When Your 30 Second Pitch Doesnt Make Sense

When Your 30 Second Pitch Doesnt Make Sense I was really introduced to the concept of the 30 second pitch at the first job club I went to. Dont get me wrong I had heard about it before. But this was the first time I really had to (a) come up with my own, that was relevant, and (b) practice using it multiple times.  Doing either of those, especially (b), is a lot harder than just pontificating about your elevator pitch in a college classroom. Alas, I did it. We did it. All of us job seekers put together our own elevator pitches. And it was hard. It was hard to come up with something about ourselves, and frankly it was hard to listen to all of the horrible pitches. The focus became memorizing a bad pitch, and not thinking too much about the pitch as a tool, and the purpose of the pitch. This morning I saw a good blog post  that my friend, Master Resume Writer Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, linked to : How To Get Better At Pitching In this very short post the author presents five questions to answer before pitching. Just that subtitle made me think wait, we should maybe not pitch to everyone? I thought about how horrible it was to sit through a bunch of crummy elevator pitches. Why was it so hard? The authors first of five things is: Am I pitching to the right person? What a great question. When a job seeker shares the elevator pitch they created with another job seeker, its usually the wrong message for that person. It might be the RIGHT message for an interviewer so I guess its good to practice that pitch. But let me encourage you to think like a marketer and know your audience. Is your message aligned with your audience? Here are two examples notice I present two different messages based on the audience: In an interview: I have done product management for fifteen years, following a three year stint as a web developer. I found this is a perfect role for a guy like me, who is passionate about business, strategy, and technology. I do my best work when Im able to own the vision and execution of the product, and have a healthy relationship with customers and prospects. To another job seeker: Im looking for a product management role in this area. Ive applied to eBay, Amazon, and Google, but am definitely open to a product management role at a smaller organization. Im looking for a team that is fast-paced but also wants to develop some of the best technology out there. Now, I just spent two minutes on both of those if I worked on it longer Id come up with tighter messaging. My point, though, is that you MUST KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Maybe elevator pitches stink so much because we are simply giving the wrong pitch at the wrong time to the wrong person. If we know our audience, and they become the right person, we can adjust our marketing message with them.  Dont go on autopilot, lest you might just regurgitate stuff that makes no sense to them. When Your 30 Second Pitch Doesnt Make Sense I was really introduced to the concept of the 30 second pitch at the first job club I went to. Dont get me wrong I had heard about it before. But this was the first time I really had to (a) come up with my own, that was relevant, and (b) practice using it multiple times.  Doing either of those, especially (b), is a lot harder than just pontificating about your elevator pitch in a college classroom. Alas, I did it. We did it. All of us job seekers put together our own elevator pitches. And it was hard. It was hard to come up with something about ourselves, and frankly it was hard to listen to all of the horrible pitches. The focus became memorizing a bad pitch, and not thinking too much about the pitch as a tool, and the purpose of the pitch. This morning I saw a good blog post  that my friend, Master Resume Writer Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, linked to : How To Get Better At Pitching In this very short post the author presents five questions to answer before pitching. Just that subtitle made me think wait, we should maybe not pitch to everyone? I thought about how horrible it was to sit through a bunch of crummy elevator pitches. Why was it so hard? The authors first of five things is: Am I pitching to the right person? What a great question. When a job seeker shares the elevator pitch they created with another job seeker, its usually the wrong message for that person. It might be the RIGHT message for an interviewer so I guess its good to practice that pitch. But let me encourage you to think like a marketer and know your audience. Is your message aligned with your audience? Here are two examples notice I present two different messages based on the audience: In an interview: I have done product management for fifteen years, following a three year stint as a web developer. I found this is a perfect role for a guy like me, who is passionate about business, strategy, and technology. I do my best work when Im able to own the vision and execution of the product, and have a healthy relationship with customers and prospects. To another job seeker: Im looking for a product management role in this area. Ive applied to eBay, Amazon, and Google, but am definitely open to a product management role at a smaller organization. Im looking for a team that is fast-paced but also wants to develop some of the best technology out there. Now, I just spent two minutes on both of those if I worked on it longer Id come up with tighter messaging. My point, though, is that you MUST KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Maybe elevator pitches stink so much because we are simply giving the wrong pitch at the wrong time to the wrong person. If we know our audience, and they become the right person, we can adjust our marketing message with them.  Dont go on autopilot, lest you might just regurgitate stuff that makes no sense to them.

