Make a Good First Impression The Introduction Email - Your Career Intel

Make a Good First Impression The Introduction Email - Your Career IntelAs an Executive Senior Partner with Lucas Group, I have both received and sent hundreds of introduction schmelzglasles. There are two main purposes of an introduction email to introduce yourself and to explain why you would add value to the recipients organization or career. In todays digital age, an email introduction allows you to make non-invasive, initial contact with a potential candidate or employer while giving them the opportunity to respond at their convenience.So, how do you craft an introductory email? The first thing that the recipient will see is the subject line. Consider something attention-grabbing or catchy to immediately attract the reader. If I see email subject lines that include who referred the individual to me, Im likely to read those emails first. If you cant include a referral or mutual friends name, write a creative headline such as, Public Company CFO with Turnaround Experience. Definite ly do not leave the subject line blank.Next, introduce yourself, immediately explaining why you would be an asset to the reader. Include various professional skills and experience to provide a frame of reference for your career history. For example, My name is Elaine Beagle, and for more than eight years, I have driven results and surpassed goals, recruiting top talent for clients and providing rewarding career opportunities for my candidates. I understand that your company is expanding and I believe my skill set and experience can assist your organization in achieving its financial objectives.If you are searching for a new career opportunity, be sure to attach your resume to the email. Before attaching it, review it for any grammatical and spelling errors and make sure it is tailored to the company or position that youre interested in. Also, if you can find common ground with the recipient, include that in the email body as well. Check out his or her LinkedIn profile and see if you went to the same high school, share a mutual hobby or have any connections in common. One way to weave this into the email is by saying, I saw your LinkedIn profile and noticed you went to the University of Texas I graduated from there as well.Lastly, ask questions to attempt to entice a response. If youre emailing a potential employer, ask about the position for which youre interested. You can also ask the recipient to meet to further discuss the opportunity or to have a call at his or her convenience. By asking questions, you are more likely to get a response to your email.Have you recently sent or received a good or poor introduction email? Share your experience with us.

The 4 Rules of Resume Design You Probably Didnt Know

The 4 Rules of Resume Design You Probably Didnt Know Youve decided to begin your job search and the first thing on your list is making a new resume. The prospect of exploring new opportunities is exciting, but how do you keep yourself top of mind for potential employers when they are receiving hundreds of applications a day? The answer with a little bit of work and a lot of imagination.Whether you are using a resume maker, or trying to build your resume from scratch, here are five rules you probably didnt know about making resumes. Following these tips will help you on your way to landing a job.1. Custom headers are crucial.Making a great first impression is one of the hardest parts of the job search. But with a great header, you can do it with ease.The header is the first thing employers or, rather, HR managers, notice when they receive a resume. The header of your resume is your one-stop-shop for grabbing their attention, and by customizing it to reflect your personality, you are m ora likely to be an attractive candidate.Images make for good headers. However, ensure the image isnt overly busy, or it will make your header hard to read. If you dont have a good image on hand, a simple text overlay with your key information should suffice, as long as it is clean and not overcrowded. With a great custom header, you have a better chance of reaching the next step having your resume read2. Column layouts are a must.You are the kind of person who keeps themselves abreast of changes in the marketplace. But how do you convey that? By creating resumes that are sleek, clean and convey your personality in an easy-to-digest form.While only a few years ago resumes were little more than a long list of your previous employment and education, each with its own paragraph of text, you should now focus on making a short and beautiful resume. The way to accomplish that is with column layouts that allow you to employ the entire page, rather than presenting your information from righ t to left in one list.In a column layout, one column is usually dedicated to your contact information and maybe a small thumbnail photograph, unless you have used one in your header. You can also choose to put snippets of information, such as references, education and skills, in this column, so you have more room in other columns to write about your experience.With this simple layout, anyone reading your resume will be able to get all the relevant information they need about you in one glance.3. Use icons.We know employers and HR managers are busy people, so using visual aids will help them notice your resume. Icons are a great tool to use in your resume, either to convey information or to break up the monotony of text.For instance, if you have experience creating videos, you can use an icon of a film strip or play button to illustrate that. The clever use of icons will make your resume more attractive and easier to recall.4. Limit your font use.Though it is tempting to use a pletho ra of fonts to show off your creativity, fonts are one area where less is more. Too many fonts can make it difficult to read your resume, so choosing only two or three fonts is the best option. Choose one font for headings, another for subheadings and one for the body copy. You are trying to make your resume easier to scan, so the right fonts will do wonders for your chances of winning an interview.With companies now investing more time into employee engagement, a well-thought out and easy-to-read resume will show potential employers that you are ready to put in the effort right from the application process.But remember to follow up your resume with more evidence of your ingenuity, such as a website and portfolio. Most applicants should have websites of some kind, and to further the impression that your resume has made, you should work on creating a landing page that is just as attractive as your resume and personality.With the combination of your unique abilities and these resume m aking tips, you should be able to earn your dream job in no time.--These resume samples were provided by Venngage. Ronita Mohan is a content marketer at Venngage, the online infographic and design platform. Ronita is interested in a variety of topics with regards to digital marketing, visual content, and online engagement, which she enjoys researching and writing about. Follow Venngage on Twitter atVenngage.

