Ask James Your career questions answered

Ask James Your career questions answered by Grace Donnelly Have you got some questions about your career? You’ve come to the right placeWhether you’ve been working for a while, or you’re just starting out on your career journey, getting advice from an industry expert can be a valuable way to move yourself forward. Luckily, reed.co.uk are here to help with our brand new section, Ask James. What is Ask James?Ask James is our new series dedicated to answering your questions about all things jobs, work and careers. In his monthly column, career coach and Chairman of reed.co.uk, James Reed, shares his expert advice to help you tackle your biggest career concerns. How can I submit a question?If you’d like James to answer your career query, tweet your question to @James_A_Reed or email it to us at ask.james@reedonline.co.uk.About James ReedJames Reed is the Chairman of REED Britains biggest and best-known recruitment brand and the largest family-owned recruitment company in the world.With 25 years experience in t he recruitment industry, James lives and breathes all things jobs, work and careers.James has also shared his expert advice in two best-selling books, Why You? 101 Interview Questions Youll Never Fear Again and Put Your Mindset to Work, which he co-authored with Dr. Paul Stoltz.Still searching for your perfect position? View all available jobs now.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Ask James

4 Unusual Ways to Land a Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

4 Unusual Ways to Land a Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Despite the popularity of social media, many job seekers don’t realize how powerful it can be during the job search process. Although in-person networking is very effective, social media can open the doors to connections you can’t make on a daily basis. Especially if you’re looking for a job in a different city or state, social media can create more opportunities for job seekers. If you’ve been using social media during your job search but haven’t landed an interview, there are a few steps you could be overlooking. Here are four unusual ways social media can help you land a job: 1. Look for people who can refer you to jobs. As you scour LinkedIn and Twitter for people to connect with, think of people who can actually refer you to jobs. Do you have a friend from college who works in a city you want to move to? Are you still in touch with a previous employer who’d have a great industry connection? Think of people who could lead you to valuable connections that could help you land a job through social media. 2. Connect with industry professionals on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a great way to connect with professionals who aren’t on Twitter or Facebook. When you connect with industry professionals on LinkedIn, send a unique message introducing yourself and stating your purpose for connecting. This will increase the likelihood of you sparking a relationship with the professional. After connecting with professionals on LinkedIn, ask them if they know of people within their network that could refer you to job opportunities. This is a great way to cast a wide net during your job search and expand your network of professional connections. 3. Build relationships with recruiters. Recruiters are everywhere on social media. From Twitter to LinkedIn, recruiters are using social media to scope out top talent. Many recruiters constantly post job openings throughout a variety of social media platforms. Although recruiters are posting opportunities, keep in mind that they aren’t hiring managers. This is why it’s a good idea to develop relationships with them so you can get connected to the right people within a company. When you connect with recruiters, ask them valuable and thoughtful questions. Ask them about the types of positions they typically fill and questions about the company’s culture. You could also ask questions about the company’s hiring process and how long it typically takes for them to process applications. 4. Create a list of companies you want to work for and interact! The best way to land a job using social media is to follow companies you’d love to work for. After you create a list of potential employers, start engaging with their content. Ask employers about their company, retweet their content, and connect with employees who work there. You can also try sparking valuable conversations with these employers and professionals as well. For example, don’t say, “I love your company! Are you hiring?”. Instead, say something like, “I really like what your company does! Do you have a blog I can read?” This is a thoughtful way to show employers you’re genuinely interested in their company. The key to using social media to landing a job using social media is asking questions and interacting with the right people. By following these tips, you’ll be able to use social media to effectively market yourself to employers and land a job. What are your best tips for using social media to land a job?

