6 Things To Think About Before You Start Your Job Hunt - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

6 Things To Think About Before You Start Your Job Hunt - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career You’ve spent the last three months searching for a job and company that not only interests you, but that you’re confident you can excel in. Unfortunately, you’ve only been able to find one or the other. Finding the right job fit isn’t always easy. The job search can be a painstakingly long process defined by constant hills and valleys (seemingly a lot of the latter). In fact, job seekers report increasingly longer hiring times, with the job interview process taking an average of 22.9 days in the U.S., according to a June research report by Glassdoor. The reason? Glassdoor’s report found that labor markets in some countries simply do a better job at matching job seekers and companies. When it comes to finding the right job fit, you have to be your own advocate. You’ll have a much better chance of success if you take the time to understand your goals, values, and skills and how they apply to various positions and organizations. So, here are six questions to ask yourself before beginning your job search: 1. Why am I job hunting? What led you to begin your job search? Are you looking for your first job out of college? Are you unhappy in your current position? Identifying why you’re looking for a job is the first step in finding the best possible job fit. Let’s say you are, in fact, unhappy in your current role. Spend some time figuring out why you’re not satisfied. Maybe there’s a lack of development or advancement opportunities. Now you know to look for those opportunities during your job search. Answering this question before beginning your search will ensure you don’t fall into a similar situation. 2. Where do I see myself a year from now? Goals give you something to actively work toward and be excited about. Establishing short- and long-term goals is a necessary step in developing a solid career path and finding a job that you’ll enjoy and be good at. An easy way to set career goals is to determine where you see yourself a year from now. What do you hope to accomplish in that time? To better set long-term goals for yourself, where would you like to be in five years? These questions can help you figure out what you’d like to accomplish and what it’ll take to achieve those goals. 3. What path do I have to take to make this happen? Now that you’ve established your short- and long-term career goals, it’s time to figure out how to make those dreams a reality. Discover exactly what it’ll take to achieve your goals. That can mean pursuing further education or training, getting involved in professional development and networking events, building your knowledge and experience through lower-level jobs you get the idea. To establish a clear direction, try looking at job ads for positions you’re working toward. What skill, experience, and education levels do those jobs require? This information can give you a better idea of what path to take. 4. What do I have to offer employers? Whether you’re fresh out of school or have some professional experience under your belt, you have something to offer employers. List out your experiences in and out of school and what you learned from each. Next, determine how those lessons, skills, and experiences can be applied to the workplace. This is something you absolutely want to figure out before being asked “Why should we hire you?” in a job interview. 5. What skills would I like to acquire/expand on? While you need to know what value you can bring to a company, you also want to know what the company can offer you this is where you really have to become your own advocate. Determine what skills could use some work and what skills you’d like to acquire. This will help you find a position that will provide the necessary resources to help you grow and develop as a professional. 6. What type of company do I see myself in? Last, but certainly not least, find out what type of company you see yourself in based on your personality. When it comes to finding the right job fit, skills and experience aren’t all that matters. Your personality and interests are equally important, as they can help you determine whether you’d fit within a particular company’s culture. For instance, if you work best independently, you might be more open to working in a traditional cubicle, whereas someone who enjoys collaborating and isn’t distracted as easily might enjoy working in an open office space. Or maybe you want a position that will allow you to make a big impact on the company. If that’s the case, maybe it’s the startup life you seek. Whatever the case, strive to find a company that fits your needs, skills, interests, and future goals. What are some other things job seekers should nail down before they begin their job search?

The 3 Most Common Time Wasters at Work

The 3 Most Common Time Wasters at Work Employees wasting time at work is a big concern to employers. According to a survey, 80.4% of people waste time at work!Employees spend time on non-work related activities like talking on the phone or texting, gossiping, browsing the web, and on social media. Also there are some in-office distractions like messy work environment, unproductive meetings and noisy coworkers etc.All this hampers employee productivity and that in turn affects the company’s bottom line.evalAmong all these, there are 3 common time wasters that every employee / employer should be concerned about. Here they are â€"1. Chatting with co-workersIts surprising to know how much time an employee usually wastes chatting with co-workers. Employees never realize how much time they waste in chatting and taking unnecessary coffee breaks.Every minute spent in chatting piles up and becomes a concern to the employer.Some believe that it’s a kind of stress-buster and helps employees work better after they have a coffee o r chatting break. But this doesn’t apply to all employees and some may find it disturbing.Hence it is necessary to control the talkative employees without hurting their emotions.2. Non-work related Internet surfingWasted time in internet surfing at work is a bigger issue than ever. With so many social channels available now a days, employees are often tempted to visit social sites. Spending time on social media neither takes them away from work nor they get refreshed. The time spent in non-work related internet surfing is a time-theft, yet many employees refuse to admit it.evalMany times, this leads to debate between the employee and the employer. It, in turn, results in unsatisfied employees, low productivity or even high employee turnover. 3. Useless / unproductive meetingsEmployees have lots of tasks to complete and they feel meetings are pointless. Most meetings are disruptive and many are really unnecessary. Such meetings affect employee productivity. It is true in a sense . There are roughly six general types of meetings that employees have to attend. Most of them involve unnecessary hour-long discussions and eat-up valuable work-hours of the employees. If this wasted time makes employees to work late hours, they may feel burn-out and less motivated.These are certainly time wasters because they don’t contribute to any good for the employees or the employer. Better options for employees to rejuvenate are going for walks, reading a book or meditation. These are healthy options which inspire them to work and also boost their productivity.evalHere’s an infographic from Time Doctor that depicts these common time wasters.Infographic Credit â€" biz30.timedoctor.com

Small Business Saturday Blog or Burn

Small Business Saturday Blog or Burn If your business doesnt have a blog, you are  burning your opportunity to attract  future customers, not to mention, leaving your current customers unfulfilled! And your sites probably not ranking too well in search engines either!  Here are some ideas to make the concept less overwhelming.   If you havent thought about starting a blog, maybe now is the time. When I first started, I had so many questions and there were so many options I felt overwhelmed.   Lets keep this simple and uncomplicated. These are just my recommendations based on my experience and a pretty basic level of technological savvy.   I had to self-teach myself a lot but it has been worth every minute Ive invested. To Blog Yourself You may be thinking you dont have the stamina, ideas, or even desire to start a blog by yourself.   Dont rule out blogging just yet. Ask yourself these questions before you decide one way or another: Can I commit to writing once a week (or at least once a month)? What area of expertise do I want to showcase? Who is my audience (who would benefit from reading what I have to say) Yes, there are many other things to consider and you can check out sites for more on getting started and improving your blogging:    ProBlogger These are particularly good resources: The Best Way To Start A Blog in 2019 from ProBlogger How To Start a Blog â€" Beginner’s Guide for 2019 from Blogging Basics 101 Starting Your First Blog? 29 Tips, Tutorials and Resources for New Bloggers  from Problogger How To Start A Blog from Neil Patel 68 Ways to Make Your Blog Work for You  from Danny Brown Choosing Your Weapon (I mean platform) WordPress.com (free) WordPress.org (you have to pay to host it on a server) Typepad (free) Blogger (free) WordPress is the more popular of the platforms for blogging.   I have found it has the newest and greatest bells and whistles (themes, plugins and widgets).The others all have their own following and pros and cons. I would suggest you ask around and pick a platform that someone you know is using.   This will make it so much easier for you to get your questions asked and help for your problems. A Lighter Load Often referred to as a microblogging sites, this allows you to write posts and share photos etc. Tumblr Nope, Not Ready to Jump off That Bridge (yet) Perhaps this is sounding like too much of a commitment.   Fine, start commenting on blogs in your industry.   You will be able to contribute to the conversation and begin building relationships, learning and acquiring digital terrain. So where do you find good blogs to comment on? Google Blog Search AllTop SmartBrief Commenting Guidelines: One of the best ways to expand awareness of who you are and what you write about is to comment on other blogs. Here are some things to keep in mind when leaving comments: Be professional at all times Check grammar, punctuation, spelling before submitting comments Join in on the conversation by reading the other comments and contributing, adding, politely disagreeing or supporting Add value to the post by adding your thoughts on the topic/issue Be sure to keep it relevant to your areas of expertise Be generous and gracious and polite Use your real name/the name by which you want to be found by Log in/Sign in Commenting on blogs usually requires that you sign in. The choices you have vary depending on the blog.   You want to use the same login/profile consistently.   You can also sign in with other accounts such as your Facebook, Twitter or Google. Discus is another popular sign in tool bloggers use. Then other times you can use your name, email and URL/website. Guest Blogging Maybe you dont feel ready to commit to hosting your own blog.   If you find a blog you like, you might be able to become a guest blogger.   Many times blogs are looking for people to contribute. See if there is a guest blogging policy on their site and follow those instructions.   Reach out and introduce yourself but it might be a good idea to interact on the blog via comments first to build name recognition.   If you go this route, you should have samples of your work and be a strong writer or a new angle. Being A Good Social Citizen Here are some parting thoughts and I am sorry this is longer than I intended it to be. Watch and listen. See what others are doing Experiment with new ideas Have fun Build a community Make your blog interactive, ask for comments, feedback, ideas, other solutions

