Preparing for the interview Must Have Information

Preparing for the interview Must Have Information Don Goodman wrote another amazing post on Secrets of the Job Hunt titled You Must Remember This: Information You Must Have before the Interview. This is a MUST READ. In response to his post, I wrote HOW TO Prepare Information You Must Have before the Interview. I talk about the various points that Don writes about, things to do to prepare, and the information to collect, and how to keep it organized in JibberJobber. After all, thats what JibberJobber was designed for! Read Dons post, then read my post. Preparing for the interview Must Have Information Don Goodman wrote another amazing post on Secrets of the Job Hunt titled You Must Remember This: Information You Must Have before the Interview. This is a MUST READ. In response to his post, I wrote HOW TO Prepare Information You Must Have before the Interview. I talk about the various points that Don writes about, things to do to prepare, and the information to collect, and how to keep it organized in JibberJobber. After all, thats what JibberJobber was designed for! Read Dons post, then read my post.

10 books to read to impress your employer

10 books to read to impress your employer A sign of a great leader is the constant thirst to learn, and through reading, you will not only show your employers that you want to continue to grow both within and outside the corporation. By reading these books, you will not only improve vocabulary, but expand your point of view and make you a generally more educated person as well. Take a minute and think about the most successful people you know or may have heard of. You can almost bet they are super productive, think differently than most, and highly influential. You can learn some of the same schools they have by reading some of the best books to impress your employer. Here are 10 top books that successful entrepreneurs suggested themselves and have passed on to their employees. Use the gift of word to help you get yourself ahead of the work game. 1. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek This book is one of the most powerful books to be read, as it shows us how exactly leaders should lead. Start with why reveals what separates great companies and leaders from the rest. It provides inspiration to help build yourself along with your business, and a must read for any employer who struggles to create a long-term vision and guiding principles for their organization. 2. Reality-Based Leadership: Ditch the Drama, Restore Sanity to the Workplace, and Turn Excuses into Results by Cy Wakeman Cy Wakeman explains the difficulties and frustration in the workplace at an all-time high due to circumstances and employees. She goes on to explain that leaders aren’t helping as they should, as leaders often expect others to add value when they themselves do not. In this book you will find a brutally honest description of how lack of personal accountability is rampant in the work force. This book will inspire and motivate you to use common sense as both a leader and an employee. 3. Ask by Ryan Levesque This book is not like any marketing blue print text, but more like a paradigm shift type book that gives you a whole new perspective on what you do and how to do it better and more effectively. In this book, Levesque reveals his revolutionary ASK formula, in full detail. It offers a more personalized touch approach to selling to customers that makes them feel like you are speaking directly to them while increasing communication and online sales at the same time. 4. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Dale Carnegie explains how personal communication and interest can make you a friend out of anyone. Though it was written in the 1930’s, it is still highly recommended up to now. He also explains that there are still some people that are impossible to get along with, but to remind yourself that are you experiencing exactly why Carnegie did and to move on to more decent people. 5. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg In this interesting book, Duhigg tackles an important reality; that people succeed when they identify patterns that shape their lives and learn to how to change them. The main idea is to change your habits. Duhigg goes into full detail about the habits of individuals, how habits operate the brain, and companies use them to manipulate buying habits. The writer’s main contention is that “you have the freedom and responsibility to makeover your habits.” 6. Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman In this book, Liz Wiseman exposes two different types of persons whom she characterizes as a “multiplier” and the “diminisher.” Although she mainly refers to them as leaders, suggesting supervisory responsibilities, she describes “multipliers” to extract full capability of their own and as well as others. They demonstrate the five disciplines; talent magnet, liberator, challenger, debate maker, and investor. While the Diminishers underutilize talent and resources, they demonstrate the five disciples of disciplines: the empire builder, tyrant, know-it-all, decision maker, and a micro manager. 7. Rework: Change the Way You Work Forever by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried Rework is different from any other business book. It doesn’t contain any secrets, or fancy business terms, in fact they mock most of those in the book. This book is short and straight to the point. The great thing about reading this is that everything makes sense and it’s applicable to your job. Rework is definitely a must read for those starting a business, running a business or just in a cubicle job as it applies to everyone. 8. Focal Point by Brian Tracy Focal Point explains how users can unlock their full potential in the work field, and using the system to double your productivity and simplify your work life. This book is considered motivational but also provides more of a how-to. Brian Tracy focus points consist of values, vision, goals, knowledge and skills, habits, daily activities and actions. This is the perfect book if you want to strengthen your work life, effectiveness, and even happiness in your job. 9. Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz Considered as a manual for success, this book describes simple actionable advice to use for self-improvement. The simple actions are to build confidence, think and dream creatively, be what you think, manage your environment, make your attitude your allies, develop the action habit, turn defeats into victory, use goals to help you grow, and think like a leader. This book is for anyone who wants more out of life, with business, career growth, and leadership. 10. How Google Works by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg How Google works provides us with an insightful windows to one of the most successful companies of modern times. The main focal point of Google’s policies are that evidence matters, recruitment of smart creative, and the freedom to explore â€" which this combination any business can have success. Anyone curious about modern business should read this book. Be sure to get your hands on at least a few of these books and pass it around to your boss and colleagues â€" a good book will always impress your employer. Kiara Halligan enjoys her work as a tutor at Aussiewriter. She spends her free time investigating last technology and networking trends to share her knowledge with others.

