How to Confidently Give a Presentation - Hallie Crawford

How to Confidently Give a Presentation Certified Career Coach, was honored to have her article, 10 Ways to Make Giving a Presentation Feel Less Like a Nightmare featured on Yahoo! Finance. You straighten out your shirt, get a sip of water, take a deep breath and try to calm your shaky hands. The program coordinator introduces you, and its show time. You stand up and try to start but no words come out. Then you wake up. Most of us have experienced this performance-related nightmare or something like it. In high school or college, it was centered around tests or studying. After that, nightmares about giving a presentation to a client or something similar can at worst wake us up at night or make it hard for us to fall asleep. Unfortunately for many business professionals, giving a presentation can feel like a nightmare and cause anxiety and stress. Among employed professionals, more than one in five said that they would do anything to avoid giving a presentation, even faking an illness, according a study by Prezi, a presentation platform. Even if fear of speaking isnt an issue, you may feel that you dont really know how to give a great presentation. In the survey, 70 percent of participants said that presentation skills are critical to career success. If you fall into either category avoiding presentations like the plague or feeling like your communication skills could be improved here are 10 ways you can improve.

How to Create a Resume Example

How to Create a Resume ExampleThe use of a resume exmaple is becoming a significant part of the job search process. Some employers expect resumes with a graphic design, which includes a photo and a great deal of other information. In fact, many are looking for a graphic designer to work specifically on their project.You may have been asking yourself whether it is still possible to submit a resume exmaple to an employer. Well, the answer is yes. You just need to know how.Before you begin to create your resume, you should ask yourself what kind of things are on the resume. If the resume has only three or four items on it, then it is time to start planning what you want to say in the resume. It may be more difficult to make it seem 'interesting'. But, you can make the basic outline and then fill in the details.After you have created the outline, you should still have to make sure that the resume is organized. You need to avoid using too many bullet points, which would make the resume lo ok 'busy'. Most resumes are not very complex and therefore, they don't require a lot of details. Also, the resume should be able to explain you with 'breadth' so that the employer gets an idea of you.When you are creating the resume, there is no need to limit yourself to what the employer may ask. You should, however, make sure that the information provided is relevant to the job opening. Make sure that it is even though it may be confusing.This is the last part of the resume preparation process and this is one of the most important, because the potential employer is evaluating what you can do for them. So, you have to make sure that you have given a detailed description of yourself. This will help you stand out from the rest. Even if the employer was willing to talk to you for a second interview, they may ask you to provide a short resume exmaple.The great thing about this type of document is that it is easy to follow and you can modify it as much as you want. As long as you have s ome basic writing skills, you can learn to write a resume exmaple on your own.

