Market Mismatch Are You Recruiting for the Wrong Agency

Market Mismatch Are You Recruiting for the Wrong Agency Its amazing how much agency recruiters know about what it takes to succeed in the industry they  specialise in. Day in, day out, recruiters partner with the  powers that be at organisations in their specific sector, getting under the skin of their hiring needs. They are the ones who know where the best candidates are working, what the most prestigious projects are and the best way to carve out a successful career in the field. The great agency recruiters are always abreast of big industry news and are often the first to hear of recruitment plans and labour demand as a result of such. They spend each day interviewing and coaching candidates, who are experts in their field.  They read through role description after role description, and will sponge up endless amounts of knowledge about the types of roles they recruit for. Given how much time is spent investing into said particular sector (on top of mastering their own art of recruiting), agency consultants MUST  choose their specialism wisely! Couldnt care less about yours? Perhaps its time to switch it up. Resentment: recruitment or the roles? If  quite often you find yourself resenting parts of the  job youve always loved, it might be time to take a step back and work out what the real issue is. Instead of getting frustrated with your clients and candidates and coming to the conclusion that a career as an agency recruitment consultant  is no longer for you, ask yourself this: Am I interested in anything my clients or candidates have to say about the industry they work in? Do the roles I recruit for sound boring to me? If the answer to  either of these questions is yes, perhaps its worth moving into a new market. Your annoyance with your job could be due  to the fact youre bored with the types of roles youre recruiting for! Relate  not alienate Moving to a new market (that actually interests you) is likely to reignite your drive as a recruiter. Youre likely to find you relate better with clients and candidates  who you have some  common  ground with and share  interests with. If you are in a market where you dont fully understand what youre talking about, what your candidates are talking about and what your clients really want, youre likely to feel constantly alienated. Recruiters arent supposed to be able to personally carry out the roles being recruited, but you are supposed to be  a specialist who gets your chosen  market! Knowledge is power Being interested in something means youll have a natural inclination to understand the subject matter. Your non-forced curiosity will lead you to ask more questions of your hiring managers and candidates, and their answers are  more likely to  make sense to you. Knowledge is power the more you know and understand, the more comfortably and genuinely youll be able to sell positions  to candidates and your specialisms to clients. From daily chore to wanting more Further to my last point, if you are interested in retail,  hospitality and customer service, keeping up to date on this type of industry news as a recruiter in that market wont be a bore, but something you naturally want to learn more about. However, if you loathe this industry, recruiting inside it will feel like a chore and you wont have any interest in keeping up to date with relevant news, nor talking to candidates about their day to day tasks and longer term career goals. Passionate pursuits Specialising in an industry that interests you  will make you  more passionate about your work. Your energy levels will be noted i every conversation you have; clients will start to respect you for your thorough, consultative approach to recruitment, blowing other generalists out of the water when it comes to commitment and depth of grasp on the sector. Your business will feel the positive effects of referrals and recommendations, through word of mouth.

