Job Opportunities (Create Your Own) No Better Mousetraps

Job Opportunities (Create Your Own) No Better Mousetraps I remember many years ago, thinking I wanted to be CEO of a major company.  Have the corporate jet, private bathroom, gym, etc. As I got older I thought that would conflict with the type of family life I wanted. So I thought, perhaps I can own my own company. As I got older I realized I didnt have any idea what I could do/sell better than what others were already doing/selling. I figured all of the better mousetraps had already been invented, and there wasnt room for anything more. If you want to do something on your own, I am telling you: DO IT! There are other ways to do things.  And maybe timing has a lot to do with it. No one was doing JibberJobber (job search CRM) when I started it it was THE better mousetrap for job seekers. How about photo sharing?  There are gobs of services out there that let you do it, right? Who is gutsy enough to make a go at Flickr??  No one that is sane. Well, some insane people (I say that as a compliment) figured they would go for it.  They came out with Pinterest.  This weekend my wife said have you heard of pinterest? I hadnt but apparently the rest of the world had. This could easily be a flicker killer, imo. Combine photos + social (Twitter (2006) wasnt around with Flickr (2004) started) in a brilliant way, and lets you see what is trendy and cool (what gets buzz) in a way that Twitter should but doesnt. In other words, Pinterest is doing something much better than Flickr (who has a bit of social but not much, and it doesnt make it look this good) and Twitter (who has some pic stuff, but doesnt make it this easy and fun and engaging to look at (and get sucked into!!)). Better mousetrap? Yes, way better. I encourage you to not set your dream aside. Work towards it.  Believe in it. Maybe the timing isnt right for now, but it could be perfect soon. Job Opportunities (Create Your Own) No Better Mousetraps I remember many years ago, thinking I wanted to be CEO of a major company.  Have the corporate jet, private bathroom, gym, etc. As I got older I thought that would conflict with the type of family life I wanted. So I thought, perhaps I can own my own company. As I got older I realized I didnt have any idea what I could do/sell better than what others were already doing/selling. I figured all of the better mousetraps had already been invented, and there wasnt room for anything more. If you want to do something on your own, I am telling you: DO IT! There are other ways to do things.  And maybe timing has a lot to do with it. No one was doing JibberJobber (job search CRM) when I started it it was THE better mousetrap for job seekers. How about photo sharing?  There are gobs of services out there that let you do it, right? Who is gutsy enough to make a go at Flickr??  No one that is sane. Well, some insane people (I say that as a compliment) figured they would go for it.  They came out with Pinterest.  This weekend my wife said have you heard of pinterest? I hadnt but apparently the rest of the world had. This could easily be a flicker killer, imo. Combine photos + social (Twitter (2006) wasnt around with Flickr (2004) started) in a brilliant way, and lets you see what is trendy and cool (what gets buzz) in a way that Twitter should but doesnt. In other words, Pinterest is doing something much better than Flickr (who has a bit of social but not much, and it doesnt make it look this good) and Twitter (who has some pic stuff, but doesnt make it this easy and fun and engaging to look at (and get sucked into!!)). Better mousetrap? Yes, way better. I encourage you to not set your dream aside. Work towards it.  Believe in it. Maybe the timing isnt right for now, but it could be perfect soon.

