9 Steps to Take During Your Job Search

9 Steps to Take During Your Job SearchNo matter why youre looking for a job, you can get started on any of these nine steps immediately and feel more proactive and prepared. Blitz through them fast and youll be well on your way. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) 1. Update your resumeYou know you need to. Set aside an hour and update that thing. Make koranvers the formatting is clean, professional and uniform, then get ready to send it out.2. Reach outEven if youre not sure what you want to do next, or how to go about it, engage your network. Ask for advice and suggestions. Chances are someone has a great idea or opportunity for you. All you need to do is ask.3. Take a quizIt never hurts to reevaluate, especially if you think it might be time to try a new career. Take an online career quiz like this one to make sure youre going in the right direction for your skills and tastes.4. Ask up the ladderDont be shy to reach out to someone above yo ur station, so to speak, whom you admire. People love to be asked for advice. The worst-case scenario? Theyll say no. The best? They might not have realized they had the perfect opportunity just waiting for someone like you to come along.5. Get organizedWhen you get heavy into your search, youll have resumes going out and correspondence coming in like mad. Take a breather to set up an organizational ordnungsprinzip to serve you smoothly throughout the process. Youll be glad you did.6. Give yourself a digital makeoverGo ahead and Google yourself. Make sure your social media accounts reflect the best and most professional, hirable version of the special snowflake that you are. Take down those drunken pictures from the Christmas party, or set your Facebook privacy settings to Friends Only. Shore up your online presence before the right person searches for you and gets the wrong impression.7. Tailor your titelbild letterDont just send out the same soulless form letter. Do your homework. Learn about the company and the job first, then tailor each cover letter to match.8. Bone upStudy up on interview strategies and techniques so as not to feel the waves of panic when you get one9. Hit the job boardsReady, get set, get a job

Fairygodboss of the Week Shannon Sneed

Fairygodboss of the Week Shannon Sneed When born and bred Marylander Shannon Sneed was faced with the choice of staying in the communications field or running for public office, she chose...both. Now, as a Baltimore councilwoman, shes a testament to how takingchances can pay off in the long run and how doing work you love doesnt feel like work at all.Fairygodboss of the Week Shannon SneedCouncilwoman of Baltimore CityBaltimore, MDTell us a little about your career. How did you get to where you are now?I am currently a Councilwoman in Baltimore City. I represent the 13th District in East Baltimore. My background is in broadcast, but in 2011, when I decided to run for office, the general manager said that I had to choose one or the other. I made the decision to leave the broadcast after 12 years, but I stayed in the communications field. I worked for a utility organization (BGs sekretariat of Employment Development. In my spare time, I would volunteer in the community and that lead me to run for political office. I am a product of Marylands higher education system, with a Masters degree from Morgan State University and Bachelors degree from University of Maryland Eastern Shore. What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?I have a lot to be proud of, but most recently I introduced the Disdistributions-mixd Workers Protection Act bill that passed in Baltimore City. Now, thousands of employees are protected if a companys contract changes between different owners.What is a challenge that youve faced and overcome?Since I decided to take my daughter to work with me, I feared that I would not be able to juggle both duties at the same time and that people would not take me seriously when I showed up to meetings with a baby. I overcame those challenges by showing up to meetings a few minutes early, so I could get my daughter settled. And the extra time allows me time to get comfortable before I have to speak.Who is YOUR Fairygodboss? and Why?My mother is my Fairygodbo ss. My mother was a single parent that worked full-time and never made a lot of money, but she always managed to get my sister and me whatever we needed.What do you do when youre not working?When I am not working, I travel to go spend time with my nieces and nephews.If you could have dinner with one famous persondead or alivewho would it be?I would want to have dinner with Shirley Chisholm, because she was the first black woman to run for president of the United States.What is your karaoke song?Im Every Woman by Whitney HoustonWhat is your favorite movie?This Christmas, written by Preston A. Whitmore IIWhat book would you bring with you to a desert island?Singing in the Comeback Choir by Bebe Moore CampbellWhat is your shopping vice? What would you buy if you won the lottery?Shoes would be my shopping vice, but if I hit the lottery, I would buy a bigger home to adopt a child to grow my family.What is the 1 career tip youd like to share with other women who want to have successful ca reers like you? To be successful sometimes we have to take chances, and sometimes that means moving to another state or walking away from a comfortable job. We should all have careers we love and that way it will never feel like work.Why do you love where you work?I love where I work because of the people I am working for. I working to make my community a better place and I am changing policy that will help families for years to come.Fairygodboss is all about women helping other womenso each week, we celebrate a woman who made a difference in another womans career. Is there a woman who has made a difference in your career? Celebrate her and thank her by nominating her here.

