Last Chance to Make Your Vote Count

Last Chance to Make Your Vote Count 4 Tonight at 10pm EDT (5am Monday April 30th Israel time), the first round voting for the 2007 JIB Awards will come to an end. The first round has been a rollercoaster ride as the awards have been hacked twice. However the voting has persisted and thanks to you, JobMob is close to qualifying for the final round. You never know what can happen so until the voting is over, and we still need to bring in more votes! Follow the voting results live First, a recap. The awards site was hacked once by a disgruntled JBlog community member and once by a group from Turkey that was trying to infect your browser. Plus, there are issues with firewalls preventing Israelis and South Africans from voting (likely others too) and people have contacted JobMob to say that when they submitted their choice, the awards site claimed that they had already voted. So the voting has had its ups and downs, and I hope that the sponsors and organizers â€" all volunteers â€" will not have to deal with too much bitterness once the awards are eventually announced. Ultimately, their stated goal was to bring attention to the nominees and as far as JobMob is concerned, they've achieved their goal already. Here's how we're doing on the last day of the voting for Best New Blog: eval Vote for JobMob as Best New Blog 2007 When you click the link above, the awards site will ask you to type in some letters and numbers to prove that you're a real person and not a computer program trying to cheat. When you get to the voting page, select ‘JobMob' and then click ‘Submit'. Here's how we're doing on the last day of the voting for Best Overall Blog:eval Vote ALSO for JobMob as Best Overall Blog 2007 (listed as JobMob Israel) Again, when you click the link above, the awards site will require that you type in a combination of letters and numbers to prove that you're a real person. When you arrive at the voting page, select ‘JobMob Israel' and then click ‘Submit'. In both categories, we're in a close race so today will be critical. I'm continuing to find more voters until the deadline, try to do so too. Let's meet at the finish line tomorrow ??

The Best Resume Writing Services NJ

The Best Resume Writing Services NJThese days, finding the best resume writing services NJ is not that difficult to do because there are so many service providers out there and it is up to you to find the one that meets your needs the best. Keep in mind that while you can get a resume just about anywhere these days, not all of them are legitimate and as a result, you need to be careful as to whom you choose.The best resume writing services NJ can be found on the internet. You can do a quick search on the internet for them and you will be presented with a wide variety of companies offering their services. This is the fastest way to compare the services offered by various companies.The next thing that you need to do is visit the offices of each of the local companies and see if they can provide you with a sample of what you can expect when you hire them. This way, you can make sure that the service provider you choose is actually the one that you are looking for.While you are looking f or resume writing services in NJ, you need to be sure that you hire the company that has the experience and expertise in the field and at the same time, have good professional skills and resources that they are willing to share with you. Hiring a company that does not have these things will just be wasted time. You want to hire the one that can deliver quality results.When you are searching for resume services NJ, you should also know how much you are going to pay them. Some people go for the one that charges a cheaper rate but at the same time, do not have the expertise to produce quality work. This is why you need to know the price range of the services that you are going to be getting before you make a decision.Another tip is to check on the reputation of the resume writing services NJ. You do not want to put your hard earned money on the wrong hands so you need to ensure that you are hiring a company that can be trusted.If you want to have a sample job application form, this is the easiest way to go. You just need to find a company that offers free samples for all the companies in NJ that they cover.Check the rates offered by the best resume writing services NJ before you hire them. Once you find the one that can meet your needs, you can be assured that you have the right people working for you.

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese 6 Rules for Giving Gifts at Work

