Monday, December 30, 2019

How to Get Hired When Youre Just Starting Your Career

How to Get Hired When Youre Just Starting Your CareerHow to Get Hired When Youre Just Starting Your CareerJob searches are never much fun, but when youre just starting out and dont have much or any experience, its often hard to know where to start. How can you position yourself to get hired when youre brand new to the workforce?1. If your rsum is sparse, think creatively about what experience you can include. While work experience is best, you can also add volunteer work, extracurricular leadership positions, community involvement, blogging and other activities that demonstrate your work ethic and skills.2. Add to your experience even though you dont have a job. Volunteering doesnt just help out organizations in need. It also expands your network, adds something to your rsum and puts you in contact with loads of new people who will now want to help you. You might also find other ways to be productive Start a blog in your field, take on a leadership role in a professional organizati on or otherwise use your time in ways that will flesh out your rsum and show youve kept building your skills.3. Learn how to job search and dont just wing it. Dont be one of the hordes of inexperienced job searchers who send out terrible application packages and make inadvertent missteps, like not preparing for common interview questions or forgetting to prep their references. There are plenty of resources for job seekers online, covering everything from writing a strong rsum to how to ace an interview. Read as much as you can find.4. Go beyond just cleaning up your online profile. By now, youve probably heard plenty about how important it is to make sure that employers Googling you wont find photos of you engaged in drunken antics or any other professional turn-offs. But go beyond eliminating anything problematic and proactively work to build a positive online presence. That could mean anything from a website portfolio of your work to a track record of smart and thoughtful comments on industry blogs. When employers Googles you, let them be impressed by what they find.5. Write an amazing cover letter. Dont fall into the trap of using your cover letter merely to summarize your rsum thats a waste of a whole page of your application. Instead, youll stand out if you write about why you want this particular job (not just a job) and why youll excel at it. And dont be stiff or dry show some personality so that employers can get a feel for who you are.6. Connect with alumni. Think you dont know anyone in your field? There are almost certainly people in the field youd like to go into among your schools alumni. Get in spur with your alma mater and ask to be put into contact with alumni in your field. You might be surprised by how willing fellow alumni are to help you out, whether its talking with you informally about their career path and what you can expect within the industry or helping you connect with hiring managers in your field. (But make sure you do your researc h beforehand and come prepared with specific questions. Most people are more willing to help you if its clear that youve done your homework.)7. Get on LinkedIn. It doesnt matter if you dont have much of a professional profile to advertise there yet fill out what you can, but more importantly, add connections from all areas of your life. That way, youll be able to see who in your network might know someone who works at a company where youd like to apply or whose company might be hiring. Plus, LinkedIn has thousands of alumni, industry and professional groups, which might help build your knowledge and give you access to industry experts.8. Get over any fears of networking. If you feel pushy or awkward reaching out about your job search to past co-workers, your parents friends and other people you know, its time to get over it. The people you reach out to wont think youre doing anything odd networking is normal and most people want to help if they can. So dont let the fact that its new or nerve-wracking stop you from doing it.Alison Green writes the popular Ask a Manager blog, where she dispenses advice on career, job search, and management issues. Shes also the co-author of Managing to Change the World The Nonprofit Managers Guide to Getting Results, and former chief of staff of a successful nonprofit organization, where she oversaw day-to-day staff management, hiring, firing, and employee development.

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

How Mark Zuckerberg started - Story of a Facebook Creator [infographic]

