Employer Branding from a Senior Executive Perspective

Employer Branding from a Senior Executive Perspective There aren’t many people who haven’t heard of Indeed. You may have used them to help you find your next role or you may have used them to help recruit talent. Either way, they’re a huge employer across the world. So, how do you attract talent to an organization known primarily as a job search engine? Today we interview Paul Wolfe, SVP of Global Human Resources and responsible for all things HR and employee-related at Indeed. Have a listen to the episode below, keep reading for a summary and be sure to subscribe to the  Employer Branding Podcast. Listen on  Apple Podcasts,  Spotify,  Stitcher  or  Soundcloud. In this episode youll learn: Why true authentic employee stories matter How they separate themselves from the job seeker engine and the employer Why they let the employees tell their own stories in their own way Why user-generated content is king Why Indeed’s employer brand is a showcase of the company to the outer world You can connect with Paul on  Twitter.

Business Week features my blog, sparks contact from my secret mentor

Business Week features my blog, sparks contact from my secret mentor This weeks Business Week just hit the stands, and what do you know? My blog is featured. Lindsey Gerdes wrote a great summary of my blog, proving to me that other people can write a better summary of our work than we can write ourselves. (Yes, this is why you should hire someone to write your resume.) Anyway, for you Business Week readers who are stopping by to check things out, Gerdes highlighted these posts: Navigating the quarterlife crisis How to turn down a job offer How to manage your image The first person to congratulate me about the piece in Business Week was Joyce Lain Kennedy. This was no small moment for me. She was my silent mentor for years. I say mentor in the loosest sense of the word because (violating one of my own pieces of advice) I never contacted her. I thought she was too big to pay attention to someone like me. (Note: Dont ever do this. Try contacting everyone. Most people will give you advice if you ask a specific question.) Joyce Lain Kennedy is the most widely syndicated career advice columnist in the country. Probably in the world. Newspaper syndication is very complicated. Not that you shouldnt try it. You should. But beware, because people like Kennedy have been there forever and sit on small empires. I studied her patterns, trying to figure out syndication. And, to be honest, I studied her column topics trying to figure out what the heck a career advice columnist writes about. The problem was that I started out writing about my own career. Sort of like a well written diary. But then my company went bankrupt in the dot-com crash. Business 2.0, the magazine that was running my column, told me I was no longer that impressive unemployed and pregnant did not look good. So I took my editors advice and stopped writing about myself. (Well, I tried to. You can imagine how hard that must have been.) Instead, I started writing straight-up career advice, like how to write a resume. But my ideas ran dry after two or three, so I started stealing Kennedys topics: How to interview, how to write a cover letter They are all classics, all good. She is a pro. I would write them the way a non-pro would write them adding, for example, references to sex at the office that my editor would delete. So then, five years pass, blah blah, and here I am, receiving an email from Joyce Lain Kennedy herself. And she sent her book to me. Autographed. Its Resumes for Dummies. And its on a special, sentimental spot in my bookshelf, next to this weeks edition of Business Week.

