Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Flexible Job Pitfalls to Avoid

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Flexible Job Pitfalls to Avoid If you are lucky enough to have a flexible work arrangement while raising a family, starting your own business, etc., you really have it made. The last thing you want to do is unwittingly put your job in jeopardy because you start to get too comfortable. Here five flexible job pitfalls to watch out for: Taking Your Situation for Granted If you’ve had a flexible job for a year or more, it’s easy to forget exactly how desirable your arrangement is. Because the grass is always greener, you’re envious of other people and lose sight of the fact that 90% of employees would kill for your set-up. You stop expressing gratitude and appreciation to your employer, and start complaining more. Getting Lazy Because you don’t have a boss watching your every move, and because no one will notice if one little deadline slips, you stop working as hard as you usually do. You don’t put as much energy and thought into your assignments, and the quality of your work suffers. Don’t let your flexible job turn you into a lazy professional. For more pitfalls, have a look at the full post at the FlexJobs blog.

5 Reasons to Start a Career in Biometrics

5 Reasons to Start a Career in Biometrics Have you ever thought about starting a career in biometrics? Its an area of IT security that is continuing to grow and a wide range of new positions are now available for individuals with the appropriate qualifications and skills. Below are some of the main reasons why you should consider a career in biometrics. Diversity A wide range of career paths is available for people who have an MBA in information technology or biometrics-related qualification. Once you complete an MBA online, different employers in different types of companies will be more interested in the services you can provide and the knowledge you possess. More Security Systems Are Moving Towards Biometrics As online security changes and evolves and more online threats occur, more companies than ever are turning to biometric systems. This trend looks set to continue for many years to come and the systems available will have to become even more advanced than they are now. This also means that far more professionals in this area will also be needed in the coming years. Some of the most in-demand IT security positions that will emerge include analysts, coders, consultants, and software designers. Lifestyle Ultimately, when anyone starts off in their career, they want a role that rewards them for their hard work. Most biometrics positions are high-paying roles and there is usually an excellent opportunity to progress even further. This job security means you are more likely to have a higher standard of living and provide a better life for those closest to you, such as your partner and kids. Job Satisfaction Biometrics is a relatively new and interesting field. Much of the work being completed at the moment is ground-breaking, exciting work that is certain to give you more job satisfaction than other mundane or boring roles. As the area of biometrics continues to improve, so too will the interesting work that will be carried out by the many professionals who are employed by companies and organizations that need to use this technology. Flexible Working Conditions The digital nature of this type of work means many biometrics professionals can work from any location in the world and dont have to be based in a fixed location. This is the ideal solution for people who may prefer to work from home or those who would like to combine travel with work. Biometrics systems are being introduced into more countries, too, which means there are excellent job opportunities abroad as well. Once again, this gives people with a more adventurous spirit an opportunity to travel and work at the same time. As you can see, biometrics is playing a bigger role in our lives. Choosing to work in this area could be one of the best choices you make because a huge number of opportunities exist. There is an increasing demand for biometrics professionals and it will lead to a much better and more flexible lifestyle for those who choose this career path.

Five ways to do better in a job interview

Five ways to do better in a job interview Most people who want career coaching from me set up an appointment. My brothers send random emails that they tag as urgent. Heres one my brother sent at midnight last night: Why dont you ever write about how to interview someone? What do I do when someone goes on and on about himself and I dont care. Should I cut him off? I only have thirty minutes to do the interview. Answer: The most important thing to find out when you interview someone is if you like the person. You can teach someone to be competent in the skills you need, but you cant teach someone to have an appealing personality. No matter what the person talks about for thirty minutes really, much fewer than thirty you can figure out if you like them. Which leads me to the first thing you can do to be better at interviewing: 1. Learn how to conduct an interview. You need to understand what is driving the interviewer and how he or she is thinking. So know enough about the interview process to put yourself in your counterparts shoes. If the person is bad at interviewing, you can run the show. If the person is good, you have to figure out how to meet their agenda, make your points, and still be likeable. 2. Learn from other peoples mistakes. The best way to see people making errors in interviews is to interview them yourself. But you can also read about other peoples interviewing incompetence. Jobaloo shows how candidates misread a seemingly innocuous question. And CareerBuilder lists some examples of extremely bad judgment. 3. Know your agenda. What is the image you are trying to convey in the interview? Match that to the kind of job are you trying to land. You should have three points about yourself that you aim to get across in the interview. Before I became a full-time writer, mine were: great at executing a plan, a manager who everyone loves to work for, very reliable. I wanted those points to come across because I wanted to be hired to a position where I would have a lot of responsibility to execute a visionary plan and manage a large team. 4. Practice. You can find tons of lists about how to interview well. Take a look at them and youll notice that they are all about practicing: Avoid too much information, cut the puffy stuff, know your strengths and weaknesses. These are all things you can practice. If you think you can wing it in an interview, youre wrong. There are no questions that cannot benefit from preparation, so any question you look unprepared for makes you look clueless about the interview process at best and lazy at worst. 5. Be comfortable with silence. People who can remain calm during silence look powerful and comfortable with themselves. People who have to fill silence end up saying stupid things. Part of your interview practicing should be to sit, saying nothing, so you are comfortable when that happens in an interview. The interesting thing about preparing to ace an interview is that most aspects of preparation carry over into the rest of your life. When you know who you are, and how to convey that to other people, when you are comfortable with a pause, and you are good at reading another persons agenda, you will function better in all aspects of your life.

