5 Unconventional Job Search Hacks That Will Land You Your Dream Job

5 Unconventional Job Search Hacks That Will Land You Your Dream Job Are you sick and tired of your draggy job search process? You did everything you read online. The right resume format, the right pitch, and even the right template to put in your cover letter.  But all you get are crickets. All you want is a job to get back into action. Is that too much to ask? Nothing you tried seems to work. It is just so frustrating! The Conventional Job Search Approach We were told of a linear path to find a job.  You browse through the classifieds or job boards, identify the jobs you want and send your resume in together with your cover letter. For some of you, you might go the extra mile and customize your resume and cover letter.  You might have even have your resume analyzed to make sure the right keywords are present.  But still, nobody is giving you a phone call. And there is nothing coming into your inbox either. Life is getting greyer by the minute. Unconventional Job Search Hacks The conventional approach is going the way of the fax machine (anyone still remembers that?) To gain an edge over the rest of your competition in the job market, you need a different strategy.  One that puts you in the lead at every opportunity, even before they get  advertised to the public. I put together a list of 5 job search hacks which would give you some ideas on where to start. 1. Monitor Movements Employment opportunities  could come about when there are vacancies.  And there are ways you could track vacancies way before it becomes job advertisements.  For instance, you could monitor websites that keep  track of new appointments and departures. The people who are appointed into these new roles surely have to vacate their current or previous one to make it happen. You could track down who these companies are and reach out to them to put in your candidature even if it isnt apparent on their career page. 2.  Make Friends With the Receptionist In my previous business running a recruitment agency, our best allies within our clients and target companies are the receptionist.  They are the eyes and ears of every organization because they are at the forefront of all such actions.  Because of that, they tend to catch wind of many things before they  go public. It could be seeing a sudden wave of meetings by senior management (an indication of something major going to happen), or constant discreet out-of-office movements by certain individuals (they could be going to interview someone or they are going to be interviewed) Regardless, the intel they share will be useful in how and when you approach your target employers with your pitch. 3. Attend Trade Fairs I always tell my clients that trade fairs are better than career fairs. You have almost the entire industry congregating together in a single premise. Thats unlike a typical career fair, where you have every industry under the sun.  And most participants at trade fairs would probably be in roles senior enough to carry out hiring manager duties back in office.  So you can go straight to the source instead of getting your resumes buried under a heap with the rest. To find out when they are happening, you could check out the events schedule with convention and exhibition centers. 4. Buy Coffee Another trick I highly recommend, especially for job seekers who are unsure of their direction, is to speak with people who are currently in your target role. So if you would like to get into Cyber Security, you should speak with as many Cyber Security Specialists as possible.  They would be able to share with you the scope in its entirety, warts and all. So you wont be looking at it through a rose tinted lens and make a decision based upon the bright and colorful brochure. It isnt hard to reach out to them, even if they are complete strangers. The approach I would suggest is to use an ego bait.  What that means is to let them know how to impressed you are with their current credentials as a cyber security specialist. Next I recommend you  follow up by letting them know you wish to get into this field and see them as a role model based on their career trajectory.  Lastly, you can  offer to buy them a coffee so you could get some advice from them on how best you could proceed from where you are. A typical template would go something like this: Hi Peter I was doing research over Cyber Security on LinkedIn and I stumbled across  your profile. I am amazed by your career trajectory and how youve managed to achieve so much over your career! I am currently working as a Network Engineer and I am looking to better equip myself with the skill-set required to prepare myself to move into Cyber Security functions. I hope I could learn from you a tip or two. Coffees on me. ?? 5. Offer Free  Help Getting a paid gig (read: job) would be tough if you do not have the prior experience required for it. Companies would be hesitant to spend a few months of salaries on a gamble.  But all this could be overcome if you display passion and genuine interest in your target employer. For example, lets say you are into marketing and your target is a training school.  Schools thrive on enrollments and it would help you to make a huge impression if you are able to pass warm leads to them pro bono.  If you could keep this over a short consistent basis, Im sure you stand a huge chance if you were to ask for a permanent role doing the same thing. This was the same strategy the Ryan Graves  (he is Uber employee number 1) used when he wanted to work for Foursquare, but they werent keen in him. [Image Credit: Shutterstock]

Top Creative Trends to Inspire Recruitment Marketers

Top Creative Trends to Inspire Recruitment Marketers Every year, Shutterstock analyzes the data from billions of searches for images, videos, and music, and put together the trends that will likely be emerging in the coming year. Jorgen Sundberg  speaks with Robyn Lange, the Curator for Shutterstock, a global technology company, offering a creative platform for assets, tools, and service with over a 180 million images and 9 million videos from more than 300,000 contributors around the world. They delve into their latest Creative Trends report to find out where design, audio, videography, photography and more is heading in 2018. Have a listen to the interview below, keep reading for a summary and be sure to subscribe to the  Employer Branding Podcast. Listen on  iTunes,  Stitcher Radio,  Google Play  or  SoundCloud. In this episode, youll learn About Shutterstocks annual Creative Trends report What a Curator does at a company like Shutterstock What the top 3 major trends are from the report How these trends different around the world How recruitment marketers can take inspiration from this data What companies inspire Robyn.

