Behavioral Interview Tips and Techniques

Behavioral Interview Tips and TechniquesBehavioral Interview Tips and TechniquesHave a story for every skill.The most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation.This statement is the premise behind behavioral bewerberinterviewing, an interviewing technique created in the 1970s by industrial psychologists. This style of interview is becoming popular with employers, and it can be a challenging experience.Youre likely to face the technique on job interviews and you should be prepared to confront it the right way.Traditional interviewing calls upon the candidate to state opinions Tell me about yourself. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why do you want to work for this company? By contrast, behavioral interviewing requires job candidates to relate stories about how they handled challenges related to the skill sets the company requires for the position.For example, if a job requires strong communication and team-building skills, an interviewe r might ask candidates to recount past experiences where they explained new plans that brought a team together. Behavioral interview questions often start with phrases like, Tell me about a time when or Describe a situation in which or Give me an example ofWhile your skills and experiences could be a perfect match for the position, you could lose out if you cant validate them with relevant anecdotes.So how do you prepare for a behavioral interview?First, youll want to put yourself in the shoes of the employer and imagine what the ideal candidate for the position would answer from the interviewers perspective.Then, take the time to review thoroughly the job description and research the company and its culture. Look for cues about skills necessary for the job and valued by the organization. Next, think about the sorts of behavioral questions an interviewer might ask to determine those skills.Here are a few examples of skill sets and some behaviorally focused interview questions aimed at surfacing them.Decision Making and Problem SolvingDescribe a situation in which you used good judgment and logic to solve a problem.Give me an example of a time when you had to be quick in coming to a decision.LeadershipHave you ever had trouble getting others to agree with your ideas ? How did you deal with the situation, and were you successful?Describe the most challenging group from which youve had to gain cooperation.MotivationTell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.Give me an example of a situation in which you positively influenced the actions of others.CommunicationDescribe a situation in which you were able to communicate with another individual who did not personally like you (or vice versa).Describe a time you had to use written communication to convey an important argument or idea.Interpersonal SkillsGive me examples of what youve done in the past to nurture teamwork.Give an example of an unpopular decision youve made, what the result was and how you managed it.Planning and OrganizationWhen scheduling your time, what method do you use to decide which items are priorities?Describe how youve handled a sudden interruption to your schedule.Once youve determined which behavioral-based questions you might be asked during an interview, look back on your past experiences and develop stories to answer those questions. Your stories should be detailed yet succinct, and they should always include the following three elementsA description of a specific, real-life situation or challenge you encountered.A description of the specific tasks and actions you took to overcome that challenge.A summary of the results of those actions. (Try to quantify these results whenever possible.)Here is a sample answer to a behavioral interview question that incorporates each of these elements.Question Give an example of a goal you reached, and tell me how you achieved it.Answer Due to cuts in funding to our adult continuing education program, we fa ced the daunting goal of drastically reducing our promotional budget without sacrificing our media presence in the community. As program director, I researched alternatives to the effective, yet costly, course brochure, which was produced and distributed biannually to about 60,000 residents of our tafelgeschirr region. I was able to negotiate with two local newspapers to produce and distribute a new course brochure that increased distribution by 33 percent, to 80,000 residents, and decreased costs by 50 percent.Familiarizing yourself with the behavioral interview style, crafting and practicing your stories and doing some homework on the position you seek will ensure that you wont be caught off guard should you encounter a behavioral interview.

