Career Corner Career Transition Survival Tip #1 - Hallie Crawford

Career Corner Career Transition Survival Tip #1 Sometimes were so busy taking care of business that we forget to take care of ourselves. Yet, if youre amidst a major career change, there is nothing more important than listening to your Inner Voice and tending to all the little things your body, mind and soul is asking for and needs. Here are some great ways to nourish your whole self and stay balanced while successfully navigating through your career change. 1. Keep a career journal. Career coaches like myself frequently recommend journaling as a way to manage your career transition while keeping a healthy perspective. Devote at least one night per week to writing down your thoughts about your transition, recording milestones in the process, and letting go of emotions by putting pen to paper. Write whenever you feel inspired even if its every night. Your journaling tool could be a plain notebook, diary, scrapbook of writing entries and mementos, or even an online blog where you invite others in a similar situation to ponder your musings and offer their opinions or share stories. Every so often, go back and read your previous journal entries to remind yourself of where youre going and where youve been, in terms of the career you envision for yourself. You will most likely be pleasantly surprised at the progress youve made! Heres to having a career you love, for Singles

Tips to Market Yourself As a Resume Writer

Tips to Market Yourself As a Resume WriterResume-writing consulting services are one of the most sought after career services in today's technological society. They promise to help job seekers get hired for the perfect position in the company and with the said job, you can look forward to rising in the ranks of your chosen field. It is indeed an exciting thing to follow your dreams and goals by starting a new life as a professional. However, if you're uncertain about how to go about it, here are some tips that may come in handy.First of all, it's very important to keep in mind the fact that most of the people who are interested in becoming career consultants will be the ones who are looking for jobs. Since job hunting is one of the most important tasks you'll have to perform, you have to invest in resumes that will grab the attention of the hiring managers. The importance of marketing your resume-writing-consulting career has been greatly increased with the advent of online resume wr iting services.One can attest that one of the most effective ways to market your resume to recruiters is to sell yourself. That way, you'll be able to maximize the potential for your resume, as recruiters will definitely read your resume if you know how to market yourself well.So, what are the things that you need to include in your resume to prove yourself worthy of being hired? In other words, what aspects can you talk about so that you will surely attract the attention of the hiring manager?One of the best and easiest ways to do this is to talk about your skills and abilities, which will be most likely disclosed in the interview. If you're hiring in a field like a computer engineer, then you can talk about your practical knowledge about programming languages and the things you've done on your own time as a programmer.Marketing yourself doesn't end at your resume. You also have to be able to market yourself in every way possible. You have to be confident enough in your abilities t o show what the recruiter can't see - your perseverance in your pursuit of the dream job.Remember that a resume is only a means to advertise you. If you want to secure a job in a field that you want, you must prepare well. In order to make your resume appear better, you should include all the necessary elements mentioned above.

