What Is The Most Effective Way To Find A Good Opportunity?

Happy Holidays!

The year of 2008 is fast approaching, and there are only a few days left in Q2 FY'08 for Cisco. I want those of you who are looking for work in the new year to please look at my stats for The Most Effective Way to Find A Good Opportunity?

Remember the days of the faxes or the simple cold call? Nor shall we forget when we put on our best suit and went directly to the lobby of the Corporation to deliver a resume. None of which superceded us having a friend that could refer us directly. Since then of course most of us have become experts at searching the familiar job boards like; Monster, Dice, Hotjobs, and Careerbuilder.

Today requires us to be a little more sophisticated, strategic and technology smart in our career search and planning. Not having access to a computer is not an option! Today I find that being recommended or getting "referrals" is still the best way to find opportunities;there's just a new way on how you go about it.

Globally Social Networking is by far the leader in getting your foot in the door. According to an article in BizCommunity it list 4 popular sites that will aid you. This inclues Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and Second Life. http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/16/20623.html This link is geared towards international social media.

Nielsen Online has released the list of the top U.S. social networking sites and blogs for October, 2007. The top 10 Social Networking Sites for October 2007 (U.S., Home and Work) by name, number of unique monthly visitors and year-over-year growth rate.

Myspace, 58,843, +19%
Facebook, 19,519, +125%
Classmates Online, 13,278, -2%
Windows Live Spaces, 10,261, +32%
AOL Hometown, 7,923, -15%
LinkedIn, 4,919, +189%
AOL People Connection, 4,084, -30%
Reunion.com, 4,082, -14%
Club Penguin, 3,880, +157%
Buzznet.com, 2,397, +117%

Now not all of these sites are geared towards career advancement or development. I have found that "LinkedIn" has been an effective site for the "recruiter" to get candidates from trusted resources with personal recommendations. http://www.linkedin.com/. Please join and let me know if it proves to be effective for you.

As a job seeker, posting your information on the internet requires you to get hip with the lingo as well! Please check out this article and video to get tips on future predictions on seeking new opportunities for 2008 at http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/23302

This may seem overwhelming, but the sooner you educate yourself on "personal branding" via the internet the better off you will be in securing a solid position. For those of you who want a more focused social networking pool take a look at these top networking sites to collaborate with others:

For Technical Positions:

http://www.groupstudy.com/
http://forum.internetworkexpert.com/ubbthreads.php
http://www.linkedin.com/


For Sales/Marketing:

http://marketing-jobs.theladders.com/
http://www.spoke.com/
http://www.jigsaw.com/
http://www.ryze.com/

I'VE GOT QUESTIONS FOR YOU!

Hello Job Seeker,

I have had several private discussions regarding this blog that you might find very interesting!

There have been inquiries about unveiling the secret to getting into Cisco, implications made that "Sr. Engineers" have no interest in networking through blogs or "talking avatars" and that working with Recruiters seems to be a lost cause because there is no feedback.

I have just a few comments but mostly questions. Regarding the "secret to get into Cisco", come close and listen well....THERE IS NO SECRET!!! But there are a few tips I can share with you:

• Make sure you are registered on the Career Connection Website
• Don't apply for multiple positions unless they are similar in nature
• Read the Website to understand our key initiatives (Globalization, Optimization)
• Communicate with people that you know working at Cisco; ask about the Employee Referral Program
• Certifications are well respected from the CCIE, PMP to the Six Sigma DMAIC certs
• Consulting experience from any "Big 5" consulting firm is a Huge plus
• Developing strategic planning and support around service and delivery for sales, project management and Network Engineering.
• Keep networking; if you are not on linkedin or facebook, myspace join a social networking site that will yield more introductions to the right people.

Now questions for you...?

What do you want to know?

How are you going about your job search?

Are you using blogs in your job search?

How ae you using the web to find your next position?

What is the best Social Networking site for talking to decision makers?

Do you belong to any associations, forums or user groups?