Age Discrimination Old is Obsolete

Age Discrimination Old is Obsolete Age discrimination. I hate it. When I speak, it is the number one issue that every audience is concerned about. When I was in my job search, nine years ago, I was too old to be a young person who would take a lower salary, and too young to be experienced enough. I was in the middle of two age discrimination points. I learned that no matter how good I thought I was, and how awesome my credentials and potential were, age was going to keep me out of opportunities. In a job search seminar, the speaker said that the best way to address age discrimination in an interview was to address specific issues head on.  Like: Just so you know, I dont need to be on the company health care plan because  Or, Usually someone with my experience and accomplishments would make around $xx,xxx, but I am at a point in my career, and with my personal finances where I am looking for a job where I can really contribute to the company, and I am looking for compensation in the $yy,yyyy to $zz,zzz range (where that range is lower than what the interviewer is assuming).  Im sure those phrases need finessing, but the speakers point was, instead of letting the interviewer ASSUME things, based on your age, address the issues head on and move on to more important things, like how you can excel at the role and bring value to the company. What do you think?  Is that too brash? Heres a BlueSteps article that includes a bunch of phrases you can use to communicate, or at least rethink, the value you bring, when you might otherwise be focusing on your age: Brains, Brawn and Bravado: Employing Your Endurance and Experience to Overcome Ageism Age Discrimination Old is Obsolete Age discrimination. I hate it. When I speak, it is the number one issue that every audience is concerned about. When I was in my job search, nine years ago, I was too old to be a young person who would take a lower salary, and too young to be experienced enough. I was in the middle of two age discrimination points. I learned that no matter how good I thought I was, and how awesome my credentials and potential were, age was going to keep me out of opportunities. In a job search seminar, the speaker said that the best way to address age discrimination in an interview was to address specific issues head on.  Like: Just so you know, I dont need to be on the company health care plan because  Or, Usually someone with my experience and accomplishments would make around $xx,xxx, but I am at a point in my career, and with my personal finances where I am looking for a job where I can really contribute to the company, and I am looking for compensation in the $yy,yyyy to $zz,zzz range (where that range is lower than what the interviewer is assuming).  Im sure those phrases need finessing, but the speakers point was, instead of letting the interviewer ASSUME things, based on your age, address the issues head on and move on to more important things, like how you can excel at the role and bring value to the company. What do you think?  Is that too brash? Heres a BlueSteps article that includes a bunch of phrases you can use to communicate, or at least rethink, the value you bring, when you might otherwise be focusing on your age: Brains, Brawn and Bravado: Employing Your Endurance and Experience to Overcome Ageism

Get Your Online Brand Centralized With Profiled - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Get Your Online Brand Centralized With Profiled - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career It can be easy to get your online information scattered in the age of social networking.   But when you do seem to get all the content you want to feature for your brand, how do you know if the audience is finding something completely different online? In the professional world, image is everything. This also applies to personal branding, which is where Profiled can help you get your “fractured internet presence into one easy place.” What is Profiled? Profiled is a website where your business contacts can view your professional Internet presence in one, centralized place. It essentially combines aspects of social media profiles with online mention analytics to provide a professional and cohesive image of you from online sources. Signing in to create your own profile is completely free. From there, you then can select different features of your profile, or “Portal,” to customize yourself. The features offered on Profiled Here are some of the best features to try out once you’re signed in: Dashboard: This is the place where you can view information about your profile’s analytics, media monitoring results, blog posts submitted, as well as a space for giving feedback to the site for improvement. Profile Analytics: You have the ability to view your profile’s activity through a range of dates you select, such as page views or visitors. Media Monitoring Results: The results of new featuring you are found by typing in your name, the name of your company, and other keywords about you. You can then choose which content to post on your profile as your personal news archive. You can also create your own content in the form of a blog that is automatically posted onto your profile. Profile Wizards: If you’re having trouble not knowing what to write or how to present yourself â€" a step-by-step guide presents examples and notes on how to do it. When in doubt, you can pay a flat fee to have copywriters to have it written for you in sending your resume/CV. The pros and cons Pros of Profiled: Free Easy to set up Provides guides and examples on what to write or include on your profile Can import information from your LinkedIn profile Profiles include online news links about you Provides profile analytics Customized profile URL when you’re ready to publish your profile Cons of Profiled: Cannot present your own submitted online content, only what Profiled finds on you No option to search for members through your imported contacts â€" makes it difficult to find people on the site you may already know (although it’s not a networking site) Profiled has a multitude of great tools to curate online information about you into one place. If you are feeling like your online brand needs more structure, using Profiled can be a great way to carve your niche to your professional contacts. What do you think of Profiled? Could using it benefit your online brand? Author: Heather R. Huhman  is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder president of  Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers. She is also the author of  Lies, Damned Lies Internships  (2011),  #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle  (2010), and writes career and recruiting advice for  numerous outlets.