3 Things Wannabe Writers Should Know About SEO - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

3 Things Wannabe Writers Should Know About SEO - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career As a wannabe writer or blogger, you may have heard the term “SEO” be bandied about without really knowing what it means. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization â€" essentially, making search engines display your web page high up on their rankings. Google (we could talk about other search engines, but let’s be honest, how many Bing users do you know?) figures out how to rank websites from a bunch of algorithms. These algorithms -“spiders” if you want to know the jargon- comb through websites looking for how good a match it is to the various search terms web users google. Matches are determined not just by the relevance of the site, but how much authority it has (essentially, how popular it is with other web users). So far, so techy. As a writer, not a coder, you may be wondering why you should care. The reason you should is simple: when web users are searching for something online, less than one in ten of them click beyond the first page. So if you want to get eyeballs on your site, you need to be one of the first things people see when they search for the topic or industry that you’re covering. If you’re something of a technophobe, this intro to SEO may be enough to send you into a full-fledged panic. Relax. Despite the abundance of tech-speak that surrounds it, you don’t need to be the next Mark Zuckerberg to be able to use basic SEO. Just get to grips with the three easy concepts below, and you’re good to go: 1) It’s All About Keywords Keywords are the words or phrases that most accurately and succinctly describe what your site is about â€" the words that people would type into Google to find you. You should have one or two keywords for the site as a whole, as well as one for each article that you publish. With keywords, the trick is to find the balance between something unique enough that you have a chance of getting your website to show up (so not “blog”) but not so niche that nobody will think to search for it. Think carefully about your site keywords now, so you can direct all your effort into getting known for it. The general rule of thumb is to use your focus words as much as possible. For individual article keywords, that means putting it in the title, the page URL, the first paragraph, throughout the article, and the description and alt text of an image (if you don’t know what that means, click here). For the site keywords, the really important place to put them is in backlinks (see below). 2) Backlinks Are Your Best Friend A backlink is any clickable link to your site from an external website. Backlinks work best for SEO purposes when they take the form of anchor texts, which are just those keywords (or key phrases) we mentioned above. Basically, get your keywords hyperlinked by external sites, and you’re all good to go. Wondering how to get other sites to link to your anchor texts? There are several ways, but some are shady and should be avoided. These methods include paying money to someone who is promising you loads of backlinks, and link farms. Google gets pretty irked when people try to subvert its systems, and actively hunts out and penalizes people who use these methods. Unless you’re Ray Kurzweil, you’re not going to beat Google at the SEO game, so don’t try to. Instead, focus on the good ways to get backlinks. This means (1) create such awesome content that other people love it and want to share it online, and (2) guest posting. Guest posting is when you write an article to be published on another site than your own, and it’s a great way to get your name out there, build your professional network and get the sort of exposure you can’t get on your own site. Lots of websites, including such stalwarts as the Huffington Post and the New York Times, accept guest content. The deal on your end is that you have to create readable, unique and exciting pieces for them; pieces that their readers would want to read. When it comes to getting the best backlinks possible, the trick is to go for ‘high authority’ sites. High authority sites are ones with loads of traffic and popularity. You can find out how good a site is by downloading something called the Mozbar and looking at the number in the right-hand corner, which ranks out of 100. The higher the number, the more powerful a backlink from that site will be. 3) Make It Readable For Robots AND Humans Put simply, SEO is basically about making a computer program think your articles are awesome. But until you see robots flicking through Shakespeare or Tolstoy on their lunch breaks, you’ll need to make sure your content is enjoyable to human readers too. That means not overusing your keywords, and putting effort into making your content engaging and unique. Google likes blogs that post frequently (i.e. more than once a week) but that doesn’t mean you should churn out sub-par articles, and definitely doesn’t mean you should post repeat content (Google can tell). When thinking about word count, 500-1000 words is a length that appeals to both human and robot readers, and keeping your title under 66 characters is not only a good nudge to create the sort of snappy, engaging titles people love but will also stop it being cropped in search engine results. Finally, remember that these days people access the internet in all sorts of different ways. Google knows that people care a lot about getting good quality content from their smartphone, tablet, and laptop, and will prioritize sites that are optimized for all devices. Check how your site works on different electronics: a good website will always load quickly, not suck up data, and be readable and easily navigable even on a small screen. Beth Leslie is a career and lifestyle writer. She is also the editor of the Inspiring Interns blog, which gives graduate careers advice to career starters.

