Ace Your Job Assessment Test with These 3 Tips

Pro Your Job Assessment Test with These 3 Tips Pro Your Job Assessment Test with These 3 Tips 2According to TestPrep-Online, more than 70 percent of bosses over the globe depend on work evaluation tests as one stage in the representative enlistment process. In the United States, the proportion is significantly higher among the main 10 private businesses, with the Wall Street Journal revealing that 80 percent presently expect candidates to take an occupation appraisal test as part of their application for specific positions. To put it plainly, regardless of what industry you're in, you may wind up confronting a screening test to decide your activity fitness as an antecedent to handling a meeting, and afterward work. There are a wide assortment of occupation appraisal tests that businesses may require, including: Recreation based appraisals, which use hands on situations to help uncover the reasoning and dynamic styles of competitors Psychometric tests, which measure mental capacities and social style however have no set in stone answers Abilities tests, which attempt to decide up-and-comers' capacities on explicit occupation aptitudes Character evaluations, which are intended to gauge character attributes in work settings, for example, stress resilience, master movement, and administration direction Business contextual analyses, which utilize propelled appraisal procedures to recognize and feature individual qualities and shortcomings In case you're feeling anxious about the possibility of being pre-screened with a vocation assessment test, here are a couple of tips that can assist you with getting ready to put forth a valiant effort: Keep it in context. While work evaluation tests are significant, recollect that they are normally just a single piece of the application procedure. Businesses by and large depend on a scope of elements including resume, references, meetings, and record verifications in settling on employing choices. Think about your pre-recruit test as only one obstacle to clear in your pursuit of employment process, as opposed to as an obstruction to getting recruited. Answer genuinely. Numerous sorts of occupation appraisals are intended to gauge characteristics specifically employments. All things considered, there might be no right or wrong answers. This acknowledgment can make the testing procedure simpler for candidates, as the objective ought to be to answer sincerely as opposed to outfox the test by attempting to make sense of the most fitting response to give. In addition, in the event that you answer insincerely, you might be picked for a place that is a poor fit for your abilities and character which implies you may before long be hands on search once more. Set aside some effort to get ready. Now and again, a business will let up-and-comers accept online position appraisal tests at home. Make certain to permit yourself sufficient opportunity to step through the examination, and furthermore an interruption free condition to concentrate on addressing the inquiries. In particular, don't surge read the directions cautiously. Standards Corp. reports that perusing too rapidly through the test headings is the top error made by test takers. So on the off chance that you should accept a position assessment test, take a full breath and remain centered. Fruitful pre-business tests can assist you with standing apart among the opposition in the early adjusts, and set you up for the offer letter that you need. Perusers, how would you get ready for a vocation evaluation test? Do you think pre-business tests are getting progressively common? Offer your encounters with us beneath!

Spark Hire Podcast for the Week of February 4 - Spark Hire

Flash Hire Podcast for the Week of February 4 - Spark Hire Does your organization utilize a trial period for fresh recruits? What's your opinion of it? For certain organizations, its an incredible method to try out another representative before completely focusing on bringing them onto the group. Then again, it could make things somewhat confounding or equivocal for the fresh recruit. Tune into our webcast and hear what we need to state about it and why it very well may be equivocal. This week we additionally talk about how executing an online life approach can truly improve your organization culture. A few organizations incline toward their representatives to stay away from internet based life at work by and large. Be that as it may, an ongoing report found that workers that were permitted to take short, 10-minute breaks were in reality more gainful than representatives that were banished from web-based social networking totally. What is your sentiment? Tune in on our digital broadcast and join the discussion! Articles Covered Would it be advisable for you to Have a Probationary Period? Online networking Policies for Better Company Culture The authority webcast of Spark Hire. Talking about news and themes for work searchers and HR experts. Tail us on Twitter: Spark Hire Twitter Like us on Facebook: Spark Hire Facebook Page Watch us on YouTube: Spark Hire YouTube Channel HOST Nicole Nicholson (Content Editor at Spark Hire) Likewise Patrick Beggan (Marketing Assistant at Spark Hire) [powerpress url=http://blog.sparkhire.com/sparkcast/sparkcast41.mp3]

Social Recruiting Start Somewhere!

