How to Use Google+ to Boost Your Career – U.S. News & World Report (blog)

If you’re unfamiliar with Google+, you’re missing out on instant access to a hotbed of industry knowledge—top experts in your industry are posting valuable articles, videos, and tips on the social networking service right now. There are two significant benefits of using Google+: First, social media in general is essential today to immerse yourself in industry knowledge and stay ahead of the curve on the latest trends in your field. Google+ is a more organized, comprehensive tool than Twitter, and its more personalized than LinkedIn with more engaging features. It’s a great addition to your social media belt. Second, when a potential employer Googles your name, your robust Google+ profile will show up. You can use it as a way to showcase your professional interests, personality, and industry savvy to stand out from the rest of the heard. Take a few minutes to “circle,” or select, the industries in which you’re most interested. This unofficial Google+ recommended users list is a go-to source for finding active, fascinating people most relevant to you. Remember to be a little choosey and stay organized. Don’t fill your home stream with everything and everyone. Adding too much means having to sift through Paris Hilton news and missing, say, Altimeter Group’s Principal Analyst Brian Solis’ insightful news on business and marketing. You could, of course, filter your feed by Circles, but why add distractions? Once you choose relevant topics, your Circles will fill with experts and relevant people who post related news, articles, and trends to help you stay abreast. It’s also a great way to network. Use the “@” sign to tag specific followers and ask them questions. Google+ is more engaging than you might think. Google Hangout is a video chatting feature that lets you video conference with up to nine people. This is particularly great if you want to make a real, strong connection with a former colleague, professional acquaintance, or anyone with which you’d feel comfortable discussing job opportunities. It can be more convenient and much more personal than a LinkedIn invite. And you can get pretty creative with Google+ Hangouts—it’s a great tool for self-starters to collaborate with others on independent side projects, which can boost your resume and impress employers. Some employers have incorporated it into their recruitment process. For instance, ChefHangout.com, a culinary class, hired all of their chefs through Google Hangouts. While Google+ Hangouts are limited to nine people, Google Hangouts on Air (HOA) is a video broadcast that an unlimited number of people can join. You can browse HOA events by typing “#hangoutsonair” in the search bar on top. And from here, you can browse various public HOAs. To find ones most relevant to you, search your industry. There may be some less-than-legitimate HOA hosts out there, but if you look at the host’s profile to confirm strong activity and legitimacy, you can tune into heaps of interesting video conversations relevant to you.an online career community dedicated to helping people find happiness in the workplace. Check out CareerBliss for millions of job listings, company reviews, salary information, and a free career happiness assessment.This is a very typical way for an interviewer to wind down a conversation. It gives the illusion of a level playing field, with each side having a turn to query the other. The employer well knows the questions for which you really want to know answersOf course you will ultimately need the answers to these questions, but now is not the time to ask. Any information about what the company can/will do for you is not relevant until after the hiring managers have decided that you are the best match for the job. Moreover, taking precious face-to-face interview time to talk about these things means that you aren’t using that time to seal the deal, asking questions that demonstrate your interest in contributing to the company’s success and highlighting some of your skills or other qualifications that haven’t yet been touched upon.Earlier in this conversation we discussed X. Would my experience doing [fill in the blank] at [fill in company name] be a strength that you would want to draw on for the department/organization?.My all-time favorite closing question is this: “Let’s flash forward and assume that I’ve been working for you for a year. Imagine that you have just given me a stellar performance review. What are the things I will have done during the next year to earn such great praise from you?” The beauty of this question is multi fold. First, it helps the interviewer to visualize you being both hired and successful. That perception is crystallized when he begins his response, “I think that you will have done….”. On another level, regardless of what has been said up to this point, the answer will parse out the basic job requirements from the things that a stellar performer will accomplish. With this knowledge, you can then circle back with a story, past accomplishment, or something else that demonstrates your ability to be that top-performing employee. And here’s the icing on the cake: when you get the job, you’ll know exactly what you need to accomplish to be the most valued member of your team.If you’re lucky enough to land an interview, don’t risk being under prepared. Cover all your bases—you have one shot to send all the right signals, convey your relevant experience, and convince the hiring managers that you would fit like a glove into their company culture. Any hint or red flag that might indicate you’re a bad hire means you’re out of the running. After all, employers can’t afford bad hires. With writing and placing job ads, reviewing resumes, reference checks, interviewing, training and more—hiring a replacement is extremely expensive.The easiest way for them to determine that you’re a great fit is by showing them how you love their company culture. Sprinkle comments here and there in your interview that show that you’ve read up on their office. If it’s technology-centric, for instance, talk about your passion and love for innovation. They’ve really got to be sure that you want to immerse yourself in their environment. If it’s a startup, exude your interest in the up-and-coming product or market. You’ve got to dig deep and think about why this particular company at this time is the best place for you. It could be the company culture that you love, a product you strongly believe in, or the company mission. “Long pauses before responses typically indicate the candidate does not have an answer or has been thrown by the question,” says Marlene Caroselli, corporate trainer and author of The Language of Leadership. Avoid the pause by preparing reasons why you want to work at this specific company and not somewhere else in this industry. Same goes for other recurring questions, like the old “Tell me about yourself.

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How to Use Google+ to Boost Your Career – U.S. News & World Report (blog)