This is the First Opportunity to Show Prospective Employers if you are Worth of an Interview.
You have only one shot to get an employers’ attention when he is sorting lots of resumes for job interviews. Your first goal is to urge an employer to pull your resume out for a job interview. To accomplish that goal, your resume must be flawless and must incorporate key words describing your abilities and accomplishments as they pertain to that job announcement. Tip: Do not apply for jobs that you are not qualified for, because chances to get a call for an interview will be unlikely. It is common knowledge that using one resume for all the job openings that one is applying for doesn’t work. Employers write specific job requirements in their ad’s that must be followed. Once you read that job ad, it is time to research the format and content that will impress the employer at a glance. You already know that your skills and past achievements are critical but you must know how to communicate them in the resume as it pertains to the job announcement you are applying for. Finally, consider modifying your resume each time you are applying for a job and don’t forget that relying on one size fits all type will not trigger the interest of the recruiting person. Now, go to the Internet and look at different resume layouts, select the best that fits you and apply for that job. Good Luck!
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There are many reasons why employees are not promoted to the next level. The primary reason is when one is really incompetent. However, there is also the situation when you are genuinely competent but have reached the phase where the next position in line is that of your boss and your boss is a career employee with many years to go before retirement.
Another scenario is that of an employee who thinks that because he/she has been employed for many years, he has “seniority” therefore, a promotion must follow automatically. Candidates for promotion must be competent, talented, committed, have ownership, be fully responsible for their actions and loyal to the agency, corporation or organization they work for. No one should be entitled to promotion just because of seniority. However, those who are not identified with the above scenarios and do have the talent, commitment and potential to move forward, must start to develop the right skills for the jobs they are interested in pursuing. If there are opportunities in the horizon, prepare for when the opportunity becomes available. · Think about it, how many positions do you think will become available with baby boomers retirements? · What are these boomers doing in you organization now that you can do? · Can you request mentoring from one of them, or do an internship? · Are degrees required for those positions, or could years of experience be an alternative? · How visible are you at work now? Are you involving yourself in those special projects no one wants to take on? · Are you an active participant at meetings or do you just sit, and pray for a quick end? Maybe now is the time to take a good look at your resume. Make adjustments, and highlight your accomplishments and outcomes. It never hurts to register for coursework, or a certificate program that fits the elements of the projected positions you are looking for. Simply put, just be physically and mentally prepared for when that job that you would like to have is advertised. To get started, I will begin a series of posts related to employment such as key elements in your resume, cover letter, assessing your strengths and weaknesses and much more. Stay tuned! I can’t sleep
I have too many meetings every day I have too many deadlines to meet The commute to work is killing me My employees are not meeting their deadlines, so I have to add that to my workload My plate is full at the office, I don’t get a break I have too many interruptions when I need to focus in a project I get too many emails at work, forget the ones at home, I can’t open them I don’t have time at home to check out my social media My friends think that I abandoned them, I don’t have time to socialize I can’t go to my kid’s sports, activities and I forgot my mother’s birthday I have not taken a vacation in years Most of us work real hard in life to achieve success. At work, we don’t want to fail in order to climb up fast the career ladder. We have to love what we are doing to keep us motivated. However, often times and without knowing it, we become what some people call “workaholics”. When this happens, there is a chance that the balance between work, life, family and home needs will take a hit. Regardless of what the root of the problem is, if the situation becomes uncontrolled, other significant problems will be added to the list, such as: Poor health, physical and mental Serious family problems such as separation, divorce Isolation from friends Negative reputation at work Negative impact on children I just hope my message would somehow serve as a wake up call to remind you that you can make adjustments to strike that balance and eventually enjoy your time at work, your time at home and with your friends, and ultimately enjoy your life! Think about it, it’s never too late to find that balance. Do you remember the first time you thought about not having to go to work for good? How exciting it is going to be? Having all the time you want to be able to do all the things that you always enjoy doing?
