July 2012 Jokes

You can't always take life or your sales/recruiting career so seriously.
Hence why once per month there is a post with some puny jokes.
Thanks for reading!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary?
A thesaurus.

England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool .

Did you hear about the guy who used to be a banker?
He lost interest.

Did you hear about the student who dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx?

What do you call a guy who doesn't fart in public?
A private tutor!

All the toilets in New York 's police stations have been stolen.
The police have nothing to go on.

I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough.

Haunted French pancakes give me the cr pes.

Velcro   what a rip off!

A cartoonist was found dead in his home.

Details are sketchy.

Venison for dinner again? Oh deer!

Recruiter Network July 2012 Invitation

July 2012 Meeting

Get LinkedIn with Social Media!

Thursday July 26^th 2012

8:00 – 10:00 am

Kaplan University

201 W. Wisconsin Avenue

Milwaukee, WI 53203

*Refreshments and snacks will be provided*

Kaplan University is located on the southwest corner of Wisconsin Ave. and 2nd St. in downtown Milwaukee (right next to the Grand Avenue Mall).

It will be easiest for attendees to park in the parking structure on 2nd St. (the entrance is between Wisconsin and Michigan Ave.)  Bring your parking tickets into Kaplan so we can provide you with a parking pass so you do not have to pay!  Kaplan University is located a half block north of the parking structure on the corner of 2nd & Wisconsin with the entrance facing Wisconsin Ave.

Our very own Everet Kamikawa will turn us LinkedIn beginners into LinkedIn Experts!  Be ready for the 123’s and the ABC’s of making the best use of the power of social media in hiring, recruiting, and networking.

Own a profile that truly represents you.

Ensure your connections represent your “real-world” network.

Leverage the power of your LinkedIn network!

 

Please RSVP by Wednesday July 25^th and feel free to invite anyone who would like to network with fellow community Recruiters/Employers.

I've written about Facebook job postings before:
How-to-hire-salespeople-using-Facebook
Using-facebook-to-recruit
Why-facebook-will-destroy-linkedin
Is-facebook-about-to-offer-free-job postings

Now it looks like Facebook is serious.
Will it work. Yes.
Will it kill all other sites including LinkedIn? I believe no.
No matter how integrated our media becomes, there will still be a desire on behalf of many people to keep their private and professional lives seperate.

What does Forbes have to say? Read below:
Thanks!
Ev

Facebook Jobs Could Kill LinkedIn's Momentum

Trefis Team, Contributor Forbes Magazine

Facebook is apparently working on a job postings board that will launch later this summer, according to a report by the WSJ. “Facebook Jobs” will be an aggregator that pulls in job postings by third party providers and makes them available in one place and creates a searchable database of jobs for users to browse.

Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

Facebook could also use the tons of social data it has on each user to target relevant jobs across its vast network of users as well as provide an excellent recruiting solution to corporate clients and placement agencies, which will compete directly with LinkedIn. ^[1]
Check out our complete analysis of Facebook
We have already seen how Facebook’s social graph can be leveraged by job posting and recruitment apps like BranchOut, JobVite, Work4 Labs and Glassdoor. These apps have attracted millions of users in months thanks to the inherent viral nature of the network. Facebook is not cutting them off, but rather partnering with them to become a comprehensive social recruitment solution.
While Facebook plans to use the job postings service to rack up engagement metrics initially, it could definitely look to monetize it eventually. This could open up yet another revenue source for Facebook, which is dependent primarily on social ads and virtual payments at present.
Facebook has more than 900 million monthly active users while LinkedIn has close to 150 million. If Facebook does this right, it could take away a meaningful amount of recruitment dollars away from LinkedIn. This could be one of biggest threats that LinkedIn has faced until now.
LinkedIn, beware.
We currently have a $33 Trefis price estimate for Facebook, which stands just above its market price.

July 2012 Newsletter Article Review

 ant photo by Everet Kamikawa 

Greetings!

Here is the July edition of my newsletter!

If you are new to my email newsletter, I’ve included a link to why you might find this newsletter helpful.

If you are interested in an article click on the link and it will open for you.

Bert & Ernie: Sometimes Your Client Doesn’t Want to Hear You

http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/sometimes-your-clients-dont-want-to.html

Your “Hello” sucks

http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/your-hello-sucks.html

What Is Wrong With People!

http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-is-wrong-with-people.html

Why read my newsletter or blog?

http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/why-this-blog.html

Jokes:

http://everetsblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-2012-jokes.html

There are other articles as well so please feel free to search my blog.

