How Informational Interviews Can Help You Land the Top Jobs

How Informational Interviews Can Help You Land the Top Jobs Are you feeling stuck in your career, because you are still trying to figure out what your next move should be? It’s easy to sit behind your computer passively as the days go on while you “figure it out.” Many people try to search within themselves for the clarity they need in their career, but it is much more effective to go external for that clarity. You’re always hearing that you need to network to advance your career, but unless you are skilled at professional networking, then you probably don’t know where to start. Trust me, I’ve attended tons of career fairs and networking events only to feel depleted and no further along than I was before those events. I learned that I needed to go directly to the people in a position to help me. Informational interviews are the best ways of doing just that and are one of the most underrated strategies out there when it comes to advancing your career. What is an informational interview? An informational interview is an informal conversation with an expert where you are seeking advice and information about a potential career path. These meetings can be held over the phone, in person or even through online chat. You may think it sounds simple, but this process can be very powerful in bringing clarity and building your professional network. Why do informational interviews work? We tend to forget that people are the ones who fill jobs, not software. We get so comfortable submitting our resumes on websites and letting go of all the control of our career development. Think about this from a hiring manager’s perspective. There is a lot of risk in hiring someone based on a one hour interview, where people are putting their best face forward. When you take the time to build relationships, you are humanizing the process again and people want to work with people they like and trust. By taking the time to really understand a job and company, you are already separating yourself from 90% of your competition. Resistance to informational interviews: There are a lot of people who know in their mind that this process works and have bought in, but still they fail to reach out to people. They are uncomfortable putting themselves out there and it feels easier to continue to apply online, even if isnt working and the jobs arent that desirable. This is psychological resistance at work. We want to continue to do what we have always done, because “that’s the way it’s always been done.” You need to challenge this conventional mindset,  because the best jobs are filled before they are even advertised. The jobs that make it to the job boards are usually not as desirable. Common examples of resistance are: “I don’t have a professional network.” “No one is going to want to network with me.” “What if they say no.” These are all common fears that people have when it comes to reaching out to people and asking for help or advice. First, remember that everyone has a network  and that will become more clear once you start to think more broadly about your network. Think about your parents friends, your extended family, neighbors, people at church, and people at the gym. The list goes on and on. You will be surprised how many people that you dont really  know that well, who will be excited to help you out. Successful people love to meet and speak with other professionals who take that kind of initiative. Finally, it’s natural to fear rejection and not everyone will respond to your appeal  for help, but the majority will be willing to spend time with you. You will be surprised how much value and information you get from these conversations and will learn much more than you ever would from a job description. How do I go about asking for an informational interview? The best approach to getting an informational interview is through introduction. You will want to have an idea of specific job titles you want to learn more about. This is where most people get stuck. They refuse to get specific about a job title before the meeting. Force yourself to write down 5 job titles that sound interesting and start with the first one. It is important to have focus in your meeting. No one wants to meet with someone who has no clue what they want to achieve from the conversation. You don’t want to show up to this meeting and say, “Well, I think I kind of want to do sales, marketing, or customer service.” You can’t expect this person to be your career coach. They are there to tell you about their career path and give you advice on what they have learned so far. The job title you pick does not have to be the one you stick with; this is a discovery meeting. The meeting will bring clarity and build your network at the same time, so you will be killing two birds with one stone! When you are asking for an introduction, make sure you explain to your contact why you want to meet with this person. Offer to even write the email introduction for them, so they can just simply forward it to the person to save them time. If you don’t have someone to introduce you, then don’t worry you can contact people cold. This works as well because people love to give advice. When asking for a meeting cold (without introduction), express that you are interested in learning more about their role, to find out if it might be a good fit for your next career move. Only ask for a small amount of time (15-20 minutes) and make sure you offer a location that is convenient to them, since you are the one asking for help. Finally, always come prepared with questions. You don’t want to waste their time and you will be ready to follow up with questions, which will help to avoid any awkward silences. This process works and it has worked for me, to identify opportunities before they were ever posted online! This will even work for you if you are looking for jobs in another state because you can schedule meetings by phone. The success of this process all boils down to the relationship. The more you make it about building relevant relationships with people who have been in your shoes, the faster your career progress will be! Author: Olivia Gamber is the founder of occupationalolivia.com, where she helps underutilized, Gen-Y professionals advance their career.

