12 Things You Wish You’d Known Before You Took The Job

How to Accept and Decline Job Offers

You’ve made it to the end of your job search and you’ve managed to receive at least one offer. Perhaps you’ve even received two or more offers, giving you the opportunity to negotiate and truly make a decision about what is best for you and your future.

So many people mistakenly think that this is the end of the line. You do the deep reflection required to understand what you want, what kind of environment you need in order to thrive, and you make it happen for yourself. You get the offer and you can just sit back and put things in cruise control, right?

Eh, not so much. The problem with this whole thought process is the fact that it assumes receiving the offer means the hard work is done. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. In all reality, receiving an offer or offers is just the beginning of the truly hard process of making a final decision. Sometimes, you will have learned during the interview process that a particular employer simply isn’t for you. Other times you’ll simply have multiple offers on the table and you’ll use your ideal job description to determine what fits best. And then you have to make the final call.

Eventually you’ll have to accept an offer, which is an incredibly exciting event in your life and career. However, what most people forget at this point is that the offers you’re turning down came from somewhere. Those employers are waiting to hear back from you, and it would be incredibly unprofessional to leave them hanging. Not to mention the incredible damage it would do to your personal brand.

So, after you make the decision about which offer to accept and which offer(s) to leave behind,it’s in your best interest to do everything you can to maintain the relationships all around. By taking this approach, you can build your personal brand in the eyes of the professionals rather than burning bridges that would be incredibly hard to rebuild.

With that context, let’s dive in.

Deciding to Accept or Decline

You should be accepting for one of two reasons:

1. You received an initial offer that met all of your needs with a company and in a role that meets the criteria you laid out in your ideal job description.
2. You effectively negotiated for the terms you needed from the offer.

You should be declining for one of three reasons:

1. You received an offer after learning during the interview process that the organization was not the right place for you.
2. You received an offer that had too many aspects that didn’t meet your ideal job description.
3. You attempted to negotiate for the terms you needed from the offer and were either unsuccessful, or the organization was not open to negotiations.

How To Accept an Offer

Based on these terms, let’s cover how to accept an offer first. At a high level, you want to accept the offer both verbally and on paper. It is also a good idea to inform each of the individuals you have interacted with during the interview process in addition to signing and submitting your formal offer letter.

At the most basic level, you will want to sign the offer letter that contains the most up to date terms of employment based on any negotiations you may have done. Do not sign an offer that does not include the up to date information that reflects your negotiations. If you did not negotiate, you can sign the offer letter you first received.

In addition, you should call your main point of contact to tell them you have accepted your offer and that they can expect it in the mail. When you speak to them, say something like the following:

“Hi, [name], this is [your name] and I am calling to formally accept my offer to join [organization name]. I have signed and mailed/emailed my offer letter and you can expect to receive it within the week. Is there anything else I need to do to help you move the process along at this point?”

They will give a response that reflects their excitement and desire to have you join the team. Hopefully they will give you plenty of detail to appropriately set your expectations, but you cannot rely on that. If they don’t give you any details, then you should ask:

“What can I expect from the overall onboarding process, and when should I expect to hear from you next?”

Now you have accepted the offer (congratulations!), you’ve told the person who needs to know, and you know what to expect next. The next thing to do is to inform anyone else who has played a part in your hiring process at the organization. If any particular professionals have played a particularly large role by helping answer your questions, negotiate your offer, or recommending you to the job in the first place, I would recommend giving them a call and sending a thank you note.

Let them know that you have accepted and that you appreciate their help along the way. In your thank you letter, include something like the following:

“Dear [Name],

I am excited to tell you that I have accepted my offer to join [organization name] as a [role name]. Without your help during the recruitment and hiring process, I would not have had such a great experience or learned so much about the company.

Thank you very much for your guidance and support, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

All the best,

[Your Name]”

Your phone call should express similar thoughts. Always be sure to personalize the conversation based on your experience and relationship with the individual. Anyone that played more of a minor role in your hiring process deserves an email informing them that you’ve accepted as well. The basic elements of your email should include:

1. Thanking them for their help during the process
2. Informing them that you have accepted your offer
3. Stating your excitement to join the organization
4. Asking for any advice or next steps you should take to prepare to join the organization

You can use the script above, or you can create a custom email template that includes each of the elements above. Always be sure to edit and proofread. Once you accept your offer, it’s the beginning of your career, which means it’s time to continue building your personal brand and professional relationships.

