Blogging to Bigger Job Opportunities Interview on FoxBusiness.com

Blogging to Bigger Job Opportunities â€" Interview on FoxBusiness.com Last night I saw an article on FoxBusiness.com where they quoted me regarding blogging as a career tool. Its a great article, and the journalist has great information from other people regarding this proactive career strategy. I would like to expand a little on this one paragraph: “I don’t know of anybody else in the alumni space who blogs about alumni directors,” Alba said. “If you’re an alumni director and you need info, you’re going to look in Google and it’s most likely you’ll come up with his blog posts. He’s not necessarily any smarter than any of them â€" but he is the guy that’s branding himself in the alumni space through his blog. Just by virtue of the quality and content that he’s putting up, he’s the expert.” Being one of the subject matter experts (SME) or thought leaders in your space is a powerful thing. Let me clarify that Im not saying that Andy, or any of my other Winners of the Month, are not smarter than their peers. Maybe Andy is the most brilliant alumni director to ever take that role. Im not in a position to say whether Andy is the smartest alumni director, or Micheal Schaffner is the smartest CIO or Adelino de Almeida is the smartest marketer, or Kent Blumberg is the smartest CxO, or Robb Hecht is the smartest PR guy But thats not the point. Its not a smartest contest rather, there is room for anyone, including YOU, to show others what you are made of. If your blogging happens to be smart, or clever, or thought-provoking, you can become that SME or thought leader. Over time you can develop your following and community. Your goal is not to show that you are smarter, faster, or better! Your goal should be to let others know what you are made of. And this becomes your personal brand. The whole point of my You Get It recognition is to point out regular people who have done it, show what they are doing right, and hopefully encourage YOU to think about what YOU can do for your personal brand. After all, no one else is going to build your brand for you. What are YOU doing for your personal brand today? Blogging to Bigger Job Opportunities â€" Interview on FoxBusiness.com Last night I saw an article on FoxBusiness.com where they quoted me regarding blogging as a career tool. Its a great article, and the journalist has great information from other people regarding this proactive career strategy. I would like to expand a little on this one paragraph: “I don’t know of anybody else in the alumni space who blogs about alumni directors,” Alba said. “If you’re an alumni director and you need info, you’re going to look in Google and it’s most likely you’ll come up with his blog posts. He’s not necessarily any smarter than any of them â€" but he is the guy that’s branding himself in the alumni space through his blog. Just by virtue of the quality and content that he’s putting up, he’s the expert.” Being one of the subject matter experts (SME) or thought leaders in your space is a powerful thing. Let me clarify that Im not saying that Andy, or any of my other Winners of the Month, are not smarter than their peers. Maybe Andy is the most brilliant alumni director to ever take that role. Im not in a position to say whether Andy is the smartest alumni director, or Micheal Schaffner is the smartest CIO or Adelino de Almeida is the smartest marketer, or Kent Blumberg is the smartest CxO, or Robb Hecht is the smartest PR guy But thats not the point. Its not a smartest contest rather, there is room for anyone, including YOU, to show others what you are made of. If your blogging happens to be smart, or clever, or thought-provoking, you can become that SME or thought leader. Over time you can develop your following and community. Your goal is not to show that you are smarter, faster, or better! Your goal should be to let others know what you are made of. And this becomes your personal brand. The whole point of my You Get It recognition is to point out regular people who have done it, show what they are doing right, and hopefully encourage YOU to think about what YOU can do for your personal brand. After all, no one else is going to build your brand for you. What are YOU doing for your personal brand today? Blogging to Bigger Job Opportunities â€" Interview on FoxBusiness.com Last night I saw an article on FoxBusiness.com where they quoted me regarding blogging as a career tool. Its a great article, and the journalist has great information from other people regarding this proactive career strategy. I would like to expand a little on this one paragraph: “I don’t know of anybody else in the alumni space who blogs about alumni directors,” Alba said. “If you’re an alumni director and you need info, you’re going to look in Google and it’s most likely you’ll come up with his blog posts. He’s not necessarily any smarter than any of them â€" but he is the guy that’s branding himself in the alumni space through his blog. Just by virtue of the quality and content that he’s putting up, he’s the expert.” Being one of the subject matter experts (SME) or thought leaders in your space is a powerful thing. Let me clarify that Im not saying that Andy, or any of my other Winners of the Month, are not smarter than their peers. Maybe Andy is the most brilliant alumni director to ever take that role. Im not in a position to say whether Andy is the smartest alumni director, or Micheal Schaffner is the smartest CIO or Adelino de Almeida is the smartest marketer, or Kent Blumberg is the smartest CxO, or Robb Hecht is the smartest PR guy But thats not the point. Its not a smartest contest rather, there is room for anyone, including YOU, to show others what you are made of. If your blogging happens to be smart, or clever, or thought-provoking, you can become that SME or thought leader. Over time you can develop your following and community. Your goal is not to show that you are smarter, faster, or better! Your goal should be to let others know what you are made of. And this becomes your personal brand. The whole point of my You Get It recognition is to point out regular people who have done it, show what they are doing right, and hopefully encourage YOU to think about what YOU can do for your personal brand. After all, no one else is going to build your brand for you. What are YOU doing for your personal brand today?

