5 Resources for Visual Resumes - CareerAlley

5 Resources for Visual Resumes - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. The job hunting world is continually changing, driven primarily by advancements in technology and leveraging the Internet. Weve seen the world of snail mail and pounding the pavement replaced by emails, job boards and hundreds of job posting sites. Visual Resumes hit the scene a few years ago and, while not being an instant hit, have started to become popular. This relatively new twist on job search is still in its infancy and its not clear yet how popular this trend will become, but time will tell. So what is a visual resume? It is an online professional marketing brochure or personal web-based brand. Rather than sending your Word or text resume to potential employers, you would direct them to your web-based resume. This is a new wild card and those who are creative are likely to create the most eye catching resumes. Its all about what you can do to have your resume stand out from the rest. For those who are ready to give this a try, there are a few of options available. Vizualize.me This site allows you to create an infographic resume. You can sign-up for free using your email account or your LinkedIn account. The site strives to be easy to use, pulling all of your data from LinkedIn. You can add, delete and change information easily. When I tried it (pulling in my LinkedIn info), it took less than 30 seconds to create the first view. LinkedIn recommendations look great and there are a bunch of tools on the left hand side so you can make tweaks to your resume. Once your resume is done, the dashboard will give you key stats like views and popularity. VisualCV We cant cover this topic without reviewing VisualcCV.com which, as best I can tell, is the best known visual resume site. The site offers a tour as well as examples. The tour gives an overview of how to create your visual resume and what is generally included. You can embed almost any type of media as well as hyperlinks to your personal website or social site profile (like LinkedIn). The service is free. It is worth looking at the examples before creating your own visual resume as they will give you some ideas as to what might work best for you. Re.vu This site helps you create an infographic resume which is a pictorial of your career and skills. It can pull data directly from your LinkedIn account or you can add the information yourself. You can create a custom profile as well. Visual.ly by Kelly This site provides an alternative way to create a visual resume. Basically, you create a visual resume using slideshare.net and use this site to embed your virtual resume. Since Ning.com enables the creation of your own social network, my assumption is that this site will become a repository for visual resumes and another visual resume alternative. Resumup This site has several resume formats: Regular text resume, ATS (can be easily read by a computer) and a visual (infographic) resume. We will focus on the infographic resumes. As with some of the other sites, you can sign in using Facebook, LinkedIn or the standard email address and password. Sign-up is quick and easy. Each section of the infographic resume can be edited. The format is very appealing and editing each section (such as achievements, identity, skills, etc. The quality of the final product depends on how much time you spend in creating your resume. Canva Basically,Canva is a simple, drag-and-drop, design software thats completely online and free to use. This is a great resource to use for your visual resume. It gives you everything you need to easily turn ideas into stunning designs. Create designs for Web or print: blog graphics, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, posters, invitations and so much more. Theyvebeen around for just over 2 years and already have 8.1 million users. Take a look at The Infographic Resume: How to Create a Visual Portfolio that Showcases Your Skills and Lands the Job. This is a book by Hannah Morgan (the founder of careersherpa.net) In my opinion, VisualCV has the edge (by a long shot) on visual resumes. There do not seem to be too many alternatives (at least I could not find many) and the format and tools in VisualCV are superior to the other options. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ Job Search job title, keywords, company, location jobs by

Smart Career Decisions in a Tough Economy - Hallie Crawford

Smart Career Decisions in a Tough Economy Life shrinks and expands in proportion to one’s courage. Anais Nin I belive that this is true. I know that when I am feeling courageous and more confident, I make things happen. I’m more willing to step out of my comfort zone and take a risk to do what I need to do to make a change in my life towards something I want. Career transition takes courage. It’s a change, and change can be scary. There are many things you can do to successfully make smart career decisions manage your career transition. One of the key elements you have to tap into is your courage. We all have it sometimes it’s just buried under disempowering beliefs, negative past experiences or fear of change. Imagine you can move those things aside in your mind, as if you’re moving aside a big brick wall. What do you see on the other side? Where is your courage and how can you tap into it more? Here’s to making it happen! Career Coach P.S. Join me TODAY for Survive the Job Crisis: Creating Career Possibilities for Yourself in Three Short Steps at 12 noon ET. In this FREE teleclass, find out live the 3 things you need to do right now in order to survive the job crisis. Learn how to handle whatever career transition you are currently facing.

