How to Make Values Live in Your Organization

How to Make Values Live in Your OrganizationHow to Make Values Live in Your OrganizationValues exist in every workplace. Your organizations culture is partially the outward demonstration of the values currently existing in your workplace. The question you need to ask is whether unterstellung existing values are creating the workplace you desire. Without examining the values that currently exist in your organization, you will not have the opportunity to choose the values and the culture that you need. Do ansicht values promote a culture of extraordinary customer care by happy, motivated, productive people? If not, you will want to identify the values that currently exist in your workplacedetermine if these are the right values for your workplace andchange the actions and behaviors of which the values are demonstrated, if necessary. In a prior article, what values arewas discussed. Why you want to identify values and where values fit within your workplace was also reviewed. This articl e moves the process of identifying workplace values to the next step. It provides a process for you to follow when you want to embrace the fact that the right values are intrinsic to your organizations success. Values Development Process The focus, in this article, is on how to develop and articulate shared workplace values. While the focus is on values identification and alignment, you can use this process to develop any product or course of action that needs widespread support, enrollment in, and ownership from your staff. It has been used successfully to help organizations develop mission statements, visions for their future, relationship guidelines and norms, prioritized action plans, and departmental goals. Steps in a Values Identification Process To identify organization values, bring together your executive group to learn about and discuss the power of shared valuesobtain consensus that these leaders are committed to creating a value-based workplacedefine the role of the executives in leading this process andprovide written material the executives can share with their reporting staff. In a mid-sized organization, that recently completed this process, the Team Culture and Training Team, a cross-functional group of employees from every level of the organization, asked the executive group to initiate and lead this process. Where possible, acting on a desire for change that is percolating from all corners of an organization, is a powerful assurance of success. Design and schedule a series of values alignment sessions in which all members of the organization will participate. Schedule each member of the organization to attend a three-four hour session. (If your group is small, it is most effective for all members to meet in one session together.) These sessions are most effective when led by a trained facilitator. This allows each member of your organization to fully participate in the process. Alternatively, train internal facilitators who lead one session, and participate in another. Prior to the values identification and alignment sessions, each leader must do the following. Share any written materials as well as the spirit and context of the executives values discussion with every individual in your reporting group.Promote the rationale for, theneed for, and the desired organizational impact of the process.Make certain your reporting staff members understand the importance of their participation in the process.Assure that every member of your reporting group is signed up for and attends a session.Answer questions and provide feedback about any staff concerns to the rest of the executive or cross-functional group leading the process. Values Identification Workshop OverviewThe facilitator begins the sessions with a brief overviewof the rationale and process have already been communicated by organization leaders. Key concepts include the following. Each person brings his or her own platzdeckchen of values to the workplace.Sha ring similar or agreed upon values at work helps clarify expected behavior and actions to each other and customers, how decisions are made, and exactly what is important in the organization. Steps in Workplace Values Identification During the workplace values identification session, participants begin by identifying their own individual values. These are the five to ten most important values they hold as individuals and bring to the workplace every day. It is the melding of all of the values of the members of your workforce that creates your current work environment. This process is most effective when participants work from the list of possible values provided in a prior article Build an Organization Based on Values. People voluntarily post the values that each person has identified as their most important values. Then, everyone in the session walks around to look at