Is the IT Tool, LinkedIn, really Effective for Job Hunting and Hiring?

The short answer is yes but as with all other things, there are conditions attached.

First, a brief introduction to LinkedIn, if you haven’t gotten into it yet. It’s basically a social networking tool geared towards employment. You build your network with colleagues and people you have collaborated with, in the hopes that you can connect with other like-minded people, as well as potential employers.

Think of LinkedIn as your online social resume. You place all your pertinent accomplishments, talk about yourself, share your interests, etc. For example, in my LinkedIn profile, I wrote about my involvement in Golden Stag Safaris, a hunting ranch, and talked about fishing as an interest (if you’ve read my past blog posts, you’ll know this to be true).

The easiest way to build your network is to add all your friends and office mates. Then, from there, you can begin exploring your network by looking at people who share your interests, or people who belong to the same organizations you do.

Since IT headhunting is grounded in the importance of networking, and people are becoming more and more online-oriented, LinkedIn is definitely at a very good position right now and you will benefit from joining.

Here’s the condition, though. You need to make sure your profile stands out. Otherwise, your profile becomes just like a resume in a sea of many other bland resumes. Get people excited about you and the work you’ve done! Heck, you can even consider a professional resume writer

This is a very good presentation to view to help you cinch that job and use LinkedIn as a leverage:

Everything I Knew about the College Job Hunt Was WRONG – And Here's How You Can Succeed from LinkedIn Higher Education

The Trick to a Successful Business is to Face Your Fears

Everybody dreams of having their own business. And with good reason, too. Aside from being able to escape the rat race of the 8 to 5, there is the opportunity to make a difference and to change people’s lives. Not to mention all the time you can save and use to spend time with family.

Here are quotes to inspire you to take that leap and set your entrepreneurial spirits aflame!

Quotes from Famous Entrepreneurs on Failure: Don't Fear It! from Donald R. Bernard

401(K), Retirement, and How a bit of “Laissez Faire” is not all that Bad

Confession time. Have you ever given thoughtful consideration to your 401(K)?

Now don’t be shy to shake your head, because that’s not exactly a bad thing. If you’re the over-reactive sort who gets scared each time investment prices drop, you might be hurting yourself in the long run by always going out at a loss.

In fact, we have these people to thank for keeping the amount of pooled funds healthy.

Of course, you do have to spend a bit of time to make sure your investment is suited to you. If you’re in your 20s, for example, you can focus on higher-risk options. On the other hand, a 60 year old nearing retirement should focus on preserving his/her income and should opt for low-risk options.

People who are generally too intimidated about the whole idea of choosing the right option can just go for target date funds. In this alternative, you can choose the date you’d like to withdraw your fund. Fund managers are then tasked to ensure that the growth of your retirement money is maximized at the earlier years, and then preserved when the withdrawal date is near.

The bottom line for those who are not knowledgeable in finance and investment is to strike a balance between a laissez faire approach to your 401(k) and an excessively involved approach. This is absolutely important as more and more Americans are relying solely on their 401(k) for their retirement money.

Source: CNBC Article via Yahoo Finance