Sunday, May 31, 2020

?? How To Get and Use Your Own Domain Name

?? How To Get and Use Your Own Domain Name 90 For a professional touch that looks great on resumes and business cards. Photo by Samuel Zeller A JobMob reader asked: I have a professional question. Do you know how someone gets a domain name that is their name? As in jacob@jacobshare.com? There are actually 2 parts to the question: How to get a domain name? How do I get my own domain name for a website and/or email? Let's do this. How to get a domain name First, a little terminology.eval www.jobmob.co.il is a fully-qualified domain name where: www is the hostname jobmob.co.il is the domain name, and .il is a country-code top-level domain or ccTLD, or even just TLD for short. Before looking, you need to know what you’re looking for.eval A good format to start with is firstnamelastname.com, because if anyone is likely to guess what your personal website would be, that’s probably the first address they would guess if you’re in America, at least. Otherwise, aim for the most popular TLD in your own country such as .ca or .co.uk. If you have a middlename, you could also look for firstnamemiddlenamelastname.com but only do this if your middlename is used in your personal brand name, in which case you should aim for this format BEFORE trying for firstnamelastname.com. Next, before you can buy your domain (or any other), you need to check if it’s even available and not already owned or being used by someone else. This is one time where a Google search is NOT the best way to go. Instead, you would do what’s called a “WHOIS search” using a site such as… what else… who.is. You simply type in the domain name you’re looking for, and click to search. The results will tell you who owns it or that it isn’t owned at all, in which case you can buy it via a domain name registrar, an online seller of domain names. Better yet, do the whois search via a reputable domain name registrar because if the domain is available, the registrar might propose a discount to “buy it now!” or propose a similar domain that you can “buy now!” I use and recommend Namecheap, which has a monthly coupon for discounts on new domain registrations. I’ve been with them since 2006, and they have great customer support too. (I like their text chat support service, which I've used both from my PC and my smartphone.) What happens if your domain is NOT available? You could try to buy it from the current owner, but that can get expensive. It’s a lot easier to: Change TLDs and buy the e.g. .net or .org version instead of the .com version of the domain, or Change the format e.g. buy firstname-lastname.com or lastnamefirstname.com Of these two options, it’s much better to change the TLD. People are more likely to remember firstnamelastname.net than a hyphen or lastnamefirstname. Namecheap‘s search will automatically tell you if the domain is available with dozens of different TLDs. Once you find an available domain, create a Namecheap account and buy your domain. It only takes a minute. Now you're ready to use it for a personal website and your own branded email address (which would be a great job search email address, if you don't already have one). How to get an email address or website with your domain name If you bought the domain name for personal branding purposes, the most common thing to do with the domain â€" by far â€" is to use it for your personal brand's website. Less common â€" but almost as impressive â€" is to use the domain for your email too. When you surf the web, the webpages you visit are simply groups of files that your browser copied from another computer over the Internet. Likewise, when you check your email in software such as Outlook/Thunderbird/etc., the messages you download are simply groups of files that your email software copied from another computer over the Internet. In both cases, that other computer is called a server because your computer (the client) is asking it to serve (give) files that it hosts or stores. To find the different kinds of files being hosted, we use a different hostname. For example, my business email used to be served frommail. need to be hosted on a server somewhere, how do you actually make that happen with your new domain name? Your options are: Personal hosting Web and email hosting with separate companies Web and email hosting with the same company 1) Personal hosting This is the Do It Yourself option. You configure your home computer (or a computer in your home) to host and serve both your website and your email using your domain name. As you can imagine, this setup requires significant technical skill. I don't recommend you take this route unless you know what you're doing, and even then I probably wouldn't recommend it. 2) Web and email hosting with separate companies Much less complicated than the first option but still somewhat complicated because it involves managing