Here are some of the Q’s and A’s from last night’s get-together:

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Q: What’s a good approach for reaching out to someone who doesn’t know you, without sending your resume?

@ClassyCareer: Definitely don’t send your resume. Send them a brief email asking if they have 10-15 minutes to speak to you on the phone. Most people can find 10-15 minutes AND most people do want to help!

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Q: Have you found that info interviews are good practice for the Real Thing?

@ClassyCareer: I LOVE informational interviews. No stress and you learn if you like an industry before you get into it. During informational interviews you can ask any question you want that you might not feel comfortable doing in an interview. The interviewer will also be asking you questions about yourself so you get to practice giving your responses too! And informational interviews make you seem very proactive which is a great plus for an employer!

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Q: How do you recommend meeting people in an industry you want to get into using networking?

@ClassyCareer: Definitely check out meetup .com to see if there are any networking events that interest you. Find a professional group that seems interesting and check it out. You don’t have to join just because you go once! Make sure you get their business card! Send a brief email after with something you enjoyed talking to them about. If you are interested in what they do, ask them for a 10-15 minute phone interview or take them out to coffee or lunch.

@Resunate: Meetups are great! We’re often asked, how best to follow up with someone after meeting them IRL. To build your network.

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Q: With the multitude of folks on the web now, how do you differentiate yourself among the masses if not by experience?

@ClassyCareer: It actually is pretty easy to differentiate yourself because many people don’t have too much when they are googled. Google yourself and see what comes up first. Then look into updating your Linkedin so it shows at the top…or buy your name as a domain name and make it say fabulous things about you! AND make sure you put your photo in your LinkedIn profile so you can become a real person to the hiring manager. Videos, papers, PowerPoint slides and class presentations are all things you can put on a website to make you look great, and you can start a blog about your specialty. That will definitely make you stand out!

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Q: How did you develop your brand out of college?

@BeKnown: Right out of college, your personal brand = major+interest+dream job. Blog/tweet about that.

@ClassyCareer: Make a plan. What do you want your personal brand to be? Think about it before you start blogging, tweeting and networking. If you can focus what you want your personal brand to be and show it off, people will start thinking of you as your brand. But even out of college, it’s not too late to make a change or head in a different direction or change your personal brand.

@Resunate: The advantage of being a student is you can really think about what you want your brand to be and work on it now.

@IsaAdney: I think the best way to create your personal brand is to know who you are and focus on what you truly want to do with your life.

This week, we have special guest Anna Runyan joining us. Anna is a Blogger and Career Coach at Classycareergirl.com. Her career advice has been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Brazen Careerist and Yahoo Finance. She publishes her blog as her “passion project” and loves helping other young women nail interviews and find fulfilling careers. On her blog, Classycareergirl.com, you will find advice geared towards young professional women and soon to be college grads on how to be classy as you climb the corporate ladder.

Wondering what tonight’s chat is all about? Here’s a list of the questions we’ll be discussing:

• How are you using networking to differentiate yourself in your job search?
• How do you become more comfortable networking with your coworkers and classmates?
• How do you recommend building your network?
• What types of social media networking do you recommend for job searchers?
• How do you recommend meeting people in a an industry you want to get into?
• How do you make a great first impression at a networking event?
• How do you get over being afraid to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know?

First, let’s make one thing clear — it is not a good idea to use fancy fonts or formatting in order to stand out. In fact, because so many hiring managers use applicant tracking systems to screen resumes, your resume could easily become garbled if you do use a non-traditional layout.

Here’s the way an ATS works: it parses through submitted resumes in search of keywords that indicate desired skills and experience. The software looks for details the hiring manager is seeking, such as job titles, education, and skills, and maps it to the employer’s database. The system then automatically assigns you a score based on how well you match the job the employer is trying to fill.

So how can you ensure your resume shows employers everything they need to know about you?

Put your achievements at the forefront. Quantify what you’ve done at previous positions. For instance, if you were in sales, how much business (in dollars) did you deal with while at your position? If you broke company sales records, what were they? If you exceeded personal goals, by what percentage or dollar amount?

Include links to your social media handles or your personal website. While you should still include traditional contact information, such as your phone number and email address, consider providing your Twitter handle, LinkedIn profile link, or the Web address to your personal website or portfolio. This way, if your resume has made it to the hiring manager’s hands, they can look at you in more detail on their own. Doesn’t hurt to include these in your email signature, either!

Watch keyword usage. While you may have some great keywords in your resume, they don’t do much for you if those keywords are different from the job description of the position you’re applying for. Compare your resume and the job description side-by-side to make the hiring manager’s life easier and your chances greater.

Save personality for your cover letter. A cover letter is a great way to introduce yourself and convey passion for your industry. Yes, some hiring managers still read cover letters! In fact, a new OfficeTeam survey indicated that more than nine in 10 executives found cover letters valuable when evaluating job candidates.

What challenges have you faced while trying to make your resume stand out?

Knowing your Myers-Briggs Personality Type® helps you understand the following: Where do you put your attention and get your energy? Do you like to spend time in the outer world of people and things (Extraversion), or in your inner world of ideas and images (Introversion)?