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese 6 Rules for Giving Gifts at Work With Cyber Monday in full swing, it's bound to dawn on you sooner or later that you need to consider what -- if any -- gifts you will give co-workers or your boss. This can be a tricky road to navigate, and some people get it so wrong that it causes a rift in the office for months to come. But those who get it right can not only feel good about what they've done, but also garner some goodwill among the cubicles. So here are some rules to follow to keep yourself out of trouble and in the good graces of your colleagues: 1. Go with tradition. If gifts have always been given in your office, don't be the one whining that it's a dumb tradition and should be stopped. You'll always end up sounding like Scrooge, and co-workers will consider your selfish ways when thinking about whether to include you in the next big project. 2. Be honest about your finances. If you're a single working parent and have four kids to support, it's OK to say that you would appreciate a dollar limit of $10 to $15. Or, you might suggest a secret Santa system so that you only have to buy one gift. 3. Be discreet. If you plan to give gifts to only a few people in your office, do it in private so no one's feelings get hurt. Ask them to keep the news of the gift to themselves, so no one feels left out. 4. Give appropriate gifts. If you're close to a colleague, then you know she would enjoy a Star War's poster. But if you're not sure, stick with gifts that won't be offensive: books, music and gift certificates to a local coffee house or the movies. (When selecting books and music, stay away from anything profane, religious, raunchy or political.) 5. Do a group gift to the boss. While the boss may give you a gift, you should only give him or her a gift if it's from the entire office. You'll be seen as a suck-up if you give the boss a personal gift, and it can cause real resentment if the gift is more expensive than others he or she may receive. 6. Don't forget your assistant. This is the person who stays late to help you with a spreadsheet, makes sure you get the last flight out of Chicago for an important conference and brings you hot tea when you have a cold. A gift of about $25 is fine, unless it's a long-time assistant and then you should spring for more. This is the one person that you should never leave off your holiday gift list. Finally, remember that if you receive a gift, always send a thank-you note. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but do show your appreciation for the holiday thoughtfulness.

The Difference Between Success and Perfection

The Difference Between Success and Perfection Its another blog swap day! Todays guest post is by Srinivas Rao, a personal development blogger at The Skool of Life. Srini obsesses over riding waves and finding life lessons through the sport of surfing. He is also the co-founder and host of BlogcastFM, a podcast for bloggers.   Also, check out the post I wrote about lessons Ive learned since graduating college over at The Skool of Life today. While you might think that perfection is success, upon closer inspection you’ll find that success is the byproduct of one imperfect failure after another. Perfection on the other hand is a word we’ve made up, we’ve given meaning to it, other people have agreed with our meaning and as a result, our fear of not being perfect keeps us from beginning the journey to success. Last week Nicole’s post about entrepreneurial perfectionism syndrome really resonated with me. I come from a background where you are continually taught that the end goal is perfection. If I brought home an A-, I was asked why I didn’t get an A+. Our reports cards were never put on the fridge. It was just expected that we brought home A’s. But, nobody ever asked the more important question. Did you actually learn anything? The constant mentality of compare and compete was a driving force behind how many kids in my community were raised. The fatal flaw in this however is that there will always be someone better and someone worse. In the game of life you really shouldn’t compete with anybody other than yourself. The fact of the matter is that YOU WILL NEVER BE PERFECT. But, who cares? It doesn’t matter one bit. The fallacy of perfection actually sets you up for failure. How Set Yourself up for Massive Success One of the most useful things I learned in Tony Robbins Personal Power II course was the idea of making it easy for yourself to feel successful. Let’s take a look at a blog as an example. Let’s say you measure the success of your blog by the amount of traffic and you decide that some arbitrary number makes you successful. Well, anytime you don’t hit that arbitrary number you give yourself the message that you are a failure. Now, what if we said “anytime I wrote a blog post, I’m successful.” It’s a minor difference, but what happens is now you are setting yourself up to feel successful and as a result you will hit a success cycle. Make it easy for yourself to feel successful. Don’t let this be confused with having low standards. This is about conditioning your mind to feel good and one small success leads to a bigger one, which leads to a bigger one, which leads to the snowball effect. As a result of this snowball effect, your subconscious starts to get a very different message. It’s a series of successful events instead of series of failures. Try it for 30 days and you’ll be amazed how much more you accomplish and how much better you feel doing it.

