Help! I Need a Job Checklist!

With the Orlando Job Fair and Employment Seminar coming up in less than 2 weeks, I thought it would be a good time to get you guys on pace and start looking at some action items to get you in shape for a job this summer. If you are coming from the Employment Guide Newsletter, welcome to the Orlando JobSpot. Feel free to poke around and check out our tips, tactics and advice on looking for a job and as always, leave your feedback in the comments to get personalized answers and advice.

If you are spending your waking hours looking under every stone for a great opportunity in Central Florida, then you know first hand how hard it can be. We have put together this checklist to make your efforts that much more effective. If you want to learn more about these tips, come to one of our educational job seeking sessions at the Job Fair on July 28th.

Have Multiple Resumes and Multiple Objectives
If you are applying to multiple jobs online with the same resume and same objective, you may not be getting the response that you could. By personalizing your resume and objective you are showing an employer that you care about the position they are offering and are presenting the skills and experience that you can bring into that position.

Utilize the Known and Unknown of the Internet
Using sites like LinkedIn and Twitter, you can find a world of information and also leverage contacts to find great new opportunities. Joining niche social networks like HealthCareerWeb.com for health care professionals or doterati.com for Interactive Marketers will put you into the same room and conversation as other like minded professionals. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/orlandoeg) and see how we can help you out.

Leverage Events and Offline Networking
By joining associations, volunteering and attending networking events you are increasing your visibility and meeting new people that can help you along in your career. Find great events and groups that interest you on sites like Meetup, Upcoming or the Central Florida Community Guide.

Get Jobs Hand Picked and Delivered To You Everyday
By joining programs like EmploymentGuide.com’s Job Alerts allows jobs to be sent to you everyday to save time and give you a jump start to applying to jobs as they become available. By tailoring your search to only jobs you will love, you can be on the right path to being in that career.

Make Job Fairs Count
With so much to do and so much going on, job fairs can get overwhelming. Go in with a plan! Research the companies, see what jobs they offer and find out what you can bring to their company. Use those custom resumes and objectives to grab the recruiter’s attention and be sure to find a way to follow up.

Pre-register for our July 28th Orlando Job Fair here.

-Greg

Rock The Job Live at Orlando Job Fair July 28th

Robert Dempsey and Nick Pettit, creators and video teachers from Rock The Job, will be making a live appearance at the next Orlando Employment Guide Job Fair on Tuesday, July 28th. The dynamic duo will be leading a session on using social media tools to increase your visibility as a job seeker.

Rock The Job is an online video show that helps students understand the impact of social media on their careers. They release new shows every week, with special guests from within the industry.

We look forward to seeing them at the Orlando Job Fair, helping our job seekers understand the importance of promoting yourself online. Check out a clip from episode #5, "Get Noticed."

For more information on the Job Fair and to Pre-Register, please click here.

Follow Rock The Job on Twitter or join their Facebook Group and look for new episodes every Monday.

-Greg

Orlando Job Seeker Secrets Session

The Orlando Employment Guide and Strayer University - Sand Lake Campus - have teamed up to help the Orlando community in their search to find employment and improve their lives. On Wednesday, July 15th join us for an action packed session geared towards helping you navigate your career search.

The Employment Guide has committed 2009 to be the yer that we put Americans back to work, hoping to place over 15,000 individuals through our job fair series as well as through the Employment Guide paper, EmploymentGuide.com, HealthCareerWeb.com, CareersInGear.com and WiserWorker.com.

Greg Rollett from the Orlando Employment Guide will be leading 2 sessions, followed by Q&A on:

• Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself Online
• First Impressions - From Job Fairs to Interviews to Emails and Applications

Admission and parking is free for the general public and the event is open to anyone that is looking to jump start their career or stuck in their job search. Bring paper, pens and an open mind to learning the tricks and tactics that are told by employers and used by successful job seekers.

Session 1: Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself Online

In this interactive session, we will look at the impact of search, Google and Social Media and how that effects your job search. Then we dive into examples and action items to have a Rock Star Personal Brand that companies will love and will set you apart from your peers and competition.

