Twitter Yourself a Job

 

Looking for a new job, Alexa Scordato didn't email or call her contacts about possible openings. Instead, she messaged them via the social-networking Web site Twitter.com.

Her brief message: "Hey there! Looking for a Social Media job up in Boston. Are you guys doing any entry level hires?"

Within a week, she had an interview. Within two weeks, she had a job.

The site, which lets users publish supershort updates of what they're doing, is a virtual meeting ground where a range of communities -- from moms to media professionals -- come to converse informally.

It's been criticized as a site for sharing mundane details about everyday activities. But people like 22-year-old Ms. Scordato, who used Twitter to privately message some people she'd met at a conference, show the site can be more than that.

"I would guess that if I had just sent them a long email with my résumé, I might not have gotten a response as fast as I did," says Ms. Scordato, who was hired by Mzinga, a Boston-area company that helps businesses use social technology.

The Basics

Users, known as Twitterers, post short updates that appear in their online profiles. They can choose to follow each other's updates, called tweets, and respond either publicly through posts or privately via direct message. All entries must be 140 characters or less.

Twitter doesn't release user numbers, but most public estimates put the user base at around four million to five million, with about 30% or more being very new or limited users.

To get started, build a profile that shows your interests and start Twittering. Because you have no more than 140 characters to describe yourself in your bio, use key words that reveal your goals. Make more information accessible by linking to your Web site, blog or profile on a professional networking site like LinkedIn.

Amy Ziari, a 24-year-old looking for a public-relations job in San Francisco, links to her blog on her Twitter profile and lists her Twitter alias on her résumé to show recruiters she is "not a faceless résumé -- there's somebody behind it."

You'll find major companies and recruiters on the site, and should follow the big names in your industry.

Most users get emails alerting them about new followers, and may choose to follow you as well if your biography and tweets get their attention.

Initiate conversations with other users by responding to their tweets. You can share updates you find useful by reposting them on your profile.

Stay Focused

Never twitter about anything you wouldn't want your boss or mother to see, and tell your friends to keep their tweets to you appropriate.

Be careful about publicizing your job hunt on Twitter if you don't want your boss reading about it. But if you're unemployed, sending an occasional tweet that explains the kind of job you're looking for could yield responses from recruiters. You can also seek jobs being promoted on the site by searching for phrases like "job opening."

Twittering about your personal life is fine, to an extent -- it's something most Twitterers do. But keep it to a minimum.

"I would rather see someone who posts good-quality information than what they had for lunch," said Lindsay Olson, who uses Twitter to recruit for Paradigm Staffing, a staffing agency that focuses on public relations and marketing.

Twitter Yourself a Job - WSJ.com

Microsoft is Building An Ambitious, New Global Recruiting Site

 

Microsoft has embarked on an ambitious overhaul of its recruitment marketing that is matched only by an equally ambitious overhaul of its recruitment technology.

When the decision was made a couple of years ago to update its talent acquisition system by tying together all the company’s far flung offices with an SAP system, Microsoft decided it was a good time to rework its global careers face. As happens with companies that grow from a bright idea to a 100,000 worker worldwide enterprise in barely 30 years, Microsoft’s recruitment efforts had sprouted dozens of online iterations for different countries, different regions, and even for different business units.

Bewildered candidates looking for opportunities around the world had to visit multiple sites since there was no central jobs listing. Behind those career sites were different tracking systems, making it challenging for Microsoft to manage promising candidates.

Even in the U.S., where centralized recruiting has been the rule, Microsoft’s online recruiting presence has become so bloated that candidates can become lost in the navigational maze. The sheer breadth and depth of the content can become an obstacle itself, causing information overload that could keep job seekers from getting to what they wanted to know.

In the words of the woman whose job it is to bring order, and consistency, and, yes, excitement to Microsoft’s global recruiting presence, “We wanted a consistent global message for Microsoft; consistent storytelling and improved transactional capabilities.”

Margie Medd, Microsoft’s director of employment branding, says the work to update the software company’s online recruiting began about two years ago, when the company decided to invest in a new talent acquisition system. It made no sense, she explains, to roll out a global ATS, “but then have all these separate sites.”