accounts at different companies, this option tends to be the one preferred by people with very specific needs. You might consider this option if you want to build your personal website using blog platforms like WordPress.com (not self-hosted WordPress) or Tumblr or a click-to-build platform like Wix. In my case, all my websites are currently hosted with WPX Hosting, and because I like Gmail, my work email is hosted on G Suite, the business version of Gmail/Google Docs/etc. Since my work email uses the hosting with the same company Many people choose this option, especially the first time around like I did, and it's often the best choice for quality vs. simplicity. A typical scenario involves buying a hosting plan with a hosting provider. When I first started my company, all my sites and my corporate email were hosted from the same server at a well-known hosting provider based in California. I used their cheapest plan at $20 per month, but unless you expect to have a lot of traffic to your website like I did, you can find cheaper hosting options. Many hosting providers throw in a free domain registration when you sign up for such a yearly plan, but DO NOT use this freebie to register your personal brand domain, register it with a separate domain name registrar. (This will save you headaches if you ever decide to change hosting companies, because sometimes the fine print says that you don't even own the free domain you received on joining.) Any decent hosting provider will have technical support who can setup your email and website to use your domain name or at worst, help you do it yourself. They will also usually have an administration panel and tutorials explaining which forms to fill in and which boxes to check. You'll only have to do it once and since it's so common a task for the hosting company's clients, the admin panel should make it very simple. My recommendation in this case is again to use Namecheap, which offers both cheap email hosting and web hosting services (for only a few dollars per month, combined), and get their great tech support to help configure your new domain name for whatever you need. If you're wondering how to get your own domain name on Gmail like I did, Namecheap makes it really easy to do. Question of the article Have you bought a domain before? If so, who is your favorite domain registrar and why? A version of this article originally appeared on personalbrandingblog.com. READ NEXT: ?? 7 Signs You're Actually An Expert On Anything ?? How To Get and Use Your Own Domain Name 90 For a professional touch that looks great on resumes and business cards. Photo by Samuel Zeller A JobMob reader asked: I have a professional question. Do you know how someone gets a domain name that is their name? As in jacob@jacobshare.com? There are actually 2 parts to the question: How to get a domain name? How do I get my own domain name for a website and/or email? Let's do this. How to get a domain name First, a little terminology.eval www.jobmob.co.il is a fully-qualified domain name where: www is the hostname jobmob.co.il is the domain name, and .il is a country-code top-level domain or ccTLD, or even just TLD for short. Before looking, you need to know what you’re looking for.eval A good format to start with is firstnamelastname.com, because if anyone is likely to guess what your personal website would be, that’s probably the first address they would guess if you’re in America, at least. Otherwise, aim for the most popular TLD in your own country such as .ca or .co.uk. If you have a middlename, you could also look for firstnamemiddlenamelastname.com but only do this if your middlename is used in your personal brand name, in which case you should aim for this format BEFORE trying for firstnamelastname.com. Next, before you can buy your domain (or any other), you need to check if it’s even available and not already owned or being used by someone else. This is one time where a Google search is NOT the best way to go. Instead, you would do what’s called a “WHOIS search” using a site such as… what else… who.is. You simply type in the domain name you’re looking for, and click to search. The results will tell you who owns it or that it isn’t owned at all, in which case you can buy it via a domain name registrar, an online seller of domain names. Better yet, do the whois search via a reputable domain name registrar because if the domain is available, the registrar might propose a discount to “buy it now!” or propose a similar domain that you can “buy now!” I use and recommend Namecheap, which has a monthly coupon for discounts on new domain registrations. I’ve been with them since 2006, and they have great customer support too. (I like their text chat support service, which I've used both from my PC and my smartphone.) What happens if your domain is NOT available? You could try to buy it from the current owner, but that can get expensive. It’s a