How to Include Hard and Soft Skills on your Resume

How to Include Hard and Soft Skills on your Resume Through your education and work experiences, you’ve collected quite a bit of know how. Whether it be learning specific programs or tools for your industry or learning how to be more adaptable in the workplace, you want to make sure your resume reflects your skill set. When it comes to applying for jobs, skills are categorized as  hard and soft skills. Hiring managers across the board claim that both hard and soft  skills are equally important when searching for candidates. But what is the best way to showcase both in your resume? Hard skills vs. soft skills: Hard skills are specific job knowledge, acquired through experience or education, usually tailored to an industry. Hard skills examples include knowledge of another language, photoshop expertise, or certifications. These are advantageous to show if you are applying for a new job within the same industry and using the same systems.  Some skills may be required for a certain job. If you are looking for a first job, a job in a different industry, or to advance within your industry, it might be helpful to determine commonalities in hard skill requirements and then gain those skills. Soft skills are harder to pin down but just as important to hiring managers looking to see how you will fit the company. Soft skills show how you handle yourself in the workplace, whether by communication, teamwork, or problem solving. The  5 soft skills the best employees possess  are: Communication Collaboration Self- Motivation Problem Solving Time Management Traditional wisdom says to leave these for your cover letter. However, if hiring managers are only reading the cover letters for the top tier of applicants, you don’t want to miss your opportunity by not showcasing soft skills in your resume.   How to show your hard and soft skills: When working soft skills into your resume, The Muse advises: Make sure each bullet point describes a skill the hiring manager is looking for, then use facts and figures to showâ€"not tellâ€"just what a “skilled manager” or “effective communicator” you are. Make your resume stand out by quantifying your skills. This proves to hiring managers that you are the candidate your resume suggests. By showing quantifiable skills, such as increasing sales of X product by 40% in 6 months by initiating a marketing campaign in Spanish, employers will not only be able to see your hard skills, proficiency in Spanish, but also see you are motivated and entrepreneurial- two soft skills recruiters find highly desirable. While there may be wiggle room in judging teamwork, whether or not you are trained in Engineering CAD Software is non-negotiable. This is why it is important to showcase these skills within the resume. Listing accomplishments is appropriate when it comes to your hard skills, as these are less subjective. A hybrid resume allows you to best display both your hard and soft skills. Using the hybrid resume: A hybrid resume combines the best attributes of chronological and functional resumes, by having a designated area for your work history and an area for listing your skills. Incorporate your soft skills into your work history. Hard skills are best presented in a list, as they do not require the same contextual proof. Hybrid resumes split sections better feature content. In addition to these benefits, the hybrid resume is especially effective for candidates submitting applications at  companies using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Applicant Tracking Systems filter  through resumes for keywords. ATS’s then rank applicants according to a hiring managers  priorities in a candidate. The more skills in your resume which match the company’s profile, the better you rank. [Featured image: Shutterstock]

Top 5 cover letter mistakes

Top 5 cover letter mistakes According to Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable, theres nothing Millennials like more than a top 10! Actually I think we all love a list check the current popularity of Buzzfeed.a guilty pleasure I will admit to. What has that got to do with this blog, I hear you ask? Well, its been a while since weve looked at cover letters, so Ive taken the path of least resistance and combined a perennial favourite cover letters with a Top 5. A good cover letter is your passport to the next round of the recruitment process.  A bad cover letter is a one-way ticket to the recycle bin.  You might be tempted to skip over this part of the application in the hope your CV will do the talking for you. Big mistake. Spend time and energy getting it right and youll soon convert applications to interviews. As long as you avoid these: 1. Me, Me, Me Its all about me If your cover letter sounds self-absorbed, self-centred or self-obsessed then stop, re-think and re-draft. To paraphrase JFK, ask not what the employer can do for you, but want you can do for the employer. The company has a need and so do you. But when it comes to applications and interviews, their need to find the best candidate trumps your need to get a job.  At no point are they thinking of offering you an opportunity/leg up/chance of a lifetime just because. Employers are not benevolent people (generally!), nor are they charities.   You dont want yourself ridiculed online by sending one of these:  Awful Cover letter to JP Morgan Becomes Laughing Stock of Wall Street. 