Creative Writing For Resume And CV Papers

Creative Writing For Resume And CV PapersA resume or CV is meant to provide information about your professional and personal qualifications. With creative writing, this is easily accomplished. Creative writing can also be used for academic degrees as well.Here are several factors that you need to remember when writing your English papers and one of the most important is the focus. You can be focused on the requirements in English for an academic degree program.For each module there will be a different set of tests that you will be required to take. It is important that you read the test format for each module and choose the best format for your type of English writing.The focus in English writing should not be on the tests that you will be required to take. The focus should be on how you can help yourself during the test taking process. This will help you become more knowledgeable about English and how it is used in a test setting.Once you know how to utilize English in a test situat ion, you can then choose the best format to place in your resume. It is important that you learn how to use creative writing in your curriculum vitae.Creative writing can be done using a variety of methods. One example is to use the following format:One thing to note is that creativity in writing does not mean using slang words or verbiage that is not standard English. Even though the exact same structure can be used for resume and CV papers, you must ensure that the CV will be used by someone else and that person has to be a good reader.Creating a resume using creative writing is not difficult but rather it takes some work and time. It is also important that you work on writing an English paper at the same time as the CV writing.

Why Employers Need to Better Support Graduates Mental Health

Why Employers Need to Better Support Graduates’ Mental Health The mental health crisis amongst university students is extremely worrying, but it is often forgotten that graduates can struggle post-university once they’ve entered the workforce, too. Whilst there is clearly still work to be done to ensure students are receiving adequate support at university, there is, even more, to be done to ensure graduates are equally supported when making the transition from education into the workplace. Employers have a big part to play in helping graduates overcome these barriers in a professional environment. For Mental Health Awareness Week, we surveyed 1,000 working graduates in the UK, and 70 percent claimed they would avoid informing prospective or new employers about their mental health issues, in fear that it would have a negative impact on their career progression and position. Given that one in four people in the UK workforce will experience at least one diagnosable mental health issue during their working life, the fact that almost nine out of ten respondents (88%) said they believe there is still a negative stigma attached to admitting to suffering from a mental health issue is of grave concern. Employer support for struggling employees From our survey we discovered that of the 70 percent who said they would avoid telling an employer about their mental health issues, 83 percent said they would be more inclined to seek mental health support if their employer offered an ‘off the record’ or entirely anonymous service or services that would be kept separate from their employment record. Despite this overwhelming response, nearly 7 in 10 (67%) graduates said their company doesn’t offer ‘off the record’ support to employees. When asked what form of ‘off the record’ support they would prefer to use, respondents said: Face-to-face meeting (61%) WhatsApp, or other instant online chat (19%) Email (10%) Via video call (7%) SMS / text messaging (3%) It’s disappointing to see that some employers are failing entry-level talent when it comes to their wellbeing. Our survey also found that only 15 percent of graduates described the support provided by their employer as ‘good’, with only half (51%) saying it was ‘adequate’ and 34 percent labeling it as ‘poor’. These statistics show that graduates don’t feel their workplaces are adequately equipped to support workers with mental health issues. Whilst mental health concerns are being discussed more openly in wider society; it seems there is still a lot to be done in regards to the stigma associated with admitting to suffering from mental health issues, and the support offered to those transitioning from education to employment. According to the Health Safety Executive (HSE), an employer must protect the health, safety, and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business. A practical, collaborative approach between teams and individuals within a company is essential to ensure all staff are being looked after and to reassure them that any additional support they require will not be held against their future employment record. Employers should pay extra care and attention to entry-level talent new to the world of work, as they may struggle to adapt to a new role within a company. In an age when employers are increasing their demands for better-prepared graduates who can settle into any industry using cross-sector skills, it’s vital for businesses to prioritize the welfare of their employees no matter what age or stage in their career. Not only do graduates face the pressure of performing well at work, but workplace culture and other social aspects can add to their anxieties. Supporting new graduates as they transition from university to work should be a significant consideration of progressive employers. If graduate recruitment specialists want to attract and more importantly, keep the best talent as they emerge from education, they need to know what issues students and graduates are facing, and how best to support them. Employers need to take note of the information revealed by our latest survey and ensure they are providing anonymous, ‘off the record’ support for this future workforce. About the author:  Charlie Taylor, is the Founder CEO of Debut, UK’s award-winning student and graduate careers app.

