The idea is to take your old business card and scratch out the contact info, replacing it with a new e-mail address along with a story of positive change.

This pretty much tells the whole story, don't you think?

Makes me wish I had kept my business cards, though I’m not sure I have the patience to take a Sharpie to 500 individual cards. How would you tell your story on your old business card?

(Thanks to Sharif Ewees of 28 MEDIA for the link.)

She probably doesn't back up her data.

I can’t help you keep up with the latest software, and I have a post coming up soon about health insurance, but right now I want to talk about backing up your files.

Compared to how things were in the past, backing up is stupid-easy these days. I remember when backing up involved manually writing files to dozens of floppies. In fact, I think I still have those floppies around somewhere. Now both the latest Windows and Mac operating systems have some form of built-in backup mechanism, and there are dozens of services for backing up off site. If you aren’t backing up your computer, start right now.

I do two kinds of backups. I use a Mac with Leopard (OS X 10.5), so I have Time Machine, Apple’s constant backup tool that keeps every version of every file on your computer, forever (or at least until you fill up your external hard drive). With Time Machine, I backup to a USB hard drive. My second backup, which I do less often, is a bootable copy of my hard drive on an external Firewire drive made with SuperDuper.

This may seem like overkill, but I was using SuperDuper before Time Machine came out, so it was easy to just keep it going. The advantage of the SuperDuper backup is that it is bootable. If my hard drive dies, I can boot up to the SuperDuper backup and keep working. Hypothetically. The advantage of the Time Machine backup is that it is super easy (it automatically backs up on a certain schedule as long as the drive is plugged in), and it even protects against accidental deletions because it keeps each version of each file.

If you don’t use a Mac, these options aren’t available to you, or you are worried about keeping an off-site copy of your files, you may want to look into the plethora of online backup solutions, like Carbonite or Mozy. These services usually charge a monthly fee and give you access to your data whenever you need it. There are also services that will back up your data for free and only charge you to restore files.

Whatever method you choose, start backing up your files today.

Tearing your shirt open, however, is not recommended. (Image by Piotr Bizior - www.bizior.com)

The example he uses is The Wasp saying she can shrink, fly like an insect and shoot fire energy blasts. He then explains his theory:

Some fancy marketers might call this a positioning statement or a unique selling proposition. Of course, it’s not that. It’s just her super power.

When you meet someone, you need to have a super power. If you don’t, you’re just another handshake. Don’t say, “Hi, I’m Don, I’m from Cleveland.” Instead, try, “Hi, I’m Don, I tell stories that spread.” It’s not about touting yourself or coming on too strong. It’s about making the introduction meaningful. If I don’t know your superpower, then I don’t know how you can help me (or I can help you).

This isn’t new advice, of course. Usually you hear it described as developing a personal brand (although how you introduce yourself is only a fraction of your brand, but that’s another topic) or having an elevator pitch (borrowed from business networking). But Seth’s brilliance is breaking it down to a level we can all understand.

Unless you are a marketing wonk, your eyes probably glaze over when the branding talk starts. And unless you have sales experience, you probably haven’t ever developed a true elevator pitch. But, even if you have never read a comic, you’ve surely seen a comic book-based movie (or any movie, really), and you’ve seen characters introduced hundreds of times.

When you are networking or applying for jobs, you are playing yourself in your own personal movie. Make the introduction memorable, so the audience can make the connection later in the story.

Up to this point, my introduction has been, “I’m Tony, and I’m a copywriter” (or, “I’m Tony, and I’m a web developer,” depending on who I am talking to). But going forward, I think I need to come up with something more compelling.

So, what’s your super power?

This young man decided to blow off the job fair and have some fun.

The WSJ post references a longer post on the same topic by Peter Bregman on the Harvard Business Review blog. Bregman’s post draws parellels between job hunting and other life pursuits, like finding a relationship or having kids. For all three, trying too hard can be counter-productive.

On an 80-degree day like today, that is really tempting advice. Why not go kayaking or golfing with friends rather than sitting in front of the computer wading through mostly useless job listings applying for jobs you don’t want?

Certainly being happier and more-fulfilled helps you come across better in interviews, and as I’ve mentioned before, desperation is not an attractive trait in a job seeker. I think Bregman has a point.

If you are in a field where you provide a service to companies or individuals, maybe you should take the advice even farther. Stop looking for a job, and start doing good work for good people. Find a non-profit that you can help, and lend your expertise to one of their projects. Look at your portfolio for weak points, and try to find projects to fill in those gaps. That way, you’ll have something interesting to show the next time you get an interview. You’ll also have a great answer to the dreaded question “what have you been up to since you were laid off?”

This small amount of cash is still more than I ever got from the Virginia Employment Commission.

