Friday, May 29, 2020

How to Create an Effective LinkedIn profile Building Your Future Now

How to Create an Effective LinkedIn profile Building Your Future Now LinkedIn is the most important social media platform when it comes to showcasing your professional experience online. Many of us have rudimentary profiles with limited information. However, editing or crafting an effective LinkedIn profile isnt that difficult. Here are a few tips. Use a Professional Headshot The best photo to use for your profile is a professional headshot! You dont have to spend a small fortunefind a decent photographer that specializes in something like this! If you dont have a chance to get one now, try to find the most professional picture your have of yourself. Fill out Your Whole Profile It is important you fill out your whole LinkedIn profilethat means the volunteer section and awards too. A good tip is to type in your info on a word program and copy and paste it into LinkedIn. Check for any errors or typos. Review Other Profiles Skim through your connections and try to find several profiles that you like. Try and get a feel for their profiles. What do you like about them? What does your connection do differently then other profiles? Make notes, compare and pick up pointers along the way. Keywords in Profile Be sure to add keywords that resonate in your field of expertise. Use these keywords through your profilethis is important because recruiters, human resource professionals, and hiring managers type in keywords when finding candidates just like you! Image: Tiffany Tlcbm

Monday, May 25, 2020

One Simple Tip to Make it Easier to Engage - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

One Simple Tip to Make it Easier to Engage - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career I dont know about you, but there are times when I just want to pick up the phone and call someone. Just today I wanted to call a colleague to do a quick check-in on something. But, I was stopped dead in my tracks. What Stopped Me? It was something simple. Something so easy to fix. Yet, clearly had not crossed this persons mind. I know for a fact they are conscientious and want to engage. What stopped me was the fact that they did not include their phone number anywhere in their email. Is this a  Show Stopper? Generally no. However, after taking a few minutes to scroll thru their email and an entire email thread I had been using to communicate with them  I realized there was no phone number anywhere. I have found the same thing to be true when searching for people on Social Media. Some people have common names. Forcing me to suss them out on the various Social Media channels is not a great use of my time and may lead me to make an incorrect assumption and tag or tweet to the wrong person. Make it easy for me. Make it easy for anyone else that wants to contact you or otherwise engage with you. Put your contact coordinates out there for all to consume. After all your contact details are part of your personal and professional branding. So what? Some might say So What? Some might say that if someone wants to contact them they’ll find a way. Or that they only put the information they want others to use. This is as it should be. You should only post the contact details you are comfortable sharing. However, you should be consistent in the way to put your information out there.  A few points are listed below to highlight a few areas where insuring your contact information is available are important. I’m sure there are many other examples. If you have a particular favorite please drop it in the comments. Self-Promotion  â€" Putting your contact information in every email (and every communication) is about the softest and easiest form of self promotion you can do. And guess what… People WANT this. When they want to find you… Make It Easy! Job Search  â€" This is especially true if you are looking for your next job. Productivity  â€" Killing someone elses productivity by forcing them to search for your contact information is NOT a great way to engender trust and a desire to work with you. A Simple Fix Assuming you do in fact want people to reach out to you in the way they are comfortable doing. This one simple change may make you that much more accessible. Which by extension may make you easier to connect with on both a personal and professional level. Which could make you much more successful at engaging with customers, partners and colleagues. The Simple Fix Its easy. Add your signature information to all of your email communications. Thats it. Add the contact information you want people to know about you. The key is… add this to EVERY communication that you put out there. The added few bits of information will make it much easier when that person you really want to connect with can easily and quickly find your contact details. In my case I have my name, email, phone, Blog, Twitter and LinkedIn information. You may prefer to offer more or less. Thats your choice. The Simple Fix: Take the time today to learn how to create a Signature File on the email program of your choice. Every email app supports this option. Your task is to learn how to use this tool effectively. Your career may depend upon it. Reality (Time) Check If there are times you don’t want to be disturbed on your phone that’s OK. Set those times, set the expectations, and adjust your schedule accordingly. However, one thing you can be sure of… if you don’t make it easy for people to contact you… they won’t. Being more accessible may not be the most important thing you do today. However, most people I work with and have worked with for many years do want to be contacted and do make it easy to connect with them in the way I want. Whether that’s via the phone, email or via Social Media channels. The point is… let people connect with you the way you are comfortable with AND the way they want to connect with you. Will this help you Stand Out in Your Career? I’d like to think the simple answer is yes. When people can find you they are more likely to connect with you. Of course, the opposite is also true too. Please, make it easy to connect. The Simple Fix is an easy way to get started. Do it today!

