If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you may have seen me tweet about Job Central. Here at TheLadders, we’ve been hard at work for months planning a one-of-kind job-search extravaganza, and in less than one week, it will all come to fruition!
On Thursday, January 10th, we will bring together the best employers, recruiters, and career experts at Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall to host a comprehensive job-search experience for professionals looking to make their next career move.
So, what’s so special about Job Central, you ask? For starters, it’s FREE and open to all professionals! I will be there all day answering questions and sharing tips on how to conduct a successful job search in 2013. Additionally, we’ve lined up an impressive roster of industry experts to speak on a wide range of topics, including how to leverage social media in the job hunt and navigating job-search uncertainty.
Whether you’re looking for a job now or considering a change further down the line, if you live in the Tri-State Area, this is an event worth attending. In addition to learning how to get a jump-start on your search, you also will have the opportunity to meet and network with dozens of recruiters and hundreds of fellow job seekers, and possibly receive a free, three-month Premium membership (a $75 value) to TheLadders.
What to wear
Don your best business-casual outfit for the event. For gentlemen, I suggest a pair of slacks with a button-down shirt. For ladies, consider a flattering blouse paired with slacks, or a dress. Make sure the neckline is workplace-appropriate and that the skirt falls to your knee. Afraid your outfit will raise a red flag at the office? Check out these wardrobe tips for job-seeking on the sly.
What to bring
Bring a stack of business cards, at least five copies of your resume, a pen, a notebook (or your iPad) for taking notes during the presentations, and your game plan. Review the list of speakers ahead of time and come prepared with specific questions. Most importantly, arm yourself with a smile and be prepared to network.
What to expect
Not only will you have a chance to speak with recruiters, employers, and other professionals, but you’ll also learn valuable tips to help you compete in this tough job market. Use these next few days to practice your elevator pitch, update your resume, and clean up your online presence so it aligns with your job goals.
For more information, including the full speaker line-up, visit theladders.com/jobcentral and join the event on Facebook. If you’re out of the area but want to participate virtually, join the Twitter conversation on January 10th, with the hashtag #JobCentral.
I look forward to seeing you on January 10th!
Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert for TheLadders, the online job-matching service for career-driven professionals. She is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) who provides job search and career guidance for professionals looking to make their next career move. Have a question for Amanda? Submit your question here for a chance to have it answered in her weekly column, and be sure to follow @JobSearchAmanda on Twitter and “Like” her on Facebook for up-to-the-minute job-search advice.
What do yellow cab stress toys, mouse pads, sunglasses and letter openers have in common?
TheLadders logo, of course!
Outside the door of the Rockefeller Board Room at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, attendees from the latest NYC Tech Connect Riverside Chats Speaker Series ventured to our table to peruse our goods. Free stuff works, right?
Founded in January 2011 as a public-private partnership, NYC Tech Connect sets out to foster the development of a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in NYC by providing programs, expertise and resources designed to accelerate the development of entrepreneurs and their technology startups. Not only did this crowd leave with free toys and stress relievers, they learned a little more about writing effective resumes and added a strong resource to their entrepreneurial job-search arsenal: free three-month premium memberships to TheLadders.
Altogether, I had the pleasure of meeting 50 – 75 job seekers at this event, and despite the occasional joker (upon seeing the yellow squishy cab, someone said, “oh, I see you’re selling car insurance!”), I felt very helpful answering job-search questions and sharing resume tips. I have four years of resume-critiquing and writing experience under my belt, but most of my interaction with job seekers is through phone and email conversations. It felt great to meet with job seekers face-to-face and help them on the spot!
Tiffany Kirk is the Lead Trainer for TheLadders’ Career Services Team. Having reviewed more than 20,000 resumes, she leads a team of resume analysts in providing detailed resume critiques to TheLadders’ members. When she’s not working, she enjoys Broadway shows, reading/writing fiction and nonfiction, and supporting her Boston-based teams. Yes, the 2004 baseball season is still fresh in her mind, and 2011 never happened.
When I was approached to write about the results of our latest survey on military professionals, I was a bit reluctant. After being reassured that I wasn’t expected to produce Pulitzer Prize-winning material, I said, “Why not?” As a former Marine who’s had to go job hunting since leaving the military, I’ve experienced firsthand some of the things we surveyed.