lot easier to: Change TLDs and buy the e.g. .net or .org version instead of the .com version of the domain, or Change the format e.g. buy firstname-lastname.com or lastnamefirstname.com Of these two options, it’s much better to change the TLD. People are more likely to remember firstnamelastname.net than a hyphen or lastnamefirstname. Namecheap‘s search will automatically tell you if the domain is available with dozens of different TLDs. Once you find an available domain, create a Namecheap account and buy your domain. It only takes a minute. Now you're ready to use it for a personal website and your own branded email address (which would be a great job search email address, if you don't already have one). How to get an email address or website with your domain name If you bought the domain name for personal branding purposes, the most common thing to do with the domain â€" by far â€" is to use it for your personal brand's website. Less common â€" but almost as impressive â€" is to use the domain for your email too. When you surf the web, the webpages you visit are simply groups of files that your browser copied from another computer over the Internet. Likewise, when you check your email in software such as Outlook/Thunderbird/etc., the messages you download are simply groups of files that your email software copied from another computer over the Internet. In both cases, that other computer is called a server because your computer (the client) is asking it to serve (give) files that it hosts or stores. To find the different kinds of files being hosted, we use a different hostname. For example, my business email used to be served frommail. need to be hosted on a server somewhere, how do you actually make that happen with your new domain name? Your options are: Personal hosting Web and email hosting with separate companies Web and email hosting with the same company 1) Personal hosting This is the Do It Yourself option. You configure your home computer (or a computer in your home) to host and serve both your website and your email using your domain name. As you can imagine, this setup requires significant technical skill. I don't recommend you take this route unless you know what you're doing, and even then I probably wouldn't recommend it. 2) Web and email hosting with separate companies Much less complicated than the first option but still somewhat complicated because it involves managing accounts at different companies, this option tends to be the one preferred by people with very specific needs. You might consider this option if you want to build your personal website using blog platforms like WordPress.com (not self-hosted WordPress) or Tumblr or a click-to-build platform like Wix. In my case, all my websites are currently hosted with WPX Hosting, and because I like Gmail, my work email is hosted on G Suite, the business version of Gmail/Google Docs/etc. Since my work email uses the hosting with the same company Many people choose this option, especially the first time around like I did, and it's often the best choice for quality vs. simplicity. A typical scenario involves buying a hosting plan with a hosting provider. When I first started my company, all my sites and my corporate email were hosted from the same server at a well-known hosting provider based in California. I used their cheapest plan at $20 per month, but unless you expect to have a lot of traffic to your website like I did, you can find cheaper hosting options. Many hosting providers throw in a free domain registration when you sign up for such a yearly plan, but DO NOT use this freebie to register your personal brand domain, register it with a separate domain name registrar. (This will save you headaches if you ever decide to change hosting companies, because sometimes the fine print says that you don't even own the free domain you received on joining.) Any decent hosting provider will have technical support who can setup your email and website to use your domain name or at worst, help you do it yourself. They will also usually have an administration panel and tutorials explaining which forms to fill in and which boxes to check. You'll only have to do it once and since it's so common a task for the hosting company's clients, the admin panel should make it very simple. My recommendation in this case is again to use Namecheap, which offers both cheap email hosting and web hosting services (for only a few dollars per month, combined), and get their great tech support to help configure your new domain name for whatever you need. If you're wondering how to get your own domain name on Gmail like I did, Namecheap makes it really easy to do. Question of the article Have you bought a domain before? If so, who is your favorite domain registrar and why? A version of this article originally appeared on personalbrandingblog.com. READ NEXT: ?? 7 Signs You're Actually An Expert On Anything