Resume Writing - Tips and Tricks to Boost Your Resume Writing Skills

Resume Writing - Tips and Tricks to Boost Your Resume Writing SkillsI am going to show you a simple way to boost your resume writing skills and make them look amazing. All in the details thoet, Alison! I'm going to show you how to write resumes that will stand out.Resume writing is an art. It takes time and practice to get it just right. You can't simply start to write a resume and expect everything to fall into place right away. The information must be written well, so that when someone looks at it they think 'wow' and want to know more.When you're not sure what to write in your resume, then simply take a look at your last resume and notice the common mistakes. If you do this you'll be able to avoid them in the future and give your future resume writing a clear direction. All in the details thoet, Alison!When you are giving your resume a try, take a look at it from the eye of a reader. You don't have to worry about writing a professional resume for the first time, but keep in mind t hat if you are trying to pass up the first time you've written one it's a little different. Simply try and eliminate any spelling or grammatical errors that you can find, and if you spot some good ones do let yourself know!Once you have done that, use an outline. What you want to do is take a look at your resume from the eyes of a reader and highlight some parts of it, that way you can quickly see the things that need work. At the same time, you can learn a lot from the information in these areas. You can write your resume differently next time, if needed.So, all in the details again, the first thing you should do is start at the beginning. You should have a list of points that you think people might be interested in knowing about and then start with those first. If you make it simple enough for them, then you should be able to find things on the first read-through that you hadn't noticed before.After you have covered the most important points, then start looking at other areas. If there are some areas where you might be missing something then try to keep a review notebook of those areas. This will help you re-read the resume and find any new information that you may have missed.Finally, write a list of questions to ask yourself before you start writing your resume. These will help you pinpoint areas where you can get better. You can then plan your whole resume around the areas that need work. All in the details, Alison!

Todays Career Tip Avoid regret - dont let your job take over your life. - Classy Career Girl

Todays Career Tip Avoid regret - dont let your job take over your life. Todays Career Tip: Dont let your job take over your life. Todays career tip comes directly from an article I read this morning. Click here to read. This article could be a wake-up call for you.  JohnJerryson, 46, posted on a forum recently about his regrets in his life. He talks about how hes wasted his life and his ambitions. His job took over his life and he became an awful husband  while being a money-making machine. It is a heartbreaking story. In our drive to find success and build our ideal life, it is so, so important that we dont lose sight of what really matters If we arent careful and very aware of the decisions we make in our careers, time can go by really fast. We realize we are still doing the same thing that we were doing last year. Not growing. Not learning. Not changing.  Just stuck. Be aware. Be conscious. Dont settle and please dont let your job take over your life. Heres to living a life of no regrets.