  

Thanks for reading and contributing over the last 13 years!

Have a great July!

Everet Kamikawa

"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

You are receiving this newsletter because you at one time have done business with me as either a client or prospect, or perhaps just a stalker (don’t laugh I’ve had three). This email comes out once per month and is meant to be informative and light hearted. If it really annoys you, causes you to step on sidewalk cracks, go into the basement without shoes, run with scissors, or sit too close to the TV, please send me an email asking to be removed from the monthly list.  Please tell me if you only want to be removed from the list, or if I should never ever call you again and why. I will call you to follow up! Thank you for reading!

Having Trouble Getting Candidates? Check Your Ad!

Having trouble getting candidates to respond to your ads, or at least the right candidates?

I've written several articles on writing good employment ads (including two below):

Confusing Job Ads Lead to Confused Candidates

Should Salary Be In Sales Job Ad

Here is one more idea:
Check how your ad looks on different platforms, devices and websites.

Here is one ad from a local company and how it appeared on their company website. Below that is the same ad after it was copied by Indeed.com, and aggregater job site that copies jobs from all kinds of job boards (with permission of course).

The ad that appears on the company website might be programmed correctly, however if they are using some template, format, or code that Indeed.com doesn't use, then that format will be stripped away. It's always good to double check all websites and platforms where your ad can appear.

Thanks!
Ev

User Interface Designer  (from company website)

Position Title: User Interface Designer
Location  : XYXYXY,  WI  (10 miles west of Milwaukee)
About XYXYXY:  XYXYXY is the market leader in providing sales, service and processing solutions for the health insurance industry. We are headquartered in XYXYXY, WI and also have offices located in  XYXYXYand XYXYXY. With the sustainable growth we’ve experienced the last three years, recent partnerships with best-in-class companies like Microsoft, and the new market opportunities that lie ahead, we are looking to add more talented staff. We offer an exciting, fun, creative and flexible work environment with excellent compensation, benefits and equity incentives. We have a casual culture, and work with you to accommodate any unique or special needs. Our goal is to be one of the best places you’ll ever work.
General Summary: The User Interface Designer is responsible for the information architecture and interface design of the XYXYXY core product, within the Product Design & Usability team.  UI designers create navigation maps, wireframes, functional specifications and design requirement documents.   Applicant will work in a team environment to develop UI design and documentation.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• ·         Work in collaboration with Product Management & Product Engineering to design the core product user interface to our web  
               based applications
• ·         Work with Professional Services organization to apply customer style guides to client solutions
• ·         Consult with clients on new product designs and best practices
• ·         Design, document and ensure consistent implementation of UI guidelines and standards
• ·         Responsible for design of information architecture and navigation.
• ·         Applying user interface principles and best practices to designs.
• ·         Assisting in the prototyping and testing of user interface designs.
• ·         Adapt designs to a wide variety of devices, browsers, and interfaces
• ·         Conduct user and market research
• ·         Product clean and professional graphical assets
• ·         Conduct usability studies and provide adjustments/recommendations
• ·         Facilitate peer reviews of designs

 Qualifications and Required Skills:

• ·         2 years of  Knowledge of human factors and UI concepts
• ·         Successful track record in the implementation of UI models
• ·         Excellent communication skills
• ·         Knowledge of user interface design principles, web design best practices, and web standards.
• ·         Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• ·         Must be able to build consensus. 
• ·         Must understand and be able to review usability test feedback
• ·         Excellent track record designing web-based applications
• ·         Experience creating information architecture design deliverables
• ·         Expertise with web standards in HTML, CSS, and JS
• ·         Experience with graphic design
• ·         Experience designing consumer oriented web-based interfaces.
• ·         Creative and detail-oriented.
• ·         Ability to respond strongly and positively to challenging work and deadlines
• ·         Work as an integral part of a talented team in a fast-paced, proactive environment
• ·         Occasional travel required.

