How to Make Your Resume Stand Out Online

How to Make Your Resume Stand Out Online There’s a sea of online resume postings out there, and with the huge number of resumes submitted via e-mail or online forms that the employers have to scrutinize, they may all start to look the same. When you’re competing with hundreds of other equally qualified applicants, you have to establish yourself as the front-runner from the get go! So how do you ensure that your online resume will stand out from the crowd and not get lost in the black hole that many of the resume databases have become? Read on; you just might find the answers in the following tips: 1) Make your resume keyword-rich: Recruiters and company resume databases search for resumes using keywords. Think of it as similar to the way you’d search for a restaurant on Google; you enter your key criteria for a place to eat, right? If your resume doesn’t have those keywords embedded, it won’t be included in the results. It’s crucial to identify the right terminology in the industry you’re applying for. Take time to research the company, look at the job requirements and highlight all the keywords and key phrases. Don’t get too crazy with the keywords, though. Just put enough to help employers find you faster. Remember this equation: Excellent Resume + Keywords = Job Opportunities. 2) Get your resume branded: While employers care about your address, mobile number and e-mail address, what’s more important to them is how you do things differently; what makes you unique and what your bottom-line impact is in the organization. Ask yourself what you consistently do really well that is of value to the prospective employer. Once you identify it, turn it into a branding statement of three to four sentences, max. 3) Make it easy for employers: Avoid the likelihood of conversion mistakes during upload and keep formatting as simple as possible; make it aesthetically pleasing and easy to follow. Use a different font â€" legible and not too fancy, but somewhat diverse from the usual Times New Roman or Arial fonts that everybody uses; this may just make a big enough difference to the eyes of the worn-out employer that has probably browsed through hundreds of resumes with the same fonts. Now there’s a good chance to give them â€" and yourself â€" a break! 4) Add a link: Face it, social and professional networking sites are becoming hubs for job seekers and recruiters. Among the popular ones that most recruiters employ are LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. Add links to your profiles. Likewise, if you have a website, a blog or if you are featured on somebody else’s website, add those links to your resume, too. Be sure that they contain information that will impress the reader. 5) Pitch a positive personality: Just because you’re listing facts doesn’t mean you can’t make them sound pretty. Use positive language in all instances to give the employer an upbeat positive attitude when they’re done reading your resume. These ostensibly little differences in the choice of words can have a major impact on how your resume is perceived. Make sure your online resume is dressed to impress and “speaks” loud and clear. Above all, don’t miss out on being found online! Use as many resources as you can to ensure that your resume stands out and get noticed online. Related: How To Design an Alternative Prezi Resume.

