Thursday, May 28, 2020

Should I use a template to write my CV

Should I use a template to write my CV by Sandy Purewal Considering using a CV template? Searching for a new role is never an easy feat, especially if your CV isn’t up to scratch. Luckily though, there are plenty of templates out there to help you get started â€" you just need to make sure you’re using them effectively.Here are a few key pros and cons of using a CV template:CV template pros They’ll help you stop procrastinatingIf you find yourself fiddling with the margin sizes of your Word Doc for hours before you start writing (see also: playing Pac-Man in another tab), then a CV template will help spur you into action.After all, a load of white space on a screen can be pretty daunting. Especially if you haven’t written many CVs in the past. Sometimes, all it takes is the right starting point to help everything else fall into place.A template will focus your efforts and provide you with the guidance you need to stay on task.They can suit your situation Just because you’re using a template, it doesn’t have to be generic.There are many different options out there to suit your skills, and level of experience. So whether you’ve recently finished school, you’re looking for a graduate CV template, or you need to explain a difficult career break, templates have you covered.And, as the majority are written by dedicated CV experts, you can be confident that what you get will be logically presented and formatted in a clear and concise way.  They’ll save you timeTemplates are the fastest way to get your CV recruiter ready.So, if you’re short on time and eager to get the application process rolling, it’s the perfect way to fast-track your job search â€" without you having to start all over again.This means less time spent formatting your CV, and more time spent carefully writing each section. Something which could be a lifesaver if you’re looking to get back into employment as soon as possible, or can’t afford to miss out on any potential earnings.CV template cons  They arenâ €™t always reliableUnfortunately, not all templates you download will be winners.Always think about where you get them from, and how reputable the brand is, before you decide whether it’s the right one for you. Settling for the first one you see on a Pinterest board called ‘Hope’s, Dreams and Other Musings’, isn’t likely to set you up for success.Luckily, however, we know where you can download some pretty great templates. You know, just in case…Free CV templateThey aren’t the finished product If you’re using a template because you haven’t got time to craft a CV from scratch, that’s fine but don’t push your luck.Templates are only ever intended to be a starting point for your applications, allowing you to add to them as your career progresses. The more you tailor it to the job description and your own experiences, the more likely your CV will be successful.Spending as little time as possible writing it will only make you stand out for all the wrong reasons.The y can’t spot mistakes Template or no template, everyone makes mistakes on their CV.The problem is, an over reliance on them can make it easy to forget to cover the basics. Poor spelling and grammar will stick out to recruiters like a sore thumb, and without someone to go through your CV after you write it, these errors are often difficult to spot.Asking a friend or family member to read it is a good place to start. Alternatively, you could try using a professional CV review service, such as CV Now.Once your CV is complete, simply share it with the experts at CVNow for a free review. They’ll have it back to you within 72 hours, and will be able to provide the feedback and tips you need to make your CV an instant success.Claim your free CV review  Need more CV advice?It takes an employer just seven seconds to save or reject a job applicant’s CV. This means creating a succinct CV is absolutely vital if you want to land that all-important interview. To find out how to make your CV stand out from the crowd, buy James Reed’s new book: The 7 Second CV: How to Land the Interview. Is your CV ready to go public? 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 CV templates

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Fun Bingo Twists For Summer Parties

