Whats New in JibberJobber!

Whats New in JibberJobber! Last week we did a release that fixed a few bugs here, cleaned up a few bugs there.  I shared this on Friday with my JibberJobber LinkedIn Group (click here to join). Here are three new features that you should know about: The List Panels have been optimized to be faster. Instead of taking a few seconds to load my Contacts List Panel (I have a lot of contacts, so it sometimes took six or seven seconds to load), its now taking about one second.  Im guessing you wont notice this if you have less than a thousand records in any List Panel, but if you have more than that you should notice its just generally faster. Faster = a great enhancement! The Log Entry window now allows you to put in rich text. This means you can make part of your Log Entry highlighted, bold, italicized, hyperlinked, etc. You can also link to images, so if you find an image you like somewhere online, you can show it in the Log Entry. Tracking your Action Items is smarter with the Action Item Notifier (this was not mentioned in my LinkedIn Group Announcement).  This is what youve seen since we introduced this feature a count of all of the open Action Items coming up in one week, on almost every page of JibberJobber: When you went to a Contact, Company or Job Detail Page, it would change to the number of open Action Items for that particular record so you might see 4 most of the time, then go to a Contacts page and see 0.  Confusing, huh?  We changed that so that if you are on a Contact, Company or Job Detail Page, youll see the number of open Action Items for that record, and the number of total open Action Items, like this: This shows that I have 4 open Action Items, and one of them is tied to this particular Contact, Company or Job. There were a number of other miscellaneous enhancements and fixes. If you requested a fix or had a problem, Liz should have already emailed you about the fix. Waiting for something cool to be in JibberJobber? Contact us! Whats New in JibberJobber! Last week we did a release that fixed a few bugs here, cleaned up a few bugs there.  I shared this on Friday with my JibberJobber LinkedIn Group (click here to join). Here are three new features that you should know about: The List Panels have been optimized to be faster. Instead of taking a few seconds to load my Contacts List Panel (I have a lot of contacts, so it sometimes took six or seven seconds to load), its now taking about one second.  Im guessing you wont notice this if you have less than a thousand records in any List Panel, but if you have more than that you should notice its just generally faster. Faster = a great enhancement! The Log Entry window now allows you to put in rich text. This means you can make part of your Log Entry highlighted, bold, italicized, hyperlinked, etc. You can also link to images, so if you find an image you like somewhere online, you can show it in the Log Entry. Tracking your Action Items is smarter with the Action Item Notifier (this was not mentioned in my LinkedIn Group Announcement).  This is what youve seen since we introduced this feature a count of all of the open Action Items coming up in one week, on almost every page of JibberJobber: When you went to a Contact, Company or Job Detail Page, it would change to the number of open Action Items for that particular record so you might see 4 most of the time, then go to a Contacts page and see 0.  Confusing, huh?  We changed that so that if you are on a Contact, Company or Job Detail Page, youll see the number of open Action Items for that record, and the number of total open Action Items, like this: This shows that I have 4 open Action Items, and one of them is tied to this particular Contact, Company or Job. There were a number of other miscellaneous enhancements and fixes. If you requested a fix or had a problem, Liz should have already emailed you about the fix. Waiting for something cool to be in JibberJobber? Contact us!

