ResearchGoddess

If you haven’t yet, make sure to nominate your favorite tweeter for a Shorty Award: the deadline for nominations is Wednesday, December 31st.

Of course, I am shamelessly yet humbly soliciting your nomination I have been nominated already for the categories of #PR, #business, and #other.

To add a nomination for me in one of these categories, just click on one of the following links:

• #PR
• #business
• #other

Think about who some of your favorite tweeters are and start nominating them! Remember the top 5 nominees in each category will move to the next round of voting. Right now, I’m #5 for PR! Woo hoo! Even though this seems to be just another popularity contest, I think it would be cool to be part of it. Happy nominating!

Many job seekers often wonder when the best time is to be looking for a new job. My first response is “Always!” – you should always have an ear to the ground and be open to discussing opportunities because it’s part of learning and growing professionally. However, the beginning of a new year is also a fantastic time to be looking for a new job – companies are drawing up new budgets, looking to staff up for upcoming projects, and quite honestly looking to use up their budget dollars before they can be taken away over the course of the year. So, if you’ve been affected by the flux in the economy this fall, the holidays are a time to be thankful for the blessings you DO have, and the New Year is a time to really start hitting the ground running on your search for employment.

For those of you who have been fortunate to escape the layoffs/downsizings/”right-sizings”/restructuring (no matter what euphemism you use, it still sucks!) – here are a couple of suggestions I would like to offer up to you:

1. Build your network before you need it. Starting to develop your personal network after you’ve lost your job isn’t going to do as much good as if you build it while things are going well. That way, when you have a need, you have a network to go to and ask for help.
2. Be nice to recruiters, even if you don’t want their opportunity. Of course I am a bit biased in this piece of advice, being a recruiting professional myself. But it never pays to be nasty to a recruiter – the job you don’t want today might be the job you need tomorrow. Actually, this should just be re-written to say “be nice to EVERYone” because you never know how other people might be able to help you out some day. And someone in my own network pointed out to me that recruiters should also reciprocate the kindness – I agree! So, let’s just all be nice to each other, shall we?
3. Be cognizant of your personal brand. If you deny that your online brand is important today, I would like to know what rock you just crawled out from under. Your online presence is important when building professional relationships and especially when seeking employment. Whether or not we want to admit it, a person’s perception is their reality. If the image you put forth of yourself includes drunken escapades, double fisting beers, and other various questionable activities, it will make it harder for you when job-hunting. What you do in your personal time IS your own business, I agree, but do what you can to keep it personal, especially if you’re looking for a new job.

A good article to read that will help you with some suggestions on how to keep your job and make yourself a valuable asset comes from one of my favorite authors, Dan Schawbel, in a recent article he wrote for Mashable. Please read it – his recommendations are sure-fire!

And….of course a shameless plug for my own sourcing efforts – if you’re a PR professional, Waggener Edstrom IS hiring, and we have a bunch of cool job opportunities listed on our new Facebook Careers page. Please consider becoming a fan, and let me know if any of our positions interest you! Some of our current opportunities include:

• Account Manager, Healthcare – Boston
• Account Manager, Public Affairs – Washington, DC
• Account Director/VP, Technology – San Francisco
• Account Director – Singapore
• Account Manager – Singapore

Merry Christmas – I was excited to see this article from John Sullivan in ERE this last week. The job of a corporate recruiting professional so often is a thankless one. Folks are quick to forget when things go well and quick to remember when things don’t go quite right when it comes to our jobs. Most of us stay in recruiting because we enjoy helping people, not for the praise and admiration Below is part of Sullivan’s ERE article – I encourage you to read the whole thing:

Corporate recruiters are certainly not the most praised employees in any firm. During tough times they are laid off in numbers, and even during high growth, blame is frequently heaped upon them for not producing miracles.

While external third party recruiters at least have a chance of making “big bucks,” corporate recruiters all-too-often can only be classified as under-paid and under-appreciated.

Given that it’s the holiday season, now would be the opportune time for recruiters to receive thank-you cards from the many people they’ve helped throughout the year. Unfortunately, the majority of recruiters won’t actually receive one, but if you did, here’s what I hope it would say.

A “Christmas card” from a grateful new hire…

I just wanted you to know that you are my hero!

The Christmas season is an ideal time for me to say thanks to the people who made a difference in my life. Specifically, I want to thank you, “my recruiter” for…

• My job. No need to be subtle here, I owe you big time. I have a great job and a paycheck because of you. Because you recognized my talent and guided me through the hiring process I am no longer under-appreciated by my former firm or worse, unemployed. Both my family and I are happier and more secure thanks to your hard work and trust in my ability.
• You were the face of the company. Applying for a job is a lonely task that is full of uncertainty, but you were my first and primary contact. Rather than being an adversary, you treated me like someone who was “special” (maybe you treat everyone that way but honestly, I felt like I was the only applicant for the job). You were always there when I had a question and you skillfully calmed me down so that I could perform at my best during the hiring process.
• Finding me. Thank you for finding my name in the boundless confines that make up the internet. Your ability to search out details about me and learn my interests from dozens of sources was exceptional. You found me for the perfect job when no other firm did.
• Encouraging me to apply. If it were not for your strong convincing skills, I’m not sure I would have ever taken the time to apply.
• Sorting. Your superior sorting skills found traits, experience, and potential that others might have overlooked.
• Coaching me. Thanks for helping me through the hiring and interview process so that my strongest attributes came through for all to see. Even though my interview skills were a little rusty, you were my champion and coach. Even when I got discouraged, your help and enthusiasm kept me going. Incidentally, even if I didn’t succeed in getting this position, I would have felt more confident looking for other positions because of the advice and guidance you gave me.
• Offer help. You probably knew that I was nervous and uncertain after the final interview. Your exceptional sales skills convinced me to accept your firm’s offer, even though I had others. I also felt that you acted as my “champion” and your honesty and openness convinced me that you did your best to ensure that the offer I received was highly competitive and fair.
• Onboarding. You could easily have moved on after I accepted your firm’s offer but instead, you are still available when I have questions. When you showed up and welcomed me on my first day and made sure that I got up to speed rapidly, you once again proved that you were more interested in my success than in just filling a job.

Because of your professionalism and caring, I now go out of my way to tell colleagues at other firms that this firm is a great place to work, in no small part because of you and the way you treat applicants and employees. Thanks again for all that you’ve done, I’m proud to be your co-worker.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Like many of you, I am focusing on time with my friends and family right now, so please stay tuned for regular posting activity following the holidays. May you and your loved ones be safe and enjoy each other during this wonderful time of the year.

As a final tribute to my trip to South Africa, I would like to share my experience with all of you in the form of videos. Please take a look at my GO Mamelodi video album here. The best way to watch them is from earliest upload to last upload, which means you’ll watch “Warm Welcome” first, then “Game Drive”, “Kids”, “Gardening”, and “Fun” last. These videos were painstakingly put together in bits and pieces in the wee hours of the morning, with time I’ve been able to squeeze from my schedule over the last two weeks after work, holiday festivities, and quality time with friends were over. I loved every minute of it though because it allowed me to relive my experience over and over again.

For your immediate viewing pleasure, I’ve included my final video, “Fun” below. Thank you for your interest – stay tuned for regular programming!

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-700386200879821481&hl=en]

As Brent Billock dubbed it, this was the “Christmas Cincy Tweetup” Thanks to everyone who came out this month – we had a blast! Below is the video from the tweetup, and make sure to save the date and register for the January Tweetup, on Friday January 16th!

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6287244797918617000&hl=en]