Law that let's kids permanently erase online posts

New California Law Lets Kids Permanently Erase All The Stupid Things They've Posted Online
~Alyson Shontell; Business Insider September 25, 2013

A new "eraser button" law signed by California governor Jerry Brown will help teenagers improve their online images, AFP reports.

Kids, who are prone to posting unprofessional party pictures, curse words and body shots online, will be able to permanently delete inappropriate parts of their profiles and preserve their digital footprints beginning January 1, 2015.

The law is the first of its kind and it will force sites like Twitter, Facebook and Google to help minors delete their online histories.

"This is a groundbreaking protection for our kids who often act impetuously with postings of ill-advised pictures or messages before they think through the consequences," says California state senator Darrell Steinberg. "They deserve the right to remove this material that could haunt them for years to come."

Of course, the law will only apply to kids in California, but it may encourage other states to follow suit. Social media is dangerous when you're at an impulsive age and unable to think about repercussions. 

More than one teen has been arrested for something he or she has written online.  Students have nearly been expelled for posting nude pictures on the Internet.  A law like this might be the only way to save teens from themselves.

Job Seeker Do's and Don'ts

Job Seeker Do's and Don'ts
~ Maren Hogan (seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting Industry). Recruiter.com

When you’re looking for a new job, don’t just stumble around, be purposeful and knowledgeable about your hunt.  You spend 8 hours a day there, 5 days a week, probably more. This is a big decision, and one that shouldn’t be entered into lightly. Common, seemingly small mistakes can make a big difference between landing the dream job and an endless search, wondering why you’re not getting the call back.

Odds are this isn’t your first, or your last job hunt so keep these do’s and don’ts of job seekers tips in your arsenal.

Do Network (but do it the right way)

How many times have you been at the bar and the same drunk guy keeps handing you his business card. Don’t be that guy.  There is a time and place for networking.  Don’t get it wrong, that place is very often the bar, but display some control and know when you’re over that threshold.

It turns out that an incredible 80 percent of jobs are landed through networking. But not everyone is born networker; some of us aren’t good at it. We aren’t all social butterflies and we don’t all check our klout scores every day. But the biggest mistake you can make is not networking at all.

Don’t Wait Around

The average unemployed U.S. citizen spends about 40 minutes per day on their job search, and a ridiculous 200 minutes watching TV. Every minute you spend on Netflix could be the minute that your dream job has just been landed by a go-getter.  This statistic is just pathetic; if you need a job, go get it! Fifty percent of new hires applied for the position within the first seven days of the job listing. Time to fill is in the forefront of every hiring manager’s mind, so get on it.

Do Use Social Media (but again, do it the right way)

Social media is a fantastic way to stay connected and keep some irons in the fire. But it’s not only a networking tool. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ are used by employers or hiring managers to catch a glimpse of you, see what you’re about and who you’re in circles with. So keep it clean. Keep your professional networking sites professional, and control what you want others to see. These sites also work the other way. The best way to get a feel of a company’s employer brand or company culture is to check out their sites. You can learn a lot about a company just from searching around their social media for a few minutes.

According to a Forbes article, “How Social Media can Help (or hurt) You in Your Job Search”, of the 37 percent of employers who use social media to screen candidates:

•  65% said they do it to see if the job seeker presents himself or herself professionally.
• About half (51%) want to know if the candidate is a good fit for the company culture.
• 45% want to learn more about his or her qualifications.
• Some cited “to see if the candidate is well-rounded” and “to look for reasons not to hire the candidate,” as their motives.
• A third (34%) of employers who scan social media profiles said they have found content that has caused them not to hire the candidate.

Don’t be Afraid to Negotiate Your Salary

Eighteen percent of employees never took the time or opportunity to negotiate their salary. This can be a scary thing. As the new hire, you are sometimes made to feel that the ball is entirely in their court. This simply isn’t the case. They spent time and money on reading your resume, arranging and executing the interview, deliberating over the choice of hire, and doing a background check. They aren’t going to give you the boot if you start talking numbers. If you’re prepared with a counter offer, you’ll know exactly what’s on the table, instead of walking out never knowing, and waiting for a 6 month employee evaluation.

