RSS feeds are one of my favorite online tools, and I’m finding that most people don’t know what they are or how they can be used. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication… so, does that help?  Probably not :-)  Let me explain with an analogy about mail delivery.

You’ve Got Mail

Every day, the mailman* collects mail from everyone sending you mail, and delivers it to your home.  What if there were no mailman or post office?  Well, that would mean you’d need to go to each person’s house and pick up your mail and bring it home.  And since you have no way of knowing if someone has mail for you, you waste a lot of time stopping by everyone’s house just to see if you have mail.

Person mailing letter		Website
Letter		New Blog Post (or Information)
Mailman		RSS Feed
Mailbox		RSS Reader

Stopping by everyone homes to see if you have mail, is what life without RSS is like.  For every blog or website you’re interested in reading, you have to go to the website (“house”) and find out if there are new posts (“mail”).  That could take forever!  But, RSS does the job of the mailman for you.  It goes out to every website you have subscribed to and checks to see if there is any new information there.  It then picks up the new posts (“mail”) and puts it into your RSS Reader (“mailbox”).  Very easy!  That way, you just have to check your RSS Reader, and everything you’re interested in, is all in one place.

The other benefit of RSS is that it keeps track of which posts you’ve read or haven’t read.  So, if you leave and come back, you won’t forget where you left off.  You can also mark important items with stars.

“But I don’t read blogs!”

There are many websites that use RSS Feeds that aren’t blogs.  Here are other websites that use RSS and other uses for RSS feeds:

• Reading the newspaper online? Take a look at the New York Times.  If you subscribe to their RSS Feed, it will neatly organize all the articles in one long list in your RSS Reader.
• Looking for a job? Run a search on Monster, and instead of getting one email with all the listings, better track which jobs you’ve looked at by subscribing to your search via RSS.
• Looking for a new couch? Run a search on CraigsList and subscribe to it via RSS.  You don’t have to run your search every day, as each new item will just come right into your RSS Reader.
• Tracking mentions of your name or your company’s name? If you use Google Alerts to search your name, instead of getting the search via email, turn it into an RSS Feed, and get all your searches in one folder.
• Watching for certain keywords on Twitter? Just create the search on Twitter, and subscribe to the feed.

We encourage the use of RSS Feeds at WebinarListings, because it’s a calendar, and people will know what’s been newly added to the calendar without having to check back each day.

Now What?

Well, first you need to decide which RSS Reader you want to use.  I like Google Reader (and I like everything Google :-)) because I think it’s the most user-friendly. But, you can use Outlook, Firefox or the multitude of other readers out there. When you subscribe to an RSS Feed, a list of the most popular ones will come up and you can choose the one you want.

When you’ve found a blog or search you want to subscribe to, look for the RSS Feed button (the orange button above) and click it! It’s usually located near the top of the site, in the browser bar, or in the footer of the website.  In some cases you have to click to subscribe again once you’re inside your RSS Feader, but it’s very self-explanatory.  You can even create folders to organize your information.  Then just take a look at your RSS Reader regularly and everything you’ve subscribed to will be there.

* I say mailman, and mean that also to include women

(Image credit: mailbox, others)

Do you use RSS Feeds?  Can you think of any other uses for them?

Now that Tweetdeck is integrating more social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Buzz, Foursquare, MySpace), I’m guessing there will be a name change soon. Ideas? Take this poll!

Click here for the results so far.

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on  August 4, 2009.

I can’t continue to write for the Wall Street Journal “Laid Off and Looking” blog anymore, because I have a new job! I will be the Director of Marketing and Social Media at Second Time Around, a consignment clothing retailer with 19 stores in 8 eastern states (MA, NH, RI, ME, CT, VT, DC, NY). Second Time Around’s owner, Jeff Casler, recently got venture capital funding from Generation Equity Investors, so is slated for more growth in the coming years.

