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Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tips. Show all posts

Saturday, September 3, 2011

blogging4jobs


blogging4jobs

Link to Blogging4Jobs

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 11:48 AM PDT
wordpress hack, timthumb exploit, hr blogger, human resources blogger, blogging, tim thumb, timthumb, woo themes
I’ve been hacked but not on this blog.  (and no, this is not an invite.)  Three of my own blogs have had some suspicious activity this week alone.  I’m an HR and leadership blogger.  That’s human resources not a coder, designer, or developer.  The cause of the hack after several very long phone calls and internet research seems to be a photo resizer feature in several of the blog themes I use.  This resizer is an easy in for hackers to spread malware and phishing attacks.
It’s called the TimThumb Exploit and it sucks.  It really sucks.  I was made aware of the problem late this week after finding out that one of my blogs contained Malware and was being attacked.  Not being a programmer I did a Google search to get started on creating a solution to these malicious blogging attacks.
  • Sucuri Website Scanner.  (affiliate link)  To keep this from happening again, Sucuri is now monitoring my websites and blogs for me.  They will now alert me via email, Twitter, or even RSS to any suspicious activity and will fix the errors.  It’s worth the cost and my piece of mind.
  • DIY Solution.  While I’m not a programmer or a coder, here’s a good how to for those do it yourselfers who want to remove the malware, phishing, and close the exploit from Smackdown.
  • Patch for Tim Thumb via Woo Themes.  This is where I purchase many of my off the shelf themes.  These themes also use a photo resizer.  I would have preferred an email from Woo Themes alerting me to the problem back in the beginning of August when the problem was first discovered.
It’s funny because I’ve been blogging as a human resources and HR for a while and on WordPress to boot.  I have never had any issues like this.  GoDaddy was surprisingly helpful.  The email I received connected them directly to their Abuse department where I spoke to an actual live person on the phone.  They can’t fix the problems for me, but they gave me some helpful information and direction to get started on correcting the issues.  As for one of my sites, it looks like I’ll be starting at square one, and that could actually be a good thing.  The other two are likely to be saved.
Hackers.  Evil Asses.  Be Done With You.
Photo Credit Telegraph & Contentious. 
Posted: 02 Sep 2011 04:33 AM PDT

In a previous post, I addressed how character and integrity should be king when hiring or retaining talent.  I am often disgusted by the stories I hear and those of which I have been a part that prove, sadly, unethical behaviour is alive and well.  In my own case, the deplorable practices were performed by those senior to me, those who should have known better or didn’t really care.  Therefore, as reason might dictate, most individuals must look within themselves and/or follow leaders with a proven track record and either pattern yourself after them or build your own ethical blueprint – one that becomes clearly evident by your own actions, by the reputation your build over time, and by the questions you ask and those you answer truthfully, and by your past/experiences and how your represent them.
Ethics and proving character can be a difficult hurdle when it comes to securing an interview, let alone a new job.  I have been a recruiter for years and have worked for many organizations that put character first.  I have never invited any jobseeker in for an onsite interview until I determined some semblance of “character” during a phone interview or as a result of a personal referral.  If a candidate, initially, doesn’t fit in with the culture of the company during this early stage of the hiring process, they never will.  And if it can be ascertained that the applicant is even the slightest bit sycophantic, they will never pass an interview with the hiring manager or a direct supervisor.

I have put together a list of tips to aid jobseekers in showing their best face, letting the light of their character shine through loud and clear.  It is my hope that with this modest list, a general understanding of how a recruiter thinks will result.
1. Whenever possible, indicate on your resume that you hold three vitally important characters:  Intelligence, Energy and Integrity.  Employers seek theses in every applicant, Every.  Single.  One.   These three qualities show hire-ability.   Simply add an instance that demonstrate these under your most recent job or project (this could even be a school-based project.)
2. Include a letter of recommendation with your cover letter from a previous colleague or supervisor that simply attests to your possession of these three qualities. If a previous employer indicates they would hire you again, if given the opportunity?  All the better.
3. If you are invited in for an on-site, face-to-face interview, prove your intelligence and interest with a strong understanding of the position and the company, itself.  Do the online research necessary, make some calls to contacts or past employees who may have valuable insight or could directly refer you.
4. PLEASE have your resume reviewed by a recruiter and several friends who will give you the critical feedback you need– maybe there is something key missing or misrepresented that you are just too close to see.
5.  THIS you SHOULD KNOW:  A good recruiter will be able to ascertain within 10-15 seconds of opening your resume or application whether or not you will even get a call or second look.  Make something stand out at the top of the resume or within the first paragraph of your cover letter.
And the last tip for today:
6. Be very careful of the use of the cliche buzz words of the day - thought leader, expert, guru, etc. – these are an instant turn-off to most recruiters and most recruiters will stop reading and immediately dismiss your application / resume.

