What is the Point of a Preferred Supplier List (PSL)

What is the Point of a Preferred Supplier List (PSL) Okay, you’ve got me. We operate a PSL (Preferred Supplier List) in our recruitment team. Only we like to say it’s more of an ‘L’ than a PSL, as at the last pass it was starting to resemble a novel by Tolkien. I’m exaggerating of course. Slightly. I believe that a key mistake made by in-house recruitment teams is getting a little too precious and inflexible with their PSL. I’ve come across companies and recruiters that are really keen on them. They have tiers and levels, beauty parades and maximum percentages. Then there are set agencies for particular job types, or worse, one generic agency trying to fill everything. A few benefits: I’m not trying to say that there is no point in having a PSL at all. They can help you reduce your costs, especially if you are currently taking the off the shelf rate. Using one or two suppliers can be really useful if you are in a high turnover environment, or you don’t have the need for specialist skills. A well-functioning PSL should also lead to solid relationships with your recruitment suppliers, plus they develop a good understanding of your business, which should in turn lead to better quality recruitment, time to hire and all the rest. Your suppliers can become an extension of your in-house team and advocates for your employer brand. Finally, it puts some structure around your suppliers, through a regular review procedure. Measurement means that you should be able to easily identify which of your suppliers are not performing and take them off the list. But….. I believe that with effective supplier management you can have a lot of these things without the restriction of a PSL. Do something less structured instead: You still need at the least a process for selecting which agencies you are working with. I’m just more of an advocate of flexibility. The first thing I recommend is having your own set of terms and conditions for agencies drawn up; don’t sign theirs. You determine the rebate period, the candidate ownership period, the SLA’s and anything else that that is important to your business. Follow that with a ways of working document. Be clear to your recruitment suppliers how you want them to work, and be prepared to stop working with them if they don’t stick to it. Set consistent charge rates as much as possible, just to make it easy for yourself. And here comes the flexible bit â€" get anyone you want to use to sign up to it and use them, within reason of course. Why? A few reasons. Firstly, you are giving yourself total flexibility; you haven’t had to trade guaranteed business for cheaper rates. I also believe that PSLs also create tension between the recruitment team and hiring managers. Frankly, they simply don’t care about the same things we recruiters do, they just want their vacancy filled. So if they get a spec call or CV from an agency that just happens to have the perfect candidate, annoying as we might find it, saying that the agency isn’t on the PSL won’t do you any favours. You don’t also have to limit yourself to a set review period â€" measure and review success as you go. And finally, as I have said, with some good supplier management processes you can have all of the benefits of a PSL without the bureaucracy that sometimes comes with them. Maybe it’s a bit much to say work with any agency, and obviously that has to be tempered with a little practicality. Clearly a longer list means more management for your recruitment team. I just don’t believe a strict PSL with an annual review point adds value to your recruitment activity. Simply, you can’t expect just a few to meet your every need. You will either have to stick with it rigidly and annoy your hiring managers or go off script and work with other agencies anyway so why give yourself the headache? We tell everyone that we have a PSL though, usually not being reviewed for at least a year. It cuts down the time of the sales calls. Did I really just publish that? RELATED: Time for a Change in Recruitment Sales?

Need Help With Your Technical Resume? Hire a Technical Resume Writer

Need Help With Your Technical Resume? Hire a Technical Resume WriterWhen you want to write a technical resume, it is important that you hire a technical resume writer who can work with you. The technical resume writing needs to be unique and relevant to the job requirement, which should be based on keywords and phrases in a precise way. A specialist resume writer can help you with this process.A technical resume writer can help you find the right keywords for the job position that you are applying for, according to the company. In fact, you can use these words or phrases to search and find out the keywords, which are appropriate for your application. The writer will find out for you the appropriate keywords that match your personal profile and qualifications.The technical resume writer will then provide the professional writing that your job application needs to look neat and attractive, so that it receives a positive response from the employer. Your application can be finished in le ss than thirty minutes when you work with a professional. That is when you will find out that you hired the right resume writer.You should look for a professional resume writer who is capable of maintaining the credibility of your professional profile. It is vital that you do not hire anyone who does not have any professionalism to write your resume. These resumes need to be handled with care.A technical resume writer will ask for samples of resumes before he will agree to work with you. He will also understand the type of qualifications that you require and also your professional background. If he is asked for the sample, then he will know if you are going to receive quality services. He will tell you exactly what you require.This is the reason why you should search for a technical resume writer, who can give you best and updated technical resumes in an affordable price. Hiring a professional writer can also be worthwhile when it comes to hiring a resume writer because he can ensur e that your technical resume is written properly. He can enhance the effectiveness of your technical resume by providing extra information and examples that are relevant for your job description.The technical resume writer will create the outline for your technical resume, which is already ready to go. The writer will work with you until you find the best combination of keywords and phrases that will work in your career description. Then you can go ahead and get your technical resume prepared.You should expect your technical resume to come with written instructions, which are also written in technical language. You should not worry about your technical resume as the technical writers can take care of all of this for you. A professional can even help you with different job openings, which can be very useful when it comes to finding the right technical resume writer.

