Holiday Job Search Activities

Holiday Job Search Activities What does a job seeker do during the holidays? There are plenty of articles saying how great this time of year is to talk to people at gatherings, around the dinner table, etc.  Sure, do that. What I find to be most productive is sharpening the saw, tying up loose ends, and preparing for a busy January. This means Im scouring LinkedIn and employee lists, doing research on people, and figuring out who I want to talk to and what I want to achieve with them (first conversation, introductions to others, etc.). Its quiet time.  Its time spent on the computer, researching, storing info in JibberJobber. Thats not what I want to do, really but its necessary to do, and since there arent many other things happening, this is the right time to do them. Happy holidays, even for job seekers! Holiday Job Search Activities What does a job seeker do during the holidays? There are plenty of articles saying how great this time of year is to talk to people at gatherings, around the dinner table, etc.  Sure, do that. What I find to be most productive is sharpening the saw, tying up loose ends, and preparing for a busy January. This means Im scouring LinkedIn and employee lists, doing research on people, and figuring out who I want to talk to and what I want to achieve with them (first conversation, introductions to others, etc.). Its quiet time.  Its time spent on the computer, researching, storing info in JibberJobber. Thats not what I want to do, really but its necessary to do, and since there arent many other things happening, this is the right time to do them. Happy holidays, even for job seekers!

Trend Watch The Decentralization and Decline of Marketing Departments - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Trend Watch The Decentralization and Decline of Marketing Departments - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Over the course of the past two weeks, Ive given a lot of thought to the future of marketing in organizations, both small and large. Social medias influence on marketing is extraordinary and reminds us yet again that we all have to be the marketers of our personal brands, as well as our corporate brands. We cannot be successful unless we give value to our company and the return we get is a stronger person brand, that is more credible and has a better reputation. Marketing departments are typically broken down into various sub-groups, such as advertising, public relations, product marketing (could be multiple product marketing groups), direct marketing, database marketing and more. Some companys choose to outsource part or all of their marketing to one or more agency, depending on the companys size. This is all set to change sooner than you think. Note: Ive been in several marketing departments the past eight years and am currently in one now. The feelings and ideas expressed here are forward thinking and do not account for how my colleagues feel at this time. You, the marketer of the brand We talk about brand you all the time, but when it comes to personal branding its also brand them. This means, as a brand, you must promote brands that are attached to your brand or ones you want to be associated with. What Im trying to get at is that you cant scale and you need to suck experience out of working for clients or companys in order to be more successful as a brand. A brand has to serve an audience and by helping your client get on the front page of the WSJ or launch their new website, you are forming a stronger portfolio or work (resume, etc), which will help you develop as a brand. Also, as a brand you must promote other brands, such as your manager. In this way, youre helping people that can, in turn, help your brand succeed! You will soon be accountable for marketing, whether you are the executive secretary, the accountant, the financial analyst or the IT manager. All bets are off now, since marketing budgets are declining at a rapid pace. You will be charged with marketing on behalf of your company in order to keep your job and your presence in social media will be your path to the job of your dreams. The reason I say this is because your lists (Facebook friends, Twitter followers, blog subscribers, etc) will be part of the reason companys will hire you! They help you get their brand out there, when advertising budgets are fading away. Marketing department death watch I know this title is probably freaking you out if youre in a marketing department and Im glad. Its a rude awakening to find yourself without a job in marketing, where most of the layoffs currently are. Companys are divesting in marketing, which may allow other, smaller companys, to come in and build brand. With fewer marketing people and fewer departments or groups, comes the decentralization of marketing as a whole from the corporation. I always say that you have to work twice as hard for the same salary during a recession and its true. Your added job description will be marketing soon. Youll have to get involved in social media and promote your corporate brand because its going to be the only way to market it right now. Marketers who have no knowledge in social media have negative job security right now unless they are in the top 5-10% of their discipline. Marketing agencies are going to start folding by the hundreds. All of this is going to push business schools to require a marketing class for every student and companys to online hire people who have marketing skills and experience in social media. The future In the year 2020, Ill wakeup and see every single job description on earth say Must have proficiency, influence and followers in social media. Everyone in a company will have to have extremely strong communication skills. The responsibility of marketing wont be left to a department in the future. It will be up to you! Are you prepared for the future? Have you invested the time in your online brand in order to leverage it for your next position? Well, if you havent, be forewarned that social media will soon make or break your entire future. Get involved now!

