I’ve been keeping something to myself for a while now, but I’ll refuse to hold it in any longer.

A few months back, Penelope Trunk and I began talking about putting together an E-book that would become a free resource for Gen-Y Job Seekers.  Well, the project is near completion and we are planning on releasing the e-book on 7/20/10.

The subject/title of the E-book is, “What I know about getting a job”.

Rather than her and I write the entire book ourselves, we wanted to bring in a team of highly influential HR Professionals & Recruiters to contribute with a page of their own.  We found quite the team.

The list used to find contributers comes from John Sumser and HR Examiner.  Sumser released a list of the Top 25 Human Resources Digital Influencers in 2009, which couldn’t have been a better list of potential contributers.  Penelope and I were able to bring on a total of 17 contributers from the 25 members on the list.

What makes this e-book special is that each contributer has added in their own opinions, personal stories, and expertise surrounding jobs and careers.  They come from different perspectives, and even touch on different aspects of the job search.  When put together, their contributions create an e-book that brings you the entire job search/career advice spectrum.

Our -ebook will drop on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010.  It’s being brought to you by Penelope Trunk, Brazen Careerist, and Corn on the Job.  We are excited for this release, and we hope  you’ll join us in spreading the word surrounding our free new career resource for Gen-Y.

We all know that there are more options than just applying online to gain attention from target companies.  Twitter has become one of the most talked about resources, which sits right up at the top of the list with Linkedin.  Some people resort to mailing in their applications & resumes along with their electronic submissions.  Some folks create Facebook advertisements targeting specific companies they’d like to work for.  Some get creative with Google AdWords.

Your job search method these days can now almost become a reason for companies to hire you.  When your search is innovative and reflects the position or industry you target, it can certainly put you ahead of other candidates who simply apply online.  Your innovative tactics may also push you ahead of a candidate that has more experience than you.  It’s your ideas that the company wants to hire.  If your ideas already blow the company away before an interview, think about what that does for you.

One job search method that should grow in popularity is personal job search websites.  Websites like these will most likely fit best for social media, marketing, and PR job seekers, but other professions can find use for them. They aren’t too difficult to create, and there are web developers around who will work with you on a price.

I wanted to quickly show off and review a friends personal job search website.  She was working in Florida in a job that just wasn’t suiting her, and her goal was to move to NYC and work in a social media position.  It worked.  She landed a job as Social Media Manager with MTV News.

Take a look at SocialJenny.com, and then come back for my review.

What does Jenny do right?

Home Page – I wanted to put in a picture of the home page above.  She not only makes her goal very clear, but she adds in a few fun links to show real proof of who she is.  She not only says this is what she wants and who she is, but proves it through what she’s done already in social media.  While what I’ve stated already is a must, she also adds in a nice cartoony image of herself in NYC.  It’s not a must, but it’s a wonderful touch.

The last thing I’ll talk about on the home page is how Jenny provides a course of action to visitors.  See how she clearly states to folks that if interested they should check out the links at the bottom.   Nicely done.

Bio/About Me Page – I thought that what she did in this section was very creative.  She answered her bio like it was a phone screen, covering basic questions like, What is your social media philosophy?, Why NYC?, and What is your ideal company to work for?  Perfect for a personal job search website.

My Work/Resume Page – Not only does Jenny leave a more open format style review of her experience, but she includes a link to her online resume.

Ideas – Companies hire us mostly for our ideas.  Jenny leaves some brain wisdom on how she’d handle a few situations.  This gives a potential employer a clear view into how she thinks and what she can add to their organization.

If you’re going to take a stab at a personal job search website, make sure you have clear goals and ideas before jumping right in.  Know what position you target, the kind of company you’d like to work for, and know the value you can bring to those organizations.  It’s not something that should be put together in a couple days, but it should be a well thought out process, and it needs to be done correctly.

Thanks to my friend, Jenny McCoy, for letting me review her website.  She blogs over at Workin’ On A Ramp.  Say hello to her.

Editors Note: Today’s guest post is from Marian Schembari.  Read through the post and catch our contest details at the bottom!

