After several long months of unsuccessfully posting his résumé and applying to jobs online, Alex Ballin, 24, decided to take his job search into his own hands.
The 2008 graduate from Radford University planted himself at a busy intersection in downtown Roanoke, Virginia, sporting a white sign that read, "Talented B.A. Needs Career" along with his business suit.
He wanted to get employers' attention and it wasn't happening from simply submitting applications online. One employer thought Ballin's efforts showed drive and ambition and tossed a business card out of his car to Ballin. He got an interview a week later.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/11/17/cb.what.says.hire.me/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
I LOVE my new Kindle
OK, so I took the bite after I saw the Oprah Winfrey show on the awesomeness of Amazon's Kindle. Yes, I watch Oprah Winfrey and I love most of her advice and programs.
And boy am I happy about the decision to buy the Kindle. It's about three weeks that I have it and so far I've finished close to 5 books and I am reading a book that is about a 1,000 pages. This is something I've really missed doing since I was a young 'un. Reading a long long book. I had stopped reading them since it's so difficult to schlep them around. So now I'm back to reading books that are over 500 pages! Yay! And with Kindle I'm reading many books simultaneously.
My Kindle and I are inseparable.
Here are the pros and cons of the Kindle from my point of view:
The good:
The not so good:
Let me know if you're buying a Kindle!
And boy am I happy about the decision to buy the Kindle. It's about three weeks that I have it and so far I've finished close to 5 books and I am reading a book that is about a 1,000 pages. This is something I've really missed doing since I was a young 'un. Reading a long long book. I had stopped reading them since it's so difficult to schlep them around. So now I'm back to reading books that are over 500 pages! Yay! And with Kindle I'm reading many books simultaneously.
My Kindle and I are inseparable.
Here are the pros and cons of the Kindle from my point of view:
The good:
- It has changed the way I read.
- I ended up reading three books this weekend simultaneously. I feel like I'm back in college!
- I could previously not do this since logging around 3 books is not practical at all. :-)
- There was a Kindle book I couldn't download from Amazon, I was able to download it through the Kindle device. It was available that way which I find it's weird.
- The Kindle is small enough that it fits in my purse and I can read it anywhere. Very Obvious.
- The best feature for me is that it has a dictionary. Which cuts down on my frustration when reading. I've already learned so many new words. Another reason I like this is that I'm reading a sixth grade level book for my son at night. And as soon as we come across a word he doesn't know he tells me to look it up! He is getting into the habit of looking up new words. I LOVE this!
- Before purchasing a book, you can download the first chapter to see if you like it. Because of this feature I ended up not buying a book. But then the very same feature led me to buy about three other books! I liked that. :-)
- Book are $9.99 or cheaper on the kindle! Wow! This thing will pay for it self.
- I'll be cutting down on book clutter at home. Another awesome WOW for me, the clutter queen.
- This is silly, but I love the screen saver on it.
- Another silly thing. The packaging that it came with was just simply Divine! Oh and it comes with a cover to protect your device.
The not so good:
- There are places in my house that I can not download books.
- I wish it had a light for reading at night time. I'm an insomniac so this would be a GREAT feature for me since I read a lot at night time.
- There is not enough keyboard shortcuts to get to the most used features Or at least I don't know them yet.
- Sometimes the scroll wheel feels clunky as I need to navigate through the menus. But I'm getting used to it.
- Reading it around water makes me nervous.
- Finally, not all the books I want are on Amazon but at this particular point in time it's not a big deal. I already have enough books to keep me happy.
Let me know if you're buying a Kindle!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Time Management from Ready to Hire
I got the following 11 Tips to Take Control of Your Time in an email from Ready to Hire. I know many of these but I have to be reminded of them. I know them but I don't use them... Now there is a concept...
1. Know what is important. Clearly define the most important aspects of your job--the effort that generates key results. If you don't know what that is ask questions such as, "What has the greatest impact or value on your staff members or clients?" "What will increase sales?" Focus on the 20 percent that generates 80 percent of the results.
