How You Can Start Boosting Your Career Your First Day on the Job – Tey Scott

Sep 252017
 

When I graduated college, I immediately set out to build a successful brand. As any CEO will tell you, no brand is built without the help, knowledge, and experience of others. I knew that once I had an idea of my goals, I had to make sure I had the right people in place to help me achieve them.

While I didn’t have a name for them at the time, I have always valued a specific group of people who were early investors and directors of my success. They were people whom I knew I could go to when I needed advice or just a space to vent. This novel concept of creating your own “board of directors” seemed to fit perfectly into what I had already formed with this group.

Here are some tips for finding your own board of directors:

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  •  September 25, 2017
  •  Posted by at 9:37 am
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  •   Career Success, Social Skills

Talk Yourself Right Into a Job – David G. Jensen

Sep 182017
 

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression used to describe people who can work a room: They have “the gift of gab.” The people we describe that way seem to have been born with the ability to converse. They move comfortably through crowds at social events, going from conversation to conversation with what appears to be the greatest of ease.

Luckily for most of us, that kind of outgoing nature is not necessary for job search success. Yes, communication is crucial. But unlike the innate gift of gab, you can develop the career communication skills you need. With attention, practice, and some self-awareness, you’ll be in good shape to make your communication skills work for you at various steps throughout your job search and career development path.

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How to Evaluate, Accept, Reject, or Negotiate a Job Offer – Rebecca Knight

Aug 282017
 

Congratulations! You got the job. Now for the hard part: deciding whether to accept it or not. How should you assess the salary as well as the other perks? Which publicly available information should you rely on? How should you try to get a better deal? And what’s the best way to decline an offer if it’s not the right job for you?

What the Experts Say

When an employer extends a job offer to you, he has, in essence, “fallen in love with you,” says John Lees, the UK-based career strategist and author of The Success Code. “He has psychologically committed to you, and it is a critical moment.” According to Lees, “you have more leverage” to shape your job description and improve your salary and benefits package “right after you are made an offer than you do in your first two years of employment.” Still, evaluating a job offer is not always straightforward — especially since you may not have the luxury of comparing it to others. “Step back and think expansively about your objectives,” advises Jeff Weiss, president of Lesley University and author of the HBR Guide to Negotiating. “Think about the offer in terms of your development, your quality of life, and the variety of the work you want to do.” No job offer will be perfect, so a big part of the evaluation requires you to “think about the trade-offs you are willing to make.” Here are some ideas to help you figure out if the job is right for you.

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  •  August 28, 2017
  •  Posted by at 4:32 pm
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  •   Career Success, Social Skills

Take Proactive Control Of Your Job Search And Career – Michelle Dumas

Aug 072017
 


You’re having that dream again. You know, the one where you forgot about your job interview and you’re not prepared in the slightest. You’ve shown up wearing faded pajamas and fuzzy slippers, and to your horror, your resume is written in purple crayon.

Don’t panic. As challenging as your job search is, it’s unlikely that even your worst interview will measure up to this nightmare.

But it does open the door to the question that needs an answer: What are you doing to take proactive control of your job search?

It’s Personal

Job seekers are often told to keep emotion out of it and focus solely on the most logical choice — keep business separated from the personal side of life, and never shall the two meet.

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Ask a Career Coach: Help! I’m Not Getting Interviews, But I’m Doing Everything Right – Kyle Lee

Jul 172017
 

Dear Kyle,

I’m stuck in what I would say is a “rut.” I’ve been employed at my current position for a little over eight years and am sort of stuck. There’s no chance of advancement. I’m bored and know that I have many transferable skills (in pharmaceutical sales); however, because I don’t have direct experience in the area I want to take my career, I can’t even get an interview.

I’ve been sending out my resume for over a year now. I had it professionally assessed by someone experienced in this line of work, so I know it’s professional and highlights my transferable skills. I feel incredibly confident that if I could just obtain an interview, I’d be well on my way to getting the job. Any suggestions or insights on how else I can promote myself to stand out? I’m at a loss!!

Signed, Stuck-in-a-Rut

Dear Stuck-in-a-Rut,

You just struck a chord with 90% of people who have tried to apply for jobs online. It’s tricky; you can’t ignore the standard application process, but what do you do when the portals become black holes? Assuming you’ve already been tweaking your resume and customizing your cover letter every time you apply for an opening, following up, and still getting no response, it’s time to take other action.

