical information on people and companies.
5. Every online community has its own culture. Spend some time observing the culture before you jump in.
6. Nix the “I’m looking for work” status updates when chatting in online communities. They make you sound desperate and don’t show your value.
7. Online networking does not have a “build it and they will come” mentality; work your online network daily.
8. Spend about an hour a day working your online network.
9. Hiring managers conduct online searches on candidates before the interview and may reject candidates based on what they do or do not find.
10. People who don’t think online networking is relevant to their job search will become irrelevant to the hiring managers who think it is.
11. Add a professional headshot to your online profiles. When the photo is missing, people wonder why.
12. When inviting someone to your online network, be authentic and write a personal message. Nothing screams “lazy” like a canned invitation.
13. Take the time to create a robust profile on your networking sites; a complete profile is more searchable by recruiters and hiring managers.
14. Create a public profile with a vanity URL on your networking profiles, with your first and last name, to maximize your exposure.
15. Commit to adding at least five new contacts per week and reconnecting with at least five people in your network each week.
16. Reconnecting with someone you haven’t spoken to in years by calling them is awkward; reconnecting through social media platforms is not.
17. Online networking is a great option for shy job seekers because unlike live networking, you can craft or edit a message before you hit send.

Flossing your teeth daily is proactive and preventive dental care. Networking on a regular basis is a proactive career management strategy that keeps you connected to people who can potentially influence and accelerate your job search. Neglect your teeth and you end up with a lot of pain and a huge dental bill. Neglect your network and you end up with an extended job search and months of lost income. Here are tips for keeping your network healthy and strong.

1. Networking is about asking for information, not asking for favors.

2. When requesting a networking meeting, always stress that you understand how busy the person is and that you just want to meet briefly.

3. When requesting a networking meeting, arrange everything on the other person’s terms; time and location must be convenient for them.

4. While face-to-face networking is always best, graciously accept an opportunity to chat by phone if that is what’s offered to you.

5. Work networking into your daily life — at your kid’s soccer game, church, and even in line at the bank. Everyone is a potential connection.

6. When networking, expect to give more than you get, and soon you will be getting a lot.

7. Spend at least three-quarters of your job-search time networking for optimal results.

8. Find natural touch points like holidays and birthdays to reconnect with your network.

9. Networking is a lot of work, and if your networking is not working you may not be doing enough.

10. Reach out to affinity groups such as professional organizations, corporate or school alumni groups, and community groups to build a network.

11. Network with people who are different than you — older, younger, different ethnicities, different geographies, different industries, etc.

12. Create business cards with your name, contact information, and professional identity, and bring them with you wherever you go.

13. Add a signature line with your name and contact information to all of your e-mails to make you more memorable.

14. Write notes on the backs of business cards you receive at networking events to make each person more memorable.

15. You can’t build a network overnight; try to build your network before you need it.

16. Create a list of companies you are interested in to share with people in your network; ask if they can refer you to anyone at these companies.

17. If you are uncomfortable networking in large groups, ask a more outgoing friend to accompany you.

18. To optimize networking events, go with a friend and network in different circles, then compare notes and leads at the end of the event.

19. Have a few meaningful conversations during networking events instead of trying to meet everyone to collect hundreds of business cards.

20. If you are shy, arrive at networking events early, when the setting is more intimate and the crowds aren’t as overwhelming.

21. Ask people a lot of questions about themselves. People think you are a great conversationalist when you let them do most of the talking.

22. Don’t pass on fee-based networking events in favor of free ones. Assess each opportunity based on the value you think it will offer.