SMART Goals vs. HARD Goals - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

SMART Goals vs. HARD Goals - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career You probably have a lot of goals that you would like to achieve, whether they relate to your business, your brand, your health, or something else in your life.  Obviously, the desire to achieve a goal is usually not enough, and many of us need a clear plan to get there. Here are two different ways to map out your goals: SMART Goals I’ve gone into detail about SMART goals before in this post, but here’s a reminder of what SMART goals are: Specific: Clearly define your target or end result. Avoid being vague and instead think about the who, what, where, when, why and how of your goal. Measurable: Think about the numbers associated with your goal. How will you measure success? Action-oriented: Develop a plan of action in order to achieve your goal. Make it as specific as possible. Realistic: Make sure your goal is possible and reachable. You can always make additional goals once you’ve reached your initial result. Time-bound: Set a deadline to motivate yourself towards change. HARD Goals SMART goals can help you on your path to successâ€"and so can HARD goals. This tactic, coined by Mark Murphy in HARD GOALS: The Secrets to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (McGraw-Hill), taps into an individual’s emotional, visual, survival, and learning systems â€" enabling you to visualize what you need to achieve. Heartfelt: Develop deep-seated and heartfelt attachments to your goals on levels that are intrinsic, personal and extrinsic. Use these connections to naturally increase the motivational power you put behind making your goals happen. Animated: Create goals that are so vividly alive in your mind that to not reach them would leave you wanting. Use visualization and imagery techniques to sear your goal firmly into your brain including perspective, size, color, shape, distinct parts, setting, background, lighting, emotions and movement. Required: Give procrastination (which kills far too many goals) the boot. Convince yourself and others of the absolute necessity of your goals and make the future payoffs of your goals appear far more satisfying than what you can get today. This will make your HARD Goals look a whole lot more attractive and amp up your urgency to get going on them right now. Difficult: Construct goals that are optimally challenging to tap into your own personal sweet spot of difficulty. Access past experiences to use them to position you for extraordinary performance. Identify your goal setting comfort zone and push past it in order to attain the stellar results you want. Murphy discovered that goal success isn’t determined by daily habits, raw intellect, or writing numbers on a worksheet, and that it actually depends on the engagement of your brain. HARD goals can help you do that. What do you think about HARD vs. SMART goals? How do you ensure success in the goals you set for yourself? Any advice for other professionals? Author: Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder president of Come Recommended, a  content marketing consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers. She is also the author of #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010) and writes  career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets.

How Do You Know What Should Your Resume Look Like?

How Do You Know What Should Your Resume Look Like?How do you know what should your resume look like? It may seem simple, but you may need a good guide to help you determine the right template.The first step is to start thinking about how you will make your resume. Are you going to have it professionally designed or do you want to hand draw your own? There are many different resources for doing this including software, home-made templates and even notepad documents.You may be wondering what should your resume look like and what does that really mean? A resume is simply a document that presents you with information about yourself, your skills and what kind of jobs you are looking for.A great resume will include your job history and the school history from which you have taken your courses. These should be arranged in chronological order and there should be some sort of employment history section.To figure out how do you know what should your resume look like you need to know what kind of employee you would like to be when you get a job. This will determine which kind of resume to create.If you are looking for a full time position or are an independent contractor then you will be creating a different resume which will incorporate all of the things that you learned during your school studies. An example of this could be things like your computer programming courses, using Microsoft Office or even if you have any experience working with an operating system.Another thing to consider is if you have any work experience, whether it be as a maid, housekeeper or whatever. Think about what you did at school, what skills did you learn and what type of work experiences can be included in your resume.It is important to make sure that you put everything into your resume but it is also important to keep in mind the most important factors that need to be considered when choosing a format for your resume. By taking the time to think about these details you will be able to create the perfect resume for you.