Save Time Turning Ideas Into Profitable, Brand-Building Books - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Save Time Turning Ideas Into Profitable, Brand-Building Books - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career The faster you can turn your book ideas into an organized table of contents, the faster you can write and self-publish a profitable, brand-building book. Self-employed professionals writing books to build their brand, enhance their credibility, and increase their search engine visibility often focus exclusively on the writingwhen they  should be  focusing on planning and organizing the contents of their book. Planning should take place  before beginning to write a book. Writing without first planning is like driving from Boston to Los Angeles without a map.you may get there, but the drive will inevitably take longer because you wasted time along the way in Miami, Buffalo, Boise, and Houston. Experienced authors know that the time invested in  planning a book  will be repaid over and over again in time saved  writing a book. (Thats the biggest lesson I learned writing over 40 books.) The book planning process The  process  of turning your ideas into a profitable brand-building book is actually quite simple: Identify. Start by identifying the building blocks of your bookthe individual  ideas, facts,  examples,  recommendations, and  tips  you want to share in your book. Organize. After identifying the building blocks, organize them into  sections,  chapters, and  topics  within chapters. Review. Finally, put your work aside for a few days. When you return, review the structure of your book andas you look at each building block or ideaask yourself,  Do I really need this idea, fact, or tip? Its a lot better to edit your ideas at the planning stage,  before  you write, instead of  after youve written! Outlining your books table of contents The starting point for planning a books table of contents is often using the outlining capability built into most word-processing programs. Microsoft Word, for example, includes powerful list-building and sorting tools. The problem with using a word-processor to plan your books table of contents is that, as you scroll through the list, you can only see a small portion of the list. While looking at the contents of Chapter 3, for example. you cant view the topics in Chapters 1 and 2, and you cant see the contents of Chapters 4-11. Yes, there are workarounds, butofteninconvenient to use, print, and share with others. Plus, word-processed solutions chain you to your computerand, often, your best thinking when youre  away from  your computer! 7 better ways to plan and write your brand-building book Here are some alternatives to working with your word processing programs lists and outlining features: Index cards. Sometimes its best to go low-tech, and organize your ideas on 35 inch index cards1 idea per card. As you work, you can easily sort the cards into piles for each chapter. Or, you can organize your index cards into chapters by displaying them on the walls of your office. File folders. If youre using index cards, you can place them in separate file folders for each chapter. One of the advantages of this approach is that you can also add copies of photocopied articles and print-outs from the web to each folder. Sticky notes. Instead of index cardssince your landlord might not appreciate thumbtacks on the walls of your home or officeyou can use sticky notes to organize the contents of your book on the walls of your office. White boards. Whiteboards are great for planning your books table of contents. Whiteboardsthe larger the betterpermit you to visually display the chapters of your book and the main ideas in each chapter. Consider using a whiteboard to show the chapters of your book, and sticky notes for the contents of each chapter. This makes it easy to move ideas from chapter to chapter. When youre done, use an iPhone or digital camera to photograph your table of contents and e-mail it to yourself (and your co-authors, editors, etc.) Mind maps. Mind mapping is a technique used to display the contents of your book as clouds surrounding the title and premise of your book. Mind mapping has traditionally been done with large, poster-sized sheets of paper and colored markers. Now, hundreds of mind mapping software programs are available, likeMindjets MindManager,  permitting  you to map the contents of your book on your iPhone, iPad, Macintosh, or Windows computers. A big advantage of mind mapping software is that you can  export your work to your word processing program, eliminating the need to retype your ideas.  More  about mind maps. Sketch pads. Sketching is a technique for creating simple drawings that show the structure of a writing project and the relationships between ideas. Firms like  Moleskin  have been offering writers, designers, and inventors sketch pads since the Renaissance. Online examples include Dan Roams The Back of a Napkin, Sunni Browns Doodle Revolution  and  Mike Rhodes blog. Specialized writing software. Another software approach to help you save time turning ideas into profitable books  Literature Lattes Scrivener. Now available for the Macintosh, and  (soon) Windows, Scrivener combines visual metaphors, like cork boards and sticky notes, with an always-on outline view of your book while writing.  Details. Plan before you start to write your book Avoid the temptation to write your brand-building book before you have identified your ideas and organized them into sections, chapters, and topics within chapters. You can save time planning before you start writing with any of the above planning tools. It doesnt matter whether you use choose a low-tech or a high-tech tool to turn your ideas into a profit and brand-building book; what matters is that you develop the habit of  planning before writingand that you get started on your book as quickly as possible! (Visit another  Personal Branding Blog  post with  time-saving tips  for writing a profitable, brand-building book.) Author: Visit  Roger C. Parker’s  Published Profitable  and get a free proof of his new book,  99 Questions to Ask Before You Write and Self-Publish a Brand-Building Book

Three Simple Items to Upgrade Your Wardrobe

Three Simple Items to Upgrade Your Wardrobe Fashion can be complicated. Between keeping up with the latest style tips and try to find the best fitting clothes for our body type, as well as trying to effectively spend money to have trendy clothing, yet quality pieces that will last several seasons, it’s easy to end up with a disorganized and haphazard wardrobe. Most of us don’t wear all of our clothes, yet we continue to spend money on more clothes. We’re always in search of that perfect look, but we’re not always conscious of the most effective ways to upgrade our style â€" which is why we sometimes end up with inefficient messes like a wardrobe that includes five nearly identical black cocktail dresses. Here’s a tip: the next time you’re shopping for something to upgrade your wardrobe, gravitate towards these three items. These are the difference makers that can make a real change in your style while (hopefully) not duplicating the efforts of any piece they aren’t qualified to replace. Here are three great buys to upgrade your wardrobe. A white dress The “little black dress” is a fashion classic â€" an absolute staple of every woman’s wardrobe. It’s also something that you probably already own you may even own several. When you’re unsure about what to wear to a nice dinner with your boss or to the bar with friends, the little black dress is always there in a pinch. But as iconic as the little black dress is about how underappreciated the white dress is. Though you can’t wear white to weddings, a white dress is a bold, confident statement piece and excellent to any wardrobe. If you are looking for a classy staple to add to your closet, but are looking for something different, this is just the look. Wear a white dress to a luncheon during the summer, or a winter white shift to a holiday party in December. White is elegant and classy. It can be a snow-white winter wear or a sunlight summer choice. Get one, and turn some heads. A statement piece of jewelry What’s in your jewelry box? For too many of us, the answer goes something like this: a bunch of pieces that you never wear, and a few that you wear too much. There’s a way to solve this issue without setting up a schedule for your jewelry decisions. If you don’t want to wear some pieces, don’t! As for the ones you wear “too much,” the reason you feel that way is probably that they don’t merit their heavy use. If you find a really powerful piece that makes the right kind of statement about you, you’ll find that fears of wearing it “too much” begin to feel silly. Just as men can rely on a single statement watch and wear it nearly all the time, you can make the perfect piece your trademark. Spend well on a high-quality piece that merits the spotlight. Consider vintage pieces, which can feel weighty and dignified in ways that work perfectly with the “statement piece” concept. Opt for a recognizable piece: you’re embracing this piece as a staple, not trying to hide behind its anonymity. A bodysuit If you don’t have a bodysuit in your dresser or closet, you should strongly consider getting your hands on one. That’s because a bodysuit can effectively improve your entire wardrobe by making your other clothes look better. Using a bodysuit as your base, you can layer pieces while resting assured that your first layer will remain in place and wrinkle-free. It’s a simple, basic item that can have a ripple effect on your entire outfit! And if you don’t believe us, just ask newly minted royal Meghan Markle.

