Top 5 Priorities for Women in Tech Jobs

Top 5 Priorities for Women in Tech Jobs Its one of the most sought-after sectors  to work for and a number of companies have used a number of initiatives to attract women in to the tech industry. And rightly so, because while you may think that tech jobs are only desirable for men, there are large number of women who are at the top of the tech game and are readily looking for the same kind of opportunities. In fact, the tech industry needs more women  and while there are certain things which are holding them back, those who have taken that leap want to stay. It will be a huge benefit to your company if the  women you employ in tech jobs stay with you instead of going to a competitor and if you need a reminder as to why women in tech can often be your best talent then I only need to mention Ginni Rometty  of IBM and Co-Founder of HTC, Cher Wang. So how do you keep the women employed by you in tech roles? A  recent survey carried out on technology and recruitment in 2017 found the top 2 priorities for women working in tech in the UK were: The flexibility to work remotely Career progression But what other priorities do  women in tech jobs want? 3. Culture Once youve got women in the company doing tech jobs then its important to get the culture right. Mentor programs can be crucial, particularly if the mentors are women in senior tech positions. While we know most women arent timid or shy and men can be perfectly good mentors too, it would be great for a company to show that women can also take charge and lead the way. This is especially crucial for those women who may have been on a career break and may not be quite up to speed with things. It’s good to have that other person they can turn to within the company when they  run into difficulties  or if they have a question that they need help thinking through. 4. Be like them Women  won’t want to work in a place where they are the only female on the team unless they are hugely competitive and confident to know they are just as good as men when it comes to tech. They want to feel part of a team where there are people like them. But once theyre in the womans job is not only to be successful in their role, but to pull women in with them and help them to enter the tech industry and work hard to succeed. 5. Higher salary There is nothing worse than doing a job that you know is paying less because of your gender. Whilst there are steps being taken to bridge the gender pay gap, women are more likely to stay with you if you offer them the right salary to begin with. Cloud computing firm Salesforce  spent $3 million last year on bringing the salaries of female employees up to the level of their male counterparts. And theyre not the only tech firm who promote themselves as having no gender wage gap. The likes of  Microsoft, Facebook, Intel, and Amazon have all  published pay data that declares it has no gender wage gap. Once youve got women in tech jobs to stay,  like with most industries, its inevitable that some women will take a career break to raise a family or have other care commitments.  Jacqueline de Rojas, President of TechUK, says Estimates suggest that almost 2 million women in the UK are currently economically inactive due to caring commitments, and 76% of professional women on career breaks want to return to work. We know the tech sector has some way to go with women returners â€" the average tenure of a woman in the industry is seven years. We see that the lack of proper structures in place for women who have taken leave for caring responsibilities means there is a widening gap in senior female tech leaders, as evidenced by the statistic that fewer than one in ten of the 17% of women in tech are in leadership positions. Its important for your company and the tech industry that they come back to work when they can and by having their top priorities in mind, it may just help you do that. With today (March 8) being International Womens Day, now is a better time than ever to make sure women in tech are happy in their jobs.

Temple University Resume Writing Center

Temple University Resume Writing CenterWhen you think of the Temple University resume writing center, what do you imagine? Do you imagine that the resumes are flowing in like a river? Does it make you think that every year, every successful applicant is getting his/her resume accepted?The truth is that these may be true, but not to the extent that you may think. Resumes are simply written documents that are used by recruiters to see if you are the type of person who would be eligible for the job. However, those who have come from college with a resume and a life can attest that they too can get it rejected. What is even worse is that there are many Temple University resumes writing center applicants who just don't have any idea what is the main things that a resume should contain.Your interview will either be at the interview or at the end of the interview. Your resume is essentially your call sheet. It is what will be sent out to the interviewers to see if they like you enough to gi ve you an interview. If they do, you will be invited to the actual interview. Therefore, your resume should be impressive and complete.Of course needs to be neat and organized. You want to look professional and appealing as possible. Your resume should reflect your personality, your education, your job experience, as well as your abilities to support your application.For applicants from Temple University resume writing center, the first thing that you should do is to focus on your resume's cover page. A very important factor is how professional the cover page is. There should be no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Also, keep the font size as big as possible.Your resume is also something that should be considered. Since you will be reading and even looking at it while it is being written, you need to make sure that the resume is perfect. It should clearly state the qualifications for the job you are applying for. Besides, it should be properly formatted. There should be no sp aces in the resume, neither should there be any double spaces between the header and the body.The next thing that you should look into is the content of your resume. Make sure that the resume is not only written for your local job, but also for your future career as well. You need to make it sound like you are the right person for the job.Finally, make sure that your resume should include your contact information. You should also make sure that it has the number of your bank account, or the phone number for your cell phone.

Champagne Fashion Taste But Beer Budget Heres a Solution!

Champagne Fashion Taste But Beer Budget Heres a Solution! I admit it.    Even though my closet is full, Im endlessly on the lookout for new accessories, shoes, or a handbag.   But sometimes my budget doesnt allow for that trendy and spendy new purse in the window display.   While it would be nice to have unlimited funds for fashion spending like my favorite celebrity, thats not reality for most of us.    No worries, though, because there is a solution. No sooner does that mega $$ item debut in the fashion mags than it becomes the inspiration for lookalikes that are within reach of almost all of us.    Take, for example, handbags.   The original might have a price tag on it up to several thousand dollars.   A good quality alternative that mimics all the attributes of the original can be had for a fraction of that, such as these  Louis Vuitton designer Inspired handbags. Of course, there are a few things to ask yourself and to watch for if youre going to go with designer inspired items. Heres how to get the best value for you shopping dollars. What is Designer Inspired? A reputable designer inspired item has been created exactly the way the name suggests.   While it may mimic the original, the original is simply inspiration.   But because of the style, and the quality, it often is mistaken, at least at first look, for the original. Just as you might admire and imitate the hair, makeup, and look of your favorite fashionista, designer inspired fashions are, as the cliche says, the sincerest form of flattery. Why Go With Designer Inspired? Obviously, the short answer is the price.   But if that was the only motivation, you might end   up with one of the street-peddled $35 pieces.   To go a little deeper, heres how one 27-year old professional woman puts it: “I don’t think that I could ever justify or feel okay with dropping thousands of dollars on a single purse. Even if I managed to have a lot of extra money floating around, I could think of a million better ways to use it.   So, my ‘compromise’ was seeking out high-quality replicas because as long as it was convincing enough, I would be satisfied.” That really resonates with me, because while theres times I want to present the best image of success and confidence possible, I also have that frugality that was instilled by humble beginnings.    And a mother who taught moderation in all things. How To Shop For Designer Inspired The basics of shopping for designer inspired items isnt much different that any other shopping.   Common sense should be your first rule.   If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.   If your intuitive voice says something isnt right, listen and act accordingly.   Other than that, follow these tips: Check for material descriptions.   Faux (fake) or genuine?   Look for variations in spellings of common words that might mislead you into thinking its leather when its really leathar or leatherette.   Whatever those are. Do your due diligence.   Check online, especially social media, for what kind of experiences others have had with the manufacturer or website. Look for more detailed information on items.   If theres little more than green handbag, the green is more likely to describe your face when you receive the item. Check for guarantees of satisfaction and quality, as well as return policies.   As much as possible, get a sense that theyre concerned about customer experience and want to have you return in the future. Buying designer inspired fashions can be a great way to up the look of your wardrobe.   With some careful shopping and a clear idea of your motivation and purpose, you can end up with a closet that looks like a million bucks . . . for a lot less!

Career Counsel From a Cynical Recruiter

Career Counsel From a Cynical Recruiter There comes a point in every recruiters working life where they teeter on the edge of falling into a seemingly endless void of cynicism and suspicion of all humans. In my case, I took a running leap into this abyss after my first three years along this career path. If trust is an elastic band, mine snapped and the rebounding parts shot off in separate directions, never to see each other again.  Sad perhaps, but you’d be amazed what people can do to one another, particularly when there is money involved.   It’s worthwhile noting that there are those amongst us who’ve managed to navigate these muddy waters successfully. You’re the ones who has controlled your candidates so well that they’ve never abused your new client, been terminated for fraud, not turned up for interviews, lied on their CV etc. Count yourself lucky, because what happens over time is that your radar becomes so finely tuned on top of your already remarkable levels of intuition, that you find yourself making assumptions about their lives and competency within seconds of meeting them, and too often from a negative standpoint. Bad  memories The most senior hire I ever made was a GM position in the mining industry in Australia. I was young and only two years into my career. The package was supposed to be in excess of $700k with bonuses nudging it over $1.2Million not much to write home about at the time as business was booming. Every mining company in the country was desperate to move metric tonnes of iron ore, coal and alumina out of the ground and onto trains, trucks and conveyor belts to waiting boats who would whisk them to China and India, fuelling their once in a generation explosive growth. Diamonds in particular were in demand as India’s middle class was growing with disposable income to spend on luxury items such as jewellery, watches and diamond encrusted handbags. Record time I met my candidates one by one in dark coffee shops on the outskirts of the cities of Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide; each of these gents were enjoying a few days respite from their fly-in-fly-out  arrangements with global and local mining companies. Their existing wealth was obvious and arrogance dribbled from their mouths as I sat and enquired about their experience. Oh how I loathed the impatient sighs preceding each answer and the constant gaze around the room to see if they had been noticed, but like a good recruiter I took my notes, challenged where I could and I did my homework. They were A-players apparently, all of them. Recommended from senior executives across Australia, I had hunted them down one by one and isolated the shortlist to just 3.   At an average time to fill for this level of role set at 6 months, you can imagine the suppressed joy when I presented their profiles to our CEO after a single month. Offers out Our offer went to a candidate in precisely the same position with a current competitor. Interviews had been completed and psychometric testing successfully ticked.   Negotiation was inevitable.   He was worth more elsewhere he said and he was currently on the salary we  had offered him. We threw in a sign-on bonus of $50k and so he signed on the next day.   Hailed as a miracle worker, I skipped through the office and high-fived our HR Director. Following the candidates  resignation at his current place of employment, we sent out a notice internally announcing the new acquisition. An email arrived in my inbox that night from a personal email address with the subject: Mistake. It was from one of our engineers that we had hired a year ago from the same company where we had just found our new GM.   My stomach dropped as I read the list of transgressions the engineer related. It meant that my referrals were wrong, his CV was predominantly fabricated and I had just hired a problem; admittedly a smart problem, based on his psychometric scores, but apparently still a problem.   At the same time, slander and defamation can be awful enemies to professionals at any stage of their career so I resolved to discover more Privacy laws in Australia prevented references being taken from anyone not nominated by the candidate, hence the ‘underground engineering network’.   It is here, that opinion is king and reputations are built or destroyed. Despite this, poor candidates still slip through and this gent was one of them. Too late to retract the offer, his starting the new role and subsequent failures grated on me for months.   His fabrications collapsed spectacularly around him along with his team and in his final days he secured a departure bonus to avoid him taking legal action. The figure still disturbs my waters. I learned years later that his departure from his previous employer was inevitable and our signing him brought rapture and applause from them.   I had been duped. Learning lessons Over the years, numerous candidate errors and failures washed over me and I became comfortable within my locus of control and shaped my particular style of recruitment into my own version of personal art. I would control what I could control, when I could control it.   When hiring managers stamped their feet because candidate X didn’t turn up for an interview, I shrugged and smiled. That’s people for you.   I learned to end interviews politely within 2 minutes of them commencing based on a single expletive, the smell of alcohol or the use of a mobile phone. My personal record is under a minute which I remain proud of due to the circumstances in which it ended. We sat down and my interviewee passed a racist comment about our receptionist, followed by a chuckle. ‘’Perhaps it was nerves…?’’ our hiring manager quizzed afterwards. ‘’No Geoff, you’re seeing the tip of the iceberg, I responded. Moving forward In recruitment you are going to be lied to, cheated, mocked, berated, manipulated and forced  to face devastating setbacks as an agency or corporate recruiter.   You’ll work long, hard hours and make positive achievement announcements to people and companies which you’ll have to retract as a result of other people’s behaviour.   You’ll listen to people, learn all you can about them, hone your skill-set over years and finally build trust only to have it dashed again and again; but this is the game. My recommendation for new players is to learn a system of interviewing and stick to it. Depend on competencies, use a framework, take notes and don’t let senior candidates intimidate you. It’s the arrogant ones you need to give special attention to. They’ll duck and dive, pretend they are far too important for this inane conversation and look everywhere but at you. Learn how to watch body language.   Study people and micro-expressions.   Listen to how candidates answer questio ns and ask follow-up questions and most importantly, remember that you are witnessing their ‘travel brochure’. This is what they want you to see, so consider that if they are not meeting your expectations now they sure as hell won’t be meeting their leaders in 3 months time. Author: The ‘Acquirer’ â€"  No small dose of healthy HR skepticism. A career in Talent Acquisition leadership in global companies from the heat of the Asia Pacific to the crisp air of Europe.   Pragmatic, strategic, and every now and again… serious. Image: Shutterstock

Job Interview How to Answer the Greatest Weaknesses Question

Job Interview How to Answer the Greatest Weaknesses Question Job interviews are stressful and preparing for them can be tough as you typically have no idea what to expect. There are a few classic questions that tend to come up and a huge one is about your weaknesses. It will sometimes be asked along with your greatest strengths, sometimes on its own. Everyone has weaknesses and this question is designed to throw you off, to see how much insight you have of your own shortcomings and exactly how much dirt you are willing to share with the interviewer. Being honest about your weaknesses will be the best policy, your answers will be checked when the employer does your references anyway. Dont shoot yerself in the foot: I will assume you have a few weaknesses, when prompted make sure you only bring up stuff that won’t affect the job you are interviewing for. Don’t say “I find it hard to delegate” when you are a manager, don’t say “numbers aren’t my thing” when you are an accountant. Pick a weakness that is not likely to make an impact at work, such as “I don’t understand the French impressionists” when you are a car mechanic. Dont pull a fast one: Don’t try the old trick of turning a weakness into a strength by saying “I work too hard, stay in the office too long and can’t stop myself because I love my job so much”. Not only will the interviewer have heard it before, they will think you are a bit of a nutter and your behavior probably won’t be very popular with the rest of the team. Furthermore, by dropping a cliché like that, you risk annoying the interviewer and he/she will keep asking for a ‘real’ weakness until they get something juicy to fill in the weakness box. Here are a 3 ways you can tackle the old weakness question: 1) A weakness you are working on: Talk about a recent shortcoming that you are fully aware of and already improving on. It can be time management for instance; you have learned not to take on too much work as the quality of your output cannot be guaranteed. You have now taken a course in time management, you use a to-do list as well as a calendar and things are improving. By showing the employer that you have this insight and that you have taken action to overcome it, you demonstrate that you know about your issues and you are working on them. Time management is something everyone can relate to so you won’t run the risk of being ruled out. 2) Turn a strength into a weakness: By using one of your main strengths and calling it a weakness, you will come across as modest and insightful. You could even list it as a strength and a weakness, by saying that you “are very thorough” for instance. This can be a good skill at times (when going through year end reports), not so good at other times (when your boss needs a quick estimate of sales figures this week). The interviewer will probe the weakness and come to the conclusion that you are not that bad after all, and that you should “not underestimate yourself”. Caution: Turning a weakness into a strength does not work nearly as well, as mentioned above. 3) Your steep learning curve: Here’s a classic, the interviewee will say their main weakness for the job they are applying for is that they don’t know the computer software/colleagues/way around the building etc. Nobody will expect you to know these things so even though you list it as a weakness, it will be treated as a normal circumstance. In fact, this may even bring out the innate parent in the interviewer, they will look forward to having a newbie around that they can show the ropes. Bottom line Make sure you list your weaknesses (and strengths) before an interview. Have a think about which weaknesses the interviewer will be able to live with and give them as your answer. Be sure to include your action plan on how to overcome shortcomings and be honest about it all. Related: How Employer Know When to Hire You Within 90 Seconds (Infographic). Image: Shutterstock

5 Must-Dos To Land More Executive Job Interviews - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

5 Must-Dos To Land More Executive Job Interviews When you’re in executive job search mode, landing coveted job interviews is like hitting the jackpot. Sometimes you’re lucky, and job interviews come easily, despite your lack of focused and concerted effort. Most of the time, it takes planning, preparation and a lot of work to position yourself for the interviews you want. Before describing the must-do’s . . . 2 Important Executive Job Search Caveats to Land More Job Interviews 1. Don’t spend a lot of time responding to job postings. Only a very small percent of executive job seekers land jobs through job boards, especially at the c-suite and senior executive level. Your time is much better spent working the methods that yield better results, as described below. But job boards are great places for company, market and industry research. 2. Don’t rely entirely on executive recruiters to get you into your next gig. They are a source for jobs, of course, but getting in touch with a few recruiters and waiting for them to find good-fit jobs for you could make for a prolonged job search. You’ll need to be much more proactive to land interviews. 5 Must-Do Ways to Land More Job Interviews 1. Target specific companies and research their current pressing needs that you’re uniquely qualified to help them meet. Determine what qualities and qualifications will make you a good fit for specific employers. Narrowing your job search, as much as you can, works better than having a vague job search goal. 2. Define and differentiate your personal brand around what makes you a good fit for those target employers. With this information and your targeting and research work in #1, you’ll be much better able to communicate â€" verbally and on paper â€" what makes you valuable, and position yourself as someone of interest. 3. Balance personal branding (soft skills) with Personal SEO (hard skills or areas of expertise) to: Build online visibilityin your profile (and elsewhere online),Be found by executive recruiters and other hiring managers, andProvide social proof to support the claims you’ve made in your job search documents (resume, biography, etc.) 4. Network your way into “hidden jobs” at your target companies. Hidden jobs are those that are never advertised, so you will never find them on job boards. Reach out to employees there and ask them for informational interviews, to find out more about their companies. These are not job interviews, where you send them your resume and ask for a job, but they should lead to actual job interviews. Many companies have Employee Referral Programs (ERP) to reward their employees who recommend good hires. 5. Stay top-of-mind with your network. One important way to stay top-of-mind is to leverage with the following tools. Your network will be more likely to remember you when good-fit opportunities for you come their way: Publishing articles on the Pulse platform to demonstrate your subject matter expertise and thought leadership.Sharing relevant updates from your profile Home page. Participating regularly in Groups.Commenting on, and liking, other people’s postings in Pulse, updates and Groups.Surprising a colleague, vendor or others in your network with a recommendation. 00 0

The cult of overwork (again) - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

The cult of overwork (again) - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog The cult of overwork is the prevailing belief that the more hours people work, the better for the company. That notion is not only harmful, it is dead wrong, as this story from Arlie Hochschilds book The Time Bind demonstrates. One executive, Doug Strain, the vice chairman of ESI, a computer company in Portland Oregon, saw the link between reduced hours for some and more jobs for others. At a 1990 focus group for CEOs and managers, he volunteered the following story: When demand for a product is down, normally a company fires some people and makes the rest work twice as hard. So we put it to a vote of everyone in the plant. We asked them what they wanted to do: layoffs for some workers or thirty-two-hour workweeks for everyone. They thought about it and decided theyd rather hold the team together. So we went down to a thirty-two-hour-a-week schedule for everyone furing a down time. We took everybodys hours and salary down executives too. But Strain discovered two surprises. First, productivity did not decline. I swear to God we get as much out of them at thirty-two hours as we did at forty. So its not a bad business decision. But second, when economic conditions improved, we offered them one hundred percent time again. No one wanted to go back! Never in our wildest dreams would our managers have designed a four-day week. But its endured at the insistence of our employees. Interesting, huh? They cut back work-hours but production remains the same. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Common job seeker resume mistakes -

Common job seeker resume mistakes - What are the most common mistakes on job-seeker resumes? As one of Quintessential Careers Career Masterminds, I contributed responses to several of the questions they asked as part of their anniversary celebration. What about the biggest resume mistake? My reply: Most job-seekers dont realize one important fact: the resume really isnt about them; its about making a connection to the targeted employer. Most people dont completely understand this key strategy. Instead, they incorporate materials not relevant to their audience and hope potential employers will read between the lines to identify their qualifications. Since most resumes are either evaluated by an Applicant Tracking System a computer that scans for key words or are visually scanned for 10-20 seconds by a busy recruiter or hiring manager, if you dont make it clear why you are perfect for the job, you dont stand much of a chance at landing an interview. Its not difficult to target a resume. Find keywords in the job description and in the organizations Website. Focus on job requirements and make it clear you have what it takes to solve the employers problems. Incorporate skills accomplishments and results in your resume; dont just write a laundry list of stuff youve done. Always consider the employers perspective. Will he or she know why you are a good fit based on your resume? If not, revise your materials. For other responses to this question, click through to Quint Careers. photo by   elycefeliz