The Real Me Please Stand Back Up
Cross-posted at A Veteran Runnah.
What’s been going on?
I have focused a great deal of time on my job search over the past 2 months and during this time started following the advice of more knowledgeable people than I am, about how to use social media effectively in your job search.
Looking back I got caught up in the “you have to do” or “this is how it is done” from the experts that I forgot to just be me. (more…)
Taking A Week’s Vacation
What am I talking about – a vacation?
You are on sabbatical Harold, everyday is a vacation.
Err – actually no.
Over the course of this sabbatical I have been busy doing something almost every day. To either learn a new skill, attempt to network – either online or in the real-world and do the initial phase of my job search. Just like in a regular job, if you don’t take a break for a while, you are not nearly as creative or effective.
It has been too long since I took some down-time and the week after Memorial Day seemed like a great week to take off.
That is what I have been doing so far this week and why there have been no new posts this week, except for this one and why I haven’t be participating in Twitter Chats or other online communities.
I will be back renewed and ready to go for it again next week 
.
Tools Helping Me with My Job Search
I started to do a series of computer tools that I am using to help me with my job search, but there are so many tools out there, that this blog would become a technology tool review blog, if I reviewed over each one tool individually or even major areas.
It was taking a lot of time to properly research each post (errr tool) and review them appropriately, so I have decided to simply do a summary blog post with a quick snippet of the tools that I am actually using now to help me during my job search.
That way I will have more time to do my primary job now – job search.
Most Used Tool
The tool that I use the most is my Dell Inspiron Laptop. It is not a state of the art, top of the line laptop, but is a cost-effective machine that does everything that I am asking of it. From connecting easily to Internet where I happen to be, being reliable, to being able to play video games.
Desktop
This is the first place that we see on a computer and I try to keep my desktop pretty Spartan. I use Fences to keep files and folders separated into certain areas, so I can quickly find something when I want it.
My Desktop 5-25-12
I have the Taskbar and visible all the time. It makes starting or switching between the programs quick and painless – it is pretty close to the Mac’s dock and is something that I liked about the Mac and carried back over to the Windows world.
Also Internet Explorer’s ability to “pin” webpages to the Taskbar for my Google Mail & Calendar, Pandora or the local newspaper’s website is a nice little trick. All I do click on those icons and that webpage opens up directly in a new Internet Explorer window.
Browser
I pretty much live in the browser now and it came down to Chrome or Firefox as my primary browser. After trying both out, I concluded that Chrome does everything that I want from a browser and is much more stable in Win7 than it was on my Mac - but it still has an annoying habit of showing the “Ah Snap” page too often.
Google’s Ah Snap
The ability to pin websites to the taskbar was the deciding point to make IE9 my secondary browser. I was pleasantly surprised at how much IE9 has improved over the past couple of years, but the lack of add-ons and its annoying hesitation/pausing while typing (it happens too often for my liking) stopped it from being my primary browser.
One thing that I use as my homepage on all of my browsers is the Symbaloo start page. It is an icon driven start page and I have used it for a couple of years and haven’t found anything better for me.
Symbaloo
Yes I have Firefox and Opera on the computer, but I do not use them very often – I keep them there so I can go in and see what improvements have been made or if someone has said something about them and I want to quickly check it out.
Productivity
(email, calendar, to-do list, contact list) – I surprised myself here, I initially was using Windows Live Mail, connected to Hotmail and even tried Outlook too, but once I figured out how to Pin a webpage to the taskbar, it became redundant and I went strictly to using gMail and gCal as my Mail Client and Calendar Programs. I forwarded all my email from my other email accounts to my primary gMail account, so that I have one place that gets everything. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible and this is working for me.
I know what about connectivity – if there is now Internet? gMail and gCal both have offline capabilities now, so I can still access a limited number of emails and my calendar.
I am using Evernote as my task manager/todo list and am happy with it, even though it is probably more labor intensive than some other methods, it is working well for me.
