How to Find remote work

How to Find remote work by Amber Rolfe Want to work from home. Every. Single. Day? Working remotely can be a great way to create the perfect work-life balance, whether you’re trying to skip the commute, avoid office-based distractions, improve your family life, or anything else. And whilst the ability to work from home is becoming more available, companies that want their employees to work remotely all the time are harder to find.To make sure you’re first in line, here’s how to find remote work â€" and actually get it:  Figure out if it’s right for you Remote working can be great.Not only does it allow you to skip that potentially long (not to mention expensive) commute, you can also save money on everything from food to afterwork drinks.Other benefits include the ability to work flexibly, from anywhere, with more time to spend with your family and on your hobbies. Plus, zero distractions.But, regardless of its perks â€" that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone.So before you jump at the idea of working from your bed, take some time to figure out if it’s actually the right thing for you, your career, and your lifestyle. Try asking yourself the following questions:Are you self-motivated enough to manage your time with little guidance?Will you get lonely and/or miss those impromptu ‘water cooler moments’?Will you be able to divide home and work life effectively, to avoid under/over working?Will you feel left out of social activities (AKA FOMO)?Will you be able to communicate effectively via email, phone, and video calls?Lastly, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Recruiters can tell the difference between someone whose motivations are in the right place, and people who just want to stay in their pyjamas all day.  Don’t be a ghost (and/or a dinosaur)  Translation: keep your online presence active, and make sure you’re tech savvy enough to have (and use) the tools needed to work remotely.Because remote workers have limited face-to-face interaction w ith their employers, it’s vital for them to make their presence known online â€" whether it’s through social media, blog posts, or a personal website.These are also great places to build a professional network, which is often your best friend when it comes to landing remote work.The same goes for your technical ability. OK, so you don’t need to be an expert in every piece of software known to man, but having the tools to work from home is absolutely vital.So, check you have a good internet connection, webcam, headphones, and a professional email address before you apply for remote jobs.After all, a CV sent by groovy_chick95@email.com complete with cartoon avatar, followed by a lagging video interview with poor sound is unlikely to turn any heads…at least not for the right reasons.Video interview tipsVideo interview questions  Demonstrate the right skills You’ll need to have a specific set of skills to stand out to recruiters looking for remote workers.In addition to being proficient in the tools used to bridge the communication gap (e.g. Slack, Salesforce, Trello, Google Hangouts etc.), you’ll also need to demonstrate soft skills that’ll help you work remotely.Trustworthiness, autonomy, and a love of what you do usually comes first.After all, remote work requires a lot of self-motivation â€" and if you aren’t passionate about your role, you won’t be motivated to do it without anyone around to push you. In other words, distractions will take over.You should also make sure your CV and cover letter demonstrates:Great communication. Because remote work is primarily based on written communication, it’s extra important to show it in your CV. So be sure to give practical examples, not to mention (double) check your grammar and spelling.Examples of your work. If you have a portfolio of work, or you’ve worked on projects on a freelance basis or outside of work, shout about them. Anything that required you to work autonomously is always likely to be valuable to recruiters.How you can actually deliver. Many remote employers will prioritise deliverables over merely sticking to a set schedule of working hours. So, mentioning any hard numbers related to your job (e.g. increased revenue by X%) is likely to make you stand out.Remote working interview questionsTelephone interview tips: dos and don’tsBe open to opportunities When it comes to remote work, versatility is key. And the same rule applies for finding it.Not only are there are a variety of places to find it (e.g. remote work sites, or job boards), there are also a number of ways into it.The first step you should take is asking if your current employer allows remote work. Whilst your options will depend on your role and company, you might find that there’s more versatility than you think.If remote work isn’t a choice, you could also consider asking for flexible working hours; whether this means working to your own schedule, from home or a different location a few days a week, or part-time.This is a great way to see if remote working would work for you, and it’ll allow you to prove to future employers that you’d be productive in this kind of environment. Starting out as a freelancer could also be beneficial.Finally, it’s always a good idea to do your research into which companies hire remote workers, or place an emphasis on flexible working hours as part of their culture.That way, you can ensure you find the right fit for you.Work from home jobsHow to: Work from home    Still searching for your perfect remote role? View all remote jobs nowFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. How t o start looking for work What job suits me? Work from home jobs

