work_smart_direct

MAXIMIZING LINKEDIN TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 18:11:06 GMT

MAXIMIZING LINKEDIN TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL

LinkedIn is so much more than professionals looking for jobs. It has evolved into a networking “hub” of sorts. So, we thought it’d be useful to provide a few tips to make sure you’re maximizing LinkedIn to its full potential.

WHY USE IT?

If you’re unfamiliar with LinkedIn or do not yet have an account, getting started is free and easy! We suggest that everyone, regardless of current employment situation, has a LinkedIn account. The reason being is that of its 575 million users and counting, there are 260 million active monthly users. Talk about networking on a larger scale, LinkedIn makes it possible to do so!

With LinkedIn, you can view people’s resumes, work experience, interests, & even see what skill endorsements they have achieved. Now you may be thinking, “why would I want to know this information”, and to that I say, why would you not? This information is incredibly useful for gaining quality contacts, broadening your interests, and even considering a new job or hobby to pursue. Think of it as an online destination with everything you need to showcase your own personal brand, for free.

HOW TO USE IT:

When creating your LinkedIn account, it’s important to focus on the basic looks of your account before diving into all the neat things LinkedIn has to offer. To start, your head shot should have professional quality to it, but by no means needs to be professional. For example, my favorite head shot was taken in my backyard, by my college roommate. If you choose to have a background image, my only advice would be to make it relevant. My background image for LinkedIn is a picture of the city where I work. Simple, yet relevant.

Next, you want to include your current job title. Provide some description to your job, don’t just list it out. Give some highlight points that will make your profile stand out in a search. If you do not currently have a job, this is where you can get creative writing a summary. This summary should answer the question of why someone would want to hire you, want makes you stand out from the competition, or what added value you bring to the table.

A world of networking at your fingertips. Imagine that.

All forms of media, whether social or professional, have one thing in common. First impressions are huge. So, by strengthening the basics of your LinkedIn profile, people will be more inclined to connect with you. You want to connect with people that will benefit your network. Consider connecting with pages & people:

With shared interests.
In the same career.
With significant mutual connections.
Who studied at the same school.
You look up to / admire.
Companies you’re interested in.

KEEP USING IT:

Once you’ve spruced up your LinkedIn profile, don’t just leave it stagnant to sit & rust. If you aren’t stagnant in your career pursuits, that should translate through your LinkedIn profile as well! Maintaining your profile lets others know that you’re “in the know” when it comes to all the business happening around you. Find a time during the day where you spend 10-15 minutes actively engaged on LinkedIn. Devote that time to networking, reading content, and engaging with other professional’s content. You’ll be surprised how much your network can grow!

My last word of LinkedIn advice is if you are “open to opportunities”, keep your profile up to date. As your profile information changes (job, job title, location), your LinkedIn should reflect these changes. And even if you aren’t necessarily looking, keeping your profile up to date will help recruiters find you, and who knows, they may have an opportunity to jump for!

Be sure you’re maximizing LinkedIn to its full potential by applying these tips today! While you’re at it, we’d love for you to connect with us on LinkedIn, and don’t forget to check out our blog for more employment tips.

WRITING AN EFFECTIVE RESUME

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 18:29:06 GMT

WRITING AN EFFECTIVE RESUME

Writing an effective resume can be a daunting task. It can be especially hard when most resumes have a tendency to get tossed around, compared to others, and looked at for mere seconds. So, we made a short summary of what you need to include & exclude in order to write an effective resume.

MAKE IT APPEALING

While there are countless rules (mostly made up), on what a resume should or shouldn’t include, there is one thing that is universal. It needs to catch the recruiter’s eye. A resume might be the only glimpse a company will get of you before an interview. So, it is crucial to make it appealing.

Now the word “appealing” may mean different things to different people. So, let me preface by saying that this is NOT the time to get creative. An appealing resume to a recruiter means that it does not contain twenty different fonts, unnecessary graphics, or is spaced out in an illogical way. No need to panic, there are plenty of free & easy resources to use which have customizable resume templates already made. My personal favorite is Canva .

I like resumes that stand out. Resumes are a first impression and a great way to brand yourself. I clearly remember certain resumes based on their formatting.

– Natalie Spray, Professional Recruiter

MAKE IT ORGANIZED

A resume paints a picture of you. It shows an employer what you’ve accomplished or perhaps, what you’ve lacked to accomplish. It’s probably a telltale sign to a recruiter that if your resume is disorganized, you are too. Therefore, it is vital to make sure everything is neatly in its place.

