Internet has changed the way to approach job searches. Nowadays, if you don't have at least a professional profile in Linkedin, you are definitively missing out a great opportunity.

Remember this: Internet is not an effective tool to find a job. Still, 80% of jobs are found through personal connections. However, Internet is an unbeatable tool to be found by those who matter the most: the ones who have the jobs you want!

Enjoy this clip from an interview I had with CNN en Espanol yesterday. Thank you Adriana Hauser...you are a top-notch journalist.

Yesterday was an exciting day. Unemployment numbers were better than expected, and I was interviewed by Adriana Hausner on CNN en Espanol to give my views on it. We had a five-minute interview, that got magically edited into a 2-minute segment. Adriana is a fantastic journalist who made me feel at ease since the moment I first saw her.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to be featured on a segment on "oh not so negative" unemployment numbers. Although 8.9% unemployment represents almost 14 million individuals out of work, the pace of unemployment is slowing down, and that is something to be happy about. It means that waiting time to get a new job is getting shorter. Because unemployment is a lagging indicator, one can interpret that the end of the recession is closer, and companies could start hiring earlier than anticipated.
 
A few minutes after the interview aired, I was being contacted by friends across Latin America, some of whom I had not seen or even spoken to in years. It was awesome to reconnect thanks to the magic of CNN!

So, here is the video. If I you and I met at some point in our lives, get in touch. You can reach me at rfiguera@thetalentcircle.com. I would love to hear from you.

The story of how Marlo Scott baked herself a happier career.    
                                                                    
Marlo Scott can’t stop smiling today. How could she? In January 2009 she spent an afternoon with Martha Stewart making cupcakes for an upcoming show.  Being chosen for this segment was amazing and beyond anything she ever imagined.

If you ask Marlo for the recipe of her Crimson and Cream Cupcake, she will gladly share it with you as she recently did for Fox5 Good Day New York, to celebrate Valentine’s Day. She is also more than glad to give you her recipe for a happier life. Like many people on a career track, Marlo thought she had the ingredients for success. But after an MBA at the University of Michigan and three layoffs, she discovered that her original recipe had a certain aftertaste that she needed to eliminate. So with a few ounces of inspiration, a splash of networking and lot of hard work, Marlo baked up the idea for a cupcake, wine and beer bar and a happier existence.

Marlo thought she had it all. Even after being laid off from two different jobs, she still thought she was on the right track and considered her career a successful one. She had a great job in business development within Time inc.; she was motivated, well-liked, and up for a promotion. “Life just doesn’t get better than this,” she thought. And she was right, it didn’t. In fact, Marlo’s professional life took a nosedive from that point on.

After delivering outstanding results and successfully leading a business group, her reward was the deferral of her promotion for 9 months. Marlo was underwhelmed and disappointed, and she came to the conclusion that Corporate America just wasn’t the place for her. She soul searched to sort out her next steps. “The hardest thing was to figure out what I wanted, where my passion was. Once I did that, things started coming together”.

Marlo eventually discovered that her true calling was, in fact, very sweet. Everyday on her way to work, she passed by a popular New York cupcake bakery. Marlo observed its operations and after months of due dilligence – and a few extra cupcake pounds – Marlo came to the conclusion that the famed bakery had sweet cupcakes but an even sweeter horizon if given an opportunity to differentiate. “I would pass by every day and think what I would do differently. I started to brainstorm on my concept and I looked for opportunities to educate myself on the industry”. She signed up for restaurant administration courses and began networking with entrepreneurs and restaurant owners. She spent countless hours in the kitchen, perfecting her cupcakes and writing recipes from scratch.

In January 2007, she was laid off along with 200 others at Time Inc. The news came as a shock but mostly as a relief. She knew instantly that fate was intervening, and she was being given the opportunity to add sweetness to her life. “Getting laid off gave me a chance to put life in perspective. It allowed me the freedom to take a bet on myself. I felt empowered to go for it – to build a business and a brand that would offer a sweet environment for me, the good folks that work with me and for all my lovely patrons”.

Marlo opened Sweet Revenge in July 2008. The upscale, world-inspired cupcake, beer and wine bar has already made a mark.  Fox5’s morning should and Martha Stewart are not the only ones clamoring on her door. Time Out New York Magazine named Sweet Revenge the “Critic’s Pick” and is among the contenders for the 2009 EatOut Awards for Best New Bakery (results not yet published/known as of March 4, 2009). The Feedbag.com, Brides.Com, CupcakesTakeTheCake, and New York Metro, among others have profiled her.  She was also distinguished by New York City's Department of Small Business Services as an NYC Business Solutions Success Story.

