Sunday, May 31, 2020

How to Use Facebook to Get You a Job

How to Use Facebook to Get You a Job When it comes to Facebook, most career advice sites are unanimous: The best practice, they say, is to avoid using the social network at all, or at the very least to keep your profile private. It is not difficult to understand how this conventional wisdom came to be. After all, we have all heard the horror stories of individuals who post drunk, slovenly photos of themselves to Facebook, only to realize that shockingly! this does not endear them to recruiters or hiring managers. The long and short of it is that unwise social media use can cost you your career prospects, which is why many career advisors say it is better to steer clear, or else to make sure potential employers do not have access to your private Facebook account. This advice is not necessarily wrong, but it does offer a narrow view of online reputation, and a diminished understanding of just how powerful it can be. It may be true that a bad online reputation can hurt your career prospects, and that unwise social networking can prove disastrous. The inverse is also true, however. A positive online image can enhance your career prospects, and sound social media use can help to cast yourself as a more appealing figure among recruiters. The bottom line: Recruiters and hiring managers are often inundated with resumes and applications, and as such they turn to social networks to help them weed out red flag candidates. By keeping your profile private, you can neutralize the threat of those red flags (the slovenly photos, and so on). By keeping it public and using it to enhance your appeal among recruiters, however, you can cast yourself as a truly standout choice for the job! Using Facebook to Boost Your Online Image Still, the question remains: How can Facebook be used to advance your career prospects? We all know what not to post, but what should we post to our Facebook pages? There are several considerations to make here: The first one is obvious. You should make sure that, somewhere on your Facebook page, there is a link to your resume. You can do this by including a simple link to your LinkedIn profile. Some will question this, asking if it is really necessary; after all, can a recruiter not simply look to your LinkedIn page? Sure but the simple act of putting that link on your Facebook account shows that you are serious about your career, and zealous to seize whatever opportunities you can. On a related note, there is not necessarily any harm in letting potential employers know that you are, in fact, interested in finding work. This is not recommended for those who are currently employed, and do not wish for their employers to know they are looking elsewhere! For others, however, making it clear that you are in the market for a new job can only help your chances of using Facebook to effectively network. You can also use Facebook to showcase your professional interests, in a way that a resume or a CV will not allow. For instance: Are you a member of any industry organizations or professional associations? If so, seek them out on Facebook, and make sure to like their pages. Again, this serves to showcase how serious you are about what you do, for the benefit of potential employers! In a similar way, you can use Facebook to show off your personal side, in a way that would simply not be appropriate on your resume. When going through a stack of resumes, hiring managers do not want particularly care about your hobbies or your family interests; that is not what a resume is for, and it is frankly irrelevant to whether you are qualified for a particular job. However, by using Facebook to talk about a few of your hobbies, you can show how a different side of yourself, and perhaps come alive for recruiters and hiring managers! One more thing you might think about including on your Facebook page: Information about non-profits and charities that you support. This goes a long way toward showing off how conscientious you are, which goes over big with companies that take social responsibility seriously. You can accomplish this by liking the pages of your favorite non-profit groups. Generally speaking, you should avoid overtly political or potentially controversial organizations; and, you should always avoid open bragging about your charitable giving. Liking the appropriate pages is enough! Online Reputation, Facebook, and You These days, everyone has an online reputation so why not make an effort to make sure yours is positive? It all starts by cultivating a strong and positive social media presence. By being shrewd about it, you can ensure that your Facebook profile is actually helping you land job interviews and impress employers. Author:  Mike Zammuto is the COO of www.reputationchanger.com.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Resume Writing For Management - Why is It Important?

