Archive for the ‘Offbeat’ Category

How a Creative Guy Found a Job Through Google Pay Per Click Ads

Friday, May 14th, 2010

You’ve got to love the spirit of the truly creative people out there. One in particular that caught our eye was Alec Brownstein. He recently harnessed the power of Google Adwords (that’s a Pay Per Click model, to the uninitiated) to put up a few ads when top creative directors Googled their own names.

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words – here is Alec’s visual rendition:

(Source)

Did you catch that? He bought $6 of Google ads and got interviews with some of the preeminent creative directors in New York. He was then later given 2 job offers and is now working on accounts for the likes of LG, Dell, NHL, LandRover, Xerox, and Virgin Atlantic at Y&R New York. What a great example of thinking outside the box when it comes to looking for a new job! If Alec had gone the traditional route of submitting resumes to all of the companies he targeted he might been just another number in a sea of applicants. He banked on his creativity and found an ingenious way of standing out from the crowd.

They say it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, but obviously, sometimes it is what you know and more importantly, what you can do with it. Are you using all of your skills and know how in searching for a new job? Don’t limit yourself to the tried and true, sometimes you have to take a chance on something new, something just a little bit different. Sometimes that’s all it takes to distinguish yourselves from the masses. You may know someone who’s got the talent and creativity to succeed in a new job, try out our search and find your brilliant friends a new gig.

P.S. – Hey Alec, with a creative mind like that I’m sure you can think of a few people you know that also need jobs. We wonder if you’ll find this post and recommend some.

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5 Interesting Unemployment Infographics

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Since so many of you enjoyed our post about resume infographics, we wanted to follow up with unemployment infographics:

1 – A Decade of Unemployment -

Excellent breakdown by state throughout the last decade by state – note that today, we’re almost a full percentage point higher at 9.7% nationally:

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2 – New York City by Day and Night -

While this infographic doesn’t show unemployment stats, we felt it still to fit in this content curation to look at the disparity between day and night population of New York City.

(Credit)

3 – Is College Really Worth It?

Another great infographic about if college being worth it or not, with a hat tip to @FastCompany:

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4 – The Economy of Puebla, Mexico -

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5 – Education vs Unemployment -

Here is a good use of infographics: showing the average salary based on an education scale:

(Credit)

What’s your favorite unemployment infographic? Have you seen others we have missed? Let us know in the comments.

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6 Office Humor Videos for April Fool’s Day

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Yes, it’s April Fool’s day again and you may have already found yourself the target of a nefarious office prank.  If so, we’ve gathered some videos of pranks played on others; it’s always funnier when it happens to someone else isn’t it?  Of course, we can’t advocate actually playing any of these pranks cause, you know, we wouldn’t want you to lose your job or anything should you play a prank on the wrong person.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_videos?more_url=%2Fmy_favorites&video_ids=k7kqtEv2LDg%2CUAXML_M_AIQ%2CG1I4unUc3lY%2CdFYd3dcaRKE%2CAHthWow5q8s%2CPe2yUGtczT4%2CMIAHSbyl0bw%2CmfytfTkv-Jk%2CSLyu43JmlWA%2CL_LKUCMXY1g%2ClASn16UREsg%2C52z7EYD3Gcc%2Cw2cdh4f9Cvg%2CQ0d-U1jjkFc%2CQmNWJNq1e2M&type=7&index=5&no_autoplay=1

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5 Bad Work Habits You Can’t Get Away With

Friday, March 26th, 2010

We all have them, little (or big) annoying things that we do without evening thinking about them.  Bad habits.  It could be anything, like the common ones of biting your nails, or smacking your chewing gum.  Sometimes we become aware of them and think that maybe one day we’ll try to stop, but usually that one day never comes.  Many of these little things don’t harm anyone, they’re just quirks that we develop and they take on a mind of their own.  Bad work habits however, can hurt someone.  And that’s you.  Listed here are five work habits that can potentially hurt your reputation and/or ultimately derail your career.  If you see yourself in any of these, you might want to change your ways!

