You know what they say: Image is everything.

You got the degree, the experience, and the motivation to move forward and establish your career.

You hit a home run on the resume and even dazzled prospective employers at the interview. They’re ready to hire you to represent their company.

Then they Google your name and the first picture that pops up is you doing an Ultimate Beer Funnel challenge.

Clearly, despite all of your preparation and experience, you are not ready to be an employee at XYZ, Inc. Or at least that’s what the executive who wanted to hire you thinks now.

Social media has really revolutionized the way we interact with one another and nothing is all that private anymore.

Here are some tips on how to avoid a social media-induced disaster when it comes to landing and sticking to that job you want.

1. Make sure all of your privacy settings are up and updated regularly. This is pretty simple and it can keep some photos of you from being found. It may also be wise to set your settings to where you need to approve a picture’s tag before it appears on your wall or timeline. And check those setting regularly! There have been times when a sites updates have wiped out certain settings you thought you had all along.
2. A good rule of thumb? Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your parents to see. Think about those disapproving looks parents give when you do something a bit extreme. Now apply that to some of the things you may write online.
3. Assume you can be found even with the best of security settings. I don’t think anyone expects you to live like a saint, but if you’re on the kitchen floor and clearly hanging on for dear life, you’ve gone a bit far.
4. Don’t be afraid to direct employers to the professional networking sites. LinkedIn has become a great resource to show off your professional side. Posting links to things relevant in your field also makes you look knowledgeable beyond the classroom.
5. They notice how you type and they remember it. This goes for how you spell words and how you use those words. Vulgar language is bad. What’s worse is if you misspell said vulgar language. Remember that how you type in the social sphere says how you might use language in public, and as a representative of the company.

Just remember, the things you write online are there for the world to see. Even if you have your privacy settings on total lockdown, just remember that there is someone who can take a screen snap shot and then link your name to that.

For more information, contact Josephine’s Professional Staffing to get more tips on how to deal with social media do’s and don’ts when looking for work.

When you’re in college, your grade point average (GPA) can seem like the one and only measure of your success. But once you graduate, how important is it? Should you put it on your resume? Do employers really care what it was? Can a low GPA ruin your chances of getting hired? The answers may surprise you.

First of all, only new grads really need to worry about these issues. Once you have a few years of professional experience, your undergraduate years diminish in importance.

But when you’re starting out, what are the general rules of thumb?

• Only put your GPA on your resume if it was 3.0 or higher.
• If your total GPA was under 3.0, but the GPA in your major was higher, put THAT on your resume.
• Relevant summer jobs or internships will strengthen your resume more than just your high GPA.

(and remember, employers can ask for copies of your transcripts, so be truthful about your GPA!)

Do Employers Really Care?
The answer to that question is good news for just about everybody. A recent Harris poll conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder asked 3,147 hiring managers and HR professionals, and:

• 62% require no minimum GPA
• 31% require a 3.0 or above
• 11% require a 3.5 or above.

Bottom line: A high GPA is remarkable and should be emphasized on your resume. An average GPA isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not noteworthy. And since your resume should summarize your most noteworthy accomplishments, leave out your average, if it’s average, and focus on your other qualifications.

The realities of the job market
There are other things that employers find equally, or more important than your grades. Here are 5 real-life skills that employers would like to see on your resume:

1. Time management. Time management is a vital skill, which you will need in your professional life to meet deadlines, tackle to-do lists and get things done without burning yourself out.
2. Relevant professional experience. Hopefully during college you worked at a job or internship, participated in a student organization or volunteered in your field. Relevant, hands-on work in your industry will be a much better indicator for your potential in a real job.
3. The ability to give and receive feedback. As an employee and co-worker, you’ll have to give and receive praise and criticism. You’ll also need to know how to give both positive and negative feedback to others, when you collaborate with colleagues.
4. Writing skills. Too many students leave college lacking solid writing ability. Which is u unfortunate, because it will matter in everything from reports to pitches to emails.
5. Presentation skills. Being able to convey ideas clearly and speak confidently in front of others will be an important part of your professional life.

If you’re still unsure about how your qualifications stack up in the real world, contact Josephine’s Professional Staffing today. We help everyone from new grads to experienced employees find the right position.

