Resume Writing - Keeping Your Career On Track

Resume Writing - Keeping Your Career On TrackThere are two basic types of resumes that most employers use, and the importance of resume writing and editing can't be overemphasized. The perfect resume is probably not going to appear in your mailbox, but creating one has never been easier, and your resume will set you apart from the competition.Service, also known as a CV, is an acronym for a variety of different resume writing materials. These include cover letters, interview letters, letters of recommendation, cover letters and test answers. In fact, they have become so widespread that many people don't realize the importance of these materials. But, if you're serious about landing that job that you've always wanted, these are critical to your success.Tardiness is another problem that is often associated with candidates who are applying for employment. If you are constantly late or arriving late for work or for interviews, you could face discrimination by employers, and this will mak e it difficult for you to advance up the ladder.What employers really want to know about is a candidate's personality, and resume writing is the first step toward answering that question. People sometimes get nervous about making their resume look clumsy, but this is actually not necessary. Instead, employers actually look for applicants who are confident and self-assured, and they want to know what they stand for.Of course, all candidates who apply will need to demonstrate some sort of expertise in their field, and resume writing has come a long way since the days when candidates had to use fancy grammar and a fancy word or two. Today, there are easy-to-use templates available for free that demonstrate the right use of grammar and spellings.In fact, employers want a candidate who has done something to earn their confidence. When you prepare a good resume, you can't help but put yourself in their shoes. This not only shows them that you're interested in their company, but it shows t hem that you know what you're talking about.Finally, some people assume that they don't have any practical skills or qualifications to offer, but employers look at everything, including previous jobs and professional associations. These items give them a sense of who you are and what you can do, and it will make it much easier for you to land that job you've always wanted.

8 Ways to Win Over Everyone in the Office

8 Ways to Win Over Everyone in the Office Is it possible to like everyone in your office? Think about how tough it is to get together 15 people, much less 50, who all get along perfectly. But unlike in friendships, you need coworkers. You work with them every day, and whether they’re your boss, direct report or equal, you depend on them just as they depend on you. Here are some ways, based on psychological research and advice from career experts, that you can get the whole office on your side. 1. Know the difference between friends and coworkers. It’s tempting to want to like your coworkers. After all, you may see them more often than your romantic partner. But the things you want out of a friend and a colleague are often different. “People liking each other is not a necessary component to organizational success,” Ben Dattner, an organizational psychologist and author of Credit and Blame at Work, told Harvard Business Review. In fact, liking people in your workplace too much is a “bigger problem” than liking them too little, according to Robert Sutton, a professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University. Instead of dwelling on what you dislike about certain staffers, focus on their strengths and how to accomplish tasks together, which can improve relations. If you’re a manager, always be fair and vigilant about keeping your own interpersonal bias out of reviews. 2. Reveal, don’t hide, information. If you have a bone to pick with someone in your workplace, you may try to stay tight-lipped around them. But you won’t be helping either one of you. Psychological research shows that people tend to prefer others who reveal information about themselves, rather than conceal it. A Harvard Business School study found that observers consistently rated those who were upfront about themselves more highly, while those who hid lost trustworthiness. This idea extends to the office: The same study found that employers were more likely to pick candidates who said they had done drugs over those who said no or chose not to answer. The lesson is not that you should make your personal life an open book, but rather, when given the option to offer up details about yourself or studiously stash them away, you should just be honest. 3. Slow down and listen. Just as important as being honest about yourself is being receptive to others. We often feel the need to tell others how we feel, whether it’s a concern about a project, a stray thought, or a compliment. Those are all valid, but you need to take time to hear out your coworkers, too. “Rushing to get your own ideas out there can cause colleagues to feel you don’t value their opinions,” Rita Friedman, a career coach, told Forbes. Do your best to engage coworkers in a genuine, back-and-forth conversation, rather than prioritizing your own thoughts. 4. Put yourselves in others’ shoes. Sometimes we listen without really processing what we’re being told. But a hallmark of a successful manager is empathy, or what’s become known as “emotional intelligence”â€"increasingly a highly valued skill in professional environments. It can be difficult to get out of your comfort zone and imagine how someone else feels, particularly if their thinking is far from yours, but it’s essential to wielding influence. When Lou Gerstner was brought in to turn around the ailing IBM in the 1990s, he held unscripted QA sessions with employees in a listening tour he called Operation Bear Hug. It helped shift IBM’s culture and strategy and make the company competitive again. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg similarly hosts weekly QA sessions that allow employees to ask anything. Empathy “gives you better ideas, and it makes you worth listening to,” Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte Design, writes in Harvard Business Review. 5. Spend time with everyone. It’s common to have a “cubicle mate” or special confidant in a work setting. But in addition to those trusted coworkers, you should expand your horizons and find out about all the people around you. Use your lunch and coffee breaks to meet up with colleagues you don’t always see. Find out about their lives and interests beyond the job. It requires minimal effort and goes a long way. “This will help to grow your internal network, in addition to being a nice break in the work day,” Ryan Kahn, a career coach and author of Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad, told Forbes. 6. Give compliments, just not too many. Positive feedback is important for anyone to hear. And you don’t have to be someone’s boss to tell them they did an exceptional job on a particular project, or offer thanks for help. This will help engender good will in others. But don’t overdo it or be fake about it. Studies have found that lavishing people with a torrent of praise doesn’t work nearly as well as providing a mix of positive and negative feedback. One study in particular found that people responded best to comments that shifted from negative to positive, possibly because it suggested they had won somebody over. 7. Tailor your interactions. This one may be a bit more difficult to pull off, but it can go a long way to achieving results. Remember in dealing with any coworker what they appreciate from an interaction. Watch out for how they verbalize with others. Some people like small talk in a meeting before digging into important matters, while others are more straightforward. Jokes that work on one person won’t necessarily land with another. Tailor your style accordingly to type. “Consider the person that you’re dealing with before each interaction and what will get you to your desired outcome,” Kahn said. 8. Put on a good face, always. Being friendly may seem simple enough, but under the pressure of major assignments and deadlines, it can be hard to keep your cool. The image you project in a workplace, however, is always being watched and will affect how you’re viewed. “Small gestures can make a big difference,” Kahn said. Don’t forget to say good morning and good evening as you come in and leave. Learn names, and use them. Ask how people are doing. Keep a smile on, even when things get tough. It will help you get one in return.