Fun Bingo Twists For Summer Parties So you thought Bingo was just for seniors trying to while away the time?  Think again!  One of the oldest parlor games in the world, Bingo has been given new life.  No matter what age group, there are fun new variations that make this a staple of nearly any party or gathering, with more popping up all the time. From versions for the slightly nerdy to the overly wordy,  here are five of our favorites. Quirk Alert Bingo How predictable are your friend’s behaviors? With this fun twist on bingo, everyone gets in the spotlight. When guests arrive hand them all a blank bingo card. They  fill in each square themselves based on what they think the other guests will do at the party. Examples: Jason will brag about his new car Megan will flirt with Mike Josh will make an inappropriate joke using some kind of food Ashley will drink a peach martini Brittany will be first to say I know, right? Matt will start a sentence with “actually” During the party everyone marks off their own cards when the predicted thing occurs. The first one to get a bingo calls it out and wins a prize.   Continue playing to see who has the most predictions  at the end of the party, or mix up the rules and make it go in a totally new direction. People Bingo People Bingo is one of the most popular ice breaker games for adults  because its so easy to customize for your particular group.  For an explanation of how to play, and  how to make your own People Bingo game cards, go here. In short, you will  make a list of 25 interesting traits that describe different aspects of your guests, things like, “plays the guitar,” “once lived in London,” “has a sports trophy,” “owned an exotic pet,” “has a tattoo in a secret place,”  and so on.   So not only do you have a little fun, but you also get to learn more about each other. Minecraft Bingo Are there video game enthusiasts in the crowd?  Theres a Bingo version for them, too.  Just print out the  cards and instructions, and youre ready to go. Someone randomly calls  out  items from the instruction sheet , and if the guest has the image on their card, they  cover it with a party marker.   Thats where your creativity comes into play, because you can use candy, snacks, or whatever for the markers.  As in traditional Bingo, the first one to cover an  entire row  calls bingo to win.  And maybe they have to eat the row?? Rock And Roll Bingo This version takes a little more preparation, but for a bunch of music lovers, its great.  Youll need to collect short clips (10 seconds or so)  of your favorite songs and put them all in one file.  Use fun songs that everyone knows and likes to sing along to. Use blank Bingo cards and instead of numbers use the artists and song names.  As the music is played, everyone marks the ones they recognize. You can do it in a session with everyone involved all at once, or simply let them fill out the cards during the duration of the party.  First Bingo wins a fun or crazy prize. If you want to get a pre-packaged version of this one, its available online. Drinking Bingo All adult party?  There are several variations on this theme, and any of them  can get a little crazy.  Here are a couple: Different colors of shot glasses are passed out along with the Bingo cards.  In addition to the regular Bingo tiles or balls, a tile or ball of each color of shot glass is also in the mix.  If the colored ball is drawn, anyone holding a glass of that color downs a shot. The blanks on the Bingo cards are filled in with the name of drinks.  When someone gets a bingo, they have to choose a drink from that completed row. The rules on Drinking Bingo can be tweaked to accommodate the speed at which you want to get everyone intoxicated.  Discretion is advised! Bingo By Any Other Name As you can see, the ways that the traditional Bingo game can be modified are nearly limitless.   . From the kids to the elders, it looks like Bingo is here to stay! Images: Ron Mader

