Personal statement dos and donts

Personal statement dos and donts by Michael Cheary Not sure why your CV  is letting you down?  Well, it  could be as simple as changing the first few sentences. Especially if you dont know how to write a personal statement.  Its often the first thing a hiring manager sees on your CV, and a bad one could even  be the difference between a recruiter reading your CV or rejecting it.We’ve already put together some personal statement examples you can use. But to make sure you’re suitably practiced and prepared, here’s our list of personal statement dos and don’ts:DoGet straight to the point â€" A good personal statement isnt just informative, it’s also succinct and concise. So try keeping it between 100 and 200 words for maximum impact (N.B. personal statements for university will  be longer).Make sure you answer the key questions â€" Who are you? What can you bring to the role? And what is your career goal? Structure your statement using these as a guideline and you’ll ensure you maintain your focus t hroughout.Add value â€" Always aim to be specific. Quantifying achievements such as ‘Increased revenue’ with a number  (e.g. ‘by x amount’) is much more impactful than merely hinting at your success. Add value to your statement and  youll  enhance your credibility.Avoid clichés â€" Like  the rest of your application, the more personal you can make it, the better. It’s difficult to stand out from the crowd when you fall back on the same classic CV clichés that hiring managers will probably see all  day (we’re looking at you, ‘A great team player’).Use the job description â€" A key part of writing your personal statement is being able to put across the  skills that make you the perfect fit for the role. Struggling to think of the right ones? Surprisingly, most of them have already been given to you in the job description. Utilise it properly and you instantly become a more appealing candidate.Other things to do: Use some of the following words or phrases â€" success fully, developed, proven, track-record, experienced, delivering results.What words should I use on my CVFive CV skills employers look forDon’tBe too generic â€" It might take a little more time to tailor your statement to each position, but your CV will be much more effective as a result, making it time well spent in the long-run.Focus on yourself â€" It can be tempting to focus on your own attributes, and where you want to go in your career. But  the best personal statements cover  what skills you would bring to the company and what you can offer them that no other candidate can.Confuse it with your cover letter â€" Your personal statement is meant as a  short introduction. Keep it that way. Small representations of your success (e.g. a Financial Analyst with eight years’ experience) are necessary but keep them brief. Use your cover letter and employment history to elaborate on your achievements and your personal statement to grab their attention. Don’t get confused between the two.Think of it as a list â€" I am experienced. I am qualified. I am a good communicator. I just choose to write every sentence like this’ Don’t feel confined to list everything you have ever done or every attribute you have and (see also: start every sentence with ‘I’). The recruiter knows who your  CV is about.Forget to read it out loud  â€" Read it. Read it again. Get your friends and family to read it. And, most importantly, read it out loud and make sure it flows (and there arent any spelling and  grammar mistakes). Not only do you want it to impress the employer in terms of your achievements, you also want it to be well-written. Making sure it flows is a vital part of the process.Other things not to do: Confuse tenses, forget to spellcheck, make it too personal, speak in colloquialisms, use the phrase YOLO.Five lines that are killing your CVWhat not to do on your CVStill searching for your perfect position? View all available jobs  now.Find a job What Where Sea rch 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. Personal statements

Resume Writing For Teaching - A Good Plan to Create a Resume For Teaching

Resume Writing For Teaching - A Good Plan to Create a Resume For TeachingIf you are interested in a career in teaching, there are some important skills you will need to learn and develop in order to write a good resume. Resume writing for teaching can be challenging, but with the right tools and tips, you can create a strong resume that is relevant to the job you are seeking.First, you will need to learn about the job. How much time will you spend teaching? Make sure you make a list of the requirements and expectations of your job.Next, you will need to know the job description and duties. Once you have a general idea of what you will be doing, you can use this knowledge to prepare a resume. A job description should include the duties of the teacher. You should be able to include the job title (i.e. English Teacher), the responsibilities of the teacher, and your teaching experience.Since your resume will be used by potential employers, you should include your own skills and experienc es. This will give employers a better understanding of who you are and why they should hire you.Finally, you will need to show your skills. Include teaching certifications and other information about your teaching career. For example, you may have completed the Teach for America program, which gives you more experience than a year on campus would. The resume writing for teaching is all about showing your strengths.You may also want to consider including the materials required to teach a class. These may include a curriculum, textbook, worksheets, computer, office supplies, and even a list of books required for reading assignments. You should mention all these materials in your resume as well.Once you have all this information ready, you can now start looking for jobs. Consider using an online job application service to help you search for jobs in your area.Although it is sometimes difficult to create a resume for teaching, the effort can be worth it. A well-written resume can help y ou land that teaching job you have been looking for.