Twitter for Job Hunting University of Manchester Careers Blog

Twitter for Job Hunting University of Manchester Careers Blog Social media sites are now becoming an increasing important weapon in your job seeking arsenal. Facebook and LinkedIn act as your amour. Having an appropriate Facebook and a professional, well written LinkedIn profile will protect you by portraying you as someone a recruiter might want to employ. But personally I think Twitter is the main weapon you have enabling you to attack your job search and locate appropriate vacancies. If you’re just starting out on Twitter or want to use it to search for vacancies I’d obviously recommend following any of our Twitter accounts but  I’ve also compiled a list of   some useful accounts that post graduate vacancies (please note this is not a comprehensive list). General vacancy accounts  @GJ_Graduate Feed of the latest graduate jobs being advertised on the Guardian Careers. @Targetjobs_jobs Highlights jobs and work experience opportunities on their site as well as giving useful deadline reminders. @ProspectsJobs Latest vacancies from prospects.ac.uk. @gradwork Feeds graduate jobs in a range of different sectors. There are also a number of good industry specific accounts that not only list relevant vacancies but provide information and advice. Creative industries @mediamuppet Really good range of media related vacancies as well as links to useful blogs and information. @TjobsMarketing Providing news, vacancies and advice this feed is great for those interested in advertising, journalism, marketing, media, PR and publishing. @journalism_jobs Does what it says on the tin really â€" it lists journalism jobs! @artsjobs Vacancy feed for theatre, museum and design roles. Public Sector @ukcsjobs Listings of UK Civil Service vacancies. @faststreamuk Information on the Civil Service Fast stream. Including opportunities, key dates events and tips. @jobsgopublic Vacancy alerts from leading public sector recruitment agency. @NHS_Jobs   Not just a site for doctors and nurses! A range of administrative and axillary healthcare roles area advertised.  If your interested   in the NHS graduate scheme see @NHSGradScheme. Law @TjobsLaw News on vacation schemers, training contracts and pupillage.  @LawCareersNetUK Find a training contract or pupillage and access advice on entering the legal profession. Finance Management @TjobsFinance Latest graduate   jobs and careers advice for the finance, banking and investments sector. @InsideCareers Graduate vacancies, internships and careers advice   for the Actuarial, accounting, banking, consultant and tax professions. Engineering @gradcracker Engineering related vacancies and advice. @TjobsEng_Tech Provides the latest graduate jobs, internships and careers advice for the engineering field. @icerecruit Advertises 100’s of civil engineering roles. @RICSRecruit   Official jobs board for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Technology                                     @gradcracker Technology related advice ad vacancies. @TjobsEng_Tech Provides the latest graduate jobs, internships and   careers advice for the technology area. @InsideCareers   Graduate vacancies internships and careers advice for the IT industry. Environmental @EnvironmentJobs   Latest vacancies for environmental engineers, managers and environmental science professionals. @GreenJobsGlobal   Vacancies in the conservation, environmental, sustainability and renewable energy sectors. @ReEnergyJobs   Vacancies in the renewable energy industry. Science @ChemWorldJobs Official jobs board for the Royal Society of Chemistry. @Stepplacements Paid placement opportunities for students and graduates with a focus on science and technology opportunities. If you are interested in working for a particular employer find them and follow them on Twitter as it is likely that they will give you advanced notice opening dates for opportunities. Id also recommend that you follow the feeds of relevant sector journals as they will keep you up to date with events and news. More information about using social media to   job hunt can be found on our website with specific advice on using Twitter. You may also want to   have a look at our Getting Connected guide for advice on how to use sites such as Twitter to find contacts and build professional relationships. All Graduate job hunting networking social media

