Rich with Irony (and Some Cash)

Rich with Irony (and Some Cash) Major career changes bring many emotions to the front. Trepidation, excitement and, at least for me, that exciting feeling you’d get in September before you started a new school year. In fact, taking it a step further, it is like starting in school after you made a move to a new district. You get a chance to leave bad things behind and add new habits that you never had before. A chance to be the person you want to be and not someone sitting on everything they did since kindergarten. With my latest career move, I had a new emotion show her face: nostalgia. Steve Levy, my mentor and friend, introduced me to the awesome people at Mobiquity Inc  and helped me get my new role. When I gave one of my many thank you calls I have made over the years to Steve, we started chatting about firms we have loved, lost and left behind. Amazingly, despite years of knowing each other, he had never heard my, shall we say, unusual introduction into the “Business We Have Chosen”. When I graduated college, I had already been married for 6 months. Certain courses were only offered at certain times and my goal of a winter graduation was destroyed by the vagaries of what classes I had to take to actually graduate. Bottom line, it was May of 1998, I had an Ivy League degree in a pretty useless field and absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had no money and no prospects. Some Tuesdays, before my wife would get paid on Friday, we would go to the all you can eat Chinese buffet, where you could fill a Styrofoam container to the brim for 6 dollars, and we ate that until payday. I needed a job, I needed cash and I needed stability. My resume was as sparse as the Gobi desert. I fluffed everywhere I could, from jobs such as “Senior Camp Counselor” to putting Java as a skill. Why Java? I had read a very interesting magazine article about it and said, hey, why not? As has been said before though, usually about photographs, “Don’t judge me. I was young and I needed the money. I never thought it would get out”. I faxed, snail mailed, and e-mailed 100s of resumes. If it said entry level, I applied. If it said, no experience needed I knew Jeff Newman’s resume was what was needed. After all that work, I ended up with 2 job offers. 25K and commission potential as a Junior Recruiter or 35K supervising gentleman load boxes onto trucks in the Bronx. I believed in the potential even though it was less money. Oh, and I believed what my wife said, “You’ll end up being shipped somewhere in a box after you tell someone to get back to work. Take the recruiting job.” Now, how I got the offer at Network Dynamics and began my journey in this business is rich with irony. The job I had sent my resume for was some generic, “Are you good with people? Can you speak English? Can you pass a background check? Don’t mind long hours in exchange for commission potential? Then we have a job for YOU!” When I arrived for the interview, they told me what they had in mind. It was a 6 month entry level Java Developer role for IBM in Minnesota. I admitted to my, well, let us call it a lie, and said I was there for the technical watchmicallis recruit thingee. The interviewer said hold on one minute and stepped out. When she came back, she said Mark, the CEO, would like to meet with me. However, he could not meet with me until 1pm and could I come back then. Mind you, It was about 9:30 in the morning at this time. I answered is it OK if I wait in the office until he can see me? So, that is what I did until Mark and I met. I cannot recall for the life of me what he asked me. I however can pretty much state, word for word what he said to me: Jeff, you know nothing about recruiting. You know nothing about technology. In fact, you don’t know anything about business, period. However, I am going to give you a chance as anyone who will wait over 6 hours for an interview has persistence and a work ethic that I think will make them successful. I am going to give you 30 days, and personally train you, and we’ll see what happens. I was with Network Dynamics for over 4 years. Now, I am going to give you all the other dirt underneath the surface, in a way just as sketchy as that Java line in my skill set. I didn’t wait for that interview with Mark because of my work ethic. My work ethic is how I made a success out of a 30 day trial period. I didn’t wait because of my persistence either. My persistence is what made me stay in the industry after the Y2K boom went bust, after the .com bubble burst, after the post 9/11 NY-mini recession and the collapse of Lehman Brothers which devastated NY Staffing. I waited 6 hours as I had 1 subway token to get home and there was free coffee and magazines to read. What else was I going to do? I don’t feel that terrible, as the “Personal Training” wasn’t what I had anticipated either. I was given a script and a database. No one had used the database in 2 years. I was told, start at A and call everyone until you get to Z. Get everyone’s resume, one at a time. I sat in on all the job order meetings in between trolling the database and it started to click. By my second week, I brought a resume of someone I had spoken with to Mark. I said that I wasn’t sure but it sounded like this person fit the bill of that job that was open. That was my first placement. 15+ years later, not only am I still doing it, I am about to start a role that I have been working towards my entire career, a Talent Acquisition Specialist for an amazing firm doing awesome things! You never know what life may bring. When I took the job, I didn’t even know there was an industry dedicated to finding and placing people. Now, I cannot imagine doing something not involved in the world of Staffing. My take away from this is something that I try and practice with all my candidates. It is not about a skill list. It is not about work ethic. It is not about your prior experiences, how nice your references say you are, how deep your LinkedIn contacts, or how quickly you can learn. It is about all of those things. It is YOU, the full packages, and everything that it comprises. Oh yeah, I also learned how to ask questions so I don’t get someone that only read a book on Mobile Applications, but that is a whole other article!

