Excelle

I recently heard about an individual applying for a job who was asked by the hiring manager to bring up his Facebook page. The individual was shocked, but did so because he wasn’t sure how to refuse. What would you do if this happened to you? Does an employer even have the right to ask this, especially when Facebook is supposed ...

Starting your first job, changing positions, trying a new career, moving to another department or location — all of these can be frightening experiences. You’ve left where you were comfortable and successful and now you have to establish yourself all over again. You go to the new area, and your first day is a disaster! Surprise! You are not alone. Your ...

Here are seven no-cost resources to help you become a more savvy job hunter that has the skills to compete in the current job market: 1. LinkedIn.com – LinkedIn is a social network for business professionals. An updated LinkedIn profile is practically a must-have for every job hunter. However, LinkedIn isn’t just for job hunters. It’s an essential tool for anyone ...

Time flies when you're wasting it These days, no one can afford to waste time at work. Thanks to widespread downsizing, workloads are piling up. Unfortunately, extra hours in the day are not. Maximizing your time at work can mean the difference between leaving at a reasonable hour (i.e. holding onto your sanity) and staying late unnecessarily. You’ve got a ...

Recently I read about an Australian company that put out an ad seeking new employees, but with a rather uncommon request—the applicants had to be a certain astrology sign. Anyone under the Taurus, Aquarius, Aries, Capricorn, or Leo signs were encouraged to submit resumes because, according to a spokesperson for the company, those signs make the best employees. I was a ...

I consider myself a social person. I’m at ease talking to strangers in line at the grocery store, meeting new people at social gatherings and making conversation with people ages 2 to 92. But I have to admit that professional networking makes me uncomfortable. It just feels too self-serving. So for many years I just avoided doing it and rationalized that ...

The older I get the more I realize my time is worth as much to me as any money I could possibly earn. And while I firmly believe I have unlimited earning potential in my chosen business, I also realize that no matter how hard I try, I cannot increase the number of hours in my day. Yes, I’ve managed to ...

Volunteer LEARN MORE: Leverage Volunteer Work on Your Resume! Working for free may seem counter-intuitive; however, volunteering can oftentimes help you get a foot in the door. When a position becomes open, you will be a known and trusted entity versus merely one unknown name in a sea of resumes. NEXT: Telecommute -> [page] 2. Telecommute Just because you can't find ...

When things aren’t going our way it’s just human nature to begin laying blame. It is easy to see the culpability of others — our boss, the economy, the company that laid us off. It is far more difficult to take a deep look internally to see how we may be contributing to the situation at hand. Recently I spoke with ...

The best excuse for a dead career is your kids, right? Most people give you a pass when you point to the trials and tribulations of motherhood as the reason you didn’t make it as a banker, artist, or entrepreneur. It’s a cop out, and often a fallback for women who weren’t really happy with their career paths. Well, the thousands ...

In most job-filling situations, the employer has the luxury of choosing from several well-qualified applicants, all of whom could probably do the job. That's when the little things, like the common but often unrecognized mistakes described here, almost always come into play. Make sure you avoid them, so they don't cost you a shot at the job. h4. *1. Using a ...

What does disorganization cost you and/or your company? The Wall Street Journal published a study indicating that the average employee wastes nearly six weeks a year looking for information and things in their office. Multiply six weeks by the salary and then the number of employees and that is a lot of money! The cost of being disorganized is not only ...

During this economic meltdown, when it seems like everyone is looking for work, landing an office job can seem like an impossible task. But don’t let the competition intimidate you. Instead, step up your game — and your chances of landing that job — with these four tips you can do from home. 1. Clean Up Your Resume Start by putting ...

1. Not Using Standard Business-Letter Format The student's cover letter looked more like a cut-and-paste email than a business letter. It had no recipient information, no return address and no date. The letter screamed unprofessional. What's YOUR Cover Letter IQ? Be sure your cover letter uses a standard business letter format. It should include the date, the recipient's mailing address and ...

If there's any small solace when starting a job search in this recession, it's the proliferation of digital technology to help you re-enter the working world. Web sites like Indeed.com and LinkedIn.com have multiplied the number of job openings you can track and the professional contacts you can make. E-mail and smart phones make it easier to pitch yourself and set ...

As 2008 comes to a close and we embark upon the year 2009, many of us may be wondering what the new year will have in store for us. A new job? A new boss? New responsibilities? A bigger paycheck? A smaller paycheck? With the current status of the U.S. economy, it’s impossible to pin down exactly what will happen in ...

The workplace is not what it was five years ago. Neither is the job hunt. The most successful candidates are those who are ready and willing to adapt to a changing landscape. But it doesn’t matter how ready you are for the modern workplace if your résumé’s straight out of 1994. And sometimes, it's the most minute details that make all ...

Now that I’ve graduated from college, non-specific degree in hand (what does one do with a BA in English?), the job hunt has begun. Looking around me, I see so many people who are unhappy with their jobs. Their days resemble a real-life version of Office Space, sans Jennifer Aniston; they sit in traffic, then they sit in a cubicle, then ...

During her eight-month jobless stint, Amy Tinsley of Houston may well have been the happiest unemployed woman in America. Tinsley, a former marketing director for a local law firm, was laid off in December. It was the first time since age 16 that she'd been without a job. Unlike most of America's unemployed, however, Tinsley wasn't fretting about her down time. ...

1. A Closed Body Whether sitting or standing, your body should be loose and open. Do not cross your arms. Do not cross your legs. While you may think it conveys a sense of ease, studies have shown that a people read a closed body differently: they subconsciously think you have something to hide. What's more, you're missing a golden ...