How to Get a Tech Job with No Experience

How to Get a Tech Job with No ExperienceHow to Get a Tech Job with No ExperienceTheres never been a better time to get a tech job. In the U.S. alone, the tech industry has generated around 200,000 new jobs every year since 2010. And with tech talent in demand, the tech industry is a jobseekers market. People who can code are in a great position. However, for people without a coding background or any experience in tech, the prospect of finding a job in this sector can be daunting.The good news is that while most people assume that all developers have a degree in computer science, this isnt the case at all. In fact, 66 percent of programmers are self-taught. And even those who did receive a formal tech education rely on continual professional development to keep their skills sharp, which requires self-motivation rather than formal training.This means that with a little planning and determination, you can land your first tech job with no previous experience. Here are a few tips.1. Ask t o take on tech-related tasks at your current job or fr sich selbstshipLook around where you currently work or intern its likely you already have the opportunity to develop some tech skills. Identify relevant tasks, then request that you be given the chance to contribute. For instance, you could ask your manager whether you can help maintain or redesign the companys website. This kind of experience looks good on your resume.2. Take online coursesWe live in an era where its possible to learn practically anything online. Treehouse, Udemy, and Alison are just three providers that offer affordable courses written by industry professionals. You can fit these courses around your existing commitments, and there are no time limits.Some platforms attract supportive communities of users who are all looking to develop the same skills. Knowing that you can ask a peer to give feedback on your projects will accelerate your learning.Start by building low-level digital skills, including HTML, CSS, a nd basic editing in Photoshop and Canva. Next, learn a few programming languages. Python, JavaScript, and Ruby are considered beginner-friendly languages. Dont be discouraged if you feel overwhelmed at first everyone has to start somewhere.If an online course doesnt engage you, try another. You might need to try an instructor who uses a different approach. Read a few reviews first, and take advantage of any opportunities to preview the course.3. Keep building projectsWhen you take online courses, youll be encouraged to make your own apps and websites to hone your skills. There are two reasons why you should heed this advice. First, a career in tech requires ongoing professional development and a willingness to push yourself, so working on your own projects helps you adopt the right mindset.Second, your projects can form the basis of a portfolio that shows recruiters what you can do. Qualifications and evidence of learning are a good start, but ultimately, you need to prove that you can translate theory into practice. Dont just work in isolation contribute to open source projects to gain valuable experience.4. Build an online portfolioOnce youve completed a few projects, its time to build a portfolio that you can link to on your resume and professional social media profiles, such as LinkedIn and GitHub.Treehouse recommend that you do the followingInclude a brief bio with a mission statement. Tell your visitors about the types of projects youve completed to date, what you are currently learning, and what you want to do in the future.Tailor your portfolio style to your desired role. For instance, if you want to work in front-end design, take care to build a creative, memorable website.Share your project source code on GitHub Pages.Include a contact form on your site to make it easy for recruiters to get in touch.Check that your copy is perfect. Everyone, regardless of their industry, needs a personal website and resume that is easy to read, explains the CEO of Pi ckWriters. Rely on a reputable writing service to ensure a professional result.5. Look for simple freelance jobsAs soon as youve gained basic proficiency in a couple of languages, you can look for quick freelance tasks on Upwork, Guru, Freelancer, or other similar platforms. As you gain more experience and positive reviews, you can take on more complex projects.6. Identify your transferable skills and highlight them on your resumeIf youve already worked in another field,youll have picked up non-technical skills that will serve you well in a tech job. These include problem solving, data analysis, the ability to work as part of a team, communication skills, and the ability to juggle multiple projects at once.7. Research local events in your area, and start networkingDid you know that the majority of jobs- regardless of field- are not formally advertised? To access hidden jobs, you need to become proficient in networking, both online and off. Google tech-based events in your area, and look for regular local meetups. Youll form professional relationships with people who can give you advice on how to break into the industry, find the right training for your preferred career path, or even give you a job. Find seasoned industry professionals who are happy to provide support and encouragement to novice. If youre lucky, you may even find yourself a mentor.8. Be willing to take on an entry-level role that offers potential for advancement and trainingIf you are working at a mid-tier or high-level role in your current job, you might have to apply for juniorin positions when establishing yourself in a tech field. This will mean taking a cut in salary. Fortunately, if you are willing to expand your skill set and choose a company that takes a proactive approach to staff development, you will be working in a senior role within a few years.A final noteRemember, demand for tech talent currently outstrips supply. If you can show a basic grasp of common coding languages, plus a k een interest in furthering your skills, it shouldnt be too hard to land a junior role. Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks, and empowers using the magic of words. While pursuing a degree in creative writing, Kristin gained experience in the publishing industry, with an expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors. Now she has found herself as a freelance writer. You can find her on Facebook and Medium.