Finding the Best Professional Resume Writing Services

Finding the Best Professional Resume Writing ServicesIf you are looking for top professional resume writing services, then you will be pleased to know that there are a few things that you should be keeping in mind. The first thing is that you will not be able to do a great job unless you choose the right professionals to help you. The second thing is that you should get the word out to everyone you know that it is time to find the best professional resume writing services. The last thing you will want to do is waste your time trying to find them all on your own.When it comes to finding the best professional resume writing services, you need to do more than look at the different jobs they offer. You need to get the word out. You want to make sure that you are getting as many applicants as possible. This way you can narrow your list down to the top contenders.One of the first things you need to remember when it comes to finding the best professional resume writing services is that you need to send out a questionnaire to everyone you know. In order to do this, you will need to have your current employer give you permission to do so. You will also need to find someone to help you write the questions. This person should be someone who specializes in resume writing.After you have your questions written and the professionals help you fill them out, then you will need to go to various resumes sites online to see what services you can find. You should try to get at least three services that you are interested in trying out. Then you will need to take a bit of time to put together a sample resume.Since you know that you will be taking a lot of time to come up with the best professional resume writing services, you will want to make sure that you are the only one who sees it. The reason for this is that when you create a sample resume, it will be very easy for you to send it to several different professionals. This is a great way to find out if they are interested in work ing with you.Your sample resume should also include contact information for each of the potential employers that you are contacting. That way, when you call each one, you will be sure to ask for their help. This is also a great way to make sure that you do not miss anyone out. In order to make sure that you do not, you can include their name and their contact information.It will be up to you to ensure that you keep up with the best professional resume writing services. There is no reason why you should settle for anything less than the best when it comes to getting that career move that you have been wanting. You should get a sample from at least three. Then you will be able to look at how their samples look and determine which one you would like to use.You will find that the best professional resume writing services can give you some of the best results. The key is to keep in mind that you will be taking the time to send them out to several people at once. It is important that you get as many applications as possible.