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Personal Resumes - Writing One For Each Job

Personal Resumes - Writing One For Each JobPersonal resumes are a good way to highlight your qualifications. Your main objective here is to get your qualifications across to the recruiting company in an interesting and personal way.One problem you may encounter when putting your personal information down is that it may not be legible. Your qualifications, particularly if you have spent a lot of time researching the firm you are applying to, will be very different from someone else who has not spent the same amount of time. Your professional qualifications will therefore be different from your personal qualifications.A recent example of this is when a young person applied for a job in the medical profession. When interviewed by the recruitment agency, they saw that she had spent her life working for children's charities. Although it appeared that she had done well in all the interviews, when they actually hired her they realised that there was something a little unusual about her. The y were able to use her qualifications to explain the things she had achieved with her charity work.In order to highlight the points that you know the recruitment agency want to cover, you should put these into words. When you do this it is important to avoid looking like you are trying to sell yourself.It is also good to list down any achievements you may have had at different events or similar organisations that you are linked to. This could include job achievements. It is an excellent way to represent you and give them a list of who you are and what your skills are, without sounding too arrogant.When writing your personal resumes, it is important to try and find out how much of your professional qualifications should be listed. As a starting point you should decide how much information you feel you need. If you know you do not require as much as it is worth putting the maximum information that you are required to put down.You should also make sure that you are able to remember wha t areas you want to focus on. There is no point in putting in information if you cannot remember what you are required to say.Make sure that you look up the company you are applying to and ensure that you have the time to write well and write effectively. If you feel that you do not have the required time or are not able to focus on your writing, the best thing to do is not applied for the job and wait until you have more time to make sure that you have properly written the resume and cover letter.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Correctional Officer Job Description Sample - Algrim.co

Correctional Officer Job Description Sample - Algrim.co Correctional Officer Job Description Template Download our job description template in Word or PDF format. Instant download. No email required. Download Template Using Your Template Follow these instructions to use your new job description template Step one: Fill out all details in your job description template using the provided sample on this page. Step two: Customize your requirements or duties to anything special to your workplace. Be sure to speak with team members and managers to gauge what's required of the position. Step three: When the census of the team has agreed on the description of the work, add in a Equal Employment Opportunity statement to the bottom of your job description. Step four: Check with your legal department, management team, and other team members to ensure the job description looks correct before creating a job advertisement. Choose a job board that's specific to your needs.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

