Thursday, July 30, 2020

How to Create a Skills Inventory

Step by step instructions to Create a Skills Inventory Step by step instructions to Create a Skills Inventory On the off chance that you'll be recruiting inside later on, consider making a representative aptitudes stock. It gives an accommodating inventory of the current aptitudes, properties, qualifications and subject matters inside your association. While customary occupation accounts will in general spotlight on achievements, an abilities stock ganders at the representative aptitudes and characteristics that empowered those achievements. Regardless of whether your organization is generally little, it might be beneficial to build up a worker abilities stock. At that point you can just inquiry through the aptitudes stock to distinguish workers who come nearest to meeting the prerequisites of a specific position. What's more, you wipe out the time required to figure out innumerable envelopes and order a rundown of promising competitors. Making an abilities stock Given the typical adaptability and intensity of the present databases, you can join countless classifications into your representative abilities stock. Be that as it may, ensure each field in the database has some regulatory or vital significance. The most ideal path for organizations to accumulate the greater part of the data for this database is to make a straightforward aptitudes poll. Streamlining your abilities survey At the point when you make your abilities poll, attempt to downplay the quantity of fields, and ensure that they're work related. In a perfect world, you'll circulate the abilities survey to representatives utilizing an altered, secret key secured site that can send it by email. The more in contact you are with the current gifts, abilities and traits of your organization's representatives, the more adequately you can exploit this skill - and give your staff open doors for professional success. Labels

Thursday, July 23, 2020

14 ways to ensure your Skype interview is a success - Viewpoint Viewpoint careers advice blog

