MyJobHunt

Online Discussion Groups Can Be Effective Networking Tools: PART 1.

With the explosion of social networks (Facebook, MySpace, etc.), online Discussion Groups have become valuable resources for job seekers. But it can be a double-edged sword.

While Discussion Groups can be a great place to build job-search contacts, they can also be a place where a person can quickly fall out of favor, or even dumped from the list for improperly following the Group’s guidelines.

To best leverage an online Discussion Group for job networking purposes, here are some tips for interacting with in the groups:

-Take time before posting your first message. Do some “lurking” for a few weeks, scour the archives and  FAQ to “get a feel” for the group.

-Avoid a long, personal introduction unless the list guidelines suggest you to do so. As much as possible, keep your messages as concise and relevant to the group.

-Always use a signature (sig) file to identify yourself (NOTE: Signature files are the several lines of text your email software attaches to the end of all your email—usually containing your name, affiliation and promotional or personal message.

-Never post in ALL CAPS. Capitalization is used for emphasis in email discussion groups, and all caps are the equivalent to shouting.

-Be sure to carefully write all your emails to the group. Be cautious of alienating anyone in the group. Aim to build a spirit of good for yourself, and your good name. So don't be forceful in your early messages. Let your network build gradually.

-Avoid attaching files when sending email, or use fancy formatting (Italic, underlining, etc.). Remember, some mail readers can’t display this type of formatting.

-Be cautious about getting involved in contentious discussions (some discussions can become quite heated) until you’re an “accepted” member of the group.

We'll post Discussion Groups Part 2 early early next week. If you have any questions about Online Discussion Groups, please feel free to contact Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance.

 

 

TwitterJobSearch.com Can Help With Your Jobs Search.

Guess who’s successfully competing with online job boards. That’s what the appropriately named TwitterJobSearch.com is doing by searching Twitter and pulling out Tweets believed to be job listings.

As the first real social media job search engine, TwitterJobSearch uses semantic intelligence, link-crawling, and crowdsourcing to help track recruitment offers.

Similar to other online job boards you may be using, TwitterJobSearch allows users to browse for jobs in categories – such as accounting, sales, or IT – or simply search the company’s index. Remember, posting a tweet is free (yea!), whereas posting jobs on other sites like Monster and HotJobs costs money.

Keep in mind each job listing – which is really just a standard tweet – lets users view the job by linking to the posting (presuming it was linked from the tweet); save the job with a TwitterJobSearch account; and either retweet it or follow the user that posted it. 

This site appears to have several advanced features, making it even more competitive with traditional job sites – such as being able to filter jobs based on salary and drilling down to job type (full-time, part-time, or internship).

So if you’re a Twitter user (or planning to become one), we feel this is definitely worth adding to your current job-search strategy.

We'll be providing information later this week regarding other online job search engines.

ADD TO YOUR JOB-SEARCH TOOL BOX. ATTEND THE PROFESSIONAL CAREER RESOURCE EXPO.

To say our world over the past few years has changed in profound ways would be an understatement. With the emergence of Web 2.0 and new media came a new economy; then suddenly came a failing economy. So, looking for a job these days has taken on a whole new meaning, requiring a whole new vision for pursuing your career.

Basically, what worked yesterday won’t work today.

That’s why we re-formatted our TBWA Professional Career Resource Expo that takes place Tuesday, March 17, 2009 (8 a.m. — 1 p.m.) at the University of South Florida, Marshall Center.

At Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance, we believe your job-search tool box has to include extensive knowledge of modern communication tools – mainly those web resources that provide effective networking and market intelligence gathering skills ... as well as ideas for taking you from employment to entrepreneurship, if that’s your goal ... and for gaining insight into new approaches for jumping ahead of your job-seeking competition.

Workshops at the TBWA Professional Career Resource Expo are presented by expert HR professionals and career coaches. This Professional Career Resource Expo is for degreed professionals with at least two years experience in their field. Recent college graduates welcome.

For more information, please contact Natalie Strong at StrongN@workforcetampa.com, or visit www.workforcetampa.com.

Twitter Your Way to a Great Job Search Tool!

Okay, so your job search is going full steam ahead. You’re getting plugged into all the right places, meeting all the right people. But, what’s that you say? You’re not using Twitter? Come on!  Yeah, Twitter is still far smaller than social site giants like Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace ... but Twitter may provide more opportunities for your job search than any of those sites—or maybe all those sites combined.

Here’s what the Wall Street Journal recently wrote about utilizing Twitter as a job search resource.

So what is Twitter? It’s a micro-blogging site that allows users to broadcast messages to the world as long as those messages are 140 characters or shorter. Twitter messages, known as 'tweets,' are publicly available to anyone ... and with millions of people tweeting, you can tune in to other people's Twitter feeds, and in doing so see everything they write.

So, here’s some ways for using Twitter to find your next job:

Connect with recruiters. With Twitter there’s no requirement to know the people with whom you connect, because you don't ask someone to accept you as a friend—you simply hit the 'follow' button and from that point you see everything they post to Twitter. Conversations are the lifeblood of Twitter ... conversation such as job searching, and hiring. We recommend using either Twellow or Twitter Search to find the people you would like to follow.

Listen for opportunities. Twitter Search allows you to follow conversations that include keywords you choose. This is an excellent opportunity to passively surf for vacancies as many hiring managers will tweet about their openings. Simply go to Twitter Search, type in the key words (for example 'web design jobs' ... ‘sales manager’ ... or ‘PR internships') and in the upper right hand corner you’ll see a button that says 'feed for this enquiry.' Now you can subscribe to the RSS feed using this button and just check the feed a few times a day. Every time your keywords arise in conversation, you'll see the tweet in your feedreader, allowing you to instantly respond.

Tell people you want a job. For example, if you're seeking a position as a marketing manager for a technology company, and have followed recruiters who specialize in that industry (and hiring managers or employees who currently work at some of your target companies), there's a very good chance that when you say, 'I'm looking for a marketing job in a tech company', that someone will know of such a vacancy. This is why targeting people to follow is so important. Don't just add people as fast as you can so that your own number of followers increases - instead focus on finding people who can help with your search.

‘Tweet’ responsibly. If you're a marketer, tweet about marketing. Share your marketing ideas, link to your blog posts or blog posts written by other people. Offer tips and insights. In other words, establish yourself as knowledgeable so that when you do make contact with a recruiter, they are impressed with what they hear from you. If you absolutely must write things you wouldn't want an employer to see, set up a separate account that is private and can only be accessed by people you authorize (this is easily done in settings).

Write a professional bio. Twitter allows you to write a brief bio describing yourself and to link to one external website. If you have a blog or a personal site, link there (provided the content is professional!) If not, link to your LinkedIn profile. It's important to make sure people who click on your link find good information that makes them want to know more about you.

Twitter can be an effective job search tool for connecting on a personal level with people you might not otherwise ever reach. Of course, if it's important that you keep your job search secret, Twitter won't be a good solution for you, so keep that in mind.

Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us! Click to visit http://www.workforcetampa.com.