If you’re really serious about personal branding, you are on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.  So where else can you build up  your personal profile and showcase your expertise?

Consider using Quora, the online question and answer community.

Here are 12 ways to use Quora as a platform to build your reputation, establish your expertise and get on the radar of recruiters and company execs for potential employment.

Next, search for keywords pertinent to your target industry. For example, if you’re looking for a job in social media, search for social, social media, social media marketing, social networks, and even specific social media tools by name.

Finally, if you’ve identified companies where you’d like to work, search for those company names and follow both topics and related questions. Keep in mind whatever you follow appears on your profile page.

Temper self-promotion in your responses. Reference yourself only if relevant to the question being asked, not because you want to draw attention to yourself in every answer you give. You’ll get far better attention from answering questions well than tooting your own horn.

Since you’re on a job search, ask questions about honing your search, how you can leverage your network, how you can put your best foot forward in social networks, even who’s hiring in the industries or geographic regions you’ve pinpointed for your search.

Ask questions about companies. Identify prospective companies to pursue for employment by asking questions about the types of companies where you’d like to work. If you’re narrowing down your target list for employment, ask direct questions about each company’s corporate culture or other questions that will give you insights into those companies.

Many of the above suggestions are based on best practices for interacting within any online community, and they can prove effective on Quora over time. Participating thoughtfully on Quora can make a good impression on both the Quora community and potential employers who are using Quora to identify worthy job candidates.

Social Media

Find out about social networking for your job searching … Melissa says to begin with your goals.  What do you want to achieve by using social networks? Job leads? Connecting with industry experts? Building relationships gradually?

Then try a leading social media application – Twitter

* Find other Twitter users who tweet about the same topics you’re interested in, such as career change, résumé writing, interviewing, etc.
* Use Twellow to search for experts in your desired field.
* Ask for leads from contacts on Twitter.
* Join Twitter lists.
* Use hashtags (#) to funnel down your area of interest. Some examples include: #careers #resumes #hiring #jobhunt #jobhuntchat #careercollective.

Here are the 4 questions:

1. What are the best social networking sites to use for your job search and career management?
2. How do social media sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) differ?
3. Should job seekers focus on two or three main sites or “cast a wide net?”
4. What advice would you give to job seekers and career builders for managing their social media strategy?

Read on at:    http://www.careerealism.com/social-networking-job-search-strategy/

Here are New Year’s Resolutions to pick (why don’t you choose one, two, three OR ten..)

New Year’s Resolutions get a bad reputation for being something you say in January, but quit by February.

This year, make a resolution that you will …

• think about what I liked and disliked in previous jobs and develop the ultimate job description. I will use this to give my search focus and meaning
• network 80 % of the time and use the Web 20 % of the time
• be open to exploring many new options in the job market, understanding that there may be interesting opportunities beyond my traditional field
• review which tactics did and did not yield results in 2010, and I will work to understand how I might improve in those areas that did not do as well as I had hoped
• promise not to apply for positions I am definitely not qualified for
• ask friends or acquaintances who manage and hire people to evaluate my cover letter and resume and give me real feedback – even if it hurts to hear it
• set myself weekly goals during my job search and keep to their deadlines
• consider new industries and career paths, but I will research the likelihood of being able to make that switch easily
• work on building relationships with your recruiter by helping him/her as much as they help me
• will apply immediately (with a tailored cover letter and resume) and search for friends and colleagues who could act as referrals to help me network into the organization
• consider my job search a full-time job and will not become complacent with my current situation. I will prioritize my job search above television, video games, or recreational internet use
• meet (on the phone or in person) three new people a week who can help me with my job search
• be thoughtful about when to send my resume, and I will not send my resume to everyone I know and not spam my resume to companies where I am seeking employment. Instead, I will tailor my resume to each company, so that my relevant skills are stressed for each specific position of department. The company will know I am serious and intent on working there
• learn to leverage Social Media as a vehicle for communicating about myself, and not just as a distraction for hours chatting with new friends be specific about the type of work and organizations, including names of target organizations that I find most interesting
• send thank-you cards after every interview, whether I thought the interview went well or poorly
• not assume a person cannot help me find a job.  They may know a great contact I need to meet
• set up informal discussions with decision-makers/hiring managers even if they are not hiring right now.  They may be hiring soon be open to exploring many options because an interesting opportunity may exist beyond what I can see on the surface start attending more job fairs and networking events, including those that may put me outside of my traditional industry
• consider that my resume may not be as good as it could be and seek advice
• acknowledge that I may not be an interviewing pro. Especially if I’ve interviewed a lot and have not landed a job.  I will seek professional advice
• start considering a wide array of employment opportunities, instead of only the areas I’ve been used to build a plan for my job hunt by outlining resources to research and key people to contact.  I will create a schedule, too.  Milestones and goals are important
• provide or demonstrate my value to my newly-made contacts first, before asking for their help
• share my concerns with a few trusted friends who can offer good advice (instead of giving up hope)
• re-examine what my real financial needs are so that I can be more open to opportunities that may pay me less than what I want
• meet, whether by phone,direct e-mail, or in person, three new people who can help me in my job search each week
• will volunteer.  I will make good use of my time by meeting new people and creating substance for a discussion on “what I’ve been up to recently.”  I will make a difference when many can use my assistance
• evaluate opportunities by recognizing that this job can be a stepping stone to another job (inside or outside the company) – especially as the market improves
• not depend on my network to find a job for me, but will view it as one of several methods of finding employment
• Read.  Learn. Teach.  I will educate myself or others on a subject-matter than is pertinent to my profession
• do volunteer work to keep myself busy, and to also answer the question interviewers will put to me regarding what I have been up to recently in my unemployment
• consider exercise to be a good stress-reliever and pick a program I will enjoy (not necessarily bring the fastest results)
• ask friends or family to give me full and honest criticism of my resume and of my interview tactics, even if it may be difficult to hear
• not become frustrated with my job search, or, if I do, I will not take out that frustration on my friends or family.

The Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey 2010 was conducted online between May and June 2010; over 600 human resource and recruiting professionals participated in the survey. Respondents answered questions using an online survey tools and the response data is available only in aggregate form.

Specifics on the survey include how social recruiting programs are measured; use of social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for recruiting; spending trends and candidate quality of recruiting sources; use of online profiles in reviewing candidates; employee referral program; hiring plans and applicant characteristics.

Since you are looking for a job and should be active on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter (the three social networking websites most popular with employers, according to the survey), remember these four reasons to use these sites and actively manage your profiles.

• You’ll have access to job opportunities at progressive, growing companies.
• You’ll have access to job opportunities first.
• Employers are increasingly using LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to find and vet prospective employees.
• You may not find as many job ads on job boards or job opportunities through recruiters.

Link to Jobvite

Link to Article about Survey

Craigslist

Did you know that the number of job listings in Craigslist is more than 1 million new job listings each month!

Start searching for a job with Craigslist!

Begin with a selection of your location, region; for example, SF bay area:

To use the search feature, simply type in the key word(s) that you are looking for, select the heading or category and then click ” > ” or “search” if you are already in a category.

Example: You type the word “analyst” and use the drop down to select “jobs” area. Click the ” > ” to see the results.

If you want to narrow your search to a particular subregion (north bay, city of san francisco, east bay, etc.), select the subregion from the right side of the home page and then do your search.

If simple keywords don’t find what you are looking for, here are some advanced features to try.

Phrase Search = by use of quotation marks to search for a phrase:  Example: “business analyst“

Excluding Terms (filtering)

To specify one or more words you’d like to exclude, use a minus sign to negate them.

business analyst -manufacturing

That will look for postings that contain ‘business” and “analyst’ but not ‘manufacturing’. Note that a search must contain one non-excluded term.

“OR” Searches

By default, every term in your search must match unless it is excluded with the minus sign (see above).  You can specify a list of terms that you want to find one or more of  (instead of ALL of them) using a “pipe” character ‘|’ like this:

business | analyst

This query looks for postings that contain ‘business’ or ‘analyst’ (or both).

Grouping

Finally, you can group terms together in parenthesis when queries are complicated:

nonprofit (business | analyst) -2009 -2008

That query tries to find all listings that contain ‘nonprofit’ and either ‘business’ or ‘analyst’ (or both) but do not contain 2008 or 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUzUsCREgrU

You Tube Video - Linkedin Job Seeker Service

Summary of the Service

• Stand out from the crowd
• Move to the top of the list as a Featured Applicant when you apply to jobs on LinkedIn.
• Be prepared for interviews
• View expanded profiles and manage your contacts with Profile Organiz
• Reach out to hiring decision makers
• Send personalized InMail messages directly to hiring managers.