It is not uncommon for a recruiter to sift through hundreds of resumes in a day. So, making sure your resume sticks out as easy to read and gain information from is very important. One simple way to do this is to clean up and detail your job responsibilities section. Recruiter’s oftentimes look for keywords in a resume through sourcing databases. If the information is not found, the resume will most likely be overlooked. Here is a great resource for verbs to use to spice up your resume.

Be sure you write it right though.

Forget organization though, your resume may be disregarded completely if it contains typos, poor grammar, and exceeds two pages. This is obvious, but one typo is all it takes for your resume to end up in the trash. If you happen to find yourself with a rather lengthy resume, remember that including only your relevant employment history is the most important. Likewise, not every job you’ve ever held is resume worthy material.

MAKE IT LOGICAL

Like most things, your resume’s information should be listed in terms of most important to least important. It doesn’t make sense to list that you excel in time management directly below your name. Instead, list the vitals. Name, contact information, objective, education, and job experience is all top priority information a recruiter is seeking.

If you are sending a resume in response to a job posting, make sure that it reflects the skills and experience relative to the position posted. Similarly, your objective statement needs to clearly state the purpose of the resume and should be revised to reflect a job posting.

Although showcasing your college involvement in intramural Frisbee is awesome, this type of information should never be the focal point of your resume. It is rather meant to enhance your resume, not steal precious space from your work experience section. Depending on how much relevant work experience you have will determine how much space you can use to list extras in your resume (awards, achievements, volunteer work, softskills, etc).

Applying these tips & tricks can make writing an effective resume much more feasible. Don’t forget to check out our blog for more employment tips.

TIPS TO ACE YOUR PHONE INTERVIEW

Wed, 17 Jul 2019 18:40:31 GMT

TIPS TO ACE YOUR PHONE INTERVIEW

Receiving a phone interview is like making the first cut in dodge ball – you’re excited you made it but know you can just as easily get out in the second round. In other words, phone interviews can be scary, but they don’t have to be. So, we put together a list of the most crucial phone interview tips to help you ace the call and get that second interview.

BE PREPARED

Okay, this is obvious, but I’m not just talking about practicing answering the phone with your most put together “hello”. I’m referring to being prepared in ways like:

Making sure your voicemail (If they have to leave one) is professional & has room for messages.
Knowing who you might receive a phone call from if you’ve applied to multiple places.
Preparing questions & answers.
Having your resume in sight and available at all times.

A good rule of thumb is to prepare for a phone interview just as much as you would for an in person interview. So, making sure you have taken the necessary steps before the phone call is crucial.

PROPER ETIQUETTE

While you may not be face to face in a phone interview, it is still crucial to practice proper etiquette. Here are some simple ways to practice proper phone etiquette:

Make sure you’ve let others know about the call so they can be on their best behavior as well.
Remove / put away all distractions (laptop, kids, pets, music, etc.)
Make sure your phone is charged.
Answer with your name, i.e, “Hello, this is ____” so the interviewer immediately knows they’ve reached the right person.
Avoid the habit of multitasking.

She definitely looks prepared to ace this call!

A phone interviewer should be treated with the same respect as an in person interviewer. So, no surfing the web, making your bed, or doing your makeup while on a phone interview. This is not the time to be planning what’s for dinner or when you’re finally going to clean the bathroom. This is the time to put all your energy into marketing yourself the best you can through a phone call.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Phone interviews can take some serious stress out of an interview, but they can also add an extra challenge since nonverbal communication is no longer an option.

We suggest sitting down at a desk or table with your notebook, company notes, and resume in front of you. Another great tip is to simply smile while talking. It’s no surprise that when you smile, your entire demeanor, including your voice, changes in a positive way. Looking into a mirror while talking can actually help remind you to do this. Additionally, if you have a scheduled time for your phone interview, some suggest dressing professionally for the call. This will encourage professionalism during the call and could improve your chances of making a lasting impression. Then again, one of the great things about phone interviews is that you can be in the comfort of your pajamas if you’d like!

Lastly, make the call worth the interviewers time. You have no clue how many calls this interviewer may make in one day. Therefore, doing your best to communicate an appreciative attitude for the interviewer’s time, no matter how well or poorly the call went, is a must.

We hope these tips were useful & help you ace your phone interview! For more employment tips, check out our blog .