Marian specializes in social media for job hunters, sometimes gets paid to write and works with authors who want to build up their personal brand. She blogs over at http://www.marianlibrarian.com and usually features posts under the “uncategorized” tag but likes to pretend it revolves somewhat around Gen Y careers that don’t fit in a box. She is launching a virtual classroom teaching recent grads, job seekers and freelancers how to use social media as the ultimate career tool. Follow her on Twitter. Do it now.

For all you regular Corn on the Jobbers, Richie conducted a sick poll on the most frustrating part about being a job seeker. Your response? The unknown. Not hearing back. I did a similar poll ages ago (like, 4 people responded) and found the same thing.

Basically, jobseekers spend SHIT TONS of time perfecting cover letters and applying for jobs through “traditional outlets” (job boards, company websites) but never hear anything back. This can be a huge blow to one’s confidence and we all (should) know it’s important to stay positive during the job hunt.

Get Positive, Be Social

I’ve found that the best way to stay positive and motivated is to get involved with social media. If you’re open about looking for work, connections (via Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/etc) are always supportive and the steady influx of new leads is a great way to see progress rather than the insanely stressful sending of resumes into the internet abyss. With social media you stay exactly that – social. Keep in touch with industry news and people in your field you might not have met otherwise.

To Publicize or Not to Publicize?

When you first decide to drink the social media Kool Aid, figure out if/how you want to publicize your job search. I think it’s a fine line, but by publicizing your search you:

1. Get more people involved. When people congratulate in your successes you automatically feel more awesome about yourself.
2. Get more people involved. The wider your network the more chances someone will think of you if they hear of an opening.

The problem with shouting about the hunt from the rooftops is that it looks kind of desperate and promoting it too much looks unprofessional. I found that more people asked for interviews after I was hired. You know, the whole grass is greener thing. People only really start wanting you once other people show you’re wanted.

I know people that instead of saying “looking for a job” they say something like “aviation professional” or “publishing professional”. Something in your industry. Build your reputation first, then publicize that you’re looking. People are more responsive once you’ve shown you’re worth it.

Some people don’t even publicize their job search, they let their Twitter persona grow first and then make a shout out that their looking for work. Just a little summin’ summin’ to keep in mind when creating a job-hunt-appropriate social media profile.

Blog and Look Smart

The second best thing about using social media for your job search AND as a positivity booster is that it makes you feel (and look) smart. By keeping up-to-date on industry news you can be 100% confident that you know your industry. No, don’t read boring stuff in the paper, find the best blogs! My favorite tips:

• Jot down a list of the top 10 industry blogs. Comment on those blogs. Make friends with the bloggers.
• Make sure you’re reading these sites every day. Start your own site and give us your thoughts.
• Join relevant groups on LinkedIn. Ask questions and become a part of the conversation.
• Spent 15 minutes a day going through LinkedIn Answers. It’s not just about asking questions, but helping other people out. I landed 3 clients in an hour using this trick and just by spreading the love you can find job leads. If you want to learn more about how to do this I created a free video here.

Even if your social media efforts don’t land you an interview right away (which it often does), having a support group of people in your industry when trying to find work can be hugely beneficial.

Enter Pajama Job Hunt

Oh, and did I mention I’m actually launching a course on using Twitter as a job hunting tool? Yeah, it’s rockin’. Click here for details, but it’s a ridiculously fun and comprehensive, 3-part video training was created for recent grads, job seekers and freelancers. Ready to use Twitter to build a strong network, land work fast, make some serious money and – wait for it – stop wasting time applying for jobs the old-fashioned way?

Enter COTJ Contest

Richie and I are giving away the program to one lucky blog reader, worth $47 FOR FREE ($37 for the first week).  Here are the rules:

• Leave a comment below about why you want to win the program (mandatory entry).
• Tweet about the contest. Sample tweet: Win the Pajama Job Hunt: Twitter Series by @marianschembari via @cornonthejob. Contest details here: http://bit.ly/9gSdr3 Tweet up to 3 times (+1 entry for each tweet)
• Write a blog post about the course and why social media is important to your job search. Link to it in the comment section. (+2 entries)
• Contest ends Monday, June 7th at 9AM.  Get in your entries before then folks.