Head to Toe Beauty Tips for Brides

Head to Toe Beauty Tips for Brides Every girl dreams of walking down the aisle to meet her prince charming, the thing is, we dont realize at 10 years old what planning goes into making it all happen!  We envision our husband-to-be waiting for us at the end of the aisle, ready to say I do, and no matter what style dress or wedding, you imagine yourself looking your best.  Girl, that doesnt just happen on its own, beauty takes work! For most of us, we have some type of routine that we go through every day to get ready and look our best.  Whether you are a 10 minute girl, or your like me and you take your time and stretch it out to an hour and a half, we all care what we look like to others.  For the biggest day of your life,  this is going to be the longest get ready session in history!  You are going to want to spend some time and follow the tips below to look your best as you walk down the aisle. I sat down with my go-to beauty girl, Jeanell Bowker from Mario Tricoci to get some great tips of how to prep for your wedding day.  Jeanell shared her top insider tips below but if you would like your own bridal beauty  consultation  you can contact Visions to get a complimentary consultation. Not a bride but want beauty tips?  Skip to the bottom of the article to see how you can look your best,  and find out what colors you dont want to wear to a wedding! Head to Toe Beauty Tips for Brides: Hair Care Tips Wash your hair the night before or better yet, receive a blow out from your hair stylist, this way the hair is clean and yet has enough texture to put your hair up for your special day.  Make an appointment to receive your blow out for your rehearsal dinner and now you are all set for both occasions! Inspiration is Priceless Bring pictures to your stylist.  We all have different textures and style of hair so its important to bring to your stylist what you envision for you big day, but more importantly (and I have seen this time and time again as a wedding planner) your terminology of soft curls may be different from your stylist.  The last thing you want is to tell her the look and get something completely different on the day of.  Pictures will ensure you are both on the same page. Be Realistic Its best to take the recommendation of a professional.  If your stylist truly is a professional she will consult you regarding the silhouette of the dress, accessories, shoes and the formality of your wedding to give you the best style for your hair type. Practice Makes Perfect Jeanell recommends getting a trial run no matter how long you have been seeing your stylist or how much you trust her work.  With the trial you will be able to try different options as well as take pictures to make sure its exactly what you want.  Bring the photos you take from the trial with you on your wedding day because stylist see  hundreds  of clients in a month and you want to make sure you get the style right.  Take a front and back photo to get the overall feel for the style and as a rule of thumb get a trial done about a month out.  This way its fresh in your minds but you still have time if you need to tweak some things. Timeless Elegance Remember, hair should look timeless.  Trends are fine to set the tone of the style but you dont want to look back and tell what decade you were married in by your hair. Beauty is Pain  Bobby pins can be painful if you arent use to them.  Its a good idea to have  Advil  on hand before the evening gets underway (If you hired a wedding planner she should have all the essentials in her  emergency  kit).  Just like a ponytail or a headband can apply discomfort after a whole day, so can bobby pins! Less is NOT better  This is probably one of the few instances when less is NOT more!  There are two main reasons why your makeup artist will cake on the products. 1) Photos, the camera will produce a shine and  diminish  the smokey eye just by the flash alone.  Also to ensure that your photos depict how beautiful you were in person, your makeup artist will want to be using the correct products (yes there are a list of products not to use specifically for photos) and will make your eyes a bit darker. 2) This is your wedding, you dont want to look like you do every other day, you want to look like you are dressed to the nines for your big day and makeup sets the stage. Lose the Orange A nice glow is a must, but tanning too much before your wedding makes it very hard to custom blend your make up and to match your skin tone.  Not to mention you dont want to look back at photos and say, Why didnt someone tell me how orange  I was! Pucker Up Lip color is the biggest debate.  Think a little outside the box and  try your professionals  recommendations.  Lip color changes by the season and although you still need to feel comfortable you may want to push your boundaries and try a color you would never think of wearing.  Sometimes your makeup artist knows best, and just like a dress, try them all because often the tone you least expect to be complimentary is the best fit. The Best Accessory Shoes girls love them and our feet hate them! Remember that on your wedding day you will want to flirt a little with the camera by showing some amazing heels but by the end of the night you will not want to be dealing with those extra 5 inches.  As Jeanell shared with me, her grandmother gave her some great advice, No matter what, a real lady never takes off her heels in public!  Whether your whole bridal party gets matching flip-flops or ever Dr. Scholls flat slip ons,  its better to have these as options than to be in your beautiful dress  shoe less, think ahead. Follow these tips and you are sure to look great and feel amazing!  We all know when we look great we feel great, and when you take some time to put into the beauty side of planning it will definitely pay off.  Who doesnt like getting pampered and having their hair and makeup done professionally?  Its one of the few days you get to sit back and relax and let the professionals work their magic on you. Not a bride but want Beauty Tips?  Email me at [emailprotected] for the Top 10 Wedding Guest Beauty Tips.