Using Examples For Resume Writing

Using Examples For Resume WritingWhen it comes to using samples for resume writing, there are a few guidelines that should be kept in mind. While having a sample is an important tool for every writer, it can also be used as a crutch that will not help you get anything good out of your resume.The first rule is that the samples should never be too long. If you are looking to include a few of them on your resume, make sure that they do not go on for more than two pages. You will only end up taking up too much space, which can be used for other things.Make sure that you use samples that are not already used by others. The reason for this is because resumes are meant to give a glimpse of what you have done in the past. It should not be boring or make it look like you have had lots of experience, as this will make you look unprofessional. The sample should instead include how the person looked when they were hired and what they did for the company before they were hired.The second rule to remember is that you should also take care of the details of the sample as well. In addition to the samples that you use, try to find one that has some of the basic elements that are needed for your resume. For example, you should not use the same template for both the resume and cover letter. Also, it is crucial that you should ensure that the samples are easy to read, so you may as well see how they will appear in your resume.Finally, make sure that you can actually follow the examples that you are using. Some people use a pen to write something down, while some prefer to type out the information. Take into consideration that you can relate to a certain sample if you use the same methods that were used for it.The idea behind using samples for resume writing is that you can relate to a sample as well as an actual person who is a professional. That is why you need to consider the way in which you will write and express yourself as you go along, to ensure that you can find the best m ethods.In addition to that, you also want to make sure that the samples that you use for your resume will look great when they are being printed out. As a matter of fact, if you are using professional samples, it is highly recommended that you use a black ink pen to do the writing instead of a fountain pen.

