Please fire your resume, it's not doing its job

First, I don't write here much anymore, things have changed quite a bit for me and I just don't find the time.  I've decided to keep this blog open for the rare opportunities (like this one) that I do get a chance to write something.

You resume is NOT DOING IT'S JOB AND SHOULD BE FIRED.  I'm not speaking to everyone but as a job seeker (yep, I'm still looking; talk to me if you know of anything in training or recruiting in the Tulsa OK area) I have a chance to help a lot of other job seekers.  I stay active in a ministry that works with job seekers and helps them with resumes, interviewing, networking and the job search in general.  I see a lot of resumes and many of them have the same problem.  YOUR RESUME SHOULD BE A SALES FLYER FOR YOU.  YOUR RESUME IS NOT SELLING YOU OR YOUR PROFESSIONAL VALUE TO AN EMPLOYER.  So, let's talk about that...

Your resume should be a sales flyer for you.  It's only purpose is to convince the reader "I need to call this guy!"; everything else is on your shoulders (I may write about that later).  The reader is only going to give your resume 15 seconds or (in most cases) much less so we have to help the person reading your resume.


Stuff that should be on your resume no matter what...
YOUR INFORMATION.  Put it right at the top; give your name, your contact number (mention if it's a cell, home, whatever), your email address and maybe your LinkedIn profile address.
YOUR JOB TITLE.  This should explain quickly, WHAT YOU DO.  Be willing to customize the title to more closely match a job that you are applying for but have a general title that works when networking.

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY.  I don't like "objective" statemtents, I think they sound selfish.  A professional summary does a better job of describing your value.  This is 4-5 (or less) sentences that describe what you do and how what you do brings value to a company. Don't say stuff like 'go-getter' or 'self motivated' or anything else that is intangible.  Speak to real results and mention an accomplishment that transitions well into any position you will apply for.
YOUR SKILLS.  This is the keywords section and can go anywhere in the resume, near the top, second page, it really doesn't matter but a lot of people put it right below the professional summary.  Some people don't even put this section in their resume.  As long as your keywords are somewhere, that's all that matters.

YOUR PROFESSIONAL HISTORY.  This is where I plan to spend most of my time today and this is where many people fail to show their true value.  A lot of people fail on this section for two reasons.
#1 - they don't know how.
#2 - It is a lot of work to do this right and many of the people who know how don't realize the importance or the return for their effort.



Most important - DO NOT WRITE THIS SECTION LIKE A JOB DESCRIPTION FOR PAST JOBS YOU HAVE HAD.  Too many people list the job duties and add nothing more.  This is great for a job posting but horrible for your resume.  It leaves each of your responsibilities open for the reader to say "this person failed at X".  You didn't tell them any different, why should they think otherwise?  It also makes your resume look like the 500 other resumes the hiring manager has sitting on his desk.  You will not stand out from the crowd and probably won't get an interview.


I suggest following the steps below to write a powerful professional history section.  You are going to do a lot of writing.  You are going to write about the same thing more than once.  Some of this will seem redundant, it is.  I want you to think about your professional responsibilities from different perspectives in order to pull as much value as possible from each task.




Step 1) PUT DOWN YOUR RESUME.  DON'T LOOK AT IT, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. I want you to get away from thinking about your resume while we work on this section.  I want you to focus on what you have done during your career but not think about how that will fit into your resume.

Step 2) Find a comfortable place to do a LOT of writing.  For some (me), this is a quiet place with a notepad and pen.  For others it is sitting in front of a PC.  Make sure you minimize interruptions as much as possible (I don't want anything to affect your thought process) and you have sufficient resources.  I don't want you breaking your thought process to get up and sharpen a pencil.  A LOT of this process is mental.  I want you to walk through every job you have ever held in order to identify why these people cut you a check every week.  This is an intense mental task and only gets harder when you are interrupted.

Step 3) Write down your job history, and I mean ALL of it.  I don't care if this was mowing lawns when you were 14; I don't care if it was 'sack boy for local grocery store'.  Write down the name of every company you have worked for.  Write the title (or titles) you held while working for that company and a general calendar reference.  When did you work there? We are not looking for exact dates here, maybe the years or year & month.

Step 4) Start with a clean page and think about your job history.  Start with the first company and think about what you did while you worked there.  Put the company name and your title at the top of the page.  Plan to build a fresh page for each position held during your career.  First, think about your day to day tasks.  What did you do every day while you were in X position?  Write this down.  Now I want you to think about special times while you were working there.  Did you work on any special projects?  Did you do anything outside of your daily tasks?  Try to think of at least one thing you did while working there that was not part of your daily routine.
(Here is an example.  I was an inventory manager working on a project to RFID all of our PC's so the account managers would know what we had when approaching new clients.  One morning I noticed a semi trailer parked at our back door and maintenance unloading boxes.  Once I realized we had ordered over 300 new chairs and they were unloading those chairs, I joined in to help.  This is the only time in 10 years I ever helped unload a truck for this company; way out of my normal job duties.  I can use this to show I'm a team player, a leader (I convinced others to help us unload), I'm not afraid to step out of my comfort zone, I'm not afraid of hard labor, etc etc. Lots of value in this one simple story.)

Note on Step 4 - Don't give up.  I know this is hard to do.  I know this will take a lot of time and I know there are things about past jobs that you don't even remember.  Now is a great time to do some networking. Reach out to people you worked with and ask them for help.

Step 5) Repeat the previous step until you have a notes page on every job you have ever held.

Step 6) Go back through those notes.  Organize your notes so you can quickly recognize individual tasks.  You are still keeping everything separated by Company & title.  Think about it in outline format if it helps.
"(1)" would be Company
   "(1.a)" would be title held at that company
      "(1.a.1)" would be a task
"(2)" would be a new company.

Step 7) Describe each task using the S. A. R. format.  Situation - Action - Result.  Write as much as you need to in order to provide a full description.  Don't worry about how this will fit into your resume (remember? your not supposed to be thinking about your resume right now!) just make sure you write a description that a total stranger could pick up and understand.
Answer the following questions.
   What was the Situation?
   What Action did I take?
   What were the (positive!!) Results?
(Here is an example, still using my special task from step 4 - "When arriving for work one day I noticed a semi trailer parked outside our back door.  While headed to my office I realized the semi was a shipment of chairs for our call floor.  I then remembered our controller had ordered over 300 new chairs and that this must be that shipment.  I set aside my morning tasks and helped our maintenance crew unload the truck, inviting other staff members to assist.  I probably convinced a dozen staff members to join in and with our help the truck was unloaded in a few hours instead of taking our maintenance crew all day"  In most cases you want the Result to mention a tangible value; $$$ saved or earned, % increased or decreased, efficiency improved, etc.  I use this example to show that while you want as many tangible numbers ($$$/%) as possible you can still show value in non-measurable, seemingly unimportant tasks).