the various lists. This is a learning opportunity and can provide great insight into the beliefs and needs of co workers. You can ask people to verbally talk about their list of values with another individual in a mutual sharing. Participants then work with a small group of people from across the organization to identify which of their personal valuesare the most important for creating the environment the group wants to live in at work. Participants in the small groups then prioritize these identified values into a list of five-six they most want to see expressed at work. When the small groups have completed their task, they share their prioritized lists with all session participants. Generally, some of the values appear on each small group list. In a larger organization, these prioritized lists are tallied across all sessions for frequency and meaning. In a small organization, in which everyone is participating simultaneously, prioritize and reach agreement on the most important values. Examples of Value Statements During this session, or in an additional session, participants discuss how and whether these values are currently operational in your workplace. People then define each value by describing what they will see in behaviors and actions when the value is truly incorporated into the organization belief system and culture. The more graphic you can make these statements, the better for producingshared meaning. Several examples of these value statements follow. Integrity We maintain credibility by making certain our actions always match our words. Respect We respect each patients right to be involved, to the greatest extent possible or desired, in making informed decisions about his or her health and plan of care. Accountability We accept personal responsibility to efficiently use organization resources, improve our systems, and help others improve their effectiveness. Now that you know how to identify workplace values and value statements read about how to finalize your values identification process. Follow-up Process for Workplace Values Identification Usin g the work and insights from each values identification session, volunteers from each session meet to reach consensus on the valuesdevelop value statements for each of the prioritized values andshare the value statements with all staff for feedback and refinement. Staff will discuss the draft value statements during organization-wide meetings, where possible. The total group adopts the values by voting when the organization believes the value statements are complete. The Leaders Role Following the Workplace Values Process Following the values identification and alignment sessions and agreement on the values, leaders, with staff, will communicate and discuss the mission and organizational values frequently with staff membersestablish organizational goals that are grounded in the identified valuesmodel personal work behaviors, decision making, contribution, and interpersonal interaction that reflect the valuestranslate the values into expectations, priorities, and behaviors with c olleagues, reporting staff, and selflink participation in the adoption of the values and the behaviors that result, to regular performance feedback and the performance development process reward and recognize staff members whose actions and accomplishments reflect the values in action within the organizationhire and promote individuals whose outlook and actions are congruent with these values andmeet periodically to talk about how the group is doing via living the identified values. Make This Workplace Values Process Not Just Another Exercise In an article entitled the Value of Values ClarificationJust Stop That Navel Gazing, Robert Bacal, a Canadianwriter, and consultant offers these cautions. Dont oversell the process.Always anchor, or relate the values expressed to real-world problems.Encourage people to identify examples where there is a gap between values, or beliefs, and behavior.Remember that you are not going to alter a persons values and beliefs by talking about them. V alues clarification exercises are, at best, an opportunity to share them, not change them. If you want your investment in this workplace values identification and alignment process to make a difference in your organization, theleadership, and individual follow-up is critical. The organization must commit to change and enhance work behaviors, actions, and interactions. Reward and recognition systems andperformance managementsystems must support and reward new behaviors. Consequences must exist for behaviors that undermine the values agreed upon. If you cant make this commitment, dont even start the process. Youll just create a group of cynical, unhappy people who feel misled and betrayed. Theyll be much less likely to jump on board for your next organizational initiative. And you know what? Theyll be right.