What Your Boss Wants You to Know

What Your Boss Wants You to Know Most of us have a boss. It would be great to know what was really going on inside his or her head, but sadly, the technology doesn’t yet exist. However, after talking to bosses from my past jobs, I have discovered 10 commonalities that they would like you to know. Follow this advice, and you could give a well-earned boost to your career. 1. A Positive Attitude Is Really Important Bosses don’t expect their employees to be perfect shining rays of light, and happy every second of every day. In fact, that may actually get very irritating, or give the impression that you just don’t care. However, being difficult, constantly complaining, nay-saying, gossiping, and generally being a grumpy curmudgeon is not going to be tolerated for long, regardless of the skills you have. Some people may say “His attitude stinks, but his work is incredible,” and while that may be true, it won’t keep that guy employed forever. What’s at stake here is greater than one person. Team morale suffers, the boss has to give more grease to the squeaky wheel, and it becomes more of a hassle than the employee is worth. Less talented, but more positive, individuals will outlast highly skilled killjoys. 2. Take the Initiative More Often A good employee will do what is asked of him or her in a timely manner, and they’ll do it well. A great employee won’t wait to be asked, and will instead initiate the projects or create new ways to drive business. A boss has a lot of work to do, and when an employee steps up with a solution to a problem, rather than being asked to look into it, it’s an absolute delight to a boss. It shows you care about the job, and the company, and are thinking about ways to improve it on your own time. If you have ideas that you think would improve business, do not be afraid to take 10 minutes out of the boss’s schedule to discuss them. Even if the idea isn’t feasible, you will get props for the effort. 3. The Boss Is Not the Enemy It’s something regularly portrayed on TV and in the movies. The boss is the one everyone else can’t stand. It’s the boss who stops the fun, who demands you work late, or come in early, and it’s the boss who has to deliver bad news. Well, the boss doesn’t relish doing any of those things. There is so much going on behind the scenes that employees don’t, and shouldn’t, know about. From revenue issues, to staffing, and even stock prices â€" the boss has much more to deal with than you’d think, and it’s hard work. But at the end of the day, the boss wants the company to do well, and therefore, wants you to do well. You won’t always agree with the decisions, but that doesn’t mean they were made to annoy you, or keep you from succeeding. And remember, many times your boss has a boss, who also has a boss. This all trickles down. Read More: What’s an employee to do? Part 2 4. Asking for Help Is Not a Sign of Weakness There’s a great Seinfeld episode called “The Bottle Deposit” which features George being given a very important task to do. The boss thinks George has followed him into the bathroom, and briefs him there. When George comes in at the end, he’s missed the entire briefing, but his boss thinks he’s heard it all. The simple solution is to approach the boss and say, “I actually didn’t hear that. Could you please brief me on it again?” But that wouldn’t be funny in a sitcom. In real life, however, asking for help, or clarification, is a perfectly normal and accepted part of the job. In fact, by asking for help, you’re showing that you care enough about the project to make sure it gets done correctly. Now, if you ask for help constantly, and cannot grasp the notion of the project after three or four explanations, that’s not so good. You also don’t want to be seen as offloading all your projects onto other people. But in general, if you have a question, ask it. Your boss will be happy to give you the best answer they can. 5. Promotions Have to Be Earned You may have been at the company five years, and never had a promotion. And yet, someone down the hall has had two promotions in just four years. This isn’t fair, right? Well, most of the time, it is. True, sometimes there is favoritism involved, and in those cases, there is very little you can do about it. Bosses promote their friends, it’s a fact of life. However, most of the time, those promotions were earned by a go-getter who showed initiative and really went the extra mile. In fact, a promotion is usually given to someone who has been doing that job for months, or even years. Show that you can do it, and you’ll get it… and the raise. 6. You Can’t Expect Special Treatment You may make the boss laugh more than anyone else. You may go golfing with him or her on a weekend. You may even be related. But you cannot expect that to have an impact on your job. You shouldn’t expect a raise because you bring the boss homemade cookies every week. You shouldn’t expect to work special hours, or telecommute, just because you’re charming. Remember, if the boss lets you have something, then pretty soon everyone on the staff will hear about it, and want the same. Now, if you do something that earns you special treatment, like working overtime for three weeks without pay, then that’s different. In that instance, it’s fine to ask for some free time off to recuperate. Read More: Flashback Friday: 62 Ways Introverts Tend to Win at Life 7. Don’t Bring Problems Without Solutions The boss has to know about problems. However, simply telling the boss something is wrong, without offering any kind of assistance or solution, is just lazy. If you don’t have the expertise to address the problem, talk to someone who does, and find out what can be done to address that problem. Do it in a timely manner, and then bring both the problem and possible solutions to the boss. Now, you have not made his or her day worse by being the bearer of bad news. Instead, you have flagged a problem, but offered a fix. This is more appreciated by a boss than you could know, and it will be reflected in your next review. You are proactive, and that’s something worth rewarding; either with more responsibility, and/or a promotion. 8. Criticism Is Not Personal It seems that as the years go by, employees get more and more sensitive to criticism of any kind. Perhaps the entitlement culture is to blame, and parents who shelter their children all the way to adulthood. But whatever the reason, a boss should be able to critique your work and your ideas without you feeling attacked or hurt. Constructive criticism is how we all learn to grow in our roles, and advance in our careers. Some industries, such as advertising and marketing, cannot survive without tough feedback. Creative people have to learn to grow a thick skin, as they are told all 10 concepts for a pitch are awful. But the same should apply across the board. Whatever industry you’re in, a critique of your work is not an attack on you as a person, and you should not take it personally. Brush it off, and learn from it. 9. Think Beyond Your Own Role It’s very easy to work in a silo, and focus on your own tasks and responsibilities. But a great employee will consider the whole business, not just one department or project. For instance, asking for an injection of capital to fund a project can have all kinds of implications. It’s possible that money is tied up in another project or initiative, and that would have to be cut to fund your project. Is your project best for the company as a whole? Are you using funds in the best possible way? Some people treat the company’s money like Monopoly money, spending because it’s easy. However, if you spend the company’s money as if it were your own, you’d find ways to save, or make better deals. Read More: 10 Depressing Jobs That Aren’t Worth the Money 10. You Don’t Have to Agree With Everything Good bosses hire people who are ready to challenge the status quo â€" if they bring better ideas to the table, and go about it in a respectful way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having the dissenting opinion, and your boss will actually think more of you for bringing up the topic. Someone who says yes to every single idea their boss has is not only seen as irritating, but also lazy. It takes work, and bravery, to speak up about an idea that’s different. But it also shows you’re thinking, and most importantly, that you care. While a boss has every right to shoot down those ideas, or overrule you, they are not going to think negatively of you if you show genuine passion for a different idea. Of course, saying no to every idea, that’s a whole different story.

