6 Topics Your Candidates Shouldnt Joke About in Interviews

6 Topics Your Candidates Shouldnt Joke About in Interviews Everyone likes a good joke, especially with  the silly season rolling around. Having a sense of humour is a really important personal attribute that helps people connect with one another and alleviate  tense situations.  Being able to find the funny side to awkward situations  is a great skill to have, and laughing at yourself shows you have humility it makes you more relatable. As with most things, jokes are all about time and place. I mean, Im no comedic genius, but there are definitely some  moments in life when even the biggest jokers really have to reign themselves  in. Theres nothing more awkward than witnessing a train crash of a conversation happen due to one person putting their foot in it by trying to be hilarious at the wrong time. Prime example of a situation like this? Interviews. There are a certain set of unwritten rules that govern ones demeanour in a job interview. They can be super intense, and for candidates, extremely nerve-wracking. And why wouldnt they be? Its literally a restricted pocket of time theyve been given to prove themselves in order to attain their dream role. While its a great idea to encourage your candidate to find some common ground with their interviewer, to build a a memorable rapport. However, jokes should be treated with caution. Why?! In job interviews, you never know who your candidate will be meeting with,  how relaxed they are and how they view certain topics. Candidates should always be encouraged to be themselves and let their personality shine through, however if theres ever a time to advise them against making daring / risk wise cracks, the interview is one of them. Its not about getting them to come across as a prude, or making them conform to a boring sense of normality, rather its about saving them from being perceived as offensive and unprofessional. People say stupid things when theyre under pressure, so advise your candidate accordingly! Here are the topics Id discourage joking about, even if they judge their interviewer to be a bit of a larrikin or a joker! 1. Drinking *Interview commences. Slightly awkward silence.* Interviewer: Hi Paul, how are you today? Candidate: Im so hungover, big night last night! Just kidding, fine thanks. *Even more awkward silence, worse than before.* This scenario is so easy to avoid. You might think who would be so stupid so as to open their interview like this? but youd be surprised at what nervous candidates can pull out of the bag when they are put on the spot. A candidate one of my ex colleagues represented once went to an interview absolutely stinking of alcohol, to the point where the interview was cut short and the hiring manager called to give the feedback, outlining how poor it was. Outrageous, I know.  Drinking is a common way for adults to celebrate and socialise, however no hiring manager wants to hire someone who will turn up to work hungover regularly. Your candidate should avoid even putting  such thoughts in the interviewers mind joeks about drinking have no place in an interview. 2. Money Salaries are totally important when it comes to job-seeking, everyone knows that. People have to feed families, put food on the table,  etc. When the interviewer asks your candidate about salary expectations and current situation, your candidate should not make any jokes. Saying things like, how much is on the table? to the, how much are you looking for question is just so obnoxious. Prepare your candidate with a succinct message about monetary expectations, and dont let your candidate crumble under the awkwardness of the money talks and say something that will make them look like a money-hungry fool, or someone who is completely unable to negotiate. 3. Gender, race age A guy I used to work with in my old recruitment agency was representing a candidate interviewing at a global, tier 1 investment bank a couple of years back. Said candidate had the most incredible CV and was a real people-person; he was a shoe-in for the role on every front. Unfortunately, in his final interview, he made a joke to the male interviewer about how he was pleased to hear this role reported directly into a male, as he wasnt a fan of being managed by females, as they tend to be quite bossy. Can you believe it? The candidate maintained he was joking, but he  didnt get the job. The hiring manager actually reported it back to my colleague, saying it was not funny and showed an inability to judge whats appropriate and whats not.  Another recruiter friend always tells the tale of the candidate who told his interviewer, based on what I can see, the standard of women is better here than at my current place. No comment required. Let this be a warning to leave gender, race and age out of the banter bank even if it is supposed to be a joke. 4. Politics religion People have different views on serious topics and are brought up with varying sets of beliefs and customs. Interviews are no place to make jokes about racial or political matters, even if there are things being broadcast that day in the news, condemning a particular person or group of people. Your candidates are entitled to their own opinions, but bringing them up in an interview just opens the door to being accidentally offensive or insensitive. The focus in the interview should always be on your skill set and abilities. 5. Reasons for leaving I  received a job application recently from a candidate who used their cover letter to slag off their current job, manager and team members. While  its natural for people to want to move on from their jobs from time to time due to internal frustrations, talking bitterly about a current position has no place in the application / interviewing process for a new role. It is important your candidates are candid about their career motivations and decisions,  but they should refrain from making jokes like, my colleagues are pretty annoying, lets be honest!, my boss is a drongo! or the salarys abysmal. As with most jokes, there is always an element of truth and the hiring manager will likely feel awkward about how to respond to comments like this. The reasons they want to leave their current job are important pieces of information for any hiring manager to know and theyll take what you say seriously, so dont let your candidate make it uncomfortable. 6. Cheating, lying or stealing The interview is a chance for your candidate to paint the best possible picture of themselves. Making jokes about morally wrong occurrences is just totally inappropriate. I heard a story once about a candidate who made sarcastic remarks about lying in the workplace, and it just came across like they were really shifty and not to be trusted an immediate put-off to hiring managers. Dont let  your candidate  have themselves discounted from a process because of silly jokes that dont need to have been made. I standby y comment about everyone loving a good joke I like to consider myself a massive joker too, but over the past few years Ive really learned the importance of picking your audience and time wisely. No one appreciates  the  fool who makes totally inappropriate  wise cracks in an attempt to build rapport, trust me!