Briefly, for those that don’t know the rigmarole involved in the unemployment dance, an involuntarily unemployed individual can go online and apply for unemployment insurance payments. Once you apply, the relevant government agency sends you a notice telling you how much money you are entitled to each week, which in Virginia is a maximum of $378. What’s that? Not enough to pay your mortgage? Well, hopefully you are married and your spouse has some income, because that is the most you can get in Virginia.

Once you are initiated in to the club of the government supported non-worker, you have to satisfy some requirements to get your payments. I’m sure this is much easier these days, where you can just go online to both apply for jobs and submit your weekly updates to the employment commission. I can’t imagine having to spend my day running around to apply for jobs and then waiting in line at some government office to prove that I did so.

The VEC will not tell you specifically how many jobs to apply for each week. The lovely woman I spoke to on the phone back in November said they avoid telling people a concrete minimum because they want non-workers to apply to as many jobs as necessary to get employed as quickly as possible. From what I can tell, the magic number is three. One problem I ran into applying for jobs is that you need to have a mailing address to get credit for applying for the job. Unfortunately, with so many applications online and with more and more virtual companies lacking strong physical presence, it can be difficult to find an address. I applied for one job and politely received an email that they had already filled the position. But, the company didn’t disclose their physical address anywhere I could find, so I wrote them asking for their address in order to fulfill my unemployment requirements. Can you hear the crickets chirping? I received no response whatsoever.

Additionally, any jobs you apply or interview for through staffing agencies do not count. Basically the system is set up to get you to apply to a bunch of jobs you know you won’t get but that are easy to find and apply for and easy to submit to the employment office. If you get the requirements out of the way in a few minutes on Monday, you can spend the rest of the week looking for an actual job, which often involves things that the employment commission doesn’t see as looking for work.

The other bit of information you have to supply to the employment office every week is the amount of money you earned doing freelance or contract work. After the first $50, they deduct the money from your unemployment insurance payment. Now, I don’t want to brag about my community college accounting course (I did get an A!), but hopefully you are familiar with the difference between cash-based and accrual-based accounting. Basically, many businesses, and apparently the VEC, operate on an accrual basis: cash and expenses are booked when the are earned or incurred, not when the money actually changes hands. Of course, life operates on a cash basis: it doesn’t matter what you earned if you don’t have the money to pay your bills.

Basically, unemployment is just not set up to help float you between the end of your regular paycheck and the beginning of your freelance money. And it also isn’t helpful to bridge the gap between freelance checks. The bottom line is, if you can earn $378 a week (in Virginia, anyway), you may not want to spend the time jumping through unemployment hoops, and instead may want to concentrate on earning as much money as you can in any way that you can.

Please rate your staffing agency.

The top complaint is “[Staffing firm A] isn’t any good because they didn’t try very hard to get me a job. [Staffing firm B] is better.” Of course, then the next person says the opposite. It seems like many people think working with a staffing firm is like having your own personal assistant out there finding job opportunities for you. In reality, the recruiters and account managers at these companies have dozens (or hundreds) of clients, and there are a few things you can do to keep you at the top of their stack of candidates.

Following up with your contacts at staffing firms is important, of course, in keeping yourself on their minds. But, how you follow up is just as important as remembering to do it in the first place. You will get no where if you call to complain about not hearing from them. Let me repeat that: do not call your staffing firm and complain! Recruiters are people first, and they will try harder for you if they like you.

You need to find ways to remind them you exist without annoying the bejesus out of them. One way to do this is to send an updated resume. Any time I make a tweak or add anything to my resume, I send it along with a note about what I changed and why. Another good tip is to look out for job listings posted by the staffing firm (almost all of them have their own site that lists jobs, and they all use the major job boards), and contact your recruiter to let him or (more often around here anyway) her know you are interested. The worst that can happen is they might tell you they don’t think you’re a good fit for that position.

I also occasionally call just to check in and let the recruiter know what I am up to and what positions I’ve applied for. Often I have to leave a message, and just as often they don’t call back. But that’s OK. I don’t need them to call me back if they have nothing for me, but I do need them to remember I exist and to consider me when a new position comes across their desks.

I think this guy forgot to get his information put on his business card. Clearly he doesn't have this networking thing down.

If you hadn’t been networking before you lost your job, you might find it hard to get started. Your first instinct may be to introduce yourself and start asking for work. But, even (ore maybe especially) when you are unemployed, networking is more about showing people what you have to offer than it is asking them to help you.

A quick Google search for “networking advice” yields a whole heap of tips for networking from people far more experienced in it than I am. All these tips aside, it is important to remember to be genuine. I know that probably sounds like corny advice, but it’s also true.

One thing you do not want to do is come across as desperate. If business is like dating, networking events are like singles bars. And desperation is just as unattractive in business. I would leave the talk of financial troubles for when you are having drinks with your friends. Have an answer ready for what you’ve been up to since you lost your job, and remember to put as positive a spin on it as reasonably possible. My stock answer is that I’ve have been fairly busy with freelance, but that I am always looking for more and I am applying to jobs as they become available.