StartWire: Eliminating the resume “black hole”

No matter how hard you try to avoid it, at some point during your job search you will undoubtedly fall victim to the dreaded “resume black hole”—a mysterious place at hiring companies where hundreds of thousands of job applications go never to be seen or heard from again. And that means you, along with scores of other job seekers, will be left frustrated not knowing whether you’re still under consideration or if you were rejected weeks or even months earlier.

In my 10+ years working as a career consultant, I have to say there’s no more frustrating aspect for job seekers than not hearing back from companies to which they’ve applied—something StartWire, a new company focused on radically improving the job search, hopes to change.

“If you’re able to easily track an order from Amazon.com every step of the way, why shouldn’t you be able to do the same with your job applications?” asked Chris Forman, CEO of StartWire, as he was explaining the rationale behind his new business venture. And as luck would have it, the information needed to provide status updates to candidates is already available as part of the Applicant Tracking Software packages used by most large companies.

With StartWire’s new data aggregation engine, job seekers are able to view the status of their applications online through a customizable dashboard and/or receive daily text updates from a list of 1,000+ employers (a list they hope to grow to more than 4,000 employers within the next month).

According to Forman, initial response has been remarkable. “Companies need to start treating job seekers like customers—after all, the job search can be pretty darn emotional.”

Beyond their application update engine, they also offer an expanding assortment of tools designed to help you more effectively leverage your social networks to find a job.

Have you tried StartWire? If so, post a comment and share your thoughts on whether they’ve been able to make the “resume black hole” a little less dark.

Fast Company Blog: 7 Ways to Experience South by Southwest Without Actually Being There

Each year, thousands of people converge on Austin, Texas to make their annual pilgrimage to the South by South West (SXSW) Music and Film Interactive. And that leaves a huge void for those of us who aren’t able to attend. A never ending stream of Facebook status updates and Tweets from the moment they start packing their suitcases only serve as a constant reminder that 1) we’re not going and 2) we wish we were.

So what do you do if you’re not one of the lucky ones going to SXSW but you still want to keep up with that’s going on and feel like you’re part of the “in crowd?”

Read more.

[Photo via SXSW.com]

How to handle unsolicited feedback about your business plan

I was meeting with someone and thought it would be helpful to share a quick overview of what I was working on—a new business plan that included an overhaul of my website and a completely new menu of services.

And that’s when it happened. We moved from what was intended to be a little background information to 15 minutes of “If I were you’s.”  As he continued to share his thoughts, I couldn’t help but wonder how we got there. But I couldn’t recall one “So, what do you think?” or “Does this make sense?” or “Will this work?” I usually love feedback. But there are times when, whether writing a business plan or revamping your website, you’ve moved past the point of gathering any more input. And this was one of those times.

After a quick assessment, I figured I had three primary options:

1. Try to refocus the conversation. Thank him for his suggestions and then do my best to eliminate openings for unsolicited feedback (in other words, no “So what do you think?”).
2. Ride it out. Play the odds that he can’t go on for more than 5 or 10 minutes before talking himself out.
3. A combination of 1 and 2. And ultimately the strategy I decided to run with.

As an entrepreneur, you’ll get loads of unsolicited feedback—but it doesn’t have to shake you or your business plan. No matter what others may think, ultimately it’s you that has to be comfortable with what you’re doing and where you’re headed. After all, you’re the one that has to live with its success or failure.

Fast Company Blog Post: Move Over Creative Class, the Collaborative Class Is Here

6 short years ago, Richard Florida made waves with his national best seller The Rise of the Creative Class which examined the growing role creativity was playing in our society. 6 short years later, creativity has become almost commonplace taking a back seat to a movement towards a “Collaborative Class.” As part of this movement, people are finding new ways to leverage technology to develop more meaningful and purposeful connections with others creating virtual affinity groups and communities–treasure troves of information. And although technology has made collaboration much easier, the primary driver behind the unparalleled uptick that is currently taking place has been the need to fill education gaps and provide targeted information to niche groups that were otherwise overlooked or lumped in to “one size fits all” communities.

Read more.

Interview with 31Projects

This is an interview with Jon Reifschneider, Founder & CEO of 31Projects, for their 31Projects blog. Jon’s company provides a platform  that enables organizations to engage talented students and recent graduates in addressing their challenges
through short-term projects and competitions.

Our interview focused on career advice for MBAs and other graduate students.  Here is an excerpt from the blog post:

What advice do you give to students who are undecided about their career and not yet sure which industry/field to pursue?

Start early—very early. The sooner you can gather information about possible concentrations and career opportunities, the easier it will be for you to make an informed decision on both fronts. Don’t panic–you don’t have to know what you want to do with the rest of your life a week after you arrive on campus, but within a few short weeks you should have enough research and information at your fingertips that will allow you to home in on industries, job functions, and companies with which you would like to intern and ultimately work.

Read more.