6 Ways to Nurture and Grow Your Talent Building Your Future Now

6 Ways to Nurture and Grow Your Talent Building Your Future Now All of us possess a talent. Thats what makes us so unique! And in respect to career development that talent that you may have stopped to refine might actually give you a chance to score better job opportunities with better pay. It is all about maximizing your talent by putting it into action on a daily basis. Here are 6 ways to nurture and grow you talent. 1. Reading Voraciously. Read a lot! Reading is the key to learning more about others who also possess a talent similar to yours. Try to read fiction and non-fiction. Reflect on those books and what you have gleaned from them. 2. Meeting with other Talented People Get together with like-minded people who are also talented. Talk and learn from them. Find out how they apply their talents to other facets of life. You can use Social Media and go to networking events to connect to others. 3. Seeking a Mentor It is crucial you find a mentor that can steer you in the right direction. This blog has had a few articles about mentors especially ones that are focused on your career development. But a good mentor looks at many aspects of your life and can help you in many ways. If you do find one that can help you progress and develop your talent that is a huge plus. 4. Applying to a Career Find ways your talent that can be utilized in the job market. If you are an artistyou can use your talent as a painter or sculpturer for example and apply it to commercial projects. 5.Working at it EVERYDAY Your talent will always be there but when not in use it can wither away and become ineffective. You must use it and work with it everyday of your life even if its for a few minutes. If you are a writerwrite in a daily diary or write stories and perhaps try sending them out to get published. 6. Mentor someone We all learn and gain knowledge from our personal experiences and why not share it with someone else? It is always a great idea to outreach into the community and offer your experience to others. People will appreciate it. Image: KaBoomPics

WARNING! Dont Write Your Resume to Please an ATS

WARNING! Dont Write Your Resume to Please an ATS One of the fun parts (for me at least) about being a career coach is seeing some of the terrible advice that other people are giving out.  Right now, the one of the big fads among career “experts” who completely miss the point is to talk about how to beat Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), those software programs you feed your resume into at some of the bigger companies and recruiting firms. This always involves SEO-like techniques which boil down to just packing your resume full of keywords- typically skills, tools you’ve been trained with, and the name of the company you’re applying to.  On a less-crazy level, it can also entail simply not doing any weird stuff on your resume that an Applicant Tracking System can’t process.  Either way, writing your resume to convince actual human beings that you’re a good fit for the role thus takes a backseat to getting top marks from the world’s crappiest search engine.  Feeding your resume into an ATS with the intention of “beating” it is like volunteering to be a Roman gladiator; the game itself is designed to make everyone a loser.  Here’s why:   You’re not fooling anyone   I’ve spoken to several HR managers about this, and winning top marks from the ATS just doesn’t carry much weight with any of them.  They know that the formula for beating the system is pretty well-known, and they know your ATS doesn’t really measure your value as a worker.  There may have been a time when these tricks worked, but that time is long gone. Moreover, trying to beat the ATS doesn’t address a bigger problem- by applying to job postings like 80% of other job seekers, you’ve shown that you’re just one of the masses.  Most jobs are filled without ever being posted on job boards, through networking, personal referrals, or people just applying to companies without even knowing if there’s an opening for them.   You can’t write for robots and people at the same time Okay, so you’ve keyword-packed your resume.  Now try reading it out loud.  Does it sound like anything a human being would say?  Of course not, because you didn’t write it for a human being.  You wrote it for the ATS.   There’s the dilemma: look good to a person, but never get to her, or look good to the ATS but fail with the person.  The very tactics that help you pass the ATS lead to a pyrrhic victory, as you get past the ATS only to be summarily rejected by an HR coordinator. The ATS makes you a commodity Implicit in the Applicant Tracking System, and the hundreds of applications that it implies, is the idea that potential employees are a dime a dozen.  Employers looking through resumes in this environment are like shoppers buying apples at the supermarket- they have so many choices, even the slightest imperfection gives them an excuse to reject a candidate.  And of course, this also means that going through an ATS puts you in a position to get a lower salary, lower benefits, and lower-level position than you could otherwise qualify for. You might not even have a chance Here’s a dirty little secret nobody likes to admit about job postings: many of those openings never get filled by people applying from a job board.  It could be that you get preempted by someone who is friends with a current employee.  Maybe the position was already filled, but they needed to make a show of attracting other applicants so they could avoid charges of nepotism.  The company may have intended to hire from the job posting, only to change its mind.  And in some rare cases, the company had no intention of hiring for the role at all, but just wanted to see what kind of responses the posting would get for future reference.  Yes, that happens.   You don’t want to talk to HR   Typically, you’ll be screened by an HR coordinator before being passed on to the department you’re actually applying to.  There are two problems with this: first off, the HR coordinator doesn’t know much about the job other than what’s in the job posting itself, so she’ll judge people largely based on how good they look on paper.  The most qualified applicants will get through, but the most qualified applicants are generally overqualified.   Second, going through HR gets you lumped in with everyone else.  If you can bypass HR and go straight to the department you’re applying to, you immediately stand out from the competition, and can beat more experienced candidates for the job.  You can also start discussing that department’s “hidden needs” that weren’t mentioned in the job posting.  While everyone else is trying to be the candidate the company says it wants, you’ll be the employee it really needs. Author: John Fawkes helps people find and win their dream jobs at johnfawkes.com.  He loves networking, preparation and work/life balance, and hates job boards and Applicant Tracking Systems.

