Archive for the ‘Career’ Category

Simple tips on how to find a Job Through Social Networking Sites

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

These days, getting yourself to be noticed -especially to those who you want to work with- can be done in various ways. One of the latest approach is through the Social networking sites. You might not realize it but social networking sites can be the source of your employment opportunities. I personally think about this as a creative way of finding a job :) In this article you will find some tips on how to find a job through social networking sites. If you apply these tips, it is quite possible that you get your name at the top of the candidate list.

Anyway, here are some tips on finding a job through social networking sites:

Keep it Professional

Sure, you may be using your social networking site to stay in touch with friends and family, but remember that potential employers may be checking out your site as well. Therefore, make certain to keep your site as professional and clean as possible. If you have friends who enjoy leaving vulgar comments, you might want to consider setting up your account so you have to approve comments before they are posted to your personal profile. Or, don’t allow comments to be viewed at all. This way, you can’t be judged by what someone else posts to your profile.

Be Open to New People

There is no doubt that there are plenty of questionable characters spending time on social networking sites, but there are also many people who are simply looking to expand their circle of friends or to increase their professional network just like you. Therefore, in order to get the most out of your social network, make certain to be open to adding new people to your “friends” lists and to be friendly and outgoing with the new people you meet.

Include a Photo

People want to see who they are talking to when they use a social networking site, so make certain to include a photo of yourself within your profile. Not only does your photo allow other people in your network to better visualize who they are “talking” to online, it also helps you create a more professional image and shows your dedication to networking through the site. You can’t be a bystander within a social network and expect to get great results – so, throw yourself in there and upload a picture for your profile.

Brag About Yourself

No one likes a blowhard, but you can and should boast a little about your educational background as well as your employment history. Some social networking sites allow you to post much of the same information that is typically found in a resume, so take full advantage of this and show the world what you are all about. This way, if a possible employer happens upon your profile, he or she just might be impressed by what you have to offer.

Join Several Networks

You may have one particular social networking site that you enjoy the most, but it is a good idea to join several different networks and to remain active in each of them in order to get the full benefit. The reality is that some people are loyal to only one networking site, which means you will never get to meet those people if you frequent a different site. Spend some time on a few different sites and you will be able to expand your professional network significantly, which can go a long way toward helping you land that new job you have been looking for.

Now aren’t those tips on how to find a job through social networking sites interesting? One last recommendation from me is to pray and hope for the best. If you have other thoughts and insight please do share it with us by leaving comments. Thanks for reading :)

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Posted in Career | 1 Comment »

[Dummies Guide] Some helpful tips to land a Job Interview

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Finding a job can sometimes be a bit frustrating, but actually it doesn’t have to be that way. One of the most important step in finding a job is in the job interview. Therefore, in this session we will talk a bit about some helpful tips and guide to land a job interview. Happy reading :)

Here are some things you should keep in mind in a job interview:

Know What You Want

One of the most important things you can do to help with your job search is to simply know what you want. Too many people enter into the job market without a clear idea of what type of job they are looking for or what kind of employer they want to work with. As a result, you waste a lot of time chasing after jobs that really don’t suit your needs or match your skills. By creating a shortlist of potential employers, you can take a more focused approach and will increase your chances of finding the job you want.

Use Your Network

No one is ever going to hire you if they don’t know that you are available. Therefore, you can also increase your chances of finding employment by making sure the people in your network know that you are looking. Of course, taking steps to increase your professional network will also help with accomplishing this task. Don’t be afraid to ask people in your network if they know anyone who works with one of the companies on your short list and if they can introduce you to any of these important contacts. You might even want to send out an email to the people in your network that describes your skills and your employment interests that also encourages the recipients to forward the email to people in their network. You can potentially reach hundreds or even thousands of people in this way.

Do Your Research

After creating your short list of potential employers, take the time to learn as much about each employer as you can. This way, when you contact those companies for an interview, you will be quite knowledgeable about the company and will be able to discuss the company’s problems and needs as well as potential solutions.