2. Writing a biography Substance is good, but try to remember employers are time-poor (excuse the cliché) and may have hundreds of applications to scan. And I do mean scan. Youll have to work hard to get their attention, so lengthy narrative is counter productive. It doesnt matter how interesting you are, nobody wants to read pages or even paragraphs detailing your life story. Use your cover letter as a vehicle to show the very best side of you, not warts and all. Be selective and savvy. Put yourself in the employers shoes what can you say to spark  their interest? You have the time it takes to read  three or four paragraphs to make and build your case dont waste time and space with irrelevant details. 3. Using tortured language This tends to happen when students get trigger happy with Shift+F7, and find all sorts of exciting new words to replace the perfectly good one they started with. I think any thesaurus on or offline   should come with a severe health warning: use with caution. Theres nothing more painful than reading an overly convoluted sentence, devoid of all meaning. Stick to clear, plain English and leave the flowery, verbose language to the QCs! If you want to play safe, I would suggest writing a professional, business-style letter.  However, in creative fields theres scope to use a more conversational style and show your facility with language. 4. Overdoing the keywords Try to speak the language of the company or sector dont say firm when you mean company, or company when you mean organisation. Show that you are familiar with the organisational culture and would be comfortable working there. But and this is a big but dont pepper your cover letter with buzzwords or sector jargon. This doesnt show any depth or understanding beyond the ability to read and regurgitate.  A smart applicant will research the company (thoroughly) and use the information to make  intelligent connections.   5. Blending in Your cover letter should shout, not whisper. Avoid bland, vanilla statements proclaiming your status as a hard working, results-focussed, team player with excellent communication skills. Yawn.  This betrays a lack of imagination and worst case can make you seem pretty lazy. Think relevant, specific and unique.  Consider the employer perspective: if you cant be bothered to invest time and energy crafting an individual, personalised cover letter then what does this say about your overall motivation? Dont forget to mention other company employees youve met at careers fairs or networking events, but always add context: I met Sanjar Gopta at a campus event last week and he mentioned that X is looking to develop its CSR strategy. As evidenced in my CV, I have been active in the charitable sector and feel I can really make a contribution here.  This approach can help you stand out for all the right reasons. I dont think this is an exhaustive list by any means, but Ive tried to avoid some of the more obvious mistakes.  Im hoping by now most of you will know to proof-read, spell-check and find a named contact. If not, then consider yourself told!  Theres no magic formula to writing good cover letters youll need to adapt and amend to suit employer tastes. Dont be tempted to take a shortcut.

Create More Conversions for Your Brand with Blogging - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Create More Conversions for Your Brand with Blogging - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career In order to attract new subscribers and sales your personal brand needs to be writing original articles on a regular basis. Creating unique and fresh blogging content opens the door for higher rankings on the search engines and influencer connections. So how exactly does a business blog allow brands to attract more visibility? With the use of the right technology and through target market research you can meet the needs of your audience. Great content establishes your company as a trusted and leading authority in your niche. Blogs have the potential of becoming a powerful branding building tool, and improve your following on social media. This high level of influence encourage sales when your message is fresh, appealing, and original. Give Your Personal Brand a Boost with Blogging Here are several ways you can effectively build your personal brand’s sales and reach. Showcase your brand identity Narrow your focus on articles that cover a specific subject that your company offers, and the solutions you can provide for your potential customers. This could include an eBook, podcast series, live videos and more. Your readers will be more likely to make a purchase when they receive something of true value. Set a deadline A limited release or time-frame is a great way to creating buzz around a blog post. Use this method to your advantage with email campaigns and sharing on social media. Include a dedicated sales page to capture your leads and introduce more on our product or service. Include a tantalizing opt-in When publishing a blog post you dont want to miss the opportunity to capture subscribers either with a pop-up form or a prominent box that your readers cant resist. This means you should be offering something they can use such as exclusive tips or a free report. Plan for a membership website After your personal brand has established a sizable following on your blog consider converting these into paying members with exclusive content. If you have a suite of products or services this is a good solution to attracting sales without writing a sales message directly in your blog posts. Optimize for search and mobile It’s still important to have the right mix of keywords in order to be recognized in search and attract more readers especially with a responsive design for mobile viewing. Headlines and meta tags will help your brand attract more attention and improve your Google ranking. Blogging continues to remain strong when it comes to building your personal brand online. Not only is it a sales generator, but serves as a calling card for influencer connections and guest blogging opportunities on other prominent websites.

