Networking Your Way to a Job Building Your Future Now

Networking Your Way to a Job Building Your Future Now Networking is a great way to build your contacts, learning from professionals and even make some friends along the way. Networking is something that everyone should be doing because it benefits everyone involved. If you are a job seeker, networking is one of the most important things you should be doing. Having a good resume/ cover letter is important, and of course constantly searching and applying for jobs, but networking can bring your job search to the next level.   So where do you start?   It as easy as telling people you are on the job hunt. You should tell family, friends, neighborsbasically anyone you know. If people around you know that you are looking for a job, they can sometimes refer you to other people in their network.   Clubs and Associations   If you already belong to a local club or association its a great idea to let your fellow members that you are looking for a job. If they know you well (and obviously share a passion or interest) it may be easier for people to help you get a job. They know you on a personal level and are more likely to aid in your search.   LinkedIn and Facebook Groups   Although this is more of an online networking resource, these two social media sites can really help you in your job search. LinkedIn is a great go-to in regards to connecting and following potential employees. LinkedIn is a great way to build your network by reaching out to professionals, hiring managers, Human Resource managers, and recruiters. Facebook Groups are a great way to let people know you are looking for a job. Local-based groups are best because you can sometimes actually meet other group members face-to-face.   Professional Networking Events   Try making it to at least 1 or 2 networking events a week. It a great place to meet other people face-to-face and get to know them. And one of the best aspects of networking events is that you never know who will be thereentrepreneurs, local business owners, and managers. There is really no substitute to meeting someone face-to-face despite the ease and accessibility of social media. Be sure to bring your resume, dress appropriately, be upbeat and remember: listen to others more, and talk less!   Always find ways to network   These points are only a few ideas in ways to networking for a job. Be sure to never come across desperate or stressed. Always be polite and courtesy and when mentioning that you are looking for a job, let the other party know that you are available to help them out. Always be mindful of the other persons situation especially if you dont have a strong relationship with them. It is always important to help others before you try helping yourself especially when putting it out there that you are looking for a job. Always be mindful of the other persons situation especially if you dont have a strong relationship with them. It is always important to help others before you try helping yourself especially when putting it out there that you are looking for a job.   Image: Geralt

Wedding Planning Tools for the Modern Working Woman

Wedding Planning Tools for the Modern Working Woman The modern woman is a busy creature. We have our careers and were constantly reaching for dreams that no longer seem out of reach â€" because we work hard enough to get what we want. Why? Because were organized and gloriously career driven. So when its time to expand and include the man of your dreams in your life, its also time to show your friends and family just how organized you are â€" as if they dont already know. Utilizing the many tools available will keep you structured as you plan the perfect wedding. Here is my advice for using tech tools to plan your wedding: Make a Website Events across the world utilize websites, so why not use one for your wedding? The Internet is long past the days of being a strange and foreign technology. Most of us even have grandparents wandering around Facebook to keep in touch with families. Choose from free templates like these or utilize a simple blogging platform like WordPress to keep family and friends up-to-date with the latest wedding happenings. These sites are free and simple to build, so dont worry if you dont have any experience. There are multiple benefits to using a website. It offers a one-stop online organizer you can access from your phone, your mother never has to feel out of the loop and you wont get complaints about crowding social media with thousands of dress, decoration and ring status posts. Plus, you can update a blog-based website on your lunch break or with the right app, even from your phone. Use Pinterest: Online Inspiration Boards Another fantastic way to keep your ideas organized and get the opinions of those in-the-know is to use Pinterest. Our own Ms Career Girl Pinterest board has many wedding ideas! Set up wedding specific boards. I recommend the following boards to start: Themes/decorations Bridal gown Bridesmaids dresses Planning guides Pinterest can get wonderfully specific. You can search for vintage wedding dress with incredibly specific results. The site then also gives you further options to sort. By vintage do you mean tea length, lace or rustic? All you have to do is link your friends â€" or ask them to find you â€" and you can share ideas. This is like prepping your coworkers for a meeting. This is what you want; this is how we get there! Make a Budget Im not talking about using rental gowns or tuxes or getting married at your grandparents’ house. Making a budget doesnt mean you have to have a frugal wedding. It simply means youre being a responsible adult. A wedding is a good time to at least pretend were one of those, right? Weddings cost an average of $13,000 â€" with many couples spending upwards of $30,000. If you want a no-holds-barred wedding, go for it. But its still good to plan a price cap in advance. Even if youre less than interested in sticking to a budget, make sure you discuss finances with anyone involved with paying for parts of the wedding. Specifically, discuss the following: The rings: The cost of wedding rings ranges from hand-me-down to tens of thousands of dollars. You can have the perfect ring for your fiancé without worrying about the cost with some dedicated shopping. Be sure to check out the different styles, too. Forget the pricey gold rings; check out wedding bands made with various metals like titanium, seranite, tungsten and cobalt. The venue: This includes the food costs per guest. Of course, you want all of your friends, family and coworkers there, but do you want to pay $75 per person or $30? At the very least, keep an organized spreadsheet of expenditures. As a career woman, youre likely familiar with Google Spreadsheets, so use Googles wedding budget template. Manage Your Guest List One of the most important tasks on your list is the guest list. As your own event planner, you have to make sure everyone saves the date, receives a formal invitation and a follow-up thank you note. The Knot Guest List Manager does all of that and more. The Knot Guest List Manager allows you to import friends and family from Facebook, Excel or Google spreadsheets to speed up the process. You can even filter information so you know which guests have received a save-the-date card and whos missing a mailing address. You can even post your guest list on your website and The Knot will automatically update it for everyone to see. Besides sharing your guest list, you can make things even easier by sharing meal options with your vendors. Enjoy the Planning Stretch your organizational muscles like the pro that you are. And have fun when you’re doing it! You get to use tools and skills that you might not often get to use, and you get to use them for you. Your wedding is a time to pamper yourself. Stay organized and on top of things, just as you do for your career, and your wedding will pull together easily.

