Do you have questions about employment? Need to discuss something?
Hope you find something here.
Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”
PS: August is breast cancer month. Make a donation and download an informative ebook titled “The Breast Cancer Ebook”, it might be the best thing you ever do. Over 200 pages of excellent advice and information. Go here: http://www.dwave.com.au/breast-cancer
When the jobs market is working against you, you’re on the dole and wondering what to do next, is multi-level-marketing an option?
Although I’ve never been a great fan of MLM, or network marketing, as it’s called, many people are raking in substantial fortunes from MLM every year … and the number is increasing.
The bad press that MLM got from such things as the airplane scheme and other pyramid schemes which are illegal, was unfortunate, but has been hanging around ever since.
There are some drawbacks to MLM, but essentially, if you have a good, reputable product, work hard to establish your client base, you can do well. The challenge is to find an MLM firm with a product that doesn’t require you to keep stocks (and outlay the money for them). If you find one with a low start-up cost, you can go ahead without having to outlay thousands of dollars.
The great advantage of MLM is that you reap in a residual income. It’s like buying an insurance policy. The people who sold it to you get a commission every time you renew your policy. This continues as long as the policy continues.
A good example of a low cost MLM opportunity with a sound product where you can bring in a residual income is Global Domains International. GDI sells Internet domain names for $10 per month and gives a 10% commission on each domain name sold. With the domain names comes a generous size hosting account, email addresses, and much more as well as an optional MLM business. Every week they publish a list of leaders who have received a bonus as well as signups. Here’s a cut and paste from it:
$1900 97 Ash Mufareh Corp Hollywood FL US
$900 46 Brian Bear Taylor MI US
$600 33 RoundGoods Consulting Group, LLC. Provo UT US
$300 19 Tim Sebert Waxhaw NC US
$300 18 Sanjinka Ostro Sarajevo Bosnia BA
$300 16 Paul Nicholls Great Yarmouth GB
$300 15 Kanitta Kaisorakul Nonthaburi Nonthaburi TH
The first amount in dollars is their bonus for the week. Yes, one week. Next is the number of sign-ups for that week. Look at the last fellow … in Thailand. He signed up 15 people who will earn him his $300 this week and $15 per month for as long as they keep their accounts. Doesn’t sound like much, but sign up 10 or 15 every week and you can soon see the long term potential.
Promotion of this type program can be very cheap and effective. If you think it’s something you could do, check it out at http://www.web-names.ws. It might save you from a life of welfare.
Robin
“Think success - achieve success”
PS: You can get a 7 day trial account with GDI here: http://www.web-names.ws
Have you heard the phrase, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that matters”? Well, the truth is, you need to learn to use the power of language when applying for jobs.
If you can create word pictures and deliver information in ways that make it understandable to recruitment staff, you’ll be ahead in the jobs competition.
If for example, you are a network engineer, don’t just state, “I have five years experience in networking with a bank.” Although you might expect everyone to know what a network engineer is and does, it’s not a foregone conclusion.
Instead say something like, “When I apply my networking skills to your network, it will positively hum with maximum up-time and optimised emailing and printer facilities … outages will be recovered within minutes.”
This provides a mental picture with which we are all accustomed. Everyone who accesses a LAN or WAN is aware of what happens when they go off line or email backs up. Of course, you should be able to prove what you claim you can do.
That shouldn’t be very hard. With experience competence grows, we learn secrets and ways to do things that are superior. They are the skills we take to our new employer.
Action
Once again, list the range of skills you have and the related experience and next to each skill write a word picture that describes what you can do for your employer. Keep these stock descriptions somewhere where you can access them any time you apply for a job. It will make your life much easier and increase your chances of winning the competition.
Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”
PS: Have you registered for this blog yet? Or connected with us via RSS? Don’t miss a post, register or get an RSS feed now
Studies in advertising suggest that people spend 4 seconds scanning a newspaper page. Recruiters probably spend a similar amount of time viewing your application.
This means you have to attract their attention fast.