WINNER ANNOUNCED – Kate Wiseman

Some people are stupid.  You know this, right?  I mean, all of us can think of a handful of dumb people in our lives.  So, this post isn’t a lecture.  It’s not a “don’t do this”, warning post.   What we have here today is simply you, me, and countless others laughing at someone’s stupid use of social media.

I’ve been finding myself on lamebook.com often these days, and sometime last week I came across this excruciatingly beautiful Facebook failure.  Check out the image below… I’ll dig into poor Lindsay under the picture…

Poor stupid Lindsay, you’ve given me so much material to play with here.  I don’t even know where or how to begin, in fact I’m kind of disappointed in myself (sigh).  When all else fails, I turn to lists.  Here is the “Dumb Things That Lindsay Did” list.

• Dumb #1 – “OMG I HATE MY JOB!!”    You never know who’s watching, so  say only good things about your job on social media.
• Dumb #2 – Attacking anyone through social media is dumb.
• Dumb #3 – Attacking your boss through social media is dumber.
• Dumb #4 – Forgetting your boss is a friend on Facebook and then doing Dumb #1 and Dumb #3 is the dumbest.

I’m not all up to date on the latest Facebook privacy bullshit I keep hearing about, but it seems intense.  If anyone wants to fill me in, that would be super.  In the mean time, I think we all know to stay clear from just about everything Lindsay has done.

What are your thoughts on Lindsay?  Have you seen anyone else perform a similar act?   Seriously, what’s going on with privacy on Facebook?

Pretend you’re the employer.  How do you handle this situation?  Do you override the decision to fire Lindsay?  What about the manager?  What do you do?

I don’t write about personal brand here on COTJ too often, mainly because I believe building a brand is simply about being yourself. If building your brand isn’t fun, then my guess is it’s because you’re faking who you are. Shame on you.

Know what you stand for, both on the business side and the personal side. Once that’s ironed out (should be easy), look for ways to build on both sides. Today I’ll mainly focus on my personal side, and how I’ve used it in a creative, and in what I think is a funny way to build my brand.

My business side is pretty simple, right? We’ve got this blog here, #JobHuntChat, guest posts, a couple other websites I’m working on, and then a few other items. I enjoy working on all of these. Done!

My personal side may be harder to figure out, because not all of my personal hobbies and interests can be reflected through my brand. You see, I really enjoy hockey. Not only do I coach, but I’m nutty over the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s not something I can always tie into COTJ. Oh, and I’m a gym rat. Again, not sure my love for NO Xplode and Zero Impact Bars will appear on COTJ often.

So, what about my personal side can I use?  Well, maybe I’m a little weird, and I have my quirky side.  I enjoy engaging with people on Twitter.  I love making people laugh, and in trying to do so, I’m usually the first one laughing.  These listed items led to last nights first edition of #LateNightCorn, and it was magical.

#LateNightCorn

It’s amazing what can be found when searching a random word on Twitter.  Now, let’s just say that word is “corn”.  Think of the possibilities.  Is your head filling up with ideas?  Well, last night I DID run this “corn” search, and I sure did find some incredibly ridiculous tweets from folks.  I RT’d a bunch, and put my “corny” twist on each.  Here are some of my favorites from last night.

I’m not sure how long it lasted, but there were many more tweets like these sent out last night.  When it was all said and done, I had created a nice little following of people who were up late, and laughing with me on Twitter.  Oh, I also somehow gained around 10  new followers after this insanity.  I was simply having fun, and I really didn’t care what people thought.  People like that.

How does this help my brand?

I just happen to have a job search blog that is branded with corn.  People call me Mr. Corn, Corns, Corn, and even King Corn.  I’ve heard them all, and people enjoy making that association with me.  It keeps people smiling, and it gives me something that they can hold on to and identify with my name and my blog.

My blog isn’t an intense serious job search blog, you know that by now.  In fact, I like COTJ to be a bit more on the fun & games side, and last nights #LateNightCorn was definitely fun & games.  This won’t work for everyone, but it surely works for me.  It’s who I am, and I KNOW that people enjoy that about me and this blog.

