Is the Job Application Dead??

Hiring and developing great talent has always been one of the most important things a company can do.

Job boards and untargeted cold emails might work well for entry level positions, but if you want to get top tier talent through the door, you need a new approach – you need to focus on candidate engagement.

Here’s why:

Why The Application Isn’t Working

Job adverts make a fundamental assumption that a candidate is actually interested in applying to your company. This is great for active candidates who are job hunting, but what about everyone else? What about the candidates that sees one of your tweets? The people that come to your careers page hoping to learn more about your culture?

Prospects that heard from a friend your company was “doing some cool stuff”? Do you think they’re going to click that apply button? They might do, but it’s more likely that they’ll just leave your website and go back to checking out cat memes! A shocking 98% of people that visit your careers page leave without taking any action at all.

Why? Typically, the only action visitors can take is an application. The main problem with this is that the passive candidates that hit your site aren’t “ready-to-apply”.

Online, but the same

AKA, the seemingly sensible ‘one-step at a time’ approach that utilizes online resume templates. After all traditional resume formats typed up in word-processing software have long been the common standard. This type of change could be better if done gradually (for the bulk of candidates and recruiters alike). Using such tools job seekers can start with a structured template, and finish with an impressive looking resume.

Pros

• Easier to have a structure than starting with a  blank screen

• Simple to share and track communications

• Less risky approach, well-suited to more conventional industries and less creative jobseekers

Cons

• Doesn’t give employers any more information than a conventional resume

• Templates that are too structured limits the ability of the job seeker to show their creativity

• A resume created with a Word processor is already in an electronic format

I see this as a useful tool for jobseekers, but too small a step at addressing current concerns to become a new standard.

Creative/Videos

There have been those who suggest that applicants should be as free as possible and put together their own creative presentation, with limited guidelines. This approach was recently adopted by Union Square Ventures, who have been requesting applicants to submit links representing their web presence and short videos when applying for jobs at the venture capital firm. They say this process “nets better-quality candidates.” UK job seeker Graeme Anthony was looking for a PR job when he put together a compelling video that attracted big audiences. “It shows off my personality in a way a paper CV can’t,” he said.

Pros

• Provides employers with a greater understanding of a candidate’s personality and style, as well as a more thorough story of what they have achieved during their career

• Candidates can choose a domain for their presentation, and utilize inbound marketing techniques so their target audience will find it

• Candidates can truly stand-out: no two applications can be the same

Cons

• For once-off low-volume applications geared towards a creative market, this can be a lot of fun. But what about everyone else?

• This style of application is difficult to manage within a company’s existing HR processes and systems. Companies who are hiring more than ten people may find managing and reviewing these entries simply too complicated

• Reviewing such presentations can be time consuming. HR professionals are already pulled in several directions, with not enough time in the day to complete daily tasks, let alone when they need to review 500 videos or creative websites

• They lack data that is important in determining a candidate’s fit for the job

• For non-creative job seekers, these are too difficult to put together

• Rarely relevant to positions outside technology, design, sales, marketing and PR

This may indeed become more common in certain industries, but will need to be a component of an integrated approach for the mainstream.

Infographic

As I mentioned in my last post, given that many enjoy reviewing data visually, we are increasingly being surrounded by infographics. Predictably, ideas have been proposed to replace resumes with graphics. This is one of the more visually pleasing options available.

Pros

• Can be exciting to put together, and allows creative skills to flare – for the right candidate

• Ability to portray a different side to a job seeker’s skill-set

• The end  result can look fantastic in contrast to current conventions

Cons

• The style can be confusing for resume reviewers, and could take too long to review in a volume situation

• Whilst they are sometimes superb introductions, they lack the necessary data behind them

• More attention will inevitably be given to the design rather than the data it represents

• Again, job seekers who aren’t creatively minded will find this concept difficult and frustrating

I see value in these for recruiters in being able to easily digest and review information, but surely these should remain the powerful book cover to the rest of the candidates’ information.

Social networks

With the web becoming more social by the day, where better to develop an online presence than using a social network, where users can easily interact with current and potential employers. As Allison Cheston correctly points out “networking is still the number one way people find careers.”  Further, these networks now offer features for users to easily apply for job opportunities.

Pros

• Powerful tool to develop relationships with potential employers

• Profiles are search-engine optimized, so users can be found easily

• Easy to update, as it is important to maintain these even when not necessarily looking for a job

Cons

• You only get one profile, and therefore it is very difficult to customize it for a particular position

• The information in such a profile is more at the introductory and narrative level; perfect for developing a network, but not detailed enough to get a job

• These networks often have a one design fits-all for the profiles, which doesn’t allow a candidate to show enough of their personality and style

• These are less useful for jobseekers earlier in their careers without a substantial business network

Online social networks have already changed the recruiting process. However, I see the use of these as complementary tools to the more general standard approach.