How Easy Is it to Start a Home Business

How Easy Is it to Start a Home Business Do you often find yourself thinking about what it would be like to own and operate your own home business? Are you intrigued by the idea but fear is holding you back? Are you worried about how hard it might be to take the plunge and open your own home-based business? While it’s perfectly normal and logical to question how successful a home business would be, what shouldn’t hold a person back is fear. Sometimes it’s a lack of information that is causing that fear, and by investigating what’s involved in starting your own home business you can in fact dispel a lot of that worry and hesitation. So, let’s take a closer look at how easy it is to start your own home-based business and the considerations you should be aware of. Funding Is Always a Top Priority Regardless of the business you want to open, the services or products you will offer, or the industry you will be part of, funding always needs to be a top priority. Most people don’t have a giant nest egg of cash just lying around waiting to be used, so what this means is that you need to think of ways to secure funding for your business. If you’re anxious to get moving on things right away, then searching online for urgent business loans from Lending Express can be a great option. Through Lending Express, you are able to fill out an application online that then goes through an automated review process. The review is instant and is able to accurately cross-check all the information you have entered. Not only does this speed up the process, but it helps to eliminate errors since it is all automated. What this means is that you’ll get your answer rather quickly. Make Sure You Understand Who Your Customer is and What They Want Another important step in starting your own business is to figure out who your customer is and what they are looking for. Just because you think you have a great product or service, doesn’t mean everyone else will agree. The proper research needs to be done in which you narrow down who your targeted market is, who the competition is, what your customers will be looking for, and how you can be unique in the industry. Will You Be Able to Put in the Time and Energy? It’s vital that you also consider just how much time, energy, and stamina you have to put into the business. This business will be all on you, meaning its successes or failures will be your responsibility. Owning your own business requires knowledge and skills of course, but you also need to be willing to put in those long hours, seven days a week for many months, even years until the business really gets off the ground. It May Not Be Easy, but it Can be Extremely Rewarding When it comes down to it, starting your own home business carries with it risk and challenges, and while that means it may not be an easy road, it can prove to be a very rewarding path.

Dont limit yourself to one location when looking for IT work - CareerAlley

Don’t limit yourself to one location when looking for IT work - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. Saint Augustine Have you ever considered moving overseas for a job? If the answers no youre closing yourself off to loads of job opportunities. Of course, you may have good reason for declining any international job offers one of the most common ones being close family connections within the UK that you dont feel you can break or budgetary limitations. Of course, theres nothing wrong with this, but if you are free to move away from your home country you should definitely be widening the net on your job searches. The West has long been thought of as being home to the leading locations for IT work, with the United States having topped the annual industry report by the Economist Intelligence Unit year on year. The UK also has a strong base of IT companies thanks to large cities with a focus on digital media such as Manchester and London, but if youre thinking about moving overseas for work you should definitely consider Asia. A number of Asian countries snuck further up the list this year than ever before, which means that the East is slowly catching up with the West. Singapore, for instance, ranked in third place this year, making it one of the best countries in the entire world for employment within the IT sector. Many of the best software producers either have their headquarters in Singapore or at least a branch in the country. Singapore is increasingly becoming home to some huge IT companies, such as IBM and Dimension Data, while also having new IT businesses springing up all over the place, calling for increased demand in qualified IT personnel. If youre searching for Singapore IT jobs but are coming up empty handed, dont worry. All you need is the help of a professional who can give you the assistance you need in your job searches this is where a recruitment agent can take over and complete all of the job applications for you. However, moving overseas for work does pose a few difficulties; most notably the language barrier. You should never relocate to another country without first attempting to pick up some of the basics in terms of language, although knowing about the culture as well will go a long way to improving your stay there! Never make such a drastic move without thinking it through first, as once youve signed your work contract it would look very bad if you turned tail and ran back to the UK. As long as youre certain that its what you want youre guaranteed to enjoy a new life and career in Singapore. Angela Davies is a writer for the web team at Nicoll Curtin, an international IT recruitment agency working across a wide range of sectors including finance, commercial, public and banking technology jobs. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Visit me on Facebook

