Procrastination. It’s the habit guaranteed to make you feel bad about yourself – especially if you’re on the hunt for a new job. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed about what to do and where to start and suddenly all your great ideas about finding a stellar new job are just that – ideas, but no action. Don’t be ashamed, because everyone – yes, even the jobs.co.nz team – have experienced job hunt procrastination during their careers. The key to pushing through it is working out why you’re procrastinating and then putting a plan in place to just get things done.

First up: Why. Here are some common reasons for job hunt procrastinating, and some advice for getting over them.

You don’t have any urgency.

Job hunting while you’re still employed can be hard because you don’t have to get a new job, you just want one. But here’s some tough love: If you’re not into your current job, and you want a new one, procrastinating doesn’t help you; you’ll stay stuck. You’re likely get more and more depressed with your current circumstances. And you’ll never make the changes you want, so start making moves now.

You tell yourself you don’t have time.

Between work, exercise, family, socialising and all your obligations, it can be hard to find the time to hunt for a new job. But if you relegate job-hunting tasks to the bottom of your to-do list, when you’re “not so busy”, then you’ll never get to it. If you really want to make finding a new job a priority, then you need to find the time for it. It’s that simple. (And there are ways to schedule your time so the job hunt doesn’t entirely take over your life, as you’ll see below)

You’re looking for the perfect job.

Some people procrastinate because they don’t have a clear job target – “I don’t know what kind of job to look for, so what’s the point of looking at all”? While it’s true that you do need to have a good idea of what you’re looking for before you start applying for jobs, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing anything. Work out what your top criteria for a job are and then apply for jobs that match, or talk to contacts that work in those jobs, or companies with those jobs. A job doesn’t need to be a perfect fit for you to apply – in fact it’s likely a perfect fit doesn’t exist. But a job that’s a good fit could turn into your perfect job.

When you work out why you’re procrastinating, you still need to break your procrastination habit. The good news it that it’s often just getting started that’s the hard part. So we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you get started, and beat that job hunt procrastination.

Work out exactly what you need to do.

Break down all the things you’ll need to do when hunting for a job. This could include things like:

• Update your CV
• Create a list of contacts to get in touch with
• Set up social media lists of potential contacts and companies you’d like to work for
• Update your online profiles or portfolios
• Write individualised cover letters.

When you can see all the things you need to do written down in front of you, it’s far less overwhelming and stops the “I should’s” floating around in your brain panicking you, stopping you from starting at all.

Break it up into the smallest possible tasks.

Often we procrastinate because an endeavour like a job hunt seems so overwhelming. But if you break down what’s involved into smaller, easier-to-handle tasks, it’s a lot easier to manage. Compare the large and scary task “I need to update my CV” to breaking it down into several mini-tasks, like “update employment history section”, “update details section” and “update key achievements” (or whatever sections you have on your CV). Those are all much smaller tasks that can be combated one by one.

Set deadlines.

When you’ve sorted exactly what you need to do, make a schedule for those things. It might seem silly to set deadlines that only you are accountable to, but it helps you keep your job hunt rolling. It also serves to show you how much work you have in store over the next few weeks and stagger it, so you don’t get overwhelmed. And when you’ve started the hunt, take some time to make a plan every week for the tasks you want to accomplish, be it sending out however-many applications, or following up with previous ones. Make the deadlines specific and write them in your calendar or planner. Reward yourself when you do what you need to – maybe even with a night off the job hunt – and find a way to give yourself consequences when you miss a deadline.

Do the worst first.

The thing you dread the most is the thing you will put off the most. And it’s usually the thing that will mean the most to your job hunt – be it cold calling a contact or re-doing your CV. So when you’re making your plan, choose the tasks that you have the most resistance to and schedule those first. Try to get them over with in the morning if you can, but at least make a “worst” task the the first thing you do on your daily “job” tasks each day. Then you can reward yourself with a better task to follow it.

Get yourself a team.

Having a team around you that knows about your job hunt serves two purposes: they can help and encourage you and they can keep you on track. It could be a close friend, a former colleague or boss and people in your family – whoever feels right to you. Communicate with them regularly on your search – including telling them about your deadlines so they will help you to meet them. This will help keep you from procrastinating as you know they’ll be waiting for your updates.

So…get going! And good luck. If you’ve got tips to help avoid or break through procrastination, let us know in the comments!

When you’re about to graduate, or a recent graduate, networking is sold as this big scary idea…something you “should” do, to help you get a job when you’ve finished with university. But no-one really gives you advice, as though telling you “to network” is enough.
Firstly, networking can take many forms, and secondly, it works. Student and successful job-finder-through-networking, Tanya Gray is proof:

“I got my first job through contacting a professional I follow on Twitter, asking him to do a guest lecture at my design school. He agreed, and during the lunch break on the day he was teaching us I got a chance to talk with him one-on-one. He could see that I really cared about the stuff we were learning and despite having no experience, offered me a job in Wellington. I declined but he still helped me out by arranging for me to have an interview at an Auckland-based company where I went on to work for two years.”

Want your own story like that? Here are some simple tips to help you get into the world of networking.

Put yourself out there, over and over.

