Needle, Meet Haystack

Hey kids!  Correlate the terms in the list with this post to make a fairly accurate guess at how many hits each post got from search terms!  It’s super fun!

Or, you know, laugh at misspellings and enjoy reading a list.

This list is based on the number of specific hits that each article got from links, search engine redirects, syndication on other sites and so on.  So without further ado, here are the top 10 posts of 2009 – with commentary!

1. Fail Your Way To Success! Written as a response to all of the “this is what you can learn from failure” articles people have been putting out recently, this post owes its status mostly to the term “Fail” becoming a complete sentence.
2. Body Language Basics: The Handshake An essential part of any job seeker’s repertoire, this post kicked off the “Body Language Basics” series.
3. Quick Sidenote This one was more of a joke than anything.  All I did was write a bunch of permutations on the phrase, “Mr. Potato Head” – that’s the official spelling and phrasing, by the way.
4. JTMSCBAKS: Restaurant Chef I don’t feel like typing out “Jobs That Might Seem Cool But Actually Kinda Suck” each time, hence the abbreviation.  This one was based on a chapter in the amazing book, Kitchen Confidential.
5. JTMSCBAKS: Astronaut This one was based on some reasoning I had for not following my second childhood career goal, as well as some articles I’d read on Gizmodo and Cracked.
6. How To Decide Whether You Should Take the Job I’d love to say that this one is due to a lot of job seekers finding the blog, but It’s probably here for the same reason as #3.
7. Flavor Flav and Your Job Search Part of Extended Metaphor Week, this just proves that even GI Joes can’t overcome giant clocks and viking hats.
8. Question of the Week: Optimal Submission Time This post answers one of the most common questions that I’ve received.  Hopefully, it’s saved a lot of people from applying for a job over a three-day weekend.
9. JTMSCBAKS: Haute Couture Fashion Designer Factor in that soon after this post, I had another one about dancers, and you’ll agree that June was probably the blog’s least manly month ever.
10. The Top 11 Options For The Jobless One of my favorite posts, and judging by all the traffic this blog gets for the term “hobo,” one of yours, too.

For the past couple of months, I’ve been looking into getting a second job.  I’ve found that by using some of the strategies I’ve mentioned (yes, I drink my own Kool Aid), I’ve had more time to devote to other pursuits.  But unfortunately, my applications weren’t getting me where I wanted to be.

I noticed that several positions I was interested in were only posted on one website (let’s-call-it-JobAgents) that offered a Premium Membership plan.  For the Low, Low Price of $10 Per Month (introductory price – $8 for the first month), I would get a personalized page with a Myers-Briggs-type personality metric, a program that matches competencies from my old positions to help me find the ones best suited for me and an extensive diagram that showed what I could do in snazzy graph form.  Additionally, any submissions I made would include a recommendation from JobAgents to employers that they should really look into hiring me.  And there would be updates on new jobs I was compatible with, status updates on applications I’d sent in, and a tracker that shows me who’s been looking at my page.

I cancelled my membership after about three weeks.

JobAgents sounded great, but there were too many holes in the site’s code to accurately do all that it said it would – most of my matches were not in the field I had specified, the personality test had no bearing on my search results, status updates on applications consisted of being told that the application had been sent (I couldn’t send a personalized cover letter or resume or anything either, by the way), and the page was visited only twice, through searches on Yandex, the Russian Google (according to the site’s literature, anyway).

One of the chief problems with JobAgents, besides the fact that I couldn’t search for a job beyond the positions they suggested I applied for (unless I found the posting through a secondary site and copied the link over) was that the matching software wasn’t very good.  I was very limited in responses (“click a maximum of three choices” was the instruction, when I could have clicked all twelve listed), and certain logic chains in the program would not let me down the path to select skills that would have matched me with other jobs that I’m actually qualified for.