How To Decline an Offer

While accepting an offer will be a great feeling, declining an offer can be a bit less fun. However, declining an offer is an excellent opportunity to build your personal brand and maintain relationships with the people in the organization. There are two different ways that you will want to handle declining an offer:

1. When the job, organization, industry, culture, or other aspect is simply not a good fit for you
2. When you have decided to take a competing offer that simply beat out the one you have chosen to decline.

Declining Because It’s Not a Good Fit

In the first case, there is nothing the organization could have done to make you want to take the offer. In the second case, the organization’s offer has simply been beat by another employer that represented a better fit for you. In either case, you always want to maintain the relationship, so giving them the courtesy of formally declining the offer is extremely important.

You should decline the offer as soon as you have accepted another offer or made a definitive decision not to accept. While the conversation may be a bit uncomfortable, it’s inconsiderate and poor business etiquette to delay after making the decision. When you’re ready to formally decline, call your main point of contact and send an email to each of your other points of contact in the organization.

One question that often comes up at this point: why would you spend so much time to simply decline an offer? The answer lies in The Five Principles of Networking Success. You can build your brand and prove your integrity by giving the simple courtesy of correspondence. Based on this approach the next question is: what do you say when you call or email?

Something like this will do just fine:

“Hi, [name], this is [your name] calling in response to the job offer I was excited to receive from your organization. I am calling to let you know that I have decided to not to accept the offer because [and then insert your reason for declining].”

Your reason will be personal and unique, but here is an example:

“I have decided to accept a competing offer that I feel best fits my current professional and personal goals.”

OR

“I do not believe that I am a good cultural fit for the organization.”

You will know the reason better than anyone, so be sure to be honest but professional. That means you should not say “I did not think the offer was any good.” OR “I’m not excited about your organization.” In your emails to the professionals other than your main point of contact, be sure to include the following points:

1. Thank them for their time and help.
2. Tell them that you are declining the offer.
3. Give them your reasoning for declining.
4. Tell them you would appreciate the opportunity to stay connected.
5. Tell them to let you know if you can ever do anything to help them reach their goals.

Declining Because of a Non-Negotiable Offer

The second case in which you will decide to decline an offer is because the organization said the offer is non-negotiable. In this case, you should make your reasoning clear when you decline by saying:

“I am sorry to say that I have two specific concerns related to the offer you have kindly extended me to join your organization. Due to the fact that the offer is non-negotiable I will have to decline at this time.”

In this case you would state this reasoning only to your main point of contact. In the majority of cases they will simply accept your reasoning and move on. In rare cases, your final decision (either verbal or written) may trigger a decision to negotiate with you.

In case you are given the opportunity to obtain what you want from the offer, you should be prepared to conduct the negotiation. However, if you receive a call or email to negotiate, reschedule for a time when you are able to have your minimum requirements in front of you and you are able to prepare appropriately for the discussion. When you email the secondary contacts you’ve made in the organization, you should simply state that you have declined the offer and then include the same main points we covered previously.

Wrapping Up

With that, you’re fully prepared to accept and decline job offers in a way that is professional, builds your brand, and maintains the relationships in a positive way. Your job, no matter how little desire you have to accept an offer, is to make the company or employer feel that their time was well spent in considering you for the position.

Why?

Because that day five years down the road when you realize you need one of those connections or it’s time to sell something to that organization, you don’t want their one memory to be “that time you snuffed them after they gave you a generous offer.” Right?

cross posted from Living for Monday

Action Tips for Dealing With Procrastination

Procrastination is just apart of life. There are always items on our “to do” list, whether written down or in our head, we know we need to take care of, but we’ve continued to put off. Begin this week buy taking action on at least three matters you’ve been putting off.

Maybe it’s:

That Call You’ve Been Putting Off

You know is going to be a difficult conversation. Make that call today; get it behind you and feel the surge of energy that results from getting it done.

That Project You Haven’t Started

Taking action – even if it’s a small step – on “that project” you’ve been meaning to start. If it is truly something important that needs to get done within the next 30 days, then schedule an action item today to “prime the pump” for establishing some momentum in moving forward. Once you complete that first step, schedule the next one for later this week or next week. Keep the process moving forward.

That Bad News You Need To Share

Sharing “that piece of ‘bad’ news” you’ve been holding off on telling your boss or colleague about. Maybe it’s not quite as “bad” as you think. Maybe your boss or colleague can help you think about a new way of looking at the matter. Either way, holding onto it is negative energy that needs to be released to free your mind up to focus on positive things.

