Why Outsourcing Your Job Search Makes Sense

Why Outsourcing Your Job Search Makes Sense 18 Many job seekers don't realize that they can outsource their job search. It's never been easier and the benefits are many. What it means to outsource your job search To outsource something means to subcontract it to someone else. In every job search, there are tasks that job seekers need to have done but that could be done by someone else â€" an outsourcer, also called a virtual assistant or job search assistant. Think about all the things you dread doing on your job search.eval Now take a look through this long list of tasks that a job search assistant could do for you. 20+ job search tasks that could be outsourced Cover letter writing Resume writing and targeting Managing your LinkedIn and other job search-related online profiles. Job lead research Filtering your job search alerts, RSS and Twitter job feed subscriptions Obtaining recommendation letters Compiling references Conduct a confidential job search for you Arranging travel accommodations to events and interviews out of town Finding relevant recruiters Keep you updated on key industry news so you don't have to follow newspapers, blogs, etc. Discovering tutorials and other resources to improve your professional skills Company research for targeting purposes Address book management Research potential interview questions Sending you reminders Email and spam filtering Job offer and contract verification Background checking of people you'll be meeting Contact management, including thank you letters and other followups. Schedule management, such as balancing your interviews, industry conferences and networking meetups Taking care of personal errands that can be done over the phone or Internet, such as paying bills Whatever else you might need done on your job search However, just because you can outsource your job search doesn't mean you should.eval Here's why you should. 9 reasons to outsource job search tasks 1) Leverage expertise You're probably not an expert at all the activities involved in job searching, but other people are. Hand off those tasks to someone who's more likely to get them done faster or better. 2) Save time Aside from some extra time managing job search assistants, giving work to other people will result in more time for yourself. 3) Better focus With the time you gain, you can focus more on effective job search tasks where you can't be replaced, like improving your professional skills or networking. 4) Less stress By letting you focus more and taking away the need to do job search tasks you don't like or aren't good at, your job search will be less aggravating and your improved mood will positively impact your interviews. 5) Find a job faster While you're being interviewed by employers or schmoozing at networking events, your job search assistants can continue your job search in parallel, cutting the down-time between interviews to a minimum. 6) Save money Even if the outsourcing does have a cost, finding a job faster will net you months of salary you wouldn't have earned otherwise. 7) Improve your skills Taking on job search assistants is like taking on employees. At best, you'll learn how to manage people and projects. At worst, your management and organizational skills won't improve but they won't go dull from lack of use either. 8) Get feedback Working with experienced job search assistants means they can give you valuable feedback based on their past experience with other clients. They're more likely to recognize job search mistakes you're making than your friends or family. 9) Find a better job Aside from feedback about your job search plans, your job search assistant can make suggestions about job search tactics you would have never thought of. Taken into account with all the other job search outsourcing benefits mentioned here, you should be able to contact more employers and interview for more offers than if you had done everything yourself. Ready to outsource? Find your job search assistants now: Top 75 Popular Freelance Marketplaces Online (Complete List) Top 20+ Micro Freelance Marketplaces and Why You Should Use Them