Building a Writing Resume

Building a Writing ResumeBuilding a writing resume is as important as the actual resume itself. To make it more appealing to employers, you can add links, or attach your best writing samples. It can be a great boost for your career path, as well as increasing your likelihood of being hired. There are several ways you can build this document and create the type of resume that will set you apart from the many other applicants who have applied for the same position.Always make sure that the person reviewing your resume does not know your previous job experience. A few years ago, job applicants had to complete their resumes to include just their education, educational degree, and work experience. This was not always the case, as some employers have started to include information about their past positions. While these types of resumes still receive great feedback, your true resume might be buried under the avalanche of these recent additions. For that reason, you should avoid including l inks and references that are beyond your current employer.Building a writing resume is easier when you break down the fields of your prospective employer's focus. For example, your employer may want to know how you got your job. You can add a reference that tells them about your past position as well as one about how you did the tasks required of your current position. While it is easy to forget that there are many different positions within the corporate world, the job search has become increasingly complicated, so if you apply for a job in the same industry, it is especially important to think about what they are looking for.If you worked for a long time for a company and are unsure about your references, or you feel hesitant about updating your resume, you can include the names of all past positions in a separate section. This would be an excellent place to include links to your blog or website, or even a sample of some of your work. It can be intimidating to think about includin g links, or even samples, but if you talk to someone who has written resumes before, they may be able to provide you with tips for doing this properly. It can be a big mistake to leave out the information that your potential employer needs.When you are creating a resume, you should be careful about including too much information when you are just applying for a job. Over-reliance on personal information, such as phone numbers and addresses, can be seen as stalking behavior. These pieces of information are not required, and you can find out if you need to remove them with a simple email request. When the recruiter sees a list of telephone numbers, or any other personal information, it can ruin your chances of getting hired.The goal of your resume is to inform the interviewer about what your qualities are, so be sure to always include personal information that is relevant to your current position. In some cases, employers do not care about your previous position, so you will probably be able to get through the interview without having to prove anything, or give a reference for anyone in the past. For this reason, you should never attempt to include a link to your previous employer, but be sure to fill in any gaps.Make sure that you check your writing samples, before submitting them, as you will need to proofread them for grammatical errors and make sure that you include the specific job requirements. Also, be sure to review your submitted resume for any spelling or grammatical errors, as well as factual inconsistencies. Be sure to use a paper template so that you can easily flip through it and find any mistakes.With this guide, you should be able to create a different resume for each job you apply for. It is possible to add your current employer to your current resume, but do not include links or samples. Once you have completed this, you will be ready to send a great resume to get your new job.

