Poll What Is Your Biggest Job Search Problem

Poll What Is Your Biggest Job Search Problem 6 Have you been taking a critical eye to your job search recently? It's well known that the first step to solving a problem is to recognize it, but recognizing problems isn't always easy. Sometimes it takes a friend, a job search coach or better yet, someone directly related to the job search problem, to point it out to you before you can recognize it for what it is. The right phrasing When I was a sophomore at McGill University in Montreal, I had a required class on advanced calculus. And yes, it was even less exciting than it sounds. As the final exam neared, I was stuck cramming studying some concepts that I just couldn't seem to fully grasp, so I decided to take advantage of my professor's office hours and see if he could clear things up for me directly. I hadn't missed any of his classes towards the end of the semester and my notes seemed good so I wasn't sure how much more he could help, but I figured it was worth a shot. After trekking over an hour on public transportation across the city, I walked in to the dedicated open study room only to find out that my professor hadn't come in that day. Great. However, there was one other professor teaching the same course and he was in the open study room when I arrived. He offered to help in place of my professor, so I sat down beside him and started explaining what I couldn't explain. After letting me talk for a few minutes, he just said “ok, so you're trying to do xyz? Well then, do x, then y, then z.” And my mind clicked, and it all became clear. I suddenly understood the ideas that were frustrating me. He didn't do much but what he did was all that I needed, and I went on to get high marks in the exam. Lessons learned Sometimes you just need to hear things expressed in a certain way to grasp them, and sometimes it's the way they were originally expressed that was throwing you off. Now it's your turn Take a few minutes to think about your job search. One exercise I like is to go over recent job search adventures out loud, step by step, even if I'm just talking to myself. It's a good way to notice things you may have missed as they were happening. Do you notice any patterns in the results? For example, have completely different people been giving you similar comments or tips on how to move forward? With that in mind, here's today's poll: amp;lt;br /amp;gt; amp;lt;a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1671460/” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1671460/”amp;gt;What Is The Biggest Obstacle To Finding Your Next Job?amp;lt;/aamp;gt;amp;lt;span style=”font-size:9px;” mce_style=”font-size:9px;”amp;gt;(amp;lt;a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com”amp;gt;opinionamp;lt;/aamp;gt;)amp;lt;/spanamp;gt;amp;lt;br /amp;gt; Use the comments to give more details about your choice and tell your story, especially if you're having trouble recognizing your main job search problem. The poll closes Monday June 8th, and we can discuss the results afterwards.

How to Handle Your Job While Searching for the Job You Actually Want - Classy Career Girl

How to Handle Your Job While Searching for the Job You Actually Want The  majority of Americans  dislike their jobs and would do something different for work if given a choice. This is a very sad statistic, seeing as how the average person spends just about 1/3 of their day at work. While the obvious solution to this problem is to just find another job, for various reasons â€" ranging from uncertainty about true passion to having to focus on other life priorities â€" most times it is not as simple as walking into your boss’ office and handing in your resignation letter. Finding the right opportunity takes time. You don’t want to rush into another job where you end up with the same feelings of boredom and regret 3 months in. Here are 4 ways to make the switch from a job you hate to one you love, so you can get back to focusing on the good things in life rather than on how much you don’t want to go into work every morning. How to Handle Your Job While Searching for the Job You Actually Want 1. Shift your mindset While it can be demotivating to go to a job day after day that you are less than enthusiastic about, focusing on the negative aspects will just bring about more negativity. At one point in the past you were able to find something about your job that made you work there in the first place, right? Go back to that place. Acknowledge what you’ve learned during your time there. Did you build a great network? Expand your skills? Brave new experiences? Make a list of all the positive things that have come from working at your current job and leave the negativity in the past. 2. Determine your next steps Now that you can see clearly where you’ve come from and what you’ve learned, focus your attention on where you want to be. Take some time to drill down to exactly what you want your next job to look like. It’s important to be as specific as possible, so you should take as much time as you need to visualize and think about this.  Don’t just say “I want a new job”, but think about your new job title, location, pay range, boss’ personality and even list of possible companies. In order to get your mind ready for the upcoming change, your goal needs to feel real to you. 3. Create an action plan After your goals have been finalized, it’s time to chart out your plan. This is what takes your future out of daydream mode and into an actual attainable goal. Working backwards from the overall goal, break it down into smaller goals. Within each small goal, write down the action steps you need to take to accomplish each one. Be sure to be as thorough as possible and think each goal through from start to finish. 4. Hold yourself accountable Now this is what separates the dreamers from the doers. You’ve changed your perspective, determined what your next steps are, and even written out your plan. What’s next? Implement it! Attach a due date to each goal you’ve created in your action plan and get to work. Tell someone you trust about your plans and ask them to help you stay on track. Check in often and re-work your plan as necessary. Remember, you are in control of your emotions â€" not your job, your boss, or your co-workers. Once you take your attention off of what you hate about your job, and shift to thinking about the possibilities of the future, your emotions will follow suit. A woman who is busy accomplishing her goals doesn’t have time to wallow in negativity and despair. Want to learn more about career strategy and development? Head over to KIR Consulting Group and join our community today!