Whats the Biggest Barrier to Improving Diversity

Whats the Biggest Barrier to Improving Diversity There is nothing than worse than being prevented from delivering your very best, no matter how good your intentions. Diversity is a hot topic and every organisation is striving to get it right. But what can possibly get in the way? Believe it or not there are a number of barriers which can stop you in your stride. Thankfully our panel of diversity and inclusion experts are back to make sure any barriers in your way can be lifted. Natasha Broomfield-Reid The biggest barrier I face as a Consultant when trying to improve organisations’ diversity and inclusion is a lack of engagement and reluctance to change from senior leaders, who do not recognise the issue or need to address diversity and inclusion. There is only so much that a management level individual can achieve on their own without senior level buy in/engagement and securing a commitment throughout the organisation. Natasha Broomfield-Reid, Head of Development at Equal Approach. Caroline Stokes I’ve lived in many countries Singapore, Australia, UK, Ireland and now Canada, and I’m used to APAC, North American and European candidates. My team is small, but as I’ve hired people from various locations, cultures, beliefs, political beliefs and sexual orientation. I prefer hiring diverse talent as it stimulates me and my company goals. Caroline Stokes, Executive Headhunter Coach. Founder of FORWARD. Nicola Crawford A company might want to employ a diversity champion as part of the HR team to foster an inclusive culture and explain to the benefits not only internally but externally. Barriers can be negativity, a sense of that doesn’t affect me and perhaps a sense of prejudice and stereotyping towards certain members of society â€" education is the way forward. Nicola Crawford, CFIRM, Chair of the Institute of Risk Management. Joanna Abeyie Businesses still seeing diversity as an option rather than a vital ingredient for a successful business and innovative business. Joanna Abeyie, Managing Director, Hyden, SThree. Suki Sandhu The barriers vary from company to company, but often lack of budget can be a perceived barrier. However, businesses do not realise that finding this talent isn’t actually hard or costly and can make businesses money. In fact, recent research from McKinsey shows that diverse businesses outperform their competitors by up to 35%. Lack of strong and successful role models across all levels and especially at senior levels is another key barrier. There’s definitely more work to be done in this area, which is why we’ve launched the EMpower Ethnic Minority Leaders and Future Leaders Lists, presented by the Financial Times. These lists aim to create successful role models to show members of BAME community that race need not be a barrier to success. Suki Sandhu, CEO and founder of  Audeliss. Charlotte Sweeney There are many barriers to improving diversity. Many of them boil down into two key issues that are the root cause to many symptoms â€" one being the level of engagement of people across the company and how important they think this is to them. The second is how much diversity and inclusion embedded into the business, how much this is part of the ‘day job’ rather than being seen as an ‘add on’ or an ‘initiative’. The ‘STAR Framework’ in the book ‘Inclusive Leadership’ shares an overview on how to monitor where you are as well as what you need to focus on to improve the situation Once the focus is on engagement and embedding and everyone understands the impact of their actions and behaviours on DI in the workplace there would be much more traction across the business as well as more people thinking about how to drive change Charlotte Sweeney, Managing Director of Charlotte Sweeney Associates Ltd. Sarah Nahm Diversity and inclusion came naturally to Lever in the early days. It was a lot of work, but we had a few passionate stakeholders, and achieved authentic buy-in from the team at large. Our biggest challenge now is to sustain energy around diversity and inclusion, and preserve it as a core cultural pillar as we grow. That requires us to hire well, so that we bring in waves of talent that align with Lever’s values, and avoid making one or two bad hires that can undo literally years of focused effort on something our organization holds dear. Sarah Nahm, CEO, Lever.