Of course, the blame could be shifted to the user – maybe I should have chosen my options more carefully and made sure that my answers all reflected the work I was looking for.  But since this was done through an explanation of what I’d already done, it seemed silly to go about doing it that way.  For example:

One of the jobs that I’ve been looking into is as an advertising copywriter.  I have copywriting experience, and have written other things (press releases, promotional materials, speeches, articles, newsletters, etc.), all of which I had told the JobAgents program.  I specified my field of interest as Marketing/Advertising/PR.  I also mentioned that I have experience with training and seminars.  So obviously, the program decided to not show me any copywriting positions (I had to find them through external links) and instead recommended I try out for real estate and financial training.

One of the other problems I had was a lack of follow-through when I did send in an application.  JobAgents never told me if the application was read, who received it, if the position was filled, or anything.  All it said was that I had submitted it and a secondary notice came out when the position was no longer available.  So what was the message that JobAgents sent to the employers?  How do I know that there was any accountability?

In fact, the only proof that I had upgraded my membership (besides the user page and the charge on my credit card) was that emails regarding their $400 resume review service mentioned that I had upgraded my account.

I’m not saying that recruiters, placement services and job site memberships are all bad – many of them can lead to work, or at least professional connections that one might not have made otherwise.  But if I’m paying for your service, regardless of if it’s $8 per month or $800 per week, make sure that you deliver on your promises and prove that you’re doing your work.

After all, isn’t that your job?

Like I said yesterday, I love end of the year lists.  But equally as important (and enjoyable) are catalogs of forward-thinking possibilities.  So here’s some predictions for 2010 – let’s meet back up at about this time next year and see if any of them were right!

The job market will become more cluttered. Back when I wrote this post, it was looking more and more likely that companies would keep their overall hiring down, despite the rebounding economy.  This has started to come true, and with more graduates entering the workforce and companies still on a downsizing trend, there will be even more job seekers fighting over the scraps of job postings that are available.

The economy won’t be getting much better. At least not for the first half of the year.  We’ve got a long way to go before we find something that is even the slightest semblance of a true recovery.  Then again, this is based on the government’s own projections for increased spending and less returns, which makes it look like we’re still falling.

There will be more entrepreneurs. As less large businesses hire full-time employees, more people will turn to creating their own businesses, which also includes working as a consultant/freelancer/contract employee.  With many experienced and skilled workers fighting for every position, eventually, most of them will move away from a corporate structure.

Education will be worth less (and more). The value of a bachelor’s degree will fall even further, becoming essential for some of the most basic jobs.  However, a master’s degree will take its place as a stepping stone to a solid career.  But even so, companies will become more fickle when choosing  their new hires, looking to more than just educational history.

Personal branding becomes essential. With freelancing, contract work and entrepreneurship on the rise (not to mention tougher corporate job competition), development and maintenance of one’s personal brand will be a vital part of the employment and retention process.  More services, books and websites will pop up to help individuals create the ideal personal brand.  Not all of them will work or be legitimate.

Rental workspaces become more popular. I’ve discussed this one a bit before too, but with more freelancers looking for dedicated workspaces and teams working across time zones, country lines and even continents, the resources of rental workspaces will become essential.

Green lifestyles and spending will finally collide – it won’t be pretty. There are a few things that you can do to lessen your environmental impact when searching for work (or in general), but the majority of “green” living comes from paying a premium for organics, recycled materials, hybrid vehicles, natural energy and so on.  And there’s no regulation for these industries to help consumers make truly “green” choices.  As people become more judicious with their spending, the green goods and services industry will have to make some major changes, and a lot of companies with a positive message of sustainability will fail.

The government  will re-evaluate its budget and cut back on frivolous spending. Well, probably not.  But given the volume of less-than-successful government agencies not really doing their jobs (like this one), maybe we’ll be able to clear the way for more efficient government programs, which could in turn create new jobs.  Boy, that would be nice.

Here’s to 2010 – year of the independent worker, redefined government and green policies, personal branding and a new corporate culture…maybe.

Man, I love end-of-the-year lists.  Music, movies, sports moments… anything in a listed format, really.  So here’s a little list for all of you – the Top 9 Blogs of 2009 (That Aren’t This One – because I’m modest), presented to in no particular order because they’re all awesome and the judging panel (me) couldn’t decide on the rankings.  So without further ado…the winners!

