Who Wins From a 4-Day Working Week

Who Wins From a 4-Day Working Week Speak to anyone who works part-time, and their biggest gripe is that theyre expected to do the same amount of work in their 3 or 4 days that they were when working a 5-day week. So how does working a 4-day week and still being paid for five days sound? Most of you must be wondering how it can benefit the employer without hurting the business because for the employee it makes total sense especially if they feel theyre working a 4-day week but doing 5-days worth of week without benefitting from the extra days pay. A company in New Zealand has just trialed  a 4-day week and now the boss at Perpetual Guardian wants to make it permanent.  Earlier this year the trustee company carried out conducted what was essentially a corporate experiment in allowing the companys 240-person staff to retain full pay as well as a three-day weekend but allowing them to work just four full days a week. The trial was also observed by academic researchers Jarrod Haar, a professor of human resource management at AUT, and  Dr. Helen Delaney, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland Business School. Here are some of the results from the trial: So could it work for you? These recruiting experts share their  views. Jon Gregory, blogger and editor of Win-that-job.com, says: From an employee point of view, my experience suggests that would be very attractive, but with some provisos. The benefit is obviously the three day weekend, which facilitates all sorts of things from a personal and a family point of view. However, also from a family point of view, if the four day week came at the expense of flexibility (for appointments, childcare problems, partner illness, etc.) then it would be a less practical and less desirable proposition. From the employers side, its also attractive as longer working days are often ultimately more focussed and productive in my experience, depending on the type of company and work that needs doing, especially where teams are united and well led. Its also attractive from a recruitment perspective, as three day weekends have wide appeal, across the spectrum from worker to professional person to managerial person. There is a downside for smaller companies though. To cover a five, six or seven day week for customers, a company needs a certain critical mass of employees to be able to provide full cover, if staff only work four days. A four day arrangement could potentially stress or disadvantage smaller organisations or departments. Lysha Holmes, Director of Qui Recruitment, says: Working a 4 day week on a 5 day pay is hugely advantageous to both employer and employee in my opinion as you gain a lot more accountability from someone who is given the chance to work remotely and encourages an empowered culture a word of caution though/ this should not be abused as it will create a negative impact for everyone else I think it would be attractive to potential recruiters seeking a new move in the market and many recruitment companies do now offer a more flexible approach to their working week to reflect modern society’s evolution into a more remote workforce and I celebrate this. Catherine Oliver  is the Founder of the Bluebell Partnership and Parents@Sky and says: From personal experience of working 5, 4 and 3 day weeks I know I was most productive on less than 5 and this is a common experience. I think this is for 2 reasons. Firstly because it forces you to be clearer on your priorities and what you spend your time on. Secondly the increased non work time gives you a greater mental break. This is backed up by research on the benefits of recovery. That said there’s also an element of competition at play what you get done vs full time colleagues. The same applies at an organisational level  so it follows that companies leading the way on this will derive greater benefits in terms of talent attraction and retention. If everyone worked 4 days these benefits would arguably be reduced. However in a world of work moving away from repetitive tasks to one where thinking is the core value an employee brings, it seems to me there can only be upside in  providing greater time for recovery and  empowering employees to choose where to spend more limited work time  which can only be good for employees and employers alike. David Morel  is the CEO/Founder of  Tiger Recruitment and says: Most candidates would, undoubtedly, be quite excited by the prospect of working four days a week on a full-time salary, provided that it didn’t simply equate to 12-hour days, four days a week! The experiment is an interesting one, however it assumes that there is slack to be tightened across employee workloads, which won’t always be the case. While work-life balance would undoubtedly improve and enhance the wellbeing of employees, existing workloads across teams / workforces would need to be very carefully reviewed (and re-distributed) before employers could cut down on employee hours. It would certainly be interesting to see absenteeism and productivity data over the long-term and the corresponding impact on talent retention, employer brand and revenue.