Five Facebook Mistakes to Avoid

Five Facebook Mistakes to Avoid Facebook is constantly changing its privacy settings and controls, so your Facebook page may be more visible than you think.   Here are some of the bad ideas I’ve seen lately â€" bad, that is, if you’re in a job search and hoping someone is ready to hire you. Bad idea number one: posting pictures of you, your family, or friends dead drunk, making out with a stranger, or in other compromising positions.   Especially if you have more than one occasion to post, or you post a comment that makes it seem funny.   Even if you’re not the one making a monkey of yourself, you could be hurting someone else’s credibility with their employer.   I am NOT LOL. Bad idea number two: Asking a stranger or public figure to friend you, but blocking your wall and information so we can’t see who you are.   I, for one, don’t accept friend invitations unless I recognize the person or can see the quality of their wall postings.   You may be a very nice person, but I have no idea about what will come onto my news feed unless I can see what comes onto yours. Better idea â€" connect through LinkedIn.   I know that your profile there will be professional and focused on what we have in common. While we’re at it, please use a profile picture of you when you ask someone you don’t know well to friend you.   If you want to be found and increase your network, it’s confusing to see a picture of your grandchild, your dog, or anyone else when I try to remember who you are or where we’ve met.   Again, LinkedIn has this right â€" everyone there uses a professional head shot. Bad idea number four: too much frivolous stuff on your page.   Many professionals create two profiles to avoid this problem.   Keep Farmville, your horoscope, and your bunny hugs on the personal profile (if you must have them.)   Keep your professional profile less cluttered.   That’s not to say it shouldnt include the real you â€" you can decide which hobbies and interests you reveal to the world.   (For me, it’s food and cooking; I share recipes and wine tips with friends.) Most of us block the game notices on our own walls (Mary just fed her pig!) but if your wall is filled with game notices, it may look like you’re not very serious about your job search or have way too much time on your hands. Bad idea number five: developing a pattern of less-than attractive behavior posts.   Whining about the boss, your brother-in-law, or how your husband won’t pick up his socks gets old after a while.   Liking snarky pages with names like: “Slap the Stupid People!” or “[whatever people I disagree with] Are Idiots!” just doesn’t make you look like management material.   Seth Godin has said: “Your Google search results are your new resume.”   I just Googled my name, and the social media links came up even higher than the traditional media links to my name in news stories. What does your online and social media presence say about you?

