Sunday, May 31, 2020

Why Facebook Beats LinkedIn for Job Search

Why Facebook Beats LinkedIn for Job Search Facebook better than LinkedIn for recruitment? Never surely?! Well, its time for another social job seeker study from our friends at Jobvite who have surveyed 2,108 adults, 1,266 of them were in jobs, on how they feel about their careers. Jobseekers in 2012 clearly understand the importance of social networking when it comes to connecting with employers. Facebook remains the  favoured  platform for job hunting, but Twitter and LinkedIn both showed spikes in candidate usage. And Recruiters spoke up about the value they place on these social profiles when screening applicants. These results seem to demonstrate that, with the prevalence of people looking to find new work, candidates and employers alike  recognise  the tremendous opportunities presented by social media and the impact social networks can have on  job seeking  success. Notable takeaways: 86% of recruiters said they view potential candidates social media profiles 24% of job seekers were asked for their social media information in job interviews 52 % of job seekers use Facebook to help find work in 2012, up from 48 percent in 2011 38 % use LinkedIn to help find work in 2012, compared to 30 percent in 2011 Related: INFOGRAPHIC: How To Dazzle Recruiters with Your Social Media Profiles.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Resume Writing Workshop in D.C

Resume Writing Workshop in D.CHave you ever attended a resume writing workshop in DC? I'm not sure I have. If you have, then I want to discuss it with you now.A resume writing workshop in D.C. is when professional writers meet and discuss their latest projects and successes. They also discuss topics relating to their professional field. In fact, some of the topics may even be insider information that they are not comfortable sharing with the general public. It is an amazing opportunity for budding writers to network with other writers who have great success.There are annual, bi-annual, and sometimes even yearly programs that these writers attend. The topics of discussion are usually related to marketing, employment-related information, and some will even discuss various topics that relate to the writing craft itself. The idea behind these gatherings is to provide writers with an opportunity to talk about the professional aspects of their field.It is a very difficult time for many wri ters who are striving to break into the industry. As a matter of fact, it has been reported that 75% of online writers either feel that their writing career is failing, or that it is dead in the water. This can be a very depressing place to be, but the wonderful thing is that there are some things that can be done about it. And one of those things is attending a resume writing workshop in D.C.First of all, consider the fact that if the writing industry is so bleak, why are more people attempting to break into it and do well? The answer is simple: because it is fun. You will have a chance to meet like minded writers who share similar goals as you. You will also be introduced to a great number of career opportunities. Additionally, your resume's are bound to get better because you will be interacting with people who have worked in this field.Second, consider the fact that we all know that personal life can take a back seat when trying to build a career, but don't forget to include it. Many writers create resumes without even considering their life outside of their job. They think that their resume will be the only piece of paper that they will ever have. It is time to re-evaluate your life and consider all that you might be missing. You never know, a resume can make or break your career.Finally, a resume is just a resume. It is only as good as the message it is conveying. It is up to you to ensure that you have an impressive and professional looking resume. Therefore, it is imperative that you focus on the elements that are essential to get hired. Thus, it is important to consider this element to avoid a costly mistake and ensure that your resume stands out.At a resume writing workshop in D.C., you will be introduced to like minded writers who are experienced in this field. You will have the opportunity to network and learn more about career goals and strategies. Above all, you will have the opportunity to improve your skills and hone your craft.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Dont be a lastminute.com type of person University of Manchester Careers Blog