7 Ways to Repurpose Content for Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

7 Ways to Repurpose Content for Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career It can be difficult for small businesses operating in competitive markets to get ahead, especially when you consider the fact that they don’t typically have access to marketing departments and unlimited resources or funds. So what advantages do small businesses have over their larger counterparts? The answer is their personal brand, as opposed to a corporate identity. This might sound strange, but large multinationals covet what entrepreneuring business owners seem to find with relative ease. This gives them a competitive edge when dealing with their audience by allowing a human side to shine through more clearly. That’s one reason why approachable content is so important to emerging brands. How can businesses keep their content fresh and interesting over the long term? Defining the Concept of Repurposing Content The process involves altering the format of a work for a new intended audience, and there are many reasons as to why you’d want to do this. For example, you may wish to reach a wider audience, create less and promote more, establish your personal brand as an authority or increase your online Web presence. Overall, the practice can take many guises, as each member of a target audience will prefer to consume their information in a variety of different formats. In this article, we’ll look at seven ways you can transform your personal branding and create engaging content consistently and successfully. Newsjack Appropriate Headlines and Start a Conversation Many businesses nowadays are tapping into newsjacking, a strategy which involves inserting your brand into conversations that arise as a result of news and current affairs. In this way, small brands can find a national or international audience, express their opinions or push their agenda â€" as long as they do it subtly â€" while pulling from the power of such significant events. Additionally, repurposing this content for your own goals increases the chance of your information going viral â€" much like Starbucks did in 2013 when snow storm Nemo hit. Appropriate and Revitalize Your Blog Post Archives If you’ve been in business and have been running a blog for any length of time, chances are you’ll have an extensive collection of content just waiting to be repurposed in your archives. If you can revitalize this information and create something new, your personal brand will be able to extend the life of its back catalogue. Your audience will appreciate that you took the time to reframe an idea they cared enough about to read in the first place. Generate Group Discussions in Online Forums As a fledgling business or established boutique, you shouldn’t forget that your customers are people and have their own interests and hobbies outside of what you offer. Forums such as Reddit, StumbleUpon and others represent some of the best places to begin posting content online. If you can tap into the vast networks created by like-minded people, you’ll be able to increase the size of your audience and promote your brand to new potential followers. Alternatively, you can even take ideas from these forums and push them to your website to create and encourage a back-and-forth between your online communities. Build an Infographic or Other Interesting Visual It’s a fact that humans are visual creatures and as such, more than 90 percent of the information absorbed by the brain is done so visually, which makes infographics a powerful tool in the right hands. These shouldn’t be sophisticated mood boards referencing statistics and dense information, as they are at their best when the content is simplified and presented in a broadly appealing format. In fact, if all you do is reappropriate information from any of these sources, you’ll be well on your way to creating something interesting. Create a Mesmerizing SlideShare Presentation If you take an infographic one step further, you’ll enter the domain of SlideShare presentations. You can use any of the free photo-editing programs to create powerful slideshows with ease and break down your copy into its major talking points. Why would you want to put in the additional effort and go the extra mile? Because visual information can attract up to 94 percent more attention online. Also, once you present this information, be sure to tweet about it. Turn your slides into blog articles and push the same content in different directions to maximize its potential and value. Develop an Animation or Motion Graphic Few forms of communication are as effective as video, and motion graphics are a happy medium between infographics and animation.   A great example of this can be seen in Beat the Dealer, a motion graphic from CJ Pony Parts, which aims to simplify the process of buying a car. For some perspective, you can also see how this information has been adapted and repurposed from the company’s existing infographic to present the same ideas in a different and versatile way. Repost, Re-Promote and Cross-Promote With Social Media Lastly, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram and others remain important to personal brands. If you’ve been cross-promoting your online content via these channels, you’ve already been repurposing content for different audiences and formats. While it may seem counterintuitive to post the same information to different networking sites, when quality content is paired with effective social media strategies, businesses can develop and refine their personal brands and reach audiences across time zones and geographic locations. One thing you should know about when committing to social media is just how important timing and brevity is. As such, you’ll find this information on the ideal length of everything online essential as you progress. Replicating Results and Embracing a Brighter Future The great thing about repurposing content is that it’s a process that is repeatable. This means that if you do happen to find success through trialing a few of these strategies, you will be able to replicate the results with accuracy. While this list cannot hope to include every conceivable way a business can repurpose and rejuvenate content, it should serve as an effective jumping-off point for you to go about your own research into building up your personal brand.

