Saturday, May 30, 2020

Studying on the Side Be Smart About It

Studying on the Side Be Smart About It Many of us will have to  pursue a course of study or qualification to  assist in securing a new or bigger role.  If you are going to invest a significant portion of your time and finances into your learning,  then it goes without saying you want to maximise your gains. See,  its not just undergraduate students spending a significant part of their day studying.  Employees who  want to improve their chances for a promotion, or are attempting to up skill for a career change,  are  attending part time study outside of working hours. According to a report published by the London School of Business Finance, almost half of UK workers want to change their careers. Two-thirds of those looking to change career are millennials, aged between 18 and 34. For most, a career change ultimately means retraining and  refocussing time into related studies.   How to study smarter Create a schedule:  Schedule specific topics for selected periods of time. Study in 25 minute blocks and take five-minute breaks in between each block.  The key to productive study is not cramming in lots of information, but studying smarter in shorter bursts. Make more use of your senses, especially your visual senses.  If you learn to associate certain colours with certain items it will serve as a memory aid. Learn by teaching. One of the most productive ways to truly understand something is to explain it to someone else. If you do join a study group of like-minded people, this method would be ideal. Stay healthy when studying Focus on what you are eating and treat food as your fuel. On a day where you are planning to study, eat a whole grains based breakfast e.g. oatmeal, which aids with mental focus much more than a breakfast of refined carbohydrates e.g. white toast. Exercise frequently. Getting out into the fresh air and taking some form of exercise can boost your brain power and even your memory. Be social and join a study group. Social interactions can assist with suppressing distractions and studying in a group could give you new insights into your learning experience. Coping with exam stress and anxiety A significant aspect of studying effectively is the ability to cope with the stress and anxiety that students can experience in the lead up to an exam. According to Mental Healthy, the top five causes of exam anxiety are: Not getting into university based on poor exam results. Fears about sitting the actual exam. Pressure from parents to perform well. Not doing as well as friends. Not getting a good job afterwards. However, learning to cope with stress while studying is a big part of alleviating the anxiety which can build up if left unchecked. Some of the best things that students can do to manage their stress include: Talking to friends. Talking to family. Exercising. Talking to an educator. Revision tips and tricks When it comes to study revision, it is best to find out as much information as you possibly can about the marking scheme in advance. This will keep you focused on the topics that will give you the highest marks. Condensing down study notes from several pages into one paragraph of key point can be very effective. While it may not be easy, tricking yourself into remaining confident can actually work and last minute cramming will do nothing but upset this so do not do it. For an illustrated look at how to study more effectively, see the infographic below created by Study Medicine Europe. About the author:  Aris Grigoriou is a  Student Recruitment Manager at Study Medicine Europe.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

How to Overcome Office Politics - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Overcome Office Politics - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career You’re sitting in the breakroom enjoying your lunch when you overhear your coworker talking about your boss getting fired because he lied to his supervisor. As you listen closely to the conversation, you find the story hard to believe. After lunch, you decide to confront your boss about the situation, and it turns out, it was just a rumor. For most professionals, there’s probably been a moment in your career when you’ve had to deal with a similar situation regarding office politics. Research shows 47 percent of employees feel office politics distracts them from being productive at work. Office politics are not only a distraction, but also one of the top 10 stressors in the workplace. If your workplace is filled with gossip and you’re tired of putting up with it, here are five ways to overcome office politics: 1. Avoid gossip around the water cooler. One of the most common places workers get involved with office politics is around the water cooler. In fact, 26 percent of workers feel gossip is one of the most common issues in the workplace. Whether you’re on lunch or grabbing coffee from the break room, you’re bound to overhear some type of news or rumor taking place in your company. Although it might be difficult to avoid hearing these conversations, resist the temptation to contribute to the gossip you hear. 2. Before you act on something, make sure it’s true. The last thing you want to do is tell your coworkers about a rumor you heard from another coworker. Rumors can spread like wildfire in the workplace, which is why you’re better off avoiding sharing stories once you have proof, such as a memo or email from your boss. If you hear something in the office that seems plausible, the best way to approach this situation is to talk to your boss. Your boss is (hopefully) the most reliable source of information in your workplace, so you should have any of your questions or concerns addressed by them first. 3. Create boundaries between work friendships. Office politics can become messy when you develop close friendships at work. For example, if you’ve been working very hard toward a promotion and your best friend at work ends up getting it, you can’t allow this to interfere with your performance and attitude. Workplace friendships are nice to have; however, you can’t allow them to consume your work ethic and success. 4. Don’t engage in negative conversations. When you hear a coworker bad-mouthing your boss, the best thing to do is to avoid the negative banter. If you participate in this conversation and your boss finds out, it could hurt your relationship with him or her, and even worse, cost you your job. 5. Stick to your values and be yourself. Above all, the best thing you can do to overcome office politics is to stick to your values and be yourself. Don’t allow gossip to compromise your values or influence your work ethic. This can only harm you in the long-run and create more problems at work. Have you dealt with office politics? How did you overcome the problem?

