I am way behind on reading some of the blogs I follow. Just last night I saw the title "How to Change the World" on my subscription feed and felt both overwhelmed by it -- I really don't want to change the world, do I? No, not today. Maybe tomorrow. -- and at the same time I thought that it couldn't be at all relevant to the work I have been doing over the last several months. How could I forget that "How to Change the World" and its author, Guy Kawasaki, is the source for information and opinions on evangelism, sales and marketing? Guy rocks. He can teach anyone how to build support for their product, service or themselves.
I was first introduced to Guy and his work back in -- yes, I'm going to age both him and myself by writing this -- 1991 when he was the keynote speaker at the National Association of Career Educators and Employers conference in San Francisco. Guy Kawasaki was one of the original Apple employees and credited with bringing the concept of evangelism to the high-tech business, focusing on creating passionate user-advocates for the Apple brand. His blog is one of the most popular in the world. I haven't forgotten his speech. Guy is MUCH older than I am, by the way. I was only 22 when I went to that conference. Do the math.
Anyhow, I'm getting caught up now on how to save the world -- after reading a few inspiring posts, I might just take on the challenge -- and today I'll direct you to a post not by Guy, but by one of his guest writers, Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin (an online real estate brokerage firm) that went up back in February. (Hey, I told you I was behind.)
Glenn writes
"Resumes are horrible documents, premature and unsentimental obituaries: our lives are rarely reduced to such a small number of facts. And writing a resume is a balancing act between feeling outrageously boastful and unimpressive."
Do you feel like you are writing your own obituary when you work on your resume? Interesting thought.
Read the rest of Glenn Kelman has to say about
"What Employers Want to See on Your Resume"
KISS (Keeping it Simple for Seekers)
Some of the categories on Guy's blog include:
* Apple
* Blogging
* Books
* Bootstrapping -- to start a business without external help/capital
* Competition
* Cool stuff -- he likes fast, expensive cars
* Customer Service
* Entre/intra-preneurship
* Facebook
* Innovation
* Lies -- his top ten lists
* Management
* Pitching, Presenting, and Speaking
* Recruiting -- what employers do to hire people like you, what they like and don't like
* Ten Questions -- interviews with other experts
* Venture Capital
* Web/Tech
Don't just market yourself, evangelize yourself! Check it out. I won't be ignoring Guy's blog anymore.
How to Change the World
...Pam
Showing posts with label branding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label branding. Show all posts
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Can you Tweet your way to a new job?
Lots of Gen-Y bloggers out there think so, however I think that the rules of marketing yourself are pretty much the same whether you are using social networking or going to cocktail parties to do it. There is something to be said for developing real relationships with real people and having the skills to discuss problems and opportunities face-to-face (or at least over the phone), whether those relationships start online or in-person. Employers are need skills, but ultimately they hire people, real people with real skills including real people skills. Go ahead and use the net but remember its just one more tool in your job search kit. And remember, the older the person, the slower they may be to adopt new technology; many managers are not net-savvy GenY-ers and won't be looking for you online, except on a passive job board or your emailed application to them. Eventually they will want to see a resume and meet you "for real". Will you be ready for that conversation?
Check out these pages:
How Blogging and Social Networking Can Impact Your Job Search
Will Social Networking Get You a Job? on Yahoo Hot Jobs
Twitter Your Way to a New Job on Employment Digest Net
KISS (Keeping it Simple for Seekers)
- Reflect your personality on your profile but keep it professional
- Post quality content that shows an employer the qualities and skills you can contribute
- Don’t blog, tweet or go on Facebook during company time unless its part of your job to do so
- Google yourself every once in a while; see what potential employers might see when they search for your name; you may be careful, but are your friends?
- Don't spam your followers or friends
- The quality of your effort determines the return you get from your investment of time
- Remember that social networking is just one tool
...Pam
Check out these pages:
How Blogging and Social Networking Can Impact Your Job Search
Will Social Networking Get You a Job? on Yahoo Hot Jobs
Twitter Your Way to a New Job on Employment Digest Net
KISS (Keeping it Simple for Seekers)
- Reflect your personality on your profile but keep it professional
- Post quality content that shows an employer the qualities and skills you can contribute
- Don’t blog, tweet or go on Facebook during company time unless its part of your job to do so
- Google yourself every once in a while; see what potential employers might see when they search for your name; you may be careful, but are your friends?