Enjoy your weekend, the rest of my list will appear in my next post!

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Job Hunting Success Tips



ResumeBear Blog


Posted: 20 Jul 2011 06:03 AM PDT
We do know what a struggle the job market is and how competitive the market has gotten lately but don't despair!  Keep your eyes open, be flexible, and there are still opportunities out there.   Here are some of the things I found that really helped me to secure a highly sought after position and actually get a pay raise in this economy.
It took me a while to figure out that if you are unemployed, looking for a job is more than a full time job in this economic market. You have to be flexible, open to anything, and ready to do more than the other 10 qualified people that they interviewed that day….just to get a final interview!
I went for months posting my resume on careerbuilder and monster and any other job board. I applied to any position that seemed like I wouldn't mind doing. I did what everyone else is doing… They are saying, " I have experience, and marketable skills, I will make a great resume and blanket every employer in the nation with it."  The sad reality was that I had little to no success securing interviews using this tactic.
I really started having success getting interviews when I  figured out that employers are so flooded with resumes that they don't read many of them… they don't have the money to hire people just to read resumes. They put them through a "keyword scan" program and when a resume has the keyword density, or "relevant experience"  they actually read it and then you have a chance at getting a call for the interview.
What I started doing was going through the job postings on monster, careerbuilder and whatever sites I was a listed on then browse jobs for what you want. When you come across the job ads you like and qualify for read them carefully for keywords and make a list of all of those keywords. Spend a few hours doing this and really browsing for similar positions and looking at job postings.  The better your keyword list is… the more responses you will get.
Once you have the keywords from the positions you are seeking, rework your resume to use those keywords as much as possible and show your experience relevant to what they are seeking. I know, your resume is great already, but if you take the time to even rebuild it from scratch thinking about what your potential employer really wants to see chances are  you will have much more success.
Upload the new copy of your resume to the job listing sites making sure to view it and that it looks *perfect* and is formatted correctly(which is hard to get right…don't use the tab key building the resume, you have to use the little bar on the top in Word to set the formatting for each line or it wont come out right when you upload it).
One major thing I found was to keep re-uploading your resume  at least 2x a week. If you don't subscribe to monster and careerbuilder's pay service for exposure… you mysteriously stop getting calls after about 4 days from your last posted resume.  Maybe they use algorithms or maybe employers just see the top of the stack of resumes first, either way you definitely get a lot more calls from employers by updating your resume constantly. Even if you just upload the same resume with the text color of your name changed you start getting calls again.
Don't be afraid to use some color in your resume to help it stand out in a sea of black and white! I had lots of success using bold bright colors to make my resume stand out too.  I found that bright blue, bright red, and deep green worked well for emphasizing experience and other important points.  I noticed a lot more calls once I put the color in too.
I know how brutal the job hunt is now, but dont get down.  Know that there are good jobs out there like always, you just have to work for them… I started working smarter, not harder.  Don't waste time blanketing your resume out to every employer. Find what you want to do and build your resume to sell yourself and your experience as what those employers are looking for.
When you do get the interview, I  found that using all of the interview prep questions and other help documents on ResumeBear will help
Make sure you prepare and do your homework!  More good advice and tips can be found here: http://blog.resumebear.com