Social Recruiting Start Somewhere! Recruiters are  pretty social beings by nature. Good thing that, because  being social is a big part of the job. Client meetings, candidate coffee dates  and industry  events; it really is just another day at (or out of) the office. Recruiters connect people with opportunities and to do this, they rely on their  solid network which they build and fine-tune over time, to the highest quality. It goes without saying social recruiting is  the flashiest new talent acquisition  method of the 21st century. When your internal rating, size of a your  income or success of your team is at the mercy of unpredictable  human elements  and other variables outside of your  control,  its important to stay abreast of online candidate  trends and get  ahead of the game where you can. Recruiters have to give themselves every chance at  attracting as much of  the best possible talent  into their  people  pool, and that means utilising social media properly. We know LinkedIn is a huge resource for recruiters, employers and employees alike. Anyone who is anyone should  really be on there, after all, it is the professional networking platform of our time with 400+ million members worldwide. What a talent hotspot! But researching people and  sending in mails or random invitations to connect is not all there is. There are a number of other ways to start recruiting socially. Thanks to Betterteam  for creating the below  infographic to showcase  whats its all about. It starts with unfilled positions Did you know that apparently 60% of employers are worried about  empty chairs and staff shortages? Struggling to find the right talent is a huge concern for many  businesses,  and subsequently recruiters, who attempt to find the right people on their behalf.  The avergage  time to hire is now tipped at 27 days quite a long time when you consider most employers say they needed their next hire to start yesterday. Failing to find good, available  staff not only creates stress, but burns through money too. Its believed  48% of CEOs have said talent acquisition inefficiency costs them financially. Time is of the essence!! Add in some candidate competition The talent shortage is a huge problem for some companies, and recruiters agree that more and more candidates are being shown  and  won-over by various different roles at any one given time; 67% of them say the fight for talent will only get harder!  It just reiterates the point that filling more jobs requires tapping into more potential candidate platforms. Our #londontoparis #champions made it in one piece. Amazing effort! @SSChospices #donate now https://t.co/BX7IDwiKoa pic.twitter.com/fveiPJVQ8m Investigo Ltd (@InvestigoLtd) May 9, 2016 Enter social media Hiring managers sing its praise: 80% have said  social helped them find passive candidates, and  70% have said its helped them make successful hire. On  top of this, apparently  89% of companies plan to recruit using social media! They are cottoning on, it seems! Time to step up your game Here are some tips to  get started on your social recruitment regime: Hold weekly Q A sessions on Periscope to inform engage candidates #Hashtags on Twitter: Use a mix of branded ones job-related  words to maximum exposure Update your LinkedIn profile opener to let people know youre hiring, without them even having to click! Use Facebook audience insights to drive your posting strategy   Use Instagram Twitter to showcase the fun side of your company, not just live roles You can also check out these other posts on employee advocacy and social selling for extra tips. Top image: Shutterstock

