What Every Applicant Ought to Know About HR People

What Every Applicant Ought to Know About HR People If you are an applicant, I’m sure that you are busy finishing your resume and you are even practicing mock interviews with your friends. That’s a good sign. But do you know that your resume and way of speaking is not enough for you to pass the interview process? I conducted some small chit-chats with different HR people. Luckily, they shared their ‘secrets’ with me. I’m willing to share it with you. I believe that you will be able to get hired if you read this article. Format of your resume You might have great credentials. You might have a lot of awards. In fact, it seems that it won’t fit in a 2 â€" page resume. Do you still have to include all your credentials? My answer is a big NO. Just so you know, HR people are very busy. They won’t give an hour just to read your ‘novel’ like resume. It is best if you learn how to compile those. For example, instead of putting all the years when you became an outstanding student like this: 1999 3rd Honor Student 2000 2nd Honor Student 2001 3rd Honor Student you can just put, ‘Consistent Honor Student’. I think that even if you don’t put the years when you bagged the awards, the HR people will know that you are smart using the alternative phrase I suggested. Related: Warning! 3 Things that Really Shouldnt Be on Your Profile. The kind of paper you are using Of course, this wouldn’t apply if you are going to send your resume via email. But if you are going to personally deliver your resume, I suggest that you print it in a quality paper. I remember during college, I submitted a report to my strict professor. I wasn’t aware that the kind of paper that you use has a bearing. Well, when I got my report back, I received a bad comment about the quality of paper I used. My professor said that a paper can tell a lot of things about a person. It’s actually a representation if you are serious or not. From then on, I always print important documents in a quality paper. How you walk Don’t you know that HR representatives check out the way you walk? Some people think that this is shallow. If you ask my opinion, that’s fine. I would like you to know that walking can also tell thousands of things about your personality. Try to put yourself in their position. If you are an HR personnel, who would you hire? Are you going to be impressed by a person who walks with his head down? Or are you going to be impressed by a person who’s confident? There’s no doubt that you will choose the latter, right? A company needs an employee that represents them well. If you are confident even while walking, you will have that unfair leverage. Related: And the Interview Was Going So Well Until How you smell! I’m not talking about smelling like you just finished a basketball game. This is actually the other way around. Don’t go in an interview smelling like you took a bath using perfume. It’s too strong. A lot of times HR people disgraced that. Just make sure that you smell nice. That means, you need to be fresh. A little bit of scent will do fine. And don’t forget to bring your handkerchief. That will come in handy if you perspire a lot. Irritating follow ups Once you are done with the interview, don’t panic. This is the perfect time to breathe. Wait for a few days for the call. Don’t call the employers every day. Even if you made the cut, you’ll never get hired because they are already irritated. Use this knowledge to be able to fully prepare for your application. Perhaps, you think that what I have here are shallow or useless. Believe me, they play a huge role in the process. Hence, you have to take note of these. Related: 10 Job Interview Blunders You Must Avoid. Toni Okeson is one of the senior content writers for Gowelding.org. It is an established welding site and a place to learn about Tungsten Arc Weld. If you wish to learn welding from the best, then this is the best source. Image: Shutterstock.

