How to Make Your Hiring Strategy More Diverse

How to Make Your Hiring Strategy More Diverse Many employers may focus their efforts on hiring a team with similar mentalities, educational histories, or skills knowledge. But a diverse team offers varying perspectives and a multitude of skillsets often equating to better performance, a great brand image, and growth in an organization. With more than 85 percent of companies taking action to hire African Americans, Latinos, and women this year, it’s important that you take similar measures to stay competitive and current in your market. The following infographic, compiled by  InternMatch, showcases how to incorporate diversity into your recruitment strategy. Takeaways: 81% of companies plan to focus on recruiting diverse candidates in 2014 36.7% of companies plan to reserve intern spots for diverse students in 2014 Only 13% of companies have a diversity and inclusion manager, despite diversity being a core goal RELATED:  How To Develop Your Social Recruiting Strategy

How to Use Your Essay Skills to Improve Your Resume

How to Use Your Essay Skills to Improve Your ResumeYou are not really interested in getting better at essay writing. However, there is no harm in learning some essay writing skills as a resume skill to help you land that job.Writing an essay for your resume means you write a whole essay. It means you use a variety of points and connect them together in a persuasive manner. It does not matter if it is a thesis statement or a summary. You can still use the elements of persuasive essay writing skills as a resume skill.If you want to learn this resume skill, begin by trying to summarize the points that are in your resume as a thesis statement. Try to develop a list of points as you go. In this way, you will be able to focus your attention on the list and get down to the point quickly.After you have finished a college, you will be thinking about writing your own papers. Most people tend to write their own papers as they are familiar with the topic and are familiar with how to organize the information. In fact, it might seem like you know how to organize your essay before you ever start writing one. That is why you will need to make sure you read over your essay before you begin it.Another important part of this type of resume skill is to check your sources. Don't be afraid to ask someone for a reference or else have your friend write it for you. The point of a good research is that you get a written document that is well researched and will support your argument or at least offer support for what you are trying to prove.As you review your essay, ensure that the points are connected. Think about the ways that you are arguing with your points. If the arguments do not belong together, you should be careful that you don't just move from one point to another that will just add more points without any substantial support.One way to outline that will help you when you are writing an essay is to take note of your thesis statement and then look at each point to see if it wil l support that statement. When you look at each point, you should determine if the next point will support it. For example, if your point says, 'My brother played football for the University of Michigan for four years,' and your brother did not play for the University of Michigan, the argument you are making doesn't really have a supporting point.While there is nothing wrong with writing an essay as resume skills, it is important that you do it in a way that supports the information that you are trying to present. Write to support and not to support. That is the difference between writing a persuasive essay and just spewing out information and facts.