Embrace the Red Carpet Keepers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Embrace the Red Carpet Keepers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This post was inspired by a picture I saw of Sir Richard Branson. Where he is having some fun as he steps off The Red Carpet. It got me thinking about how he seems to Embrace the Red Carpet Keepers and what we can learn from that. What happens when YOU step off the red carpet? More than likely what you’ll find is that there are an army of capable, competent, and committed people to ensure that The Red Carpet experience stays what it is supposed to be. Perhaps these can be called the Red Carpet Keepers. Red Carpet Keepers are everywhere and in every level of society. I believe everyone can appreciate the Red Carpet Keepers and recognize them for their contributions. Embracing  Gratitude When you step off the red carpet and do so in earnest you’ll quickly find that the people that support the effort are the people that make the red carpet possible. There are countless people enabling, supporting, and rolling out red carpets everywhere. You might be thinking… But, I’m not on the red carpet! Think about for a second. Everyone, in every walk of life, is on some sort of red carpet. The carpet may not literally be red. But, there is some privilege that goes with the red carpet that you’re walking on today. Realize The Red Carpet you are on It is incumbent upon every individual to realize the bounty and good fortune they have to be walking on the red carpet they have today.  To realize that  many others don’t have the red carpet you do. And, whether you are supporting The Red Carpet or on The Red Carpet it is up to us to realize where we are and to give credit where credit is due. Your Challenge Should you choose to accept it: Pull someone onto your red carpet. As mentioned, this post was inspired by a picture I saw of Richard Branson as he was stepping off one of his planes. He is taking a step off the red carpet in this post on Inc. and it just made me smile at his whimsy. Now, I don’t know Richard Branson and I’ve never been invited to Necker island. But, from what I’ve seen about  Sir Richard Branson  I believe he knows he is on an amazing red carpet. I also believe he knows he can share his experiences, his wealth, and his whimsy with the world. Which he does on a regular basis and is what inspired me to write this based on the picture in the Inc. post. How Does This Apply To You? Im not looking to make anyone feel bad about what they have or their perception of what they dont have. Im looking to use this opportunity to suggest that everyone reading this to embrace what you do have and to envision what you can do with it. Not everyone can be as magnanimous as Sir Richard Branson. But, everyone can be themselves. When you share what you know, give what you can, and realize that you too are on a red carpet… you will Stand Out in Your Career.

Writing a Resume With Long Gaps in Employment

Writing a Resume With Long Gaps in EmploymentFor people looking for a job that will take them into a career where they can move out of their parents' house, looking for a job that involves moving or living away from the house is a common cause for people wanting to write a resume. People are being forced to leave their home town, as employment opportunities have moved up into the cities and large towns.Writing a resume with long gaps in employment is a great idea. Since so many people have found themselves without a permanent workplace, some people have found themselves looking for jobs in the town where they grew up.Most jobs in the city require that you be able to drive there, as well as being able to get in and out of the vehicle on long periods of time, and that they have specific space for you to park your car when you have to park overnight. This kind of car parking has become an issue for a lot of people. This also applies to people who have a car loan and an auto policy that have a very long term, such as a life insurance policy.People who are trying to find jobs that are close to home, but have trouble finding permanent, long periods of employment due to these two things, need to know that writing a resume with long gaps in employment can be a great way to make it through these periods of unemployment. Most companies prefer candidates who are outgoing, and that they are pleasant in their own homes, since this lets them appear to be less obtrusive than an individual who is unpleasant to live with.Not all of these people want to leave the comfort of their own home in order to be working, however, so for people that have a job that requires moving and long periods of unemployment, a resume with long gaps in employment may not be the best way to go. In these cases, writing a resume with long gaps in employment can be a viable alternative to finding a job that will take them out of their house.Many people in search of employment with long periods of unemplo yment, have a bad experience at the unemployment office and are denied employment with a company because of these poor experiences. A job that is offered to someone who is in a bad mood, or who is rude, can turn off a lot of potential employers, making them think twice about hiring them.Having a resume with long gaps in employment is a good idea because it can help a person to appeal to a company. It shows that you were able to get yourself in a job that is far enough outside of your comfort zone that you are willing to move away from the home you grew up in to work for a company that is outside of your job profile.Sometimes these people that are looking for long periods of employment with a company that will take them away from home to find themselves the best suited for the jobs that will offer them employment while they are living away from their parents. Writing a resume with long gaps in employment is often a good choice for someone looking for a job that will take them out of their house.

Do you Need a Personal Website as a Freelancer - CareerMetis.com

Do you Need a Personal Website as a Freelancer Photo Credit â€" Pixabay.comDue to the very flexible work environment nowadays, every year there are more professionals who opt to take the plunge and start a freelancing career. Despite all the benefits this type of work can bring you, if you don’t work on your personal branding and merge into the background â€" your career will be over even before you start making an income.Creating a personal website is one of the ways to stand out from the freelancing crowd and show the world the true professional you are.Still having doubts about a personal website?evalBefore we guide you through all the steps you need to take in order to create your new site, let’s take a breath and remind us of some of the benefits it can bring you:evalIt’s a canvas for your best work â€" with a personal website you can show off your experience, skills and expertise. It is basically a showcase of your work that can be very useful before your first job interview.It will give you credibility â€" you are su rely already aware how important it is to have a certain credibility in the world of digital marketing. When potential clients trust you, they are more likely to hire you â€" as simple as that!You can position yourself as an expert â€" your own, personal website is the first step towards it! If you craft a site where you’ll demonstrate Sections your personal website shouldn’t miss:Now that you definitely decided to start crafting a website, the question is: how to organize it? Here are things to keep in mind:1. About me â€" obviously, if you are creating a personal website, you should tell your readers about yourself, right? Apart from your career background, inform your readers about your interests and hobbies. That way they can get to know a bit about your personality even before the initial interview.2.Resume and portfolio â€" present your work timeline in the best possible way. That being said, don’t forget to explain in a couple of sentences the responsibilities you’ve had on your previous job positions. The portfolio should consist of your best work examples, so choose wisely .eval3.Testimonials â€" review of your work is the best way to gain credibility and get a proof of your competence.4.Blog â€" write about industry trends, share your personal experience and collaborate with guest writers. Yup, all of this (and much more) you can get with a blog section. Not to mention that SEO and content strategy almost never go without value packed blog posts.5. Contact â€" honestly, this is the most important section that a website section can have! Include all information needed to be reached out easily: email, contact form, social media profiles etc.Other sections vary on the topic you cover and expertise you have, but these are the ones to start out with.CONCLUSIONHope that by reading this article you’ve realized that a personal website is certainly not hard to create, not that time consuming and an investment that will surely bring you a lot of new opportunities and benefits.Therefore, pick a domain name and start crafting!

