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I’ve spent a considerable amount of time looking at how companies arrange the career sections of their websites, and I must say that for the most part it’s been an underwhelming experience. Many companies don’t seem to understand or aren’t willing to find the resources to sell their company to prospective applicants through their website. Although one might bring up the point that this isn’t a hiring market, I would respond by saying that it will be soon enough and companies who aren’t ready to actively recruit the available talent will miss out on the top candidates.

That being said, perhaps the best example I’ve seen is Boston Consulting Group, a global consulting firm which covers areas from branding to operations for industries ranging from energy to insurance. What I find unique about their site is how explicitly and deliberately everything is laid out. BCG realizes that careers are a partnership, and it’s not simply about what you can do for the company. For example, the”Why BCG?” section of their website is broken down into six parts; Grow Further, Chart Your Own Course, Challenge Your Mind, Team to Lead, Make A Difference and Win With BCG. They also have a specific section describing what they are looking for called “Is BCG For Me?”. What a novel concept to not waste time screening applicants who aren’t a good fit for their company, when the website can do some of it for them. They also have many current employees at every level of the company describing their job responsibilities and experiences with the company, which I found fascinating. The  main point of this was to show prospective employees that there are many ways to get where you want to go, and BCG has the flexibility to help you get there.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of their website though is the interactive case study that is part of the interview preparation. As an account manager for BCG, you are tasked with providing a recommendation for Trevor’s Toys, a regional toy retailer which mainly focuses on high technology toys. Trevor’s Toys is trying to decide whether to expand into the low tech toy market, as they have seen slowed growth over the past few years. As their consultant, you research different areas such as consumer research, competitors, market size and implementation to make as informed a recommendation as possible. The tough part is the limited time frame you have to make your recommendation, so it quickly becomes evident that one must discern the most important areas to focus on. What is so great about this interactive case is that it really gets you thinking about what it would be like to work at BCG, how important reaction time is in consulting and the importance of being able to figure out what the most critical areas to focus on are.

One of the things I found interesting about BCG is that the careers portion of their website is 1/3 of their entire site! If a company is willing to put that much effort into prospective employees, especially since they are the number three company to work for, signifies to me that they should probably be towards the top of my list. By covering the relevant information succinctly while still emphasizing the important details,  it was easy to understand what type of people succeed at BCG and the potential career opportunities. I applaud the tremendous effort BCG has put into the careers portion of their website, and hope companies outside the consulting industry will piggyback off of its effectiveness.

Seth Godin wrote what I considered to be a very relevant blog post last week regarding how companies should make sure their new media strategies really reflect their brand. Although this may sound obvious, it?s so easy to be reactive and copy what your competitors are doing. One of the great things about new media as a medium is how flexible it is in allowing companies to devise and execute action plans. The following are a few interesting examples of companies using social media.

Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese with 1/3 less fat- In January 2008, Kraft launched a marketing campaign that spanned both tradtional and new media elements. With a blog, videos, online message boards, chat rooms and online profiles with Facebook and MySpace, Kraft covered their bases fairly well and saw a fairly impressive ROI, at least compared with other CPG companies whose results weren?t nearly as measurable. More importantly, after reading the blog posts, I felt as if the message was genuine. The bloggers were open with the fact that they were trying something new and they didn?t know if it really made sense to focus on niche markets segments for a mass market product. They also addressed customers questions, such as ?Is there really a difference between this and the regular cream cheese?? Although I?m sure there was several elements they would change if they were to do this again, I thought their strategy was interesting and their new media elements generated excitement around as unexciting a product as cream cheese.

Starbucks- I love their mystarbucksidea.com site, for the simple reason that it connects with consumers on a personal level and customers can easily see which ideas are being suggested and executed by Starbucks. Incidentally, Starbucks has an interesting brand in the fact that their community revolves around not only product development, but also community impact and supporting growers and artisans around the world. For instance, recently there was a blog post about how Starbucks will be selling reusable bags that are made from tribes in rural Africa, which will provide income for poor communities. As a fairly frequent Starbucks shopper, I think that?s pretty cool; and although it?s not something I would likely purchase, it helps justify spending $5 on a cup of coffee.

Dell- The company which created the customizable PC has been involved in social media for three years and has seen pretty good success from their blogs, which covers areas from software to social responsibility. I find their site too generic and bland (much like a pc in general), but it seems to do a good job at addressing customer issues and showing how Dell is implementing customer ideas. I will say there is a lot of valuable information on their site, and it?s definitely a place I would frequent if I owned  a Dell.

To recap, I think all of these examples represent new media strategies that reflect the brand, particularly Starbucks. By not simply replicating what others are doing, your company can create new and exciting ways to promote products, interact and form relationships with customers, and attract new customers. Customers today need to feel as if they are part of or involved with a brand to perceive it as credible, and new media is a great medium to accomplish that goal.

