By: Shawna Wright

Why do people buy a product? Because it has a perceived value, something that benefits them. The same can be said for the hiring process. When an HR representative is looking to hire, they are looking to buy—you. As David H. Roper, a Massachusetts-based career development expert and President of A-Script, says in his book, Getting the Job You Want Now!, “You are the product. They [HR representatives] are the market.”  His advice is for job seekers to think of themselves as a product with a value, rather than a person with a need.

The best way to position yourself favorably in the eyes of a hiring manager is to identify your benefits and what that means for the company.  If you’re looking into several different positions or multiple job fields, you may have to tweak your “product value” to match their respective needs. Show your prospective employer why your particular background, special skills, innate abilities and past contributions make you an employee with added value and an asset to their company.

Explains Roper, “Years ago I went to a Boat Show in Boston, looking to buy a canoe. When I intently entered a booth where there were both canoes and high-speed powerboats, the salesman sensed I was hot to buy. But he made on critical mistake. He didn’t understand my needs and tried to sell me a powerboat. I patiently waited out his sales pitch, not wanting to be abrupt. But he’d already lost me. If he didn’t care to understand my needs…why should I fulfill his?”

The goal is to brand and market yourself as something desirable. Take time and do a little homework on the company you are looking to get hired at. If you understand what that hiring manager is looking for, you can better present yourself as a solution to their problem.

Historically, there has been a relatively clear distinction between the Creative and the Technology spaces. Creative teams have traditionally been charged with creating concepts, writing copy and designing, while Tech teams focused on integrating back-end coding. The right brain handed off to the left brain, and visions came alive.

Today, however, as technology becomes ever more complex and grows more vital to the success of integrated marketing and advertising campaigns, the line between Creative and Technology has become noticeably blurred, breeding the demand for employees with mastery of both areas.

The convergence of Creative and Technology isn’t new. Throughout the past 10 years, the Internet has become the prevailing marketing and advertising tool, meaning creative teams have had lots of catching up to do. Copywriters now work alongside SEO specialists, filling Web page and blog copy with key words and phrases to make the sites search-friendly. Similarly, coding is no longer strictly a web developer’s area.

Through his experience, Jesse Morano, Senior User Experience Designer, has found that traditional micro-niches no longer work.

“When everyone understands at least some of the skill sets adjacent to their own primary strengths, communication is easier, the work moves more quickly, and the quality goes up without a corresponding increase in cost,” Explains Morano. “The best creative and technology professionals understand this, and actively learn from their colleagues in other aspects of the project.”

“But there is a limit that companies need to understand,” he continues. “You simply will not find a brilliant visual designer who is equally brilliant at Objective-C programming or vice-versa, for example. The trick is to figure out the exact ratio of skills you need and find a person whose skill set matches that ratio.” 

Today, with everything from marketing to entertainment going interactive and increasingly moving into the mobile space, the demand has risen for hybrid professionals who are creative, strategy-driven, and technologically savvy. This defines the user-experience designer.

Sometimes referred to as the user-interface designer, this employee is responsible for overseeing both the technical and the creative elements that make the user’s experience as simple, efficient, and enjoyable as possible. This person is responsible for understanding the human factor of a Web site—the ways in which visual design, information architecture and new technologies affect how people respond to a Web page, as well as how the user moves through the site. The user-experience designer is ultimately responsible for marrying what the Web can do with what the user wants and how they expect it to be presented, blending the roles of IA, UI, SEO, copywriter, front end developer, and visual designer as best meets the nuances of the project and the needs of the client.

According to Kim Wachter, Senior Creative and Marketing Recruiter for Hollister, Inc., a Boston-based hiring firm, “The worlds of Creative and Technology are most definitely blending, particularly in the mobile application space. Our clients are looking for candidates that keep up with the emerging trends; professionals who can lead their company through these transitions.”

Everyone uses the Internet to sponsor one cause or another, so why not promote the cause closest to you—you. A personal Web site, when dedicated to your professional life, is a great way for job seekers to showcase resumes, portfolios, published work and career achievements.

Personal Web sites take you beyond the one-page resume rule, giving you virtually unlimited space to provide as much detailed Boston Job experience as you want. These sites readily show off your portfolio, especially if you’re in an arts, engineering, architecture or communications/creative field.

A Web site should not replace a traditional resume, but instead support it. The site is meant to provide background information to back up the claims you make on your resume. As the adage goes, “talk is cheap.” Showcasing your work will keep an HR/hiring manager from questioning your talent.

Keeping in mind that a professional Web site is designed to enhance your career; you wouldn’t take pictures of family, friends or your cat to an interview, so keep them off the site. Stay away from superfluous add-ons. The page should be professional, not kitschy. Mary Truslow, team lead for the Boston Staffing Agency Hollister Inc., explains the advantage of having an online portfolio in the creative design space. “There is a lot of competition out there. The best online portfolios and Web sites we find have simple layouts that force us to focus on the candidate’s work.”

For more information, check out the following resources:

8 Creative Portfolio Community Sites

10 Tips for Web site Design

Creating the Perfect Portfolio

There’s an app for just about everything. With over a billion apps downloaded from Apple’s App Store—and no end in sight for this growing market space—there are dozens of apps designed to help job seekers. Some are free; the rest only cost a few dollars.