Embrace Change - Dont Fear It

Embrace Change - Don’t Fear It We all have to face different moments of change in our lives, and it’s not always easy, even when it’s a change that we actively want. It can bring a feeling of turmoil in our lives and it’s not always easy to accept or adapt to new circumstances. Examples of life changing moments include when you first leave your parents’ home and set up on your own, when you start working once your studies are over and when you make a commitment to move in with your partner, or get married to them. via GIPHY Other big changes can include starting a family, moving house or to another town or city. Generally, when it’s you that’s driving the change, you can feel positive about it, even if some aspects will worry you. However, the change that most people find hardest to deal with is when they feel that a change is being forced upon them. Facing a midlife crisis The phrase midlife crisis is most often used in conjunction with men â€" and quite often in a light-hearted, derogatory way, when a middle-aged man decides to buy a sports car or start a new hobby that might seem out of character. Even more typically, it’s when they start dating a much younger woman. But, for many people, change can bring about a feeling of crisis and it’s no laughing matter if that’s how you feel. And it seems that women are just as likely to be affected by a midlife crisis as men and that it doesn’t always have to happen at the midpoint of life. In fact, recent evidence points to the female midlife crisis happening to some women during their thirties, although it can happen at any time. It can evolve around different sets of circumstances, depending on the individual. The common factor, though, is often when a woman faces a big change in their lives â€" be it connected with their career, their relationship or their children. Perhaps their children are leaving school and heading off to university, or maybe there’s a change in their work situation that they didn’t anticipate. It could be that they face difficulties in their marriage. Facing Unwanted Change There are some useful insights in this article on the female midlife crisis from TheCircle but the thing to bear in mind in any situation when you face unwanted change is that there are two ways to deal with it. You can either resist and fight change, or accept and embrace it, and choose to take the most positive view of the situation that you face.                                                                         Change  (CC BY-SA 2.0)  by    seaternity   Often though, accepting change is a lot easier said than done. For example, if your partner has cheated on you, you’re not likely to be feeling very positive about it. But you can decide to either work to resolve the situation and repair your marriage, or perhaps accept that there’s a reason why this happened. Even though it may be hard to work through a separation, who’s to say that life after it might not turn out to be better? Many people moving on from a split go on to find greater happiness than they had before. Packing Suitcases  (CC BY-SA 2.0)  by    theglobalpanorama    Its hard to deal with that empty feeling when the kids leave home Similarly, when facing the moment your children leave home, many women can go through a stage of feeling bereft, and have to adjust to life with just their partner again. Depending on how close you are to the kids, you may feel abandoned by them. But you have to accept the inevitability of children becoming independent and, instead of focusing on the negative implications, revel in the free time that you will have for yourself. After all, they’re not leaving your life; they’re just going to be living somewhere else. sunrise  (CC BY 2.0)  by    TBoard   One day at a time When you’re facing a big life change that you haven’t asked for, the important thing is to take everything one day at a time. Try not to make hasty decisions, instead think through what you’ll do differently, and bear in mind how your choices will affect the people around you. While we might not welcome every change in life, the best policy is to take a positive and proactive approach, and that way you can retain control of your destiny.