Personal Branding Toolkit - Part 3 Resumes - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Toolkit - Part 3 Resumes - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career If youve read my blog for at least a month, youll know that I despise resumes. They are important and the standard documents for recruitment, but they dont do anyone justice. Colleges need to stop passing out standard templates because, lets face it, students are more interested in partying than developing a resume to get a job. Even if their intent is great, the aftermath is thousands upon thousands of students with the same looking resume and similar experience. Well today its time to break resumes down and tell you how to use them for differentiation. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-P2tkpO310] Subscribe to my new video series Personal Branding by the Fireplace ?? Your personal branding toolkit 1) Business cards 2) Portfolios 3) Resumes 4) Cover letters 10 tips for effective resumes 1) Design your brand. Instead of using a standard template, use a branded template. A brand you template! If you have Microsoft Word or another word processing program, then you might notice shapes and colors at the top. If you dont already have a website, blog, business card, etc, then you need to think about what colors you want to use, as well as what type of job youre applying for. In the picture below, a woman is applying to be a Cosmetic Nurse Specialist. At the top of her resume, she has a picture of someone putting cosmetics on a patient. The rest of the resume has shades of pink. The resume comes off as soft and gentle, with the colors, picture and shapes used. To me this is effective. Brand yourself with a resume 2) Dont use your picture. I agree with my friend Chris Russell that pictures cant be on resumes (even though Id love to put mine on it). A personal photo is a distraction. Recruiters give you about 30 seconds to impress them with your experience and you dont want 10 of those seconds to be eyes on your picture do you! Dont come off as someone who is trying to get a job because of your looks. Companies are scared to deal with your picture because of discrimination laws and lawsuits. 3) Links rock. I havent seen many resumes with links EVEN from people that have blogs, social network profiles and other websites. It blows my mind! Why not have a link to your site. If the recruiter likes your resume or has further interest in your credentials, a link acts as a supplemental piece of marketing that will help you sell yourself without saying one word. 4) Experience trumps education. Dont believe for a second that your degree and deans list on your resume is going to get you a job. Recruiters are starting to discount GPA for resumes! Listen, a resume is all about showing recruiters that you have had proven success, eliminating risk on the companies part. In life, experience is everything and if you dont have it, you will leave to lean towards your education. Make a point to put your work experience in the top part of your resume because thats what employers really care about. 5) Show some class. The quality of paper you use shows how serious you are about the position and can be used as a differentiator. Purchase quality paper and print your resume using it because more applicants use standard printer paper. 6) Create the multimedia you. How much information can you really get from a stupid resume? Not much. Ive written about video resumes a lot and believe in them, as long as you are passionate, energetic and have some showmanship. If you plan on videoing yourself sleeping or eating chocolate than you might want to reconsider. 7) Get Linked-In. This is another topic Ive touched on without a dedicated post. LinkedIn is a resume, cover letter and reference list all in one, which makes it exceptional. It is a virtual resume, with the same fields as a typical resume. It is a cover letter because you have space to explain where youre at in your career, what you want to be and summarize your qualifications. It is a reference list because its searchable by recruiters and you can endorse others (managers, peers, etc). 8 ) Grow it. A resume is useless if it shows the brand you from 1938. You need to constantly update it as you grow, finish projects, switch organizations, etc. Always keep it up-to-date so it represents the present brand you. Feel free to grow your resume online as well, by creating a webpage dedicated to it or blending it onto a blog. Ive seen people add social media elements(Facebook, Digg, Flickr, etc) to resumes such as Christopher Penn and Bryan Person, who have sharing features. Think about it this way; if someone finds your resume and has heard of an opening at a different company, they might share it using a social media tool! 9) Summarize it. If I were recruiting someone for a position I wouldnt care about a resume. Id ask for your blog, but for everyone else, I think a summary of your credentials is very very important. At the top of your resume, Id like to see 3-4 sentences that showcases all your top achievements and your career objectives. 10) Customization. Aside from customizing your resume to fit your brand, you need to tailor it to the position your gunning for. The resume below is for a Oracle Certified Professional. Think about it, if you are branded as this type of expert, wont it be clear to recruiters immediately once they see this resume? Aside from this, you should use keywords and experiences that match the position you are trying to fill. Resume tailoring 101

