In Chapter 6, I mention strategies to make your web presence more attractive to Gen Y job seekers. Here are the examples:

Example 1: Remove all photos in the employment area of your website that were not taken at your company, unless they feature your customers or some other company-related event, mission, or project. Replace these stock photos (i.e. the obviously posed cheesy ones where the lighting is just right) with pictures of actual employees doing their jobs and having fun. Here is one example from Enterprise Rent-A-Car: [http://www.erac.com/our-culture/our-people.aspx]

Example 2: Video Gen Y employees talking candidly about what they do at their job on a regular day. Ask them to mention any particularly interesting projects they’ve recently completed, or challenges they had to work to overcome. The key is to not film these in a professional studio but on site, preferably in an employee’s cubicle or work area. The secret is to post these videos on your company’s site and, more important, on YouTube. Why? Because the YouTube video is more likely to be forwarded. You can even have the YouTube video appear directly on your site for free. Here is one of my favorites: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5LMHdHdg_c]

Example 3. Set up a recruiting group or young professional employee group on popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin. Promote this online group as a place where potential applicants can connect with current employees around our own age, as well as meet recruiters to get our questions answered and get exposure to some elements of your company’s culture. Try to use social networks where dialogue is encouraged and where you can also send private replies. Don’t make this group overtly self-promotional; instead position yourself and the group as a 24/7 free career resource. Here is an example: [http://www.facebook.com/ernstandyoungcareers]

Example 4: Create a simple and entertaining introduction to your company.  You can make it a slideshow with a narrator voiceover or, if you’re a big company, show a history of your commercials. Either way, include several lists, such as  “Five Things You Probably Don’t Know About Our Company” (the quirkier the better) or “Ten True or False Questions About Our Company and Industry.” For links to these types of introductions, including one with a welcoming avatar, visit:
[http://www.boeing.com/employment/collegecareers/index.html]
[http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com/About/history/Pages/index.aspx]

Example 5: Post and validate your company’s ethics, values, and mission online.  Gen Y is hugely attracted to ethics. Companies should prominently list their core values and ethics on their employment page and, if possible, their homepage. Even better, post videos or photos of your employees putting these ethics into action. For an example check out… 
[http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values]

Example 6. Offer a virtual tour of your company or a virtual Day One. Remember that Gen Y often decides on our very first day at work if we will stay with a company long-term. One solution: Post a video that follows a day in the life of a new hire and another one that follows someone with three years’ experience. Be sure to show everything, from where we work and eat to what we really do. Virtual tours taken from actual company websites can be found on YouTube at:
[http://www.youtube.com/lifeatgoogle]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPswhOg5-UY]

Example 7. Clearly explain how your company focuses on achieving growth by developing its people. Mention all types of training programs, orientation courses, and leadership development pathways for new hires and young professionals. An effective way to showcase these is to spotlight a few younger employees who have swiftly advanced within your company. Here is an example:
[http://www.pwc.tv]

Example 8. Start an employee blog. On this blog, let employees share what they are doing and learning. This generates lots of new content for your website, which can help with search engine optimization (meaning better search ranking results) and gives your site an authentic feel. For examples of employee blogs visit Microsoft which offers a menu of employee blogs on their website:
[http://www.microsoft.com/communities/blogs/portalhome.mspx]

Example 9. Match potential applicants with your current job openings. You can do this by asking us to input our interests, strengths, education, experience, and so on, and then have our answers automatically match with jobs you currently have open. Or, you can simply give us the option to browse your openings based on certain requirements, such as minimum degree. To make this matching even more powerful, you can follow the lead of Southwest Airlines, which offers job seekers who visit their career website the option to receive an e-mail when a position opens that fits their specified criteria. Check out SWA:
[https://www.swajobs.com/ci20/index.jsp?applicationName=swaExtCI&locale=en_US&seq=jobalert_learnmore]

As mentioned in Chapter 10, here are six tips for better public speaking:

Tip # 1: Write the purpose of your presentation in one sentence. If you’re not 100% sure of your presentation’s purpose, ask the person organizing the event what they want the audience to gain from your presentation.

Tip # 2: Do your homework upfront. Answer questions such as: What do audience members have in common? What are they expecting from my presentation? How will I know if my presentation is successful? I find it helpful to interview a handful of attendees before a presentation (at least one month before) to get a feel for their perspective, goals, and personalities. Sometimes the outcome they want from your presentation is different than the purpose stated by the event organizer.

Tip # 3: Never make more than three big points in one presentation. That’s it. More than three points and the audience will have difficulty remembering your message. If you must have more than three points, create a simple handout or some other tangible representation of your message. This take-home resource will be well received and provide a great post-event reference.

Tip # 4: Practice. Practice. Practice. This is where most people fall short. They read their notes over and over, go through their PowerPoint until their clicker is numb, and re-do the margins on their handout five times, but they don’t actually talk through their speech. Practicing your speech allows you to see if it flows well, makes you more familiar with the material, and will show you how to pace yourself correctly. I suggest practicing once without an audience and once with a friend—even if that is by phone.

Tip # 5: Enhance your presentation through stories and interaction. People want to be part of a conversation rather than feeling “talked to.” Give them a chance to share with the people around them or with you. This also breaks up your talk and keeps people engaged. If you use PowerPoint slides, my rule of thumb: one slide for every ten minutes of talk time. Otherwise, the PowerPoint becomes a crutch for your talk and everyone can tell—that is, if they were awake.

Tip # 6: Ask the event organizer what you did well and two areas where you can improve. The more presentations you give, the more feedback you can incorporate, and the faster you will become a great speaker. Standing Os are just around the corner!

As mentioned in Chapter 11, here are a few links to major industry and professional association listings:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_industry_trade_groups_in_the_United_States]
[http://www.google.com/Top/Business/Associations/By_Industry/]
[http://www.ipl.org/div/aon/]

In Chapter 12, I mention the Emplicity Employee-of-the-Month cars. You can see one of the Emplicity cars on this page. The other one is a Mercedes!

As mentioned in Chapter 15, here are a few communities that are actively engaging Gen Y through the web and social networks: