Julie Walraven on Age Discrimination vs. Poor Job Search Strategy

Julie Walraven on Age Discrimination vs. Poor Job Search Strategy Hands down the biggest issue I hear about from around the world is age discrimination. Sometimes, though, your age is the least of your problems. Julie Walraven wrote Is It Age Discrimination Or Your Job Search Strategies? Go read it.  If age is your problem, read the post carefully. Age discrimination is real. It is out there.  BUT, someone who will discriminate based on age will also discriminate on other things, including height, weight, color, religion, race, number of teeth, how you smile, etc.  You just cant win with everyone. Maybe you need to focus more on strategies and tactics, and mastering those, rather than blaming your age. I know Tim and Dick and Nick and many other job seeker advocates would agree.  Dont throw in the towel and admit defeat because you are old (whether that is 40 or 60 or 70 or 80).  Focus on what you CAN influence and change! Read Julies post here. Julie Walraven on Age Discrimination vs. Poor Job Search Strategy Hands down the biggest issue I hear about from around the world is age discrimination. Sometimes, though, your age is the least of your problems. Julie Walraven wrote Is It Age Discrimination Or Your Job Search Strategies? Go read it.  If age is your problem, read the post carefully. Age discrimination is real. It is out there.  BUT, someone who will discriminate based on age will also discriminate on other things, including height, weight, color, religion, race, number of teeth, how you smile, etc.  You just cant win with everyone. Maybe you need to focus more on strategies and tactics, and mastering those, rather than blaming your age. I know Tim and Dick and Nick and many other job seeker advocates would agree.  Dont throw in the towel and admit defeat because you are old (whether that is 40 or 60 or 70 or 80).  Focus on what you CAN influence and change! Read Julies post here. Julie Walraven on Age Discrimination vs. Poor Job Search Strategy Hands down the biggest issue I hear about from around the world is age discrimination. Sometimes, though, your age is the least of your problems. Julie Walraven wrote Is It Age Discrimination Or Your Job Search Strategies? Go read it.  If age is your problem, read the post carefully. Age discrimination is real. It is out there.  BUT, someone who will discriminate based on age will also discriminate on other things, including height, weight, color, religion, race, number of teeth, how you smile, etc.  You just cant win with everyone. Maybe you need to focus more on strategies and tactics, and mastering those, rather than blaming your age. I know Tim and Dick and Nick and many other job seeker advocates would agree.  Dont throw in the towel and admit defeat because you are old (whether that is 40 or 60 or 70 or 80).  Focus on what you CAN influence and change! Read Julies post here.

