When writing a cover letter, the ultimate goal is to grab the attention of your prospective employer and make you stand out over the other candidates.  To do this you will need to use an arsenal of techniques designed to market yourself to employers.  It can be easy to dismiss some of these techniques to save time, but doing so could hurt your chances of landing an interview.

White Space

Employers go through hundreds of resumes and cover letters while hiring.  If they receive a cover letter with little or no white space, their eyes will glaze over and your name will not catch their attention.  Nothing is more boring or dry than staring at a huge chunk of text.  White space is a marketing tactic.  It makes the body of writing easier to read.  You should utilize this marketing tactic when promoting yourself.  With the right amount of white space, your cover letter will look professionally crafted.

Bullet Points

Landing a job today seems to be a very difficult task, leading many to search for answers.  Clearly there are many different pieces to getting a job, from submitting a resume to landing an interview.  Nonetheless, getting an interview or a callback—your “foot in the door”—is often times the most difficult part.  A little practice and research will help to change that.

First, what are your interests?  It often is surprising to know that many companies that you’re interested in are always looking for unique talent.  New perspectives, after all, are what help businesses stay competitive.  Find a company that you are interested in, and compare the job openings to your unique skills and abilities.  Job openings can usually be found on the company web site under “careers” or something similar.  It is important to look at a wide variety of positions, and keep in mind your experience and education with the job requirements.  You may not get the VP of Operations position, though you may be well qualified as an Operations Analyst.  It is rare that you will find the ideal job initially.  The important thing is to get your foot in the door, build contacts, and get your name out.  No openings at the companies that you are interested in?  That’s fine!  Think about their suppliers, customers, and other associates.  Eventually, you will find a company that has an opening that meets all or most of your qualifications.

Next, follow the application guidelines.  Different companies have vastly contrasting hiring requirements.  It is important to follow these accurately, professionally, and courteously.  If the company requires a cover letter, submit a cover letter.  Some prefer you to upload your resume; others want you to use their resume tool.  Understand the “key words” for the position in which you are applying.  For example, if the position is for a lead programmer, a company is looking for someone with leadership and managerial experience, as well as a considerable amount of programming knowledge using various different applications.  Look at the qualifications and tailor your resume to fit words.  This does not mean lie (honesty is very important), but it does mean using a synonym such as “lead” instead of “managed” may help you get an interview.  A general rule for all applications is that it is critical to never complain, and to take your time.

Additionally, ensure that you submit your best work.  Incorrect grammar, word choice, and spelling are all big negatives to employers when looking through potential recruits.  The simplest error or negative comment will make it easy for the HR representative to hit the “next” button.  Keep your resume, cover letter, and any other submitted material upbeat and free of negativity and errors.  It is important to have multiple people with different backgrounds review all of your application material.  This may include everyone from your mom or dad to a college professor, to your career counselor or librarian.  These different perspectives will help you to provide a multi-faceted resume and other hiring documents that will appeal to a broad range of people, free of errors.

Be yourself…be super-yourself.  Are you a flashy person?  While it is inappropriate to send out a resume on three dollar sheets of paper, you may consider attaching a personalized business card, with all of your skills and abilities.  Are you a great organizer?  Think about sending out your documents in a helpful but differently organized way (be sure not to make this annoying or cause extra work for the reviewer…in fact, if you do this, it should save the reviewer time).  Everyone has distinctive traits that are valuable to a company.  Think about subtle ways to convey this to the HR rep.  Believe it or not, the people reviewing your documents are similar to you and I.  Think about what you would like to see if you were in their position, reviewing resumes.  Think about your concerns specific to the company, to new hires.

Now you are well on your way to being noticed!  Following instructions, being professional and courteous, and adding your own unique (but helpful) spin on things may just help you land your next job.  Never be afraid to take the first step.

Blogging opens a lot of doors for people. Unfortunately, it is also a lot harder than what most people expect. If you want to be the blogger who earns money online, writing about the things you know, keep in mind that there is stiffer competition now than ever before. But, of course, there are ways to be head and shoulders above the competition. Read on to learn about personal branding techniques that will help you stand out from the crowd.

 The Power of a Great Logo

Logos can spell the difference between a professional blog and a personal blog. If you are going for a site logo, make sure that it is a representation of who you are and your blog’s message. Logos should be memorable and “sticky” enough that your readers will have no difficulty remembering it.

For bloggers who use their names as the site name, just having their faces up in the masthead can make it look more professional. It also helps that you have your tagline right below the logo so that first-time readers immediately know what your blog is all about from the very first time they land on the page. The last thing that you want to do is to confuse your readers and make them click away immediately.

 Use Social Media Marketing

To build your brand even further, you need to be proactive in marketing your blog. Make sure that you are making the most of social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Technorati, Digg, Reddit, and the like. You can also post in forums where your readers hang out and dish out helpful advice.

If you present yourself as an authority, people will believe you. Present yourself well and you will have them subscribe to your email newsletter, recommend you to their friends, and even buy your products. It is a powerful platform, and it can certainly push your readership numbers up almost immediately.

 Plagiarism is a No-No

Although blogging might be less rigid than traditional journalism, it still calls for the blogger to be professional and ethical. The relaxed rules on grammar, punctuation, and style do not mean that you should take a relaxed view on plagiarism as well. If word gets out through social media that you have been plagiarizing, all the hard work that you’ve been putting in your blog can be destroyed in an instant. Make sure that you protect your online reputation through proper attribution and full disclosure.