14 ways to ensure your Skype interview is a success - Viewpoint There are 300 million people using Skype each month. It’s no surprise then, that the video chat service has been deployed in the interview process. Using Skype allows employers to interview candidates from all over the world. These days, it is often the first step in an interview process, so it’s important it is a success. How to prepare for your Skype interview Skype interviews require just as much preparation as face-to-face or telephone interviews, if not more. Due to the added element of technology, the chance of something going wrong is increased, so it’s important to do everything you can beforehand to ensure your interview goes without a glitch. These tips will help to ensure that you don’t get caught off guard by any technical issues, and that instead, your ability as a candidate shines through. Establish a Skype interview appropriate environment Firstly, think about where you are going to have your Skype interview â€" your home office? Your bedroom? Your kitchen? Once you’ve decided on the most appropriate room, think about what the interviewer will see in frame when looking behind you. Keep your background scene as clear as possible, as pictures on the wall or other objects can risk distracting the interviewer â€" their attention needs to be firmly on you. Also, make sure your surroundings are tidy and the lighting is good. Once you have set up your ‘interview room’, make sure you’re not risking family, friends or even pets walking in when the interview is taking place. Let them know ahead of time that you have an interview, and then close the door to keep out noise. Learn about all the tools Skype has to offer Skype has many functions that can be useful in an interview scenario. For instance, during the interview you might need to utilise the functionality to share your screen or other files with your interviewer. So, prior to your interview, take a look at this article and familiarise yourself with all the tools Skype has to offer. Do a test Skype call the day before the interview The day before your Skype interview is due to take place, it’s always a good idea to have a test run. Organise a test call with a family member or friend â€" this will ensure you feel confident using the technology, and that the camera and microphone both work. Run through some interview questions and answers and ask the family member or friend to provide you with any specific feedback. Practise speaking your interview answers out loud and record yourself It’ll probably feel strange doing this. However, video recording yourself speaking your interview answers out loud is a great way to check for any points you may need to correct before the interview itself, such as looking down too much, poor body language, speaking too quietly or speaking too quickly. It also gives you a final opportunity to test your Skype settings, the lighting in the room and your body language. You won’t want to suddenly become aware of these issues during the interview itself, and risk looking ill-prepared and unprofessional as a result. Make sure your Skype account is professional The first thing that your interviewer will see is your Skype profile photo and username, so ensure both depict you in a professional light. If you already have a personal Skype account, consider creating a separate account which you can use specifically for interviewing. You could even create a username associated with your profession, for instance, JohnSmithFinance. Have notes and questions prepared Before the interview, print off your CV and prepare questions to ask at the end. Prepare individual points to put to one side to use as springboards for conversation, or prompts. This will help limit the risk of being tempted to look down and simply read from your CV,   thus not maintaining eye contact with the interviewer. On the day of your Skype interview… Log in and get set up ahead of time You wouldn’t turn up to a face-to-face interview seconds before it is due to start, and the same is true for Skype. Make sure you start the program up and have everything in place at least 10 minutes before the interview start time. This will ensure you are ready and waiting when the interviewer dials in â€" the last thing you want to do is keep the interviewer waiting, and risk being perceived as unorganised and poor at managing your time. Dress for success Whilst you may be