How Has the Workplace Changed Over Time

How Has the Workplace Changed Over Time The workplace is a very different place to what it used to be 30 years ago or more. From the introduction of new technology and tools, to the rising trend of remote working, the modern office has adapted in a number of ways to cater for changes in employees needs and working styles. So just how much has the workplace changed over the years and what could it possibly look like in another 30 years to come? Jive have taken a look at the evolution of the workplace over time and how different working life is now, compared to 30 years ago. 1970s 1990s: Offices used to be made up of cubicles and c-suites. Employees were more often encouraged to work independently and stay on focus at all times, much different to the modern workplace where collaboration is encouraged. Workplaces were a lot less tech orientated    most business communication took place over landlines and in person and documents were all hard copies. Email, Word processor and the first personal computers were all invented in the 1970s, however mobiles were not around until 1988 and  the internet was not created until 1990. 2000 Today: There is more focus on feeling comfortable  in the workplace, with things such as standing desks, comfy seating and remote working having  been introduced in recent years to keep staff  happy and  motivated. The modern workplace is all about  social collaboration and rising tech trends. New tools and technology has transformed the way that we work, from video software such as Skye being introduced in the early 00s and  social media rising in popularity a couple of years later. The internet, smart phones, online file sharing, etc. has all made it possible for us to work anywhere and everywhere, which has lead to a rise in remote working and collaborate  with people  on the other side of the world with ease. With technology comes distractions however, and 40% of someones productive time is taken up by shifting between tasks. What will the future workplace be like? With the increase in remote working, will physical  offices still exist? In the future Jive predict that there will be virtual reality software, new web browsing capabilities and super speedy file transfer software, which will all make working remotely easier. Image: Shutterstock

Personal Branding Interview Patricia Hunt Sinacole - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Patricia Hunt Sinacole - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Patricia Hunt Sinacole, an HR expert who runs First Beacon Group LLC and is also columnist for The Boston Globe. In this interview, Patricia talks about how job seekers can become more employable, what retail marketing strategies work in a job hunt, why companies should limit social media use at work and more. What are some ways that a job seeker can work on their employability? There are many ways a job seeker can improve their chances of landing a new job. Job seekers should evaluate their current educational level. In 2009, the unemployment rate for college grads has been about half of the national average. Job seekers should think about growth industries. There are some industries that have demonstrated resilience during this economic downturn. Recent reports released in the fall of 2009 suggest that the following sectors added jobs from October, 2009 to November, 2009: Professional, Scientific and Business Services. Administrative, Support and Waste Management Services also added jobs as did employers in the Temporary Help. Employers representing Education and Health Services also saw modest increases in job growth. Keeping an active network is also important for all of us but especially important for those looking for a new opportunity. Having a healthy professional network of contacts is key. Connect with colleagues, friends and neighbors. Be respectful of their time but pick their brain on ideas, contacts and their grapevine. Join LinkedIn. Re-connect with alumni associations. A strong and supportive network is important for mental health too. What would you tell a job seeker that has been out of work for more than eight months? This is a very difficult economy. There are signs that the job market is improving. Hold yourself accountable. Set specific networking goals. Never say no to an introduction. Understand (in advance) that rejection is often part of the search process in this employment market. Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job. Word of mouth and referrals are still the best source of job leads and job offers. What retail marketing strategies can job seekers adopt to help sell themselves? First, advertising a job seeker’s resume is a sort of advertisement. A resume should be concise, crisp and error-free. A good resume does not need to outline every detail about a job seeker’s professional work history â€" much like an advertisement. It should provide a compelling overview. The resume’s “job” is to land the job seeker an interview, not provide every detail. Like a strong retailer, word-of-mouth is essential to a successful job search. Referrals are critically important for both a retailer and a job seeker. Think about how many times we all have shared information about a retailer â€" good or bad. Lastly, retailers often are successful because they have a competitive edge. They might offer an extra benefit â€" a drive-through in a particular location, wide and well-light aisles or an amazing level of personalized service. This is similar for job seekers as well. How can a job seeker differentiate themselves from their competitors? Maybe it is a specialized knowledge or industry experience? Or a former manager who provides a glowing reference and recommendation? Or an advanced degree, that may not be required but is preferred? Job seekers should give thought to highlighting their competitive edge. Should companies limit the use of social networking in the workplace? Yes, most companies should limit the use of social networking sites in the workplace. An employee is paid to add value to the company, not check out new photos online of their best friend’s cat. Unless the use of social networking tools is an integral part of an employee’s role, the sites should only be used on a very limited basis. We are receiving more inquiries from clients on how to address and limit the use of social networking in the workplace. Can you name your biggest accomplishment in 2009 and what your goals are for 2010? Our greatest accomplishment in 2009 has been how we solidified our relationships with our both our long-term and new clients. We have had a very strong year in a very difficult economic client. Our solid relationships with clients, our strong work ethic and our fair and authentic approach to providing best in class HR service have been our competitive edge. Our goals for 2010 are the following: Continue to offer best in class HR services on an as-needed basis. Partner with a top-notch benefits brokerage firm to offer additional services to our clients. Many of our clients are overwhelmed with the complexity around healthcare, benefits plan design and the costs associated with such offerings. Having a strong and experience benefits broker is important to many of our clients. Balancing it all. Patricia Hunt Sinacole is a seasoned HR professional with more than 20 years of experience in technology, financial services, biotech and medical devices. Her company is called First Beacon Group LLC.   She works well with entrepreneurial and/or venture-backed firms. Shes also a Job Doc columnist in the Careers section of the Boston Globe, as well as facilitator of BostonWorks live chats.

