Social media How to make your profiles recruiter-safe

Social media How to make your profiles recruiter-safe by Amber Rolfe It’s often easy to forget how public social media actually is…Whether you’re a social media addict, or only use a select few sites, the way you portray yourself online could jeopardise your job opportunities.In fact, a recent survey suggested that 93% of recruiters will review a candidate’s online profile before making a decision to hire.To make sure your online profiles aren’t holding you back, here are our top tips on how to manage your social media sites in the right way:Get rid of anything potentially offensiveThe first thing you need to do is give your current social media content a safety check, with recruiters in mind.Even if you may feel like all of your embarrassing moments are behind you, they’re probably still visible on your profile. In fact, it’s possible that the ‘online you’ could be giving off a negative impression, regardless of how recruiter-safe your most recent posts are.Remember that terrible photo album of you planking in 12 different places in 2012? That cringe-inducing profile picture? The entirety of your University social life? They’re still there for all to see, and they probably won’t best portray your true hiring potential.So, view your profile objectively, as an outsider would see it, and ask yourself if it actually represents you positively. If not, consider hiding or removing the potentially inappropriate content.Think twice before postingIf you’ve followed the previous step, your profile is now good to go â€" so don’t ruin it.We understand that social media can induce the spontaneity in all of us â€" but it’s always best to mull over your posts before you hit the send button, and ask yourself if what you’re about to broadcast is really worth such a public spectatorship.It probably goes without saying that anything that references alcohol, drugs, or anything illegal is a serious no-no when it comes to ensuring a recruiter-friendly profile, so avoid inappropriate statuses, photo s or shared posts. This rule goes for the types of people or pages you follow/friend/like too.It’s equally important to avoid negative references related to work or your job hunt.Although the temptation to have a passive aggressive rant about your current employer in the midst of an argument may be strong, it will be equally frowned upon from a prospective employer’s perspective.Remember: sending pictures or messages directly to a select group of friends is also an option.  Embrace your privacy settingsIf you don’t feel as if you could deprive your friends from your witty (but possibly inappropriate) status updates, it might be worth using your privacy settings to your advantage.On most sites, you’ll be given the option to make all or individual posts only viewable to your friends. So, tick this box, and you’ll be able to post whatever you want in the knowledge that no-one outside of your friend group will be able to see it.However, be aware that privacy settings are often defaulted as public on new posts (or on profile and cover photos on Facebook), so be sure to customise each one if needed.Just don’t hide absolutely everything. A lot of recruiters also want to know that you have an active online presence, and might veto those who don’t seem to exist in the online world.Use social media to emphasise your strong pointsAs recruiters often use social media searching as an added step when choosing who to employ, use it as an opportunity to inadvertently sell yourself.Some aspects of your profile could help move your application forward, and adding in background information such as employment history, qualifications, and posts/photos that give a positive and professional impression of you and your personality might actually help you get the job you want.Accentuate your talents, skills, and interests as a way of proving you’d be an asset to your chosen employer.Rethink who you’re followingDepending on the industry and field you specialise in, soc ial media can be a great way to share your work, re-post articles about subjects you’re passionate about, and show a genuine interest in all things related to the type of work you’re looking for.Additionally, on platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter, your followers/followees will say a lot about you.For example, if you’ve applied to a job in publishing, and you’re following all the major publishing houses and retweeting their posts â€" the recruiter can be sure you’re really interested.Remember: you’re not the only one that makes an impressionWhether it’s through tagged posts or videos, or public conversations with your friends, what others say about you could damage your reputation just as much as the things you post yourself.Make sure you’re always monitoring what can be seen on your profile, and keep personal conversations in private chats instead.If your friends are known to be a bit tag happy, it might be worth enabling the Facebook function that allows you to pre-approve a tagged photo before it’s seen by the entire world.It’ll be worth it, honestly.Still not sure where youre going wrong? Click here to find out the top five ways social media is costing you the job.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 terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Work-life balance