taking the Skype interview from the comfort of your own home, you should still dress as you would for a face-to-face interview. If in doubt, it’s always a good idea to dress as professionally as you can. Also, be aware of what clothing will be in the frame â€" for instance, if you decide to wear tracksuit bottoms and a shirt, you may regret it if you need to stand up! Set your Skype presence status You may have noticed from your previous use of Skype that a green dot appears next to your avatar when you are online, indicating that you are active and available to contact. This happens automatically when you first sign in. However, it’s also possible to manually set your Skype presence status to ‘away’, ‘do not disturb’ or invisible any time you want. This could be invaluable for ensuring you are not disturbed by other calls coming in during your interview. You can further help to avoid any mid-interview distractions by closing any background browser tabs on your computer and switching your phone off in case of notifications. Body language is crucial â€" even through the lens First impressions are formed within the first seven seconds of somebody meeting you, so your body language has a powerful part to play in the opinion your interviewer forms of you as soon as they dial into the call. So, during your Skype interview, make sure you look directly into the webcam when you speak and not at the screen â€" this will help maintain eye contact as though you were in the room. Maintaining eye contact will show the interviewer that you are paying attention and will help you build rapport â€" making conversation flow more naturally. Also, remember to sit up straight and smile to show the interviewer that you are a confident communicator and are engaged in the interview process. Be engaged when the interviewer is talking Remember that you are in a conversation, so you should show engagement when the interviewer is talking by nodding and agreeing. If you aren’t accustomed to Skype interviews, having to look through a webcam and at a tiny Skype window may feel unnatural at first. So, you should be careful not to come across as too static and unnatural in turn. Use hand gestures and animate your face and body in much the same way as you would in a face-to-face conversation. Be aware of any time lag During the Skype interview, you may encounter a delay or time lag between the interviewer speaking and you hearing their words. If this happens, make sure not to speak over your interviewer and avoid speaking in long blocks. This will help the conversation to feel more natural. Take a look at these tips in order to help avoid lag altogether; for instance, ensuring you have the strongest signal you can have by getting close to a modem or closing other applications on your computer. Stay calm if the technology goes wrong Despite all the preparation, practice and precautions that you may take for your upcoming Skype interview, technology can always find a way to throw a spanner in the works. For instance, you may have issues with your internet connection or your microphone may start to play up. It’s important in these situations to stay calm. How you react when things don’t go as planned here can reveal to your employer your ability to calmly and proactively tackle difficult situations. Have a look at these common problems so you have an idea what you might come up against during the call. Follow up after the call This final step is no less important than it is after a ‘regular’ interview. After the interview, send a quick email via your recruiter to say you enjoyed meeting them and learning more about the role and the company. Conclude the email by saying that you look forward to hearing from them and reinforce your interest in the role. As technology becomes even more prevalent in many hiring processes, video interviews are in turn becoming increasingly common. If you’re looking for a job, it’s almost a given that at some stage in the very near future you’ll be asked to attend a Skype interview. By following the above tips, and dedicating time to your thorough interview preparation, I’ve no doubt it will be a success. Job interview  coming up? These blogs will help you ensure it’s a success: How should you prepare for a panel interview? 7 common CV gaps, and how to explain them in an interview Why are you looking to leave your current job? Introverts: heres how to shine in your interview

