Social Media Networking - be prepared for all that comes with it.

The last 5 years has seen a vast change in social media networking with the rising of the Facebook era/Myspace/Twitter etc. With the advancement of the Net, there have been tremendous benefits with regards to networking and creating exposure for almost all individuals, professionals, housewives, teenagers and of course job seekers and employers.


There is huge responsibility that comes with the exposure as these mediums of social networking also allows for quite an invasion into ones private life, which at first may be quite exciting, but for the job seeker, be sure that your profiling reflects what you would want a prospective employer to know about you.


Take the following into consideration:-


1. Be cautious about expressing fanatical religious and political views.
2. Limit your use of profanity even in jest. Yes we live in judgmental society where we are judged and we happily return the favour.
3. Do you use your blog/facebook page to vent about how boring your existing job is, how your boss is menopausal.
4. Be cautious about spreading your personal vents/arguments about your love life, a day in your life shouldn't reflect an epic episode of 'The Bold and The Beautiful' in which your lazy messy significant other is a total moron.
5. Be cautious about making media announcements about up and coming interviews - duh.
6. Your likes and dislikes - 'nude carwash facebook page' 'men were born to serve page' - all reflect your character and total image - you are YOUR BRAND.




Your reaction to the above may be that you live your life for yourself and really couldn't care, 'accept me as I am" you exclaim! - When you have children to feed, bills piling up, losing your home to repossession and unable to feed yourself as you're going on your 6month of being unemployed, I think you may think twice about a nonchalant attitude.


This being echoed quite loudly from my insides, please do enjoy your networking, it will and can bring so  many opportunities. what you reflect is what you will attract back. A prospective employer will shy away/more like run from a constant complainer or someone who openly starts his weekend on Thursday.


Walk your talk, there is no point sitting in interviews expressing what a positive and enthusiastic individual you are when your facebook status exclaims quite the contrary. Remember social media isn't 100% guaranteed to be private and safe.


A professional networking tool is LINKEDIN.COM, set up a professional profile there, detailing your cv and experience and your existing details and if you are indeed in the market for opportunities, this is another excellent way to connect to the right individuals. This is free and invaluable for a jobseeker/professional seeking local and International networking.


I hear a lot from clients, as somehow with the growth of the Internet we are all networked somehow by friends, clients and co workers, so keep it professional, well atleast keep it clean:)


Wishing you the absolute best.
Melinda@hrcorp.co.za

Anticipate these questions in your interview.

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why are you interested in this position?
3. What would you do for us that someone else can’t?
4. What about this position do you find most attractive? Least Attractive?
5. How long would it take for you to make a meaningful contribution?
6. How do you describe your personality?
7. What would you say are the major personal traits/qualities this job demands?
8. Describe to me how this job would relate to the overall goals of the company?
9. What aspects of your job do you like best?
10. What aspects of your current job do you like the least?
11. Of all the work you have done, where have you been the most successful?
12. How do you make yourself indispensable to a company?
13. Why do you want to work in this position?
14. What do you look for in a job?
15. What are the three most important responsibilities of this position?
16. How long would you stay working at a position such as this?
17. What do you see yourself doing ten years from now?
18. Tell me about a time when your course load was heavy. How did you complete all your work?
19. Tell me about a time when you had to accomplish a task with someone who was particularly difficult to get along with.
20. If you were hiring for this job, what would you look for?
21. What are you looking for in a job?
22. Why should we hire you?
23. What would your most recent employer say about you if we asked?
24. Have you ever been asked to leave a position?
25. What salary are you seeking?
26. What is your greatest strength? Weakness?
27. Do you have any questions for us? 

 Top Management Questions

1. What is your management style?
2. What did you look for when you hired people in the past?
3. What do you see as being the most difficult task in being a manager?
4. What is your biggest weakness as a manager?
5. How many people did you supervise on your last job?
6. Give of an example of problem that occurred with a subordinate and how did you resolve it?
7. How do you motivate others?
8. Give of an example of a training program you lead or created?
9. Please give an example of your experience with budgets or project management? What are you strengths in the area?