Video Interview Secrets to Hiring The Best Young Workers

Video Interview Secrets to Hiring The Best Young WorkersIs your company ignoring young workers? Perhaps when its time to schedule a video interview, youve gotten into the habit of avoiding those in a younger age bracket. Aside from being discriminatory, this just isnt wise for the future of your company. Young workers are bringing fresh ideas and perspectives to companies both big and small. After all, one of the richest CEOs started his company from a dorm room. That little company is now called Facebook and alfruchtwein everyone you know has an account.A recent post on Steve Boeses HR blog discovered a fairly alarming statistic to many. The number of workers 55 and older will soon surpass the number of workers in the 25 to 34 age bracket. The reasons for this are diverse, but they tie back heavily to the recent economic recession. For instance, the new crop of college students are having an increasingly hard time finding work, especially jobs matching their credentials. Meanwhile o lder workers, many of whom lost huge amounts of money in the economic downturn, have been forced to stay in the workforce longer.Bleeding young talent is bad news for most companies. The workers in the 25 to 34 bracket are the talent companies want to establish and develop. They are the next round of superstars at your company. While older workers are smart and competent, they may also come at a higher cost immediately and will be on the way out of your organization sooner.Its time for companies to start taking a chance on younger workers today if they want to be able to compete in the global marketplace of ideas tomorrow. The best way to hire the most talented young workers is to focus on hiring better right from the video interview. Here are some secrets on how to use video interviews to nab your next young superstarFocus on Skills, Not ExperienceYounger workers, especially those right out of college, wont have the same depth of experience as their older counterparts. Its a mistak e, however, to think this means they have no value to add to your company. In fact, behauptung potential employees are eager to gain the experience they need to become a real powerhouse in your industry.Instead of focusing on experience in the video interview, focus on skills instead. Ask relevant interview questions about the candidates industry-specific skills and qualifications. Do they know certain programs or software? Also make sure to ask about what theyve done outside the classroom and their first entry-level jobs. Many candidates have taken on unpaid internships and volunteer opportunities from which theyve learned a wide variety of useful skills they can bring to your organization.Look for PassionYou dont just want a candidate looking for a day job, you want a candidate ready to embark on a career path. Passionate employees are going to be more engaged and more likely to take on additional responsibilities in the office.Young workers picked your industry for a reason, so f ind out what that reason is directly in the video interview. Does your candidate have a real passion for the work or are they just looking for a handsome paycheck? Ask about why they chose this career path and what they like most and least about the industry. These answers can give you a good feel for just how committed they are to your field, and how likely theyll be to stick around. Find the candidates who truly love what theyre doing and youll be hiring motivated, productive employees.Thirst for KnowledgeTraining is a major concern on the part of most companies when it comes to hiring young workers. Training can often be time-consuming and expensive and many companies want to hire candidates who can hit the ground running. The benefit of hiring younger workers, however, is that they are not opposed to learning new things. They dont have bad habits to break and theyre hungry for knowledge.In the video interview, make sure to ask what they know and what they want to know. If your c andidate has a list of things they want to learn on the job, this is a good sign. It means the candidate sees your company as a place to learn and grow, a place to become a better employee. Beware if they cant think of anything they want to learn from your position.Companies cant afford to ignore emerging talent, because this talent will make up their next generation of superstar employees. Its important, however, to assess this talent critically in the video interview. If you follow some of these video interview hiring secrets youll hire great young workers who will be adding value to your company for years to come.What are some secrets you have for using video interviews to hire great young candidates? Share with us in the commentsSOURCES Metro, Steve Boese, Pew Research Center

