As most of you are aware, I won’t promote a product on Corn on the Job unless I’m certain it’s something that adds value to the COTJ community.  Today I’m promoting a new 100% online bootcamp that I’m POSITIVE will help you land the job you’ve been waiting for!

How am I so sure?

Well, one big fat reason is because I’ve signed up to be part of the boot camp!  Yes, I will be a featured resume reviewer in the program!  And If I’m involved, then you know it’s good!

Here’s some more info for you!

The fine folks over at Brazen Careerist are bringing you the “How to Get a Job You Will Love Bootcamp”.  The bootcamp kicks off on February 6th and runs through the 17th.  This bootcamp will be ENTIRELY ONLINE and the amount of information included in the course is just ridiculous.

WHAT YOU GET IN THE COURSE:

• 7hrs of LIVE web conferences with top job search experts
• 1hr of LIVE Q&A with recruiters on interviewing
• 1hr of online speed resume review and personalized career coaching
• 2hrs of online networking events to build your network
• 2 exclusive job search strategy videos from career experts
• Access to all course materials for one year

See that 1 hour of online speed resume review?  Yeah, that’s where I’ll be!

YOUR KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Three concrete ways to make sure your resume stays out of the dreaded black hole
• The top mistakes job seekers make online, and how to avoid them
  
• How to ace - or fail – the interview from three recruiters at top companies
• The one thing you must do in your first 90 days on a a new job
• How to find insider job leads on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter
• And more.

Please note that all the sessions are recorded and transcribed. If you can’t make a session, you can catch up at anytime and you’ll have access to the materials for one year on the private program website.

Bootcamp Dates: February 6th – 17th

Cost:  $95 on January 31st, $125 starting February 1st through February 6th.

To put the cost into perspective, I charge 49.99 for a resume review.  If you sign up for this bootcamp, you’ll receive not only a resume review from multiple career experts, but you’ll also be receiving behind the scenes info from experts in a number of career related areas.  It’s just insane how much you are getting for the admission fee!

I hope you’ll join us for the How to Get a Job You Will Love Online Bootcamp!

I’m not sure about you, but when I put things in writing, my ideas, goals, and in this case, resolutions, become real.  Something about seeing an idea hit the screen or notepad makes everything come to life for me.

Because of what has already been established above, I’m going to use Corn on the Job as an opportunity to write out some of my resolutions for 2012.  And this year, I’m more into creating guidelines than strict rules.

However, creating “resolutions” typically points to the negative.  Before jumping into the changes I’d like to make for the new year, I think it’s just as important to point out what has gone right and the positive highlights from the year.  So, let’s get to that first!

My Favorite 5 Blog Posts From 2011

Job Seeker Uses “Hire Me” Campaign to Land Dream Job at Krispy Kreme Donuts:   2011 was a year that saw Job Seekers go further with their creativity than ever before.  I highlighted quite a few Hire Me campaigns in 2011, but this review of Braden Young’s social strategy for landing a job at Krispy Kreme was my favorite.

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Linkedin:  When I hit the publish button on a blog post, the goal is to feel like I’ve created a helpful resource that I believe in.  Maybe the end goal is to just feel a sense of pride.  Whatever that end goal is, this guide exceeded both tremendously and it’s still being read everyday, 8 months later.

6 Reasons You Don’t Have a Job:  Quite possibly the most controversial blog post I have ever wrote, it received well over 100 comments, both agreeing and disagreeing with my points.  The sign of a successful blog post is conversation, discussion, and debate.  This blog post received a ton of attention.  I’m really proud of this piece and I still highly believe in each of those reasons.

Why Your PDF Resume Might Be Killing You:  This piece uncovered something new for a ton of job seekers.  While the creative limitations of Word are frustrating, the PDF isn’t always accepted into the slow moving world of HR Technology.  Job seekers were stunned to learn that their pretty PDF resume may be lost in an even deeper black hole than they imagined.

50 Killer Questions For Job Seekers to Ask on Interviews:  I knew this post would be powerful, but I didn’t expect to receive over 1,060 RT’s.  Was quite surprised to see so many people share it out to their networks, but I’m certainly glad they did.