How to Schedule Instagram Posts in Advance [Video]

How to Schedule Instagram Posts in Advance [Video] Instagram is quickly becoming one of the most popular social media platforms. For years, there was really no system that would allow you to schedule your Instagram posts in advance. Well.that has changed and if you are like me, it was hard to figure out. I spent a lot of time researching and  studying how I could batch content ahead of time like I do on my other social media platforms. If you know me at all yet, you know that I am a big fan of batching similar tasks and working on them at one time rather than doing them all the way throughout the week.  I dont like wasting time. This was one of the biggest reasons I didnt jump onboard Instagram right in the beginning because I couldnt figure out my batching system. But I soon realized that I had to figure it out and fast. Why? Because what I am seeing is that everyone is running from Facebook to Instagram right now. People dont want to pay for Facebook ads so they are off to the free place (for now). So I have studied and found  the best way to use my time wisely on Instagram and here is what I have found out. Note: You wont even touch the Instagram app until step 4. Dont waste time! How to Schedule Instagram Posts in Advance: Step 1:  Create Your Content and Images I recommend using picmonkey.com to create all of your Instagram posts. Prepare for a month and put 30 days of photos in your Instagram library. I usually aim for 30 days of quotes and then a do a mini photo shoot taking pictures of my favorite $1 Target buys. Also, make templates as much as possible. Its  great  to have all of your photos and quotes look similar so try to create templates to use over and over. For instance, I already have a quote template with my website name on it so it is easy for me to re-create over and over again. Step 2:  Create a List of Hashtags My favorite way to find great hashtags is to go check out people in my niche and see what hashtags they are using. Yes, you are modeling.not copying. Its OK! Pick out the ones that are the most relevant for your content as well.  Then, open up your phone and in the notes section create a really long list of hashtags you can use. I separate some of mine to break them into categories. What you will want to do is rotate through these hashtags to post them with your content every single time you post. Its important that immediately after you post, you write a comment with those hashtags because that is how your post will be seen by hundreds of NEW people. If you wait to hashtag your posts, you miss out on opportunities because your photo will drop to the bottom to make way for new content. Step 3: Schedule Your Content Open up  Latergram.me  and upload your photos and text. What I love about this app is that you can use it on your computer and it syncs seamlessly to your phone. This makes it so easy. I love typing on my computer normally (especially if I have something important to say) so I love creating and batching the content on my computer. Then, I also can copy and paste my blog text into latergram.me as well. This is a really easy way to recycle your content and use it for multiple purposes which I highly recommend! Step 4: Post Content From  Your Phone Yep, I know.manually. You might be thinking that is a lot of work. Well, heres the thing. Once you have your system down, you should delegate steps 1-3. There is no reason why you should be creating all of your Instagram posts and pre-scheduling them yourself. I am now to the point where step 4 is all I am doing so that way I can review and edit before it is finalized. I know you may not be ready for that,  yet, but I just wanted you to see the long term vision of my batching system. Delegate to a virtual assistant as soon as you have your brand and system down. [RELATED: How to Outsource Work You Hate In Under a Week] For now, Latergram.me will send you a reminder on your phone at the time that it is supposed to be scheduled so you never forget. I get into a routine so I actually dont even get the reminders anymore. I just know what my most popular posting times are from iconosquare. Usually its early mornings and late evenings.  So I just try to post once at those timesright when I wake up and right before I go to bed. This step is super simple though because everything is all done and waiting for you! Adding the photo and a few hashtags takes under a minute and you hardly have to think about it! Come follow us on Instagram and see how we do it in action!