Tweeting About Being Fired From the New Yorker; Why Journalists Should Take Charge of Their Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Tweeting About Being Fired From the New Yorker; Why Journalists Should Take Charge of Their Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career All in all, last Friday was probably a good day for Dan Baum. The former New Yorker staff writers decision to use Twitter to chronicle his unwilling exit from the magazine in 2007 has generated quite a bit of buzz and attracted a few hundred followers to his account. At 1:46pm on May 8, Baum tweeted: People often ask why I left the New Yorker. After all, I had a staff writer job. Isn’t that the best job in journalism? Yes. In a second tweet, he added: Nobody leaves a New Yorker job voluntarily. I was fired. And over the next few days, I’ll tell that story here, in 140. It didnt take long for Baums Twitter account to be linked, re-tweeted, referenced and blogged about. Baum told Bloggasms Simon Owens that he decided to tweet about being fired because he is often asked why he left the New Yorker when he is out promoting his book, Nine Lives. Baum also said that he decided to come forward now because although he hoped to get his New Yorker job back, it is clear that the bridge is down, burned, collapsed and washed away. So with nothing to lose, this is a seemingly smart move for an author with a book to promote. In addition, if you look at previous tweets, it looks like Baum is having some trouble selling a new book concept, so the publicity might be a way to get some help with that, too. Regardless of what Baums ultimate goal might be, hes significantly elevated his personal brand, and his exercise highlights the increasing need for journalists to take charge and market themselves. While newspapers fold, publications lay people off and the opportunities open to professional journalists change, Baums exercise in personal branding is a pioneering move for journalists everywhere, who traditionally havent wanted to be involved in the marketing and selling of their work. DigiDave has a good post describing this phenomenon, in which he encourages journalists to live parts of your life online. Curious about what other journalists think about Baums tweets and the use of personal branding, I turned to three of my favorite journalists who each have different experiences in journalism and different perspectives on the industry. They agreed that personal branding is increasingly important for journalists, and the verdict is that Baum seems to have gotten it mostly right. Journalists on the importance of personal branding for journalists Erica Anderson who blogs at EricaAmerica, was the Washington, D.C. correspondent for MTV’s Street Team ‘08, a group of citizen journalists assigned to cover the 2008 Election. A personal brand, like what Baum is doing, helps to make him more competitive in the new media environment, she said. Anderson said that personal branding feels like a strange popularity contest and that she uses Helen Thomas as a guide for her personal brand. Thomas always pursues the truth, no matter what side it implicates and never compromises her integrity for anything. Sure, Helen didnt have to do it in a web 2.0 world. But we, young journalists, need to remember that the foundation of journalism ethics will always be the same we just need to figure out how to apply them to a 24/7 news cycle that requires rapid-fire updates and aggregation. Yes, personal branding is important for journalists careers, according to Joe Grimm, the author of Poynter Onlines Ask the Recruiter column. It feels odd, though. Journalists TELL stories, we dont want to BE stories. But, time and again, we see how journalists who create niches (brands) for themselves do better in salary and in terms of job security. Grimm, who used to recruit for the Detroit Free Press, said, A journalists brand cannot be hokey. That cant work. It has to be authentic and crisp. Think of reputation raised to another level. It is far better to be THE copy editor known as the Comma Queen (we hired here) or a great headline writer than to just be A copy editor. Marci Alboher , who writes the blog Working the New Economy on Yahoo!, points out, Journalists cant solely rely on news outlets to promote their work so they need to find ways both to reach their readers and, on a more practical level, to find the entities that will fund or sponsor their work. Those who take it into their own hands will likely do better on both of fronts. Back to Baum, did he do it right? Baums creativity deserves high marks. But by deciding to base his bold move around an identity he no longer has, ie: New Yorker staff writer, hes solidifying his personal brand as something he once was, even if it is a writer for a highly-regarded magazine. Of course, its worth noting this accomplishment in his bios and about sections, but people will know him as the guy who was fired from the New Yorker, not necessarily the guy who writes great books today. On the other hand, the authenticity involved with tweeting about being fired is powerful and perhaps the exposure from this serves him better than crafting a brand around being an author. Anderson said it is a question of legality. If he signed a non-disclosure, then he shouldnt be doing it. But if he did not, and by tweeting he is adding a first-hand experience to a hot issue (magazines letting writers go) then I dont see why not. Anderson has first-hand experience with this. I blogged about not being paid on time by MTV and tried to do it with a balance of must tell story and must not burn bridges. In the end it served the entire Street Team well. We were all given bonuses and a personal appology by the network a day later. Alboher thinks it was a smart move that is worth the risk of not being received well by some. As for whether it will turn off some editors, I imagine it might. But it will also expose new editors and journalists to his work. Id bet that on balance it does more good than harm. She said, It helps that hes a pro at what he does. If he were a shoddy writer, this would all feel like a publicity stunt. But because hes got the goods, it works. But Baum did make one unusual decision, according to Alboher. He has amassed several hundred followers on Twitter and isnt following anyone back. While he is successfully telling his story, he is missing out on a vital component to Twitter the conversational aspect. So while he says that he started Twittering to answer a question asked by his readers, it doesnt appear that he wants to have a dialogue with them at least not on Twitter. [Editors note: Baum was not following anyone when Alboher made this observation on Sunday. On Monday evening, he was following seven people]. Author: Jaclyn Schiff is a professional journalist. Fascinated with the changing way that people receive and interact with information, she blogs and tweets about this and other media-related topics.