How to conduct an interview when you secretly hate your job

How to conduct an interview when you secretly hate your jobHow to conduct an interview when you secretly hate your jobTherbeie are a lot of downsides to secretly (or not so secretly) hating your job, but one of the worst is interviewing candidates. They were such a great candidate. Id hate to ruin their life by bringing them here, a senior-level manager once told me after meeting the rolle whom I thought was perfect for the open position. If you find yourself in the position of conducting an interview when you hate your own job, take a deep breath. There are ways to navigate the interview professionally without violating any legal or moral obligations to your employer, the candidate, or yourself.Your Responsibility to the CompanyLets talk about your obligation to your employer first. When you cant stand your boss, your job or even your company, it puts you in a weird and uncomfortable place as an interviewer and employee. I can empathize with wanting to be somewhere- anywhere- else. But I do have one question Are they paying you for your time and/or work product? If so, then you have a moral AND legal obligation to not do anything against the companys best interests. In a nutshell, every employee, no matter where they stand on the corporate ladder, is considered an agent of the company and as such owes duties of loyalty to her employers. (This is spelled out in Restatement Third of Agency, a set of principles issued by the American Law Institute that helps clarify the law of agency).But what if the company truly is a nightmare? Do you still owe them your loyalty? Short answer Yup. However, in the event that youve planned or (hopefully) secured an exit for yourself, perhaps you can recuse yourself from the process. Barring that, if its your job to interview candidates for the role, interview them you shall- and to the best of your ability, which includes

3 Technical Interview Questions for Programmers

3 Technical Interview Questions for Programmers3 Technical Interview Questions for ProgrammersThe technical interview for a software developer position should give you a clear picture of the candidates ability to perform the fruchtwein important aspects of the job writing quality code and fixing broken code.The interview should include specific technical interview questions related to the technologies your organization uses ASP.NET or JavaScript might be some examples.Beyond these general knowledge questions, hiring managers need to ask technical interview questions that determine the candidates understanding of software development itself.The following three questions can help hiring managers uncover top technical talent. Keep in mind that these three questions are initial technical questions hiring managers might ask candidates potential peers will most likely ask even more in depth technical questions.1. Please describe the architecture of your most recent project.Ask candidates t o describe a recent project in depth. Invite them to use a whiteboard or a large pad of paper to draw diagrams, if needed.Youre looking to accomplish two specific things with this schrift of question. First, you want to look beyond what is listed in the candidates resume and confirm that the developer truly understands the work. This process will also help you determine just how active the software developer was in the example project and give you a good idea of that persons level of decision-making.The other goal is to see how well a programmer can present a technical concept. Evaluate the developers answer as if that person were presenting to both technical and nontechnical business leaders and project stakeholders. Would every person in the audience walk away with a solid understanding of how the application works and why things were done in a certain way?The ability to communicate well with nontechnical colleagues is a critical skill if you want someone who can be a lead develop er or software architect.Hiring? We can helpGET TALENT2. What lessons have you learned from your current project?Every project presents an opportunity for a software developer to expand skills and knowledge. A candidate who has the curiosity and open-minded nature required of a top programmer can take away something valuable from every project they work on.One of your technical interview questions therefore should be designed to give candidates an opportunity to share what they have learned on previous projects. Another version of this question is What do you like about your current assignments and what would you improve? The candidate you want to hire will be able to answer this in a way that shows the ability to learn from their experiences, whether they were positive or negative.3. Lets see some code.Many interviewers fail to ask technical interview questions that require candidates to prove that they can do exactly what the software developer job entails write code.So, be sure t o have the candidate write a few simple pieces of code. Two or three small code samples (about the size of a function, roughly 5-10 lines of code) should tell you very quickly if the candidate actually knows what he or she is doing.One popular version of a short programming test is FizzBuzz. You might want to give a time limit on this test or the results could be misleading. HireVue shows how long it takes candidate to complete challenges set up by the hiring manager. Another example of a test is to ask the candidate to write a function that finds the maximum value in an array of integers.These tests do not merely help you identify unqualified applicants, they also can provide insight into how a particular candidate thinks. Does this person launch into a problem without proper planning only to realize he or she made an easily foreseeable mistake? Is the developers code clean and demonstrating sound coding practices? Does the candidate listen to instructions and follow them properly to solve the problem?Try asking these technical interview questions in your next interview with a software developer candidate. You might just be surprised how many professionals with impressive resumes youll end up weeding out. Tags

What You Dont Know About Network Engineer Resume Could Be Costing to More Than You Think

