8 Years Ago I woke up unemployed

8 Years Ago… I woke up unemployed 8 years ago I was laid off.  Friday the 13th was my last day at my job (get the irony there?).  On the 14th Im sure my head was spinning with ideas and emotions.  I was excited and scared. I had no idea what the future had in store for me. Looking back on the last 8 years I can see ups and downs.  It has been a heck of a ride.  Im glad that I was given the chance to start and run JibberJobber, and for the help and encouragement I got along the way.  My team came together quickly, the financing happened without pain, and my experience up to that point was what I needed to make this work. Ive seen about 5 competitors come and go since we launched JibberJobber. Ive also come to understand that this is my calling right now.  That can change, but for now I am meant to be in this role.  Frankly, I thought I would be somewhere else by now (acquired), but Ive realized that the timing just wasnt right yet.  My work is not done.  I have not learned, or served, enough. And so I continue.  And I have big, lofty goals and dreams.  I dont know the time-frame of when things will happen, but Im anxious to make sure I give it my all while I can. Thank you for being a part of this journey! 8 Years Ago… I woke up unemployed 8 years ago I was laid off.  Friday the 13th was my last day at my job (get the irony there?).  On the 14th Im sure my head was spinning with ideas and emotions.  I was excited and scared. I had no idea what the future had in store for me. Looking back on the last 8 years I can see ups and downs.  It has been a heck of a ride.  Im glad that I was given the chance to start and run JibberJobber, and for the help and encouragement I got along the way.  My team came together quickly, the financing happened without pain, and my experience up to that point was what I needed to make this work. Ive seen about 5 competitors come and go since we launched JibberJobber. Ive also come to understand that this is my calling right now.  That can change, but for now I am meant to be in this role.  Frankly, I thought I would be somewhere else by now (acquired), but Ive realized that the timing just wasnt right yet.  My work is not done.  I have not learned, or served, enough. And so I continue.  And I have big, lofty goals and dreams.  I dont know the time-frame of when things will happen, but Im anxious to make sure I give it my all while I can. Thank you for being a part of this journey!

Five Tips to Guarantee Your Placement Success

Five Tips to Guarantee Your Placement Success A good work placement can set you apart from other graduates who havent had the benefit of a year-in-industry, but you cant expect just to stumble onto a good work placement. Here are five tips to help you pick the right opportunity and then shine once you start. 1. Be picky Dont just apply for every placement scheme you find. Decide what you want from a placement and target the ones that offer what youre looking for. Writing individually tailored cover letters will make you stand out from the crowd and will help you secure the place you want. Next, do as much research as possible so you know exactly what youre getting yourself into. Aim for a position which offers you the chance to do real work, not just administration. Think about how the tasks youll be carrying out will look on your CV. Which would you rather have? A years experience photocopying at an FTSE 100 company, or working at a smaller firm but getting hands-on experience of the kind of role youll be applying for when you graduate? Asking students who have already been on a placement about the experiences they have had is an excellent way of getting a real picture of how a scheme will benefit you. 2. Present yourself well It used to be a new haircut and some smart clothes were all that were needed to impress a prospective employer, but these days you also need to worry about your online persona. Employers will  track down your social media accounts to help them decide if taking you on would be a good idea so you need to make sure youre not making the wrong impression. Limiting access to your profiles is advisable, especially if there are things on there that dont present you in the best light. Its also a good idea to learn about the job interview process, especially if you have no experience of them. Researching the sorts of question you are likely to be asked and preparing some answers is an excellent way to ensure youre not overwhelmed by what can be a daunting experience. 3. Be prepared for a culture shock The most obvious difference between student and working life is that in the latter you have to be in the office by 9am Monday to Friday but thats one of the easier things to adapt to. Its the more subtle differences that are harder to get to grips with. Take deadlines, for example. You have them at university and youll have them on your placement. But when youre given an essay, you can expect around three months notice of its due date. In the office, youll sometimes be given a task that needs to be completed by close of business the next day. Learning to manage your time and prioritise tasks will be one of the most challenging parts of your placement and mastering it will ensure you get given more rewarding duties to carry out as your manager will know you can be trusted. 4. Remember youre still learning It might not be the same as university, but a work placement is very much a learning experience, so take everything you can from it. If youve done your homework, you should find yourself carrying out a range of tasks giving you experience of a variety of roles. Not only will this look great on your CV, but it can also broaden your horizons in terms of the kinds of places you can work at and positions you can apply for once you graduate. A good placement is the best way of researching your future career. 5. Take your business skills back to uni Dont think you have to wait until after graduation to benefit from your placement â€" your new-found time management skills can be used to help streamline your studies. Youll find that when youre used to getting up early most mornings, you wont be able to sleep until noon even if you want to. Take the regimented ways you learned at your placement and apply them to the rest of your time at university. Perhaps the most important thing to remember, though, is that your placement is what you make of it. Put yourself out there, let people know youre willing to help out in whatever way you can. Dont blend into the wallpaper.

