TheJobBored

I’ve posted several times about how the idea of job search networking can seem nebulous and confusing to people. “Ok, I understand that I send in my resume and hopefully they call me for an interview. But how exactly do I network?”

Hopefully you can see several practical strategies on how to network by reading this blog. And keep in mind the old saw of job search: Networking is BY FAR the most effective way to find a new job.

For years we’ve told our clients, “Tell everyone you know… everyone… every friend you have, every person you meet on the street… about your job search.” We even sold networking cards for a while (little snippets of your resume on a business card).

So, let’s touch on something that should be obvious to anyone in the modern world: social networking sites like Facebook can help you with your job search. I actually hadn’t explored this too much in a hands on, practical level, but I decided to test out some strategies.

And, just by dipping my toe in the water, I’ve gotten some immediate results. I think I’ve hit on a really, REALLY basic strategy for using Facebook to help in your job search. It’s something anyone with a Facebook account can start doing immediately.

And it might seem obvious to the point of stupidity, but hear me out:

[Read more →]

If you have career or job search question you would like answered on this blog, click here to Ask Brian.

D. asks:

How long should one expect to wait to get approval on a vacation request? I have three weeks vacation and have only used two.

Vacation request? This time of year? I think you’re reading your calender upside down!

But, it seems my “how long to wait” answers are very popular. So…

Brian has an answer after the jump… [Read more →]

If you have career or job search question you would like answered on this blog, click here to Ask Brian.

Just Trying To Work asks:

I have a question about a touchy/socially taboo subject: nursing mothers in the workplace.  A woman that I work with who is still on maternity leave, comes into the office at least once a day for an hour or two.  She always brings her newborn baby with her, and at first it was a novelty to see such a little baby, that nobody complained.  She is one of those very pro-nursing women that insist upon physically breast feeding (not pumping and then giving the baby a bottle) at any time or location.  As a woman, myself, I think that nursing should be done in private because I know it makes people uncomfortable (that and I’m not about to whip out a boob in public). In addition, she changes the baby’s dirty diapers on her desk in the middle of the open office.  The smell alone is unbearable.  [Read more →]

If you have career or job search question you would like answered on this blog, click here to Ask Brian.

M asks:

I am hoping you can help me or offer some expert advice.
I am a young professional [mid-twenties] but I am very successful in my career. Throughout my college experience I held multiple internships and this helped secure a great job directly out of college. Since then I have been promoted and have moved to a few different companies all working my way up the corporate latter. Needless to say my work ethic is very strong and I take pride in this. At all my previous jobs I have been complimented on this work ethic and have never done anything to jeopardize my position.

So here comes the problem- my current boss. I have worked with many types of people before [man, women, old, young etc] but I have never worked with somebody similar to my current boss. She is extremely disorganized to the point where she loses everything [her desk area is called the “pit”]. [Read more →]

I don’t particularly like to “review” or speak ill about other employment services or companies on this blog. If people are genuinely try to help others find new and better work, then god bless I say.

But in this particular case, I think I’ve stumbled across something that is such a bad idea, I feel compelled to talk about it.

The site is called CareerExcuse.com (or, probably better named, Careercheat.com… both urls return the same site). What they will do, if you can believe it or not, is sell you fake career references.

How do they do this? For a (seemingly inexpensive) monthly fee they claim they will go to the trouble of setting up a fake company, fake letterhead, fake 800 number… the whole ball of wax. Then when your prospective employer calls to get references, they will of course give you glowing reviews, based on your desired background/expertise level.

Is it legal to do this? [Read more →]

Here’s a very basic resume writing question: What font should you use for your resume?

It’s not an insignificant issue.

First of all, you want your resume to be legible. And you want your resume to be legible (easily readable) not just for human eyes, but also for computer eyes… in case your resume might be scanned into a database. You want your resume to be legible if faxed, scanned, transmitted, emailed as a photo attachment, etc.

But secondly, and just as important, the font you chose can communicate a lot about your professionalism and intentions. If you’re an accountant, you want to stick with normal, conventional “professional” fonts. But if you’re a graphic designer, you want to and probably need to be a little more adventurous in your font choice.

So what are the fonts I would recommend using for most professions in most cases? [Read more →]

Sorry I’ve been away so long. Business has been busy. Let’s not get into it.

But I’m ready to get back in the regular posting saddle. Over the past 2 years, I’ve written 500-odd posts sharing various bits of job search and career advice. But, looking back over the archive, it occurs to me that I haven’t written very much on my area of expertise, which is resume writing.

Part of the reason for this, of course, is that I believe that a professional resume service is something everyone should consider, no matter what your writing skill level might be.

But there is plenty of resume help I can give to help guide you in the right direction even if you don’t take my advice and work with a professional.

So, for the next several posts, I’ll dig into my bag of tricks and post a few resume tips that you might find helpful. [Read more →]

Should you hide your tattoos when going in for a job interview?

According to this article the conclusion a lot of people are coming to is an emphatic YES!

Add tattoo removal as another growth industry in this crappy job market.

Wadda ya know? Two job search hacks in two days.

This one was emailed to me this morning. Watch the embedded video. It’s only about a minute long.

So, from what I can gather, this Alec Brownstein dude is in advertising. There are specific creative directors in the industry that he knows he’d love to work for. So, how can he get his name in front of them as a possible hire?

It looks like he bought some Adwords for those creative directors’ names. Surely, someday they will google their own names to see what the internet is saying about them. And when they did? They’d see this:

Hey Ian Reichenthal! Googling yourself is a lot of fun. Hiring me is fun too.

And the ad linked to his own personal website, where I’m sure he had his resume. And where, I know (cause you can check it out here) he had samples of previous work he had done.

As he said in the video: the idea worked. It landed him interviews. It landed him jobs. He got his name out there in a very clever way.

And notice… he only spent a couple of bucks to do it! Imagine if I told you you only had to pay $6 to land a new job!

So, how could you replicate something like this in your own job search? I’ll suss it out after the jump… [Read more →]

They’re not in Oregon, apparently. Anyone else got some state-specific numbers?

Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 12.1 percent in March from 10.7 percent (as revised) in February. The state’s unemployment rate has risen rapidly and substantially over the past nine months, from a rate of 5.9 percent in June 2008.

Source article here.