7 tools to help market your skills across industries when no one is hiring -

7 tools to help market your skills across industries when no one is hiring - This is the first of a two-part series addressing a question from a job seeker. Feel free to send me your questions for possible inclusion in later posts. Just send your question via my contact form. My career background is as an analystMy previous employers have been smaller firms, under 50 employees.   Social media isnt used very much by advisory firms that Ive targeted as a good fit.   Much of that is due to FINRA compliance constraints that keep them from engaging clients online.   Im still tweeting, but relying more on networking in-person and making connections on LinkedIn where employees of these firms and their connections are likely to be. The biggest challenge Im having on the job search is that analytical roles in the personal (retail) side of the financial services industry have been slow to pick up. There are new demands for sales producers, operations and administrative staff, but very few new opportunities for analysts.   The institutional side of finance has also picked up, more so than the retail side.   Its difficult to convince employers that skills can be transferable from retail to institutional, or from smaller firms to larger firms. Some of the recent jobs Ive interviewed for have been at a lower level of experience than I have, and the firms decided I was overqualified.   I would like to broaden the scope of the jobs that Im looking at, because I think that my advanced skills.. could be applicable in many areas of corporate finance and planning. How can I best market my skills to other industriesso that employers will recognize the skills as transferable and qualified? This is a tricky dilemma, and one that many job seekers today are facing. Specifically, these are the main issues: Social media isnt widely adopted in your field. There are few (maybe no)   job opportunities calling for your expertise. You are hoping to find a job in the other side of your field (retail to institutional) and in a different type of organization (smaller to larger). It may or may not help you to know that many share this dilemma of having previous experience in an industry or field that simply isnt hiring or has become obsolete. Networking becomes even more important in this case. Even though you have not found a large group of your potential colleagues using social media, I would suggest you still mobilize all of the tools at your disposal to try to extend your networking circle. If not many in your field are taking advantage of the tools to connect online, you have a chance to become a recognized online expert in your field. The regulations add a layer of complexity to making this work, but do some searches for others who ARE engaging online. Google {keywords relevant to your field}, blog and see what you find. Look in Alltop.com to find listings of blogs in your field. Use Google blog search to find some blogs of interest. Connect with the authors by commenting, sharing retweets (if they use Twitter) and make it clear that you have your finger on the pulse of your industry. Track information from news outlets that report data relevant to people in your field and be the one who disseminates what people need to know NOW. (Via Twitter, a blog and/or LinkedIn updates.) Combine media and in-person meetings: Use LinkedIn to demonstrate your expertise. Investigate the Answers section; see if there are any answers you may be able to provide, illustrating your expertise ideally in your targeted field. (Find Answers in the toolbar on LinkedIn under the More tab.) While in-person meetings are great, be sure you are doing all you can to extend the number of people who may be able to connect you with the ONE person you need to meet and impress to land an opportunity. Dont forget to talk to people who CANT help you. The combination of these strategies could very easily lead to meeting contacts that will be able to help you overcome your experience gap efforts as you build a bridge to a new career. Stay tuned for more advice to address the youre overqualified issue.

Letter to Go With a Resume - How to Write a Quick Letter

Letter to Go With a Resume - How to Write a Quick LetterHow do you write a quick letter to go with a resume? How do you write a letter that gives you the job without sounding too formal? It's not easy, but the hardest part is getting out the message to your potential employer. Keep reading to find out how to put it in your letter.Going to a job interview can be a nerve wracking. You may have had some questions about what you are going to be doing for them and they may have asked for a resume. What do you say? Your letter should be professional but not as formal as a resume. Consider the following tips for effective letter writing to go with a resume.First, use professional way of communicating. Leave out your first name when you use your last name or any other personal information, even if it is just part of your contact information. Use the person's last name instead. These names will be easier to spell than those with the full names that are difficult to pronounce.Using abbreviatio ns and acronyms will give you the professional look you are going for, but it also means you aren't putting your full name into the letter. Even if you are going to be abbreviating the name of the person, never abbreviate the entire name. It could give off a professional image that you don't want to convey.Another great way to avoid personal details in the letter is to make sure to mention any awards or recognitions you might have received during your education. Be careful, though, to use words like 'on' rather than 'to' so the person you are sending the letter to does not misquote you. As for your resume, avoid mentioning things like the names of all your professors, the clubs or organizations you were a member of, or your award-winning thesis. These do not need to be included, as they will be listed in your letter.A brief sentence in the beginning of the letter should describe the length of the position, the time you will have to work for the company, and whether you have intervie wed with them before. This is a very good way to set up the idea of your interest in working for them. You want to state your interest in the position as soon as possible, as this will keep the letter moving quickly and effectively.Writing a letter to go with a resume is an important part of landing a job interview. You want to make sure that you show the person you are applying for that you have an interest in the position, and you want to show that you are a professional in your letters. These tips will help you in making that transition.