5 Reasons Startups Cant Afford to Ignore Big Data - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

5 Reasons Startups Cant Afford to Ignore Big Data - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Planning is important for any business, startups especially. The uncertainty of a startup’s trajectory makes preparation essential for navigating choppy waters. During the startup and planning phases, some startups make the mistake of not implementing big data into their business plan. In reality, big data can be extremely influential in a startups success. Big data can act as a catalyst for startup success, with big data thats driven by valuable insight on consumer and market behavior leading to more effective decision-making. Big data is relevant to various spectrums, including inventory management, customer service, advertising, marketing and general operations. Advertising and marketing, specifically, can be a costly endeavor for startups, which can get more bang for their buck by incorporating big data into the process. Five reasons startup can’t afford to ignore big data are: 1.           Driver of Strategic Growth Even if a startup has a fantastic product or service, the resources involved in creating that product will go to waste if the startup does not find the optimal target market to engage. Big data plays a massive role in the identification and prediction of behaviors in a given market. Startups can utilize big data that provides a comprehensive overview of certain markets, analyzing whether investing marketing resources in the market is worthwhile. Big data incorporates aspects of competitor analysis, social feedback and sales data, simultaneously aiding the process of finding the ideal customer base and refine a product, so it appeals to existing customers. Big data looks at customers behavior and preferences to help determine their buying patterns, with complex analysis incorporating that data with relevant sources like analyst reports, market trends, Line of Business applications and social media activity. 2.           Greater Productivity Efficiency plays a role in dictating the success of startups, which lack the flexibility of larger, more established businesses. Every second is essential for a startup thats competing against the odds to meet a deadline. Fortunately, the utilization of big data can help increase productivity in startups. In addition to reducing advertising and marketing time and resources by honing in on optimal audiences, big datas embrace of unlimited scalability and live data enhances a businesss agility in reacting to shifting markets. For example, a product launch can incorporate big data and a cloud-based infrastructure to drive automated, real-time updates on social media to aid in targeting for marketing and advertising. Big data helps startups increase their market share through its comprehensive analysis of market trends and ability to collaborate with a cloud-based infrastructure to aid in real-time updates. 3.           Reduced Cost of Indirect Expenses Calculating expenses can be cumbersome for startups, who may lack expertise in the area. Fortunately, startups can use big data to reduce indirect expenses, such as utilities, filing, office technology, insurance, professional services and rent. Big data helps with the automatic tracking and analysis of information, helping to spot larger trends. In analyzing data related to indirect spending, big data can help discover actionable insights that can help cut costs and boost your bottom line. 4.           Useful Analysis of Social Behavior Startups need to use social media to their advantage. Social media contains a bundle of big data goodness regarding customer behavior, helping to monitor brand progress. Social media analytics provide big data that examines aspects like impressions per post, interactions on desktop instead of mobile, comments, retweets, likes and transactional history to provide a comprehensive overview of a brands current trajectory. It can also determine where it stands compared to the past. Big data on social media extends well beyond your startups pages, as well. Big data analyzes the users on your startups social media, digging into their profiles to find their interests and other personal identifiers. Big data provides a comprehensive look at a market that seems naturally inclined to engage with your startup on social media. 5.           Effective Automation Big data can help dictate what precisely a startup should automate. For example, it makes sense to automate the process of predicting customer preferences, instead of forcing employees to do so manually, one by one. Big data can easily accommodate personalization, digging into previous customer behavior to predict preferences and personalize their user experience as a result. Social media tracking, competitor analysis and sales report studies can help identify buying patterns of a target audience Whether youre tracking big data from your website traffic with Google Analytics or on social media with Hootsuite, this data can provide essential insight in making marketing and general outreach efficient and effective. Startups that utilize big data have the upper hand on startups that do not. Big data can elevate a startups marketing and advertising efforts by honing in on the ideal market, in addition to providing insight on social media behavior and indirect expense costs. Big data helps startups provide an overview of their current trajectory, with startups using this data to make the most optimal decisions in the present and future.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Best Resume Writing Services in Canada

Best Resume Writing Services in CanadaEveryone knows that the best resume writing services are available to Canada residents. If you've been looking for ways to land a job, chances are that you've thought about sending a resume. But are you ready to know which companies have the best resume writing services in Canada?First, let's look at what makes such service so valuable. Since so many people are moving into this country and also knowing that Canadians have shown more self-confidence than Americans over the past several years, employers recognize the value of this type of professional service.The bottom line is that when you hire someone to write your resume, you'll be able to focus on the most important thing - getting your own resume written in the first place. You'll be able to skip the hiring of a professional resume writer that will likely cost you an arm and a leg. The truth is that unless you know how to create a resume, you could spend weeks or months of your life doing tha t.Even if you do know how to create a resume, the cost is probably too much for you to even consider. However, hiring someone to do it for you is a very smart move. Why would you want to waste your money, especially on something that most Americans have not even learned how to do themselves?There are many benefits to hiring professionals for these types of services. One benefit is that you're sure to receive top-notch resumes and cover letters that will go far in securing a great job.A second benefit is that you can ensure that your resume looks like it came from someone who knows what they're doing because of the quality of the writing. This is an important step, particularly since you may be applying for more than one job. The majority of hiring managers look for writers who can write a resume and letter for any type of job.But the good thing is that hiring a professional to do this for you doesn't have to be that expensive. Your only expense will be for a short initial consultati on with the company. Then, once the company has performed its work, you'll be able to pay less per term to their services.Overall, hiring a professional for resume writing services is worth it. It will enable you to focus on finding a job instead of worrying about creating one for yourself. And best of all, you can rest assured that you're getting the best possible resume that was created by the best professionals.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Writing in Future Tense in Resume