Candidate Shortage Try Facebook Advertising

Candidate Shortage Try Facebook Advertising As a recruiter, youll understand the importance of having a steady stream of strong candidates prepped and ready to go,  for when the perfect opportunities arise.  Youll also understand the nightmare that is a candidate shortage: no suitable applicants and no signs of any to come, and a client with an URGENT role that you really need to answer to ASAP. When youve tried all your usual tactics to no avail, its time to think outside the box. Some employers wont allow you to use Facebook on your desktop computer during work hours, and well, this next suggestion could kill two birds with one stone. One great way to find hot candidates is to use Facebook Advertising. With Facebook, you can target the right people using a relatively modest budget, hitting both job seekers and passive candidates and increase your chances at finding Mr or Mrs Right. Why should you be using Facebook advertising to find candidates? Audience:  You need to be fishing where the fish are, and Facebook is the biggest fish pond youre going to find!  There are  currently 2+ billion monthly active users on the platform. Other networks are great if you’re looking to target specific groups, but Facebook is the go-to for people of all education levels, ages and industries. Cost:  Simply put, you can get great results with a small budget, literally starting at £10 Easy to use:  The advertising manager is simple and well-designed, so checking out results is quick and easy. Targeting:  The targeting features in Facebook Advertising is what sets it apart from the rest. How to make your campaign start off with a bang 1. Target One of the features which sets Facebook apart from other advertising platforms is the precision of their targeting. If you’ve got a specific role to fill, you can target people very specifically using four main categories: Location:  You can target by country, region, city, postcode or address with this option â€" tip:  Facebook allows advertisers to target people who reside within the radius of a certain address. Demographic:  Choose age, work, family, views on politics, ethnicity, financial situation and more. Interests: This works with what pages they have liked, what brands they interact with and  pages similar â€" tip: Why not target users who are already fans of your competitors. Behaviour: This is where targeting gets interesting â€" here you can target people’s  behaviours and purchasing habits. Targeting can save you money. The more specific your targeting, the more likely your advert is going to be displayed in front of the most relevant people, therefore budget wont be wasted on displaying ads to wildly irrelevant Facebook users. Take some time to get to know the targeting features within Facebook Ads Manager and youll discover some interesting ways to locate the right candidates. You can target things such as; whether the user has a degree or not, if they have an interest or current job in the industry youre recruiting for, and also things such as location information (handy to avoid any pesky relocation costs!). 2. Decide whether they should stay on Facebook or go elsewhere Something thats worth considering is creating a tab or app  within your recruitment page for potential candidates to search and apply for the roles you have on offer. If Facebook users know they wont be directed off of Facebook (only to a Facebook Page), they may be more likely to click and engage with the ad that they would if not. 3. Consider images So it’s obvious that choosing the correct targeting is important when it comes to Facebook ads, however you should also spend some time perfecting the images you are going to be using, as they  need to have impact and  catch people’s attention. What I’ve learnt about choosing an image for your advert is: Don’t use your company logo or a photo of the logo. Instead, choose a relevant photo or graphic that fits with  the clients brand. In my experience, having human faces in an image subconsciously attracts users to a post/advert. Try not to include too much text in an advert image. Having over 20% of text in an image can actually reduce the reach the advert has. Show off the culture at a company by using user-generated images or genuine photos of people having fun at social events. 4. Track your progress from the outset As well as providing information about the amount of clicks and CPC, Facebook allows advertisers to place a tracking pixel within the code on their website, to accurately measure the amount of people completing a certain action on their site. For instance, if you’re looking to increase applications, you can insert a pixel code onto the completed application page that candidates will be directed to after  they finish the application. This will show you how many people complete the journey from Facebook to completing an application. It’s a good measure of success (and a good thing to show your boss or manager!) 5. Test the waters Due to Facebook advertising being relatively cheap (compared to other platforms), it’s worth A/B testing various adverts. Similar to my previous point, you can test a plethora of different advert styles, designs and copy  to  decide which one  works best for your audience â€" and then ditch the ones that aren’t working. Put a small amount of money into many different adverts and get a feel for how it works. This is a top way to get to know the platform and its features. Have you had success on social? We want to hear about your candidate attraction stories in the comments.

