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Life
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INTERESTED IN BITS OF LIFE/CAREER-RELATED INFORMATION?
READ ON. CAREER-LIMITING BIT: Then there are mistakes that you should avoid like the plague because they are career limiting. They'll forever keep you from fulfilling your potential. They'll make you regretful, bitter, resentful and miserable. Here are the 10 career-limiting mistakes to avoid: 1. Sticking with a loser company. cbsnews.com, February 7, 2012 WORKING FROM HOME BIT: A work from home position can have
big payoffs when it comes to finding the eternal balance between having a career
or simply bringing in extra money and nurturing a family. According to a recent
survey conducted by Staples Advantage, more than 80 percent of employees say
they now have a better work-life balance because they work from home. 24medica.com, February 1, 2012 ORGANIZE YOUR JOB SEARCH BIT: There’s a new job search tool. It’s inexpensive, it’s easy, and it may actually help a lot of jobseekers. It’s called 44score. 44Score is a sort of CRM tool for jobseekers. It tracks where you’ve applied, remembers what version of your resume and cover letter you sent where, and reminds you to follow up. So far, no big deal. Becomed, for example, does the same stuff, and even anyone who doesn’t want to use a CRM can set up reminders, etc., with any decent task management software. Where 44Score stands out is its toolbar, which installs right in your browser and takes care of automating much of the data entry that goes along with tracking your job search. (The toolbar only works, of course, with browsers that support this sort of thing–so Firefox 4+ or Internet Explorer 7 or higher. Sorry, Chrome users.) When you click on an email address to apply for a job, a window pops up right in your browser. It has saved copies of other cover letters you’ve sent out, so you can reuse (and customize, of course) said letter and pick the best version of your resume for that job. After the email is sent, you can tell the software to remind you to follow up in a week. The toolbar also reminds you when a deadline for applying or following up is coming due. mediabistro.com, January 30, 2012 INTERNET BIT: The job search is transitioning from paper resumes to online virtual resumes. Job-search components now include LinkedIn profiles, resume postings on search engines, blogs, articles and even tacky video resumes. Hiring managers have become more technically savvy and discriminating as jobs have become scarce. Our reliance on the Internet to find a job will continue to escalate as we become more entwined with technology. Personal and professional lives are meshing. Consequently, what is posted online now directly impacts your image — both professional and personal. recordonline, January 29,2012 BLOGGING BIT: Seven reasons why a blog will help you in your job search. Blogging while job-searching will:
mediabistro.com, January 25, 2102 IMPRESS A RECRUITER BIT: You applied for a new job, and you’ve been called in for an interview. During the interview process, there are three main questions that need to be answered to help the HR person determine if you’re the right fit for the job:
mashable.com, January 16, 2012 JOB APPLICATION BIT: A new job seeker survey from StartWire.com, a game changing Internet job search organizer, has found that leaving job candidates in the dark about the status of their application could potentially damage a company's reputation. The survey, with more than 2,000 respondents, found that 77% of job seekers think less of a company that doesn't respond to a job application. Going further, 72% of respondents said they would be less likely to recommend companies' products or services, and 58% would think twice about buying a product from a company that did not respond to their job application. sfgate.com, January 10, 2012 10 "STEALTH" JOB SEARCH TIPS FOR 2012: With more than 66% of employers monitoring employee use of the Internet (according to an American Management Association study), great care needs to be taken to prevent job less while job hunting. Here are 10 valuable tips: 1. Don't openly job search. That's a good way
to get fired. "Loose lips sink careers." sfgate.com, January 2, 2012 EMPLOYMENT FORECAST BIT: Nearly one-in-four hiring managers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2012, similar to 2011. Employment trends among small businesses, which account for the majority of job creation in the U.S., are expected to show some improvement over last year. The nationwide survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive from November 9 to December 5, 2011, included more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resources professionals across industries and company sizes. examiner.com, Decembe 28, 2011 SOCIAL MEDIA JOB BIT: It’s no secret that jobs in social media are becoming more prevalent in nearly every industry nationwide and even globally. A quick search on Indeed returns nearly 30,000 openings in the United States alone. But what might not be obvious is what, exactly, young professionals should do to position themselves for these emerging roles. And no, it’s not enough just to have a Facebook page. Here are four tips on landing a job in social media: 1. Quantify your results in cover letters and written and