Weirdest Expense Account Charges

Weirdest Expense Account Charges The rewards of a good job are no longer just a number on your paycheck, but also the additional “perks” that come along with the gig. These perks can include everything from free food in the office to an expense account or company credit card. Robert Half Management Resources, a finance and accounting staffing firm, decided to find out what employees are trying to expense on the company dime. To do so, the firm conducted phone interviews with 2,200 chief financial officers from 20 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Some of the answers are rather surprising and almost unbelievable. Would someone really ask the company to buy them a dog or pay for a lottery ticket? Apparently they will. They’ll reportedly even ask to expense their home remodels and vacations. Read More: An Expert Guide for Picking a Business Credit Card In fact, the number of inappropriate expense requests appear to have been on the rise in recent years and only 11% of executives interviewed reported a drop in them. These are the 20 most eccentric employee expense requests the firm heard from these interviews. Ski trips Lottery tickets Rental homes Spa day Cruise Cosmetic surgery Scuba diving Half a cow Flowers for spouse A dog Taxidermy 10-cent parking meter charge Toilet paper Bubble bath Somebody else’s salary Flat-screen TV Hair cut Home remodel Driving lessons Car payment The Consequences of Bizarre Expenses It may seem that smaller expenses, especially things like a 10-cent parking meter charge, won’t even be a blip on the radar for big businesses. But these numbers add up and employee expense accounts can be detrimental. “Inappropriate expense reports are costly â€" both to the company’s bottom line and to the careers of the people who submit them,” Tim Hird, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources, said in a press release. The firm recommends that companies clearly outline their policies on what is and isn’t covered on expense accounts. As for employees, it’s a good idea to read these policies carefully or ask if you’re unclear about what you can claim as an expense â€" you don’t want to lose your job as a result an inappropriate request. Without a regular source of income, you face the risk of defaulting on loan obligations, incurring late fees on a slew of bills or worse. And any missed payments or high credit card balances as a result of unemployment will hurt your credit scores. Read More: The Best Business Credit Cards in America The rewards of a good job are no longer just a number on your paycheck, but also the additional “perks” that come along with the gig. These perks can include everything from free food in the office to an expense account or company credit card. Robert Half Management Resources, a finance and accounting staffing firm, decided to find out what employees are trying to expense on the company dime. To do so, the firm conducted phone interviews with 2,200 chief financial officers from 20 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Some of the answers are rather surprising and almost unbelievable. Would someone really ask the company to buy them a dog or pay for a lottery ticket? Apparently they will. They’ll reportedly even ask to expense their home remodels and vacations. In fact, the number of inappropriate expense requests appear to have been on the rise in recent years and only 11% of executives interviewed reported a drop in them. These are the 20 most eccentric employee expense requests the firm heard from these interviews. Ski trips Lottery tickets Rental homes Spa day Cruise Cosmetic surgery Scuba diving Half a cow Flowers for spouse A dog Taxidermy 10-cent parking meter charge Toilet paper Bubble bath Somebody else’s salary Flat-screen TV Hair cut Home remodel Driving lessons Car payment The Consequences of Bizarre Expenses It may seem that smaller expenses, especially things like a 10-cent parking meter charge, won’t even be a blip on the radar for big businesses. But these numbers add up and employee expense accounts can be detrimental. Read More: Chase Ink Cash vs. Chase Ink Plus: What’s Right for Your Small Business? “Inappropriate expense reports are costly â€" both to the company’s bottom line and to the careers of the people who submit them,” Tim Hird, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources, said in a press release. The firm recommends that companies clearly outline their policies on what is and isn’t covered on expense accounts. As for employees, it’s a good idea to read these policies carefully or ask if you’re unclear about what you can claim as an expense â€" you don’t want to lose your job as a result an inappropriate request. Without a regular source of income, you face the risk of defaulting on loan obligations, incurring late fees on a slew of bills or worse. And any missed payments or high credit card balances as a result of unemployment will hurt your credit scores.

5 Resume Mistakes To Avoid - Work It Daily

5 Resume Mistakes To Avoid - Work It Daily Writing a resume isn’t as simple as it seems, especially if you’ve gone years without needing one, or had a lengthy executive career. In fact, this may come as a shock, but most people really don’t do themselves justice on paper. There are many resume mistakes to avoid as a job seeker. Your resume has a challenging job to do in order to get you into an interview. Summarizing relevant skills, describing your work style, conveying your brand, and quickly making your point to employers isn’t easy for anyone â€" even a skilled writer or marketer! Therefore, you’ll want to read through this list of resume mistakes to avoid to see if you recognize any on your own resume. Then get to work on those revisions! 1. TMI There isn’t any other way to put it: Do you really want to list your GPA from 15 years ago? Will employers care about your first two jobs out of college now that you’ve reached the executive suite? Does it matter you’ve consulted on the side in an unrelated field? You’ll want to keep unrelated, potentially confusing information to yourself during a job search. Employers often look for a direct tie-in to specific requirements, and extra information can distort your message. Dates can also work against you, especially if the year you graduated from college puts you close to retirement age. Unfortunately, age bias is alive and well in the job market, so you’ll want to keep the degree, but lose the date â€" or risk losing out on an interview (and the opportunity to describe why you’re a perfect fit). If you aren’t sure what to leave off your resume, consider this: if the information you add doesn’t contribute directly to your goal and show that you’re an ideal fit, then either leave it off your resume, or avoid calling undue attention to it. 2. Lack Of A Resume Strategy If your resume merely announces your name, provides a summary with bland generalizations, and then swings right into a work history that doesn’t match your goal, you can count on being passed over for top jobs. Resume strategy is the plan you’ll need to construct before even writing the first word, where you’ve thought about where and how to present critical information that is prioritized by its relative importance. For example, if your most recent job isn’t the strongest in your history (perhaps as a step down from a more relevant role), pull in related achievements into another summary on the first page. Give it a title, such as “Sales Performance Contributions” or “Technical Career Highlights,” that ties into your job goal. You can also list keywords in a section called “Value Offered in Marketing Leadership” or “Relevant Auditing Skills” (with the title related to the job you’re pursuing). In other words, use a strategy that helps the reader quickly see your brand value, instead of expecting the employer to hunt through your resume to find it. 3. Missing Context One of the most important tools in telling your story, situational context can make all the difference in your resume. As an example, there’s a world of difference between a broker whose sales were number one in the country prior to 2007, and one who has generated revenue despite a flagging economy. Stating you “increased sales by $3 million” is impressive, but doesn’t click as much as noting that you dealt with four new competitors that entered the market that year. Yet, many resumes skip over the context of achievements, leaving the reader to either miss key details or use their imaginations concerning the applicant’s professional career. One solid strategy for pulling context into your resume is to use the C-A-R format, which stands for Challenge-Action-Result. The C-A-R method allows you to describe the situation (Challenge), as well as the steps you took to address it (the Action). The Result is best described in terms of metrics, as figures capture the most attention from employers â€" allowing them to see the true impact of your work. To write C-A-R stories for your resume, first make a list of your top 10 achievements from throughout your career. Next, flesh out each narrative by simply filling in the blanks for the Challenge, Action you took, and Results you attained. Last, form each story into a bullet-style sentence that incorporates each element, as in these examples: “Increased sales 23% by changing consultative strategy in response to distributor concerns, with personal, monthly meetings set up to address partner needs.” “Controlled IT costs, creating $30K annual savings in network operations area, with new virtual networks and staff training that allowed for 15% drop in dedicated support hours.” 4. Misalignment With Your Digital Identity Even if you carefully construct your resume based on a strong message of value to your next employer, they’ll be hunting down your LinkedIn Profile and other digital proof of your credentials as soon as they receive it! If your social media presence is out of alignment with your resume, this can create confusion, and in the case of more-revealing online information (such as dates that reveal your age), cast you out of consideration. If you’ve held numerous jobs and find it difficult to ensure that your resume and LinkedIn Profile correlate to each other, print out both documents and review them side-by-side. Then, ensure your LinkedIn corrections are complete before using your resume. 5. Failure To Proofread You might think that your spellchecker (and eyes) work just fine. However, consider the difference between those “external vendors” you mentioned, versus those “eternal” parties you directed. And how about the “manger” (rather than the “manager”) who directed your efforts? Enough said. One trick that works even for professional writers is to read your document backwards, word by word, all the way from the end to the beginning. You’ll be surprised at what you can find â€" and grateful to catch it before an employer does. As you can see from this list, effective resume writing is no longer an option in today’s competitive job market. You’ll need to make every effort to stand out by avoiding these errors. Now that you’ve learned more about the potential pitfalls of writing your resume, you’ll be better able to spot problems before they hinder your job search. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join For Free!

