Register free or learn more at http://registermbafair.whichmba.com/?source=myresumeshop

What can you expect?

You may already know that an MBA can you help you stay competitive and advance your career in today’s challenging economy. But how will you know which business school is right for you?

The Economist’s Which MBA? Online Fair connects you with dozens of business schools, all in one place at one time. Like a traditional MBA fair, candidates can meet business school representatives, gather information and compare programs, but with the Which MBA? Online Fair, you can do it from the convenience of  your own home of office computer. Here’s what to expect:

Business school “virtual booths”

Browse dozens of business schools by clicking on their “virtual booths.” Inside each school’s booth, you will find three different areas:
• Reception:    Here you can read the school’s profile and download brochures and other key pieces of information. You can also visit the school’s website, join its social networks and read testimonials.

• Chat room:    By entering this room, you will be able to chat with admissions officers, alumni, professors and current students in a group or one-on-one discussion. View a list of scheduled chats by visiting the “Schedule” once you log in.

• Multimedia:  In the multimedia area, you can watch videos and browse photos to get a better idea of what the school looks and feels like.

Interactive webinars
Several live webinars will also take place throughout the two-day fair. Visitors can see a schedule of webinars by clicking on “Schedule” once you log in.

These webinars are hosted by MBA admissions officers, deans, professors and Economist editors, offering you an inside look at specific programs and the MBA experience. Type in your questions and they will be answered live by the webinar host.

Live global sessions

You can visit the fair at any time on February 6th and 7th, but it’s best to log in during one of the live sessions when business schools will be online and ready to meet you:

• February 6th: 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM EST
• February 6th: 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST
• February 7th: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM EST
• February 7th: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST

Special features:

• Submit your resume: You may upload your resume upon logging in.  It will be visible to all business school representatives at the fair.

• Access additional resources: At the Information Desk, you can access a list of MBA resources including scholarship organizations, admissions and test prep consultants, MBA blogs and more.

• Take the compatibility profile: Answer a few questions to find the exhibiting schools that most closely match your preferences.

Browse business schools – Make the right connections – Find your MBA program

Register free or learn more at http://registermbafair.whichmba.com/?source=myresumeshop

Steve Jobs on Careers:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it.

Don’t settle.”

Steve Jobs

Our definition of “being productive” is somewhat skewed.

Most people get up in the morning and start checking their email- deleting spam, responding to messages from friends/family, and setting up appointments based on new emails they have received (applies to voicemail as well).

But are these the most pressing concerns of the day? Are these actions going to drive your goals forward (to finding a new job, getting accepted to a graduate school program, etc).?

I’ve witnessed firsthand the failure of this approach. Instead, try a different method. Wake up and write down on a legal pad the 10 things you want to accomplish that day. Now set out getting those things done and check email only once an hour. Doing this will allow you to control your productivity and your email without letting them control you.

With over 100 million users, LinkedIn has become increasingly important for the job search process and knowing how the LinkedIn Profile differs from a standard resume is critical to succeeding in landing your next opportunity.
One Profile – A great resume is targeted at a specific job. It is tailored to the job description and can vary greatly depending on what you are applying for. For some jobs, you may want to highlight your last job experience which is more relevant, while for others you may want to highlight your job from 10 years ago that required a much similar skill set than your current position. The LinkedIn profile, on the other hand, does not allow itself to be tailored to a specific job. The profile is stagnant and does not allow for multiple versions that can be sent to different employers or head hunters. This means you need a different approach than a resume. Instead of tailoring it to a specific job, the LinkedIn Profile should be tailored to all job opportunities. If you are applying for finance and marketing positions, your LinkedIn profile should highlight both skill-sets and experiences equally so a recruiter will not be put-off by the lack of experience in one or the other. Finally, remember that you still have an opportunity to send your resume later. The LinkedIn profile is merely an introduction to yourself and your experience and can be followed-up with a resume, cover letter, and in-person meeting.

It’s Public- Unless you happen to be posting your resume to public sites on the internet, your resume is usually private, and uploaded directly to employer websites or sent via email directly to human resources personnel and recruiters. Your boss probably doesn’t know you’re leaving your current position (unless of course you are applying for new jobs from your current jobs…which is a really bad idea). On the other hand, the LinkedIn Profile is meant to be public. If you update your profile, other people are notified of the update. In some ways it’s a positive- recruiters and hiring managers can find you without you seeking them out. However, it also means that those at your current job can see your activity as well. Be sure to understand the implications of a public profile and decide on how much of the information you want to make public to your contacts and to the outside public through LinkedIn settings.

Summary is Key- In a resume, there is only one page of space to capture someone’s attention and get you an interview. Thus, the top third of the resume is the most key, and most people (except students) should use a “summary of qualification’s section” that sets out the three or four reasons they are perfect for the job. In addition to the resume, the cover letter is also used to target the application to a specific employer, explaining the interest for the specific position, the company, and how your experience and skills are an excellent fit for the position. The Summary Section of the LinkedIn Profile is similar in some ways, but much different in others. Effectively used, it a short one to two paragraph description of what you are doing on LinkedIn and how people can help you. For some it may be a call for recruiters to contact them- and in this case you should briefly state what you are looking for and a summary of qualifications. For those who are not actively looking for a new role your summary should highlight your passion for a particular industry, opening yourself up to connections and networking opportunities with those of similar interests.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for actively applying for jobs, connecting with people at companies including recruiters, organizing your network of contacts, building new relationships, and disseminating your goals. Most individuals simply add some connections and think they are done- but if used properly, you should approach your LinkedIn profile with a strategy of what you want to get out of the experience. This will fundamentally dictate who you add as connections, what information you choose to include, and your actual activity on the website.

