Monday, April 20, 2020

Writing a Resume Instructions For the First Time

Writing a Resume Instructions For the First TimeWriting a resume is an art and more so if you are doing it for the first time. Most of the time, when someone is preparing for their first job interview they would like to impress their prospective employer by demonstrating that they have great working skills and lots of talents as well as other relevant information to the company.A good way to do this is by learning as much as you can about the organization you are applying for the job. There are many places where you can learn this information. Online research can give you a lot of tips as to what kind of people the company employs, the reputation of the company and their needs.After knowing this information it is time to get started with writing a resume instructions. You need to make sure that the cover letter is filled with the required information. Make sure you are providing them with information that will get them to read your resume letter and assess your skills and talents. A simple resume letter will not get you anywhere near the interview.One thing you need to keep in mind is to write only a short paragraph explaining your employment. However, this is something that the employer may ask you to keep because of the complexity of the task. So start with the basics.Start with a short description of the duties and responsibilities you had while employed. Also mention how you performed those duties. Ask questions regarding your position and responsibilities and any other additional information you think would help them understand your skills and talents. Remember, the employer does not want to hear anything that they are not going to use!If you cannot go into too much detail, it would be better to prepare a synopsis of your job history or anything that may support the facts and say something about your accomplishments during the job. It would be good to mention any of your certifications that you might have received while at the organization. Although, these certifications can be very helpful but they can never replace hard work. A little bit of effort here will go a long way to ensure that you get your dream job.In conclusion, writing a resume instructions can be intimidating for a beginner. It would be best to start out slow and get as much experience as you can before diving into the specifics of the job opening. This is one area where a little bit of time can go a long way to ensuring you succeed.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Passive Job-Seekers Have the Advantage

Passive Job-Seekers Have the Advantage New research challenges the conventional wisdom of job-hunting by coming across a surprising discovery: The secret to advancing your career, as it turns out, is to stop looking for your next gig. Research company Future Workplace, in conjunction with career network Beyond, conducted a sweeping survey of workers and HR pros that yielded some unexpected findings: Passive job-seekersâ€"that is, people who have jobs and are just keeping their options openâ€"have a better shot at landing a job than unemployed active job-seekers. In fact, HR professionals surveyed preferred passive job-seekers by a wide margin, with 80% saying passive job-seekers make good hires because they tend to have more experience, valuable skills, and a commitment to their careers. Passive job-seeking seems to be growing into a more popular trend. Among employees, a mere 4% said they were currently employed and not looking for work elsewhere, while a combined 42% said they were employed and either scoping out their other opportunities or leaving the door open to the possibility of a new job. Read next: Here’s What Your Resume Should Look Like in 2016 The survey also found that there’s a disconnect between what workers think companies want and what human resources professionals actually look for. For instance, fewer than half the workers surveyed said they thought passive job-seekers had an advantage, and most underestimated the importance of establishing and cultivating a broad network of contacts. Fewer than 10% of job-seekers placed a top priority on referrals: just under three in 10 said they networked within a company before applying, while more than 70% of HR professionals said employee referrals were the single best way for them to find candidates. Other disparities emerged in skills and abilities, with more than a third of job-seekers feeling that their college experience didn’t adequately prepare them to enter the workforce. Twice as many job-seekers as HR pros thought college GPA was important, and while hiring managers said cultural fit is a big consideration for them, a much smaller number of workers ranked this as a top priority. Even if you’re not actively hunting for a job right now, you might want to take advantage of any opportunity to brush up on your technological abilities and your virtual collaboration and teamwork skillsâ€"it’ll put you ahead of the competition. Job-seekers across the board ranked these as some of the areas where they had the biggest weaknesses. Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time  0:00/Duration  0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type  LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time  -0:00  SharePlayback Rate1xChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedAudio TrackFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal Dia logEnd of dialog window.PlayMuteCurrent Time  0:00/Duration  0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type  LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time  -0:00  Playback Rate1xFullscreenClose Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Phone interviews, the top choice for first-round interviews, were the preferred method for about 60% of responding HR managers, with roughly a quarter preferring one-on-one, in-person interviews. Accordingly, job-seekers might want to finesse their interpersonal skills and delivery, since HR managers said good communication is the top skill they value, followed by the ability to adapt to new situations or challenges and having a goal-oriented outlook. When it comes to displaying these trends, it’s no wonder that passive job-seekers have a clear edge here. People who are already valued employees somewhere can point to their current performance and accomplishments as proof of their ability to be successful in an evolving marketplace.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Cover Letters = Candid Snapshot Of You To Potential Employers - Work It Daily

Cover Letters = Candid Snapshot Of You To Potential Employers - Work It Daily In both your personal and business life, you only get one chance to make a first impression. We’ve all heard that before, right? So, why do so many job seekers screw up something so important? The cover letter is a chance to make a positive impression on a potential employer. Unlike a face-to-face meeting, where your nervousness or bad luck can turn a first impression into a disaster, a cover letter is a first impression you get to have complete control over. You decide exactly what you will say, without any time pressure or having to come up with something spontaneously, and you also get to “stage” your letter. You control what it looks like, what it sounds like, and how you come across. The key element to remember is, while you might easily spend two hours agonizing over every detail of your cover letter, the first person reading it is not going to invest even a small fraction of that time. Your letter will be scanned quickly the first time. Only if your resume or application jumps to the “short list” is it likely anyone will really take the time to read your letter word-for-word. So, you have a two-fold challenge: you must write a well-crafted cover letter that comes across well on a deep reading, and you must write a letter that favorably grabs the attention of the casual reader who is simply scanning. Your first impression makes a first impression itself â€" the envelope and paper you use for your cover letter will send an unmistakable signal to the person who receives it. What? You thought printed resumes and cover letters were dead? Not exactly. There are plenty of smaller companies that still welcome (some preferring) printed materials. In fact, go to a job fair and you’ll find paper resumes nervously gripped by anxious job seekers. When printing, does your cover letter arrive in a neatly-typed business envelope, laser-printed on heavy paper? Or, is it a blurry ink-jet printout on the lowest grade of bond paper, folded up double and stuffed into a small envelope? You can guess which of these two letters is going to make a positive impression. It’s worth investing a few dollars in the proper grade of paper and the right kind of matching envelope â€" you don’t need to spend a fortune, but you do need to print your letter on something other than the recycled dot-matrix paper you’ve been storing in the attic since 1984. If you don’t have a quality printer in your home office, then use the laser printers at Kinko’s or your local business center â€" even the library often has printers available for public use. But let’s look beyond old-school paper submissions. What about impressions resulting from job inquiries sent by e-mail? When applying for employment, do your email attachments open properly? Do your docs look crisp on screen? In making your first impression via the cover letter, you need to ensure the letter appears professional (whether sent via e-mail, fax, or mail), that the content is relevant and appropriate, and that your letter adds value to your application or resume. A phoned-in, cookie-cutter cover letter is better than no letter at all, sure, but a good letter can step your candidacy up a notch. Take every opportunity to improve your cover letter, so it opens a few more doors. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!