I got this new position through a combination of Twitter, an online job website, and good old fashioned networking. Back when I first lost my job a year ago, I posted my resume on a site called Jewish Jobs. Lisa Colton, the founder of Darim Online, was looking for someone with my background for some consulting work and found me on the website. She also recognized my name because she had been following me on Twitter for a couple of months and liked the things I had to say. So over the next few months, we kept in touch and talked about how we could work together. Then on June 17th, I got an email from Brian Colton (Lisa’s brother-in-law), a partner at Generation Equity, saying they were looking to fill a marketing position at their latest venture, and Lisa had given him my name. One month later, on July 16th, STA offered me the job!

A year ago, I don’t think I would have gotten this job. I wasn’t well versed in social media, but I have been focusing on that for the year I have been out of work. Social media is such an important part of marketing these days, and I was behind the eight ball before this year. I also think that being involved in social media has put me “out there” so much more, that potential employers like Lisa or Jeff could see what I’ve been up to much more easily. One look at my Twitter account, my website, or the posts I’ve been doing for this blog, bring instant credibility to me. You can see the way I write, the way I think and where my interests lie. I know this had an impact on me getting the job I did, and think it’s vital to a successful job search, even for people not interested in marketing.

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on  August 4, 2009.

I was delayed in writing this post for the WSJ blog, because I was hoping to be able to write about a job offer I was expecting to have. It didn’t come. It still may, so I haven’t lost all hope, but it sounds like the company may be unsure whether or not to hire for the position. Sound familiar? I have been hearing this more and more lately with the poor economy. Either the company advertises for a job, and then decides they aren’t hiring any more, or they restructure the job in the middle of hiring because they are trying to accomplish more with less, or they just decide to put the position on hold.
So not only do we (laid off folks) have to deal with the stress of being out of work, and an unknown financial future, we are also impacted by the uncertainty that companies are feeling themselves. This makes it tough, and honestly a bit emotionally trying at times.
The way I have combated this is to try to not get too excited about a job until it becomes a reality. I talk about potential jobs with my friends and family, but try to not go into too much detail. The more we talk, the more excited I get, and the more they ask questions. “Did you get the job?” “When will you hear back?” “Did you hear from them yet?” “What are the next steps?” “Did you follow up with them lately?” It’s supportive, but for me, more and more talk brings more and more excitement, and consequently more and more disappointment when it doesn’t work out. So, no more detailed discussions for me!
The other way I have combated this becoming too emotionally trying is to continue plugging away, even though I have a good feeling a potential job will work out. Don’t stop. You need to keep going until you accept the job, or even the day you start your job. In this economy, anything can happen, and stopping not only wastes time if it doesn’t work out, but emotionally it makes you more invested in the opportunity you are waiting on. Keep many balls in the air, and don’t be “monogamous” until you get the offer, because you know the company certainly is not.

Readers, how do you prevent yourselves from getting too emotionally invested in a potential job opportunity?

So, I’m finally back to work after being out of a job for a year. Overall, my year was tough, but I learned so much about social media, networking, and basically just reinvented myself professionally.  Now, the rubber is meeting the road, and I’m back to work.  I started my job at Second Time Around last Monday, so it’s been a full 2 weeks.  So, I am more stressed or less stressed than I was when I wasn’t working?  Yes :-)

Obviously, being out of work was stressful.  It was stressful financially — how was I making ends meet?  How long was my unemployment going to last? Would I get the client I was trying to get?  It was also just a constant stress of feeling like I needed to do something to move my search or consulting work forward all the time.  Even at night, if I wasn’t out socializing or at a networking event, I was very rarely just relaxing in front of the TV or reading.  For most of the year, I didn’t really take a break.  So, in that way, work seems relaxing!  It’s not such a weight hanging over my head, like I felt all year. I do think I’m going to be working at night a bit, having some work travel, or weekend trips (I was in Chicago this week and am going to CT tomorrow), but for some reason, I’m better able to shut my mind off and relax.  I can come home at night if I don’t have plans, and take Stella for a leisurely walk, get dinner, and watch TV. Love it!

