Writing Details into a Resume for Federal Government Jobs

Writing Details into a Resume for Federal Government JobsWriting Details into a Resume for Federal Government JobsA law-enforcement officer used a detailed questionnaire and keywords from the job description to tailor his resume for a federal government job.Paying attention to what an employer is telling you about a job opening may be the key to filling it.But where do you find whats important to an employer?When perusing a job posting, look specifically at the job description, said Dan Doratik, a certified resume writer who works with Ladders. Most people spend too much time looking at the qualifications when they should be focused on the description.Why? Because the description is where you can examine the details of the ideal job candidate for a given position.And with that, you can customize your resume for that job.Consider Paul McGowan, a veteran law-enforcement specialist who hadnt had his resume done professionally since 2002. This was a long time for this senior-level intern al-affairs investigator, who was angling for a specific city-government job posting on a deadline and wanted a new resume quickly. His resume was a problem. It was a functional resume with a profile that included a 28-line summary with no white-space separation.elend to be overly critical, but this thing put a reader to sleep pretty quickly, Soratick said. He needed some help in getting this thing really targeted for this job. Luckily Ive had a lot of federal resume experience, and I understand the significance of targeting the job description and being detailed.Federal, state and municipal government resumes tend to require long, detailed information need to be keyword rich and are often graded, Doratik explained. Grading systems in resumes can look for very specific repetition of job-description language, and if nots there, it doesnt make it past the first round of looks.Government human resources can be, to put it bluntly, anal, Doratik said. I once worked on a resume that was r ejected because it did not have the ZIP code of the high school this person graduated from.To add detail and uncover McGowans accomplishments, Doratik had him answer a questionnaire that went beyond his job responsibilities and discover the results of his work. With that, Doratik was able to add context to his accomplishments and responsibilities and expand job descriptions with certifications and detail that might not fit in a private-sector resume. He expanded the job descriptions and summary with keyword phrases he pulled directly from the job description for the specific position McGowan sought.For private-sector jobs, which require thinner, more -direct resumes, Doratik left McGowan with suggestions on where to where to cut the job descriptions and rely on a resume addendum to provide the detail when necessary.Dovarik also fixed issues with the resume format incomplete dates and bullet points that stretched to three lines.You leise need to make them as readable as possible, Dor atik said. That means a certain amount of white space and design principles, the appropriate language and grammar for the resume type, and sticking to what the employer is telling you they want to see.The overall presentation was a fantastic job, McGowan said. It has more impact now Between the layout and the word usage, this is something much more dynamic than I had anticipated.This new resume presents a full, complete record of what I bring to the table, he said. The old one I had done read like a data sheet. The new one grabs you.