How to Ask for a Resume Critique

How to Ask for a Resume Critique How to Ask for a Resume CritiqueIs your resume as good as it could be? Are you happy with the number of calls youre receiving for job interviews? Is your resume email-ready and strategically written to market your best credentials? If you answered no to any of these questions, you would benefit from a third-party resume critique.Kathy Sweeney, a certified resume writer and president of the gemeinntzig National Resume Writers Association (NRWA), says job seekers can benefit from getting a second opinion on their resumes. A critique can provide insight into whether the job seeker is using the proper wording for his or her industry and if the document will make a great first impression, she says.Whom to AskWhat qualifications should your resume reviewer possess? I firmly believe that credentials are important, Sweeney says. She recommends looking for such resume-industry designations asNationally Certified Resume Writer (NCRW), awarded by the NRWA.Certif ied Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), offered by the Professional Association of Resume Writers.Master Resume Writer (MRW), offered by the Career Management Alliance.Sweeney adds that the professional conducting the critique should have reviewed resumes and interviewed candidates themselves. Unless a professional has experience in the hiring arena or at the very least has networked with hiring managers to learn what they like to see on resumes, it would be hard to provide a valuable critique, she says.What to Expect Sweeney says the reviewer should look at all aspects of the resume, just as a hiring manager would -- reviewing it for initial impression, content and how well it stands out from other resumes.You can sign up for a fee-based or free critique. Here are the differencesFee-Based Critiques behauptung are normally conducted by resume writers and other career-industry professionals. For a fee, your reviewer provides detailed feedback on your resumes strengths and weaknesses i n a written report, telephone consultation or combination. If you sign up for a paid review, find out exactly what you will receive, and request a sample report so you can see the quality of the feedback. Ask if the reviewer will complete a follow-up review after you make the suggested changes to ensure the document is job search-ready. Expect to pay between $25 for a basic critique and $200 or mora for a detailed, comprehensive review.Free Critiques These can also be helpful but probably wont be as detailed as a paid review. A free critique is usually very general, Sweeney says. It may provide a synopsis of the reviewers overall opinion of the resume and potential problem areas. Reviewers may offer strategies on what they would do differently with the resume. Good resources for free critiques include the Monster Resume Tips message board, hiring managers in your industry and professional resume-writing firms.Information You Should ProvideYour reviewer needs to know your career goal and industry target to supply useful feedback. I usually gather information about the job seekers target position, and ask how his or her background relates to the position, Sweeney says. I also ask job seekers to provide me with a few position postings related to their target job.Tell your reviewer about potential problem areas, such as employment gaps, job-hopping or unrelated work history. The more your reviewer knows about your background, the more constructive the feedback can be.Use What Works, Disregard the RestIf you ask 10 people to review your resume, you will likely receive 10 different opinions. You may also receive conflicting advice, making it difficult to know what changes you should implement. After you receive a resume critique, be open to suggestions and ready to make revisions that work for you. Pay attention to advice from resume writers and hiring managers, especially those within your target industry. By listening to professionals who know what makes a resume successful, you will be on your way to a successful job search.