CFA vs. MBA Whats the Right Option for You CareerMetis.com

CFA vs. MBA What’s the Right Option for You Now that you’ve landed your first finance job out of college, what’s your next move? The first two to three years in a job is when you prove yourself. But how do you get to the next level in your career after surviving and perhaps thriving in those first few years?evalSome people get lucky and happen to be in the right place at the right time and land that next promotion or a great opportunity at a competitor. If the economy and the job market are strong, you are more likely to hear from a few headhunters with options that could sound appealing.If your phone isn’t ringing, you might want to consider more traditional options. In finance, after that 2 to 3-year mark, many people start to consider going back to school to get an MBA or pursuing a professional designation, like the CFA charter.If that sounds like your situation, you might be wondering whether you should pursue an MBA or start studying for the CFA exam.What do you Want to Accomplish?evalBefore you start evaluating op tions, you need to carefully consider what you want to accomplish. Are you just looking to move up within your existing company? Are you looking to change jobs or do you want to change careers entirely?The answer to that very basic question may give you a strong indication of which direction to go.What are the Benefits of the CFA Charter?Earning the CFA charter means you persevered through three of the most difficult exams imaginable. The prestige and value of the designation is partially defined by the difficulty of earning it. Historically, just 1 in 5 candidates passed all three levels of the CFA exam and earned the ability to use the CFA designation after their name.The difficulty of earning the CFA charter is also reflected in median salary data. evalA 2018 salary survey completed by theCFA Society of Chicagoreported the following salary statistics:The median salary of $155,000 for chapter members with a bachelor’s degree.The median salary of $233,000 for chapter members with a graduate degree.Keep in mind that median salary statistics include chapter members with a range of experience levels. In comparison, the average MBA salary statistics represented first-year average salary ranges.What is the Cost of Earning a CFA Charter?Registering with the CFA Institutecosts $450. The standard registration fee for the June exam is currently $1,000. So the combined cost for all three exams would be approx. $3,450.Most candidates also utilize a CFAreview course. Assuming you selected the most expensive option for all three years, the total cost could range between $6,000 to $7,000 on the high side or closer to $3,000 to $4,000 on the lower side.evalUsing very rough estimates, the total cost of a full-time MBA program might range from 18 to 20 times the total cost of studying for the CFA program.Your Cost in TimeWhile the CFA exam may seem like a great option in terms of the low relative cost, the true cost of your time may be much higher than you realize.Nearly ev ery CFA candidate studies for the exam while holding afull-time job. Most candidates need at least 300 hours of preparation for each level of the exam.This means that you can expect to study for 2 to 3 hours on Monday through Thursday and maybe an additional 4 or 5 hours on Saturday and Sunday. You will need to keep this schedule for 6 to 7 months if you want to meet that 300-hour threshold.Now picture maintaining that schedule for two more years. That’s also the best-case scenario. Many people fail at least one exam, so you might need to maintain that schedule for four years. That’s the equivalent of going through 2 separate full-time MBA programs.evalWhat about Job Considerations?The CFA charter is a very specialized designation. It only makes sense to consider this option if you plan to work in certain segments of the finance industry such as within investment management.If you don’t plan to work in those specialized segments, you are more likely to benefit from an MBA. An MBA will give you a broader knowledge base that can be applied across various industries. The MBA’s curriculum will be more beneficial for people working in a wider range of industries beyond investment management.What are the Benefits of an MBA?The MBA is a master’s degree in business administration. It is a graduate degree program you can achieve after completing a full-time two-year program. Many schools also allow you