Archive for April, 2011

Build Your Online Presence (Part 1 in Series)

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Times have changed and if you want to score a job offer from a top firm you may have to think beyond resumes and cover letters. While these documents are instrumental in the recruiting process, you should be using additional resources to catch the eye of recruiters.

Today, I want to discuss one of these resources called about.me. The site allows you to create an online page for yourself that includes a quick bio, a picture or background of your choosing, and links to various resources about you (linkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Page, blog, websites, etc). You choose what you want to include or not include.

How would you use a page like this?

1) Put it on your business card so people can get a quick glimpse of your bio and what you are looking for your job.

2) Attached with an email to a potential employer/recruiter.

3) As a cover letter that highlights why you are seeking a particular position.

Here are some examples of about.me pages. (you can use these for recruiting but also for building your brand online).

http://about.me/tonyconrad

Stats on Internships

Friday, April 8th, 2011

A recent article in the New York Times titled “Unpaid Interns, Complicit Colleges“, highlights some interesting statistics about internships in the United States:

  • Three-quarters of the 10M students in US 4 year colleges will work as interns at least once before graduating (College Employment Research Institute)
  • Between 1/3 and 1/2 of these interns get no compensation for their efforts (Intern Bridge)
  • Department of Labor says it is illegal to have Unpaid Interns unless:
    1) program is similar to vocational training
    2) Benefits the student
    3) Does not displace regular employee
    4) Does not entitle student to a job