The more people you know, and the better you get to know people, the better chance you have of finding out about great jobs, and getting an “in”. Networking is about meeting people, pure and simple. Attend industry events and meetups. Regularly try to organise coffee with people who interest you in your industry, both peers and mentors. So, how do you find them? Social media. Make Twitter search lists, add people through LinkedIn, like companies you’d like to work for on Facebook and study their pages.

Tanya offers some tips about putting yourself out there:

“Talking to people is difficult but if you’ve got nothing to say just ask them questions – people love to talk about themselves! Just be interested in people and what they do, what they are passionate about, and they will respect you for that. As a recent grad I didn’t have a lot of real-world experience, but people understood that and could see I was keen to learn, so were very supportive.”

In the end, people love to be asked for help. You’ll be surprised by how much you can gain from just asking. Sure, some people you ask might say no to coffee, or helping you, but – watch out, this is profound – if you don’t ask, you will never get.

Keep your social profiles updated.

Yes, you need to make sure your profiles have your current information. But it’s more than that. If you meet someone, add them to your social networks. And get in touch with them. Simon Verbiest credits LinkedIn with helping him land his current job.

“Get on LinkedIn. Make sure you put together a succinct profile that makes you seem professional, but approachable. Go to industry events and social gatherings, meet people in your field, and connect with them (I really like the LinkedIn mobile app because I can just do it while I’m talking to them – no need for business cards). When I went to interview at my current employer we already had several mutual connections – which probably helped get me in the door. I’m pretty sure my LinkedIn profile helped a lot too – because I was asked a couple of questions about it during the interview!”

And make sure they’re showing you as the person you say you are.

Karla Momic, Marketing Manager at GradConnection, points out Facebook pages can be your own worst enemy. “You say you’re a hard working 3rd year student with a professional approach to every task you’re assigned? Somehow those inappropriate photos of you on Facebook don’t reinforce that image. Clean up your profiles.”

“Self branding is one of the key determinants to how well you stand out and whether you are chosen for a job. Just as when we’re choosing whether we want McD’s or BK, you need to brand yourself so an employee can choose you over another applicant. You need to know your values and strengths and live by these on and off your CV and make sure they come across in the interview room and on your Facebook page and other social profiles.”

Meet-ups.

Meet-ups deserve their own section – they’re the quintessential “networking event”. Don’t think of them as scary or pretentious. After all, everyone attending is aiming to meet people, which is clearly a good thing where networking is concerned. But be very careful about which events you attend…it’s likely to be more worth your while meeting a varied selection of people at a broader industry tweet-up, for example, than attending an event for people who are all trying to sell you something from the company they work for. There are lots of networking meet-ups hosted throughout New Zealand, some on a regular basis, like Auckland’s Media Mingle.

Meetup key #1: Go with a goal in mind.

While you’re being specific about which meet-ups you attend, be specific about why, as well. You need to have purpose – don’t just go to go, it’s a waste of your time. What do you want to accomplish? Meet three people in your industry? Find a potential mentor? Introduce yourself to a CEO? This isn’t about being ruthless, or leaving no room for spontaneous connections – it’s about giving yourself something to work towards so you put yourself out there.

Meetup key #2: Take the “unknown” out of it.

For Tanya Gray, successful networking at meetups meant starting on Twitter and out for people with similar interests that were going to meetups and then tracking them down there. This strategy is the perfect balance between taking the edge off going somewhere where you know nobody, but also pushing you to make new acquaintances. “It can be scary going to a meetup if you don’t know anyone else there, but using Twitter you can easily arrange to catch up with people who you don’t necessarily know very well.”

Simon also offers some great advice for approaching people at meetups – “When you’re approaching people, it’s much easier to approach 1 person, or 3 or more people; than it is to approach 2 people.”

Meetup key #3: Hang out for a while.

Tanya also has a story that’s a great example of why you shouldn’t leave after one drink.
“I once went to a meetup at the University of Auckland business school and hung around until last. It’s the best way to find out who the real movers and shakers of the industry are – they’re often the ones still hanging around at the end. After the event wrapped up, the stragglers went out for pizza and drinks at a local bar and I tagged along. At the bar I was introduced to the CEO of a fairly large company and had a conversation about what I really enjoyed about my work and what I wanted to do in future. I was basically offered a full-time job on the spot.”

Remember, networking helps you rework the traditional application process, if not avoid it entirely.

Imagine never having to go through a “traditional” job application process from start to finish. Sound crazy? Tanya’s proof that networking can make this happen. “I’ve never gone through a traditional application process and I don’t imagine I would ever want to. Meeting people in a social environment before aiming for a job at a company lets you get some inside info on their culture, the types of people and the kind of work they do. It also gives you the upper hand against other applicants if you have a personal recommendation from a current employee.”

We’re not saying that networking will get you offered jobs at meet-ups and bars and you’ll never have to do another interview. But the process changes when you’re not submitting your CV to someone you’ve never met. And imagine how much easier it is to attend an interview with someone who personally invited you to be there. It’s far less stressful, and you can trust that they’ve already seen enough of you to be really interested in what you have to offer.

Have a networking success story? Leave it in the comments below!

Starting a new job never seems to get easier; even if you’ve been “the newbie” before, it can be seriously nerve-racking. Will you be liked? How will you remember everyone’s name? Can you do the job? How is everything done? And where will you buy your lunch?

To ease first day nerves and help you make the best impression on your boss and colleagues from the start, we’ve compiled a list of first week dos and dont’s for starting your new job.