5 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Dont Waste Time On

5 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Dont Waste Time On The following is a guest post by Carmen Jacob.  Her bio follows. John, a poor man, wants to cross the border with a donkey. Two Customs officers approach and ask him some questions searching through John things. He had only a small bag of food, so the officers allowed him to cross. A few days later, John and a donkey are again at the border. Again he had only a bag of food with him, so he was allowed to cross. The same thing happens a few times more, and the officers became suspicious: “This guy is smuggling something across the border,” and searched John more carefully, but they haven’t found anything. For thirty years, every other day, John crossed the border with a bag of food and a donkey, looking more and more wealthy: better dressed and groomed, golden watch, designer shoes and sunglasses. The Customs officers were baffled: “What is he smuggling?” One day, after the officers retired, they saw John on the street and started a conversation. “John, we were sure you were smuggling something across the border, but we didn’t find anything on you. Tell us, what was it? We are retired now so, we can’t do anything against you. Please, just tell us!” “It was the donkey,” John said and smiled. It happens too often in life to overlook the obvious and lose precious time and energy with unimportant and meaningless things. Who do you look at and want to model to become a successful entrepreneur? Yes, of course, to successful entrepreneurs. Is it not? To make sure you haven’t missed obvious things about them, here are five things successful entrepreneurs dont waste time on: Negative things and people Time is one of the most precious possessions you have because it has boundaries and flies away, never coming back. Spend your time wisely. Don’t let it pass unnoticed or on negative people or things. Gather around yourself people that have similar interests and views; people that like, appreciated, value, and accept you as you are. Remind yourself that, in our modern times, the fittest and the survivor is not the person with the biggest physical power. It is the individual who knows how to collaborate, the person most connected, most liked and influential. Self-doubt Trust yourself more and be less self-conscious and, even less concerned about what others might think of you. Listen to your intuition and believe your instincts. Your intuition and instincts are born out of your experience through life so far. Therefore, who or what are more suited to guide you in your endeavors and success journey? Free yourself from self-doubt and move forward. Yes, it happens to make mistakes. Who doesn’t apart from those who never try anything and stagnate in life? Trust yourself and be confident that you can deal with whatever life throws at you. Be confident because you crossed the obstacles and difficulties that life has put in front of you so far; therefore, you are able to do it in the future as well. One past success or failure I guess you know at least one of those people lingering and wasting their life in sorrow caused by a past big success or failure. They are stuck in the past, melancholic about those 15 minutes of fame or that day of shame from twenty years ago. They are easy to recognize because they are telling you the same story over and over again: how they’ve conquered the world for a brief moment or lost it in five minutes. Success is a journey and is filled with achievements and failures; there is no other way. Build on your accomplishments, learn from your failures and mistakes and move forward. Be the happy and the successful person you want to be. What is in your past, has passed a long time ago. Imagine your bright future; aspire to it, dream it, and start moving to get what you want. Getting stuck on one idea One of the most valuable lessons (as a successful entrepreneur) is to know when to give up. Recognize when something is not working and try in a different way. Almost any idea that you have seems brilliant and worth pursuing at the beginning, but if you notice, in time, that you don’t get the results you want, get creative and design a new idea, design a new path. Listen, there is no failure because life always goes on no matter what happens. Therefore, as long as you have life left in you, discover other ways of achieving your goal and remember! When something is not working, the process is the issue, not you as a person. The idea failed you, not the other way around. Life is too short to make yourself fit into what is offered to you; the offer has to fit you. Right? Competing for the sake of vanity Vanity has no place in business because it brings you nothing apart from a short moment of self-admiration. Plus, it can make lose trust and respect. Now, do you believe that you can make a difference in the world through your business and who you are? The difference is less made by legislators and governments. Because (you see?) the difference, for each of us, is mostly made by people with a good sense of balance, respect and love for human life. Individuals that know what they want from life and how to get it in a way that both parties (themselves and their partners/collaborators in life and business) win something at the end. Make a difference! Make a difference, if for no other reasons, do it because you have the power and you can! Bio:  Carmen Jacob is the creator of several  self improvement guides, courses, and books, which focus on using what you already have to improve your life and the life of those around you. She is also the co-founder of self improvement.org Image credits Main   Confidence   Difference

