Wednesday, August 10, 2011

SkillSet 2.0

As promised, here is the link to our new smooth looking blog! - http://skillsetg.wordpress.com/

Thanks very much to Jeffrey Kingman and the Chalkboarder team for their hard work and contributions to our new site!

Head over now and check out our latest article on Freelancing!

As always, thanks for reading!

We're Movin!

As the title suggests, we are in fact moving location later this very day!

To a cool new blog with a lot more functionality, so we can offer a lot more in terms of content and design in the future for you guys!

So we apologize for a bit of a lull content-wise, but don't worry - there'll be a brand new article released later today, both here and on the new blog!

Exciting times...

Stay connected for details later today and a look at the new super-blog!

Friday, August 5, 2011

The Job-Seekers Guide to Twitter - Part 2

After a weeks wait, here it is, part 2 of the Twitter Guide!


Last week we talked briefly about signing up for Twitter, the importance of filling out of your profile in detail and some basic functionality.


This article will explore the @ and # keys in a little more detail, as well as provide some basic examples of Twitter Job Seeking in action.



Search Search..Search


O.k, last time we briefly discussed using the search bar. Now it's time for an in-depth example.
In this scenario, I will be playing the role of a Job Seeker looking for marketing work, either in my home location (Norwich) or some sort of remote position.


1) Sign up for Twitter, fill out my profile in detail and upload a presentable picture.
2) Add all of my friends and anyone that I know, even remotely, to create the largest possible network of contacts.
3) Time to use the search bar.
4) Lets try - marketing work, Norwich
5) This returns no 'Tweets' so we proceed to search through the 'people results' on the right side of the screen.
6) Click 'view all', the small blue text at the top of page, underneath the first line of text.
7) This brings up a large list of everybody who has been indexed with either the terms 'marketing work' or 'Norwich' on their profile. The list will be ordered by relevancy, so all the people with 'marketing work' and 'Norwich' included in their profile description will be at the top of the list.
8) Now, time to build your network.
9) Right click each name as you move through the list, and open them all in new tabs. Go through a few at a time so you don't get confused.
10) Best practice here is to now 'Follow' any person or agency you believe could be helpful to in your job hunt. 
11) So to demonstrate, in my search the second people result comes up as furthersearch, a SEO and marketing agency.
12) You'll want to 'Follow' furthersearch, then move onto the next relevant profile in the search results.
13) It's best to spend anything from 10-30 minutes doing this, 'Follow' any Twitter profile that is of interest to you and make note of those that you really liked the look of.
14) I'd advise to make sure you 'Follow' at least 10-20 Job Aggregation Sites as well as relevant marketing companies. By Job Aggregation Site I mean something like this - Marketing PR Jobs
15) This way you've got the best of both worlds and you should receive a steady stream of jobs pop up in your Twitter feed - worst comes to worst you can apply for a job you're not that keen on to keep your funds up while you continue your search.


Bear in mind that the 'Search bar' a lot of the time won't return a list of 'Tweets', so just browse the people results to the right - straight to the organ grinder so to speak.


Right, so now you know how to use the 'Search' bar to suit your purpose.


Search, Follow, Hello?


So now you're following a bunch of new agencies and people, what now?


Well here comes the easy part. Talking to people and spending a week or two building a presence.
Better yet - you may not even have to. If you spent a decent amount of time 'Following' relevant Twitter profiles, it's now as simple as playing the waiting game.


1) The Twitter profiles you chose to 'Follow' through the search function should now periodically post 'Tweets' that pop up in your Twitter feed (your Twitter home page)
2) All you have to do - is wait. Monitor your feed every hour and apply, apply and apply.
3) Many of the Job Aggregation Sites post new jobs every few hours, a lot of these jobs will not require a lot of relevant experience and if anything can serve as stepping stones to building your employability profile if you can't see yourself there long-term.
4) For the company profiles or individuals you chose to follow - you may have noticed you can't directly message them, as they aren't 'Following' you.
5) How can I fix this? In some instances this can be difficult - if you chose to follow very large Twitter profiles with thousands of followers, however, most Twitter profiles will generally respond to your messages if they are polite and well thought out.
6) For example - you've just started following a local marketing agency, how do you get them to notice you?
7) Pay attention to what they are saying, or what they are Tweeting! If they post a question and you feel you have an informed answer (try not to be too opinionated) let them know.
8) Retweet some of their content - if they post useful or informative content, hit the little re-tweet content beneath the link.
9) @ mention them. In your Twitter status post something nice and complimentary about the company.
10) Reply to their Tweets. Another option you have is 'Replying' to 'Tweets' posted by the profile. For example, they post an article relating to current events and you decide to reply with your two cents, perhaps agreeing with their point of view. Once you have 'Replied' to their Tweet - your now on their radar. They may not immediately 'Follow' you out of courtesy, but give it time and show a genuine interest - these things can take time.


Well, that should be enough for the time being! If you follow the easy steps in this guide then it should be only a matter of time before you're able to land a job - and from the comfort of your home, with little to no effort on your part. You can't ask for much more then that!


You may be pleased to know that as the Job Seekers Guide to Twitter has been such a success  and due to the large number of requests for more content we've received - we've decided to begin production of a Job Seekers Guide to Twitter Ebook! 


What will the EBook cover?


1) Everything mentioned in Part 1 and 2 in heaps more detail, broken down to the basics.
2) Tons more detailed examples as well as step by step guides to forging the relationships you need to land the top jobs
3) Insights from several marketing experts on how to sell yourself correctly
4) A list of the top Twitter profiles to follow for each major trade and industry
5) Everything you could possibly need to land a job via Twitter!


Stay connected for details coming soon - expected sometime early September!


Thanks for reading!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

SkillSetG On AllTop?

Yes, tis indeed the truth. Our humble blog has managed to land a place in amongst the greats on the mighty AllTop.


Find our blog listed here - http://career.alltop.com/ - at the bottom right of the page, as the newest blog to grace the AllTop careers page!


Remember to put the word out so we can keep on upping our game and producing original, high quality content!


Also, we'd like to say thank-you to some awesome people we've met along the way and recommend you check them out too! A big thanks to JobHopJulie and Prasoon Gupta for being so welcoming and a great source of advice and motivation!


But most of all, thanks to you, our readers, for...well... reading :)


The beginning of many more exciting things to come!


Stay connected  for the Job Seekers Guide to Twitter, Part 2! coming in the next day or so!