Jim Kouzes, Deb Calvert Barry Posner How To Be A Better Salesperson - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Jim Kouzes, Deb Calvert Barry Posner How To Be A Better Salesperson - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career I spoke to Jim Kouzes, Deb Calvert and Barry Posner, co-authors of Stop Selling Start Leading: How to Make Extraordinary Sales Happen, about why so many salespeople fail to connect with buyers, what they’ve learned about the buyer and seller relationship, how salespeople can become better leaders, and how salespeople can stay motivated despite the inevitable rejection. Deb is the president of People First Productivity Solutions, working with companies to build organizational strength by putting people first. James is the Deans Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. Barry Posner is Accolti Professor of Leadership and former Dean of the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. James and Barry are most known as the co-authors of The Leadership Challenge. Dan Schawbel: Why do so many salespeople fail to connect with buyers in a meaningful way? Jim Kouzes, Deb Calvert Barry Posner: Our research reveals that there’s profound and wide disconnect between how sellers behave and what buyers want. Selling is a relationship, just as leadership is a relationship. Meaningful relationships are based on trust and credibility, and these kinds of relationships cannot be developed when sellers are stuck in a sales mindset that inhibits the enabling and ennobling behaviors buyers are craving. Our research with over 500 buyers reveals that sellers are significantly more effective when they engage more frequently in behaviors associated with exemplary leadership. Stories from sellers about their personal bests in selling affirm this. When they act like leaders, often not even realizing that this is the case, they are more successful in connecting with buyers and making extraordinary sales. Schawbel: What new research did you uncover on the seller/buyer relationship? Did anything surprise you? Jim, Deb and Barry: What’s new in our research is that, to our knowledge, this is the first time anyone has explored the connection between exemplary leadership practices and success in selling. Because both leading and selling are based on the quality of interpersonal relationships, we hypothesized that the same behaviors that exemplary leaders demonstrate would also perform well for sellers. That is exactly what we found. While we weren’t so surprised about how disconnected buyers felt with their sellers, it was amazing to see that for every single leadership behavior we tested, buyers responded positively. Regardless of how frequently sellers currently engage in leadership behaviors, buyers ideally wanted them to do even more. And buyers’ responses clearly indicated that when sellers demonstrate more leadership, buyers were more likely to meet with sellers, and buyers were more likely to purchase from sellers. Additionally, what sellers don’t fully appreciate is that exemp lary leaders turn their followers into leaders themselves. That transformational aspect of leadership is missing in the relationships sellers and buyers have. Schawbel: What behaviors should you change if you want to be more appealing to buyers? Jim, Deb and Barry: The leadership practice of Enable Others to Act resonated most strongly with buyers. Sellers should actively invite buyers to participate in creating what they want and to find ways to put their own imprint on the solutions developed. Also essential is answering buyers questions in a timely and relevant way and asking them questions that invite a two-way dialogue. The second most important practice is Model the Way, especially the behavior of following through on the promises and commitments that sellers make. Do What You Say You Will Do (or DWYSYWD for short) is the mantra of exemplary leaders, and it should be the mantra of exemplary sellers. Schawbel: How can sales people become better leaders and reach their full leadership potential? Jim, Deb and Barry: Leadership is a choice. To become better leaders, sellers must make the choice to lead and to act like leaders. We know that leadership is an observable set of skills and abilities, and that it can be learned. That being said, first you have to believe that you can lead and believe that behaving like a leader will make a difference in your selling. Once you embrace that fact, then the rest, as in any set of skills, is about deliberate practice and a commitment to lifelong learning. Schawbel: How do salespeople stay motivated despite the many rejections they have to deal with on a daily basis? Jim, Deb and Barry: Most successful sellers draw strength from knowing that the products and services they provide make a difference; that they matter. This intrinsic motivation is even more powerful than external motivators like commission pay and contests. Forming meaningful and durable connections with buyers is essential. It is an ennobling feeling when sellers can see themselves as leaders, and this perspective provides a strong motivational boost.

What Is Resume Writing With Example?