Resume Writing Services in Austin, Texas

Resume Writing Services in Austin, TexasResume writing services in Austin, Texas to provide a range of professional resume services to meet the needs of employers. All of these services are based on the modern job market and utilize the latest tools for customer satisfaction. As a result, an employee's resume is put to the test during the competitive job market.To draw the attention of the employer, resume writing services in Austin, Texas to present a professionally written resume to meet the requirement of the prospective employer. The services include proofreading and editing services. These services aim at creating a final product that presents the most impressive version of the candidate to the employer.To ensure that the resume is submitted in the right format, a professional writer is required to do this job. In fact, it is the professional resume writers who present the best resume in the market today.In these current market conditions, a lot of effort is required to produce quality resumes. This is because, it is the employer who reads resumes. Therefore, it is important that the resume should be up to date and ready for submission.To get the best resume, resume writing services in Austin, Texas undertake a number of tests to come up with a sample resume. These tests include the Compucase Draft Suite Test and the Complete Resume Test.One of the latest tests is the Tools Test. It helps to check if the candidate has completed all the tools in his/her project. Allowing them to finish all the tasks correctly will allow them to pass this test.The tool's test will be part of the writer's assessment process. It is an important part of the recruitment services that aims at determining the quality of the candidate.With these services, all that is required is for the professional resume writers to present a candidate for the employer. The services are usually used by individuals looking for employment. Professional resume writing services in Austin, Texas offer all this and more.

Why You Should Lose That Toxic High Performer Sooner Rather Than Later Marla Gottschalk

Why You Should Lose That Toxic High Performer Sooner Rather Than Later Marla Gottschalk Photo by Alejandro Ortiz on Unsplash Ive recently read (and shared) this MIT Sloan post about the notion of a Toxic Superstar. (My previous post on the topic is here.) Most of us do not require convincing that this scenario is a common one, or that managers ring their hands over it. However, if you are in the midst of this, you may feel frozen â€" and I may have to convince you to act sooner, rather than later. Long ago, in my very first role a toxic superstar not only held an entire team hostage, she managed to have me eliminated for no good reason (except that she engaged in an intense competition with me). Sadly, I was unaware of this unhealthy dynamic until 4:00 PM on a given Friday afternoon. It was both shocking and devastating. Toxicity happens. I am fully aware of the risks that must be weighed which lurk in the foreground. There is the workload. The schedule. The deadlines. There is the effect (short and longer-term) upon the customer and the fallout this may bring. Queue the impending tsunami of drama. Now, I will encourage you to walk away with your winnings (but at the right moment, and with a plan). Consider the following: Membership. The very first thing to acknowledge is this: they are not a part of our team. They are rogue a soldier. Their goals are their own and they can be a destructive force when left to their own devices. Their presence is laden with increasing risk. Currency. What makes them tick and brings them to work â€" is likely not what drives the rest of your team. This essentially limits your impact upon their behavior. In many cases, you will have little influence over them. Consider your metrics. While the work may be moving along swimmingly, other metrics/costs are mounting. As a manager or team leader, are you willing to pay the outstanding debt, when all is said an done? Psychological resources. Playing to this person and allowing them go their own way will eventually damage trust between manager and team. Observing a rogue superstar run the show, ultimately damages psychological capital. Plan, plan, plan. Above all, it is important to separate the skill set, from the individual that is bringing it to the party. Offer them help to change their ways, but also start a plan to replace their competencies. You may be in the position to offer a another, committed team member a chance to shine. Have you been in this situation? How did you proceed? Dr. Marla Gottschalk is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist. She examines the effect of Core Stability on work work life life. A charter member of the LinkedIn Influencer Program since 2012 â€" her thoughts on work life have appeared in various outlets including Talent Zoo, Forbes, Quartz and The Huffington Post.