Don’t be a lastminute.com type of person University of Manchester Careers Blog We all know that those prepared to leave things till the last minute sometimes pick up the best deals, it’s positively encouraged! However there are loads of things best not left till the last minute.  Sorting out things  that affect your  future is one of them. Hindsight is a marvellous thing. Graduates always tell us “if only I had known earlier” or “if only  I had done that earlier it would have been so much easier”.   We are so busy dashing through our lives making plans; to go out, meet for coffee, go on holiday etc, that we rarely make time to think about our future. It’s often something we would prefer not to think about. When things don’t go to plan it can make  dealing with the situation rationally and effectively quite difficult. So give yourself a little time. If you see a job you want to apply for make sure you seek help well before the deadline. Don’t send applications on the deadline anyway â€" you may press send before 5pm but if the server doesn’t actually send it for several hours you may miss out. If you are graduating or going home for the holidays you don’t need to panic about having an appointment that day. We are open in the vacations and can set up telephone appointments for those out of the area. If are sure you are going to fail your exams, there are probably reasons behind this. Seek help from academic advisers, the counselling service and careers as soon as you feel unsure or stressed. We may not be able to fix the problem but we can help you evaluate your options. Got a deadline coming up â€"  like a date to pick modules or submit coursework by?   Think there might be issues?  Take action early, you may have to book appointments with academic staff and they may refer you to other services such as Careers. The process is never as quick as you think it will be. Employers can surprise you by offering you an interview at the last minute but it is rarely next day. Ask the information team for help on how to prepare â€" no appointment needed! It’s generally a lot less stressful if you can take a few minutes to plan in advance.   The new semester starts in just 33 days so why not: Check to see if any of the graduate or placement  schemes you are interested in are open yet. Have a careers appointment to start clarifying your ideas. Check over your CV and update it with activities and experience from this summer. Start researching sectors and roles you might be interested in, find out what the entry routes and typical employers are. Watch the interview  and assessment centre videos on our website to familiarise yourself with the processes. All Undergraduate 53.468610 -2.233701

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

4 Reasons Why You Still Need Business Cards At All Times

4 Reasons Why You Still Need Business Cards At All Times Todays post is written by Anita Brady. Anita is the President of  123Print.com, a leading provider of a high variety of quality items like  business cards, fancy letterhead, and other materials for small businesses and solo practitioners. In the media world, print is a slowly dying breed. From newspapers to books, theres now a digital alternative for everything. Personally, I love being able to search by word on my e-reader and take notes on articles that are automatically sent to my email. Pound for pound, however, the digital realm has yet to overtake print when it comes to business cards. Of course, there are plenty of advantages to being able to bump our phones together to trade contacts or send all of our relevant contact data in an email, but something is lost in the transaction. Think back on your own experience: Are you guilty of being caught empty-handed when someone requested your card? Have you recently asked for someone elses card, only to be told they were out? Although typing in someones phone number and email is common enough, the chances of actually initiating follow-up contact without a printed card reminder are greatly reduced. When you put someones card into your purse, wallet, or pocket, you will at some point have to remove it. That recollection (and the avoidance of having to ask yourself, What was her name?) has inherent value. In a world where we may be in contact with dozens of varied people throughout a day, a paper trail helps you to remain memorable and can help you network more effectively. The reasons to keep a printed business card on your person at all times are numerous: 1) Business Cards Portray Your Personal Brand The style of your cards design immediately reinforces the impression you make upon personally meeting someone. If youre an artistic, creative type, a non-traditional card in shape, texture, or content can help emphasize the passion you put into your work. Likewise, business people will want to convey strength and simple elegance. Take the time to design a card that speaks to your personality, and show the design to a variety of trusted friends and coworkers before finalizing its look. 2) Theres No Better Marketing Tool for the Money With all of the money spent on Facebook ads, billboards, and video marketing, its pointless to pass up an outlet that provides direct bang-for-your-buck effectiveness. When you place a card into someones hand, they have effectively given you permission to market to them, and theyll revisit your brand at a later date when they clean out their pockets or purse. The price of printing business cards pales in comparison to any other type of advertising, and you cant beat the 100 percent click through rate of physically handing a marketing tool to someone. [Related Post: How to Survive Your First Work Conference] 3) Cards Are Adaptable Depending on your line of work and the purpose of your card, its possible to use the backside as a coupon or discount, increasing the value of the card to the holder (and the likelihood that theyll initiate follow-up contact). Similarly, QR codes can easily be printed on a card, bringing paper into the digital age. By scanning the code with a phone, your website or social media campaign can be instantly accessed through the physical card. Scores of QR code generators exist on the web and are simple to utilize. 4) Timelessness Matters Even if one generation begins to move away from a means of communication, there is still value in catering to those who prefer traditional means. Business cards are still valuable (even when exchanged between techie 20-somethings), but theyre certainly a necessity when interacting with older potential clients and employers. In some situations, not carrying a card and relying solely on digital contact exchanges could be viewed as unprofessional and a sign of unpreparedness. There are fringe benefits to business cards as well. In busy work/social environments, it can be difficult to remember every persons name as you mingle and converse. Exchanging cards lets you steal a subtle glance for a reminder, allowing for a warm farewell, by name, when its time to part ways. Finally, the same reasons for you to carry a card apply to your decisions about the people you choose to work with. Do you really want to hire an accountant whose card looks sloppy and disorganized? Think of your business card as an extension of your professional attitude. Use it to convey your experience and capabilities, and hand them out with pride. Do you have your business card on you right now?