Three Secrets to Writing Better - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Three Secrets to Writing Better - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career So much of what I read these days is utter crap. Such useless, boring, turgid, awful crap that I get Qwertyitis planting my face into my keyboard. Its not the topics, its not the viewpoint, and its not even that I truly couldnt give a shit about the subject. Its that the writing is so eye-bleedingly awful that I cant stand to read one more pixel. Heres the thing: if youre blogging as part of your personal brand, youre not doing yourself any favors if youre not learning to write well. Not just at-least-hes-not-talking-about-me well. I mean, well enough that someone jams their finger in a rush to share what you just wrote. If you want to learn to write well, do these three things. 1. Pick three or four favorite authors and steal from them. Read as much of their stuff as you can. Read commentary about their work. Learn what makes them such outstanding writers. Pick a few of those elements and incorporate them into your own writing. Practice them regularly and mesh the styles. Eventually that combination will become your voice. My three favorites are Ernest Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson, and Mike Royko, Chicago Daily News columnist from the 1980s. For example, one thing I learned from Thompson is that he doesnt just open with a strong lede (yes, lede; its an old newspaper term), he writes several in a row, and delivers them like jabs. I try to do that in a lot of my posts; the ones where I succeed are the ones people share the most. 2. Read newspapers. The best model for blogging is newspaper writing. You have a limited number of inches in a newspaper story, and your editor is going to chop it to make room for that piece on the flower show or the furniture store ad. You need to make your point in the smallest space possible. So it goes with blogging. You have about 300 â€" 500 words to get your point across, because readers are fickle and impatient, especially those reading on mobile phones. Read the newspapers and learn to emulate their writing style. 3. Write every day and be intentional about it. As you read newspapers and steal from your favorite authors (seriously, do it; thats how they all got good), pick one technique, and practice it every chance you get. While professional writers write every day because its their job, you may not have that luxury. So practice on everything. Dont just clack away at emails on your laptop; thats typing. Youre not actually writing because your brain is on autopilot. But you can turn it into writing if you actually focus on what youre doing, and practice the techniques youre trying to learn. Several years ago, I wanted to get good at metaphors. I listened to a lot of Tom Waits (check out Putnam County from Nighthawks At The Diner), and started using metaphors in everything I wrote, including emails. Pretty soon, it became fairly automatic, and something I could do with ease. The problem with writing in the 21st century is that blogging and e-publishing has made authors and publishers of us all. And while Im all for the average person having a voice in the world, there are some voices that are never going to be heard because their writing is terrible. If you want people to sit up and take notice of you, you have to do it with your writing. Your brand depends on being able to not just stand apart from the eye-bleedingly awful, but to stand out from the barely acceptable, the mediocre, and the good enough. Practice these three techniques and make them a regular habit. As you work, your writing will improve and help you stand out from everyone else whos fighting for the same things you are. Author: Erik Deckers is the owner of Professional Blog Service, a newspaper humor columnist, and the co-author of Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself and No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing. His third book, The Owned Media Doctrine, will be available this summer.

How to Create the Perfect Elevator Pitch

How to Create the Perfect Elevator Pitch Have you ever been to a party, been asked by somebody So, what do you do for a living? and had no idea what to say? You need to write yourself an elevator pitch. How do you react when meeting someone new? Some people down-play their strengths massively, whereas others can launch into a detailed story of how theyre looking for a new job.  If you dont have an elevator pitch ready, you might miss out on that project or opportunity which could be your careers highlight. Open Colleges have produced this guide on how to create the perfect elevator pitch to help you get started! What is a elevator pitch? Imagine youre in stuck in a elevator (or lift, as we like to call it here in the UK), and someone you admire walks in and stands next to you it could be the CEO of that dream company youve wanted to work at for years. You have exactly the amount of time it takes to reach the top floor (maybe 30 seconds to a minute) to tell them about you, make a good impression, and hopefully a connection. However, your elevator pitch isnt just for networking events or social gatherings youll need it when cold-calling a business prospect or in other similar situations. Your elevator pitch: In your elevator pitch, you need to succinctly state what you do for a living and work out how to communicate this to whoever your audience may be. It should be concise and  you should be answering 5 questions 4 Ws and 1H: Who are you? What do you do? Where do you work? Why do they  need to know this? How are you different from others? Dont forget the way you say something matters as much as what you say so also concentrate on your: Smile: have a big grin on your face, look the other person in the eye and give a friendly handshake. This will establish sincerity, as well as inspiring confidence and understanding. Body language: watch your posture, as it will be the difference between showing that youre being truthful and defensive. Expressions: show that you are excited and interested to talk to the other person and speak with an animated voice. READ MORE: Elevator Pitch or Take the Stairs Elevator Pitch | Examples on How to Perfect Your Speech | Open Colleges