Do: be on time.

We’re starting with the obvious, but being late on your first day is the worst possible start you can get. Try to get a good night’s sleep. Get up early enough to give yourself enough time to get ready, travel and be a little early.

Do: look the part.

We’ve talked about this before – what you look like affects people’s perception of you. Ask what people typically wear, before your first day. And if you’re still in doubt, it’s always better to be over-dressed than under for the first few days.

Do: Make sure you’re clear from your boss on what you need to do.

As obvious as this sounds, make sure you’re clear on what needs to be done, and how the boss likes it. Ask them where to get the information, who to see, and make sure you’re clear on when it’s due and what priority level it is. If the job has been done in the past, do it the same way at least to begin with, so you’re familiar with it before you try to make improvements. If it’s a new project, share your plan of attack with your boss to make sure your method is sound. It’s much better to learn you’re not doing something right early on than to spend hours on something and find out at the end you weren’t on the right page.

Do: Relax, and remember they hired you for a reason.

It’s easy to be nervous or feel like an impostor on your first day, because the learning curve is so steep. Keep reminding yourself that they have chosen you. You bring your own different skills and attributes to the job. Your approach may be different, but the company is growing and changing all the time too. Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts, and believe in your ability to succeed in your new position.

Do: look for a “quick win”.

Look for something you can do as soon as possible to show some quick positive results. This will take some pressure off you and make your confidence soar. Even if it’s lower priority work, showing you’ve accomplished something puts you on the road to a reputation for getting things done. If you have two tasks, and one is quick and easy, but low priority; but the other one is hard, time consuming, and high priority: start the hard one, but then carve out a little time for the easy one. Show that you are dedicated to your new job and that you want to be there. If you have nothing to do, offer to take on another task or help a colleague who looks overloaded. Not only will you impress the boss, but the days will fly by.

Do: take notes and listen well.

Write down everything, at least for the first few days, and ask questions as you go. Regularly review your notes to keep you on track as you get started. Getting to grips with a new culture can be a shock to the system – and it’s not just meeting new people, it’s learning how everything is done, even standard things like expense claims and legal practices.

Do: get to know your co-workers.

Have lunch or coffee with them, find out about their history with the company is and what their strengths are. When you know who’s good at what, you know who you can go to for help, who’ll know how certain things are done and for peer-reviewing your work. Coworkers can also give insight into what bosses like or don’t like, and what the important versus non-important issues are. And remember to have fun just generally getting to know them, too!

Don’t: get carried away at company drinks.

Like we mentioned above, getting to know your co-workers is necessary and usually really fun. But if you socialise with them, take it easy, especially at the start. You’re still creating an impression. Being unable to hold your alcohol, or being a massive gossip aren’t good ones to make.

Do: find out the company email and social media policies.

You need to know the rules so you don’t break them. It’s that simple.

Do: own your mistakes and learn from them.

You’re going to make screw-ups – everyone does! So when they happen, use them for your education. First of all, admit it. Then work out how it happened. Maybe you need to make sure you’re clearer on instructions, maybe you got given the wrong numbers. Whatever it is, knowing what happened means you can stop it happening again. (You can also check out this recent infographic on common ways people get fired … just to be prepared!)

Do: remember your social life.

The first month in a new job will leave you feeling knackered. But rather than going home and collapsing every night, make sure to make time for friends, family and fun. They’ll be a huge help as you adjust to your new job.

Remember – you only get to be new once – so make the most of it. (Especially if there’s a welcome morning tea involved!) And enjoy your new job. You worked for it, and now you get to prove your worth. Got any other tips for being a newbie? Let us know in the comments!

One of the best allies you can have on your job hunt is a recruiter. A great recruiter will help to find jobs specific to your skills and experience, and act as a middleman between you and a company, making sure everyone is happy and gets what they want. They would also take the time to get to know you and your career goals, and won’t present you with opportunities that don’t align with those goals. A great recruiter will provide you with as much information and advice as possible to prepare you for your interviews.

So how do you know if you’ve found one of those great recruiters? We asked for feedback on great recruiters on twitter and had quite a few recommendations. While they’re for specific, amazing recruiters, the skills we talk about are transferable to any great recruiter.

A great recruiter is someone who takes interest in you, your experience and really considers the roles they put you forward for. Daniel Rock had high praise of Potentia’s Josh Comrie for precisely this reason.

“I first came across Josh a fair few years ago when I was dipping my toes in the water around looking for new roles. What impressed me most was that he maintained interest in me, when a lot of people could have written me off as a tyre kicker. He certainly didn’t bombard me with every slightly suitable role that came across his desk, but when he felt something was relevant he let me know. Over time he developed a keen understanding of what I was looking for and what sort of role would get me excited.”

A great recruiter won’t make you feel like a set of skills on a piece of paper, or try and fit the round-pegged you into a square-holed job. They’ll find a fit. And it might take time, so persistence and paitence are key, too.

“I went right through the process with one role, withdrawing after they made an offer, at which stage a lot of agencies would have written me off as a lost cause,” says Daniel. Josh kept on it, and recently had a job he thought I’d be great for, which actually went from first interview stage to a job offer in 3 days!”