What You Dont Know About Network Engineer Resume Could Be Costing to More Than You Think There are a lot of unspoken rules to compose a network engineer resume. Work youre networking experience building contacts in the business Network engineers may also work their connections to seek out equipment which may otherwise be tossed out, Akin stated. If you are searching for a network engineering internship before you submit an application for a real job, you have probably already made a distinguished career choice. The Chronicles of Network Engineer Resume Massive businesses, such as Microsoft, provide an extensive selection of installation and client support services and they recruit graduates and skilled staff into every area of IT support. If youve got zero experience in an IT or customer service role, you might distitelseite that its troublesome to land even the fruchtwein fundamental of help desk jobs. Many IT jobs provide benefits including absorbing the price of any cert ifications which you would acquire while working for that employer. Utilize linkedin jobs buy pattern paper on-line malaysia to harness the ability of your network and become hired. As an example, in a sizable investment bank you might have specific responsibility for a single area of the system. Youll also be working closely with the users of our network as a way to determine prospective issues and fix current problems. Based on your requirements and capacity to supply a small training, you can sculpt a superior candidate who will continue being loyal to the company for a long time to come. In the current competitive technology job market, networking administrator candidates should be ready for the chance of a panel interview. The Benefits of Network Engineer Resume Dont add anything you havent done or are unaware of. In addition, you can get job alerts sent right to your inbox so that you may apply when something catches your eye. There isnt anything more damaging than mys tery around how decisions are created. You meet somebody who needs something and you wish to offer assist. T he attached resume of mine will give you with additional info about my work experience and techniques. You are searching for work. You may have gotten a promotion or two at your very first job and are now seeking to test your possibility in the work market with some true experience under your belt. You require something whichs going to provide you console access so that you dont will need to move the console cable all the moment. Youve got to have clearly written career targets. As you are aware that the career purpose is the very first section of you CV and hence it ought to be written accurately, it is likewise important to compose different sections carefully. If you would like to make an application for a new job, you first have to create a professional resume. Crafting a resume that grabs the interest of HR managers is paramount if youre to find the job. Candi dates are anticipated to take parte in an on-call rotation and, subsequently, make the most of some schedule flexibility to escape from the office and play. You must list all of your professional projects that youve already experienced in few past times. Acted as project manager to guarantee design targets and schedules were met in time. Network Engineer Resume Secrets That No One Else Knows About Hence, its your key duty to make your application better than theirs. With objective that will help you can help you stand out a few of the other expert cv that will separate you better your. In order to submit an application for an internship, you will require the help of a good resume. If there arent any opportunities with your present employer, then it might be necessary to look elsewhere. Vital Pieces of Network Engineer Resume Have a peek at our entry level network administrator resume template to see whether it enables you to crack the code. Monsters plans will provide you with accessibility to a massive resume database and can provide you a lot more recruiting opportunities. A well-crafted cover letter may be an effective job search tool. There are thousands of resume samples on the web to take a clue from. You need to be competitive. Engineers may also earn bonuses, and a few employers provide profit-sharing in addition. Mechanical engineers may also be found in niche areas, like animatronics. The Network Engineer Resume Game Employing Word Choice to Imply Networking Ability Typically, listing networking for a core competency isnt always the most flattering means to impress a possible employer. Learning how to do a resume how dont have any work experience is a lot easier if you may demonstrate some seasonal or short-term work experience. If you think yourself an authority in VoIP, say so. You are able to understand which skills you must emphasize by taking a look at the Cisco network engineer CV example. Network Engineer Resume - Overvi ew There shouldnt be any room for irrelevant information whether its educational qualification or expert skill. Most importantly take some comfort in knowing that lots of technical interviewers dont do it frequently, and typically only every time a role should be filled. In case you have any special abilities or abilities, be certain to include them. Your abilities and experience needs to be emphasized in the correct manner so that youre hired for the ideal job.

