The Dramatic End To The 7th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest

Time to give out $10K in prizes.

As you'll see in a minute, this year's contest was the closest one we've ever had. We had to quadruple-check the results to be sure. Seriously.

But first-

Highs and lows of this year's contest

Let's start with the lows:

• Lowest number of entries in 4 years, and the first time in 3 years that the contest wasn't full. It's never a good sign when the contest owner has to extend deadlines twice. Ouch. Lessons learned. That said, 19 high quality entries submitted is nothing to scoff at in this age of information overwhelm, and I salute every one of the guest bloggers.

• (Somewhat) Buggy technology. This was the first year that the contest was gamified, thanks to our sponsor Captain Up. Although their system worked beautifully 99% of the time, there were a few moments here and there when contestants found their points not being recorded. But at least those issues effected everyone simultaneously, and Captain Up's team was very reactive in fixing issues.

• Has the contest grown too big and complicated? Could be. More than a few people said that the contest launch announcement was overwhelming, and I admit that it gets long when you have so many sponsors and prizes to mention. Next year will be different.

And now, the highs:

• No one cheated or was disqualified, unlike last year

• 33 players shared articles and commented over 3000 times during the ‘contest within a contest‘

• Stephan Wiedner's article How to Get a Second Interview: Not What You Think was picked up by Lifehacker.

• The most dramatic finish in the history of the contest: less than 40 visitors separated the top two grand prize winners, and less than 5 visitors separated 3rd and 4th place. Unfortunately, the extended nature of this year's contest hid the drama as it was unfolding, but we'll work on that for next year.

Before we get to the winners, I just want to say-

Thank you to our terrific sponsors

Thank you to our Titanium Sponsor: MyBlogGuest

MyBlogGuest.com is the community of guest bloggers who believe in the concept of high-quality and selective guest blogging. MyBlogGuest is the unique platform that manages to keep up with latest blogging trends. MyBlogGuest newest innovative features include Google Authorship for bloggers, Elite guest articles and Guest Article Requests.

Thank you to our Gold Sponsor: WebHostingBuzz

WebHostingBuzz is a reliable web hosting company based in MA, USA.

WebHostingBuzz serves over 30,000 clients from around the world. With a reputation for reliable, fast server technology backed by excellent customer support, WebHostingBuzz is an ideal choice for any internet project regardless of the budget available.

WebHostingBuzz offers a 45-day money back guarantee for its hosting services and also has a generous affiliate program.

Thank you to our Silver Sponsor: Jason Alba and JibberJobber

JibberJobber is a career management tool designed to help job seekers organize and manage their job search. More than a job search organizer, it is a personal relationship manager you can use between job searches. It is your personal relationship management tool to use during the rest of your career.

Thank you to our Silver Sponsor: MaxCDN

MaxCDN is one of the fastest CDNs in the world. A CDN makes your website fast by taking a copy of your website and delivering it from the closest servers to your website visitors. For example a user in London loading a US website will be slow, so what they do is allow that user to load the site from London, making it fast for them. Check them out at www.maxcdn.com.

From Jacob: JobMob has been using MaxCDN since November 2010. Highly recommended.

Thank you to our Silver Sponsor: Dan Schawbel

Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success, written by career expert Dan Schawbel, frees you from the outdated rules for getting ahead and lays out a step-by-step process for building a successful career in an age of ever-changing technologies and economic uncertainty. By basing your personal brand on the rock-solid foundation of hard, soft, and online skills that are essential to get the job done right and by knowing exactly what managers value, Schawbel provides you with the unique skills and message that you’ll need today and for the rest of your career.

Thank you to our Silver Sponsor: Wallaroo Media

Wallaroo Media is a full service digital marketing agency. They specialize in digital PR, search engine optimization, social media, and content strategy.

Their focus for each client is to increase that client's revenue. With an integrated and innovative approach, they can help you succeed. Contact them today.

Thank you to our Bronze Sponsor: Grammarly

Grammarly is an automated proofreader and personal grammar coach for your resume and cover letter. Furthermore, when so much is on the line, you should be proofreading all written communication with potential employers. Get a FREE 7-day trial of Grammarly and make sure those pesky errors don't cost you your dream job. Each of four lucky winners will receive an Annual Grammarly subscription; that is 365 days of error-free writing.

Thank you to our Bronze Sponsor: Kiesha Easley and WeBlogBetter.com

Kiesha Easley is the owner of WeBlogBetter.com, a blog devoted to offering blogging tips. She is a writer, copy-editor, and mass communications instructor. Her latest guide is, 10 Week GamePlan for a Top 100k Blog, a book that teaches new or struggling bloggers how to take a blog from setup to Top 100k Alexa ranking blog in 10 weeks or less. Connect with her on Twitter @weblogbetter and on Facebook at facebook.com/weblogbetter.com.

Thank you to our Chrome Sponsor: DesignCrowd

DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.

DesignCrowd gives you access to a ‘virtual team' of over 130,000 designers from around the world (via a process called crowdsourcing) – helping you to tap into the very best international design talent available, at a low cost. Post a project on DesignCrowd and watch designs pour in from around the world (the average project receives 50+ designs).

Want to make a good impression? Get a custom design from DesignCrowd! Watch this short video on how DesignCrowd works.

Thank you to our Chrome Sponsor: Captain Up

Captain Up provides a platform that activates users on apps & sites, increasing their lifetime value.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pa-UVY-I0Y

Captain Up will be providing all the gamification services for the contest this year.

Thank you to our Chrome Sponsor: H.T. Prof Executive Search

H.T. PROF Executive Search is a U.S. recruiting company that assists companies in hiring ‘KEY’ individuals. For the past 12 years H.T. PROF has worked extensively with over 200 Israeli companies entering the U.S. Market or growing their current presence in the U.S. We recruit on a national basis across all industries with our main focus in traditional Technology, BioTech and CleanTech.