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Writing a Resume on Notepad - Tips For Writing a Professional Resume on Paper

Writing a Resume on Notepad - Tips For Writing a Professional Resume on PaperWriting a resume on notepad is a very good way to make your resume stand out. I used to hate using them because I always thought I was going to look like a schoolboy when I wrote it on notepads. I'm pretty sure that everyone has had that experience at some time or another in their life. There are a few things that you should look for when writing a resume on notepads.It's best to use specific colors, certain formatting rules and not just any color you can find. If you are able to avoid colors that are too vivid or that are hard to read then do so. You'll be glad you did.Be careful about font size and spacing. There should be no space between words. Everything should be in the same size. Try to avoid long lines and bulleted lists because it looks unnatural. If you are able to avoid bulleted lists and long lines then go for it.You may want to use real life examples to help you write your resume on notepad. An example of someone who had a successful career would be a great tip. Try to remember everything you learned as a student in school or even as a college student. Write them down and apply those tips to your future.The most important thing to remember when writing a resume on notepad is to focus on the important. You need to have something written that will catch the eye of an employer. I found this out the hard way when I first started out. When I began looking for jobs I didn't have anything to offer and I found myself calling interviewers right back.Your skills are what will make you different from the other applicants that they have. If you're not the best writer, or the best person when it comes to management skills then don't take the job. You should be the best of the best. Don't put yourself at a disadvantage.A well-structured resume is best without any type of organization or structure. Use a couple of paragraphs to explain your experience and education. Use bullet points and numbered lists to list your experience so it will be easier to read.You should be able to write your resume on notepad without too much trouble. You'll be a lot happier when you do and your resume will read much better too. If you follow these guidelines then you should be able to write a resume on notepad without any problems.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

A Career in UX Design How to Get Started Without Any Qualifications CareerMetis.com

