12 times Back to the Future was just like your job search

12 times Back to the Future was just like your job search by Michael Cheary Career advice? Where we’re going, we don’t need career advice…OK, we admit it. Jobseeking is never easy. No matter how many hours you spend slaving over your CV, and getting your pre-interview preparation sorted, there always seems to be something you’ve missed along the way. Sometimes all you want is to be able to go back, and do it all again… (see where we’re going with this?)To help make your experience that little bit easier (not to mention celebrate the Chicago Cubs’ imminent World Series win), here are 12 ways Back to the Future is just like  your job search:When you’re not sure whether you fit the job descriptionRock stars. Ninjas. Other seemingly relevant job titles.Job descriptions can be confusing at the best of times, without bringing business-related jargon into the equation. And don’t even get us started on Flux Capacitors…How a recruiter feels when you opt for application clichésEvery recruiter’s ideal hire is good workin g on their own and as part of a team, right?Unfortunately not. Remember: generic CVs = generic reactions. We know, it’s heavy.When you overexagerrate on your CVLittle white lies are one thing. But bending the truth on your CV will only ever end badly when it comes to the interview.Sorry Doc.When you forget to attach a cover letterDon’t do cover letters? In a recent survey, 40% of recruiters indicated that they wouldn’t even consider an application without a cover letter.Great Scott (etc.)Taking a brief nap from sorting your CVFriends don’t let friends write CVs tired.Power-napping for the win…Celebratory drinks when you’ve been offered an interviewWe’re talking milk, obviously.And were talking chocolate…When you rush your pre-interview preparationDon’t leave your outfit, and other pre-interview preparation, as an afterthought.And no, a life preserver is never acceptable. If only there was such a thing as self-lacing trainers…When you know a shortcut to get to the venueOK, so you don’t have a Delorean. But public transport is kind of the same thing, right?If in doubt, remember: hoverboards microscooters.When your interviewer gets your name wrongSo some people aren’t so good with names.To avoid awkward situations, always try and correct them as early as possible. And/or don’t let them see your waistband.When you say the wrong thing, and hope no-one noticesYou know when you try too hard to impress, and think you got away with that? Yeah, not so much. Just try and be yourself.Repeat after us: you are not their density.When you wing it, and completely get away with itSo sometimes ‘winging it’ works. And when it does, it feels glorious.Just ask Chuck Berry…When you nail everything, and land your dream jobIt’s like we always say, when you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything*.*Actual use of this phrase may varyFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features

Weigh Less, Live More

Weigh Less, Live More By, Michele Pfenninghaus Youve probably tried a few diets, right? Or maybe more than a few? Most weight loss techniques have merit but they never seem to really work. (Oh, maybe they work in the short term we lose and gain back the same 10 pounds over and over again.)This is nonsense. How much money have you wasted on diet gimmicks? Its all marketing, really. The industry is booming they make money on our desire for instant gratification. Diets are simply not sustainable over time. Calorie counting, cabbage soup or diet shakes can only last so long. Are you able to create a healthy life and relationship with food by adhering to strict guidelines set forth in a book by an author youve never met? Maybe. But generally, dieting is a rollercoaster in our life. We use diets to punish or discipline ourselves. We fail. And then we do it again. Save the drama for daytime TV! Its about time for us to stop dieting, learn to love ourselves, appreciate our bodies and get back in balance. Id like to share with you how weight loss can happen naturally by eating MORE, not LESS. Its about nourishing yourself with lots of real food and a fulfilling lifestyle. Its about getting off the rollercoaster of dieting and into a new way of relating to what we eat. Our bodies are not machines and our food is not fuel. We are living, breathing, loving beings who deserve a long and happy life. Thats something to celebrate, isnt it? As a holistic health coach, I have seen people make drastic changes in their quality of life simply by getting support and listening to their bodies. Whether you want to lose 10 pounds or 100 pounds, Im offering this valuable teleseminar to help you get started. Please join me on August 26th at 8pm ET to learn how you can find balance and allow your body to lose weight naturally. Eat more, weigh less, and live more than you ever imagined possible! Weigh Less, Live More Date: August 26, 2009 Time: 8pm ET Teleconference information will be emailed to participants. Sign up by August 19th for an early bird price of just $10. After that, the price goes up to $15. Register here All participants will receive a free mp3 recording of the call. Why? Because I want you to share the love. I want you to spread the joy. And I want you to be able to re-listen anytime your heart desires. AND after the seminar we will be kicking off a new group coaching class. This will be a phone-based, affordable way to have support from a certified holistic health coach and a group of peers. What better way to finally make the changes youve wanted for yourself? Call in on August 26th to hear about this exciting new way to get support to reach your goals. Questions? Please email me at [emailprotected] I look forward to speaking with you on August 26th!

