CAREERS NOW 11-29-09

Free Facebook Guide For Job Hunters

DEAR JOYCE: I keep reading that social networking technologies - such as Facebook.com - are being adapted to help find employment. I don't know where to begin. What can you recommend for a person on a budget who needs to find new employment and wants to try this out? - S.W.

A terrific but limited-time offer from Jump Start Social Media will show you how to decode a murky mystery into a practical tool to use for job search. The price is right: free - until Dec. 31, 2009.

"Facebook Only Edition" is a 39-page easy-reference excerpt from an excellent e-guide, "Jump Start Social Media for Your Career" (Digital Brand Expressions). Download a copy from this address: digitalbrandexpressions.com/contact-us/FacebookOffer.asp. Go get it!

DEAR JOYCE: What is your understanding of the term "portfolio career"? - J.T.R.

When the concept of portfolio careers was discussed in the early 1990s, it was a euphemism for scrambling to keep a roof over one's head. It meant earning a living by a piecemeal approach to work: a combination of temporary and part-time jobs, contractual assignments and, perhaps, operating a mini-business on the side.

The portfolio content hasn't changed but, in some cases, the attitude and technology have. Rather than "scrambling," a more appropriate verb today may be "choosing."

New-style portfolio advocates describe work that "uses all your skills and passions doing two or more jobs for different employers." As one portfolio promoter says, "People use a portfolio of options when seeking a better work-life balance, to learn new skills, to extract themselves from office politics or simply for fulfillment."

A subset of the portfolio idea is called "noded" working (noded.biz/this-is-noded). At its core, the noded model is a way freelancers can work online together as they choose, project by project. Each freelancer is considered to be a node that serves as a connection or end point for a project.

For some young workers who can't seem to kick off from the side of the labor pool right now, and for displaced over-50 workers who are having trouble reconnecting with work that offers anything like their former pay and status, portfolio working is an obvious option to be considered. To quickly glimpse whether you're cut out for a portfolio career, try the free self-test offered on Creative Keys (creativekeys.net/portfoliocareertest.htm).

Joining the contingent work force can be a stressful way to live. As a British blogger has observed, "People have been functioning this way for a long, long time in all kinds of economies, both good and bad. 'Portfolio career' means freelancing really, but it just sounds a bit grander."

DEAR JOYCE: When I'm interviewing and feel that I'm losing the offer by a thin margin, should I offer to work for free for a week or so? - V.M.

No. Instead, suggest a trial employment period of three months. Say that while you fully expect things to work out, if by some weird chance they don't, you'll leave with no hard feelings and break in your replacement. Dwell on the likelihood of a positive outcome. Gloss over the very slight (negligible really) possibility that you may not work out. Conclude by saying: "At the end of the trial period, chances are you will say that I'm one of the very best people you've ever hired."

DEAR JOYCE: What do I do about a bad (unfair) reference from a former employer? -- B.Z.

Cheapest strategy: Go back to the employer and try to work out a reference that will not destroy you.

More costly solution: Consult an employment lawyer who can send a cease-and-desist letter to the damaging reference advising that continued negative comments may land the former employer in a lawsuit.

A third option: Retain a reference-checking firm to find out if you're really being trashed. The report must be of sufficient quality to hold up in court. Don't sign a contract without a date guaranteeing when the reference check will be in your hands.

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