Saturday, May 30, 2020

Do You Skype How to optimize your Skype experience

Do You Skype How to optimize your Skype experience I learned some things from these two posts, shared my friend Linda Lopeke: 9 Crucial Tips and Tricks for Skype 10 Skype Chat Tricks for Power Users Do you Skype?  Ive been using it for years. I pay about $3 a month for unlimited outbound long distance to the US/Canada. I chat to people on skype, I have skype-to-skype calls, and it is integrated into JibberJobber so I can start a call or chat with one click. Pretty awesome! Do You Skype How to optimize your Skype experience I learned some things from these two posts, shared my friend Linda Lopeke: 9 Crucial Tips and Tricks for Skype 10 Skype Chat Tricks for Power Users Do you Skype?  Ive been using it for years. I pay about $3 a month for unlimited outbound long distance to the US/Canada. I chat to people on skype, I have skype-to-skype calls, and it is integrated into JibberJobber so I can start a call or chat with one click. Pretty awesome!

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Creating Good Karma For Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Creating Good Karma For Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Managing your personal brand is essential to your success. You want to stand out among the crowd, be noticed, be invaluable. You don’t want to be someone who is easily replaced and easily forgotten. You want to be someone who people will listen to, look up to, and most importantly be remembered. To be a strong and successful personal brand, one of the most important things you need to have is a network of contacts. And it’s essential that you manage your relationship with those contacts well, to ensure that you have a smooth and hassle-free working relationship. As your brand or small business continues to grow, you may have difficulty with relationship management. People get muddled up in your mind and you may become confused as to which tasks need to be done by which people. You may forget names, as well as the faces associated with those names. So how do you manage? Keeping the important important Depending on the person you’re talking to or interacting with, it can range from being funny to being offensive if you mix up their name or their work title. So it’s really important that you keep track of who’s who so you don’t end up angering anyone. For this purpose, you need a relationship management tool that’s intuitive, easy to use, and something that can really help you manage your contact list so you don’t get confused. One of the latest and most promising tools available today is KarmaCRM. KarmaCRM makes managing and maintaining a huge contact database incredibly simple. The site offers advanced filtering and tagging features so you can easily search and find the contact you’re looking for in your list. You also have the convenience of importing contacts from third party integrations such as Freshbooks and HighRise. Add the information you need for each contact, so you always know who you’re talking and connecting with. Another excellent feature that KarmaCRM offers is email integration with your contacts. Each email account will be given a unique KarmaCRM dropbox, and all you need to do is CC, BCC or email this address whenever you correspond with a client, colleague or customer, and Karma will automatically attach the email with the contact’s file. This makes it easy for you to remember previous conversations with a specific contact. KarmaCRM will even create a new file if there’s no record of that person. Involved in sales? KarmaCRM also offers a great feature for personal bands that are involved in sales. Within the site, you can organize your contacts according to the sales status you associate them with. Whether you’re in the contact, proposal or follow-up stage, KarmaCRM helps you easily identify what part of the sales process you’re currently in. You can even get updates on deadlines associated with different contacts. With this tool, you’ll never miss a proposal or deal deadline again. Yes, there are other tools out there yet they can be cumbersome or even overwhelming when you’re talking about just managing your personal circle of influence’s information. If you have a sales team, this can help you and if you don’t if can help you and not overwhelm you with too many gadgets to get in your way or bog you down with a large daunting learning curve just to figure out how to access your information. And let’s not forget the easy-to-read reports that Karma provides. Any good CRM tool should offer reporting that’s easy to create and easy to export. KarmaCRM offers you a custom report builder that’s intuitive and easy to use. The tools you use are an extension of you KarmaCRM also integrates with different third party applications such as Freshbooks, Highrise, MailChimp, and Google Calendar. And it is continually working to integrate with other third party applications so that people can have a better experience using Karma. Perhaps one of the BEST things about KarmaCRM is the fact that it’s entirely cloud based, so you don’t have to download any special software or application to be able to access the tool. Anytime, anywhere, you can easily check your contacts, see any deadlines looming, and monitor progress and reports. As a personal brand, it’s important for you to build trust with your clients and customers, so make sure you use a customer relationship management tool that helps you manage and monitor your contacts. Author: Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of  buzz2bucks.com  â€"  a word of mouth marketing firm.   She helps create connection, credibility, community and cha-ching through mobile marketing and social commerce around your brand. She is co-founder of  #brandchat   a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Perfect Your Elevator Pitch And Win $5,000 - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Perfect Your Elevator Pitch And Win $5,000 - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career You’re stuck in an elevator with the CEO of your dream company. What do you say? Sure, that may be the best possible scenario where you would need an elevator pitch handy. But you also want something ready when you meet someone new at a conference, while networking, during an interview, and for various other activities. Practice makes perfect PricewaterhouseCoopers offers the following tips to perfect your elevator pitch: Practice, practice, practice your self-introduction. The best pitches are natural (not canned), but prepared. When possible, practice your pitch in front of a trusted friend, family member or career services professional and tape yourself to see how you come across. Make sure your image matches your pitch. You need to dress professionally, but it’s okay to show some flair with a bright tie or a unique piece of jewelry. Do some research on the industry you want to join to learn what’s appropriate. No matter what, look neat (iron everything) and groomed. Smile. It’s simple, but a smile can go a long way towards making a good impression (and putting you at ease). Make direct eye contact with your listener. If your eyes are wandering or looking down, people will assume you’re distracted or not very interested in talking to them. Say your name clearly. It’s one of the most important elements you want your listener to remember. Be clear and concise. There’s no need to tell someone your life story. Highlight the most important elements of your personal brand (what you’re studying, your key experience, what you hope to do in the future) and then let the conversation flow from there. Show your passion. Recruiters consistently say that passion stands out. Let your enthusiasm shine through. Stop talking. After about 20 to 30 seconds, finish your introduction and let the other person speak. Listening skills are just as important as speaking skills. To further their mission to educate individuals on differentiating themselves, PwC is holding an elevator pitch video contest for college students with a $5,000 cash prize. What do you have to do to enter? Submit a video including your first name, major, and career aspiration/career goal (must be no longer than 30 seconds) through Facebook by March 25, 2011. See more on the official rules here. Feel free to share your elevator pitch (or tips) in the comments below! Author: Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder president of Come Recommended, a  content marketing consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers. She is also the author of #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010) and writes  career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

