7 Reasons Employers Will Hire You

7 Reasons Employers Will Hire You To secure that dream job, you have to think like the person making the final decision. What is going through the managers head when they select candidates? What attributes are they looking for in their ideal employee? Here are  7  of the most common reasons people get hired. Use it wisely now and do let me know if you have any questions on any of the reasons. 1. A great resume Sometimes an average candidate can be hired thanks to a brilliant resume. Your resume is your first impression and you only get one shot at this. Pick a template relevant to your industry, look at other people’s resumes, have them look at yours, get help from experts etc before you send anything out. Remember that your resume has to be updated consistently and it is a living document. 2. Your online personal brand Personal branding is my personal favorite. Social media and networking has quickly become the preferred method of communication, and you will be found online by your potential new employer. By tailoring what information is available, you can turn social media into a positive when looking for a new job. Make sure your public profiles are employee friendly and up to date. Establish yourself as an authority online by either starting a blog, moderating a forum or jut being active in a Linkedin group for instance. Get recommendations on your prolife and these will serve as the old school resume references. Social media and online branding will take you a fair bit of time and effort but you don’t really have a choice so my best advice is to embrace it. 3. The right skills and experience In this economy, you will struggle to find someone willing to hire a candidate that needs training. Think about it, would you want somebody shadowing your work and asking questions for the first 6 months? Or would you want somebody that knows the score and gets busy contributing to your targets from day one? Having the right skills and experience is more important than ever and unfortunately not something you can work on overnight. (More reasons below video) 4. Staying power with the business This is crucial as employers want people that stay in their company and work their way up the corporate ladder. This makes them useful (and useful means hard working). Employers will look for people who have multi-dimensional personalities, meaning they can work in different departments, projects or even locations one day. Your longevity with the business and personal characteristics will be the deciding factors here. 5. You get on with people This is significant as the employer will want you to enjoy spending time at work, thus you won’t mind the occasional/weekly/everyday late night. By having a sense of belonging to the people at work, you are likely to enjoy it more and be less susceptible to other job offers. And in general our ability to work well with lots of different people is a critical key to your success over time within any company. 6. You can bring home the bacon A classic WIIFM case where you either make money or save money for the company. Any manager has a budget and they want a way to either increase sales or reduce costs. You being able to do one of these will be music to their ears. If you can demonstrate and project how much you will put on his or her bottom line, they will be very tempted to hire you. So your job will be to present your exact plan for doing this and leave it with them. In the end you would be doing them a favor and helping them hit their numbers. 7. Positive attitude and enthusiasm The business world is full of moaners and the last thing a hiring manager wants is another union card wielding sinker on their team. If you are able to lift the moods of your intervierwers by way of charisma, humor or any other magic, you stand a lot better chance of being considered for the next round. Everyone is attracted to happy and positive people and if you lack experience and skills, this could be your trump card. By staying positive and radiating enthusiasm long after you landed the job, you can inspire others and demonstrate that you are promotion material. What one reason got you hired? Related: 7 Qualities Employers are Looking for in Candidates. Image: Shutterstock