Session2: First Impressions

You first impression today can come in many forms. In this section we look at how to make the most of your first impression, from dressing for success to dressing your resume, email address and greeting. From job fairs to walking into a company's front doors, we will take a look at to-dos, success stories and what companies look for to make a favorable first impression.

Pre-register for the event here as seating is limited.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for information on this and many other events in the Orlando community. You can also ask us questions and inquire about job opportunities on EmploymentGuide.com.

How to Win Orlando's Americal Idol

If you really look at it, getting to Hollywood from the Orlando American Idol Auditions is really similar to the job market in Orlando. There are fewer jobs and more qualified candidates, much like few spots to Hollywood and thousands of people that wait in line to audition. American Idol Auditions are invading Orlando next week.

Registrations are Tuesday, July 7th and Wednesday, July 8th with auditions being Thursday, July 9th. All the craziness will take place at the Amway Arena in Downtown Orlando.

So how do you stand out from the pack in your job hunt and land that 1st or 2nd interview (or an audition to see Simon, Paula and Randy and then get the golden ticket to Hollywood)? Here are 5 tips to work on this 4th of July Weekend:

Resumes and Objectives

Use your resume objective to set the tone for your personality, goals and reason for applying. Make this the strongest 1-2 sentences on your entire resume, being direct and stating a true objective as to what you wish to accomplish. If everyone sings the same song and you come in with a song that truly shows your personality, your skills and talent you give yourself a better opportunity to get your foot in the door and have someone listen.

Non Traditional First Impressions

First Impressions can be made anywhere. When you are looking for a job, you can meet a prospective employer anywhere from the grocery store to a networking event to Facebook. Sure sure you impress when you come across a potential boss. This may mean looking your best everywhere you go and cleaning up your online image. When a star walks in the room, Simon knows it instantly from how they enter, before they sing one word - you need to do the same.

Utilize Your Competition

Befriend your competition. The line for American Idol auditions will stretch as far as the eye can see. So can applicants at job fairs, on job boards and at networking events. Befriend the competition to see if you can learn anything from them. Maybe they went to an interview and a job wasn't for them, but may be for you and vice-verse. Knowledge is power in this job market.

Know the Company Inside and Out

Do your homework and know what the company is looking for and how you can take them to the next level. See where their weaknesses are, where their growth is coming from and apply your skill set and knowledge into the interview, resume or cover letter. Paying attention is an easy way to get attention. You can easily do homework by looking for company blogs, doing searches in LinkedIn or simply looking at Google and Google News.

Reactions

Keep your spirits high. American Idol gets some of their highest ratings in the audition time frame because America loves to see reactions and meltdowns. Do NOT be that person. Keep your head up and move on. There are jobs out there as evident by the over 11,000 job seekers Employment Guide has put back to work this year and will continue to do so through our job fairs, website and newspaper.

Here's to a great 4th of July weekend and best of luck to all the brave souls heading to the American Idol auditions next week. We'd love to hear stories so please leave them in the comments or send them to greg.rollett@employmentguide.com.

-Greg

5 Tips for Building Your Personal Brand Using Social Media - Guest Post

(photo byswimfreak000)

The internet can be an invaluable tool for promoting yourself or your business—provided you know what you’re doing. Social media, online networking and tools that make communication of all kind quick and easy are great ways to get your name out there and get you known, but they can also get you in a lot of trouble if you don’t manage your online brand in the right way. Here are 5 tips to help you use social media to your advantage and build your brand without too many bumps along the road.

1. Use your profile to put a face on a brand.

When using sites where you need to develop a profile, use this as a chance to really showcase your brand and make it more personal to your customers. You also want to make sure that you keep your profiles consistent across the different social media sites so there’s no confusion about what your brand stands for. This will lead to better brand recognition, loyalty and even popularity if done right.

