How to Take the Perfect #WorkSelfie

How to Take the Perfect #WorkSelfie Contrary to a lot of advice in the past that suggests that selfies should be avoided  for professional use, the trend may in fact be the answer to taking a great professional profile picture for your social media accounts. With the rise of  smartphones, webcams and selfie sticks, it means that  it is now easier than ever for us to snap our own shots wherever we please. People often feel uncomfortable  having their photographs taken by somebody else, particularly at work; so taking a selfie places the control in the individuals hands and means that they can snap away in the comfort of their own environment. Its important that you present yourself smartly and choose your surroundings carefully, however, as a lot of employers will build their first impression based on your profile photograph. Data provided by  LinkedIn has proven that you’re 14 times more likely to be viewed if you have a profile photo, so its definitely worth uploading  one. LinkedIn have provided some guidelines about how to create the perfect #WorkSelfie. #WorkSelfie Top Tips: Be  aware of your surroundings:  Try to  stage your selfie in front of a blank wall as a busy background can be distracting and you want the focus to be on you, not on your surroundings. As cute as your dog is, employers dont want to catch a glimpse of him having a scratch in the background of your shot! Choose the best lighting and angle:  Natural light is the most flattering and is the best for taking selfies (trust me Im a seasoned pro!) I recommend you avoid direct sunlight however, as shadows can distort or conceal your face. Try to avoid using the flash too for best results, as it can reflect light and make your face look a bit shiny. The most flattering angle captures your face from slightly above, as it emphasises your eyes and has a slimming effect. Although shooting from below can make you appear powerful, it can make features seem more prominent. Use a good  camera: If you have access to a DSLR camera,  you can  produce really high quality photographs by setting one up using a tripod and timer setting. However, if this isnt possible, your smart phone can be just as good an option. You can prop your phone up using a shelf, books, etc. to avoid getting your arm in shot. A  selfie stick can also be used if you position it right  (who knew that Christmas gift would come in so handy!) Think about what youre wearing:  Head shots generally work best for networks such as LinkedIn, but you still want to think about what will be showing in your photograph, even if its just your shoulders. Block colours tend to work well in professional photographs and tend to be a better option over a busy print which can be a bit distracting. I think its needless to say crude slogan tshirts are also not recommended! Remember to be professional:  Trust me when I say you should save your pouting and mirror shots for Instagram! Try to relax and pose  naturally. Smiling in your photograph will make you appear more approachable. Check out our #workselfie hall of fame! A 7-person #LinkedIn #workselfie at Talent Connect Sydney, in front of the Harbour Bridge! #intalent pic.twitter.com/eAeV2Igw8p Ryan B (@ryanbatty) May 5, 2015 .@LinkedInUK heres our #workselfie attempt! pic.twitter.com/DuqXtKuZcW firstlight PR (@firstlightpr) April 29, 2015 This is way better. Learning from the #Kardashian school of selfies. Better from above @LinkedInUK #vain #WorkSelfie pic.twitter.com/UuY1iN4p6k Lucy Handley (@lucyhandley) April 29, 2015 I ?? the #WorkSelfie initiative by @LinkedIn, make it a great day! #LinkedInLife pic.twitter.com/dXioOvMd2f The End of Marketing ?? (@carlosgil83) April 29, 2015 Did you know that having a profile pic makes your LinkedIn profile 14x more likely to be viewed? #workselfie pic.twitter.com/inWTK0Vzrk Kathleen Killen (@naturally40) April 29, 2015 A real pleasure to meet the GEM team in Northamptonshire again #workselfie @DavidChurchill #justsaying ?? pic.twitter.com/RXXpHcCFpf Mohammed Hussain (@DigitalPhamcist) May 1, 2015 So just to be clear belfies are a no when doing a #workselfie right? http://t.co/jXgo82Djcp pic.twitter.com/RifdL3lbCF Fi Nominal (@NominalFi) May 1, 2015 The LinkedIn Guide to the Perfect #WorkSelfie http://t.co/hWAoVTI47s #smartguests pic.twitter.com/2oNlUEheng Rupesh Patel (@SmartGuestscom) May 4, 2015 Image credit: LinkedIn