That Personal Issue You’re Dealing With

Dealing with “that difficult personel issue.” It’s not going to go away if you don’t deal with it or devise a plan for “fixing” it. Schedule some time this week  to devise a plan and act on that plan. Get it behind you.

That Paperwork You Need To Do

Dealing with “administrative paperwork” – your expense report, your sales call activity report, a staff performance evaluation. Consider the benefits of getting these things done – the benefits to you and to others who might be affected.

Pick three things, and schedule the time or block out the time to take care of them this week.

Better yet, do something RIGHT NOW to deal with one of more of these matters.

Begin each week this way and watch your “to do” list gradually wean itself down to nothing or almost nothing.

 

Cross posted from Careerealism

How to start building your personal brand

Whether you’re with a company or self-employed, it’s wise to build your personal brand. Doing so will lead to fresh opportunities.

Your brand is how people perceive you. If you’re managing it correctly, more opportunities will open for you and your business. If you manage a team, encourage them to nurture their brand as it will reflect well upon the company.

Building up a reputation isn’t something that will happen overnight, it’s a long-term strategy that requires work and perseverance. But with the tools now available, you have more opportunities to manage and shape your reputation.

Here are the basics to building your personal brand:

Define who you are

The first thing you should look out for is how people perceive you. If you’re looking to become a source, or known for a particular level of expertise, you will need to build your public image.

Look at your abilities and experiences. What do you offer? What separates you from others in your field? If you had to evaluate yourself, what words would you use to describe yourself? How would other people describe you? If you’re unsure about the latter, ask some trusted colleagues or friends to give their descriptions.

If their answer reflects the direction in which you want to go, you’re on the right track. If not, you will need to explore why and identify the steps necessary to change it.

Google yourself

It may sound obvious, but when someone is vetting a potential employee, he or she will Google that person’s name to find out as much about the candidate as possible. Don’t think that this won’t be the case for you; the majority of employers will do it, meaning that you should be aware of the results that appear.

Take a moment or two to search your own name and see what results appear. Chances are, the first page will display your social media profiles first. There could also be blog posts, articles, comments, and mentions that will appear. The results that appear on the first page will shape a stranger’s first impression of you.

In the case of your social media profiles, these can be easily rectified through some editing and adjustments with privacy. Unless you’re directly involved with a site, it can be difficult to modify or change any other results that appear. In that case, unless a link in question is incriminating, focus on only the results you can change.

Choose a portfolio 

There are so many ways to showcase your skills and expertise, but picking one—the right one—is necessary. Do you go for a blog, an About.me profile, or a LinkedIn profile?

The answer is relevant to your line of work. A creative type would do well having a Flickr or Tumblr page showcasing his or her work; the majority of professionals would use a LinkedIn profile to connect with others in their industry. LinkedIn can be the most straightforward way of connecting with people. For a small price, the InMail function enables you to contact people with whom you’re not connected.

An About.me page is also a good way of showcasing your skills and bringing together all of your social media profiles. It’s worth trying if you’re looking for a more creative way to display your talents.

Provide value

If you provide value, people will want to follow and interact with you. But you need to determine the type of people you want interacting with you.

If you need direction, define your niche and focus on that niche only. Provide links relating to it, follow leaders within that field and those within the local scene, contribute to discussions, and interact with people. People won’t know you if you keep to yourself, so take the first step and interact; most people won’t mind, some are happy to continue the conversation.

When people become more familiar with you and are regularly engaging in conversations with you, they will also begin to trust you and your opinion. This is important; it will mean that they will vouch for you, potentially increasing the number of business opportunities you will get.

Don’t expect anything in return

It may sound counter-productive, but it’s an effective method of getting your name out there. The same principles that apply to social media apply here. When you’re networking, it’s tempting to go up to someone with the intention that they can help you with something. While it’s perfectly normal to feel that way, getting something in return should be a long-term strategy.

Think about it, if a stranger approached you one evening, introduced himself, and shortly thereafter asked for a favor, would you consider it? Chances are you wouldn’t—you don’t know him. However, if it was someone that you knew for quite a while, you would probably be more willing to act.