5 Ways to Show Your Employees You Appreciate Them - Spark Hire

5 Ways to Show Your Employees You Appreciate Them - Spark HireManagers and human resource professionals know that one way of improving sekretariat morale and ensuring employee retention is by showing employees that they are appreciated. The difficult piece is giving employees effective recognition. Often, employee appreciation is lumped into a few days of the year. Maybe HR provides cake for the office to show employees that they care other times, recognition isnt given until performance reviews come around, at which point the recognition is mandatory and possibly less authentic. Here are 5 ideas for giving your employees genuine recognition that will encourage and motivate them in their jobs.Greater compensation There are no two ways about this. Employees respond to a raise in their salary. Giving an employee a raise is an excellent way of showing them that they are valuable to your company.Public recognition While no manager should play favorites, you can seriously boost the morale of your employees by recognizing them in front of their colleagues or other managers. The fear is that this will make other employees disgruntled. However, an employee concerned with their own performance and development should make musiknote of the recognition and reassess their own job for ways they can attain it. If your employees approach recognition this way, hopefully your recognition of one will improve the efficiency and performance of many.A thank you note While it may seem like a small gesture, giving an employee a hand-written note shows that you took time out of your busy schedule to offer them thanks. What could easily have been captured in a short email youve now displayed to your employee in long-hand form, which takes more time, energy, and thought.Take time to understandThis tip for recognition may at first seem odd. Theres no verbal, written, or compensation-based recognition here, but this tip will help to drive your future recognition. In a one-on-one situation, take a few moments to really understand the nuts and bolts of a regular task or project which your employees undertake. Even though you most likely assigned the task, understanding the finer points of the project, along with its rewards and frustrations, is crucial to recognizing them in a meaningful way.Give credit where credit is due Be on the lookout for the opportunity to recognize your employees in any way. If they have a particularly good idea to invent a new process or create efficiency, recognize them at the time of that action. Similarly, if something they have done helps you, such as preparing a presentation for a client or simply making copies, be specific about the ways in which you thank them. Instead of simply offering thanks, tell them that their contribution will make your meeting go more smoothly, or comment that their assistance gave you the time to give needed attention to a client or other task.Recognition is often an elephant in the office space that no manager prefers to poke. However, research shows that employees will respond favorably to recognition simply by staying with their current employer. Youll find that employees that have been genuinely recognized will show their gratitude in their work and in their attitudes, which will benefit your team and the company as a whole.What are some ways you show your employees you appreciate them? Have you tried any of the methods we discussed? Share your thoughts and success stories in the commentsIMAGE Courtesy of Flickr by Patrick Hoesly

Elevating the Future

Elevating the Future Elevating the Future Elevating the FutureRoald Dahls classic childrens book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was considered a work of fantasy when it was published in 1964. After all, along with nut-sorting squirrels and teleportation via television, the book describes the eccentric Willy Wonkas ingenious glass elevator that goes up, down, sideways, and every other which way you can think of going.Now over five decades later, German engineering firm Thyssenkrupp Elevator AG is turning the Wonkavator into reality. The company has developed the Multi, a rope-free elevator that can travel both horizontally and vertically in a single shaft.A cabin of the MULTI elevator system. Image ThyssenkruppElevators may not be an obvious venue for innovation, as the business is very conservative. But as buildings are growing higher and higher, it becomes obvious more and more that the traditional elevator is a limiting factor and a bottleneck for the constructors of visionary b uildings, said Markus Jetter, head of product development at Thyssenkrupp Elevator.To avoid those bottlenecks, Thyssenkrupps technology enables multiple elevator cabins to run in a loop and the cars move via a magnet-based linear motor drive system, similar to that found in Maglev trains. The elevators have an exchanger, which can switch from vertical to horizontal to allow for sideways movement.The system, Jetter said, activates only those sections where the cars are located, so energy is consumed only where cars are areaccelerating, moving steadily, or decelerating.The absence of ropes may give a different first impression but that isnt true in any respect, he said, adding that the linear motors are safe because they need to be energized before they move. Without electricity, the cabins wont move.The cabins also include emergency batteries so they can continue to run in the case of a blackout.In June, Thyssenkrupp displayed a fully functional unit in an 870-foot test tower in Rott weil, Germany. The company is now working on getting international certifications. OVG, the developer of smart office buildings, will be installing the elevator system in the East Side Tower in Berlin.Besides being one of the first new innovations in the elevator industry since the invention of the safety elevator some 165 years ago, the Multi promises to reduce peak power demand by as much as 60 percent, compared to conventional elevator systems.Multi offers a 50 percent higher transportation capacity. That means the same amount of people can be commuted with half the number of shafts. This is particularly important as elevator shafts can occupy up to 40 percent of the floor space in a typical tall building, Jetter said.The Multi wont have all the features of the Wonkavator, though. In the books sequel, the Great Glass Elevator flew to an orbiting space hotel. For Further DiscussionBut as buildings are growing higher and higher, it becomes obvious more and more that the traditional elevator is a limiting factor and a bottleneck. Markus Jetter, Thyssenkrupp Elevator AG