Does Your Ego Show During The Interview

Does Your Ego Show During The Interview There was a very interesting study done at the University of British Columbia where narcissistic behavior was studied in context of job interviews. According to UBC Psychology Prof. Del Paulhus, A job interview is one of the few social situations where narcissistic behaviours such as boasting actually create a positive impression. Normally, people are put off by such behaviour, especially over repeated exposure. The study was conducted by having participants answer questions to rate their narcissism, then be observed in a job interview scenario. Those who fell higher on the narcissism scale made more eye contact, asked questions, talked about themselves, and joked around a bit. This made them more attractive as candidates despite the reality of what theyd be like as coworkers. Its also interesting that a cultural bias was observed, where candidates from cultures emphasizing humility (as do many Asian countries) did not impress as well during the interview despite being equally qualified. I think many women also have been trained to avoid being pushy and this would apply to that as well. Interviews Need Some Narcissism Theres a difference between a self-inflated egoist and a legitimately confident candidate. If you are qualified for the position and have the resume to show it, youve got healthy reasons to talk about why you are the best fit for the job. Your qualifications are the foundation of your confidence and you just need to look at yourself carefully to build on it. Making eye contact is a skill that takes practice if you arent used to it. Remind yourself to do this with people you talk to all the time and it will get easier. Asking questions also takes some skill. Do some research on questions to ask at your job interview  and be prepared. Talking about yourself isnt comfortable if it was discouraged in your past. Think about the reason you are talking; they need to know if you will be a good fit for their company. Help them know you by sharing who you are. Joking around a bit can backfire if you really are a narcissist because theres an insensitivity to people around you. But being comfortable enough to joke makes everything a little less stressed. The question in the title was, does your ego show during the interview? The answer to that question depends on how you view ego, but theres truth to the idea that who you are needs to come across when you sit in the interview chair. Narcissists arent afraid to talk about who they are, and thats why they make such good impressions in job interviews.

Do You Put Periods After Bullet Points on Resume?

Do You Put Periods After Bullet Points on Resume?As a resume writer, I see a lot of questions about do you put periods after bullet points on resume. The question seems to be the most asked and is one of the most frequently asked questions on resumes. As you may know, the practice of placing periods after bullet points is a common and preferred practice in most resumes.The reason for this is because when you are placing bullets at the end of your resume you are hoping the reader will be able to spot the section in the resume they are looking for. When you put periods at the end of the bullet points the reader does not know what you want them to pick up on. This is why most people are comfortable with this practice.There are some exceptions though. You will find, for example, many career sites and some recruitment software that you will need to use that have places to put bullets. Many software applications also allow you to insert spaces or indent the last paragraph so that the reade r can determine where the paragraph ends.One thing you may want to check when using bullet points is that the bullets are not of equal length. You do not want to place too much spacing around the bullets as this is what most readers pick up on and may interpret as paragraphs. Also, if you use too much spacing you may not be able to get the reader to read the entire bullet point so be careful about this.Another thing you may want to consider is that you should put bullets that go from point A to point B in an alternating fashion. This is important for two reasons. First, it keeps the reader focused on the 'A'B' of the bullet points as they make their way through the paragraph.Second, the only way a reader can actually read the bullet points is if he or she follows the pattern. Using alternating bullet points would keep the reader focused on one section at a time as they read the resume.So in summary, bullet points are a good idea but only if you use them properly. If you really want to be consistent, you can use periods after bullet points but try to be consistent and use the same format.