Do Edit

Nothing will kill your chances before you even get in the door like an error  filled resume or profile.  Check and re-check any and all materials that can be potentially seen by a hiring manager. If you didn’t pay attention to detail in your job search, that sends a clear message that you aren’t thorough.

Don’t be a Downer

If you take nothing else from these do’s and don’ts, please take this: Eighty-five percent of the decision to promote or hire an employee is based on the employee's attitude.  No one wants to work with a jerk, so don’t let your nerves get the best of you. Be relaxed, confident and positive in all interactions with your hiring manager.

9 Qualities of Truly Confident People

9 Qualities of Truly Confident People

~Dharmesh Shah via LinkedIn 6/6/13

First things first: Confidence is not bravado, or swagger, or an overt pretense of bravery. Confidence is not some bold or brash air of self-belief directed at others.

Confidence is quiet: It’s a natural expression of ability, expertise, and self-regard.

I’m fortunate to know a number of truly confident people. Many work with me atHubSpot, others are fellow founders of their own startups some of whom I've met through my angel investment activity. But the majority are people I’ve met through my career and who work in a variety of industries and professions.

It comes as no surprise they all share a number of qualities:

1. They take a stand not because they think they are always right… but because they are not afraid to be wrong.

Cocky and conceited people tend to take a position and then proclaim, bluster, and totally disregard differing opinions or points of view. They know they’re right – and they want (actually they need) you to know it too.

Their behavior isn’t a sign of confidence, though; it’s the hallmark of an intellectual bully.

Truly confident people don’t mind being proven wrong. They feel finding out what is right is a lot more important than being right. And when they’re wrong, they’re secure enough to back down graciously.

Truly confident people often admit they’re wrong or don’t have all the answers; intellectual bullies never do.

2. They listen ten times more than they speak.

Bragging is a mask for insecurity. Truly confident people are quiet and unassuming. They already know what they think; they want to know what you think.

So they ask open-ended questions that give other people the freedom to be thoughtful and introspective: They ask what you do, how you do it, what you like about it, what you learned from it… and what they should do if they find themselves in a similar situation.

Truly confident people realize they know a lot, but they wish they knew more… and they know the only way to learn more is to listen more.

3. They duck the spotlight so it shines on others.

Perhaps it’s true they did the bulk of the work. Perhaps they really did overcome the major obstacles. Perhaps it’s true they turned a collection of disparate individuals into an incredibly high performance team.

Truly confident people don’t care – at least they don’t show it. (Inside they’re proud, as well they should be.) Truly confident people don’t need the glory; they know what they’ve achieved.

They don’t need the validation of others, because true validation comes from within.

So they stand back and celebrate their accomplishments through others. They stand back and let others shine – a confidence boost that helps those people become truly confident, too.

4. They freely ask for help.

Many people feel asking for help is a sign of weakness; implicit in the request is a lack of knowledge, skill, or experience.

Confident people are secure enough to admit a weakness. So they often ask others for help, not only because they are secure enough to admit they need help but also because they know that when they seek help they pay the person they ask a huge compliment.

Saying, “Can you help me?” shows tremendous respect for that individual’s expertise and judgment. Otherwise you wouldn't ask.

5. They think, “Why not me?”

Many people feel they have to wait: To be promoted, to be hired, to be selected, to be chosen... like the old Hollywood cliché, to somehow be discovered.

Truly confident people know that access is almost universal. They can connect with almost anyone through social media. (Everyone you know knows someone you should know.) They know they can attract their own funding, create their own products, build their own relationships and networks, choose their own path – they can choose to follow whatever course they wish.

And very quietly, without calling attention to themselves, they go out and do it.

6. They don't put down other people.

Generally speaking, the people who like to gossip, who like to speak badly of others, do so because they hope by comparison to make themselves look better.