How to Get Hired When You Are Underqualified

How to Get Hired When You Are Underqualified When companies put up job descriptions for open positions, they are essentially trying to do two things: 1) get applicants excited about their company, and 2) get the right candidates to apply for the role. The idea is to communicate clearly the role, responsibilities, and expectations from the position. But, quite often, job descriptions are more of a wish-list for the ideal candidate than a checklist of traits every possible applicant must possess. Just like in real life, ideal scenarios are rare. If you feel you are not qualified in a few of the listed areas, but know that you would be able to do a good job, you may be right. Go ahead and apply. But because you don’t fully fit the bill, you may have to make some extra effort to get your foot through the door of the interviewing room. Here’s how. 1. List out all the skills and qualifications you think you have from the job description. These are going to be the areas you can highlight in your cover letter. 2. List out skills and qualifications you don’t directly have, but may still be able to do, because of your transferable skills. As Lily Zhang writes at The Muse, “This approach shifts the conversation away from relevant experience and more toward whether you can do that job or not.” 3. Connect with someone working at the company to get insights into the role and learn from their experience working in the company. Hopefully, you can also have them refer you into the company. An internal reference is one of the most effective ways of getting your resume seen by someone in the organization. 4. Do some in-depth research beyond what is available on the company website. Set up alerts to gather more information about the company and stay updated. This research will help you connect the importance of your role to the company’s future plans. You can use this in the cover letter, too! Read Next: How to Muster Up the Courage to Change Careers 5. Write a cover letter to highlight your transferable skills. The cover letter creates a clear connection between the skills that you possess and how that will be beneficial to the role that you are applying to. 6. Focus on the positive. Zhang advises job seekers to stop apologizing for skills they don’t have and to turn the focus on to skills that they do have. “I’m eager to translate my success in this administrative position to a more client-focused role” instead of “While I only have work experience doing administrative tasks…” 7. Highlight experiences where you may have used the skills â€" volunteering experiences, part-time jobs, grad school experiences (if you are a recent grad). 8. Work on your resume too. Customize it as much as possible and make it relevant to the job. The Applicant Tracking System is going to screen your resume for keywords, and making the resume in line with the requirements will help. The bottom line is, the requirements listed on job descriptions are not sacrosanct â€" they are just good to have, so that shouldn’t deter you from applying to the job, if you realistically feel you have the skills and the capability to deliver to expectations. More From PayScale: 5 Ways to Fake Confidence Survey: 76% of Workers Are More Productive Outside of the Office Real Work-Life Balance Starts With Your Boss Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time  0:00/Duration  0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type  LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time  -0:00  SharePlayback Rate1xChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedAudio TrackFullscreenThis is a modal window. This video is either unavailable or not supported in this browser Error Code: MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED Technical details : No compatible source was found for this media. Session ID: 2019-12-31:4b5c1626cd7346969682390f Player Element ID: jumpstart_video_1 OK Close Modal DialogBeginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.PlayMuteCurrent Time  0:00/Duration  0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type  LIVESeek to live, currently playing liveLIVERemaining Time  -0:00  Playback Rate1xFullscreenClose Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

