Get Paid to Interview

Egger — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:45:55 +0000

Looking for a new career? Maybe, maybe not. There is a new service available that lets you interview with companies, even if you are not interested in making a move, solely because they are interested in you.

How interested are they?

Enough to pay you for your time.

How much do they pay you?

Your asking price.

Sound to good to be true?

It probably is. I signed up with NotchUp in January and have yet to receive any offers to interview. I also recognize that the job market in my industry and geographic location is not what it used to be. But I’m curious to know if anyone else has received any offers to interview or even has gone on a paid interview.

NotchUp even has a interview price calculator on their site that helps you get an idea of what to ask for. I have set my price slightly below the suggested price and will update this post if any offers come through.

Companies who view your NotchUp profile will see the resume style setup along with your asking price, but not your name. One of the conveniences of NotchUp is that users don’t have to create a new profile from scratch. I was able to import my LinkedIn profile saving me time and the hassle. The site also now offers a Facebook plugin called Resume4Life that automatically updates a user’s NotchUp profile when changes are made to the work experience section of the connected Facebook profile. I’m a fan of privacy, so I haven’t activated this plugin, but if you have please feel free to share your experiences.

A Little Less Social, A Little More Networking

Egger — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:10:09 +0000

So you are already on either Facebook, MySpace, or Friendster (or multiple). These social networking sites have helped you share your interests, pictures, videos, and events with friends (and lets admit it, people you hardly know too!). You’ve stayed up to date with the ongoing lives of the people you have connected to and even stalked a few.

Now What?

Its about time you joined LinkedIn. Its a new type of social networking, actually focused on networking. As important as it is to let the world know your favorite movie is Old School its just as important to let those in your network know the strength of your resume. LinkedIn profiles are built similar to resumes displaying education, past work experience, and qualifications.

In addition to this online resume, LinkedIn has the benefit of allowing users the option to write recommendations for others. These can come in handy when recruiters or other interested parties scan your resume.

This is probably a good time to mention that there are two types of membership. A free membership and a paid membership. I have only explored the free membership and have managed to make 79 connections (Importing my e-mail address book helped me find lots of users). These connections have resulted in 3,000+ contacts that are two degrees away and 267,600+ contacts that are three degrees away. That’s a lot of potential people I can meet!

In order to meet these people that are two or three degrees away, LinkedIn offers free introduction forwarding. I used this once when a friend (Friend A) of a co-worker wanted to get in touch with a friend (Friend D) of mine. So Friend A created a message for Friend D. She then forwarded it to the Co-Worker, who forwarded it to me, and I sent it along to Friend D.

LinkedIn has proven to have endless possibilities when it comes to networking. Its a great tool that I’m sure will grow with new features.