Job Seekers MUST Understand the Difference Between Status and Brand

Job Seekers MUST Understand the Difference Between Status and Brand One of the biggest challenges Ive seen in the last nine years since Ive lost my job and communicated with thousands of job seekers is a misunderstanding of who they are.  Too often people think Im unemployed, and that label needs to be their brand.  For example, when I had a job, my introduction was: Im Jason Alba, the General Manager of this company. Then, when I lost my job, it changed to: Im Jason Alba, and Im. uh uh In transition?  Unemployed? However you say that new thing, let me suggest that it is said WRONG!!!  I know we are used to having a title, and a professional identity, but this new thing is not our title and it is not our professional identity! Heres a simple analogy to show you why: Lets say your neighbor is a master carpenter. Youve seen his work, and he is amazing.  You can say: My neighbor is a carpenter. But, what if your neighbor has all of his tools stolen, and he cant work until he buys new tools?  Is he still a carpenter? Or, what if your neighbor gets chicken pox or cooties, and cant work for at least a week.  Is he still a carpenter? YES, he is still a carpenter!!! His status is not working, for the moment.  I actually call this his temporary status.  But not working is not his brand**. Some people think that when they are in transition they are unemployed.  They dont understand that is a temporary status, and they begin to believe the lie that they are professionally unemployed. Please realize the difference between your brand (including skills, competencies, etc.) and your temporary status. With this information, you should network differently.  Are you an out of work product manager?  Break that down to status (out of work) and brand (product manager).  You dont have to wear the out of work like its a badge of honor or a badge of shame.  Its simply a temporary status. Now, go out and communicate better, and more accurately, with your network! ** I use the word brand loosely here, since I dont think a job title is a good way to brand but for the purpose of this article, its good enough. Job Seekers MUST Understand the Difference Between Status and Brand One of the biggest challenges Ive seen in the last nine years since Ive lost my job and communicated with thousands of job seekers is a misunderstanding of who they are.  Too often people think Im unemployed, and that label needs to be their brand.  For example, when I had a job, my introduction was: Im Jason Alba, the General Manager of this company. Then, when I lost my job, it changed to: Im Jason Alba, and Im. uh uh In transition?  Unemployed? However you say that new thing, let me suggest that it is said WRONG!!!  I know we are used to having a title, and a professional identity, but this new thing is not our title and it is not our professional identity! Heres a simple analogy to show you why: Lets say your neighbor is a master carpenter. Youve seen his work, and he is amazing.  You can say: My neighbor is a carpenter. But, what if your neighbor has all of his tools stolen, and he cant work until he buys new tools?  Is he still a carpenter? Or, what if your neighbor gets chicken pox or cooties, and cant work for at least a week.  Is he still a carpenter? YES, he is still a carpenter!!! His status is not working, for the moment.  I actually call this his temporary status.  But not working is not his brand**. Some people think that when they are in transition they are unemployed.  They dont understand that is a temporary status, and they begin to believe the lie that they are professionally unemployed. Please realize the difference between your brand (including skills, competencies, etc.) and your temporary status. With this information, you should network differently.  Are you an out of work product manager?  Break that down to status (out of work) and brand (product manager).  You dont have to wear the out of work like its a badge of honor or a badge of shame.  Its simply a temporary status. Now, go out and communicate better, and more accurately, with your network! ** I use the word brand loosely here, since I dont think a job title is a good way to brand but for the purpose of this article, its good enough.

