Humans are the Ultimate Variable Are Social ROI Sayings True

Humans are the Ultimate Variable Are Social ROI Sayings True Anyone here every heard of Glen Cathey? Yeah, me neither. Anyway, he recently ran a blog entry from a young woman who was a social recruiting convert. Megan Hopkins recounted how shed made 3 hires on Twitter within 6 weeks with enthusiasm and great detail. And an inevitable discussion ensued. Each recruiter or consultant came out of his or her foxhole to extol the virtues of LinkedIn over Twitter, Facebook over the ATS and of course, no recruiting good old days diatribe would be complete without the Um, did anyone think about the telephone for heavens sakes? comments. Im joking. Well, Im sorta joking. We have these debates online (and I love them) to keep us sharp and interested, to focus in on what really makes a great recruiter and how weve seen our profession evolve over the course of a decade (and many much longer). These high spirited conversations serve a higher purpose, at least for me. Often we find ourselves regurgitating case studies and time-honored truths without stopping to wonder if they are even relevant any longer. Social recruiting ROI: During this discussion, I realized and argued something Id never really articulated before: social recruiting  ROI is impossible to measure across the board because of the inherent variables involved. It is much simpler to purchase LinkedIn Recruiter for $8000 (or however much it is now) than to try and figure out the equation for true social recruiting. Imagine you are a talent acquisition leader and you need to decide on which activities your recruiters should be spending their time. In order to to get an ROI for something like Twitter or Facebook (not an automating sourcing tool that uses such), youd have to figure out: Their natural social bent (in a recruiter hopefully this is easier to pin down than in most). Their ability to use such a tool at all. Are they able to write well? Do they operate according to a rigid schedule or are they comfortable with real-time activities and on the fly changes? How quickly can they work/search/communicate on social networks? Are they liable to get distracted by social recruiting? As a talent acquisition leader, you might decide that a line budget item that you can quantify (i.e. a tool provided by a vendor) is far easier than factoring in the potential human cost (and upside) of all those variables for every member of the team. Social recruiting ROI actually turns out to be very difficult to quantify IMHO. Everyone on your team is different! Which is what I saidnot that eloquently: Heres where it gets interesting. Because I would rather send 10,000 tweets than get on the phone and there are others like me. I would also rather get on the phone and automate a bunch of stuff than ever EVER jump into salesforce. Ditto excel  which hurts my brain. So the ROI has to accurately reflect the ACTUAL investment. I might be faster at social whooziwhatsit than you, so the investment is inherently less in my case. My point is that were this an equation (for ROI or whatever) energy and effort would both be variables that were dependent on the intrinsic gifts and skills of the person (also a variable); impossible to measure except with the individual variables identified and tested. SO to make sweeping statements about the efficacy is tough, at least for me. Of course, there were many other opinions that diverged from mine, most notably those that felt that Social Recruiting is being touted as a total panacea and being allocated the kind of budget that makes it difficult to swallow blog posts regarding Twitter, hiring and sourcing. These are well placed fears. The amount of time, money and aggravation spent on social recruiting, especially more nominal channels like Twitter and Vine, can be laughable. Rob McIntoch put it this way: Social media (including twitter) is positioned to be the silver bullet for finding and hiring people. All the consultants talk it up, all the industry articles rave about it, and hence lots of recruiters focus on it. Here is the bottom line from a recruiting leader that is anal retentive and tracks this stuff. I dont get excited about sourcing on social media channels (yet) because I am looking at the big picture of where do all our hires come from. Based on the ROI (and future) I need to make sure that wehere the money and resources get allocated produce the greatest results overall (quality, speed cost). While it is commendable and admirable that I see people get 3 hires from twitter, overall the energy, effort (cost time) invested in these sourcing channels does not, not even closely, reflect the organizations (or recruiters/sources) time and company ROI. Dont get me wrong, finding some purple squirrel on Twitter to fill some critical role is great, but my point is that too many people in our industry don look past the end of their nose to understand where they need to strategically spend their time (and most importantly the companys) time to fill all the roles. I am not a social media snob, but rather pragmatic about were the broad value proposition is and needs to be. Jeremy Roberts pointed out that an agency recruiter or a lone wolf may have an easier time using these tools, perhaps even in part, due to some of the reasons listed above. I do think its important to make sure sourcers and recruiters are using social media to quickly extract data, not doing branding or marketing. Learning the fastest, most efficient techniques to extract data from social should be a small part of a recruiters day. Too many recruiters play on social all day instead of getting the data they need then picking up the phone and making a call. However, I encourage people to read the post itself and decide. Hopkins, had a good handle on many of the answers to the questions above and built a mini-strategy for each requirement she had. Her results (and the level of detail) show that she carefully thought through each decision before making it. Gerry Crispin noted that her approach was encouraging but ultimately, tactical:  I applaud her initiative and enthusiasm for embracing tools and technologies, experimenting within her capabilities to do so and closing the deal but, this isnt a conversation that that is going to move any dials on the many challenges we face in creating world-class recruiting strategies. There were countless other notations in support of this post and her experience overall. Jim Durbin spoke the fact that third party or agency recruiters use what they have and this was a great use of Hopkins time and effort: Its important to remember that third parties use an all of the above mentality. We seek differentiation, and being big on a social platform helps us get reqs, and get referrals.  Think of it this way that recruiter generated Im guessing at least  $60,000 in gross margin using Twitter. It would be hard to say that you could hire 1000 people that way, but that $60,000 is nothing to sneeze at.  Social isnt easy to scale but youre paying recruiters, internal or external, to bring you results. Figuring out what works for your team would seem to be the best bet, and Glenns recruiter did a damn fine job. I agree, in some sense, with all of these points. But as I read through the post, its apparent that as Durbin points out, her results are nothing to sneeze at. And it doesnt really matter if its strategic or tactical, because companies dont do work. PEOPLE do work. Systems dont source, PEOPLE source. And no one is going to fix a broken system by insisting that what works for one, should work for all. The world is shockingly short of tactical thinkers and do-ers. Go Megan!