Should You Include Your Age or Date of Birth on a Resume

Should You Include Your Age or Date of Birth on a Resume Spread the loveMost people understand that it’s illegal to discriminate against job candidates based on characteristics like age. Of course, it wasn’t always that way. Decades ago, before the first age discrimination laws were passed in the United States, there was nothing to prevent employers from considering a candidate’s age. Since that time, several laws have been passed to limit that practice.Unfortunately, however, discrimination isn’t always a conscious thing, and some employers continue to employ subconscious discriminatory practices during their hiring process. Often, this discrimination occurs during the resume process, and especially when candidates include their age or date of birth on their resumes.That begs the question: while job candidates should be as forthcoming as possible, does that mean that they should include age or date of birth information on their resumes?Should you Include Your Age or Date of Birth On a Resume?The answer should be clear: no.You dont need to include your age or date of birth on a resume if youre applying for jobs in the U.S. or Canada.(Some countries like India and Asia may require a CV where you would include your date of birth. We wrote a good post here on the difference between a resume and CV.)In this article, we’ll examine the impact of including age or date of birth details in a resume and explain why it’s never a good idea.Those Legal Safeguards Can’t Protect You Against Unintentional BiasWhile there are laws to protect you against conscious age discrimination, they offer little protection during the resume consideration process. The fact remains that many of today’s top employers prefer younger workers.That’s especially true in industries like technology, and other dynamic sectors. Older workers are often perceived as less flexible, less dynamic, and less able to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies and evolving work practices. While those perceptions may not be based in reality, they exist all the same. And that could harm you if age or date of birth information in your resume identifies you as an older worker.Since you need an interview to land most jobs, you must ensure that your resume offers no details that might invite unintentional bias. That means leaving out age or date of birth information altogether. By omitting this information, you can achieve a number of important goals:Your resume will be more focused on relevant details that demonstrate you’re the right candidate for the position.You can avoid a potential negative perception and have a better chance of landing an interview.By omitting age or date of birth details, you can help the employer focus instead on your achievements and qualifications.How to Hide Your Age on a ResumeOf course, there’s more to hiding your age than omitting age or date of birth information in your resume. After all, there are other clues that employers might use to deduce your approximate age. For example, if you include your educational graduation date, that provides a reasonable estimate of your age.The same is true if you include thirty years of work experience. Obviously, you need to carefully consider how you list every bit of information in your resume.To avoid leaving that trail of breadcrumbs, you should take the following steps:Remove your graduation year. To do that effectively, try to just focus on the names of the schools, course of study, and relevant achievements.Remove any dates for certifications, awards, or other honors.Include no more than 10-15 years of work experience on your resume. The reality is that your earliest experience is often less relevant anyway. Chances are you were using now-outdated systems and dealing with technologies or issues that are less applicable in today’s economy. By keeping that experience section recent, you can better ensure that it’s more relevant to today’s employer needs.For relevant experience earlier than 15 years ago, include a section tit led “additional experience” and simply list those experiences without any corresponding dates.Be sure to include details about your technological know-how. Just make sure that you’re listing only relevant technical prowess, and that you actually are familiar with the technology.As an older, seasoned worker, you have much to offer to today’s employers. Unfortunately, age bias is a real problem that often prevents qualified older workers from being considered for employment. By proactively eliminating age or date of birth details from your resume, you can minimize your chances of being denied for discriminatory reasons. And that will help increase your odds of landing an interview and job. Should You Include Your Age or Date of Birth on a Resume Spread the loveMost people understand that it’s illegal to discriminate against job candidates based on characteristics like age. Of course, it wasn’t always that way. Decades ago, before the first age discrimination laws were passed in the United States, there was nothing to prevent employers from considering a candidate’s age. Since that time, several laws have been passed to limit that practice.Unfortunately, however, discrimination isn’t always a conscious thing, and some employers continue to employ subconscious discriminatory practices during their hiring process. Often, this discrimination occurs during the resume process, and especially when candidates include their age or date of birth on their resumes.That begs the question: while job candidates should be as forthcoming as possible, does that mean that they should include age or date of birth information on their resumes?Should you Include Your Age or Date of Birth On a Resume?The answer should be clear: no.You dont need to include your age or date of birth on a resume if youre applying for jobs in the U.S. or Canada.(Some countries like India and Asia may require a CV where you would include your date of birth. We wrote a good post here on the difference between a resume and CV.)In this article, we’ll examine the impact of including age or date of birth details in a resume and explain why it’s never a good idea.Those Legal Safeguards Can’t Protect You Against Unintentional BiasWhile there are laws to protect you against conscious age discrimination, they offer little protection during the resume consideration process. The fact remains that many of today’s top employers prefer younger workers.That’s especially true in industries like technology, and other dynamic sectors. Older workers are often perceived as less flexible, less dynamic, and less able to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies and evolving work practices. While those perceptions may not be based in reality, they exist all the same. And that could harm you if age or date of birth information in your resume identifies you as an older worker.Since you need an interview to land most jobs, you must ensure that your resume offers no details that might invite unintentional bias. That means leaving out age or date of birth information altogether. By omitting this information, you can achieve a number of important goals:Your resume will be more focused on relevant details that demonstrate you’re the right candidate for the position.You can avoid a potential negative perception and have a better chance of landing an interview.By omitting age or date of birth details, you can help the employer focus instead on your achievements and qualifications.How to Hide Your Age on a ResumeOf course, there’s more to hiding your age than omitting age or date of birth information in your resume. After all, there are other clues that employers might use to deduce your approximate age. For example, if you include your educational graduation date, that provides a reasonable estimate of your age.The same is true if you include thirty years of work experience. Obviously, you need to carefully consider how you list every bit of information in your resume.To avoid leaving that trail of breadcrumbs, you should take the following steps:Remove your graduation year. To do that effectively, try to just focus on the names of the schools, course of study, and relevant achievements.Remove any dates for certifications, awards, or other honors.Include no more than 10-15 years of work experience on your resume. The reality is that your earliest experience is often less relevant anyway. Chances are you were using now-outdated systems and dealing with technologies or issues that are less applicable in today’s economy. By keeping that experience section recent, you can better ensure that it’s more relevant to today’s employer needs.For relevant experience earlier than 15 years ago, include a section tit led “additional experience” and simply list those experiences without any corresponding dates.Be sure to include details about your technological know-how. Just make sure that you’re listing only relevant technical prowess, and that you actually are familiar with the technology.As an older, seasoned worker, you have much to offer to today’s employers. Unfortunately, age bias is a real problem that often prevents qualified older workers from being considered for employment. By proactively eliminating age or date of birth details from your resume, you can minimize your chances of being denied for discriminatory reasons. And that will help increase your odds of landing an interview and job.

