Generic InMails Just Chill Out for a Minute

Generic InMails Just Chill Out for a Minute Hands up if youve ever received a generic InMail on LinkedIn  about a new opportunity or role that youd supposedly be a good candidate for (whether or not thats true, whether or not youre remotely interested)? *Everyone raises hand*. Thats what I thought, you can all put your hands down now. Its pretty stock standard stuff, really, in the world of recruitment.  Recruiters recruit people for specific roles, on behalf of organisations. Whether its an internal recruiter or an agency one, the end goal is ultimately the same. Players gonna play play play play play, Taylor Swift is gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake  and recruiters gonna recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit, recruit. Hi (insert your name),  I hope you are well.  I wanted to talk with you about an exciting opportunity Im working on which I feel youd be a great for! My client is looking for an XXX to help lead the YYY. Theyre offering a really competitive package for the right person, let me know if youre open to having  a confidential discussion. Best regards, ZZZ. You can spot a generic InMail from a mile away. They have a certain formality; a one size fits all gleam about them. It really doesnt matter though; youre either interested or youre not, so youll  react in one of the following ways: Youll think, no, this has no relevance to me right now and Im not interested,  ignore it and go about your life. Youll think, no, this has no relevance to me right now and Im not interested, write a quick not interested, thanks note, bump the automatic response option, refer someone or say lets keep in touch though, then go about your life. Youll think, actually yes, this sounds interesting, write back telling them to give you a call to discuss. Unfortunately,  these reactions dont cut it for some. Sometimes,  recipients  of these  generic approaches on LinkedIn feel the need to retaliate in a sinister way, replying with a nasty, snide remark. Or, in some cases,  Ive seen naming and shaming occur, which ultimately tears down a recruiter, ruining their reputation in a public forum.  Some feel the need to  go to the recruiters boss and dob on them for un-targeted approaches, or publicly whinge and whine about recruiters and their spamming ways, igniting  a recruiter-hate debate online. They feed the rumours  that recruiters are relentless and chase candidates for their deal at all costs, without doing research first. If Im totally honest, I just cannot  understand how and why people get so frustrated at receiving generic InMails, even if they are completely irrelevant to them and their profile!  I guess these people feel at liberty to express scathing testimonials  about recruiters  seeing as they feel theyve been wrongly targeted, had their time wasted or been victim of some line-crossing behaviour. But my question is this: Why does it matter? The generic InMail approach  transcends recruitment  and is used by sales people and business developers across a range of industries. LinkedIn is an incredible networking tool that  allows  professionals to build and foster  relationships that they otherwise might not have the means to. If youre on LinkedIn, youre putting yourself out there to be contacted. Recruiters are simply doing their jobs when they contact you. Dont you have something better to do than whinge? Why, why, why? First of all, lets look at why  recruiters send generic InMails.  They are ultimately looking for candidates for their clients, and you have appeared in a search theyve run, suggesting to them you could be a good fit for the role. With millions of people in the world, if a recruiter wrote a personalised InMail to every person on LinkedIn who could potentially be suited to a role they are recruiting for, they would have zero hours in the day left and would  never stop writing. Obviously, the better the recruiter, the more targeted their searches will be and the more relevant the InMails; but even the greatest recruiters dont have time to craft individualised InMails for every single person. Recruiters are up against so many odds; they are up against a range of competitors and need to reach as many relevant people as possible, so as to deliver the best possible talent options for their clients. This is all not to mention that many people put generic  information about their own careers on LinkedIn in the first place, leaving a lot room for guesswork, ultimately inviting more generic approaches. You could be the perfect person for the role, but a recruiter wouldnt necessarily know because youve only listed a few details which could be interpreted a million and one different ways! How remiss it would be of a recruiter not to at least make an approach, and let you decide if you are / arent interested or suitable. All within reason Obviously there are far better approaches recruiters can make other than the generic InMail. Great recruiters really get to know their network and attract candidates for their clients  in  more strategic ways than generic InMailing. This is not an approach to be constantly relied upon, nor is it effective enough to build a business on, however if one candidate is placed off the back of a generic InMail, that could mean a HUGE fee for an agency recruiter, or a budget / target reached for an internal one. Worth it? Indeed. Let me also point out that if you  tell someone not to contact you again, you have every right to do so. Im in no way condoning harassment or repeated unwanted approaches. Im just talking about random recruiters who get in contact about a particular role for the first time, not knowing  much about the person theyre InMailing. In summary Recruiters have to try everything; they cant afford not to.  Recruiters arent InMailing you for the fun of it, nor are they doing it to be annoying. They are doing it  as a way to offer you the chance at applying for a role they are working on, and sooner or later you might actually really need their help. Who cares if a recruiter InMails you about a role of no relevance? Obviously they have huge pressure on them and are trying all they can to find people for their vacancy. The answer is simple; just ignore it if youre so disinterested. Its not invasive, its just an InMail. Get over it.