Consider the commute before you take a new job

Consider the commute before you take a new job If you have a bad commute, you are probably not very happy. A bad commute spills over into all aspects of your life. Raymond Novaco, a psychologist and professor at the University of California, Irvine, found that bad traffic on the way home makes for a bad mood in the evening. This is true regardless of age, gender, income, and job satisfaction. In fact, your commute might even kill you, because an increase in driving distance relates directly to an increase in blood pressure. Many people dont need to wonder if their commute is ruining their lives: Its obvious. When I commuted from Los Angeles to San Diego, I sure knew. Even though I made that drive ten years ago, the two hours I spent going each way was so bad that I still talk about it. I didnt eat well because I was driving during breakfast and dinner times. My love life suffered because the only thing that excited me was sleep. I called my friends from the car, and my repeated interruptions (Hold it, I have to change lanes) annoyed them so much they would use any excuse to get off the phone. I justified the commute by telling myself that the job was great. In fact, the job *was* great, and when I later took positions at companies closer to my home, it probably helped me to make huge leaps up the corporate ladder. But that period in my life is a black hole figuratively and literally because I never traveled in daylight hours (too much traffic). When I left I was so relieved that I wished I had made the decision sooner. If youre wondering how bad your commute is, try asking the people you come home to at night. If your roommate says youre a monster until youve had two beers, you know youre in trouble. If your roommate is a cat, you might not get such helpful feedback, but you can take a look at averages. The average commute in the U.S. is about 25 minutes. The shortest commutes are in the 17-minute range for people living in the Great Plains states (Wichita, Kan.; Tulsa, Okla.; Omaha, Neb.) New Yorkers have the longest commute, clocking in at 38 minutes, six minutes longer than workers in the Windy City, who came in second. Ive heard many terrible suggestions for making a long commute seem shorter, or at least more pleasant. For example, learning a language. But really, who has ever learned a language this way? With luck, you may learn how to say, How much does this cost? or Do you want a date? Another favorite, talking on the phone while driving, is about as safe as driving drunk. The one I tried, listening to a book on CD, required very good listening skills. You dont realize how much you tune in and out of conversations until you spend an hour listening to a book and have no idea what happened. I realized that if I had good enough listening skills to follow an audio book, I could make enough money to have a chauffer drive me to work. Which is really the best idea. Commuting seems less stressful if someone else drives. Take New Yorkers, for example. Many take the train or subway, so even though Big Apple employees have the longest commutes in the U.S., theyre stoic about it. But 90 percent of U.S. workers go to and from work in a car. My experience tells me that once youre in the car, theres not much you can do to make the commute tolerable. So the shorter the better. And the best way to get a short commute is to choose a job thats closer to your home (or move closer to work, but whos going to do that?). Not convinced this is a valid job-selection criterion? It would be if you think about what that car time is worth to you. For instance, if you were earning $40,000 a year, would you accept a two-hour one-way commute (four hours round trip) to make an extra $100,000 a year in salary? In other words, would you work an extra four hours daily at a terrible second job driving in traffic to make $100,000 a year? Sure, its a lot of money if you have nothing else to do with your four hours a day. But if you have to miss seeing your kids every day, the money might not look so good to you. Sure, Im being dramatic; most peoples commute choices are less black and white. But when you really think about what youre getting and what youre losing because of your miserable commute, you may decide youre better off working as the night manager at your neighborhood McDonalds. Maybe you could even walk to work.

Use The Pinterest Search Engine to Drive More Traffic - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Use The Pinterest Search Engine to Drive More Traffic - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Pinterest is not only a large social network but also serves as a powerful search engine that can provide valuable links to your personal brands website â€" and it works much like Google search. Would you like to attract more subscribers? It doesn’t matter whether you’ve never joined this powerful social network or if you’ve left it dormant for a time. Your brand can start today in building a great community and creating powerful boards and pins that are targeted to your niche. A successful online strategy should be visually appealing, well optimized and contain a clear brand message. There are many ways to leverage Pinterest to attract more visitors, which begins with knowing your target market. How to Leverage Pinterest For Your Brands Website Pinning at least once a day will greatly improve your activity along with creating specific boards that appeal to the needs of your audience. Here are some tips on how to get started: Nurture your account on a regular basis Follow new people who have a shared interest, and weed out the spam or followers who are not relevant to your niche in order to attract the most re-pins. Use the free Pin-It bookmarklet you can install on your website and pin from other blogs like yours as well. Use the right hashtags Include specific hashtags on your pins, which helps users find your brand as they use the intuitive search bar. You can perform your own search before formulating these in order to find what is most popular in your target market. Download WordPress plugins Attract new followers and attract repins with both paid and free plugins which will do all the heavy lifting for you. Make sure that these are updated on a frequent basis with the developer as Pinterest is always improving its platform. Include the right links Content that is pinned from your site provides a link back. This is important in your overall SEO strategy, and will also help contribute to social signals. Be sure to include prominent Pin-It buttons on your images and in your social sharing icons on your pages and posts in order to attract more pins from your website. As Google changes its algorithm Pinterest can help your website continue to grow and rank higher. One of the unique aspects of this platform is the shelf-life of pins, which can produce results over and over including attracting more visitors and traffic.