Why Use a Career Center Resumes?

Why Use a Career Center Resumes?The UGA Career Center provides a wide range of resume writing services that can help you with your job search. Resume templates are easy to use and can help you create an effective resume that can be delivered with minimum effort. You can even use these templates to make changes that you find necessary. With the vast range of career services available, you will have a difficult time finding a service that offers the same features as others.The UGA Career Center helps you with these services by giving you the power to upload your resume and get it immediately posted on websites. The services are offered at an affordable price. You can even customize your template to fit your needs, whether it is for a mobile phone application or a customized design.If you are an hourly or full-time employee who has recently been laid off, you should consider using these services to create a new resume. Because you can change and edit your resume as often as you wish, yo u will not have to wait for the company to take a look at your application. However, if you prefer to go straight to applying for the job, there are tools that can help you do this easily.You can also get search engine optimization services from the Career Center. This is also helpful in getting you noticed and approved for the appropriate positions. Most of the services are offered at a fee that is competitive, allowing you to get the information you need.You can use the Career Center's job application services to help you prepare for interview sessions that you may have in the future. They also offer online training courses that can teach you how to be more professional. You can be sure that these services are offered at an affordable price to help you get the experience you need.You can download resume samples directly from the website that offers resume writing services. Using this application, you can create a resume that can be applied for different positions. The services are available for all job types and come with an easy to use interface that makes it simple to start your job search.Services that offer help with resume writing are also offered by some college courses. You can use these services to help you create a resume for different positions you may have in the future. The services are offered with an easy to use interface that makes it easy to use and familiar with.There are many reasons why people use resume services. If you are interested in a particular position, you can use these services to ensure that you get the most attention from potential employers. You can also save time and money by using the tools that are available.

Move Over Maslow 3 Simple Ways to Motivate Your Employees

Move Over Maslow 3 Simple Ways to Motivate Your Employees Motivating employees can be hard. With so many theories, ideologies and processes, it can often seem quite a complicated task. But forget about Maslows Hierarchy and any weird Freudian ideas, weve got 3 simple ways that you can transform your workplace into a haven of productivity. 1) Humanise Having a human workplace can change the way your employees view their work. It shouldnt be a robotic movement of tasks and agendas your team is a made up  of human beings, each with unique strengths, weaknesses and experiences. No one employee is the same. Thats why its important to keep your workplace as human as possible. People come to work and want to make a change full of passion, creativity and knowledge. A combination as strong as that should always be cultivated its what can make a real difference. However many workplaces can crush this passion and creativity  with the 6 words no one ever wants to hear weve always done it this way. Allow your employees some room to move and develop your business with their specialities in mind. Being human also means stepping away from your phone and computer for a while. If you need to speak to someone across the office dont even THINK about instant messaging them or emailing them. Face-to-face meetings can make a real difference to interpersonal relationships in the office. Its also important for senior management to regularly meet with employees. It should be a two-way discussion in order to improve the business. The most dangerous phrase in the language is weve always done it this way.#leadership #quotes pic.twitter.com/eABkiaKlFE Bobby Umar | Keynote Speaker (@raehanbobby) May 4, 2016 2) Balance Its important to keep a balance at work not only to keep employees sane but to boost productivity and happiness when employees are at work. Keeping a reasonable balance will mean employees are less susceptible to burning out at work the feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands of a workplace. Employees should be able to leave their work at work it should never merge too much into their personal time. If it does, changes need to be made in order to allow each employee to have significant time away from their role. Keeping a healthy work-life balance has even been proven to improve your health and wellbeing. Taking time out for yourself can limit health problems and let you lead a more productive lifestyle in general. 3) Purpose potential Sharing the bigger picture with employees will lead to higher motivation and productivity. Employees should never feel like they are just doing a job simply for the pay check at the end of the month. From the outset, employees should know the bigger picture that they are working towards, and they should actively see the difference they are making within the company. Doing this will let them know their value within a company whether their role is an intern or a senior manager. Everybody makes a difference! As mentioned earlier, every single employee has a set of unique skills and passions which makes them take on each role from a unique perspective. Make sure you recognise each employee as an individual, and reward both the individual and the whole team when necessary. Main image credit: Shutterstock