Is LinkedIn Important for Job Seekers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Is LinkedIn Important for Job Seekers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career By definition, every job seeker is a seller of self. The recruiter and the hiring manager, on the other hand, are the buyers. Buyers are obligated to perform due diligence before making commitment to sellers. Now, I’m sure that you the reader do not stretch the truth, exaggerate the facts, or even occasionally lie on your résumé about certain facts, skills, or accomplishments, but I know that some others do. According to surveys such as Jobvite, 93% of recruiters use social media to check out candidates. A recruiter’s professional obligation is to make sure that résumés submitted to companies factually represent the job candidates. Otherwise, the recruiter’s credibility is on the line. Recruiters compare the content of candidates’ résumés with other facts they are able to find online. To make those comparisons, 94% use LinkedIn, 66% use Facebook, and 52% use Twitter. But what are they looking for? Validation of expertise and experience Recruiters and hiring managers compare, for example, your skills, experience, and accomplishmentsâ€"as stated in your résuméâ€"with any evidence found regarding your participation in communications with others who belong to the same groups you do. If, for instance, you say you’re very qualified at the expert level, well, your claim should be evident elsewhere too. If you say you’re a leader who communicates well, then that should be apparent via your blog that is linked to your LinkedIn profile. Furthermore, recommendations validate your expertise, and endorsements speak specifically to your professional skills. Evidence of consistency between the resume and social media The basic things a recruiter validates are the matching of dates of employment and names of employers. They also search for any gaps in titles, college graduation date, academic degrees, and so forth between your LinkedIn profile and your résumé. Even though it is advised that a résumé be tailored to the job being applied for and that your LinkedIn profile be more generic in nature, the basic information has to otherwise match, or the discrepancies will raise questions. Significant varying information between the two could cost you the opportunity to continue in the selection process for further review of your candidacy. Assertion of technological savvy Those who have complete and attractive LinkedIn profiles affirm their understanding of the online business. Such profiles also serve as differentiators against more-mature people who, typically, are less savvy about new technology. In summary Online presence not only is helpful to the job seeker but also makes the recruiter’s job easier when it comes to the processing of your job application. In addition, candidates who are not perfectly honest about their professional backgrounds will come to regret the deceit because sooner or later, the truth will surface. A problem that some job seekers face is their posting of some information online years ago, at a time when such information was not important to them but it helped them impress their friends and peers at the time. That information may backfire now if foundâ€"even years and years later.

How to Use Video to Effectively Build Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Use Video to Effectively Build Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career A strong brand presence addresses the needs of consumers and the brand alike. Quality branding helps customers feel uniquely empowered by the brand, via enhancements like increased productivity or knowledge. The brand itself benefits from customers who develop loyalty, increasing the chances they advocate for the brand to friends and family. Quality branding can result in a natural stream of leads. One of the hallmarks of a successful branding strategy involves video. It’s easier than ever to record a video and upload it, with even mobile phones possessing great video quality. As a result, video can be a cost-effective and highly engaging method to promote a brand. In addition to videos accessibility, many professionals are growing frustrated by the sheer amount of textual correspondence they receive. A video is a breath of fresh air from texts, instant messages and email. These six tips can help elevate your video content to the point where it’s strongly influencing your brand’s presence: Prioritize Videoconferencing Over Conference Calls Conference calls are often ripe with mishaps, ranging from disconnects to callers asking, “Can you hear me?” Video calls, on the other hand, involve everyone’s attention. Video also makes it apparent if someone is disconnected or cannot hear. Beyond that, it’s easier to develop relationships in business when you can put a face to the name. Businesses that adopt videoconferencing as the preferred communication method with clients can enjoy these benefits. They also have the ability to record the videos in order to fill in anyone who missed the meeting or needs the information presented. Clients and investors will likely prefer to be contacted via video if the conversation is meaningful, which it often is. More than 80 percent of traffic online is video traffic, as content preference has shifted from text to images, videos and livestreams. At the very least, providing clients and investors the option to speak via video can cater to every preference. Enhance Your Proposals Video enables you to present all relevant information, whether its via a PowerPoint presentation or data sheet, while also featuring your face, tonal inflection and reactions. All of these can aid in bolstering a proposal from sounding dull and uninspiring to one with ample detail and passion. Viral Opportunities Are Numerous Some small businesses hit the jackpot by producing a viral video centered on their brand, ranging from DollarShaveClub to the “First Kiss” video, which brought in more than 82 million YouTube views despite costing only $1,300 to produce Ideally, your video content will go viral, or at the very least attract positive attention on social media. Rather than investing thousands into an advertising campaign, consider producing a video with viral intentions in mind. Enforce Knowledge via Live Video Chats Facebook Live enables businesses to host live videoconferences, where followers can watch and ask questions in real time. Combine this with a contest or giveaway to one of the question askers, and youll attract ample attention. Use the video chat to enforce your knowledge and expertise within the niche, validating trust consumers may have in you. Show Human Faces, Not Corporate Mundanity behind the brand, as opposed to just the brand itself. Produce Training and How-to Videos Google is often people’s go-to for finding how to do things these days. Training and how-to tutorials are among the most popular types of videos on YouTube. A quality tutorial regarding something in your brands topical scope is a fantastic way to attract new customers, who may find your video so helpful and informative that they trust you enough to purchase your products or services. There are a variety of ways to enhance your brand using video, ranging from hosting live chats with giveaways and QAs to implementing video chat in the office and creating potentially viral advertising videos or tutorials. The options are numerous and relevant for any business, regardless of its specialty.