4 Step Personal Branding With Google Buzz - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

4 Step Personal Branding With Google Buzz - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Google Buzz has been talked about nonstop since it came out, from Fox News to NPR and back again. Stories typically range from security flaws to tips on how to best use the new social network. Buzz is Googles current attempt to have a social network and compete against the likes of Facebook. Whats different about this network is that it leeches onto Gmails current user base, which is already used by around 176.5 million people. As a symbiote, Buzz taps into your current Gmail network and shares your content with your Buzz followers, much like Twitter, but in a gated environment, much like Facebook. It may appear like a Twitter clone, but most heavy users say it resembles FriendFeed, where you can publish more than 140 characters and assemble large discussions with your followers. It even has the liking system that is familiar to FriendFeed and Facebook users. 1. Use Your Google Profile as a brand portal Google announced Google Profiles, quite some time ago, but now were seeing the importance of these profiles emerge, with the launch of Buzz. Its obvious that Google wants your profile to become your personal brands portal on the web. They want you to share your profile URL instead of the URLs for your other social networks because you can link to all of your other profiles from your Google one. Also, just like a Twitter profile, you can verify your Google Profile to make it seem more legitimate. Three main benefits of having a Google Profile: When someone googles your name, your profile shows up at the bottom with your picture. If you dont create and complete your profile, then someone who shares your name can own that spot. Search results display three profiles per searched name. It has Google juice, which means that the websites you link to from your profile will have a boost in the search engine. It will eventually mean that your buzzs, through your profile, will also rank high for certain keywords. It acts as a central hub for all the information you share, your professional and personal information and contact information. In this way, it allows you to manage your digital identity, as well as others. A Google Profile, if completely filled out, should answer these five questions: Who is this person? Where else are they located on the web? How do I connect with them? What value are they creating? How many people are following them and who is following them? When you first create your Google Profile, make sure everything is filled out. This includes, basic information such as your name, location and companies youve worked for. Also, before creating your profile, make sure that you registered your Google account name with your full name and not a nickname because you can have a custom URL (http://google.com/profiles/firstname.lastname). This is an important move for personal branding because of name recognition. Next, you want to add the same avatar/picture that you use with all of your other profiles. Then, check off Display my full name so I can be found in search. Ill leave the other two check boxes, that have to do with privacy, up to you. Fill out your bio and include links throughout it. You should use the same bio, word for word, that can be found on your blog or website. Finally, add links to your website, blog, and prominent social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn) that youre active on. Use the full names and URLs when you add each site because its good SEO. Order the sites from the site that best represents you as a brand to the least. If you want, you can also add your Flickr photos into your profile by going to the Photos tab when in edit mode. To take this one step further, you can purchase a domain name (yourname.com) at MyDomain.com (sponsored link) and redirect it to your Google Profile. 2. Syndicate external content into Google Buzz Theres no doubt that Google will prioritize Buzz in search, which means that content, engagement and authority is important for ranking high. For instance, on Twitter, if youre a power user, with a large following of influential users, and you tweet, then its highly probable that it will rank high in search. This, one can assume, will be similar to how Buzz operates, but only for users that make their profile and feed public. While many of my followers believe you shouldnt link your Google Buzz account to your other social networks, I believe that its the only way to scale your online identity. As we join more and more social networks, yet focus on the few that are really paying off for us, we will have to scale our personal brands to remain active on those networks. You can add connected sites, such as: YouTube Twitter Flickr Picasa Google Reader Google Status From my experiments, Ive noticed that people respond much better to fresh and not syndicated content, but if you shy away from adding these services, then it will appear like youre an inactive user (if you dont have the time to manage your Google Buzz account). 3. Create tighter relationships with close contacts So far, Google Buzz is positioned as a social network for your friends and close business contacts, instead of a megaphone that you can use, such as Twitter, to market yourself to the world. It is possible that this may change and Google might create a separate space, away from Gmail, for Buzz though. Since Buzz draws upon your current inner circle of Google contacts, it gives you the ability to stay and touch with people that are important in your life. Just like any community, you have to share useful information, leave comments, help others and be personable, if you want to use it successfully. You can even develop your relationship on Google Buzz by using the mobile iPhone application! This way, you can interact with other Buzz users around you and youll be notified when they buzz, which might be uncomfortable at first, but pose for an interesting networking opportunity. 4. Promote your Google Profile/Buzz account Since Google Profiles contain your personal and professional information, in addition to your lifestream, its wise to start promoting this single URL to all of your contacts, instead of each individual site. Why promote your blog, Facebook fan page, YouTube channel and eight other URLs, when you can promote one that can connect other people to all of them? When you promote your Google Profile, make sure the URL appears like this: http://www.google.com/profiles/dan.schawbel#buzz. This way, when someone clicks the link, they will be taken directly to the buzz tab in your profile. Ten places to promote your Google Profile: Open up all of your social media profiles and add a link to your Google Profile. Instead of listing one hundred URLs on your business card, list your website/blog and your Google Profile URL. In your email signature, put your URL. If you guest post on a blog or write an article for an online site, put your URL in your byline. Write a blog post talking about Google Buzz, while listing your own account. You get one URL in your Twitter profile, so add your Google Profile URL there. Add a Buzz WordPress plugin to your blog so that people can promote your posts to their Buzz accounts. Update your Google status with an announcement that youre using Google Buzz and link to your profile. When commenting on blogs, use your Google Profile URL instead of your website or blog. Have other Buzz users promote you by sharing great content in the first place. Google Buzz is here to stay. Youre probably already using Gmail and if youre not, then you should really make the jump soon because having a Hotmail or Yahoo account is outdated and will make people perceive you as someone who isnt keeping up with the times. Remember to complete your Google Profile, connect all of your websites, build relationships and promote your profile wherever you can. Theres no doubt in the future that the people who have build their personal brands on Google with Buzz will gain more visibility in search and become more successful.

