Undercover RecruiterEmployee experience can seriously impact your bottom line. The Employer Brand Index gives you insight into what talent really thinks about your company.
Remember Google? It’s that company that used to be the hottest thing since sliced bread. It’s still cool but perhaps not quite up there with Facebook or Apple. Anyway, Google has been one of the best companies to work for (more than once) according to Forbes, there are definitely a lot of perks to working…
Have you ever read Tim Ferriss’ “The 4-Hour Work Week”? One takeaway from that book really stood out: Avoid meetings at all costs. Even if it is your own business, let others do the meetings while you get on with your work. Tim Ferriss writes that he always makes himself unavailable for meetings, simply because…
Your natural state is to be happy, peaceful, joyous, and full of excitement at being alive. In this natural state, you wake up each morning eager to start the day. You feel wonderful about yourself and your relationships with the people in your life. You enjoy your work and derive a great sense of satisfaction…
You might wonder why on earth you should speak to strangers in the first place. I mean after all, we’re taught by our parents never to speak to strangers and the only folks that do seem to be the village idiot and local yokels. I guess the reason I speak to strangers is to network,…
Facebook and LinkedIn are great places to find your next job, more so than you would think. Recruiters use social networks to post jobs, to source for candidates and to network with talent. Research shows that nearly 75% of companies check out potential candidates on social networks. And they’re not just digging for dirt. More…
We all know that the British economy is going through something of a troubled time right now. Unemployment is on the rise, growth prospects are shaky and youth unemployment is a particular concern, with more than 1 million youngsters currently classed as ‘NEET’ (not in education, employment or training).
This is a cause for concern, particularly as a recent survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) found that 31% of private sector firms plan to make cuts to jobs during the current quarter. This is likely to result in the unemployment queues swelling further and, when you add in the public sector redundancies that are currently taking place too, it all adds up to a difficult picture.
But how does this affect job seekers? In many ways, it is easy to see how they are affected by redundancies due to business cut backs and slow industry growth. There are more people chasing after the jobs that are out there, meaning that competition can be fierce, particularly for the very best jobs or in very competitive industries. Another worry is the north-south divide: the CIPD study found that job prospects in the south are much better than they are in the north.
We also have to take into account issues such as apprenticeships, but we have yet to see whether the challenge will be met.
There are also recruitment challenges involved in all of this: some recruiters are finding it harder to get work themselves as businesses look to cut costs and take recruitment processes back in house. Others are overwhelmed with candidates for vacancies, which in some ways can be seen as a positive thing as it provides more choice, but it can also make it harder to place increasing numbers of unemployed people in jobs.
Overall, even though there are still some excellent employment and training opportunities out there, it seems as though the challenging conditions for job seekers and recruiters alike are set to continue for some time yet.
Related: Salary Trends for UK Start-Up and Tech Jobs (Infographic).
In a sea of resumes, it couldn’t be harder to stand out than it is right now. While your experience screams, “Hire me!” so does everyone else’s. In today’s job world, it’s a competition about who you know, and even then, the process of getting plucked out of 300 resumes can be an impossible task.…
If you’ve spent time looking for a new job these days, then it shouldn’t surprise you to find out that, according to Harvard Business School, 65% to 85% of jobs are found through networking. That statistic was a big deal when it was released. To 99% of the population, it was like a brutal slap…
Let’s face it: the old way of job searching is a thing of the past. Answering a job ad won’t get us a solid career anymore. We must go to networking events, shape our professional brand, and prove that we’re the sort of candidate to watch.
In addition to all of these tactics though, all job seekers should have an updated work portfolio in their arsenal. Work portfolios tell the story of you, including where you came from and what you want to achieve. However, apart from the obvious benefits, work portfolios are starting to become the norm and it’s advisable for every job seeker to build one in order to paint the whole picture. Here’s why:
Resumes (as well as cover letters) won’t get someone the job on their own. Of course, job seekers need them, but the bullet points and the few paragraphs can’t tell your entire work story. On the other hand, work portfolios allow job seekers to add more to their case, such as previous career wins, specials skills and how they were used, endorsements, etc. Resumes and cover letters can only do so much, so think of work portfolios as picking up where they leave off.
Related: How To Create an ‘Alternative’ Resume on Prezi.
If you weren’t aware already, human resource representatives may receive between 200 to 300 resumes per job. Who has time to go through hundreds of lines, dated objective statements, and cover letters that may or may not tell the right story? Not many.
Instead, a work portfolio not only sets job seekers apart from the competition, it does a better job of relaying why you may be right for the job by providing solid evidence as to opposed to beating around the bush about it. After all, you can say you accomplished something, but if you can show it, you’ll be in a better position to land the job.
We live in a world where images, videos, and graphics relay information better than script. Plus, with stacks of resumes on their desks, HR reps and recruiters would probably appreciate something that stands out from the norm.
For instance, if you were part of a successful advertising campaign, showing the copy, images, numbers, reports, etc., would do a better job at presenting your accomplishments than just saying you part of something that worked out in your favor.
Sometimes, it’s all about what you’re working on now. Work portfolios have the ability to share current goals, as well as the progress you’ve made. This sort of real-time sharing also clues your audience in on your current projects, opens up the door for conversation, and shows how you perform on a day-to-day basis, which can tell the HR rep or recruiter a lot about what kind of candidate you are.
Your personal work story means something. It shapes who you are as a candidate and shouldn’t be an overlooked factor when applying for a job. Think of it this way: how much of “you” comes off when you send a cover letter or resume? Does it say how you work with others? Can it show what your specialities are to the T? Does it relay if you’ll fit in with the current company culture? Probably not.
A work portfolio can do all of those things since it enhances who you are as a candidate by providing the backstory your audience needs, which not only sets you apart, but also puts you at the head of the line when it comes to getting the job.
What do you think? What are some other reasons job seekers should have a work portfolio?
Related: Why Your Bio is the Most Important Career Document.
Morgan Norman is the Founder and CEO of Image credit kennymatic