Pros and Cons of a Lunch Interview - Spark Hire

Pros and Cons of a Lunch Interview - Spark HireAt times, a traditional job interview style can become monotonous and uninspiring. At times, the position a candidate is applying for may call for an interviewing atmosphere mora conducive to casual chatter and comfortable seating. And at times, some employers simply prefer an interview that is outside the office. In any case, a lunch interview is an entirely different ball game for both the interviewer and the interviewee. As an employer, what are some pros and cons of using a lunch interview over a traditional, in-the-office interview?Pro A restaurant or caf offers a relaxed space. At a lunch interview, an employer can afford to take more time and relax some while questioning a candidate. The less-professional and stiff-necked atmosphere of a restaurant or caf encourages small talk and chit-chat not necessarily related to the job or the candidates qualifications. As any employer knows, sometimes the things you pick up about a persons l ife, hobbies, or relationships during small talk can tell you immeasurably more than a resume can. A lunch interview offers ample time to take advantage of the informal space outside of the confines and demands of the office to get to your candidate on a different level.Con You may have an overly-nervous candidate on your hands. In rebuttal to the point above, for a candidate, there is so much that could go wrong during a lunch interview. Theyre walking in wondering if they should buchung a drink, what they should choose off the menu, and how much it should cost. Should they linger over their meal, hem and haw over dessert, offer to pay the tab? While you platzdeckchen the tone for the interview as the employer, the uncontrollable factors for a candidate in a lunch interview far exceed those found in a typical interviewing space. This could make the meeting uncomfortable or the candidate less confident and you may not get an honest preview of their true worth as an employee.Pro Smal l details become important. Youre able to see things about the candidate that you would not witness in a traditional interview. Are they lost in the particular details of a dish and very picky about the choice of food? Do they order expensive dishes? Are they unkind about a small mistake with their order or are they thankful and generous with the wait staff? Do they quickly make themselves comfortable with a glass of wine or do they stick with non-alcoholic beverages? All of these things will inevitably mean different things to different employers, but a candidates small actions can speak volumes about their personality and what kind of employee they might be.Con You have little control over the environment. When not in the office, you leave space for unexpected situations, uncontrollable due to the fact that youre surrounded by other patrons whom you do not know and service employees who may or may not be having a good day. As the one conducting the interview, you can hamper this p otential threat to your interviewing success by choosing a venue that you know well. However, this still cannot account for everything, such as another patron getting angry or out of hand in the restaurant, or the food being prepared poorly, which could potentially make your relaxed space more awkward.Are lunch interviews too impractical for you or are they a nice change of pace to a monotonous interviewing process? Leave a comment below to weigh in.IMAGE Courtesy of Flickr by Osamu Kaneko

Mentor - An Experienced Advisor Can Help Your Career

Mentor - An Experienced Advisor Can Help Your CareerMentor - An Experienced Advisor Can Help Your CareerA mentor is an experienced colleague who can provide invaluable guidance as you begin your career and advance in it. He or she may work for the saatkorn organization or anotzu sich one. It is often better to choose a mentor who is also a coworker because he or she will have an insight into your organization that someone else wont. When you are just starting out, a mentor can help you avoid the mistakes that come with inexperience. He or she can make sure you dont miss out on any career-advancing opportunities to which newbies may not be privy. A mentor can make you the beneficiary of his or her experience. What Can Your Mentor Do for You? When you encounter an unfamiliar situation at work and dont know how to deal with it- for example, a workplace bullyor a boss that doesnt seem to like you- a mentor can give you advice to successfully overcome it. There is a good chance he or she has either been through a similar situation or knows someone who has.Because he or sheis on a higher rung on the career ladder, your mentorhas access to opportunities you do not yet have. His or her status can open up some of these opportunities to you. For example, he or she can score coveted invitations to industry events and provide introductions to influential people in your field. Your mentorcan alert you to job opportunities within your organization or elsewhere.Your mentor can point you in the right direction when it comes to investing in your continued education and training. If you both work in the same occupational field, he or she will know what additional skills and certifications are valuable.Ifyou have to decide whether toaccept a job offer, he or shecan look it over to see if it is a fair deal.When it comes time to ask your boss for a raise, your mentor can give you tips on how to negotiate a higher salary. How to Find a Mentor After learning about the numero us benefits, you probably want to find a mentor as soon as possible. Some companies have formal mentoring programs. They either match new employees with mentors or respond to requests for them. Contact your employers human resources department to learn more. If your employer doesnt have a formal mentoring program, it will be up to you to find someone. Your professional network is the best place to start. abflug putting out feelers to see if anyone is willing to help. Remember this person does not have to work for the same employer but, ideally, should be in the same field.For this relationship to be as useful as possible, your mentor should have several more years of experience. Another good way to find a mentor is through a professional association. Many can match new members with seasoned ones. If you dont already belong to one, this would be a good reason to join. College alumni associations are also a good source for mentors. They can match recent graduates with older alumni. Tips for Having a Successful Relationship Choose a mentor whose goals are similar to yours. He or she must be much further along on the same or a similar career path.It is advantageous if your mentors training is the same as yours. Someone in the samecareer fieldis in a better position to advise you.Ask your mentor if he or she can commit to the relationship. You will have to meet regularly, and he or she will have to be able to respond to your requests for advice in a timely fashion. If this isnt possible, find someone else with whom to work. Accommodate your mentors busy schedule. For example, if he or she wants to meet with you before or after work, dont make excuses about being too busy or tired.Dont wait for someone to offer to be your mentor. If you think someone will make a good advisor, ask that person for his or her help.