Finding a Good Resume Example

Finding a Good Resume ExampleIf you are looking for a good resume example that you can use, there are many options to choose from. Not only do you have the general concept of how your resume should look, but you will also need to find out about samples that actually fit that description. How do you go about finding these examples?The first place to look is in your local newspapers and in the search engines. Sometimes there are ads for free resume samples that you can use. Another option is to contact several local businesses. Many companies will supply examples of resumes for a small fee, and sometimes it will be included with the job.Popular search engines such as Google will have a large amount of resume examples listed. You can get very detailed examples on these sites. It is important to realize that some of the best examples will be very basic, since they are meant to show a prospective employer what a standard look will look like. This may seem like an inconvenience, but if you are hiring a new employee you do not want him or her to have a better, more complex resume than the one you are giving them.It is easy to find a good resume example online. There are a lot of examples that are free to use, but you might be better off paying for one. The reason is because you want your resume to look good on its own, and the most expensive ones cost you a lot of time to use.There are many ways to find good resume examples. The best way is to research them by category, such as nursing or management, because these two areas are almost always included in any decent sample.Another thing to consider is the amount of time it will take to actually get your resume to look like a good example. You will not find some sample resume examples that are specific to your field, but you will find some that are more generic.When it comes to choosing a particular example, you should find a site that is only offering them for a small fee. Even though you might not get the top quality o ption, you will likely get your money's worth, as long as you follow the rules of formatting.There are many ways to find a good resume example, but you will need to make sure that you find the right one for your situation. Once you have a sample in hand, it is easy to improve upon it to make it perfect for your needs.

5 Steps to Create Your First Ebook and Attract More Clients - Classy Career Girl

5 Steps to Create Your First Ebook and Attract More Clients Like to write? Creating an Ebook is a great place to start. Our goal for creating an  Ebook  is to create a low-priced product that leads into your main product or service that you sell. Almost all businesses could add this option to their business. What is great about having an  Ebook  is that your customer can get to know you and what you offer without you having to speak to them personally. It automatically forms a bond with you and helps them trust you and want to work with you even more. Some examples of ways you can use an  Ebook  in your business: 1) $10  Ebook  that leads into a free strategy session with you or a paid one-hour coaching call. 2) $10  Ebook  that leads into your $97 online course. 3) $20  Ebook  that leads to an event. 4) $5  Ebook  that helps your customer learn how to use your product better. Heres the most important part. WE ARE NOT WRITING A BOOK FOR  AMAZON.COM. We are also not creating a physical book. We are writing a book that will be a PDF that you can sell straight from your website or social media channels. Kindle books and paperback books have a lot of requirements that make them harder to get up. Of course, you can do this later but its important that you keep this first  Ebook  simple. Start simple, make it better later and get over trying to be perfect. ?? Here are 5 steps to create your first ebook to attract more clients: Step #1: Market Research Its important that the book you are about to write is not for you, its for them. Your future clients. What do they need? What are their biggest frustrations, goals and dreams? To find this out, you can create a survey and you can use surveymonkey.com. You can also look at what content you already have written and lying around. It can be your most popular blog posts or social media posts. Step #2: Create Your Outline Everyone gets their ideas out differently. You have to do what works best for you. You have to get all the stuff you have been thinking about on paper. Here are some ways that you can create an outline for your  Ebook: -Create a mindmap with  https://bubbl.us. -Create a Word or Google doc. -Write down your outline in a notebook. -Record yourself on your phone or computer talking through ideas. -Have a friend or family member interview you about the topic and answer their questions. Try to record this if possible. Sometimes its easier to get ideas out when you are just having a simple conversation with someone. [RELATED: 4 Things You Need to Do Right Now to Attract More Clients] Step #3: Write! Yep, thats it. Its all about carving out the time in your calendar to put down on paper what is in your head. Focus on helping and your mission. You have a message. Thats why started a business, right? You want to make a difference. If you dont actually write down those words in your head and put it out into the world, then you cant share your message and live that life that we all know you can. Step #4: Give Your  Ebook  a Makeover Alright, youve got a draft  Ebook  written. Woohoo! Now, lets make it look pretty. Ideally, you have a cover page, a short bio about you, your table of contents, introduction and then, of course, the real meat of your book. This can be however you want it to be and look. We arent following any rules here.  Ebook  page numbers range but usually are about 25-50 pages. I recommend writing your document in a word document or a google doc and converting it into a PDF to distribute to your customers. Step #5: Ebook Sales In the beginning, you decided how this Ebook was going to fit into your business model. So, its now time to make that happen. Here are the sales strategies I would use to sell an Ebook right now: 1. Launch strategy: Offer a one-time only discount and open the cart for 5 days only. Do a lot of great free content (blogging, FB Lives and webinars) before you open the cart so that when the cart opens, people are excited. I would also add bonuses to the Ebook that will go away after the five days are up. The key here is to provide as much VALUE as possible during the launch. 2. Automated strategy: Collect leads on one small topic of your Ebook that your potential clients find very frustrating. Solve one little problem first with your free lead magnet. Then, on the thank you page after someone opts in, you provide a sales page thanking them for signing up and a chance to purchase your Ebook. If you are interested in attracting new clients into your business, you definitely want to check out Corporate Rescue Plan. Doors are open to our membership community only until October 16th. Dont miss out!