Essential Management Skill in the Digital Era

Essential Management Skill in the Digital EraEssential Management Skill in the Digital EraPredictions about the future of business sound very much like what we might expect to see in a science fiction movie from Hollywood Work will be monitored and controlled by increasingly intelligent machines and fewer human workers.Drawing upon advanced artificial intelligence algorithms and vast quantities of real-time real big data, these machines will select strategies, tailor offerings and tactics and monitor fulfillment, all without human intervention.Factories will zustrom by remote control.Deliveries will be facilitated by driverless cars and trucks as well as drones.In a nod to some of the best science fiction stories, problems will be resolved before they happen based on complicated predictive analytics engines drawing real-time input from a vast array of billions of sensors. While we might not realize this prelude-to-Terminator science fiction world of work in the next few years, there is little doubt that the role of manager and tactics for managing and leading will change in this emerging digital era. This article offers guidance for any manager interested in remaining viable and valuable as the future unfolds advancement by advancement. 10 Not So Far-Fetched Predictions About the World of Work Communication technologies continue to advance to enable high quality, real-time engagement with distributed teams and communities.The currently unfulfilled promise of Big Data will increasingly be realized as organizations learn to wrestle this beast with newer technologies, smarter algorithms, and organizations structured to treat data as a strategic life-force.Routine work will increasingly be automated freeing up positions, time and bandwidth for all workers.Innovation will occur in open source style with communities solving problems and sharing ideas and feedback. Projects will be recognized as the engines of creation and project management practices will expand to take advantage of the new tools for communication, monitoring, reporting and collaboration. The routine work of monitoring discrete tasks will be automated and project team members and the project manager will be free to focus on problem-solving and creation.The promise of virtual teams will finally be realized based on the advancements in communication technologies.Decision-making will be increasingly data-driven and mora routine decisions will be handled by machines. Organizations will flatten and spread horizontally and advancement will be based on ability to contribute value and less on theability to do more at a higher level.Managers will coach and support and facilitate, but not oversee day-to-day work.There will be fewer managers. For Managers, Its a Role in Transition The above points are exciting to ponder, yet for most of us, this future is somewhere over the horizon. Not every firm will adopt technology at the pace of an Uber or other firm born of digital DNA. Mos t organizations will evolve at the speed of their industries and competitors, with outside forces ultimately governing that speed. And in all of this excitement and turmoil and advancement, managers will totenstill manage. Yet, those striving to remain relevant, particularly individuals at the front-end of their careers, must work deliberately at developing the skills that fit with the trends that will shape tomorrow. The balance of this article explores four critical areas where managers must invest in growing and tuning their skills. Four Key Areas Managers Must Strengthen to Remain Relevant Technical agility. Even formerly creative domains such as marketing are increasingly dominated by quantitative-focused technologists. There is no room for avoiding technology. Seek every opportunity in your work life to gain training on the latest programs and applications. Work in your personal life to understand and even participate in the trends around social, mobile, apps and others. L ike it or not, your world is a technology driven world and if you fail to keep learning, you will be moving backward at the speed of change. Data agility. A great many managers still operate by gut instinct and prefer their own experiences to crunching the data. There are many challenges with data, including quality, relevance, accuracy, completeness etc., yet all of us are on the hook for learning to leverage the tools. As a veteran manager, I am unwilling to blindly trust data without understanding the assumptions and limitations, nonetheless, I am happy to factor data into my decision-making.Project agility. As routine work is increasingly automated, the work of projects will focus on innovation, infrastructure modernization and strategy execution. The role of project manager or project sponsor will grow in importance and effective managers will understand how to fulfill these roles and better support their teams. Networking agility. As organizations compress, the focus of work w ill be horizontal and not vertical within a function. Managers will increasingly be called upon to organize temporary coalitions to seize emerging opportunities and squash fast-moving threats. Additionally, as projects take on increasing significance, answers to key issues will reside somewhere outside of the traditional functions. An effective network that can tap into the right resources at the right time will be essential. The Bottom Line Admittedly, predicting the future by looking at a list of trends is much like predicting the taste of a dessert by looking at the list of ingredients. Nonetheless, the trends around communication, democratization of information and the work of innovation are fairly clear. The ultimate incarnation of technology might resemble the opening description in this article, but in the meantime, theres a great deal of work for managers able to command the new technologies in support of creation and business execution. For those who allow technology to pass them by, the future will be a lot less accommodating.