Customer Service Resume Templates 2018s Top Formats

Customer Service Resume Templates 2018s Top FormatsCustomer Service Resume Templates - 2018s Top FormatsWhat its Like to Work in the Customer Service FieldCustomer service requires a skill set that bedrngnis everyone has. They need to be able to provide a positive experience for customers before, during, and after they make a purchase. While this may seem simple enough on the surface, its often difficult to maintain a positive attitude with a challenging or demanding customer, but thats the job.Employers that hire customer service representatives are showing their commitment to satisfying their customers simply good business. The goal is to create customer loyalty. You may interact with customers face-to-face, on the phone, or through written correspondence. In all cases, maintaining a helpful tone is critical. Patience, the ability to listen, and knowing the right questions to ask are trademarks of a quality customer service representative. Answering customers questions, taking or ders, signing customers up for services, and resolving complaints are tasks that are most often handled by customer service.Not all customer service positions are in retail. Utilities, cable companies, banks, and wireless phone companies all provide customers with a customer service number to call. No matter what the business, on-the-job training is required so the individual understands company policy and just how much authority they have to make decisions to satisfy a customer.Benefits of Working in Customer ServiceWorking in customer service provides an excellent overview of the company, their policies, and possible opportunities in other areas. The strong relationships you build can go a long way when yure considering advancement. A positive attitude is a plus no matter where you work, and as a successful customer service representative, you already have that reputation.Why You Need a ResumeYour resume should reflect bedrngnis only the positions youve held, but your successes in those positions. If youve built strong relationships within a company, and if youre continuing your education, that information should be highlighted in your resume. Whether youre hoping to advance at your current place of employment or youre looking outside, you want to mention your career achievements. Resume-Now can provide examples of well-written resumes to get you started.Customer Service Resume Questions1. What goes in the header of a customer service resume?The header of your resume is where you give important contact information. A proper heading is at the top of the page and centered. It starts with your full name. Do not use nicknames. Follow this with your city and state, your email address, and your telephone number. Avoid silly email addresses. Look at the customer service resume sample for a good example of a header.2. What should you include about your accomplishments on your customer service resume?Customer service is a competitive industry because managers judge t heir employees performance. If you have accomplished something in a past position, it is essential to include that on your resume. A good customer service resume sample includes metrics and details about accomplishments that are verifiable. For example, instead of saying you helped increase customer zurckhalten, say you helped increase customer retention by 15%.3. Whats the best length for a customer service resume?One of the main things to take away from the customer service resume sample is how succinct and to the point it is. Hiring managers are very busy. They do not want to sift through pages of information on one applicant. You need to condense your resume to one page, ideally. If you have trouble getting your resume to fit on one page, consider using our resume builder, which takes you through a step-by-step process to create an appropriate length resume quickly.4. Whats the best way to show you work well in a team on a customer service resume?Teamwork is extremely important in any customer service position. A customer service resume sample typically includes good examples of how to showcase teamwork since it is a skill that is essential to this career field. You can work this into various parts of your resume. Mention your teamwork experience in the summary statement, and include it in the skills section. The work experience section allows you to elaborate on your abilities and give specific examples of when you worked in a team, which strengthens your resume.5. If youve never held a customer service job before, how do you make a customer service resume?Customer service is a great industry to get into when you have no experience because you can easily relate the skills you have to work requirements in this field. Many of the important skills are things that come naturally, such as good communication and a friendly demeanor. So, you want to stress such abilities by ensuring the skills section is prominent in your resume. You also want to relate anything you have done to the job. For example, when you have no formal work experience in the field, you can use volunteer work instead. Check out the customer service resume sample for how to do this. You also can list education related to this career, such as courses in communication or sales.Customer Service Resume TemplatesCall CenterCustomer Service ManagementHow to write a Customer Service Resume1. Start by listing your professional accomplishmentsOn a piece of scratch paper, write down all of your amazing accomplishments and career highlights.2. Inspect Customer Service resume samples to help navigate the resume creation processBrowse through our resume samples to find one that can guide you as you make your own.3. Design a header to place at the top of your Customer Service resumeMake a header that includes the following information your full name, email address, phone number, and personal website (if you have one).4. Build an effective summary statement for your resumeMake a brief statement that covers the most important elements of your professional self. Cover your achievements and areas of expertise. Check the job description to make sure it aligns with your statement.5. Include your skills in a qualifications or areas of expertise sectionRight below your summary statement, make a list of your best Customer Service skills. Make sure they apply to the job description.6. Showcase your Customer Service experience in a work history sectionInclude your relevant past jobs. Provide the company names, your dates of employment, and your title.7. Include a concise account of what you did at each job listedIn bullet point form, detail your duties and achievements at each job. Use the list you made in step one as a guide. Make sure your points are applicable to the job description.8. Present your educationRemember to include the highest degree or diploma you obtained. Include the name of the school and the year you got it (or will get it).

Every Small Company Needs a Compensation Strategy

Every Small Company Needs a Compensation StrategyEvery Small Company Needs a Compensation StrategyEvery Small Company Needs a Compensation Strategy ChildersWhile many small businesses have a solid business plan in distributionspolitik, they often falter when it comes to implementing a compensation strategy. That is unfortunate.As a result, its easy to offer too much or too little money to compete for the best talent. Even worse, some businesses neglect to have a compensation strategy in place that reflects their overall strategy and values.Katie Busch of HR Communication Consultants in Boynton Beach, Florida, says small businesses need to keep their salary structure current, while also offering a competitive advantage over other small businesses in the same market.Many small businesses mistakenly believe that having a compensation program in place isnt something they need to worry about until their company gets much bigger, Busch says. They often believe having a compensation plan wi ll limit their ability to make good business decisions in regards to employee pay, but often the opposite is true.To create a comprehensive compensation strategy for your small business, consider the following stepsLook at the job and its location. Salaries for small businesses are not necessarily based on the same data used by large companies. When determining a jobs market value, job location is oftenas important as the job title. The Small Business Administration recommends doing an online search using keywords such as Administrative assistant, salary range, your location to determine how to better understand the market for particular jobs in your area.Experts recommend taking it a step further. Look at where youre competing for talent, says Tim Low, Senior Vice Presidentof Marketing at Payscale.com in Seattle, Wash. For many positions, especially in technology, companies may be national, rather than regional.The takeaway if youre seeking candidates who live outside of your immed iate area, be sure to utilize a salary relocation calculator to help determine fair compensation.Be durchschaubar about your compensation strategy. In the past many businesses believed that talking about compensation should only be done behind closed doors, but Low says that successful small businesses today believe in an open pay policy that reveals a compensation strategy that is committed to investing in top talent.Being honest and candid about your compensation practices and how you benchmark salaries can have a positive impact on trust and employee morale, Low says. Consider implementing salary ranges. While not all small businesses feel as though they are ready to implement salary ranges, Low says that creating pay ranges can be good for your business.By establishing a salary range, you can show employees where they are starting on the range, and illustrate how they have room to grow, he says. If an employee is at the top of the salary range, you can talk to them about a growt h track, and how they can thrive at your company, perhaps by getting the skills and training needed to be a manager.Anticipate employee expectations about raises and bonuses. Low says many small businesses are moving away from annual reviews, preferring instead to offer more frequent feedback. This strategy is particularly important for retaining Millennial employees.Many large companies including IBM, Microsoft and General Electric are leading the trend by replacing annual performance reviews and offering employees more frequent informal reviews, where they can set and update quarterly goals and offer opportunities for individual growth.At Grady Britton, a creative agency in Portland, Oregon, Paige Campbell, the agencys president and partner, says employees receive quarterly rewards based on performance including a bonus day off or a long leisurely lunch paid for by the company.Employees and work teams are also celebrated throughout the year when they have demonstrated superior per formance. If someone has done an outstanding job they may receive a mid-year raise, we wont wait a full year to acknowledge their achievements, Campbell says.Get creative with rewards. Busch says one of the first rewards she encourages small businesses to implement is a simple thank-you given to an employee who has exceeded expectations.Its especially important to verbally acknowledge an employees contributions in a group umgebung that also serves to demonstrate to other employees your companys expectations.