Is a Career Coach Worth the Money

Is a Career Coach Worth the Money Coaching in general is an industry that has grown exponentially the last decade or so. It all started in sports, where the best athletes made use of a coach to improve their skills and to stay ahead of the competition. Coaching has spread to our everyday lives and nowadays you can be coached on anything from your relationship to your career. Most people have never used a career coach but they know of somebody that has. Some people will use a career coach every time they change jobs, although the rule of thumb is rather that a career coach is useful when an individual is considering a major change in their career, such as switching industries completely or relocating. The career coach will: Try to find out your life purpose and suggest careers which are aligned with this. The closer your job is to your purpose, the happier and more satisfied you will feel. Help you recognize what jobs you are suited for based on your talents, personality and ambition. These can be detected through general discussion, testing and probing questions. The best coaches are very honest and will tell you what you can and what your limitations are likely to be. Assist you to clarify your long term career goals and creating a roadmap to achieve them. This is a long process and can take a few sessions. Structure your job search, help with your application documents as well as coach you through job interviews. The career coach won’t: Tell you exactly what job you should go for. The idea of having somebody telling you exactly what you should do and make your decisions for you is not what career coaching is about. Like a Freudian psychotherapist, the coach will not be giving you the answers but rather ask probing questions for you to reach the solution yourself. Just like with psychotherapy, this can be a lengthy process so the more clarity you have already, the quicker this process will be. Know everything about you and what you should pursue. Some coaches will purport to have the answers and solutions to your career before you sign up and have your first session. Stay away from any coach claiming this, as this is impossible. It’s impossible for a coach to turbo charge your career, only you can make this happen. Come with you to interviews or write your CV. They are there to assist you with a job application process, not to do it for you. Cost time scales: The fees charged by career coaches vary greatly and you should definitely shop around for a deal. Expect to pay anything from $100 to $500 for a two hour session. Remember that being a coach is a very popular profession and there is a great deal of competition, which plays in to your hands as the buyer. The sessions are usually paid up front for a number of hours with the coach. You should be able to swing a free initial consultation, to get a feel for the coach and their methods before deciding whether you want to continue. As for the time scales, career coaching can take anything from one session to a full year program with fortnightly sessions or checkups rather. The best way to find one: Coaching is not regulated in any way and there are myriads of self appointed career coached out there. The best way to go about finding the right one for you is to ask friends, coworkers and perhaps even your HR department who they can recommend and why. You will want to find a coach that works with people in your industry, that has added value to others (a good coach should have references available) and that is within your price range. Make sure you get a coach that treats you as a preferred client and not just another appointment of the week. If the coach sounds very busy, best to check with someone that will have the time to focus on you and your needs. So is it worth it? Yes and no. The determining question here is really: Do you know what you want to do and how to get there? If so, do it yourself. If you are unsure about what career direction to take, if you have little idea of how to get somewhere â€" speak to a coach and see what they can do for you. Remember to always get a free consultation first! Image: Shutterstock Related: How Will a Career Coach Help Your Job Search?

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Its Time for Managers to Get Weird

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese It's Time for Managers to Get Weird I feel for managers these days, I really do. Or, at least I feel for the good managers. The evil troll managers I don't really think about too much, because they're going to get theirs one day no matter what I think about them.But the good managers -- those men and women who are trying to hold it together when it feels like the entire workplace is a huge Titanic without Leonardo DiCaprio to at least provide a distraction from the looming iceberg -- I feel for what they're going through.I know they're losing sleep. They're worried about their job, sure, but they're worried about dozens or even hundreds of others. The good managers know their people really well. They know who has health problems and can't afford to lose insurance coverage. They know who is struggling to pay a mortgage with a kid in college and they know who is a single parent with no help.So, they go into work every day trying to stay calm and rational and upbeat. They're trying to keep frightened and disillusioned emp loyees on track, trying everything to keep employees feeling creative and productive.That's why it's time managers got a little weird.Let me explain. I once interviewed a restaurant manager who needed to make sure employees were cleaning the place thoroughly, but knew that constant nagging would not help. In fact, it would probably just make workers annoyed and angry, or perhaps apathetic. Not a good thing when a health inspector was on the way.So instead he devised a system where he stuck small colored stickers in various places around the eatery. Employees who cleaned well would soon find these stickers. And, by turning these stickers over to management, they gained a prize and the restaurant gained quality work and a top-notch health inspection.While such a practice sounds simple, many managers wouldn't even think of such a different approach to work. They simply keeping nagging employees and losing morale and motivation in the process.But if managers these days want to keep th eir best workers -- and that is another huge worry -- they've got to quit caring what someone else will think of their methods and just focus on getting people to do what they do best.In other words, give the employees a reason to get out of bed in the morning and not worry about what may be around the corner. Someone else might think your methods are a bit weird, but hey, you're just being a good manager.So here are some ideas given by other managers as a way to make a job more interesting and fun for a worker, while gaining higher productivity and quality work:* Let them play. Everyone knows that employees play solitaire on the computer, or some other kind of game. In fact, studies show that a little down time is good for recharging the batteries. So, why not devise internal company games that get employees to solve crosswords or anagrams or puzzles that have to do with company products or history? That way, employees are being educated while having fun.* Put mentors in reverse: Its not only the older employees who have something to teach younger employees. Many younger workers can help older employees master some technology dilemmas through interactive sessions where information is shared in a relaxed way.* Use training theater. I learned that one manager feared that some of his younger male employees were being a little too forward with female customers, so instead of lecturing them, the manager had several male managers dress as women (heels, lipstick, dresses) and role-play with other male employees. It soon became apparent after the laughter died down that some behavior was not appropriate, and it brought the message home without pointing fingers.* Take a road trip. Take employees to visit a competitor and find out what the other business does right. Or, visit businesses known for their customer service, even if its not your particular industry. Many retailers are known for top service ask employees what they noticed about how employees in these stor es behaved.*Put out the welcome mat: Every month have one department hold an open house for others in the company. Handouts should be given telling what the department does, as well as a tour and narrative that gives information about how the department functions, who works there, etc. (Its always a good idea to offer a little food and beverage one company found a cotton candy machine to be a big hit.)What are some other ways managers can help ease the stress and engage employees?Social BookmarkingLijit Search

