Resume Writing Trends - Three Key Tips

Resume Writing Trends - Three Key TipsToday's resume writing trends are being thrown into sharp relief by the number of people who are having trouble getting a job. The job market has continued to shrink since the onset of the global recession. Employers have very specific requirements and they are really concentrating on hiring candidates who meet their criteria.Each company has its own unique target market and the types of resumes that they are looking for. The employer wants to know exactly who you are, what your skills are, and how they can use those skills to help them solve their problem. These are some of the resume writing trends to watch out for in the present job market.First, don't forget that your resume is just a starting point. Employers are going to spend time going over it with you and getting a feel for how your skills and experience would benefit them. You should give your employer every bit of information that they will need to make an informed decision about wheth er or not to hire you.Second, don't be afraid to send more than one resume. Even if you know you are going to get a job, you might want to send off a cover letter, too. A good cover letter can be your first impression to the employer and it will go a long way towards convincing them that you have everything they need to fill the job. You can even make a cover letter and resume stand out from the crowd by including your extra resume.Third, take the initiative to contact your prospective employer. Don't wait for the phone to ring. As much as possible, call the employer up personally and discuss your resume writing trends with them.Fourth, prepare an important document. You should write down your personal requirements and outline how you can apply them to a new position. In this way, you will be able to develop a concise and understandable package that explains how you can be the perfect candidate for the job. This will be the best way to catch the attention of the employer.Lastly, che ck the job market on a regular basis and update resume writing trends with the latest information. If you have been asking your employer for the position for quite some time now, chances are you are not even in the running. Be proactive in your search and keep your eyes peeled for new opportunities in your field.Remember, the employer has different needs than you and they are busy. Keep up with the job market trends and get the best interview possible.

How to Use Vizualize.me as an Online Resume

How to Use Vizualize.me as an Online Resume These days, getting a job can be a challenge, not because you are not qualified, but because there are so many other individuals to compete with. In fact, every applicant’s objective is to stand out first. Once employers pay particular attention to them, that’s when they can dazzle them with their skills. The first step for any applicant is to ensure that his resume will stand out from the pile of resumes that recruiters go through. Because of this, boring, text-based resumes are a thing of the past. Now, it should be visually-appealing, concise and will garner immediate attention. Of course, not everyone has an artistic bone, so for some creating this graphic and visual-based type of resume can be difficult. Its a good thing, therefore, that there are certain websites that automatically create these types of resumes and all you need to do is to input your data. Vizualize.me helps you create this sort of resume. It sifts through your credentials and organizes the details into an infographic â€" providing potential employers with a snapshot of your work experience and your skills. Because your resume will be done in such a way that there are a lot of graphic elements, your resume will be pleasant to look at, and because it is usually done in bright, solid colors, it will naturally stand out. Not just for creatives: Don’t think that Visualize.me is a website that is merely for graphic designers or for those who work in what is considered a “creative” industry! Everyone can benefit from having a visually-appealing resume. In fact, you get that extra edge, just by submitting this infographic type of resume. It shows your potential employers that even if you are analytical and professional, you also have a creative side in you, and this can be helpful especially when working on solutions to problems or various issues. How does it work? Visualize.me is connected to LinkedIn, the number 1 professional networking site. They lift your credentials from LinkedIn and base your resume on this. If you have any job opening leads online, it is very easy to link to your online resume and your recruiter will appreciate how you made it easier for him to view and absorb all your credentials. However, if you plan to apply via other venues that are not online, Visualize.me can send you your resume in a word document or PDF file format. You can now print this and distribute your unique resume to different companies. Conclusion: Resumes are important in showing your recruiter at a glance that you are perfect for the job that you are applying for. Visualize.me ensures that you will be able to come up with such a resume. Once your employers see how much effort you put into making your resume, they will appreciate this and pay closer attention. Of course, you must back it up with the proper credentials and skills; and eventually, when they call you in for an interview, you must show them that you are professional and well-suited for the job that you are applying for. Visualize.me does not guarantee that you will get that job, but it will definitely make it easier for these employers to notice you.

