Archive for June, 2010

You and Your Business Need Twitter

Wednesday, 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 If you don’t have the time, money, or skill to do a major update, choose simple and modern over out-of-date and huge.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

Tuesday, 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

Get Job Application Feedback Online

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

According to a recent article, Career Builder and Monster offer features that give feedback to job applicants who use their online services to apply for jobs. This offers you the opportunity to see how you compare to other applicants that use those services. It won’t help you know learn anything about people who don’t go through the same service. However, this could net some valuable information. Just keep in mind that you need to use these services judiciously and correctly. Read the article linked to this post for more details and good tips.

Online job searches are best done with an organized plan and with resumes that are customized for the job and set up specifically for electronic processing. Using appropriate key words and a bit of SEO work can help your resume make it to the top of the pile too. Don’t overdo it, but don’t try to use a one-size-fits-all form either. If you need help, it’s worth a few dollars to get it done right. You can use those examples to learn to do it yourself once you see a professional do it.

People with higher-level technical and executive searches, who want to manage their own search, can still benefit from having someone help with the writing and planning and tracking.  The new features on Career Builder and Monster may, or may not, be of benefit. It depends on the industry and type of search. Today, electronic searches are waged all the way up the line. Networking is great, but a good search can find unexpected opportunities too. The people I talk to tend to use both.