Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Are You Ready for Life in the Swarm

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Are You Ready for Life in the Swarm Mid-century work teams will be temporary in addition to virtual. The growth of contract work and the specialization of organizations will spell the end for stable groups that work together a long time. Teamwork will still be valued and rewarded, but the teams themselves will form and disband with lightning speed. Industry analyst firm Gartner calls this phenomenon swarming. Pros and Cons of Life in the Swarm A swarm is a group that comes together for a short-term project and quickly disbands when the project has been completed. It’s characterized by a flurry of collective activity from everyone available and able to pitch in. Employees in a swarm will barely know each other, so in order to gain influence with colleagues and partners, professionals will have to leverage larger networks rather than smaller ones. In the near future, reporting relationships will get confusing since work will cross department and company lines and people will have an ever-changing array of formal and informal managers. Employees will have to be more spontaneous, proactively creating new designs and models to deal with the issues at hand. Working on a new team every month (or week) is likely to be challenging and exciting, and you won’t ever be bored. But because your path is your own and everyone you work with is going in a slightly different direction, you are likely to struggle finding suitable long-term mentors and solidifying work relationships. Networking will be more complex as you attempt to manage an army of weaker ties, calling on people you may have interacted with only once or twice about a project or opportunity. You won’t always understand the culture or perspective your new colleagues are coming from. Unfortunately, considering the speed and intensity of swarms, you usually won’t have time for icebreakers. You’ll simply have to accelerate your efforts to get to know swarm-mates, and accept that a common work goal may be all that binds you at times. For more on life in the swarm, check out Intuits Fast Track blog.

How to Protect Yourself When Work Takes Over Your Life - Classy Career Girl

How to Protect Yourself When Work Takes Over Your Life I have a confession. My workplace, mostly spearheaded by other employees, have begun urging us to volunteer as a company during our free time. It grinds my gears. Every time I see a new email, a picture of co-workers volunteering with company bling, or do-gooder messages on chat, I can’t help but feel a brief spark of rage. Why should the company take credit for the money, food, and time I donate? Why should I grant my workplace more of my time free of charge? It might be for a good cause, but I’d essentially be a walking, talking advertisement for them. I know I shouldn’t be upset. It’s volunteering. Volunteering can save and enhance people’s lives. My problem stems from it a tamer version of the trend of companies that promote a work isn’t just a job, its life cultural policies. Modern technology has granted us many positive opportunities such as marketing utilizing data science, security and risk algorithms, and the ability to work from home. But, technology is not without its price, it’s changed, in some cases, a company’s expectations of employees. There are very few true 9-5 jobs. Our day job, like Beans from Even Stevens or Urkle from Family Matters, follows us home. How to Protect Yourself When Work Takes Over Your Life 1. After Work Events As much as I complain about people at work encouraging company volunteering, I’m fairly lucky. All I tend to get are the occasional non-mandatory after-work events. Employees are free to ignore the events. Which I have and probably will continue to take advantage of. The downside? This is not a good tactic for individuals who wish to ascend to upper management. Before you begin to chronically skip events, I would recommend you utilize caution. Participation in these events might affect how upper management thinks of you and your ability to land that promotion you’re vying for. If you do plan on joining upper management, you might have a higher chance if management sees you participating at least half of the time. 2. Social Media Conundrum Businesses take how the public views them seriously. Before social media and the internet, personal beliefs, unwise comments, and the occasional grumbling had a lower chance of getting you into trouble. Whether you like it or not, many companies expect you to have some level of professionalism as you navigate around the internet (even in your free time). These days you can ruin your career with a few taps of the keyboard. Even if you do your due diligence and restrict who can see your social media posts, you still might be unlucky enough to get a random person reporting you to your company for “inappropriate conduct” out of work. One Georgia teacher was given an ultimatum, resign or be suspended, when she posted a picture of herself drinking while on vacation. You can save yourself from this headache by: Get a sense of how much upper management pays attention to your Facebook feeds. Set high-security settings. Create a penname for your more spirited, inappropriate posts. Don’t disparage your workplace online, especially by name. (Higher chance you’ll be reported). 3. On-Call 24-7 The Devil Wears Prada is still one of the best examples of the 24-7 on-call phenomenon. You might be done with the official work week once you physically leave the office, but you still might be expected to answer emails, take calls, and do emergency work on week nights and weekends. Some employers have employees trade off who is on-call. For others, it’s an unofficial expectation to always be available. How do you deal with this? Make it clear to your employer that the always on-call policy does not help employee retention or productivity. According to an article that dives into the psychological impact of Internet of things at work, always on-call workplace policies can lead to lower employee morale and less restorative off-time. Stop working for free. As an hourly employee in charge of staffing, my mom was required to take what could be hour-long phone calls at all hours. She was never paid for that time worked. Hourly employees should not need to work for free. Even its five to ten minutes at night. That time adds up. If your employer refuses to pay you, you may want to get smart on the previous cases where employees successfully filed lawsuits against their company for unpaid work. Take it up with HR. Your situation might be a case of the policy coming from managers that don’t understand labor laws. If you let HR know that you are being required to work for no pay, they might change the policy to protect the company from a lawsuit. Technology has led to many of us never truly being unplugging from our jobs. The new importance of always available culture has led to an increase in legal issues with after work activities. Tweets and posts in an individual’s free time have and can affect job security. Unofficial and official on-call policies have led to an extension of traditional work hours. As a modern career professional, you need to take steps to protect yourself from mandatory and non-mandatory company time-sucks.