Figuring Out the Female Boss Two Key Steps

Figuring Out the Female Boss Two Key Steps A bad boss can make the workplace miserable. And sometimes this person is a woman. Given how much time people spend in this office, life itself can become wretched. You start to feel angry, humiliated, anxious, and depressed. You tell your coworkers just how bad this supervisor is, how she treats you, how she makes you feel. She really is a “jerk,” you claim, “a b**ch” you all agree.   You consider doing something about it but take no steps. You hope that she stops acting this way and that everything can just get better on its own. But of course she doesn’t stop. She keeps yelling at you, keeping you late, making you redo reports. She criticizes your work, and  criticizes you. You start to realize change is unlikely. You try to do everything you can do to avoid a blowout, but nothing works. Your job becomes a prison where each day is spent thinking about how much you hate your boss â€" feeling terrible and without any results.   Dreading each interaction… There are two steps on the path forward. Both may seem difficult but are surprisingly simple: 1. Acknowledge   Acknowledge what you might be bringing to the table and why your boss’ behavior bothers you so much. Because even if you have found solace in group gossip about your manager, chances are there are some reasons why you are so personally frustrated by this person. Does she remind you of someone else in life? Can you absolutely not tolerate criticism?   What is it about you that makes her seem so bad?   As intolerable as she seems, and as little as you want to do this, you may be surprised at what answers arise. 2. Empathize. The complementary approach â€" one that can be incredibly hard to come to terms with â€" is to empathize with your boss. Why on earth would we suggest finding an empathic spot for this person when it’s quite literally the last thing you want to do? Because if you must find a way to get along, you’ll need to take the long view and try to understand why she acts in this particular way. In allowing yourself to empathize with your boss, you also give space for some of the negativity to fade away. In understanding her and yourself, a desire to learn and to grow can start to replace the bottled up disdain spilling into every part of your day. We’ve consulted with a number of employees over the years who have had significant problems working for female bosses. Most were women, though some were also men. In all situations, we asked the workers to ask why they seemed to be so rattled by women in positions of authority. Why do they feel so minimized and humiliated when, for example, they were scolded or criticized? These are all issues that an employee brings to the table and must evaluate. Perhaps the same boss wouldn’t bother another colleague quite as much. We try to help people understand that it’s their responsibilities to look inward for answers to these questions. At the same time, consulting employees often find themselves wondering whether the women who achieve high rank are in some way meaner or more difficult. And why they would act this way toward them when, as fellow women, they should presumably want to support one another. So we ask them to empathize and think about what is driving her boss to be so dismissive of her feelings. What does she know about her? What is the office like for her boss and what was her path to promotion?   Whats in this story might have caused her to behave so distastefully? Most importantly, we try to frame what internal struggles the boss might be dealing with that cause her behavior. Perhaps a micromanaging boss is so incredibly afraid of losing control that she needs to discipline everyone around her to feel more secure. Maybe her whole life has spent trying to be “perfect” in order to please others and she takes these insecurities out on those around her. Perhaps a seemingly arrogant boss only flies off the handle when she herself feels exposed or humiliated. She is afraid the world might discover that her big job is just a mask covering her cripplingly low self-esteem, and she constantly fears discovery of what she feels is her fraudulent, inadequate self. In trying to understand the boss’s underlying anxiety, an employee can interact in ways that help keep the supervisor’s fear at bay: Find little ways to show the boss she’s in control if she needs to be If the boss has fragile self-esteem, show her value by acknowledging her positives when opportunities arise If a disorganized boss can’t finish anything and slows everyone else down, learn to interact with her in bite-sized tasks and complete them one at a time The hardest part is acknowledging our own roles â€" and capabilities â€" in making the workplace more comfortable. In accepting the task of learning about ourselves and our bosses, we can do just that. People want to tell you about themselves and will do so all the time; they want to be heard. Just look and listen with the intent to understand. It works every time. This guest post was authored by  By Dr. Michelle Joy and Dr. Jody Foster Dr. Michelle Joy and Dr. Jody Foster are the authors of The Schmuck in My Office: How to Deal Effectively with Difficult People at Work. For more information, please visit,www.schmuckinmyoffice.com. .Main image credit.  image credit.

