Sunday, May 31, 2020

The UK Workforce as 100 People

The UK Workforce as 100 People Bringing benefits such as increased creativity, positive brand image, and a stronger connection with international markets, you would think diversity would be a priority to business owners. However, recent research has revealed that this isn’t the case for all companies. Groups from every corner of society are underrepresented, including gender, ethnicity, and religion. The research took a 100-employee snapshot of the UK’s workforce. Then, the research compared various group figures to highlight any misrepresentations or lack of diversity. This is important information as it provides useful stats for companies to compare their own diversity assessments too. Below are the comparisons between the UK’s population and workforce across gender, ethnicity, and religion, alongside advice for businesses looking to improve their diversity. Where are the imbalances? When looking at the UK population and workforce as 100 people, each person counts for 269,669 UK citizens. Gender Although a difference of four might not sound like much when you compare the two across gender, scaled up it shows an underrepresentation of over one million women in the workforce. This is a substantial imbalance and highlights how there are still currently more men working in UK industries. Ethnicity Ethnicity doesn’t highlight quite the same imbalance as gender, but people from Asian and mixed-race ethnic backgrounds are under-represented by roughly 800,000 people across the UK workforce. Religion Moving onto faith, those who do not identify with a religion are overrepresented in the UK workforce. Those from Christian, Muslim, and Hindu faith are underrepresented by four people. How to improve representation in the workplace? It’s beneficial for every business to create a balanced working environment. It reflects positively on your brand and further improves business processes by bringing new perspectives a problem. There are things you can do as a business owner to reduce diversity gaps. Diversity Assessment If you’re unsure where your organization currently stands when it comes to diversity, carrying out an internal assessment could provide you with clearer insight. This will include a short analysis of your staff’s make up based on the demographics mentioned in this study. Compare your company with the findings in the study to give you a clear picture of how your business compares to the rest of the UK workforce. If there are shortfalls, it will give you the base to address such issues. Provide the right environment for diversity Once you recognize a problem, consider if you have the means to solve it. To craft the right environment for a balanced workforce, you need to assess your business from the view of underrepresented groups. Religion is a good example of this; do you provide flexibility for them to accommodate both their religion and their job? Providing space to pray is a good place to start. If all your company socials involve alcohol, consider members of your team who don’t drink. Creating a positive atmosphere in the office for underrepresented groups is also important. Make sure there are no undercurrents of implicit bias, or it could put off potential employees.  An anonymous feedback system could be the solution for this, allowing employees to report issues. A team ethos that promotes inclusivity is key. Proactive recruitment Once your business is capable of accommodating diversity, you can start to think about your recruitment process. There are steps you can take in every stage of recruitment. Firstly, cater your job advertisement to all groups. Avoid gendered language as this can stop women from applying. Where you choose to advertise your job is also important. Women focus on digital job sites such as Indeed and Monster, while men choose to use LinkedIn listings. Make sure you advertise your jobs across different sites so it’s seen by a broader audience, increasing the diversity of your applicants. Following these steps will help you create a balanced working environment and a positive atmosphere for your staff. Reputation and positive brand image will quickly grow, and you will be better equipped to cater to an increasingly diverse market. About the author: Sam Cropper is a content creator for office supplier Viking Direct, specializing in HR and business and writing articles that offer expert advice for companies within this area.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Job Search - What Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Resume