6 Common Job Hunting Mistakes to Avoid

6 Common Job Hunting Mistakes to Avoid Job hunting and resume writing offer many pitfalls to the unwary. Knowing which mistakes to  avoid increases your chance of impressing an employer with your credentials and securing that  all-important job interview. Here are six common job-hunting mistakes you need to avoid: 1. Lack of a Cover Letter Its unclear what the source of this statistic is, but some sites claim 50 percent of cover letters  never get read. The implication is you can skip writing a cover letter altogether. Ah, but theres a catch, isnt there? If half of all cover letters are ignored, it follows the remaining  half are read. So not including a cover letter is like playing the job applicants version of Russian  roulette. Employers expecting to see a cover letter will dismiss any applicant who hasn’t taken  the time to write one. Even if an employer doesn’t read your cover letter, don’t assume they aren’t looking for one.  Companies use some odd strategies to cull job applicants. An employer may not read the letter,  but still cull applications without letters. If so, your unread cover letter might still get you through  a round of the applicant selection process. Frankly, when the job market is this intense, not including a cover letter is a major mistake. At  worse, it wont get read; if it is, your letter gives you a chance to sell yourself and your resume to  the employer. Don’t take chances! 2. Not Networking Its reasonably common for people with good resumes to assume their work speaks for itself. As  a result, they think they don’t need to network. Unfortunately, many of these confident, talented  people remain unemployed. In todays competitive job market, you cannot afford not to network and social media makes  networking easier than ever. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter allow job hunters to display their  resumes, make industry connections and build a reputation on industry forums and message  boards. For example, an expert in contractor software might offer advice to software users on  one of LinkedIns forums, building connections that eventually lead to a job. Don’t assume online networking eliminates the need for in-person networking. Nothing beats  a face-to-face meeting. Join professional networks and attend local events likely to attract  professionals in your industry. 3. Overly Creative Resumes Weve all heard tales of people who secured employment because they created elaborate,  creative resumes. Sometimes taking an unorthodox approach to your resume works. In most  cases, attempts to make a resume stand out only work long enough to get tossed on the reject  pile. Perfumed paper, bunny stickers, weird font choices and outlandish graphics all fall under  creative flairs best left for birthday cards, not resumes. If your normal email looks something  like HotBob45@party.com create a new email with a more professional feel. Employers aren’t  impressed with unprofessional emails. You may use online acronyms among friends, but use of words such as LOL, IMO and other  online shortcuts on a resume won’t make a good impression on employers. Nor, for that matter,  will spelling errors. Use your spell-checker. A single spelling mistake can make or break a  resume. On the other side of the creativity canyon, don’t use a standardized resume template, such as  the ones Microsoft Word provides. Hirers have seen thousands of cookie-cutter resumes, and  recognize them immediately. A template resume implies you lacked the will and imagination to  write and format your own resume. Even worse, theyre boring. 4. Unfocused Resumes Some resumes meander from education history to employment to skills without focusing on  whats important: why the employer should hire the applicant. Your resume should quickly and  concisely tell your employer what he or she needs to know. Don’t waste time. Youve only got a few seconds for your resume to make an impression or its  going into the reject pile. Use bulleted lists for your skills and achievements rather than burying  them in dense, hard-to-scan paragraphs. Tailor the resume to each specific job, but don’t take large amounts of text from the job  description. Employers recognize this instantly after all, they wrote the job description. You’re  better off paraphrasing short parts of the job description and modifying your resume to suit the  job. Which brings us to the next huge job applicant mistake: 5. Lying or Elaborating on an Application I get it. I really do. The current job market is competitive and sometimes you need an edge to  get noticed. Exaggerating a few areas of your resume tempts many job applicants. Some people  pad their academic achievements. Others exaggerate their job accomplishments or neglect to  mention certain parts of their job history. Ethics aside, I can provide a very compelling reason not to, ahem, fictionalize your resume: youll  get caught. Employers can cherry-pick their employees in a tight economy. They check facts  online or pay for professional background checks. If the results of their research don’t match  whats on your resume, youre not getting hired. 6. Applying without Cause Finally, avoid the temptation to apply for jobs where you lack qualifications. A school of job  hunting suggests under-qualified applicants should apply for jobs anyway because doing so  shows moxie and gets applicant names onto the hirers desk. Your resume will indeed wind up on someones desk, but they wont be impressed by your moxie.  They wont think Heres a real go-getter, lets keep him in mind for other positions.  Theyll just  toss your resume. If they remember you at all, their opinion will be negative. Apply for jobs youre capable of performing. Tailor your resume for each application, and  keep your networking ear to the ground for upcoming positions. Don’t lose hope; eventually  persistence and hard work will pay off, and youll find the job you want.

Are You Listening - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Are You Listening - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Whether you’re the top dog in your company or a regular employee, listening is an important skill. Unfortunately, its a skill that many havent mastered.  How often have you acted like you were listening, but in fact were already preparing your response in your head? How often have you felt unheard, dismissed even? Listening not only provides you with important feedback you can use to improve results, it builds report and trust with those you work with. One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is listening to what they say. Here  are tips to being the best listener you can be! 1) Don’t get defensive when people share negative feedback or criticize. Instead of putting your hackles up and closing your mind to what is being said, listen to the content and identify the roots of the message. 2) Don’t start preparing your retort before the person has finished speaking. You can’t be listening if you’re thinking about your next words. As a result, you may miss important parts of the message. 3) Ask questions during the conversation. When you ask a question based on what you heard, you show you’re listening. Further, asking questions gives you a chance to clarify or get more details on the message. 4) Make eye contact and smile. You don’t want to stare at the person you’re talking to, but also, you don’t want to be preoccupied with something else. Eye contact is a great way to show you’re listening and smiling encourages the other person to continue to share his message. 5) Don’t interrupt or start giving solutions before the speaker is finished. Although interrupting is commonplace, it’s actually a form of disrespect. It suggest that you don’t respect or have time for the speaker. Telling people what to do is rude, even if your intention is to be helpful. Even if you think you know where the conversation is going, hold your tongue until a break in the conversation. Don’t offer solutions unless specifically asked. This is especially true if someone is simply venting. 6) Give responses that show you’re listening. Asking questions (#3) is one form of response that requires you to listen. Other responses might be congratulations, commiseration or a simple nod of the head. People in the workplace like employers and colleagues who listen. It makes them feel positive about you and that you value their contribution. So learn to talk less and listen more. As the saying goes, God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we talk.

