How To Get Hired As A (fill in here)

How To Get Hired As A (fill in here) 8 Over at wait till I come!, Christian Heilmann recently wrote about how to write a proper CV and get hired as a web developer. He opens with a disclaimer explaining how his tips are really only for prospective web developers and that ‘they will probably not work for other professions involved in web development' but I think he's selling himself short. As someone who also has hired web developers, I think that aside from a few skimmable details, his tips are useful for any jobhunter. Let's take a look. HOW TO READ JOB ADS Christian's right when he warns about job ads. Many people, including myself, have an understandable tendency to take them at face value; that is their point. After all, if the hiring company can't describe what they want, how can they hope to find anyone that corresponds to what they want? Alas, if it were only so simple. In a company where every team or department already has a manager, the decision to hire should come after a specific need to do so has been identified by that manager, in which case writing a job description or even a job posting should be fairly straightforward, but if this were always the case, I'd have nothing to say here ?? Some scenarios that I've seen- The Company Doesn't Know â€" Surprisingly often, companies can't even begin to describe their staffing needs. This is somewhat excusable in the case of a small company, where e.g. the CEO knows that ‘accounting needs to be done' but doesn't know enough on the topic or even someone else who can help him understand that he actually just needs a bookie â€" a person to organize the company's books/ledgers. Similarly, when a company needs to open a new department, it makes sense to find a qualified manager who can then go further in properly recruiting the members of the team. Unfortunately, not all people have the culture to seek pertinent external advice in defining the resulting job listing and only a stroke of luck would attract that competent manager. The Company Knows, They're Just Lazy â€" I see this all the time with one-line job listings on websites that allow for more, or hollow job listings that look for qualities that anyone should have (“must be a team player”). Or even, easy-to-verify absurdities like the one Christian points out â€" I remember in seeing an ad in 1998 that required 5 years of Java experience when Java itself was only released in 1995. The Company Knows, Until Bureaucracy Intervenes or Plays Broken Telephone â€" I once needed to hire a web developer intern. Following internal procedure, I wrote a one-page job description for my company's Human Resources Department and then had a short meeting with them where they explained that they would need to distill my job description into a few lines, which we did together in the meeting. They didn't know why the procedure couldn't have begun with me writing that short description first ?? With the short version done, it was now their responsibility to post the ad or have the ad posted by their ‘recruitment services'. I asked HR to see one of the posted ads; their reply â€" sorry, we can't show you. Frankly, I'm not even sure that HR knew where to find the ads, since some recruiting services won't divulge their sources for fear that companies will leapfrog them. However, ads must have been posted somewhere because CVs started trickling in. To my dismay, most of them were fo r web designers or multimedia producers (like people who made CD-ROMs back in the day). Clearly, my short description had been given short shrift. The Company Knows, But Can't Afford It â€" Sometimes, a company has done its homework and knows exactly what it needs for a specific position but also that they can't afford to pay market rates at that position. In my experience, this was always the case when the job listing asked candidates to specify their salary requirements in their reply to the ad. RELYING ON THIRD PARTIES LEADS IN 90% OF THE CASES TO FRUSTRATION Although I don't know where Christian pulled the 90% statistic from, I do agree with him that you can't rely on third parties for your main job search or in other words or do what I call a ‘passive job search'. That's where you send your CV to recruiters or post it on job listing boards and then sit back in expectation of an email deluge where your biggest problem is deciphering legitimate replies from spam. It is boring to read through job listings, customize cover letters and CVs, and then follow up with the targeted companies, but when you're doing that hard work, it's with your own interests in mind. Recruiters (agents from recruitment/hiring services) are typically paid a commission when you get hired, and if you know this, I can understand your thinking that they have the same end goal as you do. However, that arrangement doesn't guarantee that the recruiters' interests are in harmony with yours. You want to find your dream job or at least you should be trying to do so. Recruiters just want to get paid for the least amount of effort, and frankly who can blame them â€" on some level we all want that. In consequence, they will try to setup interviews for you that will only be productive if the interviewer promises to forward your CV to someone else that may be interested. If you don't have much interview experience, unnecessary interviews may not bother you at first. Later on, you will consider them a waste of time, best