It's all about who you know!

       In 2000, 71% of job seekers who succesfully found jobs, located their jobs through personal contacts. (U.S. Department of Labor, 2001) Networking is essential in job hunting. Although it is important to be qualified for the position, the University of Tacoma Career Center in Washington stated that "Employers would rather hire someone they know, or who is vouched for by someone they respect."   It is quite obvious that in order to be successful in a search for employment, networking is invaluable.

Why Network?

       According to quintcareers.com, only about 15-20 percent of all available jobs are ever publicly advertised in any medium. The vast majority of job openings are part of the "hidden" or "closed" job market. And the higher the position and salary, the less likely the position will be advertised at all. How can job-seekers discover these jobs you may ask? Through networking.  If you know the right people, your pool of opportunities is greatly enlarged.

Marketing Madness!

     Marketing has taken on a new face.  The standard methods of marketing that have been in place for years and years are starting to fade.  The new face of marketing is all digital, and it's bringing success to many in amounts never thought possible.  In a recent article by businessblogconsulting.com, the issue of digital marketing tactics was addressed.  In a poll of 1,559 marketers, 34% selected blogging as the top digital marketing tactic to be emphasized in 2009.  What an innovative, effective, and budget-friendly way to get the word out and expand your audience!

Blogs in Business, "Catch up...or catch you later."

       Even just a few years ago, the business world  was dominated by a mainstream media. The Associated Press and other such organizations had a broad range of power and influence that was difficult to undermine.  They were able to sway opinions, and with their advertising power for good or for bad, they could make or break your business.
       The overwhelming power of the media has slowly started to fizzle out over the last few years with advances in technology and communications that have become more widely available to, well, anyone who wants it.  Among these significant advances in communications is the invention, and explosion in popularity, of blogs.
      In today's world there is a vast and ever-growing network of blogs that speak of nearly every topic imaginable.  There are search engines that will specifically search for blogs that pertain to the topic you are looking for. Google, the most widely used search engine in the world, has a function called "Google Blog Search," that sifts through millions of blogs to find just what you are in need of. 
       A recent article in the magazine "Business Week," titled, "Social Media Will Change Your Business,"  goes through the many different ways that a blog can do for business.  Blogs can be given public access, allowing advertising to take on a whole new face. Blogs can also be private and only viewable to selected users of the blog owner's choice, thus making it possible to collaborate in business, and allow people that you know and trust to comment and give opinions and advice on any given project or business proposal.
       "Catch up...or catch you later," is the catch phrase they used to imply what will happen to businesses that don't catch on to the new technological tools in business and marketing. Blogs can be a wonderful tool that can help professional businesses in all aspects of business. From marketing to management, blogs have a broad range of functionality and influence and because of that, the business world will never be the same.