online resumes. mashable.com, December 19, 2011 HOLIDAY BIT: As you prepare for the upcoming holiday season, it is time to examine a unique opportunity to network. The holiday season — a time for office parties, family gatherings and parties with friends — presents a rich opportunity for networking. bizjournals.com, December 7, 2011 WORK-LIFE MYTH BIT: Many companies extol the value of work-life balance for their employees, but the reality for senior executives? There isn’t any. Frequently, stressed and harried managers look up the organization hierarchy and assume that they’ll have greater control of their time when they advance to the C-suite. What they don’t understand is that modern-day telecommunications, the hair-trigger requirements of financial markets, and the pace of global organizations create 24 x 7 work lives for most executives. So, forget work-life balance and think personal organization and finding ways to relax. businessweek.com, December 3, 2011 SICK LEAVE BIT: Here's a shocking bit of news: employees aren't always telling the truth when they call in sick. In fact, in a survey that Harris Interactive conducted for Sologig, 34% of U.S. IT workers admitted that they had used a fake excuse when they called in sick during the past year, Sologig, a division of CareerBuilder that runs an employment site for consultants, surveyed more than 170 employers and 293 employees at the end of the summer on the topic of absenteeism. computerworld.com, November 21, 2011 FACEBOOK BIT: According to a recent survey of approximately 1,200 adults conducted by recruiting software company JobVite, Facebook is the dominant platform for searching job listings and finding employment. While over half of job seekers used at least one social network to search for a new job, Facebook is the clear favorite for proactive and active job seekers with over 18 million Americans crediting Facebook for getting hired. Proactive job seekers are described as employed, but open to a new job and active job seekers are described as employed or unemployed, but actively looking for a job. The study also identifies users that have more than 150 contacts on any social network as a “Super Social” job seeker. digitaltrends.com, November 20, 2011 POST-50 JOB SEARCH BIT: Job-seekers over 50 encounter some special challenges. Although age gifts seasoned applicants with a wealth of experience, well-honed skill sets, a mature work ethic, and numerous additional pluses, there are a number of unflattering stereotypes younger employers may be holding against you. And, making things even more difficult, most of these will remain unspoken. huffingtonpost.com, November 18, 2011 TECHNICAL INTERVIEW BIT: Job candidates have clear expectations about the work that needs to be done during the job search to ensure success. They define their career goals. Resumes are updated. Interview skills are sharpened. Yet, as a recruiter who helps job seekers find software engineering positions, I see job candidates pay too little attention to one particular aspect of the job search: the technical interview. The technical interview is an opportunity for employers to put your hard-earned skills to the test. Technical interview questions can range across disciplines and include puzzles, problems and other questions designed to make you think hard on the spot. In my experience, job candidates find technical interviews extremely time consuming and stressful. And, to be honest, many job candidates struggle through the first few technical interviews and reduce their chances of landing what may be a great job. mashable.com, November 7, 2011 CAREER FAIR BIT: As companies find themselves swarmed with applicants and struggle to match workers with the right skills with job openings, many are turning to virtual career fairs. Employers say these online forums--accessed by companies and job seekers from anywhere in the world--can save them time and money and also broaden the candidate pool. wsj.com, October 31, 2011 ORGANIZATIONAL WELLNESS BIT: While work-life looks at helping employees be successful in all areas of their lives, and traditional health and wellness looks at caring for the health of individuals, organizational wellness looks at creating a different kind of health -- a healthy and successful workplace -- one where