Why Your Boss is Working Harder to Keep You Happy

Why Your Boss is Working Harder to Keep You Happy Boss brought in cupcakes for no particular reason? Sweet. Even sweeter? You might be seeing more morale boosters at work these days, whether in the form of baked goods or bonuses. A new survey finds that employers are having a tough time attracting and retaining top talentâ€"and with a little smart negotiating, that could mean good things for your career. According to the new Towers Watson Global Talent Management and Rewards Survey, hiring and turnover are on the rise in offices around the world, including in the U.S. And mobility has its downsides. Of 1,637 companies surveyed worldwide, nearly two-thirds report difficulty attracting top performers (65%) and high-potential employees (64%), an increase from two years ago. More than half of employers surveyed say it is hard to hold on to high-potential employees (56%) and top performers (54%). Pay to Stay Of course, one approach to getting workers to stick around is to offer them more money. And employers know that. “The survey data would indicate that they understand compensation is an important retention driver,” says Laura Sejen, managing director at Towers Watson. Just last week, a survey by a major business group found that employers are starting to expand payrolls and raise wages. After years of decline, sign-on bonus programs are at an all-time high, and retention bonuses are surging, according to an analysis of bonus programs and practices by WorldatWork released in June. Of the businesses WorldatWork surveyed, 74% used sign-on bonus programs this year and 51% used retention bonus programs this year. What Money Can’t Buy So how come bosses still can’t figure out how to hold on to their best workers? Another new Towers Watson survey suggests they’re a little out of touch when it comes to judging the importance of other factors, such as perceived job security and confidence in senior management. In a separate survey, the Towers Watson Global Workforce Study of 32,000 employees worldwide, the group found that employees rank job security and confidence in senior leadership among the most important reasons they stay with a company. But employers didn’t rank either factor as a key attraction or retention driver. “Those are really important to employees,” says Sejen. “Employers don’t necessarily rank those as highly as they should.” To get a better sense of what it takes to keep employees enthusiastic, some bosses are trying to listen more closely, says Rose Stanley, a Total Rewards practice leader for WorldatWork. “A lot of organizations will do satisfaction or engagement surveys,” says Stanley. They’ll even conduct “stay interviews” (as opposed to exit interviews) to pick employees’ brains about how their rewards packages, schedule flexibility, and work environment could be improved to inspire them to stay. “It’s a way to connect with employees and figure out what’s going on,” says Stanley. How You Can Leverage the News Even if your employer hasn’t reached out to you yet, come up with your own requests. If you’ve been craving a more flexible schedule or higher pay, now could be the right time to ask, says career consultant Maggie Mistal. Mistal has noticed that many employees have lingering anxiety from the financial crisis and fail to realize their own worth to their employers. “Some folks I work with are in a mindset of ‘I’m just lucky to have a job,’ when in reality they’re the people bosses want to hold on to,” she says. To improve your own situation, Mistal advises, first figure out what would improve your job and make you likelier to stick with your company. Once you have a good idea of your goals, let your boss know you’d like to talk. “The magic term is: ‘I’d like to get your feedback on some ideas,’” says Mistal. “Managers are willingâ€"and a lot of them are even excitedâ€"to have that conversation.” Open your discussion with gratitude, emphasizing how much you enjoy working at your company or with your boss, advises career coach Roy L. Cohen. Then make your request clearly, with a positive angle. If you’d like to telecommute two days a week, for instance, highlight that a more flexible schedule could make you more productive. “Focus on how you’re helping the company achieve even greater success,” says Cohen. Instead of making an ultimatum, stay open to feedback from your boss, Mistal advises. If your boss isn’t sold on the idea of telecommuting, offer to check in periodically throughout the day, or to give your flexible schedule a two-week test run. But don’t demand too much all at once. Even in an environment where your boss is working harder to hold on to great employees like you, you don’t want to come off as smug. “Never be greedy,” says Cohen. “Greediness is always remembered. Even if you feel you’re worth it, make sure you can back up your request.”

The Scientific Job Search or Phun With Fysics Round II - Work It Daily

The Scientific Job Search or Phun With Fysics Round II - Work It Daily A few weeks ago I wrote an article, What Does Quantum Physics Have to Do with Interviews? From my perspective, it was just supposed to be a fun piece, meant to make a point and to put a smile on the reader’s face. Turns out, people actually liked it and so, let me make one more go at it: Thought Experiments How did Einstein figure out what happens at near the speed of light, or that your perspective of what is happening on a moving train (with a bouncing ping-pong ball, for example) depends on where you are located? He thought about it. He literally saw it in his mind’s eye. You can do it too! It's a known fact that if you see something in your mind’s eye before you do it, you have a increased chance of success. So, do your own thought experiment before an interview. Play it out in your mind’s eye and you should have the confidence to make your dream a reality - have a successful interview and get the job. The “Uncertainty Principle” In quantum mechanics you cannot know both the velocity and position of a particle. The reason is that the act of measuring one will change the other. So, if you measure the speed of a particle, its position will change and vice versa. With a job search, you can’t focus on two things at once. There’s a process. The cover letter gets the recipient to read the resume. The resume gets the recipient to invite the candidate for an interview. The interview gets you the job offer. The negotiations seal the offer. If you summarize your resume in your cover letter, that defeats the purpose of both. If you focus in an interview on the negotiations, you’ll never get the offer because the interviewer will think you are only interested in the benefits and not the actual work. Which leads to… Matrix Mathematics We all know that A x B = B x A. But not with matrix mathematics. In matrix mathematics, A times B does not necessarily equal B times A. So here’s a career search equation for you: E = c + r X i E ? (c + r) i E is employment. C is the cover letter. R is the resume. I is the interview. As I just noted, if you write a good cover letter and resume, and have a good interview, you’ll get the job. However, if you combine the cover letter and the resume into one document, you’ll never get the interview. (I would say that (c + r) = 0, so since anything times 0 is 0, i times 0 is 0 so no interview, but why should I have mathematicians mad at me too? Physicists are enough!) The “Copenhagen Interpretation” Finally we come to my favorite. You can imagine something in the quantum world, but as soon as you observe or measure it, it becomes a reality and therefore it changes from what it is in the “imagined” world to a definitive reality. For example, light is both a particle and a wave. If you run one type of experiment it acts like a particle; run a different experiment, it’s a wave. Both are correct yet they cannot be simultaneous. It’s one or the other. Similarly, you can’t make yourself out to be more than one thing. The classic example is the person who is applying for a sales position and is asked about marketing. She thinks the right thing to say is, “I love marketing; I’m great at it.” In fact the correct answer is, “I know marketing, but I’m a sales person. I can help with marketing, I’m a team player, but my expertise and passion are in sales.” If an employer is looking for a sales person, she doesn’t need a sales person who is going to want to do marketing. She wants someone who is focused. In the real world, you can’t be two different people at once. Same thing for having multiple resumes. Sooner or later, an employer will see two different resumes, will not know which to believe, will think you are either lying or unfocused, and will reject you. A “Jack of all trades, master of none,” is more often than not, unemployed. And so ends my journey into physics. Scientific job search image from Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