Conquering Uncertainty An Interview with Jonathan Fields - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Conquering Uncertainty An Interview with Jonathan Fields - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Follow your dreams. It’s a nice sentiment in principle, but how many of us actually follow through with it? Far too often, we get tied down with a backup plan and our extravagant dream life fades away in favor of the ‘safer’ alternative. But what does it take to actually make the leap into an uncertain future?  What are the qualities a person needs to be able to approach life in that way? To find out, I recently spoke with  Jonathan Fields, whose job description may need the length of its own post. He began his career as a hedge-fund lawyer, but then left his job (and his rather sizable paycheck) to become a personal trainer. After that, he started his own fitness company and opened one of the largest Yoga studios in Manhattan. Most recently, he has become a renowned author, speaker, and marketing consultant, helping others to achieve the same kind of fulfillment that he has in his life. His new book, Uncertainty, was recently released and explores the qualities necessary for someone to stare into a dark and uncertain future and confidently walk right into it. We discussed the book, his interesting career path, and his recommendations for people who are trying to follow their dreams. You started your career as a highly paid hedge-fund lawyer, but quit to pursue a much less certain path. What allowed you to continue onward when there must have been so much doubt? Well, there were a few major turning points for me. The first being when I decided to stop practicing law, the second when I signed a lease for a yoga studio on September th, 2001. I had to decide in the wake of what had just happened whether or not I was going to continue on, with a wife and a 3 month old baby at home. It’s funny you ask that question because it’s really the genesis of the whole book. I’m someone who has leaned toward entrepreneurship for the better part of my life, but it’s always killed me to a certain extent. There are a lot of people who want to create really cool things. The challenge is taking consistent action when you don’t know what’s coming next, when you are uncertain and when you don’t have all the answers. I think what’s allowed me to be able to do it is that I’ve set up a series of different practices that allow me to reframe scenarios â€" so I can look at them and know that there’s a lot of risk there, but the downside of not pursu ing it in my mind so far outweighs the risk of doing it and potentially succeeding or even failing and recovering. Then it becomes harder and harder to justify not doing it. So when you start to change the questions you ask and you look for different stories to tell â€" rather than the story of “If you fail” it gives you the ability to reframe what you’re doing. Instead of paralyzing you and shutting you down, it opens doors for you and gives you the motivation to take action. And the more action you take, with every step forward, it either proves or disproves what you’re trying to do. But it’s those first steps that are the hardest for people to make. That’s one big thing â€" the ability to reframe questions. The other is a set of personal practices â€" mindfulness being at the core â€" that allows me a baseline level of ‘calm’ and opens up the creative juices in me. So I can go to the place that a lot of people really struggle with. It’s certainly an admirable quality; it seems that it isn’t something that most people are willing to do. But it’s not really a quality. The big difference is that if you want to be an artist, or an accountant, or a lawyer or a doctor, you train in that field. But no one really trains in the fundamental mindset skills that allow you to be good in that field. That was the big question of my book â€" is it something you’re born with, or are there things you can do. One of the discoveries I’ve made is that there are things you can do to make yourself more willing to embrace uncertainty, but no one learns what they are. With the myriad of different activities you have going on, how do you define your brand? Well you’re hitting me at an interesting time right now. For a while, it didn’t bother me to think that I didn’t want to be boxed in and wanted to do a ton of other things. But I’m at a place now where I’m getting less and less satisfied telling people I do ‘everything,’ and not having a 5- word answer to the question, “What are you building?” And I think that the question, “What are you building?” is a much more interesting question. I think that it’s extraordinarily hard to be really good at something when you are dividing your time amongst five or ten different things. We’re really happy, and there is a fair amount of research supporting this, we are happiest as human beings when we are pursuing mastery in something, when we are really trying to become exceptional at a couple of things. So I’m putting a lot of effort in now to scale back and focus on the things that really interest me, and allocate my energies. Writing about things I really care about, speaking, and to a certain extent eliminating the human condition are the things I’m really trying to focus on now. Are you finding that it’s working? Are you more satisfied now than you were before? Yes, but I’m early into that. There are windows in my past where I’ve devoted myself 0% like when I owned the Yoga Center, that’s