“My life is unbelievable. Two years ago I was laid off, and almost to the day, I was baking my cupcakes with Martha Stewart”. Marlo smiles, “The best advice I can give to people wanting to change their lives is to have confidence and take a bet on yourself. It’s the safest one you can take and the most rewarding one too.”

Edited by Ignacio Villanueva

Have your own recipe for career success?  Share with us and inspire others.

Making each other laugh by creating a fake “Survivor” show ad in Photoshop with the pictures of the remaining team members is one of the ways Amber, Daniel, Susan, and Patricia keep their spirits high.  After surviving five rounds of layoffs at a Manhattan-based high-end design firm, and despite tremendous increase in job responsibilities, the team found ways to bond. 

Just about one year ago, a firm was expanding at the speed of light, hiring people constantly, and turning residential projects down left and right while focusing only on larger scale ventures. The times have changed and after downsizing thirty percent of the workforce, the firm is, well, still hiring.  However, the new hires are mostly highly qualified interns willing to work for no pay. In addition to tremendously larger workload, the possibility of losing the job to interns keeps the surviving team members awake at night.

The team of survivors did not let their fears get the best of them.  Instead, the remaining bunch turned to each other for support. They found themselves collaborating and building strong bonds.  “It’s a challenge to go from entry-level position to managing workload of four people, but the team makes me get through my day", says Amber, a workplace divorce survivor who just went from junior designer to designing a major Las Vegas club by herself. We have also gotten to know each other better, Amber continues, "I did not talk to Susan at all before but now we are close.” Daniel, the only smoker of the group, and the only surviving architect on the floor is touched that his co-workers take turns to go on the breaks with him for support.

“In the old days we did not take much time to get to know each other. There were feelings of fierce competition, and I felt intimidated. Now we take lunches together, poke fun at the situation, collaborate on work projects, and motivate each other to stay strong.  I truly feel as a team member,” Susan, a workforce divorce survivor admits. 

Their growing support of each other doesn’t seem to end at work.  Frequent get-togethers with laid off team members are held often to keep the team spirit alive, and they have made a pact with each other to take a trip to Costa Rica if worse comes to worse and the rest of them lose their jobs.

Written by Olya Artman

Survivor yourself?  Tell us your story and help inspire others

“We usually have our status update calls on Fridays; we discuss our progress, leads, best practices and have a bit of a team venting session” Justin tells me over lunch. He is not referring to a work meeting, however; he is talking about a new trend with those that have been recently laid off: support groups.

Until recently, Justin used to work at one of the top management consulting firms. He was part of a group of people that lost their jobs due to cost cutting across the company. After the initial shock and mourning period, many of them got together and asked themselves “now what?”

I saw how determined and excited he was about this group so I decided to dig a little deeper and find out: does misery really love company? As it turns out, it does. But it goes beyond group therapy: “we keep each other motivated and action oriented – we try not spend too much time complaining” – said Brian, another former employee.

The downturn of the economy came very suddenly for some, and being a part of a community of likeminded people helps you make sense of the events. Whether you are sharing through the phone, in person or on a blog, this exercise can also make you feel more engaged and integrated.

Once the emotional wounds have healed, groups have also found that keeping in touch with other can be useful for their career search. “By sharing job search stories, tips and market color, we keep each other focused and on track” – explained Julie. And for those who are considering a career change, they have found a supportive sounding board that encourages them to try new things and makes them more comfortable with risk. “If you’ve ever thought about leaving finance to become a chef, now might be the time to do it!” –concludes Justin, with a big smile on his face.

Written by Adriana Roche

Share your own story with us: How do you deal with laid off blues?

In the current market environment, networking has become more important than ever. With so much talent available, and pressure to reduce recruitment costs, hiring managers are relying on internal talent referrals and direct hiring. In other words, in times like these, you are more likely to land a job through someone you know than through a recruiter or by answering an online job board.

Networking is an art, and as such, it takes practice and discipline to master it. Just meeting people, attending events, and sending e-mails, is not going to cut it. You need to strategize and - if you are not a natural networker, practice your networking skills as often as possible.

Below we highlight a few tips that can help you become a more effective networking. In addition to trying to apply these tips, we encourage you to explore partnering with a career coach to help you practice and perfect your unique networking style.