How to Describe Yourself In an Interview - Your Career Intel

How to Describe Yourself In an Interview - Your Career IntelIts alfruchtwein always the first question How would you describe yourself? You must know that this dreaded einstellungsgesprch question is coming, and you have to be prepared to answer it well. Let us help you come up with the words to describe yourself in an interview.To start, know that this question often is asked just to see how you handle yourself. Do you look confident? Will you speak eloquently about yourself? Are you prepared for this interview? Its an icebreaker question, but it can also make or break a first impression.Your answer to the describe yourself interview question should focus on what interests your interviewer the most they do not need to hear anecdotes about your personal life or hobbies. Concentrate on describing yourself in terms of career and accomplishments. Start with a descriptive sentence and follow with some of your most recent, important and relevant professional experience. An exampleIm a de adline-oriented self-starter who thinks creatively to come up with solutions for my clients. I have 10 years of experience in sales at Fortune 500 companies, such as X, Y and Z, and would bring best practices, decisiveness and leadership expertise to this company.Your response should be no longer than two sentences. Keep it short, descriptive and interesting. Cant memorize two sentences? One will do just fine. ExampleI am enthusiastic employee who loves my profession and has enough of motivation for both myself and my department.Practice saying it in the mirror. It might feel goofy, but you can also adjust your nonverbal communication shoulders straight, head up, good eye contact, smile Youve just aced your first interview test.

