Saturday, February 18, 2012

IT in the coming year.

If you work in IT the future is looking bright in the coming year. This especially if you know Linux. Over half of all IT hiring managers are looking to hire this year. Also, raises will be happening if you know Linux. So, I recommend if you are in IT get that additional back-up system out. It's time to find you some flavor of Linux, download it and kick the tires around a bit on that machine. You may want to research Apache in particular to make sure you're up to date with it. I wish you all of the best, have a great day.

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Friday, February 17, 2012

It takes more than a resume

To get a job really takes having a good well written resume and a lot of other things. They all need to be working in unison for you to be successful. Let one of the many go astray and chances will be diminished I'm afraid to say. How you act, your attitude and the way you're dressed are all important items. Every one of them are equally important. One of the easiest to take care of is your attitude, this is the main one you can control no matter what.
There was a movie called "The Pursuit Of Happiness" that hit a cord with me. His attitude was that he was going to succeed and he did. The main character was homeless, had to sleep in a few public restrooms with his child. There were times he also had to go to the rescue mission with his Son in tow. During the interview I just loved his attitude, it's no wonder he go the job. Even better, he became one of the best at selling investments that the company had ever seen. He also had the farthest to come for any of the salesman that the company had.

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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Your personal brand

Two of my favorite groups are still going strong after many years. I'm talking about Iron Maiden and Rush. Both of these groups are still putting out albums that do very well without radio airplay. They still sell out entire stadiums in concerts wherever they play at. Even if you don't care for the music they play you still have to respect what they've accomplished. When you think about it they've both very successfully created excellent branding. So, what brand have you created for yourself? This is one of the keys I found to be one of the keys that shortens a job search.
The idea that I might have a personal brand that would then market me to employers. This was something that was truly enlightening for me and gave me a whole new outlook. With a brand it definitely shortens your search, it also directs every aspect of how you interact with others. In my case I began by writing down the particular assets I wanted to get across to someone. With this list I now had an image that I wanted to show others, especially employers. Anything that didn't fit into the image I wanted to present I then eliminated wherever possible. This included my resume, my mannerisms, speech and dress that would make an impression.
By creating the image that you want to present it does nothing but help you. It guides the perception that you have of yourself and what an employer sees when they take a look. This is a very important key to shortening your job search. It helps you to polish your presentation to the point that it shines. There is no one else that is exactly the same as you are in the entire world. This also is a part of building your personal brand, those special qualities that you alone bring.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Long ago and far away

1991-I had just gotten back from Desert Storm and a tour of duty in Iraq. In the Army I was a tank mechanic, repaired vehicles that now only exist in museums. Considering I was anything but a good soldier Desert Storm was probably one of the better things that ever happened to me. There was once I almost gotten sent to Levinworth prison in fact because of going AWOL for several days. The Captain decided it was better for the Army and myself if I were just given my walking papers. That was a few years earlier though and in 1990 I volunteered to do a tour of duty in Desert Storm. It had the great effect of making me honorably discharged and cleaned up my military file nicely.
While over there I decided that I wanted to get published after I got back. I didn't care how, I just wanted to get published somehow somewhere. After taking a little look around I decided that poetry was maybe the easiest to succeed in. It was too, ended up getting a couple of poems published in some small monthly publications. It took some work to get there though, I sat down and came up with a plan to do it. I realized that I couldn't read or write too well which needed to be remedied first. There was no way around that fact. If you can't read or write well you're not getting published anywhere.
Within a week I purchased a manual typewriter, a ream of paper and typing book. Each day I would learn typing for about six months, managed to start typing about 40 words per minute accurately. I'll always fondly remember that Smith Corona Galaxy typewriter and all of the time I spent with it. During that first week also I purchased a Collegiate dictionary and a Scientific American. Both of those came from a second hand store. Over the same weeks I began learning to touch type I read the dictionary from cover to cover. Also, I had the dictionary out while trying to read the Scientific American magazine I purchased. Had to do that as I couldn't understand about a third of the words there. It was around this time I also obtained a subscription to the magazine.
About three months into this learning experience I began to write and submit poetry. Another two or three months I was published and I was so proud of that. It took a lot of work though, had to set aside a major portion of my life to succeed. It built skills that I still use to this day and it's also why I keep a typing manual around always. Though I don't use it much it is something that is important to me and will always be, I treasure it. This experience more than anything gave me a great respect for learning. It's also helped to make me the author that I am today with books that have been published. So, never stop learning is the key I wish to impart today. Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to read this.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is the day we celebrate traditionally that Cupid runs around and shoots arrows into couples. Hopefully, they both receive his arrows and then fall into love forever. In a job hunt the same kind of occurs. You're posting resumes and applying to jobs hoping to make a connection. While it isn't the same as love it's still a connection. So, have you set a specific target that you're trying to connect with? If you haven't I recommend doing it today. With a target career in mind you'll have a much easier time targeting specific employers and offering what they are looking for.

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Monday, February 13, 2012

Compliments

A compliment can go a long ways when you are trying to connect with someone. It what I do when quite often when I am meeting someone the first time. People like to be appreciated wherever in the world that you are at. How this relates to an interview is a comment like "I'm glad to be here today". Or "I'm glad to have met you today". It sounds enthusiastic and warm which helps you to connect to the interviewer. This will only help you to be more successful while you are hunting for a job. Just don't overboard with it though, a little goes a long way. You could even say at an appropriate place "I'm glad you brought that up, here's what I did"!
Notice how that last example is used as a lead in to a story that demonstrates an important point you are trying to make. The interviewer will now be more receptive to what you are saying because of the compliment. While it doesn't work every time it is a technique that will help shorten your job searches considerably. Interviews are quite often just as stressful for the interviewers as they are for you. The use of a well placed compliment can put the interviewer at ease and improve your chances.

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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Cheer up

It has been rough the last few years in the job market if you're looking for a job. There are some real glimmers of hope with many companies now beginning to hire again. While it's sometimes hard to sound positive and act as if you're happy it's what you need to do. A couple of job hunters that I directly coached are now stating when they check back in that many places are actually hiring. They are actually happy about it now that they feel they have a good chance at getting jobs. A couple of others are now working for the first time in over a year. So, cheer up. The job market really getting better.

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