Thursday, July 16, 2020

How Employee Stories Build Your Employer Brand

How Employee Stories Build Your Employer Brand Is straightforwardness the way to building a viable boss brand and positive organization culture? Furthermore, how might you use worker created substance to shape your image and give a fair portrayal of the association that individuals will trust? I had a talk with Lisa Cervenka and Jason Seiden of Brand Amper to discover how to transform representative stories into brand value. Tune in to this episode below and ensure you buy in to the Employer Branding Podcast. About Brand Amper: Lisa: Brand Amper is a marking stage, and Jason and I created it to truly assist organizations with connecting with representatives in recounting stories and forming the brand dependent on what is consistent with workers today. So its actually a worker driven methodology, similar to no other arrangement or device that weve knew about or found. Furthermore, we ensure that workers sort of truly know whats in it for them. Why organizations need worker produced content: Jason: So basically, this is on the grounds that that is the place up-and-comers and possibilities go to hope to find whats genuine. Weve been prepared to go past the companys partisan division. Corporate sites are extraordinary, however locales like Glassdoor are turning into the go-to for forthcoming representatives. Something that Lisa will regularly return to is the hard numbers that are really beginning to come up around exactly how genuine this transition to worker created content is. So what makes someone purchase, or, for this situation, become tied up with a thought, is resolved unquestionably more presently dependent on what individuals in your system state than what specialists state, isn't that so? Individuals are 90% bound to confide in their system than a brand. The hole between believing a representative like me versus a CEO is critical. That pattern is setting down deep roots and were simply watching the numbers develop year over year. Intense straightforwardness: Jason: So intense straightforwardness is, returns to this thought youre letting your representatives state whats valid for your benefit. Youre making arrangement between the worker and the organization, thus as opposed to selling something, youre just supplanting your dividers with windows and letting individuals see what really exists. What's more, the force there is, in addition to the fact that it is an unmistakably progressively effective approach to be on the grounds that youre not continually selling, however the input circle is quick, since individuals can respond to what they see to be genuine promptly. Lisa: I think we call it strong straightforwardness, since I think a great deal of organizations guarantee to give straightforwardness. They need contender to perceive what life is truly similar to get a gander at their way of life, notwithstanding, they need it done in a quite certain, agreeable way. Thus the possibility of the strong is truly we have to make a tad of an enhancement for what were calling straightforward. The dangers of not having worker created stories: Lisa: First of all, you may be showcasing a brand to possibilities that truly don't exist or reverberate with current workers, since they cannot identify with it, so its more optimistic. Along these lines, except if youre gathering their accounts to approve whether what you believe is valid, is valid, that could be a major issue. What's more, theres nothing more regrettable than promoting a work environment dishonestly and not have it meet desires for new representatives. And afterward likewise, consider the possibility that your rivalries are offering these straightforward convincing investigates the organization culture, and the various things like hard advantages are essentially equivalent. You may be passing up a huge differentiator. As of late, Ive read a great deal of articles about how individuals would prefer to get saved money and work for an organization with a great notoriety that they could be pleased with. So an ever increasing number of its turning into a flat out diffe rentiator. The challenges with current strategies for creating and sharing stories: Jason: The the truth is the majority of the current instruments and arrangements have everything in reverse, isn't that so? What's more, this is the thing that we saw some time before we at any point built up our apparatus. This was something that baffled us for quite a long time. A great deal of the arrangements out there require organization initiative to expect three things. One, that they know who their worker advocates are. Two, that the worker everywhere will think enough about the organization to connect with, correct? Implying that administration doesn't imagine that they have to show workers whats in it for them. And afterward three, that authority can foresee which substance channels are generally significant. Furthermore, none of those three presumptions are valid. Furthermore, thus, your reason is just going to be in the same class as the suppositions its based on. So when they go in and they put in an answer or they build up a procedure based on speculation they know who their backers are, imagining that individuals are going to bounce up and share, and believing that they can anticipate where they ought to be sharing substance, it implies they end up with a wide range of issues, a wide range of jumbled motivating forces. What's more, at any rate, they all sort of snowball from that point. The most effective method to work with representatives to make and offer unique and marked substance: Jason: The the truth is, each companys somewhat extraordinary, however what well let you know is, individuals are the equivalent. So there are a few shared traits that completely should exist over each program anyplace. For whatever length of time that theres an individual in the program, there are a few similitudes that should permeate up. So the way to Brand Ampers achievement is we give the representative the organization brand and we state, Here, utilize this to make yourself look better. And afterward inquire as to whether the representative needs to share content. Lisa: I think organizations need to relinquish this thought of, On brand, with regards to boss marking. That is something we hear constantly with customer marking, and now were managing individuals. So I think marry contend you need consistency, without a doubt, yet not consistence. Individuals need space to have the option to tweak and develop thoughts regarding the brand. The most important social and advanced channels: Lisa: Well, as a matter of first importance, I need to give the proviso that its diverse for each organization. Its like that promoting 101, where are your possibilities hoping to draw in, and where are your representatives really willing to? So you need to begin with that and I think organizations commit enormous errors in propelling five channels without a moment's delay. Jason: We referenced Glassdoor previously, were really observing Glassdoor specifically gotten progressively significant. It is the pioneer in representative created content. Curiously, in the event that you had posed the inquiry two years back, we would have said it would have been LinkedIn. Presently Glassdoors coming up. In two years didn't know what itll be quite a while from now. So our suggestion is center around the primary stuff, remember the end, and afterward be receptive to which channels the individuals you care most about are utilizing. Follow Brand Amper on Twitter: @BrandAmper and dont neglect to buy in to the Employer Branding Podcast.

