4 Reasons you Should take Online Courses Building Your Future Now

4 Reasons you Should take Online Courses Building Your Future Now Having a healthy mix of a degree, diploma and/or certificate courses can certainly help your career progress especially with heavy competition in the job market. However, have you ever considered taking online courses to augment your present knowledge and skill sets? If you havent there are several respected online course sites that offer an amazing array of courses that you can benefit fromyou can even receive a certificate in some courses after taking the required exams and completing projects. Here are 4 reasons you should take online courses: 1.Learn something new Even if you dont get a certificate out of it, taking an online course opens your mind to different knowledge. Check out what you would like to find out more aboutmaybe a computer language or something like accounting. It might even be an extension of a hobby you have. 2.Created by professionals An amazing thing about some of these courses are that they are created by either seasoned professionals or educators. Obviously not all of them are so you have to do your due diligence and find out. Also, with these online courses you can reach out to the instructors and ask them questions and build a professional connection with them! 3.Great on the resume Along with other education, having a certificate course on your resume is a great way to showcase your updated training. You are basically telling your current employer or perspective employers that you are serious about updating your skills even if that means doing that on your free time. 4.Offers a certificate Some online courses dont come with a certificate, but find out the ones that do. They are a typically a bit more comprehensive and require payment to take the course. Although there is a feeit might be worth it because of the certificate. Another interesting thing to note is sometimes the site offers you a link as well as a certificate number attached to the certificate when you have passed the course successfully. Image: Mohamed Hassan

Writing College Major and Minor in Resume

Writing College Major and Minor in ResumeWhen it comes to choosing the college major and minor that will best fit your personal interests, don't base it on the personal interests of your parents. In fact, don't base it on the personal interests of your professors. You want to make a good impression on your future employer and you need to be able to communicate that impression.One of the keys to having a successful career is to create a resume that is personally tailored to you. One of the first things that employers see when they look at your resume is the area that you want them to see.If you have a major that is quite similar to the major that your parents have been majoring in for years, you may want to switch majors. If this isn't something that you want to do, you should determine which particular subject is a mismatch.With writing college majors and minors, the most common choice is English or History. While you can pursue another major in English and History is not going to wo rk out, there are more options that could be a better fit. These other choices include Psychology, Business, Social Sciences, Math, Visual Arts, or Math and Science.Once you have determined the subject you want to study, you need to decide what you want to write about. You may want to find an area that interests you, such as different languages, religion, and politics. This way, you will have something specific to write about on your resume.If you want to write a resume that will stand out, you need to choose a style that will do just that. A formal type of resume, such as a resume that is designed by a professional resume writer, is going to be more appropriate for that situation. However, if you are just looking for a career change and you want to create a resume that will attract employers, then you may want to choose a style that is more casual.One of the most important things to remember when writing a resume is to take the time to polish it up so that it reads well and is as n eat as possible. It should look like it was written by a professional. Take the time to read through the resume format and identify the key points that are most important to you and the major areas that you want to cover on your resume.After you have identified the areas you want to cover, you should start with the major that is closest to your heart. Once you have covered that major, continue with the next one, until you are done with all of the major sections of your resume.

Target Marketing The Nicher, the Richer

Target Marketing The Nicher, the Richer I spend quite a bit of time talking with my clients about target marketing and finding your niche within that market, and do you know what? Everyone agrees with me that having a target market is so important â€" but many in theory only have one!  It never ceases to surprise me how unclear some businesses are about their target market â€" and there also seems to be a great reluctance to be very specific, as there is a fear that, perhaps, you are not “widening the net” enough! Nothing could be further from the truth! Recently, I came across a brilliant example of being clear about your target market, and the niche you will operate in and be known for. Truthfully, this is one of the finest, real life examples I have seen in recent times and I have been dying to share this with you.  You will love this, I promise you! As many of you know (but for those who dont) I live in the South of France (tough, but someone has to do it!). Specifically, we live in the Languedoc region â€" very rural, full of vineyards and small farmers and beautiful little villages. You get the picture â€" no metropolis like Paris etc! Recently, Bernie’s (my wife) car was giving a bit of trouble so we needed to get it fixed â€" simple and straightforward, you might say. Well, yes â€" sort of! You see, her car is an Audi and we live in the land of Renault, Citroen and Peugeot! Plenty of mechanics and garages in the area that deal with those models. But an Audi? Bit thin on the ground! A friend recommended I go and visit a particular mechanic, Kris, who I was told would “sort us out”. Now, get the picture, where Kris lives is in a tiny village, 20 kilometers away, of about 100 people, and really in the middle of nowhere. So, why was he a recommendation? Well â€" now listen to this â€" Kris only repairs Audis and Mercedes â€" absolutely nothing else! He does not sell cars, he will only do mechanical repairs to Audis and Mercedes! This in the heartland of rural France who are commendably loyal to French brands. Brilliant! So, the question you are asking â€" is he starving to death or is he thriving? Let me answer by saying that Kris is so busy, he could not look at the car for 4 weeks! Now if you were starting a business as a mechanic in rural France and you said you would only deal with Audis and Mercedes, do you think that everyone would say â€" that is a brilliant idea? I doubt it. There would be so many saying that you are cutting yourself off from the traditional market and the mass market. But, they would be wrong. Kris says that he wants to be known as the expert in his chosen market and he will only achieve that by being specific about his expertise.  His target market is those who own cars and his niche is owners of Audi and Mercedes!  So, in this part of the world he is the man to go to if you own either of those marques. Kris is now the proud owner of a state of the art workshop and has more than enough clients to have a sustainable and thriving business. I just thought this was such a brilliant example of target marketing and you needed to hear about it.  Are you as specific about your target market, and your niche, as Kris? If not, what are you doing about it?! RELATED:  How to Build Your  Personal Brand