3 Resolutions for 2012

1.  Wear Ties More Often: Working from home everyday makes it easy to dress down.  I’ve dressed down far too often in 2011.  As a guideline, I’m going to wear a tie 5 days a week.  Maybe I’ll start a tie photo album?

2. Provide Content on Corn on the Job At Least Twice Per Week:  The key here is to continue to provide high quality resources.  Lately, I’ve been writing closer to one time per week, but in 2012, I’ll work to provide more content.

3.  Walk/Run 30 Miles Per Month:  Many people don’t know that I’m one of the nerdiest meat heads in this world.  I’m very much into my lifting schedule, but typically only perform a minimal dose of cardio. In 2012, I’m incorporating more cardio into my routine.  Both my heart and my love handles will appreciate this resolution.

Hey guys, just wanted to pop in real quick to let you know of a special sale on my Job Seeker Services.  From now until the moment the year changes to 2012, I’m offering 15% off on all of my career coaching services.

All you need to do is look up top and find Get A Job Now!  Check out some of the services I offer, and if you’re feeling like you need a boost in your job search, then let’s work together and get you ready for 2012!

** When ready to make your order, visit the Contact Page and inform me of the service(s) you’re interested in and that you saw the 15% off blog post.

Here’s a recent success story and testimonial from a recent Corn on the Job Customer!

Hi, Rich!
I just wanted to send you a note of thanks for your help.  You went out of your way to accommodate my needs (using e-mail rather than a phone conversation), which was very helpful, but more impressively, within two e-mails you were able to pinpoint so many things about my personality and how that would fit in to a career.  You suggested working in a non-profit organization which had NEVER crossed my mind, but it is EXACTLY what I want to do!  People who have known me for years didn’t even suggest that!

And thanks to your guidance, I already have a job starting out as a volunteer with a rescue organization, and they’ve agreed to create a formal intern program just so I can learn about every aspect of the shelter!

If it weren’t for your support and expertise, I probably would have ended up in another dead end retail job instead of a career that I am passionate about.

I can’t thank you enough for your support, understanding, and professional advice!
-Darcy

Breaks are good.  Good are breaks.  Break me off a piece of that earthquake bar.

I obviously need a personal day.

Even in our most desperate times, we must find a way to take a step back, relax, and put our focus on something else.  They say searching for a job is a 40 hour per week process, but I do believe that will make you go bonkers.  Just like I’m doing today, take a personal day and go out and do something fun, spend time with family, ride a bike, ride a tricycle, ride horse, or ride in your car to someplace awesome.

To get us away from the job search, here are 5 things that I’ve got going on right now:

Holy Earthquake! – While some may have been scared, and that’s completely warranted, I was somewhat giddy after the quake hit the east coast yesterday.  I can now say that I’ve experienced an earthquake.  What we felt here in Philly from the 5.9 magnitude quake was not as shaky as what people experienced at the epicenter in Virginia.  Thankfully, there haven’t been many (zero-ish) injuries reported and now we just need to brace ourselves and hope John Cusack doesn’t show up at our door.

Allergies – Never experienced allergies like I’m having now.  An allergy test confirmed that my body hates grass, dust mites, cats, certain trees, and other environmental items.  If you plan on calling anytime soon, I apologize in advance.

Bad Rhino Social Media - If you didn’t know, I’m one of the Co-Founders of Bad Rhino, a Social media Marketing Firm.  It’s been a blast to work with clients on their social media marketing.  You can follow us at @BadRhinoInc or read the blog here.

20 Pound Drop – I’m challenging myself to lose 20 pounds by December 31st.  The hardest time of the year to shed weight is the October through December, wintery, holiday, eating cookies and cake time of year.  I’ve easily put on 10 pounds through these two months in previous years, so it should be rather interesting to try to swing a 20 pound drop.

COTJ on CBS Money Watch - Alright, to get us back in the swing of things, here’s a quick post that I was featured on in CBS Money Watch.  It’s a great article that shares tips on acing a skype interview.