3 Ways You Can Use The Scientific Approach to Build Your Boardroom Presence

3 Ways You Can Use The Scientific Approach to Build Your Boardroom Presence Tried and true geschftsleben practices often prevail in the boardroom, but adopting a scientific mindset can yield new results for anyone facing business setbacks. With a doctorate in Chemical Engineering and five years of experience leading sensor research for a multi-million-dollar scientific instrument company, Ive come to learn that science is more than just beakers and test tubes its a culture fostering curiosity and analytical decision-making.A six-step process that has been used by scientists for centuries, the scientific method is the tried-and-true way of thinking that scientists use to observe the world around us and answer questions. But in addition to helping us better grasp ideas in fields like chemistry, biology and physics, the methodology and mindset of scientists can benefit individuals at a c-suite level. I know this because I have moved on to recreate myself as an entrepreneur by founding Big Frog Custom T-Shirts and More, a nationally franchised business with more than 100 locations across the United States.While running a boardroom is very different from running a research department, the skills I learned as a scientist have been invaluable to my gruppe and their growth. Here are three practices used by scientists that business owners can apply to their own work1. Approach everything with curiosity.The scientific method involves three steps prior to executing any experiment making an observation, identifying a problem, and creating a hypothesis. These three steps are crucial to the initiation of any scientific endeavor because they force scientists to utilize theories and other scientific discoveries from prior experimentation. For example, before conducting a research experiment on detection of toxins in water our team looked into past research on air-borne analyses. This practice encouraged our team to forego our own biases while taking the work of colleagues int o consideration.This practice translates incredibly well into the business world because just like with scientists, it forgoes the perceived judgement of others in favor of data-driven decision making. Whether youre a c-suite exec for a nationally franchised business or an up-and-coming start-up owner, identify the successes and shortcomings of your colleagues and competitors and apply them to your own hypotheses. A smart entrepreneur will be able to build upon past findings for their own business to grow it to success.2. Be comfortable with failure.Learning from setbacks is a natural occurrence in scientific experimentation, even the scientific legends like Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin were familiar with failure.After experimentation, the next steps in the scientific method asks researchers if their hypothesis was proved true or false, and why their hypothesis resulted as such. An experiment that results in a hypothesis being proven false may be perceived as a failure but actu ally has as much value to the scientific community as if it were proven true. These moments allow researchers to understand factors they would have never considered before, and improve their experiment for continued research.Business owners should learn to apply this mindset into their own work because both practices require the ability to solve problems that involve uncertainty. When business owners apply a growth mindset into their own work ethic, they can pinpoint where exactly in their process needs to be adjusted, and make changes to help propel their business past their failure and towards new heights. As we say around the office, if youre not making mistakes, youre not learning.3. Seek the insight of your peers.From identifying a problem to reaching ones conclusion, every step that a scientist takes in their experimentation is recorded in thorough detail. This is because science encourages colleagues to share their findings with one another, either through peer reviewed journ als, lectures, or mainstreamed publications. By doing this, scientists have the ability to learn from one another, and improve their own methodologies.Furthermore, scientific experimentation is often a group effort that allows experts to shine in their own right. For example, as an engineer studying molecular structures, I would frequently collaborate with biochemists or physicists. This type of cross collaboration allowed me to learn from experts outside of my field and work towards discoveries that I would not be able to accomplish alone.Today, being an entrepreneur, I find this practice frequently reinforced in my day-to-day work. If I am handed a challenge that is outside of my background, I reach out to teammates more familiar in that subject for advice. Frequent moments like these show an importance for proactively seeking out others, collaborating, and illustrating that you dont have to take on burdens alone. The sum of your team can be more than equal to its parts.The phrase , business is both an art and a science, may be overused, but it remains as valid today as the time it was first coined. When making important business decisions, having that ability to remain analytical unprejudiced and open to new ideas will make you a driving force in your workplace.--Tina Bacon-DeFrece, Ph.D. is the President and Co-Founder ofBig Frog Franchise Group, and is responsible for strategic planning and tactical development for all aspects of the Big Frog Brand. Prior to her foray into franchising, Tina, as a Ph.D. Chemical Engineer, was a research director for a multimillion dollar scientific instrument company. Her responsibilities were to not only develop a full line of optical sensors, but to determine the profitability and marketability of the technologies.

The Key to Successful Berkeley Resume Writing

The Key to Successful Berkeley Resume Writing The work field is a very competitive field where you must compete with various job applicants scores that are competing for the exact position. Every work advertisement has information that assists you to determine what is required for the role, and tells you exactly what you should highlight on your resume. You ought to find specific job opening posted by a parteicular business you would like to submit an application for. Many jobs simply request a resume. When youre tailoring your resume to fit a particular job, make sure that you devote some time identifying the keywords in the work description, including specific abilities or tasks the job requires. Skills-based resumes may also enable you to combine related work and other experience during the skills-based headings. Consequently, job seekers have to understand how to sell their abilities and qualifications with the assistance of their primary advertising document. When more seasoned job seekers wind up doing so, it appears like they might be hiding something like their age or even past experience. While a resume objective tells the reader what you would like to do and why you wish to do it, a summary delivers a fast recap of your career. Whether youre looking for your very first job or seeking to earn a career change, the procedure starts with your resume. For that reason, its vital you take the time before you begin your resume to form a crystal clear and targeted objective. The aim of your resume is to secure you the interview. Its only required to include enough info to catch the eye of possible employers and create enough interest in your skills they are going to want to grant you that interview. Even if your work experience is ideal, a subpar resume could sink your odds of getting a work interview. The majority of the times your prior work experience will be the absolute most significant part the resume, so put it at the top. A simple re sume template is going to be your very best bet. As youre at it, also make certain your resume format is suitable. Define your resume with a suitable expert logo and pick a bold and chic colour or template to be certain you really stick out. Template for resume is a normal layout which can be used for any work position.