toddfugere's blog

Using Twitter for Job Searching

Submitted by toddfugere on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 15:31

One source that people often forget about when looking for a job is Twitter. Most people just think of Twitter as a "waste of time" site that people post what they had for dinner or what they are watching on TV. For some it is, but if you use it right you can track down some pretty decent job leads on Twitter.

If you think about job searching, it's just networking and putting the word out that you are looking. What better place to do this than Twitter?

Where do I Start?

The first thing you need is a Twitter account, obviously. Then you need to find people to follow and you need to get followers. Usually when you follow people, they will follow you back as long as you have some interesting tweets. So spend some time updating your profile, upload a picture, and post some tweets that people might find interesting (news, gossip, tips, jokes, stories, whatever).

The great thing about Twitter, is it's not like Facebook where people want to know who you are. In Twitterland, nobody cares. People just want to build up their following, that's it.

How do I search?

Once you've built up a nice profile, get to know how to use local search, it is going to be your best friend. In the search box if you use location: and then your city, you can find all sorts of stuff. For instance, I did location:minneapolis and it came up with a bunch of stuff for Minneapolis. Now, if I compound this idea and use other local cities in my area, wow things get big quick. Don't forget to do search for location:minnesota as well. I also did searches for abbreviations such as MN, MPLS, etc. Read more »


How to protect against a Computer Virus

Submitted by toddfugere on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 14:56

This is another installment in the IT best practices sermons I've been writing lately.

Virus activity is a big thing that I've seen happen to lots of people lately. People don't realize what a virus looks like or how they get it.

How do I get a Virus?

The first way to get a virus is by visiting a website that may be infected. If you visit a website and you get something that pops up and says you are infected, it most likely is a virus. Recently, viruses have been appearing in the form of pop up windows that are meant to look like a message from your antivurs software. The pop up messages might indicate that your computer is infected asking you to click on something. Many people think that the fake message is legitimate and click on it. By clicking on the pop up message the computer is then infected.

If you see a pop up that says "You are infected, click here to scan" or something similar, do not click on it and close the window immediately. The best rule of thumb is: Do not click on anything that you don't trust. Pop up windows and email attachments from sources you don't recognize can be very dangerous.

You should be familiar with what antivirus software you have installed on your computer. If you see a window or pop up message from something other than your antivirus software stating you have a virus, close the message by clicking the X in the upper right corner. Do not click anywhere on the message.

The second way to get a virus is by opening an email attachment. If you get an email from someone with an attachment, especially if it is someone you don't know, you should not open it. Especially, if the attachment is an .exe or .bat file. If you get an attachment that you need to open, save it to your computer and scan it before you open it.

How can I protect my computer? Read more »


Is your computer backed up?

Submitted by toddfugere on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:55

Working in IT I constantly come across people who have computer trouble. Most cases require wiping the computer clean and reinstalling Windows, this fixes 99% of the computer problems I deal with. However, most people NEVER have their information backed up. Big mistake!

Everyone has something on their computer that they would hate to lose. Whether it is your resume, household budget, pictures of your kids, recipes, music, movies, phone numbers, or even your entire business, you simply must backup your information. You know that old saying "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" most people don't realize this until their computer crashes, then it becomes all too clear.

Why should I backup?

The question is not "if" your computer fails, but "when." Let's face it; Windows will fail at some point. Guaranteed! Things like spyware, viruses, registry problems as well countless other random Windows issues that could render your hard drive completely useless. Hard drives do physically fail, but usually it is something with Windows that gets hosed up. Disaster happens; it may be a natural disaster, fire or even something simple like a game your kid loaded. You need to be ready when disaster does happen, expect the worst.

Think about it for a second, say you logged on to your computer this morning and nothing was there? What would you lose? Would you even know what all was on there? How much would it cost to get everything back? How much time would it take? Would you trust the people at Geek Squad to get it back for you without missing anything?

Can't someone recover my information?

Sure, there are places out there that can do data recovery, but this is very EXPENSIVE. If you do a regular backup of your computer, you can keep your important information safe and it will save you time, money and headaches in the future. Read more »


Don't Rule Out Local Newspaper

Submitted by toddfugere on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 15:23

Often times people get caught up in the online job search. Don't forget to check your local newspaper. Companies will still advertise in these papers. Especially, look at your local community paper, you'd be surprised how many jobs you can find in those. Some of these companies will only advertise in these papers, these jobs may never find their way to the internet.


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