Job Search - What Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a ResumeOne of the most common mistakes of resume writing is not including your name at the end of the resume. This is a small detail that you will want to be sure is properly included in your resume. Many job seekers forget to include their name and the end result is that it looks like they just had a new job offer.The same can be said for a resume that does not include your contact information. Again, this could turn into an employer who is going to send out their next candidate the same resume. Remember to provide your contact information on your resume and give the employer the opportunity to follow up with you.Another mistake to avoid is having unnecessary information included on your resume. It is important to avoid including a college degree or other certification which does not actually necessary for the position. It is always better to have your resume to be only focused on your job experience.These are some of the most common mistakes in resume writing. You can easily avoid them by simply reviewing what you have written and make sure it is accurate. An obvious one that you should avoid is the area that says 'job title' which should be included in all job applications.Also, many job applicants forget that the statement that says, 'I am self-employed,' should be included on all resumes. If the employer is going to contact you are going to apply for a job with them, a self-employed person will stand out to them more than someone who is employed. This should be included on your resume so that they can contact you in the future.Another mistake is that people forget to include their contact information on a professional resume. It is important to have your contact information on a professional resume so that you can have a chance to get in touch with the employer you are applying for. Remember that the employer may not want to talk to the person who doesn't have any background with their company.A big mistake to avoid is not including your education. Remember, the very first thing the employer will check is your education. For this reason, they will go over all of your education to ensure that they know you have the skills necessary to do the job.These are the mistakes to avoid when writing your resume. The same applies to the person who is being contacted by an employer for the first time. Be sure to remember these tips so that your resume does not get lost in the pile of other applications.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

My study of the six-figure pom-pom girl

My study of the six-figure pom-pom girl Most of my girlfriends who make more than $100K a year were cheerleaders in school. We are from all over the United States. We are from all different types of companies. Only a few of us can do the splits. Yet we all bounced in short skirts and cheered for boys. I chalked this up to coincidence until I conducted further studies: Study #1 The education study I was never the kid who got As. I was the kid who developed arcane strategies to pass class. An example: For my high school junior thesis which was an amazing (for a high school junior) 15 pages I leveraged my debate-team evidence on torture weapons in Somalia to compose a paper on ethics, which was not particularly well written but was well received because of the perceived time spent researching. After hiding my academic mediocrity for years, I was gathering bios for a business plan when I realized that I was surrounded by business geniuses who had been mediocre students. I removed everyones education credentials from the plan even those for the guy who was very high up in a prominent worldwide company. Conclusion: Success in business and success in school are not linked and do not require the same skills. Study #2 The personality study When I worked in software marketing my company had a training day. The whole company piled into a hotel that was too fancy for an all-company meeting unless there was something bad coming. The CEO announced that one of the most common downfalls of fast-growing companies was poor communication. He told us that the corporate psychologist on stage with him would make sure our company did not have this problem. Then the psychologist gave us all personality tests. We circled words. We filled in boxes. We tried not to look at the page of the person next to us when the person next to us might notice. We graded ourselves because the psychologist promised, There are no wrong answers. Were finding out who we are so we can communicate that to our teammates. I glanced at the CEO to make sure that given the choice of perfection or power, he also chose power: I didnt want to admit to power mongering if the other power mongers would not. The results, surprisingly, were not surprising. Once we understood the basics, everything fell into place. The psychologist told us that people are motivated by one of four areas: 1. Power and achievements 2. Friendships and other relationships 3. Having fun 4. Keeping peace and finding truth Conclusion: All senior managers at our company were motivated by power and achievements except the VP for sales, who was motivated by relationships. Cheerleader conclusion After analyzing these two in-depth studies, I have concluded that while a position on the deans list does not necessarily signal a good business career ahead, a position on the cheerleading squad does. A girl who joins the cheerleading squad is a performer, a leader, and has a nose for where the power is. In high school, money is not the issue boys are. And girls on the cheerleading squad get more of this currency than girls on the deans list. So when your daughter wants to be a cheerleader, discourage it, of course. For all the same reasons that my friends and I do not put pictures of ourselves as cheerleaders on our desks at work. But Peggy Orenstein writes, in her New York Times article Whats Wrong with Cinderella?, that there is no discouraging girls from wanting to be princesses. So I think there is probably no discouraging girls from wanting to be cheerleaders, either. In that case, the good news is that the cheerleader thing is a sign of good things to come.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

