Thursday, May 28, 2020

Never Going to be a Pathetic Job Seeker On Food Stamps Read This (and weep)

Never Going to be a Pathetic Job Seeker On Food Stamps Read This (and weep) Stop what you are doing and read this fantastic story: This is what happened when I drove my Mercedes to pick up food stamps This was written by Darlena Cunha (blog, twitter). Its her story.  Its kind of my story (sans Mercedes, but with plenty of humility), and the story of many others.  It can very easily be your story. Its a story of humiliation, reliance, and resilience.  On her very own blog she writes (about this story): The lesson is: believe in yourself. Do your thing. Eventually, someone will see you. Eventually, the story will be told. Keep walking. Never stop. You are worth it. Yes, you are definitely worth it.  Even if you have to be on food stamps, or otherwise ask for help. Keep walking, never stop, and please be kind and gentle with those in need. Never Going to be a Pathetic Job Seeker On Food Stamps Read This (and weep) Stop what you are doing and read this fantastic story: This is what happened when I drove my Mercedes to pick up food stamps This was written by Darlena Cunha (blog, twitter). Its her story.  Its kind of my story (sans Mercedes, but with plenty of humility), and the story of many others.  It can very easily be your story. Its a story of humiliation, reliance, and resilience.  On her very own blog she writes (about this story): The lesson is: believe in yourself. Do your thing. Eventually, someone will see you. Eventually, the story will be told. Keep walking. Never stop. You are worth it. Yes, you are definitely worth it.  Even if you have to be on food stamps, or otherwise ask for help. Keep walking, never stop, and please be kind and gentle with those in need.

Monday, May 25, 2020

14 Ways to Boost Your Brand and Help Charity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

14 Ways to Boost Your Brand and Help Charity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Do you have tips for aligning my business with a charitable cause in a way that helps grow my personal brand? The following answers are provided by the  Young Entrepreneur Council  (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the worlds most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment and underemployment and provides entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of their business’s development and growth. 1. Join Forces for an Event Pinpoint nonprofits in your industry and collaborate on a fundraiser or other event. Assuming your areas of interest overlap, youll raise your own visibility among prospective clients while simultaneously giving back to the community. Steph Auteri,  Word Nerd Pro 2. Fundamental Beliefs As the person behind your business, your vision and growth are intertwined. Explore are the fundamental values and beliefs that drive you each day. Is it health, community, natural living, giving or something else entirely? Work with charities who support those underlying values to develop your personal brand even further. Kelly Azevedo,  Shes Got Systems 3. The Match Needs to Be Perfect Do your homework. Make sure the charity and your business (and even your personal brand) are all in alignment. Whether you serve the same demographic (women, for example) or are addressing a similar issue (the environment, say), charitable partnerships work best when there is already some overlap in place. Sam Davidson,  Cool People Care, Inc. 4. Be Completely Genuine Be sincere about supporting a charitable cause, and affiliate your business with those that are meaningful and relevant. For instance, if youre in an entertainment business, you may want to support a local arts program. Your personal brand will inevitably benefit as a byproduct of any genuine charitable activity. Michael Tolkin,  Merchant Exchange 5. What Causes Do Your Consumers Believe In? Ask your customers what causes they believe in and contribute to those. I once provided a consulting offer that donated 25 percent of their fee to the charity and/or cause of their choice. This effectively enabled my customers to donate (when they wouldnt have otherwise), while simultaneously creating goodwill for my personal brand. Ryan Stephens,  Ryan Stephens Marketing 6. What Is Your Story? Just because you know why your charity of choice is in alignment with your company, does your audience know? Share your background story about how the charity relates to your business online and in person. Nancy T. Nguyen,  Sweet T 7. Make It Authentic It needs to be genuine and authentic, not random. For example, if your company is in the real estate space, then Habitat for Humanity might work. Unless theres a tie-in, it will seem like a mismatch. Yanik Silver,  Maverick1000.com 8. Dont Be Afraid to Get Personal If you arent responding to a personal belief that you should be doing something about a particular charitable cause, anything you do can come off as pure public relations. But if you choose a cause youre really passionate about something you would be supporting anyhow its going to align with your brand. A personal brand has to mostly be about who you are for real. It cant just be business. Thursday Bram,  Hyper Modern Consulting 9. Choose a Charity That Speaks To You The best way to align your business with a charitable cause is to choose something that you truly care about. Your values will dictate which charity you align with, and chances are that your customers share your core values. That means theyll also see eye to eye when it comes to your cause. Nathalie Lussier,  Nathalie Lussier Media 10. Engage Your Customers Ethical bribes work wonders. For example, we’ve asked our Facebook fans to leave a comment on our Wall, and in exchange, we’ll donate a dollar per comment to a named charity. It gets people involved with our brand and it boosts our reputation, all the while helping a worthwhile cause. Nicolas Gremion,  Paradise Publishers 11. Can You Actually Make a Difference? Pick a cause you truly care about and work hard to make it better. It may take time, but people will notice and give credit where its due. Dont try to do a lot of little things focus on one central cause you care about and try to do something great for it. It will help your recipient as much as it will help you. Brent Beshore,  AdVentures 12. Make Selections Carefully There are so many charities out there that have a very bad reputation, whether its for spending too much money or not being true to their word. Make sure to first do your research and align your brand with a charity that holds a positive standing with the public. Steven Le Vine,  grapevine pr 13. Looking Back to Move Forward To what do you owe your personal success? Look to your past. Could it be your high school or college experiences? If so, you should support educational causes. Was there an adult figure of family member that made a great impact on you? Consider mentoring programs. Did a disease or disorder change your life profoundly? Support medical development. Let your past guide your future. Benjamin Leis,  Sweat EquiTees 14. Dont Get Distracted Unless your personal brand is your business, question whether or not taking such an action in your business is in the business best interest and not just your own. Its a mistake to use your business as a platform for personal promotion. If thats your goal, youre probably in the wrong business, and you should take some time to reflect on your goals is this business the best vehicle for me? Matthew Ackerson,  PetoVera

