It’s a fact: the best jobs attract loads of competition. So it pays to do whatever you can to stand out as a persistent, creative candidate, one that any sane employer would love to hire.

But how can you do that, in this impersonal age of email, chat rooms and mega job sites?

Easy. Just do what has worked for others. Continue reading →

1. An attractive layout that is easy to read and follow.

Recruiters and hiring managers are busy people. They are often reading hundreds of résumés in a day so they don’t have time to clean up your résumés formatting.

If a hiring manager opens your e-mail attachment and the lines are out of alignment (usually from using the “tab” key) or if the font is too large/too small, they will likely hit delete and move on.

Instead of using the “tab” key and the underline function, try to use tables with borders and shading elements to design your résumé. When you e-mail it out, it will retain its original format. Continue reading →

The successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign. And the same techniques used in infomercials and junk mail can help you get hired, too.

I’ll prove it to you.

First, let’s define marketing. I like this definition: marketing is finding and getting customers.

That sounds like a job search, doesn’t it? Finding and getting a job. Continue reading →

Common sense at work: Such qualities as loyalty, energy, intelligence and hard work are certain to be in any consensus of what it takes to build a successful career.

“However, there’s another essential ingredient that is too often overlooked,” says Ramon Greenwood, senior career counselor at www.CommonSenseAtWork.com> “That is having fun on the job.”

In fact, most of us are downright ambivalent when it comes to the subject of fun on the job and taking leisure time away from work. It is easy to argue both sides of the issue.

You’ve heard the axiom, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Well, it is true. Continue reading →

Ever hear the story of the two masons working side by side at a building site? They’re doing the same work under pretty much the same conditions. Then, one day a stranger comes along, approaches one of the men and asks him, “What are you doing?” “I don’t know and I don’t care,” replies the man, his voice brimming with irritation. All I do is slap this crummy mortar on these crummy bricks and pile them up in a crummy line. That’s what I’m doing.”

The stranger returns to the building site the next day. This time he approaches the second man, asking him the same question. “Tell me,” he said, “what are you doing?” Smiling at the stranger, the man proudly replies, “Why, I’m helping to build the new cathedral.” Continue reading →

In today’s marketplace things are constantly changing and so are the needs of just about each and every organization. Whether your company is growing organically or inorganically, whether your company is growing domestically or internationally or for one reason or another you just have pain, your organization must be in a position to attract top talent and attract it quickly! But attracting it is only the first part of the equation. The bigger problem is what you do once you attract talent to your organization. Continue reading →

Difficult Relationships at Work – How to Influence the Uncooperative

We rely on and spend more time with our colleagues than with most other people in our lives: yet we frequently experience conflict at work. This is a problem that is beginning to be recognised, but it is still not being dealt with either effectively or sufficiently. Conflict is such a broad term for what can be experienced, ranging from office gossip to outright bullying. In nearly every single office there are always going to be personality clashes at some point, and most of the time they will be fairly easily sorted out. However, sometimes they aren’t and there is often no other option than to resign. The real problem underlying this situation is that people really don’t have the skills to deal with these kinds of situations. They frequently accept the problem when it is happening and then get really upset afterwards. Continue reading →

“Roger, you must get those contracts completed for this month’s sales and don’t forget, we have a meeting tomorrow at 9:00. Don’t be late again!”

Roger was a super salesman, but he risked losing his job because he was too busy rushing from client to client to get his paper work completed. He missed meetings and was disruptive when he did come. His boss saw how his energy and enthusiasm brought in clients, but considered him childishly irresponsible with him and his colleagues.

What Roger wouldn’t admit and his boss didn’t know was that Roger had Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD). The hyperactive part gives him lots of energy and enthusiasm to go go when doing what he loves doing: talking about his products, socializing with clients or meeting new people. The attention deficit causes his brain to disconnect when doing boring stuff like completing forms, attending meetings or dealing with colleagues. Continue reading →

(excerpted from The Weekend Seminar – Skills for the 21st Century 1999 Version)

I find it’s important to not walk into the 21st Century without multiple skills. But what I also find is that if you are already in sales, network marketing or have an entrepreneurial business (or plan to in the future), you can gain the needed skills for the future while you create your income now. Continue reading →

She stretches in the break room for 30 minutes before each shift. She glides around the dining room like silk wafting on the breeze. She’s been known to strip off her shirt and bra to combat the heat in the kitchen.

The newest addition to the Red Robin wait staff, Paula Roche (also known as Mystique and Sable), who spent the past five years dancing at various upscale gentlemen’s clubs, is finding that old habits die hard.

“We absolutely love having Paula around,” said Red Robin manager, Ted Sunds, who appeared to be having problems adjusting his wedding band. “It is truly a joy to welcome her as the newest addition to our Red Robin family. Continue reading →