10 Things to Consider When Creating a Personal Brand [FREE Webinar] - Work It Daily

10 Things to Consider When Creating a Personal Brand [FREE Webinar] - Work It Daily Webinar Information Duration: 1 hour Host: J.T. O'Donnell Cost: FREE Host Information Jeanine Tanner “J.T.” O’Donnell, founder of CAREEREALISM.com and CareerHMO.com, is a career strategist and workplace consultant who helps American workers of all ages find greater professional satisfaction. Her book, CAREEREALISM: The Smart Approach to a Satisfying Career, outlines her highly successful career-coaching methodology. She also works with Dale Dauten to write the career advice column “JT Dale Talk Jobs,” a nationally syndicated column that appears in more than 130 newspapers, reaching 6+ million households weekly. Read Full Bio » Personal branding requires some serious thought. Let CAREEREALISM Founder, J.T. O'Donnell show you the 10 things you need to assess to ensure your personal brand is sending the right message. If you want to be attractive to employers, you need to watch this webinar! This event has already happened. You must have at least a Freemium Membership to CareerHMO.com to watch the recording of this presentation. Click here » to set up your FREE account now and watch this webinar! This event is powered by CareerHMO.com Image from Kirill__M/Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!

A New Report Shares the Reality of Coming out with a Disability in the Workplace

A New Report Shares the Reality of Coming out with a Disability in the Workplace A new research report from Working Mother Research Institute, suggests that people with autism, mental health and cognitive disabilities be open about who they are and what they need. As it turns out, being upfront wont necessarily cost someone their job. In fact, the payoffs are significant for both employees and their employers.The work experiencefrom the application/interview process through onboarding and then to successfully handling a job and being promotedis very different for people with non-apparent disabilities, reads the report, Uncovering Hidden Potential Non-Apparent Disabilities in the Workplace. Recruiters, hiring managers, supervisors and co-workers are often prepared when an employee with obvious disabilities is considered or hired. However, when the employee has a non-apparent disability, the visual cues of disability are not obvious and, therefore, the employer may not be sensitive to the need for accommodations. The applicant/employee may choose not to disclose a non-apparent disability for a variety of reasons, and the resulting communications gap can lead to negative perceptions for both the employer and the applicant/employee.The report surveyed 1,604 working people with the aforementioned disabilities through an online questionnaire administered by Bonnier Custom Insights. It found that fruchtwein participants reported multiple disabilities and, employees who disclosed them (53 percent) were more satisfied and engaged at work than those who didnt disclose them (47 percent).The main reason employees didnt disclose their disabilities was because they dont believe that their disabilities interfere with their jobs, so mentioning them isnt worth it. Because of that 30 percent were uncomfortable sharing the information, 11 percent didnt want their employers to know and another 11 percent said their employer didnt ask so they didnt feel it necessary to bring up.Whi le 87 percent of the people surveyed are at risk of leaving their employer, the report suggests that effective communication between the employee and employer could change the game. While employers seem to be providing better accommodation to employees with disabilities than they once did, increased communication can only help the process. Of those who did disclose their disabilities, 75 percent requested accommodations and 88 percent of those had all or some of their requests approved.But thats not allon top of approving requests, companies may want to consider communicating those approvals company wide.Even when an employee discloses a disability to HR or a supervisor, in a culture where people are uncomfortable discussing disabilities, co-workers may erroneously perceive someone getting special treatment because the reason for the accommodation is not obvious or apparent, the report reads. That too can create a stressful and an unproductive work environment The unique experience of these employees in the workplace needs to be understood and defined so that employers can create successful employee value propositions and inclusive environments in which they can thrive.And on top of providing better accommodations so employees with disabilities can thrive, the largest noted influence on overall employee satisfaction was having a role model with disabilities in their organization.But in order to accommodate employees with disabilities and give them role models, companies need to hire more employees with disabilitiesand this hiring process may look different.Kearon of Autism Speaks noted in the report that some interviewers are revamping their process for candidates with autism, for example.Because of the nature of their disability, these candidates have difficulty communicating, he explains. ansicht employers were willing to throw the normal process out the window and try something new. These alternate assessments allow the employers to hire, for example, bette r software developers not by conversational interviews but by giving them tasks to perform.People with autism offered specific input about the hiring process, as well. Sixty-five percent sais they would have liked the opportunity to show their skills through a different kind of assessment instead of a traditional interview.As companies look to acquire and retain talent with all different skills and perspectives, and as more companies hire disabled workers,they should think about how their hiring processes and office cultures affect all different types of candidates and employees.--AnnaMarie Houlis is a multimedia journalist and an adventure aficionado with a keen cultural curiosity and an affinity for solo travel. Shes an editor by day and a travel blogger at HerReport.org by night.

