How Social Media Can Help People In Transition - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How Social Media Can Help People In Transition - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career There’s no newspaper or magazine nowadays that does not devote some space to the fast-developing new phenomenon called social media. My explanation for this is very simple: Let’s say you invite some people for a social gathering to take place in your house. Among the dozen or so you host will be some who are very knowledgeable about certain subjects, and some others, less so. That doesn’t mean that those who aren’t very knowledgeable will not contribute to the conversation. They will, but their content will be less factual or less valuable to the listeners. So, how does this situation apply to the electronic versions of social media? Today there are a significant number of such venues. The more popular are Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn (which is oriented more toward business contacts). People use them for communication in a similar way that those guests of yours do in your house. However, the interchanges happen electronically. Some of the written material is thorough, researched, meaningful, and at times useful. Other information simply amounts to chitchat that has no value except perhaps to a very few. The advantage of social media is that if you don’t like what you read, you can just move on to read something else. Conversely, when you’re faced with a similar situation in a physical venue, it would be rude to tell the speaker you’re bored and you’d prefer to move on. If you’re in transition and looking for your next job, you’ll have to interact or network with people extensively. Not everything you hear people say will be valuable to you, but some of it will. Similarly, you have to be selective about your sources of reading material and their contents; it’s easy to be swept into meaningless and verbose articles at the end of which you realize you’ve gained nothing. On the other hand, once you learn to become selective and focus only on substantive reading material, you’ll realize you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, meaning that some other people can provide you the information you need. Twitter, as an example, is limited to 140 characters. Some tweets are obvious wastes of time. The fact that John finished eating his muffin is irrelevant to most readers. But if someone draws your attention to a newly written article about a subject you’re trying to learn more about, that article could prove to be very valuable. The conclusion is that you need to eliminate the garbage found on social media and follow the selective few gems that will compensate you for your precious time.  

How Animations Can Transform The Effectiveness Of eLearning Content CareerMetis.com