Resume-Writing Consulting in Maryland

Resume-Writing Consulting in MarylandJob seekers need the help of resume-writing consulting in Maryland to make their future work more pleasant. They can also increase their chance of finding a job by consulting in Maryland and this will lead to an increased level of income.The demand for resume-writing consultants in Maryland is increasing, because people all over the United States are turning to this type of service. There are many reasons that support this. First of all, online resumes will be more effective than those that are printed. Not only are these types of resumes more widely accepted, but they are also easier to apply for and most employers prefer them over the older resumes.Because of this, Maryland resume-writing firms should become more visible and should be willing to work with companies that are looking for employees. This will ensure that a company's marketing goals are met. These days, most of the companies that need help with the development of their career boards have their own online resources.If they do not, they should be willing to set up some of their own websites so that they can keep up with the latest trends in this field and they can also keep abreast of the specific needs of the companies that use their boards. This will help to keep them updated and it will also help to improve the resumés of the people who use them.Most companies are located in major cities and are accessible by phone or email. They should therefore provide resume-writing consultation in Maryland to people who need help in creating their own resume.In today's world, where technology is so readily available, the same resume can be used by a person in Annapolis as it can by a person living in Wichita, Kansas. It just makes sense that ifa company uses this style of paper resume and wants it to be used for all of its business, it should be able to do so.This is a good thing for those who want to give a resume that will be easy to read on long flights. It makes thin gs easier and it is the way to go. It also makes it easier for people to view a resume in full at any time.Resume-writing consulting in Maryland has many options for companies that want to give their employees a chance to promote themselves in a positive way. Most of these companies are based in a metropolitan area and therefore their opportunities for development are wider. It is in their best interest to cooperate with such firms to help keep their business on the path that they want it to be on.

Its Okay. Youre Okay.