NOTE: The 10th blog is discussed in this post.

Life After College – As I said before in this post, Jenny Blake is one of the bloggers whose articles I read and think, why didn’t I come up with that? Chock-full of great advice, her blog offers excellent motivational tools that I have used and recommended to great success.  Plus, she’s spent time making some vital Office templates, which should be reason enough for you to check out her blog.

Recommended Posts: “Skills are Cheap, Passion is Priceless,” “Dating: Do you go for Quality or Quantity?”

Twitter: @Jenny_Blake

Corn on the Job – Rich DeMatteo writes so conversationally and enjoyably that before you know it, you’re reading through his entire blog archive.  Rich knows his audience of recruiters, HR, and job seekers well, crafting posts that can help you out regardless of what side of the employment table you’re on.  Also, he’s done an awesome job crafting his personal brand, something I’m pretty jealous of.

Recommended Posts: “You have an 8% chance of living, now what?,” ”Are you unemployed? Here’s 20 ways to become FUNemployed”

Twitter: @CornOnTheJob

Small Hands, Big Ideas – Man, I hate to use the word cute to describe anything, but that’s kind of the feeling I get from reading Grace Boyle’s awesome blog.  Maybe it’s the relaxing tone, comfortable word choice, or that she has a weekly feature called “Friday Linky Love,” but the whole thing is just cute.  But that shouldn’t distract you from her great posts that not only teach, but make you think.

Recommended Posts: “Humility In New Graduates and Not Letting Age or Experience Stand In Your Way,” “Asking For Help and Why I Struggle With It”

Twitter: @gracekboyle

From the Gen Y Perspective – I admit it, when I was looking for new blogs to read a couple months ago, I checked on Twitter to see if anyone was reposting stuff that I’d put up.  And I found Emily Jasper was giving me a few RTs, which led to my reading her blog.  She writes very clean and concisely, delivering great content in a tone that offers friendly tips and advice on a good range of personal and professional topics.

Recommended Posts: “Are We On the Road to Success?,” “Table For One”

Twitter: @EmilyJasper

Smile Like You Mean It – If I’m in the mood to look at pictures of pretty things, the first place I go is Caitlin McCabe’s blog.  If I’m in the mood to read thought-provoking articles, it’s also the first place I go.  With a combined art and writing aesthetic that makes me feel like one of the cool kids just by reading them, her posts are like sitting in an indie coffee shop while talking about social trends.

Recommended Posts: “Can Social Media Ruin my Relationship?,” “Blogging and the FTC…Making Sure We Know We’re NOT Celebrities”

Twitter: @caitlinmc

Weakonomics – Looking for interesting conversation topics at the next cocktail party, or simply want cold hard facts to back up your point of view?  Philip TW has you covered.  He answers a lot of social econ questions (my favorite kind of econ questions) that you’ve always thought about, but never really thought about, in a way that anyone can understand.

Recommended Posts: “The Economy and Your Fat @$$,” “Legalize and Tax Pot”

Twitter: @The_Weakonomist

Awesome & Unemployed – Jenny Blake recommended that I check out Stefanie’s blog, and I’m glad I did.  She has lots of great career search advice, is very thorough, and has examples that I’ve used to increase my success with applications and interviews.  And awesomeness.

Recommended Posts: “Walk in with more than your resume…,” “Value in Volunteering”

Twitter: @tiramisustef

Sydney: Unfiltered – Sydney Owen pulls of the whole “life experiences as lessons that we can all learn from” thing better than most any blogger out there.  While many bloggers try to find meaning in inconsequential events or over-personalize their posts, Sydney offers a clear and natural transition from the life of one to the lives of many.

Recommended Posts: “Don’t try to help Mr. ‘The-Rules-Don’t-Apply-To-Me’.,” “Be a duck.”

