The Evolution of the Job Interview

The Evolution of the Job Interview Job interviews never stay the same. You may think you are going to be asked the same set of questions and sit in the same kind of room, but you would be surprised at how wrong you are. You are more likely to find yourself having a different experience each time you go for an interview. Interviews come in a variety of forms, and at one point they didnt even exist! So how did the interview first come about and how has it changed over the years? Spark Hire have given us the answers: The start: At the beginning, jobs didnt even exist, certainly not how they do today anyway. The only job that existed was survival- caveman style! 1700 1800: Professions were passed on from generation to generation, so no interview was needed. 1800s: The industrial revolution created low skilled jobs so employment was dependant on performance. The birth of interviews: Technology increased job opportunities. Woodworths personal data sheet introduced a personality test to evaluate soldiers. 1920s: College education was on the rise and in 1921, Thomas Edison invented a written test to evaluate candidates knowledge. Redefined: Birth of the telephone interview and the internet tests turn into online screening tools. 2003-2005: LinkedIn and Youtube were born. 2006: Blackberry and social media  62% of job seekers check employers out on social media. Today 2015: 89% of job seekers use mobile during their job hunt. 64% of US adults own a smartphone. Today interviews: 60% of employers use video interviews for remote hiring. Personality still an important factor for employability. 55% of recruiters reconsider candidates based on social media presence. The future: The rise of smart watches = interviews on the go. Snapchat, Voice Analysis Technology and 3D projection prototypes. Read more here!

Build Your Brand with Hashtags - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Build Your Brand with Hashtags - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Do you want to be seen as a subject matter expert? If so, leveraging the power of hashtags is a quick and relatively easy way to build your brand around a particular topic. Hashtags are a word or short phrase, preceded by the number sign,#, that allows people to easily follow and join conversations around specific topics. For example, if you are a human resources expert, you may notice others in your field using the hashtags #hr or #hrchat at the end of their updates. If you click on the hashtags, you’ll immediately see posts from users who have recently used the same hashtags. Three of the largest social networks allow users to use hashtags: Twitter, Google+, and recently, Facebook. Typically, hashtags are included at the end of a post or social media update, but that is not always the case. How to Get Started Wondering where to begin? Get started in three easy steps. Watch your peers, competitors, and other industry leaders on social media. Whenever you see them use a hashtag, click on it to follow the conversations. Begin to interact with them, asking questions, thanking them for their posts, and adding your own comments of links to related items. Be sure to use the hashtag at the end of your updates. Start to use popular industry hashtags in your own updates. After completing step number one for a couple weeks, you’ll become familiar with the hashtags used in your industry or desired area of expertise. Use them in your updates. Remember, only use the hashtags that are relevant, if you’ve posted an update about human resources, but it has nothing to do with technology, don’t use #hrtech. It’s much more important to be seen as a reliable resource to those who are looking for your topic than for you to try to gain more exposure using inaccurate hashtags. Create your own hashtags. If you’re introducing a new topic or addressing a niche, mix in your own hashtags. For instance, if you’re building a brand about breaking news in human resources, you may create the hashtag #hrhaps. You may put #hr and #hrhaps at the end of your latest news posts to attract those looking for the latest human resources developments. After a while, you’ll start to see others using the hashtag you created. Create hashtags for your in-person and online events. Examples of online events include Twitter chats, webinars and Google Hangouts. Once you create a hashtag, share it with participants. Author: Crystal Washington is a social media marketing strategist, speaker, co-founder of Socialtunitiesâ€"a social media instruction brand that trains Gen Ys-Boomers on the strategic use of social media, and the author of The Social Media WHY: A Busy Professional’s Practical Guide to Using Social Media Including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ and Blogs for Business. She is hired by corporations and associations around the globe to provide keynotes, workshops, and webinars.