Which Countries Have the Most LinkedIn Users

Which Countries Have the Most LinkedIn Users LinkedIn is now an extremely key factor in job search, recruitment and networking. With 380 million users worldwide and 2 people joining every second, it is increasingly on the rise and is popular with both individuals and businesses. It is interesting to have an understanding of who is using LinkedIn and  to compare countries with more users against countries who are falling behind. Its also important to look into and analyse the reasons behind these statistics, as they could explain why this social network may not be so popular in particular places, this may be due to social or economic reasons. They could also explain the  global job market and reasons for employability in different countries and sectors. Link Humans provided a video showcasing the main statistics from around the world. Which country/city has the most LinkedIn users? Lets have a look! Statistics: The USA leads with 126 million LinkedIn users which has increased by approximately  17 million in one year! India has 33.4 million users. The USA has the  highest penetration of LinkedIn usage compared to the population with the Netherlands coming close second. New York is the city with the most users and Saõ Paulo comes second. India IT industry decline: According to LinkedIn themselves, the community in India are being forced to reinvent themselves due to the decline in the IT industry. This could explain the huge amount of LinkedIn users in India who desperately need to connect and find a new job. From 2010-2013 LinkedIn users in India increased 500% from 3.4 million to 20 million. According the LinkedIn research, the ‘City of LinkedIn India’ is  comparable to that of Mumbai’s total metropolitan area! Saõ Paulo Tech skills: Facebook launched a programme to provide/teach  entrepreneurial and technology skills to small businesses one of  Saõ Paulo’s slums. Perhaps, this further influenced LinkedIn usage which could in turn also aid business and entrepreneurial skills and jobs. Germany XING competition: 13% of Germans have a XING account compared to 5% who have LinkedIn, making XING LinkedIn’s largest  competitor in Germany. 31%  of the German labor market and 1 out of 4 in Austria  rates Xing.com as their most favourite  recruitment channel. Los Angeles  Top skills from user data insights: TV and Video Production is the top skill for Los Angeles on LinkedIn. Both social media marketing and digital marketing are within the most popular skills. To read more about LinkedIn users globally and the possible reasons behind the statistics, click here!

