planet sab

Update on the job search

Nothing much has changed since the February 13th announcement. However, I received a letter last week from a temp work agency I had applied for in December. They had sent me a letter in December as well, saying that they had received my papers and that they'd be in touch soon.
Well, some three months later they are.

"Unfortunately we haven't had the chance to get to know you yet. However, since we don't know much about your situation, why don't you give our Ms. Moneypenny a call."

Technorati Tags: temp work

Going solo

I am sure Lee's good wishes helped, but the job search, though not over, was fruitful. I will keep on free-lancing. Some clients might get mentioned in this blog, starting soon. Thanks to everybody who forwarded my pleas or linked to the posts.

On job descriptions

Lisa has a nice 2-part bit about job descriptions and definitions. One thing that I feel quite strong about from the perspective of the job seeker:
If you don't understand every word in the description, you are most likely not qualified for the job...

Job Search 2.0 – First Time

I had another job interview on Friday. The interviewer and I had a great chat; about the position, his company, one of their clients, and when it was time to discuss my time-frame, I mentioned that I had a three week project coming up. He said he knew – he had read my blog. The interview was on short notice, so I sent him a link to the "job search"-category of this blog and apparently he had actually read it, my first experience of this kind.

Job Search 2.0 Week – Where I am at

A month after my Call to Action it's time to measure the effects of my efforts. Well, that is maybe saying a lot, how about an update instead.

I am working at the moment and am fully booked for the next three weeks. So that's good. In addition, it seems that there is interest to hire me. Nothing is final, so I say interest, but it comes from several sides so I am curious about the next couple of weeks. However, none of the inquiries came through my blog. I know for sure that one of the persons called me because he knows I have a blog and know one or two things about blogging, but he said himself he's so busy at the moment he doesn't even check the sports scores. He just called because he knew I might be looking and interested. So yes, I'd do it again, of course, and who knows, maybe the long-tail will hit me eventually. What's more, if people want to quickly find out about me, I can just point them to my blog.

Oh well, if nothing comes out of it I'll just blame it on the TypePad failure in mid-December. Or, I could ask, what would you have done differently? Let me know!

Job Search 2.0 Week - Update

Just a small update before I go into a small Christmas hiatus. Several offers for free-lance work have materialized, though none came through the blogosphere. While the stats show that the "Job Search"-posts have been read and even spread (thanks Lee, Dave, Lisa, Shel & Neville, and Donna), my offline activities were successful for now. However, as a free-lancer I have to say of course, "Job Search 2.0" Week will never be over.

A more detailed account will follow after the Holiday break.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Job Search 2.0 Week – Another Idea

The cell phone profiler:

I think the first-ever edition of the Gillmor Gang I listened to was the Attention Gang. I was in Sweden and listened to Seth Godin complain about the hassle of being available almost 24/7 nowadays. And I thought, well one of the problems is that cell phone profiles are really limited. Yes, there are 3-5 presets depending on the phone which you can even edit. But that is obviously only half the cake. What you really want is a smart app on your computer which synchs with the phone. The app lets you select a setting for each contact via check boxes.

Example "private evening with family":
- all calls to contacts tagged "work" go to mailbox
- all calls to contacts tagged "friends" alert silent/vibration
- calls from CEO/manager/daughter/son ring

You get the idea. To me it is the only way the notion of various profiles makes sense. Maybe this could be an extension for Blue Phone Elite...

Don't miss the other entries in the Job Search 2.0 Week series.

Job Search 2.0 Week – An Idea

Before I went to sleep last night I realized that the dream jobs I listet were all full-time which I think gives the wrong impression. Please understand it as fields of interest (although I would consider working there full-time of course). Today I want to share some ideas I had in the last months (please note the CC license of the page).

The PodCard. Resembling the photocastr. Similar but different.

Don't miss the other entries in the Job Search 2.0 Week series.

Job Search 2.0 Week – Dream Jobs and the Call to Action

One of the – often overlooked – "simple" things in life is asking a question or putting forth a request. When push comes to shove people tend to shy away. Obviously, I am not going to do that. The thing about asking is, you might just get it. The worst thing that can happen is that people will say no. So without further ado, I will outline areas I would love to work in.

After investing a lot of time in and growing accustomed to social media, a new job or project should involve blogging or any form of communication where social media and tech can play a role. In terms of working for a PR agency, CooperKatz, Edelman or face2net obviously come to mind.

The second broad direction is in the communications department at an IT- or telco-company. I said in an earlier post that I am an early adopter. Good gadgets and software genuinely interest me. And I am sure I am not the only one who can see himself working at Apple...

Also, I am sure I would make a great assistant for higher management, a mixture between concierge and jack-of-all-trades. The man who gets things done.

Finally, I will confess that hockey is my weak-spot. Remember? It is the one US major sport that managed to get a whole season cancelled last year. I would love to work in fan relations for the NHL. After the lock-out, there is a lot of work on the table.

Job Search 2.0 Week is of course useless, if I just post qualification, references and skills, so here is how you can help:

Hire me! For part-time, full-time or project work.
If you want to know me better, call me, invite me to an interview.
If you just want to work with me on a great project. Call me, Skype me, IM me, email me.
If you do not need anybody at the moment bookmark this page for later reference.
If you know somebody who needs me, write that person an email.
If you like what you read or even if you did not like it, write about me in your blog. Spread the word.

This entry is part of the "Job Search 2.0 Week", you can find the Introduction here, Qualifications & References here, Skills & things I don't know here and Goals here.

Job Search 2.0 Week – Goals

"Where do you see yourself in five years?"

I am sure this question rings familiar with a lot of readers from their own experience, either from asking it or from being asked. I have problems with that question. If I really want the job I should probably answer, "I intend to prove myself as a team leader and move up the career ladder. I want to make partner before I am 35." The interviewers are looking for drive and ambition, among other things.

I am driven, but more in the direction of doing the best job I can. If I worked in customer service that would mean continuously, every day, improving the way and efficiency in which I dealt with customers. If I worked in PR it would mean, to continuously finetune the strategy and the resulting measures of execution. You get the point. I believe it should be possible to advance horizontally on the career ladder as well as vertically. By no means am I saying 'no' to being a team leader and having a lot of responsibilities – you can make a difference there as well. However, the goal within the next five years for me as a professional is to help make more customers as happy as possible. Then I am happy.

To achieve improvement and finetuning I am reading a lot of books, surfing the web for free information and listening to podcasts. The amount of information to help expand one's own horizon is enough for a life-time. In the past year I have read about management, marketing, PR, presentation, language, history of IT and in general, there is just so much out there. Anything, that can improve the performance for the customer should be of interest.

This entry is part of the "Job Search 2.0 Week", you can find the Introduction here, Qualifications & References here, and Skills & things I don't know here.