Step 8) Pat yourself on the back.  You now have a powerful library of accomplishment stories that you can use when networking or interviewing.  When someone asks you a question, you will have a great story to answer with!  Each story will not only answer the question but will show how you bring value to a company.  I LOVE it when someone asks me a question starting with "Tell me about a time..."!!!  Keep these stories somewhere that is easy to find.  You will want to refer to these when preparing for a job interview.  It's also a great way to build yourself up during an emotional down day.  Read back through these stories and remember all the great accomplishments you have had during your career.

Step 9) This step is optional but helpful for many people.  Categorize your stories.  Each story can have multiple categories, some will only be categorized as "general".  This may help when interviewing and may also help when inserting these stories into your resume.  This is especially helpful if you are looking to make a career change, the categories will make it easier for you to see how your skills transition to a different career.

Step 10) Choose which stories you want on your resume.  Mark the 'resume stories' so you can identify them easily.

Step 11) Start with your most recent job.  Re-write each accomplishment story so it is only 2-3 sentences long.  Each story should be a bullet point in the professional history section of your resume.  I suggest at least 3 bullets for each job title held.  Reducing each accomplishment story can be hard.  Remember the "Result" section of the story is the most important and the "Action" is the second-most important.  Your goal is to turn each accomplishment story into quick statement that speaks to your value using an example from your career.  You may find that one story can speak to different results.  Don't hesitate to use one story to build multiple statements for your resume but try not to 'over-work' a single situation.  If you have put in an honest effort in the previous steps you should have plenty of stories to choose from.

Step 12) Re-read your Professional Summary section at the top of your resume.  Does is speak to your value?  Does it describe a situation that transitions well into any position you apply for?  You have a great collection of accomplishments, you may want to consider changing your professional summary.

I suggest keeping your resume to 2 pages in length.  If you see a need, build a resume that is longer than two pages and use it for special situations.  My experience has taught me that hiring managers, HR departments & recruiters prefer 2 page resumes.  Remember you can always share the stories that didn't make it to your resume during the interview!

How do you act when you think no one is looking?

This blog post is more along the lines of "Think on these things" than my usual posts.  Something hit me last night and I just had to share it.
(NOTE2011.08.02 - I realized I had not posted this yet so here it is.  "Last night" was about a month ago)

I'll start with a story.  My family and I frequent a major retail giant, they offer groceries, general household items and have a Lawn & Garden center.

 This story is not about the major retail giant, but we will call them "StoreMart" for reference.


One day while my wife & girls were at StoreMart, she needed to pick a child to do something.  (Not my wife in the pic, BTW)  She was headed either outside or into the store so she stopped and asked the greeter to 'pick a number between 1 & 9'.  The greeters name was John (name changed to respect "John's" privacy).  He did, the girls guessed, and my wife thanked John then went on about her day.  The next time I went to the store with my family she pointed out John and we all told him Hello as we entered the store.  This became a habit, every time any of us would see John in the store we would say Hello.


Last night my wife went to StoreMart (for the second time that day) and entering, she saw John.  He exclaimed "you here again?" jokingly and they had a short conversation.
John is an older fellow, easily past retirement age.  Always friendly and smiles every time I see him.  As they were talking, he explained to my wife that he looks for us every time he works.  We brighten his day with our hellos.  John; a greeter at a major retail giant, gave my wife a hug during their conversation.  He passed her on his way out later (his shift was over) and hugged her a second time!
When she shared this with me; I started thinking.  Obviously; the 45 seconds it takes to recognize a person by name and tell them hello made a huge impact on this mans life.  He has lived a long and I'm sure eventful life.  He has loved, lost, accomplished and failed; just like all of us.  Why did an effort so small on our part make such a huge impact on this mans life?  I'm not a celebrity, not famous, not even close to rich.  We don't spend a noticeably large amount with this Retail Giant.  I'm currently working a contract position and somewhat nervous about when the contract will run out.  I consider myself on the edge of unemployed.  We don't drive fancy cars (NADA blue book says $22K would buy them both!).  Our kids; while exemplary in our own eyes, to be honest are your average cute girls.  How can an action from my insignificant life make an impact on this fellow who is my equal or perhaps even my better?  (In support of John, he has had a longer life and therefore presumably more time to 'accomplish great things'.)
Then, it hit me; like a ton of bricks.  We pay attention to John.
We treat John like a real person.  We interact with him and offer him the same time and respect we do everyone else.

But John is just a greeter at a Major Retail Giant you say?  That's the point.

So, with my story told.  How do you act when you think no one (important!) is looking?  How do you treat the cashier when you make a purchase?  Do you use their name?  I bet they have a name tag.  How did you treat your steward the last time you were on an airplane?  Or any employee of the Air Transportation Industry?  Flying isn't fun anymore; I have to take off my belt to get through security!  Is that the fault of anyone I'll meet while flying?  Most likely not.

My father taught me a few things.  "Respect EVERYONE."  "Don't judge a book by it's cover."  "EVERYONE is important simply because God chose to breath life into them."

You never know when some small act can make a memorable impact on another persons life.  You never know when that person will have a chance to return the favor.










(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news, positive influence)

Social Media Tools, Bookmarking Sites (Cont'd)

5th posting in a series of (I don't know how many)  In this article I cover miscellaneous tools, some may obviously apply others maybe not.  As always,  I have the completelist categorized  here.
I will keep that sheet updated as I make changes, delete sites I'm not planning to review, etc.  I'll try to have a link to the site on each blog post I write related to this subject.


More tools that can help you in this Social Media Jungle...
First a note, bookmarking sites are designed not only to offer you a place to store bookmarks but many of them offer the ability to share them as well.  The advantages over your browser are cloud storage of bookmarks which lets you access them from anywhere instead of one PC and the ability to share or discuss said bookmark.  This is an opportunity for online activity.  A properly built profile with almost any of the sites should help your SEO.
Something else to remember, you may consider using these sites to promote yourself as an expert in your field.  Bookmark sites with information related to your profession, start and join in discussions around related to your profession.  The more online activity you are involved in related to your field, the stronger your presence as an expert.  I would suggest you keep the number of sites you build a profile on to a minimum.  Too many sites and you spend all your time at home in front of the PC, trying to keep up with everything.  Remember your online activity is supposed to support your real life activity!

