Kristen is going to be the judge of this weekly question/answer… make sure you answer in the comments in this blog post (not on Facebook).

What is the best job search advice you’ve ever heard?

What is the worst job search advice you’ve ever heard?

Answer in the comments – good luck!

(if you want the book now you can get it at amazon or from the publisher (you can also get this Job Search Now What??? book for only $11.95 from the publisher))

The idea is how every employee can make a difference on the bottom line and become indispensable.  As a business owner I’ve become hyper-sensitive to what we make and what we spend.  Here’s an example of the kind of thinking I think you’ll find in the book:

A legal assistant noted that the company’s beautiful color signature at the bottom of every email meant that every email she printed and filed (and in the legal department, that’s pretty much all of them) required at least two pages and a fair amount of expensive full color ink. For email strings between executives, the logo illustration could actually appear 2, 3 or even 10 times in the finished document she would need to print out and file. By simply eliminating the logo for intra-company email the hotel could save several thousand dollars in paper and color ink every year. But even more impressive, when employees used the PPG (Profit Proposal Generator) to calculate the equivalent level of sales it would take to equal the profit their savings produced, they were astounded. A savings of $25,000 a year in ink, paper, and unnecessary office supplies is pure profit—and in a company with a 5 percent profit margin, it would take $500,000 in sales to produce that same profit!

Reminds me of a time when I was driving across Idaho with a coworker who said “Do you know how many toilets had to be cleaned for us to go to this conference?” We worked at a building maintenance company, with lots of janitors, and she was referring to the cost of our activity compared with the revenue brought in.

I expect to get my copy soon – here’s how you can get yours:

1. Answer a question (see below) in the comments on this blog post (not on Facebook),
2. Someone judges the questions – in this case, the author Larry Myler  is going to be the judge!  He’ll announce a winner before we do the next giveaway next Monday.
3. Larry will send his book to the winner.

If you aren’t the lucky one to win the book you can get Indispensable by Monday here.

Here’s the question (ANSWER IN THE BLOG POST):

Give an example of something extraordinary (not amazing, but out of the ordinary and perhaps even creative) you have done to make a significant impact on the top or bottom line at any company you have worked at.

OR

Give an example of something extraordinary that you have seen someone else do (same question but you can use a coworker).

BONUS: In addition to the answer you’ll already give, tell us something extraordinary a government worker could do to make a financial impact.

Go for it and good luck!

I really want to do a bunch of giveaways this year… I want to do it weekly, but not sure if I’ll stick to it.  I have more than 50 things to give away this year.

Today we start the 2010 Giveaway thing … here’s how it works:

1. You answer a question (see below) in the comments,
2. Someone judges it (in this case, Alex is going to be the judge!) after 72 hours, which gives some time for those who get the post the next day via email,
3. Whoever wins gets her newest book, New Job, New You (subtitle: a guide to reinventing yourself in a bright new career)

I like Alex - she’s a very sharp career person who has been writing and thinking about this stuff for a long time.  I like her ideas, and her writing style, and I bet YOU will like her book!

If you aren’t the lucky one to win the book, you can get your own from Amazon.

The question:

“What will you do in 2010 for your career to really get it going in the right direction?  Think Career Management!!”

Go for it – answer in the comments OF THIS BLOG POST (not Facebook, or Twitter, etc.).  Short or long, I don’t care.  Alex is the judge (a sentence or two might not be enough… :p)

The title of this book is 100 Job Search Tips from FORTUNE 500 Recruiters.

Get a highlighter and then print this book out (17 pages) – there are so many gems in here it is crazy.  It’s free, and yes, it’s priceless.

I got a sneak peak of this book and thought it would be cool and informative. I grossly underestimated the amount of information and value the book provides.

In this book EMC recruiters questions like:

• What is your favorite recruiting story?
• What are your top recruiting sources?
• What are the top 3 common mistakes that job seekers make?
• What are your top 10 job search strategies?
• Any final words?

The input is AMAZING.

Some stories are funny, some are sad.

The “recruiting sources” (where these recruiters look for talent) might surprise you!

I’m not going to go on anymore…. go download the free ebook and see for yourself!

I was looking for something about Obama creating jobs and thought someone at Career Hub would have written about it.

Career Hub is perhaps the most fantastic career resource available to you.

I think I’m a pretty good job search and career blogger, but if a job seeker told me they wanted to know the number 1 blog for job search help today, it is, hands down, Career Hub.  Typically, as I remember, Cheezhead is cited as a #1 or #2 blog, but they are more for HR and careerists, and Joel hasn’t written since he got acquired by Jobing in September, and Penelope Trunk is another favorite of the “top job search blogs” lists, but I think that’s more for her rankings and popularity than for her career advice.

