Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about self-employment, informational interviewing, tweeting your way to a job, boosting your visibility at work, and learning everything you can in your current job.

From Business Week: A Guide to Self-Employment
“So you lost your job. Now what? As an employee, you had a daily routine, health insurance coverage, and a regular paycheck. You liked the security—while it lasted. And if you sometimes daydreamed about the freedom of working for yourself, leaving a full-time job never seemed worth the risk. ”

Wally’s Comment: Working for yourself isn’t easy. And it isn’t the freedom to do what you please either. If you grew up on a farm you’ve got the best model for working in your own business. Some things have to be done right now. The hours are long. But the people who love it really love it.

If you didn’t grow up on a farm, read this special report from Business Week. There’s lots of good and practical advice and plenty of examples.

From Employment Digest: 5 Tips to Using the Informational Interview to Find Your Dream Job
“Informational Interviewing is not job-interviewing. It’s a process for you to learn about an industry or a specific job title. It can also be a way for you to identify unmet needs and opportunities in fields that you love. Here’s how to get the most out of an informational interview.”

Wally’s Comment: This post describes how to do informational interviews as part of your quest for the job of your dreams. It’s a tool many people don’t even know about and it’s a great way to help define your career and develop some skills at the same time.

From the NY Times: Tweeting Your Way to a Job
“Of course companies have been seeking to exploit the marketing possibilities of social media for years — remember all those corporate storefronts in Second Life? Politicians and actors, too, have become adept at bypassing mainstream media to interact directly with fans (and foes). But only recently have companies begun hiring someone specifically for the task, largely because of the explosive popularity of Twitter.”

Wally’s Comment: The world is suddenly a-tweet with news of Twitter. Here’s an interesting article about jobs that actually involve Twitter. .

From Yahoo Hot Jobs: Tips for Boosting Your Visibility at Work
“If you’re concerned about protecting your job, it’s important to take steps to raise your profile. While you don’t need to brag about your on-the-job achievements in order to get noticed, increasing your visibility does require some self-promotional savvy. The following tactics will help you attract attention for all the right reasons:”

Wally’s Comment: At work, you want to be noticed for the right reasons. Here’s some good advice from Doug White, of Robert Half International, on how to make that happen.

From CareerDiva: Listen to workplace Ghandis
“Memorial Day is the kick off of the summer season and with it young, eager individuals are busting their butts wanting to be the best at their new jobs. Well, not everyone.”

Wally’s Comment: See that word, “Ghandi,” in the title. I don’t know what it means either. But don’t let that keep you from reading this post. It’s the kind of advice my mother would give you, but with better examples.

Last week, I blogged here about manners and how they can help you stand out from the crowd in today’s world.  Manners are essentially the way you show respect for others.

But there’s also business etiquette, the common ways many business people expect you to act in certain situations. An unintentional breach of etiquette can cost you a sale or a job.

Everyone who’s been involved in hiring has at least one story with an example of someone who shot themselves in the foot because they didn’t follow the rules of etiquette. Here’s one of mine.

I was working with a client to hire a Chief Operating Officer for his manufacturing company. The interview went well. The man’s resume was solid and he clearly knew his stuff. Then we went to lunch.

We were part way through the meal when our potential COO took the napkin off his lap and blew his nose in it. He put it back on his lap as if nothing had happened. But it had.

I looked at the CEO across the table. He looked back and just shrugged with a “what can you do” look on his face. The operations candidate wasn’t hired.

He called me to ask why and I told him. His response: “You mean you really care about that ‘Emily Post’ stuff?!”

Actually, he didn’t say stuff. But yes, the company did care about it.

To keep yourself safe, start by figuring out what you know and don’t. The Emily Post Institute has an online quiz that will help you assess your knowledge of US business etiquette.

Business etiquette is different in different countries. If you’re going to deal with people from another country, you’re more likely to be successful and avoid etiquette disaster if you take the time to learn the rules as they see them.

If you want to find out more about etiquette and how it can keep you safe, there are several sites that will help you. You can get to almost all of them if you start from either of the following collections of business etiquette links.

