Branding Contest Update and Recruiter Rant About Job Seekers

Branding Contest Update and Recruiter Rant About Job Seekers I have really been out of the loop as I try and recover from my trip last week. The good news is, there was a lot of good that came out of that trip. That not-so-good-news is I have a lot of follow-up that Im doing, which is taking a lot more time than I thought it would. Many of you have asked about the branding contest deadline Im extending it to Monday, March 3rd. Well comment on and vote from there, and I still plan on announcing the results on March 10th. Now, with that out of the way Want to hear what recruiters think about job seekers? The Recruiting Animal went off for about 5 minutes no holds barred. Just be forewarned, he is irreverent. But if you want to know what recruiters think about YOU, and what YOU DO, you really need to take a few minutes to listen to him rant. Listen here, for the first 6 or 7 minutes, as he delivers a message to all you job hunters out there, to give you a little hope! Are you dumb or stupid? Go listen to find out. I love the Animal. And the fact that hes laying it all out like this is great, because some people really need to hear it. Listen here. If you have time, stay for the rest of the show, where he interviews Robert Merrill (of UtahTechJobs.com). Branding Contest Update and Recruiter Rant About Job Seekers I have really been out of the loop as I try and recover from my trip last week. The good news is, there was a lot of good that came out of that trip. That not-so-good-news is I have a lot of follow-up that Im doing, which is taking a lot more time than I thought it would. Many of you have asked about the branding contest deadline Im extending it to Monday, March 3rd. Well comment on and vote from there, and I still plan on announcing the results on March 10th. Now, with that out of the way Want to hear what recruiters think about job seekers? The Recruiting Animal went off for about 5 minutes no holds barred. Just be forewarned, he is irreverent. But if you want to know what recruiters think about YOU, and what YOU DO, you really need to take a few minutes to listen to him rant. Listen here, for the first 6 or 7 minutes, as he delivers a message to all you job hunters out there, to give you a little hope! Are you dumb or stupid? Go listen to find out. I love the Animal. And the fact that hes laying it all out like this is great, because some people really need to hear it. Listen here. If you have time, stay for the rest of the show, where he interviews Robert Merrill (of UtahTechJobs.com). Branding Contest Update and Recruiter Rant About Job Seekers I have really been out of the loop as I try and recover from my trip last week. The good news is, there was a lot of good that came out of that trip. That not-so-good-news is I have a lot of follow-up that Im doing, which is taking a lot more time than I thought it would. Many of you have asked about the branding contest deadline Im extending it to Monday, March 3rd. Well comment on and vote from there, and I still plan on announcing the results on March 10th. Now, with that out of the way Want to hear what recruiters think about job seekers? The Recruiting Animal went off for about 5 minutes no holds barred. Just be forewarned, he is irreverent. But if you want to know what recruiters think about YOU, and what YOU DO, you really need to take a few minutes to listen to him rant. Listen here, for the first 6 or 7 minutes, as he delivers a message to all you job hunters out there, to give you a little hope! Are you dumb or stupid? Go listen to find out. I love the Animal. And the fact that hes laying it all out like this is great, because some people really need to hear it. Listen here. If you have time, stay for the rest of the show, where he interviews Robert Merrill (of UtahTechJobs.com).