#Socialography How Social Media Has Changed The World

#Socialography How Social Media Has Changed The World Social media is a huge aspect of our lives. Particularly in recruitment and job hunting. Social media is on the rise and is now being used as a new way of hunting for future employees and tracking  employee activity. LinkedIn is especially important for job seekers, recruiters and business owners as you can connect to people and understand more about their work lives and their brands. Social media in general has had a huge impact on the economy, the environment, politics and society as whole. There are 2.08 billion active social media accounts and as technology continues to rise, so will users.  It is being used  for communication, trade and even allows us to be a part of other peoples lives more than ever. Place, space and people are being strongly affected and heavily involved in social that we have become a social generation. Top 5 facts: There are more mobile phones in the world than toothbrushes. 72 million users access social media from a phone in  India. Mothers with children under the age of 5 are the most active on social media. 92% of Pinterest pins are made by women. Japanese social media users will rise to 30.1 million by 2018 = 25% of the population. Learn  more about how social media and geography relate here:  linkhumans.com/socialography This #Socialography video by Link Humans provides insights into how many people are using social, who is using social and trends we can find in both people and places globally. Enjoy!

Creative Giving to Build Business and Community - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Creative Giving to Build Business and Community - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Year-end is when many non-profits pound the phones to ask for donations. Given a tough economy, it becomes tough on all concerned; the prospects are embarrassed to say they can’t give and the hired tele-marketer becomes frustrated by all the no’s received. This is the traditional cycle of giving. Recent conversations had me pondering how we, as entrepreneurs on a budget, may participate in giving through more creative approaches. Here are 10 suggestions based upon giving of the heart versus just the checkbook. Choose a favorite organization to showcase. This may come in many forms such as helping to promote an upcoming event online. Build community on social media to become a thought leader. By developing a page or group, you may initiate the conversation on any given topic. Gain strength through interactive dialogue and promoting members. As you are able, provide useful information via blogs and videos for community members. Sell an e-product online but have the proceeds go to a charity of your choice. Many people see higher prices paid when a charity is behind what they have to offer. In some cases, large sums have been raised. Donate product to benefit others. One special gentleman generously gives his financial based products away to youth groups for free. Orchestrate a drive asking colleagues to contribute product or services to benefit communities. Create your own non-profit with the idea of benefiting many. This idea will require money upfront to hire legal help to get your license in place. I know two women in the process of creating hospitals through their 501C enabling them to do fundraising on many levels. Organize a special event to benefit a group of your choice. This option would be more casual with good friends committed to making a difference. Team up with colleagues to benefit an organization. Create a symposium or series of workshops in alignment with the organization’s goals. Teach extra curricular classes at schools â€" the kind you wished you had when you were growing up. Donate a training at colleges for graduating students. Incorporate community service into your business plan. Volunteer your services throughout the year. For example, I speak to groups of job seekers teaching how to use sales techniques to land the job they desire. Prior to getting started, consider which venue appeals to you most. Are you able to contribute the time, energy and possibly money required to make it well worthwhile? How do you see your reward? You may wonder where does the business piece come into play? Consider whether you intend to create and sell further services, establish strong relationships with the organizers for future partnering, or are you simply looking to the fact you know you are doing a good deed? Recognizing your expectations upfront will lead you to the right path. My personal experience of helping job seekers brought incredible notes of thanks for helping them land their desired job. As the economy tanked, the gratitude received led to the writing of the book, HIRED! Looking back, I recognize these communities were my test market. The secondary reward was the book became an instant best-seller. Once on your best path, you will be in integrity with and strengthen your personal brand. In turn this enhances your branding effort, client attraction, and leads the way to a very Smooth Sale! Author: Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results” and “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”. She provides corporate consultation, training, coaching, and Inspirational keynotes. Elinor may be reached at Elinor@smoothsale.net or call (800) 704-1499 today.