Due to the large number of Social Bookmarking sites, I have decided to keep my review to a minimum.  If the site is on this list, it can be accessed from the US.  I may or may not build a profile on the site.  If I say the site runs slow, remember I am using Google Chrome browser (not Internet Explorer, although Ver9 is nice) and Windows 7.


Delicious - http://www.delicious.com/

In my opinion this is one of the sites that started it all.  I don't use Delicious (I have no interest in bookmarking sites for personal use) but I see the Delicious button EVERYWHERE.  Because of it's established popularity, I think having a profile and some activity on Delicious could help you to become more popular on the web.



Designbump - http://designbump.com/

Uses a voting system to promote popular bookmarks.  Offers a list of most popular and "up & coming" bookmarks.  Offers 'real time' list of "What's Hot right now".  Another opportunity for you to be active on the web.

Dwellicious - http://dwellicious.com/

Real Estate specific.  Looks like "Delicious" for real estate.  Interesting concept.  I'd say if you are in real estate this would be a good place to be busy,

DZone - http://www.dzone.com/links/

This one is pretty interesting, I may keep it filed in my "look at this later" folder.  If your a developer of any level, you need to be active on this site.  It's 100% about links for developers.  Lots of links to "how-to" or expanding your knowledge.  Looks to be a great information resource as well as a good place for dev guys to be active on the web.

EzySpot - http://www.ezyspot.com/

Just another bookmarking site.  I'd say maybe not as popular as Delicious.  Does offer to categorize bookmarks by "All / Arts / Business / Entertainment / Gaming / Health / Internet / News / Science / Sports / Technology / Travel" however.

FAVable - http://www.favable.com/

Wow, these guys really put forth an effort.  Very nice setup.  You have a dashboard (see the screenshot) that shows your bookmarks as icons, offers a Twitter feed on the right and has lots of flexibility for setup.  I believe there is a free and a pay version.

Faves.com - http://wiki.faves.com/

Different is the best word i can use to describe this.  Wiki style, with discussions, picture & video sharing.  Appears to at least attempt to act like a community of like minded people discussing what interests them.  It's only my guess but I'd say the activity here, because of the websites design, might produce higher results in a Google search than some of the other bookmarking sites.

Favoritus - http://www.favoritus.com/

Simplicity is the key here.  Takes the "less is more" approach which almost always appeals to me.  You'll have to try it for yourself to see if it suits you.  If your even slightly OCD (I am), this may appeal to you.

Folkd - http://www.folkd.com/

They offer a pretty good description of themselves:
Save your favourite links and bookmarks online and access them from anywhere at any time.
Press our "star"-button to vote up the best links on the web with just one click.
Search the most popular links and discover cool sites your friends liked.
Easily recommend the best sites to your friends via email, facebook or twitter.  (My note: integration with Facebook/Twitter could be a positive)
Connect to interesting users to follow their latest links.
Or post cool links yourself and increase your "reputation-rank".
Search and organize your collection by tags and keep private things private!

Fwisp - http://fwisp.com/

Looks a lot like EzySpot.  Offers categories, rank top users (could help SEO), tag cloud (can help you find most popular subjects).  At a glance, I would pick this over EzySpot but I didn't spend much time with either.



So, that takes me through the letter "F" in my list.  I deleted quite a few from the original list because they either didn't look useful, were down or were in a language other than English.  No offense intended, I only review sites in English (it's a downfall of mine, I only speak/read English.  Always meant to pick up a second or third language but never got around to it.)
Please leave feedback in the comments.  Are you using any of these sites?  Want me to offer specific details in my reviews?  Hate what I'm doing but read my blog anyway just to laugh at me?  The comment section belongs to you, offer any and all feedback you have.
Remember that what is written here is only my opinion, and maybe not a very good one at that.  I write this stuff because something inside me says I must write.  I hope that what I write will help someone, somewhere; but help or not I plan to keep writing.






(Ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

On the #jobhunt? How's your time management???

Let's face it, looking for a new job can be a real workout.  If you don't manage your time well, your in trouble.  It's easier to experience burnout when looking for a job than when your actually working.  Step back, take a few minutes to read the suggestions below and really think about how you are approaching your search.

The article by Lifehacker is where a lot of my information comes from and was also the idea for writing this article.  Credit to the great writers at Lifehacker, they always have something valuable to read.

1) Treat your jobhunt like a real job.  The first thing you have to get your brain around is that you may not be employed but you still have a job.  Your current job is... To Find A New Job!  Treat your jobhunt like a job.  Spend the same amount of hours as you would in a paid position.  Treat yourself like your 'on salary' as opposed to hourly because, obviously your not getting paid OT!

1.a) Build a schedule.  You need to define your working hours so you know when you are finished working for the day.  Don't spend all your waking time looking for work.  You wouldn't spend all your waking hours at the office would you?  Don't spend all your waking hours looking for a job.  I suggest your schedule covers a good portion of the "8 to 5" hours because that's when recruiters and hiring managers are most likely at the office.
        1.b) You can stop here or really define your schedule by blocking times or days that you approach your job search in different ways.  Monday could be your meeting day, Tuesday could be your 'submit application' day or maybe you have decided to work from 10AM to 7 PM.  10 to noon could be your time for making phone calls.  I wont go into serious detail here but you get the point.
        1.c) Consider a split schedule or a schedule that covers more than 40 hours.  You will want to work during the morning hours (8to 10) and afternoon (330 to 5) because that's the best time to make phone calls.  Whatever you do remember to keep your schedule flexible.  Remembering work/home balance (I talk more about this below) I suggest you keep your job search to 60 hours or less.

2) Practice telling time.  Can you tell me when 5 minutes have passed with any accuracy?  I bet you think you can but if your like most people, including me, you can't.  Start wearing a watch or keeping one close by and really test how long your daily activities take.  Think it takes 5 minutes to write a thank you letter after an interview?  It takes me an hour.  The ability to accurately estimate time intervals is essential to making your day as productive as possible.
      2.a) This is also very helpful during interviews and meetings.  If you agree to spend 20 minutes with someone, you need to know how long 20 minutes really is.  If someone has agreed to meet (network) with you, respect their time.  Don't take more time than you agreed to even if the meeting is going stellar.  Explain you respect their time and offer to reschedule to continue the conversation.  They will appreciate it and the impression is always positive.
      2.b) Paying greater attention to time is one of the most important things you can do during a job interview.  ALWAYS give yourself at least 15 minutes longer than you think it takes to drive to the interview location.  You don't want construction or traffic to make it look like you are a habitually tardy person.  Try not to arrive in the parking lot no more than 15 minutes early.  Many business have cameras on their parking lot and they may be watching.  More than 15 minutes early to the lot makes you look desperate; remember they need you as bad as you need the job.  Stop at a close gas station if you are too early.  15 minutes early to the lot gives you about 5 minutes to walk to the building.  You do not want to actually enter the building more than 10 minutes early.  No employer wants you sitting in their lobby for 30 minutes waiting for the interview.  Again, you look desperate and it makes them feel rushed.