How Agencies Can Attract the Best Recruitment Consultants

How Agencies Can Attract the Best Recruitment Consultants Talented recruitment consultants are hard to come by. The good ones rarely leave because they are heavily incentivised to stay where they are. If they do, then often it is because they want to get out of recruitment and do something totally different. So how do you find them and how can you make your company an attractive proposition? Never stop looking Years ago, I was taught a valuable lesson â€" that good recruitment consultants are like buses. When you don’t need to hire, there are plenty of good consultants on the market and when you do need to hire, there are none. Therefore, don’t stop looking and even change your hiring strategy so you hire talented consultants when they become available and not when you need them. If this isn’t an option, then keep your tentacles in the market and engage with good consultants, meet them and add them to your notebook. If you have enough of these options when you next recruit, then hopefully one or two will still be available. Offer a generous package A good consultant may be driven by a number of motivators and money is definitely going to be near the top. If a good consultant wants to leave their current company, it can often be because they are not taking home a big enough “slice of the pie” in their own eyes. Every recruitment manager has an opinion on what percentage of salary including commission a consultant should earn versus their billings. The problem many make though is to be too greedy and not implement a fair scheme that rewards a good recruitment consultant. Without going into too much detail, a good recruitment consultant should be taking home a much higher percentage of their billings than an average recruitment consultant. Be the best in class A company that is clearly going places and being talked about in the market is going to have the edge over a company that is lethargic in their approach and not cutting-edge. People talk and if you and your team are doing a great job, then good consultants will sit up and notice. It may even be the case that you have successfully recruited over the top of their business a couple of times. Have a great marketing strategy In any case, the way you present yourself to the market through your branding, advertising and marketing is critical. Think about how you can be different and set yourselves apart from the competition. Recruitment consultancies are becoming far more “marketing savvy” but there is still lots of scope for originality and creativity. Don’t be afraid to be different and when you hit upon a winning formula, continue to develop it. Create a referral scheme Finally, incentivise your consultants to engage with fellow recruiters through their contacts. This will be a far cheaper and usually a far more successful way of hiring than using rec to rec firms. Rec to recs also have a place, although I personally have never successfully hired through them. The key is to build up a relationship over time with your chosen firm and the more hires you make, the more you will have first “dibs” on the top consultants they meet. Good luck! About the author: David Morel is the CEO/Founder of Tiger Recruitment, one of London’s leading secretarial/administrative recruitment agencies. David founded Tiger in 2001 and has written extensively in the press and wider media advising both Employers and Job seekers on best recruitment practice.

Ways To Improve The Resale Value of Your Home

Ways To Improve The Resale Value of Your Home When it comes to selling your home, every homeowner always believes that his or her home is worth way more than it actually is. When making the decision that you want to sell your home, you need to do improvements to make the appearance nice but also enhance the usability of the home. Make sure your home remains clean and tidy at all times. If you walk into your home and you are pleased with what you see, chances are others will be too. Ensure that when a prospective buyer walks into your home, each room is so inviting that it invites you into the next room. A lot of the suggestions below are also worth considering to improve the resale value of your home. Landscaping The overall appearance of your home can make all the difference in the world. Before entering the home, you need to make a great first impression from the outside. Keeping the lawn and weeds cut will do wonders for the exterior appearance of your home; once you have done this you need to keep it maintained. Consider planting bright vibrant flowers. This will bring attention to your yard and home. Fresh mulch in your flower bed makes such a neat appearance. Fresh Paint Inside and Out Starting with the front door, if you dont wish to upgrade your exterior doors, a good washing or wiping can give a good clean look, but a fresh coat of paint will do the same thing. A fresh coat of paint does wonders for a room. In addition to having a fresh clean look, it can make the appearance of the room look much larger than it is. Painting the outside of your home gives a fresh clean look, but can also make the appearance of the home larger. If you dont want to paint the exterior or your home, power washing is also an expensive way to spruce up your home. Your homes outside appearance should invite prospective buyers. One can or bucket of paint can go a long way and it is inexpensive. Make it a cleaning day Cleaning closets, cabinets, drawers and anywhere that you keep and store junk. Cleaning is very inexpensive, but it does take some time to do and does take some work. Start by cleaning closets from top to bottom and a good rule of thumb is to get rid of everything that you havent worn in at least two years. Shoe and boot containers will add organization to the closet and can add more space. The same rule will apply to drawers and junk drawers if you havent touched it in at least two years to get rid of it. Cleaning cabinets can do the same and have the same effect. Especially kitchen cabinets because often seasonings are stored here and lots of times seasonings have expired and need to be tossed or other times seasoning packs or bottles are emptied and store back in place. Add more square footage Although adding more square footage such as adding an additional room or bathroom will increase the value of your home, it can be a little more pricey than the other suggestions. Heated square footage adds value to a home when it comes to the appraisal of the property. In addition, adding more space also makes the home more usable for whatever reason youve added the space.  Upgrade Your Doors Sliding barn doors are eye-catching, but also add great more value to your home. According to Zillow, homeowners that listed, sliding barn doors, sold more on average than expected. In addition to adding value, these doors are space-saving, attractive and are functional. Many of the suggestions listed above are all fairly inexpensive. If you dont wish to put your home on the market right away, you should inspect your home inside and out and decide what you can do to make the appearance better while increasing its value. Then make a list of things that you can do quickly and easily. You can then put a timeline on these items as to when youd like to have them done. Also, take a look at things that need to be done and determine how much more value this will add to your home. If you take these things into consideration you may be able to get the dollar amount or very close to it that you are expecting!