On the other hand, my schedule couldn’t be more different now than it was for the past year.  I got accustomed to having the schedule I wanted.  I went to bed no earlier than 2am on most nights, and woke up by 9am at the earliest.  If I was tired, I took a nap.  I took Stella for a walk in the middle of the day if I wanted.  Now, not only do I need to get up at a normal hour for work, I have started working with a personal trainer and am in physical therapy (for my knee), so get up almost every day by 6 or 6:30am.  Going to bed at 2am no longer works.  Napping in the middle of the day is not recommend, at least if I plan on keeping my job!  So, from this perspective I find it more stressful.

But, so far, I seem to be managing OK, and am getting used to going to bed early again.  I am LOVING the job. Everyone is incredilby nice, welcoming, and very dedicated to growing this company.  There is so much opportunity for marketing and social media, I can’t wait to get some of my ideas moving!

How have you coped with a change in lifestyle like this?  Any ideas to help me or others?

(Photo credit: Money Tree, Clock)

I am pleased to report that I have accepted a new full time job! I will be the Director of Marketing and Social Media at Second Time Around, which is a consignment retailer with 19 stores in 8 eastern states (MA, NH, RI, ME, CT, VT, DC, NY).  Second Time Around (STA) recently got venture capital funding from Generation Equity Investors, so is slated for more growth in the coming years.  I got my offer on July 16th, which oddly enough is the one year anniversary of me being out of a full-time job.  What an odd coincidence!

As with any rapidly growing company I know I will be wearing many hats, but my overall responsibilities will be branding, strategy, social media, internet marketing and general marketing materials.  Second Time Around is already on Twitter (impressive!) (each store has its own account… @STAThayerSt, @STANeedham, @STASohoNY, etc.) and Facebook, but there is a lot of upside with these, and with the website.

So, how did I get the job?  I really WISH I could say I got it through a connection I made on Twitter.  Then maybe people would start believing that Twitter has merit and isn’t just about reporting when you go out for a cup of coffee :-)  But, although I did have many job interviews and leads from Twitter, this wasn’t one of them.  It was from old fashioned in-person networking.

I posted my resume on a site called Jewish Jobs back when I first lost my job.  Lisa Colton, the founder of Darim Online, was looking for someone with my background for some consulting work, so we started talking.   (Update: Lisa reminded me that she actually DID find me first on Twitter… go Twitter!) We kept in touch over a number of months, talking about how we could work together.  Then on June 17th, I got an email from Brian Colton (Lisa’s brother-in-law), a partner at Generation Equity, saying they were looking to fill a marketing position at their latest venture, and Lisa had given him my name.  One month later, on July 16th, STA offered me the job.  And, yesterday, I attended an all day offsite with the new Board of Directors.  My first official start date will be August 24th.

I am so excited for this new opportunity.  It is a great combination of an established company (the first store opened 35 years ago), and a start-up environment with the new infusion of capital and the growth plan.  I will be able to leverage my marketing skills from my consumer products background, but also my new social media skills.  There is a huge opportunity for STA with social media, and they are believers in it, so I am looking forward to implementing some creative ideas.  Overall, I think this is a place where I will be able to make an impact, which is one of the most (if not the most) important qualities for me in a job.

My next post will go more into my thoughts about this past year and what I learned.

Thank you to everyone who helped me this past year.  So many people touched me, and I could never have gotten this incredible job if it weren’t for you.  So, thanks.

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on June 17, 2009.

A few months, I was asked a question by a potential employer that I couldn’t answer “What do you think of what we are doing in social media?” I couldn’t answer it not because I didn’t know what he meant, but rather, that I hadn’t actually looked it up. Although social media is the area of marketing I am most interested in, I was still stuck in my old ways of researching a company… by looking at their website.

Doing thorough research of a company is one of the most important steps in preparing for an interview. Not that they will necessarily ask you the direct question that I got asked, but because it gives you the opportunity to bring up what you have researched, or just have a better understanding of how the company operates. Realizing this, put me into action to change the way I now research companies.