6 Top Tips for Moving from London to Manchester

6 Top Tips for Moving from London to Manchester Manchester and London are not dissimilar. Both are big urban UK cities that offer a host of career opportunities, exquisite architecture, fun attractions and a vibrant culture. That is why it is hardly surprising to learn that many people are fleeing the capital for the great Northern city! Of course, as you will want to experience a smooth, hassle-free transition, check out these top six tips for moving from London to Manchester this year. Find the Perfect Career Manchester is home to some of the world’s biggest brands, such as Adidas, the BBC, The Co-Operative Group, Deloitte, ITV Studios, Kellogg’s Company, Manchester United FC, Manchester City FC, PG Tips, and more! You can, therefore, take your pick from many exciting jobs in Manchester that will help you to kickstart your career in the city. Affordable Accommodation It might also be a relief to learn that housing in Manchester is much more affordable in comparison to London. For example, a one bedroom flat in the city centre will reportedly cost as little as £500 per month, while a three-bedroom flat outside of the city centre could cost an average of £600. Like every UK city, Manchester features both affordable and expensive areas, and you’ll get more bang for your buck in the likes of Stalybridge, Saddleworth, Ramsbottom, Sale, and Didsbury. Take the Tram The tram will become your new best friend when in Manchester, as it can transport you from many boroughs of Manchester into the city centre, which is where many jobs are based. It might be worthwhile familiarising yourself with the different routes before securing accommodation in the city. Avoid Driving Similar to London, Manchester can experience many traffic delays, as well as expensive parking prices. For this reason, it might be a wise idea to avoid driving if possible and take the tram instead. If you do plan to drive, you might be happy to discover that petrol prices can be lower in Manchester compared to London, as one litre of petrol will cost you an average of £1.10. You can also save money by car sharing or pooling with the likes of Liftshare or the easyCarClub. Embrace the Culture The thought of leaving London behind might be a little daunting. After all, it is full of many atmospheric bars, incredible restaurants, and exceptional entertainment. However, you will be happy to learn that Manchester is jam-packed full of exciting things to do, too! You can shop until you drop at the Manchester Arndale or intu Trafford Centre. It also regularly provides superb food festivals, beer gardens, and a world-renowned gay village. Make Friends in the City Moving to Manchester might be a lonely experience if you don’t know anyone in the city. Thankfully, there are many free social groups created to bring people together, such as Meetup. You can also mix with other locals by attending one of the many cool events happening in the city, which are regularly listed on the likes of Visit Manchester, the Manchester Evening News and Skiddle.

Ways to Avoid the Holiday Blues if Unemployed

Ways to Avoid the Holiday Blues if Unemployed It should be the most wonderful time of the year but for those seeking a new job or find themselves unemployed around the holidays, this time of year can be highly depressing. So, we offer ways to avoid the holiday blues if you are currently unemployed and seeking new work.Addressing Why Unemployment Leads to Holiday BluesForget about not having a job for a moment because that is an obvious reason to not be happy. Let’s address why these feelings are intensified around the holiday season.1. Trying to Do Too MuchThe reality of those with jobs who are making hiring decisions is that they tend to go on vacation around the holidays. The job postings slow down and all job interviews happening in December will not lead to a hiring decision until January (exceptions exist but not many).So, for people to try their hardest to apply for jobs in December and reach out to folks who make hiring decisions with the expectations that it will lead to results, they may just be setting their hopes to o high. Of course, networking should never stop but it should be understood that there is only so much you can do when employers are going to be slow to respond due to the holidays.Trying to do too much may lead to the saddening belief that no one is interested. The simple fact is the hiring decision-makers may simply be away.Avoiding holiday blues: Decrease your job search expectations for the last two weeks of December. Take a break just like the people who are hiring and posting jobs. 2. Comparing Ourselves to the Success of the EmployedThis may be a good reason to stop looking at social media altogether around the holidays. People often use social media to tout their accomplishments or reasons for happiness. If you are constantly comparing yourself to others you will do nothing more than make yourself depressed.With all the success of others being shared, it is easy to forget that EVERYONE goes through tough times. Yet, we do not tend to talk about those negative times on social media. And you certainly would not help yourself by comparing yourself to others who have jobs.The simple fact is that people use social media to talk about accomplishments and share the best aspects of their lives. If you are not feeling accomplished, it would be best to stay off social channels until you begin to feel some best aspects of your life should be shared.Avoiding holiday blues: Stay off or decrease time on social media, unless you have something positive to share about yourself. And even then, do not read other people’s posts unless you are strictly looking for work opportunities.3. Not Taking Care of Your Health and Seasonal DepressionWhen people are unemployed they have to become inventive to maintain a healthy work regimen that keeps them in shape while employed. We write many blogs with advice on how to stay productive while unemployed.Yet, when you get around the holidays you have several things going on at the same time:Plenty of food Plenty of time Shorter day lightAll of the above can lead to an unhealthy and depressing regimen of eating poorly and not going outside.Avoiding holiday blues: Take this time to work on things that you normally felt like there was no time for in the past; things that require thought and physical energy. For example:Starting a new workout routine Working on your resume Connecting with old friends Reaching out to family you had not spoken with in a whileThe Importance of Realistic ExpectationsUltimately, you want to feel a realistic set of expectations were accomplished. When your job search hits full-steam ahead in January, you will feel energized.You will also feel positive about the wonderful way you spent the holidays that involved connecting with people, taking care of your health, and never expecting too much from those who were not in the position help you.Instead, you joined their parties and shared in their happiness, which is a wonderful way to spend the holidays!