The Truth About Resume Writing Courses

The Truth About Resume Writing CoursesThere are a lot of people who would like to get a job but are not able to write a perfect resume. You might be one of those who have tried many times to do the job but fail each time. There are lots of things that you need to do in order to create a great resume.The best way to improve your resume is by doing the research first. The first thing that you should know is the person that you will be submitting your resume for. A person who has experience in a certain field is going to have more positive references than an inexperienced person. By knowing the type of resume that you want to have and by knowing the type of person you are going to submit your resume to, you will surely be able to improve your resume writing skills.What does it take to write a good resume? This is what most people think. The first thing that you need to do when you want to improve your resume writing skills is to be honest about your resume. Writing a resume that is full of lies or exaggerations will only make your resume look bad so always make sure that you are being truthful.To help you with this, there are many things that you can do to make your resume appear more impressive. By using a professional resume writing service, you will be able to learn how to make a resume appear impressive. These services will show you the steps on how to achieve this and how they did it.Aside from using the services of a professional service, you can also try some resume writing courses. They will be able to teach you how to improve your resume and how to make it look more impressive. If you are still wondering if these services really work, there are many people who have used these services and have been able to get a job after being hired by a company. You should take a look at their testimonials in order to be sure that these services are genuine.The truth is that you can take a free trial of the course. The reason why you will be able to take a free trial is because these services charge money for the services that they provide. As long as you can afford the fees that they charge, you can take the course so that you can improve your resume writing skills. Many companies who use resume writing courses do not even require a fee. They simply give the service for free and let you pay once you are able to get a job.When you try to get the resume writing courses online, you will be able to get access to some of the most excellent resume writing services. The internet has made it possible for people to go online and see many different services for free and the best part is that you will only have to pay a minimal fee for the services that you get. Once you sign up for the free trial, you will be able to see if these services are right for you.There are so many reasons why you should take advantage of the resume writing courses that are available for free. There are a lot of people who would like to get a job but cannot. There are also a lot o f people who have tried many times to create a perfect resume but still have not been able to get a job.

Announcing another live video chat and something else.

