I found an article on Yahoo that lists the Top Ten tips to land a job, I included five of them:

Pic credit: http://money.msn.co.nz/img/article/five-job-tips.jpg

I found this article about follwing up with employers using just email.

Elizabeth Lyon said this about Email Followup-

“I suggest getting your conversations, applications and resumes out of e-mail and becoming a person. After you submit your resume,pick up the phone and talk to a manager directly. While engineers may not be natural sales people, this is a critical step into activelystarting a job search rather than being a passive candidate who continues to get rejected.

In the world of e-mail, it’s easy to forget what a professional business relationship looks like and how to develop one. As a job seeker, you’re not out-of-line to call an employer and ask if they’ve received your resume. While you’re at it, ask about their hiring process and the steps involved. You’re not asking for an interview….”

I agree with what she says that Job seekers need to get out there and call, go see the employer, and network. Most people rely on email way to much, and the results are unknowns. Emails get lost in cyberspace and employers have a really high chance that they won’t respond to your email.

Read the whole story here

Some of the nation’s biggest CEOs will go undercover and “get hired” into the front lines of their own companies to see how things really go. Fascinating concept.

Many of you are not CEOs or top executives in nation-wide corporations. You probably see your front lines on a regular basis; they’d probably recognize you if you tried to pull this.

So why are we bringing it up? So glad you asked.

1. So you can learn from the CEOs of Waste Management, White Castle, 7-Eleven, etc. Things aren’t always what they seem in a company, whether there are two or two thousand employees.
2. To encourage you to think about how to better appreciate your employees next year. You’re stressed out because of the economy, and you’re fairly sure that – at least for now – not many people are going to walk out on you. It’s easy to let employee-appreciation slip, but still bad for your company.

Maybe you can’t go undercover in your company, and maybe you don’t need to in order to see how things work. Whether or not it’s the intention, though, each one of these CEOs is going to appreciate their employees much more after this experience.

How are you trying to stay connected to the people who are making your company work?

I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. This is the best time of year because we remember Jesus and celebrate his birth with family and friends. I am so blessed to have a great wife and two wonderful little girls who love me. I will be celebrating with my parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and all 4 grandparents. Wow.

Am I blessed or what?

Whether you have a job or not, Christmas is a great occasion to celebrate with friends and family. Be encouraged that a new year is on its way and with that comes new beginnings. Enjoy the season and give celebrate life.

How do you celebrate Christmas with your family?

Small Business Trends posted a great article last week that highlights ten customer service trends/strategies you need to consider in the new year.

1. Try harder. “With the economy still struggling to recover and unemployment at record highs, all ‘customer facing employees’ actually will try harder this year to attract, satisfy and keep their customers.”
2. Service trumps product. “This is the year that all companies will see service as the only way to keep customers buying from them.”
3. It’s all about the customer. “Technology has allowed companies to personalize my visit when I go to buy from their web site. This is the type of personalization I come to expect when I go to any face to face retail establishment.”
4. Service heard ’round the world. “Tools like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube allow me to tell not seven people but 10,000 my pleasure or dissatisfaction with a company immediately after I interact with them.”
5. The brands are listening. A lot of companies are searching social networking sites and responding to customers who have had poor customer service experiences. “This year, all the major companies will not let any negative comment go by without responding to your concern.”
6. Online service boost. “Forget the lag time of email or waiting for a call back. This year, more and more web sites will allow you to chat directly to customer service people either through chat or video.”
7. Insource it. “More and more American companies who outsourced their customer service will bring that function back home either by hiring a domestic company or bringing it in house.”
8. That’s tight. “Tighter relationship with customers will continue as economy remains poor.”
9. Fire your customers. “In 2007, Sprint famously fired 1,000 customers that were clogging up their customer service lines and costing the company loads of money. Not every customer you have is profitable.”
10. Get small. “Now, everyone company, as Chris Brogan says, wants to be human. I call it getting small.”

You can read more on each of these points here.

Small Business Trends lists these as customer service trend predictions for 2010, but if they’re right, you need to look at them as strategies. If this is where the curve is going, better to be on the leading edge of that curve.

What other changes have you been making in your Customer Service to respond to the changing economy? Any questions on how to do any of these?

I have a good friend named David Rawles in Dallas, Texas, who has a ministry called Career Solutions. He has a great model for workshops, a good book out, and a great radio program five days a week.

