Kim Hollenshead's blog

More and more I'm seeing posts online about volunteering and it's not just aimed at the general public, but those that are currently unemployed. I believe it's a fabulous idea. Of course, I'm a proponent of volunteering and being involved with responsible charitble causes employed or not - there are so many benefits both to you as well as the receipients.

It still amazes me how many people are affected by layoffs. I know where I live it seems that I hear about lay offs less and less often, which is a great thing, but I know in many other areas of the country that may not be true. You may have stumbled on our site after having just been laid off. You may have been laid off for a while now and you're still searching for your next job.

No matter where you are in the process, it's so very important to stay positive throughout your transition.

If you've been out of work longer than a month, longer than six months, longer than a year, you're not alone. It's an unfortunate reality, but finding a job in the last year has taken longer than many people expected. If you've changed jobs over the last 10 years your job search now is probably quite different this go around. That's one of the many reasons why this site was created. We publish posts that ideally get you thinking outside of the "normal" job search mode.

I subscribe to a newsletter by Chris Brogan. If you've been on social networks such as Twitter or Facebook you may be familiar with him. He's always introducing others to cutting edge technologies and tends to be one of the first to know about all kinds of things. He's actually the main reason I got involved in social networks back in October of 2007.

Personally, I think LinkedIn.com is the best way to start networking for a job, but I also think it's a good way to stay fresh and in touch with former colleagues. It's the one site that I mention to everyone asking for my advice as a recruiter.

This particular post will be exceptionally short because I really want to point you to another site created to help you out with your job search and how to make the most of your photo on LinkedIn.

Read it!

Who do you think successful athletes have standing beside them?

A coach, a mentor, a teacher, a parent?

There's a good chance that have had at least one of these of people around them. In fact, I'd bet you big bucks (sorry - comes with the territory - I'm a recruiter at a stock market trading firm) that they surround themselves with people that help them gain a perspective that they can't on their own and with that in mind their game is drastically improved.

Okay, first of all admit it. Did you just rake your tongue across your teeth? ;-)

I was trying to think of a catchy title that would grab your attention and help you really get how valuable your impressions are to us recruiter types.

You mean that was my first impression?

If you've spoken to any recruiter in the last six months it's very likely that they shared with you a growing trend. There are simply more candidates than jobs.

While in the past recruiters used the big job boards like Monster, Career Builder and others to tell candidates about job openings, many of these same folks shy away from them in today's economy. The reason that they do this is because every time they post a job they are flooded with resumes by the hundreds and yes, sometimes the thousands.

Every week I have conversations with people looking for jobs. They find me in one place or another online or through friends. I wish I could help everyone of them find a job, but the reality is that I have few positions to fill and the ones that I do require a very specific skill set.

What I do though is share with them the importance of networking. One of the best places to network online is LinkedIn.

If you have a LinkedIn profile then read on and make sure yours updated as follows.