Announcing another live video chat and something else. It is not lost on me that my blog is slowly becoming a platform to announce video chats. So I think Im going to have to do some fast confessing so that you guys dont all unsubscribe. Im getting married to the farmer. Yep. April 17. Well, not really. I mean, I cant totally get married because at the beginning of Brazen Careerist, I funded the company by not paying my taxes, so I owe a ton of taxes, and if the farmer and I got married, the IRS would put a lien on his farm. So we are having an unofficial wedding. Very small. I would tell you how small, but I am not allowed to write details about the farmers family. Suffice it to say that on my side, only two people are coming. And my kids. The kids really want to see a wedding. They would actually like to see me dressed like Cinderella. Because thats what they know about weddings and princesses, two things that my kids are pretty sure go together. Instead, we will just go out to dinner and bring a wedding cake. The cake will be extravagant, and thats what will let the kids know something big has happened. The event will be in Iowa. Well, sort of. In Iowa, if you just exchange rings, with no vows, you are still legally married. In Wisconsin, theres no common law marriage. So we are exchanging rings in Wisconsin and having dinner in Iowa. Its like bar hopping, midwest style. So anyway, I want to tell you that Im not the kind of girl who stops working to plan my wedding. And its true, Im not. But the kids and I are moving to the farm in the middle of May. And its a big move. And were remodeling the kitchen and bathroom. And thats why Im not posting on the blog. I wish I were posting on the blog. Because my dream life is living on the farm and posting on my blog. But right now, its true, Im only announcing webinars and then praying that I dont do anything inappropriate when Im actually doing the webinar. I promise I will start posting again. I just need to pick out a bathtub and a sink. Meanwhile, in webinar land, the topic is how to interview. I think its actually something catchy like three things to do in an interview to get the job. I told Ryan Paugh the catchy topic, and then I promptly forgot it when the electrician came. I wonder if when I dont answer the phone because Im with the electrician, Ryan Paugh thinks I dont answer the phone because Im thinking really hard about doing a great webinar. Wait. I almost forgot a link! Here: Sign up for the webinar here. Its Thursday, March 25 at 9pm eastern. Heres why you should go to the webinar. Because the people who hate me most hate me because they say I dont really do anything, I just talk a good game. So lets say theyre right. Then all of them should be listening to this webinar because Im going to tell you how to talk a good game. After all, what else is the interview? Its convincing people they are gonna love working with you. Im great at that. Also, well run through questions that I get asked all the time. How to negotiate salary, how to deal with getting fired from the last job, how to deal with references when your boss doesnt know your job hunting. And Ill answer your questions, as you ask them in the webinar. And you guys can also tell me if you think that pink in the bedroom is emasculating. The farmer says it is. He says that he read about a football team that painted the opposing teams locker room pink. Thats his evidence. I think that pink is good feng shui it makes the relationship better. This would be a good time for links to the pink locker room and links to feng shui sites. But instead, heres a link to the rosebushes I just bought for the garden.

