5 Career Mistakes You Might Not Know Youre Making

5 Career Mistakes You Might Not Know Yure Making5 Career Mistakes You Might Not Know Youre MakingThis article is from our friends at LearnVest, a leading site for personal finance.Whatever your chosen profession, we all have something in common Were trying to do the best we can in our careers.Of course we arent going to gossip about our boss, fail to meet our deadlines, or do anything else to jeopardize our jobs or careers- knowingly.Its that knowingly thats the problem. We can easily avoid the professional pitfalls we know, but what about the ones we dont? And even more important, could we be making major mistakes when we think were making the right move?To keep from falling into that trap, we asked career experts to shed light on the missteps we make without even realizing, whether at the office or in the trenches of a job hunt. Are you making behauptung mistakes?1. Keeping Yourself OfflineKnowing that social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and even LinkedIn are rife with opportunity for career-damaging blunders, its understandable that you might want to lay low, leave your profiles dormant, or even take yourself offline entirely.But thats the wrong move, according to Cheryl Palmer, certified career coach and owner of Call to Career. According to recent data, the majority of recruiters now scour online sources for additional information on candidates, says Palmer. Positive online information about you will improve your job prospects, since that is what recruiters will be looking for to determine who they call for an interview. She points out that since social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are some of the first results that show up on search engines, youll want to be represented- and represented well.Palmer says that just having the profiles isnt enough- you must have a dynamic presence. That means using these channels to promote yourself in a positive, professional way. Worked on a new ad campaign? Tweet it. Added to your photo graphy portfolio? Facebook it. Come across a fascinating industry article? Share it on LinkedIn. When recruiters or interviewers look you up, theyll find an engaging, productive individual.(And if managing multiple networks seems like too much, you can always automatically link your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, so every post broadcasts to all three networks. Dont worry, we wont tell the recruiters.)2. Bonding With Co-WorkersYoure right Its always a good idea to attend work happy hours, volunteer days, and other forms of group bonding, because while these people are your colleagues, theyre also the people with whom you spend 40-plus hours a week.But bonding becomes problematic when you become very close to some co-workers- and leid others. Its a mistake to align yourself with one person or one camp, cautions Marian Their, founder and CEO of coaching, training, and consulting firm Expanding Thought. While its tempting to align yourself with a strong person or group, in doing so, y ou separate yourself from everyone else. Then what happens when personnel changes occur, someone falls out of favor, or you need support from someone not in the chosen group?To keep from getting in too deep with some colleagues over others, Their advises people to take some simple steps to keep things friendly across the board Go to lunch with a group of people, or different people each day sit next to people who arent your deskmates already at meetings mix up your routine a bit- stop by the kitchen or water cooler for a brief chat at different times of day, to run into different people.The higher up in the organization you go, reminds Their, the more important it is to be observant and prudent. Remember that while having allies is extremely important, so is having people who will challenge you.3. Championing Make-Ends-Meet JobsWe dont need to tell you that theres no shame in taking a gig unrelated to your ultimate career path (think waiting tables) to make ends meet while hunting f or other opportunities, or to make a little extra money on the side. Plus, your scrappiness will show future employers that youre hardworking and ready to hustle, right? Not always.As a job hunter, you should be looking at yourself as a candidate through your potential employers eyes, advises Robert Meier, president of Job Market Experts. And to an employer, a side job is a distraction from your primary position. A Fortune 500 company simply isnt going to appreciate your time as a night manager at 7-11.Instead of trying to bulk up temporary jobs by explaining how they taught you tenacity and reliability, Meier recommends minimizing such positions down to only a line on your resume- or eliminating them altogether while bulking up your more relevant past positions. The only time you should include a job like this on your resume is if it furthers your career objective, he says. For instance, a job on the sales floor in a clothing chain may be valuable if youre applying to be a buyer fo r J.Crew your time as a fitness instructor may be relevant if youre applying for an operations position at Under Armour.But if you spent six months scooping ice cream and are now applying for a completely unrelated corporate job in ad sales, Meier recommends eliminating your make-ends-meet job from your resume altogether. If your employment gap should come up in an interview, he says, explain that you were devoting your full attention to finding the right job in a difficult economy- an understandable excuse if its been 12 months or less.4. Relying on a Pros and Cons ListRaise your hand if youve ever made a pros and cons list about a potential job or project. Its the sensible move- youre laying out all the reasons you should and shouldnt take on a new venture in reservierung to make an informed, rational decision.But informed and rational isnt all its cracked up to be. If you are getting a bad gut feeling about working for a certain boss or a pit in the stomach sensation about a dice y work environment, or you are self-rationalizing over taking a major pay cut, you should never ignore the little voice in your ear warning you that something is wrong, explains Cheryl Rich Heisler, founder and president of career-consulting site Lawternatives.If youre getting a bad feeling about an opportunity that seems promising on the surface, says Heisler, its time to get more information. Dig deeper, and either reassure yourself that your impressions are wrong, or back away from the offer. This is true even for choosing your first career track- trust yourself. Thats not to say that a few nerves means you should bail on a second-round interview, but if you cant shake your anxiety and cant alleviate it with more information, it might be time to take a step back.If, says Heisler, after doing your research and networking, the career, industry, or job youre exploring doesnt feel right to you, reconsider. The happiest employees are working in areas they enjoy within industries they love.5. Being Perpetually AvailableChances are, your current employer values face time- that is, how much time youre in the office, working away at your desk. And when you arent face-to-face, youre accessible by phone, email, text, or carrier pigeon, whether its midnight, midnight on Saturday, or midnight on Saturday during your trip to Ibiza.When youre refusing to delegate responsibilities it shows that you arent a teacher or mentor, and certainly not a supervisor, which is criteria for promotion, says Bruce Hurwitz, executive recruiter and author of Success As Employee or Entrepreneur. And when you dont take vacation, he says, it can create an air of superiority- like you feel nothing can get done without you.People make the mistake of being too available because they dont know how to say no, says Hurwitz. They think the person they are rejecting will be mad at them, and it will affect their relationship. But, he adds, this isnt necessarily the case. If youre perpetually available and looking to break the cycle, Hurwitz recommends starting with a conditional yes, where, upon hearing about a new assignment, you reply, Id be happy to. Just let me get this job done, and if you still need my help, Im there for you.Of course, no one is recommending you skip out on your work, and its likely that there will be occasions youll have to be available outside the office. But delegating tasks to be completed without your direct oversight, or even in your absence, is a skill every manager- or would-be manager- should have.More From LearnVest10 Signs Youre Suffering From Job Burnout8 Signs You Might Not Want to Take the Job6 Co-Workers Who Could Sabotage Your CareerPhoto of tastatur courtesy of Shutterstock.