Top 10 Most Popular Career Pivot Posts in 2016 - Career Pivot

Top 10 Most Popular Career Pivot Posts in 2016 - Career Pivot Top 10 Career Pivot Posts I wanted to share with you the top 10 Career Pivot posts that were published in 2016. I published a similar post last year and I suggest you take a look at that post. This will be the first of two posts that details what Career Pivot readers found interesting in 2016. This post focuses on the most popular articles published in 2016. Next month’s post will list what readers found most often via Google. That will be an interesting list! Let’s get started. #1 â€" Why Are You Not Being Found? Try Thinking Like a Recruiter Most of the time, the reason you are not being found is that you are not thinking like a recruiter. Recruiters are using LinkedIn to search for talent using specific strategies. Think of this like dating. If you want to find a mate, you need to hang out where the opposite sex can find you. When I was a young man, that meant belonging to social organizations or clubs and hanging out withfriends. When I got older, it also meant going to bars and doing other activitiesâ€"I met my wife playing volleyball through an informal Sunday evening volleyball group. If you want to be found by recruiters, then you need to understand the strategies recruiters use to search LinkedIn. This way, you can be found by recruiters…just like you wanted to be found by the opposite sex. Let’s start with the basics. Click here to read the entire post. #2 â€"Careers in the 2nd Half of Life I have been thinking about how careers in the 2nd half of life are different. In fact, I claim that the idea of a career in the 2nd half of life is a relatively new concept. My father was forced into retirement at the age of 59 in 1978. He did not want to retire, so he decided to teach college economics (he had been an economist for the NYSE for 25 years). He did not have his Ph.D. and had a really hard time making the transition because everyone expected him to retire. Listen to the most recent episode Things have changed. We are living much longer. I plan on living both a longer and healthier 2nd half of life than my parents. Click here to read the entire post. #3 â€" 5 Things to Consider Before a Midlife Career Change [Guest Post] If you’re in your 40s or 50s and are considering a career switch, you’re not alone. According to a 2014 survey, more than 4.5 million Americans made a career change in midlife, either to pursue a more fulfilling line of work or earn more money. Another study that looked at workers aged 45 and older by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) found that 82% of those who made a midlife career-switch had been successful. Of these successful career switchers, 60% said they were finally doing something they felt good about, 65% felt less stressed at work, and 70% were earning the same or a higher salary. Of course, before making any big changes to your career, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons to make sure it’s the right decision for you personally, so here are five important things you should consider before a midlife career change. Click here to read the entire post. #4 â€" Top Companies Hiring Remote Workers in 2016 [Guest Post] When you finally make the decision to abandon office life once and for all and find a flexible job that will allow you to work from your home office (or essentially anywhere on the globe), you want to start ASAP. After all, who wants to wait weeksâ€"or even monthsâ€"to realize their dream of working remotely? The good news is that there is a marked increase in the number of remote jobs being offered. In fact, telecommuting job listings rose 36 percent from 2014 to 2015, as compared to a 26 percent increase from years 2013-2014. And now, finding a remote job should be a whole lot easier, thanks to FlexJobs’ “100 Top Companies with Remote Jobs in 2016.” The list, comprised of 100 companies that have posted the most remote (i.e., telecommuting, work-from-home, virtual) jobs over the past year, features a wide variety of companies and spans many industries, too. Click here to read the entire post. #5 â€"Turning 60 â€" What It Meant Then and What It Means Now Copyright: drizzd / 123RF Stock Photo Turning 60â€"which I did a few months backâ€"was not what I expected when I first began my career. Boy, has the world changed. When I started my career, what did I think turning 60 would include? Security Financial freedom Grandchildren Travel Well, some of them are true. Let me explain. Click here to read the entire post. #6 â€"The End of Jobs â€" A Book Every Boomer Should Read I was first introduced to the book End of Jobs and author Taylor Pearsonon Ryan Rhoten’s Brand New You Podcast. (By the way, I became a big fan of Ryan’s podcast after I