When I saw the results, I had mixed reactions. For example, I wasn’t surprised that one of the most important things to veterans looking for a job in the civilian world was workplace camaraderie. Most people in corporate America won’t easily understand the bond military personnel share with each other. Our relationship with the people we work with is what makes what would otherwise be an unbearable situation, like being deployed to a highly volatile area, tolerable.
I was surprised to find that 50% of the people surveyed found it more difficult to find a job in the private sector. My experience was the opposite. I found it easier, perhaps due to some of the assumptions we analyzed. In my case, employers assumed I would have discipline, a strong work ethic and possess leadership skills.
While veterans are like everyone else in a many ways, there are certain unique perspectives we hold. The fact that TheLadders is honoring veterans and active military by taking an interest in what THEY are looking for in prospective employers speaks volumes. I feel extremely grateful to be a part of such an exceptional company.
Yolmi Rivera is the Executive Assistant to Alex Douzet, COO and Co-founder of TheLadders. When she’s not busy managing his day, she’s at home running around after her two kids, two dogs and one husband. As long as there are mangos available, she’s happy.
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of participating in Mediabistro’s first-ever Career Breakfast, a Google + hangout where a small panel of HR professionals and career experts gave their insight into various aspects of the job search process. This week’s topic was “What Really Happens After You Submit Your Resume.”
There’s a lot of advice floating around about standing out from the crowd during the application process. I’ve always believed, and my fellow panelists agree, that the best ways are the simplest. First, be qualified. The fanciest song and dance routine won’t get you anywhere if you can’t do the job. Second, have an easy-to-read resume that quickly conveys your experience and skills. A study done at TheLadders revealed that your resume has about six seconds to make a good first impression.
Whether you submit your resume through an advanced applicant tracking system or directly to a human being, the goal is the same. You want to submit a resume that lays out why you’re right for the job. It should be clear and clean: as free of bells and whistles as possible. A great resume won’t guarantee you a job, but a solid, well-timed, customized resume will likely get you an interview, and that’s the first step.
According to the responses I received, our audience got real value from the conversation. I love the opportunity to give insight from the recruiter/hiring manager side. I look forward to participating in many more of these events and helping more job seekers navigate the often frightening and confusing realm of the job search.
David Gaspin is the Manager, Talent Acquisition at TheLadders. When he’s not busy hiring amazing people for TheLadders, he keeps busy by trying to sound important – whether to his team, job seekers, or (for a real challenge) his 5-year old son.
Frank O’Brien is the founder of Conversation, a “new traditional” ad agency based in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. Frank is used to big moments. He’s started his own agency, has made clutch pitches and won big-time clients. He even recently opened his own bar on New York’s Upper West Side. No stranger to pressure, is Frank.
But Monday is a big moment for Frank. Conversation, his agency, will be on national TV as a part of AMC’s“The Pitch,” which is a documentary/reality TV show about two rival agencies competing for a new piece of business. In this case, the client is Popchips. As a former agency guy myself, I’m curious to see what Frank comes up with for Popchips. They already have a strong brand, and are looking to get stronger, so that means the agency that wins will really have to pull out all the stops to impress them.
TheLadders had the opportunity to stop by Conversation’s offices and speak with Frank about his agency, his pitch experience, and what life is like at Conversation. We didn’t ask him about the outcome of The Pitch (no spoilers!) but this is a great insider’s look into the life of an agency founder and executive.
Be sure to catch Frank and his team on The Pitch on AMC, Monday
at 10 pm. There’s also still time to enter TheLadders #mypitch contest on Twitter. Tweet your personal elevator pitch and you can win a 3-month Premium subscription to TheLadders.
Writer’s Note: Over the weekend, Frank’s episode was moved by AMC to Sunday night and aired at 11 PM. You can see additional coverage and a recap on AMC’s site. I won’t offer spoliers here, but you can find out the outcome on the site if you want to…
William Beard is the Associate Creative Director of Copy for TheLadders. He loves to travel, always has ESPN.com open, and always takes the cheese option when it’s offered.
As any of our career experts will tell you, having a great personal brand and a clear and concise elevator pitch to deliver your professional value is key. Get your pitch right and it could be just what you need to unlock networking opportunities that could lead to your dream job.
