Here’s something that seems like a very plain vanilla job search trick, but it’s pretty useful if you don’t know how to do it.

When we print resumes on heavy resume paper for our clients, we will very often print on both sides of the paper. Thus, a 2-page resume can sit on one sheet of paper, front and back.

This weekend, I had a client ask if we used any sort of fancy printer to do it. She wanted to know if she could do this herself going forward. I said no. In fact, we use a very basic HP laser printer to do our printing, and I figure that a lot of modern printers can do what we do. So, if your printer is, say, less than 5 years old, you can print your resume on both sides of the paper as well.

Here’s how to do it:

How To Print Your Resume On Both Sides Of The Paper

Check and see if your printer handles “duplex printing.”

What is duplex printing? It’s the fancy term for… you guessed it… printing on both sides of the paper. If you have this feature, then the process is pretty straight forward and automated.

First, go to print. I’ll be assuming you’re using Microsoft Word.

Select print, but not “quick print.”

Next, you’re going to want to hit the Properties button.

Finally, you’re going to hit the Printing Shortcuts tab, and select Eco-print (Two-sided Printing)

And that’s it. Now when you hit OK to print, it will automatically print first on one side of the paper… then suck it back in and print on the other side.

By the way, you can click on any of the pictures above to enlarge them.

But What If My Printer Doesn’t Have Duplex Printing?

This is not a problem. Why? Because if you think about it, you can manually force any printer to print on both sides of the paper.

Simply print one page.

Then, take that page and manually feed it back into the printer, but being sure to turn it over. Now, print page 2. It should come out on the other side of the page you’ve just printed.

You might have to experiment a few times to get this right, as some printers feed upside down, head to foot, etc.

But if you just experiment a little with manually feeding the paper, absolutely any printer can print on both sides of the paper.

Simple tip, I know. But might be useful to some.

Related posts:

1. Resume Paper – What Paper Should I Print My Resume On?
2. Office Hack: Confidential Network Printing
3. How To Bind Paper Without Staples Or Clips

Ok. I’m calling it. As of right now, Twitter handles are officially the new business cards.

This article at Business Insider made me realize it, but I guess I’ve known it for a while now.

A few months ago at CES, every time I ran into someone new and wanted to meet up with them again, I gave them my @brianmcc twitter address. I realized reading the above article that the same thing happened last weekend at SXSW.

Just like Susy in the article, I wanted to understand why. Why did I make this choice? Why was it my default response? I certainly had business cards in my pocket. I remember specifically putting them in my jacket pocket every time I went out. But @brianmcc always won. What does this mean for the future of networking? And, specific to this blog, what does that mean for the future of job search?

I Think, In The End, It Comes Down To Ease And Ubiquity

Twitter is just easy. @brianmcc. Done. I’m not forcing you to remember if it was Gmail, Yahoo, my corporate account, joe (dot) blow (at) whatever (dot) com. Anything. I’m not asking you to look me up on Facebook and send a friend request. Or send a LinkedIn request.

@ and done. It’s easy.

You can go look up my account (probably right there on the spot, on your phone) know who I am, follow me and remember me. There’s a good reason why business cards have ruled the roost for (50? 75?) years: they’re little snippets of information. They’re not resumes, but they’re placeholders FOR resumes. This is who I am. If you check my Twitter, you will know who I am, and if you follow me, you’ll remember me. Twitter serves the same placeholder, introductory purpose. And more interaction can follow later.

If you want to follow up with me, probably my Twitter account tells you how to do so. Worst case scenario, you @reply or direct message me and we go from there. But, again, no easy-to-forget blahblahblah@media.somecorporatename.com. Just @brianmcc. Easy.

Also, it’s on my phone. So if you want to meet up with me tomorrow for lunch, you’re more likely to reach me on Twitter vs. email, if I’m out and about. I’m likely to get the ping.

AND It’s Ubiquitous

Sure, other services are trying to make this easy and try to “own this space.” I certainly know people in HR circles for whom a LinkedIn account is just as golden. But not for all walks of life. For the random American, they’re more likely to have a Twitter account and understand how to use one. So if I meet you in the mix, Twitter is my safer bet. After all, you follow Ashton, don’t you?

If I meet you, I’m 100% certain you have email. I’m 100% certain you have a Facebook account. And I’m 90% certain you have a Twitter account. Or, at least, you should. And so the @brianmcc thing is the easiest of those options with the greatest chance of future connection success across all walks of random interactions. And that runs true if you’re interested in my business, interested in my blogging or interested in the indie movie I’m producing. And I was there pimping all three. So I guess that was, in the end, why Twitter won out.