Apologize for not writing in the past few weeks -but I am back on track now. Excellent article just came out from the WSJ about the new type of economy and what that means for students. (see link below)

The general premise that we’re not dealing with the same market that we were 20 years ago (or even 5 years ago). The hot companies: Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, LinkedIn employ a lot less people given their valuations than other companies and so its not graduate from college and expect a job like it used to be.

Students need to wake up and treat their job search like entrepreneurs. You need to be resourceful, have your hand in several buckets at once, learn skills as you see new opportunities, and realize that its a ton of work to land something you want (or succeed at your own business).

This article should serve as a wake-up call to students as traditional business models evaporate in the place of new economy. Netflix, Airbnb, Zaarly, are just a few of the interesting companies that are disrupting current business models.

Full Length of Article

How do people make career decisions? This is one of the most important questions that will impact the success you have in your professional life. It is not simply about obtaining academic credentials, networking, and doing a good job at work- you must also know how to evaluate the opportunities that are presented to you (which as your success grows will happen with increasing frequency).

Here are a few guiding tips as you create your own criteria for making career decisions.

• Think Long Term, Not Short Term- successful careers are often marked by jumps that may not seem logical in the short term but make sense in the long term. Where do you want to be five years from now and will this opportunity give you the skills and experiences to get you to that position? (If you don’t know what your long term goal is than ask yourself- is this a field I want to learn a lot about?)
• Money is not King- If you have never taken a pay-cut for an opportunity than you are probably being too conservative. Remember that risk and reward work together so if you’re not taking a risk, there is probably less to gain on the upside. Especially early on in your career, you should think less about $ and more about what you will gain from the experience. MBAs make this mistake the most- thinking that anything lower paying than their previous job is a step down. If someone offered you your dream job for 5% less than what you were earning now would you take it? The perfect location, the perfect position, the perfect team- but a little less money.
• Know Your Values- Career decisions are personal decisions and your values should play an important role in how you evaluate opportunities. What do you value in an opportunity? Are you willing to compromise your values in the short term to gain a skill set for the long-term? Are you willing to be associated with a product/service that you don’t believe in?
• Timing- They say that in relationships timing is everything. But remember, don’t let artificial timelines impact the progression of your career. “That sounds like a great opportunity but I just got promoted at my current job.” “I can think about moving only after I finish this fellowship program in 4 months”. When a great opportunity presents itself, you have an obligation to consider it. Always stay true to your values and measure the impact a move will have on your past commitments. (That is- don’t burn bridges.)

Times have changed and if you want to score a job offer from a top firm you may have to think beyond resumes and cover letters. While these documents are instrumental in the recruiting process, you should be using additional resources to catch the eye of recruiters.

Today, I want to discuss one of these resources called about.me. The site allows you to create an online page for yourself that includes a quick bio, a picture or background of your choosing, and links to various resources about you (linkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Page, blog, websites, etc). You choose what you want to include or not include.

How would you use a page like this?

1) Put it on your business card so people can get a quick glimpse of your bio and what you are looking for your job.

2) Attached with an email to a potential employer/recruiter.

3) As a cover letter that highlights why you are seeking a particular position.

Here are some examples of about.me pages. (you can use these for recruiting but also for building your brand online).

http://about.me/tonyconrad

A recent article in the New York Times titled “Unpaid Interns, Complicit Colleges“, highlights some interesting statistics about internships in the United States:

• Three-quarters of the 10M students in US 4 year colleges will work as interns at least once before graduating (College Employment Research Institute)
• Between 1/3 and 1/2 of these interns get no compensation for their efforts (Intern Bridge)
• Department of Labor says it is illegal to have Unpaid Interns unless:
  1) program is similar to vocational training
  2) Benefits the student
  3) Does not displace regular employee
  4) Does not entitle student to a job

According to a recent article by the WSJ, 1/4 young professionals want to work at Google.  Other companies making the top ten include:

1. Google
2.  Apple
3. Walt Disney
4. US Dept of State
5. Amazon
6. FBI
7. Microsoft
8. CIA
9. NASA
10. Teach for America

The article notes that while the list includes several tech companies (Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft), almost 9 times as many people majored in business as compared to computer science.

LinkedIn is marketing their new site specifically targeting college students and recent graduates http://blog.linkedin.com/2011/03/21/linkedin-student-job-portal/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

The features they have include:

• Job Recommendations- based on your LinkedIn Profile.
• Company Research – through LinkedIn Company Pages. Learn who companies hire, what products/services they sell, and who you know in your network that works there or used to work there.
• Ability for Companies to Find You- Employer’s can search LinkedIn through keywords found on your profile. Make sure to have your profile completely filled out and targeted to your prospective job.