Thus was born the recruitment marketing initiative that Medd leads. Her team includes recruiters, recruitment marketers, web developers, a validation group, and representatives from some of the countries where Microsoft has a recruiting presence. Not all of them work on the project fulltime (about 10 do that), but all of them have a part in developing the new Microsoft global careers site.

The team followed a methodical path, setting business, and marketing goals. First on the list was to present a consistent global message, perhaps a natural for Medd, whose first career was in marketing. No less important was to improve the user experience, making job searching and applying simpler, and more logical.

Not only an office software provider, but a burgeoning entertainment business, Microsoft also wanted a candidate wow factor; career site elements to “impress and inspire them,” says Medd. “We were looking for a much more modern voice.”

The end game of all this, Medd notes, “is increasing the throughput of qualified candidates,” and, she adds, “telling our employment story for ourselves. This is our brand to manage.”

We didn’t explore with Medd the recruiting challenges Microsoft has been facing in recent years from the likes of Google and the “name” startups, but the Redmond, Wash. giant has lost talent battles to these companies, as well as to hundreds of less-known startups. Even though it’s got a successful game unit (Xbox 360) and the much-maligned “blue screen of death” is mostly a fading memory, Microsoft’s recruitment marketing, at least the part you find when you search for “Microsoft jobs,” is uninspired. The U.S. homepage is busy. The message fuzzy.

There’s no doubt the company realizes that, as Medd observes, “We have been underinvesting in telling the company story. We’ve let others tell our employment story for us.” On its pioneering View<my world> site there’s a page that begins:

“Microsoft is one of the world’s best kept secrets.
That sounds funny when you’re talking about a company nearly everyone’s heard of. But the truth is, most people don’t know the whole story about what it’s like to work here. And you should, because it’s a good story.”

That will all change when the first of the new career pages is unveiled this summer. Focus groups and employee surveys, including “a healthy dose of recent hires,” gave Medd and her team a sort of mantra for their work: “We have talented people doing amazing things.”

In the new site, these people will be telling their stories in videos. “It will be dev to dev,” she says, meaning one software developer talking to another. Or one project manager talking to another. “There is a desire for authenticity,” says Medd, adding that the videos won’t be scripted or “scrubbed. They will be true to the experience.”

Job seekers will be able to search for any Microsoft job anywhere in the world from one place. They’ll be able to learn of jobs that meet their qualifications and their interests, via the improved keyword matching capability of the SAP system. They’ll also be able to quickly find out more about a job or a division, thanks to easier and clearer navigation, and less wordiness.

“Everything,” says Medd, “will be new.”

Microsoft is Building An Ambitious, New Global Recruiting Site : ERE.net

Microsoft Connector: 19 routes, 53 buses later

 

It started with five routes and a dozen buses. Nineteen routes and 53 buses later, Microsoft's employee shuttle service has become ubiquitous in neighborhoods around Seattle and the Eastside.

The Microsoft Connector, which began in September 2007, is now one of the largest company-owned employee bus services in the United States, Microsoft says.

The white buses shuttle workers to the Redmond campus from stops in West Seattle, Ballard, Wallingford and other areas where public transit to Redmond is indirect and time-consuming. The buses move employees across the region's clogged roadways in comfort and style, with secure Wi-Fi service, comfy seats, luggage racks, electrical outlets and cup holders.

Commutes on the Microsoft bus tend to be more productive than social. Once they're on the bus, most passengers pop open their laptops, check their e-mail and get to work. Cellphone chats are discouraged, and conversations take place in the softest of voices. The workday has either begun, or is extended.

Because of the Wi-Fi access, "a lot more of my time is productive time," said Microsoft worker Jacob Oshins, who lives in Wallingford and plugs into his company e-mail both coming and going. The bus has been a help because "the worst part of working in tech is going to the 'burbs," he said.

Company-organized van pools have long been a way to ease the commute in the Puget Sound area, and many employers have shuttles that take workers to and from different company locations. But a network of express buses taking workers from home to work is something of a novelty here. They're more common in the Silicon Valley, where Google, Genentech and Yahoo all run employee bus services, according to 511 Rideshare, a California organization that supports employee ridership programs.

Google has been shuttling employees to work since 2004. And although Microsoft and Google are archrivals in many other ways, neither is trying to out-bus the other.