Information Keeps Your Personal Brand Current - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Information Keeps Your Personal Brand Current - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career and allows you to brand yourself as a superior candidate. Information is power The information you use to shape your communications with employers is critical to your success or lack of success in landing a job. But the information that most candidates use is lacking and inferior information brands you as the wrong candidate for the job. Thats not what you want, is it? But ask yourself are you using any of these common but inferior information sources: public information like Google, employer websites and job descriptions? Instead, if you want to brand yourself as the right candidate for the job, youll want to recognize that the information you use makes a difference. Here are 4 types of information to brand you as the right candidate for the job Superior Information: Superior information is not public, or it wouldnt be superior. Its not on Google, on a companys website or in a job description, because all candidates have access to these sources. Superior information is private, its more difficult to get to, but its worth it because it gives you a huge advantage. Youll find the best information inside the companies where you want to work. Current Information: Information about last years problems wont help you look like a superior candidate, because employers dont hire people who can solve last years problems they hire people who can solve current and upcoming problems. Publicly available almost always describe old information (exception: PR disasters). Are you using current information, or does your information sources describe last years problems? Uncovers Hiring Manager Needs:  So youve found superior informationbut does that information describe the hiring managers needs? The employers overall needs may or may not affect an individual hiring manager all hiring managers arent focused on solving the same problem. It takes more than just understanding an employers needsthe successful candidate goes deeper to understand the needs of the hiring manager. Reflects Hiring Manager Priorities: Just because a hiring manager has a problem, doesnt mean that its the hiring managers priority. That problem may represent a minor problem, with a low payback solution. Or that problem may have high payback, but maybe the solution isnt in this years budget. If you present yourself as an expert at solving a hiring managers problems, but problems that are not the hiring managers priorities, youve branded yourself as a superior candidatefor some other hiring manager. Instead, reflect that youve solved the hiring managers priority problems to brand yourself as the superior candidate for that hiring manager. You have a choice You can use easy to find public information that is inferior and brands you as the wrong candidate for the job. Or You can brand yourself using information thats tougher to find because its private, but brands you as the right candidate that has solved the priority problems of that exact hiring manager. Which will you choose? Author: Phil Rosenberg is President of http://www.reCareered.com, a leading job search information website and gives complimentary job search webinars at http://ResumeWebinar.com. Phil also runs the Career Central group, one of Linkedin’s largest groups for job seekers and has built one of the 20 largest personal networks on Linkedin globally.

Why Web Design And App Development Is The New IT Job For Young Women

Why Web Design And App Development Is The New IT Job For Young Women Web design as a career option wasn’t really a choice for women until the Internet truly kicked off. The thing is, most women back then weren’t as interested in such careers as they are now. If we’re looking at the success of these women in the IT and Design sectors today, it’s unfortunate that they didn’t apply for these jobs earlier. What’s the reason behind the increased influx of women in these sectors? What exactly changed that helped them reach a decision where they would love to work as designers or programmers? It might be a bit confusing because not a lot has really changed but it’s nonetheless an interesting subject to discuss. IT Design  Today Currently, in an industry that is male-dominated (which simply means that there are more men at these positions than women), women are finally breaking through and starting to decrease the difference in genders. Of course, the main reason for this difference is that women who grew up before the 90s usually didn’t pick this career path. They simply grew up on different values that were much more important in that time. Nowadays, women and girls have found a new appreciation and love for this type of work. When it comes to web design, we’ve seen a shift in gender. Men aren’t as dominant as before, which is a good thing because you now have viewpoints from both genders, and different, or in other words, varying opinions always bring better results. Women that are skilled in web design always manage to create a product that is amazing.  From high-level commerce, to online publishing, and even entertainment sites, the possibilities are limitless. Also, it’s worth noting that several women that were interviewed about the industry a while back said that during the time they were attending classes, there weren’t many men. IT/Programming Contrary to the design sector, the IT/Programming sector is still mainly populated by men. We might think it has something to do with the finesse and grace that women bring with themselves. Women, as was proven, can be better designers than men in some cases. However, the same cannot be said for programmers (there are, of course, exceptions to this). Maybe women simply aren’t as interested in code and programming as men, or simply the design sector appeals to them more. As it stands right now, it’s anyone’s guess. Thanks to all the facts and statistics, we can see that women are finally choosing these career paths. Web design, app development, programming. . . these are all jobs that are paid well and gather a lot of respect from colleagues and people all around the world. There are now many more opportunities for women and it’s our humble opinion that women should start applying for these jobs whenever they can. The best products have come from men and women working together! As the last comment: Women should continue the legacy of others that have come before them and achieved something that no one else did. We’re talking about women such as Margaret Hamilton, who developed the onboard flight system for the Apollo Moon Missions. Their legacy should go on in the form of young women who are willing to join their fellow web designers, developers, and programmers in the industry.