For his part, Josh says the most important attributes a recruiter can have are being: organised, disciplined, having great communication skills and being great at reading people. They should also have effective writing skills, the ability to prioritise well (and on the fly) and be able to change tasks quickly. Finally, they need to be able to deal well with setbacks. As for things to avoid, according to Josh? A lack of integrity, anyone overly salesy and with a propensity to chase the deal. In other words, if they sound too good to be true, or a bit off – they probably are putting their needs in front of yours.

Speed of placement doesn’t necessarily make a great recruiter – but knowing their clients, knowing exactly what they’re looking for and being able to see it in a candidate is non-negotiable. Just ask Nathaniel Flick, who worked with recruiter Steven Kempton. (Steven is popular here it seems! He spoke to us about placing candidates through twitter earlier this year, then Nathaniel contacted us about him.)

“Just before I moved to New Zealand in November of 2008 I found Steven Kempton on Twitter through some other friends I’d made there, and he helped me land a job four days after landing in Auckland. He did it by being professional, discreet and incredibly capable of finding me a good fit for my skills and temperament.

I have to say I didn’t know much of anything about how recruiters work in New Zealand (the recruiting profession is much stronger here than in the States) but Steven coached me every step of the way and helped present me in the best possible light. I had a Skype call with my potential boss on Steven’s recommendation, then I was able to meet with the entire team on arrival and got the job that afternoon.”

Promptness and communication also play a big part, as Katie Brown found out working with Diana at Pinnacle.

“I had immediate phone contact from Diana once I had submitted my CV and she always checked with me to make sure it was a good time to talk (aware that I was still at another office). She briefed me really well on the job and the type of business she saw it as, and she was open to phone calls from me asking for more information. I was kept up to date and informed along the way and once I had secured the job she gave me a big hug and congratulated me – something personal and fitting! On my second day in the job, a cake turned up from Diana at Pinnacle for me to share with my new team – a lovely touch.”

While there are clearly great recruiters around, it’s important to remember that the recruiter needs great candidates like you, as much as you need them. While they’re interviewing you, it’s worth conducting your own interview of them, too. Aside from the traits listed above, here are some more questions to consider:

How long have you been recruiting?

It’s not so much the answer to this question that matters as opposed to how they answer. You can’t always use time as a measure of a recruiter’s skills and abilities; but it can often tell you a lot about the recruiter’s business approach, confidence, interest in helping you, and level of humility.

What do you feel are my marketable skills? And how likely do you think it is that you can place me?

No recruiter can promise you work, but you want to know that they get who you are and what you’re good at, as well as are optimistic that’s something people are looking for. They should know what kind of candidates their clients are seeking and what skill sets are in demand in your professional market. If they’re not a good fit, it’s worth trying another recruiter.

How many candidates have you placed in the last year?

A certain amount of success as a recruiter is obviously important. Someone with a decent success rate is the person you want representing you, right?

How should I communicate to you?

Communication between you and the recruiter is key – you’re building a relationship. A recruiter will likely expect you to call them when they leave a message or reply when they email you. They should have the professional etiquette to return your calls and emails as well.

What expectation do you have of me?

It’s important to know what they expect from you, and for you to let a recruiter know what you expect to. When you collaborate to form a plan that will work for both of you, you limit the potential for surprises and solidify your relationship.

Finally, keep in mind that the responsibility for finding your next job really falls on your shoulders. Recruiters can’t guarantee you a job, and only you can control the direction of your search and results through your efforts and attitude.

Have you had a great experience with a recruiter? Or a total shocker? Tell us about it!

“Looking the part” – from finding an appropriate interview outfit to making sure you look right at work, is one of the most crucial things you can do to help your career. You might think we’re overstating it, but you can’t get around it; what you wear creates the impression you give people – and there is so much research on the power of first impressions. According to a recent NYU study we make 11 judgements about someone within seven seconds of meeting them including education level, trustworthiness and perceived credibility, believability, competence and honesty. 11 seconds! That’s barely time to speak.

Another study from Prof. Ingrid Olsen at Pennsylvania University found that a first impression is made in 1/17 of a second – that’s basically the time it takes for someone to glance at you. So you know a lot of the impression you give is based on how you look – therefore you need to be dressed appropriately, otherwise it will negatively effect that impression, whether it’s in a interview, or with a client or customer.

Personal stylist and image consultant Jackie O’Fee (@Style_Gal) puts it succinctly,

“Your first impression is vital and never more so than when interviewing for a job, as you may not ever get a chance to show the person you are beyond it.”

Jackie also points out that there’s further research showing that the more attractive you are, the more positive traits you are assigned in a first glance.

“Although the way you look is pretty much a genetic lottery, you certainly owe it to yourself to really make the most of what God gave you. Oh, and while you’re doing that, you’ll probably notice that you feel better about yourself too and that always helps!”

Hopefully you’re convinced now why what you wear is important. Which brings us to what you should be wearing in interviews and at work. So we asked the expert for you – Jackie and her team at Signature Style regularly consult with businesses throughout New Zealand, so she knows what bosses and hiring managers are looking for.

Let’s start at the beginning; what should you wear to a job interview?

Jackie: “It does somewhat depend on the job you are going for; I mean, wearing a business suit to interview with a high fashion boutique or hairdressing salon won’t work as it won’t showcase your sense of style, nor would a super high fashion outfit suit if you were looking for work as a mechanic.