Only a Mug

Only a Mug ‘Cup of tea?’ H’m, that’s not right. The feudal system dictates that I should very much be the one offering my boss a cup of tea, not the other way around. It is undoubtedly one of Morgana’s passive aggressive comments because I haven’t done a round at precisely the moment her already over-stimulated frontal lobe dips in caffeine levels. She can be such a â€" ‘Yes, actually. No sugar. Thank you.’ Morgana curled her lips into a satisfied smile and disappeared off into the kitchen. I was usually happy enough to do  the tea  round myself as part of my lowly duties. Being the junior freelancer on the team, the tea and coffee jars could barely differentiate me from the interns skittering about. I knew my place. I had made peace with my place. In fact I liked to think that I’d developed a certain talent as Beverage Officer during my two months on the account. I noted people’s predilections with interest. ‘Oh, hot water and lemon, today? Detoxing from last night? Chai Latte don’t get ahead of yourself.’ I took care to pick out the most appropriate mugs for my fellow colleagues to ensure a paramount drinking experience. ‘Cat mug for Laura, Sport’s Direct for Arnold, Cath Kidson for Morgana and Winnie the Pooh for me.’ It may not have been a huge responsibility but the undying optimist in me saw it as a chance to shine. After all, the sentence, ‘Whoever made this absolutely lip-smacking espresso must be promoted on the spot,’ was not entirely inconceivable. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when Morgana slopped a small, plain white mug in front of me, causing the hot liquid to spill onto my desk slightly as she did so. ‘Many thanks,’ I called after her. Best to keep up appearances but truly, thanks were not warranted. I inspected the mug further and found a chip in its side and a dusting of sugar around its rim. A sprinkling of pure antagonism. I suppose my order could have got mixed up with someone else’s? Or is this humble offering actually a thinly disguised declaration of war? I had not exactly been getting along with Morgana. She had the irritating habit of looking over my shoulder as I worked and coded each instruction with a ‘Could you?’ which, though seemingly neutral, had taken on a sarcastic quality through repetition. ‘Florence, there’s no paper in the printer.’ ‘Oh, OK. I’ll pop some more in.’ ‘Could you? Oh and I don’t have the media plan.’ ‘Right. I’ll send it to you now.’ ‘Could you?’ Yes! YES I COULD! I think Morgana liked this question as it gave the illusion she was being democratic and bending down to me as some sort of equal. This effect was somewhat nullified by the fact that she never required a response. In turn, the only question I could ask that wouldn’t produce a sigh was, ‘Tea or coffee?’ After a few obligatory sips of my saccharine poison I slid over to the kitchen to throw the insulting mixture out. As I hovered there, poised by the sink, I peered surreptitiously into the cupboard and all was confirmed. A glittering array of superior mugs tantalized the eyes. Surely this is no accident? Morgana had deliberately given me the dud mug. The inside of that cupboard was like looking into the inside of her soul, rows and rows of pure hatred.