How Animations Can Transform The Effectiveness Of eLearning Content Source â€" DepositPhotos.comRemember the days when education was all about a classroom full of students and one teacher who used to lead the learning process. There were times when the physical presence of students in a classroom was used as a measure of how much they have learned. But then, this thing called the “Internet” came into existence and the scenarios changed. Now learning is not restricted to the four walls of the classrooms. It can be conducted anywhere, anytime and by anybody. The eLearning process is straightforward. We just need a learner and a computer with an internet connection. Students have now presented the lessons digitally. These lessons are not just restricted to text but videos, audios, slideshows and other documents that make learning an engaging process. One such element that is not being incorporated in eLearning content is Animations. Moving images today are changing the way learners perceive a topic. Animations are turning as a powerful tool to sprea d the word, tell the story and engage the learners in the content. All this enhances the effectiveness of online learning. Want to know how exactly a small animation can do wonders to an eLearning course.eval Here are 10 astonishing ways Animations are transforming the effectiveness of eLearning Content.1) Emphasizing the messageevalAnimations can be used to focus upon the message one wants to spread through their eLearning content. For instance, if you want to engage the learner in the topic, a short animated introductory video that describes the objective of the lesson can bind the learners to the lesson. The visuals if combined correctly with the tone of your concept can make it easier for the learner to understand that objective and hence intrigue them to watch the whole lesson.2) Tell your Story EffortlesslyStorytelling has always been a part of learning. Remember those days when we used to listen to stories from our teachers and learn some important values of life. We all used to paint a picture in our minds and connect with the characters. Animations today bring our imagination into reality. You can formulate an animated story and explain the concepts easily to the learners. This not only makes the eLearning content interesting but engaging as well. 3) Bring life to your ContentThe plain text seems a little boring, right? Animation can bring it to life! It has been seen that learners prefer images, info graphics, and visuals over plain text. They are able to understand a concept in a better way through animations than through a slideshow that contains only some bullet points on each slide. Also, it becomes easier for the learners to relate with the content faster and retain it faster if they can visualize the content rather than just read it. eval4) Simplify the ConceptThis is one of the significant benefits of using animation in one’s eLearning content. It becomes easier to break a concept into smaller simplified parts. You can even make a series of videos to teach the whole concept in parts. That is what micro-learning is. Teaching those tricky concepts of physics or explaining medieval history can become easy with this. Not only for students, but animations can also be used by industries and corporate to explain complex data and functions to the employees.eval5) Set the Right ToneAnimations can straightaway target the emotions of the learners and hence can either completely engage them in the content or distract them away. For instance, if an animation contains soothing sound effects and clear dialogues it will attract the adult learners. Similarly, if the animation comprises of some cartoons and includes avatars it would appeal the younger audience and hence would engage them in the lesson. Hence animations can set the right tone of the lesson and create the required learning atmosphere. It helps in giving a personality to the course that is not just limited to black and white colors.evalSource â€" DepositPhotos.com6) Enhanc ed Interaction with the ContentThe main use of animations, however, is spreading the message and conveying a concept in simpler terms. But, one of the main aspects that many course creators overlook while creating animations is engagement and interaction of the learners. If built in the correct manner, an animated video can keep the learners engaged.The course creators can add questions, short quizzes and even puzzles in between the lessons that would enable the learners to interact with the course. It can also be done on a community level if more than one learner is learning at one time. This means that all of them would get a chance to not only interact with the video but also amongst them. This discussion can be continued even after the lesson completes on the community forum or the learning platform only. As a result, many of the learners would actively participate.7) Better Learning ExperienceAnimations, when incorporated with eLearning content, can transform the learning proce ss completely. It not only entertains the learners but teaches them a concept that might appear boring to them in the first place. Visuals, graphics and other multimedia elements make them understand the typical subjects in a better way.Different types of animations are being used today to target different learning requirements. Whiteboard animations, for instance, are common in the corporate sector. These type of animations keep the content simple yet engaging. 8) Learn QuicklySometimes learners take a lot of time to understand one particular concept. After all, reading a lengthy textbook can be uninteresting. However, through eLearning content, they can understand a topic quickly. This is mainly because of two reasons. Firstly, the animated content comprises of only the important aspects of the topic and does not include irrelevant or extra information. Secondly, the animated content is more engaging than a textbook. Hence the learners pay full attention to the lesson. This not on ly saves their time but makes learning an easier process for them.9) User AccessibilityTraditional classroom teaching cannot be paused, rewound or replayed. But animations can be! This brings us to our next important benefit of using animations in eLearning content. In eLearning, the learners are the drivers of their learning process. They have the right to watch the same video lesson any number of times they want or until they do not achieve full clarity of the topic. Similarly, they can access the information from any platform whether it is mobile phones, desktop screens or tablets. They can watch and learn from anywhere at any time. eval10) Easy to Upgrade ContentOnce you have shot a video it is merely impossible to upgrade it. If you want to change a major portion of the content you need to recreate the whole video again. Animations have an advantage over these rational videos. It is easier to change the animation, add an aspect, change the text or add an image into animated v ideo whenever you want. This can be done in case if the learners are not linking a particular animated video. The instructors can enhance the videos as per the learner feedback easily. Hence the effectiveness of your eLearning content can be enhanced anytime with animated videos.11) Practical LearningHave you heard of a concept called ‘Application-based Learning’? It simply means providing the learners with practical aspects of a topic so that they can understand a concept in a better way. Animations can explain the practical aspects of a concept easily to the learners. For instance, employers can explain to the staff how a particular product can be useful for the customers before even it is developed using animations. evalSimilarly, students can be taught the real-life aspects of subjects like science, math, psychology, etc. through animations. This practical aspect of learning added to online learning course can increase its worth to great extents. 11) Fewer Resources â€" More ProductivityAnimated content is suitable not only for K-12 students but professionals as well. Both of these learners prefer convenient and time-friendly content. But many course creators have this misconception that animated content is expensive. In fact, one of the major benefits of animations in eLearning content is cost-effectiveness. For creating live videos, one needs to prepare the complete setup, plan a budget and gather the filming equipment. In the case of animated videos you just need video animation software and an animation expert who will create the content as required. In this way, even small scale businesses can produce high quality and engaging content within their budget.Animations are not just meant to be fun and quirky. They can be informative as well. All it takes is the right approach and the right content. There can be times when video-based eLearning courses can become less interactive but animations can enhance the interactivity and accessibility beyond the capabilities of simple video-based eLearning content. Animation makes it easier for learners to retain content in a better manner. In all, animation gives a chance to the course creators to enhance their eLearning content in many ways.