Baby Steps To Meritocracy

Baby Steps To MeritocracyBaby Steps To MeritocracyMeritocracy sounds great on paper. You reward your best people for doing a good job, and those who slack off reap fewer benefits. What could be fairer than that? As with any utopic vision, the devil is in the details. There is some evidence that a paradox of meritocracy exists. A study conducted by researchers from MIT and Indiana University found that meritocratic organizations tend to reward men more than women. So maybe its fairer for companies to opt out of meritocracy altogether and reward based on seniority? Companies that do so will find themselves out of synch with the future. According to George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen, the workplace is evolving into what he calls a hyper-meritocracy in which data increasingly determines employee value. In the book Average is Over Powering America Past the Age of the Great Stagnation, Cowen writes that someday soon employers will be able to measure an employees economic value w ith a sometimes oppressive precision. Imagine Company A, which has top-of-the-line data analytics. Its able to determine which employees are good for the bottom line and which ones add little or no value. As its personnel become more efficient, the firm increases profits and market share. Company B, which has been watching its market share shrink, is forced to compete, so then it also evaluates its employees analytically, promoting and paying stars and flattening wages for other employees. This forces Company C and Company D to follow suit. Cowen and other economists say hyper-meritocracy is coming. Will you work for Company A or Company D? Or Company Z? You can take steps now to get ahead of this trend. The Problem with Seniority The paradox of meritocracy is an issue that apparently needs resolving, but there are problems baked into any reward ordnungsprinzip. Thomas Zwick is a professor University of Wrzburg in Germany who studies human resource management and organization. He is the author of the working paper Why Pay Seniority Wages? The paper says that employers with high seniority wages in Germany pay employees a wage level below their marginal productivity during their first years with the company and gives them a wage higher than their labor productivity after theyve been with the company awhile. Can you spot the problem with this approach? Such a seniority-based system risks losing its most talented workers during their first years if they can leave for better pay, which means the company will be stuck with workers who do not have the marketable skills to leave and find higher-paying work. Another wrinkle at some point the senior workers earnings outpace their productivity, meaning that less-productive workers are the firms most well-compensated. These talented young workers sign an implicit contract with their employer that states that they regularly get higher wage increases than their productivity increase and that the firm has a strong interest i n keeping them for a lifetime career, Zwick said in an email interview. Why should this be attractive for some talented people? First, some people in Germany are happy about a lifetime perspective. We should not forget that firms with steep seniority pay tend to be very attractive employers, such as large industrial firms with lots of high-skilled people and international success. Second, old-age pensions are based on salary during the last years of employment, and these earnings are clearly higher for employees in firms with seniority wages. Zwick says another advantage of incremental, regimented seniority pay, as compared to meritocracy, is that employers can offer long-term incentives without the disadvantage of having to decide who merits a dreingabe, which eliminates creating what he calls losers. In other words, it all boils down to Trust us. We wont lay you off when youre 51. From an employee perspective, its a good deal, but only when the company keeps its word. Who can fore see what the market will look like in 10, 20 or 30 years? The citizens of the Rust Belt in the United States know that large companies cant always keep these promises. Seeing Unicorns How can an organization transition to meritocracy? Companies across the world are experimenting with meritocracy schemes right now. One of them is the Canadian-based ecommerce platform Shopify. At Shopify all bonuses are merit-based. The 414-employee company assigns bonuses with a program called Unicorn. Under Unicorn, employees are nominated every month by their peers for going above and beyond. Using an internal tool, all employees can vote on a scale of 0-3, or they can abstain, and the employees who receive the most votes are awarded a percentage bonus pegged to Shopifys current revenue. Employees can take home anywhere from $20 to $800 in a single month. The company has built in a number of safeguards to keep the system honest. Shopify Head of Human Relations Brittany Forsyth said the system has t he added bonus of increasing information and communication throughout the company as employees learn what fellow coworkers and other teams are doing. Unicorn is so engrained in company culture that employees use the word as a verb. For example Nice work. Im going to unicorn you for that. Images of unicorns can be found throughout Shopifys Ottawa headquarters. On the 0-3 scale, a 3 vote is denoted with a bucking unicorn. Among the many criticisms of workplace meritocracy are Who sets the standards? and Who gets to decide? Shopify ingeniously avoided these dilemmas by crowdsourcing bonus decisions. When we created Unicorn, it went against the stereotypical bonus system of top-down, Forsyth said. We wanted something that was a new way of thinking about it. We wanted people to own their successes.Promotion at Shopify has meritocratic elements, too. The peer-review process is used as a tool when making the decision of whether to promote someone to Team Lead. As for data, Shopify does not use analytics to evaluate employees, but the companys human resources team is interested in evaluating which sources of hiring are most beneficial to the company (referrals versus targeted reach-outs, for example), and Forsyth would like to be able to track which performance metrics or backgrounds correlate with team members who rise to become high-impact team members. Old Dogs and New Tricks Shopify is a very young company, which gives it flexibility in establishing policies. But many organizations- schools, for example- have seniority in their DNA. So how do you change an organizations reward structure without destroying morale? Its a question University of Arkansas education policy professor Gary Ritter is studying. Ritter, the author of A Straightforward Guide to Teacher Merit Pay, believes that merit-based compensation can improve the learning experience for children in American schools. His research, which looked at schools that implemented merit rewards, has taught him lesso ns that could apply to other workplaces.Ritter says he would not alter the pay structure of current employees. He advises starting with merit bonuses. Management, he says, should then sit down with workers and co-define performance to set reasonable and appropriate goals. This part is important. While its relatively easy to evaluate a math teacher (did the students get better at solving math problems?) or a sales position (how much did you sell?), how does a manager evaluate an art teacher or, say, a absatzwirtschaft brand manager? Establishing clear performance parameters collaboratively answers these questions. For an organization to reap the rewards, it needs to commit to meritocracy for the long-run, says Ritter. He believes that a merit-based system cant be measured in one or two years, but rather needs to be in place long enough to attract a new wave of employees- the type who would welcome working in a meritocracy. If college grads saw this, and recognized that performance wa s being rewarded, it would change the composition of your workforce, Ritter said. To receive articles like this by email, sign up for Simply Hireds Monthly Newsletter and Feature Articles. Read more How to Leave a Positive Impression With Rejected CandidatesCharm Candidates With an Irresistible Company CulturePromote From Within or Hire From Without? Six Factors to Consider that Will Shape Your CultureHow to Prevent Your ATS from Working Against YouWhy Some Recruiters Almost Always Hire the Right CandidateThe Changing Workforce