It does pay to do some research as to how the senior team of the company you are being interviewed by dress – I say senior team because I’ve lost count of the number of frustrated business managers or owners that have contacted me to ask for help to get their team to dress better.

That said, the key to dressing for a job interview is actually to veer on the slightly conservative, you want you and your skills to stand out, not your burnt orange pants or your too short skirt. It goes without saying that you should make sure everything you wear is clean and ironed, and that the body within the clothes is clean too.”

Guys: wear dress pants and a collared shirt and yes, a tie. Pay attention to your shoes, go for a smart shoe – no trainers. Gals: a jacket will add polish to your look, and you want a smart dress, trousers or skirt worn with a nice, not too revealing top. Wear some make-up (studies show that women who wear make-up are seen as more competent). As for shoes, I think this sums it up: Court shoes say “take me seriously”, strappy sandals say “take me to bed” – decide the conversation you want to be having.

So you get the job, and it’s in a corporate office. What do you wear to work?

Jackie: Corporate wear has relaxed slightly in recent years and no longer always means a suit, or even a tie for men. You do however need to look professional and polished. For women, don’t wear anything too short or tight, or something cut too low. A jacket or smart dress always works. For the guys, if you decide to eschew a tie, make sure you wear a patterned shirt – it just looks better. And if you want to play with the big boys, a suit is always right.

And if the office is slightly more relaxed?

Slightly more fashion forward works here, you can let your sense of style come to the fore.

And finally, what are your thoughts on what to wear if your office has “casual Friday” dressing?

Jackie: Casual Friday is not really casual. I’ve had countless conversations with managers and team leaders who think casual Friday should be abolished as it has become a nightmare. It means a slightly more relaxed standard of dress, not beachwear or what you’d wear to garden – I’m not kidding. It means you should wear shoes, not jandals – still not kidding. In some offices jeans are OK, but they need to be clean, dark denim. Your office may also still like you to wear a jacket. And if in doubt, check to see what your boss is wearing.

Have you ever experienced being judged on your outfit in a professional situation? Do you judge others? And do you have any more tips to share? Let us know in the comments.

Since most people are passively open to the idea of a new job, social media helps them start build networks of people who know who they are or what they do, so if the right thing comes along, they can be approached. But what if you want to use social media when you’re actively looking for a new job and you’re still employed? How do you find the balance between leveraging your social networks as much as possible without jeopardising your current job by making it all too obvious to your current employer that you’re looking?

To help you to be savvy about what you’re putting out there, we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you on your (slightly more covert) job search.

Make sure your information is about you now, not then.

This one might be obvious, but it’s true – make sure all your social profiles are up to date. Just because you don’t want to say you’re looking for a job doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show how employable you are. Sign up for, or update existing networking profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You want to show up in search result when recruiters or hiring managers are looking – so make sure each profile is as complete as possible to give you your best shot.

Give good google.

Search yourself on google – because you know recruiters definitely will. Carefully look through at least the first two pages of results. Same goes for the image search as well. If any of them could be deemed a… hindrance to your job search, you can potentially do something about it. There are online reputation management tools (Think Google’s ‘Me on the web’ ) that can help you track down and manage what information about you is being indexed, and which isn’t. Go through your old posts on your own profiles and delete irrelevant or questionable information. This process only goes for information produced by you – if someone else has posted something about you, get in touch and ask them to remove it.

Don’t say you’re searching. And don’t search at work.

Again, we’re being a bit Captain Obvious, but some job hunters seem to think their employer has no way of seeing their profiles, so will put “Seeking a position as…” or “Looking for a new job in…” on their profile. Don’t. You never know who your network knows. As for not searching at work…do you really need us to elaborate? Ok, fine – aside from having to explain to your boss why you’re working on your CV when they walk past, many employers monitor email, voicemail and web surfing.

Know your current company’s policies on Social Media

A lot of companies now have a social media guidelines for their current employees, because the way you conduct yourself online has the potential to affect them. So take a close look at the policy to ensure you’re not doing anything online that might result in disciplinary action.

Monitor Your Updates

Updating your LinkedIn while you’re employed isn’t always a red flag to current employers. After all – your company could gain business through your profile. But to dial down on suspicion, disable broadcasting your updates. (This also stops a flurry of updates that risks annoying your contacts)

Check out who’s checking you out.

Did you know LinkedIn has functionality that lets you see who’s been viewing your profile? Yup, the third box down on the right hand side of the home page. Have a look at who’s been viewing your profile – there could be some great contacts in there for you to add, and to get in touch with.

Connect with people.

We’ve talked about networking before, but we think it bears repeating: they’re called social networks for a reason. Build your networks on these sites, with both new friends and people you’ve known for a while, like high school acquaintances or a friend of a friend who works in your field. These people might be your “in” somewhere — so keeping up those connections is important to your job search, without giving you away to your boss. Social media is also an awesome place to network if you’re more of an introvert – but if you’re attempting it in person – check out this blog post on how to network if you’re the shy type.

So, although you might need to be a bit more careful if you’re job searching while still employed, the above tips can help you use social media in your search. Do you have any tips to add? Let us know in the comments.

We’ve written before about the importance of knowing pay rates in your industry, so you can negotiate well when it comes to interviews, or even internal reviews. In some industries, like public health, it’s easy to know what industry rates are. But for other industries, like creative, marketing or digital, it’s a much greyer area.