Twitter: @SydneyOwen

A.J. Bingham – A.J. does something that seems simple, but is almost impossible to find anywhere online: he offers succinct, complete, thought-provoking posts on a regular basis.  While it might take a lesser blogger dozens of paragraphs to reach their point, A.J. finds the core of an idea, gives it a new perspective, and delivers it without the fluff, still leaving the reader satisfied.

Recommended Posts: “Out of your comfort zone, no excuses.,” “Revisiting: Friendship is Valuable.”

Twitter: @AJ_Bingham

A big thanks to all of this year’s winners for their kind words and permission to mention them in this post on my li’l blog.  Now what are you waiting for?  Get reading!

Merry Christmas everyone!

And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, have a great 3-day weekend!

And if you don’t celebrate Christmas and have to work this weekend, have a productive time at work!

And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, have to work this weekend and it’s not productive, I hope you get paid extra for working the holiday weekend!

And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, have to work this weekend, it’s not productive and you don’t get paid extra for working the holiday weekend, I’m sorry.  But hey!  At least you’re employed!

May you have a pleasant Christmas weekend, regardless of your employment or work situation.

Over the next week, most businesses will be closed.  This means that operations, including hiring, will be suspended.  So any applications you send in will not be seen until everyone’s back from the holiday break, a good reason to hold off sending anything.

So what can you do instead?  Well, you can:

• Tune up your resume and cover letter
• Backtrack over some job sites you may not have checked recently
• Look for jobs through other media
• Try some new things with social networks
• Make your job search a bit greener
• Work on your personal brand
• Network with new people
• Reconsider your options for work and life

So even if you can’t send in a job application (and that’s kind of frequent), there are still a lot of things you can do to keep your career search going.

Or you can relax and enjoy the holidays with your friends and family.  I won’t hold either choice against you.

According to Jeph Jaques, next week is an incredibly slow week for Internet traffic.  And since I’m operating under the somewhat informed assumption that the “week” will kick off tomorrow, on Christmas Eve, I wanted to share these stories with you now.

1. My religion doesn’t celebrate Christmas.  We have a different holiday, but it’s not really necessary to go into that.  Still, when I was younger, my parents acquiesced and had a tiny (fits-on-a-side-table tiny) Christmas tree around for me.  I went to the mall to see Santa.  And when I was 7, I told my dad that I heard (SPOILER ALERT!) Santa Claus wasn’t real.  He said to me one of the two greatest things I’ve ever heard In The History Of Parenting:

“If Santa Claus was real, he wouldn’t care what religion you are.  He’d only care if you’re a good person.”

2. Instead of making a New Year’s Resolution, I take a Christmas (or Winter Holiday) card and write it to myself to open the next year, with notes on what I hope to have accomplished by that time.  It’s a good way to judge progress, personal growth, and achievement of goals.  Last year, I asked myself to get a job (I did), exercise more (I did…for some of the year), learn some new technology stuff (I did), and do a few other things, which are in various stages of completion.  I also gave myself $5.  Past me rocks!

3. As I mentioned before, I’m not of a religion that celebrates Christmas.  During college as an RA, I was tasked with helping decorate the tree in the lobby.  One of the building’s residents, who I had previously talked to (and mentioned my religious affiliation to) asked me about the tree.  ”Do you need a hand with that?”  she asked.  ”It looks like you’ve never done this before.”

“I haven’t,” I replied.  ”My family never celebrated Christmas when I was growing up.  No tree, no lights, no presents…this is the first time that I’ve had to do this.”

“Oh my!  That’s terrible!”  she said.

I was able to string her along for 15 minutes before reminding her the reason I’d never decorated a Christmas tree.

The moral that follows all these stories is pretty much the same: just because you don’t celebrate something doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.  Just relax.  Enjoy the spirit of the holiday, and have a little fun while you’re at it.

Happy holidays everyone!

As lame as he might seem compared to the rest of the Justice League (even Batman, who doesn’t have any powers), Aquaman still has some pretty kick-ass abilities – he can talk to fish, swim (and presumably “swim” in space) with amazing speed and agility, and he’s really strong.  And since 70% of the world is covered in water, as the King of Atlantis (oh yeah, Aquaman is a king too) he rules most of the planet.  So really, all the air-breathers should be giving him a lot more respect.