Resume Writing For Management - Why is It Important?In the present era of competitive jobs and a tough competition in the job market, having a good resume writing for management is essential for you to land up the job. Nowadays, resumes are essential to land the position of a leader for management as they help you land up a good job and impress the employer.Resume writing for management has various factors that need to be kept in mind while doing it. Most of the companies require extensive and well structured resumes, which include essential information of the candidate. There are certain basic factors to be considered while writing a resume.When it comes to the resume writing for management, the candidate needs to be honest in all his or her work. Make sure that you write your resume in such a way that the prospective employer feels satisfied about your resume. Be ready to make any changes that may affect the composition of your resume. Moreover, avoid mentioning any negative or bad quality of your past work experiences in your resume.Always remember that the resume you write should only highlight your abilities and achievements in the past. Do not include anything negative as it will be very detrimental for your career. Also remember to keep your resume informative and well written.The main points of a resume are the professional names, contact numbers, related educational details, previous job experience, awards and other experiences. You need to make these details interesting and impressive so that the employer gets convinced about your skills and capabilities. These details can be found on the official website of the company and the employer may also give your resume a personal touch by placing some references on the resume.Resume writing for management is very important as it helps you find a good job faster. It also gives an opportunity to communicate with your future employer and convince him that you have the required qualification for the job. However , if the writer is not acquainted with the business world, then it would be very difficult for him to give out precise details about the requirements of the job. Therefore, the process of resume writing for management needs to be carefully planned in order to come up with a very successful one.Another factor which needs to be kept in mind while writing a resume is the feedback from the past clients. Most of the companies ask their previous candidates for feedback about the performance of the resume and thus the writer needs to be capable of writing resumes in such a way that the prospective employer gets satisfied with it. In such a case, the writer needs to send a proof copy of the resume to the client.Writing a resume for management does not mean that the writer is required to become an expert in the field. However, one has to be skillful enough to write a good resume.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese How to Stay Focused in an Open Office

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese How to Stay Focused in an Open Office There are a lot of complaints these days about open concept offices. Workers complain there are too many distractions, theyre so loud you cannot hear yourself think and everyone is in everyone elses business. But organizations like the idea of workers being close enough to one another to collaborate easily or come together for quick brainstorming. Ive been working in open concept offices since the beginning of my career decades ago. Of course, then they were just called newsrooms. You often were packed so tightly into a space you could literally reach out and touch three other people. The police scanner was blasted out of the overhead sound system so that no one missed an important development. In addition, editors were known to throw objects (tennis balls, pens) at reporters across the room if they couldnt get their attention by yelling at them. People were on the phone all the time, and when they werent on the phone, they were clacking away on computers. Noise? It was unbelievable. And I loved it. Thats not to say that it was always easy to get work done. Sometimes Id be deep in thought writing a story and the fire department scanner would start screaming with alarms as firefighters rushed to a fire. Or, a frustrated reporter would curse loudly and throw a phone after having difficulty with a source on the other end. As I said, it wasnt always easy but I didnt know any other way of working. Now, of course, many people face the same situation and find theyre frustrated and annoyed by such working conditions. So, Id like to share some tips on how to make such a workspace not only bearable, but something you might come to enjoy. Here are some things to think about: Be honest.Here is the thing about journalists: They say whats on their minds. Theyre always on deadline, and dont have time to dither around when there is an issue. So, when the reporter next to me brought in Chinese garlic chicken and ate it at his desk, I told him, That smells terrible. Can you not eat that kind of thing in here anymore? I cant write when my eyes are watering. I didnt complain when he ate a ham sandwich, so he knew I wasnt being a prima donna the garlic chicken was the problem, not him. Stop blaming other people for distractions.Youre never going to get anything done if your head is doing a Linda Blair spin every time someone walks by your chair. If youre constantly being distracted, sometimes its because youre looking for that excuse. When youre focused on your work, noise isnt going to bother you because youre in the zone. The more you practice it, the better youll get at it, I promise. I have been able to write an 800-word story in 25 minutes with two reporters passing a football back and forth over my head. Find your hideout.As much as I loved the energy of a newsroom, I also knew there were times when I needed to quiet myself so that I could think of a creative way to write a story or interview a difficult source. I knew the quiet areas I could go within a newspaper building that I was within reach of my bosses, but also could find some quiet space. Conference rooms may work, but youre also likely to be interrupted. I found that stairwells, a reception area outside human resources and even the office of someone on vacation worked well (always get permission first.) Learn to laugh it off.We had a man in our newsroom who was losing his hearing, so when he talked on the phone you could hear him in the next county. But you know what? He was one of us. He was doing his job, so we all just sort of learned to laugh and forget about it. People talk too loudly on the phone. You probably talk too loudly on the phone and everyone is sick of hearing you talk to your mother or your boyfriend or your bookie. So the next time you get annoyed that someone is talking too loud, put on your headphones or learn to ignore it. Better yet, learn to laugh about our human foibles and go back to work or intercept the football sailing over your head.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