Alternative Careers Spotlight Series The Princes Trust

Alternative Careers Spotlight Series The Prince’s Trust Interested in supporting young people in the United Kingdom who are struggling to transform their lives? This week I spoke to Naomi Hyde, a Warwick Physics graduate who currently works as Supporter Services Coordinator at the Prince’s Trust. About The Prince’s Trust Founded in 1976 by Prince Charles, The Prince’s Trust is a UK-based charity dedicated to supporting 11 to 30 year olds who are experiencing personal difficulties. Through training programmes, practical and financial support and other tools, the organisation helps young people who are facing issues such as homelessness or mental health issues. In over forty years the Prince’s Trust has supported over 870,000 clients, with three in four moving onto employment, education, volunteering, or training. What might an employee at the Prince’s Trust look like? You will be the type of person who wants to make a positive difference in the world and are passionate about helping young people. You are proactive and friendly. You are driven by job satisfaction, rather than salary. You want a career that’s more about work; at the Prince’s Trust, you will be part of a family rather than just a company. You will be the type of person who goes above and beyond your job description to have an impact and most of all, have fun! Hear from Naomi, a Supporter Services Coordinator at the Prince’s Trust I am part of a small team of five in the fundraising department. Most of the job involves working closely with the finance department to reconcile all fund-raised income and ensure that it is processed onto our fundraising database by the end of each month. We process funds from JustGiving pages, direct debits, BACS transfers and much more. Otherwise, the job involves stewarding community fundraisers who organise their own activities to raise money for the Trust. We answer their enquiries, send them fundraising materials, and generally support them in any way we can. Tell me about an average day: 9am: Come into work, answer a few emails and queries from other colleagues. 10am: Process fund-raised income (e.g. a report from JustGiving). 12pm: Lunch 13pm: Return from lunch and check emails again. 13:30pm: If we have received donations from supporters, I add them to the database with their contact preferences and Gift Aid declarations. 15:00pm: Weekly catch up with my manager over Skype. 16:00pm: Wrap up the day by finishing any outstanding work or emails. Alongside my day job I am part of a well-being working group in my office, which aims to raise awareness of positive mental health and well-being techniques. Although the group is fairly new, we have created a book club and have several meditation and mindfulness sessions for people to get involved with. I am also an Innovation Champion for my office, which involves encouraging people to pioneer new ideas or solutions that will improve the charity and help us accomplish our mission statements.  Employees can also get involved in various employee networks which are dedicated spaces for specific groups, to promote inclusivity across the Trust.   Recruitment process This isn’t a graduate programme, although The Prince’s Trust do offer internships and placements for university students. For recruitment, candidates are invited to one face-to-face interview and possibly a short, competency test. These depend on the role. Why did you decide to apply for this role?   When I graduated, I decided to take some time to myself and rather than starting in a new role, increased my hours at a supermarket where I was familiar with the environment. Later, there were various reasons I chose to avoid applying for graduate schemes. Firstly, during final year, I was faced with so many demands that I simply did not have the time to apply. For me, it was impossible to dedicate the time to both my degree and the extensive application processes. By the time I had finished my degree, the charity graduate schemes which appealed to me had closed. The schemes in this sector are also limited, where the roles may not fit your skill-set or interests. Personally, it was best to go straight into a role that I knew I would enjoy and add value. Secondly, the graduate scheme application process seemed very demanding â€" lengthy applications, interviews, assessment days, and so on! This process also felt competitive and stressful. Honestly, I felt like it would be uni all over again, where everyone is at the same level of intelligence and have the same experiences. For job interviews, you usually must attend one or two interviews before you hear back.  Finally, most grad schemes were London-based and this does not fit my personal preferences or lifestyle. What advice would you give to anyone thinking of applying to the charity? The Prince’s Trust is a fantastic charity to work for. Managers and colleagues are so supportive and welcoming. While the work is challenging, it is also rewarding. We are all encouraged to maintain a healthy work-life balance. As well as preparing for your interview as best you can, try to convey your passion and excitement for the charity and their work. There are offices across the UK, so it is not all London-based. Additionally, there are various roles which means that there will be something to suit anyone who is interested in the charity sector! Interested in exploring charity-related opportunities? Here are some resources to get you started: Charity jobs Join Warwick Volunteers Princes Trust job opportunities

What LinkedIn Skills Get You Hired

What LinkedIn Skills Get You Hired Thanks to LinkedIn, here are the the hottest skills which got people hired in the UK this year. The data reinforces that for the majority of vacancies, an understanding of tech is essential, along with data skills! The statistics  are based on recruiting and hiring activity on LinkedIn, analysing the skills and experience of its 400 million members. LinkedIns key findings on  the  UK included: STEM and data  â€" science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills dominate the UK top 25, particularly those relating to data storage, retrieval, and analysis as organisations across a broad range of industries seek to harness the benefits of big data Speak the language  â€" “Foreign language translation” came in at number nine, demonstrating the increasingly global nature of business Rising confidence?  â€" There are also signs of increasing economic confidence as organisations boost their talent acquisition resources, with “Recruiting” coming in at number 17 Here are  25 hottest skills that got UK people  hired in 2014:      Statistical analysis and data mining      Middleware and integration software      Business intelligence      Storage systems and management      Perl/ Ruby/ Python      Mobile development      Network and information security      SEO/ SEM marketing      Foreign language translation Java development Data presentation Web architecture and development framework Public policy and international relations C/ C++ Algorithmic design Integrated circuit design Recruiting Corporate law and governance SAP ERP systems Economics Data engineering and data warehousing Data management and software Mining and commodities Marketing campaign management User interface design How was this data compiled? Its influenced by a number of factors, especially how members choose to use the site, which can vary based on professional, social, and regional culture, as well as overall site availability and accessibility. These variances were not  accounted for in the analysis. We looked at all of the hiring and recruiting activity that happened on LinkedIn in the past year, and identified the skill categories that belonged to members who were more likely to start new jobs and receive interest from recruiters. Here are the top 25 LinkedIn skills for other countries around the world: What are your thoughts on the hottest skills shown above?  If youre planning on learning  some of the skills listed, you may  want to also contact Bryan Mills  using  the following information for the ultimate LinkedIn profile: For more on how to make the best use of LinkedIn, be sure to read about how to get the very best  LinkedIn Endorsements.  Image credit: Shutterstock