Personal Branding Interview Lisa Nirell - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Lisa Nirell - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Lisa Nirell, who is the Chief Energy Officer of EnergizeGrowth ®, and the author of EnergizeGrowth ® NOW: The Marketing Guide to A Wealthy Company. In this interview, Lisa talks about how she came up with her brand name, goes over some issues that impact entrepreneurs when theyre businesses are expanding, and more. Howd you come up with the brand name Energize Growth ®? Five years ago, I was training with my Masters Swim team. During one of the swim sets, I was ruminating about how I was going to create a new company identity. My business was facing a critical turning point. Much like my passion for swimmingâ€"something that gives me joy and energyâ€"I want more CEOs and business owners to feel that same way about growing their business. The name just surfaced (no pun intended). What are some issues that occur for passionate entrepreneurs when their businesses start expanding? The energy drain can happen when you least expect it: when you are celebrating market dominance, strong sales, and industry accolades. You feel unstoppable. Yet, if you ignore the subtle indicators that your company’s continued success is threatened, you may never muster the energy, resources, or desire to recover from them. Here are common clues: Your ideal client’s profile changes significantly. You will notice when your current clients begin behaving differently. Or perhaps new clients in new markets are surfacing, and you just aren’t prepared for the onslaught of demand. New, innovative companies are entering your market. This is especially true for companies in hotly contested, disruptive markets, such as technology, media, publishing, and manufacturing. For example, eReaders are turning the traditional book publishing industry upside down. One industry consultant, Mike Shatzkin, projects that ebook sales will claim as much as 25% of the total book market by 2012. You believe that growth planning and marketing are reserved for large, mature companies. How many times do you tell yourself “planning and visioning are important, but I am just too busy to focus on them?” Maybe you have created a culture of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, and planning gets second billing. If this continues to happen, your sustained market dominance is in jeopardy. I developed a “top fifteen list” of clues, and they are available here. Can you give us some tips on how to avoid these traps and retain a positive attitude? The easy answer is “yesâ€"buy my book!” And seriously, this could take awhile. Let’s start with one… A wise person once said: “your success is defined by the expectations of your peer group.” That resonates with me, and the leaders whom I have interviewed for my research and book. Are you surrounded by peers, friends and advisors who are willing to tell you the hard truth and provide valuable feedback? During busy times, it’s even tougher to rise above the noise and anticipate problems. Join or create an advisory group who can help, and whom you can help in return. What are the steps required to dictate a vision for a company? The company’s “Vivid Vision” is an emotionally-charged, verbal snapshot of what you want your company to be. A vision statement answers “What do I want this business to look like five to ten years from now?” It makes everyone feel energized about the organization’s future. Company visions require you to use your right brain and left brain. Therefore, this is not a linear process. I recommend three steps (in no certain order) to help the founders and leaders craft the company vision: Get out of your normal business setting and unplug. Everything. Find a place that inspires you to refine your vision. For me, being out in nature and swimming in the open water inspires me. The venue will be different for everyone. Invest in a survey that compares your company performance against your competitors. This will lower the possibility that your vision is a carbon copy of theirs. SageWorks Analyst by ProfitCents is an excellent tool for this analysis. Spend the next 30-45 days validating your strengths by gathering external feedback. Times change. Client attitudes shift. Competitors consolidate and gobble up market share. The vision statement you proudly used years ago has an expiration date. External feedback will help with this. Contact me for a list of powerful interview questions. What are some ways to stay connected to customers, partners, etc? Great questionâ€"and it will be different for every company. I see connection at multiple levels: Your way of being in the world. Are you viewed as their partner, or a parasite looking for the next favor? Do you embody positive energy, balance, and passion for what you do, or are you constantly fighting fires? Your language. My mentor Alan Weiss says that “language controls the discussion, discussion controls the relationship, and relationships control the business.” In today’s over-connected world, communication needs to be crisp and clear. Eliminate slang and buzzwords from your vocabulary. Practice difficult conversations or important introductions in the mirror before they happen. Record yourself on your voicemail system. It really helps. How you spend your “connection” time. What percentage of your day is spent as a student of your customers’ or partners’ businesses? How many of their conferences are you attending so that you better understand their issues and aspirations? Media. How do you assert your expertise, and how often? When did you last ask your top customers where and how they get their knowledge? In most industries, publishing, speaking, and online marketing must be a part of your life. If you are not sharing your expertise, your market will define your brand. Do you really want to leave your company’s image and repute completely in someone else’s hands? Lisa Nirell is the Chief Energy Officer of EnergizeGrowth ®. She and her team help companies who aspire to maximize performance, attract great clients, and reach their company’s full value potential. Through her CEO research, 26 years of experience, strategy workshops, and highly interactive learning programs, Lisa helped clients secure $83M in new business within just three years. Lisas newest book is EnergizeGrowth ® NOW: The Marketing Guide to A Wealthy Company. In addition, she is an expert blogger on strategic growth planning for FastCompany Magazine. Lisas community and mentors keep her sane and energized. She is actively involved in The Bend Chamber of Commerce and Central OR Builders Association. A portion of the EnergizeGrowth ® LLC revenues support Room To Read, The Deschutes Basin Land Trust, and The Central OR Humane Society.