How Tech Companies Can Attract Game-Changing Talent [STUDY]

How Tech Companies Can Attract Game-Changing Talent [STUDY] Close to 8 percent of all workers in the UK are employed by  tech companies, however the future growth of the industry is under threat, due to a shortage of skilled professionals in the sector. There is a similar deficit across the pond in the US, and in 2012, the  President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology predicted a shortage of one million workers over the following 10 years. There are some however, who have a slightly sceptical view on these figures and believe that this talent gap has merely been invented by technology companies as a ploy to relax immigration rules and attract lower-cost talent in the industry. Whichever happens to be true, the same issues still stand when hiring into technology companies, such as finding talent who can have the right skills to compete in tomorrows technology market, expecting much more of them than in the past. Millennial workers are more likely to prefer flexible work arrangements than older employees, meaning a lot are choosing to work as independent contractors.  A 2014 Millennial survey from Deloitte found up to 70 percent of graduates would reject traditional businesses to work independently. Over recent years attention has been drawn to the lack of women working in tech companies.  In 2014, Google, Facebook and Apple (among others) released data showing men outnumbered women two to one, and in technology roles the ratio rises to four to one and higher. But what can tech companies do to attract these millennial and female employees  to their organisations to close the talent gap? Universum completed a study investigating what it is that university students are looking for in future technology employers and how companies can take their responses on board when recruiting graduates. What are university students top career goals? Universum asked university students planning to work in the tech industry what their top three career goals are. The most frequent responses were work-life balance (56%) and security stability (41%). Ways  that some companies are trying to address the demand for work-life-balance, is by building a fun company culture and offering flexible work hours. Respondents were asked whether they prioritise being competitively or intellectually challenged, which received a varied response, depending on region. It was found that students in the US, for example, are much more likely to choose intellectual or competitive challenges over their peers in the APAC countries. Those looking to enter a career in the tech industry did not respond much differently to those in other sectors, other than that they have a desire to become technical or functional experts and are more likely to want a job that allows them to be entrepreneurial or creative. What qualities do university students want in an employer? Students surveyed were then asked what attributes  they look for in a future employer and it was discovered that those aiming to work in the tech industry place the highest level of importance on innovation and attractiveness of a companys product/service lines. Universum’s Iris  is a  Social Media Stock Index named that tracks the social media activity of the 400 largest companies in the US and can help to identify themes in what employer branding messages are sent out from the organisations. It was found that GE use quirky humour in their social media content that will appear to their target market; for example a Badass Machines Pinterest board and Slo Mo channel on YouTube. What do university students look for in a future job? The top response when asked about what would attract them to a job, is the opportunity for training and development (50%), followed by secure employment and challenging work. Secure employment was found to be much more important to students in the US than those in APAC countries, who look for flexible working conditions. A variety of assignments was something that those in Europe and the US think is important in a job. When it comes to those wanting to enter a career in technology, more than half want a creative and dynamic working environment (55%), followed by a friendly work environment (49%). It looks like the pressure is on for tech companies to ensure the workplace is a fun environment to attract these millennial candidates. What channels can employers reach new talent on? The top three channels used by students to learn about potential employers are their website (65%), social media (60%) and career fairs (51%). It doesnt come as much of a surprise that students seeking tech industry jobs  use social media to research employers more than those looking to enter other industries. Though building a social media presence is very important with the rising number of people turning to these channels to find information on the company, the company website is still the first point of call and should not be forgotten about and should still be used to create a positive employer brand that will attract talent. What does this mean for employers? To fill the talent gap, technology companies need to look ahead and identify what skills they will require from their employees in the future and how they would like the company to grow. Employers need to improve their use of digital channels, as this is where they will attract a diverse base of talent. Strategy should vary depending on the region being targeted, as students in different parts of the world consume information in different ways and seek different qualities in employers.  The future of these companies does not just lie on new talent however, and organisations should also focus on training their existing workforce to introduce new skills that will be needed in the years to come. In order for tech companies to optimise their talent attraction on digital channels, they must ensure that their HR and recruiting staff are proficient in using the right tools and skills to carry out the task successfully. In order to create a great employer brand online, there must be collaboration between HR and the marketing team, as they will have the best idea about how to engage the organisations  audience through social media. Image: Shutterstock

