This is a guest post by Thomas Taylor. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines.

Job interviewers read and hear so many clich?s these days that they just about walk and talk in their sleep during the recruitment process. No more “I should get the job because I’m honest, hardworking, and reliable” — it’s time to say something different if you want to them hire you.

In job interviews, you’ve not just got to talk the talk. You’ve got to walk the walk. Here’s how with these unique job interview tips.

1) Give examples

It’s more than likely that you’ll never have met the interviewer. Somehow, though, you have to convince them that you’re the person for the job.

How?

You prove you’re not just blowing hot air, by supporting your answers with examples: of problems you’ve solved, of (good) results, of how you’ve turned things around in some way (if that’s the case).

Show that you understand the job requirements. Demonstrate that you know about the sector by highlighting key statistics or referring to the latest developments — remember to check the trade press that day (online and off).

Avoid sounding like a know-it-all, though. Quote relevant statistics without slipping into long-winded monologues. Likewise, drop a name once or twice, but don’t litter the conversation with every big name you’ve worked with.

Nobody likes a boaster.

2) Ask interesting questions

One of the golden rules of any interview is to ask questions, either about the company or the job. It shows you’re interested. However, you should make these questions original.

Many job websites suggest asking questions about training opportunities — could be a mistake, as it’s almost suggesting you don’t have the skills for the job.

No, ask an original question to capture the interviewer’s attention. They’ll see that you have an innovative streak in you.

One simple question would be to ask the interviewer what they themselves like about the company. Another would be to ask what they company would like you to achieve within the first 60 to 90 days. Questions like this reveal drive and enthusiasm.

3) State you can add value to the company

Companies want to make money. They want you to help them, so tell them how you will add value to the company. This alone can clinch you the job.

However, it’s a crucial statement, so don’t just say it for the sake of saying it.

If you worked out in the UAE or elsewhere outside of your country and were managing your company’s business bank account, for instance, prove how your employer benefited from it. Maybe you negotiated some better terms and conditions on business loans for the company. Maybe you introduced a new, more efficient system for processing payments.

Show how your skills, knowledge, and experience will turn you into a money-making asset for the company.

Potential employers are looking for two things if you’re to impress them: demonstrable proof that you’re the person for the job, and indications that you can bring something new to the table, be it skills or ideas. But what you bring to the table must bring the company money i.e. add value to it. When an employer hires you, they’re investing in you. Time for you to generate the returns.

About the Author

Thomas Taylor writes about job interview tips in order to optimize your career prospects.

If you liked this article, you’ll also enjoy Michael Spiro’s “So, Do You Have Any Questions?” Nailing the Interview Closer.

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more of the best job interview insights.

This comment contest is sponsored by Powtoon.com.

Powtoon is “the best free animated presentation online software tool and PowerPoint alternative that supercharges your business presentations and animated video marketing.” Put more simply, it’s an easy-to-use website for making professional-looking animated videos that you upload to YouTube.

How is that relevant to job search?

Check this out:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Besides making a creative, animated video resume, you can use Powtoon for:

• Work portfolios
• Targeting companies you want to work for
• Project explanations, such as how you reached a specific achievement or result
• Video ad campaign to build your personal brand, or an employer’s

How to Enter

At the bottom of this article, leave a comment that answers one of these questions:

• What is the most creative video resume you’ve ever seen and why?
• If you’ve made a creative video resume in the past, share it and tell us how you came up with the idea.
• Tell us why you deserve one of the prizes more than anyone else.

Don’t be shy…

Comment now

How to Win

Simple – Leave an impressive comment.

The winners will be the 3 people with the most impressive comments as judged by me (and possibly someone from Powtoon).

You, or anyone you know, can try to influence the choice of winners by leaving more comments in support.

Comment now

Prizes

3 Professional-level Powtoon accounts for 1 year, a value of US$228 each

Rules

• Must be 18 or older.
• You can comment as many times as you like, answering any or all 3 of the questions, but you can only win one prize.
• Be sure to use a real email address or Twitter account when you comment so that I can contact you if you win.

Contest Deadline

To be considered as entries in the contest, all comments must be submitted by this Sunday May 12th 2013, midnight PST, which is 10am Monday morning Israel time (check your local time here)

Comment now

Good luck!

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for the coolest job search contests.

As promised in last week’s article about JobMob’s 6th anniversary – you can still wish us happy birthday – May is going to be special.

How special?

For the first time ever, I’m offering free job search consult calls to a small number of readers, so you’ll need to act fast.

My hope is to speak with a different JobMob reader almost every business day through the month of May.

The calls will take place over Skype so that you won’t have any calling charges. Another benefit is that I can record Skype calls and make the recording available for you to download afterwards. This way you won’t need to take notes during the call, saving us both time and letting us focus on getting you the most value possible from the conversation.

Each call will be a maximum of 30 minutes long.

The topic is your job search. You can prepare some questions in advance but that’s optional.