Why is Flexibility a Must-Have in Your Organization

Why is Flexibility a Must-Have in Your Organization There is nothing more appealing to employees than the option to have some flexibility to allow for real work/life balance. Whether that is the option to start early or later, work from home, job-share or make the most of summer hours by having every Friday off. Chances are if your employee is happy then it can only benefit your business, and if offering flexible working is one of the ways to achieve it, then surely its a no-brainer? Our 10 corporate wellness experts who represent a wide range of health and wellness businesses across the world explain why companies should be offering flexibility in the workplace. Shaun Bradley At Perkbox we aim to provide flexibility because we are not only looking for technical skills we are looking for people who act with authenticity. To bring this into an organisation you have to be able to give employees freedom to be and give their best. If we want people to flourish we need to provide flexibility in how they complete work in an environment that suits their working style. Some people work better in quiet spaces, others interacting socially with colleagues, others working from home. That’s why ultimately it comes down to flexibility letting them do what works best for them and trusting that great things will happen if you do. Shaun Bradley, Director of People at  Perkbox. Lucy Tallick True flexibility is very hard to find. Myself and our Founder, Glenn Elliott, are extremely passionate about this and you can find it discussed within his new book, Build it: The Rebel Playbook for Employee Engagement. Whilst some organisations claim a flexible working culture, in reality, this is not always the case. We’re a global organisation, employing a diverse workforce and flexible working promotes the best commitment you can find. By allowing someone true flexibility, needing to go on a call late evening or early morning is not seen as an “ask”, it’s embraced as part of work life integration. It’s ok for me to be on a call tomorrow morning at 5am because I know that when I need to nip out at 3pm to pick up my kids from school, it’s ok! Being flexible allows us to recruit and retain the best people for the job and create amazing work ethic and commitment. Lucy Tallick,   Head of Wellbeing at Reward Gateway. Sam Fromson It’s simple really.   From a business perspective we need to be flexible to meet our customers’ needs. From a people perspective our people live busy, diverse lives, so helping  them flourish is about being flexible.   This involves keeping communication open about people’s home and family commitments, their academic and sporting commitments and even their hobbies, all of which impact their mental and physical wellbeing.   Technology is a great enabler. Live chat platforms allow customers to contact us when they want, while smart communication allows our people to blend being a part of an awesome company with their personal commitments. Sam Fromson, Co-founder of Yulife. Nick Patel Successful employers learn to iterate and adapt all elements of their business to optimize for success.   This is no different in employee wellness programs.   As employers digest feedback and analytics from existing programs, having a flexible solution allows them to make adjustments and improvements continuously.   Also, a flexible solution allows employees to also adapt to the program, providing more opportunities to engage. Nick Patel, CEO of Wellable. Liz Walker Simply put: flexibility shows employees you care and recognise they have a life outside of work. More and more we are learning employees’ personal lives impact them at work, so it benefits employers to give staff the tools they need to bend and flex their work lives with the demands of their personal lives. Flexibility implies trust â€" that you trust your employee to make the best decision for their professional lives as possible â€" and most employees are grateful for autonomy and it empowers them to work when they’re most productive. Liz Walker, HR Director, Unum UK. Sammy Courtright First and foremost: Corporate wellness needs to be fun. A lack of flexibility creates boredom at best and a total lack of engagement, at worst. In order to design creative and dynamic programs, a corporate wellness provider needs to be flexible, and mix up programming over time. After all, wellness trends change, and people do too. Plus, people need to change-up and increase intensity in their fitness programs in order to continue to improve their health. A third-party wellness provider, such as Fitspot, will enable your team to adjust your programming to changing desires of your time. Sammy Courtright, founder and CEO of Fitspot Wellness. Alaana Linney Flexibility is a key tool for supporting work/life balance and avoiding employee burnout. At Nuffield Health we aim to provide an environment which helps employees as far as possible to balance their home and work life. We understand there may come a time when the need to make changes to working arrangements because of caring responsibilities or simply because it suits personal circumstances. To support our employees, our organisation offers a number of different flexible working policies, such as: Flexitime Compressed hours where the employee works their contractual hours over fewer days; Staggered hours with different starting, break and finishing times Part-time contracts. Alaana Linney, Director of Business Development at Nuffield Health. Joe Gaunt While we all have a lot in common each human is unique. Its fantastic to see more acceptance of individuality in society and companies that reflect this are going to be the winners.  Flexibility must be available to all. Not just working parents who want to see their children during the week, but also people who want to invest in their health and attend their favourite work out, which starts at  5pm.    Research from the CIPD shows flexible working practices can improve staff engagement and motivation.   The benefits of flexible working are well established, from increased employee engagement to better performance. Joe Gaunt, CEO of Hero Wellbeing. Jill King It is clear that rigid, traditional workplace structure â€" simply being seen at your desk from 9-5 â€"is no longer working for employees who want recognition and support of their lifestyles outside of work. Being flexible can take many forms: remote work, reduced hours, or a compressed working week. Some studies have shown that home working led to a 13% performance increase, attributed to fewer distractions, and the increased expectation of producing results. Jill King,  Director of International Markets at VirginPulse. Ruth Tongue As a fairly new start-up we ensured that our company values were clear from the get go. Flexibility is one of them and its something that we pride ourselves on. We offer our clients a tailored service, and no two relationships are the same, so we rely on flexibility in order to ensure theyre getting the best from us and that we can be creative and truly individualised in our offerings. Ruth Tongue, Co-founder of Elevate.

