Fishdogs-Career Branding for Social Animals

Top 66 Serious & Funny Interview Attire Don'ts

2009-11-12T14:26:00.001-06:00

In September, as a follow up to a previous post of mine, Top 10 Things to Leave OFF of Your Resume, I posted this question on LinkedIn: What should a job candidate NOT wear to an interview?. The responses from 61 users were both instructive and hilarious. The first five were the top suggestions overall. The rest were, well...see for yourself. Some of these are pure genius. My thanks to all those who responded on this one.

Flip flops
sneakers
jeans
stained clothing
revealing clothing
bow ties
cowboy hats
wrinkled clothing
tight clothing
white socks
shorts
headphones
my clothes
a sock
ear plugs
too much bling
big ear rings
flashy colors
too much cologne/perfume/aftershave
a cod piece
breeches
jodhpurs
big belts
big buckles
A clown suit (unless of course, applying for clown related position)
Full gothic ensemble
those fake glasses that have a nose and moustache attached
Zorro costume
Superman costume (in fact anything with underwear worn on the outside)
Prison Uniform
Pirate Gear (unless applying within the financial services industry)
weird hair colors
dog collar (unless you're a dog)
go-go boots
visible underwear
white lab coat (any lab coat, really)
loin cloth
bonnets
top hats
pith helmets
band uniform
swimsuit
anything edible
lederhosen
a wet suit
the skin of your latest victim
polkadot knickers or pants
a toga
suit of armor
nothing
bunny costume
beard of bees
broccoli (seriously, check your teeth)
monogrammed shirt from your last company
thong
mini skirts
fishnet stockings
multi-colored clown wig
novelty tie
blue eye shadow
wife beater t-shirt
fur
stilettos
football jersey
Garfield T Shirt
Schoolgirl dress

Does Your Recruitment Process Include Some Good PR?

2009-11-05T13:35:00.001-06:00

Last week I was asked to contribute an article for the RecruiterNewsletter.com by Amy Renz, COO of HireAbility.com (for whom I recently recorded a very insightful webinar). For this article I wrote about a topic that was brought up in a couple of good blog posts last month by Jessica Miller-Merrell (@blogging4jobs) and Amybeth Hale (@researchgoddess). The topic, "Is HR the new PR?" was hotly debated by some of the top recruiters in the socialsphere from all over the world on the recent TalentNet Live chat. The original article on RecruiterNewsletter.com can be found here. My thanks to Amy Renz (@AmyRenz) for including in this great project.

Does Your Recruitment Process Include Some Good PR? from RecruiterNewsletter.com

By Craig Fisher

An employer’s brand is, in part, a product of the people who represent the employer and it’s career opportunities to job candidates and new hires. Whether you are a 3rd party recruiter or an in-house recruiter, you represent, at some level, an employer when you speak with job candidates about that employer’s openings. So are you an anonymous agent? Or are you a pro-active PR machine for the employer you represent?

A pro-active recruiter will often take the approach that their job is equal parts Advertising, PR, Marketing, Recruiting and Sales. This idea, while not new, has a whole new life with the ease and affordability of social media, and the push for employer branding. Even in an employer driven hiring market, 3rd party firms and employers should both be aware that this is more important than ever before. Because if you are not integrating all of these aspects into your HR model for recruiting, onboarding, and retention, you are getting left behind.

Amybeth Hale, a Talent Attraction Manager with AT&T, recently wrote on her blog, www.researchgoddess.com, the following about the function of recruiters:

“Our jobs are all about building relationships. Such is the case with marketers, advertisers, and PR professionals. Our desired end result of building the relationship is really what separates us. Here are some very simple definitions:

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Advertising is a paid communication in which the message is controlled by the sponsor, and is designed to gain attention and motivate action.
Public Relations is planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its public by telling an organization’s story to its public.

Subtle differences between the three, but the basic premise with all of these functions is to establish a line of communication between two or more entities.

Recruiting professionals would do themselves a favor to understand some of the job responsibilities that come with being in marketing, advertising, and public relations. For example: there is much more to candidate advertising (aka job posting) than simply plopping a boring job description into a post template and slapping it up on some job board. There is more to recruitment marketing than bulk emailing a spammy message with an e-newsletter attachment to your entire prospective client database in the hopes of gaining one or two additional job orders. And there is certainly more to creating good PR for your company than simply having a Twitter account or a Facebook fan page.”

Our personal brands are also a reflection on our client or employer. Positioning yourself as a quality resource for job candidates is now an integral part of the recruitment process. If you do not have a professional profile on sites such as LinkedIn that show more than just your job title, many candidates these days may have a better bond with a recruiter who does. The recruitment process is more than an email or a phone call. Its a full on campaign to build quality relationships with the candidate community. Just as recruiters are checking out candidates’ social profiles, so too are candidates examining those of recruiters and employers.

Whether or not the recruiter or employer actively engages with its community on social sites (something previously seen as more of a Marketing or PR function) can now have a big impact on hiring the best candidates. Even beyond hiring, creating the bond that comes with being “friends” with or “linked” with a prospective employee can help ease the transition into employment and enhance retention.

The lines between Recruiting, PR, Marketing, etc. are becoming more blurred. Resistance is futile. Be sure you are positioned as a well rounded, strategic resource to both candidates and employers.

About the Author:

Craig Fisher is co-Founder and Principal of A-List Solutions (www.alistsolutions.com) of Southlake TX, an Information Technology Staffing and Executive Search firm proudly offering flexible pricing and strategic sourcing models utilizing social media for maximum ROI. His fifteen years in recruiting also include positions as an award-winning Account Manager and Sales Director with Stark Technical Group, and as a top-performing Senior Recruiter with MATRIX Resources. Craig started his 18 year sales career as a pharma and medsurge rep with Glaxo and Smiths Medical.

Craig also trains HR and recruiting organizations on Social Media and Recruitment/Employer Branding strategies. As a large social media presence, Craig helped create the #TalentNet social recruiting forum on Twitter, hosting big names in recruiting and social media marketing on the last Wed. of each month from 9-11PM Eastern at #TNL. See www.talentnetlive.com for details. Craig blogs at http://www.fishdogs.com and Twitters at http://twitter.com/fishdogs .

Demented and Sad, But Social

2009-09-04T12:08:00.001-05:00

I've got way too many social commitments. Unfortunately they are mostly online. I have developed this terrific group of friends on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning networks, and various blogs. And like a good social networker I participate, comment, volunteer, post, etc. So much so that I have little free time.

I realized recently that my offline social life is decidedly less zingy than it used to be. Maybe I am subconsciously dialing it back to save money in this economy. Maybe I'm just trying to be a good dad to my three rowdy little boys. Either way I'm still glued to my laptop quite a bit even after office hours.

Granted, I use social media for business, so I justify much of my time there by meeting new clients and candidates. But the truly social aspect of online community is still pretty social. I have read that much of the world is feeling the same effect, more online social life, less offline social life.

We are entering football season, so my couch / beer / buddy time will be far more active soon. Still I wonder if we are forever changed by our ability to have such an active online social scene, hanging out in places like Twitter and Facebook for fun in the evenings. Even when the economy comes roaring back, is this our new nightlife?

"No," you say? "Not even close bud!" Okay, but how pathetic is it that we now take our online community with us to our offline social scene by way of mobile apps, sms groups, and smart phones. Are we desperate for attention or what?

Nowadays the party just isn't a party without it's own FB event page and a hashtag Twitter stream. Even if its just getting together for a football game (#Sooners_at_Fishdogs!), or perhaps a meeting of the physics club (#properties_of_physics). Is this really just for the sake of convenience and ease of communication? Bah!

We go around pretending to star in our own documentary reality show and even vainly tell our loyal viewers "Good night, signing off" when we're done updating for the day as if the world is hanging on our every move. And maybe it is. Welcome to your social life. Demented and sad, but social.