Friday, May 22, 2020

How Important Is Getting A Business Loan When Choosing Entrepreneurship As A Career

How Important Is Getting A Business Loan When Choosing Entrepreneurship As A Career There is a vast difference between choosing a regular job as your career and choosing to be an entrepreneur. While one has the security of money at the end of the month, in the form of “salary”, there is no such “fixed” income when you are choosing to run a business. But yes, when you see profits, it actually makes you happier than even the secured employees as the monetary income can be huge and keeps on growing with the passage of time. Still, some people feel that going for secured jobs might be a better option as the chances of failure are always associated while doing business. More than the failure of the entire business, it is actually the fear of facing severe losses and the ways to compensate for it makes people choose a job over a business. But at times, with proper planning and smart investment strategies, the chances of facing such failures become lesser and the profits can be good which eventually becomes better. So, what are the business strategies that might help you in keeping your career choice firm and going for long? Well, the first thing that every entrepreneur must know that making investments and making smart investments are two completely different things. While a person can have too much money yet make wrong moves in business, the other one might have even zero investments plans, yet excel in making a business work. It is all about forming a perfect strategy and making good moves to make the effort count. There might be various tips and tricks mentioned in many of the articles which provides guidance to startups as to how they can make it a successful endeavor. But today, we will discuss how we can make growing businesses more successful and reliable so that the marketers do not have to face any trouble making it large and more successful a business. For that matter, taking up a business loan when you need it is indeed a smart career choice that a business person must take when the chances of growth are there at any point of running it. Business loans are easy to get and a wise decision to make for every growing business! At times, the marketers shy away from taking such loans fearing they would not be able to carry on the burden of the  loan [1]  if somehow the plans backfire and they don’t see the needed profit. But what they fail to understand is that today there are so many companies who offer loans to these growing businesses on easy conditions which are tailored keeping in mind every detail. According to an article published on Forbes [2], getting small business loans [3] isn’t that hard today and there are loads of financial services offering it to the growing business. And so, you should never take your steps back deciding on whether to make the investment which can make your business grow more. Always remember that if you have a successful business plan and strategy, suffering the financial crises is never a good idea for any growing business. The final take At a point when we complete our education and decide on our careers, it becomes tougher for us, more so when we have responsibilities over our shoulder. Deciding on the right choice of career is tough and when it is about being an entrepreneur, the fear is tripled. But with the right strategies and good moves, it is more reliable to bring you good fortune and growth. Resources mentioned in this article: [1] http://www.mscareergirl.com/why-you-should-avoid-payday-loans-in-2018/ [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2017/03/22/10-key-steps-to-getting-a-small-business-loan/ [3] https://www.quickloansdirect.com/fast-business-loans/