How fruchtfleisch Zuckerberg started - Story of a Facebook Creator infographicHow fruchtfleisch Zuckerberg started - Story of a Facebook Creator This young man is best known for his social network facebook. He may be responsible for millions of wasted hours on this social network by people all over the world. Lets not be too harsh about facebook though. It has become a part of life in the 21st century and its all thanks to this young genius. Lets take a look at Marks life journey.Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born in 1984 in White Plains, New York. His dad was dentist and mom psychiatrist. Mark and his three sisters were raised Jewish, but Mark has become atheist later.It may not be surprising that Mark have always had great results at school. He has won several prizes throughout his studies in science and classical studies. In his university application Mark claimed that he can read and write in French, Hebrew, Latin and ancient Greek.Zuckerberg learned about computers at home. He has became obsessed with programing shortly after. His parents were supportive and hired software developer David Newman to tutor him. Some kids played computer games. Mark created them. Written by Jose Antonio Vargas, it defines Marks attitude and passion about computers.Mark worked during his stay in Harvard on several different programs just for fun. One of them was called Facemash, which was used to rank hotness of students. This software was inspiration for facebook, which was launched on February 4, 2004. He dropped out of Harvard shortly after, in order to work on his facebook project.In the beginning, facebook was intended to be a handy tool for private schools only. Mark decided eventually to spread it out to the world. After meeting several sponsors facebook has started to be a huge thing.In 2003 Mark started dating Priscilla Chang and they got married in 2012. It was a small wedding in Marks backyard. Mark let the world know about it by facebook, obviously.Enjoy this beaut iful infographic created by Funders and Founderssource Funders and FoundersDo you like this story? Share it with your friends.Share Your Feedback or Ideas in the Comments

Friday, December 20, 2019

This is how much avocado toast costs in 11 American cities

This is how much avocado trinkspruch costs in 11 American citiesThis is how much avocado toast costs in 11 American citiesIf you thought the avocado toast trend was dying down you would be quite wrong. Hand stabbing injuries from cutting avocados AKA avocado hand are on the rise andaccording to a recent study, there is actually a scientific reason you are so addicted to this annoyingly Millennial meal.The study, publishedin the journalCell Metabolism, isnt that shocking as it just points out that the reward regions of our brain (the dorsal striatum and mediodorsal thalamus) literally light up when we eat delicious combinations of carbs and fats like pizza and avocado toast. Groundbreaking.This is why peoplecontinuously shell out their hard earned money on avocado toast. Last yearSquare, a tech company that helps businesses process credit card payments, calculated that Americans are spending close to $900,000 per month on avocado toast.And now Neighborhoods.com has performed an extens ive breakdown of which cities are charging the most for this green stuff.1.PhoenixAverage avocado toast cost $72.Los AngelesAverage avocado toast cost$83. DallasAverage avocado toast cost$84. San DiegoAverage avocado toast cost $85. San FranciscoAverage avocado toast cost $96. HoustonAverage avocado toast cost $97. Washington D.C.Average avocado toast cost $98. MiamiAverage avocado toast cost $109. New York CityAverage avocado toast cost $1010. ChicagoAverage avocado toast cost $11Looks like Chicagoans are spending the most on this common brunch food. But before you feel too bad about yourself according to UBS Prices and Earnings report for 2018 London is now the second most expensive city for avocados behind Zurich. In London, three avocados cost on average $7.33.