Asking For A Raise Heres What You Should Remember - CareerAlley

Asking For A Raise Heres What You Should Remember - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Asking for a raise is one of those things that is easy to do if you get it right. If you dont, you could find that youve ruined your chances of changing up your salary for a good few months, and you may also leave your boss with some serious doubts about ever giving you one. However, if you know how to go about it, and you can prove that youre deserving of the cash, then youll be well on your way to increasing your annual income. If you want to secure yourself a great raise, then keep these things in mind! Image credit Your boss has no obligation to give you a raise Sure, wed all like to get a bit more cash for what were doing. However, your boss is in no way obliged to give you a higher salary, unless they are paying you below the national minimum wage. Because of this, its pretty counterproductive to storm into their office and demand that youre given what you deserve. In short, its pretty important to remember that youre asking for more cash, and proving that youre worth spending it. Dont approach this with the attitude that your boss has to meet certain obligations set by you, as this will only serve to ruin your chances at actually getting the increase in pay that you want. Asking for a raise is one of those things that is easy to do if you get it right. If you dont, you could find that youve ruined your chances of changing up your salary for a good few months, and you may also leave your boss with some serious doubts about ever giving you one. Tweet This Knowing your boss mindset is key Making sure that you get a raise is wholly dependent upon how well you understand your boss mind. Perhaps your boss is incredibly sales-mindedand will be more willing to give you an increase in pay if you show that your sales have increased. Or maybe, they just prefer their employees approaching them in a certain way. Whatever it is, working out how your boss ticks is important. It means that youll always know the right time and place and that you will always pose the question to them in a way that guarantees your success. Sure, it may seem a little excessive, but if you want to get that raise, then work this out. You need to get the timing right Getting a raise is as much about timing as it is about execution. If you know that the company that youre working for is facing financial hardship, for example, then its a good idea to wait a little, and ask for the increase that you want when the hard times have passed. Sure, its annoying, but it will be a lot more fruitful if you wait it out. Another thing to keep in mind is the beginning and the end of the financial year. If you prolong your request for a raise and dont take the first steps until the budget has been finalised within the business, then you can be pretty sure that your ask is going to be rejected. Time it right, and youll be glad that you did. Showing your skills is important If youre going to get a raise, you need to ensure that youre proving your value to your employer. Think about all of the reasons that you should get a rise in your income before you head to the meeting, and note these things down. Are you always punctual and efficient, and have you shown a degree of loyalty to the company? If youre not sure about this, then getting in some extra qualifications could be of use. Sign up for the class, make sure that you secure that great grade by using Exam Topics, and show your boss that youre taking steps to progress within the company. If they can see that youre being proactive, youve got more of a chance. Image credit Always ask for feedback Sometimes, your boss will deny your request for a raise. Perhaps it isnt in the budget, or you havent done enough to prove to them that youre a real asset to the company. Of course, they have every right to do this, and you should never just expect to increase your income simply because youve posed the question. However, asking for feedback is absolutely vital for your success in the future. There are two important things to ask: why didnt I get the raise? and what can I do next time to ensure that I do get it? The latter question will really help you to increase your chances in the future, so dont be afraid to ask it. Even if you love your work, the fact of the matter might be that you wish you earned more money. Checking up on wage equality at Hired.com is certainly a good idea, but its also best to do everything possible to make employers want to pay you what youre asking for, or at least be willing to offer you a raise. Here are few things you can do to effectively increase your overall earning potential. Be as patient as you can From the moment that you ask for a raise, youre wondering what your boss is thinking. In fact, you may be waiting every day for an answer, and this is totally normal when youve been through this process. However, you have to accept that there is nothing that you can do about how long your boss is taking to decide. Pestering them, and wanting to know when youre getting that raise all of the time, will simply make your chances even worse. Wait around a week or so, and then send a follow-up email, or request to have a short meeting. If youre always knocking at the door and asking for an answer, your boss will most likely find this intolerable. Know your worth to the company Some people ruin their prospects of getting a raise because they ask for too much, and others miss out because they ask for too little. If you go all out and ask your boss for a lot of money, the likelihood is that they will dismiss your request, and probably never consider any of your future requests, either. Look into what others with your job title earn, and make sure that you find this outside of the company (asking your colleagues about their wages is a bad idea, and wont help your cause). Then, come up with a reasonable figure, and ask for that. Know how much you could get elsewhere, and how much you should be getting. So If you want to get a raise, then keep these things in mind. If you approach it properly, you should be able to secure a higher income in no time, so dont hesitate to organize that meeting! What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. 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6 Types of Coworkers you Find in Every Office IM HIRED