30-Minute Brand Building for Twitter - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

30-Minute Brand Building for Twitter - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career We all know that in order to use Twitter as an effective branding tool for yourself or your company, you must“engage the community” and “join the conversation.” But when you’re learning how to use a new technology platform, it’s probably not clear how exactly to go about “engaging” people. Here’s a 5-step guide that walks you through exactly what you need to do â€" spending 30 minutes or less per day branding yourself on Twitter. Tweet useful information (time spent per day: 5 minutes) By far, the best way to engage your Twitter audience is by sharing fun, useful, or witty advice that will help them solve their problems. It’s fast to come up with these â€" use quotes, facts from your industry, etc. I would also take advice from my blog posts. (You do have a blog, right?) In this post alone, I could probably draw out 10 bite-sized 140 character tips about how to build a brand on Twitter. If you can write 3-5 per day (that’s giving you a minute or more per tweet), you are way ahead of the curve. To keep the process simple, batch your tips and advice. I use TweetLater to schedule my timeless tweets, and space them out evenly throughout the day. HINT: The most active Twitter days are Monday through Wednesday and the peak Twitter times are early afternoon (noon, specifically). You could spend 25-35 minutes a week writing advice or 5 minutes a day to take advantage of this form of engagement. Answer questions (time spent per day: 5 minutes) I use Twitter’s search engine to find questions in my area of expertise. Let’s say I wanted to brand myself as an MBA Application Consultant. I would use the search term “GMAT ?” (that’s GMAT space question mark) to find people who are about to enter the MBA application process and are asking a question related to applications. I purposely picked the term “GMAT” because anyone tweeting about the GMAT is at the beginning of the application process, which gives me time to establish a relationship with them before they actually need what I’m selling. When you answer the person’s question with your expertise, they will go to your profile and see that you’re an MBA Application Consultant and you are tweeting useful advice for them, and most likely follow you. You can subscribe to any search terms you want via RSS by using “Feed for this Query” on the right sidebar. Since you only want to spend five minutes in this area, it’s really important to choose your queries wisely. The trick is to a) pick a search term that is very specific and b) include the question mark â€" this particular query only produces two to three items per day. Subscribe to a couple of these searches, and you’ve still got a manageable workload of questions to answer. Share relevant links (time spent per day: 10 minutes) The process I use is so simple I’m amazed how few people have discovered it. If you use Google Reader, the reader comes with a “blog” of items you’ve shared. To find your “blog,” click on “Shared Items” in the left sidebar. A message in your main window says “Your shared items are available publicly at this web page.” Click on the link to find the blog, and then click on “Atom Feed” on the right sidebar to get the feed for your “blog.” Now, use Twitterfeed to automatically post this feed to your Twitter account. I set mine up to check the feed every 30 minutes and to use the Title of the Post with a link. I have over 200 feeds in my reader, and I can go through them in less than ten minutes per day. How? I scan the titles. In the right-hand corner, you have a choice to view your feeds in “Expanded” or “List” â€" use the “List” format to scan titles quickly for the most relevant headlines your Twitter audience would care about. When I find something I think might be good, I read it, then hit “Share” at the bottom of the post. The post shows up in my Twitter stream within the hour. I’ve nearly doubled my number of followers by implementing this strategy, and I receive numerous retweets every day, which gives my personal brand more exposure and reach. Find people (time spent per day: 5 minutes) If you are selling a product or service and trying to find your target audience or industry peers, look no further than Twellow and Twubble. Twellow is a directory that groups Twitter users into categories based on their profiles and what they tweet. Use it to find thought leaders in your area of expertise. Twubble is an algorithm that makes suggestions for who you should follow based on who you’re already following. If you set a goal to follow more people â€" say 10 people a day â€" you can easily accomplish it by spending five minutes a day on either of these sites. Respond to people (time spent per day: 5 minutes) I probably don’t have to explain why it is essential to respond to the people who are reaching out to you. The best way I’ve found to quickly respond to people on Twitter is using TweetDeck. It’s easy to set up and I get notified almost instantly when someone writes any tweet that has @monicaobrien in it. For those who don’t want the constant notifications, you can configure the client easily in the settings. I respond to just about everything. People who retweet my posts, people who ask me questions, or people who comment on one of my tweets. By spending five minutes a day interacting with your already engaged audience, you can maintain your current following and grow your brand quickly through word of mouth. Author: Monica OBrien writes career advice for young professionals at her blog, Twenty Set. You can also follow her on Twitter (@monicaobrien).