avoided by contacting the company directly before the interview and trying to get a better understanding of what they're looking for. I like to ask for a job description, formal or ad-hoc. Usually it will be the latter which is ok, especially if there isn't even a job listing for me to see since the recruiter referred me directly to the company.eval NETWORKING IS EVERYTHING It's true. A lot of people don't like the idea of ‘who you know' being primed over ‘what you know', and I'm one of them. That said, get ‘who you know' to put you in a situation where what matters most is ‘what you know'. Stay in touch with old colleagues, clients or partners. Ask friends to send your CV out to their friends and contacts. Be active in online communities and social networks, in particular those related to your profession, and don't hesitate to mention that you're looking for work. Create accounts on general-purpose open business networks like LinkedIn (popular in North America), Xing (popular in Europe) or ZoomInfo (popular in Israel, I'm not sure why).I once read that the majority of available jobs in a market are never publicized outside of companies. When you think about it, it's not hard to understand why. Financially, it can cost very little to stay ‘internal'. Employees hear of an opening and then tell their individual network of contacts. If a new hire is found, the company wins and the employee wins (doubly so if there's an incentive plan involved). WRITE A GOOD CV I agree with everything that Christian says here. One point I like is ‘remember that whoever is hiring will have to look through dozens of CVs a day'. Taking that further â€" if you want your communication (i.e. your CV) to be well received, it's important to properly understand your target audience, in this case likely someone or some *machine* in a Human Resources department or hopefully even your boss-to-be. If you follow Christian's advice, you'll be on the path to a good CV but it will require research for it to be a great CV, one where the viewer feels as if you're already a part of the company. For that to happen, you will need to tailor your CV specifically for the company that will receive it. Learn about the company from their website â€" try to find the job you're applying for, especially if you haven't already seen the ad. See what Google and other search engines have to say about them. Then, apply what you learnt in rewriting parts of your CV. For example, every compan y has its own lexicon of terms that are particularly meaningful to them and that can sometimes be understood from their website or in their press releases. Integrating some of these terms (only where relevant) in your CV would show your familiarity with the company and make you seem familiar to them. In a similar vein, be careful which words you use in your CV. Here are some more general CV-writing tips.eval HAVE A LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS AND INTERESTS This should either be on your CV or a mental note for interviews. As Christian mentions earlier in his article, online portfolios are good for freelancers but you still need luck to be found since there are so many portfolios out there. In any case, not everyone can have a portfolio like a freelancer but everyone should be prepared to talk about what could have been in their portfolio i.e. their professional highlights. Among questions that you should be asked will be which projects did you love working on and why? If not, there's no harm in bringing it up anyway to show some in-depth knowledge but of course, stick to achievements and interests that are pertinent to the job you're interviewing for. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT This is the most important element of any job search â€" your goal. Your sole objective. When I searched for work, I asked myself what my dream job would be and used that as my compass through all the ups and downs and ins and outs of my job hunt. If you're unsure, compare what you're qualified to do with what you love to do in determining which professions match up best and thus which jobs to aim for. Since a dream job requires a dream work environment, you should learn about work conditions for your dream job and prioritize their importance for you. Companies will always try to save money and a typical way is by offering lower salaries to new recruits. Whether or not they can pay more, a good company will try to accommodate your priorities (developer example and rebuttal) as much as possible especially if the cost to them is low but the value to you is high. One of the reasons I joined Amazon in France was because they were objective-oriented and not hour-oriented. This meant that as long as I was achieving my employee objectives, no one would complain about me leaving early on Friday afternoons to get home in time for Shabbat. Amazon only gained from the arrangement since the flex-time policy was in effect for everyone and thus cost them nothing exceptionally for me, whereas from my point of view it was a major reason to stay on since not many companies permit such flexibility outside of Israel. CONCLUSION Choose a direction for your job search, equip yourself with a good CV, prepare for interviews and then push that CV wherever it makes sense. Posting it on job boards and sending it to recruiters and headhunters is also useful but should be kept secondary â€" it's up to you to stay proactive if you want that dream job.