Turning 60 - What It Meant Then and What It Means Now - Career Pivot

Turning 60 - What It Meant Then and What It Means Now - Career Pivot Turning 60 Copyright: drizzd / 123RF Stock Photo Turning 60â€"which I did a few months backâ€"was not what I expected when I first began my career. Boy, has the world changed. When I started my career, what did I think turning 60 would include? Security Financial freedom Grandchildren Travel Well, some of them are true. Let me explain. Career Beginnings I graduated from Northwestern University with my engineering degree in the late 1970s. I had a nice, secure job lined up with IBM. At the same time I entered the workforce, my father was forced out of his job at the New York Stock Exchange. He had worked there for 25 years as an economist. My father had a sweet pension and benefits. Financially, my parents were in great shape. However, his retirement was not what he expected. He went on to teach economics at a small liberal arts college but leaving his other job when he did eventually killed him. My parents’ retirement was not a happy one even though they were financially secure. Beginning My Career at the Borg…I mean, IBM I was in my early 20s during the 1970s, which is when I started my career with IBM. I was assimilated, resistance was futile (if you are under 30, this is a referenceto Jean Luc Packard, captain of the Starship Enterprise, being captured by the borg in the television series Star Trek Next Generation). At IBM, I was promised security. The assumption was that, in 30 years, I could retire in my early 50s both safe and secure. I did not have any real idea what that meant, but it felt good. The problem was that I hated my job. I was told by everyone to stick it out. Supposedly, I was in a great situation, being paid really well and, after 30 years, I could retire into the sunset…and then I could be happy. My Walkabout Early in my career, I did a walkaboutwhere I took a month off, half of which was unpaid, and traveled the National Parks of Utah, Colorado, and Arizona by myself. I came back in a much better mental state. The weeks after my return, I met my wife and, within a year, we were married. My assimilation was complete. Listen to the most recent episode Soon afterward, our son came along. I now had the three pillars of financial obligation: Mortgage Marriage Children How could I leave IBM now? Retirement Vision Dispelled In the late 80s, I was supporting 400-500 mechanical engineers. One of them was this really great guy, Don, who was just a couple of years from retiring.Unfortunately, Don was then diagnosed with cancer and disappeared for about a year as he received treatment. When Don came back to work, he was not the same person. I remember him saying that he assumed that when he licked cancer, he would come back to work and be the same guy he was before. This wasn’t true. The cancer treatment beat him up. He was back at work for about six months before the cancer returned. A few months later, he was dead. That experience had a lasting impact on me. Don never had the opportunity to reach the holy grail of retirement. Hmm… Later in 1993, IBM nearly went bankrupt. A lot changed: Early retirement plans were given Plants closed Full employment policy or job for life ended Layoffs Suddenly, I realized that I had all of my savings in my house, 401(k), and IRAs. The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back In the late 90s, IBM decided to end the pension plan. Those of us who were not within 5 years of retirement were given a cash balance plan. IBM soon realized that there was an age discrimination suit coming and converted all of us who were over 40 years of age back to the traditional annuity based pension plan. Trust was lost, and I did not believe in retirement conceptanymore. It is funny, but I distinctly remember having a conversation with a former boss who was a few years younger than myself. He said, “Well they took the pension away once, they cannot do it again!” I replied, “BS, they took it away once and they will take it away again!” IBM stopped funding the pension plan for current participants in 2008, which was a few years before my former boss’s 30th anniversary with the company. If you know anything about corporate pension plans, reaching 30 years of service is critical. Leaving IBM In 2000, I left IBM with my pension and 401(k) money in tow and then went to work for a tech startup that was later acquired by Lucentâ€"or as I like to refer to themâ€"the sister of the borg. My well-documented bicycle accident that changed my life foreverfollowed. I then made a pivot into teaching high school math. Later, I worked for a non-profit before being pulled into another tech startup. I rode out both devastating recessions working for successful tech startups. Riches did not come fromeither, but that is a lot better than most of our generation experienced. Turning 60 Turning 60 hasn’t been anything special. Though I have a few ailments, I mostly feel good and am working on fixing those things with lifestyle changes. The New York Stock Exchange kicked my father into retirement at about the same time in life I turned60. I do not have the financial resources he did but, by today’s standards, my wife and I are pretty well off. We have no debt. I am building Career Pivot and, even though it does not pay the bills completely, it is getting there. I have no plans to retire. Unlike my father, I planned this transition rather than responding to the actions of my employer. Looking back on my career, I was only laid off once, and I volunteered for that layoff. Every career transition I made was on my terms. Watching my father go through his transition had an impact on me. I will be inGalveston, TX when this post gets published and I will visit a few clients virtually while there. After that, my wife and I will head to New Orleans for the Birkman conference. Next, we head to Destin, FL for some vacation. My boss (ME) is a real jerk. He normally does not allow me to take a vacation. To me, retirement is freedom. It is freedom to work when and how much I want. If I look back on what I thought retirement meant at the beginning: Security â€" Nope Financial freedom â€" Nope Grandchildren â€" None planned but that could change Travel â€" I really do not want to travel much having taught in 40 countries around the world Turning 60 looks and feels totally different than I expected. What about you? What did you expect? Did you have any expectations? Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Simple Ways to Make your Business look Way More Professional