How to Organize Your Workplace at Home

How to Organize Your Workplace at Home Look at your desk right now. On a scale from one to ten, how messy is it? if youre like me you might have a pile of papers you havent looked at for weeks, some snacks and a bit of dust accumulating on the back of the desk. Youre not a slob, you just are super busy and keeping your desk clutter free isnt as high a priority as the millions of other to-dos you already have on your plate. So its good there are others out there who can help give us less organized types some tips. Todays infographic from Omnipapers is a great refresher on some helpful advice around organizing your desk.

Resume Template Writing - How to Write a Strong Resume

Resume Template Writing - How to Write a Strong ResumeResume template writing and how to write one is the right solution for students looking to land a well-paying job. One cannot always be perfect when it comes to writing a resume. Instead, applying for jobs without a resume only results in rejection, which will just keep a person from feeling at ease until he gets another chance.Now that a resume template is in place, there is no reason to be nervous about your chances of landing a good job. Employers realize that you need a resume template because they have been doing the same thing, and they are looking for people with a resume and an eye for detail. If you can write a strong resume, it will translate into a job offer.One should be aware that the resume is the biggest selling point of a candidate, and if he has a poor or non-existent work history, he is not going to stand out in the crowd. The recruiter will immediately think of the absence of a job history. In his eyes, this wil l show the employer that you are not self-motivated, and that you lack initiative.The first part of the resume is the chronological details about your employment, followed by details about your work history. Every mention of previous job positions should be properly written, so that they do not sound like ramblings. Your experiences should also be marked as to what was done in each position, so that the employer can see for himself your level of responsibility.The candidate's experience and the setting should be a good example of the kind of work he is capable of doing. In this way, the resume can serve as a foundation for future accomplishments. Once the employer sees you as someone who can contribute to the company's profits, he will be more inclined to give you a promotion.Finally, one needs to be careful about getting his skills and qualifications up to date. Make sure you're updated on all the new technologies and other fields. It is understandable if you have forgotten some of your hobbies or interests, but these little details can help build a stronger resume. There is a big difference between making a resume and crafting a great one.If you want to make a resume that stands out, it is a good idea to create your own template. This way, you will be able to use the best of everything you have learned over the years in developing the perfect one. This also allows you to customize it according to the requirements of the employer.No matter what job you're aiming for, you must know how to write a strong resume. To do this, apply for jobs without a resume and wait for the best offer, and you will surely find it.

How to Use Twitter for Personal Branding and Executive Job Search, Part 2 - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

