Clean up the mess!

The two last blog posts focused on the classic steps and tools for your job/internship search. Let’s now get back to serious stuff and be ready to rock your social applications!

Before sending out your applications (résumé, cover letter, etc.) think about what the recruiter will do when (s)he receives it. Unless (s)he has an awfully low Internet connection_ in which case receiving your email must have been the miracle of the day, I bet (s)he will search you online.

Webcomics and Illustrations by Agent-X (a.k.a. Scott Hampson)

 

Get your weapons ready!

Following up on the “Job/Internship search”, the article of this week focuses on the essential tools you need to prepare before starting the application process.

Now that you know where you want to work and what you want to do, you need to get your application tools ready! My first advice when preparing your personal toolbox is structure. It may not sound sexy, but structure really is my motto. And if this is not the first article you read from this blog, you already know that bullet points are my friends and explicit sentences are the best.

 

Prepare your application’s toolkit: step 1, 2 and 3

2012 is over and, for some of you, so is your final semester of classes. And what are your plans for 2013? Finding a long-term internship? Finding your first job? Or maybe you’re already employed but looking for a new position. The most important thing during your job search is preparation.

This article is the first of the series and focus on the “pre-work”. Know what you can do, what you want to do and where you want to do it before starting your job search. See it like an test question: you must understand the question clearly before offering a relevant answer!

 

5 good reasons to refresh your headline!

First let me tell you a quick story.

Two days ago, I sent an internship offer to some of my connections on Linkedin and Viadeo, as I often do. And as I always do, I opened one tab with the message box and another one with my connections’ list, allowing me to select connections directly from there according to their ‘title’ (or headline).

My target for this kind of messages is clear: bachelor students, graduating students and even young graduates. My selection is therefore simple: any connection with the headline ‘student’, ‘young grad’, ‘seeking internship’ from my list is included.

I sent out the internship offer to an average of sixty people on both networks.

 

Tweetsumé: 5 steps to tweet your résumé

Any job seeker knows that a paper résumé is not enough anymore. Internet is the prime source of job offers as well as candidate profiles: this is a unique place where recruiters and candidates can meet, without geographical boundaries or time frames. If you are looking for a job, the web is the place to be.

The past posts focused on Linkedin and how to compile the most attractive online profiles. The advices are more appropriate for Linkedin but can obviously match any similar networks such as Xing, Huzz or Plaxo. The first objective: publish your professional profile and build your network. But the final objective is the one to keep in mind: find a job!

It is essential to promote your online profile, therefore your résumé, efficiently and to the right people. The most straightforward way is to send direct messages to your connections. Let people within your community know that you are looking for a job. But what if nobody within your community can help you? You need to get the word out: outside of your initial network, even more so if you are unemployed or if you do not fear your current employer to know.