Thursday, January 31, 2008

How I Got My Job!

Maybe you're currently out of work, underemployed, or are simply looking for some guidance on how you can improve your situation. Chances are you've struggled with losing hope. You may even be depressed. I know I have been.

That is why one of my favorite topics/labels on this blog has been success stories. These stories have encouraged and inspired me to have a fresh outlook and have even given hope when it has been lost.

Throughout 2008 I am aggressively looking for more success stories to share with others. To that end, I'm launching a new project entitled "How I Got My Job", in which I record 15-20 minute phone interviews where my guests share how they got one of their jobs and release them to the internet as a podcast. Think of it as Inside the Actor's Studio, but for job searching instead of acting.

Here's the basic premise: If you are currently employed or have ever been employed, you have been successful in getting a job. Just as there are certain common threads to each job hunting success story, there are bound to be some unique aspects as well. I look forward to capturing both kinds.

I will most probably record the calls via one of the live conferencing tools that are available and will give out the phone number and other information prior to the set time and date of the interviews. Because the guest will share about one job only, each episode will last about 20 minutes. If it looks like this idea creates an audience, I may look at doing a live show where I take calls. Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, as they say.

I hope that these interviews will encourage and inspire those who may have lost hope or need a fresh outlook. Maybe something heard during one of these interviews will help someone else in their own search.

So, what do you say? I know you've got some stories. Please email me so we can set up a time for one of your interviews: danieljohnsonjr [at] gmail [dot] com

I (and many others) look forward to hearing from you.

Make it a great day!

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Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

How to show compassion to a job seeker

Not much time to blog right now, but I do want to make sure you read Jason's post aon Showing Compassion to a Job Seeker.

I've got another announcement coming in the next week or so about a project I'll be doing that I hope will further enhance this blog's usefulness.

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Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Use JobMaps to find jobs where you want them

Here's a nice mashup of Google Maps and several job boards, powered by Indeed: JobMaps.us


  1. Enter what kind of job you're looking for and where you're looking.
  2. Mouseover the results and the map will show its location.
  3. Click on a job listing for more information on the job and how to apply and email the job listing to yourself if you want.
Note that the locations are approximate. For example, if the job location says "San Francisco", then the pin in the map will point to the center of San Francisco - it's actual location might be elsewhere.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

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Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Show confidence without being arrogant


I was motivated to write this post from reading an article on Monster about Ten Tech Interview Errors. Specifically, I noticed the following passage from the article:

Too many techies come across as arrogant in interviews, says Sean Chou, CTO of Fieldglass, a software technology company. "A lot of techies are very talented, but what comes out is arrogance," he says.

Confidence is desirable, not arrogance. Arrogance suggests "they can't be a team player," Chou notes.
So I posed the following question on Twitter earlier:
What ways can you show confidence without it coming across as arrogance?
I could have clarified that I was looking with respect to an interview situation, but I preferred asking an open-ended question (i.e., without context), just to see what the responses would have been. Here are some of the responses so far, again to my open-ended question:
  • matthewebel Not breaking into a cold sweat when some director asks you to make a pass at iJustine.
  • mindofandre I always like to attribute my knowledge due to the fact that others have helped me learn. You haven't come this far without others.
  • TheSatch I think a key for me is being willing to point to and discuss my own flaws, sometimes seriously and sometimes with humor.
  • CollinDouma Best way to show confidence over arrgnc. Listen first, ask 3 questions for each of theirs + Hold your cool when "they" are proved wrong.
  • jasonalba research the word "assertive" ... that might have what you are looking for. very powerful.
  • tonysteward 1. Never offer criticism without a prepared solution 2. Arrogance makes someone unreasonable - be reasonable. 3. Confidence doesn't need everyone to agree - arrogance demands it or villianizes.
  • fairminder state your opinion as fact and support it with an example from your experience. Quote other experts - birds of a feather...
  • steveames One way is to be quiet - in other words, don't try to show confidence. Just exude it...
  • markbaars You need to KNOW that you're confident, that people like you and that you can do whatever you want + KNOW that you're NICE
  • Sourcerer be the one to greet and make others comfortable at meeting/event, also witty self-deprecation goes a long way
  • RichBecker Relevant stories play better than laundry lists.


What do you think? What are some ways to show confidence, or as Jason Alba put it, assertiveness, without it being perceived as arrogance?




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Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

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Thursday, January 03, 2008

Tech Job Aggregator on Twitter

Do you use Twitter? You might know that I'm an avid user of it. I just noticed this tech job aggregator, which has a presence on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Joblighted

Also, if you're into Ruby on Rails, you might want to consider following http://twitter.com/rornews

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Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

Related tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

South of Dayton keepin it real



wanna talk? call 513 373 4442

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