22 Aussie Sayings for Adventurous Recruiters

22 Aussie Sayings for Adventurous Recruiters When the weather is cold and dreary, its nice to dream of warmer climates, coconuts and sandcastles. If only you could teleport to  a place like Australia!  If youre feeling  down under  huge  piles of work and grey skies, with no leave left to use, fear not! There is a way  you can go  Down Under without even leaving the office. Try swapping mundane recruiter speak and business buzzwords for some true blue Aussie slang. Banish phrases like  reaching out and  catching up, and touch base with your inner Aussie  instead.  To get started, read up on these  22 sayings from the faraway  land of spiders, ciders and horseback riders: 1. Howre you going? This is a favourite among Australians. Its  a creative take on the slightly boring, how are you?  and  should be responded to with good thanks, you? Morning Jeffrey! Morning, howre you going? 2. Shell be right This  can be used to provide reassurance to someone, or confirmation that everything will be okay.  It is also used to personify inanimate objects or scenarios. I just spent 15 minutes filling out an online application for my candidate and now my computers frozen. Shell be right. Just give her ten minutes. 3. Strewth! This is a word you can use when you are genuinely shocked or surprised. It is a good silence filler for when you are trying to process new, startling information. We are going to offer your candidate the role, but at a salary $10,000 less than what she asked for. Strewth! Australia now officially European. Strewth! @bbceurovision #Eurovision Stuart Ward (@jesterward) May 14, 2016 4. Howd you pull up? This is a way of asking  someone how they are fairing. It is most commonly used the morning after a big night out or following a big, strenuous event. That networking event last night was crazy, I said Id go for one drink and then I didnt end up getting home until 4am. Howd you pull up this morning? 5. Im under the pump This means you are busy, or under serious pressure to perform. Fancy going out for lunch today after the conference call? Sorry mate I cant, Im under the pump. Ive got to find four candidates for my client by close of play today. 6. You beaut! This is an exclamation  to commend someone on their great work. It can also be used as mere commentary on a great situation as it unfolds in real time. I have just pre-closed a candidate on $5,000 less than what I know the offer is going to be. You beaut! 7. Bonzer Bonzer is another  word for excellent, great or brilliant. It packs more punch though, and is a little more playful. How was the meeting? It was bonzer. I pulled 3 live job leads. 8. Big bikkies Think dollars, cents, pounds and pence. Big bikkies means big money, or can be used to describe something being very expensive. When saying it, it makes you think of big, tasty biscuits, which is a bonus. That guy I placed four years ago has moved up the ranks so quickly he  just made director. Good on him. I bet hes earning big bikkies now. 9. Fair dinkum This can be used to emphasise the validity or trueness of someone or something. The new starter on Gregs team has sourced 5  placements in her first month! Yeah, shes  a fair dinkum rising star. Happy the decision was overturned but in the fairdinkum department that was a try MarkyMark (@markbaker01) May 22, 2016 10. Docket This is used instead of receipt, and is a little bit more edgy. Would you like a receipt for the coffees? Yes, Id like a docket thanks.  