Resume Writing Help - How To Get The Right Help To Write Your Own Excellent Resume

Resume Writing Help - How To Get The Right Help To Write Your Own Excellent ResumeTo be the best resume writer for a specific project, an employee needs to seek expert resume writing help. This is a vital component of a good job.A resume is the first introduction of a candidate to a potential employer. It is meant to attract the attention of the employer and in fact is a personal statement in and of itself. While it should be a personal statement it should also be written in the most compelling manner possible. With a resume a person makes a statement of intent in order to show his or her best characteristics to the potential employer.The resume is a mirror of the student's quality of work history. Its aim is to show his/her capabilities. A student who has done well in class in recent years, but has failed to apply those skills when required, are the right candidate for the job.With the advent of the internet, the task of writing a resume has become significantly easier and the more average and ordinary a candidate is, the more opportunity he or she is going to have to present himself/herself as an exceptional individual. The high skill with which the prospective candidate must be able to write a winning resume indicates that the person is adept at adapting and using information for a purpose. A student with excellent English writing skills can present himself/herself as an academic success.The most important part of a resume is the summary. The summary tells the reader what is included in the resume. It is designed to communicate that which the reader needs to know about the person who is applying for the job. The summary helps to establish whether the person who is applying for the job is the right fit for the company. For this reason the summary is written at the very top of the document, at the top-right corner of the page.It is always helpful to include career objectives along with the summary. It makes the resume more interesting and more helpful to the r eader. A summary is therefore crucial to the success of the job application.Finding the information for the summary is the next important part of the resume. It should be a straightforward and detailed list of achievements from the person's past to present. It should include employment information and a list of past employers.Expert resume writing help is available through a variety of sources. A simple search on the internet will get one a long way in finding help on resume writing. There are many websites offering free advice on the job market.