3 Inevitable Career Struggles and How to Learn from Them %

3 Inevitable Career “Struggles” and How to Learn from Them % 3 Inevitable Career “Struggles” and How to Learn from Them Everybody’s career will have ebbs and flows, challenges, and opportunities. No matter how great someone’s journey may look on paper, everyone goes through career and business struggles. Even those who may appear to transition seamlessly from one great job to the next run into struggles throughout the course of their career â€" how you bounce back and move forward is what defines true success. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Luvleen Sidhu, who at the young age of 28 co-founded BankMobile, America’s largest and fastest-growing mobile-first bank. Even though she came from a banking family, Luvleen didn’t envision a career in banking. After opening a bank account in college, she realized how uninspiring and complicated the process was. Importantly, she didn’t feel like she had a “partner” in her bank to help navigate finances and build a strong financial foundation. In business school she was trained to think like an entrepreneur and look for opportunities where customer pain points weren’t being addressed and to build a business around it. This coupled with her previous personal banking experiences felt like areas she could improve upon, which lead her to her business idea of mobile banking. Luvleen shared some of her career struggles and how she’s learned to combat them. THE STRUGGLE: How to make a change or pivot your plan mid-stream. She recognized the method of banking in the United States is a pain point for most people; so, Luvleen took the opportunity to create something new with a fresh perspective and created a digital bank. After the digital bank launched, the team realized that their original direct-to-consumer strategy did not enable the growth needed. They needed to sign up more customers and at lower acquisition costs. While they didn’t want to stray from the mission of providing an effortless and affordable banking platform, they recognized they had to pivot their strategy. They devise a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) strategy by acquiring a platform that enabled us to partner with colleges and universities around the country. Their willingness to be flexible and pivot, enabled them to open ~300K accounts a year (they currently have 2 million students banking with them). THE LESSON: Flexibility and thinking creatively are keys to success. THE STRUGGLE: How to handle competition and find your niche.   All businesses will have competition in some form or another. Recognizing your competition and embracing what they have created in the market offers inspiration to continue to innovate and stay one step ahead. Although BankMobile’s mission and values differ from the “big banks” they are still their biggest competitors (big banks hold 50% of overall customer deposits). Instead of being intimidated by these institutions and their considerable customer base, they leveraged pain points their customers experience and created a better product. Since BankMobile’s launch in 2015, a number of other digital banking startups have entered the marketplace. Instead of looking at competition as a negative, they now take it as inspiration and motivation to see what customers value in the digital banking model. THE LESSON: Embrace competition and use it as motivation for future change.   It may sound silly but give your job search  effort  a name.  You can name it after yourself,  your dog, or your most desired company to work for.  Call it, ‘My Job Winning Project,’  â€˜Job Search Mission,’  â€˜Mission Microsoft,’ or  â€˜Project Fred.’  Name  the  initiative or  job search  effort and celebrate your effort when you win the job you’ve been wanting.         THE STRUGGLE: How to let go of 10% Thinking. 10% Thinking is the theory that whatever you’re working towards, you should improve the process in 10% increments. While this can be an efficient practice, 10% improvements is just not enough to be an extraordinary company. On the other hand, “Moonshot Thinking,” comes from the idea of landing a man on the moon when this was only a dream â€" a “moonshot.” Letting go of 10% Thinking and instead focusing on 10x Thinking is where you will start to see a tangible change. If they had only worked to improve BankMobile in increments of 10%, they wouldn’t have achieved what they have in less than five years â€" being one of America’s largest and fastest-growing digital banks. THE LESSON: While it may sound cliché, thinking big is the best way to significantly improve and get real results. It is important to identify that the journey to career success is exactly that â€" a journey. It takes discipline, practice, and some serious self-reflection. No matter what your career path or business is, everyone will likely face roadblocks or feel defeated. The secret to success is to push through the struggles and then learn from and apply the lessons. Join Dana Manciagli’s  Job Search Master Class ®  now  and get the most comprehensive  online  job search system available!