The Networking Email That Actually Works

The Networking Email That Actually WorksThe Networking Email That Actually WorksNetworking is the 1 way to land your next position. Point blank fact. I know you dont like it. I know you think its hard. But do whats hard, so your job search can be quick.1 thing I have come to hate over my 19 years of supporting candidates, is when bad networking happens to good people. Yes, Im talking to YOUHeres an example of the bad networkingThis is usually whats inflicted on an otherwise innocent party It was really good to meet you (or connect with you verbunden) earlier Im reaching out to my network because Im strongly interested in finding my next role. Im in operations. In case you know anybody I can contact, please let me know.Several things occur to me about this scenario1) Nowhere in there do I see that you (bad networker) care a lick about me (innocent bystander.)2) Its nice that youre in operations. But what does that MEAN? If I need to think about it, then, news flash Im not going to.3) Who do you mean, anybody? I know a LOT of anybodies. Shall I go through my Rolodex and figure this out? No. justnoThe curse of the bad network is that youre asking vague questions. Therefore, youre going to get vague (or worse yet no) responses.By the way, this is analogous to writing your resume using vague language. You know, to present that consulting gig youve been on for the last 6 months. It goes a little something like thisCurrently offering technology advisory and consulting services to a broad base of clients across several market verticals. Manage projects, administer budgets, and deliver innovative solutions.Thats nice, except what projects? For whom? When? And what, exactly, was innovative? Thats a resume that wont get a response, I guarantee you.Back to networking if you want your networking to be less hard, and if you want it to actually be a successful vehicle that drives you through your job search and into your ideal role sooner rather than later then get specific about what youre asking for.(I also am aware youre allergic to specificity. If you dont leave your options open then you might miss out on something.) Ok, but I need you to stop thinking that. Get specific.Heres how to do it rightJim I hope you are having a great day I am reaching out to my network because after 15 years as an Operations Manager at the factory level, Ive decided to leverage my expertise into a Multi-Site Operations Director on a regional or national scale. Id like to seek your help.Here are a few job titles Im seeing that mostly describe what Im looking forDirector of Operations Operations Control Manager Planning, Operations & Facilities LeadAnd some of the organizations that look interesting to me areFirst Vehicle Services Modis SiemensDo you have a lead in any of those organizations at their Philadelphia, Trenton, or Wilmington locations? Id appreciate it if you could share those or make an introduction. Thank you for giving this some thought for me. Please dont hesitate to reach out to me should I be able to help you also.Now, THATS a networking email thats confident (not begging), drills down into what exactly it is that you do, ask for specific people at specific organizations, and shows that you care about the other person.Now. Lets kick things up a notch.Youve just learned how to talk to networking contacts. Lets step it up so that you have the exact strategy to immediately talk to the recruiters and decision makers, in a way that immediately communicates your value AND prompts them to pick up the phone to call you. Im going over what to do in my full online program, 5 Secret Job Search Hacks For The Age 50+ Job Hunter Register today so you get in on this limited-seating presentation.

Can An Employee Bounce Back From a Demotion

Can An Employee Bounce Back From a Demotion Can An Employee Bounce Back From a Demotion But, it doesnt have to be this way as employees can indeed bounce back from a demotion, but it takes effort and commitment from both the employee and employer to make it happen.Lets begin with what employees can do to help themselves bounce back from a demotion.For starters, face up to what has happened, and dont catastrophize. Take stock of where you were and where you are now in terms of salary, duties and responsibilities, and remember you may have the opportunity to progress again. The door is closed for now but not for ever. Most successful people have one or more failed projects on their resume, theres even a book written on this very phenomenon which was reviewed in this Forbes article, Why The road To Success is Paved With Failure.Second, accept whats happened and grieve for your loss but dont dwell on it. Draw a line in the sand. That was yesterday and this is today and time to move onw ard and upward. Think, you are now back down at the level where you were once a higher performer (or else you wouldnt have been promoted), and you can soon start performing well again and repair/remember your sense of value and worth.Then look forward. The door to your future career has been closed but not locked and you can leise progress again in the future. But, you should learn lessons from your failure. After the dust has settled, talk to your boss and find out why you were demoted and what were your weak and strong areas. Looking forward, you should ideally consider roles which play to your strengths give you a much greater chance of success. Alternately, you can look to develop your weak areas and gain more experience so you are better prepared to step up to the role for a future date.You still have much to aspire to, even after a demotion.As for what the employer or manager can do, you can help demoted employees along this journey with several key interventions. You could co nsider providing them with a bridging/transitional salary to help offset the gap between their old and new lower salary.Reiterate that the doors to progression are still open to them although they may need to develop more skills first or choose pathways more suited to their strengths. Give them advice and career support in developing areas of weakness and identifying future roles that may play more to their strengths.Recognize their value in their new role, both personally and privately and remind them and peers of the success they once had at the organization. Show the demoted employee and the wider organization that you are behind them.Give them meaningful work and clear goalsto show them that they are a valued contributor to the organization. This should help to restore their sense of self worth.Also provide some projects where they can make some quick wins asstudies showthat this will boost confidence and performance.So, with both the employee and employer committed to the cause , a failed employee can bounce back from a demotion.