[Source]

1.  Badmouthing the Company:  This has generally never been a good idea, unless you’re talking to yourself;  depending on where you do it, it could really come back to haunt you.  However, today with the ubiquity of social media in the workplace these days it’s even easier to have a slip of the tongue.  You should be careful about complaining about the workplace, and doubly so online.

[Source]

2.  Careless Emailing:  Workplace email can be an accident waiting to happen.  Don’t be careless with the content of your emails at work; it’s all too easy to mistakenly add recipients or worse, copy the whole company on an email you intended for a specific person, and probably shouldn’t have been sending anyway.  Keep it professional while on the job and you’ll have nothing to worry about.  Remember, just because it’s email doesn’t mean it’s not permanent.

3.  Skating By:  Always doing the minimum amount of work required can be bad for your work image and maybe even your job.  It never hurts to do the job right, and that usually means doing it fully.  Statements like, ‘It’s not part of my job’ can earn you some frowns.  If you feel extra efforts on your part often go unnoticed and you find yourself glossing over work, it might be time to have a conversation with your boss about feeling unrecognized.  Be sure to approach it with some tact; don’t go in with a whiny nobody-pays-attention-to-me tone, that just looks, whiny.

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4.  Using Inappropriate Humor:  It’s great to keep things in perspective and have a sense of humor in life and work, but it can go too far.  This really should just be a matter of common sense and respect, but some people seem to be lacking in those.  If you find yourself encountering questionable humor at the workplace, you might be wise to distance yourself from it as best you can.

[Source]

5.  Gossiping:  We know, this happens everywhere humans work, it’s inevitable, maybe.  The thing is, it’s bad form, and can earn you a reputation for having loose lips which could have an effect on how you yourself are treated at work.  If your superiors know you’re a talker, they might not trust you with that next big project.  Have you ever thought about what people might be saying about you behind your back?  Yikes.

What’s your bad work habit or one you can’t stand others around you doing? Let us know in the comments.

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10 Habits That Might Get You Fired

Friday, March 12th, 2010

This being Friday and all we thought we’d end the week on a funny note while providing you with some pointers on losing your job.  After all there’s no shortage of advice on workplace success; a quick Google search will get you tons of information.  But what if that’s not what you’re interested in? Forget the promotions and the raises, you’re done with all that.  What you want is out!  Well, this article is for you; if you’re looking to get canned then read on as we present 10 ways to rid yourself of that pesky job of yours and embark on a new journey.  The exciting field of unemployment.

  1. Name calling:  While on the phone—this should be often—and your boss comes by to see you, say that you have to go because the jerk just walked up.  This can be very endearing and will likely win you a special place in their heart.
  2. Inappropriate pranks:  Hankering for a fresh grilled burger or dog during the week? Go ahead and throw an office barbeque. Inside the office. That charcoal grill scent might just liven up the atmosphere around an otherwise dead office setting.

  3. Social media ignorance:  Yes, it’s perfectly acceptable to post incriminating or inappropriate things on Twitter or Facebook. Nobody ever looks at that stuff anyway.
  4. Unchecked honesty:  Remove the mental filter most of us are born with and start talking.  Bosses and supervisors love to hear that they couldn’t manage their way out of a pile of newborn kittens, or that they have the personality of gravel dust.  Say it like you mean it too.
  5. Unwise Internet usage:  There are some who feel this is should be avoided, but in many places surfing for adult content at work is perfectly acceptable way to spend your workday.
  6. Casual punctuality:  Arrive and leave work on a whim; no one will question you on what really should be considered a basic worker’s right.
  7. Office imbibing:  When the bartender asks if you’ve decided on that third lunch martini you say, ‘Hit me!’ It is widely known that alcohol can make the rockiest of office settings as smooth as silk.
  8. Inordinate chattiness:  Closely related to #3 and #5 above, chat room usage while on the clock can aid in developing social interaction skills highly prized in any work environment.
  9. Bringing napping supplies:  Setting up primo napping space at work can go a long way toward improving your productivity.  Think about it, after a big one hour lunch there’s nothing better than a good 30 minute power nap to help you get through the rest of the day.
  10. Running commentaries:  Whether live during a meeting or through lengthy company-wide emails, making known your opinions on company policies, or management decisions is a sure fire way way to win the hearts and minds of your boss and coworkers.

Sources

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