The Simple Secret to Wowing Recruiters

The Simple Secret to Wowing Recruiters Convincing people  you are the perfect candidate for the role  can be particularly nerve-racking and difficult. In trying to come off as extremely qualified, we sometimes stumble over our answers, repeat ourselves or simply draw a blank and sit in silence. In our attempt to impress, its easy to forget what really makes a difference; self confidence. How positive we feel about ourselves  and our abilities is key to making a lasting impression on  recruiters. Confidence  begins with understanding  what you want out of your career,  and maintaining an open mind for the future. Its important you sell yourself to a recruiter, after all, they are the gatekeeper to your shot at your dream role. Heres how to get started: Know yourself When career counselors assess patients to understand their goals in an effort to identify the right type of job for them, they typically begin by having patients take a simple personality test. Tests such as these can help to rule out positions that you are likely to dislike. For instance, the type of career you will be passionate about will change significantly if you are not the type of person that can sit for long periods of time or that doesn’t work well in large groups. In addition to gaining a basic knowledge of broad aspects of a job you will like and dislike it is important to assess yourself and take into account the more minor details.  Do you like working in offices with open floor plans or with cubicles? Can you work better with managers that provide little feedback or that are highly involved? Would you rather work with things or with people? Do you need a flexible lunch break? Apply this knowledge How  does answering all of these questions for yourself help to impress recruiters? Firstly, being in tune with exactly what you want  will  help you to narrow down which positions are best suited to you, and equip you with great certainty that the job is perfect for both your career aspirations and your work style.   Secondly, you will find interview questions easier to both answer and ask. When the recruiter asks how you feel about certain workplace situations you will most likely have already thought about it you know yourself well enough to know that a position with an open floor plan will only work if you are allowed to wear headphones. Of course, this sets you up to ask your own interview questions about the office space, employee experience, etc.   Keep an open mind Finally, as you assess yourself for careers and identify a number of potential opportunities,  be sure to keep an open mind about the types of jobs that are suggested. Often we are blinded by  salary or a predetermined set of criteria that may or may not be essential for us to be happy; we frequently rule out our passions. Interviewing for a job that you feel passionate about is going to make the biggest difference in your confidence regardless of what you originally expected.  If you love your job in healthcare,  but can’t stand the hospital any longer, try incorporating other passions of yours, like travel.  Public health officials often move into mobile positions that send them to different locations. Yes, recruiters are looking for talent and skill, but they are also very interested in finding a person whose confidence sets them apart from everyone else. They want to represent people who know  themselves and what they want out of a career. Building confidence through self-evaluation and an open mind in the job market are the first steps  to making it happen. About the author: Brittni Brown is a graduate student at the University of Idaho, and a budding freelance writer.

Three Resume Tips to Help You Jump Right Into Success

Three Resume Tips to Help You Jump Right Into SuccessThe truth is that if you are on the lookout for resume tips, you have probably been in a rut or trying to get the skills needed to land a job in an industry you are really interested in. If so, you need to change your mindset and try something new. What should you look for in resume tips? These three items should help you get your resume into the most effective marketing and preparation phase.Information is power. This is a timeless truth, especially in today's job market. Be sure to include all of the relevant information in your resume. Of course, you can include things like college transcripts and letters of recommendation as well. However, it is essential to be as comprehensive as possible in how you present these facts.This is a vital part of your resume, but it is not the only thing you should include. In addition to noting your education and other experiences, it is important to remember to mention any certifications or acco mplishments that you have acquired since graduating. People love to see that you are able to handle different jobs and different situations.One of the most important resume tips you can use is to ensure that the qualifications and achievements of your last job are clearly displayed. By emphasizing this, it will give the potential employer a very clear idea of your background. Also, ask for reference letters. These are easy to obtain and are usually very useful when it comes to putting the work you did in your previous job in perspective. However, make sure that you send them in advance!The next tip is to try to capture the imaginations of the people reading your resume. If you want to put it simply, you need to be unique. There is nothing worse than being one of thousands of applicants who only have similar backgrounds. Be unique and show a lot of initiative by using some creativity in creating aunique cover letter.When it comes to cover letters, there is not much more important tha n a personal touch. Include a few sentences about yourself and then let the reader fill in the rest. You can also include some information about your professional life to help get the ball rolling.Avoid rushing through information when it comes to qualifications and achievements. It may seem like you need to provide more information for a good resume, but you can often find more valuable information in your educational records. A better experience and more complete background are sometimes found in this way.As you can see, there are many ways you can go about using various resume tips to get the best results. You can begin to move up the ladder in your industry by using these best practices.