Office Suite
(word processing, spreadsheet, slide show, notebook) – Another surprise. I am doing a combination routine and I really love the results so far. My primary is Microsoft Office 2007 (I had a copy lying around from before my Mac adventure) and I use Google’s Cloud Connect to Google Docs – which I really like and everything syncs up automatically. See my post on Word Processors.
I am also starting to use Microsoft’s cloud version of Office in SkyDrive and keep all of my documents in my SkyDrive folder, so they are automatically backed-up. An important strategy to not lose important documents, if your hard drive crashes or your computer gets stolen. Yes I also have Google Drive installed as well, but I am using Skydrive as my primary backup drive for now.
Eventually I want to upgrade to Office 2010, but unless I find a great deal, it won’t happen very soon, even the Student/Home edition costs over $150, which is a lot of money now and I don’t want to get used to it during the 60 day free trial period and then have to revert back to Office 2007.
Social Media
My primary job search social media site is LinkedIn, but I use Twitter to network online professionally and for my other passion – running. Facebook is more for personal use and “Liking” companies to see what they are doing online. Google + has been kind of the forgotten site for me, because I only have so much time and adding it into the mix just takes extra time, same with Pinterest, Instagram and so many of the others.
Twitter – I am using a desktop application called Janetter, which is similar to the old version of TweetDeck pre-Twitter HTML5. For the most part it has worked great, but I sometimes when have too many #hashtags and it doesn’t like me until I get rid of a few of the less important ones.
Janetter
Blogging
I thought that when I got back to Windows that I would go to using Windows Live Writer as my blogging software. Now that I am maintaining more than one blog, I found it easier for me to simply use the blogwriter in WordPress.com – that way I don’t accidentally cross-post to the wrong blog. I can do everything I want with it except create tables (then I create them in Google Docs and copy/paste to WordPress.com), so there is a quick work-around for that issue.
Note taking
See my post on Evernote, it explains it all. Evernote has become my “other” brain – the one that doesn’t forget and my task manager.
PDF Reader
This was the biggest thing that I had to figure out during my change back to Windows, there is not really a native PDF capability (but they say it is coming to Windows 8), so I had to find software that performed those functions. I like Adobe Acrobat and was using the 30 day trial offer, but at over $400 for a license, it was definitely out of my price range.
I am and will be in cheap as possible mode during my job search so buying a new license was out – for now and at that price probably forever.
After doing a lot of research, along with more than a little hands-on testing, I ended up using the free Nitro Reader as my primary PDF reader software and someday will buy the Nitro Pro 64 bit license, which is a lot more reasonable and goes on sale quite often.
Screenshot
Since I blog a lot, one of the things that I have found indispensable is a good screen shot tool. I started by using Jing, which I have used for several years now and am comfortable with it. However, I recently found a screenshot software call PicPick, which I have found to be pretty amazing and does everything that I want from a my screenshot software.
PicPick_screen_shot_5-25-12
However, I will warn you that navigating the PicPick website is tricky – it has too many ads that look like the download link and I finally got frustrated and found it on CNET.com and downloaded it there. When installing it don’t go with automatic install, you have to go with custom install or you end up with an AVG toolbar and a new default search engine – as I found out the hard way.
Once you get past those hurdles, the program is really great.
If you don’t want to go through those hassles just to get a pretty good screenshot program, my recommendation is to use Jing or upgrade to Snagit if you can afford it – they both work great and you don’t have to jump through any hoops to load it on your computer.
If I need to do a quick screen cast, I still just open up Jing.
Photos
Windows Live Photo Gallery with its connection to SkyDrive was very tempting, but I have used Picasa for several years, have a pretty good idea of what it does and have most of my photos backed up to the online version, so I just stuck with it as my primary photo application for now. I still haven’t figured out if I like how it connects to Google + or not yet.
Video Player
I use VLC, it plays almost every kind of video without messing around with it.
