Sunday, May 31, 2020

Good, the Bad and the Ugly English Language Skills in Interviews

Good, the Bad and the Ugly English Language Skills in Interviews Recruitment is a costly and time-consuming business, and identifying and interviewing the wrong candidates is one of the major issues. Research into 1,000 businesses shows that two-thirds reject between 50-75% of job applicants after the first face-to-face interview. On average, interviews last between 30 minutes to one hour, if you multiply that by the number of candidates rejected and again by the hourly rate of the individual conducting the interview, you can see how this can really start costing your business. With so much at stake, it’s important to be able to effectively identify suitable candidates from their CVs and during first stage interviews. When you are reviewing candidates’ CVs, it can be difficult to determine the English language ability of the individual if there is no clear indication of a qualification. Research by Cambridge English Language Assessment (Cambridge English), which analyses the language learning and assessment needs of economic migrants to the UK, highlights that many hirers distrust CVs and cover letters submitted by foreign migrants. As such, the majority of recruiters use their own methods of assessment, with only a quarter of employers looking for evidence of success in external English language assessments to measure these skills. The remaining three-quarters potentially miss out on vital evidence of suitability by not asking for proof of qualification. To save time and money, and minimise the risk of a bad hire, employers should make themselves familiar with the quality of different qualifications so that they can then ask candidates for proof in the form of a certificate. When considering candidates at first round interview stage, a substantial proportion of hirers rely on interviews in English to evaluate a candidate’s English language skill level. Cambridge English research highlights that employers globally value all four language skills â€" reading, writing, speaking and listening â€" therefore, although interviews are currently the most popular route for finding candidates, the majority of hirers surveyed don’t feel they show the full competencies of each candidate. The research points to a clear correlation between size of organisation and which of the four language skills is most essential. For larger organisations, reading is likely to be the most important skill. Conversely, for smaller organisations, speaking is more important. Reading is the most important skill for approximately half of all the employers in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Ukraine. Industries that have cited reading skills as being more beneficial include electronics, high-tech, computer services, aerospace and defence. Nonetheless, employers are looking for advanced levels of English language from employees in all sectors. The research shows that, in countries where English is an official or de facto official language, 97 percent of employers say that English is vital to their organisation, with the majority requiring native or advanced level skills. Alarmingly, as many as one in five senior managers lack the necessary English skills to meet job expectations. Clearly the most effective way to assess a candidate’s English language skills, is to rely on the assessment of an official qualifying body, and to look for recognised English language qualifications as a standard to determine whether a candidate’s skills are at a level required for a specific vacancy. There is a huge pool of extremely well qualified people, with good language skills, which employers are crying out for, if only they could be sure that they are getting someone with the right level of English language understanding and ability. About the author:  Blandine Bastié is the Regional Manager for the UK and Ireland at Cambridge English, and is responsible for the region’s overall strategy across all sectors including Higher Education. Before joining Cambridge English in 2014, Blandine worked for providers of technology and information services in both commercial academic publishing and the not-for-profit sector. Blandine holds an MA in English Language and Literature, and an MSc in Business Management.  

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Resume Writing Class For Montgomery County Residents

Resume Writing Class For Montgomery County ResidentsIf you have been recently laid off from your job, you may want to consider enrolling in a resume writing class. There are lots of people who get laid off every day. And they may have learned a thing or two from what their bosses taught them about resumes.There are a few different reasons that employers may want to see your resume when they are in the Montgomery County area. One of the most common reasons is because of the unemployment rate in the area. Another reason for trying to get the word out about a career school or an online program is to see if the student can handle the job placement.The type of course you would attend to get more skills for the job of your dreams depends on the institution that you decide to go to for your resume writing class. Many people choose to go to a place like Liberty University, which is located in Lynchburg, Virginia. This is a Christian based school and the curriculum is very similar to that of a traditional college.However, the online career school for the Montgomery County area offers some very useful information as well. For example, if you are considering going back to school to get your degree, this school can help you with that as well. There are many choices for people in the area to take their degree, so if you have any preference, you should contact the school directly to find out what classes are available.An online school for resume writing may be a little bit more expensive than other institutions, but this is no reflection on the quality of the education offered. You should look at the tuition fee as an investment in your future. If you do not mind putting some money into the education, it may be worth it.You will be able to work with a faculty member orin some cases, an instructor during your resume writing class to learn how to make the most of your resume. This is something that you can practice while attending the class, but you can also use your resume wr iting class to improve on what you already know. You will be able to use what you learn as a guide for when you go back to school or take a job interview.Of course, the resume writing class is just one component of the education that you will receive. A lot of it will come from reading the books and watching the videos that are offered to you. Some of the skills you will learn include presentation skills, keyword or subject selection, clear and concise writing, spelling and grammar, writing one page or a page and a half, and how to avoid using 'please'thank you' and other pet peeves that are on every resume.The education you will receive during your resume writing class can make a difference in your chances of getting the job you want. Once you take the time to see the benefits of taking a class, you should not hesitate to join a school near you. For people who need a little more education before they graduate, the resume writing class is a great way to get a jump start on getting a job after college.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

