We have all heard some crazy job search stories – whether it is the guy on Wall Street with a sandwich board or a woman who found her dream job but the story below is not only clever, it is pretty brilliant. Basically, Brownstein, the job searcher, bought Google Adwords for names of the executives who worked at the companies that he wanted to work for. When the executives (like so many of us do) Googled themselves they would see a clever little ad at the top of the page saying “Gooogling yourself is fun isn’t it? Hiring me is fun too!” That simple ad resulted in interviews and 2 job offers from the 5 companies he targeted. Total cost was $6. Honestly, just watch the video and see for yourself and if I were you I would start buying some ads. Remember, most people won’t know about this so why not try it for yourself?

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This post was influenced by an early morning call from a friend of mine Sara Davidson. She rocks. Read her blog here.

What makes me an expert? Nothing. I am just a guy who enjoys helping people find career paths that they didn’t know existed. I strive to help people ask questions and think about things a little differently. Life and Careers are about asking the right questions. Please ask us anything, or just subscribe to the The Squab feed via RSS or Email to receive notifications of new posts.

This post was written by Shane Mac, founder of thesquab.com.  Read more about him, follow him on twitter, join him on Brazen Careerist. or become a fan of the squab on facebook.

After 20 some years of thinking I needed mentors to tell me where to go I find myself wondering if those same mentors actually mute many other people’s dreams before they ever get started or even try. After reading Jun Loayza and Ryan Paugh’s posts about mentors I decided to share with you the comment I left on Jun’s blog. Here is my comment and after that go read his post.

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Right now you need to go sign up for Gist. http://www.gist.com. If you don’t know where to start then make sure you reach out to the gist team or sign up for an upcoming webinar and learn how to use the tool better. It is business, careers, and life wrapped inside of a super powerful and IMHO bad ass tool that I think can help anyone do better business or find better careers.

Remember that Gist doesn’t replace Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, and other social tools, Gist makes them all better and worthwhile. Gist is how you say hello while twitter is just the doorway. It is what you say when you walk through it that matters. Relationships are life and is what Mr. Gary Vee is trying to let everyone know.

Here are the people at Gist who you may want to follow.

The Gist account – @gist

T.A. McCann – @tamccann

Robert Pease – @RobertatGist

Greg Meyer – @GregAtGist

Jennifer Pitts – @jlpitts

After you sign up for Gist and start talking to the people who matter, watch my other video post on setting up a charity: water page so you will have something to talk about when you land that interview and get you a real job!

What makes me an expert? Nothing. I am just a guy who enjoys helping people find career paths that they didn’t know existed. I travel around speaking to colleges and trying to help students look at this career game a little differently. I strive to help people ask questions and find new ways to play the game. Life and Careers are about asking the right questions. Please ask anything, or subscribe to the The Squab feed via RSS or Email to receive notifications of new posts.

This post was written by Shane Mac, founder of thesquab.com.  Read more about him, follow him on twitter, join him on Brazen Careerist. or become a fan of the squab on facebook.

I would love your help with my campaign. You can help out with the campaign here.  http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=2080

After you check out my campaign, set yours up right now! Go here to do it. http://mycharitywater.org/

Then, after you have checked out my campaign and set up your own, head over to the charity: water main page and check out all of the incredible things that this organization is doing.

Who is charity: water you ask? Here is their info I got from the charity: water website,

charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We give 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person in a developing nation clean water for 20 years.

What makes me an expert? Nothing. I am just a guy who enjoys helping people find career paths that they didn’t know existed. I travel around speaking to colleges and trying to help students look at this career game a little differently. I strive to help people ask questions and find new ways to play the game. Life and Careers are about asking the right questions. Please ask anything, or subscribe to the The Squab feed via RSS or Email to receive notifications of new posts.

This post was written by Shane Mac, founder of thesquab.com.  Read more about him, follow him on twitter, join him on Brazen Careerist, or become a fan of the squab on facebook.

I sit. Thinking. Smiling. Reflecting. Wondering… About all of the people, the moments, the times that have changed my life. How did my path lead to where I am? Why do I feel so fortunate for everything that I have? Why am I typing and smiling so cheesy that the coffee shop barista probably thinks I am in love with this crack box called a computer? Because it is incredible, but realize, it is a game.