My New Years resolution pay attention

My New Years resolution pay attention Somehow, last year, I got too big-picture. Its not surprising since Im an ENTJ. I understand my deficit, which is one reason I picked the Farmer, an ISTP-â€"extremely short-term thinking. At the end of the day, the Farmer walks in the house and talks about his days accomplishments, and the weather. I used to tell him that the weather is such a stupid topic that it actually makes me uncomfortable to have him bring it up. But now I realize that the weather is a segue to talking about what is happening right now. And thats something I need to get better at. 1. Pay attention to the short term. So my first resolution is to be more excited with whats going on in my life in the near-term. On January 1st the Farmer separated from his parents farm, and he has pigs are at our farm now. (I am saying our farm now. It shows us being a team more. Its hard to write, but I guess this is a sub-resolution within the resolution: Think like a team.) He used to make the pigs have babies in crates, at his parents farm. The birthing process was confinementthe moms couldnt move so they couldnt roll onto the babies. Now he is letting the pigs breed while they wallow in grassy mud, and hes letting the moms have babies wherever they choose in a barn full of soft hay bedding. The pig will roll on some of the babies probably, but probably thats why pigs have big litters. Anyway, the Farmer is excited and scared and curious and he comes into the house each day and says something fun about the new pig setup. I should have something fun to say each day about my work, too. I want to be excited that Im trying new things. 2. Pay attention to moment-to-moment happiness. Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, and my happiness research idol, is shifting his focus to the workplace. This is not surprising. As our education system grows more and more inadequate, companies are taking more responsibility for educating their employees. So theres a lot of money in corporate America earmarked for education, and if you have a new idea, youd best start selling it to those purse holders. Anyway, Gilbert gives a great interview in the Harvard Business Review this month about what makes people happy. And, first of all, its really clear for the last two decades of research that events do not make us more happy or more sad. We overestimate how much a single event will change us â€" a huge raise, a lost limb â€" all of it has little long-term impact on our happiness because we bounce back on both ends of the spectrum to our happiness set point â€" that is, the one were born with. (If youre interested in facing the reality of the fact that happiness is basically predetermined at birth, a good book on the happiness set point, check out The How of Happiness, by Sonja Lyubomirsky.) So work is simply not going to change how happy you are. Thats not how work works. On the other hand, you do have to be at work for eight hours a day â€" well, most of us do, in one way or another, even Tim Ferriss â€" so we should get a good feeling from being there. And heres where we can affect our happiness: minute-to-minute. One of the lucky grad students in Daniel Gilberts research lab at Harvard is Matthew Killingsworth, who distributed an app (through this blog, actually) to track peoples happiness on a moment-to-moment basis. As we learn more about people reporting their own happiness we know that our ability to predict happiness stinks, and the way we remember our happiness levels is inaccurate, but we are pretty decent at knowing how we feel if someone asks us. (I know, this flies in the face of every marriage counseling session in the world, but still, I believe Gilbert knows what hes talking about.) This is where we get good information about work. People are happy, minute-to-minute at work if they are setting reasonable goals and meeting them. 3. Pay attention to paragraph breaks. I want to try new things in my work and I want to set goals for myself. At my core, I think Im a writer. And I need to always be improving. Some of that will come from forcing myself to make more money from this blog. I have to organize my ideas in different ways if I want to make more money from them, and so now seems like a good a time to tell you that Ill have a new book coming out this spring. (More on that later.) Ive also been forcing myself to try different ways of writing blog posts on my homeschooling blog. (Heres one that I like that is different than anything I would write here.) I am obsessed with expertise. And people get better and better at something â€" anything â€" by being focused on what they are working on and pushing themselves in new directions to reach hard goals. I think to myself: what am I doing with my writing to make myself get better? It scares me that Im not getting better. Mostly, I just need to write more to get better â€" its what anyone needs to do to get better. But I want a goal, also, so this year Im going to focus more on the paragraph break. I think thats where the big potential is to elevate my writing. Like there. Right? You stopped a beat to think, oh, heres a break. Something big will happen. The break is an opportunity for an intimate moment with the reader. Its the part of writing I like best, and I could do much more with it. Do people give New Years presents? Here is mine to you. Or to me. It makes me happy just to have this poem here on my blog: Because You Asked about the Line between Prose and Poetry By Howard Nemerov Sparrows were feeding in a freezing drizzle That while you watched turned into pieces of snow Riding a gradient invisible From silver aslant to random, white, and slow. There came a moment that you couldnt tell. And then they clearly flew instead of fell.