The questions above will give you an idea of what you can expect, try answering them on your own and if its sounds like you would hire you, then it is probably a good answer. If you need further help, email me, Melinda@hrcorp.co.za

10 Best Times to Apply for a Job.

1. When you need one - of course.
2. When you're in a job. 
3. During holidays, most candidates go away with their families and stop their job job search, so your chances of being shortlisted for a position that needs to be filled immediately are greater. The market can play in your favour at times like these.
4. Watch the media for companies expanding & merging. New staff will almost always be a prerequisite. Watch the media for companies who win tenders and also  recruitment agents that win tenders and apply immediately.
5. Try not to wait until your situation is desperate forcing you to take anything, plan ahead. If your present employer brings up retrenchments etc. start applying immediately, scan the market and alert agents that you are on the lookout for opportunities.
6. When you've spent the last 2 years in your job, complaining that you haven't grown at all, are underpaid, hate your job (you get the picture). The time to apply in this scenario is yesterday.
7. When you take an assessment of your achievements over the years within your current employer and see that you have progressed substantially with regards to targets and goals but you're unfortunately sitting on the same salary package as when you started.
8. When you haven't received a merit increase in at least the last 2 years.
9. If you salary survey the market and note that candidates in the same jobs as you with similar or less experience and education are earning substantially higher than you, the time to move is now, especially if you have tried negotiating this with your current employer.
10. When you are fortunate enough to be headhunted for your expertise, it is often the best time to negotiate an excellent package. Of course taking into account that this opportunity will aid your career in the right direction.


Hope this helps!
Wishing you the absolute best in your job search.


Melinda@hrcorp.co.za

HOW NOT TO GET A JOB - PART 2

Part 2


* Chew gum as loudly as possible.
* Talk salary immediately, make it clear you are only about 'the buck' and certainly not here to advance your career and grow within the organisation.
* Make it clear that you HAVE to leave by 5pm everyday as you watch that clock and will not put in one extra minute if it does not involve an extra dime.
* Slate your current employer for the opportunity he has give you for the last 5 years
* Be sure to convey how you are a free spirit and get bored really easily, thats why you chop and change jobs so much.
* Warn them about your very jealous husband/wife who will be sure to come in to work and make a scene.
* Dont wash your car the day before, as au naturel is so much more refreshing (ie. stinky gym clothes, diapers, cigarettes, last year's burger bun(low carb of course, they'll understand).
*Dont research the company at all, after all you can just 'interview them'.
* Lie if you don't know the answer, they will love your cunning employment of cover up skills.
*Dont smile - life is tough and working sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do..
* Talk religion, they will love to see your pious side - get personal, pray for them and their sins and be sure to convince them that by the end of the day, you will 'save' them.
* Forget their name often through out the interview, Amy - Jane - Susan...they're all the same right?
* Keep your cell phone on, that hot chick may just call...keep your blue tooth on, have to look busy and important and totally not bothered with the babbling from the prospective employer.
*Be sure to mention that they will find someone much better than you, don't make a case as to why you would be suitable at all.
*Yawn, try to have many awkward silences expressing your boredom, slouch and interrupt as much as possible.
*Take your mom or best friend along for the moral support, the more the merrier.
*Ask to use the bathroom...mention all that bran and how it keeps you regular.
*Complain about as much as possible and especially that the interviewer kept you waiting, how dare...
*Check the time continuously.
* Ask her when she's due...
*Recommend Weighless & colonic's.
*Name drop, you're popular and they should know who they're dealing with.




HR Corporation would love to help you, email us your cv for a review if you like, or invest in our e book on our website that will equip you 100%.


Wishing you the absolute best always.
Melinda

HOW NOT TO GET A JOB

These steps will guarantee that you NEVER get that dream job, promotion and even that first interview!