2. Make the most of networking and communication capabilities.

There’s no reason not to communicate with customers using social media. A generic presence on these sites won’t do you any favors. Take the time to actively engage with customers, listen to what they have to say and respond with your own answers, after all, it’s social for a reason. Being willing to communicate with others makes your brand more trustworthy, more valuable and just all around better.

3. Be genuine and build relationships.

If you want your target market to pass on recommendations about your company then you need to provide sincere engagement with them on your social media profiles and feeds. You can’t just use your blog or profile to push your personal products and expect this to get a great response. You brand will be much better served by offering information and conversation that’s of value not only to you but to your customers as well.

4. Make yourself unique.

Social media offers lots of opportunities to show off the real personality of your brand and make it stand out from the crowd. Spend your time building sites that reflect the “voice” of your brand and make sure all your content reflects the personality you want to associate with your brand.

5. Work your blog.

Blogging can be an excellent way to connect with customers and to start building your brand. That is, however, if you go about it in the right way. If you’re always just posting things that are essentially ads for your products you’ll probably bore all but your most hardcore fans. Instead, use your blog to share a passion for your industry, not just your product and become and authoritative, trusted and even entertaining source of information for your customers.

________________________________________________

This post was contributed by Megan Jones, who writes about job search websites. She welcomes your feedback at Meg.Jones0310 at gmail.com

Strayer University Personal Branding Presentation

Last week, we set out to the San Lake Orlando Campus of Strayer University and chatted with students on Personal Branding and promoting themselves online. It was a great presentation that featured a Dress Barn fashion show and some great info for both the students and faculty at Strayer.

If you would like the Orlando Employment Guide to come to your school, group or organization, please let us know by sending an email to greg.rollett@employmentguide.com. We are currently presenting on the following topics:

• Personal Branding
• Advanced Online Job Seeking
• Resumes, Cover Letters and First Impressions
• Successful Job Fairs

Here is the video from the presentation as well as the slides that accompany the talk. Submit feedback in the comments please. The video is a little long (about an hour) so view at your leisure.

5 Steps To Market Your Self Online | Strayer University Presentation

View more OpenOffice presentations from gregrollett.

-Greg Rollett

Assistance for Orlando Jobless and Those Laid Off

We just received notice from our friends at the Workforce of Central Florida that they have received government funding for scholarships to offer to those that have been laid off, terminated or downsized. From the Workforce Press Release:

WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA is pleased to offer a limited number of training scholarships to help individuals affected by the downturn in the economy. If you meet the requirements for this program, contact us today to take advantage of this opportunity.

You may be eligible for this program if you meet one of the following criteria:

• If you have been terminated, laid off or downsized through no fault of your own
• If you are eligible or receiving unemployment compensation
• If you have exhausted your unemployment benefits
• If you worked at a facility with more than 25 employees that announced a permanent layoff
• If you are a homemaker who no longer receives support from another family member and are looking to enter the workforce

For more information, please visit the Workforce website and view the webinar entitled WIA Program Webinar to obtain additional information on scholarship assistance and begin the application process.

Best of luck Orlando!

-Greg

Companies Using Twitter To Hire You!

On Friday we took a look at top recruitment professionals on Twitter, from services to communities to coaches. Today we are taking a look at some companies who use Twitter to post jobs form their Twitter account. Being consistent in following these companies may open up an opportunity for you to apply to an open position before the job becomes advertised online, in the paper or another outlet.

If you know of other companies using Twitter to promote their open positions, please let me know in the comments and I will add them to the list. Hopefully we can make this a powerful resource for those looking for employment to talk directly to companies through this powerful medium.