all I did â€" and you become really good at it and it feels amazing. That can be eternally satisfying. For me as a writer, I write not just because I have a message I want to convey, but because I’m really closely tied to a particular topic. I’m really interested in the craft of writing, in the process of writing, to massage language, and have a real meaning behind it. That is an exploration that will take me my whole lifetime to get half decent at. Along the way I get to touch down in a series of different topic areas that really fascinate me and use them as leverage points to make me a better writer, and that’s a cool challenge for me. When you were first starting out, what were the key elements that helped you to build your brand from scratch? I hesitate to say there are any universal things, but here is what has worked for me. One is not to listen to people who tell you what is or isn’t right for you, or especially who say you can’t do something. People project their limitations on you. Just because they can’t figure out how to do it, they say you can’t. So kick the tires, figure it out for yourself. That’s the first part. The next part is to spend a lot of time really trying to explore what makes you come alive as an individual. Think about the people, cultures, and settings that you love to be around. Think about the missions that really light you up. And think about the core tasks and processes that when you immerse yourself in them you just feel alive. Make a list with all of those categories. Eventually you will start to come up with qualities that need to be present in any professional endeavor that will make you feel alive. And then don’t look for a particular job or industry, just look for the type of opportunity that will feature those qualities, or as many as you can get. There’s a question I ask whenever an opportunity comes around and that is: “Will this opportunity allow me the greatest amount of time absorbed in activities and relationships that fill me up while surrounding myself with people who I can’t get enough of and earning enough to live comfortably in the world?” When I apply that standard to the opportunities I take on I’m pretty much always on target, when I do things that fall out of it, I find myself unhappy. People look at my career path and say, “He went from being an entrepreneur to a lawyer to a fitness industry entrepreneur to a yoga industry entrepreneur to a blogger to an author, a speaker, and a marketing consultant,” and they say “Dude you’re all over the place.” But when I look at all of the qualities I lay out for myself, they’re all there. So I’m not limited by an industry or a job, and that opens up a ton of opportunity for me. Tell me more about the book. What should we expect from it? The driving force behind writing Uncertainty was that I want to find out what allows certain people to take consistent action in the face of great uncertainty and create great art, great business, and great lives, while so many others seem to become paralyzed or shut down in the face of similar uncertainties. I want to know is this ability genetic or is it something that can be trained. Are there things we can do to be able to mimic or to be able to accomplish on the same level as some of the greatest creators out there? And what I found through a ton of research and interviews was that in fact there are changes you can make. I divide it into three categories. There are things you can do in terms of environmental changes, workflow adaptations, and personal practices that can make a pretty profound difference in your ability to continuously go to that place, and to take action, and bring just amazing creations to life. Not only that, but these three categories are the same things that will allow you to live much more comfortably in a world where there is so much uncertainty every time you wake up in the morning. That’s really what the book is about. I went into the book with a question; I just wanted to know what the answers to all these things were. But by being given access to just some incredibly amazing people, I was able to learn so much. What’s so fun for me is that now I can turn around and digest it and share it. Many thanks to Jonathan Fields for this interview. His way of looking at the world around him is inspiring, and it demonstrates that the ability to leap into an uncertain future to pursue our dreams is possible for anyone. He also emphasized the importance of exercising and utilizing a strong mindset in order to achieve success in whatever endeavor you are pursuing. We spend far too little time talking about our mind, when in fact it is the single largest contributing factor to either success or a lack of it. Click here to purchase his book, Uncertainty, and check out the Uncertainty Book Trailer below for a more in-depth intro to the concept. Author: Bill Connolly is a Media Branding Expert. His research focuses on the qualities and steps necessary to become a viable media star in todays technology-driven economy. He splits his time as both a Consultant at  Millennial Branding, LLC, and as an Analyst for  Quaero, a Customer Engagement Agency. He has interviewed celebrities, producers, and NY Times Best-Selling Authors, in order to study the varying ways that successful people build their brand. Bill has a B.S. in Marketing from Bentley University, and has trained at John Casablancas Modeling and Career Center as well as the Improv Asylum in Boston, MA. Follow him on  Twitter:  @billconnolly

