How to Write a Resume Summary That Grabs Recruiters Attention

How to Write a Resume Summary That Grabs Recruiters AttentionHow to Write a Resume Summary That Grabs Recruiters Attention To include a resume summary, or notlage to include a resume summary? The nagging question that has plagued many a job seeker. Well, heres some advice to clear the matter up yes, you should include a summary. Unless you are really pressed for space, have a significant amount of description writing in the body of your resume, or youre specifically directed not to include a summary, its an essential addition to a professional resume. Most people should have a summary, says Lynn Carroll - a career coach who writes about authenticity in the job search, gender equity in the workdistributions-mix, and inclusion - who we reached out to to learn how to create an eye-catching resume summary. Carroll distinguishes between a resume objective , which she says is what the jobseeker is looking to find in a company or position, and a resume summary, which tells a recruiter what the jobseeker can uniquely offer to a company or position. The objective is now considered by fruchtwein recruiters as an out-of-date function because it focuses on the jobseeker The summary is considered more current and a better way to describe the relationship between the jobseeker and the company because it talks about what they can offer, says Carroll.Here are a few tips to keep in mind for your summary There are plenty of opportunities to expound on your qualifications and experience in the job search process, like in your cover letter or the interview. The resume summary is a place to make the resume a bit more personalized, and to frame your resume in terms of the type of candidate you believe the company is looking for. For this reason, its important to keep the summary short. Carroll recommends writing a full paragraph at first, and then gradually whittling it down to two or three sentences full of powerful, important words. By condensing - rather than on the very first pass have a short summary - sometimes you give a lot more thought to what the most important pieces really are, she advises.A resume summary isnt a place to re-hash your professional experience , or to list out your soft skills. Its about giving the reader a brief, vivid taste of what kind of person you are in the workplace, what drives you and makes you tick, and what kind of environments you thrive in. Keep this in mind as you write your summary tell, dont list. Keywords are important for several reasons. First of all, they can help you stand out in applicant tracking systems , a type of software that companies use to digitally sift through job applications. Second of all, you can show that you know how to speak the same language as the company. If you were using the word customer for example, and they were using the word client in their job description, the idea is the same but they dont see that you are using their same lingo, Carroll says. They might feel like youre not in touch with where theyre at.Carroll says she always encourages her clients to use vivid, descriptive language , that brings their experience and skills to life. If I describe a meeting I organized, that seems like I set the conference call up. If I describe a meeting that I envisioned, or I describe a gathering that I developed, that sounds like I had more input into the content, she says. Using verbs that have active connotations rather than passive connotations can help this, Carroll adds. Theres no one tone to strike in a resume summary. It all depends on the type of job youre applying for and the kind of company youre sending your resume off to. Carroll gives the example of someone applying to a job at a more traditional, hierarchical Fortune 500 company versus someone applying to a job at a Silicon Valley startup. At the Fortune 500 company, she says, the applicant might want to use phrases like solid foundation and excellent skills to imply stability a nd reliability. At a startup, however, one might want to use phrases like creative, innovative, or dynamic. It all depends on the job youre applying for, and also dont forget what describes you as a candidate the most accurately.

