Leading a department or a team of workers is not an easy task, and many managers often inadvertently make mistakes that can disrupt the positive flow of an office. History has shown us the benefit of great leaders, and mimicking their methods is a great idea, but not every person who has been in power has gone about leading in the right way.

There are several leaders whose mistakes managers can learn from and avoid at all costs. (more…)

Whether you are working in or looking to break into the Information Technology industry, possessing excellent writing skills is important. But with so much focus on math and sciences in college it is easy to brush off English courses, and most universities only require math and science majors to take one or two classes. However there are not many jobs in any industry that do not require good writing skills, and poor skills may even leave you at a disadvantage when searching for employment.

Why are writing skills even necessary?

If you have ever struggled to write a cover letter, resume, or anything related to your career you should know the importance of good writing. Every career path requires its workers to write notes, memos, emails, and reports, all of which require good writing skills to effectively communicate a certain set of ideas. Poor writing skills can be a red flag to employers that you are not fit for management positions, and are often read as signs of lower intelligence. (more…)

Writing a resume, though not always fun, can be enlightening for job seekers. It can help us recognize which skills are razor sharp and which are choked up by rust. Think of your skills as a faucet controlling the flow of water into a sink. When a talent is regularly used, your output flows quickly and cleanly. When a talent sits idle for a while, your output can sputter to a start with a slow, yellow tinted flow before getting back to that 100% effort. (more…)

So you’ve finished tailoring your cover letter to a particular company and position and now you are ready to email it to a potential employer, but you’re not exactly sure how to go about it. It isn’t like folding a piece of paper in thirds and stamping an envelope. The digital age may have changed how we send resumes, but there are still guidelines that you can follow to help your chances at impressing a hiring manager in the digital age.

Fix your email address

It’s shocking how many people still make this mistake, so it must be said. Hiring managers will open resumes from Yourname@website.com. Resumes from BeerChugger@website.com will get your application sent to the trash. Keep your work and social life separate. (more…)

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Across the internet are thousands of professional communities that focus on everything from broad generalities to specialized niches. Most of us know about them but can you say that you are an active participant in your industry’s narrative?

LinkedIn, Dice, and countless other social forums can allow you to add to your industry’s ever-evolving conversation while simultaneously opening up your awareness of new positions.

You can benefit from being part of an online community in the following ways:

1.) You can explore the ideas of other users on networks like LinkedIn and find potential answers for perplexing challenges.
2.) You can make your voice heard to a broader audience of hiring managers and your peers.
3.) You can forge relationships with industry professionals who are otherwise outside of your geographical range. (more…)

Proofreading your resume & cover letter are key to the success of your application. To keep them looking sharp, here are a few tips to use as you revise and improve these critical documents.

No one enjoys writing resumes or cover letters. There are no avid resume recreationalists who get their kicks by condensing down their work history into a one to two page highlights reel. As a job seeker, you write resumes & cover letters for a strictly functional purpose and, when you bring your first drafts to a close, you may be tempted to ship them off across the information super highway without so much as a second thought. Gratifying as that may be, your hard work & effort can end up as worthwhile as a freshly minted wooden nickel if you fail to proofread first.

Though not every hiring manager is going to be a stickler for English grammar rules, you never know how nitpicky he or she will be. Some may forgive an error or two. Others may practice the “one & done” method, discarding a resume at the single sign of an error in grammar, spelling, or word choice. So, keep your eye out for what sticks out – relying on your early years hunting down a fugitive Waldo – and follow these proofreading tips. (more…)

Verbs are important to the power packed within your resume, so follow these tips & you will grab the attention of numerous hiring managers.

Though they may never read like a blockbuster action film, your resume & cover letter should still engage the interest of hiring managers through your shrewd use of evocative verbs. One of the main goals of these application documents, in addition to highlighting your talents, is to infer that you are an active employee who can bring great change to the hiring manager’s team. That requires smart, strategic verb usage. So, to amplify the power of your overall application, here are a few tips that will give your writing that extra pop.

1.) Stick to simple verb tenses. In the application format, verbs are most effective when they are simple & concise. That is why you should strictly stick to the simple past tense when you describe previous jobs & the simple present tense when you describe your current job. (more…)

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When you get stressed out by resume writing, the best remedy may be to take a break. By turning to these activities, you can get your brain power up and return to your work with a clear perspective.

Have you ever been so focused on completing a project that your thoughts become an abstract puzzle you just can’t decipher? Have you ever stared at the gibberish you’ve written without seeing a logical message in sight? Sometimes, your resume & cover letter writing can come to a halt when what you intended to be an eye-catching document dissolves into nothing more than an infuriating series of false starts. You may glare at your computer screen and scream, “What am I doing wrong?” The answer may ultimately be that you’re trying too hard. (more…)

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LinkedIn can connect you with large numbers of companies and open positions as long as you cater your profile to the ways employers search for you. By following our SEO tips for improving your profile, you will be able to maximize your ranking within employer searches and land interviews for great jobs!

This year, LinkedIn hit the 187 million member marker and its membership is continuing to rise. With that quantity of potential job seekers in one place, you can bet that employers and recruiters have their eyes on this professional social site! They’re proactively searching for top talent and have taken to sourcing their next hire from the ranks of LinkedIn members. You may ask yourself, “How can I get employers to find me? How can I get my LinkedIn profile to send positive, rippling waves beyond my initial efforts?” The answer is to implement search engine optimization tactics into your profile. Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is a way to increase your visibility in search engine results by tailoring your content or phrasing to stand out in search parameters. By following the four SEO tactics below, you’ll be able to attract the attention of employers as you continue your own job search. (more…)

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When thoughtless resumes are submitted to employers, these documents can signal hiring managers to keep looking. So, take these suggestions to heart and avoid the following resume mistakes.

To hiring managers, your resume can be one of two things: a dinner bell that whets their appetites or a fog horn that sends them scrambling away. Regardless of the type of position, a mistake in your resume can sabotage you faster than the time it takes you to say “late for dinner.” In fact, each of the following four types of mistake conveys a specific, negative message to prospective employers that directly impacts your chances at a first interview. (more…)