Music
I listen mostly to Pandora and have it pinned to the taskbar for music. I use iTunes by protest. As much as I complain about how bloated iTunes is, I still have my old iPhone and I have to use iTunes, if I want to manage that device. Windows Media Player works for everything else, but iTunes will be my primary music tool for a while.
Unless someone wants to send me a new unlocked Windows or Android to test and then review 
, how it works for me as a job searcher/runner without a data plan.
Utilities
I am running Windows Defender as my Anti-Virus and Malware protection – when you are job searching you go to a lot of sites, to search for information on a company or to look for ideas to help you with your job search. Some of those sites will install tracking code or other not so pleasant things and I have found Windows Defender has done a great job of protecting me from them so far.
I use Secunia to keep my software up to date and Revo Uninstaller to get rid of most of the crapware that came installed on my Dell or to get rid of programs that I try, and find do not work for me. Revo works great for those programs that slide in a ringer during their automatic setup when you are not paying attention and you end up with some extra software, that you didn’t want at all.
Still Looking
If you have any software suggestions (freeware is better on my budget now), that I should be trying/using and missed – I am open to hearing your recommendations and looking at how I can incorporate them into my routines.
Overall
Many of these tools make targeting my search and paperwork (resumes, cover letters, etc.) easier and others like Janetter, make it quicker to Network online. However, as important as many of these tools are, they are simply that tools.
As job searchers we have to actually get out there and network face-to-face and impress at our interviews, when we get them. Don’t become over-reliant on technology as the answer to all of your job search efforts, they are just part of the knowledge and experience base to get you to the interview. Good luck
If you are interested in my qualifications and experience, please go to my LinkedIn account, read my other blog “A Veteran Runnah” or better yet ask me by contacting me directly – by clicking here.
Search Your Name – Avoid Surprises
One of the first things that all the “experts” recommend is that you search yourself on the major search engines to see what kind of digital footprint that you have and what prospective employers will find when they search different variations of your name. It is great advice and is something that everyone should do in any case.
Also as part of this search, I also recommend that you search for images that are linked to your name – you might be surprised what turns up – not always what you expect or possibly want. This is something that I began teaching my students back in 2007,it was a way for them to see what the rest of the world sees about them. There were several surprises, especially with the image search, so sometimes this one is as or more important than the text search.
Over the past 2 months I have purposely attempted to establish my digital footprint as Harold L. Shaw. Basically, this was to combine my online identity to one name from the multiple variations of my name: hshawjr, Harold Shaw, Harold Shaw, Jr, VetRunnah and some others .
So what did the Google and Bing turn up?
Google Search for Harold L. Shaw
The top 5 results on Google were all me and 8/10 were also me .
Bing search Harold L. Shaw
Bing search was a little less successful 4 of 5 and 7/10.
Google Image Search Harold L. Shaw pg1
On page 1 – all but 2 images are images that I put online or are appropriate pictures of me. Bet you can’t guess what else I blog about . Yes I am a runner.
I didn’t do so great with Bing Search, but I am not sure about the new search algorithms since Bing was updated recently, but the images are pretty innocuous either way .
Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the results that others will see if they look for Harold L. Shaw. However, if they search for Harold Shaw, I am up against a former professional football player and a few lawyers, so my ranking is a little less, but I am still in the top 5.
Have you searched your name lately on all the major search engines? I believe it is important to know what others are seeing when they search your name, so if there is a question during a job interview you are prepared and not flustered by the search result coming up.
Remember what is searchable by the major search engines is considered public knowledge and is usable by HR to be considered as part of your application. Hiding what you look like, how old you are and other things that protected by law during the interviews, etc. are not covered when they simply search your name and look at the links and images that come up.
If you haven’t searched your name lately, it might be a good idea to go ahead and look at 4-5 pages beyond the front page, just to see what else is there. It takes a couple of minutes and hopefully you won’t be surprised – but a least you will know one way or another.
Job Search Tool – Word Processors
Productivity Suites
Productivity Suites are probably the tool that almost all of us use almost daily – if we work in an office environment. So what is a productivity suite: the different Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Slideshow combination programs and possibly a note taking application. This post is just going to look at the word processor.
