Journal of Office Workers
Archive for October 12, 2014
Is Singapore becoming the land of unaffordable private vehicles?
Originally posted on Waltham Economy of Asia Review:
The recent raising in COE (certificate of entitlement) for vehicles ownership in Singapore has annoyed Singaporean citizens, especially who have been troubled with the growing immigrants and high density geographic.
COE was meant to control traffic congestion. However, the question posed is Why Singapore government needs to impose this and how strongly this has impacted Singaporean lives?
As we all know, Singapore is a small land with 276.5 sq miles, yet it is considered as one of the richest countries in the world, with high living standards, safe and clean environment, with stable policies and government. In 2013, Singapore’s total population amounted 5.26millions, including 1.46millions of Non resident population (cited from http://population.sg/resources/population-composition/#.VDYeH9yppuZ) . With the influx of immigrations and non-resident populations from neighbor countries such as Indonesia, Mainland China, Malaysia, Thailand etc, Singapore has received lots of foreign direct investments, yet this also has side…
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60 year old magician
Originally posted on Thank you very much for reading this blog. My name is Jeremy Pei, and I am a Professional Magician based in Singapore.
The main reason for writing this blog is to leave behind my personal thoughts and life experiences, and I kind of felt that people do value the words in writing more then just hearing it on a video or audio file. My initial plan was to write a book, however I am not that disciplined in completing one, therefore this blog project shall be the process of writing the “60 Year Old Magician” book.
Then again, why am I writing this project now?
It was 2 years ago that I met with a life changing experience. I suffered injuries from a freak car accident, warded for 2 weeks and thought my life from then on would never be the same again. However, I was very positive during the…
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Work-Life Balance Is Having a Moment—But for the Wrong Reasons
Originally posted on TIME:
Work-life balance is having a moment, but for the wrong reasons. Although scholars have been researching work-life fit for more than 50 years, the 2008 recession changed the nature of the beast: Lacking job security, workers became afraid to take advantage of company flexible working options, instead seeking to show hardcore commitment to hang on to a job.
This strategy has had devastating effects. A recent study found that 70 percent of workers suffer from work-family tension, which manifests itself in sleep-deprivation, marital conflict, parent-child tension, alcohol and tobacco use, and other problems.
Things have improved since 2008, sure. But now, the trick is to harness the energy of this moment into a cultural shift — a movement that sparks lasting change.
So, where do we go from here? To the data! Yeah, yeah, it’s 2014, the data. Got it. But, from the data, the big question is whether we…
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Why We HATE Writing Cover Letters
If there is one thing that’s annoying about job search, it’s probably writing the perfect cover letter for your resume. It’s meant to be short and crisp, and must entail all the right elements necessary for you to land that dream job!
It isn’t very easy to write a flawless cover letter with passion, but it must be done. Why would you want to let such a small letter affect what may be the chance of your lifetime? Come to think of it, it’s not a very taxing task, but we tend to stretch the whole process and get irked when it stands between our CV and the recruiter.
Related: The Importance Of ‘Mirroring’ In Your Cover Letter
Here are a few reasons why we HATE writing cover letters. And, more importantly, four new ways to make the procedure a tad less painful.
You Like To Believe It’s Boring
The worst part about creating cover letters is that they can feel formulaic. One tends to get bored of writing the same old things over and over again. You hate to sound like a robot, and if you are working off that template, things will get dull pretty fast.
Solution: The key is to get more creative. Remember, this is your one chance to stand out from the rest of the crowd and take your candidature forward. So, take it up as a challenge, put in some extra energy, and lend more personality to the letter. Don’t forget, if you feel bored while writing it, it will show in the tone and language, and the recruiter will also become uninterested. Always keep it conversational and start by mentioning how much you love the company or how came in contact with it for the first time.
Nervousness Takes Over
Do nerves get the best of you when you decide to sit down and create a cover letter? It is possible that you suddenly freeze up from the pressure as you realize that a few lines can make or break your chances of landing a good job. What if you end up writing something wrong, make a grammatical mistake, or go overboard and seem desperate? With so much stress inside your little head, things are bound to become unexciting. No wonder why you hate writing cover letters!