While Youll Be Unpacking Your Presents, These People Will Be Working

While Youll Be Unpacking Your Presents, These People Will Be WorkingWhile Youll Be Unpacking Your Presents, These People Will Be WorkingMaybe you havent given it a thought yet, but there are thousands of employees at work while were scoffing turkey and squabbling over who gets control of the television remote. For example doctors or nurses, those that work in international trade or emergency services. These and many other professionalskeep the country ticking over while the rest of us are enjoying ourselves.They deserve our gratitude for their perseverance and willingness to make the Christmas magic work for all of us. Lets now zoom in on 6 professions that simply never sleep and require working during the festive season, too.1. ZookeepersIf you happen to be a zookeeper, your Christmas could easily be looking after a handful of squirrel monkeys.Christmas Day is usually the only day of the year that the zoo is shut to visitors. But the animals to care are leise there. They need to be cleaned and get something to eat as usual.But besides that, animals in the zoos the world over get some holiday pampering, too.We get about 45 minutes for lunch rather than half an hour. It is Christmas after all.Jon Ovens, zookeeperMonkeys feast on boxes full of nuts to rip open. Chimps get a mince pie along with their usual fruit and veggies. Lemurs enjoy pinecones stuffed with some treats. And other animals love to play games and do some training, finally being able to enjoy zookeepers undivided attention.2. FirefightersThese tough guys have to work shifts and holidays are no exception. Fires can start unexpectedly so there needs to be someone on duty all year round.Its not ideal working Christmas Day but I think its part of the job. It comes with the responsibilty as a firefighter. I think my family understand that as well.Phil Bennett, firefighterFor firefighters, its important to stay alert 24/7 at this time of year. Christmas Day can actually get quite busy with small kitchen fires. Especially in the country, its not uncommon for people to get their ovens alight, ending up with a burnt turkey or worse.Their Christmas Day, just like any other, starts with a routine. Theres a roll call at change of watch when the day shift crews take over from the night shift crews. Daily sustenance for the crew usually consists of a tray of tea, coffee and biscuits (and perhaps a mince pie at this time of the year). The daily schedule would have the crew performing training drills but on Christmas Day theyre excused to skip it. Instead, theyre invested in crafting their own Christmas lunch thats prepared, cooked and consumed practically on-the-run.3. Doctors and nursesHospital staff have to take care of patients staying in hospitals with conditions that prevent them from going home such as fractures or muscle infections. Nurses are giving them medications and helping them with their eating, drinking and keeping clean.But during Christmas, their competencies extend to pro viding entertainment and doing their best to create a festive atmosphere.In one unit I worked in, the staff had a tradition of best Christmas jumper on Christmas day with a prize for the winner. This was always a subject of fierce competition amongst the staff over who could get the tackiest, brightest jumper.Ruth Underdown, specialist nurseMany of those staying on the ward are older patients. For a majority of them, its the first Christmas they are spending away from home. The experience can be naturally quite upsetting. So nurses need to make sure their patients see a friendly face and that everythings as pleasant as it can be. Sometimes they also provide assistance to patients that want to wear something special for Christmas. Not only do nurses help them pick their outfit, but also get washed, get dressed and brush their hair. People often take things like this for granted but older people appreciate tiny little details that their days consist of. From helping with unwrapping th e presents on the Christmas Day to watching telly with them for a bit, theres always something heartwarming that nurses can do for those that cant be with their families and relatives.4. Ship pilotsThe shopping spree we all fall for every December makes the festive season an extremely busy time for auf der ganzen welt shipping. The responsibility of making your Amazon or eBay package arrive on time falls on maritime transport and huge international ships.The job of a ship pilot involvesguiding vessels through dangerous waters and bringing them into the harbour. Along the way, they need to ensure the safety of the ship, protect the environment and speed up the process to save shipping firms money.Although ship owners usually do their best to get the ships in before the holidays, ship pilots never actually know whether or not theyre going to work on Christmas Day.5. MeteorologistsMany people travel about at Christmas and meteorologists need to make sure everyonessafe and sound while t hey do.Besides picking the best weather windows for travelling, they also must inform the public should any poor weather conditions occur.Christmas Day of a weather forecaster involves briefing all types of media so that broadcasters and news websites can provide reliable information. And also - an extremely important task - answering the question whether 2018 will officially have a white Christmas.6. MidwivesMidwives spend the Christmas Day with their colleagues on the labour ward looking after women during labour, delivering babies and caring for them after delivery.With the responsibilities of the job always at the forefront of their minds, midwives can afford no distractions. When delivering a baby regardless of time, night or day, their focus must remain solely on the health and welfare of both mother and baby. However, the atmosphere after birth is lighter and more festive than usual - Christmas is a celebration of a birth and new family, after all.Theres a competition amon g the hospital units to create the best decoration. Last year the maternity unit created an advent calendar with the babies born each day written in each window.Sarah-Louise Laing, midwifeLiving the magic of ChristmasChristmas invites us to slow down. Its a special time of the year that makes us realise everything is a gift.So spare a thought for those who will be hard at work while youre opening presents, messing about with your new gadgets or sipping a glass of red wine.Their jobs require them to work be it day or night and leave their comfy couch for an office chair. While away from their families, theyll be beneficial to the society they belong to and serve those who truly need it.And thats what Christmas is really about, right?Share Your Feedback or Ideas in the Comments