Sunday, December 15, 2019

5 Ways Co-workers Waste Your Time in the Office - The Muse

5 Ways Co-workers Waste Your Time in the Office - The Muse5 Ways Co-workers Waste Your Time in the OfficeSo, anyway, thats what happened. I can promise you one thing, Im never asking Brian to help me move again, concluded my co-worker, clearly out of breath from the seemingly endless story she had just recounted to me.How did I get deckenfries listening to this? All I did welches ask her how her weekend went. Little did I know, I was in for an epic monologue about how her boyfriend, Brian- despite having a pickup truck- was, Like, totally useless on her moving day, even though she had been telling him about it for weeks. Like, didnt he understand how important this was to her? All I could do was stand there in horror, just waiting for her to either finish emotionally processing her horrifying weekend memory or to andrang out of air- whichever came first.Sound familiar? Lets face it- co-workers can be awesome. But, they can also be major time sucks. From divulging all of the gory deta ils of a far-too-personal story (by the way, thanks for nothin, Brian) to trapping you in one of those dreaded never-ending email chains, weve all fantasized about how much wed get accomplished if we were able to work completely alone.So, in no specific order, here are the biggest offenders- plus how to stop them in their tracks.1. Dropping by Your Desk RepeatedlyRest assured, this far too lengthy moving conversation wasnt the first time Id heard of trouble brewing in paradise for my co-worker and that good for nothin Brian. Why? Well, because she frequently stopped by my desk unannounced to vent about it.If she wasnt having boyfriend troubles? Shed drop by to talk about the weather, or her upcoming birthday, or the staff meeting that morning, or even to just ask a seemingly innocent, What are you doing?My response was always that I was working (uh, duh), much like she shouldve been. But, even my sarcasm couldnt deter her. Shed stay parked there- leaning against the very cubicle wal l that was designed to keep distractions out- rambling on and on. How to Put an End to ItAs Muse editor Stacey Lastoe suggests in an article about shutting down conversations, you have two options Be super obvious (or oblivious depending on how you look at it), and pop your headphones in when the offender approaches, or straight-up say that youre slammed with work and unfortunately cant talk right now. 2. Sending You Endless EmailsYour inbox often makes you feel like youre stuck in the Twilight Zone- you cant look away for more than two seconds without a new message arriving. Sure, a few of them are important. But, the rest of them? Theyre totally unnecessary notes from your colleagues discussing the project youre all working on. Your team members continue to send short, one-line responses back and forth, even though itd be so much easier and more efficient (not to mention less distracting) for them to talk things through via instant message or- gasp- in person.But, nope. Youre stuc k dealing with this- all for a conversation that has somehow segued into a heated debate about who makes the better guacamole. How to Put an End to ItIts time to train your co-workers to send you less email. No, this doesnt involve bribing them with treats (although, that certainly wouldnt hurt). If youre stuck in that never-ending chain, gently suggest that they take that conversation elsewhere. And, moving forward, respond with definitive statements- rather than more questions- so that you can keep the conversations as concise as possible. 3. Inviting You to Unnecessary MeetingsWhen your colleague sent you a calendar invite for an upcoming meeting, you simply assumed it was relevant and important. So when that set time rolls around, you head into the conference room and take a seat.The conversation gets rolling, and suddenly feel like you did when you somehow stumbled into the wrong classroom on the first day of school. You have no idea what is being discussed. Wait, who even are these people?It quickly dawns on you that this is a meeting you definitely dont need to be at. But, for some reason, your colleague was passing out invites like Valentines Day cards in elementary school- everybody gets one Lucky you. How to Put an End to ItLike it or not, your co-workers will likely continue to invite you to things you dont really need to be at unless you speak up. Hey, at least youre apparently enjoyable to be around? So, knowing that, its up to you to be proactive in determining whether or not you really need to be there. Do so by asking yourself and your colleagues a few key questions, such as, Is there an agenda? and Am I prepared to contribute to this discussion in a meaningful way? (You can find more questions in this handy flow chart.)4. Asking You Questions (Thatve Already Been Answered)Do we have this holiday off? Is this week payday, or is it next week? How many sick days do we get? Am I allowed to use the color printer for personal use?Weve all had those co-workers who seem to treat us like were quite literally the employee handbook. While youre flattered to be thought of as the all-knowing expert on anything and everything company-related, the fact that you need to repeatedly answer questions that have already been addressed elsewhere can quickly become frustrating- not to mention, it eats up major chunks of your time.How to Put an End to ItThrow the employee handbook at him. Just kidding, dont do that- unless lawsuits are your thing (which I certainly hope theyre not). Instead, the next time your colleague approaches you with a question thats already been answered, kindly refer him to where he can find that for himself. Hopefully before too long, hell get the hint. 5. Failing to Adequately PrepareYou and your colleague have a meeting planned so that you can talk over the project youre working on together. When you sit down and whip out your well-prepared notes, you soon realize that shes done absolutely nothing to get ready for th is conversation- except, apparently, go through the Starbucks drive-through. Youre left doing most of the talking (ahem, work), while she gives you blank stares, nods along, and sucks down her iced chai latte.How to Put an End to ItThink theres no polite way to tell someone that shes a colossal waste of your time? Think again. As Muse writer, Rich Moy, explains in his piece on what to say when a co-worker is wasting your time, you just need to flip the script and use you language- rather than pointing fingers. Take a cue from his story and try saying something like, Im excited that were working on this together. But, maybe we should regroup after we both have had some time to adequately prepare.Did I miss any major ways that co-workers waste your time? Go ahead and vent to me on Twitter