Your Appearance Could Impact Your Next Promotion - The Muse

Your Appearance Could Impact Your Next Promotion - The MuseYour Appearance Could Impact Your Next Promotion What if how you dressed impacted whether or not you ended up getting a promotion? Its nearly impossible to stomach, especially considering your skills and the accomplishments youve made at the company. The last thing you want to consider is that after all your hard work and focused effort, what you choose to wear every day could be the one thing holding you back. And yet, according to Kristin Wong on Lifehacker, this actually happens. Citing a recent CareerBuilder poll that surveyed 2,000 HR managers across the U.S., Wong tracks the statistics for notable employer attitudes about employee appearance. This is what she reports from among the findings44% were less likely to promote an employee who wore provocative clothing to work.43% were less likely to promote an employee who wore wrinkled clothes.32% were less likely to promote an employee with piercings other than traditional ear piercings.27% were less likely to promote an employee who frequently wore clothing that was too casual for the workplace.Of course, the piece also notes the obvious- that the impact will definitely vary from company to company. Still, its pretty safe to say that no one wants to hear that how he dresses can negatively impact his career success. Look on the bright side behauptung numbers may not tell a story you like, but they tell a story nonetheless- one you can use to your advantage. In other words, the old clich still rings true Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Photo of colleagues courtesy of Thomas Barwick/Getty Images.

Couldnt Make #ERE15 Here Are 5 Notes You Would Have Taken

Couldnt Make ERE15 Here Are 5 Notes You Would Have TakenCouldnt Make ERE15 Here Are 5 Notes You Would Have TakenLast week was a whirlwind of talent acquisition management and leadership best practices courtesy of the ERE Media Recruiting Conference in San Diego, CA.If you couldnt make it to the conference in person, were sorry to say that you missed out From captivating presentations by lead talent acquisition managers at top brands like Charles Schwab, Talbots and SAP, to spirited networking and engagement opportunities, there wasnt a minute of downtime.We could never capture the spirit and intensity of the event in a single blog post, but fortunately we were taking notes the entire time. If you missed the live event, heres a look at five key themes and insights from the conference that you can chime in on via social media.1. Speed-to-hire is 1Rob McIntosh, Chief Analyst at ERE Media, Inc., emphasizes that time to fill has always been important. However, in an increasingly tougher j ob market, its becoming more and more of a pain point for HR Managers in the field. For every recruiting segment represented in his presentation, he cited overwhelming difficulty with speed-to-hire over other challenges such as inconsistencies within the process, technology, quality, cost and people.Whats keeping recruiting pros up at night? Speed-to-hire is 1. You snooze, you lose. ERE15 TheRobMcIntosh- Kevin W. Grossman (KevinWGrossman) April 28, 2015 2. Struggling with quality? It needs to be trackedHR Managers continue to discuss quality as a critical KPI, yet theyre not tracking those metrics to gauge long-term improvement. And in a business environment in which What gets measured, gets managed, we can all agree that measuring and tracking candidate quality will be a critical element in improving recruiting outcomes in 2015.Analytics that are not being tracked. Quality is so important but nearly half dont measure it ERE15 pic.twitter.com/p5UsQZmgs7 - Jason Hopkins (JHopp12) A pril 28, 201532% of ERE_net survey dont track Cost Per Hire. 40% dont track Hiring Mgr satisfaction. 34% dont track source time. ERE15- Nicole L (NicoleJibe) April 28, 2015What gets measured, gets managed ERE15 data pic.twitter.com/v92BmLg6Tx- Suzanne Black (SuzBlack) April 28, 20153. Employer Brand takes center stageEmployer Brand continues to be top of mind for recruiters, especially as getting named on those top employer lists can cause a boost in the quality and size of a companys candidate pool. Many speakers shared statistics about the benefits of investing in Employer Brand as well as tips for improving it.Getting ranked on top employer lists will have a big impact on hiring. ERE15- Sam Hammond (SSHammond1) April 29, 20154. Employer Branding and candidate quality can join forcesSpeaking of the importance of Employer Branding, Dr. John Sullivan gave a provocative talk that shared a few actionable recommendations on how to deploy Employer Branding that actually improves cand idate quality. His presentation shared a new definition of strategic and encouraged recruiters to follow a more scientific path to improve these metrics over time.5. Simply Hired helps the best of the best get betterFinally, we were in for a little surprise of our own as Dr. Sullivans listed the top 12 companies with the most strategic recruiting functions. Of this independently-selected list, Simply Hired works with five of the top ten companies to help them develop higher quality recruiting programs.Did any of these themes leap out at you? Leave us a comment below or tweet us at SimplyHired to share your experience