QuintCareers offers a site with job hunting and business etiquette resources. The links include dining etiquette, job-search etiquette, and “power etiquette.”

The State University of New York-Fredonia has part of its business department Web site devoted to business etiquette. This is the most comprehensive site I could find. There are links to sites, articles, and books about US business etiquette and business etiquette for other countries.

Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about getting all your ducks in a row, older job seekers, and the art of the executive interview. For extra credit, I’m pointing you to two new resources that just became available.

We’ll begin with two posts about getting things in order for your job search.

From the Wise Job Search: Are You Ready?
“You just got laid off from your job (Ouch!), and getting ready to begin a new job search. Are you ready?  What should you do first, and what tools will you need? Most people jump in, sending out resumes or contacting people unprepared. Usually they are ineffective, and sometime set themselves up to do real damage.  Get yourself organized and make a plan before you begin and your efforts will be much more fruitful. Here are 13 tools and tips to consider if you’re just starting out, or already well into your process.  You’ll need each of these:”

Wally’s Comment: This is a great checklist for anyone who’s hunting for a new job. Even if you’re not looking right now, this will give you an idea of what you need to have ready if your circumstances change.

From Alison Doyle at About.com: Creating a Target List of Companies
“If you don’t have a target list of companies – a short list of employers you would be thrilled to work for – it’s a good idea to research company information and create a list of companies to target in your job search. All the information you need is available on the web, and it’s easy to find detailed information about potential employers online.”

Wally’s Comment: You have two choices. You can hope that a company you’d like to work for finds you and offers you a job. Or, you can decide which companies you want to work for and make the first approach yourself. Which do you think is more likely to get you where you want?

Age and hiring issues have been in flux during this downturn. Here are two excellent posts about different aspects.

From the Wall Street Journal: With Jobs Scarce, Age Becomes an Issue
“Age discrimination in the workplace has long been a concern for the 55-and-older set. In this downturn, however, younger workers may have as much to fear as their more-mature colleagues.”

Wally’s Comment: There is nothing that scares a hiring manager more than the possibility that they might get sued. It leads to all kinds of irrational behavior. And, according to this post, it may be leading to a new kind of age discrimination.

From US News & World Report: Internships for Elders
“Laid-off baby boomers are taking internships to find new jobs and transition into second careers.”

Wally’s Comment: Reading this post was an “Aha!” moment for me. Internships are available in all kinds of organizations today and there’s no rule that only the young can use them.

From the Wall Street Journal: How to Master the Art of Executive Interviewing
“While job interviewing may not come naturally to everyone, the right preparation can make the difference between landing on your feet and hitting the street. Still, even the most experienced professionals often under-perform by overemphasizing their career progression and chronology or projecting only what they know, rather than focusing on the impact that their leadership has had on the organizations they’ve worked for and the lessons they’ve learned over time.”

Wally’s Comment: As you become more experienced, the nature of the job interview changes. Now when you get called in, the interviewer already knows the basics of your accomplishments and qualifications. He or she wants to get to know you and see if you fit the job you’re interviewing for. Your people skills are more important than ever and the first place you get to show them off is at your interview. It’s important. Double if you’re interviewing for a position where you’ll be supervising others. Are you ready?

Bonus

This week I noticed two announcements I thought you might want to know about.

The Come Recommended Site just came online. It claims to offer a new way to bring candidates and companies together.

Alison Doyle is the job search columnist for About.com. She also happens to have a post in this week’s selection. Alison has just released the second edition of her book, Internet Your Way to a New Job: How to Really Find a Job Online.

When I was growing up, good manners were expected. Today they can be a competitive advantage.

That’s no joke. Today recruiters can generate a battalion of applicants for every opening. You need a way to stand out from the crowd. Having good manners might do the trick.

A couple of summers ago my grandsons came to visit. After they left my neighbor, Bill, came over. He wanted to tell me something about the boys.

“They said, ‘Please’ and ‘Thank-you’ and ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘No, ma’am,’” Bill said. He told me that my grandsons were “fine young men.”