What Is Resume Writing With Example?What is resume writing with example? People usually want to know this before they start writing their own. Indeed, the purpose of this exercise is to help people see how well their resume is written. It also helps you determine if your resume is good enough for your potential employer.There are plenty of examples available online. There are even places where you can get sample resumes from different companies. Of course, there are differences between those two samples. So how do you know which one is best for you?This is where you have to consider which examples are most convincing. A resume must grab your reader's attention, and it should do so in a professional way. You have to emphasize your skills and experience that will put you ahead of other applicants. This is where examples with examples help.What makes a resume to show that it has good impression? In resume examples, it is most apparent that you put time and effort into crafting a nice re sume. Examples are a great tool to get you going in the right direction.What is resume examples good for? The main reason why people use them is that it is free. You don't have to worry about paying for them because they are not expensive. Besides, you don't have to create them yourself since you can easily find them online.In writing a good resume, examples will help you write it better. You can use this approach to gather ideas to avoid common mistakes. Since they are free, you can save lots of time. Instead of spending valuable time searching for samples, you can find free resume examples online. As a result, you can save alot of time.Writing samples can be beneficial to all kinds of writing. Just because you will be trying to reach an audience of employers, you have to consider other readers. This is where the benefit of examples will show its positive side.You can make an effective resume just by applying these methods. Use examples in resume writing to capture the reader's att ention. That is the first step to good resume writing.

6 Health Benefits of Standing Desks - CareerMetis.com

6 Health Benefits of Standing Desks Standing desks refers to the work desks that allow you to work while standing at your ‘desk job’ rather than sitting at it.Last few years have seen multiple debates on whether standing is a better option when it comes to working in an office or is it sitting that produces better results for an individual in the long run.evalIt has become a hot-favourite topic among the industry experts and recent years have seen the prices of these desks soaring to the sky.Modern versions of standing desks are not only adjustable as per the height of the individual, but they also offer an option of alternating your time between sitting and standing.These kinds of desks are known as ‘height-adjustable desks’ or ‘sit-stand desks’.A famous personality like Winston Churchill is known to have worked only at ‘standing desks’ during his life. So while the practice of standing while working is not at all new but the trend has certainly gained momentum with companies like Google and Facebook e ncouraging standing desks for its employees.Google offers an option of standing desksfor its employees as a part of its employee-wellness program. An employee can choose to work at a standing desk. Facebook has also offered standing desks to many of its employeesin the face of their health concerns.According to Facebook, standing desks helps to keep the energy levels high in the office. Many other companies have also chosen to provide these desks, but they do it only if it is medically necessary for the employee due to a specific condition.So the most important question is that â€" Is standing desks just the latest industry fad that has created a lot of buzzes or is there any credible evidence to support the benefits associated with standing?evalIt is a well-known fact that sitting too much is not good for health. But given today’s sedentary lifestyle and work culture, we tend to spend most of our time sitting at our desk. Working out in a gym is an option that many of us cannot c hoose.The reason can be attributed to various health, monetary or time issues. Since we spend a more significant part of our day in our offices, isn’t it better to take steps that are healthy in the long run? Now, we know that every company is keen on the fitness of its employees. A healthier employee can be much more productive for a company than an unhealthier one.Various studies have been conducted over the years that suggest some impressive health benefits for employees with standing desks.evalGiven below are few of the standing desk health benefits that are approved by the experts in the field:1) Lowers Weight Gain and obesity riskevalWe know that weight gain is the result of consuming more calories than we burn. By that logic, burning more calories would imply a definite weight loss that will be visible over a period.There was a research conducted by Mayo Clinicin Rochester, MN that concluded that 6 hours of standing helps burning an extra 54 calories every day. This figure amounts to the same amount of calories that are burned by 7 minutes of walking.Though the figure might not look too impressive in itself, but calculate it for 6 hours of standing A seminal study conducted by Morris et al., on the bus drivers who spend most of their time sitting revealed that compared to the bus conductors who are standing for the most of their work, the bus drivers suffered twice the risk of related heart ailments than the conductors.4) Reduces back pain A sedentary lifestyle is one of the critical reasons for increasing problem of back pain amongst today’s generation. Studies conducted by Mayo Clinicin 2013 pointed out that many people who spend 8 or more hours sitting on their desk struggle with the problem of back pain.The Cornell University Department of Ergonomics says that sitting causes up to 90% more pressure on your back as compared to standing.evalEven Harvard medical school says that standing at work reduces the risk of shoulder and back pain among hea lthy individuals.eval5) Enhances energy levelsOur brain has to engage in various activities and decipher loads of things throughout the day. Studies conductedclaim that people who spend more time standing at work, experience less stress and fatigue symptoms than their counterparts who generally tend to spend more time sitting at the desk. Standing workstation helps increase HDL cholesterol.According to them, standing keeps the energy levels high by keeping the brain processing at the edge.6) Enhances productivityThere is no decline in the productive abilities of an individual regarding their typing speed, reading skills, studying the formulas or understanding concepts while standing.According to a brand new study by Texas AM University’s Health Science Center School of Public Healthâ€" standing at work desks leads to increase in employee productivitysignificantly.6) Experience better and longer lifePeople who spend most of their time sitting due to various reasons have known to at tract diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, cancer and other lifestyle diseases.Though medical science has led to an increase in the average lifespan of an individual, but people suffering from different diseases succumb to them much earlier than their healthier counterparts. Less number of diseases is a sure way to a longer life.So, it is not difficult to conclude that it is not mere physical health, but mental health too that gains from standing at the desk while working.An individual can start with standing for less time initially and then gradually increase the time.Though standing desk by itself is not enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it can definitely be a first step in the direction.