Speed Reading Top 4 Tips

Speed Reading â€" Top 4 Tips We all want to improve ourselves and reading is one of the best ways to do it. When we read, not only do we grow ourselves, we also change the lives of those around us. Reading is an excellent way to learn from others experiences and improve our lives. The problem is that in today’s hectic world we barely have time for our loved ones and for ourselves. Taking out time to read in the 21st century is literally a task. With crazy commute times and the addiction to smartphones and social media, we barely get time or have the discipline to finish a book completely. Since reading is so important, one of the best ways to improve ourselves is to keep reading as a priority. The solution to the lack of time that we have can be resolved by speed reading. Reading rapidly or speed reading consists of techniques and strategies that have been tested and improved over time to allow us to read through the material in any document at a speed far greater than normal. This allows you to read fast, imbibe the core content and gain knowledge exponentially. When you speed read, you essentially skim and scan the content scientifically, retain certain parts of a sentence or some keywords that will allow you to identify the whole sentence. With the techniques you learn in speed reading, you can even process words as a speed that is double of what you would normally read. Sounds good? We have compiled below 5 Top Tips that you need to keep in mind when you are learning to speed read. They are very essential especially at the start of your speed reading journey. This is because in the beginning youre unfamiliar with reading fast and your mind will naturally resist. Top Speed Reading Tips: Acquaint yourself with the material that you want to speed read For you to understand the core concepts of any material, it is very necessary that you have an idea of what exactly it is about. This helps as your subconscious mind already has a large store of knowledge and when you familiarize yourself with the subject, that knowledge in your mind is made available to you. This makes reading and understanding the content easy even if you are reading fast. You can preview the content that you will start reading. The main way to do it is we should have a quick read of the main title, the headings of each paragraph, etc. You can also assess the length of each paragraph to understand how long it would normally take you to read the content. Also, if there is a list of the chapters, make sure that you read it so that you know the sequence of the content. This way, even when you read fast, you will be able to understand the content as you have acquainted yourself with it. Create the right ambiance and choose the right content When you need to do anything that is important you need a quiet environment. When you need focus, you need to make sure that there are no distractions. Distractions are the biggest cause of slow learning in the world today. When you start to speed read, you should make sure that you have as few background distractions as possible. Try to speed read where there are no distractions: like in a closed and empty room, late at night or early in the morning when everyone is asleep, etc. You should also keep your cell phone either on airplane mode or switched off. This will give you some space away from your cell phone. The activity of speed reading will also help you to focus better on your work, as the discipline of not looking at your cell phone when you are doing a task will be helpful when you are working too. When you first get started speed reading, you need to make sure that you choose content that is easy to read. It is best to choose a fiction book from your favorite author. Since you will enjoy reading the novel, you will not be distracted or bored reading it.   And an added advantage of starting with fiction is that even if you forget some parts because you are speed reading, there arent any negative consequences because you were reading for leisure rather than for any serious activity. Avoid regression Regression is when your eye starts to move up or back over content that you have already read. The subconscious mind is used to reading in detail. When we speed read, it feels that you have missed out on something. Make sure that you dont fall into the trap of regression. If you feel a paragraph is complicated or complex, slow down so that you dont have to revisit it later. If you feel that a part of the content is important to understand the following content or is the main part, then you can slow down during that section. It is important to retrain your mind so that your mind knows that you will not be regressing into rereading content. Once your mind is trained on that, it will make sure that you understand and absorb the meaning and nuances of the content in the first read. Minimize sub-vocalization We tend to vocalize silently when we read. This helps us to remember the content and also helps us to understand the content better. The problem with sub-vocalization is that when you are constantly doing it, the cognitive load is reduced. That is why you need to make sure that you reduce it. You should not completely avoid it as sub-vocalization helps you to absorb the information faster and more easily. You can try by dropping extra words when you are sub-vocalizing, you can chew gum when reading so that you won’t sub-vocalize, and you can listen to instrumental music so that you can minimize sub-vocalization. About the Author: Jimmy is an avid reader and is passionate about the skill of speed reading. Jimmy is the founder of My Speed Reading, a blog which is all about tips and strategies to improve your reading speed. You can visit Jimmy at his website https://myspeedreading.com.

Skills And Savvy You Need To Bring To A Digital Marketing Career - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