LinkedIn Skills Endorsements How They Affect You Your Career

LinkedIn Skills Endorsements â€" How They Affect You Your Career LinkedIn loves its Skills Endorsements feature. Its strategy is to use members input to build a global economic graph â€" an increasingly accurate, proprietary database of the global labor supply chain.Jeff Weiner wants to know what we all do (see p.16) â€" and if we’re any good at it.So far, that hasn’t gone well for Jeff. People dont take LinkedIn skills endorsements seriously because they’re so easy to give.The New LinkedIn Skills EndorsementHowever, endorsements might be getting more meaningful.Last week, I was on my LinkedIn mobile app endorsing one of my friends when this screen popped up â€" like the love child of Yelp and Lake Wobegon:Being a fangirl, I gave my friend three stars.It didnt occur to me at the time to ignore LinkedIns request or lie in my responses, but I could have used either of those options instead of giving serious answers. (Note: As of May 2019, you cant ignore the request. No stars, no endorsement.)LinkedIn told me my friend would never know Id giv en her skill a star rating (but if shes reading this, she probably does now).There’s MoreAfter I clicked Next, this screen popped up:LinkedIn wanted to know how well I know my friend. Again, it assured me they would never display my response on LinkedIn or share it with her.How Will LinkedIn Use This Information?Which made me ask myself, How will LinkedIn use this information?Does it go to:LinkedIn data scientists?SEO algorithms (I think, Yes.)?LinkedIn Recruiter subscribers?Policy and academic researchers?They didnt say. Will they aggregate responses and display average/median scores for individual members top three skills, or all their skills?They didnt say.The LinkedIn Star Ratings Are Here to StayAs of May 2019, LinkedIn appears to have institutionalized this system. I see it, pretty much as described above, every time I endorse someone.How Can LinkedIn Star Ratings Help/Hurt You?Given that the star system is now a fixture, its good to be a bit strategic about how it affects y ou:If any new endorsements concern you, learn about your options.If someone loves you, definitely ask them to endorse you!Decide if you want to allow/prohibit endorsements on your profile.Let’s Connect on LinkedInPlease don’t hesitate to invite me to connect on LinkedInhere:Donna Svei, Executive Resume Writer. The more I know about my readers, the better I can make my blog.Updated May 2019 2018 2019, Donna Svei. All rights reserved.Donna SveiDonna Svei, an executive resume writer and former C-level executive, retained search consultant, and CPA, writes all of AvidCareerists posts. She has written for and been quoted by leading business, general, and career media outlets, including Forbes, Mashable, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Lifehacker, Ask.com, Social Media Today, IT World, SmartBrief, Payscale, Business News Daily, and the Muse. Let her background and experience inform your job search strategy and decision making.Learn more about Donnas executive resume wri ting service or email Donna for more information. LinkedIn â€" Skills (3 Posts)

3 Tips to Make Your Company the Best Place to Work

3 Tips to Make Your Company the Best Place to Work Every year LinkedIn publishes its listings of the best places to work for. Some of you might instantly look to see if your company is a) on the list and b) where they are on the list. But many of you might be asking who are they, what makes them so special and what can you do to get your company on the list or higher on the list if you’re already on it. Now it will come as no surprise that most of the names on the list are global leaders or popular brand names like Facebook, Google, Salesforce and Amazon. You’re probably thinking they have a huge marketing and advertising budget which allows their company to be ‘out there’ and that’s why they’ve made the list? Well you might be half-right where the big companies are concerned but Jon Addison, Head of Talent Solutions at LinkedIn UK, told us that isn’t always the case. Here are his best 3 tips: 1. Get creative with talent campaigns In this highly competitive talent market, you need to stand out from the crowd to attract top talent. By injecting creative flair into your recruitment campaigns you will showcase what makes you different. A fantastic example of this is Sainsbury’s  Invaders  Campaign. In a bid to attract tech talent in Manchester, the company who ranked sixth in this year’s Top Companies list, ‘invaded’ the city with colourful ads, including spray-painted space invaders outside of competitor tech employers. The guerrilla-style campaign gave Sainsbury’s talent brand a personality, and made tech talent think differently about Sainsbury’s as an employer. When HR teams collaborate closely with marketing in designing recruitment campaigns, you can leverage each other’s expertise to create something that will make target talent sit up and take notice.” 2. Call on your best ambassadors Your employees are your best ambassadors when it comes to promoting why you’re a great place to work. In fact, our data shows that companies with socially engaged employees are 58% more likely to attract talent. So, if you’re not involving your existing team in your talent brand, you’re missing a trick. A great way of doing this is by empowering employees to share their positive experiences online. This is especially important as, on average, employee networks have 10x as many connections as a company has followers so this will automatically widen the pool of potential candidates you’re reaching. Sharing employee case studies on your careers site and LinkedIn company page, will also enable candidates to see what life is like in your organisation and begin to picture themselves there.’’ 3. Be authentic Your employer branding needs to be true to who you are as an organisation, and promote the benefits you offer employees as accurately as possible. The starting point of this is to engage with your existing employees on what they have to say about your company whether this is through focus groups, anonymous surveys or just informal meetings. By grounding your employer brand in your existing workforce, it becomes undeniably authentic, and means you’re more likely to attract candidates who will be a good fit for the company. So being the best place to work isnt all about the size of your company and how much money you can throw at marketing and advertising. All it takes is having a bit of clever creativity and ultimately putting the needs of your employees first. If you trust and commit to your employees then in turn they will do you the ultimate favour by telling people what a great company they work for.