A Matter of Degree

A Matter of Degree A Matter of Degree A Matter of DegreeEngineers thrive on data and analysis, but are often stumped by whether to pursue an advanced degree. While a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) or a Masters in Science in Engineering (MSE) can lead to career advancement, graduate study isnt for everyone. It requires a lengthy commitment of time, money, and serious effort.Engineering careers used to be straightforward. After four years of college, you took a job as a junior engineer, eventually became a senior engineer, and might move up to engineering management. Everything you needed to know came through undergraduate training, on-the-job experience, and a few hard knocks. People with MBAs were off in the business office, decoding the mysteries of taking the company to the next level.Today, engineers must keep up with emerging technologies and understand the financial and strategic impact of their decisions. When designing parts or systems, you may face questions from ma rketing, accounting, and other departments. An advanced degree can put you on more equal footing with them provided you choose the right degree and apply your additional knowledge deftly.If youre considering graduate school, its important to consider the two paths.The MBAThis popular degree program attracts people from diverse areas. MBA programs with liberal admissions policies may not even require previous business courses. Some evaluate work experience, academic transcripts, references, and personal interviews. The Graduate Management Assessment Test, which assesses quantitative reasoning and verbal skills, is a standard requirement.Most full-time MBA programs last two years, offering classes conducted on an undergraduate-type schedule. Part-time MBA programs, geared toward working adults, usually hold classes on weeknights. Part-time students carry a lighter course load, generally over three or more years. Executive MBA programs, for managers and executives (many with a decade or more of work experience), allow students to earn a degree in two years while working full-time. Classes often combine weekend and on-line coursework.A wide-ranging MBA curriculum includes economics, organizational behavior, marketing, accounting, finance, strategy, operations, and information technology management. Some students opt to specialize in a particular area, like international business or project management.MBA studies will familiarize you with business language, and provide a clear appreciation of how your actions affect an organizations bottom line. Your expanded skill set will be applicable in many different employment situations.The downside many professionals hold MBA degrees. Youll need to emphasize the advantages of your specific knowledge, among other MBA-holders.The MSEA MS in Engineering builds on your undergraduate education, which provided the vocabulary, analytical reasoning, concepts, and principles essential for success in engineering.The MS program incre ases depth and breadth of analytic skills, enabling you to better understand and predict the performance of engineered systems or components, and solve complex engineering problems. Youll learn more sophisticated ways to understand and utilize research on engineered systems and their performance, through deeper knowledge of a specific engineering discipline. ansicht studies help develop new perspective on emerging engineering trends.MS applicants usually need a bachelors degree and engineering background appropriate for the selected study area. Program structure is similar to undergraduate studies, with lectures, lab work, classes, exams, and often, a substantial project in the final year.Unlike MBA offerings, youll find few accelerated MS programs theyll take several years to complete if you attend part-time. While an MBA program may require engineers to take prerequisite business classes, MSE programs typically allow students to take masters level classes immediately, without prer equisites.Choosing a DegreeEither graduate path can advance a career. Each degree affords a valuable network of contacts in your own field, and across a broader spectrum. Decision-makers in any sector understand the skills and functions an MBA affords. A MSE is a valuable credential, but often, non-engineers may not realize its potential value to their organization. Youll have to let any potential employer know how your advanced degree can benefit their business.Identifying your career aspirations is the crucial step for deciding which degree better matches your goals. Investing in yourself can yield a high dividend the right degree truly expands your career prospects.Adapted from To a Higher Degree by Kevin Kuznia, for Mechanical Engineering, March 2008.

