Saturday, May 30, 2020

Why Company Culture Matters When Recruiting

Why Company Culture Matters When Recruiting A big part of successful recruiting and hiring in a high-growth environment is creating a culture people want to be a part of and want to contribute to. Lots of people talk about the importance of creating a great company culture, but the real challenge is enhancing a good culture as you add people and grow. A company’s culture is always in the background, either motivating or frustrating employees. Saying you have a great culture and having one might be two different things. And, in the context of recruiting, you can’t hide a bad culture for long. Eventually, people find out. “Culture” is about establishing a North Star and pointing everyone in that direction. At OnDeck, we’ve spent a lot of time identifying the behaviours we value and those traits that are taboo within the type of company we want to build. Our values inform everything we do and are the reason we are fuelled by the notion of continuous improvementâ€"from the products we bring to market to the recruitment programs we develop. Cultural fit is critical: When recruiting, we believe you should never compromise on cultural fit. Never. Even a potential rock star employee can be a bad hire if they don’t fit the culture. A negative attitude can infect everyone. Even if an individual has remarkable professional skills, hiring a bad cultural fit is a big mistake. Of course, we want to hire the best people and we’re always looking for them, but how they’ll fit into our culture and how they’ll embrace our values is just as important to us. I know everyone says that, but it’s important enough that we’ve introduced what we call the Culture Interview SWAT Team. The SWAT Team is a group of people interspersed throughout the organization that interviews potential hires to determine not just whether or not they’ll fit in, but whether or not they will be able to succeed at OnDeck through making lasting and important relationships. The relationships we create among our colleagues in turn have a positive influence on our ability to succeed and deliver business results. We believe everyone in our company has a responsibility to help each other find success. We spend a lot of energy and time training our leaders to help build a purposeful culture that keeps employees motivated and our company successful.  We are a very values-driven organization. How  to keep those values alive: Make employees a cornerstone of recruitment and onboarding. Include them in our performance acceleration process (also known as reviews). Account for how well everyone exhibits the values when they interact with each other and our customers. Make sure our employees see how our values impact the decisions our senior leaders make by enabling transparency throughout our company. There’s no shortcut to building a good company culture, but it’s worth the effort. It impacts the work we do, how we do it, and how our customers respond to us. If you’d like to contribute to and be part of our culture, can bring your A-Game to help us build a successful company, and feel passionate about leveraging technology to fuel Main Street businesses all over the countryâ€"and now in Canada and Australiaâ€"we’d love to talk to you. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

2 Careers to Have that Fulfill the Desire to Travel in Every Woman

2 Careers to Have that Fulfill the Desire to Travel in Every Woman Women are notorious for wanting a lot of things out of life. Even if a woman is very career driven, she usually has the desire at some point to get married and have children. If a career fits into that equation, that’s amazing. If it doesn’t, some women are okay with this. What can be said is that the desires of a woman change in an instant. ‘ For now, the desire is pickles. In the next moment, it could be wine and chocolate, or Mexican food. What a woman has to learn in life is how to make the things she desires actually happen. There is a time in life where sitting around is okay, but the time is now if you have the desire to travel. If all you want to do is take off and see the world, here are 2 careers to have that will fulfill that desire: Yacht Worker If catering to the needs of exotic millionaires sounds like something you could do, you might find that applying to become a yacht worker might be the perfect avenue for you to choose that will allow you to travel around the world. The labor is intensive, you’ll spend a lot of time on the open sea and you might not even get to explore the cities you port into, but at the same time, you probably will. Yacht owners are known to send their yacht to location and fly to meet it there before embarking out on a vacation for anywhere from a week to a couple months. This means you’ll arrive into port and once you’ve accomplished the hard work, you’ll probably be able to explore town to your hearts desire before the boss even gets into town. Remember that you’ll spend a lot of nights in limbo while the yacht is getting serviced, but if you don’t mind being without a real home for months at a time, a yacht worker will be a perfect avenue for you to fulfill your desire to travel. Traveling English Teacher If the labor included in being a yacht worker doesn’t appeal to you, you might want to look into being a traveling english teacher. You probably grew up speaking the language and there are people all of the world who want to learn how to speak the language from natives so they get the real experience. You could find a host of different avenues to travel and teach english. Maybe you stay in one country for a month or two and then you move onto the next. Do some research to see what the best thing for you will be, but this is an option to be able to connect with kids and travel the world. Image Source; Image Source; Image Source

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Did you hear the good news No changes to the visa regulations for students on Tier 4 Visas! University of Manchester Careers Blog