We’ve teamed up for a co-promotion with AMC’s new series the The Pitch to announce our first Twitter contest! Share your super-brief elevator pitch on Twitter using the hashtag #mypitch and you could win a 3-month Premium membership on TheLadders.
How to Enter
1. Follow @TheLadders on Twitter
2. Learn more about crafting your elevator pitch from our selected articles.
3. Tweet your personal elevator pitch with the hashtag #mypitch
4. If your #mypitch tweet is a winner, we’ll DM you with info on how to redeem your free membership.
Now onto the technicalities: The contest, beginning on Sunday, May 6 at 12:00:01am ET and ending Wednesday May 16 at 12:00:00am ET, is open to legal residents of the United States. Winners will be notified on or around Thursday, May 24. Contestants must be at least 18 years old and have a registered Twitter account. For full details, see contest terms and conditions.
That’s enough from me—now I want to hear from you! See you on Twitter.
Kate Addicottis lead copywriter & voice behind @TheLadders. When not tweeting, Kate creates content to engage members and attract new ones. (At exactly 140 characters, the preceding bio is Twitter-ready.)
When our VP of Public Relations, Lisa Hagendorf, first asked me if I wanted to work with AMC’s The Pitch, I broke out in a cold sweat. It wasn’t the show’s fault — it was that simple phrase: The Pitch.
See, before I started my successful career here at TheLadders, I was an agency guy. I’ve worked at some of the biggest and best advertising agencies — Ogilvy, Euro RSCG, Draft and McGarryBowen. Throughout my agency days, I’ve worked on over 50 pitches. They can be exhilarating and they are always exhausting. Late nights. Bad take-out dinners. Intense discussions. Strategies. Concepts. More intense discussions. New strategies. New concepts. Arguments. Sometimes there was crying. Too many calls home, saying you’re still working. Finally, we’d finalize the concepts and send them off to production. There would be a light at the end of the tunnel.
But wait! Emergency meeting!
The new Executive Creative Director took a shower and now has a new strategy and creative idea. Swearing. Lots of swearing.
As soon as I became a Creative Director, I vowed to respect my teams and make sure I understood how they felt. But that goes out the door after a few late nights and the pressure you feel to win. No other professional business gets close to the insanity and pressure of “the pitch.” You have to be willing to put everything you have into it. No one wins because they brought in work they could do in one day. They might have done the work in one day but that’s because they only had a day to do it.
As I watched The Pitch, I felt the pain and excitement of the teams. A part of me wanted in. The competition showcased is really addictive and brought up old competitive feelings. The rush.
And it’s on AMC. Who doesn’t love AMC right now? They’re the most Emmy-recognized network on basic cable. Many of you know it as home to your favorite shows, including Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Killing and The Walking Dead.
TheLadders is happy to collaborate with The Pitch. How do we fit in? We’re experts on the elevator pitch, one of the key aspects of career advancement, and an essential part of a strong personal brand. The Pitch reached out to us because they know we can help professionals give the perfect Elevator Pitch and move their careers forward.
Todd Hozais Director of Creative & UX at TheLadders. When he’s not busy helping build the brand from the inside out, he’s taking credit for all the great work his talented team creates.
Money isn’t the only “green” candidates care about when considering a job offer. Professionals are more concerned with the eco-friendly practices in the workplace (or lack thereof) than hiring companies may think. In a recent survey we found that 72% of respondents would choose the more eco-conscious company if they had two equal job offers. When asked how important it is that their company is green, the majority of professionals said it was very or even extremely important to them.
Being green isn’t just important for attracting new talent. Your current employees might be unhappy with you lack of your eco-conscious practices, as well. Some 35% of respondents would not consider their most recent company to be green. An additional 17% were not sure whether their company can be considered green, which leaves only less than half of respondents considering their company “green enough” for their standards.
It’s not all bad news, though. Given a small incentive, we also found that a whopping 75% of respondents would change their daily routine to contribute to a greener company environment. We also found that it actually doesn’t take that much to make your workplace just a little bit greener. While many companies already reduce their paper usage and recycle and reduce trash, there is an opportunity to buy greener supplies, encourage employees to turn off their computers and lights and turn down that AC when not needed.