Successful Tips for General Resume You Can Use Today

Successful Tips for General Resume You Can Use Today The War Against General Resume Dont forget that your resume is your very first field of protection in regards to landing your preferrred job. Simply follow the directions and ideas, and youll learn precisely how to capture the attention of hiring managers. Your academic background is likewise an asset. Some jobs require a specific quantity of travel on a normal basis. If youre going to compose an objective statement, it should be specific. You must have five objective statements. A summary statement is a brief expert introduction you may increase the peak of your resume. It is one of the easiest ways to custom tailor your resume to fit the needs of a particular role, without having to rewrite all of the content. A Startling Fact about General Resume Uncovered So lets examine some strategies to compose aggressive, up-to-the-minute resumes that genuinely SELL you. On the contrary, it highlights your abilities and abili ties. 3 First, you must select the best skills for your resume. Bear in mind, the majority of the distinctive skills that you set on your resume ought to be job-related skills taken from the work description and your best transferable skills. Resume objectives can be a little controversial. Possessing a brief statement or overview at the start of your resume is a good way to demonstrate your abilities and experience and show the hiring manager the value you will bring to the position. Long resumes convey the reputation that youve got trouble articulating your point. Things You Should Know About General Resume Knowing when to highlight somebodys education vs. experience is essential. If dont have any particular experience, emphasize on your previous positions that showcase your attention and dependability. Fortunately, on-the-job experience isnt the sole thing that shows your abilities. Since youll discover, even in the event that you dont have any prior professional exper iences, its possible to still draw on your school experiences. What Does General Resume Mean? You may want to look at a qualifications summary which we outlined in last weeks postbut if only you need to have a summaryhere are a couple examples to help you begin. If youre uncertain how to phrase your skills, or in case you would like examples of objective statements, see some job websites for ideas. 50 Best Samples for Career Objective You have begun preparing your Resume and the following thing youre seeking is Career Objective. What you will need is only click the selection of General Resume Summary Examples beneath. Functional resumes are perfect for folks who dont have a lot of work experience regarding the job they are applying for. Also, in the event that you frequently change jobs, you might also think of a functional resume. Browsing for employment proper nows pretty tricky. Schools or day care centers are looking for people that are adept in multitasking. Employers like to realize that you have work experience of some sort, at least. The very first thing that you want to do is go back and have a look at the job that youre applying for and determine your intended audience. First off, we must determine what kind of job seeker youre. You are interested in being succinct and straightforward. Resume examples without cost will help you in a step-by-step path of on easy approaches to compose your resume. Well-crafted resume objectives have the capability to convince an employer a candidate is familiarized with a position, the geschftliches miteinander and the requirement for success in that area. You have to comprehend the objectives of a project and after that determine the deliverables that are required to achieve them. A project objective ought to be written so that it may be evaluated at the ending of a project to find out whether it was achieved. If each of the objectives werent fully met, you may continue to be able to declare partial success. The Downside Risk of General Resume One of the risks of a resume objective is that it is possible to focus too much on what you would like in your career, and not enough on how you are going to add value to the provider. The resume objective is a brief statement of what you need to offer to a business. As a highly effective advertising document, its main goal is to persuade a hiring manager to provide a closer review to your resume than the standard six-second scan.