Employers Hire the Best Is That You - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Employers Hire the Best Is That You - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career No employer is seeking to hire Mr. Average. All employers seek the exceptional and the very best. But how do you convince them that you are the ideal candidate? And how do you beat your competition for this one job? Most candidates approach the interview similar to a test. For many, this is the logical way. The interviewer asks questions, and your job is to answer them. But can you anticipate the types of questions you will be asked? The answer should be yes. The interviewer will ask you a selection of questions from a pool of common interview questions, and certainly, you can prepare for that. But you can do even better than that. Position Yourself as a Consultant The secret to landing that job is to identify the interviewer’s problems and then show how you have already solved such problems much to the satisfaction of your boss, customers, and other stakeholders. In fact, the concept of problem solving should already be incorporated in your résumé, which is to be tailored specifically for the job you are applying for. Including the part about being an accomplished problem solver is critical because most résumés concentrate on skills and past job duties, yet employers are looking into the future and trying to determine what you can do for them. Think of yourself as a consultant who goes into a company to help it meet its challenges. As a job seeker, consider yourself a business consultant. What consultant enters a client presentation meeting without understanding the client’s most pressing issues? A competent consultant conducts an extensive analysis and researches the customer’s core problems and challenges prior to presenting proof of being best qualified to solve those problems and meet those challenges. Unfortunately, though, most candidates don’t know they should view an interview as such. That’s exactly whyâ€"if you doâ€"you should outshine the rest. Find out the employer’s specific problems. Why are they hiring in this position? Once you know what the employer needs, it’s easier to make the employer want you. How to find what your next employer needs: Research the employer. Study its Web site and other Internet or library resources. Or talk to current or former employees. Use your many LinkedIn connections to find out as much as you can. Be observant and keep your eyes and ears open when you interact with human resources, recruiters, and interviewers. Make a note of what you learn. Read between the lines of the job posting. Identify the specific skills, the amount of experience, and the type of personality being sought. Incorporate even in your résumé what you learn, and then compose several solutions that you’ll communicate in the interview via brief success stories. Your comments are welcome.

Tips for first years

Tips for first years So you’ve started your first year, you’re beginning to settle into university life, you’ve made some friends, done a little socialising and you’ve got forever before you need to start thinking about that thing called careers….right? Well actually you’re one ninth of your way through a three year degree hence it’s probably better to give it some thought sooner rather than later. So what could you do?   Getting started Are you aware of what is expected of you in terms of academic performance? Find out from your personal tutor what criteria your work will be assessed against and what academic success looks like! At the University of Warwick  support is available if you would like to develop your academic  skills and fulfill your potential. Getting experience Communication, teamwork, problem-solving, initiative, planning and organisational ability for example, are just some of the transferable skills that    all employers expect, whatever industry you would like to work in. There are a number of steps you can take throughout your time at university to develop these employability skills. Your overall aim should be to leave university with the best degree you can achieve together with a range of experiences and skills that demonstrate to future employers you have the potential to be a good employee. So what could you do to get started? Well, involvement with student societies and sports clubs at university is a great way of getting to know other people, have fun and if you can get involved in organising an event or getting something new off the ground, all the better. This will give you something notable to put on your CV and could be a talking point at job interviews. Remember the blog published in week 1 about improving your employability ? Why not give something new a try? Work experience can really make you stand out to employers too. Its the extra things that support your academic qualifications that often make the difference between employers picking you over someone else. So volunteer, gain on-the-job experience or take an internship. Not only will it help your CV to stand out, you will learn a lot of valuable skills and maybe even. have a great time doing so! In the 2016 High Flyers graduate recruitment survey 50% of the top graduate  employers suggested that it would be difficult to get a job without experience.  If you have any careers ideas you would like to try out or employers you would like to work for, why not contact them?  Do  they offer work experience out of term time? Getting work experience in your first year at university might just put you ahead of ‘the game’ in terms of securing internships during your second and third years of study and could definitely help to secure a job when you have completed your studies. Many recruiters use  work experience placements and internships to talent spot and identify potential graduate recruits. There are many different forms of work experience (including voluntary work and internships), essentially it is anything that allows you to develop professional, employability skills. You can work part-time or temp during vacation periods, university careers departments may support students to both source work opportunities and provide bursaries to support short-term unpaid opportunities (usually in more niche sectors such as the arts). What you need to consider The Prospects career planner may help you to start to reflect  on the factors that would be important to you in a future job. Begin to understand your options now and in the future, research your eligibility for internships for example.  Could you take a gap year and find an industrial placement or  study at a European university under the Erasmus + programme? What links with employers does your university have? What have previous students gone on to do? Are there opportunities to link in with alumni and be mentored by them? Warwick, for example, has an e-mentoring programme for current students and graduates. Getting help University careers  services offer careers appointments to help students make career choices and develop their career planning skills, as well as providing feedback on applications. Careers fairs provide an opportunity to meet and network with employers  and increase awareness of realistic opportunities. Don’t worry if you have no idea about jobs/careers or if you have lots of ideas but have not settled for one particular vocation. Careers staff will  support you whatever stage you are at with your career planning. There’s lots to look into and explore and having said all the above, if you are feeling under pressure and just want to talk about your future with a careers adviser, please book an appointment and rest assured they are there to help you. Alternatively you might want to try taking one step at time and aim to do one item from the above a term, breaking things up into small, manageable steps.