Want to Know More About Resume Writing for 50 Year Olds?

Want to Know More About Resume Writing for 50 Year Olds? The Pain of Resume Writing for 50 Year Olds Its often difficultfor older job seekers to acquire interviews. Not everybody agrees, but a lot of career experts feel that its important to continue to keep dates on your resume. Theres different ways which you can go about securing that interview, and the way you go about securing that interview is of the utmost importance to umgebung an excellent table for the interview. List info about your education. All you have to land work on board cruise ships is to know precisely how the actual hiring process works. Applying for cruise ship jobs isnt the exact same as applying for work on land. While you probably dont have much job experience still, you can tell the prospective employer what youre good at. Even for those who have zero work experience or significant education as a 15-year-old, its important to compose a resume when applying for work. Top Resume Writing for 50 Yea r Olds Secrets Naturally, all you have to do is pay them a ridiculous quantity of money first. BEST EXPERIENCE EVER AND I managed to pay off all my debt in a few contracts and after that purchase my very first home Having 10 decades of experience at your manager-level job usually means far more than six months. Job-seekers must be 55 decades old or older. The Ultimate Resume Writing for 50 Year Olds Trick Bear in mind that depending on what you would like to do, you might not enter at the exact same level as you were in your previous career. Your resume is likely going to be looked at on a computer screen and should appear good in that format. Dont forget, your resume is just the very first step. For instance, the job may require someone with expert-level experience by means of a software program, which usually means you understand how to manipulate every function. If youre trying to expand your understanding of specific software, it is possible for you to learn on your o wn time utilizing zugreifbar tutorials through a service like Lynda.com. That means you should flaunt what youve got when it has to do with technology, while its an impressive collection of certifications or an easy mention of office-productivity computer software training youve undertaken. It is preferable to concentrate on your experience in place of a particular objective. Your skills should be rejuvenated, too. At the same time that you may require some training, youre still able to leverage your career experience to fit your perfect job. Your resume and your interview time is your opportunity to promote your abilities and abilities for a particular position. List any groups and extracurricular activities that youre involved in. There are a lot of things which you can do on the side to make money as you start looking for more permanent employment, including freelancing in your field or even participating in market research surveys. Therefore, once you are creating a re sume, take a look at what you have achieved thus far in your academic career and in your extracurricular pursuits. Stick to the standard education and experience format, but be sure your resume can lead prospective employers to your on-line presence, Collamer states. Legally, an employer cannot refuse to employ a work candidate based on age. Given their tenure at work, job seekers over 40 are more inclined to offer you plenty of specific accomplishments. You offer a lot more benefits to employers than you believe. Demonstrate your understanding of new technologies in the event the job requires it.

Spark Hire Podcast for the Week of January 14 - Spark Hire

Spark Hire Podcast for the Week of January 14 - Spark HireFor this weeks podcast, we start off talking about what employee engagement actually is. For quite some time now Spark Hire has been discussing how companies can improve employee engagement, but do we all really know what it is? Tune in if youre not so sure yourself.We also discuss if promotions are really good for your employee morale. You may think that giving employees a promotion will boost their satisfaction in your company, but you shouldnt give out promotions unless you have the resources to back it up. Meaning, unless you plan on giving your employees a raise or something else other than more responsibilities and a fancy job title, dont give them a promotion. Tune in to our podcast below to hear more about itArticles CoveredWhat is Employee Engagement?Are Promotions Really Good for Employee Morale?The official podcast of Spark Hire. Discussing news and topics for job seekers and menschenwrdig resources professionals.Fo llow us on Twitter Spark Hire TwitterLike us on Facebook Spark Hire Facebook PageWatch us on YouTube Spark Hire YouTube ChannelHOST Nicole Nicholson (Content Editor at Spark Hire)ALSO Patrick Beggan (Marketing Assistant at Spark Hire)powerpress url=http//blog.sparkhire.com/sparkcast/sparkcast38.mp3