From humble beginnings, lots of tweets and a last minute girly weekend gatecrash #socreccamp was upon us.The online community were coming together to as one. But how would they manage to communicate without a signal? Would they all fit into one tent? Would Devon survive such a technophone incoming? Would anyone die? As Chief Unorganiser of #socrecamp I need to share my experience amongst the rest of the world of the secret weekend.

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John Sumser and I have had many conversations on the nature of work and the subjugation of the human spirit.  I cannot say why it is a recurring theme in our conversation except that it is.

You can read John at his finest on the subject on the GlassDoor.com blog: Why Workers Get Left Behind.

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In a previous BLOG, JOB SEARCH: When the shoe drops, you go into JOB SEARCH mode, I made a brief reference to research. I asked the question “now that you know what you want to do, who do you know want to do it with”? Here is where I am going to expand on the subject of RESEARCH so you know how to find what you are looking for and who you want to target.

All companies list in their profile with research sources what is known as a SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code and an NAICS (North American Industry Classification) code. These codes are very informative in helping you with your research.

Here is what you do to find the codes and how they help you:

1. Research your own company to see what codes your company lists for themselves

2. Take those codes and research companies who list the same codes

3. The companies you find using the same codes are the competitors of your own company and are your targets for your job search

Where do you go to find all this information? There are several sources you can search on the internet. Start with:

The Searchologist Magazine presents: Should you go to school during a recession? In this podcast, Jim and Karen talk about the wisdom of investing thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into an education when there are no jobs at the end of the process. For that matter, why is a degree necessary for some jobs and not for others? [...]

So often when we look for jobs, we are perplexed about how to behave during an interview. There really are some things to be aware of, we may fidget, we may be nervous, but we have control over some things during an interview, so let’s tackle those easy, no brainer items we can control. We are completely in control of how we dress, how we look, what we know about the company before we go into the interview. So let’s tackle those objectives first.

1. Groom thyself - let’s make sure we are freshly showered, shaved, and our hair is neat. You would be surprised at how often people come into an interview smelling less than fresh. For interview days skip the perfume and cologne, you don’t know if the person that is going to interview you has an allergy, the objective is not to rule yourself out. Don’t stop and have a meal on your way, you may walk in smelling like fried chicken, or some other odor. Smokers be aware that smoke lingers on you and your clothing.

2. Clothes should be pressed and professional - make sure your clothes have been pressed, if you haven’t touched an iron, do so, if you don’t have an iron, bring a couple of outfits to a dry cleaners and have them press your clothes for you. Interviews aren’t the time to have wrinkled clothes, and be too casual. Dress professionally; don’t wear jeans, tank tops, stained clothing, or anything that has neon in it. You want to look like you fit in; you don’t want to look like you don’t belong.

PLEASE NOTE: Today (Sept 2, 2010) is the last day to join a team

The Greater Twin Cities United Way has been for the past month or so running a “competition” of sorts to draw awareness to four main issues in our community: Hunger, Literacy, Shelter and Wellness.

They turned each issue into a “team” with captains who are well known local TV anchors and reporters.

Here are the Dream Teams:

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PLEASE NOTE: Today (Sept 2, 2010) is the last day to join a team

The Greater Twin Cities United Way has been for the past month or so running a “competition” of sorts to draw awareness to four main issues in our community: Hunger, Literacy, Shelter and Wellness.

They turned each issue into a “team” with captains who are well known local TV anchors and reporters.

Here are the Dream Teams:

Team Hunger sponsored by Land O Lakes

• Captain: Jason DeRusha, WCCO 4 TV

Team Literacy sponsored by Target

• Captain: Vineeta Sawkar, KSTP 5 TV

Team Shelter sponsored by Xcel Energy

• Captain: Jason Metheson, KMSP 9 TV

Team Wellness sponsored by HealthPartners

• Captain: Rena Sarigianopoulus, KARE 11

Sign up with a team and the sponsor donates $1 to the cause.

Simple and easy to do.

I signed on with Jason DeRusha not because I think he is the coolest TV person in the Twin Cities (he is) but because hunger as an issue is one of the things that strikes at my core.

