I don’t know whether to jump for joy or drop to a slump with this system upgrade. For those of you who don’t know, “Panama”, launched Feb 5 in the U.S. and is Yahoo Search Marketing’s latest system upgrade for all their search advertisers. Yahoo’s previous (or existing - if you are outside of the U.S.) system is quite ancient compared to Google’s and doesn’t offer nearly as much functionalities or flexibility. Read the rest of this entry »
Ah good old Baidu, China's most used search engine. The search engine with awkward ad rules and a primitive user interface for advertisers. While claiming 2 searches out of every person in China each day, I wonder how many of these were search queries for MP3 files.
Check out this Baidu ad on YouTube. Interesting play on what is perceived to be Baidu's advantage - a better understanding of the Chinese language compared to its foreign competitors. But a search engine with the first page of results dedicated entirely to "paid" search? With "fixed" ad slots you can purchase? (instead of bid for - as with the "foreigner" search engines) Don't blame me for not being convinced of their dedication to finding the best search results for users.
Then there come news that Baidu is looking to move into the Japan market with their expert knowledge in Asian languages. It’s interesting… but let's hope there are as much Japanese MP3 files to grab as there are in China.
We are both blessed and cursed in Asia when it comes to computer usage and information access. We are blessed because most of us in this generation are at least bilingual so we can assimilate information not only in English but also in our native languages. We are cursed because the characters of our languages are represented as double byte character set (DBCS) in the computer world. What this means is quite a lack of support by software vendors in the single byte characters set (SBCS) world at least until recent years.
This "issue" gets additionally complicated in search engine marketing. Because the search engines want all their advertisements to be uniformly formatted, they put restrictions on how many characters can go into the ad title and description. For English this is fairly uniformed and the restrictions are usually reasonable, but when it comes to Asian languages and Asian search engines there can be some real odd limitations.
For example, Overture Japan (owned by Yahoo) put a 15 character limitation on the ad titles and 33 character limitation on the description. This is fine and dandy if your ads are entirely written in Japanese but try putting a German brand name into the ads (the German language is known for the length of its characters) and all of a sudden those 15 characters becomes extremely limiting. The problem is, Overture Japan actually treat the single byte character as double byte so while you might think 15 double byte characters = 30 single bytes, in reality your 18 character German brand name will not fit into the title space!
Granted most search users of in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, China, etc. search and browse in their native languages anyhow, but you can't deny the fact that English brand names (eg: Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz) are typically more well recognized (and advertised). As an advertiser, I wouldn't want my potential customer to waste time in translating our ads if a well recognized name can draw their attention immediately.
As some of my friends know, I've begun working for a German based search engine marketing firm since last September. I've gone from a complete SEM idiot with a "traditional" online marketing background and some SEO project management experiences, to a certified Google Adwords Professional who manages millions of dollar in online ad spending in 14 APAC countries in a matter of months. Thanks to the intensive training in Germany and supportive team and partners who are much willing to share their experiences I am really diving deep into this exciting field.
I found out recently close to 1000 application letters came through for two openings I had in my team. Although our human resources department filtered out most of them I still remember seeing tonnes of applications in the past two months. Having been on both ends of the job application process, I thought I'll share some of my insights here.
You might have the best skills and be the best fit to the openings you are applying for, but if you are not even getting your foot into the door how are you able to land the perfect job?
Resume is a sales brochure in essence. No matter what they teach you in school (or not teach you), it has one significant function - to help you land an interview!
Tip #1: Always use your own formatting if given a choice
Why not take the easy way out? Because you want to get noticed and you want an interview! MS Word resume templates are extremely easy to recognize (read: boring) and standard forms are designed for HR to process your applications more efficiently, not help you land a job. Take a chance, get noticed and use your own layout!
Tip #2: Don't try to be a designer (unless you are one)
Don't try to impress your future employer with fancy design unless you are a trained designer. Try and write your resume with three things in mind Simplicity, Readability, and Clarity.
Busy managers will not have time to read your resume in detail. Often an impression of you is formulated in the first minutes of reading your resume. So make sure you don't have any spelling or grammatical mistakes, at least not noticeable ones. Your document should be simple, easy to read, and to the point. Always remember the K.I.S.S. rule - "Keep It Simple Stupid".
Tip #3: Make it memorable!
Make your resume memorable but in a positive way. Give your viewer something more than just a name to remember. Try using a photo (if you think it works to your advantage), visual cues such as a different way of displaying your name, etc. Again, make sure it's tastefully done; when in doubt ask a friend (with taste).
That's all the tips I have for now. Resume writing is one of those important things people often overlook. Put yourself in your future employer's shoes. What will catch your attention if you have to read 50 resumes in one sitting? Which resume will give you a good impression? All the best with your job hunt!