 Here are just a few of the apps out there.

Real-Time Jobs

Recently released, this TwitterJobSearch app enables job seekers to attach an online/video CV or online profile to job offers that have been posted via Twitter.

Job Compass

This application uses iPhone’s geo-locator to find jobs within a chosen radius of the user’s location. Job seekers are able to read job descriptions, contact companies and apply directly from the iPhone.

BeamMe

IPhone users can send virtual business cards, “Vcards,” via SMS and e-mail. The great part is that the recipient only has to open the message and click one button to add the job seekers contact information with no special phone, software or registration.

LinkUp

This job search engine app lets users search for jobs on company Web sites by keyword, location, company and category. Searches can be saved and you can apply to jobs through your iPhone and/or e-mail job openings to yourself or a friend.

Resume Pro

Create a PDF resume on your iPhone by inputting professional and personal information. Preview your resume and e-mail it to yourself or someone else as a PDF. This app also includes a generic cover letter you can include when you send your resume.

Good Job

This application allows iPhone users to manage all aspects of the job search process; tasks, events, follow ups and interviews. It also allows you to save an unlimited number of jobs and contacts and save your login information on some job search and company sites.

Karma centers on the belief of “what goes around, comes around.” In short, the way you look at and react to the world around you directly affects your circumstances. The same thing can be said for the job search process. It can become a long and draining experience—an article from CareerBuilder.com suggests that you should “…expect it to take at least three months to find a job that pays $40,000. Add one month for every $10,000 more you want in salary.” Job seekers finding themselves facing another dead end can get frustrated, disappointed and understandably apprehensive. Many hunker down, staying at their computer for hours. But uninterrupted job hunting is a bad thing. The anxiety and stress wears you down mentally, physically and emotionally. Suddenly it feels like you are in too deep and it’s easy to lose sight of where you are.

Here are some ways to stay healthy—both in mind and body—while you continue your job search.

Mentally

Take the time to learn a new skill, especially one that is applicable to your career goals. Most everyone has a basic understanding of Microsoft Office, so learn a new computer program that boosts your value to a potential employer. Tools like Apple’s Keynote and Adobe Flash are slowly replacing traditional PowerPoint presentations because they can create more dynamic and captivating productions. It’s important to stay positive during the Boston Job hunt. Learning a new skill can make you feel that you’re during something productive with your time. Concentrate on how accomplished you’ll feel when you can add another line to your resume.

To maintain a sense of control, do something every day that offers concrete results. It can be as simple as cleaning out a closet, organizing the garage or washing your car. Reward yourself with something that denotes “job well done.” As far as job searching goes, pride yourself on the things you accomplished that day—sent out X number of resumes, made contact with HR manager Y—rather than waiting to celebrate what you’ve done. It’s critical to strive to maintain a glass half-full mentality.

Physically

It may sound trite, but exercising and eating right can keep you in a more positive mindset during the Boston Job search. Exercise gives your brain a much-needed reprieve from sending out resumes and cover letters. Exercising also releases endorphins, a natural pick-me-up and helps constructively release frustration and anger. However, many job seekers are cancelling their subscription to the local gym or yoga studio, trying to cut back on expenses. You don’t have to work with a personal trainer to make excerise worth it. Go for daily walks with a friend. Rent pilates videos from the library and turn your living room into a mini-fitness center. Find something that keeps you active and gives you a well deserved time-out from job hunting.

Emotionally

When people begin to feel demoralized, they often start turning down social invitations. Staying connected to the outside world is extremely important for your emotional and mental health. There’s no need to go it alone. Connect regularly with other people, both in your professional and personal circles. Reaching out to others during this time is one way to help you feel valuable — and valued. Identify those people who have confidence in you and build your own confidence in yourself.

Twitter is rapidly becoming a major player in social media. As the third most-used social media Web site with an average tweet speed of 20505 per minute, the amount of information can be overwhelming and difficult to sort through. In order to more effectively use Twitter as a job search tool, Boston job seekers need to find ways to more efficiently organize how they use the site.

Luckily, Twitter has hundreds of third party applications to do just that. Here are just a few:

Twitterfeed

Automatically updates blog posts or RSS feeds to Twitter in the appropriate format.

TweetBeep

Just like Google Alerts, this application will automatically send you an alert when ever a pre-set keyword is mentioned on Twitter.

Tweetshots

This service allows you to post your tweets to other sites like Tumblr, embed in your Web site or send over e-mail.

Twitter100

Just like in your personal start pages, this tool will allocate a box to each of the people you follow on a single page and display their latest tweets.

TwtBizCard

This simple service lets you set up an electronic business card that can be easily tweeted to your contacts. When you sign up, the service pulls from your Twitter profile as starter information for the e-business card, but allows you to add details for customization.

TweetMyJobs

With over 300,000 tweets in the last month, TweetMyJobs sends you job postings based on industry/field and location.

Summize

A Twitter search engine that allows you run RSS feeds in the query as well as filter tweets by language.