If you want solid career advice, Career Hub is unparalleled.  One reason is because the writers are full-on career coaches, resume writers, outplacement specialists, counselors, etc.  These are people who are certified, current, and in the trenches with their clients.  These are people who are passionate about job search issues, to the point where they come and pontificate for no compensation (on their “free time”) to share their ideas with job seekers.

This is not to say other career advice blogs are not good.  Many of them are – Barbara Safani, Dave Perry, Julie Walraven… there are plenty of amazing people giving lots of information.  But Career Hub is my #1 recommendation.  One reason why is because there are over a dozen of writers there… and all of them have their hearts in the career space.

Here are five awesome examples of what is typically there:

1. 5 Steps To Dealing With A Toxic Relationship With Your Employer – not just job search advice, but overall career advice, like this.  Sital Ruparelia is a heavy blogger on Career Hub.
2. Job Seekers: Come Monday, It’ll Be Alright - Billie Sucher is one of my favorite people in the career space – she exudes love and helpfulness.
3. Enduring Truths for Careers and Job Search - Susan Guarneri is an absolute gem, and has a passion for personal branding that is hard to match.
4. Unemployment Numbers Not Being Tracked – Norine Dagliano always writes SOLID stuff.
5. A Career Lesson From Leonardo Da Vinci – Another post by Sital, but I had to put it in here because I’m becoming a Leonardo fan (since I’m starting a hobby/project: a screenplay for a movie about Leonardo in a way that hasn’t ever been done before ).

Louise Fletcher is the person behind this fantastic resource.  If you decide to not come back here again,  I understand… but I just had to say it like it is!  Go check out Career Hub!

I met Nick Corcodilos in Savannah at a conference.  He was telling a bunch of resume writers that resumes were useless, and why they were useless.  I thought it was a very gutsy thing to do – come to a conference as a keynote speaker and tell all of the professionals that their chosen profession (and for many, life passion) was obsolete.

That is how Nick is: gutsy.

Nick Corcodilos is an undisputed subject matter expert and thought leader in the job search space.  He has been writing for syndicated columns for years, and many thousands of people have read and benefited from his work and his perspective.

I got a chance to check out his new How to Work With Headhunters and even my expectations were exceeded – this is a terrific book and one that I recommend to anyone who is ready to really understand how recruiters play a part in your job search.

I didn’t understand – I thought recruiters found me a job when I most needed it.

Nothing further from the truth, especially in my situation.

Thankfully, one recruiter said “Jason, you’ll find a job for yourself sooner than I’ll find anything for you.”

It was then that I started to understand the job seeker / recruiter relationship.

If you aren’t getting value out of recruiters, and the valuable resource they could be in your job search and career management, then check out Nick’s book: How to Work with Headhunters… and how to make headhunters work for you.

Also, sign up for Nick’s free weekly newsletter – I’m on it and it has great info every week.  Go to Ask the Headhunter and you’ll see the link to subscribe towards the top.

Tomorrow at 4ET (1PT) I’m doing a webinar for Netshare called Facebook Essentials for Executives.  I’m jazzed about this webinar and have been preparing for it quite a bit.

Facebook has power in numbers – and I’m amazed at the connections I’ve made because of Facebook that I didn’t make in LinkedIn.  I’m also amazed at the conversation that happens in Facebook that isn’t happening elsewhere.

If you want to brush up on your Facebook understanding, or wrap your brain around a Facebook strategy for you, come on over to the webinar.  It isn’t free but it will be worth it.  Here’s the description:

Facebook is the website that has all eyes on it. They recently announced their 300 millionth signup. (for some perspective US Census Bureau reports the United States recently passed the 300MM mark.)

What does this mean to us as executives? How can we use Facebook as part of our career management strategy and how does it fit with LinkedIn and other social networks? Should executives even have a Facebook strategy? Considering the number of signups and visitors (hovering around 120M per month and the companies who are developing online marketing strategies that include Facebook), it is essential that we understand what it is and what we can do in it.

In this 90 minute session you will learn:

• Learn how to navigate through the noise and clutter of Facebook to find information relevant to you.
• Learn to set up your account and network and, once and for all, answer the question of how to separate your personal and professional contacts.
• Learn to use Lists, Groups and Pages as effectively as any marketer uses them in a commercial environment.
• Learn to develop a search strategy to help you network your way into key company or industry contacts.
• Learn to communicate with network contacts and help them get to know you better.
• Learn to keep abreast of current issues and opportunities within your network…to further develop relationships.
• Learn to find relevant audiences where you can find relevant contacts and further develop your professional brand.
• Learn to incorporate Facebook into an overall personal social marketing strategy.

Register here.

See ya there

Earlier this year I was with my daughter in Washington D.C. and got to visit the amazing National World War II Memorial.  This is my new favorite monument/memorial in D.C. (it wasn’t there when I lived there).  Walking around the memorial was a sobering, almost spiritual experience.