5 Types of LinkedIn Summaries

5 Types of LinkedIn Summaries There are over 530 million LinkedIn profiles spanning over 200 countries. It is extremely easy to get lost in such a large crowd. The importance of having a targeted LinkedIn summary is now more important than ever. If you are looking to target your audience the right way, we offer these five types of LinkedIn summaries to help you do it.Do not write just another boring LinkedIn summary that people ignore. Make sure it connects with the people you need to network with.1. Personality SummaryThis type of summary targets an audience looking for people with soft skills. The deal is here...You do not have lots of experience and you still need to network. So, you have to show your personality. People will be learning more about what you “are” more than what you “do” or have “done”.These types of summaries are great for those looking to make lots of connections. After all, you are showing others that you need to networkand with 500 million profiles on LinkedIn, there are bound t o be many others like you.2. Mission SummaryYou are a person on a mission and your LinkedIn summary is going to let people know exactly what that mission is! Start off with a broad description of what you do. Then, get more and more specific as your summary continues, almost as if you were at the podium giving a speech about your mission in your career. These summaries are great for engaging a wide variety of people. Essentially, you are telling a story about the brand known as “You”. Your brand is telling a story to the entire world about what you plan to do and how you will contribute value to any company.3. Short and Sweet SummaryThe summary that shows you are not one to mince words. You get to the point. You explain what you do. And then, you are done. *mic drop* These summaries are great for job seekers because of the keyword usage combined with the high amount of recruiters on LinkedIn who use it to screen job candidates. If you are entrenched in a job search and have year s of experience, this summary is a good idea.4. The Mix SummaryAs you would expect, this is a summary that combines your mission with your personality. These types of summaries are more human and conversational. If you have ever been to a face-to-face networking event and started talking about yourself, chances are you were talking out loud about your mission and people saw your personality while you did it.You can imagine the short and sweet summary would sound strange if spoken out loud to another person. Telling people your mission and personality is a great way for them to see the real “you”.5. Accomplishments SummaryThe slightly “braggadocious” summary actually goes over quite well with those seeking job candidates who know how to execute a strategy. Recruiters enjoy these summaries because they get to the point while mentioning results and explaining why you deserve to be hired anywhere. If you know you have lots of quantifiable results in your career, do not be shy. A n accomplishments summary will not make you look arrogant. It will display that you know what you want and know how to get it!

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Best Resume Writing Services in 2020

Best Resume Writing Services in 2020There are a lot of advantages to using the best resume writing services in 2020. One of the most important things to keep in mind when looking for the right company is to find a company that has an extensive list of skills and experiences.When you compare two services, you will notice that the things that they offer are a lot different. For example, some companies will provide two pieces of paper and a few minutes to write an essay. Some will take your entire resume and turn it into a lengthy document that takes them weeks to produce.This doesn't matter because these things should be reviewed by someone who can make the right choices. If you are hired and stuck with one of these documents that are hard to read, chances are that you won't be able to work with that particular company.If you are hiring a service that provides a shorter, more concise, and a shorter, more detailed, article about your career, then you can use this service until you find one that will work with your career. In fact, these services can get you to the top of the search engine rankings in less than two weeks.The most well known resume services have a long list of clients from all over the world. From the United States to India, the services can help people from all walks of life to be hired by the companies that are seeking candidates.Resume writing services can produce professional resumes for the very top executives in the world. There are a lot of benefits to working with a company that has a resume writing service because this company has spent years studying and analyzing what people expect from their resume.These professionals won't just stick to the rules that the client asks for. They will research the types of questions that a prospective employer may have so that they can provide the answer in a way that is clear and concise.You don't have to worry about what you need to do to be hired because the professionals in the company know what needs to be done so that you can land a job in no time. You should see a huge difference in the type of job that you get when you use the services of these professionals.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Want to Change Your Career Here are some Necessary Steps to Take