Additional resources

• Business Insider provides 10 tips from different experts about the best ways to develop your personal brand.
• Although focused primarily on businesses, The Branding Muse gives some great branding advice that you can adapt for personal use.
• The Guardian explains how you already have a personal brand, whether you choose to develop it or not.
• Forbes provides the first steps you should take to build your personal brand.
• Inc.’s interview with Julia Allison focuses on the important features behind a good personal brand.

Cross posted from prdaily

How to Clean Up Your Online Presence and Make a Great First Impression

Odds are someone is searching the web for you right now, or at least has looked you up fairly recently. Do you know what they learned? Better yet, do you control the pages and profiles they visited? If not, it’s time to take your online reputation into your own hands instead of leaving it to Google. Here’s how.

Why First Impressions Matter on the Internet

It’s no secret that friends, nosy family members, and potential employers will all take to Google, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to look for more information about you when they want it. In the case of family and friends, they already know you. When it comes to potential employers or people interested in working with you, it’s important to make sure that the things they find about you are representative of who you are (or who you want them to think you are.) 

 

You don’t have to be a job-seeker to understand the importance of your online reputation, though. You can be a freelancer or entrepreneur who wants to control their image, or just someone who doesn’t your name dragged through the mud. It may seem like the wall of Google search results when you search your name is impossible to control, but there are some clever things you can do. In this post, we’ll tackle some of them, and by the end you’ll have a better picture of what people find when they search for you. With work, you’ll even have better control over what they find.

Step One: Find Out Where You Stand (and Erase Embarrassments)

Before we get started, it’s a good idea to see what others see when they search for you. Then we can tweak what we find so it’s representative of the “you” that you want the public to see, not just what Google collects.

Search For Yourself on Google and Facebook

We’ll start with Google. You’ve probably done a vanity Google search before, but if not, now’s the time. Just log out of your Google accounts or use a browser where you’re not logged in (Google personalizes results based on your account activity) and search for your name. Don’t bother going more than a few pages deep, and make note of what you see. Remember, making a good first impression requires actually making an impression. While turning up nothing means no one will find anything bad, it also means they won’t learn anything good about you, and that can be pretty bad too.  Next, let’s check Facebook. You can view your public self on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+:

 

1. Log out (or use a browser that’s logged out) and search for yourself by name. Even if you don’t use your name as your account ID, it may be easy to find yourself with a quick name search. See if that’s the case, and see what’s visible.
2. Log back in and view your profile “as public.” Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ all make it easy to do this from your profile page. This way you can see what your profile looks like to someone who stumbles on you, even if you’re not easily found.
3. Optional: Go deeper.We’ve covered how to do an even deeper dive on someone before. Most people won’t go to such lengths, but if you’re curious, give it a try.

Clean Up Any Results You Don’t Like

Now that you’ve seen what others see, it’s time to get rid of anything you don’t like. You can’t trust you’ll have the opportunity to explain the bad stuff away in a phone or in-person interview. We’ve discussed how to fix internet embarrassments before. Whether the behavior is your own, someone trolled you and set up fake profiles to defame you, or someone’s been impersonating you online, here’s how to handle it for each service:

•  Google and Other Search Engines: If you found the offending results at Google or another search engine, ask them to remove the pages from their results. Google has a process for this, and another for Google Images, but they only apply to pages that have been taken down, or old, cached versions of pages that are still up-it’s not for pulling down any old page. DuckDuckGo has a feedback form, as does Bing, where you can submit takedown requests for non-legal reasons.
• Facebook: Deleting is your best option (so no one takes screenshots or makes your private posts public without you knowing.) Alternatively, change post visibility individually, or can go go to Privacy Settings > Limit Past Post Visibility to hide everything at once. Get familiar with Facebook’s privacy options, and if the content is on Facebook but not under your control, we have some tips to help. Don’t get caught making the same mistake Lindsey Stone did. Make sure private posts are truly private, the only things public are the ones that showcase your public persona, and you think before you post.
•  Twitter: Twitter is easy, just look at your profile by name. If your profile is public, everyone can see it, and if you use your real name as your handle, it’s easy to find. You can take your account private, but that won’t stop public users from quoting you (although it does stop retweets) or responding to you publicly. Remember, Twitter is probably the most public of all networks. Think before you tweet.
• Google+: Your posts at Google+ aren’t as important as your Google profile. Hide anything you saw but wanted private when you viewed your profile earlier. Make useful details (a contact email address, links to your portfolio or personal web site, etc) are visible. Create topical circles for sharing andfamiliarize yourself with Google+’s privacy settings.
• LinkedIn: If you post articles to LinkedIn, make sure they’re professional in nature and relevant to the public persona you want to put forward. While you’re there, go ahead and fill out your profile with additional details: odds are your profile may be incomplete, or the last time you updated it was the last time you changed jobs.