How to Write a Resume For Grant Writing

How to Write a Resume For Grant WritingHow to write a resume for grant writing? What if you were given a chance to write one on your own? Wouldn't you be better equipped to handle the job than one of your fellow grant writers?The writer's perspective is that they have the benefit of working with the entire process from proposal submission to grant award. As a result, the writer feels like they are more knowledgeable about this process. They are familiar with what exactly goes into the proposal, the best proposals and the process of submitting and reviewing grant proposals. They know what steps the government and private institutions go through in order to make a decision on whether or not to grant a request.In order to be successful in this career, you must be able to adapt and deal with the complexity of writing a grant proposal. It can be difficult and it may even seem overwhelming at times, but you need to keep in mind that not only does the federal government have to approve your application, they also have to assess the whole process.There are plenty of people who are looking for a way to get into this field and a lot of these people have access to government grant writers. What happens when you meet with them for the first time? Do you ask them how to write a resume for grant writing?One thing to understand is that as a new writer, it is often more difficult to submit grant proposals. You will find that there are several steps involved in the entire process. You will have to find a grant writer, complete the proposal, gather all the necessary documents, prepare a proposal and finally review the project.When you are dealing with government grant writers, it's important to understand that it can be hard to get ahead of them. However, you want to do your best to impress the person you meet with and make sure that you follow through with the requirements and deadlines that are given to you.While it is true that you can get by with a lot of help from the gover nment grant writers, you don't want to overlook the importance of following up with the office as soon as you receive the grant. This gives them an opportunity to get back to you and allows them to decide if you met the guidelines they required.When you are looking for help from government grant writers, don't give up! Know your limits and stay motivated.