3) Learn to use little bits of time or "how to eat an elephant".   How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.  How do you tackle a big project or seemingly overwhelming task?  One small item at a time.
      3.a) In this age of social media it's easy to get overwhelmed.  For example, I follow over 125 people on Twitter (as a side note, experts say it's hard to interact with more than a total of 150 friends, I'd say the same number applies for how many people you follow on Twitter not including lists.)  If I don't keep track of my Twitter stream it can get overwhelming and quick.  Ever check TweetDeck or whatever you use to see that you have 1000+ unread Tweets?  Easy just to skip past them all isn't it?  Don't do this.   If you have followed item 1 above, you getting a better understanding of how long things take and how quickly time actually passes.  When you realize have 5/10 minutes (waiting for a bus?  too early for an interview? standing in line at the grocery store? you get the point) use these little blocks of time to catch up small items like reading a few tweets or making a quick check on LinkedIn status updates.  Taking advantage of these small time blocks makes sure you stay current in the social media game and opens your bigger blocks of time for more important tasks.

4) Anticipate and prioritize your interruptions.  The "outside world" and sometimes our immediate world does not care what task we are working on or how important it is.  Filling out an online application and notice you just got an email?  That email could be a job offer! I have to check it NOW!
      4.a) NO you DON'T.  Whatever task you are working on, updating your resume, filling out an application, interruptions will happen.  Don't let minor distractions take you away from the task at hand.  No matter what that email is, it will wait until you are finished filling out that application.  So what if it's a job offer?  They made the offer so they are willing to wait a reasonable amount of time to hear your reply.  If you stop what you are doing to handle those distractions it's easier to fall off task and that first thing you were working on will take much longer, throwing off your schedule for the rest of the day.

5) Delegate effectively.  Wait, I'm NOT WORKING!  Who can I delegate to?  If you live alone, maybe no one.  If you are like me you have a wife and kids.  I spend the majority of my time at home (because I'm not working) and therefore fixing dinner, doing the laundry and other household chores fall in my lap.

     5.a) For day to day operations, this may not be a problem (it's not for me) but sometimes something comes up.  Have a networking event in the afternoon that means you won't be home to fix dinner?  Need to work on a presentation for an interview over the weekend and can't take time for household chores?  Your spouse/family is there to support you.  They love you and want you to succeed.  My wife never offers to handle these day to day chores because (and I quote) "I look like I have it all handled".  If something comes up and I ask her however, she never hesitates to say "yes" and help me where I need it.

6) Identify your Prime Time.  What hours of the day are you most "on point"?  What time is the most effective for you?  Some people are night owls and others are early risers (I'm an early riser, 5:45 every morning).  Identify your most productive time and apply it where it matters most.

     6.a) This will be different for everyone.  If your a night owl, 9 PM is probably not the best time to make phone calls.  Or maybe it is, perhaps you are the type of person that prefers to leave a voice-mail.  (I passionately disagree with this method but the jobhunt while similar for all also boils down to "what works most effective for me".)
     6.b) As an early riser, I can scan my tasks for the day and prepare for any phone calls I need to make.  This allows me to be prepared to make those calls starting at 8:15 sharp (my preferred time to make calls).  I love the morning, I can review my plans for the day, make preparations or adjustments as needed and tackle the day "ready for anything".   If you are a night owl, maybe you should be making all those preparations the night before.  Look at your task list for the following day and make preparations as needed.  Have a meeting or interview tomorrow?  Go over your notes and pick your outfit the night before.


7) VERY IMPORTANT.  START SCHEDULING AND ENJOYING YOUR FREE TIME.

Now that you have a better understanding of time and you are using every minute to its fullest you can start actually scheduling free time for yourself.  This is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.  When you schedule free time, you are more likely to spend that time on yourself instead of stressing out over your job search.  Taking free time gives you a feeling of accomplishment because you will feel like you earned the time and it's a self-reward.  This is also a great opportunity to 'give back' to that family that has been supporting you.  Kids and spouses don't understand or appreciate "always job hunting" any more than they appreciate "always working".  Taking time for self and family makes you a more balanced person and offers you a chance to recharge your batteries, making you more productive during your working hours and more involved during family time.   A balanced life, equal parts "work" and "personal" has proven to have a positive affect overall; lower stress levels, better general health, stronger emotional ties with family and friends and more productive person at the office.  Your next employer will appreciate that you already know how to balance your life and understand the value you bring to their company.

The jobhunt is a stressful time.  It's a lot of work networking and searching for that next job.  Better time management will make you more effective.  I hope the time you spent reading this article offers you a return on your investment.  Thanks for reading.






(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

Social Media Tools, Bookmarking Sites

Fourth posting, in this article I cover miscellaneous tools, some may obviously apply others maybe not.  As always,  I have the completelist categorized  here.
I will keep that sheet updated as I make changes, delete sites I'm not planning to review, etc.  I'll try to have a link to the site on each blog post I write related to this subject.


More tools that can help you in this Social Media Jungle...
First a note, bookmarking sites are designed not only to offer you a place to store bookmarks but many of them offer the ability to share them as well.  The advantages over you browser are cloud storage of bookmarks which lets you access them from anywhere instead of one PC and the ability to share or discuss said bookmark.  This is an opportunity for online activity.  A properly built profile with almost any of the sites should help your SEO.
Something else to remember, you may consider using these sites to promote yourself as an expert in your field.  Bookmark sites with information related to your profession, start and join in discussions around related to your profession.  The more online activity you are involved in related to your field, the stronger your presence as an expert.

Due to the large number of Social Bookmarking sites, I have decided to keep my review to a minimum.  If the site is on this list, it can be accessed from the US.  I may or may not build a profile on the site.  If I say the site runs slow, remember I am using Google Chrome browser (not Internet Explorer, although Ver9 is nice) and Windows 7.

A1-Webmarks - http://www.a1-webmarks.com/
Pure bookmarking.  Simple webpage, lots of text, little graphics.  Lets you add comments to your bookmarks.




Add.io - http://add.io/
Appears to run slow.  Encountered a few error messages.  Appealing visually, nice graphics.  Looks like it could be a really good option if it weren't slow and gave me errors.  Again, I'm not spending a lot of time with any one site.