 Have a Point of View

When all is said and done, you should know that the best blogs usually have a point-of-view. Never mind if it is polarizing or controversial. In the blog universe, there is no room to be wishy-washy if you want to be memorable. Controversial content are usually the ones that gets spread around through Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and email.

 Associate Yourself with Experts in Your Niche

Another way to increase your brand reputation online is to network with A-list bloggers in your niche. By associating yourself with them through joint ventures, you can double your readers in just a day. You can also guest post in the other people’s blogs. Leveraging on their readership, especially if you both are in the same niche, will help you market your blog effectively.

Finally, by making others successful, you become successful yourself. By branding yourself as someone who helps and gives something of value whether through free or premium content, your influence and authority grows for your niche. Make sure that you start working on building your personal brand today.

By: Donna Pacheco

How many companies can say that human resources is their least popular department? They are often made out to be the people nobody wants to talk to in business but don’t fret because there are ways to change that. With some easy steps the Human Recourses department can actually be loved and a benefit to employees.

In Office Networking

The Human Resource team should always be looking to network with their peers. This means making an effort to take a walk around the office and get to know every employee no matter what his or her title is. If HR can show respect for the people around them it will be reciprocated.

No Internal Politics

Many companies will have internal politics of some kind. HR should veer away to not become associated with either side. Even though you are staying away from these internal politics, you should be pretty knowledgeable about them. This way you don’t say anything that people may take offense to.

Become a Leader

Most jobs offer opportunities to exhibit leadership qualities, no matter what the level or job title is. To become a leader you must first show the personality traits of a leader; honesty, passion, commitment, and goals. Try your best to show one of these a day and you will gain the respect of other employees faster then you think. Lastly, give credit where it’s due and emphasizing the team’s efforts instead of just your own makes people more inclined to work with you and go the extra mile.

Regardless of your work history, it is possible to build your resume and begin building your network. Often, we think of our professors or employers as only as potential references. Before social media, just having good references was sufficient. They put in a good word for you when the time came, and you kept them on retainer until you needed them again, maybe keeping in touch once a year to keep the ties relevant.

Through multiple platforms of self-marketing, connecting and communicating, social media has upped the ante for networking, and ultimately, obtaining a job. In most cases, landing the perfect job is about who you know.

Read more here

SideSkills CEO Ryan McKenzie was recently interviewed at the NAB Show by Pink Slip Mixers hostess Sierra Lever.

McKenzie talks about what SideSkills is, and how it can help you to not only find a full-time  job, but also generate income through contract work too.

SideSkills offers some pretty cool tools to help you build your skill set and learn about the industry you want to work in. If you want to sell yourself, your service, or your product SideSkills is the place for you!

Enjoy the interview:

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A new era of working is upon us, and the Sideskills community is here to help you succeed regardless of economic conditions. Remember to always pursue your passion and never give up!

Did you know that there are only 3 true job interview questions that matter.

Seriously, that is it. There are 3 important questions that make the real difference and there is something to be said for simplicity.

What are they?

1. Can you do the job?
2. Will you love the job?
3. Can we tolerate working with you?

You can also break it down like this:

1. Strengths
2. Motivation
3. Fit

Please take a look at the full post on Forbes.com. It is required reading for CEOs, HR professionals, and anybody who is growing their business!

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A new era of working is upon us, and the Sideskills community is here to help you succeed regardless of economic conditions. Remember to always pursue your passion and never give up!

Some people think QR codes are the future, and some people think they are a waste of time. The jury is still out, but with so many smartphones on the market, they deserve a serious look.

Truth be told, QR codes have been around for a long time. They were invented back in 1994 by the Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave. They were initially used to track cars during production at the factory. Thanks to the widespread use of smartphones like the iPhone and Android platforms, QR codes are now used as everything from business cards to huge billboard promotions in New Yorks Times Square.

QR codes are now being found on many of our college campuses. It makes sense when you look at the global mobile web statistics. Research is showing that there are 1.2 billion mobile web users worldwide, mobile devices accounted for 8.49% of global website hits, and with the growth of unlimited data plans these numbers should continue to grow.

Those numbers might look impressive, but it doesn’t yet carry over to the use of QR codes in America. It appears U.S. college kids are struggling when using QR codes, and as of today, they have little desire to use them.

Check out this infographic covering the use of smartphones and QR codes on college campuses today:

We found it interesting that only 21.5% of students where able to scan a QR code when asked, and that 58.1% are “very unlikely” to scan one that they see.

As students learn to use QR codes more in their every day lives, this digital tool should be extremely valuable in the job search. Many companies and job seekers are already using them to stay ahead of the trends.

What are your thoughts, do you use QR codes when you see them?

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A new era of working is upon us, and the Sideskills community is here to help you succeed regardless of economic conditions. Remember to always pursue your passion and never give up!

The job market has never been more competitive, and a little extra attention to detail could be the difference in landing that dream job, or having your resume tossed in the round file.

One of the biggest mistakes people make that can be easily corrected is the misspelling of words, easy words, that many hiring managers will take note of.

We can not always depend on spell check. It does help in a pinch, but it can not always understand your context of a word like your and you’re.

The good news is that Sideskills is here to help you!

Take a look at this infographic showing the 15 most misspelled words.

Remember, the little things add up to big things. We recommend you take the extra time to double check your resume and email communications and gain that advantage over the pack!

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A new era of working is upon us, and the Sideskills community is here to help you succeed regardless of economic conditions. Remember to always pursue your passion and never give up!