All of these approaches have creative products that are allowing jobseekers to change the way they apply for job opportunities. And sure, each of these has significant value and gaining traction in different industries and job types.

But what it takes to become the new “common ticket” is a combination of the above, with the flexibility for each industry to set their own standards within a designated framework. Here, I wanted to take products out of the equation, as this discussion is about something much larger – the themes. Within the next few years, a combination of the above will rapidly increase adoption, and we will start to see the end to the resume as we know it.

There are too many issues with the current passport to a new job, and too much innovation available, to prevent its evolution. Be ready for it.

Cover Letters: Yes, They are Dinosaurs, But They are Still Requested!

They say that the resume and cover letter are going the way of the dinosaurs and that digital portfolios are the way of the future. I agree! Once millennials advance in their careers to occupy the ranks of hiring managers, personal websites, LinkedIn profiles, and overall Internet presences (including social media channels…but you already knew to keep your spring break Instas to yourself — right?) along with the tailored questionnaire that many ATS’s* offers will likely constitute the whole of a job application.

For now, though, it’s important to have your resume and cover letter game on lock. Plenty of great resume templates exist around the web, so let’s talk the bane of every job seeker’s existence: cover letters

Cover Letters

Every job seeker’s nightmare

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. You CANNOT use the same exact same cover letter to apply for every job. The good news (!!) is that you can create a template that’s easy to replicate and creates the illusion of a super-tailored piece of writing every time. Plus, it can be fun!

Step 1: Figure out to whom you’re writing. When I ask you to figure out your audience, I’m suggesting that you not only take your best guess at the individual who might actually read your cover letter (by browsing the company website and/or LinkedIn for the head of recruitment or potential hiring manager) but also that you get a sense of who your audience is more broadly. You’ll want to adjust your tone to mirror the job description; it can be just as jarring to receive a stuffy, formal letter at a laidback startup as it can to receive a conversational note at a place where etiquette demands a sober tone.

Step 2: Write an opening sentence. So you’ve addressed a specific person and decided how you’re going to communicate. Now, you’ll state the position to which you’re applying and mention how you heard about it. Something like, “I’m writing with enthusiasm regarding the Marketing Associate position at Compass. I found the posting on AngelList and was immediately intrigued,” will do the trick. If you’ve decided to adopt a casual tone, a version like, “I’m reaching out to express my excitement about the Marketing Associate position at Compass. I’d like to think it was fate that brought this opportunity to my attention, but I found the posting on AngelList.”

Step 3: Mention some specifics to show you what this company is all about. The next step is to show that you have the work ethic, savvy, and enthusiasm it takes to write a truly tailored cover letter. This will entail some background research; if you do it right, browsing the website (the About, Team, and Press sections can be particularly useful) for a few minutes is sufficient to sound impressively knowledgeable. You just mentioned in your opening sentence that you’re pumped about the opportunity, so tell the reader why this company is where you want to be.

Here’s an example by ImpressiveCV of a brief, yet effective few sentences to do so:

One way to avoid the potential for your cover letter to become a dry block of text (other than to make it personal and specific) is to break up the formatting. The bulk of the content will be your explanation of your qualifications, so why not keep it clear and powerful by pulling out 3 core competencies of yours that most closely relate to the demands of the role. By keeping it personal and to-the-point, you’ve minimized the risk of the hiring manager merely skimming the letter, but it’s powerful to restate the most powerful parts of your “why me” argument nonetheless. Think of a synonym or word that captures the gist of each of your three competency bullet points. Then, figure out how to summarize the goals of the position. From there, simply put ’em together and tell your reader that your shining qualities will help you hit it out of the park as the newest member of their team.Now end it with an appropriate closing and your name, and — voila! — you’ve written a pretty badass cover letter!!

How to tailor your ATS resume

If you are a job seeker you would constantly be hearing “you must tailor your resume to every job application.” So, how doe one actually do this?

You’re probably wondering- Is it really necessary? It might be tempting to skip it, because yes- it takes time.

But it really will make a huge difference in the number of companies that call you back and invite you to interview I’m talking about an exponential increase in callbacks… not a slight increase. I’ve tried both ways for my clients, trust me.

Tailor your resume every single time

Don’t let your CV get lost in the pile of paperwork

What is CV tailoring?