Saturday, May 23, 2020

6 Ways to Motivate Employees and Banish the Post-Holidays Blues 

6 Ways to Motivate Employees and Banish the Post-Holidays Blues   Returning back to work after the holidays can feel like a bit of a comedown after all of the festivities and the back-to-work blues can often lead to a drop in productivity throughout January. A new year also leads to people reassessing their careers and they may look to jump ship, if they dont feel satisfied at work. At this time of year staff are often in need of a bit of a motivation boost in order to get back into the swing of things, so how can you ensure that your employees are happy  and working to their full potential? Here are a few ideas. 1) Help your employees to set goals targets The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to assess how the previous went and what can be learnt from it. By taking the time to sit down with your employees and discussing what they would like to achieve in the year ahead,  you can provide them with the support to do so. Setting goals and targets gives them something to work towards to and motivates them to maintain focus at work. Offering a bonus if these targets are met can also work as a great incentive to boost productivity. 2) Launch a health initiative One of the most common new years resolutions is to get fit or lose weight, so why not help your staff achieve this? After all, a healthy employee is a happy employee. You can do this by starting up a health initiative that encourages healthy eating, by setting fitness challenges or providing free healthy snacks in the workplace. Alternatively you could offer staff gym memberships at a reduced rate, or start up lunchtime exercise sessions on site to get people up and moving. 3) Give them something to look forward to January can feel a bit depressing once all the parties are over and funds are running low, so you can boost spirits by giving everyone something to look forward to. This could be a staff outing, afterwork drinks or an early finish from work. 4) Encourage staff to get some fresh air In the Winter months, when the weather is drab and the days are short, its common for people to feel a bit a down. In order to improve your employees moods, try to encourage them to get some fresh air and daylight on their lunch break. As little as a 5 minute walk could make a world of difference. 5) Include staff in your vision Your employees want to feel valued and like they are making a positive contribution to the business, so its important that you share your company vision with them and allow them to have an input. You can do this by holiday a meeting on the first week back and asking for feedback about any changes staff would like to see made and encouraging them to share ideas for improvement, new projects, etc. 6) Offering training or development opportunities At the beginning of the year, people are often more driven to learn something new and work on improving themselves, so it make it the perfect time to offer training courses and learning opportunities. This can help to boost motivation, improve work performance and increase job satisfaction. [Image Credit: Shutterstock]