What Are the Key HR trends to Expect in 2020

What Are the Key HR trends to Expect in 2020 The challenges for HR departments are nothing if not rich and varied. From dealing with company-wide GDPR sensitive data to handling difficult and personal conversations with staff, HR continues to evolve to meet the demands of a fast-paced, digitally-driven environment. When it comes to 2020 however, there are a number of key themes we’re seeing in the market which HR managers should be paying particularly close attention to. Reputation, reputation, reputation In an increasingly tight labor market, encouraging the talent you crave to choose your business over another is a significant challenge. Businesses want to hire star players, but without a star reputation themselves, workers will often find the bigger, shinier, or richer employer to invest themselves in. And as workforces are ever-evolving, it’s increasingly important that businesses adapt their employer brand to suit the coming generations. Given that millennials now make up over 50% of the workforce, businesses need to make sure they present themselves as attractive workplaces for tech-savvy and socially conscious workers. To accommodate this, HR managers should consider what they can add to a company to make it more appealing. Whether its active CSR programs, a positive and strongly encouraged flexible working offer, or a well-established learning and development process, businesses must focus on what the talent they require is demanding. By looking outside of the usual asks within a business and by focusing on their company culture, HR can bring their businesses’ employer brand to the next level. Rev-up recruiting It’s no secret that the battle for talent will be a big focus for 2020, but making that process simple for both HR and applicants will be key in landing the best people for the job next year. Slow and clunky recruitment systems are a turn off for candidates, who want to find their next role with minimum fuss. If applying for the job feels like a slog, what does that say to potential employees when they get in the door? Here, technology will be a gamechanger. Implementing AI will allow HR to run more smoothly and reduce recruiting timelines since businesses will be able to prioritize their time in their people, not paperwork. Additionally, businesses will be taking advantage of the data available to them on employee demographics, recruitment, and performance KPIs to ensure they recruit the best available talent for the job. Embracing technology to speed up the processes, and automate the admin, means HR managers can spend more time finding the best person for the job, and ultimately bring them into the business in the smoothest and most efficient way possible. Revolutionizing onboarding They say you only get one chance to make a good first impression, so once an employee has been hired, HR managers need to make sure their first engagements with the business reinforce their decision to move. Preparation should begin well before the first day, with technology arranged, introductions diarised, and the necessary admin organized in a way that employees can manage easily. The transition to using HR software platforms allows for the “digitization of the to-do list”, reducing the administrative tasks and allowing businesses to concentrate on successfully integrating new employees into the work. By prioritizing the employee experience, HR can help increase employee well-being and ultimately increase employee retention. In the current labor market, finding, hiring and retaining the best people is one of HR’s biggest challenges. But, by making the most of their time, and focusing on the valuable work HR does, businesses can ensure they stand out from the crowd, finding and keeping the people who’ll help them grow in the future. About the author: Hanno Renner, is the CEO of Personio, the one-stop HR operating system.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

What is the Difference Between Hiring a Ghost Writer to Write Your Resume and Writing It Yourself?

What is the Difference Between Hiring a Ghost Writer to Write Your Resume and Writing It Yourself?Even though some people hire ghost writers to write their resumes, not all jobs require this. Some businesses need to find the time to write their own resumes and may want to make use of professional ghost writers to do the job. So, what is the difference between hiring a ghost writer to write your resume and writing it yourself?Writing a resume for a job, you've never done before is very different from writing one yourself. The first thing you have to do is determine how much information you can reasonably put in your resume. For example, if you've never been a sales representative for a furniture store, then you don't want to write that you were in this position for five years.You also have to take into account how much you can realistically place in your resume, since a lot of the information can be taken out or changed before you get it published. Some people would rather take the ti me to write their own resume because they feel the information is more important.Some people prefer to use ghost writers because they are more experienced and know exactly what to include. But some companies don't need to outsource their resumes to an outside writer. They can simply hire a resume writer for a one-time job. That way, they can focus on the tasks they are hired to do.The best candidates are usually those who have specific skills in writing resumes and related documents. Not everyone has the writing skill or time to produce a great resume. It's definitely a skill most employers appreciate.You can easily find a person who can ghost write your resume for you. Some local companies hire resume writers to do this for them. If you think about it, it makes sense. They save money and hire someone who knows what they're doing, rather than an untrained novice who's not skilled enough to produce the high quality resume that makes the employer notice.Whether you're writing your own resume or relying on a ghost writer, make sure the company you choose is highly recommended by your current or previous employer. Remember, there are only a few companies who really understand how difficult it is to write a resume, so it pays to be well-referred.If you're unable to write your own resume, then make sure you have access to someone who can do this for you. Don't waste your time trying to figure out how to write your own resume unless you truly know what you're doing. Save yourself the time and effort and hire a qualified writer to do the job for you.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