The Most Damaging Advice You Can Give to Your Female Candidates

The Most Damaging Advice You Can Give to Your Female Candidates Professional women have a problem. Despite making up half the British workforce, women comprise barely a third of managers and only a quarter of directors. Clearly, something is stopping them getting to the top. Cue the creation of a whole heap of female-specific career advice. Ambitious women are instructed on how to dress, how to stand, how to speak, how to lead, and how to succeed. Unfortunately for them, much of this women-only advice is, simply, awful. Segmenting anything work-related by gender is rarely a good idea. Most women, like most men, want their professional successes to be about their talents and achievements, not their sex. But if you must give your female candidates advice “for women”, at least stay away from these four shockers: “Act like a man” Theory: Bic (the pen manufacturer) is actually the Jonathan Swift of the 21st century, and their marketing campaigns are intended as a biting satire on the enduring patronization of women by our patriarchal society. How else to explain not only the laughable “Bic for Her” debacle, but their subsequent decision to release an advert â€" on Women’s Day, no less â€" which read: “Look like a girl / Act like a lady / Think like a man”? Unfortunately for women everywhere, it isn’t just Bic that propagates this notion that aping “masculine” traits is the only way for women to succeed. In fact, a worrying amount of women’s career advice boils down to talk like a man, dress like a man, and act like a man. To be clear: touting traits like confidence, assertiveness and directness is reasonable. But suggesting such characterises are ‘naturally’ only found in men is incredibly insulting. Articulate, bold and trailblazing women aren’t “acting like men” â€" they’re acting like the successful, badass women they are. Of course, some women (and -shock!- some men) do have the sort of “feminine” personalities that mean they excel at such things as empathetic listening, consensus-building, clear communication, goal-setting, and the ability to innovate. Which, of course, are all completely invaluable skills that have no place in a business, let alone leading one. “Boys will be boys” Male colleague making sexually inappropriate jokes at you? Giggle and flutter your eyelashes because you don’t want to be to stick-in-the-mud who can’t take some friendly banter. Creepy male manager stops at your desk to massage your shoulders? Keep schtum, because boys will be boys, and you don’t want to come across as difficult. Enough. Over half of women are sexually harassed at work. For a third, that takes the form of “banter”, or unwanted jokes. For a quarter, it consisted of unwanted touching. As if that wasn’t messed up enough, almost one-fifth of the perpetrators were the victim’s manager. And the vast majority of women never report any of it. This is not Okay. Moreover, any encouragement to women to hush up such sexual harassment is making the problem worse. Providing a safe environment for all their employees to work in should be the primary concern of all workplaces, and every employee who suffer harassment should both be encouraged to report it, and be taken seriously when they do. “Wear makeup and high heels” To be fair to the givers of this advice, they may well be being swayed by the results of studies such as this and this, which conclude that women with “glamourous” (read: heavy) makeup appear more competent, and that your colleagues are more likely to help you out if you’re wearing heels (although only if they’re male). But the idea that the only way for women to get on top is to force their feet into the latest pair of Jimmy Choo toe-pinchers is as ridiculous as the notion that wearing more eyeshadow than Ru Paul will somehow snag them a promotion. To be clear: if you have a shoe wardrobe to rival Carrie Bradshaw, can contour better than a Kardashian, or just generally like wearing high heels and makeup to work, then you should go for it. But neither should be seen as a requirement. Choosing to wear make-up and/or high heels should be regarded as equivalent to choosing to wear a blue shirt instead of a white one. Neither choice impacts your ability to look professional and polished, which is all employers have a right to expect of your appearance. Because -regardless of the abovementioned studies- women will only be the best workers they can be when they feel confident and comfortable. And let’s face it, it’s a lot easier to kick ass when you’re not balancing on five-inch heels! “Negotiate in a girly way” Not negotiating salary can cost employees $1,000,000 over their lifetime, and evidence suggests that women are more likely than men to stay schtum rather than asking for a raise. Consequently, women should absolutely be encouraged to push for the salary they think they deserve, and be coached in good negotiating tactics. What they should not be advised to do, however, is to apologise for asking for a raise, blame their asking on someone else, or generally focus solely on being “likeable” and “feminine”. To be slightly fair to the researchers who proposed these tactics, they believe that as long as sexism is a reality, being “pragmatic” about the need to conform to gender stereotypes is the only way women will get paid more, period. But by giving this advice to women, they reinforce damaging notions that their gender marks them out as inferior, and increase the uncomfortableness around negotiating which is already the main reason most people hold back on broaching the topic. For real, long-term benefits, encourage professional women to put pressure on companies to be transparent about any wage gap between male and female employees, as well as to be so incredible at their job that no decent company will dare refuse their request for a raise. About the author: Beth Leslie is a professional career advice and lifestyle writer. She is currently a writer and blog editor for Inspiring Interns.

