Recruiters Are From Mars, Job Seekers Are From Venus [INFOGRAPHIC]

Recruiters Are From Mars, Job Seekers Are From Venus [INFOGRAPHIC] Job seeking can be  a long and laborious process, and it can sometimes feel like recruiters are  on a completely different planet to the one youre on. But before you hop onto your spaceship and whizz off to Mars, check out this infographic from MedReps.com to get you back on the same page or planet. Takeaways: Theres no point in wasting time applying for jobs youre not qualified for instead stick with applications that you have the suitable experience for. Be yourself  whilst job hunting, but remain professional and polite. Remember that recruiting can be a lengthy process, so be prepared to wait a while before hearing from recruiters. RELATED:  What Do Recruiters Really Want To See On Your CV?

3 Reasons For Your Boss to Approve Employer Brand Travel

3 Reasons For Your Boss to Approve Employer Brand Travel Sponsored content Some companies have unlimited travel budgets, but most do not. Every flight, hotel, business dinner is scrutinized and limited in many corporate organizations. And we’re not even talking about business class travel expenses. Basic travel is not cheap. If you’ve ever bought a pint or bottle of water on a layover in an airport, you’re probably nodding your head right now.   When I started in my first corporate employer branding job (it was called social recruiting back then), I was working remotely from Austin, Texas for a global company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The sourcing team I worked most closely with, was also remote but some of them worked near HQ. They would drive into the office once or twice a week for ‘face-time’ with the teams they supported, as well as to occasionally see each other. I was told that there was no travel budget for me to come to the home office.   It was my job to research and represent the culture, to articulate it, and to respond as the digital face of our recruiting brand. But I couldn’t spend any time experiencing the culture in the space that the company provided for employees. You read that correctly. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. I sought out every opportunity to talk with my co-workers. I hosted monthly social media lunch and learn sessions (in part) to feel connected to the team, and even pioneered video calls at the time so I could see their faces. Most of them had video turned off, because they weren’t comfortable showing their remote workspaces, and were only used to simple conference calls. Fun fact: half the company couldn’t even access social media channels. I even drove for three hours one-way at my own expense, to the nearest satellite office in an attempt to talk to employees face to face. Needless to say, I was not set up for success in this role. Flash forward almost ten years, and video conference calls are the new normal. We see our global co-workers in their natural habitats as they work from home, as well as via video cameras in each of our corporate offices. Our visual appearance on video, even our facial expressions and posture are part of how we communicate. But there’s still something missing. Back when I started my current role as an employer branding leader with a growing team supporting global initiatives, I had let most of my activities and thinking revolve around corporate HQ. You’re probably thinking, didn’t he go through that? It’s easy to do what’s easy. And subconsciously thinking like everyone was on the U.S. central time zone was very easy to do. And then I started hiring more people on my team and traveling globally for our creative projects, video and photoshoots, and social media training. Workdays and Time Zones There’s something that you discover when traveling for work. First, it’s the jet lag that knocks you for a loop. Depending on how far you’ve gone, that has varying effects and copious amounts of coffee helps. A little. The real challenge in the time zones is not simply the precious overlap in the day when your team is also working at the same time. It’s the length of the working day. Remember that while you’re sleeping, they’re having meetings, working on projects, responding to emails, updating documents. So when you start your day, your inbox is full of messages, questions, and decision requests. This means that in order to get things done, many people work outside of so-called normal working hours. It’s especially the case when you’re traveling away from your regular time zone. You wake up in the hotel, go into the local office and savor the face time with your team and the people that you support. You work a long, full day, and then something happens around 4 pm when the coffee no longer does the trick. You start to see emails, chat messages, and tags from the home office. Your workday is much much longer now. Then you realize that this is normal for your team members in this office, and you start to appreciate them even more.   Human Connection There’s something about breaking bread across a table with your workmates. As basic as it sounds, it really does help you relate to them as more than your co-workers, but as fellow humans. We’re all facing similar challenges and fears, we all struggle with time management, and most of us want to be inspired in our lives outside of work. That’s why those five minutes at the beginning of meetings are so important. To ask how everyone is doing, complain about the weather, or talk about their kids. It helps us relate to and appreciate each other. Which is why when I travel, I plan at least one meal out with my team members. More if the schedule allows. Not to go all fancy with the expenses, but to spend time outside of the office, being human with the people whom I respect and (yes) actually like. The time rocking the microphone at a karaoke bar in Tokyo (you know who you are) or the time you missed your taxi and walked two miles back to the hotel in Hyderabad, in the dark. It’s that time together that you can’t replicate through a video screen. When you’re traveling for a conference or workshop like the Talent Brand Summit in London, there’s even more incentive to make lasting connections. It’s these relationships that you’re going to need when you get back to your office. Real-world Practice I usually plan what I’ll get out of a trip before I book any travel. This helps me justify the expense, and be the most efficient I can be. The other benefit of traveling for work is that you get to see your plans, your preparation, and your hard work in action. You also get to see when all of your best intentions don’t work out. Most of the time, it’s how you communicate that isn’t understood or received. Other times, it falls apart when your plans (which were often created in a vacuum) collide with the actual office or cultural environment. Local culture eats good intentions (and employer brand strategy) for breakfast every day. Why should your boss approve your employer brand travel?   Because they want you to understand and represent the authentic culture of your company. Because they want you to connect with your team and help them develop themselves personally and professionally. And because they want to see your attraction plans and employer brand strategies actually carried out as you intended. That’s how you know what you’re doing is actually working. It’s the culture, it’s the connections, and it’s the quantifiable data that help you be successful as a global employer brand leader. It also helps to word your travel request carefully. If you travel for work, count yourself lucky. But always, always rememberwhat happens at karaoke, ends up on Facebook. About the author:  Bryan Chaney is a global talent branding and attraction strategist. He’s a co-founder of the Talent Brand Alliance, and the Talent Brand Summit event series. He’s worked at IBM, Twilio and currently leads employer brand for internal recruitment at Indeed. Bryan has worked in recruitment, technology, and marketing, providing him insights into the marketing of hiring, the importance of technology and the buying process that candidates make when applying for jobs.