This is the thing that keeps Americans from sleeping the most

This is the thing that keeps Americans from sleeping the mostThis is the thing that keeps Americans from sleeping the mostEighty-three percent of respondents surveyed in a recent Well+Good study said that the lack of sufficient sleep takes away from their quality of life, particularly fitness goals. Seventy percent surveyed to be exact, said sleepless nights prohibit consistent exercise, and an additional 64% said that it affects the quality of their output at work.For most, the median amount of time spent lying awake in bed is about six hours. Although the recommendedamount of sleep for an otherwise healthy 18 to 64-year-old is seven to nine hours, it should be noted that exactly when that window is achieved has no effect on sleep quality. There isnt a categorical word on bedtimes, just on the amount of sleep obtained relative to age. Honestly, I dont really ever prescribe an ideal bedtime because theres natural variations from one person to another, licensed sleep expert, Shelby Ha rris PsyD explained to Well+Good.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreSeven to nine hours of sleep may seem high, but thats only because six hours, has been the reported norm for adults for so long. Data uncovered by researchers at The University of California, San Fransisco, motioned that a rare gene found in only about 3% of the population, allows these select few to function on as few as six hours of sleep per night. For the remaining 97% of us, this is far too little actually.Every physical and cognitive function is influenced by quality sleep. A healthy sleep regimen offers boosts to our immune system, helps us regulate weight loss, and improves memory.Identifying the causeIn Well+Goods report, general stress was occasioned the most often (65%), as far as the reason for chronic insomnia is concerned, with anxietyand work/school following just a few percentages behind (60% and 5 5% respectively). A Bankrate survey from just last year, reports that 41% of Americans are kept up all night due to problems in their relationship, and 36% occasioned financial problems.These commonly reported factors work in unison with predictors of insomnia that are not determined by mental health or external stressors. For instance, in the very same Well+Good study cited above, more than half of the respondent said that they might achieve more qualityrest if their freund had a different bedtime.In a new study, published by Mattress Firm of over 3,000 individuals, 30% of surveyees said that they had to have the TV on to fall asleep, even though independent research has rebuked this has an effective method of improving sleep hygiene. Another survey, claims that 72% of children ages 6 to 17 sleep with at least one electronic device in their bedroom. In addition to precluding qualityrest, keeping electronic devices, namelycell phones, in the bed with you while you attempt to sleep, is studied to yield harmful hormonal effects.The daily habits that heavily influence a healthy circadian rhythm often get taken for granted, like the things we eat for instance. As previouslyreported,nutrition plays an enormous role in governing our quality of sleep. DieticianAlison Stowell is a prolific member of The American Dietetic Association. that recently spoke with Ladders, about the specific foods that contribute to higher quality sleep, like seafood, bananas, and chocolate just to name a few.Theres a lot of studied sleep remedies for those that are not too keen on taking supplements or medication. Exercise is a recommendation that accompanies most health regiments. One Medical recommends at least thirty minutes of exercise for quality sleep most days of the week.Intense to moderate physical activity causes an increase in body temperature. Once weve stopped exercising and drop back down to muster temperatures, the body is met with a calming effect that has been shown to pro mote sleep.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Hiring a Financial Controller