Benjamin Grohé is the Product Manager for new consumer products at TheLadders. When he is not coming up with innovative ideas to delight our customers, he is celebrating his European heritage by cruising the streets of New York City on his new Vespa or playing football (the REAL football).
If you are looking for innovative ideas for driving revenue for your organization, a regional user group is the perfect format. You get an opportunity to get answers to the top questions on your mind and network with other experts in the field to find out about their methods.
This week TheLadders is hosting the first Marketo Regional User Group in New York. More than 20 marketing professionals from several companies are joining for a discussion about their experience with the solution. The topics include lead scoring and qualification process, nurturing programs and using Sales Insight tools to maximize the impact on the top line.
TheLadders just recently launched the solution while rolling out marketing campaign functionality, lead scoring and nurturing programs. Our biggest challenge was to tie all the data environments together to make Marketo tools effective so we reached out to the CRM team to create the infrastructure. Everything needs to work in synchronicity with each other. Currently our focus is partnering with Sales Leadership to refine our scoring logic, build process and drive adoption. With Marketo, it’s easy to set up reporting and the marketing team can execute campaigns with less manual effort enabling us to be more strategic, and focus on driving higher marketing and sales ROI.
Marketo Highlights
Allows the marketing team to pass highly qualified, prioritized leads to the sales force at the right time
Enables marketing to measure effectiveness of its campaigns in real time
Gives sales team better visibility into marketing programs and to get tips and talking points on customer behavior
Launched the solution in five weeks, immediately pushed several key campaigns to help achieve corporate KPIs and set records on site visits and all-time site engagement
We’re confident the Marketo Regional User Group will be a success, and we’re excited to share with the attendees—and learn from them—so we can all reach our customers more effectively.
Inga Romanoff is Director, Enterprise Marketing for TheLadders and the Marketo Regional User Group Leader in New York City with over ten years of marketing experience in the U.S., Russia, Europe and Asia PAC. Inga is responsible for strategic initiatives in developing the B2B platform at TheLadders.
Our New York offices are located in a neighborhood just west of SoHo, recently deemed Hudson Square. We’re lucky enough here to have a great group called the Hudson Square Connectionthat hosts local get-togethers for those who work and live in the area. I’ve really enjoyed attending their events with coworkers and getting to know some of the people I pass on the street to and from work every day.
The Hudson Square Connection team even created a special rewards program, the Connection Card just for locals offering discounts at nearby businesses. TheLadders is partnering to offer a free 3-month Premium membership to our neighbors as a way to help them get to know our business better. For TheLadders, this is a great opportunity to establish and grow relationships with our neighbors. For attendees like me, this is a great way to save some cash at local restaurants and meet other professionals in the area.
As business, it’s smart to make friends with your neighbors. As a professional, it’s even smarter. Here are some simple ways you can build connections in your community.
Say hello to familiar faces
You see the same people on the street, in your lobby, in the parking lot or on the train every day. If you see them often enough to recognize them, odds are they recognize you, too. Why not introduce yourself in those quiet moments on the train or waiting for the elevator. After all, it’s called an elevator pitch for a reason.
Attend local events
Don’t limit events to just meeting people in your industry or function. You never know what connections your neighbors near your office or home may have. For extra credit, go a step further and see how you can help your community through volunteering. That way, you’re not just meeting new people—you’re also showing them your skills and work ethic while building your resume.
Ask your friends
One of the best ways to connect with people in your neighborhood is through the people you already know. See if you can join local friends when they go out with their coworkers for lunch. Reach out to non-nearby friends to see if they know anyone in your area that might be interested in meeting up for a coffee. This is especially helpful if you’ve just moved to a new area and don’t know many people yet. You might find a great new industry contact, possible job opportunity, or just a new coffee buddy.
Kate Addicottis lead copywriter & voice behind @TheLadders. When not tweeting, Kate creates content to engage members and attract new ones. (At exactly 140 characters, the preceding bio is Twitter-ready.)
Amanda Augustine is the Job Search Expert for TheLadders, the online job-matching service for career-driven professionals. She is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) who provides job search and career guidance for professionals looking to make their next career move. Have a question for Amanda? Submit your question here for a chance to have it answered in her weekly column, and be sure to follow @JobSearchAmanda on Twitter and “Like” her on Facebook for up-to-the-minute job-search advice.