5 Unusual Olympic Jobs - and What It Takes to Get Hired

5 Unusual Olympic Jobs - and What It Takes to Get Hired 5 Unusual Olympic Jobs and What It Takes to Get HiredThere is no doubt about it athletes are at the center of the Olympic Games. They are the focus of the crowds in Rio and at home. They are the stars of media interviews. However, it takes more than world-class sportsmanship to pull off the Olympics. TWEET With nearly 11,000 athletes and 500,000 foreign travelers arriving to watch the Games, thousands of people work tirelessly behind the scenes to run the infrastructure and support the events.Here is a small sample of those virtually invisible Olympic jobs that make the events come together.LifeguardBy now you must have seen the picture of the bored lifeguard by the Olympic pool that nearly blew up the Internet. OK, maybe he welches not working tirelessly at the moment the picture was taken. However, the law requires him to be there. While he may seem (and feel) redundant when swimmers like Michael Phelps are in the pool, some water sports do carry a certain amount of risk. Water polo and diving are just two examples when first aid may become necessary.Ball PersonYep, those are the men and women who scurry after the tanzereis on the tennis courts. As you might imagine, that job involves a lot of sprinting, so the ball persons have to qualify for the position. In addition to the physical demands of the task, there are mental pressures as well after all, the ball person must track the ball at all times, anticipate what happens next, and be ready to move at any second.CateringAll those athletes and guests have to be fed An international kollektiv of chefs stands at the ready to serve the crowds, with 60,000 meals to prepare and serve daily to the athletes alone. There are five buffets Brazilian, Asian, International, Pasta and Pizza, and Halal and Kosher. Chefs must guarantee that all meats are free from steroids that might cause an athlete to test positive on a doping test, so coordination with catering co mpanies is critical.Cleaning and waste managementAs anyone who has ever attended a public event can testify, crowds sure generate a lot of trash. Clean-up at the Olympic facilities is a constant uphill battle. From sweat mopping on the courts to trash pick-up, janitorial crews keep the venues from turning into rivers of used napkins and wrappers. The Olympic Committee for the London Games in 2012 set the lofty goal of zero-waste to landfill. The Games in Rio have been plagued by a much more challenging starting point (human waste in the water is just one of the problems), so the organizers and coordinators have a big task ahead of them.SecurityThe 2016 Rio Olympics are the first Games in South America, a premise that comes with its unique set of security challenges. Brazil is known for street crime and protests, and tourists and athletes might look like easy wealthy targets. Security planning for the games involves intense preparation including security surveys, route analysis, and crisis response. Security teams coordinate and interface with emergency first responders in the event of a threat or injury. Security personnel must be trained on Olympic procedures, as well as cultural sensitivity and situational awareness.With a range of jobs stretched far and wide, and exotic destinations as a bonus, have you considered that you can work at the next Olympic Games? While it may be too late for you to jet to Rio, recruiting has yet to kick off for the upcoming Games in South Korea, Japan, and China. The hiring teams will be looking for about 150,000 staff, contractors and volunteers to make the Games run smoothly.Think you have what it takes to be a part of the Olympic support team? Here is the list of requirements. The specifics vary depending on the location, and organizers report that approximately one out of every 10 or 20 candidates gets hired, although that hiring rate varies by position. For jobs that require little technical skill and have a large candidate pool, 99% of candidates might be turned away. For highly specialized and technical positions that require a targeted executive search, one out of every three applicants might get hired. Here is what the hiring team is looking for.Strong team playersMost positions that support the Olympic Games are temporary by definition. As a result, for these Olympic jobs, the organizers usually seek out strong team players who have demonstrated the ability to learn quickly and work well with a group of professionals who are new to each other. The ability to connect with the mission of the Olympics, as well as understand the interdependent pieces of a large-scale project, is also critical for certain roles.Language skillsFor the Games in Rio, the organizers were looking for candidates bilingual in Portuguese and English a tough requirement that narrowed the candidate pool considerably. The ability to communicate is critical, so if you are proficient in the host language and English you may have an advantage over other candidates. Flexibility, adaptability and resilienceWith a different host country and facilities for each Olympic event, organizers and support staff do not have the same-old routines to fall back on. As a result, for many Olympic jobs, recruiters look for candidates who have demonstrated flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.Professional experienceMany support jobs at the Games require little technical training, but certain other positions, like facilities energy management, project management and logistics, and specialty IT support demand extensive professional experience. Henrique Gonzalez, Human Resource Director for Rio 2016, observed that ideally he seeks out candidates with both academic qualifications and strong professional experience. However, experience is key. So if you have a rare specialty and experience supporting a large-scale project, you may be in demand.Cultural awarenessOlympic Games bring together athletes that re present hundreds of countries, each with a unique set of customs, traditions, taboos, and dietary requirements. Respect and cultural awareness are critical ingredients to help avoid misunderstandings and create an inclusive experience.As you can see, getting an Olympic job is not all that different from doing it anywhere else Many hiring managers are looking for the same characteristics as the Olympic hiring committee, and hiring success is ultimately the result of a good match between the position requirements and the candidates skillset and experience.While contributing to the Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it is not the only way to move your career forward. Every job experience is a unique opportunity to grow, learn, and develop a new set of skills. The Olympic Games offer all of us a chance to appreciate the invisible jobs that make the world go around, and use the opportunities we have to advance and get better at what we do. When this happens with the backdrop o f incredible sportsmanship, paying attention is easyWant to see how your resume stacks up? 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Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About Writing a Cover Letter for a Resume and How It Can Affect You

Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About Writing a Cover Letter for a Resume and How It Can Affect You Writing letters do not demand using special devices, thus making it a low-cost schriftart of communication. They are typically the most widely-used form of communication. Writing a titel letter isnt a mean task that is the reason you can surely do with some tips. Writing a great deckblatt letter demands great writing skills. For instance, a cover letter is a fantastic place to speak about a career shift or maybe to explain a protracted gap in employment. Job application cover letters are extremely important if attempting to receive an expert work post. The cover is far more then only an introduction to you and your abilities. Your cover offers you a succinct opportunity to impress the hiring manager to read further and then have a look at your resume. The Argument About Writing a Cover Letter for a Resume Men and women get confused and wind up getting frustrated on what type of cover letter sample they ought to follow. Mix the facts with your personality and you are certain to compose a cover letter which will be read from start to complete A cover letter or work application letter is very important to back up the candidates resume with real-life instances and more professional details. What About Writing a Cover Letter for a Resume? Many people believe that a cover letter isnt required, while some are bemused about what should be included in the cover letter. To assist you craft the ideal cover letter, were supplying you with a few examples to reassess. In developing a cover letter, you want to make sure its effective, appealing, and well-curated. There are a large number of attention-grabbing cover letters.

4 Ways Your Small Business Can Make a Better First Impression - Spark Hire

4 Ways Your Small Business Can Make a Better First Impression - Spark HireDepending on which dubious statistic you cite, it takes 8, 10, 12, encounters to make up for a bad first impression. This is difficult enough, but when it comes to your small business trying to hit it off with top talent, you will simply never get that many chances to counteract a bad first impression. Luckily, there are steps you can take to improve your small businesss first impression with top talent at the einstellungsgesprch stage. By sprucing up your space, your employees, and your bewerbungsgesprch style, you can make a better first impression with top talent here are 4 ways your small business can make a better first impression.Spruce Up Your SpaceTop talent doesnt want to work in a dingy, cluttered, or boring workspace. Make sure that your small business environment is attractive to candidates (and your employees) by implementing some simple ideas into your office space. First, keep your space tidy. A cluttered office gives candidates (and customers) the impression that your office is disorganized. Also consider some fun or interesting furniture, wall art, or flooring. Even tasteful-looking recycling bins can make your business seem more eco-conscious and welcoming.Dress Up Your Dress CodeYour employees, whether in reception or otherwise, will also contribute to the first impression of bewerbungsgesprch candidates. Employees need to look the part on interview days, just like candidates. Standards for dress will vary by industry, but the bottom line is that your staff should look good for your industry. Clothing should be clean, even if its jeans and a t-shirt. Like clutter in the office, disheveled employees gives the impression that your business lacks professionalism.Cheer Up Your EmployeesOf course, the look of your employees isnt the only important thing. Employee behavior is a huge factor in how top talent will react to your small business. If employees seem unhappy and rude , candidates wont want to work for your small business (duh). If employees are cheerful, polite, and friendly, candidates will know that your business is a positive place to work. This may be more helpful than you might think. Surveys have shown that job seekers would rather take a job they love for less pay, than a job they hated for more.Prep With Online InterviewsThe truth is that candidates begin forming a first impression of your small business before they visit your offices. Staging your offices and employees is important, but your consideration for candidates should begin with your online presence. Make sure that your company website and all ancillary materials look professional and up-to-date. Candidates will also appreciate a video interview in the early rounds of the hiring process. A good video interview shows top talent that your business is tech-savvy and that candidate experience is a top priority for your small business. Good service is a great way to make a first imp ression.What steps do you take to make a solid first impression with candidates? Spark a conversation below.IMAGE Courtesy of Flickr byCarbonNYC