WHY USE A RECRUITER TO FIND A JOB

Wed, 10 Jul 2019 19:07:44 GMT

WHY USE A RECRUITER TO FIND A JOB

There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to recruitment, leaving quite a mystery for those who are undecided as to if they should utilize this industry or not.

So, we decided to tackle some of the presumptions and frequently asked questions surrounding the big wide world of recruiting in hopes of providing a better understanding of what recruiters do and how they can benefit your job search.

WHAT THEY DO

Before we dive into all the great ways a recruiter can help your job search, it’s important to understand what they do in the first place. So, If you’re into sports at all, you’re probably familiar with the whole idea of recruiting talent for a team. Coaches will hype their players up to recruiters in hopes they get a shot at a collegiate or professional sports career.

Likewise, recruiters for the more business realm of careers (also referred to as contingency recruiting) operate in the same way. They’re essentially your (the job seeker’s) hype man/woman for a potential employer. While doing most of the nitty gritty work for you, they are also coaching you through the process on what you can do on your end to improve your chances of success.

In addition, they supply you with insider info, what to prepare for, and even help you through the negotiation process so that you don’t get manipulated by the corporate food chain. Not to mention recruiters have the resources to get your resume in front of the right people, put in a good word for you, and act as a built-in sales person.

WHY USE THEM

If you’re potentially going after a job in a larger organization, you’re going to get lost in the shuffle. It’s a known fact that resumes are hardly ever returned to the correct person, especially in large businesses. Using a recruiter is like buying insurance on your resume. You know that during the delivery it could potentially get damaged, lost, or even thrown out. No need to stress, using a recruiter increases the likelihood of your resume getting to the right person on time.

Job search led me here, now what?

Recruiters also qualify you for the job, letting you know if you would be a good fit and if you even meet the requirements of the job before wasting any time. This is a much quicker, more efficient process compared to doing it solo.

A lot of recruiters also work within a niche, making them experts in the field in which they are placing candidates who may possess a very specific set of skills. Additionally, they have already jumped through the hoops with employers and know exactly what they are & aren’t looking for. As a result, this paves the way to you succeeding with less push back, making it a win win.

NOT CONVINCED?

If you’re still unsure about the whole recruitment thing, that’s OK. However, think about it this way; recruiters invest into your success because it directly affects their success. Majority of recruiters only get paid once you get placed, so the incentive for them to help you is huge.

How would you feel knowing someone is literally fighting for you to get a job? I think it’s a pretty cool concept if I do say so myself. If you’re still feeling a little iffy, you may want to consider your network. Using a recruiter means you can network on a much larger scale and you stay in that recruiter’s database. This means that you will potentially have access to more job opportunities down the road.

Want to know more about how WorkSmart Direct recruits? Visit our website for more info. While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out our blog for all things employment related.

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T APPLY FOR EVERY JOB

Mon, 01 Jul 2019 19:23:33 GMT

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T APPLY FOR EVERY JOB

We looked at the pros & cons of blanket applying, and well, there were only cons.

So, we compiled a list of why you shouldn’t apply for every job in order to find out why HR, employers, and recruiters all loathe this application fallacy and reveal how it’s actually harming your job search.

KNOW WHAT YOU APPLY FOR

We get it, you’re in the “desperately searching for job” mode and you might as well get your resume out everywhere, right? NEGATIVE. Sure, on some job boards you can apply for everything, but do we advise it? Absolutely not. The reason being is that once you start applying for any and every job out there, the tendency is to forget what exactly you applied for to begin with.

Another rookie mistake is to apply for the same job multiple times because, “forgetful Fred” just can’t seem to remember if he already applied or not. Just know that a recruiter will notice and may think that Fred is not using discretion when applying. Therefore, automatically raising a red flag with recruiters and consequently discrediting him for a job lead. Sorry Fred.

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT IN A JOB

When it comes to your desired job or career, it’s time to do some serious soul searching to find out what you’re really looking for.

We suggest making a proverbial “bucket list” of non negotiable elements that you want in your job. Things like company size, structure, and growth potential are all great keywords to use in starting your search. Utilizing these components to help you find the right jobs to apply for can additionally help you avoid under or over selling your abilities and skills.

Keep in mind you may need to revisit your bucket list and adjust it to make sure your expectations and goals are realistic with your job eligibility.

“This guy must not remember he has applied three times already.”

KNOW WHAT YOU CAN APPLY FOR

I cannot stress the vital importance of READING THE JOB DESCRIPTION enough. Alright, I’ll stop yelling. But seriously, the amount of applicants whose qualifications aren’t even in the same realm as the job description is absurd.