6 Ways to Freshen Up Your Online Profile for Fall - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

6 Ways to Freshen Up Your Online Profile for Fall - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Change is good. And changing things up on your online profile can attract attention, whether it’s a recruiter or an angel investor or some new followers. This fall brings many good reasons for freshening up our online images: Stepped up networking events, new or renewed emphasis on career goals and of course, the expectation that slower economic and job growth could require more effort to stay ahead or land a great job. Plus, these profiles are your almost-avatars in the online world, and for anyone who’s looking for a new job, a new gig or appointment to a nonprofit board, they are crucial. If you’re like me, you want to look great, not merely good or professional, online. So here are six ways to tackle this: 1. See What’s Working. Scroll through some other profiles, especially people who you respect or those who you hope to emulate. Read their profiles, and pay attention to the tags they use and other details that set them apart from the masses. You’re not going to cut and paste anything, but you might appreciate and adapt some of their approaches. 2. Update Your Bio. Pack it with detail, wins, richness. Make it compelling, and match the content to the audience you are targeting. So forgo mentioning your award-winning muffins on your LinkedIn profile (unless you’re looking for a job as a pastry chef).   Come up with a pithy summary statement â€" think jingle or tagline. Consider what makes you a stand-out, and which of your strengths you want to promote. “There is a delicate balance between touting strengths and looking far too self-important. Too little tooting and you look boring or unqualified. Too much tooting and you look like an ass,” writes E. Foley in the dating blog Geek’s Dream Girl. (My new bio for Glassdoor is up and I’ve freshened up my Twitter profile, too. This week, I tackle LinkedIn;  how long can I say I’m “Fortunate to write for Fortune” without it getting old?) 3. Add a New Photo.   This is especially important if you’ve changed your look, lost 25 pounds or are trying to move up into management.   In that case, wear a suit â€" preferably one that would blend right in during executive staff meetings at your employer. If you’re in a creative field,  switch to a caricature or an illustration, which can be a real stand-out. Allow the photo or illustration to capture some of your personality and energy â€" though not so much you look unprofessional or immature (I haven’t done this yet, but watch for a new one in a month or so). 4. Add New Social Connecting Points. Share more of yourself â€" more ways to see who you are and how you operate online. If you’re using Reddit or Quora, FourSquare, Vimeo or YouTube or another site, add them to your page. If you wrote a guest blog post that was well-received, include that. Ditto for an article or show that featured you or your work. 5. Splash on Some Color. Fall is the season where leaves turn brilliant orange and yellow, so you can borrow some colors for your profile too. Choose colors that you like or that match your personality or career path â€" or select some that seem fashionable or seasonal (My personal blog WorkingKind.com and my Twitter page both will seem more colorful soon). 6. Get Fresh Eyes on You. Ask your new friend who works in marketing or as an editor to review your new profile, and offer suggestions. Or get your partner to peruse your blog’s ‘About Me’ page and suggest some improvements. If your college roommate now is a recruiter, recruit her to check you out. The truth is: Just about everyone needs an editor, and a second look at how they’re promoting themselves. What you thought was fresh and funny may sound foolish or immature to others, and you won’t know that unless you get a second and third opinion. These suggestions will work, little by little, one by one. As important as it is, don’t try to refresh everything in one day. Try to get it done within a month, though. Then add a reminder to your calendar in January to jump in and do it all again. By then, you’ll have new skills or a new job â€" and maybe a new haircut. Author: Vickie Elmer writes about consumer issues, careers and workplace subjects for the New York Times, Fortune magazine, the Washington Post and other top tier media outlets. Her articles are filled with actionable insights, compelling stories and inspiring people. The mother of three also co-owns Mity Nice LLC, a small social cart business based in Ann Arbor, Mich., which donates to more than a dozen charities each summer and fall. Her motto changes regularly, but her concentration on careers, kindness, creativity and high quality writing remains constant.