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Reasons To Become A Social Worker

Reasons To Become A Social Worker When we hear the words social worker, the first thing that usually comes to mind is people who fake children away from their families and ou them into care. Although this is one of the jobs you can do as a social worker, this is not the be all and end all. Social workers operate within society as people who facilitate social communication as well as help people to solve their personal problems. They are life changing individuals who connect with people on a personal level and enable them to live life to the fullest. It doesn’t just involve children: social workers also work with the elderly, the disabled and even regular people who have fallen on hard times. To become a social worker you have to train for a degree and get work experience in the fields of you choice. You will undergo testing to make sure you are trustworthy and at the end of it you will be ready to help people turn their lives around. You can see the lcsw requirements florida to see exactly what type of person you need to be as a social worker, and you will learn what the role is all about and how you can help people in their lives. Connect With Your Community When you work as a social worker you will have the opportunity to connect with the wider community in a way you never would if you worked in an office. Being a social worker allows you to see the value in the people around you and really appreciate your local area much more. If you are looking for a way to really be a part of your local community, being a social worker is the way to go. Make a Difference For many of us, the most rewarding thing we can ever do is to make a difference in someone’s life. It could be as small as writing an article which makes someone think differently, or even carry out research to save lives all over the world. As humans we want to be good people, and to make a difference in lives social work is a brilliant option. Social workers can save children from being neglected, help the elderly feel loved and valued, and even facilitate people to go through education and find a job. You will be responsible for changing the way someone lives and putting them on a better path. It is a hugely rewarding job which will make you feel important and needed every day. It Isn’t Too Time Consuming The beauty of social work is that it won’t take you 7 years o study and become qualified. Whereas in jobs such as doctors and lawyers, it will take years of careful study and research to make a difference in someone’s life- you can become a social worker in a relatively small time-frame and get to work making a tangible difference in your local area. You can be out on the road and making a difference for years before you would come out as a doctor or a vet. You Can Pursue Your Passion Actively It can be incredibly hard to think you can make a difference if you have spent your life struggling against all the odds. If you haven’t been born into privilege you may feel as if you will never gain the power you need to look after the people and city you care about. However a social worker is the first line of defense for many vulnerable souls. You can be the one to give them a shoulder to cry on, advice on how to make life better and save them from difficult situations. You Will Always Be Needed One of the great things about working as a social worker is that you will always be needed by people in your area. There will never be a shortage of people who need your help and advice, meaning that as a career path overall you will be safe and secure in your job. Even if your local area no longer needs you, you will always find people who are looking for someone to make a difference. You will be able to be transferred from state to state if needed, meaning you will never be out of work. Social work is an amazing career path to take if you want to make a difference in peoples lives, you are a caring and considerate person and you want something which will be a lifelong career for you.