All My Faves - http://www.allmyfaves.com/
Uses the (bookmarked) sites icon, nice visual.  create your own "faves" pages.

Blinklist - http://blinklist.com/
Pure text, very few graphics.  Appears to follow a minimalist design.

Blurpalicious - http://www.blurpalicious.com/
Quite a few adds.  Colorful.

BonzoBox - http://bonzobox.com/
Looks more like a landing page than other sites.  Very visual, large graphics.

BookmarkingNet - http://www.social-bookmarking.net/
Appears to be a VERY social site.  Lots of "Follow me" links to the left.  Ranking of bookmarks so there is interaction with other members.  This looks like something you could promote yourself with.

Brainify - http://www.brainify.com/
College specific, looks like a centralized resource for college students.

BuddyMarks - http://buddymarks.com/
Runs slow.  Lots of text, graphics did not load.

CiteULike - http://www.citeulike.org/
Lots of text, allows sharing of bookmarks.







So, that takes me through the letter "C" in my list.  I deleted quite a few from the original list because they either didn't look useful, were down or were in a language other than English.  No offense intended, I only review sites in English (it's a downfall of mine, I only speak/read English.  Always meant to pick up a second or third language but never got around to it.)
Please leave feedback in the comments.  Are you using any of these sites?  Want me to offer specific details in my reviews?  Hate what I'm doing but read my blog anyway just to laugh at me?  The comment section belongs to you, offer any and all feedback you have.






(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

"I really thought I had the job!"

So, I have spent the past few weeks interviewing and waiting for a response from a great company.  We can call them "ABC Cards" for the purpose of my writing.

This starts with a networking contact sending me an email.  My friend RK has tried to introduce me to JW.  He (RK) believes JW would make an excellent networking contact since we are both in similar industries.  JW and I have never had a chance to meet but he has my resume and a positive word from RK.  JW sends me an email informing me of an open position with ABC Cards; he thinks I would be a good fit for this job.  "I know the hiring manager, her name is KB.  Apply for the position and call her."  (side note here, JW has already contacted KB and she is expecting my call).  THIS IS AWESOME!  Through networking I have located a position that I'm a good fit for.  I quickly realize I have learned about this job even before it's been posted.  KB and I have a quick phone conversation and a few more email conversations before the position is (finally!) posted and I apply.  One more short email to KB letting her know my application is posted and she can look for it.
I now, not so patiently, wait for 'the phone call'.  I spend my time doing a little research on ABC Cards and find some interesting speaking points for the first interview.  They are looking into acquiring a competitor, business growth over the recent quarters has been excellent, etc.
Jane (HR person for ABC Cards) calls me and schedules my first interview.  SWEET!!!  I'm working on a short-term contract position with a different company at the time so finding time to wrap up my research is challenging; so challenging in fact that I'm still doing research (on my phone) while I'm in the lobby of ABC Cards waiting to meet with KB the hiring manager.  We have a GREAT conversation; we talk about the position, where the company is headed, how this role fits into the short & long-term companies goals.  I ask questions that show I've done my research and highlight my passions that mesh with the company.  I leave the interview excited about our meeting and looking forward to a second call.
A few weeks pass and the second call arrives!!!  This time they are asking for a short presentation which is right up my alley.  I love this kind of stuff.  I have a lot of fun preparing and presenting the information they ask for.  We discuss the company culture, details around the role and responsibilities of the position and I even have a chance to talk (one on one) with a helpful HR person before I leave.  I'm excited and upbeat during the second interview and leave feeling almost as confident as when I left the first interview.

A few more weeks pass.  I leave town (business travel for the short-term contract position) and Monday my wife calls me.  She wanted to let me know that ABC Cards sent me a letter!  The letter is to inform me that ABC Cards appreciates my interest in the position but has chosen someone else that they felt was a better fit.

I.  Am.  Devastated.
I spent the last two weeks almost 100% sure that ABC Cards was going to offer me this position.  I've even been planning how to explain to my short-term contract employer I will have to leave.  (Side note here, this short-term contract is indefinite, its not based on time its based on project completion).
I'm crushed.  Emotionally crushed.  Physically, I feel sick.  I'm confused.  I feel like all my work for the past YEAR has been a joke.  I feel like I have been fooling myself into believing I actually have something of value to offer a company.  I even start to convince myself the only reason why I got a second interview was because the hiring manager (KB) knew a 'friend' of mine (JW).  I start thinking about every single minute of both interviews; where did I screw up?  What did I say wrong?  What question did I answer poorly?  Was my presentation that bad?  AM I THIS MUCH OF A LOSER???
The answer is no.  ABC Cards simply found someone that they thought was a better overall fit.  For example, both ABC Cards and myself realized my target salary was near the top of their budget for this position.  It would be logical to assume that they found someone with similar skills willing to accept a lower offer.

This isn't "my fault"; I didn't "screw something up".

What can I learn from this?  What learning's can I share with you, my reader?

1) Don't put all; or even most of your eggs in one basket.
Remember, no position is "locked in" until the company makes you an offer.  Even then it's still not really locked in until you start your first day at work.  Remember this.  Don't start planning how you will live your life "after you start work" until your first day on the job.  It's OK to make general plans but don't start living like your work at X company until you really start work at X company.

2) Keep an open mind; don't look for reasons to kick yourself.
You will get interviews.  You will have conversations with Hiring Managers that seem to be perfect.  You will walk away from an interview so sure they are going to make you an offer that you even quit applying for other jobs.  DON'T DO THIS.
Remember to never stop applying for jobs until you start your first day at work.  For every interview be willing and able to review that meeting with an open mind.  Makes notes during and after the interview.  Keep as detailed as possible a record of what happened.  When you look back on that meeting, ask yourself three questions.  "What went well?"  "What did not go well?"  "What can I learn from this?"  Sometime it will be hard to answer those questions, sometimes you will only have your 'gut' feeling as an answer.  You can't necessarily call up the Hiring Manager and ask them can you?  Trust your 'gut'.  If you are working hard on your Hunt, meeting with people and gathering insight from others, your 'gut' will probably have the right answer.  (As a side note here, if you feel 'alone' at this time then you probably need to get involved with a group that meets on a consistent basis and is focused on helping people with their job search.  The value of interacting with other Job Seekers and meeting with a group of like minded individuals is something I cannot put into words.  For example, I have 3 friends right now, that I can call and ask them for insight on my recent interviews.)

3) Follow up with referral sources.  I have sent emails to JW through all of this process.  JW was kind enough to think about me and tell me about this position in the first place.  I owe him the respect of keeping him informed on progress.

