Heres Why You Really Need Work Friends

Heres Why You Really Need Work Friends We all spend a lot of our time at work, and even if you’re lucky enough to love your job, you still need something special to help make that time more enjoyable. What you really need is a work friend. Scientific research has shown that not only does it help you to have a better time when you’re there, it can also make you more productive, so it’s also good news for your employers. Here’s everything you need to know about work friends and how to make them: Why work friends are a good idea A Gallup poll found that having friends at work can boost work satisfaction by 50%, which is great news for you and for your employer’s retention rates. But the even better news is that it’s also good for your health, with Harvard researchers proving that loneliness can cause heart attacks or strokes, so you need to avoid spending 8 hours a day feeling lonely. Socializing can also improve your cardiovascular functioning and lower your levels of stress. From a purely professional perspective, having a work friend might seem like a potential distraction, but research by MIT has shown that chatting can actually make you MORE productive. It can also boost your resilience, with 75% of employees saying that having a best friend at work made them feel more able to take on any challenges. How to make work friends So now you know that having a friend at work is a good thing, but how do you go about actually achieving this? After all, it can be hard enough making a real friend outside of work, never mind trying to become close to people you only share a workspace with because you all need a job and just happened to end up at the same company. Luckily, there are ways that you can go about it without being too much of a distraction from what you’re being paid to do. The first step is an easy one, which is to try and find common ground with them, which should come up in any casual chats you have about the latest hot show on TV, what they did at the weekend/what their plans are for the weekend, and safe topics like that. If you’re feeling brave, you can invite them for lunch so that you have the chance to get to know them away from work. Following them on social media is also a good way to get closer to them, though this is a potentially risky move if you judge it wrong and come across like a stalker, so maybe check that they’re connected to other co-workers before you make your move. If those last two sound a bit too forward for you, there’s potential for social interactions within the workplace routines too. Going on work social events gives you the chance to get to know people you don’t normally get to talk to, and it might also be worth joining any cross-departmental teams, which not only helps you meet new people but also demonstrates your enthusiasm and commitment to the business. Finally, just being a nice, kind and considerate person is an excellent way to make friends, wherever you are. Being someone who is always there to help a colleague is the kind of thing that makes you popular while making the effort to remember birthdays and work anniversaries also shows that you value them enough to take that step. Following these steps will help you make friends with people from work and start to reap the benefits for your happiness, health and career prospects that having work friends can bring you. So why not get started today? About the author:  John Cole is a digital nomad and freelance writer. Specializing in leadership, digital media and personal growth, his passions include world cinema and biscuits. A native Englishman, he is always on the move, but can most commonly be spotted in Norway, the UK, and the Balkans.

How to Ace a Telephone Interview

How to Ace a Telephone Interview Many companies use phone interviews  to pre-screen candidates for a position before they schedule an in-person meeting, as it saves time on both parts and is a simple way to assess whether someone is right to proceed further in the hiring process.  Some businesses however, particularly those who hire remote staff, may choose to conduct their main  interviews via  phone. In this case, the interviewer will ask in-depth questions. If you are not prepared, you may be caught off-guard. Here are some tips to help you be more prepared ahead of your call and to ace that telephone interview! 1. Answer your phone. Most companies offer you a time window for your phone interview. The interviewer will call at the scheduled time to conduct the interview, and you should make sure that you are 100% available to answer the phone yourself when the interviewer calls. If you are afraid that you may miss the call for one reason or another, change your voicemail greeting to a professional one. In the case that the  company did not give you a time window and calls at a bad time, such as when you are driving, don’t hesitate to let the interviewer know and ask if you could call him or her back. 2. Do your homework. The nice thing about a phone interview is that you can “cheat”. Before your interview, make a list of questions that the interviewer may ask and write down your answers. Research the company thoroughly, just like you are preparing for an in-person interview. Have these notes in front of you when the interviewer calls and refer to them as needed. 3. Listen carefully. Let the interviewer talk and listen carefully. While you listen, take notes so that you will be able to respond to the key points when the interviewer has finished talking and also for later reference after the interview. Be attentive and do not interrupt your  interviewer. 4. Talk clearly. During an in-person interview, visual cues can give you hints on what the interviewer is thinking, however with  phone interviews, you can’t see the interviewer and therefore they are a lot harder to read. How you come across to your interviewer is reliant on what you say and how you say it, so make sure your voice is clear and you speak clearly and politely.  Although its easy to let nerves get the better of us, try not to ramble or trail off point.   5. Wrap up the call positively. Always end the call on a positive note. Thank the interviewer for the call and tell him or her that you are confident that you are a good fit for the job and  how much you would appreciate the opportunity. 6. Follow up with a thank-you note. Wait a couple of hours and send the interviewer a brief follow up  email thanking your interviewer for their time. It only has to be brief, but make sure you confirm your interest in the role and let them know you are looking forward to hearing back from them. Do you have any tips on how to ace  telephone interviews? If so let us know in the comments below!