Do you spend more time socializing online than in the real world? Are you plugged in even when you should be unplugged? Let me hear from you.

View my blog at www.fishdogs.com and Tweet me @fishdogs

Are You an Old School Recruiter?

2009-09-01T15:51:00.001-05:00

By Craig Fisher www.fishdogs.com

I see quite a few posts lately about "old school" recruiting, about how all this social media and web2.0 stuff is just a waste of time. And it makes me wonder if we are really talking about old school, or just recent school.

My first recruiting job in 1995 was for a physician search firm. That company folded about 9 months after I started. And looking back I'm not surprised (I have since confirmed that it wasn't my fault). There was good coffee. There was a split desk setup, accounts and recruiting. There was the old school schedule: everyone works until 5:30pm, goes to work out, and comes back by 6:30 or so for pizza, or whatever the company bought for dinner, and continues working until about 9pm every night of the week but Friday. On Friday we went home closer to 7pm.

So far so good. We each had our own office with a big desk. This big desk was absolutely necessary to support the giant freaking list that we used to call our prospects. It also held a phone, a Rolodex, a calendar, some pens and highlighters. That's it. No PC, no ipod clock radio, no cell phone charger.

Ah, the good old days. I wonder if we could effectively recruit "old school" today. Really old school. No job boards, no ATS, no Outlook or email, no Google or LinkedIn. Just a list, a phone, and some note cards. Yes, I think maybe we could. But we would also be stuck at the office every night until 9pm.

How "old school" are you? Could you be effective that way today? Would you rather work at Red Lobster?

Facebook Is the Fourth Largest Country in the World

2009-08-28T09:55:00.001-05:00

A colleague in the recruiting industry told me this week that he made a social media faux pas. He asked an admin to post a job opening to Twitter. But she accidentally posted it to Facebook. I was quick to tell him that I didn't think it was a faux pas at all to post a job opening to Facebook, "le facebook n'est pas un faux pas!". Okay, I didn't really say that. But I don't think that it is bad form to post a job opening, job search, or anything job related to Facebook.

An article posted yesterday on TechCrunch noted some stats, visualized by Buzzpoint, that shows Facebook's 250 million members would make it the 4th most populous country in the world...if it were indeed a country. With numbers like that, why would you not want to utilize your network there to promote your job search or job opening? If you post your message with a link, your network can easily share (repost) to their network and your message will grow more visible exponentially.

As long as you are not constantly posting spam-like links or inane business/marketing messages, your network won't mind when you post something very relevant to you, such as you are hiring or you need a job. In fact, if you ask your network to please comment or share, they likely will. Even if they just click that they "like" your post, their network will see your message as well.

Alternately, if you rarely update your Facebook status or rarely comment on others posts or updates, your network is not likely to be very responsive to your message. Facebook is typical of social networks in that you must participate on a regular basis to get much out of it. Many people feel that Facebook is only social, or only fun. But it is a powerful tool full of helpful people who will gladly refer you or offer help if you just ask for it. Everything in moderation. But, when it comes to posting job openings or job search information, "le facebook n'est pas un faux pas!".

What's your opinion? Do you hate seeing job openings posted on Facebook? Do you cringe when someone announces a job search? Or do you like to help?

Social Media and Recruiting: Some Companies Just Don't Get It

2009-08-21T16:10:00.001-05:00

I heard recently about a company that didn't want their corporate recruiters to have their Twitter profile connected to their Linkedin profile because they were concerned that the recruiters might say something on Twitter that would reflect badly on the company. Amazing. I wonder if they are going to ask them to stop sending email and using the phone too. An untrusting environment and a misguided approach to control will not breed productivity or loyalty.

In this great article by Stephanie Lloyd, Do you keep your employees in cages or are they allowed to interact with the public? . she states that "Social media is a dynamic communication and branding tool and companies should be proactive in coaching their employees as to how to use it. Managed well it can be a fantastic vehicle for promoting your company in positive and genuine way. Zappos has embraced social media in a bold way and incorporates Twitter into its corporate culture. Comcast is an excellent example of a company that is utilizing social media to deliver customer service in a whole new way and they are turning disgruntled customers in to raving fans."

There is a new article written almost daily telling job seekers how to use Twitter to connect with jobs and recruiters. Who better to be your employer brand advocate on the fastest growing social network, Twitter, than your recruiting team? The fact that people respond better to real people than to corporate brands is not debatable. So why ask your recruiters to disassociate their brand on Twitter from the company?

And now, with applications such as Jobvite, you can even utilize your own employees networks to auto-source candidates for your job openings. It's a great concept. But is unlikely to work in a company that doesn't trust their employees to be professional.

Top 7 Goals of a Successful Cultmunity Leader

2009-08-14T14:16:00.001-05:00

Work to do. Open email client. See message: "Top Five Ways Social Media Can Cause Death". Must know more. Open message, click link. Enter email address to login to intriguing online community. Get sucked in. Consent to be an honorary "group leader". Email all your friends to join. Time wasted = 3 hours. And your hooked.

One of the important things we are supposed to do with social media is to build online communities and engage our networks. And I wonder why it hasn't been suggested that we can take some tips from successful cult leaders.

Granted, cult leaders are often psychopaths. But they seem to share some important characteristics with successful community managers. So with that in mind, here are my top seven goals of a great ~~cult~~ community leader:

Be very helpful and engaging.
Identify and recruit a first generation of ~~lost souls~~ followers that will, with your "help", breed additional followers...
Build trust and fanatical loyalty.
Build internal teams to give members a sense of purpose.
Give your followers a mission, motivation, and direction.
Convince them to donate money. (optional)
Convince them to commit acts of violence, murder, or self destruction. (optional)

If you like this post, please consider subscribing to my RSS Feed.

References

What Does it Take to Manage a Community? at Fast Wonder: Online ...

Essential Skills of a Community Manager

Talk It Up!: Top Five Skills a Community Manager Must Have

Win a Close Encounter to RecruitFest '09

2009-08-07T11:11:00.001-05:00

I can't go to Recruitfest this year on September 23rd and 24th, and I'm pissed. It has the unfortunate fate of falling in a month that contains two of my kids' birthdays, my anniversary, my Shriner initiation, and a guest spot on The View. Plus the fact that I'm helping to put on the first ever TalentNet Live Expo here in Dallas to coincide with ERE for those not able to make it to Hollywood, FL.

Suffice to say that It would be difficult for me to get to Toronto next month for Recruitfest. Why not bring the whole family along, or make it a great anniversary trip for me and the wife? I tried that. No go. "What the hell is an unconference?" was a typical response.

The value in attending such a conference is different for everyone. For me it's not so much about learning the latest tricks and trends. I'm egotistical in that I feel I've got that covered. It's more about reminding myself of the basics that bring me the most success. And getting that invaluable renewed passion for the game that comes from communing with my recruiting friends face-to-face. As a recruiter, it's always comforting to see that we are not alone.

I have made so many good friends over the last year on RecruitingBlogs.com, and Twitter, and through my own blog who are going to be at RecruitFest. And knowing I can't attend makes me feel a bit like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters, drawn to Devil's Tower by some unknown force.

So as I sat at dinner last night, absentmindedly carving the shape of Toronto out of my mashed potatoes, I decided that I would help someone else get to Recruitfest. You see, I have a ticket already. And I will give it away to the person who leaves the most compelling comment to this post telling me why they need or want to go to Recruitfest.

That's it. Leave an Oscar-worthy comment, and subscribe to my email updates here to qualify. I will announce the winner around the middle of next week. Plenty of time to buy a plane ticket or hitch a ride with Jerry Albright. If the stories, pics, and videos from the last one tell you anything, RecruitFest 09 will be informative, inspirational, and a great chance for a close encounter with your online friends in recruiting.

