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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

College Students AND Those Who Just Graduated Here Are Some Twittering Tips When Seeking A Job

Ok, so you’re a student in a college or you have just graduated and through your conversations with recruiters, friends and colleagues, you’ve created a Twitter account like everybody else in these social networking worlds. However, Twitter is so much different than Facebook and LinkedIn. It’s more of a water cooler-type setting between humans. In fact, a friend of mine didn’t believe it either, that was until she secured a very desirable internship in the engineering field last summer at Apple because of Twitter. So the question you should be asking yourself is this “how do I use Twitter to feel personal and professionally? Simple, begin with these basic steps and you will expand naturally.

Step A) Start searching and following twitter accounts that post internships and jobs.  Some twitter accounts I would suggest following:  @internships  @sweetcareers  or @internmatch  they are among many that have a ton of internships which each post, along with tips for finding ones.

Step B) Search and follow twitter accounts by respected members of that field, as well as companies, and business groups. For example, if you’re interested in working for Bing follow twitter @Bingjobs, Microsoft_Jobs  @microsoft_jobs or XBOX360 follow @xbox360careers follow people you want to engage with. I would also follow individuals who could help you.

Step C) Clean up your tweets, no more “Going to get drunk and stupid tonight, PARTY!” Please tweet intelligently, yes you can have humor, fun, real however if you are using it as a possible finding a job, start posting interesting articles that you find online, and ADD YOUR OWN INSIGHT TO THEM. Re-tweet interesting posts the professionals you follow, post or add your own insight to them. Replay to Direct Messages, engage in conversations. The main issue of importance here is to be engaged and interact on a PROFESSIONAL LEVEL with these people you now follow. Remember, these people are full of connections, and that is what Twitter is about! Try to make actual connections with these people. See if there are Facebook fanpages that can allow you to post your blog reviews on article’s, etc. a great way to show your involvement within the social networking

Step D) Keep your eye out for job and internship posts. The above mentions are just  some I mentioned, but Twitter is becoming an awesome place to connect and be informed about opportunities! Don’t be afraid to engage with a professional (through direct messages or reply to their tweets) for suggestions on how to get in touch with an industry/company you’re interested in. Most fellow tweeters are people who want to help others, if you genuinely ask for help, someone will answer the call.

Honestly, Twitter is just a tool and it won’t get a job for you, however it’s really what you do with this and other tools to find possibilities! Use these tools to find your voice, connect with others it’s really that simple! Final thought, Twitter is an extension of you, and it can be used for giving as well as getting to meet people while making connections that would otherwise be impossible

Posted via email from Kay Kelison's Digital-Log

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A Helpful Search Tip: Using Bing Search Preferences by Kay Kelison

Using Bing Search Preferences

Bing, is a solid tool for searching the web, as a principal sourcer for Bing/Microsoft I thought I would help users be more productive and effective in their searches.  Bing provides users a customizable Search Preferences as an easy way to do basic personalization of how your search engine results are displayed. By using Bing search preferences you can customize settings such as the display language, default geographic location, number of search results to display per page, etc

Many of the Bing search preferences settings are similar to the Google. To access the Bing search preferences click on the Extras link in the top right-hand corner.

A drop down list will appear where you can click on the Preferences link that will lead to a page that is divided into two sections General Settings and Web Settings

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General Settings – Bing Search Preferences

1.       Safe Search: there are three levels for filtering web content and potentially blocking or allowing sexually explicit content. The three settings available are: No filtering of sexually explicit content; Moderate filtering (sexually explicit images and videos); and Strict filtering (sexually explicit text, images and videos). Each is followed by an explanation of what is filtered. You can also report offensive links that the filters might miss by clicking on the “filtering offensive sites” link below the buttons. Bing search preferences for Safe Search are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Safe Search

2.  Location: by entering a city and state or a Zip Code you can help Bing present results that are the most relevant for searches related to geography. Geographically related search examples might be shopping, maps, or other results where the physical location is important. You can also leave this blank if you prefer no geographic affiliation. Bing search preferences for Location are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Location

3.  Display: this option allows you to choose a specific language for the display and layout in Bing. Changing this option does not affect the language of the actual search results. Click the drop down arrow to select a different language Bing search preferences for Display are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Display Language

4.    Results: This option can be quite useful in boosting search productivity as it directly controls how your results are displayed. The drop down arrow next to show allows you to select how many search results are displayed on each search results pages. The default is ten results (or links) per results page with the options available ranging from 10 to 50 results per page.