Personal Branding Interview Larry Weber - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Larry Weber - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Larry Weber, who is the chairman of the Digital Influence Group and the author of the new book Sticks Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over TimeAnd Lost in a Click. In this interview, Larry goes over why brand management is harder to control now, what reputation management tools are out there, what digital reputation equity is, and how to respond to negative brand mentions. Larry, why is brand reputation management harder to control these days as opposed to five or so years ago? The advent of social media allows any citizen, any consumer/customer to voice their opinions â€" good, bad or ugly about any company, any product or service, any issue. A company’s brand is now determined by the dialogue others have about the brand. The stronger the dialogue, the stronger the brand. The weaker the dialogue, the weaker the brand. Companies can no longer completely control their reputations. In a social media world, reputation now equals influence + brand. What three tools and/or strategies can people and companies use to keep track of their digital reputation? There are a lot of tools available â€" some are free and others are more sophisticated and requirement a significant investment. Free tools include Technorati, Rapleaf and BlogPulse. Paid tools include Radian 6, TNS Cymfony and Nielsen BuzzMetrics. Before you use or purchase any of these tools, you really need to figure out you’re objectives and what you’re going to measure. Especially with the paid tools, you want to have a very clear picture of the objectives and metrics. What is digital reputation equity and how can you build it? Digital reputation equity is the sum of the positive online impressions you’ve accumulated over time. It’s the slack someone is willing to cut you or your business when you make a mistake. The greater your reputation equity, the more you can screw up without being destroyed. The lower your reputation equity, the more likely you are to be hammered when you do screw up, If someone says something negative about your brand, how should you respond? Hopefully, your company continuously monitors the environment so you can catch attacks early. When your brand is attacked you should respond â€" don’t go dark or silent because you won’t get away with it. The form of your response depends on the type of attack. If the attack is factually incorrect, provide information to correct the facts. If the attack is criticizing a problem with your product or service, you need to fix the problem first. The tough part here is that the negative attacks â€" especially if they spread like wildfire on the Internet â€" are going to dominate search results for a while. It’s going to take for you to create sufficient new content to push down the relevance of negative results. Can you give an example of how you or your friend has protected their online identity? Sorry but I can’t think of an individual example. I didn’t focus on this for the book. However, I am currently working with Berkman Center for Internet Society and they have going a “law lab” that is working on establishing standards for identity online. - Larry Weber is the chairman of the Digital Influence Group. He founded one of the industry’s first interactive marketing agencies, Thunderhouse, and has worked with world-class clients including Coca-Cola, Pfizer, General Motors, IBM, General Mills, Siemens, and many more.   In 1987, Larry started his own public relations company, The Weber Group, which within a decade became the world’s largest public relations firm. He is the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX), the largest interactive advocacy organization in the world. Larry is the author of the business bestseller Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business and his latest book is called Sticks Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over TimeAnd Lost in a Click.

Unemployed Long Term 4 Ways to Regroup Get Hired

Unemployed Long Term 4 Ways to Regroup Get Hired In 2014, the worst waves of the recent economic slowdown have passed, and the job market is heading down the long road to recovery. In cities where 2008 and 2009 unemployment reached record highs, employers are now reopening their doors and sustainable, promising companies are beginning the application review process. But this isn’t comforting news for laid-off job seekers who still haven’t managed to find their footing. Unemployment may be down and hiring may be up across most industry sectors, but the average job search still lasts between six and eight months. And as long-term unemployed job seekers will tell you, this marathon isn’t for the faint of heart. If you’re approaching (or you’ve long passed) the eight-month mark and you aren’t sure what the future holds for you, don’t give up. For the sake of your family, your creditors, and your eventual retirement, you need to earn a living. But keep in mind that “giving up” does NOT include changing your plans, shifting your focus, starting over from the beginning, or revising your job search strategy. Here are a few regrouping moves to keep on the table if your job search is simply taking too long. Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'VGPLqggiRu9WhpWF7sz6jg',sig:'112ZFEhQaFHu9725HzYS2eYX4Z354D4q59ha7x1y6gE=',w:'499px',h:'344px',items:'145062026',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); 1.   Stop for a week. For one week, don’t submit a single resume. Instead, take the same amount of time you’ve been devoting to your restless, relentless job search and use that time to re-evaluate your mission and redraft your plans. If you’ve been spending all your time online, resolve to spend less time online and more time networking in the real world. 2. Become geographically flexible. If you’ve been looking for work within a 10-mile radius of where you live, expand that radius to 50 miles. If you believe you can’t tolerate a commute of more than an hour, stretch your tolerance to an hour and 30 minutes. You may be pushed beyond your comfort zone, but the reality may not be as bad as you expect. And the rewards may make a long commute seem like a small price to pay. While you’re expanding your commuting distance, it may be time to adjust your willingness to move in order to follow opportunities in your industry. Just this small change in your search can open an avalanche of doors. Talk about the possibility with your family. 3. Take a stepping-stone job. Some employers will try to tell you that it’s sketchy or dishonest to accept a permanent position that you don’t intend to keep forever. Ignore this. There’s nothing wrong with protecting yourself, your career, your finances, and your future by taking a less-than-perfect offer while continuing to search for something better. Don’t announce this plan to your potential employers, but by all means, place it on the table if it isn’t there already. 4. Shift your focus. If you’re searching for work as a mid-level accountant for a private company in the insurance sector and you have no plans to settle for anything outside of this narrow corridor, it’s time to change this attitude. Expand your options, and don’t just expand them across the accounting field. No matter how old you may be, it’s not too late to step into a different industry altogetherâ€"from marketing to hospitality to healthcare. You’ll need a roadmap and you may need to start retraining from square one, but if anyone in the world can tackle these challenges, then so can you. Keep your mind open and be ready to let go of plans and goals that aren’t right for you. LiveCareer, home to America’s #1 Resume Builder, connects job seekers of all experience levels and career categories to all the tools, resources and insider tips needed to win the job. Connect with us on  Google+  and  Youtube  for even more tips and advice on all things career and resume-related.