So many career choices Dont get overwhelmed, find support. Career Coach JobJenny

So many career choices Dont get overwhelmed, find support. Career Coach JobJenny Today's post is brought to you by guest blogger Jennifer Robertson, an educational psychologist and the owner of Career Navigator, a Portland, Oregon-based consulting firm that specializes in career assessments and coaching. If you're overwhelmed by the choices of jobs out there, she's your gal. Ugh. Monday morning arrives.again. Thats no mindset to start a workweek with, but a few years ago, thats exactly where I was. Waking up and resigning myself to the drudgery that the day would surely offer. A day just like the one before it and most likely, the days to come. The inevitable had happened. I had fallen into a rut. My motivation? It was out the window. Creativity? Enthusiasm? Drive? Gone. l felt a little like a beach ball being tossed about every day by random wind gusts: directionless and not in control. I wasnt running and plotting my career; it was running me. I couldnt even remember what I liked to do, and I certainly didnt know what I should pursue career-wise. Life seemed overwhelming. There were so many options, I was simply paralyzed. I began to suspect I wasnt alone in these feelings. I needed a change, stat. Yet, as much as I wanted to get out there and do something find the right path for me I didnt know where to start. Alas, life routines, obligations, boredom seemed to be blocking my way. As stuck as I felt, I realize now that finally recognizing my dissatisfaction was an epiphany. Boom. Reaching rock bottom in my career was a moment that serendipitously served as the catalyst I needed to make a dramatic change. Once I made that realization and committed to improving my career prospects, the challenge became choosing what path to take. Easier said than done. As wonderful as choices are, I was sobered to face the reality that there are more jobs to choose from than doctor, lawyer or teacher. It sounds obvious, I know, but with a zillion ways to earn a living, how on earth do you decide your path? I decided to tackle the challenge by arming myself with information, and embarked on a journey of discovery.I talked to my school advisor, my parents, my friends even my dog to get information and advice. Some of it really helped (including the dogs input. I decided against lounging around all day, appealing as that is) and I found myself encouraged at the resources available to me. Clearly, I was not the first lost individual looking for guidance. It turns out, there is an amazing support system for career seekers, much of it available at our fingertips, or a phone call away. I found a seemingly endless supply of tools available to help point me in the direction of my career dreams. Personality and skill assessments, interest inventories and career counselors not only helped me to find some cool careers to explore careers that fit my personality and strengths but also hooked me up with some pretty detailed information on those choices. Ive never been a believer in the crystal ball approach, or a fairy godmother that magically waves her little wand and poof, youre in the career of your dreams making gobs of moolah. I do know that its a heck of a lot easier to settle into a job if you know something about the industry. After all, knowledge is power and there is something to be said about having the data you need to know about the career youre about to enter. Once we awake to the enormity of choices that exist out there, it is a small miracle that most of us dont just pull the covers back over our heads and call it a day. Im here to say wake up anyway! My search landed me happily in the world of satisfying employment and I am pleased to report those career ruts are merely a distant speck in my rear view mirror. So get up, get out there, and make a commitment to yourself. Its time to get your career groove on! If youre considering a career move but not sure what you want to be next (nor where to start), check out Jennifer Robertsons Career Navigator. Her company provides career / skills assessments that help job seekers narrow in on career opportunities that align with your core skills and aspirations.

Latest research reveals record low levels for youth happiness - Debut

Latest research reveals record low levels for youth happiness - Debut Methodology A new report claims that more than a quarter of young people do not feel in control of their lives. 28 per cent, in fact. Further, a third of young people (36 per cent) do not feel in control of their job prospects. The Princes Trusts Macquarie Youth Index dives into this and more in their latest report, first launched in 2009. Methodology Over 2,200 16-25 year olds took part in the survey. Participants are asked a variety of questions, including how happy and how confident they are in different areas of their lives. Their responses are then converted into a number between 0 and 100 100 being entirely happy or confident and zero being not at all happy or confident. Results Breakdown Young peoples biggest concerns surround job prospects, work/educational challenges and the potential impact of recent political events. Take a look at the year-on-year breakdown below: [table 4 not found /] Most notably, 2017s happiness index is currently at 69. This is the first time the index has dipped below 70 since its inception. Alarmingly, this is the lowest the youth happiness index has ever been since its inception in 2009. Key Findings Dame Martina Milburn DCVO CBE, chief executive at The Princes Trust said: This report paints a deeply concerning picture of a generation who feel their ability to shape their own future is slipping away from them. Its shocking how many feel desperate about their situation and it is vital that we support them to develop the confidence and coping skills they need to succeed in life. Here are a list of the most shocking statistics: The decline in young peoples mental health and wellbeing is no doubt, a concerning trend. Most interestingly, there is a direct line between recent political events such as Brexit and young peoples view of the future. (No doubt, because young people voted largely in opposition to older generations.) However, Professor Louise Arseneault, fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience from Kings College London sees a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Although its obviously alarming that these concerns play on young minds, its encouraging to see that young people have an interest in actively shaping their own future, she said. Debut writers have their say We asked some of our Debut Student Publisher Network about their opinions on the findings. Beth Hurst  (University of Warwick) I think the recent Brexit vote  confirmed that generations have completely different priorities, and think very differently. The fact it went in a way a lot of young people didnt want really does make you feel hopeless for the future we didnt choose! Natalie Turco-Williams, (University of Kent) I dont think achieving traditional goals are possible because most companies are switching to fixed term contracts. This makes it ridiculously hard to get a mortgage. So by the time youve managed to get a job, chances are you might be in the same position this time next year and be unemployed again. Unless youre on a rolling contract you cant really plan your future. Christine Wong (University of Warwick) In regards to recent political events: yes. I am very anxious about the future. I think this generation is easily the most informed and yet somehow simultaneously the most sheltered in a way. We get our information by all means possible thanks to technological advances but due to the algorithms and social circles that we run in, that information tends towards being limited and biased. However, what is clear to emerge as a whole is that countries all over the world are getting more and more closed-minded. Monique Perks (University of Warwick) I definitely think the pressure is on for young people. More and more of us are living with our parents for longer as what is needed to move out (especially into London) is very hard. I do worry that my standard of living will be worse than my parents but not unachievable. I just think I will need to work incredibly hard to get there. Hear, hear, we say. In the mean time, we here at Debut actively encourage young people to take steps to better their mental health. After all, self-care is the best care. Images via Unsplash Download the Debut app and get Talent-Spotted by amazing graduate employers! Connect with Debut on Facebook and Twitter

