Lies They Tell in Business School - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Lies They Tell in Business School - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Anyone who has been to business school knows that there can be huge discrepancies between what’s taught in the classroom and what happens in the working world. These discrepancies aren’t the fault of professors, but are the result of what occurs when humans â€" and their penchant for unpredictable and less-than-scientific behavior â€" are thrown into the mix. This means that everything you learn in business school is valuable, but you still have to know when to get creative and color outside the lines. Your personal branding as a business leader depends on being able to spot the lies business schools tell, and making adjustments in honest-to-goodness business-related situations. Lie #1: Analyze Everything Business schools are big on numbers, and they encourage you to be, too. However, all those spreadsheets can lead to analysis paralysis. Sometimes, it makes more sense to go with your gut than to spend hours frantically examining your Excel docs for an answer. Will your gut always be right? Nope. Neither will the analytics if you never take anything else into consideration. Lie #2: You Have to Plan While some things absolutely require a plan, such as a thorough guideline for how you want to spread your personal branding message, not everything needs to fit nicely inside a three-ring binder with colorful tabs. More often than not, you’ll have to make decisions, especially as an entrepreneur or manager, in situations that require you to use common sense alone. Lie #3: You Can Predict Customer Behavior OK, this is only a half-truth. You can predict some customer behavior, but if you think you can predict it all, you’re in for a rude awakening. Customers are about as predictable as housecats. Yes, you can probably guess what they’re going to do about 80 percent of the time â€" it’s the old Pareto Principle, which is something that usually does work â€" but when they see a mouse or get spooked by a dog outside the window, forget everything you thought you knew. Remember that your customers will always surprise you. Always. Lie #4: You Can’t Jump Rungs on the Corporate Ladder Once upon a time, there was a great deal of truth to this myth. The Internet killed that truth. Now, it’s quite possible to suddenly find your personal branding front and center thanks to a viral post, a video-gone-wild or a smart use of SEO in your website content. The corporate ladder still exists, but if you can find an escalator to bypass it, go for your dreams. Lie #5: You’re Going to Be Rich Because You Went to Business School It’s hard to hear, but the facts are clear: An education may help you snag a better job, but it isn’t guaranteed. Plus, what rich means to one person is vastly different from what it means to another. Don’t consider business school a clear-cut path to a house encrusted in jewels with a roof of gold. However, do use your connections and smarts to make better choices. Lie #6: You’re One Smart Cookie Now You may be a smart cookie, it’s true, but your intelligence has little to do with going to business school. Sure, you have an MBA, but there are tons of people with higher degrees that make mistakes throughout their careers. Your degree is useful, but it doesn’t supply you with extra IQ points. It’s just another tool for you to use as a way to boost your personal branding. Lie #7: If You Don’t Go to an Ivy League School, Don’t Go at All What rubbish this is! At the end of the day, you have an MBA or other business degree. Sure, the word Harvard or Wharton might raise a few eyebrows â€" it may even open a door or two â€" but there are many successful business school grads who went to institutions outside of the Ivy League. Go to a business school that fits your lifestyle, not one that touts itself for all the wrong reasons. Lie #8: Soft Skills are Relatively Unimportant Leadership skills? Ability to lead a team? Many business schools say such soft skills aren’t that essential. However, most business executives need to use them day-in, day-out. Think of it this way: You’re probably going to be working with other people far more often than you’ll be asked to analyze a spreadsheet of your income/expense ratios. So soft skills are absolutely going to come in handy. Words of Advice As you go through your business school experience, take each class for what it’s worth. Do the work, but don’t be a sheep. Ask questions of your professors, and if they don’t have the answers, do some legwork. Become a critical thinker, and you’ll benefit from the education in ways that your classmates simply won’t.

