Catch a "Taxi" Job for the Holiday Season and Beyond

In this recession it could take many months for you to get a dream job. During that time you may run low on cash and need to find a job – any job — just to make ends meet. This type of work is called a "taxi" job, intended to carry you over until you get a job that furthers your career. The holiday season is a good time to look for such a temporary job.

Here's an example of how a taxi job worked for one job seeker:

Mark was a Vice President in a major high-tech firm until he got laid off unexpectedly near the beginning the recession. He wanted to stay in the high-tech industry but jobs were scarce, and he wasn't able to find a new job quickly.

To make ends meet, he took a "taxi" job as a sales associate at a high-end men's clothing store. After several months of job searching (while working his taxi job), he finally landed a VP position in a high-tech company.

Taxi jobs come in various flavors.

- Full- or part-time job.
- Contractual position with or without a specified ending date.
- Temporary job gained through a temporary employment agency.
- Seasonal job, such as a retail sales position during the holiday season.

Your resume for a taxi job will likely look nothing like the resume you use for your career goal. It should focus on skills for the taxi job and highlight experience that's related to that type of work. You may even delete information that makes you look over-qualified or that's not relevant to your taxi job.

More on short-term jobs:
10 Companies Hiring for the Holidays
Turn Holiday Job into Permanent Employment
Current Job Not Relevant to Job Objective

Top 14 Twitter Lists for Job Search

Twitter Lists are new to the scene and they're popping up like mushrooms. How can these Lists help with your job search? And which ones should you be following?

What are Twitter Lists?
Twitter Lists are timelines of tweets that you can choose to follow. You can make your own List, or follow someone else's. Many Lists are by topic, such as sports, politics, dating, and -- you guessed it -- job search. A topic may easily have hundreds of Lists to choose from, some of which represent a specialty within that topic.

Simply put, using Twitter Lists is a way to organize how you view tweets. It's an easy way to see what's being said about a topic, even if you're not personally following all the people in the List.

A job seeker might follow one or more Lists containing tweets about job search, resumes, interviewing, recruiting, and other job-related topics.

How to Follow a Twitter List
The best way to get the hang of how Twitter Lists work is to start following a List and see if it's useful for your job search. You can start with my List: SusanIreland/Resumes, composed of people I personally select to be on the List because they offer good tweets about resumes and job search.

Here's how to follow my List:

1. Go to SusanIreland/Resumes.
2. Click the "Follow this list" button, which is just under the name of the List at the top of the page.

You can see activity in that List at any time from your Twitter homepage by clicking on @SusanIreland/resumes under the Lists category in your right nav bar.

Now that you know how to follow a List, check out:

My Top 14 Twitter Lists for Job Search

AlisonDoyle/job-search
ASCCareerOffice/career-stuff
GayleHoward/careers-sector
IUPUI_LHSI/career
JobHuntOrg/interns-new-grads
JobHuntOrg/jobs
Keppie_Careers/career-collective
MalloryBower/career
resumeservice/career-experts
SteviePuckett/career-leaders
SusanIreland/resumes
WalterAkana/career-pros-general
WSJcareers/career-news

If you know of another job search List you want to share, tell us about it as a comment to this post.

If you want me to be considered including your tweets in the SusanIreland/Resume List, send me (@susanireland) a Direct Message on Twitter. (Note: You must be one of my followers for me to respond to you.)

More about Twitter
Here are a few more posts about using Twitter for your job search:

Your Twitter Homepage Is a Dynamic Resume
38 Job Search Hashtags on Twitter
7 Do's and Don'ts for Twitter Job Hunt
Twitter Your Way to a New Job

How to Say "I Do" to a LinkedIn Invitation

We live in a click-happy world. We easily click "Yes" to accept an online money transfer, click "No" to deny a bad date request; then we move on to the next pressing detail of the day. But there's one time when the quick click of the "Accept" button might not be all you should do to say, "I do."

For a LinkedIn invitation with potential for professional opportunity, send a personal email of acceptance.