14 Numbers You Need to See in Your Candidates CV

14 Numbers You Need to See in Your Candidates CV When assessing a candidate’s suitability for your vacancies, it’s vital to see facts and figures throughout their CV. Numbers provide scale, context and give you a much greater understanding of candidate capabilities â€" without them, many statements can be left open to interpretation. For example, two different candidates could list “team leadership” as a skill on their CV and appear identical. But if one of those candidates is managing a 2 person team and the other is managing a 200 person team, then they are clearly not suitable for the same roles. Accompanying claims with numbers in this fashion gives candidates a much more accurate description of their work and quantifies the impact they make. They also allow you a direct comparison method when making final decisions on forwarding candidate to roles. In cases where you suspect a candidate is strong but their CV is lacking the figures to back it up, you must quiz them on their numbers and ensure the CV is updated accordingly. These types of metrics are vital to employers and they should always be visible in a CV before being put in front of a client or hiring manager. Finances Most companies are in business to make money, and even non-profit organisations require a healthy bank balance to run efficiently. If you want a meaningful measure of a candidate’s success, looking at their contributions to company finances is a good place to start. Do they manage a budget? Budgetary responsibility is a positive sign and the size of said budget will give you an indication of the candidate’s seniority. Have they saved any costs? Any initiatives that a candidate has led or supported to cut company spending will always be looked upon favourably, especially large amounts over long time periods. Have they generated any revenue? This is not just a signal for sales or marketing candidates. Any activity that a has contributed to company earnings is a viable benefit to an employer. Time Time is a hugely valuable resource to companies and individuals alike. If a candidate can demonstrate their ability to use time wisely, it should be seen as a resourceful trait. Can they commit? Good candidates generally tend to stay with employers for long time periods and commit themselves to projects through to completion. Can they save time? Anything change that can be brought about to save a company’s resource time is a massive selling point. If a candidate has implemented process or policy changes that have led to faster and more efficient ways of working, they should certainly be looked upon favourably. Can they meet deadlines? A successful organisation relies on a team of staff who get things done on time. If a candidate can show quantified examples of delivering ahead of schedule, that’s even better. Locations The geographical span of a candidate’s work shows exactly how far their impact spreads physically. Numerical location signals within a CV provide a better understanding of the scale of a candidate’s work. How far does their work reach? A candidate could have their work focused solely in one city to concentrate on a particular market, or they may work across multiple regions to cover a large client base. Neither of these are better than the other, but they could affect suitability for certain roles. Do they manage multiple sites/offices? A candidate who is managing one location for their employer will be at a very different seniority level to a candidate who is managing twenty. Ensure that these numbers match with hiring manager expectations. Size Size related statistics are good indicators of a person’s contribution in the workplace. Often bigger numbers will demonstrate a bigger impact, but this will depend on the role requirements. Have they worked on big projects? In order to know where you can place a candidate, it’s crucial to know the types of environments they have worked in, and metrics are a great way to convey this. Look out for signs on project or operations monetary value, number of people affected by their work or value of change delivered. How big is the team they work in or lead? It’s important to understand whether a candidate works within a small team, or leads global teams consisting of hundreds of people. Percentages Although figures are important, they can occasionally be deceiving if taken out of context. For example, a £100 saving may be impressive from a £150 monthly spend. However, a £100 saving from a £150m spend is barely noticeable. Percentages express the impact of a candidate’s work in direct correlation to their employer’s, so they can be reliable sources of data. Have they hit their targets? If a candidate’s role is subject to targets or KPIs then it’s crucial to know how they are performing in relation to expectations. Do they make impactful increases and decreases? If a candidate is able to increase sales by 20% or decrease customer waiting time by 35%, then their value becomes very clear. About the author: Andrew Fennell is an experienced recruiter and founder of CV writing service StandOut CV.

