Job Hunting in the Social Media Age

Thank you for visiting the Resume Upgrade blog. While I have stopped regularly updating this blog, please explore the archives for job search, resume and cover letter writing tips.

I am now in the job market myself and am blogging about my career search over at OrlandoNext. The new age of Social Media has changed how one goes about finding a new job. I will be passing along some of the new skills and tips I learn along the way.

Finally, please find my current resume at Emurse or join my network at LinkedIn.

Stretching the Dollar

If you are in the unfortunate position of being between jobs in this rough time of high unemployment, besides constantly working on your resume and job search, you are probably also considering all the ways to stretch the value of each dollar.

When it comes to cooking you can really make that dollar go far if you follow the example of Clara. Clara lived through the great depression and on her new online cooking show, Great Depression Cooking, she shares some of the secrets from that time to make food go far in the kitchen.

Tags: cooking, depression, great+depression, economize, thrift, food, job+search, hints, tips, household, value

What Does The Stimulus Package Mean For The Unemployed

The recent passage of the stimulus package is intended to put up to 4 million people back to work. That won't result in full employment, by any means, but it's certainly going to help. The new jobs will be created mostly through funds sent to the states. The states will then apply the funds to projects that are 'shovel-ready'. At least that's the theory.

So, if you're unemployed right now, what do you need to be doing to make sure you'll qualify for one of those jobs. Sure, you could apply for one of the typical construction industry positions. But remember positions of support that will be needed as well. Accounting, Safety, Inspection, Planning. Any of your skills fit those descriptions, might be time to emphasize them in your resume.

Technorati Tags: resume, career, unemployment, jobsearch, stimulus

Twitter and your Job Search

Okay. So you're on Facebook and you're on Linkedin (you are right?), where else do you need to be when you're pounding the virtual pavement in your quest for a new career? How about Twitter? The Wall Street Journal has a recent article that might give you a few ideas on how that can help land you a career.

Looking for a new job, Alexa Scordato didn't email or call her contacts about possible openings. Instead, she messaged them via the social-networking Web site Twitter.com.
Her brief message: "Hey there! Looking for a Social Media job up in Boston. Are you guys doing any entry level hires?"
Within a week, she had an interview. Within two weeks, she had a job.

That's a pretty direct approach and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. But it's definitely thinking outside the box, which is exactly how you have to think in today's job market.

Now, none of this is going to do any good unless you have already built up your 'street cred' on twitter. So use your knowledge to help others and freely share across the network. Lend a hand where you can and be careful about what you tweet about.

Another way to use Twitter in your job search is to follow users who may be tweeting job openings in your area or field. One of these services is @smjobwire. Social Media Jobwire focuses on jobs in just one industry.