Check out These Company Perks to Perk up Your Days

Check out These Company Perks to Perk up Your DaysCheck out These Company Perks to Perk up Your DaysCheck out These Company Perks to Perk up Your DaysMy favorite perk about this job? Free Lunch Fridays. My second favorite perk? Parties. The staff gets along so well that we willingly hang out together during non-work hours. Really, we do. Call us crazy.But aside from having a good time, I shouldnt have to tell you that your job can actually benefit from such fun. You probably dont even notice it because its so subtle, but enjoying a friendly relationship with your colleagues can increase morale and decrease stress during work hours. But if you cant spare time in your personal life to hang out with people you spend 40 hours a week with already, heres an example of the kind of fun that can be had during work hoursWere a smallish company with employees who mostly (yes, mostly) share the same warped sense of humor and who actually enjoy each others company. Free Lunch Fridays gives us a c hance to gather in a conference room to chow down on grub the company pays for, and talk about anything that comes to mind.Its a chance to mentally escape from work for an hour. Conversation topics can grow wildly out of control, and due to our sometimes (hah) warped senses of humor, most topics tend to plummet right into the toilet (Poop jokes anyone?). Its not unusual to see a colleague or two blotting their eyes after laughing so hard they cried.Ive also heard of other companies hosting events that cut into regular work hours (more so than a typical lunch break), which can be a little risky, for one reason or another. Things like chili cook-offs or Rock musikkapelle Margaritas starting at 3 pm. Oh, and while the booze-at-work thing might sound appealing, its probably a legal minefield. (e.g., Do you get workers comp when the lampshade falls off your head and breaks your toe?)Not every workplace can pull off a successful mix of professional and social interaction. Get the wrong c rowd together and its a recipe for disaster. Theres nothing worse than putting a bunch of people in a room together to have fun when they dont like or know each other all that well to begin with.Anyway, what Im getting at is that when you have fun with your coworkers, you have a different perspective on your job. I mean, theres a reason Google gets 777,000 job applications a year. Theyre doing something right (or at least, branding themselves as THE fun place to work). Wouldnt it be nice to look forward to going to work every day, even if you dont like your job that much? If the employees are happy, then management is happy, too. Unless they dont enjoy good-hearted poop jokes...What about your company? Do they do anything fun to keep employee morale high? And does it work?