Can You Learn to Love a Recruiter

Can You Learn to Love a Recruiter The word “Recruiter” generally stirs up lots of emotion and opinions in people we are the people the professional world loves to hate!  But can we recruiters actually be of value to you, the client? Can we become a trusted business partner? Personally, I expect that some clients will like us, and some won’t. That some clients will have had a bad experience, think we call up too much and usually at the wrong time, they think our fee’s are too high and that we add no real value, and you know what they are probably right to think that. But then again, most of my clients say just the opposite. I have been in the industry for 15 years and have worked with some exceptional recruiters, and just as many pretty average ones, there are lots of them out there so you have to pick your recruiter wisely. So when you next use a recruiter, how can you make sure it is a positive and valuable experience?  That it’s a process that gives value for money and provides an exceptional outcome? That outcome being a fantastic new employee who will serve you and your company well and be a great asset for years to come. Well that really is up to you and how you engage with the recruiter.  That sounds rather simple doesn’t it? Well let’s look at a few simple pointers, which hopefully will help you along the way: 1) Decide on what you want to hire: Really? Of course you know what you want to hire, don’t you? Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, clients often don’t know what they want when hiring. They just want “another Dave to replace him before he leaves next month” or a “CA qualified Finance Manager with great communication skills”…. This is cause for guesswork on the part of the recruiter, and they will do just that, wasting everyone’s time, especially yours! A detailed job specification description is so valuable to a recruiter and of course the candidate. If you are the hiring manager, you should write this, HR will have a template but dont rely on just that, you should be the one who thinks about the finer detail in advance of briefing recruiters. Giving clear instruction around what you are looking for will make it so much more of a smooth process. READ MORE: Hiring Managers: Don’t Try to Find the Perfect Employee! 2) Select your recruiters wisely: Does your company have a list of Preferred Suppliers to tap in to? If so, are they any good? Were they selected on price or ability? If price, then beware!. Are they a specialist in your area of expertise or generalists across all lines of business? The larger recruitment firms tend be a little cheaper and they are usually generalists who can recruit every role within your company, but often this will dilute the expertise of the recruiter. Smaller ‘boutique’ firms will be specialists within your professional sector and will understand your technical requirements, they will have a wider reach in to your specific market and should be able to source the best talent, but, they may cost you a little more for the pleasure. Establish how long the individual recruiter has personally been recruiting in your sector in the local market, this will be a clear guide to their capability and reach. 3) Don’t open the role up to every recruiter who calls you: If you do this then you are likely to find yourself in a world of pain, the phone will ring incessantly, your inbox will be flooded with CVs and it will not be a pleasurable experience.  Use 2 or 3 recruiters maximum, or if you are really confident of the recruiter’s capability, just use one Consultant on the assignment. You will be amazed by the level of input you will get from an ‘exclusive’ arrangement. 4) Meet the recruiters: Seems logical right? But often clients just don’t have time to meet. Why do we want to meet you? Its not because we like coffee or want to be your new BFF. I will let you in to a secret: recruiters don’t like wasting their own time, or yours, or their candidates.  You will get so much more from a recruiter if you invest 30-45 minutes with them talking about your ideal candidate, how you like to recruit and how you envisage the process going. They should then tailor the process to suit you and your needs. 5) Agree terms up front: Do it at the start of the process not the end when you want to make an offer to a candidate.  The recruitment fees, the payment terms, and the guarantee period are the 3 most important things to understand and agree up front. Expect that different firms will offer different terms for a different level of service you wouldn’t expect to pay Holden prices in a Mercedes dealership, would you? They offer the same thing, cars, but a very different product altogether. If price is your main driver then be pragmatic on what you expect from your recruiter: “Buy Cheap, Buy Twice” is a bad situation for everyone concerned. 6) Set out your timescales: Work out exactly when you want the person to start, so after your briefing, give the recruiter a week or so to source candidates, assume 2 or 3 rounds of interviews over a couple of weeks, with referencing too and factor in 4 weeks notice for the chosen candidate to leave their employment, and there you have it, a timetable of events. Put these in your diary, give the recruiters a couple of dates/times for interviews and instruct them to come up with the best candidates in the market (not just those ‘on the market’, who have applied on Seek) this is the ultimate carrot for any recruiter. They know you are serious about hiring, they will move mountains to find you the best guy or girl. 7) Stick to your plan: Once all of this is agreed and in place, stick to it, simple: Don’t change the brief (unless you really have to). Don’t put the process to one side while you start another project. Always give feedback to the recruiter on CVs, interviews and references do this within a day or so, candidates need to know what is happening and will think badly of your company if they hear nothing, no news or feedback can be damaging to your brand. Remember, a good recruiter will represent your business in a positive way, they will ‘sell’ the opportunity to a candidate and get their buy in to you and your team before they potentially join your company. The cost of a bad hire is immeasurable, the negative impact to the team and business is just awful. But if you get it right, and hire the best possible person out there to come and join you, who adds value, who is an asset and raises performance, surely this is money well spent at twice the price? A great recruiter will help you do this, and then you will love us again! Author: Paul Simms is an executive recruiter with 15 years of experience across the Australian and UK markets. He is the founder of Wright Executive, a specialist business within the Accounting and Professional Services sector.