Hiring a Financial ControllerHiring a Financial ControllerYour company has grown so quickly recently that you need expert financial leadership and oversight. You need someone who can monitor the accounting and finance departments policies and procedures, set budgets, provide guidance on complex tax and compliance issues, and contribute to the financial strategy discussions at your company. In other words, you need a financial controller. In most companies that employ a controller, the person in the position plays a crucial role. The controller usually oversees the day-to-day operations of the finance department and manages financial reporting. The person in this role has input and influence on the companys important financial decisions and can have a strong hand in determining the health of the company.Looking for a controller to move your business forward? Give us a call.1.855.432.0924With so much riding on this controller position, its critical to make sure you hire the right perso n for the job. The skills and attributes below should top your list of must-haves when youre looking for a financial controller.A firm grasp on the numbersFirst and foremost, a controller must have a strong understanding of all functions of the typical accounting department, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, and payroll and clearing. But the right candidate will not simply show competence in accounting procedures. He or she will also be able to answer tough questions and manage others in your financial department.Most controllers have a masters degree in accounting or business administration, and many are CPAs or certified management accountants (CMAs).Do you know the latest controller salary benchmarks?In-depth knowledge of the entire finance function Look for someone who has the expertise necessary to maintain all financial aspects of your company, even if your company already has a CFO. Your top candidates should be comfortable negotiating contracts and insurance p olicies, reviewing invoices, and meeting with tax advisors and auditors.If you find a controller with experience establishing and executing internal financial controls, that person will be less likely to be intimidated if he or she is asked to step in and help with the administration of financial planning and reporting.A passion for the details, an ability to explain themOne of the most important skills a successful controller can have is the ability to stay organized. Controllers have to keep up with so much information, often tracked in complex spreadsheets, that orderliness is vital.Excellent soft skills are crucial, too. A controller must be able to relay difficult, dense information to upper management in a precise and easy-to-understand way. Controllers who are good communicators can also provide your company with valuable analysis and expert opinions on financial topics.The personality to get along with coworkersIts easy to focus on the technical skills required of a controll er, but business skills such as the ability to work with a team, negotiate successfully and solve conflicts are equally important. Your companys controller will be given a great deal of responsibility and will collaborate with departments throughout the firm. This means its imperative to make sure the person you hire for the position will fit in with your current teams, particularly those in upper management.Hiring a controller can be a big step. Depending on the size of your company, the candidate who lands the position could be in charge of the firms entire financial state. departure by seeking organized team players who excel in accounting and are not intimidated by the thought of providing complete financial support.Questions to ask controller job candidatesKnowing what you need in a financial controller makes asking the right questions much easier when its time for the interview. Getting answers to the following 12 questions helps you ensure that the person you hire will step i nto the role ready to succeed from Day OneWhat steps did you take to reduce expenses and/or increase revenues at past companies youve worked for? What sort of experience do you have in establishing internal financial controls? What are some procedural improvements youve made at past jobs? Are you able to explain financial matters in a way that the management team can understand? In what ways have you helped junior members of the financial team improve their skill sets? What steps have you taken when it comes to continuing education in your career? When hiring financial staff, what qualities do you look for? How would you rate yourself as a motivator? Recall a time when you experienced an impasse in the workplace. What steps did you take to help resolve it? Whats the biggest challenge youve faced in your career, and how did you deal with it? Why are you the best candidate for this position? Is there anything else youd like to add to help influence our hiring decision? No hiring decis ion should be taken lightly, but that maxim is especially true for the position of controller. Maintain focus on what your company needs and how each candidate embodies essential qualities, and youll greatly increase your odds of hiring the right person the first time around.