So what do you do if you want to know what you should be getting paid, based on your peers? Visit a salary survey site, like Firebrand Talent’s eSalarySurvey.

A website dedicated to finding out salaries and benefits in the creative, digital and marketing industries, eSalarySurvey launched in October last year in six countries – New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK. In that time, they’ve had almost 20,000 salaries contributed, and are gaining around 300 new salaries every week, quickly making the site the place to go for comprehensive and up-to-date salary data available for those industries in those countries. The site is free for anyone to access and is updated in real-time. There are also plans for French and Japanese versions of the site.

The site was launched by Firebrand Talent, recruiters with offices in the countries listed above. As Firebrand founder and CEO Greg Savage tells it, founding the site was a mix of serving their clients and serving themselves,

“It’s a great value add for clients and candidates – for them, it’s totally free, and it gives them real-time data. As recruiters we’re in touch with the market, but empirical evidence is always better. And this provides month by month stats.”

“When someone’s down at the pub and meets someone else in their industry, the likelihood of them sharing their real salary, without inflating it, is pretty low. With this tool, people get an accurate look at salaries, and at the benefits people get, too. Clients have used it as a benchmark for hiring and internal use.”

And from the selfish point of view, they did it for themselves, explains Greg,

“It’s probably the smartest thing we’ve ever done. It’s an incredible way to access passive candidates, which would be 90-95% of the market. People find us looking for salaries, but not necessarily looking for a job, and after we’ve given them some information, they can sign up for our alerts. There’s no pressure, but so far 35% of people have signed up. That’s great for us and our clients – we are recruiters after all. And we get brilliant talent that’s engaged with no-one else. It’s a much more pro-active than reactive model, and it’s working really well.”

Unlike other salary surveys, eSalarySurvey is averaged to dollar amounts, not within ranges, and only collects and collates the data, without changing it, so you get the data exactly as it’s entered by real people. As an added bonus, the site makes use of the median (as opposed to the average) to report cumulative salary results, which can helping to lessen the impact of any ‘extreme’ salary entries and broad salary ranges.

So you’ll visit, but why should you contribute too? eSalarySurvey operates on a “give to get” model. Basically, it’s a form of sharing – you provide accurate and anonymous salary data by answering about 14 questions about your current role, and in return you get access to all the salary information shared by other members of community in the city you live in, or indeed any other city that is covered by the portal.

So whether you’re a job hunter or just interested in what you’re worth, it’s worth inputting your current salary, to see how it fits in with everyone else’s. It only takes about 10-15 minutes and the resulting report is a great tool for negotiation, and making sure you know you’re being paid the industry standard.

To visit the site to contribute your salary or conduct a free search of the salary database, go to http://esalarysurvey.com, or check out the FireBrand Talent homepage.

Greg Savage is the founder and CEO of Firebrand Talent Search. Over a career spanning thirty years, he has established himself as an icon of the Australian recruitment industry and is a regular keynote speaker at staffing and recruitment conferences around the world. gregsavage.com.au

You’ve got your stellar CV, but you’re not sure if you need to bother with a cover letter. They’re not that important, your CV should tell your story, right? Wrong. Cover letters are often a key factor in who gets an interview and who doesn’t.

When you apply for a job, your CV might be in a stack with hundreds of other applications. While your CV or qualifications will be used to initially whittle that down to a “people we’re interested in” pile, your cover letter is usually what moves you from there to the “gets an interview” pile.

So how do you write the cover letter that gets you an interview? Here are eight key tricks to help you ace the cover letter game.

1. Address it correctly.

Figure out the name of the person who’ll be reading your application. If it’s not on the job ad, then look on the company website. And if it’s not there, call the company. It takes 2 minutes to find out the right name, and writing Dear Sir or Ma’am or, worse, “to whom it may concern” is one of the worst mistakes you can make, according to recruiters. Think about it – if other applicants take the time to find the right name and you don’t, you look lazy or inefficient by comparison. Be sure to spell both name and title perfectly, too.

2. Make it about them, not you.

Talk about how employing you would benefit the company; it’s not about what you can do, it’s about what you can do for them. And don’t waste much time, if any, talking about what the company can do for you. Your cover letter should focus on how you can help the company achieve their goals.

3. It never hurts to open with a name drop.

Opening your letter with “I’m writing to apply for XX job” isn’t very exciting or engaging. Instead, start with how you heard about the job, and mention any connections you have to the company. If you were referred to the job by a current employee, or mutual acquaintance, this is especially important. (You know how we love networking!) You should mention other connections too – a study or report that you read from the company that inspired you in a professional sense. The trade show where you met employees from the company and loved the culture and what they did. Or even something as simple as being a user of their product or service. Obviously this has to be true! And if you can’t find anything…perhaps you should think about whether this company is a good fit for you.

4. Short. To the Point.

Your cover letter (or covering email) shouldn’t be longer than a printed page. If you can’t say all you need to say one one page, in a reasonable size font and with the margins intact, then you need to slash and burn until you can. A two page cover letter of solid words, words, words? Would you read it? We’re not trying to sound harsh, but remember, you’re looking for reasons to be included in the interview pile. Don’t do things that will give someone an excuse to exclude you.