9 Bookkeeping Courses Every Bookkeeper Must Take CareerMetis.com

9 Bookkeeping Courses Every Bookkeeper Must Take Kickstart or boost your bookkeeping career with these free courses. Bookkeeping is something that requires one to be good at numbers while being determined to focus. While freelance bookkeepers and even accounting students can take free bookkeeping courses to improve their skills, entrepreneurs can do the same to learn how to manage their businessaccounts without digging deep into their financial statements with the motive to handle the financial management tasks as a bookkeeper.If you prefer a systematic approach to improve your skills, these courses can turn out to be better than reading the information in parts no the internet.evalIn this article, I have discussed nine best bookkeeping courses Once you complete the courses, which we will discuss shortly, you would become able to;Recognize and understand the relation between accounting equation double-entry bookkeeping.Record transactions Register yourself with NBA for the Understanding Bookkeeping course for free.US Small Business AdministrationThis government agency offers introductory courses o n accounting through their own platform â€" Online Learning Center, which covers basic bookkeeping rules and procedures, with centric focus on business-related bookkeeping.3) FutureLearn.ComFutureLearn offers a combined course named as â€" Bookkeeping for Personal and Business Accounting. The topics, apart from bookkeeping, in this study include financial accounting and reporting, balance sheet, double-entry, and other essential numerical skills. Though the course is free for everyone but to test what will learn and to get a certificate of achievement, you’d need to upgrade to the paid version.One can complete this course in 4 weeks, having 3 hours of sessions a week.eval4) Open UniversityevalAnother free introductory course on the list is offered by Open University’s online platform â€" OpenLearn. The course offers 8 hours of study at a basic level but enough to learn a lot. The entire course is in written format, which would also be available to download. This course grabs muc h attention as you’d get a statement of participation once you complete the free course.Topics like double entry and the balance sheet, double entry, and the profit and loss account, and essential numerical skills are major modules this course covers.5) DWMBeancounter.ComDave Marshall, from The Bean Counter, is offering a little more than accounting and bookkeeping courses â€" tutorials, games, and quizzes. The main free bookkeeping course is titled â€" So You Want To Learn Bookkeeping.The course is typically divided into two parts, and you don’t need to register for a paid membership. That means you get free access to all study materials through the course website. However, to study offline, you may need to purchase CD versions of the course or eBooks.Paid Bookkeeping coursesObtaining a bookkeeping certificate online can boost current professionals’ career prospects. Bookkeeping certificate courses are also perfect for accounting aspirants and those who require basic bookkeep ing knowledge for work in other industries.The following are some of the paid bookkeeping courses.1)U.S. Career InstituteThe U.S Career Institute is a private learning institute based in Colorado, founded by Westin Distance Learning, INC. in 1981.With the message to Dream â€" Learn â€" Succeed, the USCI offers affordable online bookkeeping learning programs.The entire course â€" Online Bookkeeping School â€" is available online and will be helpful to know the practical things to bookkeeping equations, closing books, accounts receivables, corporations and nonprofits, computerized bookkeeping, and financial statements. The course span spreads over four months and doesn’t require any experience in the field.2) The Lone Star CollegeevalThe Lone Star College, which is formally known as the North Harris College, is a public community college near Houston, Texas. The college offers an Accounting Assistant/Bookkeeper Certified Program, helping students to prepare for a successful Certifie d Bookkeeper career. This is an excellent opportunity for all to complete the course quickly and get a certificate from Lone Star.The course study also helps you understand the fundamental principles of computer skills required to be an efficient bookkeeper through EXCEL, QuickBooks, and other essential bookkeeping applications.3) Udemy.comUdemy.com is an online learning platform which offers paid bookkeeping course.This course has two significant dividends for the study.Bookkeeping Basics: Understand the Fundamentals.Under this, you’ll get to learn the basic yet essential terms concepts of bookkeeping. This course can be beneficial for students, business managers, and owners to become more confident and successful.Some of the topics from this course are as follows.evalThe difference between Assets, Liabilities, and EquityThe Five W’s of BookkeepingThe Fundamental Financial EquationCharts of AccountsFinancial ReportsThe Top 10 Mistakes Small Businesses MakeThe Top 6 Tips for Go od Bookkeepingb) Bookkeeping: Step by Step Mastery â€" Complete Course.This section of the course provides more in-depth insights. It helps you understand how to manage day-to-day financial records, such as sales and purchases, maintain ledgers, calculate and prepare profit and loss statements, balance sheet, and VAT return.Included Topics are:The basics of Debits and CreditsHow to make entries intoPurchase Day BookPurchase Returns Day BookPurchase LedgerSales Day BookSales Returns Day BookSales LedgerCash Book â€" Bank payments and receiptsPetty Cash BookHow to reconcile Bank accountHow to handle Nominal LedgerCreate a Trial Balance4) Linkedin LearningLinkedin’s Learning platform also offers the bookkeeping coursewhere Jim Stice and Earl Kay Stice will take you through an educational ride into the four key steps of bookkeeping which are;Analyzing TransactionsRecording the EffectsSummarizing the EffectsPreparing Financial Reports.They provide thorough information on the critical c omponents of a journal entry â€" Debits Credits and essential aspects to consider while reviewing transactions. They also explain how accountants work to convert ledger information into financial statements and what role a computer application plays in supporting businesses with accounts management.ConclusionDeciding to study further, to gain more educational benefits can be a smart step.As discussed above, taking any one of these courses would help you kickstart or boost your bookkeeping career.I believe the above list would help you identify and choose the best bookkeeping course as per your learning requirements.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