It was two years ago this time when I was feeling very lost in my career.  I was unemployed, unsure of the career path I was moving towards, and quite honestly, bored.  One of my best friends in the world suggested starting a blog.  His blog was doing amazing things for him, and knew how a blog could be life changing, or even just keep me occupied during this awkward time.

Not long after his suggestion, I logged into wordpress and created my first free blog, Corn on the Job.  My cute little blog baby was born, and just like a new parent, I had no clue what I was doing.  My initial blog posts were rather boring, I wasn’t sure how to use social media tools to expand traffic and build a community, and my blog was the new kid on the block.

The first weeks were rocky, but after a couple months I started receiving traffic and more importantly, making great friends who I still talk to today.  In October of 2009, I ‘met’ Matt Cheuvront, who at that time was in many ways starting out himself.  I was impressed by his blog, and the blog design services he offered.  Corn on the Job needed a facelift, and Matt needed his first paying client.  But it was more than that, and we became much more than a business transaction to each other.  After his work was done, we continued to talk through Social Media and Skype.  When we needed it, we gave each other advice and pushed each other to go bigger.  Hell,  I was even in Matt’s bachelor party when he was married in 2010.  I’m sure we both would have found success without that initial business relationship, but I can honestly say it would have taken me a much longer to find it without making that friendship.

While I’ve only detailed this one friendship, Corn on the Job is responsible for dozens of other friendships across the country.  I’ve met people that mean the world to me and continue to inspire everything I do.  Sarah White is someone that for probably over a year I talked to everyday.  She helped introduce me to HR conferences and pushed me to think outside of the box about my career.  Jessica Miller-Merrill teamed up with me for #JobHuntChat, and we continue to make it better every week.  Marty McDonald, has become much more than an old work colleague.  He’s become a mix of a business partner for Bad Rhino Inc., mentor, and most importantly, a great friend.  I could write about every connection I’ve made, but there just wouldn’t be enough room.

To the readers, thanks for sticking with me through controversial posts, leaving comments on my work, and joining the communities on Twitter and Facebook.  The best things are coming.  I promise.

Nearly 2 years later, I’m calling on buddy Matt and his company, Proof Branding, to give Corn on the Job a facelift.  It’s the blogs 2 year anniversary on Monday, July 11th, and I’m going to celebrate it with a new look.  Corn on the Job is going down for maintenance starting tomorrow and you can check back on Monday to see what’s new here.

Last week I wrote what many have called the best post here on Corn on the Job.  One fellow went as far as personally calling me to say it was the greatest blog post he’d ever read.   But I can’t please everyone, and the (nearly 80!) comments on  post proves that fact.

“6 Reasons You Don’t Have a Job” wasn’t meant to offend anyone.  But it did.  Holy shit, it certainly did.

In the “controversial” blog post, I offered six of the most occurring reasons why people are out of work.  While I didn’t list the economy as one of the six,  I clearly stated that the economy is surely a factor, but most use it as an excuse, resulting in barely keeping their head above water, or worse, letting the excuse of the economy force their own slow drowning.  Say what you want, but it’s just fact.  For those offended by the kick in the ass I served, grow up and use my words as motivation to work even harder.  That’s all I can tell you.

If you don’t fall in those 6 reasons or the economy, then why are you so upset?  I’m clearly not talking about you.

The majority were offended when I said that homeless people aren’t as employable as the non-homeless.  I do apologize if this came off as harsh or bold, but it certainly does take much more work for the homeless to get a job.  This was meant to start a fire under the ass of those that simply aren’t working hard enough to find employment.  Instead of bringing a small flame, my words lit a short fuse to a stick of dynamite.  And you know what?  I love it.  A little emotion/passion never hurt.  How about you bottle some of that up and use it.

Now to talk about the comments that actually really did piss me off and are absolutely ridiculous.  In two of the mentioned reasons (Poor Resume and Poor Interviewing Skills), instead of offering lengthy advice and tips, I suggested that my services be hired.  More than a couple comments suggested that I am “self-serving” and that my only motivation for running Corn on the Job is to make money.

