Vernacularism

The Internet offers huge opportunities for a job seeker, but also presents several possible challenges. It also adds some complexities, and a lot more matters to think about…and be wary of.

Job search needs to be thought of as a personal, highly aimed marketing process where you are the product. Your resume is an ad. Your extended network is your source for information and opportunities.

So where does the internet fit in? At AA-Careers, we just posted a job on a popular job board and got over 650 applications in a calendar week. For a single position. That’s increased competition.

Had a strong person gotten ahold of us before we ran the posting, they could have secured the job before running in to all that competition. How? By finding an employee at our office who became aware of the job prior to posting. Everyone knew of the job for at least 9 days before it was posted. Who in your network might know of a job that’s coming available soon?

Be careful to check your application materials thoroughly before submitting them. When we did an analysis of the 650 resumes, we found a large number of errors. 63% of the applicants were easily eliminated with a fast triage process. How? The same way any HR professional would. By passing over resumes where the objective didn’t match our job. By passing over candidates whose cover letters gave us grounds not to engage them, like "I know I’m overqualified but I really need a job". By eliminating candidates whose documents that didn’t open properly. And by passing over job hunters who didn’t bother to spell check their cover letter and/or resume.

So the good news is that job boards give you a sense of what companies are hiring, and for what kinds of positions. But once those jobs are posted, the competition is intense. You can still compete, if you have a well honed resume, designed to appeal directly and clearly to the recruiter. And if you have practiced interviewing – so you don’t stumble at a critical point.

Another thing to be aware of is how quickly you can be checked on on the internet. As we Googled several candidates, we ran into some Facebook comments that were in questionable taste. Nothing illegal, but enough to rock our thoughts about who to choose.

AA-Careers provides a comprehensive set of services for Bay Area job seekers, providing our clients a personal career consultant, a managed job hunting campaign, modern tools like a personal website, video, highly targeted resume, and much more. Let us know if we can help you.

Be careful out there, and good hunting!

So you’re excited about buying a treadmill. You’re looking forward to having a premium piece of fat-burning equipment available to you 24-7 at your convenience.

Rain, snow, sleet or hail, it doesn’t matter because you’ll be able to workout anyway!

But wait a minute - there’s so many treadmill brands to choose from!

And why are there so many differences of opinion?

If you’ve read many treadmill reviews in your search for the best treadmill you may have ended up a little confused:

One person swears by their Proform treadmill; another says it’s a piece of junk. One expert loves Nordic Track; another expert wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole.

How are you supposed to make a smart decision with so many conflicting opinions?

To help you out, here are the top 3 things to keep in mind when reading treadmill reviews:

#1) Consider this: It’s just ONE PERSON’S opinion.

People have different opinions on everything from movies to ice cream to cars to cities. Someone prefers Honda to General Motors. Another person prefers Dell over IBM.

That doesn’t mean that one thing is necessarily better than another, it just means somebody has a preference for it.

So just because you really want to buy a Landice and one person may not agree with you doesn’t make it a bad buy for you.

Keeping an open mind is always a good thing and listening to other’s peoples’ reasoning behind their decision can help you with your purchase.

But in the end it’s your choice and it’s YOUR opinion that matters.

Just because somebody doesn’t like what you like, that doesn’t mean you are going to make a bad decision. If your treadmill has everything YOU need, then that’s what’s important.

#2) Consider this: Who’s writing the review?

I’ve read so many ‘user reviews’ on treadmill websites that are clearly NOT written by a normal treadmill buyer.

The lingo smacks of a treadmill salesperson. And while I’m not making any accusations here, when a treadmill buyer writes something like:

“Let’s look at the features of the ABC treadmill and see what they mean to you…”

or

“The XYZ treadmill offers an Optical Speed Sensor used in combination with the PWM motor controller to produce the smoothest speed changes. The optical eye actually counts the revolutions of the motor directly at the axle…”

I get just a little bit suspicious.

If the review sounds a little too much like a treadmill brochure, take it with a grain of salt.

(That doesn’t mean that the quality of the treadmill is bad or good, mind you. Just make sure you don’t base your decision on those reviews alone.)

#3) Consider this: Flukes DO happen.