Why Everyone Is Talking About How to Put Resume on Linkedin and What You Must Do

Why Everyone Is Talking About How to Put Resume on Linkedin and What You Must Do You can also produce a personalized link to our document which could be easily pasted into an email or message. The LinkedIn URL ought to go in the header along with the remainder of your contact details. Be sure that your contact information near the top of each page of your resume is accurate. This post has instructions on how best to do that. The 2 positions are extremely independent and not related. You may expect to need to need to specify because many keywords as doable to earn a sound base of information and facts that matches the sorts of positions you perspektive to be pursuing. In case the work description mentions additional abilities and abilities, then its always recommended to set a couple of them in the appropriate section of your resume. So if you would like to go hired, consider what skills you want people to realize your name listed under, in a search. Life, Death, and How t o Put Resume on Linkedin You can have different resumes for various jobs you prefer to pursue, and youre able to send such carefully customized resumes right to the headhunters, company recruiters, and hiring mangers you fruchtwein want to speak to. Recruiters utilize Boolean searches to locate applicants. Show the recruiters youre worth what they are ready to pay. If you really need to find work, you need to be there. Youre asking for some job. The most suitable job for you is closer than you might imagine. If youre thinking about an expert job which you ought to create a continue. The Debate Over How to Put Resume on Linkedin You will find two means by which you will be in a position to create maintains. Be sure to add in anything you think might be helpful to the position. Since you can observe thats a whole bunch of work. To begin with, deciding on what skills to put on a resume is far mora important and probably a little more complicated than you believe. The Ultima te Approach for How to Put Resume on Linkedin Finally Being present on LinkedIn has turned into a standard for serious professionals who know the worth of private branding. Sensitive or internal company info, in addition to overly personal details, should never produce the cut. Putting an objective statement at the peak of your resume wont help you receive an industry job. The resume is normally a dynamic advertising and marketing piece. Why Almost Everything Youve Learned About How to Put Resume on Linkedin Is Wrong Hopefully you need to have a clearer idea about what you may count on from our edit my resume service. Offering to give a recommendation for a different man or woman may inspire them to return the favor. You have to demonstrate that you could save your possible employer time and make them money. Free trial resumes are an excellent resource the moment trying to create a great task continue. How to Put Resume on Linkedin - the Story LinkedIn will conserve the p revious three resumes you uploaded. LinkedIn isnt a work board, it is an expert networking website. LinkedIn is a little different. After you learn to utilize LinkedIn properly, you will not ever leave. Why Almost Everything Youve Learned About How to Put Resume on Linkedin Is Wrong To maintain a simple resume, dont add two or more colors and prevent mixing fonts. Every tool youve got to create an expert job application is simple to have at by the principal menu. If you work in a creative field, think about developing a personal site which has a mobile-responsive design so that you can share your portfolio from any gadget. Also, be certain youre using all the fields that are relevant to you. LinkedIn summaries are absolutely different. One of the absolute most important components of LinkedIn is your profile. LinkedIn offers users numerous approaches to create an impressive profile. If you wish to change your resume on LinkedIn later, just stick to the process above. Wha t You Need to Do About How to Put Resume on Linkedin Before You Miss Your Chance LinkedIn is among the simplest and most useful sites to import the data of your professional life and place it in digital so as to look for professional opportunities. Job seekers should incorporate a number of recommendations with their profile to demonstrate that others respect the standard of their work. The advice for LinkedIn is, naturally, the specific opposite. Networking and the Hidden Job Market are definitely the most productive strategies to locate a new job.