The New Fuss About Writing a Japanese Resume

The New Fuss About Writing a Japanese Resume In the majority of cities theres a huge number of specialized photo-boots where it is possible to take official pictures where you are able to have your resume picture taken. After you have selected your favourite photo, it takes only under a moment to print. On the right-hand side, theres a space for you to set your ID photo. Moreover, put on a suit in the photo to keep it professional and make aya that make-up is kept conservative if youre a woman. Developing a Japanese resume entails a great deal more than a simple translation of your current resume. If youre applying for at least 1 company you might use the identical japanese letter format and mention same skills. Theres no need to design your own resume, you may use a vorlage to just fill in. Do elend photocopy one to utilize in another application, even when youre pleased with your good work. Its standard to compose dates in line with the Japanese calendar as 3529. If y ou are now studying towards a specific certificate you may also mention it here. When youre asking for work in Japan, then youve got to compose your resume in the Rirekisho format. Japanese resumes are by and large written in keigo. The Writing a Japanese Resume Stories Locating a job in Japan is much less difficult as it appears. Given the strict nature of job regulations for Japanese companies, it is wise for candidates to adhere to the format of application provided by the particular company. Unlike resumes in many other nations, Japanese resumes do not include your work scope and your achievements in prior companies. Mentioning your prior job responsibilities or job accomplishments isnt likely to impress your interviewer whatsoever. Be certain to include relevant awards for the work position youre applying for. You are able to also list different skills here. By opting to study at YAMASA, youve taken the very first step towards improving your Japanese language abilit ies When you have confidence in your kanji skills and a great deal of free time, you could consider filling yours out by hand that would need to be really impressive to anybody seeking to hire. However confident you could be in your Japanese abilities, its always a fantastic idea to run your resume by a close friend whos a native speaker and also has experience writing resumes. The significant point to keep in mind is to compose your complete name in furigana. Whatever job it is that you are writing a rirekisho for, it is always recommended to deal with it as the 1 chance to get to create a very good first impression on the hiring staff. The Basics of Writing a Japanese Resume The very first facets to be thought about in a Japanese resume are different sections that should be included. Just like with any kind of resume, there are specific rules to comprehend in regards to writing a Japanese resume and what concerns the sections listed and the overall format. Traditionally, theres just one style of therirekishodocument in Japan which comprises the precise same sections for each and every candidate. Based on which section you want to highlight, you can get a better fit version. The Downside Risk of Writing a Japanese Resume Japanese resume is double-sided, and hence, many of the times its a single page resume for the majority of the candidates. If a business demands an entry form filled out in a particular way, be sure you follow their instructions Japanese rirekisho still request gender throughout the board. Always print or buy extras in the situation you should use a different one.

18 Business Books to Read During Your Lunch Break

18 Business Books to Read During Your Lunch Break Bill Gates reads 50 books a year on average. The typical American reads four. See a connection?The fact is, reading is a fundamental part of your growth as a professional. Not only does it educate you, but it also keeps you mentally sharp and can even be a nice way to reduce stress after a long day.Unfortunately, many of us are too pressed for time to pick up a book or so we think.Your busy schedule may not let up anytimesoon, but its important to carve out space in your life for what matters. Forthose of us who work the 9-5 grind, that often means taking advantage of the gaps in our days. One of those gaps justso happens to be your lunch break.A typical lunch break lasts around an hour, making it an excellent opportunity to fit in some reading. The question is, what should you be reading?If professional success is your goal, you may want to opt for educational material related to self-improvement, ges chftsleben and entrepreneurship, or your industry. These types of books can help you refine what you already know and learn new things about subjects you thought you had mastered.Need a more specific recommendation?Check outFunderaslist ofthe best business books you should read on your lunch break