2. Prioritize and make "To Do" lists. Now that you know what is important about your job make a master weekly "To Do" list. Write a "A," "B," or "C" next to each item based on importance. At the beginning of each day make a daily "To Do" list. Stop and think--which item absolutely must be completed today? This does not include items you'd like to get done today, but only the item(s) that have to be completed today.
3. Avoid the "feel like its." Poor time managers base their actions on their feelings and moods. You know the type, "Yeah, I know the garbage can is overflowing, but I don't feel like taking it out right now." Effective time management is more about habit than feelings. Most people do the easy and simple elements of their job first... like reading their email, scanning the newspaper, cleaning off their desk etc. Good time managers do what is important first, regardless of their feelings. As Nike says, "Just Do It!"
4. Schedule your biggest project for your peak energy period. It took me many years to figure out not everyone is a morning person like me. I hop out of bed before the sun comes up ready to head off to the office, while others don't hit their stride until 3 p.m. Therefore, during your peak energy period focus your mental and physical resources on the largest projects.
5. Learn to delegate. A person who refuses to delegate will likely be a very busy, frustrated and heading for burnout. It is not necessary for a manager to personally handle every item. One very successful regional sales manager readily attributed part of his success to the fact that he trusted his administrative assistant to handle routine items that did not require his personal decision. This left him free to concentrate on working with sales personnel outside the office.
6. Toss it or file it. Follow the rule to touch paper only once. Know what is important and throw away every piece of paper you don't think you will need. If you want to keep it spend 10 seconds filing that important paper now rather than 30 minutes searching for it later.
7. Use folders to prioritize your work; sub-divide files. If you are a paperless office, use your computer to sub-divide files. For example, I created electronic folders for my articles titled, "Articles for 2001," and "Articles for 2002." This way I can quickly find what I am looking for. If you have paper files use colors folders to see which jobs need your immediate attention. I use red folders for hot projects and client files. Yellow folders are for new ideas and projects. Blue folders tell me this is for research. Get the idea?
8. Be realistic and stay flexible. One way to set yourself up for a panic attack is to plan an unrealistic amount of work for one day/week/etc. Use your common sense to recognize when you have over-scheduled yourself. Don't get so organized where you become unapproachable.
9. Schedule time for you. Schedule a "personal time" appointment on your calendar each day. If someone wants to see you at that time, just say, "I'm sorry, I have an appointment then." Whether you use this for personal reflection or as a few quiet minutes to catch your breath or simply time to think, it's a legitimate use of time. And you will still get as much, if not more, done.
10. Make sure your electronic planner does not cost you time. People who use electronics enjoy the orderly convenience of a digital assistant, but sometimes they take longer to enter and maintain information in a gadget than to jot it down with a pencil in an old-fashioned paper planner.
11. E-mail. Answer E-mail immediately. The same rule applies to email as paper. Read it once and do something with it. Don't read it and then let it pile up in your in-box thinking you will get back to it. Keep your inbox clutter free. Create a "keeper" folder and transfer the mail you want to keep for later. Create another folder for "Actions pending" etc. Respect other people's time and avoid forwarding those stories/jokes people love to send unless they agree to get them first. Use the delete key aggressively and delete junk e-mail without reading it. Learn to use your filters to eliminate spammers.Time is valuable, and time management can help you be more productive, successful and less stressed out so you have more time to enjoy your life more.
Ready To Hire team www.readytohire.com
Source: http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/tm101.htm
1. Know what is important. Clearly define the most important aspects of your job--the effort that generates key results. If you don't know what that is ask questions such as, "What has the greatest impact or value on your staff members or clients?" "What will increase sales?" Focus on the 20 percent that generates 80 percent of the results.