How to Use Twitter for Personal Branding and Executive Job Search, Part 2 Twitter can help you connect with the right people, to land a great-fit executive job. Twitter can help you connect with the right people, to land a great-fit executive job. In Part 1  of this 2-part series, I covered: The value of Twitter for executive job search, How to get started, How to follow the right Twitter folks, and How to build up your followers. In Part 2 here, Im covering: Tips on finding potent tweets and retweets, Building a Twitter strategy, and Staying the course. Some Ways to Find Potent Tweets and Retweets Some people, especially those new to Twitter, complain that they dont know what to tweet, or that they dont have enough things to tweet regularly. Here are some places and ways to keep your Twitter stream fresh and relevant: Set up  Google Alerts for the following. Google will email you links when those keywords show up online. Tweet those relevant articles and blog posts. Names of the companies youre targeting Names of key decision makers in your target companies Key word phrases relevant to your niche (and/or the hashtags youve already uncovered) Names of your target companies’ relevant products or services Names of subject matter experts in your niche Names of any people whose radar you want to get on. Once youve compiled a solid list of hashtags youll be using regularly, search them on Twitter and retweet the good tweets that contain them. Along with retweeting the people you follow and others, tweet about your professional accomplishments, whenever you publish something online (relevant news story, blog post, guest blog, article, blog comments, etc.), and select personal victories. And, of course, regularly send out tweets positioning yourself as a job seeker and stating your value to your target employers, unless you are conducting a confidential job search. In this case, no tweets that out you as a candidate. All of your professional-type tweets  should support your personal brand, while supporting your current employer. Tips For Tweeting To Promote Your Candidacy Include your relevant keywords and/or phrases as hashtags. If applicable, include a link to further information about you, as you did in your Twitter bio. An example of a tweet  â€" #Pharmaceutical #Oncology #Sales and #Marketing #Executive seeking new opportunities [link] Change up your tweet to include various relevant hashtags. Dont be overly self-promotional, so that these tweets appear too often in your Twitter stream. Figure maybe every tenth tweet or so. Save Time By Automating Your Tweets and Shares There are several apps and automation software you can use to minimize the time you spend on social media, as explained in the Mashable article, 7 worthwhile ways to automate social media. I use Hootsuite, but each of the other 6 noted in the article are worth looking into. Give Your Tweets Visual Impact Include images, photos or videos with your tweets, when possible. People connect better to, and are more positively impacted by, tweets that include some kind of visual. Many studies have shown that, when an image is paired with content, people retain the information much better, and for a longer period of time. Build a Twitter Strategy and Stay the Course If youre going to use Twitter, do it purposefully, following these imperatives: • Frequency Try to tweet at least a few times a day or every other day, to stay top of mind with the people youre trying to position yourself in front of. Conversely, don’t let yourself get sucked into the Twitter vortex and find you’ve twittered away an hour or more (unless you can really afford the time). Using one of the automated platforms will greatly help. •  Consistency Focus on tweeting and retweeting relevant info that reinforces your brand, thought leadership, subject matter expertise, and value to your target market. •  Hashtags Use relevant hashtags whenever possible, but not so many in a tweet that all you see are the hashtag symbols. Use the hashtags your target employers use. •  Twitter Etiquette When you retweet people, make sure you include their @Twittername, as a courtesy and so theyll notice it. Thank people whenever they retweet or @ mention you. Refrain from bad-mouthing employers (or anyone), bad language, and any inappropriate  material. •  Balance Tweet mostly relevant professional info, but add in some  personal, too. Something like a balance of 20-25% personal to 75-80% professional is about right. If you want to do more idle chit chat on Twitter about non-professional matters, it may be best to set up another account  with an anonymous name that wont connect you in any way to your professional account. •  Patience At first, youll be spending a lot of time building up quality people to follow. Meantime, it takes time to build up quality followers and a long, potent twitter stream, which reinforces your credibility. So, it may be a  few months before you see much in the way of results. All the more reason to follow the networking (online and offline) golden rule, and network even when you don’t need to. Practice give to get networking and stay ever-connected to your network. Get going with Twitter well in advance of starting your job search. More About Twitter and Executive Job Search How a Robust Online Presence Helps You Land The Best Executive Jobs Twitter Personal Branding Time-Saving Tips Executive Brand Online Reputation Management: How to Build Your Brand Online Want a Successful Executive Job Search? Run It Like a Small Business The Biggest Mistake Twitter Newbies Make How Twitter Helped Me Build My Personal Brand 14 Reasons I Won’t Follow You On Twitter Executive Job Search and Personal Branding Help Need help with personal branding, your profile, resume and biography, and getting your executive job search on track . . . to land  a great-fit new gig? Take a look at the services I offer, how my process works and what differentiates my value-offer . . . then get in touch with me and we’ll get the ball rolling. 00 0