5. Bullet point judiciously.

If you’ve got a lot of information, bullet points are a great way to list it succinctly and to break up the page to the reader’s eye. Think carefully about the information you are highlighting with bullets because they will draw the reader’s immediate attention. Don’t use them all over the show. Instead, use them strategically to highlight your key selling points.

6. Use their words against them.

Study the job ad and description and use the language and attributes they list when writing your cover letter. Describe your skills in the language they use and tailor your letter to cover the qualities they’ve listed, and how you’ve demonstrated them, as that’s clearly what matters to them.

7. Spell Check. Again. And Again.

Don’t forget to triple check your cover letter for spelling errors and typos. Have a couple of friends look it over for good measure. (For spelling issues only!) If you’re sending out multiple letters, you don’t want to leave the wrong title on there, or have it littered with spellink mitstakes. (See what we mean? It doesn’t look good!)

8. Don’t Use the Same Letter Twice

Every time you apply for a job your audience changes. The job changes. Chances are you’ve changed a bit, too. You can re-use elements from previous cover letters, but recruiters know if you’ve sent them a stock standard letter or really put the effort in. Which do you think will be more appreciated?

Have you been a hiring manager? What role did the cover letter play in your reviewing process? Or have you nailed a cover letter as a job hunter? Let us know in the comments!

We wrote recently about why you should start a blog for you business, but once you’re ready to start, how do you know what you should and shouldn’t be doing? Do you need an editorial calendar? How do you handle comments? And what type of posts should you create? Don’t fret – the jobs.co.nz team is here to help! Here are our top do’s and don’ts for your business blog.

Getting Set Up

Don’t: Spend too much time over the design. You presumably have a business logo and branding already, so use that. Your blog’s design should represent your company, of course, but it’s more important to give people great content and start establishing yourself as a leader than worrying whether your layout is “perfect”.

Do: Try to add relevant images.

We still recommend not spending a long time on design, but sourcing relevant images, whether they are your own or sourced (legally) online, can be great content ‘breaker-upers’ and can be used as a visual summary of your topic. And don’t forget about Pinterest – by adding a relevant image, ‘Pinners’ can post the image to their Pinterest page, increasing your exposure. You can check out our “Blog board” on our Pinterest Page here.

Do: Blog on your own domain.

Your blog should be integrated into your website. It should also be under “yourdomain.com/blog” rather than “blog.yourdomain.com” to make it easier for search engines to associate it with your current site. If you can’t do that – try to make sure the blog is integrated into the design of your website by adding it as a link to you main navigation menu.

Do: Work out a posting schedule that works for you.

You don’t have to post every day. You should definitely commit to posting weekly, but if you can only post once or twice a week that’s totally fine – daily posting takes lot of time and a lot of content. And you can change this down the track, too – but it’s better to start with less.

Do: Establish an editorial calendar and develop content in advance.

This helps you plan future articles and topics and have at least a topic, if not a whole article prepared on the day you post. You can add in important milestones coming up for your business.

Don’t: Be wedded to your editorial calendar.

If something happens in your company or industry that it’s topical to write about right now but it’s not in your editorial calendar…no problem! The point of the calendar is as a holding bay for articles and ideas. And if you’d still like to stick to your calendar, your topical post can be a “bonus post” for that week.

Writing Posts

Do: Make your content “scannable”.

People don’t read words on the web like they do on the printed page – they tend to scan down instead of line by line. Break your posts up by adding sub-headings, shorter paragraphs or bullet points to catch their eye.

Do: Find a balance with keywords.

Keywords are important for improving the ranking of your blog in search engines and for increasing visibility and readership. Compile a list of keywords and keyword phrases you think your business should rank for, then use the Google Keyword tool to find out how many actual searches are done per month – and pepper your blog post with googles suggested keywords. Remember though: more is not always better. You want your posts to still be readable and make sense.

Don’t: Use boring, long winded sentences or corporate jargon.

Be you, use your voice. Don’t think you need to be super formal, or use lots of corporate-isms. Use simple, clear language. You know that guy at work who uses jargon and cliches in meetings to look smart, but he looks dumb because he uses them wrong? Yeah, don’t be that guy in blog form. And if you do need to use jargon, make sure you explain it.

Don’t: Write Really Long Posts

No one wants to read 5,000 words on the web. In fact, anything more than 1,500 is really stretching the limits. People on the web are proven to have short attention spans. If you want to get across all your points, break your 5,000 words into a series of blog posts. You have automatic content for the future, and you keep readers intrigued for the next part in your series.

Don’t: Assume you know what your audience needs.

Ask them what three things they struggle with in their business. Ask them what they’d like to know about. Not only does this provide you with content for the future, it provides you with content relevant to your audience.

Don’t: Be afraid to mix up your post types.

Short posts to let people know about an update. Longer posts to share lessons you’ve learned. Video posts so people can get to know you. Mixing up post formats as well as topics keeps it interesting for your readers and for you.

Comments and Sharing

Do: Make time to read comments and respond when needed.

Do you really need us to explain why this is a good idea?

Do: Have a plan for handling criticism or negative comments.

Know who should sign off responses for different topics. It’s always better to respond to comments carefully and politely than delete them – you may get called out if you filter out all negative comments. Constructive negative comments are actually a great opportunity to get feedback and turn someone into an advocate through great customer service. It’s fine to have a comment policy and delete offensive comments too, just make sure it’s on your comment form.

