By Darcy Rezac, Judy Thomson and Gayle Hallgren-Rezac. www.workthepond.com

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Few people are born networkers; most of us have to work at it. Networking can be daunting to many, especially when you’re attending an event and you don’t know anyone. With a few tips and practice, networking can help you build your business connections, make new friends and connect people, and boost your confidence. BN360 members are encouraged to network as much as possible at our events!

1. A Better Way to Network:
The seminal secret of positive networking is ‘discovering what you can do for someone else’. It’s about opening a relationship, not closing a sale. When you network this way, it takes all the pressure off – guaranteed.

2. Become a Super Connector:
Great networkers enjoy connecting people. The secret of discovering what they can do for someone else is part of their DNA (Dynamic Networking Ability). When you find out what that something is, it’s not enough to think about it, they do it. ‘Work the Pond!’ calls this high level of awareness.

3. Treat Everyone Like Royalty:
Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. Avoid rushing to rank your contacts in The Frog Chain. It makes life a whole lot easier than trying to figure who’s who. Besides, one person’s frog may be another person’s prince or princess.

4. The Gentle Art of Conversation:
A key quality of great networkers is their style of conversation. They are focused, listen carefully and are non-confrontational in their style. Some good Chinese advice: Do not remove a fly from your friend’s forehead with a hatchet.

5. Remember me?
Experienced networkers say ‘Nice to see you’ or ‘ Great to see you’. They know it works better than ‘Nice to meet you’. The latter greeting is problematic when that person may respond, ‘We’ve met before.’

6. The Power of Seven:
The minimum number of cards to carry at all times is seven. Most business or association functions have tables set for eight – you will have a card for everyone at your table. But bring more. Remember, you can never have too many cards, only too few. If you forget your cards? Go back and get them – they are that important.

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There are tons of job sites out there, but often during your job search on them you fill find few within a very particular job field or industry. If you want to get a job in a niche industry, it’s even harder. So take a look at the Top 100 Niche Job Sites list here so you can spend more time on effective job boards and land the job you want today.

accounting
• accountingjobstoday
• careerbank.com owned by OnTargetJobs.com
• jobsinthemoney.com owned by Dice.com

administrative
• bizjournals.com
• net-temps.com

advertising
• marketingjobs.com
• talentzoo.com

art
• artjob.org
• artsusa.org

attorney
• lawjobs.com

automotive
• autojobs.com
• automotivejobsonline.com
• needtechs.com

bank
• bankjobs.com
• careerbank.com owned by OnTargetJobs.com
• jobsinthemoney.com owned by Dice.com

callcenter
• callcenterjobs.com

clerical
• net-temps.com

college
• aftercollege.com
• collegegrad.com
• collegerecruiter.com
• universityjobs.com

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Make no mistake about it, writing an effective resume has to be a highly individualized matter, since no two people are alike. Nevertheless, it is such a constricted and standardized format, that we resume writers find ourselves adopting certain phrases or words that each of us tends to prefer and that in fact help our clients get jobs. Every resume writer has his or her own list. Here is mine:

1. “$3,000,000″ (vs. “$3M”) – To a skimmer’s eye, “$3M” looks like three dollars. If you are dealing with big numbers and write out all the zeros, the employer’s eye will find it anywhere on the page, no matter how fast they are skimming through your resume.

2. “Created a database for…” (vs. “Developed a database for…”) – “Developed” is an overused and nondescriptive word. Often databases, procedures, lists, or whatever other job activity you are writing about is something you actually put together (even if you used a standard software program to do it, for example). “Created” is closer to the truth and is certainly much more impressive on your resume.

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If you still have some time to go before you graduate, you have a perfect opportunity to make things easy on yourself when it comes time to look for your first “real” job. Just get some experience related to what you want to do when you graduate. This is a “no-brainer”. Just do it. Nothing (not even a 4.0 GPA) will be more valuable to you as you start looking for that first professional position than some real-for-sure, hands-on, related experience. Even if you have to work for free, do it if you can . . . it’ll pay off in the end. Here’s how to do it.

Where Can I Get Related Experience?

• Internships and Co-op Experience – If you can get into an internship or co-op position related to what you want to do after you graduate, do it. Don’t even think about it . . . just do it! If your school has a career center, they often can help you find these positions. If not, start looking on your own. Target companies in your field and apply to them for summer work. Don’t expect to run the place and don’t expect to make a pile of money. Do expect to gain some valuable experience worth its weight in gold on your resume when you graduate.

• Professors – Is your major chemistry? Volunteer to be a lab assistant to your chemistry professor. Yes, you’re going to spend a lot of time washing laboratory glassware but you may get to watch or participate in some experiments or research along the way, too. And putting this experience on your resume shows that you like working in a lab, otherwise why would you have volunteered to work there when you didn’t have to?

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This article is reprinted with permission of the author, who blogs at Ask a Manager

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There are tons of mistakes people make during job interviews, many minor, many that are detrimental to landing the job. Here we’ve compiled a good list of 9 major mistakes job candidates make during their job interviews. Read on and learn!