When I grow up I want to be

When I grow up I want to be Here at Warwick we have a competition this week to promote our Graduate Jobs and Work Experience event on Tuesday. We’re asking students to tweet about their first career ideas. It has made me think about my personal career journey and how my experiences might relate to Generation Y (or Z). As far as I recall my first career idea was that I would be a nurse. My thinking was that the uniforms were quite pretty, clearly a gender stereotypical choice and deeply impractical since I can’t stand the sight of blood! I think I moved on through a desire to find the cure for cancer, eventually becoming a solicitor. Job done? I thought so for a while, but actually, no! I found that the lifestyle didn’t work with my young children. After a career break I went into marketing. An administrative restructure and a move 200 miles north and I found myself working in a school supporting students on the C/D GCSE boundary. A further relocation, again following my partner’s change of job, saw me back at University doing the Post Grad Diploma in career guidance, and here I  am dispensing information, advice and guidance on careers. So, are there are lessons in this for the current student or new graduate? I think so. Lesson 1 The key to employability is the skills you learn; these are transferable to different fields. You can’t predict the future and how circumstances might dictate your career moves, but building those skills and learning to articulate them efficiently, is likely to see you able to work flexibly in different fields and roles. It’s never too early to develop your experience, remember that you will learn skills from work experience, volunteering, on-campus society involvement, academic group work and from learning to manage your own life. You might draw on all these places in interviews, or on application forms, when you evidence your skills. Lesson 2 Happenstance can have a big impact on your career path, you may well find yourself needing to react to changing circumstances. Once you’ve identified those transferable skills you may have to be flexible when you look to see what jobs might be available to you. You might also need to be rather good at selling those skills to sceptical employers. Never be afraid to explain how you have garnered experience in a different way. It might make you the interesting must be interviewed candidate for a post. Once youve got the interview, its all to play for! Lesson 3 Your career will not necessarily follow a straight trajectory. You might be lucky enough to see your salary and terms and conditions improve year on year, but you might also find that life overtakes you and that your priorities change. Don’t be afraid to recognise that at different times of your life, different things will be important. Try to be happy with yourself and with the decisions that you take. Your career is not a monster to be served, it’s your ever changing journey. There was a time in my life when I wanted to earn lots of money and the idea of helping people didnt really feature. My priorities are different now and thats fine! Lesson 4 Be ready to embrace the unexpected and perhaps to challenge yourself to think in new ways. Your expectations can be upset  at any stage of your career. It may be, that right at the beginning, when you are getting ready to leave university, you can’t get the job you coveted. Aspiration is great but resilience and flexibility are at least as important. If the job you wanted isnt there yet, then think what else you might enjoy. You might choose something completely different, or you might  elect to do something for a while which will enhance your chance of getting the dream job a few months or years down the line. Todays graduates probably wont reach retirement age much before 70.   Youve got plenty of time! If youre in Warwick and feeling uncertain then come along to the Jobs and Work Experience event. Lesson 5 You may find that you can enjoy jobs you never imagined would appeal to you. Dont be too quick to rule options out, without doing some research to find out what a job might actually entail. Dont rely on your preconceptions you could be completely wrong. Lesson 6 The job for life idea probably disappeared with your grandparents generation. Your career is likely to be a portfolio of different opportunities. Embrace the idea, its rather exciting!