Are YOU Time-Management Challenged - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Are YOU Time-Management ‘Challenged’ - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career How well are you managing your valuable, irreplaceable time? Do you consistently manage time, or do you let time consistently manage you? If it’s the latter situation, you just might be time-management “challenged,” and that definitely has a negative impact on both your professional brand and your future career prospects. For example, if you are currently in a new job search, or plan to begin one soon, how well (or how poorly) you manage time can directly influence, a.) How long it may take you to land a new job; or b.) Whether or not you are even able to land a new job. How to Tell if You’re Time-Management ‘Challenged’ Most of us don’t particularly like to do much self analysis or introspection, especially if it involves examining ourselves for possible shortcomings. Still, the only tried and true way of correcting any shortcomings we may have is, first, to identify them, and then, to take actions necessary and appropriate to correct them. So, how can you tell if perhaps you are time-management “challenged”? Its relatively easily, actually. You may be time-management “challenged” IF . . . You have more than 1,000 unopened (and presumably unread?) messages in your email inbox. The aforementioned email messages are, on average, more than six months old. Your voicemail inbox is completely full and unable to accept any more messages. You haven’t checked your voicemail inbox in . . . well . . . you can’t really remember the last time you actually did check it. Your mantra (silent, I hope!) is, “Why do today what I can put off until tomorrow?” Your five “standard” responses when asked for an update on projects you’re involved in are the following: “I’m going to do that first thing tomorrow (or, over the weekend, next week, etc.)” “Time has simply gotten away from me.” “I just haven’t had the time to do it because of (fill in the blank).” “I’m still waiting to get (fill in the blank) before I can finish up.” “My dog ate my homework” . . . No, wait a minute! You can’t use that excuse here! Well, I’m sure you get the idea. 5 Steps to Take Control of Your Job Search Time In order to put yourself in control (or, to take back control) of your valuable time during a job search, consider taking, at an absolute minimum, the following 5 basic steps: 1. Learn to filter and focus. Today, we are literally inundated with “information,” much of it is nothing more than “noise.” It’s easy therefore to become unduly distracted and get off course during a job search. Learn to filter out all that which is largely meaningless and unproductive/counter-productive to a successful job search and start focusing, exclusively, on those activities and information that are most productive for your job search instead. Example: Don’t waste your valuable time sitting, hour upon hour, in front of your computer applying for jobs online. It doesn’t work anymore! Rather, incorporate your online job hunting activities into a comprehensive, multi-faceted, personal marketing program. 2. Establish specific  written goals and set (and meet!) reasonable deadlines for attaining them. Most job hunters of course have some general idea of the “goals” they want to reach during a job search. But if those goals aren’t specific and are  reduced to writing which are  regularly monitored and accompanied by reasonable deadlines that are actually met, they run a very high risk of being “lost in the shuffle.”   (A side note: As you may or may not know, the term “deadline” originated during the American Civil War. It was a line established on the perimeter of prisoner of war camps. Any prisoner who crossed that line risked being shot dead! Makes you wonder how many “deadlines” would be ignored today if this approach were still used, huh?) 3. Createâ€"and then diligently maintainâ€"“to do” lists. Don’t assume that you will instinctively know (or remember) what “drop-dead” activities you must complete on any given day during a job search. I’m telling you that you won’t. At the end of each day, check off those “to-do” items you’ve handled that day, transferring those that weren’t handled to the next day’s “to-do” list. (Bear in mind, of course, that if you’re transferring more items towards the next day than you’re clearing on any given day, it sort of defeats the purpose of a “to-do” list!) This simple task, performed regularly, will save you both time and unnecessary headaches, while keeping your job search on track and steadily moving forward. 4. Maintain detailed records. You will undoubtedly be astounded at how quickly you will accumulate mountains of information during a job search, e.g., names of companies contacted, positions applied for, names of hiring managers, “headhunters” or Human Resources professionals, telephone numbers, email addresses, etc., etc., etc. If you do not establish and maintain detailed, well-organized records of this information, you will soon find that you are literally “drowning” in details and it can prove nearly impossible to retrieve information when and if you need it. Using something as simple as a three-ring notebook (or the computer program equivalent), with appropriate “tabs,” e.g., “Companies Contacted,” “Positions Applied For,” etc., can save you countless hours of wasted time. 5. Replace the “sound track” in your mind. You know the “sound track” I’m talking about here. Its the one that keeps telling you that you will do something “tomorrow” or “next week” or whenever. Promise. Just not now, not today. Replace that “sound track” with one that keeps telling you something like this: “I must do this NOW, if I am to accomplish my goal of finding a new job. If I don’t do it, it simply will not get done!” Admittedly, there is much, much more involved in becoming a well-oiled time-management machine. But, if you are indeed among those who are time-management “challenged,” this blog  offers a good place to start, and if you follow the advice featured in it, you can certainly add to and immeasurably improve your professional brand. Author: Skip Freeman  is the author of the international bestselling job hunting book “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed . . . Forever!  (http://portal.sliderocket.com/BFDSG/Find-Your-Dream-Job)  and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of  The HTW Group (Hire to Win), an Atlanta, GA, Metropolitan Area Executive Search Firm. Specializing in the placement of sales, engineering, manufacturing and RD professionals, he has developed powerful techniques that help companies hire the best and help the best get hired.

Defining Your Brand via 6 Traits that Make You a Leader - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Defining Your Brand via 6 Traits that Make You a Leader - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career I finished reading Lisa Orrell’s Millennials Into Leadership: The Ultimate Guide for Gen Y’s Aspiring to Be Effective, Respected, Young Leaders at Work this week. Wow! What a great resource for tomorrow’s leaders. In Millennials Into Leadership, Orrell discusses “defining your brand by documenting the traits that you believe define your leadership style.” As I read, I thought about how each applied to me as the founder and president of Come Recommended. 1. Your Philosophical Style Leaders are visionary. They believe in change. They don’t ask “Why?” nearly as often as “Why not?” Probably to the chagrin of my team, I’m frequently making changes at Come Recommended. I believe we have to be agile in order to move with the market and continue building ourselves as leaders in the social recruitment industry. 2. Your Social Style Leaders are listeners. They prefer monologues to dialogues. We have Come Recommended team meetings every Monday evening. Although the first part of the meeting is definitely me presenting updates and my group asking questions, we almost always have a brainstorming session about a pre-designated topicâ€"and I just sit back and watch the magic happen. And of course, my door is always open. I am blessed to work with such intelligent, creative young professionals! 3. Your Intellectual Style Leaders need to have enough knowledge to be able to delegate tasks and explore new ways of getting things done. Delegating used to be a huge issue for me when I first entered the workforce. (I blame horrible group assignments in high school and college!) But when I became an entrepreneur, I quickly realized (1) I didn’t have every skill I’d need to run my business and (2) there’s only one of me and so much time during the day. Enter: delegation. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve built a team I trust, which has made the transition much easier! 4. Your Communication Style A leader communicates more than facts and figures. He/she can communicate passion, excitement, enthusiasm, and/or fun, too. If you asked members of my team, I’m fairly confident they’d agree passion, excitement, enthusiasm and fun are my middle names! When you possess these qualities about your venture, they are so much easier to instill upon others. 5. Your Emotional Style Leaders care about other people as well as themselves. They see employees as something more than cogs in the corporate wheel. While I don’t have any employees (Come Recommended’s team consists of independent contractors and interns), I definitely care about them as if they were family. If something’s going on in one of their lives, it may as well be happening to meâ€"and not just because it might impact my business. 6. Your Ethical Style Leaders, through actions and words, create a “safe haven” for growth and development. Their respect for others, and their own personal values, promotes confidence in themselves and in others around them…and the most essential component for leadership success? Trust. Although they’ve never used the words “trust,” I hope my team trusts me and the decisions I make along the way. I’m careful not to promise everything we try will workâ€"because I know that’s not true. But we’re in this together, and I know all of us are growing professionally each and every day. How would you respond to these six traits? Author: Heather R. Huhman is a career expert and founder president of Come Recommended, an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level job candidates with the best employers. She is also the national entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com and blogs about career advice at HeatherHuhman.com.