How Turbonomic Attracts Top Talent from Large Tech Companies

How Turbonomic Attracts Top Talent from Large Tech Companies In the latest episode of the Employer  Branding Podcast, we chat with a growing tech company battling it out over talent with the usual behemoths. Lots of tips on how to go about winning as a challenger brand today. Chris McMahon is the Vice President, People Culture at Turbonomic. He is a people strategist that enables dynamic cultures at high growth Boston area companies such as Turbonomic, Vistaprint, Endeca and 170 Systems. Passionate about hiring and developing great talent and leadership across the globe for Turbonomic as it continues its path of hypergrowth. Justin Graci is the Marketing Manager, Corporate Talent Brand at Turbonomic.  As a brand marketing manager, hes in charge of developing digital strategies and communications that help support the corporate brand and how Turbonomic is perceived by customers, partners and candidates. Working cross-functionally with almost every team within the org, hes the storyteller evangelizing what the company does best. Have a listen to the interview below, keep reading for a summary and be sure to subscribe to the  Employer Branding Podcast. Listen on  Apple Podcasts,  Stitcher Radio,  Google Play  or  SoundCloud. In this episode youll learn: Who Turbonomic are and what they do. What the corporate culture is like at Turbonomic. What the EVP of Turbonomic is, and how its activated. What Turbonomics best source of hire is at the moment. What initiatives  they are most proud of and what hard lessons have they learned. The most important tech tools they use on a daily basis. How they measure the results of their employer brand work. Who inspires  Chris and Justins employer branding approach, and why. Whats up next for employer branding in the tech space. Check out life at Turbonomic.

Google Searchability and Personal Branding Collide Face-to-Face - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Google Searchability and Personal Branding Collide Face-to-Face - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career In collaboration with Robert David Hunter, one of Personal Branding Blogs best commenters.   Robert currently works for International Quality and Productivity Center in New York.  London based IQPC produces conferences and seminars  for business leaders across 30 different industries. In his role as a  Finance Division Sales Executive,  Robert leverages his banking industry expertise in bring the top people and companies in Finance to these events. He is also on site at these conferences to represent the interests of his clients. __________________ We work to develop personal brands to let people know who we are and what value we bring to professional relationships, be they people or companies. It’s important to remember, though, that a well articulated brand is only as effective as how many people are actually seeing it. More viewers, more potential relationships. Of course, this leads into a general marketing discussion but we wanted to focus specifically on Google visibility. Your visibility on Google is the gateway to your Web presence. People looking for you go to Google. It is the search engine of record. If Google says you don’t exist then in a very real sense you don’t. Your searchability is a critical measure of your brand. Google ranks relevance to a query, such as a person’s name, through it’s PageRankâ„¢ algorithm. Needless to say, it’s highly complex. There are scores of ways to make your webpage more friendly to this system. However, let’s be practical and keep it to the bare minimums that everyone should be doing. Establish a profile on LinkedIn PageRankâ„¢ regards LinkedIn more highly than other social networking sites. It can make it easier for people to find you and you can put links to your other web activities on your profile. Reciprocate site links â€" PageRankâ„¢ counts the links to your site from other sites in determining where it ranks you. Consider reciprocating site links with other people in your network. Bear in my mind that putting a link on your site says that you are recommending it. Be sure it’s a quality site that has relevance to your brand. Make your title tag site relevant PageRankâ„¢ gives added weight to a site’s title in searches. This should seem obvious. Consider having your name and the general theme of your site in title. You will notice that some popular social networks carry a lot of weight (see picture above) in Google. From what Ive noticed, Facebook, LinkedIn, Lyro, Technorati, YouTube, Twitter and Blog Catalog are favorable. You should join these popular services, so that you can own your brand on Google. If you have negative publicity associated with your brand, by joining these networks, you can push those results down, so that if someone Googles you, your personal brand will be secure. Also, purchase your domain name immediately (yourname.com). If your name is Britney Spears, Oprah or someone else that is famous, you need to focus on differentiating yourself by middle name or a quick catch phrase. This can be somewhat challenging and may require some tuning and SEO/M expert craftsmanship. When you have a unique name, its far easier to stand out, shine and control your rankings. Blogging is the easiest way to climb to the top, as blogs are updated more frequently and there are more link-backs within blogs that catapult your rank.