Five Great Anniversary Gift Ideas To Make It Memorable

Five Great Anniversary Gift Ideas To Make It Memorable ‘A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity’. The order varies for any given year. This is the popular quote about wedding anniversary, which is something special in most of our lives. If you are looking for the best anniversary gift ideas for your friend, your son/daughter, your brother/sister or even if you are planning for such a gift to your grandparents, here are some useful ideas to consider: Traditional anniversary gifts: Before actually getting into gift ideas, you are recommended to be aware of the traditional materials used for each year of wedding anniversary, such that you can short-list your selection accordingly. If it the first wedding anniversary, paper should be the material in which your gift should have been made, if it is second, the material is cotton, for third it is leather, for fourth it is fruit/flower, for 5th it is wood, for 10th anniversary, your gift should have been made out of tin/aluminum, in case it is the 25th wedding anniversary of your parents, you can opt for something in silver. If it is 50th, it should be something made out of gold. These materials will praise each year of their togetherness. Sterling silver ring: Nowadays, sterling silver ornaments are turning out to be excellent jewelry option both for men and women. If you are planning for a gift for your mom and dad on their 25th wedding anniversary, you can choose a set of sterling ring for the couple. In addition, silver is known to bring many health benefits when worn. Handy camera: If you are planning for the most suitable gift for your son and daughter-in-law for their 10th anniversary, you can choose a handy camera from a dependable brand. If your son’s family is frequently traveling around and exploring new places, this can be the best gift idea for his family, if he does not already have one. Portable smartphone photo printer: Your sister might be showing great interest towards increasing her collection of photos on her mobile phone. But, she might also feel that some photos are worth to print. So this is where this gift of portable photo printer for mobile phone, can be the excellent gift from a loving brother on her wedding anniversary. Family tree photo frame: If it is the 50th wedding anniversary of your grandparents, you can choose to gift them with a family tree photo frame. Even, you can arrange their photos on the topmost branch and then can attach the photos of their sons/daughters, grandsons/granddaughters and finally great-grandsons/daughters. There can be no other special gift to those elderly couples to keep seeing all their family members in photos, even though all of them are not near them. Personalized coffee mug: This can be the best choice for any year wedding anniversary. You can get the photos of the couple printed on the customized coffee mug for them to enthrall about as and when they drink a hot cup of coffee on the mug. Verdict: Wedding anniversary is a special moment and it is not that it should be the 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th or similar milestones. Because it can be any wedding anniversary and selecting the best gift that will be highly memorable is the thought of many of us. So, you can choose the ideas mentioned above and can make the moment the most memorable in the life of the couples. Main  Image Source; Image Source; Image Source