Here is the deal, I do not care who you support but pick a team.

There has been a competition around this and those who recruit the most amount of people go to a Twins game and the best recruiter gets an iPad.

That’s not why I am doing this blog post and why I am not posting my name to get credit.

I want you to sign up with a team, any team.

While on the site if you can, donate to a cause.

While on the site if you can, find a way to volunteer.

If you can, do something.

Click United Way Dream Team 2010 to participate.

Thanks.

If you've been another victim of our terrible economy in the last few years, you're not alone. Thousands of people have been laid off across all industries in a major shakeup of our workforce.

If you've been out of work for a while, it can take a toll on your finances, certainly, but also on your morale and your job hunt itself. There's a stigma that can become attached to candidates who've been out of work for a while. Employers think, basically, "If that person is so good, why hasn't he/she found a job yet?" Obviously an unfair blanket assumption, but there it is.

If you are finding yourself in this situation, there's a terrific article on CNN.com you should see called In the job hunt, the stigma of being unemployed is hard to erase (and I am thrilled to have been quoted in it!). It talks about the effect that being laid off can have on your job search, but more importantly, it shows you what you can do to overcome it. Very worth the read.

If you're unemployed, you're in a defensive position in the job search. That affects what you might normally do or say in the job search, but not by much. Here are some of my strategies you can use to get past this negative situation and land the job:

* Have an explanation ready. Prepare a short but simple explanation about what happened. You don't want to spend your time defending yourself--you want the focus to be on what you offer the employer. 

* Quantify your achievements. Just as in any job search, you want to have the evidence that you've done a good job--with performance stats, sales numbers, or specific instances where you saved/made your company money. Improving efficiency or pulling in customers works, too. Just be sure to quantify it with percentages, dollar signs, or other relevant numbers-based stats. 

* Gather fantastic references. If you have evidence that someone else thought you were fantastic, then it's more likely you'll get a favorable reception. People like recommendations. Personal phone calls are best, but an email or letter you can show in the beginning could work very well here. 

* Use creative job interview tools. This is absolutely the time you need a brag book (to show how fantastic you were in past jobs) and a 30/60/90-day plan (to show you have a strategic plan for success at the new one). 

* Be strong in the interview. It's more important than ever that you close for the job. Ask for it. Uncover objections while you're right there. It could easily turn the tide in your favor. If not, you'll know what to fix for next time.

No matter what, stay active. Keep reading articles about job searching strategies. Learn to use social media like LinkedIn, and network like crazy. Invest in yourself and hire a career coach who can help you spin your situation and give you strategies for success.

Job hunts can be a numbers game, and you have to keep playing. Eventually, you'll win. Good luck.

Author: Peggy McKee

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Click Job Search Tips for more articles like this, Minnesota Headhunter for most recent blog posts.

Stay in touch with me by clicking Blog Posts by RSS, Blog Posts by Email and/or the From The Desk Of Paul DeBettignies Newsletter

If you've been another victim of our terrible economy in the last few years, you're not alone. Thousands of people have been laid off across all industries in a major shakeup of our workforce.

If you've been out of work for a while, it can take a toll on your finances, certainly, but also on your morale and your job hunt itself. There's a stigma that can become attached to candidates who've been out of work for a while. Employers think, basically, "If that person is so good, why hasn't he/she found a job yet?" Obviously an unfair blanket assumption, but there it is.

read more

We started publishing daily about three weeks ago at OnlineRecruitingNews.com and redesigned the site last week. Some small tweaks still to come... The September OnlineRecruitingNews.com roundup is now online. This is just the top news for those of you that are too busy for our daily news.  And no, we won't replace Cheezhead -- but invite you to subscribe to our RSS anyway.

For anyone that missed our previous announcements, we have refocused around breaking news (no more articles). While site traffic is still low, our Google rankings have climbed steadily and we are usually in the first three results for 'online recruiting'.

If you want to become a site member, there's no better way to get visibility for a job board with just $50 a month. In fact, I don't think there's any other way at all at that rate.  Not only is 100% of the dues applied to content/site development, but the site is heavily subsidized by LatPro now that we are publishing daily.

Hope you like it!