Web  Settings – Bing Search Preferences - these settings apply only to your Web search results

The check box allows you to tell Bing whether to open new page or to use your current page when you click on a link in the search results. By checking this box when you click on a link in the search results that Bing has displayed Bing will keep your current search page open and open the link you clicked on in a new page or tab. If you leave this unchecked Bing will replace the search results page with the page from the link you clicked on. Highly suggest that you check this box. Bing search preferences for Results are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Results Options

5.    Search suggestions: This option allows Bing to display suggestion as you enter text into the search box. With this search preference checked Bing will offer possible suggestions to complete the word or phrase as you type. This can be a big help in decreasing the amount of typing you need to do as Bing completes the word or phrase for you. It can also be very helpful if you are not sure of the correct spelling of a word or phrase as Bing will offer suggestions with the correct spelling. The only real downside of turning Search Suggestions on is that it can sometimes be distracting. Bing search preferences for Search Suggestions are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Search Suggestions

6.    Search Language: this option allows you to limit your searches to content written in a specific language. In setting a language it is generally best to search in any language and only select a specific language if you are looking for content only in that specific language. The image below is only a partial view of the languages available. An example of some of the languages available in Bing search preferences are shown below.

Bing Search Preferences - Search Language

7.   Important: Remember to click on the “Save Settings” button at the bottom of the screen to save your new settings or they will not be saved.

Customizing search preferences can be a real productivity booster regardless of the search engine you are using. Mine… of course is Bing J

Posted via email from Kay Kelison's Digital-Log

What Are You Thankful For This Year?

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

Here we are again, celebrating another Thanksgiving. What a blessing it is been for me to be a part of an awesome team, Online Service Division/BING. Thank you all for the experience I take with me as I move into my new role as a Program Manager for the Microsoft Diversity Recruiting Team/DRIVE.

I strive to remember every day of the year how lucky I am, and each year as Thanksgiving approaches I make a special effort to say THANK YOU not only for my blessings, but for the blessings of my friends (work and non-work folks) and family.

While many of us will be sitting down to tables laden with all manner of great foods, try to remember that some people are not that fortunate. Some will be standing in soup lines; some will have to wait for someone to bring them a meal, and sadly, some will go to bed hungry too. With that said, let's try to be more thankful for all the fortunes we have AND let's remember to give something back, even if it’s a dollar or two.

Posted via email from Kay Kelison's Digital-Log

Thursday, November 11, 2010

If A Link Is On Your Resume, Employers Will Click On It

Hiring managers as well as Recruiters will almost always click on the provided links to look at your web site if it's listed. We will would try to find out as much about the candidate as we can, including looking up the person online.  Even if it's not on your resume, if your blog, or profile contains information on your real identity, the people you least expect, and those that you certainly don't want reading it, may find it. Like your boss or prospective employers, but, also your customers, colleagues and coworkers.

So Here’s My Do's and Don'ts Advice

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Web Sites, and Blogs

·         Don't include a link on your resume to any site which may have inappropriate content that is not appropriate for a business audience.

·         Do be very careful what you put online. If you have a MySpace or Facebook account, people you won't want to be reading your profile may be able to access it, even if you think nobody will read it. Make your account private, so only your friends can access it. Be extra careful, and don't post anything that you don't want a prospective employer (or your mom!) to read.
Facebook Privacy Settings  or MySpace Privacy Settings

·         Do consider creating a personal web site, if you're unemployed, specifically related to your job search including your resume, samples, your portfolio, and certifications. Include only professional and academic information. Or use your profile on sites like LinkedIn to promote your experience.

·         Don't list your blog on your resume unless it's relevant to the career field / position that you are interviewing for.

·         Do consider starting a blog related to your career interests. If you, for example: consider blogging about industry trends, news and related topics.

·         Do create a job search blog. There's a trend toward job seekers blogging to target their job search and market their skills. A job search blog can help with your job search and give you exposure, but, again, remember who might be reading it

·         Do be careful what you blog/post. Keep in mind that just about anything that is online can be read by everyone. If you don't want the world to read what you've posted, make sure they can't.

Posted via email from Kay Kelison's Digital-Log

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Free Advice From A Recruiter

Please consider your online presence! Which means those pictures of you doing a wet t-shirt contest should be removed on Facebook. I have a friend who has a job interview this week and she just emailed me to remove a ton of pictures I have of her up on Flickr, a social site where people look for you, too.  While you may have went and made them all private, Bing and other search engines still have cached images of those photos.  I had emailed her ages ago when I first posted those pictures, to let me know if anything should be removed. No response. Now, when it is already cached, she wants to do something about it. So I guess this is more like start considering your online presence way before you apply for a job - because some things will come back to haunt you. As a recruiter, I think it’s important to start a conversation on this topic. I also don’t suggest removing everything about you off of the channels. To me it looks odd and just looks sketchy. If I search for someone and find nothing, I know that the channels have been sanitized, and this person has something to hide. Or, even worse, they don’t realize what a powerful communication channel these channels are, and haven’t figured out how to positively leverage the internets.

Kay Kelison CIR, ACIR, CDR | Talent Sourcer

Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group (APS)
kaykel@microsoft.com| advertising.microsoft.com

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Posted via email from Kay Kelison's Digital-Log