Tired of looking for a job Jump start your job hunt - heres how... -

Tired of looking for a job Jump start your job hunt - heres how... - If youre involved in a long-term job search (the average is 25 weeks, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics), you may be getting to the point that you cant imagine doing something different that will move your search forward. If you havent started, dive into social media and Web 2.0 applications! Yes, this can take some time if you are going to do it full force. But, you have time, so go for it! Start searching for blogs in your niche. Guy Kawasakis Alltop list is a perfect place to find blogs in an array of topics, but you can certainly use Google to find current information in your field of interest. Spend some time researching and exploring. See if you can identify the stars in your field. Use online mechanisms to connect to them! How? Post smart comments on their blogs. See if they use Twitter and follow them. (Read more of my suggestions about using Twitter for the job hunt HERE.) Make sure that you are using LinkedIn effectively. You may be amazed at   how quickly you can connect and befriend people online. Consider authoring a blog. If you are a strong writer, there isnt a better way to influence your Google rankings and demonstrate authority in your subject matter. If you have the time, why not try? You have nothing to lose. Ideally, you will start a blog at www.yourname.com, but if you just want to dip your toe in the waters, consider writing for Examiner.com. I am the National Career Coach Examiner and would be happy to help you get started if you are a strong writer with a niche topic in mind. (For example, maybe you want to be the Seattle PR Examiner or the Miami Accounting Examiner. Contact me if you are interested in learning more! Stop and think about what you really want to do. Use your time to assess yourself, your goals and plans for the future. How often are we forced to take a moment to really think about the future. This is your chance. Do you like the way your life is going? Are you happy with your path? If not, consider a coach to help you figure out a new direction. Learn a new skill. Have you been thinking about taking a class in something that will help you with your job? Maybe youve always wanted to learn how to knit? This is a good time. Doing something new and learning a new skill is good for your attitude and will help you in multiple ways. If you can be excited about something that you can obviously control (since your job search SEEMS less control-able), it should help your outlook. There is so much information and opportunities to learn new things online for free. High-profile and talented people are offering free teleclasses, webinars and seminars all of the time. If you plug in, youll learn about these opportunities and benefit from them. Take advantage of your public library as a resource for information. Check in with the librarian for information you might be missing! Dont be afraid to pay for some great content as well! Once you know and trust a source for information, invest in yourself and your plans and learn something new. Dont wait until you have an interview scheduled to prepare for the interview! Do you know what youll wear to an interview? Does it fit? Is it clean and pressed? How about your shoes? Do they pass muster? Dont wait until youve been searching for two months and get a call for an interview tomorrow to look in your closet! Once you have an outfit ready, start planning and practicing what you will say in an interview, in a networking situationUse your time to get ready. Consider hiring Keppie Careers to do a mock interview so you will really know what skills you can improve. If you are prepared, when you start pulling in opportunities, you wont panic! Of course, much of your free time will be taken up with job hunting. Dont forget that many of the activities listed above are part of your job hunt. I would be remiss if I didnt specifically mention that networking (in person and online) is key spend more time doing this than searching for online postings. Are you on Twitter? Tweetups are a great way to meet new people and learn how you can help each other. Make sure your resume and materials are top-notch and use your time to prep for everything you will need. Of course, no list of things to do would be complete with suggesting volunteering with an organization you support. Ive already shared great reasons to volunteer if you have some free time. You never know when you might meet someone influential for your career and/or learn and use new skills. Volunteering is an amazing opportunity to do some good while helping yourself as well! What ideas do you have? Need some help getting started with any of these ideas? Learn more about how I can help you get a job. photo by soylentgreen23

