Career Marketplace Blog

In this article from U.S. News and World Report’s On Careers, Lindsay Olson explains The Ins and Outs of Providing References.

Read an excerpt of Olson’s article below. Read full article

You’ve likely been asked for references in an interview or during the application process. Rather than scrambling to pull a few together, you should have these all prepared well in advance and keep the reference information in one place.

Step 1: Create a Separate Document

You shouldn’t include references in your resume. You don’t want to risk a recruiter or hiring manager reaching out to your references prematurely or without permission. Instead, guard your references’ time and contact information as if it were your own. Fielding too many calls could make them think twice about offering their experiences working with you. To avoid this, keep your references noted on a separate document and send them along only when asked.

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In her article for U.S. News & World Report, Lindsay Olson describes 8 Reasons to Continue Your Holiday Job Search.

Tips from this article include:

• Your competitor job seekers may not be looking
• Holiday networking opportunities are abound
• End-of-year budgets may provide hiring opportunities now rather than in January

In her article, What to Do When Networking Isn’t Working,  About.com Guide Alison Doyle explains how you can overcome a slow job search.

Read an excerpt from Doyle’s article below. Read Full Article

In her blog for U.S. News and World Report, Miriam Salpeter reveals 7 Steps to Help You Land a Non-Profit Job.

Steps in Salpeter’s article include:

• Volunteer in organizations where you have a strong interest and your can create a real impact
• Meet People
• Get Involved in your target sector.

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LiveCareer article, Students Need to be Prepared in Order to Land a Job Post-Graduation, college students are advised to start their job search preparation before graduation and get a jump on the job market.

Tips from this article include:

• Visit your college career center
• Build solid interviewing skills
• Network with alumni

WSJ article, Working the Recruiters, Dennis Nishi shows readers how a personal approach will help you stand out with recruiters.

Read an excerpt from Nishi’s article. Read full article

Laurie Ruettimann does not want to be sent flowers. Ever.

The human-resources professional from Raleigh, N.C., remembers getting an expensive bouquet while working as an in-house corporate recruiter years ago. The arrangement had been sent to her by a hopeful job hunter but the overture actually made her angry.

“Gift giving means that you’re somehow indebted, and when you force that on somebody it’s inappropriate, even offensive,” says Ms. Ruettimann. “I responded like I would with any other candidate. When we didn’t move forward with his résumé, I just sent him a note, automated through the system.”

n the current tight job market, cold calls and gimmicky gestures are the worst ways to approach recruiters—especially if your skills don’t exactly match the job. Instead, experts recommend old-fashioned networking as the best way to get onto a recruiter’s job-candidate list, but the effort requires more than just a LinkedIn invitation.

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In her blog for U.S. News & World Report, Miriam Salpeter counts down 5 Things You Need to Do do Get a Job.

Tips from this article include:

• Position yourself as an expert
• Communicate your value
• Optimize your resume

In this article from About.com, Alison Doyle explains How to Search for Seasonal Jobs.

Read an excerpt from Doyle’s article. Read Full Article

In his article for lifehacker.com, Alan Henry introduces readers to a new professional network called Identified. Henry explains, “Identified Is a Professional Network Built on Facebook, Shows You How Your Facebook Profile Looks to Recruiters“.

Read an excerpt of Henry’s article below. Read full article

Finding a job is difficult, but Identified is a new service that wants to help you build a professional network on the back of the social network you likely already use: Facebook. The recently launched professional search service uses your Facebook information to build a professional profile for you, give you a numerical score (that can be improved by providing more data,) and connect you with businesses that your friends and personal network already work for.

There’s a lot to like about Identified: it uses your actual personal network to build a professional profile that’s indicative of the people you actually know. Sign in with Facebook, and the service pulls down your work history, your education, and the depth and breadth of your personal network to assign you a numerical score. You can improve that score by adding more information about yourself that will make you more attractive to recruiters and companies already using the service to find prospects or inviting your friends.

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In this article for Blogging4Jobs, Jessica Miller-Merrell writes, Job Searching on Social Networks – Yay or Nay?

Read an excerpt from Miller-Merrell’s article below. Read Full Article

With the explosion of social media it seems that individuals and companies alike are using social networks to make personal and business connections. From tweeting customer complaints to maintaining photo albums on Facebook, it has become the norm to take everyday tasks to a social medium.

 But what about job searching? Countless employers and recruiters are present on Twitter, Facebook and now maybe even Google+. With the job market still floundering, social media is a natural fit for many job seekers, especially recent college graduates who tend to be tech-savvy and accustomed to social networking already. To determine how to successfully navigate the job search process in today’s digital landscape, let’s examine the benefits and potential pitfalls of using social media for professional purposes.

Why Social May Not Be the Solution.

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