Ill be handing this over to the tax-man, thank you! 11. Give it a burl Think have  a crack or give it a go. It means to release your inhibitions, let go of your worries and just bowl in to something. Im scared to call that client in case he hangs up on me. Who cares? Go on, give it a burl. 12. Gone walkabout This is a phrase used to describe someone going missing, or falling off the radar for a significant amount of time. Have you  heard from  Jeffrey? He only had one candidate meeting in the diary, but hes been gone for four hours. Nah, hes probably gone walkabout mate. 13. Mates rates This refers to a discount, or when something is made cheaper or easier due to an existing relationship between buyer and seller. What are you charging for your candidates? I  usually operate at a margin of 20% for perm hires, but Ive known these guys for years so Ill give them 18% mates rates. 14. Piece of piss This is a turn of phrase which signifies something being super easy, or simple to master. This role is going to be so easy to fill. I literally have 10 perfect candidates already submitted. Yes, this will be a piece of piss for you, mate. 15. Rack off This is a great way to tell someone to get lost or go away. Its best  to scrunch up your nose as you say this, and make a shooing gesture with your hand, while shaking your head. Jeffrey, can you please tell me how convert this PDF CV into a  word document  please? Rack off! Im busy. The Aussie waiter shouted RACK OFF, MATE! at me as I entered the restaurant last night, so I knew not to order the lamb. Jez a Bell (@Tsarcastic_) May 30, 2015 16. Ridgey-didge This is a fun way to say something is original. I love the way she has worded her CV, its so captivating. My client is going to love this. I know that candidate. Shes very ridgey-didge in everything she does. 17. Rooted Rooted is a way to describe a situation where you have absolutely no hope at succeeding. It is interchangeable with doomed. My candidate is currently second preference, behind a guy who literally ticks every box on the job description and is £5,000 cheaper. Youre rooted. 18. Stoked You would use this word to describe a feeling of true happiness, sprinkled with surprise. Congratulations Jeffrey, you have hit your sales quota which means you are invited to attend the high achievers company trip! Thank you. I am absolutely stoked, I didnt think this was going to happen! 19. Hit the turps This is used to describe the action involved with enjoying an alcoholic beverage, or two. Jeffrey are you coming for a drink after work today? Yes definitely, Im pretty keen to hit the turps. 20. Flamin galah Flamin galah is used as a friendly insult. You can call someone this when they have done something silly, or careless. The phrase was made popular by  Home and Away  television character Alf Stewart. I accidentally shredded my notes from the meeting, so now I cant remember what Im supposed to do. Well youre a flamin galah, arent you? Someone somewhere probably has an Alf Stewart tattoo. And it probably says flamin galah. wow.someone.actually (@Chaos_Merchant) April 20, 2016 21. Crikey! This is simply a fun way to exclaim; the verbal Aussie interpretation of !. It can be used in response to a good or bad  stimulus, but the key here is in the delivery. The late croc-hunter, Steve Irwin, used to say this when a crocodile would snap at him unexpectedly. Stop! Dont send that joke email, youve got the whole office CCd by  mistake! Crikey! That was close! Watching old videos of Steve Irwin, The Croc Hunter himself! Crikey, hes missed by me and so many others! Millicent (@MotorizedMillie) July 23, 2015 22. Budgy smugglers This is not necessarily a term you would hear regularly in offices located in colder  climates. However, as the weather starts to warm up,  you might catch someone saying this, in relation to swimming or just going to the beach.  Budgy smugglers refer to swimming pants for men.    It is a term inspired by imagining how it might look if someone were to  smuggle a budgy through an airport while only wearing pants. Ill be getting my budgy smugglers out this weekend if its warm! Image: Shutterstock