5 Tips for Networking with Influencers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

5 Tips for Networking with Influencers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Connecting with influential professionals in your industry can be extremely beneficial for your career. Not only will you have the opportunity to learn about their expertise, but also you will have the chance to get yourself noticed by an influential professional in your field. Influencers can help you grow as a professional and do wonders for your professional brand. When you get noticed by influencers, you’ll have the opportunity to build credibility for your brand and create new connections. If you’ve been wondering how you could get noticed by an influencer, here are five networking tips to follow: 1. Follow and interact with influencers on Twitter. If you’re active on Twitter, pay close attention to industry influencers who are also active on this social platform. Follow their conversations and pay attention to the type of content they share. This will help you figure out what they talk about online. After you start following influencers on Twitter, start interacting with their content. Retweet and respond to the content they share. By consistently interacting with influencers and asking them questions, it’s likely they’ll eventually begin to notice your online brand. 2. Follow influencers on LinkedIn and read their content. Another great way to network with influencers in your industry is to connect with them on LinkedIn. Depending on how influential the professional is, you’ll be able to personally connect with them or follow them on LinkedIn. After you connect or follow the influencer, start interacting with their content. Especially if they write content for LinkedIn, be sure to comment and share on their articles. You can also interact with the influencer by interacting with their LinkedIn status updates. 3. Create industry-relevant content and share it with influencers. Believe it or not, you can use social media and blogging to position yourself as an expert in your industry. Create and share industry-relevant content and make sure it gets noticed by influencers. For example, if you have a professional blog, share the blog posts you create with industry influencers on Twitter or LinkedIn. You could also email content you create that you think an influencer might find valuable. Just keep in mind that influencers won’t see or respond to your content immediately, so it’s important to be patient yet persistent. 4. Be friendly and genuine. As you continue to network and interact with influencers, it’s important to be genuine and friendly. Remember, influencers who have a large following on social media might not have the time to respond to every Tweet or email. However, if you continue to be thoughtful and friendly with your interaction, you might grab an influencer’s attention with your networking efforts. 5. Subscribe and read influencers’ blogs. Another great way to interact with influencers is to read and subscribe to their blogs. It’s very likely that industry influencers will have a blog where they talk about important topics in your industry. Follow their content and be sure to comment on blog posts that are meaningful to you. By contributing to their online conversations, this is a great way to get noticed by an in influencer. Networking with influencers can be a great boost for your career. You don’t have to have thousands of followers on Twitter to get noticed by an influencer. As long as you are genuine and remain persistent, you might get noticed by a very influential professional in your field. Have you ever connected with an influential industry professional? What helped you make the connection?