What Are the Skills and Traits You Look for in Job Applicants

What Are the Skills and Traits You Look for in Job Applicants This week, we asked you What are the skills and traits you look for in job applicants?  You got back to us saying that conveying a confident personality is a great asset for job applicants to possess. Showing a genuine drive and a passion for the industry, plus an enthusiasm for the vacancy in question is also vital. Experience is important, including extra curricular activities, but being excited for the open vacancy is continually mentioned as the most important skill applicants should possess. You can join our #UROpinion chat every Monday on LinkedIn.  Be sure to join our community now for the latest and greatest recruitment and career discussions. Question: What are the skills and traits you look for in job applicants? Reply now! #UROpinion http://t.co/LGAmcfLn8d pic.twitter.com/23q1JNZ8KC â€" Undercover Recruiter (@UndercoverRec) February 16, 2015 On LinkedIn: Jake Willis said that communication is essential for job applicants. Projecting a confident image is a great way for candidates to stand out. Its important that job seekers are proud of who they are, their experiences and especially what they can offer! Being concise with interview answers is a great way of demonstrating your efficiency as a communicator: Jake Willis Increasing productivity and profitability through cutting-edge technology Communicators. We need people that can communicate. Don’t tell me you are a good communicator show me by answering my questions in two minutes without a lot of palaver. Answer with an experience you had, not with what you think I want to hear. On Twitter: The three replies we received on Twitter all spoke of passion, communication and the ability to collaborate as the most desirable traits in job applicants: @UndercoverRec Passion, curiosity, problem-solving ability, collaboration and humility. â€" MT Career Coaches (@MTCareerCoaches) February 16, 2015 @UndercoverRec solid job growth (no job hopping), technical skills, and interpersonal abilities are key! â€" Belcan Pittsburgh (@BelcanPITT) February 16, 2015 @UndercoverRec stellar track record (experience), ability to do more with less, and drive. â€" Kasey Smith (@Kasey_M_Smith) February 16, 2015 What are the skills and traits you look for in job applicants? Let us know in the comments, or reply  in our discussion on LinkedIn! To conclude, employers dont only look at applicant experience but search for candidates that demonstrate a genuine drive for the vacancy. Being able to effectively communicate and work as a team is a massive bonus.

Research that reveals new paths to productivity

Research that reveals new paths to productivity Recently I have fallen back into my evil habit of writing a to do list and then ignoring it because I dont think I can get it done. I know from past experience that the best way out of this rut is to read research about productivity. Even if I dont act on the research, taking the time to think about productivity inspires me to be more true to my to do list. Here are four ways to get out of a rut and start making progress again: 1. Pay attention on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday is our most productive day at work, according to a study from Robert Half International. Apparently, Monday is the day we get our lists in order, and Tuesday is the day we plow through them. Bill Driscoll, from Robert Half, recommends that you recognize your peak performance times, and schedule as few interruptions during that time as possible. This is one of those pieces of advice that makes sense, but very few of us manage our calendars so carefully that we are actually implementing the advice. But also, what about being as gung ho about Wednesday and Thursday as you are about Tuesday? 2. Stop obsessing over your choices and just decide. Most people overestimate the regret theyll experience after making an emotionally charged choice, according to research from the University College London. In fact, Karim Kassam, a psychologist working at Harvard, shows that we figure out how to justify most of our big decisions, no matter how good or bad they were. He calls it our psychological immune system. The Harvard Business Review also reveals that we are not good at making decisions with a lot of data points involved. Which means that frequently, the longer you spend on a decision, the less productive you are. This research, maybe, gives you the temerity to take a leap, knowing that your decision wont get smarter or easier to live with if you take longer. 3. Go to church. Lisa Cullen reports that girls who go to church work harder than other people. Maybe you think this is because church girls are so bored in their upstanding lives that they cant think of anything better to do than work. But I think it actually has something to do with optimism. People who go to church regularly are more optimistic people in general, and optimism makes people feel more positive about their work. If you feel like you will affect your work in a positive way, youre more likely to dig in and do it. (Here is a small study to support my claims. There are a ton of these studies, and Im hoping the Christian bloggers who read this blogthere are a lot, surprisingly enoughwill aid in this cause with some more links.) 4. Put a treadmill in your office. People think better from getting a little exercise. Not the kind of exercise where you feel like you are going to pass out. But the low-level, reasonable-pace type of exercise. The difference in mental capacity while we are active and passive is huge. Leverage this knowledge about yourself and do your work on a treadmill. I thought I was a genius taking work calls at the gym, on the elliptical trainer, (until the manager told me absolutely never again because people were sick of overhearing my calls.) But now everyones got an idea for working while walking, and there are workstations designed especially for use on a treadmill. Ask your boss to buy you one. Theyre $3,000, but thats a great company investment if you can get your to do list done every day.