What is the Best Free Resume Writing Service?

What is the Best Free Resume Writing Service?What is the best free resume writing service? There are many services out there that promise to produce a good job-seeker's resume without charge. In this article, we will see what makes a good service.A service that charges are not as good as one that is free. I am sure that each of us would like to get a good result for the money that we spend on it. It should be done for the right reasons and with the right results.First, a free service should not be a scam. A scam service is one that gives you the goods without any guarantee. They may also give you better results than you can have. That is why a good service should always give you proof that they are going to do so.Second, a free service should not be misleading. We all want to get good results but that does not mean that we should allow a company to give us wrong information. As an example, a company might claim that you will get an interview on your first try or that they will be doi ng the work for free.The final option here is that they may do something that is quite embarrassing for you. That is why we should only consider a service that provides correct information.In my opinion, the best free service is an online service. This is because the time you spend on the service is not wasted. You do not have to worry about wasting money and time at any other times when you do not get the results you want.Remember that a good thing about getting a free service is that it will not cost you any money in the long run. You will get a resume in just a few minutes at most.So, what I will recommend you is to get an online service that offers a free trial period. This way, you will be able to test it first before spending money on a service that will not give you what you expect. I hope that this will help you find the best free resume writing service.

Demystifying Twitter

Demystifying Twitter There are many reasons people dont like Twitter. Let me try to demystify it. I am embarking on a difficult task today. I am going to try to explain why I love Twitter and why I think it is a vital tool for personal and professional branding, building a business and is the best networking tool ever! People Help Strangers On Twitter I saw a tweet that caught my eye from @KarlaPorter. Since I know and value her, I wanted to see what she was referring to so I checked out @Cream_HR to see what they were doing. They (he) had sent a stream of many tweets to many people saying the same thing. (I would love to show you, but they have deleted the tweets). I was embarrassed for @Cream_HR but I also felt there was a bit of ignorance or lack of tw-etiquette going on too. Eventually, the offending @Cream_HR sent an apology and then wrote an article on his website called   Todays Epic Failure: Twitter.   In it he admits he didnt understand Twitter. He is tech savvy and understands Facebook yet still cant quite get his hands around Twitter. I know there are a lot of people who dont get Twitter, so here goes! Dont Follow the Home Feed The more people I started following on Twitter, the more difficult it became to see what people were saying. There was just too much going on. I began creating lists and put people I followed into category lists. You can do this now on Facebook too! Close Friends, Family, etc. allows you to see the updates/feeds from that particular group of people. I think the reason most people dont like Twitter is because the home feed is chaotic. Use Tweetdeck or HootSuite. They are free at the basic level. A Better Twitter User-Interface In the early days, it was just Twitter.   Then came Tweetdeck.   A tool to manage your tweeting experience.  There is also  HootSuite HootSuite is a social media scheduling and monitoring platform. From either platform, I can monitor, engage and schedule status updates for the future. Plus the updates dont move as quickly so I can see who is saying what. Using Lists to Organize What You See Why use tools like Hootsuite?  There is so much going on, it is sometimes difficult to catch important updates.   By organizing the Twitter accounts I follow into lists, I can sort by types of followers.   Lists are sort of like tags.   Here is what my Hootsuite dashboard looks like. I can also add feeds from LinkedIn and Facebook. Each column is a list of people I follow based on subject matter. As a job seeker, you may choose industry news, target employers, network contacts, city. All you need to do is follow Twitter accounts and add them to a list you create. (Learn more about how to create Twitter lists here). And this is what TweetDeck looks like. One Place to Update and Monitor LinkedIn, Facebook Twitter Here is where things get really cool.   I can add my LinkedIn home feed (status updates from my LinkedIn network) to Hootsuite and/or TweetDeck   Now, instead of having to log in to LinkedIn, I can see what my network is doing from Hootsuite or Tweetdeck.   I still do log into Facebook and LinkedIn, but not as often.    