employees are engaged, satisfied, productive and effective, and the organization accomplishes its goals. huffingtonpost. October 25, 2011 SIMPLY HIRED BIT: Simply Hired(R), the world's largest job search engine, today announced the international expansion of its social job search feature, Who Do I Know(R), with the integration of Viadeo, the professional social network with over 35 million members worldwide. Job seekers can now leverage their Viadeo contacts throughout their job search to see their connections in-line with their search results, allowing them to gain the inside track on getting hired. The Viadeo social integration is available in 12 countries, including Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. By validating their Viadeo account through Simply Hired, job seekers are now able to see who they know at companies or jobs appearing in their search results. As the job search process is a personal one, all search activity on Simply Hired will be kept private and will not be published on Viadeo. marketwatch.com, October 24, 2011 JOB SHARING BIT: One job description, one job, and one identity created by two people. Because the two perform one job, their identities often morph. In fact, job sharing teams report that clients often did not know which of the two was on the receiving end of the call. For job sharers, this is a mark of success. forbes.com, October 24, 2011 LATERAL MOVE BIT: A lateral move -- if done right -- no longer puts you at risk of hitting a dead end. Conventional wisdom posits that sideways moves are like pressing the pause button on your career, an idea that has stuck around even as organizations grow increasingly flatter. But with the complexities of a global business environment and the economic realities of trying to do more with less, agility is becoming as important as trajectory. cnn.com, October 13, 2011 ONLINE SCREENING BIT: A new study
released by online reputation manager
Reppler revealed that 91 percent of recruiters screen applicants via social
networks, with 76 percent reporting that they view a candidate’s Facebook
profile. With the pending implementation of the
new timeline profiles, candidates are probably going to have their info.
viewed even more frequently by potential employers. Most screening of
social media profiles occurs after an application is received or after an
initial conversation with a candidate occurs, meaning that even before you hit
apply, you need to have your online profile buttoned up – even if you don’t
intend to use it for professional purposes. WORK-LIFE BIT: Think as a woman you’ve got this work/life balance thing figured out? That’s not the case for most women. The Captivate Office Pulse Survey on Work-Life Balance shows some surprising statistics revealing that men are more likely to be happy at both work and at home than women. Of the 673 workers surveyed, the men were 25 percent happier at work and 8 percent happier at home than women. Even though the men worked more time at the office, they were happier. Men work, on average, 8.8 hours a day, while women, just behind, work about 8.4. usnews.com, October 6, 2011 TELECOMMUTING BIT: A recent survey of 700 people, by Arise Virtual Solutions and conducted by Authentic Response, found that nearly 80% of people would prefer to work at least part of the time from home even if it meant less income. In fact, 34% would take a 5% pay cut, 20% would take a 10% cut and about 7% would take a 25% cut. The reasons people cited were pretty obvious — 32% said they wanted to skip the commute, 31% thought the flexibility would allow for a better work/life balance and 20% said the high point would be the savings on things such as gas, childcare, eating out and expensive work clothes. Almost 4% said they’d enjoy staying away from annoying coworkers the most. wsj.com, September 29, 2011 JOB SEEKING BIT: Unemployment is over nine percent and has remained stubbornly high since the start of the Great Recession. It's not uncommon for job seekers to be out of work for a year or more. If you are out of work, statistics suggest that the longer it takes you to become re-employed, the worse your chances are of finding a job. Yet, many employers complain they have a hard time finding qualified workers. What's responsible for this disconnect? It might have something to do with the interpretation of the word “qualified,” and what it means to employers. consumeraffairs.com, September 27, 2011 DOWN-UNDER WORK/LIFE BIT: Mostly, life balance is
about your time and how you use it. We each have 1440 minutes a day, so the
question is how do you use them to get your balance? CAREER TRANSITION BIT: A mid-career switch can be challenging, especially if you've become pigeonholed in your current role. But it's possible to recreate your work identity, as long as you don't get stuck at the introspection phase. Take action by doing these three things: 1. Craft experiments. Take on freelance or pro bono assignments that allow