It's Okay. You're Okay. It’s Okay. You’re Okay. || Dealing With Workplace AnxietiesCorporate Life, Lifestyle January 30, 2017 0 CommentsWhen anxiety strikes, especially the flavor that comes from work, the dark places that it takes us to is never pleasant and to make it worse, it feels inescapable. You feel paralyzed and that the only thing capable moving is your terrorizing thought about how incompetent, slow, and forgotten you are.These thoughts make you feel more alone than ever, and maybe behaviorally even manifests itself in disengagement from people, lack of enthusiasm, or even decreased performance. By the time you’re aware of the consequences, it feels like it’s too late and as a result, you feel even more hopeless and powerless. And then, a new set of anxieties set in about this situation… and the vicious cycle continues.It’s something I’ve  personally gone through time and time again. The danger is that when I’m trapped in this kind of thinking, I think I’m the only person to ev er feel that way. The truth is 72 percent of people who have daily stress and anxiety say it interferes with their lives at least moderately (Anxiety and Depression Association of America).  And, unless you have been hiding in your corner on the internet, you’ve read about Imposter Syndrom  (Forbes, 2014) and it’s all too real. Truth be told, I can’t tell you how to make it go away. I don’t really even have any words of wisdom or advice on how to be free of anxieties. What I do have to share is what I do when I catch myself on the downward spiral of anxiety â€" negative self-talk â€" more anxiety â€" more negative self-talk. This is how I walk with myself in times of anxiety and learn to live with them.1) Disengage from people and things that bring you down.But before then, you have to know who these people are and what these things are. Do you have a friend that always questions your moves, or doubts your decisions? Watch your physiological changes when you talk to your fr iends; who raises your blood pressure and brings out the worst of you, and who relaxes you and makes you laugh? Do you have co-workers that have nothing but negative things to say about the world, and is always ranting about something? Along the same lines, does the Instagram comparison game bring you down, and you feel like you drown in the things you covet which you can’t afford and shouldn’t have anyway?Be aware of the downers in your life, whether be it friends or social media. When you are feeling anxious and feeling overwhelmed, stay away from these people, even if sometimes your instinct is to turn to them either out of habit or for short term comfort. If something has a record of bringing you down, it will bring you down. And when you’re already stressed, don’t worry too much about why they’re in your life or the need to completely remove them. Just be conscious and try to stay away from them while you’re extra stressed.2) Stop resisting it.I know this sounds rea lly vague and unclear, but hear me out. I recently started using a meditation app called Headspace (will probably write about it later, too), and as part of the meditation designed for commuters, I learned of this mentality, which is to embrace and accept whatever is in your environment, and just learn to experience them as they are. If you’re stuck in traffic, hearing a lot of noise, feeling tired, or worried about unfinished projects… accept them. Focus on being in the present.  A lot of times, the act of resisting something adds onto the stress of it all. So instead of thinking that your destination is where you need to be, enjoy the journey, and be in the present.3) Be aware of the negative self-talks, and just let them be.I used to try to force myself to “stop” the negative self-talks. It’s very hard, and a lot of times I find myself fighting my inner voice and it just adds to my overall stress. It goes like this “I hate myself”. “Why do you hate yourself, that ’s bad too!” You see, it goes nowhere. Recently, I’ve learned to just let these negative self-talks run their course. Because I realized it’s not always the negative self-talk that beat us down, but the shift in attitude that it causes. As long as we pick ourselves back up and go back at what we need to do, let the negative self-talk sometimes. That’s part of you, too. So it’s okay. You’re okay.  Printed Inspirational Quotes c/o Yellow Heart Art4) Know what fuels you and keeps you going.When you’re down, feeling tired and just want to shut the world off, do you ever wonder if you’re JUST tired? I think not. I think when we feel this way, it’s usually a combination of feeling unproductive, uninspired, unengaged. When you don’t feel like you’re the best version of yourself, and that you’re not part of something that’s bigger than yourself, over time this taints your attitude.Whatever the reason may be, find it out. I’ve recently come across an interesting app called GoodCo that, through a series of questionnaires, assesses you for what type of work personality you have. Try it out, you might find some insight in there! Whether you’re a people person or a productivity fiend, know what it is that fuels you.It’s also entirely possible that you just need to be off-line and be away from work in order to be completely relaxed. In that case, take your vacation seriously, and prioritize off-line time over anything else when you’re away from work. The point is, know what fuels you and do that when you feel down!5) Feeling uncomfortable is part of growing and developing.You ever wonder how people are given the chance to do something they’ve never done before? We all know that in order to develop more skills and climb the corporate ladder, new opportunities to do something you haven’t done before are critical. Well, these people have to have done well enough to convince others to give them the chance. On the other hand, what does it feel to be doing something completely beyond your league, because someone trusted that you could? That has to feel terrifying! But they stick to their projects despite their internal doubt, and get the job done anyway. And that’s the key, is to never stop trying. You’re feeling uncomfortable because you’re evolving, adapting, and learning new things. Remember how you learned to ride a bike, to swim, or to play the piano? It wasn’t all peaches and roses, was it? Learning to do new things at work is the same. Just be patient with yourself.6)  Create an uplifting environment at work. Corporate Life, Lifestyle January 30, 2017 0 CommentsWhen anxiety strikes, especially the flavor that comes from work, the dark places that it takes us to is never pleasant and to make it worse, it feels inescapable. You feel paralyzed and that the only thing capable moving is your terrorizing thought about how incompetent, slow, and forgotten you are.These thoughts make you feel more alone than ever, and maybe behaviorally even manifests itself in disengagement from people, lack of enthusiasm, or even decreased performance. By the time you’re aware of the consequences, it feels like it’s too late and as a result, you feel even more hopeless and powerless. And then, a new set of anxieties set in about this situation… and the vicious cycle continues.It’s something I’ve  personally gone through time and time again. The danger is that when I’m trapped in this kind of thinking, I think I’m the only person to ever feel that way. The truth is 72 percent of people who have da ily stress and anxiety say it interferes with their lives at least moderately (Anxiety and Depression Association of America).  