Did you hear the good news No changes to the visa regulations for students on Tier 4 Visas! University of Manchester Careers Blog So we have had the announcement from the government to say what changes the will be enforcing from April 2016 to the current UK visa regulations. The main messages that government have released that will affect students on a Tier 4 visa looking to go to a Tier 2 are as follows: Tier 2  minimum salary threshold of £20,800 for new entrants will be  maintained Tier 4 students switching to a Tier 2 visa  will not be  subject to a limit on numbers and their sponsor  will not have to  carry out a Resident Labour Market Test the Immigration Skills Charge will be levied on Tier 2 employers at a rate of £1,000 per person per year from April 2017, with a rate of £364 for smaller businesses and charities,  and an exemption for PhD occupations, Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Graduate Trainees and Tier 4 students switching to Tier 2 If you want to read all the highlights see the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/migration-advisory-committee-reviews-of-tier-2   All International International-highlighted Postgraduate international students visas

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

How to Make a Career Change

How to Make a Career Change Not so long ago, I found myself in a situation where I had to change careers.Not just get a new job, but a new career.I had been a successful business owner and massage therapist for 15 years.I was my own boss and I was happy. The future was bright.Then One Day, My Career Path ChangedI was hit by a drunk driver at 11 am while taking my son to preschool.It was the scariest experience of my life. Thankfully, my son was okay. Unfortunately, I was badly injured.Over the next few weeks, I realized I was not going to be able to return to my career as a massage therapist.The physical demands of the job were too much for the condition I was in.But I could not afford to stop working, nor did I want to.I was angry, devastated, and terrified of what my future would hold, both personally and professionally.Time for serious introspection to determine my next career move.What did I love about my former career?More than anything, I loved that I was helping people.Day in and day out, being of servic e.What career choices would offer the same job satisfaction?I knew whatever I did next, it had to be in service.Doing good for others.What kind of job is going to work with my specific limitations and needs?I needed a job that would allow flexibility so I could focus on getting better.Luckily, There Was Something in the Back of My MindI frequently told myself I would return to my former career in the staffing/recruiting industry if I ever retired from massage therapy.It was extremely rewarding to help people find gainful employment.So, I started there. Fast forward to today and I am in a job that I love with the flexibility I need to take care of myself and my family.Of course, this is a simplified version of what making a career change looks like.I share my story because I did it.I changed careers at the age of 45.I overcame many challenges and struggles.I found a career that makes my future look bright again.You can do it too.How Does This Look for You?After you answer the above i ntrospective questions, consider the following if you want to make a career change.Why do I want to make a change? Will this new career satisfy what my old career doesn’t? Does this new career align with my core values and ignite my soul? Is this a realistic change, or do I needmore education/training? Do I have the financial resources and support from family/friends to make this change? Who do I know in this field that can offer honest insight and perspective? How can my previous experience help me make this move? What struggles can I predict and how do I minimize these struggles now? Does this new career have long-term opportunities for growth? How can I best use my network to land a new career?When you canbe honest with yourself and lay everything out on the table, a picture will start to develop of the direction you should go.You Will Be Able to See a Clear Career PathConsider your options, listen to your advisors, and take your time.That said, follow your gut and enjoy the pr ocess!This is an exciting time and you, too, have a bright future!

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Helping Your Friend Out When He or She Wants Help Writing a Resume

Helping Your Friend Out When He or She Wants Help Writing a ResumeA few words before you read this next question to help you out when it comes to your friend wants help writing a resume. These questions will help you ensure that your friend does not pick the wrong skills. This is so that you do not have to write a resume with skills that are not needed.When your friend applies for employment, you will need to know what skills they will need. Of course, they will also want to know how you see them. How will you rate their abilities? What skills do you want to see in your friend's resume? Are there skills that you want to see them have?If the answer to these questions would not make sense to you, you might want to try looking over the first or second page of your friend's resume and see if there is something that is going to fit. Once you find the skills that you think your friend should have, you can write the rest of the resume.After you have written the skills that you want to see i n your friend's resume, you will want to give the information that they need for that resume. You will then have to ask yourself, 'What does this information mean?' Because you may have not given your friend the skills that they need. You do not want to make things worse and have your friend fill in the blanks on their resume that they did not even bother to fill in when they filled out an application form.You also do not want to make things easier for your friend by filling in the information yourself. Remember that they are there to hire you and they will be taking some time to fill out their application.The question to help you out when your friend wants help writing a resume is, 'How should I answer this question?' This question can be difficult because your friend does not know what they want to say. This is so that they do not sound silly or that they do not sound stiff.Try using a coach or counselor. This will help your friend and make things easier for both of you. They will be able to feel that they are being listened to and that they are not being judged. Having a coach or counselor when you are looking for help writing a resume will be a great benefit.Your friend will be impressed with how nice they feel after listening to your answers to this question. They will be more willing to write a resume that they would not have if they had asked themselves questions first.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Gadgets That Every Kitchen Needs