Thursday, May 21, 2020

3 Tips For Building a Free Website - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

3 Tips For Building a Free Website - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of .com .net, powered by Verisign for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine. In the digital age, websites are more important now than ever before. These days, employers want to see your website before they interview you and companies want to see it before they hire you. A resume and cover letter are becoming less relevant and your digital identity is becoming much more important. From a business standpoint, websites are proven to be effective, especially now since there are so many free website builders available today. Whether youre going to use the website for yourself, your company, or both, it can be an extremely useful tool for you. A website is your most valuable marketing asset because its your property its your digital real estate while social networks are leased and could fade away in the future without your control. Not having a budget for a website or resources to help you develop it are no longer good reasons to avoid having one. There are so many do-it-yourself website builders that can be customized to fit your personal or corporate brand. According to Verisign’s 2013 small business survey, 71 percent of small businesses agree having a website has made it easier for customers to find their business. If you want to  grow your web presence, a website is mandatory. Here are  3 tips for building a free website  based on my experiences and those of my client: 1. Identify your website needs. What do you want to use the website for? Is it for your consulting business? Is it for a hobby? Is it for your company? Decide on what you want to use it for so that you know what content to put on it, how to position it and your overall marketing strategy for promoting it, whether its to your friends, family, co-workers, or the general public. Before you start building the website, determine your requirements. Free website builders are a great, low cost and fast way to get something going quickly, while also learning the dynamics of websites. I started creating websites back in middle school with free website builders and learned so much that has helped me today. Typically free website builder packages are simple with a few templates to choose from and they live on their site. If you upgrade, then you can host the site under your own domain name, which I prefer to do and recommend. 2. Pick a domain name and find a great web address. Your domain name can reflect your business or full name, as well as be descriptive to highlight a certain aspect of your business or personal brand. If you make it something irrelevant, it will be easily forgettable especially with the abundance of websites out  there. Your domain name is your virtual address and what you put on your business cards and everywhere else. By putting your address on your own domain, which I recommend, it brands your business, gives you a consistent address on the web for customers, provides something for marketing and enables you to have a company branded website.  If its for your company, you can use the companys name, variations of the company’s name, or add descriptive keywords to the name such as your company’s location or keywords that describe your product or service.  Thats why you need to  pick a domain name and find a great web address. 3. Select the right website builder. There are so many out there so many sure you research them and compare a few side by side to see what offers what you need. By selecting the right tool, it will help you achieve your target goals. Not all tools are created equal so do your homework so you dont regret choosing the wrong one later. For more information, view this  checklist for building a website.

Sunday, May 17, 2020

How Universities Are Failing Their Graduates - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How Universities Are Failing Their Graduates - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Universities are failing their graduates in many ways. My purpose in addressing such topics is not to chastise higher education, which I don’t believe can be reformed, but rather to warn future educational consumers and help more recent graduates improve their odds of career success. Last week I attended a panel discussion on the impact of wireless/mobility technologies on learning systems. One of the panel members from a major Atlanta employer made the statement “Our universities are failing us.” It was clear that what he meant by this was that universities are graduating students without real-world, practical skills and an understanding of how to be a productive member of a corporate team. My reaction was “That’s nothing new.” Perhaps this will be a topic of a future post. Last week I also had lunch with a recent college graduate who was contemplating his future. He was rightfully proud of being the first person in his family to get a college degree. Not only that, he graduated with honors. He was obviously highly motivated and contemplating going on to get a masters degree and possibly other education. At this point, I felt obliged to warn him that consuming more and more education might not be his best career or life option. Hyping education as a solution to career limitations has become an epidemic. I probably should cover this topic in a future post, too. However, I want to focus now on the worst way I believe our universities are failing their graduates. They are failing to provide them the skills to make effective career choices, manage their careers, and conduct successful job searches for jobs they actually want. A recent Gallup survey found that The underemployment rate, which combines the percentage unemployed with the percentage working part time but wanting full-time work, is 32.8% among those living at home and 15.4% among those living on their own. When I completed my undergraduate engineering degree program way back in 1971, I had a well-founded optimism. I had a good education and the U.S. economy was continuing its post-WWII job-creating expansion. It was reasonable for me to expect to get a job with a good company and (at my option) work there until I retired. If I chose to change jobs, there were plenty more from which to choose. Fast forwarding to this century, college graduates over the past 15 years have faced many challenges my generation did not: (1) shrinking of the overall job market, (2) reductions of middle income positions, (3) frequent upheavals of the national economy as well as many industries and professions, and (4) the ongoing march of computer technology. The only reason the unemployment rate for college graduates is not 20-30% at this time is because they have adapted by taking jobs at minimum wage, jobs paying far below what graduates normally are paid, and jobs that don’t match their education or interests. And why is this? I contend that it is because they are being forced to compete in the worst employment circumstances since the 1940’s with career and job-getting skills no better than what I had when I graduated in the 1970’s. Actually, they are probably worse. (But that’s a subject for another post.) So, what can be done? Parents need to take more active roles with their college and students and young adult children. They need adult insights into career choices and how to find jobs through personal contacts rather than through online applications. If children won’t listen to parents (which is common) or parents don’t feel competent to help, then they can get children professional help. More than ever, young adults need career related encouragement, support, and advice. Those of us who are older need to be more understanding of the difficult employment world young workers are facing and volunteer to help them learn how to be successful. With proper guidance, many can overcome the job market challenges and make great careers for themselves.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

