So, let's say you're doing everything right when it comes to job searching in the 21st century - you've got a great network of contacts, your resume is really telling your story, and you even have your virtual outposts (Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, etc.) - tailored to show the world why they should hire you. Yet, one day, you log into your LinkedIn account - the one with hundreds of professional connections, your virtual resume, and recommendations from co-workers - and instead of being greeted by your normal welcome page, you're confronted with this:

Profile Not Found

According to a recent post at JibberJobber, this nightmare is coming true for one user whose account was mistaken for that of a spammer. What's more, LinkedIn claimed that they couldn't reinstate her account, or restore any of her contacts and information. Clearly, this demonstrates an important lesson in "career management 2.0": Always, always maintain backups of everything!

Whether it's your resume, your list of connections, or copies of correspondence with potential employers, you need to maintain multiple copies of the computer files as well as back-up printouts irreplaceable information - like your database of contacts. The post at JibberJobber gives tips for saving your LinkedIn information, but you also need to set aside time to back up all your career information - both online and off. Don't let a technological snafu sideline your job search!

www.jobbbound.com

Facebook, MySpace, and personal blogs are a fun way to network with friends, but can this seemingly harmless tool ruin your chances of getting that dream job? College graduates and young professionals do not have many past bosses or employers, so some companies are turning to the Internet to run informal background checks.

A 2007 survey by Ponemon Institute found that:

-35 percent of hiring managers use Google to do online background checks on job candidates

-23 percent look people up on social networking sites.

-About one-third of those Web searches lead to rejections, according to the survey.

A study by another workforce consulting firm showed that 66 percent of Generation Y respondents, those in their late teens and 20s, were not aware that the information they put online can be factored into hiring decisions. Fifty-six percent said they think the practice is unfair.

Unfair or not, there is not much legislation out there that guards against discriminating against questionable Facebook profiles. Play it safe and keep your profile G-rated if you're serious about securing a good job.

www.jobbound.com

Years ago, there were not many job changes much less many "career changes." Most people got a job, and they worked at that company for 35 years until they retired with their gold watch.

Nowadays, it is not odd for people to have several different careers in their lifetime. Recruiting directors are becoming more attuned and aware of this trend, so it is not as difficult to make a career change if you go about it the right way.

There are a few secrets of making a successful career change:

1. Gain relevant experiences. You want to get experiences outside of your current line of work that directly relate to the job you want. If you know you want to leave your banking job to write for your favorite travel magazine, start writing on the side and building your portfolio. If you want to switch from teaching to event planning, plan your class's graduation event to gain relevant experience. And if you want to leave journalism for marketing, check out your newspaper's marketing department before heading out.

You can also take classes, pick up new hobbies, or join industry organizations to acquire relevant skills and get in tune with the environment of your new field.

2. Create a summary section on your resume or highlight transferable skills. A summary can be a great way to show relevant skills when you don't have the exact background a company is seeking. Again, if a Recruiting director is looking for a marketing professional, the most recent job may throw him or her off. By starting with a summary, you can actually match what you have done with the job description.

You also want to pinpoint the skills you gained in your past experiences that directly parlay to the job you want. Paint a clear picture for the recruiting director. You want them to see the skills and assets you have that transfer smoothly to their industry.

3. Make the best out of the experiences. Even if you don't have perfectly relevant experience, you want to sound as good as possible. In addition to hard skills, employers are also looking for soft skills, such as a strong work ethic, accomplishment, communication skills, management skills, etc. By showing you have done well in your past jobs, a potential employer will see you can be an asset to the organization.

www.jobbound.com

Ah, the old, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" question. This certainly ranks up there as one of the most vexing probes an interviewer can ask.

Like many interview questions, it's less important what you say and more important how you say it. Candidates often think there's a "right" answer to this one - something like, "I'd of course like to be the VP of Sales at this company in 10 years, and then COO by the time I'm 33, and naturally President of your organization in the year 2037."

The good news is that no interviewer is looking for a response like that. Instead, they are just trying to get a sense of your overall goals and aspirations and see if those may fit into what the company can offer. They don't expect that you'll be working at the company for the next 35 years, but they also don't want to hear that you are planning to "give it a shot" for three months. In fact, in my more than 1,000 interviews I heard some pretty bad responses to this question.

Here's what you DO NOT want to say:

"I'd like to work here for a little while, get some experience, and then go make some real money."

-"I just need to get some experience on my resume before I go to grad school next year."

-"Heck, I barely know what I want to do tomorrow, let alone what I'd like to do in the long term."

The way to properly deal with this question is to think about it in more broad terms. What are your goals? What do you want out of your career? Even if you have no idea what you want to do, you probably have a sense for the type of work environment you like. Then take some of those thoughts, tie them in with a few strengths you have, and speak generally.

Here's a good response:

"I love working with people and I consider myself a fairly competitive person. That's why this job in sales appeals to me. At some point in my career, I'd like to be in a manager role since I've had success as a leader. Ultimately, it would be wonderful to be running a company, but that will be quite a ways down the road. As long as the company feels like I'm contributing and as long as I continue to develop and grow, I can see myself in a career like this one for a while."

You haven't made any commitments to them, and you also haven't said you're planning to walk out the door in a year. What you have done is shown them that you've thought a bit about your future and that you could be a good match for their company.

www.jobbound.com

1. People with Bachelors degrees earn an average of ___ more income in their lifetime than non-college graduates.

A. 98% B. 75% C. 45% D. 35%

2. People with Masters degrees earn ___ more in their lifetime than non-college graduates.

A. 170% B. 120% C. 75% D. 50%

3. ___ of people surveyed would move from their current employer to a company that is more environmentally friendly.