* Send a shabby incomplete un-updated cv, with little information, missing dates, missing employment details, one liner job descriptions, no education details...and no telephone number!
* Respond telephonically to a job advertisement sounding really sleepy, uninterested and having no clue which ad you are responding to.
* Sending a please call me to a job advertisement.* Emailing your cv exposing all recipients as you haven't bothered to personalise for that particular job and just keep endlessly emailing your cv to every advertisement.
* When a client is kind enough to include cell number in the advertisement, be sure to call it late a night or during the weekend.
* Being impatient and rude to receptionist but incredibly polite to agent or client hiring.
* Never following up or trying to build report/relationship with agent.
* Turning up late for your first interview as there was 'traffic' and you 'got lost' or 'your car broke down' 
* Sweaty armpits, smelling like you took a bath in your perfume, untidy unruly hair, dirty nails.
* Making no effort to dress corporately and going dressed for your Sunday barbeque.
* Smelly breathe.
* Tobacco/nicotine/alcohol breathe.
* Sweaty palms, fidgety nervous hands, nose picking, crotch adjusting, overexposed cleavage.
* Pompous arrogant 'know it all' 'been there-done that' attitude
* Resistant to change, have nothing more to learn.
* Laughing so loud bringing back horror memories or karaoke night gone all wrong.
* Inability to listen as too busy blabbing incessantly.
* Not acknowledging all involved in the interview.
* Bringing up personal, emotional issues, deep discussions of about current state of depression and physical ailments.
* Make sure not to say thank you for the interview, that too will leave a lasting impression.


HR Corporation, www.hrcorp.co.za have a fantastic e book available for online purchase that will equip you every step of the way - 'Get Hired Today' - we have over a decades experience in recruitment and WANT to help you.




Best wishes
Melinda

50 New Rules of Work - (Robin Sharma published this inspiring article)

The 50 New Rules of Work

1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable – and to pursue projects that scare you.
2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.
3. Lead you first. You can’t help others reach for their highest potential until you’re in the process of reaching for yours.
4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.
5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.
6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.
7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what’s best for your organization and the customers you serve.
8. Don’t fall in love with your press releases.
9. Every moment in front of a customer is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess – or you don’t).
10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.
11. Become obsessed with the user experience such that every touchpoint of doing business with you leaves people speechless. No, breathless.
12. If you’re in business, you’re in show business. The moment you get to work, you’re on stage. Give us the performance of your life.
13. Be a Master of Your Craft. And practice + practice + practice.
14. Get fit like Madonna.
15. Read magazines you don’t usually read. Talk to people who you don’t usually speak to. Go to places you don’t commonly visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh + hungry + brilliant.
16. Remember that what makes a great business – in part – are the seemingly insignificant details. Obsess over them.
17. Good enough just isn’t good enough.
18. Brilliant things happen when you go the extra mile for every single customer.
19. An addiction to distraction is the death of creative production. Enough said.
20. If you’re not failing regularly, you’re definitely not making much progress.
21. Lift your teammates up versus tear your teammates down. Anyone can be a critic. What takes guts is to see the best in people.
22. Remember that a critic is a dreamer gone scared.
23. Leadership’s no longer about position. Now, it’s about passion. And having an impact through the genius-level work that you do.
24. The bigger the dream, the more important the team.
25. If you’re not thinking for yourself, you’re following – not leading.
26. Work hard. But build an exceptional family life. What’s the point of reaching the mountaintop but getting there alone.
27. The job of the leader is to develop more leaders.
28. The antidote to deep change is daily learning. Investing in your professional and personal development is the smartest investment you can make. Period.
29. Smile. It makes a difference.
30. Say “please” and “thank you”. It makes a difference.
31. Shift from doing mindless toil to doing valuable work.
32. Remember that a job is only just a job if all you see it as is a job.
33. Don’t do your best work for the applause it generates but for the personal pride it delivers.
34. The only standard worth reaching for is BIW (Best in World).
35. In the new world of business, everyone works in Human Resources.
36. In the new world of business, everyone’s part of the leadership team.
37. Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well.
38. You become your excuses.
39. You’ll get your game-changing ideas away from the office versus in the middle of work. Make time for solitude. Creativity needs the space to present itself.
40. The people who gossip about others when they are not around are the people who will gossip about you when you’re not around.
41. It could take you 30 years to build a great reputation and 30 seconds of bad judgment to lose it.
42. The client is always watching.
43. The way you do one thing defines the way you’ll do everything. Every act matters.
44. To be radically optimistic isn’t soft. It’s hard. Crankiness is easy.
45. People want to be inspired to pursue a vision. It’s your job to give it to them.
46. Every visionary was initially called crazy.
47. The purpose of work is to help people. The other rewards are inevitable by-products of this singular focus.
48. Remember that the things that get scheduled are the things that get done.
49. Keep promises and be impeccable with your word. People buy more than just your products and services. They invest in your credibility.
50. Lead Without a Title.

Email me your cv - melinda@hrcorp.co.za