Still, Google might just beat out Microsoft in ridership: 3,200 daily trips are taken by its employees, versus Microsoft's average count of 3,000 daily trips.

Because Google's bus service started first, was Microsoft inspired by Google? Not at all, Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos says. "The Connector, to be honest, has been on the drawing board even before they did theirs."

Compared to public transit services like Metro, the number of commuters taking Microsoft's buses is a drop in the traffic-congestion bucket. Metro, for example, counts almost 400,000 daily boardings per weekday. (Some of those Metro riders are also Microsoft employees, incidentally, because the company offers workers free bus passes.) During the busiest hours of the commute, Metro usually has about 1,100 buses on the street.

"We see this as complementary," said Victor Obeso, manager of service development for Metro Transit. Obeso said Metro has worked with Microsoft to make sure the routes between city buses and company buses fit together. Microsoft "is just taking it to the next level in terms of support," he said.

The Commuter fills gaps in the public transit system because it's nimble and flexible in a way that no public transit system could be, Gellos said. The company frequently tweaks the routes, adding or subtracting stops when it needs to, and targeting neighborhoods with clusters of Microsoft employees where public transit service to Redmond is time-consuming or requires at least one transfer. The buses typically make just three to five stops before heading to Redmond, speeding the commute time.

The Connector system also runs a bicycle shuttle, which can port up to 12 bikes across the Highway 520 floating bridge, which does not have a bike lane. In addition, Microsoft's Shuttle Connect buses move workers to and from its different office locations around the region.

Bus driver John Patterson said he's often looked into his rearview mirror on a dark evening to see the faces of his passengers illuminated by the soft glow of their laptop monitors. The buses are run by a California company, MV Transportation, which is the largest privately held transportation-management company in the U.S.

"These are really hardworking people," Patterson marveled. "They use their computers coming and going all the time."

Gellos said Microsoft's bus service has a unique online reservation service, which keeps track of who's expected to show up. Drivers won't kick people off if they don't have a reservation, but the data collected help Microsoft track its ridership.

And the company can keep close tabs on the amount of carbon it's keeping out of the atmosphere, helping employees feel good about their green credentials.

Google doesn't require a reservation to ride the company bus, although employees do have to wave their badge at a card reader when they first get on, said Google spokeswoman Therese Lim.

Does that speak to a fundamental difference between the two corporate cultures — laid-back Google versus more, uh, straight-laced Microsoft?

Lim laughed but gently declined to draw any conclusions about the reservation service.

"No, our shuttles don't work that way," she said. "We estimate the number of Googlers, and Googlers just show up."

Microsoft | Microsoft Connector: 19 routes, 53 buses later | Seattle Times Newspaper

Microsoft Office + Monster.com = one-stop-job-shop

 

Finding a job is never easy, but in this rough economy job seekers really need all the skills and resources they can muster. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all have free professional tips and advice for writing our resumes, to make them shine? Well, you don’t have to click your sparkly red shoes for that wish to come true. Office Online and Monster.com have teamed up to help you rise to the challenge of finding a new job in this difficult market.

As of today, everyone has access to the new Office Online Career Center, a one-stop-shop for job hunters that combines the best of both worlds. You can choose from the hundreds of Office resume and career-related templates, as well as benefit from Monster.com’s many job postings and career management tools and advice.

“I really liked the idea of going to work, and being able to say I did something that made the world a little bit better,” said Alycia Delmore who was looking for an administrative job with a non-profit and used the new resources to create a better resume for herself. “I had no idea anything like Microsoft Online existed. I went there, chose a template, put in all my information and there it was, boom, a really impressive resume.” Watch a video on Alycia’s experience, including a brief demonstration of the Office Online Career Center site, at http://office.microsoft.com.

And if you are a college student, Microsoft is launching a campaign just for you called My Resume Talks. As of April 7, students in search of a summer internship or a first job post-graduation can sign up on Facebook to win one of 500 one-on-one professional resume review sessions. The winners will set up an Office Live Workspace, where they will collaborate with a professional to edit, fine tune and customize their resumes. Talk about a perk! Stay tuned for more about that, such as demos and details about the Facebook page, closer to the start of the campaign.