Approaching Greatness and Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Approaching Greatness and Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The higher up the ladder you are in a business, the busier and more frequent the responsibilities become. All too often this will transform a once approachable individual into a terrifying force easier to ignore than to face. Employees stop calling, problems are covered up and the office culture takes a steep nose dive toward one of secrecy and deception where it once was honest, open and happy. Such is the way of the unapproachable boss. Be they a manager or C-suite executive, not fostering easy and harmless communication channels is rife with upsets that will slowly but surely tear the company apart from the inside, no matter its size. If you want your workers to engage with you, you have to be open to positive engagements. Remember that it’s scary enough coming to a manager with a problem much less a manager that is unapproachable or even negative. Set the Example If you want your employees to be easily able to approach you about anything, good or bad, remind them how easy you are to talk to. The longer you spend sequestered in your office, the less time you interact with them casually. Soon they forget what it’s like to talk to you, holding on to the more memorable conversations. Because these are typically rooted in the negative talks, the staff then builds you up to be a scary person to approach. The only way to circumvent this is with regular, relaxed communications. Share stories or events with them. Check in on them during the day. Ask if they need help. Find out how their lives have been going. These chats don’t have to be long or involved, but they do need to be constantly consistent. Never Overreact In business, many bosses think that setting an example by punishing a messenger is a great way to show power. In truth, this only works to permanently damage relationships. No matter what that employee did, if they are forced to take all the blame, both they and their friends within the company will now turn on you for your overreaction without first gathering all the details. Now, that isn’t to say there aren’t situations where immediate reactions are necessary, but the vast majority of issues are better solved by spending energy finding the problem and determining a solution over shouting at the person brave enough to break the news to you. If anything, be grateful the problem was brought to your attention at all. Regular explosions at even the slightest hint of bad news will all but guarantee you’ll never find out what actually is happening within your organization or team, reducing your ability to control anything. Practice Trustworthiness As a leader within a company, your employees will come to you with a number of issues, ranging from negligible to very serious. Whether it’s about a fellow coworker or a personal story, confidentiality is key. You will only continue to receive their trust if you regularly show that you respect the information they share with you. Though most of the time this is personal, there will be work-related incidents. If, for instance, an employee is late on a project due to a very personal reason that they’ve only shared with you, the smart move is to take responsibility for the delay in public and alert your boss in private about the situation as a way to draw attention from the suffering employee. The bad choice is to openly denounce said employee, fostering a curiosity in others about something that was supposed to be information known only to the two of you. Do What You Say Because you are the voice for a group of people, they will come to you with hopes and dreams for their department. While you probably won’t be able to grant them the free trips to Bermuda they hope for, you can make compromises to show that you listen to their desires and do what you can to make them come true. As a long time Rotarian, I find the Rotary Four Way test to be a great rule of thumb in leading your organization. First, is it the truth? Second, is it fair to all concerned? Third, will it build goodwill and better friendships? Fourth, will it be beneficial to all concerned?