Here’s what I do now.

• I search for the company’s fan page on Facebook. I look what they have posted, and what their fans are posting about them. I do the same for YouTube.
• I find their corporate account on Twitter, and again, see what they are tweeting about. I also search on an application called Twellow, to find employees of the company, and see what they are writing about.
• I find their company profile on LinkedIn, and look up the profiles of some of the people I might be working with or key executives, and definitely the people I will be interviewing with. I find at least one item about a person that I have in common with them, so I can bring it up in the interview somehow.
• I do quick searches for the company and key people on Hoovers and Zoominfo. Other good websites include: Vault, Glassdoor, Lexis Nexis, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance. Of course, there’s a good old search engine on the company’s name, or coupled with key words such as “good” or “bad.” Through looking at these sites, I also try to understand who the company’s major competitors are.
• Of course, I still look at the company’s website, and at a minimum, read the About Us section, the press section, and overall what the company has been doing. If they have a blog, I read the first few posts.

Spending the time doing this extensive research has really helped me better understand the mindset of the people and the company I’m interviewing with. Yesterday, I was asked in the interview what I thought of a company’s website, and I could give a very thorough analysis.

What do you think?  What are your preferred methods of researching a company prior to an interview?

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on June 2, 2009.

When my position as the Director of Marketing at the JCC was eliminated in July, it was a complete surprise to me. It was just as the economy started going south, but I didn’t foresee it affecting me so close to home so quickly. Looking back, I wish I had been more prepared rather than being stuck like a deer in the headlights. Here’s what I would have done if I had been prepared.

Get involved with networking groups

Like many people, I used to only network when I was actively looking for a job, but that’s the opposite of what networking really should be. I recently heard a great definition of networking — building relationships before you need them – and I think this is a great way to look at it. So, if I had been more prepared, I would have joined local networking groups across a wide variety of people and industries, as well as industry specific groups. You never know who knows who, so your next job could come from the most unlikely person.

Connect through online social networking

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are key ways to network in this day and age. It took me some time when I first got laid off to connect with people I wasn’t already connected with on these sites. And for LinkedIn, I could have asked my former bosses/coworkers for recommendations and answering questions in groups to bolster my profile. Already having these steps done would have helped me hit the ground running.

I didn’t start my blog until after I got laid off, but now provides potential employers a window into how I think, what I’m interested in and what I’m up to. Having that up and running before the layoff, would have given me the benefit of having good content, a readership and comments.

The basics

The next few ideas are probably the most obvious ones, but were still important for me to get started on! I needed to update my resume, particularly with quantitative numbers from my job. I should have registered on the major job search sites, and started receiving emails or RSS feeds for relevant jobs. And finally, I could have gotten back in touch with recruiters. It never hurts to have them keeping you top of mind early on in the process.

Do you have any other ideas for how to be prepared for a layoff?

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on May 12, 2009.

Twitter seems to be all the rage these days, especially since it made headlines with the Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN battle, and more so when Oprah joined. But, there are a lot of misconceptions out there about Twitter, the two most common I hear are that it’s a young population using Twitter, and that people are sharing just the “mundane details of their lives.” Neither of those is true. In fact, 76% of Twitter users are over 35. And, while Twitter can be about the mundane details of people’s lives, for the most part, it’s about people connecting with others who have similar interests. For example, since I’m interested in Marketing and Social Media, I follow people who are also interested in the same, and we share information on topics relevant to us. I have learned so much from interacting with people on Twitter since joining in September.

To understand how Twitter is helpful with networking, I like to think about how I do networking without Twitter. Normally, someone I know introduces me to someone they think I should talk to. I then email or call that person and set up a time to get together for coffee. We meet, and talk about their work, what I’m looking for, any opportunities they know of, other people they think I should talk to and any advice they have for me. I get home and send them a thank you note, and usually connect with them on LinkedIn. And, that’s it. We go our separate ways. They go back into their life, and may remember me, but within a couple of months, I have most likely slipped into the depths of their memory.

