From the category archives:

I'm looking for a job

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

Yes, you CAN get a job on Twitter.

I HAVE PROOF.

Last Tuesday morning I woke up waayyyy too early so I grabbed my iPhone and scanned Tweetdeck while deciding whether to go ahead and get up or try and go back to sleep for a bit.

I happened to see a tweet from someone in the #HR community I’ve been following for at least a couple of years. She is located in upstate NY and we’d never met IRL – or even spoken on the phone, for that matter. She stated that she was looking for a contract sourcer.

I happen to know a lot of people who might be interested in such an opportunity so I DMd (direct messaged) her with my email address and asked her to share details with me.

She replied, asking if I knew of anyone, and I said I might. She emailed me and we arranged to speak that afternoon.

We had a great conversation during which she provided me with some additional insight in to the nature of the work. I told her I had a few people in mind and would reach out to them on her behalf and send them her way if appropriate.

The first person I mentioned it to had already spoken to her about it. He’s also very active on Twitter…imagine that! ;-)

Several hours later, completely out of the blue, I received the following DM from another friend on Twitter.

Top secret – just found out that I’ll be part of a reduction next week. Would love it if you kept eye/ears peeled for any opportunities.

She is located in Texas, and while we haven’t met (yet), we have spoken on the phone and collaborate on a fun “volunteer” project helping job-seekers.

I replied:

@TXFriend, reach out to @NYFriend and tell her I sent you. she’s looking for a contract sourcer – could be long-term :-)

18 HOURS LATER, @TXFriend sent me this DM:

Yay! Great connection with @NYFriend. Signed a contract to source for her this morning. You’re awesome!

It still shocks me when I hear negative talk about Twitter…”it’s a waste of time, I don’t care what someone ate for breakfast, blah blah blah.”

1-800-GETALIFE.

I’d love to hear from others who have landed a new work project or job opportunity via Twitter…or a new client, even. Same thing, really. It’s paid work, right?

And, speaking of the power of Twitter, our most recent He Said, She Said episode was centered on this very subject. You can catch it here

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{ 6 comments }

Bert DuMars

I had the pleasure of hosting Bert DuMars in the studio on the show recently.

We had a fantastic conversation about what Bert and his team are doing at Newell Rubbermaid. They’ve made a lot of progress in a short amount of time using social media to connect with customers, and are starting to use it to provide customer service and obtain product feedback that they can act on quickly, as well.

Click here to listen to the show!


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Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

In a recent post I announced that I would start profiling job seekers as a way to help.

One of the things I ask of them for these profiles is to one of the following questions (these were taken copied borrowed from the extensive list of questions that Google has been known to ask in interviews).

Following is how I would answer these questions if asked in an interview:

What is the most efficient way to sort a million integers?

Alphabetically.

Obviously.

Imagine you have a closet full of shirts. It’s very hard to find a shirt. So what can you do to organize your shirts for easy retrieval?

Ok. This is how I organize my shirts:

Clean: On hangars in the closet.

Dirty: At the dry cleaner.

In a country in which people only want boys, every family continues to have children until they have a boy. If they have a girl, they have another child. If they have a boy, they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in the country?

Like a zillion to one.

In fact, I would like to move there.

Just where is this land you speak of??

Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco.

RUN.

(Fast!)

You’re the captain of a pirate ship, and your crew gets to vote on how the gold is divided up. If fewer than half of the pirates agree with you, you die. How do you recommend apportioning the gold in such a way that you get a good share of the booty, but still survive?

It depends.

If I found the gold I would just not return to the ship and therefore I would be rich and also not dead.

If someone else found the gold, I would suggest that we apportion it in the way that is least likely to result in my death.

What is the probability of breaking a stick into 3 pieces and forming a triangle?

I am going to need some sticks for this one.

Do you have any sticks?

Why are manhole covers round?

Do I look like a man to you??

I could not possibly be qualified to answer this question.

I have no idea how they think.

They are a complete and utter mystery to me.

What was the question again?

How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?

Are there kids on the bus?

Is the driver on the bus?

Is this a field trip and so there are chaperones on the bus? They take up more space, you know.

Is it music class day and so the kids have all their instruments with them?

Or is the football team on the bus with all their equipment?

I have no idea.

You might want to rethink this question.

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I have said in numerous posts that it’s not a recruiter’s job to find you a job.

That’s your job.

And…this is something I feel strongly about:

It’s your career.

OWN IT.

To clarify: recruiters are paid to find the right person for a particular job, and the specific nature of the work that I do (known in the industry as “sourcing”) typically has me researching and seeking out people who are currently employed with a client’s competitor in a similar role.

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

Cartoon by Hugh MacLeod

While I can’t help you find a job – because, you know, I’m kind of busy earning a living so I can pay my own bills, after all – I want to help.

So, I’m starting an ongoing series in which I will profile job seekers on this site in an effort to provide them with a place to clearly articulate what they do well and what type of opportunity they are seeking.

Want to be included?

THESE ARE THE RULES.

Send an email to me at stephanie.ann.lloyd (at) gmail (dot) com and include the following:

1. A professional headshot.

If you send me a picture of yourself with your cat or your kid or your award-winning pumpkin you will not be included.

2. Your desired job title.

ONE.

If you say something like, “I want to be a fire fighter or a CFO or a zoologist or a ninja” you will not be included.

Figure out what you want to do. If you could get an interview for an actual job, what job would it be?