Risks And Rewards Of Taking A Job You Dont Want - Work It Daily

Risks And Rewards Of Taking A Job You Dont Want - Work It Daily There are going to be times in your career when you NEED to take a job. Whether it’s because you need a paycheck or you just need more experience, you’re going to have to take on roles you’re less than thrilled about taking at some point in your career. But what are the risks and rewards of taking a job you don’t want? Risks What are some of the risks of taking a job you don’t want? Well, you might hate it and/or feel chained to it for the paycheck or for some other reason. It might also be a dead end job that won’t get you any closer to your goals. That’s why it’s very important to evaluate the pros and cons beforehand. Rewards The good news is that every job is temporary. You’re not tied to one role for the rest of your life. In fact, these days, you have more wiggle room than ever. According to a recent study, professionals will likely change jobs at least four times before they turn 32. So, have no fear. You’re not locked in for good. However, when you take a job, you should always be thinking about what that job can do for your career as a whole. How will it help you get to your next step? According to J.T. O’Donnell, founder and CEO of Work It Daily, if a job lets you focus on certain skill sets, allows you to work with high-profile clients, gives you a foot in the door at a company, or just allows you to break into a new industry, it will allow you to keep moving forward in your career, even if it’s not your dream job. “Think of it as a working education,” said O’Donnell. “.... Anytime a job is going to give you a skill set or an experience that you know you’re going to be able to leverage big time in the future, it’s worth it to consider taking that role for a couple of years, even if you don’t absolutely love what you’re doing.” So, when you’re evaluating the pros and cons of taking a job you don't want, make a list of both. However, keep in mind what you can get out of this role, even if it’s not your ideal job. Stuck in a job you hate? If you feel like you're not moving ahead with your career, don't see what's next for you, or just can't decide what you want to do next, you're not alone. Watch this free 20-minute video tutorial to find out how you can get out of your career rut. WATCH NOW! Related Posts Why No One Is Calling You After You’ve Applied To Over 100 Jobs Online What Your Favorite Toilet Paper Can Teach You About Job Search If Your Resume Doesn’t Have This, It Gets Tossed by Recruiters   Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!