Details of the Service:

• New Move to the top of the list as a Featured Applicant
• Contact hiring managers directly with InMail messages
• InMails
• Save profiles & organize your job search with Profile Organizer
• Prepare for interviews – see full profiles of hiring decision makers
• Get introduced to inside sources at companies
• New Join Lindsey Pollak’s webinar: “Job Seeking on LinkedIn”
• Find opportunities faster with Premium Search
• See who’s interested in your profile
• Let users reach you for free with OpenLink
• Get priority customer service

Cost of the Service:

• Basic Account: $19.95 per month
• Job Seeker Account:  $29.95 per month
• Job Seeker Plus Account: $49.95 per month

Rather than using job boards like Monster and CareerBuillder, recruiters are seeing the value of social networking sites like LinkedIn. Social media tools such as LinkedIn make the recruiter’s job more efficient and often allow them to find job seekers more efficiently

It is true that the online social networking world is expanding, and recruiters need all the help they can get – from you and your Linkedin account. Read on to see what you can do to get the attention of employers who use LinkedIn Recruiting:

1. Update your LinkedIn “Status” regularly

• Link to articles you have written or in which you are quoted
• Update status with your latest blog posts
• Discuss business accomplishments
• If you are actively looking for a job, tell people what you are looking for!
• Update your status on Twitter.

2. Increase your number of trusted connections

• Use webmail importer to bring your real world professional relationships online and to find your contacts who are already on LinkedIn.
• Depending on whether you are using web mail or Outlook, check out the respective toolbars that will help organize your professional relationship.

3. Make your LinkedIn profile 100% complete

• Include all companies, education, and awards – all are key items that recruiters search for.
• References are very important. The more that is known about you the better.
• The more robust your profile, the higher you will be in the Google search rankings.
• The more information a recruiter has upfront, the more efficient the search process.

4. Include your web site and blog links

• Add suitable weblinks to the “Websites” section on your LinkedIn profile
• This could range from your career blog to your Twitter profile. Alternatively, you can also link to a guest blog post you wrote recently.

5. Do not block incoming emails

• The LinkedIn community is all about participation so accept incoming communication from fellow LinkedIn users.
• If a recruiter reaches out to you and you are not interested, let him or her know or better yet refer a friend
• Note that LinkedIn actually allows you to control how you receive emails and notifications.

6. Use the same profile picture that you use on other social media sites

• A picture helps to create and reinforce your online brand
• It will help a recruiter identify you on the interview day at “Peets”

7. Use the “Specialties” box to fill in keywords

• List as many keywords as possible that are relevant to your roles, capabilities, and interests that will help you turn up on LinkedIn Search
• Keyword rich, well-developed, complete profiles are recommended

8. Make changes to your profile after every job change or promotion

• The recruiters you are linked to will notice these changes
• It is harder to be found if people don’t know where you are
• Update your LinkedIn profile as you would your change-of-address at the post office

9. Join Linkedin Groups and post items of interest

• Share your interests, memberships, specializations, backgrounds, and experience
• Group members may also know of a potential opportunites that your are seaching for

10. Review company profiles and reach out to employees there for information interviews

• See who you may want to work for
• Research who is in the company for whom you have an interview with

Well, my friend had already created a 30 – 60 – 90 day plan of action and was prepared for this question.  The answers he gave from his thoughtful preparation probably assisted greatly in landing the job for him.

So what is a 30-60-90-day plan?

It is a written document outlining what you will do as an employee within the first 3 months of your employment. It’s broken up into sections: the first 30 days usually includes training, as well as getting to know the company and customers; the next 30 days are more focused on getting out on your own and into the swing of things; and the last 30 days are often more about branching out and being effective with the key elements of the position – what you were hired to do in the first place.

Here is what the 30-60-90-day plan can do for you.  Here is why is it so important and really makes a difference:

• Shows initiative. You are already doing something that’s not required, but that would be helpful. It gives hiring managers a clear idea of what they can look forward to if they hire you-an outstanding, take-charge, thoughtful, focused employee.
• Shows preparation. A 30-60-90-day plan can’t be done at the last minute. Creating one shows you are thinking and planning ahead, and know how to work. If you’ll do that for the interview, it’s a good bet for them that you’ll do that in the job.
• Shows your writing skills. That’s important. It shows your communication skills, your Word Document skills, and your ability to put something together. It shows that you know how to impress.
• Shows that you’ve done your homework. You took the time to get to know the company. When you can name specific things relating to the company in your document (types of clients, names of competitors, top products, business and CRM systems, what their initiatives are or what their mission statement) it presents you as a very desirable candidate who is interested in THIS position and not just a job .
• Shows that you know a lot about the position. You’re already writing down what you will do in the first 3 months. You know what’s going on, and what you’re getting into.
• When you present a 30-60-90-day plan correctly during the interview, it shows that you can control a client-customer interaction or a presentation, that you can effectively communicate the points you want to make, and that you can gather information because hopefully you’re asking questions as you present it.

