Guest Post from JibberJobber User An Unexpected Benefit

Guest Post from JibberJobber User An Unexpected Benefit I LOVE this guest post from Kathy Kanterman.  You can learn more about her below her post.  I love it because she is a strong advocate of JibberJobber (she has logged in hundreds of times), but also because of this amazing, unexpected benefit.  Read on When I started using JibberJobber, I found one of the most helpful features was the  ability to schedule action items. All along I thought that the value of this functionality  was simply mechanical, i.e., it helped keep track of actions, put them in one place, and I  could write a note to myself regarding the action while it was fresh in my mind. While these are true, it recently occurred to me that this functionality is beneficial in a  much deeper way. Whether intended or not, it improves your ability to stay positive in  your job search. To understand how this is possible, think about how your current process can affect our state of mind… If you’re spending the majority of your job search networking (which is what you should  be doing), you are contacting people (usually people that have jobs) via phone and e-mail. We make the call or send the e-mail, and check them off the list. But we need a  way to keep track of these people so we can follow-up if we don’t hear back from them. There are several ways to do this when using a manual, paper-based process, but the  thing that they have in common is that they remind us regularly of all the people who  have not responded. That list of people grows, and it becomes personal. The negative  self-talk begins people aren’t calling me back, it must be me, all the while confidence  diminishes and it becomes harder and harder to make new calls and do those follow-ups. So how does JibberJobber help? It helps by giving you the ability to separate the “task”  of following-up, from the mental drag of constantly being reminded that people haven’t  responded to you. Here’s the process I follow: I make a phone call or send an e-mail. I go that person’s  contact page in JibberJobber and select “Add Log Entry”. I enter a “Title”, and make a note under “Comments”. The comment includes what I did and a note that I need to follow-up. For example, “Sent Tom an e-mail on 6/14. Follow-up if I haven’t heard back.” I check the box “Create Action Item” and select a date from the calendar. The date I choose is a judgment call based on the person and the circumstances, but whether I deem the appropriate follow-up time to be 2 days, a week, or a month, I schedule the action immediately. I click “Save Log Entry”, and then I do something you might not expect. I FORGET ABOUT IT COMPLETELY. So in the following days, weeks, or months (before the  Action Item shows up on my to-do list), I don’t spend two seconds thinking about Tom or  why he hasn’t called, or doubting myself, or looking at a long list of people who haven’t  called me back. What I do spend my time on are activities that I can control. I make more calls, I schedule meetings, I get out of the house, I meet with real people. Now, based on my experience, there is a good chance that Tom won’t respond to me  the first time I contact him. I know that and I expect it. (I’ve figured out that the people  who have jobs are busy doing them.) That means that the odds are that I won’t hear  from Tom and that the Action Item will appear on my to-do list one day. And when that  happens, I focus solely on the task at hand â€" I write a pleasant and professional follow-up on top of my original e-mail and send it off. I don’t bemoan the fact that Tom hasn’t  responded, I don’t worry if I’m bothering him, and most of all I don’t talk myself out of  doing the follow-up. Once I send the e-mail, I go back to JibberJobber, log the action and schedule the next  follow-up. Done. No thinking, no doubting, just check the box and move on to the next  action. It’s been my experience that some people respond after one request, more people  respond after two requests, and the greatest number of people respond after three  requests. If you only send out one request, or even if you stop after two, you’re missing  out on a lot of networking opportunities. So the moral of the story is… repeat this process of contacting people, logging the  action, scheduling the follow up, and people WILL respond to you. You’ll start setting  up those important one-on-one networking meetings, you’ll get names of more people  to contact, and you’ll follow the process over and over again. If you are thorough and  diligent in your follow-up (a piece of cake if you’re using JibberJobber), within a few  weeks you will have lots of people lined up who look forward to meeting with you. So that’s how JibberJobber helps you stay positive in your job search â€" by keeping you  focused on your actions, the things that you can control, and all the positive outcomes. - I LOVE IT. I love how empowering JibberJobber is for Kathy.   I know too many job seekers are really stewing over people not getting back to them but there are really a ton of reasons why people arent getting back to you! Take Kathys approach dont stress over it, make it a part of your system, and proactively keep prodding them. Thank you Kathy! Kathy Kanterman is an operations management professional in Rhode Island. Her LinkedIn Professional Headline says: Operations Management professional; experienced at solving problems improving processes in complex environments.  