How job seekers get recruiters to open their mail.

One of the most common job seeker frustrations is getting a response from recruiters. But for recruiters to respond in a meaningful way, they first need to read your messages. With that in mind, what can you do to improve your email’s chances of getting read?

I contacted recruiters following me on Twitter to ask: “Of all email you’ve ever had from job seekers, which had the best title?”

They came through in a big way, sharing dozens of memorable, occasionally funny, subject lines that got their attention and piqued their curiosity to the point where they had to keep reading.

Bookmark and share this list, but above all, start using it as a template for your own email messages to companies.

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Get the most of that often-seen personal branding space: your email signature.

Create a memorable email signature according to this formula.

Required elements are bolded, the rest are recommended where relevant:

Salutation,

Name
Tagline
Title(s), Organization
Association Membership
Phone numbers (mobile/land/fax)
Website/Social media profiles
Image

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For years, people have been saying that paper resumes are dead. Really?

Search Twitter for “paper resume” and many of the results are articles announcing that the Internet-based resume era is here.

But who has actually been saying they’re dead?

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“Overqualified?” These tips are for you.

I just turned 39 a few months ago. If I was job searching today, some places wouldn’t think twice about rejecting me for being too old.

And you know what? I don’t mind. Every company, every team, is entitled to hire whoever they think will be the best fit.

As a job seeker, it’s up to you to research companies and teams upfront, before you apply, so you can estimate if you’ll be a good fit.

As an older job seeker – 35+, 45+ or even 65+ – it’s up to you to research companies and teams upfront, before you apply, to see if they have a history of hiring older workers so you can better estimate if you’ll be a good fit.

Here are 40 tips to help you along the way.

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Are you the same you that you were last year? Let’s see.

2014 JobMob Census results

On November 12th, 2014, I asked you guys to Please Take The 2014 JobMob Census.

Thank you to everyone who responded.

Last year was the first time I did a census and didn’t really know what to expect. This time around, I can compare with last year’s results to see how things have changed (or not).

This one’s for the stats geeks like me.

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