How to Edit Your Resume and Cover Letter For Better Results

How to Edit Your Resume and Cover Letter For Better ResultsWhen you write a resume, you are filling out a piece of paper with information about yourself. There are a number of different types of information that you can put on the page, but it all depends on what type of job you are applying for. Here are some types of information that people put on their resumes:Your resume is not completed until you have a summary paragraph. This paragraph will list your education, work experience, and education/work experience as it relates to the job. Once this is completed, you will move onto the next step of the resume process.Your resume is not complete until you have a cover letter. This letter will ask you to provide a few basic pieces of information about yourself and then state why you are the best candidate for the position. It is up to you to decide how long the cover letter should be. You may want to make this part of your first resume. If you find that the information on your cover let ter doesn't match exactly what you have written in your summary paragraph, then you may want to delete the letter and put the information into your summary paragraph.The resume and cover letter are not completed until you send them off. The process starts with sending your resume and cover letter to each of the three main career organizations. After you receive feedback, you will use this feedback to go back and edit your resume or cover letter to get it even better. You should also make sure that you are aware of the posting guidelines for each organization before sending them out.Lastly, before you begin, it is important to look over your resume and cover letter and edit it so that it is appropriate for the position. There are some instances where the resume is needed for certain positions while other positions require the cover letter. Make sure that you don't waste your time sending the wrong materials to the wrong employers. Learn how to edit your resume and cover letter to get the most accurate information possible.By providing this information in an organized fashion, you will be able to find what you need much quicker. You will be surprised at how many things you can find if you are able to create a standard format for your information. You should try to include information on your education, work experience, and education/work experience. You will find that it is important to state the things that will be applicable to each position.Most companies require a minimum of two to three years of relevant experience in a related field. This will help to determine your skills and knowledge. In addition, you will want to state how long you have been in your current position. However, you can also be flexible with the amount of years that you have been in your current position. Once you have all of this information on your resume, it is important to add these to your summary paragraph.The next step after sending out your resume and cover letter is to send them to the career organization that you are applying to. Once you receive feedback on your application, you will go back and edit your resume and cover letter until it is even better. Learn how to edit your resume and cover letter so that it is even better. You can be prepared for any job, including the jobs that you have applied for, by knowing how to edit your resume and cover letter.

Learning From My Job Research Interview Mistake

Learning From My Job Research Interview Mistake Its happened to many of us . . . making the dreaded mistake in our job search. The mistakes can range from minor to major but, nonetheless, we do not want to repeat them. Maybe you can relate to some of these examples: Inputting the wrong company name in a cover letter. Forgetting to send a thank you email after a job interview. Misspelling a word on a resume. Getting lost and showing up late to an interview. My Job Research Mistake I’d like to share an example from my past to illustrate. When I was job searching years ago, I neglected to adequately research the position I applied for and, subsequently, got an interview for. When they asked me the following interview question: “What is the task you liked the least in your last position?” I answered honestly. Unfortunately the answer I gave was a task that comprised 25% of the job I was interviewing for. I lost the job at this moment. My mistake was not that I was honest. My mistake was not doing enough research to understand that I would probably dislike 25% of this job. Avoid Making the Same Job Research Mistakes First ask yourself if you can recover. If so then go into saving mode. For example, if you forgot to mention how you meet a pertinent skill in your interview, include that information in your “thank you” email. If you cannot recover, at least learn from the mistake. We are not perfect but we need to learn from our mistakes. The important thing is to not repeat them. Job searching is a process and will go more smoothly at certain times than others. By learning from your mistake, you will make the job search process smoother. More Help If you are making these mistakes fairly often then you will need a process to eliminate them. Read my blog on Why Your Resume is not being Considered for additional help. *Revised on 04/20/2016

Are You Running To or Running From in Making a Job Change This Spring - CareerEnlightenment.com

You may find there are actions you can take to alleviate frustration by addressing some of the concerns directly. At the very least, you’ll have a clearer idea of areas to investigate in any new opportunity, to ensure that it will not be present there.The Upside: Running ToBegin by developing a list of perhaps a dozen to twenty clear, measurable criteria about the new job opportunity, such as compensation, culture, commute, benefits, your potential boss, and the like. Once you have thoroughly investigated the new opportunity, you are ready to objectively compare it point-by-point to your current situation. What specifically will you be giving up (such as having a track record of a certain period of time) to take the new opportunity? What will you gain by moving?Only when you see that the new opportunity offers clear advantages, should you consider making the change. If the comparison is roughly equal, then tough it out and continue looking, while figuring out what you can do differ ently to make your current situation more enjoyable for you, and more productive for your employer.You know it is the right move when the new opportunity is one that is measurably better than your current situation, where you can easily envision yourself being passionate about being there five years from now, and when your “running to” side of your brain tells you it is time to move.One final piece of advice: always leave well. You never know when you will need the future support of your former employer and supervisors.