Blogs
December 19, 2007
Can you be found on the web?
May 4, 2007
Get recruited via the internet
If someone searches for you on the web and comes up empty-handed, do you exist?
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Considering that a growing number of recruiters and hiring managers are using search engines when gathering impressions of potential employees, the question isn’t as frivolous as it may seem.
In a 2006 survey by executive search firm ExecuNet in Norwalk, 77 of 100 recruiters said they use search engines to check out job candidates. In a CareerBuilder.com survey of 1,150 hiring managers last year, one in four said they use internet search engines to research potential employees. One in 10 said they also use social networking sites to screen candidates. In fact, according to Search Engine Watch, there are 25 million to 50 million proper-name searches performed each day.
In today’s job market, turning up missing on the Web may not be a fatal flaw, and it’s probably better than having a search result in a photo of you in a hula skirt. But over time, the lack of a web presence – particularly for IT professionals – may well turn from a neutral to a negative, says Tim Bray, director of web technologies at Sun Microsystems.
“Particularly because we’re a core technology provider, if someone came looking for a senior-level job and had left no mark on the internet, I’d see that as a big negative,” he says.
And it’s not just about technology, Bray says. “Most companies would rather have somebody who has demonstrated the propensity to contribute, and one [sign] of that is going out and getting involved, joining in the discussion.”
However, younger job seekers are more likely to participate in web activities than older workers, says Jennifer Stitt, a technical recruiter at Cigital, a software security and quality consultancy in Dulles, Va. “We have to be very careful not to fall prey to the belief that because a 45-year-old doesn’t have as much out there to be found when Googling, they aren’t a good candidate,” she says.
Still, says Nolan Bayliss, founder of Naymz, an online identity services provider in Chicago, “someone who has no information online might be perceived as not being as tech-savvy as someone else.”
Here are five tips to make yourself more findable on the web.
Know where people look
If you haven’t done so already, check what people will discover about you through popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo, as well as the lesser-used MSN Search or Ask.com, Bayliss says. Review at least the first three to five pages of results.
Some recruiters use blog-searching tools such as Technorati, Daypop or Blogdigger. They may also search specific sites, such as MySpace, YouTube or Flickr, or even lesser-known sites they themselves frequent, such as LibraryThing.com, says Rick Umali, a technical consultant at Endeca Technologies Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. Check to see what they’ll discover.
Start a blog
Some companies sponsor corporate blogs and encourage employee participation. But you can also establish your own through free blog hosting sites on the web, such as Blogger.com, LiveJournal.com, Blog-City.com, Xanga.com and MSN Spaces, as well as TypePad.com, Squarespace.com, BlogIdentity.com and Bubbler.com, which charge a small fee.
To further the impression that you’re part of a wider industry conversation, you can also create a “blog roll,” with links to important industry publications, experts and other blogs, Bayliss suggests.
If you’re not yet ready to start your own blog, you can simply begin posting to a technology-oriented blog such as Slashdot.com or Thescripts.com. Be sure to use your full professional name on anything you post, and include a link to the Web profile or page that you want people to see first when they search on your name, Bayliss says. “The more sites that link to your page, the higher that page will display in the search engine results,” he says.
But before joining in any discussion, listen. “Get a feeling of what the conversation is like and what’s said,” Bray suggests.
Join the open-source code community
Umali is thinking about contributing some fixes or additional functionality to the open-source code he uses on his blog, thereby getting credit for it on a site such as SourceForge.net, which is a repository of open-source software. “It provides a tracker for bugs or patches that will be associated with your name,” he says.
Build a web page
Umali created his own web page years ago to publish some of his writing. Today, his page reflects not just his personality but also his technical strengths and capabilities. For instance, he uses open-source technologies on his page, which demonstrates his capabilities in that area. “When I notice that in other people’s websites, I figure it’s not just this thing they picked up reading a book; they’ve applied it,” he says.
He also established his own domain name, Rickumali.com, for the page. “A domain name says, ‘This person is up on what’s going on in the web industry,’ ” he says. Some reputable domain name registrars include GoDaddy.com, Register.com and Network Solutions.
Create a web profile
Consider creating a web profile on one of the many social and business networking sites. Some, such as Naymz, Ziggs, FindMeOn.com and ClaimID.-com, allow you to create an online identity or, if you already have several, manage them all in one place. After creating a profile, you can link to any other places where you are mentioned or “exist” on the Web, Bayliss says.
Some of these sites offer to boost your findability factor as well as help protect your reputation. For instance, both Naymz and Ziki ensure that a search on your name through a popular search engine will result in your profile appearing at the top of the page, helping to draw attention to “the real you” and, if necessary, to bury other material you’d rather people didn’t see.
Sidebar: be careful out there!
