How long has it been since you’ve taken a look at your LinkedIn profile? There are more than 364 million people in over 200 countries currently using LinkedIn. If your profile is outdated, poorly written or just plain blah, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. I’ve helped countless executives from around the world establish a productive and memorable presence on LinkedIn Read More
Linkedin inMail Best Practice to Bypass HR
An email asking about LinkedIn inMail best practice arrived in my inbox this week. The job seeker was exploring the merits of contacting the managing director of a large company directly via LinkedIn's inMail. In doing so, he hoped to elevate his chances of bypassing HR by striking up a relationship with the previously unknown MD. Now, everyone these days (including me) Read More
LinkedIn Summaries for Job seekers
When writing LinkedIn Summaries for job seekers, I subscribe to the people-focused approach—never write anything you wouldn't say to another person face-to-face! LinkedIn is all about personal connections. As I view your smiling face on my screen, I don't want to read: "John is a personable manager, with an engaging personality and a track record of delivering Read More
Using Twitter for Job Search (without the angst)
When jobseekers hear the word 'networking', they envisage a time-consuming, extravaganza of events that will see them endlessly schmoozing an array of strangers; debasing themselves by asking for help, embarrassing the people they speak with by setting the expectation for quick results, and finding themselves becoming the type of fake 'salesman' they never wanted to Read More
LinkedIn Advice for Job Seekers
Will you follow this LinkedIn Advice for job seekers? LinkedIn isn't just a service for job seekers. Get started on LinkedIn before you need to use it. A sudden and unexpected redundancy or sacking means you are constantly playing catch up. Take time to “dig your well before you’re thirsty,” as author Harvey Mackay says. Keep up the maintenance. Your LinkedIn profile Read More
LinkedIn Headline Tips for Jobseekers
LinkedIn Headline Tips for Greater Impact Most jobseekers now know that LinkedIn is a crucial tool for the job search. The good news about LinkedIn (as opposed to a resume), is that you can keep changing the content to optimise your impact, and get feedback quickly as to how your changes are working for you. The LinkedIn headline section is a good place to start with your Read More
The Power of Networking Strikes Again
Regular readers of my blog will know just how much I encourage networking. People, whether they are friends, colleagues, former workmates, managers or supervisors past and present, are your most precious and meaningful asset. Every time I ask a client how he or she has been applying for jobs and I get the vague, "Oh you know, the usual: SEEK, job boards, classifieds, that Read More
Resumes: 20 years of change and innovation
In 1990 I launched my business. It wasn't much, but enthusiasm made up for a lack of desks and equipment. 1990: the first known World Wide Web page had just been written, “SEEK” was part of a game children played, and the term “Yahoo” was Australian slang for a loutish person. Australia’s total population had almost reached 17 million, the average annual salary was $27,227 Read More
It’s Christmas Time…and a ho-ho-ho hum?
Who can forget the poignant scene in the movie Kramer vs. Kramer when the character played by Dustin Hoffman schlepps his advertising portfolio from office party to office party on Christmas eve desperate for a job so he may retain custody of his young son? As "Ted Kramer" depressingly dodges the eggnog, inebriated staff members, streamers, merriment and absent Read More
Job Action Day 2009: Today’s Enlightened Jobseeker
As a member of Career Collective--a community of resume writers and career coaches, this article is one of many responses to Quintessential Careers "Job Action Day". I encourage you to visit other members’ responses, which will be linked at the end of my article on November 2nd. Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective. Challenging times call for new ideas Read More
Linkedin Tip
Ever tried to create a custom name for your Linkedin profile and found it was taken? Here's an idea, use your position title with your name. It helps differentiate you and stamps your brand at the same time. Instead of say, Linkedin/John Smith, try JohnSmith-CEO, or JohnSmith, Operations Manager, or JohnSmith, General Manager (Telco Multinationals). Read More
Network your way into a job
The buzz today is about networking. Everyone networks as we have been told it is the key to penetrating the hidden job market. That's true. Absolutely. You find out more through talking to people than you ever could ploughing through the classified ads, which let's face it, represents the largest pool of candidates for one job you're ever going to be up against and where Read More
New service Announcement: OnBrand-ID
The Reach Online Brand Calculator has assessed me (Gayle Howard), as being on the top of the “Digitally Distinct” tree. This is the nirvana of online identity meaning the first three pages of Google provide 80% on-brand, positive information. So what about you? Before you are interviewed you can assume that recruiters and/or employers will Google your name. What will Read More
The 5W1H Formula
Have you ever heard of the 5W1H Formula? It's especially helpful in planning your resume and job search. Rudyard Kipling, the great poet once wrote: I keep six faithful serving men Who teach me well and true Their names are What and Where and When And How and Why and Who. Journalists call this the "5W1H" formula and while it's great for investigating information for a Read More
The Awesome Power of Linked-In
(Or how I messed things up and turned it all around in 24 hours) Of course I knew that Linked-in was a really powerful tool. You would have to have had your head in a bucket to have missed its rapid ascent over the past 12 months. (As someone said once, it's like Facebook for grownups). What I didn't realise (and should have) was how you could get something wrong and get Read More
Laid off: the web 2.0 way.
I saw this cartoon on a blog here, so I'll have to give the link back so I can use the cartoon. Read More
“Morality Disengagement” and your resume
The term morality disengagement along with the term "tuning" refer to the act of telling of "porkies" (that's "pork pies" meaning lies in rhyming slang for our Aussie readers). So just how many people are guilty of morality disengagement or tuning? Well according to Career Director International's Mega Trends Report of 2008, research shows that more than 30% of resumes Read More
Article: Facebook in the Office
Todays Age newspaper takes a fascinating look at whether employers should allow employees to use Facebook in the office. The analysis of the figures is fascinating - as quoted from the article: Some of the major findings were: :: Blockers: 20 per cent of Australian businesses block employee access to the sites. :: Age: Use of social networking sites is massively dictated Read More