And, unless you have been hiding in your corner on the internet, you’ve read about Imposter Syndrom  (Forbes, 2014) and it’s all too real. Truth be told, I can’t tell you how to make it go away. I don’t really even have any words of wisdom or advice on how to be free of anxieties. What I do have to share is what I do when I catch myself on the downward spiral of anxiety â€" negative self-talk â€" more anxiety â€" more negative self-talk. This is how I walk with myself in times of anxiety and learn to live with them.1) Disengage from people and things that bring you down.But before then, you have to know who these people are and what these things are. Do you have a friend that always questions your moves, or doubts your decisions? Watch your physiological changes when you talk to your friends; who raises your blood pressure and brings out the worst of you, and who relaxes you and makes you laugh? Do you have co-workers that have nothing but negative things to say about the world, and is always ranting about something? Along the same lines, does the Instagram comparison game bring you down, and you feel like you drown in the things you covet which you can’t afford and shouldn’t have anyway?Be aware of the downers in your life, whether be it friends or social media. When you are feeling anxious and feeling overwhelmed, stay away from these people, even if sometimes your instinct is to turn to them either out of habit or for short term comfort. If something has a record of bringing you down, it will bring you down. And when you’re already stressed, don’t worry too much about why they’re in your life or the need to completely remove them. Just be conscious and try to stay away from them while you’re extra stressed.2) Stop resisting it.I know this sounds really vague and unclear, but hear me out. I recently started usin g a meditation app called Headspace (will probably write about it later, too), and as part of the meditation designed for commuters, I learned of this mentality, which is to embrace and accept whatever is in your environment, and just learn to experience them as they are. If you’re stuck in traffic, hearing a lot of noise, feeling tired, or worried about unfinished projects… accept them. Focus on being in the present.  A lot of times, the act of resisting something adds onto the stress of it all. So instead of thinking that your destination is where you need to be, enjoy the journey, and be in the present.3) Be aware of the negative self-talks, and just let them be.I used to try to force myself to “stop” the negative self-talks. It’s very hard, and a lot of times I find myself fighting my inner voice and it just adds to my overall stress. It goes like this “I hate myself”. “Why do you hate yourself, that’s bad too!” You see, it goes nowhere. Recently, I’ve lea rned to just let these negative self-talks run their course. Because I realized it’s not always the negative self-talk that beat us down, but the shift in attitude that it causes. As long as we pick ourselves back up and go back at what we need to do, let the negative self-talk sometimes. That’s part of you, too. So it’s okay. You’re okay.  Printed Inspirational Quotes c/o Yellow Heart Art4) Know what fuels you and keeps you going.When you’re down, feeling tired and just want to shut the world off, do you ever wonder if you’re JUST tired? I think not. I think when we feel this way, it’s usually a combination of feeling unproductive, uninspired, unengaged. When you don’t feel like you’re the best version of yourself, and that you’re not part of something that’s bigger than yourself, over time this taints your attitude.Whatever the reason may be, find it out. I’ve recently come across an interesting app called GoodCo that, through a series of questionnaires, as sesses you for what type of work personality you have. Try it out, you might find some insight in there! Whether you’re a people person or a productivity fiend, know what it is that fuels you.It’s also entirely possible that you just need to be off-line and be away from work in order to be completely relaxed. In that case, take your vacation seriously, and prioritize off-line time over anything else when you’re away from work. The point is, know what fuels you and do that when you feel down!5) Feeling uncomfortable is part of growing and developing.You ever wonder how people are given the chance to do something they’ve never done before? We all know that in order to develop more skills and climb the corporate ladder, new opportunities to do something you haven’t done before are critical. Well, these people have to have done well enough to convince others to give them the chance. On the other hand, what does it feel to be doing something completely beyond your league, becau se someone trusted that you could? That has to feel terrifying! But they stick to their projects despite their internal doubt, and get the job done anyway. And that’s the key, is to never stop trying. You’re feeling uncomfortable because you’re evolving, adapting, and learning new things. Remember how you learned to ride a bike, to swim, or to play the piano? It wasn’t all peaches and roses, was it? Learning to do new things at work is the same. Just be patient with yourself.6)  Create an uplifting environment at work.Uplifting may mean different things for people, but the point is to be mindful of what you visually surround yourself with at a place where you easily spend 50% of your waking hours at. Maybe it’s having fresh flowers, maybe it’s having a humidifier.  For me, this means decorating my desk with things that remind me of how loved I am by my family and friends. The latest addition to my desk decor though, is two sets of motivational printed art pieces from Ye llow Heart Art. I picked one that says TAKE ON TODAY LIKE YOU JUST ACED YOUR EYELINER. I know not everyone is acing their eyeliners every morning but for me, it’s something that I can count on happening everyday so it made me chuckle when I saw it. The other one says YOU GO CHANGE THE WORLD, GIRL! Which I believe is an attitude all of us should have.  What my actual desk looks like at work. What do you think?That was a lot that I just said and I truly hope it would help some of you. And honestly, replace work anxieties with life anxieties, a lot of the situation and thinking style is the same. What do you do to ease work-related anxieties?Disclaimer: I received the two prints of motivational art from Yellow Heart Art for free to try them out. I loved the quality paper and print job that they put into each product and I strongly recommend them for anyone who’s looking for desk decor ideas or even Valentine’s Day gifts!

