Are Business Cards Needed For a Job Search?

bizcardThe answer is an absolute “Yes.” I’ve been to far too many networking events where job seekers have attended unprepared. Yes it’s good to bring a stack of resumes with you (and even better to keep them in your car and/or have one handy at all times) but having business cards are especially helpful.

Why Business Cards:

Business cards are small, easy to carry and most people in the business world are used to dealing with them. Some people have Business Card ScannerAre Business Cards Needed For a Job Search?
that can scan them into their contact management system. Others have a filing system for them.  Read more... (681 words, 8 images, estimated 2:43 mins reading time)

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Social Media vs. Traditional Networking – Which is better for you?

networking-phoneOver the last few years I’ve met people that swear by social media saying that they never have to go to another in-person networking event. I’ve also met my share of people who feel that social media is merely a distraction with no real value. How do I feel? Well, given that I offer courses in both traditional networking and social media I’m sure you can tell that I believe there’s value in both. And like most things in life, where you get the most benefit will depend on your situation. I will say that completely discounting either method of making new connections is a mistake. I have had successes using both methods and I know many others that have as well.  Read more... (1015 words, 4 images, estimated 4:04 mins reading time)

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You Can’t Win by Sitting in the Crowd

I was watching a concert for the band Journey with their new singer (okay, he’s been there for two years now) and it got me thinking about how he wound up in that role. Arnel Pineda played in various bands in the Philippines for about 25 years when one of the members of Journey saw his videos on Youtube. At the time, Journey was looking for a new singer and they flew Arnel out to San Francisco to audition.  Read more... (493 words, 2 images, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

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Lessons from Michael Jackson

The King of Pop. Pedophile. Talented. Wacko Jacko. Everyone has an opinion of Michael Jackson — some loved him, some hated him. Although I wasn’t a fan of his music and found some of the things he did a bit odd and creepy, I certainly can appreciate his talent as a performer and admire the way he touched his fans. I remember when he went to court in 1993, people who he had never personally met waited outside willing to stick by him regardless of the outcome. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit that it’s pretty impressive how his fans truly loved him.  Read more... (578 words, 2 images, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

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Do You Need a Crazy Gimmick to Make it as a Speaker?

I’ve recently started participating in a few social networks, one of which is geared towards professional speakers and other people that make part of their living through speaking. One of the things that jumped out at me as I started receiving notifications and messages from other folks on this network is that many of them had nicknames or gimmicks. Now I’m not talking about someone named William going by “Bill” but instead people having names like “Mr. Make the World a Better Place Through Small Talk” or “The Make Things Happen Right Now Guru.” For a moment I thought I was checking out the roster for the WWE.  Read more... (748 words, 2 images, estimated 3:0 mins reading time)

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How Ignorance Will Make Your Small Business Fail

I was just in the car a few minutes ago and saw something which I feel is a bad trend – a vehicle used to advertise the owner’s small business that also had political bumper stickers on it (at least one of which that was somewhat harsh). It caught my eye because one would think that the owner would have enough common sense to not do this because not only is it unprofessional but it’s just plain stupid.  Read more... (686 words, 2 images, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

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Presentation Success: Three More PowerPoint Mistakes to Avoid

Presentation Success: Three More PowerPoint Mistakes to AvoidIn my prior article on PowerPoint mistakes to avoid, I covered three common mistakes that I see over and over again with presentations that use overheads. Of course, there’s plenty more mistakes that novice (and yes, even experienced) presenters make when they use this medium for presentations and we’ll get to more of them in future articles. For now, here are three more PowerPoint mistakes that you should try to avoid.

1: Using text that is too small.  Read more... (710 words, 4 images, estimated 2:50 mins reading time)

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