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

150+ Graphic Design Interview Questions - Algrim.co

150+ Graphic Design Interview Questions - Algrim.co Hiring a Graphic Designer can be a very fun process. Normally, a Graphic Designer will be judged very heavily on their portfolio. Often times, a Graphic Design will have a robust portfolio of digital, print and identity work. Identity work relates to the process of which they helped a business generate a series of assets to better describe what it does. From its logo to its Website and often times its business cards or print material. Graphic Designers should be showing a portfolio that expresses a strong grasp of the process as well as execution that makes it all the way to production elements. This means, their work should be ‘published’ in a sense. Let's say they were developing branding efforts that were intended for billboards, you would be looking for a presentation of the actual billboard and asking them questions related to the production process of such work. The process of vetting a portfolio can be scary for a lot of designers, they poured a lot of effort into that work. You should be conscious of this as you are asking questions. The more you can lean into questions that are related to the business process of incorporating Graphic Design into the team or organization. The questions below would be used when you are performing the interview questions to hire a Graphic Designer. The technical skill requirements of a Graphic Designer are mostly surrounding the Adobe products and platforms. That means the use of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and oftentimes Sketch, which is not an Adobe product. Their knowledge of how Graphic Design and branding work inside of a technology-driven business and/or non-technology driven business will help your staffing efforts. It's also very important to understand how this person will interact with other teammates, both in the creative space as well as not in the creative space. Because design management is often something that is done by the individual contributor still, its vital that you perform a series of exercises related to communicating design work as well as collecting or soliciting feedback. The last very important area of interest is in the performance of research and the understanding of how Graphic Design can be a legal matter at times, in particular, licensing and trademarking. Research is an important part of any design process because it should help to save the business time and help achieve its overall results. From what the design work expects to achieve from customers to better serving the overall annual business objectives. Getting a sense of this early on will help you in hiring the absolute best graphic designers. Common issues with hiring graphic designers revolve in the recent evolution of Graphic Design with the use of modern technology. Branding, advertising, and marketing have evolved to great extents and so has the integration of Graphic Designers. This means that traditional Graphic Design isn’t necessarily the same. Though, not all organizations are at the disposal of this change. For instance, Coca-Cola is a well-known brand that invests heavily in its branding efforts, which has been able to avoid being disrupted by technology. Someone’s traditional schooling in the practice of Graphic Design is also not a huge requirement. While it does help for the person to be more classically trained in the discipline, it is often more helpful when the person has learned on their own. Because traditional schooling often skips the modern process of Graphic Design. If a person has been a freelancer, that also has a tremendous benefit which you could use to your advantage while staffing. There are many careers that have become less vital to society as technology has advanced. Automation, technological advancements, and artificial intelligence technology has put many different types of positions on the endangered list, especially in customer service areas. However, there are positions that are becoming more prominent, primarily because they integrate so well with the technological advancements of today’s society. This includes the career of the graphic designer. While it is true that many are able to create their own graphics for their website or software program, there is still a huge need for those who can create stylish and attractive designs for consumers and users. Because most people’s interaction with a product organization will begin with a website or advertisement, it is imperative that a business provides high-quality, professional-looking graphics, and this is where the graphic designer comes in handy. Graphic Design Interview Questions 1. What does Graphic Design mean to you? 2. What does design mean to you? 3. What got you first involved in Graphic Design? 4. Can you tell me the story that sparked your interest in Graphic Design. 5. Tell me your favorite part or story related to Graphic Design history. 6. What was the starting place for Graphic Design in commerce? 7. How do you find inspiration for your design work? 8. What’s a famous Graphic Designer who has inspired your work? 9. How do you think typography has played a role in Graphic Design? 10. When is the right time for a business to start utilizing Graphic Design? 11. What is kerning? 12. What is a type? 13. What is a font? 14. What is the difference between kerning and a font? 15. What inspires your work in the digital space? 16. What inspired your work in the non-digital space? 17. What are some of your favorite graphic design books? 18. What do you think Paul Rand taught us about design? 19. What was Paul Rand famous for? 20. What’s the importance of a logo? 21. What’s the importance of a brand? 22. How do you consider branding part of a business? 23. How do you consider branding part of marketing? 24. How can Graphic Designers work with marketing departments? 25. What should the process be like between Graphic Designers and marketing departments? 26. How does Graphic Design work with advertising? 27. How is Graphic Design used today in the digital sense? 28. What is your general design process like? 29. What stakeholders should you include in the exploration of design work? 30. How do you think about persona’s in your work? 31. Should Graphic Designers be creating 3D models? 32. What is commercial licensing in graphic design work? 33. What is creative commons licensing in graphic design work? 34. Tell me how you’d go about creating a new typeface. 35. What is the difference between Photoshop and Illustrator? 36. What is a vector? 37. What is a bitmap? 38. What digital tools do you use for your work? 39. What are some ways you present Graphic Design work? 40. If we were creating a brand new Company, tell me how you’d first start exploring what type of logo to create. 41. What are the most iconic logos? 42. Tell me something I wouldn’t have previously noticed about a popular logo. 43. What should the Graphic Design process be like with multiple designers? 44. How would you collaborate with other Graphic Designers? 45. How do you keep consistency in your work? 46. Should Graphic Design have any involvement in the digital design department? 47. How would branding and product design coexist together? 48. How could you help engineers better understand our brand? 49. How could you make it easier for engineers to reflect our branding efforts? 50. Tell me a story about when a business didn’t care about their branding. 51. What do you think they should teach about modern Graphic Design in colleges and universities? 52. How would you explain Graphic Design to a young child? 53. How would you explain Graphic Design to our CEO? 54. How would you explain Graphic Design to our engineering department? 55. Are there any circumstances where branding should be ignored? 56. How do you evolve branding over time without reinventing it? 57. What is an icon? 58. How would you go about designing an icon? 59. How has Apple changed Graphic Design today? 60. Where do you think Graphic Design is going in the future? 61. What is your favorite era for Graphic Design? 62. How do you think about typefaces, logos, and identities when it comes to ensuring they fit for all the multimedia types we use today (digital, billboard, print, etc.)? 63. How would you encourage your design team to work better? 64. What are some ways you can interpret the positive or negative response of your work as it relates to customers? 65. Tell me about the last time you performed a customer interview and/or a focus group. 66. Would you use focus groups for Graphic Design or branding work? 67. Should you consider someone's gender when creating branding work? 68. Should Graphic Design have a say in any branded material being produced? 69. What is a moodboard? 70. What is a way Graphic Design can help our sales team? 71. What is a way Graphic Design can help our marketing team? 72. What is letter-spacing? 73. What is one of your favorite fonts? 74. What is one of your least favorite fonts? 75. What do you think the best font of all time is? 76. Who made Helvetica, the font? 77. What’s the difference between a Serif and Sans Serif font? 78. Why do we call them Typefaces? 79. How can Graphic Design help our iOS application? 80. How can Graphic Design help our Websites? 81. Tell me about a print project you executed recently. 82. How in depth should Graphic Design go with regards to research? 83. What types of research should be performed for Graphic Design? 84. What is a PDF? 85. What is a WOFF file? 86. What is an OpenScript file? 87. When exporting assets, should they be a vector or not? 88. What is a bleed line? 89. What is readability? 90. How would you hire another Graphic Designer? 91. How should Graphic Designers collaborate with each other? 92. Should multiple Graphic Designers work on the same project? 93. Tell me how you would go about designing a book cover. 94. Who is Stefan Sagmeister? 95. Who is Massimo Vignelli? 96. What was Jan Tschichold famous for? 97. What is the difference between Calligraphy and Typography? 98. What are some design principles? 99. What are some typefaces that Apple invented? 100. What are some typefaces that Microsoft invented? 101. What’s the difference between Graphic Design and Digital Product Design? 102. Who should the main stakeholder of Graphic Design be? 103. Who should the main stakeholder of branding be? 104. How should we measure the success of Graphic Design? 105. How should we measure the success of branding? 106. What is the most popular Graphic Design software? 107. What do you consider Graphic Design strategy? 108. What do you consider branding strategy? 109. How should other companies use branding strategy to their benefit? 110. How do you collect feedback? 111. How do you solicit Graphic Design feedback to others? 112. How do you provide feedback without discouraging creativity? 113. How many years have you used Adobe products? 114. How would you teach someone to use an Adobe product? 115. How would you describe Illustrator to a stranger? 116. How would you describe Photoshop to a stranger? 117. If someone gave you negative feedback about your work and didn’t provide constructive ways to improve it, what would you do? 118. What are some of the phases of the design process? 119. What do you classify as “design discovery”? 120. What are some business metrics you can obtain from Graphic Design? 121. Is it possible to have quantitative Graphic Design approaches? 122. When do you consider Graphic Design “done”? 123. Should the agile software environment embrace Graphic Design as part of their process, yes or no? And why. 124. What would you improve about Ubers branding? 125. What would you improve about UPS’s branding? 126. What would you improve about Apple’s branding? 127. Does architecture inspire your work? 128. Do you considering drawing a perfect circle a difficult task? 129. If you were to teach someone how to be a Graphic Designer, what’s the first thing you would inform them about. 130. Tell me a story where your work went completely wrong. 131. Tell me a story where your work went completely right. 132. How do you handle an effort where new branding is going to be on print billboards and material. Tell me what it will be like to ensure everything goes from research, design, execution, and distribution in a clear way. 133. How do color palettes effect the way design is perceived? 