Refuse to Take No for an Answer

Finally, be sure to pursue your job of interest with enthusiasm and be prepared to show that you are really serious about the job. If you receive a rejection in the form of a form letter after submitting your resume, contact the hiring manager and reiterate why you think you are right for the job. In many cases, resumes are scanned by special software that is meant to identify the most qualified candidates. Unfortunately, this might weed out your resume even if you really are the most qualified. The initiative that you show by pressing for an interview just might be enough to impress the right person, just be sure to apply pressure in a respectful manner that points out what you have to offer to the company.

It is hoped that after reading this dummies guide to land a job interview you will have a better insight and greater chances of successfully landing a job. Good luck, everybody :)

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Posted in Career | 1 Comment »

Entrepreneur/Self-Employed vs Employed (salary man): Pros and Cons

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Have you ever heard the old saying that said “your neighbour grass often looks greener”? Well, it means that we often envy and want what other people have, although sometimes it doesn’t suite us. So today I’m gonna talk about this issue in terms of choosing to be an employed person or an entrepreneur/self employed.

Sometimes the employed ones said that it is great if they are an entrepreneur, they are the boss for themself, they can innovate and be creative without anyone to limit it, etc…. On the other hand, the entrepreneur guys said that they envy the constant, stable and guaranteed pay check of the employed ones..

So which one will you choose, the employed one or the entrepreneur one? Let’s talk about it furtherly, shall we :) ?

First of all, I personally believe that there are some of us who are meant to be pure entrepreneur, some are meant to be full employed man, and some other are meant to be half and half of both world.  The word “meant” here means that it fits you the most; rather than destined.

Ok; here are some statistics and the pros of entrepreneur/self employed:

  • More than half of salary workers consider or have considered becoming self-employed.
  • Averagely, self-Employed people make US$ 12k (men) and US$ 2.5k (women) more than the employed one
  • The variance of earning on self-employed/entrepreneur is much larger than the salary worker/ employed people; which means some are rich and some aren’t
  • The wage rise of self-employed people is rather slow in the first few years, but it grows very-very fast after several years.
  • No boss! Yeah!

Now there are the cons of being an entrepreneur; and some of them are:

  • for some people, being employed can lead them to social benefits, prestige and support
  • You can’t get the stable, steady, continuous and guaranteed salary and pay check like the employed guys
  • Moreover, you also can’t enjoy the facilities such as car allowance, housing subsidies, medical aid, overtime bonus etc… You have to bear them yourself
  • A more complicated tax; sometimes it can go higher than the employed people’s tax
  • Last and might be the hardest part: it is very hard to get a financial support (loan etc) from the bank

That’s a bit tough, huh? But I have my personal questions I asked my self when I want to choose between entrepreneur/self-employed vs employed:

  1. Do I love my current job? If you are frustrated and find your current job doesn’t fits you, perhaps you should try to be an entrepreneur
  2. What motivated me to be self-employed? is it the money? if it is, calculate correctly and see if your new business can match your current salary within the certain of time. Is it the passion?  Well, you should also prepare some emergency funds. It’s not smart betting it all up :)
  3. Can I do both of them? If it is still possible, why not? Just don’t forget to stay healthy and save your quality time with your family :)

In the end, choosing between entrepreneur/self-employed vs employed is about research, calculating and passion… It is up yo you then :)

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Part 3: A Guide on how to Increase Your Income :)

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Before reading the article, it is recommended that you read the Part 1 about the benefits of spending less than you earn and Part 2 about How to spend less than you earn :)

So here is a guide on how to increase your income:

  • Stop wasting your time. Especially at work. The terms “time is money” is true; but you can get more than that. There are many things you can do rather than just wasting your time. Just checkout the list under, and you’ll see why you really shouldn’t waste your time.
  • Improve the transferable skills (skills that can be used in almost any career path). One of the popular transferable skills is public speaking. If there’s any opportunities to do so, then do it and speak your mind in front of public. Another example is the time management; and you can learn to build an effective time management scheme such as organizing and filing your paperwork, Brainstorming ideas, etc. Other examples of transferable skills are setting the standard procedures of your work, take charge of a work project etc. All of these things push you towards developing skills that are genuinely useful no matter where you’re heading in life.
  • build a strong network and relationship with many people as you can, and try to give a bigger portion to the relationships in your field. This can be done by simply sending emails to people you’ve interacted and keep up with what they’re doing. If you have an opportunity to connect people that can help each other, do it immediately, without hesitation. Share what you know and be valuable to others.
  • Start a side business. Turn a passion you have into money. Don’t know what that could possibly be? Think about it carefully and I might post interesting ideas to start a side business for you
  • Finally, stand out at work. Speak up at meetings. Show empathy for the problems that others have. Take on only projects you can handle, but do them well. Get to know the support staff – and treat them well. Don’t burn bridges when you move on – make an extra effort to maintain good relationships when you leave. These little things add up to a huge difference.

Keep that rule in mind: spend less than you earn. Each move you make to maximize the gap between what you earn and what you spend will put you in a better place in your life.

Like this article? State your ideas or questions below. Any ideas much appreciated.

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Posted in Career, Family finance, personal finance, saving | 1 Comment »

Better Job Better Life

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Many people believe that once you get a better job you can make everything better or at least they will be able to get better salary however unfortunately not many people as lucky as that. Sometimes they forget that what they need to have is not only certificate but also appearance, confidence and the good impression that they can give during the interview.

How to send an impressive application ? First of all the cover of your application should have a short explanation about yourself and what you have achieved. So that before they go through all your cv they could already have a good picture about you. Not seldom happened that once the Human Resources see the complicated CV, they just throw it away and without reading the content since there are too many applications that are coming. Therefore your CV should be efficient, short but very informative. Second thing you need to remember is you need to put an impressive picture. Smile and looks bright !

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How long do you have to be employed before you can get a loan?

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

Recently I got an email from Leanne. She asked something about loan and the employed time before we can get a loan, whether it is a car loan, home loan etc. Here’s an excerpt from the email:

How long do you have to be employed to get a loan?
It has become obvious I need help with this.  Any ideas you have would be very much appreciated.
Any help appreciated.

So now I’m gonna try to answer the question, even though I’m still a newbie in the loan world :)

These days, especially in the economic break down US people are having, financial lenders can become very cautious to give loans. They will select people based on various aspects, and one of them is the employed time of the loan applicant.This aspects is rather important to show the bank or loan companies that the loan applicant is financially stable and will be able to pay the debts.

One thing that I noticed is that many loan companies may have different scale for this.. Some of the loan companies want to see a minimum 6 months old job, and some other want to see a minimum 1 year old job.So basically it really depends upon the loan company you are looking at for the specific information.

So here’s what I’m proposing as the solution: You should call your bank(s)/loan company(es) to know their minimum employed-time requirements. And don’t forget to ask them about the interest rate…

Another thing that may related to this topics is this: The loan companies might also ask your current earnings, so that they can calculate whether you can pay the loan’s minimum payment or not… So you need a steady employment history and a certain projected income.

You might also need to think about your credit history. If your credit history is good, then it can help you getting the loan… :)

Good luck, Leanne :)

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Posted in Career, loans in general | 3 Comments »

Students: How to Save $40,000 :)

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Here is a good news for all of those students studying in the Hartwick College in New York. So according to the news release from the college, the students might be able to save more than US$40,000 on their education by participating in a new 3-years degree program.
So the college will cut the colleges cost by 25% and students are still provided with “rich educational experience” which is characteristic of the school.

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Posted in Career, saving, students loan | No Comments »

Guides to Find Perfect and Suitable Job for You [Tips n Tricks]

Friday, March 13th, 2009

Finding a perfect and suitable job or career is very important, especially if you are a fresh graduate or having a job/career that doesn’t suite you. So if you are still uncertain about the job/career you are having now, perhaps you should read this guide to find perfect and suitable job/career for you.

So actually there are several things you have to considerate in order to find out whether you are living your job/career dreams/passion or not. The passion factor is very important since you will be able to bring all of your potentials to your job and boredom won’t come near you :) So without any further delay, here are some things to considerate in choosing a suitable job/career for you:

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