The magic recipe which guarantees career success

The magic recipe which guarantees career success We all look for the magic which can transform our lives and perhaps see this as particularly important in a career context. Is there something special which makes one person more successful than another? Well, maybe. What about confidence? Is that a key attribute which has an impact on determining who is going to get off to a great start in the career race and reach the exalted heights of main board before everyone else? Have you got the confidence to start the job hunt? It takes confidence to apply for jobs. Every time you click the “send” button on an application you expose yourself to the possibility of rejection. It’s really important not to take rejection personally. The competition for graduate level jobs is intense, nobody would expect to be offered every job for which they apply. If youre rejected from some you need to keep going with the job hunt. The only way in which you can guarantee you won’t get a job, is if you don’t apply! You have to be “in it to win it”! Can you push yourself forward? Many of us hate the idea of networking and dong a personal sales pitch, but an ability to tell a positive story about yourself is important. Think about the way successful people at university talk. You don’t get to be president of a prestigious society on campus by saying that you’d be rubbish at it and by hiding in corners and not talking to people. Socially successful students have large networks of friends and acquaintances. Theyre not afraid to talk about what they are good at.   Perhaps you could learn something from their technique? Lots of students worry that if they promote themselves they will come across as arrogant or boastful, that isnt the case! Theres a difference between boasting and being positive about your skills. The boastful person says: “Yes, I’ve climbed Everest, I’ve done K2 as well, to be honest they don’t present that much of a challenge to a good climber.” The positive, confident approach might be: “I love climbing and I’ve had some amazing opportunities to visit fascinating places to climb. Yes, I have been to Everest, it was an enormous test of my resilience and endurance and taught me a huge amount about effective teamwork. It was very humbling to see how the Sherpas work and to understand their level of expertise. The second person has got the message across in a self-effacing and positive way and has linked the experience to the development of employability skills. Youre going to have to sell yourself like this in application forms and at interviews and assessment centres. Nobody else is going to do a sales pitch for you, so work on doing it for yourself. If you are someone who struggles with confidence then I promise that your personal pitch is never going to come across as arrogant or boastful. Go for it! Can you compete with others? If you apply for a job you enter a competition. You have to be prepared to use all your skills and attributes to succeed. That’s not to say that every element of the process will be a competition. At an assessment centre you’re unlikely to be directly competing with others there, there might be jobs for all or none of you, depending on performance! There isn’t likely to be a job however, for the person who doesn’t say anything. You don’t need to be aggressive but you do need to speak up. Don’t just decide when you arrive that everyone else is better than you and that you might as well go home. If you’ve got several stages through a recruitment process then you’re as good as others you meet. Why shouldn’t it be you who gets the job? What if you simply can’t do all this? You don’t have to apply for a graduate scheme. You could look for a job in an SME (Small or Medium Sized Enterprise). A well-targeted speculative application could put you in the position whereby youre the only person who is going to be considered for a job. You might find that you feel more comfortable in an organisation where you are not having to compete to move up the greasy pole! It may be that success in your post will help you to gain confidence. In a smaller organisation its likely that youll have to turn your hand to all sorts of different tasks and youll find you build up skills in many different areas. Youll probably also find that you get plenty of early responsibility! There is help out there to enable you to build your confidence. Most universities are offering programmes aimed at helping you to gain confidence. At Warwick we have the Sprint  programme aimed specifically at women. Look out for what is on offer and go to see Careers to get realistic advice and support. If you feel that your lack of confidence is really hampering you in daily life, then you might want to think about getting a referral for counselling or cognitive behaviour therapy. If youre an academic high flyer and you just can’t find a way to believe in yourself why not see if someone can help you to form a more realistic self image?

