Think your company is doing OK?

July 9th, 2010

Think you don’t need a resume? 24/7 Wall Street compiled a list of ten companies that are not expected to survive. Some on the December list are already gone. http://yhoo.it/cJYfRJ

Don’t be surprised by a change in your job status. It’s smart in this economy to watch the market all the time, even if you feel safe.  Sign up for search engines to send a weekly email with local jobs in your field. Keep in touch with people in your network and make new contacts.

If you don’t want to make a move, at least be prepared. It’s smart. Just ask any Boy or Girl Scout. It’s even smarter in the present economy, because it takes much less change in the economy to tip a company the wrong way.

Here are three key tips:

1. Have a savings account. If that’s not possible, have a list of what you could sell quickly and easily if the worst happened.

2. Know your local resources. I’m not just talking about employers. Where are the church food banks? Clothing help for the kids for school clothes? Is there a pet food bank for dog food? Assess your needs and find the resources now. You won’t have weeks or months to search them out if you need them, and you don’t want those needs to interfere with your job search.

3. Set up job searches online now. Try different services and find out which ones pull the most in your field. Experiment. You can turn them off, or limit the updates once you find the best of the best. But, best of all, you won’t waste time going through all that when your next meal depends on finding a new employer. In the process, you may find the perfect job too.

Good luck.

Need more info? Go to Resume Tips or contact me at penny@pennyleisch.com.

You and Your Business Need Twitter

June 23rd, 2010

If you don’t have a Twitter account, you are missing a lot of exposure. Here are the statistics Twitter shared at their recent developers’ conference, aptly named “Chirp.”

  • 105,779,710 registered users of Twitter
  • Approximately 55 million Tweets being sent daily
  • 180 million unique visitors monthly
  • Signing up 300,000 new users daily
  • Twitter’s search engine getting 600 million searches daily

That’s a lot of potential exposure. Will everyone get tons of new traffic, a new contract, or a new job? No. Do you increase your possibilities? Yes. Just the sheer numbers say you have to cross in front of at least a few more people who can help you, hire you, or buy from you.

There’s a growing amount of research that also says people don’t support businesses that aren’t current, and that means being present on Twitter and Facebook and having a website that looks like you update it regularly.

By the way, updating your website means more than just adding content. It has to have a current look, feel, and behavior. If you don’t have the time, money, or skill to do a major update, choose simple and modern over out-of-date and huge. Then, get you Twitter and Facebook badges on it too. Let the world know you are available.

Read more and link to additional studies from the article, The Truth About Twitters Promoted Tweets.  There’s a lot more info in this article than just what Twitter has planned for the future.

My current project is to help a small business build their presence and connect their website with social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter), as well as to set up their tweets and a simple, easy maintenance plan because they don’t have time or dedicated resources. It can be done.

Link back to PennyLeisch.com for more information.

The First 90 Days On The Job

June 22nd, 2010

Just a short post to share with employers and job seekers some things to think about during those first ninety days, or whatever the probationary period may be. Read the entire article at the link below.

1. Employers, you need to give yourself ninety days to assess a new employee.

2. Employees, you need to be aware of what the employer is looking for during your initial period of evaluation.

3. Job seekers, you need to be aware of what you are saying and where some of the employer/interviewer questions are leading.

4. Take some advice from this article and don’t operate in panic mode if you are already unemployed.

How to Hire New Employees During A Recession