How To Choose Resume Writing Services That Are Right For You

How To Choose Resume Writing Services That Are Right For YouIf you are getting ready to launch a career change and need a break from the hustle and bustle of creating your own resume, then professional resume writing services can come in handy. Of course, these companies will not be able to do this for you - they will need to find a way to help you decide what you want to include in your resume.It is important to realize that just because a company can help you write your resume, that does not mean they are going to be able to write it better for you. Most companies offer excellent writing services but there are some that are just not all that great. Before choosing any of the services out there, it is important to make sure that the company knows what it is doing.It is also a good idea to read the written material that is provided with the resume writing services to be sure that the process that is going to be used to help you choose your options is sound. Many companies out there o ffer sample resumes that are available online or in the office. These samples are of no use to you if you are not going to be given a chance to actually read them. You want to know that you are in good hands and that the resume services are going to help you pick the most appropriate option for you.You should be wary of samples that are offered with the services of the company. Many times, these samples will be offered without the same consideration given to other samples and the clients may have trouble in knowing whether they would like the idea that is being offered. While it is true that a sample can be helpful, it is still important to find out how the samples are going to work for you.When choosing resume writing services, make sure that the company has employees that are going to work on the writing process. This is important because this is an important part of the process. The person that you are dealing with should be willing to spend time on the project to ensure that you have the best possible resume that you can give potential employers.Don't be afraid to ask for the price that you want to pay for the service that you want. There are going to be different prices that the companies will offer and you can rest assured that you are not going to be paying top dollar. Of course, you should always pay a little more for the better services because this is what you are looking for.When you are working with a company that has a reputation for providing good service, this can go a long way towards helping you in your search for the right company. This can make all the difference when it comes to the experience that you are going to have with the company. The experience that you have with a company can make all the difference in your efforts to find the right person to help you get a job.You can rest assured that you are going to get some good things from hiring resume writing services. Make sure that you get the ones that have great results in past clients. Once you find one that you feel comfortable with, you are likely to be very happy with their work.