Introducing the caffeine nap

Introducing the caffeine nap Ive been doing a little research on sleep. I have found that the more I understand about nutrition, the better I eat. And I thought the same would hold true for sleep. In fact, though on my way to convincing myself to sleep more, I found mostly research to help me sleep less. But first, here is the research that will make you want to sleep: If you dont sleep, youre more likely to be obese and dumb, both of which are bad for your career. People who get fewer than six hours of sleep function like drunk people at work. For example people who missed just one night of sleep scored 20% lower on math tests than they did when they had eight hours of sleep. And, people who get significantly fewer than eight hours a night of sleep are more likely to be obese, according to a study at the University of British Columbia. Heres some research I didnt expect to see: Humans need only six or seven hours of sleep. In fact, if you get more than that, you are likely to die earlier, according to researchers from the University of California at San Diego. And heres more good news for the chronic night-owl who suffers with a day job: If you miss out on sleep, you dont need to make it all up. Only about a third of this lost sleep needs to be regained. The people who spend all weekend in bed catching up dont need that much sleep. They just like lying around in bed. You dont even have to wait for the weekend to make up the sleeping time: Power naps are in fashion at least among elite athletes and soldiers in Iraq, both of whom are required to take power naps before a major effort. The power nap should be exactly twenty minutes, according to sleep researcher Sara Mednick, at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Your sleep cycles run in 90 or 120 minute cycles, but after twenty minutes youve done the most important part of your sleeping. I am an easy convert to the idea of a power nap, but I never seem to wake up at that magical twenty minute mark when researchers say that I wont be groggy. I am, in fact, routinely groggy after my supposed power nap. And that groggy feeling when you wake up is the equivalent of you after four beers, according to Kenneth Wright at the University of Colorado. So the power nap is not for me. But heres my favorite study, the one that really pulls everything together: The caffeine nap. This is a nap that allows me to compensate for not quite getting my seven hours of sleep a night, but I dont feel groggy after the nap. Researchers at Loughborough University in England found that coffee can clear your body of the sleep-inducing chemical adenosine. The best way to handle the caffeine is to chug a cup of coffee and then immediately take a nap, before the caffeine kicks in and makes for jittery napping. The nap should last exactly fifteen minutes, which is the point at which the caffeine starts to gain traction in your brain. I did it today, head on the table, next to the computer, when I was sure that I could not keep my eyes open another second: Fifteen minutes and boom! I was writing again with perk and verve. Of course the caffeine nap will not save the world from having to sleep. For one thing, theres no research to show that caffeine nap can help you beat the correlation between lack of sleep and obesity. But Ill tell you, Ill never aim for eight hours of sleep again.

