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Are you aware that Hiring Managers are learning about you through your online-presence reputation? Is your online activity conducted in a responsible way that does not smear your professional credentials, education, or personal values? Do you feel comfortable about what they will find if your name is searched on the internet? If you are raising an eyebrow, then it’s likely that you need to read further!
When you are involved as a participant in social media networking outlets such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter, you are creating an online reputation that is easily searchable. It can be a positive additional tool that reinforces your effective communication skills, knowledge base, and overview of your general attitude. But on the flip-side of that, your online reputation could direct others to believe that you are insensitive, indignant, and/or irresponsible. If you were a Hiring Manager, what side would you prefer to see? Just as your real-world reputation matters, so does your virtual online reputation count as being an indicator of the type of employee you currently are or could become.
To be able to fairly judge your own online presence, let’s walk through this list of five online reputation guideposts. Afterward, you’ll be better equipped to evaluate how you are viewed online:
Start from this point forward to be more mindful about how you appear online. Incorporate the things that will present a more polished online presence, and stop doing the things that are damaging your reputation. Hiring Managers are using your online presence as a factor when considering you for employment, so take charge before you are misjudged by what you say and do online.
If you have a concern about your online reputation and need to repair it, there are several tools and services that can empower you to change some of the negative aspects that have become part of the online-you. Go to a web browser and search for help. These two strings of keywords will launch you in the right direction: “online reputation management services,” and “online presence management.”
Contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this topic at contact@agimanagement.com
Image Source: www.freedigitalphotos.comAmbition is defined as, “an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment” (www.dictionaryreference.com). If we use this description relative to your career path, then we can clearly see how ambition would be a very positive trait to have. Without it, you’ll have a career, but minus the path or journey that will advance you to higher 
levels. For those who do have career-path goals, you have to do a bit of a balancing act during the interview to make sure you are expressing your ambition in a humble and realistic way; otherwise, you risk being passed over as the candidate who is considered a “flight risk” if the career advancement isn’t achieved within a specific timeframe.
Isn’t it a good thing during the interview to express how you would like to grow with the company? Doesn’t that show initiative and a sincere commitment to stay employed with them? How could something positive like ambitions jeopardize a job offer?
Let’s explore five downsides of ambition that could go awry:
You should now be able to notice some patterns in how a Hiring Manager might be thinking about your ambitious statements. While demonstrating that you actually have a career path in mind, it’s all about how you express and assert your views on what that means to you. Remember, the Hiring Manager is always thinking how you will “fit” with the company and not about how they can “fit” into your life plan. This mindset is really important for Generations X and Y to understand because these generations are very aware of the value of competitiveness. Being the first and being the best are elements that rule the day, and being shy about talent never wins prizes.
We suggest that, along with bringing a big basket of confidence to the interview, moderation and discernment must be included in the mix to help balance the ambitious statements. Career advancements and promotions take time and merit. Proof of results can only come from your time, energy, and skills you invest in each work day. It’s not a race for it, but rather a marathon for it. Pace yourself wisely so you don’t run out of steam too early. Show the Hiring Manager that you have done your research and understand their company culture. Help them discover that you are the best “fit” because your ambition is well-balanced and centered in reality.
If you slightly harness how you’re voicing your drive, the company will feel assured in your longevity with them, and you’ll find that your hard will help you advance in a reasonable amount of time.
Do you want to explore this issue more deeply? Drop us a note at www.agi.jobs/contact and let us know how we can help.
Image Source: www.freedigitalphotos.netYou’ve worked so hard on your resume to make sure that all of the information on is 
perfect. You’ve spellchecked it, made sure that none of the phone numbers were transposed, the work-history dates exactly match with the actual records that the human resources department(s) reflect, and your resume format is clean and pleasing to the human eye. But wait — what about that email address you are using? Does that really read as, “rustybucketsgal@…?” And your alternative email reads as, imagoofydriver@…?” Hmmm… We better talk about that for a minute!
Yes, the credentials on your resume are excellent – no argument with those! Your accolades demonstrate your valuable work experiences, your highly-desirable leadership skills, and all of the specialized skillsets that put you through some blood, sweat, and tears to acquire. Shouldn’t these things generate a phone call to you that will invite you to an interview opportunity? The “meat” of the resume is what really matters, isn’t it? Why should you be unfairly judged by the email address you are using when it has no Impact on how well you can meet the job qualifications?