Much like when you buy an item of clothing and then decide to make some alterations, tailoring your CV does not mean that you re-write the entire CV from scratch Rather, you amend, and shape it so that it fits better. Likewise, CV tailoring will allow you to use one or two main CV templates and make a few simple but powerful alterations so that it suits the purpose for each of the related roles that you are applying for.

In the same way that one size does not fit all when it comes to clothing, one size of CV does not fit all recruiters or jobs. Submitting job applications can be a numbers game (in that you may need to submit many before you succeed), but there are some powerful tools you can absorb into your arsenal so that you give your application the most chance of leading to an interview. One way of doing this is tailoring your impressiveCV, because:

• It helps target your application

• It assists the recruiter in seeing that you have the skills/training/qualities for the role

• Most importantly, it shows an attention to detail and that you have taken the time to review the job description and “answer” to its demands in your CV

Do not underestimate the power of tailoring your impressiveCV.

Given two candidates with similar or equal credentials, experience, skills, and training, recruiters will invariably prefer the CV that clearly demonstrates a faithful response to the needs of the role in question. Recruiters are short on time and often just scan CVs to check for key bullet points that show you are qualified for the role.
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For recruiters that utilise “sifting software,” those programs are doing the reading on their behalf, and sift out the undesirable candidates— all the more reason to tailor your CV, as a computer program cannot “join the dots” together and see that you can do the job if your CV is not tailored to spell it out loud and clear.

So how do you do it?

1. Read the job description carefully. Ensure you are a good fit

2. Pick out keywords and phrases. Have a look at www.jobscan.com to assist you with key words

3. Make your experience fit. Use examples to showcase

4. Put your most relevant experience first. ...

5. Research the company and its key phrases and words

6. Tailor your CV to the job description for the best chance of success

Cross your t’s and dot your i’s. Seriously. Many job ads include a line stating that a candidate should exhibit excellent communication skills. While there are many interpretations as to what this may mean, it may actually be a simple yes/no rating that could stop your application dead in its tracks. How picky do search committee members get? That depends, of course. It’s true that not everyone was an English major in college, but the broad assumption is that materials should be virtually free of grammatical errors and demonstrate a degree of writing proficiency -- with a clear sense of organization and some variety in sentence structure and words.

Take the time to read and reread your application materials; consider asking a close friend to proofread as a favor. Despite your accolades, some raters may push you to the bottom of the pile if your writing reads more like a hastily sent text than a polished, professional piece.

Director and Executive CV Writing

As a C-Level, senior executive, or a mid-level manager looking to enter the world of senior leadership, your years of experience, education, and personal development may seem difficult to fit into a 3-page CV. So what should you include, what should you leave out, and how should it be formatted to ensure it stands out in the pile of resumes the recruiter is likely looking at?

The first, and most important tip is to have someone else look at it. Working on one’s own CV usually results in one of two outcomes; either the CV is too humble, not making enough of your years of achievements and hard work, or it is too over-the-top with industry jargon, which a recruitment professional may not be able to adequately compare with competing CV’s. I’m sure it’s no surprise that I would recommend using a professional service such as impressiveCV to help with this, but this recommendation is more than just a plug for business.

Professional CV writing and career consultancy services offer something that your colleagues, family members, and friends usually can’t, we do market research with recruitment agencies, and we keep up-to-date with both local and global trends in best-practice application preparation. This may not sound important, however just the smallest faux-par in a CV can send it straight to bottom of the pile. Some examples include the use of a photo in a CV, while this is a common practice in Middle Eastern recruitment, particularly for senior level-employees, but in Australia it is not recommended.

Another example is the perspective of the writing, many, if not all job seekers are aware that that it is considered poor- form to write your CV in the first person (using ‘I’, ‘my’, etc), but unfortunately all too often we see self-prepared resumes that have taken this what not to do information, and created a CV in the third-person perspective, for example “Stacey is known for…”. This is considered equally poor form in the recruitment industry, and may again be the one thing that sees you miss out on a role against a similarly experienced candidate. For your reference, CV’s should be written in a style called ‘the passive voice’, with no forms of personal pronoun at all, if you’re not confident in writing this way, please seek professional assistance from impressiveCV.

Personal branding is another hugely important factor for senior staff, but how do you get it into your CV? Start by identifying your brand; what is your leadership style, what do you value professionally?

Think of your personal brand as an individual version of a company’s Mission and Values statements. Identify your own mission and values, and embed that theme throughout the CV, you can do this in your elevator pitch, a sub-heading under your name, and as a theme throughout your achievements within the document. Find examples of ways you have lived up to this brand throughout your career and highlight them within your CV. Additionally, ensure your LinkedIn profile and any other online presences follow the same brand. A true brand needs to be consistent. For more information or assistance with creating your personal brand click here.