How Does One Rate Upwork Answers As Excellent?

How Does One Rate Upwork Answers As Excellent?One of the questions most often asked is, how does one evaluate the skill level of Upwork Answers - Are they good or are they great? The truth is that there is no universal answer to this question because it depends on a number of factors.First of all, skills test work answers depends on the company. It will vary depending on the individual's experience in writing resumes and on their overall level of skill and confidence in writing resumes. A very seasoned resume writer may rate up as being excellent.The reason why the resumes don't work out can be due to the fact that the candidates haven't yet found a niche for themselves. This happens if they have a resume that seems to appeal to everyone but simply lacks a certain quality. It will be easy for a company to skip over someone with such a resume.The second part of skills test-upwork answers is their accuracy. It is possible for a resume to fall into the wrong hands if it is simply writte n and presented incorrectly. Sometimes companies will refuse to do business with a resume that has been submitted by someone who wasn't very sure about what they were doing.In general, it will be hard to get more skilled work answers when the skills tested aren't on par with the organization at hand. However, it is entirely possible to rate up as excellent if the person has good skills in areas like grammar and syntax and in answering questions.Last but not least, it is important to see how long a person has been working with upwork answers if they are going to rate up as excellent when skills test work answers. Because of the pace of the business, many new people try to rake up on the first or second day and get into a rut. This causes them to lose skills which, if allowed to continue, could lead to an absolute disaster.Finally, skills test-upwork answers only consider whether the resume is worth doing business with or not. This is the actual reason why people make a living off of making resume's. There are far too many people out there that just make it as a means of making money, but they really only want to help out people.So while skills test work answers do help determine resume writing skills, it isn't something that cannot be learned over time. One just needs to know what they need to do to improve on what they currently do. With just a little bit of practice, it shouldn't be too difficult to test up-s to the next level.

10 Habits That Will Make You More Productive CareerMetis.com

10 Habits That Will Make You More Productive â€" CareerMetis.com “Productivity” and “work” are synonymous because there’s absolutely nothing important going on outside of The Job. At least, that’s what the majority of these “How to Be More Productive!” lists would have you believe.The truth is, getting things done in real life is just as rewarding as in work-lifeâ€"if not more so Think of it this way: The more job tasks you complete, the more room you’ve freed up on your desk for another pile of job tasks. On the other hand, being more efficient and productive off the clock means more time for you to just do you.It’s a nice place to beâ€"here are 10 daily habits to adopt to help you get there Most morning rituals include the basics: breakfast 4) Eat More HealthilyNot to play the “you are what you eat” card, but it’s pertinent: what you eat affects your mental alertness and focus, not to mention your mood. Carb-rich foods “Less TV, now this? What did I do to deserve such punishment?” you may be asking yourself. But thi nk about it: the news is mostly bad and, even worse, made up of opinionated fluff that has little bearing on your life; multiply that by 150% when it comes to sports. “I have no control over the outcome,” writes Larry Kim in Inc. “What I can do is focus on the stuff that I know I can have an impact on. I don’t lose hours out of my week discussing, reading about, thinking about, or watching the big game. If something is important enough, it will become known.”8) Focus, Don’t MultitaskWith “multi” and “tasking” right there in the name, multi-tasking certainly sounds like the way to get more done. Your brain knows otherwise: you’re not doing several things at onceâ€"you’re switching between them hastily, which ultimately leads to more mistakes and extra stress you really don’t need.One way to train your brain to focus on a single task Saying “yes” to everything and everyone is so ingrained in our people-pleasing minds that a simple “no” is considered a n “extreme hack.” “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything,” business titan Warren Buffett once said, and the sentiment also applies to non-bazillionaire: politely cut the distractions and finish the important stuff.10) Don’t Expect PerfectionEven following a comprehensive list like this one won’t guarantee productivity perfection (spoiler: this list isn’t perfect, either). That’s OK.Don’t let the minutiae slow down forward movementâ€"in most, if not all, cases, completed now is better than finished at some undetermined point in the future.Once you realize this simple fact, there are ways to get over chronic perfectionism. Believe it or not, tasks can be fun, or at least less paralyzing. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get it right, but you’d be right to expect some wrongs.