Gadgets That Every Kitchen Needs For anyone who has lived in their home for less than a year, a few years, or even a few decades, it always feels as if you are missing something in the kitchen. When you first buy a house and start stocking up on kitchen essentials you are bound to miss some things out, and it will often be a case of noticing your missing items when you need to use it for your cooking. Here are some of the essential tools you will want to invest in right now to save worrying in the future. Scales A great pair of Floor Scales  and kitchen scales are both things you need to buy for your home right away. Guessing values when you are cooking is usually ok, however, you can end up risking making massive portions and overeating every day. This will cause you to put on a lot of weight just by eating too much. Using scales to measure things like pasta and rice will balance what you use and ensure that you don’t eat far too much every day. Instant Pot If you love eating food which takes no effort to make, such as stew, curry, and chili: an instant pot is just what you need. This machine doubles up as both a slow cooker and a pressure cooker and also has settings for grains and other foods to make sure everything is cooked to perfection. This gadget is amazing for any kitchen and you will be able to leave food to cook overnight, while you are at work, or speed up the cooking process when you are in a rush! If there is any gadget you take from our list, it should be this. Food Processor Unlike a blender, a food processor can handle pulsing up dry ingredients for dressings, toppings and side dishes for any meal. A food processor is amazing and it is something which is incredibly diverse in the kitchen. Whether you want to make a smooth pesto or a chunky salsa, a food processor will give you the perfect results every time. Dessert Maker If you are vegan or looking into a vegan lifestyle, a dessert maker will be your new best friend. To enjoy vegan ice cream in a matter of seconds, simple add frozen fruit into the top of the dessert maker and it will come out of the bottom as a smooth, yummy ice cream. It is the ideal vegan snack and treats, and perfect for sunny days. Garlic Zoom Everyone loves garlic, and if you hate always having to chop up your garlic when making meals, you can buy this handy garlic zoom and it will do the work for you. It comes as a small car with wheels, and once you add the garlic to the top you can simply run the wheels along the kitchen counter until the garlic is perfectly minced. It’s a fun little gadget but it can be ultra useful in the kitchen.

Friday, May 8, 2020

How LinkedIn Helped Obama Land the Job

How LinkedIn Helped Obama Land the Job Yesterday, The New York Times ran a piece on how President-elect Obama leveraged the power of LinkedIn to raise money, organize supporters, respond to negative press, encourage people to vote, and ultimately win the election. With the help of LinkedIn and other online networking tools, he went from a relative unknown to someone with one of the most recognized brands in under two years. Can you leverage the power of LinkedIn to build your brand and your community to land your next job? Yes, you can, and heres how.Build an Authentic and Desirable Brand. Obama created a consistent brand that inspired trust and confidence with his supporters.  Create a branded profile  on LinkedIn to communicate your value to potential supporters who can serve as advocates for you as you move through your job search campaign. Be sure to deliver a message with strong keywords for your profession and industry and tangible proof of your accomplishments to help build your following.Connect Your Supporters to Get the Message Out. Share your connections on LinkedIn and be a conduit for connecting people in your network. By making introductions, you display your willingness to support people in your network and help them get one step closer to their professional goals. Your contacts are more likely to support you if you have first supported them.Share Your Ideas With Your Supporters. Obama used the web to communicate his message for change and foster trusting relationships with his supporters.  Showcase your expertise and build trust within your networking circles by answering questions via LinkedIns Answers. Aim to give information for the sake of giving it, not to get something in return. You will be remembered for your wisdom and your generosity.Seek Out New Supporters. LinkedIn is a powerful database that lets you find other potential connections that in turn can turn into contacts and supporters for your cause. Conduct various keyword searches based on names and companies to find oth ers that can add value to your network.Keep Your Supporters Updated.  With the campaign behind him, you can be sure that Obama will continue to use the Web to govern and keep his supporters informed. Use the status feature and the new RSS feed capabilities to let your network know what you are working on. Each update helps reconnect you with your supporters and in turn deepen the relationship. Frequent updates to your network keep you top of mind as well.Be Accessible to Your Supporters. Check your inbox daily and respond promptly to requests for  endorsements  and connections. Prove your commitment to your network by offering to help whenever possible.In addition to these online strategies, dont forget to get out there on the campaign trail, shaking hands and making connections with your supporters. Job search, like a presidential campaign, requires the human element. Face time with your network is also an important brand-building strategy that helps secure the votes and land the j ob.