List of social skills a solid career requires

List of social skills a solid career requires Im always shocked to hear that people dont like brown-nosing. If I could do it, I definitely would. But as someone who has Aspergers, brown-nosing always looks very difficult. So I have been looking for someone to teach me how to be better at brown-nosing, and finally, I found it. First, here is research from James Westphal and Ithai Stern at Kellogg School of Management. They found that being adept at ingratiating behavior was the number-one factor for getting positions at the top of the corporate ladder. This is not surprising to me. What is surprising is that the research comes with a how-to provided (perhaps inadvertently) by the American Bar Association Journal. According to the study, here are the traits that are most likely to be rewarded. 1) Frame flattery as advice-seeking. For example, you can ask, How were you able to close that deal so successfully? 2) Argue before accepting a managers opinion. 3) Compliment the manager to friends in his or her social network. 4) Act as if you realize that flattery will make the manager uncomfortable. For example, you can say, I dont want to embarrass you but your presentation was really top-notch. 5) Agree with the managers values before agreeing with his or her opinions. 6) Tell the managers friends how much you agree with his or her values. 7) Bring up affiliations you think you may have in common with the manager, such as a religious group or political party. To me, this list is incredibly handy. I think maybe people dont like brown-nosing behavior because they think anyone could do it if they put aside their moral compass. But this is not true. For many people, brown-nosing is very hard not because its immoral per se, but because its so hard to think of what to say. The nuances required for successful brown-nosing behavior are like trigonometry for your emotionstoo complicated to be done on the fly. I can memorize this list. Or maybe just one or two from the list, and then I can try to say something like this when I want to make someone feel good. And this is why I dont understand why people think brown-nosing is compromising their integrity. Brown-nosing is just making someone feel good. Isnt this always a nice thing to do? How could it ever hurt anyone? Whats the moral objection? I dont get it. Also, the American Bar Association essentially defines brown-nosing as ingratiating behavior. I looked up ingratiating in the dictionary. The first definition I found was: To bring (oneself, for example) into the favor or good graces of another, especially by deliberate effort. I absolutely dont understand why this is bad. In fact, I am pretty sure that the reason everyone told me I was terrible at dating was because I was not able to be ingratiatory. You are supposed to be that, right? So can everyone please shut up about how they are not going to brown-nose? The world would be a better place if we would all do that, all the time. I am not able to do it without extreme coaching, but for those of you who can do it easily, you should feel blessed. And, youre probably in line for a promotion.

How To Choose The Right Topic To Write About - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How To Choose The Right Topic To Write About - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Choosing the right topic to write about is the first step to success, when writing books, blog posts, or speeches for content marketing personal branding. Heres a simple, 3-step system I developed to help my book coaching clients break the bonds of procrastination. Its based on a simple PDF worksheet you can download and fill out with pen or pencil, or you can simple use the notes feature on your iPhone or iPad. Progress builds on progress. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can expand on your idea, test your assumptions, and move forward to completion. 3 steps to success Heres whats involved: List 8 possible topics for your book. Working as quickly as possible, jot down 8 possible topic ideas. Avoid censoring yourself. Just provide enough information to indicate the topic and approach you want to write about. Select the 3 most practical topics to write about. Next, narrow down your original 8 topics to the the top 3 in terms of practicality. You can define practicality any way you want, i.e.,   size of potential market, ease of writing the book, the presence or absence of competition, etc. Work as quickly as possible; there will be opportunities later to refine and test your choices.  From the 3 finalists, identify the best possibility. Without looking back to your 8 original choices, select the most practical topic from your 3 finalists. This will be the   working topic to explore further, in terms of marketing, content, and relevance to your personal brand building success. Let simplicity overcome your Inner Resistance The power of the 3-step system is its simplicity. Its 3-step simplicity gives it the power to overcome the procrastination caused by complexity and options. Getting started is the hardest part of any project, especially projects that can make a major change in your life. As described in Dan Schawbels interview with Seth Godin and my previous Personal Banding Blog posts about Steven Pressfield, and Scott Belsky, theres a universal Inner Resistance, or Lizard Brain, that creates a tendency to avoid change.  Your Inner Resistance loves complexity and options! Your Inner Resistance loves complicated first steps because they provide the justification it needs to prevent you from taking immediate action. Its a lot easier to put off a complex, presumably difficult and time-consuming task than it is to put off a simple task. But, simple first steps can often sneak in under your Inner Resistances radar. Simple steps build momentum Simplicity encourages action.and action paves the way for more action. Progress, like narrowing down ideas and focusing on the most practical topic for further development and testing, establishes forward momentum, momentum that can overcome your Inner Resistance. Each step you take, from that point on, contributes additional momentum that can carry you from reader to author, audience to podium, or client to mentor. Considerations and tips Obviously, you wouldnt want to rush out and sign a book contract to write or self-publish a book on the basis of filling out the Choosing a Topic For Your Book worksheet. But, it is a first step, and its an easy one to take. And, as you review youre first responses, its likely to bring up additional alternatives, options, and questions to consider. Theres little or no commitment or risk; if you dont like the way your first worksheet turned out, download and print out another copy and fill it out all over again! Dont throw out your first version, though! Save it, so you can review it in the future, when book, blog post, or speech ideas that didnt survive the first cut may spark ideas for your next projector future projects.   (Thats why I encourage you to print your worksheet on 3-hole paper and save them in a 3-ring binder.) Dont just think about writing a book, and dont over-complicate the issues involved in getting started. Download the Choosing the Right Topic worksheet (no registration required), grab a pen or pencil, and take a stab at choosing the right topic to write about! Author: Roger C. Parker is an author, book coach, designer, consultant who works with authors, marketers, business professionals to achieve success with brand-building books practical marketing strategy. He helps create successful marketing materials that look great get results, and can turn any complex marketing or writing task into baby steps. Visit his blog to learn more or ask a question.