Thursday, July 9, 2020

How to Write a Relocation Resume

How to Write a Relocation Resume ShareShare Employers generally prefer to hire someone local. Statistically, hires from out of town are more likely to quit. Recruiters may worry that youll miss your old friends and familiar turf, or that you might not like the new city. They also know that out-of-town candidates are more likely to cancel interviews. While your current address isnt doing you any good, a resume with no location is at a disadvantage, too, since the recruiter may guess why the address was left off. Furthermore, a no-location resume may perform poorly in an applicant tracking system since a recruiter searching the system for candidates is likely to use the companys local zip code as a search term. So what do you do? Write a Resume for a Job Out of Town An honest and effective way to handle this problem is to put the target city, state and zip code (a street address on a resume isnt necessary and looks old-fashioned) instead of your current location, like this: Desired location: Austin, TX 78701 Or like this, for a more confident way of putting it: Relocating to Denver, CO 80222 Is that honest? Its a judgment call each individual needs to make. In my view, it is: you are relocating as you as you get a job offer, right? And if you have a specific date planned, include it. Relocating to Denver, CO 80222 on April 5 Some job seekers have written resumes stating the local address as if they already live there. This might get you an interview, but do you really want to have to hide your true residence from the people who may become your day-to-day colleagues? If they discover the lie it could damage the relationship. The approach above is safer. Make your relocation plans as definite as possible, and include details in your cover letter to show youre serious. For example, if youre planning a scouting trip to the area, or if you have secured temporary or permanent housing, say so. It can also help to mention prior residency there, or a compelling reason for the move, such as a spouse who already has secured a job in the new area, a desire to get closer to family members who live there, or prior residency there. It may also be helpful to mention these facts very briefly in the summary/profile section of the resume, since the cover letter may not be noticed. If your resume includes any experience working in the area, traveling there, or remotely collaborating with colleagues there, display that information prominently. Dont Over-rely on your Relocation Resume Networking will give you an advantage, and yes, there are ways to network your way into a job out of town. With smart job search strategies, a great relocation resume and smart interview preparation, you can make the move youve been dreaming of. How to Write a Relocation Resume ShareShare Employers generally prefer to hire someone local. Statistically, hires from out of town are more likely to quit. Recruiters may worry that youll miss your old friends and familiar turf, or that you might not like the new city. They also know that out-of-town candidates are more likely to cancel interviews. While your current address isnt doing you any good, a resume with no location is at a disadvantage, too, since the recruiter may guess why the address was left off. Furthermore, a no-location resume may perform poorly in an applicant tracking system since a recruiter searching the system for candidates is likely to use the companys local zip code as a search term. So what do you do? Write a Resume for a Job Out of Town An honest and effective way to handle this problem is to put the target city, state and zip code (a street address on a resume isnt necessary and looks old-fashioned) instead of your current location, like this: Desired location: Austin, TX 78701 Or like this, for a more confident way of putting it: Relocating to Denver, CO 80222 Is that honest? Its a judgment call each individual needs to make. In my view, it is: you are relocating as you as you get a job offer, right? And if you have a specific date planned, include it. Relocating to Denver, CO 80222 on April 5 Some job seekers have written resumes stating the local address as if they already live there. This might get you an interview, but do you really want to have to hide your true residence from the people who may become your day-to-day colleagues? If they discover the lie it could damage the relationship. The approach above is safer. Make your relocation plans as definite as possible, and include details in your cover letter to show youre serious. For example, if youre planning a scouting trip to the area, or if you have secured temporary or permanent housing, say so. It can also help to mention prior residency there, or a compelling reason for the move, such as a spouse who already has secured a job in the new area, a desire to get closer to family members who live there, or prior residency there. It may also be helpful to mention these facts very briefly in the summary/profile section of the resume, since the cover letter may not be noticed. If your resume includes any experience working in the area, traveling there, or remotely collaborating with colleagues there, display that information prominently. Dont Over-rely on your Relocation Resume Networking will give you an advantage, and yes, there are ways to network your way into a job out of town. With smart job search strategies, a great relocation resume and smart interview preparation, you can make the move youve been dreaming of. How to Write a Relocation Resume ShareShare Employers generally prefer to hire someone local. Statistically, hires from out of town are more likely to quit. Recruiters may worry that youll miss your old friends and familiar turf, or that you might not like the new city. They also know that out-of-town candidates are more likely to cancel interviews. While your current address isnt doing you any good, a resume with no location is at a disadvantage, too, since the recruiter may guess why the address was left off. Furthermore, a no-location resume may perform poorly in an applicant tracking system since a recruiter searching the system for candidates is likely to use the companys local zip code as a search term. So what do you do? Write a Resume for a Job Out of Town An honest and effective way to handle this problem is to put the target city, state and zip code (a street address on a resume isnt necessary and looks old-fashioned) instead of your current location, like this: Desired location: Austin, TX 78701 Or like this, for a more confident way of putting it: Relocating to Denver, CO 80222 Is that honest? Its a judgment call each individual needs to make. In my view, it is: you are relocating as you as you get a job offer, right? And if you have a specific date planned, include it. Relocating to Denver, CO 80222 on April 5 Some job seekers have written resumes stating the local address as if they already live there. This might get you an interview, but do you really want to have to hide your true residence from the people who may become your day-to-day colleagues? If they discover the lie it could damage the relationship. The approach above is safer. Make your relocation plans as definite as possible, and include details in your cover letter to show youre serious. For example, if youre planning a scouting trip to the area, or if you have secured temporary or permanent housing, say so. It can also help to mention prior residency there, or a compelling reason for the move, such as a spouse who already has secured a job in the new area, a desire to get closer to family members who live there, or prior residency there. It may also be helpful to mention these facts very briefly in the summary/profile section of the resume, since the cover letter may not be noticed. If your resume includes any experience working in the area, traveling there, or remotely collaborating with colleagues there, display that information prominently. Dont Over-rely on your Relocation Resume Networking will give you an advantage, and yes, there are ways to network your way into a job out of town. With smart job search strategies, a great relocation resume and smart interview preparation, you can make the move youve been dreaming of.