Format For Writing a Resume/CV

Format For Writing a Resume/CVFormat for writing a resume/cv is very important to ensure that the form matches the job opening. It should contain all the pertinent information about the applicant, as well as information about the position in general. A well-structured CV gives the impression of someone who is professional and organized, who can communicate clearly and concisely in both written and oral formats.To format for writing a resume/cv, first decide what you want to highlight on the person's resume. For example, if you are trying to find out whether the person has all the qualifications required for the position, highlight it on his resume. Another example is if you are interested in getting an applicant's reference on how he did during his last job or experience at a certain company. In this case, list all the relevant details in the CVs.Next, determine how you will format the form. You can use any one of the following formats. First is the old-fashioned typewriter format. T his format is still used when you search for people using computers. With this format, every single item on the resume is typed into the typewriter or computer.This format is very convenient, especially when you are writing many resumes. To put your paragraph-segmentation in effect, you need to select only a section from the original resume that you need to address to the potential employer. Then you can break the paragraph-segmentation into multiple lines, beginning with the first sentence. The name of the employee should be in capital letters, followed by his title and lastly, his contact number. After this, you can place your company's logo and contact email address, in the space provided in between the previous paragraph and the first line.Another format for writing a resume/cv is using a template. With this style, the key details of each job or a particular position are already included in the template. The format is usually very clear and organized, which enables you to find t he exact details required on your CV.Format for writing a resume/cv is flexible when it comes to the formats in which you can work. You can also use a single format for writing multiple CVs. This allows you to create the form as per your preferences and needs. A good idea would be to write separate CVs for all the possible employers who may be interested in hiring you. Once you have completed this, you can split the different sections of the form into different formats so that you can find the appropriate form for writing a resume/cv to present to all of them.One should also remember that the format for writing a resume/cv can be customized according to the need. In order to customize the format, you need to go through the CV template that you have created, look at the key information that you want to highlight in the form, and then check for those things that can be made less highlighted on the resume. Based on the customization, you can then create the format for writing a resume/ cv that is best suited for the particular position that you are applying for. However, the important thing is to make sure that the format for writing a resume/cv is professional and conforming to the job opening.

Details of Step by Step Writing a Resume

Details of Step by Step Writing a Resume The One Thing to Do for Step by Step Writing a Resume You may also opt to incorporate an objective or summary. Resumes are always ready for the purpose of future tweaks to capture relevant search phrases and details essential for the particular job opening you're applying for. When you haven't written a resume recently, however, you may be wondering how to even begin on such an undertaking. Keep in mind, if a job posting calls for a certain technology, and you've got experience with that program, be certain to include it! In case you haven't already, now's a very good time to earn an expert email address. If it comes to resumes, there's no 1 size fits all. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Step by Step Writing a Resume If you own a LinkedIn profile or professional on-line portfolio, be certain to include that as well. For instance, if you are asking for work in sports marketing, mentioning the simple fact that you're a tri -athlete would benefit your candidacy. Second, if you're doing informational interviews you are able to ask employees at the company if including your publications is something you ought to do. The 30-Second Trick for Step by Step Writing a Resume As it happens, I discovered a good resource. Resume heading is the one of the most crucial location, where you have to include no more than the correct info. You would like the most relevant information at the very top. The info in your resume should paint an image of the sort of employee you are and show employers what you're capable of accomplishing. Choosing Good Step by Step Writing a Resume Make a connection at the company in which you intend to apply to find an overall idea about just what the firm is searching for in that special job. Job searching doesn't need to be hard, but it's surely a struggle for a lot of people much like you. Keep in mind, your resume is only an enticer, a means to acquire your foot in the door. You've searched for work and have found many job opportunities that you want to apply to! Plus simply because you reside there now, doesn't mean that you won't move after you have the job. When you've described every job that you've held in the past ten decades, review your resume draft. If it's a prior job ensure you write your bullets in past tense. The Unusual Secret of Step by Step Writing a Resume So once you're writing yours, bear in mind that it is a showcase. Writing a resume can be an intimidating task. Get started writing your resume by developing a list of your accomplishments in every single job you have held. Language skills are sometimes a good selling point on your resume. The End of Step by Step Writing a Resume A great resume format is simple to scan. In addition, keep the webpage layout clean also. Now you have your format picked out, you should set your information in order. In case the template has space for an address you can place it. Chronologi cal resumes are excellent for clearly displaying your work or educational history and they're a good alternative for pretty much any degree of experience. You need to know how to compose your work history to have the max value for yourself at first.