How many social networks are too many for our personal brands - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How many social networks are too many for our personal brands - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The last step in the personal branding process is entitled maintain.   Personal brands must grow as you grow, keeping authenticity and accuracy consistent.   Sites such as TechCrunch, Techmeme and Scobleizer promote a variety of social networks daily. The sheer number of social networks is now overwhelming and forces all of us to concentrate on reputation management. The more social networks you join, the more you must perform routine maintenance on each profile. When I say profile, I mean your work experience, hobbies and adding new friends to your network. Another issue I see is that if you have friends on multiple social networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, you are forced to add the same friends to each one. This increases your email and begins to be a tedious and continuous task you must preform. The Question: With all the social networks that are created each day, how do we react? As humans, we only have a certain amount of time we can dedicate to social networks, especially because many of us have full-time jobs, blogs and other extracurricular activities. The answer: Join the most innovative networks with the largest installed base. There are more than 34 million Facebook users, 200 million Myspace users and 10 million Linkedin users. All other social networks have a fraction of this amount and few of those provide strong differentiation. We join networks to solve certain problems and we hear about them through word-of-mouth marketing. In general, if you cant pinpoint a reason to join one of these networks, then you are wasting your time. It is a better and more productive use of your time to stick to the usual suspects.

The Free Purple Resume Template - A Touch of Lilac

The Free Purple Resume Template - A Touch of Lilac The Free Purple Resume Template A Touch of Lilac Are you looking for the job of your dreams? Youre not alone. That makes it even more challenging to stand out amongst a sea of other applicants. Yes, your skills and qualifications will impress in an interview, but you need a resume or CV that stands out to get to that important milestone. As we all know, HR folks are busy. They have just a few seconds to spare on each resume they receive.  So you need to strike the right chord and grab their attention in an instant! By using a well-designed template, you increase your chances of receiving callbacks, immensely. In fact, people will spend hundreds of dollars to access a professionally crafted resume.But you don’t have to do that. This creative purple resume template is our gift to you. You may download it now, and customize it to create the perfect resume or CV. Simply open it in Word, replace the picture with your own, and enter the text you want. Many of our users opt to make multiple copies, customizing each one to a specific job.Try out this colorful yet understated template today and leave a review if you like it! File size: 22 KB Format: .doc Downloaded 3,342 times License: Free, personal use only. Please read the license terms for resources. Download previous article The 20 Best Career Blogs to Read next article Essential Tips for More Productive Job Searching you might also likeCadmium Yellow: Simple, Yet Elegant Resume Template

How to Find the Best Resume Writing Services in Atlanta GA

How to Find the Best Resume Writing Services in Atlanta GADo you know what the best resume writing services in the Atlanta GA area? Are you looking for a fast and cheap service that will help you finish your applications? If you are not able to answer these questions, you should do some research on the Internet to find out.Now, if you want to get a service that offers professional resume writing services in a local zip code, you can just go to Google and type 'resume writing services in Atlanta GA' or whatever the area code is. But, if you are looking for something a little more personalized, then you might want to look for some companies that offer resumes from all over the United States.Some companies provide a website address, email addresses, phone numbers, and even web chat, so that you can have someone live chat with you during the application process. This is helpful because you can discuss your academic record and how much time you have spent studying. You might also be requi red to include a document that includes school transcripts and teaching evaluations.If you are applying online, you may also be asked to create a cover letter, a 'Home Page', and an electronic 'Interview Request Form'. These documents are used to collect the information you provide in your application, so that you are prepared when it comes time to discuss it.Once you are through filling out the documents, you can just follow the instructions and make sure you put certain expectations on each resume to keep you on track. For example, you can let the company know what position you are applying for, what years you have been employed, what the duties of the job are, and what the company expects from you when you start.Once you send a resume and include all the required information, the company will write your resume and submit it to potential employers. If the company is satisfied with your application, they will contact you by phone or e-mail to schedule an interview. The interview us ually takes place after the agency has completed the actual writing of your resume.The good thing about using many different companies to produce your resume is that you will not have to sit and read all the generic resumes to find a company that will work for you. You will be able to see all the companies in one location, so that you can compare prices and find the company that is offering the most competitive rates.In order to complete your online application, you will need to select the agency that you want to work with. Once you have selected this company, all you have to do is fill out the application and wait for your online application to be processed.