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

How to Write a Letter of Interest (Expert Method) - Algrim.co

How to Write a Letter of Interest (Expert Method) - Algrim.co Wanting to know how to write a letter of interest? Feel like it could benefit you in your job hunt? In this writeup, we’re going to show you the traditional method for writing a letter of interest and a new method which can bring more results. Before we begin, it’s imperative that you understand what a letter of interest is. Covering this is going to ensure that you know this is the right vehicle and strategy for you in your job hunt. What is a Letter of Interest? A letter of interest is a business letter that job seekers send to prospective employers. It states the interest in working for the business. There are two other names for this type of letter, an “inquiry letter” or a “cold contact letter.” These letters are often sent by email, LinkedIn, or less frequently through postal mail. They are normally sent directly to hiring managers or department managers. What Goes in a Traditional Letter of Interest? There are a few talking points that go inside of a traditional letter of interest. Let’s break those down. Your understanding of the company values You might express what makes the company great and why you respect the company. This is a way of providing reassurance to the reader that you know what the company values. Your proposal of a job placement In the letter you might propose to the manager that you have a certain set of skills and expertise that align with a specific job title. Asking if that job title has openings or availability. Your request to speak with a manager Towards the end of the letter you might propose wanting to speak with a manager regarding any job openings, opportunities, or simply wanting to network with the company. Aside from these talking points, you would include a formal business header (your contact information, date, and the business contact information). But a majority of your letter is going to be surrounding your request to meet with someone regarding a job opportunity. What Does a Letter of Interest Look Like? Here is what your letter of interest may look like: Sam Smith 444 Street Lane, Sometown, CA 94112 sam@smith.com May 1st, 2020 Mr. Burgess XYZ Company 222 Street Lane, Business City, LA 94112 Dear Mr. Burgess â€" XYZ Company has stood out as one of the companies with the highest caliber of engineering teams. Your world-class environment clearly embraces collaboration, creativity, respectfulness and business results. My prior software engineering history fits in perfectly with your organization. I would be able to bring to the table QA testing experience, dev-ops experience, as well as train new employees on our programming languages. I would love to sit down with you and discuss the opportunity of working with you. And understand if there are any roles that would be a good fit for myself. Thank you so much, Sam Smith This is a traditional letter of interest. It covers all three areas of discussion mentioned: your understanding of the company values, your proposal for job placement, your request to speak with a manager, and all packaged under a business letter. But is this the best method for receiving employment? Or networking in general? No. Here’s why. This letter doesn’t propose an opportunity for the business. It is seeking an opportunity for yourself, which is nice. But not effective. If you were to be sending a letter to a manager, you would want the letter to say to the manager, “This is an opportunity for you.” That’s where we introduce the bullet-style method for writing a letter of interest. Bullet-Style Method for Writing a Letter of Interest When writing a bullet-style letter of interest, you should take the time to scan your resume or sit down and think through significant business achievements. This can be achievements that you’ve made within any prior job you’ve had. Were you able to work with multiple employees? Were you part of the hiring process? Did you increase sales? Did you increase efficiency? Were you pivotal in the development of the office culture? Write down four to five significant achievements. And use them as a proposal to the manager for why they should hire you. The method is simple: Write four to five significant work achievements for later use. Write your business letter with a formal heading, much like in the traditional letter of interest example. Open the business letter with why you respect the company and what ethics or values they have which speak to you. Then include your four supportive bullet points of work achievements and communicate these achievements are what you can bring to their company. Conclude your letter with a formal closing paragraph, thanking the reader. End your letter of interest with a formal goodbye and signature. Here is an example of what that should look like: Sam Smith 444 Street Lane, Sometown, CA 94112 sam@smith.com May 1st, 2020 Mr. Burgess XYZ Company 222 Street Lane, Business City, LA 94112 Dear Mr. Burgess â€" XYZ Company has stood out as one of the companies with the highest caliber of engineering teams. Your world-class environment clearly embraces collaboration, creativity, respectfulness and business results. Here are some prior work achievements that I’d like to speak with you about and find out if there’s opportunity to bring these skills to XYZ Company: Increased net sales 23% by deploying a CRM system for the sales team and customer support team at ZZZ Company. Decreased inbound support tickets 45% by deploying an FAQ page on our public-facing site at ZZZ Company. Played a pivotal role in office culture development and hiring software engineers are part of ZZZ Companies CEO vision. I’d love to speak with you regarding the opportunity to drive success within your organization. I’m flexible about the type of role that you feel I’m the best fit for. My desire and passion is to be with your organization and culture. Thank you so much, Sam Smith How To Know What to Propose in Your Letter of Interest In this method, you are proposing an opportunity for the business. So how do you propose this opportunity in a targeted way? The answer is simple, research. There are two methods for performing research that helps you understand talking points in your letter of interest. The first method is to look at the company's recent news, financial reports (quarterly earnings), or about page. In these documents the company will normally discuss not only what's important to them, but what they're working on as well. It can be insightful to the highest degree. The second method is to perform research using LinkedIn. Find the company page on LinkedIn, then search for the manager's name for the department you're aiming to work in. When you found their name, Google them. They may have a blog, speak on a podcast, or be part of recent news that gives you some idea to what that manager values. From there, you can speak to the manager through your letter of interest in a targeted way. For them, it will feel as though you know them. A very personalized letter. And that can be vastly more effective than a generic message. Letter of Interest Related Resources Letter of Interest Sample

