Blogging4Jobs

As someone who’s been a blogger for four years, I can talk about the amazing benefits personally and professionally.  Blogging is a great way to go beyond 140 characters and share with your readers more about you.  And after being part of the Gotta Love Chevy OK Program, I realized I wanted to bring awareness to this powerful group of people (thousands of us) who live all across the state of Oklahoma.

And after talking with other Oklahoma bloggers who I admire, I thought it would be a great to coordinate a week in Oklahoma to recognize the bloggers from all over the state.  This week will be to network with other bloggers and share best practices and lessons learned along the way.  More information about when and how the week is coming soon.  And if you’d like to be the first to learn about the big announcement and who I am partnering with, please complete the information form (below).  And if you prefer, you are welcome to email me at blogging4jobs@gmail.com.  Please include your first name and last name, your email, and blog or website address.

I will add your name to the distribution list to receive updates BEFORE the announcement hits the internet.

Photo Credit DailyNugget.

My co-moderators and I, @cornonthejob & @mscareergirl have hosted our own Twitter chat successfully for the last month and a half, called #JobHuntChat. For those of you that don’t know, Job Hunt Chat is a Twitter chat held every Monday night at 10 PM EST.  Using Twitter we aim to answer 4 job search questions sent from our audience during the course of an hour while also allowing time for participants to network with one another.  Our participants include experts (resume writers, career coaches, human resource professionals, and recruiters) as well as job seekers from all across the world.

It’s been fun, but as I have gotten involved more in Twitter chats, I realized there is no one place to learn more about the chats, their times, and topics aside from word of mouth tweeting.  And because of this, I need your help.  I need your submissions.  If you host a twitter chat or know of one, please send me an email with the subject line “Twitter Chat” to jessica@xceptionalhr.com.  Please include the name of the chat, time (EST time please), the names of the moderators, and a little about the chat.  I will put together a directory of the chats made available for everyone in the coming week.

Last year I put together the HR Blogger Directory providing some structure and organization to the fantastic HR Social Media Community you may or may not know about.  I hope to do the same with the Twitter Chat Directory.  Look for a post forthcoming once I gather all the chat information.

Photo Credit Tricky System.

XHR Stacked Logo

I’m not shy to admit that blogging has been the single most important and defining career move for me.  Not because I’ve made millions of dollars because of blogging but because of the opportunities I’ve had and the great people and friends I’ve made a long the way.  Blogging has opened up another world for me.  I now think of my relationships and projects in a global context not limited by state boundaries or oceans.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that when I first started my blog, BloggingforJobs almost four years ago did I think that it would lead to me starting my own business and becoming a thought leader in the HR & Recruiting community.  I created the blog as a way to differentiate myself from other Oklahoma Human Resource professionals while also engaging passive job seekers by providing them job search advice and tips. Honestly, I was looking for a cost effective way to fill my candidate pipeline.  The name BloggingforJobs was purely a spur of the moment decision.

I wrote for over two years with a small, regular readership taking the time to build my brand.  Finally, in early 2009 while on maternity leave, things began to change.  Glamour Magazine called me to interview me which led to several other new opportunities.  I had arrived.  Around the same time Twitter began accounting for 30% of my total website traffic and I made the decision to move to my own domain, Blogging4Jobs.  I wanted to be able to better control my content and design especially since my brand was becoming so important in my personal branding and differentiation strategy.  When I finally made the move, I had to shortened my new name to Blogging4Jobs only because the domain, bloggingforjobs.com was not available for purchase.  (I’m glad I did!)

I’ve been feverishly working on new logos for both Blogging4Jobs & Xceptional HR (my consulting company) that is streamlined and helps people identify that the two are really one in the same.  Building and launching a brand that is consistent and covers all your bases and sends a consistent message is a lot of work.  Most companies look to hire an outside agency to help them with this process but being the ambitious budding entrepreneur that I am, I am always up for a challenge especially when it saves me some green.

In addition to creating several new logos that are consistent with my new message and brand, I’ve had to update newsletter templates, twitter profile pages, and three separate websites that I currently manage as part of the Xceptional HR family (Blogging4Jobs, Tweeting my Business, & JessicaMillerMerrell.com).  And although the re-branding process has only just begun, I’m excited to announce the new logos.