Simple Ways to Make your Business look Way More Professional Making your business look professional doesn’t need to be difficult. You don’t need to invest thousands and you also don’t need to revamp your entire image either. In fact, a few simple changes are all you need in order to really turn things around. Get a Professional Website It’s so important that your business has a website. Your business doesn’t have to be fancy, but you do have to make sure that it reflects your business and that it also contains any information that your customers might need to know. This can include how to contact you, the hours you work or even a list of services that you can provide. There really are a huge range of services that will help you to create a great-looking site but if your needs are more extensive then it is always a good idea for you to hire a professional. When you do have a great site, it’s always worth looking into proactive business IT solutions and consulting. Email Address If you are using an email address such as Yahoo or even Gmail then this is not professional at all. Your customers will not feel as though their data is secure when they are emailing you and you may even lose their trust as a result. If you want to help yourself then you need to get an email address that matches your website name. This is simple and it isn’t too expensive either. Your website host will probably be able to provide you with this as a service, or if you don’t want to do that then there are plenty of options available. Phone Number When you dial a business phone number and the person answers with “hello” rather than a full greeting then you will know how unprofessional this may seem. This is one of the many reasons why you need to have a business line, so that you always know when a client is calling. In this day and age, you don’t have to have an expensive business line. You can easily add a second line to the phone that you have now, and this is very easy to do. Use your Business Address Working from home is great, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still try and use a business address. If you do, then you will be able to get more privacy and you will also be able to stop your home address from showing up on street view. Always Invoice Professionally Your business won’t be active for very long if you don’t end up getting paid. 70% of freelancers have reported time and time again that they have been let down by clients. If you want to avoid this then you need to establish a contract outlining the payment terms. It also helps to invoice promptly as well because when you do this, you will then be able to keep up with everything and you can also encourage your clients to pay faster as well.

Rousing Review Great Giveaway LadyBirdLand by Allison Strine

Rousing Review Great Giveaway LadyBirdLand by Allison Strine Ive been a huge fan of Allison Strines for I-dont-know-how-long now, having discovered her who-knows-when buying a pendant of hers for a kick-ass friend of mines birthday. Ive gotten her newsletter ever since, and always enjoy seeing the quirky, funny, creative mixed-media art she creates along with the hilarious/inspiring quotes that go along with the visual. Yknow, like these: from l-r: Shes Leaping Already FOLK ART MAGNET; Margaritas Make Her Clothes Fall Right Off FOLK ART MAGNET; She Didnt Know How Much She Could Do ARTIST PRINT So when Allison contacted me about reviewing her upcoming book in exchange for an advance copy of said book, I might have squealed. And when it arrived in my mailbox a few weeks later, I smiled and laughed while thumbing through the pictures. It wasnt until I sat down with the book (in my comfy chair with a glass of wine, natch), that I read through it all, hugged it close, and read it yet again. What looks like a simple picture book every 2-page spread features a bit of a story from Allison on the left page with the image shes talking about on the right is a hugely inspiring, sweet, takeaway-filled trip into the creative imagination of someone who mentions her farting brothers as the inspiration for her art on the very first page. This is Allisons imagination (where birds have human feet and adult women have purple hair!), Allisons take-aways, and Allisons storybut its food for thought/kick-assery for all of us.   It makes me wanna buy em all up as gifts for my friends and family women who are sassy, classy and a little bad-assy while keeping one on the coffee table for myself, when I need a laugh or a kick in the ass-y. You can see for yourself by heading over to StoryPeople to download a PDF sample of the book order it for yourself all your friends, too! And to celebrate the book release, Allison sweetly offered to giveaway any print or pendant from her shop! So head on over and leave a comment here with what youd pick if you were to win, do it before 11:59p Eastern on Mar 1st. Ill be back on the 2nd to announce the winner. Good luck!