15 of the Best Cities for Finding a Job in 2019

15 of the Best Cities for Finding a Job in 201915 of the Best Cities for Finding a Job in 2019With the unemployment rate at a record 18-year low, theres no time like the present to polish up your resume and cover letter and abflug applying for jobs. But, in some cases, getting hired for a job might largely depend on where youre located, according to the WalletHub story, Best Cities for Jobs. It compared 180 U.S. cities across 30 markers of job market strength, ranging from the amount of jobs available to employment growth to monthly starting salaries.Looking to see which places are the best to find a job? Here they are, ranked from first to fifteenth Arizona appears three times on the list, ranking first, tenth, and fourteenth, respectively. Colorado also appears twice on the list, landing in both the fifth and thirteenth slots. Weve added in convenient links to see the flexible and remote job opportunities each city (or state) hasScottsdale, AZColumbia, MDOrlando, FLSan Francisco, C AColorado Springs, COPortland, MEPlano, TXWashington, DCBoston, MAChandler, AZSouth Burlington, VTMinneapolis, MNDenver, COTempe, AZPittsburgh, PABROWSE OPEN REMTOE JOBS BY LOCATIONMore specifically, the findings break down as followsMost Job OpportunitiesOrlando, FLSalt Lake City, UTCharleston, SCColumbia, SCPortland, MEHighest Employment GrowthColorado Springs, COReno, NVHuntington, WVHialeah, FLGlendale, AZHighest Monthly Average Starting SalarySan Jose, CAWashington, DCBridgeport, CTSan Francisco, CAOakland, CALowest Unemployment RateSouth Burlington, VTFargo, NDHonolulu, HIMadison, WIBismarck, NDShortest Average Work Commute TimeBurlington, VTTallahassee, FLMissoula, MTColumbia, SCHuntington, WVIf you dont live in any of unterstellung cities and are on the hunt for a new job, dont fret There are plenty of remote jobs out there that have no location requirement. Check out these 25 companies currently hiring for work-from-anywhere jobs today