6 Personality Traits of A Successful Freelancer CareerMetis.com

6 Personality Traits of A Successful Freelancer â€" CareerMetis.com Becoming a full-time freelancer takes a lot of time and effort. But to be a successful one, you have to give it everything you’ve got.Unlike a typical office job, freelance work will test your patience and discipline by subjecting you to spaces that are not really conducive for work, tempting you with distractions like the television or the freedom to browse the web while on duty, and many other challenges that won’t be present in a usual office setup.If you want to be a successful virtual assistant or any other type of freelancer, you have to possess or at least cultivate these 6 personality traits:1. CommunicativeevalevalBecause freelance work requires talking with many people over a medium where miscommunication is rampant, it’s important for any freelancer to be able to communicate well. This means that you have to be able to express your thoughts succinctly and in a manner that’s easy to understand so that you leave no room for misunderstandings. Remember, it only takes a few words to win or lose a client.2. Highly motivated and disciplinedWithout a supervisor or manager constantly asking you for updates, it can be easy to ignore the looming deadlines and piles of tasks. This is why it’s very important for a freelancer or virtual assistant to be highly motivated and disciplined.To ensure that you’re churning out quality work at the right time, you have to be able to create a good work schedule and stick to it. You should be strong enough to resist the call of the television, your gaming console, your social media profiles, or any other thing that could put a damper on your work. 3. FlexibleIn the freelance world, it pays 5. PatientWhether you’re waiting for feedback from a supervisor or revising your work for a particularly nitpicky client, patience is essential when doing freelance work. Being patient is important in your day-to-day work as well. Sometimes, you might find that things are just not going your way and that the task that should have been finished ages ago is taking you a lot longer to complete. Things like this are unavoidable in the virtual assistant industry, so you have to be tolerant enough to bear with them.6. ProfessionalWhile being a freelancer or a VA won’t require you to face people on a regular basis, it’s still important to remain professional at all times. Just because you don’t share an office with your coworkers doesn’t mean that you can gossip about them or treat them unprofessionally. Whether it’s meeting deadlines, discussing your coworkers, or explaining issues with your work, you always have to remain professional and cordial. There’s no place for tantrum throwers in the freelance world.evalThese personality traits are not the only things that make up a successful freelance career, but they’re certainly essential if you want to become a highly sought-after virtual assistant. So if you’re planning to embark on a lifelong journey to become a freelancer, make sure that you†™ve got all the personality traits above in spades.Infographic Credit -20four7va.com

[Book Review] The 2 Hour Job Search - CareerEnlightenment.com

His book breaks the job search down into small manageable steps, illustrated with real-life examples and anecdotes. He includes specific troubleshooting tips on using online databases and conducting a focused and targeted search. He’ll teach you how to create a customized list of employment contacts, sort them effectively, and then connect with them. Basically, this is paint-by-numbers for job seekers. Just follow his instructions and you will get hired. Simple.Understanding the basics of market norms can help focus your efforts at interview requests, and if you follow Dalton’s step-by-step guide, you can grab 80 percent of the benefits of informational interviews in just 20 percent of the time you’d otherwise spend on this. For interacting with recruiters and job contacts, pay special attention to Dalton’s explanation of the Ben Franklin strategy of asking favors!Because the college grads landing jobs today are those who understand the new job search rules, your successful j ob search will depend on your ability to learn and apply them. THE 2-HOUR JOB SEARCH is a detailed guide on how to do exactly that.