Resume Writing Services in Sarasota, Florida

Resume Writing Services in Sarasota, FloridaWhen it comes to finding a good professional resume writing service, one should consider Sarasota, Florida, Florida's many job search options. A search on the internet will reveal a wide array of companies offering services in this field. The range of services includes creating a resume, applying for jobs, submitting your resume, and answering questions about your potential job. You can choose which of these services you want to use.These services may be customized to fit your particular circumstances. You can have an outline of what you want your resume to include in order to get the results you are looking for. If you know you will not get a phone interview, but would like to look for a position that involves travel, this is one of the services you may want to utilize. If you know you will get an interview, but have a limited amount of travel experience, or if you want to communicate with an employer that you have worked with before, this is the type of service you should consider.It is also possible to create your own resume, although doing so can be time consuming. You will have to make your resume stand out from the others, and make sure that the information you provide is correct. This can be done by providing a name for the resume and making sure that you research the company and their services before you send your resume off.If you decide to use the services of a writer or firm, you should choose someone who has experience writing resumes. This is important to have because you do not want your resume to take forever to make. Using the services of someone who has specialized knowledge in this area is a good idea because they will ensure that your resume makes a good first impression. This will go a long way towards improving your chances of getting the interview you are after.Many companies offer the services of a writing service fora small fee. You may want to do some research to find out if they have reviews and recommendations from other people who use their services. It is best to use a writer who has a proven track record for writing the resumes of others.For those who cannot afford to hire a writer, they can also hire a writing firm to write their resume. This will cost you a fee but there is not much of a chance that the result will not be satisfactory. In addition, the writer will be able to create a resume that is exactly the same as your own.When it comes to a professional resume, there are many factors that you should keep in mind. They should be professional, but not at the expense of your own career. A writer should use the most professional language possible, and make sure to state all of the information you want included. They should be knowledgeable in the companies they write for, and should avoid promoting any one company more than another.Hiring a professional resume writing services in Sarasota, Florida, will help you develop a strong career. This is an important decis ion and the knowledge you gain from having someone professional help you is invaluable. Choose a professional resume writing company that is willing to work with you to provide the best resume possible.

3 Ways to Develop Your Career When You Have No Time

3 Ways to Develop Your Career When You Have No Time Are you spending so much time doing your job that you don’t have time to work on developing your career? If so, you’re not alone. Like most achievers, you’re focused on doing a great job at your job, and you have no time left for working on your career. The thing is, you’re not doing anyone any favors. It hurts your team who depend on you for advocacy and direction It hurts your family who are cheering for your growth, and It hurts your organization who need you to bring your best. Frankly, you can’t fulfill your potential if you’re not developing yourself as a leader and positioning yourself for the next level. If this describes where you are right now, don’t worry. Here are three things you can do to work on developing your career and your potential, even when you have no time. The add-on strategy One of my clients had so many tasks and responsibilities that she just couldn’t carve out time to do things she wanted to do to advance her career. It wasn’t that she lacked relationships with key people. In fact, she was meeting with them regularly. It’s just that she had no time to focus on her own needs. That’s when I suggested she turn her thinking on its head. Instead of trying to find more time and getting down on herself for failing to do so, why not embrace the fact that she’s fully booked and find better ways to use what she has? What if she were to add a three-minute side-bar conversation at the end of her meetings with key people? She wouldn’t need to find more time to set up new meetings to advance her career. She just needed to make better use of the ones she already had. My client loved this strategy, and we dubbed it the “add-on strategy”. Now she’s happily adding on some key conversations to ones that are already taking place on other business-related topics. Think of it as adding a “PS” to your email instead of sending a brand new one. And in some cases, the most important point of your correspondence is in that last Post-Script! Listen and learn Another aspect of investing in your career is to keep learning and growing. And a great way to learn is by reading. I’ve heard about people who read three to four books a month, and how much richer their conversations are and how much more creative they are in their work. Even though I love to read, I’ve always struggled to fit in more than a couple of books a year while doing my day job. Then, two months ago, I discovered audio books through the recommendation of a friend. What a godsend! The beauty of audio books â€" and podcasts as well â€" is you can download them and listen when you’re commuting, driving, on an airplane, or cooking dinner. And you can also adjust the speed â€" my personal preference is 1.25 â€" 1.5x. Now, I’m about to crack the code on reading (or rather, listening to) three books a month. That’s a 10x improvement from where I was just a year ago. If you’re going to test out the audiobook strategy, you might also benefit from my friend’s additional piece of key advice: the minute you think of a book you want to read, immediately purchase and download it. Don’t even think about the price. The $10-$20 you spend will be more than recouped by the better ideas you have and the way it makes you a more interesting person that clients and colleagues can’t wait to hear from. He’s been right. And when it comes to podcasts, most of them are free! Claw back time Sometimes the issue of having no time to focus on your career really is about clawing back some time. With so much time spent in meetings, that’s a prime candidate for cutting back and recovering your time. A great way to do that is to set a higher standard for meetings before you dutifully attend them. A few questions to ask before agreeing to a meeting might be: Why are we having this meeting and what are we trying to achieve? Do we have the right people at the meeting to achieve that purpose? Am I needed in this meeting and if so, what is my role? Is there a clear agenda and someone to take the lead in running the meeting? Once you’re in the meeting, it’s useful to agree what success would be for the meeting so you know when to call the meeting to a close. Then, remind the group of the agreed goal if the discussion wanders by saying something like: “These are great points, but I’m looking at the clock and we’ve got 15 minutes left to get to our definition of success for this meeting.” Or, “I know Tony and Sue have to leave right at 10:00, and we’ve still got several agenda points we need them for.” When it’s not your meeting, you could still protect your time by letting people know that you have to leave at a certain time. For example, you could say, “I’ve got a hard stop at 9:55 because I have a client call at 10:00.” Or if you’re in a senior position, it could be, “I can only stay for the first 15 minutes, but you’ll be in good hands with my team. Perhaps we can start with the points you need me for?” And of course, an easy win is to stop setting up one-hour meetings unless they’re absolutely necessary. Make 30 minutes the default and learn to make the best use of that meeting time. After all, having constraints makes us more creative. Take baby steps Whatever your situation, the key is to take action and experiment with one or more strategies so you can see what works best for you. As my Chinese ancestors would say, “a thousand-mile journey begins with the first step.” So keep taking steps, even if they’re baby steps. They add up. Congratulate yourself on having that career-related sidebar conversation, learning some new ideas, or clawing back some time. And let each step inspire you to keep going. Now, I’d love to hear from you. What small step could you take today to fulfill your career potential? Leave a comment and let me know.