How to Explain Work History Gaps in the Interview

How to Explain Work History Gaps in the InterviewHow to Explain Work History Gaps in the InterviewHow to Explain Work History Gaps in the InterviewNobody follows a seamless, unbroken career path. Just doesnt happen. Logically, it follows that everyone will eventually have an employment gap to explain at a job interview. And theres a simple, three-step method to explain this to your potential employer acknowledge, reassure, and redirect.Heres how it worksACKNOWLEDGE Describe the situation very briefly and factually, and acknowledge that it is a valid concern. Keep your emotions out of it. Dont be detailed, defensive, or apologetic. Just stick to the facts.ExampleBetween 1999 and 2003, I was _____. I can understand that the situation might concern you, Mr. Smith. REASSURE Explain what steps you took to resolve the problem that caused the gap. The employers main concern is that you will turn out to be a badeanstalt hire, so reassure them that there is no risk of similar problems in the future.ExampleDuring that time, I am proud to say that I ____. In retrospect, it was an extraordinary experience that taught me many positive lessons. And now, with that chapter closed, Im ready to take on my next challenge.REDIRECT Finish your explanation with a question about the job, or a statement about your more recent accomplishments to steer the conversation back to your positive qualifications for the job at hand.ExampleMy ____ experience seems like excellent preparation for the challenges of this position. What are the most important goals youd like the person who fills this role to accomplish in the first three to six months?This method is useful whether your issue is a voluntary or involuntary employment gap, a past medical crisis, a criminal record, or anything in between. Basically, any sort of potentially negative news can be addressed in this manner. And remember, youre not alone. No matter what caused that gap in your resume, lots of other people have been in the sam e situation and gone back to gainful employment. You will, too.

