Social Media Marketing » technology

Creative and Tech Job Openings in Seattle

Geoff Tucker — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:41:31 +0000

Links to hot jobs in Seattle at cool companies

Blast Radius http://bit.ly/d7XtJF

ZAAZ http://www.zaaz.com/#/are_you_hiring/

VML http://www.vml.com/careers.aspx

Wunderman http://bit.ly/boEHaj

Knowledge Base Marketing http://www2.kbm1.com/careers.aspx?pgID=993

Blog Repaired, Mind Your Passwords

Geoff Tucker — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:48:57 +0000

Lesson learned: don’t use lame passwords on your sites. I had to learn the hard way and discovered my blog was hacked. The spammer loaded it full of hidden links to movie download sites. After cleaning up 70 posts by hand, you can bet I made sure the new password won’t be guessed by them again. And it will be changed regularly, too.

Reading “140 Characters”

Geoff Tucker — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:14:57 +0000

Tomorrow I begin reading an innovative hybrid of ebook and iPhone app.

It’s “140 Characters” – a sort of how-to I am using as resource material for writing and research on a personal project that launches in early ’10.

I’m looking forward to what seems like a regularly updated feed paired up with static content all built around the framework of a book.

And it’s a paid app to boot.

Like I said, interesting hybrid.

download Basic Instinct

Job Hacking: Do you know the 2 best ways to stand out?

Geoff Tucker — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:13:02 +0000

Job Hacking: Do you know the 2 best ways to stand out?

iPhone Wallpapers by Jonathan Adler

Geoff Tucker — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:43:10 +0000

Such lovely papers for your phone http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/content.php?pageid=pdawallpaper

Social Media in 30 Seconds

Geoff Tucker — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:01:40 +0000

Omniture: Industry Insights Â» Blog Archive Â» Social Media in 30 Seconds

Omniture posted a nice slide with a breakdown of the domains of social media.

If social media confuses you, this does a great job of clarifying what each realm represents.

How To Nail An Interview

Geoff Tucker — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:47:00 +0000

How To Nail An Interview

Hide a video camera, interview people for a job that doesn’t exist, for a company that doesn’t exist…all supposedly so you can learn how to interview better.

Sure, the candidates (victims?) are textbook examples of what not to do at an interview. It’s simply sad how poor their answers and behaviors are. But knowing this guy created this as a way to learn how to interview better – would YOU (as a recruiter or hiring manager) – ever hire him after seeing this stunt?

Cindy Pain with LinkedIn How-To at Seattle School for Visual Concepts

Geoff Tucker — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:08:37 +0000

Through networking, I met some marketing and advertising people who started the Stuart Smalley Society, a networking and job search buddy meeting, on Facebook. The people organizing the SSS are doing a great job.

On April 9, Cindy Pain presented how to get the most out of LinkedIn at the School for Visual Concepts (SVC is offering limited seating at 50% off for all classes for folks unemployed in the last six months. Call 206-623-1560). Cindy is VP, Career Management Consultant / VP, Career Coach at Lee Hecht Harrison.

I began using LinkedIn in 2005. Since 2007, I have focused on growing my network and refining my profile. I’ve read many how-to’s, tips and secrets, including Rita Ashley’s handy and smart LinkedIn to Power Job Search. Definitely get your free copy of that jewel

I recruited two friends to attend with me, and I wanted to learn what I haven’t yet found out. While the session was geared toward newbies, it’s always good to revisit the basics. Now I know what’s on my profile maintenance list!

Below are my notes from the session. These assume a basic working knowledge of the site but post a comment with any questions. I will respond.

Your title: Modify the title to be YOU – not a job title. (“Marketing Communications Manager” not “MarCom Specialist Level II”)

It is good to post your picture when trying to bypass HR to reach the hiring manager. This puts a face with a name, and offers an opportunity to let the hiring manager identify with you. (“He looks like a nice guy, someone I’d enjoy talking to.”)

Modify the profile URL to have your name in it. If your name is already taken, add your middle initial or middle name. When a person searches for you on LinkedIn, the geographical constraints will reduce the search results enough to make you easy to find. When Googled (and you will be), your profile will now appear in Google search results.

Privacy settings: turn these to “no” when making major updates. Leaving it to “yes” means every time you change even one letter in a word, your contacts are notified that your profile has been updated – but it doesn’t say what you did. Make all your updates in one session, then turn privacy back off so people will see only your fully revised profile. You don’t want to fatigue your contacts with excessive updates about you that aren’t really updates.

Be a lifetime learner, always reading, always learning. Be a trendspotter. Focus on employability, not job titles. The days of lifetime employment are dead and mostly a myth of the manufacturing economy. Your career is yours to manage and own. Focus on bringing value to your role, not just skills.

Profile Summary: Do not write this as dry as a resume is. Give the reader more to read. If you are in a creative profession, be creative because you are expected to be. This is the time and place to demonstrate your character and qualities. Look at Cindy’s profile as an example. Show personality, show enthusiasm, make yourself stand out from cookie cutter profiles.