Who to Use for Professional References - Career Sidekick

Who to Use for Professional References - Career Sidekick Who to Use for Professional References After Your Interview / https://www.edenscott.com/blog Knowing who to use for professional references (and who NOT to use) can be tricky.Employers usually ask for three professional references, and especially for those new to the workforce, identifying the best people can feel confusing.Read on to learn who you should use as professional references plus how to ask them.Who to Use as a Professional Reference: 1. A manager (but not your current boss) People who can speak to the quality of your work and your characteristics as an employee will pack the most punch with future employers, but it can be tricky to ask a current supervisor.But don’t fret; if you have more than a couple of years of work experience, you’ve likely had more than one boss or manager. If possible, always start with this type of reference as employers want the input of people you’ve reported to in the past.A former boss will be able to speak easily about your work ethic and reliability. Obviously, you should only ask former bosses i f you ended your employment with them on good terms. If you were fired or quit because of a professional dispute, you might want to look at other options.2. Colleagues or clients A current or former colleague with whom you shared a close working relationship is also a valuable asset on a list of references. Coworkers interact with you in a different way than a boss or manager, and a rousing endorsement from a colleague, past or present, will show the employer that you are a team player who is well-respected by their workmates.In the same vein, adding a client to your list introduces an interesting perspective. A solid recommendation from a client can demonstrate your stellar customer service and communication skills, two soft skills that studies show are in high-demand in the workforce today.3. Subordinates Many job seekers dont think to do this, but its appropriate to use a subordinate as one of your professional references if youd like.If you have other references from a former ma nager, colleague, or both, then your third reference can be from a subordinate.In this case, youd want them to speak of your leadership, positive personality traits, etc.If you are interviewing for a job that will involve you managing people, asking a subordinate for a reference is a great idea. They offer insight into your management style, your communication skills, and likely have a perspective on your day-to-day working style that is different that your boss will have.4. Personal referencesOccasionally, an employer will ask for a personal reference in addition to your professional references. This is intended to get insight into your character. These come in especially handy for those who have limited ­â€" or no â€" work experience.For a personal reference, you want to ask someone, ideally, who has insight into your personality, your aptitude for learning, and your work ethic. Great personal references include teachers and professors, academic advisors, leaders of volunteer org anizations you’ve worked with, and coaches.You should never ask a family member ­â€" hi, Mom! â€" to provide a personal reference. After all, everyone’s mom thinks they are fantastic. You might also want to steer clear of religious leaders, or those affiliated with political organizations (unless, of course, the role is directly related to one of these areas.) This will help prevent unconscious bias from creeping into the hiring process.Who NOT to Use as a Professional Reference:Your current bossDon’t ask your boss for a professional reference unless you are being open about the fact that you are looking for a new job. If you are asked to provide a reference from a current supervisor, it’s okay tell the prospective employer that you’ll provide that information once a conditional offer has been made.People who don’t know you wellTo get the best possible recommendation, you want to ask people with specific and positive things to say about you and your work. A casual acqua intance or someone you have worked with only briefly will likely not be able to provide the perspective an employer needs to get a true sense of what you will bring to the table.How to Ask if You Can Use Someone as a Reference:To get the best endorsements as possible for a new position, it’s critical that you first ask your professional references for permission before you share their contact information with employers. This is important for two reasons.First, it’s the polite thing to do. After all, providing a reference isn’t required, it’s a favor. Always ask each reference directly via email or a telephone call whether they are comfortable providing a reference.Second, it’s in your best interest to give your references time to formulate their thoughts on what to say about you. Take the time to describe the new role (or send them the job description) to each professional reference so that they can think about the best thoughts to contribute.Some job seekers take the extr a step of providing a written list of areas they’d like each reference to cover during their conversation. This is a wise step as it will leave less up to chance during the call. For example, you might ask a subordinate to focus on your management skills, and a client to share their thoughts on your customer service skills.Speaking to your references in advance of their calls with your future employer will help you make sure your bases are covered and will give you time to find alternate references if someone you ask isn’t able to assist.Whenever possible, let your professional references know a timeframe in which they will be contacted. That way they’ll be prepared to take the call.How to Present Your References to Employers:In the past, some job seekers listed their references at the end of their resumes. However, modern resumes don’t do this. Employers don’t need access to your references until they have identified you as a top contender so save your references until yo u are asked to provide them.When you launch your job search, have a conversation with your potential references, and when they agree to participate, add their name to a separate references list. This page can be provided to employers upon request.If you follow the tips above, youll have a great list of professional references to give employers. Good luck assembling your list!About this guest author:Since 2005,LiveCareerhas been developing tools that have helped over 10 million users build stronger resumes, write persuasive cover letters, and develop better interview skills. Land the job you want faster using ourfreeresume examples and resume templates, writing guides, andeasy-to-useresume builder.

