“The Google Job Experiment”

By Nick Holt

Over the weekend, I came across a video by Alec Brownstein called “The Google Job Experiment.” Mr. Brownstein was an entrepreneurial job-seeker with nothing to lose. He decided to use Google AdWord ads to target five of New York City’s creative directors, essentially soliciting each of them for a job.

Being intelligent individuals, these creative directors had been monitoring their visibility on Google. Mr. Brownstein’s ambiguous message “Googling yourself is a lot of fun. Hiring me is fun, too” resulted in him securing four interviews—and two of those interviews allowed him to land a great job!  All at a cost of $6.

I am not preaching that you start throwing-down money for personal Google Ads targeting your career idols or every person you interview with, but this story is great motivation for thinking outside the box in your own job search; particularly if you’re searching for a creative position. 

Here’s another creative job-seeker’s success story from a previous blog post!

Boston’s Best Accounting & Finance Careers in 2010

By: Nick Holt

In case you missed it, U.S. News published an article in December 2009 highlighting the “50 Best Careers of 2010“. Each occupation classified as one of the “Best Careers” was chosen because it offered either growth, good pay, varied educational requirements, or sustained opportunity.

Finance

Boston is renowned for having one of the world’s most prominent Financial Districts. We’ve got State Street Corporation and Liberty Mutual, just to name a few! And with 52 universities in town, Boston is also home to an array of professional clubs, associations, and networking groups.

Boston job-seekers hoping to break into the finance world should check out the following careers, which all made the “best” list:

  • Financial Advisor         
  • Financial Analyst
  • Loan Officer                                          
  • Actuary               
  • Cost Estimator
  • Market Research Analyst                   
  • Accountant

The Importance of Being LinkedIn

By: Karen Choucrallah

In the social networking family, LinkedIn is Facebook and Twitter’s professional older uncle. It seems that if you’re looking to climb the corporate ladder, this is the only networking site that matters. According to CNN, more and more companies are searching for potential hires through LinkedIn. As reported by the CNN article “How LinkedIn Will Fire Up Your Career,” the consulting firm Accenture plans to hire 50,000 people this year. Forty percent of Accenture’s hires will be made through social media. For professional job hunters, having a 100% complete profile on the site is crucial.

What makes this site so important? One of the most useful features of Linked in is that it shows employers an applicant’s professional life, experience and connections before an interview, thus eliminating the need for the interviewer to glean these details in person.

Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, told the Economist that revenues from employers looking for recruits have risen consistently throughout the economic downturn. Recruiters use this easy and inexpensive way to find their future employees. They want to see your recommendations, connections and degrees of separation.

A LinkedIn profile is easy to manage and maintain. It’s more of a living document than your resume. When you do something as simple as joining your school’s alumni group on LinkedIn, you make yourself available to an entire network of professionals holding discussions. See a question posted that you can answer? Get in there! LinkedIn provides you with a way to open up communication without even exchanging business cards.

Sales jobs personalities: Are you a hunter or a farmer?

By Gillian Seely

The sales world is tragically riddled with tired analogies, but among the most poignant (ahem) observations about the personas of those in sales jobs in Boston is that of the hunter and the farmer.  Sales job ‘personalities’ tend to fall into these two neatly packaged, if slightly oversimplified, categories that dictate what kind of role a salesperson might find him/herself in. For my money, the main flaw of this analogy is that it gives the impression that sales people will eventually eat their customers….hmmm. Is it any surprise that the sales profession holds a less than desirable stigma? But let’s continue with this anyway and hopefully you’ll learn a thing or two and maybe even discover more about sales jobs, an often-undervalued field that is actually perfect for you.

The hunter- These types thrive on discovering new opportunities and uncovering potential areas for expansion.  They are able to assess the needs of a potential client quickly and efficiently after doing their research, and in some cases (if they are sharp), create a perceived need.  Extroverted, sociable, and highly independent, these people can appear to be “all talk”, but if they are professional and intelligent, they won’t just be feeding people a line. The hunter type may be found occupying the roles of business development representative and field sales representative to name a few.

The farmer- This person is the cultivator of accounts, the maintainer of relationships, and the protector of all things hunted. This is the person who works within existing accounts to ensure that first-time clients become loyal clients year after year.  Less independent than their aggressive colleagues, farmers work well in teams and are conversationally engaging and nurturing. You may find a farmer working as an account manager, customer service representative, or inside sales representative.

Considering a sales job in Boston? Don’t be put off by this ridiculous analogy or the negative chatter that seems to surround the industry. Sales is an increasingly sexy field, particularly as Boston and the rest of the country emerges from economic slumber and the needs of clients are now backed by an ample budget. Many companies are beginning the search for those who possess the traits listed above, and are willing to compensate on a commissioned basis for your hard work in the field and on the farm.

VCU Graduating first class of Creative Technologists

By Karen Choucrallah

Boston creative jobs
and Boston technology jobs are increasingly merging, a trend that is seeing massive change in the job market and a heightened demand for a hybrid professional with a mix of both backgrounds.  I am well aware of this, having entered college as a communications major, confident that I wouldn’t have to spend much time learning new technologies.  But not so in this high-tech world!

Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter, a graduate advertising school, blended what were traditionally separate fields of study into one in 2008 with the creation of their Creative Technology degree program.  The major combines the study of media technology with advertising and branding.  The first class is expected to graduate in 2010.

Why the need for this field?  If you’ve ever surfed the web, it only makes sense.  Digital advertising is everywhere.  The field is a logical response to the evolution of the creative industry in digital spaces.  IT programming professions, interactive designers, creative directors, and interactive media members, among others, are going to be seeing big changes in their job description.

The job market is becoming flooded with young educated hopefuls who have skill sets for this newly fused function.  Agencies and companies look for the well-rounded professional who can set up a mobile application for a product and design a new logo.  Fluency and confidence in creative, marketing and technology help to set creative technologists apart from job applicants who may only have one or the other.

This new field could be a setback or a benefit for job-seekers, depending on their skill sets.  Without relevant training, graduates with limited technology background but a strong creative sense could be cast aside in favor of the emerging competition. Instead of giving up, however, this could be an opportunity for job-seekers to learn new skills and take classes in emerging technologies online or at a local college.

The fusion of these fields definitely makes it harder for job-seekers to distinguish themselves from the competition.  Instead of fighting this trend, creative and technology professionals should embrace it.

Career Fairs for the Boston Job-Seeker

By Gillian Seely

Earlier this month, Hollister Staffing Consultant Noah Quist had the opportunity to speak at the Alpha Phi Alpha East conference in Boston, which prompted me to think about the value of career fairs and seminars for those who are currently looking for Boston jobs.

Career fairs are the best way to showcase your resume and experience in an open forum. They provide an opportunity to meet employers and have organic conversations that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to initiate with hiring managers-particularly given the restraints of online resume and cover letter submittals.  If you’ve ever had the thought “I wish I could walk in and hand my resume to the hiring manager, rather than having to apply through this impersonal online system”, then you absolutely should be checking out career fairs, which abound in university-rich cities like Boston.

Below you’ll find a list of upcoming career fairs in the area that Boston job -seekers should consider attending.  Just be sure that you do your homework in advance and read any online instructions- you may need to submit an online resume prior to the fair, and you’ll want to be sure you are familiar with the lineup of presentations and events, as well as with the dress code.

Technology, Engineering, and Security Clearance Career Fair
offering information on Boston area technology jobs

April 1, 2010 from 11:00am – 3:00pm
@ Mariott Burlington
http://www.targetedjobfairs.com/tjf/events/detail.jsp?eventid=3207

Boston Hires / National Career Job Fair
April 6, 2010 from 11:00am – 2:00pm
@Radisson Hotel Boston

http://boston.localhires.com/job-fairs

Professional and Executive Diversity Job Fair
April 6, 2010 from 10:00am – 3:00pm
@ Doubletree Guest Suites (400 Soldiers Field Road, Cambridge)

http://www.psijobfair.com/boston_04062010.aspx

Bridgewater State College Annual Job Fair
April 7, 2010 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm
@ Rondileau Campus Center Ballroom, Bridgewater
(Student/Alumni ONLY)

http://www.bridgew.edu/CareerServices/JobFair.cfm

The Career Combine (MITX)
April 13, 2010 from 12:00pm – 5:00pm
@Back Bay Events Center, Boston

http://reg.accelacomm.com/servlet/Frs.frs?Context=LOGENTRY&Source=MITX&Source_BC=59&Script=/LP/50864734/reg&

UMASS Boston Career Expo 2010
April 20, 2010 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm
@ UMASS Campus Center, 3rd Floor, Ballroom
http://www.careers.umb.edu/ce2010employers.html

Women for Hire Career Fair
April 28, 2010, 10am-2pm @ Hynes Convention Center
http://www.womenforhire.com/career_expos/spring_2010/boston

American Career Job Fair
May 17, 2010
from 10:00am – 2:00pm
@Crown Plaza Hotel, Natick
http://americancareerfairs.com/index.php?page=eventdetails&id=104

Virgin America Addresses Boston Marketing Community on Branding

By Gillian Seely

This morning I had the pleasure of listening to Virgin America’s Porter Gale speak at an American Marketing Association event, along with many other professionals from the Boston marketing community, and I wanted to share some thoughts.

In addition to being a fantastic speaker, she got me thinking about the nature of branding, and that branding success seems to now fundamentally depends on two things: 1) the ability of a company to provide a top-quality product or user experience and 2) (provided that #1 is in place), the ability of that product or experience to go viral online.

Virgin America has many things going for the brand: a “rebel” persona that differentiates it from the competition and gives it huge pull with Gen-X and Gen-Y customers (who, conveniently, are all on social media); a flat structure at the top that fosters a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the organization (LOVED the example of interns monitoring Tweets of passengers while they are in the air, and having flight-attendants address those needs in real-time) ; a knack for logical strategic partnerships (hosting events with YouTube celebs who have millions of followers); and a sense of humor…maybe we can thank Sir Richard for that.