As always, we value your feedback so let us know what you think and how we can do better.

Microsoft Office + Monster.com = one-stop-job-shop - Workspace Team Blog - Office Live Workspace Community

Microsoft Office Live Students

 

This is a Facebook page by Office Live…

Your resume speaks for you. Be sure it says all the right things. Enter the My Resume Talks Sweepstakes for a chance to win* a consultation from a Certified and Professional Resume Specialist. 500 total winners will be selected! Sweepstakes ends May 4th!

DESCRIPTION OF RESUME CONSULTATION PRIZES:
Winners of the Microsoft Office Live My Resume Talks Sweepstakes will receive a resume consultation from a Professional and Certified Resume Specialist valued at $ 100 USD. Consultations will be provided on existing resumes submitted and shared with the Resume Specialists using Microsoft Office Live Workspace. Consultation services will include suggested resume updates, proofreading, formatting revisions, and general guidance on layout and suggestions for better career positioning.

Facebook | Microsoft Office Live Students

After a layoff…

 

Getting laid off means something different for everyone who experiences it.

For some, losing a job is as devastating as heartbreak, and for others it is an escape from a hated profession. No matter the circumstance, now is the time to weigh your options and decide what to do next.

Ask yourself these questions to help determine your options:

Do you want to return to work?

Free time caused by a layoff is a good time to decide whether going back to work is the right option for you. Some people see this as an opportunity to go back to school, spend more time with family or partake in any activity there wasn't time for previously. Evaluate your finances and your feelings, and choose accordingly.

If you are starting a job search, make it your new full-time job.

"You have to think of this process as you are now ‘Me Inc.', and it's the first day and your new job is to find a job," says Nancy Collamer, the author of The Layoff Survival Guide. Create a daily schedule to recreate the structure you had at work, mark a calendar with appointments (even if they are with yourself at first), and get to work. Collamer, of Old Greenwich, Conn., also suggests setting up a new home office. "Taking the time to transform your physical space can help you really adapt to this new situation with some level of enthusiasm," she says.

Set realistic goals for yourself. Aim to send out 10 jobs applications and schedule one interview each week. Cater your goals to what you specifically need and are capable of doing. Set the bar high, but make sure that your goals are achievable.

Psychologist Robert Leahy says that getting organized and structuring the day is key: "You can exercise today, you can eat the right food today -- and you can contact people today."

Do you need job re-training?

Many people find themselves in situations in which they are asked to learn how to use new technology, or they are replaced by someone who already does. Daisy Swan, a career coach in Los Angeles, stresses to her clients that "if you're not interested in staying up-to-date, then you'll get left behind." She also encourages them to get beyond the fear of trying something new because "it is crucial to engage in lifelong learning."

Look to these resources for inexpensive re-training options:

□ Community college courses.

□ Your local unemployment office.

□ Technical schools.

□ Books or software to use on your own.

Enroll in courses, attend seminars, workshops and conferences and start learning.

"It is crucial to keep up in these times" says Pamela Skillings, a certified career coach and the author of Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams. Learning new technology ensures that you are a marketable candidate for future employment, which is a necessity, Skillings adds

Do you want the same profession?

Swan suggests making a career wish list to identify precisely what you are looking for. Ask yourself what special skills you have and what you would enjoy doing on a daily basis.

Collamer, the career-transitions expert, also advises making a list of your skills, and then searching for opportunities in the job market.

Even if you want to start a new career, you should have realistic prospects to ensure success.

Once you have homed in on what you want to try next, find industries where your skills are needed.

Collamer advises looking for industries that are doing well and wanting to hire.

"Even in this economy there is still opportunity," she says. "You are just going to have to work much harder to find it, and it requires that you maintain a very open mind about your options and what you are willing to pursue."

Talk to current professionals in your field of interest. Research the specific job you desire and arrange interviews with people who have extensive experience, Swan suggests.

The more you learn about the profession, the more able you will be to decide whether it is truly worth trying.

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Spread the word

You have calmed your emotions and developed a plan of action, so now it is time to let people know that you are looking for work.

Even if you are shy or the type who likes to accomplish things by yourself, the fact remains that networking can land you a job that you would not have heard about otherwise.