5 Questions Freelancers Should Ask Prospective Clients - CareerMetis.com

5 Questions Freelancers Should Ask Prospective Clients When you’re in the freelancing business, you should be able to notice that there are almost no rules. In fact, you’re making your own rules by choosing the clients that offer something that is worth your time and attention.When the offer is agreeable to you, then you have a good deal. It should always be negotiated at the beginning of the collaboration, and therefore you’ll have a stable gig that will fill your pockets with cash.evalFortunately or unfortunately, the freelancing business is quite complex compared to the traditional job pattern. The biggest difference lays in the flexibility that you get while earning maybe more cash than a full-time employee.To tell you the truth, there are many factors involved when it comes to establishing a successful collaboration that brings benefits for both sides.The biggest factor that decides your freelancing prosperity is your client. After all, he’s the one who’s putting the cash down, and he’s the one who dictates most of the t erms. Notice that I’ve mentioned “most” because you also have the right to negotiate the final terms. Because of the client’s importance, the selection process should be rigorous and in-depth thought.Asking the right questions during an interview is the best way to ensure that you’re both on the same “frequency”. During today’s post, we’re going explore five important questions that every freelancer should ask his potential clients.Let’s take a look.1. How Many Freelancers Have You Worked With Before?evalMartha Clooney, professional freelance writer at Best Essays suggests: “The first question should be related to their experience with freelancers in general. You should ask this question as soon as you get the chance to address a few questions. Make sure that you ask for that privilege before their start interviewing.”After taking Martha’s advice in consideration, you could come up with something like: “After we resolve your inquiries, may I address you a few questions related to the job position?”. The answer to this particular question is important because you can figure out whether they’re experienced or not. This saves a lot of hassle and time.evalIf they say that they’re totally inexperienced, you should consider whether the terms of the agreement are worth the risk of an unprofessional deal or relationship. If they say yes, consider asking them for their previous employees’ contact details. You can get honest reviews from those individuals.2. What is Your Business Purpose?You’re the last in the chain. You’re the worker that most of the times are paid for copyright selling. In this case, in order to properly perform your job, you must understand your client’s purpose. That means that you should understand how the company works, what they do need, and how you can deliver as much value as possible.Start asking them about their business purpose. You can figure out whether they’re a serious company that has no chanc e of failing. Most importantly, you’ll figure out how much responsibility you have. If your role is not that important and is not directly influencing their income, you shouldn’t be too stressed with this job. Otherwise, you’ll always be responsible for damages.3. Tell Me More about Communication and DeadlinesThe communication part of the deal is quite essential for a successful collaboration. First off, make sure that you understand how your future communication will go. Some clients expect 24/7 availability, while some only need you to send chunks of the project on time.evalSecondly; on what channels will you communicate? Will it be on a platform? Phone? E-mail? Figure out the terms.Deadlines or turn-around-time are often the main cause of problems between freelancers and clients. When a freelancer can’t keep up with the deadlines, the client’s company will often suffer. Have them let you know what they expect from you. How much available time do you have each time they send you a task?Flexibility is important, and you should never let a client take that away from you. If their deadline requests are too tight, explainto them that you’re the type of freelancer who values quality over quantity. If they can’t agree with your real capabilities, reject their offer.4. How and When Will I Be Paid?Here’s another important issue to discuss. In fact, this is where many clients try to cheat and make friendly conditions for their side. Ask about the payment.Do you cover taxes?How long will it take before you release the money after an accepted project?What payment options do you offer?Is the payment before or after the project? How about half-half?The answers to these questions should give you a clue whether their offer is serious or not. Again, it’s up to your standards; it’s up to you if you settle for less or for more. Don’t forget to ask about the payment. You can often find yourself tricked by clients, and you shouldn’t allow that to happen. eval5. If Everything Goes Well, Are You Interested in Ongoing Work?If the client requests a one-time project task, you have the possibility of turning him into a long-term client. How? Well, you must first focus on the task. In order to create a good first impression, you must over-deliver. That means putting more effort and time into the task and making it impeccable.The quality should be extremely high, and you should do something that your client hasn’t asked. This could be something that could help their business be more productive. If he likes your work, ask him for a long-term collaboration. If he accepts, you got yourself a stable client. If he doesn’t, ask for other recommendations. His friends or partners could also use your services.CONCLUSIONFinding the perfect client is never easy, but never impossible. It’s all up to you. If you have big standards and never limit your potential, you can definitely reach freelancing success. As previously discussed, your clients ar e extremely important factors to consider while building a freelancing business.