14 Tips to Make a Great impression at a Job Fair CareerMetis.com

14 Tips to Make a Great impression at a Job Fair Image Source â€" DepositPhotos.comMany applicants fail to remember that a job search isn’t limited to only the internet. There are other ways to make a great expectation aside from just sending an attention-grabbing CVto a recruiter â€" making a good impression at a job fair.Career fairs are places where companies set up booths and send their best recruiters to assess applicants that attend the fair. Your goal as a candidate is to impress the recruiter with your skills and talent and make sure they remember you for the callback.Great Pieces of Advice to Make a Great Impression at a Career FairFew Days Before the EventThe best way to prepare for a career fair is to get things ready a day or two before the date of the event. The reasonseveral candidates failto impress recruiters is because of the lack of preparation they’ve done before attending the interview.1) Learn About the Details of the Job FairevalevalJob fairs are always orchestrated in a way where everyone taking part and participating in the event â€" attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and other professionals and business entities involved â€" are aware of its details.As an applicant attending job fairs, it’s best to check the details of the event from the date of its commencement, time, location, and even the list of attending companies. It’s also best to check if the job fair is catering to specific careers only as some career fairs focus on specific industries such as medical job fairs or other particular fairs.2) Research About Details of Participating CompaniesMost fairs don’t give out the details of the specific job offers the participating companies are filling. Learn which job opportunities these companies offer by researching about them individually.The goal is to know which businesses best suit your interest in terms of industry, career opportunities, and professional growth. Your responsibility is to research beyond the basic information of the company. Learn about its industry and cu lture within.Another benefit researching more about the participating companies can bring you is having the advantage of knowing which companies best suit you. It can help you discover their culture and values â€" a big factor to help you decide which company meets your interests.3) Create a Priority ListMany applicants only go through one booth to another and this is their biggest mistake. Without prior knowledge about the company, your short interview won’t be as memorable as you plan it to be.Researching gives you answers and learning about the backgrounds of these companies can help you determine which are the best companies you should make time for.evalThere will be several booths to represent different companies and simply going through them all is a waste of time. List down a set of criteria to see which companies you should be prioritizing on the day of the job fair. This way, you’ll be able to go through your top choices and visit other companies if you have the time.4) Prepare Your Go-bagThere are items that you’ll be needing in a job fair. The list is fairly long but is necessary. Preparing them in advance helps you save time when getting ready for the event and exhibits considerations and thoughtfulness towards the recruiters.The Checklist to an Ultimate Job Fair Go-bagCV or Resumeâ€" Prepare a handful of CV or resumea day or two before the event. This will come in handy when you’re visiting several booths if you wish to stay the whole day of the event. Opportunities can suddenly prevent themselves and having ammunition is like armor to war you know you’ll win.Portfolio5) Dress to ImpressNote that job fairs can take long and that there’s no use in dressing in your suits as it can only slow you down on an important event like this. There’s still a way to impress recruiters without going overboard.The key is to keep it light and go for a sharp semi-formal semi-casual look. Men can opt for long sleeves, slacks, and comfortable dress shoe s while women can opt for blouses, pencil skirts or slacks, and flat shoes or high-heels with a maximum of 2-inch heel. Dressing lightly like this can also help applicants as you move freely between booths in the fair.Image Source â€" DepositPhotos.comThe Day of the Job FairevalEvery interview is a nerve-wracking experience even for professionals with years of experience already. There’s no other way around it but to brave through and make sure to leave a lasting impression at the job fair. There are no tools that can help applicants so be sure to shake off any sign of jitters before entering the career fair.6) Have Energy and Enthusiasm to Land a JobTo have the energy and enthusiasm you’ll need to go through a day of job search and interview in a career fair, a good night’s sleep is a must. It gives you the energy to go through the day without needing caffeine to pump up your energy.A hearty meal is also a requirement before racing to the fair as a full stomach keeps your bra in focus on matters at hand. Never skip your breakfast as you’ll be needing the strength from your hearty meal to stand out from your competitors.7) Stay Confident, Not Arrogant!Being arrogant is like taking a path to rejection. Recruiters meet and speak with various applicants and they consider character an important factor when hiring.In answering questions, be concise and confident. Only tell the truth and don’t go overboard with projecting your valuable side. Recruiters know how to judge characters and boasting will never get you anywhere. Let your experience and character speak for you.8) Present CV FirstOne common mistake applicants commit during a job interviewin a career fair is handing their CV at the end of the interview. The best way to make a good impression is to hand out your CV before you proceed with the interview. This way, they can review your application while conducting the interview.They will also have the opportunity to browse your CV, getting the opportuni ty to check your achievements and accomplishments that you aren’t able to share in your introduction. If you have your portfolio, hand it over along with your CV.9) Make Time to Note Down Valuable AdviceSome interviewers will tell you important details you won’t be able to remember at the end of the day unless you write it down. It may be an email, a great piece of advice, or even the date of the interview with the company.Pro tip: write down the important details left by the interviewer before proceeding with another interview. This will help avoid confusing and mismatching information.The Day of the Job FairevalMaking a lasting impression never stops right after the interview because the actions you take after makes a big difference, too.10) Follow-up With the RecruitersNot sending a follow-up email or call is the biggest mistake young professionals commit. It’s a necessity! Sending a follow-up message two to three days after the job fair shows the recruiters that you want t he job.Recruiters meet with several applicants a day and they sometimes have the tendency to forget candidates. Never fail to send it as it may be the thing that changes your career. Keep in mind that this step in the job search process is a necessity. Original Image Source â€" Depositphotos.comOther Things to Keep in Mind to Make a Great Impression at A Job Fair11) Join the Event EarlyThe best time to join the event is the first 1 to 3 hours since it started. The early hours is the time when recruiters have the most energy and enthusiasm to speak with applicants. Take this opportunity to get the most out of the short interview you have with the recruiters in those few minutes.The early hours also allow you to check the area and see how you can navigate your way to your top choices. At most times, the first few hours only have fewer applicants as candidates mostly attend a little later. Arrive early and be one of the first candidates to speak to these company representatives!eval12) Put Your Phone on Silent ModeIt’s always distracting for others when you have a noisy phone, be it in a public or private space. Always have the decency to put your phone on silent mode or at least on low volume as the noise from it can be distracting for others.Turning it off or putting on vibrate the only mode shows recruiters that you respect the people around you and wary of disturbing them from their interviews and focus.13) NetworkThere is always time to network. You can build it when in a queue and when speaking to the company representatives. When in a long queue, speak to your co-applicants and share your learnings and experiences from job interviews, previous working experiences, and even first time experience in job fairs. This will help you expand your network and learn more about other professionals’ trades and industries.14) Check the Other BoothsThere is no right timeline when you are in a job fair. Always check your options and see which of your top choices have the shortest line and start from there first. If you line up and wait for your turn in a long queue, you will only lose valuable time.Career fairs are the best way to meet with as many recruiters as possible and it’s only a waste when you’ll only queue on booths that have the longest line.Time is of the essence in career fairs. Keep in mind that recruiters and applicants are given the same amount of time to explore and discover who is the best fit for their company and which business best suits their needs respectively.Network and do your best. The way you dress and carry yourself only makes a lasting impression. Your experience and skills will still speak for you and get you through. And remember, send a follow-up email or call to increase your chances of landing your dream job!