Solution: Do not take it up as an exercise on which your life depends. Think of it as writing an e-mail. You will be more calm and relaxed, and will understand that there is no rocket science behind writing a cover letter. So, get over with those jitters by treating your cover letter as just another e-mail you are sending off. You can draft it now, then review and customize it later. Working in phases will bring more clarity.
Writing About Yourself Is A Pain
The worst part about creating a cover letter is that you need to brag about yourself the entire time. You may not be someone who blows his or her own trumpet, but when writing a cover letter, you must uninhibitedly declare all your accomplishments and skills.
Solution: It is understandable that talking about your undertakings in an official letter feels uncomfortable and unnatural. You can start by taking a separate sheet and listing out what you have achieved, and what skills have helped you with those achievements. Then, imagine that you are someone else drafting the letter. Being a ghost writer is an easy way to get a fresh perspective. Think of yourself as the writer who is the mentor, friend, or past employer of the applicant, then see how easy it becomes to sing praises.
You may be scared to pull yourself together after a string of non-productive job searches. You may even be tired of repeatedly writing resumes and cover letters. No matter what your reason is, pace yourself and begin writing with a fresh mind. The cover letter will hopefully help you land that job interview.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Related Posts
6 Reasons Why Cover Letters Count
7 Features Of Effective E-Cover Letters
How To Avoid The Egomaniac Trap In Your Cover Letter
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6 Career Management Hacks That Will Get You Ahead
Having a career is nothing like having a job. When you find your career, you know it, and you should be spending some level of energy managing it.
Related: Career Management: Top 10 Career Limiting Moves
We must all start being more active in our career and its management. We must start to own our experience. And when we own our experience, and are active in the management of our career, we must do six simple things.
1. Be paid by the “yes”
We all work with people. People who need us in some way. And we need them. It is very simple. To build our careers and manage them effectively, we should be the people that are known to say “yes.” Now, I am not by any means advocating that you say “yes” to everything in your professional life. What I am saying is that when you are the person that people know say “yes” more than “no,” you set yourself up for more plumb assignments. Then, down the road, you’ll get an opportunity to ask for a “yes” in return for what you need.
2. Consistently curate your work
Do you have any idea how many amazing things we do every year in our jobs? Probably not, because we aren’t curating that great work anywhere to revisit it. Our documents, spreadsheets, reports, project plans, ideas, presentations (you get the idea) just sit on a server or in the trash never to be revisited again. The miss here is that when we revisit our best work quarterly, we are better equipped to see what we are really good at and what brings us the greatest sense of accomplishment. There are countless places for you to store this work in a cloud. Check out Dropbox, CredHive, GoogleDrive or OneDrive and start curating your work.
3. Build your network
A strong network is a no-brainer in this day and age. But the hack here is to build your network all the time, not just when you are having a bad day at work or looking to change jobs. Trust me, employers notice when people start updating their profile with new skills or new connections en masse. It is considered telltale that you are unhappy at work if you suddenly update your skills and profile and add a bunch of new connections. Therefore, we need to be more active in building our network and be more consistent about it.
4. Ask for help
Finding a mentor will bring serious rewards. Want to learn a new skill? Identify a mentor and learn everything you can from them. Asking for help is a difficult skill for people because they believe it shows weakness. But, to others, it shows initiative to grow and stretch. Knowing everything can be boring, getting help, mentors, and new experiences is exciting. Be exciting - ask for help.
5. Always answer the door
Opportunity will knock throughout your burgeoning career - open the door. Even if you are really happy in your current role, it never hurts to listen to other opportunities and build relationships with new people. These relationships may go nowhere, but you never know how you will cross paths in the future. Always be open to new opportunities and people, plus it is a nice ego boost to get noticed.
When you do answer the door, always ask how you were found so you can continue to build your profile on that channel. And if the position is not for you, try to connect them with someone who might be a fit. Paying it forward never hurt anyone.