Step Into a CEOs Shoes Adecco CEO for One Month Challenge

Step Into a CEO’s Shoes Adecco CEO for One Month Challenge Everyone wants to step into their boss’ shoes. This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Adecco Group NA. All opinions are 100% mine. Everyone wants to step into their boss’ shoes. Adecco CEO for One Month I’ve recently found out about Adecco CEO for One Month    Challenge, and it got me thinking â€" who wouldn’t want to be CEO?! In any job, growth is the dream. Stepping up the ladder entails many things â€" a raise, a team, and a bigger hand in making decisions. The ascent to management is the ultimate dream for anyone who has taken the corporate track. It is rare to find someone who intends to stay in her position forever. As human beings, we all strive to be better, and all hope to be given credit for it. However, what does it really mean to be the boss? While people see the obvious, including but not limited to, the corner office, the bigshot socials, and the nice ensemble â€" people tend to overlook the reality that it also requires incredible skill and experience to get there. Think about it. A good manager should be able to: Lead a team and manage all its members, utilizing each and every one of them by understanding and putting to play their strengths and weaknesses. Achieve homeostasis within the company by mediating issues, verifying processes, and inspiring its members. Keep herself in tune with new trends, and make sure that she is ahead of the curve and can share her knowledge and skill whenever anyone requires assistance. Responding to any crisis on the spot, and having an internal process that allows her to make the right decisions and actions urgently. Keep the right network and maintain a professional relationship with all of them. You can read as many management books as you want, but the above mentioned traits and skills can all only be credited to years, if not decades, of experience. This is why Adecco’s wonderful opportunity is one that an aspiring corporate leader should not miss. Watch this video: This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity gives aspiring career girls (and boys!) a chance to mentor with the Adecco Group North America CEO, Bob Crouch. In July and August, the successful candidate will be given business assignments, travel nationally with the CEO and learn how to run a Fortune 500 company with over 2,000 employees and more than 73,000 associates across the country. To top this all off, this is a paid internship. Travel, housing and food stipends will be provided. Before this, five final applicants will be selected to join a Boot Camp in Jacksonville, Florida. From this group, one successful applicant will be given the prestigious internship. There will be no waiting around from this point. The lucky winner will begin their amazing internship with Adecco the following Monday. To join, you have to be: Between the ages of 18 and 30 Able to work in the United States or Canada Available to attend the July 13th through 17th Boot Camp Available to live in Jacksonville, FL and travel nationally from July 20 â€" Aug 14 (housing will be provided) Like Bob said he worked 25 years to know how being the boss feels like, and all you have to do is dive in and try out for an internship. What’s there to lose? Apply now! To learn more about Adecco CEO for One Month and Adecco Way to Workâ„¢ , check out the hastags #CEO1Month and #waytowork on social networks.

Find My Profession Voted Top 5 Resume Blog in 2019

Find My Profession Voted Top 5 Resume Blog in 2019 Find My Profession is pleased to have been featured among the Top 50 Resume Blogs in 2019.Big thanks to Feedspot for putting together such an amazing list of authors.This truly is the one-stop shop for anybody looking for a blog focused on just about any topic related to resumes.The great thing about this list is that you will find a huge variety of resume blogs.Whether you are entry-level or a c-suite executive looking for a resume writing service, there is guaranteed to be a blog for you on this list.Resume Writing BlogsResume blogs are great resources for the do-it-yourselfers of the world who prefer to write a resume on their own.While the companies writing these blogs, for the most part, offer resume writing as a service, it's great that they still offer free resources for anyone looking to write their own resume.Find My Profession(hey that's us) is an extremely reputable and high-quality resume writing service in the United States.In addition to offering top-rated professional resume writing services, we also produce a ton of free content on resume writing best practices.You can find amazing content ranging from a list of the best certified professional resume writersto tips on how to write a great resume summary statement.In addition to writingblogs on resumes, we also cover a variety of topics including Job Searching, LinkedIn Networking, and Interview Training.Feedspot Top 50 Resume Writing BlogsOverall, with 50 resume writing blogs to choose from, you really can't go wrong.Feedspot has done an excellent job of producing these amazing resources for job seekers.We are honored to be a part of this list!