Trucking On With a Great Career - CareerAlley

Trucking On With a Great Career - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Making a career out of truck driving is becoming quite complicated. High turnover rates and educational choices are only the beginning issues for those that want to consider this type of career. Yet, it can be quite adventurous and rewarding. What are the details on the profession and what is the current state of the career? Follow along as we take a look at some specifics that can clear up some important elements of the profession. Looking at the Facts The Occupational Outlook Handbook cites a pay of $18.16 per hour, or $37,770 per year based on the 2010 median pay rates. This rate of pay comes with an education of a high school diploma. While drivers will need a Commercial Drivers License (CDL), the career is accessible without a great deal of experience or education. Combine that with a faster-than-average job outlook, which is at 21 percent over 2010 to 2012, and its easy to see why truck driving is an attractive option for some people. One of the biggest areas of interest is found in work environment and lifestyle. The U.S. Department of Labor notes that drivers cant work more than 14 straight hours (11 of which are on the road), and then they must have 10 hours off duty between working periods. Often working nights, weekends, and holidays, drivers are often on the road for days and weeks at a time. This makes truck driving a major lifestyle choice, as it is physically demanding and often spent alone. Time spent away from friends and families can be quite difficult. Whats the Scoop? Within the media and for those in the career alike there are no opinions on the career of truck driving and whether its a good option. In a CNN article entitled Tons of trucking jobs that nobody wants, Aaron Smith reports that positions are hard to fill and there are nearly 200,000 job openings across the nation. He cites two major reasons for the title of the article: Certification: The total cost can be about $6,000 for eight weeks of certification. Adding intense scrutiny to the mix which is reasonable given the safety concerns of the job and some are turned off by the price of admission. Lifestyle: Its not easy and many apparently have second thoughts once they experience the lifestyle of being a truck driver. Smith notes that living for weeks at a time in the size of a walk-in closet is no fun. Add in time away from loved ones, sleep patterns, and pressure and you have a tough recipe. Many companies are dealing with shortages of drivers. This has caused some companies to offer signing bonuses for positions, as well as paid apprentices and other perks. But for some, the lucrative potential of being a truck driver isnt enough to fulfill the need. Those interested in the career should certainly do some homework and soul searching to decide if its worth the drawbacks. Perhaps it could be the right fit for some looking for an interesting career opportunity. About the Author: Brian Neese is an author that specializes in content marketing, social media, and SEO. He writes about technology, Federal Auto Loan topics, and much more. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Joey Trebif

Spotting Debt Symptoms in Your Staff - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

Spotting Debt Symptoms in Your Staff The UK’s population is facing a potential debt crisis, with the average personal debt burden being around £30,000 now. Lots of people are finding it harder and harder to service their debt because the cost of living is rising and wages aren’t â€" or at least, not in line with inflation. There’s nothing more demoralising that someone who works hard being unable to pay their way through life and to settle their debts. Many people live in fear of the car needing new tyres or even the kids outgrowing their school uniforms a bit too soon because this can compromise a month’s repayments. As an employer or HR manager, you have a duty of care towards your staff to watch for signs of financial trouble and to step in to help. This doesn’t mean by giving them an advance or an unscheduled pay rise â€" you could instead point them towards a debt resolution company like Creditfix, for example. These are some of the more common signs of serious money worries. Unusual or unexplained tiredness and burnout Debt problems often come with their friend insomnia. People can have difficulty falling or staying asleep, or they may wake up too early in the morning. This easily leads to sleep deprivation which in turn means reduced productivity and performance at work. It also often leads to poor relationships with friends, family and colleagues, so it’s important to get the person help as soon as possible. Poor eating habits If someone with a previously healthy appetite and diet suddenly goes off their food or is turning to junk food, or even eating far more than they used to then there’s probably some sort of issue. Of course, they may be on a weight-loss diet, but if there’s no obvious reason for this sudden change, then comfort eating (or not eating) could be down to the worry about debts. Anxiety and nervousness Just being in debt is a heavy mental load and if someone is getting calls, letters and emails from creditors all the time it can lead to extreme anxiety. If the employee jumps every time a call or text message  comes through or seems on edge for no apparent reason, then money could be the culprit. Asking for salary advances If an employee is asking for salary advances a little too often, then it’s a sign they’re not managing their finances enough. This is one of the more obvious indicators. Of course, many people ask for an advance at least once â€" there’s some great flight deal that they can’t miss, for example â€" but if this one-off request becomes a habit, it’s time to have a talk. Unexplained depression It’s no surprise that money and debt problems can lead to poor mental health. Depression is common here because it’s a reaction to the feelings of hopelessness and constant worry. Thankfully, once the situation is addressed, even if it’ll still be a while until the debt’s paid, the depression often lifts and people feel more in control. Unfortunately, depression and anxiety cost the UK’s economy around 12 million working days a year, so it’s not only a personal issue, employers need to look after their employees for the good of the company, too.