If you enjoyed the above #LateNightCorn tweets, check out the rest @CornOnTheJob (check tweets from 12:12 AM on 5/19).

Which Tweets above were your favorite?

What fun little things on Twitter can you do to build your brand?

I’m not easily annoyed.  In fact, I’m known to be a calm, cool, and collected dude.  With that said, some Twitter users drive me absolutely insane, and Twitter Starfuckers are damn near the top of the list.

Alright, so maybe you don’t know what it means to be a Twitter Starfucker.  Let’s look at a few Starfucker definitions from Urban Dictionary:

1. Someone that shallowly idolizes and apologizes for celebrities just because they are celebrities in the hope that they can one day be lifted to their iconic level.

2. A person who obessessed with and seeks out personal interaction with celebrities. The desired interaction is often, but not necessarily, sexual in nature.

3. Someone who thinks some brief nearly non-existent connection with some great legend practically makes them a great legend too.

Looking at these definitions should give you a pretty solid idea of what it means to be a Twitter Starfucker.  It’s basically someone on Twitter that RT’s and/or sends @ messages/reply’s to the big names on an almost daily basis.  And when I say big names, I’m not talking about the folks in your industry with 10,000 followers, I’m referencing the people that have a follower count up near or way over 100K.

Some examples would be Gary Vaynerchuk, Tim Feriss, and Chris Brogan.  Of course there are many more, but the 3 listed have quite a few Starfuckers.

You’ve RT’d or sent an @ message to a certain star or stars a few times, do you gain the label?  If it’s only been a handful of messages over a long period of time, then you need not worry, you don’t qualify.  The Twitter Starfucker label is reserved for folks that have that burning desire to be noticed by the big names, and it’s fucking annoying.

Why am I annoyed?

Great content, innovation, and truly making a difference for a large group of people will bring recognition and success.  Without those three things, you can RT the big names as much as you want, but it’s not doing anything for you, you just look like a pathetic asshole, begging for fame.

I love Gary’s book, Crush it, but I haven’t jumped all over him or tweeted anything from him.  Before I joined Twitter, we talked about Tim Feriss and his book in my Human Resources Masters classes, and while I was a huge fan, I’ve only tweeted him once.  And lastly, I have no clue what Chris Brogan is all about, and I really don’t care.

If any of these 3 stars ever want to reach out one day, then that’s great, but I’m certainly not going to go begging for their recognition.

On Thursday night, @HeatherHuhman and I were featured guests on #u30pro, a popular, and quite bad ass Twitter chat.  The co-moderators of #u30pro (@davidspinks, @CubanaLAF, & @SJhalestorm), brought us on to converse with folks about the nights topic, “negotiating a job offer”.

While the chat was winding down, I announced that anyone with further questions should holler.  Not long after sending that tweet, I received an @ message from Jessica Malnik (@jessicamalnik).  Here is Jessica’s tweet/question.

After digging deeper into her question, Jessica stated that she was mostly looking to understand how to explain her use of Twitter on a resume.  To answer her question, I immediately sent her two tweets back.

My first tweet stated that a new section of the resume should be created.  This can simply be called “Microblogging on Twitter @jessicamalnik”.  Underneath, include bullets or a paragraph to explain how you’ve used it to your advantage.

Don’t forget to include a link, directing them to your Twitter account.

In the second tweet, I went into specifics about what the paragraph should/could state.  Explain exactly how you’ve used it.  Has it been to gain knowledge, or to reach an influential person?

Include something that the employer will find of value to them.

Find out what will interest your specific industry, and look for ways you have, or can start doing those things yourself on Twitter.  Pick out a few of your Twitter success stories, then drop those nifty stories on your resume.

Simply stating that you tweet doesn’t automatically guarantee they will check you out.  Share one, or several of your Twitter accomplishments, and they will be much more inclined to see what you have been up to in the Twitterverse, and more importantly, why they should hire you.

Do you have a ‘Question for Corn?’  Send me an @ message on Twitter to @CornOnTheJob

Do you include Twitter on your resume?  Yes/No?  Why/Why not?

I’m happy to announce that #JobHuntChat is coming to Twitter!  The first, and quite possibly only Twitter chat focusing on the job search will launch its first chat on Monday, February, 15th at 10PM EST.

