The Gross Life

My Wifes New Website – SparkleMePlease.com

Jeffrey Gross — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:45:13 +0000

I am very pleased (and proud) to announce that my wife (Claudette) has launched her brand new website – SparkleMePlease.com

The sites main offering is that of handcrafted jewelry, 90% of everything you see on the website is handcrafted by Claudette herself! What will you wind on the site you ask?

Here is an overview of what she carries on the site:

- Handcrafted Crystal & Gemstone Necklaces

- Handmade Bracelets

- Handmade Earrings

- Discount Handmade Genuine Swarovski Earrings, Necklaces & Bracelets

- Handmade Bridal Jewelry

Make sure you stop by and take a look at the new site and let me know what you think!

TheGrossLife Tutorial Introduction Video!!!

Jeffrey Gross — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:35:54 +0000

That’s right everyone! TheGrossLife now has a cartoon introduction for every tutorial I produce! Take a look below – you will be seeing it a lot in the future!

VisualCV.com: Section 1 – What is an online resume?

aries — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:07:52 +0000

An online resume is a digital representation of the classic paper resume, but with a twist!

With online resumes you get all of the advantages of paper resumes but with more modern features like:

- The Ability to Build and manage a more engaging Internet based resume.
- Allows You to Combine audio, video and a digital career portfolio – all on a single Web page.
- Easily and Securely share professional qualifications with your customers, partners, employers and colleagues

In short, having an online resume allows you to develop and maintain an always up to date version of your paper resume with multimedia capabilities as well.

Imagine being able to send potential employers to a resume that exisits online, with images, video and other representations of the work you have done.

Having an online resume adds personality to the often boring world of resumes, you can literally jump off the page!

Perhaps you would like a place to send your clients to show off your past works, or maybe you would like to send a friend or family member there so they can accurately describe you to someone they know who is looking to hire.

Whatever the case is, an online resume IS for YOU. In the next VisualCV article we will be cover the free online resume service that rules them all. VisualCV.com will make you enjoy updating your resume, trust me! See you on my next post!

LinkedIn “Get Connected”: Section 10 – LinkedIn For Job Hunting – Strategies

aries — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:55:18 +0000

Strategy 1 – Thinking Ahead to Get Ahead

With this strategy, I am focussing on those who have a job and who are always looking to advance, or those who have a job but want to keep options open.

In this approach I will suggest that you recall some of the methods I taught you in previous chapters. I won’t go over them again on this page, so please go back to reference anything you need claification on.

It is always better to be proactive than reactive. Most people wait until they desperately need a new job, or are in danger of losing their current one. In this approach we are taking the bull by the horns and making connections with those who can potentially help us in the future.

Here are some ways to think ahead and make valuable connections using LinkedIn.
1. Research companies who you would one day like to work for.
2. Search for their company on LinkedIn using the Company
Search feature
3. If you find the company you can see the employees that are already LinkedIn
4. Attempt to connect with them or send them an InMail to make an introduction.
5. If the company search fails, go to their website and look through an employee directory and proceed to use the standard search using the information discovered: http://www.linkedin.com/search

Making connections at these companies now can lead to valuable opportunities in the future. It might only take a message to them in the future to gain

To further elaborate on the points made above, it is very important to keep in mind the following key points:

1. Perform your research as if you were performing a real job search. Find companies who are hiring, research the company and make connections with companies with promise (in your mind)
2. When you introduce yourself to an employee of the company, its likely you dont yet know them. When you send the connection request, make sure you be honest. Tell them you would love to get to know a little about this company and that you are considering applying. Also mention you would appreciate it if they could accept the connection.
3. Try this approach for multiple potential companies.

The point to take out of all the material you just read is this. Be proactive, take the bull by the horns and make connections now when you really DONT need them desperately.

These connections can prove to be useful in more ways than one. You might get the inside track on interviews.
When its time for the interview with the company you became connected with BEFORE you needed to, you can ask the contact for some inside tips, or to put in a good word for you.

Either way, take the time to make the connections now, not later.

Strategy 2 – Broadcast Your Job Search

So it’s time for your job search. You recently got laid off, fired, you quite, or you are just taking a break. Whatever the case may be, this strategy might be for you!