4 Interviewing Hacks from a Clinical Therapist - CareerAlley

4 Interviewing Hacks from a Clinical Therapist - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Matthew Burke is a social worker and therapist in northern New Jersey. He edits The Counseling Career Guide for students and career changers who are interested in a career as a counselor. As a trained therapist with tons of experience, I can say with complete certainty: job interviews make people crazy. Over the years, Ive helped people work through personal trauma, relationship difficulties, and addiction. Ive heard hundreds of people express their fears about every aspect of life, and Im always amazed at the amount of fear and anxiety people experience when preparing for a job interview. From a psychological standpoint, the anxiety makes sense: the personal interactions that comprise a job interview are unnerving. If you are applying for a job, you are being judged. You will be meeting a representative of the company, who will scrutinize everything you say and everything you do. Not fun. So, over the last few years, Ive developed a few strategies to help my clients find a greater level of success in their job interviews and to feel a lot more comfortable and confident as they do so. The first strategy may be the most important: Be Nice To Yourself! One of the most popular forms of therapeutic intervention is called cognitive behavioral therapy. It gets pretty complicated, but the main idea is simple: how a person interprets a situation determines the way s/he feels and acts. So, as you think about your upcoming interview, be nice to yourself! When you think about your situation, do so in a way that bolsters your confidence. Are you a new college graduate without any experience? No, youre a fresh-faced go-getter whos going to soak up new knowledge and dive into your new work culture. Are you middle-aged person who just got laid off from your last job? No, youre a mid-life career changer whos ready for the next adventure. Interpreting your situation in a positive light can give you the confidence you need to boldly step towards whatever is next. Heres the best rule of thumb on how to explain your circumstances to yourself, especially if you tend to beat yourself up: imagine what you would say to a friend if s/he needed a pep talk going to an interview. Then say that to yourself. Practice Makes Perfect. It sounds cliched, but its true: you get good at what you practice. Scientists have even found that focused repetition of any task changes the neurological structure of the brain, so that repeated tasks become more automatic over time. Think about it: if you had a new interview every day for a year, youd probably get pretty good at interviews, right? The good news is, every employer on earth is going to ask some of the same silly questions: What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Why are you interviewing for this position? What drew you to our company? and so on. Intuit the questions your interviewer will ask, and then practice your answers at home. With time, youll get very good at answering them and itll be one less thing you need to worry about during your interview. Visualize How Youd Like the Interview to Go. Some of the worlds most successful people report that the key to their achievement is seeing their success. Olympic athletes use the technique regularly, and public figures such as Bill Gates, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Tiger Woods have spoken publicly about how they clearly imagine their goals before attaining them. So how should you visualize your interview? First, close your eyes and relax. Then picture yourself interacting confidently with your interviewer, reacting calmly to difficult questions, and addressing all the ideas that show youre a great candidate. Andthis is the most important elementtry to experience the feeling that a successful interview would bring: it can satisfaction, pride, or maybe even relief. You are, in fact, creating a sense memory of a positive interview, and your body will remember the sensation. Its not a magic pill, and its very likely youll still be nervous before the meeting, but visualization is an excellent form of mental preparation. Use Social Proof. Without a doubt, the most effective advantage you can bring to an interview is a pre-approved stamp. The statistics show that two-thirds of all new hires get their job through networking. Thats incredible! That means, get on the phone and use your network! But, for many people, that two-thirds number is a disincentive. That means the odds are against me! If youre going into an interview and you havent gotten the interview through someone who works at the company, send your interviewer letter of recommendations from your previous employers and any community figures you interact with. The power of the principal is amazing: one study even showed that job candidates who were seen having a positive and friendly interaction with the secretary were more likely to be hired. Use social proof to your advantage! Finally, interviews are tough! And, as company loyalty dwindlesmany workers will hold many positions in many companies over the course of their careerits more likely that youll experience the interview process more and more often. Use the psychological principals above to land the job you deserve. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search.Joey Trebif (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