5 Simple Steps to a Successful Telephone Interview - Career Pivot

5 Simple Steps to a Successful Telephone Interview - Career Pivot Telephone Interview We have all had a telephone interview. They are a very important part of the initial screening process for filling a position. If you do not get past the initial screen, well…you will not get the job. Let me give you five simple steps to follow for a successful telephone interview. Step 1 â€" Research the Interviewer It is critical that you know something about the person you will be interviewing with. Look them up on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. If you are interviewing with a recruiter or HR person, send a connection request immediately after getting the interview notice. What are they posting? Where have they worked? Do you have any hobbies in common? This is where Facebook helps! You want to be able to personally connect with the interviewer. For more, read: Understanding the Hiring Manager Prior to the Interview Step 2 â€" Prepare Probing Questions I want you to think like a consultant during the telephone interview. You should probe for pain points. In an initial telephone interview, this might include the following: Is this a newly created position? What are the responsibilities of the position? Are these responsibilities new to the department, organization, or company? What are the new business requirements that are causing you to fill this position? You are looking for reasons that the position is open. Once you understand the reasons, you can properly position yourself as the best candidate. Listen to the most recent episode For more, read: Probing for Pain Points in an Interview Step 3 â€" Prepare Yourself Mentally You want to feel confident and poised in the interview. One hour before the interview, get some moderate exercise. This might be going for a fast walk or climbing stairs for 15-20 minutes. If you are nervous at all, this will help take the edge off. It is not important if you are sweaty during the interview. They cannot smell you over the phone! The next step is based on the premise that your body shapes who you are. Amy Cuddy was a TED Talk presenter, and in her video Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are, she explains that, when you take on powerful and winning body shapes, it will increase testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain. You will feel more confident. For this activity, you will probably need to go into a bathroom stall. Stick your hands up like Usain Bolt when he won the 100-meter dash at the Olympics. Keep them up for two minutes and soak in that winning feeling. If you still don’t believe me, read her paper, Power Posing. Yes, I know this sounds crazy, but it does work! For more, read: 3 Steps to Walking Into Your Interview with Confidence Step 4 â€" Setup Your Interview Space Prepare to take the telephone interview in a quiet space where you will be standing up. Use a headset on either a land line or your cell phone. If you are using a cell phone, make sure you have a very good signal. If you have to go outside, be sure to find a spot away from the wind. It is critical that you be standing up and have the use of your hands to gesture. If you are a pacer when you talk, make sure your shoes do not squeak. You may even want to take them off. For more, read: 4 Steps in Creating Your Video Interview Environment Step 5 â€" Be Positive and Tell Stories During the Telephone Interview One key way to stay positive during a telephone interview is to smile! Yes, I know that the person on the other telephone cannot see you, but if you are smiling, it is really tough to be other than positive. When you are asked a question, try to answer by saying, “Let me tell about the time that…” Do not simply tell the interviewer you can do the job. Instead, answer the question by telling a story of when you demonstrated the skill required for this new position. For more read: Adding Storytelling to the Interview Process If you follow these five simple steps you will improve your chances of moving forward in the interview process. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Want To Stand Out From The Crowd At Your First Trade Show Read On.