In the coming days and months look for other both large and subtle changes to the Blogging4Jobs and Xceptional HR brands.  I’m thankful for your readership and look forward to having you along for the ride.

As promised, I’m proud to announce the new logo for the “Job Search Secrets” webshow on Mingle Media TV.  The number 1 rated hour long internet show will air on Sundays at 9:00 PM EST on Mingle Media TV.  Each Sunday night we will continue to discuss the “unwritten rules of the job search” just as we have for the last six months.  Look for more creative job search techniques and strategies with guest from all over the globe.  Our first show on Mingle Media TV will be Sunday, February 28th.

In addition to the show being live streamed on Mingle Media TV and their network, the show will also be accessible here at Blogging4Jobs as well.  Everyone from job seekers, experts, and guests are encouraged to engage and interact as much as you wish by logging onto the webcam and asking questions directly or by using the forum chat room during the show.  I encourage folks to tune in who are interested in learning more about the job search, networking, human resources and hiring processes, and the recruitment industry.  We have a host of regular professionals who man or woman the boards providing instant feedback and tips from job coaches, resume writers, recruiters, human resource professionals, and job seekers.

If you are an author, industry expert, job coach, recruiter, or job seeker, I’d love to have you on the show as a guest.  Please contact me @blogging4jobs or by email at jessica@xceptionalhr.com.  Look for more details about our first guest on the new network coming soon.  As always I look forward to connecting with you via livestream on “Job Search Secrets.”

Photo Credit Edave.

It’s been almost six months since my first show aired on MomTV and it’s been an incredible journey.  We’ve had guests from all over the world provide job seekers with tips, tricks, and advice on how to navigate the job search.  I’ve loved helping job seekers learn about social media, networking, and the unwritten rules of the job search.

Starting on February 28th, I’m proud to announce that I will be taking the show to the next level.  We will begin streaming the show live  newly titled, “Job Search Secrets” on a new network, Mingle Media TV.  This change will allow me the ability to also stream the show live on my website, Blogging4Jobs as well as engage an audience that better fits my target demographic.  My show seeks to help not only moms but all types of job seekers from blue to white collar and everything in between.

Although the network and show name will change, I will still work hard to provide good and relevant topics and guests to help job seekers learn how to engage decision makers and stand out in the crowd.  We will also continue to live stream the show every Sunday at 9:00 PM EST.

Be sure to visit Mingle Media TV and also subscribe to my website’s RSS feed to stay up to date on the latest news and information related to not only my job search show but everything Blogging4Jobs.  Look for blog post soon unveiling a new logo for the webshow in the coming days before the show.

So earlier today, I logged on to my blog and realized that March 1 isn’t so far away mainly because of my travel next week to London for the TRU London conference which I plan on discussing later this week.   I was stressing that I wouldn’t reach my arbitrary goal of 8 blog posts this month.  Yes, I set a goal.  I’m extremely competitive by nature and once I attach a goal to most things, I must dominate the competition. You may be surprised to know that I’m the extroverted competitive type.

So each month for over the last 3 1/2 years, I have worked hard to post 8 times a month, and 98% of the time, I’ve accomplished my goal.  And because I logged into my website this morning, I learned that I have been nominated for two separate categories for the Okie Blogger Awards in two separate categories:  Best Business-Related Blog & Best Kept Secret.

The funny thing is I have not ever been nominated for a writing award  in my adult life.  The last writing award I received was in 1990 when I took first place in a writing competition held by the local Kansas county newspaper, the Holton Recorder.  I was extremely proud of the honor and won a bike which is just about what every young kid in the country needs in their early years as their main form of transporation.  Only later did I learn that an entire 5 entries had been received and two of which came from my family’s household, one from me and one from my younger sister.

Please visit the Oklahoma Blogger Awards website and check it out.  While I do hope that you would find it in your heard to vote for me, I am extremely honored to be recognized among so many friends and fellow bloggers within the state I have called home for more than 4 years.  The voting ends on February 14th, 2010 and you must be an Oklahoma blogger to enter.

