The Whys and Hows of Online CVs

Methinks that whether you are actively looking for a job or not, you should maintain an updated online profile. Why, because it will benefit you in the near or long term. Let me share a few opportunities that can come  your way if you make yourself easily searcheable and relevant information about your skillsets, work experiences and career or business opportunities  accessible.

Prospective employers are always on the prowl for talents. They use Google and now social networks to  find the people they need. If you are happily and gainfully employed, some of these people are willing to go out of their way to find out what can make you happier and more gainfully employed. You always have the option to say no, but wouldn't you be interested to know when opportunities are just outside your door waiting to knock?

You are Not Going to Take Risk!

Sorry for the seemingly negative title. Am I trying to capitalize on it's shock value? Maybe, but what I really want to happen is that you as well as I realize that  our unwillingness to take risk could hinder us from growing, moving forward and upward.

I have been involved in an unintended social experiment these last few months. Some of my valued employees left my pond and moved on to bigger ponds and I am left with looking for  good (hopefully better) replacements and this is where I saw some patterns.

You see, my company is small and I don't offer a lot in terms of basic salary. However, I offer a lot in terms of income opportunities and if you are enterprising, hard working, strategic minded, unafraid (or capable of overcoming initial terror) and growth oriented. You can succeed here financially and professionally such that after a year or two with me, you will have doubled your market value.

Linkedin Versus BranchOut?

First, I must say that I am no expert in anything Linkedin nor BranchOut. This is not an expert review. This is merely an opinion from someone who has been using Linkedin for a while and has recently joined and completed his profile in BranchOut in the hope that it will bring him similar businesses that he gathered from Linkedin.

I am a big fan of social media for the simple reason that my business would not have reached this point had I not discovered the web as a market place and exploited what it had to offer to the hilt (at least to the best of my abilities). As a recruiter, I found social media as a less costly yet more effective option in finding the needed talents for my clients.  Linkedin has been for the longest time our best source of talents. I'm happy that the number of Filipinos joining Linkedin is getting bigger everyday. More and more people are getting easier to find because of this. I've heard on many occasions that Linkedin is the social network of choice for professionals and business networkers. It looked like linkedin's niched juggernaut is going to be unstoppable. And then comes BranchOut, a facebook propelled social network that seem to follow the Linkedin model.

There has already been several reviews comparing both networks so I won't go that way anymore. What I really like to say is that if any or both of these networks succeed in their business, it's good for all of us job and people hunters!

Here's my word of advice, make sure that you join both and give time to complete your profile. Who knows the  opportunities you're looking for is just around the corner... or your next click!

Enhancing Your Social Capital

They say, it matters not what you  know but whom you know. I do not  totally agree but there's certainly something to be gained with  increasing your circle of influence.

Whom you know will not help you  build the reputation which is a by  product of good work but it will open doors that will allow you to do what you need to do and spread the word about how well you do it.

Your network of highly engaged  friends and acquiantances is your social capital. The size and level of engagement determines how rich that capital is. What you need to do to increase your social capital and how to benefit from it are some of the things you can consider from this blog post.

Karerin Mo, Bebe!

Career success comes from passionate pursuit of value creation. This means that  the more  people see the value you create for them or the organization, the more that they will want you and the more they will be willing give more to have you.

But how many of us are in the business of offering value? Not all is the kindest answer I can give. Many of us are in the business of filling a vacancy, doing whatever is minimally required to keep the job. There are several reasons why we do that. See if any of these describes you:

Top Interview Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

I've done a lot of hiring in my life and my work at ExeQserve exposes me and my recruitment team to other interviewers. Our experiences taught us some good lessons about what makes a good or a bad interview. Let me share them with you here. If you have experiences that you like to share to our readers, please feel free to share them in the comments section.

Here now is my list:

1. Being inconsistent with what's written in your CV. Some candidates put so much embelishments (read lie) in their CVs in order to get noticed. While it might get you that job interview appointment, showing signs that you lied will be your "lie-abilty." get it? 
2. Appearing unprepared and somewhat lethargic. Some people think that all they have to do is show up.  This may sound silly but I cannot count the number of times that I felt this about a candidate. The problem is that some of these people are great or have the potential to be great at what they do, they just happen to suck  in social interaction. A job interview is a social interaction that require some social interaction skills, know what I'm saying? In your next job interview, suit up, psyche up and prepare to build rapport with your interviewer.  It's not rocket science. Read up on Neuro Linguistic Programming, specifically rapport building. It works, I tell you.