How to Become an Ideal WorkPlace - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Become an Ideal WorkPlace - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career In order to become an ideal workplace, one where employees feel theyre valued and have opportunities for growth, business owners need to create a community and a culture that empowers employees and rewards contributors. Since employees spend most of their time in the workplace, it makes sense that the environment should be one that nurtures them.  People crave feedback, connection, respect, appreciation, time for creativity, time for socializing. Top management will recognize their employees  needs so they can maximize their potential for success and openly recognize those who make a contribution to their team. Its necessary to show your high performing employees that you appreciate them either with peer to peer recognition or with recognition from HR. Managers who build a community and develop programs and strategies to meet the personal needs of their employees will create an atmosphere that attracts, motivates and encourages top talent to stay. Its critical to seek  your employees input on what employees say they need to succeed.  If you tune into their requests and give them the resources they need to excel at their job, not only will your employees become more effective at their roles but your company will benefit from their success. Forbes recent research noted that organizations that give regular thanks to their employees far out perform those that dont. Those who recognize the importance of recognition and appreciation as integral components of a winning strategic reward system tend to attract top talent and retain them. Heres the top five best-practices they discovered: 1. Recognize people based on specific results and behaviors. Don’t just give someone a reward for being “employee of the month.” Give them an award for delivering outstanding customer service when a particular problem occurred. This creates a culture of “doing the right thing.” 2.  Implement peer to peer recognition â€" not top down. Recognition from leaders has less impact than you may think. While HR managers believe this is a key criteria for success, employees told Forbes researchers that they feel much better when they are recognized by their peers. Why is this? Peers know what you’re doing on a day to day basis, so when they “thank you” for your efforts the impact is much more meaningful. Top-down recognition is often viewed as political and it rarely reaches the “quiet but critical high-performers” in the company.  3.    Share recognition stories.   One of the most powerful practices Forbes researchers identified was “story telling.” When someone does something great and is recognized by their peers, tell people about it. 4.  Make recognition easy and frequent.   Make it trivially simple for employees to recognize each other. Many of the modern programs they studied gave all employees a budget for “points” or “dollars” and they can give them to others online in seconds.  Forbes used one of these systems  and the results were amazing. People who do great things are now visible to everyone else! 5. Tie recognition to your own company values or goals.   Companies like Deloitte and  Intuit  have recognition programs which focus on the company’s mission and goals. So when you give someone a “thank you” award, the award is tied to your own company’s strategy (customer service, innovation, teamwork, or even a revenue or cost-cutting goal). These two elements (appreciation and recognition) rarely receive the attention they deserve from business owners, which is surprising because theyre low-cost/high-return strategies. Millenials who make up the majority of new hires today, are known to want feedback from hiring managers: They want to know whether theyre doing well, poorly or average, so its important that you tell them. Glassdoor recently came out with their list of Best Companies to Work for 2013: Employees ranked their companies based on a number of factors:  The Culture and Values, Work/Life Balance, Senior Management, Compensation and Benefits, Career Opportunities and Approval of their firms CEO.  Millenials said they appreciate regular feedback from their employers so they could know where they stand and how they could improve.  Showing appreciation to your employees by acknowledging excellent performance and the kind of behavior you want to encourage is best done through simple expressions and statements. For example, you might send a personal note or stop by the employees desk to convey your appreciation. Another approach is to combine recognition and appreciation in the form of a public statement of thanks in front of the employees co-workers or team, citing specific examples of what theyve done that has positively impacted the organization. Now that you know what it should include, take time to review your businesss strategic reward system. Does it address compensation, benefits, recognition and appreciation? Is it aligned with your remaining business strategies? Is it driving the right behaviors for your company, as well as your performance goals? Does it reward senior employees more than new hires?  If it needs adjustments or fixing, dont wait. It can mean the difference between your business success and failure. The best companies are continuously seeking ways to monitor employees satisfaction level and crafting ways to keep them happy so theyre motivated to contribute to the business and are loyal to its mission. Showing you care about your employees will result in building more loyalty and increase productivity at your firm.  There is no downside to showing the love.  Author: Beth  is Founder and President of Get Hired, LLC.   She advises students on how to bridge the gap from school to career.  Beth is the co-author of  From Diploma to Dream Job: Five Overlooked Steps to a Successful Career.  Her coaching assists students and career changers to successfully match their needs, interests, passions, skills, and personal goals with the needs of a sustainable industry in a sustainable location.  She is a resource for print and online media and offers workshops for University Career Service Departments, Executive Recruiters, Outplacement Services, College Guidance Counselors and College Alumni Associations. See website for more details about Beth’s services  www.fromdiploma2dreamjob.com.  Beth’s Webinar was sponsored by George Washington University’s Career Services Dept. for their worldwide alumni association:  Leverage Your College Diploma.  You can follow Beth on twitter @BethKuhel