Skills And Savvy You Need To Bring To A Digital Marketing Career Marketing is a skill and role that is ubiquitously appreciated across all industries, in both small to big businesses, and for a wide variety of reasons. As such, it can be a very lucrative career to get into with opportunities and growth pathways all over. However, it’s also a demanding job. It demands a mixture of methodology and creativity, and in digital marketing, technicality is just as important. To make sure that your CV stands out and that you have the strength to carry the role, here are the concepts and the core tools you should at least be familiar. Understanding branding First of all, you need to arrive to any business you work with having an understanding of their branding and what makes it both unique and impactful. In digital marketing, you often have to work within the constraints of a brand, to keep it consistent or help it grow. Companies that have an existing strong brand will want you to understand it, from the visual style to the voice to the brand story that reinforces it. You also should have an understanding of the different elements, such as the brand style guide that can help you establish the branding for a company that doesn’t yet have theirs nailed down. The uniqueness of it all A core part of the brand and what is likely to play a central role in any marketing strategy you put together is the unique selling proposition (also known as the unique value proposition) of the company that you’re working with. What is it that sets them apart from everyone else in the market? What niche do they hit and what pain points do they address that their competitors simply do not? Understand the importance of USPs in helping brands stay competitive and know how to work it into the messaging of the marketing strategy. A good grasp on target markets Knowing your audience is crucial to making sure that you’re saying the right thing and hitting the right points to appeal best to them. The business you work with may have a deep understanding of their audience already, but don’t be surprised if that’s not the case. A lot of business owners don’t understand how knowing their audience can shape their marketing and branding. Learning how to perform market research and to use the practice of creating the ideal customer can help you shape the voice and how you address and approach your target market all the better. It can also shape key marketing strategies like which social media platform you’re more likely to find them on and what kind of email marketing will appeal to them. Understanding the sales funnel When it comes to generating sales, you may find that many business owners and managers do not think much beyond the step of conversion. Often, their idea of marketing is the advertisement that wins them over or the landing page that convinces them. Understanding the importance of the marketing funnel can help you show them how much value there is in increasing visibility and creating familiarity and loyalty both before and after the sale. A working sales funnel greatly increases the chance of converting more customers, as well as increasing the lifetime value of the average customer. Be able to introduce the sales funnel system into businesses that don’t have them and you will wow them with how comprehensive your understanding seems. Be content with content Now, it’s time to look deeper into the tools that will actually make your digital marketing repertoire beyond the key concepts you should work by. Content marketing has become one of the most powerful tools on the internet for a good reason. This long-acting organic marketing method serves as the first step of the sales funnel, helping grow visibility and establish familiarity and authority with the brand. Online content writing courses can help you learn how to create content that leads closer to conversion. It’s important to know its benefits towards other marketing techniques like search marketing and social media marketing, as well. More and more business owners are becoming aware of the power of content, so this is a technique that should be considered mandatory for your career. The power of search Similarly, business owners and managers are becoming aware that search engines are one of the greatest sources of organic visitors that their website is going to have. Learning the basics of SEO, such as how site user experience, good PR and backlinking, and content creation can boost your ranking, is essential. However, unless you plan on specializing in search marketing, it can be far too expansive a discipline to truly learn in and out. Being able to identify key SEO agencies that you can work with in the area can help you just as much. So long as you have access to the skills you need to help your employers rank, you should be able to meet their search marketing goals. The importance of social media By comparison, social media is a lot easier to manage on your own. Whether through advertising or posting alone, understanding how to build a community on social media and how to drive sales campaigns and product/service launches through it is becoming a key part of online marketing. Having some understanding of social media management tools, learning to schedule posts, to engage with followers, and to find cross-promotion opportunities can all help create a thriving, healthy social media feed that employers are going to love. For this reason, it’s recommended that you have your own professional social media profile that you use for networking and to sell your own skills, so that managers and employers can see that you practice what you preach. Excellence in email Though it might seem a little old fashioned compared to some of the other core digital marketing techniques, email is still one of the most effective and offers some of the best return on investment, on average. Demonstrating awareness of those facts alone can show employers that you know what you’re talking about. However, learning how to compose truly professional looking marketing emails is important. Email marketing suites can make it all the easier to sharpen up every message you send, as well as to manage mailing lists to ensure consistent quality communication with those who opt into them. How to grow better One of the single best benefits of digital marketing, and one resource that not enough businesses are taking advantage of, is the sheer amount of data you can collect on the way. Not only do things like social media, search engines, and web analytics collect data on how effective your tactics are at driving clicks, engagement and conversions. Good analytics also helps you learn a lot more about your customer, such as the type of content they’re interested in, demographics they fit, where they position your brand against your competitors, and so on. Learning how to use web marketing analytics can help you deliver more than high quality marketing campaigns, but real insight on what does and doesn’t work for the brand, which can see your role growing more and more valuable with time. Where goals intersect It’s all too easy for a digital marketing professional to be a little too close to their own work and to not see the forest for the trees. Disconnects can happen between marketing and management to the point that you’re so focused on marketing goals, you don’t stop to think of whether they work with what the company is trying to achieve right now. As such, you can truly sell yourself as one of the top digital marketers if you can show an understanding of where business goals and marketing goals meet. Creating goals based on business aims, and knowing which strategies help you reach those goals can be key. For instance, a new business looking to drum up customers needs visibility, so focusing on SEO and PR could be key, while one that is aiming for new sales goals may benefit better from prioritizing advertisements and promoting content on social media. Professionalism and presentation Your employer is going to want to be assured that you can present their brand with the kind of presentation and awareness of market appeal that helps them excel. One of the best ways to do that is to add the same professional sheen and savvy to your own presentation. Looking the part in marketing is almost as important as being the part. Understanding all the key terms, being able to speak energetically about strategy, and little aspects of presentation, such as having a good dress sense and some business cards, will all make a difference. As a digital marketing mastermind, you don’t have to be an expert in every single practice out there. You do, however, have to know about it, the benefits of it, and at least be able to source those who can provide the skills you can’t bring yourself. This is the best way to ensure employers that you know your stuff enough to really help their marketing shine.