Even the BEST treadmill manufacturers sometimes make a dud. Nobody has a 100% customer satisfaction rate ALL the time.

And unfortunately, it’s usually those people that have had BAD experiences that leave nasty reviews of their treadmills.

They have every right to do this of course. Hopefully the treadmill manufacturers read these reviews and do something about them.

But keep in mind that one bad review doesn’t prove it’s a low quality brand just as one stellar review doesn’t prove it’s a high quality brand.

The Bottom Line:

Trust your own decision.

If you’ve taken the time to research treadmills, chances are you know what makes a quality treadmill.

Don’t let one person’s opinion ruin the fun of getting in shape with YOUR choice of home treadmill. Good luck and have fun!

Treadmill Reviews is a consumer oriented website focusing on the home treadmill market.

For weekly best buys, brand reviews, and money-saving links go to http://www.TreadmillReview.net.

With all the workout programs out there to choose from… how do
you determine if the workout program you choose to follow will
be successful in producing long term physical improvements?

Quite frankly, if your idea of physical activity is getting off
the couch to go to the kitchen during commercials… then any
kind of training program whatsoever should produce some positive
results.

At least in the beginning.

But when the novelty of the workout program wears off and the
improvements start to become few and far between… most people
just give up and return to the unhealthy lifestyle habits of
before the workout program.

Choose your successful workout program wisely by adhering to
these four criteria.

A successful workout program must be…

1) effective in getting results 2) interesting enough to hold
your attention 3) modifiable to your goals, needs, abilities
and limitations 4) sustainable over time

If you follow a workout program that is not designed to improve
performance and proven to get results, that is boring to the
point that you don’t want to do it, that is a cookie-cutter
program that does not specifically address your goals, needs,
abilities and limitations and that is unsustainable over time…
That workout program will ultimately FAIL to produce any long
lasting physical benefits.

Let’s look at these criteria a little closer…

Effective Nothing will stop you from continuing your workout
program faster than failing to get the results you seek.

You train hard so that you can see, feel, experience, and enjoy
the benefits of strength, conditioning and fitness improvement
while applying those benefits to sport, work and life.

If your workout program does not provide this… what’s the
point of doing it?

Interesting Let’s face it… most physical training workout
programs are just plain boring.

At first you are determined to succeed… then it becomes forced
labor… then you are bored to tears with the thought of going
through the workout program one more time… and finally you
just quit all together.

And after all… you probably weren’t getting the results you
wanted for all your hard work anyway!

And as we all know, any workout program is only effective if you
actually do it.

If you are bored and disinterested… you will FAIL to reach
your potential and meet your goals.

Modifiable Every individual has different goals, needs,
abilities and limitations… And these factors must be reflected
in the workout program for it to be successful.

A cookie-cutter type program that is not geared toward your
specific success is doomed from the beginning.

In order to deliver long lasting physical improvements, the
program you choose must be based on proven training
principles… but also be modifiable to you.

A workout program that works for someone else might not work for
you… and what works for you now might not work for you in the
future.

Physical fitness success is a journey… not a destination.

Sustainable There are a lot of workout programs out there to
choose from.

And some of them might actually work… for a while!

If you follow the workout program to the letter you will see
some results… but will the prescribed workout program become a
part of your lifestyle?

If not… the benefits will disappear as soon as you stop the
workout program.

And if you are not going to enjoy long term benefits from all
your hard work… is the workout program worth doing?

In order to discover a successful workout program you must find
one that will become part of your lifestyle.

And as your goals, needs, abilities and limitations change over
time… your workout program should also.

In conclusion When looking for a successful workout program…
use your common sense.

Don’t be fooled by pop culture hype, pretty fitness models,
unrealistic claims and marketing tricks.

Ask yourself these questions…

Will that workout program really work for me?

Is that workout program interesting and diversified enough to
become part of my lifestyle?

Is that workout program modifiable to my goals, needs, abilities
and limitations?

Is that workout program sustainable over time?

If you answered yes to the above questions you are well on your
way to discovering a successful workout program that will
provide a lifetime of strength, conditioning and fitness
improvements.

Now that sounds like a workout program worth doing!