How to Recruit and Hire a Remote Workforce

How to Recruit and Hire a Remote Workforce Sponsored by MightyRecruiter Every organization needs to hire the best employees they can get. Many businesses need specialized skills that are already scarce, yet the talent available locally is already tapped out. It’s particularly tough for SMBs with strong technical cores, who compete with deep-pocketed multinationals for the same customers, and the same talent. A remote workforce levels the playing field for businesses needing to think and act globally, but on a local budget. It provides access to larger talent pools and offers a powerful incentive to join your team. SMBs can reach top talent and assemble high-performance teams, often more cost-effectively, and with higher productivity results, than an in-house staff. A remote workforce also offers the flexibility of contract work, which may suit both the organization and worker better than an employment agreement. But to reap the benefits, it takes the right people doing the right kind of work. Match the work to the workforce A remote workforce is well-suited for complex project-based work which requires deep and diverse competencies. Remote work typically requires intensive and sustained individual concentration, along with frequent (though sometimes irregular) collaboration. What are the characteristics that make up an effective remote workforce? Research shows that high performing remote teams share two sets of competenciesâ€"what researchers call 1) Leading and Deciding, and 2) Analyzing and Interpreting. Leading and Deciding refers to taking charge of getting work done. Remote workers initiate action, set and pursue goals diligently, and anticipate needs. Since the work is largely autonomous, remote workers take responsibility for their outcomes and aggressively seek out the guidance and resources to be productive. The other competency for remote teams is Analyzing and Interpreting. A remote workforce gets to the core of a matter very quickly and excels at problem-solving. Workers strive to make the complex simple and turn vagueness into clarity. A high-performing remote team communicates very effectively and is proficient in using technology both as a communication enabler and a force multiplier. Managers of remote teams need to have effective methods of measuring and managing productivity, along with mechanisms for being visible to their remote staff. They need to pay special attention to providing their remote staff with top-shelf communication technology. Research has demonstrated that communication technology enhances remote worker job satisfaction, and reinforces the personality traits of openness and agreeableness, both of which play a big part on making them effective as players on a distributed team. What to look for in hiring remote workers The best remote workers tend to be entrepreneurs themselves, and are already likely to be self-starting and conscientious, two of the most desirable characteristics of remote workers. They anticipate issues and are capable of managing themselves, their time, and their tasks. Prior experience working remotely or in an agile environment are good indicators of remote workers who can hit the ground running. Look for a person whom you can trust (and who will also trust you). That goes beyond just being reliable and handling sensitive information judiciously. Trust is also the glue that holds a mutual working relationship together in the absence of in-person cues, or the benefit of catching someone in the hallway for a chat. Concise, effective communication is a must. Top-quality remote workers are especially mindful of keeping others informed about project status, availability, and current focus. Likewise, they expect managers to keep the team apprised of what is happening next and how to be reached. Look also for an engaging phone and video conferencing style, someone with whom you always look forward to having a call. Along with communications savvy, you also want people with tech-savvy. Focus on proficiency in cloud storage, collaboration, project management, issue tracking, content curation, and business analytics. Tap your networks to find remote workers The first places to start sourcing a remote workforce are your communities of practice, user groups, blog subscribers, and LinkedIn followers. They are already plugged into your brand and have opted-in to receiving communication from you. Most likely they are keeping current with your products, business lines, customers, and industry trends. However, that might not be quickest. For some organizations, accessing a job board specializing in various types of remote workers is more feasible. Most offer attractive pricing plans suited toward the needs of smaller organizations. Others might wish to conduct their own hiring campaigns and can take advantage of online services offering free job postings on MightyRecruiter. Think like a venture capitalist when hiring a remote workforce One of the maxims of venture capital is you invest in people, not ideas. Think of your business as a venture capital firm, and the remote workforce as a venture portfolio. Remote workers are the entrepreneurs you want to invest in. They need your funding and sometimes your guidance to continue their work. But they are also seasoned, highly motivated professionals, and don’t need to be voted on. Give them all the resources they need, and then give them a lot of runways. About the author: MightyRecruiter  is an intuitive, comprehensive, and transformative recruiting solution.  Source passive candidates, track and manage applicants,  post free jobs, access  MightyRecruiters resume database, and hire the most relevant candidates for your jobs, all at no cost.

