Career Connection Meeting Each Week

Yes Singapore we are still meeting each Tuesday from 10 am to noon at Starbucks in Clarke Quay!

Each meeting we cover a structured networking technique (I usually post afterwards on this blog).

We have open networking as well.

So far, 3 members have found new jobs.

We continue to build relationship in Singapore and beyond. We are also on LinkedIn Groups as Career Connect Singapore.

Web School 102 - Social Media for Recruitment

Its been the buzz for a few months now...and its in Singapore now. For example, see Electronic Arts reruitment below:

http://twitter.com/easingaporejobs for recruitment activities!

Are you using Twitter yet for your job search and career building?

Web School 101 and Search Engine Optimization

Now more than ever, if you are searching for a new job or building your career while still employed, you need to have an dramatic, aesthectic web presence to promote yourself, your credentials, skills, and experience! Whether you have a personal website, blog, or social media profile you need some tools to have obtain and maintain your competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential for people with career and business opportunities to find you quickly.

My buddy Zeke has a few things to say about SEO below:

Today I will share 5 SEO secrets that we use with our clients from all over the world. These secrets won’t rank you first by themselves; there is a lot more that you need to do, but these tips will definitely make a huge difference.

Forget About Meta Keywords and Submitting Your Site to Google 2002 is long gone; rules have changed.

Meta keywords won’t help you at all and you don’t need to submit your website to Google; they will find it.

Avoid Over-Optimization If your idea of SEO is writing a page and putting your keyword in it 50 times, forget it. If all the links pointing to your site have the same anchor text, that will affect you too.

Make your content and backlinks look natural.

Write for your visitors, not the search engines. A great website with outstanding information will get a lot more links than an over-optimized site.

Target Several Keywords on One Page Choose a main keyword and then think of 5-10 keyword modifiers. For example, if your main keyword is “cowhide rugs”, add words before and after to go after secondary keywords as well. Some of these keywords could be “buy cowhide rugs”, “cowhide rugs store”, “black cowhide rugs”, etc. Notice that all these keywords have the main keyword in them.

Get Links from Social Media Sites The advantage of social media sites is that most of them have a lot of authority and trust. Links from these sites will be worth a lot. On the downside, anybody can get links from these social media sites, but they can still help you a lot. Some of these sites are Squidoo, HubPages, NewsVine, BizHeat, KillerStartups and Twitter (links in the bio section aren’t “nofollow”).

SEOmoz has, in my opinion, the best list of social media sites you can easily get links from. You can find it here: http://www.seomoz.org/social-directory

Don’t Overlook the Holy Grail of Link Sources I can’t believe how many people skip this step. The best place to start looking for links is people that you know and you have relationships with. We all have friends and relatives with blogs or websites. I am sure that your company has vendors; ask these people to link to you as their client.

Ask your clients to link to you. Ask the organizations you belong to. How about the chamber of commerce in your city? How about local universities, libraries and community colleges? Here’s something to keep in mind: people love linking to great content. They don’t link to commercial sites as much.

So create great content and become THE place people want to go to find information about the kind of product you sell. If your information is useful, many people in your industry will love to list you on their lists of useful resources.

If you enjoyed this article, visit my blog at http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2ETheOutsourcingCompany%2Ecom%2Fblog&urlhash=fEJ0&_t=disc_detail_link for more great tips on entrepreneurship and online marketing.

Join Our Entrepreneurs Group on Facebook - http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fgroup%2Ephp%3Fgid%3D52648031032&urlhash=Tw0m&_t=disc_detail_link --- Zeke Camusio The Outsourcing Company – Professional Web Design Blog: http://www.TheOutsourcingCompany.com/blog

http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2ETheOutsourcingCompany%2Ecom&urlhash=rt8Z&_t=disc_detail_link info@TheOutsourcingCompany.com (1)877-581-3921 (Available 24/7)

Outstanding Townhall Presentation Tips - from my buddy Duke in Texas

1. Don’t forget the 6 by 6 rule. Attempt to achieve no more than six words per slide and six words per line. Often in communication, slower is better and less is more.

2. Stay within the 8 slides, fonts and format. You are a part of a total presentation and consistency matters. A display slide can be added if it consists of figure, pictures (not more text)

3. Presentations tell a story. Not only what the Aim, Cause and Effect, Solution and Measurement was; but why it was important, what were struggles along the way, what was learned, what would be advice to others? You have 8 minutes of real estate, so use it well.

4. To come across clear, concise and natural…prepare what is to be covered; practice it in your head until it is second nature. Many a good presentation had trigger thoughts on note cards. Great presentations don’t come by accident.

5. Remember everyone is cheering for you. Nervousness is always bigger on the inside of us than what is displayed. Focus on helping them understand your project and you won’t have time to focus on how you look.

6. Work your audience. Throw out a question or thought that makes them think. Engage them in the thinking process your team went through. People love to relate to similar issues.

7. Mistakes aren’t mortal. If they occur, they are part of the process of sharing. During the webcast, we left some imperfections in because that was more natural than ten more retakes.

8. Don’t project what can’t be read. Adjust your graph fonts to be seen from the back of the room. Test: Print out the slide, lay it at your feet, then read it. If you can’t see it; your audience can’t either.

9. Remember that the audience does not know your department or its lingo. Giving context and understanding can help them step through your story. Avoid acronyms where possible.

10. Be yourself as best you can. The audience is just as interested in connecting with you as they are your topic. Remember, you share what you know, but you impart who you are…lester brown

Powerup in the Recession

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." - Sam Walton, Wal-Mart

Today I spoke ]about how to Powerup in the Recession:

1. Be clear with hiring managers and customer targets
2. Be concise with your accomplishments, back them up with numbers, especially $$$$.
3. Be confident with all the people you meet and they will get the vibe!
4. Be a winner who breaks a sweat, practices more, plays more, and delivers more to employers and customers.

China Has Changed; The Chinese Haven’t

From a pal in another network:

Has China changed? Companies bet millions on the answer, but it’s the wrong question. You should ask if Chinese have changed. China has changed; the Chinese haven’t.

Amazing changes! New politico/economic system. New laws, social structures, buildings and consumption patterns, different clothes. Sound familiar? It should—it’s happened twice in 100 years! (Three times actually.)

Go back 50 years. China’s 1959 changes (described above) were as amazing as changes today. But Mao and communism didn’t change the Chinese, and it’s naive to think MacDonald’s and capitalism will. China changes but the Chinese don’t.

Or don’t change in areas important for business. China’s changes are outside-in, important for what types of business can be done but not for actually doing business. That requires inside-out change, a harder thing.

China’s market is growing in two ways. First, more people with purchasing power, the new middle class. A few hundred million so far, with hundreds to come. Second, different consumption habits, coffee shops, convenience stores and beauty salons. Huge changes, yet neither affect how business is done.

Cultures develop unique ways of using language, their Rules of Communication. Chinese and Western rules are very different. Consider disagreement. Westerners believe state your honest opinion, even if you disagree. Chinese believe disagree in an indirect, discreet manner. Add the different ways each use to say No—Westerners say No directly whereas Chinese say No indirectly, if possible not even using the word No—and trouble is guaranteed.

Differences in building business relationships adds more trouble. Westerners feel the Contract determines the relationship, that differences are decided by referring to the Contract. Chinese think a Contract is a good place to start but if the situation changes then the terms and conditions should change. Meeting contract terms, doing the business, is where “Chinese haven’t changed” is clearest.

All business relationships must communicate and solve problems: success in both creates trust, failure destroys it. Misunderstandings are the biggest hidden cost in international business, eroding trust as well as causing mistakes and inefficiencies. Business without trust signals a “going broke” relationship. Westerners put faith in law, Chinese in relationships. “How can you ask me to lose money?” could only be asked by Chinese, “It’s not personal, just business” only said by a Westerner.

Westerners only see where China had changed and stay blind to where the Chinese haven’t, confusing what kinds of business can be done with the way Chinese actually do business.

How Chinese communicate, solve problems and build business relationships is changing, but slowly. Chinese control these changes, not Westerners, and fundamentals of culture don’t change easily. If communism couldn’t force Chinese to change it is folly to think capitalism will either. Use China’s outside-in changes to judge business opportunities, but let the slow change of Chinese inside-out “ways” determine how you actually do business.

One sure requirement to success is being able to see communication and business relationships as Chinese do. Westerners need to look at business through Chinese glasses.

For more: www.bicbiz.com

Can you see any solution in this post?

A friend passed me this video link. Its heartwrenching as it happens to more people all the time.

http://www.yahoo.com/s/1046721

How can we help our family and friends back up out of this global recession?

Regards,

Rick