 Other Preferred Skills and Experience:

• ·         Prior health insurance, general healthcare or general insurance experience
• ·         Usability testing experience
• ·         Experience with responsive web design principles for mobile development

 Education:
Undergraduate business or technical degree
Join XYXYXY, the leader in software development and implementation for the health insurance industry.  We offer competitive salary, annual incentive plan, fantastic health benefits package, 401k, stock options, generous PTO, telecommuting, a casual work environment, and flexible work hours. Apply today!  For a listing of all current openings, please visit our website

 

User Interface Designer (from aggregater site)

xyxyxyxyxy - Waukesha, WI

Position Title User Interface Designer Location XYXYXY WI (10 miles west of Milwaukee) About xyxyxyxyxy is the market leader in providing sales service and processing solutions for the health insurance industry We are headquartered in XYXYXYWI and also have offices located in XYXYXY and XYXYXY With the sustainable growth we’ve experienced the last three years recent partnerships with bestinclass companies like Microsoft and the new market opportunities that lie ahead we are looking to add more talented staff We offer an exciting fun creative and flexible work environment with excellent compensation benefits and equity incentives We have a casual culture and work with you to accommodate any unique or special needs Our goal is to be one of the best places you’ll ever work General Summary The User Interface Designer is responsible for the information architecture and interface design of the xyxyxyxyxy core product within the Product Design Usability team UI designers create navigation maps wireframes functional specifications and design requirement documents Applicant will work in a team environment to develop UI design and documentation Roles and Responsibilities · Work in collaboration with Product Management Product Engineering to design the core product user interface to our web based applications · Work with Professional Services organization to apply customer style guides to client solutions · Consult with clients on new product designs and best practices · Design document and ensure consistent implementation of UI guidelines and standards · Responsible for design of information architecture and navigation · Applying user interface principles and best practices to designs · Assisting in the prototyping and testing of user interface designs · Adapt designs to a wide variety of devices browsers and interfaces · Conduct user and market research · Product clean and professional graphical assets · Conduct usability studies and provide adjustmentsrecommendations · Facilitate peer reviews of designs Qualifications and Required Skills · 2 years of Knowledge of human factors and UI concepts · Successful track record in the implementation of UI models · Excellent communication skills · Knowledge of user interface design principles web design best practices and web standards · Ability to work independently and as part of a team · Must be able to build consensus · Must understand and be able to review usability test feedback · Excellent track record designing webbased applications · Experience creating information architecture design deliverables · Expertise with web standards in HTML CSS and JS · Experience with graphic design · Experience designing consumer oriented webbased interfaces · Creative and detailoriented · Ability to respond strongly and positively to challenging work and deadlines · Work as an integral part of a talented team in a fastpaced proactive environment · Occasional travel required Other Preferred Skills and Experience · Prior health insurance general healthcare or general insurance experience · Usability testing experience · Experience with responsive web design principles for mobile development Education Undergraduate business or technical degree Join Connecture the leader in software development and implementation for the health insurance industry We offer competitive salary annual incentive plan fantastic health benefits package 401k stock options generous PTO telecommuting a casual work environment and flexible work hours Apply today For a listing of all current openings please visit our website

Perfectly Honest

This week three different door-to-door salespeople came to my house.
Many of you are probably thinking, "why do you bother to answer?"

I take the time to answer for two reasons:
1. I think it's a bit of sales karma.
If I answer a sales call someone else will answer mine.
2. Since I'm a salesman I'm going to put them through their paces and see how they perform under pressure.

All three said at several times during their pitch:
"to be perfectly honest"
"in all honesty"
"to be completely honest."

Every time in their presentation they said one of those phrases I called them on it.
They would get a sheepish grin and then tell me about some feature or option or price that they didn't tell me about initially.
I would ask them why they didn't tell me about that feature or price to start with.
Usually that was followed by another "perfectly honest" and I would catch them again with something else they didn't tell me. 
In all cases the salespeople lost all credibility with me because they kept uttering "to be honest" and being caught not being honest.
This confirmed again what I've always said, if someone says any combination of "to be completely honest," during a sales pitch they aren't really being honest.