Do: Give your blog readers the tools to share your posts to their networks.

Make sure you have retweet/tweet buttons and a Facebook Like button. Digg, StumbleUpon and other social sharing buttons are great too.

Don’t: Automate syndication of your blog posts to your social profiles.

It’s better to post them manually so you can tailor them to each network.

And finally,

Do: Give it time.

Give your blog enough of your time as a company, brainstorming, creating and responding to readers. And give your blog time to establish itself – it takes a while to build real relationships.

Facebook has been rolling it’s Timeline out to individuals for a while, and now it’s time for brands, with Timeline for pages being rolled out last week. Until March 31st you can opt in to the Timeline, and after that, it automatically goes live for all brand pages.

Timeline is a great thing for brands – it allows you to tell a more cohesive story about yourself and makes it easier for people to find information on your brand by pushing the info, photo apps and maps sections at the top of the page, before the fold. Here’s a guide to the major changes that come with Timeline, and hints for managing them.

First things first – activating Timeline.

Go to the “Timeline for Pages” preview manager and opt to add Timeline to your pages. Since Timeline becomes mandatory for pages on March 30, you can enter a curation period – a time where only your page’s admins can see the Timeline. Think of it as Timeline in draft – this is a great opportunity to get used to Timeline and try all sorts of variations without your changes and trials being public. When you’re ready for your Timeline to go live to everyone, click the ‘Publish Now’ button at the top of your page.

Changes on your page

The Cover

One of the most obvious changes about Timeline is the giant picture at the top of the page, known as the “Cover”. The 851 x 315px cover is to symbolize what an organization is all about. So if you run a restaurant, it might be your most popular dish or your front door and for a business, it could be your logo, or your products.

Facebook’s rules state that brand covers can’t display any calls to action (“like this page”), purchasing information, contact information, web addresses or special deals. So pick a really great photo or design instead, something that intrigues people, is visually stunning or makes them want more.

About Section

On the left below the Cover is your brand’s name, profile picture, and your total Likes and the number of “people talking about this”. Make sure you fill out a short but thorough description of your brand for this section, so people know what you’re about. The About section also shows an address and contact info for local businesses, and users can click through to view other basic info.

Page Apps

Apps have been moved from the old navigation bar on the left hand side of your page to the right hand side of the About section, and now appear as thumbnails, rather than text links. The first app tile is permanently occupied by photos, but the others can be modified to include what you’d like, including events, map, likes and any custom apps you have.

To edit which apps you display, click the drop-down icon to the right of the tiles, click the ‘+’ button to import your custom apps, and then hover over them and click the pencil to swap them around. It’s best to put your custom apps above the fold, so people can see them as easily as possible. The likes panel is something that can be easily sacrificed for this.

Before, you could set up a landing page that non-fans would see when they visited a brand’s page, like a competition page – this isn’t possible anymore. Any Facebook user now sees the main Timeline view, and will have to click through to the custom apps. This unfortunately means custom apps for contests, promotions and the like may receive far fewer clicks than before, because you can’t actively send people there.

Brands could also use “Like-gates” on their default landing page, meaning users had to like a page to use an app. While this is still allowed, it’s not nearly as powerful since people aren’t landing on that page automatically.

Private Messages to brands

Another innovation, Page Timelines allow users to send direct, private messages to your Page as a default. We suggest you keep this – it’s a great customer service channel where people can raise concerns without the being discussed publicly. And, if users are complaining publicly on your wall, you can ask them to message without clogging up your page with the details.

You will need to consistently monitor and respond to messages though, or you’ll risk annoying your fans and being accused of ignoring them. Also be aware brand’s can’t send messages, but can only respond to users that have already contacted you.

Pinning and highlighting important posts.

With Timeline, you can “pin” one of your posts to the top left spot of the your feed for a week. The feature gives you significant control what visitors to a Page see first. It’s a great way to direct users to a competition you’re running, to changes on your pages or any other information you don’t want them to miss. You can also pin a link to your website at all times.
You can also select to Highlight important posts throughout your Timeline – they will then appear the full width of the Page.

It’s worth going through your entire Timeline and Highlight all your best photos and links that are still relevant, as well as hiding or deleting posts that have expired information, have broken links, or are embarrassing. You should also Highlight user posts that are especially positive.

Milestones

You can also publish milestones now, in addition to the usual statuses, photos and video. These could include things like your founding date, 1,000th customer…anything you deem a milestone for your brand. They appear full width on the page.

And what’s new Behind the Scenes?

Admin Panel

Rather than sending admins to a separate interface, the new Admin Panel drops down and appears overlaid over Timeline when you click it. It displays recent activity, Page Messages, new Likes, and a snapshot of your Insights data, each of which can be drilled into for a more detailed look. A “Manage” button on the Admin Panel reveals the “Edit Page” option where you can configure all your Page’s settings including whether fans can post to your Timeline and who can see those posts.

Activity Log

Here you can see every post your Page has ever published, as well as all those by users mentioning your brand. Activity Log makes it easy for you to curate your Timeline; you can highlight posts here, allow them to appear if Facebook deems them relevant, or hide them from view. Posts written directly on your Page’s Timeline may also be deleted.

Have you upgraded your brand’s page to Timeline yet? Link to it in the comments so we can check it out. And check out the jobs.co.nz page here – we’re rocking Timeline already.