There’s a limit of one consult call per person, and I’ll only be taking one call per business day, so approximately 24 quick-moving people will get a free consult call.

To be one of those lucky 24 action-taking job seekers (doesn’t matter whether you’re currently employed or not), here’s what you need to do ASAP:

1. Visit the bookings calendar. It will open in a new tab or window.
2. Click the ‘Available’ link on the day of your choice, anytime during the month of May that it appears in the calendar.
3. In the popup that appears for that day, click on the timeslot you’d like to book for the call, then click Book Now to confirm your choice.
4. You’ll then need to login with your Facebook or Google/Gmail account to make the booking final and receive the confirmation email.
5. Finally, send me a contact request on Skype, here’s how (for Windows, Mac or other). My skype account is jacob.share. Very important: when you send me the contact request, also send me your email address so I’ll know which timeslot you booked.

CLAIM YOUR FREE JOB SEARCH CONSULT NOW

Questions?

Ask them in the comments or on the JobMob facebook page.

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for job search advice tailored to your needs.

Read all the way through, you don’t want to miss the special announcement…

When JobMob launched on March 21st, 2007, I never thought it would last this long.

Back then, I wanted to learn about blogging while I was looking for a job, so it wasn’t hard to think of blogging about my job search.

I suppose the idea would have been to stop once I found a job, or when I didn’t feel there was more to learn – or like most people who start blogging – when I’d simply had enough and couldn’t find the time or effort to blog anymore.

But that won’t be happening anytime soon.

There are still millions of people who are unnecessarily suffering through job searches, and millions more who aren’t getting all (or even most) of the benefits of personal branding, so my work is cut out for me.

And I’m still having too much fun to stop.

Highlights from the past year

The 6th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest

The biggest edition of the contest yet, with over $6000 in prizes, was full again with 25 guest authors whose articles were shared almost 4000 times as over 450,000 people visited JobMob during the contest, almost double last year’s audience. Incredible. Look for it again this summer.

Media mentions

JobMob or I were mentioned or quoted on Wired.com, the Huffington Post, the Spanish edition of Glamour, Calcalist, and more.

By far the most memorable media mention was when a major Malaysian journalist was found to have plagiarized from a number of sites including JobMob.

Numbers: you guys keep coming back

• The regular JobMob audience is over 35000 readers, Twitter followers and Facebook fans
• The past year saw over 2.6 million visits and over 4.3 million pageviews, with traffic peaking during the summer contest
• The site recently had its 7 millionth visit, and will serve its 15 millionth pageview soon

Objective for the coming year

One place where JobMob can definitely improve: community.

I want to get to know you better, so that I can learn how to help you better, and better encourage others to help you too. That way everything will be better. (I could probably squeeze another ‘better’ in there, but I won’t push it)

And now, my special announcement:

In the month of May, I’m going to make time to speak to a different JobMob reader roughly every business day, regardless of where you are in the world, and give you some free job search advice that’s specific to your situation.

Watch early next week for details on how to reserve your free job search consult call.

Thank You!

You guys rock.

Thank you to:

• Everyone who reads and shares JobMob articles so that others can get the same benefits you have
• Everyone who contributed a guest post, a comment, or a Community Favorite
• All JobMob partners and supporters like the Top Job Bloggers
• All my sponsors, such as those who helped with the guest blogging contest and those who buy ads

Much success to us all in the coming year.

Question of the article

What would you like to see on JobMob in the coming year? Suggest anything: topics I should cover, new features, you name it.

Tell us in the comments (or just wish JobMob a Happy Birthday)

Are you following JobMob in the best way for you?

You can get JobMob articles over….

• Email: subscribe here
• Facebook: via the JobMob Facebook page OR click the Like button that appears beneath the JobMob logo on the website
• Twitter: follow @jacobshare
• Pinterest: JobMob Articles pinboard

Stay in touch where it’s easiest for you.

Subscribe to JobMob for the best job search advice from someone who actually cares about your job search success.

Get inspired by the best.

I’ve already shared with you 123 Beautiful Personal Logos, Monograms and Wordmarks For Your Inspiration.

Here are 163 more. Enjoy!

Question of the article

Quickie question – which is your favorite? Tell us in the comments.