A game of inspiring and enabling others. A game of doing the unexpected. That’s it. The UNEXPECTED. Many of us do what is asked of us. That’s not a bad thing per say. Imagine if we all didn’t do what was asked of us? We try to “Crush It” in our jobs, in life, in everything for that matter. I look around and there are so many people that are all trying to do this one thing. Live. Enjoy. Create. Build. Better. But are we? Do you spend time at your job working on your tasks at hand or trying to bring everyone together to do more? Do you tell your boss that you have great ideas and they might help? Do you call your family and just say hi? Do you do things in your life that are not EXPECTED? That. One. Thing. Is. The. Secret. Do what is not expected. Always.

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What if you could multiply what I just said 10, 20, or even 100 times? That’s how it can change lives. #incredible

People sometimes ask what makes me an expert? I tell them nothing. I’m just a guy who thinks a single conversation or story can help people find career paths that they didn’t know existed. I strive to help people ask the right questions and think about things a little differently. Life and Careers are about asking the right questions and meeting the right people. Please ask me anything, or just subscribe to the The Squab feed via RSS or Email to receive notifications of new posts.

Feel free to read my bio, follow me on twitter, join me on Brazen Careerist. or become a fan of the squab on facebook,

Seriously, not kidding. Alright, maybe I am kidding and it can’t hurt to attend but just don’t expect much. I understand that removing yourself from situations to meet new people and/or companies is never a good idea regardless of how you look at it. You can stumble across that one person or company at any moment and as long as you are prepared it could be the turning point in your career. The problem though is that the career fair usually = typical out of college $36,000 a year job that not a damn person, Gen-Y or not, would usually find rewarding. Penelope Trunk says it best,

Out of college jobs suck. Everyone wants reasonable work, not just Gen Y.

You are probably thinking, “I have to start somewhere to work my way up, right?” It is a valid question and there are many different thoughts on this, but I believe having that mentality with your career will only stunt your growth because you should always strive to find something that you enjoy, no matter what.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that you know everything and that we should be the CEO tomorrow but I am saying that you should like what we do and work hard to find a company willing to teach us how to do better.  Find a company that you feel like wants to help you get better.  That’s what this journey is all about, learning from others. I often say that age is not a barrier, rather a number that can be silenced by ones ambition, passion, and ability to learn from those who are willing to teach. Here is the full post by Seth Godin that made me think about my past experiences at career fairs and what initially inspired me to write this.

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If you are looking for a job nowadays then you have probably heard everyone talking about the importance of creating your own personal brand.  You need to be visible.  You need to do more than just a resume to land that next job.  The problem is that you either get a list of 500 different things to do or some “famous author” who says we should only work a 4-hour workweek. It’s true, there are a crazy number of tools and websites out there to join but in the end it is about finding a community that will help you learn and be more  motivated to join in on discussions which will allow your voice to be heard.  It is about answering people’s questions and that is what I believe builds better business.  That is exactly what Brazen Careerist does so well.  It brings together like minded individuals to discuss a variety of topics that can help individuals get started in building their brand, career, and resume for that matter.  Brazen was started by Ryan Paugh, James Ryan Moreau, and Penelope Trunk. Penelope is known for giving raw, real, and creative career advice on her personal blog which over 40,000 people subscrive to.  There are many other tools that can help streamline the tedious task of creating the perfect resume, allowing you to focus on what really matters, being visible, sharing advice, and true networking. Continue Reading

I recently came across  Job Spice, a  powerful yet simple resume tool, and decided  to give it a whirl because  I  know   how  much time  can  be spent formatting  and  designing  your  resume when you should be focused on the content. Making it good looking is important but in end content is king. That is what is so appealing about Job Spice. It allows you to drag and drop “content fields” in any order to lay out your resume.  All you have to worry about is filling in the blanks and you are done. It then uses CSS so you can change between designs with the click of a button.  It also allows you to save your resume online as a pdf with your own URL, www.yourname.jobspice.com, which can be downloaded by anyone who you tell to take a look at your new online portfolio.  It will not only make you look professional but the simplicity of it will make whomever is fetching your resume surely appreciate your unique style.   You talk about a dream come true. Continue Reading