Im sorry we cant give you feedback Why employers need to step up

Im sorry we cant give you feedback Why employers need to step up Applying for jobs is a stressful and time-consuming process for anyone, but especially for students approaching the end of their degree. Weve all been there;  several coffees down, typing manically at our keyboards, trying to think of all those extra-curriculars relevant to the job description. What about that time I tried horse riding in year 8? Nahhh And weve probably also all had that experience of rejection, that dreaded Unfortunately your application has been  unsuccessful this time email. Rejection is hard as it is, but can be even more frustrating if youre not given any feedback to help you improve for next time. This needs to change and for two very important reasons. We all deserve better Firstly, when an employer provides a completely non-existent explanation as to why youve been unsuccessful it can be very demoralising. After youve pulled your hair out over the seemingly never-ending application process and invested a huge amount of effort, time (and often money) in attending interviews and assessment centres, you feel like you deserve some feedback. And you do. Feedback helps you to focus on what you can learn from your application and how you can improve for next time, instead of focusing on the rejection itself. Feedback benefits everyone Feedback is of course useful for the candidate, enabling them to improve and achieve success at future interviews. At the end of the day, nobody is perfect, even if some people think they are. Imperfections are your asset as they help you learn more about yourself  which is good for me because I have many! This kind of advice helps you in your search for your next role. You can learn what went well, and what didn’t even if this list is longer than the good stuff! You can then work to change this in  future applications and interviews. This ability to learn from your mistakes and bounce back from unexpected events is a highly desirable asset that will impress future employers. This will prevent you from being stuck in a rejection Groundhog Day, experiencing the same thing over and over again. But employers will also benefit from giving feedback! Theyll be improving the quality of the workforce and helping equip candidates with the skills and traits they are seeking. A student who applies for a job but is unsuccessful on year, can apply again and be the perfect candidate the following year, if theyre given the right feedback. So join the campaign Thankfully, Im not a lone ranger in the struggle to get feedback. Debut has spearheaded the Fight for Feedback campaign, which is lobbying the government to make it compulsory for employers to provide feedback after a face-to-face interview.  It is essential for people to know what went wrong, and clearly many people see where were coming from, as it’s hit the big time with mainstream media coverage. Ballin’. One of the highlights was when Tim Campbell, first winner of The Apprentice, appeared on Sky News advocating for the scheme to be introduced. Whilst he accepted the difficult position employers find themselves with so many applicants, he noted the possible benefits for organisations in the future as candidates learn from their previous experiences, creating a positive ripple effect across the workforce as a whole. Having also secured over 1,000 signatures on the petition (you also should REALLY sign the petition), it is now being considered by the policy team at the Department for Work and Pensions. This might sound dull to some, but it will hopefully lead to the exciting scenario where you actually get to find out what you did wrong and what you did well; you can thank me later! I think its important that job applications and interview are treated in essentially the same way as essays and exams at university. You always get told what you did well, but also what you can improve on. And whilst hearing it from friends, parents and lecturers is helpful, they might not be as brutally honest (and useful) as a future employer. Connect with Debut on  Facebook,  Twitter,  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.

We have now spoken in 25 countries. WOOHOOOOOO o) - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

We have now spoken in 25 countries. WOOHOOOOOO o) - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Not my regular audience :o) I just got back from a trip to Kuwait where I did 3 workshops about happiness at work for Kuwait Finance House. I had a great time and while the culture is very different from the companies I normally visit, the participants really enjoyed the workshops and appreciated the importance of creating a happy workplace. This brings the total number of countries weve worked in up to 25 and thats a major, major milestone for us. Heres the whole list: Bahamas Croatia Cura?ao Denmark Dominican Republic England Estonia France Germany Greenland Guatemala Holland Iceland India Ireland Kuwait Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland Turkey USA Next week I get to bring it up to 26, when I speak in the Czech Republic for the first time. Is your country not on the list? Thats easily solved book us to speak. Were awesome! 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

Good Font For Resume Cover Letter

Good Font For Resume Cover LetterAre you looking for a good font for resume cover letter? You know, when you have just submitted your resume, you can't help but smile because you see the acceptance letter with all the neat fonts on it. You are really impressed with all the fancy letters.But what if you really want the right letters? You can't just choose any fonts that you like, right?You can find a font that is suitable for any design style that you use for your resume. Fonts that are computer generated and soft type fonts can be used to create elegant fonts. If you would like something more formal, you can choose script fonts. This way, it is easy to find a good font for resume that is very specific to your needs.Fonts that are found on your computer are a good option because they are already loaded. You can use the fonts in the same way as you would use the fonts on your computer. You can choose a font that best matches your resume and design a cover letter that you can use to mak e the appropriate impression. This is actually easier than trying to print one out from your printer!The design software available on the market is also a very good choice because it makes it possible to experiment with different fonts that are perfect for your resume. All you need to do is enter some text into the program and then go through the different types of fonts that are available.Then you can move through the different styles and finally decide which one you like best. It is this personalization factor that will really make the difference in the design of your resume cover letter.Fonts should be chosen wisely because there are fonts that are considered to be in fashion for a very long time, but they will soon be out of style. There are some font designers that will produce a new design that is based on a known font. With the right fonts on your resume cover letter, you will get a professional look that you are used to, and your impression is not going to be too rushed by a lack of professionalism.Just as important as using the right letterhead is choosing the right font for resume cover letter. If you do your research and make the right choices, you can have a good design that is created specifically for your resume, and your resume cover letter will look professional and be a good first impression.