Sensitive Info About Writing a Resume Job Interview That Only the Pros Know About

Sensitive Info About Writing a Resume Job Interview That Only the Pros Know About There are at least hundreds of ways it is possible to write your resume yet still fail even to find an interview. To begin with, make certain you observe the advice from the preceding post if your application will be posted through an ATS. Therefore, if youre asking for work and want to land an interview, make sure to follow along with the basic tips discussed here on resume writing. With the assistance of the above ideas, you need to be able to do exactly that. Resume writing services might create amazing resumes but the majority of the time thats all. Recruiters spend a mean of six seconds reading a resume, you should get the most out of that moment. A recruiter searching for a marketer might seek out someone acquainted with Google Analytics and Google AdWords. The Meaning of Writing a Resume Job Interview You may be surprised to learn the amount of lies that are told or information thats pu rposely omitted on either side of the work interview table daily. Thinking of a superior answer to an interview question is easy once you have time and arent under pressure. You have a lot better shot of receiving an interview because of a personal or professional connection. Your resume really should start with a sentence thats targeted and distinct. Job candidates often have few means to verify that a work description is truthful and total. Your job (while youre attempting to find a job) is to be certain you fit what theyre searching for. Virtually all of your resume ought to be written in past tense, including your present job description. There are lots of standard forms of resumes used to make an application for job openings. A terrific approach to understand Interview Coaching Vancouver is a terrific means to comprehend the work interview procedure and also to actually concentrate on what you are and exactly what you provide. By preparing your resume first, then you will have a better feeling of what information to highlight in your resume, dependent on the organization or job description. You use your resume to acquire into a work interview, not to have a work hardly any people today are hired just based on the resume. Go onto the businesss website and discover out as much as you can about them before the very first interview.

6 Reasons You Wont Get Hired Without a Cover Letter

6 Reasons You Wont Get Hired Without a Cover Letter6 Reasons for a Cover Letter6 Reasons You Wont Get Hired Without a Cover LetterWithout a cover letter, youre relying solely on your resume to make a big enough impact that the hiring manager will call you back for an interview. Thats asking a lot. From demonstrating your communication skills to keeping the follow-up tanzabend in your court, a cover letter can strengthen your candidacy and increase your odds of landing an interview. Here are 6 valid reasons why a cover letter is absolutely necessaryIt tells the employer who you are and why they want you. Yes, the Objective or Professional Summary on your resume also does this, but only in so many words. In the body of the letter, you have the room to elaborate on your experiences and interest in the position.It showcases your writing ability. Resumes have strict formulas with bullet points and short, choppy statements. A cover letter allows you to write more fluently. Since employers like to see that you can communicate well in writing, a proper cover letter puts the right foot forward from the get-go.It lets you highlight your strengths.Your resume lists the roles you played and the significant accomplishments you achieved in your most recent positions. But when youre constrained to one page (or two, if you have that much relevant experience), you may be forced to sacrifice some details in favor of length. In your cover letter, you can explain and draw attention to a few elendeworthy experiences from your resume. It also helps start to demonstrate your personality, which is often even more important than your qualifications.It shows that youre serious about the opportunity.One of the biggest complaints recruiters and managers have when theyre actively looking for a new hire is the applicants failure to provide a cover letter. When you apply for a job by simply submitting your resume and nothing more, the hiring manager could interpret this as a lazy move on you r part. If two equally qualified candidates apply, do you want to be the one who took the time to write a cover letter, or the one who didnt?It makes up for a resume that cant stand alone.Granted, your resume should be effective if unaccompanied by a cover letter, but in case that resume just isnt as persuasive as you thought it was, a cover letter can make up for it. There are numerous instances where a strong cover letter - not the resume - instigates a callback.It sets up the follow-up.Instead of leaving the next step in the employers hands, use your cover letter to take control of the follow-up process. In the closing, specify a specific date and time that you will call them. The follow-up in your cover letter eliminates the waiting game so you can move on with an interview or move on to another job opening.