Photo Credit Style Rules

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So things are going good here at Blogging4Jobs these days.  Mini B4J (AKA Ryleigh) just turned one, my book, Tweet This!  Twitter for Business will be available for presale very soon, and overall things are just CRAZY but in a good way.  And because of that, I’m in need of an intern.

But not just any intern, a “Super Intern.”  Super Intern must be someone who has experience in social media, knowledge & genuine interest in Human Resources, and basic marketing skills.  Person must have experience with Microsoft Office and have knowledge with Twitter, FaceBook, WordPress, and Skype.  Most likely this will be a virtual office type of position so the person must have internet access and webcam access otherwise, you’ll be officing with me here in Norman, OK.  That may not necessarily be a bad thing either because I can be pretty entertaining.

Currently, the Super Intern position would be unpaid but that could change.  Person must be available for at least a semester, possibly more and be a student either grad or undergrad working 5-10 hours a week.  I’m open to someone who has recently graduated or is interested in breaking into the HR industry.

To apply, please either tweet me directly at @blogging4jobs or email your stuff (blog, resume, coverletter, cv, whatever) to jessica@xceptionalhr.com.  Cheers!

Photo Credit CMA Today

I’m excited to announce that Blogging4Jobs will host our own Career Webshow on MomTV.  The show kicks off on Sunday, September 6th at 9:00 PM EST and every week after.  Please my show’s website at MomTV’s Blogging4Jobs Site.  What a great way to end your weekend and start your workweek with Blogging4Jobs.

In the meantime if you are a recruiter, career coach, or job seeker and have an interest in being interviewed or featured on the show, please email me direction at jessica@xceptionalhr.com.  I’m planning on some exciting and interesting ways to help job seekers learn the unwritten rules of the job search.

Until then, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Cheers, Jessica

**My MomTV Blogging4Jobs webshow address is www.momtv.com/Blogging4Jobs.html.

Folks,

Apparently, Twitter has suspended some accounts inadvertently due to some sort of Twitter spam that is making the rounds.  Unfortunately, I have been caught up in the mess.  Our accounts, @blogging4jobs, @xceptionalhr, and @soonerexecrec have been suspended.

If you are on Twitter, I’d appreciate it if you would send @spam a Direct Message or @reply requesting that our accounts be unsuspended.  I’ve contacted Twitter and submitted a ticket requests.  In the mean time, your tweets will be much appreciated!

Cheers!

Jessica

***Update:  Just learned that all Twitter Accounts that use TweetLater have been suspended.  If you are interested in staying up to date, do a search with keywords, “suspended accounts” at search.twitter.com.  Look for a post coming from @mashable at www.mashable.com as well.  Until then, see you on Facebook!
***7/5/09 Update at 10:15 pm CST:  Twitter accounts @xceptionalhr and @blogging4jobs are back!  We’ve resubmited ticket request for @soonerexecrec’s account (Greg’s account).  www.mashable.com reports that Twitter will be posting an update on their blog at blog.twitter.com very soon.  Thank you for all the kind tweets!  It’s good to be back.

Thank you for stumbling upon Blogging4jobs.  This site is currently under construction.  I hope to have it officially, offical by mid July 2009.  Feel free to make comments and click to your heart’s content.  This blog will continue to be updated while under construction.  I am currently moving my blogspot blog to its permanent new location (here). 

Very soon we will be adding some new and exciting features including a free job board, the option to “Tweet” your openings, some exciting networking opportunitites, and of course the release of my first book, “Tweet This!”  Between now and then, I apologize for the mess but feel free to kick your shoes off and get comfortable.  Thank you for supporting Blogging4jobs. 

Cheers!

Jessica

Check it out. Bloggingforjobs is listed as Number 8 on the Career 100 Risesmart site. The site is a global ranking of top english language career blogs. (Yup, I said GLOBAL!)

I want to say thank you for your continued support and feedback. I created this blog almost a year and a half ago with the job seeker in mind. So enjoy and keep fighting the good fight!

Happy Hunting!

Jessica

P.S. Check it out at http://www.risesmart.com/risesmart/blog/career100/index.php

Click on the link below to join my online community with MyBlogLog! I’m looking forward to connecting with you. You’ll receive updated posting and more information that ties in with the bloggingforjobs blog itself along with the ability to connect with others within my network.

Cheers!
Jessica