AND It’s Public

We all understand by now that Facebook CAN be public. But not for everyone. So even if my Facebook page is one part of my public presence, I don’t know for sure that yours is. So I’m more comfortable reaching out to you on Twitter, which we all explicitly know to be a public medium. I assume that you can be reached there for public purposes.

I might have seperate twitter accounts. Some people got my @thejobbored account if I thought they needed advice. But if I wanted to do business, I gave them @brianmcc. That’s where I do business.

What This Means For Networking

I think the business card has stuck around as long as it has because it was the most convenient, manageable placeholder for your public contact. It was easy to make, easy to give, easy to store and easy to make connections with. I’m beginning to feel like that is what your @twitter account is becoming. If you’re a networker of any kind (sales, recruiting, job-seeker, what-have-you-general-networking) I think you can and should be ready to use your Twitter handle in the same way.

Related posts:

1. Should I Put My Facebook Page On My Resume? Should I Put My Twitter On My Resume?
2. How To Use Twitter To Job Search
3. Business Casual Vs. Business Formal

We’re all busy. We all have overflowing in boxes. But lazy e-mail habits could lead to misunderstanding, frustration, non-action, wasted effort, wasted time, damaged relationships and ruined reputations. Are you guilty of any of these lazy habits? If so, it’s time to take action now, before it’s too late.

1. Using a vague or outdated subject line

An e-mail with a subject line like ‘Update’ or ‘Hi’ or ‘News’ is not likely to inspire me to open it. Similarly an old subject line like ‘Meeting on Tuesday’ is useless when the meeting happened last week and today’s e-mail is attaching a proposal. Help yourself and save your reader’s time by making sure every subject line is clear and specific.

2. Not using a greeting or sign-off

Internally I can understand if you sometimes drop the ‘Hi John’ at the beginning, but externally there’s no excuse. Please remember the simple courtesies of an appropriate greeting and sign-off. And that doesn’t mean “Thanks and regards”!

3. Not proofreading

Have you ever sent an e-mail to the wrong person? Have you ever misspelled the reader’s name? Have you ever mentioned the wrong date for a meeting? Imagine my embarrassment recently when I read back an e-mail sent from my i-Phone saying: “Hell get a $50 credit toasted or annual conference.” (Hell instead of he’ll, and toasted instead of towards). I’m much more careful now when I send messages using my phone. If you regularly make errors in e-mails, people will question your attention to detail and your ability to handle your work.

4. Using abbreviations or acronyms

You may think these will save time, but they can lead to confusion for readers. While FYI is globally recognised as ‘for your information’, FYA could cause chaos because some people think it’s ‘for your action’ while others think it’s ‘for your approval’ – there’s a big difference. Only use acronyms that the reader is sure to understand. By the way, a word of warning with FYI. So many people complain that they often spend time trying to figure out why they received an email with FYI, when one sentence from the sender would have answered that question.

5. Clicking ‘reply all’ when not everyone needs the reply

We are all complaining about it, but we are still receiving ‘Reply all’ e-mails that we don’t need to read, then we have to open them, read them and delete them. Please, think carefully before you ‘Reply all’.

6. Writing everything in one long paragraph

When I receive an e-mail that’s all one huge paragraph, it’s impossible to focus, to pick out the main points, to find any action items, or to respond effectively. Make it easier for your readers by structuring your messages logically and by leaving a blank line between your (short) paragraphs.

7. Missing out essential details

If you’ve ever read an e-mail and wondered what you’re supposed to do, you know how frustrating this can be. Make sure you include all essential information: dates, times, places, names, action points. Otherwise that inevitable ‘ding-dong’ will begin, wasting time and causing frustration. Again it comes back to proofreading carefully to ensure everything is included and nothing is missed.

8. Using unfriendly tone

People often type out exactly what they would say without thinking of the tone of voice they would use to signal their emotions if they were speaking. If your tone is not quite right, readers could easily be hurt or offended. Take time to read messages carefully and add some extra words if necessary.

9. Not answering with the requested information

If your sender asks you two questions and you answer only one, you are not only creating more work for everyone, you are also causing frustration and damaging the relationship. Before you click ‘send’, scan through the sender’s email again to make sure you’ve answered all points.

