Watch out for clickable smiley faces people leave in comments. When I was checking comments the other day I almost approved one because it was a nice comment and they didn’t even leave a link to their site or at least there wasn’t a visible one until I ran my cursor over all the words and hit the smiley face at the end and there it was. I was surprised that someone could do that needless to say that comment went straight to Akismet.
The link wasn’t a very nice link and to think I almost let it slip pass really ticks me off at how sly people are getting with their spam comments. I’m sure in future they may come up with something that will slip past and that’s a shame because most people don’t even check something like a smiley and I have no clue why I did this time, but from now on when I see one I’ll be sure to run my cursor over it. I’ve been getting so much spam lately that I”ve just been hitting delete.
I use to go through and check for legitimate comments, but with all the trash I see I stopped not that I’m a prude, but it’s so boring to see all the repetitious crap. It would be so nice if it would stop, but I doubt it ever will. There for awhile I was getting funny spam, but that seems to have stopped. I can’t believe how many spammers actually take the time to register for this blog because they think they will be able to post comments. I usually go in and delete all those periodically.
Have a nice hump day and make sure you check those smileys before you approve your comments. I now have comments set so that after the first approved comment that person can now leave unmoderated comments. I’m hoping no one leaves a nice comment the first time then starts spamming if that happens then I’ll just switch back to moderating every single comment. If you leave comments and don’t see them then that means they slipped into Akismet somehow and got deleted.
I’m sure many people know where to test their site to see what your loading time is, but many people that are just starting a site or blog do not. I know how exciting it is to start your own blog, but many people get carried away and think the more stuff they add the better it is. Of course after you start running into other blogs that take forever to load you might realize that it’s because of all the graphics and music and videos plus all the fancy widgets for everything under the Sun.
If your blog doesn’t load fast enough you may be losing a lot of visitors. We are an impatient lot or at least I am because when a blog takes too long I simply close the tab even if it was something I really wanted to see. Of course if you are doing EC drops and opening numerous tabs at the same time you can expect a delay with some of the blogs and because everyone likes all those fancy doodads and ad units they will sometimes stall your browser and then you have to reboot.
I don’t really have a lot of widgets compared to many blogs and I did remove a lot of useless garbage awhile back it now loads in 9.1 seconds and for those of you that don’t know where to test the loading time of your blog or site you can use the tool at Pingdom and the following is how they describe the tool. “The Full Page Test loads a complete HTML page including all objects (images, CSS, JavaScripts, RSS, Flash and frames/iframes). It mimics the way a page is loaded in a web browser.”
I’m sure you will find this to be a useful tool, I know I did so now I need to test all my other sites and blogs to see what I can get rid of. Happy faster loading and blogging.
Many people lost their jobs when their companies were downsizing and closing up and for many that have been drawing unemployment that too is about to run out. Many will be forced to find other positions and seeking a new job is very stressful, it would be of benefit to you if you could take a job search workshop. I have blogged in a few previous posts about my experience and the things I learned which really helped me.
Okay, you put your application in and now you’re going for the interview. How you prepare yourself for that interview is very important and can be very stressful and you will be feeling nervous and want to make a good impression. Always be prepared for some tough questions. Try to keep the following tips in mind and go over the checklist below so you will be ready for the questions most likely to be asked.
I know sometimes my mind goes blank when asked a direct question even if I know the answer, but if you know what may be asked you can be more prepared.
- What can you tell me about yourself?
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses and limitations?
- Why are you seeking employment with our company?
- Why are you seeking this type of position?
- What previous experience do you have that relates to the job here?
- If I called your former employer what will they say about you?
- How have you shown initiative and willingness to work in the past?
- What are your plans for the future and do you intend to stay here longer than 6 months.
- What wage are you expecting to make?
- Tell me why we should hire you?
Also be prepared for the one question you are afraid of that might be asked and try to think of a positive answer that the potential employer might accept. Be prepared, I can’t stress that enough cover all your bases.
I know most companies use pretty set questions so be prepared and write your answers down so you can have them ready in your mind, but don’t repeat them as if you had memorized the answers. Try to speak in a relaxed manner without rushing your answers, but don’t keep rambling on and on and always make eye contact.
Provide complete answers and show some enthusiasm. Ask questions, but never try to interview the person that is interviewing you. Answer questions clearly and try not to be vague. Know the position you are applying for and don’t give the impression that you don’t know what you want to do.
I always like it when they make a decision straight away, but if they don’t, ask them when they will make their final decision and thank the interviewer for their time and be sure to shake hands with the interviewer before and after the interview. I have never sent a thank-you letter, but depending on the type of position you are seeking it would be appropriate to send a thank-you letter as soon as the interview has been concluded.