Functional Resume Example

Functional Resume ExampleLooking for a functional resume example? This is the latest craze in job seeking today. More employers are using functional resume examples to help get candidates' foot in the door.The benefits of a functional resume are quite clear. The goal is to highlight the skills and experience an applicant has, as well as get them to convey information that a potential employer will find valuable.A functional resume example is meant to help you write a cover letter that is not only effective but also catchy. Employers want to know that you know what you're talking about, so they will definitely scan your resume. Not only do you want your resume to be effective, but your cover letter needs to be professional and informational. A functional resume example can help you achieve both.A functional resume example is used to help with creating a list of skills an applicant has. Instead of making up these details, this can help the reader and make the job search process easier. A functional resume example is useful for both the employer and the candidate. It helps you learn the difference between resumes and cover letters, the differences between keywords and grammatical errors, and how to format a resume correctly. Having a functional resume example is one of the first steps in the writing process.A functional resume example is also helpful for job seekers because it makes them aware of which skills they should focus on. In addition, the example shows examples of using these skills in a cover letter or resume. This can help with improving the skills.A functional resume example is helpful because it is a visual way to learn about how to write a professional resume. It's also a simple way to seehow the different sections work and to see the benefits of different types of language.So if you're looking for a functional resume example, keep in mind that this is not a gimmick. This is an essential step in making the best impression and working towards a success ful job search. It's well worth your time to take advantage of a functional resume example.

How to Identify Your Strengths to Help your Career Development

How to Identify Your Strengths to Help your Career Development Its Easy to Identify Weaknesses What are you good at? What do you bring to the table for your employer? Dont think of how you would answer this question in an interview but, rather, how you would tell a friend who genuinely wants to help you. Imagine that there is no right or wrong answer to this question. Think through your skills and strengths and list them out. Its Easy to Identify Weaknesses Many of my clients are good at identifying their weaknesses but struggle to list more than two or three strengths. In many ways, that is human nature. Nonetheless, identifying a strength is much harder than their weaknesses. Its also easy for people to think through areas they want to improve or wish they were more skilled in. Job candidates who are networking and interviewing need to have a list of their semi-unique skills on the tip of their tongue. Your Skills are Unique Many people take their skills and strengths for granted because they come so naturally. It’s common to think that the way you approach a project or work is the same way as everyone else does. However, that is not the case. The reason you may not identify a strength is because it seems normal to you. Just because something comes easy to you (event planning, marketing a new product, or having a hard conversation) doesn’t mean that others find it easy. Identify All of Your Skills Take an assessment.  One of my favorites is StrengthsFinder.  Based on years of research by the Gallup Organization, this assessment can give you a starting place as to what comes naturally to you.  Then, debrief with a Career Coach to communicate these areas in a way that helps you stand out.  Also, take some time to reflect.  What are those ‘things’ that come very easily to you or you recall being praised for in the past (i.e. “you are the most organized person I know”).  What is the most enjoyable part of your current job?  Often times those things that energize us, are the areas in which we are strong.  Another place to identify strengths is looking through past performance reviews.    Finally (and better yet) ask!  Ask a trusted co-worker or family member or friend. We all have strengths and believe it or not, you’re unique skill set contributes greatly in a work environment.  Dont focus all of your time worrying about the areas you need to improve and whats lacking in your career development. Take the time to identify your strengths so you become confident in those areas and use those areas to set yourself apart. Think.Inspire.Change.Grow. Dawn By Dawn Shaw|2017-04-21T18:20:22+00:00December 12th, 2014|Performance|0 Comments