30 Women who have revolutionized the tech sector

30 Women who have revolutionized the tech sector I get included in a lot of lists (19 Blogs You Should Bookmark Right Now, Top 10 Aspergers Blogs, Top 100 Education Blogs, Top 50 Productivity Blogs) but I generally dont pay a lot of attention. Lists are  subjective, I dont know who put the list together, and I mostly measure my success by if people care about what Im writing (I usually judge by comments and social sharing) and if Im making enough money to stay out of debt (a seemingly impossible feat). But every now and then I am on a list that makes me giddy, and yesterday TechCrunch published a list of 30 Women who have revolutionized the male-dominated tech industry, and I am  on the list. Im excited because TechCrunch is a huge publication with huge reach in the startup industry. And in general, the staff there rips me to shreds whenever they can. So the fact that they disagree with what I write and they put me on the list makes me very happy. But also, I constantly worry that Im irrelevant to the hard-core startup world, and this list tells me that maybe thats not true. I obsessed over the list all last night. I scrolled through it 50 times: Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo Ruth Porat, CFO at Google Weili Dai, CEO of Marvell Julia Hu,  CEO of Lark Kim  Gordon, CEO of Depict Me I thought to myself: I bet Im the only homeschooling parent on this list. But then I thought, all the women on this list who have young kids  have seemingly impossible arrangements to fit their kids and work into their lives. For example, Sandberg  now leaves work each day to be home when her kids get home from school. Mayer  has her kids in an office next to hers at work. Gordon  breastfed in the recording studio. Wojcicki  and Porat  have husbands with successful careers of their own who became  primary caretakers. Each situation could not have happened without the women becoming very successful before they had kids. Because each solution requires both power and money. To be clear, the  mothers  on this list were extremely  powerful in their careers before age 30, which  provided the ability to  create a very non-standard setup to balance kids and work. And, as Im sure you know by now, its only the non-standards setups that allow women to have notable careers alongside children. So women can  tell by age 27 or 28 if they will be able to set up a very non-standard situation to allow for a powerful career while you have children. Non-standard doesnt look the same for everyone, of course.  I wasnt going to ever publish that picture up top because I thought it made me look like I dont have a serious career. Most of the time its just me working where I canthe car, during music lessons, or on our year-round porchI dont even have a home office. But the TechCrunch list makes me feel legitimate enough to tell you that I struggle to put in enough hours right now, and this is what my career looks like from the inside. Most revolutionaries dont set out to be revolutionaries. The women on this list were working in technology, with children, during a time when it was unheard of. The women on this list didnt intend  to be revolutionaries so much as they crafted a life that would work for them. The revolutionaries today are doing the same thingthey are setting out to make a life that works. But it looks much different. Today the revolutionaries are the women admitting family is more important to them than work. Its a scary thing to admit because we have not been raised to think family is more important than work. We have been told we are so smart, we can do anything: You will have a great career when you grow up is what weve heard for so many years. Not, Good job on that math test. You will make a great mom. Over and over we see lists of  women we should admire, and they are all women who, at one point or another, completely ignored their kids in order to keep their career on track. (I know: Im one.) But most women dont want to do that as parents. Most women want to put their kids first and have a rewarding career on the side. Those women are the revolutionaries in todays workforce. The people who can admit they do not want a notable career. Its a revolutionary idea that we should get great grades, go to a top college, maybe get even more education, and then stay home with kids. This is not anything women have fought for when they were fighting for rights. But the right to choose our own life is the most important right. So now maybe you can see why I have a hard time getting excited over being on lists. Even this TechCrunch list, which should be a victory dance for me, feels outdated. More than I hope to make lists like this one, I hope theres new ranking criteria coming soon.

7 Tips for Creating the Perfect LinkedIn Profile Photo

7 Tips for Creating the Perfect LinkedIn Profile Photo Since the birth of social media, we have grown more and more inclined to give in to our narcissistic tendencies. Vanity has reached such proportions never seen before that, these days, we take photos not because we want to capture a memorable moment, but because we need a new profile photo for Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Unlike most social networks, LinkedIn is not a place for narcissismâ€"it is a place for professionalism. And yet, having a great profile photo is even more crucial in LinkedIn than in any other social networking site because it can make all the difference in getting you hired. Here are a few tips to help you take the perfect LinkedIn profile photo: 1. Make an effort to look your best. As much as we may want to believe otherwise, physical attractiveness really gives you a certain edge when it comes to job hunting. In 2013, researchers from the University of Messina and Marche Polytechnic University in Italy conducted a study on how beauty influences a person’s chances of getting hired by sending out 10,000 identical resumes (with different photos) to a variety of employers. The average callback rate for resumes with photos of attractive women was 54 percent, while the callback rate for less attractive women clocked in at just seven percent. Suffice to say, the results are pretty dishearteningâ€"but that’s the sad reality of the job market these days. Some employers have an unspoken bias in favor of pretty people, and unfortunately, we can’t change how we look. But the positive thing here is that beauty is utterly subjective, which is why you need to put in an effort to look your best to increase your own chances of getting that job. Here are some tips to help you look great for your LinkedIn profile photo: Choose a flattering hairstyle that still makes you look professional. Accentuate your best facial features with makeupâ€"but keep it light and appropriate. Find your best angle! 2. Wear an appropriate attire. Even in your LinkedIn profile photo, you need to wear something business appropriate. Wear whatever you would wear to a job interview. Of course, depending on your chosen career, this could mean hoodies and blue jeans. However, just because your profession allows you to dress like Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make more of an effort to dress up in your LinkedIn photo. And remember: no over-the-top jewelry, no hats, no sunglasses, and definitely no cleavage. Showing some skin may get you hired by some employers, but if you want to be taken seriously, you’re going to want to keep yourself covered up. Your LinkedIn profile is a huge part of your personal brand, and you want to make sure that your photo reflects that brand. 3.Use a pleasant, slightly happy expression. When posing for your profile photo, make sure to look slightly happyâ€"nothing more, nothing less. Why? Because according to the recent findings of a study conducted by researchers from New York University, employers tend to gravitate towards people who looked only slightly happy in their photos. Meanwhile, those who wore huge grins or laughing smiles (as well as those who appeared too serious or stern) in their photos were perceived negatively. Stick to a small, sincere smile. You can even show off those pearly whites of yoursâ€"but just make sure to keep yourself from looking too happy. 4. Choose an inconspicuous background. Your face needs to be the main focus of your photo, so avoid posing in front of a distracting background. After all that effort you put into making yourself look good and practicing the perfect slightly happy expression, you don’t want your background to upstage you, right? It doesn’t even have to be a boring white backgroundâ€"it just needs to be simple and neutral enough so that it won’t take the focus away from you. 5. Take your photo in the right lighting. Everyone knows lighting can make all the difference in photos. For your LinkedIn profile photo, make sure your photo isn’t too dark or too bright. Natural lighting is best, but if you have other lighting options available to you, play around with them and see what type of lighting is most flattering for you and helps set the mood you are trying to create. 6. No selfies! No matter how gorgeous you look in that selfie, you need to resist the urge to use it on your LinkedIn page. Selfies can make you appear unprofessional, and that’s clearly not the impression you want to make on your potential employers. 7. Use a high-quality camera. Professional headshots are always a great idea, but those can get pretty expensiveâ€"plus it’s best to change your LinkedIn profile photo at least once a year, which means this is going to be a recurring expense. Still, it is really important to have a high-quality photo, so if you don’t want to hire a professional photographer to do your headshots for you, you should consider investing in a good point-and-shoot digital camera or a professional DSLR camera. There are many affordable digital camera options on the market, and you can choose from entry level to something a bit more powerful, depending on your level of expertise with a camera. If you’ve never used a professional camera before, you can go online and find some photography tutorials, or you can ask a friend or family member to take photos of you. The perfect LinkedIn profile photo should have all the right components to present you as a confident, credible, and highly capable professionalâ€"someone employers would be more than happy to hire. And as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so yours should be able to effectively communicate your personal brand message all on its own. Image Source; Image Source