Do You Have a 5 or 10 Year Career Goal Checklist

Do You Have a 5 or 10 Year Career Goal Checklist Do You Have a 5 or 10 Year Career Goal Checklist? When you think about it, we all have to work for a long time before reaching retirement age. With so many years to fill, it is not uncommon for many of us to have a five, ten or even fifteen year or more career plan. Whether that is seeking out progression and promotion within one target company or industry, or having ambitions to learn skills and build a network of business contacts to enable you to go it alone at some point by setting up our own business. With the UK currently leading the world in creating university graduates, it has now become a thing for graduates to have a long-term career plan in place. According to statistic released by the UK Department for Business Innovation Skills, the UK is responsible for producing a higher number of degree-holders than many other countries, including Norway, Switzerland and Germany. In fact, 47% of UK school leavers are now entering higher education, compared with just 19%, 30 years ago. The UK has expanded its university industry far quicker than other European countries.Higher number of people making career plansOn paper, the UK is now a world leader in skills and hold a record for having the most skilled workforce the country has ever had. What this means is that there are now more graduates than ever in UK history formulating long-term career goals and career achievement targets that they are setting out to meet within a specific time-frame.With so many graduates looking to set up long-term career plans, there is a whole new industry growing around professional executive career advisors. There have always been career advisors, but more specialized executive advisors are now being needed to help steer graduates on ever-increasing career paths, setting mini-milestones and targets to reach and offering long-term coaching to achieve those goals.How many things can you do for your career by age 35?While older generations of workers were more into having greater flexibility with their work, younger workers and those graduates just entering the workplace are now keen to put timelines on things. They are now creating a whole list of things to do by 30, 40, 50 or even to achieve before retirement â€" or after it! There is no time like the present and career experts recommend that people get started on their career goals sooner rather than later. This is mostly because the marketplace for desirable jobs has become even more competitive over the past ten years. With pension ages being raised, meaning that the older workforce will remain in place for longer, there are far less job opportunities opening up through retirement at the top end of the career ladder than ever before.This means that those already in middle or higher management positions are not moving up the career ladder as quickly as before to fill those top positions, and therefore their own jobs are not opening up for upcoming workers either.Younger workers plan moreDespite this shift in career opportunities becoming more compet itive, younger workers are even more keen to tick off specific career goals by the age of 35 that will prove their readiness to take on extra responsibilities or move into a higher position at work.If you are looking at setting yourself some career goals to achieve by age 35, we have some tips for you that you can use to help you build your career plan so you achieve your targets:Know your strengthsDo you excel at one thing in particular? Knowing what your superpower is can help you achieve great things. You will find that the most successful people in life know exactly what they are good at. This can be a great strength to possess and use either in helping you climb the career ladder at work or to launch your own successful business.Know your weaknessesKnowing what you are good at is one positive boost, but knowing what you are not so good at can also be an advantage. You can put in the work you need to bring your skills and knowledge up so that you no longer have this weakness. If this is impossible to achieve, then you can look to address your weakness by working with or hiring people who have the skills that you lack. Delegating tasks to those with the necessary skills will mean freeing up your time to dedicate to what you do excel at, plus it gets the job done, which reflects well on you.Define your no-go opportunitiesProgressing up your career ladder takes time â€" in some cases, you will have many years of ladder rungs to climb ahead of you. The last thing you want to happen is for you to take a side-step off your career ladder by accepting any unsuitable opportunities that come your way.There is a good chance that as your career progresses, you will have a lot of opportunities come your way. This could be from within the company you work for, or from an outside company wanting to head-hunt you. While you might be flattered by these opportunities and job offers, you dont need to waste your time and energy pursuing them if they detract from your intended path. Learn to recognize opportunities for what they are â€" either a boost up the ladder with great prospects for further career advancement, or a side-step with no further progression that could leave you floundering in the same position for many years.ConclusionRemember to learn from your experiences, both good and bad. Use your knowledge and strengths to help you move towards the next milestone in your career plan. previous article Soft and Clean Professional Resume Template Freebie next article The Modern Clean Resume Template Freebie you might also like6 Online Gigs You Can Do During Coronavirus Outbreak (To Offset Your Lost Income)