How to Develop Great Reporting Skills

How to Develop Great Reporting SkillsHow to Develop Great Reporting SkillsA good journalist needs to have great reporting skills. Since it takes time to develop great reporting skills, you should work on this area if youre trying to land a job as a reporter or magazine editor. Good reporting, whether youre doing it face-to-face or over the phone, is key to getting a story done well. And, since misquoting people can ruin your reputation, you need to make sure you do more than just ask the right questions - you need to listen well and get the information down correctly. Here are some basic rules to remember in order to develop good reporting skills. Be Prepared Before Reporting While a reporter needs to be quick on their feet, as they might need to chase a story down quickly, you should always know your subject matter. If you have a scheduled vorstellungsgesprch with someone, do your homework. Know the persons background and sketch out the questions you want to ask. You need to go into the interview knowing what youd like to get out of it and, if you write out your questions ahead of time, youre more likely to stay on track. Be Prepared but Not Rigid While you always want to have a plan in mind before you do an interview, dont be unwilling to let an interview go off in another direction if its an interesting one. You never want to let someone youre interviewing ramble on about something pointless, but if the interviewee starts talking about something interesting, go with it. Recognize when someone is saying something interesting and react to that. When youre done with the interesting aside, you can always go back to the questions you prepared beforehand. Dont Be Afraid of Silences In general conversation, people have a tendency to want to fill moments of silence with conversation. In an interview, try to avoid that. Often, if you let seemingly awkward silences go, an interviewee will fill that void with more information. Ask for Clarification Ear ly in your career, it may be easy to let this one slip not asking for clarification on something. Theres no reason to be shy and assume youll be able to figure it out later or feel afraid that by posing a question youll look unprofessional or ignorant. Theres no need to feel that way. If you dont understand something as soon as someone says it, chances are its confusing. And, chances are, your editor is going to ask what that confusing thing means. A reporter should always ask for further explanation. If somethings unclear, phrases like What do you mean by that? or Can you explain that further? often work. If someones using a lot of jargon, ask them to explain what theyre saying in laymens terms. In general, you dont want to end an interview confused. Make sure you understand what the person said before you leave them or hang up the phone. Thebottom lineis that its a journalists job is to report whats happening. If youre unclear on something someone says to you, you wont be able to logically relay the story to the public. Ask htte nicht viel gefehlt Talkers to Slow Down While some interviewers have the luxury of tape recording conversations, youll have to do quick news stories without recording. Therefore you need to be able to quickly type what people are saying, and some people can talk very fast. While most reporters use a shorthand basically anything they themselves can read make sure to ask people who are talking too fast to slow down. Also, if you miss something specific an interviewee said, feel free to interject and ask them to repeat it. Always Get Names Spelled Out Not every Jane Smith spells her name that way so, even if someone says a name thats recognizable, ask them to spell it out. It should be second nature to get every name of every person you talk to, and every person that person refers to, spelled out for you.