Using Data to Market and Recruit Top Talent - Spark Hire

Using Data to Market and Recruit Top Talent - Spark HireBig data is becoming an emerging term in the human resources and staffing industry. While it is used by huge companies like Xerox to determine which job candidates are best suited for open job opportunities, it can now also act as the first step to recruit top-notch talent to your small geschftliches miteinander or startup. Used correctly, HR data can help you effectively market and recruit the right people for the right jobs.Though you could pay a headhunter or talent acquisition firm thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on recruitment, most of the work can be done through online recruitment at minimal cost to your small business or startup. With that in mind, you have to change how you brand and market your company in the vast expanse of the world wide web. And like it or not, in todays job search, what happens on the web doesnt stay there. Your branding and marketing online make a big difference in the real world too.Fortunately, big data for your small business or startup doesnt have to mean big dollars, big spreadsheets or big waste of time. You can scale big data to your HR data in-house. Personnel Today recommends taking your own HR data and assessing which recruiting channels work and which dont. Obviously, you have to get rid of what doesnt work, regardless of how long or how loyal that particular channel has been through the years.If youre not already, Personnel Today encourages small businesses and startups to keep track of recruitment and hiring metrics, like how quickly you get candidates, where you get them from and which sources most often give you the candidates you want to interview. Once you have this data, youll know how to market your company, and therefore recruit top talent by identifying where, how and what works in your job postings and hiring process.Personnel Today continues with the key metrics that need to be used when creating job descriptions. Because todays job s earch is almost completely carried out online, job postings are crucial to nabbing that top talent. This is where you want to swimmingpool a lot of your marketing and branding efforts. As Personnel Today states, Job titles and descriptions are marketing messages. They suggestConsider what job candidates would enter into a search engine to find your jobs. Build your job post titles and descriptions from these keywords.Dont try to be crazy and creative with your job descriptions. Keep them clear and concise.Keep your job description to the necessary requirements and exclude all of the nice to have qualities and skills. You want to recruit top talent, not scare them off.Give job candidates a glimpse of what you have to offer too. You dont just need them they need an opportunity that benefits them just as much as you.As your small business or startup moves forward with your hiring processes, remember that recruit should be synonymous with marketing. Its not just about wooing top talent its about finding them in the first place. Using big data, youll be able to effectively and efficiently market or recruit that top talent that your small business needs.Do you think big data can make a difference in hiring processes? Why or why not? Share now in our comments