Here's how to turn your LinkedIn acceptance into an active connection, unlike so many others lying dormant on your LinkedIn contact list.

1. Click Accept in the email invitation to you.

2. Write notes about the person. Go to your LinkedIn Contacts page and find the person's name in your list of contacts. Click on "View & edit details" to bring up a window of your new contact's information. Scroll down and click "Add contact notes" next to the "Contact Notes" heading, which opens a text box. Write notes about how you know this person, what important connections you and he share, ideas for how you might interact with him. and any other points that strike you as relevant. This note section is private -- you are the only one who can read it -- so be liberal with your descriptions and ideas.

3. Check out the person's profile to see how he presents himself. You're bound to learn something factual and get a sense of his personality. On his profile, notice your "Contact Notes" box, containing your comments. Don't worry, no one but you can see this box. While on his profile page, make more notes if you like.

4. Get his direct email and write an email of acceptance. Your email should be short and to the point. You might include an idea for a next step such as sharing thoughts on a common topic, asking if you may quote him in your next blog post, or inviting him to join a LinkedIn group you belong to. Here are some sample acceptance emails to give you the idea:

Example #1:
Hello Susan,
Thank you for sending me a LinkedIn invitation. After reading your blog posts all these years, I feel I already know you. I look forward to sharing an occasional comment or message on a topic we're both concerned about: job search in this recession.
Best,
Sarah

Example #2:
Hello Susan,
I see that you just started following me on Twitter; I immediately became one of your followers. Between our new LinkedIn and Twitter connections, we're going to learn more about our shared advocacy for resume training for the underemployed.
Thank you!
Peter

Example #3:
Hi Susan,
Thanks for sending the LI invitation. Hopefully this will give us an easy way to stay up to date on each other's activities. If I can lend a hand with your job search webinars, let me know.
Best,
Tina

Example #4:
Hello Susan,
I appreciate your inviting me to join your LinkedIn network. I have accepted. Please let me know if you'd like to participate in my job search group. Your voice on resume writing will be welcomed.
See you in the jobs LI groups!
Fred

Writing an email acceptance isn't as quick as clicking a button for an online money transfer or rejecting a bad date request, but it's a relatively small investment of time that could pay off in big network dividends.

Here's what Job Search expert Patricia Frame says about how she accepts LinkedIn invitations:

I rarely accept invitations from those who use the standard email format (except for a few old friends). But when I do accept an invite, I often ask the person if there is something specific I can do to help them. I think this helps personalize the response and it can deepen the relationship that already exists.

Some folks take me up on my offer immediately, others don't. But I get comments about how nice it was of me to offer.

More on LinkedIn etiquette:
Your LinkedIn Profile *STATUS BAR* – Tips for Job Seekers by Brenda Bernstein
LinkedIn Recommendations – Give One Today by Jason Alba
2 Lazy LinkedIn Invitations That Can Burn Bridges by Susan Ireland

Break into the Healthcare Field... Even If You're Not a Brain Surgeon

Healthcare is one of the strongest career fields; and it has a constant need for many types of professionals -- not just healthcare providers. If you're not already in the healthcare field, consider using these tips to break into medical, pharmaceutical, or other healthcare sales.



In this video, Medical Sales Recruiter Peggy McKee tells how to get your foot in the door, even if you don't have a sales or medical background. Here's a quick peek at what Peggy explains:

1. How to write your resume:
Include keywords.
State a clear job objective.
List your technical degree, if you have one.

2. The value of a preceptorship (aka job shadowing)

3. Online and in-person networking tips
Ask your network for introductions.
Say specifically what you want them to do.
Use email (not the phone) to stay in touch with your network.

4. Interview Advice
Research and understand the company.
Answer questions to the interviewer's satisfaction.

If you want to try your hand at medical, pharmaceutical, or other healthcare sales, check out Peggy McKee's many videos. Also see these related posts:

MBA in Healthcare, What to Do With It
Find a Mentor for Your Medical Sales Career
MyMedicalSalesJobs (job board)