So if you have followed all of the instructions in the LinkedIn series, you likely have a good deal of connections now, and its time to leverage them.

It’s time to use the incredibly powerful LinkedIn mailing feature to mail your connections to let them know you are in the hunt.

Mention in the message that you are interested in finding work in your industry of choice and in the geographic region of choice.

Make sure to mention that you would truly appreciate if they could offer any introductions or provide insight in any way to help you out.

Include any other information you feel is relavant as well, just make it a nice mix of personal and professional and you may very well get the response you desire.

Strategy 3 – Ask A Question About Being Hired

This is a short strategy, but its also quite valuable.

Remember how we discussed the process of asking questions? Well you can post a question using the “Ask A Question” form and mention you are looking for wok in the industry and in the geographic location of your choosing.

“Is Anybody Looking For A Qualified, Experienced Personal Injury Attorney in The New York Area? “

Make sure you check the “Is a job request questions” checkbox on the bottom of the form.

You never know what answers you might find!

Strategy 4 – Leverage The Power Of LinkedIn Groups

If all else fails, make sure to use the LinkedIn groups available to you.

We spoke about this earlier in the book and it can be used for this purpose as well.

When you are in the hunt, be sure to start a discussion in the group of your choice. Let your group members know that you are looking for work and the area of the world you are looking for work in.

Check back on the discussion often for any responses or potential leads.

This is he last post for LinkedIn Series! As you saw in all linkedIn posts, the power of LinkedIn is incredible.

There are literally thousands of uses for it and it is getting more powerful every day.

LinkedIn is a true professional networking tool, and the best part is it’s 100% free to use. There is no better time than now to get started on LinkedIn.

Start making connections today, and you will see the results as you go forward.

Get Connected With Me! (Jeff Gross)
http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/jeffreykgross

LinkedIn “Get Connected”: Section 9 – LinkedIn For Job Hunting

aries — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:03:13 +0000

Besides being an awesome tool for Professional Networking, LinkedIn doubles as a powerful job hunting tool as well. LinkedIn has its OWN job search engine and is also supplemented by the “SimplyHired” engine as well.

In this article I will show you how to leverage the power of the LinkedIn job search and also how to use the SimplyHired interface as well.

We will also cover other methods of how to use LinkedIn to prepare for an interview, start a job search, or simply to think ahead about future career moves.

Let’s start at the very beginning and look at the LinkedIn “Jobs” section.

From the home page of your LinkedIn profile, please click the link “Jobs” as shown above.

Once at the Jobs home page you will be offered 2 options:

1. Simple Job search – search the LinkedIn job repository for jobs matching the keywords and location you enter.

2. Advanced Job Search (Powered by SimplyHired)- Use advanced Criteria to search through the SimplyHired database.

Ready to learn how to search for jobs on LinkedIn? Great! Let’s go!

Lets take a look at the simple Job search.

Let’s start at the Jobs home page we visited on the last page. On this screen you will see two fields:

1. Keywords – describe the job you are seeking. Ex: Computer Repair

2. Postal Code – enter the postal code you live in or wish to work near.

Once you have entered the information in the fields, press “Search”.

Once the results are returned, you will see a screen titled “Job Search Results”. On this screen you will see the list of matched based on your input. Click on any of the jobs shown and you will see the individual Job listing on its own screen.

Also on the right side of the search screen, you will see options to refine your search. See Picture below.

If a job interests you click “Apply Now” on the top right of the listing. This process takes a little time, so be patient, and make sure to enter ALL information on the screen to follow.

Now that you have clicked the “Apply Now” button you will see the application screen. Follow the on screen instructions,and you will be applied in no time at all!

Next we look at the Advanced Search screen.

The LinkedIn advanced job search is powered by SimplyHired.

This is a third prty service that lists millions of jobs from all around the globe. Your advanced job search also returns LinkedIn jobs as well. In order to view the SImplyHired jobs, simply press “The Web” when you are shown the search results.

In this case, we get the advantage of searching from within LinkedIn! No need to leave and go to their site, do it right from here!

Let’s take a look at the interface shown below.

Fill out all information as requested. You know better than anyone what type of job you are seeking.

I recommend making sure that you choose your specific location so you save time in terms of sifting through results.