Learn more about her here. Guest Post from JibberJobber User An Unexpected Benefit I LOVE this guest post from Kathy Kanterman.  You can learn more about her below her post.  I love it because she is a strong advocate of JibberJobber (she has logged in hundreds of times), but also because of this amazing, unexpected benefit.  Read on When I started using JibberJobber, I found one of the most helpful features was the  ability to schedule action items. All along I thought that the value of this functionality  was simply mechanical, i.e., it helped keep track of actions, put them in one place, and I  could write a note to myself regarding the action while it was fresh in my mind. While these are true, it recently occurred to me that this functionality is beneficial in a  much deeper way. Whether intended or not, it improves your ability to stay positive in  your job search. To understand how this is possible, think about how your current process can affect our state of mind… If you’re spending the majority of your job search networking (which is what you should  be doing), you are contacting people (usually people that have jobs) via phone and e-mail. We make the call or send the e-mail, and check them off the list. But we need a  way to keep track of these people so we can follow-up if we don’t hear back from them. There are several ways to do this when using a manual, paper-based process, but the  thing that they have in common is that they remind us regularly of all the people who  have not responded. That list of people grows, and it becomes personal. The negative  self-talk begins people aren’t calling me back, it must be me, all the while confidence  diminishes and it becomes harder and harder to make new calls and do those follow-ups. So how does JibberJobber help? It helps by giving you the ability to separate the “task”  of following-up, from the mental drag of constantly being reminded that people haven’t  responded to you. Here’s the process I follow: I make a phone call or send an e-mail. I go that person’s  contact page in JibberJobber and select “Add Log Entry”. I enter a “Title”, and make a note under “Comments”. The comment includes what I did and a note that I need to follow-up. For example, “Sent Tom an e-mail on 6/14. Follow-up if I haven’t heard back.” I check the box “Create Action Item” and select a date from the calendar. The date I choose is a judgment call based on the person and the circumstances, but whether I deem the appropriate follow-up time to be 2 days, a week, or a month, I schedule the action immediately. I click “Save Log Entry”, and then I do something you might not expect. I FORGET ABOUT IT COMPLETELY. So in the following days, weeks, or months (before the  Action Item shows up on my to-do list), I don’t spend two seconds thinking about Tom or  why he hasn’t called, or doubting myself, or looking at a long list of people who haven’t  called me back. What I do spend my time on are activities that I can control. I make more calls, I schedule meetings, I get out of the house, I meet with real people. Now, based on my experience, there is a good chance that Tom won’t respond to me  the first time I contact him. I know that and I expect it. (I’ve figured out that the people  who have jobs are busy doing them.) That means that the odds are that I won’t hear  from Tom and that the Action Item will appear on my to-do list one day. And when that  happens, I focus solely on the task at hand â€" I write a pleasant and professional follow-up on top of my original e-mail and send it off. I don’t bemoan the fact that Tom hasn’t  responded, I don’t worry if I’m bothering him, and most of all I don’t talk myself out of  doing the follow-up. Once I send the e-mail, I go back to JibberJobber, log the action and schedule the next  follow-up. Done. No thinking, no doubting, just check the box and move on to the next  action. It’s been my experience that some people respond after one request, more people  respond after two requests, and the greatest number of people respond after three  requests. If you only send out one request, or even if you stop after two, you’re missing  out on a lot of networking opportunities. So the moral of the story is… repeat this process of contacting people, logging the  action, scheduling the follow up, and people WILL respond to you. You’ll start setting  up those important one-on-one networking meetings, you’ll get names of more people  to contact, and you’ll follow the process over and over again. If you are thorough and  diligent in your follow-up (a piece of cake if you’re using JibberJobber), within a few  weeks you will have lots of people lined up who look forward to meeting with you. So that’s how JibberJobber helps you stay positive in your job search â€" by keeping you  focused on your actions, the things that you can control, and all the positive outcomes. - I LOVE IT. I love how empowering JibberJobber is for Kathy.   I know too many job seekers are really stewing over people not getting back to them but there are really a ton of reasons why people arent getting back to you! Take Kathys approach dont stress over it, make it a part of your system, and proactively keep prodding them. Thank you Kathy! Kathy Kanterman is an operations management professional in Rhode Island. Her LinkedIn Professional Headline says: Operations Management professional; experienced at solving problems improving processes in complex environments.  Learn more about her here.