Resume Writing Service Reviews - How to Find the Best Resume Writing Service Provider

Resume Writing Service Reviews - How to Find the Best Resume Writing Service ProviderResume writing service reviews are the most convenient way to find the best service providers who can offer you help with your resume. Reading resume writing service reviews will save you from wasting your time and money on some of the lowest quality providers in the industry. These reviews allow you to easily locate the best service providers at affordable prices.The list of these service providers is large. It includes copywriting services, internet marketing services, medical transcription services, document translation services, and many more. All the providers have professional resumes that they prepare for their clients. You can be rest assured that they have great resumes with good credentials.Their resumes are prepared by professional writers and edited by skilled and excellent customer service. Most of the times these experts are highly specialized in certain fields. To ensure a quality resu me writing service, the company has to meet various standards.There are various factors that a good provider should have. For instance, they should have good English language skills. In addition, they should be capable of writing impressive, eye-catching resumes with very professional and effective solutions.A good resume must also be well designed. A good resume writer can get the job done in a short period of time. The writer should have a great knowledge of presentation and grammar skills. Most resume writing service reviews online reveal the fact that these service providers have excellent writers who understand the basics of the English language.If the writer doesn't have an excellent understanding of the English language, the job will be finished in less than one day. It is very important to go through the resume samples that a writing service provider provides. This is because the samples will give you an idea about the kind of resume that the provider will prepare for you. Y ou should get samples of various resumes so that you know what it will look like.Another factor that determines whether the writing service provider will do a good job for you is how good a job the person will do when you hire them. They should have the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to complete the job. They should not just copy the previous work that the writers have done before them. They should be able to do their own work and make the most of their own writing skills.It is very important to hire a good resume writing service providers because this will not only ensure a quality resume but also a good future career. You should get resume samples from reliable sources so that you will know the kind of information you can expect. With the help of these samples, you will be able to get an idea about the kind of resumes that a writing service provider will provide to you.

5 Ways Tech Can Assist in Mundane Tasks

5 Ways Tech Can Assist in Mundane Tasks This is the era of science and technology. We are living in the information age. People today belong to the smart generation. These are the things we get to hear so often in today’s age and time. Every segment of the society and every aspect of the life is dependent on the technology. Human civilization has not been so technologically revolutionized as it is today.Distances that we used to cover in months are traveled in hours. Activities that took days are completed in minutes. Life is much easier and efficient. Sitting in the comfort of our own home we can carry out many different activities of personal and business significance without having to move an inch.evalBut all this is possible only through the effective and right implementation of the technology and its applications. Hard work is still the key to success but smart work is thecatalyst we require to speed the process.Being the smart generation we cannot spend our precious time on mundane tasks that can take hours. Using technology in various ways to make regular day to day mundane activities into quick, effective and exciting work is essential for the smart people.Below are five ways technology can assist in mundane tasks of daily routine and make them exciting and easy:1. Smart DevicesUsing smart devices is no unusual thing today. Every individual has access to one of these devices and an internet connection. whether you are using smart watches, mobile phones or tablets, doing your small chores like calculations, paying the bills online, checking rates, doing small business transactions and shopping can all be done in just a few minutes and even seconds.A smart watch can change your otherwise idle time into something productive and interesting. Sitting anywhere and anytime you can complete your chores or simply browse around the internet.2. Researching and Information GatheringResearching and gathering of information can be required for business as well as personal reasons. In the real manual worl d, this can be a tiresome and lengthy job. However, through the online sources and the internet, this process can be made very fast and efficient. Creating online polls to gather views of people can be interesting for surveys and analysis purpose.3. Use of Portable ChargersWith the advent of the power banks portable chargers, life has become very comfortable and convenient. No need to wait long hours to get your smart device charged. You can simply connect it to the power bank and use it whereever you feel like. It saves lots of time and helps you carry out various activities even in the remotest locations of the world without the fear of battery dying down. It makes your life easy and efficient.4. Corporate PresentationsevalRemember the times when people used to sleep listening to boring presentations in organizations and educational institutions. Well, things are not the same anymore. Use of multimedia, powerpoint and various types of media content helps to make these presentation s more realistic and interesting. The use of 3D technology further makes things more engaging and interactive for the audience.5. E-books and KindleBook reading can be fun. But for a habitual book reader keeping so many books in access can be difficult. With Kindle and similar technological devices, hundreds of books can be made available for the reader at anytime and anywhere in the world. No need to carry the burden. Everything is available in one small tablet. Transforms your idle time of traveling or commuting,into something interesting and exciting.