Free 1 Year Get Ahead Club Membership Giveaway

Free 1 Year Get Ahead Club Membership Giveaway As we celebrate our 3 year anniversary this month, we are having another giveaway! Classy Career Girl is giving away 1 year FREE MEMBERSHIP to the Classy Career Girl Get Ahead Club. If you don’t know what Get Ahead Club is, you can learn more about the club here.  Current members or not, EVERYONE can join this giveaway and it is open INTERNATIONALLY! What are the perks of being a club member? Two MONTHLY CALLS with Anna  and her special expert guests. All you need to participate is a phone. AN ACTION WORKSHEET  to use during the call, to help you better retain and implement what you learn. A RECORDING of the call  as a digital MP3, so you can download it and enjoy for years to come. Access to the exclusive CLASSY CAREER GIRL GET AHEAD Facebook Group  where you can post your goals each month, get accountability and ask Anna and the Classy Career Girl community your career questions. Ongoing RESOURCES and support to help you along your career journey including ebooks and training calls with Anna Runyan. Its so EASY to join! To enter this giveaway, here is what you need to do using Rafflecopter below. Each task you accomplish is equivalent to 1 point. The more points the better!  Good luck! Like  Classy Career Girl on Facebook Follow me on Twitter  @classycareer Tweet about this giveaway (make sure you mention @classycareer) Leave a comment below telling me why you want to be a member of the Get Ahead Club. a Rafflecopter giveaway This giveaway is open internationally. It begins NOW and ends on March 14, 2013. The winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.  You have 24 hours to get back to us, otherwise a new winner will be selected. Good luck!

Paraoptometric Position Resumes - Tips For Writing A Cover Letter For Resume For Parapoptometric Positions

Paraoptometric Position Resumes - Tips For Writing A Cover Letter For Resume For Parapoptometric PositionsIf you want to write a cover letter for resume for paraoptometric positions, you need to do some research and preparation. This is one of the first steps when applying for jobs in this field. First you should be able to identify what types of jobs are available and then determine if they are paraoptometric positions or if you are more likely to get into other types of jobs.The job title of the position should have an effect on what type of letter you should prepare. There is a very broad range of jobs within this field, so make sure that you do not just give your resume and cover letter to anyone who needs them. You will be surprised how many people will be willing to give you this information and still send your application to the wrong person. The company will use the information for other purposes.If you are looking for paraoptometric positions, then you need to find out what positions are available. What you do not want to do is send out a cover letter for resume for paraoptometric positions that do not provide any information. It is a good idea to gather as much information as possible before you send it out.Once you know what positions are available, you need to decide what you would like to specialize in and where you want to apply for those positions. You can also go into detail about what paraoptometric skills you possess and what the specific requirements for those skills are. If you have any issues with this information, then you can take the time to read up on parapsychology qualifications. This is an essential step to make sure that you are completely honest when sending out the letter.Another thing that you need to know is whether or not the person that is reading your resume or cover letter wants to see other items of information, such as the credentials that you have obtained. You will probably be asked if you have applied for other position s and the person who reads your resume will be able to tell if this information is going to be listed. Make sure that you know that information too, because it will need to be listed.If you do not know what the position is that you are applying for, you need to ask. Do not assume that all parapsychologists are searching for the same position, but if you have never applied for a position before, you should ask. They may need to know that you are trying to be competitive.You should also try to determine how long you have been in parapsychology and how much experience is required to qualify for the paraoptometric positions that you are applying for. You will find that the company who is searching for a parapsychologist has a lot of different positions that need to be filled. If you have no experience, you should try to cover as much ground as possible when you send your resume or cover letter.Now that you know how to write a cover letter for resume for paraoptometric positions, you sho uld be prepared to send it out. Parapsychologists need to be competitive when they are applying for a job, so make sure that you include everything that they want. Having your application, resume, and letters ready before they call will be a big help.