Resume Writing Tips For Archivists

Resume Writing Tips For ArchivistsIf you're a member of the United States federal government, your resume writing tips for archivists should include finding time to do some actual research before filling out any job applications. Archiving and paper processing is expensive and not everyone has a large budget to spend on it. Many people don't realize that they can actually save a significant amount of money by simply using a small home office to do some serious archival research on their own.There is nothing like being able to just sit in your home and devote as much time as you want to do research on a project without worrying about any deadlines or having to worry about keeping yourself from getting in trouble. With the right archival research software, you can just sit down at your computer and do some serious archival research all in the comfort of your own home. That's one of the best resume writing tips for archivists. By using these tips you can find some very good research opp ortunities at a fraction of the cost it would take you to have someone else do it for you.If you're still unsure of how to get started, you'll need to find a resource of reference material to use for your research. Find the more common resources like books, journals, and newspapers, but also make sure to check out the more obscure places as well. It's worth doing a little more digging to find out the kind of information you need to have available.Some examples of information you might want to look for are court records, newspapers, business contracts, or even states' archives. There are many government and business records out there that can be useful. In fact, if you're looking for something else, you could spend a couple hours researching this information. After you've found the places and documents you need, find out where you can apply them.To apply for the records you found, you will need to find a filing cabinet or document folder to put them in. If you are going to use the fi ling cabinet at your home, make sure to first back up your hard drive to ensure that everything is still safe. This is important because you don't want to accidentally delete anything important.Most of the types of files that you will need will be in PDF format, so you need to make sure that you have an Adobe Acrobat reader. Most business suites come with an Acrobat reader. You'll also need a word processor with a text-to-speech function. Once you have the documents ready, you will need to print them out at a local copy shop.Then you can take them to your local office supply store and order as many copies as you want for all the work you did. Most of the papers you'll need can be found at the local library or the state archives. Most states even have a few different state archives offices that can provide you with all the resources you need.You'll find that most of the professional archivists in your area have made it a point to make sure that they maintain a full set of reference m aterials available to the public. This gives you a chance to begin building your resume by using this kind of resource.