134. How do you handle color palette choices? 135. What should we consider when picking colors? 136. How do we research if a logo has already been taken? 137. What is a Trademark? 138. What’s the process like for getting something Trademarked? 139. How would you help design a patent? 140. How would you put together the specifications for a car engine? 141. How would you communicate the emotions you’d like someone to feel about your work? 142. How would you present a full identity to UPS? 143. What are some Companies that are successful, who also have terrible branding? 144. What are some ways you’d describe your own work? 145. What is modern design? 146. Who is Kate Moross? 147. Who designed the Nike swoosh? 148. What makes a piece of Graphic Design a failure? 149. Is there an arrow inside the FedEx logo, yes or no? 150. What makes a great Graphic Design portfolio? 151. What are some ways Graphic Design can help internal teams communicate better? 152. How do you integrate a legal team into Graphic Design work? 153. What do you consider a “design brief”? 154. What are some ways a “design brief” can fail? 155. What other written assets should designers have at their disposal before beginning their work? To utilize these questions above, I would recommend starting with an interview that is done virtually, where you can learn more about the person and their interests. Then get into asking some of the questions above after the person has done a formal portfolio presentation. I would be looking for the portfolio to be well rounded and also for it to be showcasing the before and after efforts instead of strictly the creative work. You should go into the process with the understanding that this professional may not know the answers to every question. They also may have answers that are different from the other professionals you are interviewing. If this is the case, that likely will provide you the insight you are looking for to be making a healthy hiring decision. Be sure that you don’t overstep your boundaries when performing interviews if you have negative feedback about something it's important to keep it to yourself during the process and be sure to mention that to your colleagues after the fact. That way you can use the negative feedback as a point of interest in making a choice of candidates. If you have other insights that you'd like to share regarding the process of asking and interviewing graphic designers, please send me an email and I would be happy to include it here. You can also email me with questions you feel should be part of this list. Please do not email me regarding questions that should be removed. If you feel a question should not be utilized then I employ you not to ask that question in your process. Simply said, skip the question. Skills needed to be a professional graphic designer Like any other position, there are skills that are required to be a good graphical designer. These include both artistic skills and technological skills. Software Programs - Starting with the technological, a person should have skills and programs such as Illustrator, CorelDraw, and CAD. While these are good software packages to know, one should not limit him or herself to just these options. Future employers want employees who are able to provide services and designs in a variety of packages, and only knowing one or two may deny you access to an abundant number of jobs. 3D Design - The most essential area of design software that a person should focus on is that of the 3D graphic. This not only helps you to create artistic designs and logos for websites and brochures but opens you up to the opportunity to even work within architecture or city planning. The ability to see objects in three dimensions and to be able to design and formulate plans will increase a person skilled greatly. Website/Software Programming - Having a knowledge of how to create websites and software programs can truly help you as well. It’s not enough to simply know how to create graphics. Understanding how to properly program to create websites and applications can increase your marketability and ensure that you understand how graphics will work within the overall design of the site or program. Creativity - this seems to be a no-brainer, but the greater your level of creativity the more likely it is that you are going to be successful in this field. The is you use are only an extension of what you were able to see in your mind, so having a flair for how to make enticing and attractive images, videos, and graphics is an absolute necessity. You may also find that there are areas that you had not considered where they are in need of a creative person. This can include typography â€" the creation of specific fonts and lettering â€" where you can create a unique look for a company or brand. Communication â€" too many people think that the advancement of technology has reduced the need to be able to communicate, but the truth is that it is more important than ever. You may spend most of your time communicating with customers and coworkers via email, telephone calls, or other forms of electronic communication, primarily because they may be hundreds or thousands of miles from where you are located. Knowing how to properly communicate your ideas, as well as be able to listen to customers to determine exactly what it is that they are looking for is essential. Plus, you have to be able to work with others involved in a project and the ability to communicate well is an absolute necessity to your success and the success of the project. Primarily job responsibilities of a graphic designer The graphic design responsibilities can vary depending upon the organization that one is involved with, but there are some things that are, no matter what position you may hold. This includes: • Designing graphics, videos, and other electronic media to be used to meet customer expectations. This not only includes using the appropriate software but working with customers to produce designs that meet expectations. • Communicating with other team members and with customers to meet the requirements of the customer. Working with other team members and being able to ensure that discussions and descriptions are made perfectly clear is an absolute necessity. • Meeting deadlines is essential as well. This may mean as a leader or director of a project that you have to instruct and delegate roles and duties to ensure that the project is completed. As a member of the team, it would be your responsibility to meet the deadline expectations so that other members can stay on track. • Using appropriate software programs to complete projects. • Performing research to help complete the task is important as well. If the graphic designer needs to familiarize him or herself with the customer’s industry or with competitors, it is important to do the proper amount of research to create designs and graphics that are appealing and attractive. Education requirements A person who is looking to become a graphic designer should at least have an Associate’s degree from an accredited trade school in graphic design. Because this is such a specific field focused on technology, many businesses and organizations are not as concerned about a person having a bachelor’s degree. This can mean that a two-year degree will be sufficient enough to be able to find work in this profession. However, it would not be surprising if a business required a potential entry-level graphic designer to have a bachelor’s degree. The extended time in a college or university would allow the student to learn additional programs, and least becoming more acclimated to a wide variety of graphic suites. In an industry where businesses may be required to provide customers with images in a variety of formats, it may be an advantage of the graduate to have more experience in as many programs as possible. For those who are seeking a supervisory role or who want to become a leader on a team, especially in the world of advertising or website development, it may be necessary to have a Master’s degree or Ph.D. In an ever-increasing world where advanced degrees are becoming the requirement for many employers, one may find that they will be denied access to positions should they not have an advanced degree. However, it should be noted that a person can become a successful graphic designer with no college education whatsoever. Because of the rapid advancement of this field, a person can establish themselves as a true artist much in the same way that a person can become a computer programmer without a degree. If you have the skills there are those who will hire you, but be aware that the limitations for advancement will be in place, meaning you may be forced to run your own business or work for a small company to have prolonged success. For those who are inclined to get a degree, it may be to your advantage to choose to add a minor in something like computer science or even business management to improve your ability to move up within an organization. These are the kinds of degrees that help to demonstrate that a person has what it takes to lead a team project, which could be beneficial for your personal advancement. How to get hired as a professional graphic designer While the advancement in technology has created a growing need for graphic designers, it is important to note that there are some aspects of this position that are declining. Those who are able to create images and videos for websites and software packages are going to be in high demand. However, book design and illustrations are on the decline because everything has become Internet-driven. With this understanding, if you have done the proper research and been well educated there are going to be growing opportunities for you in areas related to website and software design. However, recent studies by the US Department of Labor have made it clear that while this field is growing, there also a growing number of people who are getting into this field. This leaves a person seeking to find a way to make themselves a top candidate to be hired by a business or other organization. To do this, there are things a graphic designer can do to help promote her or himself. Internship - having experience is a necessity in marketing yourself. It not only gives you the opportunity to present work that you have accomplished but demonstrates your own creativity and ability to work with others. While an internship may be unpaid, it is a means to get your foot through the door. Maybe the company will even keep you on if they find that you have created designs that meet their needs. As an important note to understand that many companies will persuade you to take an internship but never offer you the opportunity for employment. You may find that it is necessary to do small projects on the side while working in another field and tell an opportunity arises. Portfolio - the proof of your ability will be manifested in the work that you can present. If you are able to show graphic designs and publications that you have been involved in, this will give you a leg up on many other people seeking the same position. You should not only have a hard copy to be able to present but also include a listing of websites or software programs that you have worked on. This gives you the opportunity to show your work to display how talented you are. Start Small â€" many decide that they are going to conquer the world. They are going to get any big advertising or software developing firm and stay there for decades. The truth is you may want to start thinking small. Look for small companies that afford you the opportunity to be the only graphic designer they have. Colleges and universities, for example, usually hire one or two graphic designers to do brochures, pamphlets, notices, and website development. This may be the perfect opportunity for you. What you may find is that choosing a small business or an operation that only needs one or two graphic design professionals may be the ideal situation for you. You have a lot more control over what your graphic design responsibilities will be, and this can make for a much more enjoyable job experience. You may even consider going to websites on the Internet that offer the ability to find companies and employers that are looking for freelancers. This can be a great way to make money and build a portfolio.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Homemaker Resume Format Tips