11 things that will drastically improve your halls kitchen experience - Debut

11 things that will drastically improve your halls’ kitchen experience - Debut So youve been reading a whole bunch of kitchen lists of what to take to uni and were going assume that youre pretty familiar with the words basics, essentials, bare necessities and what they entail now that youve read them nearly a thousand separate times. But too many people live the basic, essential life at university. What if you wanted to live a life of (relative) luxury? Well, this article is stuffed full of things that you should definitely pack to improve your flats kitchen, from the crucial to the (comparatively) lavish. If you have a kitchen shaped hole in your bag, you may want to read on: A wok A wok is your window to all sorts of money saving meals, including the celebrated stir-fry that has fuelled students for generation upon generation. A rice cooker Not only does it make the world’s greatest side dish, you also can also use the humble  rice cooker  to make a whole host of exciting dishes. Just pop rice and water in it, put it on and come back to perfect rice every time. A George Foreman grill If you’re trying to stay fit or get those #leangainz, getting an indoor grill will allow you not only to go gourmet for dinner but to pack protein into your diet with less of the fat involved.  ?? A Nutribullet Stay on that health tip with this compact multi-functional blender. Craft a healthy meal or make yourself some green juice and show your flatmates that your body is your temple. A microwaveable egg poacher A refreshingly quick and easy way to have a royals breakfast. And at just £1.50, youll never go back to scrambled again. A Uni-tool Speaking of eggs, listen. All those utensils youre bringing are gonna scramble your brain. Consider dropping all of them  for this elegant 5-in-one solution from Joseph Joseph. Need a slotted spoon? Its that. Need a cutting tool? Yeah, its that. Stop wasting time looking for utensils and focus on the more important things. A corkscrew/bottle opener This one’s a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people forget. Your dentist will thank you for not using your teeth and it’ll encourage you to drink more wine, a more delicious and economical way of getting smashed.  ?? Plastic shot glasses Colourful, durable, and just plain fun, plastic shot glasses are an inexpensive way of making sure you’re doing your pre-drinks right. None of this spirits-straight-out-of-the-bottle nonsense. You’re classier than that. Tupperware Cooking one big batch of food at the weekend and eating it throughout the week is a major key. Cop a few Tupperware boxes or some handy space-saving freezer bags to keep meals ready at a moment’s notice. A cheese grater Cheese is that versatile food that can spice up your sandwich or pimp your pasta. A cheese grater is the best way to make the most of it. But why stop there? Sandwich toaster Different variations of a cheese-and-something toastie is like a hundred different meals in itself. Not only that, but when you’re back from a night out and the pizza shop is shut, a sandwich toaster like this one from Swan is likely to make you extremely popular. Feature Image © BBC Download the Debut app and you could totally grab yourself a summer internship  way before anyone else. Follow Alex on Twitter @AndThenAlexSaid Connect with Debut on Facebook and Twitter

