What Michael Jackson can teach about personal branding

Reaction from the generous folks at Career Hub. (Have you used their free e-books?)

How can you "break out" from the pack?

http://www.careerhubblog.com/main/2009/06/what-michael-jackson-the-brand-icon-can-teach-you-about-personal-branding.html

Higher Ed Job Hunt Tips

Make the most of your summer with this advice from Clare Potter for Inside Higher Education.

An excerpt:

Finally: finish something. Whether it is submitting an article, finishing
revisions on an article that has come back with reader's reports, writing a book
proposal and sending your manuscript out, whatever. You need to show that you
are moving forward in your career...

Discrimination in the academy?

"Mama PhD" writes about some of the myths older job candidates may face in higher ed:

It may be helpful to look at why some employers are reluctant to hire workers who are middle-aged or older. Common perceptions about mature workers include the following:

• They resist direction from younger deans or department heads.
• They are technophobic.
• They are inflexible in their thinking and set in their ways.
• Their passion for their subject has necessarily waned with age and experience.
• They may be looking only for a safe haven until retirement.

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd/career_coach_never_getting_the_offer

How would you counter these perceptions in your own job hunt?

Job Search on Twitter

"Twitter can establish you as a player in your field, either as a thought leader or as an involved contributor."

http://www.careerhubblog.com/main/2009/05/why.html

What could you say in 140 characters to advance your career?

Behavior-based interviews

Remember the old interview question chestnut: If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be and why?

Today human resources pros rely on behavior or behavior-based questions that seek to assess future performance based on past performance: "How have you ...? Describe an incident when...? What is your philosophy about...?"

Hit these questions out of the park with some prepared narratives that showcase your skills and experience.

See http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/interviews/a/behavioral.htm for more tips.

Teacher Interview Questions

Eric Hougan's Road to Teaching website boasts the "web’s largest collection of teacher interview questions." Exercise your interview chops!

http://roadtoteaching.com/teacher-interview-questions/

Through the looking glass...

"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone.

"When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."

Handshakes are important, study shows

Especially for female job seekers!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18808231

Work looks for you

In our workshops, we discuss how the Internet is changing the way in which we look for work to how works looks for you. Here's some good examples from The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/jobs/31recruit.html