Avoid These Common Mistakes to Get Out of Debt Faster

Avoid These Common Mistakes to Get Out of Debt Faster Debt isn’t fun. It’s stressful, overwhelming and keeps us up at night. In 2017, the American Psychological Association lists money as the second highest cause of stress. And although stress is part of our lives, money stress is something quite different. Money is directly tied to our daily lives. Financial struggles mean late fees, risking our electricity being shut off, or struggling to pay for medication. It’s not just the difference between lobster or ramen noodles for dinner. It impacts the quality of our lives. Now that we’re becoming more depressed by the second, it’s important to remember that we’re not alone. Everyone has money issues. While some problems are more challenging than others, there are some very common mistakes that we all make in our quest for financial freedom. Waiting Too Long to Act We waited too long to start climbing out of debt if we’re staring at imminent financial ruin or a catastrophic life-altering financial event (like your car or home is about to be repossessed). Yet, George R.R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones, said: “Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.” No one loves accepting the truth of their financial situations. In fact, no one wants to deal with any negative situation. It’s the same principle that keeps folks off their scales because they don’t want to know their exact weight. If they don’t see the actual number, it’s not a reality. It’s not until they face something unavoidable, like a health scare or they can’t fit into their clothes, that they have to face the inevitable. It’s the same thing with money problems. It’s easy to forget we’re facing a crisis when we put all our bills in a basket behind the couch. Then we’re slapped awake with a disconnection notice that needs to be paid yesterday. Although it’s not fun, facing our financial challenges now can help us prevent bigger problems down the road. Ignoring Expert Help Navigating the financial world is tough. Climbing out of debt takes more than a dream and a calculator. Since everyone’s situation is different, what works for a friend may not be the right plan for us. That’s why it’s crucial to find the right partner to help us get out of debt. Finding the right expert help starts with understanding our exact challenge. We may face huge life decisions like whether or not to file bankruptcy. That’s not a decision that should be made on a whim or because our “cousin’s husband filed a few years ago and it’s all fine now”. Maybe we’re deep into credit card debt and believe that consolidation is our best option. But that’s a guess based on a commercial or some pop-up ad. The good news is that many financial experts help for free or have low-cost options. For example, debt consolidation organizations can help design a debt-reducing plan. This isn’t the time to wing it or assume we know what we’re doing because expert help is just a phone call away. Forgetting to Change Our Habits We’re creatures of habit. We go to the same grocery stores, gas stations and playgrounds. We eat at the same restaurants and wear the same outfits. And we get caught up in the same patterns, even when it comes to our finances. In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, author Charles Duhigg explains how habits work: cue, routine, reward. Let’s say we want to drink less coffee in the morning. The cue is waking up in the morning with a groggy feeling. Our routine includes heading into the kitchen in the morning and brewing coffee. The reward is a few cups of delicious and energizing caffeine. We have to disrupt something in that pattern to change the habit and altering this daily habit could be as easy as using a smaller coffee cup. We’ll all have bad habits that led us to our current debt. And if we continue to do the exact same things over and over, we’ll end up with more financial challenges. The only way to get out of debt is to change our habits around money. This one takes some time to figure out, but an honest self-reflection will help us pinpoint our worst habits and where we may be able to change them. Creating a Plan that Works for Us None of this is easy, but it’s all doable. We’ll need to make smart choices, change our habits and make getting out of debt a priority. We may have to deal with temporary stress to gain long-term financial freedom. We may stumble along the way, we can avoid many of these common mistakes with a little planning and committed focus. . Main Image Credit.

Resume Headers Examples For The Job Hunting Job Seekers

Resume Headers Examples For The Job Hunting Job SeekersResume headers are a must when it comes to writing a killer resume. For most job seekers, the purpose of their resume is to show the hiring manager exactly why they are the best candidate for the position. The headers help to focus a recruiter's attention to the most important parts of your resume and help them pick up on what is important to you.Resume headers are important because without them the content of your resume will be lost in the sea of information that the resume prompts you to create. And unless you know how to write great resumes the resume prompts may be frustrating, dull, or even pointless. It can also waste valuable time while the recruiter goes through the information on your resume.There are many different ways to go about creating headers that reflect your skills, education, experience, and even your copywriting skills. The trick is in learning to use each individual part of your resume in a different way to catch the attention of the reader. You want your resume to seem professional candidates know how to do this. Some professionals consider using a template is a good idea but if you want to truly showcase your skills, the good candidates know that they have to design their own headers.One of the most common questions asked by recruiters is what should the title of the header be. The answer is very simple; whatever you want. You can use as much or as little of the resume as you want to, it is just important to be sure that you understand the purpose behind your resume header and make it concise.The best resume headers examples for both the job position and for the candidate are blogs, magazines, articles, eBooks, press releases, videos, images, music, and speech. If you really want to stand out and catch the eyes of your reader, try to think outside the box.Try writing a blog or article and adding your bio or name in the footer to promote yourself in the public service or nonprofit are na. Then, simply distribute this information as part of your resume header and you will create a powerful resume that will speak volumes about your skills and accomplishments.Another great example of using public service and volunteer work to your advantage is putting the names of children you work with at events and organizations. Children love the idea of being a part of an organization where you see your face every day and you feel wanted.Finding these great resume examples is easy. Just search for 'resume headers examples' and you will be able to view the hundreds of different examples that are available.