Bring Your Own Ladder

Bring Your Own Ladder Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'ic1o8tTlRoJDqOk1PjAAJA',sig:'G1JpmHlSw1NVv-zivOr9VPs70f-e9B4n_-bndzqeqhM=',w:'365px',h:'470px',items:'84081581',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); This is one of several posts based on Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor’s book Primed to Perform. Many companies assume that there’s only one ladder to climb, one path to success. The Peter Principle, formulated by  Laurence J. Peter, states that the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidates performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and  so always rise to the level of their incompetence. Doshi and McGregor suggest that there should be multiple ways for employees to achieve success and fulfillment in their careers. Not everyone aspires to manage a large team, and many workers lose interest in their jobs once they lose touch with the actual, hands-on work they used to do. Here are Primed to Perform’s suggestions for ladders. The Managerial Ladder. Doshi and McGregor suggest that management positions should not be the default reward for top performance.   Promoting your bets performers to management may have unintended consequences.  There’s no guarantee that a great technician will be a great manager or that she’ll enjoy her new duties.   Eventually, you also weaken your performance, as your best people can’t contribute to the team. Teaching and coaching require very different skills than actually doing the work, and someone who is naturally talented may not have what it takes to coach someone else. Doshi and McGregor suggest that management be a track pursued deliberately only by people who do have the right skills: the ability to get the best out of people by training, coaching and holding them accountable. The Expert Ladder. There will always be workers who prefer the soloist path. They enjoy the work for its own sake, and love the work of  learning and sharpening the saw. These experts are essential to the company’s success, and they should be allowed to continually hone their skills and build their expertise.   Their highest contribution will be in developing new knowledge and finding ways to share it with the company. The Customer Ladder. Customer-focused staff should be allowed to develop their expertise, whether it’s on the sales or service side. (In fact, they should be encouraged to master both, so the two fit together seamlessly in the customer’s eyes.) Since making sales and servicing customers should be the two highest priorities of any company, this ladder should offer plenty of opportunities for challenge and compensation. I know a gifted employee of a nonprofit who has a quick mind and great organizational skills.   She’s managed several high profile projects and exceeded her goals in all of them. But she’s determined to apply for supervisor’s position, because she believes that head count is essential to her success in the company. She believes that you must lead a team to be respected. I know another person who is miserable in her supervisory role.   She misses the work she used to do, but felt trapped into taking the promotion to supervisor.   She felt that if she had turned down the promotion, her career would have stalled; there were no other ladders available to her. Companies can create ladders informally without requiring pay increases at each step (typically, that’s the barrier that prevents the concept from being adopted.) Managers can reward workers with Play, Purpose and Potential. Motivated workers will value the opportunity to build skills, attend conferences and training and share new ideas with their peers. Doshi and McGregor write that the other benefit of having several ladders to success is that the company sets the expectation that everyone in the company is responsible for his own development and growth, not just those on the management track. Thats great news for those responsible for finding and developing the next generation of leaders.

4 Reasons Why Women Should Consider The Skilled Trades - Career Sidekick

4 Reasons Why Women Should Consider The Skilled Trades - Career Sidekick 4 Reasons Why Women Should Consider The Skilled Trades Occupations Careers / https://www.edenscott.com/blog There is often a stereotypical image associated with trades’ workers that involves a male in a hardhat. This stereotype prevails in part because skilled female tradespeople make up only about 5% of employed tradespeople, according to  Talent Egg. Despite this, there are many reasons why women with an interest in the skilled trades and hands-on work should still pursue a career in this industry.Here are the top 4 reasons why women should consider a career in the  skilled trades:1. Many traditionally male professions are increasing in popularity with female workers.Since the mid 20th  century, society has seen an increase in the types of jobs women are taking on. However, the last couple of decades show that there still remain male dominated and female dominated professions. But some jobs that have been traditionally male dominated are now leaning the other way. For example,  Forbes  writes that in the accounting field, women make up more than 60% of t hree categories of positions: accountants and auditors, tax preparers, and tax examiners and collectors. With this influx of women into new positions, we can hope that this will further increase their presence in other professions, included skilled trade jobs, which would have seemed out of reach in the past.2. Women are being offered equal compensation for skilled trades today as opposed to the past.Equal pay for equal work has been and continues to be a struggle women face. Although the Equal Pay Act of 1963 sought to suppress wage disparity among the sexes, wage discrimination has continued in many sectors into the modern day. According to  RSI, while women make up on 9% of all construction workers, they make a little over the median wage for all employed in construction. As other industries are following suit, women are seeing more and more doors of opportunity opening for them.3. Broadening the employment mindset between male/female professions is a good example to younger wome n and girls.Even when young people do not realize it, they are absorbing the examples they see around them, and these example shape their ideas about society and socially acceptable choices. This is true in gender roles in the workplace as well. Even though research supports the idea that there are no significant differences in male/female ability in any given field,  perceived competence  in individuals begins to develop at age five in most children, according to  The Huffington Post Girls in STEM Blog. This perceived competence will follow a female through her entire life and it is based upon beliefs of whether or not a job, talent or profession is appropriate for a girl. So by being a part of the skilled trades workforce, you’re showing other girls that this is an acceptable career path for them, should they choose it.4. Women talented in a skilled trade should feel free to pursue that as a career despite social stigma.If women hold only 5% of the skilled trades jobs, there are likely many talented women with this skill or aptitude who do not pursue that career path because of lack of confidence. Ever expanding social ideas concerning male/female gender roles in the workplace are opening new doors for women, but it is confidence that will take women the rest of the way to pursue careers that they desire.

