Undercover RecruiterDiscovering what you want to do in life is, for many people, a life-long pursuit. From the time you graduate college you start asking yourself what career would best suit your interests and skills, but often you choose something different than your instinctual response to that question, either out of necessity or concern for security.…
LinkedIn has over 135 million members internationally and the average household income of a LinkedIn user is over $100,000 annually! With just a little bit of effort you will see how the powerful social site can help you market your personal brand and your business far more than you imagined.
Our friends at MindFlash have enrolled you in a basic LinkedIn boot camp training to give you the fundamental tools necessary to use the site for all your business and personal marketing needs.
If you want to learn more about LinkedIn, check out our London based LinkedIn workshops.
It is a known fact that when it comes to employment, being hired is not always dependent on what you know but often times it’s who you know that can be your biggest asset. That’s why you always hear people talking about the importance of networking. LinkedIn is an excellent website created specifically for professional networking but some users just aren’t using it to its fullest potential.
In comparing your LinkedIn page to a sandwich your resume would be the bread and your profile page would be the meat. The bread might come first, but the meat is the star of the show. Try adding your LinkedIn profile link to the bottom of your resume and encourage potential employers to check it out when you submit a cover letter or get interviewed.
Your profile not only illustrates your experience but it also shows people you may have in common, provides a complete work history, links out to other things you’ve done, lists recommendations from former colleagues, and much more. Your LinkedIn page is your opportunity to expand your resume and get all of your great accomplishments that may not fit onto the resume.
Here are some tips to help beef up your LinkedIn profile and impress your future employer.
50 years ago, your resume was pretty hard to send. If you we vying for a job that was out of your city or state, your resume required a stamp and any follow-up was an expensive long-distance phone call.
Today, your resume can be sent in a dozen different directions with the click of the mouse. Social media and email don’t know the difference between three miles and three thousand, so your opportunities as a job seeker are essentially limitless.
While this is great for job seekers across the planet, there are certain things that push them apart from their local competition. Check out three tips to keep in mind when sending your resume to another state (or country!):
Put yourself in an employer’s shoes. If you need someone immediately and found a great candidate, wouldn’t you be irritated if they wait to drop the bomb that they’re a six-hour flight away?
In your cover letter and resume, address the fact that you’re a long-distance applicant. Since you already (or should) mention your career goals, bring up your location goals as well. Start the relocation discussion now with how quickly you’d be willing to interview or relocate for this position.
As a long-distance applicant, you might feel like you’re at a distinct disadvantage. Employers can think this too, if you let it happen. In your cover letter and resume, connect your experience in a different town to the benefits this company can reap. After all, you are bringing in a new perspective and potentially new clients with you!
Moving is expensive, not to mention stressful. Before you jet your resume off to the other side of the country, seriously consider what it will cost. If you have a family, this is even harder because you’ll need to uproot your spouse and/or children.
Additionally, do your research on the cost of living in this new area. The job might be paying more, but if rent is double what you’re used to, it might not be enough.
What do you think? Are you planning to work in a new city or state? Have you in the past? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
More on resumes at 10 Signs Your Resume Needs Updating.
Gerrit Hall is the CEO and co-founder of RezScore, a free web application that reads, analyzes, and grades resumes – instantly. Gerrit has successfully combined his passion for computer science and the careers space by helping job seekers write the best resume possible. You can connect with Gerrit and RezScore on Twitter.
Personal branding keeps growing in importance, you can barely go online without reading about it. We are now at a stage where most professionals and business owners really need to dedicate time and effort to strengthen their own brands as a part of their daily routine. With business being ever more competitive, your best way…
Earning your college degree opens doors to a number of career choices, but it takes surprising effort to step through those doors. No one expects to be handed a job, but many don’t expect challenging interview questions and online assessments either. Graduates must carefully prepare for their job search. They must know who they are, what they want and the proper steps to succeed. The following tips will help you maximise your potential for landing your dream job.
Know who you are and be expected to share that information with potential employers. This is where the curriculum vitae (CV) is important. Employers request a CV from every applicant, which means they’ve seen one from every person who’s received an interview. Your CV must stand out to them.
There are a number of templates from which you can work, but as that’s the route many will take, it is worth the extra time and effort to start from scratch. Begin with the job description for each job you are applying. What important points and key terms stand out to you? These are items you’ll want to include in your CV. Along with your personal details and references, you will list your educational background, your work experience and any relevant skills that aren’t work-related. With each of these sections, include achievements and responsibilities wording them specifically to fit with the information gleaned from the job description.
Be sure to keep it between two and three pages; use reverse chronological order as well as action verbs when describing your education and work history; and search for CV examples to help you perfect your formatting. With an all-inclusive, custom curriculum vitae, you’re ready to prepare for your interview.
More on CVs at Why Your CV is Boring and Ineffective.
Your CV already holds a wealth of knowledge, but you will be asked to expand on the information you provide. Write out a list of examples describing times you’ve led a team of others, solved a problem or handled unexpected obstacles. Add to that list any instances you are particularly proud of explaining what happened, how you were involved and the outcome. Now memorize this list, and you will be equipped to answer any of the questions that typically catch interviewees off guard.
Knowing what to wear is equally as important as knowing what to say. Dress as though you already have the job. Is a suit required, or is it a business casual environment? Never wear denim trousers or t-shirts. In fact, if it’s a casual workplace that has no dress code, the interviewee should still dress professionally. There is only one time this rule can be disobeyed: if the interviewer specifically tells you to dress a certain way, listen to them.
More on how to dress at Professionalism in the Workplace: Myth, Mystery or Must?
Your choice of clothing won’t matter if you do not have the right attitude. Being negative, arrogant or outwardly terrified will be detrimental to your job search. Instead, keep it simple: be friendly and be confident. Remembering you manners, using eye contact, sitting up straight and speaking clearly and thoughtfully will guarantee you your best possible interview.
Many employers are using pre-screening online assessments to filter through applications even quicker. These tests examine your skills and ethics, and while answering honestly is the easiest way to pass, many applicants find them to be intimidating. The fact is, by following the tips above; you’re already prepared for the test. You need to know the company, and you need to know yourself. By completing a custom CV preparing for your interview, you’ve already got these answers.
Familiarize yourself with additional information about the company that could be quiz-worthy, read each question carefully and take your time answering. Finally, take practice tests beforehand. Online assessments are available from a number of sites for your benefit. Practice tests will familiarise you with the structure as well as providing sample questions.
More on interviews at 17 Ways to Interview Like a Pro.
Writing a custom curriculum vitae, preparing for your interview, dressing the part and practicing sample pre-screening tests will guarantee you a successful interview and a higher probability of landing the job. Earning the degree was your first step. Now making it count is your second.
More on this topic at How To Apply for Your First Graduate Job.
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Know any jobseekers out there? Are they struggling on social media? Then look no further than Joshua Waldman’s new book “Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies“. I had a chat with Joshua the other day to get some pearls of wisdom for jobseekers out there. In this interview we discuss how important Personal Branding…