Some that I have used are:
- Microsoft Office – Word (2003, 2007 or 2010) – the standard against which others are measured. Sorry Open Source, Cloud converts and Apple fans, from what I have read, seen and experienced – Word is still the most common word processor used in business, education or government agencies. Ever since it won the Word Processor battle with WordStar back in the 80′s, it has been the dominant one for many years and has not been surpassed yet.
- iWork ’09 Pages – Apple’s alternative which is more of a desktop publisher than a word processor, but is used for both.
- One of the Open Office cadre – free and open source, which will do most everything you want from a word processor.
- Google Documents (now part of Google Drive) – We used extensively in my classrooms over the past two years, its simplicity (quick learning curve) and ability to share with others really set it apart for students and beginning users. It will do 80-85% of what you need to do with a word processor and is improving all the time.
- Zoho Writer – Probably my all time favorite online word processor and if it wasn’t for Google Connect’s capabilities to Word, I would be using it more for my personal use.
- Adobe Buzzword – One of my favorites with a unique tool bar setup, it just never gained a it following.
We all have our favorites, what are yours?
This isn’t
Dirty Little Secret
There is one thing that is a dirty little secrets of word processors (I have used more than couple of the past 30 years), if you have learned one, your skills readily transfer to others.
Most of the terminology is the same and while the icons, labels, where things are located or bells and whistles being used might be slightly different. The majority of word processors are not really all that different from one another, when it comes down to the basics of creating, editing and filing a document.
What I am using now
While my Dell came with Microsoft Office Starter, I found it very limited for my uses and stopped using it. I loaded a copy of Office 2007 that I had laying around the house and began to re-familiarize myself with where everything is.
After 2 years on the Mac (using iWork ’09 and Office for Mac), it took a couple days to remember where things are (especially the more advanced features), but I am back to being comfortable using it again.
Doing differently
I am doing a couple of things differently.
First is that I am using Google Cloud Connect for Word. Here is a link to the Google’s site to describe what it does, but in a nutshell, it creates a copy in Google Docs (now Google Drive) that automatically and updates when you save or sync your document.
Word with Google Cloud Connect
Cloud Connect seems to do a pretty good job of keeping your document’s format correct, but you have to send your document into Google Documents for editing, if you are not on your computer and that is where you will run into formatting issues, if you use certain functions.
Google Drive Example of Google Documents
Backup is Necessary
However, I am less concerned about the formatting than I am having the document saved to the cloud in 2 very separate areas as backups, in case something happens to my hard drive. Both Microsoft and Google’s backup systems are a lot better than my manual backup routines. Fortunately, this strategy also works for Excel and Powerpoint files.
I don’t know about you, but that is the one thing that I really worry about is loosing all of my hard work if something happens to my computer. These two steps are my effort to alleviate those potential issues before they become a problem.
Helpful Hint
Finally
The Weekly Job Search Report
You are Forwarded
This week was more a week of getting little things done, tweaking the résumé template, LinkedIn profile, starting to get back to participating more on social media sites again and writing a little more at my other blog.
The business of my job search has gotten beyond the initial learning curve, that being overwhelmed with the amount of information coming at me and now it is more working on updating my skills, a bit of networking, while looking for a position that will use my skills and that I would enjoy doing.
Change is Coming
You might notice a subtle change over the course of the new few days in my posts. I am tired of writing in this formal tone that I initially adopted for Professional Crossroads and plan to write with the style that I have developed over the past four years of blogging and let my personality be more apparent.
It doesn’t mean that I will be crude, rude or socially unacceptable, but it does mean that more of the real me will show through.
I want my potential future employers to know what they will be getting if they bring me on board and that I am not someone who is boring and doesn’t have a personality. If that is what they want, I won’t fit into that environment.
That is why I have posted the sign that was in the doorway to my classroom for the past two years I was a teacher as my thumbnail photo for this post.