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

5 Excel Skills You Need to Become a Fanatic Like Me

5 Excel Skills You Need to Become a Fanatic Like Me5 Excel Skills You Need to Become a Fanatic Like MeIf you have even the slightest attachment to the world of finance, it behooves you to boost or simply reboot yur Microsoft Excel skills from time to time.After nearly a decade in the world of accounting and finance, during which Ive hopped from jobs in audit, valuation, equity research and transaction advisory, Ive found a number of shortcuts to creating and maintaining great financial models with Excel.While the following list of Excel tips is brief, I think there are three important themes readers should take awayFirst, there will always be more than one way to solve a problem using Excel.Second, working faster by using shortcuts provides more time for review and formatting.Third, this is an iterative software that changes over time, so dont be complacent with your current habits.Sixty-nine percent of U.S. companies and 78 percent of small companies interviewed for the Benchmarking the Accounting Finance Function from Robert Half and the Financial Executives Research Foundation said they use Excel for budgeting and long-range planning.Here are five ways to put your Excel skills to work so you can do your best work in accounting and finance1. Hunting for selective criteriaInstead of messily filtering or sorting your data, consider these functions, which are much friendlier and less cumbersome than clunky Pivot TablesUse Sumifs() to sum certain fields based on multiple conditions. The parameters are quick to set up and change on the fly. Sumifs(AA, BB, C1) sums the cells in column A only if the adjacent cell in column B is equal to the content of cell C1.Use Countif() to count the instances of a particular condition. For example, Countif(AA,A1) tells you how many times A1 appears in column A. If the output is more than 1, you know it is a duplicate.Use Index() combined with Match() to find the position and value of a cell within a 2 dimensional grid matrix. Co nsider a 6x5 grid (6 down, 5 over) defined over the area A1E6, where the top-most row contains unique names (Joey, Jimmy, Tommy, Timmy in B1E1), the left-most column are ages (11,12,13,14,15 in A2A6), and the rest of the matrix is filled with the boys heights at different ages. To look up Tommys height at age 12, for example, you would use the Match() function to find the relative position of the name Tommy in the top row (4th) and the relative position of 12 in the left column (3rd) as inputs to the function Index (A1E6,3,4), which would output Tommys height at age 12.Use Vlookup() to quickly find related fields on the same row. This takes the form Vlookup(D1,A1B300,2,FALSE), and looks up the value of a cell in column B that is on the same row as the row where the value of D1 is positioned in column A.2. Abnormal cash flow modelingAnother of the Excel skills many seasoned users still employ is the Irr() function to calculate internal rates of return, but theres a superior function in the voreingestellt menu Excel now offers. With Xirr(), you can incorporate the timing of cash flows, which are rarely evenly distributed in the real world, into your calculation. The other benefit of Xirr() is that it yields an annualized rate. Contrast this with the Irr() function, which outputs a rate over the narrow period between cash flows. The Irr() function then requires multiplication or compounding to determine the annual rate, the more intuitive periodic rate used to analyze investment returns.3. Playing the stringsThe