5 Steps to Get Started on Twitter as a Graduate

5 Steps to Get Started on Twitter as a Graduate At the start of this century, Social Media was touted to become its most influential asset.  It is now turning out to be more public and informative than some of the traditional media. Twitter is no-more a newbie on social networking. The user numbers  are growing and there is a big increase in industry presence on Twitter. As a graduate, or someone looking for a job, Twitter is now a must-have job search tool. Here I present 5 steps to get started on Twitter. Twitter for job 1. Put on a professional handle (username).  You can have more than one account on Twitter, so for professional use, and even generally, I would suggest having a more sensible handle. No more @hot_munchkin or @orange_monkey. You can be creative though, and a bit casual, e.g.: my username has always been @freeman_faiz. Whatever you have your handle as, make sure you wouldnt be  embarrassed  to shout it out in public. 2. A Picture speaks a thousand words. By default, once you sign up, Twitter puts a white egg behind a colourful background as your profile picture. Change it to one of yours! Again, try and choose a clear image. Your photo on social networks is available in public domain,  so be sure to have a good clear image on Twitter too. 3. Fill in the Bio section well. Use the bio section to showcase your skills and interests. There is a limit of 160 characters. Hence, keywords are important. If you are a Graduate, add that. Write your interests, if you want to. But dont leave it blank. If you have, or contribute to a blog, add a link, but dont link your own twitter profile! 4. Follow the right people (accounts). As soon as you sign up, start following careers related people, organisations, or HR accounts of major businesses. You can even folow recruiting agents. To get started, why not sign up and follow me:  @freeman_faiz. Then you can follow the people I follow, to get involved in job hunting. 5. Start Tweeting, RT, and getting involved. Once you start following the right people or accounts on twitter, its time to get involved in mentioning other users, reply to general questions and RT interesting tweets. If you interact with business accounts, or someone in the recruitment industry, you might be able to get some attention! Never post anything that you wouldnt want your employer to read  irrespective  of whether you have a job, or not. I hope these 5 points will help you get started on twitter. You can follow me @freeman_faiz and tweet any questions you want answered! BONUS TIP Hash-tags are a big thing on Twitter. Try hash-tag #graduate #job and #careers for careers  information  and  job vacancies advertised! Go on, try it!   Subscribe to Career Geeks Bi-monthly Newsletter  to stay up-to-date with careers information and tips tricks. 15