10 Steps to Start a Ghostwriting Career CareerMetis.com

10 Steps to Start a Ghostwriting Career Although a ghostwriter’s life is less adventurous than presented in Roman Polanski’s movie‘The Ghost Writer’, this profession is quickly becoming one of the most popular career paths for aspiring writers.Many celebrities and social media influencers usesecret helpers to communicate with the public, write personal books and autobiographies and even announce intimate events such as the birth of children or breakups with their loved ones.Ghostwriters rub shoulderswith both popular rappers and corporate blog editors, which makes you wonder how you can enter this lucrative market and use your professional writing skills in a radically different way. Below are the 10 steps that can assist you on this journey.1. Start Small…evalevalGhostwriting may be a highly lucrative sphere for both amateur and experienced writers. However, you have to pass the initial trials and tribulations before you achieve a steady demand of orders and become a full-time professional. To pass this temporar y period, it may be wise to organise a backup source of income and allocate several hours every single day to developing your ghostwriting skills and relationship network.Starting a professional career in any area takes time, especially if you are a novice. Remain persistent, price your services in accordance with your current skills and you will get there sooner than you think.2. … But Think BigIt takes years to build a reputation, and only a few mistakesmay ruin your established track record. Before you have solid credentials, it is a good idea to avoid multi-tasking and fully focus on a single project at a time. Remember that developing professional skills and a good portfolio may be the fastest route to the top ghostwriting league.Hence, invest time and resources into your development instead of trying to take as many orders as possible at the beginning of your career. Choose your long-term strategy and focus on a single goal to break on through to the other side.3. Choose You r Primary Field of ExpertiseProfessional authors can succeed in multiple areas of writing. However, even these seasoned veterans have their strongest spheres that are usually associated with their education, professional interests or personal experiences. Top academic writers typically have very homogenous profiles and work only with topics that are related to each other. While writing on multiple topics may look smart in terms of taking more potential orders, a Jack of All Trades usually remains a master of low-wage generic writing.4. Gain Experience in the Selected SphereFor a beginning ghostwriter, choosing a single fieldof expertise and working hard to maximise the knowledge of this area can allow him or her to quickly become a demanded expert and increase the pricing.To do this, you need to make sure that you can consistently produce high-quality content on a regular basis, which requires expertise. Studying professional sourcesmay be a good start for completing multiple orders in the targeted sphere and putting this theoretical knowledge into practice is the key to real mastery.5. Choose Your Favorite Content TypeevalevalAlthough ghostwriting has been traditionally associated with writing books, there is a growing demandfor smaller pieces of work such as reports, articles, newsletters, etc.On the one hand, these formats may be more accessible for beginners in this sphere as few publishers today hire new authors to write auto-biographies of celebrities.On the other hand, smaller orders may also be a good source of income in your future career to support you in the process of long-term orders with distant delivery dates.6. Focus on Your Client…Most ghostwriters have extraordinary writing skills that are necessary for this career. However, you are paid for being the voice of your client who needs to tell his or her story.evalTo do this, you need to keep under control many important detailssuch as the choice of suitable words, written speech style, backgro und experience and personal life philosophy. Learning more about textual analysis and reading through a large number of customer materials may be a perfect starting point for effectively conveying the ideas of your clients.7. … But Make Your Own ContributionAt the same time, you are hired for this job because the customer may be equally uncertainon how to properly convey his or her thoughts in writing. As a professional in this sphere, you have more expertise and a greater knowledge of how the industry works and what can be done to improve the outcomes.Hence, your contribution and advice may be necessary and even expected in some cases. While a direct interview may not always be possible due to confidentiality reasons, asking some questions through intermediaries may be a good way to establish contact and put your customer at ease.8. Develop Your Networking SkillsEven though online platforms provide new methods of reaching potential clients, the covert art of ghostwriting still re lies on the tried-and-true word-of-mouth method. Creating a book is a personal and daunting task for many customers. Knowing your ghostwriter of choice personally or through trusted recommendations can alleviate a large share of this stress and uncertainty. Therefore, you should also become a member of reliable industry associations such as the Association of Ghostwritersand the American Society of Journalists and Authors.9. Learn More about Book PublishingPerforming ghostwriting tasks via third-party aggregators alleviates some of the stress associated with ‘what shall we do with the text after it is completed’ stage. However, answering this question may be the key for getting direct orders and becoming a one-stop-shop for your customers.Major publishing houses, online book retailers such as Amazon.com and other distributors have various compliance standardsthat should be incorporated into the structure and contents of new books in order to secure a deal. Knowing how to guarant ee high acceptance rates with industry leaders may be the key to becoming a highly popular ghostwriter.10. Think Outside the One-Off BoxBeing a professional ghostwriter does not mean that you should always operate on the one-off principle. Think about writing withyour client rather than for your client. By learning more about his or her individuality, personal style, preferences and unique traits, you can really move your relationship on the next level and become his or her personal ghostwriter.Suggest new ideas for books and blog publications. Learn how to increase your value by understanding your clients’ subliminal hints and motivations. Demonstrate professionalism and the readiness to walk an extra mile to ensure superior results. Be there for your client.As of 2018, ghostwriting is progressing from an exclusive celebrity writing service to a popular way of solving personalwriting tasks. This market offers almost unlimited potential for new writers seeking an alternative to tr aditional formats. Ghostwriting also has such limitations as anonymity and confidentiality that may avert some people seeking a more creative path to financial and personal success.evalIt is worth noting that professional ghostwriters may charge up to $75,000for a regular non-fiction book, which can be viewed as a highly attractive professional development path. In addition to that, this line of work is very effective for working on your personal writing style and establishing valuable contacts in the industry to prepare for launching your own writing career in the future.