Personal logos
Angela Light, Designer	Enrique Engels, Insect Photographer
Luke Kirkwood, Web Designer and Developer	Nigel Ortega, Photographer
Sally Barrett, Editor and Writer	Julia Demetriou, Bead Creation and Patterns
Jason Grover, Photographer	Harvey Esparcia, Graphic Artist
Umair J, Web Developer	Matt Hunt, Photographer
Tarcan Yakan, Artist	Oscar Sanabria, Graphic Designer
Samo Vidic, Photographer	Michelle Sadgrove, Photographer
Lindsay Quinn	Dalal Nizam, Graphic Designer
Daniel Patterson, Designer	Gary Sfez, Movie Director
François Virga, Architect and Designer	Jose Mendoza, UI/UX designer
Luis Monteiro, Artist	Ashley Henry, Seamstress
Ryan Tait, Web Designer	Jørund Jenssen Berg, Graphic and Web Designer
Lawrence Anderson, Product Designer	Brandon Arthur Roth, Artist
Falisha Ann, Graphic Designer	Marianna Mohney, Web Designer
Laura Sánchez, Designer and Photographer	Shelby Marie, Graphic Designer
Jamie Sama, Artist	Lori Fuller, Photographer
Isabelle Moura, Naturopath	Narendra Keshkar, Freelance Graphic Designer
Sohail Shahid, UI Designer	Michal Caba, Graphic Designer
Andrei Venal, Artist	Robert Puente, Designer
Jake Vela, Graphic Designer	Andre Araujo
Cassidy Rivera, Artist	M. Vupora, Designer
Shahad Hassan	James Yates, Photographer
Pedro Ajo, Web Designer	Peter Steven, Freelance Web Designer
Amir Karahasan, Web Designer	Danilo Giagnoli, Graphic and Web Designer
Jana Bujňáková, Photographer	Ignatov Denis, Graphic Designer
Matt Brand	Jesse Jones, Photographer
Stina Jones, Graphic Designer, Illustrator and Doodler	Jonah Grant, Developer
Daniel Núñez, Graphic and Web Designer	Dominik Pacholczyk, Graphic and Web Designer
Den Kazakov, Designer	Aleksandra Wolska, Artist
Ivan Manolov, Graphic Designer	Vladimir Adrianza, Business Consultant
Steven Hower, Graphic Designer	Matija Jakovljevic, Web and Graphic Designer
David Corbera, Photographer	Luis Afonso, Digital Artist
Marco Gonzalez, Designer	David Michael, Product Design
Noah Borer, Video Producer	Meybosch Jeroen, Designer
Tabitha Kristen, Graphic Designer	Asmir Sinanovic, UI/UX Designer
Robert E. Morgan, Programmer	Dario Calonaci, Graphic Designer
Katy, Graphic Designer	Mauricio Alanis, Art Director
Bartosz Magier, Artist	Marco Bahena, Designer
Roxana Dawid, Photographer	Amy Ormond, Artist
Aakash Soneri, Graphic and Type Designer	Douglas Cavendish, Graphic Designer
Houdini, Escape Artist	Jennifer Miller, Artisan
Timothy James, Musician	Amy White, Graphic Designer
Evan Kistron, Lawyer	Quan Vu, Graphic Designer
Ian Grant, Photographer	Julio Quintella, Designer
Elise Kim, Fashion Designer	Gary Chew, Graphic Designer
Stephen Park, Graphic Designer	Kauser Khan, Artist
Willian Gomez, DJ	Jonny Rix, Web Designer and Developer
Cseke Eszter, Photographer	Maia Rojas, Artist
Gerard Kearney, Magician	Franck Juillot, Graphic and Brand Designer
Ricardo Seco, Fashion Designer	Elias Joidos, Photographer
Karl Johnston, Photographer	Taylor Barnes, Photographer
Allan Butson, Personal Finance Planner	Rorie Cowan, Business Consultant
Adam Duncan, Designer	Jamila Taylor, Lawyer
Kristoffer Svanmark, Web Developer and Graphic Designer	Jennifer Moore, Graphic Designer
Jamie Evans, Graphic Designer	Chad Allen, Magician
Melinda Albert, Mobile Designer	Ryan Miranda, Graphic Designer
Heidi Mottram, Accessory Designer	Shaun Ring, Photographer
James Forbes, Plumber	Janne Darwin, Photographer
Mateusz Koziorowski, Web Designer	Ezra Millstein, Photographer
Ryan Bloom, Graphic Designer	Martin Kastelov, Web and Graphic Designer
Ivan Anderson	Miro Kozel, Art Director and Designer
Chuck, Freelancer	Marek Mundok, Freelance Graphic Designer
Wordmarks
Rafael Klein, Producer	Annamaria Szentpetery, Graphic Designer
Nelo, Graphic and Web Designer	Mariana Garcia, Photographer
Matt D’Angelo, Designer and Photographer	Diana
Patricia Cardoso, Designer	Matt Nagy, Graphic Designer
Evan Thomas, Graphic Designer	Paul Hector, Graphic Designer
Sam Clarke, Graphic Designer	Paul Carbo, Web Developer and Designer
E.F. Cuttin, Music Professional	Enis
Dan Nisbet, Graphic Designer
Monograms
Johann Dizon, Designer	Matias Nadal, Song Composer
Ashley Elizabeth Vella, Graphic Designer	TY Wilkins, Graphic Designer
Dan Simon Freebairn, Graphic Designer	Reghardt Grobbelaar, Designer
Saadullah Aleem, Graphic Designer	Boudewijn Vermolen, Designer
Caila Brown, Designer	Sebastian Homeie, Designer
Stuart Thursby, Graphic Designer	Connor Blackwell
GBG	Jiri Chlebus, Graphic Designer
Manuel J Rivera, Graphic and Web Designer	Sean O’Brien, Graphic Designer
Raphael Lebec, Graphic and Web Designer	Anthony Lane, Logo and Identity Designer
Antonella Muscat, Photographer	Robin Bond
Maurizio Colella, DJ, musician and producer	Marcos Cesar, Graphic Designer
Sean Heisler, Designer	Julia Rufener, Graphic Designer

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more personal branding inspiration.