Books to Unwind with this Weekend

Books to Unwind with this Weekend When you’re a trailblazing #girlboss, it’s not easy to completely unplug from the work world during the weekend. For all those women looking for books to unwind with and get lost in a great page-turner, these are the new binge-worthy titles you won’t be able to put downat least until the alarm goes off  on Monday  morning! The Wolves of Winter  by Tyrell Johnson After a sweeping spread of disease and a nuclear war, Lynn McBride thinks that the world as she knows it is over. Then, a mysterious stranger shows up on her homestead with a proposal that could permanently restore their society. Lynn and Jax will brave the harsh conditions of the Canadian Yukon on their quest to save the world and as Lynn steps into this new role, she’ll find herself and the possibility of a new love in the process. A dangerous narrative of dark secrets and chilling revelations,  The Wolves of Winter  will transport you to an entirely new world this weekend.  An American Marriage  by Tayari Jones As Oprah’s newest book club pick,  An American Marriage  brings one couple’s relationship and the American justice system to the forefront. Celestial and Roy have just settled into married life when Roy is sentenced to 12 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Dealing with the sudden change in her life, Celestial will take comfort in the couple’s friend, Andre, and begin to realize her dreams without Roy.   But everything will change when his sentence is overturned after only five years. Can these two find their way back to a happy marriage or has their time apart severed their bond beyond repair? The Great Alone  by Kristin Hannah From the #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Nightingale  comes a story about resilience and the unwavering bond between mother and daughter. Leni Allbright knows her father has returned a changed man after the Vietnam War.    With the family moves to Alaska, she’ll bear witness to the violent consequences of his transformation. As Leni blossoms into adulthood and falls in love, she’ll have to find a way to keep both her and her mother safe from the dangers of Alaska’s brutal winters as well as the danger that lives within the walls of their cabin. The Immortalists  by Chloe Benjamin This instant  New York Times  bestseller follows the intricate lives of the four Gold children after their encounter with a traveling psychic. Having learned about the supposed date of their deaths, Simon, Klara, Daniel and Varya all grow into their adult lives separately and live life with reckless abandon. Surrounded by haunting secrets, family expectations and magic, these siblings will learn how one bit of information can forever change their lives. This family saga is perfect for fans of Celeste Ng’s  Everything I Never Told You. Things to Do When It’s Raining  by Marissa Stapley If you’ve recently found yourself obsessing over NBC’s  This Is Us,  this novel is the one you should have at the top of your #TBR pile. When Mae Summers’s fiancé leaves her with nothing but a mysterious note, she finds that her entire life in shambles. Returning home, she’ll quickly come to realize that her family is going through struggles of their own and she’s the only one who can bring everyone back together. A story about family, second chances and new beginnings,  Things to Do When It’s Raining  is the perfect read to get lost in this weekend. Need to Know  by Karen Cleveland In this  New York Times  bestselling novel, Vivian Miller is a CIA analyst with a keen eye for catching Russia’s most dangerous agents. On a mission to protect her country from a new looming threat, Vivian will unknowingly put both her job and her family at risk to take down the Russian sleeper cell. Vivian knows she can’t save everyone, but will she be able to choose between her family and her country? For fans of  Gone Girl, this novel of sacrifice, allegiance and love  is the thrilling novel you’ll be unable to put down once you’ve picked it up. The Friend  by Sigrid Nunez If you’re looking to dig into a heartwarming novel on your days off,  The Friend  is the book you’ll want.   After a woman loses her best friend to suicide, she’ll be left with his Great Dane and a world’s worth of grief. As she and her new canine friend learn how to navigate the world without the man they both loved, they’ll begin their path to healing and moving forward together. In this emotional read, Nunez leaves her readers with much to contemplate about the bonds we rely on and the effects of grief. Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers  by Sara Ackerman In Sara Ackerman’s debut novel, a mother and daughter band together with the women in their community to support soldiers near their military base during World War II. After the disappearance of Violet Iverson’s husband, she and her daughter Ella are left to pick up the pieces of their lives. As Violet begins to think that Ella knows more than she’s letting onto about her missing father, she’ll come to rely on the pie stand and her new connection with a handsome marine to keep her life and family together. If you love historical fiction like  The Nightingale, this new book is the read you’ll want to get your hands on. Freshwater  by Akwaeke Emezi College freshman Ada can’t help the voices inside of her head and the multiple personalities that have taken over her life. After a traumatic event threatens the fragile fabric of her sanity, two protective identities will come to the forefront and protect her the best they can. Struggling to take control of her life, the young girl will start down a dangerous path that only she can save herself from. An important read about mental illness and complicated family dynamics, Freshwater  is one of the year’s most anticipated debut novels. The Wife  by Alafair Burke Angela didn’t think that a future with NYU professor Jason Powell was possible.   But then their summer fling turned into a full-fledged relationship and then marriage.   She finally gets the opportunity to move to a new place and leave behind her troubled past. Years after the beginning of their new life, two women will come forward with allegations against Jason that he claims are nonsense but when one of the women disappears, she’ll have to look further into the man she shares her home with. You’ll have a hard time paying attention to anything but this thriller from  New York Times  bestselling author Alafair Burke this weekend.

Top Tips For Writing a Resume

Top Tips For Writing a ResumeBefore you start writing your resume, you need to be absolutely sure that you have everything prepared and ready. One of the most important parts of the resume is the cover letter. However, the cover letter also plays a major role in your resume writing because it is the first impression of you. The better your cover letter is, the more likely it is to be accepted.First things first: what do you write on your cover letter? What do you want to tell the reader? Most people do not give a whole lot of information on their resume and even the most basic information like their name, address, and phone number do not make it on the list. In addition, what you write should tell the reader more about you and the qualifications you have.The first thing you need to be certain about is that your cover letter needs to be concise. It has to read well on one or two lines and needs to stand out from the other information on the page. Make sure the resume you are writing i s clear and easy to read. You also need to have your own style.You can choose the font for your writing. Using a sans serif font is a good idea for resumes. It looks professional and increases the chances of the employer reading your resume. A serif font does not look professional and is harder to read, especially if you use too many capital letters.When you write a resume, make sure you give yourself enough time to work on it. You do not want to wait until the night before the interview to write your resume. Waiting until the last minute will only allow you to put your best foot forward. Give yourself plenty of time to do your best before you hand it in.You should also make sure you have your resume and cover letter ready. This is very important. Once you start writing, you can't stop. If you're having trouble coming up with a cover letter, you can find examples online or at your local library. Try to get some ideas for a cover letter from someone you know who has written one.Durin g your resume writing process, do not be afraid to ask a question about the position you are applying for. Ask any questions you have about the company and the job opening. A small amount of conversation in the beginning will ensure that you do not miss anything important that can be included on your resume.This is why having a good resume is so important for your career success. You have to be sure that you use your best effort when you begin your resume writing process to help you land the right job for you.