Suggestion: Along with your thank you note after your interview you might include some items from your list; do not include all.

Rather, save most of your items for the second and third round of interviews.  This is how you will stand out – to show that your are focused, have a story – a presentation to tell, are excellent with communication skills – verbally and in writing.

Now go out and get that job – just like my friend did!

http://www.usnews.com/money/careers/features/best-careers-2010

Science and Technology

• Computer software engineer
• Systems analyst
• Network architect
• Biomedical engineer
• Environmental science technician
• Hydrologist
• Environmental engineering technician
• Civil engineer
• Meteorologist

Health care

• X-ray technician
• Veterinarian
• Lab technician
• Physical therapist
• Occupational therapist
• Registered nurse
• Physician assistant
• Optometrist
• Physical therapist assistant
• Dental hygienist
• School psychologist

Education and Civic

• Firefighter
• Mediator
• Clergy
• Urban planner
• Special-ed teacher
• Court reporter
• Medical and public health social worker
• Emergency management specialist
• Marriage and family therapist

Business and Finance

• Actuary
• Training specialist
• Financial adviser
• Financial analyst
• Market research analyst
• Accountant
• Loan officer
• Public relations specialist
• Cost estimator
• Meeting planner
• Logistician

Creative and Service

• Commercial pilot
• Technical writer
• Funeral director
• Security system installer
• Landscape architect
• Plumber
• Film and video editor
• Multimedia artist
• Gaming manager
• Curator

Every actor knows that verbal messages are enhanced by body language, facial expression, voice intonation and props. Remember the job interview is a one time only performance – so make it a superb one!  When the job interview spotlight shines on you make sure your words, body language, and voice work work together to land you that position!

• Deal with Nervousness:

A little nervousness can actually aid you in being sharp and improve your performance. But heart-thumping, face-twitching, voice-quivering nervousness will reflect poorly on you and your self-confidence.

To rid your body of nervous tension, just before you go into the interview find a private spot outside or in the
restroom, shake out your arms, legs, and hands. Take a couple of deep breaths. This physical exercise releases tension that has built up and helps calm you. Then, close your eyes and visualize a scene about winning, seeing yourself as the “winner.” This visualization helps get you into a positive,  “I can do it” framework.

• Come Prepared:

The night before the interview pack up what you need to bring including a couple of resumes.  Have your list of references. Be sure all addresses, emails, and phone numbers are current and accurate. Include any work samples and the list of questions you intend to ask.   Check Google Maps to be sure you know where you are going.

Be on time; in fact, be there 10 minutes early.

• Pass The First Impression:

Before you even say hello, the employer’s mind is evaluating attire, hygiene, style, and formulating an opinion as to whether or not you fit into their  organization.   Even in today’s more casual, dressed-down workplace, appearance
counts a great deal with employers. Therefore, dress professionally. Greet the interviewer with a smile, and offer a firm handshake.

Nothing creates a poorer impression than a weak, couple-of-fingers handshake.

• Non-Verbal Cues:

Movements, gestures, posture and facial expressions are an important part of your overall performance. A sincere
smile sends a warm, confident message. Eye contact is one of the most important things employers notice about you. It conveys confidence that your message is believable.   Smile often, and be yourself. Douse vocal intonations to make your point so you’ll seem personable.

• Offer Support Documentation:

Every employer loves to see proof that you can do their job. It’s impressive to bring samples that demonstrate your abilities to do the job. Some examples: a spreadsheet that is an efficient tracking system, reports you have written,
materials you have created, brochures that list you as a panelist or speaker, etc.

• Listen:

Listen to the hiring manager / recruiter’s questions, hear their needs, hear their expectations. If you listen carefully, employers often reveal everything you need to know. It is frustrating for the interviewer to ask questions that never get answered, so listen closely. Many employers reveal their “hidden agendas,” those few things that really influence their decision. Paying close attention allows you to really address their true needs and land the position.