Getting Flamed

March 27, 1997 --- If you broadcast your resume, you will get "flamed".

According to Joe Vitale, Houston net marketing specialist and author of the new book, "CyberWriting: How to Promote Your Product or Service Online (without being flamed)" (AMACOM, $18.95) there are several appropriate ways to handle flames:

1. Remember the new prime directive of cyberspace.
"Write in kindness," says the author. "As long as you soften your heart, take a deep breath, and write a kind message back to the flamer, you will end the flame war, neutralize the flame you received, and make yourself and the flamer feel better."

2. Delete the message before reading it.
"If the header on the message you are about to read says something like 'YOU FOOL!,' you know you are about to read a flame," says Vitale. "You would be wise to delete the message and save yourself the aggravation of reading it."

3. Forget it.
"A fundamental truth in human psychology is that people will defend to the death their belief that they are right," writes Vitale. "You have to be secure enough in your own self-esteem to let the flamer off the hook and not retaliate."

4. Save them for fun.
Did you know that Mark Twain and P.T. Barnum collected crank letters with the idea that someday Twain would write a book about them? Twain never wrote the book, but the idea made receiving those awful letters easier.

Vitale's 180-page new paperback also offers an adapted 1903 secrets for making money online, shows how to write cyber-sales letters and e-news releases, and describes a new formula for writing ads online that get results.

"CyberWriting: How to Promote Your Product or Service Online (without being flamed)" is Vitale's seventh book. He also wrote "The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising" for the American Marketing Association.

"CyberWriting" is published by AMACOM, the book division of the American Management Association, and will be available in bookstores on September 1st. It can also be ordered online at http://www.amazon.com.

Job Security.Com

(March 26, 1997): JobSecurity.Com is dedicated to the proposition that:

• The person who can DO the job should GET the job.
• Your contribution to the company should be rewarded.
• You shouldn't have to choose between your job and your family.
• You shouldn't have to choose between your job and your health.
• Your employer should respect your time.
• The only real job security is the ability to get another job.

What does this mean to you as a job seeker? Simply this: your competition (other job seekers) is giving the customers (employers) exactly what they ask for (exaggerations). Employers won't hire you without exaggerations any more than they would buy a car without air conditioning, radio and decorative trim package. So interview for a job you can DO, then exaggerate to satisfy their outlandish requirements. You'll be doing them a favor -- if they hadn't hired you they probably would have hired an incompetent con man.

Insight Into Recruiters

(March 25, 1997): Take a look at the offering from Byron Leonard International. Of particular importance is their comparison of the two major types of search firms (retained and contingency). The site also showcases their job search strategy, 7 Steps To Success. While you won't find a huge number of opportunities at the Byron Leonard International site, the tone seems to indicate a solid player with an interesting business model.

Top 100 Electronic Recruiters

(March 24, 1997): If you've been following this newsletter, you'll recall that we've identified a group of 100 Websites that represent Excellence in the Recruiting Industry. We've unleashed a new website (it replaces our old Top 25 site) devoted to the exploration of the Top 100.

The Top 100 Electronic Recruiters Website will give you a firm foundation for exploring the web as you look for employment. We've provided single page searching and resume submittal as well as a comprehensive (and standardized) review of the features of each site. We hope that it speeds you job hunt.

More Resources

• Companies with Job Ads (Nearly 1500 Links to Companies and their Job Postings)
• Tools (Everything You need for a Job Hunt)
• The daily newsletters are archived in weekly volumes in the Archives. Past issues include:

Many of the items are also included in the Tools Area. The Web's largest collection of Employment related resources is also included in the Tools Area. -----------------