What's Your Email Address?

Setting up a new internet account, creating a user name or picking out your new email address can be a lot of fun. We debate on silly names like sunflower10, baseballboy or maybe even adhesivemonkies. We like to pick out something that says something about ourselves. It's a nice idea but when it comes to important letters even resumes it can be a big NO NO!

Your resume reflects everything about you. The recruiter sees you have a good job history and education. You are everything the recruiter has been looking for. They look at your contact information and there's your email or user name purplehaze93 or partygirl2000. They are turned off within seconds. These names can give recruiters the wrong impression or the right one. "Is this person a drug user?" or maybe "Does this person have a drinking problem or problems showing up late for work?"

Here are a few ways to avoid this situation.

1. If you already have an email with an unacceptable name, create a new one with a free email service like Googlemail or Hotmail. This is also a good way to keep track of all your outgoing and incoming emails just for job searching.

2. When you create the email or user name use your name like bobsmith@blahblah.com.

3. If you don't want to use your full name you can use your first or last initial. bsmith@blahblah.com or bobs@blahblah.com.

4. If you don't want to use your name at all try to use something relating to your job search like jobseeker101@blahblah.com.

The point is using these types of user names or email addresses is the safer way to go. You don't want them to question if you are a vampire or if you dance with wild animals with names like truebloodlover or reggaemountaingoat.

The Successful Interview

There you are sitting in the lobby of this large successful company. Its the company you told yourself you would work for someday. You worked for years for this opportunity. And then... you finally land that job interview. You're wearing a Hawaiian floral top, shorts and sandals. Sitting around you are 30 others well groomed, dressed in stylish suits and dress shoes. You are wondering what happened to your clothes. Where did your shoes go? The sweat is now pouring off your forehead and panic had just arrived. Then you wake up!

Yes this could be the nightmare you have before you go on your interview. But to play it safe here are some pre-interview tips you can use to help you through.

• Dress For Success! First impressions are formed within the first 15-30 seconds of an interview. For men you need to wear a dark suit, long sleeved dress shirt, conservative tie, dark socks and shoes. Make sure your hair is well groomed and not to wear too much cologne. For women dress conservatively in dark colors. A tailored pant suit, jacket and skirt, or a dress. Wear dark dress shoes with 1-3 inch heel in good condition. Make sure your hair and nails are well-groomed.
  
• Interview Questions. Expect questions about your professional background and experience. There could be questions about personal goals and achievements. Other questions would include General Interest, Educational Experience, Job-Specific and personal experience. Have a friend interview you with these types of questions in mind.
• Interview The Interviewer. Don't be afraid to ask the interviewer questions. You need to learn about the job. Things like Educational Experience, General Company Questions, Career Growth and Job Expectations.
• Be Yourself. Putting on a show is not what the interviewer is looking for. They want to see the real you. Show them your personality not someone else. If you feel this might not be the right job for you then it probably isn't and you should just walk away.
  
• Testing Anxiety? Many people under stress will terrify easily when asked to take a skills test during an interview. Don't worry! A good night's sleep, positive thinking, careful reading and double checking will get you through the test.

Know yourself, be yourself and dress to impress. Or that nightmare in the Hawaiian shirt just may come true.

Tightening The Belt-A Few Ways To Save During The Tough Times

During the Great Depression the unemployment rate rose to a high of 25%.
Families suffered a dramatic loss of income during the Great Depression. This put a great deal of stress on families. Some reacted by pulling together, making due with what they had, turning to family and friends for help and some relied on public assistance and breadlines.

Thankfully we've come a long way so most people won't have to stand on breadlines anymore. We have different government programs to help keep our heads above water. And tightening our belts for a short time will help until we get back into the workforce. Sacrificing the pleasures we worked so hard for should not be a hard thing to do. Cut backs here and there without sacrificing the true pleasure will make it a little easier. Here are a few tips on how to save:

Start with monthly bills such as cable, gas, electric, phone, internet. If your home phone bill is separate from your cable bill and internet bill some companies support all these services and are offering great deals on combining them all with the one company. And can save you plenty. These deals usually last between 6 months to a year depending on the company.

As for the electric bill you would be surprised how much you would save just by unplugging electronics when they are hardly used. Gadgets like your cellphone charger and microwave use energy and generate heat as long as they're attached to a power source. Standby power for appliances not in use is typically 5% to 10% of residential electricity use. Plug those devices into a power strip that can be turned off when not in use. Switching four 75-watt incandescent for 19-watt CFLs can save almost $30 a year.

Gas is a tougher, more stringent item to control. But there are ways to save. In the winter if you use gas heat turn it down and break out the blankets. Use your fireplace if you have one. There is nothing better than cuddling up with that special someone. If you use a gas dryer, you may be able to save money by running the dryer in the evening hours. Many companies lower their rates for use during off peak hours.