Using Resume Designs Templates For Your Job Application

Using Resume Designs Templates For Your Job ApplicationRecruiters look at resumes designs templates when they're trying to choose between different candidates for job vacancies. Resume designs templates can help with that too by offering a combination of your most professional and attractive features to the reader.Templates help you create an image of yourself. You can highlight your skills, knowledge and achievements and give the reader a good idea of who you are. Take the time to choose a style, layout and font to best represent you. The more effort you put into it, the better the end result will be.Don't be afraid to experiment with the right colors, fonts and placement to get the correct combination of the elements for your professional resume designs. Take into account all the elements that you see on your potential employer's website and decide on the layout that best meets their requirements. Remember that the majority of employers want only the best applicants and your resume will help them make that decision.When using resume designs templates make sure you keep your structure as straight forward as possible. You don't want to clutter up the page with too many columns or bulks. Keep your content clear and concise and show the reader what's important without being too boring or structured.Recruiters like neat, legible and easy to read documents. No one likes reading words jumbled together or bulks. Use professional resume designs templates to avoid that problem.When using resume designs templates be careful not to use any kind of distracting content or graphics that could be off-putting to your potential employer. It is tempting to play around with colors, shapes and sizes. Just be sure you're staying within the guidelines so the reader can see what's important.Use of resumedesigns templates is good practice and shows you put a lot of effort into creating a good looking resume. All you have to do is run the design through a computer program to make sure it looks good and that it reflects your qualifications. If you hire someone to create the resume for you be sure to check their work and ask any questions you have in advance so you can be sure the job you're going for is what you really want.Apply resume designs templates and you'll be on your way to landing the job of your dreams. There's no reason you shouldn't use a template if you're serious about getting the job. No matter what job position you're applying for, using resume designs templates can make you stand out among other applicants and get the interview you're aiming for.

What is a Resume in Writing? What Does it Really Mean?

What is a Resume in Writing? What Does it Really Mean?The one and only question that you really should ask yourself is what is a resume in writing? And, as you continue reading this article, you will soon realize that it's the one thing that will dictate whether you succeed or fail at your job hunt.Remember when you first heard the term, 'Resume'? What did you think? Did you think of this term as a bit of a cliche? Did you think that such a thing was just a big useless formality that no one really needs?No, you did not think of such things! In fact, you're probably thinking exactly the same things I'm thinking now: How in the world can someone use an online resume to land the job of their dreams?That is because, to date, no other writing tool has been able to match the power of the written resume when it comes to job search. For instance, what else has even come close to the power of the written resume when it comes to job hunting?I can't think of anything! Now, does that mean that y ou should never use any other writing tool that you use to rock bottom in your job search? Of course not.What it means is that a better writing tool is now available for your employment needs. It's the digital resume.A digital resume can help you transform your skills and accomplishments into a powerful writing tool that will catapult you to the top of the pile in your job hunt. I personally used this amazing tool to secure my dream job.

A Fools Handbook to Teaching Resources for Writing Resume Explained

A Fool's Handbook to Teaching Resources for Writing Resume Explained You don't will need to devote a whole paragraph to every work description. You might want to remember that there's no single best method to structure a resume. If that's the case, your resume can nevertheless be quantified, and provide the hiring manager a concrete idea of the reach of your abilities and abilities. A History of Teaching Resources for Writing Resume Refuted You are going to want to highlight different facets of your experience, based on the particular needs of the position available. There are a lot of basic forms of resumes used to make an application for job openings. It's possible for you to divide your skills into various sections for simple readability for the employer. As a teacher, you know that you discovered and honed a number of skills and abilities. The Nuiances of Teaching Resources for Writing Resume You may also opt to incorporate the education section after you've listed y our job employment history. Teaching jobs usually need specific degrees and certifications, so be certain to highlight your education. If you have little teaching experience, include volunteer positions and co-curricular pursuits that involve teaching in some manner. Even if you believe your teaching experience is minimal, it's likely greater than you believe! Teaching Resources for Writing Resume Secrets If you are in possession of a permanent and local address, you may want to play with columns. Writing a resume summary statement might be new to you if it's been a while because you have updated your resume. When writing a resume make sure it's structured so that the absolute most important information is on the very first page. At the peak of your resume following your name, contact information, and job title there ought to be an introduction or skilled profile or summary. It's crucial that you never exaggerate or overclaim your role, but you need to spell out the work y ou've done in a manner that demonstrates that you've taken responsibility and been a leader before. Now you are aware of how to compose the ideal teaching resume, it's time to discover the ideal place to send it. It's worth power and effort to acquire it just perfect. When writing a resume, it helps to review resume examples that are linked to your occupation. Resume writing has students imagine an extremely specific audience usually a possible employer and reinforces the significance of writing for a true audience. Writing a cover letter to reveal passion and personality is also an important part of a successful job search. Stating you have passion isn't enough. Whether you're a new teacher or a veteran with a great deal of experience, you've got value to provide you must communicate through marketing the benefit you offer.