5 Things you have to unlearn to succeed at work

5 Things you have to unlearn to succeed at work A big theme in my life has been how much I had to unlearn to come to the decision to homeschool my kids. I had to unlearn all my assumptions about parenting (it turns out that  kids dont need teachers, they need love). I unlearned  my assumptions about self-management (well-roundedness is a false goal). And I had to change my assumptions about how much respect each child deserves (freedom to choose what we learn is a fundamental right). Now that Ive been homeschooling for a while, I understand that the reason its traumatic for most young adults to enter the workforce  is because they have  to unlearn so many things from school in order to survive in adult life. No matter what age you are, the faster you start your unlearning the faster you can shed the weights that hold you back from moving forward in todays knowledge-based workforce. Here are five things most people need to unlearn. 1.  Accommodating forced learning Gen Y’s latest thing is binge learning, where you become so interested in what youre doing that you dont want to stop until youve learned it all.   But the only way that you can binge learn is to know how to find course materials on your own and choose the sequence of those materials that works best for you.   This means you cant rely on someone elses syllabus and you cant rely on somebody laying out the steps for you. In the workplace, to create our own value, we must create our own learning path.   You have to unlearn the habit of waiting to be told what comes next in your education if you want to take control of your adult life. 2.  Studying for the grade you can get on the test Adult life doesnt give letter grades.   Sometimes adult life gives promotions or if youre good at sales you might win a trip to Hawaii for your family, but in general, the reward of adult life is being able to find a path thats good for you and put yourself on it.   Theres no letter grade for that because the only person who can judge whether its a good path or not is you. The act of making decisions independent of letter grades is completely opposite to everything that school stands for, because if youre doing work that is separate from earning an A, then youre completely uncontrollable in the classroom as you start losing the need to even show up to the classroom. So school teaches you that you should study whats on the test.   Work is the opposite.   What matters will never be on the test. 3. Saving self-discovery for vacation For those of you who dont follow the lives of Prince William and Prince Harry, a gap year is when somebody finishes high school and takes a year off before university study, presumably because you don’t learn about yourself while you are studying, so taking time to learn about yourself is important enough to give it a whole year. This is actually true that usually you dont learn about yourself when youre studying, because if people tell you what to study, then you gain no insight into who you are.   But if you take a year off to learn about yourself, you reinforce the idea that education and self-knowledge are two completely different things. However, in the workforce, education and self-knowledge through work are the twin tickets to adult happiness.   If youre not synchronized so that you have them moving together, you will always feel like youre missing something. 4.  Saying something even when theres nothing to say In sixth grade my teacher gave us a list of topics about Mesopotamia for a ten-page paper she assigned.   When she got to the topic of medicine in Mesopotamia, she said it was a hard one. I picked that one. I brought it home to my dad who can win Trivial Pursuit in one turn every time and my mom who was on Jeopardy, and they said, Medicine in Mesopotamia?  There wasnt any. What are you going to write about this?   We did a bunch of research to determine that, indeed, there were not ten typed pages to be written about medicine in Mesopotamia.   We did conjecture instead, but that only got us to five.   So I learned the art of bullshit by writing ten pages about medicine in Mesopotamia. Paul Graham, one of the premier investors of college-age startup founders, talks about how forced yammering on topics about which you have nothing to say end up affecting you negatively in the workforce. He talks about kids who have great ideas for startups and they think its time to raise money, so they force themselves to start talking about why its time to raise money when, in fact, its not time to raise money.   They have nothing to say about raising money.   They should just be at home doing their business idea. Graham points out that the idea that it doesnt matter whether something is relevant or pertinent or necessary is lost on kids who have been forced to talk about nothing for eighteen years. 5.  Using video games as a reward for finishing learning Its fashionable right now for parents to use video games as a reward for having finished schoolwork or, for the really nice parents, as a reward for just having made it through the school day.   But in my house, video games are the content of learning rather than the reward after learning because  kids who play video games do better as adults. And  video games actually teach important skills for work. Im really happy to tell you that human resource managers understand this so well that its been shown that people who play World of Warcraft at work during work hours on the work computer are higher performing employees.  There are lots of reasons for this.   World of Warcraft is extremely competitive.   It requires long-term commitment and strategy, and it favors people who understand how to shift between different sorts of tasks that require different kinds of thinking. Parents need to unlearn schooling in order to parent so that their kids dont need to unlearn schooling in order to work.