Make Email More Productive

Make Email More Productive There are tools you can use that make email more productive during your job search! Yes, email is great for communicating, but it can be so much more. These tools will help you market yourself and conduct research to help you gain valuable information youll want during your hunt for a new job. Email Signature Block You are missing a golden opportunity to communicate that youre job searching if you are not using an email signature! Even if you arent job hunting, using an email signature is smart self-marketing! You never know when someone is hiring! Your email signature block is the information that automatically gets appended to your email message you know, that stuff your past employer made you add- company name, phone, tagline, logo, websitethat information but about YOU! Heres what Im talking about. I use Wisestamp and can have 3 different signatures depending on whom I communicate with. One is personal, one is for volunteer work I do and one is for my business. Using an email signature looks much more professional that a bunch of text and long links. One small caveat, you may not want to use images if you are concerned about your messages getting sent to spam or blocked by corporate email systems. Go read this post about what information you should include in your email signature as a job seeker! Use your email signature block to make email more productive and market yourself! Sleuthing Tool for Email Theres a lot you can learn from someones email addresswithout even leaving email. Have you ever realized you werent connected with someone on LinkedIn after emailing them for months? Or have you wanted to see what your email recipient is saying on social networks? It is kind of amazing the information you can gather about someone when you use a gmail extension! Directly from my inbox, I can learn a lot about someone I correspond with. Clearbit Connect Supercharge Gmail WHAT IS CLEARBIT CONNECT? Clearbit Connect is a small widget that lives in Gmail’s sidebar. It displays useful information about the people who email you, and allows you to find anyone’s email address without leaving your inbox. And its free. First, install Clearbit extension using the link above. When I received my confirmation email from Clearbit Connect, I hovered over the email and clicked on the Clearbit icon Then, to the right of my screen, this appeared. You can see the companys profile and links to Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook social media profiles. Imagine using this to research someone (a recruiter) who has emailed you. Or anyone who you dont know well or know what their company does. By conducting a little research using Clearbit, youll have easy access to information. And try using Clearbits free email lookup tool. (You get 100 free lookups per month) Just type in the companys name (or domain) and see if its in the database. Then youll see employees listed. You can even search by name or title. Another Email Lookup Tool MailScoop by Cultivated Culture is free and straightforward. Its a great productivity hack for those times when you want to find the email address of someone on LinkedIn when you have no connections, this is a great solution. Schedule Your Email Message Boomerang for Gmail With Boomerang, you can write an email now and schedule it to be sent automatically at the perfect time. Just write the message then click the Send Later button and you can chose when you want it sent. Boomerang can even remind you if you don’t hear back! This way you wont let messages slip through the crack and will never forget to follow up with people. (Which happens to me all to often!) Email can be a time-suck, if you let it. But you can make email more productive if you use it the right ways.

And the scholarship goes to....

And the scholarship goes to.... my heart says follow through by kerryandhercamera I know this is going to sound like a schmaltzy Oscar speech, but I hope youll take this for the sincerity it is when I say: Thank you. Thank you for applying for my scholarship, or for passing along the information to someone you knew who needed it. Thank you for opening yourselves up confiding in me the pieces of you that are both scared hopeful. Thank you for your honesty, your kindness, your vulnerablity your passion. I want to let you know that each of the applications touched me deeply, that it was just a ridiculously tough decision for me to pick a winner. I think I sighed at least three dozen times yesterday. And, while yes, there is a winner, I wanted to let everyone who applied know that Im going to be reaching out to every one of you personally within a weeks time. Youve enabled me to see what you need, how I can offer you a part of me without making it a financial burden on you. So, if youre really serious about bridging the gap between where you are where you want to be, then keep your eyes on your Inbox get ready to take this ride with me. But now, without further adieu (Im not even breaking for commercials like they do on stupid American Idol), the winner of the scholarship is: Sarah Ivie from Austin, Texas! Sarah, Ill be reaching out to you today so we can get this ball rolling. Yay hooray!!!!