Tips for Meeting a Client for the First Time - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Tips for Meeting a Client for the First Time - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Meeting a client for the first time can be exciting and stressful but it is part of an on-going business. In order to handle this meeting successfully and make a positive impact, you need to take some steps before and after the meeting. Below you can find some hints for your first client meeting. Prepare: Do some research about your client before the meeting. You can start with typing the name of the person you will meet with into a search engine. Learn the background of this person so you can chit chat before the meeting and hit the topics he may enjoy having a conversation with. Afterwards, learn the company he represents very well. Read its website and try to understand its products and/or services. Show Your Expertise: Don’t estimate that the client knows everything about you. Therefore, it is important to show your previous work. Prepare a portfolio, a pdf or a slideshow about your previous projects and walk the client through this journey. While presenting, make eye contact with the client and have an open body language. Moreover, try to be concise and to the point. Emphasize how you previously solved the issues with other clients and how you can help them now. However, try to set appropriate boundaries to your services. Otherwise, the client’s expectations may be too demanding. Keep the Meeting on Track: Always prepare a meeting agenda and send it to the client preferably 48 hours before the meeting. This will help confirm the topics that will be discussed during the meeting. Start the meeting on time. Remember that time is money. Also, control the meeting very well. When you feel that you or your client is going off topic and talking about something else instead of business, you need to get them back on track. Give them Action Items to Follow: It is normal that there will be items your client needs further explanation or topics which need to be discussed with coworkers or bosses. For this reason, it is important to make a list and go through this list at the end of the meeting so your client knows what to do for the next steps. After the meeting, write the meeting minutes and send it to your client via email. After a week or so if you receive no emails from your client, follow-up and ask them if they need any other information.

A Guide to Uploading Resume to LinkedIn

A Guide to Uploading Resume to LinkedInOne of the most popular ways to network with people and get to know them on a personal level is by uploading resumes to LinkedIn. This is an extremely powerful social networking site, and while it may take some time for it to sink in that you have friends online, it will eventually become clear what it means to have a network online.The first thing that you should do when uploading your resume to LinkedIn is to search for some contacts and sort them by proximity. Once you have made sure that you are able to meet up with some people before actually trying to communicate with them, you can actually search through a database of profiles on the site to find your ideal choice of friend.After you have identified some people that you are interested in, you should make the decision to start sending your resume to LinkedIn. Make sure that you make it very simple and that you have an easy-to-read, concise resume. You should also try to avoid using keyword s such as 'LinkedIn'linkedin' because this will only slow down the whole process.The next thing that you should consider is the tone of your communication. This is important because there are many people that will be suspicious of a person that has uploaded a resume without any communication or interaction whatsoever. Try to avoid including any keywords or phrases such as 'I want to meet you'What can I do for you?'One final piece of advice is to make sure that your resume is formatted properly. This means that you should get rid of anything that could easily be confused with a name or an employer. If you need help with this, you can get help from LinkedIn's customer support.Once you have taken care of all of these factors, the next step is to send the company an email asking if they can introduce you to someone from their database. While this doesn't guarantee that you will be contacted, it can help you save a lot of time.Uploading your resume to LinkedIn isn't an easy task, but it is something that can benefit you greatly. The most important part is to make sure that you have chosen someone that you can reach out to in order to set up a face-to-face meeting.Remember that having connections online is important, and LinkedIn can be one of the best ways to find them. Using the tips above will help you find the perfect match, and the next time that you upload a resume to LinkedIn, you will be able to connect to a network of people that you have never met before.