following functions should never be forgotten, especially if you need to parse a database full of complex unique identifiers. For example, if you had a text string A122016 in cell A1, and you knew the first character identifies an account (A for Amortization), the next two characters identifies the month, and the last four characters reveals the year, you could pull out the followingUse the function Right(A1,4) to pull out the yearUse Left(A1,1) to captur e the accountUse Mid(2,2) to find the monthUse Concatenate() to tie strings together, such as Concatenate(Left(A1,1),Right(A1,4)) produces A2016Use Len() to count the number of characters in the string that is, Len(A1) outputs 74. Avoiding the mouseGenerally, it is faster to keep your fingers glued to the keyboard rather than slowly moving your hand to and from the mouse. Your Excel skills will be enhanced if you remember that the keyboard has more to offer you than just a 26-letter alphabet. Use the arrows, the spacebar, the F keys, Page Up/Down, Control, Shift, Tab, Alt, brackets and plus/negativ keys. Use these in a host of combinations and be masterfully efficient.Moving between cells Hold the Control key and use the arrows to jump between empty and non-empty cells.Moving between tabs Use Control with Page Up/DownMoving between workbooks Use Alt-TabHighlighting Use Control-Space to highlight columns and Shift-Space to highlight rows.Inserting Control-Shift-PlusTracing dependents Control-Changing decimals Alt-H-0 to add, Alt-H-9 to removeUnderlining with a bottom border Alt-H-B-O, or ALt-H-B-U for double underlyingAligning cells Alt-H-A-C for center alignment and Alt-H-A-R for right alignmentAuto-adjusting row heights and column widths Alt-H-O-A for height and Alt-H-O-I for width.F keys F2 to edit cell contents, F4 to lock a cell reference or to repeat your last command, F5 to return to your original source after tracing dependents (see above for shortcut), F9 to calculate manually, and F12 to save a new version of you workbook.Print views Alt-F-V for a preview. Use Alt-P-R-S to set print area.Grouping and collapsing Never hide rows, unless you want to frustrate anyone else who uses your workbook. Use Alt-A-G-G to group, then Alt-A-H to collapse.Changing calculation setting to manual This will speed up your modeling if you have lots of data in the workbook. Go to File-Options-Formulas, then select Manual.Changing colors Alt-H-F-C to quickly navigate to colo r menuConditional formatting Alt-H-L-N5. Keeping it simple and easy to modifyIve noticed many of the articles on the Internet boast of the capabilities offered by Excels Pivot Tables, Goal Seek macro, Indirect() function, and Data Tables. While useful in a handful of situations, Ive always found them to be less useful when sharing models with others. Indirect() makes tracing dependents (to check the source of the data) very difficult. Pivot Tables are clumsy, Goal Seek is hard to replicate quickly, and Data Tables are truly wonderful for one thing slowing down (and crashing) your workbook.Excel is the most important piece of software for many of us. Every few years, Microsoft modifies Excels suite of features and functions, so it is easy to lose your competitive edge to the younger cohort of analysts and accountants. I hope these tips help as a refresher or as confirmation that you are up-to-date on the new tricks and abreast of the best of the old ones.Dont miss our career insights in the Robert Half Accounting and Finance Blog.READ MORE IN OUR NEWSLETTERAuthor R.J. Matthews, CPA and Chartered Financial Analyst, works in corporate due diligence in San Francisco.