How To Find The Right Peop

How To Find The Right PeopDirectory Assistance Off-Campus / How To Find The Right PeopPosted by Caroline Ceniza-LevineThe job search strategy is simple identify your target companies, find the decision-makers therein for the jobs you want, contact the decision-makers and sell them on you as the perfect candidate, and Presto You get a job.The above is simple to understand, but its not easy to execute. Many jobseekers dont know what they want so they dont know what companies to target. Many jobseekers dont know how to position themselves properly. Sometimes, you do everything right but there is no job at this time, and you have to repeat the process for many more companies till you hit the timing just right. But the most frequently asked question that I get at workshops and events is how to find behauptung decision-makers in the first place. Here are 3 steps to followFind out the department name that does what you want to do. If you want to do PR-related work at Company X, does X call it Corporate Communications, Communications, Media Relations, or something else? Find a friendly rolle an alum from your school, a family friend who can give you that lay of the land as it relates to your function. Dont rely on general networking. Seek people out who work there or worked there and ask them specifically where is PR handled at X, and what exactly is this department called?Find out who runs this department and how it is structured. Once you know that X does PR out of their Media Relations department, find out who runs Media Relations, who s/he reports to, works for him or her, and what everybody is responsible for. In other words, get as close to filling out an organizational chart for Media Relations at X as you can. Again, this means you cant rely on general networking but must ask specific questions. Ask the friendly ally from above. Other good sources could be a PR trade association, where an expert there may know the structure of different firms. You want to kno w Who runs Media Relations? How big is that department? How is the work divided? Find out how this department hires its people. Do they hire only experienced people from similar firms, or do they have entry-level spots? Do they only take referrals, use HR to post, work with a specific search firm? What skills, background and experience do they hire? Some firms only want people with agency experience. Some people hire at the entry-level and promote from within. Some are not specific in the methods they use. You need to know what they do so you can position yourself accordingly.After you have the above information, you are ready to make your approach. You know names and have a context within which you can promote yourself effectively. Now, you need to be brave enough to act on this information. But having this level of detailed information is a big confidence-booster. You will find that now that you know something (a lot in fact) about your target you will feel more comfortable when y ou approach them. Knowledge is power in the job search.Directory Assistance On-Campus / How To Find The Right People For Your SearchPosted by Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio An on-unigelnde job search requires the identification of key players that can make or break your search. Here is a list of such players with strategies of how to work with themDirector of Career Services This is someone you want to know and impress. This person knows all the firms, about all their opportunities, and even the business managers that ultimately hire the candidates. Attend an orientation at Career Services and listen to everything that is said there. Then, follow their instructions and get to know them personally. They can move heaven and earth for you. When I recruited at Citigroup, Warner-Lambert, and Merrill Lynch, I always had strong relationships with these folks and what they said and who they referred carried a lot of weight. Other Career Services Staff Career Services at larger schools have va rious contacts per discipline. I always worked closely with the Financial Services rep and got to know them very well. They got me the best dates on campus, and I followed up with a student they thought highly of. It wasnt one hand washing another it was mutual respect and appreciation. Big hint here have manners, and treat them all like gold. If its a smaller school you go to, the rule still applies treat everyone in career services like gold.Professors Many of them are asked by companies to participate in projects and many business representatives give guest lectures. They can have ins with important business reps so always seek to impress.Company representatives marketing events When Wharton was one of our target schools, we went on campus over 20 times a year. Attend as many of these events as possible if you are very interested in the company because your attendance is noticed and does count towards serious consideration.Your school peers You never know who people know. I jus t conducted a mock interview with a young man whos father knows EVERYONE is the accounting field EVERYONE. Be good to your peers because you never know when they will extend a helping hand. Rule of thumb treat everyone with respect and try to help as many people as you can. I believe it all comes around in the end.When conducting an on-campus job search, keep those antennae up high. Notice everything. Participate in as much as you can. Treat everyone with respect. Try to help people even when there is nothing in it for you. Pay attention, and I think youll be surprised in the good karma that will come right back to you.