Weekly Wins 10 Tips to Beat the Monday Blues

Weekly Wins 10 Tips to Beat the Monday Blues The work week can get monotonous, which is why most of us look forward to the weekend! Spice up the work week. Dont spend your entire Sunday dreading setting the alarm for Monday morning. Start the week off right with these ten tips and avoid the Monday blues! 1. Don’t live for the weekends When you’re stressed at work, you are often happier on your time off. However instead of just looking forward to your break on Saturday and Sunday, schedule fun in throughout the week. Whether it’s going to the movies on a Tuesday, or hanging out with friends on Thursday night, give yourself something to look forward to after work. 2. Prepare on Friday Mondays are stressful in general especially from the work piled up from the week before, and the weekend. Take care of all the worst work tasks before you leave on Friday. It’ll help you start your Monday off better with the unpleasant tasks already done. This also applies to cleaning your desk on Friday evenings. Just throwing out all the useless paper that has accumulated on my desk and wiping it down, relaxes me because it signals the week is over. Plus there is no better feeling than coming in to a fresh start on Monday. 3. Unplug over the Weekend Avoid checking your work email over the weekend if you can. Your company survived before you got there, they will survive without you for the weekend. The temptation will be there, but unless its urgent, take the two days to unplug, relax, and recharge. Otherwise you may not enjoy the time off. By resting your mind and body, you’ll perform better at work the following week. 4. Plan Ahead My top two tips for planning ahead are for early Sunday night. Lay out your clothes for Monday. Itll take the stress out of getting ready when the alarm clock is blaring at 6AM. Pack your lunch right after dinner on Sunday if you are a fan of home cooked meal. Youll not only be eating healthier with a home cooked meal, but youll look fabulous as well. 5. Eat Breakfast Eating in the morning both boosts your metabolism and helps you focus. All those tips you got in school to eat before your day began still apply. No one wants to wait until lunch to eat, so dont force your coworkers to deal with your crankiness from hunger pains. 6. Hit the Gym When you exercise, you amp up your endorphins, so an early morning routine will start your day off right! Plus with regular exercise you’ll find yourself not only getting fit, but having more energy to have fun outside of work! 7. Smile It takes less muscles to smile than it does to frown. Whether it’s smiling at someone at work or when you’re alone, smiles are contagious. It will help improve not just your mood, but those you around. 8. Treat Yourself Make Monday special by treating yourself, this will kick off your week with a bang. Whether its splurging on a fancy latte, or going shopping on your lunch break, doing something out of the ordinary to make yourself feel special. Who doesnt want to feel special when they have the Monday blues? 9. Get to Sleep Go to bed early on Sunday, and make sure you sleep enough to feel rested. That means putting your cell phone on Do Not Disturb, so notifications dont wake you up. This all means putting your cell phone, laptop, and tablet away at least a half hour before bed. Along the same vein, try to stay on a consistent schedule throughout the weekend. If you wake up at the same time every day, even on the weekends, you will be less groggy on Monday. 10. Positive Attitude Try to wake up with a smile, and think positive thoughts about the day ahead!  If you wake up in a good mood, it’ll help propel you through your day. Waking up in a bad mood will only serve to ruin your work week. If Monday’s continue to be blue, even with these tips, maybe you’re not in the right place. Don’t forget it’s never too late to switch careers! If you do what makes you happy, you’re sure to succeed. If you have any of your own tips, feel free to share them with me @jkfinger.

How to Ask for a Raise

How to Ask for a Raise (This post contributed by our friends at Self Lender) Asking for a raise can be a daunting task, which is why many hesitate to ask for what they think they deserve, especially if they are new to the workforce. However, a recent study found that 70% of people who ask for a raise get one. So while asking for a raise can be a stressful experience, take comfort in knowing the odds are in your favor. There are many reasons to ask for a raise. For one, the cost of living goes up each year, so getting a raise merely is part of keeping pace with your living expenses. Getting a raise, especially early on in your career, can help you save for extra expenses like a home or car, and get your retirement fund started early. Having a little extra money can help you pay off student loans, or save up for a vacation. Whatever your need, it’s likely there’s something you could be putting a little more money towards. To negotiate for a raise, the best practice is to prepare your facts. Avoid using generalizations about what you’ve accomplished, and instead, bring in numbers to support your claims. You’ll need to understand what your work is worth and articulate how much value you bring to the department and company. It can also be helpful to time your ask after a noteworthy accomplishment, during a successful performance review, or at the end of a financial year. If you’re still a little intimidated, Self Lender created this helpful infographic to walk you through the steps to successfully ask for a raise.