Using Residenstials Properly During Your SMC Resume Writing

Using Residenstials Properly During Your SMC Resume WritingWhen you are hired to write your SMC resume, you are going to want to include as much of your professional background as possible. You should be well aware of your skills and qualifications so you can fully explain your past employment history. You will also want to briefly describe your skills and qualifications in a professional manner and include the dates of your employment.There are several times when you will want to make sure that you are ready to fill out a resume. You should always read your SMC resume very carefully before it is submitted. This is because you will want to make sure that it does not contain any grammatical errors and that it can accurately reflect your skills and experience. There are many different types of errors that could occur during your SMC resume writing.There are several things that can happen during your SMC resume writing. Some of these things include making a mistake or even forgetting to include information. Both of these things are going to lead to a poor SMC resume. If you are unsure of what to write about, then the best thing to do is consult a professional resume writer.Make sure that you don't waste your time or that of the person that is reviewing your resume. This is because you want to be able to accurately describe your qualifications and experience. This way, you are going to be able to explain to the person reviewing your resume exactly what they are looking for. In order to find someone who is going to be able to write your resume, you are going to want to look online.Residenstials should be professional resume writers should be able to provide quality services. This is important so that you will be able to get your resume to be reviewed properly. There are many different professional resume writers that you can find online.It is very important that you find a resume writer that will provide you with more than just templates. These days, more companies are outsourcing their resume writing. This is something that you should avoid because you want to hire someone who is going to do the best job for you.Residenstials that have been through this process should have the knowledge needed to write the best resume. They should know how to get the most out of a resume. You should choose a professional resume writer that is going to be able to handle your needs.Your goal is to find a resume writer that will offer you more than just templates. You want to find a resume writer that will provide you with enough to work with in order to make sure that you have something that will work for you. When you are using a resume writer, they should be able to take care of all of the business for you. You should be able to focus on being hired for the position.