The truth of the matter is this – responsible hiring managers may not-so-much judge you based on your email address; but it does make them question why you are offering it as information they should know about you. If the email address you are offering is one that you’ve used since you were thirteen years old, chances are it isn’t one you should still be using as a person who is seeking better employment.
Let’s review some good and bad ideas about email addresses:
Professionals will have an email address with either their full name or a portion of their full name within the email address. Common-name emails will have digits included to distinguish themselves, or can have a relative word with it. For instance, Tom Jones could be Thomas.Jones.A82@…, Tom.Jones.Andrew@… , Jones.Thom.Atlanta@… , or any variation of that information. All of these emails contain the name within a varying degree. Even T18442Jones@… would be considered professional.
Bad ideas are email addresses that reference your age, gender, political and/or religious affiliations, and illicit drug usage. Of course, this is a very short list. You are bound to come up with other bad examples for inappropriate emails on a resume.
Hiring managers realize that one person can have many different email accounts for different correspondence purposes. Some people have a specific email they give out to only their friends and family members, another account will be given as a generic one they use to pay their bills online, and another email account is used when they engage in business. Depending on your email host, you can have more than five email accounts. This knowledge drives the point home about why a hiring manager can judge you on your email address — especially when you can have several accounts to use, but your resume offers “crazy&nuttybilly@… “
Now it’s time to scroll back up to the title of this blog: “Do Hiring Managers Judge You by Your Email Address?” How are you answering that question? And based on your answer, will you be updating your resume to offer a professional email?
If you need some resume advice, just drop us a note at www.agi.jobs/contact , and we’ll be happy to help you!
Image Source: www.freedigitalphotos.net
Here are two compelling questions to seriously contemplate: When you send out your resume during your job search, 1) are you using the approach of a bowler who hopes to knock down as many pins as possible, and 2) are you aiming very carefully as an archer would do to hit the Bullseye?
The bowler’s approach is what most job seekers do. By striking multiple targets (like individual pins), the logic is that you are bound to make several good “hits” out of the effort. The archer’s method, on the other hand, is very precise with all of the energy focused on the exact center of the target. Both systems have the potential for a maximum of ten points per effort. So why does it matter which method is used when you’re looking for your best-fit new job?
Job seeking bowlers, as it turns out, experience more disappointments and discouragement than the job-seeking archer experiences. When a bowler calculates that the weekly “game” had a potential to hit 300 pins (or companies), but doesn’t receive any inquiries about their resume, self-doubt lingers overhead like a dark cloud that never parts to show the sun. Archers tend to have a different mindset about their efforts because they know that they’ve honed their skill to aim very carefully and only release the bow’s tension so the arrow shoots straight and dead-center. Archers usually have more confidence in their single deliberate effort than the bowler who is calculating a probability of the odds.
We highly endorse the archer method when looking for your best-fit job. When you understand that employers want that near-100% match for their open position, is it wisely using your time to “bowl” your way to your next job? It works if you just want a job right now – but if you want that best-fit job where you can grow and truly find professional satisfaction in what you’re contributing to the company, you should be carefully aiming and customizing your resume to be as near to 100% match as you legitimately can accomplish. Hiring managers look at bowler “hit-them-all” resumes constantly; they are looking for those resumes that are from archers who took the time to aim carefully so the one shot really hits the target.
Do you want some career coaching about this? Call us at 573.731.1359, and we’ll talk about your strategy.
Image Source: www.freedigitalphoto.netThe next time you’re dining out, take a closer look at the Children’s Menu. You’ll notice more whole-grain choices and fruit rather than fries. Likewise, gluten-free items are significantly emerging as well. These are positive changes that help to balance the paradigm shift when more families are convinced that, in order to eat healthy, they have to eat at home. However, many well-known restaurants are realizing that our current society, both young and old, is asking for healthier food selections on the menu.
Just like adults, children have their list of favorite restaurants too. As parents, we recognize that the short list of kid-favorite eateries isn’t because the children are thinking about nutrition, but rather, they are thinking about the entertainment value of the meal. If the meal comes with a toy, an arcade area, a playground, crayons and coloring books, and the like, children will always try to persuade you to taking them where the fun awaits. But now with these kid-friendly places including more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains with the meals, there doesn’t have to be such an avoidance issue. Better eating choices can be fostered when combined with a “favorite” place and the aspect of some entertainment.