Power Pose to Ace Executive Job Interviews - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

Power Pose to Ace Executive Job Interviews Youve spent considerable time researching the company youre about to interview with,  and preparing to answer the tough questions and ask the right questions of your own. But you may not know about another piece of the interview preparation puzzle â€" power posing. According to Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist at Harvard Business School,  this simple, 2-minute preparatory ritual before going into an interview will boost confidence to help you feel more powerful, and excel. That is, adopting stances associated with confidence, power and achievement â€" chest lifted, head held high, arms either up or propped on the hips. In an experiment, Cuddy and her collaborator Dana Carney of Berkeley, directed people to either high-power or low-power pose for 2 minutes. Saliva samples revealed physiological differences between the two groups: High-power posers showed an 8% increase in testosterone, but Low-power posers had a 10% decrease in the hormone. Meanwhile, an inverse reaction happened with participants cortisol, the hormone related to stress: High-power posers had a 25% decrease in cortisol levels, but Low-power posers had a 15% increase. Our nonverbals govern how we think and feel about ourselves. Our bodies change our minds, said Cuddy. Susan P. Joyce of Work Coach Cafe offered some tips to increase the level of confidence hormones in your body, to act and feel more confident in job interviews, or any situation: As they cross the finish line, most of the time, the winners of a race throw their arms up into the air, smiling a big smile, and lifting their chins up toward the sky in triumph. Even little kids do this without prompting when they win a race. It’s apparently an instinct. Alternatively, remember the Wonder Woman pose: standing triumphantly at the end of a battle she just won with hands on hips, feet apart, chin up. Looking indomitable. So, determine what kind of pose works best to rev you up. Then, just before your interview, take 2 minutes in private (find an empty room or even a bathroom) to do your power pose, and get your confidence hormones to kick in. Sound silly? Maybe. But it might work. You’ve got nothing to lose by trying. Related posts: Prepare to Ace Brand Your C-level Executive Job Interview 10 Executive Job Interview Body Language Mistakes How To Ace Phone Interviews in Executive Job Search photo by familymwr 00 0