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Writing a Financial Analyst Resume

Writing a Financial Analyst ResumeWriting a financial analyst resume is as important as that of any other professional resume. The resume of a professional writer will certainly be appreciated by those prospective employers who are specifically in the field of business. However, those who are considering enrolling for an MBA will also need to provide their resume to these organizations as well as those who would be hiring for the position of entry level employee.A person who intends to be a financial analyst must demonstrate the ability to think logically and rationally in order to perform well. The ability to work independently in an efficient manner must also be shown. Additionally, the ability to develop a good understanding of the processes and systems involved in running a business or agency is highly beneficial. An individual should have an excellent command of the English language and be able to read reports and statements without making any errors in the application process.P eople who intend to be a financial analyst must first and foremost possess good listening skills. This ability comes naturally to some and may not be developed over time. Having the ability to listen to a situation is important to someone who is in the business of making decisions. It can also be an asset to those who do not want to be in the office everyday. Any degree of listening skills should be present.When someone is asked to discuss a particular situation, it is a very wise idea to listen to what is being said. Once an individual has listened, he or she should research the data being presented in order to validate the fact that the data is accurate. After this, the individual should try to gather relevant information from as many different sources as possible. At this point, a good assessment should be made about the validity of the data in question. If this information is found to be correct, the individual should write a summary of the information provided and submit the re sume.In the field of finance, financial analysts must not be afraid to combine logic with common sense when it comes to coming up with a good conclusion. There are times when an individual's gut feeling is going to lead him or her to a conclusion that seems appropriate. The problem arises when the conclusion is not supported by the facts. Those who have some type of logical ability but do not always come up with the right conclusion should give credence to their intuition.Before going into a job interview, a person who intends to be a financial analyst must be sure to show that they know how to work in teams. Good communication skills are critical for those who are seeking employment. Communication is very important in these types of jobs.Writing a resume is not difficult but it does take work. Since it is a professional document, it is highly advisable to spend some time on it. Each resume should be written separately. In order to not confuse other people reading it, the person sho uld write his or her resume at a specific time of the day.It is important to know that being a financial analyst is not as easy as it looks. There are plenty of topics to cover, from personal goals to company goals. A person who wishes to pursue such a career should be prepared. After all, it is one of the most challenging careers out there.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Could I help someone you love - Hire Imaging

Could I help someone you love - Hire Imaging In my 30 years as a career coach, people have regularly reached out to me to work with their loved ones. I have then been able to help folks, help their family members and friends who are graduating and new to the workforce; and those who are frustrated or just stuck in their job search or careers. I have worked with them to move forward with purpose, direction and confidence. This year, I’ve decided to make it easier than ever, for people to show their love with a gift of career guidance, from one of the most experienced career coaches in the industry. Perhaps your loved one is a new graduate struggling to find footing in today’s job market. Or a professional who has been laid off or now needs a resume that hasn’t been revised in a very long time. A friend or family member who is intimidated by today’s technology-driven job search. If you have someone you care about, who needs help with their job search or career, my service is a gift that could make a huge, positive difference to their life. It occurred to me that Thanksgivingâ€"a time of remembering gratitude and moving into the holiday seasonâ€"is a great time to make this gift available. So, from now until Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, November 23rd, I’m offering you a gift certificate that you can present to someone you care about. If you’d like to know more, just email me at barb@hireimaging.com or phone me toll free at 1-877-265-2750. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have, with no obligation on your part whatsoever. I look forward to hearing from you!

Friday, May 8, 2020

An underpaid CEO How radical! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

An underpaid CEO How radical! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog In my last post I wrote about how Costco treats its employees better than their competitors, get huge profits as a result and catch flack for it from stock analysts who want them to spend less money on their people. Go figure. So heres a good question considering that Costco spends 40% more on their employees than their closest competition, how well is Costco CEO Sinegal himself paid? Despite Costcos impressive record, Mr. Sinegals salary is just $350,000, although he also received a $200,000 bonus last year. That puts him at less than 10 percent of many other chief executives, though Costco ranks 29th in revenue among all American companies. Ive been very well rewarded, said Mr. Sinegal, who is worth more than $150 million thanks to his Costco stock holdings. I just think that if youre going to try to run an organization thats very cost-conscious, then you cant have those disparities. Having an individual who is making 100 or 200 or 300 times more than the average person working on the floor is wrong. So heres a company that pays its employees more than average and its CEO waaaay less. I like it! This also contributes to making people happy at work. While I always say that money cant make us happy at work, a salary thats too low or blatantly unfair (say one that is 200 times smaller than the CEOs) can definitely make us unhappy. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related