10. Not answering email

A major annoyance is not receiving a reply to a business email. This means senders have to keep sending “Did you receive this?” messages, plus it will surely damage your reputation because people will say things like, “She never answers her email.” Take some time to make sure every e-mail receives an appropriate response, even if it’s just “OK will work on it.” or “Thanks. I’ll do that.”

This is a guest post. About the author:

Related posts:

1. The E-tiquette of E-mail
2. How To Make Sure Your Job Search Emails Get Read
3. Excellent… Top Ten List Of Fictional Billionaires

A great article this weekend about how to make sure your email gets read.

We’re inundated with email these days. A lot of it spam. How can you make sure your email gets read?

This is especially important for job seekers. Especially if you’re sending in a job application, what can you do to make it more likely the hiring manager will open an read you email?

I’ll summarize the advice list after the jump, but I encourage you to read the entire article for detailed tips.

1. Keep it short.
2. Make the subject line a summary.
3. Start and end with “you.”
4. Only one topic per message.
5. Use an appropriate tone.
6. Don’t send extra copies.
7. Respect spelling and grammar.
8. Remember it’s not private.
9. Email isn’t for arguments.
10. Mind those threads.

I can think of instances where each of these points have direct application for job seekers.

Read the whole thing here.

Related posts:

1. Retro Job Search Hack- Remember The Fax?
2. On Email Blackouts…
3. TimeWaster- Read the Wall Street Journal For Free

I will be one of the geeks on line at the Apple Store, picking up my pre-ordered iPad early Saturday morning.

Part of this is my Apple fanboy-ness and part of it is my desire to remain ahead of the curve.

A lot of job search has moved mobile. So many apps are now out there for mobile job search that it has become a major source of job search traffic and also a major tool in the modern job search.

I just perused the list of iPad launching apps and to the best of my knowledge, there are no job search apps on there yet. What I’d like to do is have us all keep our eyes out for when the first one launches.

Will it be Careerbuilder, an early and heavy user of the iPhone app ecosystem? Will someone make a mashup app for craigslist?

Or will it be more interesting?

Just as the mobile web has given us a new way to job search, will the iPad bring us something we can’t imagine yet? Will the iPad become something (more interestingly for me, certainly because I own a resume writing business) that is a presentation device? Will it be something we bring along to interviews and job fairs? Will the iPad become the modern brief case? Will this be the way we show off our resumes or portfolios?

I don’t know the answers yet, but I want to make sure we’re all there when we find out.

So, I’ll be getting my iPad on Saturday. And I’ll post some stuff here about it.

But help me out as well. If you see some job search oriented iPad apps pop up, please, let me know. If someone starts using the iPad for job search in new and interesting ways, please let me know.

I’ll share it here, and we can all dissect and evaluate it. Is it the future? We’ll decide together.

More in a bit.

Related posts:

1. Retiree Job Search Tips – Job Tips For Over-65 Job Seekers
2. Job Search Hack- Organize Your Search Using The Rule Of Thirds
3. Job Search January Roundup

I’ve posted several times about how the idea of job search networking can seem nebulous and confusing to people. “Ok, I understand that I send in my resume and hopefully they call me for an interview. But how exactly do I network?”

Hopefully you can see several practical strategies on how to network by reading this blog. And keep in mind the old saw of job search: Networking is BY FAR the most effective way to find a new job.

For years we’ve told our clients, “Tell everyone you know… everyone… every friend you have, every person you meet on the street… about your job search.” We even sold networking cards for a while (little snippets of your resume on a business card).

So, let’s touch on something that should be obvious to anyone in the modern world: social networking sites like Facebook can help you with your job search. I actually hadn’t explored this too much in a hands on, practical level, but I decided to test out some strategies.

And, just by dipping my toe in the water, I’ve gotten some immediate results. I think I’ve hit on a really, REALLY basic strategy for using Facebook to help in your job search. It’s something anyone with a Facebook account can start doing immediately.

And it might seem obvious to the point of stupidity, but hear me out:

Basically, the strategy is really simple.

Diary your job search in your Facebook status update.

I just took three recent clients we were working with and had them each keep posting about their job search on their Facebook status updates.

Applied to 3 positions today? Ok, put that on your update.

Interview with a company today? Ok, put that on your update.

It seems really simple and maybe a little obvious, but it worked. And right away. 2 of the 3 clients have already found new positions and the 3rd got at least one good interview out of it.

The key seems to be to include details. Don’t just say, “Brian is looking for a job.” Say: “Brian is looking for an accounting job in the Toledo area.” Don’t just say you applied to 3 jobs today, say: “Brian just sent resumes to Proctor and Gamble, Dell and Monsanto.”