Top 7 Apps to Manage Your Home Office CareerMetis.com

Top 7 Apps to Manage Your Home Office â€" CareerMetis.com The popularity of working from home has grown in recent years as technology has evolved to make this a more functional possibility for many workers. Many people now work from home at least a few days each week, and this includes employed individuals with major corporations, freelancers and others.Individuals who work from home love the convenience and efficiency associated with working out of their house. Employers can also benefit because this process can save the company money and increase employee retention. This is a trend that will likely not disappear anytime soon.?If you plan to spend any time working from home, you need to review and possibly upgrade your home office. Ideally, this space will be as functional and practical as a typical corporate office?.eval?There are now many apps available for at-home workers to use that can assist with productivity, efficiency and various forms of overall home office management.?With a closer look at what these apps are, you may be able to easily improve your work-from-home experience in wonderful ways.1) Shake?All freelance workers and independent contractors need to understand the legalities of their business contracts, and you may need to prepare numerous legal documents for your clients to sign over the years. Shake is an app that can assist with this in a very convenient and cost-effective way.?Through Shake, you can easily review and prepare legal documents for your various needs. This is a simplified platform that offers customization features, making it well-suited for most workers. There are several price plans available for you to choose from, and the app is available for both iOS and Android platforms.2) Slack?Slack is a type of social media platform designed specifically to promote a remote, professional team environment. With this app, you can join or form work teams within minutes. The app allows you to share files, collaborate through chat features, message each other privately and more within each tea m.?Through Slack, you and your team can easily be more efficient and productive. You can even create multiple teams for your different projects to facilitate all aspects of your daily work life.3) Wunderlisteval?Wunderlist is a personal organization app that is designed to assist with all aspects of running a home office. For example, it allows you to complete very simple tasks, such as creating lists and setting alerts.?Through the app, you can forward emails, time email responses, make shopping lists, pay your bills and even plan business or personal trips. Very busy individuals who work from home will love how this app simplifies and organizes their life.4) iMeeteval?When you work from home, you may need to meet with clients or colleagues periodically. While you could rent a conference room or meet at a local coffee shop, another idea is to use the iMeet app.?This popular app facilitates video meetings. You can set up an audio chat or a video meeting in real-time. You can also ea sily share documents to assist with your meetings.?Keep in mind that multiple people can join a meeting, so you can easily create a conference-like experience through iMeet. Through this app, you can host professional meetings without having to leave the house.5) Myows.com?Another excellent resource to use when you work from home is Myows.com. The name of this program stands for“My Original Works,” and it enables you to easily copyright and protects your work. The program includes free online resources related to copyrights and property protection.?While there are other similar programs available for you to use, this program is considered to be in a league of its own because of how robust and easy to use it is. You can choose between a paid or free version depending on your needs, and monthly or annual payment plans are available.6) Houzz.com?Home maintenance is also critical when you work from home After all, while you need to maintain your home for functionality, value and sty le, you also need your work area to be well-maintained. When your home office is in poor condition, your efficiency and profitability could suffer.?The Houzz.com program is an excellent online resource that educates you about all aspects of home improvement and design. From landscaping to plumbing and more, the app and online versions are robust.evalYou can choose between the iOS and Android app versions to enjoy immediate access to tips, articles and more on your smartphone. This popular app currently has more than 25 million unique visitors each month.7) iHandy Carpenter?Maintaining and improving your home office environment may be necessary from time to time, and the iHandy Carpenter is an excellent app for you to choose.?The app features incredible functions that replaceseveraltools that you may need to complete your office renovation projects, and this includes a surface level, a plumb bob, a protractor, a ruler and a bubble level. While this program is easy for anyone to use, it is comprehensive, functional and affordable.As you can see, there aremanyuniqueaspects to consider when you work from home. Everything from the design and condition of your home office space to how you will handle meetings andmoreshould beconsidered.evalThere arenumerousapps and online platforms thatare designedto facilitate your work-from-home efforts.Take time to explore some of these andotherpopularapps today, and start enjoying theincrediblebenefits they provide.