One of the most touching points was when I happened upon a few WWII veterans who had some WWII memorabilia on (you know those hats, with pins, sweatshirts, etc.).  Many of them were in wheelchairs, I assume due to old age.  They were there to remember, feel, pay respects, etc.  I got choked up – it’s easy for us to see a bunch of old men and women who are there to see what Uncle Sam has put up for them, but when you think about the hardships they may have gone through – fox holes, seeing their buddies die in front of them (or in their arms), having to come to grips with killing others who may also have been husbands or wives, or mommy’s or daddy’s.

I appreciate Veteran’s Day as a day we can pause and think about and respect these warriors – people who fought for freedom and liberty.

You may already know about my special offer for military coming out deployment or transitioning out of the military.  You can learn more at JibberJobber USA.  This is just a little something we can do for those who are serving their country.

Here’s another special offer from my buddy Thom Singer – from his blog post Honoring a Soldier’s Service, Thom says he is sending a copy of this book “Batteries Not Included: 66 Tips To Energize Your Career” to the first 100 active U.S. military or veterans who email him – the publisher pays for all S&H costs so it’s just a simple email to soldier@newyearpublishing.com.

It is as simple as that… if you have a friend this applies to let them know about it.

The second Now What book that I didn’t write is available on Amazon and as an ebook download from Happy About.  The image to the right is pretty big because I LOVE how all of the people are represented by business cards, and the one in the middle (presumably YOU or ME) has hands out, ready to meet and welcome other people — how cool!

I’m at a Networking Event — Now What??? is a terrific resource for anyone who has to go to any kind of networking event for the purpose of… networking!

I remember a few years ago when I went to networking events and cheated… I went late and left early.  I totally missed the point of the event, and missed out on opportunities to meet people who could be helpful in my job search.

Now when I go to networking events I am really looking for networking opportunities.  But it is not as easy as I originally thought – to have a successful experience because of a networking event there is:

1. Preparation: what do you do BEFORE you go to the event.
2. On-site performance: not that you are performing, but I didn’t know how else to say this – you are “on!”  This means you need to put fear and pride aside and get the job done – many times all this takes is starting out by saying “hi” to someone.
3. Post-event followup: after you meet someone, get business cards, exchange emails, what do you do?  This is the key, and perhaps a great opportunity for failure (if you don’t followup).

In this book on how to work a networking event Sandy teaches you how to really, effectively get value out of your networking.  I don’t care if you are networking with job seekers, business owners at the  chamber of commerce meeting, at a luncheon with managers and directors, or with your target prospects – this book will help you understand how to more effectively work the room, find those key relationships, and then move forward from there.

Congratulations to first-time author Sandy Jones-Kaminski for this very useful book (see what others have said about it here)!

You can get it for $19.95 from Amazon or from Happy About, or get the ebook (immediate download) for only $11.95.

Once you get it, if you like it, consider giving it a favorable review on Amazon – thank you!

There are lots of books on Twitter right now – I was supposed to write one of the earliest but I was in the middle of rewriting I’m on LinkedIn — Now What??? and I wasn’t sure I wanted to write another technical book that would have to be updated every year!  I opted to not do that but instead create hands-on, visual webinar recording that shows you how to use Twitter.

Twitter for Job Seekers (the video) is specifically designed for professionals in a job search.

It is a 1 hour and 24 minues (and one second) video, walking you through what Twitter is, and how to use it in your job search.

It’s based on the idea that you want to find network contacts who can help you in your job search – find people to add to your own personal/professional network, as well as how to communicate with them after you find them.

There is also training on what to do with your own Twitter account. As a professional, what could or should you be tweeting?  (going into personal branding, and how to use Twitter as a Personal Branding tool)

I show you how to get value out of Twitter EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE A TWITTER ACCOUNT.  This is essential for many professionals who aren’t excited to jump on this bandwagon, but still want to tap into the power that Twitter.com has created.  There is significant power there – and you can tap into it without even signing up for an account.

I won’t try to convince anyone to get a Twitter account, but I do want you to learn how to use this tool so you can achieve your career management objectives.

To access the recording (as many times as you like) simply do the following:

1. Login to JibberJobber.com.  This is as security measure so this video isn’t shared out inappropriately.  If you don’t have a JibberJobber account, get one on the front page – it takes about 60 seconds.
2. Mouse over the Tools link (from the main menu) and go all the way down to Videos (click on the Videos link).
3. The last tab on Videos is “Premium Videos.” Twitter for Job Search is the last one there.

This $50 investment into your career management is worth it… once you are done you should have your brain wrapped around Twitter as a tool, and know how you are going to incorporate it into your job search strategy.

(if you are already logged into JibberJobber, simply click here)