Job description requires a chemical engineering degree and you have a high school diploma? It’s safe to say you’re not qualified and shouldn’t apply. This type of behavior makes it seem like you are ignorant since you applied for a job you simply cannot work, you don’t know how to read instructions, and you don’t even value your own job search. These are all flashing red flags to recruiters and leave horrible impressions.

Word to the wise; focus on what is obtainable. Make a list of every job you apply for and keep the job description and company on file so that when you do get that important call, you won’t sound like a fool.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Of course, we can’t actually make you stop the horrendous habit of applying to every job. We just hope that we’ve given you enough information to help you steer clear from every “apply now” button you see.

Now go get your name out there! Promote yourself! Concentrate on what you actually want & can do in a job & go after what is attainable. The end of your job search could be just around the corner. Just don’t apply to every job along the way. Seriously, we mean it.

For more more job tips, check out our blog .

TOP 5 SOFT SKILLS EMPLOYERS WANT IN 2019

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 19:35:09 GMT

TOP 5 SOFT SKILLS EMPLOYERS WANT IN 2019

Soft skills can pave the way to your future success, and a lack of them can do quite the opposite. So, we made a list of the hottest soft skills employers & interviewers are looking for in 2019.

CREATIVITY

Employers are constantly looking for new ideas and perspectives for every aspect involving their business. They want new, creative ways to problem solve and address issues with fresh approaches and viewpoints.

Not a creative bone in your body? No worries, use your resources (the internet is your friend, folks) and devote some time into searching for new angles and broader perspectives that may help you get out of your ordinary mindset and get those creative juices flowing!

COMMUNICATION

This should be no surprise, I mean communication is key, right? Although in this day and age we are more glued to our devices than ever, making face-to-face, verbal, and written communication skills a rarity, it is still a necessity. I get it, we stutter, fumble our words, make typos, but don’t be that guy or girl who is characterized by these bad habits. Communication is the foundation of how others perceive you, and a lack of these skills can result in a negative or unprofessional perception of you, your boss, and even the company you work for.

Don’t worry, you won’t need to enroll into an advanced grammar class or retake Eng 101 to improve your communication skills. YouTube is actually a great resource for public speaking workshops and videos. Better yet, just practice! Don’t let fear or insecurity keep you from boosting your performance or decrease your chances of building work relationships just because communicating may not be your strong suit.

Just look at that creative communication!

TIME MANAGEMENT

This is another no brainer. Odds are you’ve most likely heard the “manage your time wisely” speech at some point in time. This is an incredibly valuable skill but can take some serious discipline if you struggle with procrastination.

One thing that can be a vital resource for you is to schedule your day. Yep, that’s right. Schedule everything you know you have to do for that day, and see how it goes! It may be rough at first, but it’s extremely important for employers to see that you can prioritize, delegate, and manage multiple tasks at once. This aids in becoming a more productive, efficient worker who can successfully make and reach goals, which is a HUGE plus to employers.

TEAMWORK

It really does make the dream work. Although some jobs may not require you to work in a team or collaborative atmosphere at all, this skill is useful in any job. Success is hardly ever reliant on just one person, which makes teamwork vital in any workplace and why employers look for this skill in potential candidates. It also creates a positive work culture, boosts morale, and increases the quality of work created.

Demonstrate this skill by simply letting others know you’re available and willing to lend a hand. Just don’t wait until someone asks you for help. Be aware enough to know when someone may need another set of eyes or ears because (que high school musical song) we’re all in this together!

LEADERSHIP

Now I’m not talking about the standing from a podium, mic in hand, fingers pointing, spit flying, people crying, barking out orders type of leadership. I’m talking about the leading from behind, reaching new goals, and motivating your coworkers type of leadership. There’s a difference folks. Not all leaders have a fancy title by their name either. In fact, a true leader doesn’t need a title to have confidence and a clear vision in order to communicate and display that they are a leader.

Problem solving, creativity, managing time, teamwork, and communicating are all skills that a compelling and effective leader possesses. These qualities are what a convincing leader uses to rally a group of people for a unified goal, mission, or vision. Don’t think you’re leadership material quite yet? That’s ok, because every good leader must be good at being led as well. Being teachable, willing to learn, and grow your confidence in all of these skills is the first step to becoming not just a leader, but a really great one. Until you learn how to follow well, you’ll never know how to lead well.

It’s never to late to start developing new Soft Skills! For more employment tips, check out the content on our blog !