Pre-screening interview reminders

Pre-screening interview reminders Youve taken the time to tailor your resume to the needs of the employer and you have networked in the back door, dont forget to be prepared for the pre-screening phone call! This call is crucial. It will determine if you get called in for a face to face interview in most cases. So keep the following in mind: If you are answering your mobile phone- check the caller info and use a professional greeting if you dont know the number. make sure there arent distracting activities in the background of your call if you do answer the call and you are driving or cant speak, tell the caller you are interested in speaking with them and will need to call them back. Confirm a good time and telephone number. At home- The same rules apply. When you do take the call, make sure you organize your stuff. Get the resume and the job posting and the company research for this company. Dont proceed with the phone call until you have it all together. The caller wont mind holding for a couple of minutes or seconds. Ask, if you are concerned. Whats happening during this call is that the recruiter/interviewer is further assessing you. There was enough on the resume to make them want to call you. Sound interested, upbeat and talented! Be prepared to ask good questions too! By good I mean some company specific questions and some about the interview process. For example: What is driving the need to hire this position? What was it about my background that interested you? What is the time-frame for filling this position? These screening calls can happen any time from 8 am until 9 pm. Be ready!

Five Simple Steps To Opening A Coffee Shop - CareerAlley

Five Simple Steps To Opening A Coffee Shop - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Every mother who goes on a school run knows the value of heading to a cafe or coffee shop afterward with the other mums to have a chat, enjoy a cup of delicious coffee and get the day started off right. Coffee isnt just a drink; its a time to be social and enjoy each others company without the interruption of children and spouses. Launching your own business and making it successful will be challenging and stressful, but once youre up and running, you will not regret your decision. Tweet This When you last gathered your mum friends together, you might have considered whether you could open up your own coffee shop. You know what you would want out of one, you know what youd serve, the atmosphere youd want to create. However, they are big business and consumers are always looking for a new space for that camaraderie and social time as adults without the interruption of kids. So, lets take a look at five simple steps that you need to include for your coffee shop business! Image Source The Idea Is your coffee shop going to be upmarket and modern or for families instead? Are you hoping to cram in as many people and coffee types on the menu as possible or do you expect to have a bespoke list of coffee drinks to choose from? Do you want to remain old school with the till or do you want quick-service software to embrace a little technology? Its really all a part of your idea, and you have to think about all this as it will be necessary for your budget. Work Experience Are you aware of what it will take to run a coffee shop? Do you know what you need to do behind a counter? Have you ever used a coffee machine beyond your Nespresso at home? These are essential questions that you have to answer, and work experience is going to help you out. Get some work experience in a coffee shop before you commit; just in case the work itself isnt for you! Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay Location Where you have your coffee shop is so important. You need to be in an ideal area for people to just pop in when they are walking past. You dont want to be so far out of the way that people think youre not worth visiting. Think about how many people in the area would like a new coffee shop, and then go from there with your plans. Starting your own business you may have to compromise. You would probably have to look for a mundane job while you prepare for what you really want to do. You could find employment in the same field, which would give you insight, and which might lead to further avenues and better things. At the very least, you will be lifted into positive thoughts and a pathway to follow. And you will have an AIM in life. Going It Alone Starting Your Own Business Size Small or big? Your coffee shop can be as big as a giant store, or it can be a bijou little place with comfortable chairs and exclusivity of first come, first seated. You also need to decide on your budget when it comes to the size of your shop, as the budget will dictate to you what you can handle. Certification You need to follow the local authority rules about food safety and preparation, and if you arent ensuring that you are appropriately certified, you are going to fail your health inspections which is why research is essential! Get cramming up, and youll be ready to go! What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to identify and land your dream job. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search