Create A Compelling LinkedIn Headline

Create A Compelling LinkedIn Headline http://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2014/06/10/why-linkedin-is-the-only-personal-branding-resource-you-need/Ever picked up a book with a bad title? Ever walked into a shop in a mall that had a poorly displayed entrance? Ever read a newspaper article that did not grab your attention?Most people have limited attention spans, we are constantly bombarded with new information. It is important to grab people’s attention quickly.Advertisers spends countless hours dollars on evaluating which Headlines to use for their Advertising campaigns. They understand the value of hitting the right nerve with their audience/readers, so they at-least read their message. They want to ensure that the readers take action on the Headline ie. read the article or ad.evalYou should consider using the same mindset on LinkedIn. It is an amazing platform providing you a free opportunity to advertise your skill-sets and expertise to the marketplace. It is your virtual billboard.However, most users complete ly disregard the importance of a strong LinkedIn Headline. The more time a recruiter spends on your LinkedIn profile, the higher probability that they might consider you for the hiring process. So, ensure that you customize your LinkedIn Headline so recruiters will read your profile.HEADLINES THAT DO NOT MAKE AN IMPRESSION 1. Current Job Title / Default HeadlineBy default, LinkedIn picks up your current Job title and makes that your headline. So if your title is “Accountant at Acme Corp.” â€" the same will appear on your Headline. Although it achieves the purpose of telling the audience about what you do, it does not necessarily make a favourable impression. Unless a recruiter is particularly looking for An Accountant from Acme Corp. , there is a slim chance that you will be found. 2. Telling the world you are unemployedIf you are job-hunting ; and your title says something like this “Looking for New Opportunities”, then you are sure to be lost in the mix of tons of other u sers, and become invisible to prospective recruiters.evalI did a quick search on LinkedIn for “Looking for new Opportunities” and came across 7913 users in Toronto, Canada alone. Wow!! your competition just multiplied 7000 times. Do you think a Recruiter is going to go through 7000 records to just find your profile. I am surprise by the sheer number of LinkedIn users who use this title.If you are employed and passively looking â€" by having a headline like this â€" you have just made an announcement to your current boss that you are ready to leave. Guess what? Chances are your boss is also on LinkedIn.In this quick 2 minute video, learn how to change your LinkedIn Headline.HOW TO WRITE A PROPER LINKEDIN HEADLINE?evalThere is no one answer. I have compiled a list of 3 ideas you can use to optimize your LinkedIn Headline. I encourage you try different Headlines to see which has the strongest impact. A) KEYWORD RESEARCH Some Career Experts recommend using Data/Research to find out the most suitable Headline. Using Keyword Research, you can find out what Job Titles/Roles are most searched, and using the data create an effective headline. You can use LinkedIn Job Search and Google Trends to find out what recruiters are looking for.How to Write The Best LinkedIn Headline and Why It Matters? B) CREATIVITYOthers suggest being creative â€" use eye-catching taglines to grab their attention. Get them curious about what you do. The more different your headline looks, the more they want to open your LinkedIn Profile and find out who you are what you do. This is effective because you immediately separate yourself from the pack. Just because you need to show your professionalism on LinkedIn, doesn’t mean you can’t show your humorous side.10 Creative LinkedIn Headline Examples C) VALUE PROPOSITIONAnother strategy is showcase your Value Proposition â€" telling them about the impact they would have by hiring you. For example a seasoned Sales Professional might have a h eadline such as ” Helping Technology Companies Improve Market Share with my Skill-sets and Network”. A Recruiter or Hiring Manager will immediately get the idea that you are not just another Sales guy looking for job â€" you are driven Sales professional focused on getting resultsHow to Write a LinkedIn Headline That Attracts ResultsevalSUMMARYYour LinkedIn Headline is important. It is the second thing people see after your Profile PictureThe Purpose of your LinkedIn Headline is to grab their attention, and prompting them to open your profile.Avoid Generic LinkedIn Headlines. Customize it.Be Creative, show your humorous sideConsider Adding your Value Proposition