How dare you?    Do you have any idea how long, and how many hours I’ve worked on Corn on the Job?  Do you know how many people have benefited from my fucking free advice, stories, tips, weekly #JobHuntChat on Twitter, and general willingness to answer questions through email, Twitter, and Facebook?

No.  You apparently don’t.

Did you EVER think that you could simply find the COTJ Search Bar and type in the words “Interview” or “Resume”?  If you did that, you might find 15-20 FREE blog posts on those topics. It only takes 5-10 seconds to use the search bar, and I hope you do use that tool.  My intention here is to help people and offer as much free advice as possible.  I promise that if you spend some time, you’ll find the resources you need.

If you must know, “I want your money” because in that particular blog post, I could never cover each reason why your resume is terrible or why you’re an awful at interviewing.  Honestly, the possibilities are endless, and I could write an entire post, or even a book on each.  Rather than offer general tips that probably won’t help, I suggested what I know would help.  That’s my job.

So the offer is still there.  You pay me money, and in return you walk away a better interviewee, with a better resume, and more confidence in your job search.  Or hey, you can just use that search bar and read hundreds of free blog posts.  That choice is yours my friend.

My time is certainly worth your money, but don’t get it twisted.   I’m 200% about helping job seekers.  I’ve proved that over and over again. The question you should be asking is, are you helping yourself?

The original plan was to create a quick video blog for today, but after a few quick takes and an odd error, I decided I’d just write out this blog update for everyone!

Things have been pretty crazy over the last few weeks and I want to apologize for a reduced number of blog posts.  That is changing very quickly, and I’ll be back whipping out the content like usual.  Tons of amazing things are happening, but today I’ll share just one of my updates.

A few months ago, a very regular participant of #JobHuntChat, Maggie Mistal, asked me to come onto her Sirius/XM radio show to talk about the chat and how to get a job on Twitter.  Obviously, I was jacked and so was Jessica.  We were really looking forward to both going into the studio in NYC, but unfortunately, Jessica couldn’t make it, so she called in and was fantastic.   Ou big day on global radio was last Friday and it was just a phenomenal experience.

Down below you can see some pictures of my trip into the SiriusXM studios, but here’s a bit more about what happened during the show:

Jessica and I talked to Maggie about how job seekers can use Twitter and #JobHuntChat to actually get a job.  We covered topics like branding for job seekers, creating Twitter names that will attract employers, and how to engage with company recruiters and HR folks the right way.  Jessica was great at explaining what #JobHuntChat is and how others have been successful in using the tool.

We also received a call in from Tracy Brisson, who spoke about how #JobHuntChat helped her hire a Marketing Specialist for her company.   We were really excited to hear that story, and can’t thank Tracy enough for calling in to share.

If you haven’t already, check out the #JobHuntChat blog, and join us on Mondays from 10-11PM EST on Twitter.  Just let me know if you have any questions!

As promised, here are some pictures of my trip!

GenJuice asked young adults from around the world who they admire in order to build a list of the Top 100 Desirable Mentors.  Last week on Twitter, friends and new friends kept congratulating me for making it onto this list.  At first I had no idea what they were talking about.  When i clicked into the link and saw the other names that made the list, I was shocked to be included at #92. Others listed include Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Barack and Michelle Obama, Natalie Portman, Kanye West, Russell Simmons, J.K. Rowling, and Bono.

Full list here —> http://www.genjuice.com/the-top-100-most-desirable-mentors-list/

I am beyond thrilled and excited to be included, but more importantly, the greatest joy comes from knowing that the work I do here on COTJ is being received and does help folks.  This is my takeaway, and is what keeps me pushing the envelope with Corn on the Job.  Being named to this list just means that it’s time to work harder!

Big congratulations go to Mark Babitt, Heather Huhman, and David Spinks who were also listed.  I’ve been lucky enough to get to know all three of them over the last year and a half.  They may not know it, but their work has inspired me in different ways and has helped shape the person I am today.

The new batch of Corn Head shirts for 2011 have arrived!  Check out the video below, and reply to the post if interested in a shirt!

As promised to the community of #JobHuntChat, here I am dancing on YouTube….