Candidate Experience 4 Things You Ought to Know

Candidate Experience 4 Things You Ought to Know The candidate experience is underrated. Whether it’s by not keeping candidates informed throughout the hiring process or by simply ignoring their application, hiring professionals are inadvertently leaving candidates with a bad first impression. And a bad impression can break their ties with the company, both as a potential employee and as a loyal customer. The unfortunate reality is that hiring professionals often underestimate just how much of an impact a poor candidate experience can have on a brand’s consumer image. In fact, a CareerBuilder study on the candidate experience, released last month, revealed that 82 percent of employers think there’s little to no negative impact on the company when a candidate has a bad experience during the hiring process. Wrong. According to the  study, a whopping 69 percent of job seekers say they are less likely to buy from a company they had a bad experience with during the interview. So that applicant you left in the dark? Chances are, you didn’t only lose them as a job candidate but as a potential customer. To create a top-notch candidate experience that attracts applicants and converts them into future customers, here are four things every hiring professional should know: 1. Candidates are frustrated with the application process. The application process often serves as a candidate’s first impression of the company and the job at hand. And, considering 40 percent of candidates feel the application process has become more difficult in the last five years, according to CareerBuilder’s study, it’s time to reevaluate the process. The study found that the most common complaints about the application process include: It’s too automated and lacks personalization (57 percent) Candidates have no idea where they are in the process (51 percent) It has too many steps (50 percent) So what can hiring professionals do to combat these complaints and reduce candidate frustrations? For starters, ditch the automatically-generated email responses, and take the time to get in touch with applicants. Let them know that their application was received and they’ll be contacted within a certain time span, if they’ve made it to the next step (the interview). Not only does this let candidates know exactly where they are in the process and when to expect a response, but it also keeps applicants who didn’t make the cut from waiting and continually following up. 2. Ongoing communication is important to candidates. No one likes being left in the dark especially when it concerns a job opportunity. But simply contacting candidates to let them know their application has been received, and then letting them know whether or not they got the job isn’t enough for most candidates. The above survey found that nearly 40 percent of candidates expect to be updated throughout the application process not just before and after. Keep the lines of communication going. If you know it’s going to be another two weeks before a decision is made, send candidates a quick update. Doing so will keep candidates (and your inbox) happy. 3. You’re missing opportunities to connect with candidates. Having a strong presence online, and off, is essential to attracting applicants to your job postings. Hiring professionals should take every opportunity to connect with candidates, especially considering they consult various resources throughout their job search, from job boards to social media to search engines and online referrals. By having an active presence where job seekers go to search for jobs, you can be sure your listings will be seen. To find out where your applicants are finding out about open positions, consider using tracking or coding technology to pinpoint exactly where candidates are coming from, so that you can make efficient use of your time and efforts when recruiting. 4. Having a strong employer brand is crucial. When it comes to attracting job seekers, having a strong employment brand and marketing it is crucial. Yet, CareerBuilder found that more than half of employers do not have a clearly defined employment brand. If you don’t define your employment brand, job seekers will do it for you. The candidate experience can potentially make or break a company’s employment brand. In the age of online social sharing, you can bet a less-than-stellar candidate experience will be shared among the masses, leading to a less-than-stellar employment brand. With 83 percent of job seekers willing to accept a lower salary if a company has a reputation as a great employer, according to the same CareerBuilder study, companies should strive to create a positive candidate and employee experience. What else do hiring professionals need to know about the candidate experience? Let us know in the comments! Author: Josh Tolan is the CEO of Spark Hire, a video interview solution used by more than 2,000 companies across the globe. Learn more about how video has changed and connect with Spark Hire on Facebook and Twitter.

I was required University of Manchester Careers Blog

I was required University of Manchester Careers Blog I’m required to write this post as part of my job. How does this sound? Definitely not riveting. You’ll probably think that either I was coerced to write or that this is just something I do because I have to, not because I enjoy it. Very often I see in application documents “In this job I was required to be organised” or “Organisational skills were vital for this job”. What does this tell me about you? Not much. Just because a job requires you to be organised that doesn’t mean you were actually organised or that you were any good at organising or that you know anything about how to do this. What the prospective employer needs to know is what you have done and achieved, what skills you have gained and how have you done so. This is attained by using active language. Compare the next two sentences: “In this job I was required to have good communication skills.” or “Developed good communication skills by dealing with customers’ requests and complaints. “ The first sentence talks about the job you were employed to do, not the job you have done.  It is actually more like a job description. It raises questions: did you demonstrate communication skills? How? The second sentence tells the reader what skills where developed and also how they were achieved. It is more powerful. It makes you the actor, not the subject. Active language places you at the centre of the action: you are the one doing, developing, organising. It is perhaps easier to write in a passive voice as it is more formal, less committed, you are not exposing yourself. However application documents (CVs, cover letters, personal statements, application forms) are about you so you must find your voice and proclaim your achievements. Use active language! All Applications and interviews Graduate Graduate-highlighted Undergraduate Undergraduate-highlighted applications Applications and interviews CV jobs

