The importance of references seems to be a hot topic these days. Employers want to make sure they are hiring the right person for the job; but some thwart the process because checking references can be labor-intensive. On the other hand, job seekers provide references they know will give a glowing report, but employers are getting smarter and finding references you didn't provide.
Despite all the talk about economic recovery, you're probably still anxious about next year's job market -- worried not necessarily about your position but maybe your spouse's or your adult kids' or your best pal's.
We know each other, right? You're on Facebook. No? Maybe we tweeted about Iraq? Or were we job-nobbing on LinkedIn?
"Guinness with Tim, Jon and Richard at LIC Bar. Great Monday night in NYC. See ya tomorrow."
Dear Annie: I enjoyed your Sept. 30 column, and readers' comments, about how to decide whom to "friend" on Facebook. I recently joined LinkedIn, which I have heard is a terrific job-search tool, but I could really use some pointers on how to make the most of it. (I lost my old job about six weeks ago and, while my severance pay will last another couple of months, I need to step up my job hunt.)
If you harbor a bit of angst over Facebook friend requests gone unanswered, a surprise "defriending" or being deserted by your Twitter followers, you're not alone.
Like a lot of people, Anna Owens began using MySpace more than four years ago to keep in touch with friends who weren't in college.
Like a lot of people, Anna Owens began using MySpace more than four years ago to keep in touch with friends who weren't in college.
When my new book was published in March, I replaced my profile photo on Facebook with a picture of the cover. It was cool, I thought. With each "status update" I posted, an image of the book popped up on my friends' screens. But now I wonder: Did that bit of self-promotion cross the line?
If you cross paths with Lorenzo Geraci and want to exchange contact information with him, he's only giving you two options -- and neither involves a business card.
The importance of references seems to be a hot topic these days. Employers want to make sure they are hiring the right person for the job; but some thwart the process because checking references can be labor-intensive. On the other hand, job seekers provide references they know will give a glowing report, but employers are getting smarter and finding references you didn't provide.
Despite all the talk about economic recovery, you're probably still anxious about next year's job market -- worried not necessarily about your position but maybe your spouse's or your adult kids' or your best pal's.
We know each other, right? You're on Facebook. No? Maybe we tweeted about Iraq? Or were we job-nobbing on LinkedIn?
"Guinness with Tim, Jon and Richard at LIC Bar. Great Monday night in NYC. See ya tomorrow."
Dear Annie: I enjoyed your Sept. 30 column, and readers' comments, about how to decide whom to "friend" on Facebook. I recently joined LinkedIn, which I have heard is a terrific job-search tool, but I could really use some pointers on how to make the most of it. (I lost my old job about six weeks ago and, while my severance pay will last another couple of months, I need to step up my job hunt.)
If you harbor a bit of angst over Facebook friend requests gone unanswered, a surprise "defriending" or being deserted by your Twitter followers, you're not alone.
Like a lot of people, Anna Owens began using MySpace more than four years ago to keep in touch with friends who weren't in college.
Like a lot of people, Anna Owens began using MySpace more than four years ago to keep in touch with friends who weren't in college.
When my new book was published in March, I replaced my profile photo on Facebook with a picture of the cover. It was cool, I thought. With each "status update" I posted, an image of the book popped up on my friends' screens. But now I wonder: Did that bit of self-promotion cross the line?
If you cross paths with Lorenzo Geraci and want to exchange contact information with him, he's only giving you two options -- and neither involves a business card.
Dear Annie: Is there some kind of standard etiquette for deciding whom to "friend" on Facebook? Lately I am finding myself in a couple of different quandaries with this. For one, my old boss, who laid me off from my last job with no warning (and no severance pay), has sent me a friend request. I'm still angry and hurt over the way he handled my termination, but should I accept anyway?
Hoping to capitalize on the momentum created by the release of its Pre smartphone, Palm on Wednesday will unveil a smaller, cheaper smartphone called Pixi.
BreakingPoint Systems, a company that provides tools for testing computer networks, could have run an ad: "Seeking marketing director with social media expertise." Instead, the 65-employee business, based in Austin, let the ideal candidate find it by using Twitter, the popular microblogging service that allows users to send messages of no more than 140 characters.
My dad wouldn't let me have a computer because he didn't think it was relevant. I was in college before I actually got one. I think if he knew then what he knows now, I would have had one much earlier.
It's Monday morning. You sign into your Facebook profile to update your status and you start due diligence on your friends' profiles. You're looking at photos from the weekend when you see that your girlfriend was tagged in an album of someone who is not your 'friend.'
California's current three-year water shortage is visible all across its increasingly parched, brown landscape. Silicon Valley-based venture capitalists are facing another kind of drought entirely.