Quack Like a Duck and Other Secrets of Successful Career Change

Quack Like a Duck and Other Secrets of Successful Career Change Quack Like a Duck and Other Secrets of Successful Career Change Nicholas Lore, founder of the Rockport Institute, is a career development pioneer.He single-handedly transformed the career coaching field, hes been commended for excellence by 2 US Presidents, and his book The Pathfinder is one of the best selling career books in US history. Over the last 29 years hes helped over 14,000 people to make a change.I was fortunate to spend an hour on the phone with Nick recently, and I picked his brain about the career change process. Here are the key things I learnedTake a holistic approach to the decisionWhen Nick departureed out, career counselors all followed the same model using very basic interest and personality tests to identify and suggest jobs that might suit you.It was a flawed model and even now, Nick believes many career change experts are misguided, focusing solely on one aspect such as following your passion or i dentifying your life purpose. Instead, he says, career change decision-making must be a holistic process. He points out that a passion for animals wont necessarily translate into happiness if you take a job in an animal protection agency. You may find you dont like your tasks, or the people, or the salary, or the hours. And what started out as a passion can quickly feel like a millstone around your neck.Thats why Nick guides his clients through a holistic decision-making process. He likens it to detective work identifying and interpreting clues in order to guide each person towards the right decision.Go beyond the dreamYou may think you know exactly what you want do, but Nick encourages his clients to expand whats possible. He believes we tend to base our dreams about the future on what we have known in the past, and he encourages his clients to think beyond what they know and consider completely new possibilities. In the process, many find joy and self-expression in work they had bedrngnis previously considered.Be realisticAccording to Nick, there are two different tracks to consider when working through a career change decision.The first is reality We all have constraints on what changes we can make. Perhaps you have to pay for two kids in college. Perhaps you need to stay in a certain regional location. Your talents and skills are another reality constraint if you cant draw, you cant become a video game artist.The second is what Nick calls the invented world. By this he means the world you decide that you want to create for yourself (within the limitations of reality of course). To help people create their invented world, Nick and his staff coach them through a series of exercises designed to help them explore, research, and understand all of the many possibilities.He also encourages people making a career change to research the reality of the positions they are considering. Its easy to imagine only the good things about your desired role without consider ing the down sides. Its also common for people to succumb to yeah-but thoughts that keep them from making a change.Dont focus on random optionsNick says one of the biggest mistakes career changers make is that they start by thinking through random options. (Maybe I could be a psychologist Perhaps I could learn to style hair I wonder if I should become an accountant.)While this approach might result in success, its more likely to lead to a dead end. Instead Nick recommends developing definite clear, written statement of your specifications for happiness before you start to consider options.This list should include both your reality constraints and your ideal invented world.And as you make your choice, ask yourself what will it take to get there? to be sure youre willing (and able) to do what is necessary.For example, one 40 year-old client of Nicks decided she wanted to be a doctor, gave up her job, and went to medical school in order to make the change. That kind of commitment is only possible when you have fully thought through your decision from all possible angles.A resume isnt going to do the trickA good resume is important but it cant get you where you need to be without a creative approach.In general, employers are looking for someone with experience in the specified field or industry. They are not looking to take a chance on someone new and untested.This means that you cant just apply to advertised positions and wait for the phone to ring. Instead, you need a more creative approach. Nick puts it this way if you want to be a duck, you need to walk, talk and fly like a duck.He gives the example of one client, a successful economist who realized she had an amazing gift for product design. But as a middle-aged professional, she wasnt enthusiastic about returning to school to learn an entirely new skill set. Seeking other ways to break into her chosen field, she devised a creative solution she set up, planned, organized and moderated a symposium on breakt hrough design, held at the Smithsonian. In this way, she placed herself right into the middle of the product design field with the key players. Or as Nick put it she beamed her way up rather than battling her way up.This strategy has become easier than ever with the advent of social media. Sites like LinkedIn allow you to reach out and connect with people from any industry. Services Like Twitter allow you to initiate conversation with anyone you choose. For no cost at all, you can set up a blog about your target profession and very quickly build a strong reputation.Remember, if you want to be a duck, you have to act like one.My conversation with Nick was inspiring. He told me that what keeps him going after 29 years is his commitment to helping people love their lives. What a great mission