Don't Take Too Many Social Media Shortcuts

As this Hubze blog post points out, sometimes the tools you use to manage your social media presence can backfire. Although Hootsuite is one of the timesaving tools I mentioned in the Spring 2011 issue of Resume Writers' Digest to help you manage your social media presence in 30 minutes a day or less, over-relying on Hootsuite -- especially for Facebook -- can penalize you in two ways.

The first is by reducing your Edgerank score (Edgerank is the algorithm Facebook uses to determine which of your posts are seen by your page's fans). The second is that Facebook sometimes "bunches" posts from Hootsuite together. (We've all seen the "See more posts from Hootsuite" link in our Facebook news feed ... and raise your hand if you've skipped over clicking to see more of those posts. Yep.) The same is true for some other services, such as Twitterfeed.

See this example:

While it's perfectly fine to use Hootsuite to help you manage your social media presence, there's no substitute for manual posting, especially on Facebook. So mix it up a bit -- throw in a manual posting at least every other day, in order to maximize fan engagement. (For most resume writers, you should be posting on your fan page no more than twice a day and no fewer than twice a week.)

Great JobMob Post on 4-Step Recipe to Become a Golden Job Candidate

Rosa Vargas wrote this excellent post on the JobMob website (thanks to Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter for the link on Facebook).

Rosa writes that job seekers must identify their "golden distinction," using the following formula:

a. In alignment with what is needed for the type of jobs I am targeting, I need to promote the following three personal profile qualities _______, _______, and ______ in my marketing message.

b. To perfectly match what is needed from the ideal candidate, I need to convey my unique talent in being able to achieve _______________________________________ consistently throughout my career. This is evidenced by the following examples from my career: (choose at least 3).

c. This skill (“b” above) is unique of someone with my qualifications and experiences in that I, unlike most, will go about it this way ___________________________________________________.

d. To convince employers my distinction positions me to solve their problem(s) and deliver benefits for XYZ Company, I must promise them the following ______________________ as an end result.

Read the full post at: http://jobmob.co.il/blog/golden-job-candidate-recipe/#ixzz1VUI3zsav

Are you sharing this kind of valuable information with your clients, or are you just writing their resume?

Get Ready for International Update Your Resume Month

I received the following email from Susan Geary on the Career Directors International e-mail list. Now is the perfect time to send out your news release tied to International Update Your Resume Month (September)!

It's hard to believe that Update Your Resume Month turns 10 next month! Now is the perfect time to hit up radio, TV, and newspapers to get the word out and get some free publicity for your business. I have found that the best day to book appearances (especially if it's your first time) is on the Sunday before Labor Day. Producers are hungry for guests because it's one of the slowest weekends of the entire year for TV news outlets. It seems everyone is on vacation and good guests are hard to find. For us, it's the start of our busy season again! So find 5 new trends or changes you can talk about, send an email to the producers and editors, and follow up. Make sure to tell them something they don't know about if you want to pique their interest. (what occupations are currently trending, or how long is it taking for the average job seeker to land work, or how to use LinkedIn in a job search w/o tipping off a current employer.) Remember, this isn't a sales pitch for your business. It's a reminder to everyone, how a bad resume hinders an effective job search. Best to you, Susan Geary 1st Rate Resumes

Career Directors International provides resources to members to help them promote this event and get exposure for their business!

When Is the Omaha Conference?

Last weekend, I wrote about the NRWA Conference preview teleseminar I attended. I would be remiss if I didn't also point out that Career Directors International is having their 2011 conference in October. 

For several years now, I've been thinking that I need to organize a resume writer's conference in Omaha (where I live). We're located right in the middle of the country, we've got a fabulous airport, inexpensive hotels (the one I have in mind has a complimentary airport shuttle, 185 guest rooms, conference space for up to 150 people, and rates of around $79-$104/night), and we're the headquarters of the Gallup Organization (and five Fortune 500 companies), so I'm confident I could get some great guest speakers!

If I don't put together my own conference, I'd love to attend a conference in Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, or Denver (all are within driving distance...). That would require convincing one of the national resume writing organizations to schedule in one of these cities.

Here's the breakdown of where the national resume writing organizations have had their conferences in recent years. (I've bolded the ones I attended.)

The National Resume Writers' Association (NRWA):
2011 - Portland, Maine
2010 - Fort Worth, Texas
2009 - Annapolis, Maryland
2008 - San Diego, California
2007 - Savannah, Georgia
2006 - Phoenix, Arizona
2005 - Stamford, Connecticut
2004 - Nashville, Tennessee
2003 - Seattle, Washington
2002 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2001 - San Antonio, Texas
2000 - Las Vegas, Nevada
1999 - New Orleans, Louisiana
1998 - Chicago

Career Directors International:
2011 - Savannah, Georgia
2010 - San Diego, California
2009 - Orlando, Florida
2008 - Seattle, Washington
2007 - San Antonio, Texas
2006 - Orlando, Florida (PRWRA)
2005 - Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWRA)
2004 - Indianapolis, Indiana (PRWRA)
2003 - New Orleans (PRWRA)
2002 - Atlanta, Georgia (when the organization was still PRWRA)

I haven't yet attended a CDI conference (although I've heard they are fabulous!). In my defense, Laura DeCarlo keeps scheduling them in October, which is during the UNO Hockey season (and Jon and I have never, ever missed a UNO home hockey game).

Career Management Alliance (no longer in business as of August 2011):
2011 - Las Vegas, Nevada
2010 - New Orleans, Louisiana
2009 - San Antonio, Texas
2008 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
2007 - Louisville, Kentucky
2006 - ??
2005 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (when it was still Career Masters Institute)
2004 - Atlanta, Georgia (CMI)
2003 - Kansas City, Missouri (CMI)
2002 - San Diego, California (CMI)

Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches
(discontinued conferences in 2004?)
2004 - St. Pete Beach, Florida
2003 - Las Vegas, Nevada
2002 - Dallas, Texas
2001 - Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida
2000 - Toronto, Canada
1999 - Colorado Springs, Colorado

What do you think? Where would you be interested in attending a conference?