It may seem old school but writing a thank you note is still the right thing to do, just like your mom always told you.  The biggest question that I get is snail mail vs. email.  The answer is that it doesn’t really matter as long as you send it.  Email does seem impersonal but that is how the business world communicates.  Sometimes I think it’s odd when I get an actual letter at work.  Other positives for email: easier to save, easier to forward and easier to respond to. 

I read a great post about the interviewing thank you note.  It is short and sweet and can be used for mail and email, whatever you choose.  Please remember to respect their time and make your point quickly.  You want to be remembered but not remembered for being pushy or annoying. 

Uh oh, you show up to work, your office door is locked and your stuff is in a box in the hallway.  This usually does not happen.  How about the subtle signs that you’re about to lose your job.  I just read a great post called, 30 Signs You’re About to Lose Your Job.  Sometimes the signs are not very clear.  Did they forget to invite you to an important meeting?  Was it a mistake that you were left off an important email? 

In these cases, I would approach your manager and ask if this is for a reason.  It might be an oversight.  If it’s not, you should know why and work with your manager to correct it.  If you cannot, I would start the job search.  When these things start happening to you, it’s the beginning of the end.

In my e-book, I Want a New Job Now, I spend a lot of time talking about preparing for a job interview.  Too many times people just walk in without thinking about questions they might be asked, what is the landscape of the industry, what are competitors doing, etc.  I have even heard of people walking into an interview without even looking at the company’s website first.  What does that take, five minutes at the most?  Even though I give advice, I have made these mistakes too. 

When I was working for Black & Decker, I was approached about an opportunity with the Boston Beer Company, the maker of Sam Adams.  Well, I am not the type to turn down a beer or a beer company, so I met with the hiring manager.  I thought I did my homework asking in advance about the size of the company, competition, culture, etc.  I was having a great interview until she asked me what my favorite flavor of Sam Adams was besides the original.  What!?!  I have had Sam Adams many times but didn’t take the time to go to a liquor store and check out all the other products.  There are dozens including seasonal beers.  I blanked and I was done.

A good friend of mine named John calls it the 5 P’s.  Prior planning prevents poor performance.  I read a great post about the top 10 job interview tips.  This is a good list and will help you prepare for the big interview.   

I just read a great post called 25 Absolute Essentials for Networking Success.  The whole list is great and I highly reccomend reading it.  I think the biggest lesson I learned in networking is at the top of this list and is something I learned the hard way.  The time to start networking is when you don’t have a need.  It sounds weird but it’s true.  When you are out of a job and have a need to build a network, it is not very easy.  In addition, it takes time to build a network so the best time to start is yesterday.  When you are gainfully employed and happy, that is the best time to start.  And when you need to call on your network, it will be there. 

We can all think of brands that stand for something.  For example, BMW = performance, Volvo = safety, Rolex = luxury.  I am sure you can think of many more.  When it comes to demonstrating your abilities on the job, what do you stand for?  Reliability, Perseverance, Loyalty?  You should spend some time thinking about what unique abilities you posess and how you can demonstrate that in a job interview.

You may think a company will interview hundreds of people like you.  In fact, there is only one you and you are a brand.  You stand for something.  Think like a brand.  A brand that stands for quality does not compromise its position.  Do you stand for customer service, above and beyond mentality, being a team player, building high perfomance teams?  Take some time to think about this and how you can express this position in an interview.  Be able to communicate examples of how you have supported this position in the past.

All right, now that you are on Linked.com and you have made some connections, let’s make it work for you.  It is very important to keep your Linkedin.com profile active.  That means, keep adding connections, join groups, make updates to your information, get recommendations, give recommendations, etc.  Recruiters will see this and think you are a mover and shaker, usually what they are looking for.

There is also a job board feature on Linkedin.com and should be used as a resource for you.  As you build connections, seek people out that can help you in your job search.  Remember to not ask them for a job directly, but reach out to them for advice and as a person to network with.  If they know you well, they will offer you information or other names of people to network with.  After you meet with them, connect to them on Linkedin.com and that’s how the network grows.