5 Executive Job Search Tactics You Need To Try - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

5 Executive Job Search Tactics You Need To Try Along with writing and cooking, gardening is a passion of mine. I don’t have a big garden, just a few dozen pots of assorted vegetables, herbs and flowers, protected on my deck from all the critters around here. Every year in early May I hit the local garden centers and linger over all the choices. I usually stick to the same proven herbs and veggies I know I’m going to want to have on hand for cooking, but I always try a new flower or two each year. This year, I’m trying angelonia (pictured here) for the first time. My ultimate goal is to improve my gardening experience from year to year. Sometimes those new flowers don’t work out. They’ll look great for maybe a month and then just fizzle. My hope is that I’ll discover a new proven winner â€" plants that will provide pleasure for the long run, and last throughout the growing season. I liken this to executive job seekers who stick to the same one or two search strategies that may or may NOT be helping them achieve their career goals. If, like many executives I speak with, youre limiting your search tactics to scouring the job boards, posting your resume all over the place and waiting for interviews to pour in, youre sticking with tactics that yield dismal results. Although youre actively searching, youre not PROactively searching. Your ultimate goal, of course, is to get plenty of quality interviews and land a good-fit job. Are you any closer to reaching that goal? Maybe it’s time to try something new, and keep your job search interesting. Here are 5 job search strategies that are not new to many, but they may be new to you: 1. Set up Google Alerts Google will help you with your company and industry research. They’ll send you an email with links to the highest-ranked latest news and information published on the Web relevant to the names and keywords you have chosen as Alerts. Some Alerts to set up: Your name Names of your target companies and/or those you want to be informed about Names of key decision makers in your target companies Job title(s) you’re seeking, i.e., COO Manufacturing Operations Key word phrases relevant to your niche Names of your target companies’ relevant products or services Names of subject matter experts in your niche Names of any people whose radar you want to get on. 2. Get involved with Groups Working from your list of hiring decision makers or people of influence at your target companies, look at their profiles and see which Groups they belong to. If they’re relevant to your niche, join them. At first, just watch. When you get a feel for the Group, jump in by starting your own discussions and commenting on existing discussions. 3. Join Twitter, noodle around and build your executive brand. Twitter allows you to listen in on conversations without having to formally connect with people, as you do on . If you have 15 to 20 minutes a day, or even every other day, you have enough time to derive value from Twitter. Follow those same hiring decision makers you’re watching on , and look for Twitter accounts of your target companies. Search relevant hashtags (#) for your niche to find people to follow, company/industry information and job opportunities. For instance, if you’re a CFO, search #CFO, #finance, #money, #business. 4. Write a book review on Amazon. Choose a book relevant to your own subject matter expertise, and one that might likely be read by the hiring decision makers at your target companies. The web page with your review will give you a high quality search result when people Google Your Name, and it demonstrates your thought leadership and writing ability. Set up a brand-reinforcing Amazon profile, too, so people can read about you and know how to contact you. 5. Write comments on relevant blogs. Along with building more quality search results for your name, blog commenting is a great way to build visibility and credibility for your subject matter expertise, and connect with people who can help you achieve your career goals. To find the right blogs, Google names of industry experts, relevant keyword phrases, names of your target companies, names of key decision makers at your target companies, etc. Your Google Alerts should send you links to some of the right blogs to comment on. Look for industry-leading sites and those being written or read by your target audience. Related posts: Today’s Executive Job Search Toolkit Top 10 Executive Resume Branding Tips 5 Key Elements of a Strong Online Personal Brand photo by Carl E. Lewis 00 0