Writing the Perfect Resume

Writing the Perfect ResumeWriting the perfect resume is what every person wants to achieve when they enter the job market. This is because your resume will play a pivotal role in getting you hired and eventually landing the job. However, many people have problems in writing a resume and they usually end up with a miss-formatted resume that has so many errors that it will surely defeat the purpose of getting you hired.So how do you avoid the pitfalls of these people who struggle with writing the perfect resume? The key is that you have to know where and how to start. If you don't know how to get started, then all your efforts in crafting a perfect resume will be wasted. That is why you need to know what the main tips for writing the perfect resume are.It is best to know the goals of your resume before you even begin. You need to know what exactly you want to achieve when you apply for a job. You need to know if you want to get promoted in the job or to increase your salary. Knowing wh at you want to achieve beforehand will help you in creating a resume that not only looks good but also suits your needs.Another tip for writing the perfect resume is that you need to know what you are aiming to achieve. You need to take note of your needs and the things that you want to accomplish before you even begin your writing. You need to know what is important and what is not. Once you know what is important and what is not, you can begin writing the perfect resume.Third, you need to write in a chronological order. Always start with the top level of the position you are applying for. In this way, you will know which fields you need to concentrate on and which you can leave for the later stages. This will ensure that your resume flows well and makes sense from beginning to end.Lastly, you need to put thought into every section of your perfect resume. You need to ensure that the formatting of your resume is appropriate and that there are no unnecessary items. Your resume should be impressive and eye-catching, yet simple and easy to read. A well-structured resume will help your resume stand out among the masses.Once you have all these tips for writing the perfect resume in place, you can move on to the next step of hiring professional resume writers. Make sure that the resume writers you hire have experience in writing resumes and they can give you their best in terms of layout and formatting. They also should know how to make your resume to fit your job requirements and you can rest assured that it will not look like a compilation of all your unimportant tasks.There are some tips for writing the perfect resume that you need to take note of. It is best to know your goals before you even begin your writing. Once you know what is important and what is not, you can begin writing the perfect resume.

How to Navigate Controversial Topics in the Workplace [Infographic]

How to Navigate Controversial Topics in the Workplace [Infographic] Photo credit: CJS*64 via Foter.com / CC BY-ND Name something you can discuss with co-workers without the potential for conflict. Sports? Nope. Religion? Absolutely not. Health? Too touchy. Politics? We won’t even go there. So how do you navigate all those landmines and awkward conversational topics with grace and good humor? Well it dependsâ€"and it’s also likely that as much as you want to avoid those conversations, you’re not going to be able to. That’s because most people overshare at workâ€"it’s almost as if we have a culture of oversharing. And while many are diplomatic, many are not. That tension can affect your relationships at work and your ability to collaborate, too. So again, what to do? Well for starters, use the rules that have been established by your company. If you feel a conversation is headed down a potentially fraught path, you can shut down your part of it. What else to do? This graphic is a good place to start. How to navigate controversial topics in the workplaceInfographic by Quill

How To Answer Interview Questions - How 2 Become

How To Answer Interview Questions - How 2 Become HOW TO ANSWER INTERVIEW QUESTIONSI  often  get asked by people what is the best way to respond to interview questions?In this blog article I will explain the most effective way of how to answer interview questions.To begin with we need to understand the two different types of interview question that you are likely to get asked at your interview. The first type is what I call motivational interview questions. These are questions that assess your motivations for applying, what you have to offer in the role and also why you want to join their organisation and what you know about the role. So, the first step in your preparation for the interview is to prepare for motivational interview questions. Here’s a short list of questions I recommend you prepare for:Q. What can you tell us about the role you are applying for?Tip: Read the person specification and job description for the role and be able to recite it at interview.Q. What do you know about this organisation?Tip: Go on the company website and find out as much as possible about what they do, the services they offer, where they are located, the key people (managers) and what they are about.Q. What can you bring to the role?Tip: Again, look at the job description an person specification and make an effort to cross-match your skills with what is required to perform the role competently. For example, if one of the key qualities required in the role is that of ‘customer service’, be able to give details of why you are suitable in this area.Q. Why have you applied for the role?Tip: Try to come up with a genuine and positive response to this interview question.The second type of interview questions is what I call situational interview questions. These are  slightly  harder to answer but they give you more of an opportunity to gain higher marks. Here’s a list of situational interview questions to help you prepare:Q. Can you give us an example of when you have worked under pressure?Q. Give us an example of where you have been flexible?Q. Provide details of when you have achieved a difficult task under a strict timeframe.You will see that the above sample interview questions require you to provide evidence of where you have carried out the task or worked in a particular environment.My advice is that you respond to these questions by using a concise method such as the STAR technique.Start off by telling the interview panel what the SITUATION was that you were in. Next, explain what the TASK was that you have to carry out. The third stage is provide details of the ACTION you took and also the action that other people took. Finally, provide details of the RESULT or outcome following your actions. You should always try to make sure the result is positive following your actions.To find out more about how to answer interview questions get access to my free online interview training course HERE. This entry was posted in Interviews. Bookmark the permalink. Richard Firefighter Interview HelpFirefigh ter Application Form Help â€" PQAs Sample Response