2. Prioritize and make "To Do" lists. Now that you know what is important about your job make a master weekly "To Do" list. Write a "A," "B," or "C" next to each item based on importance. At the beginning of each day make a daily "To Do" list. Stop and think--which item absolutely must be completed today? This does not include items you'd like to get done today, but only the item(s) that have to be completed today.
3. Avoid the "feel like its." Poor time managers base their actions on their feelings and moods. You know the type, "Yeah, I know the garbage can is overflowing, but I don't feel like taking it out right now." Effective time management is more about habit than feelings. Most people do the easy and simple elements of their job first... like reading their email, scanning the newspaper, cleaning off their desk etc. Good time managers do what is important first, regardless of their feelings. As Nike says, "Just Do It!"
4. Schedule your biggest project for your peak energy period. It took me many years to figure out not everyone is a morning person like me. I hop out of bed before the sun comes up ready to head off to the office, while others don't hit their stride until 3 p.m. Therefore, during your peak energy period focus your mental and physical resources on the largest projects.
5. Learn to delegate. A person who refuses to delegate will likely be a very busy, frustrated and heading for burnout. It is not necessary for a manager to personally handle every item. One very successful regional sales manager readily attributed part of his success to the fact that he trusted his administrative assistant to handle routine items that did not require his personal decision. This left him free to concentrate on working with sales personnel outside the office.
6. Toss it or file it. Follow the rule to touch paper only once. Know what is important and throw away every piece of paper you don't think you will need. If you want to keep it spend 10 seconds filing that important paper now rather than 30 minutes searching for it later.
7. Use folders to prioritize your work; sub-divide files. If you are a paperless office, use your computer to sub-divide files. For example, I created electronic folders for my articles titled, "Articles for 2001," and "Articles for 2002." This way I can quickly find what I am looking for. If you have paper files use colors folders to see which jobs need your immediate attention. I use red folders for hot projects and client files. Yellow folders are for new ideas and projects. Blue folders tell me this is for research. Get the idea?
8. Be realistic and stay flexible. One way to set yourself up for a panic attack is to plan an unrealistic amount of work for one day/week/etc. Use your common sense to recognize when you have over-scheduled yourself. Don't get so organized where you become unapproachable.
9. Schedule time for you. Schedule a "personal time" appointment on your calendar each day. If someone wants to see you at that time, just say, "I'm sorry, I have an appointment then." Whether you use this for personal reflection or as a few quiet minutes to catch your breath or simply time to think, it's a legitimate use of time. And you will still get as much, if not more, done.
10. Make sure your electronic planner does not cost you time. People who use electronics enjoy the orderly convenience of a digital assistant, but sometimes they take longer to enter and maintain information in a gadget than to jot it down with a pencil in an old-fashioned paper planner.
11. E-mail. Answer E-mail immediately. The same rule applies to email as paper. Read it once and do something with it. Don't read it and then let it pile up in your in-box thinking you will get back to it. Keep your inbox clutter free. Create a "keeper" folder and transfer the mail you want to keep for later. Create another folder for "Actions pending" etc. Respect other people's time and avoid forwarding those stories/jokes people love to send unless they agree to get them first. Use the delete key aggressively and delete junk e-mail without reading it. Learn to use your filters to eliminate spammers.Time is valuable, and time management can help you be more productive, successful and less stressed out so you have more time to enjoy your life more.
Ready To Hire team www.readytohire.com
Source: http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/tm101.htm
Monday, September 8, 2008
Love this advice - How to ask for a Job!
Advice from John Lucht from his book: "Rites of Passage."
When calling your network to find out about job opportunities, don’t ask for a job. Instead, ask for a reference.
If you call up your college friend, or your old boss, or a former co-worker, and say, “Hey Sally, you know I’ve decided to put out feelers and I’m think about looking for a job, and I was wondering, do you know of anything available in my field?”, it feels awkward and tense for both of you. People don’t like having to say “no” to their friends, and, unfortunately, that’s just the position you’re putting Sally in because chances are she hasn’t heard of anything in your field.
