This post was originally published on Keith Petri’s Blog. Keith Petri, the founder of eBranding Me, is a graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. His studies in business, economics and studio art along with strong passions for marketing, technology and entrepreneurship led him to his current passion for social media and strong understanding of the new rules of networking. Through his prior entrepreneurial pursuits, recent blogging and extensive networking, Keith has seen the need for educating his peers on creating a positive online presence. eBranding Me is the culmination of his efforts.

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Keith Petri published the following post on his person blog yesterday. In it he discusses how professionals can continue to grow their networks and learn from their peers by utilizing a new service: oHours. However, the eBranding Me team believes this incredible service could be “taken advantage of” by job seekers. Whether you are still enrolled in college searching for the perfect summer internship or a recent graduate still trying to secure an entry-level position, oHours will allow you to connect and meet with some very successful individuals from varying industries. Check it out…

Nate Westheimer is a serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor based in New York City. With years of experience in new age technology, ranging from the entertainment industry to working as a Technical Strategist for National Public Media, Nate’s skill and experience is highly valued. Realizing this, Nate decided to offer 1.5 hours of his time each week to meet new people who he otherwise would not have. Continue Reading »

In early October, Brazen Careerist, an online network of young professionals, launched a unique function: Network Roulette.

The plug-in, aimed at helping users build and manage their network, is described by Brazen as “online speed dating that’s actually useful!”

The concept is simple, combine a real life networking event – elevator pitches and all – with online networking, add a touch of speed dating, and the result: Network Roulette. Each of the 400 participants logged on to the BETA session and answered two simple questions in less than 140-characters:

1. What are you looking for?
2. What are you providing?

Continue Reading »

Web 2.0 has created online conversations between businesses, customers, friends and family. The Internet was once used as a one-way communication tool, but has transformed into an opportunity to communicate one-to-one and one-to-many. Social networking websites have lead to the rise in popularity of Question/Answer communities.

From Quora to Yahoo Answers to the highly anticipated Facebook Questions, there are many resources for people to turn to with their unanswered questions. Well, hired4sure has been gaining popularity among the unemployed as the resource for job interview Q&As. 74% of job seekers are interested in learning best interview practices. So hired4sure’s directory of interview questions (both behavioral and technical), are a valuable resource to review. Continue Reading »

The current job market is very poor. Career Coaches and industry experts have been throwing around statistics stating there are anywhere from 5-8 qualified individuals applying for each open position. The last thing a job seeker needs is a social media blunder to ruin his chance of securing employment.

eBranding Me released its Reputation Index as a fun, and social, tool to determine how compelling an individual’s social media presence is. The results of a query returned three results:

1. Enrollability: College admissions staff likes to see evidence of initiative, passion, and drive in pursuing your goals. Our algorithm works hard to find initiative and positive thinking in your online presence, since we know how big a difference those make to your college admission chances!
2. Hireability: Because employers value initiative, positive thinking, and hard work, that’s exactly what we track. eBranding Me’s algorithm automatically determines positive (and negative) sentiment, popularity, and passion. We try and figure out if a lot of people are impressed (or not!) with what you’ve accomplished online, and weight that by how frequently people talk about you. The more passionate people you have talking about you, the higher your score!
3. Dateability: We know the first thing some people do these days is Google (or Facebook) the name of their prospective amour. We have tried to simplify that search into our Dateability score, which tracks whether or not a person has a good reputation and a loyal group of friends. We figure that people who have those attributes will be better to date – so the higher your score, the more attractive your online reputation!

However, the team over at MyWebCareer has built a tool that has practical applications and actually reads your personal Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles to determine Your Career Score! With research showing a staggering 83% of recruiters turning to social media websites and online search engines to research job candidates in 2011, it is more important than ever to control the information published about you online!

“Your Career Score provides insight into how colleagues and employers perceive and evaluate your professional competencies and achievements. It is refreshed each month, and you are notified of any changes and actions you should take to maintain a strong and positive career brand.” Continue Reading »

“You want that new job so badly, and the big interview’s booked. But when the recruiter types your name into an online search engine, nothing comes up. Will they hire you if they can’t find you on the Internet? Host Tory Johnson and others answer the question this week on Job Hunt.”

Tory Johnson, a well-respected television personality with experience working for both ABC and NBC, is a New York City local with the motivation to improve other people’s lives. Tory is a workplace contributor on ABC’s Good Morning America, successful author, entrepreneur and founder of Women for Hire: “the first and only company devoted to a comprehensive array of recruitment services for women, Women For Hire offers signature career expos, inspiring speeches and seminars, a popular career-focused magazine and customized marketing programs.” Continue Reading »