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Are you an expert - Copeland Coaching

Are you an expert My latest Memphis Daily News column is out, Are you an expert? How many things have you truly mastered? For example, you must know how to cook to survive day to day. But, is your food the quality of a professional chef? Similarly, you might like to travel â€" domestically, and maybe even internationally. But, how good are you at booking travel? In both examples, chances are good you would much prefer to be the customer. You probably aren’t a professional chef, or so skilled with travel you could take it on as a full time job. Where does your expertise lie? For example, project managers should be organized, able to write business requirements, and good at lead meetings. Let’s contrast this with what makes someone good at looking for a job: being well spoken, good at self-promotion, and a strong networker. This is a short list of just a few things, but, theyre different skills. The skills needed to be a good project manager are different than those required to be a great job seeker. To become a true expert at something, you must do it every day. This is what happens with your day job. To find out how you can become an expert job seeker, read the rest of my column here. Are you an expert I hope you had a wonderful and safe weekend. Over my weekend, I really started thinking about something. What are you an expert in? How many things have you truly mastered in life? For example, you must know how to cook a little in order to survive day to day. But, is your food the quality of a professional chef? If your job disappeared tomorrow, and you were told the only job available to you was cooking in a restaurant, how would that work out? Similarly, you might like to travel â€" domestically, and maybe even internationally. But, how good are you at booking travel? Do you know about all sorts of hotels, travel visas, and the best restaurants? In both of these examples, the chances are pretty good that you would much prefer to be the customer. You probably aren’t a professional chef, or so skilled with travel booking that you could take it on as a full time job. You’re probably wondering where I’m going with this. Well, this is what I was thinking… Was it is that you ARE an expert at? After graduating from college, I became an IT project manager and business analyst at FedEx. Some of the things that make an IT project manager good at their job include: Very well organized planner Ability to write business requirements Good at leading meetings, and mitigating conflict Understands the software development life cycle Now, let’s contrast this list with what makes someone good at looking for a job: Well spoken, and presents well Comfortable explaining own work history Good at presenting online, in both a resume and LinkedIn profile Great at networking with people at other companies This is a short list of just a few things. But, theyre clearly very different skills. The skills needed to be a good project manager are in many ways different than those required to be a great job seeker. And, to become a true expert at something, you do it every day. This is what happens with your full time job. But, when you’re tasked with something you only do rarely, like planning a luxury vacation, you either get by doing the minimum with your existing skills, or you contact a professional to help you. You know you’ll never be the best at it because you don’t do it all the time. And, that’s okay because your career’s future doesn’t depend on how well you cook, or how great your travel reservations are. Unfortunately, when it comes to job seeking, this is not the case. How good you are at job searching can have a major impact on your future both in the type of job you have, and the amount of money you make. But, how can you be an expert at something you only do once every five years (for as short of a time as possible)? So often, job seekers fail to recognize this core issue. I hear from people who say, “The companies just don’t like me!” Or, “They must not think I can do this job!” You know, the job seeker could be totally right. The company may hate them. The company may completely think they’re unqualified. Or, judge them based on some part of their work or personal history. Alternatively, it’s equally possible (if not more so) that nobody’s seeing the job seekers resume at all. It’s possible that the resume never makes it out of the online system (otherwise known as the “applicant tracking system”). Did you know that very often, a human never even sees your resume? Does the fact that you don’t have a lot of practice looking for a job mean that you aren’t good at doing the actual job? No, in fact, in might mean just the opposite. If you haven’t looked for a job much, it could be because you’ve been really happy at your current job â€" or because hiring managers have always recruited you first. So, it’s possible that you’re really great at your job â€" but, not so great at finding a job. As I mentioned above, they’re two different skill sets. Does that make sense? Anyhow, before you give up on your search â€" or get too frustrated (or take a fallback job), try to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. That frustration you’re feeling is probably not a reflection of how good you are at what you’re doing. It may very well be with the job searching process. I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, dont hesitate to reach out to me here. Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If youve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. Happy hunting! Angela Copeland @CopelandCoach