- Don't spam your followers or friends
- The quality of your effort determines the return you get from your investment of time
- Remember that social networking is just one tool
...Pam
Monday, October 6, 2008
Keep Your Eyes on Your Goals
I spent five and a half hours at my office at the college on the weekend. I would have been resentful about spending a Saturday cooped up with no window to the world, but it was raining outside and I've been stressed about work. Among other challenges, we have been under renovations in our career centre since June. This week I returned from a leadership retreat all mentally "pumped" to do great things in my *brand new private office* (woo hoo!)... but I quickly realized I couldn't do much because I couldn't find anything and my computer didn't work the way it should.
In a previous blog I wrote about the importance of being organized if you want to be successful. As a dieter who's making lifestyle changes, hopefully for good this time, I believe that its important to set up your environment for success with that, too, by having having the right food available and equipment available and also by and eliminating temptations. De-cluttering, organizing, being comfortable, having the right tools and avoiding distraction are important to tackling big jobs of any sort, loosing weight and looking for work are just two examples.
After returning home Saturday evening I searched the net for ideas about Feng Shui as it applies to office decor. One big message in the articles I read is that its important to surround yourself with symbols of success. Always keep your eye on the goal or something that represents it.
Health-wise, I do need a constant reminder of what I'm trying to achieve and so, on my laptop at home, I have just created a screensaver of photos of people with the shape I think is attainable by me if I work hard enough at it. I've also got pics on there of vacation locations, one of which will be my reward if I go all the way and achieve my goal.
Today I'm be back at the office and contemplating the images of motivation that will be appropriate my work. I may frame the college's mission statement, oost a "to do" list to a cork board above my desk or have an inspirational quote painted on a wall. Or maybe something more subtle or symbolic will do for me, but I'd like to have something here that might just motivate others, too.
Keeping career/life balance in mind, I think I'll have to add some things to my personal space at work that keep at least some of my thoughts on health. Sneakers under my desk are a good start, even if they aren't particularly attractive.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers)
What is your job search goal? Have you clarified it in such a way that you can communicate it clearly to others? What is your dream job description? What does your work environment look like? What can you contribute to the organization or to that field of work? What other goals might you achieve if you get that job? Are there pictures, words or symbols that could motivate you to keep searching for it? Have you got your eyes on your goals? What distractions can you eliminate from your world now that may help you to achieve your career goals tomorrow? How do you stay motivated?
...Pam
In a previous blog I wrote about the importance of being organized if you want to be successful. As a dieter who's making lifestyle changes, hopefully for good this time, I believe that its important to set up your environment for success with that, too, by having having the right food available and equipment available and also by and eliminating temptations. De-cluttering, organizing, being comfortable, having the right tools and avoiding distraction are important to tackling big jobs of any sort, loosing weight and looking for work are just two examples.
After returning home Saturday evening I searched the net for ideas about Feng Shui as it applies to office decor. One big message in the articles I read is that its important to surround yourself with symbols of success. Always keep your eye on the goal or something that represents it.
Health-wise, I do need a constant reminder of what I'm trying to achieve and so, on my laptop at home, I have just created a screensaver of photos of people with the shape I think is attainable by me if I work hard enough at it. I've also got pics on there of vacation locations, one of which will be my reward if I go all the way and achieve my goal.
Today I'm be back at the office and contemplating the images of motivation that will be appropriate my work. I may frame the college's mission statement, oost a "to do" list to a cork board above my desk or have an inspirational quote painted on a wall. Or maybe something more subtle or symbolic will do for me, but I'd like to have something here that might just motivate others, too.
Keeping career/life balance in mind, I think I'll have to add some things to my personal space at work that keep at least some of my thoughts on health. Sneakers under my desk are a good start, even if they aren't particularly attractive.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers)
What is your job search goal? Have you clarified it in such a way that you can communicate it clearly to others? What is your dream job description? What does your work environment look like? What can you contribute to the organization or to that field of work? What other goals might you achieve if you get that job? Are there pictures, words or symbols that could motivate you to keep searching for it? Have you got your eyes on your goals? What distractions can you eliminate from your world now that may help you to achieve your career goals tomorrow? How do you stay motivated?
