The 10 Scariest Job Seeker Mistakes

The 10 Scariest Job Seeker Mistakes Halloween is right around the corner, but that doesn’t mean you should let your job search turn you into a clumsy zombie. Though these tips may not help you when the undead invade, there are a number of basic survival skills you can use to get through your job search without losing your brains. Plenty of job seekers don’t realize that even seemingly small mistakes can have a huge impact on their success. In horror movies, the first person to realize there are killers on the loose is usually the one who lives, and staying ahead of other job seekers can help you from falling behind, too. Lack of research, neglecting to follow-up, grammatical errors in emails, or having an unenthusiastic attitude all of these things can leave you struggling to keep up in the scary world of unemployment. But you don’t have to lose your brains during your job search proper preparation can help you to avoid making common mistakes. This infographic from Careerleaf, an all-in-one job search platform that cuts the time to apply in half, outlines the 10 scariest job seeker mistakesand how to avoid them. Related: Tales from the Recruitment Crypt. Image: Shutterstock

I have a new book. Buy it now.

I have a new book. Buy it now. I know I said Id never do another book. But Im good at admitting when I change my mind. Heres how that happened. Melissa was worrying that her life was going to end because she was quitting finance to be a nanny. She was worried that she was ruining her career, and that she was not cut out to navigate adult life, and that she was not living up to her potential. I was trying to be a good listener, but my talents lie more in being bossy. So I said, when she got to the living up to her potential part, That is ridiculous. The idea of living up to ones potential is such BS. Read my post about that. You always tell me read my post about that. Its because Im sick of people telling me they hate to feel lost. Being lost is an amazing opportunity to define yourself. Being lost is so interesting. Do you think its interesting that I spend every day in my pink Juicy suit? Yeah. If it doesnt smell. It sort of does smell, but we are easy going about that on the farm. Then I said, WaitI have to tell you something What? Read my post about how being lost is good. Shut up. But she reads all my posts anyway. When I have fights with the Farmer I tell him I wish hed spend all day talking to me like Melissa does. He tells me that he does not have a hero worship complex like she does and that I cannot get along with anyone who doesnt worship me. Is that true? I think, if I ever change the poll on my sidebar, it will say, Does Penelope have trouble getting along with people who do not worship her? Yes or No The farmer and Melissa and I spend a week together eating lunches. The farmer eats like a 17-year-old boy who has not seen food in three days. Melissa and I eat like Asperger girls who were never told that we have to look normal at the table. So, picture this: The farmer is eating two steaks, two baked potatoes, and five chocolate chip cookies. This varies slightly, but not by calorie count or carbohydrate/fat ratio. Melissa is eating peas and pasta. This is all she eats. I do not have a post to encourage her to eat a more diverse diet because all I eat is PowerBars. So there we are, and every day we are talking about how Melissa does not need to do a soul search because she is doing fine, but she does not feel fine. So I decide to put together a book of posts for Melissa about how to keep her career on track. I divide the book into sections: How to be lost and still feel good about yourself How to find a great job over and over again The secret to feeling confident making career decisions The key to making yourself happy The best method for creating a safety net for yourself These are all topics Melissa and I talk about, but I wanted her to have something to hold. I do that instead of doing things I should be doing like remembering to take the farmers cookies out of the oven. I show Melissa the book while the farmer eats burnt cookies. But while she is looking through it, I take it back. I decide the book is ugly. I want the book to be something she takes out every time she needs a self-confidence boost and she reads one or two pages. I want the book to be beautiful and sit by her bedside, or in her living room. So I look online for how to self-publish a book with a great binding and pages that are nice to hold. I find a publisher of hipster, linen-bound books, with gold leaf, and I decide the self-publishing industry is amazing. But then I see that to publish my one single, book will be about $2000. And I have to save my money for when I start a new company and run out of money and have to not be completely unstable financially because the farmer does not like crazy instability. I have done that before. He read about itin a post. No thousand-dollar books. But now I have a new idea. If this is a good book for Melissa it must be a good book for a lot of you. After all, I write all the stuff I learn as I learn it, and the book is full of the knowledge that helped me craft a career that I love â€" over and over again. I cant do the project alone, but I can do it with you. If we all buy copies of the book then we can have a beautiful and inspiring book to keep or to give to friends. Itll be called For the Soul Searcher and itll look like the book at the top of the post. The book is be $25 â€" no tax, free shipping, and Ill sign and number all the books. But you can only buy the book for the next week. Because I have to know how many we are ordering. Note to my brothers: you guys put up with so much on this blog, so you dont have to buy a copyI will buy them for you. To everyone else: Click below to buy the book via PayPal. And thank you.