People tend to read the ads that they can see have some benefit for themselves … the old “What’s in it for me?” principal. This means that your key benefit to an employer could be well placed as the opening sentence in your cover letter, or at least close to it.
Remember, your cover letter is a sales letter. An acronym for how to write sales letters is - AIDA:
When you write your opening sentence, choose something that will get attention. Then develop the reader’s interest, desire to know more about you, and ask for action … an interview.
Action
Practise writing some catchy opening sentences like, “You need a secretary who thinks on her feet and goes the extra mile … that’s me to a “t”.”
Or, perhaps, “You’re looking for a problem solver with a track record in customer service. I’m looking for a job where I can solve problems.”
I’m sure you can think of a few more.
Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”
If you are submitting a lot of job applications, which you should be if you are serious, you need to have some kind of tracking system so you know who you have applied to, what the status is of your application, and when activities have been concluded. That way, nothing gets forgotten and you don’t inadvertently double up applications.
You can also follow up if you have had an interview and don’t hear anything for a long time.
I’ve prepared an example copy of a Job Application Record for you that you can download by right clicking here and saving target as ….
It doesn’t matter if it’s done by longhand in a note book, on separate scraps of paper or on an Excel spreadsheet like my example, but to run an efficient job seeking campaign, you really do need to track what is happening.
Good luck with your job search.
Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”
Every so often I’ll chuck in something about my stuff. Here’s a shot of my new watch that I bought while in South Africa. It runs on solar energy.
Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”
PS: Did you know I sell diving watches? It’s all here:
http://www.dwave.com.au/divers_watches/
When you begin a new job, it usually takes two or three months to settle in, get to know colleagues, find out what you are supposed to be doing, and decide whether you and your new firm are a good fit.
Some firms, like Texas Instruments have an organzational fit check they do before you apply for jobs with them or before you get appointed. This helps you to learn whether you are likely to fit the firm’s values etc and can prevent a misfit between what you expect and what the firm expects.
What I’m getting at here is that of every 100 people appointed, perhaps 10 or 15 might get to the two or three month mark and leave the firm. This can happen because they have decided the job isn’t really what they wanted, or alternatively, they have not reached the standard required by the firm during its probation period and have been fired.
This can be important for you. If you really wanted the job and are still unemployed, maybe two months after you have been told someone else has got the job, telephone and ask them how it worked out or whether there is likely to be another vacancy.
Australian Government jobs, for example, rank those interviewed as suitable or unsuitable for employment for a specific job. The Public Service Commission policy is that a person who was ranked suitable for a job (but not the best candidate at the time), can be offered an engagement up to 12 months after the initial engagement.
Probation is usually three months. So, if you called around two and a half months and the government department is considering giving a person the flick, you could remind them that you were found suitable and ask them to consider engaging you under this rule. Given that it saves time and money to engage you instead of going through a protracted recruitment process, you could be in line for the job.
Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”
PS: Next I’ll talk about job tracking.
If you wish to be different from all the other people with similar skills and knowledge and experience who apply for your job, you can do it by identifying and using your personal unique selling proposition. That is, something you do that is unique to you.
Here’s an example of the USP I use for my consulting business. Unlike many professional consultants who charge a fixed hourly rate, I have three different rates depending on the level of skill required for the work I am doing; the top rate is highly professional work; second is work that requires a degree of technical ability and last is the rate that applies when I sit in an airplane seat flying to my job.
So, when I make an offer or submit a quote/proposal, I charge lower amounts for simpler work. That means that I am cheaper and fairer than most other consultants who charge one fee based on the assumption of opportunity cost. That is, they say, while they are sitting in an airplane, they could be working for someone else getting the highest rate. That’s true of course, however, I don’t consult full-time and have other sources of income, so I really don’t need to worry about opportunity costs.
That’s my USP.
Try to think of some things you excel at that amount to your USP. It might be that you are naturally pedantic … paying great attention to detail. You may be extremely accurate with figures, have top interpersonal/customer service skills etc.
Action
Spend some time on this and you’ll come up with your USP. Ask others what they think you are especially good at and eventually craft your USP so that you can weave it into your job application;
Robin
“Think success - Achieve success”