4) VERY IMPORTANT.  YOU HAVE VALUE.  YOU ARE NOT WORTHLESS.
This is so important I can't find words to explain just HOW important it is.  YOU ARE VALUABLE.  YOU BRING SOMETHING SPECIAL TO YOUR NEW EMPLOYER NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE.   When you forget your value, others will not SEE your value.  It's important to have confidence during interviews and networking conversations.  Companies do not "give" people jobs.  People EARN jobs from employers.  They EARN a new job by selling their value to that company.  NO ONE will see your value if you don't see it yourself.
Build a small and close network of people you can depend on.  Call them whenever you need to be reminded of your value.  The more this close network knows about your professional history the better.  Whenever you feel 'down' (and I promise you will, we all do from time to time) cal one of these resources and tell them you are 'down'.  Call them on your way to an interview or the morning of an interview or just anytime you need an ego boost.  It's impossible to stay positive 100% of the time.  You will 'fall down'.  This network is responsible for helping you get back up and back to work on your Hunt.  These people are responsible for reminding you of all the incredible skills you have and how those skills are valuable to potential employers.  They are there to remind you to ask relevant questions during interviews.  They are there to support you.  Remember, no man is an island.


In closing...
Never stop applying for jobs until you start your first day at work.
Keep a close network of people to help you get back up when you are down.
Communication with others is key to your job search.
Be honest but not critical when reviewing past meetings for learning points.
Don't let "that letter" (you know the one "We regret to inform you...") get you down.  Take some time for retrospection, learn what you can and GET BACK TO WORK ON YOUR HUNT.

Feel free to share your own experiences in the comments.  I always look forward to feedback from readers.






(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

You have more time for blogging when you are unemployed

This is a quick post, mostly to scratch my 'itch'.  I've been looking at my blogger page for a few weeks now and thinking "I've GOTTA get another post out".  Well this is as close to that post as I'm going to get right now.  Forewarning, it's something of a ramble, not as structured as my usual posts.

When you are unemployed you have a lot of stress, a few questions, probably very little money and a lot of time. What you DO with that time will have an incredible affect on your mental and emotional health during that time.  (I believe this will also trickle over into you physical health as well, someone please find me a few doctors to prove this).

I used my time to network, boost my SEO and blog.  Recently, I haven't had time because I have reached my goal (at least temporarily) I'M WORKING (YAY! hear the crowd roar in the background of your imagination, I didn't have time/money for sound affects).  I have a short term contract with a contact center that needs some support with a data management software.
I have learned a few things...

While unemployed I established a daily ritual.  We all do, humans are creatures of habit.  If you don't believe me, ask a Marine Corp Instructor (BTW, THANK YOU to ALL of our military.  I can't mention them w/out saying thank you.)  This ritual allowed me time to meet once a week with a great group of people (shout-out to FUMC employment transition ministry in Tulsa OK), and allowed me time to blog.  I enjoy both.
Working has not allowed me those times because, well, I'm working.  You have to drive to work (most of the time) and back home, you have 8 or 9 hours of your day that belong to someone else.  It's uncomfortable.  I liked my daily habits and I miss  them.

This leads to my point(s).

1) MAKE SURE YOU LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING.  If you can, and I understand when you can't (sometimes you just have to have a paycheck, the mortgage appreciates getting paid), make sure the job offer that you accept is something you like doing.  From a more Christian (I am one) perspective; make sure the job offer is God's path for you.  If you enjoy your work, it will be easier to walk away from the old daily ritual and make a new one.

2) BE PREPARED FOR CHANGE.
          You are spending 1/3rd of your day at a new place, with new people. You are jumping, feet first, into a new culture.  Don't take the instinctive reaction and run away.  Prepare yourself before that big First Day Back at Work.  Think about the culture you are immersing yourself into and prepare for that (however small or large) culture shock.  Google requests new-hires wear funny hats; for some, that could be distracting or if perceived wrongly even humiliating.  (Google is not 'mean'  or malicious in any way to new employees.  They have done an EXCELLENT job of creating a casual workplace environment and it works for them very well, the hat is just a part of that).  Maybe you have a friend there or who has been there, talk to them about the culture.  If not, maybe you can find someone to reach out to and ask questions on LinkedIn (they have a great people search by company).  If you have to, Google "how to fit in at a new job".  There are resources out there, use them and prepare yourself.
          You are walking away from old habits.  Where you normally spent a good portion of your waking hours, you will be doing something else.  Make a list of those daily activities and find where you can work the important ones into your new schedule.  Maybe you blog, can you dedicate one hour per week in the evenings to writing about your passion?  Is it important enough?  Take time to think about and plan for it.  This will help to ease the discomfort of suddenly 'throwing away' your old schedule.
          You probably have a family.  They are used to your old schedule as well.  Talk to them, discuss the changes that are coming so everyone is prepared for change.  Remember, change is good; also remember, lack of communication and misunderstood expectations are the foundation behind many arguments (well, that and money.  Money is a blog for someone else).

Do I like what I am doing (my new short term contract work)?  A little.  Enough to make it my next career?  Not at this pay rate.  Am I going to quit?  No, after serious thought and prayer I believe I am where God wants me to be right now.  I have other long term opportunities that I am working (and praying!) on.
Do I fit the culture?  Perfectly.  I have a few old friends at this company and I gathered a real insight to the culture before agreeing to the contract.
Was I prepared for change?  NOPE.  Not in the least.  I miss my old habits, I'm uncomfortable.  Can I correct this?  Absolutely.  It's never to late to correct an error.  I simply need to take time (when I'm not working) and think about a few things, then make some changes to my non-work schedule.

As always, I hope this has helped someone.  I write not only for myself but also in the hope that someone, somewhere needs to read it.




(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

"What did I learn?"

I had a meeting with Teri Aulph a few weeks back; Teri is AWESOME by the way and she has an amazing book.  If you are working, you need this book, if you are On The Hunt you need this book.  So, just go get the book.  Teri also tweets some really good stuff.  If you tweet, you should follow her, I do.

Anyway, Teri and I were talking about day planners and Moleskins.  Neither Teri nor I are totally loyal to any particular format or product but agree that you should always have some kind of paper & pen with you ALL THE TIME.  (To quote Teri) "When I write something down, I own it.".  The process of writing things down helps your memory and offers you an archive that you can refer back to in the future.  It is also a wonderful system for self-awareness and improvement.

I agreed that I always carried a planner with me and Teri offered a suggestion.  "At the end of the day, write down three questions near the bottom of the page and answer them.  This gives you a quick view of the day and what was important.  Reading through your answers to these questions will show you things about yourself you may not have known."

