Career 2.0 Review

Bad acting, cheesy dialogue, unrealistic scenarios. It all reminds me of health class in middle school. Remember those videos demonstrating the dangers of drug and alcohol use and how to handle the peer pressure? I can picture them now... "Just try the pot Jimmy, come on man, you'll like it!"Jimmy looks confused.  The voice over narrator asks, "What should Jimmy do?"  Ahh, good times. So what reminded me of those superbly produced educational videos? A relatively new site called Employaid.  The point of Employaid is to develop "an online community for corporate employees to find the resources they need for career success." What that means is that the site provides articles, podcasts, blog posts and most importantly - videos, all with the hope of improving the work experience.  If you're looking for entertainment, please check out the videos. My favorite so far has been the one on office gossip, which you can watch here. Here is some dialogue from the video so you … [Read more...] about Employaid: Career Videos That Are Accidentally Funny

The Jobacle team always has its collective ear to the pavement to bring you the latest career 2.0 Web site reviews and employment news.  One of my favorite sites that we've covered over the past year is Razume. (Read our original post here.)  Designed to let users upload a resume and receive critiques from a community, the online destination, to this point, has not received the attention it deserves.That may be about to change, thanks in part to an expansion of offerings.  The team of Sam Blum and Kyle Stoneman have developed a three-prong system to aid job seekers:- Powerful resume authoring tools with the ability to easily share your CV.  Solicit advice from other users or use an annotation tool to leave feedback.- Free one-click posting to the major job boards; 7 million job postings aggregated from around the Web.- Research perspective employees and get tips and techniques (this functionality is currently unavailable)The site is currently in beta and recently … [Read more...] about Razume: Free Opinions on Your Resume

Starting a new job is always a little overwhelming. You don't know anyone, you are unsure of the lingo used and there's always stuff going on around you that you don't quite understand. You don't know if your boss is a complete jerk and you're always watching what you say, trying to avoid sounding like an idiot.  Wouldn't it be nice to have some more information about your working environment before beginning the job to help with the transition? A new site called Glassdoor.com may be able to help. More than that, the site will be able to help you decide what companies to apply to in the first place. The site claims to have the opinion of over 40,000 employees from over 11,000 companies around the world (although mostly in the United States). Employees anonymously write reviews of their company focusing on important qualities such as compensation, work/life balance, CEO rating, and leadership.  The site is free, but in order to fully access all the reviews, you yourself have … [Read more...] about Don't Let the Glassdoor Hit You On the Way In

Whenever I search for a job, my father always gives me a lecture about “connections.” He explains that most jobs are filled by people who already have some connection to the company. Someone within the company tells their boss about a friend or family member who would be great for a job opening, and they end up getting it. "That's just the way it works," he says. I took his advice, and it helped me land a decent job during college. Part of me is uncomfortable with the idea because it feels a little dishonest, almost like cheating. And I can't help but wonder that the reason my boss did not seem to like me much during that job was because I used a family connection to get it.  That said, if a hiring manager trusts the employee that is recommending someone, there is no reason why this can't be a solid method to hire an employee. Which makes it a great way to get a job.  A new site called Jobirn claims to make this whole process very simple. They call themselves the "insider … [Read more...] about Jobirn: Real-Time Chat With Company Recruiters

Ever notice how it often takes 10 e-mails to accomplish what could have been done in one simple conversation?  I often find this when it comes to scheduling meetings at work.  You know the drill.Cube Dweller #1: "When do you want to meet?  I can do Wednesday morning or any time on Thursday."Cube Dweller #1: "How about Wednesday at 11am? But we should probably ask Susie."Cube Dweller #1: Sounds goot to me.  Susie, will that work for you?Susie:  "I can't do Wednesday, but Thursday is good." Cube Dweller #2:  "Hmmmm.  Thursday won't work for me.  How about Friday?"ENOUGH!!!There a brand new tool that makes the process easy, quick and painless.  You don't even need to register.Check out When Is Good.The Web app lets you create an event, highlight the times that are good for you, and share a link with coworkers.  Coming soon, Outlook and Google Calendar integration. … [Read more...] about Scheduling a Meeting Made VERY Easy

“You know, like nunchaku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.” These wise words from Napoleon Dynamite are the theme of the promoted video on the new Australian website skillsone.com.au. If Napoleon is right, it looks like I’m going to be single for a long time. Luckily for Australians, the Australian government has funded a program to increase interest in trade skills within the country. The funds back the Institute for Trade Skills Excellence. The first aim of the Institute is to “improve the profile and status of trades.” One of the ways they plan on achieving that goal is through the new video-based skillsone.com.au site.  The site is actually pretty cool. The videos are broken down into eight different categories of trades such as Building and Construction, Automotive, and Manufacturing. Dozens of videos exist for each category, and most of the videos seem to be profiles of … [Read more...] about Trade Skill Videos Deliver Good Insight

If you're not a part of a social network, you probably don't spend much time on the Internet. The phrase "social networking" has been around so long, it can't even be considered a buzzword anymore. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn... they all take up a large portion of many people's lives. LinkedIn is an example of a site that attempts to link social networking with business networking. A new site called Workology takes a similar approach.  I decided to give Workology a try. The site seemed easy enough to use, and they let me get started quickly, only asking for a name and e-mail address. Here are a few features that I found useful: 1. You get a personal "mini site" with your own URL. Here you can outline qualifications, experience, education and recommend other "experts" among other things. Mine is pretty bare right now, but you can check it out here. 2. The "Knowledge Market". It is a big discussion group where you can post jobs or ask … [Read more...] about Is Workology the New Online Watercooler?

This past weekend I stayed up until 2am filling out an eHarmony profile.  Regular readers might find this odd considering I am happily married.  The profile was for a friend, and let me tell you, finding that special someone who shares '29 degrees of compatibility' with my buddy was no easy task.  The questions were exhaustive and the process was exhausting.  After 60 minutes and $175, the system ran a scan for matches within a 30 mile radius of NYC.  Guess how many they found: ZERO.RealMatch, a career Website, promises better results; and we're confident they can deliver.Launching a brand new user interface today, the Website promises job seekers and employers a 'whole new way' to go about their business.  If you're searching for a new gig, you can find openings based on your skills and preferences in under three minutes (take that eHarmony!).  Employers get to spread the word about vacancies for free, only paying when they choose to contact a … [Read more...] about RealMatch Delivers Upgraded Job Tools for Seekers and Employers

I can be a fairly critical guy. I'm not afraid to identify things I don't like about something. I say this because the latest site I'm reviewing I am truly very impressed with. I have difficulty identifying a major flaw. The site is called JobScore.com. The purpose of the site is to connect job seekers with employers. "So what? There are hundreds of websites trying to do the same thing," you may say.  What sets JobScore apart is the innovative technology integrated into the site. The innovation is not just for the sake of innovation, but has a clear correlation to increased usability for each party involved. Simply put, the site looks incredible and has some outstanding features that set the bar for the future of job hunting online. The gist of the site is this: you upload your resume to the site. The software identifies important information from your resume and creates a profile on the site for you. You then fill in the profile with more specific information. You can … [Read more...] about I've Seen the Future of Online Job Hunting