Monday, May 18, 2020

Friday, May 15, 2020

Top 6 Habits to Cultivate your Career CareerMetis.com

Top 6 Habits to Cultivate your Career Like a well-tended garden, a great and fulfilling career life needs constant cultivation. Don’t expect to just wake up one day and have everything you ever wanted out of your professional life handed to you. It doesn’t work that way!Cultivating a career means forming habits. You need consistent, regular, and repeating patterns of behavior to really maximize your potential. Habits eventually end up turning into mindsets that permeates your subconscious, so make sure that you work on forming positive ones.evalMaybe you’re a new addition to the workforce and you’re raring to get some work done. Or maybe you’re a seasoned veteran who feels like you know all the tricks in the book. The fact of the matter is, everyone, benefits from good habits, regardless of experience.Here are 6 habits to cultivate your career. Try them out, and see the difference in the long run. Incremental changes from positive habits net you the biggest results â€" you’d be surprised by how effective thes e seemingly common-sense habits are.1) Networking as a default state of mindevalLet’s start off with one concept that is pretty much a standard in any career growth or business-related course â€" networking. Networking goes beyond just collecting business cards and having contacts of people on your phone. It’s about cultivating real, mutually-beneficial relationships with people.The reason why networking is important is that you essentially bolster your capabilities by having connections with people. Maybe they’re more experienced in your field, or maybe they’re in a line of work that is completely off-tangent from yours â€" we all benefit from having friends in the right places.Whether you’re in an off-site seminar, or just hanging out during break time at the office pantry, recognize networking opportunities when it arises. Talk to people, and make an effort to really know them, and you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll end up learning.Make it an everyday practice, and really try to make an honest connection â€" invite them out to coffee, and really follow through when you say you’ll let them know when you’re in their part of town. The objective is to create a network of people who you can learn from and inspire you, or have particular skill sets that you can use in your professional life.Make sure to also return the favor â€" by the bridge and help people network. Refer your contacts to other people that may need their services.evalSharing experiences and best practices deepen your connection with your professional network and make it easier to really get ahead in your chosen career.2) Be averse to mediocrityIt’s true that you are paid for doing things on the job description you signed. Technically, that’s really all you need to do â€" nothing more, nothing less. However, going beyond what is expected of you is a valuable habit that would make you indispensable in your line of work.A commitment to excellence is welcome no matter the i ndustry, and excellent people always shine the brightest.This is not to say that you should do something that is beyond your job description. This means having an aversion to mediocrity. Sometimes, good enough might cut it, but really, do you want to be the person who is known to be just “good enough”?evalDon’t just turn in a report with no errors â€" discuss your findings with your supervisor to help them improve your department. This shows that you are invested in your work, and you are committed to contributing as much as you can.Be mindful of the details in your work, and see how people will start to respond positively to your excellent work. Offer help when you think people need it. The point is, with a frame of mind of excellence, you are showing people that you are an integral part of the team. You are showing them your value as a professional, and this makes sure that you will get far in your chosen career.3) Prioritize your health above all elseA pitfall that most peo ple go through is neglecting the self when they’re pushing and grinding for their career. A healthy work-life balance is essential, and this means prioritizing your health above all else.Start by recognizing the value of sleep. Sleepless nights fueled by caffeine are sometimes necessary, depending on your industry. However, regularly getting less than adequate sleep is not only damaging to your health â€" it also hampers your productivity the following day, making you less effective at your job.Respect sleep, and aim to get around 7 hours of it per day. This ensures that you have enough energy every day, and this will greatly boost your productivity.Try to eat healthily, and avoid skipping meals. Stay hydrated. Get some exercise, or at least stand-up and move around every 30 â€" 60 minutes if you haven’t yet. Very basic health tips, but crucial in the long run. You can’t be the best at your career if you’re sick.There’s also a thing called “presenteeism”, or people who show up to work even if they should be in bed resting. Aside from being the person who might end up infecting everyone in the office, you are not at 100% efficiency, and you’re prone to making mistakes. Use your sick leaves, and nurse yourself back to health instead of showing up to the office.Your mental health is also something that you need to take care of. There is no shame in taking days off if you really think you need it. Maybe you need to go to therapy, or maybe you really just need to talk to a friend â€" it starts with just acknowledging the fact that mental health is as crucial as taking care of your physical health.Bottom line is, taking care of yourself is probably one of the most important habits you can ever cultivate. Having a healthy mind and body means you are at peak condition to ensure that you take your career where you want it to go.4) Be organized, and stay in your laneevalSometimes it’s a good idea to pursue variety in your career. However, there is such a thing as spreading yourself too thin.You need to focus in order to be excellent â€" attempting 3 completely unrelated things at the same time means running the risk of just being average on all of them. This applies to major projects 5) Let go of perfectionism, and start communicating insteadSometimes, people get too fixated on the idea of perfection that they don’t realize that perfection is relative â€" it really depends on the situation.evalThere’s a thin line between making sure that everything is correct and being too concerned about the details. Sometimes, that fixation on perfection is even a cause for procrastination â€" instead of just turning it in, you’re asking to buy more time. This is counterproductive, especially for time-sensitive tasks.Instead of focusing on being perfect, focus more on communicating with people. The problem with perfectionism is that you are enforcing your own idea of what “perfect” is â€" most of the time, that is not what people real ly need. Fussing about the details is useless if you fail to keep in mind the purpose of the task at hand.If you think about it, fixating on perfection is the most imperfect thing you can do. You really just have to let it go and manage your expectations with yourself and the people you work with. A collaborative mindset is way better than an obsession with being perfect.6) Be courageous; don’t be afraid of risksThroughout your career, you will be confronted with uncertainty â€" make it a habit to embrace them.Not being afraid of risks does not mean being reckless. Courage and boldness is an integral part of career growth. Take calculated risks, and reap the rewards.Being afraid of risks means being afraid to fail. But really, the process is more important than the result. Assess the roadblocks, tweak your strategy, and try again. Through this, you grow and acquire new skills that you can use to further your career.It is when you are uncomfortable that you grow the most. Think of like going to the gym â€" “no pain, no gain” is literal, as the only way for muscles to grow is to allow it to tear and give it time to grow stronger. The truth is, it really doesn’t hurt to try because greater risks mean potential greater rewards.Hopefully, these 6 habits help you in cultivating your career. Do them often enough, and they will eventually be ingrained in your everyday life.It doesn’t hurt to try â€" these simple habits are proven to give you the most results. Try it out, and see what works for you.