Bill and I are the same age. When we grew up, people noticed if you didn’t have manners. Today, you stand out if you do. Peter Post, director of The Emily Post Institute, says what that means in the context of a job search.

“Your skills can get you in the door; your people skills are what can seal the deal.”

When we talk about manners, that’s what we’re talking about: people skills. I’m not suggesting that you master arcane codes of conduct or learn thousands of rules by heart. I’m talking about ways that you show respect for others by the way you talk and act. Here are my basic rules.

Be on time and don’t waste the time of others.

Say, “Please” and “Thank-you.”

Use language that the other person is comfortable with.

Act in ways that respect the other person.

That’s a good start. You may be doing those things already. And they should cover most of the “manners” issues. In today’s world, they just might be your competitive advantage.

Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about using Twitter in your job search, mid-career change for women, three times you should lie at work, becoming MVP material, and learning and hireability.

From the Wise Job Search: Five Best Ways to Use Twitter for Your Job Search!
“Twitter can be a tremendous, fast moving tool in your Job Search Toolbox.  Here are 5 ways to get the most out of it.”

Wally’s Comment: Searching for a job is one of those challenges where the more of the right people you’re connected to, the more successful you’re likely to be. Here are five specific ways to use Twitter to improve your job search.

From the Wall Street Journal: Career Women, Remade
“If you’re a mid-career woman who wants to make a change, where should you begin? Columnist Alexandra Levit on how you can reinvent yourself.”

Wally’s Comment: This is a good rich piece that’s worth a read even if you’re not a woman and even if you don’t want to “reinvent” yourself. Read it for the idea value.

From Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist: Three Times You Should Lie at Work
“Everyone thinks transparency and authenticity are great. But sometimes you need to rein them in. I’ve talked about how I do this with my blog, which is really an example of how I rein myself in at work. There are times we each have to do this at work, and in some cases, we need to lie.”

Wally’s Comment: Mostly I find Penelope Trunk’s posts to be strident, “look-at-me-I’m-edgy” pieces. But this post puts that self-conscious edginess to good use.

From Fistful of Talent: Lessons from LeBron: Are You MVP Material?
“Dr. J, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – - and now LeBron James.  Named MVP of the NBA, LeBron is the 3rd youngest to ever win the award and quickly credited his coach and teammates saying, “Individual accolades come when team success happens”.  He had incredible stats on the offensive end and finished second in the voting for defensive player of the year.  Not too shabby. While LeBron has many “natural” advantages (6′ 8″, 250 pounds and faster than a Cajun at a crawfish boil) his mental focus, work ethic, knowledge of his competition and commitment to team are the key drivers of his success.  Sound familiar?”

Wally’s Comment: Kathy Rapp draws good parallels between success in a sports career and success in another kind of career.

From HR Observations: Constant Learning is the Key to Hireability
“To stay employed today you not only have to have a current skill set you also have to be acquiring a new one.”

Wally’s Comment: The reason you hear so much about the importance of lifelong learning and development is that it’s important. Really. It’s characteristic of those MVPs that Kathy Rapp writes about in the post just above and top performers of all kinds. And it’s more important than every right now. Mike Haberman tells you why.

When the Great Depression hit with gale-force economic winds, it swept away many visions of the future. Some of those dreams belonged to my mother and her brothers and sister.

Before the Great Depression, their father had thriving businesses. Life was good. Prospects were unlimited.

After the Great Depression hit, my grandfather’s business was gone. He went to work on the railroad, glad in that time to have any job at all.

His family adjusted, too. They needed to contribute to the family income.

My mother began selling candy at F. W. Woolworth. My Aunt Dot learned to wait tables and work as a short order cook. And my Uncle Pat decided that college would probably not be part of his future.

He had been accepted to what was then Drexel Institute. He wanted to be an engineer. But he couldn’t afford college, so he moved on to other things.

He was a drummer and he was good enough to get work with one of the travelling jazz bands of the day. No matter what else he did, Uncle Pat was a drummer until the day he died. A pair of drumsticks and a practice pad were never far away.