Dominion Enterprises - Corporate recruiting headquarters for Employment Guide, For Rent, Homes.com, Boat Trader and more!
AT&T - Jobs from the telecommunications giant
Burger King - Jobs with Burger King corporate, not individual franchises
Hyatt Hotels - find a job with this hospitality company
Keller Williams - Job positions for real estate agents and others such as secretaries and office managers
Kroger Grocery Stores - Their account says they are hiring in all locations across the country!
MTV Networks - Who wouldn't want to work for MTV?
UPS - What can brown do for your career?
Verizon - Careers for everything you are (or so says their Twitter bio)
Marriott International - Not an official jobs Twitter account but a good way to start building communications with the hotel giant
Whole Foods - again not specific to jobs, but they are very active on Twitter and this can a great learning and building block
CarMax - Chris Wilmore from CarFax talks about things related to their world. He can probably point you in the right direction.
Nordstrom - I guess its okay to find great deals while looking for a job with this fashion leader
Southwest and JetBlue - These 2 airlines are some of the most conversational accounts on Twitter. Start building relationships with them and see where it can lead you in your job search!

Again, not all of the above accounts are for jobs, but the job seeking process is about more than knowing the open positions. Building relationships with "people" that work for companies is an invaluable asset to sculting the career you are longing for. Reach out and talk to a new person or company everyday on Twitter. You never know where your network will lead you!

Happy hunting Orlando!

-Greg Rollett

P.S. Follow us on Twitter for local updates and new job postings! @orlandoeg

Follow These Career Related People on Twitter

Twitter is becoming a great place to not only share information and post your status updates, it is becoming an amazing resource to find out about job opportunities, build relationships with companies and get industry news. Here is a list of Twitter people and companies to follow that will help your Orlando Job Search.

The Employment Guide - Find Tweets on cool blog posts, featured employers and industry news.

Online Resumes - Great resource for resume tips and tactics

Career Realism - Advice From Leading Career Experts on Twitter

Brazen Careerist - Gen-Y Career Center

Jon Hunt Org - Leading career expert helping connect people with employers and careers

JobAngels - Getting people back to work, one person at a time.

Orlando JobSpot - This is our Twitter account which posts information on new jobs to our site, recent blog posts and local career and job news!

Here are some additional Twitter resources that we found while searching the web. They may give you some great insight into using the platform as well as some other Tweeps to follow to kickstart your Twitter Job Search.

• 50 Twitter Users To Follow For Your Job Search by One Day, One Job
• 30 Profiles Every Job Seeker on Twitter Should Follow by Applicant.com
• Using Twitter to Network and Find a Job by The Talent Buzz
• The Beginner's Guide to Finding a Job With Twitter by Job Mob
• How To Find a Job on Twitter from the great folks at Mashable
• 50 People on Twitter Job Seekers Should Follow by Resume Bear
• Top 50 Recruiters on Twitter by The Recruiter's Lounge
• Twitter to Find A Job by Forbes Online
• 30 Minute Brand Building For Twitter by Monica O'Brien at The Personal Branding Blog
• Using Twitter and Facebook To Find a Job by Time Magazine

There is a lot of advice and tips for job seekers out there on using Twitter and other social media tools. The goal is to find what is relevant to you and amplify the things that are working to get yourself into a new job or career as quickly and efficiently as possible. Remember to create real and meaningful relationships, that is the major focus of the medium.

On Monday, check back into the Orlando JobSpot as we look at some of the top companies locally that are using Twitter. These are companies that you can and should start building relationships with, looking for knowledge, conversation and opportunities.

Have a great weekend and happy hunting Orlando!

-Greg Rollett

HOME Families are 'Getting There'

The following is from the recent H.O.M.E. Newsletter. We are very excited to have helped assist this group in job training, personal branding and internet job seeking skills!

HOME just completed its first "Getting There" class, a six-week course, designed to help those who are unemployed receive the life skills they need to find successful jobs.

Eleven members of the class, who are part of HOME's HOMELite program, learned how to write resumes and cover letters, internet marketing, interview skills, and how to dress for success.

With teachers from The Orlando Employment Guide, volunteer interviews from the City of Kissimmee and Osceola County HR department, and a visit to the Central Florida Dress for Success, the members of the "Getting There" class learned how to put their best foot forward in finding a new job!

Above is a group photo from the class on graduation day. Graduates received a completion certificate, weekly planner, and a $15 gift card from JCPenney.

HOME will start another "Getting There" class on June 16.