Become Multi-lingual with the Help of Duolingo CareerMetis.com

Become Multi-lingual with the Help of Duolingo â€" CareerMetis.com In my recent article, I wrote about how spending few months in a non-English speaking country forced me to rapidly learn a new language but without the right tools I wouldn’t have gotten far in my quest to learn Spanish.Duolingo is one such tool that was my saving grace during the trip. Thanks to the availability of a Smartphone the ubiquitous Wi-Fi, Duolingo accelerated my ability or learn practice Spanish.evalAs of today, the platform And one more thing..It is completely Ad-Free.We love free apps, but don’t we get annoyed when bombarded with ads? One of the decisive factors that makes any program/application successful is how user-friendly it is. The reason we love most of the applications we use today â€" Microsoft Word,Google Chrome, Android, Facebook,etc. is because they are very user-friendly and easy to navigate.The interface on Duolingo is built in such a way that it allows you to switch between courses and individuals lessons by just swiping around the app.3. LEARN AT YOUR OWN LEISURETo learn a language â€" you can enroll in a night-class, attend a language exchange group or even travel. All these require investment of time money; and you can only do them at set times.The instructors of a Language course at a Community College will not change their schedule from Tuesdays to Thursdays, because you can’t make it on that particular day. They have a set time place â€" so your schedule is at their mercy.However, if you can spare 10 minutes a day and you have Wi-Fi /a Data plan, you can learn anywhere anytime on your Smartphone.4. GAMIFICATIONI strongly believe that with Gamification, you can increase your productivity and learn pretty much anything. Gamification of your courses makes them more fun non-monotonous as opposed to traditional learning.evalWith incentives such as Lingots, Streaks,etc. Duolingo makes the learning process fun. Lingots are awarded for completing lessons. And with the Lingots you win- you can purchase rewards at the stor e.Streaks are nothing but the consecutive number of days that you go back to the app complete the lessons. The longer your streak means the more days you are using the app.I noticed that the longer my streak 5. COMMUNITYThings are always much more fun when you can get your friends involved. You can then create a healthy competition among your friends to see who learns the fastest the most. Talk about positive peer pressure..I was slacking on my Portuguese learning, then a friend of mine told me that she was learning Portuguese too. And she already has about 2000+ XP (Points). My competitive drive kicked in ,and I decided to surpass here.We also bet a wager. I am catching up to her â€" as of today I am 1651 XP. We motivate each other to keep learning.There are also forums on Duolingo.com where you can interact with other global users.There is also a Sub-Reddit where other’s share their motivations, challenges and victories.Are you an avid Duolinguist?What are some other benefits, that I might have missed?If you have not started using the app â€" I strongly recommend you download the app. By spending 10 minutes a day ,you can learn that Foreign language that you have always wanted to learn.Adios!!