7 Questions Youre Better Off NOT Asking At The Job Interview - Work It Daily

7 Questions You’re Better Off NOT Asking At The Job Interview - Work It Daily When you’re at a job interview, you want to impress. One of the ways to do that is asking questions. The responses you get can offer insight to how you can personalize your communication and it shows the employer that you are engaged and interested. However, there are some questions that are better off not asking. RELATED: 7 Things Employers Want To Find Out During Job Interviews Stick to questions that will help you gain insight to the job and organization because that will direct the conversation in a manner that gives you the opportunity to show you have what the employer is looking for. What you want to avoid are the random questions that only speak to your personal gain and interest, like “Can I get a two hour lunch break?” Consider that what you ask at the job interview is as important as how you respond to questions. Stay away from these questions: 1. What’s your maternity/paternity leave policy? For the first interview or when the employer is still trying to assess whether you’re a good fit for the job, this is not a question you want to ask. It sounds like you’re planning to take time off before even starting work. Questions of benefits may be left for much later and are usually best addressed when you actually receive a job offer. 2. What are the work hours? Sure, you need to know what time to start work and when the work day ends, but it’s not necessarily a question you should ask during the early stage of the interview process. Don’t come off like you’re one who watches the clock. It’ll make the employer question your work ethic. Are you someone who will check-out as soon as the clock strikes 5 PM even though there’s an urgent deadline that must be met on a particular occasion? 3. Can you tell me more about the company? Don’t ask questions you can easily find information on. It indicates to the hiring manager you didn’t do your homework and may have just randomly applied to the job. Demonstrate to the hiring manager you know the company and its business. For example, ask: “I read that the company recently formed an alliance with 123 Company, are there plans to expand into the Asian market considering 123 Company has….?” 4. How quickly do promotions come around? At most organizations promotions are not handouts, they are earned. By asking this question, it leaves an impression that you’re more interested in the next advancement than doing the job you’ve applied to. Stick to questions that demonstrate you want to succeed on the job. For example, ask: “What types of qualities are needed to succeed on the job?” The answer may very well provide opportunity for you to demonstrate you have those qualities. 5. Does the company monitor employees’ computer and Internet usage? By asking this question, you’re opening up a can of worms for yourself. Why ask it? It only leads the employer to think you do a lot of personal stuff while at work and don’t want to get caught. 6. What’s the salary and benefits for this job? General advice is leave money talk to the end of the interview process or when you actually get an offer. The last thing you want to do is indicate to the employer that it’s all about the money. The other reason to stay away from the subject is you want to focus on making the best impression you can first. When you’ve done that, there will usually be room to negotiate a salary that suits your desire. 7. Asking what’s already been answered. Please listen carefully and don’t ask anything that’s already been answered during the job interview. If you do, it’s indicating to the interviewer you weren’t paying attention. Certainly it’s okay to ask a question that you need clarity on, but make sure you position it in a manner that doesn’t come off like you weren’t listening. Many of the questions that shouldn’t be asked at a job interview relate to personal gain and benefits. While some of the information may be needed to decide whether you’d accept the job or not, wait until the job offer actually comes through to have the questions addressed. The main priority now is to establish rapport with your contact and impress them by sharing what it is that you have to offer. For more tips on what you SHOULD ask at the job interview, read: “Ace The Interview By Asking The Right Questions.” This post was originally published at an earlier date. Related Posts How To Customize Your Resume 3 Tips For Flaunting Your Value On Your Resume How To Make Dates On A Resume Work For You About the author Don Goodman’s firm was rated as the #1 Resume Writing Service in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Don is a triple-certified, nationally recognized Expert Resume Writer, Career Management Coach and Job Search Strategist who has helped thousands of people secure their next job. Check out his Resume Writing Service. Get a Free Resume Evaluation or call him at 800.909.0109 for more information. Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!