rob’s place

Many of my friends (including myself) are looking for jobs.  It’s a tough time out there and it’s never a bad idea to keep your resume updated anyway.

As for me, yes, we have an Internet consulting business and we’re always looking for new people to help with their Internet strategy.  However, I still look for stability in a full-time job.

Now take this for what it’s worth - I haven’t found a full-time job yet.  But I’m convinced these are the best tools to get there and it’s what I use.

1. Google Docs - Collaborate on your resume

I’ve had several people help me make edits to my resume and as you may know, it’s a pain to type up a document, email it, change it, send it back, etc.  Especially when a few are working on the document.  I’ve used Google Docs on mine and on others resumes because it’s a collaboration.  The thing to remember here is that you don’t worry much about formatting.  Just get the text down.

2. Emurse.com - Post your resume for download

I was very happy to find this free service a year or so ago. You get a web address with a clean version of your resume with some basic but effective formatting.  In fact it can be useful in helping you think in sections for your resume. What makes is a real winner is you can point people to the web address and they can download the most recent copy as a Word document and other optional formats.  I find it easy to type in an intro letter “my most recent resume can be downloaded from http://robwilliams.emurse.com”

3. “Jobsearch” Folder on computer

Often when emailing or filling out online applications they ask you to upload your resume in .doc format.  The way I do it is make sure my resume on emurse.com is the most recent, then download it into a folder I keep called ‘jobsearch’.  Now I know I have the most recent ready to go.  I also keep a file in there with contact information for my references and a copy of a cover letter that I can adjust for each application.  When I take notes at my computer on an interview I file it in this folder.

4. LinkedIN - Network with others and enhance resume

Now that your resume is ready, open an account with LinkedIN and post it there.  You can enhance your profile with links, a photo, and short introduction.  Now you can connect with others you want to professionally network with.  You can also search for jobs posted there, ask and answer questions, and get people to post recommendations for you.  In the settings you can set up a better web address than what you get signing up.  For instance, mine is linkedin.com/in/orangejack.

5. Indeed.com - set up alerts for job searches

There are plenty of places to look for jobs online.  CareerBuilder and Monster are typically the most popular. However, I’ve found that indeed.com has been a bit better.  It searches for job listings across many (most?) job boards.  After you do a search, you can sign up to get daily email or RSS alerts for new jobs indeed finds.  They also have a nifty salary expectations search.

Now of course you’ll need to talk to people and network offline.  I’ve found most opportunities come along when you are out talking and meeting new people.  However, there’s no reason in this day and age to not be using at least these 5 tools.

Have you found any other online tools to be effective in a job hunt?

We got a call this morning from someone saying they are from CR Associates, phone number 877-738-4814.  They said a relative of ours put us down as a contact.  We didn’t know the person but said we’d check it out.

We also did some looking online about CR Associates.  Couldn’t find anything relevant.  So I searched for their phone number and found this listing for (877) 738-4814 / 8777384814.

Just what we expected.  A scam.  My wife called back and the person on the line was very rude, raised their voice, and didn’t want to tell us anything about them.

I called a little later and spoke to a guy asking what their company was about.  He wouldn’t answer my question and twisted my words, then hung up on me.  I called right back and he picked up.  He was mad, and told me I was ‘using the wrong bait to find what I’m looking for’.  Not even sure what that means, but it’s obvious they don’t want to have a conversation with me.  He hung up on me again.

So just so you know, if you get a phone call from CR Associates from the phone number 877-738-4814, just know it’s a scam.  Or at the very least, a company that doesn’t want to answer any questions about who they are or what they do.

There are a lot of tips online for how to get ready for a tropical storm or hurricane.  After going through a few of them myself, I’ve realized there are a few tips that are worth passing along to you.  I’m not going to cover the big stuff like boarding windows, getting medicine, and your hurricane survival kit.  These are the “smaller” tips I learned from my hurricane riding experiences.

For us, the biggest thing we dealt with was power outage.  We were fortunate.  If you have real damage, these tips don’t help a lot.  Everything changes.  But here’s some of the small tips I want to share with you:

• Get your fridge/freezer ready: set the fridge to as cold as it’ll go.  One tip is to freeze bottles of water and put them in both the freezer and fridge when the power is out.  Portion out food so all you need to take out is a portion.  This really helps with frozen food.  Have things you can grill outside (big veggies like squash, meat like burgers/hot dogs) and have a pot and pan around to warm up other stuff on the grill.
• Get your grill ready: have a fresh-filled tank of propane ready or whatever fuel source you need so you can cook without electricity.
• Get your yard ready: I like to have the grass cut so if I have to do cleanup after the storm, it’s easier to move around the yard.  Clear dead limbs.  Bring in patio furniture.  Strap down anything that could fly away (including possibly a screen door (see photo above)).  If it’s sturdy (like a grill), put it up against the house.  You’re trying to eliminate anything flying away and damaging your house or someone else’s.  Make sure you have some good work boots and work gloves for cleaning up the yard later.
• Get your car ready: Fill it with gas.  After the storms we needed/wanted to move around a bit.  It was the only place we had A/C and a decent AM radio for updates!  I like to back them into the driveway if I can’t get them in the garage.  That way it’s easier to drive out.
• Get your batteries ready: Recharge all of your rechargeable batteries before the storm.  I mean, why not?  But it’s easy to forget.  Get your mobile phone and anything else up to full power (even though the cell towers didn’t work after the hurricane).  And be a good neighbor if you find a place open with power - take an extension cord with extra plugs.  Starbucks had power after one storm and everyone was there to recharge laptops, phones, etc.  I took a cord so that a few extra people could charge stuff too.
• Get your lights ready: At night we needed candles - preferably ones that are unscented.  Have flashlights ready - at least one per person.  I also like the large spotlight flashlights that put out a lot of light.  Worth it for moving around at night or in the dark.