7 ways to start being more self-disciplined right now

7 ways to departure being mora self-disciplined right now7 ways to start being mora self-disciplined right nowAnyone can make alist of goals. But only a few learn how to be disciplined enough to achieve them.I grew up in a home and a family that constantlyreinforced the importanceof self-discipline. Every single night, Id watch my dad set the timer on the coffee maker and put his oatmeal in the refrigerator for the next morning. By 530 a.m., hed be awake. By 600 a.m., hed be in the gym. By 700 a.m., hed be knocking on my bedroom door, making sure I welches awake. And by 800 a.m., hed be at the hospital ready to operate. My dad is a spine surgeon.My mom, meanwhile, somehow managed to work as a voice teacher at a local college, and take my sister to her violin lessons, and take my younger brother to gymnastics practice, and take my other younger brother to chess club, all while making sure dinner welches on the table by 500 p.m., and everyone was working on their homework or practicing their respective musical instrument by 700 p.m.Our house operated like a retreat for the arts with my mothers thumb on a stopwatch.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreFrom a very young age, I learned how to be disciplined in all sorts of different ways.Truthfully, how I learned the art of self-discipline was through the World of Warcraft.Different from my other commitments as a teenager, like playing classical pianoforte or hockey, the World of Warcraft was what gave me a way to tangibly measure my progress as a player. With piano, I could vaguely understand how I was improving year over year. With hockey, I could feel myself becoming more and more comfortable handling the puck. But in the World of Warcraft, each action, each step forward prompted me with some sort of measure for success another bar of experience gained, or a new epic item. And it was this new way of perceiving my progress that ultimately made me more and more willing to devote time, energy, and effort into mastering the game.By 17 years old, I had become one of the highest ranked World of Warcraft players in NorthAmerica.Ever since I graduated high school, and ultimately moved on from gaming, I have been extremely aware of what both my family and the World of Warcraft taught me about discipline.So, if this is something youre looking to improve in yourself, here are 12 simple ways you can start practicing the art of self-discipline1. Dont set a goal without knowing how youre going to track its progress.One of the easiest things in the world is to imagine the thing you want to achieve.Unfortunately, thats what a mentor of mine would call mental masturbation. And no amount of imagining is going to move you any closer to what you can so clearly see in your minds eye.Instead, challenge yourself to question how youre going to measure your progress. If you decide, I want to change X about my life, dont just write down your goal in your journal. Write down the way youre going to prove to yourself you are moving in the right direction. For example, whenever I set a goal for myself, I always write down how often Im planning on practicing the skill required for me to achieve that goal. If I want to write a book, how many days per week am I planning to work on it? And more importantly, how am I going to be honest with myself if too many days go by without me writing anything at all?2. Surround yourself with disciplined people.You are a reflection of the 5 people you spend the most time with.Plain and simple.If everyone around you eats junk food, chances are, youre going to eat junk food too. If everyone around you watches five hours of TV per day, chances are, youre going to start watching more TV with them. Which means, if you surround yourself with people who really, really struggle to be self-disciplined, then chances are, you will too.Instead, choose your friendswisely.Spend time around people who are extremely self-disciplined?- ?so that you can watch and learn how to be self-disciplined too. Mimic their daily routines (until you find one that works for you). Adopt a similar mentality. Absorb their habits.This is, without question, the fastest way to becoming more disciplined yourself.3. Read books that remind you of the importance of discipline for 20 minutes eachday.One of the best ways to keep yourself practicing the art of self-discipline is to remind yourself constantly about its importance.Now, something I write about often is being careful not to just spend all day consuming other peoples information, but making the time to practice these skills yourself.The rule I live by is that your input (say, reading) should never exceed your output (whatever the thing is you need to practice and want to master).Here are a few books I frequently pick up for quick reminders about the importance of disciplineThink and Grow Richby Napoleon HillThe Practicing M indby Thomas M. SternerThe ONE Thingby Gary Keller and Jay PapasanMasteryby Robert Greene4. Use a visual calendar to see how many days in a row youre consistently practicing.One of the best ways to keep yourself accountable is to see your progress (or lack thereof).This was something I always loved about video games. In the World of Warcraft, I could see how far I was from the next level. I could see how many more points I needed in order to buy an epic piece of gear. And because I could visualize the process, I found myself more willing to be engaged with it.So, recreate this same experience for yourself with a calendar.Lets say you want to be more disciplined with writing. Every day you successfully write (for 1 hour, 2 hours, whatever period of time you feel counts), put a big X through that day. Congratulations Youre well on your way in the world.Over time, those Xs will start to add up, and youll want to keep stringing them together. Simultaneously, if you go two weeks without putting an X through a single day, youre going to feel guilty.Good. You should.5. Detox distractions from your life at least one day perweek.Between the ages of 23 and 26 years old, I didnt allow myself to have Internet in my apartment.Im not kidding.The reason was because I knew that if I had the option of browsing the Internet or watching TV after a long day of work, then I was never going to do what I needed to do to become a successful writer. So, I removed the option altogether. That way, after I came home from a long day working as a copywriter at an ad agency, and then heading to the gym, I only had one option write.Every single night, for almost four years, I wrote from 900 p.m. to midnight.And thats how I wrote my first book,Confessions of a Teenage Gamer.To this day, I still find ways to detox unnecessary distractions from my life. During weekends, especially, Ill deliberately keep my phone on silent or away in another room. I wont watch TV or check my email. Saturdays and Sundays are reserved for nature and long hours spent thinking or working deeply on something.I encourage you to find ways to do the same.6. Journal constantly and always be honest with yourself.One of the hardest parts about becoming more disciplined is the fact that its so easy to forget why you wanted to be disciplined in the first place.Similarly to what I mentioned above, the reason is because everyone loves the idea of being more disciplined, but then after a few days they disconnect from their original desire. They either can no longer see the purpose, or they fall back into familiar habits out of comfort.A great way to combat this is by journaling all throughout theprocess.Ive been journaling since I was in middle school, but I started intentionally journaling in 2010?- ?and every year since. And one of the reasons I journal so frequently (I aim for daily, but weekly at a minimum) is to remind myself of the things Im working on and working toward.I dont like too much time to go by without remembering where Im headed and why I chose that direction in the first place.7. If youre actively practicing being disciplined, allow yourself days to NOT be disciplined.During my no-Internet years (2326), I was obsessive about being disciplined.At the time, I was also a bodybuilder, so my entire life revolved around eating entire meals every 2.5 hours, on the dot, and 2-hour long lifting sessions immediately after work. Everything about my day was structured when I woke up, what I ate for breakfast, when I needed to start walking to the train, when I needed to leave work to make the express train home, when I needed to be in the gym by, how many meals I needed to have eaten beforehand, and what hour I needed to take my pre-workout supplement so that I had enough energy to lift and then write for 3 hours after, but not too much that I couldnt sleep.Needless to say, it was exhausting.One of the things I didnt do enough was give myself time to NOT be disciplined. This is a hard line to draw for most people, considering many reward themselves with relaxation time regardless of whether or not theyre actively working toward their goals. But in my case, I was pretty far on the other side of the spectrum?- ?and Id very often bring myself right to the edge of burnout.Part of learning the Art of Self-Discipline is knowing when to push and when to pull back. Similar to my input v.s output philosophy, your pull-back time should never exceed your push time (where youre actively working toward improving yourself). Similarly, your push time should never be so much that your pull-back time is entirely nonexistent.Discipline is not a destination. Its a daily practice.Which means you need to optimize for a marathon?- ?not a sprint.This article originally appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