How to Source Tech Talent in 5 Easy Steps

How to Source Tech Talent in 5 Easy Steps Technology  positions  can sometimes be hard to fill with a recent CareerBuilder/Sologig.com study showing that a third of IT employers having open positions which they are unable to fill. Here are 5 steps to make the process easier: 1) Finding the candidates Candidates can be easy to find, but you have to be willing to take part in the communities where they can be found. Places such as Github and Stack Overflow are good places to start, and can be extremely useful to SEE what candidates can do, instead of just reading about their potential. If you know where to look, and how to find people, you can find them but make sure you build up a name for yourself first. 2) Make the job postings easier to find online and realistic If technology talent is looking for a new position, they want to be able to find their perfect job easily and without much hassle they want to be able to search a few hashtags on Twitter, and find a link straight to the job description. Additionally, make sure the job description is realistic dont ask for 10 years experience in three different skills: these candidates do not exist. Ask for what is the bare minimum, and make it appealing to the prospective talent. 3) Make your company look appealing, but dont fake it! Technology talent will be using social media websites already use these to make your company one that they will want to work for. By using YouTube and Twitter well and with a respectable budget to document a side to your company that technology talent will want to see, however dont fake it! Add in the prospective of working with sexy technology (as it is known), such as Ruby, HTML5 and other tools, with training, and you are sure to receive a lot more interest.  Perks can also help make your company look more appealing flexible hours, free food and a competitive salary are just a few that may reel in the technology talent. 4) Communicate ask them what they want and make sure recruiters are tech savvy It is important to ensure that your recruitment team is tech savvy, otherwise the candidate will have a very low opinion on the company, and look elsewhere. Technology talent can easily tell if a recruiter does not know what they are talking about. They dont need to be able to do the job themselves, however they need to understand the language and the roles in the organisation to be able to reach and keep hold of the right people. It is also crucial to keep in contact with candidates keep them updated on the process overall, and always make sure that emails are answered as soon as possible. Finally, its  crucial  that recruiters understand what the technology talent want they want challenges, interesting work environments and projects which will push their boundaries and use software that will entertain and excite them. 5) Use your employees as a recruitment source Treating your employees well, with respect and giving them trust and  responsibility  will ensure they work hard and become a source in recruitment in themselves. Reports have shown that employee  referrals  are one of the highest resources of candidates for hire, so a technology worker who loves their job will promote the brand and further entice more talent. If you do not treat your employees well, this can cause bad word to spread, and can highly damage the image of your company. In addition, encourage your employees to keep their past employer relationships, so you can then recruit from the competition if they continue to interact with the competition and other brands, you have a higher chance of gaining the better talent and growing your brand in the right way. Conclusions There are five easy steps to recruiting, attracting and, most importantly, keeping technology talent. Have you tried any of these out? If so, what is your success rate? Are there any you think we should add?

Tips For Writing An Effective Resume For Experienced Professionals

Tips For Writing An Effective Resume For Experienced ProfessionalsWriting a resume is an important part of the job application process for many individuals, but it can be especially challenging for individuals who are already working in the field. If you are looking to make a great impression on the potential employer, then there are some general tips that can help you write an effective resume for experienced professionals.The first thing that you need to do when you are trying to get your name out there is to put yourself in a situation where you have the opportunity to use your skill. This might mean that you are a freelancer, a contractor, or a network marketing consultant for some large corporations. Each of these fields will have a set of skills that you can use to get an interview and a job. But you may also be interested in putting yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to take on the task.When you have to get up and go to work every day, you need to get a job. And the best way to do this is to prepare yourself to deal with a task like this. If you aren't sure what to do, go to a friend's house, or have someone help you write a resume, then try doing this: Find a situation that you want to work in or a company that you would like to work for. Determine how you can get started at this new position. Write down your experiences in this position.You can then turn this information into a personal statement, which you can include in your cover letter. In it, you should highlight the specific skills that you learned during this new situation. And in the body of the letter, you can talk about the experiences that you have had in this new position, as well as the skills that you have learned during this time.Once you have done this, you should join a few professional organizations that deal with your specific field. These organizations usually require that you take some kind of elective course during your first year. This is an easy way to build th e experience that you need and also provides an excellent networking opportunity.It's also a great idea to get in touch with the people who interview candidates for positions. Many of these people will give you an introduction and get you going. Also, if you feel that you are falling behind in your studies, there are schools that will allow you to take a refresher course before they hire you.Look at your career objectives and schedule and break them down into a time frame. Then, talk to your boss and do some brainstorming. Then, speak to the resume writing service about how to best implement the skills you have. Be sure to go over everything with them before you submit your resume.When you make the decision to write a resume, remember that you will be speaking to potential employers on a regular basis. So you need to be able to get the word out about what you have to offer. It's a good idea to become familiar with the resources that you have available to you and then consider invest ing in some resume writing services.

