Ten Top Ways to help a friend find a job – and the #1 Reason to do it!

Here are Ten Top Ways to help a friend find a job – and the #1 Reason to do it! (Re-Post from The Internet Marketing Club.Org )
1. Help them build an online presence. Many job seekers are creating a virtual resume on LinkedIn or one of the big job sites – help them make it really stand out with brilliant copy, great photos and video.
2. Open up your community – Post a note in LinkedIn, Facebook and on Twitter focused on your friend’s best asset and link to their online resume
3. Help them do something unique to get noticed. One woman in Massachusetts purchased a billboard featuring the headline “Hire Me” and a website www.HirePasha.com and she received 300 emails .

Erik Proulx an ex-ad agency copywriter created Please Feed the Animals a blog which has become a community and now he is making a film about the people who have found creative ways to survive (Listen to the great American Copywriter podcast interview to hear this amazing story )
4. Give them a practice interview. Ask your friend to come into your office, interview him/her and give them constructive criticism. Did they arrive early? Did they bring a resume? Was their dress professional and appropriate? How did they answer the tough questions? How did they explain their time out of work?
5. Help them make some money while they are between gigs. There are several online sites that bring freelancers and companies together. We use Guru.com, eLance.com and Rent A Coder when we’re swamped and we’ve had great results. Your friend could set up a profile at these sites and find freelance and contract work working out of their house or the neighborhood Starbucks. Other online money making options include becoming an affiliate and posting Google AdSense links on a blog.
6. Encourage them to create content about something they are passionate about. They can use this as a way to demonstrate their passion and to get the creative juices flowing in-between jobs. Do they like to write, help them set up a WordPress blog. If they are photogenic or an aspiring filmmaker YouTube videos are powerful communication tools.
7. Help them find local meet-ups and job hunting groups. If there isn’t a job hunting group close by – what a great way to become the hub of one of these groups by creating it at www.Meetup.com
8. Share Air Miles if the need to fly to an interview (this tip courtesy of http://www.twitter.com/sistermary )
9. Help them reinvent themselves/see themselves in new light (this tip courtesy of http://www.twitter.com/sistermary )
10. Refer them to a podcast and blog post we did (with the help of our community) where we shared Ten Strategies for Job Hunting in a Recession

The number one reason to help people is that by giving with no expectation of return you will often get more back in good Karma than you could imagine. Get some good Karma in your favor today!