On Repeat In My Work Wardrobe This Fall - Cubicle Chic

On Repeat In My Work Wardrobe This Fall - Cubicle Chic On Repeat In My Work Wardrobe This Fall Lifestyle, Outfits November 2, 2016 0 Comments  Trench Coat: Miilla; similar here, and here Loafers:  ASOS; similar here Jeans:  Topshop JamieI am constantly trying to spruce up my work wardrobe. It’s one of the reasons why I started this blog, which is to share my outfit ideas with all of you and to know what other office dwelling women are wearing.After 6 years spent in the corporate world, I have a set template developed for how to dress for the everyday office days. But occasionally, I like to add elements of surprise just to feel like I’m not wearing uniforms.This trench coat is one of these totally surprising elements!  Trench Coat: Miilla; similar here, and here Loafers:  ASOS; similar here Jeans:  Topshop JamieThe lapels of the trench coat give it the structured element that you want to have in an office outfit, but the long flow-y nature of the piece elevates the style of the outfit.I paired the outfit with some mules that are probably on the more casual side, but with a ny of these loafers or even heels below, this outfit would be perfectly office appropriate. They’re all under $100! Head Over Heels $ 79 Get Sale Alert Asos $ 61 Get Sale Alert Head Over Heels $ 73 Get Sale Alert Head Over Heels $ 79 Get Sale Alert  Trench Coat: Miilla, available via Poshmark; similar here, and here Loafers: ASOS; similar here Jeans: Topshop Jamie   Trench Coat: Miilla, available via Poshmark; similar here, and here Loafers:  ASOS; similar here Jeans:  Topshop JamieOn a separate note, these photos were taken around Alfred Tea Room in downtown LA. It’s SUCH a cute place, and of course, makes really awesome photos thanks to their pink decor! It was funny because when we were there, I saw at least 5 other groups there for photo shoots. If you’re in the LA area, don’t forget to check it out!All photography by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse

When Writing Resume - A Practical Guide

When Writing Resume - A Practical GuideWriting a resume can be hard to do and it does not have to be if you know how to go about it. Just like when writing an essay, there are certain points that must be covered on your resume. These points should cover the basics that most employers look for in someone to fill their position.It could be for professional reasons or career paths that are specific to you. Whatever the reason is, make sure that the things on your resume are representative of you. Otherwise, you will never get hired and that is not what you want to happen.Do not forget to make it easy to read and write because this is what will be read by many others who are looking for your skills. The resume should be short and precise because this is what your employer wants to see. Try to avoid making it too long and hard to read because then it will not look professional right away.You also need to outline your skills so that it is easy to spot and distinguish them from each other. Your work experience is going to be your major selling point but if you only list your work history, the impression you give is one of negligence or underachievement. You need to list your work experience, your educational achievements, your skills, and skills associated with your job.Describe your career goals and where you would like to go. Always include your goals and expectations in your resume because these will be what your employer sees in the hiring process. Explain the things that you would do if you were hired and how they would help your company.List your experiences in areas that relate to your career. Look at these as investment tools. You can sell yourself or your skills to your employer by listing them. If you have an extensive knowledge of a certain area, you can list that and use that as leverage in the job interview.Always list the skills you possess and those that are applicable to your position. You will need to show your employer that you can carry out their jo b responsibilities and that you are a good fit for the job. If you are short on skills, then explain how you have acquired other skills and explain why they are valuable.When writing resume, do not just throw out a bunch of information because this will not be read by anyone but the person reviewing it. You want to come across as genuine and truthful because this is what will make your resume stand out from the crowd. Make sure you take the time to make your resume relevant to the company that you are applying for.