One main point that I took from the presentation is that Virgin America consistently takes the good with the bad without censoring, and genuinely listens to the wants of customers when addressing needs and implementing change. Attention to detail is key here. As Gale pointed out, even something simple like the design on headphones can go a long way to building brand presence and loyalty.  By listening to customers’ every word (sometimes literally and in real-time on Twitter), they are able to provide the best experience and cultivate a loyal mass of people who will be frequent flyers for years to come.

Boston marketers, Virgin America is one company that’s doing it right, and we would all do well to follow their lead in the branding space.

Marrying Your Job: “With this Blackberry, I thee wed”

By Gillian Seely

My last blog post explored the benefits of the increasingly popular four day workweek, but subsequent responses from readers helped me to realize that this topic was perhaps a bit narrow.  The changing workweek structure is only one part of an emerging phenomenon that warrants further exploration.

What deserves a closer look is not what the structure of the workweek is becoming, but rather that our once clear-cut lives are increasingly losing structure, making the work-life balance a less tangible idea.  The line between work and play is becoming distorted, and causing many of us to find ourselves writing blogs for our company website while lying in bed, and (let’s be honest) G-chatting from our office computers. If social media has taught us anything, it’s that today’s taboo will be tomorrow’s necessary in the workplace.

Mobile technology allows us to connect on so many levels that to limit ones’ interaction to 9-5 in an era of constant contact is really to shoot oneself in the foot and risk falling behind.  It’s safe to say, as one reader points out, that our jobs now, especially technology jobs, largely require us to avail ourselves 24/7 in some fashion.

Bearing this in mind, and coming to the realization that we are married to our jobs more than ever before (albeit in unconventional ways), it’s so crucial that you love what you do, and that you love the company you are a part of.

But remember that the same technologies keeping us tied to our jobs are also allowing us to escape the confines of our offices.  And for that freedom, we are eternally indebted to our mobile devices… Married, if you will.

Four Day Workweek? Yes, Please!

By Gillian Seely

In the beginning, the boss created the workweek. It was five days long. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, and a great darkness covered the earth.  After much conferring, the State of Utah said, “Let there be Friday (off)!”, and the state employees celebrated and gave thanks…and people around the nation and beyond were jealous and cried out in revolt…and then this job trend started to catch on.

The four day workweek makes fantastic sense. In a nutshell, less time spent commuting leads to: a clear decrease in local traffic, pollution, and gas expenses for employees; lower utility bills for companies; more time for families to be together and go on vacation (leading to a possible decrease in the divorce rate and instances of juvenile delinquency); and an almost instant morale boost, which will likely increase the productivity of a company.

What’s the catch? If there is one, it might be that on days one through four, employees may be asked to work ten hour days instead of the standard nine-to-five shift. And there will almost certainly be people within the structure of a company who, for logistical reasons, cannot be out of the office on a Friday. The solution? Friday doesn’t have to be the day off for everyone. Companies facing this kind of dilemma can still embrace this job trend by scheduling their operations so there is someone in the office five days a week, and peoples’ designated day off can vary from week to week.

Further supporting the case for the four day workweek is the fact that mobile technology allows people to work from remote locations, and many companies are allowing employees a “work from home” option anyway.  (In many cases, people seem to be more, not less productive, when they can stay in their pajamas and be in the comforts of their own home while working.)  Add to that the simple truth that people want to work for a company that cares about the well-being and happiness of its employees. So what harm can there be in closing down the office one day a week? The evidence seems to show that the positives far outweigh the negatives when considering this rather revolutionary plan.

And if the skeptics still aren’t convinced, Time Magazine reported that Utah employees ended up taking fewer sick days and claimed to be exercising more on Fridays. Could this also be a way to help rid America of obesity? The benefits go on and on…let there be light.

Networking for Jobs in Boston

By Karen Choucrallah

Being out of work or between jobs is a huge financial blow, particularly in an expensive city like Boston.  While it’s tempting to curl up and pretend everything’s fine, three-day Law & Order marathons will not help your cause (although I do love Benson & Stabler!).  Sometimes all it takes to find a great Boston job is a burst of energy channeled into a day of cover-letter writing, followed by a full evening of networking.  I’m having trouble thinking of anything worthwhile that was ever achieved on the couch (unless a laptop was involved).  So get up, push yourself out of your comfort zone, and hit the city to find a Boston networking event.

Networking events don’t have to be named as such.  You’ll probably soon realize that you make your most valuable contacts-and those most closely related to your desired line of work- when you get involved in activities you’re truly passionate about or those that fit your background.  Are you into art? Visit a free exhibition at Newbury Fine Arts, or submit a landscape piece to Arnold Arboretum.  Do you love to read?  Join a book club at Barnes & Noble, or check out a visiting author at a university book store.

Do keep in mind as you pick your events that no one likes a phony.  Showing up to a wine tasting with the sole intention of mingling with Boston’s gainfully employed is a sure-fire way to look like a big fraud.  Not to mention that people who really are there to sample the wine will be annoyed if you are incessantly passing out your business card at every opportunity.  Of course it’s ok to try new things and DO be proactive about meeting people, but keep it relevant and keep it respectful.  Here’s a great list of events to check out. Happy networking.