6. Schedule time to do this
Lastly, and most importantly by far, schedule time to do all of these things. Put them on your calendar. Make a note once a month to save your best work into the cloud. Put an event on your calendar weekly to revisit your network. But by all means, make these hacks a priority in your career. You will not regret the time you spend managing your professional career.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Related Posts
5 Simple Career Management Tips You Should Follow
Career Management: Are YOU Lazy?
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About the author
With passion and an innate curiosity, Tracey strives to push the envelope to create great experiences for talent. Tracey has been developing digital, mobile and social solutions for nearly 20 years in the talent acquisition space. Currently CredHive’s CEO, she is dedicated to changing the way hiring is done to create a more level playing field for talent. Visit CredHive to learn more.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.
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The 3-Step ‘Beat Unemployment’ Plan
Have you been laid off, or fear you might be? Begin preparing now to limit the length of your unemployment and maximize your job search success. This 3-step “beat unemployment” plan works for job seekers at all levels of the spectrum, from entry-level workers to senior executives.
Related: 5 Things You Should Be Doing If You’re Unemployed
1. Define Your Job Search Strategy
The first step is to define your strategy. Here are some ways you can do that:
Define your target market
Before you can structure your job search, you have to define what kinds of positions you will search for – the titles, levels of roles, industries, and types of companies you will pursue. At this stage, you should also be defining your preferred geographic areas and commute ranges.
Clarify your search goals and timeline
When do you hope to land your new role? Is your expectation realistic and achievable? If you want to generate one or more job offers by a particular date, it will be imperative to plan backward to ensure your search is generating enough contacts and opportunities to make that happen.
Determine if the market you’re targeting aligns with your goals and timeline
On average, it takes seven job interviews to produce one job offer, and 200-300 targeted opportunities to generate those seven interviews. This means that you need to have a minimum of 200-300 prospects to pursue in your search to be likely to catalyze interview invitations.
Choose and prioritize your job search methodologies
There are five primary job search methodologies to leverage in your search. Which of them best match your career goals, personality, target industries, and available search time?
- Networking has long been the #1 way to find and land new jobs at all levels of hiring spectrum. Leveraging this tactic fully means having a networking strategy that you implement methodically throughout your search. This is different than simply sending out random emails to people you know who you think may know about open jobs.
- Direct outreach to targeted employers is an often-overlooked search methodology, yet it’s an excellent way to penetrate the Hidden Job Market (the 85% of jobs that are never advertised outside the hiring companies). By combining strategic networking and LinkedIn tactics you can find and get your foot in the door with companies in almost any industry in almost any location.
- LinkedIn-driven networking can supercharge your entire search. Once your profile is optimized and complete, craft a strategy for how to utilize LinkedIn to penetrate target organizations, gain influential contacts in key industries, and attract the attention of executive recruiters.
- External recruiting firms are an option for some job seekers and enable them to access open positions in the Visible Job Market (available jobs advertised outside the company). You’ll need a strategy to get your candidacy noticed and to determine if you should target retained or contingency recruiters.
- Online job boards rely on the advertising of openings in the Visible Job Market. Sites like Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com, and the LinkedIn.com job board (which is actually SimplyHired.com) collect and enable you to search open positions in one or more industries. While job boards appear seductively simple, note that you have maximum competition as you apply for open positions. Also note that when you do so your resume is parsed and analyzed by an Applicant Tracking System, which means that key word usage and age-proofing quickly become critical issues.
Map it out
Map your chosen methodologies to your available search time without disrupting your life balance. Once your plan is in place it is imperative to map it to your schedule. Most of us are so busy that the least addition to our to do list will throw our life balance out of whack. The problem is that job seekers need that balance to help them sustain wellness, focus, and interview-readiness throughout a search that can last for 1-2 years on average. For more ideas, read these life balance suggestions for executives in an active job search.
2. Build Your Career Communications Portfolio
Step two is to build your communications portfolio. Here are some tips:
Select your career communications tools based on your job search strategy
Once your job search methodologies are clarified, you’re ready to choose the career communications tools you will need. A new resume (why a resume isn’t an effective networking tool) and LinkedIn profile are practically must-haves, but you may also need a bio or marketing brief for networking, one or more cover letters, or supplementary tools such as an interview PowerPoint presentation.