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As college students, we sometimes feel as if we know everything, only to quickly discover upon entering the real world that we don't know much of anything. Here are eight things I feel many college students don't grasp until they get an internship or job. I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

1. Meeting expectations is no longer enough- Remember the days when you could ace a class by completing the required work? If you want an A in the workplace, going above and beyond to provide deeper insight, compile more research, or initiate a project is what it takes.

2. Concepts are pretty much useless-  Throughout school, a significant portion of class time is dedicated to understanding  models and concepts which are mostly theoretical. In the real world, nobody cares about  theoretical information if it's not going to help you become better at your job. Say good-bye to most of your college education...

3. It's not about you- Throughout school, your grades are directly correlated to your achievement as an indvidual. Although this is true at work as well, your "grade" also likely has a lot to do with how well you interact with others and what you contribute to the team.

4. A degree doesn't mean much anymore- Sure, you need it to get into a company, but once you're in, it's all about results. Nobody is impressed with your Harvard degree if you can't help your company win.

5. Dress the part- Coming into work dressed in shorts and flip flops makes you look ignorant. If you don't agree with corporate dress code, talk to HR, don't shoot yourself in the foot at the beginning of your career by being immature.

6. Keep the PowerPoint slides to a minimum- One thing you definitely don't learn in college, or at least I haven't yet, is how to create a great presentation. Most presentations should consist of a few charts or graphs higlighting important data or trends, not your entire outline. Everyone should read Bill Lane's book Jacked Up to learn how to present. (Bill Lane was Jack Welch's speechwriter for nearly two decades)

7. Keep the writing to a minimum- These fourteen page papers we write for school are great for expanding on ideas, developing sentence structure, etc., but horrible for most business situations. Employees receive so many emails and memos throughout the day that learning to say less with more is a much needed skill.

When companies enter emerging markets, or foreign markets in general, they are faced with deciding whether to standardize, regionalize, or localize their product and marketing strategy. Global companies like  McDonalds and Marlboro may try to emulate the American experience to foreign consumers, but most companies probably can't effectively win with this strategy due to cultural differences.

So what do many companies do? They may change their messaging, advertising and product packaging to form credibility with consumers from different parts of the world. Even large companies like Kelloggs do this. For instance, I was recently looking at some older Corn Flakes ads, and the Japanese version had a family sitting around a table. The same cereal box in the Netherlands has a vintage look to it, almost like the words "Corn Flakes" were written in graffiti, and no family on the box. The U.S. version had the words "Kellogg's Corn Flakes" take up nearly half the front of the box, while the Mexican version only took up about a quarter. It's also interesting to note how the rooster on the box changes from country to country. In Mexico, the rooster's body is multi-colored and prominently featured, while the Japanese version has the rooster singularly colored green and barely displayed, almost like an afterthought. Kellogg's obviously found the need to adapt even though they probably had pretty good global brand awareness, and the adaptations were significant! Personally, I'm fascinated by how companies adapt strategies, and can only imagine the challenges international marketers face with changing consumer demands, product life cycles, and economic instabilities; not to mention the battle for market share with quick moving, low priced local competitors.

With the economy seemingly more volatile everyday, many companies are being forced to shed SG&A costs through voluntary or forced layoffs. Although layoffs put economic strain on families who are already struggling to get by with decimated investment portfolios, decreased housing values, and volatile oil and commodity prices, they provide opportunity for companies to improve competitiveness through improved processes, innovation and lower SG&A costs. When Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric, he cut the number of employees by almost 50%, from approximately 400,000 to around 200,000. Did he do this because he was a mean guy? Of course not! He did it because he knew that in order to win it had to be done. Is it cutthroat? Absolutely, but for better or worse, that's what the world of business is. Additionally, companies who are winning have the best job security you can get! You may be fired for not bringing in results, but it's far less likely to happen for cost cutting reasons if the company is gaining market share and increasing profit margins.

Focusing on the auto industry, every major automaker missed their sales goals by a minimum of 30% in November! It's clear the Big Three will have to completely restructure and reorganize their companies, regardless of whether bailout money is involved. What's not clear is whether they can make the most of the tens of thousands of job losses that will result, and if they can become competitive again by improving processes, meeting consumer demands, and slashing exorbitant production costs. If done right, this could lead to a rebirth of the American auto industry, which has put short term profits ahead of long term sustainability, lost considerable market share to foreign competitors and failed to negotiate effectively with unions. Although I'm for all three going into bankruptcy and restructuring, let us hope when they receive their bridge loan it will be used properly to restore prosperity to the U.S. manufacturing industry once again.

As anyone who reads my posts is aware, I am a huge advocate of using collaborative technologies internally in organizations. However, I have yet to talk about the advantages of creating an online community with customers. The main reasons companies cite for not doing so is the time investment and potential of people making negative comments about their company. Unfortunately, as any blogger will tell you, both of these stereotypes are true. However, in my opinion, the advantages far outweigh the costs in this case, and here's why:

You can't ignore the truth- Ticked off customers are going to bad mouth your company virally and possibly online, whether or not you have an online forum, blog, etc. However, if you have an online community, it gives your company another opportunity to provide a solution. Maybe the customer service associate was having a bad day, or maybe employees weren't informed about a certain product defect. Whatever the reason, having another chance to rectify the situation may change a customer's perception of your company.