11 Story

Sharing and Honoring My 9/11 Story After 9/11 I took the subway down to lower Manhattan because it was something I felt I needed to do. Like many people, Id been struggling with how to make sense of it all, how to explain it to my young children who were surrounded by reminders of that day, and how to come to terms with my own mortality. I felt like I needed to document the day in some way. Id done quite a bit of journaling in the past, but somehow writing a journal entry seemed too real and almost too accepting of the situation. So I decided to put my thoughts into prose and the poem below was the result.Saw the void In the city sky Didnt know how to feel Didnt know how to cryMissing towers Between Church and Vesey Disoriented Streets were messyReading prayers And words of hope Missing persons Hard to copePolicemens jerseys Childrens art Emotions pouring From the heartTattered buildings With windows taped Like damaged souls Or young girls rapedShould only face Such heartache With someone special Who can makeA positiv e comment A comforting word To remind me How absurdTo take your anger Out on others Innocent spouses Children and mothersIm so glad I put my thoughts down on paper that day. Not because I think this is the worlds greatest poem, but simply because it captured the story and the emotions of the experience. And it froze the memory in  time in a way that it can be shared and honored.A lot of what I do as a career coach revolves around teaching people how to tell their story in a meaningful way that can be shared and honored. People with great career stories are a lot like poets. Great career stories are concise and easy to remember. But their brevity doesnt lessen the impact of their message; instead it intensifies it.If you are trying to come to terms with the story of your career as you embark on a job search, consider writing about it first. Chronicle your successes as well as your obstacles. Write in paragraphs, bullet points, or even in prose. But get your thoughts down while you a re in the moment. Doing so will help you create a more authentic and compelling message when you are ready to share your story with others.

Career Spring Cleaning - Hire Imaging

Career Spring Cleaning - Hire Imaging Career Spring Cleaning: It’s been a long time coming Here in the northern lake country of Minnesota, it’s been a long winter. Just when we thought we were home free until at least next late fall, our 60ish temps dropped to 30s and more snowâ€"complete with winds. I felt as though I was time warped back to early and lion-like March. Spring can be harsh. Frost can mash brand-new blossoms. We can be lulled into hopefulness, only to be fooled. Spring can tease. After battling sleet, snow and slush for months, you yearn for warmth. It never comes quickly enough. Some of my clients tell me about long, difficult job searches. If we were to use the seasonal metaphors, it feels like they are searching for warmth in a hostile environment. If they are floundering with any aspect of their job search, it’s a bit like some winter imagesâ€"icy, dreary and never-ending. If you are struggling with a career transition that makes you feel as though you are buried under a coat of ice and simply hibernating through long, dark days, it can help to think in terms of seasons. Nothing lasts forever. Inevitably, you will move forward. The earth and life go in cycles. There are longer days that bring more light with them. The sunshine and warmer air melt the ice mounds nudged into the ground. In their place, new growth emerges. Career Spring Cleaning: There can always be new sparkle So, spring is here now, albeit late. Even though I am not in love with cleaning by any stretch of the imagination, I have the urge to wash, dust, mop, vacuum and make things fresh. Because I relate just about everything I do to my clients and their careers, my new domestic goddess energy reminds me of my client, Marcia. She called me a couple days ago. She was excited; she had not felt that way in quite some time. The reason for her downright-giddiness was that she had felt this spring renewal as well, related to her job search. She told me that she had done three career spring cleaning “chores” that left her feeling hopeful and ready for good things. Cleaned her job search space. Marcia organized her files of job-search information, and purged or shredded anything outdated. She cleaned her equipment and work space. To reward herself, she put a fresh bouquet of flowers on her desk. Cleaned her online image. Marcia knew that 80% of recruiters say online image affects their decision-making. She set up strict privacy settings on all her social networks, finished her LinkedIn profile to make it 100% complete, became active in some groups, and grew her connections. She bought the Twitter Job Search Guide. She set up a website to blog on her expertise, event planning. Cleaned her to-do list. She re-prioritized her commitments. She was amazed at how many things she was able to delete from her calendar that were time zappers not worthy of her efforts. Spring follows winter. Rainbows follow storms. Spring represents growth, a fresh start. Why not do a little career spring cleaning? You never know what wonderful consequences lay ahead, once you plant the seeds of positive movement! Photo:   Muffet