The Career Roadmap for Becoming a Writer CareerMetis.com

The Career Roadmap for Becoming a Writer I’ve wanted to be a writer my entire life, and I can finally say that I’ve achieved this dream. As a professional writer, I get paid to do something I love every day. Getting here wasn’t easy, and I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way.In addition to writing, one of my passions is to help people with their careers by sharing my story and advice.This is whyI put together some tips on how to become a bonafidewriter.Step 1: Build a PortfolioevalevalHaving a body of work to show potential employers is the first and probably most important stepto getting hired asa writer. How can someone discover your talent if you don’t have examples to share? Building a portfolio might sound intimidating, but there are multiple options for you to do so.Do It YourselfThese days, there are countless blogging tools available at your fingertips. These resources, such as Wix, Weebly, WordPress, and Tumblr, allow you to easily create a free website to showcase your work. Whichever platform you choose, you can quickly customize your site and share your writing.This is the first step in building an online presence and a portfolio you can show to future employers. By creating your own website, you have the complete creative freedom to publish articles without depending on anyone else.I also recommend creating a career-oriented Twitter account. You can use this to help promote your blog posts and connect with other writers. Having both a blog and a Twitter account shows that you’re active, you put a lot of effort into your online presence, and have nothing to hide.If you’re not interested in maintaining a blog, don’t worry. You can also write posts on LinkedIn, which has a designated section for articles. By publishing on LinkedIn, your work can be seen by your professional network, who can then potentially share it. One of the biggest benefits of publishing on LinkedIn is that when you start applying for jobs, hiring managers have your portfolio right in front of them. Get Published ElsewhereOnce you have experience publishing on your blog and/or LinkedIn, use this body of work to help you get published elsewhere. There are plenty of websites out there looking for writers, and you can leverage your portfolio to become a guest blogger.Below are a few ways I’ve been successful in finding sites on which to be included.Do a simple Google search of “guest bloggers”, “blog writers”, “submit articles”, or any combination of those terms along with a topic you’re interested in. You’ll find plenty of websites asking people to submit content to publish.Do the same search on Pinterest, which has plenty of opportunities as well. One of the best parts of searching on Pinterest is that you can accumulate your results on a designated board. That way, you have multiple opportunities clustered together.If you search enough, you’ll eventually find an opportunity that works for you. Sure, you may have to submit your writing for free, but this allo ws you to build a portfolio if you’re just starting out.evalThere are also plenty of volunteer opportunities for you to write for a good cause. I once blogged for an animal shelter, and it felt great to contribute to a wonderful organization by doing something I enjoyed. When it comes to being guest published on websites, your only limit is yourself.Step 2: Embrace EducationThere is no “write”or wrong way to become a writer, and this includes educational background. Thereare all sorts of paths to take. For some, high school is the end of their academic career. Othersget a college degree in biology, decide it’s not what they want, and end up becoming authors.There are also those who focus on writing for theirentire academic career and even achieve multiple advanced degrees on the topic. All I can speak to is my journey and what worked for me.I attended Penn State, where there was a virtually unlimited amount of writing opportunities. That being said, I never wrote for the sch ool newspaper, the student-run magazine, or a college student blog. I didn’t major in writing or journalism, either. I changed my major multiple times and graduated with a media studiesdegree from the College of Communications.I did dozens of extracurriculars, most of which weren’t related to writing. You don’t need to have tunnel vision when it comes to writing. Actually, I recommend you try a little bit of everything, as I did. If you take advantage of every writing opportunity that comes your way, fantastic. If you only sign up for a few, that’s great. If you don’t even consider writing if it’s not for class, totally fine too. What you do in college can greatly contribute to your future career, but don’t sweat it if you didn’t become the editor of the newspaper or get published all over the university website. There’s a ton you can do, but don’t be scared if you don’t.evalThat being said, you don’t even have to attend college to create a future career as a writer. You can take a few classes at a nearby community college, meet with a free writing group in your local library, pay for private lessons, or take a few courses online. Seek and you shall find! There are so many options out there. As long as you are writing and trying, you’re on the right path.Step 3: Meet Other WritersNetworking is important for any career, and the internet has made it easier than ever.I found an active community of writers on Twitter, which has been helpful in my career journey. The people in the writer’s community support each other, share their work, andgive advice about the industry. I’m inspired daily because I’m interacting with writers with goals similar to mine, some of whom have published multiple books. Search #WritingCommunity on Twitter and see for yourself!Similar communities can be found on LinkedIn, which is an effective networking tool. If you’ve followed the steps above, then you already have a few articles published on LinkedIn an d are ahead of the game.You can connect directly with other writers and/or join various groups that focus on writing, publishing, freelancing, and more. You never know who you’ll meet on LinkedIn and how you can support each other.Step 4: Nail the InterviewI won’t get into the overall job applicationand interviewing processbecause there are hundreds, if not thousands, of articles about that topic. Instead, I’ll share specific tips on how to make yourself stand out as a writer while interviewing.If you’ve gotten to the interview stage, the hiring manager has most likely already seen your work. You’ve proven yourself to be a great writer with a large portfolio; now how do you stand out among the others?Share IdeasYou should research any company you have an interview with. Check out what’s on their website, get a feel for the existing content, and create a list of potential topics you’d bring to the table if hired.When interviewing for my current position as a website con tent writer, I had a preliminary phone interview that gave me an idea of what they were looking for. I then created a list of article ideas and brought it in for my second interview. One of my interviewers said that no one had done that before, which made me stand out amongst other candidates.What to BringPortfolios are integral for writers, which is why it’s the first step in this article. It’s important to bring a printed portfolio to the interview, even if the hiring managers have already read your content online. Your printed portfolio can be anything from a professionally bound binder with laminated samples to printed-out pages stapled together in a manilla folder. It all depends on your budget and the job you’re applying for. Bringing this along will show the company that you’re prepared.evalAfter the interview, leave the portfolio with the hiring managers. This way, they can read it on their own time, pass it around to other decision-makers in the hiring process, and refer to it when they’re making their final decision.Another benefit of leaving the portfolio behind is that they may remember you. If you don’t get the job but another relevant position pops up in the future, your impressive portfolio is still on hand.This has worked for me in the past. I once interviewed for a position, put my all into my portfolio, and left it with the hiring manager. I didn’t end up getting the job, but a few months later, I was called in for an interview. Another position had opened up, and they were still quite impressed with my portfolio.evalStep 5: Don’t Worry if You Didn’t Get the JobIf you got hired as a writer, hooray! Mission complete.On the other hand, if you haven’t yet, there are a few things to do in the meantime. See if you can incorporate writing into the job you already have. Does your company have a blog? Could they use one? You can also continue to write on LinkedIn, your website, or get published elsewhere so you’re still growing your digital footprint and portfolio.evalAs with any career path, becoming a writer involves a lot of trial and error. You can follow every step-by-step guide in the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. All you can do is continue to move forward.Along my journey, I applied to dozens of jobs, had handfuls of interviews (professional and informational), worked at a completely unrelated job, and lost all motivation to write at all.I felt as though it was never going to happen for me. That was until I saw a job posting with my current company, Hotels4Teams,and knew it was my chance. Since then, I’ve been writing articles and honing my craft every single day.I’m often inspired by Richard Bach’s quote: “a professional writer is an amateur that didn’t quit.” This is a simple truth.If you give up striving towards something you love, you’ll never get there. Continue trying and continue writing. Take steps in the right direction, and you’ll eventually b e able to say that you’re a professional writer