10 Over-the-Top Creative Ways To Land a New Job

10 Over-the-Top Creative Ways To Land a New Job Job hunting usually isnt much fun.  Sending out hundreds of applications makes the jobs all begin to run together. And for the hiring managers? All the applicants can begin to seem the same, too. But there are some creative individuals out there who didn’t stop at simply sending out copies of their resumes and waiting for the best. They went a bit over-the-top, and many of them  got exactly what they were hoping for. Here are ten people who successfully landed jobs, and who have a creative, entertaining, story to boot. 1.  Pay Attention Jim Kukral When Jim Kukral sat down for an interview at an advertising agency, he found himself in an office wallpapered with post-it notes. His interviewer, the company president, explained that that was how he did his work and remembered things, be it a client’s name or an item to purchase after work. After the interview, Kukral knew that he had a winning idea for a follow-up note.  He bought several packs of post-it notes and a piece of posterboard, and spent the evening “wallpapering” the posterboard with post-its listing his good qualities. The idea paid off and he was offered the job, though he did turn it down in favor of another opportunity. 2.  Use Your Social Media Contacts  â€"  Mark Edwards When a popular blogger decided to interview some job seekers on her blog, many people applied, hoping the exposure would land them a job. Mark Edwards tweeted at the blogger in hopes of being featured, and it paid off! He landed a job at a media company. How’s that for return on a 140 character limit? 3. Targeted Advertising  â€"  Marian Schembari Dreaming of a job at a publishing house, Marian Schembari turned to the ultra-targeted medium of Facebook ads. She narrowed the ads to target only employees at several specific publishing houses â€" HarperCollins, Random House, Penguin, etc. â€" and after spending only about $100 she landed some freelance work, made contact with representatives from each company, and gained notoriety that will continue to follow her in her career endeavors. 4. Your Name in Adwords  â€"  Alec Brownstein Going off a similar concept, but using a different medium, Alec Brownstein learned the names of NYC’s top advertising directors. Then, he spent a grand total of $6 to buy Google Ads that would show at the top of any “vanity searches” by those directors â€" that is, when they Googled their own name, his ad was the first thing that appeared. He landed a job with one of those advertising companies, who were surely praising his creativity! 5. Outdoor Advertising Pasha Stocking After being laid off from a job in marketing, Pasha Stocking did what any marketing-savvy and somewhat desperate job seeker would do â€" she launched a campaign:    HirePasha.com. She bought advertising on a billboard in a highly-trafficked area of I-95 in Connecticut, and was surprised with the results. As the job offers kept rolling in, she decided to found her own company, PR/Bar. 6. Threaten Emigration Féilim Mac An Iomaire Faced with the prospect of having to leave his home country of Ireland in order to find work, Féilim Mac An Iomaire decided to throw up a huge advertisement, like Pasha Stocking did above. His billboard, however, touched a chord that Stocking’s did not. Reading “Save Me From Emigration,” the advertisement spoke to a growing problem in Ireland, faced by thousands of other young Irish graduates who will have to leave to find employment. The so-called “Jobless Paddy” managed to escape this fate, however, landing a job with Paddy Power. 7. Win The Game Tim Schafer Surprisingly, the widely-acclaimed video game designer Tim Schafer initially had a hard time getting a job in the industry. After bombing a phone interview with Lucasfilm Games (during which he inadvertently revealed he had pirated a game of theirs), Tim was told to send in his resume. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Schafer  crafted a cover letter in the form of a LucasArts adventure game, with storyboards that showed him getting the job. They responded by sending him a letter stating that they were pleased that he had accepted the position! 8. Do It Backwards Andrew Horner Sick of sending in applications that seemed to go nowhere, Andrew Horner decided to turn the whole process on its head. So he created the Reverse Job Application. Instead of sending out resumes to companies, he asked the companies to apply for him. While it might sound somewhat narcissistic on the surface, the stunt succeeded and landed him a job after two interview-packed weeks. 9. Bring Out the Fake Moustache Matthew Epstein Armed with a creative campaign idea and a fake moustache, Matthew Epstein set out to land a job in Google’s marketing department by creating the website  GooglePleaseHire.Me. After an intense month during which he received 80 interview offers, Epstein was turned down by Google, but signed on with the startup SigFig. But he’s not disappointed â€" Epstein says on his website, “If Google extended an offer to me I honestly may have declined in order to take the job at SigFig.” 10. Hack Facebook Chris Putnam Chris Putnam set his sights high for a prank â€" he wanted to hack Facebook. And he succeeded. With the help of two friends, he created a worm that spread through the site and restyled people’s profiles to make them look like ugly Myspace profiles. He was contacted by someone at Facebook, who told him that the prank was funny, but it was deleting contact info, which wasn’t cool. They kept talking, and it led to an  interview at Facebook, where Putnam now works. Adrienne Erin is a writer and blogger for Pongra. She worked for four years at the career development office at Vista College, an accredited online college, and continues to evaluate resumes for a local charity.  When she’s not blogging, you might find her practicing her French, whipping up some recipes she found on Pinterest, or obsessing over vintage postcards and stamps. Image courtesy of Shawn Collins.

The Importance of Executive Branding in Job Search - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

The Importance of Executive Branding in Job Search My colleague and blogging friend Tim Tyrell-Smith recently invited me and others  among his approved career experts to guest blog  at his excellent blogsite, Tims Strategy. Tim also manages a highly popular Group comprised of active job seekers as well as employed professionals offering tips, advice and strategies for successful job search and career management. In my guest blog, Why Personal Branding Is So Important In Job Search, I listed 4 benefits of branding: 1.   The branding process helps you understand your ROI value to your target companies and what differentiates you from your competition in the job market. 2.   The branding process helps you clearly communicate your value and good fit qualities when you network and interview. 3.   Branding helps you stand out above your competition in your career marketing materials (resume, biography, online profiles, etc.). 4.   Branding generates chemistry for who you are, what you’re like to work with, how you make things happen, and what you have to offer that no one else does. Related posts: 10 Steps to an Authentic, Magnetic Personal Brand The True Measure of Your Executive Brand How to Write An Irresistible C-level Executive Brand Resume How to Write a C-level Executive Career Brand Biography 00 0