Monday, May 11, 2020

About the Happy at Work Book - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

About the Happy at Work Book - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog About the book The book aims to convince you that: Each and every one of us can be happy at work Being happy at work will not only make work more fun, it will also improve your quality of life outside of work and make you more successful Happy businesses are much more efficient than unhappy ones so happiness makes great business sense Happiness at work is not rocket science what it takes to make yourself and your workplace happy is simple to do Structure The book is structured around the three basic questions we must remember to ask about any important topic: What What is happiness at work anyway Why Why does happiness at work matter to you and me and to our workplaces? How So, how exactly can we make ourselves and others happy at work. What works, what doesnt? The book dives particularly deeply into the How? question, and offers specific, simple, practical, effective tools you can use to make yourself and others happy at work. These methods have all been tested at other successful and happy organizations and are simple and fast to implement. Cases The book refers to many real-life cases of companies who have achieved success through happiness. I know its normal in business books to preface every business case with a list of that companys successes, you know something like: Hansen Co. are the only company in the world to have achieved triple-digit growth 25 years running. Their stock price has risen from 10 cents to 452 $ and is still a strong buy recommendation from all investment advisors. They have expanded from their humble beginnings in the founders garage in 1972, to a complex taking up half the buildings in lower Manhattan. The owner is now richer than Bill Gates and 3 out of 4 employees retire as millionaires on their stock options befire they turn 40. Or something similar. Not only do these litanies of amazing accomplishments get boring after a while, they also make it look as if its all about the money. And lastly: The company may be successful, but who knows why? The reason for their success could be innovation, timing, happiness, wise investments or sheer, unadulterated blind luck. Who knows? Can we just assume, that if I use a company as a case for this book then: They are doing phenomenally well They believe themselves that the main reason they are doing so well is happiness at work. They may not call it that, but thats really what its about. 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

Friday, May 8, 2020

How to Write a Resume - High School Students Can Learn How to Write a Resume

How to Write a Resume - High School Students Can Learn How to Write a ResumeLearning how to write a resume has become a part of the job training for today's teenagers. However, most people tend to find this activity as a tiresome and monotonous task, since there are lots of formats and formats to choose from. Fortunately, in this case, you don't have to keep your eyes glued to a computer screen. You can start this job training activity at home.Learning how to write a resume can be done through activities that are fun and convenient. This activity can be done during high school, if you have time. Before starting, create a template and print it out on a printer. You will then be able to use it and create one or two resumes depending on the purpose. At the same time, you also have to be aware of which resume template to use so that you will not encounter a lot of problems while creating a resume.One of the important documents you need to present to your prospective employer is your acad emic record. For this reason, make sure that you do not waste time with unnecessary information. Because, after all, your purpose in creating a resume is to get a job.After you create your resume, take a look at your educational background. You should also provide your hobbies and interests. These things can be printed on separate pages and saved in a folder for future reference. If possible, go to the library and look for information about resume writing and memorize as much as you can.You also need to show how you had an experience of high school experience. The most effective way to accomplish this is by doing experiments that can tell you the situation you have undergone. In addition, you can do some interviews with your former schoolmates and classmates. It will help you portray what you have learned during the years of education in general.You can also try to do different activities in order to learn how to write a resume. Try taking part in activities that involve writing and passing them onto a friend who is in your place. With time, you will be able to make your own resume in a better way. You can also engage in any of the available activities such as listening to a book on resume writing or viewing the websites that are dedicated to resume writing.Actually, even though these activities are very entertaining, they can also help high school students with their job training skills. They can improve their ability to be crafting a resume and also make the resume come out effective. They can be a great help for any high school student who wishes to develop his or her resume writing skills.There are a lot of activities that high school students can do that will help them become more successful in the job training. Therefore, these activities can be used as a way to make the student feel proud to be a part of their community. While some students do prefer to have fun while doing their job training, others also prefer to focus on learning new skills, especial ly when it comes to their job training and resume writing.