I’ve been excited planning this chat, but now that the idea has come to life, the rest is up to you.  #JobHuntChat will take your suggestions for questions every week, and the other co-moderators (who I will get to in a second) and myself will pick out four questions to be featured each Monday night.  So, who are the Co-moderators for #JobHuntChat?

Co-Moderators

• Nicole Crimaldi | @MsCareerGirl
• Jessica Miller-Merrill | @Blogging4Jobs
• Yours truly, Mr. Corn – @CornOnTheJob

Submitting Questions

Submitting your ideas for topics and questions is easy.  Just reach out to us in one of the following ways:

• Send an e-mail to JobHuntChat AT Gmail.com
• DM or send an @ mention to @JobHuntChat on twitter
• DM or send an @ mention to any of the Co-moderators listed above
• Comment on this post

We will reach out to people for specific questions during the week, and at times have themed chats planned where questions will be even more specific.  We want to hear from you, so don’t hold back.

When is #JobHuntChat?

Chats will be every Monday, from 10PM EST to 11PM EST.  Our first chat is on February 15th

Who will participate?

This is the fun part!  I have absolutely no idea.  As you know, Twitter is a big place, and its only getting bigger.  Your questions will be responded to by other job seekers, bloggers, resume writers, career experts, HR professionals, recruiters, or maybe even @ShitMyDadSays.  We want to hear everyones opinion on the topics discussed, and Twitter allows us to do just that.

How can you participate?

For starters, send us your questions!  This is for you.  On Mondays, be on Twitter at 10PM EST, and make sure to follow each of the co-moderators.  We will be tweeting out the questions, and RT’ing the smart responses that we get.  We are looking forward to seeing how this baby forms, and your suggestions, comments, and questions will drive the success of this chat.

#JobHuntChat is here!  Never Hunt Alone Again!

When I was 12, my parents took my two siblings and I to Jamaica.  We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called Boscobel Beach, and I had one of the most memorable times from my childhood.  The place was beautiful and from what I remember, the food was much better than some of the recent all-inclusive resorts I’ve visited.  Being only 12, I wasn’t able to enjoy the unlimited amount of alcohol provided, damn.  But like any vacation, it’s not always the food or drink that makes a trip memorable.  I’ve found that a trip becomes truly incredible when the people you meet on your vacation are never forgotten.

During my week in Jamaica, I hung out with 20-30 kids all day long.  Mostly, the group I hung out with were kids from all over North America, but I remember a few from Asia as well.  Us kids convinced our families to go on excursions like climbing Dunn’s River Falls (if you don’t know what it is, definitely check it out).  We also ate meals together and played basketball and other sports with employees of the resort.

When it was time to go home, it was a cold hard goodbye.  We’d all return to our respective country with pictures of a great vacation and a memory.  If only this trip happened 15 years later, much would change about the way we said goodbye to each other.

What happens in Cancun, goes on Facebook

It’s well documented that a week after my last day of employment, I went to Cancun, Mexico with my younger brother and best friend.  I was in need of an adventure, much like the one Sean Ogle is pursuing.  It was a wonderful trip.  The food was good (not great), the drinks were perfect, the resort was beautiful, and we stayed in a jaw-dropping room with an amazing view of the pool and beach.  

View from our room

Much like my trip as a youngster to Jamaica, I met a great group of people that were staying at my resort.  Mostly everyone that I hung out with was from the United States, although I did hang out with a few people from Mexico and Canada who were awesome.  A group of us sometimes reaching 15-20 would head out into down town Cancun together at night and hang around the pool-bar during the day time.  It reminded me a lot of my trip to Jamaica, but as my Cancun vacation started winding down, I began the way we would all say goodbye would be much different this time around.

Instead of saying, “Goodbye”, what I heard was, “Well, I’ll talk to you on Facebook when I’m home”.  People with laptops began adding everyone to their Facebook.  We all took turns signing on to”confirm” that in fact they were our friends.  I came home from this trip with Facebook connections in Canada, Mexico, North Carolina, Chicago, Connecticut, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and South Jersey (which I consider, an extension of Philadelphia).  Two or three days after I returned home I started seeing pictures of myself pop up on Facebook.  Some were great, some I wished would disappear (thank god for untagging).  It’s been nearly 10 months since my Cancun trip, and I still talk to most of them every once and a while on Facebook chat.