Want To Stand Out From The Crowd At Your First Trade Show Read On. Attending a trade show exhibition has the potential to work wonders for your business. It can be the key to reaching new audiences, gaining increased reputations, and learning about ways to improve the operation. Nonetheless, the first trade show event can be a daunting environment, which is why the best preparations are vital. With so many businesses competing for consumer interest, only the most successful pitches will survive. Focus on the six crucial elements below, and you will be just fine. Find The Perfect Venue Before worrying about all the wonderful things you’re going to achieve with your pitch, it’s crucial that you find the right venue. All trade show events have their unique crowds while the fluctuation in costs and timings can be huge too. Do not overlook this factor. On a separate note, you need to consider the geographic location. Some small offline ventures may want to remain local while an online company that is looking to expand to new areas may look further afield. There is no one right or wrong answer, but it must be the right crowd for you. Similarly, the date of the event needs to be convenient.     Grab The Client’s Attention The first job facing any business looking to win big at the trade show revolves around actually getting people to take notice. With so many stands on display, many visitors skip the majority. Ensuring that your brand is unmissable should be top of the agenda. Promoting your brand in a big way should include overhead signage while visual aids and a good speaker system should be on the checklist too. Spark that initial sense of interest, and your hopes of success will instantly swell. This is a simple game of probability. Fail to capture the imagination within a few seconds, and any potential interaction is lost.Provide Memorable Moments A lot of trade show stands have the snazzy videos to showcase their products in an easy to digest fashion. However, this is an opportunity to build a rapport with far greater impacts than your traditional interactions. It’s imperative that you grab it with both hands. People buy into people and brands, which is why great communication and client care is key. Aside from building the bond, it gives you a chance to actively explain how the product is right for them. Using interactive games and comps to build a sense of excitement is advised too. Clients will see several stands on the day. When yours is fun and professional, it will be the one they remember. Be Ready For Orders As with any business activity, the primary goal is to generate leads and sales. Therefore, knowing that your trade show stool is ready to handle this assignment is another key part of the preparations. Not least because modern tech makes the process simpler than ever.     Cash sales are no longer the only option for immediate transactions. A mobile credit card reader essentially turns your stand into a portable store, removing a huge obstacle in the process. Meanwhile, having order forms and getting back to the traditional style can work wonders too. Whether those orders are placed today or something to chase up on, this is a major source of success. Think Beyond Today Getting sales on the day of the show is great, but failure to do this isn’t necessarily a problem. A lot of clients, particularly b2b ones, will go home to think about things. If you’ve made the business memorable through fun activities, the foundations are already in place. But you can’t stop there. Giving visitors a goodie bag can work wonders. This can include promotional goods such as mugs or t-shirts. Meanwhile, including business cards and leaflets for special promotions is also advised. The latter can actively push them towards a purchase. If the trade show pitch is productive in the long haul as well as on the day itself, success is assured. Network Success at the trade show is primarily determined by the growing relationships with clients. Still, the fact that you are in a building packed with entrepreneurs and salespeople should not be ignored. Many of them won’t be competitors and could, in fact, become useful assets.     Use this opportunity to make connections. In turn, this may open the door to future skills trades or bulk orders on various items, particularly if it’s a local company. Alternatively, you may gain tips on other trade show venues that are worthwhile as well as the ones to avoid. When combined with client-based success, the event will be a huge hit for the business.

Free Resume Writing Classes Online

Free Resume Writing Classes OnlineThere are many different free resume writing classes online. I'm sure you have seen them or thought to yourself how cool it would be to take one but then you realize that you don't have the time to go to a class.There are several different kinds of free resume writing classes available online. Each one has its own set of benefits and drawbacks.I should note, I've never heard of any kind of webmaster taking a class before creating his or her own resume. You could only know this by a group of people telling you. However, I'd like to see a webmaster tell you if there's any benefit or risk in going this route.One advantage of these school classes is that you get to learn all about resume formats and writing skills without paying the money required to take a formal writing class. Just think about that for a second. You can learn skills and use them to make your resume stand out from the competition. This is especially true for people who are new to the in dustry.Another advantage is that the instructors are usually available to go over all the material in a given class while you're still learning it at home. You don't have to be in the classroom to get a course approved. The instructor will make sure to go over the material and that the time schedule fits with your schedule so that you can still use the time at home to finish up some other job or project.The drawback is that most of these free programs are less than a month long. As much as it's nice to learn things at your own pace, the last thing you want to do is to be too rushed to complete the lessons. After all, you're still learning new things and this could waste valuable time. The good news is that there are plenty of paid programs out there so you'll still be able to earn a bit of extra cash as you keep getting better at the skills.It would be a shame for everyone to say that the skills are worth something, and that everyone just puts them on the shelf hoping that some day people will start to notice. But it seems to be a sad reality that people are working longer hours and are less motivated than ever before. If you get started early enough, you'll be ready when the need arises.Free resume writing classes online are great if you want to build up your resume fast. You should really only go into the details and get them down first. Otherwise you may waste valuable time and the instructor may not be around to assist you in these areas.