...Pam
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Customizing Your Resume With Fonts
I am somewhat of a CBC radio geek. My new favourite show is “Spark”, its all about technology and culture, and I’ve been catching up with past broadcasts by listening to podcasts on my laptop while doing housework. (How’s that for multi-tasking? Not bad for an old chick, eh?)
http://www.cbc.ca/spark/index.html
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?41#ref41
During the podcast for April 23 (Episode 34) a font designer was interviewed and a sociologist of pop culture explained the cultural currency of type. I love it! Allow me to comment on the idea of special fonts and their use in job search documents, i.e. a resume and cover letter.
We live in a world of mass-customization. That means that employers -- Gen-Xers like me, anyhow -- expect to see a custom-made resume. The older Boomers might think about computer technology and how a job seeker should be using it to customize an application for every single job they apply for (and the Gen-Yers may think you need to get a life instead of investing so much energy into your resume), but they do know when someone has made an effort to communicate to specifically to them who they are and how they can contribute to their organization. So the fact is that you can't just tweak a few lines of your resume or cover letter and expect it to be good to go. That is so 90s!
Yes, the accessibility of the internet, word processing software and even special fonts complicates the job search in many ways. However, the effort you put into researching the needs of an employer and writing your resume and cover letter in a way that tells them that you can meet those needs will pay off… if you really are a good match for the job.
As far as fonts go, we are all experts in what we like and don't. There are so many to choose from that it can be overwhelming. Generally speaking, though, if you have done your homework you will have an idea of the brand or image the organization you are applying to is promoting for themselves. You want to choose a visual image for yourself -- from your application documents to the outfit you wear to an interview -- that coordinates with theirs. You do need look like you belong.
Taking your research one step further, be aware of who else is using “your font” in the media. If a well-known and controversial group uses the “Quiggly Wiggly” font, for example, you may want to avoid it. Avoid anything that hints of anything controversial, unless that is the look you really think the employer would appreciate.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers)
Use a serif font for the body of your resume and letter. The “do-hickeys” that hang off the edges of a serif font help the eyes to flow through a document; they are easier to read. If you’d like to do something a little bit different for headings, use a complimentary sans-serif font. They are crisper and lack do-hickeys. (If you still don’t understand the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts, Google it.) . Have someone else look at your resume. Is it easy on the eyes? What image does it suggest? You don’t need to use the same fonts the employer does, although that certainly simplifies things to the extreme.
...Pam
http://www.cbc.ca/spark/index.html
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/pastpodcasts.html?41#ref41
During the podcast for April 23 (Episode 34) a font designer was interviewed and a sociologist of pop culture explained the cultural currency of type. I love it! Allow me to comment on the idea of special fonts and their use in job search documents, i.e. a resume and cover letter.
We live in a world of mass-customization. That means that employers -- Gen-Xers like me, anyhow -- expect to see a custom-made resume. The older Boomers might think about computer technology and how a job seeker should be using it to customize an application for every single job they apply for (and the Gen-Yers may think you need to get a life instead of investing so much energy into your resume), but they do know when someone has made an effort to communicate to specifically to them who they are and how they can contribute to their organization. So the fact is that you can't just tweak a few lines of your resume or cover letter and expect it to be good to go. That is so 90s!
Yes, the accessibility of the internet, word processing software and even special fonts complicates the job search in many ways. However, the effort you put into researching the needs of an employer and writing your resume and cover letter in a way that tells them that you can meet those needs will pay off… if you really are a good match for the job.
As far as fonts go, we are all experts in what we like and don't. There are so many to choose from that it can be overwhelming. Generally speaking, though, if you have done your homework you will have an idea of the brand or image the organization you are applying to is promoting for themselves. You want to choose a visual image for yourself -- from your application documents to the outfit you wear to an interview -- that coordinates with theirs. You do need look like you belong.
Taking your research one step further, be aware of who else is using “your font” in the media. If a well-known and controversial group uses the “Quiggly Wiggly” font, for example, you may want to avoid it. Avoid anything that hints of anything controversial, unless that is the look you really think the employer would appreciate.
KISS (Keeping It Simple for Seekers)
Use a serif font for the body of your resume and letter. The “do-hickeys” that hang off the edges of a serif font help the eyes to flow through a document; they are easier to read. If you’d like to do something a little bit different for headings, use a complimentary sans-serif font. They are crisper and lack do-hickeys. (If you still don’t understand the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts, Google it.) . Have someone else look at your resume. Is it easy on the eyes? What image does it suggest? You don’t need to use the same fonts the employer does, although that certainly simplifies things to the extreme.
...Pam
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