The only comparison a truly confident person makes is to the person she was yesterday – and to the person she hopes to someday become.

7. They aren’t afraid to look silly…

Running around in your underwear is certainly taking it to extremes… but when you’re truly confident, you don’t mind occasionally being in a situation where you aren't at your best.

(And oddly enough, people tend to respect you more when you do – not less.)

8. … And they own their mistakes.

Insecurity tends to breed artificiality; confidence breeds sincerity and honesty.

That’s why truly confident people admit their mistakes. They dine out on their screw-ups. They don’t mind serving as a cautionary tale. They don’t mind being a source of laughter – for others and for themselves.

When you’re truly confident, you don’t mind occasionally “looking bad.” You realize that that when you’re genuine and unpretentious, people don’t laugh at you.

They laugh with you.

9. They only seek approval from the people who really matter.

You say you have 10k Twitter followers? Swell. 20k Facebook friends? Cool. A professional and social network of hundreds or even thousands? That’s great.

But that also pales in comparison to earning the trust and respect of the few people in your life that truly matter.

When we earn their trust and respect, no matter where we go or what we try, we do it with true confidence – because we know the people who truly matter the most are truly behind us.

Job Seeker Do's and Don'ts

Job Seeker Do's and Don'ts
~ Maren Hogan (seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting Industry). Recruiter.com

When you’re looking for a new job, don’t just stumble around, be purposeful and knowledgeable about your hunt.  You spend 8 hours a day there, 5 days a week, probably more. This is a big decision, and one that shouldn’t be entered into lightly. Common, seemingly small mistakes can make a big difference between landing the dream job and an endless search, wondering why you’re not getting the call back.

Odds are this isn’t your first, or your last job hunt so keep these do’s and don’ts of job seekers tips in your arsenal.

Do Network (but do it the right way)

How many times have you been at the bar and the same drunk guy keeps handing you his business card. Don’t be that guy.  There is a time and place for networking.  Don’t get it wrong, that place is very often the bar, but display some control and know when you’re over that threshold.

It turns out that an incredible 80 percent of jobs are landed through networking. But not everyone is born networker; some of us aren’t good at it. We aren’t all social butterflies and we don’t all check our klout scores every day. But the biggest mistake you can make is not networking at all.

Don’t Wait Around

The average unemployed U.S. citizen spends about 40 minutes per day on their job search, and a ridiculous 200 minutes watching TV. Every minute you spend on Netflix could be the minute that your dream job has just been landed by a go-getter.  This statistic is just pathetic; if you need a job, go get it! Fifty percent of new hires applied for the position within the first seven days of the job listing. Time to fill is in the forefront of every hiring manager’s mind, so get on it.

Do Use Social Media (but again, do it the right way)

Social media is a fantastic way to stay connected and keep some irons in the fire. But it’s not only a networking tool. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ are used by employers or hiring managers to catch a glimpse of you, see what you’re about and who you’re in circles with. So keep it clean. Keep your professional networking sites professional, and control what you want others to see. These sites also work the other way. The best way to get a feel of a company’s employer brand or company culture is to check out their sites. You can learn a lot about a company just from searching around their social media for a few minutes.

According to a Forbes article, “How Social Media can Help (or hurt) You in Your Job Search”, of the 37 percent of employers who use social media to screen candidates:

•  65% said they do it to see if the job seeker presents himself or herself professionally.
• About half (51%) want to know if the candidate is a good fit for the company culture.
• 45% want to learn more about his or her qualifications.
• Some cited “to see if the candidate is well-rounded” and “to look for reasons not to hire the candidate,” as their motives.
• A third (34%) of employers who scan social media profiles said they have found content that has caused them not to hire the candidate.

Don’t be Afraid to Negotiate Your Salary

Eighteen percent of employees never took the time or opportunity to negotiate their salary. This can be a scary thing. As the new hire, you are sometimes made to feel that the ball is entirely in their court. This simply isn’t the case. They spent time and money on reading your resume, arranging and executing the interview, deliberating over the choice of hire, and doing a background check. They aren’t going to give you the boot if you start talking numbers. If you’re prepared with a counter offer, you’ll know exactly what’s on the table, instead of walking out never knowing, and waiting for a 6 month employee evaluation.