The World is Not Flat - Modern Job Search - CareerAlley

The World is Not Flat - Modern Job Search - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it. Dwight David Eisenhower My current job is in a small company (several thousand people) and many of the people I work with have been at this company for 15 to 20 years and have never seen modern technology. Now I dont mean PCs, but I do mean they have no idea how mid to large companies operate. When I try to explain some of what we could be doing, its like Im saying the world is round and they still think the world is flat and are afraid they will fall off. So I imagine that if any of them had to look for a job they would probably buy the Sunday newspaper and start looking in the classified ads (Im sure some of you have no idea what Im talking about). They would probably go to an employment agency and register (taking a few hard copy resumes with them). And after that, they would probably go to a few company HR departments and fill out applications (leaving a hard copy of their resume). For research, they would go to their local library and look up some companies they might want to work with. Now I know most of us are more up to speed than that, but the job search world of sitting by your computer at home and browsing job search sites is gone. The new world is all about being mobile, using the best technology to get there first and land the best job the fastest. Are You Ready to Respond Wherever you Are You never know when an opportunity will arise, and you need to be ready to respond as soon as possible. Sometimes being the second to respond may put you at a disadvantage. So, as an example, if a recruiting firm or company recruiter sends an email to you asking to call them or maybe to respond with potential interview dates/times, there is an advantage to responding within a few hours. The best way to do this is to use a smartphone that allows for email exchange (and almost all do these days). == Top 16 Free Email Services Where is your resume? Do you have a soft copy that you can access on the fly? Suppose you are out of the house and a headhunter or company recruiter thinks they may have the perfect job for you. Of course they need a copy of your resume immediately, so how will you get to it if you are out of the house? The answer, of course, is one of the many cloud computing storage places. Cloud storage allows you to access a copy of your documents, attachment them to an email and send them off. What, no cloud storage? Take a look at the following ==Top 10 Free Cloud Storage Services For You To Back Up And Sync Files Be Prepared to Look at Job Opportunities When you are Away from Your Computer Are you still looking at the hundreds of potential job opportunities across the (seemingly) never ending list of job search sites? Well dont waste your time. Create a mail alert that advises you only of those jobs that match your specific requirements. Almost all of the worthwhile job search sites have this ability and if youve not set it up, now is the time. == Job Search Agents Do you feel that you are tied to your computer for your job search? Are there times when you are out of the house and could make good use of your time looking at some of the job posting sites? Not to harp on the smartphone again, but this is the answer. There are so many job search apps that are available for both iOS devices and Android devices. Dont know where to look? Take a look at this ==Take Your Job Search Mobile What else do you need in the modern world of job search? Take a read ==Job Search Tips: 5 Ways To Leverage The Internet In Your Job Search Good luck in your search.