But if, instead, you call her up and say, “Hey, Sally, you know I’ve decided to put out feelers and I’m thinking about looking for a job, and I was wondering, if and when it gets to that point, would you consider being a reference for me?” is a much, much easier conversation, and of course she’ll say yes. Who wouldn’t be a reference for a good friend?
And what’s more, now that you’ve signaled to Sally that you’re looking for a job, and she’s agreed to help you in your search by being a reference, she is on your side. And we all have this natural tendency to want to see something succeed if we’ve agreed to be a part of it, no matter how small our part is (you know how true this is if you’ve ever found yourself rooting for your cousin’s co-worker’s husband’s band). And now that she wants you to succeed, she’ll be thinking about ways she can help you – other people who might be looking to hire somebody like you, jobs that might make sense for you at her company, etc. This is how you really activate your network in the job hunt.
So, remember, don’t ask for a job, ask for a reference.
When calling your network to find out about job opportunities, don’t ask for a job. Instead, ask for a reference.
If you call up your college friend, or your old boss, or a former co-worker, and say, “Hey Sally, you know I’ve decided to put out feelers and I’m think about looking for a job, and I was wondering, do you know of anything available in my field?”, it feels awkward and tense for both of you. People don’t like having to say “no” to their friends, and, unfortunately, that’s just the position you’re putting Sally in because chances are she hasn’t heard of anything in your field.
But if, instead, you call her up and say, “Hey, Sally, you know I’ve decided to put out feelers and I’m thinking about looking for a job, and I was wondering, if and when it gets to that point, would you consider being a reference for me?” is a much, much easier conversation, and of course she’ll say yes. Who wouldn’t be a reference for a good friend?
And what’s more, now that you’ve signaled to Sally that you’re looking for a job, and she’s agreed to help you in your search by being a reference, she is on your side. And we all have this natural tendency to want to see something succeed if we’ve agreed to be a part of it, no matter how small our part is (you know how true this is if you’ve ever found yourself rooting for your cousin’s co-worker’s husband’s band). And now that she wants you to succeed, she’ll be thinking about ways she can help you – other people who might be looking to hire somebody like you, jobs that might make sense for you at her company, etc. This is how you really activate your network in the job hunt.
So, remember, don’t ask for a job, ask for a reference.
If it's good enough for the CIA, FBI...
Then it's good enough for me. I've surprised many of my younger family members by being active on Facebook. Hey it works for me to keep my socialization ties alive...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/09/05/facebook.spies/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/09/05/facebook.spies/index.html
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I Miss AIM:IM!
While I have fully adjusted to a more formal work environment, strict hours, no jeans except Friday... there is one thing I can't get over not using. And that's my AIM! How wonderful were the days that I used to use Aim at work.
How I used AIM:
- Check to see who is online and working. If they are available to call or email or IM? Instead of calling - just ping see if it's a good time to contact them with a "yt?"
- Same thing with dropping by someone's cube. IM with a "Can I come by?" or "Can I call?"
- Ping other people in remote offices with quick questions. That are typically yes and no answers.
- Send URLs instantly
- Let someone know to expect your email - yes, we did that...
- Finally, a quick fast way to socialize with your co-workers with one liners... Lunch? 10 minute break??? etc.
Not having it feels as if one of my senses has been cut off.
How I used AIM:
- Check to see who is online and working. If they are available to call or email or IM? Instead of calling - just ping see if it's a good time to contact them with a "yt?"
- Same thing with dropping by someone's cube. IM with a "Can I come by?" or "Can I call?"
- Ping other people in remote offices with quick questions. That are typically yes and no answers.
- Send URLs instantly
- Let someone know to expect your email - yes, we did that...
- Finally, a quick fast way to socialize with your co-workers with one liners... Lunch? 10 minute break??? etc.
Not having it feels as if one of my senses has been cut off.
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