Who is Really Making the Hiring Decision - Career Pivot

Who is Really Making the Hiring Decision - Career Pivot Who makes the final decision in the hiring process? Who makes the decision to hire you? It may seem obvious, but it’s often a shell game. You would think it was the hiring manager, but does he or she really have the final say? There is an exact correlation in understanding who is the decision maker in hiring and who makes the decision when negotiating any sort of business transaction. In Jim Camp’s book, Start with NO…The Negotiating Tools that the Pros Don’t Want You to Know, he writes: WHO’S CALLING THE shots? Who are the real decision makers within the adversary’s bureaucracy? This might seem, at first glance, to be a fairly mundane issue, but it’s not. It is a critically important issue in any negotiation, even though you can read book after book on the subject and never find a single acknowledgment that the question of who’s calling the shots demands immediate attention. How can you create a vision and paint the pain effectively without knowing who the decision makers for the adversary really are? You can’t, so the decision-making process within your adversary’s organization must be discovered and understood at the very beginning of the negotiation, or as soon thereafter as possible. You need to knowâ€"at the beginning of the hiring processâ€"who is calling the shots and who can make the final hiring decision. For More:Interviewing with an Uneducated Interviewer Who is calling the shots? In 2006, I left teaching high school math and decided to try my hand at working for a non-profit. In most small to medium non-profits, the decision maker is often the CEO, Executive Director, or even the Board of Directors. I attended a non-profit conference specifically to target the Executive Director or CEO of five non-profits. I met face to face with all five. The following week, I was offered an interview for a junior level corporate fundraising position at the local Jewish Community Center (JCC). You have to understand, I am not Jewish, but I had a lot of business connections and I was a JCC member. I was a really odd fit for the position. I interviewed and was subsequently offered the position. The hiring manager was NOT the decision maker. I had convinced the CEO that I was worth taking a chance on. It was a new endeavor that the organization had not pursued in the past. The CEO was the real decision maker, yet I never interviewed with him. Listen to the most recent episode I lasted a year before I resigned. Being a non-Jew as the face of a Jewish organization is…interesting. If I had not pursued the CEO who made the hiring decision, I would have never been given the opportunity to interview. By the way, I learned I could not work for a non-profit. For More:5 Questions to Ask Before Going from For-Profit to Non-Profit Recruiters and Hiring Decisions Recruiters and other HR professionals do not make hiring decisions. They can hinder or block you from getting hired, but they do not make the decision to hire you. Recently, one of my clients was told the following by a recruiter, “The hiring manager, Mary, is not going to like that you cannot start until September. This is a deal breaker.” My client calmly told the recruiter, “Please relay my requirements to Mary and let me know what she says” The recruiter was expressing her opinion, but she was not the decision maker. She took the message to the hiring manager. A September start date did not make the hiring manager happy, but she was willing to wait. If a recruiter acts like the decision maker, you need to tell them to pass your messages directly to the hiring manager. Stay cool, calm and collected in telling them what you want. For More:Why Are You Not Being Found? Try Thinking Like a Recruiter Who do you need to impress? The decision to hire you may be made by a key member or members of the team. One local Austin company has a consensus-based hiring process. The entire team has to agree on who to hire. Think of this like a jury. Everyone needs to agree. During the interview process, you need to determine who the lone juror might be that could prevent you from being hired. In reality, they become the key decision maker in your not being hired. As you do your homework on the company, it is important for you to understand the hiring process. It will be key to ask probing questions on how they make hiring decisions. Start this dialog during the initial phone screen. When I have needed to make a hiring decision at both of my tech startups, I relied on the opinions of my team. I will readily admit I am not good at interviewing. The true decision makers on who got hired were my team and not me. For More:Questions That Power The Negotiator Job Search Explore the Past Who really made the decision to hire you in the past jobs? Think about it. Was it always the hiring manager, or did a key team member make the decision? Was the key decision maker higher up in the management chain? In your current job search, who do you need to convince that you are the right person for the job? This is 9th post in the Negotiator Job Search Series. You can read the rest of the series here. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

5 Reasons Why Being a Virtual Assistant is a Great Job for Parents

5 Reasons Why Being a Virtual Assistant is a Great Job for Parents Not everyone wants to spend their 9-to-5 at a standard desk job, stuck in a cubicle all day. For those with children, the traditional corporate life may be strenuous. source: pexels.com Between school pickups and the cost of a babysitter, parents often find themselves quitting their job to stay at home. However, losing an income is hard and many parents still want to work but can’t swing a strict schedule. Working as a virtual assistant is a modern solution for career-driven individuals who need to balance work and family life. What Does a Virtual Assistant (VA) do? Virtual assistants tackle work tasks including: Managing social media accountsHandling customer invoicesProviding customer support by phone or emailScheduling appointments Why might a company seek a virtual assistant? Smaller companies may wish to cut costs by minimizing physical office space and having as many employees as possible work from home. Other organizations need employees in a country where they have yet to establish physical headquarters. Thanks to the rapid growth of technology and increasing internet speeds, employers can set up a remote workforce almost anywhere in the world. Here are five of the benefits for parents working as virtual assistants. 1. Flexibility Flexibility is one of the top reasons employees work from home. Being able to set your own hours and decide how much you can handle gives you the freedom to control your schedule. You can drive your kids to school and pick them up last minute if someone gets sick. You can work from the corner coffee shop or even from your bed. Best of all, there’s no need to save up sick days or vacation time before taking off. Just let your employer know and go! The flexibility of working remotely also lets you juggle multiple projects at once. If you work remotely for multiple companies or tackle your own freelance projects on the clock, no one will yell at you for tackling work for different employers at once. 2. Control and Job Fulfillment Do what you love, and love what you do. For work-at-home employees, it’s not just a slogan on a coffee mug. You can do work you enjoy, spend time with your family, and even have time for housework or starting a side hustle. When work is slow, you can work on a side project instead of aimlessly staring at a cubicle wall. You have the power to accept and decline assignments based on your interests, which lets you work in fields you enjoy. Whether you prefer corporate giants or small nonprofits, lots of businesses need virtual assistants. If the project is small enough, say only a few days a week, you can take on work with multiple companies to create a full-time schedule. 3. Continuous Learning Parents who take a few years off from the workforce to raise their children quickly find that when it’s time to find a new job those missing years make a big difference. Not only can a gap in your resume be a red flag to employers, but it also means your skills can get rusty from lack of use. With the rapid change of technology, it’s vital to stay up-to-date on changes in the field. First-hand experience is the best teacher. Working as a virtual assistant fills that resume gap and lets you continue learning every day. In addition to project-based learning, you can improve your skills with various software programs or study for useful certifications in your field. Even more crucial, your job will let you practice your soft skills, such as communication, sales, and professionalism. Soft skills are arguably one of the most valuable yet underrated employee qualifications. 4. Save Money Work may earn you a paycheck, but no one mentions the cost of working. Traditional employees spend hundreds, even thousands, a month on transportation, childcare, and all those fancy after-work cocktails with coworkers. UrbanSitter found the average hourly cost of a babysitter in 2019 ranged from $17 to $21, depending on the number of children! Too often working parents find that one spouse’s entire salary goes solely to childcare. By nixing the need for a sitter and drastically reducing other work-related expenses (good-bye expensive suits!), you can stretch your income further. Plus work-at-home jobs give you the flexibility to change or accept different assignments that pay the best. It’s like an instant raise you can give yourself! 5. Work-Life Balance While it can be tricky at first to transition from work to home mindset, if you set a specific schedule for work hours you’ll get more done while having more free time. With no long commute to slow you down, you can go from work to family dinner in five minutes. While everyone else is fighting traffic, you can take thirty minutes to decompress and re-energize for the evening. What Does It Take to Work Remotely? Of course, it’s important to be tech-savvy if you want to work remotely. Virtual assistants should be familiar with the idea of connecting remotely to a computer and should understand how the cloud works. Much of your work will be accessed and saved in the cloud, so understanding how to use it is a necessary skill. Business owners and remote workers alike need to learn about new ways of doing business from accessing and sharing to security features. To succeed as a remote worker, you’ll also want to be self-disciplined, work well on your own, and have good multitasking skills. Without a manager checking on your progress in-person, it can be easy to give in to distractions. A virtual job is still a job. For those who can balance the requirements of remote work, however, you will reap the rewards of a flexible schedule, more control over your career path, and extra time with your family. You too can join the ranks of happy parents who have found their calling as virtual assistants. Ashley Wilson is working remotely as a content creator, writing mostly about business and tech. She has been known to reference Harry Potter quotes in casual conversation and enjoys baking homemade treats for her husband and their two felines, Lady and Gaga. You can get in touch with Ashley via Twitter.