Advice on How to Get Through Your Probation Period and Keep Your Job - CareerAlley

Advice on How to Get Through Your Probation Period and Keep Your Job - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Most people struggle with life balance simply because they havent paid the price to decide what is really important to them. Stephen Covey In the world of the job seeker its not uncommon in this day and age to spend up to a year or more looking for a company that will take you on. For reasons were all aware of jobs are scarce. When and if an interview comes up and youre successful, the likelihood is that youll get a job offer but itll be probation/trial based. Its becoming more and more common for employers to setup short probation periods to get a better understanding of the individual, the time is used analysing whether they are the right person for the job. A standard probation period is around 3 months but may vary. For the candidate this will be a pressured time, It may feel like youre every move is being judged. There are some tips (some more obvious than others) that you need to take note of if you really want to impress your employer and achieve a permanent position. Arrive on time, or even better early, on a daily basis. Being late is not a good look and will show that youre unorganised. If theres trouble with transport or youve overslept be sure to contact your employer and politely explain why youre going to be late, then apologise once you arrive. If youre not a morning person, try to avoid going out for drinks or staying up too late on a night where you have work the next day. Being overly tired or having a hangover wont impress your colleagues. Keep your appearance tidy. Make sure your clothes are properly cleaned and ironed. Make and effort with your hair in the morning and try to keep yourself looking professional. Introduce yourself to as many people as possible, maintaining a clear, polite and confident manor. Speaking to people and building friendship bonds with colleagues will definitely not go unnoticed by your boss. The more people like you the more they will want to help you in terms of progressing with the job and getting through the probation. The are many ways to do this, for example offering if others need help, asking people if they want a drink, asking how their weekend was, saying good morning and goodbye and general conversation to name just a few. Focus yourself completely on the work required. If you concentrate on the work youve been given and do everything to the best of your ability youre showing your enthusiasm for the job. Trying not to get distracted may be one of the hardest problems. Many office based roles, for example accountancy jobs where most of the work is done on computer may tempt you to browse the internet, check Facebook/Twitter or use your mobile phone to text etc. This could get you into a lot of trouble, getting caught even once by a senior colleague could get you stereotyped as a dosser/time waster and may cause tension amongst others. Be a good learner. Nobody takes everything in first time, but try to, try not to ask something more than twice. Be sure to take notes wherever possible. Your colleagues will like the fact that youre asking questions and trying to learn so be sure to do this. But theres a fine line between being a keen learner and being a pest, try not to ask the same person the same question over and over again. If theres nothing for you to do in terms of work, consistently ask around to see if others need any help. Try not to be the first person to leave at the end of the day; this may look like youre fed up, not doing any work and keen to get home. If youre working on something that requires 10-15 minutes overtime be sure to complete it. Even if youve got nothing to do, try not to be the first to leave, let a few others go before you. As the weeks go by youll start to become more at ease and comfortable/confident with the people around you. Its important that you keep reminding yourself that youre on a probation period and that people may still be judging you. If youre lucky to find out that youve got a permanent position at the end of the trial then you know that what youre doing is right, carry on with the standard of work youve been supplying over the probation and always remember that it only takes one slip up and you could be back in the grueling world of the job search rat race. ___________________________________________________________________________ Visit Total Jobs for over 100,000 job vacancies today. Browse through numerous vacancies varying from graduate jobs to high profile baking jobs. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search.