3 Intriguing Forks in the Road in Uncertain Times - Career Pivot

3 Intriguing Forks in the Road in Uncertain Times - Career Pivot Forks in the Road in Uncertain Times Copyright: tiero / 123RF Stock Photo Forks in the road happen all of the time as it relates to life and our careers. There are times when we have to make decisions on when to end things and start anew. This is particularly true when we live in uncertain times. Boy, do we live in uncertain times. I recently reviewed the bookNecessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloudand this book has had a dramatic impact on myself and many of my clients. I would highly encourage you to read this book. Check out my post titled Necessary Endings â€" They are Part of the 2nd Half of Life. I am approaching 3 forks in the road as it relates to my business and my life. I suspect I am not the only one. Forks in the Road #1 â€" Scaling Career Pivot I spent much of 2016 discussing with mentors, coaches and other professionals on how to scale Career Pivot. There were two options: Franchise the business â€" I have a clear business model and process that could be franchised. Move the business online â€" Build an online community or membership website where people in the 2nd half of life could come together, share and learn. I was moving in the direction of franchising the business until I had discussions about what it would take to select franchisees. My background is very eclectic and would bedifficult to replicate. I am a recovering engineer with a learning and development background. Having worked in multiple industries and across a variety of disciplines makes my background very unique and my systems are built upon that unique background. I have refined the system but could anyone else use it? I have determined it would be very difficult to scale the business in this fashion. I have been looking for others who have successfully built online communities for those in the 2nd half of life. There are a few but they all focus on lifestyle. I looked at AARP’s Life Re-Imaginedand it has been reinvented/reengineered multiple times with little success. My plan is to start small and grow the community based on community input. Look for more on how I will be scaling the business online in the coming months. I mentioned this in the annual reader’s survey where I asked for volunteers to be initial members of that community. Forks in the Road #2 â€" Do We Move? The bookNecessary Endingsreally got me thinking about why my wife and I are still in Austin, Texas. Both of us moved here in the 1970s, my wife a few years before myself. I have no family in Texas and much of my tiny family is dead or far away.My wife has limited contact with her own family. Our son and daughter-in-law live in Washington D.C. and probably would visit us more frequently if we moved. We have been discussing moving to Galveston, one of favorite weekend getaways for several years. We have already downsized into a condo back in 2009. I joke there was no bedroom for our son to boomerang back into after he graduated from college. Listen to the most recent episode Austin has changed a lot over the last 40 years and it is not the sleepy college town we once enjoyed. The cityhas major issues which include traffic, affordability and the fact that Austin is now the most economically segregated city in the country. Why do we stay here? Inertia. Forks in the Road #3 â€" Where Do We Move? I hate uncertainty and I am not alone. Check outmy post When Uncertainty Strikes, Focus on What You Can Control. Since the election, a tremendous amount of uncertainty has rippled through our country and economy. For me, it started before the election when I received my health insurance rate increases. Since then I have watched the federal government in total disarray on what to do with Affordable Care Act (ACA). I have to be prepared if my wife and me, both of us are over 60 and not eligible for Medicare, either cannot buy health insurance next year or it is over-the-top expensive. We currently pay $13,000 a year for a $13,000 deductible policy which is absurd. I have become a big fan of the Hanson McClain’s Money Matters podcast. Late last year, they had a gentleman on from Retired Brainstalking about the best places to retire overseas. Retired Brains has a wonderful analysis rating the various places to retire overseas. Being a recovering engineer, I loved their analysis. The top 3 countries are: Ecuador Panama Mexico The Wall Street Journal published an article last November,If You’re Thinking of Retiring in Ecuador,that was quite encouraging. Read the section on health care in Ecuador. When this post is published we will be packing for a 2 week trip to Cuenca Ecuador. We have already made one scouting trip to Mexico and another is planned for October. That first trip confirmed that technology would allow me to work from anywhere. What is Next? For those of you who volunteered to be initial participants in the new community, I will be reaching out to you in the coming weeks. Look for more posts related to these forks in the road. Are you experiencing forks in the road? What are you doing about it? 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 ...