Dear Annie: I am worried about my husband of 19 years, who had a successful career in manufacturing project management until this recession hit. He lost his most recent job almost ten months ago, and at first he was doing a lot of networking, applying for jobs online, and even getting a few interviews, none of which panned out.
With the economy still in turmoil, job security is a concern for many. Executive Education talked to three experts to find out what steps you can take to recession-proof your career.
Users spend more time on Facebook than any other social network site. Much more. But other sites are growing quickly, and experts say no social network is safely on top of the market.
In Silicon Valley, it's all about knowing the right people.
When Steven Spenser, 52, was laid off from his Seattle-area software company in 2001, he decided to become a stay-at-home dad. Seven years later when he started looking for full-time work, he faced a problem: All his old contacts and job references were seven to 12 years old.
Even in the current job market, getting a pink slip doesn't always lead to long-term unemployment - especially if you're willing to do the extra legwork it takes to get hired these days. When David Hudson was laid off from his computer programming job, he sharpened his skills, did his due diligence and took full advantage of the resources available to him.
Let's say you've been job hunting for months now, and applied to so many employers you're starting to lose track of them all. One day you get a call from someone in HR at a well-known company. He found your resume on an online job board, thinks it's very impressive, and is looking forward to meeting you, he says. To set up the interview, he asks for your home address, date of birth and Social Security number.
In today's tough job market, it's critical to stand out. So how to make sure your application gets noticed: A flawless cover letter? Killer résumé? Glowing reference from the CEO? Not even. In the worst job market in 25 years, building an online presence is crucial to getting a job. Who you connect to, "follow" and "friend" can be just as important as conventional tools like résumés.
Let's face it, very few people enjoy networking. Even for social butterflies, it's a chore; for those of us who are shy, it's as painful as chapped lips on a windy day.
The secret to finding a job in a tough market? Put yourself out there, even when you're not looking for work.
David Perry, a longtime headhunter, says you're wasting your time if you're looking for job postings online. And he should know: he's often the guy on the other side helping companies lure new talent. Perry, who's based in Ottawa, says that in the last 22 years he has accomplished 996 searches totaling $172 million in salary. And the bottom line in today's economy, he says, is you have to tap the "hidden job market."
Looking for an online mirror of American economic woes? Check out the professional social networking site LinkedIn, where activity from Lehman Brothers employees and ex-workers spiked 315% from August to September of last year, when the bank was going through bankruptcy proceedings. LinkedIn's fastest growing region? Detroit.
There's a wealth of career information on the Internet, and these resources are just a mouse-click away for any job seeker.
Renting a billboard, handing out flyers or printing up T-shirts with your contact information used to seem like an outlandish way to get a job but now unemployed workers are going to just such lengths to get attention.
Dear Annie: I've been working with a recruiter on finding my next job, and he just told me that one possibility (an opening for a manufacturing manager with a midsized company) will require that I undergo a panel interview, meaning an interview conducted by a group of prospective colleagues and bosses, all in the room at the same time. I've never been interviewed by a group before. Is this unusual? Do you have any advice on how to succeed at it? -Stage Fright in St. Louis
Certain predicted technological revolutions are more myth than reality.
The tanking economy is bad for employment. Ergo, it's good for LinkedIn.
Dear Annie: I work for Hewlett-Packard, which, as you probably know, is planning to lay off more than 24,000 people worldwide over the next three years. It seems that most of those on the chopping block are employees who came along with HP's acquisition of EDS. Since I happen to be in that group, I wonder if I should leave now, or wait and see what happens. On the one hand, I like it here, and my immediate boss has told me that he sees a great future for me at HP, so I should "just sit tight." On the other hand, I have two other job offers, one that came from a recruiter, and another from a former EDS colleague who left before the merger. Any advice on what to do? -Dangling Man
The Federal minimum wage is increasing to $6.55 an hour today. But for most folks facing higher prices on everything from a gallon of milk to a gallon of gas, it's still getting harder to make ends meet.
The Internet isn't just transforming presidential campaigns. It's enabling all of us to monitor the legislative process
Dear FSB: What are the best sources of getting salespeople for my small business? Are there any commission-only sales firms out there, and can you recommend that route?
Remember where electronic mail was 15 years ago? If you didn't already have an e-mail address, you probably knew someone who did. And if you were sending and receiving e-mail, you'd probably discovered that it could be a game-changing business tool.
It's already hooked America's youth, and now Facebook is set on winning the hearts of two potentially lucrative demographics: Adults and the rest of the world.
With the U.S. economy apparently getting ready to take one of its cyclical snoozes, employers are more hesitant to take on new hires than they were even just three or four months ago - and the recent uptick in unemployment means more competition for each opening. That doesn't mean you need to give up on the idea of looking for a new job. In fact, if your company is going through a merger or seems likely to announce layoffs, your best bet may be to start your job search right away.