Update April 8th, 2012: there was some unusual activity on the server overnight between 4:30-5:30 am Israel time but nothing that I can definitely say was an attack. JobMob was slow to respond for about a minute at one point, but then it recovered.

OpIsrael

This week, the Jerusalem Post reported that a YouTube video was posted by Anonymous threatening to “erase Israel from cyberspace” by attacking major Israeli websites this Sunday, April 7th, which is Holocaust Memorial Day here in Israel.

According to the article, the reasons for “OpIsrael” are claims that the Israeli government continues to violate various Palestinian rights and international laws, the same message as the global BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) movement of people who purport to help the Palestinians by attacking and de-legitimizing Israel.

So, to promote what they claim are moral actions, they’re going to attack Israel on a day commemorating arguably the least moral actions of all time, namely the Holocaust.

And now, thanks to JobMob reader Daragh Lally, I’ve learned that the list of targeted sites has been made public and JobMob is on it.

Who are Anonymous?

Hard to say, and not just because of the name.

Of course, Wikipedia has its say.

People claiming to be part of the group have participated in pro-anarchy attacks on the websites of governments, security corporations, cults like Scientology and more.

But then “group representatives” will sometimes come out and refute attacks previously attributed or claimed by them.

Is there dissent in the group, or just different groups profiting from a single brand?

Again, who knows.

But with propaganda slogans like “the corrupt fear us, the honest support us, the heroic join us“, who wouldn’t want to be on their side?

They’ve claimed to be the freedom fighters of the Internet and everyone loves freedom fighters, right?

What’s going to happen this weekend?

Will JobMob be knocked offline, vandalized or outright taken over by Internet pirates?

We’ll just have to see.

Stay tuned.

I go to a lot of local events, at least 1-2 per week, and it isn’t rare for me to attend 3-4 per week. It used to be that on the morning of an event, or the night before, I’d prepare a bag of goodies to get maximum benefit. Now, I just keep an event bag stocked so that I can quickly throw in a few things and go.

Bookmark this article as a checklist to reuse in the future.

What I always bring to events

Here’s what must be in my backpack or it will be sorely missed:

Name badge

Most events, especially paid events, will give out badges with your name on it but bringing my own assures that it will have the right information, with the right spelling and that it will work with whatever I’m wearing.

My favorite is actually a simple plastic badge that I received at an event a few years ago. It has a shoelace that you comfortably wear around your neck, and the plastic card has a white sticker with my name and Twitter handle. The only improvement is to put a similar sticker on the back of the plastic so that you don’t have to constantly check whether the right side is facing front.

Business cards

Always bring more than you think you’ll need, and store them in a small case that will keep them fresh like the day they were printed. When I open the case to hand out a card, I replace it with the card I received, tucked beneath the rest of my other business cards.

Pen

Take notes, scribble the event name on a business card handed out or received, or just to help out someone who needs one, which is a great conversation starter.

Smartphone

Aside from the obvious reasons for having one, I use my phone to take notes which are automatically uploaded to my Google (Drive) account, and to participate in the conference tweet stream (using #hashtags) if there is one.

Extra smartphone battery and/or charger + cable

What good is your smartphone if the battery is (almost) dead? Make it a non-issue.

Dictaphone

My secret weapon. I use it mainly to record speakers – especially if I’m one of them – but not only.

What happens all too often at informal talks is that I end up being the only person who recorded the event at all, and everyone – speaker(s) and audience – really appreciate it when I then post the audio for download after the event.

Only use a digital dictaphone so you can easily backup the recordings to your computer. Mine is a basically a glorified, battery-powered USB memory stick with high-end audio recording functionality.

Lapel microphone

At events where I’m speaking, the lapel microphone gives me the best audio quality when plugged into my dictaphone.

At events where I’m networking, I may hide the lapel microphone inside my collar to record my conversations FOR PRIVATE USE ONLY so that I can more easily take notes later. Or, I may sometimes just use the lapel microphone as a small wired microphone that I’ll hold up to someone I’m talking to.

Breath mints or gum

Most events have some kind of food served whether there’s a buffet or just cookies and coffee. Whatever the menu, regardless of whether you have halitosis or not, an occasional mint or minty gum will make conversation more pleasant for everyone.

Medication

As a chronic asthma and allergy sufferer, I need to come prepared or I may suffer a lot! Anyone traveling to events may be prone to headaches so some sort of aspirin or anti-inflammatory is handy too.

I have a collapsible plastic cup with a cover that – if initially dry – can double as a pillbox.

