Greetings All,

Nothing like a fall evening with good tunes, a computer, and one day away from the weekend.  I am cleaning out my inbox and getting ready to tackle some new resume revisions, and I am stunned.  Is that what I think it is?  Is the person who sent me this email really serious? Surely, I am not meant to be included in this mass email. As a result, I am so inspired and under whelmed, this calls for a new blog post!

When I write these blogs, sometimes I believe I have covered it all, or someone else has covered it all - not tonight. I am confident I have found a new topic to share.  This has happened not once this week, but twice.  Two wanna-be search candidates and should-be resume clients sent me spammy emails.  Envision the really bad kind of emails that are trivial and juvenile... like rampant beg bug reports and cute, little ditties sung to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies.  Really?

If you are looking for a new job, these are RaveResumes' new rules  -

1. Please don't spam the one person in this world, who will take the time to help you pull your employment search out of the gutter.  On a serious note, if you want to keep your name top of mind, do it with valuable information. Don't bank on a mild manner VP or that your recipient actually wants to receive more junk email.

2. Be credible and noteworthy.  Definitely don't send cutesy or inappropriate email to someone you don't know very well.  Just because you had an interview with a manager or someone accepted your Linkedin invitation, doesn't mean you need to add them to any distribution list. Newsflash - never send email to your entire address book without utilizing the BCC line.  Enough said.

3. Take it to the next level; be the expert.  This is accomplished by reading industry articles, visiting leading online resources, and following market leaders.  Ask yourself if this is a new material or if the information is already stale.  Forward articles that are exciting, thought provoking, and discuss market trends.  This shows you are a big thinker and understand current market conditions. *Ding ding*

4. Ask the best way to stay in touch. With Linkedin, Twitter and all the other social media outlets available, ask permission if it is okay to connect. As a job seeker, it can be difficult to maintain a professional image, so be careful out there in the cyber world. Personally, I don't care for job seekers or job promoters on Facebook, and I want to keep all my LinkedIn contacts professional.  Know what you are doing before you dive in and scrape your lip or worse, bust your chin.

Generally speaking, email is a great way to stay in contact, but it must be done professionally and appropriately. If not... "delete" and "block sender."   Game over and thank you for playing.

Happy Hunting!
Leigh