He is on the radio five days and week, and the show caters to issues that all job seekers are dealing with in their pursuit of employment. He gives good advice, has practical tips, and provides time-tested job searching counsel. If I were looking for a job, I would definitely check out his radio show.

Click to listen online

Do you listen to Job related radio shows?

Pic Credit- http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~ic00008/radio.jpg

I wanted to just encourage every job seeker out there this weekend. You are not alone, you are valuable, you have good skills, you can make a difference, employers do want you. You might not feel like this and you might not want to get out of bed tomorrow. BUT

You have value that a company wants and needs. You are unique and only you can bring that value in your own distinct way. Keep going, talk to people, network, surf online, read some news.

Be encouraged this weekend- your family is behind you, your mom is behind you, I am behind you. Keep going, you will land a great position soon. Believe.

Let me know if I can help in ANY way in your job search and I will do my best to help.

What do you need for your job search?

Pic source- http://www.anchorageyouthsoccer.org/imgs/The%20Trophy%20Shop.jpg

Harvard Business Publishing posted a great piece last week called Retaining Star Performers in Trying Times.

Retaining employees isn’t top-of-mind for a lot of managers during an economic slump, but the article points out that, “voluntary turnover rates increase as consumer confidence builds. This means, as a manager, you need to figure out ways to retain your top performers, even if your company is still in a slump.”

It’s almost not fair, but there are ways to do it, especially since the “largest predictor of whether someone will stay with a company,” Jay Conger, professor and author, comments, “is their satisfaction with their immediate boss.” With that in mind, here are a few tips for keeping those really valuable people happy, even if you’re not in a position to offer financial incentives:

1. Praise good work. “Be specific and be sure that your praise is tied to a legitimate accomplishment.”
2. Challenge them. “Ensure she understands that the assignment is a vote of confidence and an opportunity for her to build additional skills, not a way to overburden her.”
3. Develop them. This can be done without expensive seminars. Find your star performer a mentor who is higher up in the company, or give him an opportunity to teach or train others in their areas of expertise.
4. Perks. “There are also a whole host of perks that cost little or nothing for you to provide, such as flexibility, better work/life balance, or more autonomy.”
5. Manage anxiety and frustration. Don’t ignore it.
6. Over-communicate. It helps to relieve anxiety and builds trust.
7. Keep nurturing culture. Company culture is easy to forgo in difficult times, but the character of the company/workplace is always important.

There is more on each of these suggestions on the full article.

Managers – How are you working to keep your top employees on-board with your company in tough times?

I found an intersting article from FOX NEWS today about Minimum wage and how that affects you. Many studies have been done on this area an lawmakers have fought and argued over it for years. Now, minimum wage is at $7.25 and likely to stay there or grow a bit in the near future. So what doe this have to do with job seekers? It will affect you more than you know.

For example, if you work at a minimum wage fast food chain and everyone’s pay has to be raised to meet a certain level- you are going to pay more for your food. Managers who make more than minimum wage will not get a raise or be forced to take a pay cut because of the extra money being paid to “minimum wage earners”. The article mentions that the two studies by Newmark and Wascher have concluded that it actually cuts down job opportunities and even wages over time.

As a job seeker, it is nice to know that you will be treated well and fairly with an honest wage. I agree that treating people well and paying them well are good things. I also think that we should “think” about the economic ramifications in the future if we are going to raise minimum wage again. If raising the minimum wage is going to hurt the economy and force small businesses out of business, then we need to rethink the strategy behind this.

What do you think about minimum wage? Good or bad.

Read the whole article here

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Good news for job seekers and the unemployed. Pfizer is extending their free drug program to unemployed people for another year. This benefit will now run through Dec 31, 2010 so more unemployed Americans can get some relief from their medical bills.

If you are unemployed and need medication, please contact them and get the free help. They have over 70 drugs that they are giving away through this program.

I thought it was great to see a multi-billion dollar corporate giant helping out the unemployed Americans across the country. Way to go Pfizer. I disagree with most of your drugs that you manufacture, but your latest PR efforts are commendable.

Patients can call a toll-free number, 866-706-2400, and those whose drugs are not included in the program will be referred to other company aid programs. Patients can also apply online at www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com.

You can read the full article here.

Have you been able to take advantage of this free service from Pfizer?