So once you perform this search, you are taken to the same result screen as you saw before in simple search.

From this screen you may click any job you wish and proceed from there.

In the next article we will talk about some cool strategies to consider when hunting for a job by leveraging LinkedIn.

LinkedIn “Get Connected”: Section 8 – Adding Connections – LinkedIn Answers

aries — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:47:50 +0000

LinkedIn also offers a Question and Answer service. By using this, you can establish yourself as an expert in a given filed by answering others questions.

You can ask questions to others in your field or situation and they may be of a great help to you. Both asking, and answering questions can lead to long term connections that may yield far bigger benefits that this simple one time Question / Answer exchange.

So let’s take a look at how to get to the questions and answers section. First go to your home page on LinkedIn. On the top menu click on “More” then “Answers” as shown above.

You will now be taken to the Answers Home page. This page looks like the one shown below.

On the Answers Home page you may:

Ask A Question: Have something you need answered? Type your question here and press “Next” follow the on screen instructions and you may very well receive the answer you need AND make a connection in the process.

Answer A Question: Click on the “Answer Now” button if you would like to answer other LinkedIn member questions.

Establish yourself as an expert and make connections!

Just follow the on screen instructions and you are on your way to answering your fist question.

Ask a Question

To start asking questions Simply click on the “Ask A Question” tab on the top of the Answers screen. You can simply use the Answers Home screen to ask a questions as well, but this is another way.

The Ask a Question screen will look the the screen shown on the right side of this page. They will ask for the following information:

Question:Write your question here

Details: Provide specific details here – elaborate

Categorize: Choose the right cateogry to increase the chances of an answer being provided.

Is your question related to…? (Please check all that apply

Recruiting (I am trying to fill a position or hire) – Is your question attempting to find someone to hire? If so, check this.

Promoting your services (I am promoting my business, service, or product) – Is this question a direct or indirect attempt to sell somebody something? If yes, check this.

Job seeking (I am announcing my interest in getting a job or changing jobs) – Is this question attempting to land you a job? If so, check this!

Asking questions can provide valuable information and also help you to make connections, it’s something you should certainly try as needed.

Answer a Question

Now that we know how to ask a question, lets learn how to answer one.

To get to this screen click on “Answer Questions” on top of the Answers screen.

Answering questions is both easy, and rewarding on Linkedn. When you answer a question you establish yourself as an expert in the field and this helps you to make connections. You are also helping somebody which is incredible powerful as well. Perhaps they will give you a recommendation!

Let’s look briefly at the interface.

First, on the right side, pick a category you would like to answer a question in.

Once there, sift through the open questions and answer any that you feel you can help with.

The on screen instructions are very clear, so you will master this in no time at all!

Answering questions is something you should try at least a few times. Just answer a few and see the connection requests come in.

Well, that concludes this section on Adding Connections. I hope you learned a lot and I look forward to teaching you about LinkedIn Job searching and Job hunting strategies in the next section.

LinkedIn “Get Connected”: Section 7 – Adding Connections – LinkedIn Groups

aries — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:05:51 +0000

So you want more connections? Well I have yet another way for you to find QUALITY connections! LinkedIn
Groups.

You can find groups for almost anything:
- Common Interest
- Alumni
- Clubs
- Networking Groups

In order to search for groups you can click on the “Groups” link on the main control panel on the top of your screen.

Once inside of Groups you can see four tabs (shown above):

My Groups – The groups you belong to

Following – Groups you follow

Groups Directory – Organized listing of groups – Excellent tool

Create A Group – If you want to start something, click here!

Now let’s click on Group Directory.

Group directory allows us to search for the groups we would like to join by category, keywords, and language. For example if I am a Job Hunter and I am seeking a group of job hunters to brainstorm with, I would type “Jobs” into the keywords and choose the appropriate category, and press “Search”.

Check out those results!

Over 3,000 Groups found!

First, the definition of a “Group”: LinkedIn Groups is your destination to find and join communities of professionals based on common interest, experience, affiliation, and goals. Stay in touch with organizations, schools, and companies that you are and were a part of, network with professionals with similar interests and goals, and collaborate in a professional community online.