Tissues

And as a chronic allergy sufferer, I’m guaranteed to need a tissue at some point.

Wallet

An obvious one, but I’d be hard-pressed to get to an event without it.

In-ear headphones

Not so much for the event itself, more for the commute to and from. Although if you do need to listen to some recorded audio e.g. from the dictaphone you brought with you, this will be the only way to do it discreetly in a large, noisy room.

What I might also bring to events

Depending on the event in question, its length and where it is, here are some optional things that I might also bring along or that you might need instead.

Event entry ticket

A must for most conferences, less so for most networking events. But if your ticket needs to be printed in advance, don’t wait until the last minute.

Hand sanitizer

No paranoia here, but if you get sick easily or if you are sick already, you might want to keep some hand sanitizer close by so that no one catches anything needlessly.

Toiletries or cosmetics

Not an issue for most men – although I’ll sometimes pack anti-perspirant – but critical for most women. Always be prepared.

Hand moisturizer

Because no one likes sandpaper handshakes. Use a local product in case anyone asks why your hands are so smooth.

HD camera

Take great pictures to post online after the event, letting people tag each other while thinking of you in the process.

Also, for short evening events or seminars, consider recording video of all speakers – including yourself – for your own purposes or in case no one else does so, which often happens at less formal meetups. Plus, you might just be the backup camera if the main one proves not to be up to the task. That’s happened to me a number of times and the event organizers were extremely appreciative.

Camera travel tripod

Look to have a small tripod that can attach your camera to non-conventional places (e.g. fixtures, heating pipes, you name it) so you can get the best angle. The tripod for my old Flip Ultra HD has 3 legs that can grab onto a pole.

Tablet

Great for showing off your work portfolio whether that means demoing software that you’re working on, or showing video of something you helped create.

External keyboard

Typically a Bluetooth keyboard, super handy for taking notes or social media sharing on your smartphone or tablet when you don’t feel like lugging a full laptop.

Laptop

Sometimes though, an external keyboard + smartphone/tablet is no substitute for the real thing. If you do bring a laptop regularly, you’ll probably also want a protective case, mouse and power pack.

Powerbar

One of my networking secrets. I can’t count the number of times someone else has struck up a conversation with me because I had a powerbar plugged into the only visible outlet in the area.

Extra batteries

Because you might need them for all the other event-critical electronics you’re shlepping along, such as for the dictaphone.

Water and/or food

Most events will have some food and drinks, so you probably won’t need to bring your own. However, I’ve been to events where they’ve run out of food, or ran out before I was able to break away from networking, or the food was something I couldn’t eat for dietary restrictions or other reasons. In which case I was sure glad to have something with me, even if it was just a piece of fruit.

Ask the readers

Is there anything NOT on my list that is a must for your event pack? Tell us in the comments.

A version of this article originally appeared on the Personal Branding Blog.

Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more hard core successful networking insights.

Why use Pinterest for your job search?

Well, if you saw our previous article about The Best Pinterest Job Search Tips From The Experts, you already know about using it to make a visual resume, to show off your achievements (as a work portfolio) or just to be inspired.

With all that in mind and more, these are 100 most popular job search-oriented boards on Pinterest:

Latest update: March 18, 2013

1. Job Search Resources by RazorEdgeResumes.com Writing Service (6,030 followers)

2. Job Search/Jobs/Resumes/Employment by Lisa Simpkins (4,383 followers)

3. Promo Portfolio Resume by Kathy McGraw (4,088 followers)

4. 007 A+ for the Resume by 007 Marketing (2,771 followers)

5. Job Search Info – Post to this board by Better Resume Service (2,800 followers)

6. Job Search Related Resources by Better Resume Service (2,784 followers)

7. 007 Social Job Search Circle by 007 Marketing (2,613 followers)

8. 007 Job Interview Etiquette by 007 Marketing (2,584 followers)

9. resume by Eva Morell (2,483 followers)

10. Job Interview Looks by Glamfoxx.com (2,317 followers)

11. Job Search by CAREEREALISM (2,237 followers)

12. Todo sobre entrevistas de trabajo / All about job interview by Alfredo Vela (2,144 followers)

13. Job Applications and Interviews by TES Teaching Resources (2,124 followers)

14. the living resume by Rachael King (1,791 followers)

15. Professional Portfolio: Job Interview Tips, Documenting Practice, Proffessional Development Ideas/Opportunities, CV tips, Media Kit etc. by Ellen Jaye Benson (1,586 followers)

16. Job Search Inspiration by CareerBuilder (1,375 followers)

17. My Resume by Mark Miller (1,364 followers)

18. RESUME by Lynn Nguyên (1,311 followers)

19. Job Search Infographics by Amy Neumann (1,284 followers)

20. Job Search by Elisa Koranda (1,279 followers)

21. Help For Job/Interviews by Sandra Marsh (1,255 followers)

22. CareerOz by MaxOz (1,238 followers)

23. Job Search by Amy Edgington (1,188 followers)

24. > Resume Board – Infographic Resumes – Job Search – HR- by PinTalk (1,167 followers)