4 Reasons You Cant Put Off Getting LinkedIn Recommendations

4 Reasons You Cant Put Off Getting LinkedIn Recommendations Do you really need LinkedIn  recommendations to land a job? We live in a networked world in which relationships and reputations matter. LinkedIn recommendations validate your reputation based on the endorsements from people who have seen your work in action. Think about the last time you were online buying something. Did you happen to notice the product reviews or even a lack of reviews? According to BrightLocal, a provider of search engine optimization reporting and citation management for businesses, 92% of consumers read online reviews. Employers are like buyers and want to make sure the person they hire will be a good investment. Recommendations help eliminate some of the perceived risk involved in hiring a potential candidate. Keep in mind, employers will still ask for a list of your references before hiring you. Have them ready! When a recruiter searches for someone to fill an opening, it is very likely they are reviewing LinkedIn profiles either during the screening process or after an interview. In fact, according to Jobvites most recent study, 87% of recruiters use LinkedIn to evaluate candidates. The hiring process is complex and recruiters assess candidates by many different elements such as relevant work experience, technical skills, tenure in jobs, performance and cultural fit. Recommendations can help recruiters evaluate and assess all of these criteria. Heres why you should add getting recommendations to your to-do list. Testament of Your Strengths Under each job on your LinkedIn profile, youve described your key accomplishments and referenced skills and attributes you used to succeed. A written recommendation from a supervisor adds a level of credibility. It supports your performance and endorses the skills youve referenced. Since recruiters are often skeptical of candidates claims, a recommendation can remove some of the doubt. A well-written recommendation will also speak to your attitude and work ethic. A recommendation also provides recruiters with insight on how well you may fit on a team or within an organization. Recruiters are increasingly concerned about finding candidates who will be a cultural fit. Can you think of any reason a  recruiter would NOT be interested in interviewing a candidate with a recommendation that starts with: Jane Does project management skills and meticulous attention to detail made her the hero of the year! We couldnt have done it without her. LinkedIn Recommendations Are  Public  Proof Back in the day when we  only had hard copy letters of recommendation, these valuable endorsements were private and shared upon request. Today, LinkedIn recommendations provide public proof of your skills and abilities. Recommendations are tied to the profile of the person who writes them. This means their reputation is on the line when they write a recommendation for you. And therefore, its more likely theyll be honest. To ensure  that your recommendations are displayed and visible to anyone who looks at your profile, youll want to double-check your public profile settings. Youll Be A Stand-Out Candidate LinkedIn recommendations help differentiate you from other candidates. As you look at the profiles of your friends and colleagues, how many have included recommendations? Its fair to say that most  LinkedIn users do not take the time to ask for recommendations either because they dont know how, dont want to pester people or dont realize how important they can be. To ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn, go to your profile and click the down arrow to the right of the blue view my profile button. Next, select ask to be recommended from the drop-down options and then follow the prompts to request the recommendation. Keep in mind, recommendations arent easy to write. One trick to getting people to respond to your request for a recommendation is to remind the person about the specific details, skills and projects you want endorsed. Send them a regular email with suggestions about what skills you want them to mention or what projects they can highlight. There are no guarantees the person will write a recommendation. By providing suggestions on what to write about, youve made it easier and removed one of the obstacles for them. Stay Top-of-Mind and In Touch If you dont have recommendations on LinkedIn yet, now is the time. But, in order to ask for a recommendation, you  have to be connected on LinkedIn. Are you connected with your past supervisors, colleagues and clients? Personalize your invitation to connect and give a heads up that you will be sending a request for a recommendation. If you are actively job seeking, you should also include that in your message. You never know what opportunities may be available or who they may know.If you are one of those who finds it difficult to stay connected and network, this will help make it easier. You see, asking for a recommendation is one way to keep your in touch with your network. LinkedIns Official Help If you have more questions about recommendations, please, take a second or two and read their help page here. This post originally appeared on US News World Report

Fairfield County Job Services - How To Find Them?

Fairfield County Job Services - How To Find Them?Fairfield County is a popular summer destination in the United States, and with the help of job seekers it can easily be made more so. There are many different places to look, and while most individuals probably never thought they would have any, there are a lot of choices available. A job may not have been offered in the past, but now it is out there waiting for you to take advantage of it.Because the market is huge, you can use Fairfield County as a starting point to make your career come into focus. It is relatively close to where you live, but because it is so popular, it has not been saturated with jobs. This means that you will have an excellent chance of landing a good one. The next step is to learn what to do to build your resume.When people think of Fairfield County, they probably think of the country club or community center they always seem to go to. While this part of the country is a bit off the beaten path, you can still get job opportunities. The only reason this part of the country is the most popular area is because of its affordability. You do not have to spend a lot of money to get into the industry. If you do not want to spend that much money, you can always rely on career services to help you.When you are looking for resume writing services, make sure you have the right experience. People who work for companies often use job writing services to help them write better resumes. All they need is to know the basic things they need to put on their own resumes. These services usually do not specialize in hiring, so you do not have to worry about going to the right place. Any company that has the right employees can help you land that great job.You can also get specialized resume writing services in Fairfield County, depending on what you want. You can have someone who has experience in the job you are looking for, or you can get a resume of a well-known person from the region. When someone who is t alented, such as one from Fairfield County, writes a resume, it will be easier for you to find the job you are looking for. Using an outside service can help you create a resume of a certain talent level.The internet is a great resource when it comes to finding companies that offer services to job seekers. The only thing you need to do is be able to see the website address and go from there. Because there are so many companies online, it makes it easy for you to select the best one for your needs.When you choose to use resume writing services, you should know exactly what they can do for you. If you do not know the requirements to start a career, then you do not have to waste time looking. You can simply read up and get a feel for what they can do for you. There are people in Fairfield County who love to help others, and you can use this to your advantage.