How Well Does Your Personal Brand Listen - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How Well Does Your Personal Brand Listen - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career There are several programs that large brands use to monitor the conversation and to know whats being said. What if youre a small brand? Or, even smaller what if the brand is YOU? Listening as a brand 1. Listen to how people introduce you. This simple exercise will give you insight into what people are really thinking about you, what theyve derived you do. Whats worse is when they dont even know what to say so they hand the introduction off to you. Then, you know that your brand is so muddled they cannot even speak it. 2. Set up Google Alerts and Tweet Beeps. Know whats being said about you in written format, in blogs, on Twitter, on comments and posts. 3. Ask three of your best contacts what they feel you bring to the table. And, listen to what they say. Dont fill in the blanks for them. Steer clear of trying to fill the silence with possibilities or ideas. 4. Ask someone close to you if they could change one thing about you, for the better, what would that be? The key here it to stay silent. If you talk, you lose. This answer will reveal much about who you are and the areas in your brand that need work. 5. Use Tweet Stats. To know how well you engage others and know if youre contributing to the conversation as opposed to just blasting out information. (http://tweetstats.com) 6. Ask for feedback. Not just when you have something to sell or renew just to let them know theyre valued and their thoughts and opinions matter. 7.   Set up your own personal brand listening site. I dont market any of these yet I find these sites invaluable to listening to whats being said virtually.   I learned this recently from Laura Roeder who has a fantastic video on her blog explaining every intricacy of this.   Yet, I myself set this up, and have had the chance to run it since viewing her video and it is stellar! What a great way for small businesses and personal brands to keep on the pulse of whats being said about them.   In fact, NetVibes is now my home page when I first go online so that I can stay in the know! Netvibes.com: is a great tool to set up your own personal listening site.   You can RSS any of the following sites Ill list into Netvibes and it will track and highlight when new comments have been made and what they are.   In fact, its my home page and I log into every day to see whats out on-line right now where someone is talking about of to me. Twitter Search: (http://search.twitter.com), it tracks who has mentioned my name, my company and also who has asked questions about Personal Branding and Word of Mouth.   In fact, Twitter Searchs advanced search function can search for those comments that are question as opposed to just straight statements about personal branding or word of mouth.   If you would like to know how to use it for searches other than your own personal brand, ask me on my Facebook page and I would be happy to go further in-depth. Backtweets.com: I used to search items not readily found in the Twitter Search Site.   It captures conversations that people are having about you or your company.   It can distinguish links that are using some sort of link shortening service like bit.ly or tinyurl.com and reveal if someone is indeed talking about you or something   you posted. The following sites combined will give you great insights and feed back on whose talkingi about your in forums and communities: Boardreader.com Omgili.com SocialMention.com Then use the following to see where youre being chatted about in blogs: Google Blog Search (http://blogsearch.google.com) And, even if youre chatted about in the news this site will help: Google News (http://news.google.com/) If you search for your name, in any of these sites, and then RSS feed that query into Netvibes it can be a true listening site hub. If you utilize other listening tools, please make a comment and share! Author: Maria Elena Duron | chief buzz officer, speaker and coach focused on helping you move, touch and inspire others to action and speak positively on your behalf at buzz2bucks | word of mouth firm

