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A Guide to Finding a Personal Assistant

February 7th, 2010 No comments

Having to advertise for and find a personal assistant is no picnic, especially when you need someone right away and have little time to do thorough background checks and interviews. There are different approaches to finding the right person for this position, but perhaps the best route is to find an established personal assistant agency in the city. If you don’t have time to look for the best person, then this process will be far easier for you.

An agency might not be the way you want to go to find a personal assistant. You might not have the budget for paying commission fees and so you can always look for someone on your own. The easiest way is just to put out an ad stating what you’re looking for, such as whether only those with personal assistant training will be considered.

This approach gives you a lot of control in finding someone you want, but it can cause problems and take up a lot of your time if you have never done much hiring before. You’ll be sifting through many resumes and it may be hard for you to identify the best candidate.

The best way for you to find a personal assistant will really depend on your needs. You may need someone immediately or you may need a PA who has very specific skills, such as a personal assistant for mobile communications. Having skilled PAs on staff at all times may be of the upmost importance to your company, so it’s a good idea to know how and from where new assistants can be found, should someone quit or your workload increases significantly. Preparation in advance will give you more freedom to take the time to choose the right candidate.

It can be time consuming to find a personal assistant, but it is a process that may need to be completed in order to keep up with production at your company. There tends to be many changes in employment these days, with a high turnover rate as a result of modern work ethics and the economy. Whatever the reason, if you have a high amount of work that you cannot complete without assistance, then you’ll need to find personal assistant services, either through an agency or by advertising on your own, so you can get your production back on track.

Personal assistant services are increasingly in demand for a variety of different reasons. A personal assistant is a valuable part of any organization, and can often handle a wide range of duties that are essential to the success of your company.

Best Ideas For Using Email Cover Letters

February 7th, 2010 No comments

Just as there are certain guidelines to help you write a paper cover letter, there are key strategies for sending email cover letters too. One main difference though between these two correspondences is the way in which they are formatted. In principle, the signature block is placed below your name in the email, where as on paper, it positioned at the top of the page.

An error that is often made by some job seekers is by considering emailed application need less formality. It is still a covering letter and as such, you should attempt to create tailored versions for each job you’re applying to. One way to avoiding making simple mistakes are using templates of email cover letters. These can be quite useful as they can show you what structure you should attempt to present it in. In any case, like a standard covering letter, the objective of your email is to entice the reader to look at your resume and find out more.

Preferably, you should format anything electronically sent in plain text rather than in HTML. This is because many email clients may not be set up to see an HTML formatted message the same way you do. If you do intend to use standard word formatted text, as a precaution, send the message to yourself first as a test to check that everything looks good. If it looks OK, then resend to the employer.

While there are no hard and fast rules, the following are some basic suggestions that should at least form the basis for creating your own email cover letter templates:

- Open by introducing yourself, how you learned about the position or the organization and if at all possible, indicate specifically who suggested that you go for the post.

- Particularly focus on the parts of your background, such as education, leadership, experience or anything else that you feel is most pertinent to the job. Be as specific as possible and illustrate example of how they relate the post.

- Always keep the format simple. Try and keep to three or four concise paragraphs at the very least.

As referenced previously, the use of email cover letters templates can be good for showing what kind of information one should contain, but there is also specialist software such as the OneClick Cover Letter and the Breakthrough Cover Letter systems which have a variety of pre-formatted letters, including ones tailored especially for sending by email.

Undoubtedly, email cover letters have made it incredibly easy to apply to many jobs, however be careful not to come across as too informal and use inappropriate wording. One way to avoid falling into the trap of informality is to attach your correspondence along with your resume and any other required information.

Cover letters software can help guide you step by step through the process of creating email and other employment cover letters. Learn more at coverletterguidelines.com.

Great Resume Writing Can Be Simple

February 7th, 2010 No comments

There is an entire section in most bookstores dedicated to books on how to write a great resume. Luckily, you do not need to read all these books, and you will not have to spend any money as it is all included in this article for you.

The first, and sometime underestimated, aspect of resume writing is the following: you should know the purpose of your resume. This might be obvious, but some people do not put a lot of thought into the fact that your resume is supposed to get you an interview. You need to write a polished, unique resume that emphasizes your abilities and will land an interview.

Too often, candidates just slap their employment history on a piece of paper, add their name and call it a resume. Resume writing can be easy, but it is not that easy. You need to stand out; your resume needs to have something unique that makes it stand out above the rest. This can be achieved in a few different ways: format, content, and overall appearance.

Formatting: Whether you use a chronological format or a functional format, your resume needs to be prepared for the position you are looking for. For example, if you are applying to an entry-level job, a chronological resume would work better. However, if you are applying to a professional position where your achievements are more important than the order of your experience, it would be better to go for a functional format. This will allow you to emphasize your best skills first; everything else can go next.

Content: Your resume should have 3 parts; other than that it is up to your personal preference. At least, a resume needs contact information including your name, address, phone number and email, as well as sections for your work history and your education. This is the minimum you need. If you want to add more, you can. Other sections that may help you get an interview include: personal statement, professional qualifications, technical qualifications, achievements, abilities and awards. They are not necessary, but will help you convince the employer that you have what it takes to perform the job well.

Overall Appearance: Your resume needs to use a clear font. This is essential. If you use sophisticated fonts and graphics, you will distract from the actual content and potentially annoy the reader with hard to read typefaces. Also, you need to have appropriate spacing between paragraphs; empty space is not such a bad thing. It actually draws the attention to the content, allowing the reader to focus on what you wrote. Also, you need to keep your formatting simple. Do not use confusing layouts. The clearer your resume is, the more likely it is to actually be read completely.

These resume writing points are often overlooked because job seekers are focused on what type of information is needed. However, content is only a part of successful resume writing. By working on all these elements, you can create a unique resume that is certain to get you interviews.

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