Is Your Resume Keyword Loaded - Hire Imaging

Is Your Resume Keyword Loaded - Hire Imaging Part 3 of Passing the Black Hole Test: Creating Keyword-Rich Resumes In Part 1 of this three-part series, we explored the three kinds of readers you’ll be targeting when sending your resume out into cyberspace. Part 2 walked you through creating an e-resume in ASCII format. The third essential component of a resume that hits all three targeted audiences is one rich with keywords or phrases. Here’s some help to make that happen! Resume Strategy: Use keywords This is not a new concept but surprisingly, I see resumes almost every day that fail to maximize keywords or phrases in their resumes (or cover letters). It’s a very risky omission. Keywords are an integral component of the resume-scanning process; employers and recruiters electronically search resumes for specific terms to find candidates with the qualifications for their particular hiring needs. Electronic scanning has evolved to replace the human reading your resumeâ€"at least initially. So, in that sense, the only thing that matters in this case is that you have included the right keywords to match the employer’s needs. Without them, you’ll be passed over. At some point, your resume will be read by human eyes, so it’s not enough to throw together a list of keywords and leave it at that. In fact, you don’t have to have a separate summary on your resume. Even if you do, the best strategy is to integrate keywords naturally into the text within the appropriate sections of your resume. While typically, keywords are nouns (hard skills, competencies, etc.), today’s sophisticated scanners pick up other forms of the word as well, i.e., sales, sell, sold. Keywords Phrases: Some examples When you use the words pharmaceutical sales, people will assume that you have experience with hospital and clinical relationships, formulary launches, solutions selling, needs assessment, territory management, and more. By referencing internet marketing specialist, readers and listeners will infer that you have experience in search engine optimization, web analytics, link building, performance metrics analysis, and more. When you mention staff accountant, people will expect that you are familiar with general ledgers, audit reviews, financial statements, account reconciliations, and more. Career Changers: Keywords are crucial In sections throughout your resume, integrate keywords from your past experiences that directly relate to your current career goals. If you are a customer service representative hoping to transition into human resources, highlight your experience with new employee orientation, staff training, employee relations, and similar background. Those would be the keywords and metrics used, even if they were a minor part of the job. If you do not have the appropriate experience (keywords) in your history to include in the career summary and experience sections on your resume, a good strategy is to change it up right away. Let’s say you want to transition from electrician to game technology programmer. Note: the following was ALL school-related success! Position of interest: Arcade Game Programmer, where proficiency in C++, C# and assembly language will be essential. Recognized for creating clean, legible and inventive code to expedite the release of products.” Warning! It can be a randomâ€"not logical thing There is no defined set of keywords for a fireman, attorney, teacher, mechanical engineer, investment specialist, construction draftsman or executive assistant. Because of the arbitrary and complex nature of keyword selection, it is essential to include all of the keywords that summarize your skills as they relate to your current goals. Tips on tapping the right keywords for you Mine at least three online job postings containing full job descriptions that are of interest to you. Certain words or phrases will reappear consistentlyâ€"reveal a pattern. Those are your keywords. Weave the highlighted keywords into your resume; add common synonyms to supplement the keywords. You should have a minimum of 12 industry- or job-specific keywords. Talk to people in the career field you are targeting, and ask them what keywords are appropriate in the positions you are applying to. Visit professional association or industry-specific websites. Play around by Googling names and phrases, i.e. “education careers” or “professional sales associations”. Read the content on these sites carefully. They are loaded with industry-related jargon. Try the Occupational Outlook Handbook, an excellent resource produced by the U.S. Department of Labor. If you’re still in college, try to get at least one internship in the field you’re targeting. Even if it’s just a few weeks, you will significantly increase your keyword count. Choose both general and specific keywords. For example: General = psychology; therapist. Specific = addiction; behavioral therapy. Consider hard skills (expertise), soft skills (communication), general information (affiliations), academic or volunteer qualifications. Reinforce keywords by following them with a success story. For example, if you use the keywords “customer service,” you can follow with a statement like “boosted customer satisfaction scores from 73% to 96% in four months.” For resumes pasted into email messages or eforms where space is not an issue, include a separate keyword section. Avoid the temptation of planting keywords that are not part of your experience, just so you can be found in an electronic search. Hiring folks see right through this! If you submit an MS Word document to employers, include keywords in the File, Properties, Summary and Keywords area to augment your keywords. Do you have questions about using keywords successfully in your resume situation?   Click Here! Photo: cambodia4kidsorg

Social Networks and their importance in Ecommerce Gateways [Infographic]

Social Networks and their importance in Ecommerce Gateways [Infographic] Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash [Original article and infographic on 16Best.net] Social commerce is a fairly new concept where eCommerce and social media companies work together to deliver an exceptional shopping experience. Basically, the goal of social commerce is to enable shoppers to use social networks to make eCommerce transactions. From shoppable Instagram feeds to ‘Buy’ buttons on Pinterest and YouTube, social commerce is reshaping the online shopping world as we know it. Even multinational eCommerce corporations are taking up this trend. A great example of that are eBay’s Daily Deals on Facebook. According to Facebook, about 450 million users visit buy-and-sell groups on a monthly basis. With that in mind, Facebook rolled out a new service called Marketplace in October 2016. This concept is pretty much the same one that eCommerce giants like eBay and Amazon use. Users of this social media platform can now browse through  eBay Daily Deals  through Facebook’s mobile app. This is where eBay’s ShopBot bot comes into play, and helps customers narrow down their search. After all, there are more than a billion listings on eBay. With the Daily Deals feature, customers can get free shipping, unique discounts, and PayPal guarantees. As outlined in the infographic below, major social media platforms are becoming more commercial, while eCommerce platforms are becoming more social, and the social commerce trend is gaining in popularity with each passing day. Social Networks and Their Importance in eCommerce Gateways (Infographic)