Don’t forget to help others along the way.  That karma train runs both ways.  You are asking people for help and others will ask you for help.  I truly believe that good things happen to good people and helping others is a good thing.  If you don’t burn bridges you just might need to use that bridge one day to help you land the job of your dreams.

All right, now that you have a profile on Linkedin.com, you are wondering what to do with it.  I mentioned a cool feature about linking to current and former colleagues based on the fact that you have those companies on your profile.  It also works that way for schools you attended.  Anyone who attends during those same years, Linkedin.com will give you an opportunity to link.  More connections, bigger pool to network with, easier to find a job.  Are you with me?

Some other great Linkedin.com features include Recommendations, Groups and Search.  Let’s take them one at a time.  You should ask current co-workers, manager, etc. to write a recommendation for you.  When hiring managers search, they look for who has a lot of recommendations.  Please remember to be kind and write a recommendation for them too. 

There are several Groups you can join including corporate, alumni, etc.  Join a group or a few groups that are meaningful to you.  It is a great pool in which to network.  After all, the organization that bonds the group together can be very powerful.  I have several groups including my high school, college and a company I used to work for.

The Search feature on Linkedin.com is cool.  You can certainly look for one person or everyone that attended a certain school.  If you go to the People tab and only type in a company name and search, you will find everyone who works for that company.  Many times you will find the director of HR, or the VP of Sales, or a friend that you haven’t talked to in a while.  Regardless, these are people that you need to reach out to.

If you want recruiters calling you about job openings, get a profile on Linkedin.com and start connecting with as many people as you know.  The more the better!

Linkedin (www.linkedin.com) is a very successful professional networking website.  I feel this is one of the best ways to network, keep in touch with contacts and ultimately, find a job.  I will be writing a three-part blog series on the power of LinkedIn and why you should be on it and use it often.

First, everyone seems to be on it.  There are over 23 million members and 1.2 million more joining every month.  I have hundreds of co-workers that are on it and use it regularly to keep in touch.  Second, the site is free so there is no reason not to join.  Third, most recruiters are using Linkedin almost exclusively due to the large pool of candidates and the ease of searching for exactly what you need.  If your HR department is looking for an engineer in Iowa, no problem.  Linkedin will identify hundreds to talk to.

If you are not on Linkedin already, please go and set up a profile.  It’s easy, believe me.  Then enter at least your professional history and education.  If you don’t want to list all of your responsibilities at each company, just put your title and years you worked there.  One of the coolest features is that it will ask you if you know others who were there during the same time period.  Chances are that you do.  Now you are off and running with Linkedin.

In my next two blogs about Linkedin, I will discuss other cool features and how to harness the power of Linkedin to find a new job. 

A lot of people ask me who they should tell about their job search.  In short, everyone.  However, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.  The wrong way is telling people about your poor past experience, bashing your current or previous employer, asking them for a job directly, etc.  The right way is to network, starting with people you know well.  Instead of asking them to find you a job, you need to meet with your network, face-to-face if you can, and tell them what you are looking for. 

If you don’t know what you are looking for, figure that out first.  There is nothing more frustrating than meeting with someone who has no idea what they really want.  If they don’t know what they’re looking for, how can I help them find it?  You need to tell your network what you are looking for and ask them who else you should meet with?  This is a softer sell.  The million dollar question is, “Now that you know what I am looking for, do you know anyone that can help me find it”.  By asking the question this way, they will tell you about openings they know of personally and hook you up with the right people for further networking.

There are a ton of national job search websites like monster.com or careerbuilder.com.  As a job hunter, you can certainly check them out.  However, I think the odds of winning the lottery are better than getting a job through these sites.  There are many sources for finding the job of your dreams, personal networking still being the best, but if online is your thing, there is a better way.  You have a much better chance if you apply online directly at the company’s website or the company’s HR/recruiting site. 

For example, if you have always wanted to work for Dell, Google, P&G, Coca Cola, or Anhueser Busch, go to their website directly and submit your resume.  You will at least get your resume reviewed and if you have the goods, they will call you.