How to ask For Feedback After Interviews

How to ask For Feedback After Interviews Looking for a job is a little like speed dating: You start with phone interviews and eventually meet in person. You may even go out to meet for a group interview to make sure you and the company are comfortable with each other. Call it career courtship. Like dating, the process seems to never end. You’ve been on the job search for a while, and then you see it â€" your dream job. The description is a perfect fit for you, where you’ve been in your career and where you want to go. You see yourself in this role and growing with the company for years to come. The phone and in-person interviews go really well. You laughed. They laughed. The Rejection: You Didn’t Get the Job Finally, you receive a response, by phone call, email or formal letter in the mail. The message is standard, “We appreciate your interest in the position, but you weren’t the right fit for the company,” or, you’re told, “We’ve moved forward with another candidate.” You’re left wondering what went wrong. The truth is that the odds are stacked against most job seekers in the first place, and it’s important to note this. Here are a few statistics you need to know about the hiring process: 250 applications are sent, on average, to a single corporate job opening. Of these, four to six people will be interviewed, and one will be offered the job. It takes an average of 52 days to fill a position. 52 percent of hiring managers or decision makers believe that passive candidate sourcing (automated, online ads) haven’t proved effective for the company. 67 percent of employers claim retention rates would increase if candidates were clear on what to expect about working at their company before accepting the position. 39 percent of employees, once hired, share positive comments about their employers online. Only 33 percent of employers encourage employees to share information about their jobs online, and for most job seekers, it takes up to six reviews to form an opinion about a company. The take away is that not many people are satisfied with the whole process, and there is much to address to improve the system. Instead of obsessively recalling the interview process, what if you ask for feedback? Requesting feedback has been taboo in the past, as it’s assumed that the busy employer will take offense to the request and place the pesky candidate on a blacklist. Giving feedback is risky for an employer. Their hesitance centers around worries for bad reviews from candidates who take feedback personally or failures of communication that lead to discrimination lawsuits. Red tape may protect employer and candidate interests, but it also hurts them. Yes, employers are busy, and some are hesitant to give feedback. However, asking for feedback will help you in future interviews and show that you are a candidate who cares about doing your best. How to Ask for Feedback After Rejection When you’ve been told you didn’t get the job, you may focus on why within a negative mindset. Be careful to not obsessively re-read your resume or replay the interview in your mind. Self-reflection allows you to have confidence in and build your professional value. It’s important to self-reflect from an objective point of view, looking at the facts and avoiding assumptions. Ask yourself direct questions, with the job description and your resume nearby as guides: Do I have the preferred and required qualifications for the job description? Do I lack any personality traits, experience, knowledge or skills needed to do well in the position? Was my enthusiasm for the position expressed? Was my enthusiasm genuine? Reflect on the flow of the conversation: Did I talk too much or talk too little? Was what I said relevant? Did I properly prepare for the interview? What would I have done differently? What can I do differently next time? Sometimes self-reflection will be the only feedback that you are able to take away from the experience. However, consider reaching out for feedback to work on areas of improvement, if only for your own sanity. Even with so many candidates, an automated rejection response from an employer feels harsh. Depending on the company and size of the candidate pool, you might have gotten a phone call or personalized form letter or email. Regardless of the form of notification you received, sending a personalized thank you sets you apart and gives you an opportunity to maintain a positive relationship, give feedback and ask for feedback. If possible, send a personal card in the mail or a brief email. A handwritten note may take a while to be received, but the thought will be unique and appreciated in this technological age. A brief email with a relevant subject line will be considerate, given the employer’s busy schedule. If the employer chooses, he or she will be able to set aside time to respond thoughtfully to your note. The primary purpose of your note is to express genuine gratitude for the opportunity, and maintain an open door of communication. When sending a personal thank you, keep these tips in mind: Be concise. This shows you respect their time. Avoid negativity and accusations. This is not an opportunity to whine, give lectures or appear needy. Don’t be generic. Highlight one specific thing you enjoyed about the interview process. Keep personal anecdotes from the interview light. Share what you gained from the experience. If relevant, list something that you learned. After expressing gratitude for the opportunity, ask for feedback. This may be a simple one-sentence request for feedback in general. If looking for specific feedback, be concise and think of your query as a prompt for the employer. After you’ve expressed your gratitude and personalized your positive thoughts about the interview, the employer will be more open to providing you with constructive feedback. Should you receive feedback, accept it with an open mind. When it comes to rejection notifications, automated responses of “not the right fit” feels like a punch in the gut to a job seeker. Generic rejections aren’t helpful to job seekers who earnestly want to enhance their interview skills and build relevant experience for their careers. How do you ask the right questions to get constructive feedback that you can use? Have you gone through a period of self-reflection? Go back to your questions, and think over what you considered. Of course, you want more information to be able to further grow professionally. Within that mindset, consider asking the following questions: What was your first impression of me during the interview? Did I provide relevant and satisfying answers to your questions? What questions do you wish more candidates asked you? What do you suggest that I work on or add to in my skill set? Are there improvements I can make to my resume or cover letter? How did my experience compare with other candidates? Was my knowledge of the company and its work sufficient? In future interviews, how may I represent myself more effectively? Do you have any further suggestions for me? Limit the questions to what you are most concerned about, and do not write an extensive questionnaire. Adding “Do you have any further suggestions for me?” leaves the door open for other areas to be addressed by the employer. Once you’ve received feedback, take it to heart. Make updates to your resume and cover letter. Practice developing your answers to potential employer questions. Receiving feedback and sending a thank you note to an employer leaves a window of opportunity open. The job rejection was not a complete loss. If you have a LinkedIn account, locate the contacts you have made and add them to your professional network. Be sure that you have elected to receive updates from the company or hiring website when new jobs become available that are a fit for you. When an opening that suits you appears, you’ll be able to show the company how you’ve taken their feedback and grown as a professional. Regardless, self-reflection and employer feedback after an interview build professional value for the candidate. You’re sure to be remembered when you put it into practice. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback! Have any tips to add or tales of post-interview feedback success? Comment and share! While you’re here, be sure to  subscribe to the PC newsletter for more advice on landing your dream job!