Like a good citizen of the Internet, I've been carefully building and maintaining my digital address books for years. Work e-mail addresses, nonwork e-mail addresses, cellphone numbers - the whole shebang. My electronic Rolodex now holds a few hundred names - a treasure trove of people, data, and memories good and bad.
Unemployment is soaring, foreclosures are mounting and Americans are having more trouble paying off their loans - and that's stoking fears of a recession. We'll tell you what you need to know about the R-word.
For years, I've been befuddled by LinkedIn. I knew it was supposed to be the social network for work, but to me it was like war. "What is it good for?" I asked myself repeatedly, even as I occasionally poked around and accepted requests to link with people. I belonged to it, but I really didn't know why.
Social networks like Facebook.com and LinkedIn.com might seem a little intimidating when you first try them. But if you build a profile and start connecting with people, you'll get in the swing.
Expect to work harder for your money, but your job should be safe (unless you work in a vulnerable industry, like housing or autos).
First Round Capital, one of the most successful angel investing firms focused on early-stage Internet startups is moving up the food chain. The company is looking to raise its first venture capital fund backed by $75 million to $100 million in institutional money.
A seemingly innocuous change is coming to Facebook that could pose a threat to business networking site LinkedIn: the ability to separate your work "friends" from your social ones.
Not a week goes by, it seems, that someone from my past doesn't invite me to join the ranks on the professional networking site LinkedIn. I get pinged by old girlfriends, former classmates and onetime colleagues. I've never felt so wanted.
Consider the Web site LinkedIn a late entry into the already crowded 2008 presidential race.
Although last week's job numbers were disappointing, a new survey by Manpower indicates the job market will remain steady and cautious. About 27 percent of companies will increase their workforce, while 9 percent plan on cutting their payrolls.
As lucrative as Internet advertising can be, almost all of it is wasted. Companies are set to shell out a total of $19.9 billion for online ads this year, but just 2 percent of the Web surfers who are exposed to those ads will click on them (and even fewer will actually make a transaction).
Dream of landing a coding job at an A-list tech company? It might be a good idea to prep for your interviews by pondering how many golf balls can fit inside a school bus. Or how much you would charge for washing all the windows in Seattle. Or why, exactly, manhole covers are round and not, say, square.
Answer yes or no. This new social-networking site is based upon your responses to all kinds of questions
Hiring productive people is crucial for businesses of any size, but in the case of startups it's especially vital - and tricky. With limited resources, small businesses can't afford to have employees who don't perform. What's more, they need to find individuals who are not only talented, but also willing to wear a lot of hats and work in an atmosphere of risk.
The art of the job search has undergone seismic changes in the digital economy.
When American Julia Mancuso won the gold medal in the super giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics, Stefan Ytterborn may have been the only Swedish skier celebrating.
Payroll growth was the weakest in two years in February but a lower unemployment rate and a revision higher for January job growth hinted at surprising resilience in the nation's labor market.
1 NETWORKED INVESTOR
At a Starbucks in downtown Mountain View, Calif., two 30-something men anxiously await the arrival of Reid Hoffman, one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after angel investors. It's 4:30 on a Sunday ...
Startup: Spock
Until now, social-networking sites marketed themselves to business users (LinkedIn) or teens (MySpace and Facebook). But Cozi Central, a free online service founded by Microsoft veterans and making its first big marketing push in January, offers social networking for parents - with 50 million households as potential users by 2010, according to research analysts at the Diffusion Group.
LinkedIn, a company that runs a popular online service that allows people to share business contact information, announced Monday that it has raised $12.8 million from two prominent venture capital firms.
Dot-com mania is back...kind of.
What makes new media so damn entertaining is that yesterday's heroes all too often become today's goats. Yahoo and eBay could do no wrong two years ago. Today, not so much.
Reid Hoffman's angel investment in Flickr, now owned by Yahoo, is an example of how deals get made via LinkedIn connections.
Moscow's status-conscious upper crust deserves a MySpace of its own -- and you could be the one to build it.
Ford motor company plans to cut 30 thousand jobs over the next six years. That's about 21 percent of its workforce.
Want to find out what your customers are thinking for less than what a Madison Avenue consultant spends in a year on his lattes? Consider the case of Konstantin Guericke, the co-founder of LinkedIn, an online network that professionals can use to find new clients or pick up leads on jobs.
It seems like just about everything and everyone has gone high tech. From refrigerators with built-in computers to high-powered handheld devices, technology is touching nearly every aspect of our lives. The job search process is no exception.
If you can't be an innovator, why not be a copycat? Mark Pincus, a 37-year-old Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, has made a career out of riding the wake of hot technology trends. His first three...
If you are at all like me--and I can find that out simply by reviewing your online profile at Friendster, LinkedIn, Tribe, or some other social-networking startup--you're probably beginning to regr...
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