The advent of autumn brings the beginning of cold and flu season. And, with work deadlines constantly looming, few workers want to have to take time off to recover from a cold or the flu.

According to a national survey conducted earlier this year by Monster.com, 71% of American workers admit they go to work when they are ill because they fear losing their jobs or are too busy to take a break. Of those who go to work sick, “33% fear losing their job if they take a sick day, while 38% admit their workload is too busy to take a day off from work even when they are ill,” said Norma Gaffin, director of career content at Monster.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS165997+20-May-2009+BW20090520

Only 19% of respondents say they stay home from work when sick in order to rest up and get well. The remaining 10% who avoid the workplace when sick actually work from home, despite being ill.

Given statistics like these, it is important to take precautions to avoid catching a virus while at the office this cold and flu season. Below are some tips to keep in mind.

• Wash hands often. This means after each restroom break, before eating, after you sneeze or cough or any time your hands feel dirty. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer at your desk for when you can’t make it to the sink. And do not touch your nose, mouth or eyes.
• Eat balanced meals. Many people are tempted to skip breakfast, however it has been shown that those who eat breakfast are healthier than those who do not. Moreover, try to include a decent amount of vitamin C in your diet to give your immune system a boost. 
• Keep workspace clean. Clean your phone, computer keyboard and anything else that you use frequently. Even if you are the only user, germs can live on these objects and you can reinfect yourself.
• Drink 8 glasses of water daily. Keep a water bottle close by throughout the day. Coffee and soda may keep you awake, but they can also dehydrate you, lowering your immune defenses.
• Avoid sick coworkers. As indicated by the poll above, most of your sick coworkers will be working right along side you at the office. Try to, nicely, avoid direct contact with them.
• Use vacation days. Although it may feel like its never a good time to be away from the office, people who take vacations are less likely to get sick. Vacations often relieve stress, which has been proven to contribute to illness.

To learn more about workplace safety and health issues, please visit: www.cdc.gov/workplace.

Having trouble landing a job in one of the more traditional employment hot spots like New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles? Well, you may want to look elsewhere for opportunities because New York City is predicted to lose 181,000 jobs this year alone and each of the two other major cities is predicted to lose a similar number of jobs.

If you are willing to relocate, you should look for jobs in cities where the unemployment situation is not so grim. Forbes has looked into its crystal ball and pulled together a list of the 10 Best Cities for Jobs in 2009. The top three cities for jobs (based on unemployment rate and the number of new jobs created in the previous six months) are: Madison, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., and Boston, MA.

So, why does Madison have a positive outlook for job growth and a strikingly low unemployment rate? The University of Wisconsin is a huge employer, and the University’s research branch, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, has made Madison a hub for the biotech, healthcare, and medical-device industries. Also, the city is home to the state’s government and diverse companies.

And how about Washington, D.C.? Washington D.C. benefits from an ample supply of government jobs. For Washington, the government is the city’s largest employer. Washington also benefits from its numerous nonprofits, professional associations, law firms, and defense contractors, as well as from education. In fact, schools are the third largest employer in the city, and 30,000 new education jobs are predicted for 2009. 

Finally, what makes Boston, MA a hot spot for jobs? The abundance of hospitals, research institutions, and universities in the area drives Boston’s economy and produces a highly-educated workforce, which in turn has been attracting an increasing number of biotech and software companies to the area, giving the city a leg up in the job market. Also, because Boston is home to mainly hedge funds, trust services, and deposit banks, it was able to avoid many of the problems that hit New York’s financial institutions during the subprime mortgage crisis.

And, if you just cannot imagine yourself living in Madison, D.C., or Boston, how about Pittsburg or Houston?

Forbes’ 10 best cities for jobs in 2009 list:

1. Madison, Wisconsin
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Boston, Massachusetts
4. Richmond, Virginia
5. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7. Baltimore, Maryland
8. Seattle, Washington
9. Houston, Texas
10. Dallas, Texas

Sitting at a desk all day can take a toll on your health and activity level, but there are some easy ways to stay in shape that do not require a gym membership or huge time commitment. You can sneak in small bouts of exercise throughout the day as well as make healthy eating choices.

Take a Few Extra Steps

Park your car in a spot far away from the entrance to your office. While parking close to the front door is convenient, walking the few extra feet every day quickly adds up. When you need to ask a colleague a question, don’t call or email. Walk over to his or her office. Take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you can; stair climbing is a great form of exercise. You can try using the restroom on a different floor.

Eat Smart

Beware the convenience of buying lunch. Quick sandwiches and meals-to-go are often high in calories and low in nutrition. Bringing a lunch is the healthier option. You’ll know the ingredients of what you’re eating, and be able to control the portion size and leave out unhealthy toppings.

Drink Up

Every diet encourages you to increase your water intake. Not only do the trips to the water cooler get you out of your seat, but drinking water also keeps you from snacking and actually makes you feel full. We are often unable to distinguish hunger from thirst, so if you find yourself staring at the clock waiting for your lunch hour, try drinking some water to see if your hunger pains abate.

It is a struggle to stay healthy and active while sitting at a desk all day, but there are small ways to make a positive impact.