Define your career brand
In today’s tight global economy, your career brand is more important than ever before. Detail yours and share it appropriately in each career communications tool you use in your search. Make sure you adapt your brand for usage in each tool in different ways.
Delineate and quantify your career achievements
Achievements are a necessity in resumes; without them, your document is incomplete. Remember that achievements are best highlighted in specific ways that detail the situation or problem you faced, the actions you took to resolve the situation, and the quantifiable results you achieved in doing so.
Determine which key words to infuse in your career communications tools
Keywords vary from industry to industry and role to role. As a result, you must tailor your resume for each new position you pursue with relevant key words. Additionally, your LinkedIn profile must be infused with key words.
Choose visual branding in alignment with your target market and career goals
Your personal brand can and should be conveyed in your career communications tools in words, but don’t overlook visual elements as well. Visual branding refers to the use of color and formatting in your resume that makes it unique.
3. Implement Your Job Search Strategy
The third and final step is to implement your strategy. Here are some ways to get this step done:
Create a weekly job search implementation plan with metrics
An effective job search plan needs clear metrics to help fuel week-over-week achievement. If you’re approaching the 200-300 targets suggested above, consider breaking that total down into weekly sub-goals that will allow you to exhaust your list in 3 to 6 months.
Craft a weekly LinkedIn action plan with metrics
May I suggest doing the same thing with LinkedIn? It’s easy to overlook such features as company targeting, group discussion posts, and status updates, but each of these options can help supercharge your search when leveraged fully and consistently.
Analyze your job search implementation monthly and revamp as needed
By setting metrics to pursue in your search you can evaluate how it’s unfolding. Without metrics, you won’t know how to analyze your progress or identify aspects of your search that need improvement.
Perhaps most importantly, a job search plan such as this one helps you to reassess your progress at periodic intervals. If you find yourself getting too few interviews of job offers, for example, don’t wait – get help from a Job Search Coach.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Related Posts
3 Techniques To Fight Unemployment Stigma
Young And Unemployed? 3 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Hired
How To Overcome The ‘Unemployment Stigma’ When Relocating
About the author
A 15-time, award-winning resume writer, Cheryl Lynch Simpson serves mid-career to senior executives as a credentialed resume writer (ACRW), LinkedIn strategist (COPNS), and Get Clear, Get Found, Get Hired (G3) coach. Like her advice? Check out her website, ExecutiveResumeRescue.com for a complimentary copy of her popular Polish Your Profile LinkedIn presentation, or follow her on Twitter!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.
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How To Mention Unrelated Work Experience On Your Resume
Many candidates who come to us for resume help have the same question. They have years of professional work experience, but a lot of it isn’t relevant to the position they’re currently seeking. On the one hand, they don’t want to waste resume space detailing work that doesn’t relate to their application. On the other hand, they don’t want to omit years of work that developed them as a professional.
Related: How To Write A Resume That Helps You Land Your First Job
How do you mentioned unrelated work experience on your resume?
The Right Phrase
I use a magic phrase to address this issue: “additional experience includes.” It’s perfectly all right to sum up large portions of your career in one sentence that lists previous employers or positions. If you spent the first 10 years of your marketing career performing lower-level tasks, you could say: “Additional experience includes marketing positions with ABC, DEF, and XYZ (1990-2000).” If your previous work was in an unrelated field, you can simply list the companies: “Additional experience includes positions with ABC, DEF, and XYZ.”
The Age Game
This technique can also be very helpful to those who are concerned about age discrimination. I summarized the first 15 years of one candidate’s career into one sentence to downplay the fact that she was 55. Because her experience was relevant to her field, removing it from her resume entirely would have been a disservice, but we did not include the years that experience encompassed.
The Experience Issue
I recently worked with another candidate who used this technique to show she was a more experienced professional than her education suggested. This woman had worked for 10 years before going back to complete her bachelor’s degree. From looking at her graduation dates, you would assume she was in her 20s. In fact, she was an experienced manager in her 30s—a fact that was important to show for the level of job she was seeking.