You can also save money on that hefty food bill. As Brown Thumb Mama states in her October 2nd blog, "A lot of things become a luxury when times are tight". She shows different tips and tricks in this.

No matter what you do, every little bit helps. Winter weather is coming and we all need to tighten our belts and make due with what we have. The true pleasures in life are not only the things we have but the who's that are in them.

Are Social Network Sites The Resumes of Tomorrow?

If you have recently become a member within the unemployment sector you might be realizing how different the job search has become. Mailing out resumes and filling out applications at the local supermarket is a thing of the past. Email, corporate online applications, job boards and the such have become the "classifieds of tomorrow". Resumes are being replaced by the social network sites.

Websites such as Linkedin, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have become the "resumes of tomorrow". On these sites individual profile pages are setup listing all of the pertinent information about the job seeker. These sites initially have been created for personal use to locate family, friends and classmates. However recently these profile pages have been offering enough information for employers and recruiters to make a judgment call about perspective hires.

The findings of a recent survey conducted by Careerbuilder.com showed of those employers/recruiters who conducted online searches/background checks of job candidates:

• 29% use Facebook, 26% use LinkedIn and 21% use MySpace.

• 11% search blogs while 7% follow candidates on Twitter.

Job seekers are warned to be conservative with the information they post online. They need to remember that employers and recruiters may be able to view their pages. CareerBuilder's survey findings also suggest that employers have not considered potential job seekers who post inappropriate material. Some examples would be inappropriate photos, foul language, any reference to illegal substances and bad-mouthing former employers.

This should not discourage anyone from creating these public profiles since there is a brighter side to the survey. People were hired for their listings of achievements and awards, showing a well rounded education and good references.

I think the digital resume is in it's infancy. Though due to our present economy it seems to be a fast growing part of the social networking market. If all of this information is accessible on digital devices, computers or phones, why the need for the paper trail? It will certainly help with the efforts for a greener planet!

The Online Application

Applying online has become quite the norm for the job seeker these days. It can be quite the exhausting task. Uploading resumes, filling out corporate applications and the hard part, remembering which company you applied to.

Whether you apply online or on paper you need a form of organization. You might want to start with a few tips:

1. Start a file for your resumes in your computer. You should have a few different resumes for qualified positions. This will give you some focus in your job search.

2. Start a document to list all the companies you are applying to. This list should have a place for the company name, address, phone, email, date and position you applied. This will give you instant access if you get an interview call from a company you applied to. You also may want a place for websites like Employment Guide to keep track on which website you applied through.

3. Pick a specific time of day to do your searching. Monday and Tuesday mornings are usually a good time. Many sites place new job postings in the beginning of the week.

4. Setup your social networking pages. Sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace are great places to show employers who you really are. But keep these pages to the business point of view. You might not want them to see your last vacation on the beach.

Finally, allow yourself a certain amount of time on the computer. Stay focused and geared for the next application you need to fill out. Very easily you can be distracted and redirected somewhere else and next thing you know you are on a vacation website scheduling your next week on the beach!

NY JOB FAIR/CAREER FAIR

On September 1st, Employment Guide hosted its 2009 Job Fair/Career Fair in New York City in partnership with Madison Square Garden and The New York Liberty Woman's Basketball Team.

There was quite a variety of companies. From customer service to nursing, to sales to trucking. More than 30 companies were set up to meet with the over 3,000 job seekers that attended. Many job seekers came to speak with specific employers while others just came to browse at who actually was hiring. All in all it was a great turn out.

The Employment Guide has successfully placed over 11,000 Americans back to work since the beginning of this year through our job fair series. Thanks to everyone who attended. With such a great turnout we hope Employment Guide was able to help once again!

Know Yourself For That Job Interview

Remember when you found out you had an interview for that great job position? You were excited at first, told everyone you knew. You were elated! Then it all sunk in. All the questions run through your head. How do I handle this interview? Can I do this job? What do I say? The interviewer will have questions too. "So tell me a bit about yourself." They want to get to know you. They want to know if you can do the tasks required. But the question here is "Do you know you?"

Preparing "to know" yourself for a job you are considering or the next interview is a great asset to every interview. "Is this the job position that I really want?", "What is my salary requirement?" are some of the main questions you should be asking yourself. Take an inventory. Find some paper and write some down questions.
• "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
• "Can you advance to this position in this company?"
• "What asset can you bring to their company?"
• "What responsibility did you like the most in your last position?"
• "Why did you like this responsibility?"
• "Why should they hire you?"

Continue writing down other questions that may be helpful. Once you've answered these questions, compare the results with the jobs you are considering. Answering these questions and seeing them in black and white you are now one step ahead of the game.

The more you know about yourself the better your job search and or interview will be. And now when you're getting dressed for that interview or your sitting down to do a job search you have your best assets in hand and are ready to find that job that's just right for you.