was interviewed by Ryan late last year.) I immediately ordered the audio version of End of Jobs and listened to it twice. Taylor’s focus and message are primarily directed at his generationâ€"Gen Yâ€"but I believe this is a message that every boomer should listen to. Taylor claims that we are exiting the knowledge economy and entering the entrepreneurial economy. It has never been easier to become an entrepreneur with little risk. At the same time, jobs are getting to be a riskier and riskier. Click here to read the entire post. #7 â€"Anatomy of a Passive Candidate’s LinkedIn Profile In my last post,Are You an Excellent Passive Candidate or a Turkey?,I discussed why you want to be a passive candidate.I am following it up with how to construct your LinkedIn profile into a recruiter magnet. Theinfographic below is providedAkken Cloud and has been used by multiple bloggers. I am going to explainhow this applies to being a passive candidate. I am going to break this down into two phases: Being found by a prospective employer Getting the prospective employer to contact you Click here to read the entire post. #8 â€"Failure Is Not an Option Is Total BS Those of us who grew up during the race for space are familiar with the phrase, “failure is not anoption.” Gene Kranz wrote the book Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond. The phrase was immortalized in the movie Apollo 13. It was ingrained in our entire generation that failure is completely unacceptable. This belief gets many of us into trouble in our careers. We hang on for too long to failing jobs, careers, or businesses. I am going to tell you that, in today’s world, this is total BS! Click here to read the entire post. #9 â€"What Skills Will You Use in the 2nd Half of Life? Have you thought about what kind of skills you want to carry with you into the 2nd half of your life? Have you thought about the skills you wish to leave behind? Notice, I said skills and not talents. Do you know the difference between your talents and skills? For an in-depth discussion, please check out my post, Talents versus Skills â€" Do you know the difference? A talent is a special ability that comes naturally. A skill comesfrom one’s knowledge, practice, or aptitude. A skill is learned. Do you see the difference? Typically, we learn skills to either make us employable or to do something we enjoy. We learn skills to make us employable based on market demands. We learn skills to do something we enjoy (think hobby) because wewantto learn them. There is a big difference. Skills that are not based on your innate talents can wear you out if youoveruse them. Click here to read the entire post. #10 â€"4 Things to Do When You Lose Your Job [Guest Post] Losing your job is a tough pill to swallow. What makes it seem even tougher? Losing your job 20 or 30 years into your career. Since giving up is not an option, the trick is to come up with a game plan. Your game plan should be to turn your job loss into a positive experience instead of a negative one. Need some help? Here are four things to do when you lose your job. Click here to read the entire post. What is Next? In 2016, the Career Pivot website had approximately 200,000 visitors which is a 40% growth over 2015. You will notice that 3 out of the top 10 posts were guest posts. You will be seeing a guest post every other week from organizations like FlexJobs and JobScan. In addition, you will be seeing posts from people like yourself. If you are interested in submitting an idea for a post please read the Career Pivot Guest Post guidelinescarefully. Failure to follow the procedures will get you rejected. What do you think of this list? Wait until you see the list of “most found” posts in 2016. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Southwest flight attendant makes a dream come true - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Southwest flight attendant makes a dream come true - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Wow. Just wow. Tracy Sharp, a woman with Downs syndrome, was talking to?Vicki Heath, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, on a flight she was taking and shared that her dream was to be a flight attendant herself. Heath then did just about the coolest thing ever: She arranged for Tracy to join her on one of her flights as an assistant flight attendant. In the video above you can see just how awesome that went. There are many such stories of Southwest Airlines staff going above and beyond (this one is my favorite) and I think it just goes to show that when employees are happy, they are much more likely to do nice things for the customers and create good memories for others. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Being A Creative Fantastic Ways To Flex Those Creative Muscles - CareerAlley