Monday, June 6, 2011

Social Media Tip – Profile Pic Consistency



ResumeBear Blog


Posted: 06 Jun 2011 06:00 AM PDT
If you use social media for business, promotion and/or job seeking purposes or just want to create a cohesive social brand / footprint, you may want to consider using the same profile picture for your various accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Empire Avenue, your blog, etc.
I used to have a different profile pic for LinkedIn (professional headshot), another for Twitter (70′s pic of me as a kid, a la Demi Moore – haha) and yet another for Facebook (the ubiquitous proud-mom-kiddo-pic).  When I first started being active on Twitter about six months ago, my social mentor Gail Houston (@ghouston) recommended that I use the same professional headshot throughout.  I didn’t realize at the time what great advice that was…  I took her advice and feel that it’s really paid off since I often bump into the same folks on various social platforms.  They are able to easily recognize me and connect, link up, say hi, follow, retweet, friend me, invest, etc.
There are some people that I tweet with all the time, but didn’t connect with on LinkedIn or Facebook simply because I didn’t recognize them!  Oops!  If you want to connect with your faves throughout your social network, especially if you have a fairly common name or a Twitter handle that isn’t your name, you should be easily recognizable.
Bonus Tip: Think about being consistent in other ways as well (i.e., User Name, Tag Line / Professional Headline, Bio, etc.).  It will make your message very clear to your audience and help build a stronger brand.

San Diego, CA, United States Most Connected Woman on LinkedIn ~ Blogging about Social Media, Networking, Technology, Recruiting, Job Search Tips and Life in Sunny SoCal. Pay it forward!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Tips for Staying Positive in a Job Search


ResumeBear Blog


Posted: 17 May 2011 06:20 AM PDT
We all know that being mentally strong and emotionally fit is crucial in life, whether it’s for business, sports, or your career. But how do you stay positive when going through a long, challenging job search?
Here are 10 tips that may help:
1. Give yourself permission to be “all over the place.”
Being emotionally up and down is perfectly normal when going through a career transition or any major change process. Allow yourself to have a “bad day” or even the occasional “bad week.” (But use the tips below to avoid going into a downward spiral.)
2. Do some exercise.
Any form of physical exercise or relaxation technique gives you an immediate shot of endorphins (the so-called “happy hormones”). It doesn’t matter what it is—a 20-minute walk, a quick run, a game of tennis, some yoga, or simply 60 seconds of deep breathing. Try and do something on a regular basis.
3. Control those ‘voices.’
a long job search journeyThere’s a constant dialogue underway in our heads (You idiot, you should have done xyz, Why didn’t you say abc? You need to be more confident, Why are you so lazy?). Yet if someone else walked up to you and said these things to your face, you’d be hugely offended. Start taking control of the voices, and instead…
4. Ask yourself better questions.
What went well today? What are the three best things I did in that interview? What lessons can I learn from that conversation? What are my top five achievements this week? What step can I take today to help me move forward? All these questions shift your mindset and your emotions? and so encourage you to take the right actions.
5. Don’t stress about stuff you can’t control.
I can’t control the weather—so I don’t worry or complain about it. But I can influence how the weather impacts me by watching the weather forecasts or carrying an umbrella. Similarly, you can’t control the economy or the job market, so focus your mental energy and time on things you can control or influence.
6. Reduce your consumption of mainstream press and media.
“Bad news sells,” as they say. You need to be informed about the marketplace and the world, but you don’t need to listen to the same story about “the worst job market in 20 years” over and over again. Overloading yourself with bad news simply makes you more anxious and fearful.
7. Minimize your exposure to “BMWs.”
BMWs = Bitchers, Moaners, and Whiners! When you’re a little fragile emotionally, such negativity will be poisonous to you and your job search. So reduce your exposure to negative people, while increasing your exposure to people who energize you. And don’t be a BMW yourself (see #3)!
8. Celebrate the small successes.
You need to pat yourself on the back with every small success. Focusing on the small wins gives you the energy and confidence to tackle the bigger challenges that you know still lie ahead.
9. Count your blessings.
There are 6.8 billion people living on this planet. And I’m pretty confident that most people reading this article are likely to be in the top 5% of that population in terms of material wealth, health, living conditions, opportunities, and education. There are many people who would love to be in your shoes and have the ‘problems’ you’ve got. So try to keep a perspective on things.
10. Print this article.
You may be inspired and encouraged by reading these tips, but in a few hours you’ll forget. So print this page and put it in a place where you will see it frequently—on your desk, in your wallet, or even saved as an icon on your computer or smart phone.
What have I missed? Feel free to share your own tips and ideas in the comments box below.

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