On top of new Facebook connections, some of my new friends were added to LinkedIn and are apart of my professional network.  These are people that read my blog, come to me for career advice, and are people that I may meet up with at some point down the line.  This is all possible because of social media.  It really makes me wonder if I’d still be in contact with all my friends from Jamaica if that trip happened just a bit later.

How has Facebook/Social Media changed the way you vacation?  Have you ever returned home from a trip with new Facebook friends?  Has vacationing become another form of networking?  

Life can change drastically in just 4 years.  In 2005 I had graduated from college, started my first “big boy” job as a recruiter, was living life with two healthy shoulders, my metabolism was in excellent shape, and my Mom was no where to be found on Facebook.  Flash forward 4 years to 2009 and see how much has changed.  In December I’ll graduate with Masters degree, will soon be starting my third “big boy” job, my right shoulder has gone through two surgeries in as many years, my metabolism is winning a game of hide-and-go-seek, and these days my Mom checks her Facebook daily.  OK, so your metabolism stayed the same, but I bet you a quarter your Mom is on Facebook too.

Attention Generation Y:  Please share the road

I have absolutely no problem with my Mom, your Mom, or anyones Mom being on Facebook (I actually think it’s great), just want to get that out of the way.  Those of us in Generation Y just needed a few weeks, or months to get used to our older relatives joining our party.  For what has felt like years, us Gen Y folk have been poking our friends on Facebook and denying Tom’s friendship on MySpace.  We were, and still are kings of social media, but it’s now undoubtedly time to share the road.  A video I posted previously stated the Social Media Revolution has arrived.  Here are some FB facts from the video:

• Facebook added 100 million users in 9 months
  • The internet needed 4 years to reach 50 million
• If Facebook was a country it would be the 4th largest
• The fastest growing population on Facebook are 55-65 year old females

Now that is a lot of Moms.

Attention College Students:  Watch what you post on Facebook

Facebook used to be one big party, and colleges caught on quickly.  Many schools punished underage students for posting pictures of them drinking or acting inappropriately.  Not all schools were strict, and I’m sure many didn’t enforce policies, but corporate america took things a bit more seriously.  When companies began utilizing Facebook as a recruiting tool, they also used Facebook to screen out students who posted inappropriate pictures.  Legal or not, it was happening.  Graduating students began monitoring what they posted and what was being said on their walls.  Problem solved, right?  Just when students felt safe, in comes a friend request from Mom, Dad, and Uncle Buck.  Is the party off, Wayne?  No, but with Facebook and social media growing so fast I’d suggest to monitor what’s being posted.  You can never be sure how many, but most importantly who’s eyes are watching.

Attention Baby Boomers: Welcome to the party

You had to know that eventually older generations would catch on.  When Facebook opened up its membership to anyone (not just colleges and schools), it became evident that it was just a matter of time.  There are many Boomers utilizing social media that possess excellent technical skills and were already using sites like LinkedIn.  The second group of Baby Boomers on FB have zero technical ability and have never utilized any form of social media.  The second group I talked about surprises me a bit more, my Mom falls into that category.  But I’m glad she and others in her generation are signing up.  Many Boomers plan to work a bit longer than they initially expected.  Keeping connected with their network will remain important and social media will help them maintain relationships with co-workers, old friends, and really anyone they’d like to contact.  Welcome to the party Boomers, but watch the ‘poking’, we don’t want you spending any time in jail.

What have we learned?

Hopefully we’ve learned that Facebook is a complete beast in social media.  The importance of social media for all generations will continue to increase.  Baby Boomers will continue to sign up for Facebook, and maybe one day you’ll receive a friend request from your mom, too.  If its odd to you at first, just think on the bright side.  Someone will always like your status.

Questions for you:

• What are your thoughts on the generational use of social media?
  
• If you used social media four or give years ago, have you changed the way you use it?
• Which social media site do you use most?