VisualCV.com gives you the chance to build a unique web portfolio - a richer, more compelling version of your traditional paper/Word resume. You can add graphics, documents, audio and video files and go from telling about what you’ve done to showing… and selling.

The site recently held a “best VisualCV contest,” and not only are the winning entries inspiring, they have also led to job offers!

Oh… and the best part? You can build and host your VisualCV for free. No fees, no ads, no sponsorships.

I have been affiliated with the company since the planning stages - I’m on the advisory board and I wrote an “Insider’s Guide” for creating a powerful VisualCV. (It’s a free download.) So yes, I guess I am biased! But I haven’t seen anything that comes close to the ease and value of this free portfolio service. Not to mention the other value-added benefits that include connecting with employers, recruiters, and others.

Kathy Simmons over at Netshare has an insightful post about the importance of “niche networking” in your job search. I love the analogy to the “Long Tail“concept… how, in our increasingly individualized society, people are looking for “one thing” (not “anything”) and can easily find it.

Just as you should use niche networking, be sure you are “niching” your career goal. Know precisely what you do best, where you can bring the most value, and the environment in which you can excel. Then, target your search toward those opportunities - and don’t settle for less! There is a perfect (or near perfect) fit for everyone, but only by clearly establishing those all important fit factors ahead of time will you be able to (a) look for it and (b) know it when you find it.

Wow, what a concept: Subject Presidential candidates to the same intense, rigorous examination that executives go through during the interview process. In perusing the list of leadership questions assembled by the Center for Public Leadership (Harvard/Kennedy School of Government) and The Ken Blanchard Companies, I noticed that many of them are behavior-based questions, framed like this:

• Tell me about a time when…
• Give me an example of…

As I wrote in my book, How to Choose the Right Person for the Right Job Every Time (McGraw-Hill, 2005; Lori Davila, co-author), behavior-based interviews have been proven to be measurably more effective than conventional interviews. In one study, conventional interviews led to selection of the best candidate just 19% of the time, while behavior-based interviews boosted that rate to 75%!

The power of behavior-based questions is that they require candidates to provide specific, relevant examples from past experience that demonstrate the competency that is being sought. With this type of question, candidates can’t get away with the same old “stump speech” or provide a non-answer - as politicians are so adept at doing.

As a candidate, you can boost your interview performance by preparing behavior-based responses - brief stories that describe the Situation, Action, and Results you took in a variety of challenging circumstances throughout your career. Your specific answers will be much more memorable and credible than many candidates’ vague, general, or memorized “canned” responses.

Now if we could only get the political candidates to do the same thing…

Sometimes when you read/hear advice from us career “experts,”  you probably say to yourself, “yeah, but what do they know? When have they ever been in career transition?”

But here’s the story of one executive who lost his job and - with a great attitude, discipline, and determination - launched himself into a job search that was quickly successful. His advice is, in my opinion, spot on - and probably a lot easier to take than the pontificating of the “experts”!

OK, you’re fired up to “network” to kick your job search into high gear. But what, exactly, do you do? Whom do you call? What do you say? My friend and colleague Debra Feldman has written an outstanding post over at CareerHub about how to “Network Purposefully.” This is a great start and will give you a clear sense of direction and many concrete steps.

But before you launch into action, be sure you are ready with the right weapons: a compelling message (what you’ll say when you call) and a powerful resume (to reinforce your message and lay the groundwork for further discussion).