Employment Law Theft in The Workplace How To Take Action

Employment Law Theft in The Workplace How To Take Action Theft and business fraud is believed to be costing the UK economy more than £73bn each year. According to the CIFAS, a leading not-for-profit company working to protect businesses, charities, public bodies and individuals from financial crime, employee fraud is on the rise.   In 2014, recorded internal fraud rose by 18% year on year, and 2013 saw a 22% increase in dishonest actions by staff.   Whilst there is reason to believe that these increases stem from the economic and financial challenges facing many in the UK, it may also be because organisations are not aware, or protecting themselves. Here, we aim to outline what to do if you suspect that theft in the workplace might be issue, as well as how to deter this behaviour in the first place. Define: Theft in the Workplace Theft in the workplace is quite common in retail in part because it can be difficult to deal with. Employers actually have a number of rights and abilities to safeguard their organisation without actually involving the police. The two common types of workplace theft are: Tangible theft â€" meaning items are physically stolen Intangible theft â€" meaning the theft of intellectual property such as computer files The increase in intangible “cybercrime” and the markedly global nature of today’s transactions means this is only set to increase. How can I investigate workplace theft myself? Firstly, business owners must be made aware of the laws governing investigations in the workplace.   ACAS offer a number of resources online and there are many other organisations who offer free information.   If problems in the workplace do arise, it is vital that an investigation is correctly performance and evidence must be adequately obtained. Business owners are permitted, by law, to conduct covert investigations in the workplace. This includes installing cameras.   That said, there are two laws to be aware of that may inhibit this practise â€" these are the Human Rights Act and the Regulatory Investigation of Persons at Work Act.   These should not pose an issue so long as the business owner can demonstrate that their investigations are “reasonable in the circumstances”. In fact, these laws actually contribute to your case if correctly handled. There are actually far easier ways to track and investigate suspected theft.   All companies should be keeping detailed records of its inventory making it relatively easy to prove that theft is occurring.  There is software available to assist in this. This is the first step â€" prevention. Simply making your staff aware of potential thefts will act as a deterrent.   In most cases, this is the best outcome and saves on the resources required to investigate further. It also makes loyal staff alert to internal fraud and they can be your eyes and ears. Staff dismissal and thorough investigations If prevention doesn’t work and you decide to conduct a formal investigation, it is vital that it is carried out properly.   A flawed or incomplete investigation can undermine the entire process and even leave employers vulnerable to claims for unfair dismissal. There are three key components that an employer must adhere to if they decide that employee dismissal is the only option. The employer must demonstrate the following: Genuine belief that misconduct had occurred Reasonable grounds for this belief Arrival at this belief after a reasonable investigation Legally, for a fair dismissal case, an employer must show that they carried out a thorough investigation before any action was taken. If an investigation is the only solution and you’re unsure how to best to handle the matter, it is always worth seeking further advice. Prosecuting the Offending Employee Depending on the type of theft, the police may be the obvious place to start. However, the fact is that they do not have unlimited resources and those they have will likely be stretched. Business crime, especially when it is internally driven, is not high on their agenda.   The police may not be able to allocate resource to a thorough investigation. Furthermore, if the police are involved, the case will go to the Crown Prosecution Service. For the CPS to conduct a case against a person, they must deem the case “in the interests of justice” and there must be absolute evidence to convict. In reality, what the CPS decide is in the public interest may not align to your views and the loss to your business. Also, whether the evidence is enough to proceed will be reliant upon the police investigation and the resource they dedicate to getting a case together. As previously mentioned, in most cases, there is no need to involve the police. You may be more likely to achieve an effective result if you utilise a private prosecution service. Doing so may be both cheaper and quicker in the long term when you consider the impact on resources. No matter your business and circumstances, it is important to take steps to protect your business from employee theft and fraud. If employees have enough opportunity, and think that they will get away with it, there is a chance they may be tempted to steal from a business. Prevention is always better than the cure and if business owners have strong measure in place, theft can be stopped before a problem arises.