In sales if you ask good probing questions to find out why your client is interested in buying what you are selling, and you provide all the details to your client upfront about your solution, your credibility is never called into question and you will make more sales without ever having to say "to be perfectly honest."
Honestly.
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"

7 Thing You Are Doing Wrong on LinkedIn

I love LinkedIn and written how important it is in todays sales world:
What-makes-good-linkedin-invitation
Do-i-need-social-networking?
Can-social-media-replace-cold-calling part 1
Can-social-media-replace-cold-calling part 2
This column by Tom Searcy provides another perspective on how to use the site.
Thank you!
Ev

7 Things You're Doing Wrong on LinkedIn
by Tom Searcy7-things-you-are-doing-wrong-on-linkedin

Flickr/Coletivo Mambembe

---

Most professionals use the social networking site in some capacity--but one expert says they're making a lot of mistakes.
Today, LinkedIn is the No. 1 social media platform for professionals. Estimates of professional participation in LinkedIn are as high as 83%.

But when I talked to one of my friends--social media expert Alexandra Gibson from OttoPilot Media--she told me that she sees too many professionals making a lot of mistakes. Here are the seven she sees most often.

1. You only use it if you need a job. I can usually tell when my friends are on the job prowl because all of a sudden, a barely existent LinkedIn profile is revived. The truth is that you'll be much better served by keeping your profile and connections current, rather than just reaching out to people when you need something.

2. You have an incomplete profile. A bare-bones profile does not do you (or your company) any favors. Add all important companies and a description of the results you achieved in the past. Don't forget to optimize your profile for search--creating a keyword rich profile will help people find you and your company.

3. You don't belong to the right groups. There are more groups out there than there are seconds in a day, so it can be difficult to decide which are most important. If you join no other groups, join your alumni groups (college, prep school, grad school, fraternity or sorority). Industry groups--both for your own company and your major customer market segments--are a clear next step.

4. You're not sharing valuable content. When you publish a great blog post or your company creates a valuable white paper, share it on your LinkedIn feed. Also, share content in your feed from other sources besides your own. Post in your groups to judiciously share articles and links if you feel that it would be of interest to that audience. This will help show you as a thought leader--and, if the content is on your site, can generate quality leads directly from LinkedIn.

5. You're not building out your connections. Again, don't wait till you need something: You should be constantly adding and accepting connections from people you know professionally or personally. I do not recommend trying to connect with people that you don't actually know: You want this to be your real professional network, so if someone says, "Hey, I see you know Jim Smith," you can say that you actually worked with him at a project at a previous company and not that you were just padding your connections number.

6. You're not utilizing LinkedIn Answers. The underutilized LinkedIn Answers section is another valuable place to show your expertise and provide value. People ask questions and, if you know anything about the topic, you can answer in a forum. Add links to important content that backs up your answer, especially if it's content from your site that fits with the question. One of the best things about LinkedIn Answers is its staying power--unlike other social media sites (think Twitter), the section gets visited by people with similar questions over time, so it can generate leads even a year later. 
7. You haven't brought your team/staff along. Sure, it might be a bit much to require your CFO to join Facebook--but since LinkedIn is a professional network that focuses on individual, professional connections, it you should emphasize its importance to your entire team. Think of the power you could tap into if, the next time you go to pitch a company, you check LinkedIn and see that Mary Ellen in accounting is already connected to the chief marketing officer.

Vacuum Cleaner Hoses Teach Sales Lesson

The video above has three lessons regarding sales.

As set to a soundtrack of "Java" by Al Hirt, the little vacuum cleaner hose wants to join the big vacuum cleaner hose. This is akin in my mind to a rookie salesperson wanting to join an established sales team.

The lesson to be heeded is established salespeople don't always take the rookie seriously, however if they don't look out the newbie will blow them away in terms of production. Give me a salesperson that doesn't know a lot about selling but has the daily behaviors to be successful and I'll have a successful salesperson.

That rookie can also serve as a reminder to the veterans of the things they should be doing but don't always do.

The second lesson is while older salespeople are doing the same prospecting and closing techniques (or in the case of the older hose the same dance), the younger salespeople will try something new (the fast dance), while also learning the techniques of the older sales staff (when the little hose learns the big hose dance) but adds their own twist to the sales process (i.e. the cannon). You never know when you might find a new tool for your toolbox.

The third lesson is persistence. The little hose is rejected several times but keeps coming back. In sales you get rejected all the time. The trick is to get up and come back for more. Keep coming back for more, learning more lessons, and enforcing the daily behaviors and you will be successful.

Yet another sales lesson taken from watching the Muppets!

I wish I could watch these again. If only there was a website to watch them or a DVD collection that I could buy... 

Thank you!

Ev

"A Heck of A Nice Guy"