Mind Your Social Netiquette

Mind Your Social NetiquetteMind Your Social NetiquetteYour manners and etiquette matter online in social networks.Social networking Web sites are becoming an indispensable part of the job search.As your relationships move online, its easy to track and manage your contacts and connections. Unfortunately, its also easy to forget your social skills. Ignoring a contacts hello feels less harsh when its done from 3,000 miles away. Sharing a racy joke with the group binnenseems harmless when its done on your mobile phone between interviews. But snubs still sting, and tawdry remains tactless.According to social networking experts, everything you need to succeed in the medium, you learned in kindergarten.Theyre the same social rules as anywhere else, said Lindsay Olson, a partner and recruiter at Paradigm Staffing, who uses social networking to identify potential recruits and vet candidates once their names have come up. Theres a very thin line between keeping in touch and blatant self promot ion. Stepping over that line will really turn people off.Make Friends and Earn FavorsThe key is to keep the other person in mind and go out of your way to be both polite and helpful - before you need help yourself, said Paul Gillin, a social networking consultant at Paul Gillin Communications and author of The New Influencers and Secrets of Social Media Marketing.The etiquette is that you help people out and then when you need it, they help you out in return, Gillin said.The social networking site LinkedIn provides built-in ways for people to contribute. Members can submit questions to the group, plead for jobs, deutsche bundespost openings at their company and recommend a friend or colleague. Providing answers, resources or tips passing along a resume or making an introduction can build social equity, Gillin said.Be Useful, Not PleadingTwitter is a microblogging site that allows users to post brief (140-character) messages that can be read by members in their network, called follo wers. Some use Twitter messages, called Tweets, to broadcast their location or status on a project, or just to say hello to a friend. Resourceful job seekers have made Twitter part of their self-promotion engine. But be sure not to inundate followers with a constant stream of boasts, Olson said. Blatant self promotion or begging for work will turn off your audienceIf youre using a site like Twitter or Facebook to promote yourself, make sure you slip your sales pitch in between useful information like articles from trade publications, white papers on your industry and helpful advice.Dont Be Shy Dont Be PushyDont hesitate to ask for introductions to anothers contact or circle and expect to do the same, said Gillin. It feels like trading, but its networking, he said.(Theres nothing) wrong with asking people to write a recommendation its a normal business request, he said. Its a give-to-get situation. Often when you write a recommendation, even unsolicited, youll get one in return. But dont shake down your contacts, said Isabel Walcott Hilborn, owner of Strategic Internet Consulting and founder of SmartGirl.com, a 200,000-member social network for teenage girls. People are nice. They usually are happy to help if its a genuine request and not just spam or self promotion.Dont be a CreepConsider the creep factor when calling someone youve researched online or through social networks, Gillin said.If someone contacted you out of thin air and had all this information about you that you didnt know welches out there, that might creep you out, Gillin said. The way to get around that is to be open with who you are and where you got the information. Say, ZoomInfo said you used to work at this company while I was there too, and I was hoping to make a connection.Adopt a professional manner its a business contact, and youre reaching out in a business sense, he said. Dont make it overly personal. That eliminates a lot of the creep factor.Be ActiveA public profile can put you on someones radar or keep you there, Olson said. Whether you submitted your resume cold or you were in for an interview, a connection on a social network and frequent activity can keep your name in a recruiters or contacts ear. People arent going to remember me because I made one recruiting call to them five years ago, Olson said, but if they see me posting things all the time, theyre going to know who I am when I call.BehaveAs any number of college students and one Miss America contestant can tell you, its bad form to record your indiscretions and post the evidence on a public Web site. Embarrassing photos or remarks can surface during your job search. Recruiters and hiring managers routinely search social networking sites for background information, and many will hold photos of youthful hijinks against you.Get Googled Get FoundA Web developer doesnt rely on luck to drive readers to his Web site. He uses search engine optimization (SEO) to increase the likelihood search engines will s howcase his Web pages. Your profiles on LinkedIn and other social networks should be no different. Make sure recruiters can find you.SEO relies on the concept that the mora prominently a Web page appears in search results, the more searchers will visit the page. Optimizing your profile pushes it toward the top.SEO marketers (a budding job classification) add keywords, which are the terms that are most likely to be queried by a Web searcher interested in the topic you are trying to promote - in this case, your career. If you want to be noticed by anyone who needs a Database Administrator with MySQL experience, your profile should include those specific terms, instead of more generic or less descriptive terms like DBA or database admin and any specific languages or skills the recruiter might search for.Choosing the right network for your profile can also help. While Facebook might be a larger, more useful network for your profession, LinkedIn is particularly well positioned for Googl e searches.Promote Your Ambitions, Not Your PastNow that youve finished optimizing your profile for search, make sure it matches what you want to do, not just what youve done, Olson said. Choose words that match your aspirations, not just your history.If I were a digital-marketing person and I wanted to move into an SEO job, Id put it in as an area of interest or whatever, she said, as long as I got those keywords into the text so I could be found on those searches.Dont Just Use One NetworkLinkedIn may be the most widely known and used social network purely for business contacts. However it isnt right for everyone or every situation. You may run into situations where you identify a company or individual you need to contact and use other searches to find mail addresses, phone numbers or other information to get you closer to that contact. ZoomInfo, Spock and other business-information aggregation sites are great places to gather information about your target companies or hiring manag ers.Finish the JobThe biggest mistake most people make using LinkedIn, Facebook and social networks is that they dont complete their profiles with all the content about their experience, skills and miscellaneous information that could be relevant. Whats more, they dont pursue contacts, said Shally Steckerl, a recruiting consultant and founder of Jobmachine.com. Omitting information makes it difficult for recruiters to find your profile and hard for your network to connect you to new opportunities through mutual contacts.Follow ThroughYour network doesnt build itself. You have to take advantage of the opportunities to expand your reach. When you meet someone at an event or on the phone, ask if she minds if you link to her, then do it.Its exactly like real life, like a virtual water cooler where you talk to your friends or co-workers, Hilborn said. If youre the kind of person who never needs anything a job or a plumber or advice on how to raise your baby go ahead and skip the whole social networking thing. But if you ever need anything from anyone else, social networks can help you.