Building Blocks Tips for How to Build a Company from the Ground-Up

Building Blocks Tips for How to Build a Company from the Ground-Up Are you stuck in a dead-end job and keep looking for a way out? Or maybe have an unquenchable entrepreneurialspirit. In either case,starting a small business may the perfect option for you. But make sure you know how to build a company from day one. If not, you may be setting yourself up for failure before you begin. Cover these bases and your business will be built to last: Think Like a Customer Too many businesses start off by thinking of what they can gain. But before you even begin, make sure you think like a customer. What problem will your business be solving for a customer? The first level of research should answer the question of what good or service you can provide that fulfills a need. Research The Marketplace Have the perfect answer to a customer need? Great, now it is time to study the marketplace. If you start your business and then learn more about the competition you have the cart before the horse. In order to create a business plan and operating structure, you need to learn more about both your potential customer base as well as the competition. If you are looking to work on the local level you may want to go speak with the local business organizations. And in every case, you should make sure you research using digital tools. Legal Hurdles If this is your first time in starting a business you may want to consult a lawyer. A lawyer and an accountant will help you structure the legalities of your business. You will also need to consider the permits and licenses required in your location. In addition, dont forget the basics of liabilities and insurance. Whether you need insurance to protect your clients or your business from lawsuits, think ahead for your requirements. Financing Every business needs a plan. Whether you seek a loan from a local bank or finance the venture on your own, a business plan will provide a playbook for your costs. A business plan and a plan for financing isnt something that is set in stone. But it should provide an idea of your initial expenditures and a realistic set of goals for the performance of your business. Staffing and Help You may need to use contract labor or hire staff to service your customers. Make sure you integrate human resources, training, development, and payroll in your plan. Operational supports like a pay stub generator will help you cover the basics of staffing and payroll with ease. How To Build a Company? Start at Home Before you think about expensive overhead and office expenses, make sure you consider the option of starting your company in your home. You may be surprised to realize that many billion dollar companies actually started in a garage. Starting allows you to stay nimble and keep costs low. Any success in how to build a company requireslaying a solid foundation to grow from. But even starting a business from home can have some obstacles. Come learn about the two crucial things you need to set upyour home business.

Writing a Resume When With One Company

Writing a Resume When With One CompanyWriting a resume when with one company is not an easy task. But this is the right time to change your career from your current position to the next and leave your former employer. These are the two words that you should remember when you will write your resume when with one company.When you have left your previous job, you have to start looking for another one. If you want to find the perfect position for yourself, you should not miss the chances to look for the best one. Even if you already got your dream job, you should not forget to look for the best one.If you have quit your previous company, you need to talk to the people who are present in your company. This may help you to find the new company with better salary and benefits. Remember that there is a gap between the former company and the new one.So, it is really important to compare the terms of the contract you have with one company before you make your decision. You can ask the human re sources for this and ask if there is a special package for you.Before you end up with the ideal place, you should compare the places and learn from them. When you are at the last stage of looking for the perfect job, you should know how many years' experience are required for the job. You can ask for this, and when you get this information, you should choose the company that will help you grow in your career.If you already decided to change your job, you can use the following strategy to find the company that is most suitable for you. Ask friends and family members to recommend their companies to you.If you want to get the right job, you should look for one that gives the best benefits. You may also ask your colleagues to give their recommendations. Asking for their experiences is one of the best ways to find the right job.