6 Job-Search Tips for This Fall

6 Job-Search Tips for This Fall6 Job-Search Tips for This FallHave you put your job search on hold for the summer? As kids return to school and hiring managers end their vacations, its time to get your hunt into high gear. Here are six things you should be doing, especially at this time of year1. Treat every day as a new opportunity for a fresh start. If you are looking backward with a tinge of guilt for sitting at the beach when you know you could have been working more productively to advance your career, give yourself permission to let it go. Recognize that every day presents new opportunities, and resolve to put in maximum effort from today onward.2. Get stab und sttze from your family. As schedules move into fall mode, this is a good time for a family conversation about your own needs for time to concentrate on getting a job. Make koranvers your family members understand you need to have regular hours set aside for that purpose. Help them understand that a critical way they can support you is by not asking you to run errands or do other things for them during the day just because you dont have a job that you need to be at. However, remember In turn, you have an obligation to fulfill your end of the bargain and make effective use of your time. Set a schedule for your daily job hunt to include all the elements of a job search, including researching, connecting, networking, interviewing and so on.3. Rework your rsum. Take a fresh look at your rsum. Its time for a major rewrite if you have an objective statement or bullets that begin with Responsible for, or if you havent presented the story of how you fulfilled what what was expected of you and what results youve achieved at your current or former jobs. Remember to look atyour rsumnotjust as a catalog of everything you did, but rather as a marketing document that shows the value you offer your next employer. There are numerous books and articles about how to build an effective rsum, but if best practice rsum speak seems outside your grasp, you may well consider making an investment in yourself with a solid rsum writer or coach.4. Make new connections, and consciously expand your network. All kinds of groups and organizations are coming to life in September after a summer hiatus. Make sure you are plugged into the local chapter of your college alumni association, trade and industry groups, professional organizations and so on. Attend lectures, meetings, classes, continuing education opportunities, retreats and other events.Make a point of talking to new people and showing an interest in them. This way you are bound to meet people with whom you have something in common. Make certain to get names and contact information, and later check them out, connect with them on LinkedIn and keep your conversations going.5. Be slow and deliberate rather than fast and frantic. Sure, you can apply to dozens of jobs online in an evening. But your chances of landing a job this way are very limited. Instea d, take time to research companies in which you are interested. Carefully craft cover letters to show why and how you can fulfill their needs, and then network your way inside. Remember that it is always the value you can add thats important, rather than the opportunity an employer could offer you.6. Curate your online presence. Write a blog, and be sure to include links to professional articles you find interesting or stimulating. Engage in dialog within LinkedIn groups to answer and ask intelligent questions. And, on the flip side, get rid of anything on your facebook inc page or elsewhere that could cause someone to form a negative opinion of you. Happy huntingArnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping hisJobhuntercoachclients advance their careers by transforming frantic Ill apply to anything searches into focused hunts for great fit opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm .

Etiquette Why we need good manners at work

Etiquette Why we need good manners at workEtiquette Why we need good manners at workHave you ever wanted to scream at a coworker for banging too loudly on his keyboard? Have you ever been guilty of doing something just as annoyingyourself?The workplace is filled with instances in which we interact with others. That means lots ofopportunities to drive otherscrazyand make social faux pas.At best, these etiquette mistakes are merely the source of pet peeves at worst, theycould hold back your career.Ladders spoke with Jacqueline Whitmore, an etiquette expert and the author of Poised for Success and Business Classabout how simple acts of professionalism can help yoube successful.Ladders Why is etiquette in the workplace so important? Whitmore Its vital because its the soft skills that really help a rolle excel. Technical skills are important, but technical skills can only get you so far in life. Then you have to have people skills.As you move up the ladder of success, youmoveinto more pos itions where you have to deal with people. Whether you sit on boards or go to networking events, you are representing your company.If you dont have people skills or know how to interact with others - via email or in person- youre going to tarnish elendlage only your own reputation but also the reputation of the company.What are some examples of mistakespeople make at work? Sending an email to someone littered with poor grammar and misspelled words, not addressing the person properly, or copying everyone and their brother.Not dressing appropriately for certain events. This happens whensomeone isdressed too casual, and they dont realize it.Not knowing how to talk to people at networking events. This happens when someone issent to a conference where theyre supposed to meet new people, and they dont know how to make a conversation or how to introduce themselves.Having bad conduct at a dinner. This happens when someoneorders the wrong thing, or too much food, or chews with their mouth f ull, or drinks too much alcohol.The list goes on and on.What aboutannoying habits in open offices? Thats when people are eating foods that are pungent and permeate the office. Or a person is talking too loudly on his phone.Or hes clipping his fingernails. Or hes listening to something like YouTube and not wearing headphones. Or hes taking off his shoes.I hear these stories all the time. You would think people know better.How should wedeal with these situations?Etiquette is situational. Its not black and white. What might work for you in your office environment might not work for someone else.My broad advice is to treat others how you would like to be treated. Realize that you dont work in a bubble.The technology age has alienated us from others. And, in a way, its made us less aware of our surroundings and less mindful.The biggest piece of advice is to develop your mindfulness. Thats so important, not only in business but in life. Think about how your behavior affects other people.A nd saythank you, say please - just basic advicethat we were supposed to be taught as children but we seem to forget.How should wecommunicate with coworkersabout etiquette?It depends on what theyre doing. There are so many variables for this kind of situation, which changes how you could approach them and what you should say to them. Its not a canned speech.But the main thing is to approach them directly and diplomatically instead of going over their head, because thats the surefire way to make enemies.Try to be nice. Instead of saying you, you, you, use I statements. You could say something like Im not as productive when you do that. That way its not pointing a finger at them.Has anything surprised you aboutteaching etiquette to executives?Im surprised most people dont get it.But when you think about it, were dealing with multiple generations in the workplace, from Gen. X, Gen. Y to Baby Boomers.The way in which we deal with people of a certain age is different. The way you would s end an email to a Baby Boomer may not be the way youd send an email to a colleague who is 22-years-old.So its not necessarily common sense any more.Whats the future of workplace etiquette? People are definitely working more independently now. Millennials like to work on their own times on their own terms. As long as they get the job done, their bosses are fine with that.But we cant lose sight of working with a team. When you work with a team, you work with different personalities, and you have to deal with different personalities. And thats the hard part.Its important to learnhow to deal with people and communicate with people in the way they like to be communicated.Thats why its very important to develop your soft skills and for companies to do soft-skill training. In the long term, its going to increase the success of the company because people are the success of the company.If you believe, like, and trust someone, youre more likely to do business with them.After all, someone woul d rather work with someone whos easygoing and trainable versus the jerk who is the technical genius.

How to Land a Call Center Job

How to Land a Call Center JobHow to Land a Call Center Job