Tips For Writing a Quality University of Phoenix Resume

Tips For Writing a Quality University of Phoenix ResumeIf you are planning to apply for a job with the University of Phoenix, there are many things that you should take into consideration before sending out your resume. Here are some tips to help you prepare for your resume writing job interview:Do you have a real reason for wanting to transfer to this particular university? You will be spending a lot of time at this particular school, so be sure that you know what the benefits are that come along with it. By doing a bit of research online, you will be able to find out which benefits are most important to you.At least a few weeks before your job interview, you should prepare yourself to be prepared. In order to be prepared, you need to know how much time you have to accomplish the tasks that will be required of you. If you want to be ready, you need to have everything ready before you go to your interview.When you are applying for jobs, you will usually be asked for an e-mail address . If you do not have an e-mail address, you will need to get one. Before you submit your resume, be sure that you have all of the required information available to you on your computer. This includes your social security number, driver's license number, and the last four digits of your social security number.During your resume, if you are given the choice between putting your e-mail address in the subject line and your name in the body of the e-mails, choose the name that you feel will reflect your personality and how you write. The rest of the information that you put in your resume should be general information that everyone can relate to.If you are looking for a job, you will need to make sure that you have the best quality material that you can produce. This means that you will need to find a reputable employment agency that will prepare your resume and cover letter for you. They will not only give you quality materials but they will also make sure that you are properly prepared for your job interview.If you are someone who is self-motivated, you will want to focus on making sure that your resume is interesting and informative. If you are the type of person who likes to sit around and read a resume, make sure that you put together a good resume that can get you noticed by hiring managers.Once you have prepared your resume, remember that you will need to practice using the resume that you have written. You will be told that you will need to send your resume to more than one employer so do not forget to keep up to date with your job search.

Resume Writing Services Provide Professional Services

Resume Writing Services Provide Professional ServicesFor people in any field, including business, journalism, medical and others, filling out a resume is a tedious task that must be finished perfectly. Unfortunately, many individuals hesitate from doing so because of the complexity of the job, which often puts them off. Most applicants are aware of resume writing tips, which can help them when they have to focus on resume writing, but still find the task too daunting to complete.Resume writing services Pasadena CA is an opportunity for you to do the job yourself. With resume writing services, the job of a professional resume writer is simply to draft the resume and get it submitted for approval. This saves your time and ensures that you receive the job for which you apply. This approach makes resume writing services affordable to those who are too busy to hire a professional.Resume writing services Pasadena CA is a low cost option. A resume is a document that shows your interest in a particular job. It consists of sections like education, employment experience, educational qualification and so on. It contains the information necessary to highlight your abilities and qualifications in a professional manner.There are many ways in which a resume can be done by a professional. In this instance, resume writing services allows you to choose which service you prefer. They will recommend the one best suited to your needs. When you submit the resume, a professional will give it a detailed examination, examine the ideas and make suggestions.You can also find the services online method. These services employ a number of different individuals, which include professionals in the field, or individuals who can assist you with the job. Online services are more cost effective, but they only allow you to choose from the few service providers available. The online option also does not permit you to get a variety of choices to select from.Resume writing services provides several s ervices to match your specific needs. Their website offers the option of finding different options that meet your criteria. The online form allows you to find a variety of sources of resume writers who specialize in your region, job and career area.Before choosing the resume writing service provider, it is important to review the qualifications of the company. Choose the one that caters to your criteria, for it will be a simple task to explain what services you require. By reading the reviews provided by previous clients, you will find that there are numerous testimonials that you can read to make an informed decision. It is vital that you understand that while the search may seem straightforward, hiring a professional is essential if you want to succeed.