You probably though about how nice it would be not having to get up to go to work on Mondays, and being able to always sleep late and not having to deal with the rush hour madness or getting to work late. Better yet, you probably have thought about looking out of the window early in the morning during a huge snow storm, saying “YESSSS”. Right? Well, not so fast. First, you have to be prepared. Financial: Lots of forecast planning is crucial to a healthy retirement. Financially, I am sure that you are not dreaming about retirement living out of only your Social Security check. That could be somewhat impossible. If you have not done so already, the time is now to develop an economic plan that would give the comfort and peace of mind when the time for retirement comes up. Activities: What about a strategic plan (in writing) to identify activities related to health, fun and engagement, to be performed during those long days and nights? After all, I hope that you are not planning to spend those days watching TV and eating Cheetos. What kinds of outcomes will you expect from such activities? Exercise for fitness and good health, travel and learning of new cultures to keep your brain engage. You’ll be the executor of the plan and it should be mixed. Legacy: Last but not least, you are currently working. Make no mistake, this is your time to give all you can, produce beyond expectation and create a culture of success. My recommendation is that you focus on leaving behind a legacy that no one will ever doubted you gave all you could for the advanced of the place you worked. You officially made a dent in a business or in people’s lives. Your retirement will have a significant impact in your life; after all, you have been working since you remember. Make sure that you are mentally prepared to overcome feelings of sadness and guilt for leaving the job, especially if your work was related to the medical field, social services and teaching. Do not worry, you will be replaced and such services will continue to be provided. Remember, once your finances are secured, your strategic plan is drafted, and your legacy is in place, you will retire and guess what? You will have the time of your life. ENJOY! Opposed to anyone’s doubt, the employer is also as nervous as the candidate. A job interview triggers stress for both, the interviewee, who wants the job real bad and don’t want to fail, and the prospective employer, who is responsible to hire the best and a good fit for the organization/agency.
The employer is aware that the person about to be interviewed had written so much good stuff in that resume. However, is it all true? What flaws are underneath that can’t be seen? Will one interview be enough to dig deep into the exchange in hopes that the truth will come out? Most candidates for jobs will be heavily prepared for the interview. Many will rehearse like actors do before auditions, and will go thru mock interviews with friends or family. It doesn’t matter how many interviews you have had with a prospective employee, you will never find out whether the candidate really has the most critical skills that are needed in your workplace, because during an interview, a candidate’s primary goal is to be in his/her best behavior to impress you in order to get the job. The qualities that you should be really looking in a candidate will not be written in the resume. To me, if someone applies for a job and is called for an interview means that the resume somehow matches the requirements of the position. However, I always look beyond what is required, hoping to uncover five of the most significant skills that any new employee should bring to my workplace: 1. Honesty 2. Tolerance 3. Respect 4. Commitment 5. Peoples Skills Yes, there are a zillion more qualities/skills that can be listed. However, these are my top five because candidates who possess them would be excellent additions to any workplace. Let’s not forget that in management, one spend more than 80% of the time dealing with staff-related office issues. The rest it can be taught, but these 5 elements, are part of the individual’s character. This is a question that I truly believe most of us, if not all of us who have worked at a job for a while ask ourselves. There are many reasons why this question pops up and forces us to assess if it’s worth to stay in our current job or to find another job and go.