25. Job Search by Jessica Miller-Merrell (1,051 followers)

26. Job Search by The Daily Muse (1,021 followers)

27. Resume by Linda Schilberg (1006 followers)

28. What to Wear to an Interview by The Daily Muse (1,000 followers)

29. Resume by Allison Carter (971 followers)

30. How to Prepare for an Interview by The Daily Muse (951 followers)

31. Job Search for Creatives by Shelley Novotny (942 followers)

32. Job Interview Infographics by Thomas Sullivan (922 followers)

33. Job Search Infographics by Thomas Sullivan (902 followers)

34. Job search fun. by Anna E. Allen (853 followers)

35. Jobs & Careers by San Francisco Public Library (833 followers)

36. Job Interview by Thomas Sullivan (823 followers)

37. Job Search by Marvin Smith, Strategic Talent Sourcing Tech (815 followers)

38. Job Interviews by ClassyCareerGirl Anna Runyan (799 followers)

39. ED – Job Interviews by Kari Lockwood (775 followers)

40. job search by ClassyCareerGirl Anna Runyan (789 followers)

41. Re-THINK! Your Job Search by The Sales & Marketing Connection (710 followers)

42. Job Search Inspiration by FlexJobs (681 followers)

43. Job Interview Tips by FlexJobs (673 followers)

44. Job Search & Interviews by Lisa Dabbs (684 followers)

45. The Job Search by Jim Gray (664 followers)

46. Job Search by Career Step (670 followers)

47. My Non-Traditional Resume by Salah Ahmed (658 followers)

48. Resume by Sarah Griffin (652 followers)

49. Work/Job Interview by Allyssa Banks (639 followers)

50. Social Media for Job Search by FlexJobs (637 followers)

51. job search by Becca Keller (602 followers)

52. Current Job Search Strategies by Heather Coleman Voss (598 followers)

53. Resume by Cecilia Richey (595 followers)

54. Employment by SK (591 followers)

55. Job Interview Fashion by Mai Tran (586 followers)

56. Job Search Resources by Denise Mathews (587 followers)

57. Resume Designs by Wine Scar (528 followers)

58. Job Search infographics by Betsy Wills (527 followers)

59. Resume Tips by Lunova Group (523 followers)

60. Job Search Tips by SimplyHired (512 followers)

61. Job Interview Advice by SimplyHired (511 followers)

62. My Living Resume by Joe Wadlington (502 followers)

63. My Job Search by Katie Felten (492 followers)

64. Job Search & Social Media by Bucknell Career (483 followers)

65. Blog: Job Interviews by Ron Passfield (481 followers)

66. Job Interviews by The Prepary (482 followers)

67. Resume by Giorgio Pia (474 followers)

68. New Graduate Job Search by Simply Hired (468 followers)

69. Resume Building by Kristen Smith (464 followers)

70. Career Development .. Job Search Tactics by d D (462 followers)

71. Job Interview Tips by Queen of Makeovers, Dazzling Dianne Hanks (460 followers)

72. Interviewing for a teaching position by Alicia Eyer (458 followers)

73. Answer Interview Questions by The Prepary (448 followers)

74. Job Search Tip of the Week by The Prepary (447 followers)

75. All About Job Search by Mordi Joel (M J) (462 followers)

76. Job Hunting & Interview Tips by Coach for the Military (421 followers)

77. CV / Resume by Laura James (423 followers)

78. Job Search by The Undercover Recruiter (421 followers)

79. Craft a Better Resume by Job Dreaming (419 followers)

80. Job Search by Maureen Ballatori (416 followers)

81. All Things Resume by EmploymentGuide .com (425 followers)

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Question of the article

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This is a guest post by Katy Heger. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines.

Getting a post-study work permit in a foreign country of choice is easy but different countries have different requirements. Knowing these is an advantage when choosing where to study.

Presented is an overview of post-study work opportunities in the four most popular English-speaking destinations for international students.

UK

Students graduating from British universities have been traditionally entitled to 3 years of post-study work experience. Up until the 5^th of April 2012, this was classified as Tier 1 immigration and virtually everyone getting a UK degree could stay in the country either working or being self-employed.

Starting from the spring of 2012, work permit applications are no longer accepted. Not everyone can now get a “leave to stay,” as the British Border Agency calls a post-study immigration status. The eligibility is now calculated on a points basis and it is the Tier 2 (skilled workers) category that students should apply to. Your command of English, whether you have a sponsor, funds, etc., are now worth points.

The more points you have – the more likely you are to receive a work permit.

If you dig into it a little, it follows from the new points-based system that a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is required. A points calculator on the UK Border Agency website shows that:

• command of English is worth 10 points
• Ability to maintain a minimum of 900 British pounds in your bank account for a period of 90 days is worth another 10 points
• “Appropriate salary” of at least 20 thousand pounds per annum is worth 20 points

Combine that and you have 40 points which is not enough.