How to Spot Junk Mail Without Opening the Envelope

How to Spot Junk Mail Without Opening the EnvelopeHow to Spot Junk Mail Without Opening the EnvelopeJunk mail, which is sometimes called direct mail, is the advertising that direct marketing agencies strive to get you to open. All those offers for leistungspunkt cards, insurance, dentists, cars, fast food, and anything else that offers direct sales, are generally fighting a losing battle to get your attention. In the past, direct mail would scream and shout the offers at you, loud and proud. Huge percentage rates on the envelopes for credit card offers were commonplace. Loud, colorful graphics and in-your-face headlines all shouted free, look at me, read me, open me, dont ignore me It was the epitome of junk mail. Of course, consumers quickly became savvy to those methods, and it was not difficult to spot the genuine letters and packages from the ones trying to sell something. Thats when junk mail creators became more sneaky, and started analyzing what people open, and what they thro w away. Its becoming more difficult to separate the bad offers from the good, and the personal mail from the corporate. Oh, and it should be noted that genuinely good direct mail is honest, doesnt stoop to these tricks and will capture your attention in a positive way. But, with that said, here are the signs to look for when trying to dig out the dregs. The Presorted PostmarkThis is the biggest giveaway of junk mail. Look in the postage area and if you binnensee either PRESORTED or PRSRT STD, its almost certainly junk mail. You usually need to send over 500 pieces of mail to qualify for the discounted presorted rate, and how many times do people send out that amount of mail at once? The USPS likes this kind of mail because it is already presorted into zip codes, hence the discount for time saved. It used to be easy to spot this presorted mail, but once again, both the USPS and the direct mail agencies are looking for new ways to get past your guard. Now, junk mail can feature an act ual postage stamp, although if you look closely you will still see PRESORTED or PRSRT STD printed somewhere on it. Junk mail can also feature metered postage (that red or black looking mark made with ink) but again, look for the telltale words.Oh, and anything important, such as personal correspondence, is never sent presorted if you see something that looks like a check or a bill, its not. Fake Handwriting Another dead giveaway of junk mail is the desperate attempt to look like it has come from a real live person. For this reason, direct mail and junk mail is starting to imitate the mail we receive from friends and family, but at the moment its not difficult to tell them apart. First, genuine handwriting is never on perfectly straight lines. So, that right there is a huge indication that youre about to open a crummy offer. However, recently there have been attempts to offset the lines to mimic real handwriting. There are other clues you can look for. One of the big indicators i s the identical letters used in the name and address. As real people, we never write any two letters exactly the same. But the fonts used to generate these letters are identical. Or, 99% of the time there is. Now, some fonts feature 3 or 4 variations of the same letters, to convince people that the handwriting came from a person. In that case, look at the pressure used, and the variation in the color of the ink. Real handwriting creates dark and light shades of ink, and the pressure of the pen on the paper leaves indents. If that too has been mimicked, you should definitely open this piece of mail. Anyone who went to that amount of effort to trick you into thinking it was written by a real person clearly has something interesting to say. And how long does it take to open an envelope anyway? Fear Tactics and Urgency Anything telling you that time is running out, or you must open the letter quickly, is guaranteed to be a piece of junk mail. These kinds of statements are tacky, and if you genuinely owe money to someone and have very little time to pay, theyre not going to send you a letter via presorted mail. In fact, the first communication will usually be an email or a phone call, because its cheaper and more reliable. Sometimes, a real institution will send you a communication that is actually telling you time is running out to pay something or file paperwork. However, they will not advertise this fact all over the envelope. They may use a different color for the envelope than their usual correspondence (for instance, some institutions use yellow or red envelopes for overdue bills), or they may print in a different colored ink. But the warnings will never be slapped all over the letter or package. Official Verbiage and Warnings This is perhaps the most sneaky method being used of late, and most of the time it is coming from financial institutions wanting you to refinance your mortgage. On the envelope, which often looks like a bill, you will see things like mail tampering is a federal offense or for the recipient only. A genuine piece of correspondence from a financial institution does not go out of its way to look this official and scary. Most of the time your bank will just mail you a letter with your name and address on it. These warnings, seals, eagle heads, and other official-looking symbols are all designed to make you think this is an important piece of mail you must open. Dont open it. Throw it away. Its junk.