Posts Tagged ‘Guest Post’

The following is a guest post from Sandbox Advisors courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

In this article, I wanted to touch upon some important points, which can help your entire performance review process go much smoother.

1) Start the process properly – Be clear on your objectives

When you join a new job, or at the start of the review cycle, it is essential to have a very clear understanding of what your job objectives/goals are. The main idea is to leave as little ambiguity as possible. Have a look at the official document which has your objectives and talk with your manger to make sure both of you are on the same page. As far as possible, keep the objectives specific, achievable and measurable – request to make changes to the document accordingly. In addition to knowing what is needed to meet expectation/objectives, it is also a good idea to ask your manager what you would need to do, in order to exceed the expectations and receive an outstanding review at the end of the year

2) Take stock often

Don’t wait till the end of the year to find out how you have done. Meet with your manger every 3 months or so, ask how you are doing and whether you are on track to getting the outstanding review you aim for. This way you can make corrections and change course along the way and ensure that your manager is on-board. In a way you are also preparing your manager for giving you a good review

3) Ask for what you deserve

At the end of the year, assuming you have met/exceeded the performance criteria, make sure that you get what you deserve in terms of final performance rating, promotion, salary increase, more responsibility and so on.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

The following is a guest post from Free Resume Builder courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

Every successful person plans his future. The plan organizes each day of your life and leads you in the necessary direction. To succeed in your career you need to think where you are and where you want to be. Follow the tips below to make your own successful career plan.

Think of your goal
You need to have a clear long-term goal of how you want your life to look in the future. To set a goal you’ll need to analyze your abilities and preferences. Keeping this goal in mind will affect everything: your hobbies, your interests, what you watch and read and people you are attracted. Your final goal should consist of smaller goals and objectives. For example, your goal is to reach a higher position in corporate life, then the smaller goals will include:

• appropriate technical and communicative skills
• profound knowledge in a certain area
• a network of necessary and helpful contacts
• certain vocabulary, dress and demeanor

Effective strategies
To achieve your goals you’ll need to look realistically at it and work out effective strategies. An effective strategy is one that satisfies more than one of your goals. For example, you can take a certain professional training course which will both provide necessary knowledge in your field and help improve communicative skills and form useful connections. To develop an effective strategy can take time but it will do you good and save your efforts.

Action plans
Within each strategy work out an action plan. For example, if one of your strategies for acquiring necessary knowledge in the field and developing interpersonal skills is training, you’ll need action steps to support that strategy. These steps can be searching for various institutions that specialize in what you need, deciding which time and classes will fit you best. It’s very important to write down your plan because written plans work much better.

Set dates
Look at your plan and set dates for fulfilling those tasks that are under your control. For example, you can easily set a date by which you should find an institution to get your training. But there can also be some areas which aren’t under your control and depend on other people and where you won’t be able to set fixed dates.

How much time to spend
To have progress in achieving your goals you should spend enough time on it. According to Kate Wendleton if you are working full-time at a job you should spend 15 hours a week. If it is only a few hours a week you’ll see that there is no progress at all. You’ll also need to ensure that you are doing the right things during those 15 hours and getting the most from that time.

With the end in mind
According to Stephen R. Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, to “begin with the end in mind” is to begin today with the picture of the end of your life as the criterion by which everything else is examined.

Be open and flexible
In real life everything won’t go strictly according to your plan that’s why try to consider new opportunities as they come across.

Keep up-to-date
We live in a fast-changing world and in order to succeed in your career you should clearly understand where your industry is headed. Keep up with the latest news of your industry through networking, specific publications and journals that will enable you to plan your career in the right direction.

Planning your career is like planning a business: clear and well-thought-out strategies will lead you to success. Use our tips to develop your own successful plan and let each day get you closer to your goal.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

The following is a guest post from CareerAlley courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

“It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.” – Sun Tzu

Not that I’m suggesting that headhunters are enemy agents, but you do need to “recruit” them and have them work for you. Today’s post is the first in the series for the Recruiters/Headhunters “Revisited”. So what can I say about headhunters? According to Wikipedia, a headhunter is – “A recruiter is someone engaging in recruitment, which is the solicitation of individuals to fill jobs or positions within any group, such as a corporation or sports team.” Make them part of your team, give them everything they need to help market you and get a job for you.

Executive Recruiters are typically recruiters that specialize in high-end job searches usually by retainer (paid up front for the job search, rather than after the individual is hired). Headhunters or recruiters tend to work off of commission once they’ve successfully filled a job.

• Korn/Ferry – A global executive recruiter. They have numerous offices across the US and have offices in quite a few international locations as well. You can register with their site, search their site for current opportunities (and apply) or contact a consultant.

• Russell Reynolds Associates – Russell Reynolds is also a global executive recruiter. Unlike Korn/Ferry, you can not search their site directly for current opportunities, but you can find a consultant and send your resume.

• Spencer Stuart – Another global executive recruiter. Similar to Korn/Ferry, you can register on the site as well as send your resume. There does not seem to be an option to search for current opportunities.

• Hitechrecruiters.net – This recruiter specializes in sales and marketing personnel for computer hardware and software. This recruiter offers a few support services (like resume review) as well. The site does not allow direct registration, but you can forward your resume via email (the registration page is under construction).

• Guru.com – This site matches software programmers with companies that are looking for programmers. Both the “employer” ”freelancer” sections seem to be very well designed. For those individuals who are programmers and would like to become an independent contractor (or already are a contractor), this site seems to be an excellent resource.

• Hcrnetwork.com – Health Care Recruiters International is a recruiter that is dedicated to the health care industry. The site has a section where job seekers can search current openings as well as registering with the site. They have quite a few offices across the US (not sure where the “international” comes in, I did not see any locations outside of the US).

• Wallstjobs.com – You guessed it, a financial services recruiter. This website looks more like a job search site than a recruiter site (but it does appear to do both). The site provides job search, registration for your resume as well as career services (resumes, interview skills, etc.). There is an “ask a recruiter” section for questions as well as some articles. Definitely worth a look, likely to be a popular site given the current environment.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

The following is a guest post from Sandbox Advisors courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.

I often hear this comment from people – “I’ve been through many interviews and therefore am am quite good at them”. Practice make perfect, right?

In this case – not really.

It is important to realize a few things:

• In my experience, majority of people are not really aware of best-practices for a giving great interview. So having gone through many interview situations doesn’t really help because you’ve been practicing all the wrong things
• You should never just show-up for an interview, thinking that if you meet the requirements of the job, you will be selected
• It is not always the best and most qualified candidate who is selected. How well you handle the interview also plays a big role
• You can have a significant influence on how well your interview goes. There are many ways in which you can improve your interviewing skills, thereby increasing the chance of getting hired
• Techniques that interviewers use to conduct an interview keep changing and you should be aware of current trends so that you can prepare accordingly
• There are many resources (both free and paid) to help you get up-to-speed with interview techniques and to help you prepare/practice accordingly

So no matter how many interviews you’ve been through or how many years of work experience you have, I think your base assumption should be – “If I am about to look for a job, I need a lot of preparation/practice for upcoming interviews.” This way you have nothing to lose (other than being really well prepared for your next interview of course).

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.