Allow Pets in the Office to Improve Productivity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Allow Pets in the Office to Improve Productivity - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career While not everyone may like pets around, bringing pets to the office is actually very beneficial for employees. A recent study published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management stated that stress declined for people who brought their dogs to work. When owners left their dogs at home, their stress level increased throughout the day. Therefore, it is predictable to see that more offices around the US started to adopt a pet friendly office policy for the past few years. Let’s look at the pros and cons of a pet friendly office: Lower Stress: Employees who take their pets to work have lower stress levels compared to other employees who don’t bring their pets with them. Pets create physiologically  a better environment. For example; if you had a bad meeting, petting your cat or taking your dog for a short walk will automatically help you refresh yourself and take a break to clear your mind. Improve Communication Among Employees: Having pets around will help employees get socialized more quickly because pet lovers will find a common interest to start a conversation. Also, stopping by someone’s desk to pet their cat or dog will spontaneously initiate a conversation. Improve Health: When you bring your dog to work, instead of hiring a dog walker, you can take your dog for a walk yourself. This will help you exercise during the day and give you an excuse to get out of the office to take some fresh air. Increase Employee Commitment: Bringing your pet with you will help you feel like you are at home. As a result, you can stay in the office longer if you need to and don’t need to worry about your pet anymore. Moreover, this pet friendly office policy will help bring new talent to the company and keep the existing talent longer. Drawbacks: Workplace Environment: Unfortunately, you cannot let pets to every type of environment. For example; it is not appropriate to let the staff of a restaurant bring their pets with them. Same statement holds for a supermarket as well. Health Conditions: Some employees may have allergies to pets. In this case, they should sit in areas where pets are not allowed or pets should only be allowed in some parts of the office. Also, pets should be healthy, trained and well-behaved. In addition, their immunizations should be complete and up-to-date.

3 Certifications To Boost Your Job Search In 2018! - CareerMetis.com

3 Certifications To Boost Your Job Search In 2018! Source : Pixabay.comIf you are looking for a job or a change in your current profile, then there are ample lots of options available throughout. The catch, however, is that: one, not all the options are for everyone; two, not all options may be versatile enough to accommodate you; three, not all options may provide a professional boost and opportunities all the time.While the last option will remain applicable to everything, there are time periods in which opportunities are created and available for grabs. Some of such opportunities have walked in with 2018 also.Several professional fields have gained traction in the recent times, due to technological advancements and changes that followed. Also, since some of these are in their infancy, they require training and educational support to the professionals working on them.evalThis is where certification courses enter since they are yet to be induced in the regular educational syllabus, leave alone graduates coming up anytime soon. Thus, they offer a competitive edge for freshers and experienced individuals alike.Experience in related field or work profile will always lead, but the difference is small and can be overcome without much difficulty.So here are the hottest certification and training courses to look for in 2018:1. Big Data Analytics and Data ScienceevalSource : Pixabay.comIt is one of the most promising careers of current times with very less competition and high demands. The pays are very high and the work profile is exciting in itself, especially for those who like to work on strategy and data.Data science combines a variety of data for statistical analysis and provides in-depth insights into markets and consumer communities. The right tools and methods are precisely what Big Data Analytics Certifications focus on to extract the required information.Many big businesses have started to look into big data for information that was missing before but may now be extracted. It is used in product development, marketing strategy, financial services, and many more aspects of With the advent of self-learning algorithms and increasing significance of data analytics, machines have been assigned a lot of tasks to monitor, collect, segregate, and use data to execute functions without manual help.With better statistical models and programming, machines have started to perform a lot of complicated tasks within time limits. These kind of systems are in high demand and being used in many digital and non-digital aspects of businesses, mostly on the consumer end Also, these algorithms are being custom designed to fulfill the needs of departments like marketing, HR, finance, and so on and thus have a diverse scope in most businesses.3. Media, Content, and Digital MarketingWhile the professional fields related to media had always harbored a lot of jobs and opportunities, it is the era of digital media that brought it to the forefront of them all. And as the competition is growing, the ever-evolving na ture of digital media is creating opportunities at all ends, at all times.Among these are the lines of digital marketing and content marketing, which have captured the job market by storm in the past few years. And media and content creation are the most important aspects of either with no horizons to creative individuals.The catch here is that one has many options in digital coursework starting from content marketing certification, graphic design and content writing courses on the creative front to PR and advertising courses, and digital marketing certifications in general on the technical front.These certifications help grasp the latest and best practices on either front with the required subtleties and also, get an edge alongside experienced individuals.Some of these courses also host internships and industrial training for practical learning. And most importantly, they are open to all with practically no starting criterion to be met.Worthy MentionProject Management Professionals And for the upcoming era in the digital world, there are going to be plenty more options that’ll open in-situ the above or independently. For instance, AR/VR/MR are under reckless development with strategic uses in marketing, entertainment, and advertising already in line with them.Similarly, Internet of Things So, go ahead and get your career the required boost. There is a saying;“Go as far as you can see, then you’ll see further.”