When You Run Out of Options Begin Anew - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

When You Run Out of Options Begin Anew - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career On occasion we seek a definitive answer to a situation that appears to be almost hopeless. The required decision has the appearance of needing to take  a multiple choice test but it lacks a clear winning choice. In terms of building business, many select the last answer ~  to give up. For numerous reasons, anxiety is behind the decision. However, giving up is the worst option imaginable. The reason is, it may haunt you the rest of your life for not having first tried something completely new. Create new and multiple ideas to be examined in order to find the one that will carry business forward. New Thought Adding momentum to what is already in place or creating something entirely new will require educating yourself on the latest thought and techniques. The easiest place to begin is to read articles and watch videos specific to the subject. An even better approach to more quickly move forward is to hire a mentor. Just as people do research prior to hiring you for a service, do the same prior to you hiring someone for help. Compare their strengths and the information offered. Select the one that more closely delivers everything you hope to learn. Efficiency The one problem seen is that people waste far too much time feeling sorry for themselves. During this time period money is lost while more despair is found. Make a promise to only allow 24 hours to feel sorry for yourself. Then get on the bandwagon to find a much improved solution. Once you do find the help you wished for, waste no time implementing everything that makes sound sense. Energy One of the best side effects of vastly improved efficiency is renewed energy and at a higher level. In fact, excitement takes over. As this occurs, a stronger new plan is easy to implement and follow. It’s common knowledge that enthusiasm is contagious. A higher energy level surrounding your work, and communicated to those you meet, will attract far greater interest and a respected personal brand. Your Plan Are you struggling with a project or the direction of your business? The major consideration is whether you can ride out the storm of uncertainty. You may find it helpful to list the following: What you enjoy most about your work What you would miss if you called it quits The specific challenges faced and potential solutions How do you believe you will feel if you were able to finally get past the challenge? As you document your answers, you may well recognize where to change focus, and new paths to pursue. In the process, a more positive mindset will take hold. This is similar to the expression of “Line up all of your ducks first”. Doing so will position you to make a far improved decision of where and how to head next. Developing a well-defined long term vision will lead you to the Smooth Sale!

Get Your Executive Brand Into Your Email Signature - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Get Your Executive Brand Into Your Email Signature If you’re a busy executive, you do a lot of emailing. In job search, you’re emailing even more than usual. You’re working on (or should be) connecting with your network to uncover job leads and the hiring decision makers at your target companies with whom you need to connect. You’ll be sending them your career marketing documents â€" resume, biography, etc. More than likely, you’ll communicate through email, not snail mail, and attach digital versions of your documents. How do you sign your email messages â€" with just your name and phone number? Email signatures are one piece in your brand communications plan â€" a golden opportunity to reinforce your executive brand and further market your unique ROI value to target employers. Take the time to put together an email signature that will leave a lasting impression and also lead people to all the on-brand information they’ll need to know about you. It’s fairly easy to configure your email account with an automatic signature for outgoing messages. Once you’ve created one, you can easily insert your signature or not, or adjust it, depending upon the recipient. WiseStamp is a terrific new tool to create and give visual appeal to your email signature. According to the site: Email Apps enable you to easily customize your email signatures with your personal social profiles and allows you to add to each outgoing email dynamic content such as your latest eBay item, recent blog post, your latest tweet or a cause to promote. The recipients of your email will see the updated content of the Email App and will be able to also interact with it directly from the email (e.g. retweet or follow in the Twitter App or buy in the eBay App). WiseStamp integrates with these Webmail services: Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL, and currently supports Firefox, Chrome, Thunderbird, Flock and Safari. When creating your signature, assume that the email recipient will know nothing about you, but will want to know about you. Keep it brand-evident and on-point â€" don’t bog them down with clutter and an overlong laundry list. Definitely do the following to brand your email signature: Use your full name, not a nickname. Even if you know the recipient well, your email may be forwarded to someone else who will have no idea who Bobby is. Include your current title and employer. If you’re not employed, include your professional title, such as Global Business Operations Leader or Senior Turnaround Management Executive. Give them the best phone number to reach you anytime. Don’t confuse with several numbers. Your cell phone is probably best to avoid having someone at work, or someone you’d rather not, intercept the call. Send a clear value message with an abbreviated version (1-2 lines) of your executive brand positioning statement. I’m assuming that, if you’re sending out resumes to people, you’ve already worked on your brand, and can create a short brand tagline that showcases your strengths while differentiating the value you offer over your competition in the job market. Make your tagline, and therefore you, memorable. Use your personal email address, not your work email. For that matter, don’t use your work computer either, for job search or any personal business. If you’re emailing using the company network â€" even if you use your personal Gmail account â€" your employer can track your activity. Include a link to your personal blog or website About page, if you have one, leading your email recipient to your whole brand picture. Include a link to your profile. Include a link to your Google Profile, VisualCV or About.me profile. Any of these can stand in as your brand hub, if you don’t have a website. Include links to your Twitter and