Question #1 "What went well?"
What did you do today that went well?  Did you accomplish something?  Did you have a meeting that was positive?  Did you help someone?  Any positive experience can be written here.

Question #2 "What didn't go well?"
Bad meeting?  Miss a goal?  Negative interaction with someone?  A negative experience is a learning opportunity, don't hesitate to answer this question.

Question #3 "What did I learn?"
Did I learn something from a positive or negative experience?  Did I have an opportunity to learn something new?  If I could walk through this day again, would I do something different? (If you answered "yes", you probably learned something!)

I added a little formatting to my questions (I'm OCD).  Before the question I add a "*" and before the answer I tab in and add a "-" (or course I don't really 'tab'; I'm writing on paper!!!).  it looks like this...
*What went well?
-Great meeting with Teri.  Very positive person, she has an attitude that is not only positive but contagious.
*What didn't go well?
-answer written here
The formatting makes it really quick to glance at the page and read through the answers.  Remember the suggestion came from Teri but you can make any changes you like.  Mold this into something that works for you and you will be more likely to do it every day.
I don't complete the questions every day but I try.  I also don't kick myself when I miss a day.  I just write an answer to "What did I learn?" as "Need to try harder to answer these questions every day, important."

I have tried this for the last few weeks and found I enjoy answering the questions at the end of the day.  I've also realized it will give me insight to my sometimes cryptic notes regarding a specific day.  In a digital world it is very easy to forget the importance of writing on paper.  I am a BIG fan of pen/paper and can't promote "write it down" enough.

As a side note...
If you take nothing else from this post, I sincerely hope it has encouraged you to get a pen/paper system of some kind.  I have a $200 Franklin planner that stays at home.  It's a beautiful leather binder, holds up to 3 months of two pager per day pages (among other things), has slots for business cards and... IT IS HEAVY.  The nice, pretty Franklin planner, sits at home, on my desk.
When I'm out, I carry either an 8.5X11 notepad or what I call "yellopad" its an Ampad, 1 subject notebook, wire-bound, 80 sheets, narrow ruled, 8X5 inches.  It's not pretty, in fact the color makes it stand out and scream "I am not an expensive trendy Moleskin!".  I like it and so I carry it.  I'm OCD and my system means I write notes more than once (everything eventually ends up in the Franklin!).  I like the system because "if once it good, twice is better".  Maybe thats true, maybe its not.  The important point is that I like my system and therefore, I use it.


Find a pen/paper system that works for you and that you like.  Get a cheap notepad & a 25 cent pen.  Get a Moleskin, a Franklin (love Frankilin BTW) but get something!  Don't be afraid to experiment and switch things around, maybe try different pens, or try a multi-pen (different colors in one pen).  Try different papers, maybe you like artists notepads?  It sounds appealing to me, a nice clean sheet, no lines or grids, just clean white space I can write notes on.  The following guidelines may help you to build your own pen/paper system.

1) Plan to carry this EVERYWHERE.  Your sisters house, meetings, interviews.  I'm serious, this thing should always be in your hand.

2) #1 means it should be light, small enough to not get in the way or be a hassle to carry but big enough to write in.  (I really like the 8X5 size)

3) Find a pen or pencil (I'm a big pencil guy) that you like.  Something that writes smooth, and that doesn't interfere with the process of writing.  Does your pen smudge?  Does the smudge bother you?  If it bothers you, try a different pen, if not, keep writing!

4) Plan to archive.  Write the date at the top of each page (you can have more than one page for a day, remember there are no rules!).  This is not only a system for helping you keep track of today, today; but it's also a system to help you keep track of today, 5 years from now! (I mean this.  I needed to build accomplishments for my resume.  I didn't have copies of my annual reviews so I read through 10 YEARS of Franklin archives.  Two pages per day, notes on every page.  Those notes helped me remember some really incredible things I had forgotten about.  You never know when you need to take a walk down memory lane.)


It is always my hope that what I write helps someone.  If I've helped you, let me know in the comments.  If you keep a day planner of any kind, I would LOVE to hear your comments.  What do you use?  How does it work for you?  Any pen or a special pen? (I love Uni-ball micro fine pens!)




(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

Social Media Tools, "other".2

Third posting, in this article I cover miscellaneous tools, some may obviously apply others maybe not.  As always,  I have the completelist categorized here.
I will keep that sheet updated as I make changes, delete sites I'm not planning to review, etc.  I'll try to have a link to the site on each blog post I write related to this subject.


More tools that can help you in this Social Media Jungle...

http://www.stumpedia.com/ - Stumpedia
Taken from the site "Stumpedia is a personalized social & real-time collaborative discovery tool that relies on human participation to index, organize, and review the world wide web.  Stumpedia does not depend on automated bots, proprietary algorithms, or company insiders to make decisions on the relevance and ranking of search results.  Stumpedia allows you to submit, rank, and personalize your own search results. The relevance of search results are unique to you and are determined by your social graph in the following order: you, your social network friends, friends-of-friends, your followers, and the overall community. A spammer who submits and ranks irrelevant results can be easily identified, blocked, and unfollowed to prevent your search results from being polluted. Users can personalize and customize search results by re-ranking, deleting, adding, and commenting on search results. This data is used to determine the relevancy of search results for the people in your social graph and vice versa.  We enable users around the world to share their knowledge and interests with one another and provide an alternative to traditional search.  Users are encouraged to create custom content pages for any possible search term in the world and submit links that will help people find relevant results and answers to their search requests.  Links to social bookmarks, social profiles, blogs, new stories, authoriative articles, videos, images, and web pages are welcomed."
I don't see how this applies to either a Job search or increasing SEO (so a recruiter can find you).  If you have an idea, please let me know in the comments


http://www.symbaloo.com/ - Symbaloo
Interesting resource.  They call themselves a 'Start Page' (start pages are common) and offer a tiled screen that you can customize.  Add any site you like by adding or editing tiles.  Some tiles start a "widget" in the middle of the page that offers more information.  For example, the Twitter tile would let you read tweets from the center widget.  Add & customize multiple tabs, this could let you organize even farther.  Build tabs to represent subjects, research and all related tiles could be one tab, etc.  If you do a LOT of web-surfing, this could be very helpful.

http://transferr.com/ - Transferr
Just like Symbaloo only with a different visual approach.  As always, I suggest playing around with different resources before you choose what works best for you.  I noticed that Transferr will let you add a some document types as an icon.