5 Monkeys Experiment and Applications to Our Work Life

5 Monkeys Experiment and Applications to Our Work Life There was an interesting experiment conducted years ago using monkeys and bananas. The researchers placed five monkeys in a room with a ladder and a some bananas at the top of it. It didnt take long before one of the monkeys saw the bananas and decided to climb the ladder. As soon as the monkey reached the banana, all five monkeys were showered with cold water. This frustrated the monkeys, but shortly after the showering ended a second monkey braved climbing the ladder once again. Again all five monkeys were showered with cold water.   The monkeys were starting to see a pattern.   So the researchers decided to change the scenario.   This time they would take out the water and replace one of the monkeys with a new one. The new monkey comes into the room and notices the banana sitting safely on the ladder.   He sees an easy snack and approaches the ladder. As soon as he starts to climb the other four monkeys attack him.   The new monkey doesnt understand what he did wrong but no longer approaches the ladder. The researchers continue the new pattern by replacing another monkey.   This new monkey sees the banana and does the same thing as the last monkey to enter the room.   Upon climbing the ladder the original three monkeys attack once again, as well as the first new monkey. A third, fourth, and eventually fifth monkey is replaced.   By now all the new monkeys are attacking each new monkey that tries to get the banana.   Theyve never been sprayed for attempting to get the banana, but choose to attack each monkey that tries anyways. Are We Like These Monkeys? Have you ever asked a manager why dont they solve a problem differently only to hear them answer, Well thats the way its always been done? Too often, we are quick to jump on what others are doing wrong without ever giving them a chance to see the results. We like to predict the outcome based on our own experiences, and in worst cases off of what weve heard others say.   But what if times have changed? What if we are judging others based on a narrow understanding of their plan? Moral of the storydont fear the ladderdont scare others from taking the ladder. image courtesy of AnnieGreenSprings

Please Remove These 7 Things From Your Resume

Please Remove These 7 Things From Your Resume Photo Credit -Usnews.comYou never know when you will be put in a position of looking for another job. Anything can happen. The economy can squash your job, or your boss can show you the door. Perhaps, you’d just like to look elsewhere for a challenge or better remuneration. One way or another, you’ll always have to keep your resume updated and ready to go.First of all, let’s be crystal clear that we are talking about the resume that got you your current job. You may have worked in that job for a few years and picked up some good experience as well as some more credentials. Therefore, you’ll want to constantly keep it updated.However, here are 7 things you should remove from your resume.1. Your photoevalevalHow did that even get there? Sure, mom and dad think you are the sweetest and most dashing thing ever to step into the earth, but not everyone agrees. That is not even why you should not have your photo in your resume in the first place.Unless you are applying for certain j obs that insist on how you look After all, it is almost always never a deeply felt objective. Fine, you want to save the world but, can you get the work done and can you be useful to the organization.Use that space for additional work experience or an extra referee. If you really must have an objective, write it down on a small piece of paper and walk around with it to remind yourself.5. HobbiesevalYour jazz collection, love for hiking, and an impressive library can be pretty fascinating and maybe even interesting. But who cares what you do in your spare time?Unless your hobbies are related to your job, you’d best keep them out of your resume. You could instead bring them up during the interview and who knows, one of the panelists could be a fellow enthusiast.6. Irrelevant work experienceevalYou should prioritize skills and experiences that correlate to the job you want. Hiring managers are chiefly interested in finding out if you can do the job. Therefore, they’ll mostly be che cking out your resume for experiences in similar or related positions.If you happened to be an expert at unclogging the drainage at your old job, good for you. However, those skills will hardly be impressive.7. Details about your personal lifeDon’t get into details of your personal life. The less said, the better for everyone. This is because you may begin to invite subtle prejudices and biases from the hiring panel.Do you agree? Sound off in the comments section.