Imgine Groups as a giant online trade show or conference with those who share the same interests as you! Group discussions can leads to Connections, partnerships, jobs, and more!

Lets take a look at the the description of the Groups first. You will be able to tell, almost immediately, if this group is something you would be interested in.

So let’s assume am interested in the first result, LinkedHR. I will click “Join This Group”.

Now I am brought to a screen which asks a few simple questions (Shown below).

Group Logo:Group logo will show in your profile if checked

Contact Email: Group Communications Sent Here

Digest Email: How often do you want group activity emails

Announcements: Receive Group Announcements or Not

Messages: Do you want Group members to message you?

Then click on the “Join Group” and you will be added to the Group Owners list to Accept Or Deny your membership.

Don’t worry most of the time you are accepted!

Join Your First Group!

Hey I have a good idea! How about you join your first group right now?

There is no better time than now, and I have the perfect group to learn with!

The Gross Life Group!

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2602765

If you would like to stay up to date on all of the newest trends in Social Media, Job Hunting online, SEO, PPC, and much more you should join today! Remember it’s free!

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2602765

Practice here before you join the other groups you are interested in so that you can learn the interface and become more adept at LinkedIn Communication as a whole.

So let’s take a quick look at the group interface. Once you have joined The Gross Life group on LinkedIn you will see the groups overview page. You will notice 6 tabs (we will discuss the 4 main tabs):

1. Overview – This page allows you to submit a discussion OR news article.

2. Discussions – Interact with other members – get involed
in group discussions!

3. News – Read all news submitted by other members (likely relevant to the groups industry or focus)

4. Jobs – That’s right! Groups have job postings too! Some of these jobs simply cant be found elsewhere. See how powerful groups are?

Now we will take a look at each of the tabs individually.

Overview: The overview tab is really pretty simple. When you are at the overview tab in a group you belong to, you

can do one of two things.

1. Start a discussion – say whats on your mind and let others in the group respond and add insight to the discussion.

Enter a Topic or Question: Self Explanatory

Additional Details: Elaborate a bit!

2. Add a news article – if there is something you read online that is relevant to the group add it here!

Discussions Tab: This tab is quite simple. This allows you to see all group discussions and reply to them. Get involved! Make connections by answering and helping others in the group!

News Tab: View all news added by members of the group.

Jobs Tab: This tab shows the jobs that are specific to that group! If the owner of the group chooses to post a job opportunity for the members it will show here! Check your groups Job boards often!

LinkedIn “Get Connected”: Section 6 – Adding Connections – Other Methods

aries — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:09:21 +0000

Advanced Search

Another way to build your LinkedIn network is to search for people who you know. You can search for people by name, company name, school, industry, location, etc., using the Advanced Search Feature.

Let’s take a look at this feature and see how easy it is to find the connections you want to make.

Here are the fields you can choose from when searching:

Keywords: Search for people who have specific specialties ex: SEO

First Name: Self Explanatory

Last Name: Self Explanatory

Location: Choose either “Everywhere” or within a mile radius of a zip code

Title: Title in company

Company: Company worked for or workig for

School: Schools attended

Industries: Select from drop down if relevant

You may search for people in any number of ways, so the sky is really the limit with who you can meet.

Connect through “Connections”

This might sound a little strange, but you can actually search your Connections “Connections”. While searching you may invite them to connect or even “Request an Introduction”

Introductions let you contact users in your network, through the people you know. If you want to contact a LinkedIn user who is two or three degrees away from you, you can request an introduction through one of your connections. Your connection will, in turn, decide whether to forward it on to the desired recipient (if in your 2nd degree) or to a shared connection (if in your 3rd degree).

“People You May Know”

LinkedIn also attempts to suggest connections for you. Based on your network of friends, and other factors, these suggestions will popup on the right side of your screen.

If one of these suggestions seems valid to you, simply click the “invite” link next to their name!

In my next LinkedIn post, We will go over LinkedIn Groups.

Twitter “Tweeting Like A True Professional”: Section 1 – Introduction

aries — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:16:28 +0000

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a super popular social networking/micro blogging platform.

What is Micro-Blogging?
Micro Blogging means you are limited to the size in characters of the posts (tweets) you make. For Twitter, the limit of characters
in each post is 140 characters.