A Career in UX Design How to Get Started Without Any Qualifications Original Image Source â€" Depositphotos.comThere’s been an interesting thread circling my corner of the internet for the last week or so.It started with a question: can I land a career in UX design with zero qualification; of course, you can!I’ve had many of you asking me about how I landed a job in UX design without having any sort of relevant experience or exposure under my belt. So, now you know why I am putting up this topic!evalIn tandem with web development, web designing plays a vital role in succeeding your business site. But unless and until you don’t make certain advances in your technique it will seem like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. UX designing is a pretty hot job right nowacross the globe.According to CNN, it has been ranked fourteenth in their top 100 jobs list, stating that the number of UX design positions is likely to rise by 18% over the next ten years.Also, it came seventh in Forbes list of top 20 jobs for work-life balance, and a recent study by the Niels en Norman Group found that UX designers love their work! Respondents rated their career satisfaction as 5.4 on a scale of 1-7.I can still recall the infancy days when I was just a disciple struggling hard with no clear consensus on where to go or which qualifications are required to land up with the best job in UX designing. And as a layman, I was naïve enough to presume that anything related to designing requires a degree from a reputed art school. I must say I was so wrong!On the contrary, very few UX designers have studies UX at university. The world is full of people with different backgrounds ranging from psychology to marketing to project management and finance. As for me, I initially enrolled myself in the finance industry for unsociable hours and low pay and switched here. Do you need a UX design certification?Probably not! Moreover, you will come across several employees who don’t aim to see your certificate- it’s more like proving what you truly are and how much you are capable of. Also, there are plenty of people out there who have fallen into UX through other career paths, and as such, they were never formally trained in it!All you need to know is where to begin!evalIf you are determined then nothing can stop you from succeeding. Information is everywhere, and all considerable resources are at your service from blogs to books, learning on the job, etc.Start seeking around for crucial job descriptions on sites such as Linkedin, Indeed and Seek. This will surely provide you a better understanding of what is required from you. However, you will find that it’s easy to lose sight of what’s important and what’s not. For example,Empathizeevalthe process where you can put yourself into your end users shoes. Able to conduct surveys and studies, be observant, carry out focus group sessions to understand your users’ behaviors, needs, and goals.DefineBeing able to identify and prioritize critical issues helps to define the scope of the projec t and let us know where to focus on to deliver the highest impact on your users.evalIt may quite interest you to know that a UX designer has to by hook or crook make things work with product managers and engineers to gather and evaluate user requirements.SourceIdeateIf you are a developer, you have to gain comfort in writing the code similarly, as a designer, it is very important for you to be comfortable with visualizing and sketching ideas on paper. Right from translating concepts into user flows, wireframes and low-fidelity mockups that lead to intuitive user experiences.Try familiarizing with applications such as Balsamiq, which is commonly used for rapid wireframing and getting quick feedback.Design and prototypeSketch, InVision, and creative cloud ValidateConducting usability testing is quite important when it comes to getting feedback on your prototype before it goes into development.At the same time, it is essential to work with engineers to understand whether your designs c an be implemented from a technical perspective or not. Analyzing user data gives you an exceptional understanding in regards to the performance of your designs and you will be able to drive the decisions as an experienced professional.Finally, it’s worth noting that UX designers do not operate in silos. They work closely with many key people and teams within the organization, including users, stakeholders, product, and engineers. Which also means you might encounter conflicting perspectives. During such cases, you must be sensible enough to know when to pick your battles and let the data speak for itself.So, what’s Next?So good so far, you have got a brief idea of what is expected of a UX designer.Think hard; think about ways in which you can acquire and practice those skills.One of the best frameworks that I have found extremely useful is “Learning,” which features exposure, credibility, and experience.SourceExposureevalIn case, if you are a newbie in town, it is very cruci al for you to start soaking in as much information as needed to understand what the career is about. What kind of things are required for you to get yourself into if you were to pursue this path?Reading books, watching videos, attending events, or even just by talking to people in the industry can be quite helpful.Go through popular publications such as UX Planet, Smashing Magazine, UX stack exchange, and the UX collective. Apart from this, you can think considerable resourceful sites such as Dribbble, Muzli, and Behance.In addition to this, try attending events; it can be one of the best meets up experiences you ever had. Try having more and more conversations with professionals around, observe them what they do, and ask them questions about their job.ExperienceOF course, you are naïve right now, but you can get experience by practicing. Start something like a project, write a blog, get experience, or participate in a hackathon. Do something that requires you to apply what you’v e learned in theory.evalI am sure you will come across several programs run by the industry leader, which gives the participant a golden opportunity to work with a cross-functional team in an Agile environment.Start a project all by yourself. I think this is the best way to apply what you’ve learned in theory to the real world. In case, if you are baffled where to start from, you can do by looking at existing websites and finding ways to improve the UX by redesigning the page.CredibilityTime to build a portfolio, get a certification to become a freelancer, or apply for a job. Try to work towards something that will give you some level of credibility.By doing this, you will be able to prove to others that you’ve successfully consolidated your theoretical knowledge and practical experiences. As I said, do freelancing. Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer are some examples of platforms where you can build brand credibility by working for clients as a freelancer or contractor.Keep evaluat ing yourself in regards to skills. It’s also handy to compare your current skills and experiences to the requirements listed on the job description to see how you stack up.Lastly, UX designing is worth giving a shot, and I am the living proof of it!