Advance Your Career by Teaching What You Love - CareerAlley

Advance Your Career by Teaching What You Love - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. A large number of college students will find they are burned out and ready to graduate by the close of sophomore year. Many students will never complete the bachelors degree they set out to earn. Earning a degree, for some people, is a taxing process, which brings little perceived immediate reward. Nevertheless, there are those who, upon entering college studies, take such a liking to the environment that they wish it would never end. Academia has a culture about it like no other field. Where the end goal is increased learning, students hungry for more knowledge never tire of attending classes, lectures, seminars, and residencies. For the students who enjoy academia, a career as a professor is the perfect option. The road from attending lectures to facilitating them is long, but the reward is great for those with a passion for education. The Journey to Graduate School If youve come to the end of your baccalaureate studies with a high GPA, between 3.5 and 4.0, youll be in good position to apply for graduate studies. During your junior or senior year, you may take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and/or Test of English as Foreign Language, which is TOEFL for non-English speaking or foreign students. These examinations results will be sent to your prospective graduate schools as part of your entrance evaluation for acceptance. If you plan to transition straight from undergraduate studies to graduate studies, youll need to have your applications prepared and mailed by the fall deadlines for the year following your completion of your undergraduate degree. Even if you plan to wait, taking the GRE and TOEFL as a junior or senior is a good idea since the material tested will still be fresh in your mind. Both tests results are good for up to 5 years. Applying to Schools Before completing the GRE and TOEFL, students should narrow down the list of schools to which they plan to apply. Depending on the applicants field of study and his or her financial ability, he or she will want to apply to between four and twelve schools. Some graduate studies programs are larger and less competitive, while others admit only two to five students a year and are therefore very selective. Choosing a Degree Several fields that tend to be competitive are Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA), Law Degrees (JD), and Medical Schools (PhD). MFAs tend to be difficult to gain admission to because the programs range between two and thirty students. Masters of Fine Arts are terminal degrees and may lead to teaching positions at the college level. Both JDs and PhDs are always competitive because the studies are rigorous and available positions for students are limited. Whether a JD, a PhD or an MFA, prospective students should apply for at least a half dozen schools, with twelve being the ideal number. Other programs such as Masters or Doctorate degrees in: English, history, biology, or chemistry tend to have larger student bases and so draw less competition. Youll still need to excel academically, but fewer students fight for the barrier to admission. Passion in Profession Those who spend six to ten years in college obviously have a passion for their field. With that passion, theres an obvious trajectory: remain in Academia. Professors do not simply teach their students the same rote information. Professors continue to study their field. They are required to publish regularly and remain active in the field of their study. Professors form a community among themselves where study continues to flourish and knowledge increase. Any student who has ever dreaded graduation, feeling it is the end of his or her best career should continue on to earn a higher degree in their chosen field in order to teach and learn as a living. Author Bio Ryan Ayers is a writer who created articles in the field of education. This article was written to shed light on teaching as a profession and to encourage further study in this field with an Online Masters in Higher Education. 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. Visit me on Facebook

Authority Agony A Rebels Guide To The Working World - CareerAlley

Authority Agony A Rebels Guide To The Working World - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Do you have trouble with authority figures? You arent alone; a huge majority of the population would say the same. For the most part, this problem starts from a bad experience when were young. It may be that you had an unreasonable teacher or an unfair run in with the law. Most people rally against authority because theyve experienced its misuse. And, once youre sure authority is a bad thing, it can be difficult to fall in line. This causes problems in the workplace for obvious reasons. If youre working under a boss, you need to do what they say. But, if you hate authority, you wont want to. So, youll find yourself in all sorts of trouble and lose jobs often. Not to mention that youll be miserable working for people you cant respect. The good news is, theres plenty you can do to tackle the problem. Here are a few suggestions. REACH MANAGEMENT LEVEL It may seem like the last thing you want to do, but it could be worth reaching management level yourself. Its the best way to fight back against the injustices youve experienced. In a lot of ways, your hatred for authority could make you the best person for the job. What better way to change things than from the top? You could be the boss you always wanted. Its true that you may need to please the right people to get here. But, keeping your goal in mind should make that bearable. Then, you can be an authority figure with morals. Plus, once youre at the top, you wont have anyone to answer to. What could be better? Flickr Image TAKE A BOSS OUT OF THE EQUATION If the idea of selling your soul to management is too much to stand, there are other options. Working from home would allow you to take a boss out of the equation. Even better, you would be working for yourself and so wouldnt have anyone under you. In a lot of ways, its the perfect compromise. Many people avoid this option because they dont think they could make enough money. But, taking a look at the 42 Highest Paying Work from Home Jobs should show you that isnt the case. All it takes is a knowledge of what you want to do, and a desire to get there. Itll be hard work, but your work ethic has never been the problem, right? START OUT ON YOUR OWN If working alone for the rest of your days doesnt appeal, you could always start a business. You will find yourself in a management position again, but itll be a different ball game altogether. Your business model is entirely down to you, so you can take as managerial a role as you want. You could get innovative with how you run your team, and put everyone on even footing. That way, your business could become a dream for others like you. And, youll have the evenly leveled working relationships you always craved. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+