I am who I am and am pretty comfortable with who I am and have confidence that I will be an asset to the organization that brings me on.
As Popeye used to say “I am what I am”. (more…)
What a Difference a Year Makes
The post title says it all – WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!
Yes I used all caps on purpose, because the past year has been one of change in my life and getting my life back.
Now what do I mean by that statement?
One year ago today I had exploratory arthroscopic surgery on my right knee. I had injured it in February 2010 and the initial diagnosis was Osteochondritis Dissecans, which meant that they thought I was going to be a great candidate for knee replacement and the exploratory part was to go in and see how bad it actually was. I won’t lie and say that I wasn’t scared when I went in the hospital that day - I was.
Evernote My Job Search Secret Weapon
I will be writing a series on the tools that I am using to help me in my job search efforts (not just social media). For the most part these are software or web applications that I either had lying around the house or are available at no cost or with a trial period. Free is good, especially when money is tight, like it is when you are searching for a job.
No I don’t claim to be an expert, but I have used these tools for a while and have a pretty good idea of what they can do to help during a job search.
EVERNOTE
The first tool in this series is Evernote – also known as my “other” brain. The one that doesn’t forget.
I have used Evernote since April 2008 and found it to be a rare combination of something that is very easy to use and works the way that my mind does or at least I think it does . (more…)
Hidden Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
All of us have Knowledge, Skills and Abilities that we have and take for granted – usually we call them Interests.
We really don’t think about our interests as transferable skills, that we can translate into skills for our job search. Does it matter where you learn the skills as long as you have them and are honest about how you acquired them?
What do I mean by that?
Interests that I have developed into possible skills over the years are: (more…)
My Job Search – Weekly Progress Report 5/12/12
New Business Card
This was another one of those weeks where I learned so much and seemed to do even more!
Blog Posts Written
Job Search and Exponential Change
One of the problems that I usually have when I first create a new blog, is that I try to post too often, to try to attract new readers – which has served me well in the past. However, the purpose of this blog is a little different and I want to grow it differently. Therefore, I have purposely tried to only do two posts this week. That way I could focus on more important aspects of my job search – see below.
Now that I have a few things done, this week I plan to post more, just to get Professional Crossroads out there and try to grow the readership a little.
Resume Update
After a lot of work, tweaking and re-working, I have my résumé template ready for when I need it. (more…)
LinkedIn – So Misunderstood
There are so many people out there who have signed-up for LinkedIn, put their résumé on the site, added their work history, joined a group or two and then sat there waiting for people to come to them with job offers.
I signed up for LinkedIn back in December 2007 and the above is basically what I did with it. Oh once in a while, I updated my work history or changed my Summary, but didn’t really understand what it was. When nothing happened, I thought “what a useless site”. At least that is the attitude that I had until this week.
After almost 5 years on LinkedIn, I am just beginning to figure out what it is all about. (more…)
Dramatic Changes to the Blog
As you have noticed, I have made some very dramatic changes to my blog this afternoon!!!!
I was not feeling comfortable with the image I was projecting with the name “Old Guy Job Search” – not the name itself, because it describes exactly who I am and what I am doing. However, the title just seemed too limiting and as I thought more about it, does it convey the image that I want to portray to readers and potential employers?
With the name “Old Guy Job Search“, I also knew that I would have had to change my title after I find employment, otherwise it would become dated and no longer fit the what I would be doing. (more…)
Today Kept Me Busy – 5-1-12
stress head (Photo credit: ian boyd)
I submitted the application late this afternoon and hopefully it is great enough to get me into the interview process. After I submitted it, I went for a 5K run to relax a little. After running I did feel a lot better. That is why running is an important part of my coping strategy to manage work related stress. While this was not a very stressful situation, it was more time-consuming than anything, it was great practice for a project with a short deadline, with a high quality end product requirement. Having positive coping strategies in place for those high stress days, that do happen in the workplace is an important skill and one that should be thought about and practiced before they are needed. (more…)
