Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Making A Resume

Are you worried about writing your resume, or confused with the task of making your resume. Creating your resume is not an intimidating task if you understand the objective of your resume i.e. to generate interest and interviews in your desired job profile and industry. Resume doesn’t need to cover your personal life history, but it should attract the interest of the recruiters. Your curriculum vitae should answer the questions of the recruiters (Will this candidate add value to my company? Is the candidate suitable for the post?)

In this article you will learn how to make a resume. How your resume can be attractive and answer the questions of recruiters. Making resume which will make you stand out from the crowd and convince potential employers that you are the one suitable candidate they were looking for.

For one job advertisement employer do get hundreds of applications and the recruiter spend little more than a few hours to sort out the few good resumes from the mountain of resumes they receive. In short your resume will have less than a minute to grab the reader’s attention and convince them to sort out on the short list.

It is always said that “first impression is the last impression”. Before you even think of tactics on how to win interviews, first impression of your resume is critically important from the view point of your career. Your resume should demonstrate all your skills and competencies in bullets. The document must be clean, uncluttered layout and plenty of white space to make it easy on the eye. It should not be lengthy and more than of two pages; lengthy resume will have negative sway.

Below mentioned are the steps to follow while making resume giving you the best chance of
securing that all-important interview.
  • Step One: Investigate your job strengths; focus on the competencies with the job posted requirements.
  • Step Two: Get familiar with all the sections or parts of a resume.
  • Step Three: Begin with the resume writing process for eg. If you are looking for a job of a Sales Manager then find out what are the job skills required for the job and tailor your resume accordingly.
  • Step Four: WRITE...Write...write...
  • Step Five: REVISE and REWRITE...Revise and Rewrite...revise and rewrite.
  • Step Six: Have trusted and knowledgeable confidants review and critique your resume. Ask for and accept critical feedback.
  • Step Seven: Amend the document as per the feedback.
Your resume must be concisely worded and achievement oriented, with the most important information, such as key skills, competencies and achievements near the beginning, where it will draw the employer in and persuade them to read on. The reader must be able to find easily the information they require in order to assess the relevance of your application. If the data they need is not immediately obvious, they will in all likelihood simply move on to the next resume. Therefore sequence of each section is also critically important in writing resume.

The most effective way of laying out your resume is to summarize the details. Mention all your skills, talents and experience in a profile section at the top. Then you should provide key points of your competencies skills and abilities to perform task, followed by summary section highlighting your major career achievements. After that, outline your employment history in reverse chronological order (most recent first). You can then summarize your educational background and any relevant training programs completed, before providing details of other relevant skills, such as IT skills. Provide your personal details under single section along with the foreign language ability.

All the steps mentioned above are equally important in resume making process but the most important step is writing of your resume / CV. Writing resume is quite simple if your objective is obvious and it is also important to know what potential employers are looking for. Once you know what is important to employers, you can target your resume to address those issues and design your draft accordingly.

Many people are surprised to learn that resume design is just as important as content, but it’s absolutely true. Research suggests that your resume has less than 20 seconds to make the right impression, so it must be eye-catching and easy to read and have the most impact possible on the reader. Following are simple things you can do while preparing layout of your resume.

  • Use titles and headings effectively to grab readers’ attention.
  • Organise the information on your resume to draw attention to your strengths.
  • Choose the right font(s) and the right font sizes.
  • Use same font throughout the document.
  • Structure your resume so that it is easy to read.
  • Be consistent in terms of how you present the information on your resume.
  • Maintain same tense in the document while providing details.
  • Don’t repeat same information / skills
  • Once you are done drafting your resume, ask yourself if your resume is visually appealing.
  • Pay attention to details.

These tips will help you to build a professional resume and achieve the end result to get selected for your dream job.

Wish you Luck!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Challenges of Directors

You should be aware of all the skills that are required when applying for some director jobs. Most of the directors are the head of the company and they have the most of the work and esponsibilities in a company. If you are applying for director jobs, you need to know the challenges that a director has. There are many challenges that directors face everyday in a job. Some of them are managing employees, motivating employees, taking decisions regarding the budget of the company and bringing some new business for the company.

They also have to understand how cash flows in a company and understand if the company is making a profit or loss and most of the time is responsible to report about this to the board of directors. If there are any loopholes in the management or the workforce, manager director has to handle the situation wisely. This can be done by providing solutions. To give the correct solutions, a director has to be creative. This is because the ideas and suggestions that the directors have to give should be unique and suitable for the issue to be solved. The management and motivation of all the employees can be the greatest challenge for a Managing director of the company.

Managing directors are also called CEO sometimes. Directors also face the challenge of maintaining the quality standards of the company. They have to make sure that the quality standards that have been set are met by all the individuals in the organization. Directors make the mission statements and vision of the company. They also make the short term and long term goals for a company.

There should be good communication between the lower management and the managing director, so that the goals and any problems (if any) can be efficiently communicated. There are times when some quick decisions should be taken during some difficult situations. One challenge can be the ability to take quick decisions. Directors are supposed to be full of energy, enthusiastic and passionate about their work. If the directors are passionate about their work, director will be able to handle the challenges easily.

When you are giving interviews for Director Jobs in different companies, it’s always good to be aware of these challenges.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Just Say No!

It sounds so simple doesn’t it? If something doesn’t feel right or it’s not what you had in mind, then say no. Easy. Or is job-seeker it?. You might have spent weeks chasing particular role, perfected your skills on how to make a resume, waited for the recruiters or head of HR, had an interview and then another. Great! You got the job! But something doesn’t gel. You are not sure what, but you don’t feel like accepting the role now. You feel like you should, however, do the job anyway because of the effort invested by both sides.

Stop right there! It is a hassle for all concerned and time wasted, but it’s far more important to work in a job you want to be in, for employers who deserve you. There are a few valid reasons for declining job offers;

It’s all work, work, work. Really think about your circumstances. There are some industries where working 18 hour days are the norm. I’ve turned down jobs for this reason. If you have children or other commitments, it just might not be possible, however rosy the company makes it look. It won’t be, it will be stressful and make you resentful of your employer. If it’s a first job and you need to work up the ladder, all well and good. There is a period during your career when we all have to ‘put the time in’ to get a foothold. If you are mid career and with a family, this might not be the time for you.

Bad news. Not all publicity is good publicity believe me. If your company has a bad reputation, this can reflect badly on yourself. Any public scandal or badly respected business can sully your resume. You are better off in a lower position of a well thought of company than the boss of a bad one.

Read More of Just Say No! on Teleport My Job | International Jobs

Thursday, November 19, 2009

How To Ace Phone Interviews

In a world of ‘global citizenship’ enduring a telephone interview or screening is becoming more and more common as people seek jobs in different counties or just further a field. The telephone screening part of the recruitment process is also popular amongst large, time strapped organisations with a lot of recruitment and HR issues. It saves them time and money, and saves your time as well. It sorts the wheat from the chafe for the recruiters and doesn’t waste the travel and expense of the potential employee having to get themselves to a physical interview.

Telephone interviews or screenings can be as nerve-wracking as a face to face meeting – and why shouldn’t they be? Whilst you don’t have to worry about what you wear , or where indeed you are sitting or standing, your physical self and body language and presentation help to make the impression as much as what you have to say. The objective of a screening interview is exactly as it says – to find out enough about you to assess the need for a face to face.

So , how to ace that first telephone screening interview:

  • If you can create the proper first impression on the telephone your chances of being invited for a personal visit are greatly enhanced.
  • Be enthusiastic and assertive. Remember that you don't have the benefits of expression and eye contact to show your excitement and interest.
  • Be ready to provide specific examples of projects and accomplishments which showcase your skills.
Read More of Phone Interview Tips

Office Politics - How To Deal With It

There are many benefits to being senior management. One of the biggest, in very humble opinion, is the elimination of any office politics. Now we appreciate that there is not an organisation at any level that doesn’t ‘enjoy’ the daily playground that is office life, but it’s not half as bad in the boardroom as it is by the post room, believe me.

If you can’t beat it, at least you can avoid it. There is certainly a point when you are going to have to manage it through your staff at least. So, you can avoid it granted, but to ignore it totally would be dangerous. Playing the ‘game’ leaves you cold – and it should, but once you are part of an entity, and certainly as a man manager, you are immediately part of the human mix.

Female assistants are sometimes jokingly introduced as their male boss’s ‘work wife'. When arguably, you may spend more time a t work than you do at home, it’s only natural that the same ‘inter family’ politics, relationships, misunderstandings, games, tantrums and tears translate over to the corporate world. So as well as the ‘care’ you would receive from your real family unit, there is also the inevitable dysfunction to deal with.

We sometimes genuinely admire those executives who simply don’t care how they are perceived in the workplace. This attitude takes real talent to get right though, as a boss with no self awareness can never be a great leader, simply a selfish one out of touch with his force. Trying to impress those above you whilst simultaneously ignoring the ones ‘below’ will catch up with you for sure.

If you treat everyone as humans, with the respect they deserve, you’ll get it back tenfold. People generally expect the boss to be rather an aloof type – showing them your ‘real’ side does a lot of good – especially if you usually keep everyone at arms length.

Read More of Office Politics

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

There is always a great demand for banking jobs wherever you are in the globe.

Banking jobs are generally considered to be ideal jobs for many reasons. Aside from the various vertical opportunities a banker can have in the industry, it has been known to be a well paid profession..

Just like any other industry, competing for banking jobs has gone steep with the limited positions in various regions. Of course, those with previous experience would outrun the first timers, at least in a normal circumstance that is.

An excellent candidate in a finance position has to be an excellent numbers person. They say that successful businessmen have one trait in common and they have been number experts. Well banking and finance professionals are no exemption.

For those who are aiming for the forefront of financial institutions, customer service will always be an advantage of banking job seeking candidates. A good working knowledge of the current financial trends wills also be a bonus in the eyes of your recruiters.

Do not underestimate the value of multi tasking which is a vital skill that in a banking institution. Basically it’s a combination of paying attention to figures vis-à-vis serving your customers to the best of your capabilities.

Within the banking industry, one can always aim for various positions such as teller, loans officer, cashier, business development, etc. For most companies, employees get the chance to experience different responsibilities in their path to climbing the corporate ladder.

Bank teller’s primary job is to help you when you visit your bank to deposit your money.
The responsibility is high in bank teller’s job because the bank teller is usually responsible for the all the deposits that are made during the day by customers.

A loan officer is a person who verifies the documents and makes a decision of giving a loan.

Of course for those with years of experience and excellent expertise in specific fields, you can always opt to apply for the managing and director jobs positions.

If you are applying for a banking job, one has to expect some analytic tests during the round of interview and may also need a relevant qualification. Many banks that are hiring are looking for these skills in individuals.

Although due to the economic meltdown some banking jobs may have been lost but most of the people still prefer banking jobs for various reasons.

There’s lot of effort being put to revive the world economy and positive results are expected soon. In the year 2010, analysts are expecting the industry to rise thus banking jobs in Sydney, Dubai, and Singapore jobs are hopeful to rise.

CEO Jobs - The Person & Responsibilities

Most executives ripe of experience would love to apply for CEO jobs because of the attractive salary it offers. CEO’s usually are the person’s on the top of career hierarchy. For those of you who might have known, CEO means Chief Executive Officer and CEO’s can also be called by other names such as Managing Director.

Due to the downturn of the economy, the availability of CEO jobs might have dropped in some organizations, as they exhaust every effort to cut costs. Even recruitment agencies can attest to this economic trend. Although the number of available positions may have lessened, there are still opportunities for the top executives.

Remember that no matter how bad an economy will be, organizations will always need a chief to follow. You just need to look for the job at the right place and at the right time, learn how to make a resume for keeps, and develop networking skills.

It goes without saying that anybody who wants to become a CEO should have the relevant qualifications and tested expertise preferably in a focused industry. The right candidate should have strong leadership skills. Most of the times an individual has to grow in an organization to become the next chief executive..

What is the role of a CEO in a corporate word? Obviously CEO’s shoulder the most of decision-making responsibilities in an organization or a firm. This is because he is the head of the family, the hand who holds complete management in a corporate organization.

Ever wondered why CEO’s receive the fat checks? Well for obvious reasons that they have too much on his daily plate of tasks and responsibilities, more than anyone else in the company that is.

Apart from the technical operations, the chief has the utmost responsibility of motivating his subordinates leading them achieve organizational targets.

This is where people skills become vital for a top rated CEO. Besides, his staff is the most important resources he has in achieving success.

As the economy continues to recover, many organizations will look for individuals who can undertake the major decision-making role of the CEO and help the company to grow and achieve both short term and long term goals.