ASDA Interview Preparation - Tips and Tricks - How 2 Become

ASDA Interview Preparation - Tips and Tricks - How 2 Become After having navigated the online application form and assessment centre, the final stage of the ASDA recruitment process will be an interview with a store manager. While this interview is quite informal, it is important to prepare thoroughly! So, read on for our tips on ASDA interview preparation, as well as a brief summary of the earlier stages of the recruitment process.The ASDA Recruitment ProcessSo, in order to get hired by ASDA, you will have to pass the number of varied tasks which make up the selection process. Firstly, you will have to successfully navigate an online application form. This consists of a personality test as well as two aptitude tests â€" a verbal and non-verbal reasoning assessment. This may sound daunting, but ASDA are looking for good communicators â€" prove you fit this mould and you will be fine.If this online application goes to plan, you will be invited to an assessment centre â€" the ‘ASDA Magic’. This assessment centre is made up of several differ ent exercises, including presentations and group activities. Your day will then finish with a tour of a shop floor. During this time, you can talk with employees and get a sense of what working with ASDA would actually be like. Throughout the day, ASDA recruiters will be watching for one main thing â€" how well you get on with others. This is what you should focus on for the duration.ASDA Interview PreparationThe next and final stage of the ASDA selection process is the one-on-one interview. This will be with a store manager, who will use the opportunity to get to know you. You will be asked why you want to work at ASDA, as well as what you can bring to the role. During the interview, you should convey your compatibility with three main ‘beliefs’ that ASDA employees work according to. These beliefs are to do with:Customer service;Individual respect;Striving for excellence.So, your responses in an interview situation should show that these three aspects are important to you. Letâ €™s look at how you can do this, and improve your interview skills in general.Of course, in an interview, you should mention your previous experience and explain how it will help you in your new role. The easiest and most thorough way to do this is by using the STAR method, which should make up a key part of your ASDA interview preparation. The STAR method consists of the following:S â€" Situation. T â€" Task. A â€" Action. R â€" Result.The STAR Method â€" An exampleSo, if you are prompted with: “Give me an example of a time when you provided good customer service”, you should break down your answer using the STAR method like so:S â€" Describe clearly and concisely the situation surrounding the instance of good customer service. Provide the context. For example, you might have been working at a shoe shop, tasked with dealing with an unhappy customer. At this point, you might mention the nature of your role in the shoe shop, and what your day-to-day tasks were.T â€" The next step is to go into details about the specifics of the situation. So, let’s say that this unhappy customer was not able to get the shoes he wanted in the right colour, after asking you if the shop had them in stock. When you told him that they were not, he became angry and demanded that you check again. You agreed, but again returned to him empty-handed. At this point, the customer’s emotions shifted. He became less angry and more upset.A â€" Now, you must clearly explain how the specific action you took solved the problem to a satisfactory standard. Perhaps you apologised profusely to the customer, and promised to make sure he would get his shoes. You offered to order the shoes to the man’s home address, and waive the delivery charge due to the inconvenience. (You had checked with your manager beforehand.) You told the man that you hoped this would be acceptable.R â€" Of course, now talk the interviewer through the successful result! Let’s say the man was delighted with this sol ution, and happily paid for the shoes in-store â€" he realised the couple of days’ wait for a (free) delivery was worth it to get what he wanted. He apologised for his angry behaviour; he really wanted the shoes but should not have lost his temper. He then left, satisfied. You were happy to have resolved the situation, and your manager was happy you made a sale in difficult circumstances.In conclusion…As you can see, the STAR method is an effective way to put forward examples of relevant experience. So, as part of your ASDA interview preparation, you should draw up your own situations using the STAR method. Plan this way for prompts such as: “Provide an example of when you have worked effectively within a team”, or “Tell me how you make sure that people are always treated fairly at work.” Do this, and you will have an effective blueprint for your interview answers.However, due to the value that ASDA recruiters place on inter-personal skills and friendly personalities, ma ke sure that such preparation does not render you robotic or overly formulaic. Don’t be afraid to be yourself and show some personality â€" they want to get to know the real you! Trust your instincts and follow the basic etiquette of interviewing, and you’ll be fine. Good luck with your ASDA interview preparation!For more interview advice and resources, visit this section of our website.Like How2Become on Facebook! This entry was posted in Career Advice. Bookmark the permalink. Henry Hunter How to Pass the Police Recruitment PresentationUniversity Law Courses: The Application Guide 2017

How to Bounce Back from Redundancy - Jane Jackson Career

How to Bounce Back from Redundancy - Jane Jackson Career Have you experienced that dreaded tap on the shoulder and then asked to attend a private meeting when youd been feeling an uncomfortable atmosphere of change in your organisation? To then be told that your role has been made redundant can be such a bitter blow and you may feel the air has been sucked out of your lungs.This experience is especially difficult if you have multiple financial obligations, are experiencing personal challenges and perhaps are also a mature age worker. What can you do to take control of your emotions, handle the stressful situations and get yourself back on track?Karen Sander, Author of Aging Fearlessly who advocates that age is just a number and should not define you, interviews Jane Jackson, Career Management Coach and Author of Navigating Career Crossroads about what you must do when going through a redundancy.Drawing from 15 years of experience as a transition specialist and having experienced multiple professional and personal transitions herself, Jane talks about the emotions you may feel, the reality check you must make, and what steps you must take to recover from redundancy and reinvent your career.