Hey, college graduates -- pay attention.What follows is an interview I did with Megan Gebhart, a junior at Michigan State University. She is doing several smart things to position herself for rapid employment upon graduation in 2011.There are at least three job-search lessons in the conversation below. Can you find them?Kevin: Megan, you posted a discussion on LinkedIn about how you used your alumni connections to land thre...

As a rule, simple is good.The iPad interface, Google, popsicles -- they’re all simple things that achieve great results.Applied to your job search, simplicity can achieve great results, too.Example: What if you identified the people you wanted to work for, then advertised directly to them, asking for an interview?Do you think something that simple might get you a job?Well, it worked for one man, Alec Brownstein, an advertis...

If you’re in the job market today, you know that the shortest route to employment is often...non-existent.You email your resume in response to a job posting. Then wait. Email to follow up. Wait. Get a phone interview. Wait to hear back from the employer. Etc.What a long, strange trip it can be -- if you do what everyone else is doing.But what if you blaze your own trail and make your own rules?That’s what “guerrillas” do to...

Sometimes the shortest route to a new job is a straight line.That’s what one Irish “guerrilla” job hunter found in Canada, with ramifications for your job search -- no matter where you live.This story is courtesy of Curt Bolan, a career and employment consultant at Canada-Saskatchewan Career and Employment Services, in Saskatoon.Read on to learn four ways you can get hired faster by taking the “Irish” approach...“It was Spr...

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”That’s according to economist and Harvard professor, Theodore Levitt.And that’s absolutely correct.Especially in job hunting, where too many people think too much and do too little.Want proof?According to surveys cited by David Wessel in The Wall Street Journal, “The unemployed in the United States spend 40 minutes a day looking for work and 3 hours and...

One day in September 1996, I was talking to Steve, my manager.We had just interviewed a woman for a writing job. Discussing how we ourselves had been hired, I mentioned that I had mailed a thank-you note to the manager who interviewed me. “So did I,” replied Steve. And we were both hired. Wasn’t that a coincidence?The next day, we each received a thank-you note in the mail from Leitha, the woman we interviewed. We hired Lei...

If you’ve been on the Internet for longer than 30 minutes, you’ve likely heard of Twitter.com.It’s the “micro-blogging” web site that lets you share information with people in your network using short updates of 140 characters or less, called “tweets.” It’s free to join and to use.Can it help you find a job? Yes.Can it also be a huge waste of time in your job search? Yes.So, let’s look at a Twitter job-search success story...

LinkedIn has been called “Facebook for grownups” and “the world’s biggest networking group.”It’s both of those -- and more.Used correctly, LinkedIn can be one of the most valuable weapons in your job-search arsenal.To get the latest and best tips, I interviewed Rob Mendez, an expert on LinkedIn and other social media, who helps job hunters via his CareerNetworkMinistry.com web site.Here’s what we talked about...“First, you...

Fact: The advertised job market is literally the tip of the iceberg. Fully 70-80% of jobs go unadvertised by employers, who fear being deluged by hundreds of resumes from applicants, most of whom won’t be qualified.With that in mind, it makes sense to spend about 80% of your time cracking this “hidden” market of unadvertised jobs. And a good way to do it is to contact hiring managers at companies you want to work for. Your...

Whether you’re a new college grad or a seasoned executive, if you’re hitting the pavement in search of work this spring, here’s good news...After more than a year in the dumpster, hiring appears to be on the upswing with employers in the Twin Cities and other metropolitan areas.“Things are ramping up exponentially. This year, we’ve seen a lot of upper managers and directors being hired,” says Linda Forseth, President of rec...