But the travelling life of a jazz drummer wasn’t as romantic as it might sound. Somewhere along the way, Uncle Pat got started in insurance.

It turned out that he was a great insurance salesman. Later he was a great sales manager and sales trainer. But that wasn’t what he started out to be.

Without the Great Depression, my Uncle Pat would almost surely have gone to Drexel and very likely become an engineer. I bet that he would have been a good one. He was smart and methodical and had a good practical sense.

Those traits served him well in insurance. But so did his easy way with stories and friendly, outgoing personality.

I don’t know if he was a better salesman than he would have been an engineer. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that whatever life lays down in front of you has an opportunity in it. You can choose. You can concentrate on what you’ve lost. Or you can concentrate on the opportunity.

Every week I check dozens of “career” blogs and other online publications, looking for things that will help you find a job, get promoted, develop your skills, and keep everything in perspective and balance. Here’s the pick of the lot for this week. I’m pointing you to items about looking good on the web, getting a job during a recession, interview advice, getting the most from a conference, and being a good mentor.

From the Wall Street Journal: Your Best Web Footprint Forward
“Online résumé sites claim to help applicants stand out by creating Web sites of their professional experiences. We test four services for ease and presentation.”

Wally’s Comment: This article reviews some popular services, but you will also pick up tips for web presentation even if you don’t use one of the services reviewed.

From the Online Beat: 101 Ways to Get Hired in a Recession

Wally’s Comment: This is just what the title implies. Start at 1 and go through number 101.

From 45 Things: Shoes, Phones and Backpacks: What They’re Really Looking at During Your Job Interview
“I got a real kick out of spending time recently with college students about to enter the job market. But it got me to thinking that no matter how many “rules” I provide about networking and resumes and other stuff, there are always those tricky little things that can trip you up if no one tells you. And believe me, the stuff I’m about to reveal often isn’t discussed out loud. It’s not that it’s some dark, little secret, but it is so subtle that it’s often not talked about as much.”

Wally’s Comment: Anita Bruzzesi with more great advice you won’t get anywhere else.

From Great Leadership: How to Get the Most Out of a Conference
“Having attended a lot of these things over the last 20 years, and talked to a few conference first-timers, I thought I would share a few tips on how to get the most out of attending a conference.”

Wally’s Comment: This is one of those topics that hardly anyone writes about. But conferences are a great way to gather information, ideas, and contacts. Veteran conference-goer Dan McCarthy shares his hard-earned wisdom.

From Leading Blog: The Four Roles of Mentors

Wally’s Comment: Michael McKinney offers some insight into the different ways that mentors work. It will help you as a mentor or as a protégé.

Many newspapers and web sites are running “how I found a job” features these days. One of them is the Kansas City Star. Normally, I figure you can find these stories on your own, but the Star just ran a great one titled, “How I Got the Job: Rod Stearns, 60.”

This one just had all the things that make for a good example. Here’s a guy who’s competing with younger and less expensive job seekers in a tight market. Here are some things you can learn from Rod Stearns’ successful job search.

Be patient. It may take a while. The complete job search took more than a year. He interviewed in early fall 2008, but the job offer didn’t come until December.

Use all the resources at your disposal. Stearns took courses in resume writing and interviewing. He used help that his previous employer made available.

But Stearns did more. He joined job clubs and participated. He set up a LinkedIn account.

Lots of people do that. Stearns used the resources to make contacts, research prospective employers and find out about available jobs.

Sure, he got dispirited. You can expect that if you have a long search. Stearns mentions two things that helped when he started getting down in the dumps.

Helping others helped him. Most good job clubs expect members to help each other. Stearns found that helping was good for both learning and self-esteem.

He also worked at keeping himself in good shape. That’s something to consider, too.

Vigorous exercise is a great stress reliever. If you’re in the middle of a long job hunt, you need all the stress relief you can get. And we know that people in good physical shape tend to be hardier mentally as well.

Staying in shape will also help you with your self-image. And it will help you look good at interview time.

You may not have exactly the same situation as Rod Stearns, but you can learn a lot from the way he conducted his job search.