Homemaker Resume Format TipsWhen you are preparing to write a homemaker resume, you should pay close attention to what is presented in the resume format. There are four things that you need to remember about the format of a homemaker resume.The first thing you want to remember is that word 'appliance' should not be used when writing a homemaker resume. This is the only type of appliance that has this listing. There is no such thing as an 'Appliance Resume'Appliance Recruitment' listing.The main reason for this is because you can leave the format blank and still be eligible for a full-time position. Many people do this and are surprised when they receive an interview.The second thing you want to remember is that you should never use a plain resume. Many people do this and receive interviews. Those who do not receive interviews have a much better chance if they use an embellished resume. Be sure to use embellishments in the proper places.Most applicants write their businesses as the na me of the person or company, but this is not recommended in a homemaker resume. You can add a comma between the name and the business name. You can also use italics, bold, or underline the business name if you like.The third thing you want to remember is that you should fill out the space for the proper place. Your employment history is a vital aspect of your resume. You should always have enough room to write about your employment history and any other relevant information.The fourth thing you want to remember is that you should not make sure that you have filled in all the spaces. You should put in what youknow about yourself, but you should make sure that you leave some spaces. If you are looking for a job, filling in every available space is not going to help you.By following these simple guidelines, you will have a well-written homemaker resume that will stand out from the rest. Make sure that you are aware of what is being asked in a job posting before you write your resume. Y ou should always read and write a homemaker resume that is properly formatted.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Why Do I Need a Career Coach When I Have the Internet