Groovy Answers to Tricky Interview Questions

2009-08-04T20:07:00.001-05:00

"Wow, I shouldn't have said all that!..." you're thinking to yourself, "Especially that part about the unicorns!" Somewhere in the 20 minutes it took you to respond to the question "Can you tell me a little about yourself?", you realized that your inner monologue had been awkwardly introduced to the hiring manager sitting across from you.

It's easy to be drawn off sides by seemingly innocent interview questions. Some actually are quite innocent. But others are designed to see how you respond to tricky questions. Others still are open ended and attempt to get you to "speak freely" about a subject.

To stay on message, ask the interviewer early on what he or she feels are the most important qualities to have in the job for which your are interviewing. Listen carefully to the answer. Then target your answers to any questions accordingly. Highlight the facts about your background and skill set that compliment those things.

It will help to be well prepared. Be sure you know your resume very well as it applies to the job description. In a great post written by my Co-Founder at A-List Solutions, Jeff Lipschultz, Interviewing is Easy…if Done Right!, Jeff suggests making a check list to bring with you to the interview:

On the left side of your desk, put the job description (and any other company information beyond the job description—a good recruiter will have this, along with the company’s web site). Put your resume to the right. Then put a blank sheet of paper next to the resume.

Literally connect requirements and company info on the left with the resume experiences and skill set on the right. Literally, it’s like connecting the dots with a crayon—child’s play! Hopefully, you create a complex web of connections as you may connect a requirement to several spots on your resume. And several requirements on the left may link to the same experience on the right. These connections are checklist items.

Build your checklist by listing the requirements (and related company info) along with the best examples of your ability and experience. You should include boxes to check off as you interview. You need not write out details, as all you will need is some code words to remind you of the example(s) you want to share.

It may also help your nerves a bit to know, in advance, what some of these seemingly innocent questions are really about. Colleen Clark has a nice list of What an Interviewer Wants to Hear on Monster.com.

What motivates you the most?
They want to know what gets you out of bed - helping people, building a safe facility, developing teams, completing projects on time, implementing fair and honest practices, making people laugh.

How would you describe your personality?
Mention two or three personal characteristics that you are confident about -- a sense of humor, patience, supportive of others or highly versatile. Try to make them relevant to the company or position being applied to. If you have done any assessment testing, take words you most identify with out of them. Of course, prepare for this question beforehand.

How do your subordinates perceive you?
Stick as much as you can to work-related skills that you know they know you have. Interviews are not personality disclosing interrogations; they are to ensure you have the skills and fit to do the job. Say you are conscientious, ambitious, tenacious or helpful.

What can you offer us that other candidates cannot?
You have no idea what the other candidates bring to the table so your best answer is to mention at least two benefits you will provide: I will save the company money on.... OR I will decrease OR improve OR increase OR implement...

What is the most demotivating work environment for you?
This question comes in the back door of what kind of people or office personality do you like best? Negativity, inflexible, non-team supported or closed-door policy are safe answers and not too revealing. You can always turn that question around and say, work environments that are supportive, friendly, helpful and congenial are my favorite places to work.

Where would you like to be in five years from now?
Keep in mind that you are not interviewing for any other position than the one you are there for right now. Best you say something like, I hope to still be working for the company and hopefully promoted based on my accomplishments. Telling them you want their job is not a job idea or saying that you want to start your own business, but you need some practical experience first, do not go there.

What important trends do you see coming in our industry?
This is your opportunity to tell them your opinions and to show that you have read up to the minute articles or books on what's coming down the pike.

In your last position, what where the things you liked the least? The most?
Have a reserved list ready of activities or tasks that you don't like, but really try to accentuate the positive as best as you can. Know your must-haves and flexibilities.

In summary: Know yourself, your background, and your skills. Know how they apply to this job. Ask what's important to the manager at the beginning of the interview. Target your answers accordingly and stick to the point. This will give you the best chance to properly allow yourself to introduce...yourself.

Social Media for Recruiting and Job Search Podcast

2009-07-31T06:40:00.001-05:00

Colin Alsheimer (@levelten_colin on Twitter) of LevelTen Interactive recently invited me and Chris Hoyt, the Associate Director of Talent Attraction for AT&T (aka TheRecruiterGuy) into their offices to record a session for their weekly podcast, The Ten Spot. During the podcast, we share our top tips for job seekers in today's economy, and share some recent trends in the recruiting and staffing industry, including a brief discussion on mobile recruiting.

To see a snippet of video from the session where we discuss tips for job seekers on social media click on the second little circle on the timeline below. In the video from left are Renee Dobbs, Kayla Wren (@kaylawren), Tom McCracken, me, and Chris. For the full video (only if you are really bored or if you want to see me eat a bunch of cookies and guzzle bottled water) go here. The edited podcast is the way to go and you can listen to that here or download it here digitalrecruiting.mp3.

LevelTen is a professional Internet strategy and Web design company based in Dallas, Texas. We specialize in Web 2.0 Drupal development, best-in-class website design, Internet marketing, search engine optimization and training programs. LevelTen features an integrated team of web consultants, creative designers, writers, programmers and marketing professionals that know how to get online results. Check them out at www.getlevelten.com .

My thanks to Colin Alsheimer and the LevelTen team.

LinkedIn Help for the Clueless Job Search

2009-07-23T22:56:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine recently moved to the Houston area and is trying to find a job as a Revenue Accountant in the Oil and Gas industry. Easy, right? Not necessarily. There are quite a few job seekers with the same skills applying to any openings that come available in that area right now. My friend needs an edge but has never done any real social networking. So I advised him to start with LinkedIn.

He had created a profile once upon a time there but never did anything with it (as is the case with many). He has about 7 connections. "Not to worry" I say. "You can quickly make something useful out of this." I gave him some instructions and sent him a short note with an abbreviated version for reference. It seems like I send a similar note like this quite often to job seekers who are new to networking. So I asked my friend if he would mind if I blogged about his efforts as I thought it might be instructive to others.

He said sure. And since I don't want to totally throw my friend under the bus here, we'll just call him MacGruber.

MacGruber,

Great speaking with you again today. Here is a short version of the LinkedIn plan we discussed. First of all get a good profile picture of yourself posted ASAP. No deer rifles or hunting caps. Just a nice close-up of your face. Try to look friendly.

Next post a solid job description for each of your previous positions going back at least 7 years. Use keywords in those descriptions that an employer might use to find a person such as yourself. Be specific as to what you do and give examples of your accomplishments.

Here is a good query you can use in Google to find other LinkedIn users to network with in your field in the Houston area.

site:www.linkedin.com (accounting OR accountant) houston (oil OR gas) (inurl:pub OR inurl:in) -intitle:directory

You can add terms to the search to narrow the results if you like. Use quotes around multi word terms. Look at the profiles of the people that result from your query.

Make a note of the companies these people work for. Those are your target employers. Look at the industry specific groups that these users have joined. Join the same groups.

Post this discussion in those groups:

"Greetings all. I am trying to expand my network here would love to connect with you. Please send me an invitation to join your network if you feel it is appropriate. My email address is MacGruber@clueless.com .

I am a 3+ year Oil and Gas accountant who has recently moved to the Houston area and am looking for work here. My salary requirements are flexible and I am just seeking to get started with a good organization. Any assistance is appreciated. I look forward to networking with you. Sincerely, MacGruber"

Post this weekly. Also post interesting news items and articles in these groups. Ask and answer questions. Start to position yourself as knowledgeable person. Always be interesting and friendly. Never be needy, pushy, or creepy.

Invite group members with whom you interact to join your network. You should specifically target managers. Ones who might have a hiring need.

Wash, rinse, repeat. Check in with me in a week and let's see how you are doing. I expect you to make something useful out of the scraps you currently have, so no slacking. You can do it!