Over 50 Start Looking Over Your Shoulder

Over 50 Start Looking Over Your Shoulder Over 50? Start Looking Over Your Shoulder Over 50 years old? Please don’t shoot this messenger… because if you are in this age group, you need to seriously start taking stock of what the final years of your career will look like.   There’s a reason you need to be concerned. Companies, unfortunately, oftentimes see more mature workers as a cost versus an asset. Age discrimination is absolutely illegal, but employers can and ARE finding ways to sidestep those protections to cut down on overhead costs. Of course they talk about how much they value the knowledge, expertise, and organizational background that comes with having over 50 workers as employees. But the reality is things are changing. A lot. Towards the end of your career (when you are over 50), your salary requirements have accelerated as you have moved up. And if you have worked at a company for a substantial amount of time, you probably have maxed out on vacation benefits. There is an expressed desire by management to infuse the company with “fresh ideas.” Enter in the company “reorganization” or restructure. It’s a thinly veiled way of removing more mature workers who carry big salary and benefit burdens to companies. And you need to worry because when you are over 50, career options become infinitely smaller. Many middle-management jobs were eliminated during the recession. It also takes a lot of due diligence and extra legwork to find companies willing to accept near-retirement age workers onto their payrolls. So what should you do if you are over 50? Here are some tips to follow to help shape your final career stretch before soaring off into the sunset of retirement: Make sure you keep tabs on your contributions to the company. Keeping track of the value you deliver can help you show ROI for continuing your employment. Communicate your accomplishments. Don’t just sit on them â€" make sure you provide updates as a “FYI” to your boss so you are staying on their radar. If you have annual performance reviews, make sure to provide an overview of the things you have succeeded in during the previous year so you can further demonstrate your value. Stay out ahead. Being a thought leader can help you retain your employment by being the “go-to” innovation expert. You can keep up this ideation pace by attending cutting-edge conferences to learn about new concepts and trends, which can ultimately help you translate these ideas into new applications internally. Keep networking. At this point in your career, you should have a sizable contact list. Nurturing relationships with potential future employers that see value in more mature workers on their team is going to help accelerate a job search should the need arise. Start thinking about how your skills could help your own age group. Turn a liability into an asset. As Baby Boomers age, there are increasingly new opportunities to market to this generation. There might be a product or service that you could initiate within your company that can broaden their market share within a lucrative marketplace. Reshape your vision of your last pre-retirement job. The gold watch is no longer a reality. In fact, many people who have been “reorganized” and are looking for work simply go into business for themselves. Consulting or starting your own business are two viable options â€" so educating yourself on how to start and then run a business are important skills to gain just in case. Adjust your expectations. Limited job opportunities might mean that instead of going out at the top of your game, the reality of the local job market means that you may have to settle for a pay cut, contract work, or a lower-level job instead. This is the least preferred option, but if you find yourself looking for work after experiencing a company reorg, adjusting your expectations may help so you have some form of income. Some is better than none in order to meet your financial needs. Hopefully, these tips can help you keep moving forward. If you are over 50, you should be very aware that things can change very quickly and be as prepared as possible.

Getting The WOW Factor Into Your Cover Letter

Getting The WOW Factor Into Your Cover Letter If you are taking the time to apply for a job and you want to be successful, then it makes sense that you ensure that your resume and cover letter are spot on when it comes to getting a potential employers attention. There are different ways that you can do this, although making sure that your cover letter has the WOW factor is a big deal. There are several ways that you can go about achieving this, including: Have a strong opening for your letter. Remember that first impressions count so ensure that your cover letter has an opening summary that promotes exactly why you are the person they are looking for. Make examples of your experiences using the skills that they have listed in their job advert. Give them reasons to hire you. When you are listing your experiences and achievements, don’t just list them down. Give examples of when you went the extra mile or how you hard work helped to improve the way the company worked. Keep it short. As much as you need to list your experiences and skills, you have to remember that the person in charge of the vacancy will have a number of different cover letters and resumes to read through, so theyll want to read them quickly. Makes yours stand out without writing too much text because they will simply lose interest and move onto the next cover letter that they have received. If you stick to these simple steps, then you are well on your way to having the perfect cover letter and giving yourself the best chance of getting the job you have applied for.