What You Need to Know to Be Productive at Work CareerMetis.com

What You Need to Know to Be Productive at Work â€" CareerMetis.com The layout of your workspace can have a huge effect on your productivity levels at work. The layout can decrease your work output or increase it. Factors such as light, music, design, noise levels and even colour can all impact how much work we get done each day.However, there are ways in which we can help our productivity levels.By having a good posture, keeping your space clean and tidy, keeping your office warm and using natural lighting, you can guarantee that your workspace is clear from distractions so you can perform at your best. Also, by performing some simple exercises at your desk, you will be able to stay fresh and alert at all times.evalTo find out more on what the key to a productive workspace is, let’s check out this informative infographic by Davitt Corporate Partners which outlines everything we need to know to productive at work.It shows us some fascinating information about productive including noise levels to workspace design, wall colours and even to how your p osture can affect our creativity and performance levels at work. For all the key information, let’s now take a look at this interesting infographic!Infographic Credit â€" DavittCorporatePartnersWhat is your biggest productivity killer?Tell us about it in the comment section below!

Protect Your LinkedIn Profile Today

Protect Your LinkedIn Profile Today Protect Your LinkedIn Profile Today LinkedIn / Resume Writing When Microsoft purchased LinkedIn, everyone knew there would be changes. The end of last year, LinkedIn rolled out a big one. It’s called Resume Assistant. According to LinkedIn, Resume Assistant provides samples from successful professionals that can be used as inspiration for members who want to update their resumes. “Resume Assistant, provides real examples of how other professionals are describing their work experience such as how they write their profile summary or explain responsibilities in their role so you can highlight your skills in the right way to get the job you want.” Read LinkedIn’s latest Resume Assistant promo here. Essentially, it allows LinkedIn members access to the summaries, job descriptions, etc. of other members. Once the member provides their industry or target job title, Resume Assistant pulls what is called “insights” from other members’ profiles. One problem is that it’s not opt-in, it’s opt-out. So, you profile can be accessed by Resume Assistant unless you change some of your settings. Luckily, it’s easy. Click Settings Privacy Click on Privacy Scroll down to Microsoft Word Open the link and set your option to NO While LinkedIn is careful to note that Resume Assistant is to be used for inspiration, people plagiarize other people’s work every day. Writers find their articles posted under someone else’s byline. Hiring managers receive resumes from candidates that are identical to their own. Yes, it happens. If you want your carefully crafted content to end up in someone else’s resume and/or LinkedIn profile go online and protect yourself today.

Timberton NC Resume Writing

Timberton NC Resume WritingThe real beauty of Timberton NC is the opportunity for you to showcase your abilities to potential employers. This is what professional Resume Writing does for you, so why would you ever skip this step? Timberton NC will offer you all the support and guidance you need to write your resume and land that new job of your dreams.When you are ready to craft a truly impressive resume that impresses any employer, you can take advantage of the resources available at Timberton NC. There are several professionals on staff who can assist you in your preparation.To help you ensure that your resume meets the exacting standards of any potential employer, there are five steps that are essential. These include, properly listing the accomplishments you have had during the course of your career, the skills you have exhibited throughout that time, and the educational background of each area covered. This is necessary to make sure that your resume captures every advantage and opportunity in the resume writing process.Even though Timberton NC is well known for the creation of great resumes, it is not the only place to find the experience you need. Good Resume Writing Services is often found in the many 'Work From Home' chat rooms, you might find online. There, you can use the power of the Internet to locate the specific experience and qualifications you are seeking. Many of these 'careers' are hidden in plain sight, and can help you land that job of your dreams.Finally, you should be prepared for any questions that your potential employer may ask. If they do not ask, they are likely not interested in hiring you, as they have their hands full with other applicants. But if they do ask, you will need to know the right things to say in order to win their confidence and continue the process of getting hired.It is not uncommon for these types of questions to be 'what do you do?' or 'tell me a little about yourself' as it relates to the job.Sometimes, a potentia l employer will inquire about your hobbies, and how they reflect your values and beliefs, or 'What do you enjoy doing when you're not working?' Again, if they do not ask, they are likely not interested in hiring you, as they have their hands full with other applicants.In order to make certain that you land the interview that you want, you will need to know the right things to say in order to win the confidence of any potential employer. You want them to see the same excitement, passion, and energy you do, and to want to work with you.