The moment you've been waiting for: the winners of the 7JGBC

First off, every participant won almost $200 in prizes:

• 1 year of JibberJobber Silver, a US$60 value
• 1 year starter account of CDN services from MaxCDN, a US$40 value
• Access to Dan Schawbel's online course “Build Your Personal Brand in 4 Easy Steps”, a US$40 value
• A copy of Kiesha Eisley's ebook 10 Week GamePlan for a Top 100k Blog. Sponsored by Kiesha Easley and WeBlogBetter
• A copy of Kiesha Eisley's ebook Traffic Generation. Sponsored by Kiesha Easley and WeBlogBetter

Winner of the early-bird prize, for the second year in a row: Lavie Margolin

Lavie won:

• US$50. Sponsored by MyBlogGuest

Winner of the Judges’ Choice prize: Rebecca Rachmany

As selected by our panel of judges, all of whom are also contest sponsors:

• Ann Smarty of MyBlogGuest
• Jason Alba of JibberJobber
• Dan Schawbel of The Personal Branding Blog
• Kiesha Easley of WeBlogBetter
• Brandon Doyle of Wallaroo Media
• Liliya Tyndyk of Grammarly

Rebecca won:

• 2 hours of consulting time from Wallaroo Media, a US$200 value
• 1 year subscription to Grammarly, a US$140 value

Rebecca’s prize-winning article was Why You Shouldn’t Be Looking For A Job.

And now: this year's grand prize winners

With 1050 visitors to his article 7 Bad Pieces of Job Search Advice To Ignore, a mere 4 visitors more than the next contestant…

The 3rd Grand Prize winner is: Lavie Margolin

Congratulations Lavie!

Lavie has won over $700 in prizes.

• US$100. Sponsored by MyBlogGuest
• 1 year of JibberJobber Premium, a US$99 value
• 1 year subscription to Grammarly, a US$140 value
• 1 year starter account of CDN services from MaxCDN, a US$40 value
• Access to Dan Schawbel's online course “Build Your Personal Brand in 4 Easy Steps”, a US$40 value
• 1 hardcover copy of Promote Yourself, the new book by Dan Schawbel, shipped to you, a US$33 value
• 2 ebooks about traffic generation and blogging from Keisha Easley and WeBlogBetter, a US$21 value
• 1 hour of blogging/marketing/job search consulting (your choice). Sponsored by Jacob Share and JobMob, a US$250 value

After her 3rd place finish last year, with 1284 visitors to her post 5 Things HR Wants You To Know…

The 2nd grand prize winner is: Bless Vaidian

Congratulations Bless!

Bless has won over $1200 in prizes.

• US$200. Sponsored by MyBlogGuest
• 4 hours of consulting time from Wallaroo Media, a US$400 value
• 1 year of JibberJobber Premium, a US$99 value
• 1 year subscription to Grammarly, a US$140 value
• 1 year starter account of CDN services from MaxCDN, a US$40 value
• Access to Dan Schawbel's online course “Build Your Personal Brand in 4 Easy Steps”, a US$40 value
• 1 hardcover copy of Promote Yourself, the new book by Dan Schawbel, shipped to you, a US$33 value
• 2 ebooks about traffic generation and blogging from Keisha Easley and WeBlogBetter, a US$21 value
• 1 hour of blogging/marketing/job search consulting (your choice). Sponsored by Jacob Share and JobMob, a US$250 value

Improving upon a 2nd place finish in the 5th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest in 2011, and with only 33 more visitors than Bless to her article What’s New, Hot and Hidden on LinkedIn…

The 2013 7JGBC 1st grand prize winner is: Donna Sweidan

Congratulations Donna!

Donna has won over $3500 in prizes!

• US$300. Sponsored by MyBlogGuest
• 1 year of high-end VPS hosting from WebHostingBuzz, a US$900 value
• 9 hours of consulting time from Wallaroo Media, a US$900 value
• Logo design contest from DesignCrowd, a US$350 value
• 1 year of JibberJobber Premium, a US$99 value
• 1 year subscription to Grammarly, a US$140 value
• 1 3-month business account* of CDN services from MaxCDN, a US$227 value
• Access to Dan Schawbel's online course “Build Your Personal Brand in 4 Easy Steps”, a US$40 value
• 1 hardcover copy of Promote Yourself, the new book by Dan Schawbel, shipped to you, a US$33 value
• 2 ebooks about traffic generation and blogging from Keisha Easley and WeBlogBetter, a US$21 value
• 1 hour of blogging/marketing/job search consulting (your choice). Sponsored by Jacob Share and JobMob, a US$250 value
• 1 month ad exposure at the top of a new JobMob article. Sponsored by Jacob Share and JobMob, a US$250 value

* If your blog uses less than 350GB of bandwidth per month, this prize will instead become a 1 year starter account of 1 TB, a US$40 value

And another year is in the books!

Here are the final results.

To all the 7JGBC contestants and winners: I will be in touch with you next week with all your prize information.

Thank you Margie, Animal, Zac, Ofra, Mark, Soma, Todd, Michel, Kate, Maria Elena, Stephan, Alina, Rebecca, Aadi, Ibro, Joey, Lavie, Bless and Donna.

Thanks again to our terrific sponsors. Please visit their sites and use their services if you need them.

And thank you too for following along, enjoying the guest posts, playing the game and sharing your favorites for the winners.

Regularly-scheduled blogging returns here on JobMob next week. And a big announcement will be coming soon too…

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or emailand follow me on Twitter for the biggest, baddest contests about job search tips and advice.