Being A Creative Fantastic Ways To Flex Those Creative Muscles - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Some people really embrace their creative flare. They seek out things that inspire them on a daily basis and utilize their skills in their career choices. Others harness these skills but dont have such opportunity to really put them to good use. Perhaps not even aware of a career option that could suit your passions and skills. We can all feel tied to our jobs. After all, they bring in a monthly income that many of us rely on to pay those pesky bills. But some people are fortunate enough to take a risk and change their careers for good. Choosing something that they enjoy doing or even building up their own business from nothing. Some people may find themselves at the decision of what to do with their lives now they have left school or graduated. The summer always presents new inspiration for change, which is why I thought it was a good a time as any to share with you some of the fantastic ways you can flex your creative muscles. Whether these options turn into careers or just something you enjoy doing in your spare time, I hope you find the inspiration you are looking for. Working for yourself by starting a blog Blogging has fast become a digital career these last few days and one that can certainly prove lucrative to some fortunately and lucky few out there. Once being an online outlet for people to share their passions or experiences has now turned into a hot property with more brands and big names wanting regular people to endorse their products and services. However, the beauty of the blogging world is that there is enough room for everyone, as the unique selling point is you. Everyone is different after all, we all have different opinions, a difference in writing style and even skills in website development and social media. So all you need to do is start and there are some amazing guides online to help you do it. Of course, you cant instantly monetize your blog it does require a lot of time and dedication at first. This is why so many successful bloggers started blogging in their own time before being able to make a career out of it, and you may find you will need to do that. However, the options are endless and you could find that you work on some fabulous advertising campaigns, or even use affiliate marketing to earn some extra income. The creative side can be found in all kinds of capacities such as the web development, the photography or the copy in which you publish. Image source Using your creative skills for article and blog content If you find yourself enjoying creating the content creation side of blogging, then you may be pleased to know that some writers make a career from producing this sort of content for other people. Companies and businesses are always looking to improve their search engine optimization, and one great way of doing that is to create decent backlinks to their website. Creating a blog article including a link back and hosting it on someone elses blog is a quick way to achieve it. Sometimes these are also known as sponsored posts, and these can be created by the blogger themselves or someone can supply one to you pre-written. Creating a YouTube channel to harness to visual appeal Creative arent always decent writers, they may appeal to others in a more visual way, and what better way to harness that skill than by creating your own YouTube channel sharing your passions and experiences. This is a video blog or more commonly known as a vlog, where you create videos for your channel. There are some huge success stories of people who have gone on to make a fortune from this and made Youtube their career. You dont have to be skilled in video editing, and most of it can be learned along the way. But what you do need is creative vision and passion, as YouTube has now become an industry that is saturated with people just like you wanting to create amazing videos and build up a following. Thankfully, researching online will help you harness your skills more effectively. Image source Learning necessary skills to create fantastic copy Copywriting isnt just seen as creating articles or blog content, think about the words we see on websites all the time. The press releases that get printed or published, and even articles that appear in national press or magazines. Creating copy is a vast industry that you can hope to get your teeth sunk into. However, you may not think so, but there are necessary skills to learn to help you create engaging and readable copy. Which is why you might want to complete copywriting academy review to harness those skills more effectively. You may also appreciate that practice makes perfect, so it might be worth creating your own blog as mentioned earlier. This will also enable you to build up a portfolio that when pitching to clients for work, will be able to share your experience as well as your varied writing style. Considering a career as a website developer Sometimes visual creativity isnt in the form of a video you watch or photograph you admire. Its more to do with the technology creativity you can have when developing and publishing a complete website. This is when website development can take on a whole new level. This is fast becoming a career option for people talented in technology while still showcasing that passion for creativity. Enabling people to combine two loves into one career choice. Like most of these options, website development is flexible when it comes to work location and also on what you are able to earn. There are plenty of courses you can take to help you make this career choice a reality. Some offer qualification course in colleges or in the evening. Some will even let you work from home and study for your qualifications that way by submitting assignments online. It definitely could be a flexible and lucrative choice for you. Image source Quick wit? Put it to good use in social media management Maybe you have a sharp tongue or a quick wit. Perhaps you are good at summarizing thoughts and feelings into 140 characters. Or maybe you are just amazing at optimising social media and knowing exactly when to post and even what to post to ensure you get the most engagement out of your profiles. The a social media management career is for you. This is actually a very real position nowadays as so many businesses small and large are taking advantage of the advertising phenomena that is social media. This enables customers to reach so many prospective clients and customers, and going about it in the right way is essential. A social media manager will ensure that all profiles are created professionally. They will put together a decent social media strategy to ensure that the business in questions gets the best coverage from all angles. Social media has so many more opportunities for small and large businesses that it requires someone to be focused on it daily to ensure that it works hard for them. If you enjoy social media and love updating your own profiles then this could definitely be a great career choice for you. Flex your artistic flare and just create Being creative can be flexed in many different ways. We have covered verbal creativity and creating something through the written word. But sometimes people are just more visual than anything else and this is when you should just be putting your artistic skills to good use. Use your spare time wisely to create masterpieces. Paint what inspires you, photograph what you think is visually beautiful. The options are endless but you need to just start somewhere, and often just creating and sharing through your own social media could open up many doors of opportunities. There are small galleries happy to showcase work or all aspects these days, and it could lead onto a career where you sell your artwork or photographs. Even websites online will enable you to share your photography and give permission for people to use it, or even buy the royalties. Image source Put artistic skills to use in logo and branding design Finally, one last area you could showcase your artistic skills in creating logo and branding for businesses. There are many digital agencies out there who are looking for people who are creative in the form of art and also through the skills of technology. More businesses are placing focus on their logo and branding than ever before due to the sheer rise in the internet and social media outlets. So there is a real opportunity for someone to make a career out of their artistic flare. I hope you have found some inspiration into some of the ways you can flex those creative muscles. Some of which can turn into amazing career opportunities. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+