Enter Twitter. The process can be the same, but after we go our separate ways, we continue to interact on Twitter. They get to see the value I’m bringing; instead of making an impression on them in an hour long coffee meeting, I am making an impression in the coffee meeting, and on a regular basis after that. I am staying much more top of mind. I have had many situations with people I have had coffee with, where they spontaneously write me a couple months later, saying that they are still keeping me in mind for any opportunities they come across. That doesn’t happen as much with non-Twitter networking.

The other benefit is being able to find new people who I wouldn’t have met otherwise. Oftentimes, I’ll see someone interesting on Twitter and ask them to get together. Or, if I have a specific company in mind that I want to talk to, I look the company up on an application called Twellow, find out who works there who I am following (the term for being connected with someone on Twitter), and I ask them to meet with me. In both these cases, it’s like a “cold call”, but there is a lot of information about me at their fingertips to make me less “random” to them. They can read my bio, click thru to my website, see what I am doing on Twitter, and the value I provide.

And then there’s the more casual networking. Twitter is basically a big networking meeting going on 24/7, that you come and go into. I have had so many people just contact me and say that they have seen me on Twitter, and they know of an opportunity they think would be perfect for me. There are also a variety of “Tweetups” (events run by people on Twitter) that are basically networking meetings. That, again, provides a whole new group of people to network with that I might not have otherwise met.

Here is one specific success stories about networking on Twitter. I registered for an event at Harvard Business School to listen to a panel about the future of Marketing. Coincidentally, the day after I registered, one of the panelists (Diane Hessan from Communispace) started following me on Twitter. I sent her a private message saying that I was looking forward to hearing her and meeting her at the panel. She wrote back and said she was impressed with my background and she would see me at the panel. When I met her in person, our introduction was much more meaningful, as she already knew who I was, and I could stand out from the other people she was meeting. Fast forward three months later, and she just referred two potential consulting clients to me.

In addition to this, I have been referred to countless potential new clients and potential jobs. Twitter is definitely a great way to network.

What do you think?  How have you used Twitter for your job search?

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on April 28, 2009.

One of the biggest changes for me since I lost my job is being at home a lot instead of at an office filled with people. I’ve gone from chit chatting in the hall and having lunch and laughs with coworkers, to being home alone, sometimes all day. In addition to the financial stresses that come with being unemployed, I think this is why a lot of unemployed people get depressed. But for me, I don’t think it has really impacted me in a negative way.

For one, I am a social person by nature so I typically have plans at night to go out somewhere. I have really tried not to cut back on how often I go out just because I am unemployed, because I feel like I need this social interaction. I have, however, changed the way I go out, as I’m much more conscious about spending money than I used to be.

I also try to get out to networking meetings or networking events, which not only helps in my job search, but helps with the social interaction aspect and realizing that I’m not the only one going through this. And, as silly as it may sound, I feel like my dog has made my days much less lonely. Obviously I have to take her out a few times a day, so that helps get me physically out of the house. But, having her around also makes my house feel less quiet (plus, I talk to her sometimes!).

The other challenge of being home is that it’s harder to stay focused on the task at hand. Not only is it easy to keep crazy hours (I tend to go to bed late, and get up late), but it’s also easy to get distracted, and work on a lot of non job-search related tasks during the day.

To help people with this issue, a Boston based company, BzzAgent, came up with an innovative idea, and approached me to be one of the people in their program. Basically, given that they found themselves with a lot of extra office space, they started loaning extra space in their office to laid off workers and entrepreneurs. The idea is that rather than being alone at home, these people can come in and feel the camaraderie of an office. It’s a great idea to not only keep the office lively, but to also help out the job seekers. (I didn’t take them up on their offer, as I am getting used to being at home and working in my pijamas sometimes!).

Overall, I think getting out of the house at least once a day and being social outside of my job search have been important factors to keeping me from letting unemployment get the best of me.

Photo credit: Late night

How do you cope when spending more time at home during your search?