Show me a sign. Traditional methods of written communication still effective

'Free'

It was a rather crude sign. A piece of cardboard, some black spray paint, framed with red insulation tape and one word - 'Free' - boldly welcoming anyone and everyone to take the pile of dirt that I had excavated from my backyard.

I posted an online ad on the Web site of the local newspaper: "Free clean fill - mountain soil, call..." (in Hamilton, mountain soil is a.k.a solid clay).

I had a couple of phone calls, but no takers. My kids, embarrassed by my "rather crude sign," denied living at our house and would pass by with their friends after school and laugh at that guy with the sign in the dirt. Slowly, but surely that sign did it's job.

The visitors included:

• the guy in the light blue mini-van who made a couple of trips to fill his blue boxes
• the two guys in the red car, a supervisor and his shovelling assistant, loading the white buckets (and respectful enough to clean up their mess before they left)
• the guy with the ice chopper who methodically, bit-by-bit, loaded dirt into the back of his van (and didn't clean up his mess)
• the guy with the briefcase, who only needed enough to fill a small plastic cup from inside the briefcase, before continuing his walk up the street
• and finally, the guy who knocked on the door after I took the sign down, only to ask if he could take our last remaining bit of dirt now that the sign was gone

A rather crude sign, but effective.

So much of our communication focus today is technology based...texting this, e-mailing that, tweeting here, and blogging there.

Let's not forget the impact of traditional methods of written communication (he says as he writes in his blog). Although seemingly simple and crude, a hand-written note, a painted sign, or a billboard can still be effective channels for communicating our messages.

Build a door - build your professional network

Milton Berle once said "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

On Friday, Statistics Canada announced the national unemployment rate climbed to 8.4 per cent in May. As the number of people looking for jobs grows, so to does the importance of networking.

Traditional networking methods can not be disputed. In fact, in Career Focus Canada, Helene Martucci Lamarre and Karen McClughan suggest that 70 per cent of jobs found today are through networking. Now, through the use of social media, new opportunities to build your professional network are being created - opportunities for you to build a new door.

There are many social networking sites available that allow you to build your professional network, conduct job searches, and manage your career. I recently set-up an account on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com). Many professionals call it the "business equivalent of Facebook." Here you can provide a complete business profile and invite others to connect with you and view your profile.

Other sites, such as Visual CV (www.visualcv.com) and Virtual Job Coach (www.virtualjobcoach.com), can allow employers to get a sense of who you are. Depending on the individual site, you can post cover letters and resumes, track interviews, or book appointments.

The idea here is not to restrict yourself to the traditional methods of a job search. In the same way that we would incorporate social media as just one tactic in larger communications plan, social media should be considered as one of many tactics in your search for employment - one of many doors that employers could knock upon.