Tips for Writing Sales Resumes For Sales Professionals

Tips for Writing Sales Resumes For Sales ProfessionalsResume writing for sales professionals is a time consuming job that requires very specific writing skills. Because there are millions of resumes on the market, it can be difficult to find the right one. That's why I've put together this freebie that will give you everything you need to write your own resume, no matter what type of professional you are.In order to get a job writing a resume, you must have at least an average writing skill. Most job advertisements require a minimum of a first-rate grasp of English grammar and syntax. Because many salespeople base their sales pitch around the power of their product or service, writing resumes can be difficult. If you don't have a good grasp of grammar, you might even have to hire a writer to help you write the perfect resume.Once you've finished writing your resume, it's job is to sell yourself. What is the best way to do that? You need to get as much information about your target co mpany and yourself out there. The Internet is one of the best places to start, because it's so easy to get information from everyone you know. Use the power of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook to find out everything you can about the company.Getting more information about the company can give you some help in developing your resume. But that doesn't mean you're done. The first part of your resume will still need to convince the hiring manager that you're the person for the job. If you don't sell yourself, you'll end up getting a call from the human resources department offering the position back to the salesperson who did the hiring. So, you really want to make sure you're doing all you can to sell yourself.For example, if you've written a great resume, but lack sales skills, your resume won'tget you anywhere. So, the next step is to learn how to write a resume that gets employers to hire you. Fortunately, there are courses, books, and other tools that can teach you all the skills you need to develop an excellent resume.You can use a basic online resume builder to get a feel for the types of resumes being created. However, because you're creating your own, the final product will be unique to you. Look for programs that let you make an unlimited number of different resumes. You'll also want to look for programs that let you customize your resume to reflect your personal style and interests.It's important to put in individual details about yourself that will help the employer determine whether or not you're the right candidate for the job. Most resumes don't use your name and the reasons for your departure. This is where professionally written material comes in handy. These allow you to take the time to introduce yourself, give a little background, and include your skills, education, and experience.When writing a resume for sales people, you can make a huge difference in your chances of getting hired by simply using these simple steps. You ma y not think they're that important, but you'd be surprised how often these little things can be the difference between a job and being on the outside looking in. Don't leave yourself any room to make mistakes; be sure to follow the advice in this article.