Read other people’s profiles for ideas of what to write about yourself. If writing isn’t your strong suit, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Read profiles of people in your field, at your level, and find the ones who say it well. Then copy, put your own spin on it, and paste.

Be authentically you in what you say. If the words you say feel fake to you, imagine how they sound to the person listening.

I loved this metaphor: “Social networks are how we have a front porch since we are now so transient.” Using online social networks are how we keep up with everyone. This is called “ambient awareness” by social media experts.

Your resume is a reason to get someone to call you. When they ask about your experiences, don’t tell them how you did it. Tell them what you did and the results. Tease them. Make them want more. If you tell them the how, you solved their problem (by giving them the answer), and now they can do it on their own. And you got bupkuss for it.

Understand your market and your audience so you talk to them how they expect. If talking to marketers, use a marketer’s language. If talking to a recruiter, use language that she can follow. Remember: a recruiter fills many positions so they don’t necessarily know every industry’s jargon.

Get Recommendations! Reciprocate always. Talk about the person’s work, talk about him as a person. Pay it forward.

Connect with LinkedIn Open Networkers (LIONs) to generate many 3rd degree connections. You may never meet the LION, but the 3rd degree connection opens up pathways to many more people. LIONs are good to move your message forward when requested. Again, pay it forward and reciprocate.

Write a recommendation even if you only know a little bit about the person. Speak to the qualities you have seen and experienced.

Searching techniques:

Use Boolean searches. Put search terms in double quotes to constrain search results. Modify by using AND, OR and NOT (in all caps) between search terms. For example, “John Doe” AND Starbucks.

Join Groups. Similar to connecting with LIONs, having a group in common lets you easily connect with others on your own. Also, groups are a great way to network online and in person. They range from your location, to your industry, to diversity groups and more.

Search for points of affinity when searching for people. For example, search for people from your university alma mater, from companies where you worked, or by job titles. If you want to connect with accounting supervisors in your city, search by job titles in your area to find them. Then use 3rd degree connections through groups or LIONs to network with them.

That’s the sum of 90 minutes of excellent presentation by Cindy. Please comment your thoughts below.

Four Favorite Web-Based Tools for Projects

Geoff Tucker — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:12:47 +0000

Web 2.0 has spawned many great tools for the freelancer to make running a business simple, quick and easy to manage. Below are my picks for various categories:

Time Tracking/Invoicing
Freshbooks with Tick
- Freshbooks offers a low cost way to manage multiple clients for their specific projects, and make sure you bill for your time correctly. Invoicing, estimates, time tracking, expenses, clients & team, and branding. Manage up to 3 clients for free, then it goes to $14/mo for up to 25 clients.

With the free Tick add-in, you have a timer that integrates to record time spent on a project. No more writing it down on a Post-It note. Don’t lose precious billable hours (and minutes) because you forgot to look at the clock when you started. Once you complete the project, all the activities roll up in to your invoicing which can be issued via email and paid via PayPal. Easy to use, gracious interface.

Project Management

Basecamp – If you don’t know about Basecamp, you are so missing out. Host a single project for free, and then pricing starts at $12/mo for 3 projects. If you ever tried to learn Microsoft Project (it’s a nightmare for the average project), then this is the solution you wanted.

With a simple interface, you add up to 99 other users who can access only the projects for which you grant permissions. Either on your team, a client, a business partner – it doesn’t matter. It’s all web-based with a secure log in.

Start off creating to-do lists, sharing files in a single location, host discussions on the write board, and building out milestones to populate a calendar that is the first thing you see when logging in. You instantly see what’s happening in the next 14 days, and Basecamp sends you reminders 48 hours before a to-do is due.

With a free account, test it out and learn how to best use for your group.

Lists
- I survive by my to-do lists. blist is a to-do list on steroids. With many types of lists already built, find one that meets your needs, copy it and go.

You can manage projects including assets, due dates, statuses and subtasks to completing activities.

Did I mention it’s free?

The interface is polished and fairly intuitive as well.

blist is one of those “Try it and you’ll see” tools/sites that I recommend to people.

Online Calendaring

Famundo – I am only just starting to test Famundo but a big plus is that it has Outlook calendar synchronization. For my social groups this is a simple way to publish events and make sure people are involved.

It includes to-do lists, agendas and files…sort of a simplified project management tool but with an emphasis on placing the who/what/where/when front and center.

Confront Problems, Do Not Be a Dabbler

Geoff Tucker — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:14:06 +0000

Harrison Barnes’ blog entry today was a great piece about how some people can’t commit to what they’re doing and they dabble their lives away.

We once had a friend who dabbled in everything. His partner said if he were a superhero, his name would be The Piddler.

Sure, we all start some things that we don’t finish. But abandoning things when they lose immediate interest is a losing approach to achieving anything.

Barnes’ piece is a little long, and his comments about “attractive girls” seem condescending. Still, read it. Then comment: what have you dabbled in and dropped? What attracts you to a new activity or person?

Comments?