It is the Certificate of Sponsorship from one of the British companies that’s worth 30 points and that’s essential to the issuing of a work permit.

Not all companies can sponsor a foreign worker though and that’s where another difficulty lies.

You can learn more about the new points-based system here.

Australia

Australian post-study immigration opportunities are also about to face changes in 2013.

Undergraduate students will be now allowed to stay and work for up to 2 years instead of 18 months. Graduate and post-graduate degree students will be entitled to 3 and 4 years or work in Australia respectively.

Getting a post-study work permit in Australia is easier than in other countries and is subject to less bureaucracy, with roughly 80% of all Bachelor’s degree-holding international students finding employment in Australia after finishing their studies.

This number will only increase following the new policy’s implementation in 2013. Perhaps the country will experience a greater inflow of students from Europe, Africa and CIS states in particular – places where Australia has not yet been established as a popular international student destination.

As of right now, the majority of international students coming to Australian universities are from Southeast Asia, India and Japan.

The Australian immigration system is unique and very different from other countries’. Every applicant is given “an assessment level.” It signifies how likely the person is to break the immigration law. Country of origin, criminal background etc. are taken into account. The higher the assessment level, the more evidence the applicant would need to provide to the authorities.

Learn more about Australian student visas here.

Canada

The Canadian government allows international students to work for a period of time equal to the length of their studies but no longer than 3 years (4 years for PhDs).

Only those who have studied in the country for 8 months or more in a post-secondary college or a university are eligible to apply.

Not all private institutions qualify, and the applicant would have to check with the immigration authorities whether their school qualifies.

No job offer is needed to apply for the work permit. Same as with the United States, a driver’s license and a car are highly recommended, but again that’s only if not living in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver or some other major city.

One unique thing about the Canadian immigration law is that it allows those who have taken the post-study opportunity to obtain the Canadian citizenship. The Canadian government calls this the Canadian Experience Class program.

Learn more about the getting a work visa in Canada here.

USA

The United States, being the #1 destination for international students, has been sticking to its immigration policies for decades now.

Every student completing an American degree is entitled to a one-year Optional Practical Training (OPT) period. Certificate programs don’t count. It has to be either Bachelor’s, Master’s or some other degree that you complete.

If you complete both Bachelor’s and Master’s in the U.S., you are entitled to two OPT periods.

The OPT period can be extended up to 16 months for STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) graduates. No job offer needed to apply, just a recommendation from the head of the international student office at the university you went to. In fact, all respected universities take care of the application process for their students.

The major difficulty is getting the Social Security Number (SSN) and the driver’s license. You would need the former to pay taxes if working and you would surely need the latter unless you are living in one of the major cities. It is in your best interest to get both while still studying by getting an on-campus job and through getting a car early on.

Staying beyond the OPT period is somewhat problematic though. The only way to stay in the country is to get a green card (i.e. permanent residence) or a working visa (H1). The latter is often problematic with a limited number of companies allowed to sponsor international students and with an even smaller amount of companies willing to do so.

Learn more about applying for OPT here.

Conclusion

Countries are now literally fighting for international students.

With their competitors the European universities charging little to no fees, standing out in terms of quality of education and long-term return on investment becomes essential to English-speaking countries.

In the examples of Australia and Canada, we can see how countries update their immigration policies to attract more students from abroad and in the example of the United Kingdom, we can see how a country seeks to control the international student body.

With this in mind, 2013 seems to be the perfect time to jump into the educational systems of Canada and Australia.

About the Author

This guest post was written by Katy Heger, an editor from WriteMyPapers.org. What she does best is writing powerful content.

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In the summer of 2007, JobMob was only a few months old and had less than 200 subscribers. I was still learning how to blog, but I could already see potential. With the idea of having a legal framework to sell services or products through JobMob and any other blogs I might create, I started my company, Share Select Media.

At the time, I was also in a partnership with a Jerusalem-based entrepreneur to create a tech startup that had absolutely nothing to do with job search.

With our idea in hand, my partner and I started looking for funding from venture capital investors (venture capitalists or VCs, for short) but otherwise we kept in ‘stealth-mode’, not mentioning our project to anyone online or offline.

That December, I decided to head to Paris, France to attend LeWeb3 ’07, one of the largest annual tech conferences taking place in Europe at the time, attracting people from all over the world including many Internet celebrities and venture capitalists.

I went to the event with 2 separate missions:

1. Publicly, I was the founder of Share Select Media and looking to meet other bloggers and particularly, companies who needed blogging services.
2. Privately, I wanted to make contacts with as many relevant VCs as possible for my partnership.

As the event approached, I was prepared with business cards and a bright orange rugby jersey with a white Share Select Media logo on the breast and a much larger one on the back. I even had a matching kipa (yarmulke) to complete the standout attire that was guaranteed to not be worn by anyone else, anywhere.

Yet even with all that branding gear, I was sure that I could kick it up a notch. In the days leading up to the event, I wanted to come up with an idea that would really open people’s eyes and be memorable… but nothing came to me.