Finally, know the company. I can’t stress this enough know the company you are applying to work for. Know their history, know their values and mission, know their development plans. Take the time to research all media on them, and read their 5 year plan start-to-finish.

There are no short- cuts if you want to ace the application and interview process for a senior executive or C-level position. If you don’t know the organisation inside and out, past and future, but another candidate does, you can all but wave the job goodbye.

This is an area that even professional and highly experienced boutique Executive CV firms such as impressiveCV are not able to help you with, because we can’t sit the interview for you. We can help you source the information you’ll need, and we can incorporate it into your CV and other application documentation (ideally aligning it with your personal brand), but at interview it is up to you to know and understand the company, what they need, and how you fit that need. More information on Senior level interviews can be found here.

Final tips if you are planning to do your CV without professional assistance:

• The top half of the first page is the first impression. Use this space effectively. Highlight all of the most important information; your name and contact details, brand statement/elevator pitch, core competencies/areas of excellence, and most significant career achievements. Always use measurables ($, %, etc) and show personal growth and contribution to company growth wherever possible.

• Use white space and design effects to highlight items of most importance. In the most senior roles, use of Applicant Tracking System software is rare, so you can afford to get a little bit creative in your design, with career timelines or infographics. These should be used appropriately, and even if you are a design professional, I strongly recommend having a recruitment or CV writing professional review the work (many will do this at no cost) to ensure it still meets industry standards.

• Be concise. Keep the CV to 3-4 pages at an absolute maximum (ideally 2 pages if you can). Write with purpose and avoid all unnecessary or doubled-up information. If you had some of the same responsibilities in two different roles, only include them once; if you have highlighted an achievement in a specific achievements section, then ensure the achievement notes the employer/role, and remove that achievement from the professional experience section. Remove or reduce to a timeline graphic all employment more than 15 years old, and include only qualification title, education institution, and year of completion for items in the education section.

Finding New Work In This #Unprecedented Situation: Transferable Skills Are The Key.

Between Monday 23rd , and Saturday 28th March, at least 280,000 Australians lodged an ‘Intent to Claim’ for financial assistance, and while predictions of the numbers of jobs that will be lost before the Coronavirus pandemic is over vary, estimates between 500,000 – 1M jobs lost are not uncommon. So many people across this country will lose their jobs, but all is not lost just yet. The Federal Government have announced multiple rounds of assistance, with a $1500 per fortnight JobKeeper subsidy the latest in a long list of financial supplements, subsidies and supports at both State and Federal levels aimed at supporting employers and employees to stay afloat.

But who is hiring, what jobs are growing in demand, and how do we get the jobs? Short-term data and recent reports suggest IT, Healthcare, Communications, Banking/Finance, Retail (Supermarkets), Deliveries, and Public Sector have been and will continue to hire. Also, increases have been seen for roles such as Nannies and Tutors, and Warehousing & Production workers. A quick scroll through SEEK for Victoria confirms this – IT role, Banking, IT, Finance, IT, Personal Carer, Nurse, Software Developer, Nurse, IT… just under 23,000 jobs are listed as currently hiring. Coles, Woolworths and Aldi are hiring across the country, Centrelink is hiring, DHHS is hiring. There are jobs out there, so the next step is to find out what education, licences, and skills are required for these jobs – follow the job ads themselves, this will all be listed in a position description, but if they’re not, a quick google search of position description (insert job title) should bring up something similar.

• Education: If you need a formal Higher Education qualification, and you don’t have that qualification, keep this point in mind. For some professions, it means stop here, and look for a different job; for example, while lots of nurses and doctors are currently needed, a strong work ethic and a first aid certificate just won’t get your foot in the door. That said, significant industry experience and transferable skills might just get you by for a marketing or community services role, so don’t give up.

• Licences: Again, these are essential, sometimes even more so; Linfox and Dyers both have heavy vehicle driver roles advertised, but without the appropriate licence they literally can’t hire you for that job.

• Skills: There are really two types of skills to consider, technical skills and transferable/soft skills. You can define a difference between soft skills and transferable skills in some roles or industries, but universally transferrable skills are all soft skills. Technical skills can be summed up as the things you can do; MIG welding, coding, OHS incident analysis. Your soft skills and transferable skills are things you add to the team or the business that help it run better, such as communication, time management, prioritisation, leadership, innovation, problem solving, and creativity.