5 Reasons Why Flex Workers ROCK!

5 Reasons Why Flex Workers ROCK! If you’re an employer looking to fill those coveted jobs, you probably target the same types of candidates. But there’s a whole other section of the workforce you may be overlooking and they’re growing at a rapid pace: Flexible workers. So, what’s so great about them in the first place? And how can they help you to expand your business? This infographic, compiled by  Hourly, an employment network that quickly matches people who are interested in flexible positions with the right opportunities, shows you why flexible employees may be the new rockstars of the workforce. Some takeaways to note include: 40% of employers plan to hire temporary workers this year and more than 80% plan to increase their flexible workforce 39% of temporary workers will transition into full-time jobs Full-time telecommuting can save companies between $20,000 and $37,000 per employee per year Check out the full infographic below and let us know your thoughts in the comments! RELATED: Why Your Business Needs Mobile Recruitment

4 Reasons To Start Freelancing In College and Earn Money from the Dorm CareerMetis.com

4 Reasons To Start Freelancing In College and Earn Money from the Dorm â€" CareerMetis.com Source: Pexels.comMany college first-year students have some vague idea of what they want to do after graduation, but 80% of students end up changing their major at least once.Every change of major brings a significant cost of both time and money. Classes you already took may not apply to your new major while picking up the classes you need may extend the time necessary to get your degree. Every extension of time is also a rise in the cost of your education.One way to minimize this cost is by freelancing in college. Not only can freelancing provide you with a much-needed source of income, but it can also help you figure out what you want to do in less time. The sooner you figure out what you want to do, the less it will cost you in time and tuition.evalHere is a guide to freelancing in college and a few benefits it offers.Getting StartedWhen you look for your first freelancing gig, you’ll want to consider three things:What are you good at?What do you love doing?What is available?So metimes, you may not find a freelancing project doing what you love and sometimes what you like and what you are already good at are two different things.For instance, you may be passionate about filmmaking but have graphic design experience. You may find freelance work doing graphic design, which can open the door to some video editing opportunities. That can lead to videography opportunities, and you can eventually get a budget to shoot an entire commercial.1. You Get To Try Different ThingsevalThe kinds of freelance jobs you take may have nothing to do with your major â€" and that can be a good thing. Sometimes, what you think you want to do with your life is more influenced by others than you are aware. Freelancing gives you an opportunity to get paid to try a wide variety of jobs to see which ones you enjoy. The ones you don’t, you also don’t have to keep doing.Freelance jobs vary, you can become a dog walker, gardener, party planner, house sitter or delivery driver. It can be surprising to see how much money you can make as a freelancer. You may get a freelance gig doing voiceovers and discover a passion for radio or act in a student film and realize you love it. While you will not love every job you do, the more things you try, the more likely you are to stumble on what you love.2. Learn Fast And Get Broad ExperienceNo matter what field you go into, the more experience you have in a range of areas, the better you will do. You never know where your expertise will come in handy. For instance, any marketing experience you gain will stand you in good stead if you start your own business one day. It can also make you a valuable employee in almost any small company.evalWorking as a personal assistant can help you gain a greater understanding of different types of work. Also, being a personal assistant to a real estate developer may flare up a passion for real estate, while working for a venture capitalist may help you conclude that is not a path you want to pursue.Also, the more freelance experience you have, the more financially stable you will become later in life. It can be a great resource when between jobs or in times you can’t get work in your chosen field. You may even turn collegiate freelancing into a lucrative career that becomes a full-time occupation post-graduation.3. Obtain Many Transferable SkillsTransferable skills are know-how that will help you excel in any job or field. People skills, time management skills, analytical skills or leadership skills are all useful skills no matter what kind of job you have. As a freelancer in college, you will need to balance your academic duties with social life besides your freelance work. This will help you master time management.Freelancing is an invaluable experience as you have to deal with clients and customers. It can help you learn how to stand your ground against unreasonable expectations and even how to handle unethical clients. Sometimes, the best learning experiences a re the bad ones.evalBeing a freelancer can also teach you how to spot trouble. It’s far better to learn this when at most you lose money for a single job, rather than work for someone for months before discovering they have no intention of paying you. The most challenging part about transferable skills, however, is figuring out how to communicate them on a resume in a way that gets you noticed.4. Improve Your Budget and Your ConfidenceIn 2017, the average college graduate walked out into the world $40,000 in debt. College students call for the extra income they don’t have to pay back. Every dollar you earn is one less dollar you have to borrow â€" with interest. Also, freelancing almost never involves a commute, which means you also save the time you would spend at a part-time job just going to and from work. Not all freelance opportunities are short-term, either. Sometimes, you may work long enough for a single employer to qualify for benefits. Imagine a spring break being a pa id vacation!Unlike many traditional jobs, you also may not have to even submit a resume for many freelance assignments. Many clients may not even know you are a college student. This is another intangible benefit that freelancing offers you.When many college students go on their first corporate interviews, they may have only had experience doing low-paying, menial jobs or internships. This often makes them feel somewhat less than qualified for a higher paying job with more responsibilities. This hesitancy also gets communicated in interviews.The question is, why would a company hire you to do a job you are not even confident you are qualified to do? Freelancing gives you the opportunity to build the confidence that allows you to know you can handle any job or any task an employer can throw at you. Because whatever it is, you’ve most likely already done something similar as a freelancer.TO WRAP IT UPevalBeing a freelancer is no longer equal to a part-time job in a fast-food joint. Many respected and highly paid professionals are freelancers.Freelancing in college prepares you for the job market or may become a job you continue post-college. You may even transition from being a freelancer to starting your own company. In today’s world, the sky’s the limit for just how far a freelancing job can take you. College is a great place to start.

