Month: April 2007

Brand Matters: Lessons from Home Depot

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Creating an employer brand… Branding is not just about image, but about authenticity. Check out this article by ERE.net’s Sheila Hibbard:

Who knew? Management lessons from Home Depot

Thursday, April 19, 2007 | by Sheila Hibbard

I recently finished reading a few of almost 600 pages of postings on MSN’s message board concerning an article by Scott Burns, entitled Is Home Depot Shafting Shoppers?

In a very short period, this article received confirmation that indeed Home Depot was shafting its customers, at least that’s what over 5,000 authors believed when I last looked. MSN Money reports an additional 10,000 emails.

What a corporate nightmare! First, the company suffers from the obvious public relations blowout by having the negatives of the store being flaunted so publicly.

Second, Home Depot employees used this public forum to outline how company policies have not only burned their customers, but also their employees.

Third, the current and relatively new CEO, Frank Blake, publicly apologized to customers and employees, pleading for “a chance” and says “the company is taking steps.” They’re going to be hiring 15,000 new employees to address these problems.

Hmmm. I’d say it’s a pretty bad day in Atlanta.

Read on!

Great Places to Work: The List

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Want a nice place to work? Check out this information from Fast Company:

The Center for Companies that Care, a not-for-profit organization, strives to make businesses more conscious of the human toll of their decisions and recognizes companies that have put in the extra effort for their employees. Marci Koblenz, the Center’s co-founder and president, says, “There were a few things that emerged as very clear differences among companies. Some employers were concerned about the well being of their employees and it permeated everything they did.”

The Ten Characteristics of a Caring Company:

1. Sustains a work environment founded on dignity and respect for all employees 2. Makes employees feel their jobs are important 3. Cultivates the full potential of all employees 4. Encourages individual pursuit of work/life balance 5. Enables the well-being of individuals and their families through compensation, benefits, policies and practices 6. Develops great leaders, at all levels, who excel at managing people as well as results 7. Appreciates and recognize the contributions of people who work there 8. Establishes and communicate standards for ethical behavior and integrity 9. Gets involved in community endeavors and/or public policy 10. Considers the human toll when making business decisions

Read the article for the list of 35 companies on the 2007 Center for Companies that Care Honor Roll:

http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2007/03/companies-that-care.html

Avoid Resume Analysis Paralysis

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Saw this one in Monster.com.

Time to take action!

Many job seekers get stuck in resume critique mode, bringing their resume from person to person in hopes of getting that magic feedback that will help land them a job. But too much analysis and not enough action can stunt your job search. Get the right kind of guidance so you can move your resume past critique and into potential employers’ hands.
Read more

Free Job Search Help – Download eBooks

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Exciting news! My pals at Career Hub – and myself of course – have a new eBook to help you with your job search, namely expert tips and advice on how to make the most of your next interview.

If you don’t have Career Hub’s earlier eBooks, you’re missing out on similarly great advice about resume writing and job search strategies. Now, for the first time, we’re making all our eBooks available without email sign-up. Simply download the PDFs and start reading! And to stay regularly updated with all the best in career advice, bookmark this site, sign up for our RSS feed, or have the articles sent directly to your email box.

Guide To Interviewing Insider’s Guide to Interviewing

Expert advice on how to succeed in interviews – topics covered include effective interview planning, tips on taking control of the interview situation, advice on closing, and best approaches to salary negotiation.

Click to open in browser or right-click to save to hard drive

Download

Guide to Resume WritingInsider’s Guide to Resume Writing

In this book, our experts tackle all aspects of effective resume writing, including defining your branded value proposition, the value of story-telling, the secret ingredient of context, common resume mistakes, and how you can go beyond the resume in your career marketing.

Click to open in browser or right-click to save to hard drive

Download

Guide to Job Search Insider’s Guide to Job Search

This is the first book in our Insider’s Guide series. From determining career direction, through resume writing to networking and interview skills, each of our experts provides real-world strategies for job search success.

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Download

Enjoy the free stuff! And please let us know how they’ve helped you with your career search. 😀

Blogging: Recruiters & Job Seekers Connect

Wendy Terwelp 4 Comments

Check out this article in the Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal – all about blogging and using it as not only a recruiting tool, but a job seeking tool as well.

More and more online identities count in the job search. More and more recruiters and employers Google your name to find out more about you. What’s your current digital dirt status? Need to cover up some dust bunnies?

This article provides some solid tips to manage your online identity using blogs. And I am a bit biased since my friend Kirsten Dixson of Brandego is profiled. 🙂 Way to rock Kirsten!

Read on!

PS: Kirsten and I — along with JibberJobber founder Jason Alba — will be talking about online identities, brand management, and social networking at the upcoming Career Masters Institute conference at the end of this month.