1. Pretend you have no weaknesses. Or tell me that your biggest weakness is perfectionism and you work too hard during the job interview. You might as well wear a sign saying, “I’m bullshitting you.” Candidates who can’t or won’t come up with a realistic assessment of areas where they could improve make me think they’re lacking in insight and self-awareness … or, at a minimum, just making it impossible to have a real discussion of their potential fitness for the job. I want to know about your weaknesses at the job interview not because I’m trying to trip you up, but because I genuinely care about making sure you’re a good fit for the job. I don’t want to put you in a job you’ll struggle in, and I definitely don’t want to have to fire you a few months from now. Isn’t it better to lose the job offer now during the interview than the job itself later?

2. Share too much personal info. I once had a job candidate tell me way too much about the sex column she wrote for her campus newspaper during an interview. If I had been talking to her at a party, I would have been fascinated, but it was inappropriate for a job interview.

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Reprinted with permission from wetfeet.com.

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There is no one best way to write a resume; there are no absolutes. Every career counselor and recruiter has his or her own take on resume writing. Even the formatting you use and the positions you list depend on the industry, the specific job, and your experience. But amid all the potentially conflicting opinions, there is some agreement on common resume myths.

1. Your resume must be only one page.

False. “Your resume should be as long as needed [in order] to get your concise message across with zip and punch,” says Joyce Lain Kennedy, careers columnist and author of Resumes for Dummies. If your experience and background justifies two or more pages, so be it. Recent grads shouldn’t go beyond one page, but senior executives with decades of experience will probably need at least two pages.

The rules are slightly different for resumes sent via e-mail. Laura Dominguez Chan, a Stanford University career counselor, says that in that instance, shorter is better for both cover letters and resumes.

2. Prospective employers don’t read cover letters.

False. “Remember that anything you send is part of an image you’re projecting,” says Dominguez Chan. “If [nothing else,] your cover letter shows your writing skills…and if all the candidates [for the position] really are top notch, it could be the cover letter that lands you the job.”

3. Resumes should include and describe your entire work history.

False. Your resume is a sales piece, a personal marketing tool. Take time to consider what skills the position requires. It’s likely that a part-time job you took for a few months isn’t going to be relevant or impressive. Unless you need to cover a significant time gap, it’s wise to include only those jobs that will showcase your ability to excel in the position for which you’re applying.

Volunteer and other non-paid positions can be just as valuable as paid ones—especially if you’re a recent grad or are re-entering the workforce after an absence. Use your resume format to communicate volunteer work as experience.

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Sure you might have the education, skills, experience, and go-getter attitude, but this all means nothing if you can’t actually get in CONTACT with an employer. In fact this is a huge obstacle to many job seekers looking for work – but it shouldn’t be! Watch this video and learn some inside tips on how to make contact with employers successfuly.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5QpSRhvCIE

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In some cases, telephone interviews are a way for employers to “pre-screen” possible job candidates before they are granted an in-person interview. In other cases, employers will conduct the full interview over the phone. Whether you are required to go through a pre-screening or have already been given the interview, you must be more prepared than you would be for an in-person interview, even if you are allowed to interview in your PJ’s. Below are some telephone interview tips to keep in mind so your next phone interview is a success.

Telephone Interview Tips

1. Use a landline. You don’t want to risk having problems with cell phone service. It is irritating for employers to conduct interviews if the call breaks up frequently or is dropped completely. If you don’t have a land line at home, just make sure you are in an area with as much cell phone service as possible. Do what you can so the process runs as smooth as possible.

2. Keep your materials handy. In fact, lay everything out in front of you. This includes your resume, notes about your career objective (even if it isn’t included in your original cover letter it’s a good idea to have this out depending on the questions he will ask you), a pen and pad of paper for note-taking and anything else you think may be helpful during your interview. Because you won’t have to schlep into an office, you can have anything out in front of you to aid with your success.

3. Steer clear of distractions. Find a quiet place to interview and stay there! There shouldn’t be any noise in the background to distract you or your potential employer. However, it is understandable that this can be tricky if you have young children at home who need your attention. When you set up your interview appointment, try to schedule it for as precise a time or window as possible. That way, you are able to avoid possible distractions (ex.: your phone interview is between 4 and 4:30, so no one can have company over during that time, the kids are fed and occupied or a sitter will watch them, if need be.)

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Reprinted with permission from parentdish.

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Looks like the “MRS” Degree is making a comeback.

For the first time in decades, young adults with college degrees are more likely to walk down the aisle by age 30 than their peers without further education, a new Pew Research Center study reports.

This is a reversal of longtime trends, the study’s experts say, as the struggling economy pushes weddings to all-time lows. As a whole, more younger adults are postponing marriage while they struggle to find work, and those lacking college degrees are seeing sharper declines in marriage.

“There’s a double whammy going on for the people who aren’t college-educated,” Richard Fry, senior research associate at the Pew Research Center who wrote the report, tells CNN.com. “They are facing difficult employment, and they are less likely to enter into marriage and receive the economic benefits marriage provides.”

Two decades ago, Fry tells CNN, those without college degrees were more likely to get married than folks with college degrees. Marriage allowed those without college degrees to offset lower salaries.

But now, according to the study, there has been a significant shift. About 62 percent of college-educated 30-year-olds are married or had been married, compared with 60 percent of those without a bachelor’s degree, the study finds. A decade ago, 75 percent of young adults who didn’t finish college were married, compared to 69 percent of their college-educated counterparts.

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