The Fundamentals of Writing a Resume Fore a Bartender Revealed

The Fundamentals of Writing a Resume Fore a Bartender Revealed If you wish to submit an application for a position of a host or hostess with an establishment then you're able to take advantage of the expert bartender resume. When don't have any experience the major issue to say on a superior bartender's resume is you will put in the effort to learn. If it comes to being a bartender there are tons of responsibilities that one needs to carry out. If you've worked as a bartender before then you can take advantage of the experienced bartender resume. The Importance of Writing a Resume Fore a Bartender If you're asking for a bartending vacancy at a well-known restaurant or club in your region then there are chances that you'd be facing stiff competition. If you're searching for a job for a bartender, your introduction type needs to be dependent on the quantity of experience you've got bartending. Unless your job 10 years back was your only expertise in bar or restaurant. If you are searching for a job for a bartender for the very first time, it would be best in the event that you compose an entry level resume. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Writing a Resume Fore a Bartender Writing a cover letter isn't a cakewalk, but if you use our professional bartender cover letter sample for a reference, you have all of the resources you should put your very best self on paper. If you want to make an application for a position of a waitress then it's possible to benefit by employing a waitress resume template. The bartender resume samples ought to be utilized as references to create your own resume accordingly. Writing a bartender resume isn't too complicated if you stick to a very simple format. Also completing school shows you're in a position to apply yourself and achieve effects. After drafting your Bartender CV example, now is the time for you to get ready for the interview portion that may lie ahead. You may download and edit the next bartender resume example and template in accordance with your experience and your abilities. The entire bartender job description can help you to develop your resume. This guide is intended to offer you a sense of the way to assemble a bartending resume that you're able to utilize to submit an application for jobs as a bartender. Because becoming a bartender usually takes a certificate, it is better to list your certifications next. According to the US laws there isn't any formal education needed for a bartender job.

5 Common LinkedIn Mistakes - Work It Daily

5 Common LinkedIn Mistakes - Work It Daily LinkedIn is gaining more and more importance in the job search and career development. But just signing up for a free profile isn’t enough; you need to invest time optimizing your profile and getting involved in LinkedIn in order to benefit from it. And, of course, you need to avoid five of the most common LinkedIn mistakes. 1. Incomplete Profile LinkedIn routinely reports complete profiles turn up more in searches, receive significantly more views, and generate more interest from other users. And, of course, that’s the whole point of LinkedIn! So an incomplete profile undermines your purpose in being there. Make a commitment to yourself to get your profile complete this week. And remember LinkedIn periodically changes how it measures “completeness,” so you’ll need to make checking your profile’s completeness part of your routine. Even quarterly will suffice for many people. 2. No Photo Or Inappropriate Photo LinkedIn in a professional networking site, and so your photo should reflect your general industry and your personal professionalism. As lawyers, we’re part of a generally conservative profession, so a business or business casual photo is usually better than a casual one. And there are certainly limits to how casual you want to be on LinkedIn! This is no place for a cleavage shot, or the photo from that party boat in Jamaica, or you dressed as a clown for your nephew’s third birthday. Get a recent high quality photo that reflects the image you want to project. How do you want prospective employers, recruiters, and leaders in the industry to view you? 3. Tying Yourself To Your Current Employer Whether its using your work e-mail address to sign up for your account or using a headline like “Legal Intern at Acme Law Partners, LLP,” tying yourself too closely to your employer is a mistake. Your LinkedIn profile should be a way to attract opportunities to you, not just reinforce that you’re an instrument of your employer. Focus your LinkedIn profile on your accomplishments, what you offer, and how you can benefit clients and employers. 4. Lying Or Misleading This should go without saying, but don’t use your LinkedIn profile to lie or otherwise mislead people. Lying or misleading might advance short-term goals of generating interest in your, but those lies and misrepresentations will be uncovered. The only question is when, and how much damage you have done to yourself. Go ahead and put your best foot forward, but everything on your LinkedIn profile should be true and survive a background check. If you’re tempted to lie because you’re feeling insecure about something in your background, then the best thing to do is to identify that insecurity and do something about it. If your technical skills are lacking, then improve them. If your education is lacking, then improve itâ€"or find a way to counterbalance it. Lying or misleading will only hurt you in the long-run. 5. Not Enough Connections LinkedIn is a networking site. Therefore, it can only work for you if you build a network. Don’t stop after you’ve connected with your classmates and friends at work. You need to expand your network beyond 150 peopleâ€"and higher up the hierarchy to include possible mentors, experienced recruiters, mid-level and senior attorneys who make hiring decisions and can influence the hiring process and your career developmentâ€"if you’re going to start finding and attracting opportunities. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!