Can You Make a Good Living Being a Life Coach - Kathy Caprino

Can You Make a Good Living Being a Life Coach Running a coaching and consulting company dedicated to helping women achieve breakthrough in their lives and work, I meet thousands of folks each year who want to reinvent, many of whom are considering launching a coaching or consulting practice, or other small business of their own.   They long to transition into coaching for solid reasons, and many come with great, top-level experience. As a career consultant, I help people evaluate if launching a coaching practice or other venture seems a viable step for them first by conducting a thorough assessment of their goals, abilities, preferences, personality, values, mission, purpose, and long-term plans.   As my book publicist Patti Danos asked me when I was launching my book Breakdown, Breakthrough, I ask my clients, “What do you want, and what do you really want, in doing this?” After such an assessment, I have often recommended in the past, “Looks like it makes sense at this time to move forward, and that you’ve got a strong grasp of what’s required.   Go for it!” Now, however, in these intensely challenging times, I ask this new question, “Are you ready and able to do what it takes to make this successful? Are you 3000% committed?” About becoming a coach, the average income of a life coach in the U.S. today is between $30,000 $40,000.   Only 10% to 20% or so make six-figure incomes, and many more life coaches don’t make anywhere near $30,000.   It’s not an easy path, and clients simply will not fall in your lap.   Success requires time, action, commitment, and a good number of top level skills to differentiate yourself, and to generate a large enough community to continue to fill your pipeline of paying clients. A coach from the largest coaching organization in the world told me last week that of all the folks that reach out to them to pursue coaching, only 40% are truly “coachable,” and of those, only 30% end up signing up for services.   Those stats apply to my business as well. I realized this week something that feels like a real “aha” to me â€" coaching is for a group or culture that is at the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs â€" the level of self-actualization.   Today, however, our economic strife has pushed millions of people us down several levels of the hierarchy â€" to the level of “safety” so that their primary focus now is on financial safety and security. If you’re interested in starting a practice/business as a life coach during these times, I’d ask you to seriously evaluate yourself, your abilities and talents, your passion for this, and your commitment to launching and maintaining a thriving practice/business.   These questions apply to you if you’re considering any entrepreneurial, small business, or consulting endeavor as well: Ask yourself the following questions: 1)             What must I earn each year, to achieve the standard of living I need?  What have I earned before (and if I want to top that, what will I do differently)? 2)             What’s my risk tolerance?   Can I tolerate a lack of stability, fluidity, and security? 3)             What is my relationship with money today?   How do I deal with it, earn it, save it, invest it and grow it?   Are my actions around money, and feelings, and views powerful and healthy?   Are you committed to making the living you want? 4)             What is motivating me â€" consciously and subconsciously â€" to want to be a life coach?   Is there anything I’m running from that I need to address first? 5)             If I do everything I can to make my practice work for three to five years, and $30,000 remains my income, will this be acceptable and viable for my life and family?   If not, what will be my plan to grow myself, my knowledge and skill set to be part of the minority segment of high-earners in the coaching field? 6)             Do I have the abilities, courage, confidence, perseverance and commitment to undertake all the facets of running a thriving practice/business, including: client development, networking, social media, marketing, branding, speaking, workshops, writing, business and financial leadership, and providing top-notch client services â€" all in one?   If not, where will I get support, learn new skills, and how will I fund this growth? 7)             Am I able to figure out what I don’t know or what I’m not good at, and get help all along the way to fill in my knowledge, power, and business gaps? 8)             Are you ready to give up a “build it and they will come” mentality, and step up to what it takes to run a successful business/practice? 9)             Finally, what are you looking for â€" a job or a calling? I ask you to address these questions not to discourage you from following your dreams, but to present a realistic picture of what’s essential in running a successful business today.   If you conduct a deep exploration of your answers to these questions and come up ready to move forward to pursue life coaching as your career, fantastic!!  If not, then perhaps other avenues and outcomes of career reinvention are more suited to you, and will make you happier and more fulfilled. If you do wish to move forward into life coaching, I’d say it’s time for you to explore it further and embrace the possibility. Here are some first great steps: 1)             Research, research, research what it will take (start first with the International Coach Federation) and explore training programs, resources, and other coaches’ businesses and models.   Find a successful life coach to hire who could serve as your mentor business coach.   My specific tip here: Use a business coach who has already achieved what you long to.   (For info on the difference between a “mentor” coach and an “implementation” coach, stayed tuned to my upcoming posts.) 2)             Get powerful with your money today â€" don’t wait.   Gain a thorough grasp of your financial situation â€" what you need to earn, what you spend, what you can cut back on, how you will fund your reinvention, and so on.   Get a great financial consultant to help you sort out your situation, and set realistic, stretching goals.   Get out of denial, and get powerful with your finances. 3)             “Go where the energy is” â€" observe yourself in the process of exploring this path.   Does it feel exciting, energizing, enlivening, or daunting and discouraging?   For you to make a go of this, the predominant feeling needs to be excitement, possibility, and passion. 4)             Receive training and education  â€" nothing moves us forward faster than powerful training and education to help us be and know more than we do today.   Don’t skip that step.   Coaching training and business skill development are absolutely vital to teach you how to be the best coach, and business owner, you can be. 5)             Develop a sound business plan with concrete marketing strategies.   Find a great non-profit organization (such as SCORE the Women’s Business Development Center, or Count Me In) in your area, to help you create powerful business and marketing tactics, and a plan, to make your endeavor successful. 6)             Finally, take my four steps to breakthrough:                   Step back for an empowered outside perspective on  where you are, and what you dream of doing                   Let Go of the thinking, behaviors, and patterns that have been keeping you stuck and holding you back in the past                   Say Yes! to your compelling visions.   If you really want to do this, then commit yourself 3000% to doing what it takes to be successful.                   Create It!  Develop a solid plan, complete with goals, outcomes, and milestones against which to measure your progress.   If you don’t plan it, you’ll have a very tough time creating it, or generating the necessary energy you need to build it. For added support, sign up for my newsletters and my blog on career and life breakthrough to give you some ongoing assistance and resources. Life coaching is a fabulously exciting and rewarding field.   Here’s to embracing your inner (and outer) coach, and being financially and emotional successful doing it! For more information about building a successful coaching practice, download my free report The 10 Most Crippling Mistakes New Coaches Make here.