Top 5 LinkedIn Career Articles - Jane Jackson Career

Top 5 LinkedIn Career Articles - Jane Jackson Career LinkedIn and top Career ArticlesOver the past couple of years on LinkedIn Pulse I’ve enjoyed reading the thought leadership posted by LinkedIn members. I’ve also gained a wonderful community of followers and am grateful for the opportunity to share my passion on this platform.As we enter 2016, Id like to share a review of my top 5 posts that have resonated with readers and hope that they will continue to inspire those who are in career transition.   Here they are in order of views received:1.  Will You Ever Get Another Job?   (over 200,000 views)2.   Do You Appear Desperate By Following Up? (over 56,000 views)3.   Never Too Old To Be Hired! (over 21,000 views)4.   Why Doesn’t My Resume Get Me an Interview? (over 13,000 views)5.   7 Deadly Sins of Job Hunters (over 11,000 views)Happy reading!Wishing you all a happy, healthy and successful New Year and may 2016 bring us peace and unity around the world.Jane Jackson is a Career Management Coach and Author of Navigating Career Cro ssroads. Discover the 7 essential steps to make a successful career transition and secure your dream job.   To position yourself as an authority in your field, Personal Branding for Career Success guides you each step of the way to project your authentic brand and become an influencer.

Why Should You Use Resume Writing Services in Webster TX?

Why Should You Use Resume Writing Services in Webster TX?You may be wondering what is the purpose of hiring resume writing services in Webster TX. There are many reasons why you might need to do this but the most important thing to keep in mind is that it will improve your chances of getting a job.Let's face it, if you haven't yet created a resume for yourself then you aren't likely to get decent chances for a job. The people who are in this field are usually highly qualified and have done it for a long time. They are looking for work, so it's very hard to find them.Now these writers are looking for work on the Internet also and you can use their skills to land yourself a job. This means that you can sell yourself on the Internet for a lot less than what you would charge in person. In most cases the rates for this kind of work are much cheaper.Another reason to hire these freelance writers is because they are using Social Media and SEO to promote your resume online. What does this me an? Your employer will get a ton of traffic to his resume and you will also get tons of free traffic from your employer. This will help you get plenty of clients because you will have access to someone who is already in contact with lots of people.One last reason to use these services is because employers online have high standards. They want the best candidates possible for the job. When you have one of these writers to help you out, you can rest assured that you will not be overlooked.There are many great places to find these services and some are free while others will charge you a fee. Make sure that you find a place that offers a 100% guarantee that the work they offer you will be able to be delivered. This is important because you need to know that you will be getting the best possible resume for you.There are many great benefits when you use these services. You will have a job and you will also have a chance to build up your resume. It may take a little time and effort but yo u can get more out of it if you have the right resources.You can use these services if you want to but make sure that you make your own resume that is on point. This is also a great way to get referrals from other people because you will have plenty of references to work with.