Drop These Words from Your Résumé (And Replace Them with Better Ones)

Drop These Words from Your Rsum (And Replace Them with Better Ones) Drop These Words from Your Rsum (And Replace Them with Better Ones) Take ActionBut what is an action stimmt? Unlike active and passive voice, which are actual grammatical constructs, an action word is just a word that demonstrates an action in a dynamic way. Often, action words are used to spin a mundane task into something more impressive on your resume. Instead of describing yourself as a mailroom clerk, you might say that you managed an interoffice document delivery system.Kerry K. Taylor of Squawkfox cautions against using too many active words in a rsum, however. As in the example above, sometimes when you dress up a mundane task in fancy language, it just looks ridiculous. According to Taylor, too many action words can lead to buzzword overkill and harm, rather than help your chances of landing a job interview. No hiring manager likes a rsum saturated with lots of action and little substance.Cut the FluffHave you ever said a word so many times that it seems to become a meaningless collection of sounds? The phenomenon is called semantic satiation, and something similar happens to written words that you see too often. Hiring managers may have hundreds of rsums to sift through for a single position, and overused words and phrases like self-starter or people person might as well be invisible.Every year since 2009, LinkedIn has compiled a list of the most overused words on rsums repeat offenders include creative, innovative, and effective. According to Time, If the opposite of your descriptive word is obviously negative (i.e. ineffective, impatient), bosses probably assume you have this skill already.UtilizedImpactedSuccess/SuccessfulResults/Results-OrientedInnovated/neuschpfungDrivenCreativeExperiencedResponsiblePatientEffectiveMany of these words are just fancier cousins of more mundane words no one is fooled by substituting utilized for used. The biggest communication mistakes, in my opin ion, come from peoples efforts to appear intelligent, said Toni Bowers, managing editor of TechRepublic.These words are also maddeningly vague. Just like most online dating profiles promise an easy-going personality and sense of humor, most rsums promise some form of personal effectiveness. The problem is, everyone thinks theyre successful or able to produce results, cautions Jessica Holbrook Hernandez. In actuality, not everyone does or can. And by using terms like these on your rsum the only thing youve accomplished is looking like every other job seeker on the market.Tell Your Story with Their WordsThe Purdue verbunden Writing Lab recommends using action words to create concise, persuasive, reader-centered rsums and cover letters. But choosing the right action words is what will set apart your rsum from the rest of the crowd. Jenna Charlton advises jobseekers to use the companys language and tell them your story.By carefully reading and highlighting the keywords in a companys vac ancy notice and website, youll discover what values and worker attributes are important to the business. If it is looking for a dynamic, multi-talented customer service specialist, then thats exactly what youll be.By mirroring their corporate copy in your rsum, not only will you be more likely to make it past any keyword-scanning software, but youll also be more likely to impress the hiring manager. If you do it subtly and skillfully- and make koranvers to weed out any typos with an automated proofreader- prospective employers will see you as the perfect fit the position, and youll be one step closer to your first paycheck.Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pace during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recruiters who want to further their career.