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Business & Tech

Seminar: How to Use Social Media to Hunt for Jobs

'Absolutely Abby' offers career tips at free event at Cornerstone Christian Church

Anyone looking for gloomy economic news need not dig too deeply among the national media. However, one New Jersey career expert says it's best to ignore the news when looking for work.

"You only have to go out and find one job," said Abby Kohut of AbsolutelyAbby.Com, a site dedicated to offering job seekers and the unemployed tips on how to land the next job. "And that job is for yourself." 

Kohut will be sharing her career-finding strategies at a workshop at Cornerstone Christian Church on the corner of Russell and Wyckoff avenues on Tuesday.

Tuesday's program at Cornerstone, titled "Using Social Media to Help You Win the Gold," will feature a discussion on the application of online tools (such as LinkeIn, Twitter, and Facebook) to help prospective job seekers network and explore opportunities.

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Many religious organizations are offering workshops to members of their congregations, Kohut said. 

"My assistant and I have been contacting churches offering our program because the churches help the unemployed and give their members and attendees support," she said. "Considering people like me who offer these seminars do it for free, there really is no reason for a church not to offer this."

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According to Kohut, the key to finding a job is as simple as knowing how to market yourself and "do something different," she said. "As a recruiter, I continue to see job openings but no one filling them."

Though it may be jarring for some to hear, if an individual used to be a vice-president and the only job open is a position at Home Depot, Kohut would "recommend taking it."

Differentiation in the marketplace, she said, is key. "If the crowd is going right, you go left. You not only have to think outside the box, but you have to think outside the world." 

To emphasize this, Kohut explained she spoke at Cornerstone Christian Church back in November and offered the following tip. 

"I told people to fax their resume," she relayed. "No one faxes them anymore because they e-mail their resumes instead."

Though some might find the suggestion archaic in today's hyper-electronic business climate, one person took her advice. It paid off.

"A few weeks after I spoke in November, I received an e-mail from a woman who attended the event. She took my advice and faxed her resume to the office of the president of the company. He read it and took it down to the human resources recruiter and asked the recruiter to set up an interview with the woman," said Kohut. "The woman was interviewed, and she ended up getting the job." 

Kohut has been offering such tips throughout the New York metropolitian area, a list that includes appearances at more than 100 businesses and organizations, as well as interviews at a number of New York-area radio stations.

According to her biography at Absolutely Abby, in the past 15 years she has held positions such as Senior Director of Recruiting for Kaplan, Interim Director of Recruiting for Continuum Health Partners, and Manager of Global Recruiting for Alpharma. Kohut also offers bi-weekly "Career Wake-Up Calls" on the site in addition to her regular articles. 

The author of two books ---"Absolutely Abby's 101 Job Search Secrets" and "Absolutely Abby's Top 12 Interview Questions Exposed"---  Cohut aims to teach candidates the secrets about the job search process other recruiters won't share. Her second seminar at Cornerstone in the past year, the event is sure to be informative, and who knows -- it may even help you land that big dream job.

The seminar is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://ccn5.eventbrite.com/. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.

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