Do Edit

Nothing will kill your chances before you even get in the door like an error  filled resume or profile.  Check and re-check any and all materials that can be potentially seen by a hiring manager. If you didn’t pay attention to detail in your job search, that sends a clear message that you aren’t thorough.

Don’t be a Downer

If you take nothing else from these do’s and don’ts, please take this: Eighty-five percent of the decision to promote or hire an employee is based on the employee's attitude.  No one wants to work with a jerk, so don’t let your nerves get the best of you. Be relaxed, confident and positive in all interactions with your hiring manager.

4 Things to Do Before You Even Start Looking

4 Things to Do Before You Even Start Looking

~Maren Hogan (seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting Industry). Recruiter.com

Job seekers, you have an ever-increasing amount of information at your fingertips, dozens of job boards to search, big social data to wade through, and most of you don’t even know where to begin.  Just diving in without a deliberate direction for a job search can really limit you.  Jumping from site to site, and disorganized networking won'g get you too far.

Before the search begins, get that resume down.

First and foremost, check for any mistakes, grammatical errors, or lines that might not flow well. Read and reread for quality assurance. A strong  resume should be in reverse chronological order of your last 3-5 positions.

Hiring managers wade through thousands of these, so focus on highlighting strengths in a short and sweet manner. Use bullet points and white space to make the resume easy to scan.  Hiring managers take about 6 seconds to look for the basics of any resume, so lengthy paragraphs on strengths in 8 point font is a waste of everyone's time.

Lastly, resumes should be tailored to the position that the you are applying for. When tailoring, consider what the posting is asking for and reflect that in the resume.

Figure out what you want and need in a new position.

With so many companies jumping on the employer branding band wagon, you now get the opportunity to see what a company is like before you even consider applying. Branded web sites, social media, video and employee testimonials are now mainstream. Take advantage of this bird's eye view of their company culture and really consider what you want in a workplace.

You should also consider your needs in a salary. You should, for your worst case scenario, know what you can take at the lowest. You should also be keenly aware of your earning potential and base your negotiations off of that.

Flexible hours, location, childcare, telecommuting, device freedom, vacation time, are all things to consider.  Knowing what you want before you start on this journey is vital.  Walking into an interview humming and hawing will get you slapped (in the hiring manager's mind anyway).

Get ready to be investigated.

Social media will be a huge part in your job search on both your end, and your hiring manager's end.  One in five employers use social sites to research job candidates, so clean it up.  Before you contact anyone, make sure that your online presence is in line with what you want to portray.  And please consider that maybe not everyone wants to hire the fun-loving bar hopper, in fact no one wants to.

For your current purposes, keep everything that is public, professional. A third of employers who scan social media profiles said they have found content that has caused them not to hire the candidate. What you think of as a harmless, funny photo can come off quite differently to someone who doesn’t know you.

Use your Network. Use your social media outlets, email and heck, maybe even the phone, to let people know that you are looking. Matt Youngquist, the president of Career Horizons says.  "At least 70 percent, if not 80 percent, of jobs are not published, and yet most people — they are spending 70 or 80 percent of their time surfing the net versus getting out there, talking to employers, taking some chances [and] realizing that the vast majority of hiring is friends and acquaintances hiring other trusted friends and acquaintances.”

12 Critical Things To Do On Social Media Prior To Your Job Interview

Credit Jenny Kay Pollock January 2013

Social media is part of the job search process. You should use social media to help you find job openings and target specific companies. Once you score that interview, you shouldn’t forget the power of social media.

1. Check the business’s social media profiles

Do your research: it’s important to walk into a job interview informed. Start with their website and move to their social media sites. It’s easiest to find their social media sites through their official webpage.

2. Do a search on Twitter

Check to see what other people are saying about the company. See how the company uses Twitter. Do they have a sense of humor, are they active or have they failed to tweet for over two months.