Dont Get Caught With an Old School Resume

Dont Get Caught With an Old School Resume This months Career Collective topic is Job-Hunting Rules to Break: Outdated Job-Search Beliefs. I come across so many outdated concepts in resume writing that seem to be passed down from generation to generation of job seekers, so I thought this was a good time to dispel some common resume writing myths once and for all.Keep the resume to one page. Whether you have a one page resume or a 300 page resume, no one is reading it word for word. They are skimming it. Your job isnt to squeeze as much information as possible on one page; its to prudently edit the content to focus on shining accomplishments and the most relevant content. Sometimes this takes one page; sometimes it takes two pages. Just because something is on one page doesnt make it easier to read. Aim for a user-friendly design strategy with clean lines and information that is easy to find and stop getting so caught up in the length of the document.Always include an objective. An objective is of no use to a hiring manager. I t doesnt tell them how you will fix their problems or the unique value you can bring to the company. Its generally all about you and what you want in your next job. And hiring managers dont really care about what you want. Explain how you can ease their pain, up front at the beginning of the resume, and increase your chances of getting an interview.Never add color to a resume. Years ago, color wasnt really an option on a resume. Today, color, shading, bold, and other design elements can be incorporated into a resume quickly and easily to make key information stand out. Have you ever read a marketing brochure that used graphic design and other visual elements to improve their messaging? Make no mistakeyour resume is a marketing brochure. Why shouldnt you use similar design techniques to get noticed by hiring managers?Left justify dates of employment. Dates were left justified when people were writing resumes on typewriters and there was really no better way to do it. If your resume l ooks like it was done on a typewriter, thats a problem within itself. Beyond that, left justifying dates is a poor use of valuable space on a resume. Right-justify employment dates and save that space for more important information about the value you bring to employers.List references on your resume. This may have made sense if you were conducting a search prior to 1999. But now,   no one is going to solely rely on the references you list on a resume. Most hiring managers Google candidates before ever calling them in for an interview. They dont need to look at the references you supply; they can dig up all kinds of information about you online.You can read my colleagues post about outdated job search beliefs here:Juice Up Your Job Search, @debrawheatmanIts not your age, its old thinking, @GayleHowardWant a Job? Ignore these outdated job search beliefs @erinkennedycprwJob Search Then and Now, @MartinBuckland @EliteResumesBreak the Rules or Change the Game? @WalterAkanaThe New: From The Employers-Eye View, @ResumeServiceJob Search: Breakable Rules and Outdated Beliefs, @KatCareerGalJob Hunting Rules to Break (Or Why and How to Crowd Your Shadow), @chandlee @StartWire,Shades of Gray, @DawnBugni3 Rules That Are Worth Your Push-Back, @WorkWithIllnessYour Photo on LinkedIn Breaking a Cardinal Job Search Rule? @KCCareerCoachHow to find a job: stop competing and start excelling, @Keppie_CareersBe You-Nique: Resume Writing Rules to Break, @ValueIntoWordsModernizing Your Job Search, @LaurieBerensonHow Breaking the Rules Will Help You in Your Job Search, @expatcoachmeganBeat the Job-Search-Is-a-Numbers-Game Myth, @JobHuntOrg25 Habits to Break if You Want a Job, @CareerSherpa

What to Do After Writing Resume

What to Do After Writing ResumeWhat to do after writing resume? The next question comes as a direct consequence of whether or not you have done all the steps that are fundamental for the success of writing resume. In order to ensure that your resume is absolutely convincing, you should first make sure that it is different from the resume of others. This should also be reflected in your profile.Resume is meant to impress people. When you have designed a resume that does not bother anyone else, you will immediately learn that your resume will not impress them. You should make an effort to not only make your resume unique, but you should also strive to create an impression of you on others.It is extremely important that you know exactly what to do after writing resume. You should prepare yourself mentally by making a list of what not to do.One of the most crucial thing that you need to keep in mind is to not spend too much time on the last and final task. This is very important to avoid being stuck in one particular task all through the writing process. With that said, you need to try to determine how much time you can allot to the writing. There are some resumes which are completed in a matter of minutes, while there are others that take a whole day.Keep in mind that the potential employer will have many things to concentrate on. If you are not writing a resume on their time frame, you will lose out. They might simply dismiss your resume. Another important thing that you need to remember is to not put your resume on any social networking sites.There are plenty of employers who would prefer their employees not to post their resume on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. This would not only result in your resume being lost but it will also distract you from what you have to do after writing resume.If you follow these few tips to ensure that you can write resume and you enjoy it, you will no doubt be able to get more work. You would never want to waste precious time and resources doing something that you may not enjoy doing. You would also want to ensure that you don't lose out on getting more jobs as well.