That’s the beauty of networking… you never know what little nugget of information will lead to a connection.

Specific case in point (names changed for privacy reasons): One of our clients started doing regular status updates on his job search. For 2 weeks he kept at it. At this point most of his friends probably got the message: OK. Dave is looking for a job. And yet, still nothing turned up… aside from some encouraging words and a tip here or there. But nothing solid.

But then one day last week he mentioned on his status update that he had applied to a local university. And he mentioned that university by name.

It turned out some Facebook Friend was married to a woman who worked at the university. It further turned out she could expedite his application by making a personal recommendation (and earn a referral bounty to boot). The client said to me in an email:

It’s not like everyone didn’t already know I was looking for a job. It’s just that Kevin didn’t think far ahead enough to help me out. His first thought was “Well, there’s no job I know of that I can turn him on to.” It didn’t occur to him I might apply for work at the U and so it didn’t occur to him to tell me his wife who I’ve never actually met worked at the U and might be able to get me an in. It was the status update that sort of put the lightbulb up over his head.

I’ve experienced this sort of thing before myself. Once, when we were having a technical server issue, I posted randomly on my Facebook status update: “Brian is confused by PCI compliance.” Turns out, one of my good friends from college (who I knew was in IT… vaguely) was someone who SPECIFICALLY did PCI compliance for a living. And so he helped me out. It hadn’t occurred to me to ask him for help. He hadn’t know I NEEDED help. But the randomness of the network made the connection anyway.

So, my advice is basically that: immediately start posting every boring detail of your job search. Do it every day.

Because the other key part of this strategy seems to be persistence. Drill it into people’s heads. You can’t know what little nugget of information might provide a lead, so you just gotta keep putting nuggets out there.

Won’t your friends get tired of hearing about you and your lonely job search?

Sure. But they’re probably already tired of hearing about how your daughter is sick again or about the coffee you spilled on yourself during the drive in to work today.

So, even if it seems a little obvious and simple (You mean social networking might lend itself to networking in general? Gee, Brian, you’re a genius!) if you haven’t started sharing your job search with your friends and family on Facebook, maybe you should start doing so.

Now.

And, as always, if you need the best resume writing help in the business, you know where to go.

Related posts:

1. Can Facebook Harm Your Job Search?
2. A Radical Job Search Strategy – Offering Bounties
3. Coming To A Corporate Server Near You- Facebook!

Let’s face it. None of us are really fans of PowerPoint.

The common complaint is that far from adding color and pizazz, PowerPoint hasn’t proven to make presentations any less boring or dull. In fact, many argue that the very reliance on rote slides and sequencing can make speeches and presentations worse.

But like pollution, bad pop music and politicians… you shouldn’t just complain about the sorry state of the world… you should step up and do your little part to improve things.

That’s why I love the new blog I found, Slides That Stick, which is dedicated to making us all better PowerPointers. Check them out for a bevy of PowerPoint tips and tricks.

Related posts:

1. Just Say No To PowerPoint Week
2. CuePrompter- A Teleprompter For Everyone
3. Whistle While You Work- The Great New NPR Music Site

Until last weekend, I had never heard of PaycheckCity.com (h/t NYTimes).

But I’m glad I was turned on to them. They have 3 free and insanely useful online calculators and assistants that are designed to help the average worker.

The most impressive to me is the W-4 form assistant. Isn’t it confusing every time you start a new job and you have to give them info for the W-4? How many dependents should you claim? How many exemptions? Especially for the younger workers out there, what about student loan debt and other considerations?

This W-4 form assistant will help you out.

They also have a Salary Paycheck Calculator and an Hourly Paycheck Calculator, both accessible from the main page.

And of course, before you can get to fill out a W-4, you need to be hired. And a professional resume writing service will help you do that.

Related posts:

1. 7 Career Fields That Offer College Loan Forgiveness
2. College Debt? Delay Any Refi Until July
3. What To Do If You Just Can’t Fill A Resume

I’m usually hard on Microsoft on this blog. But nerdy tech circles today are abuzz at the announcement of Live Mesh from Microsoft. Think of Live Mesh as one ring to sync them all, every device and every file… provided you use Windows.

Apparently, this whole system is not quite ready for immediate use, but if things pan out like promised, this would obviously be a hugely helpful thing for the modern office worker. It might actually go a long way to make the Windows environment more useful.