The 5 Biggest Jobs Trends of 2017 - CareerEnlightenment.com

3) AutomationChamberlain doesn’t just refer to automated drivers, though he does say transportation will undergo phenomenal changes, especially around taxis and truck drivers. The impact will be felt in other sectors too including white-collar work.What is needed is for workers to ‘up skill’ he says, with more focus on training programs to help employees develop new skills.Futurists have been warning about automation for a while now. Accusations that machines destroy jobs have been around as long as machines. Research shows that large-scale job losses due to automation are unlikely, though no one’s job will escape automation in some way.The continued growth of mobiles, cheap data storage and innovations in machine learning, will bring about the biggest changes in 2017. Those most affected will be in routine, mostly manual jobs â€" those that don’t require creative judgement such as long-haul trucking and taxi driving.In the same way, white-collar jobs will not be immune to these trends. For financial analysts, Tableau and other dashboard analytics tools are already radically reshaping roles in this sector.The key is to keeping your job safe, says Chamberlain, is to build your skills to ensure you are complementary to technology: ‘learning to run the machine, not doing the same work the machine automates,’ is the trick.4) Mind the pay gapOther areas to come under scrutiny will include a welcome approach to ‘employers taking action against the gender pay gap’.In the same way that 2016 revealed a more transparent approach to pay, 2017 will see more employers taking even further action to reduce gender pay disparities.5) A move away from flashy benefits packagesThings like free lunches, dog-friendly workplaces, on-site acupuncture, games pods and even paid leave to go travelling will become outdated, suggests the report.It says these perks may have reached a tipping point. In 2017 employers will pull back on flashy benefits in favor of traditional ones like pension plans and health care coverage.“In many ways, 2016 was a landmark year for hiring,” said Chamberlain. He adds: “However, technology and automation are changing the way we work forever, creating both opportunities and challenges for 2017 and beyond. In this environment, the future of jobs, employer branding and recruiting is top of mind for job seekers, employees and employers.”

A question for the Spanish speakers out there - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

A question for the Spanish speakers out there - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog My book has just been translated into Spanish by Maria deVera of ContentSpanish who did a magnificent job. It will be available in Spanish on paper and in pdf very soon. I just have one question for ya: The title. This is the title were going with: Nuestra hora feliz es de 9 a 5 C?mo estar encantado con tu trabajo y con tu vida y ser un profesional excepcional. Its a pretty literal translation of the original English title Happy Hour is 9 to 5 Learn how to Love your Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt at Work. How do you like the title in Spanish? Do you have a better idea? Do you think theres a market for the book in Spanish? Please write a comment, Id really like to know your take! 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

A question for the Spanish speakers out there - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

A question for the Spanish speakers out there - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog My book has just been translated into Spanish by Maria deVera of ContentSpanish who did a magnificent job. It will be available in Spanish on paper and in pdf very soon. I just have one question for ya: The title. This is the title were going with: Nuestra hora feliz es de 9 a 5 C?mo estar encantado con tu trabajo y con tu vida y ser un profesional excepcional. Its a pretty literal translation of the original English title Happy Hour is 9 to 5 Learn how to Love your Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt at Work. How do you like the title in Spanish? Do you have a better idea? Do you think theres a market for the book in Spanish? Please write a comment, Id really like to know your take! 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