Looking Into the 2010 Careers Crystal Ball

Looking Into the 2010 Careers Crystal Ball This months Career Collective topic revolves around advice to job seekers to make the most out of 2010. I believe that an important strategy for a successful job search in 2010 involves looking at trending industries and going where the growth is. With a little bit of research, cyber-sleuthing, networking, and luck you may be able to land a job in an industry that is trending up for 2010 and beyond. Here are my thoughts on the topic.Research industries and job functions that are trending up. Check out the Occupational Outlook Handbook to learn more about industries and job functions predicted to experience growth over the next decade. Follow other online sources for trending information such as   Indeed.com who reports that last year, four major industries had more job growth than the previous year. Education grew 38%, hospitality grew 20%, retail grew 17%, and real estate grew 4%. The 10 fastest growing opportunities of 2009 were in technology positions for applications su ch as Twitter, Cloud Computing, iPhone, Facebook. Other positions trending upward were Corporate Social Responsibility Expert, Blogger, Pediatrician, Hospitalist, Social Media Expert, and Speech Language Pathologist. Sites such as Vault, Glassdoor, Salary.com, and Payscale are also excellent resources for tracking trending industries and job functions.Recognize that the new green movement is kind of old. Greentech, Cleantech, and Smart Grid technology are also industries that are trending up, but keep in mind that many traditional industries and job functions are also embracing the green movement and this will facilitate job growth. For example, more and more hotels seek consultants to help them figure out how to make their hotels more eco-friendly and many companies are consciously measuring their carbon footprint and trying to figure out ways to waste less and recycle more. In addition, the President’s stimulus plan will result in 5M new green jobs.Think about jobs that can’t be outsourced. Many health care-related jobs including dental assistant, ultrasound technician, paramedic, home care aide, and nurse cannot be outsourced. You may not be trained for one of these careers, but you can certainly try to make inroads with the organizations that employ these professionals, i.e. hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, hospice care, etc. as a way to get a foothold in an industry that appears to be at less risk for being outsourced.Ponder what types of business problems need to be solved. The financial crisis might have resulted in several lost jobs, but with that comes the opportunity for something new. Expect to see organizations creating greater measures for compliance and stricter auditing procedures, and stricter government control. Does your skill set support any of these needs?Channel your inner Uncle Sam. One of the fastest growing sectors is the federal sector. It is the only sector that will continue to fill jobs regardless of economic conditions. President Obama plans to expand the number of civilians in the executive branch by 140,000 to reach a total of 2M. That’s the highest this number has been since Bill Clinton took office in 1992. In addition, more than 40% of the 1.5M federal employees will retire in the next five years and the government will need some new blood!For more advice on career strategies for 2010, check out the posts of my esteemed colleagues here.@KCCareerCoach, Career Chaos, “The Art of Being Gracious: Much Needed in Today’s Job Search,”@MartinBuckland, Elite Resumes,  Career Trends and Transition 2010@heathermundell, life@work,  Kaizen and the Art of Your Job Search@barbarasafani, Career Solvers,  Looking Into the 2010 Careers Crystal Ball@resumeservice, Resume Writing Blog,  The Resume and Your Social Media Job Search Campaign@kat_hansen,  Quintessential Res umes and Cover Letters Tips Blog,  New Year: Time to Assess Yourself and Your Career@keppie_careers, Keppie Careers,  Help for job seekers in a rut@heatherhuhman, HeatherHuhman.com,  Job seekers: 5 tips for making the most of 20@DawnBugni, The Write Solution,  Ya, but@ErinKennedyCPRW, Professional Resume Services,  Advice to Job Seekers in 2010â€"learn Yoga?@Chandlee, The Emerging Professional Blog, Starfish, JobAngels, and Making a Difference@ValueIntoWords, Career Trend,  Is Your Job Search Strategy a Snore?@debrawheatman, Resumes Done Write,  Making the most of a new year@walterakana, Threshold Consulting,  Starting anew â€" tips for truly managing your career@careersherpa, Hannah Morgan: Career Sherpa,  The Year of the Tiger@WorkWithIllness, WorkingWithIllness.com,  Dogs Can Do It, Can You?@JobHuntOrg, Job-Hunt.org, Lifelong Learning for Career Security@AndyInNaples, Career Success,  What Are You Getting Better At? Make This the Year You Become the Best You Can Be!@GLHoffman, Wh at Would Dad Say, A Flash of the Blindly Obvious

Tough (Question) Tuesday If you had to choose 1 word to sum up 2010, what would it be

Tough (Question) Tuesday If you had to choose 1 word to sum up 2010, what would it be Dont Look Back by Maddox + Klaus found via Design is Mine. There are only 2 more Tough (Question) Tuesdays for 2010, so how can I not seize the end of the year to ask: Whats your favorite 2010 memory? Share it in the comments section as much or as little of it as youd like! See you there!