Make your situation known, build connections and soon, unemployment will be a thing of the past.

Here are a few simple ways to begin networking:

□ Send out a job SOS: Send an e-mail to former bosses and co-workers and tell them you were recently laid off and are looking for employment. These are the people who know you and your skills the best. Informing them of your situation can lead to new connections and career opportunities.

□ Join a support network: Becoming part of a support network will not only let you know that you are not alone in this experience, but it is another way to build connections and lead to open doors with new opportunities. Search for support groups online, at local churches and in the community. If you can't find what you are looking for, create one yourself!

□ Join a networking Web site: Online networking sites such as CorporateAlumni.com and Facebook are a useful way to connect with former employers and co-workers. Use these resources build more connections and spread the word, and make sure to stay in contact with those to whom you reach out.

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The best resume

Whether you are jumping into a job search or considering an alternative path, you need to revamp your resume while your work experience is still fresh on your mind.
You don't need to hire a professional to do the work for you. Resume writing is a skill that everyone should develop, and there are cheap and easy ways to learn.
Do a "mind dump" of the things that you have done at work and how you did them, suggests one career coach, Daisy Swan of a Los Angeles. Write down everything you can think of, even if it seems insignificant. This will help you focus on your skills and pinpoint what you should include in your resume.
You are likely pinched for cash, so go to the library to find an assortment of books chock-full of tips.
Career counselor Nancy Collamer, the author of The Layoff Survival Guide, says that there are hundreds of resume books out there and that you can learn just by looking at good examples. Bookstores also have a variety of guides and how-to's to make re-styling easy and painless.

There also are countless online resume resources with downloadable samples and templates for free or for a small price. At VisualCV.com, you can create an online resume and add multimedia features, such as a PowerPoint presentation.
Look at examples of resumes that are job-specific so you can cater yours to your desired profession.

And if the thought of styling your resume on your own makes you cringe, simply download a template from Microsoft.
Edit, edit and edit again. A simple mistake can land your resume in the garbage bin, so it is crucial to find all mistakes and fix every sentence.
Resume exchanges are a great way to get feedback and see what other people are doing, says Pamela Skillings, a certified career coach and author. The more eyes that view and critique your resume, the better it will be. Just make sure the feedback is constructive, Skillings says, because hearing that your resume "looks good" as-is won't help you.
Reach out to family members, friends, and even old bosses and co-workers. E-mail them a copy of your resume or meet with them in person, because every little suggestion can make your resume stronger.

After a layoff, it's time for an assessment of career goals

How to use social networking sites to contact recruiters

 

People interested in working at Microsoft often contact me (and other recruiters, I’m sure) through LinkedIn. For me, this and other social networking sites are a great way for recruiters and candidates to connect, and I’ve made some great hires for Microsoft by using LinkedIn.

But when you reach out to recruiters online, it’s not the same as adding old high school friends on Facebook. Here are some tips for contacting recruiters on social networking sites:

• Do your research: Check the careers site first. If there is a specific position you’re interested in, apply online and then include the position number and product group you’ve applied for when you contact us. The more work you’ve done, the easier it is for us to help you out.
• Be professional and polite: Make sure you leave a good impression. Even if we’re not able to help you the first time around, we may keep you in mind for future opportunities.
• Know your audience: Each of us at Microsoft is aligned to a specific business group. For example, I focus on hiring technical individuals for the CRM and BI products and technologies within the Microsoft Business Division. If you are a finance candidate and you reach out to me, I’m less likely to be able to help you as that is not my area of focus. Try searching for a recruiter at Microsoft with keywords specific to your expertise and reach out to them.
• Be patient and understanding: Try your best to stay calm if a recruiter doesn’t get back to you right away. Some may not check their social networking site accounts often or could be out of the office when you try to contact them, so don’t take it personally.

Generally, if the candidate seems like a good fit for the company, I will forward his or her information on to either a resume distribution list within Microsoft or to a specific recruiter. The more clues you give us about your areas of interest and future goals, the better able we are to put your information in the right hands. And remember, even if you don’t hear back from a recruiter you’ve reached out to, you’re no worse off for trying.

Happy hunting!

-Ryan

How to use social networking sites to contact recruiters : Microsoft JobsBlog