3 Tips for Acing Your Online Job Applications - CareerAlley

3 Tips for Acing Your Online Job Applications - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Have you heard it lately? Ask just about anywhere how to apply for a job there, and you will hear, You have to apply online. If they are interested in your application, they will call you. [easyazon_link asin=0735204764 locale=US new_window=default nofollow=default tag=caree07-20 add_to_cart=default cloaking=default localization=default popups=default]Online job application[/easyazon_link]puts all of the power in the hands of the employerand it cuts down the time and money needed to handle job applicants, because employees dont see most of the applications. You see, when you fill out the online job application, your application enters a database of applications, sometimes called the automated applicant tracking system, other times its called the[easyazon_link asin=1607741946 locale=US new_window=default nofollow=default tag=caree07-20 add_to_cart=default cloaking=default localization=default popups=default]resume[/easyazon_link] black hole. How many times have you heard of people filling out dozens or even hundreds of online applications without even getting one response back! Automated systems sort and process the applications. If your application isnt processed and brought to the top of the list of applications, it simply wont even be reviewed by human beings. So the question iswhat do you need to get to the top of the automated list, and get past the autobot filters designed to weed out applicants before HR or anyone else needs to spend any time on it? You will need three things: Exact[easyazon_link asin=0071406735 locale=US new_window=default nofollow=default tag=caree07-20 add_to_cart=default cloaking=default localization=default popups=default]keywords[/easyazon_link] and phrases Find jobs that closely match your skills and abilities And.you will need a system that works in reversea system that only has you apply for a job after you have gotten the response. Yes, you heard me right. To succeed with the online job application, you need only apply for the jobs that you already have a response for. The experts and gurus will tell you that you need to apply for a lot of jobs. The logic is: the chances of getting a job goes up with every application you submit. But I dont buy it. You spend hours getting the resume and application just right. You fight with the submission process, then you wait. And for what? Intense silence on the other side. Your hopes are actually dashed with every online resume that you fill out. You cant hold out real expectations when you havent had a response from the last 35 applications you have submitted, now can you? Then pretty soon you are looking for ways to pump applications out faster. You are cutting corners sending the same resume to every offer, leaving every field blank that isnt expressly required. But what will an employer see if they actually do look at that application? Someone who cant even complete a whole form? Will that application actually help your chances of getting hired, or would it just hurt them? What would your chances of being hired actually be like if you knew your application would be reviewed by a real person? How much more time and detail could you put into the application, and how much better would it be? Contemplate those questions while we address the other two things that you need to get your resume seen by real people. Exact Keywords And Phrases If you dont have the exact keywords and phrases that the automated system is looking for, your application will fail. It is that simple. For an example, I will assume most everyone has done a Google search before. In the Google search window, a person will type in a search term and Google will deliver a list of possible sites that relate to the term that you typed in. Although the algorithms are different, the automated applicant tracking systems have, at their heart, the very same mechanisms and return to the employers agent, the HR person or company recruiter, a list of applications that have all of the specific keywords and phrases that they are looking for. The irony here is that many people will have the experience and pre-requisites expected, but will not be in this list of top qualified candidates because the automated systems just wont find their application. Use the job description to get the exact keywords that are being searched for. Find Jobs That Closely Match Your Skills And Abilities As was pointed out, the automated systems are looking for specific keywords and phrases, it is easiest to match those keywords when you are applying for jobs that you really do qualify for. But, where do you find those perfect jobs that you are looking for? Finding the right jobs requires knowing where to look, and how to get the right help finding the job opportunities. It is estimated that the big job boards such as Monster, Careerbuilder, and etc. only account for 4 to 8 percent of all hires nationally. What that means is that the majority of the jobs available are not on the big job boards. You can learn exactly where to look for the right jobs, and how to access the hidden job market where the competition is significantly less, and odds are much greater in your favour for getting hired. The secret is in networking and the right tactics to find the people inside that are influencers and can help you. Finding just the right job opportunities will cut down the frustration factors immensely and actually improve your chances of interviews and job offers. Applying For The Jobs That You Already Have a Response From The process that works is actually the reverse of the common logic. Dont apply until someone there is expecting your application. Most people think that online job application means that you cant contact the company, and that there wont be any human interaction until you win the job application lottery and your name is chosen. Frankly, this attitude keeps most people from making the short list at the companies that they are interested in. If you have the first two things mentioned above, then you need to let a real person know it. Companies often hire people who are a known entity. They are friends of someone in the company, or have worked with someone in the past. This is where the saying comes from, who you know matters more that what you know No place is that more evident than when it comes to getting hired. As it turns out, knowing who to contact and how to contact them is a key component to becoming that known entity, and gaining a foot up on your competition. Most people go about contacting someone in the company in a completely wrong way. They hear this phrase again and again, if they choose your resume, you will get a phone call from them. That is usually the last thing anyone hears from the potential employers company. Finding the right people to contact and contacting them in the right way will make a big difference with the employer interest in your online job application. The real problems of todays job search happen to be in the new online job application process and all of the baggage that it introduces, rather than in the lack of jobs or the current economic conditions. The prevailing system for getting hired simply doesnt work. When you reverse that equation and start by contacting someone at the company, you can start seeing results immediately. Short BIO Visit JobSearchLaws.com to learn more about my unique system. Dean Giles, Job Search Coach, JobSearchLaws.com Twenty one years as a Project Manager gave me a lot of experience on the interviewing and hiring end of the job market. One company acquisition and a subsequent reduction-in-force, put me on the opposite end of that equation. I quickly found that the automated online job application mechanisms had pretty much high-jacked the hiring processes. I found that the hiring process for most people is completely broken and that what I had learned over 21 years had to be applied in new and creative ways. I documented how the new systems worked, why the old ones are failing most people right now, and exactly how to take advantage of the new systems and hierarchies. I have managed to help a number people get employed or change jobs even after they had lost all hope of finding a new job. Start seeing results today with JobSearchLaws.com. This is a Guest post. 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 what where job title, keywords or company city, state or zip jobs by

