Articles - Page 141 of 258 - The Voice of Job Seekers

Get Ready for an Agile Job Search with Nissar Ahamed

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When I like a job search blog, I like to let you know about it. If you haven’t heard of Career Metis, then I encourage you to listen to this show and then head on over there. The blog founded by Nissar Ahamed is likely to give your job search a boost.

I found Career Metis a long time ago, but in the last 15-16 months, he has published articles several times a week. Not only about resumes and cover letters, but also the workplace and productivity too. I’d be remiss if I did not mention his new podcast containing more than 20 episodes to date.

I would love to hear what you think about his blog. Share your thoughts with me in one of three ways:

Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number
Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message
Send email feedback to [email protected]

By day, Nissar is in software sales, but at night, he is the editor, writer, and publisher of Career Metis. It is an award-winning blog with awards from Career Igniter and PersonalIncome.org.

Here are a few highlights from our discussion:

In India, Nissar’s home country, employers lined up to hire graduates upon finishing. When he migrated to Toronto, Canada immediately after college graduation, he had to adapt to being solely responsible finding a job himself
He had to learn everything and solely relied on job boards, had to learn to write resumes and adjust on the fly. He learned to navigate the job market by doing
Branding is important if you want people to reach out to you. Be agile and visible, be ready to pivot
We discuss how to go from being under-appreciated to mastering navigating the job market
When people experience an adverse culture change will bring misery—often too late but start looking passively or activelyNeed help with your career goals, directions, or efforts? Do you need coaching or instruction? I am here for it!

Also, join our Linkedin community! You’ll enjoy some of the insights shared by community members and other career pros!

If you’re a career pro and love giving career advice, let me know. I would love to have more guest writers during my hiatus and beyond. Thanks for being among the thousands who listen every month. There’s so much more to come so stay tuned!

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Career News: The Racial Wage Gap and My Paysa.com Interview

Racial Wage Gap research

The racial wage gap needs more attention and focus because it affects millions of people. I explained before I am looking for more studies on the racial wage gap. To help close the racial wage gap, job seekers who are affected must negotiate more than they do. But, there needs to be an understanding of how it happened. The paying fields need to be leveled. More research needs to be public.

Maybe companies need to be PG (pay gap) certified, or IA (Inclusion Approved) to be considered for tax breaks. Yeah, we can argue the potential problems with labeling companies but it’s time to crack down on companies who are not fairly compensating individuals for their abilities.

The Economic Policy Institute recently released their research of the racial pay gap and its effect on the African-American community at large. Here are a few of it’s findings:

Black men’s average hourly wages were 22 percent less than those of white men in comparable jobs; in 1979, the wage gap was 16.9 percent.
Black women’s average hourly wages were 11.7 percent less than those of white women; in 1979, the gap was 4.5 percent.
In 1979, black women’s wages were 42.3 percent lower than those of white men and 25.4 percent lower than those of black men. By 2015, these differences had narrowed, but remain significant—34.2 percent and 12.2 percent lower than white and black men, respectively.

If you would like to look at the entire study published in it’s entirety, go here to the website.

Paysa.com interview

Paysa was founded in 2015, and just started publishing data in February 2016. According to it’s site, Paysa is, “…your always on, AI-driven career coach enabling you to build an amazing career & get paid the market salary you deserve…”

People from Paysa.com asked me questions to include their feature on their site. They asked me about the current climate for job seekers, salary negotiation, and reasons for my writing and publishing about the gender wage gap.

Paysa features other career professionals as part of their “Expert Interview Series.” My feature was just published a couple of days ago. Go check it out and let me know what you think.

If you haven’t subscribed to the podcast, please do. We have informative shows coming up that should help your job search in a big way!

by Mark Anthony Dyson

Five Ways to Subtly Catch The Eyes of Employers During Your Job Search

This article first appeared on YouTern.com!

Since you began looking for work, people have been telling you there are certain job search rules you must follow. How long your resume must be. What to post online. How a cover must look.

Well, I’m here to tell you: Break job search rules. That’s right, break all of ’em!

In today’s job market, disruption is the way to get attention and be memorable.

You must think like a marketer and act as a consultant in all phases of your job search. You don’t have to cause an earthquake, type in capital letters, or tweet a beautiful picture.

But you must demonstrate that you understand the problem and that you are the viable solution.

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I know what you’re thinking: “I can’t even get an employer to notice me, let alone read my personal marketing materials and ideas.” And that is true. So here are five ways to disrupt the expectations of employers, even before the job interview is scheduled.

Use Quality Art on Social Media Profiles

A design from simple to elaborate will catch everyone’s attention. Tools like Canva and Pic Monkey make it possible to customize your art for each platform,Even on LinkedIn, an attractive cover can make an alluring statement about your personal brand.

Create a Personal Logo

Design a logo of your own. Or have it designed for you. Place it on all of your social media accounts, personal marketing materials and landing pages. I wouldn’t suggest replacing your professional photo, but use the logo as part of your cover art and business cards. If you use Periscope, make sure your logo helps you secure consistent exposure. A beautiful design is a conversation starter. And today, everything that leads to meaningful discussion helps.

Use Emoticons on Your LinkedIn Page

You may think it’s silly to use visuals and symbols on the world’s largest professional network, but the use of emoticons is entirely disruptive in a small way. Here is an example of my LinkedIn summary:

Very subtle use of the stars and the finger but memorable since few job seekers use emoticons. Want to learn more about how to use emoticons? Linked has articles on how to use keyboard shortcuts to bring up emoticons and some symbols to spice up your profile.

Write a Short 150-word Post on LinkedIn, Medium, Facebook or Your Blog (Buzzfeed Style)

There is no better way to display your subject matter expertise that to post a blog on LinkedIn, Medium, Facebook, Buzzfeed or your personal blog. It doesn’t have to be long. 150 words or so, if you write consistently, will catch the attention of employers.

Want to really stand out? Want to really break the job search rules?

You don’t have to tell stories using solely words! If you have yet to read a Buzzfeed blog post using a smart combination of gifs and brief paragraphs, then treat yourself by reading this post. Depending on your career path and industry, this style is effective for those with the right mix of art and commentary.

Use Instagram Stories instead of Snapchat to Tell Your Story (and Tell How You Solve Problems)

We can argue whether employers and recruiters are using Snapchat and Instagram Stories to hunt for talent. But honestly, I know some are using every platform. They go where the people are!

The idea of using Snapchat, if you’re building an employable brand, is simple: To show personality! After all, companies can’t train you to be a great personality. They can’t mandate you be creative or unique. They have to hire people who already demonstrate these traits. Get it?

Now, Instagram Stories has the same features, but there are several reasons it’s more useful to job seekers than Snapchat:

Instagram has a larger audience, and through my experience, I’ve seen more engaged employers on Instagram than Snapchat
Ease of navigation makes “Stories” more engaging to use
You can measure the reach and results

If you want to read more about how Instagram Stories is more useful to your personal branding efforts online, go here as it was shared more than a few times!

Break the job search rules! Use these actionable — and relatively easy — ways to stand out. In what has become a sea of sameness, what have you got to lose?