Are You Guilty of Resume Keyword Stuffing

Are You Guilty of Resume Keyword Stuffing Are You Guilty of Resume Keyword Stuffing Many hiring professionals use applicant tracking ordnungsprinzips (ATS) to narrow down applicant pools. Savvy job seekers have responded by researching ATS and learning about optimized resume keywords. In short,recruiterscan search their ATS for the specific skills and keywords most relevant to the job description, so applicants increase their chances of being found by strategically identifying and adding those keywords to their resume.Some ATS, including the widely used iCIMS, even weight their search results based on keyword frequency. For example, if a recruiter searches iCIMS for business development, an applicant that features that phrase 7 times on their resume may be displayed higher than an applicant with only 4 mentions. Knowing this can lead job seekers into something known as resume keyword stuffing, a major pet peeve among recruiters.What is Resume Keyword Stuffing?Its a fine line, but res ume keyword stuffing is not the same thing as resume keyword optimization. Resume keyword stuffing is when an applicant overloads their resume with so many keywords that it is either A) no longer a true representation of their abilities, or B) geared towards the ATS technology with no regard for a human reader.In an effort to beat the system, job seekers do mora harm than good by deploying three styles of resume keyword stuffing1) Dishonest or Out-of-Context SkillsSome corporate recruiters recommend having a list of hard stills at the top of the resume. This gives readers a snapshot of what the applicant has to offer and can also be beneficial in an ATS search. That said, recruiters are wary of overly broad skill lists. They need to be able to be able to see how those skills were actually utilized.For example, a tech recruiter told Jobscan, When I see a resume where theres this giant block of all the technologies youve used, youre not an expert in all of those. Yeah, you might have written Javascript for 3 months back in 2005, but that doesnt mean youre a Javascript developer.A long keyword list could help an applicants resume get discovered in a search but recruiters dont take those keywords at face value. As they investigate further, they could reject resumes that seem suspicious or lack context. Applicants should only list skills for which they have a useful and demonstrable level of proficiency.2) Hidden KeywordsPerhaps the most egregious way to beat the system is stuffing hidden keywords into a resume.This is done by repeatedly typing a keyword into the resume then making the text white so that its invisible to human eyes. For example, an applicant might type accounting accounting accounting accountingat the bottom of their resume. The idea is that it will help them rank higher in an ATS.Understandably, recruiters resent the implication that theyre so easily tricked. Resume keyword stuffing with hidden text is easily spotted and one of the quickest ways t o burn a bridge with a recruiter.An applicant profile in Taleo, the most commonly used ATS. This applicant tried to beat the system using the hidden text method (Accounting Accounting), but its easy to spot once the resume text has been parsed into the system.3) Over-optimizationWordsmithing a resume to include multiple instances of specific keywords is tricky and can result in awkward, over-the-top sentences. Heres an example of over-optimizing for the keywordsocial mediaLed social media marketing efforts which included writing social media content and using social media management platform Hootsuite to schedulesocial media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks.Job seekers should ensure that key skills and phrases are included in their resume, but overloading sentences in an unnatural way hurts more than it helps.Walking the Line Between Stuffing and OptimizationDishonest and blatant keyword stuffing will come back to bite job seekers at some point in the proc ess. It could lead to a quick rejection if the recruiter catches on. If not, dubious skills and proficiencies will be challenged during the phone screening or interview.Keyword stuffing might help get a few more calls back, but more often than not it will backfire and waste everyones time.Resume keyword optimization isnt about tricking or beating the system. Its about working in sync with recruiters and hiring managers and the technology they use. Its about making sure your skills and qualifications are seen and not ignored.Translating Your ExperiencePart of keyword optimization is speaking the same language as the recruiter or company to which youre applying. For example, if your resume uses the phrase Software Developer but the job description uses the variation Software Engineer, your resume should say Software Engineer to match.Resume keyword optimization translates your experience into terms the company actually uses so that the recruiter doesnt accidentally skim over an import ant detail or filter you out in a search. This can apply to a variety of job titles, processes, techniques, soft skills, and other keywords.Missing Skills and KeywordsJobscan helps analyze a job description to reveal keywords that are missing from your resume. If this analysis reveals the skill product development and you dont have any product development experience, you shouldnt include it on your resume just to improve your match rate. The analysis can also punktlicht skills that you simply forgot to include on your resume like a language, piece of software, or soft skills.I always recommend trying to squeeze your resume into one page, a non-profit recruiter told Jobscan. But when you have that limited amount of real estate, there are going to be some things that you have to leave out.Resume keyword optimization helps identify the skills and keywords that should be kept in and prioritized.When done right, resume keyword optimization is savvy and above board. It enhances your resum e to work in sync with ATS without turning off recruiters. However, taking keywords to their extreme in the form of resume keyword stuffing is always a bad idea.

Job Interview Etiquette from the Experts

Job Interview Etiquette from the ExpertsJob Interview Etiquette from the ExpertsJob Interview Etiquette from the ExpertsNEWS ITEM A University of Iowa business professor says that despite the current H1N1 flu pandemic, job seekers and hiring managers should not avoid shaking hands during a job interview.Wow We need a college professor, described in the article as a handshake expert, to tell us that? Seriously? I wonder if the professor believes that people at least on this side of the world would consider using other formal business greetings. Maybe we should loosen up a bit and departure using the Vulcan salute when we greet the hiring manager. (I can hear the cheers from Trekkies already.)So, in the interest of stating the obvious, here are three other job interview etiquette lessons Id like to reinforce just in case you forgotDont wear a necktie or nylon stockings around your head. It might restrict a bit of the blood flow to your brain, which can impact the clarity of your answe rs to critical questions. As we all know, hiring managers dont want to hire people who occasionally speak gibberish. Note If its a polka dot tie or fishnet stockings, youre toast before you even grunt out a syllable.Its unprofessional to shout You Lie even if you think youve caught the hiring manager telling one. Especially if someone else is in the room. Be a bit more discreet Raise one eyebrow and curl your lip as if to say Are you for real? The hiring manager will get the message - and will likely have a hand gesture for you in return. (Hint It wont be a handshake.)Silence your cell phones I Dont Want to Work ringtone. Its OK to leave it on if it sends the right message (i.e., you dont want the job and you want to be unprofessional in communicating that). Or, if youre interested in the job before the interview begins, a more positive ring tone from a song such as Takin Care of Business is good (well no, not really). Either way, the hiring manager will be entertained while crossin g your name off the list of potential finalists.All clear on this stuff? Good. Now for some serious advice on interviews, turn to our Interview Tips section after you take that tie off your head And if youre concerned about catching the H1N1 virus, heres more obvious advice Get a flu shot or invest in some hand sanitizer.