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Top 10 Reasons why Constant Complaining in the Workplace is so Toxic - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Top 10 Reasons why Constant Complaining in the Workplace is so Toxic - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Years ago when I was still a software developer for a small consulting company in my second job out of university, I had a boss that was shall we say unpopular. My co-workers and I hated his guts and we complained ceaselessly about him. It got to the point where we couldnt start a meeting, have lunch in the cafeteria, or even go out for a beer without spending half an hour complaining about him. We whined about his attitude, his stupidity, his meddling, his spinelessness hell, even his dress sense came under fire. But then again, he is the only manager who has ever interviewed me wearing a narrow 80s-style purple, fake-leather tie. But did we ever tell him? Nooooooo! While we were bitching and moaning to ourselves, he blithely went on as usual because no one ever complained to him. Which mightve made sense when you think about it Looking back, Im not sure that complaining to him would have worked I think he was incorrigible but one thing is for damn sure: Out bitching about it, fun though it may have been, did not improve things one little bit. Because that kind of chronic complaining, justified or not, in the workplace leads to no good. In fact, in can be downright toxic and can make a department or even a whole company a terrible place to work. Heres why constant complaining is so bad: 1: It makes things look worse than they are When people complain, they focus only on whats wrong. Things may be mostly fine in the company, but complainers only talk about the problems, annoyances and peeves they perceive. If things in a company are 80% good and 20% bad and you spend most of your time thinking and talking about the bad 20% the situation will look a lot worse than it really is. 2: It becomes a habit The more you complain, the easier it gets. In the end, everything is bad, every situation is a problem, every co-worker is a jerk and nothing is good. The more you focus on the negative, the harder it gets to switch into a positive mindset. 3: You get what you focus on According to Wikipedia, Confirmation bias is: a tendency to search for or interpret new information in a way that confirms ones preconceptions and avoid information and interpretations which contradict prior beliefs. In other words, what you already believe influences your perception of everything around you. Thats why constant complaining makes you see everything in a negative light, because your subconscious mind tries to make new observation fit with what you already know. 4: It leads to onedownmanship A complaining session might go something like this: The other day, my boss came in 5 minutes before I was leaving and asked me to finish two huge projects for him. I had to stay two hours and missed my football game. Yeah, well my boss told me to work this weekend AND the next. Hah, thats nothing! My boss This type of interaction rewards the person with the worst story who can complain the loudest. Not healthy! 5: It makes people despondent Not only does constant complaining make you see the workplace as worse than it really is, but because youre constantly hearing stories of how bad things are and how theyre constantly getting worse it also destroys all hope that things can get better. This of course makes people less likely to take action to improve their situation, because everybody knows its doomed to fail anyway. 6: It kills innovation Because the situations looks so hopeless, people become less creative and innovative. Whats the point of coming up with ideas and implementing them its never going to work anyway. Also, chronic complainers are the first to shoot down any new idea. 7: It favors negative people The way to get status among complainers is to be the most negative. To be the one who sees everything in the most negative light. Any attempt to be positive or cheerful will be shot down and optimists will be accused of being Pollyanna, naive and unrealistic. 8: It promotes bad relationships People who complain together unite against the world and can create strong internal relationships based on this. But these relationships are based mostly on negative experiences. Thats not healthy. It also means that you can only continue to be a part of the group if you can continue to complain, miring you even deeper in a complaint mindset. 9: It creates cliques Being positive, optimistic and appreciative makes you more open towards other people no matter who they are. It becomes easy to connect to co-workers in other departments, projects or divisions. Complaining, on the other hand, makes people gather in cliques with their fellow complainers where they can be critical and suspicious of everybody else. 10: Pessimism is bad for you Psychologist Martin Seligman showed in his groundbreaking research in positive psychology that people who see the world in a positive light have a long list of advantages, including: They live longer Theyre healthier They have more friends and better social lives They enjoy life more Theyre more successful at work We sometimes think that pessimists and complainers have the edge because they see problems sooner but the truth is that optimists not only lead better lives, theyre also more successful because they believe that what theyre doing is going to work. The upshot Constant complaining in the workplace is toxic. It can drain the happiness, motivation, creativity and fun from a whole company. Wherever its going on it must be addressed and handled properly. Im NOT saying that we should never complain at work quite the contrary. If you see a problem in your workplace, complain to whoever can do something about it. What we should avoid at all costs, is constant bitching and moaning, where were always complaining about the same things, to the same people, in the same way, day in and day out. So what can we do about it? Well first of all, each of us can learn to complain constructively. This means learning to complain in a way that leads to the problem being fixed rather than to more complaining. Heres my post on how you can How to complain constructively. Secondly, we can learn to deal with the chronic complainers we meet at work. Unfortunately, our traditional strategies like trying to cheer them up or suggesting solutions for their problems dont work because complainers arent looking for encouragement or solutions. Heres my post on how to deal with chronic complainers. Finally, you can train your own ability to be positive. Just like complaining can become a habit, so can being appreciative, optimistic and grateful. You could declare today a positive day, you could take a few minutes at the end of every work day to write down five good experiences from that day or you could praise a co-worker. Try it and let me know how it goes! Your take But what do you think? Do you know any chronic complainers at work? What is their impact? How do you complain, when you see a problem? Please write a comment, Id really like to know! Related Here are some related posts about workplace complaining: A real-life story on how being positive helps at work Go complain. Right now! Some negative phrases to avoid Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Friday, May 8, 2020