  It’s easy to box ourselves into thinking we can only do the jobs we done before, and it’s your soft skills and transferable skills that will be the key to changing jobs, whether its an ongoing career change or a temporary position to get you, your family, or your community through the current crisis.

  A great example of the importance employers place on transferrable skills, is that Woolworths, Telstra and Rio Tinto have offered thousands of jobs to Qantas staff who have been stood down in recent weeks, citing transferable soft skills and technical skills as opportunities to meet their own companies’ growing demands (see more here https://www.afr.com/work-and- careers/workplace/woolworths-offers-jobs-to-laid-off-qantas-workers-20200319-p54br5).

  Start thinking about how your existing skills can be used in other jobs and other industries. An experienced Front of House in a busy restaurant isn’t just a hospitality industry worker, they are a team leader with exceptional customer service skills, and retail staff can apply their calm demeanour with difficult customers to government or telecommunication call-centre roles. If you are not confident in recognising these skills and in re-writing your resume accordingly, contact Impressive CV for a free CV review, or take advantage of our current offer of a free LinkedIn profile optimisation with a standard professional CV package.

Written by Stacey Whitelaw.

COVID-19 and Employment Evolution: A Three-Week Survival Plan.

When change is the only constant, adaptability equals survival, and panic can kill.

TODAY:

If you, like so many others, have just lost your job or had your hours cut, you probably hit panic- mode pretty quickly, maybe you raced down to line up at Centrelink, or you’ve had them on redial, trying to get through. Maybe you raced to supermarket to buy as much as you can while you still have money in the bank, or maybe you just sat down and cried. We all react differently, but in some ways the same – involuntary job loss and threat of job loss creates high stress levels, and the first thing you need to do is stop, breathe, and find a way to think and act productively.

So, take three deep breaths, hold each breath for 4-5 seconds, and release it slowly. Close your eyes while you do it. If you still feel panicked, try again but with your eyes open, chin up, chest out, and standing in a superhero pose while you do it. Seriously, find your centre, find some calm, slow down and start building a real plan. Next, talk with your adult family and members of your household, make sure everyone else is calm and managing ok, then talk to your kids about changes to schooling, about the things they are seeing on TV and hearing online or at school, and talk to them about how some things will change at home too – maybe it’s that they’re not going to school anymore (if they’re in Victoria, or vulnerable) or maybe that Mum and Dad will be home more, and that going to play with friends isn’t the right thing to do at the moment. Ground yourself in the most important things in your life and the panic will ease itself.

It’s not fair – it’s really not a fair situation. Nobody asked for this virus, nobody asked for any of it – I agree with you 100%. The only consolation is that - worldwide - everyone’s lives have been turned upside down at relatively the same moment. Lamenting on the unfairness won’t help. Cursing the government for seeming to help some individuals more than others won’t help either (there are genuine reasons why this happens, but this isn’t the place for that discussion).

DAYS 1-7:

So, what will help? Start with being as socially responsible as possible – STAY HOME. Supermarkets are staying open, and they have purchase limits, so whatever day or time you do go there, they will have most of the things you need – no more hoarding Australia. Centrelink phone and online services are running; they are frustrating and difficult at times – but they are running. Just know there will be extended hold periods, know there will be delays once you start. You can do your part to minimise it by being prepared*:

1. Have your last two years tax returns ready, your last couple of months of payslips, and download your bank statements to show the drop in income.

2. ID (passport/Birth certificate, driver’s licence, Medicare card, and a bank card will be enough).

3. If your employment has been terminated, request a separation certificate (these can be downloaded from: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/forms/su001 ). Send this to your employer and ask that they complete it and return it to you as soon as they can.

4. If your employment has not been terminated, but you have significantly reduced hours, you will need a letter from your employer advising these details.

5. Take photos of each of these documents on your phone, and upload them direct to Centrelink via mygov, or at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/. If you can’t get online or can’t get through on the phone yet, be patient. Go do something else for 10 minutes, or for two hours, and try again. Stay calm, the new payments won’t be rolled out for weeks yet, eligibility is almost wide-open, and waiting periods to claim are gone. Your turn will come, and every time the line is busy, that’s one more fellow Australian whose gotten some support, and one more move up the queue for you. Your turn will come.

*If you already receive one of the below-listed payments then please move to the next paragraph – you will automatically get the additional assistance as the payments start rolling out and contacting services Australia to confirm this is only contributing to the logjam of enquiries.