Friday, December 6, 2019

What You Dont Know About Resume Statements Could Be Costing to More Than You Think

What You Dont Know About Resume Statements Could Be Costing to More Than You Think Your resume needs to fix an issue for employers (which is the reason why theyre hiring). A brief vision statement at the start of the portfolio can help a possible employer understand what you need and expect to accomplish in the next few years. For instance, a job applicant could possibly be interested in both an overall management team position, together with an advertising job. On the flip side, when he has strong experience, there is no need to rely on the academic training any longer and it doesnt need to be mentioned. Try to remember, your target is to catch the hiring managers eye and stick out from the remainder of the paper in that pile. A resume objective can explain why youre qualified for the job, even should you not own a lot of related experience. Developing a high quality, accomplishment resume is vital to getting work in the current tight job industry. There is not anything wrong with needing to pay a person to produce a professionally written resume for you but it is almost always better to do it yourself. There are 3 things you are able to do to make your resume work harder. The very first thing that you want to do is go back and examine the job which youre applying for and determine your intended audience. If you are thinking about using one in your teacher resume, there is not any need. The New Angle On Resume Statements Just Released 1 A resume summary is a brief, snappy introduction paragraph that gives you a summary of your very best work. If you do decide to move forward with a resume summary statement, be sure to take care of it as your own private highlight reel. If you dont find out how to begin your resume summary statement you may choose a resume template or employment from an online resume creator to discover examples and suggestions to compose an effective resume introduction. The resume summary statement is a highly effective selling tool that could make or break the document. Communication, naturally, goes both ways. Resume objectives can be somewhat controversial. Studies demonstrate that tailoring your resume for a particular position is a lot more powerful than sending a generic application. Understanding of tax strategies and preparation are generally utilized also. You are able to also binnensee Animator Resumes. Resumes may be used for a number of reasons, but most often theyre utilised to secure new employment. They may be organized in different ways. Whenever you wish to emphasize that youre ambitious, that you understand what you want in a career, or you have the skills for the particular job, you could benefit from a resume objective. My aim is to find the job. Your aim is to find the job. When there are times an Objective in a resume is vital, even critical, there are frequently times when it can work against the work seeker. Please get in touch with us if you would like us to add sample resumes for any particular category or whether you want to submit an example for certain category. Mission statements tell about basic facet of a company. This sample CFO resume is only an example to demonstrate the high quality and fashion of our professional resume writing services. What You Need to Know About Resume Statements Lets have a peek at the very best action words its possible to put on your resume while putting in an application for an analytical job. You must always steer clear from vague and not as impactful words. Employing strong words here is needed. Perhaps you wont utilize words like gain a competitive edge or boost revenue in your statement. The very first accomplishment in the list should have the most impact as its the most inclined to be read. Impact statements work nicely within a profile or at the peak of a list of accomplishments. Keep in mind that the secret to an inspiring career vision statement is to maintain it short and memorable. Writin g an objective statement at the peak of your resume will remind your reader of your targets and abilities, even when you havent proven them on the work yet.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

4 Ways to Make Your Online Job Posting Work for You - Spark Hire

4 Ways to Make Your Online Job Posting Work for You - Spark HireOnline job recruitment has its advantages and disadvantages. For one, its easy to get the word out about open positions within your company. On the other hand, though, you get more than your ritterlich share of unqualified, vaguely interested candidates.With the right steps, presented by Find the Edge, you can target your job postings to tailor the message to worthy potential candidates, which will in turn manage the incoming pool of applicants a little better.1. Know your audience. You have the perfect candidate in mind. Now, advertise thisjob to that person. Call out the desired skills and experience youre hoping for. The more detailed you are in the job description, the closer to your perfect candidate the applicants will be. With that, try to think like the candidate as well. Where online will they be searching for jobs? What job title will they be searching for?2. Get technical. Using SEO techniques and keywords wil l push your job posting to thetop of boards as well as online search engines. Fortunately, you dont have to be an SEO specialist to accomplish this. Use the Google Keyword Tool to identify keywords for your particular job and descriptions. Then, insert that keyword or words three to four times throughout the description, every 100 words or so.3. Woo your candidates. Chances are more likely than not that there are other jobs outthere similar to what youre posting. There are certain ways to make yours stand out and that includes highlighting the benefits like flextime and salary within your job description. Talk to your current employees and get their input on attractive perks for working at your company. Dont make unterstellung the centerpiece, though. Just add them as a little garnish.4. Go viral. Find the Edge reports that including a video with your job posting increasesthe application ratio from 10% to 26%. Thats because it keeps potential candidates on your job page for longer. They will stay for anywhere from one minute to six. Also, videos are key to helping your job posting increase in search rankings. Besides videos, its important these days to include social sharing features on your job descriptions. This way, more individuals can share with friends and family that they know would be well qualified for your job posting.These days, finding the right candidate takes just as much work as finding the right job. You have to be detailed while being concise, intriguing while being professional and most importantly, patient. The right candidate will come along, but until then, you need to do everything you can to be sure youre reaching the right audience.Are you satisfied with the results of your online job postings? Spark a conversation belowIMAGE Courtesy of Flickr bykoalazymonkey