Dreaded Interview Questions And How To Fight Back - CareerAlley

Dreaded Interview Questions And How To Fight Back - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Interviews are nerve-wracking events at the best of times. But they can be made even worse when youre suddenly hit with a question you didnt see coming. All of a sudden your palms get sweaty, you seize up, and youre unable to think of a good answer. This is the sort of thing that can really derail an interview, even if youre the perfect candidate for the job. So lets spend a bit of time looking at some of the most dreaded interview questions and how to respond so that you can advance your career. Why Do You Want A Job With Our Company? For the money, of course. Although an answer with this level of honest usually wont go down all that well. Managers want to know why you want a job at their company specifically, rather than at one of their competitors. The usual strategy with a question like this is to use flattery. Youd say something like because your company is the most prestigious. But this response is getting a little cliched these days. Plus, its usually not true or particularly relevant, and managers know it. A better option is to do your research on the company and find something that really appeals to you. Perhaps you like the fact that the company produces the best products in the industry and you want to be on the cutting edge. Maybe you like the culture and feel that it is the ideal place for you to work. Perhaps the company offers opportunities for personal development that other companies dont. Or maybe youre just in love with the product, and theres nothing else like it in the industry. Any of these answers and good answers and will show hiring managers that youve thought carefully about why youre a good match. Introduce Yourself Pixabay Some interviewers like to ask candidates to talk about themselves to get an idea of how well they can present themselves. But as this informative resource points out, answering this question well is easier said than done. The best approach is to prepare a response in advance so that youre not tripping over all your words. Hiring managers want to see whether youve got great language skills, youre able to communicate effectively, and that you would be able to impress if you were talking to somebody over the phone. In short, introducing yourself really doesnt have an awful lot to do with the actual content of what you say: its more about how you say it. What Is Your Biggest Weakness? This is another common question that comes up an interview and can really catch people off guard (even though its a question thats been asked for decades). When it comes to talking about weaknesses, its important to tread carefully. Most interviewers wont want you to name the core competency theyre hiring you for as a weakness. Instead, try to pick something tangential that youre working on. If you get nervous in front of an audience, then talk about how youre going on regularly and speaking in front of large groups to get yourself used to it. Tell the interviewer about the progress that youve made. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+

Writing a Resume For Social Work USA

Writing a Resume For Social Work USAWriting a resume for social work USA is a great thing to do. Now is the time to catch that job, be it in academia or as a social worker. A resume for social work USA can make you stand out from the crowd. If you are in the same situation, you should do all you can to be prepared.First of all, the field of social work has become very diverse, and there are many jobs. It is not just teaching, but counseling, child-caring, and even rehabilitation are other areas that people use for their degree. So even if you have already done a two-year degree, you should think about upgrading it to four years to increase your job opportunities. However, most graduates do not know where to start.If you want to be a student in one of the top universities' country in America you have to have high standards. Otherwise you will not be recognized, and that would be a shame. Also it is important to understand that just having a master's degree is not enough for a professi onal career.Your writing will speak about you if you use good sense and true qualifications. The best thing to do is to research your field thoroughly so that you can write a resume for social work USA that will impress the recruiter.You should know that finding jobs online is not that easy, especially since most of them are non-paying. That is why hiring people by e-mail is the first choice of many people. The trick is that you need to learn how to write a resume for social work USA and make sure that you will stand out.First of all, you should know that most of the jobs in the fields of education, therapy, or social workers require three years of formal education and knowledge in the field. You should know this fact and avoid being left behind. The longer you can give a prospective employer the opportunity to review your qualifications, the better it is for you.So, if you want to be more effective in making yourself known online you should make sure that you have done some employm ent research before sending your resume to the website or companies. You need to make sure that you write well and in detail. You need to be organized, so when you sit down at the computer make sure that you do the initial research before you start writing.When you are starting a job search, it is easy to get caught up with the hustle and bustle of the real world. You should make sure that you start preparing a resume for social work USA and follow a strategy that will be effective in ensuring that you can land your dream job.