Displaying All Posts by Carl Natale

6 Keys to Finding a Job in the Internet Age

Technology has changed how most of us do our jobs. It’s also changed how we find jobs. The Internet allows us to find job listings all over the world.

But it does more than give us unlimited classifieds. It offers new ways to connect to people who are looking for candidates and for candidates to screw up the opportunity.

Don’t let it happen to you. Here are some concepts you need to master when it comes to finding a job using technology and the Internet. Click Here to Read Article …

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Why Resumes and Cover Letters Still Matter

Carl Natale 8th July Career 11 Comments

Some people think that in this high-tech day and age that resumes and cover letters are no longer necessary. I believe they not only still have a place, but are important.

Why?

Doesn’t a LinkedIn profile tell you everything you need to know? Aren’t these pages relics of an old way of hiring that is becoming obsolete? Can’t social networks serve the purpose that resumes and cover letters did?

Barbara Hart, a hiring consultant who runs Hire Well, says maybe – but insists on getting a cover letter and resume from every job candidate who wants to go through her. Here’s why:

Too Much Information: LinkedIn is the social network for business people but it still has information she doesn’t need. In fact some of what it reveals cannot be legally considered for hiring.
Hard to Compare: Social media profiles aren’t standard enough to compare candidates. Resumes and cover letters are boring in that way. But boring and standard allow comparison between candidates.
Not All Employers Are That Savvy: It may be 2010, but some human resource departments just still want to do it the way they always have done it. They’re the ones with the job that you want. Do you really want to tell them they’re doing it wrong?
Not Print-Friendly: Have you tried to print your LinkedIn profile? Human resources wants to print or copy your resume and pass it around to hiring managers. Even if you save it as an electronic document and e-mail it, it’s print ready for them.

When it comes down to it, who’s life are you trying to make easier? Yours or the hiring manager? Trust me, hiring managers like employees who are trying to make their lives easier. Click Here to Read Article …

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Coffee Shop Etiquette for Mobile Workers

Carl Natale 5th July General 12 Comments

When I wrote about productivity tools for road warriors using wifi hotspots, I touched upon manners. Any boorish or inconsiderate behavior could hurt your reputation.

In case you were wondering what would qualify, I asked my social networks what were some of their pet peeves:

Buy something: This actually is a commonly held rule for people who don’t own coffee shops. We realize that wifi is offered for free to encourage us to spend money there. So help subsidize your bandwidth.
Don’t hog space: Even if you’re a paying customer, you’re only one paying customer. Unless your laptop and papers are buying expensichinos too, don’t spread all over a four top. Leave room for more customers to gather and subsidize your bandwidth. If you end up at a table larger than needed, offer to share it when someone else is looking for a seat.
Don’t overstay your welcome: Like the first item on the list…only longer.
Don’t hog bandwidth: You really don’t need to be watching Office reruns on Hulu.com. You really don’t need video chat either. Be realistic about what you need to do so the rest of the patrons don’t start taking the router’s name in vain.
Keep it down: Use headphones so the rest of us aren’t forced to listen to your entertainment. A few “You Got Mail” notices every once in a while aren’t awful.
Take it outside: There seems to be a gray line here concerning if you should use your cell phone. Some suggest you take the call outside. I’m in the camp that believes a cell phone conversation is the same as talking to someone at the table.
Clean up after yourself: Don’t make the staff clean up after you.

Think of the coffee shop as a community or networking opportunity. It’s likely that you will get to know other regulars – including the staff. It’s important to make a good impression.

Click Here to Read Article …

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Google Voice Tips for More Productive Communication

Carl Natale 1st July Communication 3 Comments

Last week was a big week in the world of phone services. The Apple faithful got their hands on the iPhone 4. New Droid phones were announced. And Google Voice announced that anyone can sign up for its free service.

What, you don’t know about Google Voice? That’s probably because it has only been open to people who get invited to use it. You had to know someone who knew someone who invited them.

Not anymore. No one has to wait for an invitation to use this service which can help you organize your telephone use.

How does it do that? Well, at the heart of it is the free number you can create and use to make free calls in the United States. And cheap international calls. But sorry, for now you have to be in the United States to use it – or at least have a United States number. Click Here to Read Article …

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11 Productivity Tools for Road Warriors and Telecommuters

Carl Natale 25th June Productivity 19 Comments

I love working from home. I don’t miss the commute or the distractions from coworkers. It’s a pretty good gig.

But at least once a week, I take this show on the road. I have a meeting in town and then need to find a place to set up shop nearby afterward to get some work done. While I considered renting some co-working space, I decided to go to public spaces instead. You could say I was too cheap to pay rent. But the numbers didn’t work for me.

What does work for me is free public wifi. I have some options around town that give me the ability to set up a mobile office. It’s not perfect, but it works well enough. Like other road warriors and telecommuters, I keep a few key productivity tools in my arsenal to get things done: Click Here to Read Article …

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3 Perspectives on Marketing a New Business through Blogging

Carl Natale 24th June Communication 6 Comments

Blogging is the new marketing. It’s a cost effective way to grow your business by attracting new customers and communicating with your existing customer base with new marketing ideas. Three business bloggers share their advice on marketing a new business with blogs:

Why A Blog Won’t Help Your Business

Rich Brooks explains that a blog is just a tool and you need to use it properly to benefit your business. It’s a great discussion of how to develop a blog strategy.

A Simple Blogging Formula

Chris Brogan outlines some pretty simple steps to creating consistent blog entries that attract traffic to your website.

5 Reasons Why You Should Respond to Every Comment

Pat Flynn makes the argument that you should answer every comment on your blog with a comment. It makes sense until you start to actually spend the time doing it. Are you ready to make this kind of commitment?

How do build your business by blogging? Click Here to Read Article …

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Google Voice: How it Can Change How You Use the Phone

Carl Natale 23rd June Communication 17 Comments

Google announced yesterday that Google Voice is now open to everyone with a U.S. telephone number. Until now, you had to get an invite from someone who was invited to use it.

What is it? It’s a nifty Internet phone service that works with your existing phones and gives pretty good competition to Skype. Here’s what makes it so awesome:

You link your existing phone numbers (land line, cell phone, work phone) to the Google Voice number. When someone calls it, all those phones ring.
Google Voice stores your voicemail and can send you SMS and/or e-mails with transcripts of the message.

Not so awesome:

The transcription is far from perfect. But you can get enough info to identify the caller and listen to audio of the message.

You can also view a list of voicemail messages and delete unwanted ones. Yes, you can do that on an iPhone. But this allows you to do it from your computer or mobile device.

Speaking of mobile devices, you can use the Google Voice mobile app to send SMS messages without charges from your cellular carrier.

And all that is free. (You do pay to use it to call landlines and international numbers.) If you’d like to see more about the service, you’ll be happy to know that Google’s put up some video demos of its key features.

Will you start using Google Voice? Have you been using Google Voice and – if so – how does it work for you? Click Here to Read Article …

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