At first.

Finally, the night before the event opening, the idea came.

After an official kickoff by event founder Loïc Le Meur, the first item on the conference schedule was an interview of Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com, one of the most popular social media networks in the world back then.

Digg was one of the first websites that allowed users to submit links to their favorite articles online, encouraging others to Like those articles enough so that they would eventually appear on the Digg homepage, generating waves of traffic to those sites.

However, it wasn’t called ‘Liking’ back then, it was called ‘Digging’ and to digg an article meant to click a large yellow “Digg button” beside the related article. That button said how many Diggs (=Likes) that article had already received, and the number increased by one with your click.

So what was my idea?

I’ve always loved crossovers from the digital world to the real world, like the space invaders art that appears on buildings around the world.

Well, what if I did a crossover of the Digg button while Kevin Rose was on stage?

Using cardboard, yellow paper and markers, I could make a Digg button that looked exactly like the ones on Digg.com. Then, I could stand off to the side of the stage and hold it up during the Kevin Rose interview, updating the Digg count from time to time, as if people were clicking somewhere and I was taking their votes into account.

When the idea dawned on me, I got nervous right away. I knew it was a good idea but what if the event organizers wouldn’t let me do it? Or what if they stopped me in the middle? Or what if it just looked bad?

Instead of making a great impression on hundreds of attendees, I’d be making a horrible impression on them and during the first minutes of the conference to boot. For the next 2 days, everyone would recognize me as that screwup opening act.

But that’s not what happened.

After debating whether I could really go through with it, I figured- what the heck? At worst, it would make for a great story to blog about in 6 years… yeah, right.

I ran to a local office supplies store, bought what I needed and worked until 3 am when I finally had a Digg button worth bringing to the conference 5 hours later.

Waiting in line to get my conference name tag and other handouts, a number of people started to notice that I was carrying something different than everyone else; not a laptop or briefcase.

Some people recognized my work for what it was and smiled, while one man was particularly curious. After explaining to him my plan, he just said “this I gotta see” and followed me into the main auditorium, down to the first rows.

It was a few minutes before the conference would begin, so I quickly got ready with the Digg Button and a thick marker for updating the numbers. As I was doing so, someone called out “hey, what is that?”

3 rows behind me was sitting Robert Scoble, one of most famous tech celebrities of them all – to this day – notorious for taking lots of pictures wherever he went.

I chatted with him for a few minutes, telling him the idea and he loved it, taking a picture of the Digg Button and me with it (I have no idea if that picture made its way online, but I’d love to find out).

Between him and the guy who followed me in, I was starting to feel like the idea was really going to work.

Then the conference began. Loïc Le Meur welcomed us over a few minutes, and then left the stage for Kevin Rose’s interview with tech journalist Sara Lacy.

That was my cue.

I waited 10 seconds and then got up from my seat, taking the oversize Button and marker with me, walking over to the left side of the stage to place myself in the same location where the digg buttons always appeared online- left of the content.

The stage was a few feet off the ground, so I could easily stand in front of it without blocking what was happening on stage.

I was certain that if I was too distracting from the speakers, security would pull me away. But if I was too far off to the side, no one would see me.

After choosing my spot, I stood there and held the Digg button up in front of my chest and face.

The auditorium was dark with the lights focused on the stage, but the Digg button’s bright yellow paper could still be seen easily. And even though it was blocking my view – it’s easier to do bold things when you can’t see how people react – I could immediately hear a sudden rush of picture-taking and camera-flashing, so I knew that people were noticing me.

The thing is, security also noticed me.

Within a few minutes, a security staff member pulled me to the side and asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was having some fun with Kevin Rose. “You’re not being paid to do this?” he asked. “No,” I answered. He had a quick conversation with someone via his headset microphone and then turned around. “Ok, you can go back, just be careful not to get in the way.”

Awesome.

For the next 20 minutes or so, back in my spot, I would alternate between holding up the Button and flipping it over to update the number appearing on its front side.

The camera crew recording the event loved it too, zooming in and using me for cool angles of the stage, like the shot taken here:

Throughout the first day of the conference, about a dozen people came over to ask me what the story was with the Button.

Two people even thought that I was part of the event production, as if the audience had been able to vote and I was simply updating the vote count as relayed to me by my bosses the event organizers.

Later, that night at the official LeWeb party, Loïc Le Meur was personally welcoming people into the door at the club. When I arrived still wearing my bright orange rugby jersey and kipa, he immediately recognized me and smiled. “What you did this morning? That was awesome. Nice.” So he was the other person on the headset with the security guy who pulled me over earlier… I thanked him for that, and for the event overall.

And the guy who “had to see this”?

He stayed close over the two days of the conference and a few months later, became my first consulting client.

READ NEXT: Thanking: The Simplest Personal Branding Tactic

Question of the article

If this wasn’t the best personal branding story you’ve heard, what was? Tell us in the comments.

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