People are already talking about your brand online- If you don't believe me, check out http://search.twitter.com/ and type in your company's name. You might as well get in on the action or lose dissatisfied customers to your competitors.

Increase brand loyalty and engagement- In a world of increasing competition and declining brand loyalty (depending on the industry), if customers know there is a place they can go to directly discuss ideas for new products, improvements to existing products, customer service issues, etc., your company gains serious credibility, assuming you provide solutions to legitimate problems. To see an example of this, check out Starbuck's forum, My Starbucks Idea, where customers submit ideas on topics ranging from products to experience, to community involvement. There is also a section entitled Ideas in Action, where associates discuss how they are implementing solutions to some of the problems. Whole Foods also has a great discussion forum where employees will answer questions and add input on a variety of topics. They also have their CEO write blog entries, which I thought was pretty cool. These communities can help attract potential customers and engage and invigorate your brand for current customers.

Keep customers informed- These discussion forums are also a great place to inform customers about new products, services, initiatives, community events, etc. The possibilities really are endless to how far you can take it.

Don't forget the good!- If your company has a good reputation, you are missing the opportunity to have customers endorse your products and services. At my company, we get great letters from people impressed with our service. If these messages are put online for others to see, it would be great for associates and customers alike!

Social media is not as scary or confusing as it's made out to be, if you think of it in the context of a conversation in a less rich medium than face to face. The bottom line is, with people's hectic schedules, they may not have the time to wait in line to complain or compliment your brand, but may from the convenience of their home computer. I recently attended a great presentation on Social Media by Rich Brooks, President of Flyte New Media,  and he thought most brands would have a social media presence within the next few years. I would agree with him because of the extensive list of companies who already do, such as Apple, Adidas, Dell, H&R Block, Pampers, Samsung, and Toyota. (To check out more, follow this link). What are you waiting for?

Although Cisco is a leader in using collaborative technolgies to improve productivity, cultivate idea generation and increase workplace efficiency, they have recently shown collaboration has no boundaries. If this project becomes a success, it will likely become a popular model for global businesses world wide. So what exactly did Cisco do that is so revolutionary?

They wanted an idea for a new business market, but instead of limiting themselves to the ideas of employees, they opened it up for anyone in the world to become a part of.

How it worked: People from all around the globe sent ideas in to Cisco, and discussed them with other innovators. Cisco chose the best ideas for the semi finals round, and the idea's creators chose their teams and refined their ideas using Webix, a collaboration tool Cisco provided. Once ideas were narrowed down to the finals, groups made presentations to the senior executives and specialists from Cisco using telepresence. (To find out more about telepresence, follow this link: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns669/networking_solutions_solution_segment_home.html?POSITION=SEM&COUNTRY_SITE=US&CAMPAIGN=HN&CREATIVE=TelePresence&REFERRING_SITE=Google&KEYWORD=telepresence

The winner? The winning topic was "A better approach to energy consumption and distribution". The winning team consisted of three people.

What do they receive? A $250,000 signing bonus and millions of dollars of investment, in the hopes of creating a multi billion dollar business for Cisco.

Is this model able to be replicated for every business today? Probably not, but it shows where the future of business is heading. It is my belief that companies who insist on sticking with a traditional business model will start seeing negative side effects over the next two to three years. Right now, I think collaboration is still in the beginning phase for most industries, so companies who get on board now will have the opportunity to sustain a competitive advantage over their competitors.

Check out these videos on my website related to collaborative innovation! http://www.jackmkt.com/videos.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/nov2008/db20081121_986438.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

I?m intrigued by Wal-Mart?s adaptations, as I always pictured them as simply a genius supply chain company who crammed huge box stores into every possible city in the U.S. However, besides adjusting to changes in political power, their expansion into emerging markets, although risky, could potentially sustain long term growth in coming years. With emerging markets, however, incumbents such as Wal-Mart need to be able to adapt quickly and efficiently to rapidly changing economic conditions and competitors who have low barriers of entry combined with low overhead, and access to cheap labor and products. It will be interesting to see how quickly Wal-Mart will be able to change in these emerging markets. Typically, Wal-Mart hasn?t been a retailer that adapts to specific markets, (with some exceptions), so will they be able to deliver products people want and need at significantly lower prices than their competitors? Will they have credibility to consumers compared to local companies? Just because their model works in America doesn?t mean they can standardize their strategy and succeed worldwide. It will certainly be intriguing to watch unfold?

Although Wal-Mart?s pricing strategy obviously fit well into the current economic climate, it will also be interesting to see if and how consumer behavior changes when the U.S. and world economies stabilize. If our economy turns into the Great Depression, or something close to it, frugality by middle income shoppers may persist, which would potentially be bad news for the grocery channel.