Twitter is Public All the Time Tweets are public which is both a good thing and a bad thing. But this isnt unlike Facebook or LinkedIn or any other social networking site. Always be cognizant of what you post! The reason I have always loved Twitter is that I can share (like) anyones tweets, whether I know them or not. Imagine being able to like the status of an Olympic athlete after they win a medal? It shows your support of what theyve accomplished. It is like sending a Congratulations card! And who knows, they may send you a thank you note (tweet!) Information Sharing Not Self Promoting or Spam When you update your status on Facebook or LinkedIn, who really cares, right? Especially if you are talking about what you had for breakfast. But look deeper. When you update your status, you could be educating people on healthy eating habits or routines that convey lifestyle preferences.   Generally, though, I find people are sharing information they are proud about or want others to know about. Thats whats happening on Twitter too.   A great resource is the Twitter Chat Schedule! It lists hundreds of different Twitter chats on different topics! Find one and learn from others! ReTweeting = Liking Facebook and LinkedIn are more than just Rolodex of contacts (or they should be). You have discussions with people you know based on their status updates. You hit the like button on a Facebook or LinkedIn update why? Because you want them to know you read it, you care, you agree, whatever. It is a way of letting them know theyve been heard. Sometimes youll even add a comment to an update you like. Same thing with Twitter. When you read a status update from someone (a tweet), instead of liking it, you retweet it. If you want to add a comment to add your thoughts, then you can do that too in the tweet. It becomes your way of supporting someone else. Creating a Community, Group, or Tribe When you segment the people you are friends with or connected with on Facebook or LinkedIn, you realize you share interests. Those interests allow you to create a collection, group, community or tribe of like-minded individuals. You are segmenting conversations and interactions based on shared interests. You have certain go to people you would seek answers from. Twitter is no different; except for the fact that you may not have ever met those go to people before or they may not know you. But a funny thing happens on Twitter, just as it does in a tight-knit community. People help strangers. They provide answers, suggestions and offer a hand if they can. But youll have to trust me on this until you begin building your own community of go to tweeps. Heres some guidance on how you can find smart people to follow on Twitter. Give It Time When you begin building a network of people in real life, it takes time to establish mutual trust. The same holds true on Twitter. If you are expecting miracles out of the gate, it isnt going to happen. Be slow, purposeful and sincere in your communication with others on Twitter. Give to get. Help others selflessly and regularly. See what starts to happen. Here are some reasons other people love Twitter!

Do You Have a Job Search Social Media Marketing Plan

Do You Have a Job Search Social Media Marketing Plan Business.com recently conducted a study on social media use by business professionals. Here are some of the findings, (based on close to 3,000 respondents) that I found particularly interesting.69% rated webinars and podcasts as their top social media resources for business information.Facebook is the dominant social network for B2C companies, but B2B companies maintain a fairly equal presence on both Facebook and Twitter.Among respondents using social media for business purposes, 62% visit company or brand profiles on social networking sites.The average company in the study was planning, developing, or running seven different social media initiatives.When you are in a job search, your role is very similar to that of a business owner. Businesses promote their value through marketing campaigns and relationship building. They need to constantly deliver a message to their customers that they are better than the competition. They leverage past successes to build the trust of their custom ers and they find others to evangelize their brand and spread the word of their unique service benefits. The same is true for job seekers.Social media helps businesses deliver this promise of value with greater efficiency and consistency and the reach can be much greater than that achieved by traditional marketing campaigns. Shouldnt you be doing the same for your customer, the hiring manager? Whats your job search marketing plan? Start building your online profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter and identity profiles on Google Profiles and Zoom Info.Career Solvers has recently launched a guide to creating a job search social media marketing plan and it is complementary with all online identity packages. Want to learn more? Contact us today.