to complete an MBA on a part-time schedule. Part-time MBA programs can require 3 to 5 years to complete but offer a far more flexible schedule.In terms of salary,US News and World Reportreported overall average salaries for full-time MBA programs in 2018 of $102,495. evalWhen you consider the top ten programs, the average salary increases to $166,999.However, that same survey also reported that the average salary for the bottom fourth of the full-time MBA programs, which do not have published rankings, averaged $53,464. In other words, average salaries for the very top MBA programs were nearly 3x higher than for graduates of the lower-ranked schools.What are the Costs of an MBA?Tuition for a full-time MBA program costs on average $50,000 to $80,000 a year. When you consider housing and other costs, you could easily spend close to $100,000 per year.This is when you need to consider your answer to the first question about what you want to accomplish with your MBA program.If you want to stay with your current employer and are just looking for an extra edge for your next promotion, you might be better off considering a part-time MBA program. Many employers will cover the cost of a part-time program as long as you commit to staying with your current employer for a set period of time.evalOn the other hand, if you want to make a career change or want to move up within a more specialized segment of the finance industry, you may be better off considering a full-time MBA program.However, as the US News and World Report survey pointed out, you might want to be more selective about the full-time MBA program you consider. The more highly ranked the program, the more likely you will be to earn a stronger return on your investment.Requirements for the Top Ranked MBA Programs?If you plan to apply to one of the top full-time MBA programs, you will need a high score on either the GMAT or the GRE. For the GMAT, you should aim for at least a 700 score. The very top programs report GMAT averages that are closer to the 720 to 730 range.Students that may be considering other graduate school options often choose to take the GRE exam. You should aim for a 320 combined score on the GRE to be competitive for top-ranked programs, and you can find a GRE study plan here that will help you reach that goal. While many MBA programs will accept either exam, you should make sure to confirm with each school on your list if you are considering taking the GRE exam.MBA ConsiderationsWe already discussed the cost. The direct cost of an MBA is significant, but the opportunity cost should also be considered. If you stop working for two years, you miss out on two years of salary and you also miss out on two years of work experience.If you plan to attend a top-ranked MBA program, your biggest challenge may be whether you are accepted into the school of your choice. The positive side of this equation is that most people only spend 2 to 4 months preparing for the GMAT. So you will know very quickly whether your scores will be high enough to make you competitive with the other applicants.In comparison, the CFA exam requires passing three exams with increasing levels of difficulty. You could pass one or two exam levels, but not passall three exams. That would mean you might invest anywhere from 300 to 600 hours studying for an exam and never go on to complete it.Alternatives to a Full-Time MBAThe most common alternative is a part-time MBA program. The main advantage of this option is the reduced cost. Many employers will cover the cost of p art-time MBA programs. Occasionally, you might even find an employer that will cover the cost of a full-time MBA program. In either scenario, an employer-subsidized MBA program will require you to remain with your current employer for a minimum amount of time after you complete the program.Another alternative to the full-time MBA program is a Master’s in Finance. This type of program is a more specialized option for people in the finance industry. Given the more focused concentration, this might also appeal to students considering the CFA exam.Can you Consider Both Options?Earning the CFA charter and completing a full-time MBA program would not be something to consider lightly. The amount of time and commitment required would be incredibly significant.However, as indicated by the Chicago CFA survey, there are many people that do pursue this option. They are also rewarded by a higher average salary than either option reported individually.