• JobSeeker Payment

• Youth Allowance for job seekers

• Youth Allowance for students

• Austudy for students

• ABSTUDY for students

• Parenting Payment

• Farm Household Allowance

• Special Benefit

Ok, next: Go over your budget – many major banks are offering a freeze on mortgage repayments, your entertainment and eating out expenses are going to drop, but your supermarket/grocery expenses will go up a little, try to be honest with yourself about how much this will change, look up item prices online to get a realistic figure. If you are practicing safe social distancing, then your petrol/public transport costs will reduce, your weekly trip to the cinema is gone, Friday drinks after work are now - at best – a glass or two at home (at bottle shop prices instead of the $10+ per drink at the trendy bar down the street from work).

Check your current pantry/freezer stocks and get creative – all of a sudden that 3 year old tin of peaches and that packet of frozen pastry looks like it could make a decent desert, and that frozen meatloaf you’ve been avoiding in the back of the freezer looks like it will feed the family just nicely tomorrow night. If you’re not much of a cook – there are heaps of TV and online resources available, or just make it another of the many great reasons to call your parents and grandparents, I’m sure they’d love to share recipes and tips for both the kitchen and for saving money and living on less.

Check your first aid supplies, and any regular medications needed within your household too. If you can get through two weeks with what you’ve got, awesome; if not make a thorough list of what you need (only what you need) to combine to your shopping list.

When you go out to get what you need, follow all of the recommended guidelines on social distancing and hygiene, and when you get home think of yourself as having been in contact with the virus and act appropriately (wash hands, face, and other exposed skin, change clothes and put the dirty ones straight in the wash, etc).

DAYS 8-21:

Ok, you should now be able to survive at least the next few days, if not the next few weeks. Now start some more forward planning. If this virus remains active in the country for 2, 3, 6 months (as predicted) how can you get back to earning money? Will your job become available again eventually, or will it be gone for good? Which of the changes brought about this virus will be temporary, and which will be permanent? The truth is nobody knows for sure. There is no precedent for this - there are predictions and likelihoods, but nothing is certain. For now, let’s focus on some likelihoods:

1. It’s likely to be at least 6 months before things look anything close to ‘normal’.

2. Some job roles will increase in number at least during those 6 months, some indefinitely. These include government roles, healthcare roles, supermarket staff, delivery/supply chain, and of course, technology. The world is going almost fully online RIGHT NOW, this moment is monumental in human history. It is the new Industrial Revolution; the Technological Revolution has begun. If you already have skills and experience in these areas, AWESOME!!! Seriously, you may be in the first or second wave of new appointments, and I sincerely congratulate you; keeping as many Aussies in the workforce as possible is vital to our country’s eventual recovery. Especially to our healthcare providers – thank you, thank you, thank you. There are no words to convey my respect and gratitude to you right now.

3. If securing new employment is going to be a challenge for you, then start working on the new skills you will need to gain employment in the weeks and months to come. There will be a lot of competition for jobs, so prepare yourself as much as possible. Do online courses, use YouTube tutorials, ask your kids or your nieces and nephews for some tech tips, learn about Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, and webinars. Learn to code, or learn to use your excellent face to face communication skills to sell things over the phone. Especially important, is to practice your job interview skills for phone and video interviews – these are no longer ‘the future of job applications’, they are happening now and will be for a very long time (subscribe to our newlsettler/blog at impressiveCV.com for tips – my next post in in 2-3 days will have lists and links to available jobs, and to relevant education and training opportunities).

4. Update your CV and make sure it is as competitive as possible (another shameless plug for Impressive CV here – this is what we do, and we really can help you).

5. Look at ways you can really start to reduce your expenditure long-term – can you grow vegetables in your yard, or herbs in a window-planter – smaller investments in these ideas now might be a game-changer in a few months. Can you learn to sew to alter your clothes as needed? Do you really need to keep colouring your hair, or wearing a full-face of makeup every day? Can you learn to fix that squeaky hinge yourself, or to change the spark plug in your lawnmower? What many of us have now, that we didn’t before, is time – use it to learn how to change careers, and how to save money.

Good luck everyone – stay home and stay safe.

Written by Stacey Whitelaw.

Work Smarter, Not Harder: 12 Time Management Tips that you wish you learnt yesterday

Time management is one of the most rewarding skills that will take you far in your life — both personal and professional. If you aren’t managing your time effectively, sooner or later you would enter into the state of pandemonium. Time, being such a crucial aspect of life, deserves to be treated in the most respectful manner. Only if we learn to master the art of time management, our life would experience a positive change.

To take hold of every single minute in your life, you must know what is effective time management and how to manage time. Find out more with Impressive CV.

What is time management?