Writing in Future Tense in ResumeHow is your writing in future tense? If you are currently trying to gain a job, writing in future tense in resume can be a big mistake. How is that you ask? I will show you what I mean below.Writing in future tense in resume is a big no-no. It's not that good of a read. If your resume looks amateurish, it is amateurish. Future tense writing is not amateurish, but it's very far from professional. If you try to read your resume, there is a huge chance that it might look like a child's first draft.Your resume is the biggest document you have ever created, if not the biggest. That means it is going to have past projects and education details included. This can make your resume look real amateurish, but I am going to show you how to avoid future tense in resume so you don't make the same mistakes as many other applicants.What is the first mistake most applicants make when writing in future tense in resume? It's absolutely nothing. It's actually really simp le. All they do is to leave out important information, or skip vital information. It's nothing new, but I want to point it out again because many people just seem to be oblivious about this.They might not realize that past projects and education details are important, but they should definitely be included in future tense. Don't start your resume with a list of past projects or any other information that's not vital to the position you are applying for. If you don't, you are letting the employer know that you don't really know much about the position you are applying for.So what should you write in future tense? I would start with your name, position title, and email address. You can also include contact information and a summary of your work history. But don't include anything after that. Be sure to leave space for your organization's logo and name.Now, let's go back to future tense in resume. You are writing your resume now. You know what you want to include, but do you know what you don't want to include? I usually make a list of what I don't want to include in future tense. You can include the experience of any kind, GPA, major in university, hobbies, and personal life.I have yet to see anyone mention their past projects or education details on their resume. This is the one big mistake most applicants make. They spend a lot of time on their experience, but leave the details out.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Creative Careers A Guide to Job Opportunities in Design - CareerAlley

Creative Careers A Guide to Job Opportunities in Design - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Careers in graphic design are in demand right now. The career path of choice for many young graduates, a job in design offers so much. You can work on everything from one-off jobs for local companies, to huge campaigns for multinational businesses. No two days are the same, but every day you get to flex your creative muscles, and really let your imagination run away with you. Well, as much as a client will let you anyway. Different Careers in Design But its not just the diversity and creativity that makes careers in design so sought after. Creative careers offer almost endless job opportunities. Whether youre fresh out of university, or have been creating logos for over 10 years, there is a job in graphic design for you. Here we will look at a few options you need to consider, before entering into a design career: Print vs. Online A job in the creative industry tends to fall into one of two camps: Print or Digital. If youre looking at taking your first steps into graphic design or youre looking for a change in direction you should consider the different directions you can take. More often than not, you will need to be proficient in both areas, but some creatives still choose to specialise. For those looking to pursue a career in print design, you should develop skills in the following areas: Logo design Printed publications (brochures, magazines, etc) Advertising and Promotional Materials (flyers, letterheads, etc) Branding Packaging design If the online scene is more your thing, you dont necessarily need a sound coding knowledge. But what you do need to do is craft web-friendly sites that are both eye catching, user-friendly and functional. In House vs. Freelance When it comes to making your creative career a reality, your next decision is how you choose to work. Will you go it alone as a freelancer? Or would you prefer to join a team, and be part of an agency? There are a whole host of benefits to each option so it really is down to personal preference. As a freelancer, you can be much more flexible with your hours and workload. Though you may have prolonged periods where you have no work at all. As part of an agency, you know the work will always be coming in. Though you dont have the flexibility of working from home, and will often find yourself doing lots of overtime at the office. As an in-house designer though, you have a set wage and always know youll be able to make ends meet. Now, we will take a quick look at the hierarchical structure of the industry: 1. Artworker Artworker positions are the entry-level design jobs. Their role is to produce print-ready copy and can involve everything from typesetting and formatting, to creating simple grid layouts and basic designs. They have a sound knowledge of all the graphic design software such as Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. This is often the starting point for many people wanting to grow their career in design. As they gain more experience, artworkers take on more and more responsibility. Creative artworkers are an essential part of any graphic design agency; helping with the mundane tasks, as well as having a real input into work with clients. 2. Middle-Weight Designer Middle-weight designers are exactly that the middle of the proverbial food chain. With a few years creative experience under their belts, mid-level designers have much more freedom than artworkers. They take a much more active role in custom design projects, and liaise fully with clients whether theyre part of a team or a freelancer. A middle-weight designer is expected to have a wealth of experience across a whole host of design projects. They should be comfortable producing everything from flyers and logos, to websites and even mobile apps. 3. Senior Designer You often earn the title of senior designer when you have been working in the industry for six or more years. As the senior designer, you are the voice of reason. You have the most experience, and your opinions carry the most weight. More often than not, the senior level designers have the final say on projects. Getting Your Dream Job Careers in design are extremely contested so you need to stand out. A strong portfolio is key to help you shine in interviews, as well as a wide depth of knowledge. There are some more great tips for getting a graphic design job here. This guide has hopefully shown you that there is a wealth of opportunities for a career in graphic design. So what are you waiting for? more Get your dream job This guest post has been published by graphic design company Superdream. They specialise in all kinds of graphic design. To see for yourself, visit their website: www.superdream.co.uk. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Visit me on Facebook What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to find the opportunities that help you grow your best career. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search

