I recently read an email newsletter from Daily Worth (a blog geared towards women that talks money) – Want a New Job? Ditch That Old Email.

In the article the author sited a source that stated:
“If an applicant applies for a job with us and is still using Hotmail or Yahoo for email, they’re immediately eliminated,” one successful CEO said.

While I do agree that employers and recruiter, will use whatever they can to cull thru the large amounts of resumes they receive in the economic downturn; this method is crap. An uncool domain how ridiculous is that. I know people who still have AOL email addresses. Why? Because they’ve used them for years and don’t want to switch over. It is a hassle.

With so many email services out there at some point they will all become uncool. I’m an advocate for getting your own domain even if you don’t put up a website. It’s cheap and easy to do. You can get your own name and in most cases still use the email services you already use. Gmail for example allows you to send and receive email from an external domain.

Seriously who wants to work for a company that eliminates potentially great candidates because of the domain they are using for their email. It says more about how superficial they are than anything else.

Typos, sloppy grammar and a host of other things I can see as legitimate reasons for eliminating candidates but an uncool domain?! Someone said it perfectly:-
This is ridiculous. Really, truly, ridiculous.

A Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL email address could signal that you’re not exactly tech-savvy—or not comfortable with change. Gmail (or a personal domain) is considered leading edge.
Source: Daily Worth

Get real. People who are not tech-savy use Gmail. Changing your email address is a hassle if you’ve been using it for years. And not every service makes it easy to export your contacts. If you’re worried about companies that take part in this ridiculous practice get a personal domain. You’ll never have to worry about your domain being uncool…your name will never be trendy. Well, unless of course you get famous.

“The most powerful force in business isn’t greed, fear or even the raw energy of unbridled competition. The most powerful force in business is Love. It’s what will help your company grow and become stronger. It’s what will propel your career forward.” – Love Is The Killer App by Tim Sanders

The chart below is the U.S unemployment rates from 1990 – January 2011. It’s no secret that the numbers have been hovering around 10%. Rates are higher in some states.

U.S Unemployment Rate © Google, 2011

About 40% of people find jobs through their network. Showing some “love” or playing the networking game is a full-time job. It’s like a garden it needs attention and not just when you need help…especially when you’re job hunting. People who wait till they need something before cultivating or paying attention to their network are parasites.

According to Allison Hemming of The Hired Guns in her book Work It! wrote -
The best networkers are people whose enthusiasm for meeting other people and learning about them is driven by genuine interest, not hard-nosed agenda of maximizing the short-term return on every encounter. They know that every exchange is a two-way street.

Develop a keep-in touch strategy if you aren’t naturally good at maintaining connections with others or just find it hard to fit into your schedule.

If you’re already on social networks. Ask yourself how you are using them.

For example if you use LinkedIn start creating tags for the members of your network. Put notes about the person when you connect… be it where you meet them, or anything you feel that’s relevant for that connection.

Gist provides the only full view of the contacts in your professional network by creating a rich business profile for each one that includes the most news, status updates, and work details. Gist is a Social CRM and Online Contact Management system.

Other tools to try are :-

• BatchBlue – Turn business cards into Batchbook contacts, generating invoices, sending email newsletters or simply syncing your address book
• Zoho CRM
• HighRise – Store every conversation, email, call, meeting, document, and deal you’ve ever had with a contact. If you have less than 250 contacts HighRise has a free plan. Great for an individual or solopreneur.

Don’t keep your relationships digital. Handwritten notes or small gifts are great. Don’t wait until someone does something big, show your gratitude regardless.

The current unemployment rate is approximately 9.5% for the entire United States. Rates for individual states may be higher or lower than the national average. In 1990, the unemployment rate was around 5% to say a lot has changed is an understatement. Since then there have been wars, various natural disasters and other economic turmoil. There are a lot of people either unemployed or underemployed. People who have stopped actively looking for work aren’t included in the unemployment numbers.

(c)iStockPhoto/hohojirozame

There are lots of ways to look for work. Most jobs are found using one’s personal network. But speaking from personal experience I would say that isn’t always the case. The more avenues you have to fulfill your goal of getting a job that you like the better.

If you’re in search of a job, Indeed’s Job Search app is the way to go. Free, the app searches multiple job boards and web sites, concentrating your search efforts from a single location. Save your searches for later access, drill down your search by location, and pick which ones are worth applying for.

Careerbuilder.com has a free application that enables you to search for a new job from wherever you are, and has the full functionality of the Careerbuilder.com website.

iJobs which costs only 99 cents from the Apple App Store allows you to get access to a variety of jobs from many different locations.

UpMo is a job hunting, networking, career managing site – a one-stop solution to accelerate your career. Or at least that’s the tag line.

Upmo costs about $5 a month and comes with a 30 day money day guarantee. So you can try before you commit. Upmo provides a structured approach to a job search and provides an action plan to get you the kind of career you desire.