Time management is the coordination of tasks and activities to maximize the effectiveness of an individual’s efforts. Essentially, time management is enabling people to get more and better work done in less time.

Why is time management important?

Learning the art of time management could yield a positive impact especially on your professional life — where most of us suck at giving due time to each and every task. So, let’s take a brief look at the benefits it offers:

• Better task management

• Higher productivity

• No stress levels

• Better work-life balance

On the contrary, if you are unable to manage your time effectively you could experience undesirable consequences such as:

• Missed deadlines

• Poor work quality

• Higher stress levels

• Work imbalance

• Lead to a burnout

With effective time management, employees can easily manage their hours to the best effect. When things go as per the plan, employees tend to be more creative, happier, and less prone to burnout at work. Thus, it makes sense to take some time out to learn about time management tips and techniques to benefit your career.

Time management tips at work to achieve your goals:

1. Wake up early — Make your day longer

All of us get 24 hours in a day. Though it’s not possible to change the number of hours in a day you can definitely try waking up a little earlier and make your day longer than others. Ideally, your body requires 6–8 hours of sleep to be at your optimum energy levels.

Start with setting up your alarm 15 minutes earlier than before and increase the time frame with the course of time. You can use this additional time to exercise, meditate, prioritize, or even to pursue a hobby. Gradually you’ll increase your daily productivity and time management will never be a trouble.

2. Set SMART goals — Don’t just wish, do

Do you know that there is a right and wrong way to set goals? When your goals are not reaping benefits, something is missing or lacking in your approach. Whereas if you set goals the right way, your productivity could reach the sky.

Set goals that are S.M.A.R.T. — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. These goals would bring a solid structure to your work life and prepare you for what’s in store for you today.

3. Keep mornings for MITs — Most important tasks

Mark Twain once said, “Eat a live frog every morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.” His point is to tackle the most important task as the first thing in the morning. And, if you have two or more frogs to eat, eat the biggest one first. Time management and prioritisation both go hand in hand. You can manage your time effectively only when you know what is supposed to be done when. The point is to take up a hard or time-consuming task, accomplish it, and focus on other things.

4. Discover your zone

You must have noticed that at specific hours you are as focused as an eagle and your productivity shoots up like anything. It happens when your mind is in complete harmony with the external conditions. Some call it ‘flow’ while others refer to it as their ‘zone’.

Discovering your flow or zone can directly contribute to the right utilization of your time. It helps you reach an optimal state of consciousness when you feel and perform your best.

5. Block distractions — Get them out of your life

Emails, phone calls, and social media messages are some of the common yet biggest distractions at the workplace. So much so, that you end up wasting 759 hours each year due to workplace distractions. All thanks to these distractions that a task that requires 60 minutes takes more than 3 hours to be accomplished.

Whenever you are working on high-priority tasks, put that phone in silent mode and turning data off. You would end up saving a lot of time and take your efficiency levels a notch higher.

6. Find a good time tracking software -

One of the easiest ways to keep track of every minute being spent at work is by employing a time management software. These time tracking software is designed to set time estimates, track time spent on tasks, and maintain a record of every minute you spend while working on tasks.

For example, if you are working on a project, you can set a time estimate for each task and subtask to manage your time efficiently. You can try time management software like ProofHub to manage your projects and time efficiently.

About ProofHub’s Time Tracking Feature:

ProofHub is one solution to tracking time for effective time management. It is a time tracking software that will bring all your time data in one place. What can you do?

• Add timesheets

Multiple timesheets can be added to record time data, which can be used for payroll, client billing, tracking, and even time management.

• Set time estimates

When you set time estimates, it is a good way to time management as you can define how much time it should take to get work done. You’ll have a clear indication if the time taken exceeds the estimated time.

• Track time manually

You can enter taken to get work done and track manually time spent for billable or non-billable hours.

• Track time with multiple timers

Start and pause timers when you switch between what you’re working and save it in timesheets.

7. No multitasking — Quality over quantity

If you pride yourself on juggling too many tasks at once, here’s news for you. Research suggests that only 2% of people can multitask effectively. For the remaining 98% of people, multitasking is actually wasting their time and lessening their overall productivity.

Instead of dividing your attention into three different things, it’s better to focus entirely on one thing and marvel at it. To make it more effective, try timeboxing them. It refers to the act of allocating a time-frame for every task which in return, increases the likelihood of its successful completion.

8. Take small breaks frequently — refresh and rejuvenate

It may sound counterintuitive but breaks are one of the effective time management strategies. How? Let’s assume two scenarios. In the first scenario, picture a team member working on a task for 5–7 hours at a stretch. And, another team member is working on the same task with frequent small breaks. Who do you think is using his time effectively? Of course, the later.