So much job search advice is based on the assumption that all interviewers are exactly the same. But how could that possibly be the case? The interviewer’s personality and interview style both play bigger roles in determining the outcome of an interview than you might think.

Preparing for an interview means more than researching the company and practicing your answers to common questions. You’ll also want to get yourself ready to face any kind of interviewer! Read on to familiarize yourself with some common interviewer archetypes and some effective strategies for dealing with each of them.

What’s going to happen in terms of job searching and employment in 2012?

In short, it’s going to be all about mobile, using social networking sites to job search, and going after a new job if you are unhappy in your current position.

Prediction #1:  You’ll need a strong online identity if you want employment success. Social networking is playing an increasingly important role in the employment process, so it’s important for job seekers to choose which networks they want to participate in and shape their online identities accordingly. 90% of recruiters check social networks before hiring a candidate, which means that your online persona should properly represent you and show that you’re the right person for the job.

Prediction #2: You’re going to want to be mobile. The explosion of mobile usage will continue to grow in 2012, causing a shift in the way people exchange information. With more and more people using smartphones, traditional means of networking like exchanging business cards are almost gone. Instead, people are connecting digitally. 77% of job seekers are already using mobile apps when searching, and this figure will rise in the coming year.

Prediction #3: If you don’t like your current job, you can start looking for another. In recent years, many people took positions that weren’t necessarily ideal, simply because they needed a job. As the economy improves and unemployment rates decrease, more people will look to change jobs that make them happier. Just be sure to make the most of your current job while looking for a new position, since it’s easier to get a job when you have a job.

Prediction #4:  Things will finally start looking up—for everyone. There is cautious optimism that the economy — and the job market — will improve in 2012. The recently released National Employment Report from ADP, a private staffing and business services firm, showed private employers added 206,000 jobs in November 2011. University of Michigan economists are predicting a brighter 2012; according to a recent study, the jobless rate should continue to drop to 8.8 percent by the end of 2012.

And some industries are already seeing growth — so much so that some can’t fill their positions fast enough.

If you’re a job seeker, here are nine occupations that are expected to grow in 2012:

1. Biomedical engineer
2. Computer software engineer
3. Customer service representative
4. Home health aide
5. Management analyst
6. Medical assistant
7. Network systems and data communications analyst
8. Registered nurse
9. Retail salesperson

If you have any questions about the job market or your job search in 2012, don’t hesitate to contact us. We predict great success for you if you do!

Despite the high unemployment rate, college grads can find jobs in this job market — after all, business is still going on. Opportunities do exist, but today’s college graduates may have to take a different approach to accommodate the drastic changes in the job market, like a longer hiring process and greater competition.

Getting a post-college job in this economy requires a new way of thinking about the job search and looking for work. Here are a half dozen ways to get yourself ready and get a job.

1. Organize Yourself If your parents are your main source of job hunt guidance, consider how much job searching conventions have changed significantly in the last decade. Unless your parents have also had to find new employment in the past few years, you’ll want to seek more current advice.
2. Sell Yourself Make sure your resume doesn’t look like a student’s.  Instead of submitting a resume where the first half of the page is taken up by education, notes on coursework, and honors, play up work experience—internships, volunteer work, and so forth. When a hiring manager makes an initial scan of your resume, you want her to see skills and experience she can use, not a list of college courses.
3. Think Broadly Don’t limit your job search into too narrow a slot. If you’re interested in a particular field, think of all the jobs related or even vaguely related to that field. Do a brainstorming session with friends and family, and search the Internet for even more ideas. This might double, triple, even quadruple your job prospects and your internship possibilities — and may even change the way you were thinking about your future career.
4. Act Globally If you can’t find a job in the United States, consider working abroad. First, it shows initiative, a willingness to learn and adaptability and desire for personal growth. It also will give you a breadth of experience and an edge that other grads won’t have. In today’s world of increasingly globalized activities, being cognizant of other cultural differences and proving that you can operate efficiently in them is a major plus. If you have language and managerial skills that go across countries, you can only help those businesses looking to expand markets in other countries, as most businesses are doing today.
5. Be Productive  If you can’t get a paying gig, take an unpaid internship or volunteer. It’s important to show employers that you know how to use time productively. You don’t want to give employers the image of a college grad hanging out at home or doing odd jobs. You should strive to appear to be progressing and challenging yourself at all times, even if it’s not in a conventional position of employment.
6. Get Help  Use your college’s career office. You may think campus resources are only for current students, but many campuses’ career offices cater specifically to grads. Ask them to connect you with alumni who work in the field you’re interested in.

As the saying goes, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, and your resume is usually the first impression you give a potential employer. So make sure you’re not making these common mistakes on yours.

1. Attempting One Size Fits All
Employers want you to write a resume specifically for them. They expect you to clearly show how and why you fit the position in a specific organization. An effective resume leaves no doubt as to the job seeker’s career objective, while a one-size-fits-all resume gives the impression that the job seeker has no specific career goals. If you have more than one career objective, you need more than one resume.

2. Highlighting Duties Instead of Accomplishments
Your resume shouldn’t just be a listing of your past job duties. You need to include quantifiable statements so that employers understand what you’ve truly accomplished. For example, instead of saying:

• Attended group meetings and recorded minutes
• Worked with children in a day-care setting
• Updated departmental files

Say:
• Used laptop to record weekly meeting minutes and compiled them in a Microsoft Word-based file for organization’s future reference
• Developed three daily activities for preschool-age children and prepared them for a 10-minute holiday program performance
• Reorganized 10 years worth of files, to make them accessible to department members.

3. Neglecting to Sell Yourself
Job seekers need to remember that a job search is a sales campaign. Your resume is marketing material so make it effective by showing how you can solve problems, save money or increase profits.

4. Going Old School
These days, you need to remember that resumes are screened by both humans and computers. If your resume lacks the keywords that the screeners are looking for, you run the risk of it being tossed aside. The average resume screen takes 15 seconds or less and will look for the same words found in the job description. A keyword-focused resume will put you front and center.

5. Coming Across as Careless or Lazy
Make sure your resume doesn’t contain typos or grammatical errors. If it does, employers will assume you can’t write or don’t care. Speaking of writing, make sure your language is strong. Instead of using wimpy, passive phrases like “responsible for providing IT support,” use action verbs: “Resolved user questions as part of an IT help desk serving 4,000 students and staff.”

About 2 million people are employed in government jobs, making the federal government America’s largest employer. And you don’t have to live in Washington, D.C. to be a government employee. Only 10% of that 2 million are located in Washington, while the rest work throughout the United States and overseas. Government employees are hired in just about every career field and in a wide variety of occupations.

While government salaries aren’t always comparable to private sector on the lower levels, the benefits and pension plans are excellent. So is the job stability.

Finding a government job can take time: the period from initial application to job offer can be four months to a year. But if you’re willing to invest the time, a government job can offer long-term rewards. Here’s how to compete for one:

Know Where to Look

All federal agencies are required to list all openings publicly. The best place to start looking for a government job is on the USAJobs web site, where you can search for jobs in various locations, build a resume online and sign up to receive job postings via email.

However, not all federal agencies use that site, so if you know you want to work at a specific government agency or department, look at that agency’s web site for further career information.

Network

To find out about new government positions on the federal and local level, join professional networking groups. Just like in the private sector, there are professional associations for government workers in just about every discipline, and most of them collect job openings in the relevant field.

No matter how many years since you’ve graduated, you should also check with your alma mater’s career services department, since many colleges and universities maintain good relationships with certain government departments and agencies in an ongoing partnership.

If you have specialized technical or professional skills, you may be able to speed up your search by finding recruiters who have contracts to fill government jobs.

Know the Scoring System

You only have to file one application for a government job, but that application has to do two things: get you past the lower-level screeners or computers that are making sure you meet minimum requirements and impress the hiring managers who will eventually be evaluating your application.

Make sure your resume includes as many of the exact keywords as possible from the requirements in the job listing itself. Most applications for federal jobs are rated on a scale from 1 to 100, and more matches will get you a higher score and increase your chances of making it to the next level. You will also get points for military service, disabled status and volunteer work related to the position, if you use the right keywords to describe it.

To impress hiring managers, don’t just list responsibilities: cite and quantify results you achieved in past positions. Don’t worry too much about taking up too much space. Resumes for federal jobs typically average three to five pages.