One thing we found to be a bit of a blessing in disguise with no power was we got to know our neighbors better.  Everyone was outside grilling, staying cool, helping each other out, sharing water, food, conversations, tools.  If you find yourself in this situation, take advantage to serve your neighborhood!

Time for another Public Service Announcement: Starbucks will be closed Tuesday evening from 5:30-8:30. So what’s a coffee guy gotta do for an evening joe-kick?

Well Dunkin’ Donuts will have 99-cent small lattes, cappuccinos and espresso drinks Tuesday afternoon and evening from 1-10:00.

If you live in San Dimas or Rancho Cucamonga in California, you can stop by Coffee Klatch Roasting for free coffee from 5:30-8:30 pm.

I wonder what a cup of Starbucks on Wednesday morning will taste like.

Anyone in the Orlando area want to join me for a cup Wednesday morning at 8:30? Either Starbucks Waterford, Starbucks at Semoran/Lee Vista, or Starbucks at Goldenrod/University? Leave a comment with your preference.

This is awesomely funny. Six tips from a Starbucks Drive-Thru Barista:

1. Please place your order at the speaker box, this is common to all drive-thrus and it is the same for this one.
2. When I say I cannot take your trash from your car and dispose of it for you because it is a health violation, don’t yell at me.
3. If I ask you “Hi! How are you today?” when you pull up to the speaker, it is really nice if you answer.
4. One person places an order at a time.
5. Don’t get annoyed when I confirm things.
6. If you are a kid and you are playing in my drive-thru, one word, DON’T.

Reading her commentary on these tips is quite the funny.

via Starbucks Gossip

Before I get into this post, I just have to say that I found on amazon something quite humorous. Did you know people sell used batteries on the internets? I had no idea.

Anyway, I’m trying to make a habit out of a few things to do on New Year’s Day:

• Change Batteries: and I mean everywhere in the house. Most importantly are the smoke alarms. Almost just as important are the remote control batteries for our TV, stereo, and DVD player.
• Trash Expired Stuff: mostly medicine, vitamins, and food. Really anything with an expiration date. I just find it easier on New Year’s Day to find expired items. I don’t have to look at the month or day of expiration. I just look at the year! Hooray!
• Backup Computer: should do it more often than once a year, but New Year’s Day is a good time to do it also.
• Watch Football: hey, how did this get so far down the list?
• Bible Reading Plan: I have a plan to read the Bible chronologically. I like that better than cover-to-cover straight through or those plans that have you jumping all around the Bible. Read it like a story in chronological order is much better.
• Clean the Coffee Maker: I mean a good cleaning. Wiping, filtering, just whatever. Get that sucker cleaned up!
• Self-clean the Oven: that is if it’s cold enough. You know, when you lock it down and it gets to like 700 degrees and chars everything inside? Tip: put your cast iron skillets in there during self clean!

Notice that although there are several things listed, they don’t take a lot of my energy. I like accomplishable tasks with minimal effort!

Do you have a checklist for 01-01-08?

If you’re heading down to the Central Florida beaches for the Thanksgiving holidays, think carefully before getting in the water. If the Red Tide don’t get you, then maybe a Man O’ War will.

They are back.

photo via

For some dumb reason we still celebrate Daylight Savings Time here in the US. This year we’re celebrating early. We “spring forward” our clocks tonight — about 3 weeks earlier than most years.

This is causing all sorts of problems with computers and their calendars. Not since Y2K has everything been all nutty with computer clocks.

So, let me try and help you out.

If you have a PC, Microsoft has help.

If you have a Mac, Apple has help.

If you have a Palm, Palm has help.

If you have a BlackBerry, BlackBerry has help.

Best advice: if you schedule appointments the rest of this month, be sure to put in the note of the appointment what time it’s really supposed to be!

Enjoy the new time. Fiesta!

Why does Huey Lewis and the News’ Chicago’s song Does Anyone Know What Time It Is keep going through my head? And am I the only one that confuses Huey Lewis and Peter Cetera?

Probably.

Maybe you know about the true but rare case of exploding water heated in the microwave.

But that’s the least of your worries for microwaved H2O. Especially if you’re a plant.

So don’t reheat your coffee. Don’t boil water in the microwave for tea. And for heaven’s sakes if you slip up and happen to microwave water, don’t give it to your plants.

Give it to the cat.

Thanks to the mysterious “Shawn“.

About a year ago my sister-in-law gave me the following tip:

Make a contact in your mobile phone called “ICE”, short for “In Case of Emergency”. Then put the number of who you’d want them to call.

I did that. Thankfully no one has ever had to use it. But it’s a great idea. I read about this tip again on Lifehacker the other day.

But I realize that this tip only works if most people know about it. So I ask you to:

1. Make a contact in your mobile phone called “ICE” with an emergency phone number
2. Tell others about this concept so if there is an emergency, people will know to check and know what it means

Actually, mine says “ICE - Patricia” so when they call, they know who they’re supposed to talk to!

This has been an OJPSA (OrangeJack Public Service Announcement) ™

Did you know that if you write a letter to Santa and use the Canadian postal code “H0H 0H0″*, it’ll get to Ol’ Saint Nick!

You did know that Canadian postal codes were alphanumeric, right? If not, it’s their “zip code”.

*H0H 0H0 is made up of “h” and “zero”, not “o”.