3. Look up the individual(s) interviewing you

Check out the interviewer’s personal and professional social media sites to get a better understanding of who they are and what they are looking for. Learn about how they use social media and their specific role at the company.

4. Look at their Pinterest boards

Pinterest often gives a unique window into a company. It can display company culture in photos. The fact that they have Pinterest boards in the first place says a lot about the company.

5. Get social

Consider retweeting or liking individual posts on the company’s social media sites. This shows that you have done your homework. This is a fine line, so use your previous research to help you decide what’s a good fit.

6. Be on top your game

Search social media for general industry terms to be on top of what is happening. Nothing is worse than walking into an interview without the latest information in your field.

7. Focus on your social media profiles

Make sure to update your profiles to show them that you’re on the cutting edge of your field and on top of social media. Post industry news on your social sites.

8. Check out other employees

See who works at the company. Check out what they do and who they are. This can help you understand the company culture better and give you an idea of whom the company hires.

9. Look at the company profile on LinkedIn

Take a look at the company overview, careers and employee insights. See how big the company is and if any of your connections connect you to the company. If this is one of your target companies be sure to follow them on LinkedIn.

10. Beef up security

Clean up your social media. You know the photo of you dancing on the bar last weekend? Take it down. If you can’t guarantee that everything on your Facebook is appropriate for an employer and your grandma make it private.

11. Google yourself

Know what is going to come up when your name is typed into Google. It’s best to be aware of this because most, if not all employers will Google you.

12. Read the company blog

Be aware of what the company is currently working on and talking about. Take it a step further and formulate an opinion on the topic. Craft questions to ask during the interview related to the current happenings at the company and how your potential role will fit into the scheme of things.

12 Most Indispensable Things to do on Social Media Before Your Job Interview

Credit Jenny Kay Pollock on January 2013

Social media is part of the job search process. You should use social media to help you find job openings and target specific companies. Once you score that interview, you shouldn’t forget the power of social media.

1. Check the business’s social media profiles

Do your research: it’s important to walk into a job interview informed. Start with their website and move to their social media sites. It’s easiest to find their social media sites through their official webpage.

2. Do a search on Twitter

Check to see what other people are saying about the company. See how the company uses Twitter. Do they have a sense of humor, are they active or have they failed to tweet for over two months.

3. Look up the individual(s) interviewing you

Check out the interviewer’s personal and professional social media sites to get a better understanding of who they are and what they are looking for. Learn about how they use social media and their specific role at the company.

4. Look at their Pinterest boards

Pinterest often gives a unique window into a company. It can display company culture in photos. The fact that they have Pinterest boards in the first place says a lot about the company.

5. Get social

Consider retweeting or liking individual posts on the company’s social media sites. This shows that you have done your homework. This is a fine line, so use your previous research to help you decide what’s a good fit.

6. Be on top your game

Search social media for general industry terms to be on top of what is happening. Nothing is worse than walking into an interview without the latest information in your field.

7. Focus on your social media profiles

Make sure to update your profiles to show them that you’re on the cutting edge of your field and on top of social media. Post industry news on your social sites.

8. Check out other employees

See who works at the company. Check out what they do and who they are. This can help you understand the company culture better and give you an idea of whom the company hires.

9. Look at the company profile on LinkedIn

Take a look at the company overview, careers and employee insights. See how big the company is and if any of your connections connect you to the company. If this is one of your target companies be sure to follow them on LinkedIn.

10. Beef up security

Clean up your social media. You know the photo of you dancing on the bar last weekend? Take it down. If you can’t guarantee that everything on your Facebook is appropriate for an employer and your grandma make it private.

11. Google yourself

Know what is going to come up when your name is typed into Google. It’s best to be aware of this because most, if not all employers will Google you.

12. Read the company blog

Be aware of what the company is currently working on and talking about. Take it a step further and formulate an opinion on the topic. Craft questions to ask during the interview related to the current happenings at the company and how your potential role will fit into the scheme of things.