Stay on Track When Job Search Targets Dont Work Out - Hire Imaging

Stay on Track When Job Search Targets Don’t Work Out - Hire Imaging After you create job targets, any number of scenarios can evolve. Here are some and how you might respond to them. You discover early on that there are very few job opportunities in one of the targets you’ve established. Suggestion: Be ready to either ditch or at least modify the target. For example, you may want to keep the range of industries you’ve been considering, but be willing to expand the geography component of the search. Available job opportunities match one or more of your targets, but the competition for these jobs is intense, and you’re not sure how you measure up against the competition. Suggestion: Don’t be quick to give up just yet! Try to get a clear sense of what the employers in these target areas are looking for and what the other candidates might bring to the table in the way of experience, credentials, and connections. If you are convinced at this point you are not in a strong position to compete â€" and, again, don’t throw in the towel too soon â€" think about the steps you need to take (an online course, for example) to make yourself a more appealing candidate down the line. There are openings that match your targets, and you are a legitimate candidate for those openings; but the salary range falls below your needs. Suggestion: If you see in these openings an opportunity to do something that will bring you great satisfaction and that within a reasonable period could pay you an acceptable wage, consider taking the job and explore ways to supplement your income â€" a weekend or evening job, for example. This is an option that does work for many, though not all, of course. Get yourself “market ready”. The assumption at this point is that you have defined a set of targets  that meet your criteria. Each target represents a job that you can envision yourself performing, offers a reasonable number of opportunities, and meets your basic requirements. The next step is to determine just how “marketable” you are. Your marketability is a function of two things. The first is what the “buyers” in the marketplace â€" in this case, prospective employers â€" are looking for. The second is what you can bring to the table. Marketability is a highly relative and subjective notion. What makes you highly marketable in one situation or company might not make you highly marketable in another situation â€" even if the two jobs appear similar. That’s because the “buyer” in each situation has his or her own idea of what’s important. The fact that you lack an MBA may not matter to one prospective employer, but could be a top priority for another. Control the controllables. You can’t control how people will respond to you, nor the competition you face for a job. You can control how you respond to people and the way you convey your value proposition as a candidate. You can’t control whether networking contacts will share leads or ideas with you. You can control how frequently you network, to some degree who you network with, and how easy you make it for people to help you. Controlling the controllables is key to job search. A few basics in your sphere of control include: Number of hours per day/week you spend on your search. If you’re unemployed, put in a full work week of 30 to 40 hours; if employed, put in 10 to 15 hours a week. · Number of networking calls https://hireimaging.com/articles/career-tips/networking-picking-up-that-800-pound-phone you make each week. Developing a “Plan B” should “Plan A” not pan out. Types of activities you focus on in your search. Participating in professional associations that will increase your visibility and reputation among hiring managers. Having a robust online presence, i.e., LinkedIn profile, your own web page or blog posts, multiple social media platforms, etc. Taking a course to keep your skills and knowledge current and ahead of the curve. Studying press releases and information about your target companies. Showing up prepared and excited for every networking meeting or interview. Increasing visibility through public speaking, or through committee involvement. Being good to your body with rest, exercise, and healthy diet. Focusing your self-talk â€" what you believe and tell yourself quietly in your head â€" on possibilities rather than problems! Employers like to hire people with vitality and excitement â€" people who act with intention, confidence, and perseverance â€" people who have an optimistic outlook  when the inevitable snafus happen. They bounce back. They inspire others. They get hired and promoted faster. You can be that person! I always welcome your thoughts! Please comment below.

Why Are Resume Writing Services So Popular?

Why Are Resume Writing Services So Popular?Resume writing services offer many different services that the employer will greatly appreciate. Even if you have a solid track record and are looking for a new job, it can be very difficult to sell yourself. Many people simply lack the confidence needed to do so and look to other people to do this for them.This is fine in some situations but in others, the confidence is lacking and the abilities needed are not present. This means that instead of increasing your chances of getting the job, you might as well go down to the local unemployment office and pick up a job just because you cannot write a decent resume. Thankfully, there are resume writing services available to help you with this.These services are well trained and often able to develop a resume that is just the best that you could hope for. Often these services will work hand in hand with your current employer and be able to create a resume that fits perfectly and is much more convi ncing than your previous one. That is why many people prefer to use resume writing services when looking for a new job.These services are usually fully trained in order to prepare resumes that are just right for the current employment situation. They have a wide range of clients who have jobs in diverse fields. Some of their clients include public relations, finance, education, legal, retail, medical and many other areas of employment.There are also often some sample resumes that they create specifically for each client. This is particularly helpful because you will be able to see exactly what your resume should look like before you hire someone to write it for you. With the quality of the service, many people choose to hire a professional to create the best resume possible.The service also has clients in virtually every industry. Because of this, there is no need to worry about whether the resume you get from your prospective service will do well for a specific industry. For instan ce, if you are trying to land a job in finance, you will need a more traditional resume that does not include a lot of numbers and figures.A more realistic resume for this type of job will still require a great deal of technical information that is not found on many resumes. This is why many people hire resume writing services to be able to get a more relevant resume. This means that if you do land the job, you will need to hire a skilled professional to be able to sell yourself to the prospective employer.In today's corporate environment, this is especially important because there are so many variables that come into play. Your resume can be ignored if the wrong person sees it or will be passed over for an important job just because you did not create the proper cover letter. Using resume writing services can help you make the best of a bad situation and will allow you to land the best job available.