If all else fails, you can turn to services that promise to protect your online reputation. They’re usually effective, but they all cost money. For example, previously mentioned BrandYourselfand Reputation.com (formerly Reputation Defender) will all help streamline this process for you.

Step Two: Beef Up Your Online Presence with Better Profiles, a Nameplate Site, and More

Now that we’ve ditched the bad stuff, it’s time to build up the good stuff. Potential employers, business contacts, and people you network with will look you up anyway, so why not make sure what they find is what you want them to know?

Spruce Up Your Social Networks. Your social networks can be valuable tools if you use them. Update your LinkedIn profile with your interests and skills, not just your work history. Add some relevant interests to Facebook and leave them public. You may even want to like a few job or industry-related pages, or create a Facebook page specifically for your professional persona. Upload a good-looking profile photo to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google profiles, and consider filling out your photo gallery with flattering shots of you, your work, or even your projects and things you’ve worked on. Use every opportunity to showcase your skills, talents and interests, whether it’s in the “Likes” section of your Facebook profile, or the photos in your Instagram account. There’s nothing wrong with food photos at Instagram if you’re a self-described foodie, for example.

Sign up for new services that best showcase your skills. For example, if you want your indie film to get attention or you want to expand the audience of your video podcast, consider signing up for Vimeo as well as YouTube. You get access to a whole new community, and much more exposure. Are you a writer? Consider nabbing a named Tumblr account, even if you already blog at Wordpress. If you’re a photographer and want to build a portfolio, consider hosting your photos at Flickr, Smugmug, and Picasa to get the most exposure and make it easy for people to find you. At the very least, you can direct visitors to the service you regularly use.

Get a nameplate site (or several) that accurately reflects who you are. Choose the best nameplate site for the information you want to convey and sign up. For example, almost anyone can benefit from anAbout.me, Flavors.me, or Vizify account, but students may want to try Seelio because you can upload videos and projects that show off your skills even if you don’t have a resume to speak of. Business owners with projects can use Sidengo because their template pages feature things like contact pages, maps, and document downloads for things like forms and menus. They’re all free, and do a great job of linking visitors to networks you already use while conveying useful information.

Get your own domain and use it as a portfolio and for email. Owning your own domain is extremely valuable and worth more than the money you’ll pay to get it. Before you say “all the best domains are gone,” keep in mind that even if you can’t get yourname.com, you should be able to get a variation on it that’s close enough. If you can’t use your name, pick a domain you’re comfortable using as your personal banner and use that instead. Once you’re registered with a great registrar, choose a great hosting company and set up shop. If you’re a writer, host your own blog, or publish selected clips of your writing from other blogs. Republish yourself if you wrote something amazing elsewhere. If you’re a photographer or artist, use your domain as a portfolio to showcase your work. You can even just use it as an additional nameplate site. Behind the scenes, use your domain for email. It looks professional and every email you send is an invitation for the recipient to come and see your portfolio, full of links to the things you want them to see.

Make the most of those services. Make sure all of your profiles are filled out with as much useful information as possible. Don’t just sign up and walk away. Upload a good photo of yourself to your social networks and nameplates—preferably a flattering one—so potential employers and new friends alike see you at your best. Use a consistent email address across all of those services so it’s easy to get in touch with you, and cross-link them to one another frequently. This makes sure anyone who lands on one can easily get to everything else you do, and makes it easier for Google to index the real you.

Keep an eye on the results. For people who just want a good face and impression, you can stop here. For others who enjoy analyzing how people find them, most nameplate services offer analytics so you can see how people find you and where they click to leave. Add Google Analytics to your personal site and portfolio to see how well you’re being recieved, and what people come to your site to see. This way you can keep an eye on who’s looking for you and what their eyes are drawn to when they find you.

Step Three: Keep Your Best Foot Forward

By now, you’ve done your homework to find out what other people find when they look for you, cleaned up your profiles, and added content to the web that you control so people only see what you want them to learn about you. As you go forward with your shiny, professional online persona, make sure to keep it clean by following the fundamental rule of sharing on the internet: don’t post it if you don’t want it to be public. The internet is a big place with a long memory. Internet Shame Insurance can remind you if you’re about to post something you might regret.