However, what is there to assess? While we are trying to make the right decision, we have to factor in some critical elements. For instance, do we need a salary increase, a more prestigious title or a more challenging job, or perhaps, better perks and benefits, flexible working hours, the opportunity to work from home, a specific or exclusive location, or a short commute? Are we looking for career advancement? I think you get the drift. Perhaps the question comes up because you have been stuck in a dead end job doing the same thing for quite a while, and at some point it became boring, monotonous and stale. Every so often, we are guilty of not finding ways to make the daily work interesting, exciting or satisfying. Sometimes we do not challenge ourselves with work that is beyond what is expected from us to produce, or simply we become complacent and don’t want to be bothered. Regardless of what reason(s) fits your case, before making any professional move I would work on a Job Search Comparative Chart. Simply list the job interview/offers that you have at the time and compare it to your current job. Employer, Salary, Commute, Benefits, Perks, Job Makes me Happy and make sure you give it a SCORE from 1-10, (10 will be your best score) Finally and more importantly, will this new job make me happy? The final decision shouldn’t be only about the money. Ask yourself, when I wake up every day, will I be excited to go to work. Will I be doing what I love to do and always wanted to do? Will I be contributing my best talents to the growth and evolution of the company/agency? Will I have the freedom to be creative? Will the outcome of my work contribute to make a difference in someone else life? Remember, you will have to be in that place for at least 8 hours a day, every day. Make it work! There are two sided opinions about the homeless in our country:
1. Those who think homeless folks are lazy people living out of government, sucking all resources. 2. And those who have empathy and believe homeless people are in terrible need. The question is what do you think? “Homelessness” is not a recent “label” given to this sub-population; however, it is not that old either. Back in the late 1980’s when that “label” was little known, activists began to make public demonstrations to create awareness on behalf of those less fortunate. They believed that, for whatever reasons, people found themselves out of a place to live such as a house, an apartment, a room, or even doubled-up with family or friends. Mitch Snyder, an activist from the Washington Metro Area, went on hunger strikes for weeks, covered by all kinds of media, just to make public the need for shelters. The trend back then was just to shelter people. Today, however, we are more equipped to assess homeless needs, identify the reason why they became homeless and assist them accordingly. Maybe, you are not aware that the homeless people you see on the streets, panhandling, unkempt and perhaps unruly, are approximately only 10% of the total homeless population nationwide. They are the “Chronic Homeless” and suffer from a myriad of mental and physical disabilities. Perhaps you don’t know either that a large number of homeless people in the country are women and children, and that most of them go to work and their children go to school every day. Now, you tell me if this sub-population fits item #1 that I listed in this post. Homelessness is not who they are, it is only a situation they are in. What is needed is everyone’s understanding that this is a social problem that concerns us all. The government is doing their part, by providing funding. Two top Federal agencies are leading the fight. The Department of Veterans Affairs, (VA) assists veterans with numerous services including permanent housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, (HUD) assists local jurisdictions and states to operate transitional housing programs for those who need time to get back on their feet. The funding is used for leasing units and programs and it is critical in providing permanent supportive housing for the most physically and mentally disabled. Finally, our communities need more concerned developers to help increase the inventory of affordable housing. I believe that if we collaborate with each other, including volunteering to help nonprofit organizations reduce their operating cost, we will eventually conquer this tragic social problem in our country. The safest place to be, where you go to worship, was chosen as the target for one of the most evil and vicious acts of all; the killing of innocent and defenseless people.
The motive was “allegedly” the color of their skin. Our country has gone through these types of hate crimes many times before. However, in 2015? The media was clear in reporting that the killer was using drugs and had a history of unmistakable expressions of hate against the black community. It was also reported in the media that the killer was unstable; living at times in his car or in his mother’s or father homes. His behavior and actions were clearly red flags that something wasn’t right. All these to say that as a community, we are all constantly targets of anything that a disturbed person wants to do. If you are not a person of faith; do not read my next statement. However, if you are, please pray for these victims and their families, for you, your family and loved ones , for your neighbors, your friends, the people that protect our communities, and for everyone else that you can think of… and let’s hope that such a tragedy is not repeated again. Lord, please help us to live with one another in peace and harmony. |
ABOUT THE AuthorI am a blogger, a photographer, a jewelry designer, a gourmet cook, and a recipe book writer. I am also a flea market flipper, an avid gardener, an interior/ outdoors designer, an avid golfer and traveler. Archives
May 2020
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