Social Media Marketing Campaign Tweaks To Make In 2018

Social Media Marketing Campaign Tweaks To Make In 2018 When was the last time you looked at your social media marketing campaign and figured out whether it needed a bit of an update? Your social media marketing campaign may have worked just fine for you in past weeks and months, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look at ways to tweak it and make it better consistently. This year, there are some tweaks you should look at making to your social media marketing campaign if you haven’t already: Create Content That Is Viral Ready That Adds Value The content you put out on your social media profiles should all be viral ready and add value to your audience. Posting only filler content or sharing content from other brands just isn’t good enough. Posts that cover tips and ideas that are genuinely helpful can be viral ready and add value, as people can really use them and they might feel compelled to share them. Reach Out To Influencers Reaching out to influencers is one of the most effective things you can do to create a strong social media marketing campaign. All you need to do is find influencers in your niche, approach them, and see if they would like to work with you. They should suit your brand and appeal to your target audience. This is a great way to grow your business and get more traffic/sales. Bear in mind that certain influencers will want more than a free product to work with you. Some of them already have rates. A/B Test Everything How can you know if something is better for your business than something else if you don’t test it? A/B testing everything will help you to figure out if you should carry on doing something that you’ve introduced or not. If you’re not familiar with A/B testing, it’s also called ‘split testing’. It can help you to figure out what appeals to your audience more when you do it correctly. Make sure you split test your posts, campaigns, and everything else you can think of. There are other tools you can use to assess your marketing plan too, of course. Squared is one marketing tool that people are using, but many don’t know about it. If you’re one of the people wondering what is squared? Then read up on it to see if it might be right for you and what you’re trying to achieve. Plan And Schedule Your Content In Advance We’ve already mentioned how you need to make sure you write content that is shareable, ready to go viral, and helpful. It needs to add value to your audience you know that. But how about scheduling and planning your content in advance too? If you write content only when the feeling takes you, you might find that it’s inconsistent and isn’t getting the results you want. Regular content is key, and staying on top of various social media platforms is a must. There are apps you can use to help you schedule and stay on top of your content.