What really struck me was the story about Megan Maloney and how she made sure to clean up her online presence before applying:

When Megan Maloney lost her job at a Detroit auto supplier last April, she made sure her online reputation was as strong as the image she would present in person to prospective employers. She Googled herself to check for unflattering links. Then she changed her Facebook privacy setting so no one could see beyond her profile picture. She updated her profile on LinkedIn.

And good thing she did:

Maloney’s instinct was right: When she landed a job in September, her new bosses admitted they had researched her online. They told me that they had checked Facebook,” says Maloney, 32, now a business development manager in Milwaukee. “I had posted a photo of me wearing a T-shirt that said ‘Unemployed,’ and they thought that I showed the right kind of personality for a sales job. They liked that I was on LinkedIn, because it’s helpful for leads and networking.”

These days, it’s all too easy for employers to find information about you online. You have to do everything in your power to protect yourself online to guarantee the best possible outcome your job search.

There are a ton of great links. If you have some time, I recommend checking some of them out.

This time around, Jonathan Hilley of The Ascendance Group has been kind enough to provide a copy of his eBook The Intelligent Networking Guide for us to give away.

This is one of the best resources I have read and it lays out everything you need to know about building and maintaining your professional network.

About The Ascendance Group

Want to enter the contest? All you have to do is join our mailing list! Use the form below and you will be automatically entered.

Already a subscriber? Not to worry. If you have already joined the Gradversity Mailing List, you are automatically entered to win!

So hurry, the contest closes on Tuesday March 16th at midnight. One name will be randomly selected from all of the entries on March 17th! The winner will be notified via email and will then have 48 hours to claim their prize. In the event that the winner doesn’t come forward within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

Good Luck!!!

As always, in order to provide (at least a little) anonymity, I have declined  from posting the users name or linking to their Twitter account. No sense compounding the problems for these poor job hunters!

Beware! There is some off-color language in some of these tweets.  Consider yourself warned!

On with the show!
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And your unemployment apparently.

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Good luck with that.

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Nothing says “Hire Me” like procrastination…

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…or a hangover.

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Have you tried Mensa?

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I guess you can take “Attention to Detail” off your resume.

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Just what every employer wants to see…reduced profit margins!

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Irony: Great for a laugh, bad for your job hunt.

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Not cool…

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What kind of beer?

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Don’t let this happen to you! Beware of what you post on Twitter,  Facebook or any other social networking site. It may come back to haunt you!

The thing I like most about this piece is that it helps to shift your frame of mind away from the standard job application. You can move away from the perception of “applying” and on to “convincing”. Instead of sending out quiet applications, broadcast yourself, along with your skills and abilities for employers to hear. This will help you break through the “noise” found during the standard job hunt and get through to employers more easily.

There are a million different things that I like about this, but it’s probably just best that you read it yourself and draw your own conclusions about how to put it into action.

I would seriously recommend checking it out if you have some time. LinkedIn is an extremely important part of the modern job hunt. It provides an excellent avenue to connect with people who may have previously been out of reach.

Check out the full article here. You won’t regret it.

Aside from the basic rules of engagement LinkedIn has established, here are a few other courtesies to remember while making the most of your LinkedIn experience. Follow these points and you’ll be sure to get the most out of LinkedIn—and you’ll avoid aggravating other users in the process. Here are four mistakes to avoid while using LinkedIn:

BLINDLY REQUESTING CONNECTIONS WITH NO MUTUAL BENEFIT

On Facebook you can request new friendships with anybody at all. It’s a social network of friends, and if you want to be friends you simply make a request. With LinkedIn you’re making a ‘connection’ that will hopefully create a mutually beneficial networking opportunity later on down the line. Be strategic when deciding with whom you will connect, and explain to the person why you want to connect; what’s in it for them—and what’s it in for you? Don’t request to connect with just anyone at all; understandably, people will want to know why you are requesting the opportunity to connect. So provide a brief sentence or two explaining what you think a mutual connection can bring to both parties.

NOT BEING TRUTHFUL ABOUT WHY YOU WANT TO CONNECT

If it’s being brought up, it’s because people have done it. Others have complained about it. It’s hard sometimes to establish a connection with someone when LinkedIn only allows you certain ways to request connections. That being said, you should still be truthful in why you want to connect. If the purpose of networking is to create mutual connections that may help either party in the future, do you really want to start that connection with mistrust or deceit? The most frequent use of this is presenting yourself as a ‘friend’ of someone or ‘colleague at XYZ organization’ when you really are not. It’s not going to get you the connection, and in the end you’re going to be perceived as being dishonest—and who wants to connect or potentially help someone who isn’t honest?

PROFILE CONTENT IS NOT A REPRODUCTION OF YOUR RESUME

This mistake is so well ingrained in users that you’re now probably experiencing some disbelief. Don’t just copy and paste your resume into your LinkedIn profile. Here’s why: When you network with someone in person do you give them a word-for-word rundown from your resume of what you’ve done? No, you personalize the conversation and speak in the first person. It is a more casual conversation—not as formal as your resume. Your profile should be keyword-rich so that recruiters can find you if they’re performing a search, but it should also be authentic and sincere, as though you’re talking to the person about what you’ve accomplished.

KEYWORDS ARE NOT JUST FOR RESUMES

Recruiters and hiring managers are performing searches on LinkedIn for qualified candidates, and you want to be found. Why else would you be there? Seriously, make sure your LinkedIn profile is peppered with industry-specific keywords relevant to the target position you want. It should be called LISO (LinkedIn Search Optimization)—like SEO—but for LinkedIn. Keywords = Being Discovered = Interview = New Job. Get keywords now.

To recap: Be sure you are honest, strategic, and explanatory in your LinkedIn connection requests; your profile isn’t just a copy of your resume; and that your profile is keyword-rich so people can find you! These four key tips will make the most of your LinkedIn experience and keep you ahead of the game.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

As always, in order to provide (at least a little) anonymity, I have declined from posting the users name or linking to their Twitter account. No sense compounding the problems for these poor job hunters!

Beware! There is some off-color language in some of these tweets. Consider yourself warned!

On with the show!

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I’d send your application just in case…

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Wait, I thought you were supposed to party AFTER the you got the job?

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Companies love candidates who are organized…

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No.

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So does unemployment.

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Sounds like she really wants the job…

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Hmmm…I’m sensing a trend….

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Yet, you had time to Tweet…

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One doesn’t.

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That just sucks…

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REALLY?????

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Don’t let this happen to you! Beware of what you post on Twitter, Facebook or any other social networking site. It may come back to haunt you!

It’s time for the monthly roundup where I provide a look back at some of the best posts that February 2010 had to offer:

Enjoy!