http://www.worio.com/ - Worio
Taken from the site "There is an abundance of interesting stuff being shared and commented upon everyday on sites like Twitter, Digg, Delicious, and Facebook and throughout the blogosophere. Worio's mission is to make web search fun again by bringing you a personalized view of the social web alongside your boring old search results."
Like a search engine (Yahoo, Bing, Google) but different.  Plug in available for Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari & Firefox browsers.  Appears to offer a Social Media influence to your search results.

http://www.epernicus.com/ - epernicus
Taken from the website "Epernicus is a Boston-area company (Harvard and MIT roots) founded in 2008 by four passionate entrepreneurs with medical and software backgrounds. Our customers are world-class companies and non-profits doing cutting-edge medical research (Genzyme, the Broad Institute, GSK and Brigham and Women's Hospital, to name a few...). Our products will positively impact healthcare for hundreds of millions of people."
Are you a scientist?  Interested in medical research?  You should probably join Epernicus.  Looks like an excellent resource to network with your peers, study ongoing research and possibly offer you input.

http://qapacity.com/ - Qapacity
Thinking about building a website?  Qapacity is an option.  Pricing plans from free to 19.25€/month.  Free option offers 5 pages, 16 images, 1 GB of storage and 500GB of bandwidth.  The free plan sounds reasonable for someone thinking about building a webpage for themselves.  Remember there are other services and a quick Google search will help you find them.  Look at your options and choose what best fits your needs.

That concludes the "other" section.  I think I will look at Bookmarking Sites next.  There are over 80 of them so it may take me some time.

Please leave feedback in the comments.  Have you used any of these tools?  Planning to use them?  Would love to hear your input.





(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

Social Media Tools, "other"

Third posting, in this article I cover miscellaneous tools, some may obviously apply others maybe not.  As always,  I have the complete list categorized here.
I will keep that sheet updated as I make changes, delete sites I'm not planning to review, etc.  I'll try to have a link to the sheet on each blog post I write related to this subject.


More tools that can help you in this Social Media Jungle...

Sites for cataloging books. "goodreads", "LibraryThing", "Shelfari" & "weread".  I'm reviewing all four at once because of their similarities and low value related to my focus ("Find The Job").
Do you love to read?  The above sites are probably a great way to take advantage of your personal life and use it to promote yourself on the web.  Remembering that everything you do related to your name will show up in a search result somewhere, building a profile on one of these sites could have a double reward.  You get to catalog your reading collection, have conversations with people who share similar interests and promote your search ranking at the same time.  I would suggest that you be careful with the books you list however.  Your online activity represents you and many people will look for you online before they contact you for a potential job.  If you have reading interests that conflict with your profession, perhaps you should consider cataloging them under a profile with less information about you.

A quick note on "everything you do related to your name will show up in a search result somewhere"...   My first Google profile was under the name "chetmiester"; I have a second profile as "chet.lohman".  The second profile ('chet.lohman') has much more information regarding my full name.  Before I became interested in social media & SEO, I worked to keep my search results low.  I didn't want "Google to find me".  Now that I do, I treat my online profiles differently.  In short, if you want to show up in search results, no matter what your profile name for any website, make sure the details of that profile have your full name somewhere.  A profile for "chetmiester" that only has the name "Chet L" on the details page will be MUCH farther down the results list than a profile for "chetmiester" that has the name "Chester Lohman".  Secondly, the more active you are the higher that activity will rank on a search.  If you built a LinkedIn profile 3 years ago, used your full name and haven't touched it since, don't expect that profile to show up in the first page of results in a Google search for you name.  If you are active, participate in groups/discussions, answer & ask questions, then you can expect that profile to probably hit the first page.  Optimizing how a search engine (Bing, yahoo, Google, any of them) treats a search for your name is about what effort you put into it.


http://www.pingsta.com/ - Pingsta
Taken from the website: Pingsta is a collaborative platform for the world’s Internet experts that enables customers to procure network expertise on a pay-per-use basis and engineers to work at will. Its members include Internet inventors, fellows, professors, distinguished engineers and technical leaders in over 52 countries.  Through its Intellectual Commerce Ecosystem - Pingsta ICE™ - service offering, Pingsta enables Enterprises, IT Service Providers and Government agencies worldwide to leverage network-expertise-in-the-cloud on a pay-per-use basis for break-fix technical support, consulting and R&D tasks.  
Through its Virtual Private ICE - Pingsta VPI™ - service offering, Pingsta enables organizations and Government agencies worldwide to create their own expertise-in-the-cloud platform and monetize excess intellectual capacity to generate new green revenue stream that is estimated to average USD$1,000 per employee per day.
So, are you an IT person?  Looking for work?  You may be able to supplement your income with short-term contract work here, until you locate that next long-term position.  It's a members-only site, membership is by invitation or application.  Sounds like a good time to do some leg-work on LinkedIn and locate a current member for an invite.



www.boardlite.com - Boardlite
Open discussion forum for any subject you choose.  Want to talk about that new Android phone thats coming out?  Or how about how you hate gardening carrots but love tomatoes?  It's an open forum so you can start a discussion about almost anything.  You can login using Google, Yahoo, MySpace or OpenID.  Share any discussion through Facebook "Like", Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Delicious, Reddit or Stumbleupon.



www.sodahead.com - SodaHead
It looks like Quora but 'louder'.  Sodahead offers statistics on the questions asked, and appears to focus on debateable, yes/no questions.  You can create polls, lots of images, it's a very "busy" page.  "Diet Coke overtakes Pepsi, which do you prefer?".  "Sara Palin blames Obama for high gas prices, do you?".  Looks interesting.



www.spokentoyou.com - Spoken To You
Nice idea but doesn't appear to have fully matured.  (Side note, Google, please buy this service and help it grow into something really awesome).  At first glance, I was instantly impressed and ready to sign up.  After further reading/listening I realize some improvements need to be made before I'm "sold".  The site converts any website available as an RSS feed into audio content (mp3).  Of course, you could use any device to play the content back at your leisure.  On the surface this sounds incredible.  The limits are a max of 15 minutes content generated daily and files will be help for up to two weeks.  You can choose what content you get by adding RSS feeds to the site and adding them to your Que.
The killer for me is that 15 minute max.  If I registered for this service, I could quickly add up a few hours worth of source material daily.  A second downside is the voice used to 'read' the information to you.  The voice quality is easily understandable but a little choppy.  If they would raise that 15 minute max to something bigger, I would overlook the voice.


So, that's all I'm covering for now.  My next four weeks are starting to look very busy but I will work to continue covering items as I can.
Please leave feedback in the comments.  Have you used any of these tools?  Planning to use them?  Would love to hear your input.






(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)