Smart time management isn’t always about doing something or the other. It also emphasises on the fact that little breaks after an hour or so can take your productivity to another level.

9. Find inspiration — quotes, videos, audiobooks

Following a to-do list or a specific pattern can be boring. It’s hard to concentrate at work when you aren’t fully motivated. Instead of wasting that time doing something unproductive, utilise it to inspire yourself.

Tape those cliched time-management quotes around your desk. Watch motivational or TEDx videos or listen to audiobooks talking about time management tips at work. Or, just go for a small walk.

We are familiar with the procrastination phenomena in which you either do nothing at all or engage in useless activities. The chronic procrastinators get an unusual high in putting important things for later and when it is too late, they start panicking. Don’t let procrastination take over your life and let it become a part of your lifestyle.

The best way to deal with procrastination is to break your work into a number of tasks. It not only makes it doable but also gives you a starting point to begin work. Also, try making detailed timelines that give you an exact idea of deadlines. When you surround yourself with people who take action and crush goals instantly, you automatically imbibe such habits and become more proactive with work.

10. Sleep at least 7–8 hours

Sleep is a detrimental factor that could affect many things both positively and negatively. When you get a sound sleep for six to eight hours, not only you feel fresh and rejuvenated but it also contributes to a healthy lifestyle. On the contrary, when you don’t get enough sleep, you are also increasing disease risks such as diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, and more.

The human mind and body make better decisions and perform more efficiently when they are well-rested. You can decide quickly what to do when and how. Develop a schedule for your sleep and stick to it every day. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time. There are many applications such as Calm, Sleep Cycle that tracks your sleeping patterns, help you get a sound sleep, and wakes you up as a more focused individual.

11. Do less but impactful

It’s never a good idea to take up more than you can handle. High achievers and great performers all over the world do less but better. When you prioritize tasks, it gives you clarity and direction so that you can start working on things, save time, and be more productive.

The next time you find it difficult to manage time, take a deep breath and take up a single task, complete it, and start another without stressing yourself too much.

12. Use an online calendar

One of the greatest time management tips for managers is to start using an online calendar. Long before, calendars have been used as a fundamental tool to manage time. With the advent of online calendars, one can easily manage his/her schedule, mark important dates and events, set up reminders, create time blocks, and whatnot.

The best part is that online calendars can be integrated with third-party applications and can be accessed from multiple devices. There are plenty of options to choose from such as Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Apple Calendar

How to write achievements on your CV

You are more likely to be invited for an interview if your CV is focused on your achievements, rather than on your duties or responsibilities.

According to an interesting research conducted by the authors of “Brilliant CV: What employers want to see & how to say it”, the applicants with achievement-focused CVs are three times more likely to be shortlisted for an interview compared to candidates with duties-focused CVs!

So how do you write those first few lines of your resume—the summary section—to compel the recruiter to keep reading? How do you make sure you get the call—and not the toss? How do you make your summary memorable?

Here’s a checklist:

• Tailor your summary to each job application. Highlight your areas of expertise most relevant to that position.

• Then focus on specific results you’ve achieved in those areas of expertise—how other organisations have improved because of you.

• Note the types of organisations and industries you’ve worked in.

• Include years of experience.

• Avoid generic terms such as results-driven, proven track record, excellent communication skills, team player

Still not convinced your job description will do? Here is some more proof!

Stuck for ideas? Here you go ;)

Completed in-depth analyses for business optimisation projects, reporting tools, back-office programs and payment-processing apps. Measurable outcomes:

— 9.2% revenue growth (2016)

— Up to 45% in efficiency gains

— $575K capital-expense reduction

— $1.1M labor-cost savings

— 97% account-retention rates

— 10% increase in referrals

• Provided executives with analytics and decision-support tools used as the basis for reorganization, consolidation and relocation strategies.

• Partnered with developers to automate manual processes, saving time and money while decreasing errors. Credited as a primary driving force behind a 5% increase in margins this fiscal year.

• Collaborated with stakeholder groups across the organisation to ensure business and technology alignment. Proposed solutions meeting defined specifications and needs.

• Performed quality assurance, system integration and user acceptance testing facilitating on-time, on-budget and acclaimed “go-live” of enterprise implementations for up to 12,000 global users.

Remember:

ANYONE can Google or search LinkedIn for job descriptions. In this current market, you MUST show your value.

Still feeling overwhelmed?

Drop me an email: info@impressivecv.com