Network for success - dont be a bumper car -

Network for success - dont be a bumper car - I try to practice what I preach, so Ive been making an effort to attend in-person networking events. Every time I go to these events, I learn something! This weeks lesson: dont network like a bumper car. Many networkers at the event seemed to spend their one-on-one time in pursuit of their next contact. You know the type: shifty eyes, impatient body language and unfocused conversations. I found it difficult to connect with these networkers, as it seemed that they were much more interested in the next conversation than in the current one! In watching them interact during the night, they reminded me of bumper cars, haphazardly moving around the room, without any direction or focus. Maybe, incidentally, this type of networker will bump into someone and have a valuable interaction, but it seems more likely that this style would prevent meaningful interactions. After all, who would be interested in someone who doesnt seem very interested in them? On the flip side, I had several excellent networking conversations that reminded me how easy it is to form a connection with a stranger. I spoke to one person, a painter, for some time. Obviously a skilled networker, he asked about my work and talked to me about his business. Throughout the conversation, he was very focused on what I was saying, his eye contact focused on me (not his next target), and his responses to my questions were on point. During our conversation, I felt that I had a strong sense of his professionalism and business philosophy. When we were finished speaking, I made a mental note to give him a call when I was ready to move forward with some painting projects Ive had in mind. Incidentally, his background and personal network turned out to be very related to my own networking goals, as he is very connected to the HR and recruiting world. So, in addition to the opportunity to learn about him and his business, he may be able to provide some valuable contacts for my business. This is another example of the fact that you cant judge a book by its cover! Focus on each person you encounter when networking (and even when you are not officially networking. You never know what you might learn and how it will propel you toward your goals! Need help networking? Im here to teach you what you need to know! Contact me to discuss how we can work together. photo by whatdavesees