you to try new roles while staying in your current job. reuters.com, September 20, 2011 GEN X BIT: Generation X refers to 46 million Americans born between 1965 and 1979. They're ambitious, squeezed by debt and frustrated by people who aren't retiring on schedule. More than a third hope to leave their jobs in three years, a survey of more than 1,100 members of Generation X by the Center for Work-Life Policy found. The Generation X survey found that 70 percent would prefer to be their own bosses. They want the flexibility that will allow them to devote time to outside pursuits and family obligations. Less rigid hours and less time spent in the office are very important to 66 percent of women and 55 percent of men in the study, though 43 percent of women and 32 percent of men surveyed do not have children. cleveland.com, September 18, 2011 WORK/LIFE BIT: According to workplace consultant and author Jon Gordon, you need to throw the idea of striking a work/life balance out the window, because it’s unattainable, and striving for it will lead to nothing but frustration and disappointment. Instead, Gordon advises that you think of it as establishing a natural work/life rhythm, much like the rhythm of the seasons. Gordon has come up with seven tips on how to attain that elusive goal: Let go of the work/life notion TABLET BIT: A recent Staples Advantage survey of 200 tablet users found that 60 percent of them get more work done using a tablet. A whopping 80 percent of them have an improved work/life balance as a result of the technology. Although all those surveyed had personally purchased the tablet, the survey indicates benefits in small businesses providing tablets or encouraging their use. businessinsider.com, September 12, 2011 HELP A FRIEND BIT: Job hunting
can be an adventure. Every time you meet a new person, it's like opening a
doorway with unexplored opportunities on the other side. But looking for work
can sap your energy and occasionally bruise your confidence. If you need a job,
you know what I mean. If you don't, please keep reading. The odds are that you
have a friend or family member who is searching for employment right now. This
person could probably use your help. WELLNESS BIT: One simple question asking employees to rate their current stress level may help identify individuals who could benefit from wellness programs to reduce stress and improve resiliency and overall health, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the September/October issue of The American Journal of Health Promotion. The implications of the study, one of the largest of its kind, are significant for businesses and other organizations that offer wellness programs for employees or members. marketwatch.com, September 7, 2011 LONG-DISTANCE JOB SEARCH BIT: The reality is that long-distance job candidates generally aren't as convenient for employers. You're typically not able to show up for an interview later this week or stop by for an impromptu meeting with the decision maker who's about to leave for vacation and you generally can't start as soon as someone who's local. Plus, many employers see non-local candidates as more of a risk. What if you move across the country for the job and then it doesn't work out? No manager with a heart with a heart wants wants that on their conscience. Or, what if you decide three months into the job that you can't adjust to the area? Local candidates don't carry these risks. businessinsider, August 24, 3011 EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVE BIT: The
Atlantic asked our readers to share with us the one thing most people don't
understand or appreciate about looking for work. We got a surprising number of
responses from employers with advice for the unemployed. Here are some of the
most enlightening and entertaining of the bunch. theatlantic.com, August 21, 2011 CREDIT HISTORY BIT: Concerned about rising rates of employee theft and fiduciary issues, more employers are conducting credit background checks on applicants for some positions. Companies say the financial information can offer insight into a candidate's level of responsibility. cbsmoneywatch.com, August 19, 2011 LOVE LIFE/CAREER GROWTH BIT: In the process of discussing lust, loss and bad blind dates, there’s a lot of overlap between getting shot down in the game of love and dealing with career rejection. In fact, a no is a no is a no when you get right down to it. forbes.com, August 10, 2011 LINKEDIN JOB BIT: If you’re hunting for a job, still a piece of work in this economy, LinkedIn, the popular professional networking service has launched its new “Apply With LinkedIn button” to make it easier. On the company blog, Jonathan