Why Do I Need a Career Coach When I Have the Internet Dear Coach Wolfgang, Ive been told that all the advice I need for my career is on the Internet. If thats true, why do I need a career coach? The internet contains a lot of information that can help your career. Much of it is quite good tactical and thought-provoking. I read a fair amount of it encourage you to do the same. In fact, did you know that I produce 1 to 2 blogs per week with tangible ideas to help people improve their career? I do so because I want to help people whether they are a client or not. I think that is why you find so much good career advice on the Internet people want to help. I am always flattered and overjoyed when someone tells me how much one of my blogs or presentations helped them. Some people say this costs me potential clients; I say, thats fine. In reality thats rarely the case. How does one-on-one career coaching provide a different value than a book or a video or article on the Internet? How others see you There are some creative online services out there but neither a book nor the Internet can provide a caring, mentoring relationship. Self-help through books and blogs are effective but they dont replace working with a human being. Technology is driving people to replace social interaction with facebook, text messaging, chat rooms, etc. Theres a lot to learn about your career through the Internet but most individuals cant rely on it solely when you trying to change a big part of your life. Changing and evolving your career involves interacting with other people people who are willing to tell you how you appear to others. Your career coach brings this perspective and adds the social component to your career journey. Advice adapted to your situation While there are thousands of books and blogs on career management, none of them were written with your specific situation in mind nor with the insight about your behavior and personality. Here are examples of what I mean: you can read a book on how to write a resume but that doesnt mean you know what to say on yours you can read a blog on interview tips but that will never identify your areas for improvement books and the internet arent able to tell you how your professional brand appears to others online career assessments arent able to interpret results and apply them to your situation Information overload Even if you could read all the career-related information out there, its up to you to synthesize it all. That is, you need to digest it, determine what is appropriate for you and plot out the steps that make the most sense for you. In other words, you wont find someone who can take all that information and turn it into a program that is right for you. A lot of the information is there but its up to you to make sense of it, set goals, adjust your strategy and hold yourself accountable. Some people excel at reading information online and synthesizing it for their own needs. I think thats great! The rest of us need help applying career advice for our situation. Sometimes youll just need someone to listen to you and empathize. That doesnt have to be a career coach, per se, it can be a friend or a mentor as long as it is a person and not a web page.