Use Employee Training and Development to Motivate Staff

Use Employee Training and Development to Motivate StaffUse Employee Training and Development to Motivate StaffWant to keep your staff motivated about learning new concepts? The quality and variety of the employee training you provide are key for motivation. Reasons to offer employee training are many, from new-hire operational training to introducing a new concept to a workgroup to installing a new computer system. Whatever your reason for conducting an employee training session, its critical to develop the employee training within the framework of a comprehensive, ongoing and consistent program. This quality employee training program is essential to keep your staff motivated about learning new concepts and ultimately keep your department profitable. Essential Components of Employee Training Programs A complete employee training program includes a gestaltal new hire training program with an overview of the job expectations and performance skills needed to perform job functions. A new hire training program provides a fundamental understanding of the position and how the position fits within the organizational structure. The more background knowledge the new associate has the ways in which one workgroup interrelates with ancillary departments, the more the new associate will understand his or her impact on the organization. Abedrngnisher aspect of a comprehensive employee training program is continuing education. The most effective employee training programs assign the responsibility of continuing education to one person in the department. This is an important function in order to keep all staff members current about policies, procedures, and the technology. New Hire Training A solid new hire training program begins with the creation of an employee training manual. This manual acts as a building block of practical and technical skills needed to prepare the new individual for his or her position. In order for the department to understand current policies a nd procedures, a manager must ensure the department manuals or online employee training are kept current. This includes any system enhancements or changes in policy or procedure. In addition, focus on the user when designing training manuals or online training. Use language that isnt corporate, include images and multimedia and keep it interesting for the reader. When possible,incorporate visual images of the computer screen with screen captures to illustrate functions, examples, and how-tos. On the Job Training Another form of new hire training includes training a new associate directly next to an existing associate. Some call this On the Job Training (OJT) or side-by-side training. This strategy allows the new associate to see first hand the different facets of the position. Also, OJT allows the new hire the opportunity to develop a working relationship with an existing associate. Here are additional resources for new employee training and orientation. Continuing Education in Employee Training A continuing education program for a department is just as important as the new hire training. When training a new associate, understand that they will only retain approximately 40 percent of the information learned during the initial training session. Therefore, reminding the staff about various procedures and concepts needs to be ongoing, with either a formal or informal approach. The formal or traditional approach to employee training often includes a member of management sending a memo to each associate. The informal and often more appealing approach to a visual learner is to send a one-page information sheet. This information sheet, called a training alert, should be informative and presented in a non-threatening manner. If a policy or procedure changes, the informal approach would better prepare the department to receive this update. Prior to putting together a continuing education employee training program, the management team must decide upon their desi red outcome. One important question to consider Do you want the program to enhance the skills of your associate or do you want to help your associate with personal development? While there is some commonality between these answers, the main difference is the opportunity for the management team to mold future management team members. If the desired outcome is simply to enhance skills with no personal development, the department will have a staff that simply knows how to do their job a little better. While that is a positive outcome, you want your company to think outside the box, and design a program that allows and even encourages critical thinking and problem-solving. Thus, when designing a continuing education program, the desired outcome should blend both technical and personal enhancement. This type of training program allows the staff the opportunity to develop solid management skills coupled with a better understanding of their position and function and understand how they fit into the organization. Blending Technical Training With Personal Development If you discover during the assessment process, for example, that writing skills in the department are low, youll need to enhance those skills by developing a corresponding training session. This writing session could include topics on the basics of writing such as spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and correct word use. Building on those basics, you could give your participants an applicable exercise, such as writing a letter to a customer apologizing for a late shipment. Provide the participants background information about the customer. Tell them the customer has purchased for ten years and has always made payments promptly. Give them ten or fifteen minutes to compose a rough draft and then present their letter to the group. Once someone has read a letter, ask participants to offer feedback for improvements as the trainer, point out the positive aspects of the letter. Another mechanism that wi ll help with ongoing continuing education is enabling staff members to develop an affiliation with an association or industry group. This kind of education is tangible and has been proven to have a positive track record with the local offices and their industry trade groups. Staff members are given the opportunity to come together periodically and discuss the issues they are experiencing in their business. This is a positive experience for everyone involved The information gained can prove useful to others who may have the potential to partake in a similar situation, while people who have experienced a similar situation have the chance to talk about their solutions that worked effectively. Effective Training Breeds Success The best type of employee training program for a workgroup is one tailored to their needs. So how do you know what their needs are? One way is to work with the staff members who are responsible for the area. If possible, do a random sampling of the staff perfo rmance development plans and look for consistencies in any needed areas of development. Another approach is to conduct a training needs assessment and ask the staff members themselves what skills they would like to develop. No matter how you determine what types of employee training sessions are needed,remember that when developing the course, stick to the original concept. If more than one concept is considered during the planning process, break the concepts out into two workshops. Keep in mind that a productive employee training session can and should be accomplished in less than two hours. Anything longer than two hours and you will lose your audience. Finally, during the actual training session, have at least one or two activities to keep the participants minds active and to prevent nodding off or daydreaming. Do You Really Need an Employee Training Session? While an employee training session may be effective, it may not always be the best approach to fulfilling training nee ds. If the concept you are introducing is defined as elementary or common knowledge, create an employee training alert instead. An employee training alert is an excellent method to communicate and reinforce concepts that would be considered common knowledge or new job information. Put employee training alerts online, distribute via email, or, in some cases, when employees do not have computer access, write employee training alerts in a bullet format on a hard copy. Use colored paper and add some flare and/or graphics to the piece of document. I have found that when staff members receive a piece of fluorescent green paper in their mailbox rather than a white one, they are more likely to pick it up and read it. Keeping the Learning Going If the capabilities are available and the department wants to have some fun while learning, develop a game. This can be anything from Family Feud to Jeopardy and more. Have the staff answer questions created by the department management relating t o work situations and/or people. It is amazing what people will remember from a fun situation versus a forced learning experience. Keep employee training classes informative and light. While communicating the ideas is important, the number one goal should be to keep the staff interested, involved and entertained during the workshop. This can be difficult if you do not employ an animated trainer. Introduce the department to the concept of blended learning. Allow the staff to achieve their learning levels from different resources. While the employee training alerts and employee training sessions come directly from management, challenge the staff to look online for other ideas that might work in their department. First and foremost, remember is that learning can and should be fun. Your staff members want to absorb knowledge, and theyll most likely want to learn concepts when they are presented in a fresh, lively and exciting manner. Putting a twist on your current employee training met hods can help people become excited about learning. Jeffrey Bodimer is the Chief Operations Officer / Chief Compliance Officer at American Higher Education Development Corporation.