Want to Change Your Career Here are some Necessary Steps to Take Photo CreditSome of us are incredibly lucky to do something we love everyday.We may go to work and feel totally thankful the job we have, the difference we may make.But some of us don’t have that luxury. Some of us may have fallen into a career that they just don’t love or have any passion for. Some of us just do a job to the pay the bills each month. But for those people, it doesn’t always have to be that way.evalYou could change your career. You could have a job that you love. All you need to do is take the right steps to make it happen. So I thought I would share with you some tips to do exactly that.Think about what you want to doIf you don’t like the job you are in, take a moment to think about why? Why do you dislike it? What is it about the job you don’t want to do anymore? This is where you need to think about what you want to do. Maybe you have always known and just not had the confidence. Or maybe you are interested in a certain field or subject. Make sure you kno w what you want to try. There isn’t any point leaving a job to go into something else you will equally dislike.Create an Eye-Catching ResumeOnce you know what you want to do now, you need to take action to get there. A killer resume is one place to start. This is your opportunity to sell yourself on paper. Taking your career to new heights!It needs to show your personality traits and your skills. You need to include all employment and explain why that experience is valid. On your resume, your potential new employer needs to have a real insight to you as a person. It is your first step in the door.Network ! Network ! Network !Once you know the field you want to work in, you need to get in front of the right people and network. This might mean attending events or seminars. It might mean following the right people on websites like Linkedin. Sometimes it isn’t about what you know but who you know. So make sure you begin to know the right people. Surrounding yourself with positive in fluences will only have a good effect on your life going forward. There is power in the positive.Believe in YourselfYou have to believe in yourself to make changes. If you don’t, you won’t get very far. A career change is a huge leap of faith. You must believe that you will land on your feet and secure the job of your dreams. You must have faith that it will change your life for the better. Belief in your ability to succeed.Take a RiskFinally, nobody gets anywhere without taking a risk. However great or small risks can pay off. Of course, not all of them do. But sometimes when it come to employment the risk itself is the change. Now that is worth taking.evalI hope these tips help you on your way to a better career choice.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Conference coming up - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Conference coming up - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Were hosting Denmarks (the worlds?) first conference on happiness at work. Weve been working on it for a while now, generating ideas, lining up speakers, preparing the material, and here are the basic facts: * Thursday January 29, 9-6 * Held in N?rrebrohallen * 4 speakers before lunch * Lots of workshops after lunch * 300 participants This will be a fun, inspiring, energetic and innovative day, focused on why happiness in the workplace is a benefit to both organizations and employees, and how to do something about it. Let me know if youre interested, and Ill be sure to inform you when the conference website is up. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Friday, May 8, 2020