6 Types of Coworkers you Find in Every Office The family you never asked for, your work family The family you never asked for, your work family Your work colleagues are basically your second family, you spend more time with them than anyone else and like any good family there is always some dysfunctional and interesting characters. We all like to add to our resume that we are great at working with all types of people but honestly wouldnt we all just prefer that everyone would have the same working style as us. Variety is definitely the spice of life but that doesnt mean you have to be office besties with all your colleagues, nor does it mean you even have to like them all the time. Whether you like them or not, youre stuck with them 8 hours a day/ 5 days a week. Go into any office and Ill guarantee  youll come across at least one person who falls into each of these categories, so the big question is, which are you? The Office Gossip   How do they even know that? Your colleague who seems to know everything about everyone within seconds of something happening. They usually start sentences by declaring  I dont want to gossip but If you want to know what happened on the work night out or whos on thin ice with the boss then theyre your go to guy. Often found walking around the office with a cup of tea, involving themselves in any conversation, the kitchen is more of their office than their actual desk. TOP TIP: Never tell them anything you dont want the whole team to know. The Know It All   In any office there is always that colleague who seems to come with the furniture, their knowledge of the company is unquestionably better than anyone elses. They are basically the office directory. Want to know that clients name from 10 years ago or where an unused HR form would be, then theyre jumping out their sit to offer assistance. Their desk is always surrounded by people asking for help and it seems like they have self-promoted themselves to some sort of office manager. Problem Area: Whether you asked for their advice or not theyre going to give it. The Foodie   On the weekend you manage to survive the day eating your two or three meals, but when it comes to work for some unknown reason you need to eat your second breakfast, your morning snack, your lunch, your after lunch snack and a pack of biscuits in an eight hour period. Where does all that food come from? The office foodie thats where, the person who has a draw filled with treats, only problem they lock their draws and guard that key with their life. If youre on a diet you need to be avoiding them like the plague because whether its cake in the kitchen or requesting that cheeky lunch time takeaway they are on board. Your bank balance and your waist line is telling you not to sit near them but everyone loves some comfort food when youre having a bad day at work. The Over Worker They come in early and leave late and youre never quite sure if they ever went home. Work comes above all else and there is never enough time in the day so dont distract them with you ideal chit chat. Dont slack in front of them as they will definitely call you out, they wont let you have a moment off when youre on company time. Sometimes you wonder if they are just busy for busy stake and lets be honest they might moan they have to do everything themselves but they dont real want your help. They love consuming  their life with work and you imagine they spend their weekend waiting to get back into the office. The Entertainer   At school they were called the class clown and they havent really grown up since but when it comes to a stressful office, they are a breath of fresh air. When you need a break from those reports you know they can help you get in a whole lot of mischief. They are the first to announce office Olympics or to start Friday drinks early. Youre relying on them to bring life to the party or in this case some fun to a boring meeting. TOP TIP: If you have a deadline they are youre worst enemy, they are doing anything to distract you from getting your work done. The One Who Does Nothing Secretly we all want to be them and we are pretty impressed by how they manage to keep their job despite the fact they seem to do absolutely nothing. They spend their time making tea, online shopping and plan their next holiday. They do the bare minimum but never seem to get called out. They leave the office at 5 pm on the dot and make sure they have timed all their breaks to the second, not that they really need a break as work is one long break to them.