Mandatory Greatness Dont Be A Commodity - Work It Daily

Mandatory Greatness Dont Be A Commodity - Work It Daily NOTE: This is a book excerpt with minor edits from Mandatory Greatness: The 12 Laws Of Driving Exceptional Performance by J.T. O'Donnell and Dale Dauten. You and your team are a commodity product until you prove otherwise. Along with his son, Darrell, and daughter-in-law, Teena, Jim Potts owns a pair of stores in Arkansas called Lewis and Clark Outfitters. They sell hiking and camping gear in their retail stores and also have a line of products they sell through Sam’s Club stores. Theirs is not a big, national success story - not yet - but a good one. Over the past two years their sales have quadrupled. How’d they do it? When they opened the first store, the senior Potts didn’t have much product expertise to offer customers: “I didn’t understand the technical specs on the bikes or anything else in the store - so I decided to focus my attention on the one product I did understand: socks.” He called the company that makes SmartWool socks and told them that he intended to become their number one store. They told him that he’d do well to sell a thousand pair a year. His quixotic response: “I can sell that many in a week.” His record is 1320 pairs in one weekend. How did he do it? He made a challenge of getting every customer who came in the store to try on a pair. He called the folks at SmartWool and said, “What percent of people who try on your socks buy them?” They didn’t know. So, he told them it was 89 percent and asked for help with the cost of the unpurchased pairs (which the store gives to employees). Eventually, Potts, sock expert, went directly to the factory and said, “Make me a better sock.” They said, “Fine, but we need a million-dollar order.” And that’s when he persuaded the folks at Sam’s Club to carry his new brand, OmniWool, and that became the first of several of Potts’ products they carry. Potts always had a big dream, but it started with one little item of clothing, a seemingly ordinary one, that he decided was not going to be a commodity. He wasn’t about to be one, either. About that story Yvonne concluded, “Not just every entrepreneur, but every employee in every company needs an and â€" ‘He’s a great employee AND, oh boy, does he know socks.’ We may belittle specialists for ‘knowing more and more about less and less,’ but when we need help, that’s exactly the guy we turn to.” What I understood was that being competent was essential, but only that; it was merely a job requirement. I now understood that I didn’t need to be different in everything, didn’t need to change everything; all I needed was my “and,” and then I needed to help everyone who worked for me find theirs. Mandatory Greatness is presented as a conversation between a high-powered business coach, Yvonne Wolfe (described as having “skirts of steel”), and a young manager who won a day of her coaching in a charity raffle. She observes him in his work, then offers a stark and startling analysis of him and his approach to his job: By imitating other managers he is making himself “a commodity product” destined for “inadvertent mediocrity.” She then teaches him to remake himself into a highly-valued teammate and a true leader using The 12 Laws of Driving Exceptional Performance. Sign Up For This Webinar! Join us on Wednesday, October 23 at 1 PM (EST) for this special presentation on these 12 Laws of Driving Exceptional Performance. Presenters: J.T. O'Donnell and Dale Dauten, authors of Mandatory Greatness: The 12 Laws Of Driving Exceptional Performance. NOTE: Can’t attend the live broadcast? No worries â€" A recorded version will be sent out to everyone who signed up within 48 hours.   SIGN UP NOW ?   Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!