New Grads, Heres How to Use Your First Paycheck

New Grads, Heres How to Use Your First Paycheck You’ve graduated and landed a great job making some decent money â€" congratulations! With your new paycheck, you may have had some fun up to this point. The only problem is that you’re starting to look at your bank account wondering if you should be doing something different with all of this money you’re getting every two weeks. Good thinking! There is something more you should be doing with your paycheck, and it’s great that you’re thinking about it now versus later. The following are some step-by-step tips to create an awesome financial situation to start off your adult life. You’ll be saving for now, saving for later and you’ll still have money to have a good time. Step #1: Assess the Income How much are you making per month right now? This is going to be easy if you only have money coming in from one source â€" your salary. If you have money coming from other places, such as a part-time job, you’ll need to start factoring that in as well. The only way this can become a bit hard to do is if you have different amounts coming in at each time. For example, if you’re a part-time waitress, it may be hard to calculate how much you’ll make in tips. For budgeting purposes, take the average of how much you earn and then use that. You could be safe and just use the lowest amount you’ve made, if that makes you feel better. It’s up to you. Step #2: Assess the Bills Bills are the most important expenses to take care of because you don’t ever want creditors coming after you for not paying them. That’s why after you figure out how much you earn, you need to figure out how much you owe. Make a list of all of your bills right now. Do not include anything that you need to spend money on like gas, food, etc. You will deal with that later. Once you have written down all of your bills, tally it all up. You will need to do some math at this point â€" subtract your bills from your income. You will now have the difference, and that’s what you will use for the next part of your budget. Step #3: Average Your Expenses If you have online banking, bring it up and write down how much you’ve spent the last couple of months on food, gas, clothes, transportation, etc. All of the necessities you need to spend money on should be included in this part of the budgeting process. Remember â€" this is just for necessities â€" not your wants. You will deal with your wants later. Take the average of each expense and add them all up. You should then take that total and subtract it from the difference you have after your bills. You should have a new difference now. That’s what you’re working with going forward. Step #4: Save for Retirement You’re never too young to save for retirement. You can sit down with a financial advisor to help you come up with a plan of action, or you can start saving for retirement in through a 401(k) your employer offers or with a traditional/Roth IRA. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these, so research each one before you decide to invest in one or more of these retirement savings plans. Some employees will match your 401(k) contributions, and some people prefer Roth IRAs over traditional IRAs because they don’t have to pay taxes upon withdrawal. The more you learn about each one now, the better you will be later on in life. Step #5: Build Your Emergency Fund You need an emergency fund. Many experts believe that you should have at least three months of salary saved in case you lose your job. Some say six. It may take a while for you to get to this amount, but it is your goal and you should try to get to it as soon as possible. The best way to determine how much you should save is by looking at the amount you have left over after your bills and expenses. Take half of that for savings â€" retirement and emergency fund. You can then divide that up between the two. This way you are saving enough each month to get you to a place where an emergency won’t end up crippling you financially. Step #6: Spend Wisely With What’s Left Over After the bills, expenses and savings, you should have some money left over for fun. What if you don’t? This is a sign you’ve had a little too much fun over the past few months. All you have to do is play catchup, and that means limiting your fun times to inexpensive activities. Watching a movie at home with a meal you’ve prepared is much less expensive than going out to a restaurant and then to the movies at your local cinema. Going to the park for some fun playing Frisbee, flying a kite or hiking is much less expensive than going shopping, seeing a concert or doing something else that could cost you an easy $100 or more. Tips to Get You Through Sticking to a budget is easy in theory, but it can be hard in practice. There may be items you want that you really don’t have the money for at times. Self-control can help you in those times. You can always save up for items that you do not have money for after you’ve saved for retirement and the emergency fund. Yes, that might mean more inexpensive fun activities for a few months, but it will all be worth it when you can buy something without putting your credit in jeopardy. Credit can be good and bad. The only way to have a good credit rating is to use credit, but you need to use it responsibly. When you buy something with credit, be sure that you can pay it off when the bill comes. If you can’t, then don’t buy it. If you allow money to roll over each month, you pay interest, and that’s adding money to whatever you bought. Think about that when you say you’re buying something because it’s a good deal. How good of a deal is it when you end up paying interest on it? Don’t think you have to stick with the budget you create. If it’s not working for you, go head and make adjustments to it. As long as you keep the priorities there such as the bills, expenses and savings, you will be happier with your income. You can usually play around with some of the expenses to help you change your financial situation now. For example, you can spend less money on groceries and then have more money to save and have fun with. You can also come up with some ways to reduce your spending on transportation, so you can use that money elsewhere. Think of budgeting like a game â€" you have a certain amount of money and you have to use it in ways that will help you and make you happy. Get Started on Being Financially Responsible You may not feel like this is important right now, but you will love yourself in a few years when you have so much more money in your accounts than your friends. You will love having financial freedom and not worrying about a surprise bill in the mail. Take care of yourself now, so you can be good later. That’s what it means to be an adult. Start out strong, so you can be successful later. Are you a financial guru? A novice with  tips for new grads? Questions? Share them in the comments!