Twitter allows you to connect with and follow influential people, check out the latest news in the world, and most importantly, see what people are doing RIGHT NOW.

People use Twitter to:

- Tell people what interests them

- Let people know what they are doing right now

- Follow and connect with industry leaders and masterminds

- Brand themselves

- Receive breaking news as it happens

- Much more

In my next twitter articles, I will show you how to leverage Twitter for professional and Job hunting purposes. So lets get started, and get you signed up for a Twitter account in my next article!

LinkedIn “Get Connected”: Section 5 – Adding Connections

aries — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:41:46 +0000

Before reading through this article, you must already have your linkedIn account. if you do then continue reading, if not please read my article on how to create your linked in account.

So you have your shiny new profile all ready to go, but you are missing one crucial pirce of the puzzle…Connections.

Connections are the core to the power of LinkedIn. Through connections you can be introduced to others, find former colleagues, and even old college connections.

Here is a list of the “types” of searches we will be covering:

1. Checking your address book in Gmail, Yahoo, MSN or other popular free email services for possible connections.

2. Browse through a list of your past and current colleagues to uncover potential connections.

3. College Classmates are potential connections too! Finding these connections is made simple by LinkedIn’s
powerful search features.

So let’s take a look at each of these. one by one in the below.

Let’s start by finding the “Add Connections” button in the Contacts Toolbar in LinkedIn. Take a look at the first image in this article to get a better idea of what I am referring to.

Once you click this button you will be brought to a screen which allows you to choose a method of adding connections:

You will see three tabs:

1. Invite Contacts – Invite people on your email contacts list

2. Colleagues – Invite those who you work with or have worked with in the past to connect.

3. Classmates – Connect with those you went to college with

Next we will start with Inviting Contacts.

Now that you have learned the three primary options to make “Connections” lets go over one you are already a little bit familiar with. We are inviting our contacts to connect with us, much like some of us did during the signup process.

You will be surprised how many of your email contacts are already LinkedIn.

To start, enter your email address in the box shown below. Once you have entered thecemail address press “Continue”.

Follow the on screen instructions and you will wind up at the screen shown below.

You will see a list of your contacts from the email address you entered. Place a checkmark next to those you wish to invite to connect with you. If you see a blue “IN” logo, this means they are already a member of LinkedIn. If not, you can still invite them to Sign up for LinkedIn.

This is one of the quickest ways to make your first connecions since you already know the people on your email list (most likely). So make sure you take this time to go through these steps, and before you know it you may have dozens of connections from Email Contacts alone!

Not bad for 3 minutes of work right?

Let’s move on to the colleague search.

OK, so you have already Connected with your email contacts. What’s next? You guessed it! Colleagues!

Based on the work experience you entered into your profile, LinkedIn will allow you to search through both past
and present companies to find possible Connections.

Let’s jump right into it. This process is actually quite painless!

First, make sure you have clicked “Add Connections” and you are at the main Add Connections Screen. While on this screen, click the second tab called “Colleagues”.

When you click this tab you will automatically see a list of your past and present employers listed as buttons.

Simply click any one you would like, and a list of employees at that company (who are already LinkedIn) will appear in front of your eyes!

Place a check next to each person you would like to “Connect” with and press the “Send Invitations” button.

Well I told you that was easy! Now go back and look through other companies you have worked for, or currently work at! You will be surprised how many Connections you can make in this manner.

Finally we will look at the Classmates search. You guessed it, it’s easy and its based on the schools you attended (as provided in your profile).

Like adding Colleagues, adding Classmates is very simple to do. First Click on the “Classmates” tab on “Add Connection” and you will see a screen like the one pictured below.

The schools listed are the ones you added when you added your education history. If you wish to see more schools listed, simply go back and add a school!

Now that you have clicked on the school of your choice, you will see a list of students who attended the same years you did.

You may also change the years listed using the drop down menu called “View Graduation Year Only”.

Simply click “Invite” next to the classmates name that you knew, and follow the on screen instructions. It’s that simple!

You can also break the names down in ABC order, this has helped me make my searches quicker in the past.

Well, thats it for adding Classmates!

In my next post, I will show you how to do some advance searches and other forms of finding connections.