Sunday, May 17, 2020

3 Tips to Hiring for a Specialist Role

3 Tips to Hiring for a Specialist Role With the UK in the depths of a skills shortage, it’s harder than ever to find qualified staff to fill the specialist roles in your business. In fact, the government’s most recent UK Employer Skills Survey  revealed that a massive 22% of all vacancies in 2015 went unfilled because employers couldn’t find an adequately skilled worker to fill them. No matter what your industry, if your business requires staff with a specialist skill set to run efficiently and effectively, your success depends on hiring experts in their field. Here’s my top tips to help you get this crucial element of your business right. Getting the word out about a vacancy If you have a vacancy that can only be filled by a specialist, it’s crucial that you put a lot of thought and effort into how you’re going to get word out to the right people. The more niche the skill set you require, the harder it is to find people that are fit for the role, and therefore the more effort you should put into spreading word about the vacancy. Word of mouth is an extremely effective way of getting the word out about a specialist vacancy, as the people who share those skills often know each other. The first step in getting your job advert in front of the right people should therefore be sharing it with anyone in your professional network that has the skills required for the role. While they might not be interested in the job themselves, they might know someone who is, making this an effective strategy for finding qualified people for the role. Your next step should be turning to LinkedIn. This website was designed to make it easy for like-minded professionals to network, and this free tool is often the most powerful at your disposal when it comes to hiring for those hard-to- fill vacancies. Searching this social platform is the often the easiest way to find people with the skills you need, and you can reach out to them straight away. Again, if they aren’t interest in the position, they might know a qualified person who is, so this approach offers a great return on investment. Lastly, when it comes to hiring for role that requires a specialist skill set, it’s well worth hiring a recruitment consultant to help you out. If you can find a reliable consultant that is willing to invest the time to learn all about your business and the role you’re looking to recruit for they can be an invaluable resource. How to interview for a specialist role Once you’ve found enough qualified candidates for the role you’re looking to fill using the approaches outlined above, it’s time to start the interview process. In my experience, the more niche the role, the longer it takes to narrow it down to the perfect applicant. In our business, it’s taken as long as six months to find the right fit for a vacancy in the past. However, when you run a business that functions by having crafts people from different fields collaborating with one another, it’s important to find someone with the right personality to fit into your company culture as well as the requisite skills. Our interviews for specialist roles are relatively informal. We try to make sure we give the candidate time to relax so we can get a sense of their true personality, so we usually only have one interviewer. While assessing someone’s attitude isn’t an exact science, we’ve found the best way to get a feel for a candidate is to ask them questions about specific circumstances, finding out how they approached these in their own words. While the interviewer may not have a full grasp of everything that’s involved in the role you’re hiring for if it is particularly specialised, this will give you a good idea of the candidate’s character, which you can use alongside their portfolio to make the most informed decision on who to hire. These steps should help you fill a specialist role within your business as quickly as possible, despite the UK’s skills shortage. Get this crucial part of your business right and you’ll put yourself in the strongest position possible going forward. About the author: Matt Deighton is the Managing Director of Sofas by Saxon, a company that produces bespoke, handmade sofas in its Lancashire workshop that are shipped around the world.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Oh, How the New LinkedIn Has Changed! - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Oh, How the New Has Changed! I just completed updating my 3 executive job search ebooks. Most of the strategies I recommend in them  haven’t changed much over the past year but, as I got into particulars, I quickly realized that my content updates were going to take a lot longer than I anticipated. , like all social media, is ever-changing to adapt to user needs, improve the user experience and, in this case, boost revenue for the site. Because is such a robust social network . . . with so many personal brand-building features and opportunities to connect with people who can help us with our careers and businesses . . . their updates typically impact a lot of the ways we use the site. Once again, has rolled out a new User Interface. When the new UI hits your profile, be prepared to make adjustments. Some of s features will look different and may not show up where youre used to finding them on your profile. More importantly, some helpful features will be eliminated, and others will be rejigged and only be available with paid accounts. Four unfortunate  changes to the new User Interface You will no longer be able to rearrange sections of your profile. In the Skills section, only your top 3 skills will be visible on your profile. Youll need to click to see the rest. Find Alumni will no longer exist. Your 3 external website URLs will no longer be customizable with relevant keywords. Well all have to adapt to the new look and functionality of the latest new User Interface. I hope the changes won’t turn you against fully leveraging the site. has become so important for job-hunting and overall career management that your lack of presence and activity there would be foolish. My 3 executive job search ebooks are ready for purchase: 23 Ways You Sabotage Your Executive Job Search and How Your Brand Will Help You Land . . . A practical guide to executive branding, marketing your ROI and navigating the new world of job search Secrets You Need To Know To Position Yourself for Job Search Success   [This ebook is FREE and only available with the purchase of my 23 Ways ebook.] 20 Little-Known, Insider Tips to Accelerate Your Executive Job Search Executive Job Search and Personal Branding Help Need help with personal branding, your profile, resume and biography, and getting your executive job search on track . . . to land  a great-fit new gig? Take a look at the services I offer, how my process works and what differentiates my value-offer . . . then get in touch with me and well get the ball rolling. More About and Executive Job Search FAQs for Executive Job Search Showcase Your Personal Brand with Comments The Value of Blogging Your Personal Brand on Personal Brand Buzzkill: Snarky Comments on Pulse 5 Ways to Keep Your Executive Job Search Confidential on 00 0