Preparing for a Job Fair - How to

Preparing for a Job Fair - How to  It is that part of the season when job and careers fairs are kicking in. This  post was prompted because, as part of the  Student Communication Team Marketing Report that I submitted in  December 2010 on the Leicestershire Student and Graduate Fair, one of the conclusions was  that students need more information on what to expect and what sort of conversations they  are expected to have with an employer at a fair.  What Happens at a Graduate Careers Fair? Before I go into the preparation and type of questions and conversations that I have with  employers, let me introduce to you the mechanism of a fair. Careers fairs give you the opportunity to meet employers face-to-face and get a more in-depth knowledge about their recruitment procedures and the organisation in general. Why do they do that? I have found a couple of reasons:  firstly, their visual presence shows what kind of work culture they have; secondly, I don’t think they are there to promote their business, but give you good information, so when you apply for a job you have a higher success rate for getting through to the next stage. Finally, it is an excellent opportunity to network with top organisations and follow-up later in job applications. This is why I attend job fairs, to network. Statistics behind Job Fairs According to one Harvard Business Review, 80% of people today find their job through networking. A quick search on trend spotting tools shows there is an increase in searches for job fairs  rather than jobs, which means more people want to attend a fair than randomly search for a job. So by attending a fair, you are concentrating your efforts on an organisation that you have first hand knowledge about, which would improve your success rate. Finding a Graduate Job Deadlines for UKs Top 100 Graduate Schemes So, How to Prepare for Job or Graduate Fairs? I’ve attended job fairs in Leicester, London and Birmingham. I always dress smartly when attending a fair. Whenever possible, I first start a job application and then attend the fair, not necessarily wanting to complete the job application, but it gives me some tips as to what questions I should ask the employer and develop a good conversation. Remember, they are not necessarily there to take CVs or give you an interview date. They are there to have a conversation with you, so you have to speak and ask questions for them to respond and give you some useful information. I always begin with a firm hand shake and Good morning. But it is up to you how you approach people, you need to be comfortable with it. The point is to come across as committed and sociable (key skill!). The conversation is an important process, as you get an insight into the job or organisation and you might figure out if it is really something you want to do. So, what conversation to have? There is no right or best conversation. But there is a definite difference between a good and bad conversation. A good conversation is where you ask the right questions, listen to the employers and smile! A bad conversation is where you don’t do any of these. Asking questions and extracting the best information is very important. I have listed some questions I go with usually How many applicants do you employ on a particular scheme? Does this job involve moving to different offices whilst on a graduate scheme? If yes, how does rotation work? Do you support graduates working towards their Chartered status in respective fields? How long (tentatively) does your graduate recruitment last from the application to interviews? Would you be involved in any of the later stages of recruitment and which business personnel are involved in later recruitment stages? (key question for me, as I get some background on interviewers!) These are some of the questions that I rely on, along with other general questions. If you have some other good ones, please do leave a comment as it helps all us students. For a comprehensive list of where and when fairs are held, this Prospects page is a good start. Although, a lot of universities host local careers fairs, please see your Careers Service for more information on your local fairs. Image Credit: Newcastle Careers International Student Blog (The following post was written by the author when he was contracted for writing for the  University of Leicester Careers Service Blog) Related articles

