It is hard to believe that this blog has been up and running for one year today. When I started it back on October 13, 2010, my goal was to have a location where job seekers could go to find the latest networking events, job fairs, career workshops, etc. in the Kansas City area and it has proven to be very successful. In April of this year, I added a page where marketing/web job leads are posted. Since then, I have noticed dramatic increases in the number of views to the blog, especially to the Job Leads page. I try to post new jobs everyday or at least every other day and many jobs that I post come exclusively from area recruiters and some from HR managers at companies that are hiring.
I really enjoy “giving back” to the KC community via this blog in the job leads and networking events I post. In a way, it is my “ministry” to Kansas City. It makes me happy to hear of success stories of when people have been helped by the blog in finding a new job or in connecting with new people at events. Knowing people are being impacted by this blog in some small way really brings me motivation and inspiration to continue to provide info to job seekers.
With this being a special post on the one year anniversary of the blog, I wanted to share a few testimonials from job seekers and a recruiter on how the KC Job Seekers Blog has helped them in the past year. You can read what they wanted to share below.
Job Seeker Testimonials:
“After my graduation from college, I hit the job search pretty heavily and started amping up my social media use to stay connected (and have an online footprint searchable by future employers). An acquaintance sent me a link to the KC Job Seekers Blog via Twitter and it really impacted my searching. What it essentially gave me was an abridged version of what all the other online posting sites had, but only including the ones I found interesting with none of the fluff. It was wonderful! Plus, it got me into the #HireFriday chats, which were super beneficial as the search went on.
Not even a month into my job search, I found a posting on the KC Job Seekers Blog. It was pretty broad and included a lot of the things I was looking for, and directed me to a recruiter. Never having used one before, I thought “what the heck.. if it’s on here, he must be okay” and applied. Best decision I have made. The recruiter was a godsend and made the process simple. I had the job less than two weeks after seeing the posting. Now one of my job duties includes a bit of hiring– and I have started using the blog to find candidates. Thank goodness it exists! “
– Lauren Fournier
“Your blog provides great resources and excellent information which is extremely useful to my job search (and I know a wide variety of KC job seekers). I often discover a number of relevant, up-to-date, solid job leads via your blog which I don’t always locate in my own job search strategy.”
– William Gladhart
“As a Marketing Communications and Branding professional, the KC Job Seekers Blog has been an invaluable resource to my transition. I can count on finding most everything I need in one place, with the list of events around the city to the latest employment opportunities. This Blog has saved me valuable time, and I can depend on the information being up-to-date. Thank you Mark Van Baale for the outstanding work you do on this Blog!”
– Gail Trudeau
Recruiter Testimonial:
“KC Job Seekers Blog is a great resource for anyone looking for a job or looking to hire quality candidates. As a Executive Recruiter in Kansas City I see the value of Mark’s blog as it is another great way to use social media for the good of the people…connecting people and businesses. I just helped two people get employment because they saw my job listing and contacted me.”
– Bill Poindexter, Executive Recruiter
Poindexter Recruiting
I want to thank each of you who have shared this blog with others, especially with those looking for a job. Together, we can work together to get KC back to work.
If you have been helped by the blog in some way, feel free to share in the comments below. I love hearing stories of how the blog has made an impact on people.
Update: This blog is all about contributing to the needs of job seekers who are looking in the Kansas City area for a job. With that said, please let me know how this blog can be improved. Are there things you would like to see on here? Please share in the comments.
Also, please don’t forget there is a Featured Job Seekers page on this blog where you can be listed along with what you are looking for and links to your website, LinkedIn profile, resume, etc. If you want to be featured, just send your info to markvanbaale@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Mark Van Baale