23 Medical Assistant Job Descriptions

So you have to write a medical assistant resume but you have no idea what job descriptions to include. There are plenty of responsibilities to chose from the day to day activities in a medical office. Maybe you've drawn a blank or you don't know how to word things properly. Either way, these suggestions will help you out.

This list of 30 medical assistant job descriptions will help you format and write a professional resume. Feel free to copy, paste and modify this information to fit your own work history and experience.

• Provide back office support and supervision. Answer multi-line phone in a professional and courteous manner. Assist patients in filling out paperwork.

• Prepare patients for meeting with the doctor by obtaining vital signs and documenting/updating pertinent health information (i.e. chief complaint, allergies, medications).

• Take blood pressure, weight, and temperatures of incoming patients.

• Record patient histories, monitor and record vital signs. Communicate lab results to patients.

Long-Term Effects of Falsifying Information On Your Resume

Just recently a potential candidate learned the repercussion of falsifying information on a resume the hard way. A candidate was pursuing a senior level network infrastructure role that would progress his career to the next level. The position was perfect, ideal location near his house, solid company with a great reputation and the opportunity to expand his leadership experience. After the in-person interview, an offer was extended by the client and the candidate immediately accepted.

During the initial screening process, it was mentioned to the candidate this client conducts highly extensive background screening on all new employees to which the candidate stated "that is not a problem; there is nothing on my background that would hinder from moving forward". However, once the background screening began it was quickly determined the dates on the resume and job application conflicted with information obtained from previous employers.

After further in-depth review, the candidate confessed that his statement of being out of work for two months was false; he was actually out of work for two years. The client then retracted the offer based on the candidate's falsifying information to the recruiter and during their own interviewing process. If the situation was different and the candidate did not add additional time to his gap of employment, this situation would have never happened. In fact, the candidate would have moved forward as a full time employee with this client.

Seven Steps For How To Get A Job In IT

Many countries are experiencing tough job markets at the moment, such as the USA, UK and other European countries. This makes it harder to find a job, as there are more people competing for less positions. The process to find a job in IT, however, shouldn't change. Let's take a look at what this process is.

Before You Start
Before you start looking for a job in IT, it's important to do a few things. You need to work out what kind of job you want, which is based on several things, such as what you're good at and what you're qualified to do. You should also consider what you like doing as well - there's no point getting a job you don't like! It's a good idea to consider these options before you start your job search, when you're learning how to get a job in IT, so you know what to look for and what can be eliminated.

Finding The Job
The next step on how to get a job in IT is actually finding the job. There are many ways to find a job in IT. Some of the more common methods include:
Speaking to former colleagues - they often know of other jobs that are going and can be a helpful way of getting a job you're after.

How to Get a Job With LinkedIn!

Chances are if you went to college you were told to set up a LinkedIn page; you probably did and never used it, what's the point? First off don't think of it as another Social Network but a Professional Network solely aimed at helping you in your career. A Linked in profile can be the first impressions you give a potential employer so under no circumstances should you have anything unprofessional or potentially detrimental on your profile.

Show yourself
Always upload a picture to your profile, having a picture will automatically make them more likely to remember you and make your profile seem friendlier.
Remember it's not Facebook where you want your profile picture to show how friendly and fun you are!

Don't: Have a group shot of you and your friends, more importantly don't have a picture where your friends are badly cropped out. That arm around your shoulder is bound to attract some attention.
Your picture should just be you, (ideally a headshot), and under no circumstances should there be a drink in your hand. (Think twice of uploading that photo from Halloween last year.)

When Is It The Right Time To Change Jobs?

There are a lot of things you should consider when deciding the best time to change jobs. These include; recognising the right time to move one, leaving in a position of strength and deciding what motivates you within your working role, such as, money or influence.

Choosing The Right Time

When deciding to change jobs you should always be mindful of spotting when it is best to leave your current position. For example, it would be unwise to quit just before a big bonus. Also take if you have holiday planned make sure you hand in your notice after your vacation because your new employer will not be best pleased you taking time off at a time in which you should be dedicated on your new role.

When searching for a new job be aware that May to October is the best time to look for available jobs. This is because people take a lot of leave in the summer, and therefore employers decide to train up new staff whilst their existing employees are away. Furthermore don't forget to consider the economic climate today as well. It is certainly unwise to switch jobs in a precarious economic setting. Therefore make sure you have a job lined up before you quit one.

Your Job Resume Is Not Enough to Get a Job

A job resume is one of the key components to landing a position. You need a job resume that shows off your job skills as well as your work experience. What else can you possibly need to turn heads and to get the attention of a hiring manager? There is more to it. If you are failing in any of the following areas, it does not matter what is on your job resume. You will not get a job.

The Right Cover letter A cover letter is not an option. Even though many people send job resumes off through email these days, that initial email that provides your resume as an attachment needs to communicate a great deal to the hiring manager. It needs to provide a captivating first sentence that gets an individual reading it to want to continue. In short, you should state specially what you are applying for and why you can help to solve the company's needs. It can be brief, but it must be a personalized cover letter. Do not try to send off a template cover letter and get results.

The 2 Minute Commercial Once you get the job resume in the hands of the hiring manager, he or she will want to call you to speak to you about your qualifications, job skills, and work experience. That's when you know you are going in for a job interview. However, over the phone, you need to land a two-minute commercial about yourself. Prepare this in advance. Be sure to have just a few sentences that are clear and do not sound rehearsed to help you to make a good first impression on the hiring manager.

Why Are You Procrastinating Using LinkedIn?

Friends and colleagues have been urging you to use LinkedIn for years. However, you still have not joined the site. It's been on your mind. Maybe, you have visited the site several times, but you have not yet committed to taking the first click. You could be experiencing a mild case of social media procrastination with LinkedIn.

There could be a few reasons that you are avoiding making a connection with over 250 million users. The site could look intimidating, and you may feel that you are not a good match for the professionals on the site. Maybe you just don't know where to begin.

Finding Employment

In this economic environment, it is always a smart move to make strong connections with hiring managers before you need a job. On this site, your profile and resume are in constant view of recruiters who are hiring. This could open doors for your next big opportunity.

3 Steps to an Eye-Catching Cover Letter

This article focuses on the top 3 ingredients you need to put in your cover letter to make it noteworthy. But first, let's remind ourselves about what a cover letter is and what role it plays. Well, a cover letter is a concise letter - no more than a single page with plenty of space on the sides, top and bottom filled with 3-5 paragraphs which, in turn, do not each exceed 4 lines of text to keep that airy feel - that you send together with your CV when applying for a job. If it's well done, it will help your CV get noticed by creating a good impression and generating interest for your professional achievements.

Let's not beat around the bush: the cover letter plays a crucial role in terms of winning that job interview you aspire to. That short piece of text introduces you in the context of a role you believe you are qualified for. It is written in simple English to eliminate any risk of misunderstanding, confusion or irritation. You will find advice about cover letters which recommends making them formal: I say make your letter respectful - of your reader's time and intelligence. And respectful of you - your track record, the time you invested and the care you took when applying. Remember also that your cover letter is the only opportunity for a bit of personal touch which your CV cannot do. Unlike a CV which convinces about your abilities, a cover letter can convince about your enthusiasm for the position, show your high level of interest as well as your sound knowledge about the role.

List of Questions to Critique Your Own Resume

I often review and critique 5-10 resumes (or more!) daily. If you are not quite ready to work with a professional writer, here is a great checklist I have complied to help you critique, and improve your own documents.

Resume Critique Checklist

Remember, you generally have anywhere from 5-15 seconds to engage the reader. Your documents must be clear, concise and interesting! So if you want to improve your chances of getting an interview -- be sure you can answer yes to ALL of the following questions:

First Impression

• Does the resume and cover letter look original and not based on a template?
• Is the resume inviting to read, with clearly labeled sections and ample white space?
• Does the design look professional and appropriate for your industry?
• Is a qualifications summary included at the top so the reader immediately knows the applicant's value proposition?
• Is the document's length and overall appearance appropriate given the career level and objective? (Note: Unless you are in Academia, or preparing a detailed CV, keep your document to no more than two pages)

Tips for Writing a LinkedIn Summary

LinkedIn is one of the most powerful professional job sites to showcase your skills in unique ways beyond the traditional resume. Taking the time to put together a strong personal summary is not only important; it is a major part of your online presence. Follow these steps to get the most from your LinkedIn summary and position yourself for the best results.

Sell Yourself in 30 Seconds

How long you make your summary is entirely up to you, but make sure it is relevant and creates an impact in the beginning. Like a good novel, you want to keep the reader moving through your content, answering the important questions along the way. Use this space effectively by breaking up your sentences in inviting pieces, never assuming that they will read the entire piece. Make it work effectively in the first paragraph, then back it up with specific accomplishments and share your personal goals.

Medical Assistant Cover Letter - How to Write a Great Cover Letter for Medical Assistant Jobs

Writing a great medical assistant cover letter is not that hard if you know how. All cover letters actually follow a set format whether you use email or print out your letter. The first paragraph is the introduction, the second lists your achievements and qualifications and the last concludes your medical assistant cover letter by thanking the reader for their time.

Since you are applying for a medical job which may include administrative duties such as answering correspondence, it is very important to write a very professional medical assistant cover letter. A letter that is full of grammatical errors, misspellings, missing information and other such mistakes will make you look lazy or incompetent. It is better to send a well-written letter to help you get a job interview.

Powerful Resumes

Job search campaigns involve countless hours talking with people, on the internet, and attending networking events. In the total scheme of things, many job seekers hurriedly write their resume so they can transfer their attention to mining for jobs. After all, it's just a resume - right?

The results of this hurried effort tends to be a generic resume with a plain vanilla flavor that lacks impact. And the likely consequence of such a cavalier approach is that those coveted interviews will be few and far between. The way to overcome this trap is to learn the techniques that lead to writing a powerful resume.

Resume 101 - The Basics

What is a resume? A resume is a sales tool designed to sell you to a hiring manager. Its purpose is to get you noticed and generate an invitation for a personal interview. Its purpose is NOT to get you a job.

How long should a resume be and why? One-page resumes are best and two-page resumes are acceptable for seasoned workers. Three or more pages are generally the norm only for people in academia or a similar profession where research or published material need be noted. Due to the volume of resumes received, resume screeners take about 15-30 seconds to review a resume and look for key words to screen-in a candidate. That's right, you get half a minute to make an initial impression.

4 Great Reasons To Change Jobs

Making the decision to change jobs in the middle of your career can be one of the toughest choices you'll have to face in your working life. It's stressful to have to give up close personal connections and daily routines that you have established after years of working in a particular environment. Despite these complications, over 57% of UK residents have noted in the past Job Survey that they have switched careers at least three times in their lifetime. That's a new job once ever ten years at that rate! The following guide explains 4 of the best reasons to switch jobs and makes the whole sticky situation much clearer for those who are undecided.

The ability to make more money.

Not all careers will provide the same pay rate and certain industries pay a significantly different amount when compared to others. If your looking to change jobs from a spot in advertising to finance, you're looking at earning over 20% more than you had in the past. This is only in the first year. Some smaller companies will not have as much consistent work as larger ones so you'll find exclusively higher pay being given at a more international firm. Even if you're an employed within the same field but just want to work at another company, you may find the scope of moneymaking opportunities to be much larger.

Top 10 Resume Writing Myths

At first glance, landing your next dream job should be easy - write a great resume or CV, send it out and post online, and start fielding phone calls and emails for job interviews. However, many people consider the resume writing process to be one of the most challenging aspects of a job search.

In addition, there are many different myths out there about resume content and creation. With many years on the sourcing side of executive recruiting, I have seen some common myths and mistakes made over and over again. Here are my top 10 resume writing myths, to help make the process as easy as possible.

1. My resume will be read from top to bottom. No, not even close. The reader will be quickly scanning your resume, with approximately 30-60 seconds to grab their attention. Don't get too wordy or bury your qualifications, make them easy to find.

2. I should only include relevant career history, or only include the last 10 years. Recruiters and hiring managers want to know your entire employment history. The most content will be limited to more recent and relevant employment, but you need to tell your entire career story.

7 Video Resume Tips That Will Get You Hired

A video resume is a short video that explains your skills, experience and educational background and is intended to be an applicant’s first interaction with a potential employer. If you’re comfortable using a computer for day-to-day tasks, you should already be able to make a video resume by yourself. If not, it might be worth asking a relative or friend help you. There are also professional videographers who can probably contribute a higher skill level, although this choice may be an expensive one. Many basic digicams today record video of a high enough quality that they can be used for a video resume. Simply download the video to your computer and review it for audio quality and image focus.

Video Resume Tip #1: Take care of audio quality

Audio quality is very important, because anyone who sees your video resume must be able to clearly hear what you are saying from the very moment the video plays, or they probably won't finish watching it. Microphones on video cameras or digicams can pick up noise from almost any source, so the room where you do the video recording must be very quiet. For example, the sound of a dog barking outside or a plane flying over just when you are talking will be recorded in your video. These extra sounds will be distracting to viewers, and it will make you look less professional. Any distracting sounds, such as a loud car or truck driving by, a crying baby, talking in the next room or a toilet flushing can show up as background noise, so it is very important to only record in a quiet space. To achieve the best sound, place the camera close to you or talk into a microphone that is plugged directly into your camera or computer. A lavalier microphone clipped to a shirt will work very well for picking up your voice.

LinkedIn Is Preferred by Executives

In a recent survey conducted by DHR International and Modern Survey, Linked In remains the top social media site for business executives (Directors and above). While LinkedIn holds on to this top billing, executives indicated that Twitter (27%) and Facebook (44%) were sites that they use often.

Respondents were questioned about their preferences, awareness and usage of social media tools and comparisons were made to a similar survey conducted in 2010.

While LinkedIn has increased its lead as the favorite tool, several popular sites have had broader awareness topping over 80%. Pinterest and Google+, considered "newer "sites, were a distant second tier in awareness levels. Despite the increased awareness and "noise" about Twitter and blogs, very few executives consider them to be their preferred social media vehicle.

Executives are modest users of social media, with most ~60%, using it one hour or less per week. However, while they may not "live" on the sites, over 60% use it daily. The executives also indicated that they would use social media more if (top 2 box agree and strongly agree):

How To Convey Unemployment On LinkedIn

Let's call a spade a spade, being unemployed can be quite stressful. Nothing ever prepares you for being unemployed which makes it harder to deal with. However, with the right attitude, you can navigate out the unemployment waters. Part of that navigational knowledge requires knowing how to deal with LinkedIn. Here are a few tips to help you out.

Don't Say You're A Freelancer/Consultant... : Unless you are actually doing it! This means you can provide references from actual real clients. However, the sad truth is, that most people just change their title to consultant anyways. The problem is that this can be more detrimental to your job search than just listing "unemployed". Once the hiring manager or recruiter call you and question you on your consulting activities and they realize you don't have any, it's all over.

Professional Title: This is the section that is below your name. Most people put their current title here, but what happens when you are unemployed; what do you put? Simply put, you add your best and strongest professional skills. Determine what you are best at and put those skills on your profile. This way when a hiring manager or recruiter looks at your profile, they know right upfront what you are good at. Also, they are keywords to make your profile more searchable.

What to Include in an Email Cover Letter

An email cover letter is an important tool for anyone applying for a job. When applying for a job, you need to get the attention of the hiring manager in some way. Since many people apply online today, rather than applying through the mail or in person, it is critical to use the content of your email to get the hiring manager to open up the job resume attached to it. That's not as easy as it sounds when there are so many other people competing with you for the job.

What to Put Into It

There are several key things to do when creating an email cover letter. When applying for a job, start by addressing the job number or other job description in the subject header along with your name and the word resume after it. For example, you might say, "Hiring Manager Position, John Doe Resume." Be specific about what the email is about and leave out the sales language.

Quantifying Your Resume: Numbers Matter

When applying for a job, many factors make a big difference, including the numbers you use on your job resume. In short, people are very number-oriented. This means that they are interested in learning what you have to offer in the way of job skills and work experience, but they want to know how you rate against other people. It is not always easy to do that especially if your previous job experience is not in a management position. Nevertheless, there are plenty of ways to quantify your resume.

How to Quantify Your Resume

Look for numbers that help to show what you have accomplished and incorporate those into your resume. This may be easier to do than you realize, though. For example, as a sales manager, you can easily talk about the figures related to the sales you helped to make. Did you see an increase in sales any of the years you were there? Did you, personally, increase your sales from one year to the next? Determine the percentage or the dollar amount of increase and include those numbers in your job resume. This is just as important as the job experience and job skills you gained in those positions.

Is Your Cover Letter Working As a Marketing Tool?

Your cover letter is one of the more important components to your job application. While the details on your job resume matter, they do not make one bit of difference until someone opens the file attachment to your email and reads it. In other words, they have to be convinced by the first message that you are worthy of a job interview. To make sure that happens, your cover letter should be treated as a marketing tool.

Are You Selling the Numbers?

One of the first changes to make to your cover letter is to focus on numbers. The numbers on your cover letter will get attention because, by nature, people like to quantify things. Consider your previous work experience. What have you helped to accomplish or accomplished yourself? For example, you may have helped to increase customer count at your previous position by 20 percent. You may have increased your sales rate by five percent year over year. Look for ways to showcase what you did personally first. But, don't stop there.

7 Mistakes That Will Make an Employer Ignore Your Resume

Thirty seconds. According to a 2012 survey by CareerBuilder, that’s how long hiring managers spend skimming each resume they receive.  In this economy, with hundreds of applications for each position, you have to create a resume that is as flawless as possible—but too many job seekers make crucial errors.  Avoiding these 7 common, but avoidable, mistakes may mean the difference between getting an interview and having your resume ignored.

Mistake #1: Failing to Proofread

Spelling and grammatical errors are at the top of employer pet peeves when it comes to reviewing resumes. In fact, in a recent survey from Adecco, employers said these types of errors were the number one reason why resumes were ignored.  Here’s the truth: employers expect resumes to be perfect, so if spelling and grammar rules are not your strength, find a friend or mentor who will look over your job application packet.  Another pair of eyes will certainly see things that you will not—and help you get your foot in the door.

5 Tips For Writing Your First CV

An employer or recruiter may only review your CV for 30 seconds when they will be looking to identify the key points that will help them to make a decision on your application. It is critical, therefore, to make sure that the content and structure of your CV promotes you in the most positive way.

Unfortunately there is not one magic rule to make sure your CV stands out from all of the others. However here are a few tips that will hopefully help you when writing your first CV.

1. Tailor your CV

Make sure that your CV is tailored to the job that you are applying for. Research the company and the industry beforehand to gain an understanding of what it is they are looking for. Once you have thought about your content, you are ready to write the CV. Make sure that when writing it you are consistent with the format throughout - a poorly produced CV is more likely to put off an employer/recruiter.

How to Write a Winning CV Cover Letter

When you apply for a job, you should always accompany your CV with a cover letter. This document is hugely important and is your first introduction to a potential employer. This introduction gives you a chance to personalise your job application.

In your letter, you get the chance to quickly and clearly outline your qualifications and explain to the reader why you would be good for the job and why you are interested in the job. A well written, clear letter can make a massive difference to the success of a job application.

Tips and Advice

Your cover letter is your sales pitch and is your chance to sell yourself and make yourself stand out from the crowd. Your presentation here is critical. It is the first impression the employer will get of you so make sure you grammar and spelling are correct and the it is laid out in a neat and tidy format.

Top Ten Ways to Create A Killer LinkedIn Profile

There are social networks out there and then there is LinkedIn. LinkedIn has become the dominant network for business. It has also become the dominant tool for headhunters, recruiters and anyone looking to hire someone.

As a headhunter, I use LinkedIn to find potential candidates more than any other source. I pay money to use LinkedIn as a recruiter. Since I pay for every message I send to someone on LinkedIn, I'm very careful about who I contact.

I'm going to reveal to you exactly how headhunters and hiring people use LinkedIn to find people. If you know how we search, you'll be able to create a profile that is more search friendly and will pop up more frequently. Even if you are not actively looking for a new job, it's always interesting to hear about what's available on the market.

Here are the TOP TEN WAYS to create a search friendly profile so you have headhunters and recruiters clamoring at your door:

10: In your Professional Headline, list the skills for which you want to be known. If you are a website designer, put that in first. Next to it, add your other skills - content creator, graphic artist, user experience designer, etc. Your name and this little paragraph is what appear in a search result, nothing else. If this section looks good, and ONLY if it looks good, will I take the time to open the full profile.

Writing Effective LinkedIn Headline

Many people now understand that LinkedIn is an important social media tool for business. There are many different elements that make up your profile. One of those elements that is critical and often disregarded is the headline.

Giving your headline a facelift
If you aren't sure how effective your LinkedIn headline is, it is definitely time to examine it closely as soon as possible. If you read your headline and you aren't sure of its potency, it is definitely time to reevaluate. You should never discount how important LinkedIn is for your professional reputation and for your online presence. If all you have is the minimum amount of information that you could possibly have, such as your title and the name of your business, your headline needs a facelift. It is common to see that many people don't know how to write a really effective headline. You would be surprised at how many people have headlines that have been there for a long time and have not changed the entire time. The reason for that is because many people don't realize that you can actually edit your headline. You have the ability to change it any way that you want.

Top Volunteering Interview Questions

I know what you're thinking: "I have to do an interview to VOLUNTEER?" but don't throw in the towel just yet. Volunteer interviews simply allow the company that you're applying with to get an idea of who their going to be working with, and ensure that it is a good fit. Here are some of my typical answers to the 10 most common volunteer interview questions.

1. Why do you want to volunteer with our organization?

There can be numerous reasons depending on the organization. But I try to hit on a few key points:

• To obtain work experience
• To meet new people from different backgrounds
• To give back to the community

2. What has been your most rewarding volunteering experience so far?

Here I usually just tell a short, simple and heartwarming story from any of my volunteer experiences. For example: When I was volunteering at an animal sanctuary in Bolivia: A squirrel monkey came in with an injured eye; and although the Vet was unable to save the eye, she did save the little monkey. Everyone at the center banded together to nurse that little monkey back to health, and he is now happily living out his days there. I would then state that this taught me about the power of working as a team and the resiliency of both human and animal spirit, or something along those lines.

Interview Questions To Ask Employer

Picture this: you're in a job interview, you're well prepared with possible questions that might come your way. You presented yourself well, and would love to get this job. Now it's the end of the interview and you reach the final question:

'Do you have any further questions I can answer for you?' Most people will give the standard answer: 'Thank you, you have already covered all my open questions during our conversation. At this point in time, I don't have any questions.'

This is a place where so many people go wrong in an interview.

What's Wrong With This Answer?

During my career of interviewing hundreds of potential candidates whenever I would hear that answer, the first thing that came to my mind was: 'Mhmm, I'm not sure if this person is the right candidate... '

It may sound a little harsh, but If a candidate cannot think of any interview questions to ask, they appear not to be interested in the role. It leaves a feeling that he or she would have probably taken any job, possibly leaving me once they get a better offer.

Using Linkedin To Find Internships

LinkedIn is the professional networking and job searching social site. You may not have a full time job yet, but having (and taking time to update) a LinkedIn account is a great way to speed up your search for a good internship. There are three main reasons to utilize a LinkedIn account – creating a professional brand online, networking and finding internships or jobs.

1. Create a Professional Brand – LinkedIn is an important part of your internship search because the site helps you work on personal branding. LinkedIn's Learning Center even helps users develop an appealing page that could get the attention of employers. By completing details such as seminars attended, awards, educational attainment, personal blog and all other professional achievements which prospective persons can review and evaluate, you are creating your online brand.
The goal is to differentiate yourself from other internship seekers, so it's important to spend more time building your page. One way to get positive attention is by becoming an "expert" by sharing industry secrets, tips and other types of information on the LinkedIn Answers. Of course, you'll get to be featured on LinkedIn as an "expert," so you should take advantage of this feature.

How can You Write an Effective MBA Resume

Who can deny the charm of the word MBA these days? No one since the word has taken the world by storm almost and what is most amazing is that the majority of people across the globe consider it as a job assuring program, especially in the private sector. Is this true? Well, there can be long debates but it can certainly be said that the acid test is writing a proper MBA resume. Believe it or not, whether a student is fit for the job or not gets determined through a single test - whether he can write a proper MBA resume or not.

How should you begin then? Keep in mind that writing of a good job application letter is very important for having a decent job. If you want to get hold of a nice job as an MBA student then you must set up an effective cover letter. Your first and foremost duty is to keep your document short and simple. Never forget that you are writing a MBA resume so you can't make any fuss. Try to write your letter in such a manner that the length is simply nice, not too short or too long. The first paragraph is supposed to address the person by name and second paragraph should include your set of skills.

What should be the next process in writing the MBA resume? Never try to be too descriptive of your own; be job specific and succinct always. Never forget that the employer always remains concerned in your educational qualification and professional skills. He is in no way concerned in knowing your personal skills and character. For that reason only, talk about those things that relates to the job for which you are applying.

Mobile Resume: The Wonders of a QR Code

Technology has taken over almost every aspect of our lives, especially in the world of resumes, job searching and interviews. The QR code is one such example of how the job world has been revolutionized.

The QR code to the mobile resume is increasingly replacing the traditional paper resumes. The mobile resume is a very attractive alternative to the plain, old-fashioned CVs and effectively shows that the candidate is equipped IT skills that are very much demanded today.
Here are some reasons why mobile resume might be the future of today's boring paper resume.

The Mobile Resume Engages the Reader

Many job candidates today are very receptive to the world's trends. Those that fail to keep up in this technologically-driven economy will find problems getting employed in companies that require IT skills and expertise.

The QR code is an apt representation of being tech-savvy. By handing or presenting the QR code to the hiring manager anywhere (from a job fair to a social function), the hiring manager just has to scan the code, which won't even take a minute. This would direct him or her to a delightful, informative presentation of a resume on the mobile phone. The mobile resume can be used for almost every industry and is definitely more eye catching than the mundane, plain paper resume.

Apply to Multiple IT Jobs With one Resume

The job application process can be time-consuming. You know that you need to submit your resume over and over again. If there are 10 companies hiring, that means that you need to send out 10 different resumes. If you are like most people, you are also trying to apply for IT jobs that aren’t even vacant in the hopes that your resume is better than the person that they currently have in the position. This means that you may be sending out dozens of resumes. You have the ability to apply for multiple jobs one resume - and this can save you
a significant amount of time.

Make Your Resume Look Good

When you apply for IT jobs, you want to make your resume look as good as possible. This means keeping it up to date with all of your recent training seminars, certifications, and job experience. Before you can even think about submitting a resume to accompany, you need to make sure that you have listed all of your skills and included the most recent in that you have been involved in.

You never want to show significant gaps in your resume. If you have been out of work, make sure you show something - seminars, freelance, consulting or something else to show you were active, just not employed with a specific firm.

Find the Best of Career Opportunity

If you are a person who is searching the ways to find career opportunity, then you have arrived at the right place. This article gives you detail about how to find best career opportunity.

Searching for the new employment(s) can lead an individual to where ever he/she thinks there may be career opportunity. From the daily classified(s) to online venues, most of the individuals look to make the change in their career that will improve their standards in life. For some people, this can be as simple as submitting their resume or curriculum vitae to a number of appealing listings. For some other people, increasing their chance(s) for the better career opportunities will mean returning to school or receiving some other kind of degree. Either way, the hunt for the perfect place to work has almost turned into a full time job itself.

To make things easier, career opportunity are often broken down in different categories. These categories can go by job position or even industry. A number of online websites offer advice and helpful resources for all types of professions. Whether one is looking to work in the sports industry; education; culinary arts; or even the medical field there is likely to be a website offering information on diverse career opportunity. These opportunities can be both national and worldwide. Typically, all the users of the website are allowed to not only read listings but post their own resumes to be seen by a vast number of organizations.

Write A Great Resume For HR Jobs

There are no specific rules on drafting a resume for an HR position. However, the document should convey you have excellent public relation skills and are genuinely interested in the welfare of company employees. It should also communicate you value empathy and sensitivity. Read on for tips and techniques on how to write an effective resume for HR jobs.

Roles and Responsibilities of the HR Personnel

Crafting a resume for an HR job requires you to understand the typical roles and responsibilities of an HR personnel. They often include developing and implementing policies to promote welfare of the employees as well as forging relations with other organizations Formulating compensation schemes, incentive programs as well as safety and occupational health measures are also part of the job.

What Makes a Great Resume for HR Jobs

Apart from clearly stating your experience in handling HR jobs, consider the following highlights of a great resume for HR jobs:

How to Write Effective Journalism Cover Letters

Journalism involves a systematic practice of representing various happenings and events. It relates to serving the targeted audience and communicating the things in a well coordinated manner. Hence, you need to cover your excellent communication and coordination skills while writing a journalism cover letter. Such a letter should help you in presenting your profile in the most effective way by highlighting key aspects of journalism.

Thus, as a journalist, you need to put forth your prior working experience and commitment towards the work. Such a job involves altogether a different kind of lifestyle and assumes dedicated services from you. Hence, you need to highlight your strong career aspirations in connection with journalism and your abilities to perform the best in the specific environment. Here are some of the tips or guidelines which would surely help you to closely coordinate the content for the letter and thereby, improve your job prospects consequently.

Referral Cover Letters

As a result of increased job opportunities, the job search competition has also intensified. Hence, for a limited number of vacancies we find a heap of applications and the recruiter is loaded with applications. So, in order to screen such applications, he applies various criteria such as under-qualification, over-qualification, salary expectation, recommendations and many more and thereby, reduces applications to a manageable number. This helps to lower the number of applications and thereby, reduces the employer's burden to go through each resume and cover letter.

Importance of referral cover letters:

The referral cover letters are written from a high authority or relation having a strong power to recommend the candidate personally for the specific position. The recommending person can be a principal or respectable authority from any corporation. He is the person having considerable knowledge about the candidate and can render his personal opinion about the candidate's performance and skills. Thus, for writing referral cover letters you need to keep in mind the following things.

LinkedIn Strategy: Info for Beginners

Developing a LinkedIn strategy can prove to be very important for success and expansion for many of the professionals that use it on a daily basis. LinkedIn is an online network designed for professionals who want to give themselves an competitive advantage with regard to their work.

Using LinkedIn can be beneficial to professionals in many different ways, including the way it helps build and maintain a network of professionals that you can come to know and trust; a broader network than a professional who did not use LinkedIn would likely be able to build and maintain. With this network of professionals that you will become associated with through using LinkedIn, you will gain access to a collective of knowledge and information that is relevant to you, and would not otherwise have been accessible without the use of the LinkedIn service. LinkedIn gives its users the ability to discover and learn about various other companies that are out there, and to become aware of opportunities that would've otherwise gone unnoticed.

Using Keywords Effectively to Top the LinkedIn Search Results

If you're running a business, I'm sure you've heard about LinkedIn. LinkedIn is considered as the social media site for business professionals and it has made a big splash in the business world.

The secret to success with LinkedIn is topping the search results within this medium. But how can you ensure that your profile appears at the top of the search rankings? Well, I'm going to share some important key points that can lead you to the top of LinkedIn search results.

The first thing that you need to realize is the influence of keywords. Basically, a LinkedIn profile that is strategically sprinkled with the keywords that you want to rank for will guarantee that you show up at the top of the search rankings. There are five areas in your LinkedIn profile that needs to contain your chosen keywords:

The first part is the "headline". The headline should let people how you can assist them or it should introduce your products and services that you offer. Make it a short, clean and compelling headline. Your headline should explain what you do, and it should show the benefits they can get for connecting with you. Insert keywords when trying to make your headline. This will improve your search rankings. The next areas that must contain your keywords are "current work experience" and "past work experience". Adding keywords on this area will make you profile more relevant, thus increasing your page rank in search results. Here, you may use niche-specific keywords.

A Career in Clinical Research - How You Benefit

Having previously dissected the skills that employers are looking for and the career paths available, this time my focus switches to hiring trends in clinical research and the rewards you can expect as a professional working in the sector.

From hands on involvement in cutting edge therapy development, the chance to work in a truly innovative environment, the option to work flexible hours to attain the perfect work-life balance and being rewarded handsomely for your efforts, the clinical research industry does offer plenty of enticing career lures.

But let's start with experience, knowledge and skills required. The first essential requirement that the majority of Clinical Research Organisations (CROs) are looking for is clinical research professionals who have at least one or two years' onsite clinical monitoring experience (it is worth noting that CROs have to fulfil the expectations of their sponsor prior to working on a given study).

Although Pharma companies tend to outsource their activities to CROs, those with in-house clinical research units are more likely to promote their employees and train them internally, rather than looking for talent externally. Therefore, the scope for career development within the pharmaceutical industry itself is first class.

European Resume

How to write a European Resume?

If you’re thinking about studying abroad or would like to work in a European country, it’ll be indispensable for you to be able to show your skills and abilities in an easy-to-understand mode. 
You've to know there are divergences among countries when talking about resumes. The same resume isn't valid for all countries, and not only because of the language.  
Different countries ask and expect certain information to be present on resumes, and consequently it is critical that your new resume fills the unique requirements of that country. 
American resume tend to be ‘functional’ exposing skills and experience but they often miss depth and don’t equate experience with employers. 
So, what about the European Resume? 
European resume tend to be chronological and often gloss over skills.

Tips to Make Your Career Development Plan Work

Career Development is a favourite topic on the agenda of employees and their managers. Career development plans are created at the start of the year and then put on back burner till the year end or next formal performance appraisal. What can you do to avoid getting into this trap and use it to propel career growth and pay raise.

The following tips are provided to help you ensure that your career development plans are relevant and reflect the skills and capabilities you want or need to build in a world where change is the only constant!

Does the Career Development Plan work for you?

At the end of the day, it's your development and your career. You are responsible for proactively ensuring that your development is in line with your own performance expectations or career aspirations.

Prepare in advance

Most of the employees feel that they are in grip of their career and walk in unprepared for the career plan review meetings with their manger. The discussions are generally vague with a lot of feel good factor and no solid action. Knowing your manager very well cannot be the excuse for not having prepared for the meeting.

CV Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs!

Looking for your dream job? Avoid these common CV blunders

Looking for a job can be a full-time job in itself, but there are things you can do to increase your chances of getting hired. By avoiding these common CV blunders, you'll be sure to catch the attention of your ideal employer and stand heads above your competition.

1. Forgetting to use spellcheck

One recruiter reported that the amount of CVs they receive with basic spelling and grammatical errors is shocking. While spelling errors may not seem like a big deal, it gives a recruiter or potential employer the wrong impression immediately. These errors are avoidable, and you don't want people to think you're careless.

Tip: Have a trusted friend or family member read your CV before you send it out. If this isn't possible, leave the document alone for an hour, and then go back and re-read it yourself before you send it.

2. Not enough specifics

Employers want to know what achievements of yours are relevant to their business. For example, if you were responsible for business growth, outline how you succeeded in your job and back it up with concrete results. If you've contributed to bottom-line savings, make sure to mention it on your CV.

How to Write a Great CV for Physician Jobs

xperience evaluating physician CVs has taught me that advanced degrees and a lot of education don't necessarily equal polished CVs. It has never ceased to amaze me that, when applying for a job that can pay as much as $400,000 per year, individuals will still submit CVs that are disorganized, difficult to follow, or that contain spelling and grammatical errors. Sometimes, it's even difficult to sort out when the educational milestones have been achieved, or where the applicant is living!

As a reply to all the bad CVs I have seen, I'd like to offer some helpful advice to physicians (and anyone) trying to make themselves look good from the get-go. Then, I'll talk about some of the craziest and most amusing errors I've come across to date.

First and foremost, please make sure you spell check your work! We all type quickly, and can make mistakes, but it only takes a second to have Microsoft or some other program double check your words. This will avoid embarrassment at silly mistakes, and guarantees a more professional presentation in English.

Writing a Quality CV

Opinions

Opinions vary when it comes to what constitutes a quality CV. Depending on who you listen to you will probably receive a variety of responses (some of which are likely to contradict each other - for example some people will tell you that it needs to be one page, whereas others will tell you that it should be three pages. Similarly, some advisers will advocate including an objectives section, whereas others will scoff at the mere suggestion.)

Opinions on the subject therefore vary widely.

The response of this article should hopefully be less contradictory, albeit somewhat more enigmatic.

So what is a quality CV?

A quality CV is one which does the job and gets results - not just once, but (with a bit of tweaking) over and over again.

Significantly, a quality CV is not a one trick pony. Yes, certain factors such as good presentation are important, but in the whole scheme of things even fundamentals such as presentation are still just one piece of the multifaceted dynamic jigsaw puzzle; and you are unlikely to land the job of your dreams with a well presented but poorly written CV.

Writing a New Resume to Suit Your Career Change Plans

If you have finally made up your mind that you are changing jobs, then it's time that you let everyone know about it. One of the first things you should take into consideration is how you could update or freshen up your resume so that it would reflect all the changes you have in your career goals.

One big concern for career changers is what they need to indicate in the "experience" category in their resume. Of course, this is crucial because as a career changer, you would not necessarily have the exact background or work experience that companies are looking for. Nevertheless, this isn't something you should be worried about. The key is for you to develop a narrative that is persuasive enough to convince potential employers that your current skills are a perfect match to what is needed in the job or industry as a whole.

Follow these guidelines:

Converting Your Unpaid Internship Into a Job

No matter how much you complain about your unpaid internship during your college years, the potential it offers with respect to future opportunities to build a career are quite understated.

For example, even if you are performing clerical jobs in the summer as a part of your internship, it is important to realize that the experience is what you make of it.

If you are able to look beyond the short term costs of not earning a stipend during your internship, these jobs actually open doors to giving you a unique competitive edge along with some much required work experience.

By employing the correct strategies, you will be able to convert your unpaid internship into a progressive and well paying job. Here is how you achieve this -

1. Getting Proactive with your Work - While the advice of 'working hard' may come to you as quite a cliché, one cannot emphasize it enough. It is important that you treat your internship as a real job. Your approach towards your work can be quite visible to your bosses and immediate superiors, and a great way to set an impression is by willingly taking ownership of all the tasks that are given to you.

LinkedIn: The Modern Resume

LinkedIn is a professional networking site with over 225 million members across 200 countries and territories making use of the services. Launched in 2003, LinkedIn has helped countless people find their dream job.

A legacy begins

What started out as a small website for professionals to keep in touch with each other, has grown into a reckonable force that brings guaranteed success. LinkedIn's management team is made up of seasoned executives from companies like Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, TiVo, PayPal, and Electronic Arts.

As a publicly held and diversified business, LinkedIn's revenues come from member subscriptions, advertising sales and talent solutions. Given its current growth and popularity, LinkedIn is now almost the new resume.

LinkedIn in Job Search: It is So Important !

If you're a job seeker who doesn't use LinkedIn in looking for job opportunities, you are not probably aware of the current tools being used by recruiters. Employers nowadays do not only review your resume. In fact, they are more interested in reading your LinkedIn profile to get more information about your qualifications. Aside from being a vital recruitment tool, you might wonder why LinkedIn plays an important role in your job search. Read on to know the answers.

Why More Employers Choose LinkedIn Over Traditional Resumes

Recruiters and employers choose LinkedIn over traditional resumes for the following reasons:

1. Since a LinkedIn profile can be easily edited, the provided information is more updated and relevant in the context of one's industry.

2. A resume is often limited to a page or two while your LinkedIn profile could have unlimited information.

3. A LinkedIn profile is often considered more trustworthy since it's seen by the public. People are less likely to lie about their skills and experience as past and present colleagues could quickly point and call out exaggerations and fabrications.

The Importance of Communication at Work

Communication is one of the most vital components of an effective work environment, as it affects employee productivity, cost effectiveness and innovation. Here are some ways communication is important in the workplace:

Setting Clear Workplace Expectations

Having effective and clear communication enables managers to give understandable instructions to their teams. If workplace guidelines and expectations are accurately described then there is a decreased chance that mistakes will occur due to misinterpretation. Being an effective leader means understanding how to use communication to motivate your team, create clear company policies, and give adequate instructions for projects.

Strong Relationships with Coworkers and Customers

Great communication helps develop strong relationships among coworkers as well as with customers. Trust and loyalty are boosted by communication that is focused on meeting individual needs, providing valuable feedback, and conveying useful information. Strong relationships within the company will also support effective communication with customers, accurately describing products and services, and clearly defining organizational values. Good communication also helps successful problem solving to occur as an employee resolves a customer problem.

Where Are the Jobs in Today's Economy?

What is the Jobless Rate?

In theory, the jobless rate is defined as the percentage of individuals seeking employment and not being able to find a job. In the 1940s, the American government defined a job as any paid work performed in the previous week. An individual should have been actively seeking employment during the previous month to be officially counted as unemployed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics still defines unemployment in those terms today.

The labor participation rate is the percentage of adults, age 16 and older, either working or looking for work. However, in today's economy many millions of would be workers have stopped looking for work and some of them will never find employment. This means that the "real" unemployment rate is approximately two percentage points higher than the official rate. Today long-term unemployment for many individuals hoping to find work may cause permanent damage to our economy and interfere with a happy lifestyle for millions of unemployed individuals.

Why Aren't More Employers Hiring?

Evidence points to the fact that companies are taking a longer time to fill job openings leaving the long-term unemployed struggling to find work. Professor Peter Cappelli of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business offers his opinion on why he thinks so many people are having difficulty finding employment during the recent economic recovery. He explains that the level of hiring demand hasn't increased due to the slow financial sector recovery.

CV Writing Tips: 5 Things To Leave Out Of The Resume

When applying for work, potential employees must create a CV. With a strong resume, one can land a lot of interviews. On the other hand, a lot of people make mistakes when creating their CV. Here are five mistakes people make when they create their CV.

Gaps in The Resume

Gaps in employment can hurt an employee's chances. Most employers are afraid to hire employees that have long gaps in their employment. Now, with the recent economic problems, a lot of people have lost their jobs. With that being said, sometimes a gap in a resume is hard to avoid. Ideally, when applying for a job, an applicant will prepare for questions about a gap in employment. One way an employee can help their chances is by having part-time or consultant job while looking for better prospects. Remember, employers hate to see a lot of gaps in a CV.

Signs of Slow Advancement

A slow career advancement may scare off potential employers. Most people have a steady career advancement and that makes employers happy. When an employee jumps around in their career, most hiring managers will worry that an applicant will not stay with the company if they have a slow or erratic employment history.

How to Create Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn

When getting started on LinkedIn one of the first things you should do is choose a professional looking photo to include in your profile. This image should ideally be only a head shot; keep in mind when choosing your photo that LinkedIn is used for to promote yourself as a professional. Keep your birthday party and vacation photos on Facebook. People are drawn to images, and if your profile features one you are more likely to get noticed than others who have not included a photo of themselves.

Another thing to keep in mind when creating your profile is to only include information that is true. As much you think adding to your work history will help you look more established, in the end it can actually end up hurting you. Everyone you add as a connection on LinkedIn can view your profile, and if you include false information you will more than likely be found out. If this happens it can lead to an embarrassing situation for you.

You should also include any external links that are associated with you. These links can include your social media accounts such as, Facebook and Twitter. If you have a blog or website you should also include links to those as well. Many LinkedIn users aren't aware that this feature exists, but you are allowed to use up to three links.

5 Reasons You Need a Resume

A job resume is a critical component to any situation in which an individual is looking for a job. If you do not have a resume yet, now is the time to put one on paper. Any human resource department is likely to ask job applicants for this document. If you think that you can use the same old version you used five years ago, think again. There is no doubt that having this document is a must, but an updated version is just as important.

#1 - Keyword Search

One of the reasons you need a well-designed job resume is because it will afford you the ability to get into the computers that many human resource departments use to screen job applicants. If you do not have a keyword search amplified resume, you are unlikely to get the job call back. In short, you need to include the right words about your job skills in your resume so that in a keyword search, your resume shows up.

#2 - Define Your Objective

On that document, be sure to list a job objective. This is a very well thought out statement about what your career goals are. It tells the human resource manager what you are looking for and lets that individual determine if the company can offer what you need.

#3 - Showcase Your Job Skills

A job resume also needs to showcase your job skills. These are the job skills that the company needs (hopefully you have matched them directly to the job ad you are responding to) and they are skills that you can easily demonstrate. Every employer is looking for this information.

How to Email Your Resume ?

In today's world, emailing your resume to a potential employer has become commonplace, in some cases even a preferred way, to apply for jobs. Although many employers now welcome and encourage emailed applications, they also may have particular rules about what types of files they accept via email.

- Some companies will accept your resume as an email attachment in Microsoft Word format.

- Some companies will only accept resumes in plain text. They may also stipulate that resume must be in the body of the email, or they may allow attachments.

The thing to be aware of is that while it is true that Microsoft Word allows all kinds of fancy fonts, and layouts, plain text gives you virtually no control over formatting. For this reason you must take care to format your resume in a way that will look good in either file type. The best way to do this is to prepare and maintain your resume in Microsoft Word, complete with formatting, and then use that as the basis for creating plain text versions of your resume. This isn't too difficult, as you can simply convert a Microsoft Word document into plain text by using the following steps:

Four Microsoft Word Tips for the Resume Do-It-Yourselfer

When writing your resume, content is first and foremost. As more and more resumes are electronically scanned and entered into applicant tracking systems, sometimes an end user doesn't see anything BUT the content. But let's face it, looks matter too sometimes, right? Since your resume and cover letter are really the only aspect of your job search that are under your control, better to err on the safe side and be sure that your resume will stand out from the crowd. In fact, one of the best reasons to work with a professional resume writer is that making beautiful resumes with great content is what they're experts at. If you decide to go it alone, here are some Microsoft Word 2007 tips to help you catch the eye of recruiters doing a quick scan.

1. Easily add horizontal lines. Word 2007 has an awesome feature that allows you to quickly insert horizontal lines in your document. Type the header you'd like, such as Professional Experience, then space and enter the three characters associated with the horizontal line you'd like to insert and press enter. There are six different horizontal line break shortcuts available: 1. 3 dashes - creates a thin horizontal line 2. 3 asterisks - creates a dotted line 3. 3 underscores - creates a thick horizontal line 4. 3 equal signs - creates a double horizontal line 5. 3 pound signs - creates a thin/thick/thin triple line 6. 3 tides (the wavy line to the left of your 1 button at the top of your keyboard) - creates a wavy horizontal line. These lines can be tricky to remove if you don't know how. Simply select the text that line is over or under, and from your Page Layout menu, select Page Borders. In the pop-up window, select the Borders tab and use the Preview area to remove or add borders as appropriate. Be sure to have the Paragraph option selected from the pull down menu, otherwise you will apply borders to the individual words.

Writing an Effective Resume Objective Statement

What goes into an effective resume objective statement? This type of statement is at the top of your professional resume. It is not a summary of what your resume includes. It is not a place for you to beg for a job. It is a place to state why you are looking for a job in this company as well as what you hope to achieve. Every individual's objective statement needs to be unique based on his or her job skills, experiences, and work history. To write one, consider the following simple tips to help you to pull it off.

What Do You Want to Do

One key component of the professional resume is to list what you have done. However, in the objective statement, the goal is to write what you want to do with the company. To write this, you will need to include specific information about the job position you want to achieve. For example, if you want to work as a sales manager, state that in your statement. You may say, "To work as a sales manager... " This tells the hiring manager whether or not the job position open is one for you.

Video Resume - 6 Tips To Increase Your Interviewing Chances

In a competitive job market, you only get one chance to make a first impression. In the past, first impressions were primarily based on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, but now employers are beginning to incorporate video into their recruitment program to identify qualified candidates that they would like to interview.

It is important that you take advantage of the latest recruitment trends to increase your chances of getting an interview. Consider developing a video resume that allows you to demonstrate your personality and communication skills as well as highlight top qualities that may not be tangible in your resume. No matter how well-written your resume may be, there is no substitute for allowing employers to get to know you on a more personal level.

Below are a few tips on how to create an effective video resume:

1. Keep it short and simple. Your video should be limited to one to three minutes in length. Identify a few key aspects of your experience, achievements or abilities that you want to focus on that will add value to the employer. It is important to stay focused and remember sometimes less is more.