Tuesday, April 21, 2020

How Long Should Your Resume Be?

How Long Should Your Resume Be?The length of a resume can range from two pages to eight pages. The resume will usually be formatted in a horizontal format that should contain the main information like your full name, contact information, educational level, experience, and employment history. In addition, your resume will also contain your employment experience such as volunteer work, apprenticeship, and any degrees or professional licenses.In addition to your education and experience, your resume should also show what job you have held and the salary you received for each position. It is important to make sure that your resume contains your accomplishments, past job experiences, and job titles. This helps your resume to stand out among the crowd.If you do not have any personal information included in your resume, you should include some basic information. For example, your first name, your middle name, and your last name. If you do not have a middle name, it is acceptable to use init ials if you know how to spell them. Finally, be sure to include your date of birth and contact information.There are two things to consider when creating your resume. First, be sure that your resume has the most important information, which should be two pages long. Second, don't include too much information, which could overwhelm the reader.While you do not want to be too formal, you do want to make sure that you share information with the reader that relates to your professional success. In addition, you may want to include a short summary of your professional and educational background. The information provided should be brief and relevant to the job opening.If you are unsure how to format your resume, ask a friend who has one to help you. There are many companies that offer resume writing services, including Cenris, Aweber, iCare, and Indeed.To find out more about your career advancement, contact a Career Center today. You will be amazed at what you can achieve if you know what to do.

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Salary Negotiation Tips From Human Resources

Salary Negotiation Tips From Human Resources Negotiating pay can be difficult when you take a new job at an organization, and it continues to be a challenge throughout the employee lifecycle. But with the right preparation, it can be a whole lot easier. One of the best ways to improve negotiation skills for individuals is to remove some of the mystery around the topic of pay. With that in mind, here are 5 things that HR wishes you knew (and did) when it comes to salary negotiation: Be Reasonable in Your Request Do your homework. Price out your skills online, considering how different factors like job location, organizational priorities, and job requirements may impact the value of your skillset. If you’re applying for a job in Iowa City, it just won’t pay the same as in San Francisco, no matter how good you are. If you’re seeking a promotion, make sure your skills are current and necessary. Also, think about the broader context around your request. What are the company’s goals? Is it in growth mode, or is it trying to do more with less? Ideally, you’ll take that into account when negotiating or negotiating for more. Be aware of the possible objections so you have a ready answer prepared. Demonstrate Why You’re Worth It While some of us like to believe that our value to the organization is obvious, frankly, it’s not. Become a master in stating the obvious. Learn how to quantify and demonstrate your worth to the organization. Come to the negotiation table with concrete examples of how your actions have lead to business results. Know Your Company’s Compensation Philosophy A compensation philosophy is the highest-level view on what the company is trying to accomplish with how much they spend on compensation. It ensures alignment between compensation and desired business results. This can express itself in many ways: wanting to pay top dollar across the board; wanting to be competitive where they can afford to be; or aiming to meet the market, but provide other benefits in lieu of pay. As an individual coming to the negotiation table, knowing the compensation philosophy will help you be reasonable in your request. Seeking top dollar at an organization trying to do more with less is a mismatch. Use that information to either alter your request (flexibility or PTO in lieu of pay) or determine your fit with the company (or recognize when it’s actually not a fit). Know the Decision-Makers At your company, who makes the decision about your pay? Who has the authority to override that decision? Who sets the organizational priorities and compensation philosophy? In most organizations, these authorities are split amongst a few parties, including managers, executives, and HR. Knowing who actually has the power within the organization will help you direct your message appropriately. Asking a manager who doesn’t have the authority to set pay to provide a higher offer may actually undermine their position. Instead, if you know they don’t have the authority, ask how you can help them make the case for a higher offer. Know That Money Isn’t Everything, and Know What Else You Want Depending on the organization, more money may not be possible. Also, more money may not be the right answer. When my dad was a young lawyer supporting his growing family, he went to his boss and said “You know, if I just had another $1,000 bucks, I’d be fine” and his boss replied “No, if you had another $1,000, you’d still be $1,000 short.” At some point, once the organization has done its part to pay fair market value for the job and your skills, it really becomes about everything else. Do you want more flexibility in your hours or your role? Are you looking for work that has a clear impact? Perhaps you like more public recognition for your success. Whatever it is, this is the time to identify “what else” and ask for it. Ultimately, every salary negation is an opportunity to share information between individual and employer; identifying the things that matter most leads to the best win-win for all parties involved.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Are You A Dinosaur Or A Cockroach In Your Job - Work It Daily

Are You A Dinosaur Or A Cockroach In Your Job - Work It Daily Perfect and job rarely go together in the same sentence. It seems like there could almost always be something not quite right with a job, but what’s important is how you handle those things that might not be perfectly the way you want them to be. So my question to you is… are you fossilized in your job? Are you so set in your ways that your mind isn’t open at all to change? I heard this illustration the other day and thought I would share… dinosaurs and cockroaches existed at the same time in history, but the dinosaur is extinct and the cockroach is still around. Why is that? Because the cockroach is adaptable and flexible. The dinosaur failing to adapt, fossilized and went away. Nothing is 100% the same on the job, so you’ve got to have some flexibility. In fact, I tell my writers when I bring them on that they can count on one thing while working for meâ€"change. I am all about process improvement. What will make our company better? How can we better service our clients? How can we create better resumes to help our clients get interviews faster? These are all important questions that we ask ourselves daily. Companies who aren’t open to change eventually fade away. My point is this (while I’m not going to go as far as to suggest you should be a cockroach… ew), I am going to say: flexibility and adaptability will take you a long way in your career. So never become so ingrained in doing everything the same way that you eventually fossilize and fade away. Enjoy this article? You've got time for another! Check out these related articles: ‘Right Fit’ Job: Guide to Finding Work You Love How Recruiters Read Resumes The Biggest Secret Obstacle To Your Career   Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!