Wide-eyed Wonder

Wide-eyed Wonder The way our life unfolds and the connections in our lives is truly amazing, isnt it?   Do you ever have moments when you think, I cant believe this, how wonderful?   These are the moments/times I think we want to cherish or at least celebrate. It is so easy to get caught up in all the horrible stuff:   the economy, the politics, the injustice, the poverty, the war But, if we look for the wonder, the joy, the good stuff in our lives and this world, it can be a much happier existence.   Simple, too simple?   Let me provide some examples of the wide eyed wonder moments that caught me by surprise to help show you what I mean: After a year of treatment for cancer, the loss of her job and health insurance benefits, my friends sister-in-law is now cancer free! Every day when being dropped off at school, my friends daughter says Have the best day ever A colleague I greatly admire and respect reached out to connect with me on LinkedIn and says It seems almost silly that we are not yet connected on LinkedIn how did that happen? A past co-worker, now living in Atlanta, connected with me on Facebook and said his wife grew up in the house I now live in A snow man was built and a snowball fight became the highlight of the day These events happened within the past week.   I am sure there are more.   But what I have found is that when I start looking for the good in life, sometimes the bad things dont seem quite as bad.   The happy thoughts (if you have ever watched Hook you know what I am talking about) are the ones that keep me moving forward. Have there been moments in your week that are worthy of celebrating?   Are there small miracles that shouldnt be dismissed or overlooked in your life? Please, take a minute and share them.   We all need a little hope!

Get the Job - CareerAlley

Get the Job - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. We all know how important it is to appear professional, experienced and eager to work when we arrive for a job interview. But how many of us actually follow all the common sense rules? Having a successful job interview is much more than simply dressing nice, sitting up straight and showing a good rsum. There are many tips and strategies that should be used and taken advantage of in order to increase your chances of getting the job. Follow these tips, and its possible you can even beat out candidates who might have been better suited for the position, but just didnt do as well during the interview process. 1. Know the Company and Do Your Research: You wouldnt purchase a new car, buy a house, or invest in stock without first doing a little research (hopefully), and you shouldnt go to a job interview without researching the company either. Knowing about the company, and showing that youve taken the time to learn about some of the companys successes shows your eagerness and desire to work for that particular company. Employers dont want to hire just anyone; they want someone who showcases an interest in the business. more 8 Resources to Help Find the Right Company for Your Next Job 2. Prepare Your Answers: You dont want to be caught on the spot when the interviewer asks you a question. Hesitating before answering, or giving an unsatisfactory answer can cost you the job, no matter how experienced you are. Many interviewers often ask the same questions, such as Why are you interested in working for this company? You can do an Internet search to find a much more expansive list of common interview questions. Try to have prepared answers for as many of these as possible so that you can answer confidently and without hesitation. Take a look at common interview questions and prepare your answers. more How to Answer the Most Terrifying Job Interview Questions 3. Ask Questions: Asking questions, like researching the company, also shows your interest in acquiring the position, as well as showcases that you want to make an informed decision. Interviewers will ALWAYS ask if you have any questions. Make sure that you do, and make sure that the questions you ask arent about salary or benefits. That can be discussed later. more 7 Uncommon Interview Questions Be Prepared 4. Exhibit a Professional Demeanor: Its okay to be a little nervous at an interview, but you want to be especially aware of your behavior if you have a habit of being fidgety or looking unsure of yourself when interviewing. If you need to, practice with friends or family until you can successfully achieve a calm, confident, yet energetic and motivated demeanor. Your overall attitude during the interview process can speak volumes, and interviewers will we taking mental notes of how you behave. 5. Bring Your Resume and Take Notes: You might be wondering why you need to bring a resume when youve already sent one, but youd be surprised how many interviewers ask you if youve brought one when you show up for the interview. It exhibits preparedness, and saves time for busy interviewers who may not be especially organized. Additionally, carry a pen and notepad with you so that you can take notes. An interview isnt just an opportunity for a potential employer to learn about you; it is also an opportunity for you to learn more about the company you may be working for. The interviewer will likely tell you a bit about the company. Jotting down a few notes shows that you care about the information. At the very least, youll want to write down name and contact info so that you can follow up, which brings us to our next tip 6. Follow Up You dont get much in this world without first asking for it, and the same applies to jobs. Dont think that just because the interview is over all you need to do is wait and see. The follow up is an integral part of the interview process. Sometimes all that is required is a short email thanking the person for the opportunity to interview with the company. Other times a phone call may be warranted to inquire as to how the interview process is going if a length of time has gone by. more 5 Ways to Ensure Your Thank You Letter is Noticed Following up is professional, showcases a go-getter attitude, and could be the clincher that reminds the interviewer who you are and gets you the job. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ Visit Joeys profile on Pinterest. jobs by job title, keywords, company, location Job Search What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to nail the interview and get hired. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search