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Career Solvers Honored With Three Industry Distinctions

Career Solvers Honored With Three Industry Distinctions I am pleased to announce that Career Solvers recently won three of the industrys most prestigious resume writing awards. As the winner of the Modernize Your Resume Award, sponsored by Emerald Career Publishing, my work was recognized for its tight writing, compelling strategy for messaging the clients value, and unique design aesthetic. I achieved an Honorable Mention in the   Recognizing Outstanding Achievement in Resumes (ROAR) competition sponsored by The National Resume Writers Association, my second time being honored with a win.My win in the TORI (Toast of the Resume Industry) competition, sponsored by Career Directors International, marks my 12th TORI award since 2006. The competition draws hundreds of entries from resume writers from all over the world, and it is an honor to be a winner this year in the category of Best Healthcare Resume. Ive been honored in the past in the categories of Best Executive Resume, Best Technology Resume,   Best Sales Marketing Resume, Best Inter national Resume, Best Creative Resume, and Best Cover Letter.Special thanks to the organizations who make these contests possible and to the judges who dedicated their time to reviewing all the entries. I am thankful for your contribution to the industry.

Friday, May 8, 2020

How to Network Within Your Workplace

How to Network Within Your Workplace Networking is essential in the business world today if you want to land the job of your dreams. But what if you already have a job? There are still plenty of reasons to continue your networking efforts, and doing so within your workplace is beneficial as well. If you work for a large company, chances are you may not know half of the people you work with. Unlike networking to find a new job, you won’t have to visit the top resume writing services to make an impression on a co-worker. All it takes is a friendly conversation to learn more about someone. Here are a few tips for networking within your current workplace. Strike A Lunchtime Conversation Your lunch hour is a good time to unwind and take a break. If you’re going to the break room anyway, try striking up a conversation with someone instead of sitting in the corner by yourself. This is a perfect opportunity to discuss matters not related to work and could even lead to a strong personal and business connection. Most people will welcome a lunchtime conversation, but you should also be respectful and notice certain signs if the other person doesn’t want to talk at the moment. Take Time To Be Friendly You don’t have to visit an executive resume service to know being friendly will help you make more connections. Simply asking someone how their day is going or just smiling at them in the hallway can create a memorable moment. It also creates somewhat of an icebreaker when you see the same person in the break room, elevator or anywhere else you have a few seconds to strike up a conversation. Friendliness is closely related to familiarity, and the more your face is familiar to others, the easier it will be to connect with them. Introduce Yourself To New Hires A newly hired professional in your organization is likely eager to meet as many people as possible. Even if you aren’t comfortable with networking at any capacity, talking to a new hire is easy. If you know their name ahead of time, you can look at their LinkedIn profile to help you with a conversation starter. Give the new hire some useful tips and they’ll remember you and connect with you more often. Check LinkedIn The easiest connections to make with your LinkedIn profile are the ones who work with you. In fact, LinkedIn may even recognize the same company name in other profiles and suggest you connect with them. When you make LinkedIn connections with people in your workplace, you’ll build some familiarity and make conversations much easier to get started when you interact in person. Professional Resume Services is more than simply an executive resume service. We help professionals with their networking efforts, LinkedIn profile building and much more. Any time a professional needs us with any aspect of their current job or job search, we are always available. Feel free to contact us at any time if you need assistance with your networking efforts.