Many of us have work experience that doesn’t fit neatly with our current goals and objectives. If you don’t feel comfortable leaving it off your resume altogether, using the phrase “additional experience includes” can help you mention the experience quickly without wasting precious resume space.
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
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3 Ways To Quantify Your Experience With Numbers
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How To Organize Varying Experience In A Resume
About the author
Jessica Holbrook Hernandez, CEO of Great Resumes Fast is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, and presenter. Want to work with the best resume writer? If you would like us to personally work on your resume, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile—and dramatically improve their response rates—then check out our professional and executive resume writing services at GreatResumesFast.com or contact us for more information if you have any questions.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here.
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12 Quick Tips For Interviewing Like A Pro
There are endless articles and books about how to act and what to say during a job interview. But when it comes down to it, if you follow these twelve tips, you will be on your way to your first paycheck from your new employer:
Related: 7 Interview Questions You Should Never Forget To Ask
1. Research the company
Make certain that you are familiar with its website, learn what it does, where it stands within its industry, and its current challenges. Then, you will be able to ask intelligent questions and speak about ways you can contribute to its success.
2. Learn about the people who will interview you
When you are invited to interview, don’t be shy about asking with whom you will be speaking and what his/her/their roles are within the company. Then, check them out on LinkedIn and Google to learn all you can about them. During your interview you can work in a subtle reference that highlights a commonality you share, without hitting them over the head with it.
3. Pay attention to your grooming and attire
I can’t come up with an example of someone ever NOT getting a job because they were well groomed, showed up in a suit, covered all their tattoos, and were generally “well put together.” However, examples abound of people not getting a job because they were inappropriately attired or poorly groomed. Always present yourself as a professional.
4. Bring your business card to every interview
If you aren’t working, then at least make up a card with your name and contact information. The time to exchange cards is at the beginning of your meeting, enabling you to follow up with a prompt “Thank You” note to each person with whom you met.
5. Arrange cards in front of you
If there are multiple people at the table, arrange their cards in front of you in the order in which they are seated, and glance down briefly during your discussion if you forget someone’s name.
6. Give a firm handshake
It may seem cliché, but people do read a lot about you into the way you first present yourself, and a firm handshake is key in projecting a strong personality. That said, don’t go overboard and crush bones to show power for its own sake.
7. Always maintain eye contact
When you look down or away from a person with whom you are conversing, it appears that you are disinterested, bored, or even projecting a sense of inadequacy. Show your engagement by looking at the person across the table.
8. Answer what is asked
Before you begin to answer any question, think for a moment to make sure you are addressing the question that the interviewer posed, rather than trying to fit your own talking points into the conversation.
9. Be concise
Have short, succinct answers ready for the most typical questions like, “Tell me about yourself.” An interview is a conversation, not a time for you to drone on and on. Move on by asking, “Is this the kind of information you were after?” and be prepared to make a mid-course correction if the interviewer wants you to focus on something else.
10. Never bad mouth
Never say anything at all negative about any person or employer, no matter how bad, evil, mean, or nasty you believe them to be. When you are disparaging, you put the interviewer in a role of judging between you and that other person. It also leaves the interviewer wondering what you will say about him or her if your relationship sours in the future.
11. Don’t ask about things you should already know
It is up to you to do your research about the company ahead of the interview. You show that you are unprepared if you ask something you could have easily found out by yourself (i.e. anything that can be found on the employer’s website).
12. Don’t waste time with questions that don’t matter – yet!
Of course, you want to know about when they will decide to hire, how far they are in their process, salary, benefits, vacation, and things of this sort. But when you are given a chance to ask a question, remember that NONE of this matters until they have figured out you are their top choice among all your competition. Keep your questions focused on the role to be filled and ways you can be a standout employee. Then, you are most likely to proceed to the next round of discussions.
Happy hunting!
This post was originally published at an earlier date.
Related Posts
#1 Tip For Acing An Interview: Mirroring
13 Interview Secrets For Introverts
5 Steps To Present Your Best Self During An Interview
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