How to use LinkedIn to support a career change - CareerEnlightenment.com

How to use LinkedIn to support a career change Almost half of us yearn for change in career; wishing for a better salary, increased work-life balance or improved job satisfaction. Taking the brave leap into a new direction should be an exciting process, but to start with it can feel daunting.Your CV can, on the face of it, seem full of irrelevant experiences and unrelated skills. You worry that the job titles you’ve held to date will put potential employers off from taking you seriously. It can be hard to know where to start on your new journey.But changing your career can be done, with great success. Take heart from examples such as Julia Child, who spent her life in advertising, media and secret service before launching her career as a celebrity chef at the age of 50, and Walt Disney, who was sacked as a newspaper editor because ‘he lacked imagination and had no good ideas’.In this day and age, we’re lucky to have incredible online tools to support us on our new path. The best of these is undoubtedly LinkedIn which, wh en used correctly, can become a catalyst for career change. Here are our tips for using LinkedIn to maximise your chances of success.Clarity.It’s tempting to showcase yourself as an expert in both your old field and your target one; to hedge your bets so to speak. But all this will do is confuse potential new employers. Instead, take the brave step of culling anything in the experience, skills and endorsements areas of your profile that isn’t relevant to your new career and reposition your profile to demonstrate crossover skills.For example, if you’re currently in corporate sales and want to move into print media, your vast knowledge of the FMCG or financial services sector (or whatever type of business you worked for) is probably not relevant, unless you want to position yourself as an expert in that field. Your exceptional communication and persuasion skills, however, are fundamental requirements for someone in a media role. Want to Read More Articles Like This One?Sign up h ere to receive weekly updates from Career Enlightenment, and never miss another powerful job searching tip! SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed!We hate spam too. Unsubscribe any time. Headline and Summary.Now that you’ve realigned the body of your profile, it’s time to consider the areas that hook a reader in from the start; your headline and summary.Your headline is arguably the most important piece of real estate; it’s the first thing that people see when they click on your profile. It’s critical that you make it stand out from the crowd. It’s auto-populated with your current or most recent job title, but you can adapt it to call out your change in direction. Of course, you won’t be able to display experience in your target field, but this is an opportunity to call out your relevant skills and outline your intentions.If we use the sales to media example again, something like “A highly experienced communicator and negotiator, now looking for opportunities in print media” is likely to grab attention.Now that you’ve got that attention, keep them reading with a compelling summary. This is your chance to demonstrate, in your own words, any past experiences and accomplishments that connect to your new target career.Other LinkedIn tools that can help.In addition to your personal profile, LinkedIn has plenty of other useful tools to help you with your transition. Joining groups in your target field will help you to grow your knowledge, network, and standing; your membership shows up on your profile so it shows you’re taking your transition seriously. Signing up for LinkedIn job alerts for listings in your new field will ensure you get early notification of opportunities. Finally, if you’re happy to make your intentions public, letting your network know that you’re on the lookout by posting an update will help you to rally support.Changing career direction can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. By taking the time to co nsider the relevant skills you’ve already honed, you will be able to smoothly pivot in a new direction. LinkedIn provides a ton of powerful tools to help you on your journey. With a well-targeted profile, you’ll position yourself to make the change you desire.

Are You Ready to Revamp Your Career - Sterling Career Concepts

Are You Ready to Revamp Your Career Are You Ready to Revamp Your Career? Photo by Pexels So you’re trying to determine the next step in your career â€" maybe it’s going after that big promotion or switching professions entirely. Maybe your entrepreneurial spirit is on fire and you want to start your own business. Either way, you’re ready for new challenges and opportunities for growth. Now whats your next step? Dont worry. Its not uncommon to be ready for a career change before you know exactly what to do next. If you’re trying to determine your next career move, here are three things to consider before you take the leap: 1. Examine Your Career Goals The professional goals you had when you started your current job have likely changed. When you decide to redirect your career path, it can often help to start by updating your overall career plan. Defining your main professional goals and objectives starts by asking: What kind of work would feel fulfilling and give me a sense of connection to a greater purpose? Which jobs am I qualified for that are above my current pay grade? Do I want to work to live or live to work? What kind of company or organization would I be proud to work for? There are many ways to brainstorm your career goals. One effective strategy is to think about how you want your life to look one year, three years and five years from now. When you do that, be sure to examine personal, as well as professional, goals you want to achieve. 2.  Overhaul Your Resume When it comes time to update your resume, don’t be afraid to give it a full facelift. Research open positions you want to apply for with the companies where you’d like to work. Compare any gaps in your resume with these job descriptions and think of ways your resume can align better. You might be able to change a few words or add some additional skills, but if you really want to stand out, maybe it’s time for some extra certification. Many companies provide self-paced, interactive courses where you can earn licenses and certificates to boost your professional appeal. You can also: Update your LinkedIn, website and online portfolio. Don’t forget to double-check the privacy settings on your personal accounts. Look to reputable job sites like Ziprecruiter or Glass Door to help you get the lay of the land when it comes to positions you’re interested in. Connect with your references and touch base â€" they might actually have an opportunity available. Starting a new career or launching your own business can feel intimidating and exhilarating. It’s only natural to feel the weight of a risk when you take such a big leap. By being methodical, strategic and starting slow, you’ll give your career â€" and yourselfâ€" a chance to grow. 3.  Start Your Own Business You might realize you’re ready to be an entrepreneur. Do you have vision, skills and the motivation to see something all the way through? That’s the perfect recipe for becoming your own boss. Starting your own business is an effective and exciting way to shake up your career. Thinking of making the leap? You should also think about: The basis of your business. Are you going to be the next e-commerce mogul? Want to sell your expertise as a consultant? Decide what products or services you want to sell. Conduct market analysis to determine if your business idea is viable. Create a business plan that outlines the steps you’ll take over the next three to five years as a business owner. Look for startup funding like small business loans, term loans, a business line of credit, and Invoice Financing to help finance your dream. Starting a business can be very rewarding, but it’s a lot of hard work, especially in the beginning. If you aren’t afraid of long hours and hard work, starting your own business might be the right move for your career path.