How to Get Your Resume Read (Sort of)

How to Get Your Resume Read (Sort of) This months Career Collective topic is common job search misperceptions. My post is about resume writing misperceptions. You can read the topics by my esteemed colleagues by following the links at the end of this post.Its probably no surprise to you that hiring managers dont read every resume they receive. And you may also know that they dont   read any resume in its entirety; instead they scan the resume to find relevant information. If they find key information after an initial scan they may take a closer look at the document. If not, they are on to the next resume as quickly as possible. In some cases they arent even reading the resume on a full 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper or a standard computer screen. Its highly likely that they are doing that initial scan on their smart phone. So how can you grab the attention of the hiring manager and get him to pay attention to your resume? Here are a few suggestions.Group similar content by theme. Instead of making a laundry list of accomplis hments, create more digestible sound bites of information by grouping your achievements by themes and using a category heading   for each theme.Highlight top achievements so they cant be missed. Place big picture accomplishments in bold or a shaded box so they are quickly noticed. Under each big picture accomplishment list the milestones that contributed to the overall accomplishment.Include a section with your top skills. These are the keywords or buzzwords for your industry and job function. Make sure these words are prominent and towards the top of the document.Avoid blocky paragraphs of texts. Most peoples eyes glaze over when they see big blocks of text. Reading long paragraphs takes too much effort. Use bullets and keep your sentences short.Use charts and graphs to convey a point. A chart or graph can illustrate some of your key selling points without using a lot of words. The readers eye will be drawn to the chart since it will stand out from the other text in the document.Us e text boxes to spotlight important information. A text box can help break up dense text and make your resume more engaging and interesting. A text box can highlight information that sets you apart from your competition such as awards you have received, top performance statistics, or even the number of promotions you received at a specific company.5 Misconceptions Entry-Level Job Seekers Make, @heatherhuhmanHow Interview Savvy Are You?, @careersherpaEmployers Dont Care, @ValueIntoWordsMisconceptions about Using Recruiters, @DebraWheatman15 Myths and Misconceptions about Job-Hunting, @KatCareerGalAre You Boring HR? @resumeserviceJob Search Misconceptions Put Right, @GayleHowardWho Cares About What You Want in a Job? Only YOU!, @KCCareerCoachHow to get your resume read (sort of), @barbarasafaniThe 4 secrets to an effective recruiter relationship, @LaurieBerensonJob Interviews, Chronic Illness and 3 Big Ideas, @WorkWithIllnessThe secret to effective job search, @Keppie_CareersSupersta rs Need Not Apply, @WalterAkanaThe Jobs Under the Mistletoe, @chandlee8 Common Sense Interview Tips @erinkennedycprwStill no job interview? @MartinBuckland @EliteResumesMisconceptions about the Hiring Process: Your Online Identity is a Critical Part of Getting Hired, @expatcoachmegan

3 Reasons You Might Need Help With Online Branding

3 Reasons You Might Need Help With Online Branding Online branding is hard to avoid if you are going to be involved with society. Its actually happening whether or not you want it to, because some of your information is probably online already. Dont believe me? Try doing a search on your name Ill wait. This is why you need to own your online brand. Maybe there was a lot of entries with your name, maybe just a few, but when you submit your resume to a company, the name on your resume is what they will search. Its a very important part of your professional package. But sometimes, you need to get help in order to get your online brand what it needs to be. Here are three possible reasons to ask for that help: You are overwhelmed with all that is going on in your life right now.  Sometimes life throws a real curve ball and you are starting over from square one. It could be a divorce, a death or major illness, coming back into the workforce after a hiatus, a family emergency, or even a natural disaster. If there is too much on your plate, this is one thing you can delegate to a professional. You dont really know what you are doing with the whole computer thing. You are learning, but you are afraid of making a mistake. I always tell newbies to the computer age, You cant break it! Getting professional help will give you a confident start and you can take it from there. Or you can learn as you go and try it out. Either way its a reality you will need to face e-commerce, for example you cant go to an actual Amazon store you need to order online to get what you want from there. Start small and work your way up to profile creation. You now realize that you blew it big time. You have been buzzing along posting selfies and crazy party photos, and now you wish youd listened when your mom told you to be discreet. She was right and now you are sorry, but you have no idea what to do about it. A professional would have experience in this area and could help. We help with reputation management and can help you clean up your digital dirt. Then you can tell all the tweens you know to heed your warning. Professional Resume Services offers several types of online branding help, from LinkedIn Profile Development to Online Branding/Profile Development Coaching and even an Online Branding Power Package (all on the link; scroll down and see). Its also part of what is offered in our Coaching Services. If you need help with your online brand, you can find it here!