How Do Recruiters Find Promising Students On Social Media - CareerEnlightenment.com

How Do Recruiters Find Promising Students On Social Media There is extreme competition in the current job market. Job vacancies are abundant, but finding potential candidates is the real deal. To find ideal candidates, recruiters use some strategies. They are always trying to find new ways to recruit students who can fit their positions. Today, many recruiters rely on social media to find promising students.The reason is clear: students spend a lot of time on social media. In fact, using social media is an inseparable part of a student’s daily life. In this post, we will show you some ways to recruit students on social media.Using LinkedIn to recruitMany business owners use LinkedIn to find and recruit talented students. This social networking site is designed to make it easy for recruiters to find job-seekers. That is why many students looking for jobs have LinkedIn profiles. A LinkedIn profile is very much like an online CV.Moreover, LinkedIn has some other features that make the process easy and fast. When companies try to persuade po tential buyers, they use positive feedback from previous customers. Including personal testimonials are very easy on this site. Students who are looking for jobs often ask their friends and others to write a few positive words about their capabilities.Students who are under pressure can also use a writing service to write their academic papers. When organizations read the feedback, they have a positive attitude towards the candidates. The feedback serves as an indication of their authenticity and credibility.That does not mean that LinkedIn can replace a conventional CV. The role of LinkedIn cannot be denied when it comes to finding promising candidates online.Recruiting from FacebookFacebook is now the most widely used social networking site. Users like Facebook for a host of reasons. You can create your personal profile, exchange messages, and add others as friends. There are numerous groups and events, and the members share not only text but also photos and videos.Although most u sers of Facebook use it for connecting with their near and dear ones, organizations are now trying to get the best out of this social networking site. It benefits the students, too. However, things are a lot easier for students these days.For example, many students now buy term papers from writing services, when the students are burdened with a lot of homework. Social media, and broadly speaking, the Internet has benefited students in myriad ways.Many organizations use Facebook for official purposes. Many organizations use Facebook to find promising students who can be potential candidates for many posts. But you have to be strategic when searching for promising students on Facebook. If a student hires a professional writer to write term papers, that does not mean that he is an idle student. It is really astonishing to notice that a social networking site is now being used for serious professional purposes.Recruiters can access the information of students and contact them. If we loo k at the phenomenon from a career perspective, we can see that Facebook is a really easy way for recruiters to contact promising students and interview them to know if they are capable of getting the job done.   All these have been possible mainly because of the informal nature of the site. When a recruiter communicates with a student, the conversation goes smoothly, because they are ‘friends’ on the site. Want to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up here to receive weekly updates from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another powerful job searching tip! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!We hate spam too. Unsubscribe any time. By using TwitterFor posting and exchanging short messages, Twitter has become a very popular public platform. It is very useful for interacting with people and organizations. Users can share links and photos with others. Many recruiters are using Twitter for finding and recruiting potential candidates. But they have to be professional when using Twitter to look for job seekers.Promising students who are looking for jobs can make the use of this opportunity. The informal nature of this medium helps them connect with the recruiters very easily. Twitter is now used for many other purposes. There are many students who do not find enough time to write their academic papers and therefore use social media to find paper writing services that can get the job done for them.Tips for recruitersWhen using social media, recruiters follow some strategies to make the process successful and smooth. If you are a recruiter looking for promising students on social media, you can adopt these strategies:Organize competitions. To get the best out of digital media, you can organize competitions where students can participate and prove their skills. Hold a competition and let students know about your company and the brands. Before they become professionals, they need to know these things and realize their responsibilities. The goal of su ch a competition is to let them know how your company works.Set up a referral program. An employee referral program can greatly help you find promising students who can serve as your employees. If you set up a program like this, your current employees will also be happy. They can act as brand ambassadors for your company. If your employees refer some promising students, reward the employees.Do not take too long to hire. Some recruitment agencies take a long time to make decisions and lose many talents. If you take too long, your potential candidates will get hired by your competitors. Do not take too long, because, in that case, your candidate will either get another job or lose interest in your company. It is very important to value the time of your candidates. Do not let the students wait too long for your response. Contact them instantly.Be flexible. When you contact students on social media, do not be very strict. Talk to them in such a way that they do not feel pressured. Give them a sense of freedom and flexibility, and keep the conversations in line with the informal nature of social media.