Ace the Interview

Government interviews are quite different from what you’re probably used to when applying for a corporate job. It’s likely to be a panel interview with two or more questioners interviewing you at the same time. Also, the interview will likely be focused much more on what you’ve done in the past than anything you hope or plan to do in the future.

Interview questions will focus on your ability to meet the requirements mentioned in the job posting. The government wants proof of your abilities, so create a list of relevant anecdotes and practice discussing them in a clear and confident way. Their theory is that the best predictor of the future is past performance.

If you let it, long-term unemployment can wreak havoc on your sense of self-worth and well-being. It’s hard to stay positive when you’re stressed about money, hearing bad news about the employment situation from every media source, and not even getting a “thanks but no thanks” from the companies you’re applying to.
But don’t throw in the towel! Here are some practical steps you can take to help yourself stay motivated, beat the odds and find a new, good job.

Stay Positive
Keeping your attitude positive can be difficult, especially when you get caught in the vicious circle caused by being unemployed: The longer you’re out of work, the more anxious, insecure or depressed you may be – which can hurt your chances of landing a job. Attitude is a crucial part of the job search, and unfortunately it’s easy to be caught up in negative mental self-talk.

If your anxiety or depression is significant, don’t be afraid to seek counseling. If you’re not comfortable with that option, try some breathing exercises or meditation to help keep you level. Connecting with supportive friends and sharing your feelings about being unemployed can also help.

Stay (or Get!) Active
There is documented evidence that physical exercise improves mental health and reduces anxiety. Adding a gym regimen, a regular at-home workout or even daily walks around the neighborhood can help you with your job search by adding structure to your day. Plus, keeping to a regular exercise creates more self-discipline and shows you that you can do hard things, which makes it easier to handle tasks like making difficult phone calls.

Get Disconnected
Spending hours on job boards and social networking sites can be helpful, but relying on them can perpetuate the unemployment “hermit” trap. It’s important to get out once or twice a week at least for a face-to-face meeting, lunch or networking event. Especially if you’ve been out of circulation for awhile, you have to remind people you’re still around. And you need to remind yourself that you can still go out, face the world and act like a professional.

Keep Focused
With a clearer mind, an energized body and a fuller social calendar, you can better gauge the effectiveness of your search – and make changes if necessary. Don’t assume that you’ve been doing everything wrong, but don’t assume you’ve been doing everything right, either.

Do you have a regularly scheduled amount of time per week devoted to job searching? Do you have a job-search buddy, so you can be accountable to each other? Are you active in your professional association, in-person and online? After an interview, have you sent a proposal that explains what you’d do for the employer? Have you followed up regularly with warm leads?

Make Use of Your Downtime
To fill the resume gap, try to find meaningful volunteer work that makes use of your education and experience and may even add to your skills. Volunteering is a great way to keep your skills sharp, keep you active and involved and help you make potentially important connections. You never know, that volunteer opportunity might turn into a full-time position, so make sure you are donating your time to an organization you believe in.

No recession in modern times has left so many people out of work for so long as the one that continues to plague the United States. Though long-term unemployment can be dispiriting, finding a good position is not only possible, but likely by applying these tried-and-true methods.

With the job market still in flux, job candidates are trying creative approaches in order to get a hiring manager’s attention and secure an interview.

Robert Half International recently polled executives, asking them to share the most unusual job hunting tactics they’ve seen applicants employ. One candidate offered a money-back guarantee for the initial six months if he didn’t perform as expected. Another brought doughnuts for the entire department.

Some other notable attempts at garnering attention included:

• sending a shoe with a resume to get a “foot in the door”
• handing out resumes at stoplights
• staging a sit-in in a company lobby to demand a meeting with a director
• sending a cake designed as a business card with the candidate’s picture
• handing out personalized coffee cups

While these extreme job search tactics have certainly helped individuals stand out in a crowded job market, they’re more like “stunts” than strategies. Ideas like this quickly lose their novelty and ultimately their effectiveness.

You don’t need to wear a sandwich board decorated with your top qualifications to make an impression, but you may want to think at least a little outside the box when it comes to your job search. Here are some unconventional approaches to the job search that aren’t quite as memorable, but may be more successful:

Be Persistent (But Don’t Overdo It)
One executive surveyed mentioned a job candidate who called the company’s HR department every day for three weeks to express continued interest in the position he applied for. His result was an interview, but who knows if he got the job? Contacting a hiring manager after submitting your resume has always been a good practice, but in today’s market, you should follow up more often. However, be careful about being a pest. In most cases, daily contact is too much; once every week or two is sufficient.