And list that.

And if you say “I’ll do anything!” I will permanently block you from my blog, Facebook, Twitter, and all of my email accounts. It will be like you don’t exist.

Seriously.

3. One paragraph containing no more than three sentences detailing your professional experience as it relates to the opportunity you are currently seeking.

Read that again.

If you copy and paste your resume into this thing you are 1-800-BLOCKED.

4. The answer to ONE of the following questions:

  • What is the most efficient way to sort a million integers?
  • Imagine you have a closet full of shirts. It’s very hard to find a shirt. So what can you do to organize your shirts for easy retrieval?
  • In a country in which people only want boys, every family continues to have children until they have a boy. If they have a girl, they have another child. If they have a boy, they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in the country?
  • Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco.
  • You’re the captain of a pirate ship, and your crew gets to vote on how the gold is divided up. If fewer than half of the pirates agree with you, you die. How do you recommend apportioning the gold in such a way that you get a good share of the booty, but still survive?
  • What is the probability of breaking a stick into 3 pieces and forming a triangle?
  • Why are manhole covers round?
  • How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?

5. Links to your LinkedIn page, website, social resume…whatever it is that you want to be included in your profile to demonstrate your professional experience and expertise.

If I do not include one or more of the links you sent me in your email it is because I do not think it benefits you professionally. Just FYI.

6. How can people find you?

Include any contact information you feel comfortable giving out.

And, with that said, use discretion, because I am busy and once I post your info I am not changing it under any circumstance. So if you choose to give out your phone number, be prepared.

Period.

And if you send me an email address that is along the lines of cr33pybusman@aol.com or hot4you@yahoo.com or sexaythang@hotmail.com, NO, I am not listing it.

ONE MORE RULE

If you stalk me you will not be included. This means, send me your email based on the aforementioned outline of the profile I want to receive from you and do not call, text, tweet, DM, Facebook message, IM, mail or Fed Ex me a letter, send me a balloon bouquet, box of chocolates, flowers, or gift card to Ann Taylor, or email me to ask me if I got it or if I will profile you etc.

If you do any of the above: NO.

Except for maybe the Ann Taylor thing…

FINAL THOUGHTS

I have reasons for requesting exactly what I have laid out above.

I want to make you look good!

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will totally get it.

If you are not, well…may the force be with you. ;-)

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What *not* to say on Twitter if you want to get a job (or keep the one you have)

January 16, 2010

These are actual tweets that I found by doing a few simple key word searches on Twitter…this is a friendly reminder that what happens on the internet STAYS on the internet!
Think before you tweet…

thank goodness my boss is making things easy, he told me to pretend to do work so he can mark me down [...]

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A very special international edition of Dream Job Radio! | HR Roundtable 12.16.09 #punkATL

December 19, 2009

As a part of a most special day on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, I could not have been more honored to host an international roundtable of HR rock stars on such a special edition of Dream Job Radio.

Featured guests were Miriam Salpeter of Keppie Careers, Geoff Webb + Maha Akiki representing RecruitingBlogs, Laurie Ruettimann of [...]

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Unemployed? Consider contract work.

December 15, 2009

I know that many people who are seeking work focus on permanent positions without ever considering contract or freelance work.

Guess what?
While they don’t take taxes out of your paycheck and they typically do not provide you with benefits – THEY PAY YOU!
ACTUAL MONEY!
That you can like, BUY STUFF WITH!!
If I had to guess, I [...]

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Erik Wolf + Stephanie Frost of Zero-G Creative on Dream Job Radio! | 12.09.09

December 10, 2009

Yesterday my good friends Erik and Stephanie joined me in the studio along with our good friend Stone Payton who stood in for our producer Lee Kantor while he enjoyed a day of jury duty at the Fulton County Courthouse.

Stephanie and Erik have just launched their new book, Marketing: Unmasked, which lays out the fundamentals of [...]

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Interview with Rachel Rose Belew | Atlanta MarComm professional seeking new opportunity

December 2, 2009

What is your professional background?
I’m a freelance copywriter and communications professional with over four years of experience crafting clear, compelling written content for multimedia platforms, including television, radio, the Web, and traditional print media. I have been a TV news reporter, anchor, and producer; a newspaper and magazine writer; and a [...]

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Your job search isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon – and that’s a great thing!

November 29, 2009

Yesterday my good friend and He Said, She Said partner Todd Schnick wrote a fantastic blog post comparing training for a half-marathon to putting together a successful marketing plan.
I’ve been running on and off since 2000 and my favorite race distance is the half-marathon. My favorite race is the Atlanta Half-Marathon on Thanksgiving Day, sponsored [...]

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Looking back at 2009 | How this year has changed the workplace

November 24, 2009

As a member of the SmartBrief on Workforce Advisory Board, Editor Mary Ellen Slayter asked us to share our thoughts on what’s happened over the past year from an HR / labor / work issues perspective.
It’s been quite a year.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor it now takes an average of 27.2 weeks – [...]

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Branding Guru David Cohen + Image Consultant Cindy Light live on Dream Job Radio! | 11.03.09

November 15, 2009

This week on Dream Job Radio I had the pleasure of talking personal branding for the job search with David Cohen. David has loads of excellent advice to offer and this applies to job seekers, entrepreneurs, and marketers alike.
Also joining us in the studio was Cindy Light, an Atlanta-based image consultant, and we discussed the [...]

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