Writing Your Resume Summary As I

Writing Your Resume Summary As IThere are many different ways to put your resume in order, one of which is through the use of your writing your resume summary as i. It is always suggested that you do not do this to yourself; you should find a friend or colleague who can guide you to make the proper use of your writing. With that said, here are a few tips on how to put your resume into order.First, start with a general outline of your accomplishments and skills, such as the educational background and all of the personal traits that you would like to show. You may need to go back and re-read your resume to ensure that everything that you are including is appropriate for the job that you are applying for. Also consider the details that you would like to include about your education, work history, your career goals, and other details that will be crucial to your overall success at your new position.Next, you will want to add any basic information regarding your interests and hobbies. If you have any special skills that would make your current position even more desirable, now is the time to write them down. Sometimes a couple of sentences that indicate what you have to offer is all that is needed, but this is certainly not necessary for everyone. Just include the basics and leave it at that.Finally, you will want to work your way up through your list of accomplishments to highlight each of the accomplishments that were made during the year before you applied for the position. You may want to refer to the resume description, if it is included in the document, to make sure that all of the specific information you are writing is included. You will want to break up your accomplishments into three specific areas: job creation, job improvement, and job satisfaction.Job creation can often take years of planning, organizing, and executing to make it a reality, and when this happens, job satisfaction is likely to be one of the best feelings of the year. As such, it is impor tant to pay attention to this goal when writing your resume summary as i. Make sure that you add the accomplishment, for this one seems to be one of the most important areas of your resume.Summary for a resume is usually the least important part of the resume, but it can be one of the most influential, so make sure that you incorporate all of the important details into your summary. You may also find that using your resume summary as i helps you get started with your resume writing.While you may not feel like writing your resume as i, you can also start by preparing yourself for it. By writing your resume as i, you will be making the most out of your valuable time and adding all of the information and details that you need to to make your resume truly exceptional.