6 Ways to Fix Resume Formatting Mistakes and Save Space

6 Ways to Fix Resume Formatting Mistakes and Save Space Creating a resume where all the content lays out on the page in a way that is easy to read and visually appealing can be challenging. Sometimes in their quest to get all the content on one or two pages, the writer resorts to using design strategies such as a smaller font, tighter margins, or compressed spacing to trim the document. But these strategies are flawed and can make the resume harder to read. Others allow the content to spill over to a second or third page with just a few lines of text on that page. This looks unprofessional and on some level may suggest that you ran out of things to say which is certainly not the message you want to convey. Here are some tips for pruning content to create a tight but easy to read, visually appealing resume.Streamline contact information. Many resumes I see lay out the contact information on 5 or more lines. There is no rule that says the information must be communicated in this way. You can list your name on one line and your address, phon e numbers, and email on a second line and save precious space for other valuable content. You dont need to write out the words address, phone, or email, as this will be obvious to your reader. However, you should reference whether a phone number is a home number or cell number like this: H: 212-555-1111 C: 917-444-5555.Modify margins. You can recoup a great deal of valuable space by readjusting your margins. Microsoft Word often defaults to margins of one inch or more, but you can manually change your margin settings to something smaller. I dont recommend anything lower than .6 for top, bottom, and side margins, but making this adjustment can make a significant difference.Update your punctuation. Many resumes I see still use 2 spaces following the period at the end of the sentence. If you took a typing class decades ago, this is how you were taught to do this. But this rule has been modified due to the flexibility computers offer us in regards to character spacing and the new norm i s to use one space following the period. Sometimes making these minor adjustments determine if a sentence falls on one line or two.Use numbers instead of words. Generally, when writing a number that is less than ten, the protocol is to write out the number. But in resume writing (and blog posts), the numbers are often very important indicators of impact and it is best to use the numerical representation of the number. Rather than writing propelled sales to ten million dollars in just three years try propelled sales to $10M in just 3 years.   And a side benefit is that by using the numerical representation you will save valuable space.Eliminate articles. In resume writing, the articles the, a, and an are understood. You can write managed $3M account rather than managed a $3M account and you can write led team tasked with creating first help desk rather than led the team tasked with creating the first help desk.   By eliminating these words you save room for something else you need to say.Get rid of orphans. Orphans represent single words that fall on a separate line in the resume. Review any sentences where this occurs to see if you can rephrase a sentence to eliminate the orphan and use space more constructively.

Friday, May 8, 2020

Resumes and Portfolios

Resumes and Portfolios Certain art and design careers such as graphic design, automotive design or illustration may require a portfolio. The portfolio, whether online or a physical book, gives interested viewers an idea of the artists or designers skills. This does not mean, however, that a resume is not needed. The resume gives a potential employer an idea of how this persons professional career has played out so far. It may list apprenticeships, internships and jobs that the artist or designer performed to enhance his or her natural skills. The resume illustrates experience while the portfolio illustrates talent and how it has developed. Artists and designers have found clever ways to integrate their resumes within their portfolios, or to add them as extra print to mini portfolios or smalls, the small postcards given away to potential employers by artists and designers. Although it may seem expensive to produce postcards with a designers work on one side and his resume on the other, it is still cheaper to do so than to produce mini portfolios of his work. The smalls are given away at design shows and exhibitions that are open to the public, including potential employers. Resumes that list a designers positions and past experience are often mounted inside a regular-sized portfolio or minimized to fit into a mini portfolio. Some designers such as graphic designers have included their resumes inside a piece of their portfolio work. The resume is turned into a work of art as well as an informative document, all in one piece.