Saturday, May 16, 2020

High School Education in Resume - A Must!

High School Education in Resume - A Must!Writing high school education in resume is a must if you are the parent of a person who attended college and university in the past. If your son or daughter graduated from college with honors, you might also want to add some of his or her educational achievements on your resume.It is natural that you would want to include the accomplishments of your family members on your resume. But there is a big difference between personal and professional accomplishments. Personal accomplishments can be what your parents did for you as a child, it is also a good way to convince the employers that your job requires expertise in a particular field.Professional accomplishments are the results of your studies in the course that you have chosen, and this might be about a career goal. Students can take up their courses as part of a course they have started in college or you can join a specialised course that has been pre-approved by the college where you want to go to university.In both cases, academic achievements are significant and should be mentioned on your resume, but since the college decides what courses they will accept, you can only know this if you take up your courses. If you choose to start in a course, then you should list all the courses that you have taken up so far in order of completion on your resume.High school education in resume should not be just about how you went to college. This is very important because colleges ask for this information so that they can know how well your grades in high school have been. This means that you should not just list all the courses that you have completed, but you should also put emphasis on the subjects that are important for your college entrance exam.These subjects can include things like English composition, science and mathematics, as well as English literature and creative writing. Students usually choose the subjects that are relevant to their college course so you should do th e same if you are applying for college.Students should also list any kind of educational activities that they have participated in. These activities can include school trips and sports and could include involvement in community activities like getting involved in a club or even volunteering for an organization.It is always best to go for objective information that will be able to stand out and be read by the employer and help him understand more about you. High school education in resume can help you create a professional and efficient resume.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

A Movement to Help the Unemployed #HireFriday

A Movement to Help the Unemployed #HireFriday Margo Rose, HR Margo, @margorose, started the #HireFriday movement to help job seekers. You can find her full explanation here.   Because many wont click through, Ive lifted the key points from her post below. HireFriday is a special place where we can shower job seekers around the world with attention, extol their virtues, bolster their self-worth, and let them know that we care about their transition.   The following guiding principles have been developed with the job seeker in mind.  Please be respectful, taking into consideration that the HireFriday twitter stream, and facebook page was developed with them in mind. Post your resume, and linkedin profile to the #HireFriday twitter stream or: Post the job seekers @name/desired job title/industry preference/location/descriptive and targeted key words. RT the job seekers in the HireFriday stream to your followers on twitter, and friends on facebook. If you think a position might suit the job seeker in the HireFriday stream, tweet a job their way, but don’t put it into the twitter stream. Post interesting career development articles that will help job seekers accelerate their re-employment. Post encouraging quotes to help job seekers keep their spirits up. This is what the #HireFriday search on Twitter turned up this morning.   It is so worth your time to check this out! I run across job seekers that are not comfortable yet with Twitter.   They are either doing their best to learn how to use it or are Anti-Tweeters and refuse to open their minds to the idea.   Twitter is an amazing tool.   Ive written about its value and use here. This post is to help spread the word about #HireFriday.   It is a generous way to help highlight, attract and serve job seekers that need it!

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Todays word - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Todays word - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Not only are there people who believe in creationism as a scientific fact. There are people who believe that the earth is the center of the universe and everything else revolves around us, and there are people who refuse to believe that HIV is the cause of AIDS. In a comment to a marvellous response to one of these HIV-deniers I found todays word: A debunking and a half :o) 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