Sunday, May 10, 2020

8 Career Links for College Grads - CareerAlley

8 Career Links for College Grads - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. For your first three summers of College, see you in September was okay. If you graduated in May and dont have a job yet (and you are not alone), September does not look as good as it once did. Todays post, which mixes several types of resources, provides a long list of resources (not so long that you cant finish it before the end of August) to re-start your search and help you land a job. monstertrak.com This site, which is a job search site, focuses on internships and entry level jobs. The site allows posting of resumes, saved searchs, cover letters, internship advice, salary advice and much more. Collegegrad.com Due to the broad range of information available on this site, I would classify it as a Job Career Site which also includes job search. This site also allows search and post your resume. There is a wealth of information on this site including Preparation (explore careers, resumes, cover letters and interview prep). There are featured articles as well as a section on offer negotiation. Apple.com New Grad A company site, Apple has a career section that is dedicated to college grads. The site is geared to students about to graduate, new graduates and those who graduated in the last year. There is also a section on campus events. Quintcareers.com College Grad A job search site, this section of the site focuses on college students and recent grads career and job resources. The site includes articles, searches and links to other related sites. There are quite a few additional resources (too many to list here). Definitely worth a look. Careersearch.net This site offers a broad based research tool for corporations, industries and individuals at companies (by title). This site requires a code (which can be obtained from your college). This is an amazing research tool in your job search. Jobseeker Specific Career and Job Sites Quintcareers.com offers an excellent page of resources for teenagers, college grads, temporary workers, executives and much more. This should definitely be on your list of to dos in your job search. O Net Online This site provides interactive career exploration and analysis (its never too late to review your career choices). The site has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more!. Local Career fairs A very good career fair site from About.com. Career fairs are an important source of employers. Consider attending career fairs in your job search. Visit me on Facebook

Friday, May 8, 2020

Writing About Me, Resume - Keep This in Mind

Writing About Me, Resume - Keep This in MindI've written a lot of articles about the importance of staying organized and making sure your resume is up to date. And how important it is to keep all your personal and professional information in one place so that you can find it easily. But what's even more important than knowing what to do? What if I don't have any idea where to start?Here are a few guidelines for helping you write about yourself or your career. Some of them may seem obvious, but they're very important nevertheless.Always remember that a name and your surname should be written on your resume. However, where possible, use your first name and not your last. So if you're still working under your maiden name then why include it at all?Employers don't often like to see resumes with 'my last name' on them because it can be an embarrassing sight to see. So, if you need to make a point of being honest about who you are (in a good way) then don't worry about having to do this on your resume.Another tip to keep in mind is also to write your contact details such as your phone number and address. You don't want to forget anything because this is how prospective employers will get in touch with you. You don't want to go out of your way to ensure that they can contact you. It's only polite and allows you to showcase who you are.There are many things on a resume that might be less important or even irrelevant. And you don't want to put all of them there, so be sure to put them off your resume as well.Also, knowing that you wrote the resume is also an important thing. It shows your ability to organize yourself and you'll know that you can handle a job interview in a proper manner.