More graduate jobs in 2018, says new study

More graduate jobs in 2018, says new study Finally some good news to cure those January blues. A new report by the Institute of Student Employers has revealed that this year will see a rise in the number of graduate job vacancies and a whopping rise of 11% at that. What with the EU referendum of 2016 and the following economic uncertainty, graduate jobs were on the decline. In 2016 they dropped by 8% and only grew by 1% last year. A High Fliers survey found that  private sector organisations were recruiting 10% fewer graduates by the end of 2017, which is pretty depressing stuff. But with a slightly more stable state of play, graduate roles are back on the rise, which is really good news for us students and grads. Where are the big jumps? We’ll see the biggest increase in the public sector, where there’ll be a 22% increase in graduate job roles. This is great for those looking for jobs in the civil service or NHS. Make sure to check out our guide for a lowdown on the industry and the qualifications you’ll need to secure a position. But it’s not just in the public sector where the action is happening. The IT industry is set to see job increases of 18%, and utilities firms will be offering 13% more jobs this year. We’ve still got tonnes of graduate IT and energy roles on the app at companies like E.ON and BNP Paribas. If this good news is anything to go by, we’re set to keep getting more, so keep checking back throughout the year. Apprenticeships are growing too! It’s not just the graduate recruitment market that’s looking healthy. The report suggests there’ll be more apprenticeships up for grabs, too. Employers are expected to offer 32% more apprenticeships this year than last. This is really promising for school leavers looking for roles with the UK’s top companies â€" that’s 1,501 more apprentices! And keep your eyes peeled for more apprenticeships popping up on the app this year as well. What the experts say So why is this happening now? What’s changed? ISE’s Chief Executive, Stephen Isherwood, explains: “Over the last couple of years the recruitment season has been heavily influenced by the Brexit vote and nervousness over the economy, but we’re now seeing a return to normal state of play. “There’s a positive mood from employers in this space at the moment and students should feel reassured by this renewed confidence. There are around 20% more vacancies overall this year. If you have the right mix of skills, there are lots of opportunities and students should feel confident to go for it.” So there you have it folks. The stars have aligned, the jobs are there, and 2018 really is the year for you to just go for it. Connect with Debut on  Facebook,  Twitter,  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.