Take the 2-Minute Express to Heaven or Hell - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Take the 2-Minute Express to Heaven or Hell - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Inside of two minutes, you can provoke mindfulness, a meditative state, or anxiety. You do it simply focusing your thoughts. Most of us do anxiety, rage, irritation, frustration, disappointment, and fear pretty reliably. Maybe you have the land speed record on those. The terrible truth is, what you believe is natural, is not. How you respond to situations or life itself is simply a manifestation of personal choices. The scientific evidence is pretty overwhelming on this now. How you feel is a choice â€" your choice. How big of an “aha!” moment is that for you? When I learned this, I thought: Wow. How I feel is a choice? How I ignite my neurochemistry in response to my thoughts or a situation is a choice? Im feeling a little Spock-like right now. When I got over the sci-fi shiver of it, my next “aha!” was: what power! If I chose my feelings even rehearse them much less spend time cleaning out my internal environment, its easy to control my behavior. And, my behavior forms other peoples opinions of me and how I am doing. That is the essence of the power of personal branding. We each control our own reality, or at least our impression of reality. It’s as if you have a virtual reality helmet on all day and the controllers are well, under your control. You select what you see. And, you select how you feel about it. That is, if you make such choices consciously. Given that individual or collective perception is largely what we call reality, this choice means you are inventing or at least collaborating with the environment all day long. And, that collaboration results in at least one of two thoughts and a whole set of feelings: Wow! It’s a great day to be me. Feeling happy and relaxed. Gee. What a terrible day to be me. Feeling angry and anxious. It’s a bit of shock and maybe even a little embarrassing to consider the implications of the two-minute transformation. You suffer or you are serene. Your choice. It’s kind of like being offered coffee or tea. Your choice. Of course, given the spectrum of human emotions and a lifetime of practicing the neurological pathways that lead to misery or mindfulness (among a host of other states you might regularly be in): this finding might cause you to doubt yourself. Who would choose to be anxious? Angry? Irritated? Who would choose to be serene? Laid back? So “om” that the covers are too heavy to lift and hence I can’t get myself out of bed and to work? Of course, you are probably not the Dalai Lama or another master of spiritual practice. Events occur that “naturally” ignite a raft of negative feeling states included the dreadful anxiety most of us have from time to time. It’s the meditation and mindfulness exercise that we have to do with intention. The question is will you make the choice? Will you take two minutes at various points in your day â€" or at any point in your day â€" to change your reality? Are you willing to be in control of how you feel, and how you act? The best personal brands do. As a side note: I wonder if they have Starbucks Italian Roast in Keurig cups in heaven? Maybe that is heaven, because I just bought the machine and had a hellish time trying to find that roast. Oops! Time to focus on my breathing.