Friday, May 8, 2020

How to increase your chances of landing a job offer - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

How to increase your chances of landing a job offer As an experienced job seeker you have to demonstrate how what you do contributes to the top/bottom line of the company â€" either directly or indirectly. To increase your chances of landing the interview and then a job offer, make sure you can demonstrate how you’ve: Made Or Saved Money If you work in sales, tell them how you’ve increased revenue â€" give them examples of deals you’ve closed or new customers you’ve acquired. If you’ve done something to increase margins, optimized resource utilization or saved costs â€" tell them. Streamlined/Improved Processes Have you improved the forecasting process? Automated process of signing up new clients? If you’ve made your prior organizations more effective, make sure you have these examples ready before an interview. Influenced Other People Do people want to work with you/for you? If you’re easy to work with, can work effectively with other departments and people want to work for you, this will increase your chances of getting the job.   Make sure you have STAR examples prepared of how you’ve influenced others or managed successful teams. Contributed To Culture If you’ve come up with some new initiatives, created a mentoring program and so on, prepare some examples. Mitigated Risk Especially in more senior roles, if you’ve had the foresight to prevent something bad happening to the company, employers will be impressed with such ability. Make sure you have examples demonstrating these skills ready and your chances of getting that job will skyrocket! If you want some help in preparing for competency-based interviews, you’ll love my FREE 3-day e-course  â€˜How to win at job interviews’  which contains a  wealth of other interview tips, too.