A. 35% B. 25% C. 5% D. 1%

4. ___ of respondents plan to seek jobs with shorter commuting times.

A. 50% B. 32% C. 15% D. 9%

5. Fortune 500 companies with the highest percentage of ___ on their boards saw equity returns 53 percent higher than companies with the fewest number of ___ on their boards.

A. Millionaires B. Women C. Lawyers D. Investment bankers

6. Nearly ___ of workers ages 18 to 34 say they have been subjected to age discrimination.

A. 70% B. 25% C. 10% D. 3%

7. ___ of respondents claim to have "witnessed or experienced" ageism but didn't report it out of fear they would be viewed as troublemakers.

A. 93% B. 57% C. 25% D. 10%

8. ___ of U.S. employees say their organizations have used e-mail, instead of face-to-face meetings, to notify people about layoffs and firing.

A. 45% B. 10% C. 5% D. 1%

9. Two-thirds of employers of college grads said they paid those who had internship experience about ___ more than those who didn't.

A. 21% B. 9% C. 4% D. 1%

10. ___ Americans will leave some of their vacation - an average of three days -on the table.

A. 52.1 Million B. 13 Million C. 3.7 Million D. 1.1 Million

-Sources include U.S. Department of Commerce, Workforce Management and NACE

ANSWERS:

1.) A 2.) A 3.) C 4.) D 5.) B

6.) B 7.) A 8.) B 9.) B 10.) A

Jobbound.com

Let's be honest, nobody really likes looking for a job. And although the task of finding a job may seem tough to tackle, it's really quite simple when you compare it to one of your favorite pastimes: dating.

Just like talking about your ex-boyfriend or burping out the alphabet is a sure-fire way to blow a date, there are some things you just don't want to do when trying to find a job. If you apply these dating guidelines to the job search, you are sure to find a dream job that is a perfect fit for you.

1. Don't be afraid of rejection. It is going to happen. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. Just like dates, there will be some companies that just are not that into you. Do not get discouraged; the right one is sure to come along. Rejection is just part of the game. Sure it hurts the first few times, but just like striking out when asking someone out, you tend to get used to it.

2. Don't use the same old line. "Do you have a map? Because I am getting lost in your eyes." Guess what pal, it has been done before! Sadly, most cover letters I read had been done before too. Just like a good pick-up line, a cover letter should leave the recruiting director begging to know more. No one is going to read a full page four paragraph, single spaced cover letter that repeats what is already on your resume. For your cover letter, short, catchy, and non-cheesy is the best way to go.

3. Don't tell them what you think they want to hear. Just like a smart date, recruiting directors can see through your answers that are too good to be true. Your date won't buy the fact that for fun you save baby whales from haphazard environments, and the recruiting director won't buy the fact that being a perfectionist is your worst "weakness." Be honest, interesting, and yourself.

4. Don't be a stalker. There is a fine line between being persistent and being a stalker. If the recruiting director hasn't gotten back to you, don't call every 5 minutes and then hang up. They probably have caller ID, and they're officially scared of you. After calling once, leave them a message telling them how to reach you.

5. Don't always listen to your mom. Just because your mom says the electric orange sweater makes you look cute, doesn't mean you should wear it on your first date. When it comes to resumes and interviews, your parents mean well, but they don't always give you the best advice.

If you keep these tips in mind, the job search won't be half as grueling. Sure dating can be tough, but it definitely pays off when the right match is there and the same can be said for the job search.

Jobbound.com

In my travels, I often meet students who are a little worried about life after graduation and in the "real world." You've got pressures to land the perfect job in the perfect city for the perfect amount of money, vacation time, and benefits. You have to write an amazing resume, dazzle the interviewers, and network like crazy! Quite honestly, these demands can be overwhelming and immobilizing.

Fortunately, I have some tips to make getting a job a little easier. You can procrastinate and try to avoid your encroaching graduation date, but the truth is "Tomorrow Never Dies", and you'll be accepting your diploma before you know it!

"I'll NEVER get a job!." Does this sound familiar? Never Say Never Again. Begin by breaking down your ultimate goal of getting a job into smaller steps. Write your goals down.

To start, create a detailed, written description of each of your goals, using the SMART criteria as a guideline:

**Specific. You can describe the details.

**Measureable. You can measure the goal using either quantitative or qualitative assessments.

**Acheivable. You can achieve the goal.

**Reachable. The goal is realistic given existing constraints, such as time and resources.

**Time Bound. You must achieve the goal within a specified time frame.

Examples of SMART goals:

1. To complete my resume and have it proofread and critiqued by four people by February 17, 2007.

2. To give my resume to five alumni in my industry by July 27, 2007.

3. To set up and complete three informational interviews with three alumni members of my business association by August 1, 2007.

4. To attend four educational workshops sponsored by the career center by graduation.

5. To have three mock interviews before my job interview with IBM on August 15, 2007.

6. To create two resumes, one targeting Public Relations firms and the other targeting Advertising firms, before the university career fair on September 6, 2007.

7. To research my industry salary range, my city's cost of living, and standard benefits plans before my second round of interviews with IBM on August 15, 2007.

Set small goals, and you'll be gainfully employed before you know it!

Brad Karsh www.jobbound.com