Keep in mind that your ideal online first impression doesn’t have to be a perfect, rosy picture of your personality, just a truthful one. We agree with XKCD on this point—if putting your best foot forward keeps you from being a jerk, then great, but don’t let it stifle your brilliance or keep you from expressing your opinion and being true to your ideals. After all, those are the things we want people to learn about us when they go looking.

 

cross-posted from lifehacker

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know. You Know?

Have you ever applied for a position and think to yourself “I don’t stand a chance. This job is way over my head but I might as well apply?” First off, good job, for being confident and ambitious enough to apply for the position. But what happens if you get a phone interview? I’ll get to that in a moment.

If you are trying desperately to find a job, just casually looking for that matter, you need to treat the process as though it is a job. Here are some tips on how to organize your search.

1. Keep a book, note pad, Excel spread sheet, whatever is available to you and track ALL of the positions and companies you apply to.
2. Beside each entry document the main job duties that are in the description. Then make note of the parts of your resume that you believe are most applicable to the position.
3. If you are able to get contact information for any of the positions, make sure you document that as well.
4. Continuously update the list and put the positions you are most interested in at the top. Date when you applied to them so you know when to follow up on your application.

Now, back to the position you have no chance at getting. You have a chance. In many cases job descriptions are carefully crafted by Human Resource departments and don’t always give an accurate depiction of the nuts and bolts of the position. Refer back to your organized list and see what information you already have on the job. Then, look over your resume and put yourself in the recruiters’ position. Ask yourself; “Why would this resume make me stand out?” Chances are there skill sets that have been identified in your resume that has gotten you to the opportunity to interview.  Take the items on your resume that align most with the job description and make not of them. You will need to refer back to this information during the interview.

At this point you still don’t have a good idea of the position and the phone is about to ring. It’s OK. Breathe. When the recruiter calls, it is absolutely OK to inquire further about the position. Here is an example of what you may say…”I want to make sure that I am able to provide the best answers possible. Could you tell me what the 3 most important responsibilities are?” This can help you tailor your answers to what they want to hear.  Without this information you will find yourself in a position where you don’t know what you don’t know.  You know?

 

 

The HR Recruiter

The HR Recruiter has over 3 years’ experience working in Employment Services and Human Resources. He is currently working on his Masters of Science in Human Resource Development at N.C. State University. He is also a member of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management). 

How to use an Apostrophe in 10 Rules!

There are definite rules for its use, but many writers use commas subjectively, leading to disagreement (and acrimony) whenever writers or editors discuss this modest punctuation mark.

This week, I’m tackling another punctuation mark—the apostrophe. The rules for the apostrophe are much more definite, but they are frequently misapplied. So misunderstanding often ensues when it comes to the apostrophe.

Here are some rules for its use.

1. An apostrophe is used to show the possessive case of proper nouns. 

• Allison Jones’ article (one person named Jones)
• The Joneses’ article (two or more people named Jones) 

2. If a singular or plural word does not end in s, add ’s to form the possessive. 

• a child’s wants
• the men’s concerns
• the people’s choice
• everyone’s answer

3. If a proper noun or name ends in a silent s, z, or x, add an ’s 

• Theroux’s “The Mosquito Coast”

4. Do not use ’s with possessive pronouns: his, hers, ours, its, yours, theirs, whose. 

• The article was hers.
• I have not seen its equal.

5. Use ’s only after the last word of a compound term. 

• my father-in-law’s book
• an editor in chief’s decision
• someone else’s problem 

6. When showing joint possession with an organization’s or business firm’s name, use the possessive only in the last word. 

• the Food and Drug Administration’s policy
• Hammond and Horn’s study

7. Do not use an apostrophe to indicate the plural of a name, an all-capital abbreviation, or of numerals. 

• Veterans Affairs
• musicians union
• ECGs
• WBCs
• a woman in her 40s
• during the late 1990s (1990’s—no, no, no, a thousand times no.)

8. Use ’s to indicate the plural of letters, signs, or symbols when s alone would be confusing. 

• Please spell out all the &’s.
• She got eight A’s and two B’s on her last report card.

9. When units of time or money are used as possessive adjectives, add ’s.

• a day’s wait
• a dollar’s worth
• six months’ gestation
• two weeks’ notice (The movie title was not punctuated correctly.)

 
10. When a word ends in an apostrophe, no period or comma should be placed between the word and the apostrophe. 

• The last book on the shelf was the Smiths’.