When Not To Apologize

When Not To Apologize Have you ever noticed that we tend to get the apology thing backwards? Growing up in New Jersey, I remember saying, “sorry” when someone bumped into me in the hallways of Dwight Morrow High School, and then refusing to say “sorry” to my parents when I upset them. And I was even a “good kid”. Fast forward to today and I find that this “getting it backwards” is still going on. What’s that about? A Tale of Three Panelists Earlier this month, I was involved in hosting a panel. We had three panelists tasked with giving constructive feedback to four research teams as they went through their practice pitches ahead of the real thing later in the year. Two of the panelists had participated before. They also happened to be male. Both were articulate and confident, and gave their feedback in a straightforward manner. For example, “I liked the powerful way you began with a narrative that captured my attention.” “The middle part dragged a bit and you needed to switch gears to provide the data sooner.” But when the third panelist, who was new to our group and coincidentally female, spoke she said things like, “This is just a minor comment, but perhaps the strategy could have come through more strongly.” Or “I’m not sure how helpful this will be, but I sensed you could bolster your points with some examples.” She was making excellent points that would help the teams tremendously, but sabotaging herself. It was all because of those introductory clauses she put in front of her main point, which is called “apology language”. Even I was discounting what came after the “apology language” precisely because it was there. I had to admit that she came across as not confident, and not worth listening to. Stop the apology language After a couple of rounds just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, I pulled her aside and pointed out that she was making excellent points, but undermining herself by apologizing first. I was doing this partly for her sake, but also because we were the hosts. We had invited her to join as an expert, and didn’t want our audience to think she wasn't quite up to the role. She thanked me for reminding her and admitted that this is something she struggles with regularly. To her credit, she went through the rest of the panel providing feedback “straight up” â€" without any apology, and using powerful words. It was much easier to pay attention to what she was saying, and to respect her as an authority (which she is â€" that’s why we invited her!). In this case, it happened to be a woman using apology language. But I’ve seen men do it too. In both cases, it’s inappropriate and diminishes the message and the personal brand of the person speaking. Who can afford that?! How we get it backwards On the other hand, when an apology actually is called for, we often don’t say the words. In some cases, we would like to but are told we can’t apologize for fear of legal repercussions. Like when a company’s product causes harm. Or it could be when we’re arguing with loved ones and stubbornly refuse to say “I’m sorry” even after the heat of the moment has passed. Speaking personally, it’s often due to pride. And perhaps sheer stubbornness. Other times it’s with our own team members who we may yell at in a moment of irritation. After all, we can’t yell at the boss and colleagues may yell back. Then we forget or neglect to apologize, whether for image reasons or whatever. This all seems a shame when a simply and sincere apology would go a long way. When good people do bad things Why is it that we use apology language when we shouldn't and refuse to apologize for the big wrongs when we really should? In my experience, both tend to be rooted in a sense of insecurity, risk aversion and shame. For example, when I’m afraid my brilliant point may not be so brilliant, I load it with caveats. That way I’m less likely to be attacked or challenged. However, even though it also makes my points less likely to get through to others and get taken seriously. Once again, the fear of ridicule beats out the desire for recognition. And any time I’ve neglected to apologize when I’ve done something worth apologizing for, it’s again insecurity and shame. I don’t want to lose face. If I don’t admit to it, maybe it didn’t happen or at least everyone has forgotten about it. The problem is that the ignored stuff just becomes bigger stuff. It takes on larger proportions and doesn’t go away. It’s nursed as a hurt and it festers, waiting for the right time â€" or perhaps more accurately the wrong time â€" to burst out, often in some other form. Let’s get it right So what can we do to shift the dynamic so we do apologies the right way around? The most important thing is awareness: To be conscious of listening to ourselves and catching the apology language and replacing it with something else. This includes silence â€" and just starting with the main point. No caveats needed. Another aspect is being conscious when we've lost our temper and need to apologize sincerely. Especially to our junior team members and to the people we love. What will you do? In both cases, getting it wrong undermines us. It makes us less effective with our coworkers and family members. Worse yet, the negativity makes it impossible for our team members to do their best and to be at their best. So, what will you do to be more effective by apologizing when it’s called for, and dropping the apology language before making your points? Leave a comment below to let me know which of these is harder for you to do and what you could do to improve.