How To Write An MBA Resume That Will Leave a Great First Impression CareerMetis.com

How To Write An MBA Resume That Will Leave a Great First Impressionâ€" CareerMetis.com Business school applicants often make a single mistake â€" they don’t take their resume seriously. They only pay superficial attention to them, ending up with a mediocre result that doesn’t do anything.Even though admission officers pay only a few seconds of attention to each resume, this doesn’t mean that you can do a poor job â€" based on this single document you’ll either get an interview or not.evalThe reason it takes them only a few seconds is that they know what they want and if they don’t find it, your resume will get thrown out.However, if you manage to stand out from hundreds of similar resumes, they will be impressed.You need to provide them with a quick snapshot of your career, achievements, and skills that will show why you are the best candidate.Here is how to achieve that.1. Write About Your ResultsevalThere are many misconceptions about writing a resume. However, one of the most damaging mistakes is that you have to list the responsibilities on your previous jobs.This may sound like the right thing to do â€" after all, it flawlessly highlights what you did. But it’s not.Chances are, the admissions officer already knows what you did â€" each position comes with a specific set of duties, and they are all familiar in the business world.evalSo, rather than listing what they already know and boring them with that, include some genuinely meaty information like your achievements and results.2. Focus On DetailsWhen describing your experience, it’s best to write about your results and achievements â€" as we already mentioned. However, just listing them isn’t the point.Using details like numbers and percentages to show your impact on an organization is pivotal if you want to impress your admission officers truly.For instance, state by what percentage you reduced expenses, how many people were on the team you lead, primarily if it was international.evalUsing these specific numbers and possibly even names to demonstrate how good you are at wh at you do tells them a lot more than just stating ‘team player’ or ‘leader.’3. Use a Reverse Chronological FormatHow you position various sections of your resume may seem like a less urgent matter, but it’s crucial to how they perceive you.As mentioned, admissions officers give you a few seconds of their attention at best, and they shouldn’t have to work too hard to find what they need. You are not telling them a fairy tale, so you don’t need exposition.The reverse chronological order allows you to place your most recent achievements and experience first. That way, when the admissions officer looks at your resume, the first thing they’ll see is what’s most impressive. Your first jobs were probably less exciting and your education â€" while still important â€" isn’t as relevant as your experience. So you need to highlight the positions you held previously, name the job, company and the period of work.4. Add an ‘Extras’ SectionEver since childhood, we were alwa ys told not to brag. However, your resume is the one place you really should make sure they notice you.Including information on awards you received, volunteering assignments you had, your published articles or anything similar is going to help you stand out.If you have a patent or a hobby, but you don’t know where to place it, adding this section is an excellent way to do it.Just make sure that everything you mentioned is relevant and not completely random and unrelated to what you are applying.eval5. Mind the DesignThe design is another element of your resume which seems less important, but it isn’t. Humans respond incredibly well to visual cues.evalIf your resume seems like it time traveled from the eighties, they will hardly glance over it. However, if you employ modern design techniques and make it work for you instead of against you, this will be another vital factor. Check online resume templates to choose the ones you like and build your resume around it.It also shows how good you are at eliminating unnecessary detail and leaving only what’s essential.Imagine it as an elevator pitch â€" you need to present yourself in a quick and compelling way6. Be HonestAnother common error is trying to tell a few white lies on your resume to seem more appealing. However, this never works as you think it would.People often stretch their employment dates to hide the fact that they had a bit of a gap in their work career, for instance, or include skills they don’t have. Some even overstate what their levels of responsibility were in previous employment.evalBut the truth always comes out. There is usually an extensive background check where they’ll uncover any lies you made and the fact that you don’t possess specific skills will be evident once you start working â€" which is even worse.7. Avoid Buzzwords People nowadays often use the same words in their resumes, making it hard for one candidate to stand out. These are known as buzzwords â€" words that seem p owerful and appealing but show and do nothing.For example ‘goal-oriented,’ ‘team player,’ ‘self-starter,’ ‘dynamic’ and so on. Rather than just using these words because you saw them somewhere, take the opportunity to show exactly how you embody those words. Did you achieve many goals? Did you lead a vast, multinational team with success? How exactly are you a dynamic person? Show the statistics, data, and numbers.8. Always Proofread and EditFinally â€" and this is something you should never skip â€" proofread and edit relentlessly until you are confident that no spelling or grammar mistakes remain.Those ruin your chances, look it up on career blogs where they have seen plenty of those cases.Impress Them With a Winning ResumeUse the opportunity you have to spark their interest. Don’t beat around the bush or stall too much. Be direct, confident and show them everything you’ve got. Hopefully, these tips will make that more comfortable for you.