Laura Hale Brockway is medical writer and editor and author of the blog Impertinent Remarks.

What Does “Overqualified” Mean, Anyway?

Of course rejection hurts, but to tell your friends and family (and yourself) that you were turned down because you were too skilled or too experienced is much less bruising on the ego than the alternative. For companies looking to eliminate candidates, using the word “overqualified” may take some of the sting and fear of retribution out of the rejection. But is it true?

Think about this scenario for a second. You are trying to hire a new employee and you estimate that someone with five years of experience should be able to handle the duties effectively. A candidate is presented with fifteen years of experience that has all the attributes you are seeking. This person should theoretically perform the tasks quicker and even take on some additional workload. Do you really think a company would not hire this person simply because he/she has those additional years of experience? I would argue that is rarely the case.

What can overqualified actually mean?

Overpaid

If your experience is greater than what is required, it generally becomes a problem when your salary requirements are above what is budgeted. It’s not that you are classified as overpaid in your current role, but that you would be overpaid for the level of responsibility at the new job. I list this as the most likely culprit because I often see companies initially reject a candidate as overqualified, then hire that same person because of a lack of less experienced quality talent.

Stagnant

Candidates who have worked for many years in a technically stagnant and regulated environment will often not thrive in less regulated, more technically diverse firms. The conventional wisdom, right or wrong, is that you can’t release the zoo lions back into the jungle once they’ve been tamed.

Overskilled

If your skills are greater than what is necessary for the job, an employer may fear that the lack of challenges provided will bore you into looking for more interesting work in the future. Hiring a tech lead to do bug fixes could lead to a short stint. There is emerging evidence that shows skilled workers do not exit less challenging jobs quickly or in high numbers, but hiring managers are not quite ready to abandon the traditional line of thinking.

Threatening

If your experience is greater than those conducting the interviews, there could be some fear that you could be a competitor for future opportunities for promotion. If a start-up is yet to hire a CTO, the highest geek on that firm’s food chain may be jockeying for the role. This may sound a bit like a paranoid conspiracy theory, but I genuinely believe it is prevalent enough to mention.

Age

Ageism is a real problem, but in my experience, ageism is also widely overdiagnosed by candidates who think the problem is their age when in actuality it is their work history. Most of the self-diagnosed claims of ageism that I hear are from candidates who spent perhaps 20+ years working for the same company and have not focused on keeping their skills up to date (see stagnant above). I can’t say that I’ve ever heard a claim of ageism from a candidate that has moved around in their career and stayed current with technology. The problem often isn’t age, it is relevance.

So if you are an active job seeker that is continuously hearing that you are overqualified, what can you do to improve your standing?

1. Rethink: Try to investigate which of the meanings of overqualified you are hearing most often. Is your compensation in line with what companies are paying for your set of qualifications? Do you present yourself in interviews as someone who may become easily bored when your work is less challenging? Are you making it clear in interviews that you want the job, and you explain why you want the job?

2. Retool: Make sure your skills are relevant and being sought by companies. Invest time to learn an emerging technology or developing some niche specialty that isn’t already flooded.

3. Remarket: Write down the top reasons you think a company should hire you, and then check to see if those reasons are represented in your job search materials (resume, email application, cover letters). Find out what was effective for your peers in their job search and try to implement new self-promotion tactics.

4. Reboot and refresh: Take a new look at your options beyond the traditional career paths. Have you considered consulting or contracting roles where your guidance and mentoring skills could be justified and valued for temporary periods? Are there emerging markets that interest you?

Terms like ‘overqualified’ and ‘not a fit’ are unfortunately the laziest, easiest, and safest ways that companies can reject you for a position, and they almost always mean something else. Discovering the real reason you were passed up is necessary to make the proper adjustments so you can get less rejections and more offers.

Dave Fecak is an independent recruiter and consultant that specializes in working with software firms primarily in the Philadelphia area. Dave is also the founder/JUGmaster of the Philadelphia Area Java Users’ Group. His blog isJobTipsForGeeks and he tweets at @jobtipsforgeeks.

Top 100 Most Powerful Resume Words

 

In today’s society, your resume is the most important document you have to get yourself an interview.

Including power resume words will increase your chance of getting hired by 80%!

When a hiring manager is seeing the same old resume time and time again which includes the cliché words and phrases such as “highly dedicated individual” or “great team player” you are guaranteeing yourself your resume will be deleted.