Cheers,

CF

Top Tweets from Fishdogs

2009-07-21T23:06:00.001-05:00

Some of the best articles I found today to post. These are a mixture of topics, but all worthy of a quick look. Enjoy.

"How do you know which job to recruit on?" Gr8 post by @Jerry_Albright http://tinyurl.com/kkxajk
How a Stay-at-Home Mom Should Explain Resume Gaps. Maybe. http://twurl.nl/iy1zpm
Advice from @Fishdogs on using twttr in job/candidate search by @StephanieALloyd http://twurl.nl/7y5q2e RT @CurriculumVitae @jlipschultz
How to Make Your Tweets More Useful by @ducttape http://ow.ly/hKrh RT @JeffHurt
Do you keep your employees in cages? Gr8 new post on #TalentNet blog by @stephaniealloyd http://twurl.nl/td5ims #TNL RT @TalentNet
More Adults Taking High School Equivalency Tests http://snurl.com/nnyda RT @karla_porter RT @gwbchamber
Do you know who your top ReTweeters are? You might be surprised. http://www.twitteranalyzer.com
Save Time Job Searching w/ Resume Distribution : http://bit.ly/mOdbc RT @BillVick
Despite Recession, Companies are Beating Profit Expectations (USA Today) http://bit.ly/EEq0S RT @MikeRamer RT @cristalcash
dont miss @stephaniealloyd's interview w/@fishdogs abt how he uses twttr 4 recruiting: http://bit.ly/2DNlN RT @Keppie_Careers
Facebook can use your photos in their ads. How to turn it off http://bit.ly/8clgK RT @JennyDeVaughn @sgordon70 @thetcp @ellerylong
Screen for talent AND culture - free webinar - http://bit.ly/7dT4c - RT @Animal RT @KevinWGrossman
Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? http://bit.ly/DIpVL Video review by @BillVick
3 Steps To Building A Profitable Freelance Business Using Twitter http://bit.ly/YrAAg
Have You Considered a Cool Job? http://twurl.nl/kbt50m

"How do you know which job to recruit on?" Gr8 post by @Jerry_Albright http://tinyurl.com/kkxajk

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 07:09 PM PDT

"How do you know which job to recruit on?" Gr8 post by @Jerry_Albright http://tinyurl.com/kkxajk

How a Stay-at-Home Mom Should Explain Resume Gaps. Maybe. http://twurl.nl/iy1zpm

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 02:52 PM PDT

How a Stay-at-Home Mom Should Explain Resume Gaps. Maybe. http://twurl.nl/iy1zpm

Advice from @Fishdogs on using twttr in job/candidate search by @StephanieALloyd http://twurl.nl/7y5q2e RT @CurriculumVitae @jlipschultz

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 02:29 PM PDT

Advice from @Fishdogs on using twttr in job/candidate search by @StephanieALloyd http://twurl.nl/7y5q2e RT @CurriculumVitae @jlipschultz

How to Make Your Tweets More Useful by @ducttape http://ow.ly/hKrh RT @JeffHurt

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 02:26 PM PDT

How to Make Your Tweets More Useful by @ducttape http://ow.ly/hKrh RT @JeffHurt

Do you keep your employees in cages? Gr8 new post on #TalentNet blog by @stephaniealloyd http://twurl.nl/td5ims #TNL RT @TalentNet

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 01:14 PM PDT

Do you keep your employees in cages? Gr8 new post on #TalentNet blog by @stephaniealloyd http://twurl.nl/td5ims #TNL RT @TalentNet

More Adults Taking High School Equivalency Tests http://snurl.com/nnyda RT @karla_porter RT @gwbchamber

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 11:34 AM PDT

More Adults Taking High School Equivalency Tests http://snurl.com/nnyda RT @karla_porter RT @gwbchamber

Do you know who your top ReTweeters are? You might be surprised. http://www.twitteranalyzer.com

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 09:08 AM PDT

Do you know who your top ReTweeters are? You might be surprised. http://www.twitteranalyzer.com

Save Time Job Searching w/ Resume Distribution : http://bit.ly/mOdbc RT @BillVick

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 08:17 AM PDT

Save Time Job Searching w/ Resume Distribution : http://bit.ly/mOdbc RT @BillVick

Despite Recession, Companies are Beating Profit Expectations (USA Today) http://bit.ly/EEq0S RT @MikeRamer RT @cristalcash

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 07:51 AM PDT

Despite Recession, Companies are Beating Profit Expectations (USA Today) http://bit.ly/EEq0S RT @MikeRamer RT @cristalcash

dont miss @stephaniealloyd's interview w/@fishdogs abt how he uses twttr 4 recruiting: http://bit.ly/2DNlN RT @Keppie_Careers

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 07:22 AM PDT

dont miss @stephaniealloyd's interview w/@fishdogs abt how he uses twttr 4 recruiting: http://bit.ly/2DNlN RT @Keppie_Careers

Facebook can use your photos in their ads. How to turn it off http://bit.ly/8clgK RT @JennyDeVaughn @sgordon70 @thetcp @ellerylong

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 07:16 AM PDT

Facebook can use your photos in their ads. How to turn it off http://bit.ly/8clgK RT @JennyDeVaughn @sgordon70 @thetcp @ellerylong

Screen for talent AND culture - free webinar - http://bit.ly/7dT4c - RT @Animal RT @KevinWGrossman

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 07:16 AM PDT

Screen for talent AND culture - free webinar - http://bit.ly/7dT4c - RT @Animal RT @KevinWGrossman

Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? http://bit.ly/DIpVL Video review by @BillVick

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 07:14 AM PDT

Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? http://bit.ly/DIpVL Video review by @BillVick

3 Steps To Building A Profitable Freelance Business Using Twitter http://bit.ly/YrAAg

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 06:34 AM PDT

3 Steps To Building A Profitable Freelance Business Using Twitter http://bit.ly/YrAAg

Have You Considered a Cool Job? http://twurl.nl/kbt50m

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 03:03 AM PDT

Have You Considered a Cool Job? http://twurl.nl/kbt50m

How I Use Twitter for Recruiting

2009-07-21T09:05:00.001-05:00

She didn't actually grill me. But Stephanie Lloyd did ask the appropriate questions to uncover some of my methods for social recruiting on Twitter. In an interview posted yesterday on her blog, Radiant Veracity, we discuss some techniques that are helpful to both recruiters and job seekers.

I have been networking with Stephanie for a while on Twitter and other networks. She is a sharp recruiting pro, and a great (prolific!) writer. She has recently rebranded her business, something that I plan to cover in a post here in the near future.

Thanks to Stephanie for inviting me to participate in her series on how recruiters use Twitter for recruiting.

Interview with Craig Fisher: How do you use Twitter for recruiting?

by Stephanie A. Lloyd on July 21, 2009 · 0 comments

in I work in HR, I'm looking for a job, Networking, Recruiters, Social Media

Today as part of an ongoing series I had the opportunity to ask my friend Craig Fisher how he uses Twitter in his recruiting efforts.

Craig Fisher

Craig, Co-Founder of A-List Solutions and a veteran sales leader in the staffing and recruiting industry, was gracious enough to allow me to spend some time grilling interviewing him about how he uses Twitter as an integral part of his recruiting practice.

How do you use Twitter in your recruiting efforts?

I use Twitter in multiple ways for recruiting. I use my personal Twitter account, @Fishdogs, to follow and network with prospective candidates and clients.

I post things that would be interesting to job seekers and employers/recruiters, and I have discussions, take polls, listen, and assist those in need; all on Twitter. I also do these things to a lesser extent from my corporate Twitter presence.

But, Twitter doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

I refer my Twitter network to my LinkedIn and Facebook groups, my blog, company blog, job orders, etc. – and I have lots of phone conversations with my network, as well. All of these activities combine the brand Craig Fisher as a helpful expert in my field and my company as a go-to resource for staffing services and social recruitment training.