For instance, introverts tend to be thinkers and planners, they’re often reserved and like solving problems in their head. Extraverts, on the other hand, are talkers and doers. They like solving problems collaboratively and often must start talking in order to make sense of their thoughts. An introvert and an extravert working together should be aware of these differences in order to work effectively with one another.

Here are several tips for working with introverts when you’re an extravert:

Ask introverts for their opinion during brainstorming sessions or meetings. Extraverts tend to dominate these sessions because they like to think aloud. Help introverts ideas be heard by allowing them time to think about the situation and asking specifically for their opinion.

Learn what they need. External stimuli, such as music, might help you work better, but could be distracting for an introvert. Figure out how they work best and try to help them in any way that you can. For example, if you need music to keep yourself motivated, use headphones instead of blasting your music in your cubicle for everyone to hear.

Use email more often. Introverts might want extra time to process their thoughts internally, which can create awkward pauses on the phone or during in-person meetings. Instead of putting them on the spot, send them an email. You’ll receive their clearest thoughts and ideas that way.

Listen to what they’re saying. While you might wear your emotions on your sleeve, introverts might express their feelings through words instead of expressions or actions. This doesn’t mean they are unhappy or unappreciative, but they’ll usually keep emotions and thoughts to themselves. Listening also helps with building a trusting relationship with one another.

Do you have other tips on working with introverts? What challenges have you faced with differing personality types in the workplace?

Although working for yourself might sound like a dream job — particularly in a day and age when you can start a business from your laptop — there are certainly steps you must take before dumping your current job (or putting your entire job search on hold).

Here are five steps to take to transition from employee to entrepreneur:

Step 1: Identify opportunity

What’s your unique idea? What gaps do you see in your current industry that you can fill with a product or service? Come up with an effective solution to an unmet need. (Hint: it should be something you believe in.) Then, do your research to ensure your idea is unique. If someone else is doing something similar, how will your business be different? For instance, will you focus on a different niche?

Step 2: Assess your likelihood of success

Some ideas require much more financial investment than others. Others might need a lot of human resources, which, as an entrepreneur, you likely don’t have. Research can help to analyze how successful your venture might be, but it can also be helpful to talk with others in the industry and mentors.

Step 3: Make a plan

If you have a job right now, do you have the resources to quit and go full-time with your business idea? If not, how long will you need to stay at your current job until your idea gets off the ground? You need to have an initial vision of how your business will come to life — although you certainly should remain flexible, too, as things are bound to change!

A written plan is often one of the best steps to get your ideas down on paper. It’s also what you’ll need to move onto the next step of financing.

Step 4: Secure financing

Whether you’re planning on using your own money, taking out a loan, or presenting to venture capitalists, money is obviously an important part of your new business.

Step 5: Get to work!

Now is your chance to prove your idea has legs. Follow your plan and adapt as you go. It’s inevitable that you’ll face challenges along the way, but keeping a positive attitude is vital to business success. You might also consider creating a business advisory board or networking with other entrepreneurs for advice and tips.

Would you consider entrepreneurship? Why or why not?

Google also has another tool which you may have overlooked during your job search: Google alerts. Want to learn how Google alerts can help in your job search? Read on at BusinessInsider.com.

This teleseminar can help you discover:

• What is meant by Online Persona and why it is vital to our job search and career
• How to develop your persona to get noticed by employers
• How to balance different identities online
• What to communicate if you’re making a career transition
• And much more!

Check it out below:

Building an Online Persona That Gets Results

Here are some great ways to figure out which candidate will be the best fit:

Test them with some real workplace scenarios. There is nothing wrong with having your candidates compete for the position by testing how they will really handle situations that will be thrown at them on a daily basis. This is called a Situational Judgment Test, and you can use one to put your candidates through a small test run on certain job-related scenarios in order to decide if they will be able to handle the day-to-day operations of the job.

Check their references. Ask previous employers questions that will give you insight into each candidate’s work ethic. Try and figure out how they worked with others and if they stood out in some way. This will help you decide which candidates should go to the next step. This will really give you a better idea of the quality that your candidates can bring to the table.

Look to social media. You can get a great glimpse into who your candidates really are by checking them out on social media. In fact, 91 percent of recruiters do this, and 69 percent of candidates get rejected due to things they see on social media. Some candidates present themselves in one way in an interview, but they are not very professional at all on their profile picture. Do you want someone who represents your company to advertise their risqué photos for the entire world to see? Only you can answer that question.

Introduce them to co-workers. Have your current employees evaluate each candidate to see how they feel they would fit into your environment. Your employees will be the ones that have to form chemistry with the candidate that is hired and it is a more laid back interview where each candidate can feel at ease to show their true selves a little easier.

Assessing the candidates using the above tactics with help you to find which candidate fits best. Plus, unless you found something that really hurt their chances once you looked a little deeper, the other candidates could still be considered for the next position that becomes available.

Think about what have been the deciding factors in the past when you have hired candidates. Will you make some changes in how you assess each candidate by looking deeper into who they are?