Earlier this week we looked at ways to boost your odds at landing a better job with the right preparation. Here are some more tools and tips for job-seekers and career climbers.

Look the part – Unless your interviewer is Mark Zuckerberg, your newest sandals and fleece just ain’t gonna cut it. There ways to look sharp and dress appropriately without spending a lot of money – take the time to do it right.

Use search-friendly words; skip vague generalities - Some large-scale employers still deposit every single resume and CV into a giant, OCR-scanned database (although this is becoming dated very quickly). Having the right words on your resume is still a good idea.

Get better, faster, smarter alerts on job openings - there are new feeds and email alert systems being developed continually; keep aware of them and make sure you are using your social networks effectively.

Build your personal brand with a blog – this is one of the best steps you can take.

What job hunting tips would you like to share?

From the first Google search to the last interview, you can boost your odds at landing a better job with the right preparation. Here are some of the best tools and tips for job-seekers and career climbers.

Cover all the search sites- hit out the job boards and your LinkedIn network to check out job offerings and work your connections.

Cover Craigslist like a glove – in addition to job listings there are tips on job hunting

Take the guesswork out of salary demands. There are a host of sites that use a combination of math and insider info to compute what workers with certain skills and experience levels can expect.

Leave without burning any bridges – it will certainly make it easier to get tips, leads and references if you need them

Walk into your interview without fear – be prepared

Want to learn more – check back later this week. Do you have job hunting tips to share?

Creating a corporate recruiting blog is a simple, economical, and effective way to tell prospects and candidates who you are, what you do and what it’s like to work for you according to a recent post by Ben Gotkin.

Do you have good stories to tell about your company? At his company they did and their blog is now a powerful tool for them to share what is happening with the rest of the world.

In a time and day where doing more with less is increasingly important, a corporate recruiting blog might just be the most cost-effective recruitment marketing opportunity available.

For great advice and how-to’s, check out the full article.

A lot of people have trouble communicating what they do according to Dan Schwabel.

You might run into this problem already or it will be a challenge in the near future. The reason why I believe everyone will encounter this issue is that our jobs no longer completely define us.

So if you go to a networking event, how do you communicate what you do?

First – you should not recite your resume.

Second – set goals for your introduction. When introducing yourself to someone, your goals should be as follows:

• To get people interested enough in who you are and what you do so they want to continue the conversation and, at least, exchange business cards with you.

• To promote your own business, the company you work, while positioning yourself.

• To come off the right way, so that you aren’t condescending or bragging to the opposite party.

• To make them want to ask you questions about what you do.  They might even be interested in your services or recommend you to their peers!

According to Dan, we can all work on our introduction. Check out his blog for more ideas.

Generation Y, whose members are 14 to 27 years old, often is portrayed as being self-entitled and spoiled by the baby boomers. In the workplace, they have a reputation as being overly ambitious dreamers who want higher salaries and more time off without paying their dues.

Deloitte’s latest snapshot on Gen Yers already in the workforce presents a different picture. Gen Yers are a hidden powerhouse of employee potential: They are future-oriented, ready to contribute now and opportunity-driven. And they may just be a key asset for your business in tough times according to Leah Reynolds of Deloitte Consulting

Talent managers can tap this hidden powerhouse of employee potential, especially in this time of tight budgets and economic uncertainty. It can be a difficult challenge, but these ideas can help:

• Cut with a scalpel, not an axe. The current economic situation may require staff cuts, a process stacked against Gen Yers..stick to a longer-term Gen Y strategy by expanding elimination-decision criteria to include competencies such as innovative prowess, technical savvy and willingness to take risks.
• Don’t be afraid to ruffle feathers. Older workers may not be happy that young upstarts are getting great opportunities, but do what’s right for the business.
• Acknowledge the challenge. Today’s young workers have different expectations, and this isn’t likely to change. Find ways to meet their needs by adjusting the strategic workforce plan, organizational models, rewards, recognition and development programs — or another company will.

Whatever steps the talent manager takes, it’s important to start now, during the downturn. Gen Y is the future. Companies won’t survive without them, so figuring out how to harness their capabilities is good business. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see the benefits, and a bigger lead you’ll have over your competition.

Do you have a long term Gen Y Strategy?

A couple of weeks ago, we discussed a system for feeding and managing your social media system. John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing is a prolific writer and creates at least one blog post a day – he provided some ideas on how he does it.

First, most blog software allows you to create multiple blog posts in one sitting and then schedule when they go live on your blog. That being said, many people, myself and John included, tend to write and publish in real time.

Second, John created a notebook with about 100 topics he knew he wanted to blog about as content around his keyword phrases and area of desired thought leadership. (At first blog content is mostly about ranking higher in the search engines, audience and subscribers come from doing that.) Our approach is to scan the internet daily for trends, changes, challenges and opportunities of interest to our clients and readers.

In terms of advice for bloggers new and seasoned - Blog to meet your objectives.

The best source of blog content is the questions your customers and prospects are asking you. Get a question, answer with a blog post.

This is how one leading blogger does it. How you manage your blog?

Despite economic slump, college career fair shows students the need for employees remains strong according to the Barrie Examiner.

Kyle Luck is scoping out his options at the student-run career fair, even though he has Plan A up one sleeve, Plan B up the other and a long-term goal hovering on the horizon.

“If there are job opportunities around, I would definitely look into it,” he says, with more than 50 potential employers set up to chat with Georgian College hospitality and tourism students during a job fair yesterday. “There’s actually a shortage of employees right now. Obviously, that’s good for me.”

Job fair? Shortage of workers? Even in this economic climate employers are hiring.

Here it’s largely seasonal resort-type work or entry-level hospitality jobs.

The future looks good for Luck and Georgian’s 800 hospitality and tourism students.

The employers know that all 800 need summer co-op placements to complete the program. And those who are graduating are searching for a foothold in the industry.

Looking for jobs in hospitality and tourism? Looking for employees in hospitality and tourism? Check out www.hospitalityhive.com and www.clubjobs.ca.

According to Kevin Wheeler, video has become king. A recent report by Gartner predicts that 25% of all content will be delivered by audio or video by 2013.

Those who want to gain mindshare and generate interest in their career opportunities or organization need to use some kind of interactive media — video, instant messaging, polls — anything that attracts and engages Gen Y.

The most useful and powerful interactive tools include social networks — particularly Facebook if you are targeting college students — and even LinkedIn and Twitter — as well as video sites such as Youtube, Hulu, and AOLvideo.

What are you doing to attract and engage potential candidates?