The Art of Going from None to Done

The Art of Going from None to Done Stop Waiting For Things To Happen / Go Out And Make Them Happen found via Pinterest, originally on imgfave. Ooh, Shenee Howard wrote me a guest post to help us with time management stuff. If she can really get ya from Idea to Launch in just a week (she can and she will!) then I know she can help us all get From None to Done. Preach it, girl! Do you ever feel like you just CANT get the things done that you know NEED to happen? Ive always struggled with the volume of work that is required to work for yourself. Entrepreneurship is all about figuring out a lot of stuff on your own and taking action, even if you dont know what to do. I often compare it to sitting on top of a mountain of “needs to be done” but having no idea how it will happen. I felt that way for a long time and it was slowing me down, stalling my growth and draining my energy. I have managed to figure out a way to make sure I get stuff done and now, I help my clients get the work done too. Im a creative co-director who works exclusively with entrepreneurs. Its my job to make sure an exciting idea turns into product in 1 week. Its a process that usually takes people weeks (even months) on their own but together, we make it happen. Am I subjecting them to some weird torture? Am I sitting in their office watching them do the work with a ruler in hand, ready to strike? Nope. In fact, in my own life, I’m not really that organized. Ok, Ill admit, Im not organized at all but I have mastered the art of getting things done in my business. I can confidently say that while I cant find my shoes in my closet, I can create products in hours, design pages in days and brand at lightning speed. This is a mini-miracle, I assure you. A little while ago, I would not be able to do any of that. None to done is all about focus and as we all know, that is way easier said than done. Life gets in the way. Your cat might sit on your keyboard. Jersey Shore is on. Theres a fun conversation on twitter. You could clean your house instead. Maybe bake some cookies. You have to do a little mind trickery to make sure your work gets done. Here are some of my tips to help you go from none to done: 1. Make a date with yourself and make sure its a big deal If you know you need to write a blog post or pen a letter, put it in your schedule. Get a cup of tea and put on your favorite song, settle in and get started. In SHAZAM we call this the “Hot Date.” Its 45 minutes of focused content creation in your fancy jewelry  and there is even a happy ending. Oh snap! 2. Create a space that allows you to thrive. I learned this from my friend Michelle. When it comes time to do something big, do you have a pen? That notebook paper? Do you have the resources you need so you can hit the ground running? Getting up to go grab something is the biggest momentum killer around. Before you tackle any aspect of your list, Id take a moment and make sure that things get done. 3. Break up something big into bite-sized actionables and email them to yourself.  When I am working with my clients, I send very brief ( like 1 sentence ) emails with 1 action that will propel them forward. These are super effective because instead of thinking “I have to build this big thing now” you just have to do this one smaller thing, right now.  You can use Future me or any task management tool, I like producteev. My suggestion: write down a list of everything you KNOW you have to get done and start scheduling those emails. 4. Take lots of breaks I use my breaks to watch College Humor videos. I watch my favorite Jake and Amir, feel happy and refreshed and then dive right back in. Each of the videos clock in at about 3 minutes, so its the perfect break. I let myself watch 2. 5. Give yourself a tight deadline and tell someone else about it Its a lot easier to go from none to done when you dont have the whole day to play with but only 25 minutes. In college, I always did my best work when I had a deadline. This is just as true for your work. 6. Get help â€" Dont struggle through something you arent fully equipped to do in the first place. That just makes it harder to finish. Are you creating a sales page but dont know how to even start writing one? Its gonna be hard to do if you dont actually KNOW how to do it. Get someone else to read what you are writing, get feedback or hire a writer to help you out. 7. Do what you love This is a big one. Even when I am doing a soul-sucking task that makes me want to cry, I try to remember why Im doing it. This method doesnt work when you arent living (or working towards) your passion. I am sure Michelle can help you with that. I hope these tips help you go from none to done in your own life. If you have any questions or want to share your own none to done tips, you can email me at sheneehoward@gmail.com or say hello on twitter at @heyshenee! Seeing this before 3p Eastern on 11/23? Then come on over and enter to win a free personalized Press Release for your product/service/biz!