If you decide to make your mark on the web, be careful about what you say. In a recent CareerBuilder.com survey, one in four hiring managers used Internet search engines to research job candidates. Fifty-one percent of them said they didn’t hire someone based on what they found. Here are some of the reasons candidates didn’t make the cut:
31 percent lied about qualifications.
25 percent had poor communication skills.
24 percent were linked to criminal behavior.
19 percent bad-mouthed a previous employer or co-worker.
19 percent posted information about drinking or using drugs.
15 percent shared confidential information from previous employers.
12 percent lied about an absence from work.
11 percent posted provocative or inappropriate photographs.
8 percent used unprofessional screen names.
Best Blog Services
May 4, 2007
| by Araceli Molina April 24, 2007 |
| Araceli Molina |
| Araceli Molina is the owner and creator of workathome.enlared.biz where you can find a complete selection of free ebooks, tools, utilities, articles and home bussiness ideas. |
| Araceli Molina has written 1 articles for PromotionWorld. |
| View all articles by Araceli Molina… |
What’s Hot and What’s Not on Blog Services
Although podcasting has definitely surpassed the popularity and usefulness of blogging nowadays, that certainly doesn’t mean blogging is a dying art. Not at all! If you take the time to browse around the Internet, you’ll see the members of popular blog hosting communities are still rapidly growing. If you’re not yet part of this crowd, you better jump on the bandwagon soon to experience the same fun and excitement.
Pressing the Keys at WordPress
There are a lot of things to look forward to at WordPress besides the wonderful fact that it’s free to use whether for business or personal purposes. Newbies and advanced users alike will enjoy blogging at WordPress with the many features available for use such as entry previews, blog categories, and blog rolls.
Thumbs-Ups: You can add plug-ins and customize your blog layout. WordPress also provides constant updates for their users.
Thumbs-Down: A bit of software knowledge is, however, required for users to properly install WordPress. If you have enabled commenting in your site, don’t be surprised to find that more than a few spammers are developing a habit of dropping by your site.
Fire up at FeedBurner
Do you think your blog is worth broadcasting? If so, you should consider moving from your old blog community to FeedBurner. In this website, they won’t just help you create content, they’ll spread around the word about your blog as well.
Thumbs-Ups: With the standard free package, FeedBurner allows you to set up the configuration for your blog for easy posting and even use an RSS subscription button to automatically update the readers of your blog. The website also lets you know the average number of visits your blog has per day with the FeedBurner hit counter and other traffic statistics. You can earn money on the sideline from blogging at FeedBurner because the website permits you to use Google Ads in your blog.
Thumbs-Down: Unfortunately, the template editing section of FeedBurner is not that easy to master.
Everything in One at Multiply
If you wish to blog, upload photos, videos, music files, write reviews, and post your social calendar online in just one website, all you have to do is sign up for an account at Multiply.
Thumbs-Ups: Photo uploading is virtually unlimited, and images can be classified by albums, and given captions. Skin choices are provided to give your blogs more color and life. The URL is pretty easy to memorize – username.multiply.com. Lastly, RSS feeds are allowed.
Thumbs-Down: On writing reviews, Multiply doesn’t give users much freedom on customizing content by font type or color. Layouts can be edited…but only if you have CSS knowledge and even with that, customizing is still somewhat limited. Smiley list is pitifully inadequate.
Live and Write Freely at LiveJournal
With a hip nickname such as “LJ”, LiveJournal is a website that’s especially suitable for the fun-loving crowd that’s always on the go.
Thumbs-Ups: Bonds forged online are strengthened by LJ’s email notifications for commenting. Thus, if someone comments in your blog, an email will be sent to inform you about it. Likewise, an email will be sent to you if your comment on someone else’s LJ receives a reply – whether it’s from the blog owner or another blogger doesn’t matter.
Thumbs-Down: LJ however is less easy to customize than other blogs. Some features that are already offered free by other blog hosting sites are on the other hand available only for LJ members with paid accounts.
Be In Vogue at Xanga
Teenagers seem to be absolutely enamored with Xanga. If you desire a blogging process that’s easy and stylish at the same time, Xanga is definitely the blog hosting site you’re looking for.
Thumbs-Ups: Besides having community-based blogging to look forward to, each post you make will allow you to inform your readers what you’re presently reading, watching, or playing. You can also upload photos, music, and write categorized reviews. A guest book is automatically offered to users.
Thumbs-Downs: Although Xanga allows users to make use of RSS feeds; it would take them some time to properly integrate it in their blogs. The customize layout options is sadly limited, the URL provided for members is a mouthful, and commenting is exclusive for Xanga members only.
So, what do you think? Which blog hosting site do you plan to choose? Wherever you end up blogging, we wish you well! Blog on!
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