How to Re-energize Your Career

How to Re-energize Your Career Why you are less engaged at work It happens to many of us. We start out in a job that we feel energized by and slowly over time we become less and less engaged. Does that sound like you? How did this happen? Why you are less engaged at work It could be one of a myriad of reasons: you become competent in the work and no longer feel challenged theres not have enough variety in your daily tasks loss of connection to company culture your bosss are unwilling to try new ideas too many fires prevent you from completing meaningful projects Categorize your regular activities Take an inventory of the work you do on a daily basis. Pay attention to how you feel once you complete a task. What activities made you feel energized? Which ones seem to be an energy drain? Which activities engross you in a way that time seems to be moving at hyper-speed? Alternatively, pay attention to the days when you leave work and feel energy, especially the days that seemed like you were really busy. Helpful tip: make a chart to retain and organize this information. List your tasks down the left side and make 4 columns. Simply mark an x in the columns that are appropriate. The columns can include: Good At It: would your peers say you are better than most at the task? Drains Energy: does the task take away your energy Neutral Energy: is your energy level unaffected after doing this task Energizes: does this task energize you This should make it easier to identify the tasks you want more of and the ones to stay away from. The answers may surprise you. Re-allocate your time and focus Knowing more about what energizes you, may help you identify the work that you would like to focus on. It may also identify the work that you might be good at, but doesn’t bring you energy. Your next step is to make a plan to spend more time doing the energy-producing tasks. There may be some immediate steps you can take to do this, while other steps may take some help from your manager. However, just creating the plan to get you closer to that energizing work will bring you one step closer to having a career you are engaged in.

Video Resumes - Not the Next Big Thing (Yet) -

Video Resumes - Not the Next Big Thing (Yet) - My cyber-friend, Chris Russel, of Secrets of the Job Hunt Network, recently shared this information about video resumes: MENLO PARK, Calif., July 31 /PRNewswire/ In an increasingly competitive job market, applicants are looking for new ways to stand out from the crowd, but a recent survey suggests submitting a video resume may not be the answer. Just one in four (24 percent) senior executives interviewed said their companies accept video resumes from candidates. The survey was developed by Robert Half International, the worlds first and largest staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on interviews with 150 senior executives from the nations 1,000 largest companies. Executives were asked, Does your company accept video resumes from job seekers? Their responses: Yes 24% No .58% Dont know ..18% Before submitting a video resume, job candidates should check with the hiring manager to ensure the company does not have a policy against their use in evaluating candidates, said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International and author of Job Hunting For Dummies(R), 2nd Edition (John Wiley Sons, Inc.). Although there are certainly some great uses for video resumes, for example when the job involves being on screen or making presentations, I was not surprised to learn that they are not yet widely accepted. My thinking? Viewing video resumes takes too long. Conventional wisdom is saying that resumes receive an 8-second glance. It takes that long to load and press play for a video resume. Most employers are too impatient and dont have time to take these seriously right now. In my opinion, no one should send a video resume without being coached on how to look, what to wear, what to do with their hands, how not to fidget. The list goes on and on. The fact is, looking good on camera requires more than sitting in front of it. The camera itself and the person BEHIND the camera can have a lot to do with the finished product. If you dont have a coach and an expert behind the scenes, consider the fact that your video resume will look like a 5th-grade humanities project. Many organizations worry about bias. Having a visual as the first impression of a candidate is not traditional in U.S. hiring, and using videos may open the door to charges of discrimination. This is not to say that a video is the only way to see what someone looks like, but using it as a screening tool can open up employers to problems. The fact is, unless your job requires being on camera, demonstrating your skill (or lack thereof) in this medium is not of much value. Unless you are fabulously attractive, well spoken, coached in the best ways to appear on camera AND have great camera operators and technology to back it all up, stick to a paper resume or consider an on-line resume that allows links and a portfolio, such as visualcv.com if you MUST do something different. (Keeping in mind that most employers dont have more than 8 seconds for your documents!) What do you think of video resumes? Does your company allow them? Would you consider using one? Video resume! You dont even have any resume! Need a great resume? Some help to write the perfect cover letter? I’m here to help! Write to me. If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you! photo by ianbwarner