Now I kinda want a LEGO safety suit ) - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Now I kinda want a LEGO safety suit ) - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog (Click for full-size image) Saw this safety poster at LEGO HQ when I did a speech there?recently :) The text reads: We all know we would be much safer like this! Just not quite as efficient. Please be aware of any work place dangers you see it will prevent us from squeeing you into a suit like this! Awareness does make a difference. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Discover How to Explain Your Charge of Files With Resume Writing

Discover How to Explain Your Charge of Files With Resume WritingThe resume writing process can be difficult if you don't know how to explain you're charge of files. A resume basically is the summary of your past work experiences. You need to look at the details and give an overview of the things that you've done. The employer will usually ask you for a bit more information on your work experience, so you can better explain what your experience has been like.As mentioned, the best way to describe your resume is to look at the details. What are the details of your past work experience? Are you talking about an experience in management, sales, technical writing, advertising, public relations, project management, or anything else?Most importantly, when describing your past experiences, make sure you include everything: education, education qualifications, education level, personal contact information, skills, work experience, certifications, licenses, etc. When you are speaking in detail about each of these, you are actually speaking in more detail than you ever imagined. When you give an overview, you create a stronger connection with the potential employer.In resume writing, it is important to make it look professional. If the employers or hiring managers see your resume and see different information that's not professionally presented, they will likely get nervous about hiring you because they will assume that the resume does not portray the true image of the person who wrote it.A good way to explain you're charge of files is to create a job description. A job description is the one that describes what the potential employer needs to hire you for. This is the best way to make sure that you are describing exactly what the job is.If you are thinking about writing a description, the first thing you should consider is what your skills are. What are your strongest assets? These are the skills that you will be able to easily get used and will help you get hired if you are chosen for the job.For a job description, you can describe the type of position that you are looking for. This will help create a better outline. While a good description can help get you hired, a poorly written job description can hurt your chances of getting hired and/or get you fired. Being clear about what the job is and the requirements will give your employer a better understanding of what they will be getting.In resume writing, it is critical to create a detailed description of your experience. A well written description of your past work will help get you hired quickly and put you on a good path for your future.