Resume Writing Services - The Best Way to Get a Job

Resume Writing Services - The Best Way to Get a JobMany individuals from across the globe use the services of resume writing services India to write a perfect resume and improve their career prospects. Resume writing is a crucial factor in securing a job and in fact, it may be one of the most critical components of any job application.Resume writing services India have the capability to create a winning resume and make you stand out of the crowd in the competitive job market. Such services can help you stand out in a sea of applicants applying for a particular job. While selecting the resume writing service for your job application, be very careful as there are many fake services available in the online world. You can check the credentials of the service providers by getting references and reviews from friends, colleagues, acquaintances etc.There are several reasons why people use these services for varied purposes. For starters, job applicants need not carry on with the filing of re sumes and other important documents for submitting their application form. This in turn ensures that the entire process will be finished very quickly and efficiently. The service providers ensure that the process of application can be completed in a very short time. Moreover, the submission of the forms can be completed very quickly and thus the applicants get an opportunity to grab their desired jobs without wasting time on endless forms.You can hire professional writers who are very skilled and experienced in completing a complete job application form. By having these writers on your side, you do not have to worry about the presence of such professionals in the office of your hiring company.On the other hand, if you want to have a greater control over the entire job search process, hiring professional resume writers at affordable rates is the best alternative. The writers offer useful information to the job seekers as they provide necessary information regarding their resume and w hat areas should be covered and what areas are just meant to be covered.Moreover, these freelance services can even provide you with a draft resume for your use, which is completely free of cost. The writers are also experts in creating professionally designed resumes that can be used in various important places like for interviewing at different places.It is always better to get complete information about these services before deciding to hire them, as they may not give you complete control over the entire process. You can hire only those writers who provide you with more than one service and at a cheaper rate.Resume writing services India are widely in demand because you can always trust on them and hire only the best when it comes to doing so. Resume writing services India can improve your chances of finding a job, be it in the United States, in Europe or Asia, through their good work.

Its about customer experiences not the process - Wolfgang Career Executive Coaching

Its about customer experiences not the process - Wolfgang Career Executive Coaching A guest blog tying United Airlines and Amazon together!? Well here you go! Coach Wolfgang The United Airlines scandal caused me to realize something very concerning about how I performed at my job. So let me ask you about your job do you focus on customer experiences more or do you put more attention on executing your tasks according to internal processes? United Airlines followed procedures In case you arent aware, United Airlines had authorities forcibly remove a passenger from his seat back in April. It was caught on video. Turns out that the flight was full but they had to accommodate a few flight attendants that needed to get on. When no one took their offer for free flight credits, they selected 4 passengers at random to kick off. One of the four refused and United Airlines called the cops. The man had a few minor injuries from the ordeal and is suing United Airlines. The video went viral and is a nightmare public relations situation for United. The United Airlines CEO originally said, essentially, that his team “followed their procedures” when they had authorities physically remove the passenger. It’s a response he regretted. A day later, he said it shouldn’t have happened and apologized. He also said that he hadn’t put the process in place for his staff to adequately handle the situation. Amazon focuses on customer experiences During the same week, Jeff Bezos CEO of Amazon sent a letter to his company and pointed to a reason behind their success: they focus on customer outcomes and resist simply performing their tasks by following their processes. He states that as organizations become large, oftentimes “the process becomes the proxy for the result you want” and they stop looking at the customer experiences they want. It stunts innovation and can even get you into trouble. (Was he referring to United Airlines??) Oh no. Were guilty. I look around at the company I work for and I see this focus on the process and doing what someone says rather than a focus on customer experiences. For example, I’ve looked at a lot of marketing materials, website copy, sales calling scripts, etc. and I can see that everyone is “playing it safe” and making sure that what they say or write doesn’t deviate too far from others. Plus, most of these materials have the writer in mind, not the customer! Oh no! My company is filled with people who believe success is achieved when the follow the process correctly. They have no concept of what makes great customer experiences! I’m not innocent here but it concerns me that the customer experience isn’t higher on our list of priorities. I see aspects of this in the way our sales team is trained incentivized, in the ways we try to market our products, the way we follow-up on potential clients, even the way we make our products and choose which new features to add. Its all a series of linear decisions where each step is about following the rules rather than delighting the customer. The list goes on. Opportunity to change Maybe all of this is natural since we are a mature, established company. Yes, everyone else is doing it so its no biggie that we are too. Im bringing this up, not to be cruel, but to call out an important aspect of our job: to focus on the outcomes we create for prospects and customers. This is a huge opportunity for us. Our objective is to deliver effective results, however, I don’t think that means we need to stay within our current parameters, processes even mindset all the time. We need to know the process, follow it to get things done but then spend time questioning the process, the content, the issues and the customer experiences we deliver. We need to keep from accepting our internal rules processes as our goal and, instead, question those and make creating a great experience for customers our goal. So which are you doing?