Reviving Blue Collar Work Why the Trades Need Women - CareerAlley

Reviving Blue Collar Work Why the Trades Need Women - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Its no secret that a career in the trades can be quite lucrative. Nevertheless, few parents and teachers would wish their students pick blue-collar work over a university education. As such, fewer and fewer high schools have been teaching trades and encouraging students to explore career opportunities that veer from the university route. This is doing a disservice to our youth, particularly those who dont necessarily care for a future in academia or behind a desk anyway. It implies that blue-collar work is not a path worth choosing that it is somehow lesser than being an office manager or a financial advisor. Yet this couldnt be further from the truth. It is not lesser or better; blue-collar work is just different different in the same way that a surgeon probably couldnt develop a mobile app but nor could that same surgeontogether custom made bathroom vanity cabinets. Beyond trying to funnel all students towards universities without promoting trades in an equally enthusiastic manner, societys messages tend to discourage women in particular from considering a career in blue-collar trades. It may be considered normal for women to pursue a career in some trades, such as jewelery-making, hairdressing and sewing might be considered normal. However, most women and girls tend to get the odd side-eye or downright harassment and discrimination for taking on a Red Seal Trade, which include jobs such as welding or operating a mobile crane. In fact, male-dominated trades are perceived as so unwelcoming and so socially bizarre for a woman to pursue that by the 9th grade, most girls have literally never even considered a career in blue-collar work. It simply never occurs to most women that they could have anything to do with hardwood floors, custom kitchen cabinets or window blinds at all besides picking one out of a catalogue to decorate their homes. Luckily, there is a long history of women participating in blue-collar work, even if its often been at the beck and call of men. For instance in Europe, the brewing of beer was a female dominated trade for many centuries until cultural norms changed over time. In more recent history, throughout both World Wars, women had to enter the workforce in droves to help build tanks, bombs and more. Today, trade schools are often promoted in so-called third world countries as a way to encourage women to take an active role in the economy and in their communities. Why should the same not be true of Canadian women and girls? Barriers Against Women in the Trades In order to get girls to consider entering blue-collar work such as the Red Seal Trades, social messages have to promote the normalcy of women in trades from early on in a girls life. There are, however, many barriers that prevent older girls and women from considering the trades. These must be addressed in order to encourage future generations of girls to seek out a variety of career options, including the trades. For instance, it has been noted that there seems to be a lack of female role models or mentors who promote blue-collar work and make it seem not only viable, but attractive to girls and women. This plays into the general misconception that women are unwelcome in the trades, which has been socially promoted as a boys only club. While there are associations such as Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) and sponsored initiatives such as the ITA Women in Trades Training (WITT) or the Enhanced General Carpentry for Women (WIST) program, they need more visibility to compete against other career options for women. Sadly, the misconception of trades being for men only is sometimes grounded in reality. Nobody can deny that social norms tend to kennel women into careers perceived as nurturing or service-oriented, such as teaching. Trades are then categorized as dirty and masculine. Furthermore, the existence of CWIT is partially due to the fact that its founders were harassed and humiliated by male coworkers and employers on a regular basis. Some thirty-odd years later, women do play a slightly more prominent role in the trades, but implicit messages against their participation continue. While actual discrimination and harassment are more strongly frowned upon today than they were in the past, they continue to exist today, as do more implicitly discouraging messages. Women in the trades have pointed out issues such as the lack of uniforms designed with womens bodies in mind, the lack of easy access to basic facilities such as washrooms, and the lack of legal persecution of those who do harass female coworkers and employees. Trades Tomorrow These barriers are all the more reason that women and men who are already in the trades should take a more vocal stance against existing problems, in order to encourage a future generation of girls to consider more than the size of the bathrooms glass tiles or the colour of the bedrooms roman shades. Why shouldnt they be the ones behind the cabinet design, or the ones fixing the engine of a car, installing the tiles or putting together the shades? Thats not to say that they have to do any of these things but shouldnt the opportunity to do be offered to them at the very least? The very fact that operating a brewery is often seen as a male-dominated industry today is indicative of the fact that social and cultural norms can change over time. Schools must put as much enthusiasm into promoting blue-collar work as they do into offering the chance of a university education for all. Girls and boys need to grow up believing that a female presence in the trades is completely normal and respectable. With the right social pressures, pedagogical, parental and governmental incentives, in addition to positive, vocal encouragement from existing tradesmen and women, the trades as a whole may one day be revived with an influx of female workers, so long as girls are given the opportunity to consider doing so from a young age. 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+

Work at Home Opportunities - Hire a Professional Resume Writing Service to Create Your Resume

Work at Home Opportunities - Hire a Professional Resume Writing Service to Create Your ResumeResume writing services Knoxville TN can help you with your resume and other documents. These are not only used to get a job, but to enhance your CV by providing advice on how to write your resume.Some may wonder why they need to hire a professional company to do this work for them and no one will do it. It is because many local job sites take credit for the work of other companies and this can be considered stealing. If you want to get the most accurate information about local resume writing services Knoxville TN then you should ask around.You can always ask local residents who may have done a service for resume writing services and who can offer tips on where you can get a quality writer to write your resume for you. Just remember that a good resume can increase your chances of getting the interview.If you are just looking for a way to boost your job search then you should think about this. You will also find some free advice and a free CV template online. You may be able to download these for free, just to try them out first.If you are unsure about certain jobs then you may need some prior experience. The skills to write a resume are not the same for everyone. So you should not worry if you need this level of experience.Maybe your employer needs an understanding about your work ethic or your dedication to your employer. These things will give you the edge over other people applying for the same job. You will also know that they want to keep the most talented person in the area for their job.Now you know that you need a resume to get the interview. You should consider hiring a professional resume writing service for your resume.It is important to have a strong resume to get the interview. A less than impressive resume can turn an applicant off at the process. So always be sure to research local resume writing services before you decide to go ahead with the hire.