Survey Workers want to take more vacations but are bad at planning time off

Survey Workers want to take more vacations but are bad at planning time offSurvey Workers want to take more vacations but are bad at planning time offAs the year gets underway, many of us start to daydream at our desks about vacations we want to take.According to Project Time Offs new survey of 2,076 U.S. workers, 55% said we intended to use up all of our vacation time. But somewhere in the planning stages, momentum gets lost and vacation days go unused. Project Time Off previously reported that although workers had an average of 22.6 vacation days in 2016 - nearly a full days increase from the year prior- around 54% of workers left days unused.Survey Many Americans are poor vacation planners, and its costing themWhile the vast majority of workers (81%) agree that advanced planning makes it easier to take time off, Americans are split on whether or not to actually take the time to do it, with 51% saying they did not take time to schedule their vacation days. The top three reasons A mericans said they let vacation plans fall through were due to uncertainty about work schedules, personal schedules, and difficulty coordinating child care.You may think that letting a handful of days slip by would not matter, but when you do not make the most of your given vacation days, those lost days add up to tangible monetary benefits left on the table. The average worker forfeited $604 in benefits, Project Time Off has calculated. In fact, not taking a vacation may be holding-gesellschaft you back in your career, as people who take vacations are more likely to get raises.How to be a better vacation plannerTo be better at planning time off, you need to be better at giving advanced notice to your manager about your decision.Forty-three percent of managers said they were sometimes unable to approve vacation requests because employees did not provide enough advanced notice.The earlier you plan your time off, the more time you have to prepare for it, Katie Denis, chief of research and strategy at Project Time Off told Ladders. Getting as much done before you leave and preparing any coworkers who will need to help in your absence can go far in assuaging any vacation guilt. It also helps to be a supportive colleague and help carry the load when others are out of the office.The more heads up you give your manager about your vacation plans, the more likely they are to approve them. Once you know you can take a vacation, you can start blocking time on your calendar to properly plan for it.Work martyrdom has been found to be another reason Americans let vacation days go unused. When you believe you are the only person who can do your job, you feel too stressed and guilty to take time away from the office. If you find yourself feeling guilty about leaving work, take a step back to consider the many documented benefits of personal time off.When you miss out on vacations, the ultimate loser is yourself. Vacation does a lot to destress and energize employees, creating a more collegial, fun atmosphere, which will accomplish more for culture than guilt keeping you at the office will ever do, Denis advised.