10 Ways to Change Your Daily Routine for Job Search Success

10 Ways to Change Your Daily Routine for Job Search Success 73 Flares 73 Flares Life at Bad Rhino has been insane the last couple weeks and we have a pretty big week with a client grand opening and our day on IWearYourShirt.com  this Thursday.  However, I wanted to pop in with a quick tip for your Tuesday! Oh, and if youre looking for a Resume Review, I have a pretty sweet group deal over on the Facebook page.  Get your resume critiqued by yours corny for just $25 (normally $50).  Click here for details! Still looking for a job?  Change your routine! If youve been job searching for more than youd like, youve probably settled into a bit of a routine and I imagine youve become bored.  There are a number of ways to spice up your life and your job search to help meet more people.  Sure, I could start comparing this to dating, but its been donethousands of times. Here are 10 quick ways for you to change up your routines and meet new people that may offer connections for your job search: Freeze your current gym membership and sign up for a month or two at another gym. Try a different coffee shop. Go to happy hour 3 times per week, each time at a different place. Join a bowling league.  Not only do you meet tons of people, its actually fun. Join a softball league okayany league will do.  Maybe you like darts? Like art?  Take a class. Wake up at a different time  each day, which changes when you run your errands. Ride the bus. Go to a dog park.  People with dogs have jobs too. Walk everywhere.  Everyone knows the local neighborhood walker. Theres a ton you can do to change it up, and Im certain that most of the above events are actually fun as well. What do you have to lose?

Resume Writing Services On Quora - Use These Resources Wisely

Resume Writing Services On Quora - Use These Resources WiselyA number of resume writing services use the popular internet social network, Facebook, to market their services. This is something that's extremely popular and many people have already used it to get exposure for their companies. However, you have to understand that it's not a good idea to use this social networking tool in a way that's detrimental to your business, reputation or even worse, your job application.When you're trying to get the attention of people using Facebook, most people are trying to do business with you. In order to do this, they're going to use their page's information to reach out to you in order to offer you some kind of service. These services that you might be interested in, may be offering you some kind of employment as well. It's important to remember that while you're actively trying to get them to reach out to you, they could also be reaching out to someone else to help them reach out to you.Man y people can learn from the mistakes that were made when they posted jobs on Facebook. First of all, just imagine what could happen if you get one person contacting you and following up with you about something that they were involved in when you didn't even know that they were already talking to you? It could cause you a lot of grief and could also damage your reputation on social media. That's why it's so important to make sure that you do not let your resume appear on your Facebook profile.You also want to make sure that your contact information is right there for those who want to get in touch with you. For those who are asking for information on how to get a job, don't provide a link to your LinkedIn or your job search page. They need to get in touch with you to find out if you would be an ideal candidate for them.Additionally, you want to keep your resume interesting. Whenyou're using social media, it can be very easy to fall into the trap of giving your information away too s oon. Even if you have a very unique and creative resume, people aren't going to want to spend their time reading through the resume of someone who simply tells them what you want them to. So keep it real, easy to read and exciting.If you're looking for a professional resume writer, try looking for those who work in this field who are on Quora. Quora is a social media site that was started to help people in different fields to interact with one another. Because of this, you can be certain that these service providers will be dedicated to helping you build your online resume and make it look professional. Since this is so important, you should try to find the right provider in order to ensure that you have a great looking resume that has been professionally written for you.Speaking of professionalism, while most people assume that resume writing services on Quora can help you with your resume, this isn't true. Remember that Facebook is about connecting with other people, not helping y ou market your resume. You should also avoid using sites like these when you're trying to get your resume noticed. Instead, focus on your job search and on building a professional resume that's well-written and professional looking.As you can see, using these kinds of sites is a good idea but remember that not all these services are going to help you get noticed on Quora. Also, remember that many social networking sites are not necessarily built for you. Use these services when you need to, but make sure that you use them responsibly.