Map-out your network.  Create a visual map of your contacts.  Use this map to remind you of who is in your network all the time.  It will become a handy tool for keeping in touch with everyone.  Look at it every time when reading an interesting article or hearing about something that might be beneficial to people you know and drop them an email or forward the information piece.  Keep in touch regularly.

Identify super connectors.  People who have introduced you to several contacts throughout your life are super connectors.  Find a way to show appreciation to these contacts if you haven’t done so already.

Have your pitch ready. What would you say to George Soros or Steve Jobs if you had one minute to network with them?  Be always ready to introduce yourself and highlight what you bring to the table. You will have an advantage if you know before hand who you would be talking to, so you can tailor your speech to catch their interest.

Utilize social networking websites.  Create profiles, and make sure that all of your profiles present you in the best possible way and you are visible to potential employers. Use search engine optimization to come up in searches more often.

Join professional associations and attend their events.  Don’t forget your college alumni associations they might help you develop new contacts.

Talk. Talk to everyone about what you are doing, from friends, family, to your pharmacist and hairstylist.  You never know who will connect you with the right person.

Follow Up. Attending events and collecting business cards is not enough. Make sure you develop a structured follow-up strategy so that no lead is left behind.

If you are interested in partnering with a coach, contact us. We will work with you to polish your skills and get you networking like a pro.

At Talent Circle, we have decided that, no matter how tough the markets out there, we will keep a positive attitude -towards ourselves, our clients and our candidates. There is enough emotional wealth in the air, we just need to make sure we do a better job at distributing it!

Maybe because we are all a bit emotional in NY nowdays (elections around the corner, markets riding us hard) I want to share an inspirational tale today. Last weekend, I ran into my friend Ana. She is a beautiful woman, but on that night she was truly glowing. You could tell, she was just very very happy. While catching up, I learned that a few weeks ago, she had decided to quit (by choice) her job at a top-tier investment bank in New York, and went to work as an apprentice florist with a well-known expert in New York City...and today, as she spends her days among flowers and plants, I can assure you, she is one of the happiest people you will cross during these trouble times.

As you probably guessed...I am not suggesting that you leave your job in Wall Street and become a florist. But, as you sit there and feel the world tumbling down, think about what you are really passionate about. Allow plenty of it in your life. I promise, a job will never feel the same way.

Ana, I am so proud of you!

• 
  The hardest the job market gets, the more you are going to need to market yourself . As my coleague Olya puts it...is all about Personal Branding. You can think of yourself as a luxury item, or a commodity item, the important thing is that you find your space within the branding trend.
  
  For those of you looking for some quick tips, here they go. Make sure you stick to them, and we can assure you, things will happen!
  
  

• Make your job search a full time or part time job-  approach your job search as a job and set priorities and goals, and develop a strategy for getting it done. 
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  Don’t be overly opportunistic- realize current market conditions and define your clear, realistic, and obtainable job search goals.  Pay attention to job requirements because under the current market conditions employers are looking for the exact match.
• 
  Identify your strengths –for senior level professionals the tip is to analyze your accomplishments as employers will be looking for people who can bring them business.  Junior and entry level professionals should be ready to be more flexible in terms of their job duties.
• 
  Fine tune your job search strategy-  don’t limit yourself to only familiar job search outlets.  Expand your search to include new networking opportunities, recruiters, and online applications.   
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  Be informed on where the jobs are- as the leading companies in the market will be downsizing and restructuring, middle size banks will be looking for the best talent.  Determine where you can fit in within the emerging job area.
• 
  Air brush your resume-  have your resume ready and create a very easy to read format.  A hiring manager should be able to easily tell from your resume what your career goals are and how each job you have had contributed to you accomplishing these goals.  If you are applying to the equity research position make sure that your resume emphasizes your expertise and skills in equity research.
• 
  Improve your interviewing skills- learn interviewing techniques.  No matter how good you are you can always be better and stand out from other candidates.  First impressions go a long way, so make sure you present yourself in the most positive light. 
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  Stay upbeat- even during the hard economic times employers want to see optimistic candidates.  Stay optimistic and some companies will still be hiring. 
• 
  Manage your personal finances- the job search might take a lot longer even for the most qualified candidates.  Spend money only on necessities until you are hired.
• 
  Consider changing careers- if you have thought about changing careers before it might be a good time to look closer at your level of satisfaction with what you do.  Although it is harder to change careers in the slow economy it might still be a better choice for some professionals.