How to Make Your Resume Less Boring

How to Make Your Resume Less BoringHow to Make Your Resume Less BoringYawn. Thats probably the last reaction you want from the person looking to hire you. If your resume is the summation of where youve been and what you can do going forward, you dont want it to be a snooze-fest. Figuring out how to make your resume less boring can be a make-or-break call when it comes to getting the job.In a sense, your resume is your front page, highlighting past accomplishments, but also offering a forward-looking view that shows your true potential. To be sure,formatting your resumeis always worth the time and effort. The last thing you want is to make your resume hard to read or access. But beyond that, you want your resume to stand out, and that means bringing a measure of excitement to telling your story in resume format.To start off, you should assume that your resume might be screened first by an applicant tracking system,and thats where proper formatting can get you over the anfangsbuchstabe hurdle. Once your resume is in human hands, the real work begins to make your story, and your qualifications, shine and give you an edge over the competition.Read on for tips on how to make your resume less boringBe upfront about what you can do for the employer.Me, me, me. Sure, your resume is all about you, but more important, its also about what you can do for your potential employer. Besides listing all the great things youve done in your previous jobs, make sure you lay out clearly what you bring to the table for the company you want to work for in the future. Your career accomplishments should be offered in the active (not passive) voice, and should look outward to your possible new employer in a way that generates their interest in what you can do for them.Ditch the objective.One of the most powerful moves you can take to make your resume less boring is to ditch the so-called resume objective, which typically states what youre looking for in your next job, and in your career . The objective is one of those old-school automatic votumsyour resume doesnt need to make you stand out. A career objective statement can be a deal-killer if its all about what you want for yourself, rather than what you have to offer to a new employer.Get out of the weeds.Skip the minutiae that goes into all of the the day-to-day details about what your previous job duties may have been. Those tiny details are what can make a hiring managers eyes glaze over, and lead them to skip over your job application. Likewise, dont bog your resume down with unrelated hobbies, awards, or side interests that have little or no bearing on your qualifications for the job at hand.Use your own voice.If youre trying to impress a hiring manager with your industry savvy, it can be tempting to fall into corporate speak, peppering your resume with inside lingo or stilted business jargon. Its best not to go there if you want to stand out from your competitors. Demonstrating self-confidence by using your own voice in your resume can send a strong signal to a potential employer about your ability to be straightforward and get the job done.Be results-oriented.Whats the upshot of everything you did in your last job? Thats what youre looking to convey. Rather than say what you churned out, state what all your hard work achieved. Instead of sleepy verbs liked worked on this or that, use powerful, action-oriented verbs like delivered, initiated, led, supervised, or accomplished. That way, youre taking your employer to the finish line and giving them a vision of what may be in store for them, if they hire you.Got a good understanding of how to make your resume less boring? Use your revised resume to find a great flexible job.

Should faking your social media influence get you suspended from your job

Should faking your social media influence get you suspended from your jobShould faking your social media influence get you suspended from your jobIn some industries, your social media followers are an important metric for prospective and current employers to measure your influence in the workplace.But a new investigation from the New York Times alleges that popularity can be bought, and many celebrities, including actor John Leguizamo, former NFL player Ray Lewis, singer Clay Aiken, and even a Twitter board member are buying Twitter followers from a company called Devumi. The Times reports that Devumi, which promises 100 Percent Active, English Followers, has sold 200 million Twitter followers to at least 39,000 customers. In the case of at least 55,000 of the sold followers, the accounts were bots that stole real peoples identities.Can you get in trouble if you fake your influence?Buying fake followers can falsely increase the perception of an employees popularity and power. That is a misleading action, but is it an illegal one? Twitter, which does not require real people to be behind each account, said it strictly prohibits users from buying followers. Buying influence may not just violate a social media companys policy, but when the influence comes from faked accounts of real people, it may be in violation of state and federal impersonation and commercial deception laws.Following the Times investigation, Senators Jerry Moran and Richard Blumenthal asked the Federal Trade Commission to abflug an investigation into the deceptive and unfair marketing practices of Devumi and its rival companies.Employees facing fallout for faking social media numbersEmployees are compelled to fake social media numbers because they may work in industries where every like or follow matters. But it can be a risky game. When your next raise or endorsement is dependent on the influence you can convince your employer you have, faking it may cost you professionally. U.S. political site The Hill issued a staff-wide memo banning the purchase of Twitter followers after one of its columnists Joe Concha, who was listed in the Times report,admittedhe had bought 5,000 followers.The Chicago Sun-Timeswent one step further and suspended its film critic Richard Roeper while it investigating him for appearing in the Times list of Duvemi clients.Roeper, whohas also worked on Chicago television stations, may have felt pressured to rapidly increase his follower count by his employers. Theres a lot of emphasis at these TV stations on getting a lot of social media followers. That is one measure that use to evaluate the success and effectiveness of their on-air employee,Chicago media critic Robert Feder told The Washington Post.But if the Sun-Times wants to fully investigate the legitimacy of its employees Twitter following, it may first want to start with its own. In response to the Sun-Times announcement of its decision to suspend Roeper, one user shared an audit reportwith the newspaper of how many of its own Twitter accounts followers were fake