But Aquaman and his powers aren’t real.

Sure, there are some super powers that seem to be developing in people these days and some that we will soon get from science, but neither of these options pertain to the super powers that everyday people like you and me have.  Don’t think you have any super powers?  Well, what about:

Technology Comprehension – Sure, some people might call you a geek, but they’re not tech-savvy enough to figure out what’s really going on.  When faced with a new program or piece of hardware, can you quickly acclimate yourself to how it’s used, the complete suite of functions, and how to best utilize it?

Why it’s a super power: Think about all those statistics you hear about left-handed people killing themselves with products made for righties.  And I’m sure a small fraction of that number is just can openers.

Confidence and Fearlessness: The number one fear of people in the US is public speaking.  Do you love getting on stage and wowing the crowds?  Or to take it a step further, do you thrive on adrenaline by going skydiving, doing extreme sports or taking on challenges that most people would shrink away from?

Why it’s a super power: Daredevil is called “the man without fear.”  And considering his only other power is that he’s a blind man who can see, I think that comic books would agree with me on this one.

Charm and Networking Skills: I’m not referring to small-talk here; this is James Bond-level, charm-the-pants-off-anyone skill right here.  You can make a connection with almost anyone you meet, adding them to an impressive list of social contacts who would bend over backwards to help you.

Why it’s a super power: Not everyone is charismatic or charming enough to be liked by everyone.  It’s hard enough to make a few friends –  the sheer force of will and confidence that one must have to get along well (and connect) with so many people is superhuman.

Trend Prediction: In the first chapter of his insanely popular book, The Tipping Point, super-author Malcom Gladwell discusses people who have the ability to create and develop widespread trends.  If you’re on the cusp of a new fad with music, fashion, technology or slang at an amazing frequency, you can practically see the future.

Why it’s a super power: Predicting social trends is a very difficult thing to do – companies spend untold millions on attempting to do just that.  Having your finger on the pulse of modern culture is a daunting task that few can execute well.

Empathy: You lock on to people’s emotions, and connect with them easily.  Instead of being oblivious to the feelings of others, you commiserate with them and help forge better relationships.  Kind of the opposite of some of the Twilight vampires.

Why it’s a super power: Wikipedia says so.

Of course, these are not the only super powers that are possible for someone to have.  And each of these skills can be utilized in many different ways, both personally and professionally.  What you need to remember is that your super power should complement your career choice, so you are using your abilities to the fullest.

If Aquaman can do it, so can you.

Given all the posts about the fracturing culture, setting oneself up as an individual, finding a competitive advantage in the workplace, the differences in body language between people and other things of that nature, the title of this post might seem surprising.  But really, it shouldn’t.

By now, it’s pretty well-known that the Pareto Principle is being unintentionally used by employers – if 100 applications that fit a job perfectly are sent in, only 80 are identified by resume systems as being viable candidates and only 20% of those individuals end up being contacted for an interview.  So when it comes down to the mechanics of a job application from the employer’s side, it’s an issue of time versus the sheer quantity of applicants.

You might be one of those 100 perfect applicants, but you wind up having a 16% chance of getting the interview.  And since an average of 10 seconds is spent looking at your cover letter and resume, your application had better stick out (in a good way).

Putting aside the squeaky wheel philosophy, your application needs to be tailored to the position you’re applying for.  Use their buzzwords.  If you can, match writing style and word choice.  Watch your formatting.  And for gosh sakes, read over it.

Your job application is a persuasive argument for why the company should waste its time to give you an interview, waste more time training you, and waste money paying you.  If you can’t make a specific, well-thought-out case for your necessity, then they will pass you over.  It has nothing to do with how nice you are, the words you use, or in some cases, your education and experience.  Make a unique application for each unique job.

Who cares if you’re the same as everyone else?  If your application does its job correctly, you’ll find employment, and you can differentiate yourself then.