A lot of the discussion around this announcement is confusing, so I’m going to crib from an easy-to-understand rundown from the techblog Mashable.

What – Live Mesh is a service that lets you synchronize your settings, files, feeds and applications on several computers.

What’s the big deal – there are already ways to synchronize stuff on the net. Foxmarks is a good example: you install it in Firefox on several computers, and your bookmarks sync seamlessly. Live Mesh, however, is a single platform that will make it easier for 3rd party app developers to do this. If Microsoft does this right, you’ll get used to using the Live Mesh for syncing all your devices, files as well as most or all of your applications.

Is this like a WebOS (Webdesktop, Webtop?) – yes, although everyone seems to be avoiding the term, this is a lot like all those WebOS apps you’ve seen. You get a virtual desktop with 5GB of storage and you can access it from anywhere. It’s integrated with Windows’ Remote Desktop, so it’s really simple to set up.

How will it look and feel in practice (we’re talking about the future here) – Let’s say that you and three other coworkers have a shared Mesh desktop. You fire it up, check out the log to see who changed what. Great, Mike added the graphics you needed. You add some notes to the graphics and drop them into the Mesh, but you share it only with your devices; they’re not ready to be seen by everyone just yet. On the way to work, you want to start some downloads on your computer at work, so you remotely connect to it through your iPhone. The rest of the trip you read your feeds; the ones you read at home are marked read so you can just keep reading where you left of.

To put it really simple: the promise of the Mesh is that you won’t have to care where you are or which device you’re using – your data will always be there. You’ll only have to care about which data you want to share with whom.

Which devices – Right now, we’re talking only about Windows XP and Vista computers; in the future, it will work with Mac, mobiles, etc.

Related posts:

1. Fighting Back Against Windows
2. This Time, Don’t Ignore The Windows Update Thingy
3. Abandoning Microsoft Word

It’s always a good idea to fill out your resume with any specific skills or specialties you might possess. Doing so is a good strategy to give you that extra little edge to stand out from a similarly qualified candidate.

And for years, a good way to do that was to include a list of the software, hardware and other various tech-ware you were competent in, or, at least, familiar with.

Not so much anymore.

I thought of this when reading the following article in the airport this weekend: 5 IT Skills That Won’t Boost Your Salary (InfoWorld)

The article is directed toward IT folk and programmer types, but the lesson in the article is applicable to all of us.

Basically, there are skill sets that are passé. Including them can only make you look like you’re padding out your resume at best, and “completely out of it” at worst.

6 “Skills” To Leave Off Your Resume

A professional resume service can help you figure out what skills are important to include in your resume.

I offer this list with one caveat: if the skill set in question is a job requirement, then you’d darn well better include it. For example, if the job description says you’ll be working exclusively in a WordPerfect environment, then it behooves you to list something like, “Extensive experience and familiarity with WordPerfect,” on your resume.

Otherwise, it’s ok to leave these things off:

1. Your word-per-minute typing prowess; typing skills.
   You can type? Congratulations on making it to the 20th century. In the 21st century workforce, it’s assumed you can type well and at a reasonable pace. This is a bare minimum job requirement.
2. Ability to work with PCs.
   Again, the fact that you are familiar with a work-tool that 97% of the world’s business is done on is not going to make you stand out. You might as well also list the fact that you breathe oxygen as a “skill.”
3. Experience with Word, Excel, Outlook or any other Microsoft Office programs.
   I wish it were otherwise, but the western business world is tied to the Microsoft Office behemoth. If you don’t yet know how to create formulas in Excel or presentations with graphics in PowerPoint, then it might be time for some crash courses.
4. Experience with non-Office programs.
   Similar to the point made above. No matter how superior the alternative programs might be, chances are you’ll be working in an MS Office environment, so your skills with WordPerfect are probably superfluous.
5. HTML.
   I’m stealing this point directly from the article. If you want to give people the impression you have some coding skill, choose something a little more practical (PHP?) or cutting edge (FLEX?). My mom can do rudimentary HTML with her personal web page and photo albums. That would mean a lot if you knew my mother.
6. Faxing/Copying skills.
   Again, gee, I hope you know how to do this… along with sending email, managing voicemail, texting on your cell phone, etc.

Related posts:

1. Should I Include My Address On My Resume If I’m Submitting Online
2. New Graduate Resume – 5 Things to Get Right on a New Grad Resume
3. New Graduate Resume – 5 Things to Get Right on a New Grad Resume