Journey into leadership Success! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Journey into leadership Success! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog This post is part of a series that follows A.M. Starkin, a young manager taking his first major steps into leadership. Starkin writes here to share his experiences and to get input from others, so please share with him your thoughts and ideas. There have been some nice successes since last: Our youngest team member has been the most reluctant to buy in to the new deal, and has been looking for work everywhere in our area. Yesterday I heard that because of the way the ambience in the office is developing she has decided to stop looking and start staying. Nice!! My deputy is taking a lot of initiative. The huge file handling backlog she has been blaming on the system, the management, the company, etc. This week she activated her out of office-assistant and decided to get rid of the backlog herself, thus giving the operations team the time they need to reorganize and enable themselves to stop accumulating backlog. I first thought that I would have done it differently, but 2 seconds later I thought: Well, thats excellent! It sends powerful signals about her making a choice about getting busy winning or getting busy quitting. She has also delegated the task that pertains to her core competence to a colleague, so that she has time to learn her new, self-chosen responsibilities. Learning for everyone, progress.happiness! Our operations manager has never been managing anything, neither before he got his title nor after. He is very polite and very afraid of not doing things correctly. We did the write-your-own-job-description-exercise last week, which motivated him immensely. He really wants to be the operations manager with everything that traditionally pertains to the job. We made the job more tilted towards process re-engineering and a less towards timekeeper, which his analytic mindset would be great for. Now the question is whether he can be as sharp as he is soft. He has asked me for help, is asking for detailed advice on everything that pertains to leadership and asked me to announce his authority so that everyone automatically would respect what he said. Clearly this will take some work. What he needs to be is the natural go-to person for operational problems, a creative developer of the way we work, and the guy who takes the intiatives when it comes to reorganizing work. I have decided to push him into it and check his swimming reflexes. But the more I think about his unsure voice on the phone I second-guess and wonder whether I should tell him exactly how I would do, so that he at least has something to model for the beginning. Because apparently it is his fear of failure that prevents him from taking independent steps. If I can get my cautious ops manager moving within a weeks time, his and my deputys combined efforts will create time for everybody to begin contributing to owning the many tasks we have to work on like Ben suggested in a comment. When you read this I will have had an interesting meeting with my boss which I chose to schedule following a comment from Matt and another one from Alexander. Matt said I should hire someone in if that was what it would take, and Alexander asked whether it would really be possible to incur lasting change being just the guest of the week. I have warmed up by saying that either he gives me 75% of my time in my new job or he lets me hire someone in. Lets see what happens! Receiving help or praise without having asked for it is one of the best feelings I know and it is one of the only ways I make the term luck make sense. Otherwise I believe that what we normally call luck is when our opportunity and action coincide. So of course I am tremendously happy to see people giving me advice. My reason for writing here is not to get help. Its a nice side-effect which I appreciate, but what I am really hoping for is some creative thinking with regards to how we act in everyday leadership situations like mine! So if you think that I am doing alright, then wouldnt it be interesting to begin discussing how one could go from alright to kicking serious butt? AM Starkin Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Why Should a Company Use a Server Resume?

Why Should a Company Use a Server Resume?For any business or small or large company, a server resume is the best means of showing the right direction for the companies. Servers are very vital for companies, providing their website content and data storage services to maintain its online presence.Server Resume can be considered as the best tool to introduce the employee for the company and securing his position in the organization. The resumes can act as an important reference for the company while they make the selection and hire the employees.One can find a number of advantages of using a server resume. Aside from looking at the ease and convenience, this document will serve as an essential tool for employees' reference as they demonstrate their capabilities, commitment and qualities in their potential employer.Before one can use it, the resume should be ready for viewing. The resume can include specific company details such as name, title, contact number, company address, and the p revious employment of the applicant. The resume is quite different from the job application as the latter includes a description of one's skills, experience and work history while the former can be based on a single aspect or aspects of one's expertise.The information in the resume should be well-structured and complete, which can be done by the company, or it can be provided by the employer to be used as a full-fledged documentation. This is a good means to prove one's youthfulness of being hired by the company.To have a polished resume, the employer needs to send it to the HR department for editing, approval, and printing purposes. The resume should be able to highlight one's good points to the company in an easy manner.A server resume can also be divided into several sections, and these sections can be further divided depending on the areas where one specializes in. It can be categorized into physical requirements, technical skills, operational procedures, personal characteristic s, and training areas. However, the key focus for the resume is its goal of showcasing one's abilities and capabilities for the organization.The applicant should focus on accomplishments rather than other data, and this focus can be further highlighted with testimonials, awards, previous positions, and even past company policies or processes that can be included in the file. In short, the resume is most importantly an important tool for the applicant, and it is a must for companies to adopt a server resume to develop their employees.