Friday, May 8, 2020

Networking when Shy

Networking when Shy How to Network if You are on the Shy side I am the first to admit that networking with a bunch of strangers is not easy when you are shy. Early in my career, I was in sales (seriously) and would literally have to force myself to cold call. It was daily torture. I finally admitted to myself that maybe I was in the wrong field, and no, it was not hereditary (many family members were in sales). I was never that suave, chatty, BSer-type that seemed to dominate my lineage. Networking when you are shy is worse than a root canal. I understand this first hand. So, when you would rather scrub your toilet then walk into a company that has never heard of you, here are a few different things you can do to help you cope with and overcome this predicament. 1) Join LinkedIn. The fabulous benefit of LinkedIn is that you can literally cold call without ever having to be face-to-face with a living being. Simply look up a company in the directory and send your resume to whoever is in charge. How easy was that?? Now, what I would really advise would be to find someone in your network, or one of your connections network, and ask them for the name of someone first. Then send that person an email and begin a dialogue. I can go on and on about LinkedIn. Most of you know I am obsessed with it. If you would like to know more, send me an email go here. 2) Join a Local Business Organization. The beauty of a joining a local organization (either business or volunteer) is two-fold. Or maybe tri-fold. Is that a word? Yes, but for a closet door. Anyway, I will make it work in this situation. A- You can go and sit at a table and have a nice breakfast/lunch/dinner where minimal attention will be paid to you (unless you stand up and introduce yourself, and cmon you can do that) and still get to know the organization, feel productive, and get excited because you got out of your comfort zone. B- Once you are in that comfy place, you will start talking with people and slowly begin making new contacts/acquaintances/friends that you wouldnt have made sitting at home in front of your computer posting your resume on the useless Monster.com. C- Now that you are talking with people, you can tell them what you do for a living, find out what they do and see if you connect anywhere. On a personal note: I joined my local Optimists organization when I got out of college and worked for the career center as a Career Counselor. Within a year of initiation, they recruited me to be President of our Chapter, which encompassed two cities. Talk about being nervous (but that was with public speaking, and I had to get over it quick that is a whole different story). Let me tell you though, the contacts I made during that time were with professionals I still talk with to this day. 3) Tell everyone you know that you are job searching. Even if you are embarrassed about it or dont want anyone to know that either you lost your job or your job is in jeopardy, or whatever the case may be, tell them. People like to help and you really never know who may know someone that you need to know. The stories my clients tell me about who helped them get their jobs are always priceless. Your dry cleaner? Your mail person? Your colleague? Yes, Ive heard of all these great stories and more. Networking is the #1 way to get a job, so even if it hurts a little, get out there and tell them who you are.