Making Sure You Have Strong Cover Letters and Email Messages

Making Sure You Have Strong Cover Letters and Email Messages You know how you always hear, Typically, recruiters and HR managers look over a cover letter in less than a minute to determine if youre a strong candidate?   Well, Im here to tell you that its TRUE. Your cover letter must prove to readers that you are a viable choice for the position, and we can show you just how to do that. Make sure to choose the right greeting in your follow up email or letter. If you have the persons name and gender, include this in your greeting. Make sure to use the proper Mr., Mrs., Dr. or title along with their last name. Do not use their first name unless you know the person. If you do not know the gender of the person, you can use an introduction such as “Dear Danny Smith”. Its important to have the HR managers name correct. If you have questions, then call and ask for the information through the company, or look them up on Facebook or LinkedIn. Reference the position title, company name and where you learned of the position. An example of this: “I recently heard of Telecomm Internationals open Corporate Liaison Officer position on Monster.com.” This information shortens the time it takes for HR managers to sort through resumes and increases the chances that your resume will be chosen. Explain why you are the best person for the job. You dont want to do a repeat of your resume, but you do want to state how your background, qualifications and abilities will help the company succeed. Example: “As my resume states, I have the talent, versatility and experience that comes with 20 years in corporate marketing, branding and public relations with Large Multinational Corporations as well as Local Well-Known Businesses. I also have years of experience as a Digital Freelancer working with Company Wide Initiatives that will definitely benefit your company.” Be sure to include keywords from the job description and make use of power words to elaborate on your capabilities. Reinforce your relevant experience working with the jobs specific duties as well as your knowledge about needed computer programs which were indicated in the job description. Be Brief. If you send your cover letter through the mail, make sure its one page. Email messages should be kept to around 3-5 small-ish paragraphs. Your paragraphs need to be brief as to not take up too much time. Include contact information and the best time and way to speak with you. List your cell phone, home phone and the email address you use the most and  let HR managers know how to best contact you through your preferred method. If you are currently employed or in a situation where you cannot return calls, make sure to leave a call back number, or list some times where you are free to talk. Proof read your cover letter and email message. Do this over and over until you are sure that everything is in place and you have mentioned the position, company name and included any applicable contact information. Following these tips will help you to create cover letters and emails that will stand out to HR Managers and recruiters looking for their next candidate.