Debut Feature Spotlight What is a Talent Spot and how to get one - Debut

Debut Feature Spotlight What is a Talent Spot and how to get one - Debut Hi Debutants! Welcome to the first of our  Debut Feature Spotlight series. Were not usually ones to toot our own horn, but we thought it would be useful to write  some walk-throughs about our most important app features. As the weeks go by well have more articles about our other useful features. For now, read on for our first post, all about the Debut Talent Spot. What is a Talent Spot? It is a private message from an employer to you on the Debut app. Employers use Talent Spots to let their chosen candidates know they want them to apply for a specific opportunity. When you get Talent-Spotted by an employer (like Arcadia, EY, Microsoft, LOreal and many more), you get a push notification on the app. Top tip:  Dont miss out on your Talent Spots! Turn on your push notifications, because most Talent Spots are time-specific. Once the opportunity is gone, its gone forever. How many different Talent Spots are there? There are absolutely  loads.  A few examples of Talent Spot opportunities include: Fast-track to assessment centre Fast-track to telephone interview Fast-track to video interview An intro me a one-on-one meeting with a recruiter at an event A telephone call from the employer An invite to an event held at the employers HQ An invite to Debut-exclusive event An invite to a webinar An invite to a careers fair A direct invite to apply for a specific job An invite to play a game on the Debut app or take part in a competition TLDR; Talent Spots can come in many different forms. But whatever it is, take that little push notification as your first step through the door to your dream job. How can I get Talent-Spotted? There are a two very important steps. Read this carefully. Step 1: Download the Debut app  if you havent already. Were available on both the Google Play and the iOS stores, so hopefully thatll cover all of the bases. Step 2: It is super-important that you fill out your profile to 100%. The more details you put into your Debut profile, the more likely youll be Talent-Spotted. Go forth, Debutants. Carpe the hell out of that diem. Got Talent-Spotted? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook! We love celebrating our users success, and who knows, you might be featured in one of our blog posts if you do.  Any questions or issues with the app, tweet us @DebutCareers or message us on the Debut Facebook page.

Announcing the next Woohoo Academy February 16-19 2016 in NYC - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Announcing the next Woohoo Academy February 16-19 2016 in NYC - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog From?the Academy in Copenhagen, June 2015 We have just announced the next Woohoo Academy, which takes place on February 16-19 2016 in NYC. The Academy is our?in-depth 3-day training where we share the latest research and practice for creating happier workplaces. The Academy is both for external consultants who want to build a business making their clients workplaces happier and for internal change agents (HR staff, managers, facilitators) who want tools to make their own organization happy. Participants LOVED?the previous trainings. Heres a sample comment: The Woohoo Academy was, without a doubt, the best training I have ever experienced (and I?ve participated in many trainings). It was very well organized, and provided the latest research, practical strategies and opportunities to engage in many meaningful experiential activities. ? Danielle Forth, Canada Read all about it and sign up here. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Productivity Software to Help You Write Resume After Drink

Productivity Software to Help You Write Resume After DrinkMany of us have been in situations where we feel our life is being dictated by the writing resume after drink. You have a meeting that you must attend, a job interview or a holiday to attend. By the time you get home, you feel sleepy and frazzled and have trouble sleeping. Your body, drained of energy and nutrients, gives up at this point, and you find yourself falling asleep on the couch or sofa, unable to maintain a sane state of consciousness.Now that sounds familiar. What will you do? Well, you could decide to lie down and try to fall asleep right there and then, but with a driving headache pounding your brain, there is no way you will be able to do that, no matter how sleepy you are. You might be able to make it through a meal, but after that?The good news is that there is a solution, one that can help you maintain an active lifestyle during your recovery and one that will actually make you more productive. It's called 'p roductivity software' and it is designed to help your body recover and to help you stay focused on what you are doing without having to worry about writing resumes after drink.The process of recovery is not a single step; it is a series of processes, all leading up to your goal of becoming completely and totally sober. A goal like this would be impossible to achieve if you only worked through the process of getting sober. In order to achieve this goal, you must participate in a series of processes.A process is a type of activity that requires focus, discipline and self-discipline. It is something that help your body heal and rest, and it involves a lot of effort and time. Your 'productivity software' is designed to help you become more productive during your recovery process, and it is also designed to help you keep focused during the recovery process.The software system is also designed to help you return to work or school after your alcohol detox. It is designed to help you stay f ocused on both of these activities while your body recovers and while you continue to clean up your life and your body. This is important because when you get up in the morning and begin your day, you will most likely start with a shower and a fresh start.The first thing you do each day, other than eating breakfast, is a shower and get dressed. The only thing you may not be wearing right now is a new pair of clothes, and you will get them for your first day back to work or school. For this reason, your productivity software will help you keep focused on what you need to do each day without thinking about the fact that you are still drinking alcohol.Just as there is a positive side to recovering from alcoholism, there is also a negative side, and this can be quite frightening for some people. Your productivity software will help you overcome this negative side of recovery and will help you get back to work or school and stay focused on your goals during your recovery.