Tips for Boosting Your Earning Potential - CareerAlley

Tips for Boosting Your Earning Potential - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Tips for Boosting Your Earning Potential Even if you love your work, the fact of the matter might be that you wish you earned more money. Checking up on wage equality at Hired.com is certainly a good idea, but its also best to do everything possible to make employers want to pay you what youre asking for, or at least be willing to offer you a raise. Here are a few things you can do to effectively increase your overall earning potential. source Learn Project Management Your job title might not be that ofproject manager, but that doesnt mean you cant get a grasp of the basics of project management, no matter your current position or field. Work in close proximity to your managers and peers in leadership positions. Learn what goes into putting a project together, carrying a project out, keeping a project on track and seeing a project through until the end. The skills you learn could help you immensely in your day-to-day work, and they might be just what you need to qualify for a future job. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager: A FranklinCovey Title Price: $12.99 Buy Now from Amazon We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Last Updated: March 2, 2020 Keep your expectations realistic, and do some research first. Most annual raises are between 1 percent and 5 percent of your salary. A survey by human resources consultancy Aon Hewitt found that many companies plan to set annual raises at 3 percent of base salaries in 2018, according to The Washington Post, giving low performers a smaller bump and star performers more of a hike. Huffingtonpost.com Ask for a Raise One of the simplest ways to boost your earning potential is to just ask for a raise. If youve been with a company for a while, are consistently one of the highest-performing employees and know that other people in the company have received raises, you should think about asking for one yourself. Again, you can use a site like Hired.com to get an idea of what someone in your industry and with your current job title is paid. If your boss wont agree to a financial raise, see if you can at least tweak your benefits or vacation package. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash Find a Mentor Besides learning about project management, you can also find an experienced employee to mentor you. Older employees who are retiring are taking treasure troves of information and knowledge with them. While times have changed and technology has advanced, the foundations of industries are still quite present and potent; youd do well to learn a few things from a mentor. To help with this tip, see if there are local industry meetups to attend or organizations that pair mentors with mentees. Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash Take on Extra Projects Theres no way around it: If you want to earn higher pay, youve got to put in more work. Keep your eyes peeled for new and upcoming projects you feel youre perfectly suited for. Besides looking for projects, you might even want to think about starting a few own your on. Maybe you think theres something lacking in your company, perhaps an opportunity thats gone unexplored. Or, it could be that you feel you can make a process more efficient. No matter what it is, take it to your boss to see if you can head the project. Not only are you showing youve got initiative, but you also have the chance to change things for the better at your company. Are you underpaid? Do you think you are paid what you are worth, given your experience and compared to others you work with? If you are like most of us, the answer is probably that you think you are underpaid. Testing the job market is the way to find out. Tweet This Besides the direct method, there are also plenty of indirect ways to increase your earning potential. While you might not see immediate results, your hard work is sure to pay off in one way or another. Get Your Side Hustle What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to launch your career. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. 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