Be Proactive
Several executives were impressed by job candidates who took the initiative to show how they could benefit the employer. For example, one applicant prepared a presentation specific to the company’s business needs. Another, an IT professional, brought in samples of how he would redesign the firm’s website. Employers seek new hires who can make immediate contributions. Even if you don’t prepare a custom project illustrating the value you can bring, make sure your resume and cover letter clearly explain why hiring you would make good sense for that company.

Be Creative
One hiring manager mentioned a job seeker who sent a DVD highlighting his previous experience. Another recalled a candidate who showed an animated PowerPoint presentation outlining some of his past projects. An unusual application can grab an employer’s attention, but keep the company’s culture in mind before trying this type of approach. Such tactics could be seen as charming at one firm and unprofessional at another. And don’t take it too far; there’s a fine line between clever and gimmicky.

Be Findable
When looking for a job, get your name out in as many ways as possible. Create a business card that serves as a résumé, which you can easily carry around and pass out at networking or professional association events – which, by the way, you should attend. On the card, provide the URLs for your LinkedIn page, professional website or online portfolio, and your Twitter page, so recipients can find out more about you. If you’re a strong writer, you can also start a professional blog that showcases your in-depth professional knowledge. Make your presence known, both in person and online.

Although a creative approach can help you get a foot in the door, you still need to have the value, initiative, and up-to-date skills that the new job market requires. And remember that a good idea can get you an interview, but not a job. You can get a hiring manager’s attention, sure, but at the end of the day they’re still going to hire the person who they feel can do the job best.

When you’re applying for an out-of-state job, it may seem like the odds are stacked against you. And depending on what type of job you’re applying for, you may be right. But like all challenges, there is a way to overcome them, if you just know how.

The level of the position can be an obstacle when you apply for a job out of state. Entry-level jobs are generally more abundant and easier to fill locally. If you are seeking an upper management or executive level position, you might have more luck.

However, out-of-town applicants can get around that in a couple of ways:

• State in your cover letter that you are planning to move to the company’s location (if you can mention a specific ETA, that’s even better) and don’t need relocation assistance.
• Make it clear in your cover letter that you would be happy to get yourself to the employer’s location for an interview.
• On your resume, list your contact info like this:
  Joe Smith
  Relocating in [month, year] to [target company's city]
  jsmith@email.com
• Or, borrow a local address: if you know someone in or near where you want to work, ask if you can use their address on your resume and cover letters. This will help you avoid being eliminated from consideration just for not being local.

Other obstacles that job seekers might encounter when searching for a job in a different state include:

• Traveling for multiple interviews
• Fewer (or no) opportunities to attend networking events
• Lack of contacts
• Difficulty obtaining current and accurate information on the local job market

To get around these issues will take a bit of planning and some creative effort.

1. Take a Trip to Your Destination City. Many employers are unwilling to fly candidates in for job interviews. Why not solve this problem for them? If you can’t use a local address, be up-front in your cover letter and say that you will be in town on certain days and would like to come in for an interview. Try to arrange phone interviews before you go, so you can maximize your results by holding second- and third-round interviews in person, after you arrive.
2. Avoid the Competition from the Get-Go. Hunting for jobs is a competitive sport, and the less competition you have, the better your chances of winning. Instead of searching for jobs on the usual web sites, try reading the trade journals and magazines for your profession. Search both the print and online editions for job postings. There may be fewer applicants for jobs advertised in less popular locations.
3. Find Local Allies. Make personal connections in the city where you want to work. Find out who you know in your target city. Ask them if they know of anyone you should meet. Work your connections on sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to get introductions.
4. Become familiar with your target location. Subscribe to the on-line edition of the local newspaper, especially the Sunday edition. Pay attention to articles on businesses, expansions, and notices of promotions and new hires, as well as job postings. – Contact the Chamber of Commerce, Office of Tourism, and the Department of Labor to request a relocation packet. Most states and cities also have specific information online for people who wish to relocate there.