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Job Seekers Must Have Patience During the Hiring Process – Roy Maurer

Jun 192017
 
Typical time from application to hire is just under 28 days

Various labor market reports forecast that hiring will continue to be strong in 2017. But the competition will be fierce, making it hard for job seekers to land their choice role, according to a new survey report.

San Francisco-based recruiting software company Jobvite analyzed over 14 million job applications and their outcomes in 2016 to measure the chances of getting a job by industry, the typical length of the hiring process and the best method to get recruiters’ attention.

According to Jobvite’s data, the most competitive industries for open positions are technology, media, education and e-commerce, with companies like Grubhub or Zappos considering 66 applicants per hire.

Industries like insurance and energy, on the other hand, are substantially less competitive, with less than 20 applicants considered per hire on average. “For those seeking stability and the prospect of long-term growth at a company, these industries may pose an attractive alternative,” said Amanda Van Nuys, Jobvite’s senior director of marketing communications.

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How To Upgrade Your Social Media Presence For Your Post-College Job Hunt – Stephanie Vozza

Jun 122017
 
A guide to manage both a personal and professional presence on social media.

Your social media presence is a crucial part of your post-college job hunt. In fact, 60% of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, according to CareerBuilder’s annual social media recruitment survey, and 49% of hiring managers say they’ve found information that caused them to not hire a candidate.

If you’re a new graduate, it’s time to give your social media presence a professional makeover, says Lesley Mitler, cofounder of Early Stage Careers, a career guidance firm that works with recent college graduates.

“[In college] you tend to use social media for fun, but you need to use it to brand yourself,” she says.

Companies want to see someone who lives the words on their resume in everyday life, says Ryan Smolko, associate director of student transition and engagement at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “They’re looking for students to have a genuine interest in their desired profession, and to see them engaging with other professionals and organizations related to that industry,” he says.

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Five Questions You Should Be Careful About Asking In An Interview – Avtar Ram Singh

May 302017
 

You’ll find countless studies telling you that quite often, recruiters or interviewers tend to cross candidates off their list of candidates aren’t dressed appropriately, don’t show up on time, don’t know enough about the company they’re interviewing at or don’t seem enthusiastic enough.

Of course, those are a given – and they’re hygiene. If someone is serious about a job, they’ll dress properly, research the company and the work they do, show up on time and be courteous and eager for the role. Beyond that however, there are a couple of things that candidates often forget, something that I’ve experienced in countless interviews.

The importance of asking the right questions to your interviewer during the various stages of the interview process should not be underestimated. The questions you ask in an interview showcase a lot about how you think as a candidate, but more importantly, as an employee. They reveal what your priorities are, what you’re looking for in your next role, and paint a very clear picture to your interviewer and potential future employer.

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Forget Coding – Here’s The Skill You Need Most When You Start Your Career – Lars Schmidt

May 222017
 
Your technical chops may not give you the edge when you’re new to the workforce, but your network might.

It used to be that the only way to climb a career ladder was to pick up more skills. Learn how to do X, get paid more for it, and earn job-title Y. Up you went. Each new capability you mastered got you to that “next level,” either inside your current company or at a different one. Today, many of those ladders have fallen and shattered, with just a few left standing. Lately there have been efforts to hammer together some new ones, with new skills—usually tech-based—like cybersecurity or coding expertise held up as the new keys to staying competitive in the future job market.

[The common] advice [to develop technical skills] still reflects a “ladder climbing” mind-set in a world that’s looking a lot more like a lattice.

That isn’t exactly wrong. Some skill sets really are in higher demand than others, so it makes sense to counsel undergrads and entry-level workers to brush up in certain subject areas in order to gain an edge. But this kind of advice still reflects a “ladder-climbing” mind-set in a world that’s looking a lot more like a lattice, where talent—and people’s entire careers—are much more fluid.

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  •  May 22, 2017
  •  Posted by at 2:09 pm
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  •   Career Success, Social Skills

This LinkedIn Recruiter’s Tips For Showcasing Soft Skills On Job Interviews – Brendan Browne

May 152017
 
“It’s more about who you are than what you do,” one LinkedIn insider explains.

If you’ve heard a lot about “soft skills” lately, it’s at least partly because employers want you to develop them. According to our Global Recruiting Trends study here at LinkedIn, more employers are rolling out “soft skills assessments” to test job candidates on the cognitive and personality qualities you don’t go to school to learn: critical thinking, adaptability, learning agility, communication, etc. By all indications, these factors are trading at a higher value in 2017 than they have in the past.

“Come to each interview armed with anecdotes about how you reacted to a major change.”

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