Poorly chosen words and clichéd phrases can destroy the interest of the reader. Power words when chosen correctly can have the opposite effect of motivating and inspiring the reader

Power Resume Words will make help you stand out from your competition and increase your chances of getting hired!

Top 100 Power Resume Words

1. Advanced
2. Assigned
3. Assessed
4. Absorbed
5. Accelerated
6. Attained
7. Attracted
8. Announced
9. Appraised
10. Budgeted
11. Bolstered
12. Balanced
13. Boosted
14. Bargained
15. Benefited
16. Beneficial
17. Comply
18. Critiqued
19. Closed
20. Collaborated
21. Designed
22. Delegated
23. Demonstrated
24. Developed
25. Detected
26. Efficient
27. Enhanced
28. Excelled
29. Exceeded
30. Enriched
31. Fulfilled
32. Financed
33. Forecasted
34. Formulated
35. Generated
36. Guided
37. Granted
38. Helped
39. Hosted
40. Implemented
41. Investigated
42. Increased
43. Initiated
44. Influenced
45. Integrated
46. Innovated
47. Instituted
48. Justified
49. Listed
50. Logged
51. Maintained
52. Mentored
53. Measured
54. Multiplied
55. Negotiated
56. Observed
57. Operated
58. Obtained
59. Promoted
60. Presented
61. Programmed
62. Provided
63. Projected
64. Qualified
65. Quantified
66. Quoted
67. Recommended
68. Refine
69. Revamp
70. Reacted
71. Retained
72. Recovered
73. Reinstated
74. Rejected
75. Sustained
76. Skilled
77. Saved
78. Scheduled
79. Supported
80. Secured
81. Simplified
82. Screened
83. Segmented
84. Streamlined
85. Strengthened
86. Triumphed
87. Troubleshot
88. Taught
89. Tutored
90. Translated
91. Trained
92. Uncovered
93. United
94. Unified
95. Updated
96. Upgraded
97. Validated
98. Viewed
99. Worldwide
100. Witnessed

Cross posted from Careerealism.com

How NOT to Write a Resume, pt. 2

So, last time we covered some basic “don’ts” of writing a resume. I would like to say that all bases were covered in the last post but alas that is not the case. Here is round two of “resume’ don’ts.”

1)      Just post one! A lot of people get to the point in the application where they are asked to post a resume’. This, for many, seems to be a terrifying feat. If you don’t have a resume’ that is fine. But, take the time to create one. There are a plethora of sources out there that can help you in doing so. Not posting a resume’ will surely prevent your resume’ from being seen.

2)      What is in a name? When you create a resume’ you save it. And when you save your resume you title the document something. DO NOT title it “Professional” or “Resume’.” Instead, title your document as your name. You can use your first initial and last name if your name is too long. DO NOT use your initials. In some cases this may be fine, however, if your full name is David Allen Madison, (DAM) OR Cameron Allen Nicolas (CAN, as to say you won’t your resume to last a long time)your resume’ may provide giggles for a recruiter but not necessarily in a good way. The more often your full name is seen the better and titling your resume as such is another way to achieve this.

3)      I Font take it anymore! This example ties in with the formatting don’ts from the last post. HR Recruiters look at hundreds of resume’s a week. When we come across one that has italics every other line, some parts bold, some parts not and a mixture of Courier New and Arial Black…we usually set it aside until our eyes are able to focus again. Keep it simple and neat. Use the same font for the entire resume’. Bolding certain parts are fine but keep it consistent.

4)      Spell Check does not always work! Nowadays we tend to get lazy when it comes to our spelling. We all do it, me included. However, the one place you want to make sure your spelling is absolutely correct is on a resume. So, don’t rely on spell check alone, but read your resume out loud to yourself. You may catch sentences like this…”I supervised to individuals.” Or, “Was a vitality part of the restructure process and prove import supervise of knew employees.” See the problems? Should be “Was a vital part of the restructure process and provided important supervision of new employees.” This may seem extreme but if you don’t know the difference between their, they’re and there you won’t get a job here.

 

These are only four examples but they are crucial. Next time we’ll focus on interview “don’ts” particularly phone interviews.

 

Until next time…

The HR Recruiter

The HR Recruiter has over 3 years’ experience working in Employment Services and Human Resources. He is currently working on his Masters of Science in Human Resource Development at N.C. State University. He is also a member of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management).