To Dumb-Down or Not Dumb-Down a Résumé - Pathfinder Careers

To Dumb-Down or Not Dumb-Down a Résumé - Pathfinder Careers To Dumb-Down or Not Dumb-Down a Résumé? A raging debate about how to list credentials on a résumé is taking place right now, and the battle lines have been drawn. In this economy, many people are desperately looking for jobs. Or any job with a paycheck, in fact. This might mean that they are seeking jobs that are vastly below their skills, knowledge, and abilities. This then begs two questions: What do you do when your credentials seem more of a liability (rather than an asset) for a job application? Should you dumb your résumé down? Its a complicated answer, and requires some consideration on your end to determine the best way to address it effectively. The one thing you dont want to do is to convey to a hiring manager that you are far more qualified than the job position, and therefore send a subliminal message that you will literally jump ship to a higher position the next chance you get. Remember, the prospective employers are evaluating you as a candidate to fill the current open position. It is very costly to an employer to have you use the opening as a springboard for your career, which would mean that the training would be wasted and they lose money by having to start the whole hiring process all over again. This is a common frustration of hiring managers and human resource professionals, heard over and over again. And lets face it: Many workers do exactly that just to get their foot in the door! Conversely, theres another angle on this dilemma: the employers standpoint: The companies that are hiring right now are also on a shopping spree. Its a buyers market, simply because they can buy top industry talent that they couldnt have afforded, salarly-wise, just five years ago. Sure, theres the danger that a much-credentialed candidate will move up or out at the first available opportunity. But the company that would make the hire now can definitely reap the benefits from being able to hire an industry expert, albeit for a shorter amount of time. So listing all of your relevant credentials could put you at the top of the pile for some employers who are on the hunt to build company capacity and quality with talented top staff. Its pretty obvious that there really isnt a right or wrong way to go about it because both sides of the equation have merits. The only real way to try and solve this issue to make your background work for you is to know your audience. By understanding more about your target company culture and values, especially by doing what you can to get insight from someone on the inside, it will help you evaluate whether you should dumb your resume down or not. Know what they are looking for by leveraging your network to its fullest, and dont be afraid to call in those favors within your business, professional and social networks. Everyone else is doing the same thing, so you have to be absolutely on the ball by gaining as much intelligence as you can about the open position, and find out what the real objectives of the hiring managers are so you can design your résumé to meet those expectations. A good rule of thumb is to target your résumé to showcase only the history that is most relevant to the job for which you are applying. You might need to omit accomplishments made in other industries (otherwise known as selective omission) but this is where you have to undergo a healthy example of letting go ask yourself will this help or hurt me? This isnt as much as you de-emphasizing those accomplishments, but rather not listing them because they are not pertinent nor important to your target job opening.