Seitel, LinkedIn Technical Product Manager, wrote, “Our goal with Apply With LinkedIn is to help every professional put their best foot forward, anywhere across the web when they take that leap to apply for a new position." The button lets users submit their LinkedIn profile instead of a resume and makes using LinkedIn contacts for referrals easy. technicaljournalsouth, July 26, 2011 MILLENNIALS BIT: Generation Y, or Millennials, make up roughly 50 million 18- to 30-year-olds. According to a 2010 Pew Research Center study on social trends, this generation is on course to become the most educated in history and, in a decade or so, will account for nearly half the employees in the world. cnn.com, July 20, 2011 BOOMERANG EMPLOYEE BIT: Boomerang employees, a term referring to individuals who return to a former employer, are becoming more common as previously faltering companies are growing their workforce again. Whether or not a company seeks out a past employee has a lot to do with how they parted ways. The Washington Post, July 17, 2011 RESUME BIT: A recent Harris Interactive survey commissioned by TalentWise found that over half (54%) of respondents say that at least 50% of job seekers misrepresent something on their résumé, and more than a third of respondents believe that misrepresenting information on a résumé can be extremely beneficial for a job seeker. The Harris Interactive survey also found that the majority of Americans (62%) said they would pay for a résumé verification service to give themselves a competitive edge in today’s job market. dailymarkets.com, July 11, 2011 WORK-LIFE BIT: Achieving a work/life balance is not only important for happiness, it significantly boosts productivity as well. Here are five takeaways to help develop this delicate and important balance: Be focused; Identify what drains your time; Set boundaries; Exercise body and mind; Periodically shut out your digital life. mediapost.com, July 5, 2011 MBA BIT: These days, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who stays with one company or even on one job track throughout his or her entire professional life. By some estimates, two thirds or more of graduating MBA.s use the degree as a means of switching careers. If you're looking for the fast track to gain the skills and network to launch your career in a new direction, a popular way to do so is through an MBA program. usnews.com, June 24, 2011 INTERVIEW PRACTICES BIT: A new study from Glassdoor.com, a Sausalito, Calif.-based workplace culture website, ranked the toughest companies to interview at: 1. McKinsey & Co., 2. Jane Street
Capital, 3. Cree, 4. Bain & Co., 5. Boston Consulting,
fins.com, June 20, 2011 LONG-TERM JOB SEARCH BIT: After months of slow, almost imperceptible job growth, private-sector payrolls are finally beginning to grow at a more significant and accelerated rate. However, one group continues to struggle with finding employment: the millions of Americans suffering from long-term joblessness. For the long-term unemployed, the task of securing a job presents unique hurdles. One of the biggest obstacles can be time-pressed hiring managers who are under pressure to quickly narrow the field the candidates. As a result, they are often compelled to focus on those with the freshest skills. commercialappeal.com, June 19, 2011 REMOTE WORK BIT: Assuming you want an applicant pool that is bulging with superior talent, a logical question would be, ‘What factors restrict qualified individuals from applying?’. Prior to the most recent global economic meltdown, most recruiting professionals guessed that the top factors were pay, benefits, and employer reputation, which are important, but one factor has always trumped them: geography. Almost every firm that offers remote options has also realized that the practice dramatically increases retention and reduces real estate and office expenses. So overall, not only will you attract and hire better quality candidates, you are also likely to see an increase in productivity and a reduction in costs. ere.net, June 13, 2011 UNHAPPY AMERICANS BIT: The New York analysis firm 24/7 Wall St. developed something called the new Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Better Life Index to objectively determine the happiest countries in the world. And we're not one of them. The Index is based on 11 measurements of quality of life, including housing, income, jobs, community, education, the environment, health, work-life balance and life satisfaction, whatever that means. The 10 happiest countries are Denmark, Canada, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Israel and Austria mercurynews.com, June 7, 2011 |
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For more information,
please contact Barbara LaRock at 703-709-8600 |
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