READ MORE

Book Review - All A Twitter by Tee Morris

2009-07-19T12:24:00.001-05:00

Earlier this year I was introduced on Twitter to Tee Morris (@teemonster) by my good friend Annette Holland (@daNanner). The next week I had a phone call with Tee to advise him on some career and branding issues. He turned out to be a really great guy and even asked me to contribute my two cents for his book, All a Twitter. The book became available last week and, low and behold, I made the cover (along with a bunch of other Twitter users). But still!

And what a great book! I learned a ton from this book (and I teach Twitter classes!). Tee has created a perfect guide for both personal and business users into Twitter's world of microblogging and network building. Even advanced users will find new and useful nuggets in this entertaining read, and will catch themselves nodding along while thinking, "Yes, exactly!". "Welcome to the local coffee house that never closes" Yes, exactly!

Product Description

Make Twitter work for you–right now!

Twitter! Everyone’s talking about it. Its memberbership grew over 700% in just one year! Now, learn how to make the most of Twitter–in your personal life, your business, everywhere!

All a Twitter delivers quick, smart answers to the questions everyone’s asking about Twitter: What’s it about? What’s it good for? Is it worth your time? How do you get started? Where can you find great Twitter feeds to follow? How can you build a worldwide audience for your own Tweets?

You name it, Tee Morris answers it–and shows you exactly how to do it, step-by-step, in plain English. No experience? Looking for something new to do with your Tweets? No problem: this is the Twitter book for everyone!

Covers all this, and more…

• Setting up your Twitter account and getting started in minutes

• Creating great Tweets: making the most of the 140 characters
Twitter gives you

• Using Twitter to make connections, exchange great ideas, and
uncover hard-to-find resources

• Building a Twitter audience–and using it to build your business

• Tweeting to recruit, promote, and coordinate volunteer organizations

• Mastering Twitter etiquette and avoiding beginner mistakes

• Swapping Tweets on your browser, on your desktop, and on your phone!

• Finding tools that make Twitter even more efficient

• And much more…

informit.com/que

allatwitterbook.com

About the Author

Tee Morris has been an active member of the Twitter community since 2007 and part of the Web 2.0 movement even longer.

He established himself as a pioneer of podcasting by being the first to podcast a novel in its entirety. His fantasy epic, MOREVI, went on to be a finalist for the 2006 Parsec Award for Best Podcast Novel. That production also led to the founding of Podiobooks.com, the writing of Podcasting for Dummies (with Chuck Tomasi and Evo Terra), and the writing of Expert

Podcasting Practices for Dummies
(with Evo Terra and Ryan Williams). Tee continues to explore the application of blogging, podcasting, and Twitter at Imagine That! Studios (online at imaginethatstudios.com), and has spoken across the country and around the world on Social Media for Book Expo America, NOAA, Te Papa Tongarewa: The Museum of New Zealand, and LIANZA.

Along with being a Social Media specialist, Tee is a columnist and critic for AppleiPhoneApps.com and writes Science Fiction and Fantasy found in print at Dragon Moon Press and in audio at TeeMorris.com. His fantasydetective novel, The Case of The Singing Sword: A Billibub Baddings Mystery, received an Honorable Mention for ForeWord Magazine’s 2004 Book of the Year award, Finalist for the 2005 Independent Publisher’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Best Audio Drama: Long Form at the 2008 Parsec Awards. Find out more about Tee Morris at imaginethatstudios.com and teemorris. com on the Internet.

Crawl Before You Walk with Social Recruiting

2009-07-16T10:27:00.000-05:00

This week I had the pleasure of writing a guest post on the CruiterTalk Carnival hosted by @RyanLeary.

Social recruiting is not a golden ticket to more placements. But it will allow you to build a prospect and referral network like no other medium, and to brand yourself as a professional, knowledgeable, and trustworthy expert with whom those prospects want to do business. Sure, you can make placements by recruiting from social networks. But recruiters need to be a few things before they will be successful with social recruiting. First and foremost they need to be good recruiters.

Good recruiters are proactive in building their pipelines. They don’t jump straight into a new sourcing effort whenever they get a new job order. Rather they first check their current active candidates, check with other recruiters in their organization, ask for referrals from their network, and then start sourcing new candidates as a last resort.

Our time is our most valuable asset. A few minutes a day spent building your “social pipeline” is all it takes once you have the pieces in place. And ensuring that you are building the right network, one that is targeted to your specialty is essential to your success. Know your skill buckets and fill them daily with new prospects by adding them to your network.

Once you have added new prospects to your network, engage, engage, and engage some more. Offer tips, answer questions, reply to posts. Don’t just expect to post your job orders and have the leads come a runnin’. You have to actively participate a little each day to build trust and rapport. On LinkedIn and Facebook, participate in group discussions and Q & A. On Twitter you must listen, contribute, reply and retweet.

The phone is still your best tool as a recruiter. But candidate and client prospects are often more willing to schedule or take phone calls from a recruiter they have been actively networking with on social platforms. So plan to work your social pipeline for 15-30 minutes in the morning, at lunch, or in the evening. Anything more than that should be done during off hours.

If you plan ahead, you will always have good material to share with your network. With social recruiting, as with all recruiting activities, you should plan for tomorrow before you leave today. Focus on the activities that will get you closer to your goals. Build your LinkedIn group and update it at least once a week. Work your Twitter network 1-3 times each day. Update your Facebook community weekly. Many of these tasks can be automated.

The keys to success are already in your tool belt. Your recruiting skills are the same in any medium. Your primary goal each day should be to work on the job that is closest to the money, the one with the greatest likelihood of getting an interview. Your second goal should be proactive recruiting. Keep building that pipeline for future success. Don’t look at social recruiting as primarily a sourcing effort. Look at it as a method of paying your future self by assisting and conversing with those in your growing network now.

Here is an example of a Google query you can use to x-ray LinkedIn for targeted Twitter users: site:www.linkedin.com j2ee "project manager" dallas (twitter | tweet) (inurl:pub | inurl:in) -intitle:directory

For additional search options check this tutorial by the Boolean Black Belt, Glen Cathey. For more tips on targeting your Twitter audience see my blog post, “Who should I Follow on Twitter”.

I will be discussing the use of social media for recruiter branding this Thursday afternoon, July 16th, at the The Texas Recruiters Association workshop/seminar - "The future of recruiting after the recession". Register & Secure your seat at: http://texasrecruiters.eventbrite.com .

Craig Fisher is a founding partner of A-List solutions, and an 18 year sales veteran who has been an innovator in the Recruiting Industry since 1995. He has been a top performer and sales leader in start-ups as well as large, high growth companies. Craig specializes in Information Technology Staffing, and Executive Search services.

Craig writes about Social Networking and Branding strategies for careers and employment at his blog, www.fishdogs.com. He is a regular contributor to technology and career forums, and has authored articles that have been published internationally and featured in HR publications, industry newsletters, and career web sites.

In addition to recruiting, Craig trains staffing firms, client companies, and professional organizations on Social Media Branding and Twitter effectiveness. In April of 2009, Craig co-founded #TalentNet, the wildly popular monthly Twitter forum for the recruiting community.

Texas Recruiters Association – Workshop Seminar and Networking Event 07/16/2009

2009-07-14T23:36:00.001-05:00

Come be a part of the kick off meeting for the newly formed Texas Recruiters Association. The Texas Recruiters Association is a new and growing professional recruiters association; membership is open to recruiters, human resources, and sourcing professionals. During our unconference workshop you will learn about “The future of recruiting after the recession." This is your opportunity to join the Texas Recruiters Association, discover fabulous new ideas, and build a huge network at the same time. Attending this event will provide you with tips and strategies that you will need to plan for your future in recruiting.

Attend this event and you will receive all of the following:

3 months of free unlimited job postings. A special offer to you! From Hireflyer.com
You will receive a The Recruiters Association networking contact list. Our list will provide an instant turbo boost to your Twitter, LinkedIn, or Ning network connections.
Receive a free week's use of Checkster. Perform 10 Reference Checkups during that free week; it is a $400 value!
Cachinko.com show special: 3 months free service on Cachinko.com! Plus, 3 lucky companies will receive up to $5000 for Referral Rewards!
Complimentary membership to Go Fish Recruiting (For a limited time)
A chance to win (We will be raffling off two tickets to www.Onrec.com/Expo2009)

About the Event -

Date: Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Location: Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre, 5410 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas, United States 75240-6276 Tel: (972) 934-8400

Meeting time: Start at 4:00pm to 5:30pm

Workshop Seminar Topic: “The future of recruiting after the recession” What is the future of recruiting going to look like after the economic downturn?

- Conference Moderator: Thomas F.X. Licari President of the Recruiter's Association will act as the moderator, managing the flow and keeping the meeting moving

Expert Panel:

- Craig Fisher, Principal, A-LiST SOLUTIONS, INC. Recruitment Branding: The personal branding talk that we hear so much about today is not a fad, it's a fact. With the end of each employment downturn comes the upturn of many more agencies and recruiters entering the game. Those with established brands online will have the name equity to rise above and succeed in the new economy.

- Christopher Hoyt, PHR, Associate Director, AT&T Talent Attraction (AKA: RecruiterGuy)Will discuss the future of 2.0 engagement and mobile recruiting; Recruiting with iPhone apps, mobile pages, and social integration.

- April Leah Grady, President, AGResearch International, LLC: Passive candidates vs. active/unemployed candidates – what does the future hold for them as the economy recovers? How can you adjust your recruitment strategy so you are getting the best possible talent for open positions?

- Michael Goldberg, Strategic Recruiting and HR Manager at Freeman

Networking & Cocktail Reception: 5:30pm to 7:30pm

- Networking & Cocktail Reception: A cocktail reception will be held at (Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre, 5410 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas Tel: 972-934-8400) directly after the Workshop Seminar at 5:30pm to 7:30pm. You will receive a Texas Recruiters Association networking contact list. Our list will provide an instant turbo boost to your LinkedIn networking connections.

HOW TO SIGN UP & for more details about the event: http://texasrecruiters.eventbrite.com/

For more information feel free to contact me directly,

Thomas F.X. Licari

The Recruiter's Association

Office: 847-923-0822

Mobile: 847-609-9065

E-mail: thomas@licari.biz

Website: www.recruitersassociation.org

Check out: www.texasrecruiters.org

Greetings from Aruba

2009-07-07T15:47:00.000-05:00

Today is day 3 of our vacation in beautiful Aruba. On Sunday we happened upon a windsurfing tournament that turned into a sunset party. Yesterday we explored the California Lighthouse and Baby Beach.

We're about to embark on a catamaran snorkel tour and tomorrow morning we dive 2 shipwrecks! Having a blast so far. Two words: Balashi beer. Yummy!

Twitter Analytics from the Heartland

2009-06-19T14:45:00.000-05:00

The great Matt Galloway (@mattgalloway), who's passion for social media and analytics are downright contagious, has put together a snapshot of Twitter usage in the Sooner state that reveals some very interesting trends, and is likely a good barometer for Twitter usage overall. Matt was recently featured in an Urban Tulsa article, along with Bill Handy (@billhandy), about using social networking in your job search.

As a native of Tulsa, I am always interested in news and info from O K L A. But beyond that, the study that Matt has recently completed presents some useful insights different from anything I have seen on Twitter usage.

Of special interest to me was the estimate that one in one hundred Oklahomans are active Twitter users. Really? I guess that makes sense, but I'm still blown away by that stat. Also the fact that, even though we've heard that the majority of Twitter users are "older", some of the highest concentrations of Twitter use in Oklahoma are in college towns. And these "college punks" Tweet later at night than the "older folks". Stats like these are important to staffing professionals and businesses who are interested in targeting college students.

There are many other interesting conclusions that can be drawn from this 8 week study involving 1,503,018 tweets collected from 21,083 tweeps
from March 29, 2009-May 31,2009. I took the liberty of creating a Slideshare presentation (shown below) of Matt's original document which can be found here.

Thanks to Matt for this very interesting and unique analysis.

Oklahoma Tweets

View more Microsoft Word documents from Craig Fisher.

Social Media / Twitter Training in Dallas & Beyond

2009-06-18T15:40:00.000-05:00

This year requests for training on Social Media and Twitter have gone through the roof. A-List Solutions is at the forefront of small firms using Twitter and Social tools for Marketing, Brand awareness, and Recruiting. I have trained top recruiting organizations, businesses, and professional groups in DFW and nationally on Twitter and Social Media effectiveness. I explain how to best utilize these tools for branding, recruiting, marketing, sales, jobs search, list building, etc. Here are a few comments from previous presentations:

"Excellent presentation: great analogies and you took the fear out of social networking." - Joel Friedman, VPIT, member DFWTENG

"Craig brings deep practical experience in his training to anyone that wants to leverage Twitter or other social media. This is especially valuable to anyone in the staffing/recruiting business. However, anyone can improve their Web 2.0 effectiveness with Craig's help. I found his presentation and ability to answer nearly any question very valuable to the point I am rolling with my new social media strategy! :-)" - Rick Rene, Professional Services Regional Director at Matrix Resources

"I've had the pleasure of knowing Craig for more than 10 years. He's without question one of the most savvy recruiters in the business. Craig is a complete professional and is someone with a high degree of integrity and ability to get results for those fortunate to work with him. In addition to being a "thought leader" in the recruiting space, he's a recognized leader in all aspects of social media. He's someone I consider to be a trusted expert in this emerging force. Craig has always been willing to take time to share with others his insight and experience, lending a helping hand whenever asked. I look forward to a continued partnership and friendship for many years to come." - Jon Davis, Director, Western Operations, MATRIX Resources, Inc.

"Great presentation yesterday! We appreciate your willingness to present to our quarterly meeting. Many of our team members listed your presentation as the most valuable take-away from the meeting (you're a tough act to follow). We are a lot more knowledgeable now." - Dane Reese, Senior Vice President at Eurosoft

"The presentation was not only very professional, but very educational as well. This was on of the best "Personal Networking" seminars that can really be applied that I have seen." -Steven Flad, Director at Stark Holdings

Here is some additional recognition I have received (my Twitter handle is Fishdogs):

Mashable.com HOW TO: Find a Job on Twitter

Twitter Grader Top Recruiters
#TalentNet and Social Recruiting By John Sumser

ExtremeRecruiting.TV

Featured on The Recruiting Animal Show-highest rated show to date!

The Career 100

http://WeFollow.com/tag/recruiter

I would be glad to train your team either in-person, or remotely by Webinar.

The ROI of utilizing Twitter correctly is excellent. Recruiters and companies can vastly increase their visibility and greatly broaden their client and candidate base with just a small amount of time per week. The consequence of attempting to do this incorrectly is hours of wasted time. I see a many companies just posting jobs or Marketing/PR info and getting nothing in return. There are tools and techniques that can help you target your activity with laser precision. Knowing what they are and what to do with them is as much a key as is your general approach to social networking.

Technorati Profile inh4g8mri2

Notes on Social Recruiting Summit & 2 Upcoming DFW Events

2009-06-17T12:57:00.000-05:00

The way social media can effect recruiting and retention was a hot topic at the recent ERE Social Recruiting Summit held this week at Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA. Jenny DeVaughn attended and wrote a nice synopsis of her experience that can be viewed on the ERE Community site. I watched many of the presentations through streaming video that was made available. And I monitored the conversations that emanated live from the event on Twitter.

One of the topics that caught my interest was the idea of "relational onboarding" presented by Sacha Chua. Jenny DeVaughn describes the session:

"Sacha Chua led our next discussion on how we all can have the most awesomest job search ever. Sacha was unapologetically enthusiastic about her love for her current role with IBM. Sacha described how important "relational onboarding" is to new or potential employees. It is vital to have genuine connections and relationships with your future co-workers before you start working. I agree with @JohnSumser, this is the key to seamless recruiting. Sacha also mentioned, once you are an employee, you are an ambassador. Laurie Ruettimann retweeted one of my tweets during this session while I was sitting two seats away from her. How cool is that?"

Here is a presentation Sasha Chua posted just prior to the SRS:

The Gen Y Guide to Web 2.0 at Work

View more OpenOffice presentations from Sacha Chua.

I touched on this subject in my article for Universum, Organic Branding for Employers. The idea is that Social Networking should not only be encouraged at work, but that it should now be considered an essential part of the onboarding process and is key to company culture, retention, and job satisfaction.

Also of interest was the presentation by Reid Hoffman, CEO of LinkedIn, who believes that we should all think of ourselves as a small business. Here are the slides from his presentation:

Reid Hoffman - Ere Social Recruiting Summit Keynote

View more OpenOffice presentations from frfrdufour.

One of my growing fascinations is the potential for better communication with candidates and clients through Mobile Recruiting. So you can bet I was dialed in for the Mobile Recruiting presentation by Chris Hoyt and Michael Marlatt. Per Jenny, "They discussed the mobile myths: mobile is just hype, only used by the youth generation and that it is only a device for spam. They also shared that SMS (a text message to your phone) has a 94% read rate. We all participated in a live step-by-step text (short code) demonstration. In mobile marketing, we are only limited by our creativity; however, one must consistently create value."

Overall it appeared to be a really great event with cutting edge information shared by entertaining presenters. Once again I was amazed at how easily those of us who couldn't attend could follow so closely through the live stream and on Twitter.

Local Dallas recruiters and HR professionals will be treated to two low cost events here in DFW this year that will cover some of the same topics and more. The Texas Recruiters Association - Workshop Seminar and Networking Event will be held on July 16th from 4pm to 7:30pm at the Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre. The cost is a very affordable $40. I will be one of those featured on the "expert panel" along with Chris Hoyt, April Leah Grady, and Dennis Smith.

The next event will be loosely based on the popular Twitter forum for Recruiters, #TalentNet. TalentNet Live will also feature me, Chris Hoyt, Dennis Smith, and others who will provide training on leveraging the latest tools and techniques to more effectively recruit and grow your business. It will be held on September 11th at Frito Lay Headquarters in Plano, TX. Additional details for this event will be available soon. This local recruiting expo will also be available for a low entry fee, a portion of which is planned to be donated to a charity for the families of firefighters.

If you are one of the many Dallas area staffing professionals who couldn't attend the ERE Social Recruiting Summit, please consider coming out to one or both of these local workshops. They will each provide unique and useful information that you can use for motivation and strategy in recruiting.

REQUIRED: A Custom Facebook URL For Your Brand Name

2009-06-09T22:13:00.000-05:00

By: Dan Schawbel | Personal Branding Blog

REQUIRED: A Custom Facebook URL For Your Brand Name | Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

At midnight on June 13th, Facebook is releasing custom URL's for both profile and fan pages. This is a big move by Facebook and if you review their announcement this afternoon, there are a few details that you want to pay attention to. From my perspective, this is perhaps the most important news since Google released their profile pages a few months ago. I want to take a few minutes to go over what this means for your personal brand, the brands you associate with and, of course, Facebook.

Your personal brand

A custom Facebook URL, or http://facebook.com/YourFullName, is extremely valuable to you. First, since Google is how people find you, including the press, hiring managers, and customers, claiming the results for your name is imperative. A custom Facebook URL will rank very high in Google and can fill up one of the results for your name. Second, a shorter URL will be easy for your audience to remember, so if you make a presentation or you want to link to your Facebook profile, it's seamless and obvious. Third, if you don't claim your custom URL and someone else does, you're out of luck and have almost no chance to reclaim it at a later date.

Recommendation: Friday night, June 11, at 11:01pm CDT, rush to get your custom URL and choose "yourfullname" (one word) instead of the other options Facebook gives you because it's more SEO friendly. You can claim your user name here.

REQUIRED: A Custom Facebook URL For Your Brand Name | Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

How to Opt Out of Automated Welcome DMs on Twitter

2009-06-08T17:19:00.000-05:00

If you are a Twitter user, you know what I'm talking about. It's possible that you are one of the group of culprits who, for months, have filled up my Direct Message box with automated welcome messages. In fact, before I realized what a nuisance it is, I used automated welcome DMs myself to thank new Tweeps for following me on Twitter. But I, Craig Fisher (aka @fishdogs), officially stopped doing that a long time ago. And so should you.

The messages usually look something like this, "Hey, thanks for following me! Check out my web site for great info, www.fishdogs.com. Let me know how I can help you!" That seems innocent enough, right? Well, unfortunately, after you receive a few hundred of these there is no way you have time to click on all those links, much less read all those messages.

These auto DMs are usually created on www.TweetLater.com. A good site with a good service. Tweetlater allows you to automatically follow back anyone who follows you. If you are a power user of Twitter, you may find this helpful. But if you use that feature, be sure to also use the auto-unfollow feature that automatically unfollows those who unfollow you. This will help to avoid spammers who like to follow Twitter users until they are followed back, and then will quietly unfollow.

Tweetlater also allows you to schedule tweets to be posted at various intervals during the day. This is not recommended for all day/everyday use on personal accounts. Twitter users get really tired of following robots unless it is stated clearly up front on the offending robot's Twitter page. But if you wanted to schedule a tweet to request that followers add you to their favorites a couple of times a day, that might be useful.

My only complaint about Tweetlater is the auto DM. It's a nice feature for those who keep small networks perhaps. Then again, if you have a small network, why automate your welcome message? It's a great feature for marketers who really want to push products or services to those willing to click click click. But for those of us with large Twitter networks, the automated welcomes are a pain in the caboose. Here now is the way to opt out of the dreaded auto-DM straight from Tweetlater's web site (http://www.tweetlater.com/optout).

How To Opt-Out Of Receiving Automated Welcome DMs

As you know, TweetLater users can automate their Twitter accounts to automatically send welcome DMs to their new followers.

As a past or potential recipient of those DMs, TweetLater offers you a super-easy way to opt-out and never again receive an automated welcome DM sent by TweetLater.

Please follow the steps below:
1) Log in to Twitter.
2) Follow @OptMeOut.
3) Wait for @OptMeOut to follow you back. @OptMeOut will send you a DM to tell you it has followed you.
4) Then send a DM to @OptMeOut. (You can write whatever you want in the DM, it does not matter.)
5) After sending the DM, unfollow @OptMeOut. (This way your opting out remains private since you won't be in the list of @OptMeOut's followers. We will unfollow you as well.)

TweetLater will, within a few minutes of you sending your DM, stop sending you any further automated welcome DMs. You will receive one last DM to confirm that you've been opted-out.

You do not need an account at TweetLater to opt-out. Anybody on Twitter can opt-out.

Your decision to opt-out remains private. We will never disclose it to anybody, unless required by law.

If you ever change your mind about opting out, please submit a Help Desk ticket and ask us to remove you from the opt-out list.

TweetLater users, you will still auto-follow the people who have opted-out. They just won't be sent your welcome DM.

Summertime 2009!

2009-06-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

#3 son prepares to hit the lake Memorial Day weekend 2009. Yes, he is wearing 2 different colored Crocks.

It seems like this year has flown by so fast. Its amazing to me that we are already in June. Most of the country probably can't wait for this year to end. And I kind of agree. But at the same time my little ones keep growing like well watered weeds and I would hate to miss a second of that.

My youngest, shown here, is becoming such a great little man. He wants to be like his big brothers so badly. I find it fascinating to see him carefully watching them and mimicking them, the way our middle son did (and still does) with his older brother. If only we could all find someone who we admire, and who is successful, and copy their movements to recreate such success...all the while further developing our own personality.

Don't Miss #TalentNet this Wednesday Night on Twitter!

2009-05-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

It's time for another star studded recruiter get-together on Twitter! That's right recruitwiterati, #TalentNet, the hashtag event that burned up the Twittersphere last month, (trending right at the top with American Idol) is back for another go-round this Wednesday night, May 27th, from 8pm to 10pm Central time (and the last Wednesday of each month, for the foreseeable future, at that time).

The first ever #TalentNet took place on April 29th and was amazing. A fast-paced exchange of ideas, opinions, and entertaining intel was provided by the participants and by special guests, John Sumser and Jason Davis. And we even had music to Tweet by (with some attitude as a bonus) provided by Jerry Albright.

For this Wednesday's #TalentNet, we will be talking sourcing with Geoff Peterson (@GeoffPeterson) and Kelly Dingee (@SourcerKelly). We'll also get feedback about last week's Kennedy Info conference from Susan Kang Nam (@PinkOliveFamily) and Julia Stone (@BizWerkerJulia). Best of all we'll get to meet new friends and have more fun with talent industry professionals from near and far (hoping @BillBoorman makes good on his promise to tweet in from the U.K. where it will be 2am at the start).

We will also be posting some news about the first #TalentNet Live Conference in Dallas this fall. Very interesting stuff in the works for that!

This time around we will be trying out Tweetgrid to better manage the fast moving stream. Just go to www.tweetgrid.com and select the number of windows you would like to view. I would suggest using one window with the search term #TalentNet and set to update in real time, one window with your user name as a search term (so you can keep up with conversations directed specifically to you) also set to update in real time, and maybe one more #TalentNet window set to update a bit slower, maybe 5 or 10 seconds. Just ask anyone who has been participating in the very popular #GNO chats how they do it and you'll get some good tips.

We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow night!

Not sure what you're missing? Check out the buzz from last time:

Have you heard?. It's on #TalentNet By Jason Buss

#TalentNet (#SocialRecruiting) By John Sumser

You can get more scoop on this informative and fun event at the #TalnetNet Facebook Group. And don't forget to follow @TalentNet and co-founders @Fishdogs and @PinkOliveFamily on Twitter!

Jump Start Your Job Search on Twitter

2009-05-15T11:53:00.000-05:00

There are now many great resources now to help job seekers better utilize Twitter in their job search. I have put together a few of my old favorites and a couple of new ones to help job seekers either get started or take it to the next level.

The first thing to do after you set up your twitter account is follow some people who regularly post job search advice and job openings on Twitter. The list below was announced this week by Ryon Harms, The Social Executive, and is a "hand-picked collection of the 100 most influential personal branding gurus, power networkers, resume and interview experts, job boards and fellow executives on Twitter. If you're seeking out resources to assist you with your job search or for career advice, Harms calls his list the "who's who of career management."

Follow TheCareer100 on Twitter to get assorted posts from all of these resources. I know or follow many on this list, Ryon did his homework. For more info about the list check out @TheCareer100 Must-Follow Mavens on Twitter by Ryon Harms, and The Social Executive: @TheCareer100 must-follow mavens on Twitter by Stephanie Lloyd.

Next, go to the Advanced Twitter Search and type in the word jobs in the space next to "This hashtag". Then type in your zip code next to "Near this place". Companies and recruiters now regularly attach #jobs to their postings on Twitter to make this a convenient way for job seekers to search.

Hope this is helpful. Feel free to contact me if you need assistance. And please follow me on Twitter! @Fishdogs

Some other good resources to get you going are:

Mashable HOW TO: Find a Job on Twitter

The Wise Job Search: Five Best Ways to Use Twitter for Your Job Search!

Fishdogs: Who Should I Follow on Twitter?

ComputerWorld: Twitter Bible: All You Need To Know About Twitter

The Career 100

careertips
Career Tips

execSearches

SteveCase
Steve Case

mashable
Pete Cashmore

TheSocialExec Ryon Harms

ExecutiveMoms Marisa Thalberg

richardbranson

jack_welch
Jack Welch

GLHoffman
GL Hoffman

ValueIntoWords JacPoindexter

dawnbugni
Dawn Bugni

DebraWheatman Debra Wheatman

SimplyHired
Simply Hired

askamanager Alison Green

kristid
Kristi Daeda

louise_fletcher

CAREEREALISM

Careerbright Shweta @Careerbright

jobacle

ResumeSecrets Resume Writer

execjobs
Ryon Harms

GuyKawasaki
Guy Kawasaki

JobAngels Guardian Angel

PRjobs
Lindsay Olson

JobHuntOrg
Susan P. Joyce

thejobsguy
Ken Horst

SLIPSQUAD
Slip Squad, CEO

BillVick Bill Vick

jobshouts jobshouts.com(tm)

alisondoyle
Alison Doyle

lindseypollak Lindsey Pollak

stewartb2b
Patsy Stewart

RiseSmart
Sanjay Sathe

jobnet360
Job Search

indeed Indeed.com - jobs

workerswork jobs

jacobshare
Jacob Share

Tall_Geek Michael

jobnob
Julie Greenberg

ResumeBear

ATLRecruiter Stephanie A. Lloyd

rezlady
Sheree Van Vreede

martinpiraino
Martin Piraino

YourOnRamp Catherine Clifford

TwitJobSearch TwitJobSearch Engine

snagajob SnagAJob.com

stelzner
Mark Stelzner

peterclayton
Peter Clayton

ahjobslist
Andrew Hudson

RickDeare
Rick Deare

PinkSlipParty09 PinkSlipPartying.com

havrilla
Chris Havrilla

audreychernoff audrey chernoff

DMular Dawn Mular

Fishdogs
Craig Fisher

autosponsor
Dave Carter

smheadhunter
Soc Media Headhunter

CincyRecruiter Jennifer McClure

JenWojcik

jobsearchnews JobSearchNews

Ashraf_Chaudhry Ashraf Chaudhry

HCRGroup
Audrey Chernoff

MNHeadhunter
Paul DeBettignies

chriswoodward Christina Woodward

harveyclay Harvey

DarrylRMSG
Darryl Dioso

slv60 Brandy K

SallyOahu

KimPope

Barry_at_IMPACT Barry Deutsch

kufarms
Keith McIlvaine

karla_porter
Karla Porter

DaveBenjamin David Benjamin

JobSearchAdvice JobSearchAdvice.Net

williamu
William Uranga

DavidGraziano David Graziano

alanweatherbee Alan Weatherbee

jmapplebeck
Jason Mapplebeck

imjustagoyle

headhunterbrian Brian Bruce

ResearchReggie Regina Farr

AndyInNaples
Andy Robinson

ceonyc
Charlie O'Donnell

danschawbel
Dan Schawbel

tferriss Tim Ferriss

byosko
Ben Yoskovitz

sherryfm Scheherazade F Mason